The third installment doesn't pick up where the last one left off, but it takes place in a "dark and scarry" future in which "humens" have been enslaved by the Combinesnote , "robot things that weren't robots," likely making this set during Half-Life 2. Our protagonist, Henry Freeman, asks his mother why they do this, and she says that it's because they're "'from science and outer space" and hate "humens."
Of course, it's also not originally apparent that this is an entry in the HLFLC series, since the "Full Life Consequences" part is not in the title, and including this as an entry in the series is a Late-Arrival Spoiler of sorts.
But for the moment, let's go back to our new protagonist, who hates the Combines because they beat up everyone and he hates it. Henry Freeman notices the Combines beating up a girl, merely because she is "humen", as his mom points out.
Henry Freeman's mother has no name, which is fairly standard for parents whose significance to the plot begins and ends with their having a child who is an important character. Unfortunately, Henry Freeman's mother is about to go headlong into yet another trope; characters having dead parents.
Henry Freeman then yells at the Combines to stop, but the Combines warn him to be quiet, or he will pay. When his mother protests, she gets shot, and her head is apparently destroyed.
The Combines laugh at the "stupid humen girl with no head", and Henry Freeman vows to avenge his mother, even though she, with her last breaths (and in spite of her head getting destroyed) urges him to get out of there as fast as he can. Henry doesn't listen, instead grabbing a weapon and killing the Combines before declaring, slightly cryptically, that "This is not over".
The people around Henry Freeman are impressed, because his killing the Combines gives them "hop". Henry Freeman declares that they are not "scarred" any more, and arms the people with laser guns and rocks to fight back. Henry Freeman has the makings of a good speechmaker, and would be one if the author was better at writing dialogue.
The rebels then encounter the Combines, along with many of the striders, who ask what they're planning on doing. Henry Freeman declares that they're going to send the Combines back where they came from and orders an attack.
As the violence rages, Henry Freeman finds a gravity gun on the ground, and in a small contemplative moment, decides that the time has come to live up to his family name. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the time for this, as while the people are inflicting losses on the Combine, they're killing many of them by shooting them, stepping on them with striders and blowing them up.
Henry Freeman realizes that "humen kind is losing and I need to help!" but he's undeterred by the odds, and uses the gravity gun to throw the Striders at the buildings, creating a dust cloud that enables him to do the same to some Combines. This makes the supercharged gravity gun near the end of Half Life 2 seem tame; while you could throw Combine soldiers around with it, you couldn't do the same with entire Striders (although there weren't any in the Citadel), nor could you destroy buildings with it.
This turns the tide until a portal opens up and Combine reinforcements arrive. One of Henry Freeman's followers recommends escaping, but another says that they're surrounded. "the dark man" says that they're surrounded, and should Prepare to Die. The Dark Man's identity is somewhat ambiguous, and will be discussed more in the final installment.
Henry Freeman realizes that if they lose, things will never change, and decides to continue fighting. But just before the hopeless battle commences, another portal opens, but the person who comes out isn't an enemy.
This is one of those Wham Lines that become such because of who's saying them. All in all, it was a decent twist for a fanfic like this.
The next and final installment will deal with Free Man.
What I liked
- The battle scene between the humens and Combines.
- Some of Henry Freeman's melodrama.
- The Deus ex Machina and accompanying Wham Line at the end.
What I didn't like
- Henry Freeman isn't quite the Memetic Badass John Freeman is.
