Here's the last part! Sorry guys, I know it's a gloomy ending. This was never meant to be a happy story, though. Maybe I'll write an AU alias fic that ends on a better note some time in the future. Any requests on what you'd like to see?

Oh, and I know a reviewer pretty much mentioned that season five was utter crap. Yeah, it definitely was, no arguments there. But I think, for this story, this ending fits the best—and I really wanted to show this scene from Irina's point of view.

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"Why are you fighting me on this?"

Irina lay on the ground beside her daughter, wincing slightly as the broken glass around her jabbed her every time she moved. So much time had passed since she'd been Elena's prisoner, and Sydney and Nadia rescuing her seemed like another lifetime. When her eldest daughter had jumped down into that cell and helped her up, Irina had never imagined that it would ever come to this.

"The defense satellites are destroyed." She continued, as bluntly as she could. If Sydney would just realize that there was no hope left, maybe she would just leave—maybe she would walk away from all of this at last. But even as Irina hoped, she knew it was foolish. Her daughter was extremely stubborn. And she was backing Irina into a corner.

She watched as the blazes of light streaked across the sky, marking the paths of the falling satellites. In a twisted way, it was almost beautiful.

"The stars will fall from the sky…" quoted Sydney in a murmur, almost transfixed by the sight.

Out of the corner of her eye, Irina glanced at her. Please, Sydney. Just go home. You're in over your head. "Even if you manage to beat me on this rooftop…it's still too late to stop the launch." Too late. Too late to fix this, or anything else. I can't go back now. I've hurt too many people.

But, as expected, Sydney turned to stare at her mother, defiance blazing in her brown eyes. "You think I came here alone?" She challenged.

No, Irina hadn't thought she'd come alone. But she'd hoped. She'd so desperately hoped to find a way—any way, to avoid this terrible decision. How did you choose between your one dream; your very reason for being alive, and your own daughter?

But the thing was, Irina had already chosen long ago. She'd even told Sydney this: she'd chosen to be a spy over a mother. She'd left her family in pursuit of her Rambaldi-related ambitions. She'd done terrible, terrible things to reach this moment. If she turned back now, then that would mean that all of that had been for nothing.

Truth be told, Irina was afraid. Afraid of being wrong, afraid of losing the meaning of everything she believed in. She had no choice. As she struggled to her feet, Irina tried to convey her regret in her gaze, even as her very words denied it.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to be such a complication in my life any longer." Irina gritted out as Sydney, too, attempted to get up. Pushing aside all hesitation, she dealt a vicious kick that sent her daughter hurtling into a nearby wall. She told herself desperately that if she just made this one sacrifice, however painful, that everything would finally make sense. Rambaldi's mysteries would be revealed, the Horizon would be hers, and she would get everything she'd ever wanted…wouldn't she?

Stepping forward, Irina nearly choked on her next words. "For whatever it's worth," She added, "I truly do love you." She knew, deep down, that this could never make up for everything she'd done, and what she was doing now. It sounded almost pathetic to make such a confession at this moment, but for whatever reason, selfish or otherwise, Irina needed this to be the last thing Sydney would hear from her.

She felt sick as she slammed her daughter to the ground once again. I have no choice. Her mind repeated desperately. I have no choice, Sydney. Can't you see that?

Sydney was weakening; was barely able to get herself off the ground. It was now or never. Irina advanced slowly…and then, unbidden, an image of the six-year-old daughter she'd once told stories too so many years ago flashed before her eyes. She hesitated, just for a second.

It was a fatal mistake. Sydney lashed out suddenly, kicking her mother in the ribs and causing her to stumble back. Before Irina could react, her daughter had kicked her again with even more force, this time sending her hurtling onto the thin glass skylight.

For a moment, Irina could do nothing but lay there in shock. And then, she heard it: the high-pitched, crackling sound of breaking glass. She knew in that moment that the skylight was going to give.

Sydney seemed to realize this at the same moment, because she said, "The glass won't hold you." Irina looked down hesitantly, and saw the floor such a long, long way below her. There was no way she'd survive a fall like that. "Mom, you need to come back." Sydney was calling.

Wincing, Irina attempted to move, but even the slight shift of weight caused the glass to crack even more. She took a deep breath, and looked up…and then she saw it. The Horizon. It was just sitting there, a few feet away on the skylight. It was so tempting…she could reach out and grab it now.

"Mom," Sydney was flat out pleading now. "You can make it, give me your hand!"

Slowly, Irina looked back at her, and it was then that she realized: she did have a choice. She'd always had one. But telling herself that she didn't was easier than admitting that she did have a choice, and was making the wrong one.

She'd chosen to join the KGB(she knew that if she could have seen what she would have become back then, she would have been disgusted with herself.) She'd chosen to break Jack's heart, even though she truly loved him. She'd chosen to betray everyone she loved, again and again…and just now, she had actually chosen to attempt to murder her daughter. And for what?

For what? The tiny artifact that was now so easily within her reach? The thing she'd pursued for as long as she could remember?...Why, though? Would immortality really make her happy? The only times in her life Irina could remember actually being truly happy were the moments spent with her family. But she'd thrown them all away for something she had believed to be more promising.

Irina had heard before that seconds before death takes you, you realize some great truth or purpose to your life. It was ironically cruel that this happened only when it was too late to change anything.

She looked back at her daughter, who had changed so much from the little girl she'd once been. Sydney was now a grown woman with a daughter of her own, a strong, intelligent person, and a credit to her country. Irina remembered what had first driven her to join the KGB. It had been the longing she'd felt to serve her own country. To become a hero.

Sydney had been able to do everything Irina couldn't. And Irina realized, now, how proud she was of this.

"I'm sorry, Sydney." She whispered, and this time she meant it with all her heart. Irina turned slowly, and reached out for the Horizon. It would be an ironic finish for her, to die holding what she thought she wanted most. She grasped the artifact tightly, even as the glass beneath her finally shattered.

And then Irina was falling again.