"The Seven Hour War"

Finale

We took turns driving, the group of us, piled into a car, driving unceasingly towards New York, to Black Mesa East, with the hopes of finding a man who still remembered us. It had been too long, probably five years, since I had last seen Doctor Kleiner, back in Black Mesa just after the Resonance Cascade. I can't believe Jake's been talking to him for the past few years, and never told me... Looks like Jake holds a lot more secrets then even I knew about. A week into the drive, and I was ready to quit.

I heard Mami in the seat next to me crack her neck. "Are we there yet?" She groaned, causing me to laugh a bit. It had been a quiet trip, Zoey and Emma speaking little during the whole affair, leaving only Mami and I to converse on the off-chance neither of us were driving.

"Don't worry." I responded as a sparsely populated rural area came into sight just down the road. "That's Ravenholme right there." Mami seemed to pique up at having finally reached our destination, her once-tired amber eyes brightening for a split second.

"Thank god. I don't know if I could stand being in this car for much longer..." A sentiment I wasn't afraid to say I shared. We drove through the tight streets of Ravenholme, the citizenry moving out of the way and allowing us to pass with a little wave. Little had changed here, the infection mostly unseen in this part of the country... either that, or they had a hell of a defense force. I rolled my window down, flagging one of the people down.

"Sorry to bother you but... do you happen to know of a Doctor Issac Kleiner living around here?" The man smiled and nodded.

"Of course. He lives in the lab, just over there. Follow the street here until you hit a large gate, that's the lab. Just ring the bell and he'll let you in." Smiling to the man, I waved him off and thanked him, going about my way.

"What kind of man is Doctor Kleiner?"

"He's a bit of an eccentric, but a good man. Helped Jake and I get out of Black Mesa. Hell, if not for him, we'd both be dead." The streets wound around the small, meshed town of Ravenholme until we came to a large gate, looking like an airport hanger. We all got out of the car and stretched our legs, finding our way lazily towards the smaller door on the side, Zoey, Emma and Francis muttering little 'about time's and 'I can't feel my legs' and 'I hate roadtrips' as they milled about in place. Pushing the button on the panel nearest the small door, I cleared my throat. "Doctor Kleiner? Doctor Kleiner, it's Trinsha... Trinsha Ballenfield... open up please." There came a long pause.

"Ballenfield, Ballenfield... why does that name sound so familiar?" Came Issac's voice from the intercom.

"Doctor Kleiner, you worked with my brother and I. Back at Black Mesa. Please, open the door."

"AH! Ballenfield, of course! Come in, come in!" There came a loud thunk as the mechanical locks opened, the door swinging free. I motioned everyone in, collecting Emma and Zoey into the small antechamber. Issac's voice came back over the intercom inside the room. "Just need to make sure you're free of that infection nonsense..."

"You'll find only two of us free of it... I'm afraid myself and one of my colleagues to be a Revenant." I responded as a red laser light started to scan us.

"Yes... your brother told me something to the effect... I see only one male in your party, where's that scallywag brother of yours?"

"He's... we'll talk in person. Easier then over a machine."

"Of course, of course. Please, come in. The door opposite the one we entered from opened, a middle-aged man of loose african descent greeted us, a smile on his face.

"Trinsha! It's been ages!" I gave the man I knew well with a hug.

"Eli, how the heck have you been?"

"I can't complain, come on, Issac wants to see you." We wound through the research facility, scaling stairs and ladders until we finally reached a small lab, cluttered with junk and various small objects.

"Issac, look who's here." The aged face of Issac Kleiner, a good bit older then I remember, smiled as we entered.

"My heaven. If it isn't Trinsha Ballenfield in the flesh. Last I saw you, you and that ruggamuffin brother of yours were looking for jobs at Aperture. How did that go?"

"I'd say it was a downgrade, but I'd be lying... listen... Issac, I need to call in a favor. Jake said you'd help us..."

"Rightfully so." Issac responded quickly. "Speaking of young Mr. Ballenfield, where is he?"

"He died... about two weeks ago." Issac's smiling face mellowed out, the older gentlemen pushing his glasses up onto his face proper.

"Oh... oh dear me... This... this is not good... we have lost a fine, sound scientific mind..."

"We can't keep mourning his loss, Issac, he said you'd help us, and I need to know if you can."

"Yes... yes of course. Your brother and I have been working on a little project over the last few months, consolidating everything we learned at Black Mesa here... The problem is, anymore I feel as though our research may be too little too late... has Jake told you about Portal Storms?"

"Portal Storms? Nothing I've ever heard about." I responded with a shake of my head.

"Science... more science stuff... can we go?" Emma mused, looking very tired.

"Oh... oh of course, your associates must be tired. Please, Eli, would you show them to some beds? They deserve some rest. Trinsha and I shall speak a time still. I find it hard to believe your brother didn't tell you about his Portal Storm research..."

"There were a lot of things he didn't tell me about, Issac."

"Your brother was a secretive man, but he had his reasons." He scurried to a computer console as Eli showed Emma, Zoey, Francis and Mami to their rooms for some shut-eye. "Jake believed that we weren't alone in the universe, a fact that you very well knew true at Black Mesa." I nodded to this, remembering the strange menagerie of aliens who tried to end us both. "But he believed in something more, something deeper. He told me, at once point during the events of Black Mesa, he was visited by a strange man in a suit, someone he referred to constantly as 'the G-Man'. He confided in me that the only reason you and he survived the events of Black Mesa was because he made a deal with this 'G-Man' for your safety. Now, I don't know if this is truth, or simple ramblings of a madman, but knowing your brother, I'm inclined to believe there is more fact there then fiction. This 'G-Man' told him of a time when man's will would be tested, and we had to prepare. He spoke of this event as a 'Portal Storm', a time when the links between this world and the world beyond would be connected finally... to poor ends for us."

"He and I have been working on a counter to this anomaly for about three years now and... I'm sad to say, his interruption in communication to deal with this 'F.E.V.' mess may have put our research on hold indefinitely. We believed we could use a type of Resonance Cascade... much like the one that destroyed Black Mesa, to act as a kind of electro-magnetic surge for these Portal Storms, disrupting the connection on our end, and forcing the Portal, and whatever is coming through it, to close."

"Genius." I mused as he rambled.

"But unfinished. Right now, the only thing the EMS does is fry the braincells of anything it hits."

"That... sounds like the surge we used to purge the F.E.V. Infection..."

"Because it's the very same. Jake used the data he collected from that surge to pick up work on this project." I nodded as I looked over his notes on the subject. He had an impressive baseline and good follow-up, but a section of his notes was strangely lacking.

"What's this blank section here? Under Algorythmic Frequency?"

"Just that. Jake was supposed to forward that section of the research to me this week... I began to worry when his correspondence ceased... and it seemed as though my fears were correct. I wanted to use the data he smuggled out of Aperture; they've been working on Local-Area Portal Technology for several years now, and if we can take their data and increase it's size and capacity, we can understand how these portals work. If we can understand how portals work-"

"You can reverse engineer a way to shut them down... solid idea."

"Yes, but sadly I'm afraid Jake's research may have died with him..."

"Not... exactly." Came a voice from behind us, a familiar face appearing in the door, escorted by one of the lab technicians.

"Saline?" I asked, looking the girl over. "I thought-"

"You did leave me back." She answered, holding a manilla folder. I blinked as Saline walked father into the room, her black tail sweeping behind her.

"By gods..." Kleiner mused, adjusting his glasses, just to be sure he was seeing this right. "Is this the F.E.V.'s work as well?" Saline nodded.

"Jake... asked me to give you these before you all left for Black Mesa East... I forgot until just recently."

"How did you get here so fast?"

"I ran." Saline responded. "One of the funny mutations I have is not only can I run incredibly fast... but I don't run out of breath..." She seemed fine, not panting or anything that would suggest she did, in fact, run here. I took the folder from Saline and opened it, the papers inside holding an almost unreadible string of equations, numbers and calculations jumbled into an unintelligible, haphazard clump. I passed them off to Issac, who smiled.

"Yes... yes, this is what I need, but I'm afraid that it will take me some time to decipher his rather... chaotic manner of organization. I appreciate you bringing me this, Ms..."

"Green... Saline Green."

"Ah, Ms. Green. You are more then welcome to spend the time here with your friends... As much as this data will help, I'm afriad it may be too little too late..."

"Why's that?" Issac shook his head, not looking up to me as he started to run through the equations.

"I'm afraid I've had some reports of late that portals have already started appearing across the countryside... If I cannot isolate the frequency they use within... my, I do say the week, we may have a war on our hands with a power we have no hope in defeating." He tried to smile the grim-dark away. "But good always prevails in the end, I have no doubt that when things seem darkest, a light shall appear to us. Please, Trinsha, Saline, you've had a long drive... and run... please, take this time to rest."

"What about you, Issac? You look as though you've not slept in ages."

"Indeed I have not... but I am afraid I cannot. When I see you, and young Alyx... I cannot help but think that my time on this world is waning. And with the threat of some unknown alien menace hovering over our heads? I'm afraid sleep is a luxury this old man cannot afford." Alyx... Eli's daughter. I've never met her myself, but Eli talked about her and his wife almost constantly back at Black Mesa. It was always 'Alyx this' and 'Aizen that'... It's sad what happened to his wife... he's been couping best he can, but it's going to be hard for a girl to grow up and not know her mother... If I recall properly, Alyx was about two or three when we were at Black Mesa... that would make her about eight now. My how time's flown.

"Good night, Issac. It's been really, really good seeing you again."

"Ah, good night, Trinsha. It has been positively divine to see you, even with the sad departure of your brother. Sleep well."

"I'll try."

I wound my way through the facility again, following the signs to the living area, thinking about the near future... aliens. Great, first we have to deal with our own government trying to silence us... then we put up with a homicidal computer AI with dillusions of god-hood, then we've got to deal with damned zombies, and now this. Aliens. Could the world get any more fucked up? Turning a corner, I saw Eli, the man from before, with a young girl in tow.

"Ah, Trinsha..." He spoke in his happy, methodical tone. "Heading to bed so early? Your friends were rather tired."

"Yea... need to think some things over, and no better way to do it then sleep."

"I agree. You've not met little Alyx, have you?"

"No, I was just thinking about her though..." I crouched down to the little girl and smiled to her. "Hello, Alyx. My name's Trinsha. I worked with your daddy back at Black Mesa."

"Hi..." She smiled, giving a little wave.

"Man, Eli, she's so cute..."

"More of her mother in her, I'm not sad to say. Got her curiosity, too." I smiled once again to little Alyx.

"I have a feeling, Alyx... that you and I are going to be great friends in the years to come."

"I certainly hope so, Trinsha... your brother was a good man."

"I hope you know more of him then I." I departed Eli and Alyx after giving Eli a little hug, and found my way to a free room, and slumped into bed. Only there, in the solitude of myself and the shadows, did I allow myself to mourn the loss of my brother. I would sleep rather recklessly through the night until the morning, where my cell phone would waken me with a most interesting call.

-The Next Day; Doctor Issac Kleiner's Lab-

"These notes of Jake's make no sense whatsoever... his scribbles are everywhere, there's no rhyme or reason to their order, and his handwriting is atrocious! Worse, dare I say, then I remember!" Issac complained as I sat with him, trying not to laugh at his outburst. "It's almost as if the man is mocking me from beyond the grave!"

"That does sound like something Jake would do..." I answered.

"The only man who was ever able to make heads or tails of the kid's writings is Doctor Breen!"

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear, Issac." Came a chill voice from one of the doors, a rather stout man with a receeding hairline giving a crass grin as he entered.

"Doctor Breen... I thought you were working with the IAEA..."

"I was and still am... this talk of Portals appearing around the world interested me though, and I thought about you, Doctor Kleiner, and your work on them back in Black Mesa."

"Well... it's most fortuitous you showed when you did. I cannot make heads or tails of Doctor Ballenfield's writing, perhaps you can assist me in that." To be honest, I wasn't surprised in the least to see Breen. Even in Black Mesa, he had a habit of appearing whenever you said his name. Jake even took to calling him Beetlejuice for that every reason.

"Long time, no see Trinsha. How have you been."

"I can't complain, Doctor." I responded with a nod. "I'm... just supplying what little help I can."

"I'm on my way to discuss something of great importance, actually. Issac, would you like to join me?"

"I'd love to, Doctor Breen, but I've got a lot of work to do on these equations, and precious little time to do it."

"Sad day indeed. Trinsha? Perhaps you would like to join me."

"Where are you going?"

"The United Nations." The UN was still in operation? I suppose even in a time of crisis, the government must persist. "They believe that these portals could provide our first chance at contact with an alien race beyond our solar system."

"They may verily be right..." Issac mused.

"Issac!" Eli's voice came from just outside the door. "Issac, you're out of time!"

"Eli, what-"

"No time to talk, doctor..." He scrambled over to the window and opened it, displaying rather prominently the chaos outside. In the distance, just over the hills, the low rumbles and distant flashes of gunfire could be seen in the new morning light.

"What...?"

"Something's finally started coming out of the portals! And they're not friendly!"

"Fie and balderdash! This is most unfortunate..."

"If that's true... I feel my presence may be needed elsewhere as well..."

"I feel all our presences may be needed elsewhere, Doctor..."

I would learn of this after the fact, but this was no mere skirmish. The aliens that had exited the portals did so in force and around the world. Continent after continent was light with hostile conflict, the humans who called this planet home, against the unknown invaders from beyond the stars. Breen had made headway to the UN, and within the day, news had already begun filing in. Seven hours. We had put up a resistance for seven measly hours before that coward, that inbred fool Breen negotiated a 'cease-fire' between the aliens and ourselves. It was an unconditional surrender. The notes Doctor Kleiner received were of no help, and even if they were, we got them to him too slow. It wasn't long before we had learned of our new masters.

They called themselves the Combine Overwatch. From my best guess, they were a species of near-humans who delighted in, among other heinous crimes, beatings, murder, and cruel, almost barbaric interrogations. It was... to say uncalled for would be an understatement.

We had saved humanity from the F.E.V... only to have it be thrown into the hands of some military force from hell.

But we were not going to take it lying down. We Revenants had fought for our freedom from human oppression, and won. We would not stand idly by as we were hunted down and executed in our homes. No. We wouldn't take it. We'd fight back.

We always do.

Author's Note: Okay, okay, I know this is stupid ending. A really bad cliffhanger. I guess... I kind of wanted this to just be done with, and I apologize. I know you guys expected miracles from me, and I failed to deliver. I think you all know what happens from here on out, so I don't think I really have to describe it.