Title: Rara Avis (3/?)

Author: Lisek16 (lisek16@yahoo.com)

Disclaimer: I do not own Alias. I simply take the well developed characters and write about them. Nothing illegal about that :)

Author's note: This addition was easier than the previous chapter because my brain clicked into action. I guess the lack of dialogue in the two previous chapters was saved for chapter three ad future installments. As usual, I enjoy feedback. So please R/R and make my day : )

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"I used to think that there was a shred of decency left in the world…I actually thought that humanity was fundamentally good…" Sydney's unsteady voice trailed off. Her eyes searched his for answers that neither of them knew. He tried to comfort her, thinking that this was about memories that had resurfaced. After all she had seen heinous atrocities and was forced to gather herself and go on. It was crazy to think that after 7 years of them building up that she wouldn't fall apart once.

"I don't think the world is completely corrupt. I think there still are good people out there. I like to think that we are among them and that that we protect them. We work for the good guys after all…" his voice lowered as hers interjected. "No." a simple word uttered with a tremendous amount of disgust trailing it. It was obvious that she didn't want to hear this because in part it wasn't a valid response to what she was really thinking about. There was something else on her mind. There was something haunting her, and without letting him in, she was creating a wall that he could never climb. The distance was growing and stupidity overcame him. She must have come to this hideaway because she needed a break, he thought. She didn't need him barging in and reminded her of what she wanted to disappear from. She deserved a break from the stress and responsibilities that consumed every waking moment of her existence.

He darted his eyes from her icy glare that had overcome her previously curious pupils. He peered out the bay window and noted a full moon. It took her a moment to reconsider her actions and her tone. She slithered over to the window seat which was flanked between the beams of the bay window. She sat down and ascended her head so that she could see the dark shadows prancing over his face. "I'm sorry" he stated. His vivid voice had decreased into a monotone drone. "I'm sorry, I disturbed you…I'm sorry I followed you to New Jersey…you know what…I'm sorry I cared enough to find out what the hell was going on in your head!" He yelled forcefully. The realness in his voice cut through her defensive façade. She was startled and a confused frown had slowly formed on her face. "I don't need this!" she said.

"Neither do I!" he retorted as he pulled away from the window and attempted to leave. "Vaughn" her voice was still cold but at least there was feeling behind her words. Wasn't she doing this for him? Wasn't her disappearing act supposed to rid her of participating in said awkward situations? He had confronted her and forced her to step up to the plate. Would she accept the challenge or recede?

"Sydney. I'm not going to sit here and listen to you complain about how humanity doesn't exist. I'm not going to stay to see you fade away. I don't know what the hell happened to you in Taipei, but I'm willing to listen…" he posed this as an ultimatum. She didn't respond nor flinch. She remained at the windowsill and he remained in the middle of the room. The ball was in fair play. "I…just…Leave me alone…" she replied in a meek voice. Avoidance always worked best in these situations. It was stupid to think that he wouldn't follow her to New Jersey. It was even stupider to think he wouldn't notice the distance that she was putting in front of them. Besides for being an attractive colleague, he was a man with keen instincts; not that it wasn't blatantly obvious that something was wrong.

Her eyes had glazed over, their twinkled shine had receded, the black circles that formed under her eyes were unable to be hid under pounds of concealer and her skin was a putrid shade of gray. Fear and pain had penetrated through her world.

He gave her one last chance, "Tell me, about what happened…" He couldn't understand why she wasn't being upfront. Sydney Bristow notoriously was honest about how she felt about things, especially in respect to Vaughn. What could she be hiding; he wanted to focus all his energy on discovering why she wasn't rejoicing.

Why wouldn't he leave it alone? She wondered. "It's not what you think" she wanted to say. She wanted to be embraced by him and feel as though her whole world wasn't going to come to a screeching halt in 48 hours. "You can run to any corner of the earth, Sydney, but I will find you when your three days are up and you will fulfill your end of our compromise." It wasn't as if this was a compromise. Sydney's life wasn't threatened, her friends were. She had to serve Satan to offer them protection. She wasn't even sure she could trust her.

This was all she could do. Listen, follow orders and go on. She had done it a thousand times for Sloane. At least then she had been blind to the truth. She thought despite her sacrifices, someone such as the 10 year old brownie was benefiting. Here…there as no comparison. Her tone lighten, "I'm glad you're alright….but you shouldn't be here" He deserved to be treated with respect despite the turmoil pulsating through her lithe body. She had become an emotional Roller coaster…a train wreck waiting to happen.

She had let her emotions control her. "Sydney…I wasn't trailed." She wanted to smile at the sound of the reassurance in his voice. How he could offer her false hope was a mystery. With all her strength she offered a weak smile and continued her Charade. He tried again. "Do you wan to know what happened in Taipei?" he asked gently. She almost burst into tears. He had almost drowned. *Almost* being the key word. Her mother had caught him trying to escape through the ducts. She had tied his unconscious soaked body in a chair next to Sydney's. A guard had a cocked his gun above his left temple and her mother asked her to reconsider her offer. She had fought back any instinct to reach out to him; she forced herself to remain dormant and nodded her head. "Say it!" her mother's voice echoed through her head "I will…" she mumbled. "I can not hear you…Gustav!" she mused as she motioned to the guard to cause Vaughn even more discomfort. "I WILL" she enunciated. "Will what??" her mother taunted. "I will return in three days. You won't hurt them…" she had said. "Do as I say and your friends….will remain safe. Disobey me and the authorities will need dental records to attempt to identify them..."

"In Taipei…" his voice cut through her memory. He had been shipped back to the alley, or somewhere public. He was found, or extracted, those details were fuzzy but the paralyzing fear of his life in danger would haunt her forevermore. "I swam to safety. I was lucky." He said. He was luckier not to remember. He wasn't coherent to see her mother. He wasn't awake to see Sydney broken, agreeing to demands instead of setting them. She never played the part of the victim well….she saw his green eyes flash as he quietly asked "What happened to you?"

If only he could know, but she couldn't risk that exposure. She had written Will and Francie a note. About how she had lost herself this last few months. She was going trekking in Nepal, if she returned, she'd contact them. They were not to worry or attempt to find her…it was a feeble attempt at a lie. She couldn't try to make it more believable because things had become unbearable hard.

"I'm fine…" she mumbled. "Please!" he rolled his eyes as he uttered the simple word. Her tough girl façade was worthless… "I'm a little shaken" she muttered, "I came here because I wanted a break" she tried to tell him the truth…with as little detail as possible.

TBC