For once, Murphy didn't mind the silence. It seemed every time somebody opened their mouth, a new stream of information added to the confusion. The whole situation reminded him of the book The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. He had all the answers, he just didn't have the right question.

Red leaned in more comfortably on Murphy's shoulders. Without her arm, her equilibrium was thrown off completely. At first, she didn't mind sitting on top of Murphy's shoulder. But after ten minutes of having her legs wrapped around plastic and metal, her butt went numbed.

Robin stayed a few steps ahead of the two. After he dropped the bomb about Red, he suggested they go back to the library. To talk.

"What about those other men?" Murphy inquired. "If they follow-"

"They won't," Robin said as if he was 100 sure. "Most of them are complete idiots and will not bother trying to engage you in another fight."

Murphy did not like what he said. It did not sound fool proof. "They don't care about you? About Red?"

"I'll explain later. Not another word."

Robin's head kept twisting back and forth like a nervous bird. Murphy couldn't help but smile at that analogy. The boy didn't need to be so cautious. As far as the cyborg can tell, nobody was following them.

"Get inside," Robin commanded once they got to the library.

A twinge of annoyance struck Murphy. Having a teenager give orders is a big kick to the ego. He ignored the feeling, and did what he was told. He can be annoyed later.

Once inside and upstairs, Robin shut the second door floors. And without a word to explain his actions, Robin slapped Red hard across the face.

"What's wrong with you?" He cried. "Bringing another person here!"

"That's enough!" Murphy grabbed the boy by the cuff of his shirt. "You leave her alone."

"I'm sorry," Red murmured, cupping her red cheek. "Murphy isn't an android. I thought it was okay."

Robin did not try to struggle out of Murphy's grasp. The cyborg thought perhaps, Robin wanted somebody to hold him back from doing something unforgivable.

"Bringing somebody here is dangerous. You know that. Even if he isn't an android! Why did you do it?"

Tears started to form in Red's eyes. Shakily, she started to say, "I wanted to see the birds. I have never seen birds before…"

Robin seemed to have calmed down for the most part. Murphy still kept an grip on him just in case it was a ploy. For now, it seemed Robin wanted to hear Red out.

"The sun was nowhere near setting," Red continued, refusing to look up at them. "I thought if I was quick…I could see a feather. Hear a song. I never got further than the edge of the city. I was grabbed when a van drove by."

All the color drained out of Robin's face. "Let me go," He whispered, trying to loosen Murphy's grip on him. "Let me go!"

Murphy let him go. Robin fell to his knees, grabbing Red by the shoulders. "You were grabbed?" He said in disbelief. "Did they harm you? Did they," He struggled to find the words. "Do anything to you?"

Red shook her head. "They broke my arm when I resisted. Threw me in the back. That's where I found Murphy."

Robin twisted his head to the cyborg. Murphy said nothing as Robin gave him a condescending glare. Robin turned back to Red.

"Murphy woke up. And we escaped."

"All right," Robin said, trying very obviously to keep his anger down. "But why did you bring him back here? He can take care of himself."

Murphy had been wondering that himself. Although he was very grateful to find a friend the moment he woke up, he was never really sure of the girl's true intentions. In a city full of men, even for someone with no book smarts should surely know the dangers of men. Red's answer explained it all.

"I was lonely."

And that was it. All the anger Robin had stored up inside of him slowly drained away. Murphy watched as Robin's face relaxed and the fire died out. In a sense, he was more of a brother.

Was he?

Without another word, he pulled the young girl into a hug. "I'm so sorry," He whispered. "I'm sorry that it has to be like this, but if I stayed, it'll draw too much attention."

"What about Murphy?" Red pulled back, motioning her head towards him. "Can he stay?"

Murphy was actually going to say "no." Now that he knew Red wasn't alone in the city, he could leave without worrying about her. Robin seemed like a smart enough kid. Besides, he didn't planned to be gone any longer than a few hours.

Before he had a chance to say anything like that, Robin said to him, rather fiercely, "Let's go talk in the hall.

"Red, stay here," He said to her as he walked into the hallway.

Something was spooking him. Murphy chose to follow him without protest. The hallway itself wasn't as echoing as the rest of the library. The walls were dark brown, looking like a movie scene from the poem, The Raven. The sun shone brightly through the many windows it had. It didn't help with the mood, though.

Robin whipped around, facing Murphy and demanded, "Who are you?"

"Murphy," He said, getting a little tired of explaining himself. "I'm a police officer."

Robin's eye twitched when he said that. "Red said she found you in the van. Why were you with the androids?"

"I'm not. I woke up in the van. Found Red. And both of us escaped."

"So you're a cyborg."

"Yes. Most of my organs are artificial like Red's arm, but my brain and certain parts of my body are intact."

Robin nodded, his eyes drooping in concentration. Murphy chose this moment to ask HIS questions.

"What year is this?"

"What?" Robin said bewildered.

"What year is this?"

"I don't know. I can't count."

Great. Red mentioned that Detroit 'blew up' twenty years ago. For all he knew, she could've pulled that number from her ass.

"Who are the androids? Everybody keeps mentioning them and I have no idea who they are."

"How could you not know who they are?" Robin said in disbelief. "Where have you been, under a rock?"

"I told you, I woke up in the van. I have no idea how long I've been out."

Wither that answer satisfied him, he didn't show it. "They're robots. Robots that look like people."

"Why are you afraid of them?"

"Because if they find you, you're dead."

"Red's not dead. She was barely hurt when I found her." Barely? Granted, her arm may have been artificial, but when he saw it, he thought somebody may have shot her.

"They're weird about girls," Robin glanced down the hallway, making sure Red wasn't listening. "I don't know why. I have seen them kill over a dozen guys just to get to one girl," He paused. Then he added in a small sad voice, "They took my mother away."

"Where? Where do they take them?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "All we know is they grab them and we never see them again."

Murphy took all of this information with considerable caution. He had woken up in a upside down world and he didn't know who to trust or who not to trust. If wasn't careful, he might accidentally kill someone.

"Look," Robin said, still taking glances back to Red's bedroom. "I need to go back before somebody gets wise. Before the sun sets. Those guys you beat up are bored, bloodthirsty idiots but sooner or later, they're going to wonder why some kid here is all by themselves."

Murphy didn't want him to go so soon. There were many questions he wanted to ask, he needed to ask.

"Red will have to go armless for a few days until I can get materials."

"And now after you tried to slash my face, you trust me enough with her? Why can't you stay?"

Robin's face went hard and cold. He then asked with harsh seriousness, "Do you have a dick?"

Hell, Murphy didn't have a reproduction system anymore. He still produced waste, but his mechanical body could store the waste for days until he felt like disposing of it via through his left foot.

Like he was going to tell the kid that.

"No."

"Well, officer," he spat the word out as if it was rotten. "Guess what? I do. The older men here have showed how to use it."

Murphy could tell something darker was lurking behind those words. That handsome face held pain and he was trying his best to keep such pain from Red.

"Are you her brother?" Murphy wanted to know.

He shook his head. "She's an orphan. I think she has an uncle somewhere, but I'm not going to bother finding him."

"Where do you live?"

"In the sewers," Robin faced the window, watching the sky. The sun wouldn't set for hours. "It's the only place the androids won't look." He looked back at Murphy, saw his displeasure. Then he said with a small smile, "As long as Red doesn't break any of the windows or tables, the androids won't come inside. Not unless they have probable cause."

"I need to get going," He said after taking another nervous glance out the window. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"Hold on," Murphy grabbed his arm. "Were you the one who gave Red these?" He held up the bottle of sleeping pills.

"I didn't. My grandfather did."

"Why?"

"You have to ask him. I don't question his authority."

Murphy felt as if the question was too personal. He followed Robin back to where Red patiently sat. She had a book on human anatomy out in front of her. "Man, we're ugly on the inside," She mumbled to herself.

Robin gave Red another hug, whispered something in her ear and left quickly. "I'll be back tomorrow," He said to Murphy as he passed him. "Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't," He promised. Though, now, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to keep that promise.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A/N: Nothing much to say except "sorry I haven't updated in forever…my bad."

Anyhoo, R/R!