"Let go!"
Wheatley's handles flexed, trying to wrench off her grasp. It only made her hold on tighter as the void of space threatened to swallow her up. She stared in disbelief at the large blue optic, hoping the words he'd just spoken, like the previous stream of harsh accusations and heart-wrenching confessions, had only been a verbal accident, a glitch in his system. His narrowed shutters glared back hatefully – not just spitefully but loathingly.
A piece of debris from the Main AI Chamber flew into her face, and her left hand lost its grip. She fumbled against the blasting air to catch the core's handle again, but he pulled it out of reach. She gasped.
"Let GO!" he demanded again. "I'm still connected!"
Her lungs started to burn as she struggled to inhale the void around her. Wheatley began moving his other handle in a desperate attempt to throw her off. She tried to gasp in another breath, succeeding in a lungful of nothing. Black fog encroached at the edge of her vision, growing darker and more constricting with each pounding heartbeat. Wheatley's bright blue optic still burned at her, demanding what she could not bring herself to deliver.
"LET GO!"
She couldn't. Tears brimmed in her eyes, immediately freezing as the rush of air blasted them off her face and into the cold recesses of the stars. Everything was growing darker, darker, until only Wheatley's blue light remained, ever angry and vehement. Her hand weakened its grip.
Taking in another breath, she tried to scream, tried to beg, plead, accuse, condemn – anything to make him stop his madness. The pain coursing through her whole body was now unbearable; her chest, her eyes, her heart. Everything burned; everything struggled to survive just one second longer.
Something burst in her chest. The world went black…
Chell burst upright with a fierce gasp. Putting a hand to her chest, she sucked in breath after breath, leaning back against the rough brick, squeezing her eyes shut. Her hands balled into fists, nails digging into her palms.
She hated that dream.
Another gasping breath. She grit her teeth, determined not to let the tears flow this time. It was over. The dream. That horrible moment. Both of them buried in the sands of the past. Both of them...stinging like salt on a wound.
Cara bel, cara mia bella...
The tune played through again and again, trying to distract her jumbled mind. It took a few rounds, but finally her breathing slowed to normal. She opened her eyes.
The sun hadn't risen too far. In fact, it was barely up over the huge wall surrounding the city. She wasn't aware of when she'd fallen asleep, but she was glad it had been brief. Out in the open with Combine on alert, a nap made her an easy target. It had been foolish of her to drift off so easily.
Bracing herself on the brick wall behind her, she got to her feet. She opened her satchel and checked on the little core. Its single ring of yellow lights was still flickering, but at least they were on. She didn't exactly know what would happen to the little guy if he shut down completely, and though she was sure the facility would have a way to get him back online, she wasn't sure how he'd fare.
Tucking him safely back into the satchel, she strapped it across her back again. Peering over the edge of the building, she was surprised to see no Combine were actually in the immediate area. Perhaps they'd already gotten all they wanted from what was left of the core.
She climbed down the fire escape, still wary of any remaining Metrocops in the area. There were none, but she soon found a worse problem – containment fields had been placed across the three streets around the area, probably to keep nosy intruders like herself out. Only this time, it was trapping a nosy intruder inside.
Going back down the street from where she'd come, she saw a small, three-walled alcove crafted from the same material as the city's wall. Bluish-purple, somewhere between hard, cold metal and angular crystals, the stuff was nigh-indestructible and served both as a symbol of the humans' oppression and of the Combine's cruel dominance. A computer sat in the alcove.
Chell examined the screen, careful not to touch anything. The screens scrolled endless lines of gibberish, and Chell couldn't determine if it was some weird Combine language or encrypted code. The panel below the computer's monitor held dozens of buttons, ports, and sockets, many of which were lit up with the same cool blue glow as the electrified wall itself.
She stared at all of the bits and pieces before a spark of inspiration struck her. She pulled out the core again, inspecting the three cables from its back. Taking the larger jack, its size and shape reminiscent of an electric guitar's cord, she prodded it into several of the sockets before finding one that fit.
The screen wavered a little, and the core itself lit up like a Christmas tree. He made a high whirring sound, and to Chell's surprise, the disk began shaking in her hands. She clamped onto it, eyes wide, worried she'd done the wrong thing entirely.
The core's optic went black.
Chell yanked the cable from the socket, holding the little disk at eye level and shaking it, as if that would wake him up. She let out a small, fearful whimper.
Suddenly, the core lit up again, its yellow lights spiraling alive and glowing brightly. The optic flashed twice, slowly, as if blinking awake from a nap. For a moment, the two stared blankly at one another.
"Hey!" the core suddenly burst, and Chell fumbled him as she jumped in surprise. "You're the lady from space!"
Chell blinked, nodding.
The core gave a string of excited panting noises but stopped suddenly, flashing his optic and spouting a sullen, "Wait. Wait. This isn't space."
Not knowing how else to respond, Chell shook her head.
"Wanna go back. Back to space. Wanna go back now. Space. Need space."
She wasn't sure what to do. The core flashed at her again, repeatedly, almost angrily.
"SPAAAAAAAAACE!"
She dropped him on the console, covering her ears at the high-pitched wail. Anyone in a three-mile radius probably heard that, including any Combine on patrol! Putting a finger to her lips, she shushed the core as best her voice would allow.
He would have none of it. "No! Wanna. Go. Back. To. SPAAAAAAAAACE! NOOOOOW!"
"Shh, shh," Chell pleaded. She spun around, searching the area for any unwanted guests. Any more of this and the Combine would definitely hear him. She picked up the core, holding it against her stomach to mute him.
Suddenly, he fell silent. She tentatively pulled him away, worried he'd start up again. Instead, his LEDs were flickering nervously, moving in a tiny wave around the radial of his optic.
"Space cops!" he whispered urgently. The lights dimmed to show only the small circle, trembling like a candle in the breeze.
She tilted her head, confused. He must've been some kind of corrupted to glitch this badly. Knowing Aperture technology, though, it wasn't too surprising.
A distant sound of static scattered her thoughts. She peered past the alcove, making sure to keep hidden. Beyond the wavering blue containment field, far down the street, she saw the white masks of three Combine on approach.
Amazed, she gaped down at the little core. Had he known they were coming?
"Space cops!" he whimpered again.
She ducked into a nearby doorway, mindful of broken glass as she crawled to the safety of a corner under a window. Within moments, the telltale noise of combat boots signaled Combine presence.
One of them passed by the window, and Chell pressed herself further against the wall. She was sure he wouldn't be able to see her in the darkness of the empty room, but if he just happened to look over his shoulder, she wouldn't have time to run before the beating started.
She hated the look of Combine. Their smooth masks, with large eyeholes and broad foreheads, always reminded her of a skull. Most had white masks, although there had been an alarming increase in black-masked ones with eyeholes that shone bright blue. These, she had found out via Resistance members, were more elite soldiers. Why soldiers were in City 04 was anyone's guess.
Most of all, Chell hated Metrocops. They were formerly normal citizens who had been given the right to beat anyone within an inch of their lives simply because they had agreed to sell their souls to these devils. Whether they wanted a higher position in life or because the Combine had promised them better food and shelter: neither of these mattered to Chell. They were traitors against their own people.
The Combine hung around for several minutes; the endless and indecipherable chatter from their radios coupled with the stress of their very presence nearly drove Chell insane. The core kept his small ring alight the entire time, and Chell swore she felt him trembling in her hands. She allowed several minutes to pass even after the boots stomped away and the radio shrank to a faraway hum before stepping out of her hiding spot.
Standing again before the alcove, Chell approached the containment field. It buzzed dully, and when she reached out to touch it, it sent tiny, painless shocks through her palm. It also felt as hard as steel. No matter how hard she pushed, she could not go through the wall of light.
"Starfield," the core in her hand purred happily. With a start, his radials began blinking brightly. "Wait! Wait wait! I know! Quick! The space station! Docking station, incoming ship in 3…2…"
Chell merely stared at him.
"Descent! Into the black hole!"
She raised a brow, not understanding. With some effort, he managed to illuminate part of his optic, forming a sort of arrow to indicate the alcove beside her.
"P-pp-p-pl-l-lu-uh-ug," he groaned, forcing out the word.
Chell slapped her forehead. Of course. But why would he want to be plugged in again?
Puzzled by his request but somewhat relieved that he could communicate, she carried him back to the computer console and inserted his plug. A small blaze of a spark shot through him. It made Chell jump back in surprise, but the little core merely ignored it, focused solely on his duty.
The main screen of the computer switched from strings of strange text to – what else – pictures of the stars. Different planets, galaxies, satellites, comets, and other intergalactic images flashed quickly across the screen. The little core gave a happy chirp of "Bup bup-bup bup!" as the slideshow continued.
Chell set a hand on her hip. Was this all he wanted to do? They were wasting time as it was, and he was making a great deal of noise again. He had alerted her to the Combine the first time, true, but she knew luck like that never kept for too long. If all he wanted to do was look at pictures, then –
Something flashed in the corner of her eye. Peeking out from the alcove, she found only transparent blue light where the containment field had been. Chell's mouth dropped open.
"Io!" the core piped, and it took Chell a moment to realize he meant her. "Io, ready for lift-off!"
Her heart soared with a surge of delight that before had only come in her dreams. If he could hack the containment fields, then she could clear a path through City 04. Her plan to escape that night had fallen through, thanks to unexpected Combine interruption, the little fireball from the sky, and her accidental nap, but she could make it into the woods by noon or earlier if this little guy was helping.
She pulled his plug from the console, lifted him up with a happy squeal, and placed a little kiss on his shattered optic. He didn't seem aware of any of this symbolism and began chattering again.
"Okay. Okay, okay. Listen! You. Io. We get outta space jail, and then – yes, then! – then you can get me back to space?"
She nodded vigorously, beaming from ear to ear. She wasn't exactly sure how she could fulfill the wish, but she would try her best. When she returned to Aperture, she could probably procure another ASHPD, and sending another portal to the moon would be the very least she could do for the little guy.
"Io!" he cried, impatiently lighting his optic in rings, "let's go!"
She drew his cables up through some loops in her sleeve, tearing new ones where she could, chuckling hollowly as she fastened the core around her arm. The optic lay snugly tied over her left hand, allowing him to see outward.
"Blast off!" he squealed, and she took off down the street.
Io. What a weird name. She guessed it was the name of some moon or something, not really knowing exactly where he'd pulled it. It seemed only fair, however, to give him a name, too. True, she couldn't really call out to him, but giving him some sort of identity made her feel better about toting the noisy thing around.
But what name? The list of planets went through her head. Mars? Jupiter? Jupiter sounded like an important name. Perhaps too important. Pluto. Neptune. Uranus.
She scoffed. No, not that name.
Orion. She remembered that one. It seemed nice enough, not that she knew who Orion was, but in all fairness, she didn't know who Io was, either. Still, it was easy to remember and sounded brave and seemed to fit the little core pretty well.
She grinned down at the core, who had lapsed into a small song of nonsensical noise interjected with intergalactic items. Orion. It was a perfect name, really. When she got back, she –
"Ah!"
Both she and the core cried out as a bright flash blocked out the world. Blinded, Chell could only back away from the whirring hover of a small engine. She gave a frustrated grunt, swinging a fist blindly through the air. Through the white fog of blindness, Chell made out a small red light. She turned away from it, running back toward the crash site.
The scanner cruised easily through the air, hovering around her like a dragonfly, eager to snap another picture. Its leaflike outer rotors flew up like wings, giving an electric whine as they prepared another flash.
Chell rubbed at her eyes, trying to chase away the specks of color and white mist. Her vision cleared just enough for her to avoid falling into the deep cleft from the impact. Quickly, she looked around for a weapon – a bit of pipe, scrap of metal, anything. Something narrow and shiny caught her eye, and she pulled it out of a pile of broken concrete.
It was a metal rod, bronze, with deep grooves spiraling up it like a carousel pole. She felt a weight at the end of it but couldn't see well enough to tell what it was. It wasn't heavy, though, and she could easily swing it one-handed.
She mentally targeted the scanner, listening for the whirring and seeking out that red light. Orion gave a startled cry, unaccustomed to so much quick movement, as she twisted around, making a wide arc with the pole. There was a jarring slam as the pole connected, and the scanner crashed to the ground.
She raised the pole again, vision clearing, eager to smash the damn thing to bits. As the pole struck again, the wings of the scanner gave one final, nasty flash, directly in Chell's face. She recoiled, clasping both hands over her eyes with a ghost of a scream. The pain bored directly through to her brain, leaving a piercing headache. She fell to her knees.
"Space cops!" Orion announced. "We gotta jet!"
She groaned, scouring the ground for her fallen weapon and using it to prop herself up. The fogginess faded as she staggered toward another street, but the searing line of pain that cleaved her head in two threatened to remain for some time.
Using Orion to clear the containment field of another path, she took off towards the edge of the city. As soon as the field came down, alarms echoed through the streets.
((SOOOO SOOOO SORRY about the lateness of this. Computer went DERP and I JUST got it back TONIGHT. Well, i got the files out of it, at any rate...))