Chapter 2:The Cold Boot
Grayson lands in the Incinerator Room. "Here we are. The Incinerator Room. Be careful not to trip over any parts of me that didn't get completely burned when you threw them down here."Glados said,putting a sting that lasted in the back of his head, as he walked along,flipping over tiles or throwing debris into the furnace,he searched for the portal gun.
"The dual portal device should be around here somewhere. Once you find it, we can start testing. Just like old times." Glados said,finding a camera to look into the furnace.
The Portal Gun was seen under a lot of debris. "There it is." Glados said in a very pleasent purr. The panels laid over it weakly lifted the rubble off the gun. Grayson approached carefully,and grabs the Portal gun. "Good. You have a dual portal device. There should be a way back to the testing area up ahead." Glados said in a semi-casual tone.
As Grayson made his way through the ruined test chamber 19,Glados spoke up,"Once testing starts, I'm required by protocol to keep interaction with you to a minimum. Luckily, we haven't started testing yet. This will be our only chance to talk." She said. Grayson portals over a wall of upripped debris. Grayson found no way to get over the next wall. "Here, let me get that for you." She said,lowering a panel,with a portal conductive surface.
Grayson portals to the other side,and gets back up into the main testing area. "Do you know the biggest lesson I learned from what you did? I discovered I have a sort of black-box quick-save feature. In the event of a catastrophic failure, the last two minutes of my life are preserved for analysis. I was able - well, forced really - to relive you killing me. Again and again. Forever."
Those last few words left a gentle sting. Grayson managed to make it to an elevator and back down into the testing course.
Each test was growing increasingly tidy,and with it Glados aggressively roasting the poor male alive with rude comments of any manner Glados could think negatively of. Some were simply made to make him feel bad. Others,were just plain insults masked as a joke.
Wheatley managed to halt Grayson's progress,"Hey buddy! Up here!" Wheatley said. Grayson put his fingers to his lips,signing to Wheatley to 'hush'. He nods,"But just so you know,ill be breaking you out soon. Just hold on." He whispers. Grayson nods in confirmation,and Wheatley left about as quietly as he appeared.
After managing to escape and narrowly get crushed by Glados,he and Wheatley went about the facility,sabotaging the turret production line and neurotoxin emitters. An air delivery tube soon separated him and wheatley,eventually depositing him in what remained of the human made upper facility.
Grayson got to an opening in a wall. Off in the distance he saw a portal surface. He placed a portal on that far panel,and one on the wall behind him. He walks through and falls into a room,where the portal was out of reach.
He saw a door marked "Emergency GLaDOS Shutdown and Cake dispensary". Dear lord this reeked of a trap. Warily,Grayson started toward the door,and reaches out to open it,when the knob went slack,and the door fell,to reveal a wall. "I honestly, TRULY didn't think you'd fall for that." Glados said,"In fact, I devised a much more elaborate trap further ahead, for when you got through this easy one."
The floor opens,dropping him into a glass box on a conveyor belt.
A soft chuckle emits.
"If I'd known you'd let yourself get captured this easily, I would have just dangled a turkey leg on a rope from the ceiling. Well it was nice catching up,let's get to business."
The Conveyor opens into GLaDOS' main chamber
"I hope you brought something stronger than a portal gun this time,Otherwise, I'm afraid you're about to become the immediate past president of the Being Alive club. Ha ha." She said,shedding a somewhat proud smile.. For someone who was new to having a human body,she seemed rather natural as her expressions were now readable,but for looking so natural,Glados had a very unnatural atmosphere.
Crap Turrets were placed all around the chamber,two on each side. "Seriously, though. Goodbye."
Grayson gave a smirk. All the Crap Turrets tried firing,but to no avail.
They all explode,cracking the glass. Glados gave a priceless scowl. "Oh. You were busy back there."
Grayson remains still,staring at her. "Well. I suppose we could just sit in this room and glare at each other until somebody drops dead, but I have a better idea." Glados said,A tube came down and broke an upper pane of the small chamber. "It's your old friend, deadly neurotoxin. If I were you, I'd take a last deep breath. And hold it." She said. Something clunky and loud thundered through the pipe. Glados gave a look of severe confusion,until Wheatley rolled out with a "Hello!" as he broke one of the panes of glass. "I hate you so much." Glados spat. Grayson ran out of Glados's reach,picking Wheatley up in the process. At this point,Glados had lost her patience.
"Main core is 80% corrupt,new core detected."
"Corrupt? I feel fine." Glados protested
"Please deposit the new core into the Core Transference Receptacle." The cheery announcer said. "You are NOT putting that idiot into MY mainframe." Glados snarls. "Yes you are putting that little idiot onto your mainframe!" Wheatley shot back.
Grayson started the toward the core transfer receptacle,sliding under Glados's attempt to grab him,and locks Wheatley in.
"Replacement Core,are you ready to start the procedure?"
Oh yes!" Wheatley said
"Corrupt Core,are you ready to start the procedure?"
"No!" Glados said.
"Oh yes she is!" Wheatley said.
"Stalemate detected. Stalemate Resolution Personnel required to press the Stalemate Resolution Button."
A room opens at the far end of the chamber,revealing a button. Grayson runs over to it,to be stopped by panels rising up to prevent Grayson from reaching the button,"You dont know what you're doing! You're putting us at grave risk!" Glados said,as Grayson tried to go around,only to be met with more resistance. He set a portal on the wall behind him,and then behind the panels. He walks through and manages to get to the button. His hand hesitantly hovered over the button. Why was he hesitating? He had Glados by the short and curlies,and could end a possible tyranny. But a voice in the back of his head beckoned not to do it.
"I just want you to know that I am validating the reason why your parents le-"
He slams his fist on the button,losing the tiny amount of pity he had. Glados yells in pain as one of her cords turn red. Grayson returns to the main chamber as Glados slumped. "Wait what if this hurts? Like really hurts?" Wheatley asked on fear.
"Oh it will,believe me it will." Glados said,as manipulation claws grab her. "Get your hands off me!" She yelps. More arms grab her,and separators seal the scene from Grayson's prying eyes. She gave a blood chilling scream,followed by the sound of metal tearing and folding. A few arms discard Glados's body with a dull thud.
The walls then lower to reveal Wheatley on a black metal body,the frame quite large and intimidating. Wheatley was playing with his newfound power,"Wowwwww! Check me out partner!" He exclaims. Grayson chuckles softly,but looks at Glados with a feeling of dread...no! She tried to kill him! He cant go soft,not after this big of a decision. Grayson signs "Elevator" toward Wheatley.
"Oh! The escape lift!" Wheatley said sheepishly. The lift announced it's arrival with a soft chime,"There we go! lift called!" He said
"Look how small you are down there! I can barely see you! Very tiny and insignificant." Wheatley said.
Grayson walks into the elevator,with a gentle smile.
"Wait. Just thought of something? How am I going to get in? You know, being bloody massive and everything." Wheatley ponders,puting his new hand under his core body,like a human would put their hand under their chin,"Wait! I know! You get into the lift, okay? Then I'll eject myself out of my new body into the lift just as you pass by me! Brilliant." He said,sounding slightly sure. "It's perfect. Except for all the glass hitting us when I smash through the lift, that's a bit of a problem." He said,dropping his shoulders and earning a look of mild concern. "Also, once I eject myself out of the core the lift might stop. Then we'd be trapped in a lift full of broken glass suspended fifty feet off the ground." Wheatley said,as he still pondered how to do this.
"You know what? We'll iron out the details as we go." He said as he paced some.
"This body is amazing, seriously!" He said,turning to Grayson. Grayson chuckles silently and points up.
"Oh! Sorry. The lift. Sorry. I keep forgetting." Wheatley chuckles sheepishly,as the lift ascends.
"This body is amazing, seriously! I can't get over how small you are! But I'm huge!" Wheatley exclaims,puffing up like a gorilla. He began laughing
His laugh suddenly changed,turning from very light,to dark,and menacing. Grayson started jamming the up button,hoping it would go faster.
When Wheatley's laughter died down,he stops the lift. "Actually, why do we have to leave right now?" He pondered evilly. Grayson looked Wheatley in the eye as he lowered,and saw that his friendly demeanor had all but disappeared,and only malice remained. It was almost haunting to witness that friendliness leave him. "Do you have any idea how good this feels? I did this! Tiny little Wheatley did this!" Wheatley said as the lift stopped at the floor again. A cough emits from Glados as she weakly leans up,"You didn't do anything." She said softly. "He did all the work." She said,as she gestured to Grayson. "Oh really. That's what the two of you think, is it?" Wheatley questions as he scowls at Grayson,whom shook his his head in disagreement,in worry of getting harmed by the massive machine.
"I know you." Glados said weakly
"Sorry, what?" Wheatley questioned as he made his way over to the downed AI. "The engineers tried everything to make me... behave. To slow me down." She continues,"Once, they even attached an Intelligence Dampening Sphere on me. It clung to my brain like a tumor, generating an endless stream of terrible ideas." She spat.
"No! I'm not listening! I'm not listening!" Wheatley retaliated. Glados smiles in a weakly mischievous way. "No! No! You HAVE to be lying!!" Wheatley said as he picks her up by the AI's hair,she could only smile more as she ignored the pain.
"It was YOUR voice. Yes. You're the tumor." She said in a tone similar to realization,but it was dripping with spite,"You're not just a regular moron. You were DESIGNED to be a moron."
At that moment Grayson heard the snap that Wheatley displayed,"I AM NOT A MORON!!!" He snarls,throwing Glados into the elevator with Grayson,scattering broken glass into the small chamber. "YES YOU ARE! THEY BUILT YOU TO MAKE ME AN IDIOT!" Glados retaliates,pointing a finger at him as she got up off of Grayson. "COULD A MORON PUNCH. YOU. INTO. THIS. PIT!?HUH?! Could a Moron do that?!" Wheatley snarls,pounding the lift down,denting the top severely,and shattering the glass.
The elevator gave a whining creak
"Uh oh." Wheatley said in realization
The elevator's breaks released,and it plummeted into darkness.
Glados and Grayson were now floating in zero gravity within the elevator.
"Oh,you have no idea what youve done." Glados said.
"Since it doesn't look like we're going anywhere... Well, we are going somewhere. Alarmingly fast, actually. But since we're not busy other than that, here's a couple of facts."
"You see,he's not a normal moron,he was created by the world's most intelligent minds to birth the dumbest moron who ever lived. And you just put him in charge of the faucility." She said,also giving him a slow applause
"Hey, just in case this pit isn't actually bottomless, do you think maybe you could get under me and cushion my fall? Just remember to land on your feet."
Grayson started looking around for an emergency brake.