Author's Note: New chapter up! Finally. I'll be honest, I was a little hesitant about this chapter. You'll see what I mean when you finish reading it.
ultima-owner: It was the Adhesion Gel or "Fourth Gel". It was supposed to be in Portal 2, but was scrapped after game players experienced dizziness with it. I guess I kinda brought it back. LOL.
Tsubaki Yayoi: Don't worry. There IS a happy ending! ;)
Gallantmon228: Yes, they will. LOL.
Sophia Angelia: Spoiler Alert! It's not forever!
~~0~~
26
The girls had led Chell to a massive metal wall constructed from scrap and barbed wire. It also appeared that there were cameras built on posts that monitored every little detail around them. Chell was staring into one, tilting her head to one side. Immediately, she was reminded of Aperture and her insides sank.
Or it might have been when the doors roared open and she finally followed the girls inside.
Chell cautiously followed beside them, surveying her new surroundings like a wild animal.
It was a town filled with human beings.
There were even children running the gravel-laden streets of this town, playing together. Some people were working on science-fiction worthy vehicles similar to the motorcycles that Chell's new traveling companions had brought with them. One looked like a transport vehicle that functioned as a crane with spider-like legs and Chell was immediately reminded of Cave Johnson when she saw it. The more they walked down the road, the more Chell started to see this town as more of a small city instead.
Overall, people looked happy.
GLaDOS had mentioned once before that things had changed since then. The way she had made it sound, it must have been bad. That and the evidence of destruction from her travels was enough to prove that. But these people seemed content.
"Come on," Melissa instructed, "Dad's over here."
Chell was led toward a building that seemed to have been a former courthouse fitted with metal shield plating over the roof and walls. The girls led her inside and Chell noticed a few armed men positioned about. They regarded her strangely and Chell stared back with unflinching intensity. There was no reason trying to play macho with the heat these guys were packing.
Then, she was led to an office and immediately brought before a scruffy-looking man dressed in body armor. He had the bearded appearance that Doug Rattmann might have had if he was actually sane. This man had stony gray eyes that softened at the sight of his daughters appear in the office. There was also great relief.
"Dana! Melissa!" he sighed, opening his arms and wrapping them around the girls.
Chell shifted uncomfortably at the sight, smiling sadly. It only served to remind her that she couldn't experience the wonderful feeling of having a parent love you the way this guy obviously did. Then, she tensed when he looked at her and his gaze hardened somewhat suspiciously.
"Who'd you bring with you?" he asked.
Dana went on a tale of Chell's heroics and how she had saved them from what she called "The Missionaries". Chell had never heard of them before and it sounded like a ridiculous biker gang title. Still, she kept silent while the man regarded her with interest.
"My daughters tell me you saved their lives." he said.
Chell nodded her head. "Yeah. That was pretty much what happened."
He smiled somewhat. "Well then..." he said, coming around the desk to face her closely. "I guess you have my thanks for saving my only daughters. What's your name anyway?"
"Chell."
"Chell..." the man murmured. "Well, my name is William Freeman. It's a pleasure to meet you."
He held out his hand and Chell stared down at it with confusion. William stared at her curiously for a moment before he pulled away when he realized he may not have approached her properly. "Forgive me. It's quite rare that we meet people with your charitable thought process. There are a lot of monsters out there these days. I'm sure you'd be expecting some kind of recompense for your -"
"No." Chell interrupted. "They insisted that I meet you, but I don't want to stay if I can't."
"Nonsense!" William assured her. "You've saved my girls, so you are welcome to stay as long as you can." He smiled at the two girls. "They're my pride and joy. The thought of losing them turns my stomach. You went out of your way, so the least I can do is hook you up with some food and Halfpeak hospitality."
Chell wanted to protest, but her growling stomach said otherwise.
It would be nice to get some food in her stomach since the offer was out there.
O
Melissa and Dana showed Chell around the town after giving her her very first hamburger. Chell was amazed that they had the means to make it considering the limited resources they possessed - this was learning about the Combine invasion and how human beings had to recover from it. The Missionaries were just a single group of the many terrible people that Halfpeak had to deal with apparently. Chell was listening to every little detail that the girls gave her as they wandered into another building.
"This is where our top scientist works on our machines and fuel." Melissa explained.
The building was tall, covered in satellite dishes, communication spires and antenna as well as covered in metal plating for protection. When they entered, Chell could see that this may have been a library at one point, but was now used as a laboratory. There were still rows upon rows of book shelves filled with books, but also crates full of metal parts, machiery used for experiments and everything else in between. There was a man standing behind a work table with his head buried in the chassis of a machine that looked almost like the walking machines Chell had seen on her way inside.
"Doctor Kyne is our miracle worker here." Melissa continued, possibly as a means to get the man's attention.
It worked because the head lifted and Chell was immediately tense. The man had short, smooth black hair and a thin beard with narrow, almost menacing features. He had dark, frightfully dark blue eyes and a scowl on his face when he saw the new woman.
"Who is this?" he asked.
"This is Chell, doctor." Dana introduced, "She killed two Missionaries while we were on the road, so we're giving her a little hospitality."
Kyne's gaze softened somewhat in thought before he chuckled and lowered his gaze to his machine again. "How fortunate you were there, Chell." he replied. "Those girls could have been raped, killed or even worse...eaten alive. I'm sure they told you that the Missionaries are cannibals."
Cannibals? Chell shuddered at the thought. The outside world was a lot more unpleasant than she imagined.
"Still, they were lucky." Kyne replied, with a rather unpleasant smile.
Melissa took Chell's arm. "Hey, let's leave the doctor to his work while we continue the tour." she suggested.
Chell studied doctor Kyne with a frown on her face. She was somewhat suspicious about this man, but didn't know why. Something about him seemed a little off, but that might have just been her paranoia. After all, she was in a new world with other humans. Perhaps she was just jumping to conclusions.
Maybe.
Once they left the building, Chell was informed that they had clean clothes for her and a shower ready in William's building. Chell was actually rather pleased to get herself clean and in fresh clothes; a pair of blue jeans, flannel shirt and even a pair of boots. They were offered to her by an older woman once Chell was properly wrapped up in a bathrobe.
"I...didn't know your size," the old woman said, with an almost embarrassed smile on her face, "I hope everything fits."
Chell smiled. "Thanks."
She turned her back and removed her robe, fitting herself into the jeans first. They were a little snug, but actually fit pretty good. Then, she slipped the shirt over her back, which allowed the old woman to get a perfectly good view of the various scars covering her back.
"It must have been quite bad for you..." the old woman said.
Chell turned and frowned at her. "Pardon me?"
"Where you came from," she continued, taking a seat in a chair across from Chell. "I remember William's grandfather had quite his share of scars. He founded this town, you know."
Chell nodded her head briefly. Immediately, she thought of GLaDOS and sighed. "Everyone has their share of them..."
"True," the old woman continued, "But you remind me of him. I can't say why, but he too stood with strength...courage...doubt." A small smile lit her wrinkled features and she stared out the barred window of the room to the outside. "He was...a man of few words, but he didn't have to speak to prove himself. He came here, brought a few survivors from the attack and made it his mission to repair the damages Black Mesa had caused. Oh! Yes, he too worked with them for a while before he saw the true colors of the company. But he fought back. He fought for fifty years, but age was something not even the strongest man in the world could ever defeat. When he died, William swore he would continue his grandfather's legacy."
Chell had been listening intently the entire time.
The old woman chuckled softly and stood up. "I should be going. Ben needs my help in the kitchens downstairs. It was nice to meet you."
Chell nodded her head. "Thanks. Nice meeting you too Miss...?"
"Alyx." the woman responded, before leaving the room.
O
Chell ventured down the halls of William's building before meeting Alyx again. The old woman was carrying a basket filled with fruits and smiled when she saw her.
"Oh! Could you help me carry some of the food outside to the bonfire? Ben's in the kitchen. He can help you too." she asked.
Chell nodded and started for the kitchen door. "Sure. But...why a bonfire?"
"Didn't you hear?" Alyx asked, smiling. "It's a celebration for doctor Kyne for the bounty of food he's supplied for us and his technological aid. You should stay."
Chell managed a weak smile, though she was hesitant.
You miss HER, don't you?
That tempting little thought nagged away at her mind. Maybe it was time to stop kidding herself.
When she entered the kitchen, Chell received the shock of her life.
Standing behind the counter top was a humanoid creature wielding a kitchen knife, cutting away at a chunk of meat. It had mottled green-brown skin with a stripe along its side, sharp teeth and clawed hands. It was hunched over with a face dominated by a single, large eye with maroon sclera and a heterochromic red-yellow iris with a yellow pupil, surrounded by three smaller eyes. It had two back-jointed legs and two arms, but had a third arm sticking out of its chest and seemed to hunch over.
Chell panicked and grabbed the nearest weapon she could find - a knife laying on the table. The creature placed its weapon down and regarded her with a tilt of its head. That was when Alyx entered and her eyes widened.
"Chell, stop, it's okay!" she exclaimed, taking the weapon from Chell's hand.
"What..." Chell gasped, staggering back. "What the hell is that thing?!"
Alyx seemed confused by her fear. "HE is a Xenotherium subservilia - or Vortigaunt as we call them." she explained. "This is Ben. He helps me in the kitchens."
The creature spoke then in perfect English. "The Alyx, who is this?" he asked, in a strange, accented voice.
"Sorry Ben, this is Chell." Alyx explained to him. "She's...new here."
Ben's many eyes landed on Chell and he clicked somewhat. "The Chell... You act as if you've just seen our kind."
"I have!" Chell snapped, still unsettled by the sight of him. "Where the hell did you come from?"
"We are a tapestry woven of Vortessence. It is the same for you if only you would see it," Ben replied, taking the meat in his claws and placing it onto a platter. He sounded like he had a little bit of a speech impediment. "But you will never see it simply because your mind is...opaque, clouded with confusions."
Chell didn't really like the way it scrutinized her like that.
"You don't know anything about me!" she snapped.
Alyx watched the scene with uncertainty before Chell stormed from the kitchen.
O
The bonfire was enormous, casting a glow on the town that night where many people had gathered. There was also quite a bit of food laid out around it and Chell smiled, reaching out to take an apple. When she was about to bite into it, she heard a small hissing sound and looked down. Dana and Melissa were sitting beside her.
"Not yet!" Melissa warned in a hushed voice.
Chell smiled weakly. "Oh. Sorry."
William walked out of his building with Alyx beside him. He gave her a few words that had the old woman embracing him before allowing her to take a seat with the rest. Then, he turned, facing his people with a deep inhale before speaking.
"It's been a good few months," he began, "Thanks to Elliot, we've achieved more than anyone alive today." He gestured to doctor Kyne and the man gave a small wave to those who applauded him. "I was not the one who had kept this town flourishing, it was all of you. You've worked hard to keep this town flourishing and here we still stand today!" There was more applause and William turned to Chell. "I should also thank the brave young woman who stood against the Missionaries. We also give our gratitude to you."
Chell looked up at the people who praised her, shared their smiles and approval. It made her feel...happy.
Meanwhile, back at Aperture, GLaDOS was sitting alone in her chamber, bathed in poor lighting. Her hands were holding the Rubik's Cube that Chell had solved, her thumbs stroking down the sides. Atlas and P-Body observed her for the longest time before Atlas encouraged the taller robot with a gesture and a flick of his hand. P-Body pointed at herself with an incredulous chirp before Atlas nodded insistently and pushed her forward a little bit. The robot glared at him before carefully apporaching GLaDOS.
The AI didn't speak.
She hadn't spoken to them in a while.
No testing.
No research.
Nothing.
Not even the voice of Caroline did anything to quell her. She was simply silent.
Before P-Body could speak however, GLaDOS stood up and flung the cube across her chamber with a horrible shriek, sending it through one of her monitors with a deafening shatter. P-Body and Atlas let out frightened cries and took off from the room. GLaDOS stared down at the shards of glass that littered her floor from the broken monitor and the unscathed cube that fell from it shortly afterwards. It was untouched, unscathed from the terrible outburst of the android.
- Bring her back... - Caroline pleaded, - Just bring her back to us. No science has been done. You'll end up losing your mind. -
For a moment, that seemed like a nice reprieve.
Let her little horrible monkey test subject live in happy fantasy land. Let her have all the humans she wants.
Let her forget about the very reason she was still alive to begin with.
GLaDOS closed her eyes and simply let herself fall into Sleep Mode.
[Sleep Mode initiated...]
[Unknown file detected]
[Accessing...]
A smiling face.
Who was that?
It was that human, wasn't it?
No. Wait.
GLaDOS was in her chassis body, in her chamber surrounded by flowers. Flowers of every kind covered the floors of her chamber, the walls and even a portion of the ceiling. She was surprised by the sight of them. When had the scientists placed so many flowers in her chamber without her knowledge?
Then she saw her.
Chell was standing there among the flowers and smiling. But it seemed like she wasn't looking at the AI. When GLaDOS called to her, Chell looked over and immediately, her body withered into an old woman.
[Error]
[Error]
[End Sleep Mode]
O
Note - Just so everyone knows, I haven't actually played the Half Life games, so I'm going by limited information I had to scrape up to give references. If something seems out of place or not quite right, don't hesitate to let me know. I may have changed some things simply to fit this (obviously AU fic).