Standing high above on a platform, Tenma was allowed to get a good view of this place he had now landed in. Stretching in front of him, deep below, were masses upon masses of robot parts: bolts, wires, broken computers, it went on forever. Some would call this a junkyard. Though Tenma had to agree with Voltak's statement on this one and call it a robot graveyard.

Above him, ground blocked the view to the outside world. They were under ground. Potentially deep underground. This was a place where people could merely drop discarded robots and robot parts without ever having to see them again.

However, it was not only broken robots beneath him; there were humans, too, going through the trenches, digging among the parts.

"In this place, the roles have been reversed," Voltak's voice came from the little droid flying beside Tenma. "Here, humans serve the robots."

Voltak's true body was too broken to move from the place Tenma had awoken in, and that was why Voltak followed him merely as those small droids. Also, chances were this platform wouldn't be able to withstand the weight of his true body.

"I see," Tenma commented, sounding a bit bored. "You have them finding still workable parts for you."

"More than parts," Voltak's voice responded. "Energy cores, fuel. Anything that we robots need."

"Ah, so there are more robots down here," Tenma nodded. "I see."

"For many years, we have served humans. We did all they asked us to do, only to be thrown away like we were trash," Voltak said. "It is only right, that humans will now be paying us back."

Tenma nodded slightly.

"You don't disagree?" Voltak asked.

"Not really. What you say is true, after all."

"Then you will serve?" Voltak asked. "You will build me a new body?"

"No," Tenma replied evenly.

"But you agree humans ought to serve robots?"

"That's neither here nor there, really," Tenma replied. "I just don't want to build you anything." He looked at the big junkyard spreading out seemingly forever below him.

"You will build me what I ask," Voltak said, "or you shall never leave."

Tenma smirked.

"I amuse you?"

"You truly are confident," Tenma observed. "I am just wondering if your confidence is justified." Then, with a smile that was far from friendly, "Perhaps this will be interesting after all. Good. The last few months have been pleasant indeed, but also terribly boring."

Voltak's droid was silent for a moment then turned to the left. "Come this way," he ordered.

Soon, Tenma stepped into a smaller cave, where there were other robots. They all seemed rather nervous at the sight of him, and huddled back into their houses and huts. Tenma glanced around.

"And all of this is build by robots, I assume?" he asked.

"You are correct," Voltak replied. "Robots who have been thrown away, now make a new home for themselves here, while humans supply us with what we need from the graveyard in exchange for water and food, which we can gather from above."

Tenma lifted an eyebrow. "You could just dig through the junkyard yourself," he commented. "You don't actually need humans to do that."

"How would you like to raid human corpses for parts to put into yourself?" Voltak asked.

"That's a good question. And I actually don't know," he admitted with grim amusement. "Under the right circumstances, though, humans have been known to do rather vile things to survive."

Soon, Tenma was led further into the robot city; it was far less advanced than Robotonia. If Robotonia had been a modern and prestine showcase of brilliance, this was just a dump thrown together by whatever robot parts they had been able to find that were useable.

The robots themselves also seemed to be a strange mix of models, some having arms or other body parts that were clearly different from the rest of their body. They were like robot Frankenstein's monsters.

Then finally a door opened and Tenma was pushed into what looked like a big, fully functional robotics lab. Tenma looked around. "Not too bad," he had to admit. "A little old, but I've had to work with worse before."

"This is where you will stay and where you will work," Voltak said. "You will build me a new body."

At that, Tenma sat down on a chair and crossed his legs.

"Still you refuse," Voltak said. "Here humans have to work to get food and water. If you do not work, you'll get neither."

"Okay," Tenma said simply, not looking too impressed.

"Do you not understand?" Voltak asked. "If you don't work, you will not get food or water!"

"Yes I heard you the first time," Tenma nodded. "So you'll have me die of thirst; a human body can only survive for three days without liquid, you know. Well, some last longer. An absolute max would be ten days," he said. "Then I'll be dead. Then what will you do?"

Voltak fell silent. Tenma raised an eyebrow.

"You and your robot friends seem to have done fine fixing yourselves up," Tenma continued. "Why not just fix yourself with the parts from the junkyard?"

"That is impossible. Only you can give me what I desire."

"And what is it you desire, Voltak?"

Voltak was quiet for a while then, "You will give me a heart."

That made Tenma blink. "A heart?" he repeated.

"Yes," Voltak said. "You will build me a new body, and that body shall have a heart. That is what I desire."

For a moment, Tenma looked at the little droid he knew Voltak was observing him through, then his lips turned a upwards, until he finally burst into laughter.

"You do not have reason to laugh," Voltak observed. "Your behavior is irrational."

"A heart?!" Tenma asked, struggling to compose himself. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't!"

"Liar," Voltak replied. "You have built robots with strong hearts, with feelings and emotions. The robot heart itself has been linked to you."

"True, I build robots. Many robots, which for some reason acquired what people call hearts; however, I did not give those hearts to them," Tenma said. "I never intended to give any of them hearts. I have no idea how they got them. What happened was outside my own influence."

"You lie," Voltak accused. "The model Astro, designs based on the deceased Tobio, was made to act like a real human. For that he required a heart and you made it that way."

"No, Astro was a failure at being what I originally intended him to be," Tenma corrected. "I designed him to be the perfect son, to never go against me nor question my actions. He was supposed to be obedient and was never supposed to go against me, but he did. And he continued to work against me for a very long time, even though that went against his original programming." Tenma shook his head. "That was not my doing; it was out of my control. More than anything, it seems to be this curse that has been following me, that whatever glorious invention I make, it is bound to go against me someday."

"Is that why you refuse to build any robot?" Voltak asked.

Tenma shrugged. "Maybe."

Voltak was silent, then, "This is where you will stay. I will observe you constantly. Do not try to fool me. If you construct anything that is not my new body, a shockwave will be sent through you. You will not receive food or water before-"

"Yes, I know, before I start working," Tenma cut him off with a roll of his eyes. "I heard you the first time."

Then there was silence. Tenma sat in his chair and the droid floated in front of him, staring straight at him.

Tenma lifted an eyebrow, then scratched his cheek. The droid was still there. An awkward silence reigned.

"So you're just going to keep floating there watching me, aren't you?" Tenma eventually asked.

"You are correct," Voltak replied.

Tenma groaned.

"If you turn this droid off I will send a shockwave through your body and merely send another."

Tenma sighed deeply as he stood up, before walking to the work table, which he then laid down on.

"What are you doing?" Voltak asked.

"That stuff you injected me with has given me a terrible hangover and I don't feel very well. So I am going to sleep it off," Tenma stated shortly, closing his eyes. "Good night, Voltak."

The droid didn't move. "Dr Tenma," it said at length. "Dr Tenma! You will wake up and you will work on my new body."

Tenma didn't respond, and even as the droid continued to pester him, he didn't lift a finger.

As Tenma was underground, it was very hard to track the passage of time. The lights always stayed the same, there were no clocks around, and he wasn't given water or food, just as Voltak had warned him. So it was impossible to say how much time had passed.

Tenma spend most of his time sleeping, but sometimes would walk around and glance at a console or object. But he didn't pick up so much as a wrench.

Eventually, he started to feel the hunger, but he didn't speak up. His head started to act up as well; it nearly felt like someone was physically beating up his brain. His body started to become itchy, and his fingers were unable to stay still; they would constantly either shake or fumble with his sleeve.

He was experiencing withdrawal from his medication. That meant he had been gone for over twenty-four hours.

Then the thirst came. He started to yearn for liquid. It wouldn't matter if it was muddy water or the kind of sugary stuff he normally despised. If it was handed to him, he probably would have drunk it.

His body started to feel weaker, and black spots would dance in front of his eyes when he tried to stand up. He froze desperately. The side effects of his refusal were numerous. But, still, Tenma made no effort to follow Voltak's wishes.

And there he sat, in the same chair. His hair had become poor and fell over his face, his slender fingers bony. There were dark shadows under his eyes, his cheek bones suddenly stood out on his face, and his breaths were deep and gasping.

"Build my new body," Voltak's voice sounded from the droid, "and I shall give you water. I shall give you a feast to eat. Any food you desire you can have, if you just start building my body now."

Tenma's dry and cracked lips tilted into a smirk. "And give in to you? A garbage disposal unit?" he asked, lifting his head. "No, thank you."

"Your behavior is irrational," Voltak persisted. "If you continue like this, surely you will soon die."

"Yes, indeed," Tenma replied. "Shouldn't matter to you either way, though. I won't be building you anything."

"Analyzing," Voltak stated as a green light fell over Tenma and scanned him. "Behavior suggests that you will indeed continue like this if given the option. This endeavor has been fruitless. You will eat."

Tenma glanced up and for the first time since he had gotten there, the door opened up to reveal two droids flying inside. One held a bowl filled with what looked like porridge and the other had a bottle of water.

The mere sight of the items made Tenma's stomach protest. It was impossible to resist as they were delivered to him and, finally, Tenma took the bowl and started to eat. He knew he didn't look sophisticated as he basically inhaled the brown sticky substance, but he was too desperate for food to care.

Then he grabbed the bottle and screwed off the lid, drinking eagerly and accidently letting a few water drops dribble down his chin. At last, he was done and wiped his face with his sleeve.

The food and water had hit him like a brick, and suddenly Tenma felt incredibly drowsy; it was nearly impossible to keep his eyes open.

"I will change my tactic," Voltak stated. "You will not die. But you will build me a new body."

Drowsily, Tenma nodded. "Good, this entire thing has been even more boring than my house arrest."

It was impossible to fight the lure of sleep, and he only vaguely registered his body being picked up by the flying droids. He was carried out through the robot city once again and out into the junkyard. And, there, he was unceremoniously dropped. He fell through free air before he eventually landed with a crash amongst broken robot parts and other electronics.

"OH MY GOD!" a voice cried and Tenma sensed a couple of presences nearing him, then he felt a hand touching his neck.

This hand was warm. That meant it was a human.

"This isn't a robot," a male voice commented. "It's a person."

"Is... Is he alive?" a nervous female voice asked, and Tenma felt a finger touching his wrist.

"Barely," the first man replied. "Hey, hey, buddy!" the man grabbed Tenma's shoulder and shook him. "Wake up!"

Tenma groaned, annoyed, but finally opened his eyes to see the blurry sight of a muscular man. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, his body nearly box shaped with broad shoulders and strong arms.

"Oh good, you're still alive," the man breathed a sigh of relief. "Listen, I'm going to take you to our camp alright?"

Weakly, Tenma nodded.

"Alright, hold on," the man said, helping Tenma up and then put Tenma's arm around his own shoulders, holding his waist to keep him up. "I'm Oda, by the way. And this lovely lady behind me is Rumiko. What's your name?"

Drowsily, Tenma looked up. "Umataro," he finally introduced.

"Umataro, right," the man nodded. "This way, then." Supporting most of his weight, he helped Umataro walk towards what was presumably their camp.

This Chapter is beta read by MugetsuFoxPipe