here I was again tonight, forcing laughter, faking smiles

[all roads lead...: season 5, episode 18]
*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Rose sniffled as she sharply rounded a corner. 'God, this is so stupid,' she thought to herself. 'Why am I crying right now? It doesn't matter- it doesn't-'

        But those thoughts didn't stop the tears that continued to fall from her eyes, leaving her cheeks slightly damp. She gulped, wiping away some of the salt water out from under her eyes. 'Stop crying, just stop crying,' she pleaded with herself. 'You can't cry, not over something this- this inconsequential. Something that doesn't even matter. It doesn't matter how Deke feels about Daisy. It- it doesn't matter!'

        "Rose," Daisy said, shaking the girl out of her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

        Rose blinked, trying to stop the tears that kept welling up in her eyes. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?" she said, her voice shaking slightly. "Completely and utterly fine," she added as if those four words were supposed to convince Daisy of her mental wellbeing.

        "You're crying," Daisy pointed out.

        "I do that all the time," Rose said, her voice shifting up an octave. "You know me, just- always crying."

        "Rose-" Daisy started. "You're not okay."

        Rose shook her head, "No, no, I'm fine," she insisted.

        Daisy smiled sadly, "Do you want to talk about it?" she offered, placing a hand on Rose's shoulder. "It could help?"

        "There's nothing to talk about," Rose said simply. "I'm fine," she added.

        Daisy sighed, "You know, I came to come and get you for a mission but maybe you should sit this one out," she suggested.

        Rose shook her head instantly, dabbing her face with the edge of her sleeve. "No. I can go, I'm fine. I really just want to be anywhere besides this fucking base," she cursed, her voice cracking.

        "Rose, that's not a good idea," Daisy said carefully.

        "Please, Daisy, I need to get out of here. Please," Rose repeated, staring directly into her eyes. "I can't be here anymore."

        Daisy sighed, thinking the decision over for a few seconds. "Okay, fine. But we need to meet with the team first, and fill them in on the plan."

        Meet with the team, which means seeing Deke again, and that was the last thing that Rose wanted to do. Rose nodded slowly, "Meet with the team, right okay, yeah," she shuttered trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her chest. "Yeah, I can do that," she said once more.

        Daisy still looked fairly confused, "Are you sure you wanna do this? You can afford to sit this one out," she reminded the girl.

        "I'm fine, I'm fine," Rose repeated trying to regain her composure from before. "Let's go."

        The next thing Rose knew she was standing in the middle of the main control room of the Lighthouse. She stood next to Daisy and May, avoiding the side glances that Deke was sending her. It took all of Rose's willpower to keep a straight face and not burst into tears on the spot. "Okay, the mechs went into a system reset and sent a distress signal out," Daisy explained as soon as the entire team gathered in the room. "We traced it to a location in the Appalachian Mountains, and after some satellite imaging, we can confirm that this is Hale's base." She pointed to the screen behind her and zoomed in on a large concrete structure.

        "It's a decommissioned military bunker, which means it's highly secure and way off the grid," May explained. "We need to hit them hard and fast, knock out their defenses before they even know we're there."

        "Lighthouse rules," Deke spoke up, causing Rose's heart to skip a beat. "Club 'em from behind, you don't stop swingin' till they stay down."

        Mack gave him a strange look, "What?" Deke asked.

        "You wearing body spray?" Mack asked. Rose tried to keep a straight face as she looked back toward Daisy.

        'Bodyspray, of course he's wearing fucking bodyspray!' she thought to herself, clicking her tongue.

        "May, Rose, and I go in, we get the Gravitonium, get the queen off the board," Daisy finished. "Checkmate."

        Coulson nodded, "So when do we leave?" he asked.

        "You're not coming," May responded instantly.

        Coulson raised his brow, "I'm not?"

        May was about to say something when Daisy stepped in. "We just got you back, and I need you to stay here and quarterback," she told the older man. "Mack, find Fitz's schematics and start building the artificial-gravity system for Zephyr One."

        Mack groaned, "Oh, please don't tell me we're going to space."

        Daisy tilted her head, "Not until we have to," she replied.        

        "And me," Deke said, raising his hand. "And uh. You need me to, uh, back you up.. or?" he asked, looking directly at Daisy.

        "Please, god no," Rose whispered under her breath.

        Daisy blinked, "You literally just got shot. Why are you out of bed?" she asked.

        Deke shrugged, "I've handled worse," he said simply.

        Rose scoffed, shaking her head slightly. "Rosie, what?" Deke asked, looking over at her, but Rose didn't say anything.

        "Um, no. You stay here, help Mack," Daisy said, answering Deke's question from earlier.

        Deke nodded confidently. "Alright, yeah, if that's how you want to play it."

        "Awesome," Mack mumbled under his breath.

        Daisy clapped her hands together, "Okay. Z-One's wheels up in five," she instructed.

        Rose nodded and quickly tried to make her way out of the room, but a voice called her back. "Rosie! Hey, Rosie!"

        Rose gulped, 'I can't do this right now. I really can't,' she thought, feeling her pulse quicken. "Yes?" she asked, not bothering to turn around.

        "Are you mad at me or something?" Deke asked her.

        Rose shook her head, still refusing to look back at him. "No, why would I be mad at you?" she lied.

        "I don't know, you just seem distant," Deke pointed out. "Plus, you weren't there when I woke up from my surgery. I- is something wrong?" he asked suddenly.

        Rose pursed her lips, "I was there you were just too hopped up on painkillers to notice," she said bitterly. "I have to go, you have fun here. And hey, maybe if you work hard enough, you can impress Daisy," she added. "I'm sure you'd love that."

        "Wha- what? Rosie-" Deke started but Rose looked back at him, trying to keep her facial expression as neutral as possible.

        "I have to leave," Rose said sharply, turning on her heel and marching out of the room.

        "So everyone's going through a couple's quarrel, huh?" Mack asked, turning to Coulson who had just witnessed the entire scene before them.

        Coulson shrugged, "I guess so."

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

        Rose looked around the small room as was confined in. The walls were completely white and a little unsettling. "So, we're just gonna get dropped out of the sky in this thing?" she asked Daisy and May as she buckled herself in.

        "Yes," May said as a matter of factly.

        Rose gulped, "And you wonder why I have a fear of flying," she muttered to herself.

        "Thomas, initiate launch countdown and try not to hit us on the way down," Daisys instructed the agents outside of their small pod.

        "Copy that," Thomas said. "10 seconds."

        The computer began to beep as Daisy and May strapped the seatbelts across their chests. "Safety first," May stated.

        "Always," Daisy said, watching as the timer on the computer trickled down. "Game on."

        Rose clung to the end of her seat as she felt herself and the other agents plummet down to the concrete base. Rose closed her eyes as she heard a loud explosion, followed by the sound of rocks crumbling around them. Her eyes shot open once the world around her stopped shaking, she followed both May and Daisy out into the large room they landed in. In a matter of seconds, they were greeted by a plethora of different soldiers. Rose assumed they all worked for General Hale.

        Daisy lifted her hands and used her powers to knock a few of them into the opposite wall, but more kept filing into the room. A few of soldiers ran at Rose, she lifted her hands, ready to give it her all. Chanel any anger she was feeling into beating the shit out of these HYDRA Agents. 'God, I wish my pipe had survived the trip back here,' she thought to herself as her fist connected with the side of the man's face. Rose ducked as another man tried to punch her, she kicked her foot to the side, wincing as her feet scraped the side of his knee.

        The man stumbled to the ground as Rose used her foot once more to kick him in the side. He rolled over and stayed motionless on the ground. Rose looked up and locked eyes with another soldier who rushed at her, trying to knock her to the ground. She blocked his hit with ease and used her free hand to punch him in the gut. He took a few steps back, surprised by the strength of her hit. Rose used this opportunity to kick him square in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

        "Rose, let's go!" Daisy called, motioning for Rose to follow her out of the room. Rose nodded as she took off after May and Daisy. The three of them made their way down the thin hallway. They rounded a corner to see General Hale and six other soldiers march their way. The woman next to Hale raised her gun, pointing it at the three of them.

        "Stand down!" General Hale barked.

        The woman looked confused, "Ma'am, what are you-"

        "That's an order," General Hale repeated. She began to walk toward the three of them, sticking her hands out in front of her. "I surrender."

        Daisy scoffed, "And we totally believe you."

        "There's no time for us to fight each other," General Hale insisted. "I need your help. We all have to leave right now!"

        May rolled her eyes, "Help you? You can't be serious."

        "My daughter took the Gravitonium and went to use Strucker's machine," General Hale explained.

        "The Destroyer of Worlds," Daisy mumbled.

        General Hale nodded, "She's at the same facility your scientist friends are. Last I knew, they were alive. But if Ruby succeeds, you make no mistake. She will kill them."

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

        Daisy, May, and Rose had no choice but to accept General Hale's offer as it got them closer to rescuing FitzSimmons. On their way to the Zephyr, General Hale explained to them that the last person who had touched the Gravitonium, Carl Creel, had gone completely crazy, and the same thing would happen to Hale's daughter if she succeeded in fixing the device. Not that Rose cared that much about Ruby Hale, she was responsible for the bullet hole in Deke's shoulder. She was responsible for this whole mess in the first place. Rose just wanted to rescue FitzSimmons and Elena.

        "There's something wrong with him," Daisy explained to Mack, Coulson, and Deke over the video call. "Creel touched the Gravitonium and felt- people in there. Franklin Hall."

        "Ian Quinn too," May added.

        "We've seen it consume people, but apparently, it also absorbs their consciousness," Daisy finished.

        'Is that even possible?' Deke asked.

        Mack nodded, 'Well, assume the answer to that question's always yes,' he responded.

        'How's Creel doing?' Coulson asked.

        "He's barely hanging on, lost in his own head," May explained. "We had to sedate him."

        'We have to get him help,' Coulson insisted. "I owe him that much.'

        "And we will, but right now, we have to stop Ruby," Daisy asserted.

        "According to Hale, Fitz and Simmons have been spotted on site," May informed the guys.

        "And no one knows how close they are to fixing the machine, so we're running out of time," Rose added.

        Mack looked down at the table. 'Damn it, Yo-Yo,' he cursed. 'If that crazy Hydra girl powers herself-"

        'Rose, Daisy, you can't go there,' Deke said instantly. 'That's too dangerous.'

        Rose clicked her tongue, "That's not for you to decide, Deke," she argued. "We can make our own damn choices"

        "And, for the hundredth time, I'm not going to quake the world apart," Daisy added.

        Rose saw Deke bite his lip quickly before continuing his explanation. 'That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying you have to be careful because-' But Daisy cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

        "No matter what, I'm not gonna use my powers around the Gravitonium," Daisy stated.

        Coulson's eyes widened, 'If you won't quake and Ruby's powered, she'll kill you.'

        "Sir, you brought me back to lead. This is what that looks like," Daisy said.

        'You can't put yourself in danger like that,' Coulson insisted.

        May pursed her lips, "We'll make those decisions Phil, not you!"

        "Look, we need every advantage we can get, so go through Robin's drawings and see if there's anything we can use," Daisy said quickly, then she ended the video call before the guys could get another word in. She then turned to the rest of the agents on the plane, briefing them on the plan.

        "Our scenes show a number of mechs outside the facility," she started. "Take them out, secure the perimeter. Only Agent May, Hale, Agent Valia, and I will be going in, and if this goes sideways, be ready to evac. Now gear up."

        Rose tilted her head at Daisy, "Agent Valia?" she asked in a light-hearted tone.

        Daisy smiled, "As your unofficial S.O., you've earned it," she said. "Now go get suited up."

        Rose nodded, "Of course, Agent Johnson," she replied, walking over to the small table of weapons and snatching a long baton off the table. 'This is close enough to a pipe,' she thought to herself as she walked over to May.

        May looked the young woman up and down, "You ready for your first official mission?" she asked casually.

        Rose shrugged, "As ready as I'll ever be."

        "You ready to take all of your anger out on beating up Nazis?" May continued.

        "Hell yeah I am," Rose replied.

        May smiled fondly, "Good answer."

        The plane touched down a few minutes later and Hale, Daisy, May, and Rose walked out, easily walking through the entrance and down into the hallway. Rose wasn't entirely sure what room they were looking for, but she didn't need to wait that long as a loud screen echoed throughout the hallway. "Ruby!" General Hale shouted as she took off after the sound.

        "You sabotaged the chamber!" Rose heard a tall blonde man yell, brandishing a gun at Fitz and Simmons.

        General Hale shook heard head, "No, it's the machine!" she insisted over the sound of her daughter's scream. "Shut it down!" She insisted.

        Fitz rushed forward and clicked a button on the keypad. Rose watched as the machine began to shut down, but the door to the chamber remained closed. "Are we too late?" General Hale asked.

        Fitz sighed, "I don't know. She only took in 8% of the Gravitonium."

        Rose watched intently as the door to the chamber began to open, a small hissing noise emitting from the machinery. Ruby's eyes opened and she looked around at all of the people in the room. She began to move, Rose assumed that she was going to step out onto the ground. But instead, she began to float, levitating forward until she suddenly fell to the ground.

        "Ruby!" the blonde boy exclaimed, rushing to the woman's side. Ruby groaned, rubbing the side of her forehead. "It's okay," the boy said, attempting to ease her pain, but it didn't seem to be working. "Hey, hey," he repeated as Ruby began to sob quietly.

        "Oh they're screaming," Ruby cried. "They're fighting," she continued, shifting her gaze to the ground.

        The boy scooted closer to Ruby, "I've got you," he told her.

        Ruby tearily gazed up at him. "Help me," she pleaded.

        "I'm not going anywhere," the boy informed her. Ruby reached forward to put her hand on his cheek, but something began to change as her hand moved toward his skin. The side of the man's face began to shrink, it looked like it was collapsing in on itself. Rose heard a small cracking noise and the man keeled over into the ground, both sides of his skull crushed.

        Ruby choked, looking down at her hands in horror. "I didn't mean to," she cried. "Oh god," she said as she pulled herself to her feet. "Get out! No! No! Get out of me!" she screamed hitting herself in the side of the head. She turned to Fitz and Simmons. "Please make them stop!"

        Fitz took a deep breath in, "Make- Make- Make who stop?" he asked.

        "All of them!" Ruby screamed. "Just please- please put me back in the machine," she pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "Get it out of me!"

        "We can't," Simmons said calmly. "It only works one way."

        "You lie!" Ruby shrieked, as Fitz and Simmons flew five feet up in the air, pinned against the wall by Ruby's newfound powers. "You always do this!"

        General Hale took a small step forward. "Ruby, put them down," she said, trying to keep her voice as level as possible.

        But Ruby didn't turn her head in her mother's direction. "Experimentation without consequence," she mumbled.

        General Hale sighed, encouraged by the nod of Daisy. "It's Mom. Look at me!"

        Ruby's eyes snapped back toward her mother and FitzSimmons fell to the ground. "Mom," she said slowly. "There's something really wrong."

        "I know," General Hale said as Fitz and Simmons crawled towards May, Rose, and Daisy. "We're trying to figure it out. Just- stay strong sweetie. Don't panic, just try not to panic, okay?"

        May looked around as FitzSimmons reached the three of them. "They can't be here. I'll get them past any mechs."

        Daisy nodded, "Come back, we'll need you."

        "Okay," May said quickly before whisking FitzSimmons off into the hallway.

        "Honey, just listening to my voice," General Hale said quickly.

        Ruby shook her head. "Listen to you! Listen to them. Listen! Listen! Listen!" she shouted. Ruby continued to scream, rapidly tapping the side of her head.

        "Remember your training," General Hale continued. "We'll get through this."

        "I can't control it," Ruby said, her hands shaking. "It's like I'm being ripped apart."

        Daisy took a deep breath in before speaking. "Ruby, I been right where you are," she said, her voice never wavering. "And I know that it seems impossible right now, but you will overcome this."

        "No," Ruby said in a small voice.

        "Believe me," Daisy continued but Ruby shook her head.

        "They're too loud!" she exclaimed, covering her ears with her hands. "They're trying to take over!"

        Daisy took the tiniest step forward. "Just focus, breathe. Stay calm."

        "It's too late!" Ruby cried.

        "No! Daisy's right," General Hale insisted. "She's been through this."

        "Daisy," Ruby repeated with a low chuckle. "It's always Daisy." Rose covered her mouth as Daisy began to levitate forward, stopping inches away from Ruby's face.

        "Try not to lose control, okay?" Daisy said. "Your powers will only get more dangerous."

        Ruby smirked, "Everything powerful is dangerous," she said, her voice echoing throughout the room. "You know, for a long time," she started, her voice breaking slightly. "You were everything I wanted to be. You were my hero. Now, look at us."

        "Ruby, let her go," General Hale said. Ruby looked away from Daisy and the woman fell to the ground. Rose instantly rushed forward, kneeling down next to Daisy. Daisy placed her on Rose's leg, silently reassuring the girl.

        Ruby looked down at Daisy once more. "I am more than you will ever be," she insisted.

        "Ruby, I am not here to fight you," Daisy said quietly. "You need help."

        "I don't want your help!" Ruby shouted. "She-" she said, pointing a shaky finger at Rose. "She shot me! She's not here to help, she wants me dead." Ruby chuckled slightly. "But that's not going to happen, because I'm going to crush you."

        Rose's hand flew to her throat as she felt her airway begin to close up. She looked over at Daisy, who seemed to be experiencing a similar situation. Rose tried to gasp for air, but nothing was coming out of her mouth.

        "Ruby, that's enough!" General Hale shouted. "That's enough!" Rose felt the grip on her throat loosen and she felt air begin to fill her lungs again. "You listen to Daisy!" General Hale continued. "She is on your side!"

        "They why aren't you?!" Ruby screeched as Rose got to her feet. "Mom, face it- I was never good enough for you."

        General Hale shook her head, "No, all I ever wanted was for you to reach your true potential," she admitted. "I'm sorry. I pushed you too hard."

        "Mom... this was a mistake," Ruby wept.

        "No, my daughter is not a mistake," General Hale insisted.

        Rose looked to the side as she felt a whoosh of air next to her. It was Elena. "Yo-Yo, get out of here," Daisy said quickly.

        "That's who took my arm," Elena said, her eyes narrowing at Ruby as the room around them began to shake. "It's her, isn't it?" she asked, looking over at Daisy. "She's the Destroyer."

        Daisy seemed to know what Elena was thinking. "Yo-Yo, she's a kid. She is terrified."

        Rose looked over at Ruby, who had stopped screaming. Rose began to wonder why until she saw the small mark forming on her neck. Someone had slit her throat. Blood gushed out of the wound as General Hale rushed forward, holding her daughter in her arms.

        "Yo-Yo, what did you do?!" Daisy exclaimed. Rose turned her attention to Elena, who was kneeling on the ground, a small bloodied blade in her right hand. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. Rose tried to process what had just happened when a bright light filled the room, causing Rose to fall onto the ground.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

        When Rose woke up she was still in the room she was in earlier. She blinked, taking in the scene around her. General Hale had disappeared, but Ruby's body was still in the middle of the floor. "Simmons," Rose heard May say as she rushed into the room.

        "Where's Hale?" Fitz sounded. "How did she get away

        "And what happened to Ruby?" May added.

        "I had it under control," Daisy insisted. "She was coming around, and the Yo-Yo killed her."

        Rose sighed, "Well, the bitch deserved it," she pointed out. Daisy shot her a look and Rose shrugged. "She was a nazi, who cut off Yo-Yo's arms and shot my best friend. Yo-Yo did us a favor," she insisted.

        Elena nodded, "Yeah, I saved the world."

loving you's the anecdote,
golden ☼

Grace talks ig: Rose was so fucking done with everyone in this chapter and it was my favorite thing ever. She's literally just so over it and I don't blame her bc she deserves her little salty/bad bitch era (which continues into season 6 hehehehhee) BUT HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ROSE VALIA AND THIS BOOK! I'm honestly proud of myself for continuing to write this book for so long because I had an era where I thought I would have to di-con it because I couldn't watch AOS, but then I fixed that issue so Rose lived on! Anyways, the shalia slowburn is slowburning and that's all I'm gonna say on that topic. Um, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Vote/comment if you feel like it and I will see you in the next one. BYEEE!