"A thing is symmetrical if there is something you can do to it so that after you have finished doing it,
it looks the same as before,"
Hermann Weyl
Rin felt her head to throb. Aching from the stress that had been piling up for just the past three days. Three days.
Three godforsaken days and that's all it took for the whole of Kivotos to break down for the past week. Everywhere she looked around, smoke would rise high, the KSPD overwhelmed, and every academy scrambling to secure their own districts.
If that's wasn't enough, the seven prisoners also broke from their jails. Since she had no authority over the SRT, the rest was left for imagination.
Her grip on the pen harden before it snapped in half like twig.
Words couldn't describe her pent up stress and fatigue mixing with rage at… everything. The sheer chaos, the incompetence, and at HER for just…
Disappearing.
She couldn't help it, she just… need something- someone to blame. Someone for her to lean on, to… anything!
Yet there is nothing.
Her breath hitches as her eyes linger back to the letter that had been sitting opened on her desk. Again and again she scrounged for an answer, like she had missed something in that last letter the President had written before she just… vanished.
Again and again, she skimmed it up and down, left and right, as if every problem in Kivotos would disappear by doing that.
Rinny,
I'm sorry.
I must go somewhere far and I don't know when I'll be back, but... I trust you can handle the rest. You're strong! Cool and smart! And if you need a shoulder to lean on… I have entrusted someone to help you. A trustworthy adult. A teacher that'll act as the head of SCHALE.
He may seem quiet at first, but he's just shy.
You'll know who he is when you meet him. Please guide him around Kivotos, and tell him what he needs to know. He is not from around here and it's best to start from scratch.
And another thing, please give him the thing I had in the locked room in my office.
It's his after all.
And when you reach SCHALE, don't forget to give him the Shittim Chest and fix whatever problems I had caused by leaving you.
Please, rely on him as I did on you.
Only him, The One Free Man, can save Kivotos.
It's the nth time she had read this letter. The nth time she put it down and the nth time her eyes hyper-focused on the last sentence.
The One Free Man.
What does it mean? Only HER and God knows!
She tossed the broken pen aside before leaning to the table, with her hand supporting the ever-growing weight on her head and another exasperated sigh left her lips before she leaned back in the chair.
She doesn't know if she could survive another week like this.
RING RING RING!
Her phone rings. Interrupting whatever thoughts she had churned in her cranium.
RING RING RING!
There's nothing else she can do but to answer it.
"Yes?"
"Um, Acting President Rin? There are students from the big three that's urging for a meeting with you. U-Um… what should I tell them?"
Goddammit. This again.
"…I'll… come down to meet them myself. Thank you."
"Okay. Um, other than that…"
"Yes?"
"Please, d-don't push yourself too hard."
"Don't worry about me. I'll try my best. And you should too, Ayumu."
Then she closed the call.
She still felt that throbbing in her head, though maybe… this could be something worth her time or a huge waste of her energy.
She already had an idea what they're going to talk about.
The same thing again and again, and she had no power to fix any of it. Merely delaying until the back of the camel finally breaks.
-=-=-=-=-=-=(λ)=-=-=-=-=-=-
Another round of headaches came into Rin's head as she heard the never ending extra rounds of complaints around Kivotos.
"You must understand, we're still trying our best in these times."
"That is why bring out the President already! Thousands of academy districts are in panic! Our academy's wind generator shut down just a few days ago!"Yuuka shouts, her expression almost matching the stress Rin has.
"There are also rumors a student under the Federal Corrections Bureau's custody has escaped." Chinatsu spoke up next. "The Prefect Team already got a lot on our plate regarding our… troublemakers, and any more problems that's currently rising in Kivotos will cause Gehenna a larger problem for the future." Chinatsu pointed out.
"We're aware. But we're spread thin as it is-"
"…Then there's also has been a sharp increase in the number of thugs attacking our students on their way to school. Public safety is not being properly enforced, and right now… as much as I hate to admit it, Trinity is on the same boat with Gehenna." Hasumi cut her off. "And that's not including the illegal distribution of tanks, choppers, and other unknown weapons have increased by over 2000 percent." Then she finished.
"And what is the General Student Council president doing during such a sorry state of affairs?! If this goes on, we may just kiss our ordinary life goodbye! I demand to see her right this instant!" Yuuka kept her rage, pointing a finger at Rin.
Rin grits her teeth, holding back her anger as she clenched her fists. "That… is currently impossible." She whispers. "The president is not here at the moment. To be frank, she's gone missing."
"What?!" Yuuka's eyes widen in horror and her mouth widen for a gasp along with Chinatsu's
"So… the rumors are true…" Hasumi looks away. Hiding her surprise
"Is there… really nothing to be done?" Chinatsu asks.
Rin shook her head. "No. Because of her disappearance, The General Student Council has no authority. We had been searching for a way to bypass the need for verification, and yet… there's no avail." She closed her eyes before opening them.
"This is currently the best thing we could do. We'll… try to keep everything stable until a breakthrough reveals themselves-"
Then, like the devil had spoken, hasty footsteps came across the hallway and Ayumu's voice cut through the tense conversation.
"Acting President! Um… t-there's someone else that needs to see you! Its…"
Rin already felt disdain.
"Is it another representative from the academies, Ayumu?"
"N-No! It's an… adult!"
Everyone stopped in their tracks for a moment at that information.
"What?! Why would an adult come here?" Yuuka asked in surprise.
"Considering the current state of Kivotos, it's not… really impossible if an adult would like to visit. But it's rare indeed." Hasumi answers.
"Right, I'll meet with them right away, after I'm done with these… irk- I mean important representatives."
"But, um, Vice-President, he said that it's… urgent. Really urgent." Ayumu continued.
"…Alright. Then I should see what the adult wanted first." With a nod, they walked away from the trio.
"Wait! Ugh! I'm coming with!" Yuuka followed behind. "You're probably going to leave us, anyway!"
"Fine." Rin sighs, looking back with Chinatsu and Hasumi following Yuuka's lead. "Come on."
The group entered the lift, and Ayumu pressed on the button. Closing the door as the lift descended with haste.
"Did he tell you anything, Ayumu?" Rin asked.
"N-No, Vice-President. He um- he just said it's important and he would like to talk to you only."
That's not suspicious at all. Or she's just being paranoid, and it's probably a disgruntled businessman or civilian.
Quickly enough, the lift ended it's descent and the group poured out from it. Walking away for a few quick steps and Ayumu walked ahead.
"Um, sir… I've brought the Vice-President here."
Rin kept a stoic expression as the man rose up from the sofa. He wore a fine buttoned up blue shirt with… a ridiculous red and black striped tie. Looking down the man also wore white trousers and black, business shoes.
Other than his attire, he had a well-groomed goatee and thick, black-rimmed glasses that he adjusted.
"You specifically asked for me, sir? How can the GSC help you?" Rin kept her most formal expression, trying to hide her tint of annoyance and exhaustion.
The man didn't say anything at first. He looked at her, then at the other girls behind her. She saw at how his eyes would widen for a second before he closed it.
Perhaps he is surprised to see other students here?
He kept silent for a few seconds.
"Are you Nanagami Rin, Vice President for the… General Student Council of Kivotos?"
How… odd? It's understandable if he wanted to verify her identity, but he sounded like he's trying to process all of this. Like he was new somehow. And that line "Of Kivotos" really made her question who this man is.
"Yes. That is me."
He paused for a moment. His hand reached for his tie before straightening it.
"I'm… Gordon Freeman.
The General Student Council President called me here to help."
-=-=-=-=-=-=(λ)=-=-=-=-=-=-
Gordon wake up just like when he had arrived in City 17 right after that… blue-haired, haloed girl spoke her piece. He is on another train, except this time, the train was almost packed with… more haloed girls and… animal… people... alongside of living machines.
Though he can't get his eyes off from the girls.
Most particularly at the all kinds of firearms the girls had. He saw rifles, shotguns, pistols, and… is that a fucking grenade launcher?
He thought the shock that was City 17 and the fate of Earth had dealt a great blow that he hadn't had time to process, but this?
This is just too absurd. Even for him, that had gone face to face against zombies, augmented people, and aliens. Big and small.
It's probably a- prop or maybe it shoots rubber bullets- or something!
Just as then, the awful thought came.
What if- what if he was tasked with fighting kids?
To shoot lead in between their eyes,
to disintegrate them with the pulse rifle,
to break their bones with the gravity gun,
to turn them into fine mist by grenades and rockets,
to tear them apart with antlions,
and smash their skulls in with a crowbar
"You have destroyed so much. What is it, exactly, that you have created?
Can you name even one thing? I thought not."
His heart beats faster. Feeling as every breath he took grew heavier, taking the influx of air faster and faster and faster until he can't even feel it anymore. Feeling as worried eyes looking back at him from the other passengers, until… he stopped.
"Are you alright buddy?" A dog man with had a scar on his cheek asked worriedly.
Gordon looked back at the… dog man. Studying his expression and the blue clothes he had under his apron.
He kept staring at… him before he offers the dog a nod and a shaky smile.
"Hmm. You've been quite a lot huh?" The dog tilted his head. "…I don't know what kind of stuff you've been through, but if you need someone to talk to,"
The dog reached into his pockets and offered a name card.
"I have a ramen shop out in Abydos."
Then the train came to a stop.
"Shamhat Station. Shamhat station."
"Guess that's my call." The dog huffs. "I'll see you around." He gave the man a firm nod before leaving out the train along with a good chunk of the passengers, some giving him looks and others are left to their own devices.
After what felt like an eternity, the doors close, and the train moved again. Leaving him alone with his thoughts for now.
Gordon grasped his chest. Breathing in… and out. In… and out. Calming himself for the moment with every single tragedy and trauma he had endured. Through the absurdity of the situation, he found calmness.
There are no soldiers, no combine, no… monsters.
The dog man… he's probabl- definitely not a monster.
They're just… people. Civilians going on with their daily lives just like… him at the moment. He closed his eyes and let the sounds of the train fill his ears and change whatever turmoil inside his heart.
He reopened his eyes, and he just realized… the great blue sky, and bright sun outside.
Gordon couldn't help but to stare at the image. Cities more modern than he thought filled his eyes. The sea, twinkling like stars from the sunlight… and the blimp moving about in the sky, displaying a screen too blurry for him to see.
Yet… other than that, what really made him stop was the halo above it, and the halo above the sky. Like the entire city was a living entity on its own… a dreamlike scape. There are no words he could say to describe how... breathtaking it was.
He wanted to take a picture of it. He thought of a command for the suit until he realized… that he was out of the HEV suit. Instead, he was wearing something along the lines of his usual outfit back in Black Mesa.
Yes, even with the striped tie.
Knowing the tie-wearing twat, and what he said back then in Black Mesa, of him "earning" the suit, it's just going to be a matter of time before he reunites with it.
…or rather, how.
Okay. He had calmed down for now. Bury those horrible thoughts and memories away in the depths of his mind. The blood in his hands and the blood coating him.
He took another deep breath before thinking about another topic.
Where exactly did that anomalous asshole brough him this time? It was clear he wasn't on Earth. Is he in heaven? Is this the true heaven, or at least what his mind made it to be? Another dimension? Another time and space?
…Should he even wonder the reality and nature of this?
He shifts in the seat. Right now, the best course of action is to wait. Wait and… see where the train takes him. His hand idly went to the empty seat next to him and something brushed his fingertips. And there sat a manila folder with his name on it that he swore wasn't there in the first place.
Opening it, the manila folder holds a letter.
A letter for him.
"Freeman-sensei.
Sensei, I know this is not going to make sense to you… but I hope you can understand. For now… I want to say, welcome to Kivotos. If you're reading this, then the station is probably already moving from Shamhat station to Kousagi Station."
Right on cue, the train's announcement rang.
"Kousagi Station. The train is nearing Kousagi Station. Please gather your belongings and stand safely behind the yellow line because the train is going to stop soon."
And then, with a few more seconds, the train stopped and his eyes went back to the letter.
"This is when you should get off."
So he did.
"The station is near the Sanctum Tower, or the General Student Council building, the tallest one in the DU and Kivotos. When you arrive there, ask for Nanagami Rin and when she came, say that you're here to help, and you've been sent by me.
You'll know her when you see her.
Rinny will help you sensei. Trust her and the others.
She's my best friend and Vice President after all.
Again, I'm really really sorry for asking for this favor again, sensei. I promise, this will all make sense over the courtesy of-
Something I'm not in liberty to say.
Goodluck, sensei."
Folding the letter, Gordon made his way as the letter said. Taking a quick walk towards this "Sanctum Tower", passing animals, robots, and…
Gunshots?
'Are those gunshots?'
It doesn't sound like rubber-
No…
Fuck.
Is his horrible hunch... correct?!
So he sprinted, bursting open the doors of the Sanctum Tower with his heart thumping inside his chest. All activity inside stopped as they glanced at the curious man with glasses, huffing and puffing his way inside.
His lips parted to speak and yet…
Speak.
Speak.
Speak.
The stress, the anger, the anguish.
Speak.
Speak.
Speak.
The weight.
Speak.
Speak.
Speak.
"Can we… um, help you sir?" A girl asked. Haloed like the others, her expression soft and gentle as she brushed her long blonde hair.
Speak.
Speak.
Speak.
His lips parted for the second time.
Speak.
Speak.
Speak.
Her expression worried and confused as his lips trembled without a voice.
Speak.
Speak.
Speak.
Then he held his head, slouching down for a moment as a sudden headache made itself known. Causing the haloed girl to rush at him.
"Sensei, be brave."
"Are you alright?!" The blonde's voice cut through him.
He looked at her, and then…
"I need to see Nanagami Rin."
-=-=-=-=-=-=(λ)=-=-=-=-=-=-
Rin felt her eyes widen.
Gordon Freeman.
Freeman.
"The One Free Man." Rin mouthed, catching Gordon off guard and the others confused.
"I- suppose that is true as… well." Gordon gave a miniature nod.
'that… nickname, came back, huh?'
Calming herself, Rin thoughts came back at the letter and the man right in front of her. Rin clears her throat. "The president sent you… right?"
"Yes. I did say so."
"Then you must know here she is! Please, tell me." Rin asks, desperate for closure, yet what she saw was… sorrow.
"I don't know. We met on a train before she- sent me here." He didn't know if he should tell the… elf? about the corporate cunt.
"I-I see. Thank you." Rin looked down before the silence came along.
"Then… um, do you know why did the President disappear?" Another elf spoke up. This time she was blonde and wearing something along the lines of a field medic. "Ah! Um, I'm… Hinomiya Chinatsu. By the way. You may call me Chinatsu, Mr. Freeman."
"Nice to meet you… Chinatsu." Gordon nodded. "…I'm sorry but, I don't know. Really don't… know."
Rin let out a shaky breath before she steeled herself. "No, it's alright, Freeman-sensei."
"Sensei?" Yuuka glanced at Rin.
"Rin?" It was Ayumu's turn to ask.
Inhale. Exhale.
"Let me start this again, sensei. Welcome to Kivotos, the academy city.
I'm Nanagami Rin. The current Vice President and- currently the Acting President since her disappearance."
Only him, The One Free Man, can save Kivotos.
"Please, help us save the city." Rin bows, letting her long hair to flow down from her shoulders and to the floor, really stopping every activity around the tower with the gesture as every eyes went at the interaction between the adult and the Acting President.
Gordon took a few steps back.
This again… why should he be surprised?
The weight on his shoulder and the pedestal he stood on. Risen as a messiah when he's just a scientist in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world."
He felt the growing weight before he steeled himself at the same song and dance he had known. First, saving himself and a handful of his colleagues from the fucked up situation that is Black Mesa before it turned to a saving the whole world from an alien invasion from Xen.
Recently, once more, sparking an entire uprising for the world to rise up. And now… saving the city and these kids from… something.
All of it just the same fucking weight upon his shoulders.
Why. Him?
"That's why she sent for me." He answers, and offering the girls a shaky smile. "But you must tell me what we're dealing with."
Rin nodded. "To make it short, we're facing a crisis, sensei. Because of her disappearance, we can't manage the city. Power outages, crimes, and… many more are rising every day and there's nothing we can do but to… at least delay the inevitable."
She paused before her eyes met his. "But now… we have you."
Inhale.
Exhale.
"What do you want me to do?"
-=-=-=-=-=-=(λ)=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Acting President, are you sure we should be here?" The girl- the busty girl named Hasumi asked as the group stepped out of the elevator and marching forward to the highest office in the tower.
Gordon can't help but to wipe his glasses for the nth time today just because of her… proportions that's too far gone from her age. Not even her wings had surprised him that much.
In his mind, he had made some hypothesis.
One, either she had a massive, natural growth spurt that was unheard of, or perhaps had already been heard before, since this is not in his department of science.
Two, there's something in Kivotos that… really, really helped in her… body.
Three, he's hallucinating this, and he is already dead in the Citadel.
"Because you three… trustworthy representatives are going to help Freeman-sensei in taking care of the problems in the DU."
"What?! Why us?!" The girl with the twin tails, Yuuka as she had introduced herself, protested.
"Because air support is close to impossible. One of the seven prisoners had caused chaos to the place sensei is supposed to be." Rin answers. "We'll have to go on foot... and sensei needs all the help he could get."
The door of the office was opened, a dull, yet well furnished location accompanied with nothing more but a laptop, stacks of paper, and a half empty cup of coffee.
"I never would've expected to step foot here…" Yuuka mused. "It's… far from what I had expected, really."
"The office is a little dim ever since we had lost control over the tower. Sorry if it falls flat from your expectation."
"Wh- that's not what I meant acting President-"
"If you don't mind me asking, acting President, what are we looking for, exactly?" Hasumi followed up with a question soon after and changing the topic.
Rin didn't answer. She scoured the bookshelf and then-
"Here."
And she put her identification card on the hidden compartment.
"ID CONFIRMED."
Rumbles were heard all around, accompanied by the sounds of pistons and gears twisting and pulling, and catching the group in surprise at whatever she had done.
"Acting President?!" Yuuka spoke first before her eyes laid at the walls.
Before long, a door opened itself, and letting the light to pour out from it.
"Come on." Rin waved her hand.
Entering it, was truly… a strange feeling. The hidden room was small, yet it held something that needed to be hid well. Something that she had kept for some time.
"I had no idea…" Hasumi looked around.
Cables and tubes, beeping devices and blinking buttons, and the eye catching large, glass tube was in the middle of it with some sort of a fog hiding whatever it held.
"What is… going on here, Acting President?" Chinatsu asked, a little worried.
"What is that?" Yuuka walked to it, looking at it up and down, and restraining herself from touching the glass.
An understandable feeling. Even Gordon is a little put on edge.
Rin, like before, kept her silence. It's better for them to see than for her to explain. She dusted a device off and pressed her face on it. With a hum… the device's light turns green… and the canister opened, causing Yuuka to jump back.
"The President had been tinkering with this by herself, and just before she disappeared, Freeman-sensei," Rin ignored Yuuka and the others, focusing everything on the adult.
"She said, this is yours."
His best friend that had saved his life countless times. Who had been there for hell and back from the entire beginning of the unforeseen consequences of the experiments Black Mesa had done.
Black and orange. Iron and silicone.
Pristine and brand new. Gone with the blood and dirt that once had covered it from head to toe.
His body shook and trembled as his hand touched the emblem that had haunted his life ever since he had stepped out from that transit on that faithful day.
It all came back to this.
Just like he had expected. They had been reunited once again.
Clicks and hiss, and he fits right into it like a glove and the voice of his best friend and savior echoes around the room, followed by the familiar orange, holographic image glowing in his glasses.
H.E.V. (Hazardous Environment Vehicle) Mark VI
05 v42.124082006-7 firmware vOcT10-2007
Standby for Main Systems Startup
C:\HEV\mnge\diagnostic\
C:\HEV\mnge\diagnostic\
C:\HEV\system\pgrm\util\
C:\HEV...
"Welcome to the HEV Mark 6 Protective System,
for use in hazardous environment conditions."
USER ID# 4176
FREEMAN, GORDON
HEIGHT: 5FT 11.986 IN
WEIGHT: 192.73 LB
CALCULATING FIT ADJUSTMENTS…
DONE
"High-impact reactive armor activated."
REACTIVE ARMOR SYSTEM (H.I.R.A)
MULTIDIRECTIONAL SENSORY ARRAYS – READY
HIGH IMPACT INPACT ABSORPTION/DISTRIBUTION GRID – READY
POWER MANAGEMENT UTILITY – READY
"Atmospheric contaminant sensors activated."
ATMOSPHERIC CONTAMINANT SENSORS
SENSOR ARRAYS – ACTIVATED
GEIGER-MOLLER INSTRUMENT – ACTIVATED
"Vital signs monitoring activated.
Automatic medical systems engaged."
AUTOMATIC MEDICAL SYSTEM COMPONENTS
BIOMETRIC MONITORING SYSTEMS- READY
MORPHINE ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM- READY
ANTITOXIN ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM- READY
"Defensive weapon selection system activated.
DEFENSIVE WEAPON SELECTION SYSTEM
WEAPONS REGISTRY/DATABASE- ONLINE
MENU SELECTION- ONLINE
ACQUISITION DETECTION SENSORS (PALMS)- ACTIVATED
INSTANT WEAPONS STORAGE SYSTEMS - ONLINE
N/A
"Munition level monitoring activated."
MUNITION LEVEL MONITORING
MUNITIONS DETECTION AND MONITOR PROTOCOL – ACTIVATED
"Communications interface online."
ONBOARD COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
WIRELESS RADIO MICROPHONE/RECEIVER - ONLINE
DALSYS TELECOM TRANSMITTER/RECEIVER - ONLINE
DALSYS TOPS MODULE - ENABLED
DALSYS SECURITY NETWORK INTERFACE - ONLINE
VOICE SYSTEMS READOUT - READY
"Have a very safe day."
Author's note:
Well, there it is. Welcome to the 2nd chapter!
Yes, I did just use the Black Mesa's HEV start up because it's the GOAT and no, I'm not going to write how Gordon wore the suit. But I'd like to imagine it opening in the back like a Power Armor.
Other than that, about this fic,
My focus will and still be with Hans-sensei, and I will seldom update Gordon's journey in Kivotos alongside my main fic just... slowly. Hell, even the outline of this fic is still on progress(kek)
Other than that, I hope I had written well and could reflect on who and what Gordon is underneath the suit. Just a scientist, forced to be something else entirely.
Lastly, like always, please point out any grammatical hiccups or typos in the comments because there's bound to be something I miss.
Phew, that's all for today.