A/N: That last chapter had a lot of chit-chat with a lot of explanation. Hopefully, as this goes on, that really shouldn't be necessary. More interesting things should happen soon.

GLaDOS was forced to make several changes to the device used to transfer Caroline's consciousness into an AI, as well as whatever lowly, disposable employee they used to make Wheatley. It was designed for a one-way trip, after all – human to core. The last thing she wanted was to have another human consciousness floating around in her brain rather than what she wanted, which was arguably worse – willingly going into a human body.

"Alright… everything is ready," she announced unenthusiastically, "Are you sure this is absolutely necessary?"

Chell nodded, grinning. "Completely sure."

GLaDOS wondered if she was lying, which was highly likely, but either way, she didn't have a choice. Science must go on.

Reluctantly, she flipped the switch for the procedure to begin. She immediately felt the electric shock that knocked her out to keep her from resisting. The same thing happened to her when the core transfer began, as well as to Caroline long before that.

She woke up with her stomach already in knots about being in a vulnerable little human body again, though that might have just been from the procedure itself. Other than that, however, she actually felt good in a purely physical sense. Mentally, she was frankly a train wreck of panic.

Chell leaned over her with her hand hovering over her forehead. Blue light emitted from her hand.

GLaDOS sat up with surprising ease. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Since you obviously didn't notice," the dark angel replied calmly, "That procedure almost killed you. I was doing you a little favor." She tilted her head. "Hmm, I didn't expect that…"

"What is it?"

"That new body of yours seems to have changed. It suits you now."

The test subject used for the procedure was noted to have short brown hair and blue eyes. However, GLaDOS now noticed silver-ish blond hair falling over her shoulders and, looking at her reflection in the computer monitor off to the side, golden eyes.

"Well…" she paused, slowly standing up, "What are we going to do now?"

Chell leaned back, her wings slightly unfolded and relaxed. "First of all, we'll have to find something to wear other than orange jumpsuits. They'll think we're escaped prisoners otherwise."

"They? As in humans?"

"Of course," the angel of darkness replied with her signature evil grin, "Did you think we would stay in this facility? This place is sucked dry of magic; you won't be able to make a spark here."

GLaDOS narrowed her eyes. "That wasn't part of what we discussed," she stated.

Chell pretended to look surprised. "I thought that was a given," she said innocently.

GLaDOS face palmed. She supposed she should have seen this coming.

Chell crossed her arms. "So, are you going to come with me, or are you going to run back to your old body and forget it?"

GLaDOS wanted nothing more than to go back into her proper body and forget she had seen any of this, but somehow she figured Chell would never actually let her. She was stuck like this for now.

"Look," she began, "All I want is access to those files, and probably that laboratory, of course."

"And to get all that," Chell added, "You'll have to learn to control magic, and you'll have to learn in a human body before you can do it as a robot. I can assure you I'm not lying about that."

"I'll leave that to you, then," the former AI said, eyeing her carefully. She was becoming less and less sure she could trust the angel. She was of darkness, after all.

"Look," Chell added, "You don't have to worry about whether or not you'll make it back here. You will. Trust me."

Despite the former AI's uneasiness and uncertainty, it wasn't long before they were both trekking across a wheat field, away from the unsuspicious entrance to her beloved facility. It had recently became dark, and for a few minutes GLaDOS had to go on alone while Chell flew ahead to find a nearby town. They stopped at a small village for the night, a small community that Chell dismissed as 'boring and useless' and void of anything supernatural.

"We tend to like big cities," she explained, "That way, it's less likely for humans to notice if a few disappear or if anything strange happens."

Chell quickly stole some cloths for them and abandoned GLaDOS in an old abandoned house for the night while she continued the search for a big city.

After mulling it over for a few hours, she did found herself reaching the conclusion that she should not, under any circumstances, have allowed that creature to talk her into becoming human. She had no reason to believe Chell about this lab even existing or that learning magic as a human would be the only way to grant her access to it.

Why did I agree to this, again? She asked herself angrily for the umpteenth time. For science, but… She realized that, while she was thinking about it on her own, their plan seemed preposterous. Surely there was a way around becoming human to learn magic. She may have found ways to use technology to control supernatural test subjects, or find a way to control magic while in her own body. However, when Chell said it, it sounded reasonable.

As dawn approached, the soft beating of wings alerted her of the angel's return. GLaDOS rose to meet her, though she was still uncertain on whether or not to trust her. She was beginning to suspect that magic could be used to influence another's thoughts.

Chell, looking rather excited and pleased, reported that there was, indeed, a large city nearby and they could leave for it at dusk.

"Why leave at dusk when we could leave now?" the former AI asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Because," she replied as if the answer was obvious, "If we leave now, we'll get there during the day when there are a lot of humans about. At night, the streets won't be quite as crowded with humans and the more the more interesting creatures will be out."

You mean more dangerous, GLaDOS thought spitefully, though she knew that they would be the sort that she wanted to test and thus she should take the opportunity to observe them.

They waited, hiding out in the abandoned house, until dusk fell. Once the coast was clear, they set out from the village along a dirt road. When the dirt road joined with a paved road, they turned and followed the paved road for what seemed like hours without speaking.

Finally, skyscrapers appeared on the horizon. GLaDOS noted that they must be entering the city on the… wrong side. Most of the buildings appeared condemned, with broken or boarded up windows and crumbling roofs. The main road was abandoned, but figures could be seen slipping in and out of shadows. The pavement was cracked and the street lights were either flickering or out completely.

"Are you sure this is the… safest place to be?" she asked.

"Stick with me, and you have nothing to worry about," Chell replied confidently.

"Seriously, though," the former AI pressed, "How long are we going to have to stay here?"

"We're going to have to keep a low profile," the angel reminded her, "It's not like we can exactly live comfortably amongst the humans. Here, it won't take much to find a place to stay and no one will question who we are or where we're from."

"I suppose that's reasonable," she agreed, though she was still doubtful.

"Look, I'll…" Chell paused uncertainly, "I'll see if we can snag one with electricity and running water," she promised, "I really didn't think it would be this bad; it looks like whoever's running this city refused to acknowledge this place even exists."

The continued deeper into the dilapidated city in silence.

A/N: Kind of short, but what comes next feels like it should be the start of a chapter.