Author's Note: I'm very GLaD you're all enjoying this so much. I don't think I've ever had so many story, author and favourites alerts for so few chapters on any of my previous attempts at fanfiction in the past. It's great to hear your opinions, and definitely makes writing worth it. Much love.

When Chell woke again, she was spread all across the bed. Thankfully GLaDOS had risen so there was nothing for her to poke or grab or soak with drool. Still, her mouth tasted like she'd been sucking maggots off the back of a dead, fly blown sheep that she'd come across in a field when searching for civilization. Gagging a little and rubbing her encrusted eyes, she sat up to a headache the sight of a perfectly preened robot woman. That was not fair. She wasn't even dusty or dirty or anything. NOBODY, artificial or not, should look that good in the morning. Somewhat jealously, she turned her bleary gaze towards Doug, who was busy cooking up something in a pot on a little stove that he'd made from various computer parts. It smelled absolutely delicious, and he obviously knew it given the huge grin on his googly-eyed face as he looked up at her.

"Beans!"

Ah, beans. Any food was good food down here, though, she supposed. Watching Doug ladle some of the baked beans into a metal dish and place a spoon in it, she was pleased to note that he had served her up first and was now crouched there like a puppy dog waiting for a pat. Blowing on the spoonful of little globs in tomato sauce, she took a bite as her protesting stomach was immediately silenced now it knew it was being heard. Chell gave him a wide smile which was apparently enough for the mad programmer, who then went to get his own serving. She briefly wondered about GLaDOS, but from the way she was ignoring the food and remained bent over the Companion Cube that she was using as a table, it seemed apparent that she probably didn't even need to eat.

GLaDOS had remained silent throughout the entire morning, apart from the shuffling of papers that she was poring over. It was like the other two weren't even there. She looked different. That particular puzzle was solved when she came across GLaDOS's lab coat that had been placed over her some time during the night. Now that was surprising, but it did explain why she woke up nice and warm that morning. It was much better than the ones that they were laying on - that was for sure - and not just because it smelled better either. Shrugging it on around her shoulders, Chell finally got up to determine what exactly it was that was being planned. Standing next to the taller android garnered an inquisitive examination.

"You'll never be a scientist looking like that. The orange clashes terribly with...everything."

Spoken like a true fashionista, thought Chell. It's not like she'd know. Everything here was so black and white. Even her clothing was done in some black and white design with the Aperture wheel logo printed half on the back and half on the front of her high-necked, sleeveless shirt. Damn her to android hell and back for having the ability to make truthful and scathing witticisms. Whatever possessed the scientists and programmers in this place to give her a voice to go along with that intelligence, she'd never know. Then again, there had to be a voice of reasonable sanity in the madhouse that was Aperture Laboratories. And she was disturbingly amusing at times. Lemons! Oh, the memory of that would stick around for a long time, but she'd better not remind her about it lest GLaDOS embark on a journey of finding a painful way of permanently removing it from her mind.

"I assume you are over here because you would like to know what I know, and not because you like me. I don't I blame you for that. The knowledge part, that is. I am a very likeable person." Shuffling the papers around again showed Chell a few schematics of what looked like the facility and inventory lists. "I suggest you study these carefully. They are the closest you're going to get to having a map to get you to the portal device. They are not a complete set though. I have no idea where the others are. If I had a luck core, it would most likely inform me that you've already used them for toilet paper for your disgusting excretions." Bemoaning the loss of her precious data, GLaDOS handed the scraps over to the woman somewhat reluctantly. "Don't lose those." She added quickly.

It had taken Chell two days to make sense of the vast amalgamation of information and crude drawings of the floor plans in front of her, but she wasn't about to ask the supercomputer, who most definitely knew this place like the back of her circuit boards, for help. It was an odd feeling to know that in some way, this entire Enrichment Centre essentially was GLaDOS. After all, she had so much control that she could move the very ground from beneath their feet. All the humans here probably felt like little moths flittering around in her belly. Or ants, perhaps, scurrying around and biting her insides with their pincers as they made their nest where they didn't belong. That was probably a more accurate description, Chell grimaced. Returning the building plans to the top of the Companion Cube, she took her time stretching. This would be a test of her athletic abilities. Without the portal gun, she would be resorting to brute strength, speed, intelligence and general sneakery. And the long fall boots – her saving grace.

"I suggest you try vault three first. It makes more sense to put it in there based on these old inventory lists. Take them with you. If any of these items are still there it might help you get your bearings." GLaDOS suggested as she shoved her out through the panel in the wall and into the hallway. "Don't get caught. Oh no, I shouldn't have said that. You always do the opposite of what I tell you to do. Hm...If you get caught, DON'T sit on them and crush them with your generousness. And remember, punching is NOT an acceptable solution to any Enrichment Centre activity that involves restoring me to power. I will be watching your progress through the security feeds, but I won't be able to move the cameras if you are around any of the Black Mesa personnel. I don't want them to suspect anything. You're on your own." With that, she closed the panel and left Chell in the empty hallway. For all of three seconds before stepping out to retrieve her lab coat with a glare, that was.

"Mine."

Walking through the hallowed halls of Aperture had been eerie enough the first couple of times, but now it was just downright haunting. The shouts, footsteps and conversations of Black Mesa scientists echoed down long metal passageways like ghosts of a time long since forgotten by the outside world. It became so very hard not to just try to hide every time she heard them, as she had no idea from which direction they were coming from, and whether or not they were just echoes or people approaching. This place would be the death of her, she was sure, but at least she had the upper hand of being well-travelled and familiar with the massive drops and walkways that went nowhere. Black Mesa would have to take the long way around unless they were planning on finding a long term solution to some of the destroyed pathways, like building bridges. And that would take a considerable amount of time to do given how much Wheatley had destroyed. Even GLaDOS hadn't been able to fix it all. However, given enough time, she was sure the supercomputer would put her mind to the task and find a way to put it back the way it was; even if it meant building it from the ground up with the bones of her enemies. And there were so many. Chell didn't doubt that she'd have pride of place in some morbid structure. Then again, GLaDOS might even keep her skull as some kind of memento. Or just toss it back into the bowls of Aperture for birds to nest in. One or the other. Chell squirmed once again at thoughts of the android, and pushed them to the back of her mind. It wouldn't do to lose focus down here and just go tumbling off into an abyss just because she could hardly remember the AI as she was, and wanted to think of her how she is.

'I really need to be spending more time with humans. This is getting ridiculous.' Chell thought, before promptly smacking herself in the face once she was out of range of the security cameras. Unfortunately, she wasn't out of range of the two soldiers and three scientists that had walked around the corner, their mutterings cut short at the sight of some crazy face-slapper crouched by the wall.

"Who the hell-...Get her!" one of the lab coats commanded, before the two heavily armed men made a lunge for her. It was a bit of a struggle with all of the kicking and biting, but they managed to subdue the abnormally strong female and escort her back to the main AI chamber. Chell could just hear GLaDOS's voice in her mind.

You idiot.

"Look what we found! She was just sitting in the hallway." They announced to the room, whose workings ground to a halt at their grand entrance. Pushing her further into the room and blocking her exit, they kept their weapons at the ready in case she tried anything while Chell looked back and forth at them like a wild dog that had been cornered. While it registered in her mind that the parts of GLaDOS were still on the floor like a pile of junk, she did her best not to pay attention to them and desperately tried to come up with a plan to escape. It was just her luck that humans were not – in fact – turrets, and couldn't be as easily deceived. Also, bullets hurt. That much she did know.

"Who is she?" a man in a suit finally stepped forward from over at one of the computer consoles to address them. The boss man, then, she figured.

"We don't know, sir. We just found her, but she's got Aperture written all over her. Smells like it, too." One soldier wrinkled his nose and rubbed his hand on his uniform as if to remove the filth it had picked up by manhandling the test subject.

"I'm surprised anyone has survived down here with this thing on a rampage. Gladus, or whatever it is called. She must be special." His moustache twitched like a hairy caterpillar as he sniffed. It made her itchy just thinking about it. "What's your name, girl? How about getting some revenge and helping out Black Mesa while you're at it? We can reward you for your efforts." He added as an afterthought.

Chell didn't have the heart to tell them that any rewards made in the heart of Aperture were most likely pipe dreams. Pipes filled with neurotoxin. And definitely not cake. And while the idea sounded lovely, she knew it wasn't in her best interests.

"Well?"

What to do, what to do? Stick with the plan? Ruin it entirely and likely get killed either way? Or...alter the plan? Yes, that was a most excellent idea!

"Beans?"

"Beans?" he repeated, somewhat bewildered and wondering if he'd heard her correctly.

"BEANS!" Chell loudly yelled, pointing at the remains of GLaDOS with the most horrifyingly stupid grin she could muster, plastered across her face. Brain damage always worked a treat for her in the past. The noise she was making, however, did startle some soldiers into inching their fingers closer towards the triggers.

"Uh..."

Bounding towards the bits and pieces on the floor, she began sorting through them until she found a couple of screws, which she unashamedly stuffed into her mouth with nary a second thought. It had the desired effect, and sent them all into a frenzy.

"STOP HER!"

"SHE'S EATING IT!"

Once again, Chell was set upon. Only this time she didn't struggle as much, and had oily fingers shoved into her mouth to remove the precious bits and pieces before she was restrained once again. Her face screwed up into what she could only hope was an incalculably sad expression, doing her best to bring tears to her eyes.

"Beeee-eeaaaaaaaans!" she howled, her voice hitching from lack of use.

"Oh, will you shut her up! Get her some food or something before she eats everything. She's probably starving. She must be one of those test subjects they had down here. Probably has all sorts of brain damage. Bloody useless." The scientist grunted, but did try to approach the wailing woman with the food she had presumably been crying out for. "Um...there there? Look what I've got. Yummy things?" he tried to console her. "It's not beans. Just soup. Still good." Pulling the ring top open and waving it under her nose, he was quite pleased when Chell immediately shut up and took it from him.

Settling herself on the floor with her legs spread and the can of vegetable soup between them, she began dipping her finger in it and then sucking it until it was all gone in what she hoped was a childlike manner. It tasted slightly like sweat and dirt, but she had to admit, the soup was marvellous compared to the old cans of beans and rations that she had found lying around that she was used to surviving on. And it was much fresher, too. Deliberately taking her time so that they would lose interest in watching he and go back to whatever it was they were doing, Chell risked a brief glance up to inspect the position of the cameras in the room. Oh boy, she was going to get it later on from the AI; that was certain. Raising the can to her mouth and slurping down the last of the soup, she staggered to her feet again and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before walking out the door. Well, she tried, at least. The two guards there just shoved her back with her racing heart.

"...Want to go to space?" All she received were curiously amused looks from the helmeted men. "Five thousand pounds chocolate cake mix. Cubes with legs. I want to go on an adventure!" she tried the door again, but was once again blocked by grinning face.

"Look, she's absolutely mental. What were they doing down here with this lot?" one of them pondered.

"Oh, just let her go. She's not going to be any help. She'll probably just starve to death down here like the others anyway. Poor bastards." The moustache twitched again, and a hand was waved. Almost immediately, the way forward was clear.

Reminding herself not to rush, Chell meandered down the hallway, trilling happily to herself until she could no longer hear them. Once out of range, she let out a long groan and sigh of relief as her heart started to come back to a relatively normal rate. That was a feat in itself, given the adrenal vapours being circulated. How the hell had she managed to get herself out of that not-so-little kerfuffle? Deciding not to worry herself over it too much, she returned to racing down further into Aperture towards the warehouses as best as she could. Some of it she recognised, some of it was remembered from the floor plans. Most of it was guesswork and reading signs. But she made it.

Warehouse 3.

Which just so happened to be filled with crates. And more crates.

Blinking tiredly, Chell began the arduous process of attempting to match some of the goods and sectors on the list with what she was seeing in front of her. Much of it had long since disappeared or had been relocated, but thankfully the contents of some boxes were printed on the side. Others were very difficult to read or had no identifying marks at all. Searching for the least dusty box in hopes that it would be one that had been recently opened proved to be much more successful. Because before long, she was pulling out the familiar weight of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device and attaching it firmly to her arm. Now that felt much better.

With her heart and her step much lighter; Chell readied herself to return to Doug and GLaDOS when something else caught her eye. A small crate nestled between two larger ones and almost out of sight, save for the bold stencil print on the side.

GLaDOS SPARE PARTS.

Well now, that was interesting indeed.