"FATHER! FATHEEER!" Astro shouted as he ran around in the empty apartment, hoping that calling for him would work. Of course, it didn't. There was no answer. As if Astro didn't already know, as he had scanned the entire apartment and then the entire building for Tenma, but he was nowhere to be found. It was as Ochanomizu had said. He had just vanished.

It was quite a sight Astro, Ochanomizu and Uran arrived to. It was well over midnight but that hadn't stopped police cars from coming and surrounding the building, as well had a dozen or so reporters.

Any bugs or security cameras in the apartment were useless as an electrical pulse had shut them all down instantaneously a few hours prior. The last footage of Tenma had merely been of him making a cup of tea in the kitchen while classical music played in the background.

And now the apartment looked in the finest order. The books on the bookshelf were untouched, the couch and chair were in place. Everything neat and as it had been left. For all intents and purposes it looked like Tenma had just gone on a walk and hadn't come back yet.

"Hmph," Gumshoe huffed, standing with his hands in his pockets. "So those are his true colors, after all. Wait for the opportune moment and run off with his tail between his legs."

"No! That's not true! He wouldn't!" Astro protested.

"Sorry, kid, you just have to face it," Gumshoe returned. "All evidence points to the fact that he went by himself."

"Oi yoi yoi," Ochanomizu sighed as he bowed down and picked up a silver bracelet – a very well known silver bracelet with a hidden tracer inside of it, though now it had been de-activated by the same electrical pulse that had taken out all the cameras.

Gumshoe had first been alerted when security had contacted him and confirmed that, suddenly, all they had gotten from the apartment was static. Gumshoe had run up the stairs and busted the door open, only to find the apartment empty.

"I don't understand," Uran said, looking around. "Why would Mr. Tenma even want to leave? He seemed to be doing pretty well."

"He was!" Astro exclaimed. "He worked really hard and did his best so he wouldn't be trouble. This doesn't make any sense!"

"Were there any signs of a struggle?" Ochanomizu asked Gumshoe.

"Not from what I could see," Gumshoe replied. "Everything seems to be in perfect order. Except every single bug, droid, and camera are caput." He tapped on a droid that dropped down from the ceiling as if to prove his point. A few sparks escaped it before it let out a cloud of smoke. He sighed deeply. "I have to post a search warrant."

"What?!" Astro cried looking up. "But Father didn't do anything!" he said. "If you post a search warrant everyone will assume he ran on his own! They'll think he's a criminal."

"Astro, I hate to tell you this, but your father is a well known terrorist. For the sake of public safety, he must be apprehended as quickly as possible," Gumshoe said.

"HE DIDN'T RUN OFF ON HIS OWN!" Astro shouted. "Someone must have taken him! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!"

"Astro," Ochanomizu breathed.

"You believe me, don't you, professor?" Astro asked as he looked up at Ochanomizu with big wet eyes.

Ochanomizu turned to Astro, then sighed deeply. "I've known Dr Tenma for such a long time, but I've never been able to read him," he admitted. "I can't even pretend I could possibly guess his reasons. Perhaps he went on his own, perhaps he was taken. The simple fact right now is that we just don't know for sure."

Astro swallowed.

"However, I am pretty sure he would not go without having his reasons," Ochanomizu continued. "And I don't think those reasons are to hurt anyone. Dr Tenma has a rich history, and there are many people who would rather he wasn't here, as well as a lot of people who wish to see him use his incredible gifts once again. In any case, we need to find him as quickly as possible."

Astro nodded. "Yes."

"Don't worry, Astro. Your father is an incredibly intelligent and capable man," Ochanomizu assured him, placing a firm hand on Astro's shoulder. "He's gotten himself out of much worse situations. I doubt this will kill him. Whatever this is."

"I don't think he went on his own," Uran spoke up. "It really mattered to him to follow the rules, even when the rules made him really angry. Besides, it would only be another month before he would be allowed to go freely to town. So why leave now? That makes no sense."

That made Astro blink. "That's a good point," he realized. "It would have been so much easier for him to slip away in a month from now when he could just go to town, throw the bracelet away and go!"

"Hmph, the man was impatient," Gumshoe insisted. "Astro, I know you are going to fly out and look for him now. Do I have to tell you that if you find him you must bring him to the police station?" he asked. "Do not try to hide him; hand him over to the police! Umataro Tenma is now officially a man on the run. If you have any wish to clear his name, you must bring him directly to the station! Don't screw this up now."

"I understand," Astro nodded. "I'll find him, and you'll see this was all just a big misunderstanding. I'm sure of it!"

There wasn't much left to do in the apartment, so soon Astro, Ochanomizu and Uran simply had to leave. At the ground floor, the journalists were waiting for them.

"PROFESSOR OCHANOMIZU!" a woman holding a microphone shouted at him. "What is your thought on this startling new development?"

"Now, now, I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding," Ochanomizu tried, holding up his hands.

"A psychotic madman is loose on the streets and you call that a misunderstanding?" another journalist asked.

"HEY!" Uran exclaimed. "Don't be so mean to Uncle Tenma!"

Wide eyed, Astro looked down at her. "Uran?"

"Uncle Tenma is out there alone and he might be hurt! Astro says he didn't go by himself, he was taken! So show some sympathy!"

All the journalists gaped at her and Ochanomizu exclaimed, "URAN!" as he grabbed her and covered her mouth. "I'm sorry about that! Please ignore that."

That didn't help, though, as the journalists swarmed them and Ochanomizu had to pull Uran backwards.

Finally she managed to get his hand away and looked up. "But, professor!" she said.

"I know, Uran," Ochanomizu assured. "I also sincerely hope this is just a misunderstanding. However, we just don't know anything yet," he said. "And you can't go around telling the journalists things that you don't know are true or not."

Uran bit her lip, then pouted as she looked down.

"ASTRO! URAN! OCHANOMIZU!" Reno yelled as he came running towards them. "I heard at the Ministry! Is it true? Is he gone?"

Ashamed, Astro looked away. "He wouldn't," he said. "He couldn't have."

"Astro," Reno breathed. "Astro, I'm so sorry. What I mean is…"

"We don't know anything yet!" Ochanomizu then injected in a stern voice. "All we know is that around eleven PM all the cameras and bugs in Dr Tenma's apartment stopped working and once the police arrived he was gone. That's all we know!" he said. "There is no telling if he went of his own free will or not."

"Oh no," Reno swallowed. "I can't even tell if that's worse or better!" he said. "Astro!" he turned to the little robot, who was sadly looked at the ground. "Astro, are you okay?" he asked, crouching down on his knee in front of the robot.

"I… I thought he could change," Astro said. "He did change, at least I thought he did. Why would he do such a thing?" he asked.

"Astro, listen to me!" Reno demanded as he grabbed Astro's shoulders. "I took some time to talk to Dr Tenma alone. I visited him in the apartment while you were at school. The one thing that interested him more than anything else was you," he said. "He wanted to spend much more time with you; he wanted to stay where he was. I've got no doubt that he didn't go willingly. He didn't betray you, Astro. I know this must be shocking for you; you put so much faith in him even though I'm sure you must have had doubts deep inside. But you must stay strong. It would break his heart to learn that you abandoned him."

"I would never do that!" Astro exclaimed. "I wouldn't be able to!"

"Then there's nothing to worry about is there?" Reno asked with a light smile. "Now go out there and find him. I'll make sure that the Professor and Uran get home safely."

"No, I'll make sure you get home safely," Ochanomizu corrected Reno. "This is far past your bedtime, Reno. You're not a robot; you need your sleep."

"Fine," Reno exhaled deeply. "But then you need to promise me to let me know the moment something turns up!"

"Of course," Ochanomizu said. "We are all worried about Dr Tenma. He is part of the family, after all."

"Thank you, everyone," Astro smiled. "I'll see you later!" And with that he took off into the air.

Astro kept on searching the entire night. As the nightlife died down and the sun slowly began to rise he was searching still. At Tenma's old house which had now been torn down and then rebuilt into a different house where a new family lived; at the old abandoned opera house Tenma had used as a hiding spot at one time; he checked everywhere he could think of.

Of course, Astro already knew that if Tenma wished to hide, he would never go to any of his old places. He was far too smart for that.

And as the sun rose and people started to come back out onto the street to go to work, there were still no signs of Tenma. As the time neared eight in the morning, Astro was pretty torn up over whether he should go to school or continue his search.

The sad truth, though, was that he didn't even know where to search. He was now aimless. He didn't even have a lead. Finally, with a heavy heart, Astro went to school. Soon, though, he sincerely began to wish that he hadn't.

It was like the first day the journalists had gotten wind that Tenma had been released, except today it seemed even worse. All the children were surrounding him, trying to ask him about last night's events, some quoting their parents or newspaper articles. None of which were to flattering.

"STAY BACK!" Kennedy demanded as he spread out his arms to cover Astro.

"Aw, come on!" A girl with a long ponytail complained. "If a serial killer is on the loose we have the right to know."

"Where did you even get such an idea?! Dr Tenma never killed anyone!" Alejo exclaimed.

"No, he only tried to do that," another boy snorted.

"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Abercrombie shouted.

Astro, though, didn't even hear the conversation. To him it was all just white noise in the background as he stared into space. He rested his head in his arms. He couldn't have… He wouldn't.

After school, Astro felt outright exhausted. He needed a recharge, and pretty badly. Mindlessly, he flew over the city and towards Tenma's apartment. He was almost there when his ears picked up a familiar voice.

"OOIIII! OI ASTRO! OIIII!"

Astro blinked and looked down, easily spotting a familiar young teen grinning as he waved up at him. "Reno!" Astro exclaimed, descending and landing in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think? I'm looking for clues!" Reno grinned. "I doubt Dr Tenma vanished into thin air. So there must be a clue!"

"Oh! That's true!" Astro gaped.

"Hey, mind giving me a boost up to the scene of crime?" Reno asked, pointing upwards.

"Oh, sure!" Astro said. "Hold on." He turned on his thrusters and then went behind Reno, grabbing and lifting him up.

Reno grinned as he was lifted up in the air. "I'll never get tired of this! Sure beats the elevator!"

Astro smiled, amused. "Did you really go visit my father?" he asked.

"Yup!" Reno replied. "He seemed nice, and he even gave me feedback on the new design I'm working on! I like him!"

"Really? That's so great!" Astro said as he gently put Reno down on the balcony and then landed beside him.

"Alright, here we are," Reno said. "Scene of the crime!" He opened the door into the apartment and blinked. "Well, this doesn't seem too exciting," he commented as he stepped inside. "Not even a knocked over lamp."

"The police said they didn't find any signs of a struggle," Astro informed him.

"Hmm, the mystery thickens," Reno frowned, rubbing his chin. Then, pulling up his sleeves, "Well, let's start looking!"

"What are we looking for?"

"Anything that seems out of the ordinary," Reno replied. "Tenma is super smart, after all; he might have left a clue for you!"

"Oh," Astro blinked then smiled. "Right!"

Together, Reno and Astro went through the apartment, both crawling around on the floor and tiptoeing to get a look on top of closet and cupboards.

Still, everything just seemed way too normal. Inside the still untouched workshop were the framed pictures of Astro and Tobio, as well as the robot and human friendship ambassador card. Even Tenma's bedroom looked neat and orderly, the bed made and a book lying on the nightstand with a bookmark sticking out from the middle. Everything seemed so incredible normal.

Then, suddenly, Astros eyes widened and he stood up.

"Astro?" Reno asked. "Are you okay?"

"That sound!" Astro exclaimed. "Urgh, it kind of hurts."

Reno blinked. "What sound?" he asked. "I can't hear anything."

"It's on a hyper frequency," Astro hissed. "It's coming from this direction!" He ran into the kitchen.

"Astro!" Reno shouted after him.

Astro stopped at the cabinet, his fingers gliding over the shelf and his eyes widened. "There!" he cried, taking the shelf and lifting it up to reveal a round object in the back. Stunned, Astro took it.

Reno blinked as he looked at it. "What's that?"

"It's a camera," Astro realized. "But it's very unique. There's only one output this would work with."

"What output is that?"

Astro looked up. "Me," he said. "This camera is compatible with just me!"

Reno gaped. "That must mean Dr Tenma left it there! Quick, Astro, see what's on it!"

Astro nodded and opened his chest to put it inside, and soon an image projected from object and onto the ground.

And there stood Tenma, tall and straight. Astro stared at him with wide eyes.

"Astro, if you are seeing this message it must mean I have gone away from the apartment for some reason or another," Tenma's hologram spoke. "I know I am being watched by a third party, and though this third party has yet to make its move, it will only be a matter of time. To account for this event, I've placed a few cameras around the house like this one. They will be activated when other cameras in the house are messed with, as their frequency is quite different to normal cameras. Fourteen hours after activation, this camera should release a sound at a high frequency only you can hear. Now, the footage recorded upon the activation of this camera will be shown." The hologram of Tenma disappeared.

"Whoa," Astro breathed. Reno was equally stunned as a different image appeared: that of the kitchen with Tenma standing there, looking rather calm.

Blinking, Reno and Astro stared at the holographic image of Tenma casually making tea when suddenly he spoke up. "Ah. Finally decided to make a move did you?" he asked. "I must commend you for your patience, but as you have undoubtedly already figured after observing me so much. I am not really interested in taking up jobs."

Reno blinked. "Who is he talking to?" he asked.

Astro squinted, then, "There!" he shouted. "There's a nano droid right behind him!"

Tenma continued talking. "Especially not of the criminal kind which I assume it must be since you've waited to contact me until Astro was absent." Now it was obvious where the droid was when a green light was shining on his face. "My answer to you, whoever you are, is the same as to everyone else," Tenma stated firmly. "I am not interested."

"Wow," Reno blinked. "Dr Tenma already knew that droid was there! How did he know?"

Then suddenly the droid beeped. "Dr Tenma. Please don't resist, and come with me."

"No, I don't think so," Tenma stated calmly as he took a sip of his drink.

"If you do not come with me, we will have to use force."

"Then you'd better use force, because I am not going." Tenma reached out a hand, then picked the droid out of the air and turned it around, apparently pressing a button with his finger before he dropped it on the counter. For a moment, he was quiet. "I know you are still watching me," he said. "Consider this: I was able to take out one of your pretty droids in less than a second. Do you really have a desire to take me? I shall fight you every step of the way. You may be able to take me in, but will you be able to keep me down?"

Suddenly multiple droids appeared in a circle around Tenma, and simultaneously they let out a huge spark that made all the lights temporarily flicker off.

"I see," Tenma exhaled deeply. "So you do intend to go all the way. Well, give it your best shot."

One droid shot a projectile. Tenma, however, moved his head just in time. But that didn't save him from the second shot from another droid, which hit him right in the neck.

"AARGHHH!" Tenma cried as he grabbed his neck. He hissed as he pulled out something small, no bigger than a needle. "Hah, good show," he threw the needle to the side. "Huh, I feel sluggish already," he commented as he leaned backwards. "And my balance seems a bit off," he closed his eyes. "Methohexital, isn't it? You'll have to excuse me, I've been on anti-psychotic medication for the past two years, so I've built up a bit of a resistance." He smiled in grim amusement before, "Oh god, I'm going to have such a bad hangover tomorrow aren't I?" He turned to the sink and fumbled to find a glass and fill it with water. He gasped deeply but then finally managed to drink all of it before he dropped it back into the sink. He leaned heavily on the counter and he breathed deeply, his eyes growing heavy, and then finally he sank to the ground, unconscious.

Astro's eyes widened as he watched all the small droids collecting under Tenma and then lifting him up in the air. They vanished into the living room, ending the footage.

"I knew it," Astro gasped. He lit up as he beamed, "I knew it! He didn't walk out on his own he… Oh no," he halted, pressing his hands to his head as reality sank in. "This isn't any better!"

"It's something. Now we have a clue," Reno said as he headed over to the corner of the wall, the place where Tenma had thrown the needle in the footage, and sat down to pick it up. "Look at this."

Astro hurried over, then turned on the scanners in his eyes. "Methohexital," he said. "Just like father said. We have to go show this to Gumshoe!"

"Just a second, according to the footage there should be another one," Reno commented as he crawled around the floor, peeking under the cupboards. "Ah, here it is!" he pulled out a second needle.

"Great! Come on, let's go!" Astro waved Reno over to him.

"Sure thing!" Reno grinned. "You can give me another boost and we can fly to the police station!"

"Of course!"

At the same time, but further away, Tenma really wasn't feeling very well. He was lying on a hard surface, and slightly wet at that. His body was protesting and he felt nauseous. Didn't look like that glass of water had helped much. He groaned, feeling his back aching. Sadly, he wasn't that young anymore.

Then suddenly a voice, huge and rumbling, echoed throughout the room. "You have awakened."

Slowly, Tenma opened his eyes and realized he was on the ground in what looked like a cave. He turned his gaze upwards and found, to put it mildly, a huge being.

A metal body, going all the way to the ceiling of the cave, it was huge, brown and very clunky looking. Its arms were as wide as Ochanomizu's stomach, its jaw looked like it could bite through steel beams. In fact, Tenma already knew they could. For eyes, this robot had two yellow flashlights. The machine, though, also looked very old and worn down. A robot from the earliest line of artificial intelligence.

"Oh great," Tenma groaned as he fell back. "I've been monitored and finally kidnapped… by a garbage disposal unit," he concluded. Then sighing deeply, "Really makes one re-think one's life."

The huge robot was silent for a moment before its eyes lit up and it spoke, "I am VOLTAK. I require you to build me a new body."

Tenma frowned as he laid on his back, not looking like he intended to move.

"You will build me a new body," Voltak said.

"I don't build robots anymore," Tenma replied. "Besides, you've clearly outlived your purpose. You're just an outdated garbage disposal unit."

"I will have you build me a new body," Voltak repeated.

"I already told you I would be fighting you every step of the way," Tenma replied evenly.

"You will not leave before you build me a new body."

Tenma smirked in amusement. "We shall see about that."

This Chapter has been Beta read by MugetsuFoxPipe