A/N

I wrote this a long time ago, and it never got posted, so sorry if it is worse than some of my other stories!


I pressed my face up against the glass and looked to the right. All clear. Turning to my left cheek I searched the other end of the hallway. Not a presence in sight. I sighed a sigh of relief and turned to my chair. I sat staring at nothing for a couple of seconds before snapping back to attention.

I smirked at my victory and jammed the power button on the computer in front of me. Load, load, load! I chanted in my mind. The monitor slowly flickered to life and lit up my face in the darkness of my office. I quickly logged on and opened the Internet. I typed in the web address for my favorite fan fiction site.

I love fanfiction, I love how so many minds have a whole different interpretation on one thing. It shows that people can work together to create something beautiful, all with the same topic. I was soon absorbed in the words that opened the gate to another world of adventure and fantasy. The world that currently overwhelmed my mind was about a girl who is forced to fight to the death in an arena.

I was deep into the climax when a knock interrupted my half-awake state. I jumped inches above the chair and snatched at the mouse. No! The mouse toppled out of my reach and onto the floor, seemingly miles away. A small shriek escaped my lips as I dived for the little utensil that held my job on the line. Just as I toppled to the floor, the door behind me opened.

Before looking at the person, I quickly righted myself and pretended to dust off my denim work skirt, all the while stepping in front of the screen. There, now he or she can't see. I slapped a smile on my face and looked up. My jaw dropped.

Cave Johnson stood in the doorway, and if you knew Cave Johnson, you also knew that he had a very nasty habit of firing innocent employees, and I'm not so innocent anymore. I clamped my jaw shut and tried to form a makeshift smile. "What are you doing!" He barked. Oh no! Think of something, think of anything! "Nothing, you just surprised me, Mr. Johnson."

His eyes narrowed and he looked mad and... slightly confused. "Tell me truth." What? I must be as bad a liar as they say I am! I sighed and stepped away from the monitor, hanging my head in shame. I might as well have been waving my job bonjour. I didn't look up from my stupid high heels when Cave replied.

"What is this?" I gulped. No, I will not give up, I have to be strong like that one girl on that story. I will fight until my death, more like until they drag me pleading out of here. I took a deep breath. "It's called fanfiction. That is where people write a different version of a story that already exists. Please, sir, don't fire me. I love this job and I believe science deserves a spot in front of everything. Just please-"

"Caroline." "Yes, Mr. Johnson." I said, my voice almost cracking on the last note. "Did you write anything?" I gulped. "Yes, but please this job is all I ha-" Cave Johnson cut me off with a stern look.

"That is fine. Get back to work. Now." I stared, mouth agape, at him. Before I could close my mouth or even say a word, Cave whisked out the door and bolted down the hallway.

My expression was probably priceless, but I couldn't seem to wipe it off my face. If anyone would have passed by in the hallway they surely would've been confused. With my fabulous good luck, that just so happened to happen.

"Hey, Miss. Berry do you-" I still stood stock still with an expression similar to the one that the man named Life had once he found that Cave had returned his lemons, new and improved with combustibility. I shook my head, hopefully wiping the expression clean off my face.

"Wheatley, did Mr. Johnson take his medication this morning?" The man in the doorway's eyes widened. "How did you know? Um... Oh look." He turned and looked down the hallway. "Don't worry I'll be right there! Sorry, Caroline, I gotta go!" And with that he ran down the hallway the same direction as Cave. "What is with the people here?" I said aloud with the same aghast expression on my face.

I quickly recovered and slapped my face. Bad face, you make too many weird expressions, I thought. I ducked my head back into the office and closed the fanfiction window. Then, realization set in. I still have my job! Yes! A thick smile spread across my face and I did a five second disco party.

Of course, I had to be interrupted. "Hey, Caroline, do you know what Wheatley did with the neurotoxi- oh. Okay, I will just leave you to your...disco-ing." I froze and the immediately wondered if this place had any privacy. I looked up just to catch the woman racing out the doorway like many others.

"Wait, Gladys!" The woman froze, her long blonde-white hair swishing over her shoulders. "Yes, Miss. Disco?" I sighed, she is never going to let that down. "The neurotoxin controls are on floor 67, chamber H-A."

Gladys turned around slowly and looked me in the eyes. I suddenly became sure that telling her the location of the deadly gas was a mistake. Suddenly, her face lit up and she chirped a happy thanks before running down the corridor. How many people can I scare off in one day? I sighed and wondered what on Earth was so important down that hall before turning back to my computer.


I glanced up at the clock. Yes, time to close up shop! Well, more like time to close up the facility, but shop sounds better. Before closing down my computer, I checked my e-mail. There on the very top of the unopened, was a private message from . I selected it, but all there was was a simple link. My brows furrowed as I wondered who it could be from.

After turning around and locking the door, I double clicked it. The link brought up a story, about Aperture. Who would write a story about Aperture? I quickly scanned the length before actually reading it. I put my hand on my cheek and started reading. Little did I know a face was watching me from the small window in the door. He smiled a foolish grin and turned back down the hallway. "She's reading my story!" The figure said, and then skipped down the corridor to his office.


"You call this a story?" asked the irritated A.I. Chell scoffed and glared at GLaDOS. "I mean, I have seen monkeys write better than this. Seriously, we had a test for monkeys to write stories." Chell stubbornly crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow, waiting for the reason behind the words. GLaDOS sighed. " First of all, You never said who that mystery dude was, secondly, you didn't have enough action, and thirdly, was Gladys supposed to be me?" Chell rolled her eyes and pulled out a sharpie from her pocket. "I'd like to see you write better!" She wrote on the wall. "You know I can't write!" GLaDOS replied once she read Chell's words. Chell frowned, pretending to look pitiful to mock GLaDOS. "Fine."


"There, all done!" GLaDOS turned the screen towards Chell. Chell's eyes briefly scanned the words before she realized something. Chell whipped out the sharpie and began scribbling on the wall. "That is the same thing as my story; all you did was add your reaction to it!" GLaDOS's optic narrowed. "And?" Chell sighed. "Write something else!" GLaDOS swung her mainframe away from the test subject and looked back to a monitor. "Fine."


I blinked. That was weird. I sighed and tapped my fingers on the desk. My eyes wandered back to the monitor. Who would write a fan fiction about Caroline? Hmm... Maybe I should go check on her. I jumped up from the large swivel chair and headed out the door and down the hallway. I knocked on the door sharply three times. I stood still for a second before hearing a large crash. What happened?

I flung the door open to Caroline laying with her limbs flailed about on the ground. A few inches from her hand was a gray computer mouse. A look of surprise was written on her face and I stood in the doorway a moment while she got her bearings. She straightened her skirt and stepped slightly to the side. Wait. Haven't I seen that before? Odd sense of Deja vu, is that a symptom of moon rocks? I waved off the thought.

Then she looked up at me. It was hard not to notice her jaw almost on the floor. What would bring her astonishment? Her jaw clamped shut moments after dropping, giving the expression that that wasn't supposed to happen. Caroline's face twisted up into a... grimace? Or a smile? "What are you doing?" I asked.


"What are you doing?" Chell scribbled on the wall. "That is my fanfic and you cannot write anything related to it!" GLaDOS sighed. "Then what am I supposed to write about, space?" A smile crossed Chell's face. "Exactly."


I stared at the computer in disbelief. Who sent this to me? Was someone watching me? I glanced around the room. Nope, no cameras. Just then another e-mail popped up. This time it wasn't anonymous. I read the sender's name aloud. "Cave Johnson."

What?


A/N

Do not worry I am just as confused as you. So let me explain. Cave Johnson wrote that blurb in the middle with Chell and GLaDOS, and that is the story that Caroline read as it mysteriously popped up on her e-mail. Chell wrote the first part about Caroline as well. So, I am not really sure which one is the story and which one is inside the story, I guess you can have it either way. So either Chell wrote the Caroline and Cave Johnson story with GLaDOS, or Cave wrote the Chell and GLaDOS story and sent it to Caroline. I know, I know, it is confusing.

By the way, I got this story idea from Tib Dunnan, because her personality is so much like Cave Johnson's for some reason. Read her beautiful story, After Aperture.

And also, the neurotoxin chamber coordinates are from ASHPoD67's story, Paradox!