A/N: Alright y'all just like before, here's the new and improved chapter 2! A bit of a longer one this time, so I hope you enjoy! Also, happy new year!

Chapter 2

He had no idea what was happening.

He screamed as he tumbled through the air, disoriented as to what was up or down. Colors surrounded him; extremely vibrant colors that seemed unreal. The blinding lights were almost too much to bear. He squeezed his eyes shut, wanting it to stop. A tingling sensation crawled along his skin and inside of his robotic shell, leaving him feeling like he was on fire. He shuddered, unable to bear the feeling. He couldn't help but let out a grunt of pain.

Astro tried to activate his rockets to right himself, but nothing happened. Not even a sputter. His stomach turned over, and he became dizzy. This was not normal, not in the slightest. Opening his eyes for a split second, he saw the wormhole generator cascading towards him extremely fast. He shouted in surprise before taking part of its corner to his arm, causing him to spin off course. Pain spiked through his arm, tears forming in his eyes. He hardly had time to even begin to wonder what was happening before he was thrown through the wall of neon surrounding him.

As quickly as it had happened, it was over. The air rushed back into his lungs and the sick feeling from before melted away. He flew through the air before landing on something solid - the ground? - crashing through objects and tumbling head over heels before everything stopped. He groaned, pain throbbing over almost every inch of his body. His head was pounding, his stomach was upset; what were these feelings? They were alien to him. Of course, he had memories of Toby having these feelings, but for him… He tried to bring his arm up to his head but screamed out in agony. He looked down at his arm, seeing that his shoulder had dislocated from its joint.

Taking his forearm in his hand, he pushed up and let out a yelp in pain as his shoulder joined back in place. What even was happening? This wasn't normal. Breathing heavily, he looked at his arm in dismay. "I must just be disoriented from what happened," Astro muttered to himself, his shoulder pain dulling. Blinking several times to clear his vision, he glanced around, finally taking in his surroundings. His eyes widened in awe.

Sunlight shone down on him from above, the breeze gently blowing through the leaves of the trees that surrounded him. Sounds of animals reverberated throughout the area. Turning his gaze towards the ground, he spotted flowers dotting the landscape, their bright colors beaming. There was one thing that stood out to him throughout it all, though. The air was clean; crisp even. Not polluted in the slightest.

Where...where am I?

Confused, he looked down at himself. Astro's arms and legs were cut up and bruised, his clothes battered. There was a red liquid coming out of one cut on his leg-

"GAHH, WHAT?!" he screamed abruptly, dabbing at the liquid. He held it up to his eyes.

Why did it look like…?

"What is going on…?" he hissed. A tingling sensation shot across his entire body. He shuddered, squinting his eyes closed, and letting out an audible sound of discomfort. After it had passed, Astro looked back at his leg and saw that the cuts and bruises were gone. Healed maybe? Did he somehow imagine he was injured?

A sudden shrill noise sounded directly overhead, followed by a fluttering noise. Astro jumped up in surprise, an unfamiliar pounding sensation cascading through his chest.

Wait. What?

Shakily, he brought a hand to his chest. Badump, badump, badump. Dread settled in the pit of his stomach, sweat starting to form on his brow. Surely he couldn't be imagining this.

He had a heart.

"This...this literally can't be happening right now," he said shakily. "This goes against everything I know. All the laws of physics… I-I can't..." He swallowed, laughing half-heartedly. "Robots...can't become…"

This was way too much. The uncomfortable pressure from his stomach once again rose and he immediately doubled over, leaning his hand against a tree and releasing bile from his stomach. After it had perspired, he looked down at what he had just done.

Wiping the dribble from his mouth on his jacket - much to his displeasure - Astro hastily lifted his shirt. Unease followed as he pressed down on the hatch where the Blue Core was supposed to be. He knew the answer long before he even tried it. It didn't open.

This must be a dream.

But it felt so real.

I'm not… I can't be a…

Astro wanted to curl up into a ball and forget everything he'd ever known. It felt so wrong. It felt like a nightmare. He just wanted to wake up, safe in his bed, knowing that the world was normal and that he was normal. A robot. A cyborg. Whatever you wanted to call it.

Slowly bringing the world around him back to life, Astro shakily lifted his head. Where was he, really? As much as he wanted to go back home, he had no idea where to even begin. His built-in GPS was no longer available to boot - as well as all of his functions. He was obviously in a forest; that much was certain. As far as he knew, there were no healthy forests left in the world due to the pollution.

He took a deep, ragged breath in and rose to his feet, wobbling slightly. He fell against the tree and closed his eyes, squinting them shut. The world around him started to spin, his head refusing to take in any more information. He felt even sicker.

I must have some kind of virus, he tried reasoning. That's the only explanation I can think of. He chuckled to himself.

Moments turned into what felt like hours as he stood against the tree, waiting for the time when he felt like he could reopen his eyes. When everything stopped spinning, he slowly did so, breathing a quick sigh of relief when the sickness passed. Pulling himself together, Astro started forward, one foot in front of the other. Everything seemed to be going well until -

"Ack!" he screeched, tripping over a root jutting from the ground. He fell face-first onto the forest floor, a new pain shooting through his body. He muttered a few curses, rubbing his nose.

A trickling sound met his ears and Astro turned towards the source, perplexed. It sounded like running water! He had to go investigate. Scrambling to his feet, his mouth was suddenly cotton-dry as thirst washed over him. Upon reaching the source of the sound, he paused to take in its beauty. It was a large stream, tumbling over the rocks protruding from its bed, the light glittering off the waves and creating sparkles as the spray splashed over his shoes. Little insects buzzed over the stream, floating around without a care in the world. It really was quite beautiful.

Following the water upstream, he reached a spot where the water wasn't flowing so rapidly and fell to his knees. Cupping his hands together, he shoved them into the water and brought them back up to his lips, drinking from the supply greedily. After finishing, he sat back on his legs. Wherever this was, it was definitely nowhere near Metro City.

If this truly was his world, Astro felt cheated.

Splashing his face quickly, he stood. He needed to find civilization, but he had no idea where to even begin looking. It could take hours, days, or even weeks. This forest could go on for miles.

Astro glanced up into the tops of the trees. If he climbed to the top of one of the tallest trees he could find, he would be able to see where he was; maybe even find a town or village of some sort. With a sigh, Astro kicked a rock on the ground. "Darn, well now I have to use my 'quick thinking skills'," he said sarcastically, using air quotations. Determined, he shuffled through the trees, gauging their height and their difficulty to climb.

Spotting a tree tall enough with low branches, he began to climb. His forehead broke out into a sweat as he reached for each branch, carefully placing his feet on the ones below. As he reached for another branch, his foot slipped off the one below it. He let out a wail, free-falling for a moment before catching his stomach on another thick branch below him, knocking the wind out of his lungs. He latched onto it, eyes wide in fright. Small twigs and leaves scattered around him as they fluttered to the ground from his upheaval. It was then that he realized just how high he had already climbed. He groaned, heaving himself up onto the branch.

"That was close!" he muttered. Eyes turned towards the top of the tree, Astro swallowed his self-doubt, continuing in his climb.

Finally reaching the top of the tree, Astro carefully stuck his head out of the foliage, gasping at the sight that befell him. The forest seemed to go on for miles to the west and the north, dozens of different species of trees dotting the landscape. The inner geek in him spotted trees he had thought were long extinct - the maple, elm, and oak trees all stood out. It's beautiful. But this can't be right.

Turning as best as he could to look to the south, Astro noted that the trees seemed to thin out and there were some small buildings dotted around. He quickly turned to the east through the tree's leaves and pushed his head through. He noticed an outline of tall buildings in the near distance and his breath caught in his throat. A...city?

What was this? Where was this?

There were no cities like this left on the Surface. He needed to find out exactly where he was and get back home fast.

After climbing down from the tree, he made a beeline for the east, hopping over tree roots and trailing around rocks. His stomach grumbled once more and he paused, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He looked down at his hand, befuddled. How am I sweating? And what is this vibration in my stomach? Hunger? I've never had that feeling before; I've always just eaten whenever...

Pushing away from the thought, he glanced up through the trees. He had no idea how long it had been, but judging from the sun's position he gauged that it hadn't been too long at all. Turning his head back to how far he'd come, he shook his head. It barely looked like he made any headway.

Astro was nearly dripping with sweat when he finally reached the forest's edge. Some sort of wire mesh was standing in his way from civilization and the forest. His fingers pushed through the holes in its surface as he took in his new surroundings. It was a side street of some sort. There wasn't any foot traffic as far as he could see, just clean streets and...were those birds on the sidewalk?

Jumping over the mesh, he landed on the other side with a grunt. Surely now he'd find someone that could explain to him where he was? Beginning forward, Astro couldn't help but look up at the buildings that overshadowed him. He brought his hand to their surface and brushed alongside it as he walked by, perplexed at the architecture. He'd never felt a material quite like this before.

BRING BRING.

Astro jumped out of the way just in time as a person rode by on a two-wheeled vehicle of some sort. It really was quite bizarre. Blinking, Astro turned towards the way the person was riding. "Hey, wait!" he called. But the person showed no signs of stopping.

Quickly following after him and watching as the person turned a corner, Astro was shortly overwhelmed by the sounds of life. People talking, a strange honking noise, followed by a few people walking across the street in front of him. Astro slowed to a halt, watching the people walk by. They turned to look at him then quickly whispered and giggled amongst themselves as they went out of sight.

What is going on? Those people he had seen looked nothing like the impoverished Surface dwellers he knew. They all looked like citizens of wealth. Plus, all the clothing they were wearing, all those bizarre colors - what was going on? He had to find out more.

Following the street, he eventually rounded a corner and his mouth dropped in awe. The street was lined with shops, restaurants, people, and strange non-floating vehicles driving up and down the road. As he paused to take it all in, people were passing him by. Astro was sure he looked a bit rough to them, considering.

Shaking his head, he turned to the nearest group of people that were standing around talking to one another. "Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but where am I?"

The group of people looked at each other confused before turning their gazes back onto Astro. "Musutafu prefecture? Just outside of Tokyo."

"What?!" Astro squeaked, startling some of the group. "You're joking, right? Tokyo?"

"Are you lost or something, dude?" the guy in front laughed.

Something about their dialect nagged at the back of Astro's head, but none of that was really a concern at the moment. They'd said Tokyo. Tokyo no longer existed. In fact, it had been the epicenter of the pollution that had started the whole debacle back home.

Home. Sudden realization slapped him in the face and he stared blankly at the ground. "Wh-what year is it?"

One of the group in front of him chuckled a "The fuck?" The one who'd talked to him before looked down at him, confused. "2214, bro."

Astro's head began to spin as he was frozen to the core. Back in Metro City, it had also been 2214. This can't be real, this can't be happening. Slowly, Astro put one foot in front of the other, taking off down the sidewalk. His head was pounding.

Dad…help me!

Astro continued in a straight line before coming to a crosswalk. Not paying any attention to where he was going he walked out into the middle of the next street. A horn blared at him and tires squealed as a vehicle stopped right before him. Startled, Astro fell to the ground just staring at the vehicle.

The driver got out of the vehicle and shook his fist at him. "Get out of the road, kid!"

Astro turned his head back to where he'd come, seeing a few onlookers just staring at him. Some of them held an old, retro-looking version of the pager he'd had back home, and they were pointing it in his direction.

The driver honked again. "Are you deaf? Get out of the way, it's green!"

His head spun once more and he broke out into a sweat as he whipped his head in every direction. The vehicles, the people staring, the strangeness of this world -

A tingling sensation fluttered throughout his chest, almost burning -

"STOP!" he screamed. A bright blue flash followed by a sonic boom emanated from him, moving outward in a perfect circle.

The vehicles all turned off, the street lights, the signs for the shops, even the strange pagers the people held - everything within an unknown radius turned off. Everyone that surrounded him let out shouts of surprise.

Astro, breathing heavily, scrambled to his feet and ran off down the street. An EMP? From him? What did that mean?

He rounded another corner into an alleyway and pressed against the side of a building trying to catch his breath. He looked into the sky, seeing clouds floating through their depths, birds flying through the air without a care in the world… Tears began to form at the edges of his eyes as he continued to try and quell his thoughts. He lowered himself to the ground, hands to his head.

Minutes passed as Astro continued to quiet himself. In through your nose, out through your mouth… he thought to himself, remembering an old trick he learned from his mother back when she'd been alive. It was supposed to help you calm down. He slowly removed his hands from his head and looked back towards the entryway to the alley, watching this world's daily life.

What had he been thinking? This couldn't have been his world to begin with. Astro had first thought he'd been transported to another timeline, but when that person had mentioned the year, Astro had lost all hope.

Not time travel, but a different reality altogether.

Gathering his thoughts, Astro brought his hand to his chin. Multiverse travel is supposed to have only been theoretical, yet his father had created a wormhole and those were also supposed to have been theoretical. Was it possible that his father's creation had been too powerful for his world, and therefore caused a near-apocalyptic event? If that was true, Astro was glad the only outcome of it was his transport.

But could he even be certain that with the machine's destruction - with it following him through the tear of space-time - that it had even solved the problem at all?

Reaching into his pocket, he noticed that the pager he'd had back in his world was missing, and his hopes plummeted. If he could have somehow wired the pager from his world with the technology from this one, he could've made contact back in his own universe. But there was no guarantee this universe would have the technology he'd need anyway.

So for the time being, he was stuck in this universe, whether he liked it or not.

The one thing that worried him though was how in the world an EMP emanated from his body. Already knowing the outcome, Astro tried desperately to open his hatch for the Blue Core to no avail. It was like it was permanently glued shut. He laid a hand on his chest and waited, feeling. Sure enough, the beating he had felt before was still there.

Was it possible that by traveling through the wormhole, something had happened that caused the DNA used to create him to fuse with his body?

While it was a possible theory - albeit a farfetched one - it was the only thing he could think of that made him what he was. He was definitely not a robot any longer.

As much as he had wanted to be Toby in the past - to be loved by his father - this wasn't really what he had in mind. He'd wanted to feel loved as he was, not for who he was meant to be. But now everything was upside down, and Astro had no idea what to think anymore.

"Um..."

Astro's head snapped up to see an older woman in her lower 40s standing at the end of the alleyway, staring down at him uncomfortably. Her vivid green eyes stood out from her ivory skin and dark hair. She must've been quite beautiful in her youth. He blinked in surprise, not finding the words he wanted.

"Are…are you okay?" she asked, clutching her purse tightly to her chest.

He was aware that he must look like an utter disaster, all dirty and discombobulated. Astro let out a sigh and stared at his feet. "I don't really know."

"Is there something I can do to help?" the woman asked again, taking an uncertain step forward. "Someone I can call?"

Astro couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Not if you can contact a different universe. "I just...I don't know what to do anymore." His face grew hot and tears stung his eyes.

The woman's facial expression softened. "Um…please don't cry."

"I just want to go home…" Astro sobbed, head to his knees as he curled up into a ball.

"Well then, let me help you," she answered, much closer this time. Astro had hardly realized she stepped into the alleyway. "Do you know your address?"

Darkness forced itself to the surface and bubbled out as he replied, "You don't understand. You won't understand! I'm not even supposed to be here - I…" He tore his gaze away as he sobbed, the alien emotions pouring out of him as tears streaked his face. It was hard to breathe. Is this what it feels like to be human? He'd known he had real emotions and feelings before, but this was a completely new level.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, face contorted with pity. "Whatever has happened to you to make you feel this way, I am truly sorry. But you're not alone. Just remember that."

Astro turned his gaze back to hers and looked into her eyes. Something about her reminded him of his own mother, and his eyes teared up again. He must just look like a frightened boy, desperate for help; desperate for answers - for love. And that was truly how he felt. He was alone.

How was he even going to make it by in this universe? Would he have to get a job? Where would he live? Sleep? Humans needed sleep. Being a robot before, he would just shut down with a timer and wake up later - or boot back up, if you will.

Could this woman be the answer to his problems?

"What's your name?" she asked, bending in front of him.

"Astro…" he answered, wiping his tears on his sleeve.

"Well Astro, let's help each other," she stated with a smile. "You help me figure out where you live, and I'll help you get there."

Astro shook his head. "There's no way I can go back home, Miss. As much as I want to, I'm stranded here."

"Are you from another country?"

"You could say that."

The woman stood back up and held out her hand. Bemused for a moment, Astro grabbed it and stood, shaking the dirt off his jacket. "Well, I'll help out where I can then," she replied, smiling. When Astro's stomach grumbled in reply, he looked down at it. The woman laughed, holding her hand up to her face as her eyes squinted. "Are you hungry?"

"You don't have to," Astro replied quickly.

"Nonsense. It's the least I can do. The quicker we can get you home the better."

With an inward sigh, Astro wondered if he should tell this woman what had happened to him. She wouldn't understand otherwise and might get the police involved. He couldn't help but swallow nervously at the thought of getting detained, especially after he'd caused that EMP pulse earlier. That was sure to have drawn attention with all those people watching. Someone was sure to recognize him.

But who was he to deny someone's help? She was being so nice despite not knowing him at all, something that the people back in his universe never did. They were all stuck up and really only cared about themselves. However, since the city had fallen back to the Surface, the people were opening up to new ideas and possibilities - or they were. He wasn't sure anymore how things were going.

"Thank you, um…" Astro paused. He'd told her his name but he'd yet to learn hers.

She seemed to understand what he was implying, and she gasped. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm so sorry, haha! My name is Midoriya Inko. It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Astro." Inko bowed politely in his direction.

Midoriya Inko? He blinked at her strange gestures. This must be the way to properly introduce oneself, with the family name first. So basically like medieval Japan.

He giggled a little bit. "Just Astro is fine."

With a nod, Inko began off down the street, gesturing for Astro to follow. After a moment's hesitation, he followed her, making sure to stay close by.

"So what country are you from then?" she asked, turning her gaze into his.

"Um…" Despite their introductions, he was still uncomfortable, not really knowing if he should tell this woman the truth. He looked away.

But she's all you have, a voice nagged at the back of his mind.

He let out a small puff and determined, he turned back to her. "Actually, I…haven't been completely honest with you."

"Oh?"

Astro rubbed his arm nervously, continuing to avoid her gaze. "W-well… I'm from Japan."

Inko nodded in understanding, smiling. "I figured."

"How so?" Astro pondered, surprised.

"Your dialect is what gave you away," she continued. "It's very northern, so my guess is that you're from Hokkaido, right?"

"Not…not really - um…" Astro let out a half-hearted chuckle. "It's a bit more complicated than that."

Rounding a corner, the two came to a much busier side street. Along both sides, the area was dotted with restaurants, small street food carts, and shop booths. All in all, it looked pretty interesting.

Suddenly, Astro froze in place, his eye catching something impossible. "Um…there's a…" he began shakily, pointing along the street.

Inko stopped and turned back, following his gaze. Astro was looking at something that resembled a person, but where his head would be was instead a dog's. She turned back to him, confused. "You've surely seen mutant Quirks before, right?"

"Hah?" Astro's brows rose in disbelief. "I'm sorry, what now?"

Was she trying to tell him that this kind of thing was normal here?

Looking both ways, Inko pulled him off to the side of the street and put her hands to her hips. "Something's off with you," she began, shaking her finger at him as a mother would, "and you better start explaining real quick."

Frightened for a split second, Astro held up his hands defensively. "I-I was trying to avoid saying it, but…" Inko's stare didn't let up and his shoulders relaxed as he lowered his hands. "Fine… Is…is there somewhere private we could talk?"

Inko nodded with a smile. "I know just the place!"

. . .

Standing in front of a building with food in the window, Astro looked over at Inko. Her face was beaming, but there was a hidden warning underneath. "This is just a restaurant," Astro stated flatly.

"Exactly," she replied, putting up a finger smugly. "A restaurant is the most private place you could be outside of your home. Everyone minds their own business; it's great!"

With that, Inko stepped inside, holding the door open for Astro. With a sigh of defeat, Astro followed her in. The interior of the restaurant was very retro, but very nice despite its looks. The air was slightly musky, and several smells hit the back of his nose, making his mouth water. There was even music playing on some sort of surround system, although there were no words.

"Two please," Inko announced to the man at the front. He nodded, grabbed a couple of plastic things, and began towards the back.

"Right this way."

The man led them into and through the restaurant, stopping at a small table by the window to the left. As they sat, he bowed politely. "Your waiter will be right with you," he said as he handed them both the plastic things and left.

Astro held onto it in confusion. He'd never really been to a restaurant before, so he didn't really know what to expect. Looking it over, his stomach dropped as he realized he couldn't read the writing on the page.

"Is this even Japanese?" Astro muttered, turning the page upside down.

"You can't read?" Inko echoed curiously, putting hers down.

He lifted his head sharply, cheeks flushed with embarrassment as Inko blinked at him. "Well…"

"Well, what do you like? I can order for you," she proposed, scanning her page once more. "There's miso soup, pork gyudon… Oh, how about katsudon? My son loves it."

He had no idea what any of those things were.

"Uh, sure? Katsudon sounds good."

"Hello there, how are you folks doing today?"

Startled, both of them turned quickly towards the new voice. It was a young man dressed in a monochromic uniform, his pants a black color. He set down a couple of glasses of water in front of them followed by a pitcher full of the liquid. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he apologized, looking at Astro. His eyes were a very startling silver, like chips of ice.

"No, no, it's fine!" Inko answered, waving it off with a chuckle. "We're doing great, thanks."

"Could I get you two started with something to drink? We carry Rocka-Cola products."

Confused, Astro turned to Inko. She shook her head. "I think water is fine for now."

The waiter nodded, pen at the ready. "Alright, and are we ready to order?"

"Yes, could we get two orders of the katsudon combo, please?" Inko requested, handing the waiter both of their menus.

The waiter nodded, scribbling on the paper and taking the menus. "Two katsudon combo!" he yelled out, startling Astro. The cooks in the kitchen shouted an affirmative as they began preparation for their orders.

"Alright," Inko puffed, her hands laced in front of her on the table as her eyes bored into his. "Start explaining."

A/N: Please leave a review!

A/N 2: (edited) Hiya! I also wanted to pop in and let y'all know I am currently drawing a cover for this fanfiction, and when it is done, it can be found on deviantart under whiskiii :)