Chapter Text
Really, she wasn’t sure what she expected – a glaring dull building stood before her, creaking and looming over her like a wizened matriarch.
Perhaps she had hoped for a nicer place, and she paused to think of what that would be as she narrowed her eyes at the hostile structure. A place with an intact roof – she marched forward and slipped her hands between the cracks of the tiles. A place with a soft cold bed – she pried the tile off with her hands, peering inside. A place with dim lights that didn’t buzz – it was dark within the building but there was just enough light for her to make out a path between the large metal beams blocking the majority of the floor and the leaves rotting on the branches that lay limp intertwined with them.
A place that- she tripped, her knee knocking on the metal and blooming with a bruise – that was far away from here.
Unfortunately, this was the location that the Administrator had given her. Even now, she wished she was back in the office.
-
It always smells thickly of cigarette smoke but she would give anything to breath in the almost liquid smog that brought her comfort. Medic had advised her against it (he had lost his medical license yet he was still concerned for her health) but she had little choice in the matter.
Even now, the voice of her commander rings in her head – a mantra for her to continue. Every little detail is etched in her mind, the small flick of the wrinkled wrist as ash sheds itself from the cigarette and the barely audible coughing in the back of the Administrator’s throat. On the old, carefully stitched together leather chair (it must have cost a fortune, Miss Pauling guessed, with how long it had lasted), she had slid to look at her assistant – turned her cold face towards Miss Pauling.
“I trust you know how to get in there,” She spoke, her voice dripping with boredom as her eyes flicked occasionally back to the green glowing monitors stationed in front of her. “It’s a simple in-and-out mission. No clean-ups will be necessary but you will be equipped with your regular kit.”
By ‘regular kit’ she meant enough rations for a week, a spare change of clothes, a gun (along with some bullets, of course), a pocket knife, a sleeping bag and a device she can use to contact the Administrator when (when not if, she reminded herself) she has completed her mission. In the following days, she prepared other things. Not too much, of course, but little keepsakes like her lavender hair-clip.
She had painted her nails a similar color at least two days before she was scheduled to leave but it had chipped on her left hand when she was searching in the storage for files that the Administrator had requested (on some people Miss Pauling didn’t know about and probably shouldn’t waste her time caring about – it wasn’t like they were going to live long). Frankly, that was expected without any time to apply a top-coat or bottom-coat but she couldn’t help the twinge of disappointment in the pit of her stomach at the sight of the chipped nail polish. Small pleasures like this in her life were just that – small.
Regardless, the rest of her preparations held up nicely – all stuffed into a bag. Apart from the tent, it was unable to fit in the bag so she decided to go without it. She could sleep under the stars or next to her moped… Probably.
Said moped was sitting patiently a distance away. She had hidden it away within a patch of brambles. Of course it was completely on purpose that she placed it there, it certainly hadn’t been an accident that she’d driven into them while looking at the map (she could only hope she would find a way to get it out). It had been a slight trek to get to the site and she had only taken her gun, knife and a small amount of food with her for the journey. The rest of it could be used later once she was out of the facility.
-
Speaking of which, she had finally made it past the barricade of metal beams and bushes and now stood before the large ominous sign hung in the entrance’s interior.
‘APERTURE SCIENCE’.
The name itched at her brain as she tried to recall all the information given to her about it by the Administrator. It had been abandoned for years and years, that was clear, but she had been told it wasn’t exactly… Normal. The technology within it doesn’t add up to their world’s technology timeline – nor the language they used within the lab. The Administrator had informed her that, while everything within the building was a form of advanced technology, magic was unknowingly at play. The place she was about to walk into was in its own isolated time-bubble, being many many years in the future. They weren’t exactly sure what had caused it but it wasn’t the first time this had happened.
And, of course, the technology inside was infinitely valuable to them due to it.
She understood. It was literally future technology! Why wouldn’t they want it? However, there was a catch (there always was with this type of thing, she noted). She had been told there was a high number of deaths surrounding this place – experiments gone wrong, robots, all of that deterring stuff.
So, obviously, she was here.
Other than the time situation and the unnaturally high rate of deaths, there was only one other concern. It was rumored that a lot of the people formerly within the facility were dead or in a vegetative state but witnesses – ones who were smart enough to drop everything they had and run – said they were certain there was one person alive in there. There weren’t any reports on an appearance as it seems most adventurers just checked the system rather than the place they were held itself.
Either way, she was reassured that the person was held in a form of suspended animation from the data taken and given to the Administrator.
Walking underneath the blocks of text, she found herself wandering deeper into the dilapidated structure. It felt weirdly beautiful despite it all. The greens wove themselves into the formerly pristine white walls, now dirtied with the weathering and the shackles of time. Occasionally she saw the beginnings of flowers blooming or budding in areas with more sunlight but, as she went deeper and deeper into the belly of the building, they became more and more scarce.
Some parts of the technology embedded in the walls seemed functional and the hum of electricity rung deep in the air. Wires and vines mingled, her hand gripping onto them on occasion as she slid down precarious slopes and clambered down from one platform to another. She was sure she heard talking in the distance but it sounded tinny. Perhaps it was some robotic protocol left over after abandonment? It didn’t seem like something that would concern her right now so she just kept on moving.
What concerned her more was the fact every time she stood on something – it wobbled. No matter how gently she pressed her flats down or how little weight she tried to put on something, it would shift below her. Even when she stood on something solid, she was sure it would collapse below her. Above her, a similar problem presented itself as the tiles occasionally tilted towards her as she pushed past long plants that brushed against them.
It wasn’t long before something fell. She hadn’t expected it to be herself.
A yelp escaped her as she tumbled down
and down
and down
and down until
BAM!
-
She had hit the floor, her head thudding against something and knocking her unconscious for an unknown amount of time. When she awoke, her mouth was as dry as the New Mexico desert. Shit.
Kicking like a turtle on its back until she managed to pull herself up, she gasped for air as she felt her chest constrict. She can’t fail now- What time is it? Her head whipped from side to side as she tried to figure out where she was and how long she had been here. It was dark.
Her upper set of teeth gnawed on her lower lip, calculations flitting through her mind. She had gone into the place at around noon and spent what she thought was several hours in the place and then she got knocked out and it’s dark… Dammit. She should’ve packed a watch!
A long groan left her mouth as her body suddenly registered the fact she was awake and could feel pain now. Every bruise and injury hit her at once, along with a nausea that made her hand grip her stomach instinctively. Curling over, she tried to focus on once thing at a time. She could move, that was good, it was a start- Still, she felt ill… but it might be hunger?
Her hand flew to the rations she had brought with her, tucked away in a small pack she had attached to her belt. It was loosely attached with a black (originally blue but she painted over it with nail polish to present neutrally to the RED team) carabiner Dell had given her so she was surprised it remained on her belt at all and hadn’t unclipped during the tumble. Bringing out the rations, she nibbled away at them as she tried to formulate a plan.
A plan for what exactly?
She… Had no idea.
To get blueprints or some tech is a priority, she decided – forming a vague outline of a plan inside her mind. To try and not die is second on the list of important things. Mission goes first, personal safety goes second. Another wince escapes her as she shuffles her limbs into a more comfortable sitting position. At least all of her body worked and she didn’t seem to be bleeding out. It wasn’t an ideal state to be in but it wasn’t the worst she’s felt.
Her eyes began to look around and she quickly realized her glasses had flown off her face. The darkness from before was retreating; in its place the world was blurry. She could see better without her glasses than Medic – but not well enough.
After finishing off her rations, she scooted forward on the floor. It felt more stable below her than she expected as she shuffled around. Unfortunately, the subtle darkness was enough for her glasses to blend in with her surroundings. For a while, she felt like a strange octopus creature – reaching around and grabbing random things.
Eventually her hand did land on her glasses and she picked them up, gently brushing off as much dirt from the lenses as she could with the edge of her skirt. Putting them on, she realized that – while there was a small crack in one of them – they were much more intact than she had expected them to be. Small wins!
Now that her vision was less impaired, she took the time to look around. Oh fuck, she thought. Her jaw fell, her mouth now hung open.
She had landed on something solid, yes, but this solid thing was suspended in the air. There could be metal beams holding it up but she couldn’t tell from this angle. All that she saw was how it attached to something above her with metal rope-like things. It reminded her of how people would move cargo containers – except she was on one now.
Her breathing began to quicken again before she noticed a hatch of some kind to her left. It wasn’t quite central to the platform, more on her left than her right. It seemed like it led somewhere. Good, alright. Maybe this would give her more answers. Even if it didn’t, it would mean she might be less likely to fall of the thing if it began to move around.
On her knees (she didn’t want to stand, she couldn’t stand – not on this thing!), she crawled over to the hatch. There wasn’t an easy way to open it so it took her several minutes clawing at the unopened entrance before she managed to use a nearby piece of metal debris to pry it open. A couple metallic snaps rang out and she paused…
That didn’t sound great but she was fairly certain she had just broken the hatch and not the thing she was kneeling on itself. There was only one way to find out.
Her eyes flickered around as she tried to make out what she was seeing from within. It looked like… An ordinary room. Run down, yes, the walls had dulled and it was nowhere near perfect but there was mostly intact furniture with no plants invading it. It was kept in decent condition. Maybe there was some damage from humidity but the wallpaper was still attached to the wall. It looked like a well-used hotel room rather than a place usually filled with laboratories. From the corner of her eye, she could even see a bed!
Gingerly, she began to lower her legs through the hole. She made sure to try and aim for a spot without any furniture on the carpeted floor. It took a lot of shuffling forward and mentally hyping herself up before she finally dropped onto the ground below her. She would love to say it was a graceful landing but – when her feet hit the ground – she hadn’t realized how much momentum would be caused and she ended up falling forward. She can at least say she caught herself with her outstretched arms hitting the floor before she could fall flat on her face but she was still embarrassed.
Standing up and dusting her tights off (the holes on the sides of them had grown wider. Internally, she groaned at this realization but there wasn’t much she could do until she saved up enough money for a few new pairs since all her current ones had holes in them), she allowed herself a brief moment to collect herself. Automatically, her hand reached up to push the glasses further up her nose as she began to take in her new environment.
It was colder than she’d expected, as evident from the small clouds of smoke-like puffs that came from her mouth as she breathed, but it didn’t seem to matter. For some strange reason, the air around her was full of humidity – it wasn’t until she looked at the bed that she understood why.
There was a person there.
A million thoughts rushed through Miss Pauling’s head as she stood, jaw agape, looking at the person. Her blood had turned to ice and she froze – a short distance away from them. They had dark brown hair styled into a ratty ponytail with tanned skin and furrowed eyebrows. Although the rest of their body appeared peaceful, they seemed filled with a determination that shone even as they slept through the minor wrinkles resting snug on their forehead. On their shoulders, Miss Pauling noted the straps of a shirt but she couldn’t see their full outfit as they were mostly under the covers of the bed.
She tried not to stare for too long but she felt a rush of mixed emotions at the mere sight of this new being. Tamping down some of the more unnecessary ones (she could not have these thoughts on a mission. She tried to ignore the fact she was almost always on a mission), she focused on the one big question invading her mind.
Was it the one person she was not meant to encounter?
With the smallest sharpest breath in she could manage, she tried to steel her nerves as she made her way around to the side of the bed where the person was resting. Resting? She cursed herself internally – she was already assuming herself to be correct. This could ruin the whole mission – or maybe it could save it? She needed help getting around the facility and perhaps she could ask this beautiful stranger for help.
Beautiful? She shook her head, only a few footsteps away from where she needed to be now. Unprofessional thoughts could be saved for later, she reminded herself. This was not the time or place.
After taking a few moments to let the rising blush slowly leave her features, she took the last strides over to the bed and began to examine the person on a professional level. Primarily, there were two things she needed to test – two tasks to accomplish. One, was the person breathing?
Looking closely, she could see the rising and falling of the covers over the person’s chest. This was promising but she needed to make sure it was of real breathing and not some sort of robot situation. With a steady hand, she took off her glasses and placed the glass areas beneath the nose of the person. On the surface, small foggy pools appeared and that confirmed it for Miss Pauling.
This person was real, they were breathing and they were almost certainly the person that she was supposed to never meet or see.
Fuck.
Placing the glasses on her face (after wiping off the lingering memory of a breath on the edge of her shirt of course), she tried to think of the silver lining she had made earlier. If she played her cards right, this person could be of huge help to her. Kneeling down beside the bed, she began to plan. Obviously they weren’t awake yet but she was certain she could at least try and wake them up.
-
It turns out, she could not.
Her first tactic was to gently clear her voice. Then, after that didn’t work, harshly clear her voice. No reaction. She partly expected this but it was still a little disappointing. Her voice came out crackly from her throat as she began to speak. “Hello?”
Still no response. Again, she had a feeling this would happen. She had hoped it wouldn’t but in hindsight, it was fairly obvious the person was in a deep sleep.
Next, since audio cues didn’t seem to work, she tapped on their shoulder. Their skin was colder than she’d expected below her finger and she startled. It really felt like touching a dead body! But the breathing proved her status as alive, so this couldn’t be the case. It was probably since she wasn’t moving a lot so the lack of racing blood made her colder – at least, that’s what Miss Pauling assumed. She had hesitated with the touch to begin with but once she had taken that first step, she found it easier to move onto the next step. Carefully, she shook the other’s shoulder instead.
She paused, allowing time for any sort of reaction. But there was nothing. Another shake. Still nothing. Getting desperate, she began to shake the other person more and more and more and more and more-
But there was no reaction. The bed cover had slipped a bit off of them and their hair was more tangled but their body remained still – aside from the breathing.
Why was she so desperate for the other to wake up? Just to goddamn wake up?
She didn’t want to confront it but she was lost here and she needed someone to guide and help her right now. There were no maps and she didn’t know how long her food would last before she began to starve and-
Her hand slipped below her glasses as she dug the heels of her hands into her eyes as she tried not to cry. She was certain her wobbly eyeliner would smudge – some of the minimal amount of make-up she had time to put on her face – but she really didn’t care. Her focus was on not crying and emptying the pit of despair swimming in her stomach. She couldn’t afford it right now. Literally. She wasn’t sure how dehydrated she was right now but she didn’t have a huge amount of water and crying would release too much for it to be allowed.
After she had composed herself, she sat up and took in a few deep calming breaths. She had this, she just needed to find a new way to wake the person up. And maybe find out their name… She couldn’t just keep calling them ‘the person’ in her head.
But, before she could do that, she heard something. A whirring.
On instinct, she ducked and rolled under the bed. She wasn’t sure if it was a gun or a robot or whatever they had here but she knew she had to fall out of sight before whatever it was noticed her. Her heart beat filled her ears and she felt the delayed reaction of carpet burn on her knees – as well as a bruise forming where she had accidentally hit her elbow on the bed frame.
There was a moment where everything seemed to pause, and she gingerly turned her head so she could see out from under the bed more. Was it just her imagination…? She needed to sleep more-
The bed creaked and her head snapped up to look at the base of the bed. She didn’t need to have x-ray vision to know what was happening above her. The whirring continued and she noted how it was coming from somewhere to her right but she was now focused on the fact that the person above her was moving.
She shuffled out from under the bed and coughed at the dust that swirled around her from being under there. As she stumbled to her feet, her hand was focused on clawing out the spiderweb in her hair and her mind didn’t register the fact the person was now sitting up half-way and staring at her.
When she did, her startled green eyes widened as she met confused and suspicious hazel ones. Miss Pauling rushed to straighten herself up, trying to wipe off any remaining dust with little success. She flashed the other girl an awkward smile. “Hi! Sorry for the weird uhm… First meeting but I’m Miss Pauling and I found you here and I’m kinda really lost so I was wondering if you could help me find…”
She trailed off as it became apparent the other wasn’t listening to her. Instead, she seemed distracted by her own room. Miss Pauling saw as her face hardened in her newly lucid state, overcome with a resigned annoyance that Miss Pauling had only ever seen Spy wear so fully. It gave her a deep sense of deja vu.
Now fighting the feeling of being timid, Miss Pauling spoke up again. “What’s your name?”
Without a verbal response, the other flipped up the jumpsuit that was bunched around her waist and showed a tag to her. Miss Pauling leaned over and adjusted her glasses as she looked at the now visible tag. It was clearly hand-made but it read ‘Chell’. “Chell! I see. Nice to meet you, Chell.”
Miss Pauling extended a hand for a handshake but Chell just looked at her, suspicion still in her eyes.
Eventually, after an awkward pause, Miss Pauling lowered her hand and tried to move on the topic. “Okay! So, do you know how to leave this place? It’s difficult to find an exit and I thought you might know since you’re… Here.”
Chell, now removing the covers from over the lower half of her body – allowing Miss Pauling to see the boots on (wow those are weird looking boots, she thought, but they look like they would provide a better landing than normal shoes with those enhancements) – looked thoughtful for a moment. She nodded and was about to reply, her lips parting-
“Good Morning!” A warped robotic voice sounded and the two girls snapped their heads towards the corner where the noise had come from. It was a blue glowing screen that hung from the ceiling, the thick monitor reminding Miss Pauling of the ones back in the Administrator’s office. “You have been in suspension for: nine, nine, nine, nine, nine … Nine, nine-”
Miss Pauling instinctively stumbled back, hiding around the corner and nearby a wooden door that goes to god knows where considering she saw no hallway while resting on the top of the room. She was aware she wasn’t meant to be here and maybe her presence could interrupt some coding that was meant for Chell or-
“Hello? Anybody in there?” Another robotic voice overlapped with the voice coming out of the screen. It was distinctly a more masculine British voice that – while clearly coming from a machine – sounded a lot more alive than the other pre-programmed voice did. She flinched as whoever was on the other side knocked on the door three times. “Hello? … Are you gonna.. Open the door?”
A gust of air buffeted Miss Pauling as Chell, upon hearing the new voice, marched past her and yanked open the door – almost bringing it off of its creaky hinges.
What they were greeted with was… Not what Miss Pauling expected.
It was a metal orb, in the most simple description. A robot with one massive light in the center of it, glowing bright blue. As it moved, she realized the middle of it behaved like a camera lens – zooming in and out, resembling a pupil dilating. Two metal flaps began moving up and down, practically like eyelids. Essentially, it was a robot eyeball with two black handles. It hung from the ceiling on a rail that looked like a modified train track. How on earth had it knocked on the door? She pondered. It didn’t have any arms! Did it just bash itself against the door three times?
Quite rudely in Miss Pauling’s opinion, it screamed upon seeing Chell. “Oh God. You look ter- uh uhm. Good! Looking good, actually.”
Both Chell and her began moving back into the main room as it led the way along the rail, the sound of it moving sounding like a whirring noise. She was surprised it hadn’t responded to the fact she was also here when she was clearly not meant to be and instead its eye (body… Thing) remained fixed on Chell. “Are you okay? How- Are you- W- Don’t answer that. I’m actually sure you’re fine. There’s plenty of time for you to recover. Just take it-”
Another robot interrupted, announcing over the speakers: “Please prepare for emergency evacuation.”
The orb continued, albeit a lot more panicked this time. In a shout, he blurted out his next words. “Stay calm! St- Stay calm. Prepare, that’s all they’re saying, prepare. It’s all fine, alright.”
As he spoke, he moved towards the hatch Miss Pauling had broken in through. He rotated during his monologue, moving animatedly and lively as if gesturing. It was so human that it made her feel strange… It was as if this was an actual person rather than a strange metal sphere. It was only as he reached the hatch that he noticed Miss Pauling – his pupil shrinking and ‘eye’ (that’s what she’s going to call it from now on) widening. “Oh there are two of you. That- Well that wasn’t what I- Okay it’s fine, I can work with this.”
“Hi, I’m Miss Pauling-” She tries to greet him but he quickly shakes his ‘head’ (again, just his body but it’s easier to talk about him like he’s a person).
“There’s time to talk later just- We have to get going. Don- Don’t panic!” He tries to reassure them again as if they were about to fall into a panic when they clearly weren’t – Chell’s expression was just looked mildly interested but mostly pissed. Miss Pauling wasn’t certain about her own expression but there was a high chance she looked concerned and confused – at least, that’s how she felt. “It’s just a normal normal situation… That we’re preparing for.”
Tilting her head, Miss Pauling turned fully to look at Chell as if to see how she should be reacting but the other simply looked back at her and shrugged. Well, it looks like neither of them know what’s happening – at least there’s some comfort in solidarity?
… No, she was not comforted by this.
“Don’t move, I’m gonna get us out of here.” He spoke up again, beginning to rise through the hatch but continuing to talk as he did so. She sorely wished she knew how he worked – Engineer would know. Speaking of the mercenary… She was wondering if she could take either this orb’s blueprints or him entirely back to the base. Maybe he could be studied, picked apart and figured out.
She tried not to feel guilty about thinking of this. He seemed helpful so far. Kind of.
He continued to speak through Miss Pauling’s train of thought. “Oh! You might wanna hang on to something. Word of advice, up to you.”
Before she could ask what that even meant, a loud noise filled the air. Suddenly, she felt the room begin to shake.
Oh God.
She clung onto the corner of the wall and watched as Chell just stood next to the bed, unmoving. Was she seriously not going to take the advice? Or maybe she knew what she was doing? It was difficult to tell when her face remained in the same pissed off expression.
Unluckily for Miss Pauling, her hold on the wall was not exactly the best idea and – when the room lurched forward – she felt herself slip away from it very easily and quickly. She had just a few moments where she felt the air leave her lungs. Luckily for Miss Pauling, Chell reacted quickly and efficiently with an arm around her waist stopping her from falling over entirely. Now, instead of clinging to the wall, Miss Pauling found herself clinging to the other woman.
Normally, she would be embarrassed about this. She’s seen many movies about this moment – where one catches the other by the hip and it’s a fluster-filled scene full of tension – but in reality this was a life or death situation and she could be embarrassed about it when she felt solid ground beneath her feet.
Around her, the carefully placed items in the room began to fall and roll around. It felt like an earthquake. From outside of the room, the voice of the sphere piped up again. “You alright down there? Can you hear me? Hello?”
Miss Pauling chose to copy Chell’s silence – aside from the occasional muttered swearing as she tried to not throw up.
Soon, the shaking slowed and the whirring made by the orb came back into hearing range. Through the hole (formerly the hatch), he returned with words spilling out of him as if it was second nature. “Most test subjects do experience some- uh- cognitive deterioration, after a few months in suspension…”
Chell started, looking the most alarmed Miss Pauling had seen her – even if it was just a slight eye widen. It was only now Miss Pauling noticed herself continuing to cling to the other but she chose to stay in position – she had a feeling the turbulence wouldn’t be over and, although it was embarrassing, she would rather be temporarily embarrassed than get tossed around.
“Now you’ve been under.. For quite a lot longer-” His eye ‘popped’ out so to speak and it reminded Miss Pauling of someone adjusting their glasses. “- and it’s not out of the question that you might have… A veryyy minor case of.. Serious brain damage.”
“Minor?” Miss Pauling muttered under her breath, looking at the orb with an incredulous gaze.
“But don’t be alarmed, alright?” He continued, unable to hear what Miss Pauling had said. “Although if you do- if you do feel alarmed, try to hold onto that feeling! Because that is the proper reaction to being told that you’ve got brain damage.”
At Chell’s lack of reaction, the orb began trying to gain a response. “Do you understand.. What I’m saying? At all- Does any of this.. Make any sense?”
Chell didn’t say anything.
“Just tell me, just say yes,” He asked, further encouraging anything from her. Miss Pauling remained silent but Chell did begin to move.
By ‘move’, Miss Pauling meant do a little jump. She wasn’t sure why Chell did that but she had to jump along with her due to the fact she was… Well, still clinging to her.
“Okay, what you’re doing there is jumping. Uh, you just- you just jumped. But never mind, say apple. Apple.”
Chell then jumped again and it caused Miss Pauling to let out giggles of hysterical laughter. She looked up to see Chell’s eyes dart towards her and – was that a flicker of a smile? Interesting.
Then, all of a sudden, an alarm blared through the room and her laughter instantly ceased. She clung tighter onto Chell.
“Okay, you know what, that’s close enough- Just hold tight,” Once more, he ascended through the hole in the ceiling as the noises continued to scream – a distressed beeping soon joining in.
“What’s-” Miss Pauling tried to start speaking but she was soon interrupted.
The robotic voice from the monitor before began to talk again. “All reactor core safeguards are now non-functional. Please prepare for reactor core meltdown.”
“Reactor core safeguards? What’s happening?” Miss Pauling could feel her eyes widen and her mouth remained in a taut frown as she stared at Chell, desperately searching for answers in her expression.
Before Chell could say anything in response – looking back at Miss Pauling with a scrunched brow – the wall in front of them shattered as if it were made of glass.