While there is still enough light, Ben heads toward the area near the net trap he had stepped into several days before, and finds his pack of supplies hidden suspended in a tree. The rain shower doesn't last long and ends. He gets out a flashlight and a walkie-talkie.

Ben: "Hello, anybody there?"

Ethan answers: "Good to hear from you. We're where you left that projection equipment."

Ben: "That's close by, I'll see you in a few minutes."

Ben gets there in a few minutes.

Ben: "What's going on?'

Ethan: "We got some film of Walt dripping with slime and wanted to scare someone."

Ben bounces up and down. "Oh goody, I'm overdue for some fun."


After dinner, Shannon is thinking of how happy Claire and Charlie, and Libby and Hurley seem. She comes up with an idea.

Shannon: "Sayid, why don't we go for a moonlight stroll?"

Sayid: "That sounds wonderful."

Shannon and Sayid go out and walk in the twilight. They wander near where Ben, Ethan, and Tom are hiding. They embrace and kiss each other just as Tom turns on the projector, so they don't see anything.

Vincent comes out of nowhere, sees the image of Walt, and chases it. Vincent barks, causing Shannon to look over Sayid's shoulder. Shannon gets a glimpse of the slime-covered boy, and then Tom turns off the projector as Vincent barks. When Walt disappears, Vincent gets confused and runs away.

Shannon: "Sayid! Walt was there!"

Sayid turns around. "No one's there this time. You must be imagining things. You associated Vincent's barking with Walt."

Shannon: ''No, I'm sure I saw him. He may need help. Help me look for him."

Sayid sighs. "All right, we can look for a minute."

Shannon and Sayid walk around.

Shannon: "Walt?"

When they are separated, Tom aims the projector in front of Shannon, and turns it on. Shannon gasps.

Image of Walt: ".dab si nottub ehT .nottub eht hsup t'noD .nottub eht hsuP."

The image appears to move away and then disappears.

Shannon: "Sayid! Walt's over here!"

Shannon chases after where she Walt go. Sayid turns around, does not see the image, and runs after Shannon.

Sayid: "Watch it, Shannon, you must be careful running in the dark."

Sayid almost catches up to Shannon, when Shannon's foot sticks in the net Ben had been trapped in, which is still lying on the ground. She stumbles, and falls into a branch pointing at her chest. She twists away just in time to avoid injury, but the branch yanks off her bikini top. Flailing, she grabs Sayid's arm and pulls him down with her. They roll down a small hill, getting entangled in the net with their bodies pressed together.

Shannon: "I guess we can get out of this by rolling in the other direction."

Sayid: "I guess we could."

They lay there in silence.

Shannon: "I can't go back like this. I lost my top."

Sayid: "I know. And it would be hard to find it in the dark."

Shannon: "If we stay here all night; we won't contribute to overcrowding in the hatch."

Sayid: "And if that really was Walt, he knows his way around here better than anybody else."

Shannon and Sayid snuggle and settle in for the night.


A short distance away, Ben, Ethan, and Tom are laughing.

Ben: "Well, that was entertaining. I got to get back to our village. You two make sure Michael and company do what they're supposed to."

Tom and Ethan pack up the projection equipment as Ben heads north. He calls to see if anyone is at the village.

Ben: "Hello?"

Juliet: "Ben! Good to hear from you. What's going on?"

Ben: "Michael released me, and is fulfilling his part of the bargain. How are things there?"

Juliet: "You mean Jack and Sawyer are finally coming here?"

Ben: "It looks that way, but you can never be sure. Is Bea there? What's going on over there?"

Bea: "Everything is under control. Walt is in good shape, and he's been taking more tests and we read "The Vermicelli Equation for Dummies."

Ben: "You let him know about that?"

Bea: "Actually Ethan gave it away, but it's seems all right. We have some data we need you to look at."

Ben: "Good. I think I'll make it to the Pearl tonight, and get to the village tomorrow."

Bea: "Okay, good night."

Bea goes over to Walt, who has just finished dinner and washing up.

Bea: "Good news. Your father is living up to his end of the bargain. I trust you will too?"

Walt hasn't had a chance to escape, but comes up with an idea. "Of course. I'm a man of my word."

Walt obediently goes to Room 23, and sees that the pendulum is now less than two meters from the table. He hops up, lies face down, and stretches out. "Can I sleep face down tonight? It would be something different, and I wouldn't have to look at that pendulum blade."

Bea is suspicious, but goes along with it. She straps Walt in securely, and starts rubbing his back. Walt strains and twists his wrists, but finds he can't reach the buckles. His latest escape plan isn't going to work. Bea notices Walt trying.

Bea: "Are you trying to do something?"

Walt: "I thought maybe I could scrape the buckles against the table and open them or something."

Bea: "Didn't you promise you wouldn't try to escape?"

Walt: "Actually, I only promised I'd let you tie me down here. And at least I got a back rub out of this."

Bea regards Walt, and then slaps him playfully on the butt. "Good night."


Ben makes it to the Pearl late at night. He enters, eats some of the food stashed there, and turns on the surveillance equipment. He sees that activity is going on like normal in the Pearl, and then falls asleep on a couch. He oversleeps.


When dawn comes, Shannon and Sayid wake up. They untangle themselves from the net, and find Shannon's pink bikini top, which stands out easily against the greenery of the jungle. They go back to the Swan Station. Sayid pulls Jack and Hurley to the side.

Sayid: "I've been thinking. Michael was acting very suspiciously last night. I think he might have been compromised."

Jack: "Are you sure? Michael always acts a little strange."

Sayid: "The way he wanted specific people for this rescue mission – it doesn't make sense. There must be some ulterior motive."

Hurley: "What do you think we should do?"

Sayid: "You should go along with Michael, and act is if we don't suspect anything. Some of us should take the sailboat up the coast, parallel to your group."

Jack: "Meaning including you, of course."

Sayid: "Of course. We'll keep tabs on you from the side, and if something's up, we'll have the element of surprise."

Jack: "Sounds like a plan."

Hurley: "Okay."

A short time later Michael comes by. Locke approaches stealthily from behind.

Michael: "Hey Hurley, you with us?"

Hurley: "Sure, dude. It would only be right to help Walt."

Michael: "Good. We'll leave now."

Hurley, Jack, Sawyer, and Kate get backpacks and load them with food and the few working weapons from the locker. They join Michael.

Michael: "We're going just about due north. It takes about a day and a half."

Everybody else wishes them luck.

They leave, and Locke finds Emma and Zach.

Locke: "Did you hear that? Now you have to follow them, but stay off to the side so they don't see or hear you., but try to hear what they have to say."

Emma: "Yes, we got it."

Zach: "This is going to be fun."

Locke: "Don't get carried away. Now off you go."

Locke announces to those who are left: "We're just going to do a little more training. We might be gone all day."

Locke, Emma, and Zach leave.

Sayid: "I discussed with Jack that Michael has been acting very suspiciously, and that some of us should go on the sailboat parallel to them in case something is up. We have a set of signals arranged. Of course I'm going, but who else wants to come along?"

Shannon: "I will."

Desmond: "I'm the one who best knows how to sail it. But whose turn is it to push the button?"

Claire: "Charlie and I haven't had a turn for a while."

Charlie: "I think Claire's right. It's settled then."

Libby: "I want to come. I don't want to be too far from Hurley."

Boone: "I need to get in on some action. I'd like to come."

Cindy: "Then can I go also?"

Sayid: "I think that's enough."

Eko: "This means that there won't be many left to work on my church."

Ana-Lucia: "So it won't be finished today. But I'll be there for you."

Sun: "It will be a nice change of pace for us. And Jin looks good at chopping down trees … I mean, is good at chopping down trees."

Jin: "Everybody knows you meant what you said the first time, but you're right."

Bernard: "Did you forget about Rose and me?"

No one wants to answer.

Rose: "Don't worry about it, I was ignored for a long time. We'd be delighted to help with the church."

Eko, Ana-Lucia, Sun, Jin, Rose, and Bernard head off to the site of the church and resume its construction.


Ethan and Tom report to Bea and Juliet via walkie-talkie that Michael's group is under way and everything is going as planned.


In the morning, Bea undoes the straps binding Walt to the table after another brief back rub. Walt sees that the pendulum blade is about a meter and a half above him. They go to the cafeteria to meet Juliet.

Walt: "So what are we going to do today?"

Juliet: "The big thing is when Ben returns. I'm sure he'll want to talk with you. In the meantime after breakfast we can play backgammon. You're due for a break today since tomorrow may be … "

Bea: "… very interesting."


Michael, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley hike most of the day. They get close to the blue line demarcating the Others' territory, when Michael suddenly falls to his knees, put his face in his hands, and cries.

Jack: "What's wrong, Michael?"

Michael: "I can't do it. It's a trap."

Kate: "What are you talking about?"

Michael: "I made a deal with those people to get Walt back. Release that guy in the hatch and bring you four to their village. In a mile or two past that blue line they're waiting to ambush us. You've been too good to me – I can't let that happen to you. And Walt didn't want me to at first. But when we saw what they were going to do …" Michael sobs and has to pause.

Jack is concerned. "You saw Walt? You know what they are going to do to him?"

Michael breaks down completely. "Yes, they had him tied down on a table, all stretched out, like on a rack. He was still wearing only that little loincloth of his. And over him they had this pendulum thing with a feather duster attached to the blade, and it's going to swing lower and lower until sometime tomorrow afternoon when it will just graze his stomach and tickle him. And there will be nothing to stop it when I don't show up with you all." Michael bawls louder.

Sawyer frowns. "So Benedict Arnold, you mean to say that you were going to betray us all just to keep that kid of yours from being tickled?"

Michael sobs some more. "Yes. The sight of him spread-eagled like that, and squirming and straining so hard to get loose when he had no chance, got to me."

Michael pauses to catch his breath. "I can't believe I might have used this." Michael takes out the gun he was hiding in his pack and hands it to Sawyer.

Sawyer: "Mickey D, this is a water pistol."

Sawyer squirts Michael.

Jack: "I guess they thought you were too unstable to handle a real gun."

Michael: "Guess they got that right. I don't know how I managed to hypnotize Ana-Lucia."

Kate pats Michael on the shoulder. "Don't be too hard on yourself; I can see how that might be upsetting to a parent."

Sawyer: "Yeah, but you know Walt-Mart can handle stuff like that."

Hurley coughs. "Yes, Walt came out fine after I had to tickle him to give him the strength to get loose from that tree."

Jack: "Parents have been known to go to great lengths to protect their children."

Michael: "Sure, but they don't have to betray people who trust them."

Jack: "But you didn't betray us. You only thought about it, but stopped before actually doing it. Parenting is tough, but I have to say I think you're the best parent here on this island."

Kate: "Michael's the only parent on the island."

Sawyer coughs. "There could be some doubt about that."

Michael stops sniffling and feels better. "Thanks guys. Walt tried to be brave. Before they strapped him under that pendulum he made me promise not to betray anyone to win his release, even if he said he changed his mind if they did something dastardly. So I guess I'm doing the right thing now. But I'm afraid he'll think I'm abandoning him."

Kate: "He may think that at first, but he'll appreciate you more in the long run this way."

Jack: "What did you find out about these people?"

Michael: "They have a regular community out there. They pretend to live primitively, but Walt got to tell me that's fake. They have a book club, and Walt got to be in some of those. They have cages they use as jail cells. They have computers, and I think they know all about us. They have lots of weapons and some kind of sonic security fence going all the way around their village. Someone had to turn it off when they brought me there and back. I'm afraid to think of what might happen if you tried to cross it while it was activated."

Sawyer: "What people did you meet?"

Michael: "Ethan was there, and some guy named Tom, had a beard that looked fake. Those two were pals, and acted alike. There was this young woman Juliet, who kept asking me about what you guys were like. I got the impression she was not satisfied with the men in that village, and based on what I saw I can't blame her. Then there's this Bea. She spent some time with Walt, and … I think she digs me. Actually, she couldn't keep her hands off me a lot of the time."

Kate: "Mike, you romantic devil, you."

Jack: "Did you find out why they took Walt?"

Michael: "They're giving him a lot of tests. They claim he has some kind of power that will benefit mankind, even though he looked totally helpless tied down on that table. He did say something … any of you heard of the Vermicelli Equation?"

The other four shake their heads.

Hurley: "Equations sound like something that Sayid might know."

Jack: "With my education I should have heard of that if it's a real thing."

Sawyer: "Did you find out why they wanted us four?"

Michael: "No. I don't think Walt knew either."

Kate: "Does anyone care that Michael let Henry go?"

Michael: "His real name is Ben Linus."

Jack: "Keeping that guy was a waste of time. All he did was consume our food and not tell us anything. We got a lot more information from Michael now than we were ever going to get from Henry … er, Ben."

Kate: "So what do we do now?"

Jack: "We need to make a plan."

Michael: "I should go on alone and face the consequences."

Kate: "But you might blab that we're onto them and that we're making a plan."

Sawyer: "We might not be trusting you for awhile. Better stick with us."

Hurley: "It won't do any good for you to get yourself captured again. We'll need everyone we can get."

Sawyer: "Why do we need to do anything? If Mini-Houdini escaped once, he might be able to do it again. And we know he can survive being tickled. Besides, Father Knows Best says they're well-armed and have all this security stuff. Sounds like we wouldn't have a chance."

Jack: "You're right; we need time to think this through. Time to let Sayid know what's going on."

Jack fires a rifle four times.

Michael: "What was that all about?"

Jack: "We didn't trust you, so a bunch of people are on Desmond's sailboat sailing up the coast to our side. That was the signal that the mission is over. We can cut across and get a boat ride back home."

Michael: "Your mistrust in me was well-placed."

The group turns left, to the west, and goes to the coast.


Emma and Zach hear most of the conversation.

Emma: "John was right. Michael's group isn't going to help Walt, so it's up to us to save him."

Zach: "I got it. So I guess we keep going in the same direction?"

Emma: "Yes. We have to stay far enough to one side so we don't run into the ambush."

Zach: "That makes sense. But what about that sonic fence thing they were talking about?"

Emma: "We really can't tell until we get there. Things have a way of working out. We should figure out something when we get there."

Emma and Zach continue northward after going east a ways to avoid the ambush ahead. Their bodies tingle when they cross the blue line.


The scene shifts to Desmond's sailboat.

Boone: "What was that signal again?"

Sayid: "That's the signal that the mission is over. For someone reason Michael didn't go through with it. That group is headed our way now, so we'll get close to the shore and wait for them."

Boone: "So there isn't going to be any action?"

Sayid: "Well, not for us right now. We have to see what Jack and company have to say."

Libby: "Hey, this means I'll see Hurley sooner than expected. I'm fine with that."

Michael, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley reach the coast, and have to wade and swim to get to "The Elizabeth," which can't get too close to the shore.