Part 476: Bon Voyage

January 28th, 2010

Eddie tucked away the last of his extra clothes. He wasn’t sure of the region that he was going too so Tony told him to back for all kinds of weather. The young man calmly loaded up the clothes and then pulled up his side bag. He checked it once again. It contained his cell phone, three disposable cameras, gum, candy bars, a journal, three pens, and his IPOD. The young man calmly put on his black baseball cap, and clicked off the lights of his room. He paused for a brief moment to look at Bunny’s locket as it rested on his drawer, then he left his room.

Eddie made his way down the stairs and dropped off his gear. His mother was already up and she had packed him a breakfast. The redheaded woman walked and gently put her hands around his shoulders. “There was a phrase I remember that Tony said last Christmas.” She smiled.

“What phrase was that, mom?” Eddie asked.

“I see the boy I knew . . .and the man before me.”

The young man couldn’t help but blush. The older woman put her hands on his cheeks and stared at him. “Your father would be so proud of you.” She whispered.

Eddie held up the watch that his father use to own and would have been given to him anyway. “He’ll always be with me, mom.” He smiled.

Barbara kissed her son and hugged him. Eddie held onto her as well, because he didn’t know how long he’d be gone. He already missed his mom but he knew Jilly would be around to check on her. The mother and son soon parted, and allowed her to pick up the breakfast package, then place it in a grocery bag. “You got four sausage and biscuits here. Some blueberry muffins and an apple.” She smiled.

“What’s the apple for?” Eddie asked.

“For the teacher.” She giggled, giving it to him, “Be nice in Adventure School.”

“Thanks, mom.” He laughed, “I love you.”

“I love you too, son.” She gently pushing him, “Go on. Go be a hero.”

Eddie smiled as he gently left his house. He walked out to the SUV that Tony let him borrow. The young man smiled at his car called Turk, with it’s repaired windshield. He saw no reason to drive it to the docks, considering it would just be resting there till he got back. This way he can feel comforted that it’s almost acting like a guard dog for his mother. The young man then loaded up his gear in the back trunk of the SUV, got into the driver’s side and started up the engine. The vehicle strode down and took a turn around the corner, then promptly stopped at Bonnie’s house.

The redhead then proceeded out of her house, holding her own suitcases. Eddie got out of the car and walked over to help her. His girlfriend kissed him on the cheek, as he picked up her bags for her. After loading them into the back, he joined her at the front of the vehicle. Bonnie buckled her seatbelt and smiled at him. “You sure you want to do this?” he asked her.

“Go on an adventure with you?” she giggled, “Absolutely.”

“I don’t mind one bit, Bonnie but I wanted to make sure you are doing this for the right reasons.”

“I am, Eddie.” She said in all seriousness, “ I have to do this for my mom. I especially have to do this for Bunny. These people need to be stopped.”

“It could be dangerous?” he said, with a grin.

“It always seems to be.” She replied with her own grin.

Eddie was satisfied about her answer. He then began to drive away from the suburbs. The highway wasn’t bursting with much activity as it was still early the Saturday morning. After a few minutes, Eddie got off an onramp leading into a corner of Los Angeles. Bonnie couldn’t help but giggle, knowing who they were going to retrieve.

Eddie stopped by the corner of the Lenox Apartment buildings and on the corner was Tristan. The young Asian man smiled as he saw his friends pull up to the curb. As he walked to the back, Eddie got out of the vehicle and helped him with his gear. Tristan laughed at him as he put his back pack into the vehicle. “ I didn’t expect to find you waiting on the corner for me.” He laughed, “Are you eager or something?”

“Or something.” Tristan replied with a chuckle, as they closed the trunk.

Eddie stepped back into the driver’s side and Tristan hopped into the back seat. The young man turned on the engine, and adjusted his rearview mirror. His girlfriend smiled by his side as his best friend hooked up his seatbelt. “All right,” Eddie laughed, “Lets go have an adventure.”



The docks were slightly quiet, as the seagulls echoed in the sky above. Eddie found a parking space next to a familiar black Avalanche, which he knew belonged to someone in their family. The three friends exited the SUV and then proceed to unload their gear. Eddie slipped on his backpack and picked up his suitcase, then Bonnie’s. The redhead was blushing slightly at the constant way Eddie was doing things for her. Tristan couldn’t help but make fun of it. “You wanna carry my bags, Eddie?” the Asian man said in a high-pitched voice.

“Get lost.” The young man grunted back with a laugh.

“Where are we at, Eddie?” Bonnie said, stepping onto the peer.

“Actually, I’m not sure. I thought I would have seen somebody by now.”

“EDDIE!!!” someone screamed.

The young man looked up ahead and saw Tony with Marita. The one-eyed doctor waved for them to come down the docks. The three friends proceeded to do so, hearing their footsteps making the wooden peer creak under their path. Eddie stopped by their side, placed down his bags and hugged Marita. His father figure patted him on the back, then looked at his friends. “Welcome guys,” Tony smiled, “Glad you could make it.”

“Thanks for letting us come, Dr. Largo.” Tristan replied.

“We’re about to embark on rescue mission/adventure, Tristan. First names are fine.”

“Cool.” He chuckled.

“Where is our boat, Tony?” Eddie asked.

“Right here.” He pointed toward his left.

Eddie marveled at the huge boat before him. It was at least 80 feet in length, not to mention it seemed to have nearly three levels on it. He couldn’t tell if it was a yacht or a house boat. Needless to say how much it cost Hurley. The young man then leaned over and looked at the name of the boat. “Odysseus.” He smirked, “Appropiate.”

“Yeah, Hurley thought so.” Tony said, taking Bonnie’s bags, “Let’s get you guys loaded up.”

The group started to walk onto the yacht. As Eddie helped Marita, then Bonnie on board, he turned to follow Tony down below onto to find a certain redneck leaning up against the side; sucking down an orange juice. “Morning, short-round.” Sawyer laughed, “Did you bring your bull whip?”

“I slightly hoped that you would change your mind again and NOT come with us.” Eddie laughed as he walked past.

Sawyer took a deep breath, as he remembered seeing Clementine’s name on the bottom of the Flight 216 survivor list. “Not bloody likely.” He whispered to himself.

Eddie walked into the big area of the boat, and as he did, he noticed a sign on the loveseat of the living room. It said RESERVED FOR SAWYER. “He did that on the Butterfly Rogue too,” Tony commented.

“Great.” The young man commented.

Tony escorted the teenagers into the side room. There was a cot next to the wall and the main sleeping area was too bunk beds. The one-eyed doctor placed down the luggage in the middle of the room. “Bonnie, the cot is yours,” Tony said, “I’m sorry but you’ll have to use the bathroom for any clothing privacy.”

“That’s okay, Tony.” She agreed.

“Bonnie, you can have my bed, I’ll take the cot.” Eddie told her.

“Thank you.” She giggled.

“Jesus.” Tristan said, putting his bags on the top bunk; almost getting sick of his friend’s romance.

“Quit making fun of him being a gentleman,” Tony said, playfully hitting the Asian teenager on the arm.


McKay stepped up the first platform that walked into the control room. The computer panels were much more improved than the Buttery Rogue. He could tell barimeters, wind speed, not to mention a small radar system.. He smiled over the fact that he had a seat to sit in this time as he piloted the boat. Nicely put, was two other chairs to the side of him. “At least you won’t be lonely.” Taylor smirked.

“Yeah, I’m sure John and Tony will keep me company.” The Australian turned to his wife.

“I wish I was here to keep you company.” She said, with pouty lips.

“Easy, sweetness,” McKay said, putting his arms around her, “You stay put. You take care of yourself and our baby. And in one month’s time, I’ll be right back to help you through morning sickness and strange food cravings.”

“Promise me. One month.” She said, tugging his shirt.

“I promise.”

Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. “I know you keep your promises so I feel much better.” She admitted.

“I hope so,” Sayid said, stepping into the control room, “Because if you don’t return, I will be forced to come after you and I can not handle being trapped on a boat with Taylor.”

“Hey!” she laughed, slapping the Iraqi on the chest.

“Don’t worry, Sayid. I’ll say you that trouble.” McKay smirked, “As most know, I am a man of my word.”



John walked down the long access of the peer to the boat, holding his gear and the gear of his wife. He leaped down and landed on the back of the yacht, jolting slightly. Sawyer helped him with his bags, telling him not to be so prideful. Mia walked down the wooden peer, holding her daughters hand. She was flanked by Shanna and Seth. The lead singer pushed the hair out of his eyes. Strangely enough, he was the one that felt the weirdest seeing Mia leave. “It’s feels strange you going on an adventure without us.” He commented.

“Yeah, Mia.” Shanna replied, “Brat Pack forever, you know?”

“Of course,” the Lakota smiled, turning around, “But Shelley can take my spot in the Brat Pack for now.”

The older woman kneeled down and embraced her daughter. Shelley kissed her mother on the cheek and hugged her neck. “I love you, mommy.” She whispered.

“I love you too, baby,” she held her close, “Be a good girl and do what Shanna says, okay?”

“Okay.”

John stepped up and smiled down at his daughter, politely waiting his turn to say goodbye. After his wife was done, his daughter quickly embraced her father. Mia hugged Seth and Shanna at the same time. The group expressed their love for each other easily. The Lakota then promised them that they would return in one month. “You better,” Seth smirked, “If you’re not back, I’m canceling Turboshaft tour to come get you. See if I don’t.”

“Well, I guess we better make sure he’s not bluffing.” John laughed.

The friend finally bid their farewells. Down at the other end of the peer, Jenny has arrived in Kellye’s vehicle. Raven calmly got out of the backseat and picked up her gear. The blonde cop smiled as they started to walk down the boardwalk together. “You’ll keep an eye on Sarah for me?” Jenny asked her good friend.

“I’m sure Jack can help in that regard.” Kellye laughed.

“And don’t forget to pet Squishface.”

“I promise, Jenny. I’ll pet your ugly ass dog, geez!” she laughed.

Jenny hugged her dearest friend one last time. The blonde then patted her on the arm and jumped down to the yacht. Raven bid the girl farewell and followed his best friend. Sawyer greeted the cyborg and told him where their room would be. Bonnie watched the masked man follow the blonde cop down below to the sleeping quarters. “I know he’s a nice man,” she whispered, “But he scares me.”

“Masked men often have that effect, teen queen,” Sawyer said, lighting up a cigarette, “But don’t worry. He’s definitely the one you want on your side in a fight. And since he’s coming on this trip, our chances of coming back in one piece just increased by 80%.”

“You really think it’s going to be dangerous, Sawyer?” she asked.

“Well . . . Let’s just say in regards to Islands, our track record ain’t so good.” He chuckled, as he walked to the bow of the ship.


Hal walked down the boardwalk with the Spartans. Chance was almost fully healed from his gunshot wound. All he had was a leg brace that helped him to walk. Arizona was slightly worried that her husband going on this rescue mission not 100 percent was not a good idea. Chance then made a joke that at least he was traveling with his “doctor”. “I’m sure Tony will keep him going.” Hal assured her.

The Texan then embraced her husband. “I love you so much.” She whispered.

“Be a good girl while I am away.” He kissed her on the cheek, “I’ll look forward to whatever house you find.”

“Any specific thing you want?” she smiled.

Chance looked up at the sky and smiled. He then turned to his wife with a slight grin. “Make sure you find one with an enclosed porch,” he chuckled, “So we can sit outside and watch the rain together.”

“I’d like that.” She said, hugging him again.

“Take care, Chance.” Hal said shaking his hand.

The Texan stepped off into the boat, with Eddie helping him with his gear. As Hal and Arizona walked back to head back to San Francisco, they bid farewell to the last people coming on the trip as they walked down the boardwalk. They also happened to be the most important ones. Desmond looked at the boat and marveled at it’s size. It would be more than adequate to handle the trip, bring his son back and any other survivors. Kate and Jack walked with the married couple as they helped him onto the boat. Tony patted Desmond on the shoulder as he walked up to Jack. “Take care, Jack.” He said, shaking his hand, “Thanks for checking on the medical supplies.”

“Yeah, you’re fully stocked and I honestly hope you won’t need it all.” He admitted.

“Thank you again, Jack.” Desmond said, “For everything.”

“Bring your son home, Desmond,” he replied, shaking his hand, “I look forward to seeing you all again where I can take you to dinner like civilized people.”

“Well, that’s something to come back for.” Isabella laughed, kissing him on the cheek.

Kate walked over and embraced Mia; bidding farewell to her adoptive sister. She then gave John a hug, owing him so much for removing her record. The archer smiled at her, glad he got another sister in his life. The former fugitive then moved over and stood face to face with Sawyer. The redneck smiled at her, tucking his hands into his jean pockets. “Any last words of wisdom, Freckles?” he asked.

Kate smiled at him. A part of her will always love Sawyer for the way he never stopped acting like a lovable jerk. The brunette then kissed her fingers and then placed them on his lips. He quickly kissed them back. She sighed and gently patted his chest. “Whatever it is you are looking for . . . . ..I hope you find it.” She whispered.

Sawyer slowly lost in his smirk. He didn’t want to admit to Kate that he had a possible daughter. However, she was the one who knew him best of all. Sometimes it was difficult to lie to her. “I hope I do too.” He admitted.

Kate smiled, happy he HALF admitted he had a secret. Jack came over and shook his hand, bidding farewell. McKay walked out and started to remove the lines to the boat. Jack and Kate hopped off back onto the board walk. The doctor stood with his love as they could hear the engine of the yacht crank up. Shortly thereafter it began to pull away into the bay. Jack waved to them as the group stayed on the back, waving back. Kate blew kisses to all of them, trying not to cry. However, she knew deep in her heart, she would see them all again.

“Good luck, guys,” she whispered.

-------------------------------------------,


The yacht had finally cleared the bay and was on it’s way to open sea. McKay rested in his seat, controlling the throttle for the boat. The instrumental panel was all in the green and looking good. He checked the coordinates one more time and made sure they were on the right path. Then he was joined by Tony and John in the control room. The archer sat to his left and the doctor sat to his right. “How we looking, Captain?” John chuckled.

“Everything is on line, looking good.” He pointed and laughed.

“Glad we got a chance for one more adventure.” Tony smirked, “I never would have admitted it to Marita but I’m so glad I’m coming.”

“It does make you feel young again, doesn’t it?” the Australian smirked.

“It’s a shame we got to get old, eh guys?” John laughed.

“Oh, just keep shooting those arrows, John,” the one-eyed doctor laughed, “I think we’ll be just fine.”



Outside on the back of the boat, the majority of the group was hanging out; enjoying the breeze. Eddie was laughing with Tristan and Bonnie, not to mention Andra had joined their group. Chance was having a fun discussion with Raven and Jenny, while Tony and John were up from with McKay. Mia looked at all of them and was feeling nostalgic. She remembered their long journey on the Butterfly Rogue and the bonding that it caused with her and her friends. She remembered the shark attacks and finally being rescued. It was a very interesting time of her life and she’ll never forget it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand holding a diet coke in her face. She looked up to see Sawyer with a cigarette in his mouth looking down at her. Mia calmly took the drink and laughed. “Thank you.” She giggled, popping the top.

“You bring one of your journals?” he asked.

“Yeah.” She replied.

“Then why ain’t you writing in it?” he commented as he walked over to join Chance and the others.

Mia smirked at the redneck’s subtle way of telling her, she’s the new record keeper of their group. The Lakota placed down her diet coke on the table in front of her, then reached over to her side-bag. She calmly pulled out one of her journals and a pen. Mia looked out at the vast ocean and then opened the journal and proceeded to write.

No one knows what life will offer. It’s always a changing cycle and it never stops. Me and my band of adventures now head off into the vast Unknown yet again. It will be up to me to make contact with the sentient computer known as Athena. I hope I am the right person for this job. I did such a good one with Watchman, perhaps I can capture that magic again.

I think back to our stand on the Island. I miss all the friends I lost but I appreciate what I gained so much more. I gained a husband, a daughter, and friends that became more like family than anything else. They tried to take all that away and we fought back only to win in the end. Is fate on our side? I’d like to think the answer is Yes.

Now we go to another Island to meet another group of survivors. What is their story? Have they loved and lost as we have? Have they formed friendship bonds that can’t ever be broken? Have they also been brought together by some wind of fate? I don’t know what their story is but I can tell you this.

I can’t wait to hear it.


THE END . . . . . FOR NOW.

Part 475: Saying Goodbye

January 24th, 2010

The cold winds blew up from the grassy hill. The trees were bare from their leaves and only a few birds were nearby. Certain days were warm but most of the winter was cold. The world had changed and those who didn’t change with it, where in for a rude awakening. Mia wondered who much more the world would change as she grew older. The more she walked on the grass, she didn’t think she would be growing older; simply wiser.

Tony, John, McKay, Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Desmond and Charlie walked to the back of the hearse. The black vehicle opened up it’s rear doors, revealing the casket of their fallen. The men each took a portion of the side handles and began to escort Locke to his final resting place. The second hearse came up and opened it’s door as well. Raven took a deep breath and pulled out the casket of Ecko. Natasha, Jenny and Kellye took the handles to one side and Raven held his own on the other. He could have carried the casket all by himself but the girls wanted to share the burden; even though it wasn’t much. After the group pulled away, the third hearse had arrived with the body of Flower. Alexander opened the doors and began to carry it away, aided by Eddie, Andra, Seth, Dutch, Shanna and Hal.

The three burial plots rested on a hill, overlooking a small lake. Mia had picked it out for all three of them. She even commented that, when the times comes, they should all be buried there. Some might considered the comment morbid. However, this group had been through so much, survived so much and triumphed through so much; it felt right. They were, after all, a family.

The workers began to lower the caskets gently into their burial grounds. After they had reached the bottom, they slowly began to move the dirt into the holes. Mia held onto her daughter’s hand, hearing her child weep silently. John stayed with her, as she watched them bury the remains of her adoptive father. The Lakota gently wiped a tear from her eye as the wind blew her hair; caressing her face. “It’s not easy to lose a father . . ..twice.” she commented.

“He loved you, Mia.” Her husband whispered by her side, “You gave him what he always wanted; a family.”

“I know that but . . .he was our rock. He held us together.”

“You’re our rock now, Mia.” Shanna said, gently putting her hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, you’ve held the Brat Pack together.” Seth whispered, “I don’t think Locke could have asked for a better successor.”

Mia smiled, gently putting her hand on Shanna’s. She stared at the tombstone which read JOHN LOCKE: LOVING FATHER AND JOURNEYMAN. The Lakota woman took a deep breath and smiled. “I won’t let him down.” She vowed, “I promise.”



Raven kneeled down next to Ecko’s grave as the men finished filling it. The wind blew his overcoat slightly. The cyborg gently picked a blade of grass and held it in his gloved fingers. “I don’t know if I am ever going to die.” He whispered, “I . . . I was ready to die so long ago but now . . . .now I am ready to live, Ecko. I wish you could have been there with me to see it but such is the winds of fate, eh? I promise I’ll look after Natasha and Jenny for you. And I know . . . .I know you’ve found your corner of Heaven now.”

Raven calmly stood up and looked down the hilltop. Jenny smiled at him as she waited by the car, with her little pug Squishface; panting from the car window. The masked man looked back at the grave one last time. “Goodbye, old friend.” He whispered, “I won’t let them fall.”



Shanna held onto a large bundle of flowers. She walked up to Flower’s tombstone and gently placed them beside it. She took a deep sigh, wiping the tears away from her eyes. “Flowers for Flower.” She whispered, “The prettiest Island girl there ever was.”

“She loved you, Shanna.” Alexander sighed, “I remember how often she talked about how proud she was of you for following your dream of music.”

“I loved her too.” The redhead stood up, “My only feeling of peace through this is that she’s reunited with her twin sister.”

“Indeed. My tribe awaits for me in the Heavenly Kingdom.”

“They’ll always be with you, Alexander.” Mandy said, taking his arm.

The blonde man looked at the woman he loved and felt a sense of pride. He will miss Flower deeply, as they bonded closer due to the lost of his brothers and sisters back on the Island. However, life always moved on. As he walked away from her grave, Bridgett came up and took his hand. Alexander knew he wasn’t her father but he felt like he was. He would make sure nothing would happen to Mandy or Bridgett. He owed it to Flower to be the man he needed to be.


Desmond looked down at the bottom of the hill where Penelope was being buried. The majority of the Widmore family were surrounding the grave. A few looked up at him with contempt; knowing who he was and why her father hated him. The Scotsman sighed, as none of them knew the full story. Since Penelope was dead, there was little point in clearing his name with those people. He knew the truth and that was all that mattered. Isabella came up and gently took his hand. She looked down at the group of people surrounding his former love’s grave. “You can come back later and say goodbye, Des.” She whispered.

“It’s all right, luv. I’ve already said, goodbye.” He said, taking her and walking away, “Let’s go get our son.”

Pat 474: Preparation

January 22nd, 2010

3: 43 am

Mia slowly opened her eyes. Her arm was sore from keeping her head propped up in the chair. To her right was her daughter Shelley, sleeping soundly away next to Bridgett. Across them in the other bud was Aaron and Brendon. Tanya was resting next to boys in a chair as well. The Lakota leaned up and rubbed her eyes. It had been one of the worst days of her life. Her daughter had been kidnapped and she lost the man she felt was her father. He wasn’t her biological father but he didn’t need to be. She was happy that her daughter got out of harms way but she felt slightly empty that she lost Locke in the process.

Then a warm sense of peace washed over her. Mia gently held her chest and took a deep breath; sighing incredibly. The Lakota woman was blessed with a unique gift; the ability to speak to the dead in dreams. The peace that enveloped her was being to her by her lost friend Brendon; she knew this. She felt it was his own way of promising that she’d see Locke again one day. It was the one thing she knew could keep her going.

Mia then looked at the door to the kids room, as it slowly opened. The light from the hallway gently felt on Shelley’s face, making her moan and turn to her side. Shanna covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s okay,” Mia whispered back, covering up her daughter with another blanket.

“How are they doing?” the redhead whispered.

“Been a long day.”

“Yeah, it has,” Shanna lowered her head a bit, then raised it up to face her friend, “Mia, the others are discussing this Island, called Isla De Verde. You want to come listen?”

“Yes, I do. Thank you, Shanna.”

Mia stood up and gently tip-toed out of the room. Tanya was still asleep by the boys, so she knew the children would not be alone. The brunette followed Shanna down the steps of Hurley’s giant mansion. The majority of the group was still awake. Joscelyn was busy fixing everybody either coffee or some form of alcoholic beverage. Hurley was with Seth and Charlie, eating ice cream. By the time, she got down the stairs, her husband immediately stood up. “You okay?” he asked.

“I’ve seen better days.” She said, embracing him.

“If you need some time, Mia . .”

“No, John. I’m going to have enough time later.” She said, kissing him on the lips briefly, “What are you guys talking about?”

“The crash of Flight 216 from Conway Airlines,” Tony leaned over, “Eddie is filling us in on what he learned.”

“Yeah, Mia, I’d like you to hear this out because it involves you too.” The young man said, resting near the fireplace.

The Lakota woman sat down next to her husband. Shanna walked by holding too steaming coffee mugs; kindly hanging one to her adoptive sister. Mia blew on the hot coffee and then motioned for the young man to continue. “While I was researching Dharma and after I was captured, I made contact with a superior computer program named Athena. She’s just like Watchman.” Eddie told her.

Mia raised her eyebrows, after sipping some coffee. “She’s . . a sentient program?” she asked.

“Yeah and on this Island, she did the same thing that Watchman did. She regulated the experiments being done. Hell, she even mentioned a creature named the Gorgon.”

“Fascinating,” Sayid said, sipping his tea, “The Gorgon was Medusa in ancient mythology. I wonder if these mad men have created a copy of Medusa itself or is it simply a code for one of them?”

“Who can say, Sayid?” Tony yawned a bit, “What else did you learn, Eddie?”

“Athena got me in communication briefly with a young girl. She looked about my age. Her name was Stacy. Apparently she had been pretty distraught but as Watchman communicated with us, Athena communicated with him. She established a remote viewing link so Stacy could see me. She held up a sign and asked if I could help her.”

“What did you say?” McKay asked.

“I gave her a thumbs up. I said, Yes, Uncle McKay.”

“That’s fine, Eddie.” The one-eyed doctor said, before turning to look at Desmond, “It’s safe to assume we’re going to that Island to retrieve Sebastian anyway.”

“Thank you.” The Scotsman sighed.

“One more adventure?” the Australian smirked, “I reckon we got one more in us.”

“You maybe, “ Sawyer commented, sipping on whisky, “Not me.”

“It’s fine, Sawyer. I doubt we’ll all be going.”

“I’m in.” Eddie said immediately.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Tony said, leaning up, “Eddie, there is no reason for you to go to this Island. Not to mention, you are still in school.”

“Tony, please there are many reasons why I need to go, “ the young man said, standing up, “First off, Sebastian is my friend. I know he’d do the same for me if our positions are reversed. Second off, there is this Stacy girl. I gave her my word I would help her. I did give anybody else’s but MINE.”

Tony stared at him. He felt a sense of fatherly pride in his conviction to stay true to his word. Clearly, he raised him well. “Please, Tony,” he whispered, “I have to do this.”

The one-eyed doctor smiled, “Okay, Eddie. You’ve convinced me. However, you have to convince your mother, agreed?”

The young man shook his head. “Yeah, that makes sense.” He agreed.

“Very well.”

“Mia has to go too, John.” Eddie pointed.

“What?” he raised his head, “Why the hell does Mia HAVE to go?”

“Because she has the most experience with Watchman, and as a result, Athena concludes that makes her the expert.”

“Why does Athena want to talk to me?” the Lakota piped in.

“Because she’s just like Watchman, Mia,” the young man faced her, “ She’s lonely. She’s in doubt. Everybody in a point to in their lives, look up toward a father figure, or God, or whatever thing they belief in and they ask the questions why am I here? What is my purpose? . .Well, Athena has asked that question. And she believes you are the only one who can answer it, Mia.”

Mia then felt a sense of deja-vu in what Eddie was saying. She was thinking about her special dream where all her past friends came to see her. Then she remembered the part where she talked to her grandmother and she showed her a woman wearing a Roman helmet; dressed in the garb of the period. She then reminded her of the statement she always said. “Wisdom I will find alone.” She whispered.

“What, Mia?” John looked at her.

“Athena . . .. .is the goddess of Wisdom, isn’t she?” she asked.

“Yes,” Sayid answered.

“Then that means I have to go.”

“Are you sure about this, Mia?” her archer husband replied.

Mia looked at him, causing a brief tear to appear under her eyelashes. She quickly wiped it away and sniffed. “It’s what Locke would have wanted me to do.” She sighed.

John said nothing. He merely placed his arm around her and shook his head; a silent way of saying he understood. McKay then leaned up and picked up the laminated map. He held it up and took another look at it. “Can you find the way, McKay?” asked Tony.

“It’s not the finding that bothers me, Tony.” The Australian answered, “It’s these strange coordinates.”

“What’s strange about them?”

“According to this directional, I have to head North, then when I reach a certain milege, then proceed west on a vector of 325 degree heading. That makes absolutely no sense, considering we can proceed on a 131 angle, then head directly there.”

“Whatever you think will work best.”

“Hey, guys, I found them.” Claire mention, over at the lap top in the living room.

Jack slowly got up and walked over. Tony joined him, as did McKay, Sawyer and Mia. The blonde Australian pulled up a website that showed the listing of the passengers of Flight 216. The website seemed to be devoted to the prayers that they were alive, even calling itself, Candlelightvigil216.com . “The Blanchard family is keeping this website up and running,” Claire pointed out, “ Apparently, their youngest boy Wesley was on the plane.”

“How many passengers?” asked Jack.

“Just shy of 75.”

“Does it list them all?” Tony leaned in.

“Seems like it lists everybody but the crew of the plane.” Claire pointed out, “ Shaun Massey, Tabitha Lamb, Krista Gaines, James Roachowski, Barbara LeCroy, David Shaw, William Bunker, and the list goes on and on.”

“Nobody I recognize.” Jack muttered.

“You were expecting to know someone?” Sawyer raised his eyebrows.

“Fate, Sawyer.” Mia smiled.

“You both can take your fate and shove it.” The redneck coughed, “I ain’t going to no crazy Island again.”

“Oh, come one, Sawyer,” Kate gently kicked him in the leg, “Don’t you want one more adventure before you become an old man?”

“I am an old man, Freckles and the answer is no,” the southern man grunted as he slumped into the couch next to Claire, “ I got no problems standing by all of ya’ll when the going gets tough but rescuing people I don’t even know? I ain’t into that anymore. No offense, Scotty.”

“None taken. He’s my son and my responsibility.” Desmond sighed, then looked to the others, “ I’ll accept any offer of help ye provide of your own accord but I’ll expect none of it from any of you . . .nor hate ye any less.”

“You and Isabella are one of us, Desmond.” Jack smiled, “We’re all survivors. We help each other when we can.”

“We’re going to need a boat.” McKay mentioned.

“Sure thing.” Hurley piped in with a mouth full of ice cream.

“We’ll need something for long range transport, not to mention be able to house all those people.”

“We could probably go for a yacht again.” John said, “ I mean, let’s be realistic. We have no idea how many of those people are still alive. And since we got to make room for them, no reason ALL of us should go.”

“In fact, who will insure that YOU make it safely back?” Sayid mentioned.

McKay looked over to Jin, who gave a thumbs up. The Korean, like the Australian, was fully capable of piloting a boat. It was a good idea. They were about to risk their lives to bring home Sebastian and a large group of people they had never met before. It would be nice to have a back up plan because they had to leave room for the unknown. They all silently agreed, that was definitely where they were heading. “I think we’re gonna need two boats.” The Australian looked at Hurley.

Hurley waved them off, signaling it would be no problem. Jack then looked at all his friends. “No lottery will be needed this time.” He smirked, “Whoever goes and stays is strictly on a volunteer basis.”

“I’m in, and so is Izzy.” Desmond said.

McKay then turned to his wife, as she rested on a nearby couch. “Taylor?” he asked, “Are you okay with me going?”

“Of course, baby,” she said, gently taking his hand, “This is what you do. You’re a hero.”

McKay kneeled down and kissed her. The fact that she would so easily approve him leaving her meant their relationship was even stronger. She gently stroked his stubbled cheek as she looked up at him. “Promise me, you’ll keep these people safe and you’ll be home before our baby is born.” She whispered.

“I promise,” he smiled down on her.

Alexander then stood up and walked over to his mention. The bald man stood up and looked at him. “Father, I would love nothing better than to return to the jungle with you,” he whispered, “But I think . . .perhaps it would be best, if I stay . . and keep Mandy, Bridgett, . .and Taylor safe.”

McKay smiled at him and then embraced him; patting him on the back. “I’m proud of you, boy,” he laughed, “That’s the most mature thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Tony smiled at the show of affection. As he had adopted Eddie, McKay had down the same thing with Alexander. He then felt two smooth hands caress his arm. He turned to look at his loving wife staring up at him. “Go with them, Tony,” she smiled with pride.

“You sure, Rita?” he asked, facing her.

“You should go. They may need a doctor, not to mention if Barbara approves of Eddie going . . . .I’d feel much better if you were there to keep him out of trouble.”

“Don’t you mean the opposite of that?” Eddie jokingly pointed toward his father figure.

Marita laughed as she hugged the young man and her husband at the same time. John then looked at his friends, then turned to face his wife. Mia smiled at him, gently rubbing his arms. “You know I ain’t letting you go without me.” He said, more like a statement than a question.

“Of course.” She smirked.

“As much as I’d like to go with you guys, I can’t.” Seth replied, “Turboshaft is on the rise and if we stop that for ever a month, it might hurt our chances to rise to the top. I’m sorry.”

“There is no reason to apologize, Seth. You are correct, Turboshaft is your life now. You don’t need to go off to some Island, risking it all.” The Lakota then turned to the redhead by her side, “Besides . . . .I couldn’t think of a better person to watch my daughter while I am away.”

Shanna raised her eyes at the kindest statement she’s heard her whole life. The redhead then embraced her adoptive sister, kissing her on the cheek. “Will you keep an eye on Shelley for me?” Mia asked.

“Two eyes.” Shanna giggled, “As often as I can spare them.”

“Speaking of kids, I better check on Aaron.” Claire said, getting away from the computer.

As Claire moved away, Sawyer looked at the computer screen again. He then stepped up and sat down in her spot, browsing through the names to satisfy his own curiosity. Chance yawned and then leaned up, massaging his wounded leg. “You going, Hal?” he asked.

“I don’t think I could get the leave in time.” The cop admitted.

“I could.” Jenny smiled.

“Jenny, are you serious?” Jack said, leaning down to look at her, “I mean, after everything you’ve gone through . . .”

“That’s the whole point, big brother.” The cop sighed, “I was tortured for knowledge for Raven. And this Island is an aspect of those people. I need . . . .I need to help these people so the same thing that happened to me wouldn’t happen to them.”

The doctor shook his head. It was a semi-decent reason. Maybe Jenny needed to get away, maybe she needed an adventure; he didn’t know. However, the doctor was determined that she wouldn’t go alone. “Then make sure you take your guardian angel with you.” He pointed to Raven.

“I’ll keep her safe.” The cyborg promised.

“I’m in too.” Chance piped in.

His wife Arizona leaned up from where she was resting next to Libby. The woman removed her blanket and looked at her husband. “We’re really going to this Island, Chance?” she asked.

“I said, I was going, baby. Not US.” He said, in all seriousness.

“Excuse me?” she scoffed, in likewise seriousness.

“Hear me out,” he said, taking her hand, “You need to stay with Hal and Libby. You’re gonna need their help.”

“Help with what?”

“Finding us a place to live.”

The Texan’s eyes went wide and despite what they were going through, she felt the happiest in a long time. She felt she had more of a connection with the survivors of Flight 815 than anyone but Chance was relunctant to leave Texas. It would seem he finally buckled and gave in to the same belief. Good things happen when they are all together. The woman leaped over and embraced her husband. Chance laughed as he kissed her. “If you are going to live here, then you get to host Superbowl.” Hal joked.

“Can do, cappy.” the gunslinger laughed.

“Sayid, may I please go with them?” Andra said, stepping up.

“Why, my dear?” the Iraqi asked.

“Perhaps the experiments are going on this Island as well. Perhaps the Black and Red project is happening too. I can help with that.”

“You are a grown woman, Andra. You can make your own decisions. Do you want to do this?”

“I do.”

“Your mother would be proud of you.” Shannon rubbed her back, then embraced her.

“Well, then I guess that’s it. Sayid, you can lead the second group in case we don’t make it back in time to-“ McKay tried to say.

“I’m in!” Sawyer abruptly said.

The group stopped their conversation and looked at the redneck. He smiled briefly and shrugged his shoulders. “I changed my mind, I’m in.” he admitted.

“Great.” McKay laughed a bit.

“What the sudden change in heart, brother?” Desmond asked.

“Oh, it’s . . .uh . . . like Curley said, I think we got one more adventure left in us.”

Desmond was confused but he knew Sawyer could handle himself in a fight and therefore, he would be useful to have. “Bloodly lovely then,” he said, shaking his hand, “Welcome aboard.”

The group then started to break up. It was had a rough day and they were well into the morning of the next day. They had to get prepped for their trip to Isla De Verde. Hurley had to buy them two ships which he assured would not be a problem. He even laughed a bit saying that since the purchase of these ships would lead to the rescue of the survivors of flight 216, then he’ll probably make money off it; thanks to his reverse curse. Jack vowed to Tony that he would be on the second boat, ready to come after them at a moment’s notice. Jin also mentioned he wouldn’t have any problem piloting the other ship. McKay vowed to make a copy of the map before he left.

Everybody slowly migrated into the kitchen except Kate. The brunette slowly strode over to the redneck sitting in the chair next to the computer. Sawyer was looking at the names in list and then felt her looking at him. “Something on your mind, Freckles?” he asked.

“Why did you REALLY change your mind, Sawyer?” she asked.

“I told you. I ain’t in the grave yet. I can be of help to the guys, honestly.”

“Don’t play with me.” She said, gently kicking his boot, “ I know you better than most. When you told Desmond that you were just looking for one more adventure, I thought I heard something familiar.”

“Like what?” he asked.

“The old Sawyer. The con-man Sawyer. In the old days when your mouth dripped honey, the bees would die of poison.”

“I’m flattered, Sassafras but it’s like I told you. McKay is my friend, as is Cochise and Robin Hood. What kind of a man would I be if I didn’t stick by them?”

Kate smirked and gently ran her finger down his chest. She shook her head in agreement, then proceeded to walk down the kitchen. She momentarily disappeared but then quickly reappeared, sticking her head back from behind the hallway wall. “I’m glad you are sticking by your friends, Sawyer,” she smiled, “But . . . .I STILL don’t believe you. You’re hiding something.”

“WOULD YOU . . .just go on!” the redneck waved her off.

Kate finally left the redneck alone in the living room. Sawyer rubbed his mouth, then his stubbled chin. Kate was right; he was hiding something. However, it was one thing that Sawyer never expected to come back into his life. He had left this part of his past a long time ago. He wasn’t about to admit to Mia and the others about things like “fate”. He didn’t believe in them but Locke once said, it believes in you. And now his life had come full circle. Sawyer turned around and stared at the list of the survivors of flight 216. He kept his eyes on the name at the bottom; a name he’d never thought he’d see again.

Clementine Phillips.

Part 473: Plausable Deniablity

10:24 pm

The survivors were gathered in a large conference room. The majority of them had been interviewed and processed. They wanted all known information about Hanso and the Dharma Group. They collected John, Tony and McKay’s clothes. They detected minor traces of radiation on their clothes. The one-eyed doctor didn’t have the courage to tell them the truth. That a monster from a distant island coated them in it’s own genetic goop so it could teleport them. He told them they were just coated in some Hanso chemical from a lab explosion on the way down.

Sawyer was by the window, gently banging his head on the pain. Shanna would comfort him whenever she could. She knew what his problem was. He wanted outside to go smoke. Since they had been forced into the room nearly 40 minutes ago, the redneck was getting a little stir-crazy. Kate was resting next to Jack in the back as he had his arm in a sling. It reminded him of when he hurt his arm back in the cave in on the Island. She was there for him then and she’s there for him at the moment. Jenny felt a little better, allowing herself to sit with her friends. Raven stayed near her as Kellye and Ana-Lucia watched over her.

Most of the children were asleep. Brendon was resting between his mother and his father. Bridgett was asleep in Alexander’s arms, as her mother Mandy gently stroked her hair. Shelley was awake, sitting next to Mia, while Aaron was also awake; propped next to Charlie. They had gone through a rough set of four hours. It was worse for Shelley since she lost Locke. During their waiting for whatever the CTU had planned for them, she had stopped crying. She was still sad that she lost her grandpa but her excuse to her mother was that she had all cried out. Mia said that was okay because when she lost Brendon back on the Island, it was her same excuse as well.

McKay sat with his wife Taylor, propping up his bandaged leg. Jin sat with Sun, rocking her back and forth. Joscelyn was pacing near Hurley, because she wanted to call her sister Paige and make sure her family was okay. Jilly leaned her head back against the wall, sitting next to Karleigh who was stroking Dutch’s hair as he rested on her shoulder. Hal had his arm around Libby who was in and out of sleep on his shoulder. Arizona stayed with Chance, who was wide awake due to his bandaged leg.

Tristan leaned on his elbows against his knees while sitting next to Eddie and Bonnie. The young man has his arms crossed, gently banging his head against the window pane behind him. The redhead by his side was cold for some reason and the agents were nice enough to provide her with a blanket. She wanted to get to the hospital to check on her mother. As for what the next few weeks would be, she wasn’t sure. She gently reached over and placed her hand on Eddie’s. The young man was lost in thought but he then looked over to her. Bonnie smiled and sniffed slightly. “I love you too.” She smiled, remembering what he told her before he went after Ben and Matt.

The young warrior smiled and then leaned over, kissing her on the cheek. Leaning back, he put his arm around her and helped her to keep warm. Across the room, Tony and Marita had witness the whole exchange. It was a scene that easily brought a smile to their faces. It was nice to see that during this whole chaotic event, that Eddie was still able to keep Bonnie as a girlfriend. If anybody deserved to be happy, it was him.

Finally the door opened up to the big room. A handful of people stood up, almost on instinct. Inman stepped in, followed by Jack Bauer, and a handful of agents. Tony looked to his old friend from the special forces. “What’s the score, Jack?” the doctor asked, “Are we free to go?”

“All the evidence has been secured. There are a handful of matters that needed to be taken care of.” Bauer reached out and one of his agents, gave him a very thick folder, “First off, the bodies of John Locke, Tijarah Ecko, Penelope Widmore, and Flower McKay have been sent Oak Park Funeral Home on Wilshire. These are the documents to claim their bodies. May the next of kin step up, please.”

Mia then stood up and took the document meant for Locke. Natasha walked up and held out her hand, allowing her to receive the document for Ecko. Taylor took the one meant for Flower and Desmond slowly stood up after her. “I’ll take the one for Widmore, brother,” he coughed.

“You’re Desmond Hume, right?” Bauer asked.

“Aye.” He replied.

“Then I’ll give you the document, but you need to sign this first.” The agent said, handing him a light green document.

“What is it?” he said, looking at it.

“It’s a legal binding document of marriage between you and Isabella Pena.”

The Spanish woman then stood up. She quickly approached the table. After glancing at the document, she looked at Desmond with a slight tear in her eye. “Marriage?” she stuttered.

“It’ll help you with the legal implications of being gone out of the country for so long.” Bauer informed her.

“You okay with this, luv?” Desmond smiled.

“Not . . .really romantic.” She giggled, wiping her tear.

“We’ve been through Hell, Izzy,” the Scotsman embraced her, “Let us settle back into being normal human beings and then I promise I’ll get on one knee for ya, the white church fields, then whole she-bang. I love ye, and I want the whole world to know it.”

“I love you too,.” She said, kissing him.

After the kiss, the Scotsman parted from her and sighed the document. He gave the pen to his Spanish love and she promptly signed it. Bauer then gave him the document to help claim Penelope’s body. He then also gave them a manila envelope. “Here is some local driver’s license and passports.” He told them.

“I was wondering why you took my picture.” Isabella smiled.

“Now, brother, what do you plan to do about my son?” Desmond then asked.

Bauer took the documents and handed them back to the agents. “Mr. Hume, I deeply apologize but we have no official word about where you son is.” The agent sighed, “Our official position is that he’s . . . .MIA.”

“MIA?” the Scotsman raised an eyebrow, “He’s not a bloody POW, brother. He’s a 9 year old boy and he’s needs his parents.”

“The Liberation is in control of any outside stations that would or could have been operated by Dharma.” Inman piped in, “ Therefore, your son is Missing in Action, and you need to ACCEPT it.”

“Accept it?” Isabella scoffed, “how DARE YOU!! This is my son we’re talking about.”

“Not to mention the survivors of Flight 216.” Eddie mentioned.

“Shut your mouth, boy.” The CIA operative hissed.

“Then it’s real.” Jack said, standing up, “There is another Island and there is another of survivors that has crashed there. We need to help them.”

“WE . . .don’t need to do anything,” Inman glared, “Our goal is the locating the whereabouts of the Liberation. And I can assure you, THE ACTUAL Liberation . . is NOT on some Island.”

“Inman, we need to do something-“ Mia tried to say.

“ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!!!!” the CIA operative screamed at the top of his lungs.

The group went silent, seeing the agent look like he was about to have a heart attack. He even held onto his chest briefly. The agent looked at them with utter contempt. “Now, get this straight, the lot of you.” He hissed, “You’ve already done enough. You’ve violated enough laws to the point, that any normal human being would spend the rest of their lives in prison for. Indeed, if I had my choice, I’d see all of you in Fort Levingworth.”

“Then why don’t you?” Sayid said, with his arms crossed.

Inman looked at him. Not many people knew of the past between the two of them and actually, the Iraqi preferred to keep it that way. The CIA man ran his hand through his white beard and then pointed at Raven. “Because I don’t know where I’d put . .him.” he sneered.

The Jaeger Unit leaned up, letting his eyes glow blue at the man. Jenny gently slid her arm under Raven’s. The blonde cop understood Inman’s threat. The cyborg had the ability to smash wall as easily as they crushed aluminum cans. There probably would be no type of prison that could hold him. Inman then reached back and grabbed a large bundle of papers from one of the agents. He then flopped them down on the table with a thud. “These are special liability memorandums.” He looked at all of them, “Once you sign them, you are agreeing to speak to no one about Hanso, Dharma or anything else you’ve gone through. Not the press, no one.”

“In exchange for what?” Jack asked.

Inman looked at the wounded doctor. “In exchange that we don’t arrest you and I don’t send every military force I can find after your cyborg friend.” The CIA agent grunted at him.

Jenny scoffed at the man just threatening Raven will assault. The Jaeger Unit leaned down and looked at the floor. He then stood up and approached the conference table, making the others step back. The masked man then took a deep breath and sighed. “You got one of those memo’s for me?” he asked.

Bauer then started to shove the documents aside and found Raven’s. He then slid it over toward him and slid a pen as well. Raven picked up the paper and browsed through it, finding where he needed to sign. Jenny then grunted as she got up and leaned against the table. “What are you doing?” she asked him.

“What I must.” He said, as he started to sign it.

“What about Dharma? What about what they did to you?” the blonde cop said, taking him by the arm, “The world needs to know what these people were capable of doing!”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Jenny.” The cyborg looked at her, “I got you back. I got our friends back. I’ve lost Ecko. I just wanted to be left alone by Dharma. I . . ..I want to go home.”

Jenny closed her eyes and sighed. She understood what he meant. The fight, for the most part, was over. They lost three of their friends but the rest of them came out virtually intact. The only thing left to do was to move on. The blonde cop admitted she would like to go back home and try to forget the Island, and Dharma. She then held out her hand toward Inman. “Give me mine.” She sniffed.

Inman then handed hers. One by one, the rest of them slowly got up and moved to the conference table. The agents passed out the memorandums and the survivors began to sign them. After they were done, they gave them back and then the agents began to escort them out of the building; informing them that their vehicles were secured and were outside, waiting for them. The group began to whittle down to the closest circle of friends. Tony signed his document, then allowed Marita to sign it. He then gave it to his friend from the CTU. “Is there nothing you can do, Jack?” he asked.

“You know how this works, Tony.” He sighed with regret, “ I can only follow the orders I am given. I want to help these people, I really do. But until I get authorization, they are on their own.”

“It’s okay, Jack. I believe you,” the doctor said, shaking his hand, “It’s Inman I don’t believe.”

“I honestly could give a damn what you think of me, Mr. Largo.” The CIA operative moaned.

“How the hell do you sleep at night?” Mia hissed at him.

“Easy. I lay down and close my eyes.” He glared back at her.

“I’m not signing this.” Desmond winced.

“Sign it or you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison.” Inman warned.

“Desmond, I want to get out of here.” Isabella begged.

“Izzy, if I sign this document, then I say anything about what Dharma was all about,” the Scotsman then looked at the agent, “And when I sign this, this means my son OFFICIALLY doesn’t exist. I’m not doing it.”

Eddie then stepped in and picked up the document. “Desmond, sign it.” He whispered.

“Little man, I will do no such bloody thing.”

“These people can’t help us,.” The young man whispered, “Please . . . sign it.”

“Think of Isabella.” Jack said, leaning in, “You can’t help Sebastian if you are in prison.”

The Scotsman looked at his doctor friend, then at his wife. Isabella was upset that her husband was right but she was also upset at staying in the CTU building any longer. The bushy haired man took a deep breath and then with a trembling hand, signed the document. The moment he was done, Inman practically snatched it away from him and then filed it with the rest. “Thank you for your cooperation, ladies and gentlemen,” he coughed, “I REALLY hope . . .I never see any of you again.”

“You’re really going to do it.” McKay grunted, “You’re really going to leave these people to die on that distant Island?”

“The moment the Liberation got involved, these people’s fate was already decided.” Inman stepped up to the door, getting ready to leave but then he stopped, “Let us hope that they are in God’s hands. . . . .or someone else’s.”

McKay blinked. “What?” he asked, confused.

“Oh, please, Mr. McKay . . .you’ve of all people should know, sometimes you make your own luck.”

McKay stared blankly into space as the man finally walked out of the room. Bauer motioned for the rest of the group to follow him out into the parking lot. The group stayed with each other as they walked down the hallway toward the exit. Isabella wept silently and Desmond held onto her. He felt like someone had kicked him in the gut.

The outside air was cold from the breeze. The moment they got outside, Sawyer quickly popped a cigarette into his mouth. After he lit it, Isabella came up to him. The redneck stared down at her with her tear soaked cheeks. Within two seconds, he understood what she wanted. He calmly took the cigarette out of his mouth and gave it too her. She gently began to smoke with trembling hands. “Welcome back to the new world, sister,” he said, lighting up a second one.

“Hey, guys!” Seth jogged over to them, “We’ve decided to all head over to Hurley’s to recover.”

“Why his place?” John asked.

“It’s the biggest.” The singer shrugged his shoulders.

“Yeah, and he would have no problem with his extra spare beds,” Tony sighed, “And not to mention, knowing Hurley he’ll have plenty of food.”

“I’m so glad you’d thinking of food, brother,” Desmond grunted as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“He didn’t mean anything by it, Desmond.” Marita stepped in.

“I’m sorry, sister.” The Scotsman sighed, “I’m just a little upset why I agreed to write my son’s life off.”

“Desmond, don’t give up hope,” Jack looked at him, “We’ll find a way to get Sebastian back.”

“How, Jack?” he asked, grabbing him by the arm, “How the bloody Hell am I going to get my son back? He’s alone on an Island in the middle of the damn ocean. He could be starving, he could be scared or for all I know he might be dead! So, tell me how we’ll get my son back from this spooky Island, which by the way, NO BODY KNOWS WHERE IT IS!!!!”

Jack just stared at the Scotsman who was looking like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Isabella gently walked over and stood next to him. Tony held onto Marita. They didn’t have any words to offer him for comfort. Luckily someone did, however. “I do.” Eddie said behind them.

The group of adults turned around at their younger companion. He was already sitting in Turk, looking at them. He then reached down, between the seats of the front and pulled something out. The friends looked it and it was a lamented red parchment. Eddie held it up to them and couldn’t help but smirk.

“I know the way.” He grinned.

Part 472: Recovery of Answers

9:23 pm

Tony and Marita waited for their friend in the conference room of the government building. The couple were waiting but they were also busy eating. It had been a long day for both of them. The one-eyed doctor sipped on his beverage after finishing a standard microwave dinner of chicken, green beans and corn. Marita munched on her roll after taking a bite of chicken. “So, Tone,” she said, with her mouth half full, “You know this Bauer guy?”

“Jack?” her husband smiled, “Yeah, me and him go way back. We had to run a few special forces operations in foreign countries I can’t pronounce. He’s a good man. I had no idea that he was running the CTU out of Los Angeles.”

“What does CTU stand for?” the Latina asked.

“Counter Terrorist Unit.” Tony sipped on his drink, “I heard of it, just before I went into the Special Forces.”

Before Marita could ask any other questions, the door slowly opened. Jack Bauer walked into the room and smiled at his old friend. Tony stood up and approached him. After the agent put his coffee down, he embraced his friend; patting him on the back briefly. “It’s good to see you, Jack.” The doctor said.

“Tony, had I known you were a part of this, I would have gotten involved sooner.” The agent promised.

“I know,” Tony replied, sitting back down next to his wife, “Let me guess. Inman put you on a need-to-know basis?”

“You know Inman?” Bauer said, pressing record on a tape recorder.

“Yeah. He was the CIA operative who questioned me and my two friends when we got rescued from the Island. I take it, he’s still looking for the Liberation?”

“Yes. He’s been made the official liaison to the government, as far as any operation looking for the Liberation. He was given free reign to use CTU to investigate.”

“Did Inman know that the Liberation would come looking for us?” Marita asked.

“From what we’ve learned about them, they operate very slowly,” Bauer sipped on his coffee, “They don’t communicate over normal channels, making them very difficult to find. Imagine . . . .you have a neighbor, who’s got a dog that barks only once and while, like everything five days. After a while, you might not even remember that your neighbors even have a dog.”

“Silence means security.” Tony whispered, remembering the age old military mantra.

“Exactly,” his friend agreed.

“Did you find the bodies at our house, Mr. Bauer?” Marita asked.

“You can call me Jack and yes, we did.” The agent smiled, “It’s already been cleaned up. You don’t have to worry about the authorities.”

“Thank you, Jack.” The doctor smiled.

“Now, we have to get down to business,” the agent sighed, finishing off his coffee, “I have to ask you some questions about the Hanso Foundation, not to mention this Dharma Initiative and anything you might know about the people involved.”

“Ask away, Jack,” Tony sighed, “We’ve got nothing to hide.”


---------------------------------------,

“Why did this Linus person want these children?” the agent asked.

Jack Shepard sighed as he sipped on his orange juice. He had been inside an enclosed room, answering the questions about the scientists who kidnapped him. He had been stuck inside a similar room all day so he didn’t enjoy the prospect of still being in one. However, to make thing more comfortable, Kate and Sawyer were with him. The former fugitive sat next to him, rubbing his back. Sawyer had his head buried in his arms on the table. He was on the verge falling asleep. “He wanted the children because he believed them to be superior.” Jack told them, “He thought he was going to create a master race.”

“Was Linus a Nazi?” the female agent asked.

“Probably.” Sawyer muttered.

“I wasn’t talking to you.” The woman promptly retorted.

“Honey,” the southern man raised his head, “ You REALLY don’t have to much talking when I’m around.”

The woman then coughed, as her cheeks turned a light red. The redneck even took the time to lean over and glance at the agent’s legs. She then pushed them to the side, and shifted around nervously. Kate sighed and gently brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “Yeah,” she smirked, “He has that effect on women.”

“Um . . .moving on.” She continued, “When did you last see Dr. Linus?”

“Just after he threatened the children. Afterwards, I couldn’t tell you.” Jack coughed, “With any luck, he died in the shootout.”

“And these children? They didn’t exhibit any ability out of the ordinary?”

The worn-out doctor then looked at the woman. He remembered the uniqueness of Sebastian and the other children. Thanks to a rare plant infecting their parents and migrating into their systems, they received higher than normal intelligence. Ben even went so far to explain it. Jack had a bad feeling about telling all of this to the government agent. It seemed a little too cliché but what if they wanted the children for their intelligence too? The doctor was going to make sure that these kids would be allowed to be kids. “No,” he said, “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Very well,” she smiled, turning off the tape recorder, “Someone will be along shortly to escort back to the main conference room with your friends.”

“You ready for my interview now, sweet cheeks?” Sawyer flickered his eyebrows.

The female agent then clutched her notebook around her chest as her cheeks flushed red again. She then quickly turned around and exited the room in a fast but polite manner. Jack looked at her and then leaned up, looking at Sawyer. “Is there any woman you HAVEN’T tried to pick up?” he scoffed.

The redneck rolled his eyes, pretending to think. Then he pointed toward Jack with a wild grin. “Your mom.” He smirked.


----------------------------------------,

Eddie was resting up against the side wall, propping his chair back. Bonnie sat at the table, tapping her fingers around her cup of hot chocolate. Tristan was on a nearby loveseat asleep. They were being interviewed by one of the many agents at this organization but about ten minutes ago they were called away abruptly. Eddie wondered why he wasn’t allowed to see his friends and family just yet. He was a little leery of telling them everything, especially without consulting Tony first. That may have been the very reason why he wasn’t allowed to see him.

The door to their room then opened and Eddie glared at the man who entered the room; it was Inman himself. The CIA operative closed the door and then placed down a folder on the desk. Eddie and the older man locked glares at each other. Bonnie looked at him, then at her boyfriend and back at him. It didn’t take an expert to know there was a tension between them. Inman then pulled out a photo and slid it across the table. It was a picture of Ben Linus. “We found him down at peer 16 at the wharf.” The older man coughed, “We found him with 9 bullets in his chest.”

“What a shame.” Eddie whispered.

“Is that your handiwork?” the CIA agent sneered at him.

“Yep.”

“I should have you arrested.”

“Then why don’t you?” the young man said, calling his bluff.

Inman winced at him and then pulled out another photo; sliding it over to Bonnie. It was a picture of Matt Tefpourth, her stepfather. The redhead took another look at the photo and then shoved it back toward him. “That was my stepfather.” She grunted.

“He’s dead too.” The CIA operative promptly replied.

“Good.” Bonnie said, sipping her hot chocolate.

“What role did he play in all this?”

“He’s was a clone of Ethan Rom.” Eddie replied.

“A . . clone?” Inman coughed, “A REAL clone? That’s illegal.”

“Then I guess your government regulations aren’t strict enough, Inman.” The young man smirked, pulling his chair up to the table.

“You were raised by Largo, Riggs and McKay, weren’t you?”

“Most of the way.”

“I can tell. You have all their arrogance, times 3.”

“Thanks.” Eddie chuckled.

“Why did the Hanso Foundation want you, boy?”

“I was told it was simply because I came away from that Island.” Eddie said, leaning into the table, “I went through some rough crap over there. I was even forced to kill someone at the age of ten. I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe, Inman.”

Inman pulled out another photo and then shoved it toward the young man. It was a picture of the remains of the charred Liberators at the Hanso outside lobby. “Like what killed them?” he asked.

“Yeah, I know what it was.” The teenager sighed.

“Then what was it?”

“It’s called Monoxide.” Eddie said, “The computer back on the Island listed it as a anti-gravity nano-cluster. I think that meant it was comprised of millions of microscopic . . .robots and it was designed to resemble black smoke. It was sentient and did things that was told to it by Watchman.”

“The computer?” Inman raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, you’ve heard of it?”

“We intercepted some communiqués between Hanso and other channels. They mentioned trying to duplicate Watchman but had failed to do so. How did Monoxide get here if he was on the Island?”

“From what Tony told me, he teleported here with the Polliwog.”

“The what?” the CIA man said in confusion.

“The Polliwog. A large creature on the Island that was designed as a security system for Watchman’s central core.” The young man smiled, “I named him by the way.”

Bonnie stared at her boyfriend, not believing a single word he said. However, the way and the seriousness in which he said it was disturbing. Almost disturbing as Inman hanging on every word he was saying. The redhead then jumped when the Operative slapped his hand near her to get her attention. “I said, what did the Hanso group want with you?” Inman asked her again.

“Oh . .uh . . Eddie said that the . . .Ben person, was going to make me the Eve of this other Island.” She stammered.

“Eve?”

“Yeah, they were going to wipe our memories and make us live brand news lives on the second Island.” Eddie concluded for her.

“And how did you come to believe your stepfather was a clone?” Inman asked her.

“Eddie showed me a picture of Ethan Rom on the Dharma website.” She said, sipping the remains of her chocolate, “ Then he showed me the two lockets. One from myself and the other from my twin sister who died on his Island. Apparently my sister wasn’t the only one abducted.”

Inman wrote down the majority of the information they were giving him. He calmly clicked his pen shut and tucked it back into his coat pocket. “One last question for you, Mr. Trascal.” The operative looked at him, “ Did you have any idea where Linus and Tefpourth were going?”

“Yeah,” he coughed, “It’s called Isla De Verde. Or commonly known as Site B.”

“Site B?” Inman raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. An experimentation to see who survives in the game of Natural Selection. There are people there already,” Eddie leaned in, “Now . . .what are you going to do about it?”

Inman glared at him. Judging from the reaction of his face, the operative was upset by this information. He took a deep breath and gathered up the photos, and papers by into it’s manila envelope. “The associate of the Liberation with the Hanso Foundation has to reviewed in it’s entirety before any action can be taken,” Inman then stood up, “Therefore . . .there is no Site B.”

Eddie blinked. “What did you just say?” he gagged slightly.

“I said there is no Site B and you’ll do well to remember that, kid.” He pointed at him.

“Wait a second, man!” the teenager stood up, “My friend is out there! Look, I can help you guys. Before he died, Matt-“

“THERE IS NO SITE B!!!” Inman screamed at his face.

Eddie just looked at him in confusion. Bonnie was amazed that the older man bother to scream. However, his scream awoke Tristan who looked at everybody. The CIA operative tucked his envelope under his arm and opened the door. “Someone will be along shortly to escort you back to the main group.” He told them.

Inman slammed the door behind him. Tristan stretched as he got off the couch and joined his friends at the conference table. “What was that all about?” he asked Eddie.

“Bureaucracy in action.” Eddie moaned, resting his head on his hands.

Part 471: Point of View Part 5

7:33 pm

The wharf was completely empty of workers. It was way after the shift of most of them, besides a few that had agreed to work overtime. The wind blew up some of the cold water below, caressing the wooden peers that shot out from the docks. In a nearby warehouse, a Sedan pushed well past it’s limits quickly arrived at the entrance. Ben jumped out of the car, reloading his pistol. Matt took a deep breath, and had to cough. He then motioned for the two men waiting for them to get to the peer to await the boat to take them to Isla De Verde. Little did they know, they were being watched from the street.

Eddie kept his eyes on them, seeing the two vile men disappear into the warehouse. He already concluded if they had come this far, they were planning on leaving in a boat; maybe even to the Island themselves. The young man sniffed, wiping his tears. He couldn’t think of anything else besides the loss of his sister. He vowed to make them pay for what they had done. Eddie then reached inside his car and pulled the switch to pop the trunk. Then he opened it further and retrieved a crow bar. “I promise, Turk.” He coughed, as he slammed the trunk back, “When this is over, I’ll fix you. I promise.”

Eddie then gritted his teeth as he used the crow bar to cave in the back windshield. Glass fell all over the back trunk as the young man scooted it away. He then flung the crowbar onto the side of the street and got back into his beloved vehicle. He made sure both the automatic pistol he had were loaded and he had two spare clips.

It was time to end it.



Matt picked up the case containing his notes. He made sure it was slung over his shoulder before he took another step out of the warehouse. Matt was waiting on him but he couldn’t stop staring at the phone. He wanted one more chance to call Julia and tell her that he really did love her. He wasn’t even sure if she would be out of her coma by now. He wanted to be with her but he was certain Ben wouldn’t understand. “Forget her.” The scientist ordered as he checked the notes.

“Excuse me?” the clone looked at him.

“I said forget her. Julia believes you had a hand in husband’s death. You really think you are going to change that?”

“You were the one that ordered me to get close to her. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with her, so don’t tell me just to forget it!” he screamed.

Ben then walked over and glared at him directly in the face. The two friends sneered at each other. “We have a chance to salvage this.” The scientist told him, “We got our station on the second Island. We can still bring the Herrenvolk into the world to lead them. This is only the beginning!”

Ben’s speech was interrupted by a vehicle crashing into the warehouse. The two men looked and then screamed in defiance as Eddie and his car came plowing toward them. Boxes, tables and chairs flew in all directions as Turk crashed into the building. Eddie immediately then dove into his backseat. The two soldiers that were with Ben and Matt fired on the car. The bullets smacked the windshield where Eddie was two seconds ago. The young man grunted as he climbed out the back broken windshield and rolled down his trunk.

The two soldiers fired on the drivers side, as Eddie expected them. The young man stayed hidden among the destroyed boxes while Turk plowed toward them. The vehicle then rammed one of the men and shoved him toward the wall. The impact made his head collide with the plate glass window and cracked it. The last soldier fired again and then stopped to reload. The moment he did, Eddie jumped up and fired on him. The soldier buckled as the bullets struck his head and ribs. Matt fired a round at Eddie as he and Ben ran out the back.

Eddie jumped over the dead body of the soldier and ran after them. He then looked around, among the huge crates. There was only one way to go. He quickly ran up the peer and started looking around. He didn’t see anything but boats, and water. The young man gritted his teeth, and kept looking. Then a bullet struck a nearby crate, making him jump. He turned to see that he had gotten on the wrong peer; Matt and Ben were on the other boardwalk. Bonnie’s stepfather continued to try and shoot the young man. Eddie returned fire with both his pistols, hoping he could hit them. However, he could already tell he was out of range.

Eddie then screamed as he jumped onto a boat hanging between the peers. The young man grunted as he fought to get away from the other stuff to get to the boardwalk. Bullets bounced around him as Matt continued to fire on him. Eddie fired twice before jumping on a plank. He grunted as the wooden board fell away in enough time to get to the top peer. He then jumped off and fired both his guns as he did. The clone of Ethan Rom fired again, hiding behind the pillars. Eddie continued to fire on him, running full bore at him and firing both his weapons. Bullet after bullet struck the pillar as Eddie ran. He finally got in range and screamed as he fired. One bullet struck Matt in the chest. The clone fell back against the wooden platform, holding his wound as his gun fell into the water.

Eddie tried to jump over a barrel but his foot got caught by the tip; making him stumble over. Ben fired on him, making the bullets bounced in the pillars above him. The scientist fired against then struck Eddie on the side of his rip cage. The young man screamed at the agonizing pain, holding his wound. He struggled to get to his feet but Ben was already on him. The crazed scientist pointed his gun directly at the young man’s face.

CLICK!

Ben felt like someone just stepped on his grave. Eddie then got to his feet and held his gun on the mad-man. The scientist slowly backed up and then held his hands up; dropping his gun at the same time. The young man winced in pain but didn’t waver from keeping the gun on Ben. The scientist stared at him and couldn’t fathom a way out of his situation. His only hope was to tell Eddie the truth and pray he believed him. He coughed and whispered, “”Eddie, Jilly is-“

Ben didn’t get a chance to say another word as the young man fired at his chest directly. The scientist grunted as bullet after bullet hit him in his body. He jerked back and forth, then fell into the water. However, Eddie didn’t stop firing. He continued to fire at the man even as he was in the water. Tear flowered from his eyed as he continued to squeeze the trigger.

CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.

Eddie took a deep breath, after he realized he had emptied an entire clip into Ben. Up in the distance, a smaller boat looked like it was about to dock but then it turned around, and left. The young man then collapsed onto his knees, holding his scraped wound. He had nothing left to do but cry. Jilly was gone and killing Ben wasn’t going to bring her back. However, he killed him after he tried to say her name. He had absolutely no right to say her name; no right at all. “Eddie . .” Matt whispered.

The young man gasped over the fact that Matt was still alive. He shifted around and looked at him. The older man was reaching into his jacket for something. He then pulled out a long red document. The clone then held it into Eddie’s direction, before letting his head drop onto the boardwalk. Then young man then crawled toward him, seeing the blood flow out of his mouth and sadly, the urine build up in his pants. Eddie coughed and then took the strange plastic document away from his dead hand.

Eddie took stood up and began to walk back. He took another look at the folded up parchment, which turned out not to be plastic but lamentation. As he unfolded it, it resembled a map. Eddie gasped when the map showed it’s destination.

Isla De Verde.

Eddie looked back at the dead man, wondering why he would bother to give this to him. A last chance at redemption? Eddie wasn’t sure and quiet honestly, he didn’t care. The young man felt justified in what he had done, considering what they did to Jilly, not to mention Bonnie and her mother. Eddie then started to limp up to the long access of the peer. He had needed to get back to Hanso to make sure everybody was okay.


The drive didn’t take as along as Eddie though it would. He felt slightly weak and a little cold. The young man coughed a bit, assuming he was feeling this because of the slow trickling wound down on his left side. He had never been shot before today. He smirked at the notion because technically he wasn’t shot; the bullet just scraped him. He got lucky, like when Kellye got shot on the forehead back on the Island and the bullet hit the perfect angle to deflect off her skull.

Eddie pulled Turk up to the street where the Hanso building was. The bulk of it was consumed in fire and smoke. The young man grunted as he got out of the vehicle. He then started to limp toward the massive collection of vehicles. Eddie looked around, wondering who they were. With the small collection of ambulances near the beginning of the parking lot, he naturally assumed these were some local authorities come to help him. “Bout time.” He laughed to himself.

“EDDIE!!!” Bonnie screamed.

Eddie smiled as he saw his girlfriend running toward him. The redhead threw off the blanket around her and ran toward him. She then wrapped her arms around him, making him grunt. However, he ignored the pain and held onto her. The fact that he was able to hold onto her meant he had won in some aspect. Bonnie kissed him passionately, holding onto his cheeks. The redhead parted from him, then gasped at the sight of her right hand covered in blood. She looked at Eddie and saw that he was bleeding from the side of his ribs. “Eddie, are you shot?” she asked in shock.

“Naw, it’s a scrape. It’s not bad.” He winced.

“Well, it’s bad enough to make you grunt in pain,” she said, guiding him back, “ Let’s let these doctors look at you.”

Eddie held onto and looked at her. He felt like he should tell her, considering everything that’s happened. The only hope he had was that she wouldn’t hate him. “Matt’s dead.” He coughed.

Bonnie smiled briefly and then kept helping him walk. “I know.” She whispered.

“I’m sorry, Bonnie. I know . . . I know he took good care of you.”

“Me too, Eddie. I sorry . . .he turned out to be an abomination. But I knew . . .if you had come back, then Matt and that horrible Ben person was more than likely dead. And I prefer to see you again then them.”

Eddie winced again. “Kewl.” He muttered.

The young man then climbed into the ambulance. The doctors immediately started to cut open his shirt to see the wound. Tristan then came out from the right and smiled at his friend. “Good to see you, brohiem.” He smirked.

“Good to see you too,” he grunted as they started to bandage him.

“Did you get what you needed?” the Asian teenager smirked.

“I did. Those two bastards won’t be bothering anybody ever . . . .again . . .”

Tristan then wondered what Eddie was trailing off in his speech. It was because in the distance, the young man was looking at someone he wasn’t expecting to see. The soldiers were guiding a young woman toward one of the ambulances. Kellye and Joscelyn rushed up to greet their friend. Jilly hugged both of them, and wept a little bit. The young man then pushed the doctors aside as he started to walk toward her. Jilly then saw her younger adoptive brother and laughed; seeing he was okay. Eddie then embraced her as she cried on his shoulder. “Jilly . . . .You’re . . .you’re alive.” He started to weep.

“I was about to tell you the same thing.” She said, kissing him on the side of his forehead.

“But . . I saw . . .I saw them put your . . .your head. . .in a plastic bag.”

Jilly looked at him confused. “My head?” she blinked, “Eddie . . .what are you talking about?”

“Eddie, do you mean this bag?” Tony said, as he walked up toward them.

Eddie laughed that his mentor and adoptive father was alive and well. Then he stared at the item in his hands. It was the same plastic grocery bag that contained what he thought was Jilly’s head. Eddie then took the bag and opened it. What was inside was a cantaloupe, a wig similar to Jilly’s head and small amounts of ketchup. “I don’t . .understand.” the young man whispered.

“Psychological warfare.” The one-eyed doctor whispered, “Raven found this while he was searching the building for survivors. He thought it was Jilly too. When he saw what was inside, he then scoured the building till he find her.”

“Why . . .why would those sons a bitches do that?” Jilly asked.

“They wanted to break me.” Eddie sniffed.

Tony looked at the young man that meant so much to him. Eddie started to squint his face, trying to keep from crying. The one-eyed doctor gently took him by the arms. “What . . have I become?” Eddie cried.

Tony then embraced him. Eddie had finally broken under the strain of the whole day. The one-eyed doctor held him and gently stroked his head. “You’ve become a hero, Eddie,” the older man told him, “You did what you had to, to help and protect the people you care about. Do not dwell on anything else.”

“He’s right, Eddie.” Jilly said, stroking his back.

Eddie wiped his tears as he parted from Tony. The one-eyed doctor then motioned for everybody to get onto the vans and allow the government representatives to take them away from there. They were on a time table after all. One of the soldiers requested the keys to Eddie’s Turk so they could bring it with them and keep it secured. The young man gave them and watched them quickly get it out of the street. He then accepted a blanket from one of the medic’s as they guided him and Bonnie back to the ambulance. Tristan hopped on before they did, as Eddie stepped in with Bonnie. The young couple sat on a gurney as the medics closed the door to get moving. The redhead leaned her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “I’m so glad this is over.” She whispered.

Eddie took a deep breath. He didn’t want to make her upset but he knew for a fact, it wasn’t even near over.

Part 470: Point of View Part 4

7:19 pm

Tony then buckled when a hail of bullets destroyed the wall he was hiding behind. John then quickly peaked out and saw Leann with her two minions. They quickly opened fire on him but promptly missed. The archer then pulled out one of his last explosive arrows. McKay loaded up his shotgun, and looked at him. “You got the look of a kid on Christmas, John.” The Australian laughed.

“Man, I feel like Green Arrow.” The gym teacher said as he loaded up the special arrow.

“I thought you would have said Hawkeye or are you not a Marvel man?” The one-eyed doctor chuckled.

John then pulled back the arrow and fired down the hallway. He wasn’t aiming for the bad guys; he was aiming for a metal conduit. The archer has the skill to bank the shot, making it ricochet and head straight for them. Leann and her soldiers ducked into a stairway as the explosive arrow struck a nearby wall; turning it into debris. Tony then peered around and all he saw was smoke. Then as the whiteness began to clear, he could see the open door to the stairway. “COME ON!!” he screamed as he ran toward the door.

Bullets bounced around as Tony quickly left the entrance. He then reached in and fired his gun wildly. The bullets echoed above and then he heard a scream. McKay rushed in first as they quickly ascended the stairs. After climbing a few flights, they saw one of the soldiers that were following Leann lying on the stairs. He was holding his chest just above his heart where massive amounts of blood was escaping through his fingertips. He looked up at the three men. John then took the gun out of one of Tony’s hand. He then pulled back the breech, letting the empty shell soar into the air and the gun immediately load in another one. He calmly pointed the gun toward the man’s head. “M . Mercy.” He coughed.

“You shot my wife, you kidnapped my daughter,” John winced, “I’m fresh out.”

The gunshot echoed loudly through out the stairway. Tony had covered his eye but then looked at the soldier. The man was still holding onto his chest wound but his eyes were rolled to the back of his; almost an horrific sight as it seemed he was staring at the bullet wound in his forehead. John coughed a bit then and then handed back the gun to his best friend. Before they could say anything, they heard a helicopter above. McKay then shoved past them and run up the stairs. John and Tony quickly followed after him.

McKay reached the door and then shoved open the door. He immediately saw Leann and her last soldier stepping into a helicopter. The Australian opened fire on them, letting the buckshot hit the side of the copter. A Liberator then opened fire on him from the driver’s side of the copter. McKay then screamed as the bullet ruptured his lower calf muscle. As he collided onto the gravel of the rooftop, Tony quickly came in and fired on them. John rushed over and grabbed his friend, dragging him onto the side of the rooftop entrance. Leann fired on Tony as the helicopter began rise. The one eyed doctor then screamed as he fired on the gas-tank but missed. The female soldier then fired again but missed at her enemy as the bullets bounced around him. Within four more seconds, they both became out of range. “JOHN!!!” Tony screamed at his friend.

John quickly rushed toward the side of the building, loading up his last explosive arrow as he ran. He stopped at the edge and aimed at the helicopter disappearing into the distance. He quickly fired upward, hoping his arm would make it fall right on top of them. The archer stared at his weapon as it shot into the blackness of the city lights. Then his arrow exploded about ten feet near the copter. It banked slightly but the pilot was able to regain control. “DAMN IT!!” John screamed, as they saw her fade into the night.

Tony and John then turned sharply at the sound of an explosion. McKay grunted as he was thrown forward from the flames that shot out of the stairway. The two friends rushed over to the Australian and then began to drag him away. The bald man then grunted as he held onto them, until they got him a few feet away. “John, check the stair way!” Tony told him.

The archer threw off his empty quiver as he ran back toward the small rooftop entrance. He got to it but he could only barely see through the smoke. What he did see wasn’t good. The majority of the stairs they came up with were on fire. He backed off and jogged back over to his friends. The archer then collapsed into the gravel beside them. “It’s no good,” he coughed, “The stairs are on fire.”

“Any other way off of here?” Tony panted.

McKay took a look around. All he saw was another far end of the building but it had nothing to climb onto. Not to mention the helipad was now empty. “No other way, unless you are Superman.” He sighed.

The three friends looked at each other. They all knew they were trapped on the roof and there was no way out. Tony took a deep sigh, feeling slightly regretful. He was going to take out Leann because she wanted to kill him and Marita. He never should have asked McKay and John to follow him. However, he knew deep down as their friendships go; they would have followed him to Hell if necessary. McKay looked up toward one of the sides of the building. Smoke was pouring out rapidly; meaning the fire was spreading. “I guess this is it, then.” The bald man whispered.

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Tony coughed.

John covered his face in his hands. He didn’t want to cry but he didn’t feel like he could do anything else. Tony walked over and sat next to him, gently rubbing his shoulder blades. McKay smiled at his two best friends. If he had to die, then he couldn’t think of any better people be there with him at the end. “Hey, “ he smiled, “We’ve covered some ground, haven’t we?”

John and Tony smiled; remembering his phrase from the Island. They were the best of friends, thrown together by circumstance when they needed each other the most. Tony needed friends to remind himself he wasn’t meant to be a loner. McKay needed friends to help him with his love life. And John needed friends he knew would never use him nor leave him. They were all thankful for the Island and what it gave them.

John looked up at the sky, with tears coming down his face. He couldn’t stop thinking of Mia and Shelley. He hoped they would be okay without him. The archer marveled at the stars that he could see through the smog. It made him feel a sense of peace. “I just wish . . . I just wish I could have seen Shelley grow up.” He whispered.

Tony stared up at the sky with him, thinking of his own unborn child. “The point is they WILL grow up.” He whispered.

It made McKay think of his unborn child with Taylor. “Alexander will raise my child,” he whispered with pride, “I taught him well.”

“You did, McKay,” the one-eyed doctor agreed, “And we also taught Eddie well. He will take care of all of them. I know it.”

“Yeah, we did right by Eddie. I guess . . .that’s one thing we can tell God will pride, eh?” John smiled, wiping his tears.

“Gentlemen . . .it’s been a privilege knowing you.” Tony held out his hand.

John immediately put his hand into Tony’s and McKay quickly followed suit. Back on the Island, Cecil had nicknamed them the Three Musketeers. Bonded by fate and bound by friendship, they vowed to always be there for one another. As the smoke and fire began to rise from the sides even higher, they knew they would be there with each other when they finally met Death together.

But some things are meant to come later.

John then yelped as a lightning bolt burst from the roof top near him. McKay screamed as well as more surges of electricity began to coarse around them. “WHAT IS THIS?” John screamed.

Before anybody could answer, the ground below them began to surge upward with them on it. The stucco, concrete, and steel gave way to a large, rocking platform. The three friends grabbed onto it as it rose up from the floor of the rooftop. Tony nearly has a bowel movement at the feel of the substance below him. He had felt it long ago.

It was the shell of a creature that saved him more times than it should have.

“OH, MY GOD!!!” he screamed, “IT’S THE POLLIWOG!!”

“WHAT THE HELL?” McKay screamed as he held onto the shell.

The creature let out a guttural purr as the back of it’s head could be slightly visible under the rooftops gravel. Tony remembered all the stories about how the Polliwog moved about and why it had protected him all this time. He remembered what he heard learned when it saved him from the sharks, not to mention the story that Jack conveyed back to him from Raven. It was the only logical explanation of why the creature was there now, not to mention . . . how it planned to get them off the rooftop. “HANG ON!!” Tony screamed to his friend, “CLOSE YOUR EYES!!”

“Tony, what’s it’s going to do?” McKay said as he jolted slightly.

“It’s going to teleport us off of here!!”

“WHAT?” the archer screamed, “TONY, I CAN’T DO THIS!!!”

“It’s either this or death, John!!!” the one eyed doctor leaned down, “PLEASE!! For Mia and Shelley . . .HANG ON!!!”

“OH, MY GOD!!” John grunted, as he slammed into the Polliwog’s shell, “OH, MY GOD!!! OH, MY . . . .AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.”




There wasn’t anyway to describe it.

Imagine yourself being reborn again. Or dying, yet brought back to life. Imaging being bathed in electricity only to have it not hurt you. Possibly even falling from a thousand feet up and then surviving the fall. Yes, it could not be described, riding the back of the Polliwog during it’s ability to bend space.

Tony slowly opened his eye. The darkness was dim, as if he was in a closed building. Then he saw the majority of brand name cars around him. The one-eyed doctor understood that he was in a car dealership. He remembered passing one on the way to Hanso. The doctor grunted as he leaned up. Every muscle in his body left like had had just fought off three elephants and won. A slight bit of vomit was in his mouth, not to mention he was covered in a sticky, translucent goop. The one eyed doctor wiped his face and hair of the majority of it. Then he heard a guttural purr behind him.

Tony closed his eye and turned around. He reached out for the creature and felt it’s huge tongue lick his palm. The doctor was thankful for the gifts he received in life. The magic of the Island and a creature that protected him was something he’d never thought he could ever comprehend. It was something that he would cherish for his whole life. But there was one thing he felt he needed to do.

Tony slowly opened his eye.

The doctor gasped at the sight of the Polliwog. He was expecting some fearsome creature, like the Manticore or the Griffith. What he was almost comical. The giant monster was almost the size of a T-Rex dinosaur but he was covered in dark blue feathers. On his back was a large shell, similar to a turtles. His head was similar to a hippo’s with big round eyes. The Polliwog panted like a dog and for the first time, it was allowing someone to look at it. The one-eyed doctor smiled and felt a little sad. He knew he’d never see the monster again and nor would anybody believe him. “Thank you . . .for everything.” He whispered.

The creature replied with a guttural purr as it back up into a corner, knocking two brand new PT-Cruisers out of it’s way. From out of the corner then shot a stream of black smoke. Tony gasped, not knowing that Monoxide had also arrived. The black smoke then hovered above the Polliwog, flashing it’s blue eyes at the doctor. The creature then bent down and started to tremble. If Tony didn’t know better, he thought it was taking a dump. Then a slow stream of clear ooze came from it’s back and then it began to sparkle in electricity. The monster began to glow a bright blue, enough for Tony to cover his eye. Then in a burst of air and electricity, the Polliwog and Monoxide were gone.

Tony slowly stood up. He slung the majority of the goop off his arms. He then heard a familiar moaning sound. He looked beyond the expanse of parked show-cars. “John?” he called.

“OH, MY GOD!!” the archer screamed, “WHAT IS THIS CRAP ALL OVER ME?”

Tony rushed over and helped his friend to his feet. Nearby McKay was grunting awake as well. Before he was able to stand, he promptly vomited. The one-eyed doctor patted him on the back and then helped him up. The Australian could barely stand because of his wounded leg. Tony looked at them both and chuckled a bit; happy to be alive. John, however, was still in freak-out mode. He slowly held out his hands, as the goo slid off of them. “What . . .is this?” he whispered in utter disgust.

“Near as I can tell, the Polliwog secretes it. It acts an electrical conductor to aid him in his teleportation.” Tony guessed.

“He . . .secretes . . it?” the archer said, still disgusted.

“John, do you realize what just happened? WE TELEPORTED!!!” Tony screamed in glee, “We’ve done in one minute what most scientists dream of their whole life! Isn’t that amazing?”

John then slung the goop off his hands and proceeded to walk toward the car dealership’s bathroom. “I’ll be amazed . .AFTER I wash this crap off.” He said, shoving the door open.

“Somehow I think he’s happy to be alive.” McKay chuckled.



After a few minutes of getting the bulk of the gunk off of them, the three friends walked out of the dealership. McKay had his arms around both Tony and John as they helped him walk with his wounded leg. He had taken off his shirt and turned it into a makeshift bandage. The one-eyed doctor looked at all the new trucks and vans, not recognizing them. John looked everywhere through them, then noticed his survivors friends. The crowd was slowly getting onto two vans and the others who were wounded where getting into ambulances. These black clothed men were helping their friends and they were clearly going willingly into the vans. “Tony, you see this?” John asked.

“Yeah, these are not the Liberation.” The doctor concluded.

“Government?” McKay asked.

“I don’t know but they got medical equipment so let’s get you over there.”

The three friends picked up the pace a bit as they walked over. The soldiers then immediately saw them, and started jogging over to them. “HEY!” John screamed, “We got a wounded man here!”

Another black-clothed soldier responded by bring a gurney over. As soon as they brought it, McKay stumbled over and collapsed into it. The soldiers then quickly started to rush him back toward the ambulance. When he got within two feet from it, Taylor screamed and ran toward him. The Australian grunted she landed on him and showed him with kisses; happy he was alive. His little family then came over, including Mandy, Alexander and Bridgett. They all gave their thanks to see him alive.

John then looked over and saw Mia and Shelley rushing up toward him. He then embraced her as Mia held onto him. The archer then picked up his daughter and kissed her on the cheek. He then kissed his wife and held onto them both. A few minutes ago, he was resigned to his fate to die on that rooftop. Silently, he thanked the Polliwog as he held onto the people that mattered most to him.

Tony then looked around and almost as if on cue, Marita ran toward him. He held out his hands and she collapsed into them; crying up a storm. The doctor kissed her on the forehead and stroked her hair. He held onto her like he was afraid to let her go. The couple then parted and then promptly kissed. They were almost getting use to facing death and coming out on top. It made Tony appreciate what he had all the more.

The doctor parted from his Latina wife and then by happenstance, looked into the distance. Up ahead in an ambulance was Bonnie. The red-head was covered in a blanket and weeping. What scared Tony the most was the fact that she was alone.

“Where is Eddie?” he asked.