Chapter 4 - Unexpected

Disclaimer: The characters that make up the Portal universe do not belong to me. I do not own them; although, most of the time, I wish I did. Instead, they belong to their respected owners.

Prompt: Your character gets what they've wanted for so long. How do they react?
Summary: Just like the Lady, he had gotten his freedom. But it wasn't what he had expected.
Warning: None

First off, this will be just a one-shot, if any of you were wondering. And second, I wrote this at around two in the morning, so I want to apologize for anything that does not make sense. I fixed it up as best I could, but if you catch anything let me know, please. That would be very much appreciated. Other than that, there's not much else that I want to say.

So, without any further rambling (I save that for the end), I hope that you enjoy this chapter! And like always, I will see everyone at the end!

Happy reading friends!


To be honest, this was not what he had in mind. He thought that it would be different. Much different.

The small core looked at the inky black that was space. It was incredibly dark, he noted, even if there were billions and trillions of stars. He spun himself around, his bright blue optic shrinking to a mere pinprick in fear as he examined his surroundings for yet another time. Black, that was all there was; as well as the occasional twinkling star.

That, and there was nothing. No one else, neither robot nor (smelly) human. No sound-

The personality core cringed slightly as a yellow-eyed sphere rolled swiftly by, declaring awful loudly, "space! I'm in space!"

At least, not as much as he would prefer. It was far too quiet here in space, and big.

He blinked, looking sharply to the left as something shot across, breaking the black for but a moment. He squinted against the bright light, even though it was far away.

That was one - if only - upside about space. The comets and meteors as the would occasionally fly by, leaving behind them a long tail of debris. Sometimes if it happened to be near them, he would sneeze once or twice. The sights, what little he could actually see as he tumbled about, were nice.

Sure, the stars as they twinkled and sparkled were awfully pretty. As well as the Earth as it spun continuously, its contents being sloshed and churned about but not noticing. And when the sun shined ever so brightly in the mornings - the only way that he could tell when a day ended and another started; all of it, was breathtaking. The magazines that he had found on his very first days of being an employee of Aperture Science described exactly what he saw, to the very point.

However, in a way, it was not like what he read about at all. And his opinion about space, overall, had quickly changed.

For one, space was cruel. Its lack of warmth was annoying, and it was substituted for an ever-present cold, one that was bitter and harsh; especially when he entered the Moon's shadow. Well, at least, now, he did not have to worry about his inner circuits overheating at any time.

And it was lonely. Yes, he had the company of the Space Core, but all that one would do was talk about space. Still, Wheatley sighed. He never had someone to actually talk to; a real conversation about anything.

"Ba! Ba!" The Space Core chirped, passing by the other for second time. "Space! Ba! Ba!"

Other than space, that is.

'At least I'm not under Her control anymore.' Wheatley reasoned, and he had to give props. Being out here, drifting and spinning end-over-end; the only thing to worry about being stray debris. His entire optic piece jerked, in the equivalence of a nod. She could not reach him out here. He was safe from Her evil clutches.

He was free!

At that sudden, crucial decision, the core stopped and he adopted a wide-eyed - owlish, almost - look. And then, a few moments later, his lower optic shutter rose; making him seem to have a smile.

He did not have to worry about anything anymore! Just himself, and the Space Core when the time came. No one else. He, also, did not have to worry about the Itch, which, he was sure, came with Her incredibly huge chassis.

Despite becoming corrupted with power and the obsession to do nothing but test, Wheatley had gained something great. What he had kept talking about, since meeting the first of the last, remaining test subjects. The one thing that he had obsessed over.

His freedom.

And, as he looked around, still housing a one-optic smile, he suddenly realized. Even though he had gotten his freedom, it was not the same. That was when the smile disappeared.

"Wait a minute." Wheatley started, his voice growing louder and frantic as it finally hit him. "This can't be right! Where's the grass and-and the blue sky? The flowers, where did it go? None of that's here! Nothing! There's nothing!"

And it was true. In place of the messy assorted, wild flowers that came in several different colors, there were dull-colored stars that were millions of miles away. And what took place of the bright, baby-blue sky that would change shades as the day grew longer, was the deep blackness of space. This was nothing compared to what he had fantasized about, not even close.

Wheatley deflated upon noticing that he did not - yet again - get what he had desired. For a few, long moments, all that could be heard was the Space Cores excited cries and the faint humming of their inner mechanics. Until the blue-eye core let out a soft, sad moan, "this isn't fair." And he looked to the side. "I sacrificed everything to be free. And look at what I get!" By the end, his tone had taken on a bit of anger.

Quickly, he adverted his gaze from the empty space that was in front of him to the large marble-like planet that was several million yards below. A warm, almost fizzy, feeling washed over him as the swirling green-blue-white mass cued a few memories. He sighed, "I just hope the Lady is alright." And with that, he let the moon's terribly low gravitational pull spin him, no longer struggling to stay in view of the planet that was called Earth - where the Lady lived.

"This isn't what I had planned at all. This is way different." Wheatley sighed, not caring, for once, if anyone was listening to him or not. "I had always imagined it. I mean, I hoped that I would be free, one day. Be escape buddies with someone. Y'know, I'd end up some place that has a lot of flowers, green grass and tall trees. But, safe! Safety comes first," he watched as the Space Core drifted by a third time. "Right mate?"

To Wheatley's surprise, the Space Core had his eye trained solely on him. "Yep, yep! Safe! Gotta be safe in space." He chanted, the words coming out in short, quick bursts.

A soft laugh spilled from his internal speakers, despite if the sound was prerecorded. "You're finally listening, mate. That's good." Wheatley congratulated, though, quickly went back to the matter on hand; the idea of his ideal freedom. "Anyways, like I was saying. I always figured that, once I was free, I would end up in a place that's quite pretty. A-And, no offense, mate, but," he drawled, "to me, space isn't so pretty anymore."

The Space Core simply shot his fellow core companion a smile, in the same fashion that he had before - optic partially hidden due to the lower shutter rising up halfway. He spun in a circle, though still orbiting a watchful Wheatley, and replied, "space is pretty! Stars, planets, comets!"

Wheatley offered him a silent nod, before humming in agreement, "yeah, that's true."

"We're in space! Space is free!" The Space Core chirped, his entire chassis, although small, shaking with excitement. "We're free!"

For a minute or two, Wheatley was silent as the words sunk in. And not after too long, he was smiling along with the other personality core. He nodded, this time, his entire spherical body bobbing up and down from the action. "Yes, I guess we are, mate."

And the only response that the space obsessed core gave was another cheer, albeit an incredibly loud one.

Even though Wheatley had dreamed about being free, surrounded by colorful flowers that swayed from side to side when a cool breeze rushed by. And to look up at a brilliant blue sky, those were the things that he dreamed about; and not be cooped up inside an underground facility. To be near those things, and be free.

Wheatley nodded for what seemed to be umpteenth time in minutes, although more to himself than to the rambling core that endlessly orbited around him. 'The mate's right,' he told himself, reminiscing on what the other sphere had said. 'It may be completely unexpected,'

But at least he was free.


A/N: As I tend to keep starting out with, did you like it? I hope I did the prompt justice. If not.. oh well. I tried. I can redeem myself in the next chapter.

I want to thank everyone who has done the following: reviewed, favorite, follow. I appreciate, and I know that I say that a lot. But it's true! Seriously! When I see an alert for any of my stories about someone doing one of the above, I run around my house squealing. I'm pretty sure that my siblings will forever think that I'm crazy. (not like they have a reason to think so anyway) :D

Until next time my lovelies, ¡Adiós!