Taku Fujimoto was looking from the stairs; he was supposed to be in bed already until he found out a policeman would visit them, he decided to wait a little longer. After all, only he could help them find Frank. The agent in question was an inspector, Tawashi, a tall man with a plump nose that looked like an eggplant; the inspector was bald but had a predominantly brown mustache that went all the way around his nose. He wore a gray suit with a black tie and a hat of the same color. Tawashi was sitting in one of the armchairs in the living room, the single one, while Dad was in the two-seater opposite, and Mom served coffee.
She finished serving and handed him the cup.
"Thank you, madam," Tawashi said.
Mom nodded and continued to sit down, exchanging glances with her husband; they both looked worried.
"And well?" his father asked, fidgeting nervously. "Did you find him?"
Tawashi took a sip, then lowered his cup and closed his eyes, staring down for a while, and Taku leaned in a little further. The inspector raised his head, opening his eyes.
"We did an aerial search all over the Surface. But we couldn't find anything."
Taku tightened his grip on the bars. Frank could no longer be missing; he had already been six months since the incident.
"Are you sure you checked everything? Perhaps you missed an area."
Tawashi seemed offended.
"Ma'am, we are professionals; we comb every inch of the Surface; if that robot was ever there, I assure you it is no longer."
Taku narrowed his gaze; he didn't like the inspector's tone at all. Tawashi sounded like he despised robots and spoke with so little empathy; didn't he understand that Frank was part of his family? How could he talk so disinterested?
"Please," said his father, "there must be something else you can do; our boy loves that robot."
"I'm sorry to tell you, but I don't think your robot is around anymore."
Taku had to resist the urge to scream. Frank couldn't disappear! It was impossible! That inspector was a fool who didn't know how to do his job!
His parents seemed just as scared by that thought.
"Don't say that."
"Look, Mr. Fujimoto, even with the union of the cities, on the Surface, there are still many collectors. I hate to break it to you, but considering that your robot was new, those children must have torn it to pieces as soon as they saw it."
Taku's eyes watered; Frank torn to pieces? No! That was impossible; the inspector was lying! Frank was too strong for children to tear him to pieces. Tawashi only said that because he didn't know Frank, how powerful he was. Taku bet Tawashi hadn't even looked for Frank as much as he claimed, he just flew by, and that was it; he was a lousy inspector.
Mom was about to raise her head, so Taku backed up to the wall, worried her son might hear them.
"Please, inspector, refrain from saying such things out loud," she said; angrily.
Tawashi just took another sip of his coffee.
"Sorry, madame, I didn't mean to upset you."
Mom sighed and looked away as his apologies weren't enough; she disliked that man with that lousy attitude. Tawashi closed his eyes and drank again; it wasn't like that lady's judgment would matter much to him. Dad sighed; it was better to try to fix that situation.
"Mr. Tawashi, I ask you, as a gentleman, our boy can't lose more friends."
Hearing that, Taku felt a blow to his stomach; many of his human friends were not so lucky on the day of the tragedy.
Tawashi sighed more empathetically and put down his cup.
"I understand that these are rough times for everyone, I really do," he looked up, "I would like to tell you that I can do more for you, but there are still many missing people, and you know that the priority is humans."
Taku clenched his fists; that meant that-
"I'm sorry," with that said, Tawashi stood up, "I wish you luck, I really do."
Mom grumbled; she still didn't look at the inspector; Dad seemed more reasonable.
Taku peeked out again to see his dad escort Tawashi out. As soon as the inspector left the room, Mom covered her face with both hands and began to cry. He no longer wanted to be a witness to that, so he returned to his room, carefully opened the door, and climbed inside. He should go to bed, the boy had already obtained the information he was looking for, but that's why Taku wasn't sleepy; the police weren't going to help them; if Taku wanted to find Frank, he would have to do it on his own, but-
How could he? He was only eight years old, and even if he found Frank, how could he get him out of there? Because the boy doubted Frank's legs would have survived the fall. And Mom and Dad wouldn't take him to the Surface's dump; if Taku was going to do it, he would be on his own, which wouldn't help him or Frank.
He felt so worthless and angry that the last thing he wanted was going to sleep. He shuffled to his window, sat on the edge, brought both legs up, and hugged them, resting his head between them. He knew that he should feel lucky: his house was one of the least damaged by the attack of the Peacekeeper, with only a few broken windows and some destroyed furniture, but apart from that, his building remained in one piece, not like the others, his parents were not on the list of missing or dead, and tomorrow, Taku was returning to school without any further problems; he should be more than grateful.
And he was, it just-
He missed Frank a lot. After his friend fell, Taku was screaming and screaming until a kind lady picked him up and took him to the control booth; they were hidden until the battle ended, shortly after Taku and the others were taken to a police station; hours passed until his parents picked him up that same night. When they met again, he told them that Frank was missing, his parents didn't give it so much importance and said they would buy another robot, but Taku cried and screamed; he did not want another robot; he wanted Frank.
So his parents agreed to look for him, they contacted the city police, and a search began, but until that night, they had not received an answer; half a year later, now it had become more than clear that they would not help them anymore.
Tears began to fill his eyes; he wiped them with his arm and looked up at the sky again. That day, when he was hanging from the bridge, Frank made him feel calm; at his worst, Frank was there for him, but he couldn't return the favor, although one thing was clear to him, no child had dismantled him. Frank was still out there, and Taku knew it; something inside him told him that Frank was too tough to perish. He was just lost, and he had to find his way home.
But how could he help him find it?
While he was thinking, he tapped his knees with a finger, and inadvertently, he began to hum a song:
"Casey Junior's comin' down the track, comin' down the track, with a smoky stack."
He stopped when he remembered that this was the song they had sung the day of the accident, before the disaster; it was music from the Dumbo movie, a film he and Frank watched every day and never got tired of it. The part of the train was his favorite; that's why they were always singing it.
"That's it," he thought, finding the solution to his problem.
He got up and opened the window, then went to the nightstand next to the bed, and rummaged in one of the drawers until he found it, a music player, a gift from his grandmother for his birthday. Taku took it to the bedroom window and pressed the button at the top; from the digital screen came a hologram: a list of saved songs. Taku scrolled through, moving the list with his finger until he found the one he was looking for and pressed the play symbol.
Casey Junior's comin' down the track
Comin' down the track
With a smoky stack
Hear him puffin', comin' round the hill
Casey's here to thrill
Every Jack and Jill
He also left it in repeat mode; if Frank heard the song, he would follow it home, no one else in Metro City loved that music as much as they did, and Frank would know he was sending him a message.
No longer feeling useless, sleep began to win; Taku yawned and covered his mouth with one hand; it was better to go to sleep; tomorrow, he would go to school, and he didn't want to be tired.
He went to his bed and got under the sheets; before closing his eyes he looked at the window one last time, his action might seem insignificant, but Taku was happy; he finally felt that he was doing something for his friend: he had given him a light to follow.
"Good night Frank, wherever you are."
And with that last thought, he fell asleep.
...
Far away, at the Robot Revolutionary Front headquarters, Sparks was sitting behind his desk going through some paperwork; while Robotski and Mike were playing Ping Pong with a table, paddles, and a ball; they'd found in the trash. Sparks were very attentive to his work; for months, the Front had nothing to do other than helping the humans who were left homeless, but that was not the purpose for which the Front was created, so it did not count. Plus, they had done it more as a favor for Astro.
Mike hit the ball with intensity, and Robotski, to show off, returned it with more force; unfortunately, he did not put the same effort into his aim, and the ball hit Sparks on the head. The robot screamed as he backed up, chair and all; Robotski clapped a hand to his mouth while Mike covered himself with both arms. Sparks stood up, leaning on the table with one arm, and glared at his red partner. Robotski smiled nervously and shrugged. Sparks frowned and adjusted his jaw, which had been crooked from the fall.
"Enough!" he said; angrily. "It's time for you two to get serious!"
He rose to his full height and slammed his fist on the desk.
"In these last six months, the Front has become a joke!"
"Sorry, Boss; there's just not much to do lately," Mike replied.
"Not much to do?!" Sparks burst out. "How can you say that when many of our brothers are still prisoners of human tyranny?"
"Well, Sparks, our goal was always to get rid of Hamegg, and Astro took care of that."
"And don't forget he also banned the Robo-Games."
Sparks grumbled and crossed his arms; of course, he was grateful to Astro for everything he had done, and the boy was his friend who he deeply loved, but Sparks couldn't help feeling a bit of envy; the little robot had achieved in days what they could not in years, leaving them without purpose along the way.
"Well, I know a lot of robots are being used to repair the city, but humans seem to treat them well and don't forget that for the first time in the history of robotics, a robot is going to school," Mike mentioned.
"It's true; our comrade Astro is making history."
Again, Sparks had a hard time not feeling jealous of Astro.
"Seriously, it's an honor that a comrade from the Front is getting so far," Robotski said, putting a hand on his chest.
Sparks widened his eyes as a revelation entered his head: Astro was part of the Front! So with each new achievement, he raised the movement; his partner did not triumph alone but triumphed with them. After all, Astro had his name, thanks to them, so there was no reason to be envious because, in the end, they all succeeded together.
Or at least that's how he saw it.
"It's true! Astro carries the pride of the Front everywhere; we should feel proud that a comrade flies so high."
Robotski and Mike smiled as they saw Sparks's anger fade, even if only because they inadvertently fed his ego; the important thing was that everything was calm again.
"Well, I think we could go visit him tomorrow; he must be nervous about being the only robot in the class," Mike suggested.
"It's true; words of encouragement from his friends would surely help him; what do you think, Sparks?"
The robot put a hand to its chin.
"Well, it would certainly help if they saw us showing support; that would surely give us good press. Mike, how many TV stations do you know? Call them all."
Mike held up a hand, and the ground began to shudder; the robots jumped into the air, the desk, table, chairs, and furniture fell to the floor, the lights went out, and they didn't come back until it was over, the overhead lights kept waving.
"What was that?" Robotski asked, getting up.
"It hasn't trembled since-," Mike didn't finish, remembering the last time he felt something like that.
"Calm down, the Peacekeeper hasn't returned; surely it's Zog who comes to play cards," Sparks reasoned.
"But Zog never shakes so much, and the card games are on Thursdays."
Sparked rolled his eyes.
"You'll see," he said, standing up and going to open the door. Robotski and Mike exchanged concerned glances.
"Hi, Zog; if we knew you were coming, we would have cleaned," Sparks opened the door.
But there was no one to be seen, just the rubbish walls that marked the path, and the only sound was crickets. Sparks looked in both directions but couldn't notice anything.
"Could it be The Junkyard Pirates?!" Mike asked, scared, hiding behind the desk.
"No, Astro also took care of them," Robotski reminded him.
"Oh, right."
Another tremor occurred, and everyone fell to the ground; this one was longer than the previous one and more intense.
"It's clear that it's not Zog!" Robotski yelled.
"I know!" Sparks yelled as he held on to the door.
The earthquake stopped, and everything seemed back to normal.
"I say we ask Astro if he lets us sleep at his house!" Mike suggested holding up a hand.
But Sparks didn't answer; he was looking straight ahead, where the lights from the sign didn't reach; it was a black curtain, except for the two red eyes staring at him. Sparks gasped as he scrambled back; those eyes were like the Peacekeepers. But how was it possible?! Astro destroyed him!
"We have to get out of here!" He yelled as he backed away.
The roof was ripped off before he could enter; Robotski and Mike threw themselves to the ground to avoid being crushed; unfortunately for Mike, he jumped to the side where the attacker was; the fridge couldn't see him because of the dark, and they were just noticeable its red eyes, which were high above him, which meant that the monster was gigantic. It sounded like two pieces of metal were crashing into each other, Mike tried to back away, but a giant claw came out of the darkness and grabbed him. He screamed in terror as he struck at the mace, but it was too strong for him; the claw raised again to carry Mike into the darkness, his scream fading as he disappeared into the night.
"MIKE!" Sparks and Robotski yelled in unison.
Robotski was going to help him when the wall behind him shattered; tentacles entered and wrapped around his body; one grabbed him by the waist, another by the neck, and two grabbed his arms, one for each one, holding him. The same thing happened with his legs. Robotski tried to walk forward, trying to get free, but the hold was strong, and a wicked laugh could be heard; it seemed it came from the tentacles. Robotski made one last effort, but it was useless, the force of that thing was immense, and it dragged him into the darkness, where his scream was also lost little by little.
Sparks was more than terrified; he had just seen his friends devoured by… Things! They were talking and then…! He had to run! He alone couldn't save his friends, he would need Astro's help, and the little one would put those monsters in their place. Yeah!
He quickly stood up, but after just taking the first step, he found that something, someone, was in his way. It was still very dark, so he could identify his silhouette; he was much bigger than him, but by far, his arms and hands were gigantic; Spark's head could fit in one of them, and there would still be room. The monster's face was so square, but the scariest thing was the eyes, glowing red eyes. Sparks stared at them and could only note the hatred, a desire to destroy everything that came their way. He took a step back; that thing wanted to kill him. He felt something hard around his waist, and he quickly looked down to see what seemed to be a trunk clinging to his hip; it was crimson in color and very similar to that of an elephant.
He didn't even have time to think because he was lifted from the ground and taken to the blackness. Only this time, he could see his destination: the mouth of a horrible being. Sparks screamed and stretched out both arms, but it was useless; nothing could save him from the jaws of that thing.
...
His friends had just taken care of the pests. Perfect; those morons wouldn't bother anyone with their annoying screams and tantrums anymore. Now he could focus on that voice again; his friends made their way through what was left of the lair while he listened attentively; someone was singing... a song that reminded him of something... A feeling of... he didn't know what exactly, he just felt that someone was calling him, those words meant something...
"Come home."
Home, what was home?
He clenched his fist, feeling confused by everything that was going on in his head. Since he could remember, he only desired to destroy and kill, but... when hearing that he wanted... something more, a part of him lost, something missing. To be complete.
He turned around shouting, and his friends stopped destroying and lowered their weapons as a sign of respect; he smiled, they could be comrades and everything, but they knew who the leader was. With another howl, not as loud as the previous one, he told them that their work there was finished and that it was time to move on; they nodded in agreement. With the order given, he turned to face the city; if he didn't advance first, no one did, he took the first step, and the group began to move.
He didn't quite know where that feeling was taking him, but there was one thing he knew for sure: he would crush anyone who got in his way.