Here we are back in the present time! More flashbacks will come in the future, most definitely out of order. Maybe I'll put everything together chronologically at some point, but for now, the chapters are just coming as the inspiration comes, hehe.
Also, major thanks to everyone who's been leaving reviews, particularly the guests I can't respond to! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!
Chapter Six.
"Painted in a better light."
ooo
For the rest of the night, and the day that followed, GLaDOS couldn't take her mind off the idea of making a formal, public apology for the Enrichment Center's past. For Aperture's less-than-ethical protocols.
Before, she wouldn't ever have thought of apologizing. Wouldn't have even regretted anything or seen anything to be sorry about. And perhaps that wasn't entirely her fault - she had been created and programmed in the likeness of the heart and soul of Aperture itself. Her moral compass had hardly been a compass - more like an Aperture logo.
That was different now. The morality in her core, the humanity in her heart had resurfaced and refused to go back down. And she was letting it stay. But this issue... oh, wouldn't it be easier to pretend nothing had ever happened? To never let it slip out to the public? That way, she - and everyone else at Aperture for that matter - could continue moving forward and never have to deal with the inevitable backlash.
Backlash that you deserve, something inside told her. Do you really think you could leave this all behind and never face any consequences?
She was still angry at herself for all the things she had let herself do. People had been hurt. People had died. And she'd let it happen, encouraged it even. For science. That had been her excuse. As if nobody at Aperture had learned anything from the repulsion gel, or the moon rocks, or frankly any of their experiments. GLaDOS cursed at herself mentally. How did she let herself take it this far?
Resting her head on her arms on a table in the corner, facing away from everyone else and tuning out the low chatter of everyone else, GLaDOS sat alone, in relative silence, letting regret sweep across the forefront of her mind and wondering how on earth she was to make it right. Because sure, she could act like it was right. She'd been acting like it was right. But it wasn't.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice. "Ma'am? Apologies for disturbing you, but you seemed upset."
It was Floyd. A short distance away, the rest of the Aperture group was still talking and laughing over drinks and snacks. Between not needing to eat, not wanting to socialize, and having her mind preoccupied since last night, GLaDOS had gradually distanced herself from the group - maybe unintentionally, she didn't know. But she was two tables away and upset with herself while the others were enjoying themselves, and that must have caught Floyd's attention.
"I'm fine," she insisted. "And don't touch me." She gently shoved away the hand Floyd had laid on her shoulder.
"If you continue to overthink complicated topics and remain upset for long periods of time, you'll wear yourself out. You could overheat. Please be careful." He spoke plainly and kept emotion out of his tone as much as he could (sort of like she did) but she could tell his words came from a place of genuine concern. He may not be much more to her than her employee, but he was still looking out for her, and though she'd never say it, that was something to appreciate.
"I'm fine, I'll be fine," she insisted again. "Don't worry about me. Just... go have a nice time with your friends."
"Aperture has spent years worrying about you. For numerous reasons."
That was fair.
"But alright. I'll go. Just remember we're all here for you if you need anything."
"You're the ones who need things," GLaDOS half-joked. Floyd rejoined the other Aperture employees and quickly got into a heated debate about mythology or something. GLaDOS wasn't listening anymore. She'd already reoccupied herself with trying to decide whether she valued honesty more, or Aperture avoiding public backlash more. Though she did keep in mind what Floyd had said, and tried to slow herself down a little.
ooo
Two hours later, a couple of states away
Chell could hardly contain her anticipation. Normally surprises were GLaDOS's thing. But this - this was a double surprise. And Chell couldn't wait to see GLaDOS's reaction.
Thankfully, it wouldn't be much longer now. She'd left her phone on, waiting in the messages app for a text indicating that GLaDOS was close. The moment Chell's phone displayed the words "About 30 min away", she'd nearly tripped scrambling for the door. But she'd caught herself, and soon enough she was on her way to Aperture, where the group returning from the trip was planning to stop first.
Soon enough, Chell pulled into the parking lot and double-checked that she had everything she needed. Phone? Check. Memory of where the paintings are? Check. Vocal cords...? Check! She stuck her phone in her pocket and headed for the door.
Inside the lobby, everything was extraordinarily quiet, the kind of quiet that makes you feel like you have to whisper even though speaking out loud isn't against any rules. Beyond the doors in the back of the room, new inventions were surely being design, created, and tested. Innovations and observations were made here every day. Just because a few people were traveling didn't mean everyone else got to slack off. And, of course -
"Oh, great! You made it!" A familiarly cheerful, accented voice echoed across the room. Chell waved energetically as Wheatley greeted her. "Oh, should - should I go back and turn the cameras on in the chambers? Because, ah, well, while you were on your way, I took the liberty of getting that done early. Everything in hallways and the chambers should be ready as well. Pretty simple, took me hardly any time at all."
Chell gave a thumbs up and smiled. Everything was going as planned. "Go!" she whispered. "They could be here any minute."
As Wheatley left the room to get back to work, Chell took a seat in the lobby and calmly and patiently as she could. As far as anyone else, knew, she was only here to greet GLaDOS upon her return, and then take her home. So she had to pretend, for now, that that was what she was here for. All that was left now was to wait.
Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long. She'd only been there for a few minutes when a familiar group of people appeared at the door and headed in. Chell and GLaDOS each spotted each other immediately; neither had to say a word as Chell shot up and rushed into GLaDOS's arms. "Miss me?" GLaDOS mumbled with a giggle. Chell nodded without letting go of her. "I missed you too, Chell."
Pretty quickly, the rest of the group left the room and headed either home or to another part of the building, leaving Chell and GLaDOS in the lobby by themselves. "Should we get going?" GLaDOS asked quietly. Chell took her hand in response, as though she were going to lead her, but began heading away from the door rather than toward it. "What are you doing? Aren't we going home?"
Chell held up a finger to indicate, wait a second, and tightened her grasp on GLaDOS's hand, enough to be detectable but not enough to seem aggressive, and led a confused but cooperative GLaDOS down several familiar hallways. "Where are we going?" GLaDOS asked again, knowing she wouldn't get a response. "Are you trying to show me something?" Chell nodded without turning back. "Should I be concerned...?" Chell shook her head. Then she stopped in front of an already-open chamber door, letting GLaDOS go ahead of her. GLaDOS looked around, wondering what on earth Chell could want to show her in a long-unused test chamber. She glanced across the room to the opposite wall.
Oh.
Oh.
As she took a tentative step forward, her eyes fell upon the familiar illustrations on the wall, the ones that depicted her being threatening, deceptive, dishonest. Only, when she looked closer, they weren't the murals she'd grown accustomed to. Here, she could see that they'd been changed. Added onto. Where once she'd been painted threatening Chell, now she was offering her a piece of very real cake. Where once she'd been drawn directing turrets to attack, now she was directing them in serenading a test subject with Cara Mia. She remembers the words... And as if that weren't enough, a completely new painting had appeared, showing her dedication to her work and to her girlfriend.
GLaDOS was filled suddenly with an overwhelming sense of love and gratitude and reassurance. A synthesized sniffle pierced the silence, and GLaDOS felt Chell's hands gently on her shoulders. "Chell... you did this for me?" Chell nodded again, and GLaDOS turned around abruptly and hugged her tight. She trembled and held onto Chell like her life depended on it, and as the chamber's silence was punctuated with unsteady synthesized breaths, Chell suddenly became very aware that GLaDOS was crying.
That wasn't something she was used to. She couldn't remember a single time GLaDOS had ever cried, much less in front of someone.
"Thank you, Chell... You have no idea how much this means to me... I love you so much."
As the two continued to cling tight to each other, Chell's heart began to pound. She opened her mouth and quietly said, "I love you too."
GLaDOS froze. She glanced up, her own golden optics meeting Chell's smiling, sparkling eyes. "Wait. Did you - say that?"
Chell beamed. "Surprise."
GLaDOS found in that moment that words were failing her. "I... You... That's my thing..."
Chell giggled. "Decided it was time. I used to not see the point in speaking and not being heard. But I knew you'd listen."
"Of course I would. ...Chell? Thank you. For supporting me." GLaDOS felt a rush of energy to her face as she said the words "thank you".
"I'll always support you. I love you. I know it's hard admitting your past mistakes. I can't imagine how hard it must be when you're constantly being reminded of them. So I thought I'd make it so that you would be constantly reminded that I appreciate you and what you're doing now."
The sense of reassurance and relief GLaDOS felt, knowing that she was doing something good, and that Chell would always be there for her, was indescribable. She felt so happy her metaphorical heart could burst, and yet she couldn't stop crying. She looked up at Chell again, and was met with a quick kiss.
"Let's go home now," Chell said, and this time GLaDOS was the one to nod in agreement.
ooo
I know. It's short. I cannot squeeze any more words out of my brain. This chapter is two-thirds the length of the previous one, and there is nothing more I can do. But length is going to have to stop pretending it matters, because I had an idea a while ago for a little scene that wasn't long enough to fill out a full chapter, and so I'm going to incorporate "mini-episode" style chapters too.
So look forward to that once this chapter's hopefully-sufficiently-written-about emotions wear off.
~melancholy starlight