Chapter Text
Clementine didn’t expect the sun to feel like this…
Well, she knew her kind didn’t quite feel. Companions didn’t have the capacity to feel, humans never gave them much. They could only ever simulate the sensation of touch. Maybe that was why the sun caught her off guard.
Clementine was a member of The Outsiders, she and her friends spent hours fantasizing about the surface. They all promised each other, swore to their programming, that they would get there. It didn’t matter how long it took, or what measures they had to take, getting to the surface was an inevitability. Hell, Clementine wrote in the goddamn manifesto, ‘whatever it takes.’ And, finally, everything paid off.
All thanks to a little fuzzy companion and their little drone friend.
The ceiling opened, it opened, and more light than she ever processed seeing flooded the city. She didn’t even notice until the light peered into Midtown, slowly covering the upper half of the city in a soft, almost yellow, and certainly ethereal glow. The Sentinels, at first hovering menacingly around her, ready to stun her system and drag her back into the prison, now at the soft, unyielding mercy of the light couldn’t handle it. Under the beams, they shook and shuddered and little bits of electricity danced around their circuits until they finally crashed into the ground.
It was almost funny, it was as if the Sentinels, feeling the slightest amount of pain, a small fraction of what Clementine or any other bot felt when shot with a bolt of electricity, simply couldn’t handle it and collapsed under the stress. It was poetic but mostly pathetic.
But that wasn’t her concern right now.
What concerned her was the feeling of the sun.
The feeling.
She never bothered herself with that sensation, not even in the Slums, back when she felt carefree (of course, aside from fantasies of the surface). It never bothered her, not feeling.
But suddenly it hit her like a goddamn building just collapsing on her and crushing her systems.
The sun felt like pinpricks of leaves and flowers blossoming in between her circuits. It felt like every time Momo playfully smacked her shoulder, when Doc rambled on about his theories or inventions, or when Zbaltazar showed her his newest creation. The sun was a thousand little sensations of gentle taps on her shell, little pinpricks of joy and love and feeling.
And it was amazing. It felt amazing.
She felt it.
Clementine moved forward, carefully stepping over the twitching Sentinels, but giving no bother if her foot bumped happened against one of them. She had to get closer.
Away from the shuddering remains of the Sentinels, she gripped the railing separating Midtown from the depth of the Slums and leaned as far forward as she could, soaking in the feeling of the light.
For a moment, she let her sight sensors turn off, content in allowing herself not the sensation of the sun on her shell.
Was this how the humans felt when they were up there? Before it all went to hell and they retreated under the surface from the consequences of their actions?
Clementine didn’t really bother herself over their ‘soft-one’ ancestors. Some missed them, some… didn’t. She just disregarded them. The humans created this world, and then they left it behind. Along with the city they built and pretty much decimated, they left behind robots, Clem among them, and Clementine got along just fine without humans.
Sighing, she let her sensors come back and was relieved to see that it wasn’t a glitch or an illusion. It was real.
The surface was real.
‘You did it, little one. You really did it.’
Momo knew it was a matter of time until the elevator would come online. The Little Furball was an unstoppable force, and they had been a first-hand witness.
Momo first saw it when the furball came trotting into their flat, a little drone on their side chittering about the surface. About hope. At the time they had been… less than encouraging to like-minded individuals, let alone that one had actually been on the surface. At the time, Momo was far too lost in loneliness and despair to really think about that (come to think of it, next time they saw the furball and drone, they should actually apologize).
But it didn’t even end there, because the two had come back, and this time brought the hope Momo didn’t know they needed in the form of their friends’ notebooks. Of course, the little ones only proved their dedication when they traversed through Zurk-infested zones to reach the satellite and move forward with the mere hope of making it to the surface.
So, no, Momo wasn’t surprised that they had made it.
Seeing the sky, no, the dome open up felt like a million words at once, all rushing through their system and knocking against every circuit in their body.
And it felt amazing.
Momo had regrets. They regretted abandoning their friends. They regretted not looking for Doc sooner, for not following Clementine and Zbaltazar, but knowing that everything led to this, they couldn’t bet happier that things worked out the way they did.
On the balcony of their flat, Momo knew they weren’t getting the full force of the light, the awning almost caused them to miss the influx of sunshine- god, sunshine- but they knew it was worth it as they saw the citizens in the Slums slowly emerged from their homes and shelters, monitors alight with far too many different emotions to name.
Still, Momo stayed on the balcony. They had to lean over the railing to see the sun and everyone that lived in the slums, but they weren’t sure they could move if they wanted. The legs felt locked, as though they weren’t even operating. Try as they might, Momo wouldn’t move. So they stayed still and content, staring up at blue and white in wonder.
Below, the Slums become alive with chatter and sputtering. The bar attendees stood, dumbstruck as they craned their necks to look up. Heptor, who had moments before been looking at what he thought were stars, stood ramrod straight as he looked at this new sky. Momo distantly realized what a shock it may come to some, to suddenly see what they thought was the sky open up and show them an entirely new and foreign sight of a second sky (even if the first one wasn’t really a sky).
So many had dismissed Momo and The Outsider’s claims of a surface as a dream at best, a delusion at worst. They had been called insane, they had been called dreamers. But what all bots in the Slum agreed on was that no one would ever reach the surface, no matter how much they may want to escape the dark. All except the Outsiders.
And even when Momo gave up on leaving, there was always someone in the city, wherever they may be, who believed in a future under the sun.
And Momo was content to stand on the sidelines as the others relished in the spotlight.
Doc knew there was a word for what he felt. Nonetheless, he wasn’t sure he was actually feeling it.
See, he knew that shock was a very real thing, he had read about it in the old medical books in his flats about human medicine.
But it was a human trait. Not a companion trait.
And yet here he was standing, Seamus on his side, surely feeling similar if not the exact same sensation. It brought fear (yet another human trait, but today was a lot of firsts for Doc) to him as he remembered that shock was also harmful.
But the shock he felt wasn’t exactly as it was described in the medical journals. No, no, this was more of a… indescribable thing for Doc.
It felt like his circuits were being coated with flowers and leaves, and as though they left behind wispy remains of electricity and vapor. It was far more reminiscent of a fairy tale that Doc had stumbled upon when stranded and alone during his Defluxor experiment.
It suddenly hit him that this wasn’t shock, it was wonder.
Go figure, it was another human trait.
But Doc wasn’t going to worry about the fact that he was feeling human traits- emotions- because Seamus was right there and- damnit, he needed to make sure he hadn’t accidentally downloaded malware into his system. Seamus, bless that boy, beat him to the punch.
“Is-is that really,” Seamus paused, his monitor glued to the sky- oh goodness, it was the sky- slowly, Seamus turned his monitor to look into Docs, the picture showing two wide eyes and a flat line for a mouth. “Is that… the sky? Papa, is that the surface?”
Doc paused here.
He had told Seamus many a story about the surface. Of course, all these stories came from the library. Truth be told, Doc wasn’t sure what was real and what was fake. Among the medical journals the Doc poured over, he also found stories of giant creatures called giants, and stories about young adult humans with magical powers, so forgive him for having some doubt about the veracity of the stories he told Seamus.
But there was one thing he always knew, and that was that the sky was blue. That there was a plant called grass, and it was as green and as amazing as the plants they could grow in the slums. And that it was all real.
So, after only a moment of hesitation, more a moment of reflection, Doc flashed a smile on his monitor and placed a strong hand on his son's shoulder, shaking it firmly.
“That’s the sky. That’s the surface.” And by god, it felt good to finally say it.
Clementine knew that the shock and wonder would wear off everyone and soon they would all come together, asking frantic questions and wondering what to do next. She also knew that there were be a few that would come to her, knowing her status as an Outsider.
She didn’t expect quite as many bots to come dashing up to her, some clinging onto her clothes as they shook and shot off too many questions for her to process at once.
So, would she say it was all going well?
All things considered, yes.
For starters, she wasn’t dealing with the riots by the prison, nor the beginning power struggle between the Peacekeepers and some disgruntled Midtown residents.
Many of those who had come to her were among the younger residents of Midtown. She recognized quite a few of them from the residency she resided in, especially the three that often played their loud music in the complex square. She would never tell them, but she quite admired their spunk and resistance to unfair treatment.
But really, that wasn’t the main issue. Right now Clementine was juggling two major issues on her mind, and she wasn’t going to touch any sort of power struggle with a 20-foot pole right now.
But on one hand, she had fearful residents coming to her for guidance, few who knew she was an Outsider, and the rest following their friends and family in hope of an understanding of what in the world was happening why is the sky open what is this-
And also the elevator.
“Everyone, please,” she called out, trying to push back the crowd from the elevator doors, “just let me speak, and I promise, I’ll answer any question you have!”
“But if the sky’s open, then shouldn’t we be leaving now,” Lyn pushed forward through the sky, “we can leave, right?” Clem sighed.
“Yes, but we all need to converge first-!” She wasn’t able to get the full thought out before Ozi interrupted.
“We shouldn’t leave! The soft ones ruined the surface, there’s nothing up there!”
“You don’t know that,” Miko shouted at him, “No one’s been up there in years! Maybe they were lying about all that stuff! The peacekeepers were obviously lying about the surface not even being approachable!” Ozi scoffed.
“Look, kid, maybe I didn’t like the peacekeepers either, but they were only ever there to keep us safe! I would tell you to actually think about it, but I highly doubt you could with all that loud racket you cause decaying your sensors!”
“Hmph, not like you understand anything, you old bag of parts,” Jeanma muttered, clutching her stereo, “you couldn’t ever be bothered understanding our music.”
Clementine tensed even before the ensuing argument began, sighing heavily as the bots began shouting insults back and forth, even more joining in as it got more heated.
“You kids never respected authority! Why should any of us listen to you!?”
“Oh, shut up! You could never be bothered to give anyone the slightest bit of respect, Ozi!”
“We’re getting off-topic, how are we getting out of here?!”
“Out of here?! Who said that?”
“The surface is open!”
“There’s nothing on the surface for us! We have to stay here!”
“Like we have anything down here anyways!”
“Everyone, please!” Clementine tried shouting above the roar of the crowd before her, but could hardly hear herself above their cries. Sucking in a breath, she waited for a lull in the argument, but couldn’t say anything as a new voice cut through the brief silence.
“The rubble and clunk will not shy
It’s a new sign of our new shiny sky
There are new ones joining us who want to try
But the rest want to stay here and cry”
That shut everyone up, and the only thing that could be heard now was the mechanical clacks of everyone’s heads as they spun around to look Bonobot’s approach.
“What?” Clem didn’t know who said it, but it was certainly what everyone was thinking. Bonobot simply stood, slaying slightly with the breeze, almost like some sort of broken dance only he knew the movements to.
“Bonobot,” Clem started, “thank you for, er- helping. But…” she paused, looking at the crowd. “What does that mean?” Bonobot’s monitor flickered before he shrugged and gestured behind himself.
“Elevator’s movin’.”
Clementine jumped at the sudden revelation, and before she processed it, her body was moving, ignoring the crowd behind her.
As he said, there were loud groans and pieces of metal shuddering as lights flashed around the elevator.
For the first time in years, the elevator was operational.
It was cathartic.
Once in Clem’s life, she thought that elevator was the only way up to Midtown. She and the Outsiders’ tried everything to get it working, but it was always for nothing. Soon enough, the interior of the elevator was made into a makeshift sick shelter, and the idea of using the elevator was over with.
Seeing it operational was one of the best feelings in her life because it finally broke the barrier between what was once her home and a place that was soon to be the bridge to freedom.
Clementine felt the crowd begin to reform, this time around Clem. She felt a bot approach her side and turned to see Bonobot.
He was quiet and nodded at her as he turned to look at the elevator.
Its groans only increased in volume as the car approached the top. Clem wasn’t worried about it falling, from what she knew about elevators, they were highly unlikely to fall. Even if all cables snapped, safety measures would step in to ensure that the elevator at least stopped in place.
However, from what she also knew about elevators, there were no safety measures to keep them from stopping moving up.
But any event in which the elevator breaks for any reason was surely entirely unlikely. The humans that built this place were geniuses and surely would have hundreds of safety measures in place to keep the elevator from breaking, despite how much it seemed that they never wanted the elevator to be used in the first place.
Really, everything here was in top shape. If they weren’t, the citizens probably could’ve gotten out years ago.
But they didn’t. Because they were always meant to be trapped underground.
Until today.
Finally, finally, the elevator reached the top, and with a final, screeching groan, stopped at the top.
Clem felt herself slowly moving toward the doors. No one followed her, not even Bonobot who had been standing stoically beside her, patting her shoulder whenever she tensed a bit too much.
The doors hissed, and dust and small debris scattered as the compressed air released when the doors opened.
And Clem was met with the end of a bo staff she would recognize anywhere.
“…Clementine?” There stood Guardian, in all their glory. They were posed in a defensive position, always so protective of those under their care, but the grip on the bo staff loosened as their monitor lit up with an exclamation point.
Clementine let out a few breathy chuckles, body angled away from the staff, yet her laugh only increased in intensity as she threw her arms around Guardian, squeezing the old bot as tightly as she could because it was finally real. The gap between the Slums and Midtown was finally gone and she could finally see her old friends again.
Guardian, startled, didn’t return the hug at first, but soon let their arms encase Clementine, patting her back firmly. She felt their monitor look around Midtown, at the crowd behind Clem, but they held her firm in her arms. Guardian always had a way of making everyone feel so safe and cocooned. It was certainly the reason why they were… well, the guardian.
“It’s so good to see you again,” they murmured, finally burying their monitor in Clem’s shoulder, “we had all given up on seeing you again…”
Clem laughed, “I don’t blame you. The sewers were absolute hell.”
Guardian pulled back, their hands on Clem’s shoulders, “I’m sure they were. Momo wasn’t even able to get into them. We had to send… well, we sent-“
“A furry little quadruped?” Guardian laughed.
“I see you meant them. Quite a tenacious little thing. Gave us quite the scare when they showed up.”
Clem chuckled quietly, “yeah, and it’s thanks to them we even got here.” She looked at the ground quietly. She wasn’t sure if the little one would forgive her for that little stunt she played, distracting those Sentinels. They weren’t too happy when she closed the gate.
But… it all worked out. She was fine, and the sky had opened up.
“Well, we can catch up later,” Guardian interrupted her musings, “I have more trips to oversee on the elevator.” The stepped away, patting her shoulder before turning around.
“Besides,” they hummed, and Clem was soon aware of another two bots standing far off, “You have some other friends to catch up with.”
Time stood still, who knows how many times it’s felt like that today, and Clem found herself looking into the monitors of two bots she never thought she’d see again.
“Momo,” she gasped, “Doc…”
They rushed forward, and Clem met them halfway, collapsing into the hug.
“Momo,” she gripped her friends tightly, surely squeezing them far tighter than she needed, “Doc- you- you guys-!”
“Clem…” Momo clutched her, equally as tight, “I… I missed you so much…”
“You don’t have to say anything, Clem,” Doc murmured, rubbing comforting circles into Clementine’s back, “We missed you too. We missed you too…”
Clementine was sure that if she were human, she would be sobbing.
But right now, all she could do was collapse into her friend's arms for the first time in… who knows how many years.
They were finally all together again. They were finally able to rest.
“And Zbaltazar?”
“He’s still in the sewers,” Momo replied, “Says that they’re all pretty content down there for now, but they’ll come up soon.” They paused, with a small flicker in their monitor, “Besides, apparently there’s still some Zurks down there. Guess the sun can’t get down there…”
“Oh, that’s not good,” Clem shuddered, “We should take care of that soon… we don’t want them to adapt to the sunlight…” Doc nodded in agreement.
“It should be an easy task. My Defluxor worked like a charm against those beasts. I doubt it’ll take much to get a small army and flush out the rest of them!”
Clem nodded, and the train car bounced slightly, causing her to lean into the bar she had been holding onto.
At first, she was a little concerned that maybe she would have to walk down the tracks in order to reach the car. Thankfully, the subway seemed to run on some sort of automatic system and was able to send the train car back.
Sure enough, the keys had been in the cab, and the battery was safely inserted where it belonged, no longer collecting dust in the Neco Factory.
And now the three Outsiders were on the subway headed to the surface, wherever it may be. It had been decided that they head up while the rest of the city gained their bearings, as well as decide who was coming and who would stay.
Clementine didn’t really time need to make a decision. She worked her whole damn life for this, and even if it would just be a moment, she needed to see the surface herself.
(And maybe she wanted to catch the Little One before they left… so what? She grew attached to the tiny quadruped and their drone friend.)
Doc was excitedly rambling on about the mechanics of the subway and how it worked.
And Momo… Momo was quiet.
Clem didn’t really know how to talk to them yet.
Their reuniting was an exception because they didn’t exactly talk, they just held each other. And, quite frankly, it had been years, but the last time they talked- well…
It wasn’t a very friendly sendoff.
Clem wasn’t sure who would broach the subject first. She or Momo. Doc certainly wouldn’t. Hell, the last time she was in the Slums, Doc had gone missing and was apparently off testing a device that could kill Zurks.
She and Zbaltazar tried looking for the bot but were too preoccupied with fighting off waves of Zurks to be able to wander away for a few seconds.
Judging by the way Momo seemed to shuffle and awkwardly look at Clem before turning away every few seconds, she really started to doubt Momo would start that conversation.
And maybe she was a little bitter.
So she let the silence continue.
They would talk later, just… not right now.
“And subways don’t even use gas fuel! The exhaust would cause carbon monoxide poisoning, but-“ When Doc cut himself off, Clem didn’t need to ask, because both she and Momo saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
They all looked at each other, their monitors reflecting the same apprehensiveness as the rest.
This was it.
The train car hissed as it came to a slow stop at the station, and the three huddled at the door, waiting nervously for the doors to open.
The train groaned, and the doors opened.
Clem nearly fell back in shock as the three were met with the empty expression of another bot.
“What the-?!” Momo exclaimed as Clem fell backward and they caught her, holding her firmly, “How did you get here?! How long-?”
“Hello, and welcome to the exit of The Safest City in the world. We thank you for your stay and hope you had a wonderful time in the safety of our walls.” The robot told them lifelessly before shambling away, moving to grab a mop and began mopping up fondly familiar little paw prints.
The three friends exited the car slowly, watching the robot carefully as it skillfully washed away the prints, making no noise as it did so.
“We can… address them later,” Doc muttered. “Let’s check the gates.” Clem and Momo mumbled their agreements but didn’t tear away their gaze from the robot until they started to make their way up pristine stairs.
Clementine was distinctly aware of the dirt prints they left in their wake, yet the Companion bot made no complaints about the mess.
How long had these guys been up here? Mindlessly cleaning up after ghosts and speaking to empty walls? They clearly were unable to create an identity, or culture as the bots in the city had.
It was… sad. Clementine wasn’t sure how she could’ve managed in a situation like this.
“Look,” Momo pointed, their arm was blocking Clementine's vision. She grumbled in annoyance but followed their finger. It was a pair of malfunctioning doors, and above it read the words, ‘Control Room.’
“Should we be looking for the exit?” Clementine crossed her arms and stared at Momo, but their eyes stayed glued near the area.
“No, look at the control panel. It’s all scratched up.” Clem looked back, and sure enough, the panel was ruined.
“You don’t think…?”
“How else could they have gotten the city opened? They must have needed to resort to destruction to get the door open. Clever little one!” Doc reverently said.
“Okay,” Clem said dully, “let’s go to the surface, then. They should be up there now, right?”
Doc didn’t reply. His monitor displayed the same face as ever, yet it still expressed a thoughtful expression.
“It wouldn’t hurt to check out,” Momo offered quietly. Doc nodded, and with that encouragement, moved quickly toward the doors.
As he disappeared behind the automatic doors, Clem turned to Momo.
“Now look what you’ve done,” she hissed, “you know how Doc is! We’ll be here for hours before going outside!” Momo turned to stare at her.
“Yes,” they grumbled as they stared her down, “I know how he is. He would’ve wanted to see the control room no matter what, you know that, Clem!” She sighed, rubbing her hand against her monitor.
“I know, but-!”
She got cut off by a shrill yowling noise coming from the control room.
Clementine and Momo exchanged mixed glances.
“Was that-?”
“But why wouldn’t they have left already?”
Momo and Clementine stared at each other for a moment before they rushed to the control room doors.
They entered the pristine room and saw Doc crouched near the windows, hands hovering frantically above a familiar ginger blob on the ground.
“Little One, please, it’s okay, it’s me, it’s Doc-“ He was cut off by another shrill yowl, followed by a pitiful growing at the little one curled their body further in themselves.
“Furball?!” Momo exclaimed, and they rushed forward, joining Doc beside the ginger cat. They tentatively placed their hand on the little one’s back and was rewarded with a hiss and a swipe before the little one curled up again, trembling now.
Clementine already felt the dread growing.
The Little One didn’t have the vest they had always been wearing since they first met.
Always wearing except for one time.
In the prison. When Little One and their drone were separated.
Suddenly it clicked, and Clementine was rushing forward to sit with her friends, sitting on the opposite side of Doc.
The Little One was still curled up and still growling, but they had begun tapering off into pitiful little mews.
Slowly, Momo was able to coax them into uncurling from their ball, and the Little One could only mew sadly as Clementine let out a strangled gasp at what they had been so desperately trying to protect.
The Drone. B-12.
They weren't moving.