Chell slowed as they came closer to her chamber, just in case she had recovered by now. The team wouldn't be too thrilled if they had to put her down again, and if GLaDOS saw them, their deaths would be on sight. Violence first, questions later. Rick tried everything to keep Wheatley quiet while they crept past the AI. The most silent he got was muttering senselessly about his mortality, death, root vegetables and whatnot. Chell couldn't be too annoyed with him though, since he's probably never felt fear at a level this strong before. He must be scared out of his mind right now, knowing that if he dies then he's dead forever. He can't be rebuilt like he could before. This meant that Chell had to keep a close eye on him. She thought he was accident-prone before, but now he's twice as clumsy. Needless to say, Chell wasn't exactly looking forward to all the things she would have to teach him about the outside world. It would be a long, tedious task, but at least after that was over with he could figure the rest out from there. He'd only really need the basics. For now though, it was getting him to walk that was the top priority.

"Just let go of him, I swear you're not gonna die if you fall."

"But it hurts!" Wheatley groaned.

Getting this man to stand on his own was like getting a little kid to eat a vegetable.

Impossible.

"Come on mate, or we're gonna be here all day!" Rick growled. "I swear if she wakes up and I'm still stuck here because you refused to walk-"

"Okay, okay! No need to shout. I'm trying. See, here I go."

Chell stood close by, prepared to catch him if he fell like he did the last few times.

"One, two- okay you know what? I'm just gonna go on one. Three gives you too much time."

He took a deep breath, as if preparing to leap twenty feet into a pool.

"One!"

Wheatley let go of Rick, and stumbled across the catwalk over to a railing that ran along the side, slamming into it as he tripped over himself.

"Hah, sorry. But I didn't fall! No falling that time! We're making some progress."

"I guess I'll help him the rest of the way." Rick sighed.

He trudged over and propped Wheatley up with his arm.

"Okay, we made it to the stairs. Are you sure this is the way out?" Chell asked.

Wheatley nodded.

"Yep. Never more sure. That's it, right in front of us. See? It's right there. We're home free luv."

Chell smiled and rolled her eyes. Even as a human he's still a dork.

Rick gazed up at the stairs and frowned.

"Now, how am I supposed to drag him up a whole flight of stairs?"

"Uh, good question." Wheatley commented. "Luv?"

Her smile quickly became a thin line, as she pressed her lips together in thought. That actually was a good question. She didn't really think ahead to the stairs part.

"How about this?" she finally said. "I'll take his arms, you take his legs, and we'll carry him."

Rick shrugged.

"Sounds good to me."

Chell grabbed Wheatley by the arms and lifted him over the first few steps. The first thing she thought was 'heavy' as he was in fact, very heavy. Her second thought quickly replaced her first with 'Im not giving my freedom up to a flight of stairs. We've come this far, so tough it out'. Chell gritted her teeth and willed her arms to hold tighter.

"Ow. Um, luv? You're sort of crushing my arms there."

"You'll live." Chell grumbled.

She went on to carry him up two more flights of stairs, and collapsed when she finally reached the top. She dropped Wheatley and he flopped on the ground next to her.

"You okay luv? We really need to get going soon."

"I'm fine." she panted. "Just give me a minute."

Wheatley watched her take a moment to rest. She looked rather uncomfortable, sitting there and trying to catch her breath. He hoped this was something he didn't have to face himself, at any point. Thinking about this made him aware of his own breathing (for the five-thousandth time) and he tried to think of something else to divert his attention. Why is this so bloody hard? he complained internally, becoming annoyed. The fact that he was having such a hard time with this inside the facility made Wheatley question just how difficult it would be outside. Even with Chell to guide him, he figured it still wouldn't get much easier. Heck, she was even finding it hard to drag him up a bunch of stairs. How was she gonna teach him to walk?

Chell finally regained her breath, and stood up. She stretched, preparing to haul Wheatley wherever she needed to next.

"Alright, just how far are we from the exit?" she asked.

"Uhh... there's a really long catwalk to your right. I'm pretty sure, if we just take that then we're good."

She looked down at him and raised an eyebrow.

This sounds a little too easy. she thought.

"Of course there's probably going to be another flight of stairs..." he added.

Chell sighed.

Of course.

"May as well get it over with. Come on."

She took the lead once more, with Athene by her side, Space behind her, and Rick supporting Wheatley as they trailed behind.

Chell listened to Wheatley drone on about how good this route was for an escape and question why he didn't take her through this way last time. She didn't listen to what he said so much as she did his voice. It wasn't as loud as it once was, but it wasn't much quieter either. It sounded a bit less metallic too. When he'd been an android, his voice seemed to echo ever so slightly. Now, all traces of that were gone. He seemed to struggle with getting words out sometimes though. He'd get distracted by something, or fail to get his mouth to cooperate with him. It's a miracle he could even speak at all. Wheatley had no idea how lucky he was for nothing to have gone wrong. For that, Chell was grateful. She'd rather he been clueless than know something was wrong with him. Hopefully he wouldn't have to experience pain any time soon. He wasn't ready. Chell would have to teach him to tough it out once the time came. Eventually, he's gonna get hurt. She just had to be there when it happened, or else he'd flip out, probably giving himself a heart attack in the process. Yes, she didn't want to face the fact, but it was plain and simple. If he was gonna survive outside of Aperture, then Chell was gonna have to teach him. Nobody else knew how the outside world worked, and even then there were things that Chell still didn't know herself. Like making interactions with complete strangers who weren't robots, or how buying something from a grocery store worked. Still, she'd had her fair share of a free life. Now it was her responsibility to pass on that knowledge. She made it seem so easy to learn and adapt, when secretly she wished she had someone to guide her through the unknown. At least the others will get that fighting chance, because it's exactly what they need.

They pressed on for- well, who knows how long? The gentle clank of Chell's long-fall boots against the catwalk had grown old quite some time ago. Space was the only one who remained trotting along happily, completely entertained with humming to himself. Rick was trying desperately to keep Wheatley from sliding off his shoulder and collapsing onto the floor.

"How much longer?" Wheatley groaned, like a tired little kid.

"You're the one who gave us the directions, so you tell us." Rick grumbled.

At that, Wheatley was silent for a moment. Then he continued.

"Can we take a break?"

Chell whipped around, walking backwards.

"No. Just hold out a little longer. We can stop once we're out and safe to do so."

"But I'm bloody exhausted!" Wheatley pressed. "How am I supposed to enjoy the surface when I'm busy trying my hardest just to breathe? Mind you, I didn't have to do that before."

He had a point, but Chell didn't care all that much. She shrugged.

"I guess you're just gonna have to learn the hard way."

"Luv?"

Chell turned around, closed her eyes and lifted her chin, giving no indication she was listening.

"Er, luv can you -"

"Nope. No way."

"Luv, listen! There's -"

"No." she said, firmly.

"Chell!"

She opened her eyes a second too late, and ran directly into the door. The unforgiving metal met her face and sent stars across her vision. Chell stumbled backwards, pressing her hands to her face to assess the damage. Nothing was bleeding, but now she had a headache, and her nose was bruised.

"Watch out, heh." Wheatley mumbled, sheepishly.

Chell shook her head. She wasn't too mad, since it was entirely her fault for not watching where she walked. Also, it was the door to freedom that she'd just smacked into, so that was a plus. Wait.

She did a double take, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. No way, they'd finally made it. Their freedom was waiting, just inches in front of them. For what seemed like an eternity, nobody moved. They all just marveled at the door. Before anyone could even think to speak, Chell suddenly forced the door open (which didn't take much since whatever lock that used to be there was rusted over), letting an overwhelming wave of natural light into the dim corridor.

It swung outward with a loud protesting squeal, but it was open nonetheless.

Everyone watched the stoic, tough, brave and smart young woman they knew suddenly transform into a joyful and energetic child, as she bolted out into the open field to skip and hop around, throwing her hands up to the sky and laughing. She cheered and danced her heart out before them, leaving them speechless and utterly confused. Why had this Chell appeared so suddenly, and where was she all this time?

When Chell finally finished celebrating, she turned to the team, who were all still standing inside.

"Well come on out. It's all just wheat, it won't bite."

Space was the first to take to the outdoors. He rushed out and jumped around in the wheat. He pulled a fistful of the soft stalks up from the ground and let them go, laughing as the wind carried them away. He rolled around in it and kicked up clouds of dirt, then called to the rest of the team.

"Space lady says it's okay, so it's okay! It's fun! More fun than space!"

Rick leaned Wheatley up in the doorway and ran to join Space in completely wrecking his spot on the field. The two found it strangely entertaining to let the wheat fly away with the breeze. Athene slowly walked out to stand by Chell and observe the ground closely, finding a bug and watching it with much interest. Finally, only Wheatley was left. His legs trembled underneath him, and his hands didn't seem to wanna let go of the door frame any time soon. He glanced up at Chell with a mixture of uncertainty and slight fear. He had to admit to himself, he really didn't wanna do this. What if it turns out he can't survive outside of Aperture? What if the world is just to dangerous for him to take on? He's not ready. He was never ready. The facility is all he ever knew. It was his whole world all his life, and that was the limit. Of course, there was space, but that wasn't his home. His place was here, not out there.

Chell's grin slowly faded as she watched Wheatley duck behind the doorway. She quickly trotted over to him and peeked around the corner. He was on the floor, curled up into a scared little ball.

She spoke softly, trying not to startle him.

"Hey, why aren't you out there with everyone else?"

"Luv, I'm sorry. I- I'm gonna lay my cards on the table here... it's too much. Too much for me."

She easily recognized the doubt behind his words. He really meant it. He was scared. Chell placed a hand on his shoulder, and he scooted away.

"I can't- I don't think I can do it. Really, in all honesty, I just- I'm not ready."

"Yes, you are. You worked hard for this, and now it's here. All you have to do is step outside."

"I really appreciate it luv, but I'm telling you I can't. I belong here. This is where I'm supposed to stay. I only did the bare minimum to help you, this wasn't me. I'm not ready."

Chell crouched down and locked eyes with him. She gently took his hand, and covered it with her own.

"Wheatley,"

He gazed into her soft silver eyes, not daring to look away once. Something within them told him to relax, and without a second thought he obeyed. She spoke softer than he'd heard her speak before, her voice like gentle waves, slowly rocking back and forth in the breeze.

"You are ready. I know it, now you just have to trust me."

Chell stood and lifted Wheatley from the floor.

"Do you trust me?" she asked, smiling.

He drew in a deep, shaky breath as he tried to gather his momentarily scattered thoughts. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt within his voice, and for the first time he actually felt what he said.

"Yes, I trust you."

Chell laughed and pulled him out into the field. The wheat rose up around his legs, brushing lightly against his jumpsuit. The light yellowish-green stalks clashed drastically with the harsh grey around his legs, making them seem much more colorful than the rest of the seemingly endless sea that surrounds. Wheatley stared down at it in amazement. He copied what he'd watched Space do, and grabbed a few, tossing them up into the air. He started to laugh as he watched them float away with the wind, which was starting to pick up. It drifted through his hair, and filled his lungs with a fresh, energizing sensation. The wind sent a slight chill across his skin, but he didn't care. It felt nice to experience a change in temperature that wasn't so sudden. Wheatley threw his arms up into the air and spun around, laughing louder and grinning wider. The sun warmed his face and air danced around him. The wheat shifted along the ground, and he felt such a strong sense of joy. Maybe this wasn't gonna be so bad after all. He finally quit spinning as soon as he started to become dizzy. Wheatley looked over to Chell, who was smiling proudly at him.

"Hah, what's with you luv?"

She pointed down, and he looked downwards at his legs, astonished. He was standing, on his own. No support of any kind was in sight. He started to laugh again, and began to run and skip around, showing off his newfound skill.

"Hey! I'm doing it! I'm actually bloody walking! Hah, fancy that?"

"There you go mate. Not too bad!" Rick said, patting him on the back.

"Go space friend!" Space cheered.

Chell watched them run around like a bunch of little kids, jumping all over the place and flattening all the wheat in sight in the process. She smiled to herself. She made it. They made it. They actually managed to beat the odds and get out alive. Not only that, but they were enjoying it too. She was enjoying it. Even though they'd successfully escaped, Chell knew the mission wasn't entirely over. She still needed to make it home, and this time around she would have to drag four other individuals along with her. Not to mention everything she'd have to teach them on the way. Especially everything she'd have to teach Wheatley. For now though, they could live out here in peace. Entirely free and unshackled, able to make their own choices and go wherever, whenever, while saying and doing whatever they wished. She couldn't say the same for poor GLaDOS, since she'd be stuck down there forever. Chell began to wonder exactly why GLaDOS had behaved this way upon regaining control over her favorite test subject. Last time they parted ways, the two seemed to be on good terms. So long as she never had to see this place every again, Chell may never know what was going through GLaDOS' mind. What she did know however, was that when the AI's attention span shortened, you're as good as dead.

Right now though, Chell had to focus on getting this team of goofballs home. She couldn't wait to bid this place goodbye, once and for all.

"Hey! Once you dingbats are done frolicking, we've gotta get going. It's gonna get dark soon."

"Ooh, where are we going?" asked Space.

"North."

"And where's this 'north' gonna take us, lady?" Rick said, giving her a questioning glance.

"Home. It's taking us home."

Wheatley trotted up beside Chell and set a hand on her shoulder. He gave her what's now become his signature goofy smile, and waved a hand up to the sky.

"Lead the way, luv."

And lead them she did.