#gordon on xen looking up at big benrey: 'well that was a fucking lie'

[antilocaprine]

Kiss prompt- 28 seems interesting… frenrey?

(Kiss Prompt List)

28: ...as a lie.

Shaking, Gordon stumbled through the conveniently-located door and onto a platform lit by the green glow of another whirling gate to who-knows-where. Bubby, Tommy, and Dr. Coomer turned around from where they’d been standing nearby.

“Hello Gordon! Fine work solving that puzzle!” Dr. Coomer said. “Now you’re thinking with portals!”

Gordon just breathed hard and stared at them for a moment, wiping yellow gore off his face. “Did - did you guys not hear me in there?”

“Yes, yes, you did a great job,” Bubby said, “but we should get moving.”

“You could have helped,” Gordon rasped, waving a hand at Bubby. “They were your fucking prototypes. Why was that the one time I was alone?”

“Gordon, are you going to eat that?” Dr. Coomer asked, pointing at the floor. Gordon looked down at the slurry of yellow and green goop that was dripping off the HEV suit and puddling on the floor. Some of the prototypes had been nearly on top of him when he’d shot them, and they’d kind of…splattered.

“Am I - no? Of course not, no one should - oh, there you go, of course.” Gordon sighed as Dr. Coomer crouched down and engaged in a cacophony of hideous slurping sounds. “Yeah, that’s on-brand, I guess. Jesus. Okay. Let’s - yeah, Bubby, let’s just go. Dr. Coomer, please don’t lick me.”

“I’m just trying to get all the good stuff, Gordon!” Dr. Coomer said cheerfully. Gordon made a strangled noise and hurried away.

Benrey wandered back to the group at some point when they were trying to get information out of the scientists who only wanted to talk to Gordon. He didn’t really understand why they were all so excited to see him - wasn’t this whole thing his fault somehow? Not that it was really his fault - something was obviously wrong with the sample, it should not have done that - but still. Weird.

When a low rumbling became audible through the walls and the scientists started repeating themselves after talking about a powerful being creating strange effects, Gordon immediately looked to Benrey.

“Hey, are you doing something?” Gordon flinched as the lights flashed, then flickered like they were suffering a power surge.

“The timelines are…crossing,” Benrey said, then made a face and turned his back on Gordon.

“The timelines are - what? Did you just say the timelines are crossing? What timelines, what are you -”

“What?” Benrey looked at the ceiling, then down at the floor.

“What are you talking about?”

“Add me, bro?” Benrey asked another security guard. The guard was backed into a corner, his spine set against a pile of crates that Dr. Coomer sat on top of. “Add me. Do you have PlayStation Plus?”

“Bro,” Gordon mimicked, then sighed. “I don’t think he has PlayStation. I think you’re scaring him.”

“Huh?”

The lights flickered again, and Gordon snagged the arm of a scientist who was hurrying by, juggling three clipboards and muttering to himself in a distracted way.

“Do you know anything about this?” Gordon gestured at the lights, the low noise, the general…everything.

The scientist stared at him for a moment, then blinked and smiled. “Gordon Freeman, you finally found us!”

“What - I’ve been here for five minutes man, keep up!”

“My colleague is waiting for you in the -” The man’s voice cut off and he walked away as if he had suddenly forgotten that anyone else existed. Gordon sighed again.

“Are they just all going to do that? Never mind, we gotta - might as well go find this portal they’re all talking about…”

And then, of course, the creepy weirdo in the suit showed up. Gordon was getting tired of his bullshit. What he wasn’t expecting was for Benrey to walk up to the guy and start pestering him about PlayStation Plus. And he really wasn’t expecting for the guy to actually get visibly flustered about it.

“What the fuck is happening?” Gordon whispered to himself.

“I wanna get another month, but I want, like, a free trial,” Benrey said to the suited guy, who looked at him, then at Gordon, then back at him.

“You - you’ll figure it out,” he told Gordon. “You’ll…figure it out.” Then he stepped back and vanished.

Gordon snorted helplessly and waited for time to start running again, like it always had…but this time, it didn’t. When he looked back down the hall, the others were frozen in that weird floaty pose they always adopted when the suit-guy stopped time.

“What…is going on?”

“Oh, whoa, it’s a mystery,” Benrey said, and when Gordon turned back, he was a lot closer than he had been a second ago.

“Do you know how to un-freeze time?” Gordon asked him. “Or are we trapped here?”

Benrey glanced around at the world bathed in blue and shrugged. “Would it, uh, really be so bad?”

“Would it - yes!” Gordon sputtered. “Yes, it would be bad! It’s creepy!”

“Oh,” Benrey said. “Well. I guess I could learn.”

“You could -” Gordon brought his hand up and pinched his nose, then shoved his glasses up and glared at Benrey. “You could learn? How long will that take? If you hadn’t scared that guy off, we wouldn’t be having this problem!”

“What, you want him back?” Benrey frowned.

“No, I…ugh,” Gordon huffed and slouched against the wall. “I don’t know, man. I think it would be worse to be stuck waiting like this. I just want to get through with this day and be done, you know? Just…go home.”

“We should - we should do that,” Benrey agreed, nodding. “You should definitely leave, this is - Black Mesa is sucks right now, you don’t wanna be here. Let’s go home. Let’s leave.”

“I can’t just leave, man,” Gordon whined. “I’m not - this is my fault. Or - it’s not, but I can - I should be able to fix it, right? I’ve got the suit, I’ve got a, a fucking gun for an arm!” He waved said gun-arm, and Benrey’s head followed the movement. “I just - I should make a difference, you know? Or at least try.”

Benrey’s expression was unreadable, his mouth twisted as he stood stoop-shouldered in front of Gordon and said nothing. Gordon could hear a distant rushing sound, but that was the only noise in this frozen world - and even that might have been the blood pumping through his veins.

“Look, can you just do some creepy magic powers thing and get us back to normal?” Gordon placed a hand on Benrey’s shoulder and squeezed, rocking him a little. Like bros.

Benrey brought a hand up to cover Gordon’s glove and kept his head down.

“It’s - I mean, it’s gonna happen, right? We have to close this portal so these alien…things stop getting through. We’ve fought enough of them, right? It should be easy. We’ll - we should be fine.”

“Yeah,” Benrey said, still not meeting his eyes. “Fine.”

“Benrey?” Gordon said slowly. “It’s - it’s gonna be fine, right?”

The shadow under Benrey’s helmet looked deeper in the blue lighting of the timestop, and when he tipped his head up to look at Gordon’s face, it almost seemed like there were stars across his eyes and cheeks - distant points of fire that suggested vast expanses and the remote coldness of space.

“Benrey.” Gordon had both hands on Benrey’s shoulders now - or he would have, if he still had two hands. The gun rested awkwardly over the bulletproof vest straps instead, but it was close enough. “Tell me it’s going to be fine.”

Benrey took a breath, then went up on tiptoe and pressed a quick kiss to Gordon’s cheek, catching a corner of his mouth in the process. He rocked back on his heels and stepped away before Gordon could react, leaving him with his hands out awkwardly before he dropped them to rest at his sides.

“Uh - what -”

“It’s gonna be fine,” Benrey said, his head down - and then Gordon’s vision tunneled and the lights turned up.

“What -” he started again, but he was interrupted.

“What are you doing over there?” Bubby asked Benrey as he walked up, eyeing the two of them suspiciously. 

“You’d better not be canoodling, Gordon!” Dr. Coomer added seriously. “Not on the clock, at least. You know the rules of the Black Mesa Canoodling Policy!”

“The fucking what?” Gordon snapped, still too gobsmacked to come up with a better response to that.

“It’s - it’s a very important policy, Mr. Freeman,” Tommy nodded. “Page fifty-seven covers on-the-clock and, um, versus off-the-clock canoodling. It’s very educational!”

“Why do we even - no, wait, I don’t care,” Gordon sighed. He looked to Benrey, but the guard was already moving down the corridor with Bubby and Dr. Coomer. He would have to unpack whatever the fuck just happened later. Surely they’d catch a break soon - after all, Benrey had told him that things would be fine. And if anyone had the power to make that happen, it was probably him.

[purplecatghostposts]

Roleswap AU ideas: if you want something big, you could maybe do when the gang first gets to Xen. Or if you want something more low key, could do right after the resonance cascade cuz I'm very curious about how you think Gordon would treat Benrey in that moment

You. *Grabs your face* You are a lifesaver.

Also halfway through brainstorming I went, “hey what if I COMBINED them” so get ready, I’m doing both. In chronological order of course

——

There’s a list of things Gordon expected to happen when he joined Black Mesa as the newest member of the Security Team.

(Ideally, he would’ve joined as a Scientist but Gordon needs more money to put him through college first so Security will have to do. Plus maybe if he does well, he can get a good reputation with Black Mesa and his chances of becoming a Scientist will get higher!)

A few of them come true. Gordon sees real, actual aliens, machines that can accomplish beyond what he’s dreamed, and only becomes entranced with the idea of becoming a Scientist and working with all of this.

A few of them don’t quite live up to his expectations. Namely, it’s hard to make friends. Too many of the Scientists are straight up dicks- especially Dr. Bubby, god, what Gordon would give to punch that man in the face- and the guards aren’t all that friendly either. They’re not quite prickly but most of them just want to get their jobs done, go home, and never talk with anyone they work with outside the workplace.

It’s frustrating but Gordon gets used to it. A few people make it bearable and he falls into a rhythm that’s comfortable enough.

(Years start to pass by. One- three- five now. Gordon has enough money but he hasn’t gone to college yet. His life isn’t perfect but... Can he really uproot it? Will becoming a theoretical physicist really make his life better? Is that really what he wants? Did he already miss his chance at the life he wanted by waiting?)

Everything changes in the blink on an eye. Because in all the things he thought would happen in his time in Black Mesa, a Resonance Cascade was not one of them.

His name is Benrey and he doesn’t have his passport. Gordon knows for a fact that Black Mesa sent an E-Mail and several follow ups a week in advance about this new policy. Everyone else had theirs but this guy- Benrey- claims he never heard of it.

Gordon pinches the bridge of his nose. Company policy dictates that he has to follow this guy around for the rest of the day to make sure he actually belongs here. And Gordon was hoping for an early lunch break that he’s not gonna get. Typical.

Gordon follow Benrey- even into the test chamber which Benrey says isn’t dangerous though Gordon takes one look at the machine buzzing to life and he isn’t so sure. But Gordon continues to stick around, even after the machine goes critical.

Everything goes green. Gordon wakes up in the dust of a ruined test chamber. Alarms blare in the distance, reminding him of the disaster they have on their hands. Benrey’s already up, staring at the remains of a machine with an faraway look in his eyes.

Gordon gets his attention as he stands. “Hey!” Benrey snaps to attention, eyes wide but he relaxes somewhat upon seeing Gordon. “What- what the hell was that?” Gordon gestures in the general direction of the machine.

Benrey’s mouth opens and closes before he eventually mumbles, “S-shit happens.”

Gordon gives him a hard look. “Shit happens.” Gordon repeats slowly. Is he really not taking this seriously? “That’s all you have to say? ‘Shit Happens’- that’s it?”

Benrey shifts in place. The laugh that leaves him sounds almost off but Gordon doesn’t know enough about Benrey to know for sure. “What... What else can I say? I mean, shit like this happens all the time, s’not new, right?”

“I- what?” Gordon sputters, looking Benrey up and down. “No! It doesn’t! Are you hearing those alarms? I’ve worked here for five and a half years and I’ve never seen anything like this happen! This is a Resonance Cascade, Benrey! This is a fucking disaster and you-!”

Benrey’s breath hitches and Gordon doesn’t finish. And you caused it, the thought rings in his ears but he doesn’t say it out loud.

There’s a look in Benrey’s eyes- an emotion that swallows him whole- but Gordon hasn’t the slightest what it is. Because next thing he knows, Benrey is laughing again and stuttering out a, “I have no idea what this is, dude. What’s a... Resident Cascade?”

“Resonance Cascade.” Gordon corrects with a huff. There’s a lopsided grin on Benrey’s face and Gordon doesn’t know how to deal with it. “Fucking- come on. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. We don’t know what damage y- what damage has been caused. Whatever it is, it’s dangerous.”

Benrey waves him off but quickly heads for the exit. “Psh, we can handle it.”

Gordon bites his lip and doesn’t comment on that. There’s a high chance he’s going to be stuck with Benrey for a while and he doesn’t like it.

—

Gordon has a good feeling what’s going to happen long before they enter the portal to Xen.

He knows now. That he’s not human- that he’s never been human. The portal to Xen calls to him like a twisted siren song that he doesn’t want to acknowledge even exists. It crackles with a power that physically feels good but leaves a sick feeling in his stomach.

Gordon knows how this is gonna go. He tries to talk Benrey out of going to Xen but, well...

Benrey hasn’t acted the same since Gordon got his hand cut off. He listens somewhat but Benrey subconsciously holds his gun-arm close to his chest whenever Gordon says a word to him. He no longer trusts him, that much is clear. Gordon doesn’t blame him. He wouldn’t either.

Gordon is the last one through the portal. Benrey is the first, leaping in without much hesitation with Bubby following close behind. Gordon almost doesn’t want to go but he hears the ringing in his ears. Xen has been calling to him for a while now and seeing the portal makes it impossible to ignore.

Gordon enters into Xen. He’s hit with a wave of energy he’s never felt before, even before he makes it to the other side.

It changes him. Gordon doesn’t mean to do it but his body gulps down the energy like it’s starving for it and Gordon grows. His body shifts and morphs and threatens to become inhuman but even if Gordon knows, he holds onto his human appearence. He wants to be human for a little longer. Though he can’t stop how tall he gets.

And Gordon knows now. Black Mesa has been looking for Xen’s main powerhouse for a long time- they told Benrey to search for him. To find their strongest alien and to take it out. Gordon enters Xen and suddenly, he remembers everything. He might’ve escaped Xen a long time ago but his connection to Xen never left. It’s him. Gordon’s what Black Mesa wants gone.

It’s almost funny. Gordon’s been working at Black Mess for years now- they could’ve dealt with him ages ago and would’ve been done with it. It’s a set up to a bad joke that Gordon wants to laugh hysterically at anyways because it’s so goddamn funny, isn’t it? His life has been a giant joke and it’s not even a good one.

Typical. Gordon never had good luck anyways.

It’s impossible to hide when Gordon arrives at Xen. He stands, far taller than any human could ever be and looms over the rest of the team. He stares down at them with tired eyes, knowing nothing is going to go his way. Everyone else backs up upon seeing him, looks of shock and terror on each of them, except for Benrey. Benrey doesn’t move, frozen and staring up at Gordon with wide, unblinking eyes.

Gordon knows the look on his face now. He’s seen it enough times that it makes him sick. In the testing chamber, a few times when they got attacked by soldiers and aliens, anytime they faced an alien far bigger than the rest, when Gordon left him at the mercy of the soldiers, when Gordon saw him again afterwards- Gordon knows that look like the back of his hand, even if he didn’t understand it the first time he saw it.

It’s fear. And Gordon caused it.

“It’s you...” Benrey’s voice shakes, staring up at him. He doesn’t have to elaborate, Gordon knows what he means.

“It’s me.” Gordon nods, resigned.

He doesn’t blame him when Benrey runs.

——

This was a veryyyy fun write, I’m not gonna lie. Thank you so much for the suggestion! If you got another one, feel free to send it! I hope y’all enjoy!

[sephythespooky]

reader insert: back in black mesa

PART 2

Passport acquired, but what now?

words under cut

“Here,” Tommy gently pressed the document into your hand. “Show this to Benrey. I’ll handle e-everything else.” Seeing how pale your lips were, he frowned, then hugged you tight. “It’ll be o-okay, friend. W-we’re the science team! We can do any-anything!”

Reluctant, you stepped out of the hug when Tommy released you and held out your passport at Benrey, whose bright eyes hadn’t left you since you picked it up. “yo, man....that seriously you? you look, uh....look a bit shit in that photo, not gonna lie.”

You look at the photo and snort. It’s your school photo from years ago, the one you hated most. “Yeah, yeah I do.”

Agreement, that was something you knew Benrey didn’t get a lot of from Gordon. But he seemed to like it, grinning with his razors before gently shaking Dr. Coomer out of the repetition of what you now realize was the Wikipedia article for lockers. “old man, like, i get it, but we gotta, uh, gotta do stuff now.”

The white haired scientist shook his head, turning to you and lighting up, “HELLO PLAYER!” He called, then seemed confused. “I should know your name. Why don’t I? Hm...”

Tommy interjected as Benrey began circling you, tilting his helmet this way and that as he analyzed your form, “Dr. Coomer, w-we don’t know them yet. We’re supposed to be waiting for Mr. Freeman!”

“yo, feetman? where’d he go?” Benrey asked, suddenly more interested in what Tommy had to say than in you.

You watched as Dr. Coomer looked between them, then snapped his fingers, “Oh! that’s what I’ve been wanting to say! HELLO GORDON!” He grins, then slumps a bit, “Oh...but he’s not here. I still have to give him his interest playcoins.”

“Dr. Coomer?” you ask softly, almost afraid to speak up, “How did I end up here? Gordon finished the game. You guys should still be with him, but now you’re with me?”

The older gentleman chuckled, “Not to worry, Not-Gordon, we will figure this out. I do love a good puzzle! Let’s get Bubby and have a good ol’ chat about it.”

“least i don’t have to watch you. like i did him. you’ve got your passport,” Benrey still pushes you ahead of him and you squeak, rushing forward to hold onto Tommy’s sleeve.

Tommy moves so you can hold hands, and he swings his arm a bit, sunny smile in place, “We’ll be careful with you, I-I promise! Nobody will be doing any OSHA violations with me on the-the case!”

His presence was comforting, even if you were more than aware of his lack of gun-safety training. But there weren’t guns right now. At least besides the ones you could access.

The closer you get to the test chamber, the more tense you get, so you yelp when Benrey TELEPORTS in front of you and stands in the doorway, “dudes...these are the guys. i told you about them. not thinking about....about anything besides froot loops.”

The basic guards are unaffected, and the door opens behind Benrey with no other fanfare. Dr. Coomer laughs, “Well, I do love sugary cereal with colorful mascots. I prefer Frosted Flakes, though.”

“you would, old, old grampa man.” and then he’s gone, running ahead of you with that cackle that shook a nervous laugh out of you when it used to make you happy.

“Um...would...would petting Sunkist help you? He’s a good boy, and I-I always feel better when I pet him,” Tommy offers and you nod before he can even finish. Sunkist is immortal, and well trained. You’d pet the dang JPEG but you have a feeling things will be different for you in here.

“Okay. I’ll call for him once we find Bubby,” you’re getting close to his room, you think, but being so very near the test chamber is enough to make you jitter.

Your group enters the room with many scientists and you hear Bubby, “GOOD GRIEF! Not only are you late, but you brought an entourage. What kind of bastard are you?”

The yelling makes you flinch, and Dr. Coomer says helpfully as he takes hold of Bubby around the waist, pinning his arms, “Hello! We’re here to fetch you for a confab. We have to figure out how we help our new friend here and then get back to Gordon.”

“Gordon?” Bubby questions, his struggles against Coomer slowing until he’s finally released. “Wait. That’s right! Then why are you wandering around with that fucking idiot Benrey?!”

“bro, not cool.” Benrey hides behind you and blows a raspberry at Bubby. “came here tryin’ to be a great cool and you’re being mean. dr. mean man.”

“I live mean, and you tried to kill me! And everyone else!” Bubby huffs, waving his arms around and fire glinting off the tips of his fingers. “Someone explain this to me!”

Tommy takes a deep breath before he speaks, “Bubby, I know it was scary, but Benrey’s our friend. He only acted weird on Xen because it amplifies negative emotions. That’s why we felt so afraid and hopeless, otherwise it’d be pretty funny for Benrey to be so big, right? And, and fun to jump around like Moonshoes!”

“He has a point, Bubby.” Coomer takes a seat, and you follow suit, even if Benrey does leave and go sit on top of one of the other scientists who, for some reason, are not paying attention to your group. “I would have loved to see how my Power Legs did with the low gravity.”

“Well...I guess a little murder between friends isn’t that big a deal. And we didn’t die so we’re good for now. Maybe,” Bubby makes the hand sign for ‘i’m watching you’ toward Benrey, who is too busy tea bagging the scientist in mid-air to notice.

“Have,” Tommy looks at you hopefully, “Have you seen Mr. Freeman since my birthday party? Dr. Coomer tried to send him a message, but we’re not sure if he received it.”

“I have,” you say, closing your eyes to try and relax yourself, “Gordon Freeman is a streamer on Justin TV, like I am. I actually was...streaming myself doing this!”

“Good for him, he lived his dumb dream,” says Bubby.

“you’re streaming this, friend?” Benrey hops off the scientist and shuffles over, “you ever stream heavenly sword?”

“I haven’t yet,” you admit, “but I only heard of it through you talking about it to Gordon, so it took me a while to get hold of the game. I was planning on doing that next week.”

“nice,” the guard flops on the ground, just spread out all over. “m’gonna take a nap now. it’s boring without feetman here to bug. no offence, bro, but you’re too nice.”

“None taken,” you huff, very cautiously giving a pat to his helmet. You get a chuckle out of it.

“I hate to admit it,” Bubby isn’t looking at any of you, picking at the sole of his shoe, “but Gordon’s at least somewhat competent a leader.”

Tommy raised his hand, and Coomer gave him a nod to continue, “Mister....Mister Freeman might know what to do so we can get our friend out of here. But how do we tell him we-we need help? Oh,” he remembered something, then called out “SUNKIST!!!”

A woofing came, and you were suddenly bowled over by a large golden retriever.

“Good dog! Sunkist, you should let our friend up and sit with them. They’re, they’re very nervous.” Tommy giggled sweetly as Sunkist backed up and let you right yourself before laying his big head in your lap. You gently rub your hand down from his head to his shoulders, finally glad for your ability to touch things here. Even through your gloves, you felt how soft Sunkist’s fur was, how warm and strong the body beneath. Tommy had been more than right that Sunkist would make you feel better, and you murmur soft nonsense to the sweet pup.

“Can,” you’re nervous as you begin, “Can I ask why the other scientists don’t seem to notice us? They didn’t seem to really interact with Gordon, or you guys either.”

“I don’t know,” Bubby says as he waves a hand at the folks near the computer in the corner, “Somehow we’ve woken up and have some personality. These goons are dull as dishwater and twice as boring.”

“guuuuuuuuys,” Benrey whines loudly, “unless you know something about games or how to talk to freeman, i don’t caaaaare.” You pat his helmet again, getting a grumpy hurmph and a heavy hand falling on your knee.

“Why are you asking me? I don’t know! It’s not like I have his phone number!” Bubby snaps in response.

Dr. Coomer said with a perk of his head, “Our friend is a streamer, though. Does that mean you and Gordon work in the same department?”

“N-no,” you giggle a bit at the idea. “We all work in our own homes, or in office spaces we rent with others in small groups. Gordon has no idea I exist. He’s far too popular to bother with me.” But an idea comes as you speak and feel the steady, gentle weight of Sunkist on your lap, “But maybe my chat could go raid him? He might be streaming now and if they would go talk to him about this....maybe he’d listen?”

The team nods, and Tommy questions, “Didn’t you say you were streaming before you came here? M-maybe they’re still listening!”

“Might as well try,” you take a deep breath, “Guys in the chat, if you can hear me, go find Gordon Freeman on here. Message him, donate, do anything you can to get his attention on this stream! We need his help or....or I might never get out of here.”

You could only hope that your words got through...and that Gordon was in a mood to listen.

[purplecatghostposts]

can you tell me about xen bound benry and CYWO benry? :0

I CAN!! Honestly those two might be the most interesting, here we go!

So Xen Bound is an AU I made fairly recently and it very much plays into the idea of ‘Benrey is an alien from Xen’ headcannon.

The main idea goes like this: Taking place immediately after Benrey’s defeat, Benrey disappears in a flash of light and the area they were fighting him in starts to crumble. The creatures of Xen attempt one last attack against the Science Team and the only way out is a portal on the opposite side from where everyone is. Gordon quickly yells at everyone to get through the portal while he shoots at the creatures of Xen to keep them back and give the rest of the Science Team cover.

It works in saving the rest of the team. However once the last member is through, Gordon attempts to escape as well but he’s just a tad too slow. The portal collapses. Gordon’s on the wrong side of it. He’s stuck on Xen with no idea how to get out.

Gordon has to survive on Xen and search for another way out, though he’s not even sure if there is one. The remaining members of the Science Team work on getting Gordon back. Gordon avoids the creatures of Xen as much as he can butttt eventually he gets noticed and cornered.

Cue Benrey, who is very much not dead and not looking his usual self.

Benrey’s pissed. See, Benrey is actually from Xen but he really doesn’t like it there. He’s known as their ‘Champion’ but isn’t quite treated like a person all the time, more like a weapon that Xen can use to their advantage, which Benrey hates and it was the whole reason he left in the first place. Gordon destroying the ‘passports’ were his tethers to Earth and now he’s stuck on Xen too.

Benrey saves Gordon from getting killed by the creatures of Xen but less out of the goodness of his heart (though there’s still some sentiment there) and more because A: He doesn’t want to be alone, and more pressingly, B: Gordon’s stuck too and it’s easier to find a solution with help rather than alone. Reluctant allies who are still bitter at each other but do deep down care about each other and bond over time and eventually actually become pretty close, anyone?

It’s an AU I’m gonna have a lot of fun with. Benrey can change his shape and can essentially gain features of different Xen Aliens (I.E. lots of eyes like Peeper Puppies/Houndeyes, Can turn his tongue into a ‘Rope’ like Barnacles, Etc.) but he kinda likes acting human because he’s fond of Earth so that’s kinda his whole deal.

As for CYWO Benrey, hoo boy, he has some issues.

CYWO stands for Claw Your Way Out which is both the name of the AU and of the Fic I plan to write and for good reason. The idea is that Post-Game, while Benrey does actually die for a while and everyone else is moving on with their lives, Benrey doesn’t want to be dead. He’s pissed as hell in fact. So, like the title suggests, Benrey quite literally claws his way out of the Afterlife and back into reality.

Only problem is that since last time he died, he was in Boss Mode, he’s still pretty messed up and low key not out of that mode so he takes on a more monstrous form with claws and low key kinda werewolf-y? (He’s big, he’s fluffy, he moves on all fours type of thing). He finds it hard to communicate at first, only being able to express himself via Sweet Voice and just spits out a WHOLE LOT of White (White means he’s not alright).

Forzen finds him on accident as Benrey kinda ends up in an alleyway with no idea where he is or what’s going on and only vague memories at first but he recognizes Forzen. They used to be best friends- he can trust him. And Forzen is veryyyy confused what’s going on with Benrey but his bro needs help so of course he’s going to help. (Since he lives with Darnold, he has to call him and be like, “uh yeah so I found Benrey and he’s not looking good, can I bring him home?” And kinda takes Darnold way off guard because last he checked, Forzen was supposed to be getting groceries, what happened?? But he can’t in good conscience just leave Benrey in the alleyway so he says it’s okay and Forzen guides Benrey back to their apartment).

Benrey stays with Forzen and Darnold while he recovers and he actually starts to regain his previous form. He takes a humanoid shape again, he’s losing his multiple eyes each day and slowly getting closer to his usual two, and while his clawed (and kinda fluffy) hands aren’t really gone yet, it’s progress!! Benrey’s almost looking himself again.

Then one day, Benrey decides he needs fresh air and leaves the house for the first time in a while. And he runs directly into Gordon. Almost instantly all of that progress is gone and he’s back to looking absolutely monstrous as Gordon is not happy to see him.

Don’t want to spoil too much but it pretty much spawned from me going, “Hey so what if I took one of those ‘Benrey came back from the dead post-game’ classic ideas and instead he came back really fucked up and pissed off?” And ran with it. I haven’t been able to work on physically writing the main Fic of it but I had Forzen thoughts and specifically made a little character study of him called ‘Frozen and watching as the world passes by’ that kinda acts as a prequel to how Forzen is characterized and a rough idea of what is relationship to Benrey is in the main story.

But yEah! That’s some of the basic information on those two! Xen Bound specifically is one of my favorites I’m not gonna lie-