"Here." GLaDOS says. "You'll go much faster if you use the elevator."

Up the stair's shaft an elevator rises and the rounded doors open. Chell ignores the elevator, still dragging the cube on and down the next flight.

"You're not going to..." Gordon calls after her as he stops by the doors.

The doors shut, the elevator descends to the next landing of the stairs and it opens again.

"Come on." GLaDOS coaxes her. "I really do need some help down here. So if you could just get in, that'd be great."

"Fine!" Chell exclaims, then gets in with her cube to lean against the side, making her feelings well known with huffs and puffs.

"Oh, are you talking to me now?" GLaDOS says, sounding seemingly very pleased, "Now we can talk about everything we did together. Wasn't it great? Nearly being destroyed by the most half-witted intelligence ever created? Do you remember that? I remember that. I remember that that would never have happened if you hadn't replaced me with that idiot. But you know what? I forgive you."

Chell's bottom lip juts out in disgust and she just watches the facility pass by, still ignoring the AI.

"Oh come on! You never did have a sense of humour." GLaDOS says. "Fine! I'll go and see what the testing cores are up to."

"For someone who thinks that that's just a computer program, you don't half let her get to you." Gordon says.

"Hmm." Chell just frowns, then sits on her cube.

"I mean, just your sour face when she opens her mouth-."

"She doesn't have a mouth!" Chell frustratedly interrupts him.

"She?" he raises his brows with a smug expression.

"It!" she corrects with great annoyance. "Man! First real person I get to speak to in... well I'm not even exactly sure how long, but regardless, I get you!"

"What did I do?!" Gordon protests but then his expression changes to one of concern.

"What?" Chell asks.

"Can you hear that?"

A klaxon is slowly becoming louder as they descend, accompanied by a male voice over the address system. On the walkways they pass, the occasional turret observes their progress. While the tone of the voice on the address says 'special holiday sale', the message does not.

"Warning! Unspecified event occurring! Evacuate immediately! Unless evacuation is the last thing that you would want to do during this particular type of unspecified event! In which case, put the kettle on! Sit. And relax. Unless hot beverages and relaxing is the cause of this unspecified event! Warning!"

The confused messages continue on as they descend.

"What?!" Gordon says with a scrunched face. "What kind of a warning message is that?!"

"Don't ask." Chell replies with a tired voice, still just looking out of the clear sides of the elevator, seemingly just letting all this wash over her.

"Is he an AI too? Sorry, 'it'." he patronisingly finger quotes.

"Hm. You know, I've no idea. Could well be for all I know. There's dozens of the things down here."

"So how do you kill an AI?"

"Bombs seems to do the trick."

"Bombs? You've been handling bombs?"

"Well yea. I didn't have much choice in the matter. Anyway, the portal gun makes them easy to direct."

"What is this 'portal gun'? And anyway, you were freaking out over a satchel charge?"

"There's a difference between a guy walking around with explosives in his pocket and the testing environment."

"Testing environment? What the hell kind of testing involves bombs?"

"Cube and button based!"

"Aperture sounds like..."

"Like what?" Chell finds herself saying in defence of the facility.

"I dunno. But the word 'carnival' springs to mind... I'll withhold judgement 'til I see for myself."

"You do that, Doctor Freeman. In the meantime, let's ride this out in silence. Okay?"

"Fine by me."

Chell's not sure if it's all the time spent with GLaDOS and the incessant goading or if the initial assessment by her nemesis was some kind of AI Freudian slip. Maybe she is a horrible person. This man seems to find her objectionable for some reason but then, perhaps it's just him. It's been a while and maybe she just needs to find her feet, get back in the swing. Whatever her swing was before all this, if she can remember anything before Aperture. Pondering as well that she can't remember, maybe she does have brain damage after all. Not that she feels like it, it's just that before that first time she awoke in the relaxation chamber, there's nothing. As always though, there are more immediate and pressing concerns.

"GLaDOS?" Chell calls out.

"Oh. You called me by name." GLaDOS enthuses. "Yes? Chell?"

"Can I have my portal gun back?"

"It's not your portal gun."

"Aw, come on. I feel a bit... you know... exposed. Without it. And it'd make carrying around the cube a lot easier."

"You know it's just a weight, right?"

"I know!" Chells defensively says. "It just became... familiar."

"Oh. Just checking. Well we'll see when you get here."

"I love you." a passing turret sings out in its high pitched infantile voice.

"GLaDOS..." Chell berates.

"Sorry. Couldn't resist."

"Carnival indeed..." Gordon says to himself, though out loud.