[Video; Action??]

[donttestme]

[Chell stares at the camera of this little device she found in her pocket. It may not have the same white, modern curves of an Aperture device, but it was something meant to record and monitor, which mean there was someone(something) watching and listening. She glares at it, fury burning in her eyes. Her lips form a slight frown, which grows deeper as the feed carries on.

Her hand shakes and she cuts the feed suddenly, because she’s about to scream at the device and whoever is monitoring her (as if it could be anything else).

She was supposed to be free!]

...

[She takes a deep breath, and suddenly, the anger is gone. It would be safe to turn the camera back on, but she doesn’t. She sent her message. She’s just waiting now, for her to make contact, to tell her she was kidding and then start insulting her intelligence, her weight, her parentage, whatever she thought would get to her.

It wouldn’t. It never would. No one would ever get that satisfaction.

She starts walking down the halls, testing doors, looking for a way out. She’s not going to waste time standing around until she gets an answer, if any is to come.]

[Edit: And now she's smashing mirrors on her way.]


Comments

[whatseparates]

I broke a chair once. It was back the next morning. It looked fine.

[donttestme]

[That gives Chell pause. So, they replace the broken things? All right. She could deal with that. She's giving them work, at least.]

[She shrugs.]

Still gets the point across.

[Annnd there's another mirror down the hall. There's writing on it. She strides towards it, cube in hand. You know the drill.]

[whatseparates]

It might be easier with...something smaller.

_{[Like an enormous pipe wrench, which he has just pulled out of the closet.]}

wrench buddies

[donttestme]

[It's not that hard, you know, you just kind of hold the cube in front of you, corner pointing to the glass and just... jam it forward. Crunch. And then to get the rest of the glass out if the first blow wasn't enough, you slam the flat side against the mirror!]

[... Though he has a point. Smaller would be easier, which means faster, which means more broken mirrors, and if it was bigger than the corner of the cube it would probably shatter better...]

[She looks over at him - he's holding a pipe wrench and... Did he get that from that - hall closet, she guesses. Convenient.]

[She thinks about it, looks at the cube in her hands, and then shrugs. She drops it. She could pick it up before she moves too far down the hall.]

[She goes over to the closet Jack is in front of and looks in it... Maybe it has another wrench - ah, it does. It's a shiny steel spanner, and it's a little smaller, but still big enough to smash a mirror without shredding her hands.]

[She takes it and tests its weight in her hands, and nods approvingly. Hm. Note to Chell: start looking in closets for stuff.]

[whatseparates]

<sub>[Jack...lingers around the abandoned cube for a minute, examining it. He hops up on it, then back down. He picks it up--with his hands--and hefts its weight.

Then he tosses it into the air, and catches it with Telekinesis, and jogs after Chell.

Wait up! He doesn't say.]</sub>

[donttestme]

[Chell hears the sound of a cube being stepped on and moved around. She's... Well, it's just a cube, and there could very well be another one in a closet somewhere. And she... She has a wrench. And he gave it back to her before, so... Maybe he could be trusted. just a little.]

[She looks over her shoulder to see him carrying the cube with his mind, and smirks a little. Then she winds up with the wrench and shatters the next mirror.]

[whatseparates]

<sub>[When he catches up with her he turns so he's jogging backward past her, grinning. Once he's far enough away to be absolutely certain he won't hit her--and that there's an unbroken mirror nearby--he flicks his wrist.

It's an absurdly casual motion, considering the velocity at which the cube smashes into the mirror.]</sub>

[donttestme]

[She smiles a little at his enthusiasm. And then -- he fires the cube?]

[Chell freezes where she stands - though she's standing slackjawed; at the whoosh and crash, she ducked down, wrench raised in case she had to run or fight --- but it was just Jack, and it was just a mirror.]

[She stares wide eyed at the scene, eyes eventually fixing on Jack. Yeah uh wow you did just... Shoot that cube. That was a surprise.]

[whatseparates]

<sub>[He looks back at her as the cube ricochets and then just sort of awkwardly bounces a few feet down the hall. His expression turns from delight to confusion.

What did he do wrong?]</sub>

'though she's *not standing slackjawed', dammit grammar!

[donttestme]

[... It sinks in to Chell that Jack was never really unarmed when she thought he was, and could have done... That, at any time.

... But then again, if Chell had whatever ability that was, or any other, she'd keep it armed, especially when dealing with new people or new surroundings.

... Besides, it was like her knee replacements - he couldn't help having them, they were just there. She'd just have to... trust... that he wouldn't hurt her. He seemed - all right, so far. He was human, he was a person, he didn't talk about tests or science, and had pretty reasonable reactions considering.]

[... Third time's the charm?]

[slowly - awkwardly, even - the corner of Chell's mouth twitches upwards a little. C'mon... a little more... a little more - there. A smile.]

... Didn't expect that.

[whatseparates]

Oh...yeah. It's...pretty...

_{[Fast? Strong? Something. He shrugs awkwardly.]}

[donttestme]

... Unexpected.

[... She doesn't know what else to say. She looks around the hall, spots another mirror a few feet away, and coolly swings her wrench into it. Seems like she's back to business, even if her shoulders are still a little tense. She pauses and checks over her shoulder to see if Jack is doing the same, or if he's still... bothered by her reaction.]

[whatseparates]

_{[He switches back to his own wrench, experimenting with how light of a touch he can use and still cause the glass to spiderweb around the impact.]}

[donttestme]

[Chell switches hands for her wrench, because her right arm's getting ... slower. Tired. She's tiring out.

... Huh. She felt tastes of this during her time in test shaft 9, but they faded when she was back to the main facility. Real adrenaline, or adrenal vapor, whatever the case, she had other things to focus on and no time to be tired.

She doesn't think much of it beyond that - she just switches hands and gets swinging. She's sure she's right-handed, but apparently you don't need a lot of coordination for smashing things.]

[While Jack is trying to test the minimum of his blows, Chell is still swinging full force, maybe even trying harder. She's not as enraged anymore - she just just wants to see how loudly and violently she can shatter the glass.]

[whatseparates]

Don't wear yourself out.

[donttestme]

[Chell stops and glares over her shoulder. Who is he, telling her what to do?

... But... She is wearing herself out. And she can't do that, that'd be careless.]

[She sighs and lowers her wrench. She turns and looks at destruction in their wake, and it's kind of impressive considering this Mansion's love of mirrors. She shrugs.]

How long have you been here, Jack?

[whatseparates]

A few weeks.

[donttestme]

[Chell nods.]

Have you tried to get out?

[By now, several people have told her that escape was impossible, that it had even been attempted and failed. Chell didn't believe it was impossible, of course, but learning about what didn't work would help her find what would.]

[whatseparates]

No.

[donttestme]

[This... Sort of comes as a surprise to Chell, seeing how alert Jack was.

This expresses itself as a slight turn of her head and arched eyebrows.]

Why not?

[whatseparates]

If you leave here, you go back where you came from.

[donttestme]

[Chell quietly processes this. She shuts her eyes, takes a breath, exhales.]

... Are you sure?

[whatseparates]

Everyone says so. Some say they've left and come back. I don't think they're all liars.

[donttestme]

[Chell huffs.]

[What if... What if there was a way to leave, but not to return to where they were taken? Chell doesn't have anything to support that, or to even base it on, so she keeps that to herself.]

... You don't want to go back?

[whatseparates]

Not really.