GLaDOS resisted the urge to laugh in the former test subject's face but then swallowed it as she realized Chell was technically correct. She and Wheatley had been forced into testing slavery for a time, so yes, they were escaped test subjects.
She elbowed Wheatley, hoping the moron got the hint to play along.
"Um, yeah, absolutely. How did you guess?" Wheatley rubbed his head and nodded enthusiastically.
"I thought I was the last one," Chell stared at them and GLaDOS struggled to read the emotion on the woman's face. Chell had always been good with the unreadable lunatic thing.
"She found more," Wheatley shrugged. "Test subjects, I mean. Humans. Human test subjects."
GLaDOS groaned internally. They had to get away from the woman before she caught onto them. She couldn't... she couldn't deal with this right now.
Maybe not ever.
"How did you know my name?" the human inquired.
"Oh, that's easy. She is obsessed with you. Hates your guts. Wishes she killed you. That sort of thing," the moron answered. "It's Chell this, Chell that-"
GLaDOS jabbed him sharply, "Please, if there was anyone she wanted to kill the most, it was that obnoxious, jabbering, moron of a personality core," she spoke through gritted teeth. Shut up, idiot.
Chell was looking more and more uncomfortable by the second, clearly unsure of what to make of the two.
GLaDOS wanted to get away from her. Get away from both of them. Her head was killing her; the bright sunlight, the cacophony of loud human noises, and the mix of smells making her feel ill. She longed to be in her own body, her clean, sterilized environment away from these disturbing sensations. Her legs wobbled and Wheatley steadied her.
"Actually, do you think you could help us out? My friend isn't feeling all that well," the moron said and GLaDOS internally shouted obscenities at him. "Also, I could really use some pants."
Chell gave a small smile, "Of course. I'll take you to the town doctor," she gestured for them to follow her. "What are your names?"
Don't answer that. Don't you dare-
With all the confidence in the world, the moron answered, "Oh, this is Caroline and my name is Whea-"
And GLaDOS snapped.
Chell was dumbfounded as the woman turned red and screamed in rage, whirling on her partner and tackling him to the ground before he could finish introducing himself.
The man looked equally shocked by the attack, obviously struggling to detach the woman's death grip on his neck.
"Wh-what's wrong with you?!" he gasped as she kneed him in the stomach. "Help! G-get her off me!"
Chell wasn't too eager to jump into the middle of whatever this was.
Before she could assist, the woman suddenly loosened her grip and slumped sideways to the ground with a moan. She started to shiver, whispering incoherently.
The man pulled away, readjusting his glasses shakily and keeping a close eye on his partner. "Man alive, sorry you had to see that." He nodded at Chell, "She's kind of insane."
Chell leaned over the woman and inspected her face, resting the back of her hand against the woman's forehead. "She's feverish. I think this is infected," she gestured to the massive burn.
The man gently guided Chell's hand away. "Chell," he said, his face solemn, "I think you should go. I think... you're only going to make things worse."
"Huh? But I can help you-"
He shook his head. "You ought to go. We have to figure this out on our own."
Chell was confused. Why didn't he want her help? What was wrong with these two?
He picked up his half-conscious partner and looked Chell in the eyes, his own deep and apologetic. "I'm... I'm really sorry. About everything. I was bossy. And monstrous. And rude," he shuffled his feet and looked down at the woman in his arms, "I don't think she really hates you, you know. She's just scared, but she's never going to admit that. You definitely freaked her out."
What on earth was he talking about?
He smiled, but it was a tragic sort of smile. "I don't blame you for letting me go. I used to be mad. But I get it now."
And then he walked away.
Letting him go? What?
Chell went to follow him and her foot stopped midair, the pieces all snapping together in her mind. Wheatley.
"Now who's the boss? Who's the boss? It's me."
And... Caroline.
"-Where Caroline lives in my brain. Goodbye, Caroline."
She stopped, still as a statue.
But that was crazy, wasn't it?
She had escaped. She had left them behind.
Yet somehow her demons had come back to haunt her.
And this time they had taken the form of two humans.
Author's Note: Hey guys! This MIGHT be the last chapter for a little bit (I've got a big job interview this weekend I need to prep for and I'm returning to my home country for a couple weeks, so life is a bit hectic atm). I'll continue posting as soon as I can! :)) Thanks so much for reading and all your sweet comments :))
Also I wanted to address the latest comments on this fic directly since FF doesn't seem to want to let me send PMs anymore (notifications have been way glitchy for me too, so my apologies) Thanks so much for your comments! I read every single one (and usually reply when I'm allowed to, lol). I'm really enjoying writing these characters as humans, but for the sake of brevity and plot advancement (I don't plan on writing a whole novel or anything) I'm choosing not to linger on all the intricate details that the AI/human transfer would involve, hehe, as interesting as it would be. Also, to be clear, Wheatley and GLaDOS were transferred into humans that were already in stasis, so the bodies they ended up with have nothing to do with their mental state, if that makes sense ^^ If you have any more questions or insights I'd be happy to hear them! I'm mostly writing this for fun and to relax a bit. I'll get back to posting as soon as I can, thank you!