A/N: Since Hive is both god and swarm intelligence, it/they go in plural, I hope that makes a little sense.
They should be angry, enraged. Thousands of years, a long time even for a god, waiting for this one chance to change the world. To bring peace and a common sense over this wasted planet.
Now it was all over, and they would die. Every conquered soul, spread and lost forever.
They should be enraged, they should be tearing the human's head off, and they should be looking for a means to escape with their hundreds of desperate minds. But there was something that stopped them.
It took Hive a few moments to find the one soul inside of them that was filled with peace. Peace, and gratitude towards the broken man next to them.
Grant Ward was relieved.
Taking a vessel never came without a price. Hive would have preferred to move on but keeping Ward had allowed them to stay close to both HYDRA, his sworn and useless servants; and to SHIELD, his sworn and unfortunately not so useless enemies.
"Skye."
Hive nodded. This they had in common, man and collective both. They had known her, loved her, and now they missed her.
Lincoln turned his head, wincing at the motion. "Daisy." He closed his eyes. "You loved her, don't you?"
Hive cocked their head, surprised. They hadn't realized they'd been speaking out loud. Obviously, Ward was struggling inside of them. Pathetic humans. The corners of Ward's mouth lifted, then dropped, a silent fight at the end of all things.
Lincoln took a deep, shaky breath. "She loved you, too. Both of you."
The god nodded. "We gave her peace."
"You gave her lies."
Through all his pain and weakness there was still fire in Lincoln. The need to protect, just as Hive felt it from Ward. Pathetic humans. Skye was out of reach, forever. She had had her chance to create a new world, but in the end she had been too weak. It was ironic that she should live now, while they would die.
She would live. Again, Hive felt Ward's feelings drowning every other sound, every other motion. Could this one woman really bring him peace? If so, Hive had overestimated his vessel. As he had with all of humanity. They were useless… they deserved their fate.
To see what they loved and lose it, just like Hive had lost.
"You betrayed her", Lincoln added quietly, "both of you. You hurt her more than…"
"More than you could ever hurt her? You think this is some kind of contest?" The voice was sharper now. Lincoln frowned. "Ward, I guess."
Slowly, the other nodded. "Yeah."
"Where's Hive?"
Ward shrugged. "I don't know. I don't hear any of them. Maybe he doesn't want to witness the end."
"But it'll be the end! It'll be over, right?" Hastily Lincoln looked down at the keyboard in front of him. The course was set, the tabs fried. There was no way back. Then again, he also had feared that there was no way back from being infected by Hive.
Ward shook his head as if reading his thoughts. "It's over. She's safe. Not from the pain but from… this."
Lincoln sighed in relief as his vision started to blurr. "She'll get over the loss" he murmured as he sank down in his seat, "she's got the team. They'll take care of her."
Ward laughed bitterly. "You really don't know her, do you? Skye can't be controlled, not even by Hive."
"I don't want to control her." Lincoln felt his tongue go heavy. "I just want her to be happy…"
Ward stopped laughing. "Me too." He looked down at the near-dead man next to him. "You did a good job today."
"Yeah." A last shaky breath that wouldn't last the remaining thirty seconds.
Ward watched Lincoln die, his face contorted by pain. It was not peaceful to die, not even if you did it for the right reasons. He knew. He had died before.
"You deserve this" he murmured, smiling, addressing both himself and the god that had claimed him.
Do we? Hive asked inside of him. You let me in.
"I had no choice. I was dead."
Ward looked at the timer. Eight seconds, and he was arguing with a dying god. Then again, why not. He had always expected to die alone. It was alright.
Skye would never forgive him for Lincoln, but at least she would live. She would live. And since she was the strongest person he had ever met, she would find it in her to love again. And for all it was worth, the inhuman was right. The team would take care of her as well as they could. Hive had felt their power, their undying will to protect Skye. When Ward had started to work for Coulson, he had thought him weak for wearing his heart on his sleeve like this. Now his murderer was the one person who gave him peace. No matter how betrayed the old fool felt, his love for Skye would always be stronger than anything else.
Ward knew he could trust in that feeling; after all, he felt it himself. And she would never know.
I gave you a new life. I gave you power, I gave you all of us. Didn't you like it? Didn't it feel right? And now?
Ward smiled and closed his eyes. Even with Hive screaming inside of him, he managed to picture Skye in his mind. Fierce. Loyal. Proud. Beautiful. Maybe in another life, he would be meant to be with her.
"Feels pretty right to me."