POV: Chell, age 20, mute due to PTSD (A/N: I like to think that after the first game, Chell just couldn't talk. She had lost her voice.)

I leaned on the wall rightoutside that man's home. My Portal Gun was in my hands and I still had my Long Fall Boots on. Then, the door opened. A woman stood in the frame.

"Oh, hello there. Can I help you?"

I tried to find my voice, but memories from Aperture came flooding into me, silencing me. I then felt the memories fade when I closed my mouth, especially the ones about that godforsaken neurotoxin. He poked his head out of the door, then came out fully.

"Hey Chell. Need something?"

I gave my gun a wave. Can I run through some tests?

He cocked his head and I sighed. He didn't know what I mean. When I tried to speak, I found that the awful memories didn't come back, but it was then I realized something. I had forgotten how to speak. A flurry of emotions washed over the woman by the man's side, eventually ending on sympathy.

"I didn't realize you forgot how to speak."

I looked at her. Can she read minds?

Yeah, I can. I can also talk to people via magic. That's how you're hearing my thoughts.

What? How's that possible?

I'll tell you later. So what do you want?

C-can I go through some tests?

Tests?

I winced. She wasn't GLaDOS, or Wheatley, or anyone from Aperture in that manner. Basically, set up a obstacle course and have me run through it. Make it challenging!

The lady chuckled. We can do one better.

"Come with me."

She began to walk and I followed. She led me to a strange contraption, then told me to sit down in it. I did and she sat down on a rail. She began to tap away at her wrist, then gave the side of the device a solid smack.

"Darn thing reset. Must have power cycled. I need to get it set back up. Is it okay if I guide your hand in the process of getting the pod started?"

I nodded. What could possibly go wrong? My arm began to move without me telling it to, being guided by a external input. I did a complicated movement, then I wrapped my hand on a handle. Nothing more happened.

"Pull it, silly. I got too uneased by how easy it was to control you, so I finished by wrapping your hand around the lever. It'll take a bit of strength, just so you know."

I smiled. I'm strong of my stature. I tugged and the device closed. Two lights appeared.

"Look at those lights, will you? Give the pod one bang for 'feels good' and two for 'something doesn't seem right'."

I looked at the lights, then gave the pod a solid bang. I heard a chuckle.

"Good. Bringing the Nuro Link on now. Not as strong as a Titan Link, but it'll suffice."

I was transported to another world. The lady didn't have a dress on and a helmet covered her face. She lazily spread her arms, gesturing at the wide open planes around us.

"Welcome to a simulated Harmony, homeworld of the Militia, with billions calling it home. As I said, this is a simulation, so we can do things like this."

A building appeared in the blink of an eye.

"Go ahead. Your first test is to ge-"

I was already on top of the structure. I had been standing on a white platform and I had spotted a tiny patch of white, big enough for a portal. I dropped into the building and started the tests. After I finished the last one, I heard a long whistle.

"Nice one. I thought these tests were impossible."

I smirked. They were nothing compared to what I face in Aperture. The woman was about to tell me something when the world suddenly glitched out. A simple error popped up, then I was violently ripped from the pod.

I heard a sickening crunch as my bones were snapped like twiggs, then I was tossed aside, my body hitting the pavement with a wet squelch. Even though it hurt to do so, I puked. I was in absolute pain, but I was still alive.

Still Alive.... That song she sang me before I left, then got pulled back in yet again.

It began to play in my head. I smiled, remembering the sweet memory. Then, my pain flared up again. My eyes snapped open and I saw a giant robot had grabbed me and was using me as leverage. I spotted a crack into the cockpit. There was a panel large enough for a portal. And the moon was visible. I shot a one sided portal into the cockpit, then, with the rest of my strength, shot one at the moon. I fell unconscious, but not before seeing my Portal Gun slip from my grasp and shatter on the pavement. The portal closed, the robot keeled over and I blacked out.

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I woke up to a constant poking. A robot began to beep madly. A different robot beeped back.

Wait, that's Atlas and P-Body! Am I back in Aperture?

I swiftly got my answer.

"Shut up you two. She's going to come-to soon and I don't want the first thing for her to hear is you two bickering!" It was Wheatley.

I smiled, then chuckled. Too late Wheatley.

I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see that woman who had let me run through several more tests.

"Heya squirt. Glad to see you're up. How'd you kill that Pilot?"

I made a gun with my hand, and pretended to fire off two shots, one straight ahead and the other above my head. Wheatley knew what I meant.

"YOU MADE A PORTAL TO THE MOON AGAIN?! THE HECK, CHELL!?"

I smiled and the lady laughed. She wiped away a tear and looked at me.

"You're lucky to be alive. Getting ripped from a sim pod, then getting all your bones almost turned to pulp, then getting thrown full speed into hard asphalt? And then managing to survive with little to no O2? You, my friend, are a miracle."

I closed my eyes, then remembered how to say a certain question. I struggled big time, though. Every word was seperated and semi slurred, like my tongue was made of lead. "What is your name?"

"Hope Everlasting. I'm guessing you're Chell?"

I nodded my head. The only thing I was able to say was a question, but it was a useful one. Hope brushed some of my black hair out of my face. I then suddenly remembered how to say another word. Nothing else came, sadly.

"C-cake?"

Hope looked at me weird. "Uh, sure. I'll get you some cake."

Wheatley jumped in on my behalf. "She hasn't had cake, or any food now that I come to think about it, in a very long time. 'The cake is a lie' and all?"

Hope smiled. "I remember that from the Portal games. Hmm. He, maybe I should get you to play them, Chell. See how you fare in the game."

I smiled at the thought of that. Running through the tests again? Neat. At least this time, I won't be threatened with death at one wrong move. I fell asleep, but a sweet aroma woke me up. My robot companions had left.

It was dark. I tried to corak but nothing. I really need to get that checked out. Then, I saw Hope round the corner, holding a cake. Two lit candles were rested on top.

21. I totally forgot, it's my birthday!

I smiled as Hope sat down next to me, the tiny flames casting shadows across our faces. She placed the cake on a table and slid it over.

"Wheatley told me that it was your birthday. He also told me what flavor you reported liking. Chocolate. I like it, too. This is actually a cake my mom baked, so here, try a piece."

She cut a piece, placed it on a plate and rested it in my lap. I took a bite and a huge smile crept across my face. Hope was smiling as well.

"So I take it that you still like chocolate?"

I nodded.

"Good. Oh yeah. Go ahead, blow the candles out; make a wish."

I took a deep breath and puffed the flames out of existence. It went pitch black in an instant. Then, an orb of light began to float around, giving us light to see. Hope smiled at the ball.

"Thanks Ghost. You're always there for me."

"Not when you're out doing stuff with another Ghost!" The orb talked.

Hope chuckled. "You'll never let me go of that, huh?"

I heard a growl, then the floating ball retreated into the corner. I continued to eat.

"So yeah. Usually, my mom makes her chocolate cake with cocoa, natural, a huge list of ingredients that I don't feel like listing, including just a dash of seasoning salt. Why? No clue. But with this cake, she also added a bunch of additional ingredients, like very tender meats. She stewed all this together for hours before baking. And damn is this good."

I smiled in the dark, slowly eating my cake. This cake is definitely not a lie. I drifted to sleep and Hope must have wrapped the remaining cake up for me, because when I awoke, I found the half eaten cake next to me as well as a box on my lap.

I pulled the ribbon away and found a strange device inside. It seemed to go on my wrist. A man in a helmet (which had a glowing blue visor) sat down next to me.

"Hey. Glad to see you awake. Hey! That's the Time Gauntlet! I wonder who gave you that?"

I shrugged, then mimed sleeping and waking up. The man understood.

"Ah. It was here when you woke up. Well then. Let's put it on you."

He helped me slip the glove on and it felt alright. I smiled, looking at the strange contraption.

"It helps you stay rooted in present time, especially if you enter an area high in temporal activity. Also, in those areas, you can time travel!"

I stopped examining the glove then looked at him. Time travel?!

He laughed. "You must be really interested. The spark in your eye says it all."

His hand flew to the side of his helmet and his head dipped a little.

"Uh huh. Understood. See you later, Chell. Gotta g-"

He was punched in the face and his body slumped down the wall. Robots stood around me. I had lost the fight before it even began. Then, one of the robots blew up.

I was met with a smoking barrel on the other side of the room. A Pilot had saved me. His visor was iconic, I think. It was on posters I've seen scattered around the city.

He let off several more shots, then the robots began to advance on him. He back up right to a window.

"BT! A little help?"

A robot stuck its gun through the window. In a matter of seconds, the killer robots had been turned to slag. The Pilot who had called for the massive robot walked up to the man who had helped me with this gauntlet. His visor wasn't glowing.

The man who saved me knelt besides the fallen Pilot.

"BT? Can I get a bioscan here?"

The robot looked through the shattered window. There was a long pause.

"This Pilot had saved Lastimosa's life dozens of times.... I'll let Commander Briggs know to set up a soldier's funeral."

The man stood up, then walked over to me.

"You okay?"

I shrugged. BT (that's what I'm going to call the big robot now) did a quick scan of me. "She is not, Jack. She is unable to walk due to wounds received from Titans."

Jack looked at BT. "Understood. BT? How's the situation?"

It was about to respond when it stumbled into the building.

"Pilot. I am in need of assistance. Anti-Titan squads have arrived."

Jack sprinted to the window and leaped out. BT grabbed him and they began to fight. People with red visors suddenly appeared out of thin air.

No! I get saved only to be killed se-

A firefight ensued with an invisible entity. I felt something get stabbed into me and I fell asleep soon after.

I was still in a bed when I woke up, but this time I felt like I could get up. After sitting up, I felt weezy. There was a glass of water, so I drank it, then stood up.

Ugh. I feel terrible.

I walked over to the door and left. A Pilot spotted me.

"Oh, you're up. Come with us, there's someone who wants to meet you."

I was led out of the hospital and to a park. I spotted a robot and felt some kind of connection to them. They turned around and spotted me.

The robot walked over to me and stopped several feet away. "Ch-chell?"

It sounded just like Caroline. The robot glanced at the Pilot and he glanced at me.

"We were given a data chip containing the AI of a human, so we gave them a body. Do you know each other?"

My jaw dropped. M-mother?

I tried to speak, but couldn't. I hate being mute. Caroline took a step towards me. I did nothing: I was too shocked to see my mother standing before me, even if she was a robot now.

Caroline brushed some of my hair away. "You've grown up so much...."

I smiled. It really was my mother, standing before me. I hugged her and she hugged me back.

"I missed you too, Chell."

We stood like this for some time before I took a step back. I tried to think of how to talk to her, without talking, then I remembered. Paper. I found a bench and sat down, pulling a scrap of paper that I had kept in my pocket. My mother sat down next to me and looked at me curiously.

"What's wrong?"

I face palmed. I didn't have a writing utensil.

"Oh, is this how you want to talk to me?"

I nodded vigorously.

Caroline began to think. "Hmmm.... How do we.... Oh, I know! Let's stop by a cafe, okay?"

Uh, okay?

We began to walk side by side. There were several Pilots running around, seemingly doing exercise, and I paid them no mind. As long as they didn't try to hurt me, I was fine with them. Then, Caroline and I came across a strange sight. A building had toppled into the road somehow. I saw a Pilot vanish into thin air, then reappear, with her gun raised and trigger pressed down. She let go of the trigger and looked around.

"The heck?"

Something echoed inside of me. Protect.... Temporal activity....

I looked at my glove. Is this what the Pilot meant by protect me? I flicked my wrist and saw a group of people trying to topple the building. There were Titans with them.

They spun around and shot at me. I flicked my wrist again and returned to present time. All eyes were on me. Several Titans came up.

"Grizzly Division, on scene. What happened?"

I tried to speak but yet again couldn't find my voice. What is up with me? I waved my gloved hand around and they spotted.

"Temporal activity. Alright boys, you know what to do!"

The Titans vanished. We all pressed against the walls of the buildings to avoid possibly getting crushed.

Like magic, the building suddenly was upright. The Titans reappeared, most on fire. They walked away, declaring that the temporal activity was gone.

My mom and I continued our walk. She led me to a quiet cafe and we sat down after I ordered some coffee. We sat there for a while, neither of us saying anything.

Well, this is awkward.

My mother finally spoke. "I can't believe how much you had grown since I last saw you, back when I was..." she looked at her robotic hands. "Human. You were a baby when I was turned into GLaDOS. I can hardly believe you grew up so fast."

I smiled at my mother. I hardly can too.

My coffee arrived and I slowly drank it. Then, a loud bang sounded. I spun around and saw weird creatures attacking civilians.

What is going on?

They spotted us and charged, then vanished. I was confused out of my mind. Then, one of those things lunged at me, swords swinging.

Without thinking, I stood up, leaped to the side, then grabbed my Portal Gun which had been hanging on my hip.

Wait, I thought it had broke. I guess it was repaired.

I placed a portal on the roof, then waited for the right time. I launched my second portal and caught the thing in an infinite loop. I smiled, but flinched when an energy bolt grazed the bridge of my nose. There was a second monster. It walked into the white room and suddenly, it began to fall forever.

Who made a second infinite loop?

I got my answer. Atlas. P-Body caught a third monster and we high-fived. A projectile hit Atlas's core and he began to spin around (his core, at least). P-Body placed his hand on his friend and readjusted Atlas's core. Hope suddenly appeared from a rip in space and blocked the windows and door with a smoky haze. She then swiftly dispatched the monsters we had captured.

"Fallen. Stay here, these Void enhanced walls will protect you."

She then left. I sighed and sat down, with Atlas and P-Body goofing off in the corner. My mom began to tutor me in how to speak. In the end, after all the fighting had been done, I was able to say simple words, like "Chell" or "Apple". Smiling, I returned home, an apartment a kind old man named Wu had bought me.

I laid down on the bed with my mom sitting on the couch, doing something. I switly fell asleep and before I knew it, I was awake.

*Yawn* Another day of tes- oh, wait. I'm not in Aperture anymore.

I walked out of the bedroom to find my mom sitting next to another robot.

She must be one of Mom's new friends.

The robot looked up. She seemed to have a mask on. "Oh. Hello." The robot's voice was calm and devoid of emotion.

"Hi?" I didn't know what to do.

The visitor stood up. "I am Ash of Vinson Dynamics. Your mother asked me if I could teach her what it means to be a Simulacrum."

"Chell. I-I'm Chell."

"I know. Your mother speaks very highly of you."

I smiled at my mom. "Did you know I was your daughter when you were still in GLaDOS's body?"

"No, not really. I really didn't see anything, just processed data. I was able to affect that monster's actions sometimes."

I smiled. "Welp. I'll be going for now. Have fun!"

I left the apartment complex and then realized that I had no idea as to what to do. I wandered around, then realized something. Some of the Titans were glowing red.

Are they bad?

I stumbled upon Hope and pointed it out. She took a deep breath and pulled me into a dank alley.

"Remnant Titans. Can't believe they lasted this long without detection. There are too many for us to suddenly open fire. You got an idea?"

I racked my brain, then remembered a very useful property of on of the gels I have used.

"Get me to a massive mixing vat. I'll make those Titans bounce."

Literally.

Hope nodded. "Okay, if you say so. What'll you need?"

"Just get me to the vat."

Hope led me to the base, then I found the vat. It was empty and sterile. Perfect. I handed Hope a scrap of paper, encoded.

Hope, the code is A-26, B-25, C-24, you get the idea.

Thanks.

I lounged around the area, waiting for Hope to return with the stuff I need. We poured the massive bags of ingredients into the vat and I fired it up. Ino no time at all, the gel was done. I smiled at Hope, dipped a sphere into the stuff, then threw it at her Titan. It bounced off, like expected and hit me square in the face, which wasn't.

Hope struggled to catch the ball. "Wow. Now I know what you mean by 'bounce'. Uh, can we try a little on Hammer, first?"

"Sure."

Hope and I splashed the goo on her Titan's feet. Nothing happened, even when he walked around and I splashed some on the bottom of his feet.

"Hmm, not desirable, but I have another solution to that." I gave Hope another scrap of paper.

A-Z, B-C, C-D, and so on. A and Z are the only strange ones.

Got it. Y-B, right?

Yep.

Hope sprinted off and in no time, we had made a batch of orange gel. I washed off Hammer's feet, then splashed a layer of Propulsion Gel on the bottom of his feet. The second he tried to walk, he began to fall. He grabbed onto the cross beams and we washed his feet off. This'll be great.

Hope went and got several loyal Pilots and their Titans. We refitted the flamethrowers of the Vanguards to spew the gels and I smiled when Hammer was able to spew blue gel from his right arm, raise his Vortex Shield and spew orange gel from his other arm, passing right through the Vortex Shield.

I climbed onto Hammer's back with a back up plan if this went wrong. I had several "bombs" filled with Conversion Gel. If things went bad, I'll start throwing those and causing chaos with my portal gun.

The Titans walked amongst the intruders. Hope had taught me how to make it look like I was a civilian getting a tour on top of a Titan. Then, at the right time, all hell broke loose.

The re-armed Titans surprised the enemies by coating their hulls with Repulsion Gel. Then, they sprayed Propulsion Gel onto the bottom of their feet. The surprised Titans all took one step and fell onto their backs. Due to them being coated in Repulsion gel, they began to bounce frantically around, their Pilots not able to right themselves. Then, the Militia drew their weapons.

"We're not going to let any wolves in our flock! Take 'em away boys!" Hope laughed wildly. She was loving this.

I was too. The Titans were killed one by one, then sprayed with water. They stopped bouncing around and the wreckage was taken away. I got off of Hammer and spotted a strange sight. There was a girl, in a cute dress, standing in the middle of a battlefield. I walked over to her, but she seemed to grab the edges of something, then pulled down, vanishing in the process.

Who was that girl?

A man came running up to Hammer. He was a Rifleman.

"Ma'am! Your father just walked through some kind of rift through space-time and vanished!"

Hope got out and stared at the man. "He did what?"

"He went through a strange portal and is gone!"

Hope facepalmed. "Just his luck."

"Pilot. I am detecting no trace of your father throughout the universe. He truly is MIA."

I turned back to look at the space that girl had stood. Is there some kind of coincidence?