Want You Gone

[Chapter Twenty-One: Cara Mia Addio]

I could hear soft shuffling noises all around me. The room was bright. Brighter than I had remembered it, anyhow.  

I opened my eyes slowly, and as they adjusted, I saw in front of me two unfamiliar figures. They seemed human-like, but they were not quite there. One was tall, and egg shaped. Its orange, mechanical eye was flicking curiously over me. The other was shorter and stumpier, and its blue eye studied me cautiously. 

I sat up slowly. As I came to my senses, I realized that I was sitting in the lift of her chamber. Slowly, I began to remember what had happened. "Did we.. do it..?" I rasped softly. 

I heard a whirring noise as GLaDOS spun around to face me. "Oh thank god, you're alright!" She exclaimed. 

"How long...?" I glanced between the two robots that hovered over me as they slowly backed away, giving me some room. 

"Only a few days. I had time to undo his damage and clean the place up. Well... Some of it, at least." She replied softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore... Tired... A little upset, not going to lie." I said in response, staring down. "I'll manage." I winced, standing up slowly and flexing my fingers. I realized that my gun was missing. "GLaDOS...? Where's the portal device?" 

She said nothing, only looked at me silently. 

"Well...? We aren't done here. Aren't you going to throw me into some more chambers? Come on, we don't have too much time to waste. I'm ready!" I piped, an eager smile crossing my face as I bounced on my feet. I couldn't say why I still had so much energy, after all that I had just endured, but I was ready now for whatever else GLaDOS could possibly throw my way. 

"That won't be necessary. I have Blue and Orange here to test for me, now. You've been replaced." She said in her usual, cold tone of voice. "I'll be releasing you back out into the wild, where you can be someone else's problem."

My smile slowly faded as I tilted my head at her. "I thought we were... I thought we were okay, now..." I felt a sting in my heart as she turned away from me. 

"You know, being Caroline taught me a valuable lesson." She muttered softly. "I thought you were my greatest enemy... When all along, you were my best friend."

She leaned in closer to me. Her normally cold gaze now seemed affectionate and fond. I reached my hand out slowly and stepped toward her, resting it on the cold metal of her core. It was funny, how I had known her for as long as I could remember. We had some bad times, some good moments, and a hundred other questionable interactions, but never before had I been brave enough to make physical contact with her. 

"The surge of emotion that shot through me when I saved your life taught me an even more valuable lesson: where Caroline lives in my brain..." She whispered, pulling away from my touch as the announcer's voice flooded through the room. 

The room went darker and the atmosphere grew somber. The wall panels had stopped breathing with life. Everything seemed to pause as he made the announcement, "Caroline deleted."

My eyes widened. "GLaDOS...?" I gulped, taking a cautious step back. 

"Goodbye, Caroline..."  GLaDOS murmured, her voice sounding... different. It sounded much more now like it did when I had heard it for the first time: lifeless, bored, unbothered with the world. 

I went quiet, looking up at my friend with teary eyes as the doors to the lift slid closed around me. I pressed my hand to the glass, shaking my head slightly in disbelief. 

"You know, deleting Caroline just now taught me a valuable lesson. The best solution to a problem is usually the easiest one. And I'll be honest. Killing you? Is hard." The robot muttered, spinning around her now lifeless chamber. "You know what my days used to be like? I just tested. Nobody murdered me. Or put me in a potato. Or fed me to birds. I had a pretty good life. And then you showed up. You dangerous, mute lunatic. So you know what? You win. Just... Go..."