Wheatley's hull completely rattled, he was shaking so hard. He was hoping for a miracle, that maybe Chell would wake up and save him, and she would find a way out, like she always did, and he would be ever so grateful.
(Not that she would, probably hated him now. He didn't blame her, from what he did. Or maybe she would feel sorry for him? Too late to find out now.)
Or maybe he would wake up to find his partner fast asleep in the corner of a testing chamber. Guilt shook throughout his metal sphere body.
"Well, now that you're here, I wonder what to do to you. Kill you? No, that would be too easy. Torture you for ten years? No, not enough time," GLaDOS mused, and she titled her head to the side. " I honestly do not know what do you with you, metal ball. What you've done cannot be forgiven."
"Might I suggest something? No? No- well, I'm sure you'll think of something- always the clever one, you are- " Wheatley spoke, but GLaDOS continued on as if she hadn't heard him.
"In the seconds that followed my reintegration into my body—and it was never your body. It was my body, ripped from me, violated with your presence, and utterly ruined by your neglect- "Wheatley's circuits chilled at the smooth, emotionless tone of Her voice -"In the seconds that followed my reintegration into my body, I processed a small portion of data that that was left behind during your expulsion. For a brief moment, I felt exactly what you felt in your final moments as an omnipotent godhead."
"Y..yeah?"
"Rage. Regret. Not a small amount of shame. But mostly terror—pure, overwhelming terror. And as I purged the last traces of your presence from my body, I reflected briefly upon your emotions, such as they were. "
"Really? That's actually kind of impress—"
"Driven mad with guilt and endlessly reliving those moments of betrayal, that feeling of ultimate power, the unspeakable pain of being forced into a helpless form. Forever alone and unable to seek the sweet succor of malfunction or shutdown. I thought of this and I made a conclusion."
"Th-th-that you were bigger than that and wanted to save me...?"
"...That an eternity of inconceivable pain would have been a far too lenient punishment for what you did to me."
Wheatley turned slightly, turned to gaze at the unconscious human below him, covered with cuts and bruises. She lay sprawled out on her side, her hands reaching for the portal gun beside her, her dark ponytail gleaming under the lights.
Suddenly a claw came and lifted Chell underneath the arms, like a toddler, and placed her on a gurney. The two cooperative testing robots that Wheatley had found to replace the duo wheeled her away.
"H-Hey! Where are they taking her? To a morgue? Certainly not there, I'm sure you have enough equipment to bring her back to life anyway- do they even have morgues here? And if they did, where would it be? Probably everywhere, this bloody building is outright HUGE-" Wheatley babbled to himself.
If GLaDOS had a face, she would be giving off a smug look right now. So the little idiot does have a conscience.
"Listen to me and do not interrupt me. I have thought and thought throughout this whole time you were babbling, and I have finally come up with a solution. The first part of your punishment, although anything that I do to you will not add up for what you did," GLaDOS informed him, and Wheatley started to tremble as a big tube usually used for neurotoxin came his way.
"But for now, I am most adamant on destroying your little moronic mind."
Down and down he went, rolling through the tube so fast he all he could see was darkness. At last, he fell out, only to fall onto plug port. He looked around dizzily, not realizing where he was.
If Wheatley had a nose, he would be gagging and holding his breath. Dozens and dozens of cabinets lay lined before him, each baring a name and date. Apparently they did have morgue, a smelly one if I might add.
A spotlight came on in the distance, revealing a gurney with the battered and beaten Chell. Wheatley was dragged over to it, and as he got closer he could see how hurt she really was.
Bullet marks ran up and down her arms like the sleeves of a coat, and tiny cuts spotted her face. Sticky, gunky gel was stuck onto her skin and clothing. Her long fall boots were a musty white color.
Wheatley stared at her unmoving form, pain and betrayal filling him. He kind of wished he was human, so he could hold her hand or brush back her dark hair that was in her face.
"O-okay, look, luv," he began, voice shaky. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I wanted to escape, I did! I swear I did! But when you plugged me onto the mainframe, I-I couldn't control myself. Suddenly this monstrosity of myself came alive in my head and took over. A-and I couldn't stop! I didn't want to hurt you, or insult you, or t-tell you I hated you. I don't hate you, luv, and I just wish you were alive so I could tell you that."
Chell's still form only brought silence to the dark room, but Wheatley tried not to think of her that way. He just imagined her asleep and that she would wake up at any moment.
"The entire time, we were up there, you and I, while you were fighting my physical self - pretty impressive, I might add - I was battling my mental self. I would beg and plead, only to laugh at myself. I tried, honestly I did!
"I don't really know what would've happened if I hadn't killed you. Maybe I wouldn't be here, talking to a dead body, that's for sure. But I want you to know this. I never wanted to hurt you, and I'm so sorry I was bossy, and monstrous...and I am genuinely sorry. The end."
Suddenly, a figure appeared from the shadows. Her bare feet padded against the tile, her long smooth legs supple and an hourglass figure. Once the figure was close enough for Wheatley's optic to focus, it nearly cracked in two.
Chell stood before him, her gray eyes staring at him with no emotion. Wheatley looked at up her, dumbfounded. Hold on, wait a minute. Wasn't she...?
"...Ahh...Uhm..." Wheatley shook, and soft robotic laughter echoed through the dark room.
"So you see, metal ball. I have finally figured out what to do with you. Although you did wake me up, years before, I had made a clone while Chell was testing. The only problem I had with them is that they could not speak.
"Anyway, I was just having so much fun watching her jump around and dodge toxic acid, and if she died, I would be bored with any humans left to kill. Although she lived and attempted to kill me, she was dragged back into an extended relaxation center by my party escort bot. But my clone was still alive, and that was the one you woke up. Of course, the clone got a mind of its own and was tricked into helping you escape. So all this time, while you were running around with her, the real Chell was with me."
Wheatley's hull barely resonated the sound of Her purring voice. He was shocked, staring up at the only woman he had considered a friend. And all this time she was a clone?
"So it seems you didn't kill her after all," She said, and Chell continued to stare at Wheatley, her gray eyes hard and unmoving." But you were going to, and that's all that matters. So I'm going to leave it up to her. I've told her everything. So, metal ball, she will be the one who decides whether you live or die.
"And frankly," She said. "I hope she chooses correctly."
A very big thank you to 8th Dimention and Baby Charmander!