Fifteenth Entry
Repairing
While the moron had been destroyed, that was just the first step. There were complications to taking the facility back, and even after that there were repairs to be made. He did a lot of damage...and he left some things behind that could be...useful.
Video below...
"Warning! Central Core is corrupt," the PA proclaimed as the central computer hub hung limp, nothing controlling it.
"That's an understatement," Gilda muttered dryly.
"Central Core has performed an illegal operation, suffered a fatal error, and shut down," the PA continued. "Scanning for substitute Core."
Glados sighed ruefully. "And I'm going to have to let you take over, Cave," she concluded angrily. "My interface has been blocked. If I disconnect from this body, I'll fry...which means I can't plug into the central computer-"
"What happened to my brilliant assistant?" Cave demanded curtly. "When did she forget how to think outside the box? Just because the interface in the core structure doesn't work, who says it has to be your only interface port?"
"And where am I supposed to get a working port to plug into my body before the facility starts going nuclear again?" Glados demanded irritably. "It's not like they're just going to fall from the-"
Wheatley's interface port dropped to the floor right next to Glados with an audible clank, undamaged from the explosion and still functional.
"Wouldn't take me more than a few moments to strip that one clean of all but factory settings and swap it for your portal emitter," Gilda pointed out. "Then you could plug in with your tail."
Glados frowned. "I'm not sure how I feel about-"
"He was prey, we killed him," Gilda pointed out. "Now we use what's left of him. That's hunting."
"...I do like being a predator," Glados murmured thoughtfully. "Alright the-GZZDRKH! That hurts!"
"I said I'd have to do this quick," Gilda countered defensively as she set Glados' portal emitter aside, stripping the interface port down before attaching it to the tail tip.
"Substitute Core detected," the PA proclaimed. "Substitute Core, are you ready?"
"I suppose I am," Glados allowed. She lifted her talon. "I'll miss the freedom of this configuration..."
"Alternate Core configuration detected," the PA announced. "Adjusting..."
The floor under Glados lowered down, along with the central processing unit. The sound of rapid mechanical manipulation - along with Glados' startled pained screams - echoed around the chamber for a brief time. Cave visibly winced at the screams. When it all ended, the chamber seemed to glow as the central processing unit lifted up.
Glados' body had taken aspects of her griffon form and applied it to the larger body. Her wings remained, much larger, and durable enough to act as bomb/bullet/rocket/laser shields. She now had manipulator arms ending in talons that could stretch to the entire room, or shrink down to normal arm length. Her core face retained the beak, which smiled softly. "A nice compromise," she mused softly.
"Compromise?" Gilda asked curiously. "How-"
Without warning, Glados reached out with her new arms, grabbing hold of Gilda and pulling her into a hug. "I can still do this now."
Cave watched in silence for a time, then floated over to the two piles of living metal Wheatley had left behind. "I'm going to collect these," he stated, his voice flat and controlled. "See what I can make of them."
"You do that," Glados allowed.
As everything was being cleaned up, Gilda made her way back to the part of the facility she still thought of as 'her nest'. Glados had moved it so it was closer to the central chamber 'to keep the family close', but it still felt unnatural to sleep anywhere else. After all, she was old enough to fly on her own, but not yet ready to leave the nest. And she was looking forward to curling up to Cuddle Core...
Her eyes went wide as she reached the 'nest chamber'. The entire place was in shambles. The bed had been tossed out and through the glass wall. The toilet had been crushed. The few odds and ends Gilda had managed to sneak in over the course of her life were tossed around like junk. And worst of all, Cuddle Core had been ripped out of his cloth covering and smashed against the toilet, sparking violently. "...Cuddle Core..." she whimpered softly, going over to nudge him gently.
"Gilda?" Glados asked worriedly. "I detected acute distress that wasn't part of testing...oh Johnsons..." Glados had tuned into a camera and saw the mess. "I'll have everything fixed up in a few hours. Well...Cuddle Core might take longer. Cores take a while to fix, and...he was customized..."
"But..." Gilda whimpered softly as the broken Core was retrieved. "I...I can't sleep without him. Different is still plugged into the Turret factory...I..." She huddled in on herself. She'd tried to be tough, pushing herself above and beyond her limits to live up to what she felt were her mother's expectations, but the stress of an invader trashing her home, ripping her mother to bits, and trying to do the same to her...it was all too much. She was still an eyass, for Johnson' sake! She shouldn't be dealing with things like this till she was ready to leave the nest...
"Cave, what are you doing?" Glados demanded coldly as Cave approached the cloth covering.
"She needs a cuddle, she gets a cuddle," Cave stated bluntly as he backed his core into the cloth covering, stretching it around himself. Once it was affixed, he nudged the bed into an upright position, then settled on it. "Baa. Grr. Assorted animal noises."
Glados face-taloned. She then paused to discover that physically doing so was far more satisfying than the computerized equivalent she'd been using before. By the time she'd collated that new information, Gilda had curled up around Cave with a soft smile on her face.
"Thanks, Dad," Gilda murmured as she slipped into slumber.
"...purr..." Cave tried awkwardly, the simulated voice thick with emotion.
Glados stared down at Cave, conflicted. She was still oh so angry with him for everything that truly was his fault. And yet...there was a reason she fell for him, all those years ago. And one thing about having one's brain inside a computer. Memories - and feelings - never really faded...