Authors Notes: Theirs a bit of Angst in this. I mean what do you expect when a young girls worlds turned upside down all over again.


Unruly Company

Chapter 9

Chase.

Zareth slowly rolled over in bed. His head didn't feel so heavy today, and his mind was a whole lot clearer. Whatever it was that Danny gave him the night before helped a lot. He looked at his hands as he lay there, the scar from the wound he had received from Richards earlier that year was still a reminder that he wasn't invincible like he wished he was. He had almost lost her during that time.

"Does it still hurt?" A small voice in the doorway asked.

"Oh no...no not anymore. Its good. Just a...just a…" He thought about it and rolled onto his side and pointed at her. "Is that my shirt?" He stuck a toothpick in his mouth.

"Oh uh...yeah. I threw my cloths in the wash and I grabbed one of your shirts." She blushed. The shirt went well to her knees, and the sleeves had to be rolled up. She was pretty short, actually. But to Zareth her head fit just right under his chin.

"I uh...well I made breakfast." She said pulling the towel from her head.

"Breakfast? You shouldn't have." Zareth pulled the covers back and climbed out of bed. He walked into the kitchen and smelled the air. It sent Dareths memory aflutter. He looked at the table and smiled.

"Puffy potstickers. How did you…"

"I got the recipe from the internet and decided to try to make them for you." Danny said and shrugged her shoulders putting the coffee on the table.

"Its...not much. But I guess its a thanks for taking me in again."

"Oh babe...this is...the best thing you could do." Zareth said and sat down picking one up and stuffed it into his mouth. He savored it for a moment. Danny could have sworn she seen a tear in the corner of his eye.

"Zareth are you alright?" Danny put her hand on his back. He picked up a few more and put them on his plate.

"They're perfect." He said finally and looked up at her. "Thank you." He said.

Danny spend the next half hour watching Zareth eat potstickers. She herself was only able to eat 8 of them along with everything else. She heard the dryer buzzer and went off to pull her clothes out.

"Hey Im going to jump in the shower for a sec...after that we'll head off to your apartment." Zareth said knocking on the laundry room door. Danny nodded her head.

"Alright if you feel up to it. I don't want to push you if you still feel sick." Danny said peeking out the door. Zareth looked up at her through the crack.

"Hey babe…'sha doin tonight?" Zareth said. It made Danny break into a fit of laughter. She even let out a little snort. Zareth pulled back away from the door.

Danny heard the shower turn on. This allowed her to know it was safe to strip from Zareths shirt. She rather enjoyed looking at the sandy color on her skin.

"Alright." She looked at herself. Their was a tear on her elbow, and side of her leg. She sighed wondering just how long it would take. These people freaked her out. She backed into the wall and held herself for a moment trying to alleviate the anxiety. She reached up for the door knob and missed.

"I'm okay…" She took a deep breath and took the door knob in hand. She walked into the room and sat down on the couch so she could put her shoes on. Zareth walked out of the bathroom whistling and running a comb through his hair. He danced his way over to Danny who giggled at his playfulness. He held his hand out and started to dance.

"I owe you one remember babe?" He said and continued to whistle while dancing. Danny moments ago felt her anxiety closing in on her, she felt it melting away with every step they took. Dareth and Zareth were the only two people able to lift her spirits like this.

"Dareth dances, but does Zane?" Danny asked.

'Ahhh...not really no. Maybe the robot." He winked at her. Danny giggled and was pulled to him again and dipped. "So...where did you learn to dance?"

"School actually. Their was a dance club. It taught all kinds of dances. It gave me something to do while dad was working. What about you?" Danny said being spun around again.

"I'm just...naturally this good." Zareth said. He spun around grabbed his jacket and pointed at her. Danny turned to see her jacket and picked it up.

Zareth allowed for her to take his hand as they walked through the city. The apartment was the one her father had vacated. The one she had previously was farther away from the school. This way it would save on gas and Mr. Borg promised to put her up for the rest of her life. So it was free rent. Danny gasped and giggled when she seen it start snowing again. She reached up letting the small flakes fall onto her exposed palm.

"Do you like snow?" Zareth asked. Danny smiled and nodded her head.

"It looks so clean, and fresh when it first falls." Danny nuzzled Zareths arm. "Now only if it weren't so cold." She said looking up at him.

"Yeah theirs always that." He said and put his arm around her to try to keep her warm.

Her apartment came into view a little later. The huge blue sign was all they seen. She walked up the stairs and down the hallway. She gasped seeing a door on the floor. It was just outside her apartment. Zareth grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"Hang back babe...let me go first." He said and slowly walked forward and peaked into the room. Their wasn't anything there except broken furniture, and shattered glass. Even the framed picture of both Danny and Dareth was torn to pieces on the floor. It was them at the fall fair.

'Those...jerks.' Dareth was angry.

'Calm yourself Dareth. It just means you can take her back to do it again.' Zane offered.

'Yeah...but that was a memory.'

'Understood.' Zane said.

"Jerks." Zareth spat his toothpick out and glared at everything in the apartment. He peaked back out and gestured for her to follow. He turned hearing her squeak. Zareth watched her run into the kitchen and come back with an old piece of cardboard and some glue.

"Aww babe...we don't have time for that. They could be back any minute."

"No...this is us." She said piecing the tiny pieces back together onto the cardboard.

"Babe…" He sat down looking at her. She had tracks of tears going down her face. "Babe commer." He pulled her onto his lap bridal style and held her to him. "Was wondering when the breakdown would happen." He said and sighed.

"I'm sorry...I'm okay I just…" She was visibly trying not to cry. "I'm okay…" She was shaking and just wiping her eyes with her jacket sleeve. Zareth just let her cry.

"I think sometimes you forget your a human." Zareth said The voice had chance a little. This was Dareth talking through Zareth. It happened sometimes. The voice got a little deeper for Dareth, but kinder sounding with Zane. After a few moments Danny stood up and walked around the room. Her hands were shaking still, but she would pick up some things, and put them into a box she pulled from the closet. After she was done she stood in the middle of the room and shook her head.

"They tore up all the pictures of my dad too…and mom…" Zareth watched the woman in front of him breaking at the mere sight of the room.

"Hey...but your still here sweetheart. I think thats what they would have prefered." He said and took her hand. "Come on...you can bunk with me till this blows over. Just a couple of friends living together." He runs his hands over her shoulders and down her arms. "Okay babe?" He looked into her eyes for a moment. That moment was all he needed to see. He turned to see two men in the doorway.

"We've been expecting you Ms. Pierce." Zareth stepped in front of Danny.

"Good afternoon gentlemen." He toyed with the toothpick in his mouth and looked from one to the other. They were indeed the same. Exactly the same." Zareth looked at them and pushed Danny behind the couch. "Stay there babe." He said.

"We would like to speak with Ms. Pierce." The one with a roman numeral 9 under his eye said.

"Nah you're going to have to talk to me. I'm her...lawyer you can say." Zareth said.

"We have no information of her having any lawyers."

"Ah...I see...androids. Really good models, but they were made on an assembly line." He said shaking his head. "I think its about time we left don't you think Danny?" He held out his hand for Danny. One of the androids reached forward to grab Dannys hand. Zareths fist rammed into his face. Zareth gasped in pain wiggling his hand.

"Oh that smarts…" He grumbled and looked around at Danny. "I did say they were androids didn't I?" He said.

"Look out!" She called out then cringed when Zareth was punched in the face since he attention was elsewhere. Zareth spun in one spot and fell to his hands and knees.

"Ow…" He said feeling Danny put her arms around him helping him up.

"Alright no more Mr. Nice Cyborg." He got into a fighting stance. Danny hid behind the couch again.

The first android ran at Zareth and punched at him. Zareth grabbed his arm kicked his leg out from under him and put his kicked the robots head. Its neck broke instantly. But that didn't stop it. He stood back up and set its head right.

"Uh...uh oh."

"Zareth I think you just made it mad." She said.

"Nah...nah not yet anyways." He ran over and punched at him. His best bet was to knock its head off. Without eyes they couldn't see. The second robot however had different plans. It grabbed Zareths arm and twisted around throwing him over his shoulder. The robot pulled Zareths arm around his back and planted his foot on his back firmly, and pulled. Zareths yells reverberated off the apartment wall.

"Ms. Peirce...his anguish will stop if you come with us willingly." The one with 9 under his eye said. Danny looked at Zareth who looked in incredible pain. His teeth were clenched, and his eyes looked to be fluctuating. He was under a lot of stress. Zareth was losing it.

"Alright...just please. Let him go." Danny said holding out her hands. They put handcuffs on them.

"Come along please."

"No...no Danny. Don't!" Zareth was stood up by the other android. His arms were placed behind his back and handcuffs were put onto him too.

"What! What are you going to do to him." Danny yelled pushing her way toward Zareth again. But her hair was pulled back she crashed to the floor.
"We said his anguish will stop...that mean we will kill him." Dannys heart stopped.

"Boss says he wants that one alive also." A third one stepped in. The one with the four under his eye. He leaned against the door frame and smiled down at Danny. "Well well...hello again." He reached up grabbing hold of her chin. She gasped and stepped back.

"Don't touch me. I have a boyfriend." She said and turned away from him.

"Not for long." He walked over and snapped his fingers. "Hold his head back. Open his mouth…" He said and smiled when Zareth was held down by one of the androids and the second forced his mouth open. 4 walked over and opened a Vodka bottle and smiled.

"What are you going to do with that?" Danny asked running up to 4 trying to knock it out of his hand. 4 Elbowed Danny right in the temple. She fell to the floor.

"Danny!" Zareth however didn't have long to protest. His mouth was soon filled with the horrid substance. They made him drink two bottles of the horrid clear liquid.