Double update! Woohoo!
Chell packed the black backpack with everything she thought they might need. The computer and the radio, several granola and protein bars, a dozen bottles of water, and a first-aid kit. She longed to bring her Companion Cube along, but she knew it was too heavy to carry for very long. Besides, what would she do if she ran into an Emancipation Grill? No, as much as it pained her to admit, the safest place for her trusted companion was here, far from the hell of Aperture Laboratories.
She now confronted her measly fashion collection with the age-old problem of women everywhere. What to wear? Of course, Chell had a different idea of what was appropriate to wear out than most women. Her Long-Fall Boots were a must, of course. They had proven themselves to be quite useful, even better than the Advanced Knee Replacements that had been destroyed when she was dragged back underground.
She tried not to think about that past failure. She had been blasted out of the center, into some kind of parking lot. She saw the sun, smelled fresh air, but she was too weak to run away from the smoldering wreckage of GLaDOS' old body. All she could do was lie there, panting, until she was found by the Party Escort Bot. And yet, now I'm going back there of my own free will. Maybe I do have brain damage.
Chell decided to wear her old Aperture tank top, mostly out of nostalgia. It was comfortable, though. She refused, however, to wear the old orange jumpsuit. It was designed to be dehumanizing, to strip away a test subject's individuality. Instead, she chose soft blue pants that allowed for full range of motion. Hmm, she thought, orange to blue. How fitting. She slung the bag over her back and smiled.
She was going back.
And this time, she would be ready.
jO x )o(
"Are you absolutely certain we have to be doing this? There is a possibility that you, ah, misinterpreted the definition! Yes, that is a possibility. Or, hell, maybe I messed up the data transfer anyway! You know, that's probably it. So we can go home now! Right?" Wheatley looked hopefully at Chell, but she continued tromping through the wheat, her boots making strange footprints in the mud.
"We have to do this." Once Chell committed to something, she never, ever gave up. Even if it required doing the unthinkable. Even if it meant going back.
"And why exactly is that?" Wheatley, on the other hand, gave up quite easily. He lacked the calm stubbornness of his formerly mute friend.
"Because you made this mess, and now you have to clean it up." she replied simply, brushing aside another stalk of wheat.
"But I'm probably just going to botch it up!" he protested.
"That's why I'm coming with you. Without me there, you'll probably be back on a management rail, being pecked by birds in Android Hell in about 6.2 picoseconds after opening the door!"
Wheatley started to argue, and then conceded. She was probably right…
As the old shed came into view above the wheat, Chell talked less and less, while Wheatley talked more and more. Old habits die hard.
They reached the shed door far earlier than either of them would have hoped. Wheatley turned to Chell and asked nervously, "Are you still a good jumper?"
She brushed a strand of hair out of his face and said, completely serious, "Apple."
He grinned. Whatever happened now, they would face their respective fates side-by-side.
/o\ (o)
"This next test involves falling from great heights. Be careful." At that moment, the floor opened up and the two cooperative robots plunged down about a mile or so.
As they fell, Orange, aka P-Body, turned to her companion, Blue, aka Atlas, and chattered something to him in their language of clicks and beeps. He understood her perfectly. Not even a portal surface?, the taller bot was saying
Atlas felt inclined to agree. She usually had the sarcasm turned up full blast, but just now the boss was being downright cruel. They knew she was twisted and sadistic, certainly, but there was always a solution to her tests. Here, it was just a long iron-lined shaft. She would never just kill them because She could. Would She? After Atlas and P-Body saw Her dismiss that test subject, She had been different. Colder, quieter, more evil, and yet She didn't seem to feel any satisfaction. What do you think happened? He chattered to P-Body. Before she could reply, however, they hit an Aerial Faith Plate at the bottom of the shaft. They were launched back up, and promptly crushed between two spiked plates.
Poor Atlas and P-Body! GLaDOS is a bit crabby. I wonder why…
Also, thank you so much for the kind reviews! I usually don't update until I'm good and ready, but when I see people anxious to see what happens, I work like crazy to make you guys happy!
DMLunatic out!
