Portal 3: What If? Part 2
Chell continued walking with her daughter back to the hotel. Chelsea was getting tired and was starting to show signs of slowing down, but as always, she insisted on walking herself.
"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you, Chelsea?" Chell asked her stubborn toddler.
"No," the two-year-old replied. "Want to do it myself."
Chell smiled. Ever since her daughter learned how to walk, she wanted to do it everywhere. She reminded her of herself, stubborn and strong-willed.
Chell looked around enjoying the beauty of the summer weather and was lost in thought when they came upon something strange. Chelsea found them first. As she was walking ahead, she spotted a crater in the forest clearing and in that crater in the ground were two cores: the Space Core and Wheatley. Chelsea didn't recognize them of course. To her, they were just two weird things.
"We've landed," Wheatley said as his eyes slowly opened. "Oh my, God! We've landed. Haven't we? And we're still alive. Oh, God! We're still alive. I can't believe this."
"Space, are we still in space?" Space Core asked as his eyes darted around.
"No, mate," Wheatley said. "We're home."
"Want to go back to space."
"I wonder if she's anywhere around here. I wonder if she'd be willing to listen to me…"
"Space?" the Space Core asked as Chelsea ran over to the crater.
"No, it's a human, a young human to be exact," Wheatley said in surprise at seeing another human and wondering a little over the fact that she was in a red dress covered in mud. "Wow! Hello! Hello there, small girl! Could you tell us where we are?"
When Chelsea didn't respond straight away, he asked again, "Do you understand me? Do you not understand the language I'm speaking? Are we not in the United States? Well, let me try Spanish. Hola! Comment allez-vous? That's not Spanish at all. Isn't it? That's French…"
Chelsea looked behind her and saw her mother coming after here.
"What that?" Chelsea asked as she pointed at the cores.
"So, you do understand English!" Wheatley exclaimed causing Chell to freeze in her tracks. "That is just wonderful. Would you be able to tell us where we are?"
"Space? Space? Want to go back to space!" the Space Core shouted out.
"Space!" Chelsea shouted out. "Space!"
"Space!" the Space Core shouted.
"Space!" Chelsea shouted back.
Their conversation went like that in the background while Chell came over to get a closer look at the two cores she hadn't seen in four years.
"They're going to be at this for a while. Aren't they?" Wheatley said as Chell finally came into his view. "That's just…Chell? Chell, is that you?"
Chell stood over him in shocked silence. She could not believe what she was seeing. Her feelings only gradually began to come back.
"Oh, my God!" Wheatley yelled. "It is you. I can't believe it. You are really here standing right in front of me. This is fantastic. I thought I'd never see you again. How are you? By the way, if you don't mind me asking, who's the girl? Are you babysitting? That is something humans do to make money. Isn't it?"
Chelsea finally got tired of her yelling match the Space Core and had walked back over to her mother.
"Mama?" Chelsea said as pulled on her mother's jean shorts to get her attention.
Chell snapped out of her stare to look down at her daughter and then at Wheatley again.
"Did she just say 'mama?'" Wheatley asked excitedly. "Are you her mummy, Chell? Oh my, God! That's incredible. I can see the resemblance now. She looks a lot like you she does, except for the black hair and slanted eyes of course but she's got your eyes. Is that a ring on your finger?"
Chell looked at her left hand and crossed her arms as she telepathically called Zaki.
"That's a sign of marriage in human culture," Wheatley said. "Isn't it? You're married! Oh, Chell! That is wonderful. You got married and had a little girl who is not illegitimate. That is just wonderful. That is. I am so happy for you."
There was a moment of hesitation and silence before Wheatley continued.
"Chell, I want to say that I'm sorry about what happened," Wheatley said as sincerely as he could. "I'm sorry I was bossy and monstrous and tricked you and tried to kill you. That was horrible of me. I shouldn't have done it and have spent the last four years wishing I could take it all back. Would you ever be able to forgive me?"
Another moment of silence passed by. All was quiet except for the Space Core's ramblings. Chell considered what to do. Wheatley had betrayed her and hurt her and now all the memories were coming back. Her faith told her to forgive her enemies or risk being unforgiven herself, but she was finding her pain hard to let go. To make matters worse, she couldn't leave them there either. She would have to take them home and take care of them, as follower of Christ was supposed to.
Chelsea had no idea of what was going through her mother's mind, but she could still sense that something was wrong.
"Mommy, you OK?" Chelsea said as she continued pulling on her mother's shorts and pointed at Wheatley. "What that?"
"I'm a robot, darling," Wheatley said. "Don't worry, dear. I don't bite. I'm your mommy's old friend."
"Space, space, space," the Space Core continued to say in the background.
"Who're you?" Chelsea asked.
"My name is Wheatley," Wheatley said. "Can you say that, love?"
"Wheatwey," Chelsea said as she let her mother go and walked over to him.
"No, dear, no, it's Wheatley. You pronounce it just like this: Wheat-ley. Say it with me now. Wheat-ley. Can you say that?"
"Wheatwey!"
"Oh, well, I guess we'll have to work on that. No big deal, though. No big deal. We've got plenty of time to do that."
Chelsea smiled and walked over until she was standing right next to Wheatley. He was about half her size, and she crouched down in front of him.
"You're rather dirty, aren't you?" Wheatley said just then noticing she was covered in mud. "Has your mother been letting you play outside in the dirt all day? Not that there's anything wrong with that of course, Chell. It is perfectly fine, letting your baby be one with nature. It's very healthy."
Chelsea looked up at her mother who still looked shocked and was starting to shake in anger and hurt as her memories came flooding back to her.
"Mama?" Chelsea asked as she stood up and looked at her mother in concern. "You sad?"
Chell walked over to Chelsea, picked up her daughter, and stepped back.
"Mama?" Chelsea asked.
"Chell, you didn't need to do that," Wheatley complained. "I'm harmless like this. You know that. You are not going to leave? Are you?"
"Space, want to go back to space," the Space Core said.
Zaki ran up behind her out of breath and tired. He rested his hand on her shoulder as she turned around to greet him.
"Chell?" Zaki asked. "Where are they? Where are the Cores?"
"Daddy," Chelsea said happily as she reached for him.
Chell allowed Zaki to take Chelsea even though she was covered in mud which got on his green t-shirt and jeans. Then, Zaki walked over to get a closer look as Chelsea put her hands in his black hair.
"So, you're the father!" Wheatley said. "You're the one Chell married. Congratulations! You have got a pretty daughter there. You're going to have to beat the boys to keep them away from her, with a stick!"
Zaki turned around in response to his wife's thoughts.
"Chell, I know he hurt you but we can't leave them out here," Zaki said. "They'll die. He also apologized. Don't forget that."
"Did she say something?" Wheatley asked as he looked at the both of them in confusion. "I didn't hear anything. What are you responding to?"
"You have to carry them in, Chell," Zaki said in response to his wife once again. "I can't carry them and Chelsea."
"Okay, I did not hear her say anything that time," Wheatley said. "What is going on?"
"Alright, you take Chelsea and get her bathed. I'll get Roscoe and the others together for a meeting about what to do. Okay?"
"How are you doing that? Can you read her mind?! What is going on?"
Zaki passed Chelsea back to Chell and walked towards the cores. Chelsea rested her tired head on her mother's shoulder as she turned around and walked back.
"Bye, Daddy!" Chelsea yelled right next to her mother's ear. "Bye, Wheatwey!"
"It's Wheatley, love!" Wheatley yelled after her. "Wait a minute! Where are you going? Chell, you're not just going to leave me here. Are you? You can't leave me here!"
"Space!" Space Core yelled. "Need to return to space!"
"Please don't leave me here with him!"
"Don't panic," Zaki said calmly as he bent over and picked them both up. "My name is Zaki, and I will be carrying you both back to the hotel."
"Hotel?" Wheatley asked as Zaki turned around and started walking back. "You live in a hotel? I don't mean anything bad by that of course. A lot of people live in hotels. I just didn't know you were on hard times financially…"
"We're not," Zaki explained. "Well…It's a long story. The abridged version is that aliens came from another dimension, caused the apocalypse, and enslaved all mankind, so our congregation lives in a hotel to hide from the Combines."
"What?! You mean to tell me that there was an alien invasion!"
"How long have you been in space?"
"Too bloody long."
"Want to go back to space," Space Core yelled. "Need to go back to space! Space! Space! Space!"
"You need to calm down buddy," Zaki began.
"Don't bother, mate," Wheatley said. "It does no good."
Wheatley was sitting on the coffee table of Chell's hotel room. Space Core was put next door in Chelsea's room since he would not stop making noise. On the bed, Chelsea, now clean, was lying down for her nap while Sylvie was trying to read a book next to her.
Sylvie was fourteen with short blonde hair that had been recently cut. She was wearing a black bandana in her hair, jean capris on her legs, and a tie dye t-shirt. Even though she was babysitting Chelsea, Sylvie still continually looked over at Wheatley to read his mind and learn all she could about him, without him knowing. Sylvie had desired to encounter the Aperture Science robots ever since Chell had opened up to her about her story. Now, she was getting her chance and she was excited.
Wheatley, on the other hand, was much less excited. He was told to be quiet so the little girl would sleep and he was told that Chell and some other people would be talking about what to do with the two cores. He was scared. He knew that he had messed up and Chell was still upset. She might not ever forgive him, and to make matters worse, she could turn her new friends against him at any time.
Wheatley gave a quiet, mechanical sigh. He really meant his apology, every word of it. He wanted Chell to forgive him. He wanted to be her friend, like the other people there were. What else could he do? He felt himself grow angry. He had done everything right, but she still rejected him. Maybe, he deserved it, but still…
Sylvie listened in on his thoughts and felt sympathy for him. She never liked being on anyone's bad side and so she knew that Wheatley must have been feeling horrible. Nevertheless, she wasn't really sure what to do. She still had no idea as she got up and entered the bathroom.
After a few minutes, a flush of the toilet, and a quick sound of a sink running, Sylvie rushed out of the bathroom.
"I need to go to my room for a few minutes," Sylvie said as she quickly went out the door. "Listen out for Chelsea."
"What?" Wheatley asked as the door shut.
He looked over and eyed the sleeping child nervously. Wheatley had not ever really dealt with children. He observed them on Bring Your Daughter to Work Day for a while and watched as most of them had died. He quickly turned his thoughts onto something else. That was a memory that he didn't want to re-live.
"Oh, well," Wheatley whispered to himself. "At least, you're still asleep."
No sooner had the words escaped from his mouth than did Chelsea sit up in bed.
"Oh, God," Wheatley said in terror.
He was alone with Chell's infant daughter.
"Oh, hello," Wheatley said nervously. "The other girl went to her room for some reason, but she said she'd be back in a few minutes so do go back to sleep. No worries here, love. Just go back to sleep and the girl will come back very soon."
Chelsea immediately climbed out of bed in her long white t-shirt and walked over to Wheatley. Their blue eyes locked on each other.
"Okay, do not go back to bed, just stand there please and do not do anything," Wheatley said. "Especially, not anything dangerous."
"Wheatwey," Chelsea asked curiously. "Where's Mama and Daddy?"
"It is Wheatley, darling," Wheatley said. "Your parents are away right now, but they will be back later. Don't worry? Your friend should be here soon, though. Don't know what her name is. That reminds me. I never asked what your name was either. Did I? What is your name, dear? Who are you?"
"Chelsea."
"Oh, that is a pretty name, quite pretty. Did your mother name you after herself by any chance? Wait, where are you going?"
Chelsea turned around, climbed back up her stepping stairs onto the bed and started jumping on it.
"No, that's dangerous!" Wheatley yelled. "Stop that. Do stop that please! That is very dangerous! You could crack your head open on the floor, like a melon. I have seen that before. It is not pretty! Please stop that right now! Please listen to Wheatley now! I don't want to get in trouble with your mommy. Please!"
Chelsea stopped jumping on the bed and climbed down to walk to Wheatley again.
"Oh, thank God!" Wheatley said. "Now, just sit on the couch and don't do anything to hurt yourself until your blond friend returns. Okay? Brilliant."
He was finally breathing a sigh of relief when Chelsea crawled up on the couch behind him and continued jumping.
"Wheatwey, look at me!" Chelsea said as she squealed in joy. "I'm jumpin'!"
"It's Wheatley," Wheatley said as he turned upside down to look at her. "And that is not what I said to do. Is it? I said to sit on the couch, not jump on it. Stop that right now!"
Chelsea continued jumping up and down without a care.
"You don't like listening to people. Do you?" Wheatley said in exasperation. "Just like your mother, you are."
"No night clothes," Chelsea said as she stopped long enough to take off her shirt and drop it onto the floor.
She then continued jumping around in just a diaper.
"Now, you are naked. That is just…fantastic. I suppose this is my punishment then. I'm stuck watching a stubborn toddler forever. Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to make the best of it…"
After watching Chelsea jump for another minute, Wheatley came up with a plan out of anger and frustration.
"I'll get back at her," he said. "Yes, I will. But, how? I know! I will turn you into a juvenile delinquent. You will become such a rotten child that you will be a rebel! That is what I'll do. You just need to listen to my advice and you will be the worst child ever. Alright?"
"Banzai!" Chelsea said in Japanese as she jumped onto the table and ran on it until she landed on the ground.
"I have no idea what you just said, but that's the spirit!" Wheatley said as he turned himself right-side up again. "Now, you know how you have not been listening to me this entire time? Keep that up. Never listen to anyone, especially not your parents. They're morons. You don't need to listen to them…ever. Also, do continue to never wear clothing. Boys will like that. And speaking of boys, kiss all of them indiscriminately, especially if they're handsome."
"Need day clothes," Chelsea said looking at herself in the mirror on the closet door.
"No, don't wear clothes. The boys will like you better if you're naked. Also, never go to school. All teachers are idiots. You won't learn anything there. And…don't ever trust anyone," Wheatley said a bit sadly. "They will only hurt you."
"Ouvre la porte (Open the door)," Chelsea said looking at Wheatley and pointing at the door that connected her room and her parents' room.
"I do not know what you're saying, love," Wheatley said. "But, you should get tattoos all over your body, even on your face."
"Open door," Chelsea said.
"Oh, that's what you meant," Wheatley said. "Well, I have no arms or legs so I cannot help you there."
"Open door!"
"I just told you. I can't help you, dear. I'm sorry."
Chelsea started getting fussy. She ran to the door and jumped up and down to reach the handle. When she couldn't do it, she sat on the floor, broke down, and started crying.
"That's it," Wheatley said. "Cry all the time! Everyone will love you more if you do."
After hearing her crying for a minute, Wheatley changed his mind.
"Okay, I take it back," Wheatley said. "Please stop crying, love! Please! It's alright! You don't have to be upset! Please! Oh, what do I do? Your mommy is going to kill me."
Thankfully at that moment, Sylvie opened the door and came back in.
"I swear," Wheatley said. "I didn't do anything. She started crying and I can't make her stop."
Sylvie knew what he had been up to simply by reading his mind, but instead of bringing it up, she tended to Chelsea.
"Chelsea, qu'est-ce que c'est? (What is it?)" Sylvie asked as she bent down and picked Chelsea up. "Quel est le probleme? Pourquoi est-ce que tu pleures? (What is the problem? Why are you crying?)"
"Door is closed," Chelsea replied as she slowly calmed down.
"I can open it for you," Sylvie said while putting Chelsea down on the couch.
"Did you just speak French to her?" Wheatley asked in confusion.
"Yes," Sylvie said as she opened the door and Chelsea crawled down to walk through it. "I have been speaking French to her since she was a baby."
"Merci!" Chelsea yelled from the other room.
"De rien," Sylvie replied.
"Are you French then?" Wheatley asked.
"Yes, I was born and raised in France. I left to live with our family friend, Pastor Roberts, while my parents went to fight the alien invaders. I have heard English all the time since then. I speak French to Chelsea so that I can speak French to someone in the future."
"So, your parents, are they…?"
"I don't know."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I have Chell, Zaki, Pastor Roberts, and my little sister here," Sylvie said scooping Chelsea up in her arms as she walked by with her arms full of stuffed animals and clothes. "I miss my parents, but I am not alone."
Chelsea squealed in joy as Sylvie gave her a kiss.
"Sylvie's my friend," Chelsea said happily.
"And you are mine," Sylvie said giving her a final squeeze before she bent down to let her go.
"Sylvie?" Wheatley asked. "Is that your name?"
"Yes," Sylvie said shyly.
"Oh, it's quite lovely."
Chelsea ran over to Wheatley to show him her stuffed animals.
"Wheatwey, look," Chelsea said stacking her three stuffed animals around him.
"It's Wheatley. What is this now? Are these your toys?" Wheatley asked as he looked them over.
"This fox," Chelsea said showing him her stuffed fox.
"I see," Wheatley said sarcastically. "That is a lovely fox you have there."
"This bird," Chelsea said as she made her stuffed sparrow fly up and down.
"Yes, I know about birds," Wheatley said reliving an unpleasant memory. "One tried to kill me once. It was quite terrible."
"This dragon," Chelsea said making the creature look like he was going to attack. "Roar!"
"Yes, that is really, really scary. In fact," Wheatley said looking around to make sure Sylvie was not close by. "That is the type of tattoo you should get when you're older."
"Sylvie's gone," Chelsea said looking around.
"You're right," Wheatley said just noticing the same thing. "Where did she go?"
"Sylvie?"
"I'm right here," Sylvie said as she carried the Space Core in through Chelsea's room.
"Oh, God," Wheatley said in despair. "Why are you bringing him in here?"
"No one deserves to be alone," Sylvie said with a smile.
"I'd make an exception for him if I were you, honestly."
"Space, space, space," the Space Core said. "Need to go back to space."
"My, God," Wheatley said in exasperation. "No one cares. Why can't you just shut up?"
"Shut up!" Chelsea said.
"That's right," Wheatley said happily to Chelsea. "Shut up! You should say shut up to everyone who bothers you. You learn quickly. I'm quite proud. You're a smart baby."
"Space, space, space!" the Space Core said more and more loudly.
"Shhhh," Sylvie said gently as she shared memories with the core's mind to calm him down. "You don't need to be so loud."
"Space, I saw space. Was it you, space?"
"Yes, you can see more space if you be quiet. Okay?"
"Okay, thank you, space lady!"
Then with that, the Space Core was quiet as Sylvie placed him on top of the bed.
Wheatley, on the other hand, was stupefied.
"What just happened?" Wheatley asked. "He's not talking anymore. How did you do that? Did he say something about seeing space? What did you do?"
Sylvie walked over to Wheatley and picked him up.
"Humans in this world have changed since the time you were created," Sylvie explained carrying him to the bed. "We have been exposed to the radiation of the Combine's dimension, but instead of allowing it to kill us, God used it to make us evolve and develop gifts."
"What kind of gifts?" Wheatley asked as Sylvie laid him on the bed next to Space Core. "And why are you moving me to the bed? What is happening?"
"Sylvie?" Chelsea asked as she reached up and pulled on Sylvie's shirt. "Aide-moi avec des vetements (Help me with the clothes)."
"Please?" Sylvie said.
"Please," Chelsea responded.
"Alright," Sylvie said as she put Chelsea's blue T-shirt with a rainbow on it and her black skirt on her.
"Sylvie?"
"Oui?"
"Potty."
"Oh, vite, Chelsea, vite (quickly, Chelsea, quickly)," Sylvie said as the two of them rushed into the bathroom.
"Wait a moment, you didn't answer my questions," Wheatley said as the door shut.
He turned to the Space Core while waiting for the two of them to leave and said, "Hey, mate, how do you feel?"
"Space," the Space Core said in an eerily calm voice. "I will see space if I calm down. The lady said so."
"What? What did the lady say? What exactly did she do?"
"She made me see…Space!" the Space Core said more excitedly.
"How did she do that?"
"I don't know but I saw space, space, space, space, Space!"
The Space Core continued to go on his usual tirade for the next minute.
"Oh, God, I started it again," Wheatley said to himself. "Didn't I? Yes, Wheatley, you had to go open your big mouth. But how did it happen in the first place? Can humans hear each other's thoughts now? Is that what she meant by gifts? Is that even possible? I suppose God can do anything, but is that really what's going on? I mean, it was impossible before. Wasn't it?"
Wheatley pondered over it for about a minute and came no closer to a conclusion than he had before. Finally, after another minute, Wheatley heard a sink running. When it went off, the door opened and Chelsea ran out.
"Wheatwey, I went potty," Chelsea said running up to Wheatley excitedly with her hands still wet from being washed.
"It's Wheatley, and I'm not as familiar with human jargon, so I don't know what that means, love," Wheatley replied.
"She means that she went to the bathroom," Sylvie said as she turned off the lights of the bathroom and shut the door. "She finally made it to the toilet. She's pretty much toilet-trained now."
Wheatley looked at her in confusion and said, "I suppose it's alright, humans getting excited about little things. No, it's fine, perfectly normal."
"Chelsea is only two years old," Sylvie said defensively as she walked over to the table and picked up the videocassette that she brought in. "Infants usually struggle with toilet-training up until they turn three, so this is a big deal."
"I apologize," Wheatley said quickly. "I didn't realize I had done something wrong…"
"I'm not going to hurt you," Sylvie said calmly. "I'm not GLaDOS."
"No, of course, you're not."
"Chelsea takes a while to figure things out sometimes" Sylvie said as she walked over to the television. "But she's not stupid. It just takes her a while, so when she figures things out, it's a big deal. I won't allow you to think that she's dumb."
"I never assumed that," Wheatley said wondering if she really could see into his mind. "The thought never crossed my mind at all ever. It is non-existent."
Sylvie sighed and continued speaking while she inserted the videocassette into the VCR and turned on the TV, "I know the people at your facility and especially GLaDOS didn't think so, but the truth is that God has made everyone brilliant in their own way. They may not be brilliant in the same way as everyone else is, but they're all still brilliant."
Wheatley went silent and thought about what she said. The people at Aperture never treated him like he was brilliant. He was designed to make bad decisions after all. The last time he had tried to fight against that idea he betrayed the only friend he ever had. No, he could not believe that about himself, but he could believe that about humans, especially about Chell. She was the most brilliant human he had ever seen. Though GLaDOS put her down relentlessly, she never gave up.
"I think you are brilliant in your own way, too," Sylvie said walking back to the bedside table to pick up the remote. "The scientists did not intend that for you, but I believe that God can still use you. He cares about all sentient life, even artificially intelligent ones."
"Wait, how are you doing that?" Wheatley asked. "Did you just read my mind?"
"Yes, I did," Sylvie said.
"Sylvie, aide-moi (Sylive, help me)," Chelsea said as she tugged on Sylvie's shirt.
"Qu'est-ce que c'est? (What is it?)" Sylvie asked as she looked down at her.
"What? You cannot just ignore me after making a statement like that. That's not right at all. You need to give me a proper explanation."
"Get on bed," Chelsea said pointing to the bed and jumping up and down. "Want to see Wheatwey!"
"Wheatley, love, Wheatley," Wheatley said in desperation. "Are you going to answer my questions?"
"Chelsea, tu peut utiliser tes petits escaliers? (Chelsea, can you use your little stairs?)" Sylvie asked.
"Non," Chelsea said stubbornly.
"D'accord," Sylvie said as she picked Chelsea up and put her on the bed.
"Are you just not going to pay attention to me?" Wheatley asked as Sylvie climbed onto the bed.
"Space, space, space!" the Space Core replied.
"Shut up!" Wheatley yelled at him.
"Shhhhhh…." Sylvie said calmly as she touched the Space Core's head. "You need to hush. We're going to watch a movie about space, but we cannot watch it if you're yelling."
"Okay," the Space Core said. "Will be quiet for space and space lady."
"See, how did you do that? Why don't you just bloody tell me? You just want to keep me in the dark like the people back there loved to do? Don't you? What exactly are these gifts?" Wheatley asked anxiously.
"Wheatwey, watch me!" Chelsea yelled getting Wheatley's attention before she ran forward falling head first, created a shield around her body, rolled in it like a ball until she flipped over onto her back, and caused it to dissolve so that she was laying on her back and lying flat on the bed.
"Oh, my God," Wheatley said quietly after the shock started to wear off. "Did that…? Was that real?"
"Yes, it was," Sylvie replied as pointed her finger at the TV, caused the input to come up, and moved it down until it selected the right one. "That is her gift."
"Is that yours?" Wheatley asked.
"Yes, I can manipulate machines and make them do whatever I want."
"Do you mean to tell me that all humans have superpowers now?"
"Not all humans, we are still a minority in this world."
Chelsea got up, crawled over to Sylvie, and cuddled next to her.
"What is it that she did?" Wheatley asked looking at her.
"Have you ever heard of the invisible woman?" Sylvie asked as she rubbed Chelsea's hair.
"I can't say I have."
"She is a comic book character. She can create electromagnetic shields and manipulate them however she wants. It seems that Chelsea can do the same thing."
"Is that why Chell's husband could talk to her without her saying anything?"
"Oui. He can read minds."
"Great. This has been a bloody insane day. Hasn't it? First, I leave space and survive. Then, I find Chell and her family and friends. Now, I find out that humans have superpowers. It's madness."
"Well, let's calm things down now. We're going to watch a documentary about stars."
"I have been staring at stars for four years, mate. I don't want to watch a documentary about stars."
"Stars, stars, stars, space," the Space Core said beginning to ramble again.
"Space!" Chelsea yelled.
"You are outnumbered," Sylvie said as she made the videocassette play. "Besides, I have to watch it for school. I need to learn something today."
Wheatley sighed mechanically and said sarcastically, "Fine, fine. That is just great."
The documentary played and Morgan Freeman came on to talk about the universe.
Not that Wheatley cared, he was as exhausted as it was possible for a robot to be. Wheatley was overwhelmed and worried, so he sat there lost in thought. He wondered at how the world had changed. Even more, Wheatley worried about Chell. He knew he had hurt her, and despite the revenge he tried to take, Wheatley hoped that she would forgive him and that they would be able to be friends again.
Wheatley took a break from his contemplations and looked back at Chelsea. Surprisingly enough, she was watching the program, even though it went over her head. That took Wheatley aback. On the day that, well, terrible things happened, Wheatley had a chance to observe human girls. When the adults talked about science, the girls were mostly unruly and had no interest, even the older ones. It was sad. It was even more terrible when they suffocated on neurotoxin, but still, the fact remained that the girls didn't seem to care. This girl however…
"…the big bang…" Morgan Freeman said on the TV.
"Big Bang!" Chelsea repeated.
"That's right," Wheatley said. "He's talking about the Big Bang. You do pay attention when you feel like it. Don't you?"
"She likes looking at and learning about new things," Sylvie said as she rubbed Chelsea's head. "That why it's easy to watch movies with her. She'll sit still and watch, even if she doesn't completely understand what's going on. She likes observing."
Chelsea crawled over to Wheatley to sit next to him.
"Space," she said to him excitedly as she pointed to the television. "Big Bang in space!"
"I know, love," Wheatley said. "I can hear the man talking."
"Chelsea, you know who caused the big bang?" Sylvie asked pausing the program and getting her attention so that she would possibly leave Wheatley alone. "God."
"God in space?" Chelsea asked.
"Oui," Sylvie said pausing the program and beckoning her over. "Viens d'ici (Come here), Chelsea."
"Wheatwey, God's in space!" Chelsea said banging on Wheatley with her hands.
"It's Wheatley! Owww!" Wheatley yelled in annoyance. "Could you please not do that, darling? It hurts!"
"Chelsea, stop!" Sylvie said as she crawled over and pulled Chelsea back. "Laisse-lui maintenant (Leave him alone)."
"No more space?" the Space Core asked the room.
"Non," Sylvie said pulling Chelsea onto her lap and starting the program again.
When Chelsea was finally sitting on Sylvie's lap, she said, "Cold."
Then scampering out of her lap, Chelsea said, "Wheatwey cold."
"Love, I do not know what you are talking about," Wheatley said in agonizing annoyance.
"Cold," Chelsea said pulling the covers of the bed over Wheatley. "Cold."
"What are you doing? Stop it! Would you quit being so bloody annoying?"
"Warm," Chelsea said as she rubbed the blankets over Wheatley's body. "Warm."
It suddenly occurred to Wheatley why she was doing this.
"You, you think I'm cold. Don't you?" Wheatley said feeling his heart being touched. "And you're trying to warm me up."
As Chelsea piled another blanket on top of him, Wheatley said, "As misguided as this is, this is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me."
"Wheatwey's cold?" Chelsea asked.
"No, dear," Wheatley replied. "Wheatley is warm. He is very, very warm. Thank you!"
"OK, Wheatwey," Chelsea said sitting down next to him and playing with her stuffed sparrow.
"I'm willing to bet that you saw someone do this. Didn't you?"
"She did," Sylvie said now holding the Space Core on her lap. "I told you. She learns by observing. She can also figure things out if you work with her. She's pretty clever."
Wheatley thought for a minute as Chelsea played with her sparrow and watched the movie.
Then he said, "Chelsea, you know what the letter L is. Don't you? You know. A, B, C…"
"D, E, F…" Chelsea continued singing.
"Should have seen this coming."
"G, H, I, J, K, L…"
"L! That's it, love. Stop right there. Do you know what starts with L?"
"L?"
"Yes, L. You know it starts words like lion, lemon…"
"Lemon!"
"Yes, lemon. Now, say the word with me. Le-mon."
"Le-mon."
"Yes, le-mon."
"Lemon."
"Okay, good. Now say lee."
"Lee."
"Good, now say these words together. Lemon. Lee. Lemon. Lee."
"Lemon. Lee. Lemon, lee! Lemon, lee!"
"You are doing great. Now, say lemon, lee, Wheatley. Lemon, lee, Wheatley."
"Lemon, lee, Wheatley!"
"Wheatley, Wheatley, Wheatley."
"Wheatley, Wheatley, Wheatley!"
"You did it!" Wheatley yelled excitedly. "Oh, my God! You are so smart. You figured it out. That is just wonderful. Your friend was right. You really are brilliant."
"Wheatley," Chelsea said. "Wheatley!"
Wheatley was thoughtful for a minute while Chelsea watched the program lying on her stomach and sang his name repeatedly.
Then he said quietly while moving his body to lean against hers, "You know everything I said before? About you needing to be a bad girl? Do forget about that. You don't need to do any of those bad things. You are brilliant just the way you are. The world needs more people like you. You are very sweet. Please don't ever change. Your mummy has done a great job raising you, and you don't need to be any different."
"Wheatley's my friend," Chelsea said as she sat up and gave him a hug.
"Thank you," Wheatley said as he felt his heart melting in this little girl's hands. "I am your friend too, love. I just hope that your mummy feels the same way."
An hour later, Chell and Zaki were walking back to their room. Roscoe was with them to give his emotional support. They and their friends had made their decision. Wheatley and the Space Core would stay with them in the hotel. Chell needed to let go of her anger and learn to forgive Wheatley. They were standing outside their door, waiting to make their move. They stood like that for a minute in the silence.
"Hot damn," Roscoe said finally breaking the silence. "Will you two make a decision? You're burning daylight."
"Easy, Roscoe," Zaki said. "This is a hard step for Chell to take. I know."
"I know too, buddy," Roscoe said putting his arms around both of them. "I'm still forgiving my ex. We all have someone who has hurt us in our lives and we have done the same to others, but one of the main points of Christ and all Christianity is that we can forgive and be forgiven."
"I know," Chell said suddenly. "But, what if he hasn't really changed? What if he was apologizing just so I wouldn't kill him?"
"I can't read his mind, Chell, so there is no way for me to know for sure," Zaki said rubbing her back. "I guess all we can do is trust God and try to keep going forward."
"I suppose," Chell said in hesitation as she reached for the door and then pulled her hand away.
"You two are such drama queens," Roscoe said pushing past them and opening the door for himself.
Roscoe opened the door and walked in with Zaki and Chell following behind him.
The room was peaceful. Sylvie and the Space Core were still sitting on the bed watching their space program. Chelsea was standing at the coffee table coloring with crayons while Wheatley sat on the table in front of her and watched her work.
"Keep using that blue, love," Wheatley said. "You are doing great work. That's an artistic masterpiece. That is."
When the door opened, Sylvie paused the program, looked over, and said, "Chelsea, look who it is."
Chelsea looked up and ran over to her parents yelling, "Mommy, Daddy!"
Chell scooped her up first and gave her a hug while Zaki planted a kiss on her cheek.
"Konichiwa, Chelsea-chan," Zaki said in Japanese.
"Uncle Roscoe!" Chelsea yelled as she reached for him.
"Hello, gorgeous," Roscoe said as Chell handed her over. "What did you do today?"
"Played with Wheatley," Chelsea said.
"Really?" Zaki said looking at Chell who was as surprised as he was and then back to Chelsea. "What did you do?"
"Play and color!" Chelsea yelled excitedly. "Wheatley's my friend!"
"He's your friend, now?" Roscoe asked.
"Yeah," Chelsea replied. "Floor."
Roscoe placed her down on the floor and she ran to the table to show them all her drawings.
"It's true," Sylvie said. "They've been playing together for most of the afternoon."
"Look," Chelsea said bringing her pictures over to her parents.
The trio looked at the pictures. Chelsea was a decent artist for someone who was only two years old and her work reflected her creativity. There was a picture of the stars in space, another picture of the apple trees outside with some birds flying around, and finally, a picture of her and Wheatley. Chell looked over the last one and smiled.
"It seems that you and our daughter are getting along," Zaki said.
"Yeah, how did that happen?" Roscoe asked.
"Who are you?" Wheatley asked.
"I'm a family friend," Roscoe replied. "Now, for the story…"
"Right," Wheatley said. "Well, to be quite honest, she and I did not get along at first. I thought she was a proper maniac. I must confess that I tried to convince her to be bad as a way of getting back at you, Chell. I'm sorry. Fortunately, though, she didn't listen to me. She's just like you in that way. She was so sweet to me and so kind. She accepted me as a friend right away, so I decided to do the same. I taught her how to say my name right. We played with her toys and I watched her draw. It was so fun, more fun than I've ever had in my life."
Wheatley paused for a moment in hesitation before continuing.
"Chell, I don't know how to say it any other way. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did. I didn't intend to at first but I used you to get my way because I was tired of being pushed around. I was bossy and monstrous and cruel, and I really do wish I could take it all back. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I really do. I adore your daughter. She is a brilliant little human and I would love to be here to be her friend and yours."
Zaki and Roscoe looked at Chell and she looked back at them and then at Wheatley. She walked over to him, bent down, and placed her hand on the back of his body. Wheatley froze, not really knowing what to expect.
Chell smiled and said, "I forgive you, my friend."