A/N: Why hello there~ XDDD It's been a while hasn't it? Yeaaah. Sorry about that. Me and Star need to finish this story don't we? XDDD We haven't even written 13 yet. and that's the last chapter ._. XD anyway, enjoy!


Chapter 12: High Voltage

~A few moments earlier…

Cora gave a loud sigh as she stepped off the bus, glancing up at the tall building in front of her. She shifted her feet, wondering for a third time why she was standing in front of the Ministry of Science. I just wanted to say sorry to Astro's dad about what happened the other night, maybe talk with Astro for a little bit if I get the chance… she thought. She gave another sigh, puffing her lips out.

Let's do this… she thought, determined, stepping up the first flight of steps. Suddenly, a loud crash sounded above her head and she looked up. Cora screamed as thousands of shards of glass rained down on her, and she covered her head to protect herself. A small thud was heard, and she looked up after she was positive the glass shards were stopped. In front of her, she saw a red and black backpack on the ground, and she frowned. Isn't that…?

She picked it up, her frown deepening as she looked back up at the window where it had come from. She couldn't see the inside, it was too far up, but she did have that sense of dread, that something was very, very wrong.

Cora looked over the bag, left and right, thoughts surfacing in her mind. Didn't Astro tell me that this was Cobalt? His suit? she wondered, looking back up. I wonder…if… Cora felt her hand along the fabric of the bag, looking for any indentation of any sort that might tell her where that something she was looking for was. She found it—a small groove on the strap. Cora lifted up the small flap and gasped as she saw the button underneath.

"A-ha!" She covered the button again. "So that's how—" Cora jumped when she heard yet another crash from above her head. She looked up, eyes widening when she realized that two people were falling from the building…and one of them was Astro!

"Oh, no!" she shouted, eyes widening again. Quickly—without thinking—she uncovered the flap and pressed the button. The suit transformed around her body and as soon as it was done, she blinked to see a blue screen in her face. Cora looked up towards Astro and the other figure, the screen boxing them off, saying, 'IMMINENT DANGER DETECTED'.

"Wait, wha—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Cora screamed as the rocket boots activated beneath her feet. She was suddenly propelled upwards, towards the two figures falling. Another message flashed across her eyes. 'COBALT DETECTED!' The suit suddenly came off, flying through the air and wrapping itself around Astro.

Gravity immediately took its course, carrying Cora along with it.


I instantly felt metal wrapping around my body, and when I opened my eyes, I was greeted with a familiar blue screen. My eyes widened in surprise. What the—where'd this come from?! I thought—but didn't have time to ponder it any further. I activated my rockets, flying upwards against Atlas, causing him to skewer off balance and fall to the ground.

"AHHHHH!"

I turned towards the scream and gasped. "Oh, no!" I exclaimed, seeing Cora free-falling through the air. I didn't even have time to ask myself how she got up here, immediately snapping into action and bursting towards her with my arms outstretched. I caught Cora with seconds to spare before she hit the ground, setting her down gently on the concrete. Before I could ask her how she'd ended up falling from such a height, I was suddenly hit by a powerful force and knocked into the street.

My head was conked against a street lamp, and I fell in front of it with a groan, rubbing my head. I looked up to see Atlas towering over me. "I am going to defeat you, Astro," he hissed, pointing his black finger at me. "You will die!"

I rolled my eyes—but of course, he couldn't see it. "I think you might've blown a circuit, or something," I taunted, getting up and brushing myself off. "Don't you know that good always wins?"

Atlas hesitated a moment before growling and firing his cannon straight at me. Caught off guard, I was blown back through the street lamp, destroying it, and was blown off the edge of the city. I quickly turned on my rocket boots and flew back up, only to find Atlas speeding at me like a bullet, grabbing me—once again—and speeding down to the ground on the Surface.

"UNH!" I grunted as I hit the ground.

Atlas jumped back off of me and let out an evil laugh, hands on his hips. I lifted my head weakly, my left eye shut from the pain I was feeling. I've got to stop him, I thought. Before…before it's too late.

"Wassa matter, Astro?" he laughed, looking down at me. "Too much for you? Aww, you poor thing!"

I just glared at him, breathing heavily from my place on the ground.

"Too bad it has to end this way. Oh, all the people you'll be leaving…" he continued, his face imitating pity—but I knew it was fake. "Too bad, though. Not like you were wanted either way—robot or human."

"Stop it!" I growled through my teeth.

"Stop what?" Atlas grinned cheekily. "Your life? Well—if you say so!" He raised his arm, a large gun materializing around it.

I widened my eyes. "NO, WAIT, STOP—"

Quick as a flash, before he could shoot, I shot into the air and raced back towards Metro City. "You can run, Astro! But you can't hide!"

I turned my head around, watching as he zoomed up for me, even faster than I'd hoped. I quickly veered off to the left, hoping to catch him off guard, but he followed with me the whole way as I zigzagged my way towards the city.

Wait, what am I doing? I suddenly thought. I can't go to the city—he'll hurt people! I have to lead him awa— That thought was left unfinished, for Atlas had rammed into me with an incredible force, shoving me out of the sky and into the streets of Metro City.

The screams of the citizens met my ears as they ran away from the danger, leaving me to make another rut in the middle of the road like the last time I was in a battle—the Peacekeeper. I lifted my head groggily, watching as Atlas smashed down in front of me heavily, smirking at me with a dark red glow in his eyes, along with the red lightning that surged around him—which I hadn't noticed until now.

"Enjoy your city now, wonder boy," he laughed, pointing around with his hand, "because I'm going to ruin. It. All!"

Before I could react, Atlas flew up into the air, his body glowing bright red and purple, dark energy swirling around him. His cannons were powered to maximum level, his eyes glowing with malice.

"NOOOO!" I screamed, forcing myself to stand and take flight.

But it was too late.

Atlas's cannons were now high-powered energy beam lasers, and they were cutting through the buildings, nearly vaporizing them. The citizens below were screaming with complete and utter terror, running away and taking flight in their cars, trying to get away from all this mess. I looked after Atlas, complete shock and disbelief on my face—underneath my mask. I was too late to stop it.

And it was happening again.

"ASTRO!" a female voice called up to me.

I looked down quickly, seeing Cora and Zane, followed closely by Reno, who was breathing heavily and looking around with shock. I quickly flew down to them and hovered in front of their faces. "Guys, you have to get out of here. It's not safe!" I ordered.

"And it's not safe for you, either!" Cora objected stubbornly.

Reno gaped at me, his eyes wide. "That's…that's… Okay, this is so confusing, terrifying, and exciting all at the same time!" he squeaked. "I'm meeting Cobalt!"

"RENO!" Cora hissed. "Now's not the time!"

"I mean—the actual REAL Cobalt!" he continued, pumping his fists up and down excitedly in front of him. "Mind you, I was trapped in that thing for a few hours, but it's all good now!"

I rose an eyebrow in confusion. "Uh…" I shook my head. "No, never mind. Now's not the time, Cora's right. Listen, I have to stop Atlas from destroying Metro City." Cora opened her mouth to interject, but I put a finger to my robotic mouth and looked her as straight in the eyes as I could manage. "Even if it costs me my life."

Cora looked away from me, tears forming in her eyes and I looked away as well, saddened. If I do end up dying like in my nightmare… I thought. I can…never come back… A sob threatened to break through, but I pushed it as far away as I could manage, looking back at Atlas—still destroying the city.

"Good luck, Astro…Toby…whoever you are," Reno said with a smile.

I turned back to him and smiled back. "My name is Astro," I replied. Reno didn't flinch; instead, he smiled wider—if possible. And with that, I took to the sky after Atlas.

The rogue robot was laughing maniacally as his beams ripped through Metro City, nearly disintegrating the buildings as they fell to the streets. I flew up to him quickly, an angry look on my face as I drew back my fist…and punched him in the face.

Atlas veered off his path of destruction, falling to the streets below, making a rut in the pavement. As I looked down at him, he quickly got up, his eyes a menacing red as he shot up at me with a battle cry. I barely dodged his attack—it missing me by a mere hair's length.

"ARGH!" I shouted, quickly firing my cannons at him. He gasped as they hit him square on, but as the smoke cleared, I saw that he was still flying in the sky, and nothing had happened. He smirked at me, aiming his cannon for me. I gasped as he fired his beam, hitting me square in the chest and causing me to fall straight into a building that was on fire, through the windows. I came to a stop in a little oval office, unable to move. Why can't I move?! I thought to myself, straining to move the suit—but to no avail.

Atlas flew in the building towards me, an evil laugh bubbling through his lips. "You saw what happened to the buildings," he began. "This beam disintegrated them, right? Ha, well have a look for yourself," he finished, pointing his hand at me.

I looked down, seeing that some of the suit was beginning to be eaten away, and I gasped. No! My eyes widened as I continued struggling to get up, some of my clothes visible underneath now.

Atlas just laughed at me. "Soon, you won't have your suit to help you anymore!" he shouted, his eyes glinting with madness. "Then when I kill you, I'll kill every one of your friends! Every single person in this city will fall to me! Atlas!" He let out a loud, deafening laugh, raising his head and hands to the ceiling of the building.

This isn't going to end well… I thought glumly, watching my suit slowly disintegrate in front of my eyes. The blue screen was showing red exclamation points all over the place, but no words showed up on screen. It was like it knew the end was near, and nothing could help it.


Reno watched as Cobalt—no, Astro—flew up towards Atlas, ready to fight for this city at the cost of his life. I wonder how this all happened? he wondered, turning to Cora and Zane. They both had terrified looks on their faces as they watched Astro fight for his life, unable to do anything to help. Reno looked away, thinking for a split moment. He wanted to know everything. He wanted to know how this all happened—how Astro had turned himself into a human, for that matter! It was totally and inevitably impossible to do so!

But then again, Reno just wanted to get to safety. Astro would take care of everything, he just had to. Before he had moved here, he had read a lot of things about the robot boy—now a real boy—and he knew for a fact that he would be able to stop Atlas, even if he were human. The fact that he also had Cobalt—his suit—to help him, that made everything much more understandable.

Reno watched as the two figures in the distance fought, one punching another to the ground, the figure spiraling to the streets below. But looking at how Atlas was when Reno had been in Astro's suit down on the Surface, he didn't think Astro stood a chance up against the rogue robot—not even the slightest. While he was in Cobalt, he had taken the time to survey all the little gadgets inside, and Reno knew that none of it would help in Astro's defeating Atlas. It would take a miracle for Astro to win this fight, let alone live through it.

"C'mon, Astro…" he murmured. "You can win, I know you can." As Reno watched the fight, he barely noticed Zane and Cora turning to him.

"We have to get to safety," Cora ordered. "We can't do anything to help."

"I wish we could," Reno muttered, his eyes still trained onto the two in the sky.

"I wish we could too, Reno," Cora sighed. "The last time we helped him, we had Sludge and Widget with us, as well as Hamegg's car, but…" She broke off and looked away. "Hamegg abandoned us, and Sludge and Widget were adopted by a family down on the Surface…"

"Yeah, it was heart wrenching," Zane added, his eyes trained on the ground. "Knowing that you'll probably never see your two best friends—who you treat as your own family—ever again."

"I'm sure you'll see them again," Reno said with a smile, placing a hand on their shoulders. "Both of you will."

"Thanks, Reno…" Cora replied, tears in her eyes. She quickly wiped the tears away and regained her leading attitude. "We seriously have to get to safety, though," she went on. "Come on!"

Without another word, Reno and Zane followed after the girl to who knew where—but Reno knew it was safe, wherever she was taking them.


"GAH!" I cried as I was thrown back for the third time, this time hitting a metal pole, breaking it in half, sending the pole and I into the streets. My suit was now nearly fully disintegrated, my clothes ripped and dirty, showing the cuts and bruises underneath.

I looked up at Atlas as he hovered slowly over to me. The pain that I felt was so intense, I just wanted to scream to the heavens—make it all go away. Even though my suit was almost gone, I still felt as though I couldn't move. I breathed heavily through my nose, the corner of my mouth swollen and a little bloody, my right eye black and blue, swollen to the shutting point.

Atlas just laughed at me. "You're so funny!" he laughed, holding his stomach. "To think you could defeat me… Well, you can't! You know why? Because you're WEAK! A human!"

I didn't answer him—mainly because I couldn't. My jaw seemed to be set on fire, throbbing with pain. I could tell it was broken. I curled my fists as best as I could, giving Atlas the hardest glare I could muster. Get up! I told myself. Get up!

"Oooh, a death glare," Atlas cooed, twiddling his fingers in front of him. "I'm really scared. You convince me; you're good enough to win an award!" he cackled to the sky, sending a wave of hatred flowing through my veins.

By now—I noticed—most of the citizens were either in their shelters, or they had flown the coop, away from the city and the disaster that had struck. They had most likely flown to the Surface to be safe from harm. Some of the citizens were being a little too curious, poking their heads out of their hiding spots and watching the fight. I knew that I had been discovered, but I didn't care. What I cared about right now was defeating Atlas and saving my city, no matter the cost. "Neeh," I mumbled through my broken jaw, sounding as defiant as I could manage—but it just made Atlas laugh harder.

"Pathetic, that's what you are," he began again. "I enjoy bringing you pain. It brings me joy… Now…what to do next?" He tapped his fingers on his metallic chin, looking up into the sky mockingly.

I tried to sit up, but my back screamed with pain as I moved. I winced, squeezing my eyes shut. A large metal foot suddenly landed on my chest, knocking me flat on the ground.

"Ah, I know!" Atlas laughed coldly. "How about when I do…this?!" He swung his foot back, and then threw it forward, his boot colliding with my side.

"MMMM!" I cried out, pain shooting through my whole body, my eyes closed tightly. I didn't even want to open them back up, afraid that if I looked at Atlas, he would cause me more pain—which I knew he would do anyway. So technically, I was screwed either way, and there was nothing I could do about it.

He laughed in my face. "I hope that broke some ribs!" he chuckled, glaring down at me. "That would be awesome."

I shook my head, the pain suddenly giving away to fear and terror. I couldn't help myself, opening my eyes to see Atlas not even a foot away from me, his boot still on my side. "Hmm…want more?" I shook my head rapidly, but he ignored me and pushed down harder onto my side.

"MMMMMMMMMM!" I screamed, breathing heavily as his foot removed itself from my side. I could feel my jawbone cracking slightly as the bones snapped back into place. It felt unpleasant, but it wasn't too unpleasant. By now, Cobalt was completely gone, leaving a teenage boy in its place—just one boy in the middle of a fight to his death. I knew I wouldn't win this fight—but by the Gods, I just had to stall him somehow. If there was the slightest chance at saving the people I loved…then I would do it without second thought.

I opened and closed my jaw, no longer feeling any pain there—thankfully. "Atlas…" I wheezed, my chest bursting with pain from the cracked ribs.

Atlas grabbed the front of my shirt, yanking me up and bringing me closer to him. "What's that? I couldn't hear you!" He cuffed a hand around his ear.

"Go die…" I breathed out, wincing as my ribs began to crack back to their original places.

"Ohhh, so you can heal yourself!" Atlas laughed, throwing me back to the ground, causing me to cry out in pain as he did so, my back throbbing even worse. I thought that maybe my spine must've been broken, but I couldn't be too sure. At least I could still move my head around.

I lifted my head and glared at Atlas with my good eye, him stepping closer and closer to me. "I'll be sure that you can't heal this one," he continued, making my eye widen. "I'll make sure that you're so badly hurt, that you'll never be able to heal. You wanna know what I'm gonna do?"

I shook my head, my heart pounding in my ears. Fatigue threatened to swamp over me, but I shook myself awake.

He smirked. "I'm going to kill you."

No… I thought as he laughed at my expression. I…I don't want to die…!

Tears were streaming down my face as Atlas aimed his cannon at my torso. I couldn't move, the pain in my back too intense. "Please…" I whispered softly.

"It's too late to plea for your life, Astro," Atlas said, a cold smirk on his face. "It's been too late for a long time."

His cannon charged up…

And fired.

I don't know how long I screamed, or how hard I screamed. The pain that registered was so intense that I wanted to pass out—needed to pass out. Anything to make it stop, anything! The pain never died, it just continued to grow. As it grew, my eyesight grew dim…

I knew then that I was dying. My nightmare was coming true.

This was the end.


A/N: Cliffeeeeeeeeeeh XD Before you all bombard me with WTF's, Reno's sudden reappearance will be explained in the next chapter, no worries. :D Review!