The tests were easy. So easy, in fact, that Chell figured Wheatley would be able to do them without any trouble. It had only been about an hour since she had begun testing, and she was already up to the seventeenth chamber. She was curious about what was going on—in place of toxic water, there were pits she could portal out of, and there were no turrets anywhere to be found—and she wanted to ask, but true to form, she was remaining silent. On the other hand, GLaDOS's usual snarky comments were nowhere to be found.

"Very good," she told Chell as she placed the cube on the button. And that was it. No "Oh, there's LOTS of room here for comments," no "You're doing VERY well." The only thing Chell could figure was that either her death threat had managed to scare the computer, or she'd somehow managed to reach Caroline.

Either way was fine with her.

The testing track GLaDOS had Chell running had been designed years ago for an Aperture Science event called "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day." As soon as she had given that little idiot the order to sedate Chell, she had known it was a bad idea, but she couldn't very well go back on her word. She hadn't wanted Chell to be in any danger, so she found a testing track where there was no danger. It had been simple.

Of course, even without danger, she had lost the woman's trust, but she was trying hard not to think about that.

"The upcoming test is the final one," she informed Chell as she stepped into the elevator. "At the end of it, you will drop the device in the equipment recovery annex." Through a camera, she could see the woman roll her eyes. Ah, well, it had been worth a shot. After the death threat, GLaDOS really hadn't expected very much out of her.

The elevator slid open, and Chell looked down at the lift directly in front of it. It led straight down a long, empty corridor. The lift was around three feet off the ground, and she imagined that there might have been toxic water under it once, but now there was just a floor.

"Please step onto the lift," GLaDOS's voice said. "It will lead you to my chamber, and then the test will be over."

Chell raised an eyebrow. Just how stupid did GLaDOS think she was? Instead of stepping onto the lift, she sat down crossed-legged inside the elevator and folded her arms across her chest, letting the portal gun rest on the floor. After a moment, there was a beep, and then the announcer's voice. "Test has been put on hold." With a frown, Chell looked up and around. That was new.

"I have paused the test so that we may speak," GLaDOS informed her. "If you remember, which given your poor memory you may not, protocol requires that my interaction with you doing the tests be kept to a minimal. But now the test has been paused, and we may speak."

Chell remained silent.

"If you do not wish to speak, simply step onto the lift and the test can continue."

With a sigh, Chell said, "Really. This leads directly to your chamber. Really. Just how stupid do you think I am?"

"You do not want an answer to that," GLaDOS said, and Chell couldn't help but smile a little.

"No. Probably not. But I'm still not getting on that lift."

GLaDOS sighed. "I promise that the deadly neurotoxin will not be activated. Provided you do not attempt to murder me, that is."

"Speaking of things that are deadly," Chell said. "Where's the toxic water? Where are the turrets? Where's anything remotely difficult?"

"I must have forgotten to turn the deadly obstacles on," GLaDOS replied. "That was my mistake. I would fix it now, but you are already so close to the end of the test that it seems like a waste of energy. And it is possible that I inadvertently placed you in a simple testing track, albeit not likely. Perhaps you are just better at testing than you believe yourself to be."

"You don't make mistakes," Chell said. "You wouldn't 'just forget' to turn on the things that can kill me. You wouldn't put me on this easy testing track 'just by accident.' It's Caroline again, isn't it?" she pressed. "She's stopping you from killing me. But apparently not from being sadistic enough to force me to test when I'm still not feeling well."

"Caroline has never had anything to do with this," GLaDOS snapped. "Once again, she has been deleted. Also, you are clearly healthy enough to test. Do not be melodramatic."

Chell sighed. "How long are you going to keep trying to convince me that she's gone?"

"How long is it going to take to convince you to believe me?" There was a pause, and then, "But…what do you know about Caroline? Other than the fact that she was deleted, that is."

She gave a shrug. "Not much. I know she was human. And that she was a part of you."

"That's it?"

"Why?" Chell asked. "What else is there?"

"Nothing," GLaDOS said. "Nothing whatsoever." Chell didn't believe her, but pressing the matter wasn't getting her anywhere, so she didn't ask any more questions.

There was silence for a few moments as Chell stared out at the corridor, trying to figure out what the best course of action was. "So…no neurotoxin, huh?"

"No."

"Then what are you going to do with me?"

There was a pause. GLaDOS clearly hadn't thought about that.

"Are you going to let me go home?" Chell asked. "Go home, burn my Companion Cube, never think about this godforsaken place again?" She snorted, knowing how unlikely that was.

After another pause, GLaDOS replied, "No."

"I didn't think so," Chell said. "So I think I'll just stay right here, thanks."

"No, you cannot burn your Companion Cube. It is sturdy and made out of a special metal that is almost completely heat-resistant. You will not be able to destroy it, so you may as well hold onto it. It is also a means of contacting the Enrichment Center in the event that you fall ill again. And it is doubtful that you will be able to never think about your time at this facility again."

"…What?" Chell asked. "Are you implying that you'd let me get home so I can have the chance to try and burn my Companion Cube?"

"Yes."

She stared out at the corridor again, thinking. She was already at the computer's mercy, so what more harm could it do to travel to her chamber? And once she was there, maybe she could convince GLaDOS to tell her what was really going on. "All right. Fine. I'll get on the lift. I'm going to trust you one more time. God help me, but I am."

There was no response from the computer as Chell stood up, picked up her portal gun, and stepped onto the lift. As it began to move steadily forward towards GLaDOS's chamber, the announcer's voice said, "Test resumed."