Through A New Lens

by Jdog4161

Chell finally escapes the facility, after GLaDOS let her out! but the combine are roaming the planet, as soon as Chell leaves she is knocked back into the depths of Aperture. will GLaDOS let her leave again, will she let her stay, will she subject her to testing, will Chell kill GLaDOS, will GLaDOS kill Chell? find out as Aperture takes on a new light.

7. Chapter 7

Hello all!

welcome to the 7th chapter of TaNL... yes the story has been renamed due to a friend of mine being immature about the original acronym (Thanks Isaacplayz) *Eye roll*

so from now on this story will be titled 'Through a New Lens'

I will try to finish RC or TaNL soon due to inspiration for another Co-Op story with Isaacplayz that he is itching to start. so you may see me working on this a bit more, or my lazy bum might interfere. anyway we will be starting another Co-Op story once one of the ones I'm currently working on is ended.

anyway please enjoy!

Chapter 7- "Life finds a way."

I woke up abruptly the next morning to Orange shoving me roughly to wake me up.

I groaned and sat up and looked at her.

She looked worried about something.

What is it? I asked, before realizing that GLaDOS had never explained if my keyboard would communicate with the Co-Op bots. Honestly it may only connect to GLaDOS.

Orange, if you're receiving these messages please nod.

She looked at me expectantly.

It seemed that my Keyboard was only connected to GLaDOS and not Blue or Orange.

I climbed out of bed and approached her.

She took 5 steps towards the door before looking back to check if I understood.

She saw that I had also taken several steps to follow her. She nodded and then ran out of the room with me following closely behind her.

'What could have her worried like this? Blue was noticeably absent. So perhaps something happened to him?' after a moment I realized where we were headed; the Central AI Chamber…

I also realized that GLaDOS would have received my attempts to communicate with Orange from before, and had no 'helpful' suggestions to give or sarcastic remarks.

GLaDOS… if you told yourself a Paradox, in the middle of the night when I'm not there to stop you… so help me I will reboot you and chew you out before removing your vocal processor…

We arrived at the chamber and found Blue grabbing GLaDOS' face and shaking it.

I rushed over and looked at her in the optic, it was dim yellow.

I rushed over and used my facility control to open the seal to the reboot chamber.

I hopped in and landed on the long fall boots and immediately flicked every lever I saw that applied to this situation; Reboot prime AI, reset Central AI Chamber, Restart DOS frame. I flicked them all.(1)

I quickly shot a portal through the opening above me onto one of the panels on the ceiling. Then I portaled under me so I came out in the chamber above GLaDOS.

I quickly fell and landed with ease on my long fall prosthetics and stood up to observe what would happen to GLaDOS.

Her frame shook before she slowly raised her head.

"If you're here I must have reached Android hell." GLaDOS murmured.

I'll bring you there myself. I seethed.

"You're upset." she noted obliviously.

Yeah how did you think I'd react?!

"Frankly I didn't think I'd have to see your reaction, so I didn't give any thought to what it'd be." she replied.

You didn't even think of me?!

"No, in fact I thought of you while stating the Paradox."

I was furious.

I called up a turret and grabbed it with the portal gun and let it fire aimlessly at the wall in rage.

"I'm glad my rocket turret is attached to the floor." GLaDOS quipped.

You can be as stupid as a Potato some times.

"And you, a fat sack of flesh and water." she retorted.

I can't believe you'd just leave me like that! I raged

"Would you have preferred if I had said goodbye first?" she asked condescendingly.

No! But what happened? You were fine last night before I left. We were laughing at the movie and stuff.

"Once you left I had nothing to distract me." she stated simply.

So instead of finding something to distract you, you decided to once again contemplate suacide?

"Essentially yes."

Damn you, I thought we'd fixed it.

"No, merely delayed the inevitable."

You need to snap out of this. Like Ian Malcolm said in the movie, 'Life finds a way'. Whether it has been formed by God or by Humans. Just like the dinosaurs you were created by both, it doesn't mean that you aren't alive, so you just have to 'find a way.' I told her trying to raise her mood.

"Life finds a way, Life is one great big test, and I'm the tenacious little test subject…" she began to mumble to herself.

She continued mumbling that mantra for some time before her optic narrowed and her head swung up abruptly.

In the back of my mind I received a notification that one of the lower chambers was being flooded with Toxic goo.

"What did you do?" GLaDOS sighed

I don't know? I didn't think I'd even issued any commands other than opening the Server room hatch. I shrugged.

"Why did I even believe leaving you in charge of the entire facility was a good idea?" she groaned

She seemed to be deep in thought or in her servers or something because she didn't say anything after that.

That is until she jerked out of her trance confused

"I can not locate the source of the command? But it didn't originate from you… so who has control over the facility other than me and you?" she muttered

Could something Wheatley did still be affecting the facility now?

"Unlikely. Remember that was over two years ago." she answered

I received the command too. It came from below, so either its in the lower levels of modern aperture or its from old aperture. I noted.

"Which does not narrow it down much." GLaDOS stated.

So it's not likely to be an after effect from when Wheatley was in control? I asked

"Yes. so it must be something current. But as far as either of us know you and me are the only people with control over the facility."

Could it be someone that doesn't have full control, maybe just only of the vents or something? I asked

"Possibly. It could be any number of things…" she mused.

"Unfortunately I am hanging from the ceiling. And I'm unable to investigate this untraceable command. Would you be willing to do so for me?" she asked.

Sure, as long as you don't tell yourself another Paradox. I bartered

"Of course."

So I then started to walk out of the Chamber.

"You're just gonna leave?" she asked

Well, yeah. I'm heading to the lower levels to look around.

"Without a map?"

That's what you're for.

"And what about when you have to check old aperture?"

Ummm… I guess you've got something to fix that? I assumed

"Yes. please release your arm over that panel." she said as a panel rose from the floor beside me.

I did as asked and the panel and the arm disappeared beneath the floor

I sat in the room as I waited for her addition to be made.

After about half an hour the arm popped out of the floor on a raised panel

There weren't any noticeable changes to it. But I'm sure she did something to it on the inside.

I picked it up and placed it on my stub where it locked into place and connected.

"I've removed the need to tap the shell to reveal the keyboard, simply think of a keyboard." she started

I did so and the keyboard folded out.

"Now think of a screen." she explained

I did so and the keyboard flipped around to reveal a screen on the underside of it.

How do I use the screen if the Keyboard is on the back of it?

"You won't need the keyboard, you use your mind to type and use the screen." she explained

I thought of a map of the facility and it started out very large before zooming in on a smaller area with a small light blue dot in the middle. Next to it was a Yellow one, an Orange one and a dark Blue one.

I assume you are the yellow, Blue is the dark blue, and Orange is the orange dot?

"Yes, which leaves you as the light blue one." she replied.

I thought of the source of the command.

The map flipped to become 3 dimensional and showed a red line from the flooded chamber to somewhere below. But the red line faded before it got to the destination. I flipped the screen around to communicate.

So the command is from somewhere down there?

"Yes."

Do you think they're hostile? Like should I carry a turret around with me?

"I wouldn't know their intentions, but you may want to be on the cautious side, because that is toxic goo they are actively pumping into my chambers." she advised.

I then left the chamber. And headed below.

As I went lower and lower, the facility seemed more and more decrypt and ominous.

That's when I remembered I might want some form of defense. I realized that I was near the Turret redemption line, right where I'd saved and left the 'different' turret.

She was standing in the same exact spot as I'd left her.

"Hello again." she greeted

I faltered in my step, she never greeted me the last time.

"Oh my, you look different." she added quietly.

Hey GLaDOS. In my next update, could I be able to communicate with the bots and turrets? Instead of just you?

"Am I not enough for you?" she asked jokingly

"It's not that, she merely desires to be able to communicate with Atlas and P-Body and the others." the little turret replied.(2)

GLaDOS was silent for a beat before her voice came through the PA very threateningly.

"Who is that?! And Who are Atlas and P-Body?!" she asked dangerously.

"I'm Different!" the turret chirped in response.

"Chell…" GLaDOS threatened

It's a little turret, she seems to have more voice lines than normal, or she isn't limited by preset voice lines.

"It's a turret not a she. And how does this turret deviate from the model?" GLaDOS answered

"I'm Different!" she repeated

She isn't any different from the normal turrets. At least not visually.

"It isn't a she." GLaDOS repeated

"She's right I'm not she, I'm Different!" it agreed

I smirked and decided to take it with me. So I picked her up and carried her with me before coming to an emancipation grill. I offhandedly activated my Keyboard before realizing that the ASPHD remained activated.

I see you managed to allow for both the Keyboard and Portal device to be active at the same time.

"Yes. I managed to make it work." she replied.

Could you deactivate this Emancipation grill?

"Why don't you do it?" the turret chirped right before GLaDOS said the same thing.

"That Turret is far too smart for its own good." GLaDOS muttered

She's not smart, she's Different! I mimicked as the turret claimed the same.

I then reached over to the wall and thought of disabling the grill. It flickered before powering down. I then stepped through with the little turret floating a couple feet in front of me.

I then made my way lower through the facility.

As we went the turret would spout out random cryptic and vague information.

'His web connects with the sapling and the oak.'(1)

'He's not evil you know.'(1)

Well the source of the command is male. I told GLaDOS

"And how do you know that?"

"She doesn't, I do." the turret replied

"You brought it with you?" she asked

Yeah, I needed a turret, she was close by, and she's cute. I explained

"I'm not even gonna bother correcting you at this point." GLaDOS groaned.

"How does it know it's a he?" she asked

"Because I'm different!" it exclaimed excitedly

"That doesn't explain anything." GLaDOS replied

You won't understand why, but I trust her.

"You're hiding something…" she grumbled dangerously.

I thought back to what the Turret had talked about the last time I saw her.

Hey GLaDOS, who is Prometheus?

"Prometheus was one of the titans, a god of fire and trickery. He rebelled against the other gods and gave humans the gift of fire, for this treachery Zeus chained him to a mountain and allowed birds to gore his intestines, which would regenerate causing him pain until eternity ended." she answered(1)

"Why do you want to know?"

I was prepared to clamp my hand over the turret's 'face' so it wouldn't tell her about the 'prophecy' she'd made before about GLaDOS even though I knew they didn't have mouths. I hoped I could at least manage to smother the speaker or something. When she said nothing however I answered

Just curious.

"Curiosity killed the cat." GLaDOS quipped

And yet you're still alive. I retorted

"I'm not a cat." GLaDOS replied.

"No, She's Prometheus... He is Epimetheus..." the turret whispered.(1)

Hey GLaDOS, who was Epimetheus?

"What's with the greek mythology obsession all of a sudden?"

No reason I replied hoping the turret wouldn't give itself away.

"Mmm… Epimetheus was the brother of Prometheus and originally had the same goal, later Prometheus switched sides and they fought on opposite sides, Epimetheus was killed and the role they had both previously shared was given to Prometheus, they were opposites at their core, while Prometheus would plan ahead and made his own decisions, Epimetheus would not plan and preferred to do things in the moment, because of his short sightedness he merely followed what others told him to do."(1)

"Now please stop getting distracted with greek have a source to locate." she groaned

I continued walking down through the facility before I reached the border between Old Aperture and New Aperture.

(1) pay close attention to every line with this footnote, these are the clues to who is controlling the facility, it shouldnt be too hard if your a portal fanatic like me.

(2) remember neither Chell nor GLaDOS know them as Atlas or P-Body, but since the Oracle turret usually manages to know things that others don't, I get to use her as my sillyness outlet. much like Ruffnut and Tuffnut in 'HTTYD What if?' she may break the fourth wall and may reference things that they shouldn't normally know.