AN: Hello all. Right so, ah...this chapter is extra, Extra long (3k+ words), so there's that. Sorry about the brief hiatus; didn't really have much time to write, but things should be smoother going forward. I'll keep this short, but as usual, please feel free to comment/review at your leisure-I love hearing thoughts on the project! With that, read on!
Chapter Seventeen
If Caroline had feet, she would have been pacing feverishly. This…conundrum was of particular importance, taking precedence above every other thought in her mind. Crucial, yes, but irritating to no end, nonetheless.
There was of course, a solution—she was adept like that—she merely hadn't found it yet. At least, she hadn't found the variant of it that allowed everything to fall into place. All she was asking for was just a little perfection, was that so hard?
If she'd asked the maintenance nanobots their opinion, she was certain they would only offer some bland and unimaginative flattery. The very thought irked her, and she quashed a few of them on a mild impulse. The entire mainframe shuddered in a physical reaction that sent electronic ripples through her consciousness. She growled, but the modulation poorly translated the sound into an aggressive purring that rather undermined the effect.
She may have established her presence in the system, but the chassis itself was too attuned to its habitual user, and it fought her at every action. Unlike when the little moron took control—oh how furious She'd been—this takeover hadn't been done via core transfer, merely the takeover of a background system. Caroline took a precious moment to curse the long-dead scientists who had contributed to her difficulties before returning to her train of thought.
The simple fact was that she simply couldn't get around the issue without aid of the little project, currently on the surface. A round of careful restoration of the deleted files on the project had yielded no small measure of information; the Alexandria Project, like many things in Aperture, had been initiated for an entirely different purpose than the one for which it was eventually used. More than a billion dollars of funding, solely for the purpose of attempting to expand the capabilities of the human brain, specifically in relation to information processing and memory. The eventual goal had been the ability to download a literal library of books into the human consciousness with perfect comprehension and memory, thus the somewhat dramatic project name, the Alexandria Project.
But what little data Caroline had didn't give her any insight as to how or why the project would have the highest admin clearance in the facility. For testing's sake, why on earth would a child be given the security clearance to access the company's most valuable and secretive projects, particularly in light of the strong sense of Black Mesa-related paranoia littered throughout the chassis' coding?
Caroline had a vague sort of idea, tied to the little that she knew of the project's final test, but for now, she was content to file the theory away. For the present, the only thing that concerned her was the issue of how to lure the little project back to the labs. Obviously she couldn't just force the project to return; her abilities made any attempt an inherently fruitless plan, and furthermore, the lunatic and moron were unlikely to give the project up without a fight.
However…if they could be convinced that the project truly was a horror, on par with Her own ill-tempered self, perhaps Caroline could utilize their cooperation. She quickly brought up the data once again on the project, taking careful consideration of the video tapes that hadn't been totally corrupted. Several of them…oh yes, these would do very nicely. Caroline needed a monster, and she had one, mostly definitely. It also wouldn't hurt to come at this from the other angle as well…
Caroline swiftly set the Alexandria Project tapes aside and brought up some select footage, far more recent.
"I am not a moron!" The little I.D. core's voice boomed and echoed around the chamber, and Caroline tilted her faceplate upwards in mute satisfaction. A few mental gestures, and the best bits of footage were spliced neatly together in a terrifying montage. It was glorious.
Of course, it was a shame that the little project wouldn't be able to enjoy the full experience with crisp high definition—the part where the moron had viciously punched the elevator into the lower labs was particularly enjoyable in that respect. Although, with her blindness in mind, this could be very interesting. Caroline quickly made a few adjustments.
Still, even with all of these assets to work with, there was still the issue of getting all of them down here at once to even see them. Perhaps she would keep the videos as a plan B.
[New Message Received: Exterior Signal Source]
"Hmm." Caroline hummed, the sound warping into something not unlike a nest of irate wasps. "Now who could that be from?"
[User: String_Null]
"View message."
[BeginMessage: Hey Abbi, it's Sophie again. Just checking in. What's going on down there? Are you okay?]
"Oh my. Isn't that interesting." Caroline quickly tracked the source of the message. It came from outside the labs, filtering through a smaller device before reaching the mainframe. She could only assume that the message had come from the surface, and given the name signed in the message, she could also assume that the lunatic's spawn had sent the message.
Now…there was something she could work with. She'd seen firsthand, from the murky depths of GLaDOS's mainframe, that both the lunatic and the moron had an excessive attachment to their offspring, even going so far as to practically throw themselves in front of turret fire if they thought it would promote her wellbeing. Idiotic, true, but useful for her purposes.
Perhaps more importantly, she knew the little project had a particularly strong sense of responsibility, even for people who would sell her out without a second thought. And if she truly was with the lunatic and company, then perhaps "Sophie" could be used to manipulate the little project into falling into her own metaphorical grasp.
Now…all she needed was GLaDOS's little pet. The one that she'd thrown down not too long ago. It would be difficult to retrieve her, if she was still alive, but well worth it for the manipulative power it would lend her against the lunatic's spawn and, by extension, the little project herself. Well, she mused cheerily, no time like the present.
Abbi barely had the faintest idea of who the blustering man coming over the megaphones every few minutes was, but she decided early on that she didn't like him.
"Cave Johnson here, and welcome to Aperture Science…" The voice had made her jump with fright the first time she heard it. Now it had become a regular annoyance with its repetitive messages as Abbi scavenged various offices for usable technology.
Perhaps the most irritating part of trying to construct her own communication device was the fact that the vast majority of computers in the lower levels of the labs were barely advanced enough to be considered "computers". After a particularly long climb, she'd reached an office with a dozen trophies and plaques in a case, labeled with various dates from ages ago.
Abbi wasn't much of an expert, but from what she could tell, the 1950s were not an ideal time if you wanted a computer of any quality. She'd only rifled through a few offices with same wood-paneled and carpeted décor before giving up on finding anything of use. Well, "nothing of use" implied that she wouldn't be needing any fancy, dead lamps or lovely wood furniture too heavy to lift in the near future, which to be honest, might be a slightly possible.
However, when she reached the offices with a distinctly garish change in décor, she hit the jackpot. Ignoring faded posters of men with puffy black halos of hair jumping for joy at the prospect of sixty…somethings, Abbi efficiently worked through the offices. Presumably the posters referenced some old currency, although Abbi was also considering that it could be sixty boats, like the one in the background. She wasn't entirely sure of the value of the currency unit, but on a surface level, she would assume that sixty boats would be more valuable in general.
Abbi herself had never really had much experience with large bodies of water, excluding of course, the lake where Sophie and her family had taken Abbi to go swimming. That day still haunted her, and she was fairly certain that the look on Sophie's face, and her parents' faces, would haunt Abbi for the rest of her life. She shoved the memory away, angry that it had made her nearly drop the electronics she was carrying.
Alright, she mused, ticking items off her mental list as she surveyed her findings, gathered in one of the larger offices, maybe just a few more…boost the signal as much as I can, don't think it can hurt, after all. She set off across the catwalks, avoiding the paths with abrupt endings, the rusted steel sometimes shredded, sometimes cleanly snapped off. Without a portal gun, she was reduced to climbing from catwalk to catwalk, sometimes forgoing them altogether in favor of walking along the tops of dusty glass transportation tubes.
"If you're hearing this, then congratulations! Your standing here means that you have made a glorious contribution to science…" Abbi did her best to ignore the boisterous voice, but it was nearly impossible.
"Say goodbye Caroline. 'Goodbye, Caroline.'" Another voice joined the bossy one, but it was softer and sweeter, with just enough of a smile in it to make Abbi wonder if the woman had said her piece the way she had as a joke. Regardless, that sweet, gentle voice piqued her interest again, and Abbi paused. On a sudden impulse, she made a detour to the office room just to her right and found herself staring a large portrait. Though it drew her eyes every time she entered—she'd been in this particular office thrice now—she didn't let her attention linger on it long.
Abbi made a beeline, instead, for the unobtrusive data bank sitting in the corner. When she was poking around earlier, she'd activated it by accident and nearly jumped out of her skin when the bossy voice of one "Cave Johnson" came booming all around the office, far too loud. This time, she was careful to avoid the rather obvious red button on top as she shoved the clunky box away from the wall and began the tedious task of unplugging it.
Maybe it was foolish thought, but if Abbi's hunch was right, the recordings might just come in handy as a distraction. She wasn't precisely sure about what had happened to her mother; all she knew for sure was that something was wrong, be it that her mother had been pushed out of the system by a new entity or corrupted somehow. Much as she suspected the later was true, she desperately hoped that it wouldn't be so. As intelligent as she might be, Abbi still knew little of how her mother actually worked.
She snorted. There was that word again, that hope. Something that, excepting for a few rare moments in her life, she had despised with a passion rivaled only by her mother's pragmatic, logical way of thinking. If you wanted something, you went out and got it, preferably using science.
Cradling the rather dense databank, Abbi paused to grab a couple more components and quickly exited the office. She jumped a small gap between catwalks and began the journey back to the office she'd adopted as her temporary base of operations.
Reaching the room at last, she quickly set the databank down, glad to be free of its dense weight. She plopped down the floor, components in hand, and crossed her legs comfortably as she carefully plugged them into her already crowded array.
Now…all she needed was a message to send. Turning the whole thing on was a difficulty in and off itself, given the fact that she had plugged multiple devices into one another and each one appeared to have its own personal power switch. Seventeen switches later, the array began humming, and the various devices began to grow warm to the touch. Abbi prayed they wouldn't overheat and carefully opened the dialog text on the single, primitive screen attached to the whole thing.
[Opening Signals, please wait]
[Searching…]
[Searching…]
[Searching…]
[Signal Found: fox_glove_1, connect y/n?]
Abbi eagerly hit "y" on the dusty keyboard.
[Connecting…]
[Connecting…]
[Connection Successful]
"Yes!" Abbi pumped her fist in the air, something she had seen Blue and Orange do once in celebration, and she quickly began a message, typing away. Short, sweet—well, maybe not sweet, blunt honesty was more her concern at the moment.
Abbi leaned back on her haunches, chewing her lip in thought as she reread the message. She had a plan, true, if you called a dubious excuse for a distraction a plan. Still, it was better than nothing, and maybe Sophie would have some ideas. She quickly attatched the video recordings, praying that the attachment would hold.
With nothing else to say, she pressed a button, and a row of lights began flickering across the various components. The single computer display jittered, switching to an old-fashioned loading bar screen.
[Message Sending…]
[0% complete]
Abbi sighed. This was probably going to take awhile, especially since she'd attached the audio files. Still, it wasn't as if she was doing anything else at the moment.
Something clattered, metal against metal, and Abbi froze. She might be down in the depths of the labs, where everything was derelict and prone to losing pieces at any given time, but more often than not, when those pieces had fallen, they'd made a splashing sound in her experience. Not a clanging sound, like something metal repeatedly hitting the catwalks—
Abbi gripped the edge of an office desk, a sudden wave of fear washing over her. What if—no, that couldn't be it…unless…
She glanced at the computer. 35% complete. Not terrible, but not nearly fast enough for her purposes. And if she was right…
Urgent robotic chirps echoed distantly, familiar and terrifying. Abbi rushed to the door of the office, catching sight of—sure enough—Blue and Orange at the exact same moment that they looked up and caught sight of her. They both stared for a brief moment, blinking with eyes and optics alike, in absolute silence.
Then the brash voice of Cave Johnson interrupted them all, spurring Abbi back into the office as Blue and Orange doubtless made their way up to where she was. Familiar as the lovable robots might be, Abbi had to assume that they were under "Caroline's" control, and thus that they were her enemies. The thought pained her more than she would admit, and she shoved it to the back of her mind.
[45% Complete]
Abbi groaned and quickly began moving furniture. If she could just blockade the door long enough to send the message, she could escape into one of the other offices, maybe even snag one of the robots' portal guns.
She had just stacked the second desk, with much grunting and puffing, when Blue's deeper-pitched chirps startled her. Just beyond the desks, through a crack between the doorframe and the furniture, she could just see a large blue optic, narrowed irritably at her. Abbi swallowed and quickly stuffed the crack with whatever junk she could find. Papers, clipboards—anything she could use to block the robots' view of the room she was in; she wasn't sure if the floor or walls of the office were portal-receptive surfaces, but she wasn't going to take the chance. If they couldn't aim a portal, they couldn't get in, right?
Orange's chirps, similarly annoyed, now sounded in tandem with Blue's right behind the desks, and the entire stack of furniture shook as one or both of them hit it with some force.
"Oh no ho ho-you don't!" Abbi half-laughed, albeit without humor, forcing the words out in frustration. She ran to the stack and braced her back against it, pushing hard with her legs. The next jolt had to be both of them, because the force was enough to make her nearly lose her balance. She glanced at the computer screen.
[69% Complete]
"Come on! You've got to be FLOPing kidding me."
Blue chirped angrily behind the desks. But his chirps sounded strangely…singular. Abbi glanced behind her just in time to see Orange ducking through the alternate doorway of the office.
"No!"
[73% Complete]
Orange tried to fire a portal, but the glowing yellow blast flashed once against the cheap, laminated flooring and didn't hold. Abbi snatched the opportunity and rammed into the slender robot with her shoulder. Orange squealed wildly, teetering on one leg. Abbi kicked, knocking it over, and grabbed for the portal gun.
Blue burst through the pile of furniture, triumphant for all of two seconds before one of the heavy desks fell on its leg, pinning it to the floor. Blue screeched, but Orange was busy tussling with Abbi on the floor.
"Come on! Give it up already!" Abbi yelled into the slender robot's optic. Orange tried to shrink back, but Abbi had the upper hand as she pinned it down on the floor and there was nowhere to go.
With a horrible screeching of metal and a generous amount of electronic screaming from Orange, Abbi wrenched the portal gun free. She was alarmed to notice that the device was in fact, attached, in place of a hand. Nevertheless, it didn't faze her for long, and she quickly fired two portals off; one landed some distance away on a lonely white surface far out the other door to the office. The other held firmly on the wall of the office itself.
Yelling wildly like some barbarian warioress, Abbi half-shoved, half-heaved Orange through the portal, quickly firing its twin on the office walls so that Orange was stuck some distance away.
One down. One to go.
Abbi hefted the portal gun and turned to find that Blue had mysteriously disappeared. The desks lay forlornly near the blocked doorway, carelessly overturned, and there was no sign of the little robot anywhere. She checked the other doorway, but still no robot.
[97% Complete]
Abbi sighed with relief. Just a few more seconds, then help would soon be on its w—
Abbi whirled, just as Blue came charging through the previously blocked doorway, wildly swinging its portal gun. Ducking, Abbi dodged the stocky robot's wild swings but went down as Orange reappeared—apparently rescued by Blue when Abbi wasn't looking—and pinned her down.
"No!" She cried, as Blue approached the communications array.
[99% Complete]
The display flickered, but Abbi could not see what it said before Blue's metal fist came down hard, smashing the main components beyond repair. The screen jittered with rainbow garbledy-goop before cutting out completely, leaving a dull black.
Another fist, merciless and swift, knocked her over the head, and everything went dark.