Disclaimer: Alias is not mine

A/N: A new take on the aftermath of the season finale, read and review

Distribution: If you're going to use it, tell me, otherwise please don't

Light will turn to black:

Chapter 1: Explanations

"Vaughn?... why are you wearing that ring?"

"Sydney... since that night ...with Francie's double... you've been gone for ...two years Syd*

"Wait; is this some kind of joke? It was just a day ago that I fought..."

"No Syd, it was over two years ago. Two years Sydney," a tear rolled down his cheek and even as she was absorbing so much she stood and wiped the tear away and kissed his cheek. He didn't pull away, he didn't tense at her touch, but as he sat, and she stood over him her lips pressed to his forehead and her hands cradling his head he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her to him and buried his face in her stomach. He let the tears flow, "I Looked for you Sydney, God I looked for you, but you were gone, oh god Sydney its been two years and now you've come back, I went through two years without you."

The world stopped her heart stopped, her eyes glazed over and she felt like she was going to faint as the depth and meaning of Vaughn's words sank into her wildly distraught mind. The idea that those words would be the words to change her entire lif-... but no the words were nothing, they were merely there to cement the change that had 'already' occurred. Plain and simple two years had passed and the man she loved with everything she was, the man she hadn't been with long enough even to convey that fact to, was married. But then nothing about this was plain and simple, try as she might she could not remember a second between the time of her fight with the double posing as Francie and waking up on the streets of Hong Kong. She couldn't remember a minute of these past two 'plain and simple' years. She had to know what had gone on during the time that was seemingly lost to her. And with every piece of her being she wanted that information to come from Vaughn, the one whom she trusted most, the one person who she knew would never hurt her. But it scared her seeing that ring on his finger, knowing that she may have lost him with out even being conscious of the fact that she wasn't around to hold on to him.

"Tell me this is a dream," Sydney muttered before launching into a open hearted speech "Vaughn I know you're hurting but I need to know what's happened. If what you're saying is true... then I've lost two years of my life," Sydney sobbed as she began to cry. Vaughn heard her start to cry and removed his face from its resting spot and pulled her down placing her on his lap. "I need to know what's happened* she said trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"Syd, when you didn't show up where we planned to meet before going to Santa Barbara" he sighed, "I waited but you never came so I went to check on you" Vaughn struggled to maintain composure. "There was blood everywhere and Francie's Double, and Will barely alive in the tub. But you weren't there Syd, you weren't there. They found your blood all over the apartment and they found a piece of old parchment taped to a wall next to a broken mirror with your blood on it. It was blank but after Marshal's analysis he suggested that we try the liquid we had used to translate page 47. When we applied the liquid, coded writing appeared, when we translated it, Syd it said:

"Destruction awaits,
And she is its queen
For a time, though evil lurks,
Her deeds shall go unseen

But when the time comes,
Unbeknownst to her,
Evil leaks out, and soon
Horrific events occur

And when it leaks, and infects the world,
There'll be no looking back
Disease will spread throughout the globe,
And light, will turn to black"

Vaughn finished recalling the message on the scrap of paper. Sydney's eyes were wide.

"Be...fore my mother escaped, she told me I was the one in Rambaldi's prophesy, if that's true then, then this must have something to do with Sloan" she said this last word with venom in her voice. "Rambaldi is his obsession, if my disappearance was connected in any way to Rambaldi it has to be related to Sloane as well."

"Yes," Vaughn agreed, "we have been looking for him for these past two years, but every time we get a lead our contact either turns out to be corrupt, or ends up dead before we can even meet with them. We tried every avenue Syd, and we had sightings of him constantly up until about eight months ago."

"What happened eight months ago?" Sydney asked

"Eight months ago there were massive explosions in three religiously important cities. Radioactive explosions occurred simultaneously in Jerusalem, Mecca, and Rome. Thousands died. Sydney, we found evidence that these explosions were not the result of any known weapon. The president gave an address promising that these were weapons that the united states government had never even heard of, but the CIA knew the real information; that there seem to have been no weapons at all, just spontaneous explosions, without even a bomb, as if from thin air. Ten hours after the attacks a satellite was hijacked and a very familiar face was broadcast on every radio and television station in the world. Sloane's message to the world was simple yet cryptic; prepare for the end, because the end is coming, worship me because I alone hold your life in my hands. Since then we've heard not even a whisper of his whereabouts, and most of the CIA is busy doing work to help rebuild after and investigate the explosions. That's where they 'brought me back from', that's what I meant"

"Oh Vaughn," Sydney said with disbelief, "The worlds going all to hell."

"That seems to be what Sloane wants everyone to think," Vaughn added.

"What are we going to do? I feel almost selfish for being concerned with myself right now, with what you just told me is going on in the world, but Vaughn I lost two years of my life and the other thing I cant think is..."

"What is it Syd?"

"Your ring, tell me you haven't given up on me in these last two years.*

"Sydney no, I could never give up on you, this ring 'is' you, it is to honor you. Ever since you've been gone, I thought of myself as your husband because I... well I couldn't bear to think of you as anything but my wife. I knew if I ever found you that I would want to spend the rest of my life with you. I was going to ask you to marry me in Santa Barbara, but we never made it that far" interrupting him with a soft kiss to the lips she whispered;

"I would have said yes." He smiled for the first time since she'd been reunited with him. "I just can't believe this is happening, this is all so horrible. I don't remember anything from the past two years, nothing Vaughn it's a total blank." She began to cry once again, through the tears she said, "Promise me two good things will come out of this Vaughn, Promise me that we will catch Sloane."

"Oh believe me we will," Vaughn answered. "And when we do he will suffer for taking you away from me," he said crushing her to him. "I also promise that you will get these memories back Syd, I'll hold your hand the whole time. But what else did you want me to promise?"

"Promise me that when all this is over, and we figure everything out, that we'll get me a ring to match yours." She said with a twinkle in her eye that was a result of something more than tears. Vaughn breathed in her sent, kissed her neck and whispered two words:

"I promise."