"Empedocles"

February 21st
5.26pm
D & K Prentince Ltd.,
Washington D.C

Jeb Dukes had thought it was going to be a standard performance review as he walks casually into his boss’ office. However, as the young, athletic, brown-haired man takes a seat opposite Gary Garber, he senses something different in the atmosphere.

His face registers sheer shock as he struggles to take in what is being said to him. He can see the sympathetic look on Gary's face.

In a daze, Jeb barely registers his employer's next words.

"You don't know how much I hate my job on days like this, Jeb. If it were my choice I'd be giving you a promotion, but with the economy the way it is..."

The younger man shakes his head in disbelief. "Are you firing me?"

"You can hold your head up, Jeb. You've done a good job here."

"I-I don't believe this. I ... I thought this was just an evaluation."

He is about to protest further but Gary stands up, shaking his head, obviously wanting him out of the room. At the moment, Jeb doesn't have the heart to fight.

"I'm sorry. I really am," his boss says.

Stunned, he leaves the office and walks slowly back to his desk, watching the other employees answering phones, gathering up papers, preparing for the next day of work. Ignoring the personal items on his desk and in his drawer, he picks up his coat and leaves the building, speaking to nobody, ignoring the calls of casual goodnights from colleagues who have no idea what has happened.

He moves out into the dark city street, buttoning his coat against the persistent drizzle of the evening.

Jeb then looks up, startled, at the sound of squealing tires. An older model blue Ford car flies around the corner before speeding down the street. The pedestrians watch in surprise as a police car, sirens blaring and lights flashing, hot on its heels, turns the corner at an even higher speed, chasing the older car down.

Then panicked shouts fill the air as the blue Ford ploughs into a station wagon in the middle of the next intersection.

With a frightening ferocity, the cars burst into flames. Exchanging horrified glances with other stunned onlookers, Jeb joins them in the instinctive run towards the scene of the accident.

The police seemed to be out of their car instantaneously, and prevent anyone from approaching too closely, trying to wave the crowd back, although at present it is a largely futile effort. A woman lets out a moan of anguish as she gazes at the cars. "Oh, my god, there's someone in there! We've got to help him! Someone help that man!"

Jeb stands transfixed as the figure of a man completely covered in flames emerges from the car and begins approaching him. He is conscious of a mild surprise as no one else appears to be able to see the other figure, but he cannot move away as the man steps close to him and then, seemingly, into him.

The crowd is oblivious to the transfusion taking place and moments later, the only external evidence of it were the glowing red gleam in eyes that were formerly brown. As the police again call for the crowd to regain calm, Jeb seems to shake himself out of his trance-like state and moves towards his car parked some way further down the street. He goes to the trunk of the car, unlocking a box-safe and removing a pistol from it.

For a long moment he stares at it, his face showing an inner fight. Then, seeming to lose the struggle, he shuts the safe and stumbles back into his office building. He ignores surprised calls of greeting, focussing on the office at the end of the corridor -- the office where he had been sacked so recently.

He reaches the door, and raises his hand to the handle, only to let it fall away as the door opens and his boss appears. With a surprised look on his face, as well as a mix of compassion and guilt, Gary greets the younger man who he had not expected to see again. "Hey... Jeb... What's up?"

Jeb doesn't answer -- not in words. His actions do it for him.

Silently, determinedly, he raises the pistol and fires.

22nd February
8.52am

The office is crawling with police as various officers mill around completing the tasks of collecting fibers, taking photos and questioning witnesses that they had not been able to interview the previous evening.

The African-American detective Franklin Potter covers Gary's face with a sheet, his weary eyes showing that he is beginning to tire of the sights he has seen every day for much too long. He rises to find a woman approaching, her eyes alert, taking in the details of the scene like a professional investigator. He doesn't recognize her from his own squad, which leaves him only one option for deducing her identity.

“Agent Reyes?”

"Yes, hi. Monica Reyes." she proffers her hand. "You requested my input into this case?" she looks around the room with interest.

"I did," the older man agrees. "Would you like to see the victims?"

Reyes offers a brisk nod. "On the phone you said you had reason to believe the killings might be satanic ritual murders."

"Right. Let me show you." He leads her around to Jeb Dukes' desk, talking as they walk.

"This is Jeb Dukes' work area. I found this among his personal effects." Taking an unfolded CD jewel case insert from the desk he hands it to Reyes.

"What can you tell me about the killer, detective? Anything?"

"Thirty-one years old. College grad, lived alone. There's some who felt he had a dark side."

Reyes casts a trained eye over the workstation. "Can I look in there?"

"Sure. You're the expert."

She sits down at the desk thoughtfully.

"Does it tell you anything about why he might've killed those people?"

"The fact is, a shooter like this is usually pushed over the edge by what we call a stressor, a catalyzing event-- an emotional breakdown the breakup of a relationship or sometimes when someone's been fired."

The detective perks up a bit at that. "This guy was fired ... by the victim." he tells her

"Well, that's most likely what drove him to murder."

"But what about all these images ... these devil pictures?" Detective Potter asks, as if his pride depended on there being something unexplainable about the case.

His confused rejoinder elicits an amused glance from Reyes looks up at him. "It's Marilyn Manson" she says wryly, the suppressed chuckle evident to the detective in her tone.

"Marilyn Manson?" he asks, confused.

"Your kids listen to him. They probably buy his CDs at K-Mart. I don't think there's anything satanic going on here, Detective." With that she gets up from the desk and turns to leave.

Detective Potter calls after her. "Agent Reyes? Okay, okay... It's some rock group, but you don't think this has anything to do with Satan or evil or...?

"Reyes doesn't look back as she answers. "You may just as well investigate Elvis."

However as she walks to the elevator she stops beside Gary's body again, staring at his exposed hands. As she watches the hands suddenly take on the appearance of dust and ashes.

Startled, heart suddenly thumping, Reyes kneels beside the body, raising the sheet. The whole body seems to be nothing but ashes. The detective takes in Reyes change in demeanor and comes up behind her.

"Agent Reyes? Did you find something?" he asks.

She looks up at him for a moment without speaking, then back to the body. Which is suddenly a normal human corpse, little more than twelve hours dead.

February 22nd
10.13 am
Apartment of Dana Scully

Scully sighs heavily and shifts her weight on the couch, grimacing with discomfort. The phone rings and sighing once more, she reaches over to answer. “Scully.”

"Oh, Agent Scully. I'm glad I managed to catch you. It's, ummm, Monica Reyes."

A momentary surge of annoyance at the interruption crosses her face, before she visibly composes herself and responds to the other agent good-naturedly.

"Hello, Agent Reyes. What can I do for you?"

"Umm, well this is kind of awkward but I have just stumbled across a rather unusual case. It involves a certain phenomenon and I would really appreciate your input. Would you be able to meet me for lunch tomorrow? I could come by your place and pick you up or bring something with me if you prefer?"

"Oh." Scully frowns slightly, pondering the other agent's request. "May I ask why you are calling me and not Agent Doggett?"

"I can't call Agent Doggett because, well, it involves him on a rather personal level. I'd also like to know if you have ever come across anything similar in your own experiences while working on the X-Files with Agent Mulder."

Intrigued now, her natural curiosity rising to the surface, Scully agrees to Monica Reyes' request to meet for lunch the following day and puts down the phone. "Interesting."

22nd February
10.15am
The Swanson Hotel, Washington DC

Jeb Dukes sits alone in his motel room on the bed. Fear and determination struggle for dominance on his countenance as his eyes fixate morbidly on the gun on the nearby bedside table. His face contorts with some inner struggle, his breathing harsh and ragged, then slowing, becoming deliberate, deep and steady.

He rises, picking up the pistol, and with trembling hands he holds it to his temple, looking in the mirror. His finger begins to squeeze the trigger, almost of its own volition, even as his eyes widen in alarm and his mouth opens to cry out a protest that never finds a voice. His expression horrified, he pauses there, the trigger half-compressed. Suddenly, he cries out in pain and drops the gun, which now glows red-hot.

Agonized, he clutches the wrist of the hand that held the gun with the other and stares at his burned hand upon which blisters are now forming.

A blast of heat and wind rips through the room, ruffling his hair and making sweat bead on his face. He raises terrified eyes in the direction the air came from to find himself confronted with his own image in the mirror. As he stares at himself, his mirror image is engulfed in flames.

Jeb Dukes screams.

February 22nd
12.30pm
Pizza Hut

Scully looks up as a block of daylight breaks the dim lighting of the pizza parlor and splashes over her face. Her cheeks bulge as she chews, a slice of thin, New York style pizza folded length-wise hovering in her hands, its apex blunted by teeth impressions, dripping grease and cheese onto the plate beneath her.

She sees Agent Reyes pause in the doorway and scan the interior before espying Scully and crossing to her table, a briefcase swinging in her hand.

"You already ordered, I see," Reyes remarks, her eyes narrowing and her lips thinning in a grimace of revulsion as she studies the large pizza that has taken up residence in the center of the table. Anchovies, green and black olives, mushrooms and pepperoni swim in a gooey pool of cheese. Sighing, Reyes slides into the other side of the booth.

Scully swallows audibly. "Want some? Help yourself." she offers, putting down her slice and wiping her mouth with her napkin.

"No...thanks," the other agent answers cautiously. "I think I'll stick to the breadsticks."

Scully watches as Reyes scrounges through her briefcase and emerges with a file. "So, this case you wanted my input on?" she asks

"As I said before, it involves Agent Doggett and the death his son. I don't know just how familiar you are with that case," Monica ventures.

"I know some, but Agent Doggett has never really told me much about what happened."

Monica nods in understanding, hands her the file and waits for the other agent to start reading. Scully obliges and scans through the information on the sheets in front of her.

LUKE JOHN DOGGETT
Age at Disappearance: 7
Date of Birth: 7/9/90
Date of Last Contact: 8/12/97
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 48"
Weight: 52
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
AKA: Unknown
Missing From: Long Island, NY
Child is suspected to have been YY

Scully quickly scans the rest of the first sheet and then looks up. "I wasn't aware you were the lead investigator."

Reyes nods. "Once it fell to the FBI, yes. Agent Doggett was with the NYPD at the time. We worked it together. We never caught the killer. It was the hardest case I've ever had. As in stealing-into-the-bathroom-to-cry-my-eyes-out kind of hard. I can't begin to imagine what it was like for John."

She sighs, the telling bringing back some strong emotions. "I couldn't bear to put him through this again, but if it means we could catch his son's killer... I just can't go to him until I know if what I saw means anything."

"Agent Reyes, just what did you see and what makes you think this has anything to do with this?" Scully waves Luke Doggett's file at her. "You said this case involves some kind of phenomenon?"

"I don't know if it was a psychic experience or what, but when we found his son, I had a vision. It was as if, for just a moment... The body was changed."

She pauses and looks quickly into Scully's eyes, trying to read her reactions.

"Changed? Into what?"

Monica averts her eyes once more and softens her voice a little. "Ashes. It looked like ashes. The thing of it is Agent Doggett told me he saw it, too, although he spent the last few years convincing himself he didn't, that even if he did, it didn't mean anything. I think he is wrong. Very wrong."

Scully pauses, taking in Monica's words, digesting them and letting them settle a little. "What do you think it means?"

The other agent sighs softly once more and represses a slight shiver. "I can't shake the feeling that it's a clue, that it could somehow point to who's responsible, if only I let it. And now I've seen it again. Years later and a seemingly unrelated case and I've had the same vision. There has to be a reason for it, a reason it's happening now. I've spent some time trying to find evidence or records of other similar cases..."

"Well," Scully says softly. "I've investigated a number of cases that involve visions. And I've also had experience of people who can manipulate your mind -- make you think you see what you can't really be seeing" Images of Donnie Pfaster and Robert Modell flash through her mind. "I'm at a loss to know, however, how those could be in any way connected with this case you're working on."

Reyes sighs frustratedly. "It was a long shot. . ." she muttered, and then startled by the ringing of her cellphone, puts her hand to her pocket to take it out.

"Monica Reyes," she says into the phone as Scully sets the file aside and reaches for the rest of the pizza. She has only time for two mouthfuls however, before Reyes clicks off her phone and looks at her, anticipation shining in her eyes.

"That was Detective Potter," she announced. "Jeb Dukes has turned himself in -- maybe it's time to get some answers."

Scully meets her eyes. "Well, it seems like you don't need my input any more."

"Actually, I do." Reyes looks at her. "Apparently he was, uh, rambling about being possessed."

********************

One hour later the two women are in Arlington Police Station, in an interrogation room, both facing Jeb Dukes.

Reyes sits facing the man on the other side of the table while Scully stands to the side of the room watching the proceedings with interest.

"Why did you do it, Jeb? Why did you shoot Gary Garber? Was it because he fired you?" Reyes demands, her usual light-hearted personality giving way to pure steel as she waits for Dukes' response.

The man shakes his head, upset and confused. "No, I didn't do it. Something made me do it. Something was inside of me.”

"Voices in your head, Jeb?" she asks, a hint of sarcasm in her tone – just because she was open didn’t mean she was susceptible to anyone trying to get away with an insanity defence plea. And by provoking him she was confident in her ability to get at the truth of the matter.

Desperately the man tries again. "I saw this car crash, see, and then it was like this being came out of the fire in the wreck, and came into me. I couldn't stop it. I mean, I could see all that was going on, but this, this thing was controlling my actions and..."

Feigning impatience, Reyes cuts him off. "So what was this thing Jeb? And where is it now?"

The man becomes even more confused. "I don't, I don't know. I think it's still here - I could feel it even though it wasn't controlling my actions. It was like it didn't care for now, it was just toying with me. But I..."

His voice becomes slower, clearer as realization hits him. "I think it's gone now." He says slowly. I can't feel it any more."

In the corner of the room Scully's eyes glow with an oddly red gaze.

Suddenly Jeb looks at her and screams.

"It's in her!" He yells. "It's in her now."

Scully stands placidly as both pairs of eyes in the room are suddenly fixed on her.

22nd February
3.30pm
Edgar J Hoover Building

Agent Doggett strides into Assistant Director Skinner's office.

The Assistant Director meets his Agent's gaze with a worried frown. "Agent Doggett. You said you had a situation. That something was wrong with Agent Scully?"

Doggett sits down opposite his superior. "Yes, sir. Agent Scully has been helping another Agent, Monica Reyes - I believe you met?"

Skinner gives a short nod and Doggett continues. "I got a call from Agent Reyes a few moments ago. Apparently, there's something wrong with Scully, she's having hallucinations or something. Reyes has the situation under control for now but she requested I go up there, as a familiar voice might help bring her out of it."

"Has she taken her into hospital?" His eyes darken in concern.

"No, sir. She didn't explain why. I'm going over now to see what's happening, I thought you would want to be kept informed."

Skinner stands up. "I'm coming with you. Following his agent out of his office he calls to his secretary, "Kimberly, cancel all my meetings."

22nd February
4.15pm
Arlington Police Station

Skinner and Doggett hurry into the interrogation room. At the moment the situation seems calm. Scully is slumped in the chair Reyes had earlier hustled Jeb Dukes out of. At the moment she is staring into space. Monica is standing beside her, eyes fixed on the other woman, not even looking up at her colleagues as they enter the room.

Skinner approaches Scully. "Agent Scully, are you alright?" he asks, placing his hand on her shoulder, mentally willing her to turn to him with her customary"'I'm fine." He waits in vain, as she doesn't respond.

He looks over at Reyes. "Agent Reyes, what's happened here?"

The woman shakes her head. "We were questioning a witness -- Jeb Dukes. He claimed he was being possessed - I didn't give it an awful lot of credence but then he started saying it had left him, and gone into Agent Scully."

Skinner sees Doggett move in frustration at yet another mention of the paranormal, but ignores it as Reyes carries on. Scully doesn't react to being spoken to, but stares blankly ahead, unhearing, unseeing, almost trance-like.

"And then Agent Scully began screaming. Uh -- something about the end of the world. The ultimate battle of good versus evil, the ultimate confrontation that she had been waiting for - she wasn't making a lot of sense, sir."

Doggett cuts in. "She - she should be in hospital," he said, his voice full of concern for his partner. Then his tone becomes half accusatory as he demands of Reyes, "Why didn't you get her there?"

"She wouldn't go. I managed to get her sitting down, to calm her down slightly, although she was still rambling. That's why I called you, I hoped you'd be able to persuade her - I don't want to upset her considering ..." she breaks off, and Doggett nods apologetically.

"Anyway, a few moments ago she seemed to go into some sort of trance, so I have called the ambulance now. They should be here any moment."

As if they heard the summons, there is a knock on the door and two paramedics walk in. Skinner moves over towards Scully to attempt to help the men lift her onto the stretcher. However, at the touch Scully suddenly starts up and jumps to her feet.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screams, eyes wild., red hair tossed around her face. Backing away from everyone in the room she yells. "You must leave me to do my work. To bring about the final confrontation. Good versus evil. Ragnorak. Armageddon. The last day. IT MUST BE NOW."

Moving restlessly throughout the room she suddenly darts to the door. "I must go from this place," she mutters. "I must find where the battle is to be fought. I will find . . . ."

Nobody is about to let her leave the room, however and the paramedics move over to the door to block her only avenue of escape. Exchanging glances with everybody else, Skinner takes control. Moving over towards her he says with gentle compassion, "Scully - you have to come with us now."

"NO! I MUST FIND..."

Casting an anguished glance at Doggett, Skinner murmurs, "I thought she was handling it ... I thought she was over the worst."

"She was. ." Doggett shakes his head helplessly.

"Agent Reyes, can you and the paramedics clear the room? I think too many people is making her nervous."

Moving quietly, they obey the Assistant Director's command and, moving towards Scully, Skinner's voice remains firm. "Scully, you are going to hurt yourself if you carry on like this." His voice resonates with authority, even as compassion can be seen in his eyes.

Scully is beyond hearing now, and beyond caring even if she does, but against one wall she cannot escape when the Assistant Director takes a firm grasp on one of her arms.

Doggett comes up behind Skinner and takes Scully's other arm, imprisoning the woman between the two of them even as she struggles violently against them.

“Not only that, Scully,” Skinner tells her, his voice as calming as he can make it under the circumstances, “You are going to hurt your baby.”

With that the resistance lessens slightly.

Doggett’s eyes meet Skinner's over her head. "What will we do?" he asks of the older man. "Where do we take her?"

"We get her to hospital," Skinner says shortly and the two men carry her out to where the paramedics wait.

*******************

Doggett watches as Skinner gets into the ambulance to go with Scully to the hospital. When it is out of sight, he turns to Monica.

“All right, Monica. What the hell happened here?”

Reyes can't quite manage to look directly into his eyes, knowing that the answer will be both unwelcome and painful to the older man.

"I came across a case that disturbed me and, as I said earlier, we were interviewing a suspect in it. I asked Agent Scully for her help, feeling she would be able to give me some more insight into it, into the strangeness of it. I was hoping she might have come across something similar before."

"That hasn't really answered my question," Doggett says flatly.

Reyes looked Doggett straight in the eyes. "I know, give me time.”

She sighs, “I think there's a connection here between this case and a case I worked on earlier. A case you are, unfortunately, familiar with - "

"If I'm familiar with it, why didn't you ask me to help?" Doggett interrupts.

Averting her gaze once more, Reyes takes a calming breath and continues in a softer voice, "I didn't go to you straight away because you are too close to this. It's personal, John. I also remember how you acted last time -"

Doggett, impatience coloring his tone, interjected "What? What last time?"

Sighing, Reyes brings her eyes to look once more into her fellow agent's, "I was going to tell you, John. I was on a case -- a shooting. Something that I saw connected back to Luke -- a vision..."

Agent Doggett stares across at his colleague in disbelief. A look of both grief and anger plays across his face.

"No. Not this again. You're not going to make something out of nothing once more. It's over. Finished with."

Sighing uncomfortably, Reyes looks away, and then back directly into Doggett's eyes once more and holds his regard. "Bob Harvey. I'm sure you haven't forgotten him." It is not a question.

Feeling a pang of pain at the memories that name stirred up, Agent Doggett snaps angrily. "Of course I haven't forgotten him. Bob Harvey was the man who murdered my son. Am I supposed to forget that?”

"John," Reyes replies softly, "Bob Harvey was killed last night in a car crash while fleeing police. And just moments after Harvey died, a previously sane man by the name of Jeb Dukes, who was a witness to the accident, went back inside a nearby building and murdered his employer."

"And?"

"And what?" asks Reyes.

"What's the connection? I can't see the connection between all of this."

Reyes steels her eyes and says in a very direct way, "I had the same vision both with Luke and with one of the bodies found inside the building. There is a link between them. I know it. I can feel it."

Doggett, barely containing the anger that has risen up in him, throws up his hands. "No, there's no connection. I don't care what you saw, you leave it alone." Swallowing, he continues in a much quieter voice, "“I really think we should be concentrating more on finding out what is wrong with Agent Scully anyway. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to see if she’s alright."

Sighing, Reyes follows him out of the building.

22nd February
5.04pm
Georgetown Memorial Hospital

Scully looks up as the door to her room opens. Doggett and Reyes walk a little warily into it, leaving Skinner to have a final word with her doctor. Scully, after giving the two former a brief glance, turns her attention to the latter and watches Skinner with interest.

"Agent Scully - " begins Doggett.

She turns her attention back to him. "Agent Doggett."

Reyes looks quickly across to the taller, older man before looking at the figure on the bed again. The fact that it is not Doggett's partner is plainly evident in not only the deep tone of Scully's voice but in her eyes too. The ice blue looking at them both is not that clear, intelligent regard they are both used to but something more unsettling, hotter, wilder, transforming her whole visage.

"How are you feeling?" inquires Doggett, just as Skinner closes the door behind him and slips into the room.

The wild look passes from her face and, sighing, she shifts slightly on the bed. "Fine, but tired. Are these really necessary?" Scully looks down to the restraints holding her in place.

Doggett shoots a quick glance to Reyes, who shakes her head.

"I guess I could ask the doctor in a little while," he starts only to have the woman in front of him begin to thrash about violently on the bed, pulling and straining against the bonds trapping her there.

"No. No. Get me out of these NOW!"

"Agent Scully!" cries Doggett, worry in his voice.

"Scully?" Skinner moves clearly into her line of view and casts an extremely concerned look at her. "Scully!"

She stops struggling and this time an eerie calm settles over her features. She looks at all of them, her eyes flashing red briefly. "You don't understand. You *must* let me go. I'm not ill. I'm not sick."

Reyes stands up a little straighter, having seen the brief flash of color and moves just a little closer to Scully. She focuses directly on her, but Scully's eyes are now fixed just on Skinner. Scully's voice is different too. It is deeper, with a peculiar resonance.

"You have no reason to keep me here. There is no need to keep me like this. I'm not going to hurt myself, or the baby. Please, sir, at least get these restraints off me. Now. Not in a hour or two. Not even in a few minutes."

Reyes watches Skinner carefully and, surprised, sees acquiescence written clearly on his face. She looks back to Scully and sees those eyes spark red once more. She moves to touch Skinner's arm, attracting his attention back to her and softly whispers, "I don't really think that is a good idea just yet, do you, sir?"

Skinner blinks his eyes and gives a slight shake of his head as if trying to clear something from it.

"Listen to her carefully but don't look directly into her eyes. That isn't Agent Scully."

Monica turns back to the woman on the bed, being careful to follow her own advice. The eyes, however, have returned to their normal shade of blue. "Why is it necessary to have the restraints off now? I'm sure they can't be that uncomfortable. What is so important that you need to be released from them immediately? You know you aren't going anywhere just yet, are you? What are you planning to do? Where do you want to go?"

Scully starts to thrash against her restraints once more. "Let me go. Let me go. Let me go!"

Reyes moves to stand close to Skinner, "Who are you?" she demands of the tormented figure on the bed.

Skinner shoots Doggett a rapid look upon hearing the quick intake of breath by the other man and puts out a hand to lay on his arm, silently asking him to keep quiet and not interfere. Skinner then looks back to the two women. Reyes' question has stilled and quieted the body lying on the bed, but that eerie, unsettled look comes back to Scully's eyes, which are focussed on the woman by her.

"Who are you?" Reyes demands once more.

"Let me go." The cold tone has also returned.

"Tell us who you are."

"Let. Me. Go."

Reyes shivers at the iciness behind those words but refuses to give in. "No. Who are you and what have you done to Agent Scully?"

The body on the bed starts to tremble violently, drawing a gasp of shocked surprise and worry from all three observers. Trapped by their restraints, the arms and legs shudder, pulling at them with enough force to shake the whole bed.

Doggett and Skinner both move closer but stop when Scully's body gives one last, strong jerk before relaxing. Reyes slowly steps up even closer to Scully and waits silently, gesturing to the two men not to interfere. Finally Scully's eyelids open and two warm blue eyes look into Agent Reyes's. Eyes filled with horror, disgust and a tinge of fear. Reyes visibly relaxes and gives Scully a tentative smile.

"Agent Reyes?" It's Scully's voice once more too, a little raspy, as if it has been unused for sometime. She looks around the room, sees Doggett, then relaxes noticeably when she spies Skinner. "Agent Doggett. Sir. I'm ...," she pauses and takes a deep breath, looking slightly uncertain as to what to say. "I'm ... ," she tries once again.

"Take it slowly, Agent Scully. Are you okay?" Reyes asks.

Scully nods.

"Are you hurt?"

Scully shakes her head, "No. No, I don't think so."

"Okay, take another breath and try again."

Scully does that. "Don't let it go. Don't let me go. Even if I beg you, you mustn't release me. There's ...," she falters once more. "There's something inside me. Something trying to control me. I'm trying to fight it but it is so strong. It wants control of me. I don't know how long I will be able to keep it away from taking over again. Sir," the last is directed solely to Skinner. "If I may have a word with you privately first? I'm not sure I I can ... ," she trails off, looking uncomfortable.

Skinner reaches down and gentle squeezes her hand, offering silent encouragement.

"I don't think it's a good idea for any one of us to be left alone with you now, Agent Scully," ventures Reyes.

Three sets of eyes turn towards her looking puzzled. "Umm, I think whatever had control of Agent Scully also seems to be able to bend people's wills a little. Sir, were you going to release Agent Scully earlier?"

All eyes turn to Skinner now. "No, not at first, although I admit I wasn't too sure about keeping them on her all the time. I do remember suddenly feeling it wasn't really necessary though. It just didn't seem needed and was plainly upsetting her. It was as if ... "

"Yes?" encouraged Reyes.

"It was as if I *saw* it in my head. The idea that had been in the back of my mind suddenly seemed so right. I should get Scully released."

"Why didn't you try then?" pushes Reyes.

Skinner frowns a little as he searches for his answer. "I don't know... When you spoke to me it just suddenly didn't seem like such a good idea after all. My head seemed to clear..." The last was said with a tone of surprise coloring his voice.

"My guess is that this, this thing has the ability to influence people. That maybe it can encourage an idea that is already there in their minds. I think that's why we didn't let Scully go at the police station earlier. The idea has to be already there. All it can do is give it a forceful nudge. Even so, I really don't think Agent Scully should be left alone with any of us." Reyes gives Scully a slightly embarrassed smile.

Scully sighs and nods her head in agreement. "Of course. Fine. I guess I would only have to tell it again anyway to you both afterwards." She gives an awkward attempt at a smile. "This is going to sound bizarre."

"Tell me something new," replies Skinner, earning a better smile in return at his attempt to ease the tension.

Scully clears her throat. It is clear from her expression that this is difficult for her. Doggett meets her gaze and gives her a little smile of encouragement too. Sighing, she tries to get more comfortable on the bed.

Scully closes her eyes and then nods her head in acquiescence. "Jesus," she swears softly, "This is going to sound unbelievable. *I* wouldn't believe it if it came from anyone else. There's this, this thing inside of me. It calls itself Loki. It seems to know you, Agent Doggett, and it, it has knowledge, such knowledge of, of dreadful, evil things. It knows everything I know. It ripped through my mind, my memories, my *life* and now it wants to get out. No, it *needs* to get out. It believes the time is coming to pass for it to fulfill its, its 'destiny.' ..."

His hand still holding hers, Skinner says seriously, "Scully – a few years ago you were 'called' to Ruskin Dam. By the chip in your neck. It's why I didn't want to risk you going anywhere. Do you think it could be that again?"

Scully pauses, shaking her head from side to side. "I don't think so, Sir. It feels – it feels different, I can't explain."

Suddenly Scully's whole body seems to spasm. She pales, gasps and gives her head a violent shake. "No!" Taking a deep breath she tries to continue but her voice is shaky and she falters with her words. "But, but it does want me to, to go somewhere."

She sounds strained but then abruptly her voice turns into a scream. "No. No. Not yet. Leave me alone."

"Scully?" Skinner asks.

Panting, Scully struggles with her breathing. Doggett and Reyes move in a little closer to the bed, concern written clearly across their faces. The three all look fearfully at her for a second or two before she nods her head at them.

"I'm okay, I'm fine. Still here," she gives a tiny, almost rueful smile at her last words, then swallows. "I don't quite know how to say this but it, it seems almost obsessed with all my memories of Mulder and his theories. Anything related to the," she gives a little pause, "to the Aliens and the idea of colonization. It feels that something is near. Its time is near. I can feel it dig deeper and deeper into anything I have ever heard or seen about colonization. I think it believes it is here to help with it, to trigger it. I don't know. I can't pinpoint it. It just, it just ..."

Scully breaks off frustrated and slightly embarrassed. Skinner squeezes her hand again and opens his mouth to say something, but the door opens before he can speak. Looking up they all see a doctor come into the room.

"Visiting hours are over for the moment and I need to check my patient now. I also think she could do with some rest," she says without any greeting, a firm, professional air about her.

She smiles at Scully and then looks pointedly across at the other three agents in the room. "It might be a good idea for the rest of you to all go home and get some rest yourselves."

Both Skinner and Doggett open their mouths about to protest but the doctor intervenes before either could finish a word. "You can come back much later." She shoots them a look that brooks no arguments and gently but firmly starts to usher them from the room.

"I don't want her left unrestrained -" starts Skinner.

"*My* patient will be well looked after, I can assure you, Sir. I'm the best person to pass judgment on when or whether to release the restraints." She pointedly opens the door. "You'll be notified immediately if there is any change in her condition. If you have any further questions, I suggest you ask at the desk. I'd like to attend to my patient now." She closes the door, having managed to quickly and efficiently steer them out of the room.

No one sees the look of pain come over Scully's face, or hear her almost silent whisper.

"Oh my God no. It's already happened." Then two words uttered flatly. "El Rico."

By the time the doctor turns back, Scully's face is again composed. The doctor picks up Scully's chart and starts to look through it. "How are you feeling, Dr. Scully?"

"Much better, thank you. Tired and," she looks down at her restraints, "a little achy."

The doctor follows her gaze, then studies her for a few seconds. Scully's eyes flare red briefly. The doctor blinks, her face going a little blank. "Well, Dr. Scully, I don't think there is any need for those restraints now, is there?"

Smiling as freedom beckons, Scully nods her head. "Thank you. I would like that very much."

The doctor moves forward and releases her. Scully rubs her the spots where she was bound and sighs in relief. Smiling back at her patient, the doctor checks her over quickly and leaves her alone to go tend to her other patients. The door closes the door, leaving Scully sitting on the bed contemplating. A series of expressions from delight to horror, to disbelief runs across her features.

"No, no, no, no, no, no." The words are repeated and repeated sounding more and more distressed until they fade away into a soft keening sound.

After a few minutes she ceases. She rises slowly from her bed, stopping in front of the mirror hanging on one of the walls and stares at it. Her image is reflected back to her, in flames.

************************************

Agent Monica Reyes looks up from the magazine that she had been thumbing through and, much to her shock, sees Agent Scully leave her room. She drops it on the floor, barks an order to the nurse at the desk to call security and runs after her. It doesn't take her long to reach the smaller woman and she reaches out an arm to touch her on the shoulder.

"Agent Scully?"

There is no response. Scully shrugs off the hand and keeps on walking.

"Agent Scully, Loki, where are you going?"

Scully stops and turns around. Her eyes are blazing red again and her voice, when she speaks, is deep and resonant once more. "Leave me alone. Let me go."

Reyes shakes her head. "You know I can't do that. Where are you going?"

"To where it ended. Leave me alone. I don't want to hurt you. You seem to, to understand me. Just. Let. Me. Go."

"I can't." Reyes reaches round for her handcuffs. Scully stretches out a hand. It flares red and flash of flame shoots out and hits Reyes on her right arm. The injured woman gives out a harsh cry of pain.

"Don't stop me. Please. I have to go there."

The taller FBI agent moves towards Scully again, her wounded arm hanging by her side and obviously in pain. Scully sighs and lifts her hand once more. Monica braces herself but this time, instead of the white heat that she expects, she finds herself suddenly knocked flat on her back as something that felt like an enormous weight punched her in the stomach.

Winded and in considerable pain, she can do nothing other than trying to fight for her breath as Scully drags her body into a vacant room and melts the lock shut with just a touch of her fingers. The few medical staff that were on duty stand well back and look on in fear as Scully makes her way towards the exit.

22nd February
5.50pm
Georgetown Memorial Hospital's Parking Lot

Trying hard not to look overly suspicious, Scully searches for a car to suit her purposes. She knows she has been lucky so far, the escape from the hospital had been almost embarrassingly easy. Allowing a little smile of satisfaction to be released she lifts her hand to a red Ford and pulls on the now bright orangey-red handle.

She clumsily enters the car, runs her hand over the ignition key and starts the motor. Taking a short moment to gather her thoughts together and to plan her journey, she lets a weary, sorrowful sigh escape her lips before pulling out of the parking lot and heading towards, "El Rico." Her destination is said in a voice full of pain.

22nd February
6.05pm
Walter Skinner's office

Skinner stares at the ringing phone balefully. There is no one he wants to speak to – he needs to finish up in his office, and go back to check up on Scully. He picks up the phone. "Skinner," he barks.

"How can you LOSE a patient? Especially a patient as heavily pregnant as Agent Scully? I requested that she be kept under restraint," he asks angrily. A long pause. "And Agent Reyes? She was supposed to be there." Another pause, shorter this time. "I see. Will, she be alright?" Skinner runs his hand over his head as he listens to the response. "Fine. I'll be there shortly."

He slams down the phone, sighs, and then reaches for the receiver again.

"Agent Doggett? Assistant Director Skinner. Agent Scully has gone missing from the hospital." Skinner reaches behind him to grab his jacket off the back of the chair while listening to the other man reply. "I don't know yet, but Agent Reyes was slightly injured trying to stop her. Can you meet me in the parking garage?" A short pause. "Good. I'll see you shortly."

He replaces the phone and leaves his office, jogging down the hallway oblivious to the few discreet stares directed his way.

22nd February
8.10pm
Walter Skinner's office

Monica Reyes is sitting in a chair, her uninjured arm absently rubbing her bandages. She looks across to Doggett who, looking up from the file he is reading, rubs his eyes. "Sir, do you really think we'll find a clue to where she is in old X-Files?" he asks, for the second time.

Skinner says calmly. "Yes, I do. She was – Loki was – obsessed with colonization, aliens. All of those encounters will be logged into the X-Files. I think that's how we find her." His face clouds. "If the APB doesn't work, it's the best chance we've got."

"At the last count, Mulder and Scully had documented three distinct species of alien," he says. "The Greys, the faceless rebels, and the colonists – and that's not counting this 'black oil' thing." Doggett stated.

Monica turns to him, rubbing at her right temple now. It is clear that something is bothering her but it is also evidently clear that she can't place just what it is.

"But there was a conclusion, wasn't there? A confrontation?"

"Yes, at El Rico."

The members of the syndicate racing towards what was happening. A certain joy in their faces – they were certain they were going to see the end that they had wanted – to be reunited with their loved ones. Certain that this was going to be the day that they had been working towards.

And then, joy turned to horror as the blazing inferno struck.

"The ultimate battle of good against evil," Skinner murmurs. "If that was anywhere – it was El Rico. The Syndicate dead. That ended there. Mulder and Scully were lucky to escape. I know they were planning to be there."

Monica suddenly jumps up from her chair. "Oh my god! I'm so stupid. I just remembered something. Scully/Loki told me that she was going to where it ended."

Three pairs of eyes meet. Skinner looks back at his agents with a confidence in his that hadn't been there five minutes before.

"Agent Doggett, Agent Reyes – I think we know where she is."

**********

Three hours later the sound of Skinner's car cuts through the silence at what had been El Rico air base. The base had been left abandoned since the fire and there were still signs of blackened material on the floor.

Skinner snapped off the ignition an almost flew out of the car, followed by Doggett and Reyes.

"Scully," he called desperately, grimly, hating to think of a pregnant woman out at this time of night, at this time of year. "Agent Scully."

A glance at his agents is all that's needed and the three fan out, all calling, scouring the vicinity.

Out of the corner of her eye, Reyes sees something move.

"Agent Scully." She calls again, running towards it. "Agent Scully – it's all right. I'm here to help." Then, in spite of feeling stupid, "Loki, I'm not going to hurt you, ok?"

The figure stills for a moment, and then comes out.

Scully's eyes are still wild, her composure icy.

"Gone," the being inside her rasped. "Ragnorak came. It went." The voice turned into a snarl. "AND I WASN'T PART OF IT."

Scully restlessly paces, first one way, then the next, her face a mixture of anger and pain. "But if I failed in that, I will not fail this time. I have no reason to live any longer." The entity waves Scully's gun, anger winning over pain this time. "You will not stop me."

Doggett watches besides Skinner, transfixed by the scene. Slowly he walks towards Reyes, feeling almost as if his own body is under someone else's control. He opens his mouth, but does not know what he is going to say until he actually speaks.

"Why Luke?" he asks, almost fearfully, something deep inside him now sure that the being now controlling Scully had been in control of Bob Harvey, had been responsible for the death of his son. "Why me?" His voice is almost unnaturally calm.

Scully laughs, harshly, eerily. "Why not?" she responds. "Armageddon is the goal. Murder is the way," she chants, her face reflecting the madness that tinges her voice.

Then the being seems to remember. "I FAILED."

The voice is once again furious. "I failed in bringing about what I was created to do. I had one mission in life. One reason to stay behind when my brothers and sisters left. My sole purpose was to watch for and bring about Ragnarak, the final battle in which human civilization would be destroyed. Good versus Evil. I failed in this. I failed in this and thus I failed to bring about the new golden age. I FAILED." Scully stares wildly at the other FBI agent, her eyes gleaming with red and madness.Monica stares her down. "Loki, the war is not over. The battle was won – the war endures." She is speaking desperately, trying to think of anything that would save the other agent's life. There are innocent lives at stake here. This woman – this baby, this is not what you want to do Loki."

Frustratedly the woman shakes her head, knowing that this being did not, would not, care about innocent lives. He wanted only to witness Armageddon, Ragnarok, and cause as much mayhem on earth as possible while he did so.

Taking a deep breath Monica adds. "Armageddon is yet to come. If you search this woman's memories you know that I speak the truth. You don't want to hurt her. She has played a part in all this. Do you not want to play your part too?"

"Yes. Yes. YES." A terrible scream comes from the other woman's lips and Monica runs towards her as she collapses. But the first thing Reyes notices as she reaches her side is that the red glow has disappeared from her eyes. Loki has gone.

Doggett and Skinner both rush up to her. "Is she okay?"

Monica nods. "Yes, I think she'll be fine. It's gone now."

Skinner sighs in relief, pulls out his phone and dials 911 for an ambulance.

"What happened? Where is it?" barks Doggett, his eyes scouring the area around him. There is no one or nothing there except for a few wild cats.

"I don't know. I don't know." All her concern for the moment is focused on the woman lying in front of her. "I have a horrible feeling the world hasn't seen the last of him."

23rd February
4.05am
Georgetown Memorial Hospital

Skinner sits beside Scully watching the woman with concern as she begins to stir from unconsciousness.

She looks up at him, confused for a moment, then heaves herself into a sitting position. "Uh, hi," she ventures.

"How are you, Scully?" he asks her gently. A small smile crosses his face. “Hell of a way to spend your birthday, in the hospital.”

"I'm fine." Then Skinner sees the recognition start to flicker in her face as she processes the memories from the last hours. She looks at him. "He's gone." She says. "Whatever Agent Reyes did, or said, it worked."

Skinner lets the relief wash over him. He hadn't really been sure until then.

"I don't know why he left though," Scully muses. "He suddenly – gave up."

Skinner sighs. "I heard Agent Reyes tell him that his Armageddon, his Ragnarok was yet to come. Maybe he wanted to do what he said – play his part in it."

He can see that Scully isn't entirely convinced by the answer.

"Maybe," she says.

******************

There is no sound in Scully's hospital room, as she turns restlessly in her bed sleeping. Her hands are splayed over her abdomen, trying to protect her child, protect her child even from herself.

"Mulder," she calls out softly, anxiously, as she turns again, dreaming.

Even in her sleep she wishes he was with her, wishes he was there to help her with this vast task that she fears she cannot manage alone, to help her with bringing up their child and protecting him from dangers both foreseen and unimaginable. But she will do the best she can alone. He would have expected no less from her.

And then, moving in as if coming from a great distance he is there.

Scully's eyes are still closed, as she sits up in bed. "Mulder?" she asks. Even in sleep she knows subconsciously this isn't right. Knows he can't really be here. But his hazel eyes rest on hers as he sits down on her bed beside her, taking her hand.

"It's ok, Scully. It will be ok," he murmurs, caressing her face with his free hand.

She smiles tremulously. "I can't do this alone, Mulder," she whispers to him, her eyes still flickering behind closed lids

He speaks softly to her. "You're stronger than you think Scully. You once said you had the strength of my beliefs, let me give that to you now. You will be ok, I promise. Our child will be ok. And this is not the end."

Slowly, silently Mulder releases her hand, and seems to fade into the distance. And for the first time in months there is a genuine smile on Scully's lips.

END.