Chapter 22 – Epilogue
Gordon Freeman sat at the bar with a bottle of beer in his hand. On his right sat Barney Calhoun and on his left Adrian Shepherd. The three former rebels had not changed much in the last ten years, except for the fact that they were all wearing denim coveralls. They were all on their lunch breaks from their construction jobs. They had spent the last ten years working with the rest of the surviving resistance members to rebuild City 17. The amount of survivors was higher than Gordon ever thought. Even after the days of the Combine, there were still enough citizens to meet the original population level of the city and help rebuild it quickly. The re-construction was almost done. It was strange though. Without the Citadel towering over them, City 17 felt much smaller.
"Who's buying this round?" Adrian asked looking over at Barney.
"Don't look at me man." He said. "I think that it's Gordon's turn to buy."
"Thanks for that Barney." Gordon replied sarcastically. "You owe me a beer for twenty years and now you will take any opportunity not to pay."
"Don't blame me, that's just the way I was raised." Barney replied before taking another swig of beer. "Plus, I bought you that beer already."
"Fine, I'll pay today." Gordon looked at his watch. "Well, we've gotta go anyway. If we're late one more time, Izzy's gonna be pissed."
"I highly doubt that." Adrian added. "I don't think Kliener's even capable of anger. Magnusson though…you know what let's go." Gordon and Barney smiled. Gordon paid the bill and the trio walked out. Once they were outside, Adrian lit a cigarette and the three began to walk down the road.
"I thought Chell made you quit." Barney asked.
"She doesn't want me to smoke around her anymore, but she says it's okay when I'm with you guys." He replied. The work site wasn't far from the bar. Dr. Kliener and Dr. Magnusson were working as co-foremen of the building. The city was almost done and this would be the last building that they would be working on completely rebuilding. Kliener and Magnusson stood outside over a table that had the original blueprints for the building. They argued over trivial things as always.
"No, No NO! This wall was knocked down!" Magnusson yelled.
"Oh, really Magnusson? Does it really matter? Can't we just finish this building? I would like to get home tonight." Kliener argued.
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa." Barney said. "Calm down you two. Jeez, you two act like five year olds on a daily basis. Now, I'm gonna go work with DOG over there, can you two handle the mad scientists over here?" Adrian and Gordon nodded and Barney walked across the build site to where DOG was. The big mechanical pet was more than helpful with the re-building process. He mostly worked with Barney and helped move large pieces of metal or machines.
"Because of that outburst, I'll overlook the fact that you three are three minutes late." Magnusson remarked. "Now we're almost done this building, I'd appreciate it if you would help out."
"Geez, give us a break Magnusson." Adrian said. "Come on Gordon, let's finish this place." The two walked into the building and got to work.
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Gordon's pickup truck rumbled over the rocks layering the forest trail. He was on his way home after a long day. DOG followed close behind him. Adrian, Barney, Dr. Kliener, and Dr. Magnusson sat in the car as well, the latter three in the back.
"City 17 is officially rebuilt boys!" Barney said. He put his arms around Kliener and Magnusson. "Now doesn't that just make you two want to celebrate?" Magnusson gave Kliener a look of disgust.
"Barney," Adrian began. "There is no way you are going to make those two get along. I think it's literally impossible." Adrian took out a cigarette and his silver Zippo lighter.
"Really Adrian?" Gordon asked. "We're this close to home and you're lighting another one?" Adrian rolled his eyes and put them away. "I think we all deserve to celebrate. So, later how about we go back to the bar later and Barney buys us a round?"
"Oh, now that's just mean Gordon. That hurt real bad." Barney replied. Gordon pulled up to Black Forest. After the end of the war, Dr. Kliener decided to build a new home for everyone, which was still under some construction. It was much like White Forest, but more accommodating as a home. It didn't go far underground and was built into the side of a mountain a mile outside of City 17. It could house a maximum of fifteen people and had enough room hold everything they wanted. Gordon had dubbed it as 'Black Forest', which everyone (except Magnusson, of course) accepted. From the outside, the house showed three walls. One of which was one complete window. Gordon pulled up to the right side of the house. He shut off the truck and got out.
"Honey I'm home!" Adrian yelled as he walked in the door. Chell walked out from the hallway on the right. She looked slightly older, but really she looked the same as she had ten years ago. She had developed a liking for orange clothes, since wearing that inmate jumpsuit for two years. She now wore a long orange dress that she liked to wear on warm days.
"Hi honey." She said. She kissed him on his cheek.
"What is that enticing aroma?" Barney asked.
"Alyx and I are making barbeque outback for you guys."
"Splendid!" Kliener added.
"If you like barbeques…" Magnusson murmured.
"The Magnusson is still as belligerent as ever." Uriah said behind them. The Vortigaunt had stayed with the group along with Lo-gen and Rezlan. The latter two were still working on some buildings back in the city. The help of the Vortigaunts was greatly accepted in City 17. It accelerated the building process a great deal.
"He's eating inside." Gordon added. The group laughed and walked outback. The terrace that Kliener had created was truly beautiful. There was a brick patio that was immediately outside through a sliding glass door. The backyard was on the side of a small hill, from which a perfect view of City 17 could be seen. The entire city could be viewed from the yard, which Kliener had fenced off for safety. They were not high above the city, but they were high enough to view it in its entirety. The old, decrepit canals had been obliterated by the explosion of the Citadel and did not hinder the beauty of the revived area.
"Hey Gordon." Gordon looked to his left at the woman at the grill. Alyx was working on it. She hadn't changed a bit since her rebel years. Years may have passed, but she still looked as beautiful as ever. She still had a fondness for jeans and still wore her gray Black Mesa hoodie, which she had patched up after the Hunter attack all those years ago. She showed no scars from that attack to this day, a result of the Vortigaunt healing. Two years after the events at Aperture Science, Magnusson became an ordained priest so he could marry the couple. They had been living at Black Forest with the others ever since.
"Hello beautiful." Gordon replied. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. He slowly kissed her on the lips. "The City's done."
"That's wonderful." She replied.
"How's he doing?" Gordon asked.
"He's fine. I think I felt him again today. He'll be so happy to see a complete city when he comes home."
"I'll be happy too." Gordon knelt down and kissed Alyx's stomach. She was seven-months pregnant. Dr. Kliener examined her a few months before and concluded that it was a boy. If it had been a girl, they were going to name her Judith Freeman, but as a boy, Eli Freeman. About a half hour later, Lo-gen and Rezlan arrived home and the group sat at the large picnic table outside to eat their food. Gordon stood up with his glass in his hand.
"Everybody. I'd like to make a toast. Today marks the tenth anniversary of the death of the G-Man and the destruction of GLaDOS. And now it marks the first day of the new City 17." Barney and Adrian started clapping. Gordon signaled for them to calm down. "Let us remember this day as the beginning of a new era. Let us remember this day not for the evils we faced all those years ago, but for the memories of friends we will remember forever. Let us take this moment to remember the fallen rebels from the war." Barney spoke up.
"For Eli Vance, Judith Mossman, and Zenlo! The greatest heroes this world has ever known!" he yelled with glass raised. Everyone else replied in the same with a loud "For the rebels!" Gordon continued his statement.
"And let us all live prosperous and long lives ourselves." Gordon said. He raised his glass and took a sip from his cup, as did the others. This statement seemed perfect in the mind of Gordon Freeman. In a way it was, because he knew when every ones' time would come, thanks to Zenlo's memories and visions. He had always refused to tell the others of their times, adhering to Zenlo's final wish. He didn't fret though. His life was happy and he knew he was too. He would be a father soon and he couldn't wait to see what that was like. He turned around to look at City 17 once again. The citizens recognized that the subtraction of the Citadel and the canals made the city seem smaller. However, as Gordon looked over the city, he realized that it was the most prosperous and largest city in the world to him. It was his home now, and it always would be, the home of the last Free Man. Gordon turned back to the table and ate with his friends.
THE END