V-GR and Willow sat in a corner booth of an old run-down bar. It was risky, seeing as only the organic people were accepted here and not robots, but they had hoods on their coats, so it was hard to tell at a glance. The plan was to find anyone who was unhappy and sneak them into a safehouse, where they'd be cleaned up and transported to Earth.

The two of them whispered softly, so as not to attract unwanted attention. V-GR leaned forward, "You know what I find odd?"

Willow whispered back, "What?"

"Your planet has more jobs than people who can supply them. Usually, its the other way around."

Willow glanced out the window, where a storm was beginning to gather, "That's because some of them don't want jobs, they just want free handouts. Some people are bound to wheelchairs, and some have mental handicaps. At least half of them are street thugs." she explained, "Between that and the recent elder deaths, plus a faulty code in some robots that killed them off before a cure was found, it just leaves fewer people in the workforce."

"I see..." V-GR rubbed his hands together, "Maybe it's also due to some humans not wanting to have children."

"There's that too..." Willow ducked her head, "V-Gr."

"What?" he turned around.

He heard it before he saw it. A woman with a baby stumbled into the bar. The woman was bone-thin and had gashes and open wounds all over her face. Her hair was tangled, while the baby was crying wrapped in a thin blanket.

"What are you doing here!?" the bartender screamed, "I thought I told you to get lost!"

"Please!" she begged, "My child needs food! He's going to starve!"

"You think I care!?" he swung a club, "Get out before I beat you to a bloody pulp!"

"Stop!" the woman sobbed, "I ask nothing for myself! I only want my poor baby to have something! Anything! Please!"

V-GR stood up.

"Alright, you asked for-!"

"Stop!"

V-GR protectively stood in front of the angry bar man while Willow hurried to the crying woman.

"Are you alright?" Willow whispered to her, "You poor thing..."

"Willow, get her out of here." V-GR replied in his native language, "I'll catch up."

Without saying a word, the bartender swung with incredible speed. V-GR's screen cracked.

"V-GR!"

"ARG!" he held his throbbing face, just barely able to see the room around him as his vision was split.

"Get out before I kill you!"

They just made it outside before V-GR collapsed, the cold inside his wound chilling him to the bone. Willow pulled the giant hood over his head before leading him and the woman to safety.

"Here." Willow offered a loaf of bread, "We have formula for the baby."

"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" she cried before inhaling the bread, stopping to hiccup through her sobs.

"Lemme see him..." V-GR took the baby and popped the lid off the formula, pressing the nipple of the bottle to his little mouth. He drank quickly and quietly.

Though they were outside still, they were in a secluded area where heat was trapped in an air pocket. It was still cold, but not as much.

"Hey, V-Gr?" Willow asked in English, "How many people like this are here?"

He sighed, "Hundreds. We don't have enough supplies for them all, so we'll have to go back to Earth to restock. I have faith we'll get to everyone, but it'll be slow. We may have to keep this up for years before we even get half of them."

"Excuse me?" the woman asked, "Are you speaking English? Are you from Earth?"

"I am." Willow replied, "He went to live on Earth with me."

"Oh my...it must be a blessing from the heavens..." the woman smiled through her tears, her gaunt cheeks stretching sickly, "I can't tell you how grateful I am that you saved me and my precious August..."

V-GR noticed the bottle was empty, so he set it down and placed August over his lap, patting his back firmly.

"His name is August?" Willow asked, "Like the month?"

"Yes. My husband was an Earthen scientist, you see. He loved Earth so much. He came up with the name."

Willow didn't want to ask, but she did anyway, "Where is your husband?"

V-GR handed August back before she could answer, "H-he was killed...protecting our son..."

The silence was heavy as the woman cradled her baby.

"I'm sorry..." Willow stood up, "What's your name?"

"M-my name? I-It's Haven." Haven smiled, "I am forever in your debt..."

V-GR chuckled, "I had a neighbor named Haven..."

His smile fell as he stared.

"V-Gr!?" Haven gasped.

"Oh my gosh!" V-GR exclaimed, I didn't recognize you! You're so thin!"

"I thought you were dead!" Haven rubbed the tears from her face, "The hood and that crack hid too much, and your voice is so deep!"

He chuckled humorlessly, "Well, we should go. You and August will be the first in our safehouse, but more will join as we save more people. Maybe you could even help us out?"

"I would love to, but..." she cradled August sweetly, "I have someone who needs me more..."

"Understood." V-GR helped her stand, "We have enough canned food to last an army three years. Our safehouse also has showers and beds. I'm sure you'll be comfortable there until we can get you to Earth."

"You were always a sweet little girl, V-Gr." Haven didn't notice his uncomfortable smile, "God bless you and your sweet friend."

He nodded, "Let's go then. We haven't a moment to lose."

"Hold still!" Willow positioned the screen protector over V-GR's head, "If you keep squirming, this one will break too!"

He smiled as the clear glass came ever closer, "Make sure it's in the right spot, or it might distort my vision."

"I know, I know..." she let the rounded sheet of glass rest over V-GR's eyes, watching it snap into place, "What is this stuff, anyway? It's not glass?"

"No, it's not. It's a firm glass, like a car's windshield."

"Oh yeah. So it's like that?"

"Yup." his HUD turned on a green light and he was able to stand, "Ah, much better. I needed a new face anyway."

Willow rolled her eyes, "So...will we save more people like Haven?"

V-GR knew that wasn't her real question. She knew the answer was yes. But there was an undertone to her question. Something else.

V-GR ran a hand over his new screen, "Well..." he thought about how he would word his answer, "Listen. I know that bartender was awful, but not all people are like him. It's like on Earth; most people are good, but we will have to weed through the rotten ones to find them. We need to find more people in the bad side of town."

Willow nodded, "Right. I just don't want to replace your screen every day."

"Hey, I planned for this, but people that rotten are actually kind of rare. We were just unlucky that we ran into him and not someone else."

Willow frowned, "Okay..."

"Hey. Don't look so down!" V-GR scooped her up in his arms to carry her to bed, "If there were more rotten people here than there are, I would have brought a helmet."

She was quiet, "You mean like a football helmet?"

"Yeah, like that." he replied, laying her under the sheets, "I would've brought some shoulder pads, too."

She giggled, "Goodnight, V-Gr..."

He rolled over, "Goodnight, Willow..."

Not even two minutes had passed before Willow hugged V-GR from behind, "V-Gr?"

He moaned, "Can't sleep?"

"Nope..."

"Did you even try?"

"Nope..."

"Willow..." he turned so he was facing her, "I can't talk to you every time you can't sleep. What if I could? Does that even lull you to sleep?"

She didn't answer.

"Don't tell me..." he couldn't help but smile, "You want that again?"

She nodded excitedly, "I'll be right back!" she hopped out of bed and rummaged through her suitcase. Hidden in a side pocket, almost invisible, was a very special cord.

An extension cord.

V-GR felt his face heat up as his eyes shifted to a deep shade of purple.

Willow climbed back into bed with the cord, "Ready?"

He pulled her closer;

"As ready as I'll ever be..."