Author's Note: Anyone missed me? *crickets chirping*
Right. Sorry for the long wait. I meant to upload this during Christmas, but for some reason I couldn't access the login page. Did anyone else have that problem, or was it just me? In any case, Happy Boxing Day and welcome to the second arc. Please enjoy :)
[ words ] = announcements
/ words / = Wheatley (you'll find out who's taking his role in this chapter)
:: words :: = MIM
Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians, How to Train Your Dragon or Portal/Portal 2.
Hypothesis
Chapter 11: Awakening
[ Good morning. You have been in suspension for nine nine nine… nine nine ni– This courtesy call is to inform you that all test subjects should immediately vacate – ]
/ Hello? Anyone in there? /
The voices and rapid knocking stirred him awake, and his eyes blearily fluttered open to the sight of a darkened room. He looked down and found himself lying on a bed, tucked snugly under the covers.
/ Are you going to open this door? Because it's fairly urgent. /
Slowly, he turned his head towards the source of the voice, feeling his neck muscles strain with disuse. The bed was comfortable and he really didn't feel like getting up at the moment, but it seemed like whoever was outside really wanted him to answer. Pushing himself up with a soft groan, he swung his legs over the edge of the mattress and staggered to the door, pressing a palm against the wall for support.
/ HA! I knew you were alive in there. /
He opened the door to a black sphere with a yellow eyepiece staring at him. It was attached to a rail on the ceiling and he stepped back as it glided into the room.
/ Are you okay? Don't answer that. I'm absolutely sure you're fine. /
"W-who are you?" he asked, blinking with confusion. "And where am I?"
/ You're in a relaxation vault. The whole facility is – /
"What? I'm still in the facility?" he gasped in shock. THAT'S why the black sphere looked so familiar! It was one of those morality cores! "I thought I managed to escape after destroying MIM!"
/ No one ever escapes Aperture Science. One of her bots must have knocked you out and dragged you back inside. As I was saying, the whole facility is in ruins. The nuclear reactors will act up if there isn't anybody around to watch them, and with MIM deactivated, the backup generators have finally given out. /
[ Please prepare for emergency evacuation. ]
/ Stay calm. 'Prepare' – that's all they're saying. 'Prepare'. It's all fine. Alright? Don't move, I'm gonna get us out of here. Oh. And you MIGHT want to hold on to something. Word of advice, up to you. /
A panel in the ceiling slid open and the black core disappeared inside. Not three seconds later the whole room began to rumble and shake, and a thunderous noise echoed through the walls.
[ All reactor core safeguards are now non-functional. Please prepare for reactor core meltdown. ]
He yelped when the wall across him came crashing down, and he scrambled to duck under the table beside him as what seemed like an earthquake tore through the place. More walls began to crumble apart, and he realized that the room was actually a container.
A container on the move.
Beyond all the debris, he could see what was left of the facility. Everything was in shambles amidst the vast expanse of ashen grey, and the way the core was navigating his container only served to add to the destruction as it smacked against the towering infrastructure. He lunged towards the door and pressed himself against it, narrowly avoiding a piece of the ceiling that landed on where he had been crouching just moments ago. One hand came up to clamp over his mouth as he fought against the wave of vertigo sweeping over him, trying not to spill his stomach's contents.
/ Okay, almost there. On the other side of that wall is one of the old testing tracks. There's a piece of equipment in there we're gonna need to get out of here. Really, do hold on this time. /
On the other side? But there's no opening – OH SHIT!
The container smashed into the wall, sending it crumbling down and slamming him against the floor. He covered his head and remained as still as possible, waiting for all the falling debris to settle before daring to climb to his feet.
/ Remember: you're looking for a gun that makes holes. Not bullet holes, but – well, you'll figure it out. Just do your best, and I'll meet you up ahead. /
Stumbling out of the wreckage, he took one step and immediately felt himself plummeting as the glass surface he had stepped on gave way, sending him dropping to the floor of another containment unit. It looked exactly like the relaxation vault he had first woken up in, the one with the radio blaring that stupid music. The only difference was that everything looked derelict and broken, and he carefully made his way across the floor as he looked for the lift, side-stepping the glass shards littering the ground.
Navigating the old test chambers wasn't hard especially since they consisted of the more basic test tracks, and he easily breezed through them until he found the remains of a portal gun mounted on a podium somewhere in the ruins of the facility.
/ Oh brilliant. You DID find a portal gun! /
The black core popped up again from behind an open panel in the wall.
"Yeah, thanks for your help busting me out of there," he said gratefully. "How did you find me, anyway?"
/ I was activated to do a routine check on the test subjects, but then I noticed the deteriorating condition of the facility. In order to restore order and save you all, I had to find a way to plug myself into the mainframe and counteract the nuclear meltdown. To do that, I needed your help, and you've been doing a splendid job so far, Subject Blue. /
"Don't call me that. My name's Jack," he scrunched his face in distaste at the sound of his code name. It brought back bad memories, especially the ones where he distinctly remembered having another person running alongside him in the test chambers. The thought sent a pang of sadness through his chest.
/ Very well. You may call me Pitch. Now, I'm about to disengage myself from my management rail. Catch me and plug me into that stick in the wall beside you, and we can get things started. /
With Jack carrying Pitch in his arms, they took the back roads and followed the catwalks and stairs as they traveled through the facility behind its walls. Jack felt a sense of déjà vu as they made their way towards the control room, and he failed to repress a shiver when they finally arrived at the site of the wreckage.
Everything was a mess. Debris was strewn everywhere and it looked as if a bomb had gone off (which it did, if he recalled correctly). MIM's body lay in shattered pieces up ahead, but paranoia prompted Jack to make a wide berth around her as they headed towards another set of stairs at the back. He didn't want to go anywhere near her or stare at what was left of her any longer than necessary, dead or not.
/ There she is… What a nasty piece of work she was, honestly. Like a proper maniac. /
"No kidding…" Jack muttered, breathing a sigh of relief once they lost sight of all the destruction and ruin. Down the stairs, at the end of another long catwalk was a dimly lit room filled with switches lining its walls.
/ This is the main breaker room. Plug me in and I'll turn the lights on. /
Jack did as Pitch instructed and connected him to the panel on the floor. Pitch's eyepiece swiveled about as he worked the controls, but then a loud buzzing sound was heard as the platform they were standing on started to rumble and move up.
/ No, don't worry! Don't worry! I've got it! I've got it! THIS should slow it down! /
But Pitch's efforts only made the platform rise faster, flipping all the switches at the sides as Jack stared on with panic. There wasn't anything he could do but pray that they weren't connected to anything important, like their oxygen supply or something. Luckily that was not the case, and they made it back to the surface of the control room without incident.
"Oh thank God," he sighed in relief.
[ Powerup initiated. ]
Guess I spoke too soon.
A wire snaked through the wreckage and attached itself to MIM's head, dragging it along the floor.
/ Okay, don't panic! Alright? Stop panicking! I can still stop this. Ahh. Oh, there's a password. It's fine. I'll just hack it. Not a problem… Ummm… /
"Pitch? I think we're in trouble," Jack gulped, watching in horror as MIM's body began to piece itself together. Every wrong password the core fed to the system produced a sharp buzzing sound which echoed throughout the room, and Jack could practically feel it tear through his chest as the reality of their situation began to dawn on him.
[ Powerup complete. ]
/ Oh no! Nonononono! /
MIM's body swiveled about where it hung from the ceiling, twisting and rotating as it righted itself. Her head spun around to face them, and her yellow eyepiece stared at Jack dead on.
:: Oh… It's you. ::