Archive of Our Own ^beta

i

Outside might’ve been the goal, but Clementine hadn’t ever considered the sheer chaos that would result from the sky opening. The Sentinels were all thankfully deactivated, either a side effect of the lockdown lifting or from the Little Outsider and his companion’s actions.

Regardless, one weight lifted didn’t mean there weren’t still some unscrupulous characters running around trying to take advantage of the confusion (she still hadn’t seen Blazer, though she didn’t know if she wanted to).

Then there were the efforts to clear out the Zurks. The sun was doing a great job at decimating the creatures, but night still existed (and how! The night was a mere fairy tale and now it happened every night!). Corners where the sunlight couldn’t pierce had them scuttling in great masses that couldn’t be dealt with easily.

Much to her own dismay, she hadn’t thought much of her previous companions. Clearly, they had succeeded and the uppermost levels were most likely clear of threats, unlike the lower levels. Instead of worrying about them, Clementine had shoved the cat and drone into a box in her processor labeled ‘Let’s Not Worry About This Now”.

Perhaps that was why the soft plaintive meow at her feet startled her so after weeks of trying to maintain order in Midtown.

“Oh?” she said, head swivelling down and face screen blinking. Little Outsider stood a distance back, surrounded by three other cats. Two were similarly orange, with more white, while the last was a solid black. B-12 nor the jacket were anywhere to be seen.

“Hello, Little Outsider, “ Clementine said, noticing how the other three backed up at her words. Their fur bristled, which Clementine had taken to mean Little Outsider felt threatened. There was none of the hissing, but Clementine still stopped in her tracks.

Little Outsider blinked slowly, turning to headbutt the black cat at his side. It stopped backing up, but was still visibly tense.

“I’m sorry,” she said, rather helplessly. Little Outsider and B-12 had come to her at the last leg of their journey. There was no B-12 to ease communication issues and Clementine had no way of knowing if Little Outsider had been this way at first.

He meowed again and sprang forward, sliding into a roll at her feet, his belly up towards the warm sky. It was a strange gesture and not one he had made before. He gave a few more wriggles before relaxing on his back.

The whitest cat padded forward, still out of reach. Little Outsider meowed again and they came closer, almost in reach.

Clementine wasn’t ignorant about cats. There were books and downloads mentioning them, but she’d never read much about their behavior.

The black cat came forward, sniffing.

Despite this, it was clear Little Outsider still trusted her. Trusted her enough to introduce her to his family, at least.

ii

Zbaltazar hadn’t managed much meditation of late. The reappearance of the sky; the glimpse of Outside, it had fired up the population. Actual immigration between the walls was occurring, increasing as the Zurk population steadily popped.

He was mostly content to stay in Antvillage, grabbing what little of meditation he could get.

Not that there was going to be much of that today.

Clementine hugged his body, carefully avoiding the wires. Briefly, he wished he was a little more connected, if only to hug her back.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, backing away. The Little Sir was wrapped around her neck, hopping down as she finished pulling away. He rumbled, brushing against Zbaltazar’s body's legs.

“Yes, yes I’m happy to see you,” his monitors flashed in a mostly put-upon annoyance,”You’ll get fur in my joints.”

“Oh, he’s already done it to me,” Clementine said blithely.

There was no sign of the little flying bot. Certainly no vest on the cat, who was very gently batting a wire.

“Where’s the other one?” Zbaltazar said. The Little Outsider froze, paw held in mid-air. Clementine’s face fritzed.

“I don’t think he made it.”

The orange cat flipped back over, tail tucked under his body in a very loaf-like manner. Zbaltazar had never held any hope that the journey to get Outside would leave everyone unscathed. B-12 would be someone to be remembered, memorialized.

“I am sorry for your loss,” Zbaltazar said. The Little Sir winked, brushing his head against Zbaltazar’s knee once more. He continued to rumble, both eyes sliding shut, until Zbaltazar was fairly sure the cat was sleeping on him.

Clementine shifted, looking up. “There’s more of them. He brought his family down.”

There was something about that. The Little Sir, so desperate to get out, only to come back down.

“Well, I’ll have to warn everyone to put the mahjong up.”

iii

There’s happy and then there’s happy. Doc has his son, no one’s been hurt by a Zurk in days, and the sun shines through the walls of the city.

He’d danced around despair for while there.

That’s why he stopped when he saw the cat. It wasn't Furball, there was too much white on the coat. It had something in its mouth, likely one of Grandma’s scraps. The cat tilted its head, dropping the bundle.

“Hello, there!” If Furball was any indication, one trait the cats shared with the statues the Soft Ones left behind was being incredibly lucky. The cat meowed again with far more aggression. Doc had no idea what it wanted.

Another orange blur presented itself in the alleyway, much more obviously Furball. He meowed in what Doc assumed was a greeting and then darted over, smacking the wired ball away.

The other cat ran forward, trying to hit it out of Furball’s paws.

“It’s catch!” Doc realized, feeling rather silly. It wasn’t as if Seamus and he hadn’t tried it out, though with the newer children paint cans were preferred over basketballs.

The cats were batting the ball back and forth, tails high and whipping through the air. Doc had been impressed by Furball’s agility when they were escaping back to the slums and was amused that his partner couldn’t quite keep up. The whiter cat huffed and lay on its side, presenting its spotted flank to Doc.

He’d have to mention to his son that Furball was back in town with a family of his own, now.

iv

Momo hadn’t been inside in days. The sun peered down from the sky. Even at night, the glitter of stars were nothing like the casing of the city cover. In such a quick amount of time, The Outsiders had completed their goal, the Zurks were exploding before they could eat anyone, and the strange growths were starting to rot away.

After spending so long in a haze, Momo had a buoyant joy that wouldn’t fade.

It was perhaps this attitude that led to him picking up Little Outsider and swinging him around when he saw him again.

“I thought I’d never see you again!” He cried, face screen rapidly shifting through a heart and face. Little Outsider puffed up and let out a warbly hiss that Momo ignored. “Thank you!”

Little Outsider had enough and struck, claws clattering against Momo’s arm chassis. It didn’t hurt, but Momo dropped Little Outsider quite quickly.

“Sorry, I’m just excited.”

The cat gave a shifty squint before licking his paw. After a bit of grooming, Little Outsider hopped on the box next to him. Momo figured he was forgiven. He reached out, petting the soft bit of fur between Little Outsider’s ears.

He chirped, leaning into it. Encouraged, Momo petted further, amazed when the cat did a full body stretch into the petting.

A meow that did not come from the Little Outsider startled him out of his petting trance. He turned to see another small cat, this one with three colors in splotches along its body. It trotted forward, rubbing against his legs in the same manner Little Outsider had tens of times.

The noise that came from Little Outsider almost sounded like a huff.

v

By now the sensation of the network was familiar to B-12. Still, the shifting waves and data took far too long to drag himself out of.

He had no more body, but it wasn’t so different from how he was before. There were still security cameras and monitors to look out of, even more since he was no longer trapped in the Slums.

B-12 admitted he missed Cat. He hadn’t known any of the Companions for long, not like he had with Cat. It helped that very few were leaving. Seeing the outside was enough for most of them, until they could gain their bearings. Very similar to humans, that.

However, Cat had left. Justifiably, as feral cats usually lived in colonies. Cat was smarter than the cats B-12 remembered. He surely had family, just as B-12 once did.

That’s why the appearance of an orange cat walking through the Slums startled him, though the further appearance of even more cats made it much more understandable.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many drones left in the Slums. Fewer computers with working speakers, as well. His last moments with Cat weren’t great, though B-12 could not bring himself to regret any of his choices, and he wanted to make sure his friend knew he still lived.

It was, eventually, easier to do what he did the first time, though more Companions were using the signs and televisions than ever. Cat’s ears perked up at the first arrow, and he practically fell over himself following the stream of lit up signals.

“H-H-eElLo, Ca—At,” B-12 managed, the voice overlay he was using not merely as refined as it was. Cat did not hesitate. He slammed his body against the console, purring loud as he rubbed against it, over and over.

“I M-M—issssEd Yy-o-o—ou tToo,” B-12 said, wishing he could rub against the cat’s head. Having no arms had made the cat's way of affection much easier and he’d gotten just a bit too used to it.

Cat meowed happily, high-pitched without a hint of warble.

+ i

His brothers and sister hadn’t wanted to come to the Great Below. They had been happy to see him, of course, and Orange thought he may never survive the grooming upon their reunion.

Despite this, Orange had wanted to go back.

He had made friends there and wasn’t even sure if they still lived. He needed to see. For all his life it had been just Prey, Predator, and Littermates. Then the Great Below had shown him so much more.

Eventually they came around, though Calico refused to stop complaining. Black was most for the trip, with Orange-and-White trailing behind.

Orange was thankful.

Everyone still lived, even his dearest B-12. They were still bereft of a body, which meant Orange needed to greet his friend by bumping into any sort-of-computer-looking object in the house they were living in. Momo and Doc promised a solution, though it was all beyond Orange.

He had B-12’s voice, alien though it was. He had the Companions, who were willing to pet and feed and play. There were Prey nosing around the area, filling up the spots they’d not been able to get to. And at last he had his Littermates, finally by his side in one large pile.

That was enough, for now.