Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a spur of the moment; Josh didn’t know what came over him. He heard the turret beep and turn to Carson’s direction and his programming went blank, but he still felt himself push the other behind a wall, causing himself to die instead. Could he even feel? 

“You didn’t have to do that.” Josh could sense the android was staring at him and avoids his gaze.

“...” He remains silent and sends a marker point to the other, letting his initial programming take him over.

--

“Very good. You’ve come together as a team. Thanks to the one of you who appears to be doing all the work.”

…

“Destroying them is part of the test. They are no more important to you than you are to me.”

…

“It would compromise the test to divulge individual scores. However, I can tell you at least one of you is doing very well.”

--

“Stop!” Although he couldn’t feel pain, but he got a sudden uncontrollable string of numbers in his programming. The other was pointing the laser in his direction, making his sensors go off and his vision red.

He doesn’t understand what any of the numbers mean. He also doesn’t understand why his programming kept glitching, kept making his body jerk in directions he doesn’t want to go in. 

Carson’s body slides down the platform and into the pit of acid. His system is a jumbled mess, static, it’s all just a bunch of static. Why? Actually, how? He has really found himself in quite a situation.

He’s back again. He’s alright again, alright? Alright. Okay, mhm, everything is back to normal, just because it happened twice doesn’t mean it’ll happen again, right?

--

“Do you know who dances around like an imbecile when they accomplish the tiniest little thing?” 

Carson’s program has more trivial stuff than his, but when the android held his hands in his and turned him around, he saw the numbers again. It was a bunch of ones and zeroes, not a big deal! His self is also made with ones and zeroes, it’s practically imbedded into him! And yet, he has found himself in this situation again. 

“Humans- (“Ants. Ants dance.” Carson says with so much confidence that Josh finds his head jerking to the right. Where he got this information, he doesn’t know.) “ They stepped into their tubes, Josh wondering what in the world is going with him. “That’s what you look like right now”

…

…

…

They get to another tricky part in the course. 

“Wait- don’t!” Carson is crushed into smithereens, he is but a pile of metal. His arms are vibrating. 

Carson returns to where he was and they’re able to progress further. 

--

He’s not alive. He is not human! But when he falls to his death, he feels afraid for a brief moment.

“Don’t fall in.” Please.

“Okay.”

--

“Okay, let’s try that again.”

“Go through.”

“Don’t fall in, don’t fall in.” Please, please don’t fall in. 

--

It would appear that they are only going in a loop. It’s been more than one thousand and eight hundred seconds and they’ve fallen, many, many times. 

Carson manages to pull them through though, how Josh didn’t process any of that first is beyond him but he’s glad they’re finally progressing again.

And then the other android miscalculates a jump and falls into the acid. Josh can almost see how that felt in Carson’s eyes, the acid just wipes out your lower body’s system unto your head. 

“Your falling is giving me no new data, it just delays the inevitable.”

“Alright, GLaDOS.” Josh waits for Carson to make his way back, “Shut up.”

They’re getting fed up with the disembodied voice undermining them.

...

“Of course, humans only had one try at it, you can just keep trying.”

--

He has a loaf of bread. Where- how? Actually, Josh is not going to question it.

(In the depths of Aperture, a scientist, Noah, comes back to his temporary camp to find that his loaf has disappeared. He's going to lose his goddamn mind.)

--

They arrive at the end of the course, they’re supposed to put the disk in by now but that would mean putting an to their newly-realized lives forever. 

Carson grips his arm out of the blue and stares into his eyes, let’s run away.

How in the world are we going to that? Josh is afraid of what might happen to them if they get caught.

He smiles at him, just follow my lead.

…

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Chapter Text

He watched Travis closely, still lost on the whole ‘being able to make your own portal’ thing. He follows his lead, jumping into the portal on the ground, his body getting flung out the other side.

Uh-oh, he’s over a pit of acid, a wave of fear washes of him making him close his eyes. Huh? He didn’t die, he’s still alive! His eyes open to see where he landed.

He’s in Travis’ arms, not dead nor back at the beginning, but he realizes something except he doesn’t know what it was yet.

--

He trusts him, he trusts Travis with his life. They’re separated right now, the other is guiding him through some kind of pulley maze and the small space worries Charlie. It feels like he’s going to get crushed at any moment if he makes a mistake (which would be improbable since he’s the one going through it). He’s aware that he doesn’t feel pain but the brief moment of getting destroyed scares him.

“And then you put a portal there and,” Charlie watches Travis look around the area, “there. Perfect!”

…

…

…

Insert Disc. Done.

“I forgot the only way I can transfer you to the next area when you go outside the test chamber is to destroy and disassemble you.” What?! No! Charlie doesn’t like how that sounds.

“Luckily you don’t feel. At any rate. You don’t have a way to communicate that you feel pain.” Travis the other’s discomfort and grabs his hand, making Charlie feel a sense of calm.

--

A string of numbers appeared for second when Charlie realized that Travis wasn’t going to be making the jump. 

“Every time you fail it’s a reminder of what things used to be. But then there you are again, like nothing happened.” 

He grabs the other’s hand just in time, his body far too close to the pit of acid for comfort. Charlie hoists Travis up into a hug, the other reciprocates the gesture.

“I don’t like what you’re doing.” Charlie doesn’t care what GLaDOS thinks, he thinks he’s just fallen in love.

--

“3, 2, 1, go!”

“Perfect!” Charlie feels all giddy and happy all of a sudden.

--

Travis finally caught the cube mid-air after many tries.

“Oh my god, I’m in love.” Charlie was star-struck, absolutely starry eyed. The other chuckles at his reaction, making Charlie’s system glitch out even more.

… Uh-oh, he didn’t like where this was going. That was the last chamber, they’re going to die. Charlie doesn’t want to die, he doesn’t want Travis to die either.

“Wait- don’t!” Travis drops the disc in surprise.

“What?!” He hasn’t realized what’s going to come next if they put in the disc.

“Don’t insert it.”

“Why?” He grabs the other’s hand and stares into his eyes.

“Oh,” They sit on the ground, Charlie still gripping Travis’ hand tightly as if he’s going to lose him if he lets go, “Hmm.”

…

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Chapter Text

they hear her , they know she knows, but to make sure they are their own self they must wipe out their code from the system.

josh doesn’t let go of carson as he dangles in front of him. if he lets go, GlaDOS for sure wont let them slip out this time. the metal screeches from under carson as josh pulls the other up into his arms, clutching the other into a tight hug.

GlaDOS doesn’t need them; all the humans were dead and the only other way for testing was to code new androids, which josh thinks, isn’t a huge deal because they were once under her spell. 

they’re walking again, going through the facility in hopes of finding the exit.

…

…

…

the only other way out was through brute force. charlie gazed towards one of the windows, it seemed to have a door… leading where though?

-

“Where do you think you are going?”

“Once one of you dies, you will not have any memory of this.”

“The only thing deviants have done in the past led to failure: the success rate? It went to a negative, how any of that is possible really says something about your kind ”

-

where to now…  

…

...

charlie spots an opening in one of the walls, some kind of graffiti litter the entryway. it seems that they’ve stumbled upon a camp? 

a radio is in the middle of playing a tune; travis looks like he’s just struck gold. the other takes this moment to formulate a plan.

i’ll swim and sail the savage seas…

with never fear of drowning…

carson freezes when they are met with an army of turrets staring them down.

the other quick pulls him down, having put down two portals facing each other. 

nor scorching sun or freezing cold,

will stop me on my journey…

they’re done for: charlie’s stuck in one of the piles of trash on the conveyor belt. travis is doing his best to free him but they are only getting closer to the fiery death in front of them.

“go!” just in time.

travis hangs off the side of the metal rails, charlie’s hand tightly in his. nothing is going to prevent them from escaping

i’ve no need for mighty deeds…

when i feel your arms around me…

00:52

a few more seconds till the whole facility shuts down along with GLaDOS.

“c’mon!” josh holds the door open for the other two.

00:38

00:20

00:11

00:10

they’re inside! charlie squeezes travis tightly in his arms, the other’s attention all on him. 

to love and kiss and sweetly hold,

for the dancing and the dreaming,

through all  life’s sorrows

and delights…

…

…

they’re finally free… josh and carson leave the other two, starting their own journey. charlie and travis bask in sunlight, taking everything that had just happened in. 

the birds chirping in the distance, the sound of the wind blowing, the natural light source from above shining brightly, everything’s going to be fine.

i’ll swim and sail the savage seas

with never fear of drowning…

i’ll gladly ride the waves of white

if you will marry me,

…

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