Author's Note: I know what to do with this fic as I have one more conflict ready before it ends. But damn, it's hell figuring it out.
earfluffy: What do you mean?
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25
It had taken a while before things returned to normal in Aperture. GLaDOS seemed to have been doing better - at least as far as Chell could see. The AI was always in deep thought and looked at her as if she would disappear at any moment.
Chell decided to give GLaDOS some time to herself and wandered through Aperture to look for the cores.
"Wheatley?" she called, entering an abandoned test chamber that had been used for storage supplies, "Rick? Jack?"
Something fell from the ceiling and landed in front of her. Chell blinked in surprise and glanced down. It was a baseball. She bent and picked it up before a finger tapped her on the shoulder.
"Can you pass that up here, sweet thing?"
Chell glanced up in disbelief and found Rick standing on the wall, perfectly horizontal. There was a trail of purple fluid that started from the ceiling and moved all the way to the door. It was the Adhesion Gel that GLaDOS had told her about and Rick looked like he'd been having a good time with it.
"Rick, what are you doing?" she asked.
Rick laughed and held out his arms for balance, moving to the ceiling. "Hey, check it out! I'm ceiling Jesus!"
Chell let out a laugh and shook her head at the Adventure Core's antics. "Didn't GLaDOS mention that she had to run more tests on that gel first?"
"Yeah, but you know me," Rick called down to her. "I gotta try it out! If it's lethal and dangerous, let me have it!"
Chell could only smile and shake her head at his nonsense.
"Quick! Find me a turret! I have an idea!"
Meanwhile, GLaDOS had Orange and Blue perform tests to allow her a chance to think for a little bit. Though Cave Johnson had been insane, his words did carry truth to them. It was the same with the Black Mesa troop leader who had invaded Aperture.
In the end, she would end up watching Chell die. Whether it was from old age or the dangers of Aperture, GLaDOS would end up watching death take her test subject. It was unfortunate, but she was simply postponing the inevitable. Maybe she should have forced Chell from her facility when she had the chance. This way, she wouldn't be stuck with these sickening feelings.
- It's okay to worry for her - Caroline reasoned. - It's a part of caring about someone. -
Caring for someone? When had it even come to this? GLaDOS remembered the days when she hated the human. She hated her for killing her. And now...they had developed into something that the AI would have laughed at in the past. She wouldn't deny that it was nice to be wanted and desired in such a way that left her feeling satisfied. Yet what had happened made her think a little more clearly.
Behind her, Jack was sitting on the floor of her chamber, rolling about and mumbling to himself in an almost delirious manner. "Jack and Jill went up a hill to laugh and play and smile..." he said, "Jack fell down, lost his mind and Jill died after a while."
GLaDOS glared up at him. "Stop talking."
Jack whimpered. "It's sorry..."
GLaDOS' mind drifted from the sphere and returned to her present mental conflict.
I can't feel this way...
Caroline could feel it.
GLaDOS was hurting.
That night after a rigorous round of testing, GLaDOS walked to Chell's room and found the human sleeping soundly. She bent down to her beside and gently touched Chell's forehead, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. She was such a chubby little monster. A horrible, horrible monster who had gotten into her mainframe somehow and made her think it was okay to feel anything for her.
Still, she was a REALLY good test subject...
- GLaDOS... -
No.
GLaDOS ignored the warning in Caroline's voice.
O
Chell didn't know what was going on.
GLaDOS hadn't spoken a word while they traveled to the surface. It almost concerned her, but the AI's features were unreadable. She had ordered that Chell dress warmly and join her for a viewing. That was an unusual request, but one Chell obeyed either way.
Once the door to the shed opened, Chell was amazed to see snow gently falling from the sky. Also, when she looked up, she could see a beautiful aurora overhead. Her eyes widened with amazement and GLaDOS smiled somewhat, but her eyes didn't match.
"I thought you'd enjoy seeing this," she told her. "It is a phenomenon that doesn't occur too often. At least, one that can be seen here."
Chell took a few steps forward, smiling at the beautiful sight. "Yeah. It's amazing. What's it called again?"
"Aurora Borealis." GLaDOS responded, not even adding an insult to the test subject's lack of knowledge.
"Borealis..." Chell mused.
GLaDOS was backing away slowly from her and it wasn't until Chell heard the loud slam of the shed door that she turned. GLaDOS was gone and the human took a few seconds to think about it before approaching. When she tried to open the shed, she found herself unable to do so. Chell frowned and grunted as she continued to try before beating on the shed door.
"GLaDOS?" she called. "Hey, GLaDOS, what the hell? Open the door!"
GLaDOS was silent on the other side and when she spoke, it was emotionless as before. Little did Chell realize how much effort it took to do that.
"You must go, [Subject Name Here]." she said. "This is the best solution for you."
Chell sounded hopelessly confused. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Cave Johnson may have been insane, but he was right on many accounts," GLaDOS continued. "You cannot survive here. You belong with your own kind. We both know it."
Chell shook her head, blinking rapidly and trying to fathom what had changed. "GLaDOS, you know I'm more capable than any-"
"Shut up and listen to me for once!" GLaDOS spat, her musical vocals taking on a strained note as she punched her fist once against the door. "You're a human! I am a machine! I've only allowed myself to engage in relations with you because it better served me. Now that I understand the flawed logic behind such a move, I know that I can't have that forever. So I must move on to a more productive course of action. Your chubby form will waste away like humanity is known to do. I cannot rely on you forever to satisfy my testing parameters."
Chell let that simmer for a few moments.
She's afraid to lose me?
"GLaDOS..." Chell began carefully. "Let me back inside. Let's talk about this."
No response.
"If you don't, I'll just find another way back in!" Chell tried a little more aggression.
"Don't bother. I've sealed the facility in its entirety. No one is getting in unless I say so."
"Why are you doing this?!"
There was no response.
"GLaDOS?" Chell stroked the door somewhat, pressing herself closer to it. "Please. Just let me in."
It took a while before GLaDOS responded and when she did, it was almost too soft to be heard. "It's been fun. Don't come back..."
The sounds of the elevator descending sunk Chell's heart more than anything else. She beat on the door furiously, shouting GLaDOS' name. The AI closed her eyes as she listened to the call of the human above fading away with how deeper she descended back to the facility.
Back to Aperture.
Back to the shadows.
Wheatley was waiting in her chamber when she appeared. He looked over her shoulder when he realized that Chell was not with her. "Where's the human?" he asked.
"I let her go."
"You WHAT?" Wheatley gasped. "Why?"
For once, GLaDOS had no retort to his presumption. "It was for the best."
"For the best?" Wheatley repeated. He stared at the AI as she worked to fit the cables into her neck and back, struggling to understand the reasoning behind her actions. He sighed and shook his head before taking a step forward. "I know you don't think I'm so smart. Fine. Think whatever you want. But that human was the greatest thing to happen to this facility. To all of us. It wasn't the best to send her along."
GLaDOS narrowed her yellow eyes at him. "Not for the best for this facility?" she snapped. "Or not for the best for YOU?"
Wheatley looked thrown by that.
"Leave. I have science to perform." GLaDOS resumed her emotionless tone. "I won't waste valuable time talking to you...moron."
Her insult even sounded half-hearted.
For the longest time, Chell had been lying beside the shed for what felt like hours. She was cold and holding herself tightly, hoping that GLaDOS would change her mind and let her back inside. This must have just been a bad joke. That's all. The AI had made them quite often.
But as the cold began to become more unbearable, Chell knew it wasn't a joke at all.
She's not letting me back...
She had to face the facts and couldn't remain here in the cold to freeze to death. She stood up and gave the shed a parting look of sorrow before starting forward.
O
Everything hurt.
Chell didn't know how long she'd been walking through abandoned roads, passing decrepit cars that had long become rusted. She had to stop and take refuge in an abandoned one-story house from a heavy snow storm. She found shelter in the closet of the house as well as a few cans of food. Starving to the point that she didn't care how old they were, she brushed off the labels and noticed that they were tuna with pull-open lids. Chell pulled the lid off with shaking fingers and began shoveling the food into her mouth.
Her fingers felt numb. Well, only her human fingers anyway. The cold metal arm replacement actually felt much more frigid than the temperature around her. Actually, her cheeks did too. All Chell could do was hold herself as tightly as she could and struggle to find sleep.
How could GLaDOS do this to her?
Oh right.
Maybe she hadn't changed at all and just tossed her out when she was done with her. The thought made Chell furious and her cheeks burn with anguish. But really, what had she been thinking, anyway? She should have known better from the start.
The overwhelming emotions she felt actually made her forget the cold for a while.
The following morning, Chell continued on the road, feeling exhausted from her walk. She had no idea where she was going and what she would find if she found anything. She walked and walked until coming across an abandoned small town. The houses and shops were destroyed and some looked like they'd been blown to bits by heavy artillery fire. Cars were overturned and useless, so she couldn't use any of those, even if she knew how to drive one of them.
"Shit..." Chell groaned.
She slumped to the ground beneath a canopy of one of the stores, kicking up snow in the process when she laid her feet out in front of her. This was pointless. There were no people around for miles and she hadn't even seen any living animals. Just how long was she -
"Hey! Stop!"
Chell's eyes opened when she heard the sound of voices. She stood up and followed them until she spotted movement in a field. She took refuge behind a stone wall and watched two men in tattered clothing seemingly instigating two teenage girls. The girls looked to be in much better condition than them; one had a pair of glasses on her face with dark brown hair and a long trenchcoat. The other was taller with riot gear and short red hair. There were also horses tied to a telephone post and it seemed as though the men were interested in stealing motorcycles with supplies that the girls had driven. Chell was amazed by their condition and how they had managed to survive for so long.
"Do you know who my father is?" one of the girls spat. "He's the leader of Halfpeak! He'll send an army after you!"
The men merely laughed cruelly. "Big man hiding behind his big walls!" one of them sneered. "Tell princess to come after us!"
"Stop it!"
"Stop!"
Chell had seen enough and stepped out. She grabbed a discarded pipe and rushed them men. Before they knew what was attacking, she swung the pipe and smashed one of them in the temple with it, sending him reeling. The other one whirled with shock.
"What the fuck are you supposed to be?!" he spat.
Chell kicked him square in the balls and as he was doubling over, she delivered a punch right to his nose, sending him stumbling back. When he tried to get back up, she swung the pipe and smashed him in the head, twisting his neck painfully and presumably killing him. The two girls stared down at the immobile men and the smaller one kicked one of them several times.
"Yeah, that's what you get for messing with us!" she yelled, with a gleeful laugh. "Told you my dad would send someone!"
Chell winced and shook her head. "I don't know who your dad is, but he didn't send me."
The girls looked confused and glanced at each other. The one who had spoken of her father piped up again. She seemed to have a fiery spirit in her that Chell admired. "My father didn't send you? Then who are you and where'd you come from?"
Chell didn't really know how she was going to answer that. "Uh..."
"Hey, let's take her to your father." the other girl suggested. "He'll know what to do."
The (presumably) leading girl glanced at Chell curiously. "What's your name?"
"...Chell."
"Chell?" The girl made a funny face. "Huh. Okay. My name is Melissa Freeman. This is my sister Dana, but we all call her Soot."
Chell smiled somewhat. "Soot?"
"Yeah. Kinda the way I was conceived, I dunno." Dana chuckled. "I was born in a coal mine."
Chell didn't know what to make of that.
"Come on." Melissa told her. "We'll take you to Halfpeak. My father would like to meet the person who saved our lives."
Chell seemed hesitant, but Dana took her hand, smiling warmly. "Hey, it's okay. You're with friends."
Friends.
No, she had been among friends, but that was gone.
While the voices of the humans talking didn't exactly seem to catch the attention of anyone around them, it was certainly listened to by GLaDOS from her chamber. She sat alone on the floor with her eyes closed, the noises of the voices filling the massive room. She hadn't told Chell about the speaker she had put inside the metal arm replacement that would allow her to keep better track of her. This idea had come about before she let Chell loose into the wild, but couldn't help checking to make sure that she had found safety.
- This is torture, you realize that, right? -
It was.
O
Note - Keep on reading. It'll get better, promise. ;)