A/N: Last chapter up! So, since obviously, this is not how the episode went, I guess this makes it an Alternate Scene or whatever. xD I tried my best to make this emotional and yeah I hope you guys like it! This one is a bit longer than the others so happy reading! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Chapter 3:
I found out soon enough where I was being taken. Now, I was back in the Bus, handcuffed to the staircase railing.
When I saw Deathlok bringing me up the cargo hold earlier, the small piece of hope inside me died. He dropped me to my feet, but kept his grip on my arm. As if on cue, the ramp lifted close and I felt the plane get in the air again.
I struggled in Deathlok's grip. "Let me go! It's not like I can escape anymore, can I?"
He looked at me coldly, but let go of my arm. I took two steps away from him and crossed my arms, bracing myself for who's about to appear up in the catwalk any second.
For a minute there, I let my eyes close, taking a deep breath in the process. Now that Ward knew, I was about to face the HYDRA Ward now. It won't ever be the same Grant Ward I knew. I reminded myself that whatever emotional attachments and bonds I formed–they were out of the window now. I had to remember that he was the enemy and he was part of the group that tried to kill me. They tortured Coulson and are capable of doing the worst things. Ward was part of that group. This was now business and nothing more. It was a betrayal to SHIELD and nothing else. The personal things were off the table. I planned to play this game without outside influences.
As soon as I opened my eyes, he was standing there on top of the stairs. If looks could kill, he'd be a dead man right now under my glare. He certainly looked different than earlier today. He was more smug and cocky. His expression was different, and yet there was still a hint of…hurt? Why could I see a faint amount of wounded in his expression? Was that real?
No, Skye. It was an automatic answer now every time I question his actions. In my head, a bitter laugh escapes. It's amazing how much one person can affect another when it comes to hurting them.
Ward took his sweet time in descending the stairs. Once his feet planted firm on the floor, he gave Deathlok a slight nod and the latter disappeared into the lab. He turned to face me, wearing a smirk.
"I'm impressed." He said. "Causing a diversion, disappearing through the crowd, moving to another town and being mobile." His lips turned downwards as he nodded. "Pretty good for an agent like you."
I kept quiet and watched as he pulled handcuffs from his back pocket and walked towards me. He grabbed my right arm and led me to the stairs.
"Sit," He told me and I obeyed wordlessly. He grabbed my left wrist and pulled on it. I flinched away and for a minute, he looked worried.
Fake.
He twisted my left arm around and pushed my sleeve back up. My arm was covered in dirt and it had a few long scratches. He looked at me, but I didn't return his gaze.
"What happened?" His voice did sound concerned that it made me want to vomit.
"As if you care," I mumbled before shaking out of his grasp. He sighed and just went to cuff my other arm. Once I was cuffed to the railing, he disappeared into the lab. I examined my own arm and sighed. A minute later, he appeared with medical supplies and was crouching in front of me.
"What are you doing?" I demanded.
"That wound needs to be cleaned." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
I scoffed. "Of course. You need me in pristine condition for Garrett's experiments, don't you? How is the bastard, anyway?"
He swallowed thickly before moving away from me. He ran a hand through his hair and crossed his arms across his chest.
"Alright. How did you find out?" He asked.
I gotta admit. His mixed expression was unreadable.
"Find out that you were the traitor after all, who is also working with the man who gave the order to kill me?"
He stared at me pointedly.
"Let's see." I decided to play it with sarcasm. "Um, we shared a kiss after you supposedly opened up to me about your past. Nice strategy, by the way. I should use that some time if I would get a chance to live."
His jaw clenched, but I didn't know if it was because of my mocking voice.
"And then, you disappeared somewhere. I found the tracker tablet of Koenig and since I haven't seen him in a while, I figured I should find him. And I did."
His eyes fell to the ground.
"I gotta ask," I said with the same playful and teasing tone. "Did you also kill May?"
His head shot right up. "No. She really left."
I shrugged. Truth or not, I didn't really know what it was. I fell silent and just stared at him again.
"So, wanna give me a clue what's waiting for me at your HYDRA base? Maybe set of shiny needles and cutting knives to rip me open? Or another brand new machine to torture me? I'd actually prefer just a pistol with one bullet but I know you guys aren't that generous."
I could see his jaw visibly shaking and when he closed his eyes, I knew he was trying to calm himself down. Was is the rage?
"Skye," he said after a moment. "Garrett wants that hard drive opened. You don't need to get hurt. Just decrypt that thing."
I scoffed again. "Oh please. I know you're gonna do much more than that."
"You can avoid it." He told me. "You could give that hard drive, and then go into hiding."
"Just like that? Basically, what you're asking me is to give you all the secrets to HYDRA, leave my family, abandon SHIELD, and just live on my own while I watch the world get wiped out under the hands of HYDRA? No, because unlike you, Ward, I actually truly care about SHIELD and about my team. I actually really see them as my family. Unlike you. You didn't care about us. You cared about your mission, even when it involved people getting hurt and killed. Well good job, Ward. You're still reigning champion of the cowards. You follow Garrett like a dog, even when you can see that what he's doing is cruel. Mike Peterson? Remember him? Remember Ace? The little boy who just lost his dad because of HYDRA? What happens to him, Ward? How many more lives are you gonna ruin and possibly end? After you end FitzSimmons' and then Coulson's and then me, after you've made me a lab rat?"
He was shaking his head. "I'm telling you. You don't need to get hurt, Skye. Just give me the hard drive."
"That's total crap, Ward. You know me well enough and you know I'm not gonna give up that easily."
For a couple of minutes, neither of us spoke. I stared blankly ahead, thinking of the team. What if HYDRA got to them already? What if they're dead now?
A sob threatened to escape from my throat but I swallowed it back. I couldn't appear weak in front of him.
"Skye, if you don't unlock that drive, Garrett's going to do everything in his power to make you do it." His voice sounded grave this time.
"I'd rather die than betray the team." I told him.
"You don't understand," he said. "You still have a way out, Skye."
"I don't want that way out, Ward. I would never want it."
His face fell and it confused me so much. Why was he acting like this?
"Why do you even care if I get out of this alive or not? Aren't you one of the people who want to dissect me?"
His eyes widened in horror. "Skye, I don't ever want that to happen to you."
"Bullshit."
"No, listen!" He took a couple of strides before standing in front of me again. "I didn't know Garrett was going to shoot you, Skye. What I felt…" He swallowed hard before continuing. "When I saw you close to dying, it unlocked something in me that I never knew I would feel again, Skye. It was real. I felt so helpless and desperate to save you. Like I said, it was bad for me. I wasn't supposed to grow attached to anyone in the team. You guys were supposed to do that, not me. But after your shooting, for a moment there, I forgot my mission, Skye. I didn't even realize that I was worrying too much for someone that shouldn't matter to me. And yet I did. How I felt that time was real. Maybe the other things look like lies now, and maybe this one even does too, but I'm telling you. I did learn to care about you. And it scared me, to be honest, how one person, just one, seemed like the right one that I needed."
"Needed to what?" I asked.
"To show me that I wasn't completely a monster yet."
My lips parted open at his words.
"Garrett molded me into the cold and cruel person I am now. He dictated my life starting from when he pulled me from a hell. He made me this, and I thought I really was that guy. Inside and out, I thought I was that person. Until you came, and then I started to feel again. I learned to control my emotions, but with you…it was different. It's like all the training I had of building walls slowly disappeared with you. In time, I couldn't control how I felt anymore. You have opened me up without even knowing it. And I let you because…"
"Because what?"
"I wanted it." He admitted. "I liked the idea of the two of us, in whatever situation. I enjoyed your company and it affected me a lot, but I knew deep inside, I wanted it. I wanted the idea of living a normal life with you and the team, without HYDRA keeping me on a leash."
I shut my eyes closed. This was too much to absorb and why was I even doing that? The voice in my head should be shouting now but it's not.
Ward backed away from me and stood a few feet from the stairs.
"I know you won't give up that hard drive, Skye. And I know I can't force you to, but I do still care about you. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I can't do what you're asking me, Ward. I can't." Tears started to form in my eyes again.
He let out a heavy sigh. "I guess I can't do anything about it."
"Just one question."
He turned around and looked at me expectantly.
"If what you told me is true, and that I somehow brought out the real and human Grant Ward from inside that dark killer," I took a deep breath. "What are you now then?"
He swallowed thickly and took a moment before answering. "I tried to revert back to that dark killer. I really did, but he was gone."
My eyebrows met in confusion. Gone? Not even just damaged?
"Believe it or not, Skye, the real one is the one I am now, and the dark one became the cover and mask. You did that to me. You made me change slowly until the light replaced the darkness. What I am with Garrett, that's the cover. What I am with you, that's the real one."
He gave me a sad smile before stepping in front of me again and crouching. He wordlessly grabbed my injured arm and I held it out for him. Neither of us spoke, apart from the hissing sound I made and the apology he said as he cleaned my arm.
When he was done, his eyes found mine, and I saw that the cold and smug expression was long gone. It had been replaced by a worried and scared look.
"I'm sorry," He said in a quiet voice.
Tears continued to cascade down my cheeks.
"And to prove to you that I meant what I said about protecting you," he began. "I contacted Coulson and told him where they can find you."
I gasped in shock. "What?"
"I had to try but you won't change your mind about that hard drive, so you better hide with the team when they get you."
"What about you?"
"Garrett won't be happy, that's for sure."
"What will happen to you?" I knew the worried tone and expression gave away everything but I didn't care for now.
"He won't kill me. He still needs me to do the dirty work for him." He moved to stand up, but I grabbed his wrist.
"Grant," His name slipped from my mouth so effortlessly. "He's gonna hurt you, isn't he?"
He kept his head down and shrugged. "Maybe."
"You can't–You have to escape him too."
He smiled sadly at me. "Where else am I gonna go, Skye? SHIELD will kill me on the spot when they see me. The least I can do is get Garrett off of your trail until you can be safe somewhere with the team."
My chest was too tight for my liking. It wasn't supposed to go this way. "But–"
"But nothing," He cut me off. "I don't care what happens to me, Skye. I want you safe. That's the only thing that matters."
I wanted to vomit. This was not how I expected the situation to turn out. I didn't even know if I was glad that I had a chance to escape. I couldn't leave him in the hands of Garrett.
"You have no choice, Skye. It's your only option." He told me.
"And what about you? When SHIELD manages to defeat HYDRA and end this mess, and assuming you're still alive by then, what are you going to do? I know SHIELD won't forgive you for what you've done so, what are you gonna do?"
He thought for a moment. "Assuming I'm still alive and intact, maybe I could go into hiding. It's easy for me, since I can change my identity anytime."
I nodded absentmindedly. No matter how this would play out, I wouldn't get a chance to see him again. Eventually, Coulson would find me and we would go our separate ways. I would get back to SHIELD and help take down HYDRA. Ward would go back to Garrett, but I knew he was a changed man now. He wasn't the same killer anymore. That was the only thing I could hold on to for now. As soon as he goes back there, his fate would be unpredictable.
But maybe after all this mess, maybe we could see each other again. Just maybe. It was just a desperate piece of hope that I was clinging to. And right now, it was unknown whether it could happen or not.
We're in the middle of a game. A bitter and ruthless game. Who would come out on top?
A/N: The End! Thanks for reading! My notes seem so happy but tbh, I'm still not okay..I've been crying in front of my laptop since yesterday. :( Good thing I had ice cream in the fridge. R and R, as always. 3 xx