When it was finally time to enter the facility, Nate took a pair of bolt cutters from a duffle bag and cut the chain that kept the gate shut. Doug decided to set the Cup next to the fence to prevent it from shattering if he dropped it while running in the facility. They walked across a cracked parking lot and around to the front of the building. They approached a windowless door that served as the public entrance. Arin suggested that it was probably the most accessible door inside. Doug remembered field trips of children coming through the doors to see the fairly harmless side of Aperture. They hit their first dilemma with the deadbolt lock that held the door firmly shut.

"I can't cut through a deadbolt," Nate said. "Anybody have any ideas? Doug? Chell?"

"Nope," Chell said while Doug just shook his head.

"Do you suppose we could pick the lock?" Wheatley asked.

"Wheatley—"

"Just hear me out, Chell," Wheatley interrupted. "There are plenty of twigs out in the woods, right?"

"Stop right there," Doug interjected. "You would have to find two twigs that were as thin as a wire but as strong as steel so they wouldn't snap. Do you really think we can find twigs like that?"

"No, I suppose we probably wouldn't," Wheatley said, slightly crestfallen. "At least not soon."

There were a few seconds of silence in which some of them tried to think of a way inside while others just stood around awkwardly.

"Well, it was a fun trip out here," Jon said jokingly. "Can't say we didn't try. Might as well go home."

"Wait, how did you get out, Doug?" Wheatley asked. "Maybe we could just use the way that you used to leave."

"Uuuuh…." Doug thought about how he'd clawed his way through the dirt to reach the surface. "The way I got out wasn't easy, and I think it would be even harder to get back in that way."

"We might as well try," Chell said.

"Well, there was an office that had a chunk of the ceiling missing," Doug said, feeling uncomfortable with everyone's attention on him. "It was packed with dirt so I…uh…I guess I burrowed my way out."

"It shouldn't be too hard to get in that way," Nate said. "We just gotta dig for a while and make a nice wide hole until the rest of the dirt collapses into the office."

"Good idea, Nate," Amelia said.

"But how are we supposed to dig?" Arin asked.

"Hm. You got a point there, Arin," Nate said.

"Hey, Doug," Arin said. "You used to work here, right? Don't you have any keys or anything?"

"Yeah, I did," Doug said. "Years ago. They're long gone by now."

"Oh."

"Need a hand?" Only Wheatley and Amelia heard this voice, but it sounded like both Li and Lee speaking at the same time.

Suddenly, the lock clicked and the door creaked open a little.

"We did it!" Jon exclaimed.

"Wait, what happened?" Arin asked. He pushed the door open slightly and peered into an empty lobby. "Hello?" he called. "Is anybody in here?"

"Do you see anyone?" Natalie asked.

"No," Arin said. "The room is empty."

"Ha!" Wheatley suddenly said. "See? I'm not bloody crazy! It was Li! That woman who made me into a human in space!"

"Lee?" Amelia murmured, deciding that maybe this guy wasn't so crazy for believing he was a machine.

"Well, whatever it was, we might want to stay on our guard for now," Nate said. "I don't like the idea of a person creeping around here who can magically unlock doors and disappear."

"It's probably just a ghost," Jon said. "Or many ghosts. You guys said a lot of people died here, right?"

Doug shuddered at the idea of souls being trapped in Aperture.

"I'll go first," Chell offered. "I've got the Long Fall Boots and portal gun so it might be safer for me to lead."

"Sorry, portal what?" Arin asked.

"It shoots portals onto special surfaces," Wheatley explained. "It's sciencey."

Chell led them slowly into the facility. They entered a large lobby with chairs sitting along the walls. The white tiles of the floor and ceiling were grimy. There was a layer of dust covering every surface. Plants grew out between some of the tiles. It was a total mess.

"Why are there so many plants everywhere?" Amelia wondered. "The facility hasn't been shut down for more than 15 years."

"I don't think these grew entirely naturally," Mikey said, going up to one of the plants to examine one. "Yeah, this isn't natural. This stem is way too thick for ivy. It had to have been enhanced in some way."

"I think the botany department must have gotten out of control once there was nobody to regulate the plant growth," Doug said. "It seems like everything went out of control once everyone was gassed."

They went to the back of the room to a door that led to several different departments. They opened the door to find a long hallway of more doors.

"Okay, let's split up into teams," Amelia said. "Mikey and I can be team A. Jon, Arin, and Natalie can be team B. Um….Wheatley, how are you guys going to split up?"

"Uh, we didn't really think about that," Wheatley said. He turned to his companions. "Was that the plan? To split up into teams?"

"Not really," Doug said. "How are we going to keep in contact?"

"Oh, hold on." Amelia set down the bag she had strapped to her back and rummaged through it. She took out three walkie-talkies. She kept one of them and handed the other two to Wheatley.

"Here you go, Doug," Wheatley said, giving one of them to Doug. "You and Valentine can be team D. We'll be team C."

"Mind if I join you and Chell then?" Nate asked Wheatley.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Wheatley said, though he really just wanted to be alone with Chell.

"Okay, where do we all want to go now?" Amelia asked.

"I already have a place in mind," Doug spoke up. "I want to check GLaDOS' chamber to see what's going on with her."

"Good idea," Amelia said. "We should know what the enemy is up to. Anyone else have anything in mind?"

"Team C can go check out the testing area," Chell volunteered. "I've got the gear and experience."

"Sounds good," Amelia said. "I mean, only if you guys are comfortable with that."

"Of course I'm comfortable with it!" Wheatley said. "I designed some tests of my own here!"

"I've got no qualms with it either," Nate said.

"Dibs on administration!" Jon said.

"Double dibs!" Arin chimed in.

"Triple!" Natalie said.

"Okay, okay," Amelia said. "Team B can have the administration offices. "That leaves us, Mikey. What do you want to do?"

"How about manufacturing?" Mikey suggested with a shrug.

"That actually sounds really interesting," Amelia said. "Your loss, team B. Now listen up. Always keep your walkie-talkie on but try to keep communication to a minimum. We don't want to risk being heard. Also, if anyone gets hurt, just say you need the medic over the walk-talkie. Your team should try to make it back to the lobby. Nate and his team will meet you here."

"Quick question."

"Yes, Jon?" Amelia asked.

"I think we should split up the Aperture guys," Jon said. "We need to have someone on our team who can help us get around."

"Good point," Amelia said. "Wheatley, maybe you should move to team B and Arin can go to team C."

"What? No!" Wheatley whined. "That's not fair! I wanted to be on the same team as Chell?"

"And why is that?" Doug mumbled.

"What did you say?" Wheatley snapped.

"Guys, stop," Chell said. "It's fine. Wheatley, just go to the other team. It'll be fine."

"But I….Ugh! Alright, fine! I'll go with bloody team B!"

"Okay," Amelia said as Wheatley and Arin switched teams. "Is there anything else we want to discuss before going in?"

Everyone was silent save for Wheatley's sighs of annoyance.

"Then let's go," Amelia said. "Good luck everyone. Stay safe."