Alyx Vance

Alyx Vance is an important NPC in Half-Life 2, Episode One and Episode Two. She is portrayed as a woman in her early to mid twenties, and is a prominent figure in the Resistance against the rule of the Combine Empire.

Before Half-Life 2
Alyx, like many of the human leaders of the Resistance based at Black Mesa East, is a former resident of the original Black Mesa Research Facility. She is the daughter of Dr. Eli Vance, a scientist from Black Mesa, who appeared briefly in the original Half-Life.

Alyx's mother, Azian Vance, is never encountered in-game, but can be seen in a family photograph in Black Mesa East. Azian lived in the facility's dormitories with Alyx, but died during the Black Mesa Incident. Her face in modeled over the actual face of Alyx's voice actor, Merle Dandridge.

Appearances
Alyx is arguably the most important NPCs in Half-Life 2, as she helps Gordon Freeman more frequently and directly than any other character. Her first appearance is in the first chapter of the game, Point Insertion, in a scene where Gordon has been intercepted by Civil Protection units while he is still an unarmed civilian. Alyx rushes in the room and apparently takes down the CPs by herself (although this is not explicitly shown on-screen). Subsequently, she escorts Gordon to Kleiner's Lab. However, the two unintentionally part ways after Kleiner's teleportation device malfuctions, forcing Gordon to continue through City 17 on his own.

When Gordon finally arrives in Black Mesa East, he is welcomed by Alyx and her father, Eli Vance.Mesa EaLater, in Black Mesa East, she gives Gordon a gravity gun and demonstrates its use. During the chapter titled Entanglement, she helps search Nova Prospekt for her captured father. She fights alongside Gordon through a section of City 17 during the armed uprising in Anticitizen One, and provides indirect assistance to Gordon during the final confrontation with Dr. Breen in the final areas of the Citadel in Dark Energy.

In Black Mesa East, Alyx argues heatedly with Dr. Judith Mossman. Alyx's hostility towards Mossman is seemingly justified: Freeman and Alyx learn in Entanglement that Mossman has betrayed the resistance and given away the location of their hidden facility. Nevertheless, in Dark Energy, Dr. Mossman explains her actions and the two women finally make peace.

In the ending scene of Half-Life 2, Alyx is with Gordon Freeman at the time of the dark energy explosion. While the G-Man saves Gordon from the enormous blast, Alyx is apparently left behind, frozen in time with one arm shielding her eyes.

Alyx manages to survive, being rescued by Vortigaunts, who also free Gordon from the influence of his employer, the G-Man; after being teleported away to just outside the Citadel and briefly revisiting it, Alyx and Gordon stick together for most of Episode One, finally getting to the exit from City 17 and jumping on the last resistance train wagon heading out of the City just as the Citadel explodes.

Alyx once again rescues Gordon at the beginning of Episode Two by using the gravity gun to free him from the remains of a crashed train, which fell off a bridge destroyed the citadel explosion at the end of Episode 1. Early on in Episode 2, Alyx is wounded severely by a Hunter, but quickly rejoins the player in combat after she is healed.

Episode Two
Alyx appears in Episode Two throughout the game, and is almost always with the player. At one point, she is severely injured by a Hunter, but is later healed by several Vortigaunts with the player's assistance. She then accompanies the player on their journey to get to White Forest, a large resistance base. Throughout the journey, she helps the player at many points, including providing sniping support for the player using a mounted Combine sniper rifle (this is the first time such a weapon can be seen by the player) as he makes his way through a zombie infested industrial complex under a bridge.

Weapons
In Half-Life 2 and most of Episode One, Alyx is seen with her unique weapon, an automatic pistol which, in appearance, resembles a pistol from the Glock range, known simply as "Alyx's Gun" (from its entity name, ). This gun is not available to Freeman, although the player can obtain it via the cheat console, and it is also an available weapon to the player in the Japanese made Half Life 2 modification "Smod". However, late in Episode One, Alyx grabs a shotgun (identical to the one available to the player, which resembles a Franchi SPAS-12) and wields it throughout the hospital in Chapter 4. At one point, she also uses an Overwatch sniper rifle, although she is not actually seen when sniping (neither are Combine snipers), and twice in the game she uses mounted Combine machine guns to provide cover fire for Gordon.

Personality and skills
Alyx wields an electronic multitool, which she utilizes in order to perform a variety of tasks; such as bypassing security systems and opening locked doors. In Episode One she also uses it to re-program rollermines to attack Combine Troops and Stalkers. She is also very proficient with a pistol and in unarmed combat, and helps fight alongside Gordon briefly during both Entanglement and Anticitizen One in Half-Life 2. In Episode One, Alyx accompanies the player for most of the game and demonstrates fighting skills previously unseen, such as using shotguns and kicking a headcrab zombie in a fight.

Despite Alyx's friendly nature she shows some hostility towards Dr. Mossman because of Mossman's somewhat patronizing attitude towards her, as well as Mossman's interest in her father. At the end of Half-Life 2, this hostility has seemingly vanished, when Dr. Mossman helps to free Alyx and her father from the clutches of Dr. Breen.

Alyx also has a good sense of humour, as evidenced by the jokes she makes about various things, including the Combine and Gordon's silence. An example of this can be seen in the Lowlife chapter of Episode One, where she and the player navigate a series of zombie infested tunnels. During lulls in combat she makes noises like a zombie to scare the player, upon finding out it's her she will say "Hah, gotcha!".

Relationship with Gordon Freeman
Although Alyx was a child at the time of the Black Mesa Incident (at which point Gordon was 27 years old), Gordon's almost two decades long stasis after Half-Life has effectively erased any age gap between the two. At several points during Half-Life 2 (as well as the episodes One and Two) it is suggested that there is a growing relationship developing between her and Gordon Freeman. These include:
 * Alyx' father, Eli Vance's, comment when the three meet up for the first time in Black Mesa East. This is followed by a moment of awkward silence, and is also the first time such a relationship is mentioned in-game.
 * The chapter Entanglement contains several scenes, mainly when the couple are forced to part ways for some reason, with Alyx becoming quiet and telling Gordon to be careful.

Continuing this theme, Episode One contains several situations where this relationship is developed:
 * In the first chapter, Dog finds Gordon under a pile of rubble, and Alyx runs to him and hugs him before becoming aware of the situation, and becomes embarrassed immediately afterwards.
 * Like the Entanglement elevator scenes in the previous game, Direct Intervention contains at least one scene with Gordon going down an elevator and Alyx telling him to "hurry back".
 * Additionally, a developer commentary given during this scene, verifies that a Gordon/Alyx relationship was indeed intended.
 * In the chapter Lowlife, when forced to go through sewage-like sludge, Alyx comments on Gordon's H.E.V. suit and jokingly asks "if there is room for one more in there".
 * In Urban Flight, having bridged a gap between two ruins (and given Gordon his trademark Crowbar) Barney Calhoun additionally mentions that Gordon is a "lucky dog" to travel alongside Alyx.

Their possible relationship is hinted even more obviously in Episode Two:
 * In order to resurrect Alyx after a near-fatal attack by a Hunter, Gordon participates in a Vortigaunt ritual wherein his life is "weaved" with hers in a pact that might resemble a marriage (or a Vortigaunt variation) somewhat.
 * In his most obvious comment her father jokes about that everyone should "do their part", playing off of Dr. Kleiners speech to the public, along with expressing his desire for grandkids.