Chapter Text
Authors Note
Dear readers,
The story you are about to read is a Portal and Half-Life crossover fanfiction. The characters in this book, such as Chell, Wheatley, GLaDOS, Atlas, P-Body, Space Core, Caroline, Cave Johnson, Scientists of Aperture, Alyx Vance, Gordon Freeman, Eli Vance, Dr. Kleiner, Barney Calhoun, Judith Mossman and the Scientists of Black Mesa all belong to Valve. The places in this book, Aperture Laboratories, Black Mesa East, City 17 and White Forest also belong to Valve. All credit goes to Valve for their amazing work for their characters and gaming environments. The names “Portal” and “Half-Life” logos all belong to Valve as well. Therefore, the name and brand does not belong to me and belongs to Valve. I also do not own “As The World Caves In” by Sara Cothran😉This fanfiction features fan-ship pairings, such as Freemance (Alyx and Gordon) and Chelley (Chell and Wheatley). If you do not agree with either of these fan-ships, that’s ok! I am just expressing my love and fan ideas for Portal and Half-Life, and I think these would fit in this fanfiction.
As for the rest, I hope you enjoy this fanfiction. I have been wanting to write a story for months, but I could never think of myself doing so. Once I make an attempt to start, I never finish. So, I gave up my dream to write a book.
But that all changed when one evening, I was reading a fanfiction to my dad (The Tale Of Melanie. A poetic medieval fantasy retelling of Portal Stories: Mel by Elven Whovian and Starry-Nightengale) and after I was done, my dad inspired me with these words:
“You could write a fanfiction too”
And I thought “Yes, yes I could”.
And so that’s what inspired me to write this book, Secrets Of Aperture. So thank you, dad, for inspiring me. And thank you, mom, for being patient with me and listening to me whenever I mention Portal and Half-Life
I hope you enjoy this fanfiction! Happy reading!!! (And testing!)
-Yours truly, AperturePrincess.
Chapter 1
A Search For New Hope
Somewhere far from Aperture Science, far into the fields of wheat and outstretched land, there was a young woman in her early to mid 20’s. With a strange pair of boots in one hand, and a funny looking box with pink hearts in another, the young woman continued to walk through the gathering wheat in hopes to find civilization.
And that woman’s name was Chell
She was wearing an orange jumpsuit (which is tied down to her waist) and a white tank top. On the front it read “Aperture Laboratories”
As she continued to walk, Chell began to wonder where exactly she was. She had been walking for what felt like hours and had been hoping to find other people. Maybe even a small town. But weeks had passed and she still couldn’t find any other signs of civilization.
But Chell had tried not to worry about any of that. What was more important to her was that she was free from That Place. From Her. From TESTING.
As she was thinking about all of what happened in the past what felt like months now, Chell stopped to try to figure out where she was now. She had been walking in a straight line through the wheat field, and there were STILL no signs of civilization. Just a great, big tree in a distance.
Chell let out a heavy sigh as she made her way toward the tree. Once she was under the nice, cool shade, she put down her Long Fall Boots and her Companion Cube. After that, she sat down with another heavy sigh.
It had been months since GLaDOS had let her go, and Chell STILL had not found any sign of any civilization. Not even a single human. All she ever wanted was to find other people. Maybe a few people to call her friends.
As Chell sat under the tree, thinking about all that happened over the past few months, she began to wonder what her life was like before Aperture. Before Science. But no matter how often she thought about it, she can never remember. Chell had also tried to remember what her parents were like, but came out with little to no success. Years of pain, trauma, and torture had erased any memory she may have had from the past.
As Chell sat under the cool shade, her stomach began to growl. It had been ages since she had eaten anything, and she was awfully starved and malnourished. She had been keeping an eye out for any food, such as plants of any kind that were safe to eat, but came up with little success. She was very hungry.
As Chell thought of all this, she began getting tired. She let out a yawn, then lay down and gazed at the sky from underneath the nice cool shade.
After a while, Chell closed her eyes and fell asleep.
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Meanwhile, some distance away on a worn-down paved road, there was what appeared to be a beaten, run-down yellow muscle car. In that car there were two people. The driver and the passenger. In the driver seat was a man, possibly in his mid-20’s, with a metal HEV suit with brown hair and a short beard with grey-ish green eyes. And that man’s name was Gordon Freeman.
In the passenger seat sat a young woman in her early 20’s and olive-green eyes. She had short, black hair with distinct red streaks in her hair. Her hair is pulled back with a black headband. Her name was Alyx Vance.
Alyx and Gordon would normally drive around for a while to get out and about. “Joyrides” and “Going out for fresh air” is what Alyx liked to call it. As for Gordon, he was willing to do anything to make her happy and smile.
Even after what happened back when……..
Gordon tried not to think about it. Especially for the sake of Alyx. They had lost a lot that day. And neither of them wanted to think about it. That’s why they had been going out for “Joyrides” in hopes to clear out each other’s minds.
Alyx had been thinking a lot about what Gordon was thinking too. It was hard when you lost something or someone that meant a lot to you. And it had only been 5 months since those Advisors had come in and took her father’s life.
Alyx still couldn’t erase that image out of her head. She still remembered every detail and how it all happened. Gordon can still remember it all too. Even-
“Hey!” Alyx shouted, interrupting both of their thoughts. “I see something up ahead. Let’s go check it out!”
Gordon followed her finger to where she was pointing and saw what she meant. In a far-off distance, there was a tree. And under it laid to what appeared to be a young woman. Along with funny-looking boots and a cube with hearts.
Happy to get both their minds off everything, Gordon drove the car to the old tree
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Chell woke up to the sound of a motor engine. She sat up and took a good look around to figure out if she could see where that sound was coming from. A little while later, it stopped.
Chell was a little disappointed, then assumed it was probably just a dream.
After a little while of sitting in disappointment, Chell got up, stretched, and started to move around. But just as she was about to collect her belongings and start heading out, Chell heard footsteps approaching from behind her. Chell froze. Then turned around. As Chell turned around, she came face-to-face with two people. A man and a woman.
Chell must’ve had a startled expression on her face, cause the woman had put her hands up, trying to reassure her that they weren’t going to hurt her.
“Whoa!” The woman exclaimed. “Hey, its ok. We mean you no harm.”
Chell still wasn’t convinced, but she finally calmed down.
“Are you ok?” The woman asked. “You look awful.”
Chell was speechless. Then, after a moment of silence, she nodded her head to tell them that she was ok.
“That’s good to hear. My name is Alyx, Alyx Vance, and this-“ The woman nodded her head to the man in the metal suit. “-is my good friend, Gordon Freeman. What’s your name?”
Chell was not the type of person who liked to talk a lot. But she figured that, since these people seem like they wanted to help, Chell decided maybe it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to speak to them. After a while she weakly said,
“My name…… is Chell.”
“Chell. That’s a pretty name. Where are you from?”
Now THAT question Chell wasn’t ready to answer. She never wanted to mention or say where she was from and why. When Chell didn’t say anything, Gordon spoke up.
“Why don’t we get you back to Black Mesa and check you out? Maybe get some food in you. You look famished.”
Alyx agreed. She also told Chell that they had medical staff there that can help her with any injuries she may have. But before Chell could thank them for their kindness, she suddenly got dizzy. Fatigue suddenly overcame her.
“Chell? Are you ok? You are looking even more worse than when we found you.”
Before Chell could answer, her vision went black. And the last thing she remembered was collapsing to the ground.
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Gordon was the first to reach Chell before she could hit the ground, gently putting her down while Alyx checked for a pulse.
“She’s still breathing.” Alyx said, after seeing that Chell’s pulse was strong. “But she is awfully pale. We need to get her back to Black Mesa and get her medical attention. Now!”
Gently but quickly, Gordon scooped Chell up and put her in the passenger side of the muscle car. The car didn’t have back seats, but Alyx had no issue with sitting in the middle. As uncomfortable as it was, it was better that way. After Alyx had put Chell’s Long Fall Boots and Companion cube on the back of the car and strapped them both down, she hopped in. Then Gordon turned on the car, shifted it into gear, and raced for Black Mesa.
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During the drive back to Black Mesa, Chell would drift in and out of consciousness. She had no idea what was going on, but there was one thing that confused: how did she get in this car? Where were they going? As she tried to adjust herself, she suddenly flinched in pain.
“Whoa. Easy there, Chell. It’s ok.”
“How is she, Alyx?”
“She looks like she’s in a lot of pain. Can you go- Whoa, hey. Easy. It’s ok. You don’t need to worry. You’re safe. We are taking you to Black Mesa. There will be people there who can help you. Everything is going to be ok.”
“We’re almost there. Hang in there, kid.”
Did you hear that, Chell? We’re almost at Black Mesa! Hang in there a bit longer, ok?”
Chell was so tired and overwhelmed. Her eyelids were growing heavy.
“Hey! Don’t go to sleep just yet, ok? Gordon will have us at Black Mesa soon. You just need to fight it, ok? Please, you have to.”
“We’re here!”
“Good! Did you- No, no, no. Chell? Chell! Don’t do this, ok? Stay awa-----”
But their voices sounded so far away. And Chell’s vision went black once more.
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It had been a few hours since they had found Chell and brought her to Black Mesa. The doctors there were waiting up front when Alyx and Gordon were pulling in (Gordon had radioed Black Mesa on their way there and told everyone what was going on and what was needed). After that, everything was a blur. The doctors took Chell in, started working on her wounds, got her started on IV and fluids, and had been working non-stop. Gordon and Alyx have been waiting for a while. After another hour, a nurse with blonde hair done up in a ponytail with a name tag that read “Dr. Nicole Queenstone”, a white lab coat and light blue scrubs, came out of Chell’s room. Alyx and Gordon quickly stood up, waiting for the doctor to tell any news.
“How is she, doc?” Alyx was the first to ask that question.
Dr. Queenstone took off her glasses, then said, “She’s doing fine now. She’s resting. You are very lucky you got her here in time. That poor woman looked like she had suffered from a couple second-degree burns. Along with a few pieces of shrapnel. But she is fine now. We have her on some fluids to help re-hydrate her. In the meantime, she needs to rest.”
Gordon and Alyx were relieved to hear the news. Chell was going to be alright!
“Thank you, doc.” Alyx said, while exhaling in relief. “I don’t know what we would have done if we were too late.”
“Just be happy you weren’t.” Dr. Queenstone said with a smile. “Now you will have to excuse me. I have other patients to attend to.” Then after that, she disappeared into the hallway.
Alyx and Gordon sat down on the bench, relieved to hear that Chell would be alright. But there was one thing that would not leave their minds: Where was she from? How did this poor woman get all these injuries? Who or what could have caused her to suffer like this? All these “how’s” and “what’s” kept spinning through Alyx’s head the most.
After a while, Gordon put an arm around Alyx’s shoulder and brought her closer to him to try and calm her down. Alyx then rested her head on Gordons shoulder, ignoring the fact that he was still wearing his Hazard Suit. They sat there, thinking about all that had happened over the past few hours. “She’s going to be ok.” Gordon said, after another moment or so of silence. “She seems like a tough person. She will make it.” Alyx raised her face to meet his, attempting to smile. A smile that was reassuring to both of them. Then rested her head back on his shoulder. “Gordon?”
“Yes?”
“Could you do something for me?”
“Of course. What is it?”
“Talk more often. I like the sound of your voice.”