"ASTRO!!!!!"
It was coming from Astro's little sister, Zoran. She had been built by Dr. O'Shay sometime ago. Astro sat up promptly just as Zoran burst into his room and began to bounce on his bed. "Hey, guess what! Guess what! Guess what!" She chanted, jumping up and down.
"Zoran, stop that..." Astro moaned, rubbing his eyes.
Zoran obeyed and stopped bouncing, but she was no less enthusiastic. "We have a guest coming over!" She cheered excitedly, crawling forward to look Astro in the face.
"Really?" Astro asked, coming to attention.
"Yup! Come on, Dr. O'Shay is going to tell us more!" Zoran continued, leaping off the bed and pulling persistently on her big brother's arm in attempts to get him to follow her. Astro slowly complied, went with his little sister out into the hall and down into the living room. Since Reno's bed was empty, Astro figured the young human boy had gotten up early and was already at the Ministry Of Science. To Astro's surprise, he and Zoran found O'Shay nervously pacing around and fidgeting uncomfortably with his buttons and neck tie. He was wearing his best suit which peaked Astro's curiosity about their aforementioned guest. Nora, the house-hold bot, was following O'Shay around, trying to settle him and help him get ready.
Finally, the doctor paused long enough to notice the two robot siblings. He faced them with a big, friendly grin. "Oh, hello you two! And good morning Astro, you slept in quite late today."
Astro chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I did."
"Hmm. I understand Ally is back in town. Have you seen her yet?" O'Shay asked, doing his best to be subtle.
"Yeah, I met her in the park yesterday." Astro replied cheerfully.
"Ally? You mean that yellow robot girl who has a crush on you?" Zoran asked, looking to Astro.
Astro blushed slightly. "She doesn't have a crush on me!" He said defensively, though he knew perfectly well that she did. She had kissed him after all.
"Oh sure, you say that but everybody knows she does." Zoran taunted in a sing-song voice, "At least she did anyway!"
"Zoran!!" Astro snapped, feeling kind of annoyed with his little sister. Zoran only laughed.
"Well, never mind that now." O'Shay interrupted with a friendly chuckle, "An old friend of mine is coming over today. Her name is Miss Unifly."
"Miss Unifly?.. I don't think I've ever heard of her." Astro said.
"Well, you wouldn't." O'Shay laughed, sitting on the couch in order to tie his shoe without falling over. "Music isn't one of your interests. Miss Unifly is a big music producer. She travels the world scouting young musicians and offers to sponsor them in their quest to become superstars. I don't know why she's coming here, only that she said she wanted to meet you and Zoran."
"When is she coming?" Astro asked.
"She'll be here in a few hours." O'Shay said, finishing with his shoe. "Speaking of which, you'd better hurry and get ready. Miss Unifly is a very particular woman when it comes to appearances."
Astro and Zoran nodded, both hurrying upstairs to get ready. While in the middle of getting dressed, however, he was surprised to hear the doorbell ring. Was Miss Unifly here already? A resounding gasp and exclamation from Dr. O'Shay confirmed that she was. "Funny. Those few hours only felt like a few minutes." Astro thought playfully. He had one good suit meant for extravagant parties, so after slipping into that, Astro fastened on a bow-tie and decided to call it good. A moment later, Zoran came into his room holding her dress ribbon in her hand and desperately begged Astro to tie it for her.
"Can't you get Nora to help you?" Astro asked.
"Nora is down stairs! I can't get to her without Miss Unifly seeing me, and you heard what Dr. O'Shay said about appearances." Zoran moaned.
"Okay. Give it to me then, I'll help you." Astro said, reaching for Zoran's offered ribbon.
A little while later, Astro and Zoran descended the stairs. Astro was surprised at the person he saw sitting expectantly on the couch: Blazing red hair tied up in a french roll, blood red lips pressed tightly together, sharp green eyes that were outlined with long, black eyelashes and dark mascara. Her nose was as pointy and as sharp as her chin and high cheekbones. She had one leg crossed over the other and rested her long hands across the knee. Every appendage was decorated with jewelry and even her short dress and pink stockings were shiny. Her heel shoes looked sharp enough on both ends to run someone through! All in all, Miss Unifly didn't look anything at all like Astro had pictured her. He'd been expecting someone who was short and friendly looking, like O'Shay was. Instead, she looked decidedly unfriendly. Zoran must have thought so too, because she instantly hid behind her brother upon seeing the woman.
"Astro, Zoran. I'd like you to meet Miss Unifly." Dr. O'Shay said, standing and inviting his two robotic charges into the living room.
Slowly and proudly, Miss Unifly turned her head and met Astro's eyes. His robotic heart felt as though it skipped a beat. "This must be Astro." She said. Her voice was as cold and silky as the rest of her. Astro couldn't even reply, he could only nod. "A pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Miss Unifly. I've heard ever so much about you." She said coolly, sliding like a snake into a standing position and extending her hand.
"Uhhh-..." Astro squeaked, finding it harder and harder to function as she came closer. She was positively terrifying! He finally managed to swallow hard and find his smile, taking her hand for a friendly shake. "Hello. It's good to meet you." He said.
"And you must be Zoran." Unifly said, looking to Zoran and extending her hand once again after Astro let go. Astro was surprised that her tone suddenly sounded softer and grandmotherly when she addressed Zoran. Her eyes also appeared softer in their gaze. Zoran slowly took the woman's hand and shook it.
"She's perfectly adorable, O'Shay. Simply precious!" Unifly said, standing tall yet again. Instantly, Zoran warmed over the the creepy woman. O'Shay smiled while Astro quietly hurried to the doctor's side. For some reason, Astro got the feeling Miss Unifly didn't like him. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both." Unifly continued, "But now, we must talk business. O'Shay, will you and the kiddies kindly join me in my limo?"
"Oh, ofcourse." O'Shay said politely.
"Kiddies?" Astro thought, following Dr. O'Shay outside. Zoran was ecstatic upon seeing the long black car. Astro, however, felt things had only gotten weirder. How did a vehicle that long make turns without hitting something?
"Step inside please." Unifly begged as her chauffeur opened the back door, though it sounded more like a demand to Astro.
"Oh wow!" Zoran exclaimed once inside. Unifly slipped in shortly after her company had all been seated and took a seat opposite to them, sitting in the same position she'd been in when Astro first saw her. She watched with a pleased smile as Zoran raced to and fro inspecting everything. The black seats were outlined in hot pink lights and the floor was covered in a soft pinkish-purple carpet. The ceiling was designed to mirror the night sky, where the stars sparkled and changed different colors every few minutes.
"Astro! Astro! Look at this car!" Zoran squeeled excitedly, opening the refrigerator just to gawk at the rainbow of colorful lights on the inside.
"Posh, isn't it?" Unifly bragged proudly.
Zoran paused in her excitement for a moment and looked at Unifly. "Uhh.. That depends. What does 'posh' mean?" she asked, her attention slowly being called off to something else within the car.
Unifly rolled one hand at the driver's window. "It means fancy or stylish.." she explained, "Please take a seat now, Zoran. The car is about to take off."
Zoran quietly obeyed, though her brown eyes still scanned the interior of the vehicle in astonishment. "Posh...Posh.." She quietly repeated to herself. It was an odd word, but she liked it's sound. Astro also admired his shiny surroundings, though it still didn't make any sense to him as to why someone would want a car like this. After awhile, all those lights and things would get dizzying.
As though reading his mind, Unifly spoke to him. "Displeased, Astro?"
Astro's attention returned to his host in a snap and he quickly shook his head. "Oh no! It's wonderful, miss Unifly."
"It's posh!" Zoran added.
Unifly nodded with only half a smile, then turned to face O'Shay. "I'm a wealthy, well-known music producer as I'm sure you are aware, O'Shay." She began, "But I'm afraid I've lost my inspiration. With the recent robots-and-humans-as-equals thing, I can't seem to find any satisfaction in my work anymore." She sighed, resting her defined chin in her palm as gazing out the dark window.
"I don't understand, miss Unifly. Why would human and robot equality take away your satisfaction?" O'Shay began, his tone sympathetic and somewhat worried.
"Because it has opened my eyes to how incredibly shortsighted my talent searches have been." Miss Unifly responded.
"I'm afraid I still don't underst--"
"I've decided to seek robot talent too now." Unifly stated bluntly, interrupting Dr. O'Shay and looking directly at him.
"What?!" O'Shay gasped. Zoran squealed excitedly and hugged Astro, who was just as surprised as the doctor.
"Yes. I want Zoran and Astro to star in my newest music concert. They will be preforming with a couple of human children I previously selected, and a few other robots too of course." Unifly continued.
"But, miss Unifly--" O'shay began.
"It doesn't matter if they know how to play an instrument or not. I spare no expense when it comes to teaching, so you really have no excuse to deny me." Unifly finished, examining her fingernails in boredom.
"Well, I think it's a wonderful idea!" Dr. O'Shay cheered, looking to Zoran and Astro for their reactions. Miss Unifly went on to explain that she would pick the two robots up everyday after Astro was finished with school, and take them to her theater where they could rehearse with the other performers. Zoran was ecstatic at the idea of being on T.V, but Astro remained quiet. The following night, he decided to talk to Dr. O'Shay about it. The doctor was working late on his computer when Astro entered the room.
"Oh! Hello Astro, you should really be in bed. You have school tomorrow" O'Shay said with his usual happy tone and friendly smile.
"Doctor.. I wanted to ask you about miss Unifly." Astro began.
O'Shay looked at Astro with concern. "What about her?"
"I don't think she likes me." Astro admitted.
"What? That's ridiculous! If she didn't like you, she wouldn't have invited you to be a part of the concert. Trust me. I know how Miss Unifly acts toward people she doesn't like." Dr. O'Shay said seriously, easing Astro's worry slightly.
"How long have you known her?" Astro asked.
Dr. O'Shay was quiet for a moment, then at last he sighed with a smile. "I've known her for many years. We were really good friends in high school, in fact, I guess you could say she was my girlfriend." He laughed sheepishly.
That was information Astro found very surprising. Scary Unifly with lovable O'Shay? No way! But the robot boy politely did not voice his opinion on this. Instead, he asked another question; "What happened?"
"We had a disagreement one day, shortly before graduation, and I regret to say we never made up." O'Shay sighed.
"Sounds like you really miss her.." Astro ventured. Dr. O'Shay didn't reply, just kinda hummed sadly. "Sounds like you still like her too!"
Dr. O'shay suddenly flushed crimson and cleared his throat. "Heh-uhm, well.. That's just nonsense. Off to bed with you now."
******
"Sir, we have a situation." One of the officers said. His big eyes were glued to the computer which he was sitting in front of.
"What is it?" Detective Tawashi asked, turning from his previous business to look at the officer. Detective Tawashi was Metrocity's finest detective, probably the best ever.
"There's an unidentified metal object infiltrating Metrocity airspace." The officer explained.
"Is it a robot?" The detective asked, coming forward and peering over the computer-officer's shoulder to get a better look at the readings for himself.
"We don't know, sir." The officer replied.
"Ah great. UFO's now." Detective Tawashi said sarcastically. "Where's it heading?"
"Down, sir. Straight down and increasing speeds." The officer answered.
"Well, when it crashes we'll find out what it is." Detective Tawashi said, turning abruptly and striding out of the room. Several members of the ARRS followed him, including their commander bot, Delta.
******
Astro leaned tirelessly over his desk, writing down the answers to the complex math-questions on his sheet of paper. After awhile, miss Miyoke clapped her hands together twice. "Alright class, time's up. Please put your test papers on the table." One by one the children obeyed their teacher.
Astro read over his answers one last time as he drew close to the desk. Suddenly, his classmates cried out with astonishment. Astro turned to see everyone looking and pointing. In a flash of blinding light, a flaming something flew passed the large window on the side of the classroom! It disappeared just as suddenly as it had come, only to be followed by a loud booming noise and a tremor that shook the whole building. The class raced forward and pressed their faces against the glass to see where the strange object had gone. Red and black smoke bellowed up from an alleyway nearby. Miss Miyoke did her best to corral the children away from the window and refocus their attention. The sirens of the police squad alerted her that the situation outside was being handled.
"What was that?" Kennedy asked.
"I'll find out!" Astro stated, turning and racing from the room before miss Miyoke could protest.
Astro made it to the location just as the police did. "Astro! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Detective Tawashi demanded grudgingly as he stepped out of his car. The detective had never quite agreed with the idea of robots being in school, but held his peace with it anyway, especially now that robots and humans were equals.
"What's going on, detective?" Astro asked, purposely avoiding the question. Tawashi didn't push the matter. He had a feeling that Astro would again be a great deal of help to him.
"We're not sure. This thing was detected by our scanners." Tawashi explained, cautiously approaching. Astro followed. "My scanners don't pick up anything, Detective." he admitted.
"Nothing? One of our officers said their was some kind of metal in this thing." The detective insisted.
Astro drew closer and peered over into the small crater and dying flames. After a moment, he shook his head. "No.. Nothing. There's not even a rock.. This crater is completely empty."
"So whatever that thing was must've obliterated itself upon contact with the earth's surface." Detective Tawashi surmised. Astro shook his head again and turned to look and the human officer.
"I don't think so, because then there'd be pieces of something scattered around the crash site.. There's nothing here that wasn't here before." Astro explained.
"So what? It got up and walked away?" Tawashi demanded, becoming a little irritated with Astro's puzzles.
"Maybe." Astro said, mostly to himself, looking down the alleyway for any sign of something that may prove his theory. There was nothing.
Detective Tuwashi dismissed the case after a while of uneventful study, but placed caution-tape around the site anyway. After school, Astro headed straight home, eager to tell Dr. O'Shay what had happened. The next few days were spent with Unifly, who would pick Astro and Zoran up in her limo and take them to rehearsal, just as she promised. They practiced for several hours a day, learning what instruments they would be playing and how to play them. Then, with the concert only a week away, Unifly took them to the actual stage to introduce them to their fellow band members.
"Now, I know this is your first time in a music stadium, so stay close or you're sure to get lost." Unifly said, her silky, pompous tone seeming just a little more friendly then it had at their first meeting. Unifly led the two robot children straight to the stage where four human children stood beside their chosen instruments, ready to begin. They eye'd Zoran and Astro quietly. Three with smiles, one with a doubtful glare.
"Alright! Children, meet Astro and Zoran. These are two of the four robots you will be preforming with at the concert next week." Unifly introduced,
"Hello everybody!" Zoran began, holding both hands behind her back and swaying from heel to toe. Three of the four human children waved, then looked at Astro as if waiting for a greeting from him as well. He responded quickly with a wave of his hand and a friendly smile. He was so out of his element, he had almost forgotten his manners.
"Karen, I'll leave it to you to take charge. You usually do anyway. I'll be back in an hour-- And remember, differences in the instruments must be put aside to create glorious harmony!" Unifly spoke suddenly, turning and disappearing behind the big red curtain.
After a moment of silence, the aforementioned Karen set her violin aside and approached the two awkward bots. "Okay, let's try that again. Hi, I'm Karen Tawashi." She said, extending her hand.
"I'm Astr- Wait! Tawashi? As in Detective Tawashi?" Astro gasped.
Karen placed both hands on her hips proudly and smiled. "The very same! The revered detective is my dad, so you don't have to worry about introducing yourself to me. He's already told me and mom plenty about you."
"All good things I hope." Astro laughed, though he knew full well it hadn't always been. "I didn't know Detective Tawashi had a daughter."
"Doesn't seem like the type, does he?" Karen laughed, "Well, it's not like it's classified information, but kind of need-to-know, since Dad makes a lot of enemies in his line of work. Not typically something folks hear about unless they live nearby."
"How did you get chosen for the concert?" Astro asked.
"I made the mistake of singing in my school talent show several weeks ago, since mystery solving isn't something you typically do in front of an expectant audience. Anyway, Miss Unifly was there scouting talent, and oops! So here I am." Karen explained, then gestured over to a familiar girl with brown hair that curled at the tips. "Let me introduce you to everybody else. Over there is C.J--"
"Yeah, I know!" Astro interrupted, smiling broadly at the sight of his old friend. "It's good to see you again." He said.
"You too." C.J said cheerfully.
Karen seems quite pleased. "Okay then." She laughed, gesturing to a young man standing behind the keyboard. "This is Alex Zapp." The young man seemed to be three to four years older than the others and was wearing a rather flamboyant sleeveless shirt. Alex reached over and shook Astro's hand happily as the robot boy approached.
"You're Alex Zapp, the so-to-be famous teen popstar? I heard your demo on the radio! It was the best ever!!" Zoran gasped in delight.
Alex laughed, looking at Zoran. "What do you know? I have a fan. And a cute one too." He said with a wink. Zoran blushed.
"You don't live here in MetroCity." Astro observed.
Alex tossed his blonde hair and smiled. "Nah, but Miss Unifly is my sponsor. I go everywhere she wants me to go. This is my debut concert actually. You lot get to preform it with me."
Zoran cheered, when suddenly a shadow passed in front of Alex's face. The little robot girl turned to see that C.J and Karen also looked pretty upset, and all were staring at the last boy who was sitting by the drums. He had been the one with the unfriendly glare when robot siblings first entered. "What's wrong?" Zoran asked, looking to everyone for any sort of explanation.
"That's Carlos." Karen said, folding her arms.
Carlos scoffed and looked away.
"Did we do something wrong?" Zoran asked, taking Astro's hand.
"No. It's just Carlos's dad works in the demolishing of old-..Uh, broken-down, beyond repair, no-hope-for-them, not-even-in-one-piece-anymore, the-scrapping-is-practically-mercy robots.... Without A.I." Karen rambled, trying to stress to her two new robot friends that Carlos's father's work was not the issue here. "He doesn't like robots too much and still thinks they should have never been given kokoro. Carlos shares these feelings. He's been acting like a jerk ever since he learned you'd be doing the show with us."
"Oh." Astro muttered, wondering why Miss Unifly would have selected someone who hated robots to be in a human-robot concert.
"Well, too bad!" Zoran shouted at Carlos suddenly, stomping her foot. "We have as much right to be here as you do!" Astro quickly seized his little sister by the mouth and pulled her back. Carlos glared, but Alex, C.J, and Karen rallied behind Zoran's statement.
"Yeah, they do." C.J said.
"Come'on, Mate, robots have been equal citizens here for a year. Get over it." Alex put in.
"Or at the very least swallow it until after the show." Karen snapped, placing her hands on her hips again in a disapproving manner.
Carlos stood suddenly and walked passed Astro, nudging him roughly. "Welcome to the show." He muttered gruffly, then continued off stage. There was a moment of silence until Zoran pulled away from Astro's grasp.
"He is sooooo mean! I'm gonna tell miss Unifly that he pushed my brother!" She shouted, full of rage.
"Zoran, it's not that big a deal. It didn't even hurt." Astro said softly, trying to quiet her.
Karen said nothing, but looked at Astro and Zoran uneasily.
"Enough of that, we've got a show to put on!" Alex said suddenly, putting an arm over Astro's shoulder. C.J smiled and took Zoran's hand. "Come on! Let's find out what your musical talents are." She said, leading the group to the pile of instruments.
The following morning proceeded in a similar way: Unifly came to pick Zoran and Astro up in her limo, only this time she actually stayed to watch them and presented the proceedings of the planned concert. "We'll have a fabulous opening with all of you playing together, then Alex Zapp will sing a couple of songs, then close with another united jam." Unifly recited. "So, let's rehearse the opening number; True Blue!" by ZONE, actual Astro Boy music.
Astro hurried to his previously assigned electric guitar while Alex went to his keyboard, Carlos went to the drums and the three girls stationed themselves in front of microphones with Karen as the lead singer. Unifly tapped a few times, then signaled the start. They flopped, tried again and flopped, tried again and failed, tried again and hardly made it through the introduction when Unifly signaled for them to stop. "Harmony!" She snapped. "You're each trying to go your own way. I demand harmony!"
Suddenly, a tall man dressed in black emerged onto the stage. "We found a couple of robot girls, miss Unifly, we'd like you to come see them." He said bluntly.
"Ah, very good. Take five, I'll be right back." Unifly said, waving her hand dismissively to the performers. "And I want harmony when I return!" Then she and the man were gone.
Karen spun on her heels and folded her arms, "Okay! Problem number one, I don't want to sing lead!" She stated firmly.
"But you've got such a great voice, Karen." Alex protested.
"I'm not interested in a career as a singer. I'm going to join the police force one day, just like my dad. I don't want to be seen as the detective girl with a great voice. I want to be taken seriously. I'm not singing lead." Karen replied.
"Problem number two, Carlos keeps trying to upstage Astro and Alex!" C.J accused.
"I am not!" Carlos argued.
"Are too! You keep missing notes and making them sound bad!" C.J snapped.
"It's not Carlos. We've been practicing for weeks, but I still don't think I've got the hang of this thing yet." Astro interrupted, striking a few chords to prove his point.
"Let's try something else. C.J, you sing lead." Karen suggested.
"No way! I don't even know the lead's part." C.J protested.
"Guys! Don't fight!" Zoran moaned.
"We're not fighting!" C.J snapped.
Contrary to her statement, a big fight broke out just then. Everyone was yelling and pointing fingers as to who should do what, or who did what that ruined it, when suddenly Unifly reappeared on stage. Quietly, she strode to Carlos's drum set, swiped his drumstick and slammed the ride cymbal very hard. Everyone clutched their ears and fell silent. "Now, what is the meaning of this?" Unifly demanded. Again the fighting picked up, and again Unifly hit the cymbal. "Nonsense! Utter nonsense!" She hollered. Slowly, she turned and beckoned to the curtain where two robot girls shyly emerged. One was pink and obviously robot, the other wore a purple dress but looked just as human as Astro or Zoran did.
"Karen, if you don't want to sing lead, let Lyn do it." Unifly said, tossing the drumstick back to Carlos. "Introduce yourselves, girls." Miss Unifly sighed as she hurried past the newcomers and disappeared behind the curtain.
There was a moment of awkward silence. "Uhm.. Hi." Karen chuckled nervously, "Which one of you is Lyn?"
The human-looking one with long, dark hair raised her hand. "I am." She spoke. Her voice was strangely enchanting to Astro, he couldn't help but stare for a moment.
"My name is Jade!" Said the other one. She wore a pink, knitted hat with a little fluffy ball sewn on the top and matching arm coverings.
"Well, we're all pleased to meet the two of you." Karen said, turning to face the others. "I'm Karen, that's C.J, Alex, Carlos, Astro, and Zoran." Jade and Lyn nodded their hellos, then Karen dragged Lyn off learn the lead lyrics. Astro watched Lyn for a moment. Why'd she look so familiar to him? Rehersals continued, but strangely miss Unifly did not return for the rest of the day...
---------
That night, Astro and Zoran came home to find Unifly at their house again. She sat beside Dr. O'Shay and his computer talking hurriedly.
"What's going on?" Zoran asked. Unifly and O'Shay glanced up unanimously. It seemed to Astro that O'shay seemed exasperated and kinda worried.
"Nothing. Go to bed children, you have rehearsal tomorrow." Unifly said bluntly.
"But I have rocket ball practice after school tomorrow." Astro protested.
"Then you have rocket ball practice tomorrow, go to bed." She snubbed, jerking her head in one direction to signal the duo which way to go.
"I don't have to go to school or to rocket ball practice." Zoran stated indignantly, hoping to get an invitation to stay, but Unifly didn't look up from the screen. Hesitantly, Astro grabbed Zoran's hand and lead her upstairs to her bedroom.
"What do you think they're talking about, Astro?" Zoran asked as she snuggled down into her bed. Astro drew the blanket up to her chin and tucked her. "I don't know, Zoran." He admitted, though he wondered if they might be discussing whatever it was they fought about in high school whn they broke up.
"Will you find out?.. It could be trouble, and if it's trouble you have to save the day." Zoran said, her tone innocent and sleepy.
"I'll see what I can find out, but I'm not going to listen in to Dr. O'Shay and miss Unifly's private conversation." Astro said, placing his hands on his hips.
"Maybe they're talking about going on a date.. Wouldn't that be nice?" Zoran muttered slowly.
"Wait! How'd you figure out about that?" Astro gasped, but with no response. Zoran had slipped off to sleep. Astro leaned forward and gently kissed her on the forehead, "Goodnight Zoran." He whispered, then turned and tip-toed from the room. As her door clicked shut, Astro suddenly heard Unifly cry out. "She's a ghost, I tell you! A ghost!"
"Miss Unifly, calm down. I think you're over-reacting. Lyn is a robot. You said so yourself." O'Shay comforted.
"I practically raised Katie Slade! I'd know her anywhere! It's not possible that someone would just happen to come up with her every detail in a robot!" Unifly argued.
So that's where Astro had seen her before! Zoran had been watching a music video sung by Katie Slade just last month. Lyn looked exactly like her!
"Katie died, O'Shay!.. The plane blew up, and Katie died!" Unifly stressed.
Astro couldn't listen to anymore, he'd promised Zoran that he wouldn't do exactly what he was doing right now. Quickly, Astro raced to his room and shut the door so he wouldn't be able to accidentally hear anything else. Reno was already sound asleep in his own bed, so Astro quietly retired and went to bed for himself. The following morning proceeded with rocket ball to look forward to after school, instead of rehersal, much to Astro's delight. When Astro entered the classroom, he was greeted by Abercrombie, Alejo, and Kennedy.
"Hey Astro! Say, where have you been all month? We hardly see you around anymore." Ambercrombie said.
"I'm sorry. I've been rehearsing for a big concert in a few days." Astro explained.
"You're in a concert? What concert?" Kennedy asked.
Astro did not get a chance to asnwer before miss Miyoke entered the room. "Class, we have a new student today." Miss Miyoke spoke loudly, going to her desk. At her side was a small figure in a purple dress, shyly hiding behind her own black hair. Astro almost fell over.
It was Lyn!
"Her name is Lyn. I want you all to treat her with kindness and make her feel very welcome. We're all very happy to have her here." Miss Miyoke introduced. The class greeted Lyn in unison. "Astro, since Lyn is a robot starting school like you did, I'd like you to be her friend and show her around, please. Help her get used to everything."
"Yes miss Miyoke." Astro said happily.
"Take your place beside Astro please." Miyoke whispered to Lyn, pointing the assigned spot out to her new charge. Lyn looked about shyly at the other kids before gluing her eyes to her lap and quickly taking her seat.
"Hi Lyn." Astro whispered in a friendly way, waving at her.
Lyn slowly looked up at him. "H-Hi Astro." she whispered, blushing.
"So, you're going to be attending school with us here in Metrocity now, huh?" Astro asked, trying to help Lyn feel more comfortable. Lyn smiled and nodded. "Great! That means we'll be seeing a lot more of each other." Astro said.
Lyn again blushed, "That'd be nice." She replied, her voice quiet and shy.
"We can play together at recess. I'll introduce you to my friends." Astro whispered.
"Alright class, let's begin." Miss Miyoke spoke suddenly. The two robots and all their human classmates then got to work. When at last the recess bell rang, Astro led Lyn out to the playground where they found Abercrombie, Alejo, and Kennedy all waiting. After Astro introduced all the boys by name to Lyn, Kennedy suggested they play rocket ball.
"Do you know how to play Rocket Ball, Lyn?" Astro asked. Lyn slowly shook her head.
"Well, come with us to the park. We'll explain it on the way." Alejo beckoned, racing off with the others in hot pursuit.
When they made it to the park, they were all ready to play save one problem; the teams weren't even. "I don't want to be a bother, Astro. I'll just watch." Lyn said politely, slipping backwards.
"No, that's okay." Astro said.
"We just need to find someone else to play." Alejo added.
"I'd love to play!" A feminine voice spoke suddenly. The five children looked around for the mysterious speaker, only to have Ally hover down and land in front of them. "And I know the game quite well." She said with a wink.
"Alright! We have equal teams!" Astro cheered.
Ally's smile faded suddenly as she noticed Lyn. "Who are you?" She demanded.
"This is our new friend, Lyn. She's an robot like Astro and yourself." Kennedy introduced.
"Who are you?" Lyn asked, smiling kindly.
"I'm Ally." She replied, her face virtually expressionless. "I hope you're a fast learner, but even if you're not, just don't cry about it and we'll get along. Fair enough?"
Lyn seemed to become flustered by this. It was even unexpected for Astro.
"Come on, Ally, be nice. It's okay, Lyn, we'll teach you. Let's play!" he said, rallying everyone together.
Ally's smile returned instantly. "Sure thing! Astro, Kennedy and I against you three!" She called, snatching the ball and heading down the park yard with it.
There was no argument. The boys shot off and Lyn followed awkwardly behind.
Ally tossed the ball to Kennedy, then Kennedy to Astro. Abercrombie and Alejo couldn't keep up very well. Lyn watched the players closely until Kennedy scored a goal on the stump of the old oak, then Lyn smiled. "Okay, I understand now." She muttered to herself.
The second round begun. Lyn slipped in front of Kennedy as Astro passed the ball, and intercepted it. She tossed it to Alejo, who in turn passed it to Abercrombie. Their goal was the lamp-post. As the ball came back to Lyn, Ally suddenly seized it and carried it back up the park yard to the oak tree, tossing it to Astro. Astro caught the ball just as Lyn did: their hands slid across the smooth surface and touched. Lyn and Astro stared at one another for a minute. Lyn flushed crimson, then smiled and pulled the ball from Astro's hands. She carried it down the park and scored a goal.
"I thought you'd never played before!" Kennedy huffed.
Lyn smiled shyly as her team mates congratulated her. Ally skidded around and looked at Lyn with a smirk. "Alright, no more taking it easy on the beginner. Let's play!" She said, taking the ball and racing off again.
Astro received the ball and tossed it to Kennedy, but just before Kennedy's fingers touched the circular object, Lyn leapt clean over his head and caught it instead. Upon landing, she found Ally, who took hold of the ball and flipped over both Lyn and Kennedy; throwing it to Astro who scored the goal.
"Three to two!" Ally cheered, leaping up and down with her fists in the air. Suddenly, she turned to Astro. "How long are we playing?" She asked.
"Until the bell rings!" Astro replied with a smile, racing by her.
"So, it isn't over till it's over, huh?" Ally laughed evilly, rubbing her hands together. "I love it!" She joined her team mates in one final round. Kennedy had the ball this time and tossed it to Astro, but it was intersepted by Lyn.
"Abercrombie! Here!" Lyn called, tossing the ball in his direction. Abercrombie hit the ball with his chest, sending it high into the air.
"Astro! Give me a boost!" Ally called suddenly. Astro aided Ally in launching herself skyward and seizing the ball. Lyn, whom had foreseen this, also grabbed the ball when it was in reach; the girls pulled back and forth and eventually landed on the ground where they lost their balance and toppled over. The ball rolled from their hands and into Astro's, but that was it. The bell rung just then, signalling the end of the game and the beginning of second period.
"We win!" Kennedy cheered.
"Aw, we came in close second." Alejo huffed.
Lyn stood and dusted herself off. "Well done, Lyn." Ally spoke suddenly, drawing the strange robot girl's attention. "I'm quite impressed."
Lyn smiled and offered to help Ally up. Ally accepted Lyn's friendly gesture this time and smiled. "I look forward to seeing you around." Ally said, she then turned to the boys. "Well, since I don't do class, I'll catch you kids later."
"Bye Ally!" They all cheered separately.
"Bye Ash!" Ally said flirtatiously, landing a kiss on his cheek before rocketing off into the sky. Astro touched his cheek and looked after his kisser. "Ally!" He moaned in embarrassment. Abercrombie, Kennedy, and Alejo laughed tauntingly, then turned and headed for class. Lyn's smile fell, as did her hand that had waved goodbye to Ally. Her robotic heart pounded with jealousy, much to her own surprise.
"Come on Lyn! We don't want to be late for class!" Astro called. Lyn hurried to catch up with him, which didn't take much effort, considering he slowed to a walk. His smile was gone and a look of curiosity replaced it. "Uhm, Lyn.. Do you happen to know a Katie Slade?" He asked.
Lyn looked at him, but had no familiarity in her eyes. "No. I don't think I've ever heard of her." She admitted.
"Well, last night, miss Unifly said that you look exactly like her." Astro explained.
"Really?" Lyn chuckled.
"She also said that Katie Slade died in a plane accident sometime ago." Astro continued.
Lyn bent her eyebrows. "That's horrible!" She exclaimed sorrowfully.
"Do you know who created you, Lyn?" Astro asked, pausing for a moment in his stride. Lyn also paused, her eyes were on to the walkway at their feet. For a moment, she was silent. Then at last, she looked up into his face.
"I-..I really don't know, Astro. All I can remember is feeling very weak and being surrounded by fire, then blacking out. I woke up in Anton's hideout, all fixed up and feeling better then ever!" Lyn explained with a smile and shrug. "There are times when I think I can remember something before that, but it's all just a blur."
"Fire? Wait! So you were the fireball that passed by our school window and crashed in that alleyway." Astro gasped. That was why she looked familiar to him! He must have caught a brief glimpse of her when she passed the school window.
Lyn shrugged. "I don't know. Anton said he found me in an alleyway, but he didn't say much more about it."
"Who's Anton?" Astro asked, tilting his head to the side. He'd met an 'Anton' in the Space Academy about a year ago, but seriously doubted it was the same person.
Lyn laughed, "He doesn't want anyone to know about him, but don't worry. I'm sure you'll meet him someday. You might even meet Ring-Ring too!"
"Who's Ring-Ring?" Astro asked.
"He's another robot who Anton repaired." Lyn explained.
"Repaired? So, is Anton a scientist?" Astro persisted.
"Well, I guess he's something similar to that, but he's a robot just like you and me." Lyn shrugged. Astro wanted to ask more questions, but Lyn tugged on his arm. "Come on! We're gonna be late!" She laughed, pulling him along. She'd suddenly become quite livelier after her meeting with Ally.
"So how long have you known Ally?" Lyn asked, as though reading his thoughts.
"Uhm... A while, I guess. I don't get to see her too often." Astro shrugged, he didn't really have an answer. In reality, he didn't think he'd known Ally very long, but somewhere inside of him, he felt as though he'd known her all his life.
"Why not?" Lyn asked casually.
"She hasn't been in Metrocity for a year, but even before that, she spent most of her time with our creator." Astro explained.
"So you were created by the same person." Lyn observed, her tone sounding somewhat dismal at discovering this. Before Astro could determine why, she shook it off and perked up. "Uhm, who is your creator?"
"His name is Dr. Tenma." Astro answered quickly, trying to get time to squeeze in a question of his own. Lyn purposely didn't permit it.
"So, if Dr. Tenma created you both, I assume you and Ally are pretty close then?" She asked. She was probing, that much was obvious, and she wasn't as subtle about it as Dr. O'Shay-- Even Dr. O'Shay wasn't all that subtle. Still, Astro was rapidly loosing sight of what Lyn's motives might be.
"Yeah, she's my friend." Astro insisted.
Lyn sighed. "You two are friends? Pardon my say so, Astro, but she doesn't seem all that nice to me."
"Yeah, well, she's a little edgy around strangers. I guess that's just because of the environment she lived in, I heard somewhere that affects people." Astro said.
"So, you and Ally don't have.. Sorta, a thing, going on?" Lyn insisted, casting him a sideways glance. Oh. That was what she was getting at. Astro's cheeks suddenly felt very hot. Why did everyone assume he and Ally were in some kind of relationship? Astro's embarrassment increased dramatically when he looked ahead to see Abercrombie, Kennedy, and Alejo looking back at him with teasing grins.
"What?.. No! No, we don't." He said quickly, "Hurry up! Class'll start any minute!" And with this, he rushed ahead of both Lyn and his human friends, trying to hide his pink face. Lyn and the boys followed after him, all except Lyn snickering with fiendish delight.
-------------
The days of rehearsal and school flew by quickly, and in no time, the day of the concert was upon them. As the eight performers crammed back stage and wished each other luck, a familiar voice called Astro's attention. Ally leaned casually against the wall and smirked at him. "Well, well, well. Hero boy's got hidden talents." She teased.
"Hi Ally! What are you doing here?" Astro asked happily.
"I couldn't find you at your house, so I followed O'Shay's car all the way here. Seeing you and Zoran in a musical should be quite entertaining." She laughed, coming forward a bit.
"It's a concert, Ally, not a musical." Astro corrected with a laugh of his own.
"Astro! We're on in five minutes." Karen spoke suddenly, peaking around the stage. She looked surprised when she noticed Ally. "Oh!... Hello Ally."
Ally smiled, somewhat coldly, at Karen who returned the sugar-coated displeased look. Astro held his breath. Ally was known to be a bit of a trouble maker, it wouldn't be surprising if she had some quarrel with the detective's daughter.
"Hi." Ally replied.
"What are you doing here?" Karen asked.
"I've come to watch my two friends preform music for the first time in their entire lives." Ally replied, shooting Astro a teasing smile.
"Then you'd better find your seat, we're just about to start." Karen said quickly, then tugged on Astro's arm. "Come on." Astro wanted to ask how the two girls had first been introduced to one another, but that would have to wait for another time. It was clear they didn't have time.
Ally patted his shoulder as Karen dragged him away. "Break a leg, Ash." She said with a wink, "Tell Zoran I said so to her too." And with that, Ally turned and disappeared out the door. Astro watched her leave, then turned to face the curtain.
"Welcome everyone!" Unifly's voice echo'd out over the speakers. "I'd like to thank you all for coming to Alex Zapp's debut concert. This is the first time robots and humans will preform on stage together!"
"Humans and robots?" A gruff voice muttered suddenly. Astro turned to see Carlos adjusting his drums to the correct position, before glaring up at him. "Ghosts and humans would be more accurate, wouldn't you agree?" he snapped.
"Leave Lyn alone, Carlos." Astro replied, becoming irritated with the human boy's attitude.
"It's not just Lyn. Somebody else is back from the dead." Carlos hissed.
"What do you mean?" Astro asked but it was too late. The curtain lifted just a second later. The crowd's applause roared up, and the music began. Throughout the concert, Astro's thoughts couldn't help travel back to what Carlos had said. If he wasn't talking about Lyn, who was he talking about? Where had Lyn come from anyway? Who had created her? Why did she look so much like Katie Slade? Was it on purpose?
Unfortunately. nobody could answer these questions...
...At least, not where he could hear them...
******
His voice was deep and haunting as it spoke unheard words to his creation, "Our time draws near, Katie. Astro will not long stand in my way.".
TO BE CONTINUED...
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