Chapter Twenty-Five (Faith and Fear Collide)

Skye could hardly recognize the man slowly approaching her. The bloodlust pouring from his blood-red eyes distorted him into something far from human. Perhaps this was karma coming back to bite everyone in the ass. Everyone thought him a monster and treated him as so, and that's what they got in the very end: A complete and utter monster. One that would not stop at anything to get what it wanted, and as of this moment it wanted destruction and nothing more. She was sure that he no longer wanted to rescue her. She was just a target in his razing path.

"Grant," she began slowly, raising her hands in front of her to show that she was not armed. "Grant, can you hear me?"

Ward stopped and stared at her, the flames still billowing off of him. He remained silent, except for a deep growl that resonated deep from within his chest. Was he even capable of human speech now? Had the curse all but turned him savage and wild? Hell, this was the curse that Ward had tried most of his life to run away from, the curse that had sent his life into ruin just a few years ago. Skye could tell that this was the full capability of the Slade curse, and this was the demon that it had been wanting to unleash for so long.

He cocked his head once more, as if he was trying to figure out who she was. It was highly likely that he had forgotten her. The only thing in his mind was the instinct for destruction, or what the demon craved. No, this wasn't Ward. This was far from the man that she called her boyfriend. This curse had broken him down and had stripped him away, leaving only a demonic shell fueled by hellfire. There was no telling if he could come back from this, this could very well be his end. Or he had already died and it was only the curse that was keeping his body alive. Was he even in there anymore?

"Grant, it's me, Skye." she said softly, giving him the smile that he always loved to see. "Don't you remember? It's me. You can stop whatever this is that you're doing. I'm safe. I'm not hurt. Please. Stop." She gulped as the smell of sulfur began to grow, signaling that the base would soon be completely up in flames. She had little time. "I don't know what is going on with you, but you can stop it."

He continued to stare at her, eyes wide and blazing. It was almost like there was nothing at all left inside of him, only the flames were driving him. His lips parted slightly and a croaking voice echoed out, "No. Can't. I'll be dead if I stop." His voice was low and gravelly, as if the flames were distorting it themselves. "Kill them all before they kill me." His once blank expression morphed into a jagged smile, not at all him.

Skye stepped back slowly as Ward resumed his approach. She didn't know what to say or what to do. This wasn't him, she knew that she had to fight back. But she didn't want to, not at all. She didn't want to hurt him. But she didn't know of any other way to get out alive. It was either her or him.

"Grant, please. I don't want to have to do something I'll end up regretting." she pleaded. "Stop this, now. Please."

"I don't want to." Ward droned on, turning his flaming hands to her. "You're only in my way." He began to increase his speed towards her, it was clear that he wasn't going to let her stop him.

Skye's eyes widened as she realized just what was happening. He was going to kill he, he was actually going to kill her She flung her hands out in front of her, releasing a massive shockwave towards him. But her stomach churned as Ward walked right through it, like it hadn't even affected him at all. Her powers weren't affecting him whatsoever, it was like he was completely invulnerable to her.

Ward continued his march towards her, completely ignoring what just had happened. He was completely and utterly oblivious to anything happening to him, as for his sights were focused solely on Skye. Nothing was going to get in his way, nothing could stop him.

Backing up, Skye firmly realized that there was nothing that she could do to fight against the oncoming onslaught of the Ward-turned-demon. Her powers were useless against him, there was absolutely nothing she could do. She was backed into the wall as Ward came just mere inches from her, the flames jumping at her to attack. But, strangely enough, she felt no heat from this.

A blood-thirsty snarl curled Ward's lips as he lifted his hands, "I don't care who dies." he growled. "As long as it's not me. This entire world will burn before I fall." He brought his hands close to Skye's neck and she squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the end. But that end never came as he wrapped his hands around her neck. No heat came, no pain came. She didn't die, she didn't die. Skye slowly opened her eyes to see the flames billowing off of Ward's hands, which were still around her neck, but she felt absolutely nothing from them. Only a little heat. They were just warm, just like the time he had her stick her hand in a fireball.

She wasn't a threat to him, even in his most enraged state. He couldn't hurt her and she couldn't hurt him. She didn't know what exactly was going on, but it gave her a small sense of hope. Even though it was just a tiny sliver.

Ward frowned and brought her hands back, "I-I don't understand." he stammered, the light in his eyes dying. It was clear that he was beyond confused to why he couldn't hurt Skye. It put a clear stop in his tracks and next thing he knew, Skye was grabbing his wrists. The flames snuffed out as he stared at her.

"Grant, you can't hurt me. You know that you can't hurt me, you just can't see it right now." she said softly, looking firmly into his eyes. "Now, do me a favor and just calm down. Then we can go home. Everything's over, Grant. I'm safe. Nothing's going to happen to me or you. You're fine. I'm fine. That's all that matters. Just tell me, do you remember who I am?" There was a hint of pleading in her voice, tears shining in her eyes. She desperately wanted Ward to come back.

Ward blinked and the red faded from his eyes, his face relaxing. "Skye?" he croaked. He backed away, looking all around in confusion. She had broken through to him. He looked back to her, "Skye, what the hell is going on? Where am I?"

Skye gulped and came close to him as he dropped to his knees. She crouched next to him, "There was an, um, incident. Unfortunately. I don't know all the details, but I think you ran from SHIELD in your quest to get me back. You just kind went a little too far."

His head hung low, "I lost it, didn't I?" he mumbled, burying his head into Skye's shoulder. "I fucking lost it."

"Grant, don't do this to yourself. Not now. We've got to get the hell out of here."

"What's the use?" he croaked, his head still in her shoulder. "SHIELD's going to kill me anyways. I don't know what I did, but I know it was bad. They probably think me way too far gone right now."

Skye wrapped her arms around his massive and wearied frame, "They're not going to do a single thing to you, Grant. They're just going to be glad that we're safe and sound." She stood to her feet and reached out her hand towards him, "Now, let's go home."

Ward looked up at her, seeing her soft and warm smile. He smiled slightly back, no matter how much it pained him to do so. He gently took Skye's hand and he came to his feet. Skye drew him close and his lips brushed her forehead. God, she missed this.

"Come on, Charizard. Let's go home. Let's go back to our family."

"They're not my family."

"Trust me, they are. Come on, let's finally go home."

Author's Note: I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry for the wait, this kind of went back to the far reaches of my mind. And I know it's such a short resolution for the problem, but I'm desperately trying to finish this up, which should be soon. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.