Reconstructing Humanity
Little Test Subject Lost
Dr. Rattmann dreaded the conversation he was about to have with Wheatley and Lil. They had been napping (he didn't want to know what they were really doing, so he picked napping and left it at that) for a few hours after their ordeal with the transport tube system and decided to leave them alone so he could collect his thoughts.
In truth, Dr. Rattmann hadn't had a clear thought in a very long time and he had been fighting vigorously with his mild schizophrenia for much longer. When he knew his access to medication would be limited, if not particularly nonexistent, he found solace in daily meditation along to the tune of the cores humming softly to the ambiance of the garden. The meditation was helping somewhat, but he figured it was only delaying the inevitable of him going completely insane from isolation and waking up over a hundred years when he should have been dead.
Did he regret living when everyone he knew and cared for died a horrible, unavoidable death at the hands of the very monster they were trying to cure? Sometimes, yes, but when he sat down and thought about everything he had learned and gained; about HER and the happy life she lived partly because of his intervening, and his new "Granddaughters", Dr. Rattmann was pretty happy with his choice to run instead of being just another body to throw in the incinerator or an unwilling test subject. Of course, the word "happy" was subjective in this case.
Sometimes, running is all you can do… he often reassured himself during his meditations.
The issue at the moment was not just keeping Lil from becoming GLaDOS's meat puppet, or the facility literally being a ticking time bomb ready to destroy anything within a thousand miles. He dreaded turning his computer console back on, but it was the only way to know for sure if what he saw on the monitor earlier was true. He knew the cores were built with a tracking device in them in case employees decided to take them out of the facility, which made Dr. Rattmann hope that P-Body didn't remove the one residing in the former Intelligence Dampening Sphere when she initially repaired it.
With help from his walking stick, Dr. Rattmann got up from his meditation spot by the makeshift stream and made his way to the shack where Wheatley and Lil rested. "Mr. Human, the male and the female have awakened and are being questioned by the Medic Core." said the Gardening Core as she zoomed to Dr. Rattmann. Dr. Rattmann nodded and slowly made his way toward the shack.
"For the last time, I am NOT telling a metal ball hanging from the ceiling when my last menstrual cycle occurred! We're fine, now go away!" groaned Lil, fixing her hair back into a ponytail. Lil didn't like wearing her hair up, but considering the circumstances, she believed fashion was the least of her concerns at the moment.
"My scans indicate that your heart rate has heightened and endorphins have recently been released in your brains. Please allow me to give a diagnosis." The Medic Core chanted as Lil covered herself during another scan from the Medic Core. Though completely dressed, it still felt violating to be scanned by a ball on a rail. The Medic Core let out a beam on both Wheatley and Lil, doing the scan almost instantly. "Human Male, my scans indicate that your sperm count has dropped significantly from the last scan…"
"That's enough, thank you!" shouted Wheatley as Dr. Rattmann made his presence known.
Dr. Rattmann chuckled and dismissed the Medic Core. "He's a good medic, but we never could figure out why he couldn't focus on the real problems on the patients. Nothing's broken, I hope?" Dr. Rattmann asked as the Medic Core zoomed off. Wheatley and Lil shook their heads as they got up. "I hope you two are rested, because we have an issue that must be addressed immediately."
Lil straightened herself up as Dr. Rattmann offered his hand to help her up. She accepted appreciatively and stood. "Well, can it wait? I want to see my sister. Is she alright?" Lil asked, eagerly. Lil seemed a bit discouraged when Dr. Rattmann turned around and walked away without answering. Lil cocked an eyebrow as Wheatley left ahead of her.
"Dr. Rattmann, where is Tiny Human?" Wheatley whispered, knowing something was wrong. Dr. Rattmann looked at Wheatley, not wanting to answer. He didn't, instead leading Wheatley over to his computer console as Lil took a look around the Core Garden.
Cores zooming overhead, Wheatley tried to fight the feeling of horrible nostalgia that overcame him each time he saw a personality construct. Dr. Rattmann sat down at his console as Wheatley looked around for a place to sit. He awkwardly sat down on the Companion Cube next to Dr. Rattmann's chair. Dr. Rattmann frowned a bit but then nodded toward one of the flat screen computer monitors. "From here, I keep tabs on everything in the facility. If SHE so much as activated an automatic door, I know about it."
Dr. Rattmann turned on the monitors and sat back. "It's old equipment, but it does the job. While you and Lil have been resting, I've been working on that Quick-Fix program. For whatever reason, it wasn't finished, but I did what I could with it. Hopefully, it should work when we install it into her hardware."
"Install it?" Wheatley asked, anxiously. "I was hoping we were done! I got Lil back; I assumed all we had to do now was leave!"
Dr. Rattmann understood Wheatley's frustration. "As much as I want that to happen, something needs to be done. I already explained that HER programing is beginning to fail, and now it's only a matter of time before she shuts down completely. While you were resting, I've seen a change in her behavior through this computer. Something's calmed her, and it's keeping the inevitable at bay for now. It won't last forever, though. Unless we install the Quick-Fix soon, she'll either tear this place apart looking for Lil so she can make the transfer, or she'll shut down. As I've mentioned before, the reserve power is nowhere near the levels it needs to be to keep this place from destroying everything within a thousand miles once the reactor goes critical. As horrible as it seems, it turns out, we need her."
Wheatley didn't want to go that far and say they actually needed GLaDOS, but Wheatley found himself without any other choice. "Well, even so, how are we going to get close enough to her to put it in her systems? I'm pretty sure she's just a bit sour at us at the moment."
Nodding, Dr. Rattmann sat up in his chair. He typed on his keyboard and had the monitor zoomed in. "Above the Central A.I. Chamber is a room called the Master Control Room. It's basically everything that controls the facility and keeps her in check. As you know, there hasn't been a scientist in that room in years to keep everything functional. Even a giant super computer needs to visit a doctor every now and then." Dr. Rattmann chuckled, coughing a bit as he did.
"Dr. Rattmann, are you alright?" asked Wheatley.
After a long, hacking cough, Dr. Rattmann nodded. "I'm fine. I've been down here so long, I'm sure the lack of natural sunlight hasn't done wonders for me. I want to go to the surface with you all. But where will I go? I'm pretty sure the pharmacy that holds my medication no longer exists and I can't very well walk into town telling them where I came from. They'd throw me in the loony bin. Worse, they might try to come out here and investigate my claims. The less the world knows about this place, the better. The technology here will only cause problems. Besides, do you think technology like GLaDOS needs to be unleashed on the world?"
Wheatley had to agree with him there. Dr. Rattmann cleared his throat. "I do know enough about hacking to make falsified identification, but there is still the matter of getting on with my life."
"I won't hear any more of this." shouted Wheatley. "You can stay with me and the girls! Lil won't mind and Tiny Human would be delighted to have you around. If there is one thing I've learned up top, it's that families stay together as much as possible. Though, admittedly, Lil says the divorce rate is pretty high up there, but the point is that if Tiny Human considers you family, then so do I."
"That's noble of you, but I can't leave the cores behind. I doubt there is any room in your home for the cores." Dr. Rattmann chuckled.
"No, I don't think Lil would want to install management rails in our apartment…" Wheatley scratched his stubbly chin as Lil walked up behind them.
"I hate to interrupt 'Guy Time', but I've looked all over the place and I can't find Angie!" shouted Lil, trying not to sound panicked. "One of those ball things told me you know where she is. Well, where is she?" Lil put her hands on her hips and glared at Dr. Rattmann. Dr. Rattmann pulled at his shirt collar a bit and then looked back at Lil. "Well, where is my sister?"
Dr. Rattmann stood up and pointed to the lower left hand monitor on his console. "Remember when I told you something has calmed her enough to keep her systems balanced for now?" Wheatley nodded and watched as Dr. Rattmann typed away. Wheatley didn't know why, but he had an inkling that he knew the programing that Dr. Rattmann was typing. As soon as he was done, the monitor popped up with a security feed of the Central A.I. Chamber. He pressed a button to zoom in.
To Lil's horror, there sat Angie, on the floor, happily drawing next to the construct that was once Wheatley. Lil was speechless at first. A cold, horrified sensation coursed through her systems. Her body began to shake as she fought back the urge to scream as loud as she could. "That…" Lil's voice shook as she pointed. "…that thing has MY SISTER!" she shouted.
Wheatley motioned to Dr. Rattmann to cover his ears, which they both did. Lil then let out the loudest, angriest scream that resonated throughout the garden (and a few of the lower levels of the facility).
Lil grabbed the monitor and starting shaking it. "THAT THING HAS MY SISTER!" Lil shouted as Wheatley tried to pry her off the console. As Wheatley tried to calm Lil down, Dr. Rattmann sat back down and typed away as fast as he could. "That thing…" Lil quivered as Wheatley held her.
"Not all is lost." murmured Dr. Rattmann.
"That giant…THING has Angie and might do…who knows what to her!" Lil shouted as she cried on Wheatley's chest.
Dr. Rattmann pointed to the top left monitors. Lil wiped her eyes and blinked. Somehow, the action on the monitors didn't make her feel any better. On the screen, ATLAS and P-Body traversed the inner facility. "The cores saw them leave not long after your sister left. Odds are they are going after her. Those two are interesting specimens, if I do say so myself. GLaDOS gave them the ability to think and act for themselves. Probably the first sign of her systems starting to go bad. They obviously care for you guys, especially the little one. She stayed very close to the one she called 'Miss Pee-Bee'. We can keep tabs on them through the cameras in their eyes and through various security cameras."
Wheatley stroked Lil's hair and kissed her forehead. "How do we know they aren't reporting back to their boss? How do we know they weren't planning on double-crossing us?!" Lil shouted again.
"Love, those two care about Tiny Human. I've seen the way they play and watch out for her. We have nothing to worry about." Wheatley cooed. This still did nothing to quell Lil's fears. Wheatley himself was starting to have doubts about the Androids. "We'll have to trust them."
Wheatley kissed Lil's forehead and started to walk away. "Where the hell are you going?" Lil shouted. "We just got here and now you're leaving?"
"I'm going after them." Wheatley said, simply. Lil wanted to say something, but didn't. She wanted him to stay, but something told her the Androids were no match for their former boss alone. She wanted to go along too, but knew deep down if she was captured again, all of Wheatley's and Dr. Rattmann's efforts would be for not. She waved softly and felt her stomach turning again. Lil grabbed at her stomach and ran for the makeshift stream after Wheatley left her view.
Dr. Rattmann limped toward Lil, who grasped her stomach. "Oh, what a time to get nervous…"
Within the Facility
They knew they were treading on thin ice just by being there, but ATLAS and P-Body journeyed on, keeping in step with the sounds of the facility. Being robots, they didn't trigger any alarms as they passed by each designated "danger" area that GLaDOS had set up in case some of the human test subjects got a little gutsy. Both of them knew their target and kept their guard up.
Making their way to Angie was the easy part. Their sensors told them she was in the Central A.I. Chamber. They had yet to figure out how they were going to go about getting her out of there. P-Body felt good about not taking out the tracking device in the Intelligence Dampening Sphere.
The facility's inner workings were a labyrinth. There was no telling where each staircase led, if it indeed led anywhere at all. Even with their sensors, the Androids found themselves having to take second guesses. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. P-Body looked at ATLAS and made a sighing motion.
"Is this what he meant when he said she was acting against herself?" asked P-Body, in her inaudible chirping.
ATLAS crossed his arms and watched with P-Body as test chamber components flew everywhere. "It's as if she's not even paying attention to what's going on around here." ATLAS answered in his inaudible chatter. Looking up, the Androids watched things collide with each other and felt the tremble of test chambers being made in haste. "It kind of feels like the moron is in charge again."
P-Body gripped the hem of her dress tightly. "Oh, that was horrible. We had to clean all that up!" P-Body beeped.
Treading lightly, the Androids kept going. It wasn't long before they started hearing music. They weren't sure what was going on. For all they knew, GLaDOS was doing horrible things to poor little Angie and giving the procedure a soundtrack. "What is it with this place and music?" asked P-Body, in her inaudible chirping. ATLAS shrugged and led the way again.
P-Body had forgone her backpack, wanting to keep the trek light. ATLAS carried the portal device, which was light for him. P-Body didn't have much to work with when they found it resting beside Wheatley when he fell from the higher levels. It was busted and many main components were broken. Of course, P-Body never turned down a challenge. Within an hour of finding it, P-Body had it working again thanks to hard work, determination, and some spare parts from broken constructs around the garden.
"What do you think she'll do to us if she finds us?" P-Body asked, rubbing her upper arms.
"Well, for going against her, she'll probably throw us in the incinerator." ATLAS answered, tightening his grip on the portal device. "Of course, it can't be much worse than what she probably has in store for the Tiny Human if we don't get her back."
P-Body nodded and followed behind ATLAS as he led the way. "Do you think what the Mad Hatter said was true about us?" asked P-Body. ATLAS stopped and turned around to face his companion. He didn't seem to know what she meant, as his facial expression urged her to continue. "He said a while ago that she had no idea what kind of power she actually gave us. Do you think he was right?"
ATLAS didn't answer. He really didn't want to answer because he actually had no idea. The only thing keeping GLaDOS from completely shutting down over the years was her drive for testing. The two had watched as human after human were flung, tossed or just plain fell to their deaths for the sake of science. Of course, these two often had to help with the clean-up, but whatever kept them busy made them happy. As long as they could adjourn back to their clubhouse at the end of a testing cycle, that is.
With a computerized sigh, P-Body thought about their old clubhouse and wondered if it was still intact. Though now wasn't the time to get sentimental, P-Body worried that GLaDOS had it destroyed to make room for more test chambers or whatever it was that GLaDOS had planned for poor Lil and Angie.
"You need to stop thinking about that stuff." ATLAS said, finally. "It's not good for the systems. I warned you that tinkering with the constructs would be a bad idea, but you didn't listen. Now look where we are. Back here, where we promised we'd never be again. I don't know about you, but I liked living above ground with the humans and I plan on doing it again. Even if we don't succeed, me, you, the Tiny Human, and the idiot can live on above ground while she continues to go crazy in another body from down here."
P-Body didn't like what ATLAS was saying. "Don't think I don't know that's what you want, too. You'd love to have the former idiot sphere to yourself, wouldn't you?" ATLAS's statement struck something in P-Body. "If it were any other core, you probably would have stripped it for parts, but it was HIM and you had to repair him. Don't think I don't know how you look at him."
"You're wrong!" shouted P-Body in her inaudible chirping. "You know I'm happy as long as I have you."
ATLAS scoffed and turned away, not believing her. This wasn't the first time they'd had this discussion and ATLAS made it known it probably won't be the last. "Let's just keep going. We have a long way to go before we hit any real snags."
P-Body huffed a bit and followed behind ATLAS loyally. P-Body accessed her memory bank as she walked. She remembered the day she was activated with ATLAS. GLaDOS told them they were perfect, but P-Body would eventually learn that "Perfect" was subjective. She remembered being told to stay put until it was time for them to replace the last human. They wondered around the facility until they realized she wasn't coming back. It was then they found Wheatley over the monitors shouting orders to the repair bots and rearranging everything. The two decided to stay out of his way, but P-Body, curious as ever, often found herself in his way, wondering around the testing tracks.
Had she developed some type of simulated feeling for him? She didn't know. Her focus was on finding Angie, whom she had grown quite attached to. ATLAS wouldn't admit it, but he had as well. Of course, he never really went anywhere without P-Body. The two were literally made for each other.
ATLAS stopped suddenly and told P-Body to stay back. They hid in an opening in a nearby wall when they saw something pass by overhead. It looked like a human, but their sensors didn't pick up any human life nearby. It seemed to be patrolling the areas and was looking for something. The Androids watched as the figure looked up, as if someone was calling it. They watched it rush off with almost inhuman speed.
Knowing something wasn't right, ATLAS and P-Body rushed after the figure until they lost it near the entrance to one of the testing tracks. Kicking the door down, ATLAS helped P-Body into the observation room overlooking what looked like a newly rebuilt test chamber. Knowing the chance of being spotted was high, the Androids crouched down and watched from the observation room, not sure what to expect. They certainly didn't expect what was coming out of the door below.
Angie, now sporting the smallest (and most adorable) long-fall boots either of the Androids had ever seen, ran inside the test chamber, happily dragging the construct music box behind her. All over the test chamber sat weighted storage cubes that were open and filled with toys. There was an aerial faith plate in the center of the room and an excursion tunnel just above it.
It was then that it hit the hidden Androids that this wasn't a test chamber at all; it was a very advanced playroom.
"Is all this mine, Grandma?" Angie shouted happily as she bounced on the heels of her boots.
The Androids looked at each other with the same questionable look. "Grandma?" the Androids chirped together in their language. What kind of sick game was GLaDOS playing with Angie? The Androids watched as Angie looked around the room curiously. So far, she looked unharmed and healthy, but the Androids knew something wasn't right.
"Yes, this is all yours. It is just one gift out of many I have planned for you today. If you need me, just shout. Grandma will be busy for a bit." GLaDOS cooed over the loudspeaker. Angie nodded and looked around at the playroom that had been prepared with care just for her. Angie ran to a storage cube overflowing with toys and closed it, placing her construct music box on top.
Angie dusted herself off and spun around in her new boots. "Do you like the shoes Grandma gave me, Mr. Metal Ball?" she asked, as if expecting a response. The Construct did nothing. "She said I needed them to play today. I like my new bouncy boots." Angie giggled as she hopped around the box on the heels of her boots. "Lil might get mad if I keep them, though. Last time I lost my shoes, she got really angry." Angie picked up "Mr. Metal Ball" and held him tightly.
ATLAS and P-Body watched as Angie played all by herself in her little playroom. She shrieked with delight as the aerial faith plate launched her above the room and the excursion funnel caught her. She clapped loudly as she gave her construct music box a turn. Angie watched happily as her construct music box floated seamlessly through the funnel and to the end. Angie wasn't sure how she was going to get it down without using the aerial faith plate again until she felt the panel below her move upward next to the end of the end of the funnel.
After a little while, a wall panel opened up and out flew a table with some food items on it. Angie happily sat at the little table with her construct and ate her lunch. The Androids watched this for a good long while, not sure what to make of it all. Why was GLaDOS being so generous? They estimated were she anyone else, GLaDOS would have thrown Angie in the incinerator long ago.
"Mr. Metal Ball…" she whimpered after a little while. "…can you keep a secret?" The Construct said nothing. "I miss Mr. Wheatley and Lil. I wish they were here with me to enjoy this cool playroom Grandma made me." She whined softly, unaware that she was being watched. "I do like the stuff Grandma does for me, but…" Angie looked like she was fighting back tears. "…I miss Lil and Mr. Wheatley and Grandpa…and Mr. ATLAS and Miss Pee-Bee!" Angie wiped her eyes and hugged her Mr. Metal Ball.
ATLAS started to stand up when he heard a rumbling sound from below. Crouching back down, ATLAS stayed near P-Body as the intercom buzzed in the room below. "What's the matter, child?" asked GLaDOS over the loudspeaker. Before Angie could answer, the chamber doors opened wide. "There's no reason to cry…look who I found just wandering around, looking for you…"
From the light, a tall figure stepped forward as the door closed. Angie held her construct tightly as the figure stepped forward. "…Mr.…Mr. Wheatley?" Angie murmured softly. It indeed looked like Wheatley. Tall, gangly, and wearing glasses, the figure stepped forward with a smile. Angie was hesitant and approached with caution. "Is it really you?" Angie tugged on the figure's pant leg and looked him over.
He nodded. "Of course it's me. Who else would it be?" he chuckled, bending down to Angie's level. It sounded like Wheatley and looked like him too. "I came all this way to find you and play with you. Quite fascinating, that story is, but I'll save it for another time. Didn't come all this way to bore you with a story, I came to play! That is what you want, isn't it?" he asked. Angie nodded and held her construct tightly. "You know, she did a nice job making all this for you. Such hard work and love must have gone into all this. I bet you love having her as a grandmother, don't you, Angie?" he asked again. Angie nodded again and set her construct down. "Well, this is obviously your special room, so you pick the game. What do you want to play first?"
P-Body squinted and looked as if she was about to blush (if she was even capable of such an action). She blinked a few times and smiled as they watched Angie lead the tour of her playroom. ATLAS looked over at P-Body and had a good feeling he knew what she was thinking. She left her daydream as soon as something started beeping in her head. ATLAS growled softly as his and P-Body's sensors went crazy. Holding the portal device tightly, ATLAS stood slowly and instructed P-Body to follow him. When P-Body inquired where they were going, ATLAS looked at P-Body and simply stated "We're going to go play."
Angie sat at the table with food on top and he followed behind loyally. "I guess we can eat. Grandma found all these cool foods and she's been letting me eat them. For breakfast, she let me have eggs that were purple on the outside but tasted like bubblegum!" Angie said excitedly. "Here, Mr. Wheatley, try some of his juice. It looks like apple juice, but it tastes like grapefruits!" Angie pushed the glass over to him as he sat down. He politely refused, looking at the liquid in the cup unsurely. "Suit yourself, more for me." Angie chugged the juice down and picked up a blue apple slice. "I wish Lil was as good a cook as Grandma. At least Grandma's weird food is edible. Remember that eggplant casserole Lil made that one time?" Angie laughed.
He laughed as well, if not lightly chuckled. "You know, I think area is quite well made. Funnels, jumpy plates…those boxes. It's got it all, I do believe." Angie nodded to the compliment and bit into her apple slice. "And those boots look pretty snazzy too, if I do say so myself."
Angie lifted her feet and smiled. "Yep, Grandma gave them to me. Maybe I can ask her to give you a pair, Mr. Wheatley!" Angie said, excitedly. "They are super bouncy, but Grandma told me not to play with the heels too much. I think she had to make them special." Angie swung her feet a bit and ate her snack. "Mr. Wheatley, where's Lil?" Angie asked softly. He blinked for a moment and watched the child eat. "Is she not with you? Did you find her? You promised to bring her back, but you fell down that hole before you could. I remember Grandpa saying you fell down that deep hole…"
He stared at Angie as she rambled on about nothing in particular. He cleared his throat and looked at her sternly. "She decided to stay behind. She'll come up soon; don't worry about that, now. She'll be so jealous when she sees all the fun we're having up here, won't she?"
Giggling softly, Angie nodded. "What about Mr. ATLAS and Miss Pee-Bee?" Angie asked softly as she hopped off her chair. She watched him glared off in another direction. "They didn't come. That's all you need to know."
He looked down at Angie sternly. Angie stared at him for a moment and then went off to get her construct. "I miss Lil, Mr. Wheatley." She murmured softly. "Can we go get her? I want to see her. We came here to find her and you promised you'd find her!" she shouted.
"Why don't we just stay here and wait for her to find us? I'm sure she'll be around soon. She can find us using the cameras…and walkways. Don't worry; I marked down everywhere I went so she'd find us. Isn't that great, Angie?" he seemed very excited, but Angie decided to keep an eye on him.
"Did you bump your head on the way here, Mr. Wheatley?" Angie asked, looking over him cautiously.
"I've hit my head on a number of things, yes, but not today! Oh, I've made such tremendous progress! You'll be so proud of me! But I promise to tell you later! Right now, let's play in this cool room while we wait for your sister to join us!" He ran over to a stack of toys and Angie followed behind slowly.
Above the specialized playroom, ATLAS removed a panel and told P-Body to wait. ATLAS glared at the pair as they walked around the playroom. He seemed uninterested, yet he gave off a feeling of being forced. Being forced by a child? ATLAS doubted it. ATLAS held the portal device up and kept his hand on the trigger.
"…and over here is where I plan to color later. Remember the time you colored with me in the living room when you first moved in? That was funny how Lil took the crayons from you when she found you coloring in the white spots on the rug under the coffee table." Angie giggled as he attempted to take his hand. He looked down at the child and held his hand out to her. Her hand was so tiny compared to his, but he reached for it anyway. He grabbed her hand forcibly and held it tightly.
Something about his touch sent Angie's heart into a frenzy almost instantly and she glared at him angrily. Angie yanked herself away and ran toward the other side of her coloring table. "Okay, who are you?!" she shouted. Angie grabbed a chair by her little table and held it up to keep him back.
He blinked softly and smiled. "What are you talking about? It's me, good Ol', stupid Wheatley! You know that, Angie!" he smiled softly, looking worried.
"NO, YOU'RE NOT!" Angie shouted again, forcing him back with the chair. "Tell me who you are NOW or I'll yell for Grandma! And she won't be very happy with you!" Angie's threat seemed to hit a cord with him and sent him aback, but he remained vigilant. He stepped forward a few steps and held his hand out to Angie. She grimaced at him as he stepped forward. Angie didn't want to admit it, but she was starting to get scared.
His happy smile turned into a creepy grin as he stepped forward. "This is what you wanted, isn't it? I am Wheatley, and I've come to play with you, Angie!" He stepped forward, his arms out, ready to grab Angie. She tossed the chair in his way and ran toward the door. "Oooh, are we playing that hiding game? I like that game…"
Angie banged on the door loudly as He lumbered toward her. "Grandma! Grandpa! Lil! Mr. ATLAS! Miss Pee-Bee! Mr. Wheatley! Anyone, please help me!" she shouted, her little fists banging on the door.
"We'll all play together…you, me, and Lil will play always. Isn't that what you wanted?" he shouted as he lumbered closer to her. "It will be wonderful…" his grin scared Angie terribly and she banged harder on the door. "Let's play another game now…"
Angie's banging did little good. She fell to her knees and started to cry. As if by intervention, her construct fell off its table and rolled on its side toward Angie, stopping at her feet. She picked up her construct and held it tightly, trying not to cry anymore. "Now, come along, Angie, and let's play…" he towered over Angie, his shadow covering Angie completely. "Be a good little girl and come with me!" He leaned down to grab Angie, who screamed with all her might.
ATLAS decided that was their cue and dropped down into the chamber like a super hero. ATLAS shouted toward the two angrily. He looked back and his face met with ATLAS's fist, sending him to the side. He glared at ATLAS while trying to regain focus. ATLAS smacked him again in the face with the portal device, sending him backward, grabbing his face and falling to the ground. If ATLAS was capable of spitting, he probably would just for added insult.
P-Body jumped down and landed softly on the floor. She looked over and ran to Angie. "Mr. ATLAS! Miss Pee-Bee!" she shouted happily as P-Body picked her up. P-Body cuddled little Angie and stood close to the door, waiting for ATLAS to finish up.
ATLAS didn't wait for Him to get back up before kicking him a few times in the side. The unsettling crunching sounds coming from Him gave ATLAS a weird kind of joy. P-Body yelled for him to hurry, as time was of the essence and it could be long before SHE noticed something wasn't right. As He laid there seemingly lifeless, ATLAS ran to the doors and attempted to pry them open.
"Well, well…look who decided to come home…" said a horrifically familiar voice over the intercom. Watching from the monitors in her chamber, GLaDOS glared at the Androids. She motioned for the test chamber to lift itself from its position. P-Body held Angie tightly as the Androids heard the alarms. That only meant one thing: she was about to move the chamber manually. The chamber shook violently as it lifted itself up and attached itself to the track. They didn't know where it would go, but knew it wasn't good. "It's good to see you two again, but I'm afraid, even in those new bodies, you've proven yourselves obsolete. But luckily, we can work around that."
Angie looked up in wonderment. "Look, Grandma! Mr. ATLAS and Miss Pee-Bee came to play!" she shouted. P-Body shushed her and waited eagerly for ATLAS to get his gripping right. The Androids could feel GLaDOS's anger resonating through the floor.
ATLAS pried the doors open only to see the test chamber sailing through the facility on its track. "You know, on any other occasion, I'd have you two destroyed, but I'm actually happy to see you two. You see, the little one could use some playmates and you two are perfect. I need a way to keep her occupied while I get everything ready for her sister. I won't admit that I missed you, because you'd be wrong. Now, return the child to her test chamber and we can negotiate some kind of visitation privileges…"
The chamber sailed through the facility fast. Angie buried her face into P-Body's chest and held her construct tightly. As the chamber moved around the busy facility, ATLAS tried to find the safest and least insane way to get out of the chamber, which was careening toward a wall as they stood there. It was probably a bad idea to wait for the chamber to slow down, so ATLAS grabbed P-Body's waist and waited for the right moment. He shoved the portal device between P-Body and Angie, who grabbed it and held it tightly with her construct as she looked up.
Angie screamed and pointed at the upcoming wall. "Mr. ATLAS!" she shouted, pointing her little hand in the distance.
ATLAS nodded and jumped with Angie and P-Body holding on to him for dear life.
As Angie screamed, ATLAS held out his hand as they fell. He grabbed a management rail and zip-lined down the facility as the chamber they were in previously smashed into the wall. Sailing through the facility at high speeds, ATLAS smiled deviously as pieces of test chambers came around every corner, sailing around, trying to distract them. ATLAS's concentration was stone like as his grip on the management rail tightened along with his grip on P-Body's waist.
A little further ahead, a piece of chamber smashed the management rail, making it impossible for them to continue. P-Body shouted, but ATLAS just grinned. He shouted for P-Body to hold on as he swung himself and let go of the rail. Beeping at him "Are you crazy?!" P-Body held on for dear life, hoping ATLAS knew what he was doing.
With a mighty crash, ATLAS landed on a catwalk below. Once he steadied himself, he let go of P-Body and looked around. Angie, still holding on to her construct for dear life, quivered softly in P-Body's arms. ATLAS motioned for P-Body to follow and to hurry. Keeping Angie, her construct, and the portal device close, P-Body followed ATLAS as the facility shook. They could hear GLaDOS shouting for them to bring Angie back.
"BRING HER BACK NOW!" they heard her shout over the intercom system. Her anger resonated through the facility. "GET UP YOU WORTHLESS WASTE OF LIFE AND GET HER BACK NOW!" she shouted again, though the Androids ignored her.
"Grandma sounds angry…" Angie whimpered as ATLAS grabbed for the portal device she held. P-Body cuddled Angie close and cooed, trying to calm her down. ATLAS instructed P-Body to stay put while he looked around for a better route. P-Body backed up a bit, placing Angie and her construct down to look around herself. Her sensors picked up something zooming towards them at inhuman speeds. Behind them, a metal clunking noise shook the catwalk. P-Body turned around and saw Him staring at her.
"Alright, Orange, be a good girl and give me the child…" He cooed, motioning to her with His hand. P-Body growled softly and glared at him. Angie hid behind P-Body's legs and peered out to the side. "You know, I always liked you the most out of both of you. You were special and you know that. We'd make a great team, me and you, love. Come on, let's have the child and take her back to her Gran. Then we'll go and get Lil and let everything take its course. See? No one has to get hurt, Love…"
P-Body just stood there as He came closer. "Come on, little Angie, don't you want to play some more? We can play while we wait for your sister to join us. Then, we'll be a happy family again…" He kept getting closer and P-Body kept stepping backward. "Come now, Love, let's not make this difficult…" He lifted his hand seductively to P-Body, who looked more terrified than flattered. "Just P-Body, Lil, Angie, and Wheatley…"
Angie yelled loudly and threw her construct toy at Him, hitting Him in the face. "You're not Mr. Wheatley!" she shouted angrily. Angie's construct rolled toward the middle of the catwalk as He grabbed his face. She could hear him cursing and saw him trying to balance. "Mr. Wheatley never calls me by my name! You're a fake!" she shouted. This seemed to make Him angry.
"Fake…he's the fake…" He grunted as he showed his cracked face and his damaged eye. Angie held her hands over her mouth as she gasped. P-Body pulled Angie close. "I'm the real one. You think he actually cares about you and your sister or those dumb Androids? You think he really wants to be a family with you lot? Please, all he wants is to take the facility for himself again. If he loved you so much, wouldn't he be here instead of the Androids? I'm Wheatley…and I'll make sure you realize that soon enough!"
"YOU'RE NOT MR. WHEATLEY!" Angie shouted as ATLAS came running toward them, fists high.
P-Body pulled Angie out of harm's way as ATLAS dropped the portal device and started swinging at Robo-Wheatley (which is the name Angie gave him in her mind). Screeching loudly, ATLAS swung hard, each hit being blocked by Robo-Wheatley's forearms. Angie grabbed onto P-Body's legs and watched in horror as ATLAS fought Robo-Wheatley.
"Give it up, Mate. You think this impresses her? You should know she doesn't love you. Can you two even feel love?" Robo-Wheatley taunted as he dodged each one of ATLAS's punches. ATLAS didn't seem fazed by the chiding Robo-Wheatley shouted. "I know everything about you two. Literally built for one another, were you? Doesn't matter, does it?" Robo-Wheatley seemed to strike a chord with ATLAS and landed a good punched on him as he staggered about. "You'll never win her mechanical heart completely. You've felt second fiddle to a construct. A metal ball, of all things, and that's all you'll ever be!"
ATLAS regained his balance and launched another barrage of punches onto Robo-Wheatley. ATLAS knocked Robo-Wheatley down hard onto the catwalk and shouted for P-Body and Angie to run. Angie grabbed her construct quickly and ran with P-Body to the end of the catwalk. Using this moment as an advantage, ATLAS grabbed the portal device and ran after P-Body and Angie. Robo-Wheatley growled loudly and watched as ATLAS launched a portal toward a faraway wall and another onto a passing test chamber panel.
Grabbing Angie and holding her under his arm and P-Body by the waist, ATLAS timed it just right and ushered the two into the portal and out the faraway wall. Robo-Wheatley grunted and ran toward the open portal as it swung lifelessly on the passing panel.
ATLAS placed Angie down and let go of P-Body as he tried to disengage the portals. He urged the two to keep going while he tried to cancel out the portals before Robo-Wheatley could run through. P-Body tried not to look down as the flashing red emergency lights gave the facility a horribly evil look. Angie would have described it as looking like a dungeon in one of her video games. P-Body knew where they were: they were near the garbage chutes that led to the incinerator (and to a lesser extent, the garbage wing). P-Body kept an eye out for flaming debris as she and Angie ran down the stairs to another series of catwalks.
Robo-Wheatley jumped through the portals before they closed and launched another punch at ATLAS, sending him falling over the rail and landing in front of P-Body and Angie. P-Body waved to him softly as he got up. Robo-Wheatley swung himself over the rail and stepped toward the trip slowly. "Come on, ATLAS mate…let's make this easy. We don't need to bloody each other up. Let's take the girls back and maybe she'll make your punishment less horrifying."
ATLAS punched Robo-Wheatley hard, sending him back again. "Don't hold back, Mr. ATLAS! That's not Mr. Wheatley!" Angie shouted.
"It's not?" ATLAS asked in his inaudible chatter. Hoping he was joking, P-Body chirped at ATLAS to watch out. Robo-Wheatley landed a good punch on ATLAS, sending him flying toward the end of the catwalk, where the railing was bent. P-Body chirped loudly for ATLAS, reaching her hand out to him.
Robo-Wheatley smacked ATLAS around a few more times before he grabbed him and threw him at the railing again. "She'll never love you…it isn't in your programing…" he chided, getting ready for one last blow. "You're obsolete. I was made to replace you. I might not be much for testing, mind you, but I can provide good muscle as you can see…"
The chains holding the catwalk in place groaned softly and finally broke in a few places, swinging the catwalk around, making everyone lose their balance as it swung and fell. Angie screamed loudly holding onto P-Body's leg for dear life. P-Body held on to Angie as the catwalk swung around and finally stopped near the lower levels, yanking everyone in place. It swung dangerously over one half of a fiery pit, which led to the incinerator and over the chutes for the garbage wing. Either way was a death sentence to the fighting bots.
Robo-Wheatley launched himself at ATLAS, who blocked his attacks masterfully. "I'm sick of playing this game! I don't care what happens to you two, I just want the humans!" Robo-Wheatley shouted, unleashing his barrage on ATLAS once again. He landed one good punched on ATLAS's face and sent him down. ATLAS's sensors went in and out, the impact knocking something out of whack temporarily. With his sensors malfunctioning, ATLAS found it harder and harder to block these punches and found himself wearing down. P-Body shouted for ATLAS. "How adorable, she wants you to believe she cares…"
ATLAS took quite a beating from Robo-Wheatley, his face plate cracking and losing some of his casing on his arms. ATLAS couldn't hold Robo-Wheatley back anymore and Robo-Wheatley knew this. "Say good-night, Mate…and don't worry, I'll treat her right." Robo-Wheatley chided, motioning toward P-Body behind them. "…it's time you went into the rubbish where you belong!" Robo-Wheatley geared up his most powerful punch and aimed it straight for ATLAS, who attempted to block. He could feel his systems wearing down and his sensors attempting to come back online. ATLAS's eyes widened.
Everything happened in slow motion. P-Body ran towards them, shouting her battle cry.
A loud crunch was heard. Robo-Wheatley hit something. In fact, his arm went through it. But not ATLAS…
P-Body stood in front of ATLAS, taking the powerful punch in its entirety. P-Body twitched and sparked as Robo-Wheatley lifted his arm up, with P-Body still on it. ATLAS shouted for P-Body as Robo-Wheatley shook her off his arm and tossed her back towards Angie, who was crying terrified tears. ATLAS used this moment to get up and grab Robo-Wheatley's neck. This disabled Robo-Wheatley, if not temporarily.
"You look like him, you sound like him, and you're almost as stupid as him…on any other occasion, you'd be perfect…but there's one thing of his that you'll never have…" ATLAS shouted in his inaudible grunts. Robo-Wheatley struggled against ATLAS, who gripped his neck tightly. "…and do you know what that is?"
Robo-Wheatley shook his head as ATLAS punched him in the chest, making something crack and spark. "…his heart…"
With a horribly self-satisfied grin, ATLAS threw Robo-Wheatley over the edge, listening to him shout as he fell towards the fiery pit. He watched as Robo-Wheatley disappeared into the red glow and looked away as the catwalk chains started to creak.
ATLAS ran over to Angie and picked her up. Angie hugged ATLAS tightly as they looked, horrified, at P-Body, whose eyes flickered softly from yellow to gray as her body sparked and twitched, trying to stay online. Then finally, as she smiled and synthetic fluid poured down her cheeks like tears, her eyes turned gray, meaning she powered down. ATLAS shouted angrily as the catwalk finally gave. The chains holding up one side snapped, sending P-Body's lifeless body sliding off.
ATLAS grabbed the portal device with his foot before it could slide off too. He and Angie watched helplessly as P-Body gracefully fell into the darkness below. ATLAS launched a portal onto a nearby wall and launched another into the deep darkness, hoping to catch a panel. It did, and holding Angie and her construct tightly, ATLAS jumped into the portal just before the catwalk finally snapped and fell.
Down Below
"Miss Pee-Bee!" Angie shouted into the darkness. She looked around as ATLAS shined his lights in every direction. He wished Angie understood his language, because then he could tell her that shouting for P-Body was pointless. Even if she did understand him, ATLAS probably couldn't find the strength to actually say that to her. "Miss Pee-Bee, where are you!" Angie tried not to cry as she ran ahead of ATLAS. ATLAS finally caught up with Angie, turning off his eye lights as they neared an area with emergency lights.
Looking ahead, they kept going into the light, ATLAS hoped the symbiotic irony would go unnoticed by little Angie. As they neared the bright light, Angie saw a tall figure standing over a sparking pile. As ATLAS readied himself for battle again, Angie smiled wide. "Mr. Wheatley?" she shouted, waving her hand. ATLAS grabbed Angie and pulled her close.
"Tiny Human, is that you?" shouted the figure. Angie's eyes started pouring tears and she ran as fast as she could toward Wheatley.
Angie flung her construct down and ran with all her might. "Mr. Wheatley!" Angie ran with her arms stretched out, toward the light as Wheatley stepped out of the shadows. There he stood, sporting his goofy smile and all; ATLAS wasn't sure how she knew the difference without sensors, but somehow, Angie just knew. Angie grabbed onto Wheatley's long legs and sobbed softly.
Wheatley bent down and picked Angie up, holding her tightly and fighting his own tears in the process. "Oh, Tiny Human, you have no idea how relieved I am to see you." said Wheatley, choking back his tears as Angie cried into his shirt. "I left the garden to come look for you and the Androids. I was about to head upward when I found her." Wheatley pointed to P-Body's remains. ATLAS stumbled toward them, as soon as he was sure this was the real Wheatley.
"ATLAS…" Wheatley whispered as ATLAS approached. Completely ignoring Wheatley, ATLAS walked over to the sparking debris that was once P-body. Mostly intact, but badly damaged, P-Body's lifeless eyes gave ATLAS chills in his systems. She was broken and looked more like a damaged doll than anything now. Her smile gone, now all that sat there was a lifeless pair of lips. If he could cry, ATLAS would, but that would be the only time. ATLAS scooped up P-Body and held her close, as if comforting her.
Wheatley put Angie back down on the ground and walked over to ATLAS, placing his hand on ATLAS's shoulder. "I found her not too long ago. I'm very eager to hear what happened, Mate, but let's get back to Lil and Dr. Rattmann. Maybe he can fix her."
ATLAS nodded and let Wheatley lead the way. ATLAS carried his fallen companion close. Of all the times he wished he understood the odd functioning on his mechanical heart, this was one of them. Was it truly love he felt at this moment or the moment P-Body sacrificed herself to protect him? He could only wonder.
They walked on, silhouettes against the light toward the entrance to the garbage wing, where a secret tunnel lead toward the garden. They had a lot of work ahead of them. More than they knew…
"Tsk…tsk…" murmured GLaDOS over the loudspeaker as her cameras zoomed in over the incinerator. "Too bad…he would have been a good addition to the family. Oh well, he was worthless anyway. I never intended on keeping him around. Just long enough to keep the child entertained while I finished my work."
GLaDOS tried to find the upside to this set-back. If there was one, it was that her work was almost complete and all that was missing was Lil. Of course, the downside was that Angie was now gone and there was irreparable damage done to one of the Androids. She had hoped to keep them around after the transfer was done. After she reprogramed them, of course. She knew she was running out of time and she had wasted plenty of resources on trying to control this one set of humans.
If anything, she knew they had something planned and that they'd be back up soon. That's when she'd strike. GLaDOS chuckled and went back to busying herself with her project.
In the embers of the incinerator, flaming debris jumped around like popcorn. Nothing could survive down there without sufficient protection and GLaDOS didn't expect anything to leave the incinerator as she ignored the camera vision to that room. Had she been paying attention, she would have seen something emerge from the flaming debris, trying it's hardest to keep from falling over. She also would have heard its mechanical laughter, as if it had won the battle.
She also would have seen its busted eye glow blue and then slowly turn red. She would have known it was biding its time and it vowed revenge. In due time, of course. Nothing should be rushed, that was what it had learned through all this. Silently scheming, he plotted…he knew what he had to do.
He had to destroy the "fake" and reclaim what he thought was rightfully his…
N'cha, my lovelies!
Oh my, I spent the LONGEST time on this chapter, but all in all, I am very happy with it. I hope you guys are too. Got some good news for you all! Well, depending on what one defines as good news. Okay, so it's kind of sad news, really. I have about three chapters left planned before this story ends. I want it to go out with a bang (figure of speech, nothing is blowing up, I promise), so I've decided that the next few chapters are probably going to be the longest ones yet. You guys like long chapters, right? I hope so, because the next one will be particularly long.
My next chapter? Oh yes, that reminds me. Next chapter is going to be Wheatley's final flashback. I know, you guys love the flashbacks, but like I promised, this will be the flashback to end all flashbacks. The entire chapter will be one big flashback. Why? Because I love you guys and I know your patience is growing thin with me. Haha, ahh…
More good news, my dears! I decided that since everyone responded so well to my characters, Lil and Angie McLain, that they will probably be appearing in future works as little cameos or even as central characters.
With each fic, they will change to fit that world, but do not fret: they will still be Lil and Angie, two sisters who are raising each other. In fact, I might have a little side project planned for those two for my fictionpress account.
Ahh, but in due time.
I've also decided I probably won't be doing a prequel to "Reconstructing Humanity". I tried putting down the preliminaries for it, and I believed I just about covered everything in chapter 12 (the rewrite, anyway) so don't really be expecting that anytime soon. But, a short sequel is actually in mind, so keep a look out for that!
OH! Before I forget…I want to wish one of my fans a big, awesome, happy birthday…soo….
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TETRAJHO! *fireworks and a giant cake appear out of hammer space* I gave myself your birthday as a deadline and though I am a few hours over (bad Luna Peachie, bad!), I want to dedicate this chapter to you. I hope your birthday was wonderful.
Oh! And if you haven't already, I would love it if you guys went over to dA and faved and watched me. That way, you guys can be on the up and up on all my updates and odd musings. It's really a hoot, I promise you haha.
As always, my dears, review and be merry. I look forward to all comments and whatnot. You guys are the reason I keep writing. So please, feed my starving ego and review, fav, and enjoy. I'm just kidding, my ego isn't that inflated. Just speak from the heart, my dears. Review, and be merry.
GLaDOS, Wheatley, ATLAS, P-Body, and Dr. Rattmann belong to Valve.