It was the only thing that had kept him sane all this time. Well, more sane than he would've been without it. It was only a cube. A metal cube with a heart printed on it. That's all it was. To GlaDOS anyway. To the one Aperture employee still alive, it was so much more.

He had been hiding in the spaces behind the test chambers for so long, a psychotic AI wanting him dead. And once, when GlaDOS had been rearranging a chamber to prepare it for a tester, a companion cube had found its way into his hiding space.

The beginning of a beautiful friendship had begun then and there. "Is that another drawing for the girl?" the cube asked him. The man nodded, continuing to draw on the wall. His disease had taken over his mind, and it showed in everything he did. The way he moved, the way he talked, even the look in his eyes showed his desperate paranoia.

Schizophrenia was a terrible disease to have in most cases. Especially when your anti-psychotic pills were gone. But in his case, ever since the cube came, it wasn't so bad. As long as GlaDOS didn't find them before the girl woke up.

He finished his drawing by adding the word 'beep' to it. It was one of the many security cameras that were stationed everywhere. Beside the sketch of the camera were the words 'she's watching you' in warning for the girl.

"What's her name?" Companion Cube asked. He looked over at his best friend and said, "Chell. Her name is Chell. Where did my crayon go?" Cube seemed to smile, if that was possible. "You're holding it. Are you sure Chell can stop GlaDOS? She's one mean computer."

He looked down at his hand to realize Cube was right about where the crayon was. "I'm sure." Companion Cube tumbled over to him and brushed up against his side. "You're scared. It's okay. We'll get out of this together. I'll never leave you. You know that, right?"

He nodded, hugging the cube tightly, not wanting to ever let go. A female robotic voice came from the test chamber that they were hiding behind. "Finally. I found you. But you're not dead yet. I'll have to try harder. I suggest you run now. It's like a game. You run, I kill. You'll be dead soon enough. You can't hide forever."

"She's found us. We have to go." Cube said worriedly. He picked up his friend and looked franticly around the room for somewhere to go from the chamber maintenance area they were in. "The staircase. Go up. More chambers are there." Companion Cube told him. He nodded and ran up the metal staircase that led to a room behind the next test chamber.

The employees stay in those rooms to monitor the test subjects. Well, they used to. Before GlaDOS murdered them all. The panels in the chamber were all stationary, but he noticed one that was slightly off-center. With a tug it would reveal another hiding place.

He jumped through the glass window seperating the observation deck from the chamber itself, ignored the shower of glass he caused and quickly pulled the panel open. He pushed the cube inside and dove in after it, pulling the panel shut. Then the crazed AI spoke up again. "I will find you eventually Doug."

He held the cube close, frightened that she knew his name. "Don't worry." Cube assured him. "We'll survive." He smiled at his friend. His only friend. His eternal friend. The only person that would never leave him. Ever.