Chell felt empty.

Ever since she lost to the suction of space and was sent out of Aperture Laboratories, she had felt a hole in her chest. Sure, the freedom was nice; a relief, really, from all the testing she'd been put through. But she was alone and had no idea how to live outside the facility.

Well, actually, that was a lie. She was just fine on her own. She found that making money was easy. She even had a part-time job, something that she hadn't even dealt with in years, and she had a house—left to her by her parents, oddly enough—and it had been a couple months of settling and getting adjusted to a regular sleeping schedule, as well as cooking for herself and wearing proper clothing. Normal living things.

But she was lonely. Chell had grown used to the torment and fatigue that GLaDOS gave her in testing. She actually, though she hated admitting it even to herself, missed the testing. And the teasing. She knew that GLaDOS was only saying things to trigger a reaction that she would never get. Chell knew deep down, GLaDOS cared about her. If she didn't she would not have saved Chell. She would have left her to die, to float around in space.

With Wheatley.

A pang of guilt shot through Chell's heart. Wheatley was drifting through space—not quite alone, he had the space core—with his thoughts haunting him.

Chell knew that Wheatley regretted his actions. The moment he disconnected from GLaDOS's main control board, he wanted Chell to stop, but it was too late. Things from the "lair" he'd made began flying through the portal Chell made to the moon, including Chell and Wheatley.

"Grab me! Grab me! Grab meeee!" Wheatley yelled. Chell had tried to hold on tight to him as they stayed in space, but before she could secure her firm grip, GLaDOS's claw snapped through the portal, threw Wheatley deep into space, and saved Chell, pulling her back into the safety of the facility.

Not long after that, GLaDOS kicked Chell out into the world, with a companion cube, to teach her a lesson. Chell, at the time, had been grateful for the release. She left quickly and quietly, silently vowing never to return, even to that little shed in the field.

Lately, Chell had been having graphic, vivid nightmares about it. What she did. What she didn't do. What she could have done.

Wheatley's pleading to be saved.

God, she missed him. His strange idiosyncrasies. His accent. The hesitation he had when he was nervous. Even the way he gave up and allowed Chell to figure things out. She missed the comfort he gave her. He talked to her like a person, like a human being, and not just a test subject. And he had become her friend during the short time of cooperation they shared.

He was just a core. A stupidity core, at that. "The dumbest moron who ever lived" as GLaDOS has called him. He was literally designed to dumb her down. And then, when that failed, he was put in charge of all of the test subjects. He was told to keep them all alive and functioning while they were in the Extended Relaxation Center. And he had actually failed all ten thousand of the subjects… well, except Chell. He… he saved Chell. She survived because somehow, he kept her alive. He even knew the exact room she was in and knew to go to her. He came to save her and try to escape with her. He put his faith in her—

She wasn't focusing. What had happened was the past. It no longer mattered.

Chell sat quietly in her living room on her companion cube, staring at the starch white walls around her. She didn't have any decorations yet and had very little furniture. She did, however, have a radio sitting bare in the corner with soft background music playing on 85.2, Aperture's own radio station.

Tears sprang in her eyes and she swallowed back the bile that was rising in her throat. She was at war with herself. There had to be a way to fill that void, but she couldn't let herself think of it.

Chell decided that she was going to break her vow. She was going back, back to the place that kept her nightmares vividly terrifying; she was going back to Aperture. She was going to seek out GLaDOS. And she was going to destroy everything that she spent years trying to build up. Her stubborn wall of defiance was going to be brought down, and she was going to hope that GLaDOS didn't completely defile her heart.

Her mind made up, Chell stood up and patted her companion cube before running to her bedroom and ripping open her closet. She shoved all of the clothes over to the side and pulled out the outfit that she would never let go of. That grungy orange jumpsuit with the sweat-stained white Aperture Laboratories tank top. At the sight of it, her fear sprung up in her and tinged her, but she was too determined to get to GLaDOS and fix things. She was going to get Wheatley back.

She slipped out of her regular clothes and pulled on the test subject outfit, tying the top half of the jumpsuit around her waist like she used to. Chell felt like she was slipping back, into the past, where her stubbornness was the only thing that kept her alive. She sat on her bed and pulled on the long fall boots that, though fashionable, she hadn't worn in ages. She stood and felt lighter and more agile.

Chell grabbed her house key off her bedside table, sliding it into her pocket and patting it snuggly into place. She was mentally preparing herself for the journey back to the accursed facility that was the contamination of her existence.

As she walked out the front door, she remembered her companion cube and blew it a goodbye kiss before pulling the door shut and locking it behind her. Knowing it was an unhealthy relationship she had with the cube didn't bother her anymore, not as much as it used to. It was the only thing that she had of her past that she would even want to hold on to, and it was one of her only friends. She couldn't cast it off, not after she had willingly had it incinerated at one point. She felt like she owed this inanimate object something, and companionship was all she could think to offer.

She walked down the sidewalk—she didn't quite have a license yet, though that was one of the next steps to readjusting to outside life—until she reached the bus stop with the route that would lead to the outside of town. Once outside, she would walk for little over an hour until she reached that dreaded shed, where she needed to go.

An old, slightly clunky bus came rumbling up the road and came to a slow, squeaky stop. The door opened and revealed the only person outside of work and her companion cube that she knew the name of and had a relationship with.

"Roger!" Chell's expression brightened up as she boarded the bus and dropped her $1.35 bus fare into the little metal change box.

"Hey, Rochelle, what bring you here to my bus today? Got to work?" Roger tipped his hat and looked at her, a brief look of confusion crossing his face before he smiled a genuine smile that showed his yellowed teeth and made his forehead wrinkle. The smile reached up and made his eyes wrinkle too, and they sparkled with happiness.

"It's just Chell. And no, no work today. I'm just going to go on a little walk outside of town." She tapped his shoulder and walked into the bus, about halfway back before she stopped and held onto a pole. She avoided any eye contact with the twenty-or-so other passengers. She knew she looked really out of place in her test subject garb—not that she didn't regularly look out of place—and she didn't want to be confronted about it. She could feel some of their eyes practically burning holes into her, and she didn't like it much. She felt out of place already, but she was beginning to get used to it.

Lost in thought about what could potentially happen at the facility, Chell was distracted the whole time and it left the bus ride a blur. What would GLaDOS say? Or do? How would Wheatley act—if they even got that far? Would he absolutely hate her because she failed to save him? She didn't know what she would—or could—do if GLaDOS or Wheatley denied her and she left empty-handed. Chell outwardly shuddered and pushed the thought away, trying to stay optimistic.

"Hey, uh, Chell?" Roger called. Chell looked up and realized that the bus was at a full stop. No one else was left on the bus, except for herself and Roger. She looked at him and smiled sheepishly, then ran to the front of the bus.

"Sorry. Thank you." She ran off the bus without another word and jogged to the all-too-familiar wheat field that she came back into the real world with. The wheat was gone, it was out of season now and soon the cold would come. The sky was a gentle blue, not a cloud in sight. Nostalgia washed over her as she remembered her release, the freedom she was granted months ago. She remembered how good she felt when she had been kicked out of the facility. Sure, she was terrified once the reality sunk in, but she was free. Her torture was over.

And here she was, back again, almost rushing back to the potential imprisonment she faced.

The wind whispered softly to Chell, making her hair caress her face. She brushed the hair back and pulled it into a ponytail, then waited as her shorter hair fell back out. She walked through the field, looking at the dead crop leftovers on the ground. This field was empty now, not much life left, waiting for the restart that would come in a few months. Chell hoped this was a metaphor for her life, for what she was heading to. She felt empty now, but she highly hoped that Wheatley would return and she would get a fresh start soon.

Within the hour, Chell found herself at the little shed that she was thrown out of months ago. It looked completely undisturbed from when she left it, save the fact that the door was now padlocked shut. She stared at the puzzle, already being tested, and noticed a small square of discoloration to the right of the door. Curiosity and determination played with Chell, so she held her hand over the square.

A tiny beep sounded and a computer voice—the voice that woke her from the Extended Relaxation Chamber in order to do some mandatory physical and mental wellness exercise—spoke. "Test Subject Number: One. Hello, and again, welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Center. Please step back and prepare for the immediate detoxification and re-initiation process. We appreciate your willing participation in testing."

The door slid down into the ground and there it was, the elevator that had previously been Chell's freedom ride. She thought she was crazy for willingly taking it back down to her personal hell, but she had to make sacrifices to get what she needed, right?

"Please enter the detoxification elevator at the sound of the buzzer and await further instruction. You will be sent through a series of Material Emancipation Grills and adrenal vapor will be slowly administered into your air supply in order to readjust your system to the testing environment."

Chell did as the computer said as the buzzer sounded. The elevator opened up to her and she stepped in, the door closing behind her. It started slowly sliding down the shaft and she passed through several emancipation grids on the way down. The elevator stopped and she stepped out, falling for a small time before landing gracefully on her long fall boots.

"The Enrichment Center would like to remind you that if you feel liquid running down your neck, relax, lie on your back, and apply immediate pressure to your temples. You are simply experiencing a rare reaction in which the Material Emancipation Grill may have emancipated the ear tubes inside your head."

Chell scoffed and rolled her eyes before letting them fall on the piece of beautiful equipment before her. She grabbed the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device and secured it where it fit comfortably on her arm.

"Hello, and again, welcome to the Aperture Science computer-aided Enrichment Center. Wait. I know you. You." A mechanical arm came through the ceiling and lifted Chell by closing around her midsection. "You aren't getting out of my reach this time."

The mechanical arm pulled Chell through the ceiling and worked her through the tunnels and hidden passageways in the facility until it brought her to the familiar room that GLaDOS resided in.

"So. You're back. I thought I told you not to come back. Am I that irresistible? Do you miss my kind words and motivation? Perhaps the never-ending compliments I give you, and the magical surprises I've given you?"

Chell could hear GLaDOS, but where her main control panel was, her personality core was not. She looked around for GLaDOS and followed many large, thick chords to where she saw a pale android woman with yellow eyes and white hair cropped at her shoulders. A mischievous smile played on her lips, smirking darkly at Chell.

"Do you like my new body? I decided, after the events led by that moron that nearly unraveled and destroyed everything in this facility, that I couldn't leave any room for mistakes. You can't change me out nearly as easily as you did before. Oh, and that stalemate button? Consider it history. And leave it there. In the past. Forever." GLaDOS's arms spread out and moved to emphasize everything she was saying.

Chell was suddenly released by the claw and dropped to the floor, landing without a problem.

"Are you ready for some excruciatingly painful tests? Oh, that reminds me. We never did get to that surprise medical procedure that I was going to give you for your birthday. Should we get to that now? Before we begin" GLaDOS approached the speechless, stern-faced Chell. "Would you like that?" GLaDOS placed a cold, metal hand on Chell's cheek.

"No." The first word Chell had ever said to GLaDOS and it had been an act of defiance. This could potentially go bad.

GLaDOS's eyes opened wide. "You CAN talk… I thought you were a dangerous, mute lunatic! All this time you could speak." She regained her composure. "Well. I suppose that some part of me always knew you could speak. After all, how could a mute have even made it through the preliminaries to becoming a test subject? Let me tell you, it would be incredibly difficult."

"I have to as a favor of you."

GLaDOS's surprise was hard to hide from her face. "You want… you, who killed me once and tried to do it a second time? I cannot believe—"

"I need Wheatley back." Chell's face was steely, not letting onto any of her internal warfare.

Rage showed on GLaDOS's face. Seeing her emotions was something that would take a while to get used to. "You want me to bring that moron back? How would that benefit me in any way? That core that tried to kill me? And you?! The dumbest moron who ever lived? He almost brought down this entire facility! Do you mind explaining this incredibly stupid idea to me? I thought HE was the dumbest moron. It appears he may have some competition." GLaDOS's sarcastic, snarky nature was becoming less and less prominent under her rage.

"I need him. It doesn't even make sense. I should hate him. But I don't." Chell never spoke this much, especially not to someone so dark and cruel, but desperation was taking a hold in her.

A bit of human compassion was coming through; maybe Caroline hadn't been deleted afterward. "Listen, test subject, that sounds like the worst idea I have ever heard."

Chell's eyes filled with tears. "Please, GLaDOS. I'm begging you."

GLaDOS's eyes widened again. She slowly nodded a single time. "It's going to be extremely difficult. First we have to locate where he could be floating around in space." More Caroline was leaking out, Chell could tell. "It could take a long time. And after we locate him, he's going to be put through a lot of excruciating—simulated—pain in order for us to restore his body to his original—"

"Put him in an android."

"Well, if you're having a competition to suggest the most idiotic ideas ever heard by computers, you just beat yourself." GLaDOS's sarcastic self had snapped back into place. "Giving him an android body would give him a lot more power than he had as a core." Her face held a harsh, angry look.

Chell sighed and shook her head. She started to ponder how she could convince GLaDOS to do things her way. Suddenly, an idea that Chell knew she would regret sooner rather than later popped into her head. She couldn't contain herself.

"I'll test for you."

GLaDOS's face brightened up. "What was that? Did I hear you correctly? You'll willingly test for me? For how long?"

"Once a week. For five years."

"That long? I wasn't expecting you to be so serious about this. But, I digress. You have a deal. I'll prepare the test chambers while we locate Wheatley—done and done. Oh, I'm so giddy! You have one week to get yourself mentally and physically prepared for the testing while I transfer Wheatley into the new body and begin the rehabilitation process. I expect to see you then."

Without any other words, GLaDOS kicked Chell back out of the facility. Chell was back in the outside world. She was alone this time around, but that didn't bother her at all. She was beyond excited.

Wheatley was coming back.