Thank you all for your feedback.

Eleni13: Your questions about Ana'a parentage are all answered in the story that comes before this one- 'Prophesised'. It's a little long to summarize here, but basically in 'Prophesised', the CIA failed to stop the Covenant from concieving a child with Sydney's egg and Rambaldi's DNA (an alternate Full Disclosure: 3.11). Ana is that resulting child. I do suggest, if you have not already, that you read 'Prophesised' before this fic. Otherwise there will be elements of this fic that will not make sense.

Five Stories Fallen: Ana is 22, Billy is 16 and Lexi is 14

Chapter Two:
Pasts Collided

Sydney went to reply but stopped when the phone started to ring. "What?" she glanced at her watch. "Who would be calling at this hour?"

"Probably Weiss, wanting to vent about Zoë and Dana's hair," Vaughn grinned as he reached across and picked up the receiver. "Hello." His brow suddenly creased. "Excuse me?" Looking up he removed the phone from his ear and held it out to Sydney. "It's for you."

Sydney frowned slightly as she took it from his hand. "Who is it?"

"It's your mother."

The warehouse had not changed, Sydney noted to herself as she paced, worried. She and Vaughn could have been there for one of their old clandestine meetings…well, they were there for a clandestine meeting, just a different sort.

"Where is she?" Sydney muttered.

Vaughn watched her walk back and forth. She had just about worn a path in the concrete. This old warehouse was the first place that he and Sydney had thought of when Irina asked to meet somewhere private, somewhere they wouldn't be seen. Why she had wanted to see them was still a mystery, though they did have their suspicions. The fact that Irina had called was still reeling in both of their minds. They were not even aware that she was still alive. They had not heard from her since their search for Ana sixteen years ago.

"Sydney," Vaughn grabbed her arm. "You're making me feel kinda dizzy."

The comment did little to bring a smile to her face. "This isn't good, Vaughn. A midnight phone call from my mother. I don't think that I want to hear what she has to say."

Vaughn didn't reply. His thoughts were echoing Sydney's words exactly. Not a word for sixteen years and now this? Anything that had to do with Irina Derevko gave him a bad feeling.

"Maybe we should have woken up Ana," Sydney was musing aloud. "Let her know that we were leaving the house. What if one of the kids wakes up and realizes that we're not there? How would we explain that?"

"And how would be have explained to Ana why we were leaving the in the first place?" Vaughn pointed out. "We were right to just leave them you know the kids- they'd sleep through an earthquake."

Sydney inhaled deeply, raking a hand through her hair. "You're right."

"Ok then," Vaughn sighed. "We just need to sit patient and this will soon be over."

"I hope so," Sydney said quietly, shaking her head slowly. "You know I thought that she was dead. The CIA thought that she was dead. We should have known better."

Vaughn nodded. "She does have a way…of surviving."

Sydney let out a short laugh. "That's one way of putting it."

"C'mere," Vaughn wrapped his arms tightly around Sydney. "It'll be ok." He pressed his lips onto the top of her head. It will be ok."

The sound of footsteps became audible to their ears and Sydney stiffened in Vaughn's arms.

Irina had arrived.

Billy's own thrashing wrenched him from his sleep. Breathing heavily, he sank back into the mattress, drenched in a cold sweat.

'Not another one,' he thought, bringing a hand up to his clammy forehead.

They had started a few weeks ago. Nightmares, or night terrors even, so real that they left him feeling unsettled for the rest of the day. They were so vivid that he could smell, taste and feel everything…even the pain. And there was a lot of that.

Throwing off his covers, Billy made his way over to his desk. Switching on the lamp he reached for his journal. The only other person who knew that he kept one was his father. Vaughn had told Billy that his own father, as well as himself, had kept one. Billy decided that he might as well continue the tradition.

And he was never gladder of that decision than after one of these dreams.

Billy flipped through the pages, scanning over the details of the previous, all of the similar in one or more ways. He hadn't been able to tell anybody about them- a stupid pride thing. Given their nature he felt that he probably should, but there was something stopping him.

He reassured himself by thinking that they were only dreams, that they could no real harm.

Letting out a slow breath, Billy picked up his pen.

It happened again. In the same dark place, I killed my sister…
Sydney turned abruptly, taking in her mother. She had aged, of course. Everybody had. But in the typical Irina Derevko way she was still exuding a classic beauty. Not even the creases on her face could hide that.

"Hello Sydney," Irina said softly, a slow smile forming on her face. "You look well."

Sydney nodded shortly. While she was intensely curious about where Irina had been and what she had been up to, what she really wanted to know was why her mother had called them out at this time of the night. And what that meant was that she wanted no bar of the small talk. It was time to get down to business.

"What is going on?" she asked. "What is all this about?"

Irina glanced at Vaughn. "I thought that I asked you to come alone?"

"And you should know that there was no way Sydney would have abided by that request," Vaughn cut in.

Sydney out a hand on his arm. "Vaughn is right, mum. But," she paused, "you are already well aware of that fact."

Irina shrugged. "I tried, didn't I?" She brought a hand up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "But you didn't tell anybody else…I'm just a little anxious. I've been living almost normally for over a decade. The last thing I need is to have the CIA on my back."

"Nobody else knows," Sydney replied. "Now, could you please tell us what this is all about?"

"Ana and Billy."

Both Sydney and Vaughn glanced at each other, not because the sound of their children's names concerned them. There had already been the assumption that they would be the focus of this meeting. What interested them was the tone of familiarity that Irina used. How would she know that William was referred to as Billy? She'd had nothing to do with the family. But obviously she had been in contact with somebody who did.

"And my sister." Irina added.

Sydney frowned. "Your sister?" Irina nodded. "Which one?" Sydney barely knew anything about her aunts, just their names and that they were just as cruel and elusive as Irina.

"Elena."

"What does she have to do with Ana and Billy?" Vaughn asked.

Irina looked between Sydney and Vaughn. "She's been watching them since day one."

Sydney's breath caught in her throat. "Excuse me?"

"Elena was the one who established the Covenant. It was her who ordered the fertilization. It was she who organized the kidnapping of Ana when she was six." Irina paused. "However, when she discovered that Rambaldi wanted Ana to be raised with her little brother, she let her go. That is why the CIA were able to retrieve her so easily."

"Why is this coming up now?" Sydney asked, reeling a little from her mother's revelations.

"Elena has earned herself the reputation of being the cruellest Derevko-" she paused, smiling as Vaughn snorted. "Personal experiences may make that difficult for you to believe, but it is the truth. Elena even scares me. What she is capable of, what lengths she will go to in order to see her plans enacted…it's almost unbelievable."

"What do you mean her plans?" Sydney asked.

"To be specific, Rambaldi's plan," Irina explained. "Elena is a staunch Rambaldi follower, to the point of being fanatical."

"And you're not?" Vaughn could not help putting in.

"Yes, I am a believer," Irina shot back. "But the difference between my sister and I is that I let Rambaldi's plans enact themselves. I do not take them literally and am aware of the numerous interpretations that they can entail. Elena, however, sees her interpretation as the only possible outcome and does not have the patience to see them evolve on their own. She sees it her purpose in life to make sure that all of Rambaldi's prophecies come true." She paused. "You experienced that personally with Ana's conception."

Sydney ran a hand through her hair. "She fulfils the prophecies?"

Irina nodded. "Exactly. When Elena decides that it's time, she will stop at nothing. I've always known of her obsession for Rambaldi and given the connection that your family has to him I thought it best to keep an eye on my older sister."

"You've been monitoring her?" Sydney queried.

"Yes, for the past sixteen years, since the day Billy was born. I've planted numerous moles in her organization, tapped phone lines…you know the drill. And everything was fine. You two and your children were safe."

"But?" Vaughn asked, almost warily. Did he and Sydney even want to know what Irina was about to say next?

"One of Rambaldi's writings- the one that hints towards a battle between Ana and Billy- the Second Coming and her brother."

"No," Sydney whispered. "No. I don't want to hear it."

"Elena had decided that it's time," Irina continued quietly. "She wants to see one of children die at the hand of the other and will stop at nothing until that is achieved."