[A/N]
Turns out I was wrong; probably three or four more chapters until this story ends. Hurray!
Reviews are greatly appreciated, and enjoy the chapter!
"Good morning."
Even though Chell was only half-awake at this point, she knew something was wrong. The usually monotone voice over the intercom now sounded…. Excited? Yeah, definitely excited. But what for?
"What is it?" the girl managed, tiredly.
"I have something fun for you to do."
Fun? Oh no. Whenever the AI mentioned words like that, something had to be wrong.
"Just… five more minutes." She twisted in her bed.
"I'll have you know, I am not falling for that. Get out of bed before I destroy your room again." The AI responded, still sounding excited despite the mild threat she just carried out.
An annoyed huff escaped her lips, before getting up. It was certainly easier to get up while wearing those boots, since they automatically flipped you upright.
She went into the bathroom, and changed into a different jumpsuit. After the scan, she eventually got to terms with the fact that the AI pretty much knew her body better than she did, so she didn't really care about the AI spying on her anymore.
She stepped out of her room, and stared into the nearest camera.
"What are you going to force me to do now?"
"Just get in the elevator, and I'll show you."
For some reason, this reminded her of a loving parent trying to get her kid excited about healthy snacks. She just ignored it, and walked further along the catwalk, and into the elevator.
To her genuine surprise, she wasn't taken to the Central AI Chamber, like usual. When the transparent doors opened, the test subject found herself in, well, the entrance of a test chamber.
"In case you are wondering; no. I won't be joining you today. On the bright side, I've got something new for you to test. Think of it as a… surprise. Good luck!"
Okay, surprises never went well, either. Just what should she expect? She didn't want her dead, right? Not anymore, that is. And what about that new device?
Well, answers are awaiting behind that door, she figured, and carefully walked through. No turrets, no lasers, no deadly goo. No signs of danger. Yet. In the middle of the room, a device.
It looked a like a giant CPU cooler with a handle strapped onto it, roughly the size of the portal gun. She could see it was still a prototype; none of the usual white plating and other finishing touches.
She picked it off the pedestal. It was heavy. Really, heavy. It was like holding a big chunk of metal, which, honestly, wasn't far from the truth.
"You are now in possession of the Aperture Science Hand-Held Matter Manipulator Device."
She looked up at a camera, confused. "What does it do?"
"Unlike traditional Aperture-provided handhelds, the Matter Manipulator Device requires external coordinate input."
Panels at the back of the chamber moved aside, revealing the rest of the chamber. There was a button encased in a tiny glass chamber, and a cube to go along with it on the other side.
"Point your Matter Manipulator Device at the Super-Colliding Super Button."
She did as she was asked, still wearing a confused expression on her face. What was she up to?
When she did point her newly acquired 'Matter Manipulator' gun in the general direction of the button, it started to vibrate a little. The test subject was surprised by this, and took a step back.
"The action the device you're holding just emitted indicates the direction of the programmed coordinates of destination. Now, point your Matter Manipulator Device at the Weighted Storage Cube."
Still not knowing what was supposed to happen, she did as she was asked.
"Please trigger the device."
She pulled the small trigger on the top of the Matter Manipulator gun. As the AI expected, the device expelled an orange blob out the front, and practically swallowed the cube, making it disappear. The same cube then re-appeared right above the button, where the device buzzed before.
The button got activated, and the door activated.
What she didn't expect, though, was the immense amount of recoil the device produced.
The human got shot backwards, straight to the other side of the chamber. Her body twisted backwards in the air, before the boots turned her upright again, resulting in a sort of involuntary backflip.
She landed smoothly on the ground, thanks to the boots, and promptly collapsed in shock. There she lay, panting, on the pristine white floor.
"What's going on? What did you do?"
The girl groaned, getting back on her feet. "This… thing, flung me backwards, I think that part should be obvious by now."
"Apparently it generates a bit more feedback than expected."
"D'you think?" The test subject responded, sarcastically.
"Let's not dwell on the past any longer. It's time for the next test!"
"I am bursting with joy." The girl said, equally sarcastically, strolling towards the door.
But where she expected to be another elevator, taking her to another test chamber, there was nothing. There was just a gaping hole, where the elevator room should've been. If it wasn't for her fast reflexes, she would've dropped down.
"What happens now, I think you'll enjoy."
"What is it?"
Transference complete.
The announcer's annoyingly cheery voice sounded over the intercom, in GLaDOS' place. Said AI then came walking in through an open panel in the test chamber, holding a similar device.
"We get to send the whole of the facility, into space."
[A/N]
And, with pride, I get to announce that, indeed, all of you were right. The whole of Aperture will get sent into space. Yay!
Onto the next chapter!