"So, tell me, Astro, do your folks know where you are?" Hamegg asked as he placed another slice of pizza in his mouth. A bunch of other kids hung around the table, stuffing their faces with days-old pizza.

"I don't have any parents." Astro replied hesitantly as he looked down.

"How very sad. Did you lose them? Or, even sadder, did they lose you?"

"No. The truth is, I'm actually a... I'm a..." Astro lowered his voice as he stopped talking.

"A what?" Cora, a girl with short black and purple hair, asked from the other side of the table.

"Don't worry, son. We're all orphans down here. Nothing to be ashamed about. Hey, speaking of all of us, where's (Y/N)?" Hamegg asked everyone but was mostly aiming it to Cora.

"She should be back by now. But I'm not worried. There's nothing she can't handle." Cora explained, causing the other children to nod.

"That may be true, but I wouldn't mind if she came home soon." Hamegg mentioned. A second later, a knock was heard at the door. "Ah, right on time!" Hamegg exclaimed. A kid popped up from the table and ran to the door. They looked through a rectangular opening and asked, "what's the password?"

"Do you really need a password from me?" A female voice was heard from the other side of the door. Once the kids heard the voice, they continued eating their pizza, except Hamegg and Astro, who continued their gazes towards the door. The kid opened the door and a girl, a bit taller than Astro came walking in with (H/L) (H/C) hair. She limped over to Hamegg but her beautiful face didn't seem to show pain- wait, beautiful? Astro thought to himself. I don't even know her!

"What'd you do this time, (Y/N)?" Hamegg asked, showing a little concern while annoyance was clear.

"You said you wanted some specific parts, so I got them for you." (Y/N) explained as she dropped her backpack. A few CLANKS were heard. Hamegg grabbed the bag.

"Thank you but I told you that if there's any chance of you getting hurt, don't try and get them." Hamegg pleaded.

"Oh, I'm fine." (Y/N) scoffed as she limped her way closer to Hamegg. She sat in a chair beside him.

"Is she okay?" A new voice, Astro, asked.

"Yeah, she's good." Zane said, not taking his eyes off his food. All the kids continued eating and yelling, just like they did before. Astro looked around, confused.

"Alright, show me." Hamegg said as he got his tool box. Now Astro was really confused. What could he need a tool box for? (Y/N) pulled her (F/C) cargo pants above her left knee to show a broken, metallic/robotic leg that seemed to be semi-well done. The knee cap had popped off and was connected by a spring. "Wonder why it constantly breaks? I thought I made it pretty well." Hamegg said a little down. (Y/N) rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. You have other things to focus on building that are way more important than me." She said as Hamegg screwed her knee cap back into place. Once he was done, (Y/N) stretched and bent her left leg and thanked Hamegg. "Any pizza left? Or is it all gone?" She asked everyone. Cora held up a box.

"Two or three pieces left for you." She said as she handed the cardboard box over to (Y/N). (Y/N) grabbed it and hugged Cora. She thanked her and sat down in between Cora and Sludge. "This is Astro, by the way." Cora said as she gestured over to the new boy on the other side of the table.

"Nice to meet you, Astro." (Y/N) said with a gentle smile. She pulled off her (F/C) leather gloves to reveal her right hand to be also made of metal. Then she took off her (F/C) leather jacket and showed her (F/C) singlet. Her right arm was also made of metal from the shoulder down. Mechanical gears and metal plates were seen through her prosthetic arm. As (Y/N) ate her pizza and talked to Sludge about the butt-kicking she had to do to obtain the parts for Hamegg, Astro looked to Cora and pointed to his right arm and left leg and lip-synced, "what happened?" But Cora just put her index finger to her mouth, as if saying to be quiet. Because indeed, it was a sensitive matter.

"So, Astro, you're an orphan too?" (Y/N) asked as she finished her last slice of pizza.

"Y-yes. I am. And none of you have parents either?"

"Parents? Are you kidding?" Sludge asked, mouth full of cheesy pizza. Grace, who was sitting on the other side of Cora, raised a chainsaw and yelled a battle cry as she slammed the chainsaw down onto a pizza box. All the kids laughed.

"This whole place is a parent-free zone." Cora explained.

"I was born in the scrap heap. I was raised by wild dogs." Zane said proudly.

"Really? Are you sure it wasn't wild pigs?" Cora asked jokingly. All the kids laughed again at her joke, even Zane, once he made a pig face at Cora.

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Everyone had eventually gone to bed. They shared bunks throughout the small building. Hamegg wandered around with a lantern as he said goodnight to all the kids. He soon came along to Astro's bed. 

"Feeling homesick for Metro City, Astro?" Hamegg asked the young boy. 

"No." The boy replied quietly. 

"Me neither." Hamegg agreed. "I was head of advanced robotics at the Ministry of Science. Oh, yeah. Right up there with Tenma and the other mucky-mucks."

"What happened?" 

"What always happens to geniuses. They were intimidated by my talent, my ideas, so they threw me away like an old battery."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your problem. You know, I've got a hunch about you, Astro. There's always room for a good kid in this family."

"Thank you, Hamegg. Mind if I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"...What happened to (Y/N). You know, with her..." Astro asked as he pointed to two specific limbs. Hamegg nodded in understanding. 

"Not a nice story. But she did do a nice thing. Saved two kids, one for each limb. But I'm not the one who should tell you the story. She's not that sensitive about it so I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you once she trusts you. Now, how about getting some shut-eye?" Astro nodded and laid his head on the pillow. "Good night, son." Hamegg said as he tucked Astro in and walked away. 

"Good night, Hamegg." Astro replied before he heard Trashcan making low noises. He looked over to the robotic dog. "I'm gonna tell them, just not yet, okay?" Then he pulled his curtain over to cover his bed. Trashcan growled.