Chapter 3

How. How in the world was she able to dream as GLaDOS? GLaDOS wasn't even human! , she yelled at herself as she paced in her living room. But the more she tried to convince herself otherwise, the more she knew it was right.

But the real question was, not why had she dreamt as the AI… Chell was sure that She had had something to do with her strange panic attacks too. After all, she was certain that she hadn't been the one convinced that she loved chemistry.

The only problem was it seemed like there was no way that it could have happened. She had been X-rayed before, and there was no chip; she was sure that there weren't any strange substances in her body; she was certain that there were no strange things in her body, either. There just wasn't a scientific explanation for it.

No scientific explanation for it… but… what if it was something else?

Chell shook her head. No. There was no way that you could share a supernatural tie with a supercomputer, thank you very much.

But she swore to god she had been completely convinced that she loved chemistry.

She growled irately to herself. She was just going around in circles. She needed some definite answers; and by god she wasn't going to get them sitting in her living room. She leapt up from the couch and grabbed her backpack. Running around the house, she stuffed a blanket, two changes of clothes, her toothbrush and some snacks into it. She was going to go back. Surely, she reasoned, if She was behind this, then she'd at least get some answers there.

She slowed to a stop outside her bedroom. She walked in and opened her closet. As she rummaged around in the corner, her hand brushed against what she was looking for:

Her Long Fall Boots.

She slipped them on, trying to come to terms with their height again; but soon enough she regained her balance, heaved her pack on her shoulder, and ran out the door into the night.

She wanted answers, and by God she was going to get them.

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The first thing she saw there sent a sinking feeling deep into the pit of her stomach.

The entrance with a parking lot in it- the one she had blown a gaping hole through the first time around, she remembered- was littered with cars. Trucks, more like. And they were all stamped with an unfamiliar logo; not Black Mesa, but definitely not Aperture, either.

The shed entrance, thankfully, was clear, no one in sight. She slipped inside the elevator and hoped nothing was coming to kill her when she stepped out.

'Oh jesus!' was her first thought. She had gotten out of the elevator safely- and managed to run down the corridors without bumping into any guards- but she presumed now that they were all in the central AI chamber.

Which they were.

There appeared to be at least a hundred people in there- although most of them were backed up against the walls- and there was one man- no, a woman- standing in the middle of the room with a remote in her hand and a scowl on her face.

And there was one, very frightened-looking AI in the center of the room.

At first, Chell was relieved they hadn't just said 'to hell with it' and blown Her up yet- but the relief was soon blown out of the water with the most absolute sensation of fear she had ever had. It was all she could do to keep from puking on the floor as it passed.

Alright, that settled it. GLaDOS definitely had something to do with this. But until the woman down there and her buddies cleared out, she couldn't even get near the AI. And she seemed to be… yelling?

~Alright, you! I'm going to give you one more chance: tell me where it is! ~

What. She looked around wildly- she could have sworn that she'd heard the woman speaking! She shakily passed it off as the PA and returned to staring at the scene.

~ N-no! I won't! Especially not to yo-AAAAAHHHHH!

Oh god that was GLaDOS! Chell swallowed hard as she saw the shock that went through the chassis. She itched to run down there and give that woman the what-for, but then she would likely be brutally murdered by those burly guards down there. And she did, apparently, still have survival instincts.

~Oh, I don't think you have a choice, sweetie. You're going to tell me where it is, or we're going to find some other means of getting you to talk. ~

Chell grit her teeth. Half of her wished She'd just spit it out and save herself the pain; her other half knew that that was about as likely to happen as rainbows spewing from the woman's mouth.

~Like, oh, I don't know… your friend? ~

She could feel GLaDOS tense.

~Wha-What are you talking about? What friend? ~

~You know. That woman you let go. Her. ~

~I-I don't know who you're talking about. ~

~Ha-ha! Sweetie, you aren't fooling anyone. For her sake, I'd better think you'd talk. ~

~No! Never! Not in a million year- AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! ~

~Well, we gave you a chance. Boys, would you bring her in, please? ~

Chell was suddenly painfully aware of two men directly behind her. She turned to run- but they had other ideas, apparently.

Chell was fairly certain that being shoved through a glass wall to a floor 39 feet below should feel differently.

She hit the ground painfully on her back, and through the stars in her eyes, she could faintly see GLaDOS writhe as if She'd been the one who'd hit the ground, not Chell. Odd…

"Alright, sweetie, I'm done playing around." The woman put her boot directly above Chell's heart. "Tell me. Or your little human buddy leaves the realm of the living."

Through the speakers, Chell heard a sound she'd never thought she'd hear from GLaDOS: a soft whimper.

"A-Alright! I'll tell you! Just don't…"

"Awww. Does the great big computer have a soft spot for little Chelley?" she said in mock baby tone. "Tell me. Now."

As GLaDOS spit out the coordinates of wherever the hell the woman wanted, Chell felt her boot slowly rise off her chest.

"Alright boys, put her out." She said dismissively- and Chell felt a soft prick as a dart hit her shoulder.

What no one in the room could explain was why the AI went limp the instant the human did, without anyone hitting the kill switch.

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No, not the pairing Chelley. Jeez.

Weelll, slightly sappy ChellDOS has been acheived- and will continue to be. Just telling you right here. Y'know, just in case you didn't already know of my extreme adoration of the pairing. XD