A quick (andvery silly) drabble concerning Chelle's (or possibly a past test subject's) thoughts on the euthanization of everyone's favorite cube. Don't forget to submit a review!

Rating: G

Disclaimer: Portal is not mine... it is Valve's. And I love them for it. 3

"The vital apparatus vent will deliver a weighted companion cube in 3…2…1…."

We were so happy together.

The vital apparatus vent from whence it came was like so many others, but what it carried was something profoundly significant. I knew that this cube was far more than a simple hunk of Aperture Science property the moment it was released from the inner workings of Aperture Laboratories.

"This weighted companion cube will accompany you for the rest of the test. Please take care of it."

Take care of it.

My companion.

There was something truly elegant about its design. The clinical grays I had come to know so well mixed with touches of soft and supple pink. The way it's steely surface glinted every time it was faced with a high energy pellet. Yes, this cube was different from the countless others I had seen.

My cube. My only friend in my strange sterile new world. We glided together through test chamber 17 like it was a dream. It protected and consoled me, and in return I took care of it. Because that was what you told me to do.

You said to take care of it.

But then everything changed.

"You did it! The weighted companion cube certainly brought you gook luck!"

This was it. We had done it. Together. I had already begun to plan what we could do once we escaped our grey prison. We would go to New York on the fourth of July to watch the fireworks light up the sky. We were going to eat cake together on the beaches of Mexico. There was finally a glimmer of hope.

"However, it cannot accompany you for the rest of the test, and, unfortunately, must be euthanized."

I remember a feeling of absolute devastation as my world came crashing down around me. And then I started to run.

I sat there for hours listening to her mechanical voice beckon me out of my hiding place. Committing each and every image of my beloved cube to memory, so that one day I could tell it's tragic story to my children.

She was watching.

She was always watching.

I exhausted every possible option, checked every square inch of the test chamber, but it was clear to me what I had to do. The incinerator slid open with a sickening scrape of metal on metal. It took a few tries, but eventually I worked up the nerve to condemn my cube to death. What right did she have to make me do this? It was defenseless, innocent, and even brave.

But apparently none of that mattered now.

As its comforting weight left the security of my arms, I closed my eyes. The sight of my darling cube falling into the scorching underbelly of the laboratory was just too much to bear.

I allowed myself a few deep breaths, a few moments of grief, but I had to move on. Test chamber 18 was just through that incandescent particle field, and so was my freedom.

Now all I had to look forward to was the promise of cake. But even that would be a bittersweet triumph.

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