Author's Note: Yeah, I agree, Koona (Guest); I never truly grasped why people liked Wheatley so much. I mean, he wasn't bad and did give me a few laughs every now and again. But mostly, he just got on my nerves. LOL.

~~0~~

04

Watching Wheatley struggle to keep the cores at bay would have been satisfying if Chell's bones hadn't felt broken. She felt hands start to lift her up; it was GLaDOS, holding her in one arm and clutching the ASHPD in the other. A smirk touched her face before it disappeared when Wheatley flung the cores from his body with a fierce shout of rage.

"Enough!" he spat, turning to the two, "You don't listen, do you? Quiet. All the time. Quietly not listening to a word I say. Judging me. Silently. The worst kind. " His words came out seething and hateful, as if he was blindly tossing out anything he could just to garner a reaction from the test subject. "All I wanted to do was make everything better for me! All you had to do was solve a couple hundred simple tests for a few years. And you couldn't even let me have that, could you?"

The Space Core jumped onto his back, clutching him tight like a metal spider, interrupting his rant. "She promised me space!" he cried.

Wheatley flung him off of his body once more. "Nobody is going to space, mate!" he roared.

Chell felt rather bad for the little Space Core who had taken to huddling on the floor from the assault, whimpering about not being able to go to space like he desperately wanted. Luckily, Rick and the Fact Core helped him up. Wheatley didn't even seem to care what they were doing. He was glaring down at Chell and GLaDOS with a storm of fury in that blue gaze.

"And that's another thing, you never actually caught me, remember? I told you I could die falling off that rail. And you didn't catch me. You didn't even try to catch me," he hissed. "Oh, it's all becoming clear to me now. Find some dupe to break you out of cryosleep. Give him a sob story about escaping to the surface. Squeeze him for information on where to find a portal gun. Then, when he's no more use to you, he has a little accident. Doesn't he? 'Falls' off his management rail. Doesn't he?"

His eye wandered from Chell's face to GLaDOS', coming up with the answer - or so he ignorantly believed. "You're in this together, aren't you? You've been playing me the whole time! Both of you!" He pointed a finger at Chell. "First you make me think you're brain damaged! Then you convince me you're sworn enemies with your best friend over here!" He gestured to GLaDOS as he said that. "Then, then, when I reluctantly assume the responsibility of running the place, you conveniently decide to run off together! Just when I need you most."

I should congratulate you, by the way. I didn't actually think you'd make such a worthy opponent. Weren't you supposed to be brain damaged or something? Yeah, brain damaged like a fox. Remember when I first told you how to find that little portal thing you love so much? Thought you'd die on the way, if I'm honest. All the others did. You didn't think you were the first, did you?" He laughed cruelly. "No. Fifth. No, I lie: Sixth. Perhaps it's best to leave it to your imagination what happened to the other five... You know what? I think we're well past the point of tasteful restraint. So I'll tell you: they all died. Horrifically. Trying to get that portal device that you're gripping in your meaty little fingers there."

He stepped back a bit into the center of the chamber, ignoring the pained look on Chell's face. "Am I being too vague? I...despise you. I loathe you. You arrogant, smugly quiet, awful jumpsuited monster of a woman. You and your smart-mouthed, chatty friend. Quite a pair, the two of you. One talks too much about things she doesn't understand, and the other doesn't contribute anything to the conversation at all! This place would have been a triumph if it wasn't for you! In fact - "

GLaDOS sighed impatiently, getting bored with this tirade. "Hey!"

Wheatley fumbled with the rest of his rant at the interruption, whirling on them angrily. "What, what, WHAT?" he demanded.

The AI smirked and pointed down toward the floor with the portal gun. Wheatley glanced down, noticing an orange portal at his feet. Before he could think to retaliate to what was going to happen, GLaDOS raised the gun toward the moon and fired.

It became chaos as the entire chamber became a vacuum that practically sucked everything into the orange portal. Fact Core, Rick and Space Core attempted to hold onto one another on a wire attached to the ceiling, but Space slipped free, yelling about how much he was happy about going into the vastness that was space itself. Wheatley attempted to stay out of the portal, but his sphere body was yanked from his larger one and simply dangled uselessly on a few wires, just as Chell was sent flying toward him.

She scrambled across the smooth surface of the chamber floors in a futile attempt at stopping herself. She grabbed Wheatley's handles and was sucked out of the portal with him, drifting between space and Earth. She could actually see the surface of the moon, including the American flag as well as the Apollo Lunar Module. Under more appropriate settings, it would have been a interesting sight if she probably wasn't going to die in the next few seconds.

Brutal cold contacted her skin and she could barely breathe, even though air was escaping through the portal and blasting directly at her. Wheatley was frantic, looking at her desperately and from what he could tell, the human was probably going to lose consciousness soon. Maybe even have her limbs fall apart from the cold of space.

"Let go! We're in space! Let go! Let go!" he cried, "I'm still connected. I can pull myself in. I can still fix this!"

Suddenly, a metal arm reached out and GLaDOS' furious voice emerged.

"I already fixed it. And you are NOT coming back." she hissed.

Wheatley shook in fright. "Oh no. Change of plans. Hold onto me!" he shouted. "TIGHTER!"

GLaDOS smacked him out of Chell's hands and the test subject watched as he drifted away, yelling, "Grab me grab me grab me! Grab meeee!" even though it was all but futile at this point. She didn't even register the claw that clamped onto her wirst and only watched through dimming vision at the silver sphere drifting away from her, out of reach.

I didn't want this to happen.

I'm sorry.

I tried.

Those were her final thoughts as GLaDOS pulled her back through the portal.

O

Fixing the mess that moron had caused took hours.

It wasn't difficult, really, but GLaDOS was still seething over it regardless, especially considering all the Science that had been set back because of this. She occasionally glanced back at the test subject lying on the floor in her chamber, noticing that the cores had taken to her and were keeping an eye on her vitals. The sight actually brought a smile on the AI's face, though she was glad Chell couldn't see it. A surge of contentment filled her that she didn't understand.

Oh, wait. It was Caroline.

Well, after making repairs on her facility, GLaDOS had spent the last hour looking for Caroline in her systems. This surge of emotion was something else that she couldn't afford to have, and the test subject would have to be reminded of that.

She had to get rid of this...emotion before something went wrong.

Emotion always made something go wrong.

O

Chell was dreaming again.

The wheat field felt warm, even if it was only a dream. The sun on her face was soothing and comforting to her skin; the stalks of wheat brushed against her and she absently ran her hand over them, letting the tips tickle her palm.

All of her worries felt as if they had drifted away.

"Chell?"

The woman froze in the wheat, seeing two figures approaching her. She couldn't make out who they were, but they sounded familiar, like she should have known them, but didn't.

"Are you there?"

O

Chell could hear the sounds of whirring and chirping from very familiar machines when she awoke. She felt cold and numb all over, but when her vision began to come back together, she realized that she was lying on the floor in GLaDOS' main chamber. Much to her surprise, she noticed that everything looked to be back in order the way it was before. Atlas and P-Body were standing beside her, their optics wide. Fact Core and Rick were also among them.

GLaDOS had her back to the scene as the test subject regained consciousness. Her wires were all connected back onto her and it looked like she was repaired properly. How she'd managed to not end up sucked away in the vacuum was beyond Chell's comprehension, but right now, they were safe and that was all that mattered.

GLaDOS turned then, smiling in a peculiar manner that looked too warm for Chell. It was nice, but...looked foreign on her.

"Oh thank God, you're alright," she said. "We were worried."

Rick nodded his head in agreement, raising his hand. "Me the most!"

Chell smiled weakly at them.

GLaDOS approached, her heels clicking softly against the chamber floor. It was strange how she regarded Chell with a mixture of gentleness and delight. "You know, I realized something; having Caroline inside my head taught me a valuable lesson. I thought you were my greatest enemy. When all along you were my best friend. The surge of emotion that shot through me when I saved your life taught me an even more valuable lesson: where Caroline lives in my brain."

Chell and GLaDOS looked up as soon as the announcer spoke. "Caroline deleted."

GLaDOS chuckled softly and her voice seemed to change back into the usual stoicism she always presented. "Goodbye Caroline..." she said.

Chell watched as the panels in the walls around them closed. GLaDOS sighed and turned, making a single gesture and the lift was called. "I'll be honest. Killing you... is rather hard," she said, and her voice had dropped lower; it sounded...unusual, but Chell couldn't put her finger on what it was. The AI kept her back to her, leaning against a monitor with two hands. "So I've come up with a solution that works best...for both of us. Just...go."

Chell stood up with a little bit of effort and glanced down at Rick and the other cores. They stared back at her silently, wondering what she was planning to do. There was the lift. It was so simple for her. GLaDOS was letting her go.

But something wasn't right.

"Are you still here?" GLaDOS asked, glancing back halfway. "If you want your freedom, just take it. And don't come back."

It was obvious the test subject hadn't moved yet. This was frustrating. Why didn't she leave? Isn't this what she wanted? To leave? To have her precious freedom on the surface so that she could frolic happily with the rest of her stupid primate species?

Why won't you just leave me alone?

The sound of the lift ascending made her close her eyes with a defeated sigh.

So she made her choice then...

Of course GLaDOS would miss the little menace, but only because she had served to be such an asset to Science and not for some pitiful case of affection - she would have to run a diagnostic of her systems to make sure she didn't have some sort of virus.

When GLaDOS turned to give commands to the cores, she was momentarily thrown at the sight of the test subject still standing there. GLaDOS blinked once. Twice. She ran a full diagnostic on her visual processors to be sure they weren't malfunctioning. But sure enough, Chell was still standing there, watching her in a weird little way that the AI didn't particularly like. It was as if she was waiting for something to sprout out of her.

"You're making a really stupid mistake," GLaDOS snapped, glaring down at her, "Do you NOT actually know what you want? Are you really that brain damaged?"

Chell cast her gaze downward.

She didn't know herself.

The world. That great big world above suddenly felt...too great. Everything here...in the only world she had ever known was her familiar landscape. She had always fought to find freedom from Aperture, but now that she had the ability to leave... It suddenly seemed so impossible to do.

I must be brain damaged... she thought.

GLaDOS' yellow eyes intensified in their hard glare. "Do you think I'd allow you residence here?"

Chell smiled weakly in response.

GLaDOS let out a particularly unpleasant laugh that rang throughout the main chamber. When she stared down at the test subject, she realized that Chell wasn't joking and foolishly thought she would be permitted to remain. Well, that wasn't about to happen. She had to face the facts that this way was better.

For the both of them.

"No, you can't stay!" GLaDOS insisted, turning and pushing her back toward the lift, "You have to leave!"

Chell refused, planting the bands of her long-fall boots against the floor so it would be difficult for GLaDOS to push her. The AI grunted with frustration and finally gave up when Chell wasn't going anywhere. When the test subject turned, GLaDOS shook her head furiously, but Chell saw something that the AI had attempted to cover up - confusion and pain. Now that she had human-like attributes, it had become easier to read her. She wasn't just a giant chassis with an unblinking, yellow eye anymore.

Chell shook her head.

"What?" GLaDOS' voice took on a high-pitched sharpness that made Chell look up rapidly to catch her confused look again, "Why? Why in the name of Science would you want to stay here when you've fought me at every corner to leave?"

Chell didn't answer. She simply hung her head.

GLaDOS' gaze was still filled with furious uncertainty. She stepped back a bit, staring down her nose at Chell. "You don't know, do you?"

Again, no answer.

"Fine."

Chell looked up at her in surprise. Really?

GLaDOS turned and walked to one of her monitors. "If you have decided in staying here, you will work every single day," she said, her tone returning to that unsympathetic, professional pitch she was famous for, "You will do everything I say and perform tasks as needed. As for testing? Well...you've done your share to last a while, so you won't be needed for that. For the moment, anyway. I have Orange and Blue to fill that position."

Chell slowly smiled.

"We will find you a suitable living arrangement," GLaDOS continued, typing on a monitor, "As for food and such, you're on your own in that area. I don't know exactly what the Enrichment Center still holds, but I'm sure you can manage."

Chell was still smiling when GLaDOS turned back to her. The AI scowled impatiently. "I don't know why you're smiling, but it's making me uncomfortable, so stop it," she snapped, "There are places in this facility that I can't necessarily go to - a temporary problem until I figure out how to move about freely on a wireless connection so that I can keep a steady eye on you. Orange and Blue will accompany you wherever you need to go."

Rick waved his metal arm in the air. "What about me?" he asked, "Can I go with the pretty lady?"

GLaDOS made a murmur of discontent. "I suppose that would be permissible."

Her eyes landed on Chell once more. "The Enrichment Center would also like to remind you that anything you see is Aperture property and NOT to be used for anything to satisfy your primitive needs. So I want you to bring anything you find back to me so that we can go through it. Orange and Blue will assist you."

P-Body and Atlas saluted her with robotic gurgles of affirmation.

Chell followed the cooperative testing bots out of the main AI chamber, but not before pausing to glance back at GLaDOS, watching the supercomputer work tirelessly on her monitors and screens without so much as a second glance back at the human.

Chell just smiled to herself.

You can't fool me.

O

What had she done?

Did she SERIOUSLY let that twisted human bag of overweight flesh stay in her facility?

What was wrong with her? What had happened in the time that she spent with the test subject that she had decided on keeping her?

"I am not the crazy one here!" GLaDOS snapped, turning from her monitors and pacing around the center of her chamber. She stopped briefly and considered this. "Though she has proven to be a valuable asset to Science. I can't just release a wild Aperture test subject into the wild, can I? No, that would not be in the best interest of my tests, now would it?" She sighed and hung her shoulders. "Of course, she spent her entire life killing me and destroying my facility. Who's to say she won't try again?"

GLaDOS ran a finger over her lips. "However, this might prove to be useful. The Enrichment Center is committed to the well being of all participants, despite the lack of proper mental health." She shrugged her shoulders with a murmur. "So it only seems to be in the best interest of Science to keep her around. We unfortunately require humans for some of my tests. And since the only human within a thousand miles of us is a test-ruining sociopath, I'll have to make due."

GLaDOS turned and was staring down at a Sentry Turret who had been listening to her the entire time. It had no rebuttal.

Of course it didn't. It was a stupid turret programmed for nothing else.

She glared down at it with an impatient huff and brought up a few panels displaying Chell's present location. The human was wandering the hallways with Rick, Atlas and P-Body and seemed to be obeying her express command. Rick obviously said something - given the manner of his hand waves - that made Chell curl her nose in disgust, but then smile, as if she had just understood what it was the little sphere had told her.

GLaDOS smiled when Chell paused at one of the cameras and looked directly into it. After a moment, she tilted her head and gave the camera a short wave. GLaDOS chuckled softly at the sight.

"Rest assured...this will be an interesting test," she mused to herself, "for the both of us."