Disclaimer: I don't own The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

A/N: Halfway through this chapter we go back to 'diary format'. That's more fun to write and (hopefully) more fun to read.

Only a few minutes had passed since the short battle. Winslow leaned against the corridor's smooth metal wall, still trying to register all that just happened. Especially the sudden appearance of nonHAL-Asimov-42 and his rescue of Columbia.

Now the robot cradled the girl in his huge metal arms.

"Why did you save her, Robby?" Winslow asked.

"I can not injure a human being, or let a human being come to harm by inaction," Robby explained.

"Thank you," Winslow replied, unsure what else to say.

And so they walked back toward the main room. Robby carried the still-unconscious Columbia. Being a robot with near-unlimited strength sure can come in handy. Even though Columbia didn't weigh that much… at least usually.

Soon enough they found there way back to the 'main room'. Granny and Marcus already were there. To Winslow's amusement, Granny had her pistol pointed at de Lordy. The pathetic man was cowering on the floor begging for mercy from the older woman.

"Please don't shoot! I won't kill your friends… just don't s-sh-h-hoot!" he pleaded.

"I don't trust you, space bastard," she spat cruelly.

At that point Eddie and Mr. Bradshaw entered the room. Now, they realized, everyone in their little party now stood in this room… except Mister Guildenstern.

"Where's Mister Guildenstern?" Mr. Bradshaw asked.

Nobody replied, since they didn't know. Anyway, Columbia's return to consciousness caught everyone's attention at that point. By then nonHAL-Asimov-42 (aka Robby) still held her carefully in his metal arms.

Robby slowly set her down on the floor. Just as slowly, she stood up.

"What's happened?" she muttered.

"Robby saved you," Winslow explained.

"They were about to kill you. The Rules say that I can not injure a human being or let a human come to harm by inaction. I moved you out of the way," the robot elaborated.

This distraction gave Lord de Lordy a chance to flee. Before anyone could stop him, he ran through the door he'd earlier entered through. Though Granny tried to shoot him, the bullet merely dented the thick titanium door that was now locked into place.

"He's a coward, Dad," Eddie told Mr. Bradshaw.

That confused everyone else. Nobody else was using his or her assigned aliases at that point. Yet nobody else knew how Eddie and Mr. Bradshaw were really related.

"Let's go, before more space bastards show up," Granny said darkly.

Mr. Bradshaw turned to Marcus. "Do you want to come with us? They might come back."

"I don't care. Nothing stands between me and my wonderful collection of rare technology," Marcus replied grinning.

"I think I'll stay here, too," Winslow said.

Eddie's eyes widened. "What? Dude, you really wanna stay here?"

"No sane person would choose boring ol' Denton over this place. It's like something out of a Sci-Fi picture!" his friend replied, more cheerful than he'd been in a while.

"Since when do you like Sci-fi?" Eddie asked.

"Remember the old cinema in town? I go there almost every week!" Winslow said cheerfully.

"Wasn't it because of that gal who worked there?"

"No. Well… I liked her too. But I showed up there in the first place for the picture shows themselves," he explained.

The idea went over surprisingly well with Marcus. "You could be some sort of apprentice to me. Inherit this place once I'm dead… which will be a long time from now, of course."

And so, Marcus and his new apprentice left the room.

"So… only Granny, Eddie, Columbia, and I are leaving?" Mr. Bradshaw asked.

Everyone nodded in agreement… except for Columbia, to everyone's surprise. She held onto the robot's arm and looked up into those blinking blue lights that served as eyes.

"Can Robby come with us?" Columbia asked.

"If you wish, I will go with you. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Going with you will not harm you," the robot said.

"As long as I don't get replaced with Mr. Metal, I'm okay with it," Eddie replied reluctantly, giving the robot a Look.

Columbia giggled. "I'm still dating you, darling. Robby here is just like some sort of talking, electronic pet."

"I am more than a pet, Miss. I can speak 188 languages and have a built-in replicator which can replicate 19 types of coffee, among many other items," Robby said.

Columbia could've sworn that the robot's electronic voice sounded annoyed. But, as far as she knew, robots don't have emotions.

Then, Robby lifted them through the trapdoor and back onto the sidewalk. Somehow he managed to levitate himself onto the sidewalk next to them. And so, they all got into the van (a bit of a challenge in the robot's case).

Time to drive home…

Monday, April/8/1974

Dear Diary,

Today we're driving home. I won't bother to write all that happened yesterday. For one thing, it would use up too much paper. And I'll never forget it.

Anyway, it's about lunchtime now. I'm writing out of boredom.

It takes about six hours to drive from Granny's house back to Eddie's uncle's house. If we don't get lost, that is.

But Robby has some sort of map program built into him. So we definitely won't get lost. Of course, having him constantly tell us where to drive in his computer-y monotone voice gets a bit annoying.

We woke up a bit late today. That means about 10 o'clock. Now that Lord de Lordy is trapped in Marcus's weird warehouse place, we can relax a bit. It's pretty convenient that he killed off all the competition!

For breakfast we chocolate chip pancakes Robby replicated for us. Though they weren't as good as something Magenta might cook, they were decent enough. After that we packed up the car.

And said goodbye to Granny.

"You look pretty cute with that pink hair," Granny muttered thoughtfully, as we stood by the door. "In fact, I'd like my hair done sorta like that. Maybe in light purple…?"

I giggled. "Yeah, light purple would look pretty neat."

Sometimes Granny is crazy in a nice way. But she can be dangerous, as I'd learned earlier.

Then, we got in the car and drove away. That was only a few minutes ago.

We're supposed to be back in Denton by five this evening. I still haven't asked where we're going once we're there. Hopefully I'll be able to go home to the castle.

Yes, that's truly my home.

I can't wait to see Mags again! And, right now, I'd welcome even the sight of Riff's sullen face. So much has happened in barely one week!

A few things worry me, though. After all that's happened will Frank not let me live with them anymore? Will they allow me to keep the robot?

Speaking of the robot… he now wants to know which sort of coffee I'd like.

I'll probably write something more after dinner tonight. Maybe something really interesting will happen by then.

- Columbia (a groupie)

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