Nora hurried around the collapsing Relaxation Chambers at a safe distance to find Wheatley. She really hoped that he was in that moving chamber. That way she'd at least know where he was. When she felt the large vibrations on her rail of something smashing itself against a wall, she got scared. What was Wheatley doing? Was he trying to crash through a wall with the room? No, he was stupid but he couldn't be that stupid. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try to find the room that the chamber crashed into. She tried to find her way to the room but it was hard to because of all the crumbling rooms that shook her rail and made her feel unsteady.
"Please let him be okay," she murmured. "Please, please let him be okay. I'm sure he's fine. He only crashed through a wall with a Relaxation Chamber."
Her panic started to subside when she heard his voice from behind at least two walls.
"Oh. There we go," he said proudly. "Now, I'll be honest; you are probably in no fit state to run this particular type of cognitive gauntlet, but, um…at least you're a good jumper. So you've got that—um, jumping—on your side. So just do your best and I'll meet you up ahead."
He must have found a live one, Nora thought. That's good. At least he won't get in trouble for that one.
She wanted to get to him quickly but she couldn't find an immediate rail to the room he was in. She had to talk to him and let him know that she was okay. But how?
As she thought about this, the ceiling in front of her opened up, pulled up a bit of the track, and lowered Wheatley down with a different bit of track. His eye opened wide at the sight of her. "Nora! You're alive!" He rushed toward her but stopped awkwardly about a foot away. "That's, um, good! That's very good. Are you alright?"
"Yes," Nora said bashfully. "I'm okay. Are you? Did you find a human?"
"Yes! Yes, I did! Unfortunately, I think she might have a touch of serious brain damage…..I'm not quite sure how I will get away with that if management comes to ask about it."
"I don't think management will check up on it," Nora said. "They haven't asked me about all the missing Companion Cubes."
"Missing Cubes are nothing compared to dead humans, Nora!" Wheatley exclaimed. Then he felt guilty about his tone and said, "Not that your job isn't important! It's very important! We need those Cubes for testing and whatnot!"
Nora looked at him gratefully. She knew he didn't mean to come across as thoughtlessly mean sometimes, but it really would do him some good to do some thinking before he spoke. Wheatley looked down at the floor in defeat.
"Let's just try to pretend that I didn't say anything," he said.
"It's fine, Wheatley," Nora said softly. "Shouldn't you be keeping an eye on that subject? She could help us get out of here, you know. Don't you want to get out of this facility? You talk about it all the time."
"Well, yes, of course I want to get out of here," he said. "Watching after the humans is bloody dull! I dream of getting out of here and making real use of myself. But I never thought the opportunity would ever actually come up."
"Well, now it has. We could get out of here. I mean, you could."
"What? Why not you, too?"
"I would slow you down. I want you to help her to the surface so you can both get out of here."
"Nora...I'm not going to just leave you here all alone. What kind of person do you think I am? Nora…...N-Nory…You're my best friend."
Nora looked away bashfully.
"Nora?"
She looked back up at him, into his blue eye that looked at her thoughtfully.
"Nora, what's wrong? Is everything alright?"
"Nothing's wrong," she answered quietly. "Listen, Wheatley, I don't think that test subject could carry us both, and you're much better at talking to people than I am. That's why they put you in charge of humans and I'm in charge of Weighted Companion Cubes."
Wheatley started to protest, but Nora immediately stopped him. "It's true Wheatley. That's why I think you should go with her. Guide her to the surface and get out of here."
"I'll come back for you!" Wheatley quickly vowed. "I will! I'll send her back for you! I'll find some way to get you out of here, as well!"
"Wheatley, you don't have to—"
Wheatley suddenly slid closer to her until their eyes were a centimeter away from each other. Nora tried to keep hers steady but she was too nervous.
"Nora," Wheatley said sincerely, "I will find a way to come back for you. I promise."
"O-Okay," she said. "I believe you."
"Good." He slid back a little. "I should probably go find that test subject. Keep close behind me, alright? You can stay out of sight since you're so shy, but do stay close in case I need your help. You know how unpredictable humans can be."
Nora nodded. "M-Maybe I could go along next to you until we find her?" she suggested. "So we both have company until then."
"Alrighty," Wheatley said. "Shall we?" He hurried down the rail but at a speed that Nora could keep up with.