Surprise!
[Wow, a lot of updates. I oly had a few chapters left, so I decided, why not just upload the rest? So I'll put the others up here.]
Chell – Bright, white light leaked in through my eyelids. I squinted, still half asleep, trying to block out the amazingly blinding light. It took several minutes to get used to it, and half as long to realize where I was. No other light could be this blinding, yet have the temperature be so cold. A shiver ran through my body, and instantly the room heated up perfectly. I sat up and suddenly everything around me dimmed, ad my body felt numb. Almost just as quickly, I fell back down and closed my eyes. Ow, my head hurt so much. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to make this nightmare end. It had to be a nightmare, because I was miles away from this place. It was either a nightmare, or Hell.
When a tune played to my right, I knew it was the latter. A radio sat to my right, playing that horrible, annoying song it always had. Automatically my mind put the lyrics to the sound.
I'm not even angry. I'm being so sincere right now. Even though you broke my heart and killed me.
I sighed, wincing when my head throbs. No matter how much I'll hate this place, I'll always hate that song more. Suddenly the music stopped ad silence filled the room. Just as the music stopped, there was a quiet thud of something falling, followed by the lullaby my Companion Cube was playing. I opened my eyes and looked to my right to see the all familiar cube by my bed. Along with the cube, in the corner of my eye, I saw an IV in my arm. Perfect; more flavorless nourishment. Right as I thought that, I heard the voice that haunted my dreams.
"Good Morning," She said, way too cheery for comfort, "How do you feel?"
I rolled my eyes. Like she really expects me to talk. She remains silent as she waits for a answer. Just peachy, I snorted in my head. "Sarcastic remarks give no real data," She replied. That was really weird. She just spoke to me like I actually talked.
"Oh, that's part of the surprise."
First, I was confused about how she was hearing me, but then my attitude took over and I rolled my head, Yeah, sure, another surprise I'm not looking forward to.
"Oh, this is a real surprise. One you'll love." She said, yet again reading my thoughts. How are you doing that? I yelled allowed in my head. "That's the second part of your surprise. It's called a Micro Thought Translator. I invented it."
A Micro Thought Translator? What the heck is that? GLaDOS answered me, her voice rich with excitement, "It's a microchip I planted in your brain. It translated your thoughts into words in my computer. So now you can talk, technically." She gave a quiet hum of self-satisfaction This must have been a big thing for her. "Oh it was! Do you know how this would affect how humans interact with computers in the future?"
I huffed. I feel sorry for you. That was a waste of time. Everyone's dead up there. Flashes of the bodies and dining crows swam through my mind. GLaDOS fell silent for a minute. When she spoke, she changed the subject, "There's filtered water in the fridge across from you. If you want any, just call Blue or Orange and they'll do what you ask." Her voice was so sweet. It made me nervous and uneasy. All I wanted was to be away from this place. Why am I back here anyway? I thought you let me go, or did you lie about that too? I thought.
GLaDOS spoke again, sounding a bit disturbed, "You were infected with a disease unknown to man. It killed everyone. It nearly killed you, but Orange and Blue got you back here just in time," She perked up a bit at the end of her speech.
I pulled the IV's out of my am, stood up and looked around. So nightmare was now marked off the list. That leaves only my second option. The AI hesitated, "Well, how about we get to that surprise?" The room started moving, jerking the radio off of the table, landing with a thud. We noisily made our way through halls and chambers, all the while GLaDOS babbling on to me about the robots, although I hardly paid attention, "…as I watched both of them test, I felt something missing…" I zoned her out, too focused on finding an escape. I was expecting GLaDOS to snap back to reality and insult me, calling me too brain damaged to listen to a simple story, but she just kept talking.
Before long, the room was raising, slowly entering her chamber. The moment I saw the room, I knew something was up. GLaDOS hung high and mighty, nearing the end of her babbling. She would look around, then at me, the back to her walls, the back to me, constantly as she talked. I was almost about to tell her to shut up, when she stopped and looked at me.
"Well, here we are again, just as it used to be before you allowed Wheatly to ruin my facility." She squinted with her optic, seeming as to smile. That made me extremely uneasy. There was something wrong, and I wasn't intending to stay and find out. She watched me for a minute, "Do you remember when I said it was your birthday, and I said I had a surprise for you?"
I glared at her, How could I forget? I thought as I leaned against the window, still looking around for an exit. She ignored my venom and continued, "Well, I've been thinking about the whole surprise thing, and it was cruel to bring up your parents like that. Yes, I lied about meeting them, but this surprise will make up for that."
Let me guess…You say this time I'll really meet my parents, I squinted my eyes at her. The AI perked up, "Yes! Well, no…But yes." That didn't faze me; I stood with my arms crossed, staring into the optic of the machine. GLaDOS watched me, her optic wide with excitement, which wore off when I didn't react. She tilter her head to the side, "You did hear me, right?" I nodded, And I don't believe you.
She nodded, "Understandable, but this time I'm not lying." Not that saying that would make me all of a sudden believe her. The machine was silent for a minute, then tons of tubes came out from the ceiling. You know, the deadly gas directed at me doesn't support what you just said, I thought irately. GLaDOS simply ignored me, "I'm just setting things up for when I introduce you to your mother," She hummed, moving the wall panels in a way that designed a cake. How cheesy can she be? So there's my surprise: death with a side of cake. She chuckled quietly at the thought, "I figured you would find that amusing. I always promised cake, when all the while I never made one."
A panel in the floor by me opened and a small cupcake rose out from below. I stared at it in disbelief; she doesn't actually expect me to fall for that. The AI spoke, "I baked it myself, no fish." I looked at the robot, who was watching me carefully with interest, and then down to the cupcake. Carefully, I kneeled down and picked up the treat, examining it closely. Several thoughts went through my head, which no doubt GLaDOS heard. If I'm going to die, why not just enjoy? Who cares if it's poisoned? You'll be dead soon anyway. Half of me thought, while the other half argued, You still have a chance. All you have to do is get out of this glass room, and you'll be sure to beat her again. Both sides bickered as I stared at the cake. Finally the temptation was too strong, and I took some of the frosting off, resting my finger in my mouth. Instantly the sweet sugar melted on my tongue, spreading throughout my mouth. I closed my eyes and indulged in the sweet, sugary delight. Nothing could possible taste as wonderful as that saccharine cake.
The AI whirred in satisfaction at my thoughts. I opened my eyes to see her optic was closed. My guess was that she had the same sensation I had, if robots were able to taste. Watching how the machine rocked ever so slightly I concluded that they could. She looked so happy there, which both sent a shiver down my spine and pleased me. It was good to finally see the robot enjoy something other than pain and death. Suddenly GLaDOS stopped swaying and opened her optic. She glanced to me, then looked around, "Well, now that you can believe that I wasn't going to kill you, we can proceed with the surprise."
I sighed, Fine, where's my mother? My mental tone gave away that I was just humoring her. GLaDOS suddenly froze up. She looked at the floor, then to me. I gave her an expectant look and she found her voice, "Your mother worked here…Well, she was actually the secretary of the CEO of Aperture."
I furrowed my brows, She worked here? GLaDOS nodded, "She had a baby girl in the spring. She named her Chell, short for Chelsea, which was her mother's name. Her mother loved her with all of her heart; she would do anything for the little girl. Unfortunately, she was unable to keep her daughter," The robot paused, seeming to remember something, "Cave Johnson had created the idea to put a man's brain mind into a computer, and he was going to be the first to try it out. Sadly, he was very sick when he finished the project, and died shortly before he was supposed to test it out. Before he died, he told everyone that he wanted his secretary to take his spot if he passed before the completion of his project. So, they forced her into a machine, even though she absolutely did not want to be crammed into a computer for the rest of eternity-" She snarled, becoming very angry. She took a second to calm down before continuing, "But they did it anyway, no matter how much she struggled and begged. Being the way things were, her baby was taken and given to the first family possible."
I stood up, interrupting her train of thought, Wait…Wasn't Cave Johnson the guy in those prerecorded messages? I remember he said something about that; about having his secretary take charge of the facility when he left. GLaDOS looked at me, her body more stiff than usual. Was she afraid of something? I thought back to what he said, struggling to get the exact words.
"I will say this, and I'm gonna say it on tape so everyone hears it a hundred times a day: If I die before you people can pour me into a computer, I want Caroline to run this place. Now she'll argue -she's modest like that. But you make her! Hell, put her in my computer, I don't care." He said, full of enthusiasm. I replayed that once more in my head until the realization dawned on me.
[Ugh, so difficult to write these last chapters! Oh well, I'll do my best!]
