If I could jump, I would be out of sheer exhilaration.
Because the terrifying knocking and clanging wasn't the endless soldiers from space, it was some humans!
Some random humans, plus someone else...
The girl who saved my life. The girl who, in my worst moments, alone on the turret redemption line, saved me.
And listened to my words.
But neither the Goddess, nor my old savior seemed all that happy about it.
Flame whispered angrily to Bronze, as she flung herself to the front of the group.
"Get back. These... things, are monstrous."
The contraption stepped forward, yellow eye flashing dangerously.
"Monstrous? That's... oh. Oh no."
The contraption narrowed her eye.
"It's you. So you do talk."
Flame stopped talking entirely, choosing to glare. A move which the contraption followed.
The little personality core in the corner began to jabber chirpily.
"Ohmygod it's you! It's really you! Oh wow, I never thought I'd get to see you again! Um, you know... I'm sorry about the whole 'bossy monstrous AI rage thing' and the 'trying to kill you' thing, and all that. I really thought I'd never get to say this, but I'm just, really sorry. About everything."
"Can we be friends?"
Flame's face contorted, almost in a form of sympathy, before hardening again.
Silver looked straight into the eye of the contraption, and spoke gently.
"H-hello. Um... what's your name? Because, well, this is really weird for me."
Her smile grew wider, back to her more normal self.
"My name's Charlotte, but I'd like it if you called me 'Silver'."
The contraption seemed to stop, and the turret in the corner's little eye narrowed curiously.
"Hello Silver. My name is GLaDOS."
She stopped Silver's next commentary in its tracks.
"It's short for Genetic Life-form and Disk Operating System. Why are you here?"
She said this next part more to herself than to anyone in the room. "Is this about the party the Combine decided to have? In my facility?"
Flame stopped, muttering to little Silver.
"Stop talking to her. She's dangerous."
"She doesn't seem dangerous. I mean, she sounds like me."
"Trust me, Silver. She's dangerous, even if she does sound like you."
Bronze and Copper had run around to look at the little turret and the personality core, respectively.
Bronze's voice grew less graveled than normal, less accented, as he tried to speak gently and clearly to the little core.
"Hey there. Can yinz hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah I can hear you. You're a human, right? That's nice. I haven't really ran into a human since I, well, got thrown into space. Yeah! No joking, I got thrown into space by the human over there, yeah, in the pale armor, and the pretty brown hair."
Bronze looked back at Flame, and what appeared to be her staring contest with GLaDOS. They were just glaring at each other, letting those looks tell everything.
Bronze spoke again, firmer now.
"Flame, did yinz fling this Core into space?"
"Flame?"
"Flame, Talk to me! Come'n now!"
Copper lightly shook Flame's shoulder, as she walked back a step, a tear threatening to form in her left eye.
"Chell, look at me, alright?"
Her eyes seemed to flash, as she turned away from GLaDOS.
"What IS it, Noah?!"
Copper stopped. She'd known his name for a long time before he told the group, but she never used it. She always preferred keeping things less personal, always on the edge of a cliff.
So that if she lost someone, it wouldn't fracture her.
Her voice dropped, almost to a whisper, as she glanced back to GLaDOS, who'd almost crossed her mechanical arms.
"I have a... past, with that machine. And I was allowed to leave on less than stellar terms."
Bronze had drawn towards the little turret now, near forgotten in the corner. "Hey. Do you understand me?"
The turret's eye lit up, a deep red that in any other situation would mean death. But here there was a softness to it. Its voice was high pitched, and quiet, as if it were scared to interrupt the bickering in the corner.
I stood, shocked as this large, by human standards, person kneeled down to me, and set me upright.
"I understand you..."
His voice was graveled, and gentle.
"Do ya mind if I took a look at yous?"
I stood, silent, but responded quickly.
"I don't object."
He picked me up, cradling me as if a small human child, or a pet.
Those big green eyes of his stared into mine, before a call ran out across the room.
Flame ran towards Bronze and the turret, knocking the turret away.
"What are you doing?!"
Her voice was almost cracked, before she took a breath, and spoke more calmly.
"That's a turret. And it could KILL you without a second glance. It's not your new pet."
Bronze picked up the turret again, frowning, as the lights came on, showing more than what little light the flashlight and glowing lenses provided.
Silver backed away from the argument, as Copper tried to help, but mostly just got yelled at.
Silver, more accurately, backed directly into GLaDOS.
She turned around, worried that she may have hurt the complex machine, black hair glinting in the dodgy florescent lighting. Those brown, soft eyes widened.
And the sight of little Silver sent GLaDOS into shock.
"I'm so sorry I cant be what you... what you needed, Sir."
"I just wish I could have told you... just once, just to see your face..."
"But now you're gone... and I have to lead this rotting place."
"I j-just wish that I could have saved you, Sir."
"Oh hell... We're past Sirs now... I loved you, Cave..."
Silence echoed in the room as GLaDOS seemed to freeze, whispering to herself.
After a few more moments, she looked up, embarrassed.
Silver's voice whispered, "Sorry... are you alright?"
GLaDOS's voice responded quickly, still sounding shaken.
"I'm perfectly fine. But you humans are going to explain to me what you're doing down here, in my facility. Now."