Fitz flew past tunnel after tunnel to no avail. She was gone; Ward had taken her. Ward, who had been Hydra after all they'd been through together. Ward, who he believed had been their friend had turned on them for the enemy organisation. As he continued down the paths, he heard the scuffling of footsteps and then he heard her scream.
"Fitz!" her voice rang through the dark, narrow winding tunnels, clawing at his heart.
"Jemma!" he screamed, his voice dripping with panic, "Ward, leave her be!"
He continued to run; running towards the emptiness of what lay ahead of him. Running towards the man he had once called a friend. Running towards the man that threatened the one he could not live without. Another cry of desperation rang through the darkness. Fitz turned on the spot; facing towards the left tunnel of a fork that stood before him. She's going to die. This is all my fault. Disoriented as he was, the constant repetition of such negative thoughts attacked his mind. My fault. My fault. My fault. Tears were burning in his eyes. Another scream struck him, more so that he could feel the pain she was enduring. He felt so close to her, yet he was still to reach her.
Finally, the tunnel ended and he burst into a small, dusty cavern. His eyes adjusted to the depressing darkness and he saw her. She was trapped in a life-threatening headlock in the arms of the traitorous bastard. Her eyes caught his and he was overwhelmed by the pain that filled the usually lovely and joyful brown eyes of hers.
"Fitz," she yelped again, her small hand reached for him.
"Ward, listen to me. You don't owe Garrett anything. You don't always have to follow him. You have a heart, more so than he does. I know you care about us. Please, let her go," Fitz let the words tumble out of his mouth. He took one step towards the two, his palms placed up as a sign of surrender.
"You don't understand, Fitz. I owe him everything," Ward's jaws locked as he took a slight step back, his arms tightened around Jemma's neck. Her delicate fingers clawed at Ward's forearms, desperately. He was running out of time.
"Fit-," she cried out in agony, her voice had become even smaller than it could have ever been.
"Jemma, it'll be okay. Ward, don't hurt her, please… Take me instead, but let her go," he pleaded with all his might.
"No, it has to be her. Garrett personally asked for her," Ward said, his tone of voice softened for a fraction of a second, "He wants to use her as a leverage over you."
"But… why?" Fitz asked, despite the obviousness in the statement.
"He needs you to create a device for his specific purposes and he knows you wouldn't be willing to do anything for him unless he has her," he replied, pointedly gazing down at Jemma who looked absolutely terrified; so much so that it made Fitz want to barrel towards Ward with all the force he could possibly muster.
"Tell Garrett I'll do it, on one condition: you have to let her go," he said. Jemma's eyes flew wide open.
"Fitz, don't do it. Please don't. Not for me. I'm not worth it," the words tumbled out of her mouth without thought of consequence.
"You're worth everything to me, Jemma. I just want you to know that," he whispered, avoiding her gaze. He heard a sharp intake of breath originate from her small, porcelain lips.
"Now, let her go."