For those that are wondering about the title, Eagleheart is a song sung by Stratovarius. I was listening to it the other day and it reminding of this story. That's just how my mind works. Those that know the song may not see it, though. Anyway, it reminded me of this and I thought: What the heck! I don't like my current title. Let's change it! So I did. I'd just like to thank Greywolf again(if he ever reads this) for introducing me to the wonderful song. For those that don't know the song go check it out and see what you think.

This is more of a transition chapter. But it's long! Or at least longer than what I've previously written. Enjoy!

Review Responses:

Eternity's Shadow It's on your fav's list only after the first chapter? Thank you so much! That makes me feel so happy! Thanks for the review.

Call Me Blue Streak Thanks for the review!

the foolish one I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the review.

druggie 101 I appreciate your opinion, but I don't know how to make it better if you don't inform me what needs to be fixed. Please be less vague if you review again.

Chaltab Sam saying her name was Mason was not a typo. I'm sorry that wasn't clear. I think I covered everything else with you. Thanks so much for the review!

Liaranne Thanks for the praise and the review!

Anomaly25 You're understanding it right, but there is a lot that will hopefully be unexpected. Thanks for the review!

Chapter 2

Tucker watched in amusement at the conversation that unfolded

"You're the leader?"

"Yes. Now about telling me the story of why you were running-"

Sam cut Danny off. "I also mentioned I would tell you after we reached your base. I don't have to tell you anything yet."

"We also don't have to take you anywhere. Why should we? How could you help us?"

"Right and you're not jumping for joy at the prospect of a new recruit. How many people do you have? Twenty? Thirty? Oh, that'll save us from a war!"

"I'd be 'jumping' if you could show me that taking you on wasn't going to endanger the whole reason we are here! I repeat, how could you help us?"

The two glared at each other as Sam tried to come up with an answer. What had she learned at the castle besides how to show off your wealth and lie to your country? She had been taught like all the others in history, science and language, but what skills had she acquired? She couldn't think of a single one, and Danny was starting to smirk at her inability to answer. The sound of a restrained chuckle caught their attention.

"You guys need me to leave and come back in a few hours?" Tucker barely got this out between the laughter he was trying to suppress.

"What are you talking about?" Danny watched as his friend's laughter grew at the question.

"Do you guys realize how close your faces are to each other?'

"What," the two yelped and sprang apart.

"She looked like," Tucker gasped out "she was going to jump you Danny!" Tucker's restraint crumpled, along with his body, and he collapsed to the ground laughing.

Obviously, Danny thought with a grimace, something about that was immensely funny and Tucker was going to let him share in the joke.

"What's so funny?" Danny asked as he walked over and looked down at Tucker. "The fact that you found another girl that doesn't want to jump you? Yeah, I suppose I can find that humorous."

"Hey," Tucker protested. Danny bent down to help him and glanced at Sam, blushing.

The red on Sam's face was dark as she blushed. "I was thinking of strangling you," she protested.

Tucker glanced over at her as Danny helped him to his feet. He opened his mouth to say something, but wilted under a glare sent by Danny.

"Let's just go," Danny growled. "We're just standing here. I don't want the guards walking by and spotting us."

"Well I wasn't the one-"

"Shut it, Tucker," he barked.

Sam was quiet as she followed them. It was mainly because she was trying to think up an excuse for why she would be running from the guards. Why else would you run from them unless you were a criminal?

The mood seemed to have lifted, Sam noted. The two were smiling and joking around. It was so hard to see Danny as their leader. She still wasn't sure if she believed it yet. She wasn't sure what she had been picturing when thinking of their leader but Danny had not been it.

"How can you say it was easy?" Tucker asked Danny. "Maybe for you it was. You weren't the one getting shot at!"

"You did fine. You got one of them, didn't you? Your aim is obviously getting better."

"But I wasn't aiming when I shot at them."

"Then you're getting better at getting lucky."

"Why did you ask me to come with you if you knew I wasn't going to be that much help? You could have taken all three by yourself anyway. You're the one with-Ow!"

"Sorry, Tuck. I didn't mean to step on your foot. I hope what you were going to say wasn't going to be important."

Tucker gave a nervous chuckle as he glanced at Sam. "Oh, you know me! Nothing I say is ever important." Tucker searched for a safer topic. "Still, this is the last time I go salvaging with you."

"I've heard that before."

"I mean it this time!"

Danny glanced at Sam as they talked. He couldn't guess what she was thinking or if she had caught on to anything. She seemed to be elsewhere, but she had to be coherent enough to follow them. Noticing where they were, he motioned for Tucker to go on ahead before turning back to face her.

"We're here."

"What?" Danny was looking at her and she blushed when she realized she had zoned out. It was a miracle she had been able to still follow them. She peered at the landscape around her. Large mesas towered over them. The sun had set enough that a mesa to her left blocked her view of it and cast a long shadow over the ground. She hadn't realized it had taken so long to get here and wondered how long she had subconsciously been following them.

"Where's Tucker?"

"He's already inside. Come on."

She followed him over to the mesa on their right where the ground inclined downwards near the base. There was a small cave, but it only went in about five feet before coming to an end. She watched as Danny walked down to the back of the cave. Then Danny turned to the right and seemed to walk right through the wall. Sam gasped at the spectacle. A second later Danny's head appeared again and he waved for her to follow.

Sam hurried down at his prodding and quickly realized her mistake when she reached the cave's back. The mesa's wall curved inward and the way the shadows fell across the cave gave the illusion that there wasn't anything beyond the small cave. Danny smiled at the dumbstruck look she had.

"How did you find this place?"

Danny just smirked and gave a lazy shrug. He gestured behind him. "How do you like it?"

Sam fixed her eyes on what lay behind him. The room was enormous! The ceiling was at least twenty stories over her head. The walls curved around in such a way that it reminded her of a very fat horseshoe. Pathways seemed to have been chiseled out of the wall and led up to small caves in the rock face. The only thing used for doors was a curtain that hung from a bar that had been drilled into the cave's arc. Similar partitions had been erected on the ground floor to divide different parts from others. Light came in through a fissure in the wall near the ceiling. The most surprising part, however, was over in the corner. A clear stream flowed out of where the ground and rock wall met and then, after a few feet of breaching the surface, dove back underground. The rest of the ground floor was clear, earlier people had been sparring with one another. The light had faded to an orange glow, though, and they were ending their practice for the day.

"Well?" Danny waited eagerly. It was weird, he thought, how much he was hoping for her approval.

"This wasn't like this when you first found it, was it? I mean the caves and the pathways in the walls. And the underground stream!"

"The stream was here, but I worked on it because it wasn't as big. I did the rest." He grinned as she opened her mouth. "No, you can't know how."

"Danny!"

Danny turned to be enveloped in a hug by a woman with long red hair. He returned it quickly and gave her a smile. "Hey, Jazz. Why the warm welcome?"

"Tucker told me you got in a fight." Jazz gave a smile to Sam. "You must be Sam."

"Ah, you've been talking with Tucker," Danny remarked as Jazz stepped forward to shake hands. "Tucker exaggerates. You know that Jazz."

"I know. I just wanted to be sure."

"Well, you're sure now. How about getting your fearless leader something to eat?"

Jazz turned to Sam. "Would you like something? I could fix up some rabbit or something."

"Actually," Sam said, "I'm a vegetarian."

"Danny frowned. "You think we get that much vegetation out here?"

"Obviously enough to have animals," Sam shot back.

"I'm sure I can find something for both of you," Jazz intervened. She gave Danny a stern look as she walked off.

"That your sister?" Danny looked over at Sam and nodded.

"Are you ready to finally answer some questions?" Sam looked around nervously. Her hand drifted down to play with the hem of her skirt.

"I suppose."

"Good. Follow me." Danny led her across to his room. Danny was the only one with a room on the ground floor. Danny hadn't given himself any special treatment. His room looked just like the others. Danny lit a candle and Sam got a better look at it. The room wasn't exactly tidy, but there wasn't much in the room for a person to worry about the clutter. There was just a bed that was unmade and a desk with a chair. Danny was over by the desk with the candle sifting through papers and grumbling under his breath. He finally pulled out a blank piece of paper and sat down. He beckoned for her to come further in the room as he grabbed up his only pen and wrote something down. He twirled the paper around so she could see what he wrote.

"This is how you spell your name, correct?"

Sam squinted down and read off the name Samantha Mason. She gave a nod and he turned the paper back around to face him.

"Why are you writing this down?"

He gave her a small smile. "I don't know. Just trying to be professional I guess. Where did you live?"

"At the capital, Amity Park."

"You came a long way to join us."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why come all that way? Why do you want to join us?"

"I…back at home my family all believed that there isn't going to be a war. I do, but I knew they were too blind to listen to me. I wanted to do something and I had a feeling that I should come here."

"Why were you running from the guards?"

"They saw me here and assumed that I was already part of the Resistance." She watched silently as Danny wrote something down, nervous that her explanation wasn't going to be good enough.

"Why didn't you just tell them that you weren't with us? And don't call us the Resistance. It wasn't my choice to go against the King, it was his."

Sam looked at him startled. The bitterness in his voice had been unexpected. But she couldn't blame him for being bitter and angry towards the King.

"I know. And I didn't tell them because I was planning to join you and if they had believed me they would have made me go back home."

"Fair enough. What can you do for us? I don't suppose you've had any weapon training before?"

"Not really."

"Any combat experience whatsoever?"

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean 'not exactly'?"

"I punched a boy I knew when I was seven."

Danny laughed at that. "Okay, let's try something else. Can you cook?"

"That depends on whether you want the food to be edible or not."

The corners of Danny's mouth lifted as he glanced at her before writing something down. "Any experience nursing the wounded?"

"None."

Danny looked at her, exasperated. "Can you do anything?"

"Well…they had me take these lessons. I didn't want to so it didn't last long, but I can…sew."

"Do you think it would be possible for you to learn the skills that I mentioned?"

There was an easy question. "Yes."

"Good. I don't think I'll need anything else. Jazz should have dinner ready by now. Do you think you can find the kitchen while I go make a room for you?"

"Make?"

"Make, prepare, set up, put together and generally just find you a place to stay. I'll need to go around and find some things. You want a bed, right?"

Sam glared at him as Danny grinned. "Why didn't Jazz just bring us the food when it was ready?"

It's one of the rules. While the curtain is pulled over the door it means privacy and that the person isn't to be disturbed. The only exception is if I need you to do something. Jazz came up with the rule and she's not going to break it."

"Oh. I might not go just yet. Will you answer some questions for me?"

"That depends on the question, but go ahead and ask away."

"Who are we fighting?"

Danny sighed. "You ever hear of someone named Vlad Masters?"

"It sounds familiar. Yes."

"Vlad Masters is a millionaire from another country. He always had the money, but a few years back he acquired…something and decided that the money wasn't enough I guess. He started planning to attack Amity and used his money and…that something to get fighters. When I heard about the attack I went to the King and you know the rest. It doesn't matter. I found out a bit later that the palace guards wouldn't have been able to do much against him anyway.

"Why?"

He countered with his own question. "Do you believe in ghosts, Sam?"

"What? I don't know. Where did that come from?"

"Never mind." Sam could tell from the look on Danny's face that she had brought up bad memories.

"Where did you learn to fight?"

"I taught myself and got tips from others who could when they joined."

"How many people fight? Tucker mentioned he didn't go out in the field much."

"Tucker is our tech guy. He makes sure our weapons work fine and tries to make items to help us from the scraps we find. Almost all the others fight."

"If Vlad was going to attack Amity then he'd have to have a lot of people working for him. It didn't look like you had many people here. Why is he bothering to fight you?"

"He's toying with me. He's getting something out of this, I just don't know what. I think I need to get that room ready for you. You can bring up more painful memories tomorrow." With that, Danny stood up and left the room. Sam watched him leave, dismayed. Getting Danny upset had been the last thing she wanted. With a sigh, she went out of his room in search of the kitchen.

Danny found Tucker in the "lab." He was working on the guns they had picked up today; making sure nothing was faulty about them. He was working by the one small candle he had set on the table. An empty wooden bowl nearby showed he'd already eaten.

"You need me to cover for you, right?"

Danny nodded. "Sam needs a room."

Tucker smirked at him. "You know, she could just stay with-"

"Don't you dare finish that!"

"I was going to say Jazz."

"Sure you were. Come on. We have to do it while she's with Jazz."

"This is our last one." Tucker held up a shower rod and curtain.

"What about a bed for her? Do you know where we can get one?"

"Not a clue. Let's just focus on making her a room first."

"Right. Jazz can't keep her busy forever. Grab the candle." The two walked over to where the path led upwards. The paths that had been cut out of the wall didn't have anything to hold on to with. Danny held the candle up to see. The paths were not exceptionally wide and there was always a risk of falling, especially in the dark. They stepped out onto the landing and walked around until Danny stopped at the end that looked over the stream. Danny handed the candle back to Tucker and faced the wall.

"Careful, Danny," Tucker warned. "Don't strain yourself."

"Stop looking at me, Tuck, and make sure no one is watching. You're supposed to be my cover, remember?"

"I remember." Tucker turned around as Danny placed his hands on the rock wall and closed his eyes, concentrating. It was dark so there wasn't a large chance that someone would be watching, but it was a precaution that Danny was glad to have. His hands glowed green and then faded to normal as the energy traveled into the rock. There was a flash of green from within the rock like a small detonation and Danny ran his hands over the wall before pulling away. If it had been lighter the cracks in the wall and the outline of an arch could have been seen.

Danny then crouched down. His hand was placed on the ground and he closed his eyes and he felt the invisible power flow from his hand into the ground. He opened his eyes to watch as the power rose out of the ground and enveloped the rocks. Slowly the rocks descended into the ground. It was done slowly so the rocks on the top didn't accidentally topple over and make any large noise. When the rocks had disappeared Danny was looking into a new cave in the wall. He collapsed.

"Danny!" Tucker ran over.

"I'm fine, Tuck. Just a little tired."

"I told you not to strain yourself."

"I didn't, I'm fine. My mom's gone, Tuck, she's not dead. You don't have to be her replacement. Go and see where Sam is while I put the rod in."

"But-"

"Go before I put you in the ground with the rocks."

With one last glance, Tucker obeyed and set off towards the kitchen. He'd taken the candle, Danny noted, but that was alright. Danny grabbed the rod and stood up. Holding the rod straight, Danny let out his intangibility again and it went into the rod. Danny then eased both ends into the wall and then lifted it up until the arc began. He sighed as he let go and then grabbed onto the rod again when a dizzy spell hit. He groaned as a familiar headache started.

I'm all right, he thought as he started walking down the path towards the slope that led down to the ground floor. His hand traveled along the wall as he walked. All I have to do, he continued, is get to my room and sleep it off; that always helps. He walked farther on, but as he stepped away from the wall, the pain is his head spiked. The world became fuzzy, but Danny stubbornly tried to walk. He took only three steps more before his headache spiked again and he experienced another round of dizziness that threw him balance off and his next step met with thin air. Danny fell twelve feet or so.

He'd blacked out before he hit the ground.