Chell finished her sentence with a flourish, and then closed her tattered blue notebook. She stacked it on top of her Chemistry textbook, and then picked the two books up. Walking into her bedroom, she flicked the light on, and then set the books beside her open bag.

"We come to you tonight with a story about science lab Aperture Science..."

Chell straightened, and tilted her head to the side. She hurried back into the living room, and sunk into the couch. She hadn't thought about her time at Aperture for months, she felt she was finally starting to leave that part of her life behind. The nightmares had stopped, and she had recovered physically a long time ago. Yet, it seemed as if Aperture had a way of haunting her. It was as if it was saying it would always be a part of her life, no matter if she liked it or not.

"Aperture Science, which saw its peak in the 1960's, has always been shrouded in mystery. Rumours of teleportation technology, paints that could change properties of any surface, and turrets that were fast and easy to manufacture made their way up to the surface. Aperture declared bankruptcy many years ago, but stories of its heyday are finally becoming known. Hundreds of miles of the Aperture laboratories still lay underground. As of yesterday, it has been discovered that they are still taking power, and therefore, operational. What could be happening in these secretive caverns? Field reporter Angelia Dominic talks to us from one of the entrances to these thought to be abandoned labs."

As the camera changed and the new reporter introduced the scene, Chell's jaw dropped. Hundreds of people, some citizens and some scientists, were standing outside the shed in the wheat field she had emerged from a mere year ago.

"Angelia, tell us about what is going on there."

"Yes, Hannah. As you can see behind me, scientists from the CALIB Research Enterprise are currently trying to make their way into this shed, which is said to have an entrance into the below ground Aperture Science Facility. I spoke with one of the heads of the operation, Dr. Wayne James, and he had this to say."

The camera changed again, and Chell leaned forward in her seat.

"The possibilities of what we can find down in these labs are numerous," The scrawny man in a slightly oversized lab coat told the camera. "We are unsure, however, why the facility is still using power. It's impossible for any humans to be down in the laboratories, and all test centres were ordered closed years ago. All automated procedures should have shut down by this point."

Chell widened her eyes. It was no surprise to her that the old Aperture Enrichment Centre was still using power. GLaDOS was still alive. Had the people above ground not known of the violent AI that controlled everything below them? She stood up, and walked back to her bedroom. She tugged on her closet door, and it creaked open. Lying in the back corner, almost concealed behind the filing cabinet in front of it, lay the tarnished, burned Companion Cube that she had dragged out of the wheat field with her.

In the center of the heart facing up was a bright yellow light. Chell tugged the cube out of the corner of her closet, and set it on her bed, with the yellow light facing her. The light flickered, and Chell realized it was an eye, the same as the ones that had been on the personality cores. The eye widened, and spun.

Chell knew what she had to do. She had to go back. It was time for her to go back to the Aperture laboratories. With a new, determined look on her face, she dove back into her closet, rummaging in the slightly disorganized boxes sitting at the back. She saw the flash of orange, and pulled out her wrinkled orange jumpsuit. She threw it onto the bed, and reached further into the box until she felt the cold metal of her long fall boots. With a bit of tugging, she managed to get each of them out. She quickly changed into her jumpsuit, and strapped the boots to her legs. The Companion Cube's light was blinking fast now, as if it realized what it was about to do and was excited.

Chell stood up, shuddering at the all too familiar feeling of the bounce in her step the boots added. It was hard for her to explain even to herself why she was doing this, but she knew she had to. She walked back into the kitchen, and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. The walk back to the field would be a long one, and hopefully by the time she got there, it would be deserted. Flicking off all the lights and the TV, she put her hand on the doorknob leading out of her small apartment.

She could almost hear GLaDOS' voice in her head, telling her how much of a moron she was being. That was one thing she hadn't forgotten about Aperture, all the things that crazed AI had said to her. Even after all this time, she wondered what had happened to GLaDOS after she had left. Had she been down there alone forever? Or had she found some new way to test, returning to as normal as the facility had been before Chell?

Chell smiled a bit as she turned the door handle. She was about to find out what GLaDOS had been up to, and see her delight at seeing Chell again. Chell was sure that she would be thrilled.

A/N: I originally intended this story to only be one chapter... but it is a quite cliff-hanger ending. So possibly more chapters, possibly it'll stay like this. Either way, thanks for reading! :D