PORTAL 3: RETURN TO APERTURE

CHAPTER 1

Sirens wailed outside a little house in the country. A woman, probably not more than 28, anxiously ran out her door to greet them, face etched with worry.

"Did you find her?" she demanded one of the officers, who looked very uncomfortable indeed right this instant.

"Well, ma'am, we're not entirely sure where she is…" He trailed off a bit at this, as though a bit unsure of his statement. "But we have witnesses who report that they've seen her up through Upper Michigan. Someone asked where she was going… she replied, 'None of your business' and ran off."

The woman froze. "U-upper Michigan?" she asked weakly, breathing a little harder than she had before.

"Yep, Upper Michigan. No idea why, though… Got family up there or somethin'? Someone she likes?" But the woman had already dashed into the house.

"Dammit, I never should have told her… Never!" she cursed aloud to herself as she rummaged through a closet. "I should have known she'd pull a stunt like this-she loved those stories too much…" Finding what she was looking for, she pulled them out of the heap of junk in the closet-a pair of boots and a weird-looking gun. Slipping on the boots and hefting the gun in her hands, Chell ran outside to her car and took off, in hot pursuit of her child.

"Hello?" A young girl gently peeked through a doorway. She could not have been more than 9 or 10, and had long brown hair that kept falling into her cobalt blue eyes. "Are you still there?" She tentatively stepped into the small shed… and the elevator inside. She was a bundle of nerves, mainly because she was here on a whim-the hope that her mother's stories weren't just made-up on the spot. They had to be real-they HAD to be! They were so vivid… The elevator ground to a halt. She stepped out, calling with more force this time. "I know you're here! You have to be!" she yelled into the hallways. When no answer was given, she charged down the corridors blindly, having no idea where she was going, but not really caring at the same time. She HAD to be here… Mom even said! Unknowingly, of course…

The girl was sitting up in bed, her mother's story just finished."Whoa! That was so cool!" she squealed, practically bouncing with excitement at the tale. "Especially the part with the bird… But I hope she's okay! She's the most awesomest person … well, ever! After you, though!" The young girl said happily.

"Well, yes, she is the greatest scientific achievement known to man…" said the woman, gently tucking the girl into bed. "And she is a machine, so she could very well live forever. No bird's going to stop Her!" she said.

"Someday, I wanna go to Aperture too, an' see her!" the small child said. "That'd be the coolest!" She said, wriggling slightly under the covers.

"No." Her mother said sternly. "I already told you, She doesn't take kindly to visitors, and would probably put you into testing. And then you couldn't come back to see me, or go to school, or anything."

The girl pouted. "That'd be cool, too! And you said she kinda liked you!"

"I said She didn't kill me. That is different. Now go to bed, Raiados. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okayyy…" Raiados rolled over and went to sleep.

See! Evidence! Or at least, Raiados hoped so. She stopped when she saw a small hole in the wall- a panel was open. Ominous… But probably okay! She slipped through and hardly noticed when the panel clicked firmly shut behind her. Adrenaline pumping through her system, she bolted down the catwalks and halls, stopping to stare at, but not touch, the turret assembly line and neurotoxin generators. If that's how far her control goes over this facility… she thought, then it's completely possible she's watching me right now… I hope she's happy that I'm not as 'destructive' as Mom was, apparently. Her footsteps slowed to a soft padding as she neared the hallway which led to where She was… if Mom was right. As she stepped bravely through the doorway, she made her presence known with an "H-hi! A-are you… Her…?" The huge construct whipped around to face her, yellow eye narrowing as She leaned in.

"Who… are you?"