[Those of you who answered, "yes", you're wrong. The answer is no! Of course she's not gonna give up that easily!
Although, I have to say I don't like how I ended the story It feels a little cheesy, but hey, sometimes life needs to be a little cheesy, am I right?

Anyway, thanks for the reviews and favorites and whatnot, I really appreciate it. And guess what! We're checking the story out of the hospital, and goin to get some icecream! Thanks for giving him your love! He thanks you all.]

Chapter 9: Still Alive, Why Not?

Everything was dark; pitch black, and silent. Chell felt heavy, numb, and very disoriented and dizzy. She wanted to move her hand to her head, but she couldn't. She couldn't feel anything. Panic surged through her; she was blind, deaf, and now paralyzed. What happened? Where was she? Chell thrashed around mentally, trying desperately to move any part of her body. Nothing happened; Chell sighed, giving up on moving and focusing on trying to remember what happened. The last thing she remembered was walking into an empty room; hearing the voice mark their death; seeing halls, familiar white halls that she's seen her whole life; the AI's chamber. After that it was black. She couldn't remember a thing.

Suddenly the silent state was broken by a small, rhythmic beep. It wasn't loud, but it played peacefully around her. It started inaudible but slowly grew louder. What was it? Where was it coming from? She tried looking around, but only black could be seen. Now she was stuck in a black abyss, forced to listen to this mysterious beeping. Chell sighed mentally. Just then, a brilliantly bright light shone ahead of her. She squinted and turned to face away, but no matter where she looked, the light was directly in her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out as much of the light as she could until it dimmed down. When the light faded, Chell slowly blinked her eyes open, now taking in so much more. The first thing she saw was a window, showing a sunset outside, painting the sky with pinks and purples and blues. To the left of the window, closer to Chell, sat an IV and a monitor. On the screen, a line moved, jutting upwards sharply and falling back down, moving in sync with the beep.

Just that small observation made Chell exhausted, and she closed her eyes again. Wherever she was, she didn't feel comfortable being there. She took in a breath, relaxing her muscles, which were no longer numb. Now that she could hear, see and feel again, she didn't mind the silence. Her body was so exhausted; she didn't care where she was anymore; as long as she could sleep. But, before she could even think about sleep, something touched her right wrist. Instinctively she jerked her hand back and looked at her potential enemy, eyes wide. A nurse held out her hands, hushing Chell and telling her it was okay. She gently reached over and held Chell's arm, a sharp pain in her wrist bringing her to jerk away again, which just caused more pain.

"Be careful," The nurse said gently, "Your wrist is broken; I'm just checking on it." Chell scrutinized the woman, looking for any threat. She found none and slowly put her arm by her side, letting the nurse do her job. The woman continued to speak, "It's nice to see you're awake. Everything looks good; you're healing up nicely." She smiled

Chell closed her eyes, hardly worried about a broken wrist. She's had worse. Before she could try to sleep again, the nurse spoke, informing her about visitors. She opened her eyes to see the nurse leaving and a familiar boy walking up. Immediately Chell was awake, "Shaun?"

The boy nodded and smiled, "How are you?"

Chell shrugged, wincing when her left shoulder stung. The waiter sighed, "I was worried- I mean, everyone…everyone was worried you were hurt." He blushed lightly. Chell pursed her lips, unsure what to say. She couldn't tell him the truth. What would she say? I was being forced to do tests by an evil robot? That would only make her sound crazy. Shaun glanced behind his shoulder, "Your friends are being looked at. Well, one of them is, but that's mostly because the doctors think he hit his head. He keeps making up crazy stories, and always changing them up." He looked at Chell, "But your other friends were looked at yesterday, when you got here. They're all walking around the floor downstairs with all of the gift shops and the cafeteria. It's like they've never seen human society before."

Just then, the group, minus Liam, walked in. Wheatley was admiring a coke bottle, "This is amazing! It's like fireworks in my mouth!" He looked up from the soda and smiled at Chell, "Well, good evening, luv!"

Chell couldn't help but smile; she always loved when he called her that. Faith immediately ran up to her and carefully hugged her. Chell hugged back, confused with the sudden burst of emotion from the girl. The look on everyone's face didn't help with the mood either. She looked at GLaDOS, who stood and stared at her with an unreadable expression. Shaun looked at the group, and cleared his throat, "I have to get back to work, I'll see you soon." He stood and quickly left the room. Right then, Wheatley sat by the bed, coke bottle in hand, eyes on Chell, and a smile on his face.

"Have you ever tasted a coke? It's bloody amazing!" He smiled, very intrigued by the carbonated drink. GLaDOS stepped closer, seeming to want to say something. She looked at Chell, then Faith, and the Chell again. The test subject glanced to Wheatley, who only averted eye contact by acting interested in the bottle.

"What?" Chell asked, her voice hoarse. GLaDOS looked at Faith once more, then back to Chell with an amused smile; one very much like the sadistic GLaDOS she was before Wheatley took over.

"Do you remember when I told you about two test subjects in cryogenic with your last name?" GLaDOS asked. Chell nodded carefully and the AI said matter-of-factly, "Well, when I said woman, I may have enhanced the meaning just a bit."

Chell moved to a sitting position, clearly unsure and nervous about the AI's words. She waited, hoping for the woman to continue speaking, but sighed when she didn't talk. "How much," She asked. GLaDOS looked up and twisted her lips, wearing a thoughtful expression. She hummed lightly, completely mocking the mental addition humans do.

"Well…" she said, quickly glancing to the teen by Chell, "She's young enough to be your Half-Sister."

Immediately Chell turned to Faith, who was smiling awkwardly at her, and then to GLaDOS, who was waiting for a reaction. First Chell was shocked; simply surprised by the news. Then, happy that she actually had family; even though she was now a machine mostly. But, like most good feelings Chell got, it disappeared, anger overpowering the previous emotion. She glared at GLaDOS, furious that she not only had her trapped in the facility her whole life, but she also had her sister trapped down there. The AI was quickly aware of the test subject's mood, and her attitude dropped back down to her normal sarcastic-self.

"Oh, come on. You know, normally when someone finds out they have a sister, they'd be overjoyed. You, of course, become furious." She said.

Chell hissed, "You put her into a core! You took her life away from her!"

"Let's be honest, she didn't have much of a life in that orphanage-"

"She could have been adopted!"

GLaDOS crossed her arms, "Her chances of being adopted were very low, let alone being adopted to a good family. I actually saved her from a miserable, lonely life-"

"And instead forced her into eternity of fear," Chell snapped. At this point, Faith and Wheatley were sitting silently, waiting out the argument. The Brit continued playing with the now empty coke bottle, and Faith pulled at a string on her shirt. The women continued this back-and-forth for a few minutes until Wheatley cut in.

"Oh, shut up already!" He said, his British accent more pronounced with his irritation. The two looked at him, expecting a long, awkwardly explained story, but one came. So Chell turned back to GLaDOS,

"Then who was the man? Was it a brother? My father?" She asked irately. GLaDOS rolled her eyes, stubbornly refusing to answer Chell. It was ironic, really; Chell talking and GLaDOS taking position as the stubborn mute. The test subject asked again, becoming annoyed with the AI. Wheatley finally groaned,

"For the love of-" He sighed, "It was me! It was me, in the cryogenic storage, with your last name!"

Chell looked at him in shock, and then to GLaDOS, who nodded with sort of a smirk. That didn't make any sense. Chell and Wheatley were nothing alike. They had no similarities to their appearance or personalities. Well, Wheatley did seem to have a bit of a stubborn attitude at times. And, although usually a moron, did have some moments of intelligence. Still, though, they were nothing alike. Seriously, he was British!

"I don't believe you. That makes no sense." Chell shook her head, stubbornly refusing to accept his relation to her.

Wheatley shrugged, "I don't know! All I know is that I have your last name."

"He's your cousin," GLaDOS said, "He was born and raised in Britain. He moved out here when he was twenty. A year later, he took a voluntary job in Aperture. The engineers agreed that he was perfect for the Intelligence Dampening Sphere."

"I'm not a morn, though,: Wheatley muttered, annoyed. GLaDOS laughed once,

"They all agreed that you were a moron. It even said on your personal file, 'Is a complete moron. Lacking vital amounts intelligence.' You truly are stupid."

"I'm not a moron! I'm not!" Wheatley argued, desperate for GLaDOS to see his intelligence. She didn't see it; and instead rolled her eyes and looked at Chell with an annoyed look.

"He's your moronic cousin. And she is your half-sister," GLaDOS said, looking over to Faith. Chell pursed her lips, allowing the new information to sink in. She sighed, looking at Wheatley. The boy was smiling at her with a new perspective on her and Faith. His eyes glistened with excitement like they did when he first got control of the facility. It was a new kind of excitement; one she'd never seen in her friend before. Chell looked over to Faith. The teen was smiling slightly at Wheatley, her already close friendship growing tighter with a new, stronger bond. The sight of these two brought a great mount of joy in Chell. For once she had people to call friends. For once she had people to call family. She smiled.

GLaDOS, recognizing that as her cue, continued speaking, "It looks like you actually have family. Unfortunately, they're stored psychological information inside a computerized brain; not your real family. Most likely the real humans are dead."

Faith and Wheatley grimaced at that, but Chell shrugged, slightly wincing at her shoulder, "I don't care. They're still their normal selves, just not the real bodies." The former cores smiled and GLaDOS shrugged one shoulder uncaringly. She was hardly going to waste energy on worrying about their present state. The room filled with an awkward silence, and the AI sighed.

"I have to get back to my facility. That idiot recolored everything and rearranged my tests." She grumbled to herself, "In a way he was worse than Wheatley…"

"Was? What do you mean?" Chell asked. Wheatley and Faith lit up, whereas GLaDOS seemed to dim with irritation.

"He's even worse…" She grumbled. Chell tilted her head sideways in confusion and Wheatley chirped in.

"Rick and Fact core managed to do a core transfer. While Fact distracted the virus guy, Rick transferred; it was that easy because the stalemate button was taken away. I know, right? And everyone calls me a moron. At least I was smart enough to booby trap the button. I mean, he just got rid of it! And Fact got his to say yes at the right time. It was bloody amazing! I really wish I could have seen it. But I was deactivated…because he deactivated us before we could help." Wheatley babbled for several minutes before Chell held her hand up to stop him. She got the point. Rick took over and Virus was now in a core somewhere.

"I'm going to throw him right into the incinerator the moment I get back into my body," GLaDOS said, "And then I'm putting that annoying green ball back with the rest of the corrupted cores."

"Aw, come on," Wheatley whined quietly, "At least let him on the rail. He deserves it for saving your life. If it weren't for him, you'd still be on the bloody floor and Chell would have been dead."

The AI shrugged her crossed arms, looking her posture looking both intimidating and vulnerable together. She looked at Chell, her golden eyes impossible to read. What was going through her head, Chell wondered. Was she just annoyed with humanity? Or was she contemplating what Wheatley said. GLaDOS took a deep breath with a sarcastic smile, "Enjoy your short, sad lives together. I'll be fixing my facility and cleaning up whatever mess that green ball made while I was gone. And, Chell," she looked at the woman with sincere eyes, "Really don't come back this time." She turned and left, stealing a quick glance at Chell before she disappeared behind the wall. The two cores looked at her, and then at Chell, both smiling.

"She's just gone? No last attempt to kill me? No lecture on my wanted absence?" Chell asked in shock. She was more curious about the final look back GLaDOS gave as she left, rather than her quick leaving. Wheatley shrugged,

"She doesn't see a reason, I guess. Hey! Do you want some food? I saw this place that smelled amazing downstairs, absolutely amazing." He said, glowing excitedly. Chell laughed to herself and nodded, "Sure, why not?" The man smiled and took Faith downstairs, leaving Chell to think.

She thought of what GLaDOS said, laying back in the bed and smiling. Her words replayed n Chell's mind. Really, don't come back this time. She sounded unsure of her words, but, at the same time, GLaDOS always spoke sarcastically, so her tone shouldn't affect Chell. Yet…it did. The words tugged at her, as if taunting her to go back to Aperture. As if GLaDOS was saying that, knowing Chell would probably end up back in the facility. Was she planning some trap? Or did she maybe really secretly want Chell to come back? Not to test, but just to be there? That made Chell think; what if GLaDOS hadn't deleted Caroline? What if GLaDOS actually liked Chell, even a little? Maybe she was using reverse psychology, hoping the test subject would come back.

She smiled. There was no doubt she would somehow return to Aperture. And even though she didn't, she would still have her Companion Cube, which she now knew could be used as a communication device. Maybe she'd get a call, maybe not. Maybe GLaDOS actually cared to hear Chell's voice, maybe not. But why would she care about such a human as Chell? She closed her eyes, remembering the answer Cave had about why they did what they did...Why not?