It's almost over guys! I think one or two more chapters after this one. Thanks for sticking by me. Especially my most loyal reviewers eyeon, GencoOliveOil and Marla's lost :) I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up with the holidays and all. But I will definitely finish this! So please.. review, review, review. I know Lost is long over, but I know there are still readers out there, hehe. Happy holidays!

Juliet was trying to catch Miles' eye. He seemed to have calmed down during the walk up here, but she knew him too well to be fooled. He was still nervous. The fact that he had continuously been kicking little pieces of rock ahead of him while walking or the fact that he had hardly spoken a word were easy enough signs for both her and Jin to realize how he was actually doing. When Miles was on top of his game he was chatty and he'd rejoice in commenting on everything and everyone. Right now, he was at the opposite end of the spectrum. And she knew what else was playing through his mind (as well as through the minds of Jin and Kate probably): this is where Richard had summoned their friends to meet him.

The giant foot seemed totally out of place in its surroundings. Even though Juliet had seen it before during her first three years on the island, she had never been this close. And during their time in the Dharma initiative she had never been here since it had been hostile territory. It was hard to imagine how incredibly huge the statue must have been up close in its full length (what had happened to it, anyway?). 'John' had disappeared behind it over half an hour ago with nothing but the warning that if any of them would try and run, he wouldn't be so lenient during their next encounter.

"Miles?"

"Hmmm."

"Come sit down." Juliet patted on the rock next to her. Miles looked at her but made no attempt to stop his nervous shifting from one foot to another. She changed her tactic. "Has Horace ever said anything to you about this place?"

That caught his attention. He walked up to her and sat down. He leaned over to her so their faces were only inches apart. "You remember how hostile territory was divided into different zones?" She nodded in response. "Those zones were never defined by the Dharma folks. They were defined by the Hostiles. Probably by Richard."

"I know. James told me that."

Miles leaned back a bit and rolled his eyes. "Wow. You two really do share everything. That was classified info. Did he also tell you that the place we're at right now was the most classified part? This was a total no go area. You enter, you die. That sort of thing."

Juliet stared at him, slightly amazed. That was something James hadn't shared with her. Not back in Dharma, and not on the day Richard's letter was delivered to their camp.

"Do you have any idea what this place is?" she asked Miles, while trying to keep a calm voice.

Miles shook his head. "Horace always said that he thought it was a religious place for them. But I'm not sure he really believed that himself."

"What do you think he really thought it was?"

"Don't know. Maybe Orchid Extra Large? Never really asked. We've never had any reason to come out here, so it didn't matter."

"Until now."

"Until now."

On the way to Hydra

The soil felt soggy. Like it had been raining here recently. Looking down, James could make out the shapes of the barracks. Home. Or at least it had been. Just like the two previous times he had been here since flashing back to 2007, he felt his stomach tighten at the sight of decay that was affecting the houses. It had only been three years since people lived here and nature was already taking over.

Richard had eased his mind about Juliet being in any danger. But his comments on Miles' safety were alarming. Sawyer had to focus on staying calm. He and Miles had climbed the very hill he was now standing on once, about two years back. They had been embarrassingly drunk. Sawyer had used a bad fight with Juliet as an excuse. Miles simply fell back on the line that 'no man should drink alone.' That day, late afternoon, they had half walked, half rolled down hill, to great amusement of some bystanders. Horace had been really pissed off with him ('that is NOT the example I want my new head of security to set around here'). After coming home, Juliet had only given him her famous icy glare while putting down a glass of water in front of him. Then she had simply walked off to have dinner with Amy.

But that was two years ago. Now the little town was empty, Juliet was hours away and Miles was possibly in serious danger. Sawyer started descending the hill first and everyone followed. Richard passed him halfway down.

"Everything allright?" Sawyer asked, while speeding up.

Richard didn't answer. He looked over his shoulders and moved his right hand up through the air. "Let's hurry up people!" he yelled at Hurley and Frank who were straggling some fifty meters away.

Inside the Statue of Taweret

"Every day, my hate for you just seems to grow."

"I know that brother."

"You know that one of the people out there I can actually kill. And I will do it with great pleasure. If it's not for my own benefit, then I will do it simply to annoy you."

"It is not in my interest whether you kill him or not. He means nothing to this island."

John sighed. They had played this game many times before. "So why is he here then, your greatness? Since everything has to have a purpose with you."

Jacob grinned. "Everything does have a purpose. But the context of 'everything' goes well beyond what you think or know. I thought you would have learned by now."

Jacob straightened his back and turned his head towards John. "Miles came here to help kill Benjamin Linus. I was not against that, so I let them come."

"So, the people on the ship that is here right now are not beneficial to your 'context'?"

"Let's just say that things didn't work out as planned the last time. I have become a little stricter about who can get here and who can't. Even I still have things to learn."

"I wish you would just learn how to die."

"Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky."

"If I can't kill you, at least I can leave you."

"I doubt that."

"You're wrong there my friend. There are canoes here on this island that can get me to that ship. And I can get to them faster than you at all times."

Jacob leaned forward and folded his hands together. "Are you sure about that?"

Outside the Statue

It would be dark in about three hours. It was a two hour walk back to their camp, though they all realized that going back was not in the cards tonight. No one had said a word in a while as they were all anxiously waiting for what would come next. When silence was finally broken, it wasn't by John Locke returning to their group. From the far end of the statue, a rumbling sound emerged. They all knew what that meant. Even Desmond remembered, since it was the same sound that had haunted him in some recent dreams. Jin, who – in a brave attempt to check things out – had walked towards the ocean, turned around instantly and ran back towards the rest of the group.

Massive black smoke erupted from the insides of the statue remains. It swirled upwards into the sky and within seconds the entire area surrounding the Statue was covered in blackness. The smoke moved around in circles, restless, reaching heights of at least ten meters. The deep growling sound grew stronger. If this was indeed the same thing that had inhabited John's body, it was now definitely furious as hell. A loud cracking sound filled the air as if stones were being torn off their familiar spots. Sand was swept up into the sky, creating a nasty dust that made everyone cover their eyes. Then the smoke moved forward, rapidly, straight through their group, knocking over Jin on its way. And then it was gone, off into the jungle.

The sound vanished and the dust slowly sank back to earth. When Juliet uncovered her eyes, she could see that a few large rocks had indeed fallen of the statue onto the beach. Jin lifted himself from the ground.

"You OK?" Juliet asked worried while walking up to him.

"I am ok. I only fell. It did not harm me."

The Korean looked over his right shoulder to where rocks had fallen.

"I want to go see what is there." He said as he started walking towards the statue.

On the way to Hydra

The canoes were right where they'd left them weeks ago. The dock was slippery and they had to move carefully. Stains of Ben and Miles' blood were still visible on the wooden insides of the canoes. Hurley grimaced at the sight of it. At the bottom of the boats, a layer of water remained from the rains.

"Let's get these things ready" Richard instructed and he started pulling one of the canoes onto the dock. Sawyer grabbed the other end and together they pulled the boat out so it could be turned over. Frank and Jack had moved onto the second boat. After a few minutes both canoes were free of rainwater and back into their original position. Sawyer moved to get into the first boat when Richard suddenly sighed heavily. The man brought his right hand to his face and pressed his temples with his thumb and middle finger.

"You allright there man?" Hurley asked.

Richard removed his hand from his face, but his eyes remained shut and his eyebrows were squeezed as if he were suffering from a sudden headache. Then his face relaxed again and he opened his eyes.

"We have to get you out on the water. Right now" was all he said.

"We? Sounds like you ain't comin'?" Sawyer asked.

"Sun, you get into the boat with Jack and Frank." Richard continued, while ignoring Sawyer's question. "Hurley, you take this one with James." Sun and Hurley passed them and carefully climbed into the canoes.

Richard turned to Sawyer and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Listen to me very carefully" he whispered. "The plan has changed. You cannot go to Hydra island anymore. There is no time. And no need. Paddle to the West, as far onto open water as you can. And don't come back to this place."

"What are you talkin' about man? I ain't leaving this island."

Not in a million years would he leave the island while Juliet was still on it. And what did Richard mean when he said there was 'no need' anymore? There was all the need in the world. Getting back to that plane was his friends' only chance off this rock. He looked at Richard, trying to read what was going on in his head. The guy had pissed him off on multiple occasions with his sharp comments or rough negotiating skills. But this time, things seemed different. Richard was making no sense, and that scared Sawyer. Richard normally always made sense, whether you liked it or not.

"I am not going to stand here and argue with you James. Just trust me on this one. Now go!"

"I ain't trusting nobody. Least of all you. Juliet is here, Miles is here, …"

"James." Richard interrupted. He let out a small laugh. "Are you honestly planning on spending your life on this island with Juliet?" His hand was still on Sawyer's shoulder and James felt the fingers squeeze a little bit. "Don't you want to get her home?" Richard whispered.

"Sawyer?" It was Jack. "What's going on?"

Sawyer looked up. Everyone was already sitting in the boats. Hurley was still by himself, waiting for Sawyer and Richard to join him. "Dudes, let's go."

"I'm not coming Hugo." Richard removed his hands from Sawyers shoulder and took a few steps back. He shook his head. "I'm telling you James. Leave this place" he said while continuing to walk backwards, away from the canoes. Sawyer remained still on the dock. He needed time to think. What the hell was he supposed to do?

"Dude…"

"Gimme a minute here OK?" Sawyer snapped. And can you cut it with the 'dude' for once? He looked at Hurley, ready to tell him just that. Thoughts of Juliet were impacting his manners as well as his decisiveness. The sight of Hurley was a weird one though. The guy's mouth was hanging half open and his eyes had grown big. Unusually big, like he'd just seen a ghost. "Dude…" he repeated. He was staring right passed Sawyer.

Sawyer looked at the other canoe. Jack, Frank and Sun were also staring passed him with some sort of shock or disbelief in their eyes. When he turned around he could see Richard standing at the end of the dock with his face turned towards the hill slide behind the barracks. Something was up there.

This time they could see it before they could hear it. The thick, black smoke came rolling downhill at high speed. It took down trees, rocks and mud with it on its way to the water. What had taken them an hour would take this 'thing' just a few minutes.

"James, you have to go now!" Richard pleaded. He ran back towards them. "It can't cross water when it shows up as smoke. It can only cross in man form, and then it still needs a boat. It must not leave! So go!"

"What about you?"

"I'm staying here." Richard says. "I can never leave. Who knows, maybe it will set me free this time."

Sawyer jumped into the canoe and grabbed the paddle that Hurley handed him. Richard bent down and pushed off the boat. "Do as I said. Paddle to the West, away from the island." And this time, the tone in his voice made Sawyer believe that Richard was actually looking out for their best interest. The smoke had reached the barracks by now and roof tiles and window panes flew of the houses. It was like the island's own personal hurricane.

"Let's go Hugo" Sawyer said, as he felt his heart starting to race. They quickly backed out of the small bay and onto open water. For a little while they heard nothing but breaking branches and the heavy pounding they'd heard so many times before. Then there was screaming. Richard. Sawyer felt nausea settling in his stomach. Jack, Sun and Frank had stopped to look around.

"Keep paddling!" Sawyer yelled. They couldn't stop until he was sure they were far enough.

They all kept going for a good ten minutes. When no more sounds could be heard, Sawyer lowered his paddle. His hands were lightly shaking. Hurley stopped paddling as well and called out to the other boat. They all turned around to where the island was. The smoke was 'sitting' on the shore without moving. Sawyer could feel it was staring at them. Like it was reading them. Then it retreated slowly, giving in to its current defeat. When it was gone, a small figure remained on the shore, lying lifeless on the ground.