Chapter Text
You drove your Neco Corp. van back to the factory after dropping "waste" (which was actually boxes and boxes of resources you had entrusted to a contact to catch from the Slums) down from Midtown. All was well until the phone rang.
"Hello, this is [l.n] speaking. How can I-"
"I know who you are," the bot on the other end spoke.
"I know, sir. It's just habit," you replied.
He "sighed" as best a sigh a robot could as he said, "Right. Well, when you get back to the factory, come see me."
Oh no. A meeting with Warren was rarely a good thing. Especially with the tone in his voice... "Understood, sir.."
God, you thought, my voice sounded so weak there. And I think it cracked, too. Panic was about the only thing going through your head at that moment. He said something you didn't hear and hung up. For the rest of the drive, you were tapping your fingers against the steering wheel and mumbling to yourself. The ride, pulling in, walking to the upper floor, all of it was one massive blur. As you approached the final flight of stairs, you hesitated. These are the Big Guys, don't screw it up.
You knocked. "Come in," Warren spoke, "Have a seat, [l.n]. Do you know why I called you here?"
"Maybe you do," he cut you off before you were able to say anything, "We caught the one taking materials from our storage. Looks an awful lot like you. Listen- no, don't try to defend yourself. We have to let you go. It was an honor working with you."
"You never worked with us. You were above us. You have no honor," you said as you stood up and started towards the door.
"Ah-bah-bah. No leaving on us, now. You aren't just fired, you're a criminal. Why don't you head on down to the Slums, since you enjoy them so much?"
"What?- You little-" you weren't able to finish your sentence, as you were cut off by your arms being grabbed and being unable to fight back. "This is illegal, you know?"
"They won't find out."
"They will, I'll make sure of it."
That was all you said before you were taken out of the factory and to the waste dump. The bot holding you set you over the edge and left you to fall.
...
You hit the ground seconds later, unable to move for a second. "That's gonna leave a dent," you said as you rubbed the side of your head and examined your surroundings.
"At least I landed on something soft... Well, since I'm here, and stuck here, I should check the place out." I mean, you had been here how many times? And you never learned anyone's name. Any conversation was subtle and quick, and it only ever explained where and when to drop what. "They're out for my blood now, even if I went back I wouldn't last." There were no lights in that dump, so you had to pull out a gun that you had attached to a flashlight and an ultraviolet light. The flashlight was just bright enough to lead you out of the fill and further into the slums. Your quiet observation of the inner-city was interrupted by someone's frantic beeping. You ran to the source of the sound and found about a dozen Zurks surrounding someone. They were all grouped, so you were able to make quick work of them with the UV light. The robot on the ground seemed to be unresponsive, so you picked him up and ran with him out of the Zurk-infested hideaway. You took him to a safe spot between buildings where you sat with him until he could boot back up. You fiddled with your hands under your coat while waiting, not even noticing him sit up and look at you.
"Hello?" he said, though it was more of a question.
"Huh?" you looked over to him, "Uh- oh. Yeah. Hi."
"Did you carry me all the way here?"
"Yeah, I couldn't just leave you to the Zurks."
He paused, almost like he didn't know exactly what to say, but eventually said, "Right. Thank you. What's your name?"
You stopped. When was the last time you weren't Mx. [l.n]? When was the last time you were you? You eventually settled for your first name, "[y.n]. And yours?"
"I'm Momo," he said, "I should go home now. I've got something to be working on. You should too. It'll do you no good being this close to Zurks."
"Yeah.."
Home.. It already seemed so far away from you. You weren't sure if you even enjoyed your life in Midtown. Momo seemed to notice your change in tone and volume, since he told you, "You sort of saved my life. So, if you need anything, stop by. I'm up at the top of the tall building over there, the one with the orange signboard."
"Alright, thank you. I'll see you around?" you asked.
"Yeah, see you." He left without another word, probably under the impression that you would leave this alley to return to your home. Sleep in a warm bed. After he had been gone long enough that you were sure he wasn't coming back, you pulled your sunhat over your face and fell asleep.
...
You woke up to something on your feet. Instinctively, you pulled them back and grabbed your gun. Scrambling to your feet, you aimed your light at the Zurks on the ground and blasted them. After making sure they were dead, you ran out of the alley. More were waken up from the commotion and followed after you. "Fuuuck fuck fuck fuck fu-hu-huucck..." You didn't slow down. You turned alley after alley in panic. You don't know these streets. Your frantic running only brought you closer to the walls and closer to the infection. There was an army of Zurks on your tail now and your UV gun was almost out of charge. Nonetheless, you had a plan. You didn't shoot. You ran past infection and had at least a hundred Zurks following you, but once you were out of the woods and heard others talking, you climbed as high as you could. Step by step you climbed up air conditioners and tin rooves. The clanking and the sound of the Zurks jumping to reach you meshed together into one big sound, as well as the charging of your gun. All at once, the Zurks below you started to explode and their waste turned to air. You let out a tone of beeps similar to that of a sigh as you leaned against the wall of the building you found yourself on. Your quick moment of peace was disrupted by a tap tap on glass. Still on edge, the noise startled you, which caused you jump forward. Your back had been leaning over the edge, your hands barely gripping on to the tin roof you sat on.
The window opened to a familiar rainbow screen. "You know," Momo started with a smile, "You could have knocked on my door."
"No- No it's not like that. I was being chased- hundreds of them.. I got lost, and-"
"Zurks?" he asked, with slight concern in his voice.
"Yes, Zurks," you answered, "They followed me."
He looked worried for you as he said, "Don't you have your ultraviolet gun?"
You held it up to your side as if demonstrating (though, visually there was no difference anyway), "Low charge. I had to wrangle them and use up the last of my bang-pow all at once."
"Bang-pow?" he laughed.
"Bang-pow," you confirmed.
"Impressive. Hey- do you want to come in? That roof can't be comfortable."
"Oh- um," you contemplated his offer, "Sure. Thanks."
He held out an arm to steady you as you climbed in through the window. Once you were in, he finally asked you, "So, how did you end up out fighting Zurks at this time of night?"
You were somewhat embarrassed by your situation but found no reason to lie. "I was sort of.. fired. Then I got sent here by my boss at Neco Corp. That motherfucker threw me off the trash dump! And all for what? Stealing resources they only have because of our hard work to give them to the people who need them? And so basically I ended up falling asleep in that alley we met in since my apartment is up in Midtown."
"The trash dump?!" Momo exclaimed. It almost seemed like he was angry for you. "That's so messed up!"
"I know right? Like- firing me just wasn't enough, huh? Please, that's why your name is Warren, loser."
"Well, if you don't want to be alone in an alley somewhere you can stay here for the night."
"You sure?" you asked, worried you would be intruding in his home.
"Yeah, It isn't easy living down here. I'd like to make it easier on a newcomer. Welcome to, drumroll please," you listened to him, giving a small tap on the table as he said, with lots of fake enthusiasm, "The Slums!! Da-da-da... Hah, it- it isn't actually that exciting."
"I think anywhere can be exciting if you have your friends with you," you said.
"You think? What kind of friends do you have up in Midtown?" Momo asked you.
"Ahhahahh, uhm. Well, I kind of spent most of my time holed up making things," you answered nervously.
He perked up slightly at this. "What kind of things?"
"Mostly weapons and arts and crafts projects," you said, "Well, what kind of friends do you have down here?"
"Well, I think everyone down here is alright. But if you're looking for specifics, there's Clem, Doc, and Zbaltazar."
"Zbaltazar? That's a cool name. What are they all like?" you were curious about the kind of friends Momo would have.
"Well, Doc likes to invent things like weapons and new tech. He's a good guy. 'S got a son, Seamus. Clem is no-nonsense, loyal, and great at gathering information. Zbaltazar is into some coding stuff and he's a great teacher."
You carefully thought about each of them. "They sound like good friends."
"I think they would love to meet you."
"You really think so?" you asked.
"Yeah," he said, "you seem like a good friend, too."
You two spent the rest of the night talking about nonsense, just learning about each other. When the two of you did eventually lie down for the night, you had a warm feeling in your chest. That might have just been your outdated hardware running for too long, though.