Chell's Story: Part B
Chapter Eighteen

I would've collapsed from blood loss or dehydration (I don't know which) if not for what I saw in front of me. There was a gigantic machine suspended from a large generator by several large bundles of power cables. The shape looked vaguely human-like, but the presence of five people attached to it somewhat downgraded that appearance. Four of the people on the chassis were completely white and one of four colors: red, orange, aqua, and purple. The fifth was slung down at the bottom of the chassis, and looked almost twice as big as the others.

Her short hair was metallic white, almost as white as Her skin. She had bright yellow eyes that seemed to glow, black lipstick, black nails, smooth eyebrows, and thick eyelashes. She had on a large headset, a metallic lab coat, a black turtleneck, and a yellow neckerchief with a glowing yellow medallion on Her chest. The outfit was completed with a smooth white skirt, full leg length black socks, and metallic white high heels.

She was typing on a laptop as I entered the chamber, but as I neared Her, She turned Her gaze upward to look me in the eyes. She let off a long breath, tapped a key on Her keyboard (which I suspect shut the door behind me), and slumped back in Her seat, folding Her legs and arms as She did so.

"Well, you found me. Congratulations." I had already suspected that She was the voice I had been hearing all this time, and Her first words to me confirmed it. It also confirmed to me that She was the Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System (GLaDOS) from the slideshow. "Was it worth it? Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you've managed to break so far is my heart."

Yeah, right. And the "only thing" you've managed to break so far is my trust.

"Maybe we could settle for that, and we'll just call it a day." I was interrupted before I could respond. "I guess we both know that isn't going to happen." I shook my head in confirmation. "You chose this path, and now I have a surprise for you."

She brought Her laptop back under Her fingers and started typing on it before counting off Her fingers. "Deploying surprise in five... four... th - " Suddenly, there was a loud pop, followed by a scream and then a thud.

We both looked to see what happened, and GLaDOS quickly flashed a T-sign. "Time out for a second; that wasn't supposed to happen!" I rushed over to where whatever happened happened, and saw that the woman in purple had fallen off the chassis.

"Do you see that thing that fell off of me? What is that?" I flipped the woman on her back and saw a sizable dent in her forehead. The fall had likely knocked her unconscious. "It's not the surprise; I've never seen it before."

Jerking my head up in response to that statement, I caught sight of an incinerator shaft at the back end of the chamber. I grabbed the woman under the shoulders and caught a glimpse of GLaDOS, who waved Her hand in dismissal.

"Never mind; it's a mystery I'll solve later. (By myself, because you'll be dead.)" She suddenly noticed that I was dragging the unconscious woman toward the incinerator. "Wait, where are you taking that thing?"

I had an idea from the metallic feel of the woman's body and the difficulty carrying her (mostly from my excessive bleeding) that she was a robot.

"I wouldn't bother with that thing; my guess is that touching it will just make your life even worse somehow."

My life is already living hell; how could it possibly get any worse?

"I don't want to tell you your business, but if you were me, I'd leave that thing alone."

Well, if you were me, I wouldn't have tried to kill you when the test was finished.

"Do you think I'm trying to trick you with reverse psychology? I mean, seriously now."

I have no idea what that is, but I'm in no mood to try and find out.

"Okay, fine. Do touch it. Pick it up and just... stick it back on to me."

I was already halfway to the incinerator at that point, and I had no idea how to put her back on.

"Let's be honest; neither one of us knows what that thing does." GLaDOS pointed at a booth near the side of the chamber. "Just put it in the corner, and I'll deal with it later."

The line of lights between the booth and the incinerator told me that there was a button that opened the incinerator in the booth. I put the woman down and fired portals near the incinerator and the booth.

"That thing is probably some kind of raw sewage container; go ahead and rub your face all over it."

I grabbed my ravaged abdomen to stop myself from laughing.

"Maybe you should marry that thing since you love it so much. Do you want to marry it? Well, I won't let you! How does that feel?"

It makes me feel like you're jumping to conclusions.

"Have I lied to you? I mean, in this room? Seriously, leave that thing alone."

I finally got the robot to the base of the incinerator hatch and trundled my way to the booth.

"I am being serious now; that crazy thing is not part of any test protocol."

Yeah, neither is trying to kill a test subject for reaching the finish line. Plus, we're not even testing anymore, now are we?

"Think about it; if that thing is important, why don't I know about it?"

You should've known about it, considering that it was attached to you.

"Just ignore that thing and stand still."

I reached the button and pushed it. Sure enough, the hatch opened, belching out hot gases from deep within before closing a few seconds later.

"I'll tell you what that thing isn't: it isn't yours. So leave it alone."

I slammed the button and ran through the portal to the incinerator where the unconscious robot lay.

"Are you even listening to me?"

I hoisted the robot up by her feet and she slid down headfirst into the inferno waiting below.

There was a distant thump as the hatch closed, a single flame licking up at the last second.

GLaDOS's arms went limp. "You are kidding me." She pushed Herself into a standing position, Her back tethered to the seat by a series of power cords. "Did you just drop that Aperture Science thing which we don't know what it does into an Aperture Science Emergency Intelligence Incinerator?!" She smacked Her hand into Her face. "That has got to be the dumbest thing that - " Her hand jerked off Her face, revealing an expression of sudden realization, " - WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! WHOOOOA!..."

She slowly sat back down, Her face slowly shifting into a devious smirk full of perfect white teeth and Her hands folding together and twitching in a scheming manner. The lights grew dim as She continued to speak, Her voice transitioning through soft chuckles from a robotic syncopated monotone to a more human, almost seductive tone.

"Good news... I figured out what that thing you just incinerated did." The small amount of blood I had left ran cold. "It was a Morality Core they installed after I flooded the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin to make me stop flooding the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin." She brought Her laptop back into Her possession and started typing. "So get comfortable while I warm up the neurotoxin emitterssss..."

The transition from the elongated "S" sound and the sound of the neurotoxin entering the chamber was imperceptible and was only noticed when four monitors in the chamber flashed 6:00.00 and started counting down from six minutes.

There was still just enough light to see around the chamber, and I saw a rocket robot rising up out of the floor.

GLaDOS seemed mildly concerned. "Hm. That core may have had some ancillary responsibilities; I can't shut off the turret defenses."

I was quick to turn this to my advantage, placing portals to trick the rocket launcher into shooting the chassis.

"Ah, well." GLaDOS quickly dismissed the issue. "If you want my advice, you should just lie down in front of a rocket. Trust me; it'll be a lot less painful than the neurotoxin."

The rocket flew through the portal and struck the chassis, expelling the teenage girl in orange. GLaDOS recovered and continued speaking.

"Alright. Keep doing whatever it is you think you're doing. Killing you and giving you good advice aren't mutually exclusive. The rocket really is the way to go."

I found the robot balanced on a set of pipes running partway up a wall and portaled up to her.

"That thing you burned up isn't important to me. It's the fluid catalytic cracking unit; it makes shoes for orphans. Nice job breaking it, hero."

As soon as I reached her, the robot recovered from her concussion and immediately ran off asking a barrage of questions. "Who are you? What is that? Oh, what's that? What's that? What is that?"

I struggled to catch her, all the while GLaDOS continued talking. "This isn't brave; it's murder. What did I ever do to you? The difference between us is that I can feel pain. You don't even care, do you?"

The robot had made it to the sealed entrance by the time I caught up with her, and she was looking at the red phone on the desk, which had had its receiver cord chewed off. "Ooh, that thing has numbers on it!"

"Did you hear me? I said you don't care. Are you listening?"

I made a grab for her, but she ran off again. "Hey, look at that thing! No, that other thing!" I managed to grab her at that point, at which point she appeared to shrivel in disgust. "Ew, what's wrong with your legs?"

All the while, GLaDOS continued admonishing me. "That's it. I'm done reasoning with you; starting now, there's going to be a lot less conversation and a lot more killing."

I ran back as fast as my crippled body would take me, the robot in tow. "Where are we going?"

"What was that? Did you say something? I sincerely hope you weren't expecting a response because I'm not talking to you; the talking is over."

I released the robot at the foot of the incinerator hatch. "Are you coming back?" My portal placing near the incinerator and the button seemed an identifying minutia. "Oh, hey! You're the lady from the test! Hi!"

I ran through and pushed the button, hearing the robot ask "What's that noise?". I came back through the portals and almost ran into the robot. "Is that a gun?"

I grabbed her behind the shoulders and pushed her to the incinerator. "Where are we going?"

She sniffed the air as we drew close. "Do you smell something burning?" Her thoughts were interrupted as she peered down the burning hole. "Ooh, what's in here?"

A gentle nudge sent her tumbling down, the closing hatch barely missing her ankle.

GLaDOS seemed about to pull Her hair out as She let out a loud scream. "Gah! You think you're doing some damage? Two plus two is..." I laid down portals for another rocket to be fired at the chassis. "...ten." Wait, that can't be - "in base four; I'm fine!"

The rocket launcher loaded his weapon and fired after I stepped out of the way. "I let you survive this long because I was curious about your behavior." BOOM! The robot in aqua was blown off. "Well, you've managed to destroy that part of me."

I looked around and saw the robot perched on a platform above the generator hanging from the ceiling. "Unfortunately, as much as I'd love to now, I can't get the neurotoxin into your head any faster."

I flung myself up to the platform, where the robot in aqua was drunkenly mumbling to itself. (I couldn't tell if it was male or female, owing to the shoulder length aqua hair and the absence of neckwear on their person.)

"I just want you to know that you were given every opportunity to succeed. There was even going to be a party for you; a big party to which all your friends were invited."

I had jumped back down to the floor with the robot, who continued his drunken prattling, oblivious to what was happening around her.

"I invited your best friend, the Companion Cube; of course, he couldn't come, because you murdered him."

I stood the robot in front of the incinerator, but the drunken mumbling showed no signs of stopping. I then made my way to the booth.

"All your other friends couldn't come, either. Because you don't have any other friends. It's because of how unlikable you are. It says so right here in your personnel file."

A jolt of pain coursed down my spine as anemia started to take hold, but I continued limping toward the button, pausing to place down portals, my ability to hold out on the recoil growing weaker.

"'Unlikable.' 'Liked by no one.' 'A bitter, unlikable loner whose passing shall not be mourned.' Shall. Not. Be. Mourned. That's exactly what it says. Very formal; very official."

I slammed the button and collapsed, my body screaming at me to stop. "It also says you were adopted. So that's funny, too."

I didn't make it this far just so I could quit; I was going to finish this task even if it killed me. "Speaking of curiosity, you're curious about what happens after you die, right?" Like hell, I am. "Guess what? I know." Like hell, you do. "You're going to find out first-hand before I finish explaining it, though, so I won't bother."

I brought my hand down on the button again and raced through the portal to the incinerator, where the aqua robot was still talking to itself.

"Here's a hint: you're going to want to pack as much living as you can into the next couple of minutes."

I pushed the robot down the fiery shaft with my foot, and they went bye-bye.

The neurotoxin had started to sweep around the chassis, enveloping GLaDOS. "Neurotoxin!" She coughed as I prepared the rocket to shoot at Her. "So deadly! I'm choking!" She burst out laughing as a rocket blasted away the teenage boy in red. "I'm kidding! When I said 'deadly' neurotoxin, the 'deadly' was in massive sarcasm quotes."

I looked around and saw the last robot with his leg stuck in a bundle of wires draped between the wall and the generator. "I could take a bath in this stuff, pour it on cereal, rub it right into my eyes... honestly, it's not deadly at all... to me."

I flung myself out of the floor and grabbed hold of him, upon which he started growling wildly and punching out the rest of my blood, sending us both falling to the floor. "You, on the other hand, are going to find its deadliness a lot less funny."

Ironic, isn't it? One bot tries to run around wildly, another tries to beat me to a pulp. I had to portal myself straight to the button and then drag myself to the button with the robot trying to pound me into the ground. "Who's going to make the cake when I'm gone? You?"

I first needed to get myself in a position where I could fire the portal gun, which meant I had to get myself on top of the robot that was beating me up. "Look, you're wasting your time. And believe me; you don't have a lot of time left to waste."

I managed to wrestle myself out of the robot's grip and fire a portal at the wall above the booth. "What's your point, anyway? Survival?"

I was brought back under the robot, but I fired another portal on the floor under us. "Well, then, the last thing you want to do is hurt me; I have your brain scanned and permanently backed up in case something terrible happens to you, which it's just about to."

I managed to snap the robot's neck, stunning him and allowing me to reach the button.

"Don't believe me? Here, I'll put you on." She went wall-eyed for a split second. "Helloooo! That's you! That's how dumb you sound! You've been wrong about every single thing you've ever done, including this thing! You're not smart! You're not a doctor! You're not a scientist! You're not even a full-time employee! Where did your life go so wrong?"

I pushed the button and grabbed the robot by the shoulders in time for the robot to wake up and start pounding me again as I struggled through the portal. "Are you trying to escape?" GLaDOS let off a distorted laugh. "Things have changed since the last you were out of the building; what's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here."

The robot shrieked as he neared the open incinerator and started pounding me harder. "I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on out there."

I forced my foot into his front side, but he kept a kung-fu grip on the portal gun, which popped off my wrist (breaking it in the process) and tumbled to his doom. "All I know is that I'm the only thing standing between us and them."

A burst of energy ruptured the closed incinerator hatch and impaled the generator, which started to break apart.

GLaDOS noticed this before looking at me with a "you little brat" look in Her eyes. "Well, I was."

The room started to shake as components fell to the floor. "Unless you have a plan for building a bunch of supercomputer parts in a big hurry, this place isn't going to be safe much longer."

A white light came in from above, drawing matter towards it. "Nice job on that, by the way. [Sarcasm Core self-test complete.]"

Her anger grew higher with Her physical body. "Stop squirming around and die like an adult, or I'm going to delete your backup! Stop!" She slammed Her fist into Her laptop, breaking it. "Okay, that's it! I deleted it! No matter what happens now, you're dead!"

I was powerless to avoid being sucked into the light. "You're still shuffling a bit, but believe me, you're dead!"

I watched as GLaDOS's body was ripped limb from limb in the blinding light. "Your whole life has been an error; a mathematical error I'm about to correct...!"

Those were the last words I heard before everything went white.