Strange Family, Part 2.

Astroman jerked from his sleep, gasping for air. He woke to unfamiliar surroundings; the holes in the ceiling making him breathe deeper. He looked around, and remembered. This was the cafeteria, just torn apart from a vicious battle, tiles scrawled everywhere; cracks broke upon the walls. His fingers twitched madly, the rest of Astroman shaking all over.

A jolt of electricity went through him, and he realized he was soaking wet. It had rained earlier, he thought. Wait… the cracks shone a pretty moonlight glow. He teleported away from the broken room, and onto the summit of Skull Castle.

This was the only place he ever felt safe. Skull Castle was built high in the clouds, where you could see everything on a clear night. Astroman looked up among the stars, and could tell you what each and every one of them was, no matter how dim or how similar. And then there was the moon, the coin in the endless sky.

"First quarter." Astroman murmured silently. He dared not leave the roof tonight, in fear he'd get caught. Why did he fear all? No one knew.

He let out a squeak. A light was shining upwards to the top of the skull Astroman sat on. A robot guard must have heard him. He quickly teleported off the roof and into his room.

Astroman's room looked similar to his boss stage, there was no clear division between the wall and the floor, just melded together in one great illusion. The ceiling was painted a deep violet and decorated with twinkling, dancing stars, and the ground a soft pink, with sunflowers popping up from certain places in it.

Astroman scooped up something on a heightened ledge in the room: a broken Metool. It was long since dead, but it had been hollowed out, giving its blank stare. Astroman held it tight against him.

"One day we'll go out in space, Metty. I promise it. I promise. And you'll be fixed one day, too." But of course, it was all lies. Some Robot Masters hadn't seen the light of the sun in years and years. Some, like Astroman and a couple of others, would secretly go out at times, though, usually at night where they wouldn't be noticed. He had spied on Cutman formatting a plan a week or so ago, to escape. It's not like it would work. It actually seemed… a bit impossible.

Astroman leaned up against the wall, still gripping the lifeless Met. He fell into a slow, dreamless sleep, still with the thoughts of space, and where he woke up.

Bang bang bang bang bang! A loud, quick rapping sound filled the door of Astroman's room. Astroman got up quickly.

"Yo, Astromoron! It's 5 A.M.! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" a light, teenage voice yelled. It was Quickman.

"G-go away, Qu-qu-qu-qui…" Astroman had always had a stuttering problem at the most awkward moments.

"What're you trying to do, imitate the chia pet commercial?" Quickman guffawed. Astroman shot out of the door.

"Leave!" Astroman said in a strong tone through clenched teeth, pointing down the wide hallway.

"Alright, alight, buddy," Quickman giggled nervously. "But'cha might wanna see a doctor about all those scratches and dents. Laters!" and he sped off at amazing speed. Astroman shut the door and huddled against the corner, throwing precious Metty down in the process, giving the pitiful thing another dent in its helmet.

Astroman looked down at his armor in horror. It had been scratched in some places, his arms were blackened to the extent of which light could not pass through them, his fingers were lined with cuts; there were large dents along his sides, and weathervane that topped his head was about to snap off.

"I have t-to tell someone."

"… And t-that's what I think happened, Starman."

"Aww," Starman, another Robot Master, wrapped his arm around Astroman's shoulder. "Poor baby. It'll be OK, Astroman."

Starman was the only person Astroman seemed to trust. Starman had a pleasant (if feminine) look about him, with loyal blue eyes that could see no wrong. His armor consisted mainly of orange and yellow, giving him an optimistic aura.

"Gee… you fell unconscious in the hall, huh? Then you woke up and it was nighttime, in the cafeteria, and it was a terrible mess?" Starman summarized. Astroman just nodded. "And you're afraid you hurt someone?" Another nod. Starman smiled. "Well, we don't know until we see."

The "hospital," formerly one of the small, hazardous rooms in Skull Castle. It was normally empty, but… not today. Almost 10 Robot Masters lay broken, in pain, on a few separate beds. Astroman twiddled his fingers, a bad feeling forming quickly in his gut. About 4 Robot Masters stood around one bed.

"W-what hap-p-pened?" Astroman stuttered. Everyone's back was still turned.

A dark blue robot answered him with a calm but sad tone. "Bubbleman… he was damaged heavily yesterday. Astroman went berserk, and got hit by his ultimate attack. I don't know if Bubbleman will wake up or not."

"Err, Shadowman…" Gutsman, who was looking straight at Astroman now, piped up. "You're answering Astroman himself." Astroman's brain buzzed at the mentioning of his name. One of the ones standing there grabbed Astroman by the arm. It was Cutman, staring him straight in the face with eerily angered eyes.

"How could you? No, how DARE you hurt one of your own kin? I could KILL you for this!" Cutman screamed. Astroman was too scared to answer, in fact, almost to the brink of crying. Gutsman detached his friend from the shy one's arm.

"I…ah-I… didn't mean t-to… I mean… I d-didn't…" Astroman struggled with his words. Nothing would come out right. He could feel the tears coming from his eyes, and he wondered why his creator had let him cry in the first place. 'This is so embarrassing…' he thought.

A groan escaped from the room. All eyes set upon Bubbleman, who was sitting slightly upright, one hand against his head, ever still, a content look about him.

"It's OK." Bubbleman half-whispered. "Things happen. I forgive you…" He gripped his chest with his other hand. "I've learned to… accept it."

Silence. Shadowman broke it with a short speech.

"I think we've all learned a valuable lesson from this. The past is behind us. We should move on." The other Robot Masters smiled. Astroman looked down. "Is something wrong, Astroman?" Starman questioned.

"… Nothing." Astroman answered. In secret, he feared his violent and angry side would surface again. He looked up. "Absolutely nothing."

Cutman looked up at Astroman. "Can we have a moment to talk?" He motioned to Astroman. The others gave agreement, and the scissor robot dragged Astroman to a far corner of the room. "OK… you can teleport for short distances, correct?" he tried whispering as soft as possible.

"Y-yes." Astroman nodded.

"With other people?"

"I think so."

"I've got an amazing plan."