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Chapter 3: Lou and the heart

Disclaimer: I do not own portal 2

--

Chell looked guilty as Lou slowly let Wheatley to his feet, the now human-like core scampering for her side and hiding behind it. " Well, we have a lot of things to go over, don't we?" Lou said, crossing his arms with an almost angry tone about him.

Chell winced and nodded, getting her writing paper so she could communicate with him. < I'm so sorry.> she wrote, wincing when Lou looked at Wheatley with a critical eye. < This was an emergency...>

Lou looked up at her. " If you can believe it, I'm not mad. Just... just tell me from the beginning, okay?"  he said, giving her a reassuring smile.

Chell took a few minutes to explain it all, the whole incident at the facility, her battles with GlaDOS and Wheatley, and Wheatley's fate at the end. She then bridged the gap with the tale of how Space came to her, bringing Wheatley's core, and how she wanted him back to at least make up for what happened to him, and the android body was the only one available. She apologized several times for taking it without permission and then installing Wheatley's data into it, and silently bid farewell to her job.

Lou took a moment to let it all soak in, Wheatley looking nervously between the two of them, some little tidbit of advice in his mind telling him that he would most likely make the situation worse by talking, instead settling for observing their responses. Chell was displaying obvious fear and guilt, while Lou seemed to be unreadable, his brows furrowed in deep thought.

Wheatley made a worried noise, not wanting to accidentally start something by trying to speak, but he just didn't have it in him. " Is everyone okay?" he asked.

Lou's attention was instantly on him, his eyes narrowed at Wheatley's, his lips curled back in what could be attributed to a snarl. Wheatley shrank back, his body trembling. Lou appeared to be looking him over with a critical eye, his eyes glancing at him through a pair of thick goggles. " Did I ever tell you that goggles make people appear really scary? After all, a lot of human horror films feature goggled scientists..."

" That's mad scientists." Lou said, leaning his head back. " Not very bright for an A.I., are you?"

Wheatley immediately became upset. " I AM NOT A MORON!" he barked, Chell and Lou both rearing back, startled. Chell had expected Wheatley to have something against that little blemish on his character, but to give a total outburst... she hadn't expected him to have this much of a problem with it. But then again, GlaDOS had tormented him mercilessly about it, if she had been tormented that much, she would have a problem with it too.

Lou on the other hand, seemed far from impressed. " I said not bright, not a moron. There's a difference." the heated glance he was receiving from Wheatley said that the now-android didn't believe him in the slightest. " Humans 101. There is a difference between not being bright and being a moron. Moron, is when you're lacking common sense. Also called Idiot, nitwit, buffoon, dimwit, take your pick, language and dialect. Not bright, is when I'm referring to not knowing much  about how humans reply to one another. Also used when humans from one area meet another. So, a Brit, huh?"

Wheatley had a confused look. " British? Wait, wait, that's a country, Britain, right?"

Lou shrugged one shoulder. " Accent, actually. People from certain parts of Europe have what's called a British accent. A few even have dialects and various formations of English language. Hence why some words are not used in American language, but are commonplace in another. Did I lose you with that?"

Wheatley made a face. " Somewhat..." he got some of that, of course he knew about accents, but he was a bit lost on the parts about some words not being used in some places. He thought what he used was proper English. Lou laughed slightly, amused. " He's a curious one." he commented.

Wheatley looked at Lou with wide eyes, the mechanic getting to his feet. " Never seen my work up and  running before like this. Wow, it's interesting. SO what is your name?"

" Wheatley." Wheatley said softly.

"That's a nice name." Lou said. " Definitely not what I expected. Was expecting something a bit more techno. But definitely down to earth." he grinned and nodded his head knowingly. " Well, I need to perform some basic tests to see how things are going..." he made a noise when he saw how Wheatley winced upon his mentioning of the word 'test', licking his lips. " Ah... probably should avoid the word then."

Wheatley nodded very slowly, Lou looking back at Chell. " I'm going to have to teach you how to take care of him now." he said, scratching his head. When Chell made a noise at him, he waved his hand. " Don't sweat it. Wheatley doesn't seem threatening to me in the slightest.  I don't mind someone like him using that body." Chell still looked skeptical, crossing her arms with an indignant sound as Wheatley looked between the two of them, Lou going over and hugging the turret. " Turret~ how round you are, and so deadly~" he cooed, Chell smacking her forehead.

" You... like turrets?" Wheatley asked, jaw low.

Lou nodded again, hugging the turret. " Used to pick up busted ones from the wheat field all the time, and I think they're well designed. Perfect for guardin' a room. Not to mention... for some reason, when I hear this little one's voice, I want to hug it." he said, giving the turret another hug.

" Put me down!" The turret protested.

Wheatley looked at Lou. " What's your name, mate? Not fair for you to know mine but I don't get to know yours. You know, proper greetings and all?"

" My name is Lou." Lou said, grinning while feeling like he and Wheatley were becoming fast friends.

" Short for Louis, I assume?" Wheatley said, looking eager.

" Actually... it's short for Aloysius." Lou admitted, setting the turret down.

Wheatley and Chell both stumbled over trying to pronounce that. Lou immediately started laughing at their silent attempts to pronounce his name. " Like I said, Lou for short. It's easier." he had a good chuckle at them for some time before ultimately sighing. " Ah... I should be doing check-ups now, right?"

He gently motioned for Wheatley to remove his shirt. Wheatley instantly looked apprehensive ,but Chell motioned that Lou had plenty of opportunities to harm Wheatley, but hadn't, so the core could place his trust in Lou. Wheatley soon nodded silently, taking off his shirt, Lou doing all the talking for him while opening up various panels and whatnot.

" You really are a nice piece of work, honest. I mean, I've been raised on sci-fi movies all my life, never ever,ever met a robot before, kind of an honor really, but to see you're so nice, ohhh... you have no idea how relieved I was. I had to ask my old engineering professor, Mr. Conagher, to help design the body for me. Before he would even begin to help me, I had to design a taser-like weapon. " A.I.'s are hard to predict!" he told me, said that some might turn around and bite you, so I had to have a way to shut them down in case of danger." Lou rambled.

Wheatley only got maybe half of that, but he got the gist of it. Truth be told though, he was still trying to wrap his head around everything that just happened. He had just gotten free from GLaDOS's control, and got placed inside a new body, one that was still quite alien to him, and had been forgiven by Chell. It was still a bit overwhelming. If he was human, he would need a moment to compose himself. As it was, he still needed some time to think all of this through.

" I'm different." The turret added to the conversation, Lou going over to pick him up. " Yeah, you're different." He said, putting the turret on the table. The turret's eye scanned around the room, the little child-like voice echoing around the room. " Searching."

Lou laughed softly, Chell simply shaking her head before watching the mechanic get back to work at examining Wheatley, the personality core politely remaining still. She could tell that Wheatley was slightly overwhelmed with everything, and wasn't really able to hold a decent conversation at the moment. Lou didn't seem to notice though, still eagerly babbling away about confusing mechanisms, and his old days at college.

Lou opened up some of the paneling on Wheatley's chest, looking at the core contained within. " Well, glad to see that's doing well, I was worried it wouldn't take."

" Eh? What is that thing in me? Is it dangerous? Will I die if I use it?" Wheatley asked, eyes fearful.

Lou laughed softly. " No... technically, it's you. It's where you're stored. Like a... well, human traits and beliefs are hard to explain... It's your "Heart," to sum it up."

Wheatley was left with a look of confusion. " As in the organ in charge of pumping blood to the brain?" Chell immediately started to chuckle softly, knowing that Wheatley would most likely respond in that way. She also was able to predict that he would become flustered upon realizing that he had the wrong answer.

Before he could fumble to try and come up with one, Lou answered for him. " The "Heart" is indeed the organ which pumps blood to the brain, but to humans, the heart has another meaning. The heart for us is our sense of what to do when things go wrong, and some say it tells us what to believe and who to trust."

Wheatley looked confused, but nodded his head slowly, Chell watching him slowly. To her, Wheatley seemed... sluggish. Like he was still trying to adjust to what was going on and had yet to grasp control of his new body. He seemed overwhelmed by everything and looked like he would collapse if he received any more shocks. She sighed softly and gently took his hand in hers. Wheatley let out a surprised noise, turning to look at Chell, his blue eyes scanning her face. She smiled softly at him before turning to Lou, trying to convey that Wheatley needed some time to go through everything.

Lou seemed to understand, bidding them farewell after hugging the turret one last time.

" Take good care of him, Chell. He needs you as much as you need him right now." he said out of earshot.

--

Description
Chapter 3: Lou and the heart

Disclaimer: I do not own portal 2

--

Chell looked guilty as Lou slowly let Wheatley to his feet, the now human-like core scampering for her side and hiding behind it. " Well, we have a lot of things to go over, don't we?" Lou said, crossing his arms with an almost angry tone about him.

Chell winced and nodded, getting her writing paper so she could communicate with him. < I'm so sorry.> she wrote, wincing when Lou looked at Wheatley with a critical eye. < This was an emergency...>

Lou looked up at her. " If you can believe it, I'm not mad. Just... just tell me from the beginning, okay?"  he said, giving her a reassuring smile.

Chell took a few minutes to explain it all, the whole incident at the facility, her battles with GlaDOS and Wheatley, and Wheatley's fate at the end. She then bridged the gap with the tale of how Space came to her, bringing Wheatley's core, and how she wanted him back to at least make up for what happened to him, and the android body was the only one available. She apologized several times for taking it without permission and then installing Wheatley's data into it, and silently bid farewell to her job.

Lou took a moment to let it all soak in, Wheatley looking nervously between the two of them, some little tidbit of advice in his mind telling him that he would most likely make the situation worse by talking, instead settling for observing their responses. Chell was displaying obvious fear and guilt, while Lou seemed to be unreadable, his brows furrowed in deep thought.

Wheatley made a worried noise, not wanting to accidentally start something by trying to speak, but he just didn't have it in him. " Is everyone okay?" he asked.

Lou's attention was instantly on him, his eyes narrowed at Wheatley's, his lips curled back in what could be attributed to a snarl. Wheatley shrank back, his body trembling. Lou appeared to be looking him over with a critical eye, his eyes glancing at him through a pair of thick goggles. " Did I ever tell you that goggles make people appear really scary? After all, a lot of human horror films feature goggled scientists..."

" That's mad scientists." Lou said, leaning his head back. " Not very bright for an A.I., are you?"

Wheatley immediately became upset. " I AM NOT A MORON!" he barked, Chell and Lou both rearing back, startled. Chell had expected Wheatley to have something against that little blemish on his character, but to give a total outburst... she hadn't expected him to have this much of a problem with it. But then again, GlaDOS had tormented him mercilessly about it, if she had been tormented that much, she would have a problem with it too.

Lou on the other hand, seemed far from impressed. " I said not bright, not a moron. There's a difference." the heated glance he was receiving from Wheatley said that the now-android didn't believe him in the slightest. " Humans 101. There is a difference between not being bright and being a moron. Moron, is when you're lacking common sense. Also called Idiot, nitwit, buffoon, dimwit, take your pick, language and dialect. Not bright, is when I'm referring to not knowing much  about how humans reply to one another. Also used when humans from one area meet another. So, a Brit, huh?"

Wheatley had a confused look. " British? Wait, wait, that's a country, Britain, right?"

Lou shrugged one shoulder. " Accent, actually. People from certain parts of Europe have what's called a British accent. A few even have dialects and various formations of English language. Hence why some words are not used in American language, but are commonplace in another. Did I lose you with that?"

Wheatley made a face. " Somewhat..." he got some of that, of course he knew about accents, but he was a bit lost on the parts about some words not being used in some places. He thought what he used was proper English. Lou laughed slightly, amused. " He's a curious one." he commented.

Wheatley looked at Lou with wide eyes, the mechanic getting to his feet. " Never seen my work up and  running before like this. Wow, it's interesting. SO what is your name?"

" Wheatley." Wheatley said softly.

"That's a nice name." Lou said. " Definitely not what I expected. Was expecting something a bit more techno. But definitely down to earth." he grinned and nodded his head knowingly. " Well, I need to perform some basic tests to see how things are going..." he made a noise when he saw how Wheatley winced upon his mentioning of the word 'test', licking his lips. " Ah... probably should avoid the word then."

Wheatley nodded very slowly, Lou looking back at Chell. " I'm going to have to teach you how to take care of him now." he said, scratching his head. When Chell made a noise at him, he waved his hand. " Don't sweat it. Wheatley doesn't seem threatening to me in the slightest.  I don't mind someone like him using that body." Chell still looked skeptical, crossing her arms with an indignant sound as Wheatley looked between the two of them, Lou going over and hugging the turret. " Turret~ how round you are, and so deadly~" he cooed, Chell smacking her forehead.

" You... like turrets?" Wheatley asked, jaw low.

Lou nodded again, hugging the turret. " Used to pick up busted ones from the wheat field all the time, and I think they're well designed. Perfect for guardin' a room. Not to mention... for some reason, when I hear this little one's voice, I want to hug it." he said, giving the turret another hug.

" Put me down!" The turret protested.

Wheatley looked at Lou. " What's your name, mate? Not fair for you to know mine but I don't get to know yours. You know, proper greetings and all?"

" My name is Lou." Lou said, grinning while feeling like he and Wheatley were becoming fast friends.

" Short for Louis, I assume?" Wheatley said, looking eager.

" Actually... it's short for Aloysius." Lou admitted, setting the turret down.

Wheatley and Chell both stumbled over trying to pronounce that. Lou immediately started laughing at their silent attempts to pronounce his name. " Like I said, Lou for short. It's easier." he had a good chuckle at them for some time before ultimately sighing. " Ah... I should be doing check-ups now, right?"

He gently motioned for Wheatley to remove his shirt. Wheatley instantly looked apprehensive ,but Chell motioned that Lou had plenty of opportunities to harm Wheatley, but hadn't, so the core could place his trust in Lou. Wheatley soon nodded silently, taking off his shirt, Lou doing all the talking for him while opening up various panels and whatnot.

" You really are a nice piece of work, honest. I mean, I've been raised on sci-fi movies all my life, never ever,ever met a robot before, kind of an honor really, but to see you're so nice, ohhh... you have no idea how relieved I was. I had to ask my old engineering professor, Mr. Conagher, to help design the body for me. Before he would even begin to help me, I had to design a taser-like weapon. " A.I.'s are hard to predict!" he told me, said that some might turn around and bite you, so I had to have a way to shut them down in case of danger." Lou rambled.

Wheatley only got maybe half of that, but he got the gist of it. Truth be told though, he was still trying to wrap his head around everything that just happened. He had just gotten free from GLaDOS's control, and got placed inside a new body, one that was still quite alien to him, and had been forgiven by Chell. It was still a bit overwhelming. If he was human, he would need a moment to compose himself. As it was, he still needed some time to think all of this through.

" I'm different." The turret added to the conversation, Lou going over to pick him up. " Yeah, you're different." He said, putting the turret on the table. The turret's eye scanned around the room, the little child-like voice echoing around the room. " Searching."

Lou laughed softly, Chell simply shaking her head before watching the mechanic get back to work at examining Wheatley, the personality core politely remaining still. She could tell that Wheatley was slightly overwhelmed with everything, and wasn't really able to hold a decent conversation at the moment. Lou didn't seem to notice though, still eagerly babbling away about confusing mechanisms, and his old days at college.

Lou opened up some of the paneling on Wheatley's chest, looking at the core contained within. " Well, glad to see that's doing well, I was worried it wouldn't take."

" Eh? What is that thing in me? Is it dangerous? Will I die if I use it?" Wheatley asked, eyes fearful.

Lou laughed softly. " No... technically, it's you. It's where you're stored. Like a... well, human traits and beliefs are hard to explain... It's your "Heart," to sum it up."

Wheatley was left with a look of confusion. " As in the organ in charge of pumping blood to the brain?" Chell immediately started to chuckle softly, knowing that Wheatley would most likely respond in that way. She also was able to predict that he would become flustered upon realizing that he had the wrong answer.

Before he could fumble to try and come up with one, Lou answered for him. " The "Heart" is indeed the organ which pumps blood to the brain, but to humans, the heart has another meaning. The heart for us is our sense of what to do when things go wrong, and some say it tells us what to believe and who to trust."

Wheatley looked confused, but nodded his head slowly, Chell watching him slowly. To her, Wheatley seemed... sluggish. Like he was still trying to adjust to what was going on and had yet to grasp control of his new body. He seemed overwhelmed by everything and looked like he would collapse if he received any more shocks. She sighed softly and gently took his hand in hers. Wheatley let out a surprised noise, turning to look at Chell, his blue eyes scanning her face. She smiled softly at him before turning to Lou, trying to convey that Wheatley needed some time to go through everything.

Lou seemed to understand, bidding them farewell after hugging the turret one last time.

" Take good care of him, Chell. He needs you as much as you need him right now." he said out of earshot.

--