Hey guys, and welcome to the second chapter! Sorry it took a while!

Also, this one's a little weird, just a warning.

~Lagiacrus

Caroline II found it hard to tell what was running through the supercomputer's head as she transferred into her android body and stormed down the corridor, leaving the test subject to helplessly give chase. GLaDOS ignored anything and everything around her, gaze focused entirely on her goal – the exit to the surface.

"GLaDOS, what are you doing!?" Caroline II called after her, barely piercing the determined fog that had formed around the android's CPU. Looking to answer the Imbecile's no doubt foolish question, GLaDOS peered into her Data Log and found her newest and current task – 'Find the Borealis'.

"I'm going to find the Borealis." She repeated.

"Like hell you are!" Caroline II's vicious voice was the last thing GLaDOS heard before she was seeing static at the corners of her vision and was brought to the floor by a heavy weight upon her back. Caroline had just jumped onto her from behind, wrapping her arms tightly around the android's neck and flooring her. It might seem a bit extreme to us, but to them it was normal – an action that only they understood. It was basically Caroline telling GLaDOS to slow the fuck down.

"You actually caught me by surprise that time." GLaDOS huffed impatiently, to which Caroline grinned.

"And I brought you down. There's a first time for everything, I guess."

"But you forgot about one simple thing."

Seconds later Caroline was soaring through the air, her face the picture of shock. GLaDOS had grabbed hold of her arms and thrown her right over her head. She went flying down the hallway like a dart, before she managed to make slight contact with the ground and stopped herself from colliding with the wall. However, the impact had still left her in a lot of pain. When she finally was able to concentrate enough, she saw GLaDOS stepping past her, continuing on her way.

"GLaDOS, wait! Hear me out!" Ignoring the agony, Caroline leapt after the android, grabbing hold of her wrist.

"What?" She snapped in reply.

"It's not like you to rush into something without thinking about the consequences." The human pointed out.

This made the android stop. She turned to face the cocky human, eyes narrowed.

"I have thought about it."

"Not enough, clearly. There's so many things to consider – for one thing, it could be a trap. The Borealis might not even be out there." Her words were hectic, desperate.

"If that is the case and our killer does try to murder me, then I'll simply transfer back into my chassis like nothing happened." The computer blandly responded with.

"There's no way you'll be able to keep a connection going all the way out there, GLaDOS. Besides, do you even know how you're gonna get transport?"

"Hm?"

"There's that thing you showed me… the sea, right? The ocean? Isn't that in the way?"

The supercomputer felt the urge to turn away and punch herself in the face. Yes, the Imbecile had made a point – the ocean was in the way of her passage to Antarctica. However, she could improvise. Once she made it to the shore, there had to be something she could use to cross the ocean. It wouldn't take her long to think of it at the time.

"Easily bypassed." She finally responded to Caroline.

"What if this killer has a way of actually murdering you? Like, you can't get back to your chassis and you are actually dead?"

"Once again, easily bypassed."

"How!? You can't bypass anything if you're dead!" Caroline insisted but found the supercomputer gone from her grasp and already a good distance away from her. She crossed her arms and sighed, leaning against the wall and placing a hand over her stomach, ignoring the slight feeling of sickness that had welled up within her.

By the time Caroline had reached anybody to warn them about GLaDOS, the supercomputer had managed to make good progress through the facility and was walking out through the main lobby when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She contemplated not even stopping, but reached the decision that simply addressing her new nuisance would be easier. This nuisance turned out to be Chell.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Her voice was sharp, her nose wrinkled in annoyance. GLaDOS recognized these classic human behaviours and decided it would be easier for her if she simply conversed with the woman.

"I'm going to find the Borealis and bring it back under the control of Aperture Science." She stated simply. The way the human's face dropped would have been slightly amusing, had the computer been in the mood for such things.

"You're being completely serious, aren't you?" Chell was the one to laugh. When GLaDOS didn't respond, her dark skin paled considerably.

"GLaDOS, you know you can't just waltz on up to the Borealis, right? Without something that can fly, it's impossible."

"I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out." Her stubborn response. Chell sighed, pursuing the android as she tried to walk away.

"You aren't in your chassis, GLaDOS – you're strong, but you're not indestructible. It's dangerous out here, at least let us come with you."

This triggered an interesting response from the supercomputer, who spun around and began steering the older woman back towards the facility.

"No."

"Why not?" Chell hissed.

"According to my most recent physical examinations, none of you are fit for long-distance travel. You would all be at greater risk than me." GLaDOS told her, eventually getting her back into the lobby.

"And since when do you care about us?" Chell asked, crossing her arms with a smirk. She received no reply – only the slight widening of the gently glowing yellow eyes of the android in front of her were any indication of what she was thinking. With an agitated flick of her snow white hair, GLaDOS turned around and exited the facility. This time, Chell let her go – she had been indoors all of her life. She was so stubborn – it was better that GLaDOS taught herself what the outside world was really like. She had no doubt that the computer would be back before long, and they could actually sit down and plan how they were meant to go about this. It was clear that GLaDOS wanted to track down the ship and deal with whoever had found it before them, but in this day and age there was no way it would be as simple as that. With functioning transport hard to come by and with long-distance teleportation not perfected yet, there was just no way to travel to Antarctica in enough time to rescue the Borealis before its current inhabitant managed to access its top secret cargo. But, GLaDOS was right, at least about her – she was getting too old to go about gallivanting outside. She was growing fragile, that much she knew – but Caroline II on the other hand… she was the fittest out of them all. Plus, her last health examination had revealed that she was about as fit and healthy as a gold-winning Olympic athlete. Plus, she had nearly no empathy which pretty much confirmed that she'd be able to defend herself outside. What was stopping the supercomputer from bringing her along?

Chell journeyed back into the facility, heading to the cafeteria when she passed the staff toilets. The door was now hanging off a hinge, like somebody had crashed into it full force. Stepping into the tiled room, she spotted one cubicle with the door hanging open. She could just see two long fall boots under the frame. There was only one person left who that could be.

"Uhh, Caroline? Are you okay?" She asked, nervously.

"Hey mom." The deep, raspy voice of her daughter responded. Sensing that something was wrong, Chell rushed her way over to see Caroline hunched over the toilet, retching the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl.

"Holy shit!" Was all the mother could get out. Caroline II, through some kind of miracle had never been sick before. She'd had the common cold and whatnot, but nothing like this.

"I don't know what's wrong," Caroline gasped for breath, before ducking into the bowl again. Chell winced at the sound, gently rubbing her daughter's back and pulling her hair back out of her face. When the poor thing was finally able to stop, she cast a glance back at her mother. "I've never felt like this before."

That was not a good sign at all. A mental list of everything that could be wrong with Caroline flashed before her eyes, nearly sending her into panic. She tried to reason with herself that it was just something she'd eaten, but she couldn't shake the fear that something else was wrong. When it seemed that Caroline had finally stopped, she helped the girl to her feet and assisted her to the medical ward. When Rosie and Wheatley heard the news through an announcement from Chell, they rushed to the ward as quickly as they could.

Caroline was sitting upright on the bed, pale as a sheet and barely able to keep steady. When Wheatley entered, he started fearfully babbling almost immediately, to which Rosie had to insist that he shut up.

"She probably just has a little stomach bug, Chell. I don't think it's much to worry about." Rosie had done the usual procedure – checking Caroline's irises and tongue and pressing down on her stomach had revealed no obvious abnormalities.

"I've been feeling a little nauseous for a few weeks, but I barely noticed it until now." Caroline told her, to which Rosie's brow furrowed.

"This is the first time you've ever been sick?" The scientist questioned, to which Caroline nodded.

"Have you been feeling tired or dehydrated recently?"

"Both, but not enough to stop me testing or anything." The test subject responded with. Rosie crossed her arms, gazing down at the floor for a moment.

"It doesn't sound like anything serious, but I'm trusting your instinct, Chell. I'm going to see if I can get in contact with GLaDOS. I have a feeling she'd want to know about this." She left the room, leaving Chell and Wheatley gazing worriedly at the young Caroline, who was now lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with a hand on her stomach.

Dusk was coming and the supercomputer hadn't made it far. In fact, from where she was standing on the worn out tarmac road she could still see the Enrichment Centre. She was just passing the Bloodhawk Camp when they had tried to attack her. It was fair to say that they wouldn't be trying that again. Examining curiously the Lambda symbol on one of their outfits, she tried to wipe the blood from her dress and kept moving. She grumbled when it failed to shift – blood never washed out of this particular dress. It was ruined. She'd need to try a new outfit once this was all over.

It was when the Facility was finally out of sight that she received an incoming call from Rosie, which came up as a flashing phone icon at the corner of her vision. With a sigh she accepted the call and Rosie's face popped up like a hologram in front of her.

"Hey, GLaDOS? I know you're on an adventure or something, but just how far away are you?" She asked hastily, fear in her voice.

"I'm not that far. Why does it matter?" GLaDOS responded impatiently. The scientist before her flinched at the venom in her tone.

"It's just that Caroline's sick, and we're not sure what's wrong with her…"

Making sure to release the biggest sigh she could manage, GLaDOS responded;

"Okay, fine. I'm coming back." Then, she hung up, leaving Rosie standing awkwardly in front of her computer.

She got no further than a few steps back towards the Enrichment Centre when her sensors started bleeping out of control – something was attempting to sneak up on her. Spinning around and switching to heat vision, she saw the yellow and red outline of a canine, bent low and watching her. It was one of those damned coyotes that Caroline II hated so much. Switching to nightvision, she knelt down ever so slightly, ready to move at a moment's notice. The world around her became green and bright but also incredibly grainy, leaving the creature's flashing white eyes the only things visible.

The stand-off lasted a good minute or two, before the coyote began to growl and spit. GLaDOS backed away slightly – this behaviour was new to her, strange and alien. Not knowing what else to do, she responded in kind and did a growl of her own. Surprisingly the coyote fell back into silence and its ears pricked. Finally, the beast leaped.

She took in everything and absorbed it into data – the readiness of its claws, the baring of its fangs, the ears flat against its head, even the way it jumped and the distance away from the ground it was. She did a quick calculation – and ducked.

Just as it was flying helplessly over her head, she reached up and grabbed the beast by a clump of its matted sandy fur. Then, with nothing more than a flick of her wrist, she threw the mongrel away several feet into the air and simply left, a quick calculation telling her the result of her actions. When she was already out of earshot, the soaring coyote hit hard against an old oak tree and broke its back and shattered its bones, rendering it dead before it even hit the ground.

Her return to Aperture Science wasn't until late into the night. Much to her annoyance, Wheatley was the one to guide her to Caroline II, who had retired to her bed for the night. Although she claimed she was feeling much better, GLaDOS insisted that she properly examine the young woman before she let the matter rest. While the three of them travelled down the various corridors to the medical bay, Caroline spoke up.

"So, did you find the Borealis?" She asked teasingly, causing the robot to glower at her.

"No, I did not. I barely got out of sight of the Facility." GLaDOS replied with.

"I see you ran into some trouble, too."

"Nothing I couldn't dispose of. Just some humans and a filthy canine."

"Oh, you ran into the coyotes?" Caroline seemed impressed, her eyes sparkling with interest.

"Only one. It died two minutes later."

"I take it you had something to do with that."

"I initiated a counter-attack and the tree it struck after did the rest."

"Charming…" The girl commented as they entered the medical office.

"You should know what to do by now." GLaDOS indicated to the bed and Caroline climbed onto it, lying on her back with her arms at her sides, smirking in amusement all the while. Any other position wouldn't be tolerated by GLaDOS – she couldn't even stand it if you put a hand on your stomach.

"Tell me about your symptoms." The supercomputer demanded, checking Caroline's irises with the light and tongue with a stick much like Rosie had.

"Ah wash shick earlier-" GLaDOS removed the stick from the girl's tongue. "-but I've been feeling nauseous for a few weeks now. I've been feeling tired for about a week, and dehydrated for a day or two." If you weren't precise with GLaDOS, she just got annoyed at you and ranted about how much longer you were making a simple process.

"So whatever is wrong with you, you've been stupid enough to allow it to get worse." The disapproving stare that the AI gave Caroline set her off suddenly.

"Well, my most sincere apologies, your highness, for not even allowing my so-called illness to faze me!" The human snapped, causing GLaDOS to smirk.

"So, you're having mood swings too."

"E-Eh?"

"Remember last week when you were feeling fine and then two seconds later the moron said something and you started ejecting tears? That was a mood swing, too."

"Oh."

All the while GLaDOS was cycling through all of the medical files stored within her database, sifting through various recognized human diseases and setting them to one side when she found one that match's Caroline's health, but slowly discarding them again after some further thought. When she found herself unable to reach a trustworthy diagnosis, she knew there was only one thing to do.

"I'm going to use the Aperture Science Medical Multi-scan Device on you." She took the surprisingly puny black device out of a black box under the doctor's desk. It fit snugly into the palm of GLaDOS' robotic hand, and with a click of a hidden button on the side it switched on.

"Aww, I hate that thing. It's too bright." Caroline grumbled but the android just ignored her.

The Aperture Science Medical Multi-scan Device, or the Multi-scanner for short was a tiny piece of equipment which used a built-in long-reaching micro-scanner with over ten different modes to scan biological lifeforms and locate abnormalities in their systems in the same manner that the giant scanners in hospitals did. MRI, PET, CT, X-Ray, Ultrasound, it was all there, you just had to name it – using 'top secret' technology, the device had the ability to recreate the required situation for the scan and perform them as if the lifeform was actually in hospital. You could say the scans themselves were simulated, but they still produced very real results. The device was never officially released to the public and had just passed the testing stages when GLaDOS had her… 'Episode'. The device in GLaDOS' hand right now was the only one which was ever considered to be a fully functional, stable model. It would automatically detect Caroline as a living thing and upon one command from GLaDOS it would scan her body with any of the methods the computer picked and would display the scan as it happened on the screen behind her.

Caroline kept her eyes screwed shut as the AI shuffled through the various scans, and each time the scan came back clean. When she did the MRI scan, something abnormal finally came up.

"There appears to be some muscle swelling in the abdomen and thighs." She noted, eyeing the screen with slight concern. She deleted at least twenty possible diseases and problems from her list upon this discovery, leaving only three possible ones. One of them made the android break out into an artificial sweat. Trying to hide her shaking hands from the girl still wincing on the bed, she switched the device to Ultrasound mode.

"GLaDOS, I think you're nervous about something. I can hear your hands shaking from here." Caroline pointed out to which the robot mentally cursed.

"That's just you being an Imbecile; now remain perfectly still."

She held the device as steady as she could above Caroline, allowing it to scan her from top to bottom, fearing the worst. The device gave a bleep, signalling yet another completed scan, and GLaDOS whirled around to cycle through the scan images on the screen. Finally, she reached one particular image, and her body actually locked up from shock.

After the android didn't move for about five minutes, Caroline finally decided that she might be done scanning and opened her eyes. She sat up, examining GLaDOS who was hunched in front of the screen, slack-jawed and wide-eyed. She shifted so her legs were dangling off the bed and poked GLaDOS in the back, making her spasm for a moment until she came to her senses. Finally, she stood up straight, brushed off her dress and turned around to face Caroline, indicating to the screen as she did so.

"I thought I warned you that hugging between employees was strictly prohibited."

"Yeah, you did. Why?" Caroline looked baffled. She couldn't make sense of what GLaDOS was pointing to.

"You appear to be carrying a little human."

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh *gasp* OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Yeah I have no idea, excuse this. Impulse writing is THE WORST.

Also I have a busy time ahead, I start University in less than two weeks, so you might notice updates getting slower. Sorry about that, guys!

~Lagiacrus