Contract to Adventure by @Thorvald (El Thorvaldo)

My 70th submission to DYOS X. [link]

While the DYOS 10 story is typically divided into the 'Avatar Wars' and the 'λftermath', this is really where the game changes. With kulade defeated and the Combine routed from Earth, we were as close to a 'fresh start' as the sprawling plot typically allowed. And here I determined to reconnect two contributors I felt were unfairly overlooked with the main story, unwittingly setting in motion my most ambitious project for DYOS.

When Judge_Deadd said he hoped his four comics at the start of the story would bear fruit, I don't think he ever expected the Luxury Diamond to become what it did. Just about everything that follows is a direct result of CivGeneral's quest for this artifact. I started this with only a vague understanding of what lord_joakim was doing, but none of us really anticipated how the Gem mythos would evolve into the conspiracy it becomes in Part II.

One thing's for certain: from here on in, nothing would ever be the same.

Alyx Vance © Valve Software;
Leeroy Jenkins © Ben Schulz;
CivGeneral & lord_joakim © themselves.

[Originally submitted to DeviantArt February 2012.]