Go~od morning. You have been in suspension for [50] days.

Blearily, Chell opened her eyes. God, where was she? What happened? She laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling; she was trying to process what was going on. That announcer was making it difficult. Wait? Announcer?

Chell shot upright and quickly glanced around. She was in what looked like a small hotel room. There were the normal furnishings, bed, desk, lamp, television. On the television an Aperture logo was prominently displayed.

Quickly, the memories came roaring back: portals, turrets, cubes, GLaDOS. Was…was she back inside? She stood up and realized that her heel springs had been replaced by a pair of boots. They were sleek and white with the familiar springs extending from the heel. She gingerly touched them; the announcer continued to prattle on about looking at the ceiling and art.

She was back.

No, Chell thought. The young woman sprinted over to the door and tried it; it was locked. She didn't stop; she pulled desperately at the door for several minutes. No, no, no! I killed her! She continued to pull at the door in vain. I killed her! I blew her up with rockets. I threw her cores into the fire. I exploded her. I was outside, I WAS OUTSIDE! Chell realized that she had been pounding on the door; she rested her fist on the cheap wood. I was outside…

She turned around and leaned her back against the door. There was no denying it; she was back. After all her efforts; she had been so close! She tried desperately to fight the consuming sense of despair that was creeping into her mind. It was proving difficult, especially after being denied freedom, and having gone through all those tests for that sadistic… Chell furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the floor. That's right. She had gone through a lot; she had taken that portal gun and passed every single thing GLaDOS threw at her. A smile pulled at her features as she remembered heading toward the fire pit. He first thought had been NO. There was no way she was going to let herself be immolated. After firing a few portals and escaping the flames, she had decided she was going to find her and wreck her. She hadn't given up then.

She wouldn't give up now. As long as she still had breath in her, she would never give up.

The announcer went on about returning to bed. Chell noticed that she was a bit tired. She figured they were pumping something in to put her to sleep. That's fine, she thought. Because once I wake up, I am getting out of here. I don't care what happens; I don't care about anything else.

I WILL escape here…

Go~od m—ning. Yo~u have been in suspension for 999999…

For the second time, Chell opened her eyes. She rubbed her temples and tried to gather her thoughts.

That's right. She was getting the hell out of here.

She sprang to her feet and glanced around the room. It…had apparently been a while, she judged from the state of things. Everything in the room had a sort of decayed, rotten look. The plant was long dead, the fixtures were rotting, there was a large indent-

"Hello?"

Chell froze.

"Anyone in there?"

That voice…it sounded human… Was there someone else here with her?

"Hello? Are you…are you gonna open the door?"

Chell broke into a full on run. Excitement filled her; she hadn't seen another human in…who knows how long? Was he a scientist? A test subject like her? God, it would be fantastic to talk to another human being. They could escape together! She reached the door and threw it open with such force that it nearly came of the hinges.

"AHH!"

Well. He certainly wasn't human. It looked like one of the cores she had torn off GLaDOS, this one had a bright blue optic and moved along a rail in the ceiling. And apparently, it loved to talk. Chell shot the thing an un-amused look. Why did it have to sound so human? she thought, bitterly. She had gotten her hopes up, only to have them dashed as she was confronted with another AI. She figured he meant to sound human on purpose; it was probably GLaDOS's doing. The "Let's Screw With Chell Core." She was probably watching her, enjoying her disappointment. God, she hated AIs.

It was still going on; did this thing ever shut up? Its name was Wheatley? And something about brain damage? She didn't have brain damage. Oh, and now he wants a response. Like hell she was ever going to speak to any AI.

All reactor cores safeguards are now non-functional. Please prepare for reactor core meltdown.

Wait, what? Reactor core meltdown? This place had its own power grid? And now the reactor was going to meltdown. Fantastic. At least this told her that GLaDOS was still dead; she would never let the facility explode.

"Don't worry, I'm going to get us out of here! You might want to hold on to something. Word of advice, up to you!" the frenetic little personality core said as he disappeared into a panel in the ceiling.

It wants to escape?

Suddenly, the entire room shook. Chell stumbled backwards into the wall. What was going on? As if to answer her question, the entire room moved forward with an abrupt lurch. The young woman was thrown forward onto the floor this time. As she looked up from her fall she noticed that the drywall was crumbling and falling off the room, revealing the metal frame which held the room. Scrambling to her feet, Chell figured that this would be a perfect opportunity to follow the core's advice. With some difficulty, she managed to run over to the closet and brace herself in the doorway as one would when preparing for an earthquake. This provided acceptable support as the room continued to break apart and swivel on its rail. As pieces of the walls collapsed, Chell could see that this room was one of many. There were perhaps thousands like hers, each one adorned with a label indicating what birth date, gender and…expiration date? She shuddered, it seems as though she was not the only victim here. Briefly, she wondered if she would be able to save someone else. Her hopes were quickly dashed however, as the little core rambled on about how he was in charge of all the humans, all of whom were now dead. …so she was the only one left alive. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind. The only thing that mattered now was escaping.

At least it be would if that core didn't make it a point to smash into every single room on the way to…wherever it is they were going. She wondered if the little core really was trying to kill her.

"Okay, on the other side of the wall, there's an old testing track. There's a piece of equipment in there that we're going to need to get out of here. I…I think this is a docking station. Get ready!"

Chell looked out and saw only a wall. The faded yellow letters read: "Docking station: 500 meters down." To her horror, she realized that Wheatley had backed the room up in preparation to ram the wall. Sure enough, the core slammed the room like a flail right into the wall. One hit was not enough to break through, and the room was already backing up for a second attempt. White-knuckled from holding on the door so tightly, Chell wondered, Is this core stupid, or just insane? After two more attempts, during which Chell was sure her organs would dislodge from her body with the force, the wall buckled and gave in. When she was absolutely sure that the room had stopped moving, she emerged from the closet to meet the core as he descended from the panel.

Chell shot him a look hoping to convey her displeasure and incredulity at his idea of a "manual override." Unfortunately, Wheatley took her expression of bewilderment as more evidence of brain damage. Fantastic. She decided that she would ignore him and find the portal gun. He was an AI. He probably didn't have her best interests at heart.

After crashing through a glass pane, Chell found herself in an old relaxation vault. Her old relaxation vault. This was the exact same place she had woken up in the first time. Here she was, again. Well, this may be where she started; but she would make damn sure this time she would end it.

With some measure of disgust, she stepped through the portal onto the track. When she emerged she realized just how badly the place had deteriorated. Thick vegetation was growing just about everywhere. Vines hung down from the ceiling and snaked around every apparatus. What were once pristine, clinical white tiles were now broken; many of them were covered with thick mildew or mold. A dank, putrid smell invaded her nostrils and made her gag. How long had she been asleep? How many nines did the announcer say? She shook her head. It was apparently long enough for Aperture to enter a state of utter ruin. She briskly made her way through the first few chambers. They were simple cube and button based testing, all chambers she had done before. These were so easy. Wait, easy? Was she actually wanting more difficult chambers? Before she could wonder if she had gone insane, she heard Wheatley call out to her.

"H-hey, you made it! There should be a portal device on that podium over there! I…I can't quite see it…"

Chell glanced over her shoulder; sure enough there was the podium that held the portal device the first time she had come through. The device was missing; this didn't surprise her, she had been holding on to it as GLaDOS exploded. There really was no telling where it was now. Though she figured she should start looking regardless. She stepped onto the floor and immediately felt her stomach fly into her throat as the floor gave way. Luckily, her boots cushioned her fall like the heel springs had. She shook out the stagnant water from her clothes and tried to regain her sense of balance.

"Hello?" Wheatley called. "Can you see the portal gun?"

She just fell about ten feet, she didn't really have time to look…

"Also, are you alive? Probably should have asked that first…" he muttered. "You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to work under the assumption that you are alive, and I'm just going to wait for you up ahead. I'll wait one hour, then I'll come back. And, assuming I can locate your dead body, I'll bury you…"

How would he even accomplish that? He didn't have hands. Though she did figure that certainly was the most amount of concern anyone at Aperture had ever shown her….

…she needed to get out of here as soon as humanly possible.

Following the flooded hallway she had fallen into, Chell was led to a room where she spotted a portal gun. Quickly she ran over to pick it up. The weight felt familiar in her hands, in a weird sort of way, she was glad to have it back. She stroked the dirtied white frame. This was the device that had gotten her so far; it was her livelihood. She tried firing both portals. To her dismay, only the blue was functional. Well, that certainly isn't very useful. She hoped she could find an upgrade soon or else her chances of escape were greatly reduced.

She looked around the room trying to find the orange exit portal. Upon doing so, she noticed that all the walls were covered with…murals? Entranced, the young woman approached one that looked exactly like her. Sure, she had remembered seeing several drawings during her first foray, but none this elaborate. And certainly not ones of her. She gently touched the mural; someone had been watching her. All this time, she hadn't known that they had been specifically watching her. God, she wished she had met them. Maybe they could have escaped together… But they were likely long dead by now. Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, Chell looked at the other murals. There was a mildly amusing one of GLaDOS holding out a cake to her. At least, it would be funny, if it weren't so sad. Speaking of sad, one of the murals depicted a screaming woman amidst a pile of dead scientists. Deciding that she wasted enough time, Chell made her way back to the testing track.

The next few tests were almost exactly similar to the ones she had first completed. She was surprised how quickly she had taken to using the portal gun again. It was like second nature to her, shooting portals, portal fling jumps, all skills she had down. She managed to get through the tests easily; along the way she shot down any cameras she saw. Of course GLaDOS was dead, but old habits die hard.

"Hey! Oi, oi! Up here!"

Well, there he was again. She shot a portal onto the back wall, as instructed. What was his angle? He seemed to want to escape. But, she cautioned herself, he was an AI. No matter how human or genial he sounded.

The little core's optic danced about nervously. "Okay, lemme lay something heavy on you…they told me to never, ever, EVER disengage myself from my management rail, or else I would DIE!"

Chell tried to stifle a laugh. Who would believe that?

"But…we're out of options here. So get ready to catch me on the off chance that I'm not dead…the moment I pop off this thing…"

Oh wow. He sounded legitimately frightened. She supposed it wouldn't hurt to catch him; he certainly was less threatening than GLaDOS. Did she trust him? No. He was an AI. But he did seem to know where he was going. She moved into position under him.

"One. Two….thr- that's high. It's too high isn't it? Really…that..."

Chell closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Nothing was ever easy for her. She opened her eyes just in time to see Wheatley drop right past her.

Oops.

"Ow…"

Chell leaned over and looked at the core. He seemed to be alright. She felt something tugging at the back of her mind. Guilt? She did halfway want to catch him.

The little core didn't seem to mind too much as he cheerily prattled on. "Plug me into that shtick on the wall there, I'll show you something. You'll be impressed by this!" His bright blue optic looked at her expectantly.

Plug him in? She wasn't sure. What if he opened floor panels and dropped her into a relaxation vault? Or summoned some turrets or-

"It does sound rude. I'm not going to lie to you; it does sound rude. It's not. Put me right on it. Stick me in."

Chell felt her jaw drop. Did…did he just make a…

Oh. Oh, ew.

Abruptly, she jammed Wheatley into the device on the wall with a little more force than necessary.

"I…I can't do it if you're watching…" he said, bashfully.

She made the quickest about-face ever. She did not want to know. All of the scientists at Aperture were insane for making these AI. All of them.

A mechanical whirring from behind broke her out of her thoughts. She looked over her shoulder to see that a panel had extended from the wall. Beyond the opening she could see a catwalk leading down a darkened hall.

"BAM! Secret panel. That I opened. While your back was turned," Wheatley stated with a swell of pride.

Chell raised her eyebrow. Actually…that was pretty impressive; he had opened up a way out. It could stand to reason that he might be different. She picked up the little core and gave him a tiny smile. Maybe they could escape together.

Wheatley seemed pleased and began to babble on cheerfully. She made no effort to stop him; she was busy navigating the halls. Though she wouldn't readily admit it, she got a small thrill out of walking around behind the test chambers. It reminded her of the first time she took down GLaDOS.

…In fact, these hallways looked extremely similar.

"Going to have to…bring you up to speed on something…" Wheatley piped up. "In order to escape, we're going to have to go through her chamber. And…she will probably kill us. If…if she's, um, awake…" he finished, nervously.

They'd have to go through GLaDOS's chamber? Chell felt a momentary wave of uneasiness pass through her. She quickly dismissed it; she knew GLaDOS was dead.

Wheatley, on the other hand, was having a bit more difficulty. He continued to babble on as the door to the central AI chamber opened. Chell found herself holding her breath as the door rose. Carefully, she stepped in.

It was apparent that the central AI chamber had taken the most damage. Most of the ceiling had been blown off, and debris lay everywhere. And right in the center of the room was GLaDOS's mangled body.

Chell slowly approached her. "There she is. What a nasty piece of work she was," Wheatley mused.

She silently agreed.

"You know who ended up purging her…ended up taking her down? You're not going to believe this…a human!"

Yes. It was ME, Chell thought as she looked her over. GLaDOS's body was splayed along the floor of the chamber. The base of her body was connected tenuously to the ceiling by a few fraying wires. Her once smooth metal casing was cracked and coated with grime and her head piece was drawn away from her body like a loose button. Other twisted shards of her body lay near her. Stagnant water pooled in her headpiece; her optic no longer emitting that eerie glow.

Chell further neared her mangled corpse. None of this would've happened if you hadn't tried to kill me. If you had just let me go, she thought. She knew that once she had reached her chamber there would be no way to reason with her. It had amazed her how quickly she could switch from petulant child to raging murder to dripping sarcasm. She had seemed so utterly insane; killing her was the only way…

…was that another pang of guilt?

No. No, she hated her. All the crap she put her through, she was glad GLaDOS was dead.

She carefully stepped over her twisted remains; even in death she managed to be slightly intimidating.

At Wheatley's behest, Chell made her way around the incinerator to the main breaker room below. He told her to look for a switch labeled "escape pod." Of course, nothing is ever easy. There were probably thousands of switches lining the cylindrical room. She wasn't even sure how she'd reach the ones that were higher up.

Wheatley suggested that she plug him in so he could hit the lights. Chell plugged him in and continued to scan for the switch.

"Oh! Look at that, we're turning. Ominous, but probably fine!"

Chell felt an immediate urge to get out right that second. She didn't get the chance however, as she felt the panel begin to ascend.

"It's…it's moving up…" Wheatley muttered nervously. To her horror, she noticed that the open lids of the panels were hitting every single switch. She rounded on the personality core and slammed her fists into the panel on either side of him. DO SOMETHING! STOP THIS! She thought, furiously.

Wheatley's optic contracted to a tiny dot, "I've got it, I've got it! This should slow it down! …no…makes it go faster…"

No…no. I'm getting out of here. I'm getting out of here! Chell thought desperately as the panel rushed to the top. It stopped right in front of GLaDOS. Chell then heard the announcement she had been dreading; one that made her veins turn to ice.

Power-up initiated…

A/N: Well! I've been in a bit of a rut fanfic-wise! I usually like posting only new content, but since I've hit a bit of writer's block, I decided to write a bit of a novelization DERP, I'M RIDING OFF CANON. But I guess it never hurts to practice. And hey, maybe someone will enjoy it! XD

I think it did the trick; I feel refreshed and I have some new ideas forming!

Though I bet you will probably see me returning to this whenever I have writer's block. XD

And hey, as always, let me know of any errors or any improvements I can make. And thanks for all the reviews and faves on my other stuff! It really makes my day! :D