Summary: Richard and all who live on it have to deal with the Island falling apart before their eyes. (set in an AU version of the Sideways-verse in season 6)
Notes: This was first written after 6x01-6x03 ("LA X" 2-parter to "What Kate Does") aired, and is now a complete AU. Experimenting with mixing past and present tense for certain scenes.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to LOST.
Ch. 1
The Earth shook beneath Richard and the rest of his people. News of the Dharma's Swan site wasn't any better-nothing but a gaping hole. Even worse, toss a rock into it, and no matter how long the wait, no sound of it hitting the bottom occurred. And still it shook around that area, and his people were sure there were whispers in the high whistling that came from the hole, and they swore the pit continued to widen and deepen imperceptibly.
When Ellie woke up, Richard told her to bury her son quickly. He said they should leave soon.
###
"Is now really the best time?" Jacob asked calmly, standing just outside the statue's shattered foot. Richard stood to the side, his dark eyes shifting from him to the Monster. (Even if Jacob called him by another name, Richard could never stop seeing him as anything but that.)
"It's the perfect time," replied the Monster with a matching peace, before leaving his human guise for that of an unending black cloud, as if born from a devastating fire. Its metallic click went on and on, straight from nightmares Richard still occasionally had, from when he had first met the thing, when it had roamed more free, before Jacob had managed to bind him in service…until now.
Richard was almost certain that just as the explosion had struck the Island at its breaking point, it had also somehow unleashed the Monster. In other words, this was his fault as well. He should never have allowed them to-
"I'm evacuating our people. Maybe warn some of the Dharma Initiative too, if they haven't got the message already." Richard's voice was blank, though inside he was startled at how unlike a request that sounded. He stepped back, giving Jacob room; he had sensed the very energy starting to crackle around him, boiling the ocean air.
"Good luck," was all Jacob offered for a blessing as he switched into something to match his eternal foe. This was a shape Richard had only seen once, when he had still been mortal.
Jacob seemed at first to ridiculously turn into a cloud of smoke as well, a white mass-but soon a less pristine white, furred snout with a gray nose protruded from the cloud, and as it stretched, its rows and rows of white teeth glistened in the sunlight. Soon an unnaturally large Wolf was snarling at the smoke Monster, saliva dripping from its fangs and its icy blue eyes, for all their familiarity, burned with a fire's blue hot intensity.
The sounds of their bodies crashing against each other echoed behind Richard as he turned his back on them to return to camp.
###
Roger Linus' death in another quake that ripped yet another canyon into the earth was the deciding factor in Richard's mind: Ben would go back to the Dharma Initiative.
His meeting with Horace had been mercifully quick, and the mathematician gratefully accepted a still groggy Ben. (The child's recovery had been slow-everything going to hell didn't help-and still was, as Richard absently reminded the man.)
Richard later received reports that Horace, his wife, their son, and Ben had left the Island on the latest sub.
###
"You found no survivors?"
Dr. Chang had found Richard busy helping his people and other remaining Dharma recruits work on the sonar fence. The truce had finally turned into a still very hesitant alliance, but Richard found Chang had always seemed the most practical among the Dharma Initiative, and apparently not above any opportunity for information he wanted.
"Who are you looking for?" Richard asked without turning away from the wiring he was fiddling with. Giving a sigh, Richard didn't wait for an answer (since when had he become so impatient?): "No one in the immediate area survived that explosion. You just barely made it out alive."
After Chang leaves on the next sub with even more people, the combined might of Jacob and the Monster crashing into the fence finally destroys the thing. Of course together they could do it.
###
Eloise took Charles' hand, then turned back, finally realizing.
"Richard?" She hated how her voice still sounded so damn quizzical, so ignorant and almost child-like.
"What?"
"Aren't you coming?"
He shook his head matter-of-factly. "Not until everyone is off."
Richard hadn't mentioned this when they had all went over today's arrangement last night-more like when he convinced Charles and her that his advice was the best. He had insisted that she should depart with the next group of their people and Dharma's leaving the Island. Primarily he cited the infant growing in her womb, finally snapping that if her son dies, then everything was for nothing. Richard had been absolutely adamant that Charles should go with her.
As Eloise sat in the sub, her hand in Charles', the other over her belly, it occurred to her that she should've known all along-it really went without saying that Richard would stay (perhaps even after everyone else left-this was not a pleasant thought).
###
Esau had seen the signs immediately after the Incident, and so did Jacob. While for Esau that meant his last bid for freedom, to Jacob, this was it. Had to draw the line here. Esau could not be allowed to return home to the Outside, Mortal World, to conquer and rule and entertain every destructive desire he had.
This Island had been meant to imprison Esau, and Jacob fully intended to have it crash down upon him and entomb him forever.
###
"You should be grateful, Richard-you finally get to see the one you really hate the most die."
And with that, the Monster's human skin shed once more, and the smoky mass shot forward, colliding with Jacob's monstrous lupine form again. His blue eyes looked even more enraged.
Though he knew it was futile, Richard still tugged at his chains, the decayed ship suffocating on all sides.
The howling and screech of metal hit a fevered pitch.
What Richard truly hated was this place.
###
Their retreat caught off, every single inhabitant left on the Island took refuge in the Temple. It was little use when they all could feel the ground sink, and keep on sinking.
This would be the last quake.
###
Richard's eyes snapped open to a cheery blue sky.
His heart pounded, water in his ears, on all sides-
The man floated on his back, before quickly righting himself and looking around, waves splashing as he wildly turned.
The last thing he remembered was the Black Rock breaking in half, falling down the chasm as his chains broke, catching a glimpse of the Monster with a smoky tendril around Jacob's neck, Jacob's fangs slick with blood and black oil-and now, there was no Island in sight. Nothing at all but the blue sea stretching for miles around.
Jacob was the first thing Richard called out. Then the names of his people left on the Island: Cheryl, Matthias, Gwendolyn, Kyle, Winifred, Mikhail, Amelia-all of them. He called for Jacob again and again.
Richard pumped his arms and legs strong and fast and far, but no matter the distance he covered, he found nothing but water.
His voice was hoarse and cracking when he finally called for the Monster by name, Esau.
###
Again, Richard's eyes opened, and he didn't even have the energy to sigh.
He had dove into the water, and when his lungs protested, ignored them. When his eyes strained and blurred, even felt his arms and legs spasm and stiffen and slow, and darkness finally claimed him again-but not for the last merciful time. No, Richard was back here again, his body floating, and just waiting for the rest of his mind to catch up.
The theory nibbled at his mind again; maybe he was like the proverbial cat with nine lives-he just had much, much more than that small number.
Richard dove back down and blacked out several more times, only to find himself floating alone at the top again.
To repeat an action again and again, expecting the same result-Richard knew where this led. It was familiar, he had been there before, once or twice, long ago.
###
Richard had dealt with attacking animals before, healing from any injuries they caused, even regenerating limbs and such-but he had never been devoured whole before.
Thinking this would surely work, Richard bit down hard into his wrist, down his arm, and drew blood. He spat out as much metallic red from his mouth as he could, though he couldn't get it all off his teeth, it stuck fast. Richard watched the red filter into the water, waiting for the sharks...
He roughly cursed in Latin as the wound immediately began to heal. He scrambled, madly clawing at it. Finally the man decided to just let it heal, then rip the flesh open again.
When there was a rather large pool of blood mixing with the waters, Richard finally lost his patience. What could be taking the beasts so long? What could-
Richard immediately dove under the water, trying to remember if he had even seen any life at all, any natural aquatic creatures in his desperate search for someone, anyone, when he had gone under to escape it all...
When the man woke up floating on his back again with the cool air washing over him, he snarled another Latin curse. Richard had found no fish, no sharks, no animals at all, and he couldn't even go further down to continue his search, his lungs could only hold out for so long.
It was unsettling to think the Island's fallout had extended to every single creature in the area, but as far as he could see, it was true.
Richard was surprised he had enough energy to bark out a cracking laugh.
###
Of course, Richard didn't fight when the storm comes-what would be the point?
The whole world is dark now, the sky, the sea that tugged him down and up and side to side, bats him around like a feline toys with a mouse, and Richard doesn't even hope he's like a cat anymore-he knows there's no end. Knows this storm won't drown him, and even if it tears him to literal pieces, he would just regenerate and go on and on and on and on and on and on and-
Knows that when unconsciousness claims him, he'll wake up again, back where he started. Where everyone left him behind.
###
The child went on tip toe over the rail, and cried out to her father, pointing to the ocean below.
There was a man drifting all alone in the water, and her juvenile heart feared that she was looking at a dead thing.
To be continued
Notes: I've wondered if Jacob could've switched into a more monstrous form like Smokey/Not!Locke/Shape Shifter Big Bad could. I wanted to keep the white imagery, but thought a white cloud of smoke would've been odd, then I considered that super huge white wolves (i.e. Princess Monoke) are always cool, and it reminded me of crazy Vincent speculation.