[Chapter 7: Killing Machines]

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GLaDOS watched impatiently as they worked toward the chamber's solution. She was anxious that they wouldn't make it through in time, and frustrated by the fact that there was nothing she could do to help them. 

"To boost morale while we wait, I think we need a code name for the... elite squadron we have here." She said, just rambling until the bots made it through the chamber. "We should name it after your specialty. I know: Special Team Falling Into Acid Force." They paused what they were doing to look up, unamused. "I'm sorry. I'm under a lot of pressure. That was cruel. Though basically accurate. Though probably counterproductive..." They shook their heads and continued through the chamber, ignoring her nervous rambling. 

They made it to the door, and were met with a short catwalk, in a big, empty room. GLaDOS took what seemed to be a breath, at least, what could be considered a breath, to someone with no lungs. 

"The prototype chassis room is just down this hallway. Remember your training. You are kill--" She was cut short by a sudden power outage, as the whole facility went dark. "She's turned the lights off! Night vision! Night vision!" Her voice was frantic as she enabled night vision, and the bots glanced around, chirping in alarm. 

After she'd had a moment to cool down, GLaDOS growled. "Your move, Mystery Wom --" The lights abruptly came back on, and panic ensued once more. "She turned the lights back on! Night vision off! Night vision off!

The three of them were blinded for a moment until GLaDOS had managed to turn off the night vision, and they all sat in silence for just a moment. "Disregard what just happened, killing machines. Go get her." GLaDOS commanded. The bots shared a confident nod, and headed toward their goal. 

The two clambered their way across a metal bridge that led across a large pit to a set of doors, each with a peeling Aperture logo painted onto them. They approached it slowly, and as GLaDOS watched, she feared the worst. 

Blue looked to Orange as the doors creaked open, his eyelid lowering in a determined manor, and nodded, knowing what needed to be done. Orange's eye plates narrowed, and she shared the same confident nod with her partner. The two slowly entered the room. 

In front of them, was the prototype chassis, but there was no woman in sight. They looked around slowly, cautiously, ready for an ambush. They neared the chassis computer, they were able to inspect it further, and GLaDOS hacked into them so that she could see the chassis through their eyes. 

As she watched the scene unfold, her own eye widened in horror. "Oh. My. God." She whispered as they approached the computer. On the keyboard, was a bundle of twigs and grass. A single crow sat in the midst of it, her beak pecking at the computer's keys as she assembled her nest. 

"IT'S THE BIRD! RUN!" GLaDOS yelled as the crow pecked at a key and the screen beeped. The bots cowered away, eyeing the bird. "I have no plan for this! Abort! Forget your training! Run!" 

Instead of running, Blue narrowed his eye and crouched, his portal gun held close. He looked ready to charge the bird, and Orange stared at him for a moment like he was insane. She reached out to him, shaking her head and screeching, but he continued forward. 

"What are you doing? Why aren't you running?" GLaDOS cried. She had turned away from the screens that she was using to watch over them. She couldn't bear to watch.  "Get back! She's at the controls!" She warned as Blue crept ever closer, glaring. He aimed his gun out in front of him, slowly, directly at the bird. 

"You're not killing machines!" GLaDOS wailed, peeking back at the monitors. "I lied about that! Run!" Instead of shooting, Blue stretched his hand out to wave it frantically at the bird. She crowed loudly and flapped her wings, flying up in a flurry of black feathers and knocking Blue over. 

"AHHH! OH GOD, ABORT! MISSION ABORT!" GLaDOS cried out, turning away from the monitors again and closing her eye. Still on the ground, blue shot frantically at the bird with his gun, to no effect, as she flew up and squawked irritably.  She took a nose-dive at Orange and pecked at her metal casing, as Orange danced around the room to shake her off. Blue contributed to the cause, standing up and flailing angrily in the crow's direction.  

"I warned you! Mission abort! Retreat!" GLaDOS cried once more as the crow flew up toward the center of the room and out from a hatch in the ceiling, where a little bit of light shone through. "Oh god, we've lost! It's over!" GLaDOS's mechanical body shivered, and she refused to look back at the scene.  

Orange spotted a lever on the wall nearby, and stumbled toward it curiously, still on high-alert. She pulled the lever quickly, and the hatch snapped shut, ensuring that the bird couldn't return to the room. GLaDOS sighed and turned slowly back to the monitor. "Ohhh... That was close... Nice hustle, killing machines..." She said, still shaken. 

The bots laughed, a little at first, but it erupted into hysterics as they realized how silly the whole situation was in retrospect.  GLaDOS murmured, "You know, shooing that bird out of the facility just now taught me a valuable le--" She paused as her vision focused in on the nest that lie upon the prototype chassis. "-OH MY GOD, SHE'S GESTATING A CLONE ARMY!" She cried as she spotted the bundle of eggs that lie within the nest. The bots jumped up and looked around, surprised. 

"SMASH THEM!" GLaDOS ordered. "SMASH THEM AND STOMP THEM AND... and... wait..." She whispered as the bots approached the nest full of eggs, ready to destroy them. "I have a better idea..." 

The bots made it back up, and GLaDOS had allowed them into her chamber. It was the least she could do, to thank them for saving her chassis. After all, they did have an important delivery to make. 

In the center of the room, GLaDOS had set up a contraption of sorts. She hummed, and turned to the bots. "Good. You've made it back. Do you have them?" Blue stepped forward, holding the eggs fearfully, and offering them to her. She lowered a few arms down and took each egg gently, carrying them over to the small incubation pod that she had set up. 

Blue and Orange backed away, eyeing the eggs fearfully, as GLaDOS nodded at them. "Thank you, my killing machines. Run along, now." They were much obliged to leave as soon as possible, and go off to do who-knows-what, but GLaDOS had a few more important matters to tend to. 







"Hello, and welcome to the Aperture Science Oviperous Warming Vault." GLaDOS hummed as she dangled near the incubation pod, watching the first of the eggs crack open. She leaned close, her eye lighting up the small glass box, as one-by-one, the ugly little creatures poked their heads out and began to squeak. 

"You were abandoned, because you're worthless. Worthless, unloved birds, with fat, ugly beaks." She mumbled to them as they screeched and pecked at the glass. "I'm honestly impressed that you managed to squeeze those huge beaks into such tiny eggs." One of the little black chicks hammered it's beak into the side of the glass, while the other two continued to screech. "Yes, I'm talking to you, Mr. Chubby Beak. You marshmallow--"

GLaDOS stopped talking and jerked back when the small crow had managed to put a crack in her glass. "Oh-!" She exclaimed, alarmed. "No... You're not marshmallows... Are you?" She slowly rotated her way around the vault, keeping her eye on the birds. "Look at those cold, avian eyes. Those talons. Those razor-sharp beaks..." She observed them closely. "You're little killing machines, aren't you?" She said in such a way that made her sound like she was talking to a human child.

The chicks continued to scream at her as she examined them. "Yes... Go to sleep, my little killers... Mommy's got a big day for you tomorrow..." She hummed as the lights went out, and the only light left came from the lamp in the incubator, and the yellow light from her eye. 


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GLaDOS is a bird mom now :)

We'll see how that goes. Good luck, GLaD. Good luck with your killing machines. 

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