One Big Aperture Family
Chelly in Apertureland
Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System (GLaDOS) Log Function
Initiating Log Program
Begin When Ready…
Everything seems to be running at a nice pace. A few days ago, the Maniac told me about an experiment he had been working on for quite some time and has now decided that I should be in on it. What came as a shock initially turned into some kind of hope. In his possession was a modified dual portal device he named "The One Way Trans-portal Gun". I would have chosen a better name, personally.
I had a nice long chat with the Cooperative Testing Initiative about the backpack the Maniac found in the field years ago. He told me he went back to the field just to be sure he was truly free. Of course, I often told him his box was broken and had schizophrenia, but no one believes the Super A.I., oh no.
Blue insisted that all they wanted to do was return the Small One's possessions to her, and that he and Orange weren't planning on running away to stay with the humans again. I do recall them acting strangely (or more strangely than usual) around a specific time three years ago, but I had assumed they were roaming around in the garbage wing again. I remember because I decided to double their test load to keep them from wandering too far in the garbage wing. Dangerous things lurk there…
Speaking of, I've noticed a lack of activity on the monitors lately. My sensors aren't picking up anything, but then again, when it comes to my remote access as of late, it's shaky at best. I wonder what he has planned. My hope is that he gave up, but I know a precaution is more powerful than a hope. I'll be resetting some of the safeguards later. But for now, I have a device testing to get to.
Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System (GLaDOS) end log function
Winter seemed to be arriving early, as the school children were already wearing heavy coats and the weatherman on the television was preaching a coming snowstorm. While the prospect of snow was dubious at best, it still had the inhabitants of the Pendleton household on Autumn Street worried. Flurries had been spotted a few days before, but it quickly dissipated.
The morning started out pretty well, if one ignored Angie's whining for a pet. Her obsession with owning a dog as of late was quelled by Lil telling her that dogs create too much of a mess and we already had their hands full with the Androids and GLaDOS. "I don't see why you want a dog so badly. We have two Androids that live here and a robotic 'Grandmother'. What nine-year-old wants a dog over two working Androids?" Lil sighed, picking up the breakfast plates.
Wheatley had nothing to say on the matter. He really didn't have much to say at all. He hadn't gotten any sleep again last night but it seemed that only Dr. Rattmann and GLaDOS knew why. He just drank his coffee and nodded along with Lil. Chelly seemed unusually happy in her high chair with all the talk of pets.
"Doggy go bark-bark!" Chelly laughed as Lil picked up her empty sippy-cup.
"That's right, sweety. Doggies go 'bark-bark'." Lil laughed as she went to put the dishes in the sink. P-Body, having volunteered for morning clean-up, finished the dishes in no time at all. "See? Can a dog do dishes?" Lil left the kitchen as Angie sighed. Eventually, the family got up to get ready for the rest of their day.
With Wheatley and Lil gone for the day and Angie at school, Dr. Rattmann decided this would be a rare chance to test the device. Dr. Rattmann knew Lil didn't like the news of a looming snowstorm, even if the thought of one this early in the winter was ridiculous. Being pregnant only heightened her fear. Dr. Rattmann knew that Wheatley and Lil wouldn't be gone all day, so they had to test fast. The basement being too small, Dr. Rattmann, with the help of the Androids, set up everything they needed in the living room (after moving the furniture).
With ATLAS as the lookout, Dr. Rattmann prepared the tests. "Let me know if you see the Jeep pull up." He instructed as ATLAS stared out the window. ATLAS nodded and kept his eye on the street. He gave the morning mail carrier a nasty look through the curtains (he never liked him) and then went back to his vigil. P-Body, having been trusted by Lil to look after Chelly, stayed in her spot on the couch as Chelly piled toys around her.
After her toy pile was finished, Chelly sat on the couch and played with a few of her stuffed animals. One in particular, whom Wheatley named "Mr. Teddums" when he bought it for Chelly, seemed to be her favorite. Chelly had owned Mr. Teddums since she was really small and always had a strong connection to the teddy bear. Mr. Teddums and Bun-Bun, a floppy bunny doll (Wheatley seemed to name most of the things he bought for the girls) were usually not far from Chelly whenever she played outside her room.
"Alright, are we all ready?" asked Dr. Rattmann. He had instructed P-Body to keep Chelly away from the test area. While she would have taken Chelly up to her room, Chelly kept throwing a fit whenever P-Body tried to pick her up. Dr. Rattmann told P-Body she could stay downstairs as long as P-Body kept her out of the way. P-Body picked up Bun-Bun and examined its long floppy ears. Chelly looked at P-Body and then at Bun-Bun and smiled happily.
"Aunnie Pee-Bee Bun-Bun!" Chelly shouted happily, pointing the P-Body's stringy low pigtails. P-Body put the bunny doll down and grabbed her own pigtails softly. Chelly giggled softly and picked up Bun-Bun again. P-Body wasn't sure if she knew how to feel self-conscious, but she was sure feeling something.
Chelly looked over at ATLAS, who was still glaring maliciously at the mailman as he walked to the next house. Deciding in her toddler mind that "Unckie Attie" looked lonely, Chelly meandered over to him with Bun-Bun. She tugged on his shirt, getting his attention. ATLAS looked down at Chelly and took her offering of Bun-Bun graciously. As Chelly meandered back to the couch, ATLAS squeezed Bun-Bun tightly as he let the mail carrier know that he was watching him.
GLaDOS, holding the device for the first time, smiled softly and turned it on. "Let's see if our hard work actually paid off." She murmured, aiming it toward the plank of wood Dr. Rattmann brought up from the basement. The device made an odd clicking sound when turned on at full capacity. Though they figured out the charging problem, the device had a long "cool down" period. That meant once it was turned off, it couldn't be turned on again for hours. Dr. Rattmann decided to take what he could get, as long as it meant the device worked. He figured it was a step in the right direction and he'd iron out the details later.
"Aperture Science One Way Trans-portal Device Test One commence." With everyone at a respectable distance, GLaDOS fired the device at the plank. It sent her back a bit but it seemed to work. The portal flickered and eventually showed the inside of a maintenance hallway inside Aperture. The device still had a random outcome, but it wasn't flickering into nonexistence. Dr. Rattmann clapped once, loudly, and a smile creeped across his face. One minute passed, than two, until almost ten minutes without the portal collapsing passed.
"It…it works…" Dr. Rattmann, one hand over his mouth, walked to the portal and touched the inside of Aperture. The portal was indeed still there, its rim slowly spinning. Dr. Rattmann stuck his head through the portal and looked around. It was indeed an Aperture maintenance hallway, as he could hear the test chamber assembly nearby.
Making sure the coast was clear, Dr. Rattmann stepped inside fully. GLaDOS, in shock, ran over to the portal with the Androids and Chelly in tow. "What are you doing?! The portal could close at any moment and you'd be stuck there! It could take us days to find you! Maybe longer with that…Junk Heap roaming around!" GLaDOS sneered, watching Dr. Rattmann walk around the small space.
This place felt familiar and Dr. Rattmann looked around slowly. He looked at a nearby wall and saw a bloody hand print. He placed his hand on it and noted it was a perfect match. The blood was dry and though it looked like some had chipped away, it was indeed his. By the location, Dr. Rattmann assumed this is the hallway he had met Wheatley at before they ran off to free Lil from GLaDOS years ago.
The Androids looked in, though GLaDOS kept them from going in. Dr. Rattmann stepped out after a minute or so and started to chuckle. "It works!" he laughed, scaring GLaDOS and her Androids a bit. Dr. Rattmann hugged GLaDOS and shook her a bit. "IT WORKS!" he shouted happily. GLaDOS slowly shrugged Dr. Rattmann off as he and the Androids celebrated. GLaDOS clapped sarcastically, but deep down she was happy it worked. "I can't believe it works!" Dr. Rattmann whispered, touching the portal rim softly.
"Don't get too excited, Maniac." GLaDOS, in her rainy-day parade fashion, crossed her arms and walked over to the device. The Androids and Dr. Rattmann followed behind. They didn't notice that Chelly had wiggled her way away from the group and now stared curiously at the portal, which was starting to flicker. "Even if it does work, we still have to find a way to make the charge last longer. Once this portal dissipates, we'll have to wait hours to try another test. Even after that, we have to work on the outcome."
Dr. Rattmann, placing his hand on the device, nodded and stroked it softly. "Well, maybe we could use components from your purse." He remarked, pointing to GLaDOS's purse on the table.
GLaDOS, shocked at the very notion of him tearing apart her beloved "Aperture Science Travel-Sized Trans-dimensional Storage Carrier, Ladies Edition in white suede", glared at Dr. Rattmann. "I forbid you to touch that! It's the only physical link I have to the facility! If you start tearing it apart, we'll have nothing once the Junk Heap disables my remote access. He's been getting gutsy, though he's still stupid. He's adapting, though."
Cooing softly, but not loud enough for anyone to hear, Chelly gripped Mr. Teddums tightly and walked through the portal. As she did that, the portal started to flicker and soon caught the attention of everyone in the house. At that moment, ATLAS looked over at the couch and noticed that Chelly was missing. He pointed to the portal and shouted loudly in his mechanical language. This got Dr. Rattmann and GLaDOS's attention. The portal flickered and finally collapsed on itself, ceasing to exist.
"…where is the Tiny One?" GLaDOS asked, somewhat panicked.
In the Facility
Gripping Mr. Teddums, Chelly looked around at the big area she was now in. She started to go back but found a grey wall where the magic hole to the living room was supposed to be. Chelly stood there, whimpering softly and then she looked around.
"Gamma? Ganpa?" Chelly whimpered softly. "Unckie Attie? Aunnie Pee-Bee?" The wall held no answer. Chelly stood there, whimpering softly. The sounds of the facility were little comfort to the toddler. The sounds of the test chamber assembly above scared Chelly and made her scamper off away from the wall.
In her toddler mind, Chelly felt this place reminded her of the big shopping mall her mother sometimes took her to. When Daddy and Grandpa were busy at the bookstores and Aunt Angie was in school, Mommy would sometimes take Chelly out shopping. The big mall always scared Chelly but she often got comfort from the candy Mommy kept in her purse. She'd give Chelly a piece whenever she got upset or whenever Mommy made Chelly promise not to tell Daddy about a big purchase.
But this wasn't the mall. It was cold and felt like the doctor's office. Chelly didn't like that place, either. She seemed happy to not see any scary doctors but still held Mr. Teddums closely. Chelly walked along the walkway and looked around. Loud crashing noises from above scared her and made her run along the catwalk, her tiny shoes making small tinkling noises.
Chelly's little feet didn't take her far, as she soon stopped to rest near a big door. Chelly couldn't read (the sign said "Caution! Test Chamber Assembly Area") but from the sounds coming from the other side of the big door, she knew she didn't want to go that way. In her mind, she wondered if there was another way to find the magic glowing hole back home. Chelly scampered away from the door and made her way down another catwalk. This one led to another door.
"Big scawy pwace, Mr. Teddums." Chelly whimpered as she reached this door. She didn't hear any scary sounds coming from this door, but she was sure she heard voices. Chelly looked at the sign on the door, which looked identical to the other one, but with different letters. "Voices…" she chirped, standing on her tippy-toes to reach the doorknob. When that didn't help, Chelly hopped up and down. This method helped her get into Mommy and Daddy's room more than once. The last time she did this it was one of the times Mommy and Daddy played their "special" under the covers game. She didn't see anything, but Chelly noted that Mommy and Daddy now kept their door locked.
Finally reaching the doorknob, Chelly grabbed it and turned the handle making it open. It swung open slowly, revealing a nicer hallway than the one she was currently in. Chelly gripped her teddy bear tightly and started walking down this hallway. The door slammed shut behind her, scaring little Chelly into releasing a shocked yelp.
"Hello?" chirped an unknown voice. Chelly regained her composure and slowly walked down the hallway. The voice sounded kind of like Grandma, only higher and faster. Not to mention friendlier. Chelly scampered down the hallway and found a wall made entirely out of glass. She placed her bear down and pressed herself against the glass wall. Looking down, Chelly saw a conveyer belt with odd egg shaped things on them. They had legs like spiders, but there were only three legs to each egg shaped thing.
Turret Redemption Line Active, Please Do Not Engage Turrets Heading Toward Redemption
Chelly didn't know where that voice came from. One conveyor belt went toward a giant hole with the egg shaped spiders, while another belt went toward another hole with bits and pieces of the spiders. "Dose spiders awe bwoken, Mr. Teddums!" Chelly shouted, pointing to the second belt. Chelly looked at the belt with the working spiders and noticed one looked at her with its red eye beam.
"Who's there?" The Spider asked, as it disappeared into another room.
"Spider, come back!" Chelly shouted, grabbing Mr. Teddums and running in the direction the belt was going. She ran along the hallway and found an open doorway, leading to another catwalk. Chelly looked down and followed the belt as the egg shaped spiders disappeared into yet another room. Chelly ran up the catwalk stairs and saw in front of her a big office. She heard a happy chirping sound when the Spiders said hello and an angry buzzing noise when they didn't say hello. The broken spiders that made it through must have met her father, because Chelly giggled at their odd rambling.
Daddy sometimes rambled on about nothing. He would do so until Mommy got up and left the room or Grandpa (but most of the time Grandma) told him to be quiet. Chelly liked it when her father talked, because he had a silly voice. Chelly noticed that Daddy called things by different names sometimes. For example, Daddy often called the television "the telly" and sometimes referred to Grandpa or Uncle ATLAS as "Mate" when he talked to them. Chelly liked the way Daddy called the potty "the loo" and the elevator at the mall "the lift". Her favorite by far was when he called Mommy "Love" and would kiss her on the cheek. He called Chelly and Aunt Angie "Love" sometimes, but Chelly liked how Mommy giggled when Daddy called her "Love".
Chelly walked up a platform and down some more stairs and entered the office.
Template… "Hello…" Response… "Hello…"
The happy chirping noise made Chelly smile. Oddly, the door was open and Chelly found what was making the happy sounds. There was a glass booth with a spider in it that didn't do anything except say "hello" when two handles came down. Chelly stared at it inquisitively and meandered over to the booth. The window to the spider being scanned was broken, so Chelly stepped inside the booth slowly to get a closer look. "Hello, Spider…" Chelly said with a smile.
"Hello…" The Spider responded. Chelly wasn't sure if the spider was speaking to her or not. Chelly placed Mr. Teddums down and poked the spider. It fell over and started to shake. Chelly ran from the booth and watched the spider explode. It wasn't a big explosion, as it only knocked Mr. Teddums over.
"Uh-oh…" Chelly whimpered, picking Mr. Teddums up and placing him upright. Usually when Chelly broke something, Mommy would get mad. Chelly was somewhat relieved to not hear Mommy scolding her.
Template Missing, Continuing from Memory
The two handles kept coming down, despite nothing being on the ground. The screens beside the two handles had the pictures of the spiders on it. Chelly stepped onto the plate where the spider had been and the two handles came down. Chelly giggled at the tickling feeling the weird beam of light gave her. The screens nearby flashed red as Chelly stepped out of the booth.
Chelly left the booth and wondered over to one of the computers. Chelly didn't know how to use a computer, but often saw Mommy and Daddy using the one in their living room. Putting Mr. Teddums down, Chelly climbed into a chair and stared at all the glowing buttons. The computer at home didn't have anything like this. Her play computer would sometimes flash these colors and make happy sounds.
It clicked in Chelly's head that this must be a big play computer. Chelly mashed one of the buttons and the entire conveyor belt stopped. A picture of one of the spiders flashed on the screen. Chelly couldn't read, but kept mashing buttons until the picture changed from the spider things, to a human, and then a few other objects. Chelly stopped at a picture of a dog. "Doggy!" Chelly shouted, unintentionally mashing the big button again. The belt started up again.
New File Selected. Subject Dog Input into All Further Turrets
Turrets? Is that what those spiders with three legs were called? Chelly walked over to the booth again and watched the conveyor belt.
Template... "BARK-BARK!" Response… "BARK-BARK!"
Chelly clapped happily as each turret came down the conveyor belt, barking like a dog. She decided to follow the doggy turrets and see where they were going. The hallways were winding towards something big, but Chelly didn't seem to mind. She and Mr. Teddums were together and now they were off to find the doggy turrets.
Meanwhile, back at home
ATLAS tore the cushions off the couch and shouted into the springs and lining. P-Body threw open the pantry door and started tossing food out, also shouting. The entire house was a wreck, thanks in part to the Androids tearing everything apart looking for Chelly. Dr. Rattmann, now calm after taking his medication, picked up the things the Androids threw around. GLaDOS stood off to the side, arms folded. She didn't help much in the search effort, but she carried a worried look on her face.
"Alright, where was the last place you saw her?" Dr. Rattmann asked calmly. P-Body pointed to the living room (the furniture had been put back properly) and motioned at the couch. "She was with her stuffed animals. Maybe she went up to her room."
GLaDOS shook her head. "We checked there already, remember?" she murmured, looking around. GLaDOS widened her eyes and looked as if she entered a trance-like state. She turned her head a few times and then blinked softly. "My scans indicate that the Tiny One is not in the house. Perhaps she is outside?"
Shaking his head, Dr. Rattmann pointed to the back door. "I checked all the doors; they're locked. Besides, she can't even reach the doorknobs, how would she get outside?" asked Dr. Rattmann as the Androids joined them. Dr. Rattmann grabbed a handful of his hair and sighed softly. "If Wheatley and Lil come home and find us without Chelly, nothing will save us from Lil's wrath. You think she hates you now; you'll be wishing she liked you that much when she's beating you with P-Body's arm." Dr. Rattmann pointed to P-Body, who grabbed her arm in panic.
Turning away from Dr. Rattmann and her Androids, GLaDOS looked around and placed her hands on her hips. "Then I suppose there is only one true answer. When we were 'celebrating', the Tiny One must have snuck through the portal before it disintegrated. My calculations say that the One Way Trans-portal Gun won't be ready to go again for another three hours. The Moron and the Older One will be back in two hours. So, we are at a bit of an impasse." GLaDOS didn't want them to see her worried face, so she stayed in her spot.
Dr. Rattmann started for his den. "Then I guess we need to get to work." He commanded. GLaDOS turned around and faced Dr. Rattmann, an impressed look grazing across her face. "Go up to your attic and get everything you think can help. I'll scrounge up some Aperture components from the other things I saved from the facility and we'll get something working." Dr. Rattmann faced the Androids. "You two start cleaning up and keep an eye out for Wheatley and Lil. If they come home before we come back up, warn us and stall them if you can. But whatever you do, don't tell them about the device and Chelly's disappearance."
GLaDOS, somewhat taken aback by Dr. Rattmann's assertiveness, nodded and walked towards the stairway. "You heard the Maniac, let's go!" shouted GLaDOS to the Androids. The Androids nodded and started to clean up their mess. GLaDOS decided not to tell Dr. Rattmann she was impressed by his take-charge attitude to the situation.
P-Body sighed mechanically as she picked up Bun-Bun, who had fallen on the floor during all the excitement. ATLAS, in their mechanical language, comforted P-Body and took his post by the window. P-Body felt an odd sensation come over her and her head quivered a bit. ATLAS, looking over at her for a moment, asked what was wrong. P-Bod only shrugged. She didn't tell him that this had been happening for the last few days, but P-Body didn't want GLaDOS to find out. P-Body silently decided to do her own diagnostic later.
Back At Aperture
She wasn't quite sure how she got here, but Chelly was having a grand time watching things get sucked into the giant tubes. Having placed Mr. Teddums down in a safe place, Chelly had gathered a nice little pile of random things from the offices she had just finished exploring and waited for the tube to make its loud noise.
The tubes looked like the ones from the bank Daddy took her to sometimes. Mommy looked uneasy trusting Daddy with those plastic bags full of money, which she called "business deposits". She warned him countless times: "To the bank and nowhere else!" and would hesitate in handing them to him. Daddy would respond with saying he's not a child and then he and Chelly would be on their way. Daddy liked taking them to the bank so he could watch them go up the tube. The nice lady at the window would send back a slip and two lollipops, which was Chelly's favorite part.
The tube was broken and only seemed to suck up air at certain times. Whenever Chelly heard a loud "whoosh", she knew it was time to place something else in it. Chelly clapped happily and looked at her pile, which now consisted of loose paper and a broken stapler. After placing these things in the tube and watching each item fly off to parts unknown, Chelly stood up and walked over to Mr. Teddums. She picked him up and walked over to the hallway in search of more items.
As she stepped out into the hallway, a soft whirring sound flew just above her. A shiny ball on the metal track over her flew by. "Ball!" she shouted, running after the shiny ball. The shiny ball didn't stop when Chelly kept yelling for it. "Ball, come back!" she shouted in her toddler speak.
Suddenly, the ball did stop. It looked around and wondered what was shouted "Ball!" at it. It looked down and found Chelly smiling wide. "There appears to be some miniature human here." The ball murmured softly. The ball had one big eye in front that looked like a flower. "It's been quite a while since I've seen an actual human here. Why, the last proper humans left approximately three years ago. Maybe not exactly three years, but I'm not the math construct for Zea mays' sake."
Chelly just stared at the ball, not sure what to make of its rambling.
"Look, miniature human, I'd love to stay and chat, but if HE sees me stopping for any reason, he'll have me torn apart for scraps!" the ball looked panicked. "I'd rather not be plucked apart like the petals of a Bellis perennis, so I'm afraid our conversation must end."
The metal ball started to zoom off. Chelly chased after it, following it down numerous hallways until she finally stopped to rest against a wall. The metal ball looked behind itself and let out a mechanical sigh, like Uncle ATLAS and Aunt P-Body often did. "You know, you look familiar." The ball said, gliding back to Chelly. "You look kind of like the humans SHE captured and brought here a few years ago. They were very nice; they didn't step on any of my plants. I miss the garden…"
Chelly leaned against a wall and yawned. "Oh, you would have loved the garden. All of us cores used to live there, before HE took charge. You know, when the other one was in charge, she didn't particularly care for us and just let us be in our garden. But then he showed up, looking like that tall, gangly human. But he's a machine, alright. Just as a Helianthus annuus can only grow in moist, well-drained soil with heavy mulch, you can bet he's a machine in and out. He looks like he had sewn himself back together, with his mismatched parts covering his injuries and his busted eye. But don't let his ragdoll look fool you, miniature human. He's very much in control around here. When the other one and her Androids left, he started to take over. I don't know how much control she has left, but…"
The metal ball noticed Chelly was chewing on her little fist and probably didn't understand a word it was saying. "Alright, I'll make this simple: Big, gangly robot is mean and in charge. If he finds you, you'll probably be tossed somewhere bad. If you agree to never come back, I'll help you find a way out. Home, do you understand?"
Home. That was a word Chelly understood. "Go home, ball!" she shouted happily. "Wanna go home now, ball! Done pwaying now!" Chelly held Mr. Teddums closely as the ball made a nodding motion.
"Alright then, follow me. I know where there is a portal to the outside. SHE activated it before she left and kind of uses it to store things. I don't know where it goes, but whatever is on the other side might be able to help you find a way home. Oh, and do me a favor, miniature human: if you find her out there, tell her to come back…"
Chelly nodded, not sure exactly what she agreed to. Chelly followed the metal ball along the hallway, passing by doors and broken walls. "…and then I said, 'Well, I'm in charge of the garden, so I say the Gardenia jasminoide cannot share the same plot of soil as the Chrysanthemum coronarium; the soil is too acidic for both to grow together!' and then I remembered I didn't need to plant the latter, seeing as the human wasn't around the eat them anymore. I miss him."
A soft rumbling shook little Chelly enough to make her want to lean against the wall. "Oh no…" the metal ball cowered in its place, looking around frantically. "Alright, let's not panic. He's probably just readjusting something in the central chamber. I doubt he's noticed you. He rarely pays attention to the monitors on this level. Ironic, seeing as he relocated his chamber to be near here; the Central A.I. Chamber can move at will, depending on who is in charge."
Motioning for Chelly to follow, the metal ball glided along the rail. Something on the far off wall caught Chelly's attention. "Hello? Small Human, please don't go near that!" the metal ball shouted, following Chelly. On the wall, with a bunch of boxes stacked nearby, was a square shaped hole. "It's an old trash chute. Some of the lazier office workers used to use it to throw trash down to the incinerator. The door was sealed shut right before the humans vanished. It recently fell off and…"
The metal ball didn't finish its sentence. Chelly started climbing the boxes and peeked inside the chute. "Hewwo?" Chelly's greeting echoed off the walls of the chute. "Anybody home?" Chelly started to climb inside and soon found herself sliding down the chute. The metal ball panicked and rerouted itself and opened a nearby wall, zooming as fast as she could toward the chute's ending.
Chelly cheered with glee as she and Mr. Teddums glided down the chute at gathering speed. The metal ball, knowing her way around, zoomed down many different rails until she found her way to the bottom. When Chelly reached the bottom, she found herself landing softly in a pile of trash. "You are very lucky I got down here in time to reroute that chute!" the metal ball shouted.
The red glow from the hot room nearby made Chelly sweat badly. "Come on, we are too close to the incinerator for someone your size. It's not safe!" The metal ball shooed Chelly out of the room and out to a cool hallway. With a gleeful smiled Chelly started walking again until something else caught her attention. "No, no, no! No more distractions! We're so close to the portal!"
Ignoring the metal ball, Chelly walked over to the wall panel that seemed to be out of place. A red glow came from within, though it wasn't hot at all. Chelly placed Mr. Teddums down outside and crawled through the broken panel. Inside the wall, the room amazed Chelly.
The only light inside the hidden room was a dangling red light that looked like it had been fixed there. The wall was covered in drawings and writings that scared Chelly. A pile of torn up paper on the floor near a broken core receptacle caught Chelly's attention and she wandered over. She then noticed there were pictures on the wall. These pictures were of certain areas within the facility, while some were of people. Chelly got a closer look at one of the pictures and her eyes widened.
"Mommy!" she shouted, jumping for the picture. The picture was indeed of Mommy, but it looked old. The corners were crumbling and it looked faded from exposure to the red light. Other pictures like that were everywhere, along with a few pictures of Aunt Angie and a blue piece of paper with what looked like an outline of Uncle ATLAS and Aunt P-Body. A few childish drawings adorned the walls as well, and some old machine parts littered the floor. Chelly placed her hand on the wall, and then turned her head.
The other wall seemed to scare Chelly a great deal. Along this wall she found a picture of Daddy. It looked a lot older than the other pictures and there was a big red X over it. Chelly couldn't read, but if she could, she would have read the words underneath the picture written in red paint.
FAKE! FAKE! FAKE! HE'S THE FAKE!
The color red scared Chelly a lot. She ran back towards the entrance to the wall, grabbed Mr. Teddums and held him tightly. "I told you not to go in there. It's his shrine…" the metal ball murmured. "He doesn't live in there anymore, but we all knew he used to. He hid there for years until he was powered up and repaired enough to leave. When weird things started to happen, that's when the other one and her Androids left. I was hoping she'd come back with the humans, but it's just been us and him for a while now. When we were sure it was safe, we left the garden. He found us, sealed off the garden, and now we work for him. I doubt you can understand what that means, but know that if he finds us, you'll never go home."
Motioning for Chelly to follow, the metal ball glided slowly along its rail, keeping itself alert. Another great rumbling almost sent the metal ball off its rail. "Ball, wha's wrong?" Chelly shouted.
"He's mad! Oh no, no, no! He's mad! Hurry!" the metal ball zoomed along the rail with Chelly running after her. "The room with the portal is this way." The metal ball looked down and noticed Chelly was once again gone. "I wish I was the Nanny Core. I'd have more patience." The metal ball muttered, following the sound of Chelly's little feet scampering toward a doorway. Inside this door, Chelly saw all the three legged spiders from earlier falling down like rain.
"NO, NO, NO! WHICH ONE OF YOU HAS BEEN PLAYING WITH THE TURRET CONTROLS?!" shouted a voice that sounded almost like Daddy. "ALL OF THEM ARE…DOGS! DESTROY ALL OF THEM AND START OVER! FIND THE ONE THAT DID THIS AND THROW THEM DOWN THE INCINERATOR CHUTE!"
"Daddy?" Chelly whispered softly. The spiders from before kept falling around Chelly, who leaned herself and Mr. Teddums close to the catwalk to watch. One spider hit the railing, causing Chelly to lose her grip on her teddy bear, sending it over the edge. "NO!" she shouted, reaching for her falling bear.
"Do I look like the Nanny Core to you?!" shouted the metal ball. "I am specifically designated the Gardening Core and it is my job to keep the plants from taking this place over again! If you think for one minute that…"
As Mr. Teddums disappeared into the abyss below, Chelly let out the loudest wail ever heard in Aperture. The metal ball didn't know what to do and tried everything to comfort the child. "Please, stop leaking! And stop making that horrid noise! He'll find us and it's the scrap table for us! I'm sorry for yelling! Oh, bother, bother, bother…ummm…" the metal ball panicked. Just as the metal ball was looking up lullabies in her memory banks, something crashed onto the catwalk a few feet from Chelly and the metal ball.
Chelly stopped crying for a moment and walked up to it. Somehow, it landed upright and its red eye turned on. "TURRET!" the metal ball shouted, quivering in fear. The metal ball tried to find a place to hide, but stayed put when she saw Chelly walk toward the turret slowly. "Get back here! It's not a toy! Turrets are not sympathetic, they shoot anything they see!" Chelly ignored the metal ball and poked the turret with her index finger. It seemingly sprang to life and its two side guns came out part-way. The metal ball was getting ready for the worst.
"BARK!" the turret shouted, hopping up and down.
On its three legs, the turret hopped and barked happily around Chelly, making sniffing and licking sounds while snuggling close to Chelly. "Doggy tur-wet!" Chelly shouted, finally calling the machines by their proper name. The turret barked loudly and wiggled itself about. Its gun arms flapping about like ears, the turret was indeed acting like a dog. The turret happily nuzzled up to Chelly and made a happy whining sound as the metal ball slowly glided nearby. The turret stood in front of Chelly and growled softly.
"It thinks it's a dog? So that's what was going on up in the turret wing! The Foreman Core said there was an intruder messing with the templates, but I never would have guessed such genius could come from such a compact sized human!" the metal ball zoomed toward Chelly, who just stared at the turret attempting to wag it's nonexistent tail. "Well, he seems to have taken a liking to you. You might as well take him with you, seeing as you're both fugitives now."
Chelly looked over the side again and whimpered. "Oh, that plush novelty? You might as well forget about it. I don't mean to sound cold hearted, but its long gone by now." The metal ball started gliding along her rail, and after finding a whistling sound file, called the turret-dog to follow. Chelly shed a little tear and followed behind the core and the turret dog.
A little ways ahead, the core sat in front of a secured door. "He can't come in here, he's already tried. Through this door lies the special room she designed. Except for her, only the cores can go in and out without problems. He gave up trying to open this door long ago. Please stay here." The metal ball ascended into the ceiling and after a few clicks, the door opened. "Hurry, it's on a timer!"
Chelly and her turret-dog scampered in as the door shut itself tightly behind her. "Up there…" the metal ball nodded towards an odd orange opening. "Don't let the darkness on the other side fool you. It goes somewhere. I can't reach up there, as my rail stops here. But you can go up there and go home. If you see the scraggily man or the woman in white with her blue and orange friends, please tell them to come back."
Though Chelly nodded, it was clear to both the metal ball and the Chelly that the request fell on deaf ears. The metal ball watched Chelly climb atop a pile and make her way to the orange portal.
Back at home
No one noticed GLaDOS's bag fidget around as they aimed the device at the wall again. "Alright, let's give this one more college try." Dr. Rattmann murmured, holding the device up to level. GLaDOS and the Androids stood behind Dr. Rattmann as he charged up the device. He aimed the gun and fired, but nothing came out. They all stared blankly at the wall and sighed remorsefully. "We have less than thirty minutes to figure out how to explain this to Wheatley and Lil…" he grumbled.
"…explain what to us?" The British accent asked as the front door opened wide. Dr. Rattmann, GLaDOS, and the Androids turned to face Wheatley slowly. Dr. Rattmann smiled nervously and shoved the device behind his back. "What's going on?"
GLaDOS looked less frightened at Wheatley and stepped forward. "Moron, answer a question for me. How angry would you and the older one be if we, say, lost the tiny one? Hypothetically speaking, of course." GLaDOS turned Wheatley toward the door, motioning with her hands behind her for the others to get the device back downstairs.
"On a scale of one to ten? I'd say about 13,542; why do you ask?" Wheatley turned to GLaDOS with an angry look. "What happened? Where's Chelly?!" Wheatley shouted.
Lil and Angie came in through the front door next, Angie in her ballet outfit and carrying her sports bag. "…for the last time, Angie, we're not getting a pet. I don't want something messing up the house with the new baby on the way. Besides, if you want to play fetch with something, just play with the Androids." Lil scolded, having gotten tired of the conversation she was having with Angie. Angie groaned but soon stopped when she felt the tension in the house thicken.
As the others ran back up, the angry looks on the faces of the humans grew. Before anyone could answer, GLaDOS's purse hopped off the coffee table and rolled toward the group. Everyone's attention was diverted to the purse as it hopped around playfully and finally snapped open.
Out poked Chelly's head, with a big smile. "Mommy! Daddy!" Chelly shouted as she wiggled her way out of the purse. Wheatley bent down and picked up Chelly happily. The Androids shared a mechanical sigh of relief with their boss as Wheatley tossed Chelly up and down a few times.
Wheatley held Chelly close and kissed her forehead. "…and how was your day with Gran and Gramps?" he cooed. "You playing hide and seek? You're such a good hider. One time it took me three hours to find you. Mummy yelled at Daddy when she found you in the laundry bin." Wheatley chuckled nervously as Chelly attempted to take his glasses again.
"Chelly is the best at hide and seek. They've probably been looking for her for hours." Angie giggled as Wheatley put Chelly down.
"That very well may be, but how did she get in your purse?" Lil asked, looking at GLaDOS, who just shrugged.
Deciding to leave well enough alone, the group just agreed. As GLaDOS bent down to pick up her purse, it started to wiggle again. Before she could do anything, the fasten snapped open and revealed a turret with its eye glowing deep red at GLaDOS. Everyone jumped back and screamed when the turret's laser tried to focus around the room. Wheatley grabbed the girls and yanked them behind the couch as GLaDOS jumped into Dr. Rattmann's arms. ATLAS and P-Body, making random Kung-Fu movements out of sheer terror, braced themselves for the worst.
"Bark!" the turret yelled as it happily hopped out of GLaDOS's purse. The turret-dog ran around the living room, making sniffing sounds and just in general being a dog.
"Cool, we have a robot dog!" Angie shouted, peeking over the couch. "Grandma, Grandpa, look! We have a dog!"
Dr. Rattmann, holding GLaDOS close, looked somewhat amazed at the turret and its mannerisms. While he didn't think turrets could actually walk on their three legs, he never would have guessed it could do something like this. He looked down at GLaDOS, who glared up at him and pushed herself away. "Keep your hands off me!" she grumbled, straightening herself up.
Angie and Chelly ran up to the turret dog, despite Lil scolding them to stay put. "Oh, you're a cutie!" Angie cooed as the Androids joined them. With everyone fawning over the impromptu pet, Lil glared at GLaDOS and folded her arms. GLaDOS knew she had some explaining to do.
Later that night
With the turret dog in sleep mode on a pillow in the living room (the family unanimously named him "Rover", for lack of a better idea), Wheatley waited for Lil to return to the bedroom. When Lil finally did, she didn't look too happy as she closed the bedroom door. "Well, I'm not sure how, but we now have a dog. 'Grandma' agreed to work on it to make sure it stays in that setting and doesn't revert back to killer robot mode."
Wheatley rubbed Lil's shoulders as she sat down beside him on the bed. "She won't tell me how Chelly got in her purse, but I know she'd better start explaining what is going on soon or I'm going to start tossing Androids out of our house!" Lil got up and went to get dressed for bed. "You know, I thought we agreed to keep all things Aperture out of our home. Now, we have three androids in our home, one of them being the very computer that tried to take over my body, and a turret that thinks it's a dog!"
With a soft chuckle Wheatley started to get into his pajamas as well. "Now, love, look at it this way: Angie's wanted a dog, so we got one. It's playful, it's loving and cheerful, it doesn't make a mess and we don't have to feed it. All we have to do is let it recharge at night and play with it. I don't even think it has a mouth, so it won't chew anything. As long as it doesn't get out and we keep it in the house or in the backyard, no one will know we have a turret for a dog."
Lil placed her hand on her belly and sighed. "I don't know…everything seems to be happening so fast." She murmured as Wheatley climbed into bed. Lil soon joined him and tried to relax.
Wheatley wrapped his arms around Lil, which comforted her a little. He knew sleep would be hard tonight, but decided to give it a try anyway.
His face was like patchwork. His red busted eye glowed brightly with anger as he looked among the crowd of machines. He had repaired himself with whatever he could find and though he still somewhat looked like Wheatley, it was obvious the two were different. For one, He was more eloquent. But despite the patchwork fitting over his busted eye and on parts of his arms and exposed legs, the bots of Aperture took this one very seriously, less they end up like the poor Gardening Core that sat before them on the table.
With pieces of the core on a nearby tabled, He slowly made his way to some of the helper bots and a crowd of personality constructs. "This is what happens when you don't tell me what I want to know." He murmured, pointing to the remains of a personality construct on the table. "She was found by the Security Core wondering around a place I told all of you never to go. She refused to give me the information I wanted and now she's scrap metal waiting to be thrown in the incinerator! Now, find out what made those defective turrets bark like dogs and don't come back until you do!" He shouted, making the helper bots and the constructs scatter.
He had almost completely taken over, while his rule wasn't absolute just yet with the safeguards GLaDOS had put in. He has turned the Central A.I. Chamber into his personal throne room and kept the central chassis connected to the device that gave GLaDOS the ability to look in every now and then. He wanted her to see, wherever she was, that he was slowly gaining control. He was toying with her. It literally took only a yanked cord to disconnect his former overseer from the facility. But he wanted her to know who was in charge now.
"Sir, some of the security bots found this…" murmured the Security Core, as a helper bot handed Him the object. It was a teddy bear that looked like it had sustained some damage in a fall. He looked over it a few times and blinked softly. He gripped the teddy bear tightly and ordered everyone to leave the chamber.
With a few commands in a nearby console, he brought down a monitor that he hacked to show the feed of one of the Androids. He couldn't establish a permanent feed, but what he had recorded angered him. "He stays above ground while I toil down here to bring Aperture back to former glory. You fake…" he murmured, squeezing the teddy bear tightly with his hand. "…you relax for now, but I'm coming for you. I'll have what's mine and you'll rot down here. You're an imposter!"
His angry yelling made the recording shake. On the screen popped a recording of little Chelly playing with the teddy bear he now held in his hand. His eyes widened. "You came…you came here to find Daddy?" he cooed as a sickening smile grew on his patchwork face. "You know…you know he's the fake one and you came to find me!" he laughed insanely. He made a panel come out of the floor and hopped on it, getting closer to the monitor with the recording on it. He traced his finger along the screen and smiled wide.
"Don't worry, my little sweet. Daddy will be coming home soon…"
N'cha, my darlings!
Whew, this one took a little out of me than I want to admit. But, here it is in all its glory! Soon, we'll be exploring Robo-Wheatley and why he thinks he's the real Wheatley. By the way, it's mostly GLaDOS's fault. So, stay tuned for that!
So, did everyone have a good holiday season? I know I did! I mostly get gift cards nowadays, but that's fine. I prefer gift cards, actually. It's easier than telling people what I want because in all honesty, I actually don't know what I want. As a kid, it was so much easier. But alas, adulthood…sigh…
Well, here's to another good year, right guys? I'm not promising my next chapter will be up by New Years, because I don't have that type of energy. So, here's to a new year if I don't see you guys then.
As always, I wish to thank everyone for their kind words and for helping me keep this project going. It means a lot to me and I look forward to keeping it going. So, that being the case, let me know how I did and we'll just see where this relationship takes us, hmm?
Read, review, and be merry, my dears!
GLaDOS, Wheatley, Dr. Rattmann, ATLAS, and P-Body belong to Valve.