Chapter 134: Truths and Storms

May and Coulson were in a small café, in a secluded area of ​​the city. Ahead of them, a man with aged features and tired eyes. It was the former partner of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who had left Skye at the orphanage. He was restless, his gaze lost, as if the ghosts of the past constantly haunted him.

"Do you want to know about Skye?" The man's voice was low, almost like a whisper. "You won't like what I'm about to say."

Coulson leaned forward, his tone firm but calm.

"We need to know the truth. Anything that has to do with her."

The man let out a long sigh, his eyes shining with something close to fear.

"Skye… she's not what you think. She's an 0-8-4."

Coulson's expression changed. 0-8-4 was a S.H.I.E.L.D. designation for objects of unknown origin, usually dangerous. May, beside him, remained still but clearly alert.

"What do you mean by that?" Coulson asked.

"An entire village was wiped out in China," the man continued, his eyes glazed over as if he were reliving the trauma. "They tried to protect the child… they tried to hide Skye. But her enemies stopped at nothing to destroy everything. Wherever Skye goes, death follows."

Coulson felt a chill run down his spine. He thought of Skye, her curiosity, her determination to uncover her past. She was on a constant search for answers, but… what if the truth was something she was never meant to discover?

"If I were you," the man said, slowly standing up, "I would stay away from her. She's not safe, Coulson. You think you're protecting Skye, but you're the ones who need protecting."

May watched the man leave, her instincts telling her there was more left unsaid. When he finally disappeared from view, she glanced at Coulson.

"He believes what he's saying," she said.

Coulson nodded, his mind already racing ahead to his next move. What they had just learned was shocking, but he knew that sooner or later he would have to tell Skye the truth.

Meanwhile, back at the Academy, the team was starting to piece together the mysterious ice device. Fitz, Simmons, Ward, and Skye were in the monitoring room, looking over the data and evidence they had gathered. Donnie Gill and Seth Dormer were clearly involved, but the question was: why?

"That doesn't make sense," Fitz said, looking at the simulations he had run. "Donnie and Seth don't have the knowledge to create such an advanced device on their own."

"Someone helped them," Simmons added, his mind racing with possible theories.

Skye was at the computer, her hands flying over the keyboard as she traced Donnie and Seth's financial connections. Suddenly, a piece of information caught her eye.

"Fitz, Simmons, come look at this," she said, gesturing to the screen. "Ian Quinn. He funded all of this."

Ward, who had been watching in the background, immediately went on alert.

"Ian Quinn? The same man behind several of the illegal operations we've been dealing with?"

"He's pulling the strings here," Skye continued. "He provided the money and resources for Donnie and Seth to build the ice device."

Just then, the monitors in the room began to flash with warnings. The weather readings were going out of control.

"Their device…" Fitz said, his eyes widening. "It's creating a superstorm. If it keeps up, it's going to devastate the entire academy."

Ward immediately took command.

"May, we need immediate evacuation!" he spoke into the comm, his voice urgent. "The storm is growing rapidly. Find an extraction point."

On the other end of the line, May's voice was firm.

"I'm on my way. I'll fly the shuttle over and coordinate the evacuation. Hold on until then."

Outside, the Academy was in chaos. Dark clouds covered the sky, and the winds began to roar with increasing intensity. The storm created by Donnie and Seth's device was spinning out of control, with lightning and strong winds threatening to destroy everything.

Ward led Skye, Fitz, and Simmons into the building, where Donnie and Seth were trying to control the device. When they reached the lab, they found the two students in a panic, unable to stop the machine they had created.

"What did you do?" Fitz shouted, as he tried to access the device's controls.

"We... we just wanted to impress Ian Quinn," Seth said, his voice shaking with fear. "We didn't know it would get out of control."

Donnie was frozen in fear, literally surrounded by the ice his machine had created. Skye ran to him, trying to calm him down.

"Donnie, you have to help us turn this off!" she begged. "We can't control the storm without you!"

But Donnie could barely respond, terror taking over his mind. The ice around him continued to grow.

Outside, May piloted the shuttle through the storm, battling the fierce winds. The ship shook with the force of the elements, but she remained steady, guiding the team toward the evacuation area.

"I'm in position," May said over the comm. "Prepare Donnie and Seth for extraction."

Inside the lab, Fitz and Simmons finally managed to disable part of the device, but the storm continued to grow. Ward grabbed Seth by the arm, pulling him toward the exit, while Skye tried to pull Donnie out.

Before they could leave, however, a massive bolt of lightning struck the building, causing part of the roof to collapse. Seth was struck by the debris, and despite Ward's attempts to help him, the young man died instantly.

"Seth!" Donnie screamed, his eyes widening in horror.

The pain and guilt on Donnie's face were palpable, but there was no time to mourn. Ward and Skye managed to get him out of the building moments before it was destroyed by the storm.

May maneuvered the shuttle with precision, allowing everyone to board before the situation could get any worse. The superstorm continued, but with the device disabled, it began to gradually weaken.

Back on the shuttle, the mood was heavy. Donnie was in custody, curled up and in shock over the death of his friend. Coulson was in his office, waiting for Skye. He knew it was time to tell her the truth about what he had discovered.

When Skye walked in, she immediately noticed the serious expression on Coulson's face.

"What is it?" she asked, sitting across from him. "You found out something about my past, didn't you?"

Coulson sighed, resting his hands on the table. "Yes, I did. And it won't be easy to hear."

He began to tell her about what he had learned from the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's former partner. How Skye was an 0-8-4, and how an entire village had been wiped out trying to protect her. He told her about the death that seemed to follow Skye, and how her past was shrouded in mystery and danger.

Skye's eyes filled with tears as she listened, taking in every word. It was too much to process at once, but she knew Coulson was being honest.

"So…my whole life, I've been a target?" she asked, her voice shaking. "And all of this, all of these deaths, were because of me?"

Coulson shook his head.

"No. None of this was your fault, Skye. You were just a child. But now that we know what's at stake, we need to protect you, more than ever."

Skye didn't know how to respond. The weight of the revelation was crushing, but she forced herself to stand firm.

Before the mission was complete, Coulson made one last call. He contacted Ian Quinn, who was clearly involved in everything that had happened at the Academy.

"Quinn, this ends here," Coulson said, anger thick in his voice. "You're playing with fire, and next time, we'll come after you."

On the other end of the line, Quinn gave a cold laugh.

"Good luck with that, Coulson. Oh, and before I forget, the Clairvoyant sends his regards."

The call was disconnected.