Author's Note: The creature is in this chapter, I promise. LOL.
ultima-owner - Close, I sort of thought of him as the sphere of Murder. Kind of like the Anger Sphere. He's everything that desires death and is pitiless toward human suffering, so yeah. You can say that.
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22
Chell moved slowly and cautiously through the darkness of the catwalk where the creature had been spotted. She could handle herself in any event and proved that twice when she stood against GLaDOS and succeeded. But when she thought about it, a pang of guilt hit her. She didn't know why, but for some reason, the thought of what she had said to GLaDOS about hating her felt wrong. It really did. She didn't hate her and wracked her brain as to why she didn't. Chell had hated her before when things had been bad between them, but now...?
I don't know... I just don't know right now, she thought, frustration causing her hand with the Portal Gun to shake, I just want to feel like it's not all for nothing. Can't you just give me that?
Below her, there was the sound of something scraping across metal.
Like a claw.
Chell glanced down and that was when a shadow moved swiftly from below. She staggered back and raised her Portal Gun, stunned to see a shape with many spider-like legs swing up and land onto the catwalk with a loud metallic clang. It was tall, towering over her with flaring red eyes. It breathed and each breath sounded like someone choking on water. It reminded her of that disturbing little core she'd found below. It reminded her of Simon. Was this the thing he talked about?
It moved slowly toward her, its robotic spider legs clanging loudly against the catwalk. When it stepped into the dim lights overhead, it was finally visible.
Chell couldn't believe the horrible thing standing before her.
It had large metallic spider legs for a lower body; its upper body was humanoid in appearance, but completely metallic like the rest of it. The powerful metal plating was black, withered with age and scratched. It had large powerful arms that ended in long clawed metal fingers, a rib-like structure on its chest and...
Its face.
Oh God, that face was human.
Well, it was more of an abomination of human and machine.
The flesh was pale, wrinkled, sickly white with bluish veins sticking out around its neck where metal tubes had been stabbed into it. One half of its face was shaved and the other replaced with black metal parts, the skin massacred by machinery that looked to have been put together primitively. Those eyes were human, but the irises were blood red.
"Jesus Christ..." Chell whispered, jerking back in disgust and horror.
It smiled at her and raised its massive claws, just as Chell turned and ran.
She could feel the creature pursuing her and frantically screamed out. "GLADOS! I FOUND IT!" she shrieked, hoping to God that the cameras she passed were working and the supercomputer could hear her. "I FOUND IT! I FOUND - "
The creature behind her swung those claws and she ducked, quickly placing a Portal across the gaping endlessness across from her catwalk and another at a wall beside her. She quickly dove through it, moments before the creature could disembowel her with those meat knives for claws. Chell watched the creature stare at her from across the way before a malicious grin stretched across its ugly face.
"I remember you now..."
It was speaking. Chell couldn't believe the horrid, masculine voice emerging from its lips. It sounded like a human choking on their own blood.
"I remember you." it - no, HE - whispered, turning on his spider legs so that he faced her properly, "Yes...the tenacious one. The one they said not to test, ever. But you DID test...didn't you? The little rat had something to do with this."
Chell didn't speak. She had no idea what to say to this thing.
Just then, he let out a wicked cackle, throwing his head back. "Wonderful! I'd hoped for some kind of challenge!" he laughed, "Hot damn, and I have it!"
Chell could see the entrance to a testing chamber up ahead and considered running into it, perhaps to confuse whoever the hell this thing used to be. Whoever it was, he knew her and that was reason enough to find GLaDOS. She had a suspicion in the pit of her insides that GLaDOS knew something about this thing. She didn't know why she came to such a suspicion exactly, but she didn't want to risk thinking about it.
He grinned and backed up a bit. "Let me show you something!" he hissed.
Just then, he performed a jump like some horrible, metallic flea; leaping over the gap between them with a loud cry like Tarzan. He landed in front of Chell harshly, shaking the catwalk with the new added weight. Chell was jolted where she stood and turned, racing into the testing chamber.
The creature chuckled cruelly. "Run, rabbit run!" he yelled after her.
Chell rushed into the chamber and as the doors closed, she backed away, hoping the Emancipation Grill would fry this thing. Nothing that he was made of had to be of Aperture design. He wasn't graceful or attractive in any way that GLaDOS strove to make in her creations.
There was a loud tapping at the door and Chell backed away from it.
"Little pig, little pig, let me in!" the being hissed in a dramatic, deep voice. "No? Then I'll huff and puff and bash your brains in!"
Two spider legs reached between the door and forcefully pried it open. Chell backed away with horror as the creature stepped through the grill without being harmed by it, lowering his head briefly to fit. He let out a wicked laugh at the sight of her shock.
"Ooh, boy you are tied to that track and that stupid train just kept running over you now, didn't it?" he sneered, making a gesture with his hand. "Running RIGHT over you."
Chell stepped back slowly while he advanced. "Who are you?"
"Aww come on!" he snapped, slouching his massive shoulders. "You can't seriously not know me! I own this place, after all! Spent a pretty penny putting it together until assholes like you gutted it up like a Christmas turkey Everybody and their grandmother know who I am! Well...did know me. Right before I gutted them all while I was looking for Caroline. That tends to happen when you're being pumped full of adrenaline and jacked up on power every two goddamn seconds."
Chell blinked slowly. The shock evident on her features was almost comical.
"No...it can't be..." she whispered.
The being smiled broadly. "Since you're running short on brain cells, allow me to reintroduce the new and improved..." He swept his hand forward and bowed mockingly.
No. No. He's dead.
"...Cave Johnson."
O
"Yep! It is I, CEO of Aperture Science. That's right! It's really me!" he declared, "My entire living consciousness, for all eternity, inside a machine."
Chell shook her head rapidly. "No, you died! Cave Johnson died!"
But with each study of those facial details, she could really see Cave Johnson in this thing.
It really was him.
"I'm coming!"
That was when Cave's features were filled with shock as he turned, seeing GLaDOS and the other cores rushing into the chamber, wielding Portal Guns. "Caroline?" he gasped.
"Whoa!" Wheatley exclaimed. "That is quite an ugly bugger!"
Chell noticed one of the cores missing. "Where's Jack?"
"Jack?" GLaDOS snorted. "He's more useful as an Aperture Approved Paperweight."
Oh. Well at least he was safe.
Cave turned on his spider legs, his red eyes locked on GLaDOS. "Is that you, Caroline?" he asked, his ragged voice softening somewhat. "You...You were my assistant. The heart and soul of Aperture Science! Don't you remember me?"
GLaDOS could hear Caroline's horrified voice in her mind.
- Oh my God, Cave... What have you done to yourself? -
Not even SHE had been aware of this.
"How is this possible?" GLaDOS demanded. "Cave Johnson died a long time ago! How are you still alive?"
Cave's eyes moved to each and every watching face before he smiled, letting out a sound of amusement. "I can see an explanation is about due, so I'll let you in on a trade secret," he told them. "See, the science boys invented me a machine body to house my consciousness in. Remember the prototype chassis room? Of course you do. You and your pet robots - " He gestured to Atlas and P-Body. " - ran down there a short while ago. Now I wasn't too keen on the idea of not being able to move around. Seemed boring to live forever on standstill, if you ask me. Now, it was dangerous, so so I volunteered you to go first. Like a food taster, except with your soul!"
He laughed, but GLaDOS didn't look amused. "The time spent won't add up." she snapped. "You died before Caroline."
"Yeah! Yeah, I did." Cave agreed, "However, the body I had invested in was already in the works long before you were put in charge. So, they kept me on ice, kinda like they did Walt Disney back in the day. Black Mesa stole my patents. It was war! Science war! Sweet, sweet science. So, I had the lab boys take what they could from those evil shits! And trust me, they regretted the day they messed with Cave Johnson! In the mines, you don't know how many of those little worms tried to break back inside. But I took care of them. Tore them apart without even blinking!"
GLaDOS' brow knotted. More Black Mesa idiots had tried to get back into her facility?
"Yeah! I really let them have it!" Cave laughed. "You'd be surprised how easily flesh rips! It's a lot like paper! Whew! Boy, what it a carnage fest! I've never heard a grown man scream like a girl like THAT!"
"Why did you attack Rick?" Chell demanded.
Cave snorted at her. "Sometimes you gotta break a few eggs before you make an omelet, meat bag!" he said. "They would have slowed me down on the path to the New Order! Yeah, that's right! I'm taking back my throne and my Queen." His eyes fell on GLaDOS. "It's why I made sure you were clear to get those memories back. Those idiots in engineering wanted you to forget; said it was too risky having you remember everything. I saw it in the video logs. Damn cowards didn't go all the way like I told them to. But that's okay, I fixed it."
GLaDOS' eyes narrowed. "It was you?" she spat. "You gave me that virus?!"
Cave grinned and held up two hands. "Yes and no." he said. "No, because it wasn't actually a virus, but the mainframe recognized it as one. Yes, because I had to make sure you had complete access to your memories so that when you and I finally came together, you'd know who I was. It wasn't hard. I have a few tricks I'm packing, courtesy of the hard working staff of Aperture Science."
"And why in the name of science would I do that?" GLaDOS snapped.
"Because that's what this is all about!" Cave seemed adamant now. "It's what it's been about from the beginning! You and I together forever!"
- No, Cave. It's always been about you... -
Caroline's voice was mournful in GLaDOS' mind. So she saw through the ruse as well. Cave Johnson had lost his mind to the will of the machine, but more than GLaDOS ever had. She didn't even see perfection standing before her. He was a monstrosity.
"After all, you and I are one in the same." Cave continued, grinning. "We can both appreciate what - "
"THE SAME?!" GLaDOS laughed mockingly. "You think we're intellectual equals? You're delusional and psychopathic beyond all forms of comprehension! This chassis you've crafted for yourself is nothing more than the end result of a child's design!"
Cave laughed feebly. "Ehe, yeah, I thought we might hit this little snag. But that's okay. I'm prepared to convince you."
"Go!" GLaDOS yelled at Chell.
O
It became chaos as GLaDOS led her little band of Aperture property through catwalk after catwalk with Cave Johnson in pursuit.
"I'm comin' for ya', Caroline!" he yelled, cackling.
Chell panted, running alongside GLaDOS. "What do we do now?" she gasped.
"Now?" GLaDOS said, glancing at her. "Keep moving. I have a plan!"
Plan? That was good. GLaDOS always had a plan.
The AI looked down at Atlas and P-Body. "Orange, Blue, I need you to work the Incinerators." The cunning way in which she had said that had Atlas nodding his head with determination, so he obviously knew what she was talking about. GLaDOS then looked in Chell's direction. "The rest of you go with them. I'll take care of the monstrosity of science and lead him down to you."
Cave cackled madly. "Come on! What's the big deal?" he laughed. "I'll put you back together again when I pull you apart! How do you feel about your feet? Like 'em? Good, because when I get my hands on you, you won't be having any of them at all!"
"Go!" GLaDOS commanded.
Everyone split up in various different directions with colorful shots of their portals. Cave watched them go, his eyes rapidly following their every move. "Oh! I get it!" he laughed. "A little game of Cat and Mouse! That's fine by me! I love a good hunt!"
And with that, he leapt into the air, landing on the surface of a testing chamber before skittering out of sight.
O
Note - Kudos to Dragon53535 for figuring it out. Damn. LOL. Also, some of Cave's (albeit slightly altered) quotes were from the Perpetual Testing Initiative.