Compliance Will Be Rewarded

Author's Note: This is a short story on what I think will happen with Skye and The Obelisk in Season 2. Mix some friendships, SkyeWard (I am a forever shipper, despite I agree that yes Ward is realllllllly losing it…). Likelihood of this happening in the show – very low.

This takes place as an AU rewrite before episode 9 (Ye Who Enter Here). Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Going Away to Come Back

"I'll being seeing you soon…I promise."

Those were the words Grant Ward promised Skye in their last conversation together, albeit while he's on the run.

The words were short and confident, but to him, they included an extra dash of meaningful hope. He's been promising multiple things to her recently, and he has every intention to following through his word. First, to promise to find her father for her, and now, hopefully to see her again.

Of course, he didn't imagine that when he'd see her again, it was her with her death grip around his throat, strangling the daylights out of him and a blankly, merciless set of unrecognizable eyes staring back at him.

But of course, a rewind to a couple days ago:

It wasn't supposed to happen this way. He finally was able to meet Skye's father along with Dr. Whitehall, which was no small feat, mind you. He had to fake his brother Christian's death as well as his parents in order to win over instant approval from Dr. Whitehall himself, a "second chance" as the HYDRA head calls it.

I completely agree, he remembers himself saying.

As soon as he saw the Doctor draw out the symbols that the weird object called the Diviner emitted, his eyes widened in terror…internally. These were the same symbols Garret drew and Skye knew about. What did this Doctor want to use this Diviner for? Why was he so obsessed in getting Skye to use this Diviner?

It's more than just a weapon, he realized. It's something…else, that the Doctor has planned. Something that even Dr. Whitehall doesn't even know about.

So when he was tasked to welcome the SHIELD team that was on HYDRA's tails to get to the city/Diviner first, he gulped. This was not how he had planned to follow through with his promises. He didn't want her to meet her father this way, and he most definitely did not want to let her be used for impending harm on herself, nor take part in destroying scores of lives. Skye would never, ever want to do something like that. She would die would before she could commit such a monstrosity. She was too good, too pure to do such a thing. He had to get to Skye first, and time was running out.

This was his chance. He was able to get contact with Coulson (a very suspicious, pissed off Coulson) after some desperate attempts with contacting Skye, and let's just say that for once, he was glad that Skye heeded his warning and Coulson agreed to let him watch over her. Coulson's reasoning was that Ward will never hurt Skye, and despite his fallouts with the team, he's the best person to keep her safe and use his role in HYDRA to make sure that's true. Skye was the most important to protect at this moment – forget the HYDRA vs. SHIELD battle for the time being.

"No more, no less," Coulson stated.

So by the time SHIELD arrived a couple days later, he was in position to intercept any charge that may be directed against Skye. As far as the Doctor knows and Whitehall knows, he's just going out to scope out the perimeter of the entrance to this lost city, to make sure that no one related to SHIELD other than Skye is led to the area to activate their plans.

Just as he was to "report" the Dr. Whitehall that it was safe, it was too late. HYDRA had surrounded Coulson's team and managed to snatch Skye away. Despite her new training, she was still no match for a couple dozen deadly HYDRA agents.

He witnessed the entire event unfold. Coulson and a new guy (Lance Hunter, he thinks his name was) with Skye, and while the men took out most of them, some of them still managed to get their hands on her. Ward could only stand from a distance to sniper the agents that get close enough to her, but that all went to hell when the agents found out what he was doing. Now, he had to save his own ass before he could save Skye's.

Coulson managed to get him a set of his comms, while they embarked on their search for Skye together—Ward being in the shadows, especially knowing the surviving HYDRA agents in their fight that just happened likely will have reported his distrusting behavior to Whitehall immediately. Minutes turned to hours as they scoured this ruined city together, Ward having no idea where they could've taken Skye, and it was eating him alive.

He has to find her.

His luck came through then he found a trail of footsteps leading up to a hidden cave-like area, leading into a small door way in.

"I'm about a mile away from our last location, Coulson…heading towards this entrance up about 200 stairs, many boot prints that belong to HYDRA agent boots," he softly said into his comms. He scanned the area – good, no one was in sight.

Quietly making his way up unnoticed, he saw Dr. Whitehall walking up to bottom of the pedestal where Skye and the Diviner were now held, speaking in barely audible tones. Dozens of HYDRA agents surrounded them on guard. Skye's father nodded at Dr. Whitehall, smiling, and Dr. Whitehall smiled back. "Show me this power, dear Skye. Compliance will be rewarded."

Screw stealth out the window, especially when he already lost his sniper in his earlier scuffle with the agents. He ran as fast as he could, only getting about hundred feet to where Skye was just as she grasped the Diviner. He started yelling, "Skye, no….!"

She barely casted a surprised glance at him before an all-consuming bright, white light illuminated from the Diviner and Skye's body, so bright that all of Coulson's team and Whitehall's soldiers were consumed.

Then, he remembers falling, letting darkness overcome him.

Author's Note: Theories on what happened…? Can't wait for Tuesday's episode!