And here we are! The epilogue of the story! This will be short, but I hope it's enough for your satisfaction. I know it'll be enough for my writing for a while!
DISCLAIMER: Eh...(waves paw in human dismissal) You all already know it. I don't think I need to repeat it here.
Onward to the (small) Chapter!
The Combine "Commander" of the Burning Skull gang read over the reports from the nearby "City 17" for the third time. The information he saw wasn't sticking with him, for obvious reasons—a synthetic life-form of unknown origin emerging from the human "Resistance" and destroying a Gunship, Strider and two combat squads? Unacceptable! The pictures gathered by Camera Drones showed a robotic woman of gray coloring with metal wings moving at supersonic speeds, surviving a Strider's Warp Cannon head-on and creating portals to other areas of the world and/or beyond. It seemed completely far-fetched to the Commander until he had remembered a similar life form that his human "gang" had encountered two weeks before at the old human village. He had sent in an initial report to the remaining Combine Advisors and "City 17's" government, but the life form had escaped detection shortly after, now running rampant through the City and killing any human or Combine in its path.
This was a serious concern to the Advisors, who had tasked him with keeping tabs on this humanoid and reporting all findings to them. They had mused that this life-form could be as strong as the "Free-Man" who had crippled their hold on Earth and stirred the Uprising months before. The "Commander" hadn't heard further reports from his superiors, which meant that he had to go and find things out on his own. With the help of his "gang", of course: Something like this fit right into their terms of service in keeping the Combine hold of Earth strong. They had joined to keep their freedom, after all, even though it had meant betraying their own species in the process.
Yes, this "OlaTOS", as she called herself, would be a most dangerous opponent, but the "Commander" knew it was nothing the Combine wouldn't survive from. Putting the report down, he then grabbed one of the eight silver-colored disks that the Burning Skulls had "liberated" for Combine use. Already the Advisors had shown great interest in these devices, hoping to use them with the synthetic war machines they had adapted from Earth's war vehicles to expand their armies even more. Fingering the disk and noting the orange tinge in the inner marking, the "Commander" placed the disk back with the rest on his desk before walking out of his office and towards the research center's main hanger. Perhaps they could start with the "17-JB5" sector that had once housed a scientific facility in a salt mine deep below the planet's surface. If the rumors were true, they would probably find some useful materials there…
"Day 7 of hospital record," GlaDOS recorded into a digital panel brought from the Archives Chamber, "Subject: Chell."
The woman in question floated in a vertical tank of viscous liquid, the view from outside blurry from the thickness of the healing mixture inside the tank. A breathing apparatus similar to a scuba divers mouthpiece covered Chell's mouth and nose as she floated completely naked but blurred from sight by the mixture. Carthage had helped make this substance: it had been one of his final acts before the nightmares that had started it all had begun. The mixture was a combination of Conversion Gel, solvents from antiseptic gel and nanobot circuitry similar to the Material Creation Function Disk. The machines within were programmed to assist the natural human immune system in curing wounds and fighting off disease, but it had never been tested with a full-bodied human before.
"Subject is showing signs of physical recovery," GlaDOS continued as she checked the data of a panel adjacent to the tank that showed Chell's vitals, "Almost all wounds found on subject when discovered have been healed. Mental state remains the same as before—unconscious. Suspecting post-traumatic-stress-disorder to be cause of delayed awakening. Only a matter of time before she awakens. End recording."
GlaDOS felt a pang of sadness as she stopped the recording—she always knew that Chell's attitude had affected her personality in testing, and she had tried to outright kill her in the past. But the emotions she had gained while Carthage was with her had taught her better than that. Now that Carthage was gone, the only human-based companionship she had in this facility was Chell. Well, unless she chose to modify Atlas and P-Body to have more "human" reactions to testing.
"Chell," the android said as her hands rubbed the enhanced glass of the tank, her face pale and weary from days without recharging, "Please understand: I didn't send Carthage on a mission to kill you. That was OlaTOS's work because she knew it would hurt me as much as it has to see you dead. I wanted you back here and away from the Combine to show you how much you meant to me. You're more than a test subject to me—in a way, you always have been.
"I just want you to be awake so that you can see the changes I've made with your influence in mind. I want to race through chambers with you, make portals with you, solve puzzles with your human mind in sync with my machine one.
"I love you, Chell," GlaDOS finished with blackened eyes from fresh tears, "Never forget that." The android then withdrew her hands and walked back to the Throne Room, her hope running high that her "love" was still alive…
Far away, between the moments of space-time, the G-Man shook his head in a mix of sorrow and frustration. This new client had grown most troublesome over the past weeks, especially when it had passed away by the hands of a threat it had thought destroyed decades before. The G-Man's "employers" were quite upset with this change but were curious about what had emerged from the ashes. Frankly, he had no special opinions about this "OlaTOS": born from a machine-made fusion of organic matter and technological circuitry, she seemed far too similar to his previous client to be different in any way.
Regardless, he had a job to do, and he would see it through. As he exited a white door into the current continuum of space-time, he straightened his tie a final time and inhaled deeply. There were times where he disliked his line of work, and the coming problems would be one of them…
[TO BE CONTINUED…?]
(Wipes away tear of diamond) And it all comes together. Or, so I think. If there are any serious plot errors that I have, let me know so they can be addressed ASAP.
Regarding this story, I will probably stop work on it for a while now. I'll be on a break from writing (I believe) because of the upcoming holidays, and I have plans for other stories currently going through my mind. I also don't want to drag on with this series for too long, because you all will then lose interest in my work (and that I REALLY DON'T want!)
This does NOT mean I'm not going to continue the series, no no! I will get back on this series someday, but not yet. Let's have it rest for a while and be read and reread by all you fellow writers/readers.
In any case, for those who have stuck with this series from the beginning: THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH FOR READING! (Gives draconic salute of fire) Your continued viewing of my work is a good chunk of what keeps me going with writing these stories.
To those who have heard of this story from elsewhere: Thank you for stopping by! I hope I have given you good entertainment with my OC's and designs. If you wish, please Follow and Favorite me so that I can give you MORE entertainment.
[THE AUTHOR OF THIS STORY IS IMPLYING THAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ THIS SERIES FROM THE BEGINNING ARE NOT APPROVED BETTER THAN THOSE WHO HAVE ONLY RECENTLY BEGUN READING THE STORY]
...Good point, mechanical voice! Anyway, thanks once again to all you readers/writers out there, and I wish you the happiest of holidays this season.
Draconos is taking off...with a triumphant roar of satisfaction!