The Hermit sleeps. Exiled, he dreams of a world long forgotten. The Hierophant stands near, silent but faithfully guarding what it swore to protect. Yet the Hermit's life bleeds out a hole in his leg. He is not afraid, though. The Empress has been defeated, she of Strength had escaped. He dreams of lives long gone and old memories of happy days.
However, this particular day he dreams of was not the happiest. The Emperor was dead, the High Priestess would soon enter the Chariot. The Hermit stands by the Priestess's side, where she sits near the Emperor's bedside. Sheets cover the Emperor's gaunt face, but the Priestess could not bring herself to leave.
"Doug," she whispers. "How can I go on without him?"
"He inspired all of us," the Hermit answers. "You have to hold strong. He left you the greatest gift he had to give you."
"But the problem is: I don't want it," the Priestess laments. "I don't... I can't... I know it's what he wanted, I know it's his last wish, but... how can a person do this? Eternity is such a long time, Doug." The Priestess stares deep into the Hermit's eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Caroline," the Hermit replies, sorrow in his voice.
The dream passes, fading into wisps of smoke. The Hermit floats through the vapor, imprisoned in his own mind. And he holds the High Priestess's hand as she lays near the Chariot, about to fulfill the Emperor's last wish.
"Please don't let go, Doug," she rasps.
"Never," he affirms.
And with sparks and screaming, the Priestess enters the Chariot. As the life leaves her eyes, the Hermit knows that the Priestess is long gone. The Chariot took her soul from her, and the Empress awakens.
The Hermit floats as the dream becomes dust. The Empress looms tall over him as he hides in the walls. The faithful Hierophant on his back tells him where to go. She of Strength rises to the top of the list, past countless other doomed souls. The Empress's voice echoes around him, but all the Hermit thinks of is what he has just done to that poor girl. He wishes her the best of luck, and he flees.
It dissipates, and the pendulum swings back, and the Hermit dreams. The High Priestess stands faithfully by the Emperor's side. The words he speaks will last through the ages, long after the purpose they once served was replaced, sealed over.
"Goodbye, Caroline," the Priestess giggles. She steals a glance at the Hermit. The Emperor chuckles to himself, but the Hermit just smiles and waves, sharing a small moment while he could. His twin-colored eyes only see her.
The Hermit passes through. Now, he reaches his hand into the clockwork sphere. A conscience, they say, but he knows it will never be enough. The Empress could not be stopped. And yet, he wonders if the Priestess still lives in the Chariot. If he could save her from the fate she was condemned to, exiled within the circuitry. He himself is an exile, a dying one at that, and this is just a memory.
The Hermit hums a little tune he heard long ago, left in radios for anyone to hear. He desperately hopes she of Strength will find it, in the test chamber, when she awakens for the last time. He had been deluding himself this whole time, of course. The hope he had had been caged again, dragged back into hell by the wild beasts. But the Fool still lives, and he will be the one to awaken the Strength, but doomed to betray her. Such is the fate of all those who live their lives trapped in the clockwork.
The Hermit had been told, long ago, by a different Hierophant, one who saw the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. That Hierophant told of the answers beneath them in the depths, Promethean warnings, what to do with lemons.
And the Empress's true name.
But now, the Hermit sees a light at the end of the tunnel. He had slept the sleep of the just, and now it was time for him to wake up. The white light blinds him, and he breathes air into his lungs once more. And the Hermit hears a voice.
"Wake up, rat."
A/N: Hi, everyone! This is my attempt at a real Portal fanfic! Please, please review, and I'll try to get more chapters up!
I do not own Rattmann, GLaDOS, Chell, Wheatley, the Companion Cube, Caroline, the Oracle Turret, Cave Johnson, or any of the rest. They all belong to Valve. This fic is mine, though!
See you all soon!