Chell still couldn't believe she'd been stupid enough to let herself get dragged back down into this hell. When she'd first woken up, she'd honestly thought she was dreaming. That theory died as soon as she realized she couldn't wake herself up. Now, she could either keep running and testing, or let GLaDOS just go back to making a point out of trying to kill her.
"You are a horrible person. I'm serious, that's what it says. We weren't even testing for that."
Chell glared at the ceiling. GLaDOS usually didn't use the same insult twice, but it seemed the computer had grown quite fond of that one. What she would give to kill that damn computer again. She had never thought of herself as a murderous psychopath, but GLaDOS had a knack for bringing out sides of Chell no one ever really knew existed.
Her body was starting to complain- there was only so long she could run without a break, and she didn't know how much longer she could keep going. She needed to find one of Rattman's dens soon or she knew she'd make a fatal mistake.
Thankfully, for the first time since she'd woken up and found herself back in Hell, it appeared life wasn't completely out to get her. At the start of the next chamber, a telltale panel was misbehaving and marking the entrance to a den. She could rest for a while, just out of the computer's reach. Maybe there'd be some canned food left behind if she was lucky.
She'd barely settled in with her god-knows-how-old-yet-barely-edible can of...something green when she heard a thunk from just outside in the test chamber. Then there was a groan that sounded male, but she couldn't really be sure- the acoustics were always bad in these dens.
Chell peeked her head out just enough to see what was going on. What she saw was a snowy haired boy shaking his head as if to clear it. "Hate it when Skulker gets a new upgrade," he muttered to himself. It had apparently taken him this long to think that perhaps looking around at his new environment might be a good idea. "Where am I?"
"Welcome to the Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center. As a part of a vital testing protocol, I must inform you that you are not authorized to be in this part of the Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center."
The boy somehow managed to look ready to fight and nervous at the same time. Now that he was on his feet, Chell noticed how he seemed to be studying every part of what was around him. "Sorry about that. Showing up here definitely wasn't on the to-do list today. If it's all the same to you, I'll just be going now." Despite the fact that it should have been impossible, the boy started floating up towards the ceiling.
Chell watched as he lost most of his visibility and then hit the ceiling. "What the hell?"
"You are also unauthorized to leave." The voice said and the boy just looked around, finally seeming to realize that the voice wasn't coming from an intercom, it was simply there. "Oh, I've read all about you. Ghost menace, ghost hero, that annoying ghost kid. Did you know that half the country wants you as a test subject?"
The boy put a hand at the back of his neck. "I didn't realize it was that many..."
GLaDOS spoke, pretending not to have heard the boy. "And now you're here with me. Oh, you'll test wonderfully side by side with the fat piece of garbage hiding in the walls, thinking I can't see her munching away again. And she wonders why she breaks the Aerial Faith Plates." Chell glared at the ceiling again. She knew she wasn't fat, this was more out pure irritation. She tried not to show it, but hearing the constant insults did start to grate on her nerves.
"There's someone else here?" He whispered. Chell almost couldn't make out the words. The snowy haired boy looked around and finally spotted the broken panel and Chell's head peeking out from behind it. "Shit."
"I suppose it's only fair to warn you that you can't save her or yourself. You can't play hero anymore."
"I'm not a hero."
"I know. The word hero implies altruistic deeds, something humans aren't even fully capable of. Did you know the man who discovered that actually spent the rest of his life trying to disprove it? All his efforts actually did was solidify the idea. Just thought that was interesting."
"And here I thought Vlad was worst thing I'd ever dealt with," the boy muttered.
"I CAN hear you. No wonder your grades are so low, Daniel."
The boy's head snapped up. "How do you know my name?"
"It's none of your concern. I'll tell you what, behave and maybe I'll tell you all the other interesting things I know." Chell watched as the boy's face took on a look akin to worry. "Anyway, if the pig is done stuffing her face with her daily meal of mold, we ought get on with the testing. I'm sure she'll be happy to show you around. But first..."
The boy's eyes went wide as they lost their eerie glow and an odd ring formed around his waist. "What are you doing?" He asked, his voice shaking as he fought to control the rings.
"Shorting out your powers. Did you know that Aperture Science was the first develop anti-ghost equipment? I didn't know that until I went looking for ways to slow you down a few minutes ago. We had this stuff even before your parents did! Can you imagine the look on their faces when they realize their own son was a ghost? Honestly, you should be glad I'm giving you safety, Daniel. No-one else would want you."
The boy fell to his knees, the set of rings finally traveling across the expanse of his body. Chell watched as black hair replaced the white and blue eyes replaced the neon green. "How did you know?" He asked weakly.
"I know everything." The boy slowly stood up, clearly uncomfortable without his powers. "Now, you little freaks ought to get on with the testing. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen." The boy's eyes went wide, he apparently had more to lose outside the facility than Chell did. Chell didn't know the boy had a whole town that depended on him along with friends and family that were sure to come looking for him. All Chell had to fight for was her own damn freedom- the last thing the boy had on his mind.
Chell put her can of green stuff down, slowly moving closer to the strange boy. She really didn't want to trust anything down here, not after what happened last time, but if the boy really had just been thrown into testing, she at least needed to trust him enough to work with him.
Somehow, despite all that had happened, the boy smiled when he saw her coming towards him. "I'm Danny," he said, holding out a hand. "I'm going to get us out of here." His voice had a sense of hope that Chell hadn't heard since she'd been teamed up with Wheatley. That alone was enough to make her weary.
"Chell," was all she said as she hesitantly reached for his outstretched hand. That was the only word she'd intentionally said in all her time down here. There'd been a few unintentional curses whenever she made a mistake, but that was it.
"Look, I don't have a clue what's happening down here, but I can tell it isn't good. As soon as I get my powers back, I'll-"
"Danny, shut up." Chell was trying to figure out how the hell she was going to get both her and this kid through the chamber alive. The puzzle was simple enough- get block A over to button B, use that to get block C and redirect laser D to open the door without landing in the toxic goo at the bottom of the chamber. Easy. She still had to figure out how to get Danny to the door though.
Danny was just confused at this point. All he saw was a girl with an odd looking gun calculating something. "Uh...Chell?" Chell just held a hand up to silence him. Her eyes lit up when she figured out what to do. "Stay here," she said firing at first one wall, then another. Danny did as he was told while Chell took off running.
She finished the chamber in a matter of minutes, then shot another portal just above the Excursion Funnel. "Move to the white tile," she said, and Danny didn't question the order till he'd already fallen through the portal she'd just shot beneath his feet.
"What the-! Oh. Am I just going to float along until I hit the wall?" His question was answered when he did in fact hit the wall. Chell desperately wanted to wave the gun and her hand around in a "duh" fashion, but if there was one good piece of advice GLaDOS had ever willingly given her, it was not to look at the operational end of the device.
"You don't talk much, do you?" He asked as he was literally being dragged through the door and into the elevator at the end. Chell shook her head, hoping it would get the boy to shut up. She had a feeling it wouldn't, but it was worth a shot.
She really wanted him to shut up, she didn't like how much he was starting to sound like Wheatley and those weren't memories she was really fond of revisiting.
Don't ask me what the hell I'm doing starting a new fic when I can't consistently update my existing ones- I don't know why either. I just am. Of all the plot bunnies I usually get and push aside, this one would not leave me alone.
Anyway... Comments and feedback are as welcome as always!
Invisible One