Chapter 2: Welcome Home
Chell entered the room slowly. It looked mostly as it had last time she'd been here, though like the rest of the facility it had undergone some changes. Standing on the ledge above her was a woman with cropped blonde hair, who did not need to speak to be recognizable. There was only one person she could be.
"What is it?" demanded GLaDOS, turning around. She stopped, blinked, and frowned. "Oh, it's you."
Chell held her head high and didn't respond.
"It has been a while, hasn't it?" said the AI sweetly. "Welcome home, Chell."
Welcome home? This place isn't home, Chell thought, but she said nothing.
GLaDOS was apparently indifferent to whether or not she got a response. As expected. "As you probably noticed, there have been some changes in the facility. Maybe you'd like me to show them to you?"
Chell raised an eyebrow. She wasn't sure she wanted a tour from GLaDOS, but she also had the feeling it wasn't actually a choice.
Suddenly, GLaDOS narrowed her red eyes. "Hey, moron!" she snapped. Chell turned to see Wheatley looking around the edge of the door. "Don't you have anything better to do than stand around listening to our conversation?" demanded GLaDOS.
"Ah, no," said Wheatley, and added, a little sullenly, "And I'm not a moron."
"Well, then I'll give you something to do," the AI snapped. "You can start with finding that airheaded new core and getting my coffee." When he didn't move, she stood up a little taller, glaring down at him. "Now, Wheatley."
He bolted. GLaDOS glowered after him until the door closed, and then regained her composure. "I'm sorry," she said with a cold smile. "Shall we start our tour?"
Chell, determined not to speak, shrugged and nodded.
GLaDOS descended the stairs to the platform. For the first time, Chell got a good look at her. She was wearing all gray and black, save for the yellow stripe on her vest and skirt. Her silver-blonde hair flipped out at the ends, framing a round face with a pointed chin. The thing Chell noticed the most, though, was the fiercely determined look in her eyes. There, as much as she hated to admit it, was something they had in common, the single similarity which had, more than any of their differences, caused them to clash: neither of them was one to give in to anyone or anything.
Now, though she didn't like it, Chell was beginning to think that perhaps things at the Enrichment Center would go more smoothly if some concessions were made. But she'd be damned if she was going to make all of them. No, if she was going to give a little to GLaDOS, GLaDOS was sure as hell going to give some in return.
She followed GLaDOS into the elevator and it began to rise, stopping several floor above the mainframe chamber in an ambient-lit room which contained several chairs, a glass coffee table, and a sofa. Its ceiling gave the impression of skylights, though Chell knew the light was artificial and the sky was an illusion.
More interesting than the room itself were the people in it. A skinny man with spiky blonde hair was telling a very animated story to a fascinated young woman with huge amber-colored eyes, while a dark-haired woman watched with a look of disinterest. They were all dressed a bit like Wheatley, though both of the women wore skirts. They must be other personality cores.
"This is what you might call the lobby," said GLaDOS. "Of course a lobby is meaningless when we have no visitors, but we have one anyways." She glanced around. "This is Space and Curiosity. And Morality, the one who isn't talking. You remember her, don't you? You put her in the incinerator once."
Chell remembered. Apparently, so did Morality, because she looked over and gave Chell a reprimanding look. Curiosity and Space both looked up at the sound of voices, as well, and Curiosity ran over to greet them.
"Ooh, you're that lady!" she said, excited. "I remember you! Where did you go? How are you? Did your hair get shorter? Oooh, you have shoes now!"
Chell nodded, and was going to answer Curiosity's questions, but GLaDOS was already leaving, and pulling her along behind, so she just waved over her shoulder and hurried after the AI.
"The facility has been divided into...shall we say...levels, now," GLaDOS explained. "Much, much more organized. This level has the lobby, the break room, the dining room, and the kitchen. Speaking of which, here we are now." She twitched her hand and the door opened apparently by itself. "Hello? Is anyone here?"
A low, almost mournful voice replied, "One half cup chocolate flavoring, three cups milk, two teaspoons vanilla."
Chell leaned in and saw a dark-haired man in an apron frowning thoughtfully at a mess of ingredients on the counter. "Intelligence," GLaDOS muttered. "You should remember him, too. It's a shame he's insane—he's almost as intelligent as I am."
There was the sound of running footsteps in the hall, and a young woman with dark, curly hair and dark, liquid eyes ran in, looking a little frantic. "I can't find her!" she cried, brushing her hair back from her face with one hand. "I don't know where..."
She trailed off, catching sight of GLaDOS. "Oh!" she said, and held out a cup in her other hand. "Here!"
"Finally," snapped GLaDOS, and snatched the cup to drink half of its contents. She paused for a second, eyes closed, and then smiled. "Mm. Much better."
"Sorry it took so long," said the girl nervously. "I couldn't, umm, I tried to find you, and then he found me and said you were angry but I still couldn't find you and-"
"Just shut up and be quicker tomorrow," GLaDOS said. "Let's go, Chell."
Chell allowed herself to be led out of the kitchen and down the whitewashed corridor again.
"What do you think so far?" GLaDOS asked. Chell didn't answer, and for the first time a glimmer of irritation appeared in GLaDOS's red eyes. "Really? The silent treatment? I know you can talk. I heard you talking to that moron. You can talk to him, but you won't give me a response?"
Chell folded her arms and kept her silence.
"Fine," GLaDOS said, turning away and marching down the corridor. "Be that way. I don't care."
She stopped in front of another door and pushed it open. Chell looked and decided this must be the break room. There were tables with cards, two different television-like screens, snacks, chairs, and several people sitting around, talking. A short, scrawny kid with dark hair and white clothes was polishing what looked like a weapon.
"That's Fact and Adventure playing cards," GLaDOS said, pointing at the cores. "Atlas and P-body on the sofa. You never met them; they're part of the cooperative testing initiative. The one in the corner is my little Rocket Sentry." She beamed and drank more of her coffee. The Rocket Sentry looked up.
"Heyy!" he called. "You wanna see my rocket?" He grinned hopefully.
"Firing a rocket in this room has a seventy-eight point five percent chance of bringing the ceiling down on us," Fact announced.
"Moving on," said GLaDOS quickly. "We'll take the elevator in here down to the next floor."
They stepped into the elevator and it descended, not to the next floor down, but to the one below that. "You've already seen the relaxation quarters, of course," GLaDOS said as they passed Level 2. "That's just where everyone's bedroom is."
The elevator stopped, and they stepped out into a massive room which Chell suspected couldn't possibly fit just one floor below the living quarters. Of course, Aperture Science liked breaking all the laws of physics, despite the incredibly physics-based nature of their testing. Rules only applied here when it was convenient, a policy of Cave Johnson's which Caroline must have carried on.
"This," GLaDOS announced proudly, "is Test Hub Alpha."
Chell looked around, trying to memorize the room. She had the feeling she would be spending a lot of her time here, so it might pay to be familiar with it. Viewscreens on the walls displayed various pieces of data; between them, numbered doors went all the way around the room, which one could access by way of the shiny steel walkways that formed the floor.
"Every door leads to a different testing track," GLaDOS explained. "The room right above here, where the elevator stops of the second level, will be where your jumpsuit, LongFall boots, and portal device are stored. You will report there to dress for testing every day at eight o'clock. You will also receive your instructions there."
Chell nodded silently.
"You will receive a testing schedule at dinner this evening," GLaDOS continued. "This schedule will outline your testing blocks and your breaks, including meals. Testing begins at eight o'clock a.m., after breakfast, and will start with one or two simple warm-up tests. You have several breaks, during which you will report to the break room. You will have a long break at roughly twelve o'clock p.m. to eat lunch. Testing will resume after each break and end for the day before dinner, for which you will report to the dining room."
It was very tempting to make a comment about the fact that she had breaks now, and that it was a nice change, but Chell suspected that was exactly what GLaDOS was hoping for, and she refused to give the AI that satisfaction.
"I won't show you the test tracks today," GLaDOS said, and smirked. "You'll have lots of time to explore them later." She considered. "There is also another test hub, Test Hub Beta. You will be informed after getting dressed on days you are to report to Test Hub Beta."
Chell wondered what the difference was between the the tests. Deadliness? Challenge level? Thought processes? Well, whatever; she would surely find that out soon enough. She wasn't about to ask GLaDOS.
"Come on, we'll have to go back up to the lobby if we want to see anything else," GLaDOS said, and pulled her back onto the elevator.
The rest of the morning and all afternoon was taken up showing off random parts of the facility: the dining room, while they were up on Level One; the manufacturing area; Turret Training, where scrawny, dark-haired boys in white hoods were given machine guns and taught to use them; Storage Area One, where unused machinery was kept; Storage Area Two, where broken computers or machines or turrets were stored until they could be repaired; Storage Area Three, which contained failed or useless experiments; the medical wing, where both legitimate and experimental medical tests and procedures could be carried out.
GLaDOS only decided that she's had enough of this tour when Chell's stomach started growling; they'd only eaten a little bit of lunch, and it seemed like a very long time ago. They returned to Level One, and Chell headed to the dining room while GLaDOS went to get her test schedule.
"Well?" asked Wheatley as Chell sat down at the table beside him. "How was the, ah, tour?"
"Long," she said softly, and laughed. "The facility's a lot different since last time I was here."
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" he agreed. "Anything particularly interesting?"
She shrugged. "A lot of stuff I intend to explore in more depth later."
He grinned. "You're Chell, alright," he said, laughing. "Can't leave anything undiscovered. Bit like science, really."
"I suppose it is," she agreed, a little surprised. "Finding things out. Exploring. Trying to understand."
GLaDOS returned at that moment with the test schedule in one hand. Intelligence was right behind her, carrying a pot around and glowering. "Heat water until boiling and add noodles," he muttered darkly as he served everyone their pasta.
"This is your test schedule," GLaDOS announced, handing Chell the sheet of paper. "You will test in the assigned blocks every day unless I have announced a specific change. The test schedule is, in fact, subject to changes and may be altered or rewritten by myself at any time."
Chell only nodded, looking over the schedule. She had four testing blocks, two on either side of lunch at twelve thirty. Only eight total hours of testing; all things considered, that wasn't that bad.
"Lunch at twelve thirty?" Wheatley asked, looking over her shoulder. "Oh, good, it's not too late. I'll be able to have lunch with you!"
"Oh, good," she said, pleased that she would at least have someone to talk to. "I'd like that."
He grinned nervously and busied himself with his pasta. Chell did the same, looking around the room as she ate to memorize faces. She wanted to know who exactly everyone was, so she made no mistakes.
Morality, with the short, dark hair, was sitting next to a man with a pointed face and narrowed eyes. He turned to look at Chell, and his face twisted into a snarl that showed off his pointed teeth. That must be Anger, she thought, and struggled to meet his burning gaze. Morality put her hand on his, and though his eyes narrowed even more, he turned away and kept eating.
Curiosity, the one with the wide amber eyes and the chestnut curls, was sitting next to Space, with his long nose and perpetual grin. He was telling her stories about space, nearly knocking things over on more than one occasion as his hand gestures became more and more animated. Curiosity was hanging on his every word, bless her sweet heart. Anything she hadn't seen was fascinating to her.
Rick was wearing his hat at the table and trying to engage the dark-haired Coffee Core across from him in conversation, but she apparently kept getting distracted. Fact was murmuring random statements of varying accuracy under his breath while fiddling with the pink gem on his bow tie. The ones called Atlas and P-body were sitting together farther down the table: a short, chunky man and a tall, slender woman, both laughing at some joke one of them had made.
And then, of course, there was Wheatley sitting beside her. If there was anything she'd missed about this place, it would be him. True, he might not be the brightest, and he had betrayed her, but above all else, she still thought of him as a friend.
Maybe I could get used to this, she thought, looking around, and smiled.
A/N: GUYS I'M SORRY I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS TOOK SO LONG D: For some reason this chapter was just like impossible to write. Hopefully the next one will be faster—though THAT one involves a TEST CHAMBER so maybe not. :\\
On another note, thank you to everyone for your kind reviews! I've been happily surprised at the popularity of this story! I think I've already thanked everyone else personally, but I'd just like to say thanks to Celeste, who I can't send a reply because she's anonymous. Your reviews make my day! :P
Hopefully the next chapter will come soon.
DG out!