3. Playing Holiday Music

"Frosted windowpanes…"

Blue and Orange stopped in their tracks and looked around. They might have taken the comment, coming over the speakers to their testing chamber, as an observation of the frosted glass, but observations about the testing chamber were not usually delivered so… musically…

"Candles gleaming inside, painted candy canes… on the tree…"

Blue glanced up at his gangly partner, to ask "What's up with this?"

But Orange was already caught under the nefarious spell, swaying from one spindly leg to another. Blue rolled his optic, and glared around to be on the lookout for any painted candy canes hiding candles in their depths.

"Santa's on his way— BZZZZT"

"Negative," said the flat voice of the Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System. "Santa is not on his way here. Ignore this music. This is not part of the test. It will soon be terminated."

The music resumed. Blue was about to shrug his heavy shoulders and get on with it, but first he had to reach out and smack Orange's free hand, which was conducting an invisible orchestra. Blue bzzed at his partner, and Orange reluctantly followed him onward.

The rest of the song played out, words giving way to by an orchestral section, while they tested.

It had been a brief test, and Blue would have been quite happy to complete and leave it behind him… except, when they stood at the door, the words began over.

Blue just had time to think, "Oh, no, not this again," when Orange suddenly put down her portal gun and started spinning around the floor, metal feet clicking in time to the music.

Blue drew his portal gun closer. The GLaDOS might do something terrible to Orange if she were caught disobeying – which she definitely was! – and Blue didn't like it when Orange got punished. Even if said punishment was immediately undone by the arrival of a newer, cleaner Orange. Dammit, the only person who was allowed to callously drop Orange into harm's way was Blue!

So Blue put down his gun and approached Orange, waving his hands to say "Cut it out, show's over," but Orange seemed to take his approach as a joining-in. Her orange optic lit up, and she seized his arms and made him whirl with her, one two three one two three…

"Merry Christmas, may your new year dreams come true…"

Blue buzzed and chirped in great alarm. They were compounding their disobedience! Multiplying it by a factor of one two three, one two three! That was going to spiral into humungous numbers! He despaired. Orange was past reason, past hope. Blue sighed.

Orange chirruped back at him, a merry reproach. The test was almost over, no reason they shouldn't try something a little new, have a little fun.

"… And this song of mine, in three-quarter time, wishes you and yours, the same thing too…"

The song played out to its conclusion. Orange let Blue go, optic beaming bright as an incineration chamber, beeping with happiness. Blue hesitated, then burred a low agreement. That had been fun.

Three jingle bell notes, then another song burst in on the airwaves:

"GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER…"

CRASH.

ZAP.

fizzle

Then, silence. By that point Blue and Orange had already resumed their places at the door to exit the chamber, optics wide, frames straight, and portal guns locked in death grips.

"There. No more of that infernal music." The door slid open.

Orange glanced over at her partner, and caught Blue's eye. She gave the thumbs up, and happily saw it returned before they entered the elevators.