Authors Notes: This chapter was a little difficult for me to write. Almost felt like I gave up.

Unwanted Path

Chapter 18

Its hard

Danny could see Zareth gritting his teeth from the pain he felt when Dr. Spencer grabbed him, her nails digging in and scratching him. She tried so hard to break the chains. Drops of blood fell to her cheeks and shoulders. The shackles were cutting off her circulation, and tearing into her skin. Or even if thats what if should be called now. She was a robot. Dr. Spencer walked around toward the tray and picked something up and walked back over to Zareth. She flashed it into his eyes and shook her head.

"Oh those are definitely Zanes. Glowing blue optics with a human brain...how strange." She talked to herself and looked up at an assistant with deep purple hair. Not the pretty almost pink purple, this was dark and almost seemed to sparkle. Her eyes were a violet. She had on a Kimono with a white top that seemed to bleed into the same dark purple at the bottom as her hair.

"Midnight can you hand me the knife from the drawers."

"Of course mother." Her voice swam in suaveness. An almost enjoyable quiet that would lul any baby to sleep. It caused Danny to stare at her. Midnight walked by her and she smiled at her kindly before going back toward her mother. She handed her the knife before going back to her spot. She stood about three feet from her mother.

"Wait...what are you going to do with that!" Zareth asked and gasped as she cut into his leg. Zareth pulled at the restraints and shook his head trying to get away from her.

"Keep shaking like that and I'll cut something important." Spencer said feeling around under his skin and poured water onto the cap and sighed.

"Dareths legs...and the skin…"She ran her fingers at the part between human skin and nindroid. "Seems to be attached quite nicely too."

She looked up at Midnight again. "Lets see about his hand." She said and put the scouple down into a tray and took his hand. Once again Zareth struggled and pulled at the restraints.

"Nu uh...not this time. You're not getting that." Zareth was easily stronger then Dr. Spencer. Spencer however hand better plans. She looked up at Danny and then back down at Zareth.

"Pretty isn't she? She took on my old job, even had my old memories put into her." Zareth looked at Danny. He could see the blood running down her arms. He closed his eyes.

"Stop it." He told her. She smiled and shook her head.

"Ive put to much into this to care what I'm doing." She told him and pointed her thumb over her shoulder at Danny. "Weather she lives or dies depends on your actions." She told him.

"Stop it!" Danny yelled as Zareth opened his palm for Dr. Spencer to do whatever it is she was going to do. She smiled and looked up at Danny.

"Oh what an obedient pup." She said. She took another knife and cut a line down his palm. She felt around inside and looked around inside it. Zareth bit his bottom lip trying very hard not to yell. But he could feel every bit of what Spencer was doing to him. He opened his eyes a crack and looked up at Danny who he could hear over the fuz of his mind at that moment. She was screaming for her creator to stop hurting Zareth. Tears streaming down her face. She was hurt, but those tears were for him. His heart clamped for a few moments and he looked at his hand. It was a bloody mess as her fingers felt around inside. She finally pulled her fingers out and swung her hand around to put them inside the water to wash them off before picking up the pen again. She scribbled a few things down before turning back to Zareth. She grabbed something from her table before walking back over to him and turned his head, she wasn't very easy with his hair either. Just kept pulling it to one side. She looked inside his ear and gasped.

"Oh thats fascinating…" She smiled and giggled and pushed harder into his ear. Zareth felt that familiar pull and it made his nose hurt.

"Hey...thats not…"

"Oh hush you." She told him and then turned his head around to look up his nose. Zareth looked a little iffy about that.

"Hey your not going to check out...all...of me are you?" He asked. Spencer laughed and looked down at him.

"Do nindroids even have that?" She reached down for his pants only to receive an exclamation from Danny.

"Don't you dare touch him there! I'll pull your head from your shoulders." She yelled through gritted teeth. Spencer turned to Danny, her face didn't change emotionally. She still looked rather amused with this.

"I see…" She said and chuckled. "Do you love him Danny?"

"Not...like that no."

"But you love him."

"He's a brother to me...mom." Danny said trying to kick up to kick her in the face. She almost succeeded too. Spencer turned back around at Zareth.

"Do nindroids have that part?" She asked. Zareth shook his head.

"He doesn't have a digestive track anymore. He used to eat when he was in his old body. But my digestive system is fully Dareths." He told her.

"I see…" She said and wrote that down. "So we don't at least have to look at that part...but the skeletal structure...is most curious." She said and looked at his hand again. She ran her fingers over the grooves in his arms and then his face.

"Its nothing special, we just smack into one another on accident because Dareths clumsy and we fuse." Zareth offered. She nodded her head and leaned in so he could look at her better.
"But why?" She whispered to him. Zareth shook his head.

"Zanes an android. Dareths a human. This doesn't make any sense. But they've accepted it. Not only that they embraced it. I thought I was going to be a one time deal, but...then their was Danny. They kept wanting to join together to protect her. I'm kind of her...bodyguard." He told her. Spencer shook her head.

"She was never meant to last forever Zareth. Only a few months before her batteries ran dead. It should happen very soon." She told him. Zareth nodded his head.

"I know. Ronin told me she didn't have that much longer before she stopped functioning." Zareth closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I wanted to give her the best vacation I could. I was going to take her out dancing, and go to the beach, skydiving…" He took another deep breath to compose himself. "Why did you have to stop me?" He asked.

"You were exactly where we wanted you." She told him and patted his cheek. "Well its about time we looked under the hood...don't you think?" She asked and tapped his breastplate.

"What!?" Both Zareth and Danny yelled Spencer smiled down at him. She picked up a knife and walked back over to him. She pushed the scouple in to tear the skin around his chestplate. Zareth gasped and cringed as a thin like was created.

"Stop!" Danny pleaded. "Your going to kill him!"

"Ma'me...phone call for you."

"I was asked not to be interrupted." Spencer yelled. She threw down the scouple. Zareth panted and thanked fate for stopping her. The line that was cut on his chest was only a two inch line.

"Midnight...stay here. Make sure they're comfortable."

"Yes mother." She bowed respectfully to her. Spencer left the room leaving Zareth and Danny with the femme. Midnight walked forward a few feet and then raced forward and leaned over Zareth.

"Promise me...promise me you'll take care of her." She asked. Zareth looked a little amazed.

"What are you talking about."

"Danny and I were created from the same software. I was created to last though, please...I will help you both. You can take me with you. We can use my body to create a new one for Danny. We can put her subconscious into that new body. I know you know people who can create another." Midnight attempted to help. Zareth looked slightly amazed.

"It can't be done if we're in here." Zareth said trying to break free. Midnight began to undo his straps.

"I am not tall enough to reach her chains." Zareth stood up and limped over to Danny and pushed the button on the floor it lowered her down and allowed for him to undo the chains. Danny threw her arms around Zareth and kissed his cheek. She was really really worried, and she was shaking like a leaf.

"I gotcha babe." He whispered into her ear.

"No...I got you." She said and put her feet back on the ground.

"Come sister before its to late." Midnight called behind her. She held her hand out. Danny looked iffy at first, but Zareth stepped forward and took Dannys hand and then ran forward. Midnight took them toward the back of the building. Within was what looked like a boiler room. It was an old building so that was a bit of a given. The room was filled with steam. It was hard to see anything. The room itself was hot too, so as soon as they ran into the room they all began to sweat.

"Theirs a truck platform in the back. They bring in the supplies. Their are no cameras." She told them. They ran toward the back of the building. Zareth heard it, his heart clamped down hard. He turned to see Danny pushed forward as a bullet tore through her middle. Zareth caught her as she flew forward. She looked down at the pieces that fell from her chest. She looked up at Zareth. He couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't say anything, his vocal processor was unable to process anything. He just stared at the eyes of the woman in his arms.

"Danny?" He finally said. Danny smiled at him running her fingers over his cheek.

"Shhhh…" She whispered "It doesn't even hurt." She told him. She was having trouble taking in air. Her eyes fluttered.

"N...No don't…" Zareth looked up at Midnight who reached down sliding something over on the side of Dannys head.

"You've done this once before...well Zane has hasn't he? Mom studied the hell out of both of you." She said and held up the processor. Zareth gasped looking back down at Danny whose body was limp, Danny no longer existed in that body. She was within the micro processor in her sisters hand. Zareth nodded his head and fitted the processor into the back of his head as Zane had once did with Pixal.

"I don't know how long this will last as their are now three personalities inside your head." Midnight said. She stood back up and helped Zareth. He wobbled a little and held onto Midnight for support until he was able to sort things out.

'Zareth?' Dannys voice was in his head. Zareth smiled and sighed.

"Hey babe…" He said. "Sit tight and try not to do anything. We'll get you a new body soon."