A/N) Okay, okay, I get it. You are all probably really really angry at me for not updating this past month or so. Let me explain. Let's just say I totally forgot about NaNoWriMo, and then it creeped up on me and I devoted all my time to writing my novel. And totally forgot to warn you guys. I am so very sorry for that. Also, as of now, I have decided that updates for this story will be pretty regular, happening every Friday or Saturday of the week. So don't think I've totally abandoned you guys. So, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Really? If you're not sure, read the previous 10 chapters.

Skye POV

A month later, everything had gone back to normal. Or at least as normal as life could be on a living on a plane with a bunch of kids and agents. That is, until our last mission happened.

"Hold still, Tripp. If I have to adjust my arm to do these stitches one last time, there'll be hell to pay." Jemma screamed in her accent. We had just gotten back from a mission in Chad, and everyone was on edge. It had gotten so bad May and Coulson had even left us to figure everything out ourselves. Sara and Alice were in their bunks, crying. Ward was off beating up his punching back, with little Lauren right alongside him. Fitz was trying to figure out what about the mission had gone wrong. And Clay and Max? Well, things weren't exactly peachy. Everything had gone wrong in the course of a single day.

Everything.

-3 hours prior-

I was training with Sara in the gym. Ever since our make up, things had gone pretty smoothly for us too. She was starting to get closer to me and it was nice. I was also getting closer with Ward, which I wasn't going to complain about. Something about these kids made him a more laid back person. I don't know what it was, but I sure as hell wasn't going to try and stop it. But, we were just friends. (I can't even say that without rolling my own eyes. Even Simmons has asked me about it. Shy little Simmons!)

"Hey, punchy people. I know you all really like to fight, but we've got a meeting to get too. You have five minutes." said Alice, calling to us and then running back into the lab. She knew what was about to go down.

"Race you to the showers!" Sara and I said, both running to try and get to the girls showers first. When we were racing, we didn't ever notice anything else around us. Bad for Sara, since she ran directly into Max.

"Sheesh, watch where you're going, Sara." He told her, as I ran into the bathroom.

"Haha, sucker." I said, dramatically closing the door.

"Ok, everyone. We've got our next mission. We're tracking down this man, thought to be an unregistered gifted." he pointed to the picture of a English looking man, about the age of 30.

"Do we have a location?" asked Tripp.

"N'Djamena, Chad."

"And his powers, Coulson? Do we have an idea?" asked May, coming up behind him.

"According to witnesses and local law enforcement, he has the power of death. So, not only an unregistered gifted, but their's a good chance he's alien. " I was still amazed at how calmly Coulson said things like alien. I couldn't even phantom saying things like alien that calmly. Also, the power of death? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"So, what's the plan?"

"We all will split up into groups and attack him in the hotel he's staying in. FitzSimmons, Alice , you'll be staying in one van in case we need any med assistance. Clay and Max, you'll be in another van in the south entrance. Max in case we need immediate med help, and Clay, you'll be running surveillance. Skye, you'll be in a group with Ward and Sara. We'll need you to hack the electronic locks at the hotel. Sara and Ward are basically on guard duty." I nodded to Coulson while Sara groaned and Ward rolled his eyes, but then nodded.

"I need to do that from the surveillance room."

"Which is why you'll need Sara and Ward's help. When the lock has been opened, Tripp, May, Lauren and I will go looking for the gifted. Understood?"

"Yes sir." we all replied.

"Good. Now suit up. We'll be in Chad in two hours."

Max POV

When we got to Chad, Clay and I drove to the hotel in one van, along with Tripp, May, Lauren, and Coulson while everyone else went in a separate van. I don't know why, but I felt like something was going to go wrong.

When we got to the hotel, the four agents scattered while Clay set up his equipment. That left me pretty bored. I guess that's why I don't really remember how it happened. One minute I was just sitting and watching the surveillance with Clay, and the next I was reaching for the gun as a fat blonde haired man came toward us and punched out the window. Next thing I knew, everything was black.

Ward POV

I still didn't know how it had happened. The mission was going fine. Everything was going as planned. Skye had unlocked the door and Coulson told us to check in with Clay and Max. When they didn't answer their coms, we went to the van to find Clay dead and Max severely injured. And then hell went down.

"FitzSimmons, we've got a major situation. We found Clay and Max and it looks really bad. How fast can you get here?" I said, trying to stay calm, while Skye contacted May and Coulson, and Sara freaked out. I didn't blame her. If I still wasn't trying to stay calm, I'd be freaking out too. But, I was the most superior agent and I had to keep a cool head, if only for the other's sake. But, he was my brother, even if he didn't know it. I really wanted to freak out, but I couldn't. It wouldn't be a good idea at this point.

"Give us 30 seconds. Simmons and Alice are on the way." replied Fitz.

They were on their way. No big deal, right?

Skye POV

-One hour later-

So, here we were. Clay was most certainly dead, which was the result of Sara and Alice's crying. Max was really injured. We had flown to the nearest SHIELD hospital, which is where he currently was, unconscious and in surgery. I don't really know why, but this had put Ward on edge. I mean, I understood Lauren's situation. She'd had a crush on the guy since she was 6, so that made sense. Ward, well, I would have to talk to him about that. Maybe there was a family connection? I mean, both had the last name Ward. In the end, the gifted had chased Tripp, May, Coulson and Lauren out a window, which resulted in a lot of stiches for Tripp, who was the one who had broken through the glass. I watched as Ward hit the punching bag, hard. So hard in fact, that he started bleeding through his tape. I grabbed the first aid kit and ran down.

"Hey Lauren, sweetie?" I said, getting the two specialists attention. "Could you please take a break?" When she shook her head, I knelt down to her level and said, "Look, girly, I know your upset. We all are. But Max is going to be okay. I know he is But Clay..." I trailed off, and I guess she understood. "I'm really worried about Sara and Alice. Could you please go check on them? For me?" Lauren nodded, tears still glossed over her eyes, and ran off without another word. I looked at Ward, who smiled weakly at me. But I could see right through his facade.

"Ward, sit. I know your knuckles are bleeding." I held up the first aid kit to him. "Don't make me pin you down." Sighing, he sat down on the metal bench as I started to take various things out of the kit.

"You okay?" he asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess." I grabbed his hand and unwrapped the tape from it, and started to clean the wounds with peroxide. Ward winced. "Sorry, should have warned you."

"It's fine. How's Sara?" I looked at him, a little surprised. I knew he and Sara were close, but he had never asked about her before. I guess this was different though.

"Crying. She'll pull through, though. Alice too. I'm more worried about you, though." I said, giving him an eyebrow.

"What?" he said, faking surprise. "Why me?"

"Well, you were punching that thing like it was the devil himself, and it's not like you were that close to Clay or Max, no offense or anything. So, what's up?"

"Nothing." he said, as I started to wrap his hand with the gauze. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Don't give me that Ward. And don't shut me out. I'm your friend, I want to help you."

"I'm not-" he cut off, knowing his argument would be pointless.

"You are Ward. Look, I get if your still mad about anything I have done for these past few months. But, you can't do this Ward. And I can't sit here and watch while everyone I know falls to pieces and there's nothing I can do about it. May and Coulson left for their meetings or whatever. If I went to see Sara or Alice, they'd kill me. Lauren refuses to talk about anything, I know that. Jemma's not broken, Fitz is off running statistics, and Tripp's getting stitches. And that leaves you and me Ward. Please, just let me in." I begged him. I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. But this, talking and helping, was the only thing I knew how to do besides hacking. And hacking wasn't really going to help in this situation.

I saw him think about it, long and hard and then he finally said, with a sigh,

"Alright. Come on." he said, as he dragged me up the stairs to his bunk. I followed him, wondering what he knew. I smiled slightly. This was a side of Ward I yet to see. Someone who wasn't so closed off and stoic. When we got to his bunk, he sat me on his bed and pulled out a file of papers. They were some sort of chart, as far as I could tell. Some DNA test.

"What's this?" I asked him, confused.

"They're genetic test results from something I did back when Max joined the team." I guess my still not understanding must have showed on my face, because, he took a deep breath and said,

"Max is my little brother, Skye."

Sorry! I have to have some suspense in this story. Yes, Clay is totally dead, and there isn't much chance of him coming back to life. Still, drop me a line and tell me what you thought. Also, just thought I had to mention that this is the longest chapter to date! Yay, I'm getting better at writing! One last thing, I am also on Ao3 now, so if you go to a school like mine and can't get on because of restrictions, I'm also on ao3 now!

Till next time,

Sliverslith

Movie suggestion: Guardians of the Galaxy (See it if you haven't already, it's amazing.)

Song suggestion: 45 by Shinedown.

12/05/14