"You're nuts! I mean genuinely certifiable!"
Leonard yelled this at Chell over dinner, concern in his eyes. Anna looked like she very much agreed with him, letting her spoon hang by her side and her mouth slightly open. John didn't seem surprised, but he also wasn't looking at her, choosing to distract himself by cleaning up Tucker. Chell just raised an eyebrow and gestured for Leonard to go on with whatever he was saying.
He rested his hand on his forehead and sighed. Anna picked up approximately where he left off. "You don't just go and fight against the Combine" she said, her tone disbelieving. "You'll die. In two seconds! You must be mad. They're better equipped and much stronger than you'll ever be. Trying to deal with the combine is suicide."
Leonard and Anna continued talking while Chell used the notebook she had written her original idea on to write another message. A bit of frustration rose in her as she considered how much easier this would be if she could only speak. But a pen and paper would do, even if it wasn't ideal, and so Chell wrote out her reasons for wanting to fight the combine and then turned the notebook to face her fellow humans.
They paused to read it and a long silence fell across the basement, broken only by the small noises coming from Tucker. Leonard looked like he was crushed and he hung his head.
"I'm sorry Chell" he said. "It I hadn't, hadn't told you about the Combine you wouldn't want to fight them so badly. But you just can't do this, you can't. You'll die and then it'll be like a part of my family has died."
He brought his head up to look her in the eyes, seemingly staring into her soul. "Chell," he said. "All we have is each other. And we can't lose you."
"Yeah" added Anna. "As much as I didn't like you before, you've grown on me. T'would be a shame to let you go."
"The Chell seeks freedom, as do we all." said John, stalking over and crouching down next to Chell. "I shall accompany her throughout the journey. The vortessence flows with hope as it has not in years. The Chell shall not fight alone."
The rest of the party let his word sink. And Leonard managed to let out a quiet "I. . ." before Anna stood up in indignation.
"What?" she said, furious. "Are we all going to be leaving now? Are we going to leave Tucker alone to fend for himself? Is this place not good enough?"
Her voice was full of emotion. Tucker began to cry out in the background, picking up on
Anna's emotion. Chell understood why she was so angry, she really did. She herself had grown attached to this place they had carved out for themselves in the two months she had lived here. But this, she could feel in her heart and mind, was important. She wished that she could tell Anna what she was feeling, because she certainly couldn't find the right words to write it down. Maybe if she could speak, things like this would be easier.
Anna started crying, tears leaking out of her eyes and sorrow mixing with the indignation in her voice. "What if you get captured by the Combine? There isn't going to be anyone here to rescue you!"
She then staggered forward and wrapped her arms around Chell. Tucker let out a scream. "I. . ." she said, "I don't want you to end up like everyone else who has fought against them. We're safe here, happy here. Why do you feel the need to go and get yourself killed?"
And suddenly, the right words came to Chell. She slipped out of the embrace and picked up her notebook, everyone's eyes on her. She quickly scribbled, and when she held it up to the others it read: We can't just survive. We have to live.
Anna fell silent, looking like she had something, words perhaps, stuck in her throat. Leonard gave what looked like a small nod and John made an ambiguous sound that Chell took as approval. Tucker's wailing in the background got louder and louder, until finally Anna went over and hugged him, calming him down.
Leonard then awkwardly broke the silence. "Well," he said "I think it's best if we talk about this in the morning. We won't go out tomorrow." He turned to Chell and then, gesturing to her notebook, said "I think you should be prepared to make your case."
Chell nodded and walked over to her own mattress next to the guns. She didn't write anything down, only gently placed the notebook and pencil next to her bed. She already knew why she, and maybe even they, should leave to fight.
She knew that leaving, that fighting, was the right thing to do. But nevertheless, that night was the first time that she fell asleep troubled since her escaped.
Sooner than she liked, Chell woke up. Not with the dawn, as she usually did, but to a small hand shaking her awake. She turned over quickly, fearing irrationally that a Head crab had somehow made its way into the shelter, but only saw Anna leaning over her. Taking a great sigh of relief, Chell tried to covey purely through expression how annoyed she was at being woken up so early and her want to know what Anna wanted.
"Wake up, Chell" Anna said. "I need to talk to you."
Chell nodded and sat up. Anna made her way over to the crack to the outside, where the moonlight was shining through and leaned up against it, gesturing for Chell to come closer. So she did. They both stared at the outside for a while, Anna obviously trying to work out what exactly it was that she wanted to say. Chell stared at the moon and wondered about Wheatley. She knew what he was doing at the moment, orbiting around the moon, but she didn't know a whole lot else. What was it like on the moon?
Whatever it was like it was probably better than Aperture. Chell her kept her word. She had gotten him out, in the end. In contrast, Chell knew that GLaDOS was probably busy with something diabolical and, frankly, evil, but she couldn't bring herself to care. As long as the AI didn't mess with her new world (and, as this was outside the facility, she wouldn't) Chell couldn't care less.
Finally, Anna began to speak.
"Chell," she said. "Do you know who, exactly, Tucker is?"
Chell shook her head in response.
"He's my son" Anna said, her voice shaking a bit on the last word.
Chell took a great, deep breath and let it out slowly. She had been expecting something like this, but it was still hard to hear. Tucker just wasn't right in the head, but from the way everyone treated him and talked to him, Chell had deduced that he wasn't always like that.
"You're so young," said Anna, taking Chell's hand into her own. "I just want you to be safe."
Chell looked at Anna with a hard gaze and tried her very hardest to make the older woman understand. Tried to show that she had already been hurt by her time in Aperture, that she understood what she was up against. Tried to make her understand that it would all be alright.
But Chell failed, and Anna only looked back in confusion. Chell wished she was talking to John instead. He always understood, even though he wasn't human. Hell, Chell wished she was talking to Wheatley. He never really understood her, but he was at least willing to go along with her plans.
"I'm staying here." Anna said. "With Tucker."
Chell took a deep sigh and nodded, disappointed but not surprised. She had hoped that Anna had woken her to give good news, but it looked like Chell would be moving on without her.
But that was alright. Chell didn't expect anyone to follow her. She understood that the world was dangerous, perhaps better than any of them. She had faced evil before and survived. Chell was pretty sure that she could face whatever she came up against, but she really couldn't vouch for anyone who followed her.
So really, this was for the best.
Even so, when they both went back to their respective beds, Chell let out a sniffle and her eyes were moist when they hit her pillow.
There were numerous fights over the next couple of days, with Chell being the only one to stand her ground on this journey. The others kept debating with themselves and flip flopping on whether they wanted to stay or go.
Nevertheless, one week later a truck was waiting on a road opposite from the one Chell arrived on. It was packed full of guns, ammo, food, water, equipment, and gasoline. Chell was decked out in something resembling an army uniform, with huge pockets and many layers. Only John stood with her, finally having decided that fighting for the freedom of the earth was well worth the risks and the abandonment of this simple yet wonderful life.
Chell wondered if he felt sad, as sad as she did. She didn't know how the alien processed emotions. She didn't know if the alien even had emotions and if he did, she couldn't read it on his face. They had sang and laughed with Leonard and Anna last night, but it had been over all too soon. Morning had finally come, and they were heading out on a new journey.
"We will meet again." John said. "All lives are connected through the vortessence"
Chell gave him a weary gaze and a sad smile. And, for a second, she felt like he was smiling back at her. So Chell took a deep breath and walked up to the pickup, pulling the driver's door open and taking the drivers seat. John soon occupied the passenger seat, and though trucks weren't built for vortigaunts, he fit well enough.
Chell turned the key and the engine roared to life. She smiled and pressed down on the gas pedal and soon they were speeding off into the great unknown, perhaps not happy, but definitely free.