Root Kanal

**Root Kanal** is the third chapter of SMOD: Redux. This chapter shows the first true signs of combat, Gordon being given his first firearms and battling against the Combine forces.

## Plot

After his escape from the Metropolice, Gordon walked down the stairwell into a hallway, where he heard the cries of a female citizen in distress. Gordon quickly rushed into the hall and found said citizen and another, male citizen being assaulted by a pair of Metrocops. Gordon rushes in and proceeds to beat down the Metrocops, swiping a handgun from one of them. The female states that the Metrocops will probably be looking for him now, and that he better hurry out.

Gordon walks up the stairs and finds an armed Metrocop walking down to attack, which he swiftly eliminates. He battles through several more cops, jumping across a passing train and crawling through a vent in the meantime. His battle would continue on through the station, until he jumped down into a small body of water and made it to a nearby train car, containing both a citizen, and a Vortigaunt. The citizen would explain that he and his Vortigaunt friend are a lookout for the underground railroad, and informs him about the main station. The Vortigaunt would provide a boost for Gordon's suit before he was sent along his way.

Gordon travels through a set of broken down trains and railways, finding citizens being slaughtered by Metrocops, as well as a few Overwatch Soldiers mysteriously being present, said Soldiers armed with MP40s. Gordon battles his way through his opponents, eventually making his way through to the next side of the railway, the Combine taking some rather drastic measures to try stopping him, including attempting to bomb him while he was in a small (and later giant) pool.

Gordon kept moving his way through the railway, until he found another destroyed portion of the canals, a Hunter Chopper hovering overhead, intending to gun him down. Gordon fights his way through more Combine troops, evading the chopper as best as he could.

Gordon later makes his way into a psuedo-home of a citizen, claiming that the Metropolice is onto them, explaining that they're tearing up the railroad and covering up their tracks, additionally hoping that Gordon isn't the one that the Combine are hunting. He'd then say Gordon better keep moving on, saying that they're flooding the canals with Manhacks, his train of thought being cut when a pack of Manhacks and a Laser Scanner smash their way through a door, forcing the citizen and Gordon to defend themselves. They successfully fend off the robots, where the citizen would then gratefully give Gordon some supplies to help him out, before Gordon continued on his way, the citizen wishing him luck.

Gordon would continue his way through the canals, wiping out more and more Metrocops and robots along the way, until he ended up in a water reserve of sorts, coated with barrels filled with fuel, a squad of Manhacks attacking him at the exact same time. Gordon keeps moving his way through the canals despite the rather bizarre circumstances, until he ended up in an open portion of the canals, appearing to be plagued with toxic waste and Headcrabs. Gordon later met up with a female citizen fueling up an airboat, who requested Gordon to take said airboat and move his way through the river, stating he'd find more help at Station 7, the old red barn, up ahead. Gordon would drive his way through the toxins, and soon into a cleaner river.

## Notes

-If the citizen within the train car ends up dying, the door of the car will not open, forcing a restart. The same thing will not happen if the Vortigaunt dies, however.