When Sydney spoke to Sloane, it was barely audible. "If I do what you want, will you let Aidan go?" She nodded her head toward Aidan, ignoring the look of shock on his face. She was sure that he was wondering what the hell she was doing. She looked toward Sloane to see if he would answer. "Well, do I have your word?" She almost smirked at that. She knew his word was worth nothing.
Sloane appeared to consider her offer. He knew that he couldn't afford to let the young man go. Sark was the one that could destroy everything he had worked for. No, he couldn't let that happen. But, of course, Sydney didn't have to know that. "Sydney, you know that I care about you. If you do not want Mr. Sark harmed, I will not harm him. But, you must work with me. If you do, I will let him go."
Sydney knew he was lying, but that was expected. She just needed time. She stole a glance at Aidan, praying that he would know that she needed him. They had to end this. And, she needed his help, his strength. They had to destroy Il Dire, even if in doing so, it destroyed them.
Sark was running the scenario through his mind. There is now way that Sydney really meant to give in to Sloane's demands. What he couldn't divine though, is what she had planned. He mentally prepared himself to be ready for whatever happened. His muscles tensed, his eyes narrowed, and he was ready to do what was necessary.
Sydney spoke again, as she moved to Il Dire. "Then, I will do it." Little did Sloane know what she really had planned. Sydney placed her hands on the prints and instantly, she felt a current go through her. She was drawn to it, and was seeing things that were not possible. Sydney forgot about her plans were and the others in the room as she simply watched the scene playing out in her mind. It was as if she were watching the past unfold in front of her eyes.
First, she saw a young girl, maybe 18 years old. Sydney knew without a doubt that it was her mother. She was in some kind of classroom, taking tests. A stern looking man came over and spoke to her in Russian, saying that she showed great potential. Irina smiled, no doubt feeling privileged to be singled out. The man took her papers and instructed her to go to the 6th floor, where she would commence with her physical test. Irina went willingly. What would have happened had she refused?
Next a flash came before her eyes of her mother and father, together. They looked so happy and in love. They were holding a little girl, and tears came to Sydney's eyes as she realized that it was her. Her father leaned forward and kissed her mother, then reached down to tickle the little girl's feet. The girl laughed and kissed her father's nose. Her mother picked her up and twirled her around. Her heart cried out for all of them. They deserved to be like this forever, not just for some snapshot in time. It wasn't fair!
Another flash before her eyes and she saw Emily. Sweet Emily who was the mother figure in her life after Laura Bristow had died. Emily was gardening, carefully tending the flowers that she loved so dearly. Sydney saw Sloane walk out to her, greeting her with more warmth than she had ever seen in his eyes. He told Emily that he had to go away on another business trip. As he left, she couldn't help but see the hurt and disappointment showing in Emily's eyes. Sydney missed Emily who was always so good and so kind. How could something so horrible happen to her?
The next one was a shock to her. She saw a young boy. Though she hadn't seen him before, she was sure that it was Aidan. He was with a girl and two adults. They must have been his family. They were talking and laughing together. The mother put her hand out and tousled the boy's hair. The boy looked up at her and smiled. Sydney's heart ached for him. This must have been one of the last happy moments that the family shared. What would have happened had Sloane not interfered?
Sydney saw herself, laughing with Danny. Sweet Danny who had sang to her in the middle of the college courtyard. Even though he was off key, she thought it was the most wonderful sound she had ever heard. She saw herself accept his proposal and drop to her knees, crying and kissing him. They had been so happy and had made so many plans. Sickened, she remembered that her drive to be honest with him was what got him killed. Why couldn't things have been different?
Last, she saw herself and Vaughn. She gasped as she realized it was the day they took SD-6 down. They moved toward each other and shared a kiss, the first of their relationship. She saw Weiss approach them and they paid no attention to him. Sydney jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Instantly the images faded and she had to face reality. Sloane was standing next to her.
"Don't you see, Sydney? You can change it. You can make things the way you want. You can make all the pain go away and make things better. Your mother and father, my Emily, your fiancé…. It could all come back to you." Sloane didn't know exactly what she had seen, but he knew that she had the power to change the past. The machine could do that, with her help. She could bring his precious Emily back to him. The thought had consumed him awake and in dreams. Emily. She deserved better than what had happened. With her by his side, nothing would stop him.
Sydney didn't speak as she thought about the power that she held. She could change it. She could make it all better. She could make her mother refuse the KGB, she could bring Danny back. She could make sure Aidan's family was safe. Her thoughts were preoccupied as she mulled over all of the options. She knew that it wasn't any use. To change the past would be altering everything. Sure, she could eliminate Sloane, or at least his betrayal of the CIA. She could make sure her mother never went to the KGB. If she did that, she wouldn't exist. Her mother never would have married her father. If she changed Aidan's life, he wouldn't exist to her. He would be safe, with his family. Danny would be back, but at what cost? How much would change? She couldn't go through with it. She threw a look in Aidan's direction, silently begging him for help and strength.
Sark knew that Sydney needed him. Without waiting to think of what could happen, he moved from Allison to Sydney's side. One look at each other and they started demolishing the machine. He grabbed a pipe that was lying nearby and started smashing the machine with all of his strength. His hands were aching from the reverberations, but he didn't care. He kept pounding into it. All of the frustration of his ruined life surfaced as he destroyed the object of Sloane's obsession. It had ruled their lives for too long. Sark felt that if they died now, it would have been justified by this destruction.
Sydney had not been able to find an instrument, so she was using her hands. They were becoming bloodied from the force, but she didn't notice. She lashed out with everything in her, destroying not only the machine but all of the pain of the past. It didn't matter if anything happened to her; she was going to make sure that Il Dire was destroyed before any more lives were affected. Her breathing was heavy and she was sobbing. She just kept lashing out, even though she could hardly see through the tears. With eat hit and with each kick, her rage intensified.
Sloane took a moment to react, but suddenly rushed forward to try to stop the two from destroying his life's work. He yelled at the top of his lungs and forcefully tried to pull Sydney back. He would not let them ruin this for him. Sark saw what Sloane was trying to do and pulled him off of Sydney and punched him hard. Sloane went down, a little dazed, but came back up fighting. He went for the gun that he had and started firing off shots, not caring who he hit. If they were going to destroy Il Dire, then they could all die. Nothing else mattered.
Allison barely had time to register what was happening. Sloane was shooting at Sark and Sydney. She acted on instinct, quickly jumping in front of Sark, firing her gun back at Sloane several times. She couldn't let anything happen to Sark, not when it was her fault that Sloane had them in this situation. She looked down as pain shot through her. With a moan, she collapsed to the ground. She knew that she was dying.
Sydney screamed as she saw the worst part of her nightmares coming true. One of Sloane's bullets had hit the mark. "Aidan!!!" She ran to him as he dropped to the floor. There was blood coming from his side, but he wasn't paying attention. He was looking at Sloane, who was quite obviously dead, judging from the large hole in the side of his head.
Sark was confused. Allison had shot Sloane to save him? He looked to Sydney before glancing to the floor beside him. Allison was alive, but barely. She had been shot in the chest. He spoke to Sydney. "I'll be fine. It's just a flesh wound." He moved closer to Allison, taking her wrist to check her pulse. It was weak. Allison was dying. "Allie?"
Sydney saw what Aidan was doing and moved to Allison's side before he could say anything else. Allison had saved his life and destroyed the man that had made all of their lives miserable. She felt compassion for the woman, as she noted that breathing was a struggle for her. "Allison?" she questioned tentatively. Sydney still blamed her for her betrayal and the murder of her best friend, but she did not want to see her suffer. The only person she wanted to see suffer was now dead before them.
Allison did not even look at Sydney. She wasn't the one that mattered. She focused on the man beside her. She rolled her head over and looked at Sark. "I'm so sorry," she rasped. "I was wrong. But, it's over now." She gasped, her chest heaving before growing still, her eyes lolling back in her head.
Sydney looked to Aidan, who was holding his side. He had told her that his wound was superficial, but she knew it was more. He was losing too much blood and she could tell that he was fighting to stay conscious. She moved to him, cradling her head in his lap, holding her hands over his wound. "Aidan, hang in there. You can't leave me now, ok? We'll get help. You'll be ok. Please." She looked down at the man she had learned to love and realized that what she said was true. She couldn't lose him now.
Sark looked up at Sydney. Beautiful Sydney. She was always so strong. That was one of the things that he loved about her. Loved? How funny that should come to his mind now. He was getting weaker. So tired. His last conscious thought was that Sydney looked like an angel. His angel.
Sydney had tears in her eyes as she saw Aidan lose consciousness. "Not now! No!" She needed to tell him how she felt. She needed him. "Aidan! Aidan, please…wake up!"