Jacob was nothing like any of them had expected. When they all turned their heads into the direction of the Statue, the man walking towards them looked so ordinary it almost felt like they were being tricked into playing another island game. Seriously, that was Jacob? What had they expected? An old priest maybe? A pre-historic looking island inhabitant? Sawyer over the years had even warmed up to Horace's theory: that Jacob was a god-like creature, the centre of a local religion, a being without any physical form, a figment of someone's imagination.

But what came walking towards them was a totally normal looking human being. Jacob was tall, with blonde hair and simple clothes. He could even be called handsome. The only thing that stood out as extraordinary was his calm exterior which went beyond any type of calmness that they were used to from Richard (or Juliet, Sawyer thought). Jacob was not calm in a cool or distant way. There was something serene and charismatic about him. It confused Sawyer. This man was either the conman of conmen or he was truly who Richard had always said he was: the leader and protector of the island.

The blonde man – with half a smile on his face – sat down next to Richard, opposite from Sawyer. "Jacob is ready to make a deal with you" Richard started.

Jacob lifted up his left hand. "It's ok Richard. I'll take it from here." He spoke in a subdued voice as if he was putting forth a request instead of giving an order. Richard nodded and kept quiet. Jacob looked around their group. His eyes were friendly and he nodded briefly at each of them as a non-verbal greeting. Everyone was quiet for a while.

Finally Hurley stood up and walked over while holding out his hand. "I'm Hurley" he offered as an introduction. Jacob took his hand. "I already know that Hugo." Hurley, slightly embarrassed, let go of Jacob's hand and sat back down. "In fact" Jacob continued. "I know all of you. Since I'm the one who brought you here." His story so far matched Richard's.

"Why?" Jack managed to ask. "How?" Sun asked at the exact same moment.

"There are several reasons. It would take too much time to share all of them." Jacob paused and folded his hands together. "Most importantly, you were all selected because your lives required a fresh start. I've met each and every one of you before you came here. Do you not remember me Sun?" He looked at the only woman in the group, who was staring back at him suspiciously.

"No…" she answered, but while she spoke here eyes widened and her hand went to her mouth. "You… you were at my wedding" she stammered.

"Yes I was."

Over the next few minutes, Jacob informed them of where and how he'd met them. And they all remembered as he spoke. It was like a forgotten memory suddenly resurfaced. Sawyer could even describe Jacob's clothes and the color of the pen he'd given him at his parents' funeral. And the man looked exactly the same as on that awful day more than thirty years ago. Jacob was like Richard. He didn't age.

Jacob explained how he had managed to get them all together on that day in Sydney: the day that Oceanic 815 had taken off. None of them felt angry. The bizarreness of the story was already enough to take in without getting emotional over it. While talking, Jacob transported them all back to their pre-island lives and they all knew they'd been pretty miserable back then. Sawyer felt uneasy as he was being reminded of the man he used to be. He looked down at his feet and attempted to push the memories away to the far corners of his brain. It didn't work.

Jacob continued talking about his own job, Richard's position, and his reasons for going on this quest to find a replacement for himself. But his words were often cryptic and it was hard to really find out what his job actually was, what 'replacement' meant, and why he had chosen them out of so many (weren't there more miserable people out there that he could have picked?).

"My goal is not to make you stay against your will" he finally said. "If none of you offers to take this position out of free will, I will continue with my search. That is my journey and I will follow its path until the end has come. Whenever that may be." He brought his forehead close to his folded hands and closed his eyes, as going into prayer. His lips moved but there was no sound. When he opened his eyes he looked right at Sawyer. "You have to forgive Richard for calling you selfish. I know he didn't mean for it to sound that harsh. But" and he placed his right hand on Richard's left shoulder "this is a man who long ago lost everything that he loved. Some of us break down at the mere thought of loss. Others lose everything and still stand strong." He removed his hand form Richard's shoulder while continuing to stare at Sawyer. "I know you love Juliet, but I ask you to examine once more your reason for asking her to stay."

He turned his attention from James to the entire group. "I ask you all to examine your motives, whether you want to stay or leave. If you want to be free from this island, it takes more than the simple act of leaving. Your motives need to be as pure as a glass of crystal clear water. If your conscience is polluted you will find that this island can drive people crazy. You know all about that, don't you Jack." Jack looked away. Jack felt the embarrassment grow as tears started welling up.

"I'm sorry for what you've had to go through. I'm sorry for what you've lost. But you weren't done here yet" Jacob told him, his voice no more than a whisper.

"Am I done now?" Jack asked without looking up.

"Do you want to be?"

"I don't know."

Back at the beach

That man is not John Locke. Claire's words were hanging in the air. It sounded so absurd that they were all too taken aback to respond immediately. Miles was the first to speak. "Have you looked at him? Unless he has a twin brother, he sure looks like John Locke."

"Yes he does. But it's not him." Claire answered. Desmond's boat was completely deflated by now.

"I…" Kate stammered, looking at Locke. "I've seen your body. You were dead."

"He is still dead!" Claire was becoming emotional now. "That is just his body. He just looks like Locke. He is trying to trick us."

"Who is he?" Juliet asked.

"Jacob's brother. He is Jacob's brother."

Everyone was silent after that comment. Their eyes were all fixed on John.

"You disappoint me Claire." John spoke while joggling his knife between his hands. He walked up to Claire slowly.

Kate pushed the girl behind her. She had started to feel very protective of Claire of the past few weeks, despite her weird behavior. John continued to approach them until he was just a foot away. He stared into Kate's eyes. Kate recognized that fearless determination that Locke had always had. But there was something else there. Are his eyes darker? His look was hypnotizing. It was like he was almost laughing at her.

She felt Claire letting go of her hands and move away from her. What is she doing? The girl slowly took a few steps towards John and he simply wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry" she muttered. "I'm so sorry." John stroked her hair like a loving father while saying "It's ok. We can fix this." Then he pulled her close and whispered in her ear "I know you think Jacob will rescue you again. But he won't. This time, you're on your own."

Statue of Taweret ~ at that exact same moment

Quite abruptly, Jacob got up. Something in his expression had changed, as if a disturbing thought had entered his mind. It only lasted a second before his facial expression returned to its usual serene calmness. He turned to Richard and told him they had to move on now. It was clear that their meeting was over.

He looked down at all of them. "You have to excuse me now. I have work to do." He then told them to leave. He would know in good time what their individual decisions would be.

With the meeting suddenly coming to an end, questions started popping up in Sawyer's head. Where had Jacob come from? Was he human? Why had he selected him when there were so many criminals, murderers, thieves out there? What about all the crimes he had committed while being on the island? And how did he know that he and Juliet were staying? But Jacob was done and had turned around to head back to the Statue. Sawyer's questions would remain unanswered for now. One by one they all stood and started following Richard, who already continued walking north along the beach line.

Flashback ~ three years ago

All of her grief over losing Charlie disappeared in that moment. All of her worries about Aaron and her own insecurities about motherhood simply vanished. She no longer felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. When he came to her in the middle of the night and woke her up by touching her face, there had been a brief moment of panic. But when she looked into his eyes, the warmest feeling started filling her head and heart. This was the father she had always missed and had always wanted. A father who would take care of her worries, who would protect her, who would stay with her forever. He looked exactly like her real father. But nothing in this man's doing resembled the person she had met back then. When he told her she no longer had to worry about Aaron, that he was safe with her friends, she instantly believed him. And when he had asked her to come with him she did so without hesitating for a second.

It wasn't until a few weeks later – when she had mentioned she wanted to go see her old friends and see her son – that he had started to act differently. Her friends had left her, he said. Aaron was gone. She had made a choice by following him and she now had to deal with the consequences. The people she had been with before were unreliable. They were evil.

He started to leave her by herself for days in a row, telling her he had business elsewhere. And with every day that passed, she felt more miserable. The pink cloud of fatherly comfort started to fade. At one point she had been on her own for more than two months and took a decision. She would start looking for Aaron by herself.

End of flashback

Beach camp

They were still standing by the boat. Locke had let go of Claire but stayed right next to her, one hand still on her shoulder. They had all seen that he'd whispered something into her ear before pulling back his arms.

Somehow, Juliet believed what Claire had said. This man wasn't John Locke. Claire could be traumatized or crazy or both, but she wasn't a fraud. Whoever this man was, he was nothing like the John Locke Juliet had known. And Claire seemed honestly afraid of him. It was a fear that Juliet recognized. That's how she had feared Ben once upon a time.

"What's going on Claire?" Juliet asked as she was trying to catch her eye. Claire didn't respond. Instead she just looked at the ground as if she wanted to disappear from this scene.

Flashback ~ two years ago

Claire was leaning back against a tree, her eyes closed. She just needed a few minutes of sleep. For the past few months she had started taking little naps throughout the day, instead of long hours of deep sleep during the night. Her dreams had become uncomfortable and restless and she had willed herself to stay up most nights. At least during day time any nightmare images disappeared by simply opening her eyes.

She had been on her own for such a long time now. Wasn't there anyone left on this island? Where were her friends? Where was her father? Where were these Other people? Maybe they had never been here? Maybe she had imagined everything? Maybe there had never been a guy named Charlie? Maybe she had never been pregnant? I'm losing my mind.

She dreamt she was giving birth again. She was leaning back against a rock and sweat was pouring down her face. The pain of labor was overwhelming and she moaned in her sleep. She felt someone shaking her shoulders lightly. When she opened her eyes, there was a dark haired man kneeling in front of her. "Claire" he said calmly. "My name is Richard Alpert."

The man seemed to have stepped right out of Western civilization. His shirt was clean, his hair well cut, his voice clear, his confidence apparent. Was he real? He asked her to follow him to his camp and Claire accepted his invitation. This man had a camp! That meant that probably more people were here. How could she not have run into them before?

Richard treated her differently from all the other people at his camp. She had her own tent and she could sense that people were cautious around her. But still, being here was far better than being out there in the jungle by herself. And after a few weeks, she'd settled in as best as she possibly could. These people here could be her new friends. And maybe, just maybe, things would be all right. Richard told her that every member of his camp was blessed with special protection. And even though she was different, a man named Jacob would also keep an eye on her. Claire took in all Richard's words without asking questions. He didn't ask about her father. But she could tell by the way he looked at her that he knew.

One night it had been cold for a change. Extra fires had been built to keep everyone warm during diner. And people were assigned to keep them burning all night for some extra heat. Claire had been part of the hunting team that day and the successful trip had led to an abundant meal and a good atmosphere amongst Richard's people. She was now vast asleep, her left arm tucked under her head as a pillow, her right arm tucked away under a blanket. She hadn't dreamt about Aaron for days. And she hadn't thought about him for even longer. She felt safe.

Until that night. She woke up because a hand was pressing down her mouth and nose. She'd wanted to scream but the pressure of the hand only increased. When she opened her eyes, she could see it was him. She recognized the shape of his face, his hair, his hand. But his eyes! His eyes were pitch black, like empty holes. And the words he spoke she would never forget. "You're mine, Claire. You are mine."

End of flashback

Beach camp

John let go of Claire's shoulder and walked towards Desmond. "How can we contact your boat?" he asked. "You must have some kind of communication device. A satellite phone maybe?"

Desmond hesitated. "I…" he stammered, clearly confused.

"What is in your bag?" John continued and he pointed his knife at Desmond's small backpack.

"Just… some food and water" Desmond answered. But he wasn't a good liar and everyone could tell that that backpack contained something else. With one swift move John cut one of the shoulder straps with his knife and the bag fell into the sand. He slowly picked it up while holding his knife still up in the air. He opened it and after some searching took out something that looked indeed like a fancy walkie-talkie. "There you go" he said and handed the device to the Scotsman. "I believe you know how to operate this thing. Why don't you make a call and ask for another lifeboat to come to shore?"

Desmond took the phone but he didn't make any attempt to use it. He looked at Claire.

"Make the call Desmond." John's voice still sounded friendly but his eyes grew angry.

"What if I don't?"

"If you don't, your friend Miles here won't live to see another day."