Author's note: Whew, finally! Sorry about the long wait. I had a minor writer's block, and an exam didn't help much either. Still, Axl finally goes to space.

GLaDOS: "I've already said the disclaimer. Just go back to chapter number one, if you want to read it so much. Do you want to read it? WELL, I WON'T LET YOU! How is that feel?"

Off to space!

"Well… I guess we could call it a progress. You died just five times rather than the usual fifteen."

"Aaaaw, geez!" Axl threw up his hands in aggravation. "I've been sitting in this lousy simulator all day, and the day before, and I still keep dying!"

"At least you only have to learn how to use the Lunar Module. Everything else is automated, thank goodness…" Alia sighed as she massaged her forehead much like X used to. "I'd love to say it'll come with time, but we don't have time. The launch will be tomorrow, whether we'd like it or not."

"Damn… I wish you could just teleport us there…"

"I already said I can't. Even GLaDOS doesn't have access to the Space Aperture anymore, even if they shared network. We're lucky we have this simulator program and the spaceship in her store."

"She programmed this crap? She's really a sadist then…"

"Axl!"

"Okay, okay, sorry. But… she still creeps me out… Just that voice…"

"Axl, you know we can thank her a lot. If she didn't help us, we wouldn't be as far as we are now. Even though they aren't in best terms with Ciano, she's still her employee, and partly, she's under her responsibility. If Ciano is safe, it's GLaDOS' benefit as well."

"Or she just wants revenge. Don't look at me like that, I know what I'm saying! Listen, Ciano did stole one of her invention right? And on the top of that, she practically pirated the Space Aperture. If you'd lend someone your house, just to realize the person wants to claim it for themselves, what would you do?"

"Well… I'd sue them at least…"

"See? Even though Ciano is no maverick, she still has some dirty dealings."

"We'll see more once you saved her. One thing I agree though, that both her and GLaDOS have some explaining to do… Why would they invent the nanotoxin on the first place? And… how comes I found practically nothing from the Aperture? What do they have to hide? Listen, Axl, there's one thing I ask: be really, really careful. I have no doubts that Aperture is legal, but if they have maverick connections, I don't know what we could do…"

"Then I'll just have to do a little cleaning up!"

"Oh, Axl…" she chuckled.

Suddenly, another voice cut in:

"Hey, if something needs a little cleaning up, it's your desk! It looks like the bedroom of a lazy student!"

Axl looked to the side, just to see his two friends and mentors standing at the door.

"Not funny, X!" The young one grumbled, but smiled nevertheless. "What brings the two of you here?"

"We heard you have trouble." X scratched his neck "And since we have nothing better to do…"

All in a flash, Axl threw his arms around their shoulders.

"You guys are my heroes!" He grinned. "Would you do my paperwork for me, too?"

The refusal came in chorus:

"In your dreams!"

Cape Canaveral. 6:30 AM.

Axl was travelling with the shiny, silver astrobus towards his space vehicle.

"If I look this way, it's a rocket. But if I look at it that way, I see a shuttle" he mused loudly. "How does that make sense?"

"It's simple" said GLaDOS through an intercom "What you're looking at right now is the Aperture Science Advaced Space-shuttle, or ASAS for short. This one is called ASAS-01, to be precise. We needed a vehicle which could be reused as efficiently as a shuttle, and to be as powerful as the Saturn V rocket. Not to mention, it had to withstand a serious amount of radioactivity."

"So… you just made a hybrid? Simple as that?"

"Simple? Oh, you are kidding me… Nevertheless, it can carry a large amount of fuel, cargo, and can land like any other space shuttle. But, it takes too much time to install it on a rocket, and take off from the Moon again. So, that's the reason why you had to learn how to use its Lunar Module."

"And that was a pain in the ass…"

GLaDOS chose not to say anything, until the bus stopped.

"Well, this is it. On the ASAS, I can't contact with you, the hunters and the space agency will navigate you instead. I'll have more than enough trouble watching your friends as they come over. Let's just say goodbye! You know, you will be… missed."

"Thanks a bunch, Lady Weirdo!"

"Oh, come on, don't you have sense of humor?"

"Not at six in the morning…"

"6:40 AM."

"Whatever."

"Seriously, any last message, for worst case scenario?"

"Tell X and Zero that I thank them a lot. For everything. And, for the rest of the HQ, I say they are amazing, and I love them all."

"How touching…"

"Oh, shut up! Just… farewell, okay?"

"Ah, well… farewell, young big-mouth…"

Axl was about to retort, when a technician waved to him, pointing at his watch. Oh, yeah, it was time…

The young reploid was stuffed inside in a small cabin, the seatbelts fastened around him tightly. On his lap, laid a thick checklist, with all the instructions he might need on his journey. The engineers had already made the finishing touches, ran several tests, checked everything from top to bottom. The ASAS-01 was ready to take off.

In the sci-fi movies, they can travel with spaceships like it would be so easy. But in reality, it really, really wasn't. It's true the staff on Earth calculates everything and revise it several times. It's true they help when you're in trouble. But they can only help you with advices and instructions. Just screw up those, and you're dead. Also, there are times, when they can't reach you. You're totally on your own.

Axl learned two important things from his "crash-course". One: you do something wrong, you have to fix it. It's crucial how you can solve problems, the faster, the better. Two: being precise and punctual isa must. Even though he still had problems with this rule, he understood why they said "keep the engines working for five minutes" or "fire the retrorockets until you slow down to x m/h". They calculated the trajectory, the force, the fuel they need for it, and so many additional, but crucial things. The best solution was to communicate in parameters the pilot can clearly understand and measure.

The reploid looked over the panels, checking for any possible errors. Of course, he knew the computer is doing the same – and possibly more efficiently – but watching it wouldn't hurt, would it?

One minute till launch… 45 seconds… 40…

"T-30 seconds…" he heard the countdown "T-25… T-20… T-15… T-12… 11… 10… 9… 8… 7… engines starting…"

At the same moment, he heard something like a gunshot, and he was given the taste of the ASAS-01's power. The whole machine was shaking violently, and the new force started pushing it.

"4… 3… 2… 1… and we have liftoff!"

Axl couldn't decide what was worse: the shaking, which was like a massive earthquake; the force squeezing him into his seat; or the loud noise, which reminded him walking next to the highway, while camions passing constantly.

He heard people's voices stating speed, altitude, how much time passed since liftoff, and what exactly was happening to the ship. Soon, it reached the speed of the sound, then double of it, then thrice… it escalated until above Mach 6. Axl noticed the sky was turning darker, then black.

Suddenly, the quakes were cut off. They were out of Earth's atmosphere.

"Whew… finally…" he sighed. "I thought the whole thing is going to explode or something…"

"Nah, it was built sturdier than that!" He heard an unfamiliar voice from his radio. "You okay, rookie?"

"It's fine. But who the heck are you?"

"Hey, watch your mouth, 'cause you won't hear any other than me and your operator for the next six days! I'm your CAPCOM, Gregory Deepfield. But call me Greg if you'd like."

"My what?"

"You don't know what the CAPCOM is? How did you get even… never mind. Sorry, I keep forgetting you didn't really have astronaut training."

"Didn't really have? Are you joking? I've been frying out my circuits for 48 hours!"

Greg let out a snort.

"That's cute. Now imagine this for at least a year, almost every day, and you might get close how the life of an astronaut looks like. We're lucky if we can get to space twice. The rest of it is spent with constant studying and moooooore training."

"Geez… is it worth it?"

"What do you think, rookie? You're just experiencing it right now."

"Well… yeah. It's truly amazing, even though I'm a laic."

Just then, his checklist book hit his nose. Just how… oh yeah. No gravity. He grinned as he played around with the newfound phenomenon more. He let his book levitate in the air, his pen, one of his pistols… of course, the weapon was inactive. It would be deathly embarrassing if he damaged the computer, or shoot a hole in the window… He caught himself staring out of it. All he saw was black.

"I thought I might see some stars…" he mused.

"Nah, but you might see the good-ol' mother Earth soon. Maybe you should look in the other direction."

The young reploid did just that, and understood why they called Earth the Blue Marble.

"Wooooow… this is cool…" he breathed. "Hey, Greg? Have you seen her like that?"

"Are you asking if I had been in outer space? Of course! If I hadn't I couldn't be your CAPCOM. Ah, wait, I'll explain: CAPCOM stands for CAPsule COMmunicator. Regard me as an interpreter between you and the space agency. I have to listen to everything, process it, and decide which tasks you should do, and which request I should pass on to the agency. I give advice, instructions, and I make quick decisions what to do, when there's something wrong, like, emergency situations. And many other stuff like that. Oh, and I'll also cheer you up, if you ask kindly enough. I couldn't do this without travelling to space at least once."

"Whoa, that sounds like a complicated job!"

"But I like it. I love to work with people, even if we just talk about what's necessary. Speaking of which, if this wouldn't be an autopiloted ship, we would be much busier. Meaning, we wouldn't have time to chit-chat like that. Anyway, I'm just thankful it does a good job so far… while we spoke, your luxurious cruiser had set itself to the correct orbit precisely, so one thing less to worry about."

"Well, I agree, it must cost a fortune, but the money wasn't spent on comfort that's for sure…" he laughed jokingly. Truth to be told, the seats weren't comfortable, but as long as the ship preserves his life, he wasn't about to brag.

"Well, I've heard the ship wasn't designed to carry passengers, the seats were last-minute adjustments. I hope they were careful enough not to sabotage the systems while setting them up, then again, we didn't find anything wrong at the start, so… might be my paranoia."

Axl didn't have time to answer, as his radio started beeping.

"Axl there."

"Thank goodness, I can reach you at least!" Alia sighed from relief.

"Well, a lovely young lady had joined our conversation" Greg said in his usual easygoing manner "You happen to be Alia, right?"

"Yes. And you're Mr. Deepfield, I assume?"

"Just call me Greg, dear."

"Umm, Alia? You sound kinda worried. What's wrong?" Axl chimed in.

"Well… I don't know how to tell you this, Axl, but… As soon as X and Zero had stepped in the Aperture's facility, I've lost all contact. No readings, nothing."

Silence.

"Maybe it's protected. Or, if they are underground, the signals can fade." Gregory pinched in his two cents.

"Yes, they are under the ground, but it worked even deeper terrains before! We could speak literally at the bottom of the ocean!"

"Yes, because probably there were relay stations planted somewhere. Either way the Aperture has no such thing, or they have, but you can't access to it. Like, we gave the access code for our radio telescopes, so you can reach Axl here. Or, as the third option, there's something or someone screwing with you."

"You mean a maverick could jam the signal?" Asked Axl.

"Well, you are on a mission because of supposed maverick activity, right? After what they did, I can imagine one of them can just block your transmission. Anyway, there's something you both should think over: we still have time to turn back the ship. You've got roughly 60 hours, before you enter the lunar sphere of influence. If things get worse and you choose to abort the mission, inform us ASAP."

"…All right" mumbled Alia, her voice shaky "I'll… I'll try to get some more info. And I'll speak with the commander. Until then, take care, Axl. I'm breaking contact."

"Roger, Alia! Good luck!"

"Good luck, sweetheart!"

Axl waited until the operator broke up the line.

"Don't get me wrong, Greg, it's just a friendly warning: unless you want an angry Blue Bomber on your tail, do not hit on her."

"…Bummer. Ah, well, there's plenty fish in the sea, eh?"

They shared a laugh. Axl wondered how he can stay such cool-headed, yet humorous at grave situations like this. Maybe it came from routine. Just what did he experience? Maybe even the death of his comrade? How many times was himself in danger? Well, at least they have something to talk about on this long journey.

Another thing he realized, what was common between a hunter and an astronaut: when out on mission, they can both die from practically anything.

The ASAS-01 was halfway through its journey, when the decision was made: Axl will continue on the mission.

Their choice was heavily influenced by another message from the Innovators. The leader, Ruby Christal was demanding Ciano back.

"You have 48 hours to hand her over, otherwise… let's just say, I might or might not use a couple of nuclear missiles. And before you doubt it, I'll show you where they are stored. Come, cameraman, follow me!"

Christal began to walk – good five minutes were spent walking on the Moon – until they reached another building. Christal opened the door.

"Here it is! Have a look! Total sixteen beauties, lined up here, ready to launch. If you still believe this isn't legit, then I'm afraid, you'll have to see reason when radioactive chemicals are burning your faces. So, what do you say? Will you get her back to me, or not? Your time is ticking…"

The video ended. Nobody said anything, until Greg spoke up:

"This won't be easy… you still need 36 hours to get to the Moon at all. This means we'll have 12 hours to maneuver the ship, landing with the Lunar Module, investigate, and find Ciano, or at least wipe this guy's butt. Maybe you could get around the time limit by eliminating the boss, thus, the danger. But I guess military tactics aren't my job, are they?"

"Maybe not" this time, instead Alia, Signas was in the line. "But we can't deny you have a point. Still, Axl has to be careful, and he needs to find and disable the missile base as well."

"So, I have to start with that, right?" the young one replied

"Yes. Mr Deepfield, tell your colleagues there will be a change of plan. Axl has to land further away from the Space Aperture."

"I copy."

"As for you, Axl, once you arrive there, scout the area. Find their missiles, and deactivate them. Disable the launchers beyond repair. Keep in mind they might have reserves hidden somewhere else. Meanwhile, if you happen to find Ciano, ensure her safety as well."

"Roger!"

"And Axl! Don't worry much about X and Zero. They are strong, so you are. We're counting on you."

"… I hear you, Commander. I'm breaking conta-… WHOA, WHAT THE!"

A sudden crash, and the whole ship started to spin around madly. Sirens blared off, and there was a strange sound coming from the back compartment…

"Greg, we have trouble!" Axl yelled "The computer detected air leak from the cargo space!"

"Don't panic, let the AI stabilize the course, you go to the back, and get a welder. It should be right next to the red, first-aid kit box. Got it?"

"Gotcha!"

"Now, go back, make sure you close back the doors on your way. Be careful! Don't let the vacuum sip you out! The ship also carries several building materials, luckily for us. Find a plate of metal big enough, and seal the hole!"

It took a lot of sweat and a couple of hours till they deemed Axl's work was safe enough. He had to use at least five layers, before it could keep the hole tearing the ship further.

"What a mess…" the young reploid said as he wiped his hands.

"Indeed" Greg agreed. "Something must've hit your ship either now, or at the start, thus, weakening the shell. As for the radiation, the five thick layers should reduce it efficiently, but don't stay in the cargo place for long periods. Safety's sake. The big Q is, how the hell are you going to land with this thing?"

"Well, as I see, the heat shield is intact…"

"That might not be enough. But don't worry, we'll get you back in one piece. My colleagues are working on it. Worst case scenario, we'll send another ship to collect you."

"Thanks guys. All of you. Oh, hey!"

"What is it?"

"I think I know what just pierced through the ship… wait a second…"

He noticed the object penetrated in a huge box of equipment. He could see the "crater" it made in the cargo. He tried to get it out from the hole, without success.

"Damn… it's… stuck!" he panted.

"Just what is it?"

"Dunno! Wait, lemme just… NNNGH!" Then, with a sudden crack, the object was free. Axl landed on his rear end. "There you go!"

"Is it some kind of space rubbish?"

"Eh… it's some kind of a metal ball… quite in a bad shape. It's dead, and cracked everywhere. Even the optic. At least that's what I think it is."

"You know what? Just bring it in the front, and give us a video footage."

Couple of minutes later, Axl did just that. Both he and the engineers studied the weird ball in deep silence.

"What do you know…" Greg muttered. "For the first time in my career, I have no idea what we're dealing with. You don't see any explosives in it, do you?"

Let us note, that the ball's sides were open. The hunter peeked in, and shook his head.

"Nope, but what I see is a switch inside. Shall I…?"

Brief murmurs, then, Greg shrugged.

"Switch it on if you can. God knows if it's still working."

As the young hunter flipped the switch, he immediately pulled out his hand, as sparks flew everywhere. The blue optic kept flickering, the voice box made screechy, static noises, until it got more or less stabilized.

"Augh… aaaaah… oh, bloody hell, my head… what the… where the hell am I?"

Axl blinked. Finally, the blue optic turned upwards, and the ball noticed him.

"Oh, hello! Um… mind helping me out a little? You see, I've been orbiting around here for… uh… quite a long time, and I had to go offline as well. So, if you could tell me, where am I, that'd be wonderful. Amazing. Of course, if you have brain damage, or anything which deters you from speak, you don't have to. Because once I had a friend, a good old friend, who had brain damage, but she was still a wonderful person. Believe me. So if you could tell me…? Wait, no, no, no. Wrong approach. Uh, say, do you… do you understand what I'm saying? Just say yes."

The maverick hunter turned to his team.

"What do you know…" he mumbled "It speaks, and it's British…"

A.N. No2.: Sooo, that's it. If you have played Portal 2, I suppose you know who we just met. Anyways, since I hadn't been in space, I can only bring up Col. Chris Hadfield's book, and those launching videos on Youtube. Also, why I combined the shuttle and the rocket: I realised the space shuttle could never reach the Moon. But the rocket can't be reused much, and since this is the future we're in... even though there's practically zero nature in the X series, companies need their money too. Well, the concept might be BS, but still, this is only a fanfic. Also, as usual, sorry about the grammar, I don't have a beta yet. I hope you still enjoyed it.