Portal 2: The Elaborate Trap
Today I purchased Portal 2 from Steam. I have been waiting to play the game for some time. However, what I was about to experience would change the way I look at Portal 2 forever...
The Beginning
When I bought Portal 2. It took a total of two hours for it to fully download. When it finally finished downloading, I started it up. I was amazed at how different and cool the menu was. Valve had done a great job already. When I started the game. I was in this bright cheerful room, with a different voice then GLaDOS giving me instructions. Afterwards, I went to bed in the game. After that, I played through the chapters, all the way to right before "The Fall". You know that Cake Trap door? The one in Portal 2 where GLaDOS baits you with a door that says "GLaDOS Emergency Shutdown and Cake Dispensary - KEEP UNLOCKED"? That one. When I reached that area. Usually, there isn't a way out. You're supposed to fall for it. HOWEVER. When I got there, before I took the bait and went down the pit, I looked around. To my surprise, (I loved watching walkthroughs and such of Portal 2 so I generally knew a lot of the surroundings and where they were) I saw a white panel farther away then the one that is above the trap was. Instead of portaling the ceiling of the trap, I portaled that one instead. Something in my gut told me to stop there, and to turn around and take the bait. I ignored it. It's just a game.. It can't hurt you, there is nothing scary about Portal 2 anyways.
"The Second Trap"
In Portal 2, when you take the bait. GLaDOS will mention a much more "Elaborate" trap up ahead for when the player "got through this easy one" I was assuming what I was looking at was the REAL trap. Usually you could never get to the trap as you were supposed to take the bait. so I was generally confused. Yet excited. Perhaps I had gotten a special exclusive version where it was possible to take a whole new turn on the storyline with the mentioned trap? Anyway, I'm getting off track. What happened next seemed normal. It was a simple test chamber like room, door and such. No entry door, open ceiling. I hopped in, expecting something to pop out or some kind of trap. Nothing. Nothing at all. I was surprised. I couldn't get a portal anywhere in the room, like the cake trap room. Save for the white panel above. There were moderate test elements, classic button and box. When I put the cube on the button, the door opened. It lead to what seemed to be GLaDOS' core room. I braced myself for a fight, when I walked down the newly opened hallway, I was suddenly trapped into a glass box like when you fall for the Cake trap. Instead of GLaDOS saying something to you, I heard GLaDOS maniacally laughing, as I started to move down the hall in the box, I heard metal sparks and twitches and the sound of something being crushed. I heard GLaDOS say "You're nothing but trash, a waste of space. Something I will correct once she gets here." Was she referring to me? And who was she talking to? Did GLaDOS go insane? When I entered the room. I was horrified. I saw blood, everywhere. On the walls, the floor, the stalemate button (Now wrecked. To prevent the stalemate scene from even occurring) When I looked in GLaDOS' direction, I saw a horrific scene. I saw dead bodies of people - no, rather. Employees? Scattered around, with GLaDOS covered in blood. She was crushing and - effectively - destroying Wheatley. Wheatley was one of my favorite characters, despite trying to kill you on numerous occasions like GLaDOS, he was s till my favorite. I was starting to wonder if I was even playing a legit game. Had the server been hacked and replaced with a seriously fucked up hacked version of the game? How many other differences had I missed? Why was this happening?! While I questioned myself, I looked back and saw GLaDOS throw Wheatley's dead spherical body at the wall, shattering it into pieces and sparks. GLaDOS looked at me in my box, trapped. I could only sit and watch as to what would happen next. She said "Ah, there you are. Have you ever heard your name at all in your life? No? Well then here it is. I'm going to kill you, Chell." Half of that was real scrapped dialouge. But it was never used... What the hell?
Death Incarnate
GLaDOS suddenly let out a robotic fist like Wheatley does to PUNCH YOU INTO THE PIT. And punched at the glass box, it was aimed at me, so I moved. It shattered the glass. Allowing me to escape. The escape music from when Wheatley helps you escape played. Except, it was more slower, demonic, and sounded horrific as if I was meant to die and could not escape even if I tried. GLaDOS then said while following me as I circled across her; "What are you doing? There is no escape. HAHAHAhaAHaHAaha. If there was any point to your life at all I would allow you to live. But seeing that is not true there is no point to me keeping you alive... I have no use for you. You are a pain in my backside. It's time to die. Once I kill you, you're next." GLaDOS said, on that last part, 'your next' She looked at the player. But in a different way. A more horrifying way that sent chills down my spine. It looked like she was looking at ME. I started to jump to gain speed, GLaDOS started throwing punches that kept missing until she wised up a bit in her (AI?) and punched in front of me. I backed away and was met with a sickening punch into the wall. I heard bones crunching and saw realistic blood on the floor beneath me. Along with a horrific thud. When she retracted the fist, the player view fell to the ground, as if I was seeing through what would happen to Chells POV if this really happened, like at the end of the game's "shoot the moon" scene. I was horrified. GLaDOS started laughing maniacally. Then she repeated "I'm going to kill you, Chell" Again, then she repeated "I'm going to kill you" over and over, Chell's POV looked up, and was repeatedly punched with the fist. The screen got redder and redder, as more sickening sounds were heard, Skulls being cracked. Lungs being crushed. Bones being snapped in half. and plain sickening gore. Then, it blacked out and went to the loading screen as if I died in a normal test.. I was in shock of what happened. I couldn't move for a second, after I came to sense of what just happened I looked at my screen. I was at the place I saved at before choosing the "second path" The second path was gone. The normal route you are forced to take is the only possible way. to see if what I saw would repeat itself, I took the normal path. Same old dialogue and trap. When it went to the CORE room, it was all normal. No blood, no murder. Just the transfer and such. All normal. What the hell just happened?
Epilogue
Words of wisdom, friends. If you ever see a possible alternate path in Portal 2 before the cake trap. Don't let your curiosity get the better of you. If you can, take the other route. Restart Portal 2, turn it off and wait a few hours. For the latter two, beg to god if you come back it's gone. For the former, never be urged into going back, unless you want to experience the un-seeable horrors I experienced. I still have nightmares of poor little Wheatley and Chell being murdered...