Rick paced back in forth between the AI's limp body, and the small turret who'd shot her. Wheatley had just been taken somewhere, and he had no idea if Chell was returning anytime soon.
"Oh this is bad. This is more than bad." he mumbled. "What're we gonna do here mate? We can't just sit here and wait around!"
"Shakti will return. Our savior will be back."
"Will you stop saying that? I don't understand what you're going on about! How could you be so calm?"
Athene gave no reaction to Rick's outburst. Instead, it remained still as it explained.
"Shakti is a powerful Hindu goddess. In the guise of Durga, she is a powerful warrior who kills the demon Mahisasur. She is regarded as a strong feminine power who can be called upon for strength. Our Shakti will never die."
"Okay, still don't understand that very much, but I think I've got a pretty good idea of what you're getting at."
The turret rolled its eyes and gave a small sigh.
"She will live. Just know that."
A loud CRASH tore Rick's attention away from Athene. A panel from the roof had fallen to the floor, and Chell sat in the hole above it.
"Angel, you're back!"
A very excited Space appeared next to her.
"Space friends!"
"And he's alive too? Oh there's really nothing you can't do, now is there?"
Chell pointed to the portal gun in Rick's hands, and then at the floor.
"Oh, right. Come on down little lady."
He placed one on the floor, and another next to it. Chell grabbed Space, hopped down, and came up through the portal, landing safely on the ground. Rick and Athene rushed over to her, both looking quite alarmed.
Where's Wheatley?
Soon enough, Chell got her explanation.
"It's bad, angel. It's really bad. Your little turret friend took that monster down, but Wheatley came down with her. We tried to grab him but she managed to haul him off to johnson knows where."
Chell glanced back at GLaDOS, who was hanging limply just inches from the ground. She walked over to make sure the AI was out.
"Careful lady!" Rick called.
She slowly reached out, and prodded the android in its side. Nothing. Chell turned back to Rick and nodded, confirming that they'd done it.
"Now where did he get dragged off to?" she asked.
Rick pointed to a panel in the wall, which was still open.
"That way. I would've gone after him myself but who knows where it ends? Plus, she could've done all kinds of things to him just before shuttin' down."
He expected her to be angry with him for not going after Wheatley, but instead she just placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded towards the panel.
"Let's go get our little idiot back."
Chell couldn't be too upset with Rick. If he did go in there, then she might've had to save him too. On top of that, GLaDOS would've done the same to him as she was doing to Wheatley, whatever that was. Chell figured that she couldn't have done much before she went into shutdown. Chances were, he was probably just scared out of his mind. Worst case scenario being a broken part or two. Chell still mentally kicked herself for leaving them alone, but what choice did she have there? She also felt a little disturbed by the weird silence in the hallway. Wouldn't he be calling for help?
Now that Chell really thought about it, what did she do to Wheatley?
It didn't take long for the hallway to come to a dead end, and open up into a dark room. The eeriely quiet atmosphere started to chill her to the bone, leaving behind a rather unsettling feeling. Space, Rick, and Athene slowly crept into the room behind Chell.
"Angel? I don't- I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Should we go back?"
"No." Chell said. "We're not leaving until he's found."
"The devil's lair holds secrets beyond the understanding of man." Athene whispered. "Horrible screams of torture and an eternally raging fire fill the-"
"Stop that! You're freaking me out mate!"
The turret shut up and continued to help search the darkness for their missing teammate. A quiet shuffling came from a corner of the room, and everyone froze. Chell silently crept towards the sound, keeping low to the ground. The brace on one of her boots snagged something, causing another thing to clatter to the ground.
"Hello?"
It was Wheatley, but something was off about his voice. It was hoarse and quieter than usual. Chell responded quietly, careful not to frighten him in case he was hurt.
"Wheatley? It's me. I'm here."
"Luv? Oh thank bloody- I'm absolutely losing it right now."
Space must have recognized Wheatley's voice, because he suddenly sounded very excited.
"Space friend! You're okay!"
He tried to run up to Wheatley, but Chell threw a hand in front of him to stop him.
"Hang on buddy, he might be hurt."
"No, no. I'm fine. At least I think I am, I have no idea."
Chell allowed Space to approach Wheatley. She could barely see the two as he sat down and shuffled into place beside him.
"Bloody-" Wheatley shouted in surprise.
"What's wrong?" Chell asked.
"Could you maybe get the lights luv? I need to see something."
Chell carefully got up and retraced her steps back to the door she'd entered through. She took a few minutes to feel the wall for a light switch, and finally found it.
"Let there be light." she joked as the lights buzzed to life above her.
"AGH!"
She jumped at the sound of his screaming, and Space scrambling backwards into her. Chell looked down at the little kid, who held a terrified expression on his face. She followed to where he was looking, and found a tall, messy haired man wearing those same glasses, and a grey jumpsuit. And those eyes. So blue, and wide, as he held up his hands and stared in pure horror.
"WHAT- how?" he muttered.
"Wheatley,"
"I don't understand!"
"Wheatley."
He looked to Chell for any guidance, but she seemed equally as confused. She still attempted to keep him calm as she moved closer, holding out a hand to him as if he were an unpredictable animal.
"Stay calm. I'm here, we're all here, and you're alive. We'll figure it out."
"But-"
"Shh!" she interrupted. "Don't panic. You'll be fine."
"No I won't!" Wheatley snapped. "Being a bloody human isn't fine in any way! I'm not fine, I'd much rather be dead!"
He started hyperventilating and grasping at his throat in a poor attempt to stop. Chell couldn't watch him suffocate himself like this, so she grabbed his arms and forced them back into the wall. He wimpered as her face came inches from his.
"Calm. Down. We're gonna get out of here first, then deal with this later. Got it?"
Wheatley nodded and she continued.
"Now, once I let you go you're gonna be calm, and you're gonna guide us to the closest way out of here. We're gonna finish this, okay?"
"Okay." he mumbled.
Chell slowly released his arms, and he glanced nervously around the room. Everyone else watched, anticipating the worst, but it never came. They expected Chell to just kill him then and there with the way she so forcefully pinned him against the wall, but she didn't. They felt terrible pity for Wheatley, as they had no idea what they'd do if the same happened to them.
Space approached cautiously, and held a hand to Wheatley. He slowly reached out, trembling from shock. Space was cold. Very cold. Had he been this cold before? Was his hand just as cold as Space's when he was an android? Wheatley wasn't even convinced it was his hand that Space was holding, and closely examining for some reason.
"Uh, Space? Buddy, what's- what are you doing there?"
"Soft." he answered, his voice filled with awe. "Like a cloud, or space dust."
Wheatley didn't know whether he should be insulted, confused, or grateful that Space was taking this lightly.
"Er, thanks?"
Athene stepped up to join Space in marveling at Wheatley's hand.
"Strong too. Maybe he could kill a man."
"Okay, that's a little too ominous, there."
Rick shooed the two away and offered to help Wheatley up.
"Come on mate. Human or not, the lady's right. We've still gotta get outta here."
"Oh, okay- um, alright then."
Rick easily supported Wheatley's weight with one arm, careful not to hurt him, since he was so fragile now. Wheatley struggled to sort through his memory for a way out of the facility, now that his mind was all jumbled up and partially faded in some places. He absolutely despised this feeling, and now Chell seemed fifty-thousand times stronger for dealing with this on a daily basis.
"Uhh, we're gonna have to go back through her chamber. There's a flight of stairs in a back room that leads to a fire exit."
Chell nodded and took the lead.
"And if she sees us, she's definitely gonna kill us, just so you know."
"Don't worry about that, just keep quiet." Rick said. "She's down for now, but there's no telling when she'll boot back up. In the meantime we just need to hurry."
"Ah, brilliant. Good work then!"
Rick shrugged.
"I'm flattered, but that wasn't me. Shocked huh? Yeah, it was actually that little turret. Brave little thing, isn't it?"
Wheatley glanced down at Athene, who kept silent and focused on the path ahead, covering Chell in case she needed it.
"Huh, you don't say?"
He always knew it was vigilant, and had the ability to feel protective over certain people, but he didn't ever once think that it would care enough about him. Yes it protected Chell, but it actually liked her, and she was human. It also threatened GLaDOS when she captured Space, but that's probably because he's a child. And turrets were originally programmed to protect children, or anything remotely child-like. Of course, GLaDOS had eventually changed that, but since this one was different, it must've slipped through somehow. It certainly didn't scare him as much as the other turrets did. But again, why did it decide that he was worth saving? Little old Wheatley, the moron who'd gotten himself into that predicament on his own accord. Maybe it was just because they shared the same hatred for GLaDOS? That was entirely possible because of this turret's certain ability to think for itself. Or, maybe it saw something worth saving? Yeah, like what? Wheatley thought. What worth could he possibly have? He helped Chell, and she forgave him, but that's about as far as it went. Not to say that he didn't want Chell's forgiveness, because it's something he'd been longing for ever since that fateful day.
Athene caught Wheatley looking at it, and slowed down, falling into place beside him. It still kept its gaze fixed ahead, but spoke softly to Wheatley.
"You don't want this, I know it."
"Want what?" he asked, confused.
"I saved you, but you're unsure of what it costs, I can see it clearly."
"Um... I don't follow."
"When the beast was shot down, I knew of her plan to punish you. We all share one hive. I never stopped her, because she did the right thing unknowingly, unaware, foolishly. She gave you exactly what you needed, so use it wisely. Humanity is a gift, and it's dangerous to refuse gifts from the gods."
Wheatley tried to piece it all together, but eventually just gave up. He'd figure it out later.
"You turrets are confusing things."
To his surprise, it replied.
"Confusion is fleeting. One day it will clear."
Athene sped up and took its previous place beside Chell, leaving Wheatley alone to sort through some rather scary thoughts he'd just been given.