The Sky is Rising!

by TheGreatTownCrier

Summary:

After the cities are freed of their underground prison, The Outsiders have to find a way to reconnect and carry their civilization up to freedom. Will there be angst? Probably. Will there be fluff? Yeah I think so,
You just have to shut up and read it

(FIRST THING IVE POSTED IN A WHILE, THIS IS STILL A HUGE WIP BE NICE TO ME/silly)

Notes:

Apologies for any misspellings in this, I couldn't give less of a fuck to change it now that I'm uploading it (lie).

Chapter 1: Post-Haste (Momo)

Momo carefully dragged his fingers over the indents of his scars in content, sighing as he looked out onto the dark city.

He had (somehow) successfully made it back to The Slums after getting The Little Outsider along on their dangerous journey. He truly hoped they got to AntVillage, better yet Midtown…
It had been less than two hours since he had bid them goodbye, but he already missed the fuzzy companion.
They had given Momo hope, given him back his purpose, and given him a future to look forwards to. All things in which he desperately needed.

And since Doc returned home (thanks to the fuzzball of course!), he hadn't stopped sharing stories about his wild encounters. Catching Momo up on all the information he had gathered while he was away— all frantic yet excited— was the most he had ever seen Doc talk!
Likely the only reason that he even got to reunite with his son and get home in the first place was because of that Little Outsider. When leaning into Doc's side, listening to him rant about the test-Zurks he had nicknamed after famous scientists like... Copernicus or... Einstein... well, that was something he never once took for granted.

Currently, Momo was supposed to be gathering his information about the outside world to show Doc. He had prided himself in wanting to share all the fun facts about the (totally real) 'great masses of life' on the way outside, from Mercury to Pluto.

But here he was, lost in a trance staring at the dark sky. His fingers continuing to lug along the random indents that had been underneath his coat for one reason or another. A golden dome- not unlike the Guardian's- now rested upon his head after he had lost his own straw hat on the way home... uhhh bravely fighting off the Zurks of course!

He looked down, seeing Doc still talking to his son, catching up on all the years he had missed. Momo smiled momentarily, only to be snapped back into his consciousness. He sighed, bracing himself to push from his lean on the railing and get back to work when a motherboard-splitting rumble erupted.

Panic. Fear. Terror. The three emotions played on loop in his head. He couldn't tell where the sound was coming from, everywhere yet nowhere. It was nothing he had ever heard before. It scared him to death, thinking an infestation of Zurks had somehow followed him home and just now chose to strike in revenge. God, Momo! Why’d you try to get back alive!

 

A beam of pure light told him otherwise.

 

Momo blinked several times, clearing his optics to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He raised his head to the ceiling. Sticking his hand out and watching the light fall gently over it… like silk.

The Outside.

She was so bright. She was so beautiful.

It filled him with warmth, and let out a small chuckle. With his eyes still tracking the movement of the panels retracting from the ceiling at all angles, his small chuckles turned into cheerful hoots and hollers.

He was quick to scampering back downstairs as fast as his robotic legs could carry him.
**** the outerworld stuff! This was way more worth it!

Momo laughed all the way back to the central square just in front of the elevator. He let out cheers and cries over the miracle, and it was apparent everyone else was too.
The Guardian had powerfully slammed its staff onto the floor, announcing that this was no threat, but a blessing. The others robots followed with.
The Bartender had brought Grandma, as well as Nestor and Elliot up and out to see the miracle in full. All four of their faces eerily similar to one another, a great surprised expression.
Morusque held zyr guitar up close to zyr chest. Ze gave a look of uncertainty, but underneath, a small smile of appreciation.
Doc meanwhile, was patting and reassuring Seamus that this was what they had been fighting for all these years.
Countless others voiced their excitement with whoops and cheers, and a sense of pride took place in the entirety of The Slums. After years of controversy and hardships in the Slums… happiness, gave way.

Momo's vision was fogged by artificial tears. He didn't even notice Doc taking him, The Guardian, and Seamus into an embrace until he was already being squeezed so hard his circuits would pop. He tried to wipe his tears on the back of his metal hands when he could no longer see around him, blinded by tears. It proved fruitless but still gave off the illusion. He was... happy. Happier than he ever thought he'd be. Happier than the day he joined The Outsiders.

The Guardian pulled away from the embrace first, releasing the others of the group. It turned and gave a warm smile to Momo, patting him on the shoulder. All sweet and fatherly. Momo couldn't help but return the smile, his face warming up and forcing him to look down.

"I take no credit for this." The Guardian noted. “None of this could have ever been possible without your trust in The Outside.” Its nurturing voice made Momo really believe he did something useful for once— something he hadn’t felt in years. The more he thought of it, maybe staying back while the others went their separate ways was the correct thing to do. Maybe he was the reason this happened in the first place. With that, his face lit up again just thinking about it.

"This is insane!" Seamus voiced suddenly. His gaze kept up towards the ceili- no. The Sky. He hadn't looked down even when Doc pulled him along like he was still a bitti-bot.

"That little Furball did it! I knew I was right for giving them my defluxor!" Doc shouted, pumping his fists up into the air in his iconic style. "We must visit the other Outsiders! Momo!"

"Whuh-" Momo said.

"You had told me that you established a connection with Zbaltazar quite earlier! Xe must be alive and well! If Zbaltazar made it, then Clementine must be alive and well then too!"

Momo nodded at Doc's logic, still leaning into The Guardian and fiddling with his hands from the earlier compliment.

"Yes! O-Of course! yeah-" Momo nodded, rubbing his thumbs along the knuckles of his other fingers to ease his anxiety. There was a lot going on at once, and the fidgeting calmed him.

"But what about the Zurks!" Morusque interrupted, as ze walked up, still holding zyr guitar like zyr kin. "They will certainly eat us alive if we step foot out of the city!"

"Ze's right!" Kosma sudden boomed out of nowhere, forcing his way into the conversation. "We have nowhere to go with the Zurks closing in on us like this." she retorted, a rag still in hand from tough cleaning.

Doc spoke directly after, putting a finger up like a total NERD and chided.
"Worry not! With this 'sun' above us, we shouldn't have to worry about the Zurks anymore! Zurks are quick to pop like confetti when under intense light, (and according to my information), great ball above us has about 44 quad-watts of that intensity! By now, they should all be popping like part from The Soft Times!"

"Well that's just applies for Dead End and The Dead City, Doc" The Guardian spoke up once more, its hands moving gently across its staff, now slowly cutting them off from the crowd of Slum-Livers to discuss the circumstance. "We cannot be sure about The Sewers' open light capacity."

"Its right" Momo cooed as they walked, the group moving down to the right dip, where Azooz’s shop had set up. "When I uh- I went with The Little Outsider to The Sewers, it was pretty much completely dark beside my lantern and a few flood lights that were stuck along the Zurk egg clusters."

Seamus nodded in agreement and looked to his dad. Momo could practically see the cogs turn in Doc's head. He was always quick with finding solutions, and he was certain that he wouldn't fail them now. Doc, Zbaltazar and Clementine were the trio who most often were finding new ways to make stuff happen. With Zbaltazar's mindful wisdom to steady them during struggling circumstances, Doc's inventive mind making calculations and predictions, and Clementine's bravery holding them all together, they were a perfect group.

But where did Momo fit in with that? He didn't join The Outsiders until much later on... what did he contribute?
He assumed now that he contributed to opening the city by gathering resources (that being The Little Outsider and their robotic friend, B-12 of course!), as well as being the glue that held them together, but why be in the first place?

Momo could feel himself spiraling, as he did time and time again. But now was not the time for this! Almost in unison, Doc had snapped out of his thinking trance to speak, keeping sweet Seamus to his side like glue.

"Oh! I think I have just the idea in mind! But we’re gonna need quite a bit of electricity."

Chapter 2: What Now? (Seamus)

Summary:

Seamus and the little group they formed now go and try to find a way to fuel the power for the defluxor alalallalalallla

Notes:

So sorry this chapter is relatively short! For like timing purposes n shit the chapters are probably going to be shaped differently, ykwim lolzzz.

"A Defluxor? 1.21 Gigowatts?" The Guardian scorned like Doc was crazy. It raised an 'eyebrow' and displayed pursed lips in a way of giving disapproval.
The group of 4 had since moved their location to the inside of Seamus and his Papa's quarters not long since the sky had opened. No chance of outside panic surrounded them now. They could talk it out... and just as quick as the light had been given to them, it had been stripped away for a dingy apartment's ceiling light instead.

Seamus and Momo now sat on the couch while his Papa and The Guardian bickered. Papa had a plan to get past the sewers' Zurks, saying that even in dark areas, with enough light from once source, Zurks wouldn't be a problem. But the question lingered. Where would they get that energy? Especially of the size of 1.21 Gigowatts. and... how would it last?

Seamus tapped his foot fast on the ground while Momo fidgeted again. The Guardian's tone beamed agitated yet perturbed with every semi-convincing idea that Papa gave. Seamus was a bit peeved at the way The Guardian was talking to his Papa, but he understood its struggle.
It was worried for its town, its people, and that was no lie. It cared deeply about protecting them, and the thought of depriving them of resources (more then they already were) would be a death sentence at this point... at least to him...

"Doc you must understand, we are in a bounded situation. Hooking a mechanism with that much potential energy for a cap- anywhere!- could spazz out and cut off the energy source for the entire city. Without energy as a resource, The Slums will falter, and everyone will be affected."

"Everyone will be affected if we DON'T do this, either!" Doc barked back, making Seamus put his head in his hands as his CPU beat against the inside of his head, similar to the feeling he experienced when he was hung over. He was gaining a larger headache the longer this went on. "I'm almost certain Midtown does not care for anyone who lives in The Slums. If the other Outsiders aren't there, then no one is coming for us! We can either keep ourselves trapped down here and be doomed to eventually run dry on necessities, or we can attempt to find something that harbors that much energy to find us a way out!"

Seamus rubbed the 'temples' of his head now, Momo making himself look smaller the more Papa and The Guardian went back and forth. Momo always hated arguing, that was something Seamus remembered from day one... but that wasn't what he should've been worrying about.
This wasn't going anywhere. That was obvious. So, without much thought, Seamus stood up from his seated position and held a hand out, as to gesture to quiet on down like he was some kind of higher being.

"Guardian... Papa's right... we have to act now or we're never going to get out of here..." he spoke with desperation. His permanently tired eyes looked between his Papa and The Guardian. It lowered its defensive stance against the doctor, a long-lived silence soon falling upon the group. It was thinking. It was seemingly debating itself while Papa crossed his arms, about to chide back with another snarky remark. Meanwhile, Momo poked his head up for the first time in a while to get something out.

"Well what ab-"

"I... understand the circumstance" The Guardian suddenly interrupted with another sigh, lowering its gaze to the floor.

"Mayb-"

"Desperate times are desperate times. We must act fast. We must find a power-source."
The Guardian interrupted once more, though not of any mal-intent. With an irritated look from Momo, it raised its bo staff to its side and slammed it onto the floor, therefore marking the prowess of the decision.

"Didn't take long for it to change its mind" Momo hummed, thinking aloud. Seamus let out a small chuckle at Momo's comment as he continued to speak, this time getting his thoughts out.

"The elevator theoretically COULD be operational given the right circumstances. As a power source I mean. ...That thing's been out of commission for as long as I can remember, but it might still hold the potential energy to power up a big ol' UV raygun."
Momo pointed his finger as he spoke, Papa nodding in agreement.

"Yes! That sounds like a great idea!" Seamus nodded, looking back and forth between the three. This was finally going somewhere! Papa nodded at Momo's comment and turned to the kitchen wall, kicking the trash Seamus had forgotten to pick up aside and moving to the pictures to access the "oh so hidden" room. He only wishes he had the motivation to clean. Something he had lost after his Papa left, and it wouldn't return so easily either.

"I see you have discovered my lab, Seamus!" Papa smiled, turning back to his son. The thought immediately perished as the other one took place. The secret room! Yes!

"The 'Little Outsider' as Momo calls it, helped me find this! I always wondered why we never replaced the batteries on the clock" Seamus giggled, following his Papa as The Guardian and Momo turned the attention to the digicode so obvious aside the table.

"How did I not see that" Momo questioned, as if it hadn't been sticking out moments before. The Guardian shrugged in agreement. Papa quickly punched in the digicode and the door satisfyingly opened. Seamus still wasn't over the fact that this room had existed for so long right under his nose. When had Papa made this room??? Why had he never checked??? Maybe he would've seen this if he bothered to clean up the place, he decided long after.

The Guardian stayed outside of the secret room as Momo, Seamus, and his Papa entered.
"I just need to gather some research. I conducted much more on my 'trip' to that wretched Zurk-infested place, but I was in such a hurry to get home that I hadn't grabbed any of it. We simply just don't have the time to go back either, so I shall use what I have in my RAM as well as what I have on paper!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night" Seamus scoffed sarcastically as he stayed close.

Meanwhile, Momo's face contorted into several different expressions as he saw the Zurks displayed around the room. What was that? Taxidermy? Cyro-freezing?... It was gross either way and Seamus could notice that upon Momo's face.

"Once I find that blueprint to The Elevator, everything's gonna work itself out!" Papa declared,

And this time?

Seamus really hoped so.

Chapter 3: The System (B12)

Summary:

B12 in the system... ooooh everybody cheer yayayay

Apologies that this chapter is so short, especially due to the wait being so long. My DnB hyperfix is coming back and its hitting HARD LMAO. I already have the next chapter planned out however so maybe it wont take as long. Thank you for being patient, especially for such a dumb little fic this is.

The system was quiet, but it was also furiously loud. The buzzing filled "B12's" complex completely, whirs of coding going in and out of his body.

But he had no body. "B12" was not a man, and not a machine, but once again The Complex. Once again, he had control of most every system in the walled city. The walled city no longer walled.

No longer known as "WalledCity99", as he had given his life to open it. Given his autonomy, humanity, given himself to sacrifice for the joy of others. Especially for that little cat.
The little fuzzball with flaming orange fur, cute bright olive eyes, and a heart that yearned to be home. B12 fought for what he had wanted, but so did the Little Outsider.

Once again, whirring. The sounds of high-pitched screeching entering and leaving B12's complex, as he had been powered back to life. Doomed to again live forever inside a void, and that void was so lonely and isolating, that he might as well have lost himself the very moment he entered.

So he tried to remember. Recalling memories wasn't always his strongsuit, he usually had to have the aid of another person... or cat... to help him remember, but he tried.
He tried to think of his wife, kids, job, boss, and everything else that might have been important to who he was. But B12 was alone with these thoughts regardless.
Did his wife have long beautiful flowing hair or was it short and sweet? Was she a brunette? blonde? Her eyes... did they shine like the moon he had waited so long to see?
And what about his kids, if they ever even had any. How old would they have gotten if he seen them grow up. Did they live a happy life without their dad? What about grand-children, great-grand children... yet those were not trustworthy thoughts, as he too tried to remember the year in which the pandemic started.

So he thought, and he thought and he thought and he thought once again. Thinking for seemingly an eternity, gathering thoughts and putting together possible combinations. Writing Shakespeare on a typewriter and giving the god the answer to his demise. Endless possibilities, many things to unfold now. And here he was, so tiny and so minuscule in a complex of wires that stretched far within the city.

and he waited.

 

and he waited..

 

waited again...

 

and kept waiting...

 

Until a loud bang screamed through his entire being. He had been pulled out of his little eternal daydream and immediately pulled his sight into one of the cameras he possessed.
A companion had been banging on a power box that his cords had been somehow connected to. The security camera he had possessed seemingly now in The Slums. How interesting, he didn't have access to this beforehand.
But another bang brought him back into focus. It was The Outsider Doc, and he was furiously pounding at the electric box, as to wake a being up from its dream. Indeed he had.

The camera's movement caught the 'eye' of one of the other companions. The Outsider Momo. The man with a colorful face and an even more colorful personality. He gave a soft smile and tapped Seamus on the shoulder, in which Seamus then grabbed Doc (possibly to stop his racket.)

"oh!" Doc smiled, blush of embarrassment covering his face. B12 moved the camera to nod in acknowledgement, giving Doc a slightly shock of the arm as he took his hand off of the box.

"I knew you would show up!" Doc laughed, his hands placing on his hips.

"We missed you!" Momo piped, meanwhile clasping his palms together and nodding. "I uh- knew you were in the system after the Little Outsider had freed the city. We need help, We know the elevator is not in power anymore, but the potential energy of it can still be used to power the defluxor"

"MY Defluxor" Doc joked, getting a stupid laugh out of Seamus.

"yes, Papa's defluxor" He spoke. "The Guardian temporarily left, but when it gets back we need to find a way to channel the energy" his knees bounced slightly where he stood, the camera nodding once more and turning to Momo, who waved again awkwardly.

As cliche as it was, maybe the memories that mattered were the ones that B12 made along this journey... as well as the ones he was yet to make.

Notes:

Once again sorry this is SUPER short!!! Next chapter out soon hopefully............