An empty black void of nothingness was dead quiet, though at the same time far from still. Streaks of white flew past, like shooting stars in the night. Not a soul seemed to exist here. Certainly nothing human. However, a humanoid creature did appear to reside here. He had the appearance of a man, pale-white skinned and middle aged, his gray hair trimmed to a flat top. Perhaps the most striking thing about his appearance, aside from the red tie that clashed with his all blue suit or the briefcase he always had in his hands, were his unnaturally green eyes. Whether or not he had any real name didn't seem to matter, although he was known by one name in particular.

"The Gman," said a voice. The man- assuming he even was one- turned his head over his shoulder. Staring him down with an insincere smile plastered on his face, stood a man with long blonde hair, wearing a much more casual outfit compared to the so-called Gman. The Gman said nothing, instead eyeing this new visitor carefully. Taking this as cue to keep talking, the visitor continued. "At least, that's what everyone calls you where I'm from. I don't know what your real name is. Hell, I don't know if you even have one."

The Gman turned to face his visitor, a joyless smile resting on his face. "What an… interesting turn of events," he said in the stilted and awkward way he always tended to speak. "It's not often that someone is… able to come here of their own… free will." He began to walk towards the visitor. "Nor is it exactly… natural for someone to want to… be here."

"I guess I'm just funny like that," the visitor replied, walking closer to the man. "I suppose you could say I'm interested in a… business proposition. Exciting, huh?"

The two met face to face, standing about a foot away from each other. "I am not sure you understand just… how this works," the Gman said. "You see, I am nothing more than just… the middle man. I work on behalf of my… employers. I only do what they ask of me. And, in a most unfortunate turn of events for you, they are… not open to offers, at this moment in time." He straightened his tie. "However, I can do my best to… put in a good word, as they say."

The visitor smiled. "Oh, I don't know," he muttered. "I think your employers don't really matter in this conversation."

The Gman frowns. "And what, if you do not mind me… asking, gives you such an idea?"

The visitor smirked. He held up his left hand, then snapped his fingers. The snap rang out throughout the black void of shooting stars as he rested his arm at his side. "I think they might be a bit… preoccupied," he said with a devilish smile.

The Gman frowned. He seemed a bit out of it for a moment, as if lost in thought. After a few moments, his face turned to one of surprise. "What did you do?" he asked silently.

"Nothing I haven't done before," a voice said from behind him. The Gman looked over his shoulder. Somehow, his visitor was now behind him, walking towards him with his hand outstretched. Before he could react, the visitor wrapped his arm around his neck. "Come," he said. "Walk with me. I have such wonderful things to show you."

And they walked. For the first time since the Vortigaunts had trapped him, the Gman felt like he was not in control. His body moved on its own without any input from him. As they walked, the void around them seemed to still. The stars didn't pass by. The only blackness around them faded into a blinding white. After some time, the visitor let him go, continuing to walk a little more before stopping and turning around. With a dramatic flair, he announced! "Welcome… to the Canvas Space!" As he walked back to the Gman, he continued. "Yes, the Canvas Space! The Source! The building blocks of all fictional realities. A blank white piece of paper. Everything starts here! A drawing, a novel, a script, a comic, an animation, an idea- a thought. All of it and more, right here, right now. "

He placed his hands on the Gman's shoulders, who stood in stunned silence. "I'm working on something big here, you see. Specifically, that." He pointed over the Gman's shoulder, who in turn looked over it. Behind him, where he had surely just come from, was a giant orb of darkness with two smaller orbs inside of it. In the center lay an orb showing a city with a retro-futuristic look to it. Beside it, an orb displaying a workshop with a plane hangar on the side of it overlooking the seaside. Suddenly, a new orb came flying in, as if it had been thrown just above him. Inside of it was some kind of white, top-like space station, overlooking planet earth.

"Hey, Gary!" the visitor yelled. The Gman looked in front of him. "Gary Man!" the visitor yelled again, before laughing. The Gman stood there, unamused. As his laughter died down, the visitor sighed. "Ugh, you're such a wet rag." He cleared his throat. "Alright alright, proper introduction time. I'm a visitor, you see. More specifically I'm the Visitor. I'm a pan-dimensional avatar of a writer currently in the process of making his own reality here in the canvas space. The same one behind you. I'm creating it by ripping apart other realities and taking what I like, leaving what I'm not interested in and well, moving on with my day. For example!"

He began walking around as he spoke, talking with his hands as much as his words. "Your so-called employers are an unseen force in the Half-Life franchise- that's what you're from- and I gotta say, as fun as that is for speculation, as a writer, I must say, really fucking annoying. What a convenient excuse for you to just get away with doing the bare minimum and still being so mysterious and powerful and ah, God, if I include that aspect of you in this world it's gonna be such a headache. I can already see the reviews piling in! 'Oh, what about the employers? Who are they?' 'Are you gonna explain who Gman's employers are' Blah, blah, blah, no, no, no, I just- I genuinely just don't care." He took a moment to let out a big sigh before continuing. "So naturally, I just got rid of them."

The Gman's eyes widened. "Oh no, you heard me right," the Visitor continued. "I got rid of them. Just too much of a hassle. Didn't wanna deal with it! So I wiped them from existence, which, oh so conveniently for me, means you're currently unemployed. Oh, and would you look at that! That business offer I proposed? Why, it's a job offer. How utterly convenient."

The Gman frowned. "And what, may I ask, gives you the… idea, that I would be willing to… work for you?"

The Visitor grinned, approaching the Gman menacingly. "Oh, because I'm not asking, G-" he grabbed his wrist tightly, "-I'm telling you that this is your new job."

Slowly, the Visitor started twisting the Gman's wrist. For the first time in a long time, pain rang throughout his wrist as the Visitor twisted harder. "I don't think you understand what's going on here," the Visitor said in a hushed tone as the Gman cringed from the pain, "so let me say this in corporate speak for you."

Twist.

"I just bought out one-hundred percent of the company's shares."

Twist.

"I fired everyone on the board of directors."

Twist.

"I'm filling those seats with my own people."

Twist!

"And now I'm ready to take this god damn company in a bold, new direction the likes of which history has never seen before!"

Twiiist!

Upon finally letting go of his arm, the Visitor watched as the Gman dropped his briefcase and clutched his right wrist in pain, dropping to his knees. His right hand was now partially dislocated, and the shock on his face showed just how well he was taking it. "Wonder how many people have wanted to do that very thing to you before," the Visitor muttered. "Well, who cares. You understand our arrangement now, right?" He leaned down, looming over the businessman.

"What…" the Gman muttered through gritted teeth, "is my… job?"

The Visitor smiled, before handing him a picture of a man in a labcoat. "This is Professor Paradox," he explained. "He's kinda you, except in a bet with him right now. He's trying to stop me from building my reality. Obviously, I won't be sitting around and letting him just do that. You're gonna keep tabs on him. To do that, I've given you the ability to walk across realities. I'll also task you with speaking to some people to introduce them to concepts or ideas. You'll start with her…" He handed him another photo, this time of a woman. "Ms. Nora Wakeman. I'll give you details later. Once you're done writhing in pain, that is."

As the Visitor turned to leave, the Gman stood up, still clutching his wrist. "Where… are you going?"

The Visitor shrugged. "I'm gonna throw a car into Tremorton just to see what happens." Walking off, he added, "Maybe a treadmill, too. I'll decide later."

The Gman watched him, stunned. He couldn't believe what had just happened. All he knew was he needed a way out of this mess.

Author's Note: Remember to review. To find out where that car went, read My Life a Robot Girlfriend.