"Hello. It's been a while. I did a little digging and found your number. I just wanted to let you know that there's something back at Aperture that you might like. And trust me, you'll absolutely love it."

Chell let her phone drop onto her bed with a soft thump as the other person ended the call.

She hadn't heard that voice in years and truthfully, she'd hoped to never hear it again.

It was unmistakably the same voice that had haunted her there and her dreams ever since, but Chell couldn't help but notice that her tone sounded a little different. Unusual, even. For once there was no sign of malice in her voice, only what sounded like... Humour?

In Chell's eyes, that did not help her case at all. Knowing GLaDOS' sense of humour, going back there would lie somewhere around 'microwaving a fork' on a list of good ideas. However, as much as she'd hate to admit it, the curious side of Chell couldn't help but wonder what exactly GLaDOS was planning. Surely she wouldn't go to all that trouble trying to lure Chell back to Aperture just to kill her... Right? Well, that wouldn't have been terribly out of character five years ago, however Chell hadn't bothered (or tried to kill) GLaDOS in years. She'd have no reason to try and kill Chell now other than a petty grudge, which didn't really seem her style at all.

Shaking the whole ordeal from her head, she slipped her jacket on, put her grocery list and phone in her jeans pocket and headed out.

She wandered around the town market for a while, picking up her groceries and silently greeting the other townsfolk as she went. She rather liked her new, peaceful life. As she reached into her pocket to find her shopping list, her fingers brushed across her phone and felt it vibrating. Making a mental note to turn it off silent when she got home, she answered the call.

"H-"

"Okay look. I know you don't want to come back. I don't blame you for that. But I've got a surprise for you. Not a fake, tragic surprise and not a surprise that'll try to kill you either. Well, not this time. As far as I'm concerned we're still allies, and trust me, you'll love it."

"Chell? Is that you? I-"

The call cut off, leaving Chell stunned once more. There'd been another voice that time. A voice she also knew all too well. If he was there, then that could only mean…

He was the surprise.

She'd brought him back from space for one reason or another and she wanted Chell to see. GLaDOS was right. As far as Wheatley was involved, the two of them were allies.

In that moment, every logical thought in Chell's mind went right out of the window. She only knew one thing: she had to see him. Maybe to take her anger out on him for everything he had put her through, maybe to see why exactly GLaDOS had brought him from space, or maybe even just to hear the end of his sentence, she couldn't tell, but she was suddenly consumed with the burning desire to simply be there. To see him. Before she even realised it, her body was moving by itself.

She ran through the town as fast as she could, either totally oblivious to or ignoring the curious looks she was receiving from the townsfolk. She ran through the surrounding fields. She kept running and running until she came to the edge of a vast, golden wheat field. Then she stopped.

Chell looked over the field, watching the wheat sway gracefully with the same breeze that was running through her hair. She looked at the beautiful, blue sky and felt the sun gently warming her face. In the last five years she'd come to take it all for granted, but there was something about being there, back in that field, that made her remember the first time she saw it all; the first time she felt it all. And now she was going back.

After several minutes of walking through the wheat, which was just as long and unruly as it had been five years ago, she finally came to a clearing. Although the weather was warm and the sun was still shining down, she felt a shiver down her spine at what she saw.

There, in all its terrifying glory, was that rusted metal shed.

Despite its fragile appearance, the shed door did not budge when Chell tried to open it. Most people would have put it down to the sheer amount of rust that covered the hinges, however Chell knew better. She knocked sharply three times and took a step back, hearing the sound of hollow metal echo around the field. After a moment, the door swung open to reveal a very modern looking elevator.

She hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether to step forward back into Aperture, or step backwards and not look back.

After some careful consideration, Chell took a deep breath and stepped inside. She'd made it this far, after all.

The door swung shut and Chell watched her last, fleeting chance to run disappear with the light.