Chapter 22

4 months after the drop off...

Daisy's eyes shot open and as per usual, she was met with absolute darkness. She was kneeling on her knees and the only thing that she could sense was the vibrations that her body was emitting. She stood up when she felt another presence in the room.

"Gordon" She said with a bored tone.

"It's been a while" Gordon said with a smirk, even though Daisy couldn't see him, she could feel his smugness, "Have you gotten used to the darkness?"

Daisy rolled her eyes. No, she hasn't. It sucked being trapped in this box. She wasn't sure how much time had passed but she was on the verge of going crazy. She had gotten a handle of her powers in the first month of training with Gordon, but the asshole wouldn't let her leave yet because he claimed that she wasn't in tuned with her abilities. So, he blind-sided her and teleported into this bloody box that felt more like a torture room than anything. He had installed different kinds of machines that would turn on and make her experience a near-death experience. For example, she almost died from being poisoned by a dart and Gordon had beaten her half to death with a boe staff. Keep in mind, this all happened in the first week of being here.

"Oh… you're mad at me"

"No shit" Daisy spat, "You locked me in here for god knows how many months! In pitch darkness!"

Do you know how hard it is to find where the bloody bathroom and shower was in pitch darkness? It was hard, especially when she wasn't used to differentiating the frequencies of different objects.

"It's part of your training" Gordon justified himself.

"Yeah, I realised that when you brought a knife throwing machine and hid it in this bloody room" Daisy had numerous cuts all over her body because the knives didn't make a sound so instead, she was forced to dodge them by sensing the vibrational frequencies of the knives which was difficult since it was her first time doing that.

"It worked didn't it?"

"Then how about freezing my ass half frozen?" Daisy didn't know what the hell Gordon was thinking when he installed a machine that caused even the walls to turn into ice.

"Being cold slows down you heartbeat, in normal cases you would have died from hypothermia but you were able to increase your own heartbeat to keep yourself warm"

Shit, Gordon really did have a purpose for everything. Daisy rubbed her forehead tiredly and just wanted to get out of this place, "Tell me that it's graduation day", as pissed as she was with Gordon, she knew that he was doing this because he wanted Daisy to have full control over her powers.

A smile appeared on Gordon's face and all of a sudden, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Next thing she knew, she was no longer embroiled in darkness, but she was now in the cabin. She immediately covered her eyes as she her head pound with a burning sensation from going dark, to light to quickly, "Oh right, sorry. I forget how the light affects people" he pulled sunglasses and put it on her, "It'll take a hours to get used to it"

Daisy sighed in relief when she opened her eyes and saw actual light instead of darkness, "How long has it been?"

Gordon thought about and began counting his fingers, "3 months"

"3 months?" Daisy shouted, she was supposed to return to S.H.I.E.L.D 2 months ago.

"I made Lincoln send them a message. They said that they're going back to base and you can come back whenever you're ready"

Well… there was a bright side to this. At least they didn't think that she abandoned them or anything. She rubbed her forehead tiredly. Not only was she sleep deprived because of her thoughts and paranoia, but she was also readjusting to the outside world. She could feel everything shaking at a different frequency and it was loud but she was able to control it now. It didn't feel overwhelming however, it felt like she had tinnitus, a constant ringing in her ear.

Gordon also reached into his coat and pulled out her watch, "This belongs to you" he gently grabbed Daisy's wrist and put it on for her.

"Thanks" Daisy muttered, don't get her wrong, she was still pissed at Gordon for trapping in the hell box for 3 months without warning, but to be fair she did ask for it when she consented to Gordon using unethical methods to train her, "And also thank you for doing this… for helping me control my powers"

She pressed on her watch to turn on the suppressor which cancelled out the sounds and sighed in relief. Just because she could control her powers, doesn't mean she wants to listen to the vibrational frequency of everything around her.

"You did all the work. I just gave you a push in the right direction"

"You gave me a push in the pits of hell but yes… let's say the right direction because it sounds nicer" Daisy said.

"Before you leave, you need to uphold your end of the deal"

Shit, Daisy completely forgot about her deal with Gordon. In return for Gordon's training, she had to go back to the Afterlife and pay a visit to Jiaying. Daisy sighed and looked down at her clothes… well, not really clothes. She was wearing a sports bra and black shorts. It was the only thing in the wardrobe.

"Let me take a shower and get changed"

When Daisy went into the bathroom she closed the door and didn't bother turning on the lights. She took off her watch and got into the shower.

Once she was finished, she changed into her infamous black jeans, grey shirt and leather jacket. She grabbed her sunglasses and knives that she packed, "Let's go"

When Gordon teleported her into the Afterlife, she could immediately smell the different scent in the air. It was familiar, it smelt like home. Her eyes scanned the familiar buildings of the hideout, there were beautifully designed houses for each family, a temporary shelter for those, either enhanced or inhuman, to stay in until they decide what they wanted to do with their lives, and a beautiful mansion where Jiaying lived with Gordon, Lincoln, Ward and her. But with Ward going awol, Lincoln back in mexico to help Yo-Yo do her thing, and her with S.H.I.E.L.D, it was just Jiaying and Gordon.

She wondered if she was lonely…she suddenly felt guilty when she thought of the inhuman mother of them all, being alone in that mansion alone. Gordon was always popping in and out of places. She knew that the inhumans had weekly traditions where they gathered in the mansion and brought food, just to talk and have fun. It was one of the things that she appreciated about the Afterlife.

"I need to go check something out. You know what do when you're done"

Daisy nodded her head and watched Gordon teleport away. She turned off the inhibitor and sucked in a deep breath as she listened to everything around her. Unlike being in the city where the machinery was giving off loud and intrusive vibrations, the trees, birds, rocks and mother nature all together, was more peaceful and calming. She could feel how many inhumans were here, there are probably 15 families here.

She knew some inhumans had kids and wanted to keep their kids here. She had heard cases of inhumans falling in love with humans when exploring the city, but if that occured the couple had to choose, the human stays in the Afterlife without escape, or the inhuman leaves and never comes back. It sucked but it was necessary.

She walked over to the mansion and pushed the door open. She couldn't sense any life presence and knew that Jiaying must be up the hill. Jiaying was a peaceful person, she enjoyed the outdoors and the fresh air.

She decided to take a detour and walk around the mansion. It was clean, and the fresh smell of xiao long bao filled the air. She knew that Jiaying must have cooked it. She walked into the dining room and saw pictures of all the inhumans on the wall. There was one picture frame that put a smile on her face. It was a picture of Ward, Yo-Yo and Lincoln standing next to Jiaying and Gordon. This was when they had first found the deserted place. She was only 17 at the time but it was a good memory.

She put the frame down and decided not to waste any more time. She walked outside of the house and went up the hill to see a familiar person leaning on the fence, looking out at the mountains. She sucked in a deep breath and mustered the courage to face Jiaying. She slowly walked towards her and said, "When was the last time you sucked someone's life force?", it wasn't the most appropriate question to ask, but it was definitely an icebreaker.

Jiaying's head whipped around at the familiar voice. A beautiful smile that screamed happiness appeared on Jiaying's face as Daisy walked up to the women who had her arms open to hug, "Oh my gosh" she tightened her hug on Daisy and was afraid of letting go. But she wanted to see Daisy's face so she let the young girl and gripped her shoulders, "Look at you, it's been too long"

"I know" Daisy said with a matching smile but she looked down at her hands with guilt.

Jiaying saw it and grabbed Daisy's hand, "Come on sweetheart. We have a lot to catch up on" she pulled Daisy up to the seat and sat down, "Lincoln filled me in. So apparently you're working with S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"I am"

"Good" Jiaying never liked the thought of Daisy working with the terrorist organization, "Now tell, did you make friends?"

An embarrassed smile appeared on her face as she thought about the friends that she made in S.H.I.E.L.D, "I did".

"Tell me about them"

Daisy didn't realise how much she missed talking to Jiaying, but the next thing she knows, she spilling almost everything about S.H.I.E.L.D, except for the super confidential stuff… and the part of her almost killing herself. Despite Daisy leaving some important details out, she knew that Daisy was happy. Happier than she has ever seen her and that was all she could ask for.

"I killed Whitehall by the way"

Daisy watched as Jiaying's eyes widened in surprise, she hadn't heard that name in so long, "Whitehall…"

Daisy wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to bring it up or not, but Jiaying deserved to know what happened to the bastard who treated her like a labrat, "Yeah… I read the experiments that he had performed on you", she saw the fearful look in Jiaying's eyes and instantly regretted bringing it up, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up"

"N-No… thank you" Jiaying whispered as she put her hand over Daisy's. There were tears in her eyes as she remembered the face of the man who gave her these scars on her face, "You don't know how much it means to me but… I don't want you fighting on my behalf Skye...I mean Daisy"

Daisy shook her head, "Daisy… Skye, you can call me whatever you want" she said, she had given her the name Daisy and she knew her when she was Skye, "But… you don't have to carry this burden alone. During our two years in the pits we just talked about me and my stupid problems-"

"Hey" Jiaying sternly cut her off, "Your problems are far from stupid. What they did to you was far worse than anything that they had done to me. You had to endure two years of torture while I idly sat back and watched…"

"You didn't just sit back and watch" Daisy could hear how much Jiaying regretted not doing more for her, but the thing is, Jiaying did more for her than anyone had in her life, "You took care of me when I was the verge of death, got beat up for defending me against the scientist when I was too sick to even stand on my own two feet, gave me your meals so I can build up strength and you are the only reason why I'm as sane as I am now. I owe everything to you"

Jiaying shook her head. Damn, it was really hard convincing someone who hates themselves that they were better than their own perception. Wait a minute…. Was this how her team felt when she made self-deprecating jokes?

"But… that wasn't the point I'm trying to make. 2 years and I barely know anything about your past"

Jiaying looked at Daisy with a gentle eyes, "I'll tell you everything you want to know… but after the celebration"

Daisy was taken back by that, "There's a celebration tonight?"

"I think everyone needs this celebration to take their minds off Calvin. Gordon has been trying to track him but it's been difficult since he's not an inhuman and he's always on the move"

That was true, "Yeah… My dad is great at being a coward. Had years of experience doing that".

Daisy realised what she had said a little too late. She let herself slip up because of how comfortable she was with Jiaying. She watched as Jiaying's face went from gentle to confused to shock, "Wh-What did you just say?"

Daisy hasn't told anyone about Calvin being her father, it was easier just telling people that he was the head scientist of the crazy experiments, "It's...complicated…" she began panicking when she saw Jiaying jump up from the seat and walk over to the fence. She knew there was a chance that the inhumans would turn their backs on her once they found out that she was the daughter of the mad man. She stood up and stood behind Jiaying, not wanting to approach the older woman until she had time to think.

"That's impossible…"

Daisy felt her heart drop when she heard, what she thought was disappointment and anger, in her voice, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you", she felt her voice cracking. She didn't know what was wrong with her but she hated seeing Jiaying so upset with her. Jiaying was one of the rare people that she was okay with being vulnerable.

"No!" Jiaying shouted as she turned to look at Daisy with tears in her own eyes. She realised that she was yelling at Daisy and immediately softened it when she saw how scared Daisy looked, "I'm sorry… I'm just confused. H-how do you know that he's you father? You said that you were an orphan"

"I am… I was. When I was a baby, someone found me on the side of the streets and brought me into the orphanage. I spent 10 years there until Calvin… my dad found me and told me who he was", she could see Jiaying registering this information, "I was told not to tell anyone about him and then he erased my memory. When he kidnapped me, I got all of my memories back"

Jiaying turned away and continued to look at the mountains. The silence was deafening, She wished that Jiaying would scream, curse or even shout at her… anything but being silent. A few minutes went by and Daisy was still standing in her spot, trying to think whether she should run away from this or stay and deal with this like a normal person.

"How's your powers?"

Daisy blinked a few times and looked around to see if she was asking her or someone else but there was no one here, "W-W-What?"

"Your powers" Jiaying wiped away her tears and turned to look at Daisy, but there was something in her eyes. It was like her lifelong search finally came to an end, and she was content, "Gordon told me that he put you through the pits. I tried telling him that it was too harsh but he said he can't special treatment just because your his favourite student"

The fear and anxiety dissipated into thin air when she saw Jiaying trying to change the subject. A part of her was worried as to why Jiaying was choosing to ignore it, that was her style not Jiaying's but she didn't mind, "Favourite student?" she asked smugly. Jiaying gestured for Daisy to come up to the fence with her to watch the sunset together.

"Yeah, he said that you are a quick learner and you complained the least. It took Ward a solid 2 years to be able to survive even a month in that pit. You survived three months and Gordon had said that the reason why he took you out was because you mastered the pits and looked like you were bored of it"

"Not much to do but train in pure darkness" Daisy replied as she tried not to think about it.

Jiaying saw the anxious look in Daisy's eyes and wondered if she had suffered some psychological effects from being in the dark for such a long period of time. She knew that Lincoln had some ill-versed effects from being in darkness for a month, "You just got out of the pits… are you suffering from any effects?"

Daisy shook her head but she froze when she suddenly remembered what she had done during the first month of being in the pits.

Daisy's eyes snapped open. In front of her, was Skye, standing there with an annoyed expression on her face, "What? You got tired of playing the goodie tissue act and now you want back in?"

Daisy was no longer the scared girl who just found out that her father was her creator and had all her locked memories open up. She plainly looked at the younger version of her and tilted her head, "Not exactly"

Skye took a step forward towards Daisy and was impressed that she wasn't crying or whimpering like a little bitch. A disturbing smirk appeared on her face, "Oh.. I know why you're here. You need my help don't you?"

Daisy raised her eyebrow with an amused expression plastered on her face. She put her hands in her pockets and gave her a bored expression, "Help? From you?" she scoffed at the thought. She would rather her take over her dead body before she asked this version of herself for any help. The smug smile on Skye's face remained but Daisy knew something that she doesn't, "You know… these past few months had me thinking… How did daddy dearest manage to control me? The Theta Brain-Wave Frequency Machine only returns lost or forgotten memories so… that explains my very pitiful emotional state however… Being here is impossible. Even if you are my subconscious"

Daisy smirked when she saw Skye's smug smile drop and she took a slow step towards her. As sadistic as it was, it was satisfying to watch Skye cower in fear of her. Daisy faked a shocked gasp, "Oh, are you scared? I thought you didn't feel fear because emotions are a weakness"

"Shut up!" Skye shouted as she threw a punch at Daisy but Daisy caught her first. Skye's eyes widened when she felt her hand begin to vibrate, before she knew it Daisy's grip on her fist tightened and she felt her hands shatter. She collapsed onto her knees with a yelp of pain.

"Oops… sorry. I'm still getting used to my powers" Daisy said as she flexed her hands. She looked at Skye who was clutching her hand against her chest. "You see, now that I can control my powers, I can sense every vibrational frequency within the area… including my own body"

Skye's eyes widened and she quickly stood up. She tried to kick Daisy in the head but Daisy easily slipped under it and lifted her hand to quake Skye's body onto the other side. She rolled her eyes at the pathetic attempt.

"Nanotechnology, it's impressive. It remained undetected from any screen testing or x-rays", Daisy walked over to Skye, "Unfortunately for you though… even nanotechnology gives off a certain vibration. I know that you're not really me, you're just a microchip that dad injected in me to switch off the hippocampus section of my brain. And while my body acts like a brainless super soldier, my consciousness gets stuck here"

"H-How do you know that?"

Daisy wasn't smart enough to know about the hippocampus hell, she still didn't understand it but Lincoln had rambled on about the different parts of the brain, "That doesn't matter".

Daisy, who was now standing over Skye, bent down and placed her hand over Skye's chest. She could feel the fake heart pumping against Skye's chest.

"Please don't", Daisy's eyes widened when Skye's face turned into Katya's. Now her hand was over the little girl's chest, "Daisy… What are you doing? I'm scared"

Daisy let out a sigh and an bored expression replaced her shocked features. She blurred out Katya's face and slowly began to compress Katya's heartbeat, she ignored the screams of the little girl as she stopped the girl's heart from beating

All of a sudden there was silence.

No heartbeat.

Nothing.

She looked around her and it looked like the simulation was disappearing.

"Let's just say I had some me-time" Daisy shook away the memory of her killing herself, oddly enough, it was quite therapeutic but probably not the healthiest thing to tell people.

Jiaying remained unconvinced but she could tell that Daisy didn't want to talk about it. She bent down and picked up a rock, "We never got a chance to talk about your powers. Explain it to me"

Daisy clicked her tongue and tried to think about, "I don't really know how to explain it". She knew what she could do now that she learnt how to treat her powers as if it's her sixth sense rather than a disease, "If anyone asks, I'll just say I make things shake"

Jiaying chuckled at that. Of course her daug… no, of course Skye wouldn't know how to explain her powers yet have complete mastery over it in 4 months, "Okay, how about I give you a more detailed description", she showed Daisy the rock and said, "Everything is shaking already, vibrating at its own natural frequency. The stones, the woods in the trees… I believe that now, since you have complete control over your powers, you can sense those frequencies and resonate with them so not everything is shaking. Only what you choose"

Daisy smiled at Jiaying's explanation, it was spot on. That was the best explanation for describing her powers without all the scientific stuff involved, "You know, I think you'd get along with my science friends at S.H.I.E.L.D"

A sad chuckled escaped from her lips and Daisy looked confused, "I hope to meet them one day. Especially this Coulson and May person"

Daisy would honestly love to introduce Jiaying to them. She thought that they'd get along well since Jiaying was the complete opposite of everyone that she had met. She was peaceful and as calm as the sea but when disturbed or threatened, she was a force to be reckoned with.

"Anyway, show me your powers. This is the first time that I've ever seen you at peace with your powers"

Daisy wasn't going to lie, she was. But she'd still would have preferred not to have undergone all the experiments to get them. Daisy lifted up the stone and smirked at Jiaying, "I can do you one better". She dropped the rock onto the ground and looked at the snowy mountain. She lifted her hand up and watched as she caused an controlled avalanche.

"That is amazing" Jiaying watched in awe at the avalanche. Daisy nodded her head as she dropped her arm and watched the sun go down. The silence between them was broken by the sound of Chinese music playing and people talking from behind. They turned around to see the Afterlife decorated in lights with Inhumans, "We should go"

Daisy let out a childish groan, she really didn't feel like socialising, "No, do we have to?"

"Come on Skye, everyone misses you" Jiayang practically had to push Daisy down the hill. She immediately recognised some of the Inhumans faces, others were new or human.

"Daisy?"

Daisy turned her head to see Deathlok wearing civilian clothing, "Nice clothes. I thought you only wore the suit"

"The suit's a little to intimidating plus, civilian clothing hides all the bionics and burn marks… except for the scars on my face"

"There's nothing wrong with having scars on your face" Jiayang's soft tone was motherly, even to Deathlok who was a grown ass man.

Deathlok smiled and looked at Daisy, "Drink? I think you I owe you that much after you saved my life"

Daisy scoffed, he was giving her too much credit, "Save your life? All I did was recommend you to this place?", when she saw how much Mike was struggling in his life because of his enhanced and militant body, she knew that the only place where he and his son could live in peace was here, in the afterlife.

"You gave me a chance to heal. Now I can finally be with my son" Mike looked at Daisy and at Jiaying, "Both of you helped through a lot"

"No Peterson, you healed all on your own. We just provided you a safe space" Jiaying said. Daisy didn't know why but she couldn't help but feel proud of Jiaying… but it was a different kind of pride, it was the kind of pride that a daughter would feel when they saw their mother doing something right.

"Well, I still you owe you both a drink"

Jiaying shot Daisy a look that said, don't even think about it young lady, but Daisy could really use some liquid courage if she was going to socialise all night, "Just one drink" she pleaded.

Jiaying let out a soft sigh but couldn't resist smiling, "Fine, but don't even think about getting hammered"

Daisy laughed and quickly pulled Mike to the bar. There, she spotted some old friends and immediately got pulled into a conversation. She spent over 2 hours talking with everyone. She mainly listened to everyone's story because she couldn't disclose any details to them about what she had been doing, but she enjoyed it to an extent. Once the group of inhumans left her to go and dance. Daisy turned back to the bar where she ordered her 3rd drink without Jiaying looking.

"S.H.I.E.L.D huh?"

Daisy eyed Mike suspiciously, "You know about them?"

"Not the organisation itself… but I know Phil Coulson"

Oh, that was news to her. She was interested in hearing this story, "Really?"

Mike nodded his head as he sipped his beer, "After the centipede program… I kind of went batshit crazy… I put my son in danger", Daisy could hear how much Mike cared about her son. Her love for his son was the only reason why she let an enhanced into the Afterlife, "Coulson had the chance to shoot me dead but… he didn't. Instead, he chose to take a chance and save me"

Daisy smiled proudly at that. It was such a Coulson thing to do. Her smile turned into a frown as she began to realise how much she missed him and the rest of the team. She never really missed anyone but for some reason, it felt like there was a hold in her chest that could only be filled when she was with her members, "Sounds like him", she blinked her beer with Mike and gulped the beer down.

"Skye!" Daisy turned around to see Charles Hinton walking over to them with a baby in his hand. He was an innocent older man who was brought into the program later in the stage, he wasn't HYDRA, just a plain old homeless man who had been targeted to be a participant in the experiments.

"Oh my god is that a baby?" There was both confusion and awkwardness in her voice as she pointed at the baby girl? Or is that a boy? All babies look the same, it didn't matter.

"Polly and I had her last year" Charles said as he showed off his baby girl to Daisy who just smiled, "Her name's Robin"

"It's a great name" Mike said when he let the baby girl get a hold of his fingers.

"Do you want to hold her?" Charles asked Daisy who ferociously shook her head.

"Nope, not a chance" She said as she got out of her seat and twirled away from them, "I'm going to go and… hide from this mini feline"

"It's good to see you to"

Daisy couldn't help but walk over to Charles and give him a peck on the cheeks, he was like a grandpa of the inhumans. His powers were the worst in her opinion. He had the power to see people's deaths, hence the gloves he wore on his hands, "I'm glad you're happy with Polly"

"Me too" Daisy smiled and walked away. Crowds were never her thing and now that she had control of her powers, she could feel the vibration of the music, people dance, talking and walking. She felt everything and she knew that she could turn on the suppressor to cancel out the noise but here… she felt like it was disrespectful to use a device that makes her inhuman. Instead, she went to the small bridge where no-one was and leaned on the rails to watch the koi fishes swim.

"Too much noise?" Daisy didn't need to turn around to know that Jiaying was standing behind her. The older inhuman leaned against the rails with Daisy and looked up at the moon, "This is my favourite time of day. The community is strong, they continue to thrive after everything they have been through it's remarkable to see… it's inspiring"

Daisy felt a sense of warmth when Jiaying spoke like this, "That's because of you" Daisy said as she turned her head to look at Jiaying, "You inspire people to believe that peace can exist… you inspire people like me to believe it and that's saying a lot". Daisy thought that she said something wrong when she tears welling in Jiaying's eyes.

"Peace… is such a fragile thing" Jiaying muttered as she looked down at her hands to hide her tears, "It only takes one, single event to shatter it"

Daisy was now getting worried, why was Jiaying speaking like this. She was usually optimistic and giving her hope but now… she sounded like she was going to die… but that's impossible. Jiaying couldn't get sick and if she could, then she could just take someone's life force, "Jiaying… Wh-what's happening?"

"You asked me about my life before the experiments. When I was younger, I owned a clinic. It was nothing special, just a side clinic in the middle of nowhere in China. One day, it was pouring rain and when I looked out of the window… I saw a man who was having car trouble and immediately grabbed my umbrella and ran out to help him"

Daisy gulped back her saliva and for whatever reason, her eyes began to water as she heard Jiaying's tone being filled with pure pain, regret, sadness yet there was a tinge of nostalgia.

"When I ran up to the man… he didn't know any Chinese so he kept stumbling on his words trying to formulate a coherent sentence but… he failed" The sad chuckle that escaped Jiaying's lip made Daisy's heart clench, knowing that this story didn't have a happy ending, "I brought him into the clinic and helped him translate. I later found out that he was a doctor too so impulsively… I asked him to stay… and he did. He stayed and we fell in love, with all of me, including my inhuman side"

Love… Jiaying used to love someone? Daisy couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him, did he die?

"He had one of the biggest hearts. He was warm, kind, funny and… he wanted what I wanted, he wanted a family so he propose and we go married"

Daisy couldn't help but gasp in shock at the revelation that Jiaying was married… well what did she expect. Jiaying was over 80 years old, of course she would have a lover but… it was still surprising nevertheless. In her defence, Jiaying rarely spoke about herself.

"But everything changed the night that Whitehall kidnapped the men and women of the village. You know what happened to me but… you don't know what happened after" Jiaying touched the scars on her face as she remembered the night that her love hand stitched her back together, "My husband found me lying in a field of dead corpses but refused to let me die so… he massacred an entire village and stole their organs to transplant it into me"

Oh my god… Daisy wasn't sure if this husband of her was a lunatic or was just driven by his love for her. In a way, she could understand where he was coming from. He had just lost his wife and found his entire village dead.

"At that time… my face was unrecognisable beyond repair but… My husband still stayed and loved me. Despite looking like a mutilated monster, he stayed by my side and promised me that we can still have a life together, and stupidly enough I believed him"

Bitterness began to leak out of Jiaying's voice which was something that Daisy hasn't heard of in a long time.

"We stayed married and decided that we wanted to have a kid together… so we did. I was going to have a beautiful baby girl…"

The tears in Daisy's eyes were no longer building up instead, it was streaming smoothly down her face.

"But the night of the delivery… I couldn't control my powers and I...I sucked my baby girl's lifeforce before she was even born… she had died before I could even name her"

Wait… Daisy's eyes widened as her brain tried to puzzle the pieces together. Something about this made her feel uneasy… no, more than uneasy, it made her feel like this was part of her story.

"My husband was driven to madness and refused to accept that… so he brought her back to life by using this miracle drug and when I found out… I realised how crazy and made him truly was, so I took my baby girl and ran. I ran across the country into America but… one night when I was walking home with you in my arms… he found me… but I couldn't let him have my baby girl… So I hid her in the bush " Jiaying forced herself to stop looking at her hands and to turn to Daisy, "And now… after 20 years… I found her"

No… Daisy felt like her head was going into overdrive at the information that was entering her head. She stumbled back as she tried to think but she couldn't… everything was too much. Jiaying had to do everything within her power to not hold her baby girl in her arms.

Daisy kept opening and closing her mouth as she tried to formulate a coherent sentence but no words would come out. Her mind was shutting down on her and she couldn't think of any words to say. After a few seconds of letting her tears flow freely down her face, she looked at Jiaying's… no, her mother's eyes and immediately her 9 year old self, rejoice at the face that she had found her mum, "St Agnes… all the kids there would pray… pray that their parents were out there… looking for them, protecting them. Some would come up with these crazy scenarios that their parents had them there to protect them but… I never believed in that… but you didn't? You gave me up to protect me?"

Jiaying couldn't hold herself back anymore and she gently pulled Daisy into her arms and allowed her daughter to bury her face into her neck and sob, "I'm so sorry… during the 2 years that we spent together I think I always knew who you were… it was odd for Calvin to put you in the same cell with me… but now I know why"

Daisy clutched onto Jiaying as she sobbed into her neck. Suddenly, she was no longer the 20 year old girl who was working for HYDRA, or even S..H.I.E.L.D, she was now the 9 year old girl who dreamt of having parents that simply loved her, "I'm so sorry", she couldn't help but apologise through her sobs, she felt like this was her fault. How could she not have known that Jiaying was her mother.

"No… this is not your fault" Jiaying caressed her baby girl's head as she continued to cry into her neck. She gently pulled out of the hug and cupped Daisy's tear-stained face, "I wish things were different… I wish that he had never found us because then, we could have lived a normal life together… but seeing the beautiful, strong and wonderful girl that you are… makes me so proud. I'm so proud of you"

Daisy didn't care that she was sobbing like a baby. She had told herself and everyone around her that she didn't care about finding her parents, or even finding her mother but the orphan in her was always hoping, hoping that her mother was as kind and beautiful as the mums that she would see on tv or on the posters around St Agnes that advertise finding your forever family.

"I know that you were planning on leaving but… stay for the night?"

Daisy didn't even need to think about it. An irrational and emotional side of her, never wanted to leave, not now. Screw S.H.I.E.L.D, screw Calvin and his bloody sadistic ass, and screw HYDRA. For so long, she had been searching for a reason to stop fighting, and she thinks that she finally found it, "How about I just stay here?"

Jiaying clearly wasn't expecting that but of course she nodded her head enthusiastically and let out a teary chuckle as she pulled Daisy into another hug. This hug was different from the other times, it was a hug between mother and daughter.

Daisy spent the entire week in the Afterlife. She had spent her time doing things that mother and daughters do to bond. For example, they would go on hikes to explore the mountain, Jiaying taught her how to cook xiao long bao and Daisy showed off her powers while Jiaying proudly encouraged her.

Everything was perfect… if Daisy was being honest everything was a little too perfect. Right now, she was lying in bed thinking about S.H.I.E.L.D. Now that her emotions were starting to calm down and the hype of finding her mum was slowly dissipating, she could think rationally. She knew at some point, she had to go back to S.H.I. and let them know about the decision she had made, but she didn't want to. She didn't want her time with S.H.I.E.L.D to be over… but yet again, she also didn't want to waste anymore time without her mother.

She knew that she wasn't going to be able to sleep, so she climbed out of her bed and tired not to wake Jiaying. She walked out to the small bridge where Jiaying had told her about her origins and rested her chin on top of her arms that were leaning on the rails as her eyes gazed upon the beautiful koi fishes that were circling ach other.

Was this what peace felt like?

She continued to look at the moon's reflection in the glistening water until she heard someone walking behind her. She recognised almost everyone's footsteps but didn't know who this was however she could guess, "I came here for peace and quiet… not to be interrupted by some bitch"

Her voice was laced in anger and hatred as she continued to look at the pond.

"I don't recall doing anything wrong to you"

"How about I slice your back 3 times and see how you like it?" Daisy still wasn't over Raina cutting into her back.

"I wasn't aiming for you. You just go in the way"

"Sorry, I couldn't let you slice the biochemist of my team's neck" Daisy spoke sarcastically.

Raina scoffed and leaned on the other side of the rails, not wanting to get to close to Daisy in case the unstable girl attacked her, "Your team? You joined S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"Joining S.H.I.E.L.D? No" Daisy could already feel the urge to kill this girl. A minute ago, she was happy with talking to her inhuman friends, even if she was uncomfortable. It was nice hearing about how everyone was moving on with their lives and not falling into the violent path that HYDRA had set them on. But now, her mood has dropped significantly. If you compared the nice Daisy with the annoyed Daisy, you would think that she was bipolar, "Trusting and working for Coulson? That's another story"

"Coulson's a good man"

"I don't need you to tell me that" Daisy was getting extremely annoyed with Raina's presence. Spending 3 months in a locked up pit with nothing but pure darkness, made her patience wear, "Tell me why you're here or get out"

A sadistic and knowing smirk appeared on Raina's face but Daisy had missed it since she wasn't looking at the porcupine girl, "I'm just here to say goodbye"

That caught Daisy's interest. She stopped looking at the pond and finally turned her attention to Raina, "You're leaving?", she didn't give a shit if Raina left, in fact, she was bloody relieved over the face, but something about it was suspicious, "Why?"

"Because I had a dream"

"Oh my god" Daisy rolled her eyes and turned her head back to the pond.

"I had a dream that everything will burn… and the peace will die"

Before Daisy could ask what the hell she was going on about, the first thing she felt was the vibrational aftershocks, and then she heard the explosion and the smell of fire. Her head whipped around and she saw nothing but fire. She turned around to look back at Raina but the bitch was gone. She could tell that Raina was running on foot, but she didn't have time to deal with her.

She ran into the epicentre of the Afterlife and saw nothing but destruction and a few dead bodies around her. She heard people running out of their houses and escaping the fire and she felt a pillar crumbling. She instantly twisted her body and quaked the pillar away from Polly who was cradling her daughter in her hands. She looked around and saw Mike lifting the debris off of Charles who was scrambling to get up.

"Gordon!" Daisy shouted into thin air. In a matter of second, Gordon materialised beside her.

"Wh-What's happening?" She could tell that Gordon was shocked by the scent of panic and fear in the air and the strong smell of smoke made her throat sore.

"I don't know! Raina, that bitch did something!" She growled with frustration as she helped someone who tripped over.

Mike ran over to her and asked, "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know!" She shouted more angrily, everything was heightened, her fear, anger, confusion. She could feel everyone's fear as they gave off a different vibrational frequency when they were scared. She could hear everyone running for their lives, but it was impossible to escape as this was an isolated area, "Okay! Deathlok, you take our people to the hill and make sure everyone is accounted for while Gordon, you're going to have to teleport everyone out of here, I know it's going to be too muc-"

"I can handle it" Gordon reassured and without saying another word, he ran towards the family of three and teleported them away.

Deathlok looked at Daisy and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I need to find Jiaying" Daisy had just found her mother and she wasn't going to lose her again.

Deahtlok nodded his head, "Be safe"

"You too"

Daisy ran to the familiar house but found everything on fire. She could tell that someone was inside of the house, in fact, there were several people but she wasn't able to decipher them, all she knew was that Jiaying was inside of there and that's all that mattered. She kicked the door down and created a vibrational force field around her so she didn't get burnt by the fire. She followed the vibrational frequency all the way upstairs into Jiaying's bedroom. When she got there, she could feel that something was wrong. She opened the door and froze "Jia-"

No… this couldn't be happening. No...no, no, no, no.

Everything slowed down.

Her heartbeat.

Time.

Her breathing.

The vibrations of everything around her.

Every step she took felt like she was walking into the abyss. She had tunnel vision, her eyes were focused on a singular point.

Calvin was on the ground, cradling her mother who had several bullet wounds in her stomach. She didn't understand, or register the tears in his eyes when he slowly stood up with the gun clearly in his hands. There was shock written on Calvin's face, as if he didn't mean for her to see this, but she did.

She saw Calvin's mouth move but she couldn't hear anything. Instead, she felt a surge of power screaming to be released from her arm. And she didn't care. She just released it, not giving a damn if she killed anyone in the process. The vibrational wave that she emitted, blew the entire upper level away. The walls, roof, bathroom, shower, tiles and even the wardrobe all flew off, including Calvin who was flung out of house like a ragdoll.

Everything was destroyed, but she didn't focus on the damage. Instead, she focused on the blooded body of her mother and walked towards her.

She collapsed onto her knees and immediately cradled her mother into her arms, there was a faint vibrational sound coming from within her… she was still alive but barely, "Mum…", tears rolled down her face as she gently wiped the blood from Jiaying's forehead. She put her hand over the hole in Jiaying's stomach, but it was no use, it was already too late and she knew it.

"D-D-Daisy" Jiaying's voice was hoarse and her bloodied crack lips were quickly turning blue.

Daisy grabbed onto Jiaying's hand and frantically used her mother's hand to cup her cheeks that were wet with tears, "T-Take it. T-Take my li-life force" she stuttered out as she tried to make Jiaying steal her life away.

Jiaying tried to shake her head but she couldn't, the only thing she could do was look at her beautiful daughter's brown eyes that were filled with tears. She gulped down what little saliva she had left and croaked out, "D-Don't fall... into the darkness", Daisy shook her head and tried to keep Jiaying alive by focusing on her heartbeat to keep it beating, "My-My baby girl… I'm proud of you"

Jiaying's hand suddenly went limp and the heartbeat was no longer emitting any vibration.

No, this couldn't be happening. She wasn't going to let her die, not like this, "No! I just got you back! I just found you!" she cried. She tried to think of ways to save her mother but she couldn't think of anything, "Please… please wake up" she buried her head into Jiaying's body.

Daisy let out an inhuman scream and released whatever power was building up. She was no longer holding back and she didn't care about anything anymore. The second that it was released, the entire afterlife was shaking. The buildings began crumbling from both the fire and the vibrational shock. Cracks began forming in the concrete as if someone was physically ripping it apart.

Everyone on the hill was watching from afar as they saw their entire home being destroyed. The people were clinging onto each other and crying as they looked into the fire. Mike and Gordon shared a look.

Mike didn't understand what the hell was going on but he knew one thing was for certain, the Afterlife was no more.

"Jiaying?" Mike asked.

Gordon clenched his fists and Mike was certain that if the man had eyes, tears would be streaming down his face as he watched his entire home burn to the ground. The ground beneath them began shaking and the scared Inhumans began questioning what was happening, the rock was crumbling and they were afraid that they were going to die from an earthquake.

Gordon lowered his head and let out a shaky sigh as he turned his back on the burning Afterlife and mustered up enough power to teleport everyone away before the hill crumbled.