//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 Dark Energy // Story: Black Bloom 2 // by Bronycommander //------------------------------// Chapter 9: Dark Energy Apple Bloom regained consciousness after she was knocked out by a Elite Soldier. The filly could only remember that she and her family were knocked out and the ther rebels killed after being overrun. She was again in the Citadel. She, Jacob, Mia and Konrad were in Breen’s office again. “So Apple Bloom, we meet again.” Breen walked to her. “Don’t even dare!” “Jacob, I see you really care for her. Tell me, why would fight against your own colleagues?” “Because they hurt and almost killed her, if I had not saved her!” Konrad was in rage but even with all the strengh it gave him, he couldn't break free. “Well, Konrad, I can understand this. Since you all wanted to do the right thing, I will offer you immunity and a better life. You all could live as a family and be proud of serving our Benefactors.” “Let her go! She didn’t do anything, she’s still a child!” Mia begged for mercy. “It’s up to you. I’ll give you a few minutes to think over my offer.” They were brought away. While not showing it, Breen’s heart broke at the sight of a scared and crying Apple Bloom. After a while Gordon arrived. Breen was talking with Eli. “Carbon stars with ancient satellites colonized by sentient fungi. Gas giants inhabited by vast meteorological intelligences. Worlds stretched thin across the membranes where dimensions intersect... Impossible to describe with our limited vocabulary!” “What I've seen is also beyond words, Breen. Genocide... indescribable evil...” he spotted Gordon. “Good God.” “Well, if it isn't Gordon Freeman, at last.” Breen pushed a button to get Freeman closer to him. “What's this? Oh, put it over there.” He spoke to an Elite that carried the gravity gun. “You have my gratitude, Doctor. First you lead me straight to the doorstep of my oldest friend and then you deliver yourself. If I'd known you were going come straight up to my office, I wouldn't have bothered hunting you in the first place. Having both of you in my keeping ensures I can dictate the terms of any bargain I care to make with the Combine.” He laughed. “Dr. Breen… Wallace…” “Yes, Judith, what is it?” “The bargain we should be making is for Eli's life, so he can continue his research!” Breen rolled his eyes. “Thanks to you, we have everything we need in that regard. You're more than qualified to finish his research yourself. What neither you nor I can do is convince that rabble in the streets to give up their senseless struggle. Yet Eli refuses to speak the words that would save them all.” “Save them? For what?” “Eli...if you won't do the right thing for the good of all people, maybe you'll do it for them.” Alyx was brought in with the Johnsons, Konrad and Apple Bloom. “Alyx! Honey…” “Dad! Huh… Gordon? No…” “God damn you, Breen! You let her go!” “That's all up to you, my old friend. Will you let your stubborn short-sightedness doom the entire species, or will you give your child the chance her mother never had?” Alyx spitted in his face. “How dare you even mention her!” “Alyx my dear, you have your mother's eyes. But your father's stubborn nature.” “You haven’t seen a bit of it yet.” “Really? Well, let's see how it serves you on the far side of a Combine portal.” “Go ahead, Breen, if that’s the worst you can do, send us through your portal!” “Oh, it's hardly the worst. But you might find that hard to believe once you get there.” “No, please!” Apple Bloom begged. “So do you accept my offer?” Breen turned to Jacob. “Okay...I’ll do it.” He was afraid of “permanent off-world relocation” and so were Mia and Konrad. But they all did it only for Apple Bloom. “It isn’t necessary! At least, spare them!” “I agree, it's a total waste. I will show mercy to them.” He pointed to Apple Bloom and her “family." “Fortunately, the resistance has shown it is willing to accept a new leader. And this one has proven to be a fine pawn for those who control him.” Gordon showed no reaction or emotion. “No!” “Don’t listen to him, Gordon.” “How about it, Dr. Freeman? Did you realize your contract was open to the highest bidder?” “Gordon would never make any kind of deal of deal with you.” He nodded lightly at Alyx's words. Breen was annoyed by Eli and Alyx. “I understand if you don't wish to discuss this in front of your friends. I'll send them on their way, and then we can talk openly.” “Don’t struggle, honey.” “Dad, I’m so sorry.” “Alyx, sweetheart.” Without warning, Mossman used Alyx's EMP Tool to stop the pods. “Judith? What do you think you're doing?” “We’re doing what I could never do alone. We’re stopping you.” “Yes!” “Guards! Get in here!” Mossman destroyed the door control preventing the guards from coming in. Breen was holding his hand as it was burned. “They know you betrayed them. They'll turn on you! Judith — Dr. Mossman. Please!” “I’m sorry, Wallace. You’re all out of time. Don’t---!” Mossman threated Breen with the Tool. “Hurry! Dad, hang on!” As Mossman was about to free Gordon, Breen grabbed the gravity gun. “You fool!” “Watch out, he’s gonna---“ “No!” All were blended as Breen used the gravity gun; not knowing what it was exactly. Yet they were free. Breen escaped to an elevator with the gravity gun and Apple Bloom who was dazed. “Dad! Alyx checked her father. “Oh no, don’t worry about me honey.” “There’s no time, Alyx. He’s on his way to the portal. You’ll need this.” She gave Alyx her Tool. “Dr. Mossman… Judith… Look after my father.” “Don’t you worry. Dad, I’m not saying goodbye.” “Never.” “He took Apple Bloom! Nobody takes a child away from her mother!” Mia was angry; it was her duty as mother to protect her child. She grabbed her shotgun, Jacob his MP7, Stun Stick and pistol, Konrad his AR2. “Let’s do this!” He took the elevator with them. “Gordon, we haven't known each other very long, but I know you didn't have to do this. I had to rescue my father, but you…well…Thanks for coming after me.” “And for us,” Jacob said to him. Gordon just smiled. “It's me you should be concerned about! I can still deliver Earth, but not without your help.” “Hey, listen. That’s him.” “I’m gonna kick this guy’s ass so hard…” Konrad mumbled. “The portal destination is untenable. Surely you can set the relay elsewhere. There's no way I can survive in that environment. A host body? You must be joking, I can't possibly—“ “There he is!” Alyx spotted him. “Oh all right, damn it, if that's what it takes! Just hurry, he's right behind me! Oh shit!” The group was stopped by a force field. Breen ran away. “Looks like he pleaded for help from the leaders of the Combine,” Konrad commented. “Apple Bloom!” She was layng on the ground, still dazed. Mia checked her after the field was deactivated. “Mommy!” “Did he hurt you?” “No, I heard faintly that he pleaded them to spare me. Ah don’t know why.” “Hey, look what he left behind! The gravity gun! He doesn’t have a clue, does he?” Alyx said as Gordon picked it up. “I wonder where he’s going.” She used an interface to open the metal barrier. “Oh my God. This is the Citadel's dark fusion reactor. It powers their tunneling entanglement device. We'll never have a chance like this again. We've got to stop Dr. Breen.” She tried to shut it down. “I can't shut it down. Looks like he's turned over control to the other side. You'll have to go into the core and do what you can. Get in the elevator and I'll let you in.” “Let me help, Gordon. I can cover you.” Konrad offered, Gordon nodded. For some reason whenever Alyx was near, he couldn’t say a single word for some reason. Before the elevator took them down Alyx said, “Do your worst Gordon…but…be careful.” “Good luck down there, Corporal. You’ll need it.” Jacob saluted. "I'm with ya, buddy. Let's do it." The former marine was ready to fight. “Dr. Freeman, Corporal Ford. You really shouldn't be out there. At the moment of synapse, as I teleport, this chamber will be bathed in deadly particles that have yet to be named by human science. Perhaps when I have the leisure to do the work myself, I'll name one after you. That way you won't be completely forgotten. When the singularity collapses, I will be far away from here. In another universe, as a matter of fact. You, on the other hand, will be destroyed in every way it is possible to be destroyed-and even in some which are essentially impossible.” “You're dead! You hear me? Dead! We're gonna kick your ass!” Konrad was angry. “What the? Oh no, Combine Soldiers. Where did they come from?” Alyx warned them on the intercom. Gordon and Konrad fought their way to the top. Either Gordon threw the Soldiers away or grabbed them and threw them into other Soldiers. Whatever an Elite fired an Energy Ball, Gordon threw it back to the sender, while Konrad took any soldier out that was out of range of the Gravity Gun. “Man, those guys have better aim then the CP’s but still worse aim. Even we marines and Black Operations had better aim. Even the rebels have better aim, although they mostly have no training in firearms.” “I agree with that. Corporal.” “I don't know what you can possibly hope to achieve, apart from your own annihilation,” Breen taunted. “Don’t listen to him Gordon.” “I warned you this was futile.” “He’s bluffing, Gordon. Don’t listen to him. Great! Oh no. Breen’s started his ascent. Hurry, before he escapes.” “Warning: Three minutes to singularity.” The two used a moving platform as elevator. “Keep going.” “I could have told you that was pointless.” “Go, you two.” Almost of the top, Konrad used a grenade to kill a squad of Soldiers. "Fire in the hole, asshole!" “Are you still with us? Not for much longer, I think. If only you had harnessed your boundless energy for a useful purpose!” At the Top, the portal opened. “Oh my God, the portal’s opening.” Gordon used Energy Balls to damage the portal. Gunships attacked but Gordon ignored them. Konrad was using the pillar as cover. "Those Gunships pinned me down!" "I got this!" “Go back, Freeman, you have no idea what you're doing!” As the damage was critical, Breen tried to stop Gordon. “You don't know what you'll unleash! You could bring down this whole Citadel! Think, man, think - of the people below!” Breen fell as the portal was destroyed. “No! You need me!” “Barney told me to say to you: F*** you!” The noise masked the first word but Konrad smirked as he knew what Gordon had said. Konrad cheered as Alyx joined with the rest, “Yeah! We did it!” The reactor was about to blow. “Come on, we've got to get out of here. Maybe we still have…” Alyx tried to ran but it was too late. They all shielded their eyes for a moment before, Mia clenched Apple Bloom protectively, Konrad and Jacob were both diving to the ground with their hands behind their heads. The time stopped. Gordon couldn’t move or speak. “Time, Dr. Freeman? Is it really that time again? It seems as if you only just arrived.” Gordons “employer” came out of nowhere. “You've done a great deal in a small timespan. You've done so well, in fact, that I've received some interesting offers for your services. Ordinarily, I wouldn't contemplate them. But these are extraordinary times.” Gordon looked anxiously at Apple Bloom. “Don’t worry about your friends, Dr. Freeman. Since they wanted to be parents, I grant them this wish and will send them with Apple Bloom back where she belongs. You should know, when I helped her in Black Mesa, I acted in the face of objections that she was a mere child and of no practical use to anyone. I have learned to ignore such naysayers when quelling them was out of the question. I am capable of mercy despite others think the contrary of me.” He breathed before continuing. Everything was going black around Freeman. “Rather than offer you the illusion of free choice, I will take the liberty of choosing for you...if and when your time comes around again.” They traveled in emptiness. “I do apologize for what must seem to you an arbitrary imposition, Dr. Freeman. I trust it will all make sense to you in the course of...well... I'm really not at liberty to say.” Out of nowhere, Apple Bloom appeared. The Man knelled down to her. “You not supposed to be here. Get back where you belong and forget about all this.” Then he turned to Dr. Freeman again. “In the meantime...This is where I get off.” He leaved through a doorway portal, though not before fixing his tie.