[I]-A Winter Wish-
Upon the crumbling bridge, the boy struggles to his feet as he staggers on forth, carrying himself towards the man who retreats further back with every step gained.
“Leave this place at once! I order you!”
A burst of electricity is fired from the jagged ring, slamming into the boy with such a force he is propelled back. He cries out as pain overwhelms his entire mechanical body, clutching a hand to his chest over the gapping hole of melted flesh and metal, where an exposed heart whirrs rapid.
It takes every ounce of energy within the trembling boy to pull himself back up.
“P-Please, let me help you!”
Explosions rip through the facility, threatening to bring the ceiling down on creator and creation as rocketing temperatures from rising pool of molten steel, bursts the pipes bind on the walls. The man grits his teeth, applying pressure on the ring as he fires another warning shot at the boy. The bolt slices through his cheek, sending shockwaves up and down his metal skeleton with lethal volts.
“LEAVE!”
The boy stumbles, losing sight in one eye, with warning signs flashing up in the other. They tell him his body can take no more of a beating, but still he keeps going, continuing to approach the man within sight of his failing vision.
“No! I-I won’t!”
The weapon trembles in the man’s hand as he aims to the boy open chest, knowing full well to shoot would put an end to the creation he has put so much love into. His fingers remained poised on the trigger, stalling from where he stands.
He is cornered and has no where else to run.
“Stay back! BACK!”
His every word is ignored.
Even as the building begins to fall apart around them, the boy does not give up and turn away. The pain unbearable, he walks on unbalanced legs, stumbling once more as the dying sight in his remaining eye distorts and flickers out. His limbs grow weaker, mind numbing into a distant haze as the precious energy that gives him life starts to bleed out from his ruptured heart.
Nothing…was going to stop him.
Drawing near, the boy reaches out through the dark; searching for the man he can no longer see. His hands come to find their way to a waist, sliding round to rest upon the man’s back, and slowly, the boy brings his creator into his arms, hugging him gently.
“Don’t die, I forgive you…”
Blind eyes filled with so much sorrow, the boy lays his head against the man’s chest, addressing him by the title in a broken plea; that frees a tortured soul.
“Father...”[/I]
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Upon the crumbling bridge, the boy struggles to his feet as he staggers on forth, carrying himself towards the man who retreats further back with every step gained.
“Leave this place at once! I order you!”
A burst of electricity is fired from the jagged ring, slamming into the boy with such a force he is propelled back. He cries out as pain overwhelms his entire mechanical body, clutching a hand to his chest over the gapping hole of melted flesh and metal, where an exposed heart whirrs rapid.
It takes every ounce of energy within the trembling boy to pull himself back up.
“P-Please, let me help you!”
Explosions rip through the facility, threatening to bring the ceiling down on creator and creation as rocketing temperatures from rising pool of molten steel, bursts the pipes bind on the walls. The man grits his teeth, applying pressure on the ring as he fires another warning shot at the boy. The bolt slices through his cheek, sending shockwaves up and down his metal skeleton with lethal volts.
“LEAVE!”
The boy stumbles, losing sight in one eye, with warning signs flashing up in the other. They tell him his body can take no more of a beating, but still he keeps going, continuing to approach the man within sight of his failing vision.
“No! I-I won’t!”
The weapon trembles in the man’s hand as he aims to the boy open chest, knowing full well to shoot would put an end to the creation he has put so much love into. His fingers remained poised on the trigger, stalling from where he stands.
He is cornered and has no where else to run.
“Stay back! BACK!”
His every word is ignored.
Even as the building begins to fall apart around them, the boy does not give up and turn away. The pain unbearable, he walks on unbalanced legs, stumbling once more as the dying sight in his remaining eye distorts and flickers out. His limbs grow weaker, mind numbing into a distant haze as the precious energy that gives him life starts to bleed out from his ruptured heart.
Nothing…was going to stop him.
Drawing near, the boy reaches out through the dark; searching for the man he can no longer see. His hands come to find their way to a waist, sliding round to rest upon the man’s back, and slowly, the boy brings his creator into his arms, hugging him gently.
“Don’t die, I forgive you…”
Blind eyes filled with so much sorrow, the boy lays his head against the man’s chest, addressing him by the title in a broken plea; that frees a tortured soul.
“Father...”[/I]
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Astro’s family had always been a strange one, but he would have it no other way. Zoran was his sister, Atlas like his brother, Yoko an aunt, Pluto an uncle, Nora a grandmother and Doctor O’Shay…for a long time he’d been like a foster father to him, and even to this day Astro looked up to the man as his second father. Nothing would change that.
A year ago today, Astro’s family had been incomplete, but now after so much, the last piece had joined the jigsaw that made up his young robot life.
He couldn’t believe his luck.
Pulling back the curtains to his bedroom, the Astro gasped in at awe at the surprise to await him beyond the window. It’d been snowing a few days before, but more had fallen in the night’s passing, for now the entire courtyard and the world beyond it were blanketed in a fresh layer of snow, and it was still falling in heavy clusters.
“Wow…” Hands and button nose pressed up the glass, his large brown eyes gazed upwards where billions upon billions of snowflakes seemed to fall in slow motion from the sky. Snow on Christmas day...If it weren’t for being in his rocket jammies, he would have been out there like a shot by now.
“An early bird again I see.”
Peering over one shoulder, a grin brightened on Astro’s face as he waved over to the man standing within the shadows of the open doorway.
“Father, come take a look at this! It’s really coming down!”
A cup of freshly brewed tea hooked within his fingers, the one he called father entered the bedroom and came join him at the window, where they looked out at their little winter wonderland.
Tenma’s release from prison had been 3 months before, but was still clear in Astro’s memory as the day it had happened. Not even the news crews to arrive uninvited had stopped Astro from running towards his creator for a long needed hug. Frequently he had visited Tenma in prison, where many of their conversations were housed within in a boxed cubical, with a wall of glass between them and a set of phones the only means of communication.
It'd been frustrating on Astro, having 100,000 horsepower at his fingers tips and yet being unable to use it to break in. If he could've so without any consequences, Astro would have smashed the glass in a nanosecond, if it meant he could just sit with him. It was laws and regulations, and his own conscience that stopped him…although they hadn't always in the past.
His father never spoke much of his life in that place, most often he’d said because there was little to speak of…although, he had mentioned with a faint smile to his lips that the food was rather tasteless, the reading material unimaginative and not one inmate or single guard could challenge him to a satisfying game of chess.
Those days were far behind them, but Tenma wasn’t entirely a free man. The bulky tag strapped to his wrist was testament of this. The stone walls and visiting hours might be gone, but he was still a prisoner in his own right.
But not all was bad, they had each other. Plus the chess games matches were a lot more competitive, athough their skills in the kitchen however needed a little work. Apparently...neither one could cook.
“Isn’t it cool?”
“Hm…” was all Tenma replied with, as he took a light sip of his tea. His enthusiasm wasn’t strongly felt as Astro’s, but he could see the appreciation for nature’s gift on his composed features. It made Astro wonder the last time his father had watched the snow without it being in the midst of a war.
“Do you think it’ll be like this all day?” He asked in a voice buzzing with excitement.
“A probability, yes” his father said while he studied the skies overcast in heavy white clouds. “It would be wise to leave early today, before the roads become impassable.”
Most cars had the capabilities of flight, but not only had his father's car been rendered flightless, it was bugged to track it’s every movement. Just one of the many things they’d adapted to.
“Right!” Astro nodded eagerly and hurried off to leave his room “I’ll go recharge!”
“Don’t run.” Tenma said with a mild sternness, and Astro called back a quick “Sorry!” as he left the room in a very, very brisk walk.
And so they both got ready for the big day ahead, with a couple or so more warning to the ecstatic robot, who couldn't stopped himself from running about th plac, as if his energy cells were made of candy cane. Some might consider this temperamental, but after Astro had tripped over countless times, knocked over a vase and accidently got his head stuck in a wall, the rule ‘no running’ would apply in any parents books.
The house just been refurbished too, so busting it up was not in their best interests.
When they had finally eaten (burning many slices of toast in the process), recharged, washed and dressed into their warm winter clothes, Astro had offered to his father the neatly wrapped Christmas present he’d kept secretly tucked under his bed. He was surprised to be met with a politely refusal, agreeing it best to wait until they were at Dr. O’Shay’s home, where it was revealed Astro’s own Christmas present resided.
“But I wanna know now!” the boy robot exclaimed unable to stay put as his hopped up and down like a pogo stick. “Come on, gimme a hint! Please?”
“If I were to tell you, it wouldn’t be surprise now would it?” Tenma said amused as he fitted on his trench coat and hat. He then reached for the little red coat hanging up on the peg and helped his son into it.
“Well, maybe you can tell me anyway! I can act surprised!” Astro suggested hopeful, but to no success.
His father could go within certain jurisdictions in the city, but only with an arranged escort. It wasn’t a terrible thing…since Astro was that escort. If his father had got him something in secrecy, it would’ve been with the help of Dr. O’Shay, which explained why it was over at the computer scientist’s house, maybe all nicely wrapped up and…
…And then, the mental image blew up in a cloud of smoke when a sudden thought crossed his electronic mind.
“It’s not another sister, is it?” Astro questioned as two Zoran ran rampant inside his active imagination. His father’s only response was to smile and speak in more riddles while he finished buttoning up his little coat. He said nothing more about the present, to Astro’s disappointment.
With everything they needed packed in the back trunk, the car's windows were de-iced the car and the driveway cleared, with a little help from a pair of rocket feet of course. And soon father and son were off, rolling down the snow paved blocks of Metro City as they listened to the radio, its channels switching from Christmas songs to classical music at every track’s end.
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(Next Part Soon)
(Next Part Soon)