Hello, my dears! See, I told you I would post the next one soon! So, my goal was to wrap up my 25-chapter story by the time SHIELD starts again, but unless I write one chapter a day for the next five days, that's not very likely! But I shall try! As always, don't forget to review and enjoy!

Skye rejoined May in the training room. "Hey" she said quietly, throwing a half-hearted punch at the punching bag.

"That was quick" May replied. "They ran all the tests?"

"Not exactly" Skye muttered. "Fitzsimmons weren't really feeling up to it." She punched the bag again, much harder this time.

"So," Skye continued, "What was this new technique you were going to teach me?"

"I've noticed you've had some trouble controlling your emotions lately," May began.

"That's an understatement," Skye mumbled.

May looked at her sternly. "We're going to work on controlling your emotions in high-pressure situations." She glanced at her young student with a look of pity. "This isn't going to be fun, but trust me, it will help."

"Okay," Skye whispered. "I'm ready."

May nodded silently, then motioned for Skye to follow her. The eventually arrived to the door of the basement where they had been keeping Ward. Hesitating for only a second, Skye followed her S.O. down the stairs. They passed the cell, and entered a smaller room that Skye had never noticed before.

The room was white and freezing cold. There was a chair-with-headset contraption that looked a lot like Koenig's lie detector. May pointed towards the chair, indicating for Skye to take a seat.

Skye slowly sat down, taking deep breaths. She felt the arm cuffs tighten around her wrists. Skye paled, and began to tremble as the helmet lowered itself onto her head.

"Relax," May told her soothingly. "Remember, the purpose of this exercise is to teach you control during the most stressful of situations. You're going to be exposed to some very scary images, but remember, none of it is real. These are all outlines of situations that I thought you might find yourself in. But they are only outlines; it's up to you what you make of them. Just find something to focus on to keep you calm. I'll be right outside."

Skye's eyes followed May as she left the room. She couldn't tell if her shaking hands were due to the coldness of the room or the fear that was overtaking her. Keep breathing she told herself sternly. Focus, Skye, focus. Suddenly, she began feeling vibrations through the helmet, and then the visions began.

May stood on the other side of the tinted glass, watching her young student. May clenched her fists as she saw Skye's body tense with fear. She closed her eyes, bracing herself, as Skye started to scream in terror. Too late, May realized that she hadn't closed the door to the basement, and everyone on the Bus was now being exposed to Skye's screams.

Sure enough, Coulson sprinted down the stairs, with Fitzsimmons and Mack right behind him. They all looked puzzled when they saw May standing guard outside of the cell. She swore quietly as Mack ran up to her, looking like he was about to break down the door.

May stood in his way, holding her arms out in front of her. "Go back upstairs," she ordered. "I've got this under control."

"You're torturing her!" Fitz shrieked, his voice cracking as Skye's screams grew even louder. May glared at him, and was about to reply when they heard another voice from upstairs yelling:

"Skye? -Skye!"

"Unbelievable," May breathed as she recognized Ward's agitated voice. "Mack, go upstairs and shut him up. Fitzsimmons, you two get out of here as well." The three agents hesitated, looking anxiously at the door behind which Skye was still screaming. "Go!" May ordered again, with a note of menace in her voice. The younger agents obediently turned around, and walked back upstairs.

She rolled her eyes, then turned to Coulson, only to see him burst through the door and turn off the machine Skye was attached to. He gathered the now senseless agent in his arms, and held her as sobs wracked her body.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" he yelled at May. "Are you trying to drive her insane?"

May just looked at him, eyebrows slightly raised. Those were the first words he'd said to her after their kiss, and they weren't very friendly ones.

"May! Talk to me!" She jumped slightly, then frowned at him.

"I was trying to help her," she said quietly. "I'm training her…she needs to learn control."

"And what in the world gave you the idea that a torturing device would be the way to teach her that?"

In a voice softer than a whisper, May replied: "It worked for me."

Coulson sighed deeply as he stroked Skye's hair comfortingly. "May…" he began, but she held up a hand, stopping him.

"After Bahrain, my emotions were so messed up, Phil. Every little thing set me off. I didn't cause any earthquakes, but I was a complete wreck. Why do you think I ignored your requests to come back to work? I took that desk job because it was the most boring, emotionless job I could find. I finally went to see a doctor who gave me this retro-emotional therapy. They basically bombard you with memories that your brain turns into hallucinations. And then you learn how to cope with them."

May looked up at Coulson, her eyes full of pain. He looked like he was about to speak, when Skye began to moan in her sleep:

"Daddy? -No…no! I didn't mean to! -I didn't! NO!"

"Skye, hush, sweetheart, it's okay" Coulson whispered soothingly. Skye relaxed slightly at the sound of his voice, and Coulson glanced at May in confusion. "What's she talking about?"

May looked at him for a moment, not saying anything. She took a deep breath, then said shakily: "She killed him."

Coulson looked shocked. "What?"

"After we brought Ward up, she crumbled the tunnel to pieces…there's no way he could've survived: he was unconscious when we left him."

"Oh my God" Coulson said softly, looking down at his young protégée, searching her face for a sign that his surrogate daughter wasn't a killer.

"That's why Fitzsimmons are so nervous around her," May continued. "Simmons heard Skye say she was going to do it, and judging by the amount of nightmares she had last night, Simmons probably figured out that she went through with it."

Coulson kept staring at Skye, with a look of complete sadness on his face. "She's different, Phil" May said gently. "I was just trying to help her. She has way too many emotions running through her, and she's incapable of making logical decisions. Our Skye never would've done that."

"I know," Coulson replied softly. "She had the opportunity to kill him after he attacked me, but she couldn't do it. That obelisk changed her." Skye began to whimper once again. "The poor child," he murmured.

"I'm going to take her back upstairs," Coulson said. "In the meantime, we need to get Ward off this plane. I'm sure his presence has a lot to do with her stress."

May nodded, then turned to head back up to the cockpit. "Next stop: Aldabra".

"Never heard of it" Coulson said.

"That's the point."