More than Space

by AlphaKid150

This story takes place in the world of Blue Sky fanfic by WaffleStories. During the fiasco that's happening above ground with Wheatley and GlaDOS, 15 year old Nina, is searching for her older brother. Meeting GlaDOS, she makes a deal with her. She would test in return for his safe return. Months later, she meets Chell and Wheatley, learning the real truth about what happened to him

5. Chapter 5: The Deal

She wasn't struggling when she arrived in the Enrichment center, like before. It pleased her, because both she and her know that it's useless to even move at this point.

Both the CO- operative testing Initiatives took her in by the shoulders, grabbing her tightly. The element of surprise wouldn't work for them again, after the portal gun incident. But that incident actually taught her something about the intruder. She has the smarts, that was for sure. But the skill for actually using the portal gun to evade some of the best (and only) CO- operative testing Initiates was even better. She was considering the fact that maybe the intruder should head on to the advanced testing areas instead of the easy ones.

It was the same thing she did to test subject 001 when she woke her up after killing her.

"What do you want?" asked the girl, still being held by robots, looking at her in what she might classify as a glare. "Are you going to kill me, just like you did to the others?"

She looked at her in return, her yellow eye squinting. Unlike test subject 001, she can talk. Well, at least she has the motives too. She was positive that test subject 001 could do something, at least productive, other than destroying her facility or trying to escape. She just hoped that this human doesn't have the same intentions.

Speaking of intentions, she wanted an answer to her question. She knows, for some reason. To prevent her from having second thoughts about the place, she decided to ignore the question all together. "You're here for testing." she said to the girl, who was looking at her now in a confused way. "You have stolen files on this property, therefore, you must receive a trial for your crimes." She explained. The girl furrows her eyebrows. Another glare.

It looks like the same glare coming from her when she started to fill up the Enrichment center with a deadly neurotoxin a couple years back. The feeling of fear written all over her face, but hidden in determination. "I have my reasons." the girl said back. "That isn't your concern."

Her yellow eye narrows. For talking, this was going to be a problem. For convincing however, there are some solutions. "Normally for people like you," she started out. "Would have died by neurotoxin, or in the incinerator already." She looked at the girl's face now, who was now looking at the ground. She's scaring her. "But, luck has it that instead of dying, you will serve for the Human Testing Unit." There. That should cause some reassurance to her. But from the look on the girls face, it didn't do quite the job she intended to do.

"I'm not working for you." was all she could say. A tiny thing to a giant mind. She is ignoring the fact that she is messing around with forces of immense power. It's going to get her killed one day, that was for sure.

"Perhaps, you need some motivation." she said to her, as her metallic body swerved from one side, which was facing the girl, to the other, facing the monitor. She looked at the monitor, to the surveillance of the core she zapped minutes ago, for interacting with a fugitive. There she was, the girl talking to it, something about looking for Kevin Unknown.

She was looking for him. That was her motive.

Of course, she reflected back on the one time when she manipulated motives. For test subject 001, it was capturing all her beloved ones, and assuring her that their safety is relying on her. In order to keep them safe, she would have needed to continue testing. If it had not been for the moron, that would have lasted at least a couple of years. It would have worked.

She swerved her body around, facing the girl again. But this time, there was no moron to stop her plan. Which means that this time, her plan should work precisely as planned.

0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0

Years ago…

Her shaking legs wasn't helping the situation. Sneaking around in restricted areas was the last thing Nina expected to do in Aperture, but yet again, the company itself gave her no choice.

The Security footage she saw explained that her brother was last spotted in the Personality Spheres Unit. It was only reasonable to explore that place next, and figure out where they took the suspension tube holding her brother.

After the incident from the security rooms, Nina wasn't risking the chance to get caught again. She came prepared. A lab coat, to blend in with the other scientists. Nina wasn't a tall person, but yet again, she wasn't a 7 year old either. She was certain she would blend in with the others. She also had a clipboard with her, of the tasks she figured would help her look productive.

What no one would notice is that on the side of the clipboard, there is a USB device inside. Nina would definitely need to download more files this time. The clipboard can hide the chip so no one can suspect anything about it. Also in her pockets, was the stolen Advanced Access keycard that she took from Mr. Logan, the supervisor of the Gel testing unit. She had tried to make it look like it was her keycard. If noone looked at it too closely, she hoped that they wouldn't see that some parts of the card weren't laminated like they were supposed to. Nina would fix the problem after she finishes her task.

She took a deep breath, and swiped the card to open the metal doors of the Unit. When they opened, she immediately hid the card in her pocket.

Nina walked passed the locker room, into the laboratory. There, she saw someone, sitting on the bench by one of the lab doors, waiting to get in. She was wearing a doctor's gown, and she looked familiar, with chestnut brown hair and short stature. When Nina walked past her, she looked up. It's Ella, another coworker from the Gel testing Unit, and her brother's best friend.

"Ella?" asked Nina. Ella jerked her head back in surprise. "Nina? Is that you? Why are you wearing a lab coat? Are you okay? Where's your brother?" Nina sighed. Leave it to Ella to ask millions of questions on sight of you. "I'm fine." she explains. "What are you doing here?" Ella looked down to her feet. "They told me to go to this awkward promotion. I'm going to help out with the GLaDOS project." she explained. "But why the doctor's gown?"

Nina's heart skipped a beat. "Ella, you need to get out of here." she said, in a low voice. It would be something her brother would have done for her as well, saving her from potential danger. "Something bad's going to happen if you don't, trust me." Ella looked at her in confusion.

"The same thing happened to Kevin. He was missing months ago, after he accepted the promotion." Ella's eyes looked relaxed, but the look of confusion never wavered. "At least I get to work with someone that I do know…" she trailed off. The door to the lab opened up. Nina got up and looked at who came out. A scientist with two nurses came out. "You there!" he said, looking at Nina. "What are you doing here?"

Her feet started shaking again. "I-I work here sir…" she stammered. She didn't know what else to say. The scientist continued looking at her, in a look of suspicion. "Don't worry." said Ella. "She's an old friend. Just having a chat before I start doing my job… which is when exactly?" The scientist stopped glaring at Nina. Nina breathed a sigh of relief. When the scientist and nurses turned around towards Ella, she mouthed, 'Thank you.' to her.

When the scientist and the nurses finished talking to her, they turned around, regarded Nina, and walked back to the lab. "They let me have a chance to say goodbye to you." said Ella. "Don't worry. If I do end up seeing Kevin somewhere, I'll let him know that you were looking for him." Nina nodded. "Thanks Ella. If I find him before you, then I'll let him know you're looking for him." Ella smiled.

Nina watched as Ella walked down to the lab, the door closing behind her. There was a distinct chatter, and then, silence. Silence, except for the constant wiring of the facility. Nina sighed. It was too late. 'I tried, brother.' was all she could think about. 'I tried saving your friend, but I was too late. I'm sorry." There was no hope in knowing if Ella could make it out from that room alive, injured, or dead.

She shook her head. She needs to keep focused. When she was caught by the scientist, she was lucky to have Ella around. But now she isn't here, and now, it's up to Nina to find out what's going on.

She adjusted her lab suit. She lifted up her clipboard and started to jog up to the laboratory that her brother was taken too. It wasn't far from where Ella was taken. Nina just needed to go up the lift at the end of the hallway to the second floor of the unit. Her brother's lab was directly on top of the one Ella went into.

Nina swiped the advanced access card to the scanner, and creaked the white door open. The door only had the grey, Aperture Science Logo imprinted on there, so there were no windows to peek through. When the coast was clear, Nina opened the door, and locked it, so no one else could see she was there, or enter.

The room was big. There were 3 suspension tubes pinned against the wall. There was a cart there, waiting to carry the next tube over to wherever they take the suspension tubes. There was another door, at the other end of the room, facing the tubes. Nina opened the door. The room was big enough to fit one person in there. There were cords hanging on the ceiling of the room, with stickers to keep them in place.

What they did to her brother, Nina didn't know.

She looked around the room. There was a bed there, right in the middle of the room, and next to that is a retractable table - probably to hold all the necessary tools needed for an operation. 'But why operate here?' she thought, brushing her hands on the table before moving on. 'Sure, my brother was injured, but not too badly for this!"

Nina looked behind her, back towards the door where she came in. There were a couple of desks leaned against the wall. On the desk, there was a computer. 'Score!' she thought, as she walked towards it. She swiped the Advanced access keycard into the scanner, unlocking the computer.

Welcome, Logan, to the Aperture Science Personality Spheres Unit. How can A.S.I.C. be of service for you?

ASIC? What was that? But that's when Nina looked at the top of the computer screen. "APERTURE SCIENCE INTELLECTUAL COMPUTER" Sometimes Aperture name brands could get confusing. Nina clicked the search bar and looked up some information.

Now searching… APERTURE SCIENCE SPHERE LOGS…

10 results found

Aperture science Core status

Aperture science: Intelligence Dampening Sphere

Aperture Science: Subject 0.01_Space

Aperture Science: Subject 0.02_Fact

Aperture Science: Subject 0.03_Escort

Aperture Science: Subject 0.04_Rick

Aperture Science: Subject 0.05_Emotion

Aperture Science: Subject 0.06_Culinatary

Aperture Science: Subject 0.07_Curiosity:LIVE

Aperture Science purpose of testing

Nina clicked on the 9th result. 'It's LIVE." she thought. "I can see what they did to my brother from reading the files!" The screen began to load, catching up with the information that is constantly being recorded down.

Subject Name: Ella Macron

Gender: Female

Age:24

Body Status: Alive

Transfer Status: In progress - Phase 4

It's Ella. This is her file. At least, from the information from the file, she is still alive. Nina breathed a sigh of relief. But even with the live file, it still didn't give any answers to her questions. In fact, they added more. What were the scientists doing to Ella? What are they transferring to her? Will she be okay?

Nina shook her head. Now she was acting exactly like her as well, with all these questions filling up her mind like crazy. She continued reading the file.

Core Status: Booting up

Core Health

0% device damage

100% battery charge

No problems detected

Core name: Curiosity_0.07/GLaDOS_protection.07

Transfer status: Receiving…

Nina looked at the core information. 'Why would a core's information be there, and what is it receiving?' she thought. 'And what are they doing to Ella?' Suddenly, a new set of information popped on the screen. Nina looked at the updated information.

Ella Macron

Transfer Status: Sending: Phase 5

Core Status: Booting up… 87%

Receiving transfer was successful.

Nina stared and stared at the screen, her mind screaming at her with endless questions. All she could hope now was that more information would come up soon. What would a core need from a human in order to boot up? She tried remembering the first time that she had seen a core. It was when she went to the Bring your Daughter to work day with her brother.

Her brother allowed her to enter the Special Gel Testing Agility Course for all the other Daughters coming to work with their fathers and mothers. There she was, among 12 other girls her age, holding out the Gel gun. In it, was a purple gel called, "Sticky Gel." The gel can be placed on walls. A person would be able to walk on the walls with that Gel. All she had to do was to go through the agility course while using the sticky gel to maneuver around difficult areas.

Nina remembers that because Aperture Science was busy that day, Scientists assigned a prototype core to assist the young girls with their guns, and to keep them safe. "Hello!" it said. "My name is Solar. I will be your Gel testing coach!" The core's shell was bronze, an obvious note that it's a prototype, and it had a purple optical.

After the introduction, the Core would help the girls with their guns, but when it came up to Nina, who was already set with the gun, fidgeting, she accidentally squirted some sticky gel on it. Luckily, it closed the lids to it's optic before they were covered in purple gel. The core looked at Nina and said "You better be careful, Sugar. You don't want to accidentally hit someone with that!" The way it said those words, Nina could never have thought it was a robot in the first place. It sounded so, so similar to something. It sounded so much like… a human.

Nina shook her head from her memory. There has to be something that made the core sound like a human, hence, even react like one. Slowly but surely, Nina put two and two together. There was something that the core needed, from a human, from Ella, in order to function. That core she saw, was too human to be a core.

It wasn't until some new information flashed onto the screen that broke her train of thought. Nina looked at the screen again.

Ella Macron

Transfer Complete

Body Status: Suspended in Cryo_Chamber

Conscience Transfer: Complete and Successful

Core Status: Awake

Conscience match: 98%

Conscience Received: Successful

Conscience Owner: Macron, Ella

Awaiting for Directive…

Directive: Curiosity Distraction for GLaDOS Unit.

There's her answer.

0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0

Present time

Nina stood still between the two robots, her mind filling up with pros and cons about what the GLaDOS Unit had proposed to her.

"So, let me get this straight…" she started off, carefully looking at the giant robot in the eye. It seemed so intrigued earlier when she did it, so Nina did it again, for the fun of it. "You want me to become your test subject, for some crazy portal rooms, in return for my brother's safety and his core?"

The GLaDOS unit looked at her, still being intimidated by her looks, and nodded, her giant metallic head bobbing up and down. "It's the reassurance that he will be safe and that I don't zap his core after all. So make your choice." Nina looked skeptical about the remark. "Prove it." was all she said.

The GLaDOS Unit looked blank for 5 seconds, and then gestured to the monitor next to her. The robots let go of Nina, and she walked towards the one monitor in the Enrichment Room. She gasped. There he was, among thousands of other people, floating in place in a suspension tube. His face looks like an exact replica of the picture. On the rim of the suspension tube, there is a green light. The life support systems were online. Looks like that maintenance core actually did his job before he was zapped after all.

"He's already safe." Said Nina. She could feel the GLaDOS Unit swerve towards her from behind, but her eyes never left the screen. There he was, after days of searching, finally found. Nina's chest swelled with joy. She finally knows that he is safe, at last. But one thing still concerned her. "What about his core? Can you find it?" she asked.

The GLaDOS unit shook her head. "I am tracking down his location at the moment. Your acceptance to the deal would secure my actions in locating him." she answered boredly. Nina looked back at the screen. Where was his core? With the amount of power the GLaDOS Unit has, she should be able to locate him in no time. "You are going to take good care of his body, right?" she asked.

The GLaDOS unit nodded, her big metal head moving up and down again. "I control the whole facility, therefore, I can also control his life support system. Now, do we have a deal?" Nina looked up from the screen, facing the wall a couple feet away. Thoughts were screaming into her head. The words, 'Don't trust her' screamed at her, the pictures from the haunted locker room that terrified her coming to her mind.

Her thoughts screamed louder to her, as she began to turn around.

'Don't trust her. Don't do it.'

Nina eyed the GLaDOS Unit, her face turned to a glare, its yellow eye unblinking.

'Don't do it. She's murderous.'

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She clenched and unclenched her fists. This is for her brother. She will bring him back, one way or another.

'She killed your people. You can't trust her.'

Nina pushed those thoughts behind her. There was no other option. She can't spend months in this facility looking for her brother knowing that this murderous robot isn't going to give her a second chance at living if she got on her bad side. 'This is the quickest way to get to him.' she thought.

The image of the locker room's walls returned to her again. 'DON'T TRUST HER. SHE KILLED APERTURE'S SCIENTISTS. SHE'S MURDEROUS. DON'T DO IT.' But her brother said that he can fix her. Only he can. Nina didn't see any bad outcomes from the decision. Yes, it is going to be risky. Too risky.

But it's going to be worth it.

Nina opened her eyes and looked at the GLaDOS unit once more. It was looking at her in an intrigued way. It has been waiting for an answer for a couple of minutes now. Nina looked at it, not in a glare, but in a full on determined look.

"I accepted the deal, GLaDOS."

That did it. She watched as it's big metal body swerved from one way to the other, gesturing to the two robots that took her here. She returned to look at the screen, to where her brother was being suspended. Nina's feet began to shake, which was something she didn't realize she did when she was afraid.

"Test subject: 0.04 has been added to the Aperture Science Initiative Test Subject Log"

She looked at GLaDOS, who was staring blankly at the wall. What she was doing confused Nina. What was she doing underneath that metal head of hers? What was thinking? Nina then thought about why her feet were still shaking. 'I don't know what this 'testing' thing is. What if it isn't as good and safe as it sounds? Did I make the right choice?'

A small tap on her shoulder awoke Nina from her trance. She looked at who tapped her, and nearly jumped back. There was the robot with the orange optic, handing her a portal gun, and some better looking boots that looked similar to hers. "You are already in an Aperture Science Testing Initiative Suit. You are just missing some of the vital gear to begin your testing."

'Yes, you did. This is to help it, and your brother. Most of all, you get your freedom back.' a voice inside told her. Her conscience. She reached for the gun.

The robot then handed her the boots. Nina looked between her boots, and the newer ones. These boots were the last thing her brother gave to her. If she was to be a test subject to a homicidal robot, then she wanted to do it as part of him with her as well. She looked at the robot, who was looking at her with confusion.

"I can see that for some undefined reason, you aren't picking up the Aperture Science Long-Fall Boots. Might I have to remind you that those ones that you are wearing would break easily, causing you to plummet to your death?" asked GLaDOS. Nina looked at the boots. There wasn't a major difference between both boots. They were both white, and from what Nina could see, they both have the same mechanism used to prevent fall damage.

The only couple of differences from the two boots was that her boots looked older, and that there were more dents on her boots than the other pair. There were also orange and blue stripes on the sides, sort of like decoration, unlike the ones GLaDOS is giving her.

"I'm going to have to remind you that I'm trusting you, a murderous robot, for the care of my brother's body. I'll take the gun, but the boots will go. I see no difference." explained Nina. She handed the boots back to the robot, who nodded, and left. GLaDOS shook her head. "Well, you dying would not be part of our deal. I might not take care of him if you do, so I'm going to have to remind you in several stages of your testing unit not to do something stupid."

Nina ignored the robot, adjusting the portal gun in her hand. Unlike the portal gun that she stole earlier from the robot with the blue optic, this one fit her snugly. She then tightened the laces on her boots, making sure that they didn't break, and to prove GLaDOS at least something beyond her intelligence.

"So where do I need to go for this so-called, 'Testing?'" she asked in annoyance. It was annoying enough, that she accepted some terms with an unknown factor for her side. It's better to get it over with now than never. The GLaDOS robot looked at the two other robots. "Orange? Blue?" With that, both robots gestured to Nina, pointing to a lift that appeared in the distance.

She carefully walked over to the lift. "Your testing unit would start at the point when the lift stops at the designated floor." Explains the GLaDOS Unit. "Wait." said Nina, standing before the lift. "What is the test?" But the robot with the blue optic, or "Blue," as the GLaDOS unit called it, pushed her into the lift.

The glass doors swerved into place. Nina's legs shook again. The last thing that she saw in the Enrichment Room was the yellow light from its optical, unblinking, as the GLaDOS unit said her final words to her: "You'll soon find out."

With that, the lift began to sink into the darkness, and so did Nina's hopes and thoughts. This was not going well for her. She tried to keep her feet from shaking, but it was no use. There was no way that false hope could help her. 'All I have to do is to follow her orders. Then she can finally help me on her end of the bargain to save my brother.' she thought.

As quickly as it started to go down, the lift stopped. Nina watched as the glass door of the lift reopened, into a testing chamber. There was a sign right as she walked in.

"Test Chamber 1/19

Warning, there are toxic substances in the area

Please refrain from exposing yourself to these chemicals."

There was also a sign indicating that Nina had to press a button, and another one, indicating the warning of the toxic chemicals. Nina walked into the chamber. Right in the middle of the chamber, there is a giant pool of something that Nina wouldn't want to think about what was in it. On the other side of the pool of toxins, she saw that there was a red button on a pedestal. She readied her portal gun in her hands, a tense feeling erupting inside her.

She took a deep breath, and fired.

0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0

5 years ago...

Location: Space

Space, was big. It was bigger than he ever imagined. Space was big, and beautiful.

And he was very, very far away from earth.

Overall, his health was pretty much okay. He didn't receive that much damage from being immediately flung off to space from the Enrichment room, but his buddy next to him could have had better days. One thing was certain, his optic was cracked. He couldn't imagine how it must have been like for him, seeing with a split vision like that, for who knows how long.

But ooh, look at the stars. There were so many things to see.

"Space. So much space. Need to see it all."

How long has it been since he was electrocuted? It was too many days to count. And yet, with that shock, it still managed to corrupt him. He couldn't say much, just the little bit and pieces of his dreams. Also, once in a while, he would always have amazing thoughts about space, rambing into his mind like hurricanes, interrupting any thoughts he already had.

"I wish I could just tell her that I'm sorry." said a voice from behind him.

For that past time period (a couple of weeks) from when both cores were launched off to space, his buddy would never stop rambling about how sorry he was for that one particular woman. She was the one that had launched both cores up in space, with the intentions of just launching his friend out. Fate had it that he also joined along with him to their journey of space. But he didn't mind at all.

"I love space."

"I know you do mate. I know you do…" The sound from his voice was saddened a bit, maybe the fact that the core was missing earth. Earth. Earth. You could see the stars from there, as he could remember. Earth. Earth was home.

Maybe his friend misses earth too.

"Earth. Earth. I wanna go to earth. Too much space." He looked at his friend, his yellow optic gleaming in the vast expanse of darkness of space. He watched, as his friend's optic attempted to widen as much as possible, with the amount of damage it took. "You actually want to go home, down to earth? Well I'm sorry mate, we can't. We're stuck in bloody space, for who knows how long!"

Nope, talking wouldn't help his friend at all. It's better to return to looking at the stars. "Stars." he said. His friend groaned, loudly. " I just need a proper conversation! One I talk, 'oh hey, I'm Wheatley!' and you respond back like, 'hey I'm'... you don't suppose you have a name, do you?" He was looking at him now, his cracked blue optical, in a curious manner. "Space." he said back.

He supposed he never thought of it before, how his friend - Wheatley - would have a name and he doesn't. But if he didn't have a name, well, space is always a good option as well. "Space." he said again. He was met with sighs. "You don't have one do you? Um, well, let's see… There's always a good name somewhere." He watched the blue core, thinking very muchly of a good name for him.

Think. That was something else his mind was incapable of doing for a long time. Sure, he can think, but just the thoughts of space, even a single tiny thought, would throw his train of thought off its tracks. As much as he wanted to think, it's hard to do that when the literal thing is all around him.

"Oh! I've got it!" said Wheatley. "Your name is… Kevin!" He looked at him, his blue optic looking delighted.

He thought about it for a moment. Kevin. Has a nice ring to it. It seems almost… fitting, in ways that even he himself can't explain. But one thing was certain. He needed to show gratitude for Wheatley, for giving him his name, so he readied himself up to say something. Instead, he saw something move in the distance. He moved himself over to see what it was. A shooting star. A nice one, flying through a vast expanse of space. Space.

"SPAAAAAACCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEE!" he screamed to the top of what his vocal processor could muster. He turned back to Wheatley, but found him cringing at the shout. There is no air for any sound to travel through, but it seems that Aperture Products have things that cope with the situation. "Space." he said quietly, trying to sound apologetically.

"Kevin it is!" said Wheatley, trying to change the subject before he shouts again. "It seems fitting for you for some reason. But it's a good name, actually. So, we try again? You know, on this whole, introducing thing."

Kevin looked at Wheatley. The fact that despite the damage he endured, he still managed to stay intact. Not a single trace of core corruption. Yet again, that day when he took over the facility, he looked corrupt enough. "So…" Said Wheatley. "I'll take that as okay then. Hey! My name is Wheatley. I'm sorry for dragging you with me on this situation." He paused now, awaiting a response.

Kevin wanted to say something, anything, to let him know that he was aware, was aware of his conversations. He readied himself again. But something was emerging from the side of his optical. They were orbiting towards the direction of… the moon. "Moon." he said.

Wheatley sighed. "Yes, Moon. Very mature enough to say the least. Well, at least it was something. Better than nothing I suppose." He looked at the space core now, hopelessly. Kevin looked at Wheatley, and an eager look on his face. The moon was slowly getting bigger.

It has been a long time since he saw the moon. To be honest, Kevin had only seen it up close one time, when he was ejected to space. But now, it's back, and he was able to enjoy its sights once more.

"Moon. Moon." He said. Wheatley looked behind him. He too, looked at the moon. He said nothing after that. Kevin assumed that he was also awed by the beauty of the moon.

The feeling that Kevin felt when he shared this special moment with his friend Wheatley, sparked a light inside him, which reminded him of something. It was a very faint feeling, but somewhat, it reminded him that he has done this before. Somewhere else, with someone else. Suddenly, another shooting star passed by. Stars. But they too, now started to remind him of something.

For some reason, space seemed different somehow. He was looking at it in a different perspective. This means something, but what? What if space was trying to tell him something? Those feelings were familiar. It feels different, irregular, but also, very suspiciously familiar.

He looked at his left, facing yet again another set of stars. The feeling just swelled. Why does space feel this way now? He was on the verge of something, of a great think that he hadn't thought about in years.

This is something more than space.

Something whizzed past his field of vision. Yet again, another shooting star. Kevin couldn't help it. He lost his train of thought again. He watched it, as it slowly began to disappear, it's glow never wavering.

Just like his old memories.