Chapter Text
Somewhere, within a Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey VTOL adrift in the void, Adrian Shephard stirred. The past twenty years were a blur, but the Marine had no idea how long he had been there. All he knew about his current situation was that someone-- no, something-- in a blue suit had imprisoned him in here while talking about "witnesses". Adrian was infuriated beyond belief at first, both at the nonchalance of the being who had put him in this goddamned Osprey and at how many innocents the inhuman thing had nuked.
Adrian's thought process was interrupted by an unfamiliar noise, a lone Vortigaunt manifesting. It looked different than Adrian had remembered, the alien now being wreathed in purple and having blue eyes, its collar gone. Slowly, more Vortigaunts appeared, all of them turning to look at Adrian. He was understandably unsettled, but this did not show. Adrian had figured out very early on that the Vortigaunts he was forced to kill at Black Mesa were slaves, and the notion still made his stomach turn. His rage was directed at the Nihilanth, a being who no longer existed, but he did not know that yet.
The Vortigaunt closest to him spoke, to Adrian's surprise, in clear, albeit gravelly, English.
"Greetings to the Shephard. We are honored to make your acquaintance, and we apologize for this abrupt intermission. Your home is changed, overtaken by the Combine. Your aid is required at White Forest."
Adrian barely had enough time to process this turn of events when two Vortigaunts stepped forward, gently grasping an arm each and sending a small amount of energy into his body. Released from his immobile state, Adrian stretched, overturning his gloved hands. The damage his PCV and clothing had sustained at Black Mesa was still there, but partially reversed.
The Vortigaunts disappeared in the same way they had appeared, except for the two assisting Adrian. Once he had risen, they nodded before disappearing along with the Marine.
The Osprey remained, silent, within the darkness.