Chapter Text
"You have been in suspension for FIFTY days. In compliance with state and federal regulations all testing candidates in the Aperture Science Extended Relaxation Center must be revived periodically, for a mandatory physical and mental wellness exercise." The first Virgil heard when he woke up was the grating sound of the Aperture Labs announcement system. The mechanical voice rang in his ears as he tried to hold back a frustrated sob. He was back in this fucking place again.
After barely escaping with his life, he was dragged unconscious back into the horrid building. Those first few precious moments of freedom were ripped away from him before he got the chance to properly experience them. Just his luck. He didn't even get any cake.
He stood up and immediately wobbled, looking down at his feet. Was he seriously wearing heels? At least he wasn't barefoot anymore and the "heel" seemed to be a replacement for the braces that were fused into his legs. A bit of a step up if you asked him.
"You will hear a buzzer. When you hear the buzzer, look up at the ceiling."
May as well get this over with. He looked up at the ceiling. It was an plain spotty beige color. Some spots were moldy with slight water damage. From what, Virgil didn't know.
"Good. You will hear a buzzer. When you hear the buzzer, look down at the floor."
He looked down at the ugly grey floor with a sigh.
"Good. This completes the gymnastic portion of your mandatory physical and mental wellness exercise."
If that was gymnastics what the hell did Aperture consider it's testing? The goddamn Olympics?
"There is a framed painting on the wall. Please go stand in front of it."
Virgil glanced around until he spotted the picture of the opposite end of the bed. He dragged his feet over to the wall and looked at the picture. It was a lovely lake with a giant looming mountain behind it and a small cabin on the edge. Virgil had to admit it was a little nice.
"This is art. You will hear a buzzer. When you hear the buzzer, stare at the art."
He stared, honestly already bored with this whole thing. After a long moment the announcer spoke up again.
"You should now feel mentally reinvigorated."
Virgil just had to roll his eyes at that. What was that supposed to do? Bore him into feeling better?
"If you suspect staring at art has not provided the required intellectual sustenance," Of course it hasn't. ",reflect briefly on this classical music."
A small violin tune started playing over the speakers. It was tinny and generic but kind of nice. Virgil found himself lightly swaying to the sound before it was cut off with a loud buzz that startled him more then it should have.
"Good. Now please return to your bed."
You know what? No. Virgil walked down the little hallway to the door. The knob wouldn't turn, not that Virgil expected it would but it couldn't hurt to try. He walked back defeated, looking around the little room. It looked like a standard hotel room. There was even a tiny TV on the wall in the corner. There didn't seem to be a remote anywhere though. Huh.
Not that surprising if Virgil were honest with himself.
Virgil glanced down at his outfit. Still the same orange jumpsuit. Gross. He unzipped the offending thing and tied the top half around his waist. There. No more aperture logo on his back. He didn't belong to the- Oh goddamn it. His tank-top had the words "Aperture Laboratories" written in bold letters across his chest. Shit.
Well he wasn't going to walk around shirtless but his point was made. To himself at least.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and sank into it. Despite being asleep for fifty days he was utterly exhausted. Guess being treated like a lab-rat will do that to you. A heavy feeling descended on him and he immediately fell into statis his vision going white.
---
"You have been in suspension for nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine--"