2. A Place with Sunlight : ff.net

Title: Impact
Fandom: Portal
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Friendship, Character Study
Warnings: Portal 2 Spoilers, Character Death
Summary: ATLAS and P-body set out beyond Aperture, life rebuilds itself, and a catastrophe speeds toward earth. Post-Portal 2, microchapters of 500 words.

     “Consider this an experiment in quantum observation - I’m setting you loose to do one simple thing, and we’ll see if you can accomplish it without me watching.  Then again, I’ll be listening, so maybe that’s not entirely accurate.”

     The Cooperative Testing Initiative could still almost hear their mistress’s words as they were reassembled, portal guns placed in their hands before they could even orient themselves.  They stepped out of their respective pods, turned to each other, and tentatively waved.

     ATLAS, P-body noticed, had a pack slung over its back.  ATLAS reached back and prodded at the thick plastic container, and adjusted the strap across its shoulder that held the box in place.  The container tapped against the back of ATLAS’s core as the two robots walked, a third rhythm in time with their steps.

      The elevator was just wide enough for the two of them, if they pressed shoulder to shoulder and didn’t move as the door closed.  The stood completely still, optics tracking the passing floors through the elevator’s transparent front as layer after layer of the facility flew by.  It grew lighter as they ascended – though the facility was almost entirely restored, loose panels and tiny gaps still let light from the surface bleed through.

     The elevator came to a stop before opening with only the light hiss of rubber on glass.  P-Body exited first, stepping lightly around ATLAS, while ATLAS bound out of the elevator soon after.

     The door to the surface opened immediately, creaking with disuse.

     It took a moment for the robots’ optics to adjust to the sudden change in lighting.  Neither moved to shield their eyes, but they were blinded for a moment by how bright it was outside.

     They’d never been outside before – outside the testing tracks, yes, but never in a place so flooded with sunlight.  Once they could see properly, ATLAS looked toward P-body, and the two exchanged an excited chirp before stepping off the concrete step that held up their exit.

     A field of brown-yellow stalks surrounded the shed that led to the facility, stretching as far as their optics could see.  ATLAS knelt down and placed its portal gun in the dirt, inches from the first yellowing plant, and slowly peeled it apart with as delicate a grip as it could manage.  The plant crumbled far more easily than it expected, the top of the stalk crushed to dust.

     P-body, meanwhile, looked up to the sky: it was as blue as ATLAS’s optic, so focused on dissecting the plants.  While looking from one end of the sky to the other, P-body looked back at the shed, and the single security camera mounted on its front.  It was focused on the two robots, shifting and dilating with their movement.

     P-body tapped ATLAS with its foot, and it stood up, dejected.  It picked up its portal gun, smearing the handle of the device with dirt, and the two robots shared glances again before walking forward, leaving the shed behind them.