23 - dictated

[takethat]

[It's late at night when Phoenix spots the cat, as he's traversing the halls of the castle, headed back to his room.]

Oh--uh, hey there?

[Although the creature is a little too deep in his uncanny valley, he still puts on a friendly smile. It's not that much stranger than meeting a lion here, after all, right? Probably just a new resident from some weird world with bizarre cat things.]

...are you new around here?

[But the cat doesn't say anything. Phoenix shrugs and is about to wander on toward his destination, when suddenly there's a heavy weight flung into the left side of his body; he's knocked over, the journal skidding some distance away and falling open, to record the full attack.]


What--aaaaggghh!!! Get off me! Get... get away! No!

[The sounds of a struggle are plainly evident for a few moments more, before a rustling as the journal is quickly retrieved, and desperate panting, running--]

GLaDOS!!

[He reaches her door, on the same floor as his own room but further down the hall, and bangs frantically, begging to be let in.]

GLaDOS, please please open the door, please...!

[But no answer comes quickly enough, and the cat is there again, and Phoenix takes off once more, already knowing the sprint to his own room is fruitless--]

H...help! Somebody, please--it's following me! It's--

[And then a scream filled with fear and agony... and then silence, for a long while before Phoenix speaks again.


This time, his voice is hollow.]

Oh my god...

Comments

[fistfullofmagic]

[Dhaos drifts into the room after Phoenix, feeling much less apprehensive than the spikey-haired lawyer. For the first time since that morning, he actually feels somewhat calm. He has a task to carry out, and it gives him something to focus on aside from his current state of being.]

paging wheatley! 8')

[sawadeertoday]

[ The room is dark, but that's easily fixed by GLaDOS extending her arm as Dhaos drifts in, just hitting the light switch.

The light flickered on, and she breathed a sigh of relief as soon as it did. Everything in the room was normal- it resembled a small apartment, with a tiny kitchen and a table and everything. There was the doorway which led to the bedroom, and the door was pushed slightly ajar from GLaDOS' sprint out the door earlier.

Somehow, being back in here made her tremble even more violently, and her gaze moved apprehensively to the doorway into the bedroom. She didn't want Wheatley to see her... like this. She swallowed, her voice lowering into a confidential murmur. ]

We can sit at the table for now. And figure out what happened- and how we can get to the bottom of this.

/paged

[wheatdos]

[There's enthusiastic humming coming from the bedroom, and the light spilled through the cracks of the partially open doorway. Anyone paying enough attention would see the guy, pacing up and down his bedroom in his underwear while reading lines from a book.

Hamlet.

He often read to GLaDOS before bed, and while he had read ahead a few lines, he was still waiting for her return more or less. Lucky enough, despite the open crack, he didn't turn to look into the living room. He kept his eyes glued to the book, shouting out so she could hear him.]

Oh!...Wh-who was it?




(Also, The reason Phoenix lost his limb was Wheatley's fault. GLaDOS probably heard the door and Wheats was probably like "Nonono, wait... after I read you this part!")

[takethat]

[At GLaDOS's suggestion, Phoenix slides into a chair at the table, immediately hunching over to lay his head on the table's surface, still twitching periodically from the shock of everything that had just happened. He's not a very good guide for Dhaos, as all he really does is push out a chair for him--but he'd probably be quite a lot more considerate if he had his wits about him at the moment.

And then he hears Wheatley speak from the next room. He clears his throat.]

...Wheatley? Something's... happened.

[That's all he's got; finding the words to tell Wheatley that GLaDOS's injury was his own fault will have to come later.]



((Everything horrible in Phoenix's life is Wheatley's fault. The end. :|))

[fistfullofmagic]

[Even with nothing more than the chair having been pushed out for him, Dhaos manages to find it's rough location. Figuring GLaDOS would be far more comfortable with the chair however, especially with the inevitable confrontation with Wheatley, he ever so carefully sets her down in it. He can sit on the floor; it's far more comfortable being close to someone than to be even a little bit away when all he can see is the darkness that reminds him so much of his imprisonment...]

[sawadeertoday]

[ She was so frightened, her heart-rate picking up as soon as she heard Wheatley's voice. And Phoenix's response makes her stomach churn in nerves.

She shivered as she was set down gently in the chair, her remaining foot resting on the floor... everything felt wrong. So wrong... the stump rubbed on the chair and she felt another wave of fearful nausea.

She was broken. She was broken and she was so afraid of having Wheatley see her. ]

I... It was Phoenix. We...

[ she called weakly, the fear rather obvious in her shaking voice- and she swallowed, not even bothering to speak any more than that.

Intending to rest her hand on her thighs, one misses and hits the smooth surface of the chair. She raises her hands instead to the table, clasping them together, shivering in another fit of revulsion. ]

... ugh...

why why why why WHY

[wheatdos]

Huh?
Oh, hello mate! How are you?

[He suddenly set his book down, stumbling to peek out from behind the door. Oh. It was Nick! Cue a wave and a friendly smile. The visit was unexpected, but at least he looked excited to see him, which was great considering he hasn't seen him in a while.

Don't mind him as he quickly worked hard removed the dog collar that was around his neck. Don't ask. Never ask. As he did, he flashed GLaDOS a 'why didn't you tell me there were other people here!?' look before he returned back to his forced smile to Nick. Oh? Was that Dhaos? He could only see his long blonde hair...

It was obvious he didn't see anything wrong yet.]

Dhaos, you're here too? Oh, look at this. This- this is great! A bit late... a bit unexpected, but still swell.

What's happened?

[takethat]

...something attacked us.

[Might as well get to the point as much as possible. He gestures between himself, GLaDOS, and Dhaos.]

We've all been... hurt.

[Shakily, then, he stands up from the chair, and despite his trepidation in doing so, pushes up the left sleeve of his t-shirt, rolling it back to expose the shoulder where it stops cleanly. His voice is pitched a little too high when he speaks next:]

You've gotta help us.

Not gag tag

[fistfullofmagic]

'...It has stolen important parts of us.'

[He very slowly turns to face Wheatley, very clearly displaying exactly what had been taken from him.]

;-;

[sawadeertoday]

[ GLaDOS simply shifts awkwardly on the chair, Wheatley's normal reactions actually calming her somewhat. Pity that was likely going to change soon.

She takes a slight breath, not even bothering to tell Wheatley what was wrong with her, her toes on her remaining foot curling on the cool floor. She looked miserable, not even glancing up at him after Phoenix and Dhaos' reveals, not wanting to see the look on his face. ]

...

Re: ;-;

[wheatdos]

...

...

...Oh, sorry... ehe, zoned out there for a moment. Wh-what What... was that about...- oh dear.

[He's still just staring at them smiling... before he realizes that Phoenix is missing an arm. Oh. Well that's unfortunate. Surprisingly enough, the severed limb doesn't actually phase him all to much. He's seen limbs severed before. He's seen limbs as they were being severed... He's seen much worse in fact...

Dhaos's face however, did get a small squeak out of him, eyes widening and smile forming into an incredibly forced grin. Oh god. Oh god oh god... he has no face....

Don't mind him as he slowly turned to GLaDOS... eerily quiet...
When was the last time he actually blinked? His fist went up to his mouth and he furrowed his brow.]

This...

[He swallowed...]

This is... a... bit of a problem.
Bit of a problem. Not-not exactly something that... that- you want to hear about in the middle of the night. Nooo... not at all.

[He's walking over to the door...]

Was-was it out there? Were you attacked out there? Is... whatever attacked you still t...th..

[He's just muttering to himself more than them now... 60000 octaves higher than his voice is supposed to be. he's in shock. A very... very bad one... he didn't even see GLaDOS yet. Barricading the door thank you very much... even after he barricades the door, he's still standing there, as if afraid to turn around to look back at them. Hyperventilation? Maybe.]

...oh dear.

[takethat]

Good plan. Don't let it get in here.

[Phoenix has taken a seat again, and is frantically rubbing at his left shoulder, all nerves still on edge.]

In fact, we should probably also not split up. ...yeah, we need to stay together--we have to protect each other.

[By which he means Wheatley, the only one of them who is whole at the moment, needs to stay with them and not get scared and run away.]

[fistfullofmagic]

[Dhaos nods in agreement. While he likely has power enough to obliterate the cat, he needs to save his energy to continue functioning. ...And aiming would be a tad difficult without eyes.]

[sawadeertoday]

[ GLaDOS found herself burying her face in her hands, slumped on the table, her elbows supporting the weight of her head. ]

... yeah... humans tend to find safety in numbers.

[ she spoke shakily through her hands, a little muffled, clearly trying to note random science facts instead of deal with her lost limb. ]

So- we'll feel better if we all stay together.

[ Now she's just blabbering, in an attempt to find an easier topic. ]

[wheatdos]

Y-yeah... that-that... we can do that.

[He's just gonna lean his face against the door. Just... standing there. Though after a few seconds it might be a bit suspicious as to why he's just standing there.

There's a terrible whirring and clicking noise, similar to the typical sound of malfunction that electronics seemed to have. He gave a violent twitch, the core on his chest suddenly sparking.

Oh.

The light flickers off.

It seems that he may be broken.]

[takethat]

...Wheatley?

[To GLaDOS:]

...is he supposed to do that?

[sawadeertoday]

[ GLaDOS raises her head upon hearing the whirring and clicking noises, furrowing her brow. ]

No-... he's not- hey!

[ she calls, nerves taking over and forgetting about her severed limb, she pushes herself up on her left leg, moving as though to take a step with her right...

But of course, since it wasn't there, she simply sort of collapsed on the ground next to the table, with a surprised sound.

Almost immediately after, she felt a wave of embarrassment as she reached an arm to grab at the edge of the table, pushing herself awkwardly up with her left foot. ]

...

[wheatdos]

[A simple reset could do it. A switch off, switch on of power in his core. He was just a bit overwhelmed. System overload if you must call it that. He was still standing there in place... awkwardly leaning against the door.

Oooooh is that scratching outside? Could the cat still be around?]

[takethat]

[Perhaps it's some testament to Phoenix's lack of mental capacity to deal with this situation at all, but when he realizes he's just sort of lost the only person he could rely on to help just now, he snaps for a moment.

Getting up again, he crosses over to where Wheatley is propped against the door.



And with as much force as he can put behind it, he smacks the crap out of Wheatley's chest.]

[sawadeertoday]

[ ... What.

What.

GLaDOS' eyes widen. ]

What are you doing!? You're going to break him!

[ She hops awkwardly to the closest edge of the table nearest them, using the table as a crutch with her hand. ]

That's not how you treat Aperture technology!

[wheatdos]

[For a moment, it looked like it may have worked. Wheatley sputtering back to life...

For a half second.

He falls over. Collapsing onto the ground limply and PAINFULLY. That's gonna leave a mark.

Oh.

What's this.

Fwooooosh.

It would seem that his core is on fire now. Nick look what you did you are clearly the worst brother.]

[takethat]

[He just watches Wheatley on fire for a moment before going back to GLaDOS at the table.]

...that didn't go the way I had intended. ...I'd offer to carry you over there to fix him, but I'd probably just drop you...

[sawadeertoday]

[ She furrows her brow, using her free hand as she groaned, moving her fingers to a temple. ]

Do you think you could follow instructions? And first of all, pat down that fire before he dies.

[ She wishes him up a thick glove, for his right hand, and holds it out, slumping into her chair. ]

[wheatdos]

[Yes GLaDOS thankyou. Being on fire does not feel good. Even though he doesn't actually feel anything right now.

Maybe a bit of warmth.

Oh dear.]

[takethat]

[With a sigh--somehow managing to be exasperated by Wheatley even now--he uses the glove to slap out the fire.

He couldn't really figure out how to pull it on without having another hand to assist.

Whenever Wheatley is sufficiently put out, he'll turn to GLaDOS yet again.]

...sure, just tell me what to do...