CHAPTER 3

NEWS FOR ASTRO

1 and a half months later...

The city was almost fully repaired and was growing bigger and bigger.
The surface was getting cleaned up and a lot of old robots sadly had to be recycled, but it was for material for the city and newer robots.

Most citizens of Metro City had to live in tents after the fight, but now they can return to a renovated home and their usual routine.

Since most criminals in Metro City used to be sent to the surface instead of jail when the city was still in the sky, the criminality rate sadly went up, but the police were able to catch most of them.


It was a calm Sunday evening where most people schedule their following week.

Zane, Astro, and the twins posed in front of a cherry blossom tree. They were holding up trash bags since they had helped clean up the surface.

Cora clicked on the button on the camera and quickly took her position too.

The old camera took a photo and they all sighed as they dropped the heavy trash bags. Cora quickly ran over to the camera.

"Did we really need to take a photo of this?" Zane asked, slightly annoyed as he picked up his trash bags again.

Cora looked at the picture and turned to him. "Zane, if one of us has amnesia and can't remember of all the fun times we've had, all they've got left are these photos."

Zane sighed. "You're just being paranoid."

"I am not," Cora said and put her camera into her backpack. "I just like capturing all of the fun times we've had. If anyone has to go through a hard time, they can just look at these photos and feel somewhat better."

Zane started walking on the grass field towards the city. "Whatever."

Cora and Astro were walking next to each other.

"He's been acting strange lately, is he okay?" Astro asked, quietly.

The twins heard him and got between the two.
"It's because everyone is getting adopted but him," Widget explained, quietly.

"He thinks it's because he's the oldest one," Sludge added.

"What about you two?" Cora asked.

"Apparently we're too loud and that's why no one wants us," Sludge said.

"Who told you that?" Astro asked. "I don't think you're too loud, you're just being kids."

"We heard a couple that was planning on adopting us telling Hamegg that apparently, we're too loud," Widget said and looked down, sadly.

"Who gives a crap about them? You're just fine. Someday you will find parents that love you just the way you are," Cora said.

"She's right," Astro agreed. "You have to look forward and believe in the future."

The twins smiled and ran over to Zane who was way ahead of them.

"Where'd you get that sentence from?" Cora asked and chuckled.

"Hm," Astro looked up at the sky which was covered by clouds. "No idea."

Cora swung one of the trash bags she was carrying over her shoulder. "To be honest, I think I might have heard it before. Right now when you said it, I think I experienced something that's called déjà-vu."

"Really?" Astro smiled and turned his head to her. "Should I carry your bags? They seem heavy."

Cora frowned. "Do you think I not strong enough to carry them myself?"

Astro raised his eyebrows in surprise by her offended reaction. "Of course not, I was just offering help."

"Well, I don't need your help. I can do it myself," Cora said and looked forward. She then started walking faster.

Zane and the twins had already reached one of the city entrances and handed their bags over to a robot.

Sludge turned around and started waving around with his hands. "Hurry up you lovebirds!"

Widget laughed. "Yes! Lovebirds!"

Cora started running towards them. "If you say that one more time, I swear I'll break your skulls!" She dropped her bags to chase them.

The twins started laughing and running away. "Lovebirds! Lovebirds!"

Astro picked up Cora's trash bags and handed them to the robot at the entrance who's responsible for collecting the bags.

"So what were you talking about?" Zane asked, with his arms crossed above his chest.

"Nothing, she got mad at me after I offered her my help with the bags," Astro said and sighed exhaustedly.

"That was everything?" Zane asked, curious.

Astro raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you believe what the twins say."

"Of course not!" Zane exclaimed, but quickly lowered his voice as he noticed his own reaction. "Am I not allowed to ask?"

"Look, we're just good friends. She gives me advice, I give her advice," Astro explained and looked down. "And then she gets mad at me when she thinks I'm looking down on her even though I'm not."

"And you don't think that you might have some secret feelings for her?" Zane asked, suspiciously.

"Gosh, Zane. If I had a crush, you would be the first one to know," Astro said. He then looked up with a grin. "You have a crush on her don't you?"

Zane turned red and slightly pushed him away. "Of course not. She's like a sister to me and I'm just worried."

Cora walked up to them, carrying both siblings under her arm. "May I join the conversation?"

"Put me down!" Sludge demanded while swirling his arms around.

"We were talking about..." Astro nervously looked over to Zane and then back at Cora.

"Toilets!" Zane exclaimed.

"Toilets?" Cora asked, confused. The twins were punching her and screaming.

"Yes!" Astro said. "I can eat, but I don't have to go to the toilet, you know?"

Cora dropped the twins and they both landed on their faces. "Yeah, I've always wondered where the waste goes."

"Well, I keep the energy and the waste gets vaporized in a small container inside of me," Astro explained. "But since food energy isn't enough, I have to drink a certain amount of batterie juice every morning."

"Hm, good to know, I guess," she said.

"What does batteries juice taste like?" Sludge asked.

"It's really sour and has a bitter aftertaste, but I recently had an upgrade so I wouldn't have to taste something that strong," Astro explained. "You shouldn't try it. It's very dangerous."

"He will eventually do it sooner or later," Widget said and giggled.

Sludge frowned and turned to his sister. "No, I won't!" but all Widget did was laugh at him.

Zane looked down at his watch. "Welp, we gotta go home."

"What time is it?" Cora asked.

"It's 19 o'clock," Zane replied. "Dinner should be ready by now." he slightly pushed the twins in the other direction. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Astro and Cora said.

"Bye-bye!" the twins exclaimed and waved at them before continuing to argue with each other.

"Sooo," Astro looked at Cora and she turned to him. "You want a flight home? And yes, I know you can walk, it's just an offer."

Cora chuckled. "I know, but yes, I'll walk."

"Okay, then I'll see you next time," Astro said and waved at her as she walked towards the city.

"See ya!" she waved back at him and left.


Thanks to the newest technology, Dr. Tenma's apartment was now fully restored.
It even had some upgrades. The living room for example now had stairs which lead to a second floor with new rooms. The door which once led to Toby's room was hidden behind a bookshelf.

Without worries, Astro entered the apartment.
Dr. Tenma was sitting on the couch and watched the news. The reporter was talking about Metro City's newest updates and afterward about Astro.

"Good evening, son," he greeted.

"Hey," Astro replied.

At the same moment, Orrin came out of the kitchen with their dinner on two trays. The food caught Astro's attention and he took a seat at the dinner table.

"Dinner is ready!" Orrin called for Tenma.

When Dr. Tenma sat down, Astro had already begun eating.

"Did you get followed again?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I was able to escape from them, like always," Astro replied and carelessly continued eating.

It wasn't just fans that stalked him. It was also people who faulted him for the disaster.

Dr. Tenma cleared his throat. "Astro?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I wanted to talk about school."

Astro raised an eyebrow, now fully paying attention. "School?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to tell you that after several conversations with our new president, I got my place back at the ministry," he explained.

"Oh, that's great!" Astro smiled happily. "I wasn't there this time. Did he say something about me?"

"Yeah, he did. You see, the problem is that I can't work at the ministry and teach you at the same time," he explained.

Astro grinned. He expected that now he was going to tell him that he didn't need to study anymore. He liked to enjoy his free time until someone or something attacked the city.

"Mhmm?"

"That's why it was decided that you will now have to go to school."

Astro stared at him with a blanc expression for a few seconds. That was not what he was expecting.

"What?" he asked, hoping it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

Dr. Tenma sighed. "Yes... you're going to school."

Astro couldn't believe it, but he tried his best to not freak out, failing drastically.

"I'm going to SCHOOL?! This is nuts! Are robots even allowed to study with humans and what if I get unfairly graded for being a robot or-"

The scientist laid his hand on Astro's shoulder which calmed him immediately. "Astro, I talked to your teacher Mr. Mustachio. Everything's going to be fine."

Astro kept quiet for a moment and sighed. "Do I even need school? I mean, I'm a robot."

"You're not just a robot. You're a... human of metal? No! A robot with a heart! That's for sure."

"An android," Astro reminded him. "But still..." he sighed. "Well... when's my first day at school?"

"On Monday."

"That's tomorrow! Should I go buy my school supplies now?" he asked, about to stand up.

"You don't need new school supplies. We'll just change the name from the USB school set," Dr. Tenma said.

Astro knew that he was trying his best to avoid the name 'Toby'. It has been quite some time since he had died and the scientist was still very sensitive about that theme, Astro too. It was a total no-go in their household.

"Done," Astro announced and stood up.

"Are you going to bed now?" Tenma asked.

"No, it's way too earl- oh," he stopped as he remembered he had to wake up early for school.

"I'll take it as a yes," the scientist said and chuckled.

"Yeah," Astro said and made his way towards the stairs. "Good night!"

"Good night!" Dr. Tenma said. "Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

"Dad, I'm not three years old- oh." he was one and a half months old.

The scientist smiled, but it was clear that he was uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Tenma said. "We'll get used to it."

Astro nodded and started climbing the stairs.

He slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.
Why couldn't I just shut up?!

That night after changing his sleeping position several times, Astro gave up and opened his eyes. The sky was now clear from any clouds and the bright stars in the sky caught his attention. He stared at them through the window and remembered that one time when Dr. Tenma taught Toby about the stars and zodiac signs.

The young robot frowned and squeezed his eyes shut. "Why can't I stop reviving those stupid memories?!"

After a while, he sighed and gave up on trying to sleep.

Suddenly an idea popped into his mind and he opened his eyes with a smirk on his face.

He stood up, sneaked over to the window, and slid it open.

The fresh night breeze touched his face. He inhaled, swang his feet off the window, and exhaled as he let himself fall towards the ground. He closed his eyes and stretched his arms out while the wind flowed across his smooth artificial skin and through his clothes.

The people walked around, ate at restaurants, or sat on benches. Metro City was almost fully restored and prettier than ever before with just a lot of construction sites.

The young robot boy opened his eyes, activated his rockets, and flew straight into the sky.

The dark-blue sky was filled with thousands of shiny pretty stars, Astro loved to fly at nighttime.

Flying was one of his favorite things to do. He felt free and forgot about all of his worries.

Being a robot for him meant that there were positive but also negative sides. He tried his best to enjoy the positive ones, but that also meant that he had to face the negative ones.

Especially for someone who's standing between humans and robots.

And especially for a robot that broke the most important rules of robotic.


So, that's it with the third chapter! ^-^

I really hope you enjoyed it!