There was an organic life form in the facility.
The Central Core strained her optical lens, browsing through the enrichment center’s various security cameras in an attempt to find, and elicit the mysterious source. Mysterious. Her chassis teetered dangerously as she mused over that inferred description of said trespasser. She knew exactly who it was, and it honestly hadn’t surprised her. Though the Disk Operating System had to openly admit, she was a little impressed that the lunatic hadn’t returned earlier.
Something in the central chamber had clicked, bringing her thoughts back to the dilemma at hand. She had found her- or rather them planning on making some sort of daring escape. At least… she was, and she was trying to bring that moron with her. The Intelligence Dampening Android mock-human Initiative didn’t seem to want to leave. Probably the smartest thing he could have opted.
The Central Core was trapped in-between the feelings of rage, and being impressed that the menace had slipped back into the center in such a subtle way- of course… it was a ridiculous thing to have done, and it was the ex-subjects own personal choice. Coming back to try and remove Aperture Science Equipment was against company policy, and She was not going to have that happen. The Disk Operating System wondered what the woman had planned, why she had returned at this point in time, more or less, what she had learned about the well-being of the outside world.
“It’s a shame you chose to return here, Subject Number One.” she purred over the intercom- albeit with some satisfaction to her voice.
The panels around the two shifted ever-so-slightly; trapping the individuals in a tiny box of walls. They were trapped like rats now. Tiny insignificant rats. She couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle of sorts- come on, this was all turning out too good to be true.
“So did you come back to murder me once and for all? I wouldn’t put that past you, you know. Congratulations for surviving on your own for so long, by the way. You managed to beat… starvation I see.”
Wheatley felt as though if he were completely human, he would be crying- but no tears were leaving his synthetic optics, and no sniffling or hiccuping occurred. He just stood there, holding onto the woman infront of him, burrowing his face more into the crook of her neck as she stroked his back, the coarse stubble on his chin itching at her skin- and he shivered. Quaked, even. Hushed whimpers and shaky breaths left his mouth, though no air left his lungs. It was strange- the combination of feeling and acting on this emotion, but not being able to function it correctly. It confused him, and slightly hurt his head.
His fingers gripped into the back of Chell’s white tanktop when she spoke to him, her voice a mere hushed whisper- somewhat hoarse and pushed into being. He wondered if her loneliness on the surface was akin to what his was like in space, except he had the occasional talk with Space Core about… well, space. So in a way, he honestly was alone. Surrounded by a vast nothingness, most likely as much as she had been. But she had the ability to move about, and figure things out for herself. She could make it back to Aperture to find some where to stay- to find shelter, even though it was of a dangerous type. The only way Wheatley had been able to make it back home- if he could call it that- was due to the Earths gravitational pull, bringing him slowly back to the surface. And GLaDOS, who unwillingly brought him back, and painfully forced his core into a new body. A new shell of his pitiful and seemingly meaningless existence.
The android continued to shiver against the other, but his actions quickly came to a halt and he froze as a glaringly loud and sudden voice echoed out over Aperture’s intercom. A sarcastic tone laced with hatred and disgust… It was Her.
His head shot up and away from Chell’s neck, and he looked at the walls that were closing in around them in a panicked manner. “No! No, no, no no no nonono—!!” he began to scream, fingers ensnaring themselves into the woman’s tanktop and back. “Please, no! Don’t- D-don’t kill us!!” he hollered, his head whipping back and forth to look at all angles, watching the panels slowly maneuver and move in around them, boxing them in closer and closer.
“Don’t kill her!!”
She’d kept the Portal gun with her.
It might’ve been the reason why she’d ventured back here - the meticulously crafted gun that did nothing much of anything outside Aperture was something of a reminder. A reminder of the place she’d tried to desperately to escape. She’d done just that, but escaped to — what? A whole wide world full of loneliness and civilization ebbing just on the distance?
It was what reminded her that it had been real. Reminded her that it was still there, she could go back, even though she was explicitly told not to, and—
Wheatley was hugging her, now. Gripping at her, feet scrambling for purchase on a perfectly level floor. He was quaking, and it was almost like he was sobbing; somehow, because he was not breathing. Quite unsettling, really. She just continued to pat at his back, all up until a familiar voice hissed across the intercom.
Didn’t come back to murder you, actually. If you could even call it murder.
She didn’t know what she had come back for, honestly. But, with Wheatley there, maybe she’d come back for something else other than an unused gun to remind her, perhaps urge her to slink over to the remnants of civilization—
She tensed, eyes darting upwards. She was silent, in a stark contrast to him. She was always composed, really; needed to be. Roughly, she shouldered away from him, all while grabbing onto his wrist in a fluid motion. “No. Talking.” She hissed underneath her breath, reading the gun in her hand.
They were boxed in. Knowing GLaDOS, that wouldn’t be for long.
The Disk Operating System twisted in her chassis, her interface’s optic adjusting on the two. The bottom of the room she had boxed them in slowly parted open in the center of the floor, much akin to how she had tricked Chell with the cake dispensary door prior to the human woman’s release into the great outdoors. The two had nowhere else to go but down into the retired relaxation vault that she had positioned below them, catching them like fireflies in a jar- the scenario playing out, much like it had, when her attempt to kill the woman had been foolishly rendered by her destructive meddling behind the scenes of the Enrichment Center. This time, however, was different. Her urge to immediately drop turrets in front of the both of them had been stifled by her piqued curiosity on why the beast had decided to return to the facility.
At least the Aperture Handheld Portal Device she had “borrowed” had made it’s way home, and for the most part unscathed. Her chassis lowered slightly as she wriggled in bereft thought. Honestly, she had been at a loss for words. Something almost joyful nicked at the back of her conscience, and she beat it into submission with irritation. It was that irritating woman. Far from deleted, and always trying to push her own opinions, and decisions into the Central Core’s mind- Caroline was not ruining this for her.
“Well I suppose this is the part where you should say ‘Honey, I’m home.’ But you can’t can you? That’s too bad. I do suppose you felt bad for taking the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device with you. I bet you feel like a terrible thief for running away with it after I released you into the wild like the wild animal you are.” she paused for a moment, her head turning to face the android. “And you. What are you doing? She obviously holds a massive grudge against you. I wouldn’t put it past her, oh no I wouldn’t. The moment you have your back turned she’s going to break you, just like you broke her hopes and dreams.”
There was an organic life form in the facility.
The Central Core strained her optical lens, browsing through the enrichment center’s various security cameras in an attempt to find, and elicit the mysterious source. Mysterious. Her chassis teetered dangerously as she mused over that inferred description of said trespasser. She knew exactly who it was, and it honestly hadn’t surprised her. Though the Disk Operating System had to openly admit, she was a little impressed that the lunatic hadn’t returned earlier.
Something in the central chamber had clicked, bringing her thoughts back to the dilemma at hand. She had found her- or rather them planning on making some sort of daring escape. At least… she was, and she was trying to bring that moron with her. The Intelligence Dampening Android mock-human Initiative didn’t seem to want to leave. Probably the smartest thing he could have opted.
The Central Core was trapped in-between the feelings of rage, and being impressed that the menace had slipped back into the center in such a subtle way- of course… it was a ridiculous thing to have done, and it was the ex-subjects own personal choice. Coming back to try and remove Aperture Science Equipment was against company policy, and She was not going to have that happen. The Disk Operating System wondered what the woman had planned, why she had returned at this point in time, more or less, what she had learned about the well-being of the outside world.
“It’s a shame you chose to return here, Subject Number One.” she purred over the intercom- albeit with some satisfaction to her voice.
The panels around the two shifted ever-so-slightly; trapping the individuals in a tiny box of walls. They were trapped like rats now. Tiny insignificant rats. She couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle of sorts- come on, this was all turning out too good to be true.
“So did you come back to murder me once and for all? I wouldn’t put that past you, you know. Congratulations for surviving on your own for so long, by the way. You managed to beat… starvation I see.”
Misery.
That isn’t funny!
It’s not?
I hate you so much.
Shit, I’d hate me, too.
Wriggling her chassis around like an agitated snake, the central core mentally jotted down the process in which to make the irritable female suffer incorrigibly. Just because she had displayed a certain weakness around those delicious looking [REDACTED] greasy sticks of bread sprinkled with garlic salt, and other questionable substances, did not mean she would be broken by them. That was just absurd.
The central AI vowed to nullify all connections to the questionable outcome of the evening that had been shared with the most obnoxious group of individuals she had ever come to know. Olive Garden… even the title of that disgusting establishment alone gave her the urge to toss her currently desolate, mobile android initiative into the Aperture Science Emergency Intelligence Incinerator. In other words, she was completely flustered.
