Wheatley was at peace.

The blue sphere was quietly sleeping on top of the duffle bag in the dark quiet field. The breeze had started to pick up a bit and ruffle the vegetation around them, the moon casting silver light over them. Wheatley continued to sleep at peace until a sound picked up on his sensors and he booted up quickly.

He looked around him, unaware of where he was for a second. He quickly caught on, however, that Doug was no longer sleeping in his indent in the wheat next to him.

"Hello?" He called out. Maybe he'd gone for a stroll or to do whatever humans did when they couldn't sleep. He looked about him, listening to the quiet ruffle of the wheat. He finally picked on something as all systems came online. He made out a blurry dark figure just a couple of feet away walking back and forth. The figure was arguing with themselves, sounding mad if anything. Saying incoherent words to the wind.

"Hello, mate? You alright?" Wheatley called concerned.

The dark figure snapped their attention towards Wheatley, catching him off guard sending a chill down his gyroscope.

The figure started to anxiously tread towards Wheatley. In turn, Wheatley instinctively tried to turn on his flashlight in self-defense but it was still flickery and jittery, and of course, it didn't dissuade the figure from continuing to advance.

The dark figure was in arms reach when Wheatley took his first clear glance at the figure's face. This man looked mad and crazed, their hair all over the place.

"Stand back!" Wheatley yelped, closing his eye in fear. Suddenly the crazed man stroked the core.

Wheatley, in realization, opened his lids and looked back into the man's face.

"Mate, it's you?"

Doug nodded.

"What were you doing? You looked absolutely mad just now! You're defective or something!? Almost gave me an electrical failure mate!"

Doug glanced towards the ground.

"Something like that." He replied gloomily.

Wheatley took a bit to process.

"I didn't mean it that way, I mean look at us. If anyone is defective it's me, not...not uh...you. Certainly not you. You had a bad dream? Yeah?" Wheatley comforted.

Doug shrugged.

"I am defective." He replied sounding somewhat ashamed. "I wanted freedom, Wheatley, to get away from down there but now that I'm here...What if…? What if I don't fit up here anymore? I know there is probably medication around but, would anyone want to be around me anymore? After all, I've been through?"

Wheatley gazed into Doug's stare.

"Well...uh...you have me? Don't you?" Wheatley asked. "I'm your friend now right? So, I'm here...for you and all that. I suppose...if a robot can be a human's friend maybe then, yes. I'm here."

Doug smiled at Wheatley's sincerity.

"I do, I do have you." Doug looked at the ground again. "But," He glanced at Wheatley, fretful. "You want to go back."

Wheatley felt like a huge panel had just hit him, or to be more accurate like he crashed into a panel. Again.

"Well, yeah I want to go back...but that's quite a while from now. Huge time from now, probably. So in the meantime, I can stay with you and help you find your home and you'll get to know more people and all that during then, and you won't need me anymore…"

Doug stared at the ground.

"Right."

"Look mate, I don't wanna leave you. Being honest here, but they need me back at the facility! Seriously. I have a place in manufacturing. Important job. Huge job! So, imagine how disappointed they're going to be when I don't show up eventually. You're going to feel all guilty, like 'Oh, should have let him go back really should have. They're going to be in shambles without him.' and I'm just saving you the headache mate. I really am!" Wheatley pleaded.

Doug shook his head, taking his spot back in the Wheat.

"Have you ever had a real friend?" He asked, dismayed.

Wheatley felt a shiver go down his hull.

"A friend? A uh..."

"Oh, remember the time I took over the facility? Greatest moment of my life, but you just wanted to leave. Didn't want to share in my success. Well, so you know, I would be happy for you if you succeeded. Apart from right now, obviously."

Wheatley gazed into Doug's blurry stare.

"I might of...maybe...I think I-"

'-I let them down..somehow…' Thought Wheatley.

"You're in this together, aren't you? You've been playing me the whole time! Both of you! First you make me think you're brain damaged! Then you convince me you're sworn enemies with your best friend over here! Then, then, when I reluctantly assume the responsibility of running the place, you conveniently decide to run off together. Just when I need you the most."

Wheatley's optic quivered in his case.

"Doug, I don't wanna leave you. Like this...I uh, just help me send a last message down there you know? I didn't get a chance to say goodbye and I know it isn't much but, Katydid was nice to me and central core too, mostly. It's just, that's all I've known for like three, or four weeks now...I miss it."

Wheatley was being straightforward. Something in the past was causing him guilt now, he didn't know what, but it seemed like it was tied to friendship. He'd failed the last friendship, he knew it. He could practically see it almost. He didn't wanna fail now. Doug needed him. Sadly, yes, he'd miss Katydid, manufacturing, and Central core, but Doug needed him the most right now. Wasn't that what a good friend was supposed to be? Wouldn't his other 'friends' agree with him right now?

"Have I ever told you the qualities I love most in you? In order: Number one: resolving things, love the ways you resolve things. Particularly disputes. Number one, tied: Button-pushing. Two things I love about you: Button pushing and the ability to resolve things. Chiefly disputes."

'Who are you?' Wheatley winced, trying to uncover this mystery. He could almost see them, he could almost…see her?...she was...portal gun...the long fall boots..."Professor Wheat, you forgot this." She remarked, meekly..ch-?

"I will."

Wheatley shook his faceplate.

"Pardon..uh, what?" He remarked having diverted his attention.

"I know how it feels. Not having said goodbye. I will help you message them again. I promise to the best of my ability." Doug replied putting his friendly hand on top of Wheatley.

"Happy you will stay with me." Doug grinned.

Wheatley smiled back.

"No problem mate! Now we continue sleeping or…?"

Doug stood up.

"I think It's safe enough to travel by the moonlight." He gathered Wheatley in his arms.

"Sounds good mate. Uh, lead the way!" Wheatley beamed, feeling delighted he'd done something right.

Doug nodded carefully, slipping Wheatley into his duffel bag, and started to tread through the Wheat.


He was pondering about the data.

The core had left the domain of the facility, without a doubt.

The central core was completely hysterical about what was going to happen or what was happening for that matter. Relaying her annoying commands over and over again. He wasn't the door mainframe to be caring so much about her issues. The very 'dead' door mainframe that is. [Another job added to his endless priority list. Wish he was the one that was 'dead'.]

He was undoubtedly looking and searching for the core. He needed it as much as the central core did, or maybe even more.

He stared down at the maintenance robots down below. He'd got them busy building a suitable port for the core's arrival to do the 'data transfer'. He sparked a little, feeling a burst of irritation going down his circular form once more. The maintenance bots caught on instantly rushing to alter his settings for temporary relief. It didn't do much but it was something.

He felt a little happy though. Wouldn't it be great if the core's coding actually worked? It was bound to work, he the mighty mainframe had come up with the idea! He'd done all the research, and he did everything around here. So he could do whatever he wanted all day!

The central core owed it to him. He was essentially her boss. She just didn't acknowledge it and nor did everyone else.

He sparked again.

His systems trembled, the lights flickering about in the cold chamber.

If he was being honest, despite all the knowledge and the research. He was curious as to why specifically he was compatible with this one specific core. They had something in common but what? Coding wise they were similar. Which technically was an impossibility, hence why he'd examined several other cores and they just didn't seem to cut it. His systems were also similar to that of the central core, though he didn't think about it much since it was logical that it was this way. He still wondered why he was more similar to her than say a panel? Or a turret?

'You're different.'

The thought ran through his systems.

The scientist had always been hiding something from him. He knew it. He'd seen them delete things in the databases. Employee names and important events. Sadly, being erased he couldn't so much as remember, it was like they'd never existed. However, he was clever and he'd sent some of his maintenance bots to retrieve the hard copies of such files after the disaster had hit the scientist.

It'd taken time, trial, and error before they'd been located.

Once he'd looked over them, things didn't add up.

The documents mentioned that some man of the name Cave Johnson had died about the time the GLaDOS project was reaching a crucial part of development. The mainframe, or himself, hadn't been in service just yet but had been in full development for some time until...the day this man supposedly died. What did this man's death have to do with him? And why were the scientist hiding this from him?

There weren't many records on the days the mainframe had been activated or any clear documentation of why he was tormented with a continuous bug in the system. Why was it unfixable? He had no idea. Yet having years to himself he'd decided to go through with finding a suitable solution and he'd found it. Having now located this compatible core he was going to transfer vital lines of code to himself! It was a genius idea with no flaws.

Mostly.

There was a certain percentage of failure he'd looked into. There were possible malfunctions that could happen during or after the transfer but he was confident enough to go out on a limb and take a risk, science wasn't safe anyways.

He looked back down to the bots working hurriedly.

He needed to find the core and he couldn't do that when the core was outside the facility, could he?

He prepared himself to say something, his audio systems crackled from disuse.

"Tom and Greg." He announced into the chamber.

The maintenance bots all looked up to him in confusion. They weren't accustomed to this verbal communication.

"Tom and Greg please step forward."

Several bots looked at each other frowning and shaking their cores. The majority didn't have names and it often seemed the mainframe mixed and matched their "names" to his desire.

"You two." The mainframe mumbled to two maintenance bots near the outer edge of his ring.

The bots looked at each other, gesturing if he meant them.

"Yes, you two. You're now Tom and Greg." The central core had names for her bots. Why couldn't he?

"You two are to locate and rescue ID Core, otherwise known as Wheatley Please proceed to lift where you will receive further instructions."

Both bots shrugged. The names weren't half bad. They were quick to gesture to their comrades that they were off and entered the lift quickly sending them upwards towards the surface.

All the while, the mainframe's huge static optic watched over the remaining bots. He was doing a headcount. He'd lost many of his squad over the years, a sad reality he thought about often. He needed a solution for this since he'd been predicting what Central core's reaction would be if he took the core without her approval. His data was conclusive. She wouldn't be happy. In the utmost possibility she became hostile, he would need his squad to defend and subdue against the Central core. With the current headcount, it wouldn't be enough.

Well, he was going to do something about that.

Have the odds favor him in his next inevitable confrontation was vital. Science isn't about WHY. It's about WHY NOT.