Author's notes: Hey, its me again, (hooray!) and if you've really read this far, good for you, I like the little self-esteem boost I get when I see people enjoy something I do. Other than that, I will warn you it gets a little… confusing soon, so… first person who guesses will get free cookies! (or cake, if you prefer)

Disclaimer: I do not own Portal or Half-life, those belong to the Valve Corporation. If I did own it however, you'd most likely be playing Half-life 3 right now, but that's a different story.

~X~X~X~X~X~

"Own the place?" Alan asked as he gradually became more worried about the fact that Cave looked like he could die at any second.

"Of course I do. Don't the guys at the Ohio offices ever tell you who's really in charge?" Cave asked, coughing violently once more as he turned towards an intercom. He soon pressed the button and began speaking into it. "Jane, don't forget to *cough* tell Caroline to come up here and *cough* show our guest around," he said, lifting his finger off the speak button, and leaned back on his chair. "So, you're ready to make some science, Mr.-"

"Walker, Alan Walker."

"That's right… Well then Dr. Walker, *cough* are you ready to make some science?"

Alan cringed at hearing those words. "Please don't call me Dr.," he said, closing his eyes as he shook in fear. "Mr. will do just fine," he said, not wanting to take the name of his insane uncle.

Back when he was a child, whenever Alan would go to the doctor's office, sure enough, his uncle was waiting for him. His uncle was the creepiest person he'd ever met. His sentences were filled with whimsical nonsense; his eyes looked like they'd been washed over many times with soap, and his voice… his voice. Alan remembered having nightmares where he'd discover his uncle was actually trying to get him, and that each time they'd meet, it would always be another opportunity to horrify him with his demonic sounding voice.

"I just… have bad memories of the name Dr. Walker," Alan said, holding his arm as if he were scared that a monster would leap out of one of the wall paintings.

"I see Mr. Walker…" Cave said as if he knew what Alan was talking about. "But I'm afraid you didn't answer my question. Are you ready for some science?"

'Not if the "science" involves skin lotion.'

Alan took a seat in front of the Cave's desk. "Uh, yes sir. The only problem is," he leaned closer to Cave, and laid his hands out to the side. "I honestly don't know what type of science we're going to make. You see, they didn't really tell me much besides the fact tha..."

"Didn't tell you? Well then I'll tell you." Cave interrupted, grabbing his chin. "The reason we called you up here is well… *cough* you're familiar with different forms of quantum studies, correct?" he asked, laying his hands out, as he gave another distorted coughing sound.

"Uh… yes sir." Alan said confidently. He really was familiar with different quantum technologies, but at Black Mesa, the advances may have been different than what they knew at Aperture. "I've worked in the quantum field for quite a while," he answered, instantly picking his brain for all of his inward knowledge. "So tell me, what is it exactly that you've found?"

Cave smiled, and looked over towards the different paintings kept on the wall, particularly one with a middle-aged brown haired woman situated next to him in the background. "Those *cough* specific questions will be answered shortly, but I'll try and explain it to a point where *cough* you don't have to see it to believe it," he said, rolling his eyes. "Mr. Walker, do you know anything about quantum rifts?" he asked, keeping one eyebrow higher than the other.

"Well Mr. Johnson, I do know some rudimentary principles," Alan noted. "Whether you're actually talking about more of the practical sustained dimension rifts, quantum tunnels, or even the very rare, magnetic field disruptors, I may know a thing or two," he said, showing that he was in fact properly informed in the area.

"I could barely even *cough* understand what you said," Cave said, impressed at Alan's knowledge. "But it sounds good," he said, nodding optimistically. "I can tell you're properly infused with science."

"Uh, thank you." Alan said, boosting himself with hopes that maybe it wasn't going to be that hard. Perhaps he'd been stressing out for nothing, maybe it was all just a big misunderstanding and that Aperture hadn't really gotten that big of a breakthrough.

"How do you feel about going through one?"

"What?" Alan almost jerked out of his seat, only to be halted by the constant pressure of trying to act inconspicuous. "Are you insane?"

"No I just *cough* *cough*," Cave spiraled into a state of uncontrollable high pitched convulsions. "It's just… what if I told you that in the near future, you could experience two different types of quantum fields, firsthand?" he asked, catching some skeptical interest from Alan.

"I'd say it sounds highly unlikely… and dangerous," Alan said, a bit unsure about Aperture having the technology to produce two different types of portals, let alone the part about going through a breakage in space.

"Don't worry Mr. *cough* Walker, it's been tried many times and has shown to be safe, that is, the tunneling variant." Cave turned his attention back towards the white box he'd recently opened. He took out a large package of red pills. "But I'm afraid I won't be able to guide you through it." He said, swallowing one of the brightly colored pills.

Alan watched Cave toss back the pills like popcorn, a sight which quickly made him feel uneasy. "And what about that other type of quantum field you talked about?" he asked, shrinking away from the box.

"Oh trust me," Cave said, grabbing hold of the box and storing it in a nearby drawer. "You'll be *cough* getting enough of that." He said, looking over Alan's shoulder, and towards the only entrance to the room. "And here she comes now…"

Alan turned around to hear the sound of a door opening, accompanied with the sight of a woman standing in the doorway. It was the woman from the painting Cave was staring at. Perhaps she would be able to actually answer some of Alan's questions. She had long brown hair, just as she had in the painting, she did look aged, most likely in her fifties, and she was wearing an Aperture lab coat over what appeared to be a fine dress. "Here I am Mr. Johnson!" She said in a surprisingly young- sounding voice.

"Ah, there you are *cough* Caroline. I trust you're ready to guide Mr. Walker to the…" Cave froze, holding the sentence back as if he didn't know what to say.

"Yes Mr. Johnson." Caroline said, walking closer and closer towards Alan. "I'll take him there immediately," she said, taking Alan's hand and whisking him off the chair and out of the room.

"Wait, where are we going?" Alan wondered, not liking the fact he was being taken along for a ride against his will.

"To show you what you're here for." Caroline said, excited.

"Oh and Caroline…" Cave said once the two scientists had reached the door.

"Yes Mr. Johnson?"

"Be sure to take him to the CTI and get him… familiarized, will you?"

"Yes Mr. Johnson." Caroline said, answering with even more enthusiasm than before. She led Alan out of the room, and back into the uniform hallway outside.

"What's the CTI?" Alan asked, wondering if they were going to put him through horrifying test experiments.

Caroline led Alan to a white, circular elevator positioned inside one of the hallway's indents. Stepping inside, she pressed one of the elevator's few buttons. "That would be the Co-operative Testing Initiative," she said just as the elevator closed its doors.

With a swift hiss, the elevator began to descend deeper into the facility.

"So, Dr. Wal-"

"Call me Mr.," Alan interrupted.

"Ok then… Mr. Walker, I hear this is your first time at the Enrichment Center. Are you excited?" Caroline asked, wanting an answer as if she needed it to power her bright smile.

"About what?" Alan asked, still confused on why everyone was keeping so many secrets. "I still have no idea what you brought me in for, all I know is it has something to do with quantum fields and…" Alan's eyes weren't prepared for what he was about to see.

Without any warning, the glass window in the elevator revealed a massive expanse of huge black cubic structures, which was a drastic change from the dark, earthy picture recently in front of them.

Vernon was right, Alan's face did look priceless, and he was thoroughly shocked at the immense sight.

"About that…" Caroline remarked, delighted to see Alan's reaction to what Aperture really looked like on the inside. "Most people do the exact same thing when they see it for the first time." She said, laying her hand out as if to guide Alan's eyes to a lone area. "Doesn't it just scream science?"

"Uh… yeah, it… definitely does." Alan said, trying to sound as trustworthy as possible. "May I ask where it is we're headed?"

Caroline looked over towards the side of the elevator. "I think it's over there, Mr. Walker." She pointed towards an area not too far from where they were that was closed off from the rest. Instead of having it set up for testing, it looked like it was built with a very different purpose in mind. "Before we have you evaluated, we'll show it to you."

"It?" Alan asked, hoping he'd be answered with a more solid response than open implications.

The elevator came to a soft yet sudden stop. In front of them was a concrete wall, with a blue stripe running across the bottom. The glass door in front of the elevator opened automatically, prompting Caroline to press a button on the elevator to make its own do the same.

"Ladies first…" Alan said, letting Caroline move first into a long corridor that strangely reminded him somewhat of the compact ones found at Black Mesa.

"Why thank you!" Caroline said with a cheery expression on her face. "You're so sweet…"

Alan tried to contain the voice inside him that would always make him all giggly inside. He loved being called sweet and adorabl- 'NO! NO! Must resist!' Alan's thought's were about to initiate an all out war before he intervened. 'Focus… I'm not here to become friends; I'm here to disrupt their progress. Although it would be interesting to develop some sort of- NO! I'm not doing it!'

"Are you ok Mr. Walker?" Caroline asked, looking into Alan's eyes as if there was something stuck in it.

"Wha- what?" Alan snapped back into reality, in front of him was a metal high security door. Apparently, they reached their destination while Alan was debating with himself. "Were here already?"

"Yes… are you alright? You seemed to have zoned out a bit there." Caroline said, taking out her card and sliding it through a small opening in the thick door's control panel.

Alan of course didn't want to make himself look stupid, and so began the brief and futile search for an excuse. "It's nothing; I do that all the time…" He said.

'NOOO! Wrong choice of words!'

Caroline nodded, and placed her hand on the solid steel doorknob. She opened the door, exposing Alan to a large office filled with scientists, all checking closely on different instruments. Some of them were looking at screens, polygraphs, and even compasses. The room was, above all, loud. Scientists were yelling information to others from across the room. There were a couple doors in the room, one of them were most likely for storage, and the other one had a sign on it saying "observation area". On the far end of the room was an area which was completely empty, with an airtight metal door similar to the one used to enter the office.

"Stay here…" Caroline said, walking towards the center of the room, capturing the attention of some of the less busy scientists. "Attention everybody, I'd like to introduce to you all, Mr. Walker." She said, now calling for everybody's undivided focus. "He's from our Ohio offices, and he's ready for science!" she yelled with the swing of her arm.

The scientists all started nodding their heads and simultaneously clapped for Alan. 'So much for keeping a low profile.' Before the room could spiral into an uproar, Alan lifted his hand. Once everyone saw his hand of power so high up, they concentrated solely on what it was he had to say. "Ahem… I still have no idea what the big deal is." He said, showing his genuine lack of situational knowledge.

The whole room now turned back to Caroline, who was now showing signs of giddiness. "Well then why don't I show you?" she asked, immediately throwing the entire room back into a state of constant occupation. Instead of having everyone focus on what they were doing before however, they each instead started working towards the same goal. Alan watched as some of the scientists retreated into an observation room, meanwhile some of the others scurried off towards the maintenance room.

"What are they doing?" Alan asked, watching everybody who wasn't headed towards the maintenance room rush to the observation area. "Where are we going? What's that they're bringing?" he could see two Aperture employees carrying what appeared to be the hazmat suits speeding towards him and Caroline. They wasted no time in unfolding the suits and presenting them to both Alan and Caroline. They didn't look like normal hazmat suits however; they were much darker and seemed to be made out of a carbon fiber like material.

Alan closely watched Caroline put her suit on, and followed suit (pun intended). After about a minute of fitting the airtight suit onto his body, a couple lab boys scanned for any imperfections. This made Alan wonder what he was really getting into. Why did they need so much protection? Whatever the answer was, it would be found out very soon.

"Clear, this one's sealed." One of them said, examining Caroline's suit.

"This one's good as well." The lab boys both nodded at each other and headed towards the door to the observation area. "You're good miss Caroline."

"Thank you boys…" Caroline said, waving them goodbye. The boys smiled and waved back at Caroline.

"She's so sweet." One of them said, closing the door behind them.

Caroline turned back towards Alan. "Well then, shall we proceed?" She asked, laying her fully gloved hand out towards the massive sealed door.

"After you…"

"Aww, you are so sweet!" Caroline giggled as she ran towards the door even though she was in a full protection suit. "Double gloves!" she said, taking a pair from a glass container on the wall.

Alan slipped on the thick leather gloves. They were obviously meant for protection, but from what?

"We're ready, you can let us in." Alan turned to see Caroline speaking into an internal radio.

Alan's heart began to race as he waited to see what lied behind the door. His plastic visor offered little peripheral vision, and now all he could see was the large metal door. Slowly the oval shaped door began to go through a series of unlocking mechanisms, and finally, it got to the point where it was moving. The door creaked open with the foreboding sound of hydraulics struggling to push the heavy weight open. Now that the door was clear, Caroline stepped inside, motioning for Alan to follow.

Inside the dark, open concrete space was a wide distorting glass screen off to the left. Alan could make out a few human shaped figures moving around behind the glass shield, which he figured to be the observation area. In front of him was an assortment of instruments, polygraphs, radios, magnets, showing a very similar sight to the one seen outside, back in the office. But the main thing that gravitated attention in the room was something Alan would never expect, something he could never imagine being of such importance. It wasn't some inter-dimensional blob of mass, it wasn't some strange Aperture skin lotion, it wasn't anything of the sort.

Instead, it was a book, lying on a slanted table at the end of the room.

"A book? This is what the big deal is all about?" Alan questioned. He neared closer towards the odd looking book. A faded green cover and black spine was the more obvious features, however, upon further inspection, Alan could make out some words arranged near the top.

The first letter was the most visible, undoubtedly an M. The second one was much more faded, he could probably narrow the letter down if he had the time. The third letter was a lost cause, as it was completely gone. The fourth and last letter was either an I or a T, he couldn't tell.

Alan looked back to see Caroline, standing in wait. "This is why we didn't tell you before Mr. Walker. We thought you wouldn't believe it." She said, moving towards a bunch of scientific instruments. "As you can see, these things go crazy the closer they get to the book. A little magnetic disruption here, a little quantum rift here." she said, going on and on about things Alan had only heard about in theoretical studies.

"But how? It's just a book! Why do we need these hazmat suits? Why do we need these gloves?"

Caroline gave another one of her warming smiles. "Open it."

Alan lifted his hands towards the book's cover. Its hardcover binding felt fragile to the touch, so Alan made sure to be careful while opening it. He opened in on the first page, and almost jumped back once he saw what was on it. "What the? How does it…" he saw what appeared to be static coming from a rectangular section on the page. Not static electricity, but instead the static that looked just like what you'd see if your TV was on a non-existent channel. Instead of being black and white however, the static was covered in reds and greens and yellows, all brushing against a vast darkened expanse.

Alan turned the page to see what may lie behind it, what could be creating the strange static. However, after turning page after page, all he could see was nothing, only the strange sight coming from the first. "What… what is it?" he asked, staring straight into the mesmerizing screen-like moving picture.

WARNING! THESE NEXT PARAGRAPHS MAY CONTAIN EXTENSIVE AMOUNTS OF NONSENSICAL PSEUDO-SCIENCE. IF YOU WISH TO SEE A PROPERLY TRANSLATED VERSION, SEE ENDING AUTHOR'S NOTES.

Caroline took the book from Alan's hand, and placed it back on its stand. "We believe this book is somehow sustaining a quantum rift within its first page. We don't have too much understanding of how it works exactly, but were sure of one thing," she added, moving towards a machine that had a small sensor attached to it. "We believe it runs through a different quantum field than our own. We can tell firstly by the different magnetic signature running from the book. Most organic or even life-like material that touches the sustained rift is instantly taken over to the other side. It's a strange phenomenon, we're not even sure how the rift works in the first place, but with careful studying we've almost been able to reverse engineer a similar mechanism."

Alan turned his head back towards the strange book. How could it hold something so complex? It was just a book. That also begged the question, who on earth made the book? Surely it had to be someone with some knowledge of quantum field imprinting, but technology for that would be scientifically unattainable for at least the next fifty years.

"When you said organic life, were you implying that you'd like to send… humans?" he asked, wondering if this whole thing would take a turn for the worst.

"You're very perceptive Mr. Walker." Caroline said, removing her hand from a large metallic instrument. "But before you get the chance to ask, I will tell you that we've been able to send some robots over to the other side. We're only able to get pulse readings instead of streaming ones because of weak signal between the rifts, but from what we can tell, the environment over there seems to be strikingly similar to ours," she said, covering the book with some sort of rough black cloth. "According to our readings, it would practically feel the same being over there compared to here. The only real differences are changes in air pressure, temperature and such. Even those have been detected to be almost the same."

END OF SCIENCE

Alan stared at the covered book, with an uneasy feeling going through his chest. Would he really be sent through a quantum rift? Especially one that was on a different field? Slowly, he turned back to face Caroline. "This… is all very overwhelming. Never before have I seen such a thing. Would you tell me, how exactly you plan on sending me through?" he asked, wondering if Aperture was really just banging rocks together.

"Now that's a nifty question Mr. Walker!" Caroline answered. "And you'll be surprised to find out that you'll not only be sent over there to study the environment and to advance science, but you'll also get an opportunity to do science right now!" she said in a jubilant manner. "We'll worry about the book later, but for now, you'll be headed to the CTI to begin your evaluation!"

Caroline activated her internal radio. "Jim, we're coming out." She said, speaking towards the silhouettes behind the rippled glass window. "Yes, I think he's excited…" she said, glancing towards Alan. "That's right; we'll be headed for the CTI after this… yes you can open it now." Caroline turned off her radio, and walked through the empty part of the medium room, closer and closer towards the door. "That was Dr. Hughes, he's so sweet. And yes, you're sweet as well."

Alan let that last sentence fly over his head as he followed her from behind.

"There's so much more we can talk about," Caroline said as the door slowly began its opening routine. "But I hope you don't mind the slight detour."

Alan, not wanting to reject Caroline's kind suggestion, accepted it without adding any thought. "Oh don't worry about it. At least I'll still be advancing science." he said, noticing the doors were halfway open.

~X~X~X~X~X~

Alan carefully removed the last of his hazmat suit. At first, He was worried that they'd isolate him to make sure he was completely clean of any outer-dimensional material. But instead, all he had to do was hand it to a couple of lab boys who then proceeded to store it back where it came from.

Now that the state of lockdown had been released, Alan scanned the room for any sign of Caroline, who'd been able to remove her suit surprisingly quicker than Alan did. Eventually, he found her walking around, talking with none other than Dr. Vernon.

"Ah there you are," Caroline said, stepping back to show Dr. Vernon. "I heard that you've already met with Dr. Vernon, he's one of the top administrators for the project." She said, nodding for Dr. Vernon to speak up.

"So Mr. Walker, how was it? Was it as stunning as you'd imagined?"

"I can't imagine how such a thing could be imagined." Alan answered. "It… just doesn't seem possible," he said, lowering his head in confusion.

"Well, I guess you better show him around, Miss Caroline. I just wish we had enough time to study this further."

Caroline looked towards a clock positioned above the entryway door. "Right, we should start immediately." She said, taking Alan's hand and leading him away from Dr. Vernon. "Thank you for your time Dr. Vernon, we'll be able to discuss the… details later." She shifted to a bleaker mood as she ended the sentence.

Caroline waved to Dr. Vernon, who was now occupying himself with other tasks. "Now then," Caroline said, heading towards the door. "Let's depart for the CTI."

~X~X~X~X~X~

Author's notes: Yeah, I know I'm not that good, but hey, this is my first story. Anyways, if you don't know what series is hidden within this soon to be crossover, you may get really confused, so EDUCATE YOURSELVES! We still have the sweets available for whoever guesses the secondary series! Other than that, I hope you enjoyed! Please R & R!

And now, the part you've all been waiting for, the translated science scene! Initiate fanfare! Dun, da da da!

Caroline: "This book has a portal to another dimension on the first page."