"So, what do we do now?" GLaDOS asked. She tried to sound calm, but something was making her tremble. She knew the fear was simply caused by magic, but she still couldn't shake it off. It felt so real, she wondered if it was magic at all, but she couldn't think of why a weird horse in the middle of a city would scare her. It looked like it belonged to the Headless Horseman, after all, but she was never bothered by such tales.
She felt Chell slowly grab her arm. "Run," she replied quietly. GLaDOS felt her jerk her arm, and only then realized how her eyes had been glued to the horse as she forced herself to turn away from it and run.
Behind them, the Night Mare reared, letting out another awful whinny, as they pelted down the street away from it. The sound of its galloping hooves as it charged after them seemed to thunder in GLaDOS's ears and the only thing going through her head was There's no way we can outrun it!
"Why don't you fight it?" she demanded breathlessly, remembering when Chell had easily destroyed a pack of starving werewolves. Chell didn't answer, but spun around and fired some sort of beam. It cut through the horse like a knife, but the creature didn't even flinch. In fact, it was like nothing even happened. They turned and continued running, the Night Mare catching up faster than ever.
"Okay, so fighting it is out of the question," GLaDOS said. She had to admit that at least now the fear was real. "What about flying?"
"I can't carry you. I'm not…" Chell paused, "No angel my age can carry a human," she said, grudging to admit she simply wasn't strong enough.
"What about the levitation spell?" GLaDOS asked.
"Well, if you think you can, then do it," Chell hissed over the icy wind and the ever-closer sound of hooves.
GLaDOS tried to focus on the feeling of weightlessness brought on by that spell. However, instead of floating she ended flinging herself into the air and landed hard, the breath knocked out of her. Chell landed next to her and tried to pull her up, but suddenly froze. GLaDOS looked up and froze as well.
Looming over them was the Night Mare. Its body was dark black and translucent while its mane was midnight blue with sparkles like stars, and its hooves shone silver. The only things that signified it was something evil were its eyes, which were like a pair of smoldering coals suspended in darkness. That, of course, was not counting the freezing wind and fog it brings or the waves of dark magic radiating from it.
Chell and GLaDOS could only stare at it, feeling numb and helpless, as it reared, its hooves flashing in the moonlight, before coming crashing down on top of them.
GLaDOS expected to feel crushed, or broken, or at least pain or anything usually associated with being trampled by a horse. However, she felt more like she was being pushed down a hole barely big enough for her into a thick, smothering liquid. She could vaguely see the stars twinkling softly in the night sky above her, and struggled to get back to the surface, but she was being pulled further down. She was also starting to feel sooo tired… and she quickly gave up the fight and sank into darkness.
GLaDOS awoke feeling a cold, hard floor beneath her. She tried to open her eyes, but quickly closed them against the bright white light. She had no idea where she was yet, but somehow it felt familiar. She felt like she knew this place very well, and there was only one place she really knew.
She knew she was in Aperture even before she was able to open her eyes and sit up. Looking around, there was no mistaking it was her facility, but something felt off. It wasn't just the fact that being here was impossible. Yes, it was Aperture, but it felt different, foreign… unreal.
GLaDOS stood up and began walking, knowing full well where she was. All she had to do was walk down the hallway, turn right, and she was staring down the hallway that led to her chamber. She kept walking down that hallway, knowing she destroyed it earlier. Not only that, but there was no sign of decay. The facility was just as it was before that lunatic - now known to be an angel of darkness – killed her. As she came closer to the chamber, she began to see ghostly images of people moving in and out of the chamber, and it wasn't until she entered it that they became solid and clear.
In the center of the room, she saw herself dangling there, as she was before she was murdered, except her body was limp, lifeless, and was still being worked on by scientists.
No, she realized with a start, They're not just scientists…
She could sense magic here. She wasn't sure how she could sense it, but she could, and it was coming off of them. They were witches and wizards, though a few were magicians. Elli had explained that the difference was that a magician grew up normal, but magic was revealed and taught to them while a witch or wizard was born with magic.
But why were they using magic on me? She wondered. The only normal humans in the room, the development team she became familiar with before she killed them, were standing off to the side, observing with nervous and suspicious expressions. Dr. Rattmann was also there, walking about with the head of the development team. He looked younger than GLaDOS remembered him when she was trying to chase him down throughout her facility. His black hair was shorter and actually neat, unlike the long messy rat's nest (no pun intended) that sat on his head later on, his eyes were bright rather than sunken, and his lab coat was crisp and clean instead of rumpled and yellowed.
As if to answer her previous question, the two of them walked close enough for her to hear their conversation.
"And you are sure," the head of development was saying with obvious skepticism, "That your spells will, in fact, transfer a subject's personality onto a computer more efficiently than our technology? Especially considering how close my team was getting before you decided to, ah, cut in?"
Rattmann, however, maintained a confident grin, "Oh, I'm sure you would have been able to figure out how to transfer someone's thoughts, memories, probably even personality from a brain onto a computer. However, what we are doing here," he gestured widely to the work site, "Is an actual transfer of the soul, the true holder of one's identity and self."
The head of development turned away with a snort. "A soul transfer. Right."
Rattmann frowned slightly, but quickly covered it up.
"Also," the head of development began again turning back toward him, "I have heard rumors that Caroline, is, well, is like you. Would that interfere?"
Rattmann smirked. "Oh, she's not a witch," he said smoothly, "But species should not matter here."
That was when they brought Caroline in. GLaDOS knew immediately that she was not, as Rattmann said, a witch, but there was magic coming off of her that was very powerful and very dark, and there was no mistaking the glossy black wings on her back.
Caroline was an angel? The same species as Chell? GLaDOS thought with confusion. Not even Chell knew about that. She had told Elli GLaDOS was made from a human, and Elli had guessed that perhaps that human actually being a witch could explain why she could use magic so easily, but it never crossed their mind that Caroline could be an angel of darkness like Chell. The thought made GLaDOS feel sick.
She watched Caroline, feeling her power and wondering why she wasn't trying harder to escape. She probably could have thrown the two wizards holding her off with just her wings and flown away. Then GLaDOS noticed how limply they fell at her sides, and their uneven crookedness. They were broken.
Break the wings, break the angel, she figured. Caroline had so much magic on her side that she could have used to easily escape, but looked like she didn't have the will to use it. She did not resist much when they forced her onto a stretcher beneath GLaDOS's chassis and strapped her down. Between her and the chassis was some sort of apparatus that was hooked up both to Caroline's head and GLaDOS's core.
GLaDOS knew what was coming next. She could almost remember being Caroline, feeling scared, betrayed, and, above all, full of rage and lust for revenge, not to mention the dull ache that kept thumping from her otherwise numb wings. She found herself stepping forward, closer to the chassis.
She felt someone grab her arm. She immediately tried to jerk it away and keep walking, but the grip was firm and tight. She turned to face whomever was trying to stop her and, who knows, punch them in the face, but she froze when she realized it was Chell, who was looking unusually concerned.
"Whatever happens here," she said smoothly, "You can't stop it. You can't change the past, to be more cliché."
"Where are we?" GLaDOS asked, figuring that was the most relevant question.
Chell glanced at the scene in the center of the chamber. "It's called the 'Dream Realm'."
"What is it with supernaturals and their method of naming things?"
Chell rolled her eyes. "Okay, why don't we call it the 'Aperture Science Alternate Dimension That Shows People Bad Memories'?"
Now it was GLaDOS's turn to roll her eyes. "If you've taken to using sarcasm, that's proof you've been around me too long and have grown too attached," she commented.
"Are you saying you're a bad influence on me?"
"I'm saying you should get to the point."
Chell sighed. "Okay, this is where dreams come from. It's where your soul kind of partially goes when you fall asleep."
"That makes no sense. But continue."
"When a soul is in here, this world kind of shapes itself based on that person's thoughts and memories. Since we came here with a VIP from a Night Mare, this place will shape itself to our worst memories; make us go insane trying to stop things from happening. That's why it's such a good thing I found you, since it can only change for one person at a time."
"So while one of us is going insane, the other can hold them back from killing something?" GLaDOS asked.
Chell grinned wickedly. "Exactly."
The scene around GLaDOS's chassis was beginning to fade, even the chassis itself disappeared. The walls of the chamber began to close in around them, and a staircase leading downward appeared.
"I've never actually watched a horror movie," GLaDOS said, "But even I know this is a bit cliché."
Chell, however, stiffened, not amused.
"I never left the wing of the facility where they studied us until I suddenly woke up in your test chamber," Chell said quietly, "But I have a feeling…"
"I know," GLaDOS said softly. There were no cameras directly outside her chamber, and the only way she ever left was through a seemingly bottomless pit rather than the door, but she too had a feeling of dreaded certainty when she walked toward the hallway outside her chamber. "We could go somewhere else…" she started to suggest, but one look at the closing walls around them meant the only way out was down the stairs.
Chell balled her hands into fists and determinedly led the way down the staircase, GLaDOS following and watching her closely. The angel grew unusually quiet – well, quiet in comparison to how she had been the past few days – and GLaDOS could tell she was getting nervous. Ever since Chell stopped disguising herself as a human, she had been quite willing to talk, but not at this moment.
They had been heading down for at least five minutes with no sign of a bottom to the stairs when a sound that was part shriek and part howl split the air. Chell froze, her face even paler than usual.
"Of all things, why this?" she murmured.
"I don't think we can stop now," GLaDOS pointed out, looking behind them. A wall of darkness appeared to be making its way down the stairs after them. Chell glanced up at it and resumed walking.
A roar sounded from below, but she kept going, her pace a bit quicker even though it was clear she would rather be running away from that sound.
They finally reached the bottom. A door slowly slid open in front of them, and they stepped into the lab. It had a large section of the left-hand wall covered by windows that overlooked what appeared to be an empty test chamber. Well, empty besides the two supernaturals fighting in the center of it.
One of them was obviously Chell, but younger. She looked about 17, and was fluttering frantically around a two-legged, canine monster to avoid getting slashed by its claws. She appeared to have already been hit once or twice considering the darker stains on her black jumpsuit. The larger creature, however, appeared unhurt, was simply roaring or howling with rage and bearing its syringe-like fangs whenever she tried to attack with magic.
"Dr. Rattmann was always fascinated with the idea of successful hybrids," Chell, the real one, commented quietly as they watched the scene, "Even though they were historically known to be impossible. Even that one, as strong as it looks, wouldn't have lasted long even if I didn't manage to kill it. It was a vampire-werewolf hybrid, and it couldn't properly digest solid food even though blood alone could not sustain it."
"How did you kill it, then?" GLaDOS asked, watching as the younger version of Chell cried out when the beast's claws once again struck, this time on the wing, and sending her tumbling to the floor. Shakily, she stood up and faced it as it lumbered toward her, fangs at the ready.
"Here's a tip," came Rattmann's voice, sounding way too calm and content, over the intercom, "Why don't you use that special technique I made you learn earlier?"
The younger Chell glanced up at the ceiling, and in that split second the vampire-werewolf struck with a massive paw, sending her sprawling against the wall where she was cornered.
"Do it," Rattmann commanded.
Closing her eyes, she stuck out her hand as the beast lumbered closer. After a few seconds, darkness spread from her wrist, covered her hand, and then formed into a black, translucent extension of her arm complete with a large clawed hand. The monster growled at it, but was otherwise undeterred. When she opened her eyes and saw it was there, her lips twisted into a satisfied grin. Then, with a deep breath, she shoved it into the beast's chest.
The vampire-werewolf froze, its eyes wide with sudden terror. She twisted her arm and it wailed in agony. Then, she slowly closed her hand into a fist. The beast kept wailing until her hand was completely closed, and then fell over, dead. She pulled the black hand out of its chest, a bit of blood coming out with it even though there was no wound on its chest.
"To answer your question," Chell said, "I crushed its heart."
Meanwhile, the younger Chell stared at the body for a moment before taking a few steps forward and collapsing.
"That fight injured me more than any other," the real Chell said, turning away from the observation window, "And they just left me in the Relaxation Vault they used as my cage. I'd probably be dead if one of the scientists didn't decide to go against Dr. Rattmann's orders and do a healing spell. I wonder what happened to him…"
As she spoke, the scene changed around them until the observation windows became a Relaxation Vault where young Chell lay curled up on the floor in a small pool of blood. However, the real Chell didn't seem to notice the change and continued to stand facing away from it. So, only GLaDOS watched as a man in a lab coat stepped up to the vault, his face shadowed. There were no portals or any other entrance to the vault, but he simply stepped through the glass, which rippled around him like the surface of water.
Younger Chell tried to sit up and attack, but her magic was weak and bounced off of him.
"Calm down, little fledgling," he said smoothly, his tone dripping with calming waves of magic. The girl slowly relented and lay back down, apparently either falling asleep or into some sort of trance. He then proceeded with the healing spell, the blue light radiating strongly from his hand as her wounds closed and the blood disappeared.
Around them, the scene began to darken like it was about to change again.
"I think we can both agree that we don't want to go through another scene," GLaDOS said, "So how are we going to escape?"
Chell opened her mouth to answer, but then they noticed the darkness was not dissipating. In fact, it was growing thicker like a thick liquid, and they could feel themselves getting swept into it. In a panic, they grabbed each other by the arm to try to keep from being separated. Eventually, however, the darkness was so thick and the upward pull was so strong that they were wrenched apart.
GLaDOS once again awoke to something hard beneath her, and for a moment was afraid she'd have to go through the entire thing all over again. Then she realized the floor was wooden and full of splinters rather than smooth, cold concrete. She was able to easily open her eyes due to the dim light and sat up, her body stiff and tired. Beside her, Chell was also stirring.
"Oh, good," Elli said with a smile, "So neither of you were lost forever to the Dream Realm!"
"Yeah. Great," Chell muttered, sitting up. She still appeared to be shaken from what she saw.
"Hm. I hoping to hear a 'Gee, thanks Elli, I'm so glad you saved our lives by getting us out of there before we went insane and died!' That would have been nice," Ellie pouted.
"Now he's using sarcasm," GLaDOS said exasperatedly, "Am I looked to as some sort of model for behavior? I'm flattered, really, but still."
Chell rolled her eyes. "You're not the only person in the world who can use sarcasm," she said, "Get over it."
"Girls, girls, there's no need to fight," Elli said like he was scolding children, "Especially not after you've spent all day in another dimension!" He gestured to the darkened windows and continued, "I advise you both go upstairs and rest, now."
Lacking the energy to protest, they trudged up the stairs and collapsed into their beds. A few moments later the lantern automatically went out, and they were plunged into total darkness. An hour or so passed before either spoke.
"GLaDOS? Were you planning on sleeping?" Chell called softly.
"I tried, but I can't," she replied.
"Well, I guess after spending a day in the Dream Realm, sleeping isn't very high on the agenda."
They both sat up and turned toward each other, sitting on the edges of their beds. With nothing else to do, they started talking.
"What exactly is a Night Mare?" GLaDOS asked.
"I've heard they come from the deepest, darkest corner of the Dream Realm," Chell explained, "They aren't physical, organic creatures; just pure dark magic. They usually just gallop around populated areas, causing, you know, nightmares, and feeding off the terror without actually hurting anyone. But if someone's caught outside, you know what happens."
GLaDOS had raised an eyebrow. "They feed of terror? Seriously?"
"Okay, they keep themselves going by absorbing the energy let off by a soul while its feeling strong, negative emotions like terror. So there."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"How do you know all this, then?"
Chell shrugged. "Dr. Rattmann let one roam around one of the places where they stored test subjects and kept it there, so it kept feeding off the same people. They wanted to know what the effect would be. Of course, Mr. Johnson was pretty mad when they found out each and every one of the test subjects in an entire wing had either literally died of fright or was completely delirious and useless for testing."
It felt odd hearing Chell call Cave Johnson Mr. Johnson just like Caroline did, but GLaDOS let that thought go. They spent the rest of the night talking about no subject in particular; it was simple chatter like what normal people do. However, when dawn started to approach and GLaDOS was finally feeling drowsy, she started to realize this was the first time the two of them actually trusted each other and relaxed. Perhaps that was a relief.
A/N: Were you expecting them to fight the Night Mare? Pssh.
Anyway, I spent all day writing this, and will probably spend tomorrow writing the next chapter. Now that the school year is ending, this should be updated faster.