One Last Time (Wattys 2015)

Help

"10,000 bottles of beer on the wall. 10,000 bottles of beer. You take one down and pass it around. 9,999 bottles of beer on the wall. Join in o-or not if you prefer" Wheatley tried desperately to lighten the mood. It was going to take a lot more than a cheery sing along. At least it was distracting him from the fact that he still had no idea what he was supposed to say. Everything had played out a lot smoother in his head. It didn't matter. There was still time.

Why now? Why her? The questions swam around Chell's brain as they portaled from ledge to ledge. Poor Wheatley couldn't see how she could jump around so high up without fear. Then again it was her. As far as he could tell she didn't fear anything.

Of course that wasn't true. She was terrified but she had no desire to let them know that. She was scared that this was another one of GLaDOS's tricks or that Wheatley would turn on her as suddenly as he had before. Not that he had any power anymore.

"Listen Chell. About what happened. I-"

"Ok listen up" GLaDOS's voice crackled over the speaker. So close. Never mind they'd be more chances. "To get to the lift that takes you the furthest you'll have to go through one of the test chambers. It's relevantly simple so you'll know what to do...you do still remember what to do don't you?"

"Course she does" He gave her an encouraging pat on the back and she span around so fast it nearly took him out. If looks could kill he would have been a dead man.

"I was supposed to tell you something else. I can't remember what" The door opened and the red light hit them before they had a chance to register. A childish voice spoke.

"There you are" Wheatley grabbed Chell's arm and pulled her back behind the wall to avoid the spray of bullets.

"Oh thats it. Watch out for the turret" How had she managed to forget about a turret. Maybe Wheatley wasn't the threat. Maybe it was GLaDOS. She was trying to kill them both. Although why wait this long? Why let her go at all? Perhaps the wait made it sweeter somehow. The long amount of time would be the perfect way to give somebody a sense of false security.

Come on Chell. You know that doesn't make any sense.

She tried to make it look like the sudden shock hadn't effected her at all and got back to work. She fired a portal onto the wall and another underneath the turret.

"No no don't bring it closer to us" To late. It fell through and started firing at the ceiling in vain.

"I don't hate you" It whispered before shutting itself down. She always felt bad about breaking them. That feeling had to be blocked out. It wasn't like they felt pain. It was them or her.

They retrieved the now unguarded box and placed it on the button.

"Good. Move on quickly. I'm not entirely sure how much time you have but you can't afford to waste a second" They hurried to the lift. "Ready?"

"Yes. No. Wait where do we-"

"Going down" The lift quickly dropped many levels underground. It hadn't been used for a long time and with good reason. It was clearly not safe. Suddenly it came to a halt next to a locked door.

"This is as far as the lift takes you" Chell struggled with the door but it wouldn't budge.

"Hang on there sweetheart I'll give you a hand" He had been eager to test his new bodies strength. This was the perfect opportunity. He shoved it but the lock was firm. "Just give me a sec" He rattled the handle to see if he could tease the lock open. "Oh I know. Stand back" He ran at it only to find himself bouncing back. That had hurt. He forgot how breakable these human bodies were.

"Moron. I trust the two of you with the future of Aperture and what stops you? A door"

"I thought you were supposed to be helping us"

"Look you" she snapped "I know my job might seem easy but theres more to it than meets the eye. I think your little adventure into management proved that. I can't open the door but I can send you some help"

She disappeared. They waited a long time for her 'help' to show up. It began to seem like she had abandoned them.

"It's okay" said Wheatley pacing up and down "I mean she wouldn't just leave us would she" he was trying to calm himself down more than he was Chell.

In the end help did show up in the form of two men. Chell didn't recognise them but Wheatley did straight away.

The brains and the brawl had arrived.

"Hey guys"

"Don't hey me traitor" snapped Rick. Just like Chell he hadn't yet forgiven him. He had relied on Wheatley to get the girl through the facility safely. With her help maybe even he could get a second chance. He had given his last hope to Wheatley and he had lost it.

Fact however was a lot calmer. Unlike Rick leaving wasn't on the top of his agenda. He was happy down here by GLaDOS's side. He liked the protection she provided and stayed safe in the knowledge she would never leave him.

"Alright step aside" Rick went at the door with all his strength. The lock didn't stand a chance and the door flew open to reveal a giant flight of stairs. They were going down to the heart of Aperture itself.