The horrible shrieking noise of the rusted lift creeping up the shaft invaded Chell's ears. Something she learned about Old Aperture was that everything was rusted. Everything. Things were rusted that she didn't even know could rust. …she probably had tetanus. She really needed to get out of here. It…had been a while since Wheatley had knocked her down here. God, how many chambers down here had she been through? She had to be getting close! Just a few more chambers and…
…wait. Going through the chambers isn't how she got out the last time. No…getting off the rails was how she was able to take down GLaDOS, twice. Maybe that's the way to handle this now! Coming to a screeching halt on the rickety catwalk leading to the next area, Chell scanned the area for an alternate route.
"Why are we stopping? The next chamber is that way," the potato speared on the end of her Portal Gun queried. Paying the vegetable no heed, Chell found what she was looking for. Down below, another low-running catwalk led to an area that was distinctly not an Enrichment Sphere. Gripping the rusted rail, the young woman swung her legs over and leapt down below. Her Long Fall Boots absorbed the shock; the springs in the back giving a satisfied twang as she made contact with the catwalk. Ah. It appears that this particular catwalk leads to a small building on the other end of the lake of…God knows what. Taking care not to slip, Chell began to make her way over to her new destination.
"You know…as much as I'd like to waste time exploring rather than going back up there and keeping us from exploding…oh. Wait. No, I wouldn't like to do that. At all," GLaDOS buzzed, irritably.
Oh, be quiet. You are food now. Food does not get to make navigational decisions, Chell thought as she tried the door knob.
Locked. Figures. Well. She'd just have to use a little…persuasion. Of the percussive variety. Backing off a few feet, the test subject eagerly licked her lips and ran right at the door. Leading with her shoulder, Chell had hoped to bum rush the door right down. As it stood, she made contact, but bounced off uselessly. She landed hard on her back, nearly dropping the portal gun in the process.
"What are you doing?" GLaDOS asked frantically. "You almost dropped me! My God, is violence and brute force your answer to everything?"
Well, if violence and brute force don't work…it's just because I haven't used enough of it! she thought as she followed up with two more body-slams. After the third, the door had reached its limit. It flew right off the hinges and the young woman ended up in an ungraceful heap on the floor, the potato on her gun emitting a strange noise somewhere between a yelp and a whimper. Chell responded by grinning.
Somehow, GLaDOS managed to compose herself quickly and shot back, "Well. That was two more attempts than I would have thought, given your weight."
Rolling her eyes, Chell picked herself up off the floor and took in her surroundings. They appeared to be in…some sort of lab. There were all sorts of machines lining the walls, many with paper displaying long-forgotten readouts protruding from slots. Several dusty, worn desks dotted the room; each one was covered with folders and various types of glassware. There was a large tank in the center of the room that was, thankfully, empty. Perhaps it was because she was concussed from slamming herself into doors, but damn if everything didn't look fascinating!
"…you know what this isn't? A good used of our time," GLaDOS said, her tinny voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm. "I could think of a few better uses. Like finding a way back up, for instance. Or thinking up a way to get me back- hold on. What's that?"
Turning around and glancing in the direction GLaDOS was looking, Chell found that a corner of the room had been haphazardly coated in what looked like purple paint. Drawing closer, it looked like some was covering the floor and ceiling as well.
"Oh! This must be another type of mobility gel! Step on it, would you?" Chell stared at GLaDOS dubiously. Like hell she was going to just start jumping on strange substances! Especially when they haven't even left the lab!
"Oh, I see. When you want to do something, you can't slam your massive body into things quick enough. But when I want to do something, you just can't bring yourself to even try," she huffed. "I'm marking that on your file. Selfish. And inconsistent. And bad at science."
If I had a file for you, I'd be marking it with "childish," Chell rolled her eyes and gingerly stepped onto the purple gel on the floor. Nothing happened. She tried jumping on it, and running on it. There were still no results.
A frustrated sigh emanated from the cranky vegetable, "Have you not noted the color? This isn't Repulsion Gel or Propulsion Gel. You're going to have to try something different."
Chell fired the portal gun. The two portals bloomed on the surface of the walls, both fully functional. But nothing out of the ordinary happened.
"…as thrilled as I am that you can think with portals, I mean besides that."
Maybe it would work if she got a running start and jumped on it? She backed up in preparation to do just that. Unfortunately, she wasn't paying attention and bumped into a desk behind her. She upset the objects on top; they toppled over and landed on the floor. Several Erlenmeyer flasks shattered upon impact. However, a few pipettes bounced on the floor and made contact with the gel covered wall…and stuck there.
"Oh! It appears to have the opposite properties of the Repulsion Gel! This warrants further study. See if you can walk up the wall and possibly onto the ceiling."
Tentatively, Chell placed one foot onto the wall. She…really didn't want to fall on her ass, but there really wasn't any other way to test it, she guessed. At least, not one that would satisfy her cranky companion. And…she did kind of feel…maybe a little bad about the whole core transfer thing and getting her stuck in a potato.
…she had to be going crazy. God, she needed to get out of here.
Placing her other foot on the plum-colored surface, Chell hoisted herself up. GLaDOS had been right, she held fast. She walked up and down the length of the wall; it was kind of a bizarre feeling: just sticking to the side of a wall. A…very bizarre feeling. Like…a dizzy sensation, she wasn't even moving! Oh God, she had vertigo, didn't she?
I can handle flinging through Portals, Aerial Faith Plates and Hard Light Bridges; but I can't stomach standing on a wall? What the hell is wrong with me?
Her self-admonishment did nothing to dispel the dizziness. GLaDOS, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as nonplussed as the young woman was. "Excellent! It works on vertical surfaces. Now try the ceiling."
Reluctantly, Chell complied. As expected, the gel's properties still held true on the ceiling as well. Her ponytail dangled downward from her head, which was currently where all the blood was rushing. Another wave of dizziness passed over her, which GLaDOS seemed oblivious to.
"I didn't even know this was down here! Oh, the science I could do with this!" she buzzed, excitedly.
This is glue, GLaDOS. You are getting worked up over glue, Chell thought, fighting to keep down what little she had in her stomach.
"Oh, the applications! I could start out with just this in a room in the beginning. And then I might be able to combine it with Aerial Faith Plates! Subjects could be flung into the wall, and with the gel, they would stick there," the excitement in her voice steadily rose, "Portals could be fired from all sorts of new angles! And I could utilize more surface area for tests or even-" a burst of static emanated from the potato as the audio abruptly cut out.
Chell gave a small laugh. She had worked herself up so much over this new gel she had shorted herself out! Apparently she can fizzle out over happiness as well as anger.
She…really was passionate about science, wasn't she?
Figuring she'd better take the opportunity while she was out, Chell eased herself down from the ceiling back to the floor. Hopefully, once she was back on solid ground the nausea would pass. Maybe GLaDOS would stay off long enough for her too find a corner and-
Unfortunately, as soon as she touched down, GLaDOS powered back on. "Woah…yes. Anyway. As I was saying. I can implement this new gel into the courses for test subjects-" GLaDOS was cut off as she saw the look of horror on Chell's face.
But she…she promised to let me go! She said so when I rescued her from the bird's nest! Oh…wait. This was GLaDOS we're talking about. How can I ever expect her to keep a promise? She probably just told me that so I'd pick her up and take her with me. She's probably afraid that if she doesn't pretend to be a decent person I'll throw her off a catwalk. Which I'm just about ready to-
"I…might not have meant you."
Did…did she just?
"Hm. I don't think it will matter anyway. It looks like this is all of the mobility gel that there was."
Chell followed her gaze to the floor, and subsequently to the container near the wall. Other than being inside, the container was empty. Indeed, it looked that what was on the wall was the entire stock.
"Since it's dried on the wall, we can't take any with us for further analysis…" she continued, forlornly. She sounded much like a child who had been told they couldn't have a new toy.
An explosion from above wracked the room and startled both out of their respective thoughts.
"Mmm. Let's find a way back up before there isn't a facility to test in."
The young woman closed her eyes. She…really does love science. The Enrichment Center is definitely important to her. She…was going to get GLaDOS back in her body.
Chell gave GLaDOS an encouraging smile. She merely huffed back.
Stepping over the fallen door to the lab behind her, Chell began searching for a way back up to the test chambers. They had a facility to keep from blowing up.
And…as far as letting her go went…she was starting to believe her.
A/N: This was actually a gift for a friend. But as always, improvements and suggestions are welcome! How neat would it be for me to give her a better version! :D