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chapter nineteen

(May 1st, 2017
The Framework)

    THEIR QUESTIONS were too much, everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. Agent Clara Roy found herself staring off into space, barely comprehending half of the shouting and furious demands that surrounded her in water that she was drowning in ... but she had long ago let go of her breath, and now she was just drifting deeper and deeper...

    All she could hear was the gunshot━watch Fitz take Agnes's life without a care in the world. Her scream still rang in her ear, and she could not think of anything else. 

    They had warned her. Daisy, Ward, Jack, Leith━all of them had told her the truth, but she had been too blind to see it; too desperate to think otherwise. Clara refused to even consider that Fitz could ever be capable of something like that. She had lied to herself so much that even though she had seen what had been right in front of her this whole time ... some part of her still couldn't believe it had happened. 

     She was so dissociated from the reality around her that when Ward snapped: "Clara━!" she flinched and scrambled away. 

     Roy's breathing hitched━quick and terrified as she sat there, nearly trembling on the couch in the Playground commons room, staring up at Ward and almost forgetting where she was. She took another deep breath, trying to remind herself that she wasn't really drowning at the bottom of the ocean.

     Ward, Mace and Leith were all staring at her expectantly. Troubled and anxious, Jack hovered in the corner and scratched at the back of his neck. Coulson sat quietly nearby and Simmons was right beside her, taking her arm tightly as if to try and ground her. There was a furious breath when she did not speak. Clara could not look at Ward any longer, feeling his anger and hurt flow off him in waves━trying to understand what had just happened. 

     "W━what?" she murmured, her heart stuck in her throat.

     The Patriot scowled at her, and when she couldn't look at him, either, she searched for comfort in Leith's gaze━and found something worse than disappointment. She forced back tears, feeling very small. "You better explain what the hell happened out there. Ward tells me he had a shot on the Doctor, but you stopped him━And that you're in love with that psychopath!"

     "She used to be," Jack quickly spoke up, his voice sounding small in the growing anger. He took a step forward as if to defend her but instead, the thought only made her feel worse. "M━Maybe being in a coma for so long ... Perhaps she's suffering from some form of amnesia and she still thinks that━"

     He cut off, seeing the scowl on Ward's face and the distraught slump of Clara's shoulders. She heard him take a sharp breath through his nose and turn away, rubbing at his brow. 

     "We can explain everything," Coulson decided to say. 

     Leith crossed his arms and frowned at his feet. "They say that Madame Hydra has brainwashed the Doctor."

     Mace frowned at the Director. "And you believe that?" the Patriot turned that frown onto Clara. "It's a bold claim. You have evidence?"

     Her bother took a shaky breath and despite the situation, murmured. "Hey, maybe be easy on her━"

     The Patriot shook his head. "I know she is your sister, Director. But respectfully, she has given us no reason to trust her recently. Do you have evidence, Doctor Roy?" She glanced up from her fingers that she clenched together painfully hard to stop them from shaking. "Or do we have to take this at face value, too? Just like your friend here." He nodded at Simmons. 

     "She's been through a lot━" Coulson tried to defend her, but the Patriot held a hand up.

     "We all have. Step aside," he snapped. 

     "Maybe this can wait━" tried Jack.

     "No."

     Clara blinked at the tone of her bother's voice. He rubbed at his brow and when he stepped forward, even Mace fell silent. She watched her older brother crouch down in front of her, gentle but stern. Leith pursed his lips and clasped his hands together. "Clara," he said in a whisper. "I know this is hard right now, and I know you're probably very confused. You haven't stopped since you woke up, but we need answers. You owe us that. You owe me that. You ..." he glanced at where Grant Ward stood, silent and cold. He didn't meet her gaze, scowling at her stone tiles with a clenched jaw. He acted like he was merely trying to figure out another problem━Clara hated the fact she knew otherwise. She saw right through that facade. "You owe Ward that, okay?"

     That made her clench her hands and stand up. Her brother stood up as well, stepping back in surprise at her sudden change. Clara didn't owe them anything━let alone Ward. She didn't owe this world anything. Not a world that had trapped her friends━trapped Fitz━and wasn't even real! None of this was real!

    Fitz would not give up on her. He would never give up on her. Which meant that Clara will never once give up on him━even if everyone else has. He has given her everything━his last breath, his heart, his warmth and his devotion. Fitz nearly drowned for her, he stayed with her when she felt like she lost herself and when she felt like a monster. He had crossed the universe just to make sure Ward would stop hurting her. He had loved her and made her feel like she was worthy of being loved even if there were so many things that could tell her that she didn't. He had been her rival, and then her best friend, and now all she could think about was the words he had said━his L.M.D. had said. A life together. Marriage. Having kids. Growing old together. 

    A happy ending.

    Clara couldn't give up. 

    She couldn't give up on him, on Leith, on Coulson, May and Mack. She couldn't even give up on Director Mace━she couldn't give up on any of them. 

     Agent Roy shook her head, and without another word, she stormed out of the Playground commons room. Simmons watched her go, pained. Even though she ached to follow her best friend, she knew she needed space. When Mace tried to follow her, furious, Leith stood in his path.

     They had a brief staredown. 

    "Stop," Leith said and it was an order. "She just needs some time. Then I will speak to her."

     The Patriot took a sharp breath but nodded, listening to his Director. Simmons noticed another watching where Clara had left, and she didn't know how she felt to see the pained and torn look on Ward's face; like he cared. 

     Jack awkwardly slipped his hands into his pockets, walking up to Leith. Jemma watched them and she swallowed her heart back down into her chest with a painful ache. She didn't know what to do. For the first time, she didn't know what to do. Simmons couldn't solve this with any scientific theory or equation ... She couldn't solve the way her heart was breaking, knowing that Leith didn't remember her and was living a life she was terrified was better than the one he had back home. She couldn't solve the way she was supposed to tell him. She couldn't solve the problem of what was right and wrong. She couldn't solve her fear that he wouldn't want to go home, even if he remembered who she was.

     They had their troubles recently. Sometimes, Simmons felt like they were standing on two ends. A scientist and a field agent. She preferred to be in the lab and he couldn't stand to stay still when he knew there was action outside the doors. She was heads and he was tails on a coin. When they met, neither of them presumed this was where they would end up. Simmons had once thought of Leith as just Clara's brother━she didn't get to know him for long before she had been swept up and stolen away to Maveth, but then she found herself trusting him to help her find her way back. Leith, who had no background in physics or astrology, but he had agreed and helped her with everything he could. And from there she started to get to know someone who wasn't just silly and maybe a little bit irrational. Jemma Simmons saw a side of Leith that had been determined, and understanding and incredibly smart━even if he never gave himself enough credit to know that himself. She saw someone who had a troubled past, but despite that, laughed and smiled━and made her laugh and smile.

      He now meant everything to her, and Jemma had to watch him be further away from her than ever before. She had to watch him slip away and realise that there was a part of her that didn't want to tell him the truth because she knew it would destroy him. Jemma cared about Leith━she couldn't find herself wanting to take away the happiness he had the moment he saw Jack. The way his eyes lit up like they used to light up for her. 

     (Jemma Simmons loved Leith Roy so much that there was a part of her that believed that the only choice was to let him go. No matter how much it hurt her, because at least he was happy).

     When he noticed someone was staring, Jack glanced over and locked gazes with Jemma Simmons. She looked away, swallowing hard and didn't see the frown present on his face. He then looked away, too, troubled. 

     The hushed murmurs amongst tense silence broke the moment a pair of feet marched into the room. Simmons frowned, startled to recognise Agent Burrows━alive. Except he was without a briefcase and a suit at Mace's side. He was dressed fully in the dark uniform of a field agent and his stance was rigid, his brow set into a determined scowl. 

    "Director," he said and Leith glanced over, his hand falling from where it rested against Jack's arm. "A recon team found a civilian sniffing around one of our dead drops. He's got quite the story."

    Two more agents stepped into the commons room. Between them, they led a tall, broad-shouldered man in a rolled-up flannel jacket and jeans. Even though he was twice the size of them, the man let them pull him inside by the arms.

    Simmons's breath hitched. Her eyes widened. 

    Leith turned to the man in the doorframe who glanced around the room. He did not hold any breath of recognition. "What's the story?" he asked the man.

    The man took a short breath and met the Director's gaze. "I met a woman today who was with S.H.I.E.L.D. Her name is Daisy Johnson. You might know her as Skye?" They shared glances, but Jemma could not tear her eyes away from the civilian and his story. "HYDRA used me to ... Trick her and take her captive."

     Ward clenched his hands. "No━" he marched up to the man, his breath caught. "Tell me she's okay."

     The civilian's eyes flickered down with shame. 

     Ward realised and stepped back. He took a sharp and angry breath, frustrated. Leith glanced at him for a moment, wary of his reactions before setting his stare back onto the man. "Why are you here?"

     He set his jaw. "Today, for the first time, I couldn't look my little girl in the eye. I need to make that right." He squared his shoulders and gave them a determined nod. "I'm here to help."

     Leith considered his words for a moment. He then nodded, and a breath of admiration seemed to glimmer in his light green eyes. "What's your name?"

      "Alphonso Mackenzie," stated the civilian. "But call me Mack."

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(May 9th, 2017
The Framework)

    JEMMA WAS growing anxious and restless. It has been a week now that she has been stuck in this place━where they all have been stuck and they haven't gotten any closer to getting out. It was way worse than any of them could have ever imagined and now Daisy was imprisoned by HYDRA, Clara wouldn't talk about what happened with Fitz, and Jemma was watching their plans fall apart at the very seams. 

    She walked past the room that had turned into an infirmary and refuge for Inhumans, possible Inhumans and their friends and families. Simmons found herself stopping, frowning as she looked inside. Children, mothers, siblings and fathers; people helping each other, smiling and chatting and comforting one another. They looked so real━seemed so real━and it made her throat close in as her emotions started to mix with what she knew was true in her mind. 

    Jemma found Clara amongst them, taking on the role of a doctor━helping them out with a forced smile and offering children sweets after she did health checks. She was distracting herself. Simmons was worried she was losing herself in the world here, too. 

    She noticed Coulson walk up to her after passing out a few blankets. Her breath hitched and she burst out the question she's been begging to ask since she heard that he, Leith and the Patriot had returned from their mission. "Did you find Daisy?"

     He shook his head. "No, just a bus full of dead bodies."

     Simmons was relieved that Daisy wasn't amongst them. But she sighed nonetheless, reminding Coulson in a whisper: "Binary ones and zeroes can't die ..." she glanced over at the family he had given blankets, "... nor do they feel the cold."

     Coulson guided her away from the doorway and muttered. "Maybe we keep that part between us?"

     "We're wasting time!" let out Jemma in an exasperated whisper. "We should be focused on getting Daisy back and escaping this horrible place."

     "Well, we can't do that without Leith's help," Simmons sighed, knowing that Coulson was right, "and he's already suspicious of you."

      Jemma set her jaw and placed her head in her hands. After a moment, she decided. "I'm going to tell him the truth."

     "Not a good idea right now. Trust me."

     She threw her hands down. "Leith and Mace are risking their lives going on these pointless missions. So are you! They don't matter in the real world."

     "If you put it like that, 'the real world'," said Coulson, "he'll never buy it ... The Doctor, the creepy robots, the blue soap━none of it." 

     Jemma pursed her lips. Her frustration and exasperation fell away into a sad, desperate breath. "I can't take it anymore, Coulson. Leith ... Leith doesn't even recognise me. And Mace ... Mace deserves to know."

     "They don't have fragments of memories to draw on," Coulson tried to reason with her. "Neither does Ward. They're not like me. And how do you think Leith will react when you tell him that his boyfriend is just 'binary ones and zeroes'?"

      Simmons sighed and rubbed at her eyes, exhausted. "I don't know," she murmured, miserable. "I don't ..." she slumped a little and blinked back tears. "I don't know..."

     Coulson frowned at her, his gaze growing concerned. After a moment, he asked her softly. "I'm guessing Leith was someone ... a bit more than a friend to you back home?"

     Jemma glanced over into the refuge room and found Jack saying something to Clara. He squeezed her shoulder. He wasn't real and yet he made Simmons hesitate in every breath she spoke. "He is..." she murmured sadly. "Which makes this an incredibly difficult situation ... He lost Jack back home. He lost him and I knew he regretted what happened, but it was something we came to accept in our relationship. Leith loves Jack, he always will, but ..." Jemma chewed on the inside of her cheek. "But it's an appreciation and an understanding and a knowledge that the person you lost would want you to be happy ... But now, Jack is alive here and Leith..."

     She didn't need to finish. She knew Coulson understood. He pursed his lips. "I know you want to tell him, Jemma," he said in a gentle voice. "But you need to be delicate about it ... It might not go the way you want it to go."

     Jemma nodded, sullen. 

     "How is Clara?" then asked Coulson. "I tried to speak with her, but..."

     Simmons sighed. "She's ... She's going to be okay. Seeing Fitz do what he did was a shock to us all━but especially for her. They've been ... they've been through a lot together."

      Coulson crossed his arms and nodded, thoughtful and looking troubled. "Ward doesn't seem like he's been dealing with it okay. It isn't hard to see that he loves Clara. They were in a relationship━they're in a relationship and she went ahead and told him that she loved someone else━" at Jemma's scoff he held up his hands. "Okay, I got to ask. What is it about that guy? Every time I see him, I get this weird itch, like hives. Did we get along?"

     Jemma went to speak but stopped. She winced, trying to figure out the right way to say this. "Well ... you crushed his chest with your cybernetic arm and left him for dead on an alien planet, so ... no."

     Coulson stared at her. He was speechless. He stammered until he noticed something behind them and he swallowed hard, growing tense. Jemma sighed and muttered. "He's behind me, isn't he?"

     Slowly, she turned around and set her jaw as Ward and Mace came to a stop in front of her in the corridor. 

     "Miss Simmons," began the Patriot, "the Director would like a word."

    "It's Doctor," she told them, her voice sharp. But she followed them anyway.

    Simmons realised that perhaps the truth was going to be forced out of her far quicker than she planned. 

     She followed Ward and Mace into the commons room. There, she found Leith waiting. Her heart twisted and her shoulders tensed, noticing the way he frowned at her the moment she arrived. He sat at the table and she knew he hadn't slept. She recognised that tired look on his face under strawberry blonde waves that hung over his eyes. He brushed it off his face, snug in a jumper and jeans. He watched her for a long moment without saying a single word. 

     "Doctor Jemma Anne Simmons," he said at last, leaning back in the chair and continuing to watch her━intently and troubled. She frowned when she noticed something on the table, her blood ran cold when she saw an open folder with her old S.H.I.E.L.D. picture, fresh out of the Academy. Leith picked it up and stared at it for a moment. "You joined the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy at sixteen with two PhDs under your belt. One of the youngest to graduate and top of your class as well. It's impressive. I mean, I can't even count to twenty without using my fingers."

     Jemma frowned at him as Ward took a seat on a nearby couch. The Patriot hovered around. Both of them were listening very intently. She swallowed the lump in her throat and demanded. "Yes?"

     Leith flipped over a page and continued to read. "It's strange, you know. You exist. Your S.H.I.E.L.D. identification badge is most certainly not a fraud. I cross-checked your enrolment with Clara's time at the Academy and turns out you two shared a class with Professor Vaughn. Alongside Doctor Leopold James Fitz." He looked up, and Jemma never thought she'd be on the receiving end of that steel, sharp gaze. "The Doctor. But I figured you already knew that. And yet, here it says right here: Jemma Anne Simmons. Deceased."

     She set her jaw. "I told you. I was there when they wiped out the Academy. I crawled out of a mass grave━"

     "HYDRA wiped out the Academy three years ago now," Leith closed the file and narrowed his eyes. "You're telling me you survived with a bullet wound in a mass grave for three years?"

     Jemma chewed on the inside of her cheek. "Well, no, I got out━"

     "And you don't make any attempt to make your way here until three years later?"

     "I was in hiding."

      Leith leaned forward. He was not in the mood for any more lies. "I know you're not telling the truth, Doctor Simmons. So, I'm going to ask you again and you should be very careful about how you answer: Who are you? And what are you doing here? How do you know Doctor Radcliffe and more importantly, I want you to tell me exactly what the Framework is."

     Jemma realised their facade had crumbled. She knew Leith would have figured it out, she just wished it wasn't going to be like this. She took a shaky breath. "Leith━"

     "Director Roy," he corrected. Jemma pursed her lips. "And you are going to tell me exactly what happened from start to finish, Doctor Simmons. I urge you not to leave out any detail."

     She took another deep breath. Jemma closed her eyes and set her jaw. "Fine," she relented. "Fine. I will tell you." She walked up towards the end of the table, staring Leith right into his stern gaze. And she told him everything. From start to finish. About their home, about the Framework and the prison he and their friends were trapped in━about how Fitz was a good person; how they all knew each other and this world wasn't real. She let it all out. 

     When she finished, there was a long, unsettling silence. 

     Finally, Mace took a long breath. He frowned and then murmured: "'A team that trusts is a team that triumphs'?" He glanced around at the others and chuckled awkwardly. "That's ... that's a little cheesy."

     Simmons shrugged. She was pacing around and was very aware of how Leith stared at the table, a deep and troubled frown on his face. "You had tee-shirts made, coffee mugs━" The Patriot made a face, very confused by himself. At the sight, Jemma sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "Uh, I realise how it sounds. No one wants to hear they're just an avatar in a digital prison but sometimes that happens and here we are." She glanced at Leith again. His reaction was the one that meant the most and his lack of a reaction was making her distressed. "All that matters is getting out, and Daisy and Doctor Radcliffe are our keys to that."

     Ward rubbed his brow. He blinked, unable to comprehend any of this. He sighed. "Well, I think I need a drink." He stood up and made his way over to the kitchen. Jemma scoffed and rolled her eyes. 

     Leith watched her walk past. He pursed his lips and seemed as though he wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say it. He tapped the table and his leg bounced underneath it. "In the━" he cleared his throat, "━In this real world, how well do we know each other?"

     Simmons went rigid still, almost like she had been shot. She glanced back and met his gaze. Leith's eyes seemed to examine her━searching for something. "It's just ... well, I suppose you seem to act as though we know each other━quite well, that is. Are we ..." he hesitated. "Are we friends?"

     Jemma felt her throat close in. She didn't know what to say. That was the one thing she left out━who she and Leith were. Maybe she was scared, maybe she didn't want to hurt him; didn't want to tell him about Jack ... Simmons supposed it was both. "Yes," she managed, though her voice was very strained as she tried to bite back the lump in her throat. "We are friends. Very good friends..."

      "So, we're all friends in the real world?" the tone of Mace's voice made Jemma question whether it was genuine or not. She glanced at him, taken aback. 

     She hesitated. "I ... Well, you and I are more like coworkers, I suppose━" at the look on his face, Jemma quickly reassure him. "But I do think of you in a friendly way."

     "Where am I from?" asked Mace.

    Simmons frowned. "Excuse me?"

    "In your world, where am I from?" he asked again.

    Jemma felt caught out. "Uh ..." she flushed as she realised she had never even asked Mace━not once━that question. "I'm not sure. The Midwest?"

     "Well, am I married? Do I have kids? Any siblings? Hobbies? Do I cook?"

     "Where are you going with this?"

     "You don't know me at all," said Mace. Jemma pursed her lips and she felt this bout of shame rise up in her chest. 

     She hung her gaze. "Not well enough, apparently..."

     The Patriot leant against the table. "I'm from Brooklyn, son of a plumber, played baseball in college and guitar, can't carry a tune. I say 'soda' not 'pop', and I like my barbecue sweet, not spicy. Never been married or had kids, but in the last five years, I've buried seventeen of my closest friends and family. Some of them died right in my arms ..." Simmons felt her heart sink, and she didn't know what to say. She felt caught out, she felt speechless━but most importantly, she felt like a horrible person. She has worked with Mace for over a year now ... and she didn't know a single thing about him, "... believing they were fighting for something real, stopping hate. And you're telling me it's ... meaningless?"

     Jemma didn't know what to say other than: "I'm sorry ... I━I didn't mean to offend... But if you don't believe my story, you can ask Daisy once we rescue her once we rescue her. Ask Clara━" she gestured out into the hallway. "She will tell you the same thing I did. Leith━" she turned back to him, silent and troubled from where he sat, "━talk to Clara, please━"

     At the angry thud of a glass hitting the table, Simmons set her jaw. She turned a sharp scowl onto Ward who stood up. "Ask Clara," he chuckled, his voice sounding raw. "Yeah, I'd like to ask her a lot of questions. You know what I have spent the past five years doing?" He pointed a finger at Simmons and she took a sharp breath through her nose. "I watched her be hurt, and hunted..." he slowly approached Jemma. "I was there when she was in that coma, I was there afterwards, I was there when she went through Terrigenesis. I fought and I lied and I did everything to keep her safe." With each word that he emphasised, Simmons heard vicious anger and frustrated pain in his voice. "If I had taken the shot on the Doctor when I had the chance, this would be over. But I didn't, because you're telling me that none of that━none of what we did, of what Clara and I have, is real and she's in love with the man who has spent the last five years trying to kill her."

    Jemma clenched her jaw and scoffed, shaking her head. She couldn't believe she was hearing this from the man that back home, had betrayed Clara and hurt her more times than she could count. "There's the Grant Ward I remember."

    "How do you know what you believe is true?" asked Ward and Simmons hated how the question made her grow tense. "How do you know it's not the other way around? That you're not the one waking up to reality?"

    She clenched her fists. She tried to hide the way she glanced at Leith. "Because it's not possible."

    "Where is your proof?" demanded Grant Ward.

    "I don't need proof! This can't be real."

    "How?"

    "Because Fitz would never execute someone in cold blood!" snapped Simmons. "Fitz would never do that and he would never hurt Clara!"

    Ward leaned down and sneered two simple words: "He did."

    She heard Leith finally stand up. She turned around and she blinked back her tears, watching him make his way over to her. "Jemma," he said and her brows lifted━and she felt this naive breath of hope that left her as soon as he continued: "I know you have been through a lot. We all have. But this?" He nodded around at the base. "This cause? What we do here matters. And I don't know whether what you say is true or whether it isn't ... I don't know who we are or what I mean to you ... But I have a life here, I have a family, I have a purpose and I have a duty to protect people who can't protect themselves. To be the shield. That is real. That is not fake. And you can't convince me otherwise."

     Jemma fought her oncoming tears. She felt her heart fall at her feet, and she wasn't sure whether she could ever pick it back up━to stare up at Leith; the man she loved and see no recognition nor hear any belief in his voice. To see all that they had gone through, all that they felt━all she felt━to become far from the reality she knew and loved. To start to fear and wonder whether none of it had been real at all. 

     She felt like she had lost him━and it was tearing her apart. 

     Simmons took a shaky breath and turned as a tear fell down her cheek. She marched out of the commons room and knew that Leith was watching her go. 

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(May 9th, 2017
The Framework) 

    WORK. Clara always kept herself busy with work. She always kept herself moving and focused her mind on solving problems rather than sitting down and considering all that she has been through. To sit down and think about what happened. To sit down and watch her hands shake, to fight back the urge to cry and hear the drawer of her bedroom dresser tremble and shake in its effort to keep the monster of her past trapped inside. And now another monster joined it. 

     She took a shaky breath and clenched her hands as they slightly trembled as she disposed of the needle. A lot of children were being sheltered here at the Playground and to keep herself busy, Clara had decided to check up on their vaccines. She made her way around, doing health checks and helping them and their families with anything they might need. She has not spoken to Ward. She has not spoken to Leith nor Mace. She's barely spoken to Coulson and Jemma ... Clara was afraid that the moment she would, she'd break. 

     Because the truth was they were trapped. They didn't have a plan. Daisy was imprisoned by HYDRA. Leith doesn't remember anything about his life back home. Clara didn't know where May was, or how to reach her. Mace didn't believe a single word they said. She could only assume Mack would be the same. And Fitz...

     Fitz...

     The person Fitz was here was not the person Clara knew, and it was slowly starting to hit her just how much the Framework had changed him. 

    Would she ever get him to remember? Would he even care? How much of this reality would he remember if they managed to get home? How much will it change him? Would they get back and ... and the person she reunited with was still the same━would not love her?

     They were cursed. Clara realised that now.

     Distance was their curse. 

    She took another deep breath and let the lid close. She couldn't give up. Clara couldn't give up. She refused to give up. Fitz would not give up.

    And that was what she has been telling herself, again and again and again, the past week that she was stuck here.

    Yet Clara didn't even know why she was doing this. Why she was going around, helping people who weren't even people at all. They were just coding and numbers━it did not matter if these children were up-to-date with their vaccinations or needed her to give them a lollypop after she put a cartoon-character bandaid on their knee, knowing that Fitz programmed that exact bandaid collection because Clara's father had a box when she was little. 

     She glanced up when she saw Simmons make her way over. The look on her friend's face did not improve the dull mood. Clara pursed her lips, watching her and it wasn't until Jemma was sitting right beside her that she explained. 

     "I ... I told them the truth," murmured Simmons. "Ward, Mace and ... and Leith."

    Roy felt her stomach twist. "And?"

    Jemma shook her head and Clara's heart fell. Simmons took a shaky breath and she looked as though she was trying very hard not to cry. "I don't know what to do," Jemma whispered in a miserable cry. "I don't know what to do, Clara... Mace didn't believe a word I said and Leith ..." 

     She chewed on the inside of her cheek and muttered, heartbroken: "He looks me right in the face and ... and he doesn't remember anything. And it━it hurts so much... I don't know what I need to do to make him remember me. What if ... what if there isn't anything we can do?"

    "Don't say that," Clara quickly whispered, her breath hitching to bite back her own miserable worries to hear that her brother didn't remember a thing. "We'll figure out a way. We'll get everyone home."

     "What if Leith doesn't want to go home?" murmured Jemma, her gaze teary. Clara felt a chill on her spine as she realised what she meant. 

     Clara felt her throat close in. She blinked. "But ..." she felt her words swallow up. "But he has to." She frowned, her heart twisting and her chest squeezing painfully. "He ... he has to."

     Jemma grasped Clara's hand, holding onto it tightly. "He━he said he has a life here; he has a family and a purpose, he doesn't want to━"

     "What do you mean?" Clara's voice cracked, not wanting to believe Jemma's words at all. "What do you mean he doesn't━he has a life," she blinked back tears, "he has a purpose and━and a family. He has me. I'm his family. You're his family. We're his..."

     "I know, but━" Simmons took another deep breath, squeezing her friend's hand. "But he doesn't know that. And ... and how am I supposed to tell him that ... that Jack is dead? That this Jack isn't real? How can I do that to him?"

     "But this isn't his home," Clara stressed, her heart racing at the thought of not being able to get through to her brother. "This isn't real. Jack isn't real, he's ..." She pursed her lips and looked down at their hands, refusing to cry. "I can't lose him."

     "I know," Jemma whispered, her voice heavy and broken. "I know ... I don't know what to do, Clara. I'm so sorry..."

     The two close friends shared a sombre moment in silence with each other. Neither of them knew what to do, or how to fix this, and they were scared━so very scared. So caught up in each other's company, neither noticed the troubled frown belonging to the young man that had overheard them. He didn't mean to, but when he heard his name, he stopped in his tracks. Jack didn't say a word, shocked to silence at the truth being spoken without either of them knowing he heard it━and he slowly turned away, walking out of the room; pale and confused. 

      Clara rubbed at her eyes, growing exhausted. She leant against Jemma slightly, murmuring after a breath of silence between them. "I don't know what to do, either ... Especially with Fitz."

     Simmons held a saddened look; hesitant as if she were to say something, until a new voice spoke up. 

    "You mean Doctor Fitz, the guy from my history book?"

    The girls glanced over, not expecting a child to join their conversation. She didn't look any older than eight or nine, with curly black hair pulled off her face into two buns and a wide, inquisitive look in her eyes. Clara frowned, taken aback. 

     She and Simmons shared a glance. Then, with pursed lips, Clara shuffled forward and told the girl gently. "Honestly, between you and me, a lot of what they say in that book is not true."

      The girl glanced down at the textbook she was reading━most likely for school. Roy found it bewildering, just like everything else━children, in the Framework, going to school ... the idea of having kids; living a fictional life that felt incredibly real. 

      That was when the little girl caught something in her gaze and her entire face lit up. She beamed a bright smile and leapt off the cot. "Hi, Dad!" She took off running towards someone who entered the room. Clara looked up and her eyes widened. "Did you know that those HYDRA books lied to us?"

     Mack laughed, tugging the girl into his side━she was tiny in comparison, but he held her with such a gentle, loving touch. The touch of a father who loved his daughter with every breath in the world. Clara knew that Mack had come to the Playground, but she ... she hasn't seen him up until now. Her breath left her and Clara felt her heart twist. Her legs seemed to grow numb just to see Mack, and to know that when he looked over at the two of them, he did not recognise them at all. 

      Clara always had a rocky relationship with Mack. But as time went on━as they got to know each other, and understand each other, that grown respect turned into friendship. Mack was a gentle giant; he was wise and protective and he cared for people with a heart just as big as he was, with a warm capacity for love and forgiveness. And now, Clara cared for Mack with the same desperate clutch she did with the rest of her team. He had become a part of the family she got when she joined. Seeing him as a father struck Clara with a breath of shock, but it slowly stilled when she realised she was not surprised at all. 

     "I guess you finished doing your homework, huh?" Mack squeezed the young girl and she giggled━their smiles were the same. 

      She turned around and grinned up at him. "Can I go check out the old quinjet?"

     Mack chuckled and slipped his arms underneath her own, hoisting up his daughter into the air without even a strain. "Oh, come on, Sparkplug, you know you don't need a quinjet to fly━" He spun her around and she shrieked with laughter. Mack laughed, too, moving her up and down. "You know that, right?"

     Clara felt a pang in her chest despite the small smile on her face. Not about the fact that Mack didn't remember her, or how she knew he didn't have a daughter back home━and she wondered what changed in this world to give him one. Clara felt this squeeze in her chest as she thought of something else━of a life she wanted herself, one day. It always seemed so far away: a little house, in a little town, with a little family. Lyra, she thought of the name with a wistful stare.

     "Mack?" she let out before she could stop herself. 

     He set his daughter down and glanced over. His smile dropped and he cleared his throat. "Yeah, that's right."

     Clara's feet carried her towards the small family and the soft look on her face made Mack tilt his head. "I'm sorry. Have we met?" 

     It faded away as soon as she heard him say that. Clara pursed her lips. She felt Jemma stop at her side and Clara swallowed a large lump back down her throat. She forced a smile back on her face and shook her head. "No," she said softly. She then held out her hand. "I'm Clara Roy and this is my friend, Jemma Simmons."

     Mack smiled and shook her hand. "It's good to meet you." Clara felt her smile drop with her hand. He then turned to the girl beside him. "This little girl right here, this is my daughter, Hope."

     Clara smiled softly down at Hope. She didn't mean to look so sad, but she couldn't help it. "It's lovely to meet you, Hope."

      "Yes," spoke up Jemma and it was a reminder Clara appreciated; to know that she was right there with her. "Wonderful to meet you."

     Hope's eyes glinted, full of mischief. "Nice to meet you too, British ladies."

     Clara breathed a chuckle, surprised and she met Mack's gaze who laughed, squeezing his daughter once more. "Yes..." Clara then glanced around, a curiosity rising up inside her chest. "And ... is Hope's mother here as well?" she asked Mack. 

      She recognised the sudden strained look on his face. His smile turned into a grimace that he tried his very best to hide from his daughter. Clara's shoulders slumped. "No, no," Mack rubbed his daughter's shoulders, "it's just me and Sparkplug. Hey, you hungry? When was the last time you had something to eat?"

     Roy's smile dropped once again and that aching twist to her heart returned. She saw the way Mack was with his daughter━who wasn't even real, and if that didn't pain Clara enough, the painful memories of her own father did. Just like Hope, all Clara had was her father for a very long time. And in order to bring Mack home, not only would they have to make him leave his daughter, Clara would have to face the thought of taking Hope's father away from her, too. 

     It wasn't real, she reminded herself. And yet ... those emotions, those memories ... they were perhaps more real than anything else. 

✲══〖✰〗══✲

(May 9th, 2017
The Framework)

    LEITH, MACE, Coulson and Agent Burrows left for a mission to drive straight into the HYDRA Enlightment Centre. They were walking right into one of the lion's dens━right into danger. Roy tried not to think too much about it. They went on dangerous missions nearly every day━it was their job. But in this world, none of it mattered. If something happened to Leith, Mace or Coulson here━if they died━then the same would happen in the real world. If Clara lost them here, she lost them forever. 

    Leith hadn't said anything to her before he left. He didn't even seek her out. Clara knew it was because of what Simmons had told him━Leith was angry, and he was confused, and so he was avoiding them. She didn't blame him, but it still hurt nonetheless. 

    Clara didn't know what to do. 

    She found herself back at the room turned refuge for people like her, and their families. Clara watched Mack sit with his daughter, laughing and celebrating as she managed to the ball onto the ken for the fifth time in a row. That ache returned. 

     The scratch of a radio switching between channels caught her attention. Her gaze switched over to where Ward sat alone inside. He kept checking the radio near his ear, listening to it, but just like her, his eyes wandered over to the father and his daughter━and she saw a little smile on his face that lifted his scowl. 

      Clara held her breath. She considered walking away and continue to ignore him and every problem that surrounded Grant Ward━every nightmare and every fear ... but somehow, she found herself stepping inside and wandering over. Hesitant, she asked him: "You didn't go with Leith?"

     Hearing her, Ward glanced up. She watched him purse his lips and that scowl return. Her eyes dropped down to her boots, feeling a surprising bout of shame. "No," he answered after a breath of silence. He set down the radio and frowned at her. 

      Clara felt her chest squeeze in. They had not spoken since what happened at Ogygia, and Roy didn't know what to say to Ward━she didn't know how to explain. She took a shaky breath. "Ward..."

      "Simmons told me about the other world," he cut her off, leaning back in the desk chair as he continued to frown at her; though his scowl seemed less threatening now. Clara pursed her lips. 

      "I know," she muttered and carefully pulled a seat closer. She sat down opposite him across the small desk. "Ward, I ..." Clara sighed and closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I should have said something to you sooner ... Before I put you in that position, I'm sorry."

      "Yeah, well..." Ward took a deep breath and sighed it out, too. "An innocent woman is dead because I didn't pull the trigger. I'm not the one you should be apologising to."

      Clara hung her gaze once again. She fiddled with her fingers. A lump formed in the base of her throat and she was at a loss for words once again. Ward was right. Agnes's death was her fault, and yet ... what made it worse was that if she hadn't stopped him, she would have lost Fitz. She just never thought Fitz would do what he did. But the Doctor here was far from the person she knew. 

     Ward noticed and he set his jaw, looking down as he fiddled with the radio. He turned it around in his fingers. He pressed the button and quickly switched to another station. When he didn't hear anything of any importance, he set it down again. "This other world ... Is that what you believe? A world where we don't exist?"

     Clara met his gaze. She didn't know what to tell him. Her stomach twisted and she swallowed the lump in her throat before giving him a small nod. "Yeah." Then she closed her eyes. "Ward, we did ..." she was careful with her choice of words. "I knew you. We knew each other."

      Understanding the tone of her voice, Ward pursed his lips. "I'm guessing it didn't end well."

     She set her jaw and decided to fix her gaze back onto Mack and Hope. "No ... it did not."

     Ward watched her, curious and troubled. "What happened? What did I do in this other reality?" When he noticed the set of her jaw and the way she could not even look at him, stiff and tense, his scowl softened. "Did I hurt someone?" His voice turned into a low, hesitant whisper. 

     Clara took a sharp breath. Ward leaned forward, and out of the corner of her gaze, she saw him purse his lips. He grew concerned. "Did I kill someone?"

      Clara clenched her hands; they gripped her skirt tight as she forced the words from her lips. "More than one..."

      She didn't need to tell him anything else. This Ward knew her just as the old Ward did━he knew her like the back of his own hand, no matter what reality she was from. In a soft breath of realisation, he said: "I hurt you, didn't I?"

      Her eyes closed and she shook her head, not wanting to think back on it. Ward continued to watch her reaction, fixed and rapt with attention. But soon Clara nodded. "Yeah," her voice was dry and cracked. "Yeah, you did."

      Ward nodded, too. He looked down and took a sharp breath through his nose as well. "Well, for what it's worth," they locked gazes, "for whatever I did do ... I'm truly sorry."

      Clara didn't tear her gaze away for a long time. Even when she felt that lump return, she kept her stare locked onto Grant Ward, and even though it wasn't the man she knew speaking to her right now ... hearing this version of him apologise seemed to heal an old wound in a way she never realised it could. 

      "I know," she whispered. "And I know you're nothing like him."

      Ward's shoulders relaxed. They shared another sombre stare before they both looked away. "I guess I was holding out hope that Simmons was wrong. And that you'd still be ..." he sighed, "... the girl I knew."

      "The girl you knew disappeared at the bottom of the ocean," muttered Clara, not even sure why she was telling him this━but somehow, it was easier than any time she spoke about it before. "Who I am now..." her tongue became bitter and she looked up at Ward, "... you wouldn't like, if you knew who she was."

      Ward pursed his lips, realising the words she spoke and it hit him with a similarity that even this man inside this Framework understood. He shook his head. "I know who she is. And I love her."

      Clara managed a small, tight smile. "Back in this other world," she told him, "I did some terrible things. Horrible things. And people told me that I was still a good person despite it, but the person who made me believe it was Fitz. Madame Hydra took him from me, Ward. She's manipulated him into ... into who he is here, but who he is back home is someone who ... who means the world to me and I can't give up on him. I have to find a way to bring him back. And I need you to trust me━I need your help."

     Before Ward could give her an answer, the radio scratched to life. Their conversation broke and their gazes fixed onto it, listening with bated breaths. "Cultivation centre. Code Ten-Fourteen. Repeat, Code Ten-Fourteen."

     At the look on Ward's face and the way he snatched the radio back into his hands, Clara knew it wasn't good. "What is that?" she asked him.

     Ward was on his feet, suddenly very urgent. "It's a potential breach. They've been discovered."      

✲══〖✰〗══✲     

(May 9th, 2017
The Framework) 

    WARD WAS not happy with the news Agent Burrows brought him over the radio. Clara followed at an urgent pace, her heart racing as she overheard the conversation. HYDRA had alerted a tactical team to a breach at their Enlightenment Centre, the same centre that Mace, Leith and Coulson were at right now. The commotion dragged Jemma's attention over, and Simmons stuck by Roy's side, her face growing very pale at what they were hearing. 

     "You left them?"

     Agent Burrows responded quickly with a sharp: "Those were his orders," he didn't sound happy about this either. "I'm carrying precious cargo."

     They stopped inside the commons room. Ward clenched his eyes shut with frustration before muttering: "All right, copy that, Burrows. Over and out━" he shut the radio off for the time being and turned to face them. "Leith needs an extraction. I'm going in. We lose him, our fight's over. HYDRA wins."

     Simmons glanced anxiously at Roy. "How many people can you gather?"

     Ward set his hands on his hips. "Not many," he sighed, frustrated. "Most people here are refugees. Everyone else is out." His eyes focused on Mack helping his daughter make her bed. Clara's stomach dropped. "Guess it's time to see what the big man can do."

    "No, Ward, wait━" She reached out her hand to stop him, grabbing his arm.  He frowned and glanced back at her. "Not him."

     Ward stopped. He pulled away and turned to face her once again, and his voice grew suspicious. "Why not?"

     Clara glanced at Jemma and the two of them pursed their lips. "Because he just can't," answered Roy. "Simmons and I━we'll go in his place."

     Ward tilted his head. He watched the two of them with a narrowed stare. "I thought this world didn't mean anything to you. That it wasn't real."

    "It's not," argued Simmons in a whisper. "It's just ... What happens to Mack here happens in both worlds. He's ... different."

     He hummed, not particularly believing them. He subtly nodded over to Mack and his daughter. "So, this has nothing to do with that little girl over there?"

    They followed his gaze. Clara felt her heart twist to see Hope smile up at Mack, speaking to her father with such an innocent light that made her swallow hard. 

    When they didn't say anything, Ward set his jaw. "Fine," he muttered. He then nodded down the hallway. "Let's go."

     But before they could, another pair of footsteps ran down the hallway. Clara glanced back and saw Jack, skidding to a stop with a look on his face as if he knew what was going on. He frowned at her and Simmons in such a way that made Clara's chest twist, but it passed on so quickly she wondered whether she imagined it.

     "What's going on?" he asked them. 

     Roy met his stare and told him without any hesitation. "Leith's in danger."

     And just those words were enough to make Jack start off at a sprint down the corridor after Ward. 

    Roy and Simmons shared one final glance before following him at a run. 

   Barely armed and most definitely outnumbered, Roy, Simmons, Jack and Ward all gathered the rest of their courage and headed straight into the lion's den themselves to save their friends. It was getting close to late afternoon, but they had no choice but to drive to a clearing hidden in the outer woodland nearby where the centre was. If they tried anything else, they were sure to be spotted by HYDRA, and that wouldn't help anybody. 

    HYDRA's Enlightenment Centre was caged off by metres of fencing. Inside were acres of pristine white buildings and pavement that connected one complex to another. It reminded Clara of the laboratories and dorm rooms back at the Academy, and that only made it worse. They didn't make it there until just a few hours before evening and the sun was already starting to slowly set. Ward led them through the trees and outskirts, keeping them far from cameras. Though that wasn't their biggest worry. Clara could hear above the trees━watched the branches twist in the wind as a large quinjet soared over their heads. 

     "Come on," Ward gripped his gun tighter and they continued, making their way towards the metal link fencing. They crouched in a line right by it, their breaths hitched as the quinjet continued to soar above, heading straight for one of the larger buildings on the centre campus. A four stories block of white stone with a caged stairwell up the side. 

      "What's it doing?" whispered Jack from Clara's shoulder. 

     "I don't know, but we need to get in there," Ward fished out a knife and went to cut the fencing but Clara stopped him before he could. She held out her hand and blasted a hole right through it. Ward stared at her, startled, but he didn't say anything. 

      As they worked to pull enough away at the fencing, they noticed the quinjet get lower and lower onto the Enlightenment Centre until it faced the large building front on. Clara frowned, and a horrible feeling settled in her chest. She crawled through the fencing as Ward held it open for her first only to gasp and cover her head in her arms when a mighty blast shook the ground.

     Roy's arms lowered and she stared, horrified as the quinjet spun midair and returned the way it came, disappearing into the late afternoon clouds. It left wreckage in its wake━the building starting to crumble and fall in itself from the top corner. The blast had struck its foundations. It was going to collapse. 

     Ward cursed and pushed his way through the shredded fence. "Stay close," he told them. "And try not to shoot me," he added at Simmons and she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

    "Come on," Clara followed Ward and the group of them made their way straight for the collapsing building. They sprinted, hearts racing. Agent Roy glanced up at the building, hearing the tremors deep in the ground; even the trees on the outskirts seemed to quiver at the terrifying rumble.

     "We don't have much time," she added and pushed her legs to run faster.

     "You think you could stop that building?" Jack asked her, short of breath at their running. 

     Clara's stomach churned with a slight breath of fear. She glanced up at the building once again. "I━I'm not sure..."

     "Just keep going," Ward ordered over his shoulder, urgent. "First things first, we extract our team━get them out of the Quarantine Centre before it drops."

     Agent Roy pursed her lips but nodded. She, Simmons and Jack pushed their legs to run even faster. The Quarantine Centre didn't have long before it would collapse completely, Clara could tell. Her brief knowledge of engineering from Fitz told her that the quinjet had aimed specifically and correctly━striking the weak part of the building that made them race against a ticking time bomb. 

     As they got closer, they saw the back door to the building burst open. They made their way straight towards it, though Clara's running faltered when she saw who came sprinting out of it. Her eyes widened and her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach to see young boys and girls━teenagers, kids ... no older than seventeen and quite a few younger, screaming and crying as they ran for their lives out of the building. Some of them were coughing. Others held those that were younger by the hands or even in their arms to get them out. 

     Simmons pulled Clara along, looking just as horrified as she was. They made it up the ramp and found someone at the door, holding it open. 

     Roy and Simmons skidded to a stop once again. Their breaths were hitched in the back of their throats. Clara gaped, completely forgetting about the collapsing building to stare at the face of a man she has not seen in a very long time. Whose smile and laughter were nothing more but a painful memory. The last time she saw him, he had been fragmented; crumbling away like nothing in the wind of the underground alien city ... and she had watched. 

      Clara's voice cracked as she let out. "T━Trip?"

     Ward and Jack were at their sides in seconds, and not noticing the shocked looks on both their faces, turned to Agent Antione Triplett with heaving chests. 

     "Antione," greeted Ward in a rushed manner, "what happened?"

     Trip was dressed in the same jumpsuit as the teenagers━a prisoner of this Enlightenment Centre. Clara stared at him. She still couldn't quite believe that it was Trip standing right in front of her. He looked the same as she remembered him, and her heart squeezed painfully. He gestured anxiously inside the building. "The ceiling's caved in. They're trapped inside. They need your help. Come on!"

     "There's more?" let out Jack in horror as they followed Trip into the Quarantine building. 

     Inside was even worse. Clara could feel her heart racing; pounding in her ear amongst the growls and tremors of the building around them. Dust and plaster crumbled above and down onto the tiles at their feet. Trip took them up the winding stairs, and Clara felt sick with each step she climbed. This wasn't a quarantine building━not one for disease, at least, not the disease she would ever consider one to begin with. This place ... this prison ... was made to trick the mind; twist it and control it. To take away every breath of freedom the young mind had. Anyone who thought differently, who considered things critically about the world around them━who asked questions. Fitz and Madame Hydra threw them in here; caged them up until they turned them into what they wanted. 

     And now, Fitz had most likely given the order to fire upon them━knowing that there were children in here ... and most likely not caring at all. 

     At last, they made it to the top floor. They burst into a classroom where the desks that had once been lined up were scattered and pushed aside. A projector had fallen off the table and shattered onto the floor. But worst of all, was the gaping chasm in the wall and the afternoon light poured into a dust-covered, ruined room that was trembling and shaking at the very seams.  Clara had no idea how much there was left that was keeping it stable, but they were running out of time. The ceiling above them creaked and groaned; it splintered and fractured like lightning had struck across and left a ghostly imprint behind. 

     Coulson, Leith and Mace were all working to help the children out of the rubble. Clara rushed to the side to let more run past her. Her breathing was laboured as she noticed the destruction━saw all of the children, coughing and in pain, and she was back on that island again, watching Fitz kill Agnes without a breath of hesitation. 

     "Oh, my God━" let out Simmons, at a loss for what to do. They were frozen in shock and horror. 

     Jack skidded to a stop with them as well. He looked sick to the stomach. 

     Leith noticed them and his eyes widened. He was helping a teenage girl back onto her feet. "What are you━Get out of here!" He told them, frantic. "You need to get out of here. The whole place is about to come down!"

     There was a loud crash and the entire building seemed to tip sideways. Clara gasped and Ward grabbed her before she could trip. More rubble fell from the ceiling; plaster, wood and stone all at once. 

      They weren't going to leave. They had to get these children out of here. They started to move, spreading out and helping. Jack helped the girl Leith supported to the door. Ward and Trip both pulled rubble off a sobbing boy no older than twelve. Mace lifted entire piles of stone and broken furniture, breathing heavily in their rush. Clara and Simmons found Coulson and stayed at his side. Clara glanced around, feeling as though the entire building was not just collapsing, but caving in on her━it was getting harder to breathe. 

     That was when Coulson noticed a kid dangerously close to the gaping chasm in the room. He struggled, crying out as he tried to escape the mountain of rubble keeping him down. Coulson recognised him. "Chris!" 

     He stood up. Clara went to stop him, hearing the building groan in a very different tone this time. It swayed and strained━creaking and grinding from above until━

    "NO!" shouted the Patriot.

     Without another word, he leapt down into the gaping chasm that was slowly dropping further and further down. He skidded underneath amongst the rubble and fallen support beams, reaching Chris just in time. He threw up his hands.

     The ceiling right above them collapsed. It broke off. And Clara screamed when it fell right down onto the both of them. She tried to push forward━she tried to use her powers, but it was too late. Leith tugged her backwards and they all watched in terror as Mace and the kid, Chris both disappeared amongst the dust and rubble. 

     "No━" Clara's voice cracked and the silence amongst the tremors of the building was deafening as they stared at where Mace and the kid had just been, swallowed by the destruction. They all stared, waiting for the rubble to move━for something to happen, but nothing did. 

     She gritted her teeth and pushed forward. At her movement, they all followed. Clara hovered by the rubble and not caring about the building around them, she tried to pull it away. She hitched back a sob, growing desperate. Mace was inside. Mace was somewhere in that rubble, and if they didn't get to him━if they couldn't find him ... He would be gone. He was dead. Both in this world and back home. 

    Coulson, Jemma, Leith, Ward, Trip and Jack all helped, clawing at the stone and doing their best to pull it away. 

    In amongst the dust and rubble, came a flashlight glaring over their shoulders. They glanced back and Clara's breath hitched for a moment when she recognised May. She breathed her name, teary-eyed and distressed, though she didn't hear her. She barged through with a vicious: "Where's the Patriot?!"

    "May," Clara said again, trembling. "May━" the Calvary glanced over, and for a second, Clara thought she faltered. "Please, you got to help us." She begged. She didn't care that May wore a HYDRA symbol on her jacket. She didn't even think about that. With everything going on, Clara's first thought was to ask for May's help━she was desperate for May's help. 

     "Put the gun down," snapped Coulson, standing up as well as the others continued to try and pull away at the rock. May lowered her gun and the light switched off. She glanced around and only just seemed to notice what was going on. Her eyes widened and she looked like the rest of them had: horrified and sickened. Then she saw Leith and her gun jolted upwards again. The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Framework locked her gaze, but neither made a move. Even with the barrel of a gun pointed at him, Leith did not flinch. 

     Coulson continued. "There's a kid buried under that pile of rock. Put the gun down."

     Another crash rocked the building. They all stumbled. Dust billowed from above. 

    "It's coming down!" shouted Trip. 

    "No," gasped Simmons who was still staring at the rubble where Mace and the kid were. Her eyes widen when she saw it tremble on its own accord. "It━it's coming up!" She realised and spun to Roy. "Clara!" 

     She realised, too. Agent Roy gasped and pushed herself to the front, ignoring the objects from Ward and Leith. As she noticed the rubble start to shake and lift, Roy threw out her hands. She closed her eyes for a moment and focused all of her energy and all of her power directly onto the stone. She felt that pull in her gut━the way the Framework pulsed and manipulated around her, shifting under her control. She pulled the rubber bands and she pulled them hard. When Clara opened her eyes, she noticed the golden light of her powers surrounding the rubble. She gritted her teeth and with a slight cry of strain, she forced her hands upwards━lifting the rubble with them. 

     She noticed amongst the plaster and dust, fingers latched around the fallen metal support beam. Following it, was the clenched and determined face of The Patriot. He yelled out in frustration and pain, using all the strength he could muster to push the beam upwards onto his shoulders. With Clara's help, he managed to crouch onto his legs and then finally stand up. They all couldn't help but stare in amazement as Mace took the weight, holding most of it to protect the young boy underneath him. Even despite Clara's help, The Patriot held the weight of the entire ceiling on his shoulders, and he did not drop. 

     Through clenched teeth, he shouted: "Get him out!"

     But when Leith and Coulson tried to move forwards, May stopped them. "Nobody move!" she cried, brandishing her gun.

     They all glanced at her, livid.

    "Are you insane?!" shouted Coulson. "He's trying to save a kid!"

    May took a sharp breath through her nose and did not waver. "So was I."

     Clara was starting to have trouble helping to keep the ceiling from falling back down. Her arms shook. "May!" she let out, glancing over at her. Melinda May frowned as she met her gaze, confused as to why she would know who she was. Clara gritted her teeth. "Please!"

     "Agent May," said Ward, "they're the only thing keeping this building from falling down on all of us. You shoot the Patriot, Clara won't be able to take the rest of the weight━we will all die."

     "We don't have time for this!" snapped Coulson when he noticed May's hesitation. "We got to save that kid. Form a chain. Find something to prop up that beam." Leith jolted into action and Jack followed, both of them searching for something to lever up the stone. "Either you shoot us or help," continued Coulson, pointing a furious finger at May, "but don't just stand there. Snap out of it, May!"

      Clara's feet twisted on the ground. She took a deep breath and refused to let herself lose concentration. Her eyes found Mace's as he struggled under the support beam, and she saw a breath of gratitude. "You guys ... better hurry!" managed the Patriot.

     Coulson skidded down the broken floor towards Chris dazed underneath the Patriot's shadow. He grabbed the kid's wrist and started to pull him up and out of the pit. Behind him, Simmons, Trip and Ward were all there, ready to help pull them both out. 

     When May was still frozen, Clara clenched her jaw and met her stare once again. "May, please."

     She took a sharp breath and glanced down at Chris as he took Simmons's outstretched hand. May pursed her lips, but then she lowered her gun and crouched down, too, helping Jemma pull the kid up and out of the pit. Ward and Trip hauled Coulson back onto his feet. 

    Meanwhile, Leith and Jack had found something big enough to try and hoist the beam up. "This cabinet should hold!"

     But what they didn't expect, was The Patriot to shake his head. He took a sharp breath, his grip on the beam shaking. "It won't work. Get out."

     Clara's eyes widened. "What? No!" she let out, and her powers flickered for a moment as her focus snapped momentarily. The building shook. "No. We're not going to leave you!"

     "Let go," Mace told her instead, his face red with strain. "Let go, Roy." When she didn't make a move, he shouted to her brother. "Get her out of here!"

    "No━" Clara argued, refusing to move as she tried to help him keep the ceiling from collapsing. "No, I'm not leaving you!"

      When she felt hands grasp her waist, she shook her head. "No!" Her concentration broke and the entire room swayed and seemed to drop down an inch as Mace took the rest of the weight onto his shoulders. "No━!"

     Jemma shook her head. Stubborn, she moved forward to the edge of the chasm. "No, Mace━We won't━we can't leave you!"

     "Go!" he shouted as he fell down onto one knee and the ceiling shuddered with him. "GO!"

     "No!" yelled Jemma in desperation, struggling when Coulson tried to pull her away. She shook her head. She burst into tears. "No━NO!"

      Clara fought against Leith's grip as he dragged her away from The Patriot, fighting back tears himself as he held onto his sister tight. She sobbed and she cried out, everyone else's shouts and their movements turning into nothing but a muffled blur. She shouted a desperate cry to save Mace, to stop him━to find a way to drag him with them. 

     But they couldn't. If they did, none of them would get out. 

    "NO!" Clara sobbed, but in the end, she had no choice. She slumped and let Leith drag her, running, back down the stairs with the rest of them as the building started to fall. They ran for the exit and left The Patriot inside. 

      He sacrificed his life so that they could live. 

      Not just his life here, but the life of the man who would not return home. The life of Jeffrey Mace, who all he ever wanted was to do the right thing; to be a hero.

     He died not remembering who he was, or what he left behind. He died not knowing the truth.

     But he did die a hero. 

✲══〖✰〗══✲      

    a/n: sorry if mace's death is anti-climactic, but ... he doesn't really mean that much to me? sorry? i feel bad. his character is such a good person and he deserved better but ... like ... i wasn't attatched to him.

     (but also, can marvel stop killing characters in destroyed and collapsing buildings?).

     mace's death scene though is such a parallel to season 5, and i don't know how i feel about it. because i like realised while writing this that ... i don't want to spoil if you haven't seen season five, but it's almost karma; a full circle. 

     this is not edited guys its so long. if you saw a mistake, no you didn't <3

    i started this book in 2021 and now its 2023 ... guys i'm so sorry at my shitty updating for this.

    (also it's gonna be like 3 years since this show ended on the 12th of august i'm not okay).