Chapter Text
The train ride wasn’t as long as anyone thought. Either the train was fast, or they lost track of time. Everyone was excited, talking about what they’d do when they opened the city. You personally had no clue what you’d do. To be honest, when you first woke up, you just blindly followed the cat. Now, you were glad you did. The Outsiders felt like a family to you, and you were happy to have the chance to know them.
When the train stopped and the doors opened, everyone filed out and looked around. On the wall in front of you were screens claiming Walled City 99 was ‘the world’s safest city.’ Yeah, you’d seen first hand that that’s not true.
Off to the left, you saw an orange companion sweeping the already clean floor. Walking over, it looked up and spoke in plain English, “Hello. How may I help you?” It didn’t stop sweeping once. Its beeps sounded kinda… robotic, for the lack of a better word. Every other companion expressed emotion in their voices, and their screens. This one was just…
Wait. You think you understood. This was an example of the companions' base programming. They were designed to assist humans, and that’s what it’s doing. Or… It was. Without a new directive, it was stuck endlessly performing the same task over and over. Down below, the bots had human influence to evolve off of. Up here, they didn’t.
That’s… actually really sad.
Because you hadn’t responded, the helper bot went back to its task, ignoring your presence. You just backed away, slightly unnerved by the companion. Your friends could’ve been reduced to that if you hadn’t escaped jail.
Despite how pristine everything was, the escalators up here were still broken too. So you were resigned to just walk up the stairs. There were gates with the logo of the city printed on them. You were curious where they led, but it didn’t look like they could be opened. The others had attempted to speak to the helper bots, but were just ignored. The way they acted also seemed to make them uneasy, especially Clementine and Seamus.
You just kept walking up. The control room had to be somewhere. There were more orange help bots, mindlessly carrying out meaningless tasks. Cleaning the window, painting the wall, it meant nothing anymore.
However, one stood next to giant orange gates with its arms wide open. On the gates were two screens, both stating the obvious that the city was sealed. Walking over prompted the helper bot nearby to start talking. “Greetings, inhabitant of Walled City 99. This door leading to the surface is currently locked due to the confinement procedure. Please refer to any certified engineer inside the Control Room if you have any requests. Have a nice day.”
“...This is really creepy.” Momo had been the first to speak, anxiously fidgeting with his hands. “Were we… all like this once?”
Clementine shook her head, looking away. “I don’t wanna think about that. Let’s just find those controls.”
Everyone wordlessly agreed, walking about the room to find the door to the Control Room. You weren’t sure if you could get in though. It might be locked with a keycard or special permissions only the ‘certified engineers’ had access to; and you were not certified or an engineer.
“Woah. Look at this.”
Seamus was looking out a window in awe. The others and you walked over, also stopping to admire the view. You were overlooking the entire city. Only the zones inhabited by the companions were lit up with bright neon signs. The darker areas you assumed were overrun by Zurks.
Momo excitedly pointed to a bright orange sign, one you remember well. “Hey! It’s my place! I wonder how everyone’s doing down there…”
You remembered it fondly. Momo was the first Outsider you met. Despite being kinda anxious, and obviously not too good at socializing, he’s come a long way. He was very brave to come with you through the sewers, even if it meant he could’ve died in there.
“Ha! Guardian wouldn’t believe this! Could you imagine the look on his screen when we open up that roof?” Doc laughed, patting Momo’s shoulder.
Guardian hadn’t really believed in the Outside. But he still helped you anyway. He pointed you to Momo, which led to you being able to find Seamus and Doc and Zbaltazar. Guardian probably wasn’t aware of it, but he was a big help to this whole adventure. You owed him a lot.
“Oh! I can see the sign of my old apartment. Remember how excited Clem was when you made our logo, Momo?” Zar said teasingly, nudging Clementine. She playfully hit his arm in response as he laughed.
You assumed those two knew each other the longest. Out of all the Outsiders they were the closest, and it was fun to see. Zar was some calming grounding force, and Clem was very outspoken and bold. It was also seen in how they addressed you. Zar being polite and kind, probably because of your ‘ancestor’ status. And Clem shortened the companions term for humans to ‘Softy,’ which was kinda endearing.
“Shut up, Zar! You were probably more excited about Doc’s little weapon than he was!” Clementine laughed, taking her turn and flustering her friend. Once she calmed down, she turned to you which slightly surprised you. “Also! Softy, I’ve noticed your little trinkets, and after what we’ve just been through, I wanna give you one too.”
Clem unwrapped the scarf around her neck, placing it on your shoulders. The scarf slightly covered your pins, so she also took them and pinned them to the scarf. She stepped back, proud of her handiwork as you admired the scarf and looked back at her.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really! We *#!^$*@ escaped prison together!” She held her arms out, her swearing automatically censored. You just laughed, accepting her gift.
Momo looked between you two, confusedly asking, “wait, we needed gifts for the Soft One? I didn’t bring anything!” Everyone just laughed at his confusion, making him even more puzzled.
Jokingly, you placed your hand under your chin and hummed. “I dunno, I could take that hat.” The rainbow-faced bot just grabbed his hat and held it on his head, causing everyone to laugh more. “Relax! Haha, I don’t need any gifts Momo. It’s fine.”
After all your banter and reminiscing on the companions part, you looked to the left and spotted the Control Room. Actually, you should’ve seen it sooner considering it says “Control Room” in big red letters above the doors. You pointed it out, and you all made your way over. B-12 came out to check the access to the room.
“The Control Room is closed by some sort of a security protocol. It says only humans are authorized to enter. It also says that I’m not considered human. Hey, that’s offensive, security protocol!” He whirred in annoyance, though you were confused. According to the protocol, only humans could enter, and these doors were usually automated to detect life. You were human, and pretty obvious about it, and the doors didn’t open.
So you decided to look at the panel yourself. You couldn’t get very far though, but confirmed your earlier suspicions. “It says only certified engineers and other personnel are allowed entry.” You said, turning back to B-12.
“Hm. Maybe if we work together, we can open this passageway.” He flew back to the panel, getting to work on his part. The others seemed to have given you guys some space to work, either watching from a distance or going back to observing the city down below. Doc however seemed interested in the helper bots. You walked to the second panel, and the circuitry was revealed to you. You had no programming knowledge, so you guess you can destroy the wires.
Obviously, not by yourself though. So you beckoned Daisy over, scratching behind his ears. “Hey buddy, you wanna break some stuff for me?” You asked, receiving an enthusiastic meow in response. So you picked him up and let him scratch at the wires. The plan worked, the door controls being ‘overridden’ and granting you access to the Control Room.
You started forward, stopping as you heard B-12 talk to the others. “Perhaps it would be best to have you out here. In case the presence of all of us sets off any security systems and alerts… whatever could possibly neutralize us. It won’t respond much to a human and a cat. You could watch the gate for us!”
Clementine looked disappointed. Seamus didn’t care much, saying he was fine waiting, and Momo agreed. Zbaltazar understood, already walking over to the door. Doc was still messing around with the helper bots, disrupting their tasks.
You waited for Daisy to walk ahead, following him as the doors closed behind you. The Control Room was filled with all kinds of machinery you couldn’t recognize. Which one of these controls the city gates..? You didn’t dare touch anything without the guidance of B-12, he knew a lot more than you did.
“This is the Control Room for the entire city. They controlled everything from here. And it’s empty.” He was right about that. You guess no one could escape the plague, no matter how hard they tried. “I remember hating them so much. They had everything. Clean space, limitless power, freedom to move. Little good it did them.” And that too. You also hated them. Especially for condemning these bots to a fate like this.
“The plague. I remember now.” B-12 kept staring ahead at all of the monitors and terminals. “Everyone was dying and they thought they were above it all. They did nothing to help us. I watched my family- most of my family die. I felt helpless. I couldn’t do anything to save them.”
You watched him closely, listening intently. You felt bad for him, just as you did for the companions. He was also a victim; human consciousness trapped in a small drone. Perhaps you were lucky to even have your body still. B-12 turned back, addressing both you and Daisy. “But I can still help you, and the Outsiders. We can still go outside. Together.”
You nodded as he retreated back into Daisy’s pack. The two of you walked forward slowly, examining all the machines; Daisy less careful, walking right on top of them. At the back of the room was a map pinned to the wall, labeling the things within the Control Room. It was surprisingly clear, perfectly readable. But, you still didn’t know what anything did.
B-12 reappeared to instead look down at the machinery. “This is it. The main computer.” He flew forward, tapping into the system to power it on. Slowly, each little monitor lit up, all displaying different information that you still did not understand. “According to the mainframe, no one has been here for years. The whole city is stuck in a lockdown cycle from long ago. If we disable it, we should be able to leave.”
What. Is he saying that this place was supposed to be open years ago?! These bots could’ve been free this entire time? This was making you extremely bitter. You couldn’t imagine how Clementine would react to this info.
“We’ll need to bring the rest of these systems online. These computers hold the data we need.” He looked back at the rows of computers. Some were powered on, others had their screens blank. “We need to turn them on. While you do that, I’ll look for passwords and encrypted keys to get into the system.”
B-12 stayed at the main computer, searching. You and Daisy turned around and started pressing the power buttons of the other computers. Or rather, you pressed the power button, Daisy just walked all over each keyboard. He accidentally turned a few off with his method, leaving you to quickly get them back online. Once all their screens were illuminated, you reported back to B-12.
Said drone whirled happily, “It worked! Good job my friends! I’ve found it!” He wobbled a bit in mid-air. “I know how to open the city.”
“Great! We can-”
“Something’s off here.” Huh? “Wait. Maybe there’s a way around it.” Around what?
B-12 did whatever it is he does, which powered on another system to the right, standing right in front of the window. A holographic screen appeared, labeled “Roof control station.” However, the blue hologram turned yellow with three locks, letting you know the system is locked. Uh oh.
“There, that’s the workstation to open the city. But, there are several layers of security preventing us from using it.” B-12 explained, and you stared at him.
“Then what do we do?”
“We do what we do best. Me, I’ll hack the machines and you destroy some stuff!” He whirled around and you smiled. Yes! Crime does come in handy! Daisy also looked excited to scratch more things.
The two of you ran over to one system that’s monitor had the yellow lock. You opened up a panel on top for Daisy to jump up and scratch at. After the wires were destroyed and sparking, you sent B-12 to override the system lock. Upon doing so, he seemed to nearly blow a fuse, causing you and Daisy to panic. “B-12! Are you okay?” You reached out your hands, ready to catch him if his hover ceased to work.
He wobbled slightly, recalibrating himself. “Th-th-th-the system is taking more than I expected.”
Suddenly, the room was bathed in red light, all of the overhead monitors displaying warning symbols while an alarm blared. You heard the doors lock soon after the alarm went off. Uh oh. “Oh no! We’ve got to keep going.” B-12 spoke, Daisy meowing briefly in response. You followed them worriedly, scared about what might happen. Most likely you and your cat get stuck in here until you eventually starve, and B-12… You shook the thought out of your head. No, you’ll be okay. You have to be.
The alarm must’ve alerted the companions waiting outside, because you could hear banging from across the room. They couldn’t get in, you couldn’t get out. You’d have to ignore them for now. This needs to get done fast.
You moved aside another metal plate, granting Daisy access to the wires. He got to work scratching, and B-12 hacked into the system once again. And once again, he nearly blew a fuse. The blue lights on his little antenna also turned red, and you instinctively reached out to catch him. He stayed hovering, but was obviously glitching. “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaxhdzxdhzxhx!”
Daisy looked at him worriedly, and you were freaking out too. If this was gonna kill him, you kinda didn’t want to do it anymore.
“Don’t worry. I can recharge once we open up that workstation.” He was glitching out as he spoke.
“I think this is more than just a charging problem! You could fry a circuit! What if… what if you die?” You felt like crying. You cared a lot for B-12. Not just because of who he really was, but because of how much you’ve been through together. He was just as much as family as the Outsiders. You couldn’t handle losing him. Daisy’s tail was between his legs, and he was looking up at the drone with concern. B-12 didn’t respond to your question.
You’ve come too far to back down now. You lead Daisy to the last system, although hesitantly. Taking off the plate, you let Daisy scratch the wires for the last time. You kept glancing back at the doors–as well as the workstation–anxiously. Looking back at B-12, he hacked the system and when he almost blew a fuse once more, he fell to the ground. You yelped, quickly dropping to the floor to catch him. Daisy yowled, rushing to paw at the drone.
“I think-k-k I think this little body is done for.” He was glitching uncontrollably. You didn’t want this. You didn’t want to keep going. Not if it meant you couldn’t have B-12 with you. “It’s okay. I’ll be alright. Just carry me to the workstation. We can disable that alarm.” He reassured, though it didn’t feel reassuring at all
You didn’t move. Daisy didn’t move either. You could faintly hear Clementine shouting. Was this worth it anymore..?
Eventually, you carried B-12 to the workstation, gently placing him on the console. Daisy hopped up onto the nearby chair, watching him worriedly. After a moment the alarm shut off, red lights going back to normal.
“That’s it. We’re safe.” B-12 glitched. “Listen. I have something to tell you.”
The two of you just watched B-12, eyes full of fear. He kept going. “I knew the power required to disable the city’s central control system would be immense. More than this drone body could handle.” Your eyes widened. What..? “But with the security now disabled, I can take control of the system and open the city.”
”Overriding it could destroy my software.”
Oh… Oh no. No, no, no.
“But I made that choice when I hooked into that first computer. And the consequences it could bring.”
He can’t do this. He–can’t…
“I’m sorry we won’t see the Outside together.”
You needed him. Daisy needed him.
“I thought I needed to carry on the memories of humanity. To hold onto the past. But, I see a future in the companions. And you.”
Please… Don’t…
“Here, let me take that off of you.” B-12 digitized Daisy’s pack off him. The cat mewled sadly.
“You were my friends, the very best I could have asked for. Thank you.”
Silently, you and Daisy watched B-12 float slightly off the workstation. And then the hologram cut out. B-12 fell and hit the station, rolling off onto the floor. Daisy hopped off the chair, meowing desperately at the lifeless drone. You fell to your knees, staring at the drone who once was B-12. You couldn’t speak. You felt tears rolling down your cheeks. You didn’t care.
Daisy laid down beside the drone, curling his body around it and closing his eyes. He mewed to it one last time, before falling silent. You covered your face with your hands, sobbing gently. The ground shook, rumbling heard from beyond the glass. But you didn’t–couldn’t care. You just lost your friend–your father. The city was open, but you lost B-12.
You don’t know how long you sat there. It felt like days. You felt Daisy rub against your leg, and peeked through your fingers. Dropping your hands, you gently pet his tabby fur. It did little to calm you. You loved this cat dearly, you’ve seen him go through so much. You protected each other. Traveled closely.
But you knew he had to go too. He probably had a family out there, waiting for him. You couldn’t keep him here forever, no matter how much you wanted to. You picked him up, and hugged him closely. “I’m gonna miss you, Daisy…” You whispered, voice hoarse. You pulled him back, and he licked your cheek. Smiling gently, you set him on his paws. “Don’t forget me, okay?” Daisy meowed up at you, pawing and nudging your leg. Eventually, he padded away, looking back at you one last time, blinking with love. And then he was gone.
As gently as you could, you picked up the drone. You shuffled to lean against the workstation, holding the drone in your lap and staring at the ceiling. Sunlight streamed through the window.
“...I’m not leaving you alone. It’s not like I have anywhere to go, right?” You laughed sadly, your smile fading into a frown. You just wanted things to be normal. You wanted to wake up from your cryopod again. But you would wake up to the smiling faces of your family–of your dad. This had to be some sick nightmare…
So you closed your eyes, and fell asleep for what you assumed to be the last time.