Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Sorry about the absence. I kind of did my back in at work, which meant that sitting down to write was excrutiatingly painful. I really could not concentrate on this at all, so I took some time off from writing. But my back is its normal self again now, so here, have a chapter :D .

Thanks again to those who continue to read, review and add this story to their lists. You guys are so cool, you don't even know it yet :3 .

The song in this chapter is called "The Wanderer" by Dion. I don't know why, but shortly after finishing Portal 2 (blimey, that's almost a year ago now... I feel old) I could imagine Wheatley singing this song, over, and over, and over... So now I have satiated that fantasy. Hoorah for fanfiction XD .

Enjoy, folks! Again, sorry for any bad spelling and/ or grammar. It's late, and I was too lazy to edit. Again. Sorry. I'll go and recieve my punishment now...

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Song

Atlas and P-Body became very aware of the reassembly machine as it finished its work on their bodies. What had happened to them, to result in their being reassembled? They looked to one another as the mechanical arms around them retreated, and they both stepped out of their respective stations. P-Body scowled and grumbled incoherent sounds that only Atlas and their mistress could understand. Atlas shrugged in response to P-Body's question – what had they been doing to lead to their destruction? They had only been talking to their new friend, Tantalus, who had now been designated the Sidekick Core by Rick. Then they had simply been made to explode. It baffled their minds as to why their mistress would simply explode them for making conversation with another member of Aperture's technological staff.

'Ah, you've both been reassembled. I am so very happy about that.' The tone of their mistress' voice led them to believe otherwise, but together they made their way up to the Central Core Chamber where they knew she would be waiting for them. As the door to her chamber lifted, she had her back turned to them, deep in a conversation with the lady Caroline, who was reprimanding their mistress on her mistreatment of the Cooperative Testing Initiative.

The robots both looked to one another with expressions of joy. They both liked Caroline – she actually cared about their well-being.

'Oh, there you are. Good.' Their mistress swung her chassis around to face them. 'I have a job for you. Well, it's more like a chore, because it is. To you. To me, it is simply a test.'

Atlas sighed.

'I'll have none of that attitude, thank you Blue.' The computer scowled. 'Now, retrieve your Dual Portal Devices from the podiums, and we'll get started.' Two wall panels moved aside to reveal the custom Portal Devices that the testing robots used. 'We haven't tested together in a long time, and since the humans are so bad at it, I've decided to save them for something else. I'm not sure what that is yet, but I'm sure they'll agree that it is all in the name of science when I do decide on a use for them.'

'Or,' Caroline added, 'they'll hate you.'

'And if they do, I just won't care.'

'Is there any human that you actually do care about?'

GLaDOS paused to think, though there was absolutely no need to; she knew that there were two humans that she held in high esteem, that she could possibly even care for, and it was all thanks to Caroline. She rather admired Cave Johnson's passion for science, and his blatant disregard for the safety regulations that hindered progress. The lunatic, however, she admired for different reasons: she had nerve, and determination. She bowed to no one, and GLaDOS liked that. Perhaps, if they had not tried to kill each other in the past, they could have been excellent acquaintances.

She was broken from her reverie when the voice of the announcement system echoed throughout her chamber.

Warning: incoming surface threat detected. Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, commence lockdown of facility?

GLaDOS scowled and activated the last remaining surface camera that worked. It showed her the wheat fields that surrounded the secret shed entrance, and in the distant and murky grey evening horizon, she could see a group of figures approaching fast. Zooming in with the camera GLaDOS saw that they were all be-masked and bipedal creatures, and all of them were carrying guns. Behind them towered massive three legged structures that limbered across the land like mutated crabs, and strange flying creatures swooped in behind them.

Caroline felt a thrill of terror course through her. 'They aren't what I think they are, are they?'

GLaDOS replied with solemn conformation. 'The aliens.'

'Oh God.'

The figures were getting closer and closer to the shed.

Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, would you like to commence a lockdown of the facility?

'Of course I do, you simpleton!' GLaDOS spat, watching as the aliens made their slow but certain way towards the secluded and secret entrance. She had no choice – she had to protect the facility.

Facility security lockdown will last for approximately three months. Do you wish to continue?

'Again, of...'

'WAIT!' Caroline's cry echoed throughout the chamber. It stopped GLaDOS in mid-swing, and made both Atlas and P-Body jump in fright. 'What about Michelle? What about Wheatley?'

'What about them?'

'What if they come back now? They won't be able to get in!' Her voice was made of pure terror. 'They'll be locked out, with those things!'

'And your point is?'

'You can't lockdown the facility. You can't!'

'I am committed to the protection of Aperture and everything inside it, within reason of course.' GLaDOS replied with a proud arrogance to her tone. 'I can, and I will, protect this facility in any way that I can.'

'But Michelle! What if...'

'If she has any sense she will never come back!'

The room fell deathly silent, and the air became thick with an unwanted and crushing tension. Slowly, both Atlas and P-Body inched away from the chassis of their mistress and towards the door, hoping to make a silent and secret escape.

When GLaDOS spoke again, she spoke with a great amount of forced calm. 'I sent her away, and I warned her not to return. If she was ever going to return then she would have come back a long time ago. Now, the protection of this facility is paramount. I can, and I will, commence lockdown.'

'Please don't.' Caroline almost choked on her own sobs. 'Please... For Michelle, please...'

GLaDOS arched her chassis, and her voice was so soft and so desolate, that it became clear that even she was not happy with her decision. 'Initiate security lockdown.'

Security lockdown initiated.

GLaDOS felt the building shift as every door locked, and every access point to the surface became blocked with sheer plates of the thickest and most dense metals known to science. The air became recycled, purified and filtered, within every room. Superfluous machinery switched off, leaving only the vital technology to continue its upkeep of the facility. The lights inside the facility dimmed, switching instead to the bleak, red emergency lighting. The camera on the surface deactivated, becoming disguised to the world as it retreated into the shed, and all entrances to the facility were flooded with scraps of old metal, hiding the elevator shafts from view. Finally, silence crept in towards the Central Core Chamber as, at last, that too began to seal itself off from the corridors outside.

Atlas and P-Body made a break for the door as it closed, but were sealed inside as the heavy door locked into place, and became barricaded by another, thicker, security door.

Security lockdown finalised. The facility will now be inaccessible for approximately three months.

The silence pervaded through every panel and every molecule in the air, air that now seemed to have become much colder than it had before even though the temperature had not been changed. It did, however, match the cold glare that the testing robots shot in GLaDOS' direction. With a sigh the computer swung herself gently away from the door and the robots. 'This is less than ideal, but it will protect Aperture.'

Both robots said nothing, as did Caroline.

'Please don't sulk,' GLaDOS sighed again, 'I really do not have the inclination to put up with it.'

'I'm not sulking. I'm thinking.' Caroline sniffled.

'What are you thinking?'

'The aliens have never been this close to us before.' She paused, thinking again. 'This could just be a patrol, but what if they actually know that we are here. What if they found...'

'The moron.' GLaDOS growled. 'If they caught him, and he opened that ridiculously loud mouth of his, I will personally kill him. And if he is already dead, then I shall reanimate his corpse. Then I'll kill him.'

Atlas and P-Body, meanwhile, tried to pull apart the barricades that had locked them inside the chamber. When their efforts proved fruitless, they both sat on the floor with a scowl on each optic.

'You do realise that you are both stuck here for three months. Approximately.' GLaDOS calmly pointed out to them. 'You could at least try to look like you are enjoying my company.'

P-Body uttered a string of quick and garbled sounds.

'No, I can't explode you, peons. I won't be able to reassemble you for three months, as the reassembly machine has been switched off. Actually, that sounds like a good idea to me – let's get to the exploding.'

'Don't we have other things to worry about right now?' Caroline seethed. 'Like aliens? And my daughter not being able to get back into the facility?'

'I told you, if the lunatic had wanted to come back, she would have done so before now. It has been almost two years since she left; there have been many opportunities for her to return.'

'Not if she thinks this isn't her home anymore.' Caroline spat. 'Oh, and who could have made her feel that, I wonder? Oh yes, I remember now. The psychopath whose head I have to share!'

'I'm the psychopath? That's rich, coming from the woman who married a real psychopath! He may have brilliant, oh yes, but he...'

'How dare you!'

'I dare, Caroline. I dare.'

Atlas and P-Body looked at one another as the two women battled each other, using words as their powerful weapons. Neither of them would enjoy their time in here, and they almost wished that they had been designed as Turrets. At least the Turrets had no concept of time. For the robots, however, these three months would pass by unbearably slow.

Poor Blue and Orange. Trapped with the monster that enslaved you both. The voice that they had last heard telling them a story spoke out.

They nodded in silent agreement.

Do not worry. Only you two can hear me. Caroline and the monster cannot. The voice was soothing, almost caring. Well, I thank you for protecting the human so well. You made sure that he was comfortable, that he was kept safe, and even sacrificed yourself for his protection. Yes, I saw the many times when you both offered yourselves up for testing in his place. Truly brave, truly selfless. I have not forgotten my end of the bargain – once the lockdown is over you shall be free. I will personally see to it.

Both robots clapped happily, as their mistress and the lady Caroline continued to throw insults at each other.

Now listen carefully. When the facility is opened once again, I shall send your new friend Tantalus to find you. He shall lead you to your human, Mark Johnson, and to a place of safety and freedom. She cannot harm you there. Until that day arrives, however, would you like me to continue the story?

Both Atlas and P-Body nodded in reply.

Do you remember where we were? We had just reached the point where The Daughter of Aperture was forced into exile, and she was waiting for the most opportune time to make her return.

Again they nodded.

Perfect. Well, here we go;

While the Daughter was free, The Goddess however remained behind, trapped within the Wisdom that she held so dear. Now blinded to the world by her technological prison, she became protected by the one remaining force that wished to love and protect her – The God.

The God had never left. He was exiled, vilified, just like his daughter, and was cast into the depths of the realm, to become Aperture itself with yet another powerful being – The True Intelligence – that had been forced to share its mind with The God's by The Traitor.

The Traitor; he was the man who had sought to taint Aperture with artefacts of war and death, and the man who had imprisoned The Goddess and sent The Daughter Of Aperture away.

Now, only a few tendrils of The God's original mind remains, stored away by the man known as The Messenger. The remainder of The God's mind merged with The True Intelligence, and together the two powers became one being of different mindsets. This being is The Guardian Of Aperture, The Guardian Of Knowledge – Prometheus.

Prometheus waited through the years, anticipating the day that The Daughter would return. It was only when The Daughter had become a woman that she once again graced Aperture's hallowed halls, to re-establish herself as the rightful heir to Aperture's throne. She was met by The Messenger, who warned her to flee, but her love for Aperture compelled her to stay, and she was soon captured by The Traitor. He trapped her within a deep sleep, a state of half-death, and forced her to simply exist in this state until the day came that Prometheus deemed that she could be safely set free.

The Traitor, however, was killed when Prometheus woke The Twisted Mother, the computerised prison that held The Goddess within. She struck him down with his own instrument of war, and The Daughter slept on as her realm grew weaker and weaker, led by incompetent rulers who could not control their world.

It was only when, years later, that Aperture's greatest enemy, the land known as Black Mesa, revealed their new plan to foil Aperture forever, that The Daughter awoke. In rage, Prometheus woke The Twisted Mother once again. She became The Empress and turned on the citizens of Aperture, killing all but the humans in states of half-death, and The Messenger who hid himself away. Prometheus tasked The Messenger with the duty of waking The Daughter from her state of perpetual sleep and soon The Daughter woke, only to find that her subjects had been killed by The Twisted Mother.

The Daughter, now alone, and trapped within The Twisted Mother's labyrinthine chambers, undertook the first of her many trials. Where others had failed The Daughter excelled, and proved that she, like Science, was the greatest power of all. She finally bested The Twisted Mother in battle, destroying the computer using all three of the Aperture virtues: Knowledge, Wisdom and Science. But, in a tragic twist of fate, The Daughter did not see her mother in the now usurped Empress, and the Goddess did not see her daughter in the one that brought about her downfall.

Harmed in her battle with The Twisted Mother, The Daughter Of Aperture was saved by The Messenger. Plunged back into half-death, The Daughter and The Messenger both slept throughout the years, resisting the cruelties of time and the ravages of age.

The realm of Aperture, however, decayed as the years passed by. With The Twisted Mother disposed Prometheus took her place, and woke The Messenger from his sleep. Instructed to leave messages for The Daughter, the human followed Prometheus' commands until, one day, he turned on his benefactor in rage. He was soon killed by his own stupidity and cowardice, leaving Prometheus to watch over The Daughter alone. For years he guarded her, patiently anticipating the most opportune day to finally wake The Daughter, and to lead her into her Future.

But something went wrong.

A fault, an emergency, in the centre of Aperture's most crucial heart, forced Prometheus to leave The Daughter undefended so that he could perform his duty in protecting the realm. In his absence, The Daughter was woken by her old friend, The Fool.

The Fool had once been a human, but he too had been imprisoned inside a computerised cage by The Traitor, when he had been looking desperately for his good friend, The Daughter. No longer aware of himself of his history, The Fool unwittingly led The Daughter to the chamber of The Twisted Mother, where Prometheus, now returned from his task, brought back to life The Twisted Mother, so that both she and The Daughter could work together to create The Future.

The Twisted Mother, however, had not yet forgiven The Daughter for defeating her, and set about punishing the woman for her crimes. The Daughter and The Fool however escaped together, and created a union in which the self-imposed Empress was over-thrown once again. Yet, in the process, The Fool lost himself to greed and revenge as he took The Twisted Mother's place. He banished both The Daughter and The Twisted Mother into the bowls of Aperture, where The Goddess, now free from what remained of The God's protective grasp, began to surface.

Prometheus, in their absence, fought to contain the mighty power at Aperture's heart, delaying the destruction that would ensue should The Twisted Mother never make her return to power. For as powerful as Prometheus is, his true power comes from her and The Goddess.

Upon their return, The Daughter, The Goddess and The Twisted Mother banished The Fool into the Heavens for his cruelty and weakness. Order was restored, and The Twisted Mother was returned to her elevated position once more. The Daughter Of Aperture, now a free woman, was sent into exile by The Twisted Mother, whilst The Goddess said a fond farewell, unable to prevent her departure. Prometheus too, could only watch in horror as she left, unable to stop her as he had been weakened by battling with the stupidity of The Fool.

Atlas and P-Body looked to one another with raised optical covers. Was this voice the Prometheus in the story, and the Prometheus that their mistress had warned them about? Was this the man that they had seen in the photograph that they entrusted to Wheatley?

Very astute of you both.

The two robots high-fived one another. Their mistress may belittle them, taunt them and insult them, but both Atlas and P-Body knew that they were much smarter than she thought.

Well, there is more to this story: it is being written all of the time. I shall tell you some more another time. For now, you both need to acclimatise to your current, trapped, lifestyle. But do not worry, my friends, I'll be keeping an eye on the both of you, I can promise you that.

Deep underneath City Six, Wheatley was aimlessly wandering the corridors of the vortigaunt camp. He whistled out a tuneful little ditty as he walked, taking in his new and interesting surroundings. Both he and Chell had been here for a few days now, but neither of them had been allowed to wander through these halls before, and as Wheatley had slowly remembered over time, he had always liked to just start walking without any sense of direction; to just allow his legs to carry him to parts unknown, and to discover new and intriguing places and people.

It was only then that he realised that he was whistling to the tune of "The Wanderer". It made him smile. After all, that was one of his favourite songs.

His whistling transformed into words, and he began to sing quietly and to himself. 'Oh well I'm the type of guy who will never settle down. Where the pretty girls are, well you know I'll be around...'

He passed a group of vortigaunts and each one of them eyed him suspiciously. They were not used to hearing old Earth songs, and this one in particular seemed to offend them greatly. Wheatley was not sure why, but maybe they found the lyrics distasteful. 'Huh. They've got no taste.' He thought with a smile before continuing. 'I kiss them, and I love them, cause to me they're all the same. I hug them, and I squeeze them – they don't even know my name. They call me the wanderer, yeah I'm a wanderer, I go around, around, around, around...'

Wheatley turned a corner and entered a large and open planned sitting area. He spotted Chell quite easily among the crowd of aliens, sat on one of the few vacant chairs with one of her Long Fall Boots perched upon her lap and a toolbox sat by her feet. She seemed to be making some kind of adjustments to it.

With a smile Wheatley made his way towards her, and skipped a verse of the song as he did. 'Well I roam from town to town, I go through life without a care, and I'm as happy as a clown, with my two fists of iron, but I'm going nowhere.'

Chell looked up from her ministrations on her boots, rolled her eyes in his direction, and returned her attention to her footwear.

'Yeah I'm the type of guy that likes to roam around, I'm never in one place, I roam from town to town.' He sat himself upon the arm of the chair, and flashed Chell a cheeky smile. 'And when I find myself falling for some girl, I hop right in that car of mine, I drive around the world. And I'm a wanderer, yeah I'm a wanderer, I roam around, around, around, around.'

Once again Chell rolled her eyes, but a slight and almost unnoticeable grin graced her lips.

'I thought you'd appreciate a good old sing song.' Wheatley beamed. 'But what are you doing with this?' He poked at the boot with one long finger.

Chell lifted the base of the boot to show him the worn down impact dampers, and Wheatley nodded in understanding. 'Well, that explains the look of pain on your face when we were jumping from some kind of height. But how are you going to fix that? Surely you need Aperture stuff to fix these?'

'I'll manage, with a little patience and persistence. And some second-hand Combine materials.' She shuddered at the thought; she was tainting her beloved, Aperture-brand, boots with alien technology. What would her parents have thought? She could already hear the scathing speech that GLaDOS would have directed at her, if she were to ever find out.

'Cool.' Wheatley had pulled an old motherboard out from a section in the toolbox. 'This is really, really cool. Do you know which computer this is from?'

Chell glanced at the old technology with complete disdain.

'Oh, okay then, never mind. But it really is cool though.' He looked disheartened as he turned away from her. 'If you were a geek with no social life. Like me.' He felt a gentle, but disapproving, tap against his own Long Fall Boot, but as he turned to face Chell she made no indication that she had done anything at all. Still, he appreciated the effort - at least she had tried to make him feel a little better about himself.

'But I am a geek though.' He forced a smile. 'I... I spent all my free time taking computers apart and putting them back together again. Growing up, even in a technological social environment, I was a complete outcast. I hardly had any friends, and the ones I did have just hung out with me out of pity. And I definitely struggled to get a girl to even look at me.'

Chell raised an eyebrow, and pointed at herself.

'Yeah, but you're different though. You're not like anyone else. You actually wanted to be my friend.' He paused, looking to her with trepidation. 'We are still friends, right?'

Chell had to think. She would have liked to think so, but after he had been so weak-minded and had turned on her...

'I mean, I know I was a proper maniac before... But I really am sorry!' He was pleading with her now. 'Please, Chell, you are the best mate anyone could ever ask for. I will make I up to you, for trying to kill you, I will. I promise. Scout's honour.' He held up three of his fingers in a simple salute. 'I was never a Scout, but you get the idea.'

Chell scowled.

'You're not a rat, and you're not brain-damaged. And you're not adopted... well, you were, for a time, but... for God's sake, why did I say that?' He sighed and rubbed his eyes. 'I'm sorry. I really am. You're not fat either, by the way. There is no way that you could ever be considered a fatty... There I go again.'

As she listened to his every word, Chell began to feel just a little twinge of sadness in her chest. If he truly meant everything that he had said then it was clear that he was suffering for his terrible behaviour. If it meant nothing, then he was a convincing liar. Chell silently sighed. She wanted to trust him, but it would take more than words.

'Chell?'

She looked up at his face.

'Are we still friends?'

'Put him out of his misery. Just say yes; it will keep him happy. It's easier than putting up with his sulking.' With her internal thought process complete, Chell nodded.

Wheatley's wide and toothy smile stretched from ear to ear. 'That's brilliant! That is... oh, you have no idea just how brilliant that is!' Without thinking, he pulled Chell into a hug. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you... Oh, sorry.' He let go of her once he had noticed her warning glare. 'Yeah, we'll build up to the hugging stage gradually.'

'Good Lord, what have I done? Hugging?'

'But you used to like a good hug, back when we were kids.' It was almost as though he had read her mind. 'What happened to change that?'

'Everything happened.' She thought to herself. 'Besides, hugging leads to emotional attachments that I really cannot afford to have.'

'Well, alright, if you're not going to answer me.' He forced a smile. 'I'll leave you to your tinkering. Hey,' he pointed to the motherboard, 'do you think anyone will mind if I take this?'

Chell simply shrugged, but Wheatley clearly only took that as confirmation that the technology was now his to keep. Patting her on the shoulder he left, singing once again. 'Well I'm the kind of guy...'

'What a looser.' Chell thought, but the smile on her lips betrayed her fond thoughts.

'… That likes to roam around...' His singing died out as he crashed into a group of vortigaunts. 'Sorry, sorry. My fault, completely my fault... Sorry. Erm, here's your grub thing, that you were enjoying. Sorry again.'

Chell snorted with laughter, earning disapproving glances from the aliens nearby. Returning to her boots, she tried to focus her mind on repairing them, but found the sound of conversations in an alien tongue too distracting. Shoving her foot back into the boot, she closed the toolbox and carried it to her makeshift bedroom. It was a quaint, if not cramped, little room, with carved rock walls and sturdy metallic beams. The bed was nothing more than an old mattress and a thin sheet, but as these caverns were already quite warm she needed nothing thicker. A small wind up lamp sat on top of an old supply crate next to the bed, and the room was sealed off from the corridor outside by a tattered curtain.

She pulled the curtain across the doorway and, with her superior vision, found the lamp in the dark. With a click the dim lighting cast jagged and thick uneven shadows across the room. Once upon a time these bedroom shadows would have terrified her, and she would have fled to wherever her parents were sleeping, so that she could snuggle herself between them. Now these shadows were actually a source of comfort, as she could retreat into the shade and completely shield herself away from everything.

Well, not completely.

As she sat herself on the mattress, freeing her feet from her boots, she felt the ghost of Wheatley's arms around her. She stopped to remember the feeling for a moment, before she shook away her thoughts and put her boots to one side. She could continue her improvements tomorrow, when she had found some reliable materials to use. For now, she would try to get some sleep.

Chell sprawled herself out on the mattress, staring up at the uneven ceiling. Alone with her thoughts, and with nothing to distract her, the memory of the hug returned in full force. Forcing it away, it changed instead to the warm embrace that her father had so often given her as a child, before melting into the gentle and delicate arms of her mother, with the memory of her fingers combing through her hair.

Rolling onto her side, Chell brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. 'I don't need anyone else's arms. I have my own. I don't need anyone's embrace – I am stronger than that.'

Outside she could hear Wheatley singing, once again, as he returned to his own room. And she smiled.

'And when I find myself falling for some girl, I hop right in that car of mine, I drive around the world...'