So, this chapter was going to be longer but I decided to split it and upload this now as it was a fairly easy point to finish a chapter on and I haven't uploaded in a while (busy, obviously). I hope you're glad to see us back up. This story isn't and will not be deserted until completion. :)

New Faces

Chell woke with a jump. Looking around, she saw that she hadn't moved. She was still in the room with the old man – the man who had just ripped apart her newly formed world. He was smiling faintly at her, as though slightly amused. It seemed he hadn't even bothered to move nor assist her, just waited for her to come back around. He sat up straight, and cleared his throat.

"Right, now we're being frank with each other"- Chell nearly snorted at this. It wasn't like she'd agreed to anything, to cooperate. Then again, outward emotive expression wasn't going to help her, she didn't want this man to know what she was thinking.

"Yes, now I have somebody who would very much like to meet you." He bobbed his head uneasily, "I must tell you though; he is an OLoMII now. We came upon him very soon after he had died. Perhaps if we were an hour earlier, we could have revived him. However, his brain was still functioning enough for us to, ehm, preserve his personality."

Chell shifted uneasily, she didn't want to know what was coming next. She had been knocked around too much already, she didn't know how much she could take. Surely it couldn't be Cave Johnson? Chell couldn't help but think of him as her father even after the false revelations she had been party to over the last week.

"Douglas Rattman."

Chell didn't know what to think. She hadn't even considered meeting the man who'd got her into all of the mess with Aperture Science. It just so happened that he'd helped her get out of it too, but that was beside the point.

"It's your choice Chell. You don't have to speak to him, but it's been all that he's spoken about since we woke him. If you think it'll be too painful or upsetting, we can just shut him – it – off. He'll never even know."

No. That was unfair. You couldn't deny a dead man his only wish, surely. Perhaps he'd give her some real answers; or was all of this just another test?

Chell closed her eyes, and inclined her head slightly, accepting the proposal.

"There's just one thing. He doesn't know he is an OLoMII, none of them do. We discovered in primary tests that knowing that you are partly artificial, or indeed you have been revived from death does terrible things to the mind. The OLoMII starts fighting itself, and it isn't a nice sight. Mr Rattman believes he fell unconscious after an encounter with an Aperture Science Turret, and we nursed him to health here."

The man gave a cold smile.

"Please, do not give him reason to doubt this story."

The man raised a walkie-talkie from his pocket, held the transmission button and spoke into it: "Dr Male, please bring the Rattman throught to Control Three. Thank you."

"They will be with us presently" He told Chell, as if she hadn't heard him speaking to his colleague.

Moments later, a small wicked looking man with blonde hair and teeth that seemed too sharp to be natural stepped through a door. He was thin, and his pale skin seemed to stick to his cheekbones, as if being suctioned inwards. His voice when he spoke was high and reedy, and seemed to come from somewhere in his nose rather than his voicebox.

"The Ratman"

The old man in the chair winced at this, clearly it was a nickname he'd been trying not to use around Chell, who scowled, finding herself protective of this man she had never met.

The most striking thing about the man that followed him in was his eyes. They were the most striking, piercing light blue. The sort of blue that might have been advertised for women's contact lenses. It verged on being unnatural, almost. The second thing about them was that the pupil of the right eye was significantly larger than his left, and made his eyes look altogether mismatched. His hair was black and spiky, but he lacked the moustache and beard she would have associated with a computer programmer.

He seemed very nervous, his eyes darting from the man in the chair, to Chell, to the screens on the wall then back again to Chell, where they rested, quivering.

"Welcome, Mr Rattman!

"I am glad to be able to grant you what you've been asking of us, even if it has taken a while. This is Chell, as I'm sure you know. You'll have lots to speak about. Well, you know how I mean..

"We'll leave you be now."

It was a gesture more than anything, Chell knew. There were no obvious cameras around the room, but she was sure they would be watched, recorded and listened to. It didn't matter though, really. Nothing The Ratman could say would jeopardise her. In her life up to now she had had one affiliation; Aperture Science. Aperture was gone. It didn't matter what he said about them.

As soon as the two Black Mesa employees had left the room, Rattman relaxed visibly. He seemed to become a normal person again, almost. She wouldn't have thought it if he hadn't had the name, but the man in front of her had a rat-like paranoia in unfamiliar territory.

"Chell." He began, "I have everything to apologise for. I don't know whether you know or not, but I will tell you."

His speech began to speed up, a man who wanted to get something out, spill his confession. Chell hoped he didn't want acceptance for anything. She wasn't 'on his team' as Aperture employees. Chell was on her own team with the Cube. The cube was gone though. Perhaps she shpuld side with this man, they could help each other. No! That would be betrayal! Chell had to find the Cube. That was absolute. These thought shot through Chell's mind, setting her sights. Then one last one.

It isn't even a 'he'. It's an 'it'. A Robot. Machine. Black Mesa creation. It revolted her.

"I am Douglas Rattman. I adopted you as a very young baby. By choice of course. I heard that AI.. the GLaDOS telling you you were abandoned. It's not true. Mr Johnson was forced to give you up in a way. I wasn't forced either, I chose to adopt you. I wanted to care for you, keep you near your father and mother."

His voice stuck a chord deep within Chell. He was pleading with her to understand that he had loved her. That someone had loved her; even her parents had. He seemed to feel awful that she had been told irrevocably that nobody had cared. Chell felt her barriers breaking down, and she could do nothing against it. Rattman's eyes were wide, his cheeks flushed.

"I don't know how much you remember. Probably nothing, or very little. Flashes of the past, yes? That's the neurotoxin. You were right there in GLaDOS' chamber as part of the Bring Your Daughter To Work Day. You had a near full dose of neurotoxin gas, and were lucky not to die. You lost your memory. I was in Databank Saferoom Four, I wasn't touched by the gas itself."

Why. Why her? Why had she not died when the others had? Why had she been denied that way out? Why was it her sitting there having been tested on, lied to and manipulated when it all could've been over as soon as it started?

"I knew you. I knew you could fix things, save the facility. It.. it was me. I put you up for it all. I knew you would break out – you always could. I knew you'd never just accept the tests. You managed it too, you amazing girl. "I knew you. I knew you could fix things, save the facility. It.. it was me. I put you up for it all. I knew you would break out – you always could. I knew you'd never just accept the tests. You managed it too, you amazing girl. You clever, incredible, unbelievable girl. My daughter."

That last line was almost a question, but he delivered it as a statement. She was still his daughter in his eyes. She meant something to somebody. In the bank of her mind Chell felt herself slipping away from the blank emotionless mask she had upheld. The Companion Cube.. pfft. There were many more in the storerooms. She could have another one, surely?

NO! The thought slammed into her like a train. The Companion Cube was constant. It would always be there for her. Chell closed her eyes, and drew in breath. Control. She was not losing herself to this..machine.

"You were brought back though. I don't know what sent that robot. The GLaDOS would have been in temporary shutdown. Maybe she sent for it even before you destroyed her. I went back in after you, of course. I couldn't leave you. I got you to a stasis point, but I was shot. I can't really remember it; I'm going on what I was told. I think I nearly died. Black Mesa saved me. Funny really. Ironic."

Hilarious, thought Chell. Just accepting the lies. You're a machine. Putty in their hands. They're happy to shut you off. A few electrical signals and you're gone. That's what your life means to them.

Chell had had enough. This machine had no right to mess around with her emotions like that. Even though, at the back of her mind, Chell knew that it was all true. The only machinated part of the.. person.. in front of her was his mind, which was acting just like a human's. She ignored it. She stood up, and pointed to the door. She glanced at Rattman, and wished she hadn't. She knew it would haunt her for a very long time.

Rejection. Utter, heartbreaking rejection. His eyes widened even further, and filled with tears. Within seconds they were spilling over and running down his cheeks. His hands moved to his chest, and his open mouth mimed words she would never know. He stomach wrenched, her heart ached and she felt herself take a step towards the man in front of her.

Before she could get more than a single step forwards, Rattman collapsed. She froze. Had he fainted or passed out? Probably. Or had Black Mesa seen what was happening and terminated him. Chell felt sick. Four bulky men in black onesuits entered the room, hoisted Rattman between them and marched out. Standing aside in the doorway to let them pass, was the Grey man.

He walked up to Chell and studied her.

"Mr Rattman feinted, is all. However, the severe emotional imbalance you put him through has damaged his microchip. He will need to be terminated."

He had told her what she needed to know.

Good, thought Chell. She raised a single fist and knocked him unconscious with a single blow.

Thanks. Please review!

~daT.