May 2013
5 posts
3 tags
The younger woman smiled, “That’s good to hear; I have to admit, mine have been all over the place. Not the greatest mindset for the leader of this squad to be in.” She shook her head, “Yeah. Anyway…” she followed Hester’s gaze over to the other side of the wing where, sure enough, Tau was chatting with dark-haired young woman.
“Thanks;...
3 tags
The weathered old woman shrugged, giving Chell a placid, neutral look.
“Mornin’. Not feelin’ anything right now, but I s’pose I’ll be more tense later. Ain’t later yet, though, so there’s no point in dwellin’ on it.”
The other question, she considered for a moment, before jerking her head toward the other end of the wing.
“Th’...
4 tags
Chell scoffed playfully, “Going back to sleep, really? When we have an all-important mission to do? Some Lieutenant you are!”
She gave Piper a few lighthearted nudges with her foot before shaking her head. ”Heh, I’ll go find her. Just remember, I’m pretty sure we have this whole re-take Aperture thing scheduled before noon.”
With one final nudge, Chell...
2 tags
Piper groaned, shrugging off the offending hand and curling up tighter, squeezing her eyes shut.
“Mmm’ow should I know? I was asleep. Was.”
She cracked one eye open briefly to give Chell a playful almost-glare.
“‘d kinda like to get back to doing that, maybe. ‘oncha ask Hester or someone. She’s always friggin’ awake.”
5 tags
A very small chuckle rose up from her throat as Piper leaned up against her; she returned the gesture in kind.
For the first time since Lake Point had been destroyed…she felt like she was home.
And, what should have been a troubled, fitful sleep before battle was surprisingly peaceful, nestled with her sister.
…at least until rolled over and smacked her in the face.
The woman...
April 2013
4 posts
2 tags
Piper hesitated for a moment or two before cuddling up next to Chell, pressing her back against her friend’s.
“I got yours right now, Boss. G’night.”
It wasn’t long before she was also asleep, sprawled across her adopted sister and snoring quietly.
5 tags
Doing her best to keep an amused smile off of her face at Piper’s deep thinking, but not entirely succeeding, Chell leaned back up against the cabinets and closed her eyes.
“Yeah? Well…I’m sure we’ll think of something…”
Somehow, her tired mind pushed past all the worry and just focused on the simple thought of dicking around Aperture with...
4 tags
Leaning back against the cabinets, Piper tapped at her chin thoughtfully.
“Hmm! Weeeeell…”
For a long while, she stayed silent, continuing to tap at her chin and pull the occasional bizarre thinking face, contorting them purposefully into the strangest shapes possible. Finally, she shook her head, grinning sheepishly.
“I actually don’t know! I’m… not used to being...
5 tags
A tiny, weary smile tugged at Chell’s features as Piper made a stumbling attempt to comfort her.
“It’s alright. You don’t need to apologize, hell you weren’t even alive yet. There’s only one person who I need to hear that from…” Her face darkened a bit as she uttered the last sentence.
Yes, the one person she needed to hear that from...
March 2013
8 posts
4 tags
Piper frowned momentarily.
“Bring Your- oh. Ohhhh.”
Abruptly her eyes widened, and a look of vague horror crossed her face.
“Oh, man, I’m…”
Scooting even closer to Chell, she wrapped an awkward arm around her shoulders, patting gently and uncertainly at her back.
“…I guess sorry doesn’t even really begin to cover it, does it?”
For a moment or...
9 tags
What Chell hoped was a comforting hard was laid on Piper’s back as her sad gaze met the floor.
The knot of guilt that had been forming in Chell’s stomach grew a little tighter.
Piper had lost some friends too…cores that died even before Chell got to know them…
…I…I really should have went back sooner.
Her somber mood didn’t last as long as usual,...
4 tags
Letting out a shaky sigh, Piper shook her head.
“It’s… it’s OK. Things happen. We… we lost a lot of them…”
For a moment or two, she said nothing, staring at the floor with a blank, almost pained look on her face, before finally blinking herself back to awareness and reaching out to poke at Chell’s shoulder.
“Let’s… change the subject. You’re… kind...
4 tags
Leaning back against the cabinets, Chell listened intently to Piper’s story.
“Heh, she created you so she could focus on science, huh? That definitely sounds like her…”
Oh yes…she loves her science…
“Did she ever slow down? Oh wait, that’s a silly question…” she shook her head but kept grinning at Piper. ”CIIC? What is it...
3 tags
Pulling her legs up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them, Piper rested her chin against her knees, humming thoughtfully as she glanced out over the infirmary.
“Mmm… boring, mostly. I’m what’s known as a Gen Two core. Created by the Administrator to handle an ancillary function of the facility, so that she could focus her attention on science. Essentially, instead...
6 tags
Back arching up in alarm, Chell nearly shot up from her place on the floor as a hand was dropped on her shoulder. With a startled little gasp, Chell placed her hand on her chest, as if that could steady her heartbeat. It only took a moment to get her breathing under control, whereupon she shot her friend a half-hearted glare.
“God dammit, Piper, what the fuck?! You know I’m jumpy...
4 tags
“HEY.”
Piper’s voice sounded off nearly right in Chell’s ear, and she dropped a hand onto her friend’s shoulders, grinning like an idiot at having gone through with her scare attempt.
“So, what’s going on? We still gonna pinch the bastards in, or what?”
Pausing as Rose let out a particularly loud shriek of pleasure, starling a couple of rebels on...
9 tags
“So we’re still sticking with the original plan?”
That was good; the less surprises the better.
She nodded, grim determination showing plainly on her face, “Relying on your own skill is the best course of action when you’re in here.”
Back then, that was all she had. Just her own resolute stubbornness and will to live. Well, than and…
With a quick...
February 2013
5 posts
4 tags
Pausing to brush a hand through her hair, Lily sighed.
“I’ve been looking over blueprints and building plans, but a ringed assault and just kind of closing in from all sides does seem like the best way to go. We’re going to have to depend on our own skill in here. Maybe a little help from turrets. Maybe. But apparently, once we have access to the mainframe, we’ve won, even...
5 tags
Regarding GLaDOS with an impassive stare and she pulled down the brim of her hat, Chell’s eyes traveled down to look at the revealed arm. Try as she might, she couldn’t keep her expression entirely apathetic as she looked at the mechanics and the fact that she had a working prosthetic limb.
Angry or not, GLaDOS was indeed a brilliant scientist.
A part of her also couldn’t help...
6 tags
Although she glared outwardly at Chell’s comment and kept her face carefully stony, something in the depths of her eye betrayed her true feelings on the comment, and she turned away, tugging the brim of her hat down.
Lily seemed more appreciative, rocking back on her heels to get a better look.
“That… is helpful. How did you-?”
Her question was answered as GLaDOS slipped off...
4 tags
Chell nodded solemnly. God, she hoped that they weren’t focusing on the remaining bases. Lake Point had been well-hidden; Bruce Peninsula was more out in the open…
A small shiver ran down her spine.
Could it be DeLuca moving in because she shirked on her promise to leave with the portal gun?
…she could bear the thought of Bruce Peninsula being attacked because of her having...
4 tags
Lily’s mouth tightened, and she shook her head.
“Mmm. Not a lot. Makes me nervous for the remaining bases. We’re scattering out from Bruce Peninsula, I know that much, but…”
Brushing a hand through her hair, she let out a shaky breath.
“Yeah. Let’s prepare for a heavier load than expected. We’ll still be-“
The whoosh of a door opening on the...
January 2013
12 posts
4 tags
“Oh thank God,” even though she’d done a mental headcount, hearing verbal confirmation from Lily lifted a weight off of her chest.
A rough ride? Yeah..that’s what she’d been dreading.
She’d managed to lead everyone safely here so far; but they hadn’t encountered any serious resistance. Or any resistance, save for a few antlions.
But Piper’s...
2 tags
As the door clanged shut behind her, Lily nodded.
“No casualties so far. Everyone who left Bruce Peninsula is here, now.”
She sounded somewhat relieved, running a hand through her hair as she glanced around at the milling groups of rebels, some of whom were helping Chell’s group members settle in. One of them backed away abruptly as Rose waved her foreclaws at him from her...
6 tags
Returning the hug tightly, Chell let out a relived sigh.
Everyone else is alright…
“Heh, sorry. As you know, the antlions are in season.”
A light blush colored Lucy’s cheeks as she filed in along with the rest of Chell’s group. Rose, still perched on her shoulder, peeped encouragingly.
Once she was sure everyone was inside, she finally took a moment to take in...
2 tags
Nodding cheerily, Sam waved her forward.
“Yes we are, Miss! Almost there, in fact. Just around this corner. I’ll go tell the others to open up!
Picking up the pace, he darted away around the corner and out of sight. A few moments later, an immense creaking noise began to sound in his wake.
As the group followed around the bend, the source of the noise became clear; a massive, round...
4 tags
Chell nodded, “Is everyone else with you? I haven’t seen Jones’s group since we first split up.”
Rest up? That sounded like a good plan. Though she hadn’t been driving anyone in her group exceptionally hard, it would be good to take a bit of a breather. And they could always benefit from more planning.
“Robots? Blue and Orange-“
She stirred lightly...
“Not bad. We’ve mostly just been resting up. GLaDOS decided to… I dunno, vanish into one of the side rooms for the past day and a half. Said something about fixing her arm? I have no idea.”
She cleared her throat before continuing.
“Anyway, I think the plan for now is to just rest up and get ready to fight. The Medical Science wing got sealed off when the Combine invaded,...
She tensed up briefly at the sudden voice before realizing who it belonged to.
Sure enough, Sam sat at the junction looking positively exasperated.
Edging away from the crater with the Strider carapace, Chell nodded to the others, “Okay, you head the man!”
An excited peep sounded from Rose as she passed by, perched on Lucy’s shoulder. The blonde wore an equally excited grin....
2 tags
Before the group could get much further along past the crater, a little voice piped up behind them, laced with something almost resembling annoyance.
“No, no, not that way, Miss! The other way! You’re all going the wrong way!”
Sam stood on the catwalk at the junction, arms crossed, little foot tapping in an almost ridiculously adult fashion. Turning toward the other half of the...
7 tags
Hanging a left along with the group, Chell nodded her affirmation even though Lily couldn’t see. ”Yeah, that’s clear-“
She was cut off in mid-sentence as the crater loomed into view. As stated, a piece of a hollowed-out Strider carapace jutted out from the crater. It was charred and blackened, as if the part of the husk had been blow off in a violent explosion. Of...
2 tags
Lily’s voice hissed out of the radio as Chell reported in.
“OK… I think you want to go left, here. If you spot a big crater on the wall with a piece of Strider shell stuck in it, turn around and take the right fork. That clear enough?”
7 tags
Chuckling herself, Chell smiled at her friend.
“I’ll…I’ll try.”
That wasn’t exactly a promise she could make. She was…guilty of a whole lot already.
But…she could at least make sure that things would be different this time. Or…as best as she could. As per Piper’s advice, along with everyone.
She had help this time. And, moreover,...
2 tags
Losing her balance again, Piper nearly toppled over for a second time, but managed to catch herself again as well, chuckling.
“Jeez, it’s fine, as long as you don’t kill me first.”
Putting a hand on her shoulder, she gave her friend an almost worried look.
“Just… don’t be too hard on yourself, yeah?”
December 2012
28 posts
5 tags
Chell gave pause at Piper’s words. It took a moment for everything she said to sink in.
Piper…she was right. She couldn’t protect everyone. As much as she wanted to, there was only so much she could do…
She smiled sadly at Piper, “I can’t hide shit from you, can I? You know me way too well…”
“I know you’re right,” suddenly,...
2 tags
Sam nodded cheerfully, pushing his way to the front of the group.
“Of course, Miss! I’ll loop back and meet you if I find anything.”
As the slight sound of his footsteps pattered away into the dark, Piper gave Chell an almost sad look, waving the others into motion ahead of her.
“You can’t be completely responsible for all of us, Chell. You’re not going to be...
7 tags
A day and a half?
Christ…they’ve been here for a while, and her group only just arrived. Though…that was probably due to how cautious she’d been on the way up here…
Antlion adventure excluded.
GLaDOS is working on her arm? Hm. That’s a good sign, actually. They must not have encountered heavy resistance. If any… Definitely a far cry from when...
4 tags
The radio hissed faintly for a moment before Lily signed on with a little chuckle.
“Ah! There you are. The signal’s finally clear. You’re at the waterfall entrance, right?”
There was a momentary pause before she finally swore softly.
“Dammit, she’s been in one of the little side chambers fixing that missing arm for the last day and a half, I can’t ask...
5 tags
After hearing the metal shriek of the hatch closing, indicating all were safe, Chell breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank God…
After taking a moment to catch her breath, the woman snapped on the flashlight of her own and shined it in the direction of the others.
Every muscle in her body tensed as she passed the rusty catwalk and rested on the panels. No matter the purpose of her visit, just...
4 tags
A chorus of negatives met her ears as Tau slammed the hatch shut and bolted it firmly into place, cutting off all light. A few of the more intrepid antlions could be heard on the other side, scratching at the door and screeling in frustration. Rose let out a somewhat smug little huff before squirming free of Piper’s jacket and scrabbling up onto Lucy’s shoulder to murmur happily into...
7 tags
At Piper’s call, Chell lowered the muzzle of her shotgun and glanced behind her just in time to catch Piper dragging a startled Lucy toward the waterfall.
I’ll make sure they get through safely, she thought as several shots rang out from her weapon, providing cover fire for the retreating women.
Piper was indeed correct, the commotion topside had alerted the rest of the colony;...
4 tags
From behind the curtain of spray came the sound of wrenching and groaning, followed finally by Tau’s shout of “OK, we got it! Fall back!”
Ramming her pistol into its holster and scooping up a protesting Rose, jamming her down the front of her jacket, Piper jerked her head toward the waterfall, seizing Lucy by the collar and giving her an insistent pull toward the...
3 tags
Chell grinned at Piper, “Excellent idea, lieutenant. I’d be royally fucked if you weren’t around.”
Great, the others could escape into the facility while the three of them dealt with the antlions here.
Or well…actually it looked like they were already dealt with. Lucy had taken the opportunity to finish what she started indeed. Following...
2 tags
Piper rolled her eyes, smiling playfully, before stepping forward to join Chell.
“Yeah, I noticed. Well, have it wander in this direction for a bit at least. Finish what you started and all.”
Glancing over at Tau, she jerked her head toward the waterfall.
“The three of us can gun ‘em down for the moment. Get that hatch open, and get everyone inside. We’ll fall back...
9 tags
Lucy smiled a bit nervously at Piper’s words, “Right. It’s in there, I promise!” Adjusting her aim, she lined the creature up in her sights, “It does tend to wander a bit…”
A crack of gunfire and a squeal of pain indicated that Lucy had hit true.
Now down another leg, the antlion scrambled forward; despite its handicap, it was still very much...
3 tags
Shaking her head, Piper put on a somewhat placating smile.
“It’s OK. Just use your brain next time instead of drop kicking it and replacing it with a bunch’a bullets. Assuming you haven’t already.”
Slamming the clip into his SMG and checking that the grenade was fully ready to go, Tau nodded, swinging the gun up to brace against his shoulder.
“Right. You...
4 tags
Lucy, still grinning, fired a few more shots at the antlion, one connecting on its leg and sending it spinning into the underbrush.
Her grin immediately faded, however, at Piper’s words. ”I-I’m sorry! I was…I was just… I saw it and I…” the muzzle of her gun drooped a bit as she fumbled for words.
Though Lucy’s bravado seems to had faded, Rose...
4 tags
Coming up beside Chell, Piper let out an exasperated groan.
“Lucy, you little moron, you’re gonna stir up the whole swarm! You want us to be bug bait?”
As the others began to form up around them, Rose wiggled her way out of the bottom of Thorn’s coat, scuttling over to stand at Lucy’s feet and shriek at the oncoming antlion, raising her claws and letting out a wild,...
7 tags
At Rose’s growling the creature stopped its poking at the ground and turned in the direction of the noise.
As soon as she saw it stop, Chell tensed up and threw her back against the trunk of the nearest tree, frantically motioning for everyone to do the same.
God, she didnotwant to deal with a swarm of these things. Hell, one was enough. And really, there always seemed to be more than...
4 tags
The first scout was encountered about a quarter mile from the waterfall.
The antlion shuffled about at a good distance away, screeling and poking its face along the ground as it patrolled around the perimeter of what was apparently its colony.
Within Thorn’s jacket, Rose shifted, growling angrily and waving her claws toward the monster. Her owner hastily tried to shush her, but the little...
