Chapter 2: Awakening
It began as all great tragedies do, with death and of course, a girl. But in the end, or maybe even in the beginning, the girl was all that mattered. She had always been the only thing that mattered, even if he hadn't always known it.
He had been angry. He had wanted to know the truth. These two elements, anger and truth, led him to the answer, even though he hadn't asked the question yet.
He was in his early twenties when they approached him. After all these years, the pain of not knowing what really happened to his father was still eating him up inside. And before he knew what he was getting himself into, he said that he would do anything - anything - to find out the truth. This is how it began. His simple quest for the truth would lead him down a path that he never could have foreseen.
It started with a name. A name and an order. It seemed simple enough. He told himself that he wasn't really betraying his country. They hadn't asked for intel. They hadn't asked for anything. At least, not yet.
The name was Rambaldi.
The order was to protect the girl.
Many things had to come into play for this to happen, the right events at the right time. And of course, all of these events came into play, just as they said they would. He didn't question it; he didn't want to. He didn't care about manuscripts or prophecies. All he cared about was the truth.
In the beginning, it was just a job. A means to an end. Once this was done, he would find out what happened to his father.
But then, one night at the pier, everything changed. His job, his quest, they all went out the window. All because of the girl.
He found himself saying things that he knew he shouldn't say. He found himself breaking every rule they'd told him not to break.
He tried to fight it, he told himself that she didn't matter, that it was just a crush. But he couldn't lie to himself. When it came to her, he never could.
Of course, it wasn't really that simple. He hadn't just decided on a whim to give up everything he'd worked for. The more he learned about Rambaldi, the more he felt he should be protecting her from it, not for it.
"Look, I was young. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I'm sorry but I can't do this anymore."
"It's not that simple, Michael. You made a deal."
"Well, I'm breaking the deal. The thing that you can't seem to understand is that she's a person. She's not 'The Chosen One.' Her name is Sydney. And she wants nothing to do with any of this Rambaldi crap."
"And you know what she wants?"
"She's not some artifact. I'm not gonna hand her over to you so you can do experiments on her or whatever the hell you plan to do."
"That's ridiculous. We're not going to do experiments on The Chosen One. Her body is a vessel to bring forth Rambaldi's works..."
"Right. Fine, you're gonna impregnate her with Rambaldi's sperm. Are you even listening to yourself? You and your fanboys are never going to touch her. Do you understand me?"
"We'll be calling on you. And when we do, you better answer the call."
"Oh, is that a threat?"
"All I'm saying is, your job isn't finished yet. And if you don't finish it, there will be consequences."
"Yeah, well I say bring 'em on."
Maybe he shouldn't have said that.
His eyes flashed open.
Where was he? What happened?
And then, it came back.
Santa Barbara. Sydney. And I love you and the truth and oh God...
He tries to say her name, to make his lips form the words, but no sound comes out.
"Shh. It's okay. Don't try to talk. Here," she hands him a cup. He takes it and lets the ice chips dissolve on his tongue.
"S-Syd," he manages.
"I'm here."
"Oh, I...Sydney, I'm so sorry. I lost you. I didn't believe them but then, I lost you and I couldn't find you. I looked everywhere. You have to believe me. They told me that you were...but I didn't believe it. And it's all my fault. It was all my fault." His words come out in a rush, barely above a whisper.
A hand grazes his cheek, he feels her hand on his. "No, it's okay. It's okay," she smiles. "Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter."
She's silent for a moment as tears sting her eyes. She wipes at them hastily. She bites her lip. "God, Vaughn. It came out of nowhere and it happened so fast. I thought I'd lost you. And I realized, it doesn't matter. I don't care if your name isn't really Michael Vaughn. Because, you'll always be Vaughn to me, always. And what you did before we met, even if it is the reason we met, doesn't matter now. It's in the past. What matters is here and now."
He smiles, reaching up to brush a stray tear away. She takes his hand in both of hers and presses it against her lips.
"You do realize though, that I'm gonna have to kick your ass for lying to me," she says, smiling.
He laughs and then, everything around him gets darker, everything starts fading to black.
He tries desperately to find her hand. "Sydney," he calls out. "Sydney, what's happening?" He feels so lost and confused. His eyes dart around the room but he can't find her.
"I thought it was obvious," she says from a place that he can't see. Her voice is all around him, but it's not warm like it was minutes before. It's cold and harsh. He can almost feel the chill of it. "You're waking up."
"What?" Suddenly, light floods the room. It's so bright that it hurts his eyes.
"Sydney, what are you doing?" Weiss asks from behind her.
She spins around. She runs her fingers over the blade of the knife that she's now holding.
"I'm going to kill Vaughn."
He stands there for a moment. He shrugs. "Right. Wasn't here, didn't see it, couldn't have stopped you."
"Thanks," she says as he leaves.
She turns back to Vaughn. "Actually, you know what? This won't do. This won't do at all. I've already stabbed you. I can't do the same thing again." She runs her fingers through his hair. "No, this won't do at all," she mumbles. The knife falls to the ground. "Hmm. I guess I could shoot you. I've never done that."
"What? Why are you doing this, Syd?"
"Wow. You really are stupid! Why? Because you betrayed me. I told you never to betray me. Guess you didn't listen. Too bad. You were a cute one."
"No. This isn't you. Who are you? You aren't Sydney!"
She frowns at him. "Well, you're not Vaughn. Who says I have to be Sydney? It's not fair that you get to have all the fun."
She smiles wickedly. "It's my turn now." She lifts a 9 mm to his head and pulls the trigger.
There's Sydney. And there's pain. And then, darkness. There is nothing else.