Author's note - sorry, this one's short. But I did realize that I like keeping them separated because it gives me more to write on, really. But I'll try to figure out a way to get them to come together in the end. So enjoy.

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What would present such a satisfying shock to Eric some of you are wondering, I'm sure. Well, it was the only thing Eric had wanted for two months, since they'd crashed on this island. A way home. And there right on the shore of the island rested a boat. A big boat.

"I'm not going without Jackson," Beaver said loudly, struggling against Carl, trying to stop.

"Sorry to break it to you, Cassidy, but yes you are." Carl jerked Beaver roughly forward.

"Carl -"

"Being stuck on this island really isn't as charming as it seems," Eric told Beaver.

"I don't care," Beaver shouted, pulling against Carl. "You would just leave Jackson and the rest behind?"

Eric and Taylor switched looks of apprehension. Carl jerked Beaver forward again, the time letting go of his hand so he tripped and fell to his knees. Carl pulled the gun from his belt and pressed it hard against Beaver's head. "It's alright, Beeve, you don't have to leave Jackson," Carl whispered into his ear. "You'll be here when they come." Carl cocked his gun.

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"What's wrong, Jackson?" Melissa asked.

Jackson looked up from the ground. He shook his head. "Nothing."

"You're moving like you…I dunno, agitated." Jackson suddenly forced him to stop moving. Melissa reached up to his hands and slowly moved her fingers along the skin there. "And your wrist, they're covered in hives. What's the matter with you?"

"I don't like standing for a while," Jackson admitted.

"Since when?" Melissa asked. Jackson cocked an eyebrow. "Sorry, mandatory question."

"And I'm allergic to iron." Melissa raised her eyebrows. "It's not too bad," Jackson said quickly. It's just, when I'm around it for hours at a time, it starts to irritate my skin."

"Why'd you handcuff yourself then?" Melissa asked.

"I didn't expect it to end like this, Mel," Jackson said quickly.

Melissa and Jackson straightened up when they heard the crunching of branches - then Nathan and Daley appeared. Nathan raised a machete. "We brought the machete. Maybe we can cut the branch down."

"How are you gonna get up there?" Melissa asked, glancing up at the tree.

"The branch isn't that far from the ground," Nathan said. And it wasn't, it was probably less than a foot above Jackson's head. "And I'll just climb - like I did when I was getting coconuts. It won't be that bad."

"How'd you carry food and the machete across water?" Jackson asked.

"It was like Christmas," Daley said, walking up to Nathan. "I guess your buddies were in some kind of hurry because they totally left their boat. So now we don't have to swim back. We can just row. Maybe we can row off this island."

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Rodney stumbled again, this time catching himself before he fell. He couldn't exactly say he was surprised that his friends had finally betrayed him. He was surprised that they didn't do what he knew he couldn't do. He was surprised that they had just left Jackson and his new friends.

Jackson hadn't ever been a magnet for fun and exciting people, but even the people that were attracted to Rodney disliked Jackson when it came down to it. Jackson was rejected by the people that lived in the light because he carried too much of himself in the dark. But he was also rejected by those that lived in the dark because his soul existed in the light. Jackson was an anomaly.

That's why Rodney couldn't kill him. He could hurt Jackson all he wanted but he knew that he would never really change Jackson. Jackson was too far gone to be 'depressed' or changed by anything Rodney did to him. Jackson couldn't return to the boy he had once been, but he couldn't get lost anymore than he already was. He was in his perfect place of existence and Rodney knew that he could not change that. He was no longer an affect in his brother's life.

Rodney tripped again, catching himself against a tree. He paused, trying to catch his bearings. He was stuck, really. He would be on this island forever, just like his brother, if he didn't find his own way off.