Lira cursed her slight frame and pathetic muscular anatomy as she staggered her way back to Upper Aperture under Virgil's dead weight. She could think of a few different faces from her past that she could shift into to make the load lighter, but her body was tired from the constant transformations.
Not that this is any better... you're heavier than you look, Lee Virgil.
After an hour her body felt much better, so she shifted into a huge, muscular bouncer she had affectionately dubbed 'Brutus'. She wasn't quite sure what his real name was, but it wasn't really of any importance. Transforming into a being of such size was more painful than usual, but the literal load off her own shoulders made it worth it.
Lira relished the horrified look on Doug Rattmann's face as she resurfaced into the chamber as a large beast of a man carrying a smaller man like a rag-doll. She dropped Virgil unceremoniously to the floor and quickly shifted back into herself, groaning as she fell on all fours.
Doug seemed to snap out of his stupor and grabbed her by the shoulders, "You're back! A-are you alright? What is-"
She cracked her neck loudly, "Douglas, give me a little space for a moment," she gestured to Virgil, "And get him secured with the English one."
Doug faltered, "Who-who is he? Did you find any sign of Chell or-"
Lira hissed under her breath, "I said give me a moment," her eyes flashed sharply and Doug closed his mouth tightly in response.
Lira glanced around the empty chamber, "Where is the English boy by the way?"
Her voice grew deep with warning and Doug flinched despite himself, "I-I... he was... talking."
"'Talking'?"
He reached for a control on the wire throne and pressed it hurriedly, resulting in a large glass box with a metal floor being lowered from the ceiling toward them.
"He... he just kept talking... and complaining. I was afraid I'd let him go but I didn't want to upset you so I put him in a boxandI'msorryIwastryinghe'sstillthereand-" Rattmann started to hyperventilate.
Lira sighed and rubbed circles around her temples, "Alright, I've got the picture. It's fine, Douglas. You did well," she got to her feet and examined the glass cage.
Wheatley was no longer handcuffed to a rocket turret, but his hands were still bound in anti-Deviant cuffs. He sat on simple cot, refusing to look Lira in the eyes, but glared daggers at the toilet in the corner instead.
Lira grinned, "Knock-knock. Make some room in there; you've got company." Wheatley only sneered in response.
Doug snapped a pair of anti-Deviant cuffs on Virgil, who had begun to stir. He then hoisted the skinnier man up and tossed him through the glass door Lira had opened up on the cage.
Wheatley side-eyed the prone figure on the ground, "What do you need us for?"
Lira tapped absently on the glass, "'Need'? I don't need you for anything. I could always wake up other sleeping test subjects instead, but that would be tedious. And him-" she pointed at Virgil, "I need him as bait. So as a word of warning..." her eyes grew stone-cold and she gripped Wheatley with her gaze, "Behave. I don't have to keep you around for anything. Understand?"
Wheatley swallowed and sucked in his cheeks, his mouth a thin line.
Satisfied that she had completed her first task, Lira clapped her hands and turned to Doug with a smile, "Now, would you like to know what I found down there?"
Doug nodded sheepishly.
So she told him.
Five hours later-
Glados tiptoed around the sleeping bodies sprawled across the room, now sure that each and every one of them was sound asleep.
A sleepover... how churlish.
They hadn't necessarily meant to have a giant sleepover in the entertainment room, but apparently the silent movies had bored them. Glados had tried to escape, but had failed when Chell wouldn't let Glados out of their sights. Virgil had been able to leave, so why couldn't she?
Glados stifled a yawn and headed toward the infirmary in order to get more peaceful rest uninterrupted by Chuck's world-shaking snores and Ray's freakish sleep giggling.
She had just sat at Virgil's desk to snoop around when she heard footsteps in the doorway.
"Europa...? What're you doin'...?" Big Dipper rubbed his eyes tiredly, giving her a doubtful look.
Her hand paused midair before she could reach into Virgil's desk and she slyly closed the drawer and turned to Big Dipper in one motion. "Well, I'm just-" she paused and frowned slightly, "What did you call me?"
Big Dipper brightened, "Europa. It's your space name," he said matter-of-factly.
Despite herself, she was intrigued and felt her heart lighten in a fashion she was unfamiliar with, "Why so?"
He grinned, "Because it's covered in ice!"
Her chest tightened and she bit her lip. Of course, how stupid...
Big Dipper seemed to notice his verbal blunder and sat on the cot across from her, speaking more maturely and reassuredly, "I, I mean... Europa is a moon that's covered in miles and miles of pure ice. But under the ice is a huge ocean that could hold anything!" He smiled and kicked his legs back and forth, "There could be all kinds of cool sea creatures and aliens! It's a moon that's cold on the outside, but is teeming with possibilities on the inside. It's... one of my favorites," his big orange eyes blinked at her hopefully.
After a moment of silence he spoke up again, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that... I can change it if you want-"
"No, no," she hoped her smile appeared genuine, "I actually like it. Thank you, Charlie."
"It's-"
"Big Dipper, my apologies," she smirked, "Now what was it you followed me here for?"
He suddenly looked sheepish, "Um, I wanted some medicine 'cause my head hurts, but it's okay..."
Glados rifled through the shockingly well-stocked medicine cabinet and produced a pain killer, "Here you go, take this and go back to sleep."
He stopped on his way out the door, "It's okay, I know you're not all mean, like the others said. I like you much better than Helios! Um, goodnight..." and he was gone.
Better than Hugo, huh? Well, she supposed it was a step forward in the right direction.
"I didn't expect to find you in here," a voice piped up, interrupting her thoughts.
She glanced at the doorway, "And where exactly did you 'expect' me to be? Sleeping on a mountain of blankets all cozy-like with those heathens?" She sniffed.
Virgil shrugged, "No, I suppose not. But you running off on your own while no one's watching is bound to cause some additional trust issues."
Glados stiffened, "So I am a prisoner after all."
He shut the door and sat where Big Dipper had been a few minutes prior. "If you choose to see it that way. Let me ask you a question," he leaned forward.
"Would you go back to what you had before?"
Glados wrinkled her nose in confusion, "Excuse me?"
"You know... the omnipotent control over Aperture Laboratories, the ever-present blanket of silence with no humans to bother you, the-"
"I get the picture," she snapped, "Why are you asking me this?" She was a bit alarmed by Virgil's sudden change in behavior.
"Answer the question: Do you want that? Or have you changed your mind about people...? Do you like having us around or would you turn on us with a-" he snapped his fingers loudly in her face, "-snap of the fingers."
Glados flinched and gripped the armrests of the chair in order to avoid decking him. Her expression hardened, "Of course I hate all of you. I would take back what was mine in a second," she spoke. The words didn't feel right. Forced.
Virgil noticed, amused, "So you hate me, after all?" His eyebrow raised and he smirked.
"Yes!" Glados jumped to her feet with a shriek, "Why are you trying so hard for me to admit it? I thought-"
He kneed her in the stomach and she fell back against the chair and crashed to the ground, the air knocked out of her.
Glados coughed, unable to cover her shock. "Wha-?"
He lifted her by the collar, "I don't believe you."
She struggled in his grip, "What's... what's wrong with you...?" she gasped. This was wrong. Something was wrong.
"You aren't as good at hiding your emotions as you might think. You do care about them and you care about him," Virgil dropped her and she backed against the desk, trying to quell the sudden rush of adrenaline.
"'Him'?"
She stifled a yelp as Virgil suddenly changed, shifting into a tall Asian female who loomed over her with a calculating, cruel face.
Glados felt a stab in her chest, Is that what I look like to them...?
Her breathing quickened and she scanned the room, looking for something to defend herself with. This woman was not to be trusted.
Obviously.
"What did you do to Virgil?"
"He's safe, and he will remain that way while you follow my instructions," the woman replied coolly.
Glados folded her arms and scoffed, "I'm not following your instructions... I don't even know who you are."
The woman briefly lost her composure, grabbing Glados by a fistful of hair, and hissed, "You don't know who I am...?"
Glados struggled to free her hair out of the woman's grip, but remained silent nonetheless.
"I'm Lira Nakajima. A test subject you shoved in a metal cube," the woman tightened her grip and yanked, causing Glados to wince.
"A-a cube? I wasn't-"
"Silence, I don't want to hear any words out of you except 'Yes Ma'am', or Virgil will suffer before he dies, understand?" Nakajima's voice dripped with ice and Glados simply blinked.
"What makes you think I care about what happens to him?"
Nakajima smirked, "Didn't we just go over this? Of course you care... you obviously care about all the sewer trash that live down here. But Virgil is connected to you more deeply than you realize... I'm sure you noticed that by now, right?"
Glados pulled a face, "Not that it's any of your business, but I don't have any special feelings for-"
"Not what I meant and you know it," Nakajima dropped Glados and Glados rubbed her head ruefully.
"Listen," Nakajima crouched down to where Glados sat pressed against the desk, "I need you to obtain information for me in Upper Aperture, and after that task is done you and Virgil will be free to go. You can take control of your precious mainframe again, the rest of the sewer trash will stay down here out of your hair, and you can do whatever you please to the Englishman who stole everything from you. Does that sound like such a bad deal?"
Glados had to admit, it didn't sound all that bad, but...
"Why do I have to leave the others down here? I'm not all that keen on leaving them unattended to wreak havoc on Lower Aperture... it still belongs to me," Glados smirked.
Lira sighed, as if talking to a stupid child, "Now, now... I'm sure you realize that the others wouldn't stand for this. They would get in my way, and I am not allowing that to happen. You will follow my directions entirely and no one has to get hurt," she smiled, "I have instructions to have something bad happen to your friend if you try anything funny. But I promise you, it will all be over before you know it."
Glados shifted, processing the information rapidly. It wasn't an entirely bad deal, but she felt... guilty. Was she really to leave Chell and the others behind? Virgil would hate her for it.
"They'll follow me," Glados spoke up. "If I disappear they'll search everywhere for me... and for that matter, they're bound to realize that Virgil has gone missing eventually."
Nakajima whistled, "You really aren't as bright as I thought you would be, Glados. You and I are going to make sure they can't follow you and they won't even want to try," she flashed a terrifying grin.
Glados tried her best to keep her face expressionless as Nakajima told her what they were going to do next.
Chell irritably covered her face with the nearest blanket as the lights switched on, Virgil chanting, "Rise and shine, everyone! Get up, get up, get up!" he was clapping his hands obnoxiously and she heard muttered swears and groans around the room.
"Mercy me, what's your deal?" Ray growled, tossing a pillow toward Virgil in the door frame.
"We're getting out of here, everybody!"
At this Rick practically flew out of bed, stetson magically already on his head, "What did you say?" he sounded hopeful.
Virgil flashed a grin at the dazed sleepers, "Glados and I have constructed a plan. We're leaving today! This is the day, everybody!" he was all cheer, but completely serious.
"Wha-what? You just changed your mind overnight?" Hugo rubbed his eyes and yawned.
Craig sat stick-straight on the couch, "Can we discuss this as a group first? Since when were you in charge, Virgil?"
"I think all of us are in agreement that leaving is in our best interests. Sorry, Craig, my boy..." Chuck spoke up softly.
Tears brimmed in Big Dipper's eyes, "I can see the stars again... space... so much space."
Chell sat in silence, thinking. Brooding. Did she really want to leave? Where was everyone going to go...?
Virgil clapped his hands again, "Alright, we leave in two hours! Grab everything you want to bring and follow us. Craig, if you want to stay down here no one is forcing you to leave. But, think it over... okay?" he winked and trotted away.
For the next hour the group sat in silence, taking in this new turn of events.
And Chell had to wonder, What would they do about Wheatley?
Departure Time-
The portal gun was her only possession, and it was really a stretch to claim that it was hers.
Chell turned it over, examining the fantastic device while deep in thought.
"I would... probably leave that behind. Um, if I were you," Glados spoke up from behind Chell.
She turned to the pale woman, 'I already decided to leave it behind. I don't need the government hounding me for scientific information I don't know...' she shrugged and set the device down carefully.
'What are you going to do once we get back up there?' Chell inquired finally.
Glados looked away, "I'm not leaving for the surface if that's what you're asking. I belong in Aperture. It's where I want to stay," she hesitated, "But I'm not going to... you know... do any more human testing. Humans aren't as interesting as robots anyway," she smiled lightly, "They're quite bothersome."
Chell got to her feet, 'What about Wheatley?'
The other woman's expression darkened slightly, "He should be easy to take on with all of us. His control of the mainframe was... haphazard at best. And..." she looked at Chell solemnly, "I'll let him go. You do with him as you wish, Chell."
Chell couldn't help but smile; Glados had come a long way.
'You won't kill him?' she joked.
"No."
'Not even a little bit of torture?'
"Is that what you want?" Glados asked seriously.
Chell smacked her lightly, 'Just testing your resolve is all. Let's go.'
They met up with the rest of the group, save for Craig who had opted to stay behind. Chell felt a twinge in her chest at the thought of being alone in Lower Aperture forever. Well if that's what he truly desires...
"We finally get to use the hatch!" Big Dipper jumped up and down with excitement.
"Let's hope it still works," Rick muttered under his breath.
Indeed, the hatch was enormous. It covered the ceiling of the vast cavern they had entered. A metal alcove with a switch was to the right of the group, while another switch lay at the end of a thin catwalk that lead to the opposite end of the huge cavern. Below them was nothing but darkness.
Another catwalk protruded from the other side of the cavern and led to an elevator that would supposedly bring them up through the hatch once it was open.
"We need two people to activate the hatch. Aperture protocol," Glados stated matter-of-factly and strode fearlessly across the catwalk that creaked underfoot. She stood next to the switch on the opposite side and shouted, "We need to flip the switch within three seconds of each other! Hit it in three, two-"
Rick stood poised to flip the switch on their side of the cavern while they all held their breath in anticipation.
"-ONE!"
The switches flipped. A siren immediately started wailing and lights flashed, creating a hypnotic display across the rock face of the cavern. They all covered their ears with grins while the hatch started to slowly open, revealing a black abyss above.
This is it. We're leaving.
They were going to see the sunlight again after four years. Longer for some.
Virgil started across the catwalk and motioned everyone forward, "We need to get to the other side, people. C'mon, aren't you excited?"
"Stop!"
Virgil stopped in his tracks and motioned for everyone to stay put.
Chell frowned at Glados, 'What's wrong?'
Glados held up a small radio-like device with a single button, "Back up, Virgil. Get off the catwalk," she spoke unwaveringly.
Virgil frowned and ignored her instructions, "What are you talking about? What's this about, Glados?"
"Once I press this button then the catwalk will collapse. It's an in-built safety measure," she spoke with more authority, "And I am going to press it. Get off the catwalk, you moron."
Chell shivered, no... no... this wasn't supposed to happen. What did that woman think she was doing?
Glados scoffed, "Don't give me that look. As if I would ever team up with you people... I needed to get you to activate the hatch, and that's it. You can stay down here and rot for eternity for all I care," she smiled sadistically.
"You're actually going to leave us here? Why not let us escape?" Rick yelled desperately.
Hugo snorted, "She's a witch of a woman and always will be... I told you so, you were all fools to fall for her-"
Chell smacked him on the head as a way to unleash her pent-up rage, 'How dare you. How dare you lie to us like this,' she kept her words between her and Glados alone. 'I actually trusted you... I forgave you.' Her lips trembled and she clenched her fists. 'So please...'
'Please tell me this is your idea of a joke, Glados.'
Please.
Glados stiffened, "I'm giving you one last chance, Virgil. Get off that catwalk."
Virgil stepped forward bravely, "I don't believe you... drop the device and we'll forget this even happened."
"Oh I certainly won't-" Ray spluttered as Chuck clapped his hands over Ray's mouth.
"I'm giving you a chance, so you had better take it before I change my mind," Glados trembled imperceptibly.
Virgil startled as Big Dipper cried out, "NO! YOU'RE LYING! EUROPA, PLEASE-" he dashed forward toward the catwalk and Chell reached out to grab him.
Glados' stoic expression fell into panic and she pressed the button.
The cavern rang with the explosions as both sides of the catwalk were blown from their hinges.
They detached in slow motion as Chell grabbed a fistful of Big Dipper's shirt, hauling him back onto the rock face where the group was huddled.
And they all watched unable to even make even a sound, as Virgil with an expression of complete surprise, plunged into the abyss.
For a moment there was nothing but shocked silence.
Then tears. Big Dipper dropped to his knees, screaming in agony, "You killed him! You KILLED VIRGIL! AUGH-" Chell slipped the hysterical boy protectively into her arms and stared across at Glados, who watched without any expression at all.
'Get out.'
Glados slipped away in silence, riding the elevator up into the ever-present blackness. How fitting.
Chell took in the sight of her friends' sudden grief, their bodies trembling as they tried to hold back the onslaught of emotions. Big Dipper was the only one openly crying, bawling in Chell's arms.
Rick crouched down low and placed his hat over his heart, tears dripping down his face, "I'm... I'm sorry. We should have stayed put... We were so stupid."
Chell then let her own tears run freely, mourning the loss of her friend... and the friend she never had.
Hi guys! I hope this chapter turned out alright. Sometimes scenes just play out better in your head than on paper... :) This ended up being very heavy. O_o I'm also afraid I may have missed some grammar issues, so feel free to let me know if you catch anything.
Fun fact: Europa is covered in around 10-15 miles thick of pure ice. Super cool.
Anyway, I'll guiltily admit that I was procrastinating on other more important projects today and ended up writing this instead, hahaha. Enjoy! :D
-Moe
