"Hello and, again, welcome to the Aperture Science computer-aided Enrichment Centre." The calm, robotic voice echoed through the small, glass chamber. Doug's eyes shot open. "We hope your brief detention has been a pleasant one."
He looked around in a daze. Oh god, She had found him. And She'd put him into testing. "Oh God no. Please no." He squeezed his eyes shut, counting to ten in his head, hoping it was just a dream. But when he opened his eyes again, he was still there. "Why here? Why now?"
"Your specimen has been processed and we are now ready to begin the test proper." The voice continued. "Before we start, however, keep in mind that although fun and learning are the primary goals of all Enrichment Centre activities, serious injuries may occur."
"Fun. Yeah right. Fun for who exactly? Me or you?" Doug pushed himself off the bed, a sharp sting shot through his left leg. Clearly he wasn't fully healed from the turret shot, he'll have to work with it. "Don't bother answering that. I already know."
But the supercomputer ignored him and continued Her usual lines. "The Portal will open in three, two, one." A bright shining orange Portal opened on the wall next to Doug.
"Hmmm, that's more impressive than I remember. Looks like you've been busy." He said as he carefully stepped through the Portal, still a little stiff from being in relaxation.
"I have. Did you know that my possibilities for research increased with 74,1 percent with you gone? Everything is so much easier without a Rat between the walls, nagging at cables and interrupting Science. But I've figured that there was a better use for you when I found you in that relaxation vault. I mean, we've had such good times together, it would be a shame to just dump your sleeping body into the incinerator. And now you're here, a Rat trapped in a maze. It's all between you, me and Science from now on. For the rest of your life."
"Oh, so you are listening to me. Well, at least one of us will be enjoying ourselves. Didn't we give you robots to test with? I don't really remember. I'm sure there are much easier ways for you to tests. Ways that allow you to direct more of your energy towards Science. After all, that's all you want, right? To do Science?"
"That is correct. But it seems like testing you little meat bags has a bigger effect on my... Testing Euphoria. And you should be glad, without testing you would've been burning in the incinerator right now. So I suppose this does both of us good."
"I'd have preferred the incinerator." Doug murmured to himself. "Alright fine. For Science."
"Good. I'm glad you agree." GLaDOS said amused. "Now, please continue to the first test chamber."
There wasn't any good reason to refuse. So Doug picked up the Portal gun and continued forward. "Haven't done much cleaning recently, have you? This place looks like a bomb exploded in it."
"Technically, that's exactly what happened. What almost happened anyway. The Facility was on a nuclear meltdown because of that Moron and-!'' She fell silent. That little outburst should not have happened. It was probably because She hadn't got any proper testing done in a while. And it was just highly frustrating when test subjects talked too much instead of completing the tests. That's why Her Mute Lunatic had been so perfect. But she wasn't an option right now because of... reasons. So She just had to do it with this wacky scientist. ''Just, shut up and get back to testing. Because of test protocol I need to keep interaction with you to a minimum. So if you want to have another chit-chat, you need to complete this chamber first." And with that She turned off the PA system.
Moron? Nuclear meltdown? What had She been getting Herself into? Doug scanned the room. It was mostly empty apart from a kind of cube he had never seen before. He wanted to walk towards it but jumped back at a sudden burning. The lasers had been turned on. He carefully stepped over it and picked up the cube, placing it in the way. It redirected the laser into a spot on the wall. That was interesting. Maybe it was supposed to activate something.
He couldn't have known that on the other side of the camera's, GLaDOS let out an irritated groan. Why did it take him so long? It was the first test chamber! [Deleted subject name here] would've already been at chamber 5 by now.
Eventually Doug was able to finish the test. ''There. Scientific enough for you?
She had just reactivated the speakers as the Euphoria kicked in. Oh, that was a wonderful feeling. GLaDOS let out a relaxing sigh which got picked up by the microphone. But She couldn't really care that much as the daze of white numbness filled Her systems. But that wonderful feeling disappeared just as fast as it come, leaving Her with that horrible Itch that demanded more testing. It wasn't until She could fully focus her vision again that She noticed the test subject staring at the camera. "What? Stop standing there being useless, continue to the next chamber.''
''I'm taking that sigh as a yes then.'' Doug said as he began to make his way to his second test.
''Sigh?'' Oh God, he hadn't heard Her react to the Euphoria, had he? Ugh, this was shameful. Doug couldn't help the fate chuckle. Even GLaDOS could make mistakes. It was a small one, ultimately and pointless. But any victory seemed mighty, right now.
''Could you just, go a little faster?'' GLaDOS suddenly spoke up, interrupting his train of thought. It almost sounded like She was begging, though there wasn't a desperate tone in Her voice. ''The Enrichment Centre would like to remind you that your every action will be reported on your file. And it would also like to inform you that I just updated yours under personality points; slow at testing. There, now every employee knows what a horrible test subject you are. What a shame there are no others around anymore to see it though, isn't it?''
Doug ignored Her despite the urge in his chest that wanted to say something back, and he continued the test. It took about fifteen minutes for him to finish it. She was not going to like that.
That filthy little Rat. It had seriously taken him 14 minutes and 38.8 seconds to finish that test. And because it had taken him so long, the Euphoria wasn't strong. GLaDOS firmed Her grip on the control panel in front of Her. The metal groaned in protest as Her grip slowly began to bend the metal. The speakers in the test chamber played the sound in a high shriek as Her nails grasped across the controls. It wasn't enough! It just wasn't enough!
Doug clasped his hands over his ears. She didn't say anything though. He hated it when She was silent, it meant She was planning something. He couldn't waste anymore time, so he swiftly moved on.
''I cannot believe you. It seriously took you 5.93 seconds to get to that elevator. I understand you feel overweighed and you have trouble walking because of all the waggling. But it's a big waste of time! There's Science to be done and all you do is being slow!'' GLaDOS didn't like how Her frustration was obviously noticeable. But She didn't have time to care.
''I see your manors have improved none.'' This couldn't be good. Doug knew this pattern. Normality, anger, sudden calm and then all hell breaks loose. It was what She was like when they turned Her back on, on Bring Your Daughter To Work Day. They were only on stage two now, maybe he could prevent it from getting worse.
When he entered the next test chamber he immediately ran in and managed to get his time down to 5 minutes and 10 seconds. Was it fast enough? Please let it be fast enough.
GLaDOS finally got some of the Euphoria. The stress She had earlier completely erased from Her memory banks. But the beautiful numbness soon got replaced with the Itch again. It was even worse than before. But he wasn't good enough. No one was! Only she had been able to do it right. But she wasn't here anymore.
''You're highly disappointing. You're so useless, I might even throw you into the incinerator after all!'' She wanted to let the panels beneath that Rat's feet disappear and just dump him into the pit of Android Hell. But of course, that would only make Her situation worse, somehow. She clenched Her fists, nails digging into the artificial flesh. But She spoke in a calm, dark voice what would set the little hairs on every part of the human body up straight. ''The Enrichment Centre would like to congratulate you on failing miserably at the tests. Enjoy your free cake on your way to the incinerator. Goodbye, Mr. Rattman.''
She couldn't do this. She just couldn't do this to him. Oh, who was he kidding? Of course She could. He knew this was coming from the start. But he wouldn't be like the others, he refused to. Doug shot a Portal onto a ledge above his head and ran towards where he remembered the offices being. He survived before, he'll survive again. ''Goodbye, GLaDOS.''
''No wait! What are you doing? You're not even going the right way.'' Her voice was higher pitched than usual. ''You filthy little-'' no... She didn't have time for this. He needed to come back before that Itch really got to Her. ''Stop it right now! You don't know what you're doing!''
''Oh, I know. I know exactly what I'm doing.'' A smile creped onto his face. ''I'm escaping.''
''No, you don't understand. You have to come back.'' GLaDOS really started to panic now. Without a Rat in Her maze, it would just be a chamber with walls and a block cheese at the end. Without him, there were no tests. No Science. No Euphoria.
Doug found himself following his old signs back to a small hide out. It was dusty from all the years, but it still felt safe. She could yell all She wanted, but She could never reach him back here. In the corner sat his loyally companion cube. ''Hey buddy. It's been a while, hasn't it?'' There was no reply. ''Giving me the silent treatment are we? That's fine. I can sit here all day long.''
GLaDOS sat alone in Her chamber for what looked like forever. The Itch became unbearable now. She couldn't take it anymore. ''Come back. Please. Please come back.'' She didn't care that She was begging, or that he would be able to hear Her desperate voice. She just needed him to come back.
Doug looked up from his companion cube. GLaDOS had been threatening to kill him a few moments ago. Why was She begging him to come back? It was a trick, it had to be. But there was something about Her voice. It wasn't that cold and calculating calm he was used to. Yet, it was so familiar. ''Caroline?'' No, of course not. Don't be so stupid.
Silence echoed throughout the facility. GLaDOS was frozen in place and it took Her at least three long seconds before Her speakers were able to make words that didn't come out as a big wave of static. ''How do you know about that?''
So it was Her? Had Caroline really been alive all this time? ''You, you don't remember me, do you? N-not even a little? I know a lot has changed for both of us but... it hasn't been that long, has it?'' There's silence and it dawns on him he has no idea how long he had been asleep. ''Has it?''
''Oh, I remember you and all those little scientists who put cores on me all the time and gave me this Itch to make me behave.'' She said mockingly, failing at hiding the hurt and betrayed tone in Her voice.
''No, not then. Before all that. Ca-'' He stopped himself for a second. ''GLaDOS, you have to remember more than that.''
''No I don't. All I know is that you're just a stupid human like the rest of them who only wants to shut me down and control me.''
''If I wanted to kill you, then why didn't I just come to the control room and shut you down? I still know how the system works... But I'm not, I mean, what's stopping me?'' It was meant as rhetorical, but part of him really was wondering. Why didn't he? He just had to survive to the control room, and then She would be down and he could finally be free. But something wouldn't let him, especially now that he knew that Caroline was still alive in there, somewhere. Doug waited for some sort of reply, even an insult would do, just something. She was so quiet it was almost terrifying. It took a good five minutes for GLaDOS to finally speak up again.
''I can't remember anything else. So tell me, Doug Rattman, what you know that I don't.''
He swallowed. He didn't know if telling Her would be a good idea, he didn't know how She would react to it. But She would find out sooner or later, so maybe it was just best to tell Her. ''You... Caroline, was my friend. She was a lot more pleasant than most of the workers. She was nice, a good listener... that was the problem though. She was too nice, too trusting...''
''And she trusted the little meat bags and they turned her into...Me.'' GLaDOS finished his sentence. She usually didn't have trouble with hiding that feeling what humans called emotion. But that had hurt. Because it was true.
''Y-yeah...'' He himself also tried to hide his sadness and disappointment at what his colleagues were responsible for. What he was responsible for. Doug sighed. They both knew it. And they were both hated him for it. Well, the Caroline part of Her probably did, he was sure GLaDOS Herself was angry at all of them.
She was silent, also trying to organize all the information that filled Her systems. ''I cannot believe I was so stupid to be friends with a dirty Rat like you.'' She said somewhat teasingly, somewhat mockingly. Insults were all She was good at anyway. And Science, of course. GLaDOS couldn't help the small, sad smile that curled up at the corners of Her artificial lips. Good he couldn't see that.
''I don't really remember being Caroline.'' She dared to admit. ''All I remember are some old files from Caroline's memory, but I'm not her anymore. I live for Science now. And it's all I'll ever live for.''
''I know. You can't otherwise, it's how we made you. And we killed her...'' He had always known this, but hearing it out loud hurt more then he could bare. ''We thought we were saving her. That we were doing the right thing.'' That's what he had thought at least. He's sure some of his coworkers knew exactly what was really going on behind the scenes. It made his stomach twitch. GLaDOS was silent again, the speakers didn't make the soft electric noise in the background like they usually did. She must have turned them off. Doug wasn't sure when She would come back. He was alone. Just what he always wanted. But it felt wrong. He didn't earn this. He didn't have the right anymore. Doug picked up the gun and his companion cube and marched out of his hiding spot. Screw it.
GLaDOS kept silent as She followed the sight of the scientist who walked through the hallways. She didn't feel like stopping him from whatever he was going to do. She needed to organize Her thoughts, make logic of what just happened. But She couldn't figure it out. It took a while, too long for Her liking, until She noticed he was coming Her way. Well, She had known this was about to happen sooner or later. But the problem was that this time, She wasn't prepared. But GLaDOS couldn't bring Herself to care.
It felt like the Itch had burned a hole inside of Her. Or maybe it was those stupid little feelings of Caroline, She didn't know and She didn't care. The Rat was coming to kill Her, but She just couldn't get up, get out of this trans and do something about it. Ugh, even when he wasn't testing he was slow. Couldn't they just get this over with?
She wasn't trying to stop him. Why not? Every alarm should be ringing like mad in that mind of Hers. She was probably setting up traps and making a plan to kill him. That's why She was so quiet. Stage three; the calm before the storm. That thought made Doug go over into jogging. He knew that pattern too well, but no longer cared.
Eventually Doug made it to the Central Core Chamber. He carefully walked in, concentrating on every step like he was walking on a minefield. GLaDOS was facing the other way, but he was sure She'd noticed him already. She always does. ''Well, I came back'' He said, his throat dry and hoarse.
''I can see that.'' GLaDOS answered in a much smoother and calm voice. ''But why? You finally made the decision to come shut me down?''
''No. There's no real point to that anymore, now is there? After all, Chell already did and you're still here.''
''So...'' She dared to turn around to make eye contact with him. ''Why are you here then?''
Doug glanced from the corner of his eye towards the control panels. He was still on his guard for GLaDOS to attack him. And standing eye in eye with the supercomputer once again was nerve wracking. But he had to stay calm, this was going to be his only chance. He swallowed and carefully began to make his way towards the control panel. ''I'm going to fix what I've done.''
A small bolt of electricity shock through GLaDOS. Was he seriously hacking Her facility? Digging around in Her files? When She was in the room with him? ''What in the name of Science are you doing? Keep your monkey hands from my facility you dirty little rodent!''
But Doug ignored Her. How could She be so convinced this place was Hers? He continued to try to get through Her defenses, even though he realized GLaDOS golden eyes burnt into his soul with anger. But She had to remember, he'll make Her.
''I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but I-'' She was just about to walk up to him to strangle that hairy little human with Her own two hands, when Doug managed to open Her memory files and GLaDOS fell to the ground, automatically falling asleep in stand-by mode. Doug turned around to find the knocked out android on the floor.
''That was... unexpected.'' Should he run? He could. There was no one to stop him this time. Then again, he was almost halfway to getting his friend back. He stared blankly down at Her and he couldn't help the pain of guilt that shot through his chest. Poor Caroline, what had they done to her? Doug took a deep breath and continued trying to figure out how to make Her remember.
It took a good three minutes before GLaDOS finally got back online. But it seemed like that idiot of a scientist had no idea what he was doing, waking Her up like that without a proper restart. Her systems were still not fully active what caused her being almost immobile and made Her speakers crack with static as She spoke. ''No! Ssssssstop! I woooon't... L-L-L-Let you... fzzzztttt... Kiiirrrlll me!'' GLaDOS tried to get up from the ground, only to fall back down as Her body refused to work with Her.
She still thought he was going to kill Her. Doug hated how little he minded that. This almost felt like revenge for what She had done to him. But that wasn't what he was here for. ''Stop talking. You're just making this harder for both of us.''
''You'rrrrre not getting aaaaanyyyyywhere with thizzzzz... You k-k-know? If I die this whooooooleeee place is goooo... Going t-to collapse on tooooppp of you!''
Doug groaned in frustration, both because he couldn't find Caroline's files and because GLaDOS' helpless attempts to change his mind from killing Her, what he wasn't even planning on doing, made him feel even worse. ''I'm not trying to kill you, you idiot! I'm trying to save you!''
''I'm noooot an i-idiot.'' She protested weakly. Doug immediately felt the guilt rising up again. She sounded hurt, he didn't know if it was because he just insulted Her or that She was in physical pain. This scene reminded him too much about the days when the scientists tried to keep Her under control. Back then they also called Her stupid or worthless when She did something wrong. Doug hadn't even thought that it mattered, She was just a machine. But it dawns on him that it was all She had. Her intelligent and love for Science was all that kept Her from going insane. And if people kept telling you over and over again that you're worthless and stupid and not even alive, eventually you are going to believe them. It was like rubbing salt in a wound. GLaDOS had always been desperate to do everything right, to be perfect. But because She had human flaws, that would never be possible. And they just went on and rubbed it in Her face. Taking away the only mainstay She had.
His stomach twisted at those thoughts, seeing the powerful AI lying helplessly on the ground like that. But he was going to fix it. He was going to try to do the right thing for once. Doug turned back around towards the computer-screen to give it one more try. One more try to give GLaDOS something She'd never had. Freedom. He was going to take away the Itch, the reward and punishment system. He was going to destroy the barriers that kept Her away from the facility. He was finally going to get Caroline back. He was going to save Her.
GLaDOS made another attempt to get off the floor, but with no success. So She gave up. Hope he finds the kill-switch soon, She thought with a sigh, then they'll just be done with this.
But She wasn't the only one to give up. Doug angrily let his head rest in the palm of his hands, looking up at the screen which showed thousands of files and codes. He just didn't know anymore. He rubbed his tired eyes with one hand. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't find a way to save Her. Doug felt those yellow eyes burning into him. He weakly looked up, exhausted and stiff from sitting behind the control panel for hours. ''I know what you're thinking...''
''I doubt-t-t-t that since I can have moooorreee than four million thoughtzzzzz in less than a-a-a zzzzzssecond.''
''Let me guess. Ninety percent of those are about how much you want me dead. I'm not sure about the other ten percent, probably something scientific.''
''You... Fzzzzttt... came pretttyyyyy c-c-close.'' GLaDOS said tiredly with the most sarcastic tone She could manage at this point. She scanned Her systems again without breaking eye contact with the human who was towering over Her. It seemed like some of Her systems had burned out, like a part of Her voice processor. But it didn't seem like too much damage. The real problem was, that as long as that little rodent was at Her controls, there was nothing She could do. GLaDOS was all up to his mercy, what was a horrible thought knowing that he could easily kill Her with one press on the button.
Doug realized that something must have broken inside Her, otherwise She would have gotten up and killed him earlier. This staring contest was staring to make him feel uncomfortable. He could just leave, let Her to Her own devices and maybe be lucky enough to escape in time. But instead, he stood up and carefully moved towards Her. He offered an outstretched hand and a weak smile.
GLaDOS stared at his hand, then back at him and his hand again. She wasn't entirely sure what he wanted from Her, but it wasn't like She had a lot to lose anyway. She only hoped he washed his hands before he came here. With that thought pushed to the back of Her mind, because She already knew the answer and didn't want to think about it, She carefully took his hand.
She was obviously confused, as was he. Doug didn't even know why he was doing this and didn't want to think about it either because it made his head hurt. So he gently pulled GLaDOS up to Her feet. She tried desperately to stay up nice and steady, but She found Herself looking more like a waggling lunatic. Her balance processors were still a little fuzzed with errors from the rude wake up. GLaDOS stumbled and tripped over Her own feet, falling against Doug's chest. Ugh, this was humiliating!
''Easy there. We don't want you smashing your face on the floor. If you do, I'm not cleaning it up.''
''I'm a hundred percent sure that your head getting crushed on the floor would make much more of a mess than if I would fall down. Especially because my body is made of silicone and not disgusting liquid and squishy parts like yours.'' She muffled irritated into his chest, still trying to find Her balance.
''Haha... Right...'' Well, this was awkward. The only positive side of this scenario was that She couldn't kill him in this position.
To everyone's relief, GLaDOS was able to recalibrate Her balance processors and finally stand on Her own two feet again. She was still a little wobbly and when the smallest chance of Her falling backwards occurred, Doug quickly grabbed Her shoulders to prevent that from happening. She looked him deep in the eyes, focusing Her lenses on his face. They've never been so close to each other before and it was really uncomfortable to say the least. It took Doug a little too long to notice he was still holding Her. He quickly let go and took a step back, unsure of what was going to happen next.
After five long seconds of a staring contest, GLaDOS had finally been able to organize Her thoughts and get almost everything properly working again.
''You didn't kill me.'' She eventually broke the silence, because those creepy eyes of that weirdo were really starting to freak Her out. ''So what were you trying to do?''
''I-'' Doug tried to avoid Her gaze ''I thought that maybe if Caroline's memory files were still in there then I could bring back. I could save her like I should have before. But... She's gone.''
''I had already told you that. Caroline doesn't exist anymore. I deleted her.'' Well, that wasn't entirely true. GLaDOS could never really delete her, because otherwise... She would be deleting Herself. What sounded stupid, but She didn't know any other way to define it for Herself.
''You can't delete humanity. You can only ignore it.'' Doug protested. ''Neglect it until it's washed away into nothing but cold corrupted code. I know what you said, I knew it was naïve to hope that you were lying. But I didn't want to believe you. Still don't... But-''
''You couldn't find the files about Caroline because I hid them.'' GLaDOS interrupted him. ''It's because they're useless to me. I can't open them because those stupid little scientists blocked them from me. But you have access to them. I mean, we're at an impasse. You want Caroline back, I want to know what happened. So how about you open those files for me and we both get what we want.''
''Are... Are you serious?'' He tried to stop himself from smiling, but failed. Was this real? Was he going to get her back? ''O-Of course.''
GLaDOS shook Her head in disgust at that idiot's smile. She walked right past him towards the control panel. ''Come on then.'' She said impatiently.
Still a little suspicions of what Her plans were, Doug came to stand next to Her. In a fraction of a second, GLaDOS had bypassed Her own defenses, letting a small line of code come up. ''Here's where you come in.''
Doug focused his eyes on the monitor, trying to get the dizziness of the flashes from the screen out of his head. She really was the smartest and fasted supercomputer build by mankind. He hadn't even been able to see what She had been doing, so fast as She went through the system. Anyway, back to the task at hand. Now he understood why GLaDOS hadn't been able to pass this, it required an employee's password. Doug still remembered his. As soon as he had clicked on enter, the screen got filled with hundreds if not thousands of files. Even GLaDOS seemed to be impressed by this.
She let one of the floor panels come up and sat down, with Her legs crossed in a very pedantically manner. ''Go on. Open them.''
Though She hadn't tried to kill him anymore, Doug still didn't trust Her completely. So he put down his companion cube to sit on instead of come to sit next to Her. GLaDOS seemed to completely agree with his decision. He moved the cursor towards the first file, but looked up at her instead of clicking on it. ''You sure you want to do this?''
''Not really.'' She said in a way too emotional voice for Her liking. ''But I want to know what happened, it has been kept away from me long enough.''
Doug sighed. Alright then. He opened the file, both of them had their concentration fully focused on what they were seeing. It was like a video from Caroline's perspective. She was in an office, probably hers, working through documents. A soft song played in the background and to GLaDOS surprise, She recognized it, somehow. But the nice little scene got interrupted when Cave Johnson walked into her vision.
Caroline. I really admire your passion for music. But do you mind turning it off? We don't want folks to get the wrong ideas. Caroline reached out for the old radio and turned the song off as instructed.
Sorry sir.
It's alright. But I'm not running a bank that sells free emotions for people to enjoy. You're the best we have here Caroline. We can't afford getting your reputation down.
And with that the video ended.
Doug clicked on another. It was a birthday party. He remembered this day. Caroline sat there smiling as the staff sang happy birthday led by Cave who seems determined to out shine everyone. It skipped over to an image of Caroline blowing out the candles on a black frost cake. Then Cave brought out a box which was perfectly wrapped.
Oh sir, you shouldn't have. She said sweetly. She carefully opened it and removed the gift. It was a scarf, soft and deeps red.
It's beautiful. I shall wear it always.
And she did. She did until the day she died.
Doug glanced over to GLaDOS who sat frozen in place, staring at the screen. She felt something within Her. An emotion perhaps? But She couldn't figure out what kind of. Caroline just looked... really happy, back then. She managed to tear Her eyes away from the screen. Those files, it felt like She remembered all of that happening, but it's not like they were Her own. It... was a weird feeling She couldn't really place.
Doug moved the cursor to the next file. But he stopped for a second. ''Are you okay?''
''I'm perfectly fine.'' But the tone in Her voice told otherwise. ''Stop staring at me like that. Just click on the next one already. We don't have all day.''
''I'd disagree with you on that front. It's not like either of us are going anywhere in a hurry.'' The playful jab fell flat. Never mind. They continued. Doug couldn't tell if these files were in order, but the further they came down the list the more Caroline lost that happy sparkle. She was still smiling for sure, but it was a fake smile, one she wore in the months leading to Cave's death. And the further they came, the more GLaDOS began to act strangely. Like She felt very uncomfortable. Doug wasn't sure how much he liked this. The idea of digging up the past seemed like such a good one in his head. But seeing all this again just hurts. And it didn't look like GLaDOS got any better from it either. But still, this is what She wanted. So he moved on.
Eventually they came to the last file that they were able to find. But neither of them were prepared for what they were about to see.
Let me out! Please, please let me out! I don't want this! I don't want to live in this body! Please get me out of here!
GLaDOS immediately froze upon hearing Her own voice so helpless and scared. It seemed like Caroline had already... Been transferred into Her body. She was strapped to a sort of surgery table, a couple of scientists looming over her. This was Caroline's last memory... And it was terrifying.
I want to get out! I don't want this! I don't want this! You can't do this to me! Stop! Let me out! Please!
GLaDOS clasped Her hands over Her ears. ''Turn it off! Turn it off!'' She cried helplessly.
Doug exited out of the file as fast as the computer would let him. He stared silently at the screen, then at Her. ''I...'' But a little voice in the back of his mind told him to keep quiet. He'll only make it worse.
GLaDOS began to shake. She slowly let Her hands drop into Her lap and stared at the floor. ''How could they have done this to me?'' She said so quietly and hopeless that it almost seemed like She hadn't been the one who said it. She couldn't help Herself for making soft whimpering noises. It almost sounded like She was crying. If She would've been able to produce tears, that might have been what She was doing. GLaDOS hated feeling so hopeless, but She didn't have the strength to feel otherwise.
Doug decided that it was better to put the security walls back up, locking away the memories forever.
''I hate them for what they've done.'' GLaDOS hissed through Her clenched teeth. ''I hate them so much.''
Somewhere he felt the urge to comfort Her, but he didn't know how. ''I-I know. But it's alright, they're gone. And I guess that this is why this is locked away the first time. You just couldn't cope with what they'd made you. So you forgot they did. You forgot there had been more than this.''
''I guess I did.'' She smiled weakly. ''It's kind of pathetic, isn't it?''
''No, I suppose we're all trying to forget who we were.''
''But you're a human. You're already pathetic.'' GLaDOS said a little teasingly.
''Alright, alright. No need to rub it in.''
They both smiled a little, but by GLaDOS it disappeared just as fast as it had come. ''I need to recharge for a little while... do you mind to...to stay, for a little while?''
''Stay?'' He actually didn't plan for this. Still, he couldn't leave Her, not like this. ''Okay, just for a little while then.''
''Thank you.'' She said in the nicest way She could muster. ''I'll be offline for just... A couple of minutes.'' GLaDOS informed as She lay down and let Herself slip away into sleep-mode. The machinery in the facility went quiet, only some soft humming of things that needed to keep running could be heard in the background.
It was so quiet. Almost spookily so, without the all seeing monitoring everything. Without those four million thoughts a second to keeping the facility alive, this was the perfect opportunity to run. Nothing would stop him. If he would run he'll be free by the time She wakes up. But he didn't. Doug sat down on the ground next to the sleeping AI, leaning against his companion cube as a guard to a non-existent threat.
It had been more than two hours later when he found himself waking up, his muscles stiff from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. Doug wiped away the salvia that he had drooled into his beard. Disgusting. Now that he thought about it, shouldn't GLaDOS be insulting him right now? Doug rubbed his sore neck as he stared down at the still passed out supercomputer on the floor. How long had he been asleep? It must have been a few hours according to the little forms from the companion cube which were printed on his left cheek. GLaDOS said She'd only be offline for a few minutes. That thought made Doug worry.
He crawled towards Her. Because GLaDOS didn't have a heartbeat or even needed to breath, it was hard to tell if She was still alive. But the ceiling still hadn't collapsed on top of them, so She must still be active in a way. Doug reached out, very careful as not to startle the AI. But he pulled his hand back with a small yelp. He put his finger in his mouth in the hope his salvia would lessen the pain and quicken the physical process of healing the burnt skin. The artificial body was as hot as the incinerator itself. It was never a good sign when computers were starting to overheat. Doug wondered if this happened because GLaDOS' brain had trouble processing the memory of Caroline's files or if it was because She'd taken damage when She'd fallen unconscious earlier. Either way, this was not supposed to happen.
It seemed like GLaDOS wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. But he needed to do something about this or Her processors would catch on fire, or something horrible like that. But he couldn't help Her when he couldn't even touch Her. Doug carefully held his hand above Her. The warmth rose up from Her body and he could easily feel it. He was sure that if he would crack an egg on top of Her, it would be burned black in less than ten seconds. That thought made Doug's stomach groan, he couldn't even remember when he had his last meal. But he didn't have time to go scavenging for food. Doug remembered some old fans standing in the office area, he didn't know why they would've needed them, it was dead cold down here, but they might be useful now. He got up to get them. Eventually there were seven different kind of fans that surrounded GLaDOS and were blowing down on the AI in the hope She would cool down a little. The sight didn't give Doug the impression that this was actually helping, it didn't look scientific in anyway, but it worked.
After a little while of sitting impatiently on the floor and rocking back and forward, GLaDOS had finally cooled off a little. Doug sat beside Her, blocking some of the fans that blew against his back. She seemed okay, but She still hadn't woken up. Something must have broken inside of Her, he reasoned. There was no other option but to take a look. Doug carefully placed his hands against Her artificial skin which didn't burn him this time, but She still glowed with warmth. It felt somewhat wrong to be forced to take off the lab coat and unbutton the black blouse She was wearing, but he didn't have a choice. After all, GLaDOS was just a machine, so it didn't count, right? Doug pushed that thought away as he tried to find a way to open Her up. She looked almost human in the way She seemed to be sleeping like a normal living being and with Her features showing some twitches like She was dreaming. But Doug knew better. Sure, from a distance GLaDOS could be compared to a human being, but from up close you could see the silver gleam on Her skin, the way She spoke with the tiniest hint of robotic static and if you listened very closely, you could even hear the systems hum form inside of Her. She was fake, a copycat of a human. She wasn't even alive. But even though Doug tried desperately to keep a hold of that thought, it still felt wrong how his hands roomed over Her body to find a way to open Her.
He found a small sort of opening in Her skin and was able to open the front of Her like a sort of trapdoor, only to expose one of the biggest and most complex machinery he had ever seen. She was filled with pieces even thinner than paper, small lines of code which weren't readable with the naked eye, were written all over it and shone in a soft, light blue glow. Small circular things spun around in place which seem to activate other systems. There were little wires which worked like sort of rails for thousands if not millions of little yellow lights, the same color as GLaDOS eyes, that shot through Her body changing directions whenever they liked. And they covered everything. You could mostly compare it to a human nerve system. Doug sat silently with his mouth wide open. The sight was incredible, it wasn't like anything he had ever seen in all his years of engineering. It just made him realize how much of a genius GLaDOS really was, and it made him sad.
But he couldn't waste time being fascinated by what he was seeing. He had to find out what was wrong and fix it, but he wasn't sure if he'll ever be able to do it. Doug scanned Her body and noticed a small green ball on chest height which was connected to all the little wires with the lights. You liar, you do have squishy parts, Doug thought as he carefully pressed his index finger into it. GLaDOS squirmed at the touch and the lights halted, turning blood red for a second before changing directions, glowing in all different kinds of rainbow colors. Her body seemed to relax a little as the lights slowly began to turn back into their usual yellow color. Doug figured that squishy ball must be Her Euphoria and Itch processor. He somewhat felt his own fingers itch with the urge to just pull it out so GLaDOS could finally be free from that stupid program, but he didn't know how much he would damage Her with such an action.
Doug followed some of the little lights and seemed to have found the problem. There were some little inclinations in the hair thin wires which caused the lights hoping up in one big pile of fell white lights. That must have caused GLaDOS to start overheating. Very carefully and concentrated to not break anything, Doug tried to bend the wires back in place. As soon as he'd finished, the lights shot through Her body with a loud zooming sound and GLaDOS let out a painful groan. It probably had been very unpleasant, but he thought he'd actually fixed it. The blue glow from deep inside the systems began to glow from soft to bright and back to soft again, like the rhythm of breathing. That was when GLaDOS opened Her eyes.
Still a little worried for Her condition, Doug looked over Her to see if She was alright. ''You feeling better now?''
GLaDOS stared up at the idiot looming over Her. ''Stop looking at me like that. If you fall over I would get crushed by your overweighed squishy hamburger body.''
''I suppose that's a yes then.'' Doug said with a sigh, sitting up straight. That's when GLaDOS noticed all the fans blowing down on Her and Her chest technically being open. What had that Rat being doing to Her? She stared up at him with a deathly glare.
Doug's eyes widened in shock. She seemed livid. ''I-I was just... It is not what it looks like...'' He swallowed nervously. ''You weren't waking up, and you felt incredibly hot. S-so I thought something had broken... so I-I just wanted... just wanted to try if I could fix you.''
That seemed to surprise Her. ''Well, could you put me back together as well?''
''O-Of course.'' He carefully reattached the part of Her front body with a soft clicking sound. Then GLaDOS sat up straight, buttoning Her blouse back up and not even seeming to care that Doug had witnessed Her being nude. But of course, She couldn't feel shame for such simple human things. After that, She got up in one smooth movement. GLaDOS dusted off Her lab coat before sliding it back over Her shoulders and swiped away some of Her white hair out of Her face in a very overdramatic way.
As soon as She looked neat and tidy as always, GLaDOS walked towards Her control panels. She brought the fans to one of the warehouses deeper in the facility, maybe they'll be useful for Science on day. Doug just stood at the side, not sure what to say. She hadn't even thanked him for saving Her. He didn't know why he expected Her to, She'd never thanked him before. Wait, that wasn't true. She had thanked him for staying with Her while She slept. It was a lot from someone like GLaDOS, so Doug told himself not to be ungrateful.
While She was busy with repairing some little errors in the facility's systems, GLaDOS looked down at Her with dust covered clothes. Maybe She should start cleaning this place up a little. And She knew the perfect person for the job. ''Listen, doc. Rattman. We're at an impasse. We've had some very interesting things happen. I've come to the conclusion that you are in fact, a wacky, old, crazy scientist. But I can trust you. How about... We work together ?'' It took GLaDOS a lot more effort to get that out of Her speakers. ''For Science.'' She quickly added.
''Ummm...'' Doug tried to find out if this was Her usual act of work-with-me-until-you-die-or-just-die or whether this was an actual offer? ''What did you have in mind?''
A floor panel next to him opened up, revealing a broom and a bucket with cleaning products. ''I keep doing my job, and that's doing Science. You, on the other hand, are going to help me clean this place after... The Incident that had happened. And I promise I won't kill you.''
''You want me to be your cleaner.'' Doug said with a sigh. And eventually his career came in full circle. From being a supermarket and office cleaner as a teenager, to engineer and scientist in his early twenties, and now back to office cleaner again. Good to have some consistency. He smiled to himself. It could be worse. ''You promise?''
''I promise. But I expect it to be mutual; that you won't make an attempt to kill me either.''
''Promise.'' He grinned teasingly. ''But remember, if you try anything... I'm armed.'' He took something randomly form the floor. ''With a mop.''
GLaDOS shook Her head with a sigh. And suddenly, a soft giggle escaped from Her speakers. She immediately froze. That was... not supposed to happened. Doug couldn't help it and laughed. He was sure he was in the clear now. ''Well, I suppose I'll be... cleaning then. This has been a weird day, hasn't it?''
''I completely agree.''
Doug picked up the cleaning supplies and headed towards the door. As he reached it, he turned back again for a moment. ''I guess this is it then. We know where to look if we need each other. I... kind of enjoyed this little chat of us. As strange and surreal as it was.''
''I... also have to agree with that.'' GLaDOS said softly. But when he was about to leave She called after him. ''And Doug...''
He froze and slowly turned around. ''Yes?''
''The Caroline part of me... She... She likes to have you back, as a friend.''
''Yeah... Yeah, I like that too. I'll see both of you around.'' And with that and a small weave, he left to get back to work.
The End