ғʀᴀɢɪʟᴇ

HELLO LADY 

I, THE GREAT WHEATLEY, HAS ALWAYS DREAMT OF APOLOGIZING TO YOU

NYEH HEH HEH

The thing was, Chell didn’t exactly… fit in with the other humans quite so well. Her story wasn’t exactly relatable to them, now, was it? Plus, she wasn’t the most… personable person out there, to put things simply.

So, in a sense, it was indeed rather boring for her as well. And maybe that’s why she’d decided to come out here today. Almost as if she was looking for something.

     –And, well, she found him.

Chell wasn’t exactly quite sure how to feel about that. But yes, she was sure now that it definitely was him, even if she didn’t know how it could be.

    –And he seemed to be just as wary as she was, which rather surprised her. He… was waving to her…?

Well… he didn’t seem to have ill intentions, but she wasn’t going to decide that yet given their history. 

Marching right up to him suddenly, her silver eyes betrayed curiosity rather than anger as her hand shot up to lightly seize his chin. She turned his head a bit, seeming to be examining him for a few moments before letting go, satisfied?

                “How.” 

That was, until she started making quick pace towards him. Wheatley couldn’t help but feel threatened by such an approach. Possibilities began rolling in his head of whether she’d punch him or dismember him or just straight up murder him and he briefly considered the option to run.

She had that look on her face that said she was trying to solve a puzzle. Except now the puzzle was him. All in all, she didn’t seem angry with him, just more... curious? Hopefully that didn’t entail violence, because he had subconsciously decided to plant his feet in the ground to keep himself from running. 

This, however, did not stop him from flinching.

He felt the pads of her fingers press into the synthetic flesh around his chin and he shivered, trying to play it cool, despite mentally preparing for the worst. A very nervous laugh was vented through his teeth while he watched her with wide and faintly luminescent eyes. His glasses were skewed slightly from forced head movement but she didn’t really do anything.

Yes, she only seemed to be... examining his body. It was very obviously android with all the lights being showcased from his suit, but other than that, it was rather human-like.      --And, half covered in soot.

Even if it weren't for the mess, he definitely wasn’t the most attractive thing ever but... it was fairly more mobile than his previous core, so he had to give it that.

“W-wellzzzchh--" his small speaker crackled, obviously very damaged, "hahah, I...” he had begun to start answering ‘how’ before he even realised it was her that had spoken. 

He paused as the soft, yet stern, straight-to-the-point voice resonated quietly in his audials.

“W-w-wait...”

For a moment, he stared at her, just trying to make sure if he had processed that right. All that time she went without talking in the facility... why now? What had happened since their... falling out? Wrapping his hands over hers as she pulled away from his face, his eyes stared straight at her in genuine interest.

    Never in her wildest dreams did she ever expect to see him again. Perhaps the shock was even evident in her usually expressionless features. Maybe he was just a mirage of some sort, a picture conjured by her guilt-laden mind.

Maybe it wasn’t even him, who knew. But the sight brought back memories in full force and she wasn’t quite sure what to do; body overriding mind, she simply–

It was boring. 

All of this freedom felt empty and surreal without any one else to talk to and keep him grounded to reality. For all he knew, he could still be up in space in his little core body, orbiting endlessly around the Earth’s moon. Any moment now, he’d wake up and find out this was all some hyper realistic ‘Earth Simulation’. He damn sure would have begun to believe it too, if his wandering hadn’t led him to her just now.

Her, yes, her, the lady. The woman from the lab. He could have sworn back and forth that was her standing not a few metres from him.

He froze just as fast as she had, unwillingly submitting himself into a two-way stare down. As he studied her, his lights began to glow brighter in a mix of excitement and fear. She appeared different somehow--at least different than she had appeared back in the lab, but it was definitely her, and damn, he felt horrible.

More than anything, he wanted to rush over there and... touch her: like a hug or something--ANYTHING to just make sure she was actually there--but he hadn’t said sorry or even apologized for any of those horrible, monstrous things he’d done and he’s not even sure if he articulately could.

His mouth opened to speak but he stopped. He wasn’t even sure if she would recognize him in this silly looking android body anyway. In fact, she seemed pretty defensive, as if she was poised to attack. There was no telling how she would react to some weird entity just throwing apologies at her, so he figured he should at least try and take it slow.

Hesitantly, he lifts a hand and waves, giving the gesture an accompanying sheepish smile.

It’s a complicated system, but so far I figured out:

Hello =  Jump

Bye = Jump

Thanks = Jump

Sorry = Jump

Help! = Jump

I’m new = Jump

I’m bored = Jump a lot

I don’t know the way = Jump in a circle

I know the way = Jump in a direction

I found something = Jump on the spot

All of this was much more breezy and much more full of life than space had been. He was thankful to be back down on Earth and filled with serenity.

[So, you are in Aperture... I was afraid of that, honestly. I’m not sure there’s much I could do for you, love.] 

...There was plenty he could do for her and he knew it. 

[U-underground?] He took a quick glance at the dirt beneath him. The facility was underground... she could be in there--god, he hoped not. He hoped she just meant a mine shaft or something. At least then he could go try and help this mysterious lady because he definitely wasn’t keen on going back into Aperture for any reason.

                【✘】   –     [Is anyone there?]

But suddenly waking in a field, he heard a voice. He glanced around expecting to see someone, but all he saw was plant life lit by moonlight for miles.

It must have been his comm.