Part Seventy-One. The Accident
"Dad! What're you doing here?"
Carrie and Alyx were both on the small bit of flat ground before the main entrance, where there were a few scattered weapons leaning against a table and small bags that possibly held ammunition or medicine. Carrie herself was sitting on the table. No wonder GLaDOS hadn't been able to find her; with the GPS down and no physical signal from Carrie, there was no way of knowing where she'd gone!
"Your mum sent me to get you," Wheatley said angrily, "and it seems she had good reason. What're you doing here, Carrie? You had express instructions to stay away from here!"
"Dad, it's not my fault!" Caroline protested, shaking her core and moving backward as best she could.
"She's right," Alyx said, holding up her hand and stopping Wheatley in his tracks. "I moved her. She wasn't safe. I've kept an eye on her."
"Why aren't you out there?" Wheatley asked, gesturing at the remains of the battlefield in front of them. The invaders had, for the most part, been forced to stay out of the facility, though Wheatley could hear gunfire and the distinct sound of the High Energy Pellets. It seemed the androids had done their job, and done it well. Even as he looked, an android fired pulse cannons at an advancing Strider until it collapsed into a smoking heap in the dust. "You're not able to fix the androids now so, so shouldn't you be, uh, be finishing things up?" He knew he was being a prat, getting angry with Alyx, but he'd been frightened about Carrie and knowing she was right next to the battlefield wasn't helping.
"I was, but Chell and Gordon are taking care of the rest of them," Alyx answered. "Chell asked me to get back here and make sure Caroline was all right."
"Are there many more of them out there?" Wheatley asked, nodding in understanding and doing his best to calm down. "I think uh, I think the cam'ras may still be blinded."
"Not too many," Alyx answered, laying a hand on the table next to Caroline and looking up through the ruined panels. "We don't know how many, exactly, but enough that the members of the Resistance who are out there, combined with Chell and Gordon, can take them out without too much trouble. We're not gonna lose anyone else."
Wheatley had a bad feeling as soon as he heard her say that.
Abruptly, the facility went completely dark, with Wheatley's internal system alerting him to the fact that he was now on battery power, and he looked around as best he could, since the control arm was no longer working. "What the –" Alyx gasped, Wheatley's slightly better low-light vision able to pick out the confusion on her face. "It's… not an EMP, is it?"
"No," Wheatley said, "Carrie and I are still, we're on. It's… something's happened. Something's happened to her." He tried to go back, to return to her chamber, but he couldn't move. He was frozen. Trapped.
"Oh my God," Caroline said in a panic, and Wheatley turned to face her. She was struggling to… well, he wasn't quite sure, but she was struggling. "It's Momma? Dad, you have to do something!"
"I can't, princess, I… I'm stuck here, just as you are." He tried to stay calm. He couldn't panic. Carrie needed him to be the adult in the situation. "Stay still, alright? You're only going to feel worse if you, if you tip yourself over. I'm sure she's fine. Rearranging things, or something, that's –"
"What's that?" Alyx asked in a faint voice, and Wheatley followed the dim outline of her arm and outstretched finger to see the lights in the facility returning to life, spreading outward from the centre. There was only the one hallway left ahead of them due to the holes on either side of Alyx's maintenance room, but far off in the distance Wheatley could see the increasing glow as the power travelled through the facility. As the lights continued to come back on, Wheatley realised the panels were also being blown off their racks and sparks were spraying in haphazard arcs as wires came writhing out of the ceiling. And Wheatley realised this destruction was heading right toward them.
"Alyx… I suggest you uh, you cover yourself best you can," he stammered, trying to get out of the way even though he knew it was fruitless. "The power's coming back, but… violently. Uh… just… get down."
Alyx crawled under the table, holding Caroline tightly in her arms, and Wheatley tried desperately to ping GLaDOS, but it seemed as though even the wireless had been affected. He could do nothing but stare as the power surged closer and closer, and as it did so he could see it was even worse than he'd seen from afar. Gladys! he thought desperately, hoping he could get through to her in the split second before his own panel blew out of the ceiling. Gladys! He couldn't bear to watch anymore and turned away, shuttering his optic so tightly the mechanism groaned in protest. He clenched his chassis and waited for the surge to hit.
It was like being sucked out into space all over again.
Wheatley was thrown violently off the rail and sent crashing to the floor below, except that the floor was also exploding and only pitched him farther. He closed his optic as tightly as he could, not wanting to see himself rolling and moving headlong on what was left of the panels and onto the outside of the facility, but as the power surge passed he was left staring at one of the table legs in horror, optic fixed blindly at the shadowed floor, his response from GLaDOS ringing inside of his head. Her voice was desperate, powerless, and full of pain, and Wheatley was left wanting to scream it out himself for no particular reason. It was so strong and so loud it was all he could think and all he really knew for a good ten seconds.
NO!
"Dad! Dad!"
Wheatley blinked. He looked around a little, but wasn't really able to see anything. He was lying sideways on the floor. It seemed he'd shut down for a second. He was disoriented from more than the power surge as well; his mind was still mostly frozen, save for the panic that'd come through to him from GLaDOS in that one second.
"I… I'm fine, princess," he called out, hoping his voice was as strong as he thought it was. "Just a bit banged up."
"Do you know what happened?" Sounded like she was getting closer. So Alyx must be searching for him. Where had they gone? He was next to the table they'd crawled under, wasn't he?
"No. Just that… that your mum didn't like it."
"Sounds like a dramatic understatement," Alyx said wryly, and Wheatley felt himself abruptly being yanked up off the floor by way of his upper handle. She set the both of them down on a relatively stable piece of floor, back from the dirt ramp, and sat down herself, pulling Caroline into her lap and leaning against one of the panel frames. The facility entrance was now choked with shattered panels and flashing wires.
"You've got to talk to her, Dad!" Caroline cried, settling herself farther into Alyx's stomach. Wheatley would have preferred to hold her himself, but he forced himself to clamp down on his irritation. He wasn't really in a position to do that right now. "Is she okay? Is she hurt?"
"Gimme a mo," he told her, closing his shutters and trying to be as calm as possible. Luv? Is ev'rything alright?
Everything's gone horribly wrong, she answered despondently. I can't find anyone. The cameras have been cleared, but I can't find anyone. I can't find you, or Caroline, or Atlas and P-body, and… and…
What is it?
I… I think Chell is dead.
Wheatley hastily shielded the connection before he accidentally sent her what he was thinking. Not good thoughts, that was for sure. Listen, he told her, as calmly as he could, she'll be fine. No matter what's happened, uh, what's happened to her, if you can get to her in time, she'll be fine.
I don't have any time! GLaDOS cried out, and he winced. I can't get anywhere!
She's with Gordon, Wheatley told her, trying to be reassuring. He'll bring her back. Don't worry. I'm with Carrie, alright? I'll send Alyx to find Gordon. But you're going to have to put this hallway back together, luv.
She emulated a hopeless sort of exhale, but he could faintly hear the rumblings of a facility in motion. "Alyx," he said aloud, "you need to find Chell and Gordon and bring them back here. Gladys thinks Chell might be hurt."
"Gotcha," Alyx nodded, setting Caroline aside. "I'll find them. Everything's going to work out." And she leapt over the rubble ahead of her and disappeared.
"Is she okay?" Caroline whispered, looking at him worriedly, and he just looked at her.
"I'm trying to calm her down."
Wheatley, I'm sorry, GLaDOS said quietly. Everything was fine. And then… I…
Talk to me. He tried to keep his voice gentle. Let it out.
I saw that… there was a Hunter, and… I suppose it wasn't wholly disabled. She tried to fight it off, but she wasn't… God, Wheatley, she was so brave…
And then what.
I lost control, she told him despondently, and the lights flickered. I knocked everything offline, and… I can't concentrate enough to fix it.
You need to rebuild this hallway, sweetheart.
No, she told him. I can't. Tell me when Alyx gets back, and I'll just open a portal there.
It's going to be alright. He tried to send the same message to Caroline with only his optic. You can fix this, and we can move on. We won the war, luv, and it was all because of you.
We haven't won the war until all of you are back here in one piece. If even one of you doesn't make it, I have lost. She made a bit of a whimpering noise. God, Wheatley, I wish you were here right now. I… need you here. You were right. I shouldn't have sent you away.
I'll be there soon, luv, he told her, closing his optic against the sadness rising up inside him. Alyx will bring us through the portal with her. Carrie and I are fine, and Alyx'll be back soon.
But what if I can't save her?
You can. Ev'rything that happens to us is against the, 'gainst the odds, right? So, so even if she's really damaged, you'll be able to fix it.
"Dad?"
Wheatley opened his optic and turned to face her as best he could. "Working on it."
"What happened to Chell?"
"She got attacked. She might be dead."
"Oh no," Caroline gasped, her handles and shutters opening fully. "But Momma can fix her."
"She's… having doubts."
Centralcore, the panels piped up suddenly, if you like we can begin reconstruction, as well as open the portal. We have the capacity to do so.
Yes, GLaDOS said, relief very strong in her voice. I apologise for… what happened.
It is all right, they answered, managing to sound cheerful. Do not worry. We will send Bluecore and Littlecore to you as well.
"Thank you," Wheatley told them in a hushed voice, feeling the port connector on his chassis spark and link with the control arm.
It is our pleasure, Bluecore, the panels answered, setting up the portal as they'd promised. Do us a favour, if you will?
'course.
Help her. She needs you.
I will, he told them firmly, and he headed through the portal. It left a bit of a fizzly, tingling feeling across his chassis, but it soon passed, and he moved across her chamber as quickly as he was able. "Gladys!" he called out, and her core snapped upwards.
"You're damaged," she said, her voice soft and anxious. "And it was my fault."
He shook his head and levelled himself with her. "Don't," he told her. "It's fine. I'm operating fine. Just try to calm down, alright? You've only got a little ways left to go, and then ev'rything'll be alright."
She moved to press her core into his, but just then Caroline cried out, "Momma!" and she jerked away.
"Caroline," GLaDOS said, moving forward. "You're not hurt?"
She shook her core vigorously. "I'm fine, Momma! Are you okay? The facility, it just… it blew up!"
"I'm fine," GLaDOS answered, looking away. "Just… waiting."
The Freeman approaches with The Chell, Centralcore.
Thank you.
Within a few seconds, Gordon stepped through the portal with Chell clasped in his arms, and GLaDOS jerked back apprehensively. "Oh my God," she breathed. He knelt, carefully placing Chell in front of her, and she followed Chell's body down to the floor.
Wheatley winced as he looked down at Chell's body. He couldn't quite see what the damage was, but there was a lot of blood, particularly on her left side. She was drenched in liquid of some sort, her hair plastered in sticky tendrils to her face, and her mouth was slightly open. She looked as though she were asleep.
"She told me you made miracles," said Gordon.
"I… make Science," GLaDOS said, sounding taken aback, tilting her core upwards to regard him.
"That's what she said. Miracles."
GLaDOS slowly looked back down at Chell.
"A miracle it is."
Gordon nodded and stepped backward, and GLaDOS made a sound akin to that of someone exhaling. Then she bent as low over Chell as possible and got to work.
Wheatley had no idea what she was doing, but that was partially because he couldn't watch. He hadn't realised humans were so much messier on the inside. There was loads more blood coming out of Chell, and it honestly was making him feel horribly uncomfortable. He stayed silent, looking at the floor and sticking close to GLaDOS. He wished there was something he could do. GLaDOS already had so much to deal with, and now she had to put her possibly dead best friend back together. She'd had to watch the attack, and be unable to do anything about it, and now she had to fix something she'd been unable to prevent…
Suddenly, he realised there was something he could do. It wasn't much, and might amount to nothing at all, but maybe… maybe it would do something.
So Wheatley prayed.
He prayed that Chell would live, and that GLaDOS would be able to repair her so that it would be as if there had been no wound at all. He prayed that Atlas and P-body were okay, so that GLaDOS didn't have to worry about them. He prayed that all of this was finally over, so they could finish up with all the horrible, horrible things that'd been happening, and he could go back to his wonderful, perfect life with his Gladys and his beautiful little daughter who was so like her mother. He prayed that Chell and GLaDOS would have that chance to trade those mom stories, and that maybe they'd let him sit in so he'd get to hear them too. And he prayed that, between his belief in the God of AI and her belief in Science, a miracle would happen and Chell would be saved.
"Well," GLaDOS said finally, moving back, "I've done what I can. There was… a lot of damage to her internal organs, and one or more of them may require complete replacement, but… that will have to wait. I can't be sure with this little observation."
"She'll be okay," Wheatley whispered, and she turned to look at him. But she said nothing.
Gordon sat below GLaDOS and took Chell's limp hand in his left, his face very serious. GLaDOS and Gordon both watched her apprehensively, though GLaDOS was decidedly more demonstrative of it. To Wheatley, at least. He wasn't sure if Gordon could hear that her brain was operating at higher capacity, with the fans doing the same. Wheatley knew she wanted to press her core into his for reassurance, but refused to do so in front of the humans that had accumulated in the room. He honestly wanted to throw caution to the wind and do it anyway. He didn't want to upset her any more, though.
After a long time, Chell stirred, and Gordon smiled faintly, brushing some of the hair out of her face. Chell's eyes opened slowly, and she blinked up at GLaDOS, who said breathlessly, "Thank God…"
"… I'm alright?" Chell said softly, and GLaDOS lunged at her, pressing her optic assembly into Chell's unaffected side, and she laughed and wrapped her arms around GLaDOS's core. "I thought I was dead!"
"You were dead," GLaDOS told her, not sounding relieved in the least. "You made me save your insignificant life again, you thoughtless little lunatic. How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not allowing you to be a martyr!"
"Never again, I promise," Chell answered, wincing and letting go. "I didn't know being a martyr was going to hurt so much."
"I had to rebuild your internals. And if you undergo total organ failure, that's your fault, not mine."
Chell looked as though she were about to answer when her eyes landed on Gordon, who immediately leaned forward and gathered her into a hug. "I worry you there, Gordon?"
He shook his head, but the tilt of his eyebrows told a different story, and he held her for a long time before letting her go. Chell didn't lie back down, though she did keep one hand clenched around the wound in her side. "Everyone else made it out, though?"
"Everyone's fine," said Alyx, stepping forward. "Few of 'em are making sure we got them all, but other than that… this is finally over." She folded her arms, looking pensively at the ground. "Chell… great job out there."
"Same to you," Chell nodded, but Alyx shook her head.
"You took out a hunter with almost your bare hands. I was in that position once, and… well. People will be telling your story for years."
Chell nodded and looked down at the floor. "Thanks, I guess."
Without warning, Atlas and P-body tumbled into the room, and GLaDOS jumped back, lifting her core to look at them. "And where have you two been?" she asked, in a not quite stern voice, but they didn't answer, only threw themselves at her core and wrapped her in a hug, which she fought. "What do you think this is, Free Hugs Day?" she demanded. "Get off me."
They did so, relaying some message to her in their language, and she listened with some measure of attention. "Two of them? Surveillance didn't –"
P-body interrupted, shaking her head quickly, and GLaDOS's optic flickered. "Really."
Atlas put up a hand in a stopping motion, telling her something else, and GLaDOS shifted uneasily. "Well, that's not… entirely untrue."
The two bots laughed, causing GLaDOS to do the same, and then she shook her core. "All right. You win. Come here."
They moved forward to meet each other, and Wheatley could see that GLaDOS had turned her optic off, though out of relief that they were all right or so that she could pretend the humans weren't there, he didn't know. "I was so worried," she said quietly, and they made reassuring noises and held on tighter. "I couldn't find you anywhere… don't you ever do that to me again."
The bots stepped back, P-body running her hand down GLaDOS's core gently, and she regarded them both in turn. "You've made me very proud. Both of you. Now get out of here, before I spoil you any more."
Atlas turned to leave, but apparently P-body wasn't going anywhere without one last hug, only letting go when Atlas said something to her impatiently and tugged at her arm. She allowed him to drag her out of the room, though they both stopped to wave at GLaDOS as they left.
"What was it, luv?" Wheatley asked.
"They had to split up," GLaDOS answered, as though she wasn't really paying attention. "They turned off their tracking beacons and told Surveillance not to tell me there were two EMP generators, because they knew I'd… overreact."
GLaDOS said little after that, not really seeming to pay attention to what the humans were saying, and Wheatley as a result did much the same. Chell told Gordon to do what he was needed to do, because she wanted to stay and talk to GLaDOS, and he nodded and went on his way. Wheatley told Caroline to go find Dog, which she did without comment. She'd been staring worriedly at GLaDOS for quite a while -now, with GLaDOS not seeming to notice, and he decided distraction would do her good.
"It's over, GLaDOS," Chell said quietly, turning to face her. "We won. And nobody died."
"It's not over yet, Chell," GLaDOS told her, still staring in the same direction. "I have a lot of cleanup to do. And then I have to assist in the restoration. And then I have to secure Aperture's future. I don't… know how I'm going to get through it."
"You always do." Chell was frowning now, leaning on her right hand and looking like she wanted to touch GLaDOS with the other. "Why are you so unsure now?"
"It all feels like it has to be done right now. And I'm… exhausted."
"You need to sleep?" Chell asked, eyebrows creasing.
"No. Yes. Well. I need to stop altogether. But I can't. You see my problem."
"Luv, the panels can uh, they can rebuild on their own," Wheatley piped up quietly. "They've already begun, remember? You can relax for a bit. Get a bit of a rest. Until tomorrow, at least. Lie down. There you go."
"But… I have to…" Even as she tried to think of an argument, she did as she was asked.
"You have to rest," Wheatley said firmly. "Don't think I don't know you uh, you've not been sleeping right. 'cause I do. Rest, luv. Ev'rything can wait. Can't uh, can't do your best if um, if you can't think."
Chell shifted, wincing, so that GLaDOS would not be hanging directly over her anymore, and after a few more seconds her chassis relaxed and the glow her optic made against the floor faded. "Wheatley."
"What."
"You said I won the war."
"You did." Why in the name of Science was she bringing this up now?
"Without you, I never would have fought it in the first place. Therefore… you won the war."
Both Wheatley and Chell merely watched her for a long time.
"She hasn't been sleeping right?" Chell's voice in the stillness made Wheatley jump.
"Well… she was… a bit paranoid, you could say, that uh, that she'd miss something and uh, and it'd lose the war." Wheatley wasn't sure if he should be relating GLaDOS's private business, but Chell was her best friend… "She… she worked very hard."
Chell drew her fingertips down GLaDOS's core. "She's changed a lot."
"And not at all," Wheatley said quietly. "She was always like this. But the scientists pressured it out of her. She's just recently got it back."
"Do you know what her plan for Aperture is?"
He shook his head. "She hasn't revealed it quite yet."
"Will she let me stay?"
"Probably. If you want to." He shrugged. "Can't say so much for Gordon or the boys."
"The boys might be a hard sell," she agreed. "Anyway. I should probably get some rest myself. Help along whatever she did."
"I'll leave you to it, then," he nodded, retrieving a blanket from one of the Extended Relaxation Vaults and dropping it next to her. She grinned.
"You're certainly more thoughtful."
"I have to take care of her," he told her quietly, "because she forgets to take care of herself."
Chell's face grew solemn. "It's a good thing you're here, then."
After she closed her eyes, Wheatley was finally able to press himself into GLaDOS's core, and he hoped she knew he was doing it. He regretted not just doing it against her will when all the humans'd been there. Sure, he would've practically been blowing their relationship wide open, but what did that matter, when she needed him? Wheatley hoped the war really was over. Not only did he want his old life back, but he wanted to see this pressure removed from GLaDOS. The humans had asked for so much out of her, and she'd volunteered so much more, and they'd not so much as thanked her.
He hoped she felt better soon.
Guest reviews
Guest: I'm sorry to tell you you haven't even gotten to the sad part yet.
Wolfpaw77: Sorry to hear that! I have chapters lined up but I dunno how fast to upload them, I don't want to discourage slower readers.
Author's note
With this chapter comes, for me, a milestone I've wanted to hit for a few years now: one million published words. This is an unofficial milestone, because author's notes are included in this total, but even if I take 40 or 50K of those words and attribute them to author's notes, I know I have that many words of LaaC left to put up. Thank you to everyone who helped me reach my goal. Which isn't anyone in particular. Just you guys in general.
Free Hugs Day is one of my favourite jokes.