TITLE: JUMPING OVER THE FIRE (1 of 2)

AUTHOR: DAVID HEARNE

CLASSIFICATION: X, Sequel to "Moon and Morning Star"

RATING: R

TO ANY ARCHIVE: Yes.

Send feedback to ottercrk@sover.net

Website is located at http://members.dencity.com/hearne

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I've decided to skip the summary of past narrative events. If you're reading
this, you've probably read the previous stuff.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The mantis watched Scully with its colorless eyes. It stood before her on
its lower four legs, giving Scully a underview of its ten-foot body. She
could have spent all day admiring the patterns of deep green, light green,
white, blue and purple which stretched from its wide thorax to its thinner
trunk. However, Mantis was not to be kept waiting. Those knife-like forelegs
were tensed for action and the jaws were tight.

"Where is Mulder?"

Mantis lifted an foreleg and pointed. It was standing with Scully on top of
a hill. She looked in the indicated direction. A long plain waited to be
crossed with no one but the tigers and horned elands to keep you company.

In a respectful voice, Scully asked, "May you take me there?"

Mantis kept itself still for a long time, its forelegs suspended over
Scully's head. She resisted the urge to take back her request or run.

Then it lowered itself to the ground. Scully gave thanks and saddled herself
on the great insect's trunk.

With a jump as long as five boxcars, it began a descent from the hill and a
journey across the plains.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mulder scribbled quickly in the notebook, wondering if he would be able to
make sense of his notes later on. He couldn't even make sense of what he was
being told now. The professor was talking very fast in a language filled
with academic jargon, literary allusions and terms Mulder suspected he was
making up on the spot. "Collective consciousness...deconstructionist...
Freudian symbolism...intertexual relationship...Foucault...Levi-Strauss...
post-modern layering...author-reader nexus..."

As an added distraction, a leak had formed in the ceiling. Mulder could hear
a repetitive pat on the floor right next to him. He seemed to be the only
one who noticed it. Every other student was effortlessly dictating in a
notebook and paid no attention to the leak. He tried to ignore it as well.
Mentioning it might bring another barrage of sarcasm from the professor.

"...and it is only within the context of the patriarchal mental structure
that we can understand the sexual metaphors contained in myth and come to
grips with their social-historical-theological themes." The professor added
the final line to a graph he had been drawing on the chalkboard. It was as
convoluted as his speech, zig-zagging and curving around words like "father
quest," "invoking the goddess" and "cosmology."

The professor tossed the chalk away, looked at the board with satisfaction
and turned to his students. "Mister Mulder?"

At that moment, Mulder had been looking at the puddle on the floor. His head
jerked up when he heard his name. "Uh, yes, sir?"

"Mister Mulder...would you mind telling the class what is the principal
function of mythology?"

It was like his brain had frozen. Mulder sat in his chair, twisting the pen
in his hand. The professor waited for him to speak as he smoked his pipe.
His attitude was full of sangfroid and devoid of mercy. A drop of water fell
past him and was followed by another.

Mulder looked down at his notes. Had they covered this topic? he thought.
Not only couldn't he find anything to help him in his notebook but he wasn't
even reading English. His notes had transformed into a different language.
To his surprise, he recognized it as Navajo.

"Well, Mister Mulder?"

A drop of water fell on an open book next to Mulder.. He looked towards the
book and saw a mark on the first page. He glanced over the words. Reading
them gave him a sense of relief.

He looked towards the professor. Two new leaks were dripping around the
professor but they didn't worry Mulder. In a proud voice, he declared,
"'Getting into harmony and tune with the universe and staying there is the
principal function of mythology.'"

"Ah," the professor declared. "Joseph Campbell. 'Transformations of Myth.'"

"Yes, sir."

"Hm. Interesting answer. Of course, you do know that Campbell could not
distinguish his ass from a hole in the ground."

Mulder felt like the bottom fell out of something inside of him. "I...what?"

"Campbell was an excellent researcher but he was a third-rate mystic."

The professor broke out into song. "Look... here...baby...who you jivin'
with that cosmik debris?" His voice lapsed back into normal speech.
"Campbell conceived mythology as this inane twelve-step plan leading to the
'opening of an individual's consciousness.' However, these ancient tales
have nothing to do with self-actualization..."

The professor slipped the pipe out of his mouth and held it with both hands.
His cheerfully mocking face became  dark and intense.

"No. Nothing to do with that at all."

Mulder cringed. He looked at the other students in the hopes they were also
unnerved by this change of attitude. Instead they remained attentive to only
their notebooks, unaware of either the professor or the water dripping on
their tables and shoulders.

"Zeus killing his father...Thor dying in a river of poison...Lot getting
screwed by his daughters...what do these things have to do with 'harmony?'
If anything, they are about the eternal disharmony between us and this
godforsaken world."

The professor was trembling now. Mulder felt an urge to leave but he felt a
stronger urge to stay. When a bead of water ran over his nose, he just
blinked.

"We don't read these stories because they are cute little tales with eight
minutes cut out for commericals," the professor growled. "We read them
because they're mean and bloody and..."

The pipe snapped in two.

"...unfair."

The professor walked towards the front table, his shoes squishing on the
damp rug. "There are no happy endings here," he declared as he climbed on
the table. He knelt on all fours and bared his teeth at Mulder. "No audience
testing or complimentary critical blurbs. The hero *must* die. The hero must
die because we need blood."

Stretching out his arms, the professor reached to the next table. Then he
planted a foot on it and pulled himself forward. He continued to speak as he
crawled towards Mulder. A rain's din failed to muffle his voice. He passed
by the docile students who continued to write even as the ink ran down their
notebooks.

"Prometheus must get his guts eternally chewed out...Samson must be crushed
under a building...Achilles must get shot in the heel..."

Mulder just sat there with the water up to his knees. When the professor
grabbed him by the shirt, he noticed that two long horns had grown around
the professor's soaked hat.

"And, above all, we must continue to build crosses," the professor said.
"Death will come before idolization so that future generations can mime
cannibalism with wafers and wine. Special order today? Messiah on a sesame
seed bun."

The professor shoved Mulder under the water. He didn't resist. He just
opened his mouth in shock and let his lungs be filled. Even now, he could
hear the professor say --

"You want fries with that?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Scully clung to the trunk of Mantis, air streaking across her face and wings
rattling behind her. She admired the sights passing by -- a herd of elk in
the grass, farmers harvesting their crops, a group of children walking along
the road in blue school uniforms. No one took notice of the giant insect
passing through, but she didn't consider that unusual. She was just enjoying
the ride.

Then the sun disappeared.

Scully looked up. A large object was overhead, pressing a round shadow over
her and Mantis. It sailed past them and allowed the sunlight to touch them
again. Mantis followed the object's direction.

Others were following it as well. Crowds were marching on the roads, through
the fields, across the desert plains. They came from all directions. Scully
couldn't even estimate their great numbers. Their faces were black and white
and yellow and red but they all smiled in the same disheartening way.

Mantis continued on a path that seemed to exist just for him. It took Scully
for many miles before it stopped.

Scully saw a bay. She recognized it as well as the tents assembled on the
shore. The gigantic saucer suspended above the tents was familiar as well.
Even from a distance, she could see markings on its gray surface.

This was where the crowds were gathering. They stood at the edge of the
settlement, looking up at the saucer and waiting in silence. Scully looked
at them, unable to believe that so many people could be so quiet.

A light burst from the saucer's underbelly, accompanied by a sharp whistling
noise. The crowd remained silent yet expectant.

Held in the center of the light, a naked man floated out of the settlement.
She knew who it was. Even though he was far away and his features were
obscured by the light, she knew.

She tightened her grip around Mantis's trunk. It made no reaction.

The man was suspended for a full minute. Then he descended slowly to the
ground. He was desposited in a place out of Scully's view. The light
disappeared, the whistling noise stopped and all was silent again.

It remained like that for another minute.

Then she saw people walk away from the tents. They wore blue jumpsuits. They
smiled. Those waiting on the very edge of the crowd stood on their spots as
the people in blue jumpsuits approached them.

Then they were touched. The touched people staggered at first, then they
straightened themselves out. The happy expression on their faces became even
more blissful. It was as if nothing could harm them now.

They turned and touched the people behind them. These next people had the
same reaction. A chain reaction was started. Everyone who was touched laid
their hands on the person next to them, passing along some invisible gift.

As this process went on, Scully tried to figure out what was happening. Then
she saw a black mist in the eyes of every man, woman and child touched.

Mantis leapt away from the settlement. As they left the crowd behind, Scully
had a glimpse of the spot where the man had descended. A mass of gelatinous
substance throbbed there. Sticking out from this was an arm and part of a
face. However, this was sucked beneath the surface. That left nothing more
than a slick black surface gleaming in the sun.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mulder had just drowned, but he was fine.

In fact, he was having a lot of fun. He swam under the lake's surface,
enjoying his weightlessness and the soothing embrace of water.

His father was pleased to see him happy. He stood at the lake's bottom and
watched Mulder perform loops above him. He nodded in contentment as he
smoked a cigarette.

However, Mulder's enjoyment faded. The pleasures of swimming became
monotonous and soporific.  He found himself looking to the lake's surface.

"Father," he asked. "what goes on up there?"

"Only pain and suffering, son. Continue to swim."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Now, swim."

Mulder kept watching the border between the lake and the other world. The
light of that other world passed through the surface to twinkle in his eyes.

"I want to see for myself," Mulder said.

His father was aghast. "Are you crazy?"

"I'm tired of my life here. I want to leave the lake."

Mulder's father took a lengthy puff off his cigarette. His smoke floated
through the water.

Eventually he said, "If you leave, you'll never be able to come back."

"I understand."

The smoking man reached up and grabbed Mulder's foot. "Don't go. You'll only
find misery up there."

"Let me go, father."

"Fox..."

"Please let me go."

The older man hesitated for one second, then released his grip. Mulder swam
upwards.

At first, the light was too bright for him to see anything. With his eyes
squinting, he pulled himself onto the shore. He stood up and held his hands
against his brow. A little time passed before he could see his new
surroundings.

A desert stretched away from the lake. He felt a cracked, dry land under his
feet. There was no life to be seen except for a black and withered tree. He
also saw a few skeletons, both human and animal. The sky was ruled by a
blistering sun.

Immediately he turned back to the lake. He found only a black stone surface.
He knelt down and pounded on the rock, crying out for his father.

Then he saw a leg in the corner of his vision. He looked up and found his
father standing before him. There was no pity in the smoking man's
expression as he said --

"Told you so."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a jihad to end all jihads but far different than the ones of the
past. This was a crusade done out of love, not out of hate. The disciples of
The Kilembe spread out from Nigeria. They brought their purity with them.
Whomever they met, The Kilembe bestowed Mputu's gift onto them. Some were
willing recipients. Others tried to run. Either way, once they felt the
purity, they understood its glory and worked to spread it further.

She wept.

Violent means were used in an attempt to contain The Kilembe. Armies were
deployed and bombs were dropped. The Kilembe had great powers, though. Those
soldiers who didn't receive purity fell to the ground as scorched husks. By
the time it was decided by the major governments to use the deadliest
weapons in their arsenal, The Kilembe had become too widespread to be
stopped.

She wept.

A few managed to keep The Kilembe at bay. In Nigeria, a small group of men
and women took refuge in a shelter capable of withstanding the jihad's
assault. The Kilembe were disappointed, but the number of people in the
shelter were too minute to cause concern. Much more aggrieved were those
rich individuals who hammered their fists on the shelter's walls and
demanded to be let in. They got a bullet for their troubles.

She wept.

In a short period of days, The Kilembe had overtaken the world. Billions and
billions of people were now listening to their beautiful music in their
heads. All the past fears had vanished. Sin, war and poverty had become
discarded relics. Humanity was in complete harmony.

This lasted for about three hours.

Then all of The Kilembe fell to the ground, convulsing for a few seconds
before becoming still. At least, the outer parts of the people were still.
Inside of them, things began to squirm. They could be seen through the newly
translucent skin of the fallen people.

Another two hours passed and the things were out. They straightened out
their bodies, looked at their new world and found it acceptable. The fleshy
husks of their cocoons were left behind to rot in the sun.

She wept until her tears were gone. Then it began to rain.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mulder wept, too. While he cried, the smoking man looked over the wasteland
with one hand tucked away in his pocket.

"There is no God," he said. "No universe, no human race, no earthly life, no
heaven, no hell. It is all but a dream -- a grotesque and foolish dream."

He bent down to a squatting position and grabbed one of Mulder's ears. He
yanked Mulder's wet face in his direction.

"Nothing exists but you. And you are but a thought -- a vagrant thought, a
useless thought, a homeless thought, wandering forlorn among the empty
eternities!"

Mulder slapped the hand away. He crawled backwards and screamed, "You're not
my father!"

The smoking man stood up. A mean smile appeared on his lips.

"I'm everybody's father," he said.

Mulder charged at the smoking man, but went right through him as if he was
smoke. The smoking man turned and gave Mulder one last smile before
dissipating into the air.

Mulder fell back to the ground and wept some more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mantis could take her no further. It needed to find shelter from the rain.
She accepted this without complaint in her numb state. When Mantis lowered
himself to ground, she slid off its trunk and walked off without looking
back.

As the rain fell from dark clouds, she wondered where she was going now. She
decided that she would keep walking until she fell exhausted into the tall
grass.

The rain blurred everything in her vision. That didn't matter because the
only thing she could see were the sights she had witnessed on her journey
here. The Kilembe spreading the alien virus over the world...the new
lifeforms bursting from their guts...Mulder reduced to a mass of black
oil...

Then she saw something new.

A light.

It blinked at her from a distance. What the hell, she thought and walked
towards it.

After a mile of steps over the damp ground, she found a man standing under
an umbrella. He was dressed in a raincoat and rubber boots but wore no hat.
The umbrella he carried was painted in four different colors. One of those
colors would light up as if the man holding the umbrella was an electric
source. The lights followed a pattern -- first, red; then, black; white
followed by yellow and back to red again.

"I was wondering when you would show up," Scully said.

Eshu held up his umbrella slightly higher, indicating for Scully to join him
under it. She did.

"So where do we go now?"

"That's up to you, Agent Scully."

"Well, how about someplace out of this weather?"

"This way, then."

Scully walked alongside Eshu as he led her through the rainstorm.
Eventually, they reached a hill. "That's where I started," Scully observed.

"There and back again," Eshu replied.

He brought her to the base of the hill. The opening of a cave was waiting
for them there. So was a person standing at the mouth of the cave.

"Stop," he commanded, holding up a hand.

"It's okay," Eshu said. "She's with me."

"It doesn't matter who she's with. That woman is not allowed in here."

"And why not?"

"This is a holy place and it will not be desecrated by the likes of her."

Eshu turned to Scully. She had a hard, blank look on her face.

"Who is that?" he asked her.

"He's my father."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

TITLE: JUMPING OVER THE FIRE (2 of 2)

AUTHOR: DAVID HEARNE

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well?"

"She's...trying to get into a cave...but someone is blocking her way."
Gibson stared at Scully's face, then shook his head. "I can't see
everything."

"She can't stay like this for long," Skinner warned. He held one of Scully's
hands. It was becoming colder to his touch.

"No," Maryam Dankabo said. "She can't."

"Can you bring her out of it?"

"Of course I can," Maryam snapped. "Do you think I would let her perform the
Tcheni if I couldn't?"

"Then why don't you do it?"

Maryam pointed at Scully. "It will be her decision to come back."

"She better make the decision soon."

To that, Maryam made no reply.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Do you know what it's like to look at your daughter and feel ashamed?"
William Scully said. "I've tried to impart a sense of goodness to you.
Instead you committed the ultimate sin -- you took upon a role only allowed
to God. What gave you the right to do that, Dana?"

Eshu looked between Scully and her father. William Scully's face was a dim
visage in the rain yet its anger was plain to see. The flashing lights of
Eshu's umbrella only emphasized the inexpressiveness of the woman next to
him.

"You don't belong here," William said. "Go away and never be in my sight
again."

Scully made no sound or movement for a long time.

Then she left the protection of Eshu's umbrella and slowly walked to the
cave.

Her father said, "Did you hear me? Go away or I'll..."

Scully slapped him in the face. It was such a loud noise that Eshu flinched.
William Scully's head turned to the side.

When he looked back at Scully, he was no longer her father. Instead he was a
dark-haired man with cold and hungry eyes.

"Don't you dare judge me," Scully said. "And don't you dare put your words
in the mouth of my father. I know that I have to atone for what I did, one
way or another. But I'm not walking away. Not from Mulder. That would be an
even worse sin."

"Maybe so," Donnie Pfaster snarled. "But you're damned anyway. And when I
see you in hell..."

"I'll be there to torment *you*."

Scully pushed Pfaster aside. She went into the cave. Eshu followed after
her, folding up his umbrella.

"You're mine!" Pfaster screamed at Scully. "You have always been mine! I'll
be in your soul forev..."

"Oh, shut up," Eshu said and shoved the umbrella down Pfaster's throat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He sat by the lake. He was alone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A red light could be seen at the far end of a tunnel. Scully made her way
towards it, careful not to trip over anything. Eshu was right behind her.

At the end of the tunnel was a slightly wider space leading to another
tunnel. In the middle was a fire. It was wide as a manhole and it blazed
sparks towards the rock ceiling. Not enough room was provided to get around
the fire.

"He should be here, shouldn't he?" Scully said.

"Should be, yes," Eshu responded.

"Why isn't he?"

"Only he knows that." Eshu looked at Scully. "But perhaps you know as well."

Then Eshu walked through the fire without harm. He headed for the other
tunnel.

"What should I do now?" Scully called after him.

Eshu turned back, looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "If I were in
your situation...I would sing."

Then he shrugged and left her for the tunnel's darkness.

Scully sat down in front of the fire. Sitting on her knees, she took several
deep breaths.

She opened her mouth.

And began to sing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sound was so wonderous that he couldn't believe in its existence at
first. There was no visible source nearby to produce such music. All he
could see was the wasteland.

"O Roschen rot..."

Not only was he entranced by the music but he knew what the words meant.

O Roschen rot. O red rose.

"Der Mensch liegt in grosster Not..Der Mensch liegt in grosster Pein..."

Mankind lies in greatest need, he thought. Mankind lies in greatest pain.

He stood up, wiping the tears off his face. "Je lieber mocht ich im Himmel
sein..." the voice sang.

Yes, Mulder thought. I would rather be in Heaven, too.

That's why he followed the music. Even though he was surrounded by miles of
barren land and he walked at a normal pace, he crossed the distance within
mere seconds.

The singer began to speak of an angel who wanted to dismiss her from the
path to Heaven. "Ich liess mich nicht abweisen!" the singer declared several
times.

I will not be dismissed.

Mulder nodded.

"Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott!" I am from God and would go back
to God!

Mulder chased after the voice until he reached a hill. On the other side of
the hill, flowers bloomed. Mulder's side looked like the land he had walked
through -- stark and lifeless.

The professor was waiting for Mulder at the entrance to the cave. "Tell me,
Mr. Mulder," he said, chewing on his pipe's stem. "what does the cave
symbolize? Does it represent the inner consciousness that all human beings
must explore? Is it the threshold we must cross in order to achieve wisdom?"

"It symbolizes the goddamn place where the woman I love is waiting," Mulder
told him.

The professor looked at Mulder, then smiled and stepped aside.
"Congratulations, Fox. You've graduated."

Mulder went inside the cave.

"Der liebe Gott wird mir en Lichtchen geben...wird leuchten mir bis an das
ewig selig Leben..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"He's back," Gibson said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They sat at opposite ends of the fire. The heat felt intense on their faces
but they did not sweat.

Neither of them moved.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Nothing's happening," Gibson informed the others.

"Something better happen," Maryam warned. "We could lose both of them."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"One of us has to do something," Scully observed.

"I know," Mulder said. "It should be you."

"Me? But why..."

"It would be too easy for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Everything I want is on the other side of this fire. I could forgive you
for anything a thousand times over."

"I feel the same about you."

"But this is not about forgiving the other. It's about forgiving yourself."

Scully looked down at her knees.

"Can you do it, Scully? Can you see the goodness inside of you?"

Scully lifted her head.

She stood up.

She looked at the sparks rising from the flames. They looked like a swarm of
insects capable of devouring a human body.

("I almost ran over an angel..." a voice sang in her ear.)

She whispered, "...ndini chaambuka...mhiri ne mhiri..."

("He had a nice big fat cigar...")

In a louder voice, she said, "Ndini chaambuka mhiri ne mhiri."

("'In a sense,' he said. 'you're alone here...'")

She stretched out her arms and cried out so that her words echoed through
the tunnel. "NDINI CHAAMBUKA MHIRI NE MHIRI!"

("'...so if you jump...'")

She left the ground.

("'...you best jump far.'")

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Oh, God, they're pulling me down, pulling, pulling, snakes of fire, miles
instead of a few mere feet, won't be able to reach, being eaten alive...

I am the diseased log that must be tossed into the fire. I am the sinner who
must be purified. God has thrown me into the flames.

So why is this man holding out his arms to me?

Why does he look at me like I'm the most beautiful thing in the world?

Pardon me but I'm curious. I want to know his reasons. And I want to know
why I feel a warmth that has nothing to do with the flames.

I pass over the fire and fall into his arms.

The inertia of love.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Maryam saw Gibson blink. "What?" she said. "What is it?"

"They're...gone."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They held each other for a long time, knowing only the feel of each other's
body. His face was touching her hair and her cheek was pressed against his
chest. Their eyes were closed as if they feared sight would deny what touch
promised.

Then, once again, they heard music.

"They...ask me how I feel...
"And if my love was real...
"And how I know I'll make it through..."

They opened their eyes slowly but not to look at each other. They found
themselves surrounded by tables, chairs, bottles, a jukebox, a neon sign
reading "Miller Lite" -- the standard decoration for a bar. Included among
these items was a karoake machine. A black man was singing into its
microphone. He was dressed in leather boots, jeans, a black vest and a
cowboy hat. The cowboy hat was divided into...

Well, you should know by now.

"And they...look at me and frown..
"They want to drive me from this town...
"They want me around...
"Because I believe in you..."

The lyrics appeared at the bottom of a television screen. Behind them was a
montage of images involving a man and a woman.

"They...show me to the door...
"They said don't come back no more...
"Because I don't be like they want me to..."

The man and the woman were looking at each other, brushing each other across
the cheek, holding each other and even occasionally kissing each other.

"And I walk on my own...
"A thousand miles from home...
"But I don't feel alone..."

Mulder and Scully looked at each other.

"Because I believe in you..."

Then they danced, slowly and close together.

"I believe in you even through the tears and the laughter...
"I believe in you even though we be apart...
"I believe in you even on the morning after..."

"Though the dawn is nearly gone..." Mulder murmured in Scully's ear. "Though
the night is disappearing on..."

"Mulder?"

"What?"

"I may be able to sing here, but you can't."

Mulder smiled and held Scully just a little closer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They kept on dancing ever after the man in the cowboy hat had left. At some
point, Scully said --

"This is all very nice, but we can't do this forever."

"That was kind of my idea."

"Mulder, we have to leave."

There was a brief moment of silence before Mulder said, "I'm not losing you
again."

"You won't."

"How do I know that? If we leave here, will we be able to..."

Scully pressed her hands against his cheeks. "We have a job to do," she
said, looking him in the eye.

He shook his head. "No. I don't owe a thing to anybody. You don't owe..."

"There's no turning away from this."

"My responsibility is to you, Scully. And to our child."

She let out a tiny gasp. "How...how did you know...?"

"I can feel it."

Scully looked down at Mulder's chest.

"Some time ago, I promised that you wouldn't suffer anymore. You have paid
enough to this world. Why should you risk yourself again?"

"So...what should we do?"

"Let's run away. Find a place where we can protect ourselves. That's what we
owe to our child."

Scully pressed her forehead against Mulder's chest.

"Come with me, Scully. If I can save you, let me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Something is wrong," Maryam said, shaking her head over Scully's body.
"Something is very wrong."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well? What do you say?"

"I'll be a liar if I said I wasn't tempted," Scully told Mulder.

"And if you were to say 'yes?'"

Scully looked up at Mulder. It had been a long time since she had seen that
special face of his -- the purest expression of devotion she had ever
beheld.

"On my way here," she said slowly. "I saw a place where people could protect
themselves as the world went to hell. These were people who had no beliefs
other than in survival. They would sacrifice anyone just so they could add a
few more years on their empty lives.

"Mulder...are we those people?"

"It's not the same thing."

"Why?"

He searched long for an answer. When he couldn't find one, he let out a
sigh.

Then he smiled. "I can't believe it."

"What?"

"I gave up godhood just so I could be second-guessed by you again."

She smiled back.

"So we don't run," he said. "What do we do?"

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"Bring her back," Skinner ordered.

"If I tried, I'm not sure I could," Maryam said.

"Well, try anyway, dammit. If you don't do something, I'll..."

"She's here," Gibson called out.

Skinner and Maryam turned to the boy. "What is she saying?" Maryam quickly
asked.

"She says...she wants to be brought back."

"Do it," Skinner barked at Maryam.

"I'm doing it, you big stupid white man," Maryam grumbled as she scurried
over to a corner. She returned with a pot. She dipped her hand into the pot.
It came up with a tiny pile of white powder. She blew it in Scully's face.

The powder scattered over her mouth, nose and eyelids. It mingled with the
river of dried blood leading from her nose.

A few seconds later, she was awake. She looked at the three people gathered
around her.

"Hi," she said in a small voice, rubbing at the powder and blood.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Maryam asked.

Scully nodded.

Skinner said, "Did you...I mean..."

"He's with us again," Scully told him. "I know it's hard to believe,
but...he's back."

Skinner slowly nodded.

Scully turned to Maryam. "I hope...it's not too imposing, but could we sleep
here, Mrs. Dankabo?"

"Well, this is hardly the damn Hilton, but...I suppose it's all right."

"Oh, that's very gracious of you," Skinner said.

Maryam looked at him.  "If Scully hadn't come back, what would you have
tried to do?"

"'Tried?'"

"Uh, would you two mind going back to your corners?" Scully said. "I really
need some rest. There's a lot of work to be done tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Skinner asked.

Then this smile rose on Scully's face. It made everybody blink. The smile
was strange and mischievous and even a little sinister.

"We're going to smack down all their candy-asses," she promised, then closed
her eyes.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Well, one more installment on the way, kiddies. For those of you keeping
track, the music used here was "Cosmik Debris" by Frank Zappa, the fourth
movement of Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony, "Leather" by Tori Amos and "I
Believe in You" by Bob Dylan. Songs to be referenced in the future will
include "House Burning Down" by Jimi Hendrix and "'Allo, 'Allo" by Zap Mama.
Imagine how I'm going to use those.

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