Urg, it's getting hot guys DX felt the need to write a sunny chappy.

On with chapter eight!

I don't own Astro Boy.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

That night Cora slept like a log, excited for what tomorrow might bring and seeing Astro again. However, what she didn't know was that said robot was currently lying face first in the mud where he had just recently crash landed.

"Bleh!" Astro spat the dirt out of his mouth as he moved into a sitting position. His vision was blurry and pixalated as he took in his surroundings. The park. The robot teen attempted to move but a sharp pain in his elbow immediately stopped him.

"Ouch." He hissed as he moved the appendages into his line of sight. The synthetic skin on his elbow was scrapped away revealing metal and wiring. He cringed when he noticed a little bit of oil dripping down his arm, mixing with the dirt. "Crap." He mumbled to himself as he attempted to stop the 'bleeding'.

"Who's there!" The android jumped at the sudden voice, his head swinging this way and that as he tried to locate the owner. He was suddenly blinded when a bright light was shone in his face. "Astro? Is that you?"

Astro used his hand to try and shield his eyes. The person at the end of the offending light was a police officer, with scruffy brown hair and a firm build.

"Earl, can you tone it down with the light." Astro complained. It was making his headache worse.

"Ah, right." The man said as he shut off the torch, allowing the street lamps to light the area. "Sorry bout that." It was then that the man noticed the mangled mess that was Astro's right elbow. "My God, are you alright." He asked as he moved to kneel in front of the boy.

"'M fine." Astro reassured. "Just a bit of a...crash landing." Earl looked behind him and noticed the large skid mark that led to their position, which he only now realised was a small crater.

"Crash landing indeed." The officer agreed. "You need a hand." Astro nodded and allowed the older male to pull him out of the dirt. Earl placed a strong hand on his shoulder when he noticed him begin to sway a little. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I don't even know anymore." Astro mumbled as he cradled his hurt arm. "I'm sorry about the mess by the way, I promise I'll fix it-"

"That's alright." Earl quickly cut off his apology. "Lets just get that arm sorted out first." The police officer led Astro towards his hover car, which was parked outside of the park gates, opening the passenger door once he was there and instructing the android to get in.

"I feel like I'm being arrested." Astro chuckled, trying to make sure he didn't drip oil everywhere. Earl laughed at his remark as he moved to the drivers side. Once he was settled he quickly located his first aid kit.

"Give me your arm." He said, holding out his hand. Astro obliged and settled his arm in the man's much larger Palm. He sat quietly and watched as Earl wrapped a secure bandage around his revealed mechanics. "There, that should hold." The officer said once he had finished.

"Thank you." Astro smiled as he took his arm back, the oil already begining to seep through the white material on his elbow.

"Since you're here, I might as well give you a ride home." Earl offered.

"But what about your patrol." Astro asked, worried the man would get into trouble.

"That was my last round." The older male explained. "I was about to leave until I noticed you sitting in the mud." Astro winced as he looked down at his clothes.

"Henna's sure gonna love this." He said sarcastically as he fingered his dirty shirt. Earl chuckled as he patted the teen on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's get you home." The drive to Astro's apartment didn't take too long since it was late and there weren't many people out. Once they made it, Earl pulled into the parking lot and powered down his car.

"Thanks Earl." Astro said as he opened the door and hoped out.

"You sure you're gonna be ok?" The man asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine." The robot teen assured with a smile. "I'll see you around."

"Alright then." The officer finally said. "Goodnight son." Astro waved as the police car drove off then made his way toward the apartments main entry.

"Good evening Astro." Rayne greeted as he walked into the lobby. Astro gave the woman a tired look.

"Hey Rayne." He mumbled. The woman was slightly taken back by his reply but was soon distracted by his dirtied clothes and bandaged elbow.

"What happened!?" She exclaimed, leaning forward on the counter to get a better look.

"Just a bit of an accident." Astro waved of her concern and moved towards the elevator. "I'm fine, really." He said when he noticed her begin to protest. "See you later." He called as the elevator door slid shut, leaving the receptionist dumbfounded. Astro sighed as he leaned back in the elevator. Man he felt awful.

Once he reached his floor, Astro made his way to his pent house, pulling out his key card once he made it to the door.

"Astro!" Zoran cheered when she saw her brother walk through the door. She was about to run in for a hug but stopped when she noticed his half lidded eyes and filthy clothes. "MOMMY, DADDY, ASTRO'S HURT." She shouted, hoping to get their parents attention.

"Zoran, aren't you supposed to be in bed." Astro questioned his little sister with a raised eyebrow.

"Well you were taking forever to get home." The small girl accused. "I was worried."

"What's the matter Zoran?" The pair turned around when they headed their fathers voice to see him walking into the room, Henna not far behind.

"Astro!" Henna gasped when she saw her step-son. She quickly ran to his side, examining him thoroughly.

"What happened?" Tenma asked, taking in his robotic sons bandaged elbow.

"Crash landing." Was all Astro mumbled. He just wanted to go to bed and sleep away his pain.

"Crash landing?" Bill echoed. Astro hadn't had a crash landing since he first learned how to fly, well, not counting all the times an enemy has knocked him out of the sky.

"That's what I said." Astro grumbled as he began to move towards his room. He didn't want to talk, he wanted to sleep. Tenma was slightly taken back by his sons grumpy mood.

"Well, at least let me take a look at it before you go to bed." He offered. The doctor then led the grumbling robot to his room, sitting him on the bed and instructing him to take off the bandage.

"It's not to bad." Tenma assured as he inspected the wound. A few wires were out of place and the metal was a bit scratched, but other than that it was fine; he could already see the synthetic skin knitting itself back together. Astro winced when he felt his father correct the wires before applying a fresh bandage. "That should do it." Astro sighed and took back his arm. "So, what exactly happened?" His father asked.

"I dunno." Astro replied. "One minute I'm flying, the next my rockets give out and I'm face planting the dirt." Tenma got a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Want me to do another scan?" He offered.

"What's the point." Astro mumbled as he fall back on his bed with closed eyes. "The first one said there was nothing wrong." Going by his grumpy attitude, Tenma could tell he was tierd.

"Well then." The man said as he stood from the bed. "I guess we'll see how you feel tomorrow then."

"Hm." Astro hummed, already half asleep. He hadn't even bothered changing out of his dirty clothes.

"Goodnight son." No reply. Tenma sighed, giving his son one last worried glance before leaving the room.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The next morning, Cora was woken by the sound of her phone. She reached over to her nightstand, blindly feeling for the small device, before finally finding it. Her phone was blinking with the alert of one new message. Cora clicked the message open and read the contents.

Hey Cora

Me n the guys r meeting up at that new milkshake place, you n Lottie wanna come with?

~Astro

Cora smiled and quickly typed back a reply before jumping out of bed and beginning her morning routine.

"Lottie, get up! We're going out." She pounded on her friends door, making sure she was awake.

"Ok, ok, jeez, I'm awake." The other girl grumbled as the door slid open. "Wanna shout a little louder? I don't think everyone else on this floor heard you." Cora rolled her eyes before returning to her own room to continue getting ready. Just as she finished applying her makeup her phone buzzed again.

Bring a swimsuit.

-Astro

Cora blinked at the screen when she read this. Why on earth would she need a swimsuit? The girl shrugged then moved to her draws, quickly digging through them until she found her black and purple tankini. She shoved the item of clothing into her bag, along with a towel, then decided to inform her friend.

"Hey Lottie." She shouted through the door. "Grab your swimsuit." The teen on the other side flung the door open with a confused look.

"Huh?" Lottie said with eyebrows creased.

"Your swimsuit. Grab it." Cora replied.

"I heard what you said." Lottie countered. "But why the hell do we need swimsuits?" Cora shrugged.

"I dunno, Astro just said to bring 'em." She got a thoughtful look on her face. "Maybe we're going swimming or something." Lottie decided not to question her any further and returned to her room to pick up her one piece swimsuit.

Once the girls were ready, they left their apartment and made the short trip to the bus stop.

"I like it better when Astro drives us." Lottie complained as she and Cora squeezed onto the crowded vehicle. "It's too stuffy."

"And hot." Cora added as she adjusted her backpack in a vain attempt to create more room. She was glad that she decided to dress light today: a simple t-shirt and a pair off shorts, as the sun was blazing high in the completely cloudless blue sky.

It wasn't long before the air bus was pulling up in the town centre, allowing the two friends to hop off and begin the treck down to the milkshake shop. They soon found the group standing outside the colourful building, already sipping on large cups of shake.

"Hey guys." Cora greeted when they were close enough. The group turned around at the sound of her voice and smiled.

'Sup." Zane replied when the girls finally joined them. "It's about time you got hear." Cora sent him a mock glare.

"We're not late, you guys are just super early." Lottie defended, making everyone laugh. Well, almost everyone. Cora looked around the group, noting off who was there: Zane, Ken, Alejo, the twins.

"Where's Astro?" She asked, noticing the Robots absence.

"Right here." Cora turned towards the door when she heard his voice and saw him walk out with two milkshakes in hand. The boy was dressed in a pale, yellow polo- shirt and a pair of cargo shorts to a company the warm weather. Zoran was at his heals wearing a cute, flowery dress and also had two drinks in her small hands.

"Here." The little girl offered one of the milkshakes to Lottie with a bright smile.

"Awesome." Lottie took the drink, taking a long, refreshing sip "Thanks, I needed this." Zoran giggled when the older girl hugged the milkshake, relishing in the cool relief. Cora chuckled at the pair before another shake was suddenly thrust in her face. She looked up at Astro's smiling face, returning the gesture and taking the cup.

"Thanks, I-" it was then that she noticed the white bandaged wrapped around her robotic friends right elbow. "What happened!?" The girl exclaimed, taking his arm and inspecting it.

"Just a bit of an accident." Astro shrugged, taking his arm back. "I'm fine."

"Why the hell do you need a bandage?" Lottie cut in with a raised eyebrow.

"The skin was split." The android explained. "I dint want anything getting into it. Also I was getting oil everywhere." Lottie nodded in understanding, however, Cora still look concerned. "I'm fine." Astro emphasized, noticing this. "So are we gonna get going or what?" Cora was about to say something but was quickly cut off by Lottie.

"Where are we going anyway?" The dark clad girl asked.

"THE BEACH!" The twins cheered excitedly. The girls mouths dropped at this, their eyes going wide as they stared at the group.

"Seriously?" Cora asked.

"Yep." Ken answered.

"A beach? Lottie questioned. "You mean like a beach beach? With sand and sea and Sun...and sand? Astro chuckled.

"It wouldn't be a beach without sand, sea, Sun and sand." His quip went right over their heads, the two female teens too astonished the hear.

"I didn't even know we could get to beaches anymore." Cora said as Lottie nodded next to her.

"Yeah." Her friend agreed. "The last beach I saw was full of crap, just like the rest of the surface."

"I guess you"'ll just have wait until we get there." Zane said mysteriously.

"C'mon." Alejo encouraged, shoving as much of the group as he could forwards. "Astro's driving." The robot teen rolled his eyes.

"Of course I am."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The group of friends managed to shove all their belongings, plus themselves, into Astro's car and were now driving through the surface, passing the mountainous plies of garbage and the odd town here and there. The stereo was blasting out music as the teens yelled over it, attempting to converse but also not wanting to lower the volume.

"ALMOST THERE GUYS!" Astro shouted over the noise. The others cheered, Zane going as far as sticking his head out of the window, yelling something that was lost on the wind. The nice weather was defiantly putting them in a good mood.

Around half an hour later they were finally pulling up at the coast. The friends came barreling out of the car, chatting excitedly as they retrieved their stuff.

"Well...this is..." Cora began as she took in their surroundings.

"Horrible." Lottie finished. The sand dunes had more rubbish that sand and the beach was a mix of discarded robot parts and pebbles. That couldn't even see the sea through all the junk. Astro walked up beside them with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hmm?" He hummed with a tilt of his head. "You're right, it is horrible." The girls looked at him aghast. He couldn't be serious? The robot boy sent them a small smirk. "Too bad, this isn't where we're going." Astro adjusted the strap of his backpack and took his little sisters hand. He and the others began to move towards a particularly large sand dune. Cora and Lottie shrugged and followed them.

Once they rounded the dune, the girls felt their jaws drop. It was a cove. A beautiful, little cove with clean, golden sand and a glistening blue sea.

"I think this place is much better." Astro said. The group laughed as they moved onto the empty beach, quickly choosing a good spot to lay down their towels and leave their bags. The teens, and Zoran, then stripped out of their clothes leaving them in their swimsuits, Astro simple wearing his black shorts with the green belt.

"YAY!" Zoran cheered as she began to run towards the sea, however, someone quickly grabbed the back of her pink one piece and snagged her back.

"Ah, ah, Zoran." Astro warned as he pulled his sister back. "Aren't we forgetting something?" Zoran pouted when she saw her brother bring out a bottle of Sun cream and moved to sit on his pale, blue towel. Astro Sat next to her then began to smear a healthy coating of cream on her exposed skin.

"S' not fair." The little girl whined. "You don't have to wear Sun cream."

"Well that's because, unlike you, I can't burn." Astro chuckled. He then proceeded to blow up her arm bands and a small rubber rind, slipping them onto the small girl. "There, all done." Zoran was quick to jump up and run in the same direction as before. "Don't go in the sea without one of us." She immediately stopped running when she heard this and turned her large brown eyes to the rest of the group. One minute. Two minutes.

"I'll go with her." Alejo sighed, being the first to cave. Zoran cheered and grabbed the nerds hand, before dragging him towards the ocean. The others chuckled as they settled down on their towels to enjoy the warm sunshine.

"So." Cora began. "How did you even find this place?" She watched as they turned their attention to Astro, who sent her a sheepish smile.

"Actually, no one is supposed to know about it yet." The android explained.

"So how do you know about it?" Lottie questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"This is one of the places the Restoration Centre is working on." Astro elaborated. "It'd be difficult to work if it was full of people, but they let me come here as thanks for the volunteer work I do."

"Seems fair." Cora nodded. The conversation was suddenly broken by a strange sound. They turned and saw Ken busy blowing up a large, colourful beach ball.

"Anyone for a game?" He asked once he was done.

"Heck yeah." Zane exclaimed as he jumped up, the twins following suit.

"Us too." The pre-teens waved their hands in the air as they ran to find a good spot.

"What about you guys?" Ken asked the remaining teens.

"Sure." Lottie agreed as she stood and adjusted her swimsuit, then followed the twins.

"I'm good for now." Astro answered with an apologetic smile. "I'll play later." Zane and Ken were kind of surprised by his answer but simply shrugged it off and turned to the girl sitting next to him.

"Cora?"

"I think I'll stay and keep Astro company." Cora answered.

"Suit yourselves." Zane said as he and Ken walked away. "C'mon Ken, let's go save Alejo from Zoran's clutches." Just as he said this they heard a rather unmanly squeak and looked up in time to see said nerd fall face first into the sea water as Zoran stood over him, cackling her little head off. They quickly ran off to 'save' him, leaving Cora and Astro alone.

Cora looked at the boy next to her. Astro was hunched over his knees, subconsciously picking at his red, metal boots as he watched his friends with a small smile. She suddenly found herself really curious as to what he was thinking about.

"You ok?" She asked him as she brought her own knees up to her chest, wrapping her slim arms around them. The robot tilted his head to the side slightly before answering.

"I'm really lucky you know." He said softly, without taking his eyes off his friends, who were currently engaged in a game of volley ball. Cora was taken back by his reply.

"Huh?" Was all she said.

"My life could have turned out a lot differently." Astro answered bluntly. "I'm glad it didn't." Cora didn't need him to elaborate, she knew exactly what he meant. Being a robot, there are many ways his life could of gone, some ways Cora didn't even want to think about, but luckily it hadn't. He had an excepting Dad, a kind step-mom and a spunky little sister who loved him to no end. And here he was, sitting in the sunshine, surrounded by great friends.

She began to think about what her life would have been like if Astro hadn't come into it. She would probably still be living on the surface, ravaging in the garbage for parts for Hamegg's robots so that the poor machines could compete in the barbaric robot games. Cora's heart dropped a little when she remembered how she used to find those slaughters fun. Astro had defiantly opened her eyes. If she hadn't had met Astro she would never had found her parents, never moved to that small town, never have met Lottie. She suddenly found herself extremely greatful to the boy.

"I'm glad too." She said. Astro finally turned his attention to her, the two sharing a smile. They stayed this way until Astro let out a quick shriek as cold, sea water was poured over his head, soaking the teen and his towel. Cora gasped and moved herself and her towel away from the offending water.

Astro heard his sister giggling behind him as he attempted to wipe the salty water and wet hair out of his brown eyes. The rest of his friends had stop their game to witness this and were also laughing their heads off.

"Oh, I see how it is." Astro chuckled as he stood and towered lover his sister. The little girls giggles died down as she looked up at him with a sheepish smile. Zoran squeaked when her brother suddenly scooped her up, slinging her over his shoulder. She laughed and pounded her small fists on his bare back as he moved towards the sea. Once there, Astro dropped her into the shallow water, creating a small splash as he let out a rather evil laugh.

"REVENGE!" He shouted as Zoran flicked some of her wet, black hair out of her face. She smirked at her cackling brother then quickly grabbed his booted legs causing him to lose his balance and fall right into the water next to her.

Cora smiled as she watched the siblings mess around in the sea who were soon joined by the others. Deciding she'd rather relax for a while, the girl pulled on her sunglasses and lay down, letting the warm Sun light soak through her skin.

Back in the sea, Zane noticed Cora's lack of participation. He got a thoughtful look on his face as he leant over to Astro, tapping the robot teen on the shoulder to get his attention. Astro turned to him with a questioning look, only to have the shaggy haired teen whisper something in his ear. He looked over to Cora than back a Zane. The two boys shared a rather evil smile before moving out of the water and stealthily towards the relaxing girl.

Cora was to out of it to hear the two pairs of footsteps sneaking towards her and stop right by her side.

"Ok." Zane whispered to Astro. "You grab her feet and I'll grab her arms."

"Why do I have to grab her feet?" The android protested.

"Cause a kick in the face will hurt you a lot less than it'll hurt me." Zane pointed out as he moved towards Cora's oblivious head. Astro couldn't argue with that.

"Fine." He agreed as he positioned himself by her feet. "She's gonna kill us for this you know." Zane snickered.

"I know, that's what makes it fun." Astro rolled his eyes at his friends antics. "On a count of three...one...two...THREE!" The boys grabbed the unsuspecting girl off of the ground and began the short treck back to the ocean.

"Wah! Let go!" Cora demanded as she writhed in the boys hold.

"Nah ah, Cora." Zane laughed as he struggled to keep a hold on the girls arms. "You look like you could use some cooling off." Without warning, the two males dropped the poor girl right into the water. Cora sunk below the waves before finally resurfacing with a loud gasp; she sent her most lethal death glare to the hysterically laughing boys next to her.

"You owe me a knew pair of glasses." The male teens laughing stopped instantly when they heard the threatening voice. They gulped and looked down at Cora who had an ominous aura surrounding her.

"Heh...come on Cora." Zane chuckled nervously. "It was only a joke."

"IT WAS ALL ZANES IDEA!" Zane stared aghast at Astro, who was currently pointing an accusing finger at him and slowly moving away. However, before he could get to far, Cora grabbed both boys heads and dunked them under the water. She took satisfaction from watching them squirm for a while before finally letting them go.

The guys came shooting out of the salty water, gasping for air and slinging their arms around each others shoulders to support themselves.

"D-dude." Zane gasped. "We're lucky to be alive." Astro nodded as he spat a bit of sea water out of his mouth.

"L-lets agree to never do that again." The robot said as he stood straight. "I wanna live to see my eighteenth birthday."

After having more fun in the ocean, the group decided to move back to dry land. The teens lay on their towels, allowing the warm Sun to dry them off, while Zoran decided to put her sandcastle building skills to the test. It wasn't long before the rest of them joined in, creating one, mighty sand fortress.

"I guess we better start packing up." Alejo suggested when he noticed the sun begin to dip bellow the horizon. The others agreed, quickly pulling on their clothes and rolling up their towels. Cora had just finished packing her bag when she noticed that Astro hadn't actually moved for a while. With a curious look on her face, the girl walked over to her robotic friend, however, her heart sunk when she finally got a good look at him.

He looked frozen. He was bent down on one knee, his left hand reaching out to grab the Sun cream that was lying just out of reach. It was like someone had hit pause mid-action. Heck, she wasn't even sure if he was breathing. She moved round to get a better look at his face, her eyes widening when she did.

His eyes were wide and pixelated, glowing a soft blue. His mouth was open slightly giving him a shocked sort of expression. In a fit of panic, Cora quickly knelt in front of him and grabbed his shoulders.

"Astro!?" She asked frantically as she shook him slightly. "Astro!?" This finally seemed to snap him out of it.

"H-huh." The robot boy blinked the pixels out if his eyes as they returned to their usual, soft brown. He looked at Cora with a confused and slightly dazed expression.

"Are you ok?" Cora asked, looking deep into his eyes. Astro brought a hand up to his head, rubbing his eyes before placing it in his forehead, moving his hair (which had come loose thanks to the water) out of his face.

"It happened again, didn't it?" He asked gravely. Cora nodded and bit her lip as Astro sighed. "This definatly isn't normal."

"I'll say." Cora agreed as she helped him back up his and Zoran's stuff. "You need to talk to your dad again. Like, tonight."

"I will." Astro mumbled. After these little episodes he always felt drained and miserable. So much for a great ending to a great day. The two teens returned to the car, surprised that no one saw what had just occured and stuffed their belongings inside.

The drive back to Metro City was a lot calmer than the one earlyer. The group chatted softly among themselves as their music played quietly in the back ground. Cora never once took her eyes off of Astro, scared he was going to have another episide whilst he was driving. She wondered why she was even letting him drive in the first place.

Luckily nothing happened and one by one the teen's we're dropped off at their respective homes before they finally arrived at Cora and Lottie's apartment complex.

"Well, this is the last stop." Astro said as he let the girls out of the car and retrieved their belongings. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Right." Lottie agreed as she gave him a quick fist bump. "See you tomorrow." Lottie grabbed their bags and moved towards the entrance, leaving Cora and Astro alone.

"Are you sure you'll be ok driving the rest of the way?" Cora asked worriedly. Astro smiled softly.

"I'll be fine." He reassured. "I made it this far didn't I." Cora chuckled.

"I guess you did." The girl quickly pulled him in for a hug. "Be safe." She mumbled into his shoulder.

"I will." Astro promised before they finally released each other. "Right, I better get Zoran home." He said as he moved towards his hover car. "See you tomorrow." Cora smiled and waved as she watched him drive away, then followed after Lottie. However, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread for tomorrow, her blues eyes flicking back to where Astro had drove off.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Mm, dem cliff hangers :P

Thanks to those who are still reading this and for the reviews, you guys are too nice, they make me feel so much better, I love you guys ^-^ Sorry it's so late again, I got caught up in my graphics work. But hey, good news; I finished the last if my graphics exam so now I have no more exams...yay!

Until next chapter :)