A/N: After finally completing Portal 2 and shooting poor little Wheatley off into space this idea has been niggling around in my head. It started out as just a one-shot to write out my feelings, but then the ideas started to flow and I'm already half-way done with a second chapter. I dunno, I'll probably keep posting so long as the inspiration keeps at it. Fingers crossed! Enjoy!

My Regrets

By DM-sama

~*What A Wonderful World*~

Grass was incredibly itchy.

After walking for miles and miles in the seemingly endless plateau, Chell had decided to take a quick breather and curled up in the deceptively soft-looking grass, if only to rest her eyelids for a short while. When she woke up to the cloaking darkness of night (panicking after remembering the last time she had awoken to a great change) her arms were bright red with a rash.

Welcome back to the world, Chell, she thought wryly. You know, the thing you've been fighting to get for the last forty or so years of your life. Oh shit, you're forty, Chell!

But she was just being crabby, of course. The fresh air of the world outdoors tasted incredibly sweet, like honeydew. She didn't even know how that tasted. Even the surreal, never ending landscape was a complete beauty, so different from the tight testing chambers, and did well to completely strike her with awe.

Yet, of course, there had to be a downside. A 'but'.

She had a nightmare. Predictably. She's had a nightmare almost every night of her life.

And just who was the star of this particular dream?

You guessed it.

Chell winced as the visions of last night's adventure came swirling back to her. The fight. The explosion. The coup upon Aperture Science, performed by her and GLaDOS. And Wheatley's exile into the dark reaches of space.

Grab me! GRAB ME! GRAAB MMEEEEEEE!

She fisted her hair and curled up into a ball, trying to expel the dreams from her head. Despite her mental protests, they just kept growing stronger and crisper. She could clearly see him now, her little robot friend. His swirling, blue eye. His cheery voice. His absolute fear and desperation as he was sucked into the nether regions of the never ending vortex of space.

Well, at least he has Spacey to keep him company.

It was supposed to be funny, but she didn't smile.

When Chell had walked out of the Aperture Science Facility (aka tool shed) she had made one resolute promise to herself; that she would have no regrets. She humored herself for a few yards, dragging along her old Companion Cube, but eventually thought better and ditched it. No regrets. She thought about GLaDOS and the robot's sick, twisted games that she was sure to perform on the many other hapless humans trapped in the building. No regrets.

She reflected upon the hour when Wheatley had awakened her from her stasis, a day that seemed so long ago when it was merely yesterday morning, and had at once charmed her with his clumsy wit and endearing accent.

No regrets.

Brushing herself away the harmful memory Chell rose, performed a few stretches, and was instantly on her way. She figured after all that freaking testing she must had a higher endurance than that of the average human. Though, honestly, she had no idea of knowing what the average human was anymore.

Well, she was on her way to find out.

A few hours passed and the moon was high in the sky. It lighted up the path for her. To think, she actually portaled to the moon. Once upon a time she had been just a little girl making a potato battery for science class. Ugh, it hurts to remember…

Finally, she had found a road. And on that road, a car. It was driven by a friendly gentleman who probably couldn't see too well in the darkness. He asked her where she was going, to where she dopily said I don't know. A lot of humans must say that because he merely shrugged and opened the door for her. Inside her mind was swirling, astounded by how rough and twangy the human's voice sounded. So unlike that despicable robot, with her weird songs.

The two drove in silent company.

~*O*~

Oh Wheatley…couldn't you see it?

It's because you were so clumsy…so silly…

No regrets.

The man (whose name was Fred, by the by) dropped her off at a little village. It reminded her of the old Western movies that she would watch sometimes in the Relaxation Center. Finding a stray puddle, she knelt down and eagerly splashed her face, relieved to feel something liquidity that didn't poison her or hate her skeleton. It was then she got a good long look at her reflection, and she literally jumped back.

AH! Oh. My. God. You look terrible—ummm... good. Looking good, actually.

Oh, so THAT'S what he meant by that.

Against her will, a small smile curled her face. Right from the beginning, he was an obvious idiot.

But she had loved him.

After quickly realizing that humans still probably used currency, and that she had nothing of the sort, Chell walked up to the nearest house? and knocked timidly on the door.

It was answered by a disgruntled young lady who glared at her with a kind of burning intensity. It fascinated Chell, that much emotion. Quietly explaining her predicament and her need of a night's rest, Chell watched the girl snort and practically slam the door. Chell blinked.

Well, we can't all be heroes.

Several more attempts later, a weird looking man with a funky smell let her in with a slurred ooshaai. It reminded her of the drugged test subjects she'd see from her cell from time to time. Feeling it better to lock the door to her tiny, temporary room, she curled up onto the squishy bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

Wheatley once again stared in her dreams, though this time it was all a bit more unorthodox. He had somehow found a way back to earth and was yelling at her, shouting, accusing her of leaving him to die in space. He was crying too, though she couldn't explain how. He just was. Chell had cried out, telling him she had tried everything she could, that she had never meant to let him go in the first place.

He tried to kill you, Chell.

That was the end of that.

She awoke from her dream and immediately set on her way. She had stolen some clean clothes, loving the feel of something other than jumpsuit on her skin. Her shirt was baggy, and the pants were a kind of bluish material that's she's never seen before. Denim was written on the tag. Taking a lovely red baseball hat for good measure (all the while never realizing that she was actually stealing) she was quick to flag down another ride and was well on her way.

NOW WHO'S A MORON? Could a MORON PUNCH! YOU! INTO! THIS! PIT? HUH? Could a moron do THAT?

The memory of him turning against her, of him being corrupted by the system, that hurt the most. It wasn't just because he'd done it; it was because how easy it had been for him. A few harsh words from GLaDOS, and suddenly she was the enemy?

Weren't we friends? Partners in crime?

When she had finally reached the top of the Facility from her long trip through Aperture, she hadn't known what to suspect. She'd be placed through the test once more, surely that wasn't a surprise. GLaDOS made her practically immune to it. But to be forced through it for merely his pleasure? Seeing him just watch her, hearing him moan. It was enough to spark the bitterness inside of her.

Was it because of the accursed system that you turned on me? Or did you always secretly hate me?

Then she would remember the time he had been attacked by a bird during an attempt to rescue her. Her smirk would widen.

The car drove for hours, where Chell pleasured herself by wondering just how far away from the laboratories she was. Never going back. She missed the weight of her Portal Device, truly, but figured it was useless in a world without gel anyway. Unless she wanted to shoot the moon again.

The driver, a portly man of forty-seven, tried to make conversation with her. He sounded closer to Rick, the adventurous core, as he probed her for information. Her old, mute habit kicked in and she remained silent, staring sightlessly at the grassy slopes. She vaguely caught the words city and New York. It was a curious thing, the effect the name of that city had on her. She wanted to go there, if only for that feeling.

Wheatley…you never saw it…?

Heh, you were always so clueless, weren't you?

Days passed of her traveling, jumping from truck to truck, finally having an answer when the humans asked her the question. New York, please.

You were perfect, you know? You did what you were made to do.

You were so flawed…so human…just right…

She had no idea how far away New York actually was but if the shocked expressions the people who gave her a ride were anything to go by, it was a long trip. The people were so interesting too. A young teenager who looked like he was a run away, an old woman who gazed at her with beady eyes while smoking a cigarette, a truck driver, a car washer, a person who worked in a candy factory. She'd never speak to them, excluding the stray yes or no she'd say here and there; she would merely listen, trying to guess at what the world was like today.

A month passed and eventually she no longer burdened herself with thoughts about Wheatley. Sometimes, though, she would find herself envisioning her returning to the moon and performing a valiant rescue, snatching him out of the blackness. She would brutally punish herself whenever she did. He's lost to you…one way or the other…

Besides, GLaDOS would never forgive you.

At that point, she placed everything from Aperture Science far behind her.

No regrets.

~*O*~

Well, there you have it. Yeah, yeah Wheatley wasn't in it, Chell can speak, blah blah; I'm just trying to create suspense. D'you know how hard it is to write Wheatley speak? It's bloody difficult! Well, let's see just how many reviews we can pile in before the next chappie alright? Warning; I have no idea where I'm taking this story, so we just might end up in Disneyland for all I know. Ciao!

(Also, no beta, so if you see any errors feel free to point them out. The position's open to anyone that wants it.)

~DM-sama