You are all welcome to the official longest chapter I've ever written here on Fanfiction.

Enjoy!

0o0o0o0o0o0

"So, you didn't seem surprised," Annie voiced after a few minutes of silence.

Ben would have shrugged if his arms hadn't been tied to a tree. "There's nothing to be surprised about. I know who's coming, I know there's four of them, and I know why they're hear."

"And why's that?" But Ben didn't answer and Annie sighed. "You seemed pretty adamant against them coming."

"That's because they're dangerous," he replied dryly, "Yet no one wants to listen."

Annie smirked. "I think they've all just accepted the fact that you're a pathological liar."

"A pathological liar who knows what he's talking about. And I've got to do something about it." He looked her straight in the eyes. "Annie, I need your help."

She raised a brow. "Why?"

"Because I need you to untie me and give me your gun."

Annie was silent as she thought. "You want to kill whoever they bring back here."

He nodded his head, not even trying to deny it. It would've been futile to do so anyway, nothing ever got passed Annie. "I have to, or they'll kill us. It's us or them, Annie. Now, please, let me go."

"Don't you think we should hear them out first?"

"And give them a chance to convince the rest of you that they're the good guys?" He scoffed in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"I am," she replied adamantly. "You're expecting everyone to choose between believing them and believing you. Why would anyone ever be stupid enough to believe you?"

Ben was silent for a moment as he looked hard at Annie. "This Island is my home and I will do everything that I can to protect it. These people will tear this Island a part, and I'll be damned if I ever give them a chance to do so!" His eyes flashed with something resembling righteous anger and determination. Annie believed him. The truth was clearly written on his face. These people, whoever they were, were dangerous and would kill them all. But that didn't mean she trusted Ben enough to actually untie him and willingly put her gun in his hands! Absolutely never going to happen!

"Say I believe you, Ben. And say I believe that these people are who you say they are. Why do we have to kill them?"

Ben sighed. "Because I know who their boss is, and killing these people will buy us just enough time to formulate a plan before he sends others."

"Who? Who is their leader?" Annie doubted she would recognize the name, but curiosity compelled her to ask. Ben shook his head and refused to answer. "Ben, you want me to untie you? Tell me who it is."

"Charles Widmore. It's Charles Widmore."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Oh my God...really?"

Ben nodded. "Now, if you'll please?" He dipped his head to motion towards his bindings. But she shook her head.

"You didn't actually believe I would cut you loose, did you?" She chuckled at the realization that she had actually succeeded in fooling him. Annie shook her head. "Not while you have a death wish on these people."

His eyes widened with shock. She had just played him! "But you believe me-" he began to argue.

"Yes-"

"I have to kill them-"

"I say we hear them out first. Do you know which one Locke is bringing back?"
Ben nodded. "A woman named Charlotte Lewis."

"How d'you know that?"

He rolled his eyes. "Because it was clearly a woman who screamed, and she's the only woman on the team."

Annie raised her arms in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. I'm not Mr. Know-It-All like you, remember?"

Ben smirked and tried to hide a chuckle. "I missed that humor," he admitted, low under his breath. He didn't think she would hear him but, of course, she did. Her sharp intake of breath was enough of an indication of that.

His eyes met hers, and her expression was neutral, but her eyes were sparkling with shock. "Ben -" she began but never got to finish.

The company had returned.

0o0 Flashback 0o0

"Why don't you just move in with her?" His father asked him as he unloaded the last of the crates into the Swan's storage room.

"I don't know, Dad. It just never seems like the right time to bring it up."

"Well, you two are practically already living together. Even Alex stays there. Why don't you just get it over with?"

Ben pursed his lips together to keep calm. His was heart was already racing hard. If only his father knew – that he had just said goodbye to her. She had gone into that jungle and he would never be able to see her again, much less be able to move in with her. Ben made up an answer and concentrated on keeping his voice as steady as possible. "I don't just want to move in, Dad," he explained as he got into the van and his dad started driving to their next destination. "I want to do right by her."

"So marry her, Ben. For God's sake, you're 24, and you've had a crush on this girl since we first got here."

Ben couldn't help but smile as he remembered the first time he had met her. I'm Annie, she had said and then she had handed him an Apollo bar. We can have as many as we want.

"You really think I should marry her?"

Roger chuckled. "It's not like she's going to say no, is it? I never understood why, but that girl's nuts about you."

"I don't know why either," he admitted in a small voice. Guilt was clawing at him. She had seen something in him and he had betrayed her by lying and sending her away all on her own.

Roger glanced at his son and saw his troubled expression. "Come on, Ben. She must've seen something. Annie seems like a smart girl."

"She is," pride laced his voice. But not smart enough to figure out what I'm really capable of.

"Then just swallow your nerves and ask her to marry you."

"Who knew you could give relationship advice, Dad." Ben remarked dryly and Roger laughed.

As soon as the van was parked, Ben looked out over the lush green of the valley. He removed his glasses and then watched as his father opened a can of beer and took a sip.

"Well, you can't say it isn't beautiful," he remarked and Ben forced a tight smile before looking down at his watch.

It was time.

"If it helps, I promise I'll try my very best to remember your birthday next year."

Ben didn't believe a word his father said. He looked at his dad and then reached into his duffel bag and pulled out his gas mask. "I don't think that's going to happen, Dad."

"What are you talking about?"

…...

"Goodbye, Dad."

0o0 Flash to Present 0o0

Annie and Ben watched in silence as a woman with red hair was led by Locke and surrounded by the rest of the group. She sat down, clearly exhausted, but definitely curious enough to ask questions.

"I just can't believe you're all alive. How many of you are there?"

Ben hoped no one would be stupid enough to actually supply her with answers. Of course, he was wrong to hope. Hugo spoke up. "Forty-eight of us survived the crash, that's not counting the tail section. They're pretty much all dead now..."

"Hugo," Locke interrupted him and gave him a look that clearly meant he wasn't to say anymore.

Charlotte turned her attention to Claire. "Is that your baby?" She asked, motioning to the child in her arms.

Claire nodded. "Yes, this is Aaron."

"Did you have him here on the island?"

"Yes, I did."

"That's amazing."

Annie glanced over at Ben and saw that his eyes were firmly planted on the gun tucked in the back of Karl's pants. She rolled her eyes and made her way over to him. "You'll never be able to get it, ya know?"

Ben looked up at her and raised his eyebrows. "I know. Which is why I really need your help."

Annie looked over at the group, hoping that no one could hear them. "I can't let you go, Ben."

"Just listen to me. This woman needs to stay here, no matter what. She cannot be given a chance to find her people and tell them all about us. You need to keep an eye on her."

"Why me?"

"Well, I'm kind of tied to a tree right now, and no one else will actually listen to me," he replied. "Just watch her alright?"

Annie nodded. "Fine."

"And do not let her get away."

"I think Locke can handle it. He seems pretty capable."

"And if he can't, then it's up to you. Or else we all go up in flames. Alright, Annie?" He asked urgently. "You understand?"

She gave him a curt nod and turned her attention back to Charlotte. It looked like the group was preparing to leave again.

"Get up," Locke commanded Charlotte, "You're coming with us. Annie untie Benjamin." Annie moved to do as she was told, sharing a quick glance with Ben. Maybe he wouldn't need her help after all. He eyed Karl's gun again, but the boy had moved way beyond his reach. So much for that.

"What?" Charlotte asked, clearly confused. "We need to stay where we are so they can find us."

Locke smirked and walked up to her. "See, there's your problem. We don't want to be found."

"What the hell is wrong with you people? Why not?"

Locke didn't answer. There was an erupting sound from above them, and when they looked up, they could see a red flare flying through the air.

"That's them. That's somebody from my team," Charlotte cried happily, but when she saw the unimpressed looks of the rest of the group, she frowned. "What's wrong with you people? We're here because of you. I almost died jumping out of a helicopter because you called us for help!"

"Maybe we should go see who launched that flare," Hurley spoke up and Claire agreed.

"Yeah, I mean, they could be hurt, John."

Locke shook his head. "She's lying. And whatever they came for, it isn't us. We keep moving forward as planned."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and patted her hands on her thighs. "Fine. You people do whatever you want." She turned to leave but Locke stopped her.

"I want you to come with us."

"I'm not asking for your permission to leave."

Annie looked at Ben and saw that he was eying her urgently. Something needed to be done. Charlotte needed to be stopped. Her eyes plead for him to give her an answer, to tell her what to do. She knew that if Charlotte left, bad things would happen to the rest of them. Before she even knew what was happening, two gunshots were fired and hit Charlotte square in the chest. The red-haired woman fell to the ground as everyone turned and looked straight at Ben. But it wasn't Ben who had fired the shots. Annie's rifle was raised and still pointed at the woman.

Out of nowhere, Sawyer had knocked the gun out of her hands and had pushed her up against the tree, his pistol pointed straight at her. "What did you do?"

"What I had to," Annie replied hotly, but heads turned back to Charlotte as she slowly began to sit up.

"Vest," she muttered under her breath and Locke moved to unzip her coat. Underneath, she was wearing a bulletproof vest. Annie's attempt at stopping Charlotte had only managed to knock the wind out of her. The woman would be fine.

0o0 Flashback 0o0

Lines of people walked through the jungle. Richard led the procession by the light of his torch. Ben stood on one side of him and Widmore was on the other. Forty or so men and women followed behind them. The men bore lifeless bodies on their shoulders. The women carried bouquets of wildflowers.

They marched for what seemed like hours until Richard led them to a small clearing in the jungle, and in the middle of that clearing was a large pit that the men had dug earlier that day. One by one, the men came up and dropped the bodies into the pit. The women cried as there seemed to be no end to the corpses. Men, women, children, all laid together in the earth, never to rise again. Blood coated the faces of the dead, a testament to the way that they had all perished: through the gassing of their village.

Richard, Ben, and Widmore silently watched on as the last of the bodies were laid in the pit, and then, when Richard nodded his head, the women came forward and threw their flowers down upon the pile of bodies and then they stepped back. The men and women formed a circle around the pit with Richard, Ben, and Widmore at the front of it, looking down on the dead.

Richard took a deep breath to steady himself and then he spoke. "Today is a reminder that life is short and can end when one least expects it. One life is taken and another lives. But that does not make the passing of these any easier to bear. They died so that we might live. For that, we can never express the depth of our gratitude for their sacrifice." He reached down and grabbed a pile of dirt in his hand. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." He threw the dirt into the pit. Widmore was the next to do so, and then Ben. Everyone else followed suit. Once they were finished, Richard spoke again. "Our lives begin anew to today. May their deaths never come to waste."

The service was finished and the men and women began their procession back to the Initiative. Only Richard, Widmore, and Ben remained.

Richard turned to Widmore. "I would like to speak to Benjamin alone, if you please."

Charles nodded his head solemnly and turned to lead the rest of the people back.

Ben swallowed as he looked down at the pile. He could recognize so many faces. Laying right beneath him was Horace himself. That man had been such a good friend to him. He gritted his teeth to keep from cracking.

"Are you alright?" Richard asked him.

He nodded curtly. "Of course. As you said, life goes on."

Richard frowned. "That speech was only designed to help the others. We are murderers, Ben, plain and simple."

"What choice did we have? Jacob ordered it. We had to obey."

"I just wish it hadn't meant their deaths. They were innocent."

Ben shook his head. "They weren't all innocent."

"Why didn't you want to bring your father back to lay with the rest of them? He could've received a proper burial."

"You know why I didn't. My father doesn't deserve a proper burial. Not after everything he's done to me."

Richard nodded his head. "I do understand, Ben. But I didn't suggest it for his benefit. Don't you think you would be given peace if you knew that he was here with his people?"

"My father hated it on this Island. These weren't his people, just like I wasn't his son." Ben looked at Richard. "I want my father to stay out there."

"Whatever you want, Ben." Richard peered down into the pit. "Did you lose anyone close to you?"

Ben pointed down at Horace. "That's Horace Goodspeed. He was always kind to me."

"And that's all?"

He swallowed and nodded. "Yes." It was a lie. He knew it was a lie. But she wasn't buried here.

Richard turned to face him and patted him on the shoulder in a sign of comfort. He smiled sadly. "Thank you for your service, Ben. We couldn't have done this without you."

Ben nodded his head. "You're welcome, Richard."

"We best be getting back."

0o0 Flash to Present 0o0

Out of nowhere, Sawyer had knocked the gun out of her hands and had pushed her up against the tree, his pistol pointed straight at her. "What did you do?"

"What I had to," Annie replied hotly, but heads turned back to Charlotte as she slowly began to sit up.

"Vest," she muttered under her breath and Locke moved to unzip her coat. She was wearing a bulletproof vest. Annie's attempt at stopping Charlotte had only managed to knock the wind out of her. The woman would be fine. But at least Annie had succeeded in stopping her from going anywhere. For now.

Sawyer turned his attention back to her. His hand was wrapped around her throat and she was staring down the barrel of his gun. "You just shot that girl."

"Yes, it would seem that I did," Annie replied simply.

"Why d'you do it?"

"Because she's dangerous, and can't be trusted to go out there and find her people. They'll kill us all!"

Locke was staring at her and began to approach her. "You know who you remind me of?" He asked and then paused. "You remind me of him." He pointed an accusatory finger at Ben, whose hands were still tied by the vine, but the vine was hanging limp. Annie had released it when Sawyer had backed her into the tree. Locke must have noticed Ben's newly found freedom because he walked up to him and pushed him into the tree next to Annie. "Did you do this?"

He scoffed. "In case you didn't notice, I don't have a gun, John."

Locke looked at Annie. "Did he say something to talk you into shooting that woman?"
Annie rolled her eyes. "Do I look like a woman who follows orders? I shot that woman to save all of you!"

"You wanna know what I think," Sawyer hissed, "I think you're just as dangerous as Yoda over there."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" She fired back sarcastically and Sawyer gritted his teeth. Ben fought to suppress a chuckle. Annie continued hotly, "Because the way I see it, Ben's the only one who knows anything at all about this! He knows who she is, why she's here. He knows what they're planning to do. So, if I'm as dangerous as him, I'll take that as much of a compliment as I can, because that means that I have a better chance at survival than the rest of you!"

Sawyer squinted his eyes hard at her and then turned to Locke. "What do we do with her?"

Locke shrugged. "What do you suggest, James?"

"Well, I ain't killing her, if that's what you're asking."

"No, I agree. Maybe she should be the one tied up."

Annie scoffed. "How? You're using all the vines on – what did you call him – Yoda?"

Sawyer smirked at her and then looked at Locke. "I say we switch 'em out."

"James, I think that's a brilliant idea." Locke moved to remove the vines from Ben's hands and he passed them over to Sawyer who proceeded to tie Annie up.

"What do you mean, switch us out?" She asked in confusion as he finished tying her bindings.

He didn't answer. "Locke, you want me to do it?"

"Do what?" Annie was feeling very nervous now. Were they thinking of...

"No, James. This is my mess. I'll clean it up." John held out his hand and Sawyer placed his gun into the outstretched palm. Annie's heart plummeted. They were thinking of doing it. She suppressed a gasp as Locke lifted the gun and pointed it right between Ben's eyes. NO.

She wasn't the only one in protest. Annie heard Alex shout for them to stop, but Locke turned and looked at Danielle. "Danielle, I think you'd better escort Alex away from here."

Alex fought against her mother's arms for a second but the moment Karl stepped up and said that he agreed with Locke, she looked at him and then at her father. There was nothing she could do. She allowed Danielle and Karl to start leading her away.

"John, don't you think we should talk about this?" Claire voiced in disapproval, but Locke shook his head.

"Claire, what if one of the bullets had hit you or the baby?"

"He's not the one who fired the gun."

"No, but I have a feeling that he had something to do with it. You told her to, didn't you?" He asked, addressing Ben.

Annie groaned. "You people are idiots! I already told you I chose to shoot her."

"And you're telling me Ben had nothing to do with influencing your decision?" John fired back and Annie could say nothing. Locke nodded as his point was made. "You see," he said, addressing the group, "This man is dangerous. He not only tried to kill me, but he's manipulative. Who's to say he hasn't been lying the whole time! He needs to go." John clicked back the safety.

But Ben stopped him. "John, you can't do this. I have information you need."

John smirked. "Fine. What's the black smoke?"

Ben's eyes widened, clearly surprised that that was the question the man would choose to ask. "What?"

"The black smoke!" John growled angrily. "Tell me what the black smoke is."

"I can't," Ben ground out.

"Goodbye, Benjamin." Locke's finger wrapped around the trigger and Annie didn't know what to do but shut her eyes tight. She didn't want to watch this. But the shot never came. She was sure it would have if Ben hadn't spoken up again.

"Her name is Charlotte Lewis," he admitted, revealing some of the knowledge he contained, "Charlotte Staples Lewis." The woman's eyes lit up in surprise. "Born July second, nineteen seventy-nine, Essex, England. Parents David and Jeanette. Eldest of three, all girls. She was raised in Bromsgrove. Did her undergraduate studies at Kent. Took her PhD in Cultural Anthropology at Oxford. She's here with two other team members and a pilot. Their names: Daniel Faraday, Miles Straume, and Frank Lapidus." Everyone was silent, especially Charlotte, and even Annie. She hadn't known his knowledge extended to such lengths. She hated to admit it but she was actually impressed. Ben looked at Locke. "Your instinct was right, John. These people are a threat, and if you shoot me you'll never know how great a threat they were. Because I know what they're doing here. I know what they want."

Sawyer frowned at him. "What do they want?"

Ben pursed his lips, considering whether or not he should tell them. If he did, they would know his greatest secret. If he didn't, Locke may or may not decide to kill him. How big of a risk was he willing to take? He didn't have to decide, as it turned out, because Annie decided for him.

"They're here for him, Sawyer. They want Ben."

Ben looked at her in surprise. How had she known? When he looked back at Locke, he saw that the man was eyeing him hard. "Is that true?"

He nodded. "Yes, John, it's true."

"And how do you know all this?"

Smirking, he looked straight at Charlotte and replied in a chilling voice, "Because I have a man on their boat."

0o0 Flashback 0o0

Ben opened the door of his bungalow and peered out into the dark night. Not a star was in the sky and no one was on the street. It was silent as the grave as he stepped outside and closed the door as quietly as he could behind him. He walked down the sidewalk briskly, suddenly wishing that he had brought a sweater. It was chilly out. Ben turned to look behind him and when he saw that no one was following him, he broke out into a run towards the west boundaries of the village.

Within fifteen minutes, he was standing in front of the pylon fence where he had said goodbye to Annie that very same morning. He peered into the jungle but couldn't see anything through the dark. She would be waiting for him to come and get her, as he had promised, but he knew that he wouldn't. Who knows what Richard would do if he found out that Ben had spared one of the Dharma's citizens. And he didn't want to risk finding out.

Ben walked up to the pylon fence, typed in the code, and heard the buzz of the electricity die down. He crossed over unharmed and entered the jungle. He knew where she was, he could find the specific tree in the dark, literally. And he did.

Crouching behind a thick mass of underbrush, he saw her sitting on the ground, her back resting against the tree. As Ben's eyes increasingly got more adjusted to the dark, he could just barely make out her form. He couldn't tell if she was asleep or not. She was using her backpack as a pillow and her arms were curled tightly around her body. She must be freezing in this chill.

He was beginning to regret coming. It was taking all of his will power not to reveal himself to her right then and there. To take her and rescue her.

Ben's lips tightened as he shifted to turn away. A twig snapped under his foot, and in the otherwise silent jungle, it seemed to echo. He stayed absolutely still, hardly daring to breathe, hoping that she hadn't heard.

"Hello?" His heart dropped the moment he heard Annie's voice. "Who's there?" Her voice quivered in fear. She must be so afraid, all alone. He swallowed hard and dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands. Ben bit his lip hard enough that he draw blood. "I know someone's out there?...Ben?" Tears burned in his eyes. "Is it you? Ben...please..." She was pleading with him to come out, to find her, to save her, and to bring her home. "Please..."

She became silent and her breathing eventually grew heavy. He knew she must have fallen asleep. A hand reached up to wipe away the few tears that had fallen, and then he turned to walk away. "Goodbye, Annie," he whispered as he got farther and farther away.

0o0 Flash to Present 0o0

Ben was being pulled beside Annie. It turned out that the group hadn't minded going out and getting more vines to tie him up. Sawyer was leading Annie, and Danielle had Ben's vines firmly in between her fingers. Annie winced as the harsh fibers dug into her wrists. No wonder Ben's flesh was so raw and bloody. And yet, he acted as if nothing pained him. So she tightened her mouth, held her head up high, and refused to show any pain just like him.

"You ready to give us the name yet, Gizmo?" Sawyer looked over and asked Ben.

"He's not going to tell you who his spy is on their boat, James," Locke called over his shoulder.

"Yeah? Why not?"

Locke stopped and turned around. "Because that's the only thing keeping him alive."

Sawyer raised his gun up and pointed a finger at it. "Well here's an idea: Why don't we take a gun, point it to his big toe, send that little piggy to market."Annie looked at Ben and saw an amused grin spread across his face. She couldn't help but grin too. Sawyer did sound pretty ridiculous, yet he still continued. "And if he still doesn't want to tell us, we'll move on to the roast beef. Now why don't we do that?"

"Cause then we'd have to carry him."

Annie scoffed just slightly and Sawyer shot her a nasty look. "Find that funny, Red?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. And I don't appreciate the nicknames."

"All the more reason-"

Ben rolled his eyes at the hot-headed man. "Just leave her alone, James."

"You shut up," he shot harshly at Ben before his frown turned into a smirk. "Ehhhh, I see what's going on. Aren't you a natural-born Prince Charming."

"What?" Ben asked him increduously, followed by Annie echoing him.

Sawyer looked at Annie and then at Ben. "Never mind," he said with a smirk, and before he could say anything else, Locke spoke up.

"No, Hugo, it was here."

"Well, what's in this cabin that's so important anyway?" Hurley asked.

Ben smiled. "John's looking for someone to tell him what to do next."

Locke chose to ignore him and put his hands on his hips. "I guess I was mistaken. It doesn't matter, the plan's the same. We keep moving. The Barracks aren't far."

Sawyer nodded and pointed a finger at Charlotte. "Yeah, and Red here was wearing a vest. Which means her posse's gonna come expecting themselves a gun fight."

Hurley was frowning as he spoke up. "If all they want is her, maybe we should just let her go? I mean, I thought we were just gonna go hide. Why do we need to take prisoners?"

"Because she's valuable to us."

"What do you mean?" Hurly asked in confusion.

"He means as a hostage, love," Charlotte supplied and Hurley's eyes widened.

He shook his head. "No, that's not what I signed up for."

As Locke and Hurley battled it out, Annie turned to Ben. "So, where's this cabin Locke was looking for? Or is he as crazy as he seems?"

"Oh, the cabin exists. It just moves from place to place. John would never have found it back here."

"It moves?" Annie stared at Ben in disbelief. "Are you insane?"

He shook his head. "Not in the slightest. You could ask John if you wanted."

Annie shrugged. "You've been mostly right so far." She turned back to look at John who was staring hard at Hurley. They were standing only inches away from each other. John opened his mouth to speak.

"We're beyond compromise. And right now, Hugo, I'm making the decisions. Is that going to be a problem for you?"

Annie raised her eyebrows and leaned sideways to whisper to Ben. "Right now, I think he's scarier than you."

"Really?" Ben sounded surprised, but his lips twisted up in an obvious expression of humor. "Didn't think I'd ever hear you say that."

"Well, you've heard it now, Benjamin Linus," and she smirked right back at him.