NEW: Ancient Powers/Ancient Dreams - 1/7 Legally: The interesting characters in this story belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox as brought to life by DD, GA and the XFiles writers. I've borrowed them for fun not profit. This story: I'm happy for the story to be circulated uncommercially, intact and with my name still attached. SPOILER WARNING ---------------- There is quite a serious third season spoiler in here. It's for the episode Grotesque. This one's a XFile. Violence and language level about comparable with the show. Thanks to Sarah and Lynne for acting as guinea pigs/ UKism checkers on this story. Joann =============== Part 1/7 The desert sky was a clear, dazzling blue. The heat haze from the noon sun was starting to make the air shimmer over the rocks. A shadow of a thing was cutting across the sky. It circled carefully at maybe twenty feet above the ground. The young man watched its dance, trying to identify the black silhouette. As it turned to fly towards him he leaned back his head in anticipation. The size of the thing. The power of it. The claws. It chose its targets carefully. It liked them to be alone. It liked a good clean kill and nowhere for the victim to run. It got its wish again. All the time in the world to quietly portion out the meat. It gathered up the tastiest morsels and carried them away. It left behind the unwelcome skin and bone and gristle. The autopsy had little to work on. For sure, the victim was dead, they'd found too much of the head for it to be otherwise. No blades had been used to cut the body apart. Ripped by claws and teeth but not obvious if that was before or after the death. Not obvious what the claws and teeth belonged to either. The body had been found only fifteen minutes after the man had stopped his car to make a last phone call. Otherwise it might have been suggested that this was the work of some pack of wild dogs, attacking a victim suddenly overcome by the heat or illness with other scavengers confusing the trail. But it wasn't, the man on the cellular phone had calmly described the wonderful bird/bat/thing that was flying just a few dozen yards away. He'd mentioned its approach. Then they'd heard the screams. Then they'd heard the silence. ------------------- They were little more than five minutes into the drive when Scully broke her vow of silence and started to interrogate Mulder on exactly who they were going to see. Scully had answered the office phone, Professor Jeanette Laing responding to Fox's message on her answering machine. Of course she'd be pleased to see them, this afternoon would be just fine, the sooner the better in fact. Looking forward to seeing him again. "So explain it, Mulder. Who is she?" "She's a friend of mine. She's a specialist in crypto zoology." "A friend?" "Like an acquaintance, except they don't cross the road to avoid talking to you." "Cypto zoology?" "Is there an echo or are you just intent on repeating everything I say?" "I'm just intrigued how someone gets to be a Professor of crypto zoology. It sounds like getting a Doctorate in pseudo physics." "Agent Scully. You are in a very difficult mood today. Crypto means secret or hidden, crypto zoology deals with mysteries of the animal world. Pseudo means fake. Not the same thing at all.... " "I'm in a difficult mood?" "Very. Anyway her professorship is in biological adaptation but she's got files on everything from panthers that live in the English countryside, through lake and sea monsters to sightings of dinosaurs in South America." "So everything from animals that escape from zoos through to creatures that roam the earth in Steven Spielberg movies." "You could say that." "But you wouldn't?" "Not and live." He looked at the back of his hands as if expecting some kind of inspiration, then smiled. "She's a powerful woman and a specialist in the martial arts." "A real all rounder then?" "So who would you suggest we talk to about pterodactyl sightings in the area?" Scully was quick to deliver the comeback. "How about an ornithologist with good eyesight." "Can we just talk to her before you decide she's not got anything interesting for us?" "I'm not saying she's not got anything that you're interested in, just that it's not likely to help us with this so called case. Anyway it's clear you have already decided to go and see her irrespective of my opinion." "What's that supposed to mean? Why are we arguing about this?" Scully frowned. Yes, why were they arguing like this? It was just that woman had really annoyed her with that soppy, girly, come hither voice she'd been using on the phone that morning. This was business and her supposed partner had dug up some old 'friend' who was going to go all hormonal over him. Why was that annoying her? It wasn't annoying her. She just didn't want to go through that kind of waste of time and emotional energy again. She didn't enjoy watching her colleague make a complete idiot of himself. That woman had called him Fox. She hated that as well. ------------ Special Agents Scully and Mulder sat on one side of the table, Professor Jeanette Laing and Doctor Mark Ferguson sat on the other. Jeanette handled the introductions. Mark was "my only ally in the annual funding review." Mulder was "the nearest I get to being on good terms with the weapons of the state." Scully was "well, you know, any friend of Mulder's is, well, almost certainly a little strange." Scully felt bemused by Jeanette's over familiarity but started to get down to business. Scully summarised the information to date. "Three deaths in the last six months in that area. The assumption is always that the car broke down or they stopped for some other reason. The lone driver got out and got overcome by heat. Then the animals do the rest. There aren't many things that'll attack people who are up and active. There aren't many things that'll even approach a car unless it's been still for a long time. But once someone has collapsed there are quite a few things that might move in." Mulder followed up. "Then there's this thing that the man saw. What did he say. Fifteen foot wingspan. Ugly head." He paused. "Of course. It could just be a really bad description of a really big eagle." Jeanette threw her head back and laughed. "Come on. < A really bad description of a really big eagle >. Where do you get these things from? The man was an amateur ornithologist. He rang his best friend up from the middle of nowhere to tell him about the pterosaur he was watching. Then it attacked him." Scully cut in coolly. "What we don't know is how amateur an ornithologist this guy is. I could claim to be an amateur tightrope walker, that doesn't mean I can actually walk a tightrope." Jeanette grinned. Soft brown eyes flashing with fun as she looked first at the irritated expression on Dana Scully's face and then at the slight smile that was starting to form in Mulder's eyes. "Typical. Predictable. Unless it's dead and we've got it pinned on a board and we've got video camera footage of its mating rituals and its been dubbed into 27 languages by the Learning Channel it doesn't exist. Anyway, what's it got to do with the FBI? Why do you care if it's an eagle or a pterodactyl?" Mulder started to speak but Scully was too quick for him. "Because Agent Mulder here has an over indulgent boss who didn't fire him last time he ran off on a wild goose chase." "Well that explains Mulder. It doesn't explain you." Scully stiffened. "I'm here because I have the misfortune of having to work with him and having to pick up the pieces when his wild goose chases go too far." Jeanette was loving the indignation level she was managing to get from Dana. She'd heard from Mulder what a cool, calm, professional woman Dana Scully was. "Pterodactyl chases. Agent Scully. Pterodactyl chases." Mulder watched, entranced by the argument going on in front of him. Looking at his normally controlled partner not only flaring and snarling at Jeanette but also ripping into him for ammunition. In other circumstances he might have felt hurt by the public airing of her irritation with him, but now he was just fascinated, eager to see what would happen next. Scully didn't bother to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "Well unless someone's going to lend us a time machine, a pterodactyl chase is not a chase I'm expecting to have a lot of luck with." Jeanette countered quickly. "Things survive in the unlikeliest places. Animals live in the arctic. In the desert. In deep ocean trenches that even with modern diving machines we can't visit. In volcanoes. Animals show up in the wrong places. If animals can show up in the wrong places. Why can't they show up in the wrong time as well?" Scully stared at the smiling woman. A mixture of horror and amusement was running through her brain. She could collapse giggling or stand and fight. Scully looked at Mulder. He was just sitting there, looking like, well there was no denying it, looking like a FBI Agent. Passively listening, gathering information but without putting forward any personal views. Scully frowned and decided she couldn't just pretend she hadn't heard it. As if talking to a small child she started to explain about time. The passage of time. The fact that whilst animals could adapt to different environments, picking and choosing a time to arrive on the scene just wasn't an option. Scully was almost growling by the time she finished the reply. "Things don't just pick and choose where to appear in time. It's not like evolving to fill an ecological space left open by the absence of other animals." "But that's exactly what it is. If there's a niche for an animal, one appears to fill it. And if nature chooses to reinvent an old model to fill a gap, why be surprised? The coelacanth went missing for millions of years, then back it came." Scully snapped back. "It never left. People just didn't find their remains for a time." Jeanette's voice quickened. "And you have proof of that? Scientific evidence? Something that might stand up in a court of law?" "Just the evidence based on the success of generations of the scientific method in understanding the world. "You understand the world? That must be a great comfort." Scully scowled. "I try to understand the world. I'm a scientist, you're supposed to be one too." Jeanette smiled warmly, then returned to the battle. "So, Agent Scully. You identify yourself as a scientist but you quite happily choose to ignore evidence and information that's presented to you. Where's the science in that? How do you explain the sightings prior to the deaths? How do you explain the death of that man? If he'd told you that he'd seen a woodpecker you wouldn't have challenged his dying testimony but because it was a pterosaur you just write it off." "I'm not writing it off. Just saying there are other avenues to explore." Jeanette laughed and extended a hand in salute. "That's great Dana. So you really are just part of the club of people who don't know all the answers." Mulder looked across at Scully and tried not to laugh, he wasn't sure quite how she'd taken the discussion. Scully frowned for a minute, then smiled. Jeanette turned towards Mulder and winked affectionately. "She's nice Mulder, no wonder you like her." She turned back towards Scully. "He's always had a thing about strong women." Mulder nodded politely and started asking Jeanette about pterodactyls. Eating habits. Habitat. Talon configuration. Jaw size. Strength. Flock behaviour. Behaviour towards other animals. Other creatures that might look like them, particularly when silhouetted against a bright background. Jeanette told them what she knew from the fossil records. Mark Ferguson added in what he knew about local sightings of mystery animals and in particular what people had said about dinosaurs. End of Part 1/7 ======== =========================================================================== From: jhumby@mail.rmplc.co.uk (joann) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Ancient Powers/Ancient Dreams - 2/7 Date: 22 May 1996 19:28:05 GMT Legally: The interesting characters in this story belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox as brought to life by DD, GA and the XFiles writers. I've borrowed them for fun not profit. ---------- Part 2/7 Scully watched Jeanette and Mulder over dinner. Mulder kept trying to bring Scully back in to the discussion but it was racing away from her. They bounced from one subject to the next, outrageous theories flying, a ridiculous spiral of nonsense. Bad jokes making the laughter rise. Jeanette was teasing. "So Dana. Has he grown up yet? Does he still like to play with handcuffs or has he learned some new tricks?" Mulder rolled his eyes in mock disgust. Scully had never seen Mulder so relaxed. She'd never heard him laugh like that. Of course she'd always been careful to keep the professional balance between them. She responded to his jokes, she had a sense of humour and a sharp wit herself. But she recognised the steady flow of wisecracks for what they were, just nervous attempts to lighten difficult situations. So she would never have become the giggly mess that Jeanette had turned into. She wondered if maybe that was why she'd never seen him laugh like that. Scully watched the good humoured flirtation that was underway. Nothing heavy, just two old friends getting to know one another again. She felt a quick pang of something run through her. She wondered if it was jealousy. She wasn't really jealous of Jeanette, she was pretty sure about that. She didn't actually want Mulder, not really, not that way. If anything she envied Mulder, that for the moment he looked as if he didn't have a care in the world. He looked as if he was 'normal'. Dana Scully hadn't felt carefree since she had joined the X-Files. Excited, exhilarated, challenged, maybe even useful, but not carefree. She hadn't felt normal since a madman called Duane Barry had stolen her from her home, driven her to the top of a mountain and someone she never saw had taken her away. Lost part of her life. Nothing was the same afterwards. Then her sister died. Scully tried to remember what normal was like. "Scully? You ok?" Mulder's eyes were fixed on her. She felt a blush rise as she noticed that Jeanette had left the table and she was alone with her partner. "Fine. I'm just a little tired. I think I'll go back to my room. Leave you two in peace." Mulder didn't know why she looked so sad. He did know he couldn't just let her walk away and leave them in peace. They hadn't spoken much this evening, he'd got carried away swapping gossip with Jeanette. Jeanette was heading back to the table. Scully started to stand up to leave. Mulder reached out to touch her hand and quickly whispered, "please don't go." Jeanette studied the table and noted the way the two Agents had moved closer to one another and seemed to be engaged in some silent discussion. She tried to gauge the temperature. She knew that they weren't lovers and had never been lovers, Mulder had told her that before. But if she didn't know better. Jeanette sat down again. They talked business and planned tomorrow's trip into the wilderness. Mulder suggested that it was getting late and as they were making an early start they needed some sleep. Jeanette fluttered her eyelashes. "So Fox. Do I get a Federal escort home?" Mulder hesitated, a flicker of irritation crossing his face, then smiled back. "Of course. I'll follow your car." They left soon after. Jeanette leading the way, Mulder following on behind. He hated this. Jeanette was playing games and going a bit too far this time in her teasing. But he wasn't going to make it into some kind of big deal in the restaurant. Then as he drove he start he starting to wonder about it. Maybe it wasn't a game. Maybe she was genuine and it had been him who had been playing the games. He suddenly felt sick. Maybe, she didn't know that he wasn't going to follow up on the flirtation. Maybe, he'd misled her. He was going to have to make some pretty abject apologies tomorrow. The only woman he wanted, didn't want him. Mostly, she didn't even smile at him. Though he'd seen her smile at other people often enough. And as for a 'no commitment' one night stand, memories of Kristen flooded in. She died the same morning he made love to her. Serious relationship or casual comfort, neither track record looked too impressive. Of course there were times when his body could override his mind. But not tonight. And not in the presence of Dana Scully. He suddenly felt very tired and very uncomfortable. He concentrated on the tail lights of Jeanette's car. He followed her into the driveway as she parked in front of her home. He didn't switch off the engine, just smiled and waved goodnight. Jeanette walked over to his car door and asked again. "You're sure you won't stop? Not even just a coffee?" He shook his head apologetically and made up an excuse about needing to finish a report with Scully before he went to bed. He got back to the motel and checked his watch, 11.30. He'd go and say goodnight to Scully. Only after he'd knocked on the door did he realise how ridiculous it was. Was he really going to wake her up to prove to her that he'd come straight back from Jeanette's? He heard her voice, at least she didn't sound as if she had been asleep yet. Scully opened the door, she had a towel wrapped round her hair. She quickly ran her eyes over him and almost spat the words out. "So she sent you back. Never mind. Better luck tomorrow." He had no idea what to say, so he said nothing. Just turned and went to his own room. Dana Scully sat in front of the mirror to dry her hair and wondered why she'd done that. Fox Mulder switched on the TV and let the pictures flicker in front of his eyes until tiredness closed them for him. --------- The following morning, Mulder and Scully shared a breakfast table but neither wanted to look at the other. At last Mulder spoke. "I think you're right about this job. We shouldn't be out here. It's got nothing to do with the FBI. Ok, there are dead bodies but if its an eagle or something it's just a job for the park rangers to put up some more warning signs. And what would we do if we found a pterodactyl? Shoot it? It's like Jeanette says, people just want to kill it and pin it to a board. There's no point." Scully spoke as softly as she could. "But you want to see if it's real. You want to see it for yourself, don't you?" "That's me, not the Bureau. We'll do a couple of hours sight seeing and then drive straight back. I'm sorry I dragged you out here. It was self indulgent." "I'm sorry about last night. I had no right to talk to you like that." "I shouldn't have put you in that position." She looked at him. He looked defeated. Had she really been jealous because he'd looked happy and relaxed last night? Well he certainly didn't look happy now. Even the fact that he'd acknowledged that they shouldn't be out here gave her no pleasure. She hadn't expected him to give in that easily. Jeanette arrived a few minutes later and they headed out to the car. Jeanette was bouncy and bubbly, pointing out the kind of places that would attract a pterodactyl as they drove into the desert. She offered ideas and theories on the minimum size for a viable breeding population. She suggested locations where a breeding colony could have survived intact and unharassed for millions of years ("if that's the way it has to be for it to make sense to you Dana"). And why strays from a breeding flock might suddenly show up here. And why one should suddenly have been spotted a dozen times in a few months. Mulder switched into FBI mode. This might not be work, but he'd act like it was for a couple more hours. He'd listen, observe and save it up and analyse it on his own time. It wasn't as if he didn't normally spend most of his 'own' time working for the Bureau. So he'd got it the wrong way round for a change. It was too late for him to feel guilty now. He hoped there wasn't going to be something waiting in his in tray when he got back that meant these two days he'd wasted had been important. Then he'd feel guilty. Mulder was almost silent. Just an occasional prompt to reassure Jeanette that he was paying attention. He walked carefully over the area where the body had been found and thought of the report on the dead man's last phone call. The dead man had said he was looking into the sun, squinting to see the shadow of the creature. At noon that could mean it was coming from almost anywhere, but the man had talked about it rising from behind a prickly pear bush. He looked at the dozens of matches to the description and sighed. Like a ball coming through a goalpost, that's what the victim had said. He looked again and saw the right bush. Scully looked at the shadows of the rocks reflected in Mulder's sunglasses. It was interesting, she couldn't deny it. Just imagining any large animal making its living out here was difficult. But she knew lots did. They scrambled over the bushes and the rocks looking for any signs of animals but found nothing to speak of. Jeanette laughed at Mulder's disappointed expression. "Come on, we've not even found any coyote tracks and we know that they visit these rocks. Animals who don't want to be seen, don't need to make it easy for us. Besides with the number of people who've been out here since the death, they'll have scared off anything shy." Mulder just looked unhappily at the ground and muttered to himself. "And trashed any evidence." He checked his watch again, time to leave. A police helicopter went overhead. All three turned to follow its path. Both Agents letting their hands drift to check their guns as they wondered why it was out here. Jeanette's cellular phone rang. She stopped smiling. A colleague from the university was telling her that the lunchtime TV news was reporting another dead body. About ten miles from where they were standing. She recognised the location immediately. They got back into the car, turned the air conditioning up and drove to the scene. END of Part 2/7 ------------- =========================================================================== From: jhumby@mail.rmplc.co.uk (joann) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Ancient Powers/Ancient Dreams - 3/7 Date: 22 May 1996 19:35:00 GMT Legally: The interesting characters in this story belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox as brought to life by DD, GA and the XFiles writers. I've borrowed them for fun not profit. SPOILER ALERT: Spoiler ahead for third season episode "Grotesque". -------- Part 3/7 The police chief looked them over. They certainly looked like FBI. Who else would be dumb enough to be wearing suits in this kind of heat in the middle of the wilderness? "One of you guys a fortune teller or something? We were about to inform your regional office, the dead man's a congressman. What were you doing out here anyway? Hey, you're not dinosaur hunters are you?" Mulder played the disinterested Bureau diplomat. "Just checking out a theory. We were about to head back to Washington. Looks like we'd better stay around for a while. I'll call it in to the office for you." The routine was familiar. The MO was familiar, they'd read the MO on the other three incidents. Remains found outside but close to the car. The body dismembered with the 'tasty' bits removed. Claws or talons or teeth as the weapons. Scully quickly scanned the flesh, at first observation it was the same again. They'd need a proper autopsy done of course, but it made a reasonable place to start. Mulder scanned the scene and wished they had got here a couple of hours ago. Before the police cars. Before the helicopters. Before the footprints. Now that really would have been a useful piece of precognition. And now that they were here, he just wished everyone else would leave. It wasn't right. Not right at all. He nudged Jeanette, "there's no undergrowth, no big bushes, no good places to hide apart from rocks. It's not like the other scene and it's not like the places where you said they might live." She frowned and nodded. He went back to his daydream. Not right at all. He looked back at the car. Why was it parked at that funny angle in the road? It hadn't run out of fuel or broken down. If the victim had been taken ill why would he have got out of the air conditioned car with its phone into the heat? He quizzed the police on the other car tracks. But no one could remember quite which track had got there when. The scene of crime team might get something from the tyre tracks but it didn't seem likely. The place was usually quiet but it wasn't deserted. Too many tracks to be lucky. Dana Scully was working her way through the site when something made her pause. Something that didn't gel. She retraced her steps. Mulder wandered over to her. "There's something wrong Scully, I can feel it. This just doesn't smell right. It's a murder scene. I can tell." He expected a quick rebuttal, but she nodded her head. "Yes. I know what you mean I just can't pin it down. It's difficult because we didn't see the other sites when they were fresh and we didn't see the remains. Just the pictures. But this one just doesn't seem like an animal attack. " He paused and tried to put it into words. "It's too measured, controlled. Like they've tried to scatter the remains at random. But it's like it's deliberately random. Not random at all. And if it's an animal, you'd expect it to be killing for food, so why leave so much behind." They looked at the little heaps of flesh and clothing. They both saw it. If it didn't look like a homicide to anyone else round here, it did to them. Scully turned back to her partner. "So is this the odd one out? Or were they all setups?" Mulder frowned. "Who'd want to frame a pterodactyl?" Jeanette's voice suddenly broke in. "A velociraptor?" Mulder was glad he had sunglasses and plenty of practice to hide the snigger behind. He leaned in close to reply. "You Jeanette, are bad for my cool, professional image. And you have to go back to town now because I can't have civilians at a homicide investigation." "A civilian now am I? Yesterday I was a specialist." "Well today," he paused for effect, " I'm the specialist." Mulder and Scully let Jeanette take their car back to town. They'd get a ride back with one of the police cars later. The crime team did their jobs. Mulder walked around he rocks looking for something or nothing and wished he wasn't wearing a suit. At least no one was going to report him for ditching the jacket and tie, but that was little consolation. Scully looked at her shoes, she didn't expect them to survive the trip. They were grateful for the seemingly endless supplies of cold bottled water that kept appearing from the squad car. --------------------- That evening in the cool of the air conditioned motel room they scanned the photographs from the first three killings. This time looking with a different set of expectations on what they might find. Scully was relieved to find that things had settled down between them again. Mulder had sprung back to life as soon as they'd got to the crime scene. The defeat gone, replaced by pure concentration, looking forward to the thrill of the chase. She felt vaguely ashamed of the way she had begrudged him that couple of hours laughing and joking the night before. Mulder pored over the pictures and the scene of crime reports. He tried to relate them to the locations they had visited that day. Random or staged? Animal feeding frenzy or human brutality? He puzzled over the victims. If they were murders, why them? And how were the other killings related to the death of the congressman. Jeanette's unexpected arrival startled them from their thoughts. She apologised for the intrusion. She knew she'd upset a delicate balance between them. They didn't just work together, it was more. Mulder gave Jeanette a polite smile and a quick hello. He wasn't going to repeat his mistake of yesterday. He knew he wouldn't. There was no doubt in his mind now, he was working. He realised that last night had been an aberration, he'd mixed up his work with his personal interest in the unknown to come out here in the first place. Then he'd mixed up work time with holiday as he chatted to Jeanette in the evening. No, he wouldn't be repeating the mistake. Dana Scully found herself wanting to apologise to Jeanette. Then she quickly remembered that it had been Mulder who had seen her little outburst last night, not Jeanette. She wouldn't repeat yesterday's mistake. She wasn't going to find herself tagging along behind Mulder and Jeanette tonight. Jeanette quickly broke the ice. Mulder had asked her about things which in silhouette could look like a pterodactyl, because surely a black outline would be all that could be seen against the bright sky. She had been thinking. She had had an idea. A griffin. Despite his good intentions, Mulder couldn't help but smile. It was very much the kind of reasonable alternative that he would propose when faced with the problem. He responded before Scully got chance to get her breath back. "That's nice. But they aren't that much more common than pterodactyls in this part of the state. At least that's what Audobon's say. In any case, we think the latest death may not have involved any sort of animal except the human kind." Jeanette looked him over. Never let it be said, she'd turned down a verbal jousting competition. "That's why a griffin should be your prime suspect. They may not be more common in this geographical region than pterodactyls but they are more common in time. People have talked about them for thousands of years. And they shape change between human and creature and gargoyle." Mulder turned it quickly back. "Been there, seen it, done that, got the T-Shirt. Last time we got involved with gargoyles. It turned out my ex boss had started murdering people." "And you weren't his first target?" Scully stiffened slightly, remembering what that case had done to him. But Mulder just smiled innocently. "Me, why would you think that?" Then he paused. "Though, actually in a strange sort of way I probably was." Jeanette looked him over. Inscrutable. But she was pretty sure she'd hit a raw nerve with her remark. From what she'd seen over the last day or so, he still had plenty of raw nerves. She forced herself to stick to the subject. She'd gone back through the sightings made and they were all consistent with the historical records of griffins. Better matches of descriptions than the ones for pterodactyls in fact. Mulder replied in cool measured terms. "Well I'd ask you about talon configurations, tooth size and all the usual biographical data that might be needed for a suspect. But I doubt that the fossil record has got the necessary details to handle a positive ID on a griffin." Jeanette responded without missing a beat. "The records of griffins are set in stone. How much more positive can you get?" Mulder bounced it back. "Well something that didn't suggest mandatory incarceration in a psychiatric ward might be nice." "Not like you to close your eyes to extreme possibilities, Mulder." "No, I can honestly say my eyes are wide open, I'm awe-struck, open mouthed." "Wow." Jeanette replied breathily. "Just the way I like you." Years of training warred against sense of humour. His arms were resting on the table in front of him, he rocked forward and let his face fall onto his hands. After a few seconds, he turned his head to rest on its side, sighed and looked over at her. "Ok. I surrender. Leave the file with the griffins. I'll read it. " Jeanette grinned happily and looked at them both. "So you two ready to eat? My treat." "We've still got work to do." He said quickly. "Come on." Jeanette's voice was at its most convincing. "It's already past eight. You have to eat sometime. I'll make sure you don't get back late so you can start up fresh and early in the morning." Scully was the first to answer. "Actually Mulder. I'm feeling a bit tired and grungey . It has been a hot, sticky day. I think I'm ready for a long shower. You go on and get something to eat. I'm not going to want much, I'll grab a sandwich after I've washed my hair. Thanks for the offer though Jeanette." Mulder picked up quickly. "No. I'll pass as well. After all, I had plenty to do before and I've got yet another file to read now." He pointed at the griffin folder that Jeanette had handed to him. "We'd better say goodnight." Jeanette tried to read the cool but polite brush off she was being given and to weigh up what was going on between the two agents. The analogy quickly formed in her mind. < How do porcupine's make love? Answer: very carefully. > The appropriateness of the image made her smile. She said goodnight. ========== Breakfast the following day was a little more relaxed than the day before. Mulder and Scully scanned the photographs of the previous deaths. That random pattern again, that random pattern that was too random to be made by an animal. A fax had come through during the night confirming their assignment to work on the Congressman's death. They looked back through the biographies of the politician and the other victims. Mulder surveyed the files in front of them. "I'm still struggling to find a link between the people who died. And the location of the last death is out of step with the places where the other killings took place and where the likely nest sites for the creature might be." Scully liked his deliberate use of the term "creature". Nice and neutral. He was going out of his way not to offend her. She tried to be gentle with him. "So what about the griffins?" "I read the file. It makes interesting reading. And if there are creatures that can flip between the forms of winged demon, conventional human and stone ornament they'd certainly fit the profile of our attacker. Reckon I should raise an APB?" "If you can pin down the description of the 'conventional human' a little tighter I don't see why not." He nodded happily. She was going out of her way not to offend him. She was trying to be kind to him. He wasn't sure if he didn't find it a bit condescending but it was better than the daggers drawn position they got into the other night. They went their separate ways. Dana Scully planned to oversee the autopsy, making sense of the murder weapon was at the top of her list of priorities. Even if she couldn't identify the weapon at least she could make sure that the body parts were prepared correctly for shipment back to DC and an analysis of the trace evidence. Fox Mulder was going out interviewing. First the wife of the dead Congressman. Second the friend who had listened to the last phone call from of the 'amateur ornithologist' and had recounted his friend's description of the pterodactyl attacker to the tabloids. END of Part 3/7 ------------ =========================================================================== From: jhumby@mail.rmplc.co.uk (joann) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Ancient Powers/Ancient Dreams - 4/7 Date: 22 May 1996 19:39:07 GMT Legally: The interesting characters in this story belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox as brought to life by DD, GA and the XFiles writers. I've borrowed them for fun not profit. ---------- Part 4/7 Scully completed the autopsy and wandered across to the University library. She wondered why Mulder had asked her to meet him there and what he was so excited about. He'd called her just after he'd finished the interviews but the line had been too crackly and they gave up trying to do anything except agree to meet. Mark Ferguson welcomed Scully and led her into a research room with access to the library computers. He explained how to get access to the records on animal sightings. Jeanette arrived and took over from Mark. She suggested they eat their lunch while they waited Mulder's arrival. Dana felt slightly uncomfortable and hoped that he was going to show up soon. Jeanette looked Scully over and sensed her unease. She thought she might know what was causing it. She decided to check out her theory. "You know, Agent Scully." She paused. "Sorry I can't do this formal stuff, you don't mind if I call you Dana do you?" Scully shook her head. "Fox not only didn't do anything the other night, he didn't intend to do anything either." Scully's discomfort lifted from slight to something worse. Scully quickly replied to Jeanette. "It's ok, it's none of my business anyway." But Jeanette wouldn't be brushed off so easily. "I don't know what you said to him, I expect you told him he was being unprofessional, something like that? He hates disappointing you. Unfortunately, he doesn't hate disappointing me. Which is why I didn't get anywhere with him. Not for want of trying. If you find a man who can make you laugh and cry and think, you have to try, don't you?" Jeanette paused, waiting for a reaction, but Scully just stared at the cup of coffee on the desk in front of her. So Jeanette went on, "I don't have the same effect on him, I can only make him laugh. He's got you for those other things." Scully felt a blush rise to her cheeks and prepared a sharp denial. She didn't get the chance to say anything. The door opened and Mulder walked in. Jeanette leaned closer to Dana's ear and whispered sweetly., "He's got a great body as well. You should check it out some time." Scully stared at Jeanette then at Mulder. Jeanette smiled at Mulder. Mulder shifted nervously under their gaze. Jeanette asked him if he had found anything out. Mulder just stared back. It was Jeanette who again broke the silence. "It's ok, we were talking about you not to you." Mulder nodded. "That's ok then. I wouldn't want to think I was feeling paranoid for no reason." Jeanette continued cheerfully. "So what's the news then? What did you find out?" "Sorry Jeanette, don't be offended, but I need to talk to Scully. I want to talk to you some more on folklore later if that's ok." Jeanette recognised that she was being dismissed and took the hint without complaint. Scully looked expectantly at Mulder. He settled into the chair and started talking. The word pterodactyl wasn't used by the man who got killed. He told his friend about the size of the thing, its talons, the ugly head, but he never mentioned the idea of it being a pterodactyl. He just said it wasn't a bird. That was just something rustled up by a journalist sharpening up the story. Scully was still trying to regain her composure after that embarrassing discussion with Jeanette. She adopted her best professional stance and tried to think of something professional to say. "How did you get him to tell you that?" Mulder puzzled over her remark but then replied in a careful measured tone. "That's a very good question. But I am a trained Federal Agent and I do get paid for finding things out by asking questions. " Scully looked sheepishly over at him then theatrically put her hand over her mouth in apology. He nodded in reply and smiled. Scully told him about the results of the autopsy. A shaped cutting tool, possibly a large claw, had been used to slice through the body. Tiny ceramic fragments had been found lodged in the tissues. Mulder looked back at her expectantly. "Ceramic. As in pots? As in statues? As in terracotta gargoyles?" "Ceramic as in pots, statues and industrial ceramic knives." "And gargoyles?" He repeated. "I thought gargoyles were made of stone?" "Depends on the gargoyle." "Of course, I should have known. I've sent the body back to Washington to see if we can get a specific match for the type of ceramic." Mulder nodded. His second interview of the day had been with Congress man's wife. He told Scully about the nightmare the dead man had the night before he was killed. A nightmare about a flying monster. They sat back and swapped notes. A madman with a claw shaped ceramic knife? But no explanation of why Scully would choose to ignore the dead man's last phone call. A gargoyle that haunted people's dreams at night and turned into a griffin in the day? But no explanation of why Mulder, an apparently intelligent man would believe in a flying monster that could flip between flesh and blood and terracotta. Not a lot of common ground between them. Except they agreed that the same thing had killed the amateur ornithologist and the Congressman. And that it should be caught before it killed again. And that their next move would be to find out more about the victims and to find out if the other deaths had also followed nightmares about flying monsters. And to find out what might have provoked those nightmares. And that maybe the Lab would come up with something useful on the ceramic murder weapon. A hard afternoon of interviews followed. Trying to talk to the grieving friends and relatives of the dead about dreams was not an easy business. They found that the first of the men to die had also been having nightmares before he died. His wife didn't know what the dreams had been about, just that they'd made him wake up shaking the night before he was killed. She thought now that it must have been a premonition but she didn't know what he'd seen. That night they headed back to the motel where they had arranged again to meet Jeanette and try and tap into some more of her knowledge. Scully had to admit that Jeanette's theories were even wilder than Mulder's. Scully and Mulder looked at one another. Mulder understood the look in Scully's face, it was saying to him, 'now you know how I feel when I have to listen to you'. Then they both looked back over at Jeanette. Her explanation of animals that appear on demand 'because people want them badly enough,' was novel and appropriately Fortean. But it was hardly going to lead to the successful arrest of the killer. Jeanette had brought her colleague, Mark Ferguson along this time. Mark's special interest was in the link between dreams, myths and reality. They sat and talked. Mulder and Scully carefully giving away little or nothing of their investigation. Mark told them about how dreaming about gargoyles could make them break out of their stone shells and turn back into living, breathing animals. Then Mark laughed. He was just reporting the folklore, he wasn't claiming to believe it. He wasn't going to defend it. But if they wanted to read his Doctorate paper on the underlying psychological processes involved in the generation of monster myths they were welcome. END of Part 4/7 =========================================================================== From: jhumby@mail.rmplc.co.uk (joann) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Ancient Powers/Ancient Dreams - 5/7 Date: 22 May 1996 19:47:16 GMT Legally: The interesting characters in this story belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox as brought to life by DD, GA and the XFiles writers. I've borrowed them for fun not profit. ---------- Part 5/7 The following morning over breakfast Mulder and Scully sat and reviewed the work for the day. Scully looked at Mulder. He seemed relaxed enough but he still looked nervous of her. As if he expected the uneasy truce between the two of them to break down at any moment. He could be so annoying at times. Sometimes apparently oblivious to her reactions, or anyone else's for that matter. Other times, hyper sensitive. She'd said one thing out of line two days ago and she'd apologised. What else did he expect her to do? Any minute now she was going to crack and tell him to snap out of it. Then she realised that was just the kind of reaction he might be worrying about. He looked at her. She seemed relaxed enough but she still looked annoyed or at least impatient. As if she was still expecting him to get deflected from work by Jeanette's presence. Or as if she was fed up with listening to his stupid theories about gargoyles. She could be so frustrating. Sometimes apparently indifferent to his actions. Other times, hyper sensitive. He'd spent one evening gossiping with someone else and he'd apologised. What else did she expect him to do? Any minute now he was going to crack and ask her if that nasty remark the other night had meant something more serious. Then he realised that if it had meant something serious, if she'd finally realised what an idiot he was and she didn't want to work with him anymore then he didn't want to know. Mulder looked uncomfortably at the notes in front of him. He had no problem with jumping into the unknown but even if he went with Jeanette's leap of faith in monsters from the imagination or Mark's folklore, he didn't see how it was going to help him solve the case or stop the killings. He went back to basics. "You're sure there's nothing in the toxicology report?" She picked up the notes again. "Nothing abnormal. Travel sickness pills give those residuals. Seratonin level is high, but that might just be anti depressants. We could check out his prescription records to make sure." She picked up the second set of notes and frowned. "No, wait a minute. Nothing abnormal if that was the result for one of our victims, but that's the result for two of them. And you don't believe in coincidences do you?" He nodded, there were coincidences and coincidences. "Seratonin production is associated with sleep isn't it? They couldn't have been sleepwalking and dreaming when they got attacked could they?" "Asleep? Right, so the victims drove to the middle of nowhere, got out of the car and went to sleep. And while one of them is asleep, he picks up his phone to talk to a friend about a dream he's having." She regretted how sarcastic it sounded. "You should be pleased, It's the nearest thing to an explanation I've got before I turn to gargoyle mythology. Any suggestions you'd like to share that actually account for more of the evidence?" She frowned and wondered if she should apologise for her sarcasm or if he should apologise for his arrogance. She wondered if she should tell him about the dream she'd had last night. They'd done so much talking about dreams of monsters, it was no wonder she was dreaming of them too. If she told him, he'd get even jumpier and would probably manage to combine being scared of her with being scared about her and that would be just too annoying. But, she'd seen so much since she'd worked on the X-Files that to pretend it hadn't happened seemed foolish, even dangerous. Not that she hadn't had to forget half seen things before. But, maybe she had to say something. He got bored waiting for her to reply and wondered if he'd meant to sound quite so arrogant when he asked the question. The psychologist in his brain quickly answered that one for him, of course he had meant it. He'd better get out of this stupid mood soon, else she was going to get annoyed again. He shrugged uncomfortably and tried to make his voice sound relaxed. "Is there something wrong? You seem worried about something." That startled her out of her daydream. She yawned and realised that her disturbing dreams had disrupted her sleep more than she thought. She decided to laugh it off and said as lightly as possible. "Sorry. No. I'm just a bit tired. All this talk about nightmares, I had a restless night." He looked anxiously back at her. "What were the nightmares about?" She immediately regretted saying anything, she was not in the mood to be nagged by her jumpy partner. "Nothing. Just nightmares." "Scully?" "Winged monsters. Happy now?" "Not really. No. Weren't you going to bother telling me that?" "It's nothing. An inevitable consequence of the things we spent last night discussing. A natural reaction. Or are you suggesting I should report all my dreams to you?" "Well you could. Or you could just report the ones that have a direct relevance to the case." She couldn't help but go on the defensive. "How can my dream have a direct relevance to the case?" "I've no idea. But given that we spent yesterday interviewing witnesses asking them about the victims' dreams I'd have thought you might have at least mentioned it." "I have done." He hesitated. He was torn between his desire to get things right between them and his annoyance that she was holding out on him. Again. After some more thinking he finally decided they had to talk about it. "Are you still annoyed with me about dragging you out here?" "No. I wasn't actually annoyed in the first place and I'm certainly not annoyed now. I can't think of anyone better to investigate it." "Are you annoyed with me for involving Jeanette?" Scully knew the discussion had to be held but that didn't make her happy about it, so her words were said with a terse edge she didn't feel. "No. She is very knowledgeable." "So it's because you think I was being unprofessional when we met up with her the other evening?" "Not unprofessional. Just..." She paused. "I've already apologised for my remarks, I had no right to say that. But you've no reason to get so up tight about it. You keep looking at me as if you think I might hit you." "You keep looking at me as if I'd deserve it." She frowned and hesitated, then half smiled. "Do you suppose human beings will ever learn to communicate?" "One day maybe. Not in our lifetimes though." They sat in silence for a few minutes. When Mulder spoke again he spoke quickly. "I hate disappointing you. I just wish I could claim that it won't happen again." Scully shivered uncomfortably at his echo of Jeanette's words. Some of Jeanette's words still echoed in her own head. < 'If you find a man who can make you laugh and cry and think, you have to try, don't you?' > She wondered if that was the problem. Maybe she had found a man and she was as scared to admit it as she was to try and do anything about it. Mulder was not at all happy about Scully's nightmares. Ok, so they'd been discussing dreams and nightmares all the previous day, but even so. If some of the victims had dreamt about the creature, then maybe dreaming about the creature was a warning they couldn't ignore. It was certainly a warning he wouldn't ignore. All he had to do was to convince Dana Scully that they needed to work together today without it being too obvious he was trying to keep an eye on her. They puzzled over the day's work. Scully noted the way he steered the plan to meet his, not very well, hidden agenda of watching over her. She chose to ignore it for now, the schedule was reasonable. She'd deal with it later, when it became unreasonable for them to stick together. They went back to the University and the computer and library facilities that Jeanette had offered them. Mulder concentrated on reading the 'flying monster' eye witness reports that Jeanette and Mark had referred to do when they spoke the day before. The best they could hope for was to pick up some common threads, maybe some clearer idea about locations. These were the people who claimed to see the monster and survived. What distinguished them from the dead? Scully concentrated on the victims again. This time assuming a human attacker. What were the links that tied the dead together? It wasn't their jobs or their age. She started to look for more subtle links. Hobbies. Clubs. All the things that might have marked them out. She browsed the computer databases and started to head further afield. They worked happily alongside one another swapping the interesting bits from their researches, taking turns to fetch extra supplies of coffee, suggesting other paths to search along. Then Mulder's phone rang. It was Jeanette. Someone had reported seeing a mysterious flying creature just twenty miles out of town. He turned anxiously to Scully, keen to get her to rush to the scene with him. She just frowned. "No Mulder. I'll carry on with this. I may be on to something. I went through their previous addresses, two of them had lived at a place called Radcliffe at some time in the last five years. I want to keep going with it." Mulder sat back down. "I may as well carry on with this then. By the time I get out there, whatever was flying around will have gone anyway." Scully stiffened slightly in her chair. "No, you should go. It could be important. Don't worry about me. None of the attacks have taken place indoors." Mulder shrugged. He'd been caught in the act again. He searched around for a better excuse. She wouldn't let him find one. "Mark Ferguson is next door, I won't even be alone. Go and look for your pterosaur or griffin or whatever it is." Mulder recognised the 'game over' tone in her voice and decided to go along with it but to make the journey as quick as possible. He nodded and went to meet Jeanette outside by her car. --------------- Mark Ferguson watched Mulder leave. This was more fun than he ever thought possible. The killings had been good, he'd got a lot of revenge out of his system when he'd seen them die. But he was almost past revenge now. The powerful one had lived in that Church for a thousand years. Then some property developer had come along and knocked his home down. Put him in a crate, sold him to strangers and shipped him half way across the world. They didn't seem to care about taking him away from his family, from his friends, from his familiar places. And when they unboxed the crate they'd just left him to stand in the middle of some diner. A little touch of old world authenticity in the gothic horror section of a sordid tacky theme park restaurant. The indignity had burned so deep. The loneliness had pulsed through his terracotta prison. Gradually he knew the only way to avenge himself was to dig back into his old skills and become a living, breathing animal again. Through ceramic eyes he'd viewed Mark Ferguson sitting alone in the restaurant watching him. Mark was the only man here who respected him. Mark was sitting quietly alongside him drawing sketches of his still form. He pushed himself into Mark's brain. Mark had felt the fire inside his head. Then the tremendous surge of power. That first time, Mark had collapsed. The energy and the emotion too great to be contained in a human body. When Mark came to, he woke up with an old power inside him. He came round with grievances to be avenged and the strength and will to do it. At first Mark had tried to rebel. Mark didn't want to kill, but he understood the need for vengeance so he willingly put the nightmares into the head of that man who owned the restaurant. After all a nightmare was a small price to pay for stealing the gargoyle from his home and making him a figure of fun. He knew how to put the nightmares in their heads. A little suggestion. A small quantity of drugs to make sure they were receptive. And that strange, quiet, charming skill that the gargoyle had learnt in ancient times. A skill as real as he was and just as mysterious. And in time, of course, Mark didn't know which things were Mark and which things were from that ancient time. They had merged, power and fury, intelligence and strength. Strangely they shared enemies too. And then the enemies started to die. Ripped apart by monsters that they themselves had drawn to them. Mark felt the relief and the surge of power just as surely as his ancient terracotta companion had told him he would. At first Mark had been shocked by the blood on his clothes, by the eyes and other delicacies his friend had insisted he bring home to him. But later he saw that he was now a part of the same rich thread of history as his terracotta friend. A history that ran not to the decades of a man's life but to hundreds of years. Killing the Congressman who was trying to close the funding of his research group was such an appropriate punishment for the unbelievers. Two minds in one body, one ancient with ancient powers, one modern with a man's skills. Such a force. Mark smiled as Fox Mulder left. Amazing, the FBI were sponsoring Mulder's strange quest for knowledge. Extraordinary. If he hadn't witnessed it, he would never have believed it. Mark looked over at Dana Scully. She was no threat. Not yet. But Mark had planted the seeds in her mind and the drugs in her food last night. If she got too close, he was prepared for what he had to do. It wasn't what he'd do by choice of course. She would be an innocent victim in the wrong place at the wrong time. But if action had to be taken, well he was ready, it was self defence. She was getting horribly close, spotting that link to Radcliffe. Too close to home. Literally. Mark wondered again if he was handling things correctly. These two Agents were dangerous, more dangerous than all those unimaginative unbelievers. If he killed either then the other though desperate to solve the crime would be removed from the case, these law enforcement agencies hated that kind of personal involvement. So only one needed to die, but which one? He didn't want any unnecessary deaths on his conscience. Mark was guessing that Mulder would react more sharply to any threat he dreamt, so he would be more careful, more alert to the danger. Scully was the sceptical one, she wouldn't see the reality of her nightmares until it was too late. Mulder could be deflected and sidetracked into wild goose chases, like the stupid animal sighting he'd chased after Jeanette to see. Scully was diligent and careful and was unlikely to get distracted from her intense scrutiny of the victims' histories. A scrutiny that could lead to Mark Ferguson's door. That confirmed it. The immediate threat was Scully. Mulder was too prone to flights of fancy and with Scully gone, no one would even listen to his stupid theories. It was decided then. Mark would watch Scully and if she got too close, then she would have to die. END of Part 5/7 =========================================================================== From: jhumby@mail.rmplc.co.uk (joann) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Ancient Powers/Ancient Dreams - 6/7 Date: 22 May 1996 19:54:22 GMT Legally: The interesting characters in this story belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox as brought to life by DD, GA and the XFiles writers. I've borrowed them for fun not profit. ------------- Part 6/7 Mulder looked irritably at Jeanette. "We came out here for this?" He waved his arms at the two teenagers shuffling nervously by their car. Jeanette glared back, "so how was I supposed to know it was a hoax? You complained about getting to the scenes too late to check for evidence so I got you here as soon as they phoned into the office." "Couldn't you tell on the phone? They weren't even good liars." "No. Mister too clever for his own good FBI Agent, I don't have your innate distrust of my fellow man. I'd have got to the bottom of the story. Just because you wave your ID card at them and they immediately apologise for lying doesn't mean that your judgement of character is better than mine." She stumbled to a halt, then smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Does this mean you're going to lock me in handcuffs for wasting police time?" His expression softened and he spoke quietly to her. "As if ..." Then he turned towards their 'witnesses' and walked across to them. "It's ok. Thanks for telling us it was a hoax as soon as we got here, it saved a lot of time. Bye" Jeanette walked with Mulder back to the car. They prepared to head back to the campus. Jeanette was driving and knew the whole area so Mulder had no real reason to start browsing the map, but he did so anyway. Radcliffe. That was the town Scully had mentioned as a link between their victims. He turned to Jeanette. "How long will it take to get to Radcliffe?" "Radcliffe. Ten minutes maybe. It's not much of a place, what's the interest?" "Not sure." He was sticking to the rules, no discussion of the case with a civilian. But it was so tempting to make a little diversion. Scully was right after all, she was indoors, she wasn't alone. He didn't have to rush back. And he might even earn a few brownie points with her for staying away a little longer. And maybe he'd spot something or it would trigger some thoughts if they just drove through the place. "It's only claim to fame is this really tacky themed restaurant. Gothic horror. You know lots of old Dracula movie posters on the walls. Stuff like that." "Sounds like my kind of place." "Doubt it. The only bit that isn't made of cheap plastic is the gargoyle." "The gargoyle?" "Yeah. A real one off a church in Romania or somewhere. But I think I heard it got stolen a few months ago." "Was it stone or terracotta?" "Brick and terracotta. Why? Is it important?" He just shrugged and remained silent until they got to the town and its tacky diner. The first victim had owned the restaurant, he recognised the name as soon as he heard it. He had to wait until he got out of the car before he could call Scully but he thought the waiting would kill him. As soon as they stopped, he hit the speed dial and walked out of earshot of Jeanette. The voice at the other end of the line picked up promptly. "Scully." Mulder rushed the words out. "Scully. I'm stood outside the restaurant the first victim owned. And they used to own a gargoyle. And it's missing." "The first victim. Ok, that's Robert Yattendon. He had the place built about two years ago. Got it fitted out then sold it for a good profit about nine months ago." "Well they used to have a real gargoyle, imported from a church in Europe, but it's gone." "Gone?" "Stolen one night. They don't know if it was a joke or if someone was actually going to sell it. But there's not been any trace of it in six months. And the first death we know of was five months ago." Scully got more interested. "What was it made of?" "Terracotta and clay bricks." "I've had the lab report on those ceramic fragments. It might match. We need to find that gargoyle for comparison." "What are you saying? Scully stated the obvious. "That whoever stole the gargoyle could be using weapons made from the gargoyle." "I'm glad about that. For one horrible moment I thought you might be about to agree with me." "Agree with what? That 'the gargoyle did it'? That's not what you're going to say is it?" He ignored the rhetorical question. "I want to talk to a couple more people here, then I'll be back." "No, I'm just about finished here for now. I'll come and join you and we can talk about some of the stuff I've found on the victims. I need a break from looking at a screen. And there are a couple of things to follow up in Radcliffe based on what I've already got. He felt the tension rise to his throat. "No. No. We'll come straight back and we can plan it there." "Don't be ridiculous Mulder. That makes no sense." "Please Scully." There was a softness and some humour in her voice as she replied. "I promise I won't get out of the car." "Scully." "I'll be there in less than an hour, I'll see you at the restaurant." He sighed, resigned to defeat. "Take care." "I'll call you if there's a problem." "Ok." Mulder put the phone away. Scully was right. Probably. But sometimes. Sometimes he wished she wasn't so stubborn. Paranoia? Probably. But there had been times when it was paranoia that had kept them alive. Jeanette walked back over to him. "Fox. You look like you need a drink. Come on." She pulled him towards the door to the restaurant. "What's wrong? Was that Scully? Is something the matter?" He tried to snap out of it. "No. Nothing's wrong. In fact she should be over here soon. She may have found something." He tried to smile. "And it's still Mulder, not Fox." Jeanette just smiled in reply. Mulder talked to the current owners of the restaurant about what they remembered about the original owner and the missing gargoyle. They knew little more about the dead owner than Mulder had seen in the files. They knew less about their missing gargoyle than Jeanette did. He thanked them and said goodbye. He scanned his watch. Scully should be here soon. Mulder started to open the restaurant door, then stopped abruptly and turned back to face Jeanette. "Why do you know this place so well?" "Well I wouldn't say I know it that well. Mark Ferguson lives out here. He did a couple of sketches of the gargoyle before it was stolen." Mulder felt a shiver flutter along his spine. He hit the speed dial again. -------- Dana Scully was packing her briefcase. Mark Ferguson had been telling her a few stories about the local monster spotters and their monsters. When she mentioned she was off to Radcliffe, he'd smiled and told her that he lived out that way and was off home soon. They could drive in convoy if she wanted a guide to show her the best route. They left together, Scully following Ferguson onto the quiet roads out to Radcliffe. Ferguson opened his car window, he liked the wind in his face. Funny that, he never used to. There were a lot of things that had changed for him. Now these people were getting too close, sniffing around Radcliffe. Mulder at the restaurant. Scully getting faxes about fragments of terracotta. She already had the Radcliffe link. Now she had started to review the clubs that the amateur ornithologist had belonged to. Soon she would know that the ornithologist had collaborated with Mark Ferguson on that magazine. Collaborated? That was a joke. Ferguson had done the work and that idiot had got the credit. A cushy grant cheque had followed. While he was left to fight for every penny. Fight those morons like that Congressman. Listen to those cretins dismiss his work on paranormal phenomena and mythology as children's fairy tales. Well he had evidence that one of those myths was real. The glorious irony of the situation. The Congressman killed by a fairy tale because he didn't believe in fairy tales. For an instant Mark Ferguson felt faintly envious of Fox Mulder. Except of course Mulder's job appeared to be to seek out paranormal phenomena and kill it. Whereas Mark's job had made him into a paranormal phenomena himself. A delicous irony. He watched Dana Scully's car in the rear view mirror. ------- Mulder tried to be realistic. She's in the car, so she can't be expected to get to the phone on one ring. But it seemed like such a long time before he heard her voice. If he didn't feel quite so sick, he'd have laughed at his unreasonable panic. "Scully. Where are you?" "In my car, a few miles from Radcliffe. Where'd you think?" "Are you alone." "Yes and no. I'm following Mark Ferguson's car." "Scully, which road are you on? I think Ferguson may be involved. We'll come out and meet you. Mark Ferguson looked at the rear view window. Oh dear. Now that was a problem. Now who would she be on the phone to? As if he didn't know. Well it was now or never. He let his mind drift and let the ancient one take control of him and through him of her. Dana Scully suddenly felt very tired. Yawning into the phone. She heard Mulder's voice shouting at her and forced herself to concentrate. She couldn't remember the name of the road, she'd been following the car in front. She hadn't paid much attention. She felt dreadfully sleepy. Mulder was shouting into the phone and dragging Jeanette to the car. He asked Jeanette how many roads they could have taken from the University to Radcliffe. She considered it. There were two routes. Which one would Mark Ferguson take? "The eastern approach. He lives on that edge of town." Jeanette was listening intently. Mulder had been careful up until now not to let her overhear his interviews with witnesses and his calls to Scully. And now, suddenly she was listening to him accusing one of her colleagues. When did Mark Ferguson hit the suspects list? Mulder was still shouting into the phone. "Lock the doors Scully. Lock the car doors." He thought he heard her say ok. But he couldn't be sure. His heart was beating too loud. They started to drive. ------- Dana Scully could hear someone shouting at her. But it was all so hazy. She wanted to go for a walk. She took her foot off the pedal and switched off the ignition and as the car slithered eventually to a halt she got ready to open the door. But someone kept saying to lock the doors. So confusing, did he mean now? Or did he mean get out and then lock the doors. She tried to think. She saw the car in front had stopped as well. Mark Ferguson got out of his car. She looked at him. For an instant he seemed to change shape. Bigger than before. Did he have wings? She tried to concentrate on the familiar voice that was shouting at her. But she couldn't see him. Where is he? I can hear him, so why can't I see him? Mulder was telling her to lock the doors. So she pushed down the lock switch and wondered why he'd told her to do that. Still she had to do it, she trusted him. He made her laugh, cry, think and trust. Where was he? They could go for a walk together. That would be all right. Surely? ---------- Ferguson felt the rush of the old power build up inside him. That woman was putting up a struggle. Why didn't she just get out of the car? He felt the familiar weight and tension of strong muscles stretching to support powerful wings. She should come to him now. Couldn't she feel him? Of course she could. Why else would she just have stopped her car like that. Why else would she be rocking her head back like that? So why was she still in the car? If she'd just come out in the open. He could let her wake up, well almost. But he could let her see him in all his glory. He would be the last thing she ever saw. Not everyone gets the chance to see such a wondrous sight. She should be grateful. Soon she would know at least one truth about the wonders of the world. And then she would be dead. He tried not to be impatient. He held onto his human form. Mark Ferguson walked to Dana Scully's car. He tapped on the window and smiled. "Come on Dana. If the car's broken down we can take mine. You don't look well. You're probably overhot. Come and sit in my car, the air conditioning is running, you'll feel much better. You're scaring me. You're not looking well. Let me get you into the cool and check you over." Scully rolled her head to face him. It sounded like a good idea. She was so hot. She was going to suffocate if she just sat here. But she could still hear Mulder. Why was he shouting at her? Why was he telling her what to do? He couldn't even see her, how would he know what was right? It was so difficult to decide. END of Part 6/7 ============ =========================================================================== From: jhumby@mail.rmplc.co.uk (joann) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Ancient Powers/Ancient Dreams - 7/7 Date: 22 May 1996 20:02:42 GMT Legally: The interesting characters in this story belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox as brought to life by DD, GA and the XFiles writers. I've borrowed them for fun not profit. ---------- Part 7 and Final Mulder paused from the phone only for long enough to ask Jeanette to think where on the road they might be. Why hadn't they seen them yet? Were there any other routes? When she assured him she was doing her best. It seemed to satisfy him. For at least ninety seconds it satisfied him and then he'd ask her the same questions again. Mulder turned back to the phone. He was alternating between shouting at Scully and struggling to hear anything that she might be saying or anything that would at least tell him she was still alive. Jeanette looked over at him. "Look Mulder she's not said anything for at least ten minutes. As it not occurred to you there may be a fault on the call? Why don't you hang up and dial her again? He snapped back at her. "Because she may not be able to pick it up. And I know it's working. She can hear me." He sounded so convinced that Jeanette didn't argue. Mulder shouted back into the phone. "Scully. Keep the car locked. Don't get out. I'll be with you soon. Don't trust Mark Ferguson." He listened again. He thought he heard something. A tapping. Like someone knocking on the window. And just vaguely he could hear a man's voice. He couldn't hear what was being said but at least it meant Scully was alive, else why would the man be talking to her. -------- Dana Scully felt as if her lungs were going to melt as the heat built. Why had she switched off the engine? She couldn't remember. Maybe she should switch it back on, get the air conditioning running again. But wasn't Mark telling her that his car was cool? She didn't feel awake enough to drive. Maybe he'd take her to town to see Mulder. But wasn't that Mulder who kept saying not to trust Mark Ferguson? She closed her ears to the noise. And then she felt the shower of glass as the window smashed by her head. -------- Jeanette looked at the turn in the road ahead. One path would take them back to the city. But the other would take her towards Mark Ferguson's house. Mulder looked at her and she pointed along the road, "Ferguson's" was all she said. He nodded in reply. Mulder kept listening to the phone, then shouting at it. Then listening. He heard breaking glass. He almost screamed into the phone. "Dana. Are you all right? Can you reach your gun?" Scully snapped her head up straight. Gun? Why would she want her gun? Where had the glass come from? She looked out of the broken window and saw a hand coming towards her. A stray thought reached her mind. Mark Ferguson kept complaining about research funds. The Congressman was on the committee that monitored the University's money. Maybe that was why she couldn't trust Ferguson. She released the car locks and slammed the door as hard as she could into Ferguson. She pulled herself from the seat and started to run. Reaching behind her back to take her gun from the holster. Now what? She was so tired. She looked for Mark, but he wasn't there. She looked up and saw a shadow against the sky. She shielded her eyes from the light of the sun. She watched it circle. A wonderful thing. She really should talk to Mulder about it, he'd like this, but she'd left the phone in the car. Still. That couldn't be helped. Mark Ferguson felt the old Mark go very small as his body grew. He started to surge with power. With so much spare power he could afford to allow Dana Scully out of her snooze, partially at least. Strange. Hundreds of years old yet still vain enough to want the admiration of humans. So he circled and swooped and dipped and showed his skills. He felt her admiration. It made him feel good to be alive. Just a little more and then.. Then he would feed. ------ Mulder and Jeanette saw the cars at the same moment. Mulder quickly told Jeanette to stay in the car. They pulled up some yards behind Scully's car. Mulder had his gun in his hand. He looked at Scully. She was staring at the sky. He looked up but could see nothing. She had her gun in her hand but she was just standing there. He shouted at her, but she didn't respond. Mulder looked around and made his way towards her. Both hands holding his gun, turning to check through 360 degrees as he walked. Walking slowly. Watching for Ferguson and trying to understand what Dana Scully was looking at. Suddenly Ferguson was there. Mulder could have sworn he saw wings. Ferguson was walking towards Scully, claw hands. Mulder shouted for him to stop, but he just kept walking towards her. Mulder fired once. There was an ear rending shriek and Ferguson hit the ground. Mulder ran quickly to him and contented himself that the man was no threat, but his mind was on Scully. She seemed to faint when Ferguson collapsed. Mulder moved quickly to her side. He shouted to Jeanette to call the police and ask for medical assistance. Mulder knelt by Scully's side. He checked her pulse, it felt strong. Checked her breathing, it was regular, even. Stroked her forehead, warm but not feverish. If it didn't seem so ridiculous he'd swear she was asleep. He sat down and stretched out his legs, he lifted her head and shoulders to rest on his legs. He didn't know why he did that. It certainly wasn't any kind of medical requirement. Scully didn't seem to notice though and it certainly made him feel better. Scully woke up a few minutes later, startled by the approach of sirens. She looked up at Mulder who just looked guiltily away. He helped her to her feet. It took only a few minutes for the emergency team to give her a clean bill of health and pronounce Ferguson dead. Mulder looked at the claws. Fakes. Metal cutting knives. Fitted like gloves. ------- X-FILES OFFICE "Why won't you tell me what happened?" Mulder asked the question for the hundredth time that day. Scully gave the same reply as she had given the other ninety nine times. "Because I don't know what happened. So far as I'm concerned I fell asleep and had some vague nightmares. And I woke up and you were with me." "Tell me about the nightmares." "I don't remember them." He frowned and gave up again. "Ok. So let's go back to the forensics. Why are you insisting that the murder weapons were just more of those knives we found on Ferguson?" "Because it fits." "It doesn't. You said it yourself right at the start. Shaped tools like claws not knives, Ceramic not metal. And the ceramic in the flesh was a perfect match for the gargoyle we found at Ferguson's house. Our own labs proved it. The gargoyle was the murder weapon." "The gargoyle would have made a whole bunch of great murder weapons if Ferguson had chopped it up. But he didn't." "So how do you explain the ceramic fragments?" "I don't need to. That could just be dust that Ferguson rubbed the knives on when he was sharpening them. It's consistent with his desire to link himself spiritually with the gargoyle as if the gargoyle was approving the killings." "But there was no ceramic dust in the grooves of the metal claws." "So these were new knives or he'd cleaned them well." "The whole of the evidence, including the dreams and that victim's last phone call can be explained if you accept the principle that the gargoyle could move and fly and that Mark Ferguson carried its spirit when it wanted to appear in human form." "Some principle. I can come up with equally unscientific explanations but I'm not going to. Ferguson killed those people. He drugged them and he was able to exert some kind of influence over them when they were asleep and drugged. That's weird enough isn't it? And that's all we need." "You're incredibly selective in which evidence you choose to use." "And you are completely indiscriminate." Mulder cracked first. It had been a long day. They'd run the argument over and over again. He was bored. They'd write a report. It wouldn't be the first time the report had the same evidence, same perpetrator, same outcome and two different conclusions. Skinner wouldn't even bother to comment on it, apart from the odd ironic remark to show he'd read it. Mulder turned to look at her. "Ok, Agent Scully, I'm going home." "Does that mean you give in?" "Depends on the surrender terms." "Dinner." She said firmly. "Sure. But you're buying." She looked back at him taking in his relaxed smile. She just nodded in reply and wondered when he'd managed to turn the tables on her. END (Thankyou for reading it. Hope you enjoyed it. Joann)