Wishing Well | Leo Fitz Book Four

Chapter TwentyThree

"Find my uncle," Robbie said as soon as he lay eyes on the ghostly, grotesque images before them. "Get him out of here. I've got this." An intensity burned in his eyes, one which they were all too familiar with. He and Asia locked eyes for a moment, a soldier looking to his commander, and she nodded, one sharp nod.

"Get it done," She said quietly, before starting to back up, bringing Coulson and May with you. "We'll see you on the other side." She wasn't certain he caught her last words, wasn't certain she said them for him or for herself. There wasn't time to dwell on small nuisances like that right now.

They continued down the hall, a small trio, until they saw an open set of double doors, leading into a large room. The set up inside was all too familiar - one Asia had seen only yesterday on May's body cam. In the center was a large, cylindrical chamber which had a faint glow coming from within, surrounding by wiring and various tech stations which could boot it up.

"This is it," May said solemnly, "They've recreated it, the entire experiment is exactly what it looked like at the other station." She looked to Asia, lips pressed into a tight line.

Asia frowned, looking around the room, until her eyes landed on something sitting on one of the desks, almost as if it were abandoned. Though Asia knew no one would be foolish enough to abandon this book - they had gotten lucky. She stepped over quickly, picking up the book, feeling the weight of its ancient texts in her hands. The Darkhold. It was large, larger than she had imagined it would be, and heavy.

"We need to get this out of here," She said, not taking her eyes from the cover. "Now." She looked up suddenly, her face pulled and eyes sharp, a sense of urgency they hadn't seen from her in a long time.

"What about this place?" May asked, "Shouldn't we ensure it's dismantled first so they can't use it?"

"I know that sounds like the most important thing, but if this book is even a half as powerful as I've heard it is, we can't let it fall into anyone else's hands. Hiding it somewhere safe has to be our top priority," Asia said firmly, standing her ground. Everything Leo had told her from his research, everything Mack had briefed her on....this book was bad, bad news.

She looked up and met Coulson's gaze. "May and I are extracting this. Find Eli, find Mack and Leo, and get out." Her orders were unwavering. If they were going to move, it had to be now, before someone realized they had the book. "Coulson, stay safe. Keep trying to radio us. Anything we shut down might fix our communications. We will be back as soon as we get this to safety."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Coulson replied, a small, fatherly smile on his lips. Watching Asia shine in her leadership role was something that made him incredibly proud. After all, he had helped mold her into this, had given her the tools she needed to let her strength shine like this. "I'll meet you guys here, or on the way out."

"I'm counting on it," Asia replied with a quirked smile of her own, before turning to May with a nod. "Let's get the hell out of Dodge." May nodded back, and the two women were off. After all, there was no time to lose.

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As Asia and May sprinted onboard the Quinnjet, she was surprised to find Mack already there, with a set of soldiers in tow. "Mack," she said, startled, "What are you doing here?" She nodded at May to continue working on getting the book to safety as she spoke with the other Agent.

"I'm waiting on an EMP getting sent down from the Zephyr," he explained, and instantly Asia's chest clenched with panic. Leo was inside still. Alone. "As soon as I have it, I'm headed back in. We think it'll shut the system down," Mack explained, as if he could sense her nerves.

Still, there was a part of her that forced her to whirl around, to forget the Darkhold, to forget anything else, and stare back at the building in horror as behind her, as she could hear alarms start to spike, going off, as Daisy noted another power surge. Something was wrong. Call it instinct, call it intuition, call it whatever you want, but a carnal panic and dread flooded Asia's system as she looked at the power plant that housed not only her team, but the man she loved. And she took off running.

She couldn't have been more than 100 feet away from the entrance when a visible white wind whipped outward from the building, crashing into her and sending her flying backwards, sliding into the pavement below and scraping along her she, tearing a bit at her cheek. The pain didn't even register through the wall of panic building around her. He was in there. She had to go. Every second wasted was one too long. In seconds, May was beside her helping her stand up.

Asia stared at the building for but the briefest of seconds, though it felt like an eternity stretching within her. This wouldn't be the thing. This stupid, stupid shut down power plant taken over by a ghost would not be the thing that finally split the two of them apart forever. It wouldn't. She wouldn't let it. They had been through sea and space, traveled to other worlds in the galaxy through a portal in a rock. This stupid building wouldn't do this to them.

"We go. Now." She ordered, not even flicking a glance to May or her soldiers. And then she took off running, a flurry of ice-made blades surrounding her as she pushed faster than any of them humanly were capable of.

She wouldn't have been able to describe the path she took as she ran through the empty halls, everything inside now eerily silent. But she found her way back to the chamber where she had left Coulson. She stood outside for a moment, nearly afraid to go in. She wouldn't have realized how long she was standing there, if it weren't for Mack touching her upper arm, nodding to her, guiding her forward. Together, he, Asia, and May, entered the chamber. The chamber which looked completely normal, untouched, as if a giant pulse hadn't just ripped the energy from the space.

"How...how?" May asked as she cleared the room. "I expected a crater. Everything looks exactly the same." Her bewilderment was what they were all thinking, all feeling. And Coulson was nowhere to be seen. May dashed out of the room, going to the place Asia was afraid to.

"Was it some sort of energy weapon do you think?" Mack asked Asia as he looked around the room. Asia couldn't speak to answer as she stared at the empty space before them.

May was back in the room only moments later. "There's no Fitz, either," she said quietly, evenly, knowing full well how the words would rip Asia apart, even if she didn't showcase it. "There should be some sort of sign of them. Something."

Asia closed her eyes, fists clenched beside her, and she pulled all her energy together to send out a strong pulse, sensing every droplet of water inside of this whole godforsaken place. If anyone was here, if anything was here, anything at all with water in it, she would feel it. Her palms shook as she opened them, eyes looking to the ground. There was one signature she felt, and it wasn't him. It wasn't any of her people. Not Robbie, not Coulson, not Leo. It must have been someone else. Eli or Lucy. Her legs wobbled as she stumbled towards a table to right herself, keep herself up. She didn't feel in control. She didn't feel okay. This wasn't okay. He couldn't be gone, he couldn't.

She felt like she should feel something, if he was dead. Like her soul would sense a missing piece that never could be filled again. But she didn't feel empty, she just felt...scared. The temperature around her started to drop as she closed her eyes and sent out a pulse again, searching. Maybe she had missed something.....but no. There was nothing. So she did it again. And again. And again. Before she let out a scream of visceral rage and frustration, one that echoed around the chamber, bouncing off the walls until all that was left was Asia Monroe and her breaking heart.

She stumbled, knees sinking as she fell towards the ground, only to feel a familiar set of arms around her. "I've got her," Daisy said, probably to Mack. "I'm getting her out of here, to the ship. She shouldn't be here right now. You go get Eli." Her words were calm, even, understanding. After all, who could better relate to seeing a loved one die for their own mistakes but Daisy Johnson?

Asia let herself be helped up, let Daisy wrap an arm around her and support her as she was practically dragged from the room. She let Daisy get her out of there, into the open air, into the jet. But all she could think was that Leo Fitz was not dead. He couldn't be. She would know it, if he was. She would know.