Prophecy 3

[alliecat8]

Title: Prophecy, Part 3 (Conclusion)
Part 1, Part 2
Fandom:Lost
Characters: Jack, Kate, Sawyer
Rating: PG
Spoilers: This is heavily based on the latest (like, a week ago) S3 promo. If you aren't a nut like me, and haven't analyzed it to death, there might be a surprise or two. I AM IGNORING SPOILERS. This fic is completely the fault of MY brain.
Disclaimer: Only mine in my dreams
A/N: This fic is mostly set here. In my imagination, Sayid was faked out, but the hatch wasn't fake.

Huge thanks to eponine119 for the early read-through!




Kate doesn’t know if she’ll live or die.

Either way, she won’t be surprised. Since she’s come to live with the Others, nothing surprises her anymore.

They’ve given her everything, and nothing. She’s been fed, clothed, and sheltered. She’s been treated politely, even kindly. She’s been given her freedom.

They’ve provided her with so much that she wants, but they’ve withheld from her the things that she needs the most. Answers. Instructions. And especially, comfort. At night she crawls into bed and shivers, though the room isn’t chilly and she’s enveloped in blankets. In the dark she remembers the last time she’d truly felt comforted. As she’d cried in the wake of the deaths in the hatch, it had been Sawyer’s warm arms that held her, Sawyer’s chest she’d buried her face in as she grieved. Now the only arms that wrap around her when she cries are her own, and the softness of the pillow beneath her cheek is no substitute for the beating of a human heart.

Live alone. Die together.

At night They whisper. It must be Them, she tells herself, though she’s never identified the source of the words that swirl around her in the dark. Maybe they whisper the truth. Maybe they whisper lies. Kate no longer knows which is which.

Runaway. Run…away.

She doesn’t understand these people, doesn’t know why they want her here. They frighten her because she doesn’t know what they want. But this time, Kate doesn’t run.

********

Jack has stopped trying to count the days. At first they’d tried to feed him, to keep him comfortable, but he’d refused to cooperate. His mind was entirely focused on escape. As they’d moved him from place to place, he’d stubbornly clung to his determination. He’d had faith in his own intelligence, his own force of will as, time after time, he’d found a way out. And each time he’d escaped, he’d found himself faced with certain death. The first time it had been by drowning, the next by fire. After they rescued him for the third time – this time half-frozen – he’d begun to understand. They were putting him through a series of experiences designed to teach him that escape was impossible; his life was in their hands. Still, he refused to eat.

There is no way to count the days in total darkness. But in this, the final experiment, he knows there will be no rescue. He knows because they no longer try to feed him. They’ve left him here alone for days, who knows how many? He knows because, as the woman had loosened the ropes that bound his hands but not the ones on his feet, she had slipped cold metal between his palms and whispered, “When all hope is gone, then you will find your freedom.” Of course he’d aimed the gun in the direction of the voice, of course he’d tried to fire, only to find that the weapon was empty. By the time he’d freed himself from the ropes, the woman was gone and the door was locked. He’d found no way to open it and he knew that even if he had, certain death would lie on the other side. That was their way, that’s what they had taught him.

He found the bullet on the floor.

Now he sits in the dark and listens to the whispers for the last time.

Healer. Leader. Hero.

There is no escape.

You don’t have what it takes.

Lies, every word. All hope is gone, but he has what it takes to escape, to find his freedom. He isn’t a healer anymore, he hadn’t asked to be a leader, and he’s never been a hero, but Jack is still in control of his life.

He puts the gun to his head.

********

They don’t answer her questions, ever, no matter how often she asks or how loudly she screams, until finally the man who calls himself Henry approaches her and smiles. “You understand, of course, that you may leave at any time. But I know why you stay.”

She stares at him with narrowed eyes and fights back a fierce urge to spit. “You don’t know anything.”

“You stay because you think you can find them. That you’ll hear something, see something, that will tell you where they are.”

She raises her chin. “They’re here somewhere. They have to be.”

Henry shakes his head in a gesture of amused pity. “You understand so little. Would you believe me, Kate, if I told you that you are the only one who is welcome here? That you friends have…other destinies?”

Defiantly, she answers, “Then I’ll leave. I won’t stay here without them. I can hunt, and I can track, and if that doesn’t work, then I’ll just follow my heart. I will find them.”

“There’s an easier way.” Henry’s lips still curve upward, his voice is soft, but all Kate can see or hear is menace. “I could just show you.”

She feels the hairs on the back of her neck rise. “You’ll take me to them?”

Again, he smiles his sinister smile, and he begins to walk.

It all seems too easy and Kate senses that it’s a trick, but she sees no other way but to follow him back the way they came, along graveled roads, onto a small boat and across an expanse of water to the dock where she’d last seen her friends. “My apologies,” Henry says as he brings out ropes, a gag, and a hood. “I know these are uncomfortable, but also necessary. I will, of course, remove them when we reach our destination.” He reaches for her. “You do trust me…don’t you?”

Kate utters a muffled curse as he gags her and tugs the hood over her head, but she allows it. She doesn’t struggle as he binds her hands. She knows that by choosing this, by choosing to go looking for her own people, she is choosing to reject her freedom. Her one chance to live in a civilized society, unjudged, uncaged. The Others will not welcome her back, if she is with them.

Henry leads her through the jungle for miles and when they stop, they are again near the water. Through the coarse fabric of the hood she can hear the surf, and smell the tang of salt in the air.

“They’re here.” Henry’s voice has a singsong lilt, saturated with sarcasm. “Do you feel them in your…heart?”

Kate stands still, waiting. She suspects that the game isn’t yet over, and she’s right.

“I’ll take you to them in a moment,” Henry says, “but first, let me tell you where they’ve been.” She feels the movement of air as he steps closer, and he rests his hand on her shoulder in a gesture that is eerily paternal. “We put them exactly where they belonged. Your friend James – Sawyer, of course, to you – was behind bars. We asked him for only one thing. We asked him to confess to James Ford’s crimes. At first, he refused to speak. Then, after days without food or water, he became defiant. He confessed to theft, and to murder. Two murders, to be precise, one on the island and one before. I believe he ended his confession with the phrase, ‘What are you gonna do about it?’” Henry sighs, the sigh of a disappointed father. “But he never confessed to his true crime, so we brought him here, and left him in restraints. To give him time to think.”

Kate knows that Sawyer is a thief. She knows that he is a killer. She can’t imagine what his “true crime” would be, if not those. Maybe he can’t either, and that’s why he won’t confess. She wants Henry to remove the gag so that she can defend Sawyer, but when she tries to speak he continues, “We handled your doctor a bit differently. Jack isn’t a criminal. He isn’t a taker of lives, he saves them. We thought he would respond to a more civilized approach. So we offered him food and shelter. We introduced him to several of our…projects. We asked for his cooperation. I must say, I was a far better host to him than he was to me. But sadly for everyone, he rejected our invitation to…shall we say, join our team. So we brought him here, and left him alone in the dark. To…think.”

Henry’s fingers travel up her shoulder, and absently begin to fumble with the bottom of her hood. “Oh dear, that reminds me. I’m afraid I’ve neglected to mention the most important part. I use the word team because life is, in fact, a game, is it not? And like every game, there are rules. In this game, my team makes the rules. Now, I have a bit of a good news, bad news scenario for you.”

Kate shivers, but not from the wind. Henry says, “You should have no trouble finding your way back to your camp, and I hope you’ll be in good company. Now which would you like first, the good news or the bad news?” Kate makes a choked noise. “Oh, that’s right,” he chuckles, “the cat’s got your tongue. The good news first, then. Two of you are free to go.” He pats the back of her neck, then he sighs. “The bad news is, one must stay behind to face the fate they deserve. But there’s more good news. You, Kate, are allowed to pick who goes, and who does not.” There is a chilling smile in his voice as he continues, “I have faith in you, Kate. I know that you’ll make the right choice.”

Kate’s body begins to shake harder, not only from the fear his words evoke, but also from adrenaline. She fights to hide this as he removes the hood and the gag, then moves on to untie the ropes that bind her wrists. Kate is small but she’s strong, and she has not refused the nourishment the Others offered her nor has she suffered from a lack of exercise while on the island. Henry is not a large man. She can fight him. The instant the ropes come off she whirls to face him, and that’s when she sees the gun. Even so, she attacks.

Suddenly the whispers surround her, as loud and as unrelenting as the pounding surf.

Runaway. Run…away.

They struggle for the gun. “I’m surprised at you, Kate,” Henry pants, and his voice is still eerily pleasant, even in battle. “I thought you would be so much better at playing this game.”

“Stop it,” she yells and, unbelievably, she hears Henry laugh. “Please stop it. Go away. Stop it. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Live alone. Die together.

“If you shoot me, Kate, you know you’ll die. They will kill you. They’re all around us, can’t you hear them?”

He has one arm pinned behind her, the other pinned between them. Now they’re both clutching the gun.

“What are you doing?” He’d brought her here to let her go, to let them go. Not to kill anyone. It didn’t make sense, why should anyone die? “What the hell are you doing with a gun? Get out of here!”

Murder in her heart.

“Choose,” Henry says. “Choose wisely. And remember, you have three choices, not just two.”

They are still for a moment, taut, locked in an impasse. The gun is pressed against her chest, and if it goes off now, it’s Kate who will fall. She closes her eyes and thinks of the fates they deserve. If Sawyer faces his, she has no doubt that it will be death. If it’s Jack they take instead, they will insist on controlling him, and Kate knows that Jack would choose death over a life in which he has no control.

Murder in her heart.

Or she can choose herself, and face the fate that she deserves.

Murder in her heart.

“That’s right, Kate,” Henry says, as if he has read her mind. “I believe you’ve finally learned the rules. Before any of you are free, someone must die.”

Kate chooses.

********

Sawyer’s fingers are clumsy from blood loss and numb from the damage the ropes have done to the nerves in his wrists. Listening to the screams, he struggles frantically. “Not this time,” he mutters, “this time I’m coming out.” But just as the ropes slide free, he hears the shot. He freezes, but only for a moment. So far, he’s only half-failed. He goes to work on the ropes on his feet. Suddenly the door opens and he looks up, expecting to see Jack standing there with a gun in his hand. Sunlight streams in, and though the figure in the doorway is backlit and shadowy, he can tell it isn’t Jack. Sawyer lunges for him, but the man steps back, and Sawyer sees that he is barefoot. “Namaste,” the man whispers, just before he turns and disappears.

Then Sawyer hears the second shot.

********

The woman stands with her back to the sacred stones, the wind whipping her skirt against her legs. Her bare toes curl against the rocky ground. Long, golden strands of hair blow across her face, into her eyes, and she pushes them back to watch the tableau unfold before her. She sees the runaway girl fall and lie motionless on the ground. She watches her teammate move swiftly to unlock the door of the hatch, and he slips his feet out of the shoes he’d taken from the man on the other side. She watches him hurry to the bamboo-and-canvas hut, open the door, and bow slightly to the one who lay struggling on the floor. Seconds later he is by her side.

********

Sawyer pulls the ropes from his feet and runs, swaying slightly but without any hesitation, to the still form on the ground. As he kneels and cups her face, he has a vision of Libby lying on the floor of the hatch. As if he’s brought the memory to life, Kate begins to cough and her body spasms beneath his hands. And just like that day, suddenly Jack is there, kneeling on the ground beside him.

“Breathe, Kate, c’mon.” He pulls back the neckline of her shirt, fingers a reddening wound above her heart. “What happened to her?”

“You should know,” Sawyer growls, but he’s looking at Jack’s temple, reaching out toward the line of blood that runs down his cheek. “She was shot. So were you.”

Kate sucks in a deep gulp of air, and her eyelids flutter open. “Okay…okay,” she gasps, struggling to sit up. “Just got the wind knocked out of me, that’s all.” Her eyes go from Sawyer to Jack, and then back again to Sawyer. “You’re bleeding. Both of you.”

Sawyer is still probing Jack’s head, though rivulets of his own blood are running down his arm from the gaping wound in his wrist. “He shot himself. Right after he shot you.” Sawyer pauses and gives Kate such a confounded look that, under different and less-painful circumstances, she would have laughed. “He shot you, right?”

“Blanks.” Kate looks down at the spreading bruise on her chest. “The gun was loaded with blanks. And it wasn’t Jack who shot me, it was Henry.”

Jack had already pushed Sawyer’s hand away and pulled off his shirt, and now he begins to rip it into strips. “The bullet just grazed me, Sawyer, I’m fine. How did you do this to your wrists?”

“Tore ‘em open tryin’ to get out of the ropes. Tryin’ to get loose so I could save you.” He gives Jack a look that is equal parts confusion, relief, and amazement. “You’re the only fuckup I know who could shoot yourself in the head and miss.”

“It’s a…long story.” Jack reaches for Sawyer’s torn left hand. “Let’s get these hands wrapped up and get out of here, before they come back.”

Kate looks around, and she and Sawyer exchange glances over Jack’s bent head. “I don’t think they’re coming back,” she says. “I think they’ve left us alone. Listen, even the whispers are gone.”

********

”So you’ve said your goodbyes,” the woman says, though her eyes never leave the huddled group below her.

“They’ll think I’m a liar,” he answers regretfully. “They’ll never understand.”

“I think they’ll know.” The woman smiles softly, and she lowers her head as if in prayer. “They may not understand, but they’ll feel it. If not now, then soon. They’ll know that they all died.”

The woman and the man stand beside the sacred stones and watch the triad of survivors below tend to one another’s wounds. Head, hands, and heart. The three had behaved exactly as the woman had predicted. The hardheaded doctor had, at the last possible moment, moved his hand just enough that his bullet had merely grazed his skin, not taken his life. He’d chosen to survive, even without control, and in that instant he’d given himself over to the hands of fate. Now he holds the hands of the one who had risked himself to save them, hands that had stolen and murdered and fought against everything that is good. Those hands would be forever scarred by the battle they’d waged to pull a little boy from under a bed, to rescue the child within himself so that he could save two others…because he had allowed them to touch the boy’s heart. And the runaway girl, the girl who followed her heart even when it led her astray, had been willing to lose her own life so she wouldn’t destroy another.

The man and woman watch as the three walk away, leaving only the ghosts of who they’d been behind.


END

Comments

[isis2015.livejournal.com]

Okay, so I'm going to try to offer coherent feedback, but I might fail. So, bear with me.

He isn’t a healer anymore, he hadn’t asked to be a leader, and he’s never been a hero, but Jack is still in control of his life.

He puts the gun to his head.

Reading that kinda felt like getting kicked in the gut. My stomach just tensed automatically. That's just so Jack, needing the control to that point. If it really came to that, I could see Jack doing just about everything he's done up until and including that.

Kate chooses.

I have a strange relationship with Kate. Sometimes I like her, sometimes I don't. But I fully believe that that is the choice she would make, and that makes me proud of her for some reason.

I think I'm going to have to read it a few more times to get all of what's going on (which is no reflection on you or your writing, I'm just dense like that), but I have to say, the way that this is written, the way that all the parts have been written, have been captivating and amazing, beautiful and heartbreaking at times. A job well done love. Extremely well done.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to have to read it a few more times to get all of what's going on

Thank you for always finding something wonderful to say, no matter what crazy thing I write! Since yours is the first comment I'll say this to you, but I'm really saying it to everybody who reads the comments on this fic -- it's okay if you come away from it feeling a little bit confused! I deliberately left a lot of mystery in it...I was in a kind of Lost-like mood when I wrote it, I guess. I left a lot of stuff open to interpretation, because at this point in the show we've got so many questions, and the survivors have so many questions, that I wanted to write something that reflected that.

I'm so glad you liked it, in spite of it being a little bit mysterious. Love you lots! ♥

[eponine119.livejournal.com]

Yay, it's done! (And I mean that in the best possible way.) This is so creepy and so good and so unexpected, it's hard to know what to say.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I tweaked it a little bit after you read it the first time, but I left a lot of the wtf? factor in it, just 'cause. Especially now that I've seen the latest promo, I'm all geared up for some mystery! And definitely some creepiness, too. ;) Thank you for always being supportive, even when I'm writing weird stuff. There aren't words to express how much I appreciate you! *huge hugs*

[sassafras224.livejournal.com]

WOW. Just.... wow. Am too tired and overwhelmed to do coherent feedback right now, but wanted to let you know that you have done an AMAZING job with this. Easily one of the best-- and most believable-- captivity fics out there. More later, I promise!

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

After the season finale I told my flist that I didn't want to write captivity fic at all. Then I went and made a captivity series my summer project! I'm not quite sure how that happened, lol. I'm really glad you liked it and thought it was believable. Thank you! :D

[gottalovev.livejournal.com]

wow, I love how it all wrapped up! this is really good!
you scared me for a moment, thought Jack had killed himself, I can see him try that to keep control of something.
thanks darling, that was a great serie

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Eep, I'm sorry I scared you! I scared myself, there for a while. The reason it took me so long to write the final chapter of this series is because I could NOT figure out how to end it without all 3 of them dying. I knew my flist would hate me if I killed off the our OT3. I finally figured out how to end it in a way that didn't make you and everybody else want to kill ME! ;)

Thank you so much for reading and liking!

[astra2104.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is intense. Such a haunting athmosphere, with so much despair and hope at the same time that I can't really decide whether I'd like to see that on the show or not.
Oh, who am I kidding, of course I'd like to see that...I think it would probably be the most satisfying explanation we could get.
Now for my favourite parts:
“Not this time,” he mutters, “this time I’m coming out.” *breaks*

The instant the ropes come off she whirls to face him, and that’s when she sees the gun. Even so, she attacks.
There, right there it is: The moment I fell in love with Kate again.
♥

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I kinda sorta went and made Kate a hero, didn't I? *scratches head* But Kate can be pretty fierce and protective when she needs to be, so I think she might actually do something like that. I know this fic wasn't an easy read, and I wondered what my flist would think of it. Thank you so much for liking it in all its weirdness! *hugs*

[elise-509.livejournal.com]

i'm exhausted and incoherent at the moment but i didn't want to forget to leave you feedback so i'm going to give this a go!

this story was really powerful and very well done. I love how the "head, hands and heart" corresponded to the characters in so many ways. That was brilliant. The whole thing is very eerie and haunting and moving and you did a great job! :) Thanks for sharing this with us.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

You're here! I thought you were out of town, so seeing fb from you was a happy surprise! I'm way way behind on the flist because this fic took so darn long to write, and I know I've missed out on some of your posts. I'm catching up today, I promise. I know there's more of the Artist series, and I can't wait to read it!

I'm glad you liked the "head, hands, heart" thing. I wondered if people would get what I was trying to say there, so thank you for mentioning that particular part. And thank you so much for reading this and liking it! :D

[elise-509.livejournal.com]

hee, i was out of town until sunday night like at 3am. hence the incoherency. yours was the first story i read when i got back onto LJ! what a good way to get back. and while i'm here, i just want to reiterate how great this story is! all your hard work really paid off. :)

[zelda-zee.livejournal.com]

If this is what we get when we have to wait for so long, then I am content to wait! It is well worth it. This story is so satisfying. I love how you take all the dangling threads from canon and weave them into something that is so dense and full of meaning. There's no way the show will come up with anything anywhere near as good (unless, as usual, they're reading our LJs - kidding! Except you know they do.)

I have to say, you are perhaps the only writer I read who consistently makes me find Kate interesting. When you write her I see her differently, I see a lot more depth and potential there than I'm used to, and I appreciate that. Tho you almost made me cry. About Kate! That would've been a first.

This fic coincides rather well w/that Michael Emerson promo, doesn't it - something about discovering who they really are, and what could be more terrifying? I think that's the promo for your series.

I think what I like best here is how everything fits together so well. Tho none of the parts are long, it's a complex series and certainly goes into a lot of depth about the characters. I love how it all ties up in a way that makes sense within the context of the fic - also within canon. The head, hands, heart symbolism... it's just very assured, very straightforward and beautiful writing.

I have to say, the tone of this series has been so serious, so it was a relief to lol when Sawyer said: You’re the only fuckup I know who could shoot yourself in the head and miss. Vintage Sawyer, love it.

You know that ending... I can't say how much I love it. It's heartwrenching and beautiful. I think of them, walking together into the unknown, finally free. Breaks my heart.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I think I'm in love with your feedback. You saw so much of what I was hoping people would see, but I wasn't sure that the tone of the fic would get it across just right. I think I will print out this fb and carry it around all day, because it makes me so happy!

I have to say, you are perhaps the only writer I read who consistently makes me find Kate interesting.

THANK YOU for saying that! That's a huge compliment. It's no secret that I don't like the way they write Kate on the show; I think they could do so much more with the character. As a fic writer, I have two choices about how to handle my feelings -- I can either ignore her, or try to write her the way I want her to be written. The second way is a challenge, and it makes me proud and happy to know that you think I pull it off well.

This fic coincides rather well w/that Michael Emerson promo, doesn't it -

There is not enough SQUEE in all the world to express my feelings about that promo!!! And I saw it right after I posted this fic. I was literally bouncing in my chair. Oh, creepy!notHenry, I do love you so!

Vintage Sawyer

When Sawyer said that line to Jack (you know how sometimes your characters just say things that you have no idea they were going to say?), I wanted to throw my arms around him and say, 'I love you!" If this fic was a heavy read, just imagine how I felt while I was writing it. Absolutely wrecked. Then Sawyer broke the tension with a completely "Sawyer" one-liner, and it felt so good! :D

I'm glad you liked the ending, and that you enjoyed the whole thing. I think I have something of yours to catch up on, don't I? I haven't read fic in weeks, because this one was giving me such a fit. Now I'm off to catch up with everything I missed!

[zelda-zee.livejournal.com]

It makes me happy to know my fb made you happy! :)

I love it when Sawyer talks like that! He seems to do it more than any other character, but then he's a mouthy s.o.b., we know that!

I hope you're proud of this fic. You should be.

[keyweegirlie.livejournal.com]

Allie~
I sneaked online for a few moments and I just saw that you posted this...as soon as I get home later tonight this is first on my list to read...Congrats on finally finishing it.... ;-)

*hugs*
~C~

[keyweegirlie.livejournal.com]

I'm back... and all I can possibly say is...WOW, this was so good Sweetie. You definitely get away with being MIA lately if this is what you've been trying to do. Now on with the mini review...

'...the last time she’d truly felt comforted. As she’d cried in the wake of the deaths in the hatch, it had been Sawyer’s warm arms that held her, Sawyer’s chest she’d buried her face in as she grieved. Now the only arms that wrap around her when she cries are her own, and the softness of the pillow beneath her cheek is no substitute for the beating of a human heart.'

Heartbroken...that is how I felt right after reading that section. Because sadly, I've experienced that moment when you realize that the only thing you could/would wish was another's warmth. It's sad, but you wrote it so beautifully.

'...All hope is gone, but he has what it takes to escape, to find his freedom. He isn’t a healer anymore, he hadn’t asked to be a leader, and he’s never been a hero, but Jack is still in control of his life.

He puts the gun to his head.'

Stunned silence...wow, I think that all of the butterflies that live in my stomach flew away at that precise moment, and didn't know if they should come back. I was silently begging you not to write what I was pretty sure you just wrote. (I must be a closeted Jack girl after all)

'Kate knows that Sawyer is a thief. She knows that he is a killer. She can’t imagine what his “true crime” would be, if not those. Maybe he can’t either, and that’s why he won’t confess.'

God, how I wish Henry would have told Kate what Sawyer/James' true crime was....was it not trying to save his mother? I'm so intrigued with that now.

'...But just as the ropes slide free, he hears the shot. He freezes, but only for a moment. So far, he’s only half-failed. He goes to work on the ropes on his feet. Suddenly the door opens and he looks up, expecting to see Jack standing there with a gun in his hand. Sunlight streams in, and though the figure in the doorway is backlit and shadowy, he can tell it isn’t Jack.'

Poor Sawyer, still thinking that Jack is the only one that can be the hero, but then again maybe not...

'Jack had already pushed Sawyer’s hand away and pulled off his shirt, and now he begins to rip it into strips. “The bullet just grazed me, Sawyer, I’m fine. How did you do this to your wrists?”

“Tore ‘em open tryin’ to get out of the ropes. Tryin’ to get loose so I could save you.” He gives Jack a look that is equal parts confusion, relief, and amazement. “You’re the only fuckup I know who could shoot yourself in the head and miss.”'

...Maybe Sawyer is starting to believe that he too could be a hero. But whatever the reasoning, you've still gotta love the fact that he hasn't lost his smartass attitude, especially with that last line there.

“I think they’ll know.” The woman smiles softly, and she lowers her head as if in prayer. “They may not understand, but they’ll feel it. If not now, then soon. They’ll know that they all died.”

Oh Damn......

I just wanna reach through the computer and hug you right now, this was amazing....thanks for stressing yourself out like crazy and getting this done, now just think you can come back to LJ and fangirl with us all again. ;-P

*hugs & luvs*
~C~

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Squee! It makes me happy that people are asking questions about this fic in the comments. I left a lot of questions open, on purpose, because that's what the Lost writers do, and half the fun of Lost is trying to puzzle out the things they don't tell us.

God, how I wish Henry would have told Kate what Sawyer/James' true crime was

I don't know the answer to that, but I have a theory! ;) My theory is that the "correct" answer would be for Sawyer to declare James' innocence. I don't think that James became evil!Sawyer when he was 19, like he told Kate, I think that Sawyer was the alter-ego that emerged while James was still under the bed. He was the personality that protected James from all the trauma in his life, but in doing so, he imprisoned innocent James under the bed for three decades. I think of Sawyer/James as being a true split personality, and Sawyer embodies all the guilt while innocent James is still hiding deep inside. (Remember, psych is my thing.)

Poor Sawyer, still thinking that Jack is the only one that can be the hero, but then again maybe not...

There's another example of something that I left open to interpretation. I think poor Sawyer was pretty confused at that point by the whispers saying "it'll come back around." In the crack under the door he saw Jack's shoes and Kate's shoes, and he heard Kate saying the same words his mother had said, and he thought that history was repeating itself. He thought Jack was going to shoot Kate, and then come into the room where he was, sit on the bed, and shoot himself. But really, Henry was wearing Jack's shoes, and it was all a set-up to make Sawyer think that's what was happening. The whole scenario was a test that the Others set up, and they'd predicted that all three of the captives would do just exactly what they did.

Devious bastards, those Others, huh? ;)

I love you for being sad where I meant for you to be sad, and puzzled where I meant for you to be puzzled, and happy where I meant for you to be happy. Thank you for leaving such wonderful feedback! *loves you madly*

[keyweegirlie.livejournal.com]

'I think that Sawyer was the alter-ego that emerged while James was still under the bed. He was the personality that protected James from all the trauma in his life, but in doing so, he imprisoned innocent James under the bed for three decades. I think of Sawyer/James as being a true split personality, and Sawyer embodies all the guilt while innocent James is still hiding deep inside.'

Ummm...wow, you shouldn't have said that...I'm totally freaking out now, because I've kinda thought that for awhile now. It's that whole AP Psych class I had in high school all those years ago. ;-)

'Devious bastards, those Others, huh? ;) '

Well duh....when I saw the newest promo (with Henry talking) the first words outta of my were..."Oh, that sick bastard." Then of course I slapped my mouth and told Andy that Mommy said a bad grown up word. ;-)

*loves you madly too*
~C~

[inthekeyofd.livejournal.com]

I tried leaving feedback last night but my server kept going down..anyway, just want to tell you that I LOVED this series, it was dark, it kept you on edge, and it's perfect because while the "others" are creepy, the balance of what they would do and what we think they would do is PERFECT here.

And please, could Henry creep me out any more if he tried, you right him just so well. *should I be scared for you??* : )

Excellent!!

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I love it that Henry creeped you out! Creepy!notHenry is the BEST character EVER, and I want to write him a lot, but I'm still trying to learn his "voice." It makes me really happy to hear that you thought I did him justice here. And yes, about the Others, they're creepy, but I'm not sure their creepiness is really evil. I'm still thinking that, whatever it is that they're up to, they at least think they're doing it for the greater good. Whatever THAT means! Maybe we'll find out next season...or maybe not. ;)

Thank you for reading and liking! Now I'll just go back to spamming my flist, and waiting (im)patiently for more dark!fic from you!

[arabella-hope.livejournal.com]

You make me cry more than anyone I know. Swear to God.

I...I can't tell you how great this is, I just can't. I don't have the power over words that you do. I cried for KATE, WTF? I can't yet, it won't make sense, but I promise you real feedback. This kind of just hit everything right and hurt and maybe you shouldn't have, because unless they do JUST THIS, I'm not going to be satisfied at all by S3.

LOVE YOU.

Gah! *rushes off*

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

You make me cry more than anyone I know.

I hope that's a good thing! I made you cry for Kate? Wow. I'm kinda proud of myself! ;)

I want to see them do something along these lines, playing up both the mystical and the psychological angles. The stone formation and the giant foot made me start thinking about mythology, and of course the monster et. al all play into an mysticism theme. And that latest promo with Henry...I'm still squeeing over that because of the psych connection. Now they've really got my hopes up for S3! I didn't put any spoilers in this fic (promise!) and I know you're spoiler-free so I want to hear your thoughts on this -- did you speculate any about who "the woman" might be?

*stabs LJ*

[arabella-hope.livejournal.com]

It ate my comment.

I kind of got lost in the italicized parts, so...I focused on the rest. I adore how you manuevered them into position, how they became one entity by breaking down their walls and instead tapping into their, well, LOVE for one another. They seem to be free and clear and EQUAL at the end, and the way you were able to do that feels so REAL and right.

And the first comment was so much better than this. UGH.

I would have to guess Penny? Did they reallly die?

Re: *stabs LJ*

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

They seem to be free and clear and EQUAL at the end, and the way you were able to do that feels so REAL and right.

I like that idea, that they were equal in the end. That feels exactly right...like it's what I was trying to say without exactly knowing it. *loves you*

I would have to guess Penny? Did they reallly die?

Nobody was supposed to totally "get" the italicized parts. I wanted that to stay a mystery. I'm going to bring back "the woman" in other fics, and I have a pretty good idea who she is, but I want her to be mysterious. So, I won't say if your guess is right or not, but I like it! :)

And no, they didn't literally die. I would never kill them...or at least, I'd never kill two out of three of them. ;) That's why it took me so long to finish the series, because I couldn't figure out how to get them out of the mess they were in without really killing them. The muse wanted to, and I refused, so we had a Mexican standoff. But I won! They only figuratively "died," they left behind the parts of themselves that the 3 Prophecies condemned them for. Jack left behind the belief that he doesn't "have what it takes," Kate left behind the "murder in her heart," and Sawyer left behind his fatalistic belief that the trauma in his life will "come back around."

Whew, sorry for the long-winded answer! *hugs*

[hkath.livejournal.com]

I read this a little while ago but am just managing to comment now. I loved the creepy mysticalness of it! A really great conclusion to your series. I don't know how Henry manages to still be creepy even when he's acting like... I don't know, almost like a benevolent god figure in this fic. But he does!

Also, can I say how much I enjoy it when you and Kate get along? I know you've had your differences, but you write her really well :)

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I used to write "mystical" stuff all the time, back in my Ireland-obsessed days. I was so blocked on how to end pt. 3, and then I got an idea about the "woman" and who she might be, and the stones (and the foot, though that didn't make it into the fic) and the muse got all fired up...so I guess this fic was my bit of nostalgia for the old days, lol! I like that description of Henry as a "benevolent god." I don't know if the Others are evil or are, as they say, the "good guys," but for some reason I'm convinced that they at least *think* they're on the side of right and good. But Henry seems to enjoy toying with them so much, he is just the epitome of creepiness! That's why I love him so much!

Thank you so much for saying that about Kate. She's always a challenge for me, but I usually end up feeling more chartible toward her after I spend a little time in her head. It's a mess in there, but maybe there's hope for her yet! ;)

[cynthia-arrow.livejournal.com]

Holy fuck, dear.

This bears re-reading, probably later tonight. And probably all 3 parts. I'll be coherent then.

But I have to say now: I was gonna skin you alive if Jack killed himself. Not just because he'd be dead but because I don't think he'd have it in him to do it. I really didn't think you'd give us a positive ending. I should've known you better than that... :)

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Maybe I should've warned everybody that this is one that might take more than one read-through. And some of the questions in this fic don't have answers, except the ones you come up with in your imagination. This was definitely the strangest fic I ever wrote.

I really, really can't see Jack killing himself, but I can see him thinking about it if he believes that all hope is gone. Trying to pull off a happy ending in this fic was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I was determined to do it. That's why it took so long to write! *hugs*

[cmonkatiekatie.livejournal.com]

Ooh, this was fascinating. I've read it twice through and still can't quite put my finger on what's so eerie about it. (I mean besides the near suicide and the blanks and the creepy lady and Henry who's always good for a shiver up the spine) There was something else too, maybe the style or how you had them all converge at the end (which was fantastic). This definitly reads like an episode of the show, or better actually. And I love your Kate here, you give her credit and thats something the show doesn't really do. (and I thought you didn't like her much? You hide it so well!) Her capture is one that would definitly get under her skin and you did such a good job with figuring what each character would find the most terrifying. Seriously, people could take lessons from your characterization.

The woman and the man stand beside the sacred stones and watch the triad of survivors below tend to one another’s wounds. Head, hands, and heart.

I liked this part in particular. It just seems like if you had to boild the characters down to one thing, that would be it, so it makes so much sense that those part's would be the injured parts. I think I'm going to have to read all three of them together at some point.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

*blushes*

Thank you so much! Thank you especially for saying what you did about the characterizations. Kate is always a challenge for me, because I don't want to let my "issues" with her cloud my ability to be fair. And I'm glad you thought it was eerie, because eerie was definitely what I was going for! *loves you*

[hendercats.livejournal.com]

*gapes*
Now I know why jenthegypsy raves about your work! Must apologize for ripping through all three parts and not commenting till the end - found myself quite wrapped up in it.

Sawyer and Jack fighting with their personal demons was masterfully done. And thanks for the prickles of dread you so icily set on the back of my neck when Benry tells Kate he'll take her to see them - you had me seriously worried. Love how you tied it all so nicely together at the end (though must say I understand Kate's reactions/motivations and Sawyer's and why they're right more than I do Jack's). Thought you had an excellent grasp of Benry's voice throughout, with just the right touch of chilling matter-of-factness.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I saw your name in my email and thought, "Why does that seem so familiar?" Now I know -- I recognized you from Jen's journal! I'm glad you found this compelling, and I'm sorry I worried you! ;) I think Jack's motivations were kinda fucked-up -- he had some notion about giving the finger to the universe by controlling his life -- and his death -- right up to the end. It's kind of like where they're going in canon now -- the Others are forcing him to give up control of his life in order to live. I'm glad you thought I did Benry justice. He's not an easy character to write. And the blond woman at the end? Heh. I posted Prophecy 3 in September, weeks before we knew Juliet existed. I didn't have a clue who that woman was why suddenly appeared in my fic, but she seemed to want to stay so I let her. I'm glad canon cooperated with my muse so generously!

Thank you so much for reading, and for the lovely feedback!

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

yeah, that's supposed to be "who suddenly appeared...." *facepalm*