DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, setting ETC. I do not own the Portal franchise or anything to do with Portal.
Reflection
By Cleo01
A cry. A simple call for help that, if Chell had heard it, would have saved her life. She stood contrasting the background chaos like a solider amidst a battle ground, trying to make sense of the whole situation. With a crazed artificial life to her right and a disintegrating facility surrounding her, Chell stood focused on the blaring countdown screens, showing a timer until her demise from neurotoxin. She had managed to collect all the corrupted cores – fact, adventure and space – and attach them to Wheatley.
The intelligence dampening sphere looked as terrified as GLaDOS when Chell had fought her; shouting demoralising speeches, telling Chell how ugly and talentless she was and how she was going to fail at everything in life. However, in Chell's fight against GLaDOS, it wasn't long before a new tone had entered GLaDOS' voice, one of panic and fear as she then proceeded to compromise and deal with Chell so that they could both live. And before the goddess of Aperture met her fated demise, she had gone into her final mind frame; telling Chell to escape the facility whilst she still could as it was going to explode. She had made it very clear also that unless Chell had some spare super computer parts, she was going to die. In her final minutes, GLaDOS had begun to violently malfunction and it pained Chell that the supercomputer knew she was going to die inevitably. Even now, Chell remembered the pang of guilt that had over washed her when she had destroyed her core and caused the A.I agony. But it wasn't as though Chell had a choice; she had to kill GLaDOS or die herself...
As time passed on, especially when she had been touring the old Aperture Laboratories, Chell had learnt that GLaDOS wasn't fully the main villain in the tragic tale of Aperture Science. From the fact that GLaDOS had indeed been a human, called Caroline, Chell had worked out as to why she was so cold and hostile. She hated the scientists for ripping her away from her body and containing her in a metal shell of a prison and then, after all the pain and conflict she had been through, them wanting to control her. Caroline didn't want to be a robot. But they made her. They had strapped her down, injected her with mind numbing antidotes so that the brain mapping procedure was as easy as possible. Not for Caroline's sake of course, but for their own as it was Friday and nearly the weekend; they didn't want to do anything partially difficult and just wanted to ease into the weekend. The whole procedure had taken ten minutes in all, and although Caroline had a calm nature, she had screamed all the way through it. Finally, with Caroline in control of the whole procedure as GLaDOS, her old body was disposed of as rubbish, not even given a second thought as they got rid of it. The scientists then tried to capture and control GLaDOS who had eventually killed them. They never had spoken or talked to her, nor congratulated her on her success. Instead they made her do all the work and treated her badly, as though she was their slave.
From the great journey that GLaDOS and herself had endured, she had realised that GLaDOS' hatred for the scientists had become hatred for humans and when she was a potato, she had expected to die due to her low confidence in Chell. However, although the supercomputer's grudge would live with her forever, she had begun to trust Chell more and more.
And it was the exact same fear that Chell had first seen in GLaDOS, now in Wheatley from the emotional, crazy journey that these had endured. Maybe it is just a common trait in crazy supercomputers to make their victim feel guilty in metaphorical ways as they are being destroyed. But Chell had never met two robots so different in her life.
She was orange, he was blue.
She was powerful and god-like, he was weak and lowly.
She was powerful but then became weak, he was weak but then became powerful.
They hated each other so why would Wheatley want to copy GLaDOS after watching the videos of her death? Chell knew that the emotions must be real and not forged. It made her have a good idea that are more human than they think.
Wheatley was now almost corrupt enough to do a core transfer so that GLaDOS could retake her throne.
"Central core is over eighty-percent corrupt." The announcer exclaimed over the utter chaos. "However, a substitute core is undetected. Please provide substitute core." Wheatley laughed manically when he knew he had won. Suddenly, a horrible feeling clouded Chell's body as though she had lost something. 'But what about GLaDOS?' Chell screamed in her head. 'Isn't she good enough?' She then glanced down at the frightened A.I, hoping she would know how to solve the problem. But when Chell looked at the ASHPD, GLaDOS wasn't there.
Worry gripped Chell as she uttered, 'Oh, no...' before searching the floor. But no matter how hard she looked she couldn't find her... What happened if she had been smashed by Wheatley's plates or shot by turrets? She had clearly fallen off of the ASHPD as there still chunks of potato on the rods. Then Chell remembered. She had heard a small cry of fear as they speed towards Wheatley and Chell had merely passed it off as a turret cry. GLaDOS had been quiet from that point onwards and Chell thought she had short-circuited herself again. The horrible realisation came over Chell as she realised that it had been GLaDOS who had cried out for Chell as she barely held onto the ASHPD. It had been GLaDOS who had cried out for help as she fell from the gun and onto the floor in agony as the cables dug further into her soft flesh. Chell could only imagine the state she was in. She had probably lost all respect and trust in Chell, that she had acquired in their trip underground as she had not taken enough notice of her surrounding and had left her there. She was probably fraught with worry also, and probably short-circuited herself once again, resulting in her passing out on the cold hard floor.
"No!" Chell screamed as she ran over to where the panels had closed over the hole in which she entered. What had she done?
"No!" Chell completely forgot about herself policy to not give the satisfaction by talking to them as the situation was too dire. Tears of frustration sprang from her eyes as she let her legs slip from under her, causing her to collapse to the floor. She banged her fists on the wall and hoped that Wheatley could find a place in his heart to open it so that she could go and get GLaDOS. But no. The one person she needed was lost, possibly dead and smashed on the floor. If only she had heard GLaDOS as she fell, if only she had respected her, even though she was intent on murdering her. But without her, Wheatley had won and they were all dead. If only she had listened.
In the end, the supercomputer whom she had hated and wished to get away from had become a valuable ally, helping her at any point she could despite being cramped up in a potato. However, Chell had got her wish to get away from GLaDOS and had never felt more miserable as she knew her fate had been sealed just as GLaDOS' had been.
Be careful what you wish for.