That afternoon, Tenma could rest; the Ministry had decided to give the day off in celebration that the school, and the areas destroyed by Frankenstein's attack, had finally been repaired. And although Tenma would have preferred to keep working, Elefun convinced him that after so many surprises, everyone deserved a break, so the good doctor was relaxing at the dining room table with a fresh cup of tea made by Orrin.

For the first time in a long, Tenma felt that he no longer had any worries; Stone was gone, Astro was not in danger of exploding, and he was dealing with the robot zombies with extreme efficiency; after Frankenstein, none would seem like a challenge to him, and bloody Tawashi wasn't after them anymore, so everything was going very well, and he hoped it would stay that way.

But when the doorbell rang, he knew the calm was over.

"Are you waiting for someone, doctor?"

"No, no one, Orrin."

The robot went to the door and activated the security camera, the people on the other side... were two individuals he had never imagined seeing again.

"Sir… Duke Red and his son… are at the door."

Tenma's cup began to shake; he carefully placed it on the table.

"The… Duke Red? Are you sure it's him?"

Orrin nodded. Tenma got up from his chair and adjusted the collar of his shirt. What business would bring the Duke to Metro City? And even more important, to his house? Would it be for Astro?

Oh no, there was no way his son would ever set foot in Metropolis; that damned hell was a death trap for any robot; and human. He would prefer to take his chances at Marina City with the loser Yamanoue.

"Well…let him in."

Orrin nodded again, although he too was scared, and of course, rumors said that the Duke's son enjoyed his work excessively.

"Well, if a fight is what you want, you'll see my son is unlike any other robot."

The door opened, and there stood the great Duke Red.

"Doctor Tenma, it's a pleasure to meet you again."

...

The robot on the billboard was enormous, at least five meters taller than Frank; its metal was a shimmering red that shone in the sunlight; on his arms, head, and chest, he had rows of spikes, his shoulders looked like shoulder pads, his eyes were immovable and had no irises, giving him a terrifying look.

"With us is the champion of the Surface Robot Games: Brando, the Greatest Robot on Earth, as he calls himself." Announced a female reporter in a hovering vehicle very similar to Hamegg's.

The reporter held the microphone close to Brando's mouth.

"Mr. Brando, is it true that you objected to the Robot Games clause?"

"Absolutely, the Robot Games represented something, and that was who the greatest was; you should know that the Surface was a tough place to live, where only the strongest survived, and being in that arena proved it; ever since we joined Metro City, everyone has softened."

"Wow, those are strong statements, Mr. Brando."

"I'm a robot of few words, Miss Shimizu, because I make everyone count, and that's what I think."

"Do you blame Astro for this change?"

"He is responsible, albeit indirectly. I was one of the many who opposed the initiative, but; Astro had saved the city, so his vote was the definitive one."

"But you cannot deny Astro is making big improvements, like the 'New Life' program, which has been dedicated to collecting and repairing all the robots thrown to the Surface for years."

Brando shrugged:

"He has made good things; I give him that."

"And what about those who say that Astro is the greatest robot in the world and not you?"

Brando gave a mocking laugh.

"Astro might be powerful, but I doubt he can beat me; if I remember correctly, he needed help to defeat both the Peacekeeper and the robot zombies."

"It is true, but one must not forget that in a fight, not only brute force matters. Astro has known how to take advantage of his opportunities."

"It's true, and I admit that, but I assured you he wouldn't stand a chance against me."

"Are you challenging Astro to a duel, Mr. Brando?"

"I'm just saying that if Astro wants a fight, here I am, ready for anything."

"These were the controversial words that Brando said in his latest interview. Brando was the Robot Games champion for ten years before their cancellation. It is known that the day Astro competed, Brando was under repair, so the fight never happened. Although we won't have to wait for a battle between the Surface and Metro City; because this Saturday will take place the combat with Hercules, the robot-fighting champion in the city, even so, many fans are still hoping that Astro may face Brando at some point, to determine who really is the greatest robot in the world," said the voice of the off-screen host.

Kenichi looked at Astro, who had a very watchful eye in the ad, they had been promoting the fight between Hercules and Brando for weeks, but neither Ken nor Astro had paid much attention to the matter until Brando decided to blame Astro for the Robot Games, and now publically challenged him.

"Would you accept the challenge?" he asked.

Astro just lowered his head and denied it.

"Not at all; you know that I hate fighting; if it were up to me, I would never have to do it for the rest of my life."

After that, they started walking.

"The only robots I sought to fight are the robot zombies, and it is only to cure them, nothing more."

Even so, he preferred more pacifist resolutions, like the New Life program, which will prevent new zombies from emerging and give the scrapped robots a second chance. As the two walked, several airships carrying the dumped androids to the Ministry flew by.

Ken nodded in agreement; he was grateful that his friend was a pacifist; his stomach was knotted when he remembered the fight with Frankenstein. Seeing his friend being shaken like a rag, he would also be more than happy if Astro never had to fight again; he deserved to live like a normal kid.

"Still. I think you would beat Brando easily."

Astro was not gonna argue, he didn't feel like it, and also appreciated the trust Ken had in him.

"Thanks, brother."

Without further ado, they walked for a while longer until Ken noticed his watch.

"My training is starting soon; are you sure you wanna join me?"

"I wouldn't miss it for anything."

He said it because Ken had soccer practice, and it turned out that he indeed was a great player in the sport; the day they met, Ken made it easy for the players from the Surface, and on Saturday, there would be an important game, so the team had to practice hard to win. The Collectors and the rest of the Sky Riders were busy with homework. Astro had the advantage that his artificial intelligence was very advanced, so he could do it in the blink of an eye, so he preferred to cheer on Ken.

"I just need to go home for another battery... two actually; we don't wanna be surprised by another zombie."

"I agree with you, brother."

They went to Astro's apartment; usually, the robot would fly them to his room, but he preferred not to waste energy if an enemy appeared out of nowhere. After The Day of the Living Dead, he was always alert, so they would go by the elevator, just that something in the street caught their attention, a limousine with tinted windows was parked outside.

"Do you recognize that car?"

"No."

"Must be someone important."

"Yeah, probably here to see Dad."

They passed the door and took the elevator to Astro's floor; on the way, they changed the subject and forgot about the limo; until the doors opened, a person was standing in the archway of Astro's house.

He was a teenager with black hair, who wore dark glasses, a red sweater, and black suspender pants, with a belt that had a brown bag on one side, and silver boots, he had his arms crossed and with a relaxed look, with a smile that gave off arrogance.

"Uh… hi?" Astro said.

But the individual didn't say anything; he did not even seem to notice their presence.

"Excuse us, but this is my friend's department, and we need to get inside," Ken added.

The teen still did not move.

"Are you deaf or something?" Ken asked, now a little irritated; he didn't know what, but something about that boy gave him a bad feeling. It was the complete opposite of when he met Astro.

That young man was still undeterred, which only made Ken angrier.

"Or maybe you are just dumb." Now he did say it with fury.

"Ken," Astro whispered in his ear, then pointed to the other side of the belt.

Ken looked down and saw that the lad had a holster with a gun in it. Ken swallowed, the boy laughed, and they both looked at him.

"It's an M87. Its bullets can pierce through the head of the strongest robot," he said gracefully, like a hunter flitting with the prey he had just killed.

Ken was a little scared but still felt anger, and he didn't like that fool's tone. He knew where he was going, provoke Astro, the robot knew it too, but it wouldn't be easy to make him angry, but if Astro had to defend himself and Kenichi, he would.

"Only the military has permission to use that kind of weapon," Ken said; as much as Tawashi disliked Astro, he hated illegal weapons more.

"But not in Metropolis."

Ken's eyes widened, while Astro was just confused; he had never heard that name before. He tried to remember some of Toby's memories, but nothing came to mind.

"You are from Metropolis?" Ken asked.

The boy chuckled again.

"The name's Rock, Rock Holmes, son of Duke Red; and leader of the Marduk. I bet you've heard the name."

Ken swallowed again; Astro saw his friend and then Rock, not knowing what they were talking about; he was feeling lost.

"Metropolis? Marduk? What are those?"

If Rock had only giggled before, now he burst out laughing.

"You're not very smart for a robot, are you?"

Astro looked down, feeling like a fool, but it only made Ken angrier. How dare Rock talk to Astro like that? And in his own home! Just because Astro did not know those things, Rock have no right to treat him that way.

"And you, for being a leader, have no manners! Besides, who wears sunglasses in a closed space? That is just being stupid!"

See if he liked a taste of his own medicine.

Everybody remained silent; Rock and Ken had a duel of glances. The teenager placed a hand on his gun butt. Astro closed his fist and braced himself, he could take the insults, but if Rock decided to shoot, he wouldn't hesitate to put Ken's welfare first.

The door opened, and Tenma peeked out.

"What is all this scandal about?" Then he noticed the presence of the boys. "Son… weren't you going to accompany Kenichi to his practice?"

"Yes, Dad, I only came for some batteries."

Rock took his hand from the gun, and Astro opened his hand. Ken also relaxed.

"Okay, let me tell Orrin to..."

"Is that your son, Tenma?" asked a voice inside, an unknown one.

Tenma closed his eyes uncomfortably, then opened them again.

"Yes, sir."

"Then let him in. I really want to meet him."

Astro had never seen his dad like this; he wasn't angry but… scared, even more than when he had been with Stone.

"Fine. Rock, would you mind?"

He stepped aside. Astro and Ken rushed to enter, but they could feel Rock following them with his eyes.

Inside, they found a man, possibly in his forties, with somewhat tanned skin, blonde hair that reached the nape of his neck combed up, a long pointed nose shaped similarly to the beak of a bird, green emerald eyes, and who was wearing an elegant white suit, standing by the table.

"Son, let me introduce you to Duke Red, Metropolis magnate," Tenma said. "Duke, this is Astro, my son, and Kenichi, a friend from school."

"Welcome to our home, sir," Astro took a bow, and so did Ken.

"Welcome to the city, sir," he added.

"The famous Astro," said the Duke in a firm voice, walking up to him and offering his hand, "Is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Thank you, sir," Astro replied, shaking his hand.

"Your adventures have not gone unnoticed in Metropolis, boy."

"It's- an honor to know that, sir." Astro hated sounding so repetitive, but he didn't know what Metropolis was, who the Duke or Rock was, or what business could have brought them to the city.

The Duke then turned his attention to Ken, who widened in surprise; he wasn't expecting to be the center of attention.

"Excuse me, young lad, but haven't we met before?"

"Sorry, sir... but I don't think so," Ken answered cautiously.

The Duke raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? Cause I could swear I have seen your face before."

Ken shallowed before answering:

"Sorry, sir, but I think you are conf..."

"That's it!" The Duke interrupted him, snapping a finger, "You are Higeoyaji's nephew!"

Ken's eyes enlarged in terror; he prayed the Duke wouldn't make the connection.

"I... I am, sir."

"I knew it; your uncle took a case once in Metropolis," the Duke continued; "a missing person, I believe. If I recall correctly, it was an employee of mine. Sadly, he never solve it."

Astro could see his friend trembling; he didn't know if the Duke was trying to be menacing or insulting Ken's uncle for not solving the case; whatever it was, he wasn't allowing it. And Astro had a feeling the Duke might have something to do with the crime, so...

"You know? Maybe I could look at those files," Astro said, putting himself between Ken and the Duke. "I don´t mean to brag, but I'm good at connecting dots, and powerful."

He looked the Duke right in the eyes; if he threatened his friends, he do the same to him. No matter how rich he was or if his son was a soldier. Astro wasn't let anyone insult his friend.

"Son. I think you said you had to accompany Kenichi; surely it's getting late, right Kenichi?" his father interrupted in a concerned tone.

He knew his son was strong, but this wasn't a fight they should start.

The doctor looked at Ken, and the boy could see the desperation in his eyes; he wanted Astro out of that place as soon as possible.

"Yeah, it's actually getting late, Astro. We better get going," Kenichi agreed. As soon as Astro stood up for him, he immediately felt better, like if he and Astro could take on the Duke and his son; and then remembered who he was dealing with; so Dr. Tenma was right, it would be better if the two leave.

"Sure, let me just go..."

But Orrin appeared with a red backpack; he quickly slung it over Astro's shoulders.

"Here you go, Astro! Two charging batteries and three for zombies, just in case they show up! You never know!" He said with the same nervousness as Tenma. "I also pack a bottle of water in case Kenichi gets thirsty."

"Thanks, Orrin, you are very kind," Ken said.

"Unlike others," and thought for himself.

"Now you'd better go; the adults are talking," the robot added, pushing them slightly from behind, leading them to the balcony.

"Sure, Orrin, but the exit-"

"You will get there faster by flying," Tenma said suddenly, "you know how I feel about punctuality, son."

"I know, Dad."

Ken held on to Astro's hip with both arms; after checking his grip was strong, he turned on his rocket boots and began to float.

"See you later, Dad."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Doctor Tenma, and thanks for the water Orrin," Ken thanked.

Orrin nodded. Astro looked one last time at Duke Red.

"I hope you enjoy your stay in the city, Duke," Astro said, not entirely friendly.

"Rest assured I will, and I hope we can meet again one day, with more calmly."

He wasn't angry or scared, he sounded so calm and peaceful that it frightened Astro a bit, but he didn't show it. The Duke looked at Ken and smiled.

"Please, salute your uncle for my part, he's a wonderful detective."

"Was; he's retired," Ken added.

"Oh, that's a shame; he was the best in his job."

"Thank you, I will give him your regards, goodbye."

And the two fly away.

"You have a lovely boy Tenma," the Duke said as he sat back down, "and he's got good company. I like that."

The doctor made a face.

...

The fly was uncomfortably quiet. Astro took them above clouds; that way, they could avoid the cars and the other robots, he was going at a medium speed so they could hear each other, and Ken's intestines would stay in place; it was the same power he used when he flew with Cora that night.

Ken remained silent ever since they left the apartment, looking at the clouds, thinking.

"Well, that was something," Astro said, trying to break the silence.

Ken sighed.

"Forget about him- them. Forget about them, they have no idea what they're talking about."

"No, he's right- the Duke," Ken finally spoke, looking at him, "my uncle did take a case in Metropolis- but he could never solve it."

Ken sighed, looking away again.

"Some nights, he stays up late; when he thinks I'm sleeping, he goes into his studio, puts out the old files, and just- stares at them, as if he had missed something. The clue that could solve everything."

Astro nodded.

"I'm sorry he brought bad memories."

Ken shrugged.

"It's not your fault; a douchebag is a douchebag no matter how rich he is."

Astro couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, they suck."

Ken laughed, feeling better at making fun of the Duke and his son. Astro wasn't much of a teaser, especially with people he wasn't close to, but he also felt happy, and soon he laughed too.

The sky was filled with their giggle, but once Ken's stomach hurt, he stopped and looked at the clouds again. Astro sighed; time to talk about it.

"Metropolis is another city, right?"

Ken nodded.

"Yeah, it's several kilometers from here; it's much bigger than ours, even now with the Surface, but it's also poorer and- it's not a nice place to live."

Astro said nothing, so Ken continued.

"Things are ugly there; from what my uncle has told me, people live in extreme poverty, Astro."

"That's sad."

"A lot of people lost jobs because…it was cheaper to have robots do it, which caused people…to have resentment."

Astro didn't need it to be explained further.

"Attacks against robots are common there because the city is divided into zones, each robot belongs to a specific area, and they need permits to leave, because otherwise…"

"There's no warning."

Ken denied.

Astro sighed and looked away; how could a city still treat robots as just machines to be disposed of? Couldn't they realize the great potential there was if humans and robots worked together? He understood why the people of Metropolis were angry, but that didn't justify their actions.

"The Marduk is the group that takes care of the robots that leave their zones; they are extremists."

"That explains Rock's gun."

"My uncle told me that the founder and financier is Duke Red, although there is no official record… it is a public secret."

"Seems your uncle didn't return so empty-handed."

"Just rumors, nothing that could be presented in court; besides, the Duke may only seem like a millionaire, but they say that he is the one who controls Metropolis, not President Boone; he is just another one of his puppets."

Astro was surprised; that man sounded like an enigma, a danger. Now he was worried about what might have brought him to the city.

"Do you know if he has business here?"

"I don't think so. Stone was always very cautious with him; I think he knew what kind of character he was," Ken laughed, "one snake recognizes another."

Astro also laughed; now he understood everything better, and at the same time, he just hoped that the Duke didn't have a job offer for his father, nor that they had to go to Metropolis. There was only one question left..."

"And Rock?"

Now Ken was just as confused as him.

"I didn't know about him, and I am glad; what a sucker."

"He said he was the Duke's son."

"I didn't know he had one. I heard about a daughter, but I'm not sure."

Astro nodded; they finally reached the soccer field, the robot began to descend, and being a few inches off the ground, Ken jumped up and landed on his feet.

"My advice is that for nothing in the world do you set foot in Metropolis, Astro; it is not a safe place, and the Duke is not a person to trust."

"And his son is not friendly," he answered while landing.

Ken nodded.

"I hope that whatever that man wants, your dad says no."

"Do not worry about that, Ken; after the Stone incident, my dad thinks it better when it comes to making business."

Ken smiled; he hoped his friend was right. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Astro, and after meeting Rock, he had no doubts duke junior was an idiot; it was best to stay away as much as possible.

"We'd better go inside, Ken; it's getting late."

Ken looked at the field.

"True, let's go."

They both needed to distract themselves from that unexpected visit, except Astro spent the entire training studying what he had learned; what did the Duke Red really want? Was there anything that could be done for Metropolis?

…

"Please, doctor, reconsider my proposal."

"The answer is no."

"I'm just asking you to repeat the miracle."

"I am not going to change my mind, Duke, and if that's the only thing you came to discuss, then I ask you to leave my home now."

Tenma could swear he heard the safety lever on Rock's gun go off, but he didn't change his stance. The Duke had an emotionless expression.

"Very well; I can't make you do something you don't want to do."

Not here.

"It's true; as long as we aren't on Metropolis, he has no power over us," Tenma thought.

"Orrin, accompany the…"

"No need; I know the way out," the Duke said, standing up.

He then turned around and walked slowly to the exit; Rock opened the door for him. When they were sure they had left, Tenma let out a long sigh; ever since Toby's death, he hadn't been so scared. Orrin appeared with a glass of water and an aspirin.

"Thank you, Orrin."

The Doctor took the pill and swallowed all the water in one gulp.

"It's true, sir? What the Duke said?"

Tenma placed the glass on the table.

"Yes, everything, but I'm not going to do it, Orrin, the Duke is not a person who knows how to love... he will end up using her as a weapon, I'm sure."

If Orrin had saliva, he would have swallowed it.

"We must stay as far away from that man as possible."

...

"Looks like your meeting with the mad scientist didn't go as you expected, Father," Rock told him, opening the limousine door.

The Duke moved his hand as if he wanted to brush away a fly.

"I knew Tenma was prideful, but it doesn't worry me."

Rock gently closed the door, went to the pilot's seat, and seated. As the vehicle started, the Duke looked out the window.

"There are more mad scientists out there."