HEY! Waazzaaaaap?! Thanks sooooo much for the reviews in my last story and I'm really glad you liked it. But I think moviegal99 did something way right in her review. Not so much for the fact that she said "oh, it's good" but rather the content of her review. No hate towards the other reviewers, I love you all equal.
Here, let me put it this way: I'm going to be very nit-picky about this. In your reviews, I want you guys to be specific. WHY did you like? Why did you laugh? Cry? Break the computer in an angry rampage and shank a voodoo doll of me with the shards? That's what I mean. Moviegal99 told me how the story was suspenseful and she was honest with what she said. I'm not saying you have to write critique reports, but just be more straightforward. Sorry if I'm being rude or offensive, but I will be anal about this because I want to write what you all like and make you happy with my stories.
Also, I have to apologize for taking so long with this story. I have summer homework and I scrambling to get that done because school starts soon. And when that comes around, who knows when I will have time to write. Again, very sorry, guys.
Disclaimer: Osamu Tezuka owns Astro boy and Astro boy pwns megaman's TV cartoon. Give a woot if you agree and enjoy the show (but not necessarily in that order)!
Empathy
FLASH! A lightning whip attacked the near black blanket of clouds. BOOM! The blow did nothing to split the aerial cage that held the starry night captive. WOOSH! Even the bone-chilling gale blew as hard as it could in its own effort to free the moon and her twinkling friends. It was a fierce battle to save the night's princess, leaving the city below in disregard. What would it matter that the humans were hurt if the fair maiden remained trapped against her will? She must be freed!
And to think such a desperate brawl made such excellent reading music. Or at least it did within the safe confines of a warm, sturdy home.
Dr. Tenma sat in a soft armchair, The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin cracked open in his palm. The other hand held up the man's head with eyes half open from the weight of another long day. A small perimeter shielded the man in lamp light while the rest of the house wore its dark shroud, save the moments when the storm unleashed its static attacks.
Yes, Toby was still in the chaos outside, but that didn't mean Tenma wasn't worried. That was the reason he was reading the evolution document: Something to pass the time and take his mind off of things. Sadly, it didn't help much. The disturbed father glanced up at a digital clock. 11:05. Tenma's brow darkened. Curfew was 10. The house held a sense of stagnant desolation. It wasn't the possibility of some lethal, unknown threat lurking in the shadows that was scary, but just the solid fact that NO ONE else was in the house at that moment (Orrin was out on a break and would be home in the next few days). Normally, Tenma was used to being alone. He hadn't really noticed the comfort in knowing his son was upstairs, fast asleep, until tonight.
The darkness brought about a disturbing realization: This must've been how Toby felt before.
Any other father would be angry, suspicious of "girl" antics, if their son came home even five minutes after the time limit. But Tenma was different. He trusted Toby and knew girls wouldn't be an issue (except for infatuated fans). Rather, it was Toby's new selfless nature that worried him. The boy always helped those around him, often ignoring how the situation might affect him. And many times, it did. Toby always came home late, totaled and out of power. Dysfunctioning jets and severely scraped synthetic skin were everyday things-part of a hero's job description. More serious complications included fire damage, malfunctioning lobes of the neural CPU (due to head injury), and even missing limbs. Sometimes the child would go into an involuntary defensive shut down to prevent further damage. The time it took for his systems to get back online and reboot was never predictable.
But the worst part was that when these serious things DID happen, Toby kept quiet, guarding his little secret. Tenma was pretty sure it was because Toby didn't want his father to worry. "You have your job at the ministry to worry about and I can take care of myself," he would probably say. Tenma could even see his boy smile as he said this. It was hurtful for the father to hear this kind of thing from his son, though this instance was merely imagined. It was a reminder of his many mistakes from before. Had he given the impression that he didn't want trouble from his own family? That the man's only child was a nuisance? And worse still, was it true, even if Tenma didn't realize it before?
The man sighed and massaged his eyes. He folded the page's corner, closed the book and slowly walked to the holophone. Perhaps Toby had decided to stop by the ministry on the way home. Yeah, that's what happened; Toby wanted to say "Hello" to Dr. Elefun. He was working late tonight on a certain project that required some extra hours. Tenma pressed few buttons on a keypad. An image of a short, grey-haired man appeared in pixelated shades of blue above the device (need I mention the nose?).
"Ah, Dr. Tenma," answered Dr. Elefun. "I was just about to call you."
Tenma was in no mood for pleasantries. "Is Toby there?"
Elefun's mood visibly dampened. "I found him in one of the labs, trying to repair himself. The boy's left calf is dislocated from the knee and he has sustained some minor water damage."
A child's voice called off in the background. "I know my own anatomy: I can fix myself."
Elefun turned to the side, temporarily leaving Tenma to himself. "You can't perform your own repairs on just data alone. What if you break something and handicap yourself?"
"But I'm FINE! See?" There was a pause, but only for a second. The child gave a pained yelp, followed by the rackety clatter of lab equipment. Elefun flinched, jerking up his arms and squeezing one eye shut, then relaxing his position with a worried grimace.
Tenma sighed. "I'll come pick him up. Tell Toby to stay put."
"Well, I can assure you that Astro won't be going anywhere for the next 10 minutes." Elefun's words had a hint of a sad humor. The hologram folded into a single, blue bar, and slipped back into the machine. Tenma stood there for a moment, silent and thoughtful. He took up his heaviest coat, hat, umbrella and keys. There was a slam, the muffled roar of an engine, and the house was silent once more, leaving the baritone thunder to clap and roll to the house's nonexistent audience.
The onslaught of hammer-hard rainfall proved good to hinder Tenma's trip. The weather obscured his vision through the windshield, forcing him to drive no faster than 10-15 miles per hour when most of the roads were 30 mile zones. The night was so dark Tenma might as well have driving with his eyes closed. The street lights didn't help much either and many of the building's lights were off, seeing as how it was Friday night, everyone having gone home by now. The only useful lights were the sky's white-hot static bolts, which only lasted for less than a second and were only there to frighten, it seemed.
Tenma tightened his grip on the car's wheel in frustration. Screw this! He pulled over to the side of the road (though said road was almost completely uninhabited) and parked the car. The man unbuckled his seatbelt, took his keys, and stepped out of the car.
Opening the door was a reversed tug-o'-war battle with the wind. Tenma had to use both arms. When he finally was able to slip out through the door's crack, it was as though he were as though he were standing in the middle of a hurricane or typhoon. The gust plowed through the city in a barbarous rampage, it's blaring roar billowing out of the darkness. Bullets of rain fired at the supposed "enemy" without even a hint of lenience in the midnight ambush. Zeus, it seemed, wanted in on the action, too. A bolt of lightning was thrown down a mere few feet from Tenma's car! The shock waves from the blow shook the ground beneath the man's feet, knocking him over. The boom left his ears ringing.
I suppose it wasn't such a good idea, considering that Metro city was suspended in the sky and therefore put at a higher risk for damage caused but these very natural calamities.
Screw this! Tenma trudged back inside the safety of his car, stunned and momentarily handicapped in the auditory department. Despite standing outside for a mere few seconds, the man was soaked and shivering. Fumbling for his keys, the man continued his journey to the ministry.
How did that boy make it to the ministry, he mused in awe. With only one functioning leg, he should have been stranded somewhere in the city, probably hiding under a crude scrap shelter. The winds could have blown him off course and sent him crashing to the surface once more. True, the storm wouldn't be so bad down there, but would he have been able to find someone with the right tools to perform the proper repairs? And why did he come to the ministry rather than home? Toby could have at least stopped at a pay phone to say where he was going. Heck, he could have called when he GOT there. Tenma would have to talk to him later.
Another realization hit the father: Toby really was growing up. He wasn't his little boy anymore.
Even Elefun was amazed. In the short time that he had been activated, Toby had matured at an incredibly fast rate. Not physically, but he had grown in character. Toby was built to be 15. While teenagers tend to be reckless and often self-centered, Tenma's boy had been reckless and selfless, though the two traits often blurred together in one single character quality. Whereas teenagers liked to break the rules, Toby abided faithfully by the laws of robotics as well as human regulations and morals. Protecting those around him brought Toby the simple joy of being needed. And in his time, Toby had been able to do amazing things, save countless people.
Maybe he really can take care of himself, thought Tenma. Maybe it's me who isn't needed.
The event that occurred next came all too swift. Tenma couldn't even turn his head in time to react the new stimuli. There was a bright light that was not lightning. There was a loud sound that was not thunder.
Then, just like the night a mere second ago, everything went black.
Tenma fell into a strange limbo after that. The man felt light, weightless, and totally at peace with himself. It was as though he had left the chaotic world he lived in behind for a moment. What happened down there wasn't his problem right now. Various sounds filtered in through his unconsciousness. One was a screaming child, dissonant and heart wrenching. In the same moment, the shouts of various men could be herd over the kid's wails. Then everything was silent once again.
An argument filtered through as well, but Tenma couldn't make out a single word. There was no anger. More like vengeance, it seemed, and someone was trying to persuade the other to avoid carrying out the action. Peace descended on the man, and Tenma fell back to sleep.
There was a third time. That same child was speaking in a small, unstable voice. A man was there as well to respond to his problems, though Tenma could understand either speaker. The child said something, but the man did not offer his words right away, as though there were none to offer in the first place. The silence returned.
Like an alarm clock on a Monday morning, a potent throbbing brought Tenma out of an otherwise enjoyable sleep. He furrowed his brow, trying to block the pain out. To the man's dismay, that didn't work. Tenma was still tired, but from what? He didn't normally wake up with pulsing headaches. Reluctantly, the man opened his eyes and tried to blink out the sand.
The peace vanished, replaced by a confused lethargy. All around there was white. White walls, white door, white curtains. Out the window night still hung. While the rain persisted, most of the noisy violence from before had vanished. Booming thunder had been reduced to a gentle rumble, lightning to a flicker. This was fortunate for Tenma since anything louder or brighter probably would have added to the man's discomfort.
This isn't my room, the thought filtered in lazily. Tenma wasn't quite awake yet, so he wasn't as disturbed as he should have been. After a few moments he could observe his surroundings with a stronger awareness. The hum of machinery could barely be herd through the walls. Calm chatter and gossip also managed to leak through. The air had a strange, chemical smell, like cleaning supplies or medicine. The ache wasn't just in Tenma's head, but also in his right arm, from the elbow to the shoulder. The pain was different though, like a sting rather than the steady beat in his head.
The clock caught his eye. 9:35. Tenma furrowed his brows. Wasn't it past 11 when he got in the car? But then another question floated up: Where was he going anyway? Tenma searched his memory but only found a deeper ache. Everything that happened that night had faded into a vague blur of shadows. Perhaps he was looking for something: At least it explained why he was up so late. But what was he looking for? Or, possibly, who?
Another detail competed for the man's attention, and won. Something at the foot of the bed, something not white. A little boy, it seemed. Light Caucasian skin, a white T-shirt with red stripes, black hair, neatly styled into two spikes-
Tenma's eyes widened. "Toby?"
The boy had his arms folded to cushion his head. He sat bent over in a chair that was most likely moved from its original position. Despite being asleep himself, it did not seem that Toby had found much calm in this altered state of awareness. His brows were knit together slightly to portray worry and his eyes shifted nervously beneath their lids. Perhaps it was simply an uneasy dream. But still, the man wondered, what is he doing here?
Tenma reached out to try to wake the child, but stopped. There was a bracelet of the man's wrist, plastic, white, and adorned in black writing. On closer inspection, Tenma found his own name, age, and an eight-digit date. Ignorance began to evaporate. The man looked to his other arm to find a blood-stained bandage wrapped around his forearm and an IV tube inserted into the inside of his wrist. The needle slowly passed morphine into his bloodstream from a suspended fluid bag. Tenma's coat was gone, replaced by a night gown, the car wheel by thin sheets.
"I'm in a hospital…"
The suspicious fear Dr. Tenma felt in that moment could easily be compared to that of the fear you feel upon waking up with a hangover, a tattoo where there wasn't one before and no memory of what had happened that crazy, crazy night. But this fear had a heavy dosage of dread to accompany it. On a party night, alcohol induced pranks happen. On any other night in which you lose memory, the list of possibilities is a little more open-ended. Therefore, tragedy seems more likely to occur. You expect those tragedies and the fear is made stronger because of it. It leaves you a little queasy, to say the least.
It took a while for the man's scatterbrained mind to calm down. Before that could happen, Tenma herd the creak of a door hinge. He looked up to see a nurse arrive. She was a thin Latino with short dark hair and red scrubs. Upon seeing Dr. Tenma awake, the woman gave a smile.
"Hey," she said. "You're up."
Dr. Tenma was still thoroughly confused and could only reply with a half-hearted "Hey" himself.
"Feeling any better?" The woman proceeded to the morphine bag and twisted a little knob near the bag's spout. This was to stop the flow or the medicine and to prevent an overdose. Tenma caught a glimpse of the nurse's name tag: "Maria" it read. Once that was done, Maria looked to the boy. Studying her features, the man found not nesseccarily sadness, but rather sympathy.
"What happened," the patient finally asked.
The nurse looked up. The sympathy had not wavered. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by someone who had snuck without being noticed.
"I can explain what happened," interjected a man's voice. Both doctor and nurse turned to the door. Dr. Elefun stood there with a bag slung over his shoulder. "You have other patients to take care of, don't you?"
The words were not condescending in any way, but requested privacy and a chance to say a few things the nurse couldn't-important things. The nurse understood this, smiled again, and stood up. "Of course." She left the room, unoffended. When she was gone, Elefun walked up to Tenma's bed.
"I came to see if you were alright," Explained the newcomer. The man dug around in his bag, pulling out a blue bundle. "But I also came to check on Astro." Elefun unraveled the bundle, a blanket, and gently draped it over Toby's shoulders, careful not to wake the child. Unconsciously, Toby grabbed at the corners of the cover and pulled them tighter around his body, shifting his position only slightly. "This is the first time I've seen him asleep since you were admitted."
Tenma felt the need to repeat his question. "Dr. Elefun," he began. "I don't remember what happened. Why am I in the hospital? Why is Toby here?"
Elefun looked Tenma directly in the eyes. It was unnatural to see the man in such a dark mood. "You were caught in a car crash, right in front of the ministry." The boy's co-creator rested a hand on the child's shoulder. "And right in front of your son."
Well, I can say it explained a few things for Dr. Tenma. Distinct memories had filtered back in, finally separate from the abstract blur of forgetfulness. The man could now remember the pitch of the car horn, the shade of the headlights, even the angles and sharp points of the tiny glass knives as they flew towards their driver. He stared at a corner of the room absentmindedly.
"That's right," he muttered. "I was going to pick Toby up."
Elefun nodded to confirm that that was, indeed, what Tenma was doing, and continued. "Astro brought you here. He didn't want to leave you, Dr. Tenma. He wouldn't let go of your hospital bed as you were being taken in for concussion treatment." The visitor sighed. "I'm surprised security let him back in."
The crash victim could see it now, more clearly. The screaming and yelling he herd earlier-that was Toby. An image of about three or four men, including Dr. Elefun, holding back his crying boy, appeared in his mind's eye. Tenma slid his hand past his real eyes, trying to block out the image. But it was like a train wreck: ugly, yet you can't tear your gaze away from it. There was nothing he could say.
"Astro wanted to go after him: the man who was driving the other car. He already had the license plate memorized. I had to remind him that the laws of robotics forbade him from such actions, but then Astro said that those same laws required him to protect humans."
Tenma was shocked. He remembered the argument from earlier: the one he couldn't understand. This was very out of character for Toby. "Did he do it?"
There was a pause. Finally, the white haired man spoke. "I was able to convince him that revenge wouldn't solve anything. He had calmed down after that, but was still very upset."
"Seems like he was hurt more than I was…"
It was quiet for a while more. The air grew tense. It was almost painful. Toby continued to doze restlessly through the conversation. Something deeper than a little anxiety was hidden in this matter. Dr. Tenma wanted to know. Fortunately, thought the silence was long, he didn't have to press too hard.
"We talked for a bit," Elefun said. "Astro apologized for the behavior and told me about how worried he was for you." The man paused again and had to turn his head away from Tenma, as though he were contemplating a difficult decision. Finally, the grey-haired man was able to look at Tenma again. "Do you know what he said to me?"
The patient leaned forward. What could Toby have told Elefun that he couldn't tell his own father?
"He said..." but Elefun stopped.
"What?" A father needs to know these things.
"…He said that this must've been how you felt when…when you lost Toby."
Frozen. That's the only word that could describe the patient in this moment. Tenma's form was frozen. His thoughts were frozen and the heartbroken features on his face, too. An indescribable hurt sank into his skin and pierced his blood, stopping it mid-flow. The only movement he could make was to look to his son, only to turn away from the weight of what felt like a punishment from a higher power. The only part of him that wasn't paralyzed was a single tear than managed to slip out his eye.
"I didn't know what to say either," Elefun muttered. "But I understand the trauma. Toby was killed in a serious accident himself. That in itself is a dreadful experience. And burdened with the duty of protecting the humans of the city, Astro perhaps felt like he failed to do what he was made for. He is still only a child. It's a lot of stress and no one is invincible."
The events of that night were no longer smudged in the undefined frames of a thunderstorm. Tenma knew what had happened from when he left to when the crash occurred. But one question remained unanswered. "So…what do I do now?"
"I think you know that answer," said Dr. Elefun. "You are a father, after all."
Tenma turned to Toby again. He whispered the name gently. "Toby." But the boy did not wake up. Tenma tried again, giving his son's shoulder a gentle shake. "Toby?" Said child turned his head the other way and made no other response.
Elefun walked around to face Toby. He bent down to the child's level. "Astro," he called gently.
The child gave a protestant moan and blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He sat up, one hand rubbing out the sand he had missed, the other massaging a sore neck, no doubt from sleeping in a position different from what he was used to. Tenma felt a mild amazement that just that name brought about the response. Toby turned to the white-haired man. "Dr. Elefun," he questioned groggily.
The man pointed in Tenma's direction with a smile on his face. "Look who's up."
Toby turned to see what was being gestured to. At first, he didn't respond right away, probably still tired. But his eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak, but only spoke seconds later. His voice was small, yet hopeful.
"Dad?"
Elefun stood up. "I'll leave you two to talk", he said. "I'll be waiting outside if you need me for anything." With that, the man walked up and left, closing the door behind him.
Just a father and his son, now.
It was silent for a while. Neither knew exactly what to say. Tenma decided to try to start off. "Toby, I-"
The man was cut off, not by words, but a sudden embrace. Toby buried his face in his father's shoulder, sobbing softly. The grip was tenacious, desperate, as though Toby would lose his father again. Tenma was stiff at first, but returned the hug, his sleeve slowing dampening. The moment vaguely reminded him of the morning after Toby's rebirth and how happy he had felt himself to know his son, his wonderful Toby, was back. Though this behavior, this vulnerability, was strange, the empathy was not absent. Elefun's words rang in Tenma's thoughts. No one is invincible…
"I'm so sorry, Dad," Toby whimpered. His voice noticeably quivered. "This is all my fault…"
Tenma was appalled at Toby's words. He pulled away, unable to react, but to stare at the boy as he tried to wipe away oily tears. Said boy continued.
"If I had just come home, you wouldn't be here. I-I couldn't do anything when you got hit by the other car. Dr. Elefun had to call 911. The ambulance was t-too slow so I had to bring you here. I should have s-stopped the other car, but I couldn't do anything. Couldn't do anything. Couldn't even get the guy who hit you..."
Toby continued with his ramblings for another minute or two. It was both poignant and dreadful to see one's son like this. It doesn't matter who sees it. If you're a father and your son, an optimistic and unshakable character, suddenly breaks down under those weights you never noticed before, you want to, well, be a father. Help your boy out and tell him everything will be alright. It doesn't matter if you're good or bad at it.
Tenma took his son into his arms again, holding him gently and stroking the back of his head. The behavior was a bittersweet memory of Tenma's. This was what Tenma's late wife did to calm him down whenever tragedy struck. Eventually, Tenma evolved, became a scientist who believed in solid facts, became clinical. But those times when the woman would comfort his were better than any antidepressant or comfort food anyone could offer.
As his son wept, Tenma found himself reciting the woman's words, almost verbatim.
"Life throws you curveballs," he said softly. "But God made people strong enough to survive them. And he made me strong so I can support you."
Perhaps it didn't mean much, coming from the man who made a copy of his own deceased son in a desperate act of bargaining. Still, it seemed to mean something to Toby. He had calmed down, though it didn't seem that he would stop crying too soon. Tenma didn't expect him to. The boy could take his time, as long as he got better, no matter how much help he needed. That was the attitude Mrs. Tenma had.
"Please forgive me," pleaded Toby. "Please forgive me…"
"Shhh," hushed the father. "I'm here, I'm here. Don't be scared, now."
Toby's sobbing began to die.
"Everything's going to be alright, now." I promise.
Eventually, the boy became silent, relaxed. Tenma realized that Toby had cried himself back to sleep. Only this time, he seemed more at peace. Anxiety and uncertainty no longer plagued the boy, or at least it was doing less damage. Ignoring his own condition, Tenma picked up the boy, placed him in one of the chairs, and covered him with Elefun's blanket. Toby's chin rested on his chest. He made no sound, save a deep, metronomic breathing.
Perhaps Toby did need his father after all.
Tenma made a promise to himself that night. He would be the father Toby deserved, be there for the child to the best of his ability. No, he would do it without fail. Not even the reaper would stop him in his duty. The man swore it to himself. He would be strong from now on. He gazed on his son's sleeping form, and said these words, regardless of whether or not he could hear them:
"I will always be here for you, Astro."
There was no more pain. Tenma would sleep well that night. The man climbed back in the hospital bed and slid beneath its thin sheets, slowly drifting away into his own slumber.
"I promise …"
Elefun had watched and listened, unbeknownst to the pair. The grey-haired man could only smile. The night was old by now. The man left the hallway and the hospital. The pair could survive another night here.
Not much later, Tenma was released from the hospital.
The afternoon greeted him with a radiant sunshine and busy city sounds. A breeze bantered through the hospital parking lot. Several patients exited the building, now cured and stronger, embracing family members and chattering joyously with one another. No more head pain, no more arm pain. It felt good for the man to stretch out his legs. Even work-a-holics like Tenma need a change of pace, especially after being cooped up in white walls for days on end.
Tenma turned to the hospital's entrance. "You coming, Son?"
Said child jogged out the automatic doors. Just like Tenma, Astro was back to his old, healthy self again. "Yeah, I'm here."
"Good, let's get going." Tenma pulled out his cellphone and scrolled through the contacts. "I'll call Dr. Elefun and see if he can pick us up. I don't imagine I'll get my car back from the shop any time soon so-"
There was a light tug on Tenma's shirt sleeve. The man looked down to see his son with the fabric between his fingers. Astro fidgeted nervously and gave his father a pleading look. "Can we, umm..."
Tenma bent down to Astro's level. "Yes?"
"Can we just…walk home? I mean, if you're feeling ok…"
Tenma furrowed his brows. "What about you? Is your leg alright? It's kind of a long distance on foot."
"Oh, I'll be fine," replied the boy. "It only hurts a little bit if I step on it the wrong way. Let's just walk home, ok?" He drew circles in the pavement with the toe of his boot, hands folded behind his back.
The father smiled. I suppose it makes sense. "Of course. Let's just walk home. It's a good idea anyway since it's such a beautiful day today."
The child smiled. "Yeah, it is nice today, isn't it?" He looked up to the clouds, grinning up at the merciful designer, it seemed, that had kept his father safe. After a while, he looked back to Dr. Tenma. "Let's go, Dad."
"Right," chuckled Tenma. "Orrin might be worried by now. And we know how he gets when he's worried about even something small."
His son giggled in turn and the two began their trip home.
"Astro?"
"Yes,Dad?"
"…You know I'll always be here for you, right?"
"…Yeah. I trust you."
"Thank you Astro. That means a lot to me.
"No problem, Dad."
Uh, wow. I teared up a little writing this one. Again sorry for the delay. And remember my review request, please! See you all next time!
-Magician Irono