"Answers"

Eleven

Quarantine Zone Omega couldn't come soon enough. We had driven just as hard to get back to the Quarantine Zone as we had to get to the EFH's base, just to get access to a damn DVD player. We didn't stop to talk to anyone was we tore into Jake's lab, opened the DVD player tray, and put the disc in, eager to discover what he had recorded on it. There were no menues, this was no professional DVD with an entertainment movie on it, this was more. The first thing we saw was Jake's face, staring at us through the television, a shrill coldness about him.

"The following is a confession, as well as a last will..." He spoke on the TV, his voice unshaken. "Before we begin, if there is anyone in the room not by any of the following names, please evacuate them. Emma Windsor. Zoey Mitchell. Trinsha Ballenfield. Saline Green." He paused. "If any of the previous people aren't assembled now, please pause this movie, and retrieve them. I have information for you all." We quickly did a look around, everyone he mentioned assembled, plus Francis. But we didn't think Jake would mind Francis hearing this. "What I have to say must not be spread around, as it could bring down the very foundation of what people know to be the truth. I know you're there, Francis, and I want you to leave too. Sorry, but this isn't for you." Francis cocked an eyebrow.

"Damn... he's good." He muttered, leaving the room.

"This message is for the light of my life, the reason I live and breathe... my beloved sister." He cleared his throat and continued, undaunted by the weight of the task at hand. "Trinny. We've been through a lot together, you and I. Aperture... Black Mesa... and this. We've been stalwart in the storm, and the winds have proven too weak to knock us down. You are everything to me, my sister, my love, my other half... the better half, mind you." Another pause. "I've done some horrible things in my life, sister. Horrible things I can never hope to make amends for. People have died while following me, and even now as another loved one teeters of the edges of life and death, many more yet will die in my name, or by what I have done. This isn't easy, sister, but this must be said. When this movie is done... when you lay down to sleep this night... if sleep ever comes to you again, I want you to find a file on my computer... it will be called Aegis. Run that program, and read what it has to say. That is all I can say here." He paused again, clearing his throat between speeches.

"This message is for my second love, a woman who I have killed many times, who keeps coming back... stronger and stronger each time, Emma Windsor, or Melissa Cronson, if you so prefer. I've told you a cruel half-truth about who you were before the Infection, and I want to clarify what really happened. Melissa Cronson and I were no mere acquaintances. Quite the opposite, really. Melissa and I had been... dating for about seven weeks. The day I met you... her... at the airport, my intentions were not initially infection... but answers... and a confession. I had planned to propose to her that day... to hopefully bring a happy end to both of our miserable lives. Unfortunately... there was too much hate in Melissa... too much rage at humanity for any kind of real affection to blossom. So I did the only thing I could. I gave her a new life, one free of hate and rage... one where she could love who she wanted... be it me or another. Emma... if you open the cabinet under my desk... left side top drawer... you'll find the ring I was going to give to Melissa... it's a sour reminder now, and I want you to have it... give it to Zoey. Get your little house in the city... live the happy life I could never have." He paused again, closed his eyes and inhaled, holding it before continuing.

"This next message is for Saline Green, a woman who has managed to steal away my heart in more ways then one..." He paused again, this time more for effect. "I've not told you this... but Marie and I both agree that the test results are conclusive." He looked around the desk before him for a moment before producing a piece of paper very alien to me. "Saline... you're pregnant..." He muttered very matter-of-factly before dropping the paper. "And yes, before you ask, it's mine. That night we had..." Trinsha paused it, glaring at Saline.

"When the hell did this happen!" She growled, more out of frustration then anything.

"When... when we returned from Quarantine Zone Delta... we... slept together then..."

"Dammit, that little nerd..." Trinsha growled again, resuming the movie.

"...together was special, and I want you to know that... raise our son or daughter with only happy memories of their father. I don't want my mistakes to blemish their lives. I know you can do this, Saline. You're a survivor, just like us all." There came another pause.

"And now... for Zoey." He stared hard at the screen. "If my calculations are correct, the Mark II F.E.V. should be just about done reconstructing her, and she should be waking up any moment now... Yes... Emma... I knew Zoey would die... and I knew you would bring her back. I've planned more of this out then anyone would know. Don't ask how, but that's the truth." All of us looked at one another with a sour realization.

"Zoey!" We all shouted in unison, Trinsha pausing the DVD while we all tore out of the room to check on Zoey. We had left her in the back of the truck as we had all pulled in to the Quarantine Zone, completely forgetting almost entirely about her. We had all arrived to a most interesting sight. Zoey was sitting up in the truck, looking very awe-struck, looking about the loading dock, before her eyes fell on us.

"This isn't right..." She mused, looking around to us all. "I'm... dead... I should be dead!" She thought for a moment. "Wait..." She paused, her brain clicking to something. "Jake... you didn't..." Rage filled her eyes as she stood. "Where is that little rat bastard, I'll kill him for this!"

"Zoey..." Trinsha began, her eyes filling with tears. "Jake... died... Saving you was his last act... Come on... there's something you need to see..." She lead Zoey, along with the rest of us, back to the lab where the DVD remained on the screen, untouched. She sat Zoey down and rewound to the beginning of the part relative to her.

"... Zoey... if you're alive right now, I'm sorry. I know you said you wanted to die like a normal human... I know you wanted to go out of life as you had come in, cold and alone, bleeding to death in some god-forsaken battlefield... but that's not where you belong... death doesn't have to come for you. I betrayed your trust, yes... but for the best reasons. Zoey... the woman you know as Emma Windsor... means more to me then you'll ever realize. I brought you back, because you deserve someone like her in your life... and she deserves someone like you. Don't hurt her, or I swear to god I'll eviscerate you." He paused, leaned back in the seat, and smiled, looking very satisfied.

"Other then that, you have done everything expected of you until this time. Now, I only need a little more of your time and effort. Trinsha... bring everyone to Black Mesa East. Doctor Kliner can help you with what will come next. Everything you and I have ever worked for have been for this." He kissed a two of his fingers, and placed them on the camera lens. "I love you, Trinny. Now and forever. Don't let this idiot's sacrifice be in vein. Good bye." The sound of a door opening caught his attention as he clicked the video off, the DVD going to a blue screen. Everyone stared blankly at the screen as the weight of everything settled in.

"What... do we do now?" Zoey aked, looking still a little pale. Trinsha shook her head, removed her glasses and wiped her eyes.

"We do what Jake always wanted..." Replacing her glasses, she turned off the television and ejected the DVD. "We go to Ravenholme."

"Where's that?"

"Ravenholme's a little town on the coast, near New York. There's a lab there run by one of our old research friends from Black Mesa... It shouldn't take us long to get there." Back not even half an hour, and we were already heading out. "We'll need to pick up an extra hand, though. I have a friend in the Quarantine Zone... she's good with a gun and can help us. You all wait at the truck, I shouldn't be long." Everyone nodded and collected their things, returning to the truck they arrived in.

-Ten Minutes Later-

Trinsha returned to the truck about ten minutes later with a new person in tow. She was about Trinsha's height, and about her build. She had beautiful blonde hair, tied into the strangest pair of drills off the sides of her head. She wore a cute brown beret on her head, her entire ensemble outfit looking like something out of a magical girl anime. "Sorry about the delay everyone. This is an on-line friend of mine, Mami Tomoe." Mami bowed and smiled to everyone.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Trinsha-san... told me about what happened. I'm sorry for your loss." Her smile faded for a moment, reflecting on those lost.

"We can't sit here and be sad all day. We've got a world to save." Mami's smiled returned, with a bit of boundless determination added in. Now that I looked at her, in mix with her strange way of saying Trinsha's name, she looked a bit oriental... Japanese, maybe.

"You're right." Trinsha confirmed, patting Mami on the back. "Mami here is an expert marksman, and will prove an asset."

"What brings you out here?" I asked as we piled into the car. I figured we had about a day's drive ahead of us. I could make conversation.

"School, actually." She responded. "I was part of the foreign exchange program in my old school, and happened to be sent here just before the infection. Needless to say, I was unable to return home."

"And the whole... gun thing?" Mami smiled as she climbed into the back of the truck with us.

"I like guns. It gets my frustration out."

"I like her!" Francis chimed in. "Can we keep her?"

"Wow..." Zoey mused. "A hundred and fifty three things you hate, and one you like. New record, Francis."

"You've been counting?" He blurted out.

"Yes. Yes I have." Zoey responded. Mami laughed a little at this.

Ending Author's Note: I'M BA~ACK! Sorry about the delay, had a horrible rash of "Shitty RL stuff" mixed in with an attack by Sir Writer's Block. Should be back on the circuit now. And a new character! This one is a crossover from my favorite series to date. See if you can tell which.