Chapter Text
"I'm sorry that we won't see the Outside together. I thought I needed to preserve the memory of people. Save the past. But I see the future in companions... and in you. Let me get this off you." after that, the black vest disappeared from his red-haired friend.
"You were my best friend, the best I could have ever dreamed of. Thank you!"
***
That was the last time B-12 saw his dear friend. After Doc transferred his consciousness into a new body, he and everyone else went outside. It was beautiful... but the ginger cat was nowhere to be found. They looked for him wherever they could and even expected him to come to them. This did not happen. They've been waiting for him for a week... month... year... but he never returned to them. 5 years have passed since the city opened. In honor of their savior and the discovery of the city, they arranged a holiday. They celebrate it every year since that day. Today they celebrate him again and B-12 hoped that his dear friend was doing well. And now he will go to the Outsider gathering house and celebrate this day.
"Uff... I can't go with you, but... oh... I won't stop looking for a way out. Zbaltazar and Clementine... When you find them, tell me how brave I was."
***
Momo was saddened. The furball was gone. The last time he saw him was in the sewers. He had been hoping for a very long time that he would come back. But after 3 months, he realized that this would not happen. Momo often wished he had gone with him. Zbaltazar told him that it wasn't his fault and that it was still very dangerous for him there. But he doesn't think so. The holiday is an Outsider and the orange-and-white cat relieved his longing a little. On this day, the companions made figurines, hats, drawings, vests in a compact with a backpack and a hoop with ears. It was all about their furry savior. But despite all this, she did not close the hole in her heart. Now he is going to go to the gathering house with the cat to meet friends and celebrate the holiday.
Doc and Seamus looked at each other before hugging each other. A heart appeared on their screens. The ginger cat was watching them. They looked at him and said at the same time.
"Thank you."
***
From that moment on, they never saw him again. This was sad news for both of them. Many companions who were familiar with the little Outsider were saddened. Especially after what he did for them. When Doc returned the B-12, he imagined how happy the cat would be. But when he found out that the red cat was nowhere to be found, and the search yielded nothing, he realized that he and the B-12 would not have a happy reunion. Just like him and Seamus. It's been 5 years, and the little Outsider hasn't shown up. When three cats came to town, he took a black one. He and Seamus are going to go to the Outsider gathering house with the cat.
"If you manage to get to the Outside, you will become a pioneer. I would wish you luck, but you don't need it. I believe in you." he told the red-haired Outsider.
***
When Zbaltazar said goodbye to the cat, he expected to meet him again. But he did not expect that the cat would disappear without a trace after he opened the city with the B-12. He found out the news the day after the holiday and after Clementine went to the control room and found only a drone in flowers. But there are no traces of the cat's presence or that he was there at all... there was no. It was not from the word at all. They were looking for him, but they didn't find him. When they built a small town in which three cats came, he and the rest of the Outsiders saw the red color of the fur on two cats, they realized that maybe it was their little friend's family. But he himself was not with them. One of the cats, white with orange spots, always lay quietly next to him during meditation and therefore decided to take her to himself. He has been able to move for 5 years and therefore, without any problems, he gathers and goes to the door, near which a cat is waiting for him.
"The Outsiders' manifesto reads: "We have to get into the Outside at all costs." I wrote it." after the fairy tale, the cat meowed sadly. "You're one of us now. The goal is not to get to the Outside. But one of us has to do it." after that, she gave him the key to the train, which the B-12 immediately digitized. "Go. Hurry up! I'll keep you in my RAM, little Outsider."
***
Clementine didn't think that this was the last thing she would say to the little Outsider. She was so happy to meet her friends again, but she didn't stop worrying about the cat. Doc assured her that he would be fine, but she had a feeling that he wasn't. And her fears were confirmed. When she got to the control room she started looking for a little Outsider. When she entered the control room, she saw something that she definitely did not expect. B-12 was lying on the floor, and there were branches with pink flowers around his body. Clementine realized that a little Outsider had done it. But the baby himself was nowhere to be found.
After Clementine brought the B-12 and told what she had learned, they transferred the consciousness of the B-12 into the body of companion K, to which were attached, glasses with lenses of red, yellow and green, two small and one large antenna. At first, the former drone was stunned by his return, but the companions helped him calm down. They asked him about what had happened to him. He said that the only known way to open the city was to upload his consciousness into the main network to take control, but that was to destroy his software. She then scolded B-12 for his recklessness. But when he asked where the little Outsider was, they fell silent. Therefore, she told about how she came to the control room and found his drone body surrounded by flowers. To say that the B-12 was stunned was an understatement. He was very touched when he found out what the little girl did for him before she left.
When they came to the surface it was more beautiful than she had imagined. Sun, sky, clouds, trees, flowers, grass, birdsong, insects and many other interesting things. The next time they got to the surface, Clementine went to look for the cat. She spent the whole day looking for a red-haired friend nearby. Then the others joined her. But they never achieved anything... Some decided that he himself would come sooner or later. They waited a very long time and it didn't happen. The little Outsider is gone. Just disappeared... it's like he never existed.
It's been 5 years since his disappearance. And now Clementine was going with her friends to go to the gathering house of Outsiders to celebrate the holiday. And for this, she will first go to the market for flowers. Today it was her turn to buy flowers for their little event.
What could possibly go wrong?