The blond man sat in the center of the statue… of what was left of it, anyway. What once was a giant statue of Tawaret, built by Egyptians who made their way to the island many millennium before, was reduced to a foot with four toes.
He knew they were coming for him. Two parties. One led by his leading Candidate, the handsome, green-eyed doctor, and the other led by his brother and enemy, in the form of John Locke. He had sent some of the Others to find the group of time travelers and to guide them to him. He knew that Mr. Reyes would show them the contents inside of the guitar case as proof that their Candidacy. He figured they would want their friend, the soldier, to be healed. He knew that his brother was coming for two reasons: one, to confront him…. Again…. As he did at least once a decade. And two… to see if SHE was with him. She wasn't. Jacob had sent her off of the island for the last time in the 1980s. He had recently paid her a visit in the States before giving Reyes the guitar. She still wasn't aging. Like Richard, she was more than a century and a half old, and still looked young. She had given herself, Richard, him, and his brother the nickname "The Immortal Four". She loved him and his brother both, and the day would come when she would have to choose.
He was more than willing to let her and his brother be, except that he knew she would help him leave the island. So he took her and separated them. He gave her immortality and eternal youth in return. Even though she was the only thing in existence that ever gave his brother any amount of happiness, he still had to keep them apart. His only goal was to keep his brother ON the island, and he would do so, at all costs.
And it would be a lie to say that he didn't love her himself. He always had, since they first met her in the 1st century AD. Only his love for her was more of the gentle kind, whereas his brother loved her passionately and almost madly. His brother was mad enough as it was. Without her, he was a monster with an uncontrollable rage.
Still, he had to keep them apart. He couldn't have the monster leaving the island, after all. Even though she was born in 1840, they had both known her for nearly 2,000 years due to the island's ability to send her back through time.
It was the group of mortals who got to him first. The Candidates, led by the handsome American doctor. Jacob was surprised that the blond Southerner was with them, despite his everlasting hatred for Jack, and the fact that he blamed Jack for Juliet's death.
"Hello, Mr. Shepherd." He said. "I know you all have questions. But first, I will heal your friend." "Who are you?" Jack demanded. "Are you really Jacob?"
"Yes, I'm Jacob, as my acquaintances undoubtedly told you. Since Mr. Jarrah is beyond a doctor's help, I will heal him."
"Oh! Is that? You can just heal anybody? Well, why'd you let Juliet die? Just who the hell are you and what the hell;s goin' on?" Sawyer demanded, stomping toward Jacob angrily. "Doctor Burke, bless her heart, was never a Candidate. It was Benjamin Linus who brought her here for his own selfish purposes, not I." Jacob said as he placed his hands over the dying Sayid. "It was you and Miss Austen who saved his life in 1977, after all. He just never could forget the lovely lady doctor who took care of him as a child."
Sawyer started yelling some more, something about wanting to know why Linus couldn't remember the rest of them if he could remember Juliet, but Jacob ignored him as he focused on summoning healing energy from the island. It took a few minutes, but the soldier's wounds began to close up, and the blood subsided. He would be unconscious for a while, but he would be okay. Only Jacob had the ability to harness the healing energy of the island. His brother had the ability to harness the evil energy from the island. And that was why he could never, ever let his brother leave. He would take that evil energy with him wherever he went, even if he didn't want to. It was his destiny to be a physical manifestation of darkness, just as it was Jacob's destiny to be a physical manifestation of light.
He told the Others to leave, and to keep an eye out for "John Locke" and Richard. He knew, of course, that if his brother wanted in, nothing or nobody could stop him, but he wanted to be alone with his Candidates.
"All righty then. The murdering Arab's gonna be fine. Of course you save the guy who shot a kid, but not the woman who tried to help the kid. It's nice to know that the ruler of this island is a hypocritical hippie jackass." Sawyer was still rambling on with his usual sarcasm. His Southern accent kind of reminded Jacob of HER. He figured she would like Sawyer. With her feistiness, they would definitely get along.
Jacob sighed and responded. "Once again, I don't have free will over who I can save and who I can't save. And I am NOT the ruler of this island. The island rules itself. I can only do what it tells me."
"What? Are you trying to say that this damn island is ALIVE? You're startin' to sound just like John Locke." Sawyer responded.
"Yes, Mr. Ford, as strange as it may sound to you, this island is alive."
"Alive as in… sentient?" The doctor asked, incredulously. The Jack of three years ago would have laughed. This Jack was actually intrigued by the thought that land could have a mind of its own.
"There have always been stories and legends of mystical, magical places," Jacob started. "And this is the center of it all. This island is where different worlds collide. Where a balance between light and dark is maintained. There have been many names for it. The Greeks once called it Atlantis. The Celts called it Lyonesse. Oriental cultures called it Shambalah or Shang'ri La. And when it was located in the North Atlantic, the Scandinavians called it Valhalla. And, of course, the Judeo-Christians called it the Garden of Eden. This island is all of those places."
"What did you mean by 'Candidacy'"? Kate asked. "Yea, dude." Hurley piped in. "A candidacy for what?"
Jacob sighed. This is the question he had been dreading. "The truth is, I have been the protector of this island for nearly 2,000 years. It has been my duty to keep the balance between light and dark maintained. It's been my duty to protect this island from outsiders who would exploit it and use its resources. I admit that I am the one who suggested to Mr. Linus to 'take care' of the Dharma Initiative, if you will. While I do admire their interest in the island's scientific and metaphysical properties, it got to the point where they were causing too many problems. Of course, you didn't help…. Setting off that bomb and all. But I forgive you. The island forgives you.
That's why you were transported back to the present time instead of being gassed with the rest of the Dharma Initiative."
"If the island didn't want us to set off the bomb, why did it send us back through time in the first place?" Jack asked.
"You can blame that on Ms. Hawkings for forcing her son to become a physicist. And on Mr. Whidmore for allowing him to come to the island. And, of course, on Mr. Linus for messing up when he moved the island. The island gives some people free will, and takes it from others. It's not my place to ask why."
"I only care to know one thing," Jin finally joined in. "Where is my wife? Is she really here? All I've ever wanted was to see her again." His English had come a long way over the past 3 years.
"Don't worry. She's nearby. You'll see her soon. You are both my candidates, after all. All of you are. I'm just tired. After 2,000 years of doing this… I want someone to take my place. I just want to live a normal life and to finally grow old and die. There is someone out there, one of your fellow Americans, with whom I want to spend the rest of my days. All I want is a few decades of happiness, living as a normal human. Is that too much to ask? Is any of you willing to take this job?"
"Why us?" demanded Kate. "Why are we your candidates? Where is Claire? I just want to find her and take her back to Aaron." "And I just want to get off this hell-hole and get back to the States. Go back to ripping people off and being a general bastard. It's my lot in life." Sawyer exclaimed.
"Why *you*? Because you the ones who were lost. You thought you were lost when you got here, but the truth is, you were always lost. You found yourselves here. I'm going to start being informal with you all, now. I hope you don't mind if I address you by your first names. Jack, before you came here, you were a successful spinal surgeon. However, you were unhappy. You were miserable. Your wife left you. You blamed yourself for your father's death. You had nothing but your career, and that brought you no happiness. To make up for the lack of organization in your life, you were obsessed with 'fixing' your patients.
James, you were a conman. You ripped people off for money. You had been lost for years – ever since your parents' deaths. You never knew any happiness until you were with Kate… and then, with Juliet.
Kate, you had been on the run for so long. You always wanted to help people, but all you ever did was cause them pain. Your intentions were good, but we all know where the road to good intentions leads… so I brought you here for a chance to save yourself before going to hell.
Jin. You were lost somewhere between your love for your wife and your loyalty to her father. In order to be with Sun you knew you had to do whatever her father told you to do. But the things he told you to do were tearing you apart from Sun. She was very disappointed in you.
Hugo, you were lost in your guilt. You won all of that money, and your life was miserable because of it. You felt that the numbers were cursed and wanted to somehow undo the curse. You were at wit's end.
And Sayid… don't even get me started on him. Just wait until he comes through. He should wake in a little while."
"So your bringing us here was intentional. What about the others on the plane? All those innocent people who have died just so you could get us here!" Jack was beginning to get angry. "And what about John Locke? WHAT ABOUT JOHN?" Jack grabbed Jacob by his collar and began yelling in his face. "He knew all of this better than any of us, and now he's gone! John died because I didn't believe him, DAMMIT!"
"I wasn't responsible for John's death. I couldn't heal him in time. And for that, I'm terribly sorry."
"Don't be! Here he is!" The Man in Black said, standing at the entrance of the statue, smirking.
"John?" The Candidates all gasped in shock.
"No. This isn't John." Jacob answered, wearyingly. "This is my brother."