So, this is set immediately after the season 5 finale. We'll begin with the whole Locke-Jacob-mystery man mess, and then move to the other characters. Enjoy!
The man referring to himself as John Locke looked upon the burning, writhing body of Jacob with utter scorn.
This represented the culmination of his preparation. The termination of the trials and tribulations he had suffered in order to bring this about.
He had wished for so long to end this man's seemingly immortal life. He had wished for so long, but he had always been held back. Held back by the unbreakable, paranormal laws of time. Of the world. Of the universe.
And then finally, he had been presented with the golden opportunity. The opportunity to cheat the workings of the universe; the opportunity to find his loophole. Benjamin Linus had said that he was willing to do anything for him. Ben had stated that he would do anything.
And Ben had done it. As the man calling himself Locke glanced over at Ben, the only expression that he could see on Ben's face was one of pure shock. Not the shock of someone making a kill; no that didn't faze Ben anymore. It never had.
No, this utter state of weakness was one of pure surprise. Surprise at the utter transformation of the man Ben once knew as John Locke. The transformation of a gentle, caring man, once filled with faith in destiny, into the ruthless, cold-blooded killer standing before him.
This transformation was evident in the raw animosity set in the features of John Locke as he stared at Jacob's final throes of death.
The man calling himself John Locke turned away and began to walk out of the ruins of the majestic statue of the Egyptian goddess Taweret. Goodbye, son.
Behind the man, Benjamin Linus fell dutifully into step. He could only follow the leader.
~/~/~/~/
"You still won't give it up, will you?" asked Isaac angrily of Jacob. They both were sitting outside of the ruins of the ancient statue, looking out at the water, just like that day so long ago. The day Black Rock had come.
Jacob shook his head. "No. Think of this as the final experiment. The experiment that will determine which of our theories will prevail."
"Every single group of humans that have arrived on this island have only served to prove me correct!" exclaimed Isaac. "They're all corrupt. All they do is fight with each other, instead of working in harmony. Look at what happened to the Dharma Initiative. You call that an example of a perfect society?"
"Do you expect a toddler to know how to walk and talk as soon as it is born? It's called progress, Father," replied Jacob with a touch of annoyance.
Isaac turned to look at his son directly in the eyes. "Your vision of creating a Utopian world will never work. You know why? Because the people you want to live in that world are merely human. They're not like you, or I. Humans can never get along perfectly. It's just not meant to be."
"You're wrong. And this time, I'm going to prove it. The crash of Oceanic Flight 815 will be the event that will jump start the entire world on its destined path culminating in the ultimate state of being. Utopia."
Isaac got up to walk away in disgust. He had heard enough of this ridiculous spiel of Jacob's. It was always the same. Useless arguments that never came to fruition.
Isaac turned around for a moment to leave his son with some hopefully meaningful parting words. "You're right, Jacob. Oceanic Flight 815 will most certainly change the world. You know how? It will become my loophole."
~/~/~/~/
As Richard Alpert became aware of two dark silhouettes exiting the ruined statue, he motioned to his men. The click of rifles being primed echoed all through the inky blackness of the beach.
Ben moved away quickly from the man he knew as Locke, and moved over to stand beside Sun Kwon. Not one Other followed him with a rifle. It was the other man by the statue that they were concerned with.
The man Richard knew as John Locke became visible in the dim torchlight. With hands held high, Locke looked directly at Richard and said somewhat sarcastically, "This is how you order your men to treat their leader? What sort of mutiny is this?"
Richard had an answer ready and waiting for this anticipated statement of Locke's. Pointing to the deceased, formally laid-out body of the John Locke, dumped on the sand, the body had been held in the cargo hold of Ajira Flight 316, Richard replied, "You are not the leader, John. He is."
Avoiding the question for the time being, Locke followed Richard's protruding finger to the box, its contents…and the people surrounding it, including Frank Lapidus, Ilana, and Bram. "Why are the Ajira Flight 316 passengers are here? How do they know about the statue?"
Ilana stepped slightly forward. "We are here because of Jacob. He came to me years ago, and asked for my help. And so we came."
Richard saw Locke's face twist in disgust. Looking right at Richard, Locke said clearly, without shame, "Remember how I told you that the Ajira passengers would need to be dealt with?" He now looked around at the majority of the people, his own people, on the dark beach, those standing with rifles hoisted at the ready. "Deal with them. Right now."
"No, John." Richard raised his hands hastily to dissuade anyone from shooting at Ilana's group. "You have some explaining to do. About the contents of this box. About just what you got up to in your time away from the island. And about what Jacob said about this whole mess."
Locke raised his hands in mock-surrender, and for a moment, the hard lines on his weathered face creased back into the old laugh lines. "Sure thing, Richard. But not here. Let's take a walk."
Locke set off into the woods, with Richard following close behind. Before they entered the tree line, Locke turned around briefly. "Keep them here. If they try anything, do not hesitate."
Nobody needed to ask just who he was referring to.
~/~/~/~/
In the heart of the ancient temple, the smoke monster coiled around him, almost purring at the presence of its master. Isaac stood in the very center of the monster, conversing with it. Their relationship was so close; the smoke monster was his second son. In fact, it was his favorite son.
"When Benjamin Linus comes to you, I need you to let him live. Let him live, and take the proper shape that will convince him to do my will, no matter what it may be. You need to manipulate him very carefully. Don't push him too much or too little, or I will not have another opportunity to fulfill my deepest wish for the longest time. You can handle this?"
The smoke monster growled a response.
"What shape should you take? I don't know; use your imagination. As one shape shifter to another, I can only say to transform into what you think will have the greatest effect on him."
An answering swirl of deep, black smoke.
"Yes, soon, very soon. I go now to play my part convincingly. The end draws near, my friend. And then…we can begin again.
~/~/~/~/~/
Isaac sat down gingerly on a rough wooden log. Richard took a squat across from him in this small clearing in the jungle, and said to Isaac, "Alright. Explain, John. What happened with Jacob?"
Isaac smiled. He might as well tell Richard exactly what went on in that ancient room of Jacob's. "I didn't do anything wrong, Richard, as much as you were worried about 'breaking the rules'. Ben's the one who killed Jacob."
Richard's mouth fell open.
Isaac smiled. "That's all I'll say for now. Goodbye, Richard."
Before Alpert could move, Isaac stood quickly and dealt a crushing blow to the top of Richard's head. Alpert slumped to the ground, unconscious.
~/~/~/~/
Richard Alpert stood in the center of Jacob's personal room, the fire blazing directly to his left. Sitting in an easy chair before him was Jacob. The cool night air entered through the open doorway, but Richard felt no stirrings of icy coldness. He only knew the blazing warmth of the fire.
"Do you know why I've asked you here, Richard?" questioned Jacob kindly. He inclined his head in a curious manner.
Richard Alpert shook his head in response.
"I asked you here because I have two things to give you: knowledge and a gift."
Most people would have inquired about the gift first, but Richard Alpert was not most people. "What knowledge do you wish to give me?"
Jacob smiled knowingly. "A very long time in the future, a sympathetic organization of people is going to arrive on this island. They will know of your existence, and they shall have an identification question to ask of you. You will answer this question correctly, and then you will combine your forces in order to set things right."
"Things will not be right on this island in the future?" Richard shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he stood. "What makes you think that?"
Jacob sighed. "There is someone who…wishes me harm. This…harm will be the instance that will upset the delicate balance of the island."
Richard knew better than to question the exact identity of the person. "Why does this someone wish you harm?"
"Because…because this person is not a humble person. He is proud, and jealous. My powers are more…advanced than his, but yet he feels he deserves to be superior. Add that to the fact that we disagree on a very central issue, perhaps the most central issue of the entire universe…and he just does not want me around any longer."
"Can we do anything about this person?" asked Richard.
Jacob replied, "No. I cannot. The laws of the island forbid me. But you can. You must help the group that will come to you in the far future."
"But Jacob…I'm not like you. I don't stay the same age like you do. I age like a normal human. What are you saying?"
Jacob leaned closer in his chair. "How would you like to be like me? How would you like to stay the same age forever?"
That threw Richard. Jacob was asking if he wanted to be practically immortal. To be a god among men. Some would jump on that opportunity right away with hesitation. But again, Richard was different. He was smart enough to realize that being immortal would come with strings attached. It was as much a curse as it was a blessing.
Jacob repeated his offer softly. "Will you help me, Richard?"
And then in that moment, Richard made a snap decision. "Yes. I will."
~/~/~/~/
Richard came to his senses in the middle of the clearing with a pounding headache. He sat up slowly, a hand to his temple, wincing. He then stood gingerly, swaying all the while. Conflicting thoughts swirling through his still-woozy mind.
Why would John do that? Jacob…dead? By Ben's hand?
Richard didn't believe it. He simply didn't believe that Jacob, the ultimate benefactor, the man in charge of this sacred island, could be dead. Dead applied to other people. Richard just didn't think that that rule was in effect in Jacob's case.
As Richard exited the tree line, feeling the soft sand of the beach move beneath his weary feet, he became aware of the telling sounds of rifles being pointed at him. He raised his hands to let his people know that he was not a threat. Good to know that they're always vigilant.
The Others lowered their rifles when they saw that it was only Richard. Sun moved slightly forward from the rest of the people gathered on the beach in the shadow of the statue. "What happened? Where's John?"
Before Richard could give a response, he heard the rustling of bushes behind him. Which meant that another person was quite near. He didn't understand. Was John coming back?
The person came into view, stepping away from the jungle onto the beach, hands raised. "Don't shoot!" exclaimed a feminine voice.
Richard gaped in sheer surprise and disbelief. He was barely able to comprehend the person's unscathed face illuminated by the dim glow of the posted torches.
The intruder was Juliet.
Please, please take the little time to leave a review! They make my day!
This is my first ever LOST fanfic, and I'd like to know if my writing totally sucks, if I should continue, or what. So please review!
That was a pretty epic season finale, wasn't it?