~~~~infLEssibiLE~~~~

Fear is an emotion triggered by numerous aspects, the foremost being the initial sense that perceives the present horror and thus startles a person out of their contented state. That sense is most usually sight, perhaps hearing. What truly has a considerably massive impact is when it is both or multiple senses combined. The sense or senses become the spark of the flame, a flame that rises into a greedy fire that wavers in the beginning, yet somehow it's extremely difficult to extinguish, to annihilate.

Maybe that is due to the tension, the paralysis, of thought as the second phase of fear starts its assault. Memories, painful thoughts, suddenly dart forward with unbelievable vigor, diving into the flame, coating it in their oily sheen. As if the memories were gasoline, the flickering dancer abruptly gains strength and flares strongly, rising in height and the degree of its intimidation alike.

The heart is not fire-proof; a simple lick from a slightly hot source causes it the greatest pain. Fear produces the most aggressive flame there possibly is, therefore the heart's worst threat is that manipulative emotion. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. Such a true, horribly contradicting, statement.

Back pressed forcefully against the elevator's metal interior, Chell had her neck bent backwards, eyes wide and unfocused as they stared at the ceiling, the light gradually fading as the elevator rose higher and higher away from a light source; there were no light bulbs in the machine, and soon darkness washed over them in a bath as black as tar.

As it got darker, the woman shuddered even more harshly than she already was, shaking the bird on her shoulder along with the portal gun that had somehow ended up in her lap and a certain computer overlord. GlaDOS was murmuring something, but Chell couldn't understand a word. She was caught in a dancing flame and the sound of the fire happily consumed whatever shred of a reaction from the woman it was given as kindle filled her ears, and the emotion overpowered common realization.

Shadows of the flame pranced across her vision, causing her to squint her eyes against their internal assault. The shield constructed of flesh and veins sufficed not; heart drumming wildly with terror, memories of what had lain behind that wooden door with the shining bronze handle skillfully evaded her attempts at barricading them out of her mind.

Wincing and letting out a harsh gasp, the woman fully shut her eyes, tensing and squeezing in on herself as if she had just been struck. The motion of the elevator struggling its way upward and lurching forward as it did so sent her tumbling to the side, where her head hit the side of the wall with a thunk.

Look at me, reduced to an emotional scrapyard. How pathetic!

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Chell tried against surmountable odds to crack open her eyes, eventually succeeding in gaining a sliver that she could see through. Tears spurred from stress and pain blurred her vision, but she refused to let them fall and course down the side of her face, over her cheeks; pride refrained her from doing just that.

She glanced downwards, catching GlaDOS' aperture spying into her own gateways into her soul, the golden orb widening in incredulity. Screwing her eyes shut again, Chell yanked her head to the side, tightening her jaw and concealing her tumult from the AI who had fallen silent, smart enough to know that her mumblings didn't satisfy. They never did; how could they? It was pointless to talk really, all talking did was hurt and poison the soul, bury daggers in blemished flesh. Besides, she had to know that the test subject wasn't listening, couldn't listen-

"Tooma. Open your eyes."

Why are you speaking, why can I hear you all of a sudden?

Chell made a movement to push the ASHPD out of her lap onto the floor, her fingers lightly touching the plastic casing. However, she found herself unable to bring herself to do it, hesitation leaving her hands useless to do anything other than tremble.

"You don't have to pick up the portal gun just yet,"

GlaDOS' words were soft, not mumbles, but quiet and delicate. They seemed so fragile that they could shatter. The solace confined in those simple words was painful.

"We're still ascending. But, you do need to open your eyes."

I don't need to. I won't. So just be quiet; don't talk anymore.

Chell curled her fingers around the ASHPD, swallowing. Creaks and groans accented their rise in the forebode hell, sounds of despair and sadness. She truly loathed it, she hated how much worse this part of Aperture was than the part she'd come to become reluctantly familiar with. The sight of so many jumpsuits all stained red from blood, all without owners but still retaining of a liquid so precious to those owners, stabbed her heart's stone walls. She could nearly feel them crumbling, falling to pieces, bricks cluttering to the ground. Her eyes, the rare tears currently barely constrained inside them, reflected the failure of her carefully constructed barricade.

Don't you get it?

"It's fine, don't worry. Just open them."

I can't...

"Are you honestly so egoistical that you won't move your eyelids in an upward fashion?"

Show you those reflections.

Keeping her eyelids fastened over crystal, the woman silently released her hold on the ASHPD, lifting her arm up to her shoulder, searching for Nadine. But, before her hand found the bird's smooth feathers and comforting warmth, she wavered, slowly reclaiming her arm. Then, with desperation, Chell skimmed her hand across the portal gun, fingers coming into contact with metal radiating with generated warmth. She felt a jerk under her touch, but urgently shot her fingers out towards what she perceived as the corner of GlaDOS' optic once more, gripping onto it even though she was aware that the computer was terrified of her touch. Selfishness took hold, pushed itself dominant in her mind.

Welcoming it, Chell scooped up the ASHPD in both of her arms, holding it close to her chest and high, near to her neck. One of the spikes dug into her left arm in protest, yet she hardly noticed. Head bowed, the woman had her chin hugging the gun against the skin of her neck, pressing the comfort where her pulse beat evidently: as close to her heart as she conceived possible. The irregular throbs of her heart were echoed back to her as they bounced off the gun, conveying to her just how unstable she was. Each beat was a mockery, a laughing accusation. Was it so irrational for her, then, to wish that her heart would stop?

GlaDOS had gone silent, although the woman could still hear her processors humming quite loudly. The minimal heat from the AI seeped into her skin; Chell yearned to keep such soothing energy close to her forever. Small tremors came from GlaDOS occasionally, obvious to the woman as they passed through her skin. Chell's fingers twitched, her mouth falling into a shaky frown.

Willing herself to keep unnaturally still for just a split moment, the constant shudders became hopelessly transparent to see through, innocently revealing. Was GLaDOS frightened? Her eyes gradually easing their way open, Chell held the ASHPD close to her still, relishing in the consolation, but at the same time harboring humiliation of who she had chosen to supply her with such. Forcefully, at that.

Pulling the ASHPD away from herself, she held the gun out in front of her in the palms of both hands, the white bandage on her right reminding her just how much she'd already been injured since what could only be described as the bare definition of betrayal, both physically and emotionally. That white bandage, a constant reminder, weighed tons at that precise moment. Feeling despair lift in her throat, Chell coughed, wanting the feeling to pass. A chirp in her ear made her blow a low breath out in half-hearted acknowledgment, another lurch of the elevator in its long rise nearly jostling the portal gun out of her grasp.

Tightening her grip on the weapon, she blinked hard, fighting away the reflections. They swelled behind her eyelids, pleading to be shared. It was tempting; a mirror was far more easily shattered if there was an assisting hand. However, Chell denied them the luxury, concealing them as much as she was able at that minute. The glass dimmed, smeared by the desire to protect one's self from any future pain, regardless of the pain that was already afflicted. Pain could only be alleviated by further injury.

Still, what an ironic antidote! Chell refused to take even a sip, to let a single drop dot her lips. Instead, she swallowed, feeling control gradually work its way back up her throat and into her brain, where the haze of fear began to withdraw and the flame sunk down low on its wick. It was only then that the test subject dropped her head, gazing downwards at her partner with an empty, blank expression.

With the ASPHD resting in her hands, the AI staring up at her with a plainly alarmed, wide optic, the sense of being evaluated was much harsher than before, and was obvious yet left vague enough to cause her to imagine the state. Rather than drop the gun to the floor as she desperately coveted to do, the woman forced herself to remain holding it, to remain staring into a single, mechanical eye. Despite herself, her arms shook and she shuddered still, unable to deny that fear had woven itself between her mind and consciousness.

"...Look, I wasn't planning on speaking to you since you don't want to listen to amazingly plain reasoning; you think that's useless and will do nothing to erase the horrors that you've just witnessed. Well, you're right, but only to an extent."

Flinching at yet another shake of their ride along with the words, Chell managed, with effort, to lift an eyebrow.

It's rather irritating; I should be able to hide my emotions and insecurities from you of all things, considering that's what I've always done.

Though, doing that seemed to be becoming less and less of a possibility. Coupled with their new-found reliance on each other in order to make their fruitful escape along with the support one provided the other once the environment shed light on their insecure propensities, Chell found that restricting anything at all from the supercomputer would be a miraculous feat, at least here in the white-walled recesses of Old Aperture where some tiles had been stained crimson.

"While it's true that words cannot erase memories, certainly they can form new ones."

New memories, an interesting prospect. A pity though; memories are worth less than dust. After all, they're easily comparable to particles of dust sitting on shelves: accumulative, lingering, bothersome. I'd rather words erase them, all of them.

Remaining silent, unmoving, Chell blinked slowly, noting that although the fear loitered, the tears graciously had not. Even so, she brought her bandaged hand away from the ASHPD, and wiped the bandage across her forehead. She sneakily drifted it down to her eyes, where she swiped at whatever wetness remained. The bandage was soft, a detail that she hadn't noticed prior. Now though, when it was pressed comfortingly on the skin of her face, she appreciated the texture thoroughly.

Allowing it to rest there at least temporarily, the woman dropped her gaze to the supercomputer, thoughts clashing for dominance, potential actions pleading to be acted out, each one proclaiming that they were the most logical, the true authentic. Allowing to the battle to rage, Chell sighed lightly as a partial reply, closing her hand into a loose fist.. Her knuckles offered a decent support as she rested her cheek on them, head rocking from the irregular movements of the ancient lift. Then, deciding to complete the reply, she indifferently plucked an impulse from within her mind, not bothering to examine it as it writhed in her grip before she carried it out.

Gently removing her hand from its place as a support, Chell palmed her forehead, then stretched her hand out towards GlaDOS so that her finger tips halted inches from her, contemplation forming as she noticed that the AI did not flinch as abruptly at the threat of her touch this time. Bringing her hand back to her head, she covered her entire face with her palm, then spread her fingers apart so her irises peered out from between them.

GlaDOS narrowed her optic, an apparent 'squint', up at the human, but remaining silent despite her unmistakable irritation. Allowing herself to chuckle softly, Chell pulled her mouth into a closed smirk, closing a single eye in a teasing wink, shielding gray behind flesh and thin veins. At the wink, GlaDOS' aperture jolted out of its narrowed formation, instead widening in confusion, the likes of which eventually settled back on hesitant understanding as her optic shrunk back to its normal size.

You, the one who has caused me so much pain, the one who has ruled my life from the very border of the starting line, are constantly changing in your attitude, your disposition, towards me. I can't understand you. Yet, despite all that, your presence allows me to see through the veil, tear it away, and dart away from the frenzy.

Chell's hand fell away from her face, landing on her knee. Smirk fading into a small frown, she stared at the floor of the elevator, carefully controlling her breathing, easing herself into the proper state of mind and body.

That is definitely a case of satire in its most cruel form.

Light was steadily filling the elevator again; the floor gradually shone a bright, polished brown like before, and sure enough, the lift gave an angry jerk, stopping reluctantly and shaking in frustration at having to cease its long-awaited voyage.

Raising her head, Chell watched as the door pulled itself up away from its hold in the floor, removing the metal barrier between her and the new destination. What lay ahead was a wide hallway stretching several feet that eventually connected into what the woman hypothesized to be another observation office. Feeling weary, yet still determined, she pulled herself to her feet, using the sides of the lift to raise herself from the floor without insult to her leg.

Once upright, it was relatively simple work to limp out of the elevator, ASHPD in hand and bird perched on the tips of her toes on her shoulders. When her boots had completely lost contact with the floor of the elevator, it eagerly released its grip on teetering, letting itself plummet back to its waiting position below. However, that was not what held the test subject's attention at the moment.

Slowly walking through the hallway to the office, she was able to see the area behind, around, and even below the testing spheres; rather than having walls, each side of the walkway had a giant window, much like the observation office they had just left. Somehow, their surfaces remained unblemished and absolutely, unarguably, perfect. The feeling of déjà vu was sickening.

Is this..the path the employees would take? Why didn't the past hallway look like this? Also, why on Earth would they make a point of showcasing the inner make-up of their facility? Isn't that something usually hidden away due to paranoia?

To the right was a never-ending view, to the left was a view of the outer surface of the second enrichment sphere. Forehead creasing in thought, Chell gazed left out the glass as she continued ahead, taking note of the things she observed. The entire expanse outside the spotless window was constructed of metal, but not just any metal. No, it was not copper, steel, or even bronze; instead the walls that were barely curved to gradually form the outer shell of the second enrichment sphere and the beams stretching every which way to hold the vicinity up were the shiny gray that almost appeared white: the trademark color of pure silver.

Steadfast white lighting reflected off the silver, casting bursts of illumination that gave the illusion of producing albino rainbows across the glass Chell was peering through. The effect it implemented was admittedly impacting; the woman's breath was nearly taken away by the display, the supreme beauty that was rather simplistic, but still somehow greater in raw dynamic than anything she'd seen in Aper- no, anything she'd seen in general, than ever before.

Wrapped around each support beam were strings of lights that glowed, spurring nostalgia, blue and orange. Though, the colors were faint in tone, the intention obviously being not to have the usually more vibrant colors overshadow the silver. These lights were bound securely to the beams by several knots in their thick wires; not a single strand of wire dangled loosely.

Further out, near the outer wall of the sphere, the lights became severely subdued, nearly invisible amongst the silvery snowflakes of light filtering within the harbor encasing the hallway, the likes of which was serving as an architectural canopy that had a dual purpose of being extremely distracting due to the intensity of its alien appeal.

In the 'underbelly' of the harbor, layered underneath the beams and disappearing into the realm of obscurity and invisibility further below, spanned networks of white, strikingly white, wires. They formed an impressive web with an intricate design. The wires as a whole seemed to pulse at intervals, a heartbeat that was shared by all the wires graciously and selflessly.

These intervals were entirely random and not part of any schedule, although it appeared that if the delay between pulses was delayed, the wires would lunge upwards in a needy, fluid motion, give a series of similar, though less intense, imitations, then settle into temporary relative dormancy once again.

Intrigued, the test subject felt her previous terror and shock evaporate and instead condense into a nearly child-like curiosity, urging her to get close to the window, ensure that she hadn't simply hit her head too hard and was still lying, unconscious, in the scrapyard underneath the broken elevator shaft from which she had entered ,and then embarked on, this venture with fantasies full of ridicule circling around in her delusional mind.

So she did so, closing in on the window, intently staring at her computer companion as she did so to gauge her reaction at the slight distraction she found herself caught up in. The computer was regarding her: only her. Stopping a couple of inches in front of the window, Chell cocked her head to the left slightly, gesturing the portal gun forward in an invitation for GlaDOS to look out and examine the sight with her; the possibility that she would be able to provide some input towards the beautiful spectacle that Aperture had created to embrace its Employee Monitoring Walkways was incredibly tempting .

However, GLaDOS' reaction was an enraged, although short, mechanical screech that had Chell stumbling backwards and Nadine fleeing to shelter behind the human's neck. Desperately catching a hold on her footing, the test subject glared at the supercomputer, expression accusing as her recovering heart beat quickly in her chest.

"I most certainly do not,"

GlaDOS growled, her voice low and tone sour,

"wish to catch sight of what those idiots considered magnificent architecture."

Nadine had crept hesitantly back to a position where she could peek from around Chell's neck, and the human and bird cast each other bewildered looks. They held eye contact briefly, then Chell returned her attention to GlaDOS, and Nadine hobbled out to her perch on her shoulder, absently preening herself in the lack of any other suitable and non-offensive action. The woman carefully slid her hand farther up the ASHPD along the barrel, her fingertips coming to rest a couple inches away from the AI, whom darted her aperture down to watch them apprehensively.

Drumming those digits rhythmically, Chell pursed her lips and sucked in, producing a high-pitched sound that echoed throughout the hallway filled vastly with diaphanous, proclaiming doors of shining clarity. The echo increased the lamprophony of the shrill noise, effectively gaining GlaDOS' complete, although clearly exasperated, attention.

Swiftly leaning her face close to the portal device, the test subject chuckled silently at the AI's surprised expression, removing her fingers from the gun and placing them on her lips, resuming their drumming there. GlaDOS watched, confusion obvious inside her rapidly morphing aperture, a full moon turning crescents, and crescents turning new moons. Chell closed her eyes with a light grin.

You are...

Quickly snatching her hand away from her lips, she jabbed her pointer finger at the very edge of the computer's optic plate, receiving a stunned, undignified, squawk.

Very weird!

Pulling herself away from the closeness, the test subject snickered at the AI's expense, blinking innocently when an arraigning glare was shot in her direction. However, the narrowed aperture soon opened wide, veering off to the side and twisting to regard her from an angle: an imitation of teasing inquiry.

"Your reactions to every sort of stimulus..most of the time I am able to predict your responses accurately. However, it would seem that I'll never be able to decipher your crazed emotional aspects en masse."

Nadine unexpectedly chirped loudly at that, causing Chell to tense and stare at her out of the corner of her eye. GlaDOS did the same, although her optic slowly began to narrow until it was in the shape of a malicious slit: the shape it had usually taken the majority of the time from near the beginning of the trio's journey. Noticing this, the woman huffed, clicking her nails on the surface of the ASHPD, wrapping her hand around its barrel in a proper grip and raising it higher with purpose. She risked an amused grin towards Nadine once GlaDOS' optic had expanded to a decent size again, shaking her head in mock shame.

You as well, little one? Well then.

Glancing out the windows one more time, Chell started forward, following the glowing lights and gleaming beams to the observation office. Her footsteps uneven yet successive, she relentlessly fought against all feelings of fear and insecurity; it was thoroughly true that the past experience was terrifying, utterly lethal to her emotional health.

Even now, she felt tremors rack throughout her body, attempting to shake off her resolve and send her hurtling over the edge of sanity. Still, she refused to give in, to let the struggle outwardly show. Instead, she focused her mind at the task at hand. It had become something of a preventive; her tenacity and dedication to her main goal was all that kept her mentally sound anymore. So, though her soul screamed with agony, her brain held true to its task, and neither computer nor avian was able to hear the cries of the component inside her that was truly only characteristic to humanity.

Holding the portal gun to her right, turning her neck away, the woman let a soft, gentle smile pass over her face. It wasn't a pleased or content smile; it was emotionless, void. Such an action could not be labeled smiling, per say, however, the upturning of lips is classified as such. Therefore, the smile that was not a smile appeared.

I think I'm starting to grow paranoid of this place. If this next office turns out like the last-

Breath catching at the thought, Chell roughly shook her head, so roughly that her entire body rocked back and forth with the motion. This earned her a suspicious, scrutinizing, stare from GlaDOS, she soon discovered upon catching the sound of a disapproving 'hn'. Careful to keeping her gaze diverted, Chell set her full attention to tracing the orange and blue bulbs. She noted that as she got closer to the office, now only a handful of feet away, the lights shone vibrantly, allowing themselves to overshadow the silver and its dance of light.

These colors have led me all this time, haven't they? Regardless of the circumstances, they were always beneficial to my cause, too. I suppose I should put more faith into them than I am currently.

Brow knitted in concentration, the woman abruptly jerked her head away from the window, fully intending to quicken her pace. However, she halted; the doorway to the observation office was already ahead of her, and the tips of her long-fall foots were resting on the clean, gleaming tile. Staring numbly at the floor, Chell felt her heart beat quicken, her muscles begin to tingle, the thin hairs adorning her body rise to their full height. But, wrenching her neck upwards and stepping into the room, she shunned those instinctive warnings without dwelling.

What she noticed firstly was that there was a muffled drone mildly sounding throughout the office; it was nearly inaudible, mysterious in its origin. Similar to the first office they had come across in the EMW, the room had the large window, and mirror on the opposite wall looking out to the test. Pointedly averting her gaze from the window and mirror, the test subject fastened her eyes on the floor, mentally remarking on the identical choices of tile between the two offices as the soft drone gradually faded into silence.

However, unlike the previous office, this one appeared to be of a technologically advanced state. Near where Chell had stopped, two feet or so inside from the doorway, there were two mahogany desks positioned a couple of feet away from the window, and atop them sat historical, stained by age, computers whose weight looked as if it were enough to send the desks collapsing like exhausted pillars.

Tall machines leaned upon the wall in front of her, packed close together so that they filled up the entire space excluding the section reserved for the door that would lead out of the office. The door held her gaze briefly, a safety beacon, but then a flash of green reeled her gaze back to the machines. The vertical devices were displaying gently glowing green numbers: the statistics of the testing sphere by no doubt. These numbers changed nearly every second; the usage of the sphere after being in disuse for such a long time was putting a strain on whatever Aperture Innovators' used to power its resources, and the machines were ever-delighted to showcase that information.

Not seeing much value in the recordings of those machines, Chell searched for anything else of substantial standing, biting her lip as it became increasingly difficult to batter down the feelings of distress resulting from being in the office. To distract herself, though, from the pressing prodding of clawed beings, prodding that were gradually becoming violent lashings, was remarkably uncomplicated; the denser her engrossment with scouring for anything of use for their escape, the less panic she was put under.

Considering that half the room was constructed of the window and mirror, however, the wall containing the vertical machines and its opposite wall were all that served as dens for potentially helpful technology. Turning her neck to see what lurked behind her on that opposite wall, Chell's sight came upon a long and wide cabinet adorned with several drawers and doors, whose surface shone a beautiful red.

Noticing how the wood of the desk and cabinet sharply contrasted with the white tile, the test subject felt the known sensations of fear creep along her bones, cackling as they mockingly called out to her once they realized that she had sensed their presence: "Say, Chell! Are you familiar with the phrase 'Roses are red'? Ah, the symbolism of love is stained red! Do you know why the symbols of love have such bitter thorns? Allow us to enlighten you, our dear!"

No. I won't be defeated by my own mind, of all enemies!

Swiftly facing away from the cabinet, Chell's gaze met the computers once more. The computers were odd in appearance; the monitors were shaped more rectangular than cubical, and their length surpassed their height and width. Several cords connected the keyboard, hard drive, mouse, and some sort of sphere sporting soft buttons decorated with strange symbols across its diameter. None of the devices were active; their lights were non-existent, indicating their hibernating state.

A radio was situated to the left edge of the first desk, carefully placed just before the end of the table. The device sparked memories, so many memories, and the test subject couldn't resist inching closer to the desk and idly touching the knobs, examining the differences between this radio and the smaller, more compressed radios she'd known. This radio had a cubed shape, a sole large speaker opposite the controls. The controls were humorously simple; there were three knobs: volume, tune, and seek. The radio was turned on by a button directly above those, shaped in the logo of Aperture Innovators that was growing in its familiarity.

Shifting, Chell shot a look to GlaDOS, pushing the volume knob forward as she held her attention. With her arm outstretched, Nadine took the opportunity to sneakily clamber across it until she reached her wrist, where she then hopped off of and onto the desk with a contented chirp. Frowning initially, but eventually relenting, Chell allowed the animal to wander about the desk.

"Tooma. That radio is not what should be intriguing to you now."

Intriguing? That's not what it is to me. I'd say it's refreshing, if anything.

Nonetheless, she raised her expression to convey her willingness to hear out the AI, her pride wincing at the embarrassing demeanor. GlaDOS herself seemed a bit baffled at how little effort she had put forth and succeeded in gaining her test subject's attention, the yellow of her optic fading slightly. Still, it took her all of a few seconds to recover, for the yellow to blare full-force again, and for her treasured words to start pouring out with the vigor of a young stream coasting over polished stones.

"Those machines opposite that compilation of junk are computers, comically unimpressive computers at that, but that's besides the point. By all logical reasoning, the time of occupation of this section of Aperture Innovators would have taken place approximately in the years between 1940 and 1950."

Nodding in pretend understanding, Chell took her fingers off the knob of the radio, instead placing them on top of the computer monitor beside her. It felt foreign, cold, dead. She was unused to the feeling; all the computers she'd encountered in Aperture, the queen herself included, were humming with artificial life, radiating with generated warmth. This one was silent, devoid of life even in the artificial degree.

Are you a computer, in all honesty?

Her fingers curled around the corner of the monitor, squeezing. GlaDOS' aperture shrunk, sliding from side to side: a shake of her metaphorical head. Smugly, Chell smirked, patting the top of the old computer with affection, an amusingly ironic action considering past scenarios. Quickly returning to the somber mood though, she stilled and waited patiently for the rest of GlaDOS' thought. She didn't have to wait long, for the AI swiftly launched back into her explanation, optic pointedly smaller in precautionary warning not to get distracted ever again while she was in the middle of expressing a point.

"Anyway, you probably didn't know this, but the earliest year that a desktop computer such as the one being molested by your greasy hands would have been available to the public would have been 1965."

Fingers twitching and features falling slightly in an expression of surprise, Chell caught on immediately.

That's at least 15 years ahead of the era of this place, then!

Astonishment brandishing her face, Chell snapped her attention to the quiet machine, hesitantly running her palm across the top of its screen. GlaDOS reacted to her realization positively, allowing her optic to fill out again. She waited a couple of seconds for the human's mass of surprise to dilute somewhat, gave a brief buzz as a warning, then continued with increased emphasis on her words, great care being taken to let them absorb into her test subject's mind.

"The first desktop available at that time was the prehistoric Programma 101."

Her tone took on a displeased note, and if GlaDOS had a nose it would have surely been curled upwards in aversion.

"The lack of grammar in that name appalls me, truthfully. Still, I suppose the horrific name is well-suited since that machine would have been capable of less than a standard graphing calculator, more or less proper English."

Halfway grinning, Chell continued her physical assessment of the computer, ghosting her palm over its screen. Instead of being glossy, smooth, the screen felt coarse: paper-like. Scoffing with disgust at the strange texture, the test subject pulled her hand away, resting it on the cool wood of the desk. Staring at the computer that had, somehow, defied the time of its own invention not only itself but with its partner positioned on the other desk, the test subject gradually shook her head, apathy quite clear in her action.

This company, no, this venue of moral laxity, has always come across as manipulative and sly to me. Even the humans who once ran this place left behind traces of their arrogance, their conceit. It would not surprise me if they took considerable ugly measures to acquire, or create, these machines years before the remainder of humanity would be given a glance.

GlaDOS, however, seemed almost reluctant to drop the subject, her aperture narrowed and focused on the pair of computers. Dismissively tapping a finger on the ASHPD, Chell turned the ASHPD away from them, reaching her arm out to Nadine with a click of her tongue.

"We shouldn't worry about those technological trash bins, not now anyways."

GlaDOS murmured, following the bird with her aperture as she scrambled up Chell's arm, aperture further forming a slit. Chell, carefully supervising Nadine lest she tumble to the ground, rewarded GlaDOS with a glance and an agreeing nod. The woman twisted her body, walking away from the desk.

"When I've been returned to my chassis, I'll collect them for examination. Perhaps. Frankly, we've been trudging along at quite the unimpressive pace, although that pace does allow the search for quicker, alternative routes. Ah, well, there's a proton for every electron, but in the case of the neutron.."

The computer thought aloud, her voice a soft muse. Not used to the tone, Chell slowly, unassumingly, raised the ASHPD higher so that it was about level with the middle of her ribcage where she was able to listen clearly. The musings continued as Chell walked, their purpose unknown but their presence greeted. Her own rabid thoughts calmed from rough tides to serene waves, the earlier thrashings now mild ripples. Allowing the supercomputer's pondering to fill her mind, the AI's meditative statements unintentionally sewed back the torn stitching in her noesis of subsistence.

The center of the office was open, the logo present on the floor. Aperture certainly was prideful, to have what was perceived as its face of appearance smothering nearly all available surfaces. It would not be surprising if the moon itself had been tattooed with the eye of science, an eye which would take immense pleasure in surveying the infinity which was the universe.

Ceasing her steps, standing in the center of the aperture logo, Chell thoughtfully cocked her head to the side in self-questioning, interest floating on the surface of her thoughts.

I wonder..what's the 'moon'? More importantly, how could I have experienced a thought about it if I'm not aware of what it is?

Straightening her head, the test subject shrugged off the question, clipping heel in front of wobbly heel as she headed for the exit.

Just lost memories, only dust blown away by the almighty Wind.

Having surpassed the logo now, Chell began to quicken her pace, inviting a limp. The change in stability apparently dragged GlaDOS out of her contemplative mindset, for she suddenly barked out a command for Chell to stop, immediately. Delaying her obedience, Chell instead slowed her speed, disapprovingly pursing her lips as she tipped her head down to regard the computer at the end of her gun.

"Wait just a minute, Tooma. You haven't checked that document cabinet over there at all. Did you forget that these offices were meant to be only accessed by employees, and therefore the security taken to secure locked storage is practically none?"

There it was: the recalling of the blood-red cabinet that stretched long, and loomed over the room in the intimacy of its great height. Chell stopped mid-step, her left boot toe hovering above the tiles, yearning to be placed forward. Chell silently eased her eyelids over her eyes partly, the look being one of resigned compliance. Ever so slowly, the woman turned around and switched paths, choosing to concentrate on the number of steps she took rather than her destination.

One, two, three, four, five, six...

Her thoughts trailed off, lost among grains of sand being carted away along a breeze, a breeze that graces us with its entity occasionally, offering us the simple solace of brushing off the worries of the mind, freeing us from the confines of our consciousness' gravity. Lightened, Chell increased her step, cautious not to draw out too bad of a limp, stopping in front of the cabinet and raising her head in order to peer at the top of it.

This piece of furniture is grandiosely huge. Must everything here be extravagant?

Chell scowled, lowered her head and bent forward into a crouch. With her right leg stretched forwards, she gently tucked her wounded leg underneath herself, sprawling it across the tiles to permit it relief. Reaching for the first drawer and giving a tug, she found it unlocked. As it slid open, GlaDOS let out a self-praising chuckle, her joy at being found correct yet again unmistakable.

The test subject's mouth twitched in mild irritation, indignation slowly rising in her chest. Eager to get out of the office as soon as possible, the test subject ignored the subtle invitation for a reprimand on her part. So instead, she hurriedly ruffled through the papers inside the drawer, finding them to be nothing more than basic guidelines on humdrum safety procedures. There weren't any codes or notes written on them; Chell slammed the drawer shut and went on to the next.

The second drawer held an abundance of notebooks, each one solid black and held together by shiny, curled wire. Fishing out the first notebook on top of the pile, Chell laid it on her knee while she used her free hand to flip the cover open. A diagram of a person which was anatomically-labeled was sketched at the top left with the name 'Gabriel Gauntlett' written in print above it. Underneath the diagram, filling the page entirely, were messy notes that were scribbled in no particular order. Using her fingers to grab the last few pages of the notebook, Chell flipped through those, discovering that the pages were nearly identical.

These are test subject logs. This notebook has been completely filled with them, too.

Briefly examining a couple of logs farther in the book, Chell grunted softly in disinterest, finding the logs disconcerting as the Latin script adorning the arch they'd stumbled upon earlier. Records of the past test subjects weren't exactly relieving on Chell's easiness, either. The woman tossed the notebook away, already digging into the pile once more. The notebook hit the tile with a thump, sending it sliding across the floor until it hit the leg of the right-most desk, where it rested face-open. A pencil visage stared unseeingly up at the ceiling of the office, its lead eyes cold and unfeeling, emotionless.

Each of the notebooks had been filled to the brim with recordings of performances, the majority of which seemed quite unimpressive based on the few words Chell had glanced over while flipping through the pages: Average, dull, unsophisticated, simple-minded, idiocy, carelessness, arrogance, insolent. She did, however, feel a particular type of solace glancing over the hundreds-of-years old pages, the paper yellowing and unnaturally soft against the pads of her fingers as she flipped the pages.

These books eventually all made their destination on the floor, haphazardly laying on their backs, sides, fronts, pages creased by indifference. Staring at an empty drawer, possessing nothing more of use than previously, Chell flexed her wrist to catch the AI's attention. GlaDOS tilted her aperture towards her, flickering her optic once in a quick action of acknowledgment.

Holding her gaze as she slid the drawer closed, Chell lowered the lids of her eyes with a low sigh, allowing her shoulders to slump. Truly, allowing the bones which support your neck up to your head which is the container for your brain is a clear sign of ceding course, for wouldn't even the most delicate and beautiful cherry blossoms tumble to the ground without their branches?

Still, however, Chell kept her neck erect, eyes glinting with zeal although they were clouded with exhaustion, stress, sharp ponderosity. The imparting body language hit the computer with a shadow of unexpected disappointment, shown by the lack of quite as many octaves in her voice as she coaxed the test subject into checking the remaining drawer and pair of large doors fastened to the cabinet via shining metal hinges.

This is just a waste of precious time! Certainly we can make do with a physics-defying gun, logic says so no matter the argument!

Laggardly, she wrapped her palm around the handle of the third drawer, and experiencing a curve in her patience yanked hard, gracing it with the formidable force of her strengthened arm. The drawer clattered to the floor at her feet, landing partially on her toes. Luckily, her long-fall boot absorbed the impact completely and without effort; compared to landing on concrete after plummeting from heights of several hundred meters, mere scuffles with office furniture couldn't compare. Her only consequence was a chiding glare from GlaDOS, as well as a harsh snap of 'You clumsy simpleton! Are you a child?".

The contents rattled, fixating Chell's interest as she gripped the drawer by the top, dragging it along the tile to her side where it would be easier to riffle through the objects. Unlike the other drawers which contained purely one category of items, various trinkets littered the bottom of the third. Sleek black pens rocked lightly, still recovering from the rough disruption. Shallow gray cans whose wrappers had long-since faded also occupied in abundance.

Picking up one of these cans and holding it close to her face, Chell immediately grimaced in morbid disgust at the smell, and she swiftly dropped it on the floor where it clattered and rolled away underneath the cabinet. Rubbing at her nose, frustratingly realizing that whatever was in the can had left her nostrils stinging from the malignant smell, Chell huffed lowly at the sounds of amusement from bird and machine alike: a tuneful chirrup and snark snicker.

Pinching her nose closed and blowing through it in an effort to chase the unpleasant sensation away, the test subject closed her eyes and shook her head, vowing never to touch a single gray can as long as it wasn't imperative to survival. Aside from the burning in her nose, her throat felt slightly dry and rough, there was a disagreeing throbbing in the back of her head. Tears welled up behind her eyes as they began to water.

Why in the name of everything scientific were those in there? Is the stuff inside those cans meant to be eaten, smelled? Because that has to be the most idio-

Chell stilled, but quickly entered animation once again as her body demanded air and she was forced to relinquish her grip on her nose and inhale deeply, coughing as the burning inside her nose increased dynamically, but then evaporated nearly in the next instant at the supply of oxygen. Creasing her brow and palming at her temples, the woman sighed silently in mild fluster, cracking an eye open and tiredly resuming scanning the remaining objects inside the drawer as the discomfort in her nose and throat subsided.

Or perhaps it is not meant to be inhaled at all. It would make sense, considering that this is a sophisticated facility dedicated to Science, not a food storage unit.

Knocking the pens and cans to the side, Chell concluded that this third drawer was what one would label a 'junk drawer'; a drawer filled with random items of various useless with all the organization of mold growing on the ceiling. There were torn sheets of paper, screw drivers, paper clips, rubber bands, rolls of tape..it appeared as if all the average objects to be found in an office had been carelessly shoved into one drawer, perhaps to save the other space for more "Aperture Quality" possessions.

Such disorganization. Isn't this majorly out of character!

Smirking in hesitant amusement, Chell jostled the drawer in a grab at uncovering anything she might have missed, shifting her weight and bringing her hand to her left leg in an effort to pull it up into the position she needed in order to get herself standing once more. Unexpectedly, the jostle did reveal an object that had escaped her searching by some astounded means: a flashlight, the handle and base around the bulb a strong electric blue.

Immediately, a memory flashed before her eyes: miles upon miles of supposed bleakness of black, the cries of a facility shaking in wrath, a voice urging her to remain close. Then, a burst of secure light, light that illuminated the way and chased away the minor uncertainty present earlier. All that accented by a terrified scream, which humorlessly amounted to be uncalled for seeing as turning on the light hadn't caused the screamer the death he anticipated.

"Aha! A flashlight. We'll likely be needing that at some point; remember the poorly-lit conditions outside of this EMW? Who knows if all the lighting deeper inside here has fared better than those light sources? Even if it have, a notion which I'm not at all confident in humoring, you could use the light for other human interests~"

Shaken out of the memory, the test subject dropped her gaze to GlaDOS, blinking incoherently a couple of times, but then her words set in. Chell snorted, rolling her eyes while dismissing a small flush threatening to wash upon her cheeks and reached for the flashlight, taking it in her grasp. She had to tug somewhat to get it out of the drawer's confines; there was a strap attached to the bottom of the light, and it had gotten caught in some of the other heaps of junk. Still, its struggle proved without reward, for in the end Chell wrestled it out of its burrow, gingerly jerking the strap away from the drawer lest further struggle ensue.

Fighting the discomfort broiling in her stomach, unsure whether it was from the memory or from the surroundings, Chell took quite an interest in examining the light, shaking it and hearing a satisfying thudding as well as feeling a slight shift in weight with every shake; blessedly, the flashlight was supplied with batteries. Her computer companion bobbed her optic once in approval, snapping it over to the remaining cabinet drawers above them: a rather conspicuous hint to hurry up.

Flipping the flashlight around and locating the switch, the woman flipped it forward, a half grin crawling across her lips as the bulb shone a pale yellow. Identifying the weak color as an indication of dying batteries, Chell quickly switched the light off again, allowing the flashlight to slip through her fingers, catching onto its strap.

Idly swinging it by the strap, she contemplated how to carry the item without hindering her ability to use the ASHPD effectively. Nadine coincidentally chose that moment to nuzzle the side of the test subject's neck softly, cooing quietly in distress at both the surroundings that were so vastly different than where Chell had discovered her as well as the lack of attention given to her by said human.

Biting teeth of pity getting her attention, Chell brought her hand up to stroke the animal on the head, allowing the strap to fall between her fingers as she did so. At the contact, Nadine instantly relaxed, and Chell could feel the tension in her small muscle evaporate at her touch. Strangely pleased at being capable of providing such release, Chell hummed roughly at the back of her throat, subconsciously spanning her fingers outwards in an unintentional display of contentment.

The strap that was wrapped languidly around her fingers brushed the skin of her neck, a caress of cheap thread and carefully sewn fibers. Flinching away from the unexpected touch, Chell's face naturally fell into a bitter scowl, much to the amusement of GlaDOS, a constant receiver of such a look who certainly found its presence directed towards a flashlight strap of all things to be gleefully ironic.

However, the unwelcome touch of the strap spurred an idea. Eyes brightening in slowly mounting inspiration, Chell stretched the strap open wide with her single hand, managing that task without trouble. Then, bringing her arm over her head and pulling the strap across, she slipped it around her neck. The flashlight bumped against her chest, coming to rest a good number of inches from her neck, but not uncomfortably dangling too low.

Not bad,

Chell twisted, knocking the flashlight about. Like a pendulum, it swung side to side, timing each passing second with the rhythm of its swing.

Out of the way, yet always within reach. Perfect.

She batted at the strap, urging it into a gentle sway that brushed the cool plastic of the flashlight soothingly against her skin. Appreciating the comfort passingly, Chell tugged at the strap, pulled it to a stop, then cautiously started moving out of her crouched position again, wrapping a firm grasp around the ankle of her wounded leg and pulling it out from under herself. Wincing in preparation for the pain rather than the pain itself, Chell rapidly lunged up and forward on her right leg, a most dangerous trust being put into it.

She bit back an agonized gasp when a lack of balance forced her to rely on her wounded leg ever minutely, swiftly resorting to leaning her weight on the red cabinet itself. Refusing to swallow gasps of air, feeling that it would warrant unwelcome analogies involving fish or similar aquatic organisms, Chell breathed harshly through her nose as she caught the breath that had eluded her in the moment of excruciation.

After brief seconds had passed, the test subject pushed herself off the cabinet into an upright stature, although she quickly adjusted herself accordingly before much pressure could be put onto her left leg and cause an unappreciated collapse to the cold tiles. The flashlight bobbed frantically around her neck; she stilled it with a palm which she pressed the strap to her skin with. Her pulse beat against that palm, swift and irregular. Alarmed, she removed her hand, instead choosing to grab the handle of the a door stationed level with her chin and pull it open.

Stacked inside the compartment were dozens and dozens of various texts, their pages untouched by age or grime. Uninterested, Chell scanned the pile from top to bottom, raising an eyebrow at the sight of a white bottle with a tell-tale screw top situated on top of the highest book. Her arm barely reached the height, the tips of her fingers scarcely capable of brushing against the plastic of the bottle. Still, she prevailed and held the bottle close to her face, clatters from inside it accenting every small movement she made. The bottle was indeed labeled, although the contents remained foreign despite what name it provided:

Opium.

Characteristic for Aperture, the word was the only offering of information as to what the bottle contained; the company was as foreboding and vague as always. Increasing the intensity of her shakes of her bottle as her interest in the contents grew in intensity as well, Chell noticed the intrigue of a certain dandelion whose optic was narrowed in an attempt to grasp a better view of the container which had captured her test subject's attention.

Expecting some rightful clarification, Chell carefully spun the bottle with her fingers so that the labeled side was to GlaDOS, offering another shake, another series of clatters, with the gesture. GlaDOS' optic blinked in and out: what Chell now recognized as an expression of disbelief, an expression that displayed that the computer was rather confounded. Tilting her head, the woman minimally jerked her arm, giving the ASHPD a jolt. GlaDOS' aperture narrowed in irritation, rising up to peer into Chell's own eyes. They remained like that for quite a few moments, then GlaDOS let out a long, perplexed sigh.

"Put that back, Tooma. I assure that such..medication is the last thing you need at this time."

Raising an eyebrow and turning the bottle back towards herself, the test subject hesitated. She had a vague recollection of little white pills, usually taken one or two at a time with glasses of water: painkillers. Only a short period of time would be needed for them to kick in and chase away the pain, to pluck the seemingly eternal thorns. The appeal of such pills, in the presence of her greatly wounded left leg, was entrancing.

Certainly in an office setting, especially in offices so bizarre as Aperture Laboratories', headaches and other pains caused by stress would be nearly chronic. Doesn't it make sense, then, to have a supply of pain medication available?

Glancing to her shoulder, eying Nadine who was eying the bottle mostly likely because of the sounds coming from within, Chell inconspicuously drifted her fingers higher up the bottle, positioning her thumb underneath the top with the intention of forcibly popping it open.

Perhaps 'Opium' is a type of painkiller?

Deciding that it was a good probability, and that a closer examination of the contents would provide the key factors which would allow her to justify that assumption or not, Chell pushed her thumb up against the top, wincing when she was only rewarded with a sharp pain as the plastic dug into the pad of her finger. Sharper still was the shrill mechanical blare which was so loud that her entire body winced in displeasure. The ASHPD nearly jumping out of her grip, the bottle succeedeg in doing greater as it leaped from her fingers and hurtled to the floor, where it landed with a duet of clattering of pills and clash of plastic against tile.

What the hell?

Rapidly tiring of the computer's habit of scaring the absolute sanity out of her already-strained mind, Chell cast daggers in her glare, jerking the ASHPD higher so she could breathe harsh, angry breaths in the AI's optic just to piss her off, and hopefully gain some sort of leverage in the twisted game of theirs they seemed to be playing, in which the main card of choice was either shocking or seriously insulting your opponent. Her glare was countered by a stern oval of an aperture, its intensity a startling gold. The gold, a most precious metal by nature and even more so in terms of color, had her squinting her eyes at its imposed authority.

"I realize that you're seriously deranged, but you should honestly listen to me regarding this particular circumstance. I can assure you that you do not want to consume those."

Scrunching up her face, flaring her nostrils in defiance, Chell dropped her glare down to the floor. A few feet away, the bottle had rolled into the wall and now lay between two of the vertical machines; it was out of reach and it would be an impossible hassle to crawl between the machines and retrieve it. It was the perfect setting of events for the AI; honestly, Chell would not put it past GlaDOS to have planned it that way, gauging the woman's reactions and how she could use them to her advantage. It was truly manipulative, down to the core.

Eying the bottle a moment longer, a broken record of a growl sprouting in the back of her throat, the test subject focused on GlaDOS once more, though she kept her pupils away from the direct assault of her golden frontal attack, instead opting to stare accusingly at the plastic of the ASHPD directly below her.

Pray tell, is there a particular motivation or horrible implication of why I wouldn't want to take them? Knowing you, you must enjoy these moments of agony under my expense, and don't care to see them alleviated. God knows I've never shown you anything even mildly relating to agony prior to this morbid voyage through your creators' past.

Unable to voice her frustrations, Chell settled for a violent twitch of her eyebrow, anger rising as the throbbing in her temples threatened to give rise to a headache. Her display was cut off, however, at the bellowed sound of yet another mechanical shriek. Her eyes now banished to a constant ringing, Chell felt frustration swelling, inflaming. Gritting her teeth, the test subject forced herself to avoid smashing her only weapon, and partial comrade partial guide, into the cherry red cabinet. Instead, she reluctantly donned a face of willfulness, though the only thing she found herself willful towards was relief from the painful ringing in her ears, the throbbing in her head, and constant snake bites of bitterness in her leg.

At the test subject's obvious façade, GlaDOS let out an amused chuckle, the sound urging the hair on Chell's arms to defensive alert, and for her indignation to hunch forward in offense.

"You want a reason? Well, all right then, but remember this: you asked for it, so therefore you cannot claim me responsible in any way for any cases of PTSD you may undergo later in your life. "

This was emphasized with another chuckle. Uneasiness rising, Chell forced it downwards with a surge of pride, nodding to the computer as her expression relaxed into one of indifference. Her expression was noted; GlaDOS' aperture swept over her features and then curled into a sadistic crescent that vibrated in her poorly constrained enthusiasm.

"Well, then. The truth is that they're actually constructed of toxic waste, similar to neurotoxin in liquid state, that have been enhanced with asbestos. The process of converting such a drug into solid form relates to how you roast a carcass of a dead animal, the stench quite the same as well. It's said that even inhaling the fumes will kill off your sense of smell."

Chell blinked, her eyes slowly widening at the disturbing ingredients of the pills. Of course, it didn't come as a massive surprise than even Aperture Innovators had held a fascination with neurotoxin and its relatives, but putting it in a drug was taking a stretch.

"Once the process of roasting them into existence is finished, they are stored at zero degrees kelvin for exactly 3.14 days, then they are removed. They are often coated in alcohol, the rubbing kind to elaborate, to make them easier to swallow while adding a most-desirable burning effect on the throat. Most addicts find the burning effect to be absolutely bewitching."

Subconsciously swallowing the saliva in her throat, which was beginning to burn in her opinion, Chell glanced to Nadine, as if asking for her view on the matter. The bird chirped uncertainly, shuffling closer to the woman's face and nuzzling her cheek reassuringly. Softening at the gesture, the test subject lifted her hand to stroke the bird on her neck, simultaneously returning her attention to GlaDOS, whose optic had somehow narrowed back into a slit of plain distaste in the time span of her looking away and back again. Why became obvious when Chell considered what all had changed during that time frame: the location of her left hand.

A grin cracked at the corner of her mouth as she dropped her hand, instead resting it on top of the ASHPD rather than wrapping it around the barrel. The change in distance from Nadine and her hand had the desired effect; the computer's optic returned to its sly crescent almost instantly, though there was hesitation before she decided to speak again.

"Don't divert your attention to lesser life forms while I'm speaking,"

GlaDOS scolded, rolling her optic in exasperation.

"it's degrading for the human race."

Yearning to get back to the subject of the pills of opium whose ghoulish method of creation had already struck a disgusted chord inside herself, Chell simply nodded in agreement, cocking her head to the side and giving another bob of her head, urging GlaDOS to continue about the previous topic. Appearing undeniably pleased by the thread she had Chell tangled in, the thread known as 'human intuition', the computer launched back into her explanation, speaking more quickly than earlier, as if she had realized that she was participating in a habit that was not beneficial at all: procrastination.

"Aside from the feeling of the very flesh of your throat burning off shred by shred, other effects of using the drug include: hysteria, blood-shot eyes, loss of eyes, complete dismissal of all five senses excluding touch, hallucinations, bouts of crazed wailing, as well as strange mutations such as adopting strange skin patterns normally found in the amphibious and reptilian classes of animals."

Staring wide-eyed at GlaDOS, her jaw slack and mouth slightly open from shock, Chell concluded that her jurisdiction that opium was a painkiller was indeed misplaced. Glancing to the bottle huddled between the machines, then back to the AI, narrowing her eyes in suspicion of the truth of her words. Just as that suspicion arose, however-

"Tooma, I've already informed you that I'm incapable of lying, have I not?"

GlaDOS took on a slow, deliberate tone, speaking as if she was explaining a simple problem to a small child. Chell bristled, nodding her head frantically in defense. She knew that; it was nothing less than fact, a concrete fact that served as the vertebrae for their haphazardly balanced alliance. It was just that the drug's creation and effects seemed extremely horrid, indeed appalling, that disbelief was inevitable.

GlaDOS hummed a content note at the display, dropping and rising her optic in acknowledgment.

"Good. Now, as for the effects of consuming opium, one can expect misleading euphoria, emotional detachment, removal of st-"

Chell abruptly cut her off with a shake of the ASHPD, sending the articulate words into slurred nonsense. The ridicule of it did little to sweeten Chell's sour mood. Despite the AI's hatred of being shaken about, once Chell had stilled the gun and allowed her a minute of recovery, she started cackling in unrestricted delight, somehow managing to come across as cocky and chaste all in the same resonance.

Skin growing hot from anger, Chell pulled the portal device closer to herself, planning on receiving an apology or likewise-

She lied.

Heart drumming, blood thrashing about in her veins, the heat from her emotions disappeared and Chell suddenly found herself very, very cold.

She lied.

Shock slipping thorough every crevice in the trust the woman had put towards GlaDOS, working free the inner binds and breaking the entire structure apart. It was not abnormal for GlaDOS to lie. However, it was supposed to be that lying, such a natural aspect of the computer that it was definitely part of the mannerisms that composed her disposition, was an impossible feat due to her current form. Her weakened form was, in raw fact, incapable of veiling truths and non-truths, each identical as strands of hair.

Chell had grown accustomed to this assurance; with assurance came gradual certainty and a sense of leisure. The assurance that there was no possibility of her being led astray by someone who had no qualms of doing the leading had been hardened ash beneath her feet; it was the aftermath of a catastrophic event, though the ash was a fine blanket to conceal what had been ruined. It doubled as a suitable surface to tread on. Now, the ash was warming up, returning to lava, and when it did it would certainly scorch the ones who had been foolish enough to set foot upon its ruse.

Drawing the ASHPD away from herself, reacting slowly if only because of the unexpected stupor she found herself drowning in, Chell shuddered at the inquisitive sound the AI produced, unable to mask the incredulity she was confronted with. She stared at GlaDOS, her eyes gradually hardening into the reflection-less mirrors she had donned the moment the pair had set their sights on each other hundreds of year after their sleep, after their deaths. Shaking in what she hoped was rage, Chell stretched her hand farther from where it was on the portal device, approaching GlaDOS, approaching her-

"I didn't lie to you, you know."

Freezing in place, Chell hesitated cautiously, the correct deciphering of her thoughts by the AI giving her pause.

"In my earlier descriptions of the drug, I never specified a name of any sort; I always referred to my subject as 'them', 'they', 'the drug', or 'it'. Never did I say I was speaking about opium, therefore I could have been talking about any drug. It's possible that some concoction out there has those effects and is produced that way, although unlikely. Still, it's possible."

Still frozen, Chell swallowed thickly, breaths deep as they came, rushed as they went. She comprehended GlaDOS' words; they were logical, after all. However, the uncertainly was remaining, fading like fog with exhales and inhales, but it was leaving behind droplets of cold perspiration as a sort of tarnish.

Scanning the woman up and down, GlaDOS' aperture dimmed slightly, curling into an absolved half circle. This gave her an almost apologetic appearance, although it was obvious by the steady humming of her inner components, none of which faltered a half a second in their professions, that it was simply a mimicry and not a true display.

"It was nothing more than light teasing, Tooma. No worries; my voltage is still the same, as are my abilities and disabilities. When did you start becoming so paranoid? Relax a bit."

Her voice though, gentle without a trace of sarcasm or hidden intentions, was what ultimately released the tension in the woman's muscles, what gave her the energy to take her hand back and wrap it firmly around the barrel of the ASHPD and give it a squeeze.

I became paranoid the moment I woke up in this madhouse.

Over time, the paranoia has lessened, but it had never truly left her conscience. It was ever-present, always on its toes waiting for a chance to lean forward and whisper warnings in her ear. Sometimes the warnings were called for, occasionally they were not. The expression, though, was that it was better to be have been cautious than to have been careless and have your life taken as a toll for it; here in Aperture, her caution was her greatest defense aside from her tenacity and the gun settled comfortably on her arm. It was in cases like this that Chell was reminded that it was a double-edged sword. Now she had to stop the blood, cover the wound lest she be drained of all that made her alive.

Bringing the ASHPD closer to herself, pulling it to her chest, Chell bowed her head as she closed her eyes and took a deep, stabilizing breath. Honestly, a reaction of this caliber to nothing more than playful jest was nothing short of ridiculous. When viewing it from a normal standpoint, it was a proceeding of incredible overreaction.

But..for just those few instances when I thought that I had been deceived by the one I've come to admittedly trust partly since our forced cooperation..

Cracking her eyes open, steeling her resolve, she gave herself the benefit of sight. With that benefit came the recognition of an alarmed AI, who was examining her with intensity.

I was positively horrified.

Curling her lips just short of showing teeth, Chell closed her eyes and pulled her face into a rejuvenating grin, lowering her neck into her shoulders and angling her head in a pantomime of lightheartedness. She desired for the expression to dismiss any inkling of belief that she was troubled, to eradicate and erase. Nadine peeped quietly in her ear, and she opened her eyes to regard her quizzically.

The bird blinked once, twice, then darted forward, pinching the tip of Chell's nose with her beak in a soft bite. Pulling away in surprise, Chell's gaze fell on GlaDOS, who was looking upwards at her skeptically. At the resettling of concentration on her, the computer flickered her optic briefly, clicking it off completely as if she had closed her eyes as Chell had.

"A face of fraudulence does not suit you, so definitely don't attempt to wear such a look again."

Yellow glow returned as GlaDOS brought her aperture back to life, focusing in on the face of her test subject once more.

"Don't assume that you have to mock well-being for my sake; it's offensive! I'm far more than capable of handling a bit of unease and terror. In case you've forgotten, I am the dignified dictator of everything you see around you, and everything you've ever been in the ambiance of. I'm not feeble and frail, although my current state does suggest otherwise."

Chell didn't blink, nor shift, didn't bother offering a sign of acknowledgment. She simply listened, took in, and remembered.

"Considering that,"

GlaDOS' optic suddenly lurched in intensity, narrowing in unmistakable determination.

"Don't be reluctant to trust some pressure on me, for if that would assist you in releasing some emotional stress I'm far more than capable. I meant it when I said you needed to relax; you are too nervous and it's affecting you psychologically, which is proving to be a problem when navigating this maze in hell. Don't lose that caution you have, for it's crucial if we are going to get out of here alive, but don't have a break down over trifles either. Come closer."

This time, Chell did blink, astonished at the invitation. GlaDOS hated close physical proximity; why was she demanding it now? Still, the rare occurrence begged for obligation, so Chell concurred. Carefully hunching forward, she got closer, raising her eyebrows in confusion. GlaDOS merely hummed in satisfaction, the sound of her processors rumbling filling the silent void that was admittedly soothing, albeit perplexing. She soon spoke again though, her voice firm.

"It's true that those test subjects died in a brutal way back there."

Chell immediately started to recoil, but she was swiftly stopped by a stern glare, an unspoken instruction to remain where she was without fail. She yielded, leaning forward so that she was in the same position she had been in previously. Her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip, and her breath came in short bursts that conveyed her state of malaise. If the AI noticed, though, she gave no indication.

"It's also true that this place lacks what you know as 'humanity'. But truthfully, is that anything new? Are you in any greater extremes than you've already been in? Come on, now; it's quite pathetic that my murderer is allowing a change in setting and verminous sights get the better of her. Has it left your mind that you're a monster? Monsters shouldn't be frightened by immorality."

Stunned, confidence steadily growing as a stunned conscience acts as highly fertile ground, Chell eased the pressure off her lip. Her breaths subconsciously restoring to a normal pace, her face conformed into one of agreeing purpose. She was a monster- the human who had fought the odds and ends, defeated the warden of her compressing prison. Although her blessings had been limited, she'd done it. She'd done it twice, to strengthen the AI's point further.

Immorality. It was lack of humanity. It practically summed up Aperture itself. Over time, Chell had gotten used to the absence. She wasn't prepared, however, for a blatant display for the complete disregard for morality that had been shown by the room with white tiles stained crimson, the room where a bronze knob was all that lay between the opener of the door and dozens of bloodied suits of those who had once lived and breathed the exact same air that she required now.

Being caught off guard had toppled the hold she had steadily gained on herself throughout the horrific trials she'd been part of in Aperture; the columns had collapsed and thus so had the holy temple they held up.

The collapsed stone from the temple had impeded their progress, as well as torn an opening in Chell's firmness. She was as determined to escape as ever, but fear and dejection had pounded on her skull, commanding her to give them entry to her brain.

That door was never open, but just as oxygen and dust have the ability to squeeze beneath it, so had the pair. When it came down to it, the crack beneath the door had grown substantially due to her injury, and the fresh abundance of insecurities and difficulties it brought with it. That was what had widened the distance enough so that invasion was imminent.

Their presence in her mind had eaten away at her, left her on the edge. She had come close to falling off it completely at the sight of what she had absolved to call The Room. It would be humiliating for her to do so, though; GlaDOS was correct when it was pathetic that the atmosphere and gruesome sights were tearing her apart. Hardening her eyes even more, the silver color nearly as hard and unyielding as silver metal itself, Chell set her jaw with intent.

GlaDOS cast her with a steady look.

"Don't allow me to overestimate you. I am highly intolerable towards miscalculations."

She wouldn't let anything gain an advantage over her again. Her life, her escape, depended on it. Nodding resolutely, she pulled away from the ASHPD, her trademark look reappearing. Though, where once her mouth had existed in a straight line, it was presently curled upwards into a confident smirk, and there was a mischievous glint in previously cold irises.

GlaDOS' aperture brightened accordingly, curved into a sure crescent that radiated esteem. Chell allowed a swift detention of gratitude: a fleeting instance of sentimentality. Then it passed, and with its departure came progression.

Chell stepped to the next door, there were only two of them-one for each side of the cabinet, pulling it open with a brisk yank. Inside, the far wall was covered completely by a calendar. The scene it depicted was that of a flourishing field of golden plants, their stalks suspended in a natural limbo of continuous sway.

The month, August, boasted itself in deliberately scripted lettering above the landscape of wheat, the color of the letters roughly the same as the plant stalks themselves. In each date square, instead of events being scribbled into them were bulleted lists of names. On the 6th day, sandwiched between the names Lucas Hartmann and Hadrian Thorton, was Gabriel Gauntlett.

'Gabriel Gauntlett' was in those test subject logs. That means that this calendar must display the scheduled days for certain test subjects' testing.

Noting that not a single square was left empty, scanning over the calendar in rushed examination, Chell's forehead scrunched as she recognized another significant fact.

All of these days are filled, yet not one name repeats twice.

Biting the inside of her cheek, the woman diverted herself from looking at the calendar, instead scouring the inside of the cabinet for any final tools of use. The left and right sides bore nothing. As far as the tenants went, the sole occupant was an unusual-looking contraption. It was circular, although was slightly slanted, throwing off what could have been a perfect 360 degrees.

It was propped up with thick black stoppers, lifting it upwards half an inch or so. The actual object was sleek black as well, with the Aperture Innovators logo branded in blue in the center. It was flat and not very long, though not thin; the thing was at least five inches thick. Likely, that was to compensate for all of its components. However, for something that apparently housed so much, the object was bland and seemed without use.

Which begs the question,

Chell mused, carefully tucking a hand underneath the contraption and lifting it experimentally to find it surprisingly light.

What exactly is this?

Wary of dropping the machine, she set it back inside the cabinet, settling it on its rubber supports one by one until she was certain that it was stable. Only then did she remove her hand from underneath it and give a snap. GlaDOS dragged her gaze from the contraption back to the test subject at the sound, humming thoughtfully.

"That almost resembles an external hard drive. However, it's missing one crucial aspect: a universal serial bus cord."

At Chell's clueless expression, she sighed.

"A USB cord. You know, the cord which you would plug into a computer's port? Surely you've seen enough computers with keyboards connected to them in the forbidden parts of my facility that you have scampered about in to be familiar with what I'm referring to."

GlaDOS huffed irritably after saying it, and Chell couldn't resist a taunting smirk, getting closer to the ASHPD and nodding with her smirk still in place. The proximity and teasing were met with an unimpressed, half-moon stare. The AI did, however, acknowledge her nod with a bob of her optic, using the movement as a vehicle to glide her aperture up towards the contraption once again.

"How relieving. That's one misunderstanding cleared. Unfortunately, there's still another: the purpose and probable usefulness of that device."

Regarding the device herself, Chell gradually pulled herself away from the quantum gun and her partner, restoring her height so she was able to get a view of the contraption from her higher perspective. It was true that it lacked a cord; it lacked any sort of attachment for that matter.

This isn't meant to plug into anything. Rather, it's supposed to stand alone, as far as its purpose goes. It can't be just a decoration..could it? No, it's just a circle-shaped object; where's the appeal in that?

Tapping her chin in thought, Chell reached a decision. Turning mindfully on her heel, she staggered back to the computer desks, passing over the logo on the floor and coming to a stop in front of the foremost desk to the right. Unlike the desk to the left, the right desk did not bear a radio on its surface.

Making use of the free space, Chell placed the ASHPD where the radio would have been, taking care to make sure that the gun did not touch the ancient computer even minutely. GlaDOS wore an expression of edginess, which Chell attempted slight alleviation of with a revitalizing pat to the top of ASHPD's barrel. A minor raise in her optic's light was her only indication of the uneasiness' dispelling, and although that wasn't a compelling indicator, the woman chose to take it as such, and made her way back to the cabinet.

Both hands free without the weapon, Chell took the black contraption in both hands, noting that it was about nine inches in length. Shifting it left and right in, she gave another test of its weight. It was still unbelievably light. Bringing it closer to her face, an action that spurred Nadine's interest and instigated her to get closer and lean forward on her clawed toes, Chell rotated it slowly. Aside from the blue logo, there were no adornments.

There has to be some way to activate this, or at least use it. The fact that it's in an observation office gives me reason to believe that it assisted in monitoring tests, or similarly.

Frustrated, she gripped the contraption at either side, tugging in opposite directions with unrestrained force, grunting.

But why won't the damned thing do anything?

Refusing to abandon the object, her stubborn will wanting nothing other than to discover its purpose and utilize it for her own benefit, Chell ignored the words of caution from the super computer. The last concern on her mind was for the contraption's welfare. Still, despite the rough treatment, the object didn't yield to the pressure. Instead it almost seemed to become sturdier and thicker, if such offensive contradiction was permitted.

Relenting, finally, the test subject relaxed her arms, cradling the contraption in a loose hold. She peered down at it, brows knit in agitated puzzlement. Nothing about it was different from before; her strength, which was plenty formidable in terms of against average objects, hadn't an effect on it at all. That in itself was a clue, an indirect clue, but the woman's mind that had become accustomed to solving complex puzzles that tested the very strings of her abilities picked up on it effortlessly.

This black..disk is sturdy and thick. It's most likely a container of some sort.

Though, that didn't explain how she was going to pry it open and delve into its contents. Considering Aperture's habit of making the simple extraordinarily complicated, brute force would probably get her no where. Tucking the disk into the crook of her left elbow and freeing her right arm, she coasted her fingertips across its sleek surface.

The marks of her finger pads, etched onto the surface by her skin's natural oils, disappeared seconds after being formed on the black contraption. Pressing her pointer finger onto it and holding it there for a few long seconds, she acted on an assumption. When she pulled her finger away, the finger print was lost in the same amount of time as the prints that had been formed just at minimal contact.

The surface on this disk is specifically designed not to show finger prints. That could be for aesthetics, but..

Jerking the disk back into the grip of both hands, she moved one over top of it, and one underneath. She began painstakingly slowly dragging her fingers across the surface, both on the top and underneath. The texture was flawless, and she could see the trails she left with her traces evaporate, removing the tarnishing and restoring perfection.

Chell was grateful for its relatively small size; it was easy to cover the entire expanse of its surface when there wasn't much of it to begin with. On the bottom of the disk, as her fingers drifted across, she suddenly felt a light vibration under her pinky. Freezing the digit completely, she gently pushed up at the same location. The vibration occurred again, almost ticklish against her skin.

Keeping her pinky there, she spread her hand out, her other fingers searching briskly for the corresponding spots which would logically be in reach. Sure enough, her pointer finger, then her index, and eventually all her fingers on that hand found the vibrating pressure points.

Deliberately tensing her hand so her fingers would not move from their positions, she haphazardly balanced the disk with her spread hand underneath it. Then, she searched the top for their points. However, even after she'd explored the top with meticulous searching three more times, she had not found a single one.

Her arm growing sore was supporting the contraption, she aspired to uncover the points as soon as possible. Reasoning that an increase in pressure might prove advantageous, Chell pushed down on the top harder, coasting her hand along the black. She nearly jumped when she passed over the blue logo and there was a sharp click when her thumb lingered longer on it than her other fingers. Dragging her others back, she pressed on it again. The top of the logo caved in, followed by the sharp click.

Aah, I see.

Grinning in triumph, she spread her fingers so that they were around the logo, forming their own circle around the aperture.

How clever.

Glancing to Nadine with a wink, she then looked over her shoulder at the desks, catching sight of GlaDOS watching what she could from her poor vantage point. At the woman's look, her optic lit up a bright gold to catch her attention. Tilting her head and nodded, Chell gave it, albeit briefly, applying moderate pressure to the logo in anticipation.

"Have you finished groping that yet, Tooma? Honestly, you humans and your peculiarities."

GlaDOS sounded disgusted, although it was more probable that she was bitter towards being left without the transportation and increased protection her test subject offered. Regardless of their surroundings, being in a vulnerable state that was susceptible to damage kept the AI on edge; her best defense against the elements and chance at restoration of her position was Chell herself.

Offering GlaDOS a reassuring grin, Chell turned back to the disk. Waiting a moment, she took in the vibrations, enjoying the relaxing feeling. But, not eager to prolong her wait, she pressed down forcefully on the logo. It sunk in completely with a keen snap, and the contraption let loose a powerful burst of air around her fingers. The burst was akin to those of air locks, and Chell turned her neck to shield her face against the aggressive oxygen accordingly.

Her fingers supporting the disk abruptly were shot upwards by an unseen force, and the ones atop the logo were pulled inside just as suddenly. Yelping in shock, Chell stumbled backwards, barely catching herself before she stepped too roughly with her left leg and caused herself a tumble. She could hear GlaDOS, and although she tried to twist herself to face her, she found herself incapable.

"Hey! What happened over there? Can't you hear me?"

GlaDOS was alarmed, but Chell did not have a method of communicating to her; her hands were rendered useless, and without the ability to turn and show her any expression any hopes at conveying herself were lost. Nadine was pacing quickly up and down her shoulders, squawking warningly at the disk that had her human bound.

Fighting her body's impulse to increase her heart rate and breathing rate, Chell allowed her arms to go slack rather than fight whatever was holding her to the disk; a useless fight would only cause harm at this point. As soon as the tension in her arms was released, she experienced a significant lessening in the intensity of the pull on her. Taking that as a good omen, she remained still, ignoring the shouts of her partners.

An electric tingle ran up her arms, prompting a shiver that reached down to her toes. Though, that reaction was not as major as the one she experienced as she witnessed the black contraption fall apart, pieces of its fine being clatter to the ground and a steady gray glow be exposed with each piece that went. One by one, the bits of the shell around her hands fell away, revealing her hands that were curled around a hovering, dark gray orb. The force keeping them curled around it didn't relent until the last part of the disk had hit the ground and stilled. Only then were her hands released, and the orb landed innocently into the palm of her hand.

Hurriedly reclaiming her other hand and drawing it to her chest, Chell blinked rapidly in bewilderment at the ball resting in her hand, the ruined contraption at her feet. It had held something, and now she held that something herself. The possession was small, light, and quite unimpressive aside from the fact that it had pulled her hands in to protect itself as its defense literally crumbled to pieces. Needless to say, the sphere in her hand enthralled her. Nadine's soft, worried chirp brought her back to reality. Quickly, she twisted, turning her body and rushing over to GlaDOS. The AI shot her a strict look, softened by relief.

"Oh, thank god; I thought you'd had your face blown to bits by that Frisbee. What were you doing over there? Save the destruction for the moron, won't you?"

Closing the distance between them after that sentence, Chell leaned her side against the desk and shoved the orb close to the AI's aperture, causing it to narrow and her to buzz in contempt. Once she caught sight of what the woman held, though, she looked it over carefully, optic widening in interest.

"That was inside it? It certainly sounded, at least from seven feet and five point five inches away, like that contraption was difficult to open, and it had pressurized air inside it as well; that's nothing useless, by no doubt. What does it do?"

I was hoping that you'd be able to tell me.

Chell shrugged, rolling it in her hand. It was smooth, but unlike any other device or machinery else down in Aperture Innovators, it was warm. Rivaled only by the body heat of Nadine, the mysterious ball was soothing in her grip, and eerily felt alive. Encouraged by the possession of 'nothing useless', Chell tapped the ball, then her head, smirking confidently.

"Aren't you undeniably confident in your abilities again."

The display had GlaDOS rolling her optic, yet there was a hint of approval in her voice.

"That's better than you constantly darting your eyes about in nervousness or losing your composure constantly, though, I admit."

The corner of Chell's mouth twitched in indignation, but she swallowed her pride and gave her response with a swift lift of the ASHPD, fastening it to her arm again and relishing in the comforting weight of the gun. Her AI partner shared that relief; she regained her optic's usual intensity after Chell had cautiously deposited the gray orb into the empty pocket of her jumpsuit and gripped the ASHPD with both hands as was protocol.

Pushing herself off the desk, Chell swayed slightly before gathering her balance and setting off towards the door that led out of the office, flashlight swinging across her chest and the strange ball a heavy weight in her pocket. Banishing this office for the next, when she reached the door she gripped its handle in a tight fist, pushing it open.

What it led to was a hallway identical to the one they'd entered the office from; windows on the left and right once again displayed beautiful silver beams lined with orange and blue lights and white cobwebs of wires beneath them instead of the scenery of the prior enrichment sphere. The difference between the two windows, again, was that the one on the left provided a view of the outer shell of the sphere, while the one on the right only offered beams and wires; the rest was a vast ambiguity.

Stepping out of the office and into the passage, Chell glanced left again, spotting the end of the sphere a couple of feet ahead. Not too farther was the elevator, its blunt metal construction a marring insult to the excellence the hallway otherwise presented. Peering out of each window as she limped to the lift, Chell briefly removed her left hand from the ASHPD to stroke Nadine gently on her neck to calm her stressed peeps. The contact worked, and the peeps collapsed into pleased coos that continued after Chell had returned her palm to its position underneath the barrel of the portal gun.

As they got closer to the elevator, Chell's chest constricted when she noticed a startling characteristic of the machinery; the pulley, which was visible, lacked a wire to pull the lift upwards. Modern Aperture's lifts were propelled upwards by strong currents of air that shot them through the tubes. Every time Chell had set foot in one for her ride to the next chamber, she had heard the air whistling around the elevator, and it often took joy in rustling her hair whenever the doors opened to the test. However, Aperture Innovators hadn't had that technology, clearly. A lack of a wire for the outdated pulley system broadcast its uselessness.

Quickening her pace, the woman approached the lift, irritation biting at her when conspicuous bursts of electricity visibly sparked from the machinery. Able to read the signs and being reluctant to test them herself, she halted before it, glaring with a critical stare at the malfunctioning and useless elevator. GlaDOS' reaction was not any less offended.

"Well, I rest my case. This wasteland is home to the most fragile and unreliable technology that I've seen yet."

Fists clenching, Chell scanned the hallway for any alternate routes or doorways. Coming to realize that the hallway was empty aside from the windows and elevator, she let out an angry hiss through her teeth, turning her back to the elevator, she started a slow walk back to the office, looking to GlaDOS with an earnest expression, yearning for advice.

"There's no way you can head back; all that lies in that direction is testing, and I think we both know that you couldn't manage a jump on a single aerial faith plate, more or less the experimental upward propelling by repulsion gel."

Affronted, Chell huffed, coming to a stop and fastening the computer with a condescending look. The AI herself took on an assertive stance, her aperture narrowed and inner processors humming louder than was entirely necessary. In a split battle of will, the two found themselves evenly matched, neither with an advantage, nor either with a disadvantage.

"Don't argue with me. You know as well as I do that it's physically impossible for you with that mangled appendage. I don't doubt that you have the thick head that will get you killed one day to march down there, however."

Appeasing, Chell silently sighed, shifting her left leg when it was mentioned. Going back would be useless, and frankly impossible, as GlaDOS had pointed out. Where else was there to go though, when the route in front of them had been severed as easily as wires with a pair of impeccable wire cutters?

Taking a couple of steps forward, toward the office, Chell slipped the gray orb out of her pocket. With an expert hand, she tossed it into the air, then deftly caught it. She continued the tossing until the third step, where she stopped after catching the orb from its flight. Lifting it to her face, she tilted her head; where once the orb had been a dull gray, it currently possessed an almost white color. The color was familiar, and a stray glance out of the corner of her eye confirmed it. The orb was the color of the silver beams, the silver casing of the enrichment sphere.

This is surely of importance. A signal, maybe. What could have spurred it, though?

Rolling it in her palm, Chell made a point to make sure that GlaDOS saw it, and when the AI did she picked up on the of the color change as the test subject had. At GlaDOS' urging, Chell took a couple of steps backward, observing the orb as she did so. It faded to a fog on the first step, and back to the despondent gray at the second. Moving ahead two paces so that the ball was silver again and turning around to face the elevator, the woman concentrated deeply, pondering.

In her contemplative mood, she subconsciously settled most of her weight on her right, healthy leg, her body swinging that direction as well. Immediately, the silver sphere in her palm lit up a strong white, pulsating and vibrating as well. The change in its appearance and state startled the woman, sparked her nerves which reacted by controlling her legs so that she stumbled farther right.

Chell's shoulder bumped into the glass, sending jolts of pain that had her wincing and turning her neck to glower at the offending sheet of transparency. Her glower was sliced short of its height when she caught sight of the glass rippling like water, an invisible tide pulling it in chronic waves. Transfixed, Chell straightened herself, standing in front of the window with awe washed upon her visage.

Nadine was silent, watching the ripples with fascination. GlaDOS was as well, although her distrusting stare and disproving clicks were not parallel to the impressions of the rest of the trio. When Chell neared the glass even more, her nose nearly touching its slithering coat, the AI gave her warning.

"Tooma, glass is, I assure you, not supposed to move in that manner. Perhaps in its lesser form of sand, but not as the material of windows and mirrors. It isn't natural; it's possible that it's dangerous, at least for you organic mammals. I propose that you don't get any closer, if only to stop yourself from combusting in a most unpleasant fashion from exposure to deadly glass."

At the absurdity of the notion, Chell chuckled audibly, earning her the AI's surprise. Still, she obeyed, and didn't walk any closer. Rather, she stretched the arm that she was grasping the silver orb with towards the window, her focus having communed with belief.

The small amount of distraction of her chuckle, being a noise and noises being so unexpected from the test subject, allowed her enough relief from GlaDOS' warnings and scoldings for her to touch the orb to the glass with a soft clink. Then, the movement of the glass abruptly stilled, instilling an absence that swallowed everything in its wake, leaving nothingness.

"You idiot! I just told you not to get closer, and here you are trying to break through the window with that perfectly sized replica of your brain. Tooma, take that away from the glass this instant before-"

She didn't get to complete her lecture. A shrill whistling filled the corridor, so shrill that it burrowed into Chell's ears and thrashed wildly enough that she nearly dropped the orb and the ASHPD to cover her ears, to stop the noise. However, the whistling did not last longer than a couple of seconds, and then it was gone, out of her ears. In its place was a shuddering pane of glass in front of Chell and her two partners, and a blindingly white orb whose purpose rapidly became as clear as the glass it altered.

Pulling the orb back did nothing to cease the shuddering of the window, and it shone as brightly as it had when in direct contact with the glass, almost as if it had sprung to life from its dormancy from merely touching heated sand. Strangely enough, it never grew in the degree of its heat. Due to that, Chell gripped it tightly, as if doing so would prevent it from escaping and ensure their survival.

The shuddering increased as the pane of glass began to ease inwards, inside the silver vicinity with its beams and wires. With a slow pace, the pane folded backwards on itself, not even remotely touching or disturbing a single beam with its movement. There was a series of rapid clicks, and then there was silence.

This place gets more supernatural with each passed minute. What is the reasoning behind having glass panes that can fold backwards and leave gaping holes in windows, exposing the inner construction of a testing sphere and its supports? Honestly...

Backing away from the gap in the window, letting out a shaky breath she'd been holding, Chell unraveled her fingers away from the orb. The once white ball was once again a bleak gray, unimpressive and frankly unassuming. Still, the memories of the past minutes were strung together tightly, and were quite strong enough to resist the blades of presumption.

She tucked the orb back into her pocket, dropping her gaze in mild trepidation to GlaDOS. The AI proved that trepidation worthy, for her immediate action was to viciously glower at her test subject, angry clicks and violent lashings of her optic from side to side further adding to the scene.

"You couldn't listen, could you? What would you have done if you'd fallen through that? I'll tell you what you would have done. You would have gotten your neck caught in those wires and effectively strangled yourself. Is that how you want to end your life? Do you want to strangle yourself, Tooma?"

The computer grumbled irritably after her small outburst, words of irrelevance to console after wielding sharp words that wounded both the recipient and the throat of the speaker. Chell clicked her nails on the ASHPD, giving a small grin as reassurance that she hadn't managed to strangle herself, despite her sin of not being obedient of the queen's advice. GlaDOS still wasn't assured, though, evident by her narrowed and dark-shaded optic.

"You're fortunate that you didn't. You probably won't be next time, though, so don't allow 'next time' to even become a possibility."

Somberly giving a nod, the woman dismissed her partner with a squint through the gap in the glass, cautiously claiming a foot ahead, then another, until her toes rested where the floor fell away to the abyss strewn with pulsing, electric wires. Immediately, freezing air rushed to greet her, fervid against her skin. Chell knew GlaDOS didn't approve of her position, not at all, but the computer appeared to be occupied with examining the strange window and the area outside it; the chances were that she was contemplating why Aperture's past self would implement it as well.

There was a fair amount of suspicion from Chell towards the orb, too. It was obvious that it's purpose was to open the pane of glass, but why? What lay beyond that required a sphere that was securely held in a complicated stand that required precise finger placement to open? Not receiving any answers from her mind, Chell tapped her left toe of her boot thoughtfully against the tile floor.

The web of wires underneath the beams pitched towards her, and she flinched at the rough motion. GlaDOS shot her attention to the wires after their movement, watching them attentively for any further action. Chell tapped her foot again, ignoring the growing pain in favor of animating the white wires. Once more, at the sound of her tap they leaped upwards, straining as their restrictions forced them down.

Fully aware that what she was doing classified as baiting, the test subject took an even larger risk, pursing her lips and forming a whistle between her lips. The web practically thrashed at the noise, rocking from side to side as if it was trying to free itself from whatever held it in its grip. Possessed by fascination for the spectacle, Chell aligned her hand in the ASHPD's chamber, and pressed her thumb against the blue button.

Traveling at the speed of light, it did not take the blue portal long to come into contact with one of the construction beams, after which it burst into nonexistence due to the lack of a suitable surface for itself. It also didn't take long for the sound that it made shortly after being called into being to resonate through the vicinity, increasing in volume as it produced an echo that sent the wires underneath Chell's feet into a frenzy.

They swelled, an imitation crest of a wave, then abruptly jerked upwards with such force that their compressor relinquished its grip on them and allowed them free reign. In celebration of that freedom, they dove up, individual wires sparking wildly as the entire network speedily yanked itself free of its delve.

Staggering back away from the dangerous wires that advertised a nasty shock should she get too close, Chell turned to peer out of the neighboring glass pane. Craning her neck up to follow the hurrying wires as they latched onto the beams and used them as supports to clamber higher, her look her utter disbelief was reflected in the window that no longer served as a barrier, but instead as a protective shield from the desperate escape underway. Agile, the wires weaved their path away from their prison, and the test subject experienced the taste of bitter envy.

Breaking her gaze away at the sound of metallic groaning, Chell cast her eyes down to the underbelly of the area where the web of escapees had once been spun. Her eyes widened, and she could feel rather than hear GlaDOS' own breath of wonder.

Being gradually raised by the ends of the wires that had long since scampered into the non-visible heights of the beams, was a protesting catwalk. The wires had tightly wound themselves around its railings like threads of silk around insect prey, ridding any prospect of a loss of grip on the formation of metal. As the wires climbed higher, the catwalk rose closer and closer to the height of the passage; the wires were nothing greater than transports for the unexpected third route that the trio simultaneously realized was their new path out of this pen conformed to fence in their dexterity.

Keeping an eye on the steadily approaching catwalk, Chell pressed the portal device close to herself, briefly regarding GlaDOS. The computer met her gaze evenly, darting to the catwalk and back to her in a fluid motion.

"It appears we'll be taking a detour in this detour. Let's not loiter; get moving across that catwalk as soon as you feel that you're able."

Certainty crafting a lopsided grin messily on her face, Chell guardedly limped over to the hole in the window, ignoring the impulse to shiver.

Sounds like a plan. Detours happen to not only be usually less trouble and faster than the usual routes,

When the wires decided that their height was of enough significance, they stopped their swift climbing of the beams, and Chell advanced onto the creaking catwalk that had come to a stop directly level with the floor of the passage, aligned perfectly with the gap that the orb had opened. The walk may have been protesting, but its stability was true and not without value. Its destination was uncertain, but fate itself was as well.

But I've also had rather considerable luck following the paths forbidden to me.

Limping across a metal bridge suspended by a runaway web whose spider had perished with time, everyone's mortal enemy, the woman fixed the direction in front of her with stubborn resolve. With the departure from the passage, accompanied by moans of dire from the support beneath her boots, the woman's lips curved towards her cheek bones to reveal rows of teeth, bared in mute jeer to the unknown which was dreaded by no one, embraced by three.

Salut, Em here~! Woah, it's been..geez, two months or so? Have an update!

This chapter took a long while to write, likely because I procrastinated starting it for a couple weeks, then put it down and gave myself several week-long breaks before opening it up again. I'll stop that, I swear. Anyways, posting this a biiiit late (midnight, aha), so there may be some grammatical mistakes. If you notice any, feel free to shoot me a pm and I'll fix 'em. Also! I've increased the spacing of my paragraphs, so things should be a bit easier to read now. ;D Let me know if there's anything else I can do to increase your reading pleasure!

Hope you enjoyed chapter eight! This chapter is now officially the longest one in Inflessi, coming in at a hefty 31 pages. You have no idea how tired I am. Now I can collapse. But ah, before I do, in response to 'Guest':

Nadine herself is not fluorescent. The green markings, however, do glow when touched, or when the feathers they are on are disturbed or ruffled. Basically, a change in their position or contact from an external source will cause her green markings to illuminate. As for the black on the majority on her, though, no. Also, who knows why/if Cave Johnson did ANYTHING? c; Aah, I hope you like speculation!

All right guys, I'm out. Happy late fourth of July! Emerald-Em, over and out.