A man riding a horse gallops into an encampment. He's in his 40s, has an English accent and is angry. He makes a bee-line to Richard Alpert and demands to know if it's true he brought one of "them" to the Temple. Alpert says he was just a boy, and he was dying. The Englishman doesn't care and says he should've let the boy die. Alpert stops him and says Jacob wanted it done. Alpert explains that the island chooses who the island chooses.
The Englishman goes inside the tent to see the recovering young Benjamin Linus. He introduces himself as Charles Widmore. Young Ben doesn't remember what happened or how he got there. Widmore explains he'll be taken to his father shortly, but Young Ben doesn't want to go back. He wants to stay there with the Others. Widmore explains that just because Ben is living with them doesn't mean he can't be one of them. Ben should be dead, but the island saved his life.
WHOOSH to the Hydra station and the makeshift infirmary. Adult Ben gains consciousness after being knocked out, and Locke is sitting next to the bed. Ben is amazed Locke is alive. Ben says he knew this would happen. Locke asks why Ben was trying to run away, and Ben explains he was going over to the main island to be judged. He broke the rules -- he came back and he wasn't supposed to. Locke asks judged by who, and Ben says the monster.
At the beach, Caesar asks Ben what he makes of Locke, who claims that Ben was the one who killed him. Ben plays it off and says Locke looks fine to him. Ben plants the thought into Caesar's mind that maybe Locke was already here before the crash and is crazy. Caesar reveals the sawed-off shotgun and says he has Ben's back.
WHOOSH to a younger Ben in the jungle on a stealth mission. A teenage Ethan is with him and tells Ben he can do it if Ben wants. Ben shushes him, and tells him to stay there. Ben creeps out to a make-shift shelter on the beach and quietly steps inside. There sleeping next to her baby girl is young Danielle Rousseau. Ben accidentally knocks over her music box and it starts playing -- waking Rousseau instantly. She reaches for her rifle, but Ben points his gun at her and warns her not to do it. Ben sees that Rousseau is scared. Feral. Crazy in the eyes. Rousseau claims Ben is the one who infected them. Ben picks up the crying baby Alex, and Rousseau yells for him to stop. Ben fires a warning shot. He tells her to be grateful she's still alive, and warns her not to follow him or try to come looking for her baby. And if she wants her child to live, every time she hears whispers, she should run the other way.
WHOOSH back to Ben's office in the Hydra station as he goes through his desk. He finds a picture of him and Alex together and folds it into his pocket. Locke comes in and asks if they can talk about the elephant in the room -- why Ben killed him. Ben says it was the only way to get him back to the island with as many of the people who left. Locke understood that. It's why he was about to kill himself before Ben stopped him. Locke asks why did Ben stop him. Ben says Locke had critical information that would've died with him. Once he told Ben, well... Ben didn't have the time to talk Locke back into killing himself. It was in the best interests of the island. Locke says he's decided to help Ben go back to the main island to be judged, and they leave.
At the beach, Caesar tries to stop them from taking one of the outriggers. He reaches into his bag for the shotgun, but Ben has it now. Ben holds it up and KRAKOOOM! Shoots Caesar in the chest! Ben turns to Locke and says consider that his apology. They take an outrigger and paddle over to the dock on the main island. Ben says they need to go to his old house. It's the only place he can summon the monster. Locke guesses that Ben doesn't want to be judged for breaking the rules because Ben doesn't care about the rules. This gets underneath Ben's skin, and Ben asks then what does he want to be judged for? Locke says for killing his own daughter.
WHOOSH to a younger Ben returning to the Others' camp with baby Alex in his arms. Widmore is furious. Ben's orders were to exterminate Rousseau. Ben asks why? She wasn't a threat, and she's insane. Plus he didn't know she had a kid. Widmore orders him to kill it. Ben offers baby Alex to Widmore -- says if killing the baby is what the island wants, then he can do it. Widmore can't do it either. He glares at Ben and walks away. Alpert looks over and gives Ben a look of approval.
WHOOSH to the barracks now at night. Ben and Locke make their way through the compound. Locke asks why the Others moved into the houses after the purge. It doesn't seem like something the island would want. Ben says Locke wouldn't know the first thing about what the island wants, but Locke asks if he's sure about that?
Suddenly, a light goes on in one of the rooms of a house. Ben says it's Alex's old room, and he goes inside. He walks to Alex's room and flings open the door -- and Sun is inside. She startles. Lapidus runs in behind Ben. He asks what they are doing there, and Lapidus shows him the picture of the new Dharma recruits from 1977. Ben is shocked to see Jack, Kate and Hurley in the photo. He asks who gave it to them. Sun says an old man named Christian who told them to wait for John Locke, but Lapidus says since he's dead they aren't holding their breath. Ben tells them to look outside -- and they see Locke, who offers a friendly wave.
They meet inside Ben's living room. Sun doesn't understand. It's impossible for Locke to have died but now be alive. Locke agrees but there he is. Lapidus thinks the whole thing is crazy and just wants to go back to the plane. Maybe they can get the radio working. Locke tells Sun if she leaves, she'll never find her husband again. He has some ideas of how to find Jin and the others. Sun decides to stay. Locke says they'll get started -- right after Ben does what he has to do.
Ben swings aside a bookshelf and goes inside his secret room. He slides the fake wall away and we see the large stone brick with runic symbols on it. Ben pushes it backwards, revealing a dark stairway down to a tunnel. He crawls through the narrow tunnel to a pit with a dank pool of standing water. Ben reaches into the water, grabs a hold of something and twists it. The water drains out of the pool down a darkened hole. Ben says he'll be waiting outside.
WHOOSH to Ben pushing three year-old Alex on the swings. Richard Alpert comes over and says it's time. Ben goes to the dock where Charles Widmore is being escorted to the sub. Ben says he came to say good-bye, but Widmore says he's there to gloat. Ben tells Widmore that he brought it all on himself. He left the island regularly. He had a daughter with an outsider. He broke the rules. Widmore asks what makes Ben think he deserves to take away what's his, and Ben says because he won't be selfish. Ben will sacrifice everything to protect the island. Widmore reminds him he wouldn't sacrifice Alex, and Ben fires back that it was Widmore who wanted Alex dead, not the island. Widmore says he hopes Ben is right because if the island wants Alex dead, then she'll be dead. And one day Ben will be the one who's being banished.
WHOOSH back to Ben's house as he waits for the smoke monster. Sun thinks Jack lied about Locke being dead, but Ben assures her that Locke was dead. He's seen the island do miraculous things, but never once has he seen this. Dead is dead. There's no coming back from that. And Locke walking around scares the living hell out of him.
He hears a rustle in the jungle and tells Sun to go inside because what's about to come out of the jungle is something Ben can't control. But it's Locke who comes out of the jungle. He asks any luck? Ben says it hasn't shown up yet. Locke says that they have to go to it. He knows where the smoke monster is.
WHOOSH to Los Angeles as Ben walks through the marina where Desmond and Penny have docked their sailboat. Ben calls Widmore and says he's going back to the island today just as soon as he does one last thing -- kill Widmore's daughter. He's looking at Penny right now -- and we dolly around to reveal Penny on the deck of the boat, unaware of the danger she is in. Widmore starts to threaten Ben, and Ben simply hangs up.
WHOOSH to the island and Locke leads Ben and Sun through the jungle. Ben says he now knows where Locke is taking them. It's the same place they brought him when he was a child. When the island healed him -- and they reach the outer wall of the Temple. Ben says it's another half mile beyond the wall, which was built to keep people like Sun and Locke from ever seeing it. Locke tells Ben they're not going to Ben's Temple, they're going under it. Locke gestures to the large crack and hole in the corner leading down to a dark chasm. Ben turns to Sun and asks if Sun ever makes it off the island to find Desmond Hume and tell him that he's sorry. Sun asks sorry for what, and Ben says Desmond will know.
WHOOSH to the marina as Ben walks down the pier towards Penny. He doesn't notice Desmond behind him getting bags of groceries out of his car. Desmond calls out to Ben -- and Ben pulls out a gun and fires! BLAM! A bullet rips into Desmond's shoulder and he goes down. Penny hears the gun shot and turns to see Ben walking down the pier towards her. She screams out for Desmond, but Ben points the gun at her and tells her not to move. He apologizes that she's been caught up in this, but her father is a terrible human being. Charles Widmore responsible for killing his daughter and taking away the only thing that mattered to him. He broke the rules -- and then young Charlie runs up on the deck shouting for his mom. Ben is surprised to see the child and lowers his gun. And just then Desmond broadsides Ben, and they crash to the dock. Before Ben can react, Desmond beats Ben senseless, even with his bad arm. Desmond then throws him off the dock into the water.
WHOOSH to the tunnel underneath the Temple. Ben admits that Locke was right about why he needed to be judged. The men Charles Widmore sent gave him a choice. All he had to do is walk out of the house and go with them... but he didn't. So he killed Alex, and now he has to answer for it. Ben tells Locke thanks for showing him the way but he can continue alone. He'll meet Locke outside if he lives through it --
-- Then KROOM! The floor beneath Ben crumbles and he falls through to an ancient chamber. Locke yells down he'll go find something to help Ben out and he leaves. Ben looks around his dark surroundings... and suddenly he hears something hiss. It gradually becomes the TIKA TIKA TIKA as smoke gradually wafts into the room. There's a long, drawn-out grumble as inky black smoke emerges out of a vent.
The black smoke monster fills the room and roils around Ben. Ben is terrified. Then POP! POP! POP! Flashes start going off within the smoke monster, white bursts which illuminate various images of Ben's past. We hear the voice of Charles Widmore rushing out of the darkness telling Ben he should have killed it. Then we hear Alex yell at Ben that she hates his guts, she wishes he was dead... Then he hears Alex pleading for her life before Keamy shoots her in the head.
And then the black smoke rolls away and slides back into the vents from whence it came. Ben is all alone now... but then behind him Alex appears. Not a dream or a vision but a real live young woman. She says hello, and Ben apologizes. He says it was all his fault... and Alex says she knows. Then it happens fast -- she grabs Ben by the throat and shoves him against the wall. She says she knows he's planning to kill Locke again, and she warns him not to touch Locke. If he does, she'll hunt Ben down and destroy him. Ben will listen to every word Locke says and follow his every order. Ben swears he'll follow Locke -- and like that Alex is gone. Ben drops to the floor. Then from above, Locke shouts out to Ben. He asks what happened, and Ben said it let him live.
On Hydra island, Lapidus returns in the outrigger. Ilana is waiting there with Bram. They're in charge now. She asks Lapidus, "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Lapidus has no idea what she's asking -- and THWACK! Ilana smashes him in the face with a rifle butt. She turns to Bram and tells him to get everyone else. It's time. Tie Lapidus up -- they're taking him with them.
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