A/N: I know that it's been quite a while since this fic updated, like almost a month 'while', but I had to find a way to bridge Chapter 8 and Chapter 10 without being too short or weird, or being OOC with any of the people in here.

Thank you to LisaMichelle25 for being the beta for this fic!

And thank you to annavale23, Skyeward MusicLover, bellapaige88, shikasgirl10 and Not a Beautiful Little Fool for your reviews! :3

DISCLAIMER: I only own the storyline.


That afternoon found Skye and Fitz wrapped up together on the couch, Skye sobbing into Fitz's shoulder. She held her limbs tightly to her, desperately trying to keep her crying to a minimum for the dual purpose of avoiding unneeded attention from the others on the base and losing control of her powers. Fitz, unsure of how to comfort someone when they were crying over someone else who tried to kill him, murmured "Shh." constantly and rubbed circles into Skye's back.

"How…" Skye choked out. She sniffled and tried to keep her voice calm to ask Fitz a very important question. "How could anyone do something like that?" she peered up at Fitz through tear-blurred eyes, finding it a little difficult to see him clearly.

"It's Hydra." Fitz said softly, not wanting an earthquake just as much as Skye. "They do stuff like that to their own people all the time."

"But he's not Hydra!" Skye exclaimed, pushing herself away from Fitz. "He's not! If he was, he would have helped Whitehall for kicks, not to bring S.H.I.E.L.D. knocking on his door!"

Fitz tried unsuccessfully to bring Skye back into a hug, hurriedly spitting out words to calm her down. The room was starting to shake as Skye started letting go of the grip she had over her abilities.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant!"

"Like Hell that's not what you meant! You have this one idea of him in your mind, and you just can't seem to move past that!" Skye stood up and backed away. The room was now shaking violently, and shouts could be heard throughout the base as other areas shook in synchronisation.

"Skye!" May yelled as she ran into the room. "You need to calm down right now!"

Furious, Skye glared between Fitz and May. "I should've known better than to trust you with this." She hissed at the engineer, causing his face to pale even further.

"I–" he stuttered out.

"Don't even bother saying you're sorry, 'cause I know you're not!" she screamed at him. "None of you would be!"

"Skye–" May began.

"Don't start, May!" Skye's glare was icy, and May flinched at the mad malice in her protégé's gaze.

Coulson and Bobbi stumbled into the room as the tremors only increased in intensity. It was looking to be worse than the one a few days ago.

"Oh, fabulous, I have an audience!" Skye threw up her hands in sarcastic jubilation. "Why can't you all just leave me alone!" she screamed so furiously, her hands were balled into fists as she leaned forward to spit the words at them.

A loud crash drew the attention of everyone in the room, and was followed by screams of both pain and terror.

"Skye, you need to stop this!" Coulson shouted to be heard, yet it was still faint. "You don't want these people's deaths on your hands!"

"Oh, because you always have the best understanding of what people who are different want!" the Inhuman screamed. "It's always 'Coulson knows what's best', isn't it?" she mocked. Sending one last angry glare over the room, she ran.

"What are you going to do?" Fitz's voice trembled as he hurried to keep up with May. The senior agent marched through the trembling base, dodging falling bits of debris. "May!" he tried to get her attention as she ignored his question.

"I suggest you take cover, Agent Fitz!" May called back over her shoulder. Fitz stopped in his tracks, narrowly avoiding being hit by a large chunk of the ceiling as it fell in front of him. May had slipped into her agent persona, meaning that if Skye refused to cooperate, May would make one of two calls. Take her down or take her out.

Fitz stood there, shaking with the rumblings of the base. A faint voice calling his name brought him out of his thoughts.

"Fitz!" Simmons shouted, standing in the doorway to the lab. Mack stood by her, taking up the rest of the available space.

"Fitz, get to cover!" Coulson yelled at him as he ran past, followed by Bobbi and a couple of other field agents. Fitz let tears fall as he realised that Skye was in danger because no one wanted to listen. He knew that he needed to regain Skye's trust, and he couldn't do that if he was dead. Sprinting for an empty doorway, he thought through every scenario that would involve Skye getting away, and saving Ward and Agent 33. Whatever monstrous things Grant Ward had done, no one deserved the treatment that they were getting. What didn't register yet was how easily Ward was holding up under the amount of pressure that was being applied.

Skye stood in Coulson's office, rifling through every single file that could be of some use. She knew it was dangerous and reckless when she should just get out of here, but she needed something to go on.

Footsteps echoed along the corridor outside, and Skye instinctively ducked down, using the desk as her cover. The agents passed, and Skye immediately finished what she was doing. Unfortunately, there was nothing of use. Grumbling under her breath, she paced the floor between the loveseat and the chairs, her hands rubbing over her face in frustration.

How do I get to Ward without my laptop? Was the only coherent thought running through her mind. At least, the only one that made sense. Running her hands through her hair, she tried a new tactic. Who do I know that will help me? Who do I know that can help me? May most certainly won't, despite what she said in the car. She hates Ward. Gah, sometimes I just really wanna punch that face of he… Skye came to a complete stop as her thoughts raced ahead, segueing from May's face to Agent 33's. She can help! She knows where he is, she escaped! A new problem made itself known quite quickly, however. Now how do I find her?

All progressing thoughts in that direction were brought to a halt as she heard her S.O.'s voice arguing with both Fitz and Coulson's. Without a second to think about what she was doing, Skye dropped to the ground and rolled under the loveseat. She was really glad that it was a very big loveseat.

"I'm just saying you're jumping to conclusions!" Fitz protested as he sandwiched himself between the Director and his Deputy in their quest to get through the doorframe.

"Skye was warned to stop what she was doing! She refused, and now she gets I.C.E.D., or put down." May declared, striding to stand in front of Coulson's desk.

"You take her out or down if she doesn't cooperate?" Fitz reiterated, aghast. "She's her own person, May! She has a right to make her own choices without the threat of being killed for making the best one for herself!"

"She's not even human, Fitz." Coulson said gently. "She doesn't have those rights."

What? Skye gasped, tears threatening to fall but she pushed them back.

"Would you deny those rights to an Asgardian?" the engineer countered.

"Skye isn't Asgardian!" May gritted out.

"You're completely missing the point!" Fitz shouted. "It doesn't matter what race anyone is, you don't treat people like they're worse than animals! That's what you did to Ward, and it's what you're doing to Skye!"

Bravo, Fitz! Finally…maybe I can trust him. But I need to get out of here. Skye thought, her brain already whirring into overdrive.

With the blank silence that followed Fitz's outburst, the scientist realised that the agents in front of him weren't letting him finish his sentences because they weren't listening. They held no respect for his opinion. Sucking in a breath, he left with whatever was left of his dignity.

Needing Coulson and May to leave as well, Skye focused on channelling her powers and shook a section of the base a little more than the others, making it seem as though that was the epicentre of the quake. The two people she had once looked up to as parental figures looked up at once, and dashed off to find her. Once they were gone, Skye rolled out from under the loveseat and rose to her feet. Knowing that she wasn't going to find anything of immediate value to her goal, she left the office, running along corridors and ducking through rooms to find a quick exit.

Turning the corner of one of these corridors, Skye was more than a little surprised to find her laptop and charger shoved into her hands. Looking up, she saw Fitz's guilty expression written all over his face.

"Go!" he whispered. "Before May finds you!"

Skye didn't hesitate. Running for the nearest exit, she barrelled out of the building and into the alleyway beside it.

Stopping for a moment amidst the carnage that she was creating, she considered ending the quake to spare the lives of people in the city. But she was too afraid of what would happen if S.H.I.E.L.D. caught her, so she ran and ran and ran.

I wish I had some cash. Skye thought passingly, as she dry swallowed for the fourth time. I suppose it's time to see if my pickpocketing skills are as sharp as they once were.

She spotted a rich man striding past with an air of pompousness, and Skye decided that he would be her target. Concentrating again on focusing her abilities, she released a pulse that knocked the man off his feet.

"Oh my god! Are you alright?" Skye exclaimed, hurrying over to help him with his possessions that had found their way in every direction.

"I'm fine." He snapped, casting a low glare at her. "Don't touch me."

Skye pursed her lips and didn't bother to hide the fact that she just took a wad of cash from the man's wallet. It was behind said man's back of course. "Well, fine." She snapped back.

An old man sitting on a park bench nearby chuckled quietly as she walked past, the nostalgic gleam in his eyes that bespoke a personal history with pickpocketing. Skye smiled at him before hurrying to the nearest café. She needed Wi-Fi.


A/N: As always, guys, I'd love to know what you thought! I considered putting in the descriptions of the torture that Ward and Agent 33 received, but you'd already read a part of that and you'll get some more next chapter, so perhaps I can keep the live-torture scenes to a minimum, eh?

Reviews, guys! Your opinions are treasured! :)