Author's Note: Pressing forward, I have decided to go ahead with an idea that was nagging away at me and they involve that creature you saw in the previous chapters. You'll see what that entails a little later, but it'll DEFINITELY make this fic an AU.

~~0~~

20

"You look like a pirate."

That was the strangest comparison that GLaDOS had ever heard.

Mr. Chubby Beak had preferred to sit upon her shoulder while she worked, no doubt attempting to learn mother's ways in the art of testing. His sisters would regard them from other perches, preferring to learn from a distance. Rarely did they engage mother unless she called for them.

"I don't know what is worse," GLaDOS muttered. "The idea that I can be compared to a scruffy, filthy sea traveler or the idea that it was YOU who made such a comparison..."

Chell laughed and leaned against one of the monitors. GLaDOS typed for a moment before regarding the bored-looking human with a look. "If you're bored, I can give you quite a list of things to do." she suggested. "I won't have you standing around taking up space."

The human quickly rushed out of the chamber.

GLaDOS rolled her eyes with a murmur of dismay before going through her computers once more on data of old test subjects. She incidentally crossed Chell's file and her brows went up. Mr. Chubby Beak let out a chirp when he felt mother's shoulders tense somewhat when she leaned forward, studying the information with bare intrigue.

Interesting.

Meanwhile, Chell wandered to her room to find something to do, but only found Space Core lying on the floor, staring into a laser light with a giggle. It couldn't very well cause him harm, but it was still odd to see. She rolled her eyes and stared down at him.

"Where are the others?" she asked.

"Space!" Space Core cried.

"Not space. Wheatley, Rick and Fact Core."

"Not space?"

"No. Where are the other cores?"

Space Core shut the laser off and rolled so that he was able to climb onto his feet. "Space shows lady!" he announced, taking Chell's hand with a grip much stronger than Chell would have expected from the sphere. "Space shows lady!"

Chell let out a grunt when Space Core dragged her down the corridors. It took her a moment to realize where she was going - he was taking her to the same place Wheatley was taken before he was transferred into a humanoid body. She entered the laboratory and sure enough, found Fact Core and Wheatley standing in front of a muscular-looking android with green eyes and short, messy synthetic hair. He was staring down at himself for the longest time before grinning widely.

"THIS. IS. AWESOME!"

Rick's voice emerged from the android and Chell groaned.

"Rick..." she muttered.

"I tried to stop him..." Wheatley quipped.

Rick laughed with glee and held up his foot. The artificial toes wiggled. "This is the start of a new adventure for me, folks!" he cried. "This body's amazing! I can't believe it!"

"Yes, it's quite amazing to possess the anatomical form of a Ken Doll." Wheatley joked, though he sounded completely deadpanned.

Rick gave him a teasing grin. "Look who's talking, princess." he sneered. "I'm the most masculine, sexy man in this room!" He made a pose to prove his point and bobbed his eyebrows at Chell. "Yeah, how's that look for you, pretty lady? Too much for you, huh?"

"You know, someone who sings 'Memories' from Cats when he thinks no one can hear it shouldn't throw stones." Wheatley snapped.

Chell made a face at the jeer before she studied Rick up and down. "Yeah...it's not too bad, I guess."

"'Not too bad' you guess?" Rick laughed, continuing to pose.

Chell let out a sigh. "Well, I guess we better find something for you to wear then," she said. "I mean, if you want."

"Are you kidding?" Rick was almost out of the room. "Lead the way, pretty lady!"

O

As it turned out, GLaDOS was surprisingly not as irritated by the new Rick as Chell would have suspected. In fact, it seemed that her only real concern that evening was engaging in more intimate activities that involved having them both devoid of any clothing for the remainder of the day. Not that Chell had any complaints, though it was particularly strange that GLaDOS seemed uncharacteristically eager to be getting hot and heavy with her to begin with. She must have been developing an addiction to the euphoria since she was able to feel it again.

GLaDOS' long fingers gripped her thigh and the strength would probably be enough to leave bruises; but that didn't matter the way she moved, grinding against Chell in a manner that left the human shuddering and moaning against her mouth when their lips connected.

But it was Chell who was amazed by the sounds GLaDOS made - low sensual noises of approval that made her blood run hot in her veins.

For GLaDOS, she too reveled in the noises her human made. She was enjoying this. She was enjoying having her hands all over her, lips kissing her neck and shoulder. For some reason, that gave the AI a little thrill in knowing that Chell enjoyed HER touch and no one else.

She truly did belong to her and her alone.

"Look at me." GLaDOS ordered, voice dripping thick with lust.

Chell's eyes opened and she met the AI's powerful gaze, but it was obviously too much and her eyes fell shut again. She tossed her head back and came undone with a heated cry of GLaDOS' name. She shivered intensely at the sound and leaned forward, following behind Chell with a delicious groan filled with raw pleasure.

She collapsed on top of the human, not really minding the sticky sweat on her body or the thick air filled with her organic hormones. It wasn't as unpleasant as she had thought it would be. Well, nothing really was while her sensors were still buzzing beneath her artificial flesh. Chell was collecting her breath before smiling up at GLaDOS. "I got sweat all over you." she breathed.

GLaDOS smirked somewhat and Chell realized just how beautiful she looked when she looked truly content and pleased. "It is...a forgivable offense," she replied. "But repeat performances of sweating all over the Vital Testing Apparatus will result in banning sweating permanently."

Chell rolled her eyes with a murmur of amusement. "Yeah, yeah..."

GLaDOS closed her eyes with a contented purr when Chell's fingers toyed with a strand of synthetic hair on her head.

"Hey..." Chell began.

GLaDOS opened her eyes and stared down at her curiously. "What is it?"

Chell opened her mouth to speak, but instead, seemed to decide against it. "Never mind."

"What?" GLaDOS pressed.

"Nah. It's not important."

"Tell me."

"Well..." Chell began. She seemed a little uncomfortable at first, as if she was hesitant to say what she wanted. "I just wanted to know if you liked me."

GLaDOS' smile disappeared somewhat and she looked a little taken aback by the question. Suddenly, she was uncomfortable, but put on an air of superiority that seemed to fail because Chell was smiling with a mildly hopeful look in her gaze.

"I suppose you're not as unpleasant as before," GLaDOS replied. "On occasion. When you do as I - Don't look at me like that, you know what I mean. You're...interesting. An interesting case for further study in the name of science and I - Stop looking at me like that."

Chell just continued to smile knowingly. You can't fool me, GLaDOS.

She rolled her hips, grinding against GLaDOS in a manner that brought forth a soft gasp. She gave Chell a devious grin once she recovered and took Chell's hips into her hands. "Let's put your stamina to the test then, [Subject Name Here]."

Chell smirked at her. "Are you up to it, robot-mama?"

"For testing? You know I always am."

Chell rolled them over so that she was on top. GLaDOS didn't seem to mind it though and closed her eyes when Chell's lips moved to her neck, kissing her beneath her ear before whispering softly, "then let me push some of those buttons for you".

The exquisite shudder that ran through GLaDOS' body at such a promise made Chell's heart throb with an unknown feeling.

Well, maybe it wasn't as unknown as she thought.

O

The following day, Chell was sitting on the floor of her room in her bare feet, attempting to solve a worn Rubik's Cube in her hands. Wheatley poked his head in briefly and Chell glanced up when she saw him. He flashed an awkward smile.

"Hi." he said. "Can we talk?"

"Sure." Chell replied, returning her gaze to the cube.

Wheatley nodded and stepped into the room with all the grace of a...well...robot. He took a moment to glance around cautiously and Chell caught his moves at the corner of her vision. She arched her brows and guffawed somewhat with amusement. "Uh...what are you doing?" she asked.

"Making sure that maniac isn't in here." Wheatley said carefully.

"She's not." Chell struggled to turn a portion of the cube. "She said she had important testing stuff to do and she'd be busy all morning."

"Oh. Good. Good." Wheatley sat down in front of her.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Chell grunted with effort as she rotated a part of the cube.

"Well...um, I think it's good that you and the maniac are getting along." Wheatley tried. "But I'm worried about you. As a friend." He flinched when Chell stopped working on the cube and frowned up at him. "N-No, hear me out for a minute. Yes, she's been a little more pleasant to be around - bravo for that, by the way - but I don't think she cares about you like you want. Humans like to have things like lovers and stuff, right? Well I don't think SHE sees you like that at all."

Chell glared at him. "I thought we weren't going to discuss my needs anymore."

"Does she even say your name?" Wheatley asked.

Chell opened her mouth to retort, but an icy chill filled her blood when she realized how right Wheatley was.

"She doesn't say your name because you're just another test subject to her, remember?" Wheatley said. "That's all you'll ever be. To her, anyway. Me? I know your name and would say it. Chell. Chell, Chell, Chelley, Chell! See? I remember your name. The others do to. Not her."

Chell tried not to think about it, but it made her consider what he was saying.

"Why are you telling me this?" she demanded.

Wheatley smiled feebly. "I'm trying to look out for you. Fixing what I broke, so to speak."

Chell continued to twist the cube in her hands with a little more force. "Well I never asked for it. Now leave me alone."

"But - "

"Go!"

Wheatley let out a yelp and stood up. "Right. I'm gonna go ahead and go."

"I just said that, now get the hell out!"

He quickly scampered from the room with a frightened sound and Chell glared after him before attempting to return her attention to the cube. She found it difficult after a while and simply chose to throw it across the room with a yell of anguish.

Meanwhile, Rick was going through various outfits in one of the rooms with the cores. Wheatley emerged and his eyes widened when Rick was sporting a cape and spread it like wings. He announced himself in a dramatic, goofy voice.

"Daaaa bat-droid!" he cried.

Wheatley sighed and shook his head. "She was mighty livid with me..."

"Who?" Rick asked, frowning now.

"You know who..."

Rick's eyes narrowed. "You didn't upset pretty lady, did you?"

Fact Core answered for Wheatley. "Fact: The body has numerous ways of giving hints that one is lying."

"Don't you start with me, mate!"

While they were talking, GLaDOS finally entered Chell's room and noticed the human was gone. She furrowed her brow thoughtfully and walked around, but she wasn't even lying in the piles of lab coats that she had been using for blankets. Her foot tapped something in her approach and GLaDOS stared down, noticing the Rubik's Cube lying on the floor, perfectly solved. She bent down in surprise and picked it up, studying it for a moment and remembering that this must have belonged to Cave Johnson.

- It was Cave's. Why would she have it? -

It didn't take long for GLaDOS to find the cores and the two androids in the room they were in. As soon as she entered, a tense wave passed over them, but GLaDOS didn't really take any of their wary stares to heart as she couldn't find the human.

"Where is she?" she asked.

Rick frowned. "She's not with you?"

"No. I thought she was alone in her room, but she's gone. Where is she?"

Wheatley began to stammer nervously. "Well I - I mean, she was,but I...I might have - "

Rick was standing there with annoyance for a long time, listening to Wheatley fumble with a proper response before he scowled and put his hands on his hips, glaring at the smaller android. "What the hell did you say to her now?" he demanded.

"I didn't say any - oh no."

Wheatley watched as the yellow irises in GLaDOS' black eyes seemed to flare with fury and she grabbed him by the throat, shoving him against a wall with enough force that jerked his head back. Those fingers dug into his neck, almost buckling the wiring.

"What. Did. You. Say. To. Her?" GLaDOS hissed.

Wheatley whimpered in pain. "I - I didn't say - "

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HER?!" GLaDOS shouted, vocal harmonics more metallic in her anger. "Speak moron before I start taking you apart with my bare hands right here and now!"

Wheatley made a pained, frightened sound, but it was Rick who stepped up and held out two hands. "Hey, let's just calm our asses down and think for a second," he advised. "If dumbass here just got done talking to her, I can't imagine she'd get very far. We should split up and look for her."

GLaDOS glared at him before she opened her hand and Wheatley was dropped to the floor. She stared down at him, leaned forward slightly and hissed out her next words.

"Get up, you useless waste of metal!" she ordered.

Wheatley scrambled to his feet and backed away from GLaDOS as far as he could manage, rubbing his sore neck. GLaDOS pointed at him and Rick. "The two of you will go and search for her and I will go with Orange and Blue." Her eyes landed on Fact Core and Space Core. "And you two? Well...just stand somewhere until I need you."

And with that, they quickly hurried from the room to find the missing human.

O

Chell hadn't meant to wander off, but she had to think.

She had to think about what Wheatley had told her. As much as she hated it, a part of what he said carried truth to it. It bothered her that she could still be seen as nothing more than what she was in the beginning, that nothing had changed since then. But really, what did she expect? How could she have thought so foolishly?

Venturing deep into the bowels of Old Aperture wasn't a part of her plan, but she found herself below anyway, wandering down a catwalk that had been broken in two toward the end. It was the sight of brief movement in an office that caught her attention. A rolling movement that seemed to continue on and on. Chell frowned worriedly and stepped into the office, finding a scratched silver sphere sitting on a desk. It didn't seem to notice her at first and its optic was almost all black.

"Must not talk..." the sphere whispered, in a dry, panicky male voice. "Must not talk to it. Punished. Always punished."

"Hello?" Chell said carefully.

The sphere looked up at her and Chell was disturbed by what she saw. Its optic was mostly all black, except for a small yellow dot in the center, almost similar to when Wheatley had been terrified and his optic narrowed. Around the sphere's faceplate, there were dents and scratches, the handles bent.

"Who are you?" Chell asked.

"Must not ask it!" the sphere cried, attempting to wriggle from his desk.

Chell frowned and glanced over her shoulder before she bent down to be at level with the sphere. "You can tell me." she told him. "Who are you? Why haven't I seen you around before?"

"M-Many cores come and go..." the sphere whispered, its tiny eye darting about. "They come and go, but never leave. Never leave, but come and go. It hears the screams. The screams of Android Hell. They say it will go there if it doesn't behave... J-Jack. They called it Jack. J-Jack's afraid. Always afraid. Do you know why it's afraid? They made it that way." He whimpered and shuddered in his casing, making sounds like human sobbing. "Always afraid. It's always afraid."

"Jack..." Chell said, considering that name. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say."

"Say nothing!" Jack cried, jolting somewhat. "If it speaks, it's punished. If it's quiet, it's STILL PUNISHED! They watch it all the time. They wait for it to do bad things! It knows this! It's seen this! They killed it! They did it with the Queen! They did it to it!"

Chell wasn't sure if this sphere could be helped, so she stood up. "I have to keep going."

"It saw him!" Jack moaned. "The King! His face! It saw His face! The Bad King comes back for his throne!"

Chell found this little sphere to be worse than Rattmann and his drawings, but a whisper of warning considered that there must have been truth to what the sphere was saying. After all, who knew what else was down here in Old Aperture?

"Okay, maybe we can get you out of here, Jack." Chell suggested, picking him up by his handles.

"No! It'll be punished if it leaves!" Jack wailed, making heartbreaking sobs. "Don't take it away! It doesn't want to die!"

Chell felt her stomach lurch at the sounds Jack made, but at least she wasn't alone now.

O

Note- Has it come to you yet what that creature is?