Well hey there peeps! The reason that this chapter took a while was because I have lots of life stuff going on at the moment, and I also have been working on The Crafting Chronicles, which takes priority over this story. I tried to make it longer than the other ones, but my brain is kind of short circuiting from sleep deprivation at the moment. So I at least made it longer than most of the other chapters. I'm too tired to say much of anything else right now, so I'll leave you guys on that.

Enjoy Chapter 6!

Chapter 6: Familiarity

"Ow." I lifted myself up off the ground. Chell lowered herself down into the small chamber.

"Yikes, that HAD to hurt. Are you Ok?" I was pretty sure that he could care less about my well-being, but I answered him anyway.

"Yeah, I'm fine…"

"Ah, good! Well, get going, and I'll meet you up ahead!" I sighed, and looked around the room. It definitely was the same area from the first game. An announcer sounded out on the loudspeaker.

"Hello, and again, welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Center. We are currently experiencing technical difficulties due to circumstances of potentially apocalyptic significance beyond our control. However, thanks to Emergency Testing Protocols, testing can continue. These pre-recorded messages will provide instructional and motivational support, so that science can still be done, even in the event of environmental, social, economic, or structural collapse. The portal will open, and emergency testing will begin in three, two, one." An orange portal appeared on the wall. Looking at Chell, I could tell that she didn't want to go through this for a second time, but she walked through it anyway. I followed her, and we walked into the first test chamber. At least this would be easy for both of us. Easy for me because I had played the game before. Easy for Chell because she had already completed the chambers. The first test was extremely simple. All we had to do was take the cube and place it on the button. The door slid open, and Chell walked through. I took a deep breath, and walked through the grid.

"You have just passed through an Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grill, which vaporizes most Aperture Science equipment that touches it." While I was prepared for the sensation, my body hadn't had to experience something so painful in a long time. I dropped to my knees, and Chell turned around, remembering that I couldn't just walk through them like her.

"Ugh- Don't worry, I'm fine. Just have to get used to it again…" She nodded, and walked over to the tiny elevator. After collecting my bearings, I stood up and walked into the lift with her. While it wasn't really meant for two people, we were able to fit inside without it feeling claustrophobic. The doors closed, and we descended downwards. We sat there, waiting for a short period of time before arriving at the next chamber. We completed the test, this one being no more challenging than the last. As I had expected, the pain was not as severe the second time I walked through the grid, although I sure did feel it. This was so easy. We walked into the rather small lift, and continued on our way. The announcer started speaking again.

"Because of the technical difficulties we are currently experiencing, your test environment is unsupervised. Before re-entering a relaxation vault at the conclusion of testing, please take a moment to write down the results of your test. An Aperture Science Reintegration Associate will revive you for an interview when society has been rebuilt." I honestly didn't really listen to what it was saying, because none of it really mattered. When the elevator stopped, we walked into the third test chamber. Hanging behind the broken wall was Wheatley, sliding along on his little management rail.

"Hey hey! You made it! There should be a portal device on that podium over there. I can't see it though... Maybe it fell off. Do you want to go and have a quick look?"

I looked at him. "Do I really have a choice?"

"Eh-heh… um… no. Not really." I sighed, and walked up to the podium, completely forgetting the fact that the ground is unstable and will collapse when you stand on it. I squealed as I fell quite a far distance downwards, luckily landing on my feet. Chell landed next to me. Wheatley called down to us. "Hello? Can you see the portal gun?" He paused. "Also, are you alive? That's important, should have asked that first."

"And you just realized this?" He laughed nervously.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Um… anyway, do you see it? Because we actually really need that gun."

"Here, give me a minute. I think that I see something up ahead." I walked along the water filled corridor, and into an open room. There were a bunch of panels that were lined up like a staircase, with the portal gun sitting on top. "Yeah, it's right here."

"Brilliant! Well, keep on going through the chambers, and I'll meet up with you in a few chambers!" I felt no need to reply to him, and he was probably gone already anyway. I walked up the steps and picked the device up off the ground. I turned to Chell.

"You want it?" She just shrugged. "Well I you don't really care, I guess I'll hold it." I shot a blue portal at the wall to connect with the orange one that was higher up, on top of the ledge. We continued on, and I used the portal gun to create a path when necessary. The announcer spoke to us as we went along.

"Some emergency testing may require prolonged interaction with lethal military androids. Rest assured that all lethal military androids have been taught to read and provided with one copy of the Laws of Robotics. To share. If you feel that a lethal military android has not respected your rights as detailed in the Laws of Robotics, please note it on your self-reporting form. A future Aperture Science Entitlement Associate will initiate the appropriate grievance-filing paperwork." I don't know why the announcer even bothers saying that, because there aren't any turrets in the chamber, or the next one. In fact, I don't think you even encounter a turret until GLaDOS is the one testing you. I don't really care, but there isn't much else to think about, so I get bored without someone to speak with. The next test was just as simple as I remembered which I was glad about. The announcer started speaking again. "This next test is very dangerous. To help you remain tranquil in the face of almost certain death, smooth jazz will be deployed in three. Two. One." The music made me laugh, because of how ridiculous Aperture really was. Chell smiled at the music, because it was a little bit of color in her world of grey. She has had a rather unpleasant life, and I felt kind of bad for her. After placing yet another cube on another button, I followed Chell though the door and into the next chamber. It was sort of nice that we didn't have to squeeze into the tiny elevator, at least for a little longer. It wasn't really that bad, but I didn't enjoy it. More cubes, and more buttons. Oh joy. We completed this test with ease, and went on to finish the next two chambers.

Walking into chamber 8, I saw Wheatley hanging, waiting for us. "Ah! You made it! Great! Here, place a portal on that wall over behind me, and come on through." After hopping though the portal, he started speaking again. "Okay, listen, let me lay something on you here. It's pretty heavy. They told me NEVER NEVER EVER to disengage myself from my Management Rail. Or I would DIE." Oh god, he really is an idiot.

"Just detach. They were lying. You'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Cause I don't think they were." I bickered with him until he finally gave in.

"Fine… Get ready to catch me. One… Two… THREE!" I flicked on the gravitational field just as he fell in front of the gun. After a few seconds, he opened his eye. "Oh. Well then. It seems you were right." Of course I was. "Ok, plug me into that stick on the wall." I fit him into the plug. "Here, turn around for a moment, would you?" We did as he said, knowing there was no way he would do it while I was watching. A few beeps later, and a panel in the wall opened up, revealing a passageway behind it. "Bam! Secret passage!" I picked him back up, and walked through the newly accessed door. I couldn't help but think about the fact that we were getting relatively close to GLaDOS's chamber. I was worried about what would happen. She only needed Chell for testing. She might just kill me. I shuddered at the thought of death. After all the things that I had overcome since I had gotten here, I had gained a sense of invincibility. I couldn't imagine dying after all the things that I had been through. I scolded myself. I need to stop overthinking things and just see how everything turns out. I just hope it doesn't turn out badly.

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