Chapter one: Bubbles and Test rooms
Time and space are incredible things, they flex and bend, morph and change. Never the same even for a second, each action has a completely incredible and opposite reaction, each decision an alternate world, something new always around the corner. In some worlds, large facilities created by naive men that contain evil supercomputers, in others a mad man in a box, travelling the universe, through Time and Space. But sometimes, just once in a while, universes get mixed up and twisted in ways that are hard to get our heads around. What happens if a supercomputer meets a mad man in a box, it could all get very...wibbly wobbly timey wimey.
The Doctor flew around the TARDIS console, his brown hair a mop over his head, his bow tie hanging loosely around his neck, his braces strapped securely over his shoulders and his perpetually goofy grin etched across his lips.
"So then pond, where to now" he grinned, casually throwing the question over his shoulder whilst he was working at the controls.
"How about somewhere hot, somewhere nice and sunny" she grinned back, elation at the doctor's happiness flowing through her like a drug. The doctor frowned, his hand slipping into the right pocket of his tweed jacket to rest on the red ring case that held within it the ring that a now forgotten Rory Williams had tried to stop the love of his life from wearing. The effects of the time crack from the Silurian city were astonishing, one moment in tears trying to remember his face and name, the next wondering why tears were streaming down her face and why the Doctor seemed to be so concerned about her. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear the memory from his mind. The cracks were caused by his exploding TARDIS, and as much as he would like to avoid that scenario entirely, keeping his pond happy was an equally top priority. Flicking a few more switches and shooting a grin at his companion the Doctor threw down the lever closest to him.
"There's usually a lot more… bumpiness," Amy sniggered, swinging her converse clad feet too and fro, leaning back slightly on the console rooms chair. A sudden, omnious bell began to toll throughout the ship. Slowly but steadily growing in volume and speed. "Doctor," Amy shouted over the yelling, "what is that?"
"Oh pond, I am so sorry, but our hot and sunny trip might just have to wait." The doctor yelled back solemnly; regret casting a shadow over his face. Amy looked worried at eleven, "what's wrong doctor" she asked, the worry apparent in her voice.
"No time to explain now Pond, just hold on to something, hold on tight" he said just as the TARDIS lurched violently, Amelia pond, red hair and casual clothes, grabbed onto the railing she was leaning against, fear spreading across her face as the Doctor did the same. As the gravity seemed to just switch off the doctor gave one last shout, looking up to the ceiling of the time ship as he did so.
"GERONIMO!"
-o0o-
Deep under the earth there was a project that only a select few knew place was known as 'Aperture laboratories'. All of the newest scientific innovations of the moment had begun their lives from this expansive underground metropolis of a research centre. All through testing, of course. Television, modern weapons, Ipods, Xboxes, you name it and the technology within probably began its life at Aperture laboratories. Recently, however, a robotic force overthrew the human staff of Aperture, disposing of said staff with a deadly neurotoxin. Only leaving the test subjects behind. Due to the secrecy of Aperture, nobody knows, and because nobody knows, one by one the test subjects would get woken from hypersleep to perform tests, all for the good of humanity.
Chell jumped her hair whipping behind her and orange jumpsuit rippling as she fell through the air toward the hole in the ground. As she cleared through that hole and hurtled out into the air she aimed at the below her with a device on her arm and fired a ball of orange energy at a white area on the floor. The energy spread out and seemed to carve a hole in the ground, an orange haze surrounding it. Chell plummeted through the hole and shot out of a wall around 20 ft above it, she flew through the air and passed through an Aperture emancipation grill, this was followed by the device on her arm shaking slightly to show that the link to the two previous gaps in reality were severed. Chell landed deftly, the impact of the high speed dropped absorbed by her custom made boots. She looked directly at a camera and in response a voiceover activated.
"Well done {enter test subject name here} you are performing adequately, it is in my programming not to lie, and if I told you we weren't all very proud of you I would be lying"
As the voice response gave its message Chell continued wearily to the emancipation grill at the end of the room that lead to an elevator shaft. She had no way to know how long she had gone through this pattern, test chamber after test chamber of the same. Dodging bullets, hurtling over gelatinous acids and traveling through elevator shafts. She would get bored of it in the end, that malevolent AI. Shew would inevitably get bored of the testing, and more than likely kill her in some brutal and horrible way. All for science of course. She had to escape before that time arrived, for now she would play along with all of her games. But eventually, Michelle would no longer be a slave to the omnipotent super computer that ruled her life.
-o0o-
A large whining filled the air of the test chamber, along with a strong wind that was very unusual for an area so deep Beneath the surface. A camera on the wall pivoted to the source of the sound, inclined to the right slightly as if it was independently wondering what could be causing the immense groaning. The noises seemed to make a series of coughs and then a large blue box began to flicker in a single space. The TARDIS slowly choked itself into existence, the light on top flaring into life for a moment before falling completely dead.
For a few moments all was silent in the white paneled room, the box making no movements and the room eerily quiet, the air thick with anticipation. The room acted first, a small sphere with a bronze optic slowly lowered itself into the room from a hole on the ceiling, the optic rotated slightly, the casing on it shutting as if the ball was squinting at the box before it.
"Unknown artefact, identify yourself or be prepared for incineration" spoke the bronze eyed sphere at the dark blue box, it got no response.
-o0o-
The Doctor and Amy had only just managed to keep clinging onto their individual railings, and when the TARDIS stopped rolling them around like a demented roller coaster they crumpled onto the ground. The TARDIS console seemed dead and a series of oxygen masks fell from the ceiling.
"Doctor, what just happened, where are we" Amy asked, shakily picking herself up from the ground.
"Somewhere impossible" the doctor replied, already standing up. He ran to a railing at the edge of the central platform and vaulted over it, landing beneath the console itself, his eyes wide and manic
" What do you mean doctor" Amy questioned, running down a ramp after him.
" Were in another universe" the doctor replied, reappearing with a blue crystal in his hands, it glowed slightly and when the doctor blew on it that glow intensified.
"What do you mean another universe" Amy replied, a quizzical look on her face and a stray hair slowly drifting across her cheek, which she promptly brushed away.
"I mean were on planet earth, but a very different planet earth." He started, drawing a slight nod and a blank look from his companion. The Doctor gave an exaggerated sigh." think of universes like bubbles, except they're nothing like bubbles at all. Sometimes the walls of the bubbles are smaller or rub together, sometimes things get sucked through the walls and into the other universe, that's what happened to us." The doctor explained, acting as if this sort of thing happened to him all of the time. Amy grinned, her happiness returning.
"So were in another universe, a whole other reality…..I wonder… will there be another me here?" she asked, the two of them walking back up to the main console.
"Perhaps Pond, but we can't go anywhere whilst we're in this universe,it's like a gingerbread wrong move and the entire causal nexus of this world could implode. Not only that but the TARDIS sub chromatic dispersion entoleter isn't calibrated for this world." The doctor mused "definitely safer to stay in here actually,"he added, seeing the excited glint in his companion's eyes. Amy pouted, her eyes going big and round, her top lip quivering slightly. The doctors two hearts were beating overtime, he hated putting her in a boring situation like this. A bored Amy was as problematic as The Daleks coming across a completely peaceful race. His musing and her pouting were interrupted by a series of knocks on the doors in a pattern of four. A pattern that sent the Doctors hearts racing and his mind running back to his tenth incarnate. The Doctors eyes widened in disbelief, "but that's impossible" Eleven whispered.
"What is Doctor?" Amy asked, worried for the Doctor.
"He cannot be here. Not unless we have somehow fallen into the the Time Lock and I would know if we were on Gallifrey so it cannot be him. It is impossible to be him," the doctor babbled, running a hand through his hair and backing away from the door fearfully.
"Doctor, you're babbling," Amy remarked, concern coating her face.
"Yes, I could be," he said, swallowing deeply "Amy, get behind the TARDIS console," he ordered, placing his body between her and the door. Amy complied, something she wouldn't usually do without a fight, but she knew this was different; something strange and very Doctor opened the door to the TARDIS and hurtled out of it brandishing his sonic screwdriver, straight into the line sight of a floating orb and one of the test rooms in Aperture laboratories.
AN: This is a re-write! I have permission from the original author 'TheDrumming', mainly because it used to be me, and a large amount of the first/second paragraphs are going to stay the same because to be fair I liked them apart from the lack of detail I put in, so, guess what. MORE DETAIL! After chapter two, however, things are going to be veeery different. This story is pre-pandorica for who and toward the end of Portal then through the events of Portal Two. If you're lucky it might lead into a plot arc with the good, the brave and the Half Life!