Vaughn stopped moving when he heard the voices of several guards below him. He was in no state to fight anyone, so he decided his only option was to lie still until the guards moved away. He waited until it was silent once again and continued to crawl until he found an opening which led back into the club. From there he moved through the club walking as fast as he could despite his pain, praying that no one noticed him limping.

~~~~

In one swift action Sydney jumped up grabbing Sark's gun and hooked Irina's leg with her foot, bringing her to the floor. She pointed the gun at Sark and aimed carefully to make sure she missed the bone in his arm. She heard him scream with pain after the single shot and saw blood pouring from his arm. She then pointed the gun at Irina, but didn't shoot because it looked as if she had been knocked unconscious by the fall. Sydney didn't waste any more time waiting for either Khasinau or security guards to turn up. She ran out of the room as fast as she could.

~~~~

Jack turned around to check to see if Will was okay. He heard deep regular breaths and realised Will was sleeping. An hour had gone past and still no sign of either Sydney or Vaughn. He began to think that something very bad had happened. He knew that he had to find her, to get her back. He quickly tried to think of a plan of action. He decided that he would go and search for Sydney, leaving Will in the back of the van. If Sydney or Vaughn did make it back, they would be able to wait with Will in the van for him to return. Jack grabbed his gun and checked to see how many bullets he had. He also searched the van for a few other supplies.

~~~~

Sydney ran towards the club, thinking that she could blend in with all the other people and evade capture. It was only when she reached the exit she heard the sound of footsteps heading towards her. Then the sound of gunfire rang out all around her. She managed to return fire stopping some of the guards before she got back into the club. She then dropped her gun and took off her blue wig so that she seemingly disappeared into the packed nightclub. The guards turned around so that they wouldn't attract even more attention from all the other people in club. They ran back to Khasinau to update him on her escape.

Vaughn could hear the sound of gunfire even above the loud music that was blaring throughout the club. He then heard screams, which were immediately followed by a mad rush by all the people in the club to the main entrance. Vaughn was swept along with the crowd as every one ran out. He only stopped moving once he got out of the club. He finally collapsed, slumping against the nearest wall, the darkness of the night hiding him from the big crowd. He decided to close his eyes for a moment and rest his injured leg.

~~~

Jack was about to leave the van to try to find Sydney when he saw her running towards him. He opened the van door and helped her into the seat next to Will.

"What happened Are you okay?" Jack asked.

"Is Vaughn here?" she asked breathlessly.

"No."

"We have to We have to go back. He can't be dead!" she exclaimed.

"We can't." Jack simply said. He started the van and began to drive towards the airfield where a plane would be waiting for them.

"Dad!" she pleaded. "He can't be dead!" she simply repeated. Tears silently flowed down her cheeks.

Jack didn't reply, knowing nothing he could say would comfort her.

~~~

Sark looked across at Irina still lying on the floor. He was sure he could see some movement, her body rising and falling with every breath she took He examined the gunshot wound in his arm and then walked over towards Irina. He checked her pulse before trying to find someone to help them both. Khasinau ran in at that moment.

"Are you injured? Irina!" Khasinau rushed over towards Irina.

"Did Sydney Bristow escape?" Sark asked.

"Yes." Khasinau replied. "Is she breathing? Help me move her."

Sark could only sit back in the chair, the loss of so much blood making him feel faint. "It's her fault I was shot." Sark said pointing at his mother. "I was shot by my sister!" he said almost laughing with disbelief.

~~~

Sydney finally managed to stop crying once Jack, Will and herself were on the plane heading back to LA. Jack put his arm around Sydney and waited patiently for her to begin explaining all that had happened. Sydney carefully recounted how Vaughn had died, and her meeting with her mother. She could see how shaken Jack was when he learnt about Irina so she quickly decided to leave the revelation about Sark until they reached LA.

~~~

The next time Vaughn opened his eyes he found himself in a hospital bed, his leg in plaster and a nurse standing at his bedside.

"Where am I?" Vaughn asked drowsily. He was pleased to find his leg and head no longer hurt.

"The hospital. You'll be released shortly." The woman said.

"Who are you?"

"I'll be looking after you. Do you want us to call anyone?" She asked.

"I need to call the American Embassy and my boss. Here's the number." He scribbled down the number for Devlin's secretary before trying to get himself out of bed. "Can you do something for me?" he added.

"Yeah sure." She smiled.

"Can you also ask Devlin if Sydney Bristow made it out of Taipei. I really need to know that she's okay."

The nurse nodded before heading towards the phone.

"Thanks." He said gratefully.

~~~

Sydney tried to focus her thoughts on Will. The only good thing to come out of the whole mission was that Will was now safe. She could see a contented look on his face as he slept.

"Hey." She said when he finally awoke.

"Hey, Syd. You're okay?' he asked.

"I'm fine." She lied.

"Are we going home?" Will looked around at his surroundings, noticing for the first time that he was in a plane.

"Yes." She said before she began to cry once again.

"Don't cry, Syd." he moved closer to Sydney and put his arms around her. He wasn't used to seeing Sydney so vulnerable and upset. "What's wrong?' he gently asked.

"He came to Taipei to help me, but I couldn't save him. He gave his life." She said through her tears.

"Who?" Will asked curious to know who else came with Jack and Sydney to rescue him.

"If by some miracle he survived I promise I'll do everything to stop him from risking his life for me again." She clenched her hands together as she spoke. She wasn't sure who she was talking to, but she knew she was going to keep that promise. "Please let him be alive." She whispered.

Jack sat down next to Sydney and although he didn't think that Vaughn had survived he tried his best to convince Sydney otherwise.

"Vaughn probably made his way out of the building and is on his way back to the states." He said.

"He has to be alive." She said looking at Jack, but there was no hope in her voice.

~~~

"What happened?" Irina asked when she opened her eyes.

"Sydney obviously loves you as much as you love her! She couldn't wait to leave the family gathering." Sark stood up resting on the chair to help keep his balance.

"Are you hurt?" she said looking at Sark's arm.

I'll be fine." Sark was annoyed with her apparent concern.

"Let's get out of here." Khasinau helped Irina to her feet and began to walk towards the door. "The police could turn up at any moment."

Sark's anger only increased as he walked behind them. He didn't want to be a part of the Bristow family. Irina was hardly the model mother and his first real meeting with his sister involved him getting shot in the arm by her! He wasn't about to let Sydney get away with any of it.

~~~

Vaughn sat in the plane still unsure if Sydney was okay. The nurse had told him that Devlin didn't know where either Jack or Sydney was and that Vaughn had to report to him as soon as possible. He tried to remain positive. The fact that Devlin hadn't heard any bad news was the only thing that gave him hope. He knew that from Devlin's message that he was in big trouble, but he didn't care about his job any more. So he continued to think about Sydney for the remainder of the journey back to LA.

~~~

Will had informed Jack during the flight that he had told his friend at the paper about his SD-6 story. Jack made sure that Will was taken somewhere safe as soon as they landed in LA, but first he made Will phone his friend to stop the story going out.

"Is it too late?" Jack asked.

"No. I stopped her just in time, but they were ready to print. I have to go and see her, to prove that I am okay."

"Well make sure you get cleaned up first. And have a story ready to explain your injuries." Jack said relieved that they didn't all have to go into hiding."

"Where are you going?" Will asked.

"I have to take Sydney back to her apartment." He needed to take care of Sydney. Losing Vaughn had totally changed her. It seemed as if she was unable to do anything for herself.

~~~

Vaughn caught a taxi and headed back to his apartment. Once he was there he had a shower and ate some food before he fell asleep exhausted from the long journey. When he woke up he remembered Devlin's message. He called Weiss to see how much trouble he was in.

"Eric?" he whispered.

"Michael is that you?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah. Did you hear from Sydney?"

"No, nothing, why? Where have you been?"

"Taipei."

"No wonder Devlin was so angry when he got your call."

"Can you tell him I've broken my leg, but I will see him tomorrow."

"Are you okay?"

"Nothing from Jack either?" Vaughn asked deliberately ignoring his question.

"No."

"How angry was Devlin?"

"Extremely angry." Weiss simply said.

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

Vaughn hung up the phone and stayed awake for the rest of the night, wondering how Sydney escaped.

~~~

Sydney woke up in the middle of the night. She got out of bed and paced up and down her bedroom. She realised that she had to go and see Devlin the next day. She knew that she had to make Devlin understand that it had been her fault Vaughn had gone to Taipei with her. She needed to do something to ease the increasing guilt she felt over losing Vaughn. She walked to the couch and sat there until the sun rose.