Extraction .exe

Disc 1

Aperture Science : Testing Maintenance

Chell dropped from the broken catwalk, hearing the familiar creak of her knee replacements absorbing the shock of the drop. She found herself in a turret maintenance room. There was only one which appeared almost operational, but didn't seem capable of shooting, others lay on the ground in crumpled heaps.

The semi-operational one just opened up and said in an innocent voice, "there you are." It's guns clicked empty as they trained on her. She walked and pushed it over, and in just as innocent a voice it said, "I don't blame you." She stood over it shaking her head in pity.

"You're not a good person! You know that, right? Good people don't end up here!"

Chell shook her head with a smile. There was something satisfying in the rising frustration of the A.I. for days now. Ever since she'd discovered the hideouts she had taken full advantage of all of them. She used them to rest and calm down during the stressful tests. She used the time to plan both ways to accomplish the puzzles, but increasingly to find a way to escape.

While survival was important, figuring out just what had happened to Aperture was more so. The rusted and abandoned backrooms of the facility pointed to nothing good. She had tried to find a working computer to discover something, but they only outputted gibberish, almost certainly corrupted by the AI.

When she had first escaped her fiery demise, she had worried about finding the bodies of all her coworkers strewn about. The fact that she had found no bodies was somehow actually worse. Where did everybody go? The only real clue she had was that GLaDOS was still around and presumably the cause.

"Can You Hear Me!?"

Chell looked around the little maintenance shaft with a wistful air. She had never worked in quite this hot or humid a workroom, but the parts and pieces reminded her first days at Aperture Science.

Aperture Science : Lobby

Chell stood nervously in what appeared to be the guest area of the Aperture Science Enrichment Center. There were neat rows of padded chairs and a streamlined modern aesthetic. Clean white plastic seemed to cover every wall. There were a few people milling about. Some seemed to be visiting on business, while others were dressed less formally, most likely tourists.

Chell was dressed in the nicest clothes she could manage after a year without a job… but she had a feeling most of the stares she was getting were for the metal prothstetics on her legs. Despite that, she would stand there all day if she needed to. Her savings had just about run out, and she was going to get sick if she kept subsisting on instant noodles. The job was only going to be a short term gig, but it paid for room and board, which made it a godsend.

Still, waiting 45 minutes for an introduction after arriving twenty minutes early wasn't grating on her nerves at all. Nope, not a bit.

The doorway that led into the facility proper whooshed open with a start. and a man with messy short hair and a nervous air around him walked out. He was dressed in a wrinkled blue overshirt with a white undershirt and a black tie. He had a folder held under his armpit that he pulled out and started to flip through. After a moment he looked up and started to walk over to Chell. As he got closer Chell noticed his most notable feature had to be that one pupil was larger than the other.

He gave a weak tired smile, and came walking over hand outstretched way too early. "Hello are you Chell Legends?" he asked and Chell shook his hand.

"Yes, are you Dr. Reece?" she asked, doing a poor job of keeping the impatience out of his voice.

He shook his head, "Oh, uh no. My name is Doug Rattmann- Dr. Rattmann if you will. Dr. Reece met with an unfortunate… accident in the lab," he said, wringing his hands, "which is why there was such a delay to getting someone out here to greet you. For which I, at least, apologize." he said with a nod.

"An accident?" Chell asked.

He seemed to bob his head in contemplation, then looked around and leaned in and whispered "turned his legs to jello." He said it in such grave concern that Chell almost believed him.

"Uh, huh." Chell nodded in a way that said she in no way believed the obvious lie.

"In any case, shall we get started?" he asked walking back towards the main door.

Aperture Science : Testing Maintenance

Chell dug the last of the beans from the bottom of the can, and shoved them down her gullet. She was in another of the safehouses set up for her by the last escapee. She sat back for a moment and considered staying. There were a few days rations here, she could rest and recover while she could. The only problem with that was that it gave GLaDOS more time to create and plan more traps.

Chell's eyes looked around at the crazed scrawlings on the wall. They remained as disconcerting as they had down in the testing chambers. Most were about GLaDOS and how she was always watching, others were about the companion cube, and their dedication to it. On the floor was scrawled 'HELP'. When she had saw them in the first of these rooms she had thought it a desperate plea from a dying man. But the word was repeated in each of these hideaways. Perhaps it was not a plea for help as much as a offer of it.

As Chell sat, if not full then content, she gave a last stretch before moving towards the little crawl space entrance. No matter how nice it would be if this job did itself, it wasn't going to. She gave the welcoming offer of help an awkward pat of thanks as she headed back into the maelstrom of the facility.

Aperture Science : Staff Elevator

Chell, now outfitted with an ID card anxiously waited for the elevator to arrive. The elevator was packed with people, forcing her and Rattmann into a corner. After getting contracts and a few dozen NDA's signed, Doug was showing her down to where she would be working and living.

She tried to temper her expectations, the Enrichment Center had seemed like a magical, exciting place when she was younger, but time exaggerated most things. However, for once time undersold it if anything. As the elevator opened and Chell and Rattman were forced out into a room of controlled chaos.

There were at least two uncontrolled fires currently being put out. There was... something flying around at 'slightly too fast' speeds. Finally, there was one cleared out workstation with two androids punching each other, one painted red and the other blue. A gaggle of scientists standing around them, cheering each blow one.

Chell felt exhausted just taking it all it.

"A bit overwhelming huh." Doug have a nervous look at the drone for a moment before his hand dug into his pocket. He took out a small orange bottle and with an ease that could only come from years of practice, threw back the two pills.

"Just a bit yeah," Chell winced as the drone finally hit something and crashed into a workstation. "How in the world did you get used to this?"

"Me?" Rattmann shook his head, weaving through the maze of workstations, "I didn't. Work up on floor AI research is relatively sane… or at the very least orderly."

The two of them arrived at what was the largest workstation. Only a fairly thin line of floor space allowed one to walk while everything else was covered in shelves full of equipment. Sitting behind a desk full of different tools and gadgets was a man a few years older than Chell. He had a five-o'clock shadow and blue highlights in his brown hair. He had a screwdriver in hand and was fixing… something.

"Skye?" Rattmann asked knocking on one of the many shelves.

The man looked up annoyed but then his eyes widened before he spoke in a deep Scottish accent, "Dougasaurus Rex!" He threw the gadget he was working on into a shelf behind him.

"No."

Skye seemed disheartened, "What, you don't like that one either?"

"I don't need a nickname Skye." Rattman said in an exasperated, but friendly tone, "specially that one."

"But you didn't like Ratty, or Duke Ratking of Manrat either."

"True," affirmed Doug before gesturing to Chell. "This is Chell your-"

"Ah, the new recruit!" Skye moved and gave a firm handshake. Chell seemed to shake calmly, but applied more pressure. Skye's eyes widened and squeezed back, and soon the two were soon trying to squeeze the life out of each other. Skye looked over to Doug, then back at the iron will in Chell's eyes. He grit his teeth and loosened his grip slightly. "Oh I think we are going to get along just fine Chell," he said with a rueful smile.

Chell was privately pleased with her victory. Skye looked her over and looked down at her legs oddly and Chell grimaced.

"Oh, I recognize that handywork, that's one of Legends knee replacements," a light bulb seemed to go off in his head and he pulled the file from Doug who was already holding it out. He opened the file, "Chell Legends, are you Bruce Legends' daughter?" he asked with excitement.

"No." Chell answered coldly.

Skye looked up at her sudden frosty demeanor, he glanced at Rattman who seemed just as surprised by the comment. Skye wisely decided to move on, "Ah, well, he just used to work here. In any case I think it's time to show you where you'll be working." He stood, addressing Dr. Rattman, "till next we meet Ratpack."

"Sure Skye," Doug said with a nod as he turned to make his way to the elevator "Also, no to that nickname." Skye groaned in mock disappointment.

"Will I be getting a nickname?" Chell asked in a worried tone.

"Nope, I only do it to annoy Doug," he said waving off her concern, "Don't tell em' though," he waved for her to follow. The two worked towards the back of the chaotic room to a door with a red sign that read 'Maintenance'. "Now, since you will primarily be working on repair you won't be provided a full work station on the main floor." He got to a door and unlocked it with a key on his belt.

Inside was a much more utilitarian room garishly lit by red lights and walls of concrete. In a pile on one side of the room was a heap of damaged and broken turrets. As they stood there, another turret was dropped into the pile by an enormous pneumatic tube. On the other end of the room was a workbench with an assortment of tools.

"So this is where I will be working?" Chell asked, trying to keep the dismay out of her voice. She noticed in a corner she could see a rusty cot with a fresh pair of sheets pulled over it. Two duffel bags she had checked at the front desk were waiting atop the bed. "And sleeping?"

"Afraid so lass." He pulled something from behind his back as he marched towards the work bench, on the top of it he placed a small round cactus. "There we go! Really brightens the place up don't you think?" he said with a wide smile.

Chell tried to look angry, but the honest genuine smile made that difficult. She let out a slight sigh before stretching her back, "Alright, let's get to work then."

Aperture Science : Atrium?

Chell took a deep breath as she ported through the grate and out of the sewer, the putrid stench of the stagnant water was terrible. The relief was short lived as her toes dipped into a slippery sludge that sent goosebumps across her skin. Luckily the room above was filled with portalable walls to escape with. Without a second thought Chell ported up above, planning to scrape the sewage from her feet.

Then panic filled her as she heard the sound of a dozen whooshing doors. All around she could see the red lights of turrets activating. Before they could recognize her she quickly fired a portal as high as she was able, and then one below her just as the turrets trained on her position. As she fell she tried to take more of the room in.

She noticed one large alcove up above that seemed to be the only means forward. Then she noticed the slanted doors that might give her a angle to launch up there. The makeshift parts of a plan ready, she grit her teeth in preparation.

Chell hit the ground running, using one of the four massive columns in the room as cover. She got an angle on the first slanted door and placed a portal on it. Once fired she hopped down into the slimy trench to avoid several dozen bullets. Doing her best to not gag she slid on her metal supports, firing an orange portal at the end of the trench. She found herself looking down on the room from above with her new position on the slanted door.

Chell saw the confused red lines searching for a target that was no longer there. She kicked off the slanted door into a dive to the ground, firing another portal below her. Before any of the turrets could get a handle on what was happening she was soaring high above the ground.

Turrets desperately tried to lock on, but between the pillars and her speed they were meeting with little luck. High in the air, she got an angle on the second slanted door and fired a portal onto it. As she fell back to the floor, she fired the other portal where she would land. The momentum sent her soaring across the atrium and into the alcove overlooking the chamber. As her shaky legs felt the solid ground of the alcove she turned around to look down behind her at the searching lasers of the confused turrets.

Chell felt a righteous grin stretch across her face, part of her not believing she had pulled it off.

"There you are..."

Chell felt a cold sweat roll down her back and she whirled around to see two sentry turrets get dropped in from above. On instinct she dodged into a series of old pipes. Even with the protection, the bullets flew and pelted every part of her that was visible. She gritted her teeth and fired below one of them, listening to its confused cries as it fell into the atrium behind her. Then as she aimed at the other she couldn't get an angle through the pipes. Desperate and worried when one ricochet would hit something more vital, she dodged out into the open and fired another portal beneath the other. A half dozen bullets found her center mass before the turret disappeared with the exact same cry as the other.

Chell's momentum carried her into a wall, which she promptly slid down, breathing through the pain.

She looked at the full bullets that had hit her. Not casings mind you, but full bullets. For whatever merciful reason the turrets used some kind of spring loaded mechanism to fire, instead of using the primer to propel it. On some level she was grateful to not be full of holes, but it was a little hard to feel that way when her whole torso was turning purple.

GLaDOS hadn't deigned to speak to her in a while, she must not have any cameras near by, otherwise she would be eating this up...

Aperture Science : AI Research

Chell walked through the last checkpoint, a look of wary approval on the guards face. She knew that she would be watched by the cameras every step of the way. She also knew that if there were active tests going, she wouldn't have even been let off the elevator to this floor.

Inside was a large circular chamber with a massive tangle of computers and wires hung from the ceiling. The lights were dimmed to where it was almost dark. It was wide enough for a hundred or so people to walk and work without feeling cramped. Only one person was in there now.

Doug sat in a rolling chair before the hanging computer, shaking his bottle of pills rhythmically. He was hunched over in the chair. Chell didn't try to sneak up on him, but he was so lost in thought that she managed to walk all the way up to him without him seeming to notice.

"Hey Doug, me and Skye were thinking of going to Clarksville for dinner, you in?" she asked trying to get his attention.

He took in a deep breath through his nose, Chell wasn't sure what was wrong, but she knew that work up here had been a huge stress on him. "They won't be enough, they won't be enough..." he muttered half to Chell and half to the mass of computer parts.

"We could hit the buffet place?" Chell asked with a sly grin. That grin disappeared when Doug turned to her, eyes sunken and mirthless.

"Chell why are you friends with me?" he asked rubbing at his eyes.

"Because your just that pretty." Chell answered flippantly.

"Chell… please" Doug closed his eyes and ran his nails through his hair a little too rough. "No one but you and Skye talk to me. Everyone sees these," he rattled the bottle "and immediately dismisses me. Even my colleagues barely listen to me, no matter how dire things are." he gritted his teeth at the mass of computers again. "So why not you?"

Chell resisted the urge to be flippant again and gave it some thought. She kept bouncing words around in her brain before just shrugging, "I don't know Doug, I just enjoy your company."

"But why?"

"I..." she wanted to say she didn't know, but her gut said that wasn't going to help. She guessed he hadn't taken his meds. Finally she tapped her metal knee replacement against the floor, and it came to her, "Because of these." she asked gesturing at the prothstetic.

Doug looked at the prothstetic and then shook his head, "What knees told you to be my friend?" he chuckled darkly before his eyes glanced back at the prothstetics in paranoia. Definitely off his meds.

"No, because you don't treat me differently. Everyone either pities me or thinks I'm a freak because of these. You don't care." Doug continued to look at her, as if questioning if that was really enough. Chell, frustrated, shrugged "I don't know man. You put up with my shit, I put up with yours and your fun to talk to. Neither of us is shitty, and that's enough for me," Chell let out, doing her best approximation of 'vulnerable', crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hm..." Doug looked at her and nodded, a small smile peaking through. He popped open his bottle and took the last two pills. "You know… dinner sounds fine."

Chell nodded, not trusting herself to speak and the two of them walked out from the chamber, leaving the dimly lit room behind them.

Aperture Science : G.L.a.D.O.S. Chamber

Chell stood in front of the Material Emancipation Grill looking at her enemy. The room was no longer dark. The monitors flashed through images at an incomprehensible rate. GLaDOS's body rotated in a gentle circle from its raised position. She sat there, waiting, almost inviting Chell in. She was quiet, but Chell knew that if she had anything to say she wouldn't hold back

A part of Chell knew there was a real chance that entering the room would mean her death. A part of her felt like the shrew, staring up at a predator. A desperate need to scurry away to one of the safe little hideouts pumped into her nervous legs.
But there was an even deeper part of her that longed for blood.

She stepped into the chamber, her portal gun forced to drop its two existing portals behind, and the door slammed behind her.

"Well, you found me. Congratulations. Was it worth it? Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you've managed to break so far, is my heart"

Chell strode confidently, swallowing her fear as she looked around for turrets.

"Maybe you could settle for that and we'll just call it a day... I guess we both know that isn't going to happen… You chose this path. Now I have a surprise for you. Deploying surprise in five, four..." There was a thud and a flash of sparks, and Chell looked to the ground beneath GLaDOS. One of the orbs that had been attached to the A.I. had fallen to the ground. "Time out for a second. That wasn't supposed to happen. Do you see that thing that fell out of me? What is that? It's not the surprise… I've never seen it before. Nevermind. It's a mystery I'll solve later... by myself… because you'll be dead."

In the back of the room there was an incinerator, but no nearby button. After exploring the empty room briefly Chell found the button, a two man operation, probably to avoid accidents. Her mind driven to vengeance gave little more thought than the opportunity to burn a piece of the A.I. Her mind was filled with images of tearing GLaDOS apart piece by piece, before burning it away. She hoped it would hurt.

She gathered up the fallen core and marched to the red button.

"Where are you taking that thing?". She slammed the button and then ported herself over to the incinerator, "I wouldn't bother with that, my guess is that touching it will just make your life even worse somehow." With bitter anger and determination she took the orb by one of its handles and hurled it into the inferno. A satisfying burst could be heard as the fire pit closed.

"You are kidding me. Did you just stuff that Aperture Science Thing We Don't Know What It Does into an Aperture Science Emergency Intelligence Incinerator?" Chell smiled feeling the rush of joy of destroying any part of the AI. "That has got to be the dumbest thing that-whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa..." the images on the screen slowed to a crawl before speeding back to its normal speed.

The tone of the voice changed, somehow growing colder and more menacing, "Good news: I figured out what that thing you just incinerated did. It was a morality core they installed after I flooded the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin, to make me stop flooding the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin."

Oh no.

"So get comfortable while I warm up the neurotoxin emitters." All around the chamber a green fog seemed to descend from vents up above. Chell held her breath and walked away from the wall before she realized she had no chance of surviving that way.

Chell looked around in a panic and saw a rocket turret come up from the floor.

"Huh. That core may have had some ancillary responsibilities. I can't shut off the turret defenses." the turret swiveled around and in her panic Chell only managed to jump out of the way just in time. "Oh well. If you want my advice, you should just lie down in front of the rocket. Trust me, it'll be a lot less painful than the neurotoxin."

Chell looked around at the mass of portable walls and nodded. She fired a portal at a wall and then right above it so that the rocket would collide into GLaDOS. She ran in a sprint as the turret locked onto her and fired. As she dropped through the portal she watched the rocket soar over her into the computer.

"sk! ds43SD" another core came out but some kind of beam raised it out of reach on an old pipe.

"Okay keep doing whatever it is you think your doing."

Chell agreed and ported up and kicked the core out of the beams weak grasp.

"Who are you?" the little core asked its eye wide and started to dart around the room "What is that? Oh what's that? What is THAT?" Chell repeated the process she had used to destroy the first core, opening up the incinerator, "Do you smell something burning?" She walked to the lip of the incinerator with a slanted smile.

Chell frowned at the giant eye. Even if it's a part of her, it sure seemed cute.

Its bright orange eye swiveled down to her knees, "Ewww, what's wrong with your legs!?"

Chell dropped the core without any reservation. Behind her she heard a loud crash and a pitched pain scream came from the computer, "You think you're doing some damage? Two plus two is… ten." she said with a slight pause before shouting, "IN BASE TEN, I'M FINE!"

Chell moved out of the way of another rocket before lining up her next shot. She took a deep breath and stumbled as she could feel the neurotoxin start to build up in her body. She shook it off and went back to work.

Aperture Science : G.L.a.D.O.S. Chamber

Chell ported out at high speeds at the core suspended in mid air. Once again she fell a little short of her goal, and the world continued to spin as the neurotoxin coursed through her brain.

"Are you trying to escape?" a condescending chuckle came out from the computer. "Things have changed since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here..."

Chell took her time aiming the portal higher and once again dropped through it.

"I have infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on outside."

Chell once again catapulted out of the portal and grabbed the core as she sailed into it. She lost her balance as she landed, stumbling into a fall, holding on tight to the core. She struggled to her feet and looked at her next destination. The button's catwalk structure seemed to swerve unnaturally in her vision. A non-specific pain burned inside her, like her heart was pumping out a weak acid to every corner of her body.

"All I know is I'm the only thing standing between us and them. Well, I was."

Chell grumbled in frustration as the portal shots shattered against the metal catwalk instead of opening a path. Finally, it hit the right part of the wall. A little higher than she meant, but that's what her prothstetics were for.

Each breath had become a labor as the green mist seemed to become thicker and thicker. She slammed the button and staggered back to open a portal to the incinerator.

"Unless you have a plan for building some super computer parts in a big hurry, this place isn't going to be safe much longer."

Chell fell to one knee after getting through the portal. She tried to raise herself up again but her body was sluggish and resistant to orders.

She gripped the red snarling core and used her whole body as a fulcrum to hurl the sphere at the incinerator. It hit and rolled along the lip. For a moment it looked like it would balance there, proving her struggles fruitless. Then it tipped to one side and fell in.

There was a great explosion from behind Chell and the green mist seemed to dissipate in a matter of moments. Chell's lungs forced her to take a breath as the air became clear of gas. She coughed rolling onto her side to see the spectacle behind her.

The entire room was coming apart, the upper depths that had been shrouded in darkness were illuminated by flashes of energy bolting out from every wire.

GLaDOS's taunting words grew faster and faster as her rapidly swinging body seemed to try and escape its mooring.

Chell laid motionless on the ground as she watched. A bright light from above started to suck up all the debris from the test chamber. Monitors broke off and went skyward. Then, slowly the massive body of GLaDOS started to lift up as well. The wires came undone and her body flailed against its chains. For just a moment, one horrific moment, GLaDOS looked like a woman arching her back in hideous pain.

Chell felt a brief flash of sympathy for the monster. Must be the lingering neurotoxin.

Chell only felt a mild alarm when her own body started to float up. She briefly scrambled for something to grab, only to realize there wasn't anything to grab. As she floated up towards the same chaos that broke apart the AI, Chell only felt a small pit of vindictive satisfaction as she closed her eyes and embraced her fate...

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you enjoyed it.

Next Update planned 2/18/19

For Followers and Past Readers: I know this must be frustrating after getting so deep in the story, especially if you were looking forward to the next chapter. The truth is that I wasn't proud of the earlier chapters and totally sucked my motivation to write for this, as seen by the near year long hiatus between updates. I really love this story and I want to do it right. So here it is. While there will be a similar overarching plot, there will be a lot of shifting details and a LOT better editing. I hope you enjoy the new takes on the plot, and refinement in pacing and characterization.