Previously: Fitz and Skye are still on the ship. The ritual in which Skye has to expose herself to the Terrigen Crystals on a specific date only two days away. Skye's found a key out of their cell, but they still need to find a way off the ship.

Chapter Thirty Four

"There's no way this is going to work."

"Come on, Fitz. We have to at least have some hope!"

"Do you realize how many variables there are? We've walked through the ship once. We have no idea of the security measures they're using, if they're monitoring us… they are obviously well ahead of us as far as technology! They could know we've left the moment we step out of this cell."

Skye had been so hopeful and optimistic because she had found one tiny key on the ground, as though it were a guaranteed ticket out of this place. Did she magically forget they were on an alien spacecraft? She'd been trying to smother her smiles all day since she'd found it.

Now she was scowling.

"Since they've made it pretty dang clear they think we're stupid, maybe they weren't worried enough to bother using security measures… I don't know. But we have to try," Skye said firmly, as though she weren't giving him a choice. She scoffed. "Besides, what are they going to do if they catch us? The ritual thing is so close now; they need to let you go soon anyway or they know I won't do it. If it were just for me of course I wouldn't… endanger us, but if they do this I'll be killing off an entire species! We need to try and get out of here."

She was right. He was being selfish, knowing he was going to get out of here anyhow. Leo had to do this for all the people that would be in the crossfire.

He nodded. "Alright. You do have any semblance of a plan, though?"

At that, she gave him a sheepish smile. "Uh, open the door with the key…"

"Yeah, got that."

"…and try to find another door, preferably one that leads off of this ship. Oh! And really really hope they haven't taken off from that rooftop yet. Cause uh… I don't know how to pilot a Skrull spaceship. Or any, spaceship…"

Fitz couldn't keep the cold stare of disbelief he had off his face. "That is a truly brilliant plan. My hope is feeling quite restored."

"Good," said Skye, ignoring the sarcasm and decidedly taking the comment at face value. "Ready then?"

"I suppose… it's now or never."

"Exactly. So, it's probably night," said Skye. "I'm not sure of course, but best guess…"

"Based on meals and the general times they'd come to…" he fumbled on his words, not wanting to use their terrible wording of playing with them, "to let us out, you'd be correct."

"Right. So let's blow this popsicle stand," said Skye, grinning much more than Fitz thought appropriate for their predicament. He really didn't look forward to when they'd get caught or any immediate repercussions that would ensue.

But still, when Skye opened pressed the remote to the lock on their transparent prison, he walked out with her.

Then he was grinning too.

They both were, ear to ear, just from being able to step out of that cell door using their own free will. Not getting dragged out to play some horrific game or take part in some set up scene.

Skye took a deep steading breath beside himself as they approached the stairs, and he noticed his friend biting her nail apprehensively. She quickly hid her hand behind herself, as though taking away the distraction. Good idea. Fitz inhaled a deep breath as well.

"And here we go…" she mumbled.

They were definitely on the right track. The Skrulls must have been asleep. Lights dim, hallway empty. No one was in sight. After they'd checked the immediate surroundings, the pair took their guarded, peaking stance from around the corner and brought out the full length of themselves, beginning to trot down a corridor.

They didn't know where they were going. Everything appeared the same, and fear kept them from opening doors they could not see into. But the more they progressed through the twisted hallways, the more they realized they were going to have to.

Skye looked sideways at a wall panel.

"Um, how…?"

"Let me."

Fitz raised a hand in front of the box to inspect it, but the door slid open as soon as his fingers neared the small panel. They both took a jolted step away in shock, unprepared for the unknown door to open without more coaxing.

Luckily, no one was inside.

They also seemed to be on the right track again, as the area resembled the cargo hold. Lady Luck must have really decided to finally pay a visit after deserting them for so long. Better late than never though. If they got out of there now, Fitz was sure with some good therapy and talks with Simmons he'd get over the experience.

But in the same way the sight of the cargo room was fairly jovial, as they were near their way out, it was also terrifying. Even more terrifying for Skye, shown by the uneasy expression on her face. Fitz knew the grimace was present due to the additions the room had gained since their last time of being in it.

In the corner was the only light source of the area. Glowing a grim blue, the luminous colors seemed to be originating from a tub of some sort. It was elegant and sleek, an almost marble substance. But like everything else on the ship it was just a little bit off in a way that made it clearly alien. The crystals Skye told him about must have been held inside. And despite the eerie iridescent glow it set off, that was not the scariest addition to the room.

Just next to it was a rectangular box. A clear chamber, standing upright that was merely tall enough to fit a person and just a bit wider than one. It seemed futuristic, and rounded as well, showing that it was an advanced piece of technology.

But inside it held chains. Old, medieval looking shackles that contrasted so greatly from the other component it was almost upsetting, as it could have had a near aesthetic appeal.

If Fitz cared in even the slightest, that is.

Skye's breathing went just a little faster. Just a little different. Their situation was bad enough, but the sight of what they had planned made it a little worse for her.

"C'mon, we're getting out," Fitz told her, grabbing her hand to redirect her towards the door. "We don't even have to think about that."

"Yes we do!" she insisted suddenly, the empty gaze that she had been staring at the crystals with suddenly filled with fervor. "We need to take them."

"Take… take the crystals?" Fitz stuttered.

"Yeah. Get them back to the Inhumans or… I don't know. I do know that something so powerful can not be in these psychopaths' hands."

Fitz blinked. "But the door! The wonderful door! The door that gets us out of here, right over there-"

Skye had already walked away, trotting carefully over to inspect the glowing items. Fitz groaned, but followed the girl. Strangely, she made no move to gather the rocks. She ended her stride abruptly in front of the thing, her head jolting to a still stop.

"You should go," she told him firmly, staring into the water filled tub. Her mind was obviously working over something as she glared into the glowing blue.

"Ah c'mon, let's just grab the bloody rocks and we'll go together-"

"No," she told him. Her voice resolute but quiet, as they were still sneaking around. "I… I have to do this."

"Do what?" Fitz asked, and she raised her eyebrows pointedly. Her gaze shifted to the objects in front of them. "Oh, stop being ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous!" Skye protested. "This way there can be no threats, no chance of people getting hurt. If I run away now, they'll try to get me back. They'll use whatever means necessary to drag me back in two days. Do you realize how much damage they could do? How many people they could hurt?"

Millions, thought Fitz immediately. He didn't dare voice it. It didn't matter, he needed to get Skye out with him and that would most definitely not help to convince her.

"I was being selfish…" Skye lamented, wrongly. "I thought by saving myself I could save the Inhumans, but it would just condemn the human race. And… and maybe if I do this now, there's a chance I won't die. Not that it matters…"

"Skye-"

"There's no time!" she shouted, her voice so strong for the amount of silent tears Fitz realized were deftly running down her face. Fitz flinched at the loudness of her voice. She quickly lowered it. "Y-you have to go. I don't know what this does; it could be dangerous for you. Or loud…"

"Do you even know how to work it?" asked Fitz.

"No," she admitted with realization.

Fitz buried the fear welling up in him, as it was rapidly boiling to the surface. Skrulls could be on them at any moment. Skye was about to give up her life for the greater good. And despite how much he really did not want her to do it, despite how much he wished there were a better option, he knew in his heart, and perhaps more so his logical mind, that she was right. So, he needed to focus.

Fear, sadness, grief; it all had to be pushed away.

"Ok, the water needs to be heated right?" he asked, and Skye shakily nodded her head, obviously surprised by the sudden change in attitude. "Heated enough so the crystals give off their mists… well, technically that would be water vapor-"

She was hugging him then, so tight he thought his air might be cut off if she put in any more pressure. She nuzzled hard against him. He felt moisture on his face and he realized it wasn't all from Skye's tears.

She let go, wiping her eyes with a tender hand.

"Ok, figure it out Mr. Engineer," she said as lightly as she could through the sniffling. "So we can get you out of here."

Fitz did as he was told, hastily going to work to determine how the machine worked. It was a perfect mix of technology and classic ritual, obviously set up to be pleasing to the eyes while having the proper mechanics in place.

He saw the lever, and with a glance over at the glass case with nothing on it but chains and a vent from the tub, he realized there was only one option. His stomach dropped instantly, but he held steady. He had to. There was no other way, and he was getting quite used to the dire situations just from what he'd experienced the passed week, let alone what had happened with Garrett or in the ocean.

"Alright, I think I understand it."

"Good, tell me what to do," Skye said.

"You'll have to… to get inside."

Skye's eyebrows knit together, so she looked puzzled instead of perturbed, as Fitz would have expected from asking her to get inside the strange chamber.

"But how can I activate it from ins-"

"Someone has to activate it from the outside," he explained gently.

Her confusion turned to concern the moment it clicked, and she began shaking her head rapidly.

"Wait, no. The Skrulls will hear. And I don't even know what this will do! You can't… this was stupid. You're right, we need to go-"

"No Skye, you were right. And besides, as much as there's a chance for you, there's a chance for me too."

Skye seemed to get angry with that.

"Oh c'mon! My chances are basically less than one percent, but even that is my best hope in this messed up situation. There's a real chance for you to get out of this if you go now!" she told him, grabbing his shoulders to redirect his stance towards the door. He could feel her shake when they touched. Heard her voice quiet and cracked as she continued. "Because if, or when, I'm not around, they'll have you Fitz, and I won't be able to do anything-"

He held her hand.

"Together," he whispered as he turned to face her, tightening the hold. Her face could nearly reflect his with the amount of tears on it, and his mind took the moment to note how the blue radiating from the pool caused a shimmer when it caught the water on her cheeks.

Other things flew across her face as well, a menagerie of emotions. Fear, anger, defiance… she was having an internal battle of the highest kind. But maybe she thought, as much as she felt she had to do this he did too. And she'd be right, because he really, truly did.

Fitz had tried to save Jemma at the bottom of the ocean. He'd been resolved to die before, and it had worked. She was alive.

That was some solace. That Jemma Simmons was alive and breathing somewhere and would be able to live a full life. She'd have to get passed the traumatic experience of finding two of her friends were no more, but she was strong.

And if Fitz was honest, helping to make sure a species was not killed in a ritualistic genocide was a good way to go, so he knew she'd be proud of him. Or it was at least better than some freak lab accident, as he'd always said to Simmons would be the way it would happen if she'd kept bringing unstable elements into their lab.

The memories stirred up inside of him, and though Skye was the one holding his hand, he knew his last moments would only contain the face of Jemma in his mind.

But he recognized Skye's fight as well as they caught each other's eyes. They took a moment, something to share only with themselves, as the looming threat that the aliens could be on them at any time pushed heavy on their shoulders. But resigned; something near happy at the good they were doing, they took the moment to nod and take comfort in each other's bravery.

They unhooked their intertwining fingers, as Skye inhaled a sharp breath. Just a harsh short cry before she became silent, unwilling to mar her probable last moments with more tears than she had too. And as the tears fell silently from Fitz's eyes, he watched her get into the chamber.

Then an alarm sounded.

Loud and blearing, the room's lights grew strong. The sudden occurrence, well, alarmed the two of them.

Despite how pressing the issue had been before, they didn't have the luxury to even pretend they had time now.

Skye quickly shut the chamber door. She near retreated into herself, as though trying to step as far as she could from the chains inside, appearing nervous that they were going to wrap around her themselves.

Well, it wasn't a completely absurd fear. Alien tech and whatnot.

Fitz looked down at what he had to do, decidedly not hearing the alarm. Not seeing the lights. Not feeling the presence of the Skrulls as they got nearer or Skye staying ever so still, watching them come. No, no he was definitely focusing.

There was a lever. He knew it would heat the crystals, and he pulled it to the best of his ability, though it was stuck as though it were sticky or old.

But he did it.

The Skrulls were mere meters away from him now, rushing forward. He could hear their shouts. He could hear the angry cries and he knew if he survived this, if there wasn't some crazy reaction from the process that killed him along with his friend, they would take out their frustrations on him.

Still he watched, strangely resolved to do so, as Skye was smiling, smiling inside that chamber to try and reassure him, to show her she was proud of their triumph, though her eyes held despair and fear through the gesture, as the blue mists now began to fill the area.

And then she wasn't smiling. She was screaming.

Even as hands clambered onto Fitz roughly, pulled him away, he watched.

Skye looked –and sounded- to be in pain as she tried to crumple to the ground, but something was stopping her. A brown covering began to snake up her body briskly, engulfing her in the strange material and halting her movements as it encased her.

Her panic-stricken eyes were the main thing Fitz could see now, even as Skye was being covered alive in some unknown substance and the whole chamber began to erupt with the turquoise that filled it to the brim. But it wasn't just in the case that held the mists now.

The light surrounded it.

Fitz could tell it was emitting scalding heat from the distortion in the air around it, and as the Skrulls tried to open the door to regain their precious prize they weren't ready to let go of just yet they were burned, jumping away from the door in a panic. Like it was a boiling pot.

With one last forlorn glimpse from the girl, Fitz watched her eyes disappear from his vision as they too became covered.

Then Skye stopped screaming. Or perhaps, more accurately, her screams became muffled to a point of stopping. The coating had run over her face to close her in, covering her body in a complete and total cocoon.

Fitz stared at the statue that was formally his friend, silence filling the room in a delicate veneer.

He was in shock. The Skrulls were in shock, as they just stared as well. They were mourning the loss of their weapon, but he was mourning Skye. The hacker, his friend.

It was but a moment of stilled and stunned silence. Just a moment, just in pretense before it happened. Because suddenly her encasing burst open, the covering that had become hard while it clung to her body flying through the air as it crashed through the chamber violently.

Everything moved so fast then, and Fitz couldn't even get a glimpse of Skye. To see if she'd cracked apart along with it, because with this abrupt and brutal occurrence came a few other things.

First, a bright white light; quick as a flash.

Deafening silence.

And then… then there was nothing.

A/n: HEY. Hey YOU! Yeah you, person binge-reading this story. Congrats, you've made it through chapter 34! I sure hope you are enjoying :) And just so you know, even if you've found it a little late, I love reviews on any chapter. I read them all! No matter how old , they make my day!

Disclaimer: I wrote majority of this in November just so you know, cause I'm aware things seem different than the show.