On the ledge of the high-rise directly across the city street stood Y/n. The city stretched out beneath her, its yellow streetlights swallowed by an unnatural, ocean-blue wash that poured from a swollen moon. The strange blue light clung to her skin, making her look fragile and translucent, like a figure spun from glass.

Her hair and clothes rippled from the wind, moving in slow, heavy waves as if she were underwater. She stared ahead with a blank but calming gaze. Across from her, in a higher building, a figure is basking in shadow from the moon's glow, glaring down at her. Their faces remain a mystery.

Y/n's lips parted slowly, her words hushed as the wind. "Who... are you?"

Their hand raised slowly, beckoning her to come to them. "Come back, Y/n."

"Huh?"

"Y/n..."

"Y/n..."

"Y/n!"

Her night table rattles, along with its contents on top, as she falls hard on the floor.

A soft gasp escaped her lips as her eyes snapped open. The upside-down view of the city from her window is the first sight she sees. Y/n heard her door open and glanced towards it, still upside down, with only her legs remaining on her bed.

"Y/n? What are you doing there on the floor?" Elefun asked, brows knitted worriedly.

Y/n first swung her legs, so she'd turn over and sit on her knees on the floor, her bedsheet bunched behind her. "I just fell while sleeping," she explained casually.

Elefun just sighed while slowly shaking his head, as if this were a recurring event now.

"Why are you waking me, Doc?" Y/n asked this time. "Orrin usually does that."

"Oh..." Elefun's face fell upon her question. "About that..."

—

"Oh, no..." Y/n gasped at the sight of a stilled Orrin, who remained in his charging port.

Elefun placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I know, dear. But don't worry, I'll bring him to the Ministry to get him fixed." He quickly reassured her.

Y/n turned away and down to him and nodded with a small smile. They turned around and headed towards the kitchen, leaving the poor robot behind for now.

"So, what are your plans for today, Y/n?" Elefun asked, sitting down at his spot with a meal he prepared for them. "Or would you like to come with me to the Ministry?"

Y/n sat across from him, and she shook her head. "I'll be going out with Astro and the others."

Elefun smiled, "Oh? Where to?" He asked, taking a bite out of his toast with egg.

Y/n shrugged, cutting into her breakfast. "Just around." She answered, taking a bite and chewing slowly. But in her mind, she was thinking of something else. After what happened to her, the number of robots going berserk or shutting down has drastically increased.

People have already caught on and have started panicking over this issue. Opinions are split. Some were concerned about their robot friends, some have voiced and shown annoyance about how this is what they expect with 'tin-heads', and some were on the fence, whatever that meant.

'Could there be a connection?' Y/n thought.

"Y/n?"

"Huh?" She looked up to a worried Elefun. She seemed to be doing that much more these days.

"Are you okay? You've been spacing out more," he stated.

"I'm fine!" She quickly tried to reassure him. "It's just that the number of robots getting the virus has been increasing. And now, even Orrin is affected..."

Elefun sighed sadly and nodded in understanding. "I know. We can't pinpoint where or what it is," he said with frustration. He took a deep breath and calmed down before gazing back at her. "And now that the public has caught on, we need to act faster."

Y/n brow knitted. "Doctor..."

"Ah! Enough about this!" Elefun quickly changed the subject. "You should hurry. Don't wanna make Astro wait now, do we?" He took his empty plate and headed to the sink.

"I'm not just going out with him..." Y/n muttered, her eyes following Elefun as he darted around the room to grab his coat and bag.

"I'm heading out!" Elefun called from the front door, grabbing his scarf and hat and putting them on.

"Have a safe trip!" She called before hearing the door close. She sighed and finished her meal so she could get ready.

—

"I'm heading off!" Y/n called to the empty space before closing and locking the door. The girl wore a heavy, button-up knit cardigan in a soft heather gray, its oversized silhouette swallowing her frame in a cozy embrace.

Beneath the thick wool, a simple black mini skirt peeked out, contrasting with the dark gray opaque tights that clad her legs. She wore matching gray leg warmers bunched loosely around her calves. Crowning the ensemble was a thick knit beanie complete with two playful round ears.

She may not need to wear such clothing, the advantage of being a robot and all, but uh...

"Oi!" Cora snapped with an irk mark, pointing at her and Astro. "You know how weird it is to see someone walking around in just a shirt and pants in this weather?!"

"Ehh...?" Both Astro and Y/n blinked, cocking their head to the side.

"But, we don't get cold," Astro said with a closed-eyed smile while scratching his cheek. Beside him, Y/n nodded with an unbothered look.

Cora's veins popped bigger. 'Curse you and your advantages...' she thought bitterly while shivering.

The comment didn't really bother her, and she knew she was just in a bad mood that day because of the cold, but she supposed dressing up a bit would stop crowds from looking at them strangely.

And besides,

A giddy glow surrounds the girl as the thick wool covers her lower face, her eyes crinkling. 'Dressing up from time to time isn't so bad...'

"Oh? Y/n!"

Y/n's eyes open and she turns around, hearing the person running to her. "Oh, Astro!" She called.

Astro stops just a few inches from her and waves, "Hey!"

She nodded, "Hey."

Astro easily joins her side, and they both walk towards their meet-up spot. "I'm surprised you're not just flying to our meet-up?" Y/n said.

Astro chuckled, giving a small shrug. "Aha, I was, actually, but I saw you and wanted to go there together instead."

"Is that so?" she commented casually. They continued to walk in silence, the sounds of their surroundings buzzing around them.

Once they stopped at a stoplight, Astro tilted down slightly and noticed her attire. "You're rather covered today."

"Hm?" Her head snapped up; her eyes widened slightly. "Yeah, well..." Her eyes darted to the side with a blank smile.

He laughed in understanding, "Was it when Cora?"

Y/n nodded, "Mm-hmm..." while laughing a little. "But she did have a point. Some were staring at us, well, more at me since you're well known to the public."

The light turned green, and they crossed the road.

"But..." she added, this time more quietly, while playing with her finger, her eyes glued to the floor. "I also wanted to try a new style."

Astro stared in awe before quickly looking away, a hint of blush on his cheek, caught off guard at how cute she was. "Well," he started, stuttering. "It looks nice on you..."

"Oh?" Y/n glanced at her clothes, a finger hooked in the wool. "You think so?" She asked cluelessly.

He nodded, his ears red. "Yeah."

—

Not far from them, Cora waited at the park's fountain with Zane. The boy was sitting at the edge while she passed the time by checking on her phone. The two had arrived almost at the same time and were now just waiting on the two.

A harsh, cold wind blew, causing her to shiver and pull her jacket tighter. "Geez! Where are they?! I'm freezing here!"

"Chill–" Zane cuts himself off from Cora's glare. He gulps and quickly changes his wording. "I-I mean, I'm sure they're almost here. Ah! See?" He points to the front, and she follows; they see two figures walking towards them. "There they are."

"Hey, guys!" Astro greeted them first once they got close enough, waving his hand.

"Sorry for the wait," Y/n apologized.

"Ahh?" Cora groaned. "What took so long? You couldn't have Astro fly here if you were going together?"

The two sweatdropped. "Oh, right..." Y/n muttered.

"I suppose I could have, huh? Sorry," Astro chuckled sheepishly, his hand behind his head.

"Hey, hey, they're here now," Zane said placidly. "How about we go somewhere to warm up first?"

"I'm down," Astro nodded, along with Y/n. "It's almost lunchtime. Wanna go to the diner close by?" She suggested. Since all agreed, they walked towards the diner the girl suggested.

Luckily, because of the weather, there weren't that many people inside, so the line and service were quick. They sat at the farthest corner by the window. Astro and Y/n sat next to each other, with Cora and Zane sitting across from them. Not long after, their food arrived.

Zane ordered two double-patty burgers with a large fizzy. Cora a single patty and a drink with fries. Astro ordered the same as hers, and Y/n ordered a [F/F] and [F/D].

Zane immediately removed the wrapper as soon as his tray rested on the table and took a deep bite. The three watched him with various expressions; Cora with disgust, Astro with slight amusement, and Y/n looked away and focused on her own food.

"Oh, yeah!" Zane suddenly piped up, his mouth full. "Do you guys have plans on New Year's Eve?"

Cora calmly unwrapped her burger while answering, "Not sure. I mean, this'll be the first time I'll have it with my parents." At that, Y/n nodded.

Astro joined in with a look of curiosity, "Actually, what did you guys do back at the surface?"

The three looked at each other before both pondered the question, their hands tucked under their chins. "Hmm... cold robot scrapping," Cora grimaced at the memory.

"Staler, colder food," Zane answered drily, his face pinched.

"Distributing extra jackets and sheets to the kids, while making sure the heater stayed on," Y/n answered solemnly.

"Oh, that's..." Astro frowned, looking down guiltily for bringing it up. The mood dampening added to that feeling.

Y/n's eyes then widened. "Wait, but there was that thing..." she smiled slightly.

"Hm?" Cora and Zane both arched a brow before their eyes also widened at realizing what she was pointing at. "Oh, yeah!" Zane snapped his fingers.

Astro leaned on his spot. "What?"

Cora turned to him with a grin. "Well, to make sure the year didn't end depressingly, every New Year's Eve, Hamegg would create a machine to produce fireworks," she explained. "We'd all sit by the bridge and watch it from there."

Astro's lips tugged up with a look of surprise. "Wow! He did?"

Y/n nodded. Even she couldn't help but feel nostalgic at that memory. Because for a time, maybe she did see Hamegg as a caregiver. Sure, the second she learned what the Robot Games were, she quickly tried to distance herself from him, but—moments like those made her see him differently each time.

"Guess even he has his good points," Astro joked, and they all laughed before quickly trying to lower their voices to avoid disturbing the other 2-3 customers with them.

As her laughter died down, Y/n's mutter to herself, "Yeah, he does..."

"And it sounds bad, but we make it work by lighting the place up," Zane added. "We'd wrap lightbulbs in colored plastic as decorations on the ceiling and our makeshift Christmas tree."

"We'd also create little figures to tie around it, right?" Y/n asked, and the two nodded.

"Huh, kinda makes me wish I'd spent one with you guys," Astro said half-jokingly.

Cora smirked and pointed her straw at him, "Hah! If you did, maybe that mistletoe would've worked for once."

Astro, surprised by her comment, choked on his burger and started hacking to get it down his throat, while Y/n, not having the time to ponder the comment, patted his back. In the background, they heard Cora's laughter.

"Funny you say that, Astro," Zane changed the subject. "I was just thinking that we should do one in the orphanage." He said.

"Would they even allow that?" Cora asked.

"Sure! And we could do it in the backyard for a bigger space!" Zane said.

"Eh..." Y/n's eyes were half-lidded as she stared at him, "Sounds like you've already been planning this."

The boy's face flushed, and he glared at her, wildly waving his hand around while holding a burger. "And so what?!"

"Oh, I get it," Cora said in a sing-song, smirking. "You actually miss and want to end the year with us."

"Hey! I wasn't the only one who thought of this!" Zane defended. "The others said the same thing!"

"Relax, dude," Cora rolled her eyes playfully. "I'll ask my parents if I can, kay?"

Y/n nodded in agreement. "I'll also ask Dr. Elefun." She turned to the boy next to her, who took a big gulp of his drink. "Astro?"

"Hm?" He turned to her as he swallowed the drink, then turned back to the others. "Oh, yeah! I'd love to!"

A fist is pumped in the air as Zane dances in his seat, "Sweet!" The others chuckled at his antics.

Y/n's laughter is quickly cut short when a prickling pain shoots into her head. She groaned and quickly rubbed her temples. The others quickly took notice and almost jumped from their seats.

"Hey, what happened?" Astro asked first, his brows knitted.

Y/n shook her head slightly. "I'm fine. My head suddenly hurts, that's all." Her heart raced as she recalled that this was the first sign before her system crashed.

"Didn't think robots could get headaches..." Cora muttered worriedly.

"Only when something's wrong with our system. You know, like viruses," Astro listed.

"Y/n has a virus?!" Zane freaked out, and the others quickly shushed him.

"Zane, keep your voice down!" Cora scolded him.

Zane snapped his head to her with a glare, "Well, sorry for worrying!"

"Guys, guys," Y/n quickly tried to break their fight. "I'm fine. Probably just side effects."

"You mean, when you..." Astro's voice trails off, and Y/n nods.

"We're a little lost here," Cora said. "Mind wanna fill us in?"

So, Y/n explained how after she ran off that day they were supposed to hang out and get home, her head suddenly started hurting, and before she knew it, she froze. Orrin found her, called Elefun, and was brought to the Ministry. Then Astro came and used his blue core to help her, which fortunately worked. She did have to leave out part of her memory.

"Do you think it's trying to control you again?" Zane asked. Y/n arched a brow in confusion, so he quickly added, "The virus. It's still not gone, right? So maybe it's trying to take control again—"

Slowly understanding what he meant, Y/n continued. "But Astro's energy is what's stopping it now?"

Zane nodded.

"Huh, that's actually a good theory," Cora admitted.

But before they could continue talking, they heard a scream from outside. They rushed out of their seats, but Zane went back in to grab a few more fries and his drink. The door of the diner opened, and the group watched in horror as chaos rained upon the city.

Small robots like the Mr. Squeegee and Mr. Squirt hover around poor victims and continuously spray on them as they run to get away. But then bigger robots, like construction robots, would throw around ‌cars and large steel and then crash through buildings, scaring the people inside, causing them to run out in a panic.

"The robots are out of control!" A woman cried, running past them to safety.

"It's the end! The robots are gonna kill us all!" A man also cried, holding his head as he ran around like a headless chicken. Unfortunately, he didn't notice a gyro flung towards him.

"Look out!" Astro yelled and quickly activated his boots and caught the car before it squashed the man. Astro carefully lowered the car and turned to the man, "Are you alright, sir?"

But instead of being thankful, the man took one look at Astro and became even more scared, harshly shoving him away. "Ahh! Get away!" Then runs off again.

Y/n, Cora, and Zane stood next to their friend, while giving a pointed glare at the man. "Rude," Y/n sneered, her nose pinched.

"Yeah, no kidding," Cora agreed, crossing her arms.

"Uh..." Zane stuttered, catching their attention as he pointed at something. "Guys, look."

They all turned to where he was pointing, and their eyes widened. The city ahead was already in shambles. Glasses shattered, and buildings were a wreck as robots ran rampant. They heard the cries for help as everything was slowly bathed in red. It wasn't just the robots getting infected, but anything electronic. The advertisement billboards' image/video froze and started glitching; the streetlights glowed a harsh red, the same color as all the robots' eyes.

"Insane..." Zane muttered with furrowed brows.

Y/n's head snapped to Astro with an anxious look, "Astro! We have to go to the Ministry! If all the robots are acting like this, the robots that were taken could be the same as well!"

Astro's breath hitched upon realizing she could be right. He pointed to his back, "Grab on!"

Before Y/n could act, Cora stepped in. "Whoa! We're coming too!" She said, gesturing to her and Zane.

"Cora, this could be dangerous," Y/n warned.

"And that's why we're coming. You're gonna need all the help you can get," she retorted.

"But I can't carry all of you," Astro said urgently.

"You don't have to," Zane said, going to the car Astro caught and patting the door, "I can drive us there with this."

"I–" Y/n groaned, but fighting over this would be a waste of time, so she just agreed. "Fine! Let's go!" Everyone got in with Zane in the driver's seat.

"Wait, we don't have keys," Astro pointed out.

"Heh," Zane smirked. He then removed the steering column cover, grabbed some wires, and did something; before they knew it, the engine started, and they were off the ground and heading towards the Ministry.

"What the–?!" Y/n exclaimed. Her head snapped to Zane with what could be described as a mother's glare.

"What?!" Zane exclaimed. "We're off the ground, aren't we?‌ Besides, you didn't say anything when we stole Hamegg's car!"

"It was for a good reason," she defended, i.e., saving Astro.

"And so is this!" he retorted, and at that, Y/n's mouth clamped as he did make a good point. But she's not gonna admit that. So, she just slumped into her seat and crossed her arms with a stubborn look.

The car flew faster, and from a distance, the Ministry slowly came into view.