A/N: Woohoo, how many people have seen the poster for Season Three? HECK YEAH! I'm ready NOW! (claps) Anyway, here's a chapter I've been waiting to post like forever cause ... well, yeah, you'll see. Please read and review, especially for this chapter cause well, yeah... you'll see so... READ AND REVIEW!

Chapter Thirty-Six: Lockdown
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"Got milk?"

"What's he doing out of his cage?" Faith tucked the gun back into her belt as she approached the table where Henry sat, both Locke and Jack staring down at him heatedly. "Didn't we talk about how letting him roam free was a bad thing?"

Both men ignored her and Jack leaned down to press his hands against the table, bringing his face closer to Henry's.

"Draw it again!" Jack pounded on the table. "I want you to draw me the exact map you drew Ana!"

"She's already gone."

He turned on Faith this time, eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean? You knew about this?"

"Not a second before you did." Faith shrugged and approached them. "As far as I'm concerned it's one big wild goose chase but Sayid and Charlie are going with her so I guess we'll find out."

"I don't believe this!" Jack jerked his bag up from the floor. "I have to go after them, we don't know what they're walking into. It could be a trap!"

Faith said nothing as he stormed past her and she caught Locke's gaze, cocking an eyebrow. "You gave him the good cereal?"

"They were out of Count Dracula."

"Shut up." She glared at Henry. "Jack and the super bunch will be busy for a while so that gives us some time. Plenty of time for more important things."

"I've already told you what I know. I haven't lied to you."

"You're lying to me now."

Locke reached out to grab her shoulder as she took another step forward and shook his head. "Don't. He wants a reaction from you." He cut Henry a sharp look. "It's time you went back in the armory."

"Already? But I didn't even get to- Hey!" He cried out as Faith grabbed him roughly by the arm and pulled him free of his seat. "You don't have to- Stop! You're hurting me!"

"Not nearly enough." She jerked her head towards the armory door and Locke took off, slamming it open in seconds. Faith ignored Henry's cries of pain, slinging him into the room with a smirk. She kept her eyes on him until the very second the door slammed shut between them.

"You can't stop this!" Henry pounded on the door as he yelled. "It's coming Faith and you can't stop it!"

Faith opened her mouth to respond but a knock made them turn around to see Libby in the doorway.

"Is this a bad time?"

They both stepped away from the door and Faith motioned at the dome. "Locke, check the button will you?"

He nodded and was gone, allowing her to think for a minute before she looked again at Libby still standing there in apprehension.

"What can we do you for?"

"Oh, it's my foot." Libby came towards her, limping slightly and she grimaced before motioning downwards. "I stepped on a sea urchin and I figured there might be some Neosporin around this place."

"Uh, maybe." She paused as once again Henry pounded on the doors.

Libby frowned. "What's uh, what's wrong with him? Is there something wrong with him?"

"Nothing to worry about, he's just a nut job." Faith watched as something flashed across Libby's eyes but the woman simply smiled.

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The whirl from the exercise bike alerted Faith as to Locke's location and she slouched against the couch cushions, staring blankly into space.

"At least he stopped yelling."

"What? Oh right." Faith glanced Libby's way only for a split second. "He finally stopped." She nodded, "Which is a good thing before I totally lost it and ripped his tongue out."

"Uh, yeah." Libby let out a nervous chuckle then refocused on putting ointment on her foot. "So is it true you guys really have to push that button every hundred and eight minutes?"

"Yep."

"Any clue why?"

"Nope."

"What do you think-"

"Be right back." Faith slid off the couch and moved towards the dome. She didn't let her breath escape until she had taken a seat at the desk. The computer screen was black, the counter still counting down and she leaned back with a sigh. The exercise bike continued to whirl in the background mixed with the sounds of Libby cleaning up in the kitchen but she remained where she was. She rubbed at her eyes as she listened, inching forward to set her elbows on the table.

Faith cupped her mouth and looked at the screen again. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the green cursor blinking steadily against the black. As she watched, three dots began appear. "What the-"

"Lockdown commencing."

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She shoved away from the table immediately, wheels sliding against the smooth floor and she leapt from the seat. "Locke!"

"2 minutes till lockdown." The female voice echoed through the loudspeakers in every inch of the hatch. "Please proceed. 2 minutes till lockdown. Please proceed."

"What is that?" Faith skidded into the living area, almost colliding into Locke. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. Is it the computer? Did you touch anything?"

"No, there was something blinking and then…"

The warning voice echoed again through the hatch. "Please proceed. Protocol. Please proceed."

"What's going on?" Libby glanced nervously between them. "What do we do?"

"Check the computer again." Locke pointed towards the dome, "I'll take a look at the main box and the speakers. Libby, just stay put. In case anything happens, stay away from the armory."

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Faith bent down in front of the computer but the screen was now completely blank. The counter was down to fifteen minutes but she ignored it and turned back to the hallway.

"Lockdown initiated. 4, 3, 2, 1." At the exact moment the voice fell into silence, the blast doors began to come down on all sides.

"Not good." Faith threw herself forward, rolling against the floor and she barely made it into the living area seconds before the blast door separating the dome from the computer room slammed shut. She remained on her back and took in a deep breath. "Guess those exercises with Sayid came in handy after all."

She climbed to her feet, dusting off her arms and caught sight of Locke by the blast door blocking the exit, a crowbar stuck between it and the floor. "Crowbar, why didn't I think of that?" She smirked, "Oh yeah, that's why."

"I didn't know what else to do!" Locke barked backing away from the door. "I don't have a clue what's going on."

"Are we going to be okay?"

"Libby, not now." Faith waved her hand dismissively, still staring at the blast door. "Do you guys smell that?"

"Smell what? Gas?" Libby wrapped her arms around herself. "Is it gas?"

"No." Faith took a step forward. "Something else, something… Are you sure you can't smell it?"

Locke shook his head. "Sorry Faith, I don't smell it either."

She approached the door, reaching out to trail her fingers along the concrete and lifted her hand to her nose. "Whatever it is, it's coating this door."

"What happened? I heard something!" Henry pounded on the armory door. "Locke? Anybody?"

Locke and Faith both directed their frustration at the door. "Shut up!"

"We need to do something. The timer for the button was down to fifteen minutes. If we don't get out of here…"

"We're going to need someone to be there while we get the door."

They both glanced over at Libby.

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"Let me get this straight. You want me to crawl through the air vent, drop to a floor lord knows is how far down, and then punch in some code when the alarm goes off?"

"That's the cliff notes version of it, yeah." Faith nodded popping her knuckles. "Think you can handle it?"

"But why me?"

"This is how this works Libby, you're new in our little group so that means you get to do all the fun stuff."

"But…"

"There's a grate in the food storage closet. Go."

Libby looked uncertain but turned slowly only to stop as Locke spoke.

"There might be a problem with that. I put screws in all the grates."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Fine. One screw free grate coming up." She walked past both of them, mumbling as she went. "Let's go Libby."

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"Are you sure you can get it open?" Libby paced back and forth, ringing her hands. "What if we're stuck here?"

"We can only be so lucky." Faith grumbled as she balanced herself on the piled boxes and glared up at the grate. "Locke sure wasn't kidding about the screws."

"I mean, if you can't, what are we gonna do?"

Faith slammed her fist against the grate, smiling in satisfaction as the screws immediately shook loose and the metal popped up. She jumped back to the floor, tossing the grate to the side. "Problem solved."

Libby took a step back, her eyes widening. "How did you-"

"Dharma screws, they're just not reliable." Faith paused at hearing Locke grunt from the living area, metal clanging following immediately after the sound of him swearing. "Damn it." She swore then shook her head. "Okay Libby, up you go."

"But…"

They both paused as a sudden beep echoed through the hatch, familiar and threatening as the countdown to the computer began.

"Libby! Time is running out!"

"I'm scared."

Faith grabbed her by the shoulders. "If you want to get out of here, you have to do this." She let her go and positioned her hands on her bent knees. "You can do this."

Libby bit her bottom lip but nodded, lifting her foot to place it on Faith's hands. "Okay. Let's do this."

Faith grinned, nodding as well and boosted Libby up, watching as she scrambled into the vent and disappeared.

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"Hey Mr. Clean, now's not the time to be rearranging the–" Faith stopped short at the sight of the blast door raised several inches off the ground with a metal toolbox under it.

"Just hold the box! I'll get us out!" He positioned himself on his back, sliding forward and she watched as he went halfway, the toolbox creaking under the weight of the blast door.

"Stop!" She stumbled back startled as the door shook and suddenly the toolbox broke in half, the door falling directly onto Locke's legs. Faith ran up to the door, panicking as Locke screamed in agony and struggled to free himself.

"What's going on?" Henry beat on the armory door. "Locke?"

Faith fell to her knees to survey Locke's legs, sliding her hands along the door. "You idiot!" She tried to grip the door, knocking away a piece of the toolbox beside her. "When I get you free of this, I'm kicking your ass!"

"My leg, my leg is caught in…" Locke threw his head back, hissing in pain. "I can't move."

"Blast doors on your legs tend to do that! We need to move you as soon as I lift the wall, can you do that on your own?"

"I don't know." He panted. "I'm not… I'm not sure I can."

Faith straightened and punched at the door so hard it shook. "Shit."

"Faith! Did you…" Locke cleared his throat. "What about the button?"

They both paused as the alarm suddenly stopped, the sounds of the ticker echoing towards them.

"Now we take care of you." Faith glanced around, cursing as nothing came into view that could help. Her gaze lingered on the armory door and she cursed again. "We're gonna need two people for this." She paused, "Three, we're gonna need three people for this."

"Henry… He's the only one."

"I don't trust him."

"Faith, please." Locke cleared his throat again, "Please."

She nodded. "Okay. Don't go anywhere."

"Very funny."

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"On the count of three, I'll lift and you pull, got it?"

"The whole door?" Henry's large eyes darted between Locke and the door. "Are you sure you can do that?"

"Just do what I tell you." Faith spat, glaring at him. "And Henry, if you pull anything other than Locke, I'll pull your arms off, we clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good," She positioned herself near the door on Locke's left, glancing down into his pained face. "You ready?"

He nodded.

"One, two, three!" Faith clutched the bottom of the door as hard she could, so hard her knuckles turned white, and she screamed as she slowly stood up. The door creaked against the strain as she lifted until she was completely under it, her arms fully extended. Faith ground her teeth together, holding the door above her head. "Pull him! Now!"

Henry grabbed Locke under the arms, grunting as he pulled the man's weight.

She paused as the lights suddenly flickered and went out, another system of lights clicked on and gave the room a dark glow. "Guys?" She stepped back and let the door go, the concrete falling straight down to smack back into the floor.

"What's the sitch, are you guys…." She glanced over her shoulder to see both Locke and Henry staring straight ahead and it took her a few minutes to realize they weren't staring at her but past her. Faith turned her head back to the door and immediately her eyes locked on the sight of the fluorescent markings on the door.

"I knew I smelled something!" She took a step back, all three of them looking at the map of connected hatches. The lights began to flicker again and Henry looked around in panic.

"What the hell is going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

"Wow." Libby took small steps into the living area, her eyes locked on Faith and her mouth hanging halfway open. "That was…."

"I know, no need to vocalize it for me, I was there." She gestured at Locke. "You gonna make it?"

"Might be a while before I'm winning any races but I think so."

"Good." Faith focused back on the door. "Let's get you to the couch. After we tend to your wounds, I'll lift the door again and Libby can go get help."

Libby nodded and she grabbed Locke's other arm, the three of them struggling but successfully making it to the couch.

"Libby, get some dishtowels. Find a belt to help stop the bleeding." She glared at Henry, "Sit and be a good boy or I'll use your head to jack open the door."

"I can try to help but… I'm not sure I can do anything even close to what you did." Henry came up quietly behind her. "What you did was beyond amazing."

"I thought I told you to sit down." Faith snapped and continued to study the door. "The doors were triggered, there was a countdown, not sure why… But if there's a countdown that means intervals so the doors should back up as well. Unless they're broken or something now, which wouldn't surprise me."

"I had confidence in you until that last part. Maybe we should just wait?"

"I don't remember asking you to make any suggestions!" Faith whirled around to face him and she shoved him back a few steps until he stumbled into the coffee table. Libby stepped away, clutching a towel to her chest and Faith ignored Locke as he pleaded for her to calm down. "Now sit down!"

"Faith, stop!" Locke raised his voice as Henry sunk onto the couch beside him and Libby moved to tend to his wound again.

They froze again as a loud beeping noise echoed around them only to immediately go silent. One by one the doors began to spring back up and she turned towards the door connecting the living area and hallway as it lifted.

"Finally!" Faith took a step forward at the sight of boots and jeans being revealed on the other side and she positioned her hands on hips as the blast door locked itself back into place. "I was beginning to wonder if anyone even noticed we were…" She paused at the sight of the single figure on the other side, the blonde hair framing the feminine face gazing back at her. "Have we met before?"

The woman sneered, moving forward quickly before anyone had a chance to process what was going on, and the sole of her black boot slammed into Faith's chest. It caused Faith to fly backwards and land on her back, a wracking cough exploding out of her chest as she rolled to her side.

"I'll take that as a no." Faith grunted clutching at her chest as she stumbled to rest on one knee. "I definitely would have remembered a greeting like that."

"Faith!"

"No!" Keeping her eyes on the woman, she ignored Locke. "Stay put, don't move. This won't take long."

The blonde moved forward with another kick but Faith was ready this time, catching the kick easily with two hands and gripping the boot firmly.

"The first hit is free." She shoved as hard as she could, her attacker flying back to hit the wall and crumble to the floor. "After that, you have to start paying." Faith leapt to her feet at the same time as the other woman. "Not really sure who you are sweetheart, but you're late." She ducked a wide swing, coming back to land a firm punch to the woman's groin. "I needed this workout weeks ago."

The hit barely fazed her attacker, the woman instead grabbing a hold of Faith's pants and bringing her leg up backwards in an arch to connect to Faith's face. She came at Faith full blast, Faith blocking the punches and kicks and she ducked from another wide swing, popping up behind the woman to kick her firmly in the back and send her flying to the wall again. The woman caught herself with her hands before her face made contact with the concrete and shoved away, turning as Faith followed. She snapped something free of her pants at the same time she caught Faith's clenched fist in her right. Faith froze; her eyes locked on the heated green orbs that stared back, and for a minute something shifted there, something not of anger or intent.

"Who are you?"

The woman blinked, the heat in her eyes immediately returning. Her hand came down and Faith screamed as the needle dug into her skin. She broke away, stumbling and grabbing her upper arm.

"I'm the one who kills you." The woman spun, delivering a solid kick to Faith's chest that sent her flying. The bookshelf shook as Faith collided with it and collapsed, books falling on top of her.

"Faith!"

She groaned as her attempt to stand failed and she slid back to the floor, leaning against the bottom of the shelf. She blinked still hearing Locke yelling in the background as Libby appeared beside her, blabbering ninety words a second.

"Mother of…" Faith felt her arm, knocking away Libby's searching fingers. "That bitch stabbed me!"

"Are you okay? Your lip is bleeding! What should I do, do I…"

"Just get away."

"My thoughts exactly." Jack's clear voice rang through the hatch, the gun in his hand trained clearly on the two sitting on the couch. Libby stood up and backed away, her eyes darting between Jack and Henry. "Get away from him right now."

"Jack, he…"

He ignored Locke as he moved forward, jerking Henry clear off the couch and Jack sneered, tossing the smaller man against the wall. "You've got some explaining to do, starting with this!"

Faith rubbed her hand against her mouth, swearing at the sight of the blood there, and she blinked as a hand extended into her vision of sight. Her eyes shifted upwards to see Ana staring down at her and with a small nod, she accepted to let Ana shoulder some of her weight as she stood.

"You're gonna tell us exactly what's going on here!"

"Jack, I don't think he knows what just happened! He helped us! He's not one of them, you have to stop this!"

"Shut up Locke!" Jack slammed Henry against the wall again, the man shaking and stuttering from fear. "Answer me! Who are you?"

Faith's eyes darted away from them to find Sayid but he was focused intently on Henry, something held in the tight grip of his right hand.

"I told you who I am! Please! I told you!"

"Yes, that is correct, you did." Sayid nodded moving to stand beside Jack. "You told us you were Henry Gale, that you crashed your balloon and buried your wife… only it wasn't your balloon was it?"

"Are you crazy? Of course it was! I told you where it was!"

"It wasn't your balloon and there was no woman buried in that grave. There was a man." He shook his head and lifted up the item in his hand to show it was a driver's license. "This man, a man whose name was Henry Gale."

TBC... READ AND REVIEW!