After the incident, everyone had been evacuated, and the authorities, as well as their parents, had arrived; Tawashi and other officers were taking statements from the clients while Astro was explaining what had happened to his Dad and Dr. Elefun, Tenma seemed to be trying hard not to explode, he was regretting letting his son attend.

In that, Ken placed his arm around Astro's shoulders:

"Heavens! Thank the Gods that Astro was here; who knows all the damage that could have happened if he hadn't saved us all." Ken yelled.

Astro did not know why until he saw to the front, Tawashi was coming in their direction. Ken looked at the inspector with a cocky smile and added:

"Again."

The inspector frowned, but the crowd started clapping and cheering Astro's name, which caused the boy's cheeks to turn blue; Ken looked at him and winked.

That didn't stop Tawashi from getting closer.

"So... another tragedy avoided, thanks to Astro."

"That's right! Thank the Gods that he is always here to protect us", added Tamao, putting himself in front of Astro, "he is the hero we deserve."

"And the hero we need right now," said Shibugaki joining Tama.

"Because he can take it," added Zane, also entering.

"He's a silent guardian," Widget also added.

"A watchful protector," and finally, Sludge finished it, making a dramatic pose.

Tawashi raised an eyebrow at the spectacle, while behind his back, Officer Nakamura applauded.

Cora just stared at the scene; she knew that joining would only embarrass Astro even more; besides, the crowd's support would be enough to prevent Tawashi from arresting Astro. She looked over her shoulder and noted that, a few meters away, Reno was with the other artists, apparently repairing one.

"How curious," she thought, something about that boy caught her attention, but she didn't know what.

Tawashi stared at the group of friends strangely, and they looked back with certainty; there was still tension between them from their last encounter, and although the inspector had not retaliated against them, it was not time to let their guard down. But Tawashi only looked away.

"The important thing is that no lives were loose from this accident."

"It wasn't an accident," Elefun interrupted, "Astro says someone cut the pillar."

One of the drones was still flying over the circus on orders from its master.

"Curses! Get close, but not too much. I wanna know what they have discovered and record if necessary."

The drone nodded with noise and flew down, keeping a distance in which the others would not see it.

Tawashi addressed Elefun.

"Are you sure we can trust the word of a r- ?" He noticed the Sky Riders and Collectors were looking at him with angry faces, "- of Astro?"

Tenma clenched a fist, but Elefun put a hand on his shoulder.

"I trust Astro with my life," he said to Tawashi's face.

Astro was always touched when Elefun had those gestures with him. Tawashi still didn't seem convinced, but he looked at Astro anyway, which made his friends defensive again.

"Why do you think that?" He asked.

Astro smiled; it sounded like a genuine question, not a claim.

"The metal was cut as only a chainsaw can."

Tawashi raised an eyebrow.

"A robot?"

Elefun answered before Astro.

"Not necessarily; there are drones equipped that can be operated remotely. It could well have been the work of a human."

"That only leaves us with more suspects," Tawashi looked at Astro again, "I need to take your statement."

Everyone was going to protest, but before they could, Officer Nakamura stepped in:

"You know, Inspector, I can take Astro statement if you want. I think we still do not have the Ringmaster's one."

Tawashi looked at the man and his robot employees.

"Fine by me," he responded, feeling more comfortable talking with a human.

The interrogation went well. Astro was honest and told him everything he knew without omitting any detail. Not only was Nakamura a professional, but he didn't seem bothered by Astro being a robot; he talked to him like he would with anyone else. After finishing, the officer gave him a warm thank you and proceeded to ask the robot performers. At the same time, other policemen interrogated his friends. After that, the entire force retired, and collective relief could be felt.

"Thanks for the help, guys."

"No problem, Astro, but I'd better go; my uncle has waited too long," Ken said, and they were also going to give a ride to Shibugaki.

"Yes, before my parents scold me," Tama added.

"We need to get back to the orphanage before it gets too late," Zane informed.

"I want to give them a ride, my parents agreed, but they say it has to be now," Cora explained.

Astro nodded.

"Go, you have helped me enough already."

Cora looked down at the ground somewhat sadly.

"I'm sorry things ended... with the police. Again."

Astro just smiled.

"Hey, there's nothing I enjoy more than helping others."

Again, Cora didn't know whether to hug him or slap him.

So his friends said goodbye and went home, leaving him alone with Elefun and Tenma.

"We'd better go too," his father said, obviously tired.

"Wait, Dad, there's something I have to see."

And he walked to Reno; he wanted to know why a human was dressing up as a robot in a circus. Besides, he had to check that the artists were okay; he wasn't sure that the police had asked about their well-being.

Reno was sitting cross-kneed on the floor; in one hand, he held a tool with which he repaired the robot, who was called Cookie.

"Okay, you're all fixed up now!" Said Reno with joy and a hint of pride; he turned the tool around in his fingers, stopped it, and looked at his friend: "Try moving all your parts."

Cookie moved his feet up and down without any problem.

"Wow, you can fix anything, Reno! Perfect!" Cookie told him with a thumbs up.

If Tenma was eager to leave, that completely changed his attitude, he looked at Elefun, and Elefun looked at him; both had been impressed by the speed with which Reno repaired Cookie, so the three approached.

"What did you say his name was?"

"Reno, Dad."

"Young Reno, did you fix him already?" Tenma asked, pointing at Cookie.

Reno smiled and turned to see him; with a smile and a very cheerful tone, he replied:

"Yeah!"

Then they noticed that he had a small suitcase with his instruments. Alongside it there was a piece of cloth where Reno kept his tools, which pleasantly surprised Tenma; he admired order and cleanliness.

"Nothing like a good first impression," Astro thought.

Elefun noticed the briefcase.

"Reno, may I?" He asked, pointing at the bag.

"Be my guest!" The boy responded enthusiastically.

Elefun crouched down and inspected the contents; he took out a white object.

"What is this, a memory unit?"

"Yep! You can have it if you want," he offered.

"Reno made that," Cookie said.

The boy closed his eyes and smiled while Tenma's wide opened.

"Incredible!" Tenma leaned on his friend's shoulder to see the instrument.

Astro smiled; it was rare for his father to be impressed by anything. Reno was outstanding.

"Reno is incredibly smart!" Added the scarecrow, whose name was Jellybean.

"He's talented and strong like me!" exclaimed proudly the blond robot named Bonbon.

Reno looked ashamed, like a child embarrassed when his relatives showed him off.

"I see! You have a great mind for engineering, Reno." Elefun continued.

At hearing that, all the artists came closer to hear, pretty interested in that. At the same time, Reno looked suspiciously at the doctor.

"Do you really think so?" Asked the Ringmaster, whose real name was Pannacotta.

"Yes, but he still needs proper training," Tenma quickly said, "still, if we got Astro into school, I don't see why we couldn't do the same for Reno."

Everyone was excited; except Reno, who seemed to feel uncomfortable hearing those words, so he hurried to speak:

"You're giving me too much credit!" They all turned to look at him as he crossed his arms. "It's just because I'm a robot; that's why I can fix other robots."

That made Astro raise an eyebrow; why would Reno deny his talent like that? And why did he keep saying he was a robot? What was really going on?

"Reno," he said, which caused the mentioned to turn to see him, "why are you pretending to be a robot?"

The kind and friendly expression that Reno had shown so far changed completely; he clenched his eyebrows and teeth in anger. The other artists were also surprised; Bonbon spat fire from his mouth; Cookie and Cupcake, the pink robot, put both hands to their cheeks and opened their mouths wide. Jellybean's head fell off and had to be put back on while Marshmallow, the robot with the afro, pulled on her earrings as bubbles came out.

Of all of them, only Mr. Pannacotta appeared calm, nervous but contained.

There was a very discomfiting silence in which Reno never stopped looking at Astro, making him uncomfortable. So Astro quickly tried to fix things:

"I mean... you are human," he said, extending both arms to the sides.

"What are you talking about?!" Yelled Reno punching the ground; then he placed a hand on his chest: "I am a robot! Don't be ridiculous!"

Reno's response seemed to give his friends courage, as they all quickly went into a more defensive position:

"That's right! Reno is a robot! Get out of here!" Cookie screamed.

"You're talking nonsense; just go!" Exclaimed Cupcake.

"Be gone!" Bonbon barked, waving his arm.

Astro cringed at the screams. Tenma was about to defend his son, but Mr. Pannacotta beat him to it, shouting so loud that it caused all his employees to freak out, some covering their ears or audio systems, depending on the case.

"BUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU?! Don't forget, Astro saved our circus!" Then he looked at Tenma, Elefun, and Astro. "I apologize, my friends can get carried away, and we are all shaken by the accident."

The scolding had been enough for Tenma; he adjusted his jacket and looked at the master.

"Apologies accepted."

"Now, excuse us, it's been a long night, and we want to rest."

Reno just looked down, refusing to see Astro again; the entire team retreated to the tent. That was their cue to leave.

...

Back in the car, Astro looked out the window, feeling guilty for the whole incident, it hadn't been his intention to disrespect Reno and his friends, but still, he did. He wanted to go and apologize. Even if his suspicions about Reno being a human had just increased, judging the reactions of the other members. What was going on in that circus?

Tenma looked ahead without saying a word while Elefun nervously looked at the rearview mirror, fearing that, at any moment, his friend would explode against poor Astro.

"I knew it was a bad idea," he snapped.

Elefun rolled his eyes but braced himself for combat.

"I knew that..."

"Come on, Tenma! Even Kenichi said it, if Astro hadn't been there, many people would have been injured, or worse, dead! Your son has saved everyone again! You should feel proud."

Tenma sighed and looked at the steering wheel, calming down and looking at Astro in the rearview mirror.

"Elefun is right. I'm proud of you, Astro."

But the boy didn't answer; he was focused on his thoughts.

"Astro?"

"Eh? Oh, thanks, Dad," he answered, looking out the window.

"Astro, is everything okay?" Elefun asked.

"Yes, doctor, everything is fine. I was just thinking about something..."

Tomorrow, he would return to the circus, he had to find out the truth behind all this matter, and more importantly, he had to apologize to Reno.

...

"Unbelievable! How dare he say such a thing in front of everyone?! Someone could have heard him!" Reno exclaimed.

He and Pannacotta were in his office, an old room covered with green velvet for the floor and red for the walls. Next to the wall was a desk with a lamp, and some papers over it, with two chairs. The room had a large glass window covered by wine-colored curtains.

"Reno. I get you're upset, but you need to calm down. Astro had no intention of causing trouble."

Reno closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out little by little; once calmer, he looked up and saw the man he admired like a father.

"You're right, sir. Thank you."

Pannacotta rolled his eyes.

"You know the 'sir' is not necessary."

Reno blinked at him.

"I know, Dad."

Pannacotta couldn't help but laugh, Reno joined him, and they both chuckled. When they finished, Pannacotta opened a drawer from his desk and took out a package of wet towels; he approached the boy with one and began to wipe his face with it.

"Maybe... we should consider the offer of the doctors, son. I mean, study with Umataro Tenma himself..."

"No!" Reno interrupted him, looking up.

Half of his face had been cleaned, revealing, in effect, that he was human.

"I wanna stay with you! You, Cupcake, Cookie, Bonbon, Jellybean, and Marshmallow, are my family! My life is here with you! I am a circus acrobat like everyone else... I belong here!"

Pannacotta got a lump in his throat. Reno was looking at him with teary eyes. It wasn't the first time they had this conversation; since Metro City returned to the ground, many children from the Surface had found good study opportunities, but Reno had flatly refused. He wanted to stay with them, claiming he already knew everything they taught in schools and didn't need more.

He just needed his family.

Pannacotta closed his eyes, it was late, and too many things had happened to discuss; he didn't think it was the best option, but if that was his son's decision, he would respect it.

"Okay, Reno. But please think about it- for me."

Reno leaned back in the seat and crossed his arms.

"Now you are blackmailing me," he complained.

Pannacotta laughed and playfully ruffled the boy's hair.

"Raising a human teaches you a few tricks."

Reno laughed at the affection, then he looked at his father.

"Please take off that thing. I want to see your face, the real one."

Pannacotta nodded. Reno hated that his father had to disguise himself so they could work; he would like him to show himself to the world without fear, for everyone to see him for the value of his heart, not for what he was made of.

Pannacotta put a hand to his face, there was a click, and then some smoke came out as the face separated from the skull; he removed the mask and placed it on the desk, revealing a robotic countenance of gray color with a brown mechanical mustache.

Reno smiled.

"I like you better this way."

Pannacotta finished cleaning his son's face, then with an aerosol spray, he unpainted the boy's blue hair, revealing a reddish one under it.

"I like you better this way, too."

Without either of them having to hide who they were, robot and human as father and son. Reno couldn't help but hug Pannacotta.

"Promise me we'll be together forever."

"That's a promise I don't know if I can keep," he thought. Reno was growing fast, which made it difficult to hide him, and now Inspector Tawashi knew of his existence if he ever found out...

But he wouldn't say any of that to his son; he didn't need to hear the hard truth.

"Not tonight."

"I promise you, son, we will always be together," and he hugged him.

Reno knew the difficulties, but they didn't matter; he believed in his father. Everything would be fine.

Hidden behind a chest, the drone that had stayed to spy was recording them. Upon hearing Astro, the master ordered it to follow Reno to the office and had the entire conversation and the unmasking on video, which they were broadcasting to the master in real time, he had seen and heard everything, and now he had the proof he needed.

On the other side of the monitor, sitting in his chair looking at the screens, he clasped his hands together and laughed.

"I can't believe a failed attempt to destroy that robot would be so productive! Now I have more than I could ever want!"

What gave him the most satisfaction was the ridiculousness of the matter. Astro had given him the keys for his glorious return.

"Thank you for this opportunity, Astro, and believe me when I tell you that... I'm gonna make the most of it."