So...I should be ashamed.

I am really really really sorry for the long hiatus. I really don't have much excuses other than the fact that I am officially a college student and I have midterms coming up...

I was so surprised by the amount of people who read this when I was away. Thank you so much for not giving up on me.

Sorry about the length.

Disclaimer as before.

Unexpected Sidekick

Chapter 9: Something Wrong

As soon as Daniel disappeared, Dana ran toward the wall and jumped as well. Her feet almost slipped from her haste, and her lack of upper body strength made it difficult for her to climb a cross. But she managed to scramble up and back down again before she got caught. She did manage to see the French lady clap her forehead in frustration and Agent Rhodes shout, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" before the wall blocked her view. Although she was a curious sort of person, Dana knew it was stupid to stay behind and ran as fast as she could. She could hear the clanging of metal behind her, showing that Agent Rhodes was not that far behind. With her heart pumping at a fast rate, she came across a fork in the road. After hesitating for a second, she took a left, only to see that the end was blocked.

She never did have a sense of direction, and only knew the streets of New York due to the constant mistakes she made rather than innate talent.

Of course, none of the Four Horsemen knew of this, as they were already far away from danger. Jack, after ditching the uniform he had swiped to confuse Rhodes back in the crowded villa, managed to escape to another hotel they registered into before the group came to New Orleans. Henley and Merritt were also on their way there, having caught a cab many blocks away from the show.

The only one who could actually see Dana was Agent Dylan Rhodes himself, and he was confused and angry beyond belief.

"Why did you tell me to shoot him?"

Rhodes saw Dana turn around slowly, looking like a young girl rather than a criminal mastermind. Rhodes knew that Dana was a smart cookie, he was after all smarter than anyone, but he was still wary.

Like he thought earlier, Dana was an unknown variable.

Who knew what she would do.

"Well...aren't you going to arrest me, agent?" Dana said calmly, her voice not wavering at all despite the truth.

Rhodes didn't care about arresting her, for obvious reasons, and was more focused on the puzzle that was Dana Zancig, "Answer the question."

"Welllll," Dana said, taking a cautious foot back, "I knew you weren't going to shoot. You can't shoot."

"Yes, I can," Rhodes, no Strike, said before quickly releasing the safety on his gun and firing a single shot to the sky. The loud sound irritated his ears, but he was happy to note that Dana visibly flinched at the noise.

Strike watched as Dana fiddled with something close to her mouth, Her microphone he thought, and presumed that she was turning it off.

Strange. She didn't want the others to hear.

"Tell me again girl," he said firmly, watching and noticing, "And tell me truthfully. You obviously know that I am an FBI agent, capable of killing for the law. And yet you say that I can't fire a shot at a low, rugged, filthy criminal as yourself. Why did you think that?"

Dana, who had been warily making half-formed escape routes in her mind, focused on the agent at the question and simply said, "Because I believe you're a good person."

Too shocked at the simple naivety of the answer, Rhodes let his arm visibly lower and relax. In his head, he was thinking Is this girl for real? before quickly training the gun back at her again. "You serious?"

She nodded, and Rhodes couldn't find a hint of false intentions in her eyes. And he was very good a reading people. None of the mask he had seen back at the police station was visible now, and a picture of full raw emotion displayed on Dana's face.

This girl, someone he had only been introduced to, trusted him unconditionally.

It was a strange feeling, that.

Without thinking, Rhodes found himself order, "Go." Dana's face shifted to confusion before happiness and finally to a smug grin as if she knew that he was going to let her past.

Without another word, Dana ran off into the alleyway, until he couldn't see her swinging hair anymore. Rhodes's arm swung down, his shoulder muscles loosening and he just shook his head.

This girl...

It wasn't until Dana entered the hotel Tipton's main lobby and clamored into the empty elevator that she finally relaxed her tense muscles. As the floors flew past her, Dana leaned against the wall and shuddered.

It was a miracle she managed to get here.

Dana's vision started to waver as tears began to bubble from her eyes. A loud ceaning sound erupted from her throat, and Dana clamped her hands to her mouth in an attempt to keep the sounds of pure fright and agony from coming out and alerting anyone.

Everything was alright. They did it. No one was hurt.

She was alive.

When Dana woke up groggily to the sounds of screaming back at the performance, the first thought that flickered in her head was that of pure fear. She thought she was a little kid again. She thought, briefly, that her parents were still alive and ready to use her like they always did. For the Eye.

Whatever that was.

Because the Eye was an organization of freaks, people who used spells and curses, potions and stones, to force magic into their souls. It was supposed to be a society for good, healers, royals, and soldiers, according to the ancient tomes that she secretly read. It was supposed to be only for those who had the potential, people who had an untapped magic deep within their souls.

But anyone, including her parents, could be magicians if they wanted to. The Eye had that kind of power. But the magic, the forced magic, wasn't good. It wasn't pure. And although her parents and many other members of the Eye were essentially better at controlling the power than Dana did, her magic was innate.

But Dana didn't know that.

All she knew was that she had this ability to do things, things that weren't supposed to be true. She was terrified about being found out. She had read enough comic books to know that whatever she had wasn't good.

God, she hated magic.

I don't plan to be found out. Dana thought, taking a shuddering breath and closing her eyes. Everything was too much right now. Too much. All of these thoughts that she kept shut up tight in her mind was flooding out and her though processes looked more like a jumble rather than the linear organization it was.

The fear of the Eye haunted her throughout her life. When Jack was recruited for the Eye, she was scared. Dana didn't know much about the Eye other than what she remembered from her childhood and the few friends her parents brought back home.

But Jack, her best friend in the whole wide world, was adamant about it. And if he wanted to be part of the Eye, she was going to help him, even if she didn't know whether he had the potential to harness the magic in his soul (if he had any to begin with).

The fear when she woke up was quick and Dana panicked, only to realize that the screams weren't what she thought. Reality flooded in and Dana cursed out loud before quickly running to the opposite exit when she heard the word "FREEZE!" echo in the building. She didn't even stop to think as to why she suddenly dropped in a dead faint and only cared about getting out of that building and helping her friends.

After fumbling with her microphone, a quick chat later, and another random excuse she was back on track with the plan. Unfortunately for her, she got caught by a group of cops before she could get any farther.

That had been painful.

But she somehow managed to break free from them (and trust her she still doesn't know how she did it), and find Daniel.

But she had been too late.

The elevator door opened and Dana quickly wiped her tears under her glasses and stumbled into the hall after checking to see if anyone was around. Seeing no one, she walked slowly toward the second to last door on the right. She would have walked faster if it wasn't for the fact that her head was whirling from vertigo. Fighting the urge to throw up, she took a deep breath and straightened her spine.

"Dana!"

She felt Jack first. A pair of arms wrapped around her tightly before pulling back. Dana could see Jack glancing up and down over her body, checking for injuries. "Are you alright? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Dana managed to laugh, wincing a bit. "Just a little bruised, that's all."

"Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?"

Dana shook her head, "No. I was—crocodile tears, Jack. I had to get away from the cops somehow."

"Oh," Jack said before stepping away.

Dana frowned, noticing something amiss. The atmosphere felt strange, weird, as if there was a giant in the room that everyone was too scared to wake up. Jack looked happy, grateful that she was here.

But the others were silent.

The Four Horsemen plus the assistant stared at each other, each trying to figure out different things. Dana bit her lip in worry, wondering why the others were behaving as if she was a ticking time bomb.

Finally Daniel, who was sitting on the sofa, cautiously cleared his throat, "So um…we heard a gun shot."

"I'm alright," Dana said, keeping her smile in place, "See?"

"Yeah," Daniel muttered, exchanging looks with Henley.

"Why did you turn off your mike?"

"Why the sudden interrogation?" Dana asked, her eyebrows scrunching up in confusion. "What's wrong with you guys?"

The room was silent. Dana turned back to Jack, silently pleading to answer the question. Jack looked up away, preferring to stare at her shoes.

"Nothin" he said, avoiding her eyes. "I have to go. Do something."

Dana watched as Jack abruptly walked out of the living room and into his room. Confused and slightly weary, Dana turned to the others, "Is…everything alright? Did something happen?"

Merritt, who had been silent this whole time, stood up, "Nothing's wrong, Downs. It's just been a long day and everyone's ready for some shut-eye. We have ride back to New York later in the early morning, so I suggest you get some sleep."

"Good night," Henley and Daniel said together, standing up as well. They both gave her a small grin, although it lacked the warmth it usually did, and left the room.

"Me too," Merritt said, stretching his arms. "Get some sleep, Downs."

"Night—" Dana said softly, not knowing what was going on.

Soon she was the only one left in the living room.

And it was only a few minutes later did she remember that Merritt didn't call her a pastry even once in the duration of the night.