The Meeting
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story except for Felicity, Laura, Ashton, Jason, Noah, and Bjorn. I also do not own LOST. The rest of the characters and LOST are property of their creators.
In a secret location on the island, a very serious issue was discussed amongst the island's protectors and the recently-arrived passengers, pilot, and co-pilot from the Amelia. The main topic of that day's meeting was to discuss the island's latest threat: Bjorn Hanso. Bjorn, aged 51, came to the island four years earlier to rebuild the DHARMA Initiative there. When Hurley, Ben, and Walt first got wind of this news, they created an agreement which allowed Bjorn to rebuild the DHARMA Initiative as long as he promised to not cause any conflict or disturb the peace. However, about two weeks before the Amelia landed on the island, Ben found out through eavesdropping on Bjorn having a telephone conversation with his business partners that Bjorn did indeed have ulterior motives. What Ben found out that day was that Bjorn wanted the island all to himself, and he was planning to kill everyone living on the island one by one. Ben also realized that he, Hurley, and Walt had to convince their candidates one final time why they were needed on the island. After the island's protectors relayed this information, each candidate felt an immense sense of urgency to go to the island, and they all felt a great urgency to travel to the island as soon as possible. That course of action thus allowed them all to convene together with their island protectors and to discuss the next plan of action. With all possible presentation materials at their hands (a smartboard with markers, a laptop, a flash drive, a projector, and a PowerPoint presentation), Hurley, Ben, and Walt began to discuss everything related to Bjorn from his military background to defense mechanisms that would be set in place for protecting the island from him and his posse.
For about an hour, all candidates listened carefully and jotted down notes in DHARMA Initiative notebooks that were provided for them. At the end of the presentation, Hurley asked, "Now that we have said all we needed to say, do any of you have any questions for us?" The first to raise his hand was Aaron, who then asked what each candidate's roles would be in protecting the island. "Great question! We believe that all of you would discuss that amongst yourselves. As all of you know, many of your relatives did the same when they were on the island," Ben responded. Aaron then nodded his head in agreement and looked to his fellow candidates to see what they thought, and they nodded likewise to each other. "Next question," said Ben. After being acknowledged by Hurley, Julian then asked, "If my main priority as a candidate is to fight for the island, who will continue my Aunt Juliet's research on the ongoing pregnancy problem on the island?" "You will still be able to find time to do both. Your Aunt Juliet did a lot more than just research on the island. If she could do her research and protect the island, we know you can too," Walt said to Julian. "True," said Julian, to which Walt smiled and then asked, "Any other questions?" Clementine, raising from her chair, then blurted out without even raising her hand, "Yes! Don't the three of you remember that we also had other reasons for coming here? We want to know what happened to our loved ones first hand! So, when are we going to do that, damn it?" "Patience, Clementine. You all will find out what happened to them when the time is right," Ben responded. Right off the bat, Clementine then ranted:
"You listen to me, Three Wise Men! For most of our lives, we have been given only vague ideas about everything that happened to our loved ones. Hell, some of us, like Ji Yeon, don't have any concrete explanations at all other than that they died here. The island is in a huge crisis. I get it! But for one fucking minute, can you please realize that we are not just pawns to help you protect the island? When you first met us individually, you promised each of us that we would be given answers to the questions we have been seeking answers for. We deserve to know these answers. Hurley, when you first visited me, you told me that it was possible to travel through time once again…that you could visit any moment in time of your choosing just by turning the donkey wheel you described. So please, for all of us, find some fucking time to show us what happened to all who perished here."
Letting Clementine's speech sink in, Hurley, Ben, and Walt took a brief moment to whisper amongst themselves a deal they could make for her and everyone else in the room. After coming to a conclusion, Hurley responded, "Ok Clementine. You are right. We should have been more understanding of how you all felt. For that all three of us are sorry." "Thank you so much," Clementine responded as tears flowed down her cheeks. Instinctively, everyone in the room reached out to hug one another and thank the island protectors for listening to Clementine. After all the hugs were over, Hurley then said, "Well then dudes. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you all for your time. Come and talk to us at any time you want to. Good luck to you all, and Namaste!"
Author's note: Hurley first met Clementine shortly after her 30th birthday. At this point, Bjorn was not a threat to the island and its safety. Hurley, Ben, and Walt were simply visiting her and the rest of the Next Gen characters to convince at least one of them to be their successors as island protectors.
I hope you all enjoyed reading my second fanfic in this series. As always, I am very excited to write more as the ideas come along. Remember to leave constructive comments and feedback on this fanfic so I can learn how to improve my writing for future fanfics. Once again, thank you all so much, and Namaste!
Much love, from Jacki