The War For Science - A Portal Fanfiction

Chapter 4 - 'Cause I Won't Run

The War For Science

Chapter 4: Cause I Won't Run

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"WHAT THE HELL?!" Officer punched the keyboard of her laptop in outrage. "THOSE DUMBASSES HAVE NO RIGHT TO GET INTO OUR BUSINE- Oh crap." She stopped in the middle of her rage and frantically got her fingers aligned with the laptop's arrow keys before a herd of skeletons killed her Minecrafter, not bothering to kill them herself. After years and years of playing she had gotten attached to the skeletons. Insta-trees and arrows are useful. Dr. Fletchen wouldn't have gone near them. Hell, she couldn't even approach a lone spider without running around the map like mad searching for a place to hide. Of course, there wasn't none as she would always spend the whole day trying to craft some new type of material to build a monster-proof house. After she had guided it back into her Oat and Spruce Wood house and shut the door closed, she sighed and drew her attention back to the grieving women adjacent from her.

"I know. It's a disaster. I was informed of this when you two left. This whole thing is just a waste of time." Dr. Fletchen breathed a frustrated sigh with her head held down, arms resting on her knees. At that moment the door of the bathroom creaked open and out exited Chell, her dark brown hair flowing down to her shoulders, dripping wet. Instead of her usual orange jumpsuit, she wore a notably over-sized black t-shirt with denim shorts she had borrowed from Dr. and Officer, as well as bright yellow sandals instead of her futuristic white boots. She looked much more refreshed and content than usual, a hardly noticable but genuine smile on her face. When Chell noticed the two scientists glancing at her, her faint smile grew. She was in a good mood. The scientists smiled back in response, only their smiles were not as genuine.

"How was the shower, Chell?" Dr. asked, standing up and walking over to a seat next to Officer so Chell could have her privacy with her cube.

"Wonderful." Chell patted her beloved cube blissfully. Dr. grinned with relief but it wasn't long before it faded and she went back to grieving, massaging her forehead in frustration. "What are we going to do about this?...Damn lemons." She mumbled.

Chell's smile faded.

"..What's going on?" She asked sternly.

Officer sighed. "It's all a bunch of crap, Chell. We're behind on our bills. The city council thinks we're a-" Officer turned away from the laptop monitor and raised up her hands to gesture quotation marks. "-Difficulty to the city and want us shut down. They also think you should get therapy."