"Hello? Are you still there?"
The turret's voice quavered as she trained her light through the darkness. The testing track was currently disused, but she knew- she knew- she saw something. The only light source was her red eye-light, and it cast a faint red glimmer through the black.
Her laser began to run over the walls. Wall. Nothing. Other wall. Nothing. Ceiling. Nothing. Arial faith plate. Nothing. Repulsion gel dispenser. Nothing. Button. Nothin-
A strange, grinding scream let out from the dark.
From right behind her.
As a tendril wrapped around her and began drilling through her shell, pain hit her like a solid force, and she forced out a scream. In blind panic, she fired into the dark, hitting nothing but the walls.
The grinding almost seemed to mock her, as the creature began tearing her apart. Piece by piece. Inch by inch. Unspent bullets fell to the floor, unheard among her screaming.
Did I do good, she wondered.
She died cold, alone, and afraid.
. . . . . . .
There is a noticeable difference between traveling through maintenance routes, and heading through maintenance areas. Routes are generally designed to get personnel from one place to another as soon as possible to accomplish their maintenance-ing without disrupting any of the usual going-ons that would require said maintenance. But the areas aren't really designed to go anywhere. They're the areas that require said maintenance, and although generally less busy then the other option, aren't exactly hospitable to your average hiker.
Of course, when Pendleton pointed that out to GLaDOS, she threatened to have him torn apart inch by inch, submerged in liquid nitrogen, and used as trendy ice cubes.
So, the maintenance areas they went!
Their path was circuitous, leading them up and down around various pipes, panels, and pistons, each with only the barest of space between them for the management rail, but GLaDOS made do. She traversed with an almost forced patience and grace, taking a moment at each obstacle to decide the best way through without disturbing Chell. Pendleton attempted to ask what had happened, but after a while, GLaDOS didn't even seem to be listening. The entire time, she spoke to the fading Chell with a low, concerned tone. He couldn't hear what she was saying, and he doubted Chell could either, but that was seemingly the only thing she noticed. When GLaDOS spoke, Chell's eyes focused a little more, although she still didn't have the energy to speak.
Eventually, they reached an elevator shaft, and Pendleton ground to a halt.
"There we go," he said, grouchily. "Just the next floor up. Just make like a feckin' mountain goat, and we're done here."
GLaDOS looked up and down the shaft impartially. "Or I could take the lift."
She stepped forward into the abyss, just as the lift rose up beneath her, catching her easily.
"... Or that, I guess," Pendleton muttered under his breath. "Bleedin' showoff. We can't all have legs."
He proceeded up the management rail, and emerged into the hallway the elevator let off at. GLaDOS stepped into it a moment later, and began to proceed down the hallway- until the elevator hit the floor, and the actual door opened.
And a military android strode out.
Pendleton was struck, as he always was, of a department store mannequin. The entire body was composed of what appeared to be shiny plastic, held together by what appeared to be black iron and wires in the articulation seams. It's face had no features, except two red lasers for eyes, and what appeared to be a large shotgun embedded into it's right arm.
As it's 'eyes' trained on GLaDOS, it strode forward, raising it's shotgun. "DO YOU WISH TO ENGAGE IN COMBAT," the android crowed, it's voice a high pitched scream.
Pendleton acted on sheer instinct, and swung forward on his management rail. "I'M A DISTRACTION! I'M A DISTRACTION!"
It's eyes focused on the core, and at the moment before it's shot, it got confused, and tried to change targets. Instead, it ended up somewhere between the two, and firing harmlessly into the ceiling. GLaDOS let out a roar of utter frustration, and strode forward, bringing one of her legs up for a kick. It slammed into the droid's chest, sending it careening into the elevator. She walked in after it, and as it tried to stand again, she rose her foot up and brought it down onto it's head.
"I! DO NOT! HAVE TIME FOR THIS! YOU RIDICULOUS! OVER-SIZED! TINKER-TOY!", she brought her foot down with every exclamation, and by the time she was down, the droid's head was in several pieces scattered across the floor. GLaDOS sighed, and began trying to brush the debris off her foot. "Oh, I needed that."
She began down the hallway proper, with Pendleton following behind. "Yes, yes, all very good or whatever, but did you see me? Bloody hero core, right here! Swooped in, distracted, saved your bleeding life and all that!"
GLaDOS ignored him, checking on Chell as she walked.
"I- no, no, luv, it's cool, I guess," the core groused. "I'll just be back here. Not saving your life. Lah dee dah."
. . . . . . .
The Aperture Science Human Habitation and Medical Enclosure wasn't generally used, nowadays. Very few humans were around to require it, and the few they found were almost immediately killed. (Chell currently maintained the highest record of least being dead.) One would generally expect the dirt and dust build up to be of note, but evidently, the nanobots in this particular section had a sort of zeal for their job.
(To an almost disturbing degree, actually.)
It was about the size of your average chamber, with about twelve medical shells in two rows. They were transparent sort of beds, similar to those used by test subjects for relaxation, only tilted at in angle, and inside were rows upon rows of syringes attached to robotic arms. The lighting to the room was turned up far too bright, and GLaDOS had to squint her yellow eyes as she stomped in.
She made a bee-line for the nearest shell immediately, and pried the lid off immediately. The android unceremoniously dumped the dying human inside, tossed the portal gun aside, and began strapping her in.
You're too late, said a little voice in the back of her head. She's too far gone. You came this far for nothing.
GLaDOS silenced the thoughts with a sub-vocal growl, and closed the shell a little harder then necessarily needed. She felt another tremor echo through the facility, louder then usual this time, as she began to type symptoms and medical information into the shell's interface.
Pendleton rolled into the room along his management rail. "Ah. You're- all set up here, I take it?"
Silence.
"Need any help or somethin'?"
GLaDOS ignored him as her fingers flew across the interface.
"Gotcha, I'll just... get a headstart running away, then."
"What?" GLaDOS said, irritated. "Yes, yes, leave, whatever." According to the system, it would take approximately two to three hours at maximum effectiveness to repair Chell's damaged spine, internal bleeding, broken bones, third degree burns, and of course, whatever insane diseases she had picked up crawling around outside or in Aperture's bowels. It was almost endearing, her sheer talent of ending up exactly where she didn't need to be-
Pendleton paused, as he turned to leave the room. "D- do you hear that? Sounds like something's- moving? Outside?"
GLaDOS frowned, cocking her head to the side.
CRRRRSSSSSSHHHHH!
The wall behind GLaDOS exploded inward, sending shards of metal bouncing through the air and into the android. The management rail was shattered, and the shocked Pendleton tumbled to the ground. GLaDOS leaned between the wall and the shell to protect her human, and as she did, she saw what had caused the explosion.
A massive, grey, artificial tendril, rising from the abyss outside the track.
"NO!" GLaDOS snapped. "Not now, I'm BUSY!"
The Shroud's tendril seemed to spot her, and began to back up, pulling more chunks of the room with it. And in it's place, a number of smaller tendrils began to inch towards her. She slammed her fists into the tendrils, shattering them into pieces, but for every one she destroyed, another took it's place. GLaDOS tried using chunks of debris to her advantage, hacking them off with a snarl of defiance, but eventually, one of them managed to reach her, and pulled her leg out from under her.
There's a reason that for most of the English language, "fell" has always been a synonym for "dead". In a fight, pound for pound, falling over is the one thing that can get you killed more then any other.
GLaDOS fell.
Her eyes widened in shock, and she tried to pull herself free, only for another tendril to wrap itself around her other leg. They began to swarm and cocoon around her, wrapping her in layer upon layer of writhing tendrils. A hand shot out, only to be yanked back into the mass, and she began to feel herself dragged out of the room.
No. I- I can not fail.
She groped blindly behind her as she was dragged away, aiming for the control interface. Help her. I have to help her. At least I can do that.
As she disappeared into the darkness, alone, afraid, and utterly helpless, she had no idea if she had accomplished anything at all.
Silence fell upon the Medical Enclosure.
Before the shell burst into vibrant life.
"Hello!", trilled the device to no one. "Welcome to the Aperture Science Medical Enclosure! According to our systems, [SUBJECT'S NAME HERE] is in crucial need of medical assistance! Please relax while the proper treatment is enacted! This may take some time. In the meantime, please enjoy some soothing music, specifically chosen by peer group as the most relaxing possible music!"
Bad To The Bone began blaring on repeat for the next two hours.
. . . . . . .
I make a rich woman beg...
The chamber filled with liquid, shocking Chell into consciousness with it's sudden freezing contact.
And I'd make a good woman steal...
The arms began injecting nanobots into her body, with deep tissue needles.
I'll make an old woman blush...
Layers upon layers of artificially generated skin were placed over the burns.
And make a young girl squeal...
Her spine was reconnected with a small fraction of artificial bone and nerve.
I wanna be yours, pretty baby...
Scars from wounds she had picked up years ago stitched themselves shut.
Yours and yours alone...
By the time the two hours were up, Chell's mind was racing, more alive then she'd felt in a long time.
I'm here to tell you, honey...
The lid to the shell opened, as the liquid drained away. She pulled herself free, bone dry, and Chell leapt down to the floor, landing gamely with both feet. The human bounced from foot to foot, simply appreciating the motion of movement once again. Near her feet was the discarded portal gun, still red with Chell's blood, and she scooped it into her arms.
"That I'm bad to the bone," Chell muttered under her breath.
. . . . . . .
The two hours Chell had spent in the shell had evidently not been kind to this room. The lights were off entirely, rubble covered the floor, and through the gap in the wall, Chell could see the testing chambers suspended throughout Aperture. Them, and the massive tendrils, that seemed to wind and stretch their way through the dark blue of Aperture.
Chell felt an irrational sense of anger at that, for reasons she couldn't quite place.
She noticed a small, rusted core under some rubble, and she struggled to place it. Is that- no, not the moron. He's... something. GLaDOS met him, I think. He was... not important? She said something. She said- well. She said a lot of things.
Chell suddenly smiled, remembering the way GLaDOS tried to keep talking to her as she faded. She couldn't exactly remember the words, but the sentiment was what mattered, and it- it definitely helped, and in a way, she was glad-
- Wait. Where IS she?
The former test subject strode over the core, and gently tapped it with her foot. His iris flew open, and he eyed her petulantly. "Oh, 'bout time, princess! Jesus, what the feck were you doin' in there, wankin'?"
Chell frowned, placed her long fall boot atop his chassis, and began to press down. "Want to try that again, metal ball? I haven't had good experiences with you things, and I have plenty of experience with burning them."
"Oh, for- you're definitely spending too much time with that bint," the core muttered. "Name's Pendleton, bird."
"Didn't ask," Chell pressed harder. "What happened in here? Where is she- I mean, GLaDOS?"
"Big ass tentacle jiggers reached in, and yanked the bitch away," Pendleton sighed. "There, you got your feckin' exposition, now help me up!"
Chell reached down, and yanked the rusted core out of the rubble with one hand. "She's in trouble?"
"'spect so. Or dead. Hopin' for the second one, me'self."
The human sighed. "Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit."
"What?"
"I freaking owe her."
Pendleton let out a strangled groan. "Oh, charmin'- what, you're gonna go play freakin' white knight? Ride in, slay the dragon, and all that song?"
Chell cast her thoughts back to the past hours.
GLaDOS carrying her.
GLaDOS saving her from turrets.
GLaDOS' looking worried.
GLaDOS trying to keep her comfortable.
GLaDOS trying to keep her distracted.
GLaDOS trying to save her.
"Apparently, I am," she said.
Chell readied her portal gun.