While chaos reigns outside, inside the ministry, the people remain oblivious to the chaos. For now.

A woman with short hair and rectangular glasses that reflected the light of her computer as she typed ferociously on the keyboard. The data moved too fast for any normal human to comprehend. Behind her, standing over a long table, lay another robot that was just brought in: Tenma and Elefun.

"Did you find anything in this one, Doctor?" Tenma asked the older man, who shook his head disappointedly. Tenma frowned. "Agh... I don't get it! We've looked through every robot affected and found nothing on them!" He cried in frustration.

"We have to look at a new angle of possibilities," Elefun said soothingly to calm the man, despite understanding the feeling. "What else could cause a robot to act up?" They both turned and walked away from the table and looked over some data on their tablet. As they talked about theories and possibilities, no one noticed the robot slowly sat up and turned its head towards them.

—

Astro, Y/n, Cora, and Zane finally arrived at the Ministry. They rushed through the halls, pushing past other scientists. They arrived at the room they were in and saw just in time to see the robot slowly advancing towards the two.

Y/n gasped and her eyes widened. Her palm opened, and a ball of light appeared. "Watch out!" She cried before throwing the energy towards the robot. The blast hit its chest, creating a small explosion, and the robot fell on its back.

Tenma and Elefun turned around just as the blast hit the robot. They covered their eyes from the explosion before snapping their heads to where the four stood at the doorway. "What are you four doing here?!" Tenma demanded sternly.

"Dad!" Astro cried, running towards them with the others following behind. "Are you okay?!"

"Toby, what is going on?" Tenma asked again. "Why did Y/n attack the robot?"

"They were going to attack you, sir!" Cora explained.

"Attack us?" Elefun repeated, brows furrowed. Y/n stood beside him with a worried look. "Seriously, what is going on?"

Zane nodded. "It's chaos outside!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

Just as the two were gonna ask them again, the room turned red, followed by the blaring sound of the alarm. A large television lowered from the ceiling, and a video of the outside was played. Everyone in that room watched in horror at the state of Metro City. The footage on the screen showed robots tearing through intersections, emergency vehicles stalled in the streets, and crowds flooding the sidewalks in panic.

"Wh-what is going on?!" the short-haired woman screeched, standing from her seat.

"It looks like an apocalypse outside!" A man near her exclaimed.

"Every robot in Metro City is infected by the virus!" Astro explained. Tenma and Elefun turned back to him. "We rushed here to make sure you all are alright."

The woman at the computer hurriedly typed commands into her console. Data streamed across the monitors. "Almost every single technical source in Metro City is infected. It's stimulating and attacking every piece of technology similar to its composition."

Zane gulped. "Which means...?" he asked nervously.

"Which means any technology created by the ministry," she clarified seriously.

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Cora asked, brows furrowed.

But before anyone could talk, they heard thrashing and yelling from outside. Everyone rushed out and saw the halls already in disarray, papers and cloth thrown by the service bots. The cartwheel had been tipped over to the side, and everyone ran rampant to safety, locking themselves in rooms.

"First, we have to go to a safe area!" Elefun stated. He looked over his shoulder at his assistants. "Everyone, back inside now!" They all followed Elefun's orders. Once everyone was inside, he went to his desk and pressed the bottom button.

SAFETY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED

Large, thick metal plates lowered from the ceiling and covered every window and door. Everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief. "Okay, now we really need to do something!" Cora said.

Tenma nodded. "We've been running around in circles trying to find what's causing the virus to enter a robot, but it should've been obvious..."

"What do you mean, Tenma?" Elefun asked.

"Think about it: millions of robots are now under the same virus we couldn't find for weeks, and it all happened in seconds," Tenma explained. "For the virus to spread this fast... it had to be from there..."

Astro stepped forward. "There?"

Tenma faced everyone, his face grim. "The Data Center. Hidden deep underground in this ministry."

Elefun's eyes widened. "Of course. A signal. Something transmitted across the network. No wonder we couldn't find anything once a robot is shut down; it cuts from the signal."

"So, what do we need to do?" Y/n asked.

"We need a powerful electronic brain to destroy this virus," Tenma explained. "With it, we could reboot all the machines."

Cora crossed her arms. "And will that be enough to stop it from happening again?"

That question stunned the two scientists. Rebooting could solve their problem, but they also couldn't risk it ‌returning.

Y/n's eyes widened, and she held her hand up. "I might have an idea." Everyone focused on her. "Well, actually, it's more of a theory Zane thought of." At that, Zane pointed at himself with a dumbfounded look at suddenly being mentioned. "The virus is still affecting me, as we speak," she started. "I've been getting headaches ever since that day, but... I think the energy from Astro's blue core is what's keeping me safe."

Astro's eyes widened with his mouth agape, his eyes focused on her.

"Are you sure about this?" Elefun asked.

At first, Y/n hesitated, her lips pursed tightly, but she looked up at him with a determined nod. "Yes. It also might be why Astro is the only one not affected. The strongest source of energy is from him."

Tenma and Elefun nodded slowly. "I see..."

"Going back a bit, where can we find that electric brain?" Zane cut in.

"It's already here," Tenma stated simply.

All the teens stared at him, dumbfounded. "Huh?"

He patted his son's head. "It's right here."

At first, they blinked, then their eyes bulged out of their heads as they screamed, "What?!"

Astro immediately stepped back, pointing at himself. "Me?!"

"Yes, you!" Tenma snapped. "You possess the most advanced positronic brain on the planet. Your Blue Core continuously produces energy on a scale no ordinary robot can replicate."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Astro yelled frantically, trying to understand what they said. But before he could, they hear a loud bang from the metal plate, a visible dent in sight.

"We've got no time!" Elefun said urgently. He turned to his assistants; their eyes held fear. "I need you all to take cover while we head down to the data center!" They turned to him, fearful, but still nodded and quickly did as told. Elefun turned to the others. "Let's go."

— Down Below —

A large door stood between them and what could be the largest console they'd see. But it didn't open once Tenma and Elefun presented their IDs. Astro and Y/n instinctively turned to each other and nodded understandingly.

They walked to the door and forcibly opened it. Unfortunately, the system was still operating, so it automatically tried to lock itself again. The two grunted from the force but pushed through and made a large enough space for everyone to let in.

"H-hurry!" Astro yelled between grunts.

They hurried in and, once safe, Astro and Y/n jumped to the side in sync before they could get crushed.

"Phew... we made it!" Cora breathed a sigh of relief, helping Y/n up while Zane helped Astro.

Zane turned to the front and grinned. "Oh-ho, sick!" The three followed his gaze.

Walls lined around them with a blue glow. A narrow walkway suspended over a void, and at the end was this large pillar with a gap in the middle.

"Hurry on, kids!" Elefun called, already walking towards the computer with Tenma.

"Whoa..." the four gasped, looking around in awe as they followed the adults.

"Alright..." Tenma muttered, opening a panel and taking out two cords. He then heard footsteps behind him and craned his neck. "Y/n?" Her friends watched her from behind in confusion.

Elefun, who was preparing the computer, turned upon hearing her name. He saw Y/n look down at Tenma with an expression that made his stomach drop.

"Dr. Tenma, can you grab another cord for me?" She requested. "I want to help Astro."

"What?" Tenma gasped; his eyes widened along with Astro's.

"Absolutely not!" Elefun quickly refuted, and his eyes narrowed deeply.

Y/n's mouth gape with a stunned look, before shifting to a glare. "Why?!"

"Why?!" Elefun repeated in disbelief, as if the answer should've been clear already. "Because it's dangerous and you could get hurt!"

"I won't!" Y/n retorted fiercely. "And this is why I want to help! I don't want Astro to get hurt!"

"Y/n," Elefun's voice dropped to a pleading. "Please, you don't fight!"

"I have!" Y/n pointed to Cora and Zane, "They've seen me fight! I've fought alongside Astro before!"

Behind Cora and Zane stuttered. "I... uh... well..."

The old man still refused, shaking his head profusely. "But—!"

"Please!" Y/n pleaded, and this made him look at her directly. "Just... just trust me!"

And that stunned the man; he closed his eyes, and his teeth ground together. He really, really didn't want her to go. He was too worried. The year was about to end in peace, with the hope of finding his family, until this thing with the virus suddenly ruined it. But...

Y/n had spent a year away from her home doing who knows what. Learned she was probably experimented on and found herself on the surface. Probably why she survived for so long.

So, with a deep breath, Elefun nodded, though reluctantly. "Alright..."

Y/n smiled and nodded. She felt someone stand beside her and was surprised to see Astro. "I'll keep her safe." He said.

"We'll keep each other safe," Y/n corrected, taking hold of his hand next to hers. Astro grinned and nodded at her, squeezing her hand.

Elefun turned back to the console and took out two other cords. "Well, let's get this started."

The two were lying in the middle of the circular platform. The cord was finally connected to the system in their chest compartment.

"As soon as their brains are connected to the network, the system will detect them as abnormalities and try to stop them," Tenma explained, typing something on the computer. "At that," he turned around, "you two have to be prepared, understood?"

From the ground, Astro and Y/n nodded. "Mm! We will, Dad," Astro said.

"Reminder," Elefun knelt to their side, "if something were to happen in there, you two could die in real life," he said grimly.

"So, a real-life video game then," Zane said. Cora nudged him harshly, causing him to wince and hold his side.

"Yes, I suppose that's one way to explain it," Elefun shrugged, standing up.

"Oh, great..." Astro muttered, "The one thing I sucked at: video games."

Y/n laughed under her breath, her eyes darting to him. "Then it's a good thing I'm joining you."

"Oh..." Astro's eyes shone, meeting hers, and he nodded, a tug at his lips. "... yeah." His hand twitched, then placed on top of Y/n's, which she didn't mind and even found comforting.

"Alright," Tenma's finger hovered over a red button, "Good luck!" was the last he said before pressing the button. Electricity crackled on the cord before hitting their system.

"Ah!" Astro yelped while Y/n winced, before both closed their eyes. But their consciousness, literally, left their bodies as they entered the system.

—

"WHOAAAA!" they yelled as they fell through a void. They fell for a few seconds before their descent slowed down and they finally landed on the ground.

"Y/n, you okay?" Astro asked worriedly while on all fours.

Y/n sat up and rubbed the back of her head, but nodded. "I am. How about you?"

He nodded, "I'm fine."

RSsH–!

"Huh?" Both turned to the sound and then winced when a flash of light blinded them. They covered their eyes and squinted them open to see what was making the light.

The light dimmed ‌enough for them to lower their arms. In front was, well, you could say nothing. They just found themselves in a white room with lines changing into different shapes every millisecond. But carved on the wall were lines that connected and pointed towards a bright red light embedded on the top.

THUMP...

THUMP...

THUMP...

That sound... it sounded like a heartbeat, but it was coming from the light and vibrated around them.

"Whoa..." Y/n gasped.

"That's the central processing unit..." Astro said in a hushed tone.

Y/n looked away to Astro. "You should start the reboot; I'll keep watch," she said, her eyes already flickering across the room.

Astro nodded and flew up. Just as he hovered inches away from the light, the room turned red, surprising them.

"They detected us!" Y/n yelled. "Ah?!" she yelped, looking down at her feet.

Astro heard her yelp and snapped in her direction. "What happened?" His voice was cut off at seeing a black entity slowly consuming Y/n. "No!" he yelled and quickly flew down to save her.

Y/n turned and reached her arm out, a look of fear in her eyes. "Astro!" Just as their fingers grazed each other, Y/n was taken away. The last thing she saw was Astro's panicked expression as he reached towards her.

—

Y/n heaved. She looked around, her mind clouded as she tried to find an exit, but there was nothing but darkness for miles.

She had to get back. To make sure Astro was safe.

"Hello?!" she cried, her voice echoing around her. "Astro?! Anyone?!" Her head snapped frantically around her.

"Whoa! That was amazing!"

Y/n jumped at the sudden voice barreling through the silence. "Zane!?" she called in confusion, not knowing how the guy got into the system, but when she turned around, hovering above her, were images from her past playing at the same time.

Zane gushed. "Thanks for that!"

That was the day she met the group.

"Doctor," a soft voice called. Elefun turns around, and Y/n shows a Wright glider out of the pages she tore from the book that, ironically, was about Da Vinci's theory of flight and the flying machines through history. "Look." She eagerly shows the model airplane.

"Oh... now you talk..." Elefun grumbles.

And that was a rather vague memory of when Elefun just activated her. Another pass behind her.

Astro grabs a sprayer and spritzes some on Zog's leg, despite Y/n being in front of him and already scrubbing it.

Y/n gave a small yelp before snapping her head to Astro with a small glare.

Astro smiles sheepishly, spray still in hand.

Y/n gives a teasing smile before throwing her rag at his face. Astro removed the rag and gave a small laugh. She rolled her eyes playfully but turned back to polishing the leg. Astro stared with a doe-eyed stare.

Y/n couldn't help but giggle at that one. She stared at the face Astro made, one she didn't realize or remember from that day. It was so soft and...

She looked away, not wanting to get her hopes up. But she does wonder if she unconsciously makes the same expression when she's near or looking at him.

Y/n sighed in relief and turned to Cora. Their eyes met. Y/n offered a small smile, but Cora looked away. Her smile fell, and she felt something ache inside.

"Ah..." That one, when everyone learned she was also a robot. Y/n's brows narrowed slightly at the unpleasant memory. She could only be glad that she, Cora, and the others were still friends.

Many more memories hover and pass by her, and her heart warmed at how many she now has. Good and bad.

"They're lovely."

Y/n freezes, and her breath hitched, her body shaking as the room's temperature dropped from the voice. Because...

Y/n slowly turned around; her eyes stayed on the floor before slowly moving up to the person- well, robot.

... that was her voice. And that is her standing in front of her. At first, her mind quickly thought that it might be a mirror, but when she took a cautious step back and the figure didn't do the same, she quickly threw that out the window.

The other Y/n smiled, almost too sweetly, and cocked her head to the side with her hand innocently tucked behind her. "These memories. They're very nice."

Y/n's face dropped into a scowl and a wary look.

"Hm?" The girl noticed and laughed, her hand over her mouth. "What's with that look? What? Scared of yourself?" She said jokingly, but it didn't ease Y/n's discomfort.

"I don't think you realize how creepy it is to see and talk to yourself," Y/n snapped. "So, yes, I am scared of myself."

"Hmm... I suppose that's understandable..." she muttered, her smile dimming slightly. "But I'm not here to scare you; I want to help you with something!"

Now that intrigued Y/n. Her brow raised as she asked. "Help with what?"

The other Y/n gave a close-eyed smile, and with a wave of her hand, the memories she had went away in a blur and were replaced with fuzzy and unclear ones.

"What...? What are these?" Y/n asked, looking at them with a furrowed look.

"Your memories," the other answered, causing Y/n to snap her head toward her. "Well, the ones you can't remember, that is."

Y/n's eyes widened. "These are..." her voice trailed off. Not believing what she was hearing. Her memories are right in front of her right now, but she just couldn't see them.

She nodded. "Yes." She walked towards her, light and slow. As she stood a few inches away from Y/n, she extended her arm, surprising her. "Would you like to learn more about yourself? Of your past?"

Y/n's mouth opened, but her words got stuck in her throat. Because, well, something about this just didn't seem right to her. Looking at this other Y/n, her smile and how she acted were just unnerving.

"I..." Y/n stuttered.

And as Y/n continued to hesitate, the other girl's smile dropped, and her eyes turned cold at her hesitation. So, without a word, she placed a hand on her shoulder.

Before Y/n could ask what she was doing, her eyes turned pale white along with a flash of light.

"Would you like to come along with me?" someone asked from a dark alleyway.

"Miss Y/n, please stay here! The doctor didn't permit you to go outside!" A frantic Orrin cried, chasing after her as she headed for the door.

Y/n hums to herself, a gentle smile graced her lips with her head propped on both of her hands. She sits alone in an office with the music box playing in front of her.

"That's right..." the man said proudly. "Take the energy from the robot, then use it as your own."

"I have to go," a hesitant Y/n said, her body slowly turning to avoid the man, before being harshly grabbed and pulled by the arm. Her head snapped up, fear etched on her face.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice."

Y/n grits her teeth and pulls away from the other, harshly swaying her arm to remove the other Y/n's hold on her shoulder. "What did you do...?" she breathed harshly, this time glaring at her.

"I've shown some of your old memories," the other answered simply. Gone was the sweet facade she used.

"Why?"

"So you'd stay and recover your memories," she explained.

"Stay?" Y/n repeats with skepticism, her eyes wonder in the space they were in. "Here?"

"Not forever, of course," the other answered quickly. "Just long enough for you to recover what you've lost." Her brow furrowed into a serious look.

Then, one memory glitched and showed the outside, well, to where Astro is. Y/n gasped. Astro dodged every blast the unit attacked him with. Any time he'd got close, those black things come out and try to consume him, causing Astro to retreat and repeat the process again.

"Astro!" Y/n called worriedly. She turned to her other self, "How do I get out of here? I need to help him!"

"You can't!" She exclaimed, causing Y/n to flinch back. "If you leave, I'd never be able to pull you back here again! Your memories–"

"Isn't important right now!" Y/n retorted.

"Y/n, be reasonable! Are you saying saving that‌ robot is more important than yourself?" The other snapped.

Y/n's glare hardens. "That robot?" She repeated. "Hah! I don't know who you are," she stepped forward, causing the other to falter and step back. "But that robot is my friend. Someone I care very deeply about! And if me going back out there stops me remembering a past I don't know about? Then fine." She turns around and begins walking away.

"You're making a mistake!" The other girl yelled, her voice bounce off the wall. "Please, you have to trust me!" she pleaded, and Y/n actually stops because of how genuine she sounded.

Her head falls to the floor, and her fists shake beside her. With a deep breath, Y/n turned her head to her other, and smiled solemnly. "I'm sorry, but," she smiled widely, the sight stunning the other of how much it made her glow. "He's really important to me!" A bright light consumes her, and she was gone, leaving the double alone in a vacant room of lost memories.

With a sigh, the other closed her eyes and took a step back, merging back into the memories.

Good luck.