Episode 9: Repairs
Part Two

Downstairs, Sara banged on the door of the storage closet.
"Hello?" Fitz yelled. "Can anybody hear me?"
"What the hell's happening?" Sara muttered as Fitz continued yelling.
"Did we crash? Who was screaming?"

Banging her fist again, Sara winced at the sharp pain that went through it.
"Bloody hell," she grunted, pulling her hand close to her chest.
"This is not funny, Jemma, if this is a prank!" Fitz growled.

Eyes darkening, his sister turn to him.
"If this is a prank… you're both dead." That made him gulp. Fitz shoved his shoulder into the door, but it didn't budge. Sara looked down and noticed something lodged there. "Clever."

Picking up a knife, she used it to push the door open. She handed it to Fitz before pulling her gun.
"Simmons?" Fitz called quietly. "Come one. Turn on the lights." They walked down a hallway.

When they got to a junction, they looked both ways before Sara took the left. They reached another junction as two people ran into them. Fitz let out a small shout, holding his knife out.

Sara breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her boyfriend and best friend.
"Thank God! Where have you been?" Simmons asked as Sara lowered her gun.
"We've been locked in a closet freaking out thanks to you two geniuses," Fitz growled.
"That wasn't us," Simmons said.
"Well, then who was it?" Sara asked, looking to Ward.

Clicking his walkie-talkie, Ward talked into it as he wrapped an arm around Sara.
"We found them."
"Good, we'll need them," May's voice buzzed. "Looks like the main problem is in avionics bay two. But he took out all our systems."
"Who's she talking about?" Fitz asked.

Shaking his head, Ward shushed him.
"Grab your equipment and get in there," May ordered. "I'm going to power down the flight controls to conserve energy and then go defend the cage door in case this ghost comes knocking." Fitz looked over at Sara, who looked over at Ward.
"Did she just say "ghost"?" she asked.

Coulson stood in his office and took a large picture off the wall behind his desk. There was a safe there that he began to open. He pulled out a radio, speaking into it.
"Mayday, mayday, mayday. Region north this is S.H.I.E.L.D. 616. We've lost electrical and are grounded. Calculating coordinates. Requesting sup –" The radio cut out and Coulson scoffed."1990s technology at its best," he muttered, pulling the whole unit from the wall.

Skye knocked on the holding cell door.
"Hannah?" she asked.
"Who's there?" Hannah asked nervously. Skye sat on the floor with her back to the door.
"My name is Skye. We haven't met yet."
"We crashed, didn't we?" Hannah questioned. "Are you all hurt? I'm so sorry."

Quickly, Skye shushed her.
"No, no, no, we're okay. Whatever's happening, it's not your fault. We were wrong. But you need to stay in that room so that you're safe. Something… bad is out here."
"Demons," Hannah whispered.
"I don't know what it is," Skye said.

Hannah's voice was quiet as she talked to Skye.
"Do you believe in God?"
"Honestly? Not really."
"Well, I do. And I know that he's punishing me, and I deserve it."
"No. No you don't. No one does. I had a few nuns around me growing up and they would talk like that, scaring kids with stories of God's wrath. It made me not want to believe. The only words that stuck with me were something Sister McKenna said…"

In the hallway, May walked up. She stayed out of sight, listening in.
"From the Bible, I think," Skye continued. "She said, "God is love." It's simple and it's a little sappy, but that's the version I like. God is love… the thing that holds us together. And if that's true, I don't think he would punish you for making a mistake."

May lowered her eyes. What Skye was saying was hitting her.
"I think he'd forgive a mistake," Skye finished.
"I want to believe that. I really do," Hannah mumbled.

Taking a deep breath, May walked over to Skye.
"I'll stand guard now. Coulson needs help with the emergency transceiver."
"I'd rather stay here for a while –"
"It needs to get done, not discussed," May snapped. "That's an order."

Eyes steeling, Skye spoke to Hannah through the door.
"I'll be nearby if you need me, okay?" Standing, she glared at May. "Try not to hurt her, any more than you already have, Agent May." May watched with a solemn look as Skye walked away.

Simmons told Fitz and Sara about her findings as they walked through the plane. Ward was leading the way, gun out and flashlight up. Sara was holding her gun as well.
"He thinks it's hell, but I think it's an alien world," Simmons gushed. "Fitz, it was stunning."
"Well, there were reports in London after the spaceship landed of multiple portals opening, Thor passing between worlds," Fitz said.
"You think that's what they were researching at that lab?" Ward asked.
"Trying to create another portal," Sara nodded. "Failing until a malfunction produced a burst of energy."

Bouncing on the balls of her feet, Simmons nodded eagerly.
"This "ghost" is a man trapped between our universe and another. Perhaps that's how all ghosts are. It's a simple explanation, really."
"Simple would be a relative term in this case," Ward remarked.

Ward opened the door as they made it to the hallway where they needed to do repairs. They looked at the panel that was ruined. All the wires were yanked out.
"Bloody hell," Sara and Fitz breathed out.
"He was thorough," Simmons muttered.

There was a loud clang behind them. Fitz-Simmons both jumped out of their skins as Ward and Sara quickly turned, pointing their guns in that direction.
"Oh, God," Fitz-Simmons said.
"Plane's on uneven ground, could just be settling," Ward said.
"Or the other thing," Fitz said. Ward casted a glance at them over his shoulder.
"Get to work." He looked at Sara. "Stay with them."

She watched as he headed down the hallway in the sound, leaving them behind. Ward walked down the hallways looking at every intersection with his gun held high, he finally lowered it when he saw nothing.
"Clear!"

Fitz-Simmons sighed with relief and looked back to the damage. Sara lowered her gun and studied the wires closely. Most of them would have to be replaced completely. She started to turn back to the doorway. She screamed out of when she saw the man behind her. She tried to fire, but he disappeared before the bullet reached him.

Ward heard her screaming and started back towards them. Suddenly, Tobias appeared, bring a big wrench down on Ward's arms. Ward attempted to slam his body into Tobias', but Tobias disappeared, leaving Ward to collide with the wall of the plane.
"Ward, help!" Simmons called.
"Quiet!" he hissed.

He walked down the hallway again. He got to an intersection where the noise came from. Tobias was waiting, fisting up. He attacked on Ward's unguarded side and this time when Ward hit him back, he actually made contact. Tobias got Ward by the neck, but Ward got the upper hand. He threw Tobias over his shoulder, but once again, Tobias disappeared.

Tobias appeared in the room with Fitz-Simmons and Sara. He wrestled Sara's gun out of her hands, knocking her out. She dropped to the ground, and he turned to Simmons, putting his wrench to her neck. She screamed.

Hearing Simmons' scream of terror, Ward hurried back to them.
"Help!" Simmons yelled. Ward picked up his gun as he ran by it and opened the door to the area they were. Fitz-Simmons jumped when Ward opened the door and Simmons gasped with relief.

Appearing behind Ward, Tobias hit him hard, knocking him out. Ward slumped to the ground beside Sara. Tobias looked at his hand. It began to glow blue and disappear. He screamed at them and then shut the door.

In Coulson's office, Skye tried to help him fix his transceiver.
"Seems like a hardware issue," Skye told him. "I should be with Hannah, anyway. No wonder she kept screaming in there. You keep sending in The Cavalry, you're bound to get a reaction like that." |
"Don't – don't call her that," he warned in a low, sad voice.
"Why not?" Skye questioned. "No normal person can shoot 100 Bahrain –"

Her boss looked up at her.
"That's not how it went down."
"Whatever, 20. I just – I don't understand –"
"She didn't have a gun," Coulson said. "None of us did." Skye looked up at him with large eyes. "And it wasn't a rescue, or an assault, whatever they say at The Academy these days. We were the welcome wagon. And it went south."

Skye's expression turned guilty.
"How many…"
"Plenty. A civilian girl and a few of our guys were stuck inside a building being held by the followers of this gifted individual or worshippers." He shrugged, "We never found out."
"May did," Skye said.
"She took it upon herself to get them out. Said she could fix the problem. So, she went in, crossed off the enemy force."

Walking around the desk, Coulson sat down beside Skye.
"Didn't say how," Coulson added.
"Did she lose anyone in there?" Skye asked. Sadly, Coulson nodded.
"Herself. May used to be different. She was always quiet, and just… she was warm. Fearless in a different way, getting into trouble, pulling pranks, thought the rules were meant to be broken. Sound familiar?"

Smiling, Skye nodded a bit.
"But when she walked out of that building… it was like that part of her was gone. I tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't tell me what went down in there."
"What did you say?" Skye asked.
"I said the words I thought she needed to hear."
"It's why you want her on the plane," Skye realized. "To see if that person is still in there somewhere."

They both jumped as the door clattered closed. Coulson got to the door first and tried to open it.
"The lock is jammed," he groaned. The room went dark, and Coulson turned on his flashlight. He moved his flashlight around and saw Tobias standing there. Skye and Coulson gasped and stepped back as Tobias used his wrench to burst the transceiver.

Skye screamed as her hands went to her throat. Coulson swung around the flashlight to find Tobias holding Skye by his wrench pressed to her neck.
"Let me in or let her out," Tobias growled.
"That's not up to us," Coulson said.
"Let her out!" Tobias screamed.

In the hallway, May spoke through her earpiece.
"Talk to me. What's happening?"
"May, he's disappearing," Fitz answered. May frowned as he continued. "He's passing between worlds. It seems a little less of him is returning every time he appears."
"But why is he after you guys?"
"Because he can't get to Hannah in there," Simmons answered. "She's safe. If we wait it out maybe he'll disappear fully."

May stopped speaking when she heard a noise. The lights were flashing, leaving her periodically in darkness. Tobias came up behind her raising the wrench to strike her. She ducked out of the way, slamming into him.

While he disappeared momentarily, she opened the door to the holding cell and grabbed hold of Hannah's arm. She led the terrified woman out of the bus.
"What are you going to do?" Hannah asked.
"Fix the problem," May answered.

Coulson grunted when he tried to open the door again.
"We need to find a way out of here," Coulson said.
"Any of this crap still work?" Skye asked. Coulson turned to her, seeing his old collection of spy equipment.

Ward groaned as he started to come too. Sara was looking down at him, eyes exhausted.
"Welcome back," she said, touching his cheek gently.
"What happened?" he asked, sitting up. He rubbed at his head, looking to Fitz-Simmons.
"Well, we lost communications. And you were hit with a very large plumber's wrench," Simmons said.
"A wrench?" Ward deadpanned.

Simmons nodded, "Yeah."
"That guy's traveling back and forth between alien worlds… with a wrench?"
"Must have been in his hand when the blast hit," Sara mused. "But it's not the kind of wrench you would use to loosen a coupling, is it?" Fitz-Simmons shared a look while Ward started nodding.

Coulson's voice started crackling through the room.
"… there? Maybe it doesn't work after all." Fitz and Ward scrambled for the walkie-talkie and Fitz handed it to Ward.
"Uh, yes, yes, we're here, sir."
"Where did you go?" Sara asked.
"Nowhere. We were attacked, locked in, then the guy disappeared." Fitz groaned as he looked at Simmons.
"That's our story." Sara sent him a smirk.
"Is May with you guys?" Skye asked. Sara smirk turned into a frown, eyes turning concerned.
"She isn't with you?"

May led Hannah away from the plane and into an empty barn.
"I don't mean to scare you," May said. "I just need to use you as bait." Hannah was crying with fright.
"Well, that's comforting."
"I had to draw him out, away from my people," May said. "
Then what will you do?" Hannah asked. May turned and looked at her.
"Whatever I have to."

Coulson stood next to the door where he'd rigged up his watch.
"And you're sure this is how to do it?" he asked Fitz. Fitz' voice buzzed through the walkie-talkie.
"Yes, I'll max the signal and the transceiver will act as a trigger."
"Okay, fine," Coulson sighed. Pushing Skye back a step, Coulson grimaced as there was a high-pitched buzzing sound. "They only made 20, I think." The watch exploded, opening the lock. "Oh," Coulson groaned.

They met up with the others and Coulson bit back a remark when he saw Ward's arm around Sara's waist.
"So, we believe that this man is responsible for the blast?" Fitz asked.
"Skye said she thinks he's the worker who filed all the reports," Coulson said. Skye nodded, "Tobias Ford. It looks like him."

Simmons frowned, "It makes no sense for a man to complain about safety issues whilst causing them. Another theory –"
"Theories don't matter," Ward interrupted. "Only facts, and the fact is, a bullet will take you out of whatever world you're in."

Rolling her eyes, Sara looked up at Coulson.
"Any idea which direction May went?"
"We'll deploy the Golden Retrievers," Simmons said. "They're in here." Hurrying forward, Simmons opened the door.

The mop that Fitz and Sara had found, popped out, scaring everyone. Even Fitz screamed.
"Fitz!" Simmons scolded. "This is no time for childish nonsense like this?" Fitz snapped at her.
"Pranking was your idea. And obviously Sara and I rigged this little beauty before we knew there was a dimension jumping psychopath in the mix!"
"Don't pull me into this," Sara muttered.

An idea dawned on Skye.
"Wait, childish?" she said. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "This guy is childish." Coulson tilted his head to the side.
"What are you getting at?" Skye crossed her arms.
"He wanted her to notice him. Why would he file a complaint to her office when there was nothing wrong and then cause an actual safety issue himself?"
"To get her fired?" Simmons offered.

Sara shook her head.
"To get her attention, to spend time with her." Skye nodded in agreement.
"Think about it, he scared the guy who was harassing her at the gas station. He tried to hit you guys with a cop car…"
"When we took her into custody," Coulson sighed.
"Yeah, he's not trying to hurt her," Ward said, scratching at his head.
"He's trying to protect her," Skye said.
"He likes her," Sara sighed.

The cargo bay door opened, and they headed out. Fitz got to the ground first and opened a case. Inside the case was a small S.H.I.E.L.D. disk that glowed yellow. He hit a button and it began to spin very fast. Small yellow spheres shot out of the disk and into the sky. They met up in the sky and then spread out in different directions.

Standing alone in the center of the barn, Hannah gasped as Tobias materialized in front of her.
"Tobias?" she whispered.
"Is that you?" She startled as May ran into the barn behind Tobias with a loud yell, knocking him into a horse stable gate.

As they began to fight, May got him into a headlock, but he just disappeared. He reappeared behind her and hit her in the lower back with a wrench. She grabbed his wrist and he disappeared only to reappear on the ground, hitting her in the legs with the wrench, taking her back down.

She let out a small groan as Tobias grabbed Hannah, dragging her away while she screamed. As they passed by May, she jumped up and knocked Tobias' legs out from under him and hit him hard in the chest.

Gathering up Hannah, she led her past Tobias, pushing her down to the ground.
"Stay here," she ordered just before Tobias slammed into her, knocking her into the gate of a horse stall. A beam from the ceiling broke loose, heading for Hannah.

Hearing her scream, Tobias disappeared from May and reappeared in front of Hannah, taking the brunt of the impact. May and Hannah quickly got to their feet and Hannah grabbed May in a hug.
"It's okay. It's okay," May soothed.

She saw Tobias moving and pushed Hannah behind her.
"Tell him I won't hurt you."
"Tobias, wait, she's a friend." Tobias got to feet, but paused.
"Hannah," he whispered.
"You have to stop," Hannah begged. "Please."
May nodded, "Listen, we believe you're trapped between two worlds, this world and –"
"And hell," he growled.

He sank to his knees as May nodded.
"I'm being dragged to hell for what I did."
"What did you do?" Hannah questioned.
"Just loosen a few bolts and then you'd visit." May looked to Hannah as realization dawned upon her.
"It was the best part of my day. I'm sorry. I – I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."
"Oh, no, Tobias. How could you?" Hannah gasped.
"I killed them. I know. And even worse, everyone started blaming you. I tr- I tried to stop them."

Hannah started crying.
"But you hurt more people."
"I was trying to protect you from them. I was trying to atone for my sin. Hannah, please, maybe if you forgive me, I won't go to hell."
"Only God can forgive you," Hannah told him.
"And he won't," May said.

He looked to May.
"You can't undo what's been done. That will be with you forever. But trying to hold on to his life, clinging to the person you thought you could be, that's hell. And you're dragging her down with you." His eyes closed as a few tears leaked out.

Hearing a whirring noise, May saw a golden light filling the barn. She continued talking to Tobias.
"You have to let go. Before my people come and make you do it. If you care about her, and I know you do, let her go."

The rest of the team appeared at the door to the barn. Ward and Sara kept their guns trained on Tobias. Skye started to enter deeper into the barn, but Coulson grabbed her arm, making her stay back.
"Let the girl go, Tobias," May said firmly. "Let the girl go."

Closing his eyes, Tobias took a deep breath and disappeared for good. Hannah let out a heavy sigh as Skye rushed forward to her. Cautiously Ward entered the barn to check things out. Sara stayed beside Coulson, the two of them watching May.

She turned away from Skye who was comforting Hannah and walked to Coulson and Sara. Her eyes were down cast.
"What did you say to him?" Coulson asked. May looked up to Coulson, tears in her eyes.
"Same words you said to me in Bahrain." She walked past him, Sara trailing after her.

The lights switched on The Bus as the power came back. Skye walked inside a bunk with a blanket and put it over a sleeping Hannah. She switched off the flashlight she had with her and closed the door to the room.

Rounding the corner behind Skye, Ward walked over to her.
"Is she alright?" Ward questioned.
Skye nodded, "Much better."
"Let me know if she needs anything," Ward said before heading to his bunk.

She headed into the opposite direction and caught sight of Coulson leaning against the holo-com in The Planning Room. She smiled a bit, seeing the destroyed watch in his hand. She entered the room as he let out a deep sigh.
"Can Fitz repair it?" Skye asked.
"No," Coulson shook his head. "This one's a lost cause."
"But May isn't," Skye told him. "If anyone can bring her around, it's you. You know what makes people tick. Pun intended."

Reaching out, she tapped the watch in his hand.
"So do you," Coulson said. "You see the good in them. You were a friend to Hannah, you can't wait to get inside May's head, and you figured out Tobias without even trying."
"Guess I'm full of surprises," Skye shrugged.
"But this isn't one of them," Coulson said. "I wanted you paying close attention to The Index Asset Evaluation and Intake Process because someday, you'll be really good at it. Even the best."

Skye lifted her eyebrows for a moment, then settled on a pleased smile.
"Thanks, A.C."
"Maybe you'll get to rename it," he suggested. She became excited.
"Good, because that name is super stupid."
"I know." They smiled at each other, and Coulson walked out of the Planning Room.

In the cockpit, May sat at her seat, flipping switches. There was a knock on the door and when it opened, Skye entered. She walked in and stood behind the co-pilot's chair.
"Mind if I keep you company?" Skye asked. May said nothing, just continued flipping switches.
"Cool." Skye sat in the chair and looked around the equipment as May glanced in her direction. May had a tiny smile on her face as The Bus lifted up.

Most of the team gathered around a scrabble board. Sara was curled up in Ward's lap, laughing at it. The words played were "Espionage", "on", "zodiac", "tales", and Simmons pulled away after playing "aglet". Sara gave her a high-five as the others frowned at it.

Wrapping is arms tighter around Sara's waist; Ward leaned forward to read the word. He scoffed at it.
"That isn't a word in our language." Simmons rolled her eyes as Sara glared playfully at Ward.
"I've never heard of it," Coulson said. Skye pulled out her phone.
"I'm checking!"

Simmons scoffed at them.
"Our language?" she questioned Ward.
"You mean the English language, first spoken in England?" Skye looked up, a frown on her lips.
""Aglet, a plastic metal or tube covering the end of a shoelace.""
"Oh, come on!" Coulson groaned.
"She used her Brittishness against us!" Ward scowled.
"It's a word," Sara taunted, kissing his cheek.

Someone stomped into the room. They all glanced up and began laughing. Fitz stood in front of them, shaving cream covering half his face. His right hand was filled with leftover shaving cream. Sara grimaced slightly but couldn't help the giggle that escaped.
"It's not funny," Fitz snapped. "I was sleeping peacefully!"

Simmons laughed harder and Skye joined before slapping a hand over her mouth. Fitz looked to Simmons who grimaced.
"Very cleaver, Simmons."
"I didn't – I didn't do it."
"Well, Ward, I don't appreciate –" Ward put up a hand in innocence.
"Don't look at me."

Fitz looked around the room as everyone cracked up. Coulson wrinkled his brow, shaking his head.
"Okay, well, Skye –"
"Nope," Skye shook her head. Even Sara said it wasn't her.

Inside the cockpit, May listened on to their conversation.
"Well, who, then?" Fitz asked. "Look the bunks should be off limits. Okay?" Everyone began to laugh harder as May smirked. "Don't laugh! Because I know it was one of you!" May's smile grew larger, feeling rather pleased with herself.

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