The directions came just in time and Scorch took a screeching left turn onto a bigger road. This car was a lot harder to drive than a speeder! He jumped at the noise from the radio, and then breathed a sigh of relief as GLaDOS took care of it. "Thanks for that." He said. "I agree. He didn't sound like a very interesting person. WOAH!" He slammed on the brakes and then the car horn as one minivan refused to get out of the way. He swerved dangerously to the left and then righted the car again. Then he drove on, hands gripping the wheel tightly, going as fast as possible. Every now and then he would check with GLaDOS to make sure everything was clear, but for the most part he remained silent. At one point he remarked, "You know, it's weird. I always have my squad with me - Delta Squad - and I always have something to say. But now, I just can't stop wondering where they are. If they're okay." He glanced at the AI out of the corner of his eye. "You seem like you don't work in a squad or a team of any sort. Am I right?"

(/ooc I have put Scorch's history up, as well. It's very long, so all the stuff you need to read is in red. The rest is only if you really want to read it. Gotta go to bed. G'night!)

"Yes, you're right. The closest I ever came to working as part of a team was when She and I worked together to take down the intelligence-dampening sphere and restore me to my place in the central computer, and even then She did most of the work." GLaDOS looked over at Scorch. "To be honest I think this is the first time I've ever really worked as part of a group. It's... actually pretty entertaining."

(/ooc Morning. I would have put only the important parts of GLaDOS' history but I realized that I don't really know which parts those are. If you've played both Portal and Portal 2 you already know everything that's necessary.)

Scorch nodded, still looking at the road. "Thought so. And for a first time, you're doin' a great job. Unlike my brother Sev, who was made to work in a group, but... well, let's just say he doesn't play well with others." Scorch chuckled slightly. "However, we do need to find you a means of transportation. That could turn into a problem if -" The car came to a screeching halt as Scorch slammed on the breaks. There was a rather large body of water in front of him. "What? No! What is this? I was driving west, wasn't I?" He stared at the water for a second in dismay. Then a thought occurred to him. "This guy had to have a route. Excuse me," he said as he leaned over GLaDOS to open the glovebox. "Let's see if we can't find... Aha!" He pulled out an atlas and sat back in his seat. Flipping through a few pages, he found one that had the words "Central Park" written somewhere in the middle. "Alright." He placed his finger on the map at Central Park and began to trace the route they had taken. It was west, and it still led to a body of water. "Fierfek!" He swore. "Who knew that Central Park was on a dikut'la island?!?" He turned to GLaDOS. "Here." he said, putting the map on the dashboard in front of the AI, "Find a bridge, or a ferry, or a tunnel, or something." Then he backed up and turned left onto West Side Highway, driving more slowly as he waited for instructions.

(/ooc Here's a map.)

"Oh, you are kidding me." GLaDOS said upon seeing the river. "I assumed that there would be a bridge or something if we just went far enough west." She looked at the map. "Alright, take a right and we'll head south then you should see two bridges. I think there's a tunnel in between them too. And I agree, I either need to find some means of transportation or upload my consciousness into something mobile or at least more portable."

(/ooc I completely forgot about the rivers. In the words of the immortal Homer Simpson "D'oh!")

"Alright." Scorch followed these directions for about forty minutes. During this time he said, "So, when we ran into the disruption field, I was separated from my squad, my crew, and my ship. When we find Orange and Blue, what exactly are we going to do to them and what exactly will happen? Will we immediately be sent back? Will my squad be sent back, too? Will the universe remain intact?"

(/ooc XD Awesome. And since my character isn't going to be watching for any oncoming police or anything, I'm just going to assume that he drives until the tunnel, which would take about 40 minutes. If you want any police or conversation, just insert it. :) )

"Well," GLaDOS said, "once we find Orange and Blue we'll collect the remaining portal device and I'll see what I can do to fix the universe and send us all home. It might be necessary, however, to locate your squadmates before we try to use the device,because as of the moment I'm not sure what could happen as a result."

(/ooc I'm fine with skipping to the tunnel. Although I think the police might try to arrest them there, perhaps having set up a roadblock.)

"I can find them with my HUD, Heads-Up-Display, in my helmet once we get within a certain range." He thought for a while, driving in silence. "I think I'll take the tunnel, not the bridges, since the tunnel will be more concealed," he decided once they were closer to the bridges and tunnel. "Oh, no." He said, slowing slightly. dramatic pause (see ooc below) :)

(/ooc Okay, sounds cool. Since you're the eyes and ears of this operation, how about you describe the roadblock?)

"Oh no is an understatement." GLaDOS said starring ahead at the police barricade blocking the entrance to the tunnel. It looked like the majority of the NYPD had showed up accompanied by a SWAT team. They gave their typical warning, advising that the pair bring the vehicle to a halt. "I have a plan but it's insane. Drive as fast as you can until we're about to crash into them and then engage the emergency brake. If we're ridiculously lucky we'll flip over them without killing ourselves."

(/ooc How's that?)

"Alright. I have just a small addition to this dini'la plan," he said, bringing the car to an abrupt stop. He rifled around in his pack and took out an EC grenade. "This will disable their cars temporarily and drain the energy source. There is a slight chance that I will throw it at the wrong moment and you and our car will be caught in the explosion, but I believe I can do it. I didn't train for 10 years for nothing." He rolled down the window, gripped the steering wheel tightly and took a deep breath. "Here we go." He floored the accelerator. Again, the wheels screeched and smoke came up from the tires. Then they achieved traction and lurched into motion. As the car gained more and more speed, the wind whipped through the open window, creating a roaring sound. Faster, faster, faster... When they were right on top of the blockade, Scorch jerked the steering wheel to the right slightly and slammed on the brakes. The police car flipped violently on its left side and spun out of control. There were metallic, percussive sounds as the SWAT team opened fire. In its bouncing and rolling, the hijacked car hit the top of another police car in the blockade. Scorch just barely managed to chuck the grenade out the open window and the car bounced up and over the blockade. The windshield of their car shattered, the safety glass raining down on the two. The car rolled and rolled and the front hit the pavement, deploying the airbags. Talcum powder puffed out from them, making Scorch cough. By an extaordinary stroke of luck, the car slowly stopped rolling and landed upright. Then they heard the explosion of the EC grenade back at the blockade. The car was not caught in it. There was a moment of silence as the SWAT team held their fire to check on and arrest the driver of the hapless car.

Scorch's head lolled around from being hit by the airbag, but as soon as his vision cleared, he looked at GLaDOS in amazement, breathing heavily. "What... now?..."

( /ooc Great. :D )

As they sped forward GLaDOS realized that this was possibly the craziest thing she had ever done. "The craziest thing you've ever done so far." Caroline's voice corrected from somewhere in the back of her mind. "Quiet Caroline." GLaDOS mentally snapped back. The AI yelled in panic as the car turned end over end until, miraculously, the car landed upright. There was a moment of stunned silence from all parties involved until Scorch asked; "What... now?..." GLaDOS looked from Scorch to the police and back again while marveling at their astonishing luck. "Assuming this thing can still move I suggest we vacate the area as quickly as possible." she finally answered. "Good work by the way."

(/ooc Nice description of them flipping the car over the barricade.)

After a few more deep breaths, Scorch replied, "Thanks. I hate these land-bound vehicles, they're so limiting. Okay, time to go." Scorch pressed on the pedal, and the car moved forward. "Alright! Here we go!" Then he added after looking back, "They won't be following us any time soon. Their vehicles are as good as scrap now." As they drove into the tunnel, the sound of the motor revving made a loud roaring sound. "Okay!" Scorch shouted over the noise, "Do you think that since we have no windows, the airbags are gone, and the car is in terrible condition, that we should hi-jack a new one when we get clear of this tunnel?!"

(/ooc Thanks!)

"Agreed, I'm not sure how much longer this vehicle will last. Also, as insane as this sounds, that was pretty fun." GLaDOS said, turning to face her companion. "It's a pity that I don't currently have access to my confetti dispensary, after defying odds like that I believe celebrations are in order. I would give you some cake but it's back at the enrichment center and probably stale at this point. Oh well. I'll just bake another one when I get the chance."

Scorch gave the AI a weird look and shouted, "So, I guess in your world droi- I mean AIs are a lot more interesting! There is not a single droid that I know of in my world that would consider that 'fun,' or that have cake and a confetti dispenser!" He shook his head. "It's kind of hard to talk in here, isn't it?!" Then he looked back at the road. "Oh, come on!" There was a toll booth at the end of the tunnel. Scorch leaned forward and pressed on the accelerator more. Surprisingly, the bar was not even lowered to try to stop him, and they emerged into the daylight again. But it was just an exit which they didn't take, and soon they were back in the tunnel. There was a sign at the exit that said, 'Welcome to New Jersey, the Garden State. (NEW JERSEY STATE LIMITS)' Scorch continued to drive until the next exit, which he took to the right. Now they were going north on J.F.K. Boulevard. Everything seemed oddly quiet compared to the tunnel. "Okay, so first thing, we need to ditch this car." He looked around. "Ah, perfect!" He said when he saw a scrapyard. He drove around until he was behind the scrapyard, then parked in the corner of a fence. "Okay, so let's ditch the car here, upload you onto something more portable, and then get a different vehicle. Sound good?"

"Sure and I've got an idea." GlaDOS said in reference to the last thing Scorch had said. "I think I can instruct you on how to construct a simple automaton. Then we can upload me into the Mobile Data Terminal that we found in the car earlier and hook that up to the robot. Then once we get the portal device and Orange and Blue and the rest of your squad we can come back here and put me back in my old body before sending us all home." The AI then began to survey the scrapyard for parts that might be useful in the construction of the a fore mentioned automaton.

(/ooc What would you think of bringing Chell into the story? I was thinking that perhaps she too wound up being transported to the alternate dimension. It would result in a rather humorous reunion.)

(/ooc Sorry it took me so long, I was reading the history and going to fencing and wrapping presents and decorating my house and... sigh Here I am now, though.)

Scorch listened, nodding and searching the scrapyard as well. "Right. Or we could just upload you onto this." He said, holding up an old, beaten-up Tekno the Robotic Puppy toy. "I mean, it's an automaton, and it's already built." He continued with a completely straight face. "And there's nothing you can do about it, either. So there's no use complaining." He started to walk toward GLaDOS, holding out the silver dog. "And it's not a potato. And it's not a bird. You know, the more I keep talking, the better this idea sounds!"

(/ooc In case you have never seen Tekno the Robotic Puppy, THIS is Tekno the Robotic Puppy.)
(/ooc What an interesting idea! That sounds really fun! I think you would have to play her, though, since I will have to play Scorch, Sev, Fixer, and Boss eventually.)

(/ooc Sorry about making GLaDSO' history so long. I culdn't figure out exactly how much was how relevant.)

GLaDOS eyed the mechanical dog for a moment before sighing, "Alright, I suppose that under the current time-constraints we don't really have the time to make a robot." A panel opened in GLaDOS' side as she said, "Just take this cord and plug it into the dog and I'll transfer myself into it."

(/ooc First PotatOS now GLaDOg. You sir or madam are a genius. On an unrelated note I think I' have Chell come along in a little while. Also what if Orange and Blue are in California? GLaDOS and Scorch on a cross-country adventure!)

(/ooc That's fine! It was actually entertaining to read. Now I really want to play Portal! Sounds fun! Also, I thought since we might not have that much more time in this roleplay, I would start introducing Scorch's squad to the story as secondary characters. Green is Fixer, Orange is Scorch.)

Scorch stopped walking for a moment, shrugging. "Oh, I expected you to argue more, but okay. I'm not used to people taking my crazy ideas. Alright, so..." He took the cord and picked up the dog. Turning the dog over in his hands, his face became troubled. "There isn't a port for this kind of plug. I can't-"

"Ner vod? Megin gar?" A voice identical to Scorch's called out.

Scorch whipped his head around to look for the speaker. "Elek," he said hesitantly, "Fixer?"

A figure identical to Scorch came out from behind a pile of scrap. He was holding a dismantled helmet in his hands, and he greeted Scorch warmly. "Su cuy'gar, vod!" They both clasped hands and exchanged greetings, continuing to speak in a foreign tongue. After a minute or so of concerned sounding conversation, they nodded simultaneously and turned to GLaDOS. "Umm... meg gar burc'ya, Scorch'ike?" the newer one asked, gesturing to the AI.

"Oh, this is GLaDOS. GLaDOS, Fixer. Fixer's my brother. He's the engineer, mechanic, hacker, slicer, you name it." Scorch was very enthusiastic as he introduced his brother to GLaDOS. Very proud.

Fixer, however, regarded GLaDOS with a wary attitude. He obviously was not as conversant as Scorch, and just started talking in a way that seemed normal to him, but was kind of odd to everyone else. "Hello. Good to meet you. Um, tell me about yourself."

(/ooc GLaDOg! I like it! And thank-you. :) And that (Chell) sounds like it will be very fun, having read the history now. The whole cross-country aspect sounds like it would be fun, but didn't you say a while back that we had like three days or whatever? I mean, we can change it to something like a week, but in three days?... I don't think we could save the universe in time. :D Do you want to change the location of Orange and Blue? Or the time constraints? Or keep everything as it is with Orange and Blue just a few states over?)

(/ooc You're right I forgot about how long it would take to travel that far. I went back and changed it to eight days, thought I'd give them one extra day for all the fooling around they did in central park. Also, why would we not have much time left in this roleplay?)

Internally GLaDOS grinned upon hearing that the dog lacked a port that was compatible with her interface cord. Of course, lacking a true face she couldn't really grin, but in her mind she was smiling. She was surprised when Fixer stepped out from behind the pile of scrap and he and Scorch started speaking in Mando'a. However she immediately committed everything said to memory, she was reviewing it based on context in an attempt to learn the language.

"Hello." the personality construct said in response to Fixer's greeting. "It is very nice to meet you also. I am a personality construct from another dimension. And when I say 'another' I mean neither this one nor the one you come from. I also like cake, it's a good motivator."

(/ooc I think I'll introduce Chell after they leave the scrapyard.)

(/ooc Okay, sounds good. So, California it is then? Well, you never know. Something could come up between here and California in the real world, and one of us gets distracted.)

Fixer nodded. It was a good enough summary for him. Somewhat odd, and filled with non-sequiturs, but relevant.

"Hey, Fixer." Scorch said, turning to his brother. "We're having technical difficulties here. You think you can help?" He held out the cord and the dog.

Fixer looked at it for a minute, then looked back up at Scorch. "Why?" he said dead-pan, shaking his head and gesturing to the toy.

"It's part of a plan. We don't have that much time left, actually. The police might be chasing us and we really have to plug this cord into this dog."

Fixer threw his hands up. "Okay, whatever, 62. I'm on it." He went back over to the scrap pile and retrieved his pack. Then he put the helmet he had been working on back in the pack and took out an adapter. "This should do it." He plugged the dog's charger cord into the adapter, then GLaDOS' cord into the other side. Then he held the dog in the palm of his hand and waited.

(/ooc Okay, sounds good!)

GLaDOS couldn't help but chuckle at Scorch's explanation of why they needed Fixer's help and why they didn't really have time to explain. It wasn't inaccurate, just humorous. Upon being connected to the dog GLaDOS' yellow optic flickered for a moment and then went dark. At the same time the dogs eyes began to glow. "Alright that should do it. The core transfer is complete." her voice emerged from the dog sounding a little bit like she was speaking from inside a tin can. "All of my vital functions have been transferred over so whenever you're ready we can go."

Fixer jumped at hearing the voice from the dog. Scorch guffawed. "Yeah, it was a transfer, silly. Might want to check what you're doing, next time."

"Shut it, 62." Fixer gently set the dog on the ground and unplugged the cord. "You're the one who failed to explain."

"Oh, it was too good." Scorch said, winding down. Then, still chuckling, he took the robot that used to be GLaDOS and lugged it over to a safe, concealed spot. Then he came back. "Okay, so that's done, now all we need to do is find a car."

"What?"

"Oh, we have to hi-jack another car so that we can find..." Scorch trailed off. Then he said to GLaDOS, "Could you fill him in?"

After being set on the ground GLaDOS took a tentative step forward. And then another. "Oh, my god look! I'm walking!" "Not very quickly though." Caroline's voice noted from the back of GLaDOS' mind. "Quiet Caroline." the personality construct mentally snapped back.

"Huh?" GLaDOS asked from the ground. She then realized that Scorch had asked her to explain to Fixer what was going on. "Oh, right sorry. We're trying to locate my testing robots so that we can get one of their portal guns I can rewire it so that we can prevent the universe from imploding. Did I miss anything?"

A few miles away Chell sat up and looked around. This was not where she remembered GLaDOS dropping her off. In fact this place didn't seem familiar at all. Then again Wheatly had said that she might have "a very mild case of severe brain damage" Cell stood and picked up her charred companion cube before looking around at the strange city.

"WHAT?!?" The usually calm Fixer just about lost it. "Wh- wh- what... did I miss??"

Scorch sighed. "Well, it was a good explanation, GLaDOS, but just a little too abrupt." He turned to Fixer. "Okay, so you remember that disturbance that we were sent to investigate?"

"Yes," Fixer replied shakily.

"Okay, so that was a giant portal in GLaDOS' universe. It was apparently destroyed or something, and now the universe is slowly losing its structural integrity." Scorch began to walk towards the exit as he continued to talk. "So now we have to find Orange and Blue, which, when used, will save the universe and send us all home."

"Okay, so now we have to find a car?"

"Exactly. I knew you'd understand eventually." Scorch patted Fixer on the back. "So, let's go!" He peeked around the gate of the exit, and looked back at GLaDOS. "So, let's not get a police car this time, since they're already on the lookout for us. Let's take... that one." he said, pointing at a Ford Taurus parked in the parking lot of the WALMART across the road. "Sound good?"

"Sounds great." GLaDOS replied. "And what's even better is I can actually walk toward it." she then began to walk forward at a pace which, if maintained, would see her at the car in about two hours. In the back of GLaDOS' mind Caroline burst out laughing. "Quiet Caroline!" GLaDOS yelled at her. On the bright side, at least this thing would be easy to get batteries for.

Scorch tried not to smile. "Yup. That's fantastic. Here, uh, let me help, though." He said, scooping GLaDOS up off the ground. "I would let you walk there by yourself, but we're kind of in a hurry." Then they ran across the street, dodging between the cars stopped at the light. When they had reached the parking lot, Scorch walked up to the passenger side of the vehicle in question and smashed in the window. Then he unlocked it from the inside and opened the door. The car alarm went off. "Fierfek!" he swore. However, he got in the car, put GLaDOS on the dashboard, and unlocked the driver's side. Fixer got in and began working on how to hotwire it. "Can you do something to override the car alarm?" Scorch asked GLaDOS, speaking quickly.