Work Text:
Pearl groaned as she fired yet another portal at yet another white wall. She was certainly starting to feel like moon was going in circles here. With nothing but CLeOS' voice, constantly berating her, it was starting to feel hopeless that she'd ever escape. But… That kind of thinking wouldn't help moon escape. Clutching her portal gun tightly in her hands, she jumped into the blue portal on the floor, and flung herself through it.
The rush of wind whooshed past Pearl's ears, and moon felt a familiar rush of adrenaline as moon landed on their feet. She was, as ever, particularly glad of the existence of Long-Fall Boots, allowing her to land squarely on her feet—without breaking any ankles! Stopping for a moment to catch moon's breath, Pearl lent against the wall. Her legs hurt, as per usual. Moon's knees, ankles, thighs, calves, all of it. It just… Hurt. It hurt so- At Pearl's touch, the panel crumbled away. She jerked away. Nope. Moon should know by now: There is no stopping to rest in Aperture Science. No matter how much everything hurt. Whether it be the turrets, poised and ready to shoot; the lasers, burning hot, intensely bright; the acid goo, hot and sticky and hungry for flesh; or even the ever-present, watchful Eyes of CLeOS, marking her every move, always following, always behind her… Whatever it be, there was always something ready for Pearl, ready to hurt moon. Ready to kill.
Taking a deep breath, Pearl began to run across the catwalk. It broke under her feet, the rusted metal creaking and groaning, until it eventually giving up entirely. Cameras followed Pearl as moon ran. As Pearl reached the end of the catwalk, into a research office, she heard a brief static. And then, their voice.
"Did you know that people with guilty consciences are more easily startled by loud noises—"
A very, very loud train horn played. Pearl jumped out of her skin, heart pounding. Moon turned around, looking for the source of the noise. Of course. Of course, it was just the speakers. Of course it was just them trying to get under her skin.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I don't know why that went off. Anyway, just an interesting science fact!"
The intercom went back to static for a moment, and then turned off.
Why had Pearl jumped? Moon wasn't scared of CLeOS. Not one bit. And she certainly didn't have a guilty conscience. Not for killing them. Not for anything. CLeOS had tried to kill moon so many times. So there was no guilt there, whatsoever. It was just the facility getting to her. Something about this place… Something wasn't right. She'd been here far too long, hadn't seen the sun, or had real air in… Moon didn't even know how long. The only thing she knew was that she'd been… Here… As long as she could remember. It was fine. Moon was fine.
Pearl started, whipping around at a noise. What was that? She ran her fingers through her hair, as she realised it was only a door opening automatically. Moon couldn't be jumping at every single noise. She'd never get anywhere, in that case. Either way, the opening of this door to reveal yet another test chamber meant only one thing: There was yet another test to be completed. Another stupid, pointless test that would almost get Pearl killed. She took a step forward.
Going through an emancipation grill never felt good to Pearl. The closest moon could think of to describe the sensation was like flying on a plane. When you take off, and it feels like your ears are popping, and you're worried that if you move in the wrong way, something bad will happen. But she couldn't remember every flying on a plane, so she supposed it wasn't the best comparison. Letting out a sigh, Pearl stepped fully into the testing chamber. …And there it was—the familiar thunk of the door slamming shut, and bolting itself behind moon. The ever-present Eyes of CLeOS turned to stare into her skull. Pearl was sure they were grinning. Laughing at moon.
Taking a glance around the room, Pearl took in the chamber, trying to work out what she was supposed to do do. Lots of black panels, a few white ones, a lift, a laser… And a Companion Cube. Pearl stared at it, walking forwards slowly. Companion Cubes weren't real. Pearl knew that. They weren't actually friends. They were boxes at best, and just more robots at worst. And yet… She did feel a kind of attachment to it. Pearl ran forwards, outstretching a hand towards it, and—
"Oh. Did I accidentally fizzle that before you could complete the test? I'm so sorry," CLeOS' voice boomed over the intercom, sarcastic and degrading as ever.
'Fuck you,' Pearl replied in moon's head, trying to stop the tears from forming. She could feel her heart heavy in her chest. Moon needs to stop thinking about it. Thinking about the flames eating Tilly up. She should never have gotten attached, and yet… She had.
Solving the test wasn't that difficult. Nor were solving the next few tests. Or the tests after that. As Pearl continued through the abandoned facility, the overgrown and decaying parts were slowly but surely becoming less frequent as CLeOS was working on repairing it all. And yet, the facility was still a maze. Pearl ran through the winding corridors, reaching more test chambers. Into a panel, through the maintenance areas, and… More test chambers. No matter what, she never could seem to escape CLeOS' testing track. Everything hurt, moon wanted to leave. Or at the very least, to rest. But, no. A camera turned to face Pearl, reminding her that she couldn't rest. That she wasn't allowed to rest. That resting was dangerous. Pearl continued onwards, through a doorway, into an office, glancing behind moon, to check the cameras that were watching, always following, always there—
Unlike the testing chambers, the offices were a part of the facility that CLeOS had left untouched. Abandoned. Disregarded. Papers littered the floor, various files on old tests. Pearl glanced at a few. Most of them were about putting people into Personality Cores. Moon turned away. She didn't want to think about the prospect of people being put into cores. Pearl hoped that that wasn't why this facility was abandoned. That all the robots that she'd met thusfar weren't
The tables were lined with old computers, the monitors dusty and decrepit. Clearly, they hadn't been switched on in years. Pearl dodged past them, sure that if she touched them, they'd fall apart instantly. Moon glanced around nervously. This room had no cameras, and yet… She still felt like she was being watched. The computers were clearly not working, but Pearl still walked away from them, to a corner of the office where moon could see everything, but not be stared at by the empty faces of the monitors.
The strain was starting to get to Pearl. She ran her fingers through her hair. Moon so desperately wanted to scream, to yell. But no sound came out of her mouth. It was all too much… Way too much. She wanted out of this stupid place, out of these tests. But the facility loomed ever larger, swallowing moon whole, clinging onto moon tightly so moon could never leave. With no clear exit, not even a clear path, Pearl was close to giving up. Nobody would help her, she doesn't even remember the last human she saw. The closest thing to a guide through this maze were some ominous writings on the wall. Which Pearl could hardly count as another person.
Tears stabbed at Pearl's eyes. The light from the Portal Gun was casting shadows that twisted and warped the walls. They were alive, Pearl was sure of it by now. Everything in this godforsaken Facility was alive. Moon sank down on the wall, sitting down on the floor. Her hoodie was probably getting dirty, she could already tell that chipped paint was clinging to it. Pearl felt so alone. Nothing but CLeOS' berating sarcasm for company. A laugh bubbled out of Pearl's throat. Well… Almost. Almost a laugh, almost a sob. If Pearl was going to die here, moon might as well keep trying to find a way out. Pearl took a deep breath, and stood up.
As CLeOS had said, there's nothing to stop them both from testing for the rest of Pearl's life. Pearl may as well get comfortable.