Disclaimer & Info see Part 1 Destiny, part 7 + + + + + + December 7th, Sunday 7: 41 AM Paris, France It was freezing. And dark and the air was filled with fog. Anna Mince sat in a street side cafe and rubbed her hands together. She had received the phone call yesterday. Her sister-to-be, Dana Scully, was excited. She couldn't tell if Scully was happy-exicited or panicked-excited. She was just excited. Fox Mulder had asked her to marry him. And she'd said yes. Upon hearing the news, Anna immediately told Charles. They had to act now and act fast. Charles was cool, calm and collected- like he had been the morning they left. That night, when she told him what she was, he at first, did not believe her. He went along with it jokingly. Then he got tired of it and told her to cut it out. Finally, she convinced him that she really was a spy. He flew into rage. She thought he was more upset at the fact that she'd slept with another man than at the fact that she was a spy. He stormed out of the house. He came back later though. Without a word, he had crawled into bed and made love with her. She asked him why. He blamed it on fate. Then he told her that they would have to do something about this. Fox Mulder killed his brother and he wanted the man to pay for what he did. What could they do? Anna has now cut off all ties with the Resistance by telling him everything. And Charles- what could he do? So they decided to track down Alex Krycek. He survived against everyone and everything this long, he would probably know what to do. They had enough money for them to go find him for years. Apparently, spies gets paid a lot of money. Charles had his own business that's doing quite well without him there anyway. They had tracked him all over Europe in just five months. He's always left the city and gone to the next by the time they got there. Finally, they've caught up with him. Perfect timing too, with the phone call from Scully. Then she saw him. He was coming out of a bagel store with his breakfast in his hands. He was different than the last time she saw him. He was still very handsome- he's just lost that aurora around him. It's like he's lost his spirit, lost his edge. He was a little thinner. His eyes sank into the sockets and looked like they haven't closed for days. He look tired. She looked to Charles sitting besides her and they stood up. They walked casually towards Krycek. Krycek became alert and aware of them. He turned around from them and started walking rapidly. Charles started jogging and caught up to him. He laid a hand on Krycek's shoulder and spun him around. Krycek was clearly surprised, he was not expecting whoever was following him to make such a bold move in public. "You're a hard man to find, Mr. Krycek." Charles said. + + + + + + 8: 31 AM They arrived at Krycek's cozy little cabin in the woods almost an hour later. He served them tea and the bagels that he had bought this morning. Anna decided to let Charles handle this. This was his thing. So she picked up her bagel and tea and left the room. "So how'd you find me?" Krycek asked as he sat down across from Charles in the little kitchen. "We didn't. We asked around. A week later your friend Jeff Spender approached us and told us where you would be." Charles replied. "Hmm. So, how may I help you?" "Well, basically, I'm confused about this... whole Pandora thing." "Well, let me give you a review of what's happened so far. Pandora Project. Thing that wants to create a ruthless race. Bad. They have a missing formula that only 3 families- Scully is one them- knows about." "I don't know the formula." Charles declared. "Well, I do." Krycek said. Charles gave him a confused look. "Don't ask." Krycek groaned. "Then continue." "See, the Colonization and the Resistance wants it. Me, my pal Spender and that traitor Rivers worked for the Resistance. We didn't like them or the Pandora Project. We 3 then worked by ourselves without the Resistance knowledge to destroy the stupid thing. What else?" "Are you aware of the situation of the First Elder and the Colonization now?" "Yeah. The night that I left somebody killed the guy. The Resistance and Colonization claims they don't know who did it. I think they know, they just don't care. The First Elder stole money from both sides anyway." "Yeah. My sister." Charles said. Krycek's face turned grave. "What about her?" "I want to know what you're planning on doing with her." "I dunno what you're talking about." Krycek leaned back in his chair and picked up his cup of tea. "You know what I'm talking about. And I'd like to know what you plan on doing with Mulder and Marita." "Hmm?" Krycek gave him his innocent look. "You don't know, do you?" Charles laughed. "Know what?" "Mulder set you up. He killed my brother. He did this so he could get Dana back. Marita was part of it. She seduced you purposely so Dana would see the two of you together and leave you." "Hmm." Krycek swallowed his tea. "Well. And uh... how might you know this?" "Anna told me. She knows everything." Charles said. "Well. Uh... it appears that this is none of my business." Krycek said quietly. "It's your brother that was killed." "Mr. Krycek. You can't said you weren't invovled. Had you not entered Dana's life, Mulder would not have felt killing my brother was nescessary to bring her back to-" "Okay, okay." Krycek interrupted. "Look. Right now, everyone's happy. Why can't you just let it drop?" "Because my brother is dead, Mr. Krycek." "David Rivers took the fall for it already." Krycek replied. "But Mulder is behind it and I want justice served." "Why come to me?" "Do you really not get it?" Charles asked. "No, you get it. You're a bright man. You just don't want to talk about it. What can me and Anna do, seriously? Mulder out powers us in every aspect. But you. You survived. You must have someway to bring him down." "Uh-huh. And what do I get out of it?" "Do I really have to point it out?" Charles signed. "Look, Mr. Krycek. Maybe you're not aware of this, but Mulder and my sister-" "Has engaged, I know." Krycek said gloomily. "And you'll just standby and let him take her away? He killed her brother." "Look, I'm working this to the best interest of Dana. She's happy. She doesn't need me in her life or to know the fact that her _fiance_ is a murderer who killed her brother." Krycek said bitterly. "She isn't happy." Charles said. "Trust me, it's better this way." Krycek replied. "You know, I admire you, Mr. Krycek." Charles scoffed as he stood up. "See me... selfish little me, can never let a woman I love go like that. Which is why I forgave Anna in the first place. I love her too much. I can't wake up in the morning without her next to me. I can't eat my meals without her sitting across from me. I can't go one day without seeing her beautiful face and hearing her voice. I can't stand to see her in the arms of another man. But apparently you can, Mr. Krycek. I _really_ admire you." Then he spun around on his heels and motioned to go. "Wait." Krycek called in a quivering voice. Charles turned around and looked into Krycek's eyes. There were tears in them. "I'll go with you. I have to see her again. I'll go back to the States." + + + + + + December 8th, Monday 9: 14 AM Greenwood, Conneticut "Here we are, I hope you like it." Mulder said cheerily as he dropped the luggage on the floor. They were at his new upscale condo in Conneticut. At least Mulder called it a condo. It was like a mansion. The mansion was located on a hill, surrounded by woods. There was an orchid around the mansion, and then there was a high wall. The only way in was through the giant metal gates, which was electronically locked and guarded. Guards. They were all over the place. Inside and outside the mansion. From the moment she walked into the place, it didn't feel right. There were uniformed guards all over the place. She felt like a prisoner. "Is all the security really nescessary?" She asked. "Of course!" Mulder laughed. "Why?" "Trust me, Scully. It's for the best." Mulder replied. "C'mon! Have some fun! We got pools, tennis courts, anything and everything! Enjoy your wedding gift!" Wedding gift. That's what he called it. This place was hers now. He had proposed that they stay and relax at the mansion until everything was set up for the wedding back at D.C. This wasn't how she pictured getting ready for her wedding, relaxing in a mansion in Conneticut. She pictured the days before the weddings tense and stressful. One of the reasons she had stayed single was the headache of a wedding. But now that she thinks about it, she would rather have the tense and stressful wedding than this. "How long are we staying here?" Scully asked. "As long as you like." Mulder replied. "I thought it was only until the wedding?" "The wedding will take fairly long to arrange." Mulder shrugged. "And I'd like to stay here after the wedding too." "What about the X-Files?" Scully asked sharply. "Oh, who cares?" Mulder inhaled deeply. "I love the smell of a new house." "Mulder?" "Yeah?" "Why are we really here? And why can't I tell anyone where I am. " Scully asked. "Shh... no questions, Scully. Just... enjoy your time here." Mulder gave her a weird grin and disappeared around the corner of the halls of the mansion. Things wasn't right. She couldn't tell anyone where she was, they were staying here for an undefined amount of time and the place was crawling with security guards. Something was definitely wrong. + + + + + + December 9th, Tuesday 10: 14 AM FBI Headquarters The two men and woman stood in the empty basement office. All three were clearly confused, staring at the bare office. "What the fuck?!" Charles cursed. "My god..." Anna shook her head. "Where are all the X-Files? The desks? Where's the _people_?" "He saw us coming." Krycek said softly. "He must have heard about it." "Mulder?" Charles asked. "Who else?" Krycek nodded. "I've asked Holly upstairs. Mulder and Dana doesn't work here any more." "Why the hell not?" Anna angrily demanded. "They've gone into hiding." Krycek replied. "Like I did. Though most likely Scully didn't know that they're into hiding." "I.. I'm going to call my mother." Charles pulled out his cellphone and dialed the number. "What the hell do we do now?" Anna asked. "You do nothing. You go back to your mother's. I'll look for her. There's no need to get Mulder suspicious about you two." Krycek answered. "How are you going to find her?" "I dunno." Krycek shrugged. "But Mulder can't just kidnap her like this. Someone must know something." Charles hung up his cellphone. "Mom says that Mulder took Dana on a surprise vacation. She doesn't know where they are either." Charles sighed. "This is pretty fucked up right here." Anna muttered. "I want the two of you to act like nothing happened. I'll handle everything." Krycek said. "If anything happens to me, at least you two will be here to take care of Dana." "Where are you going to start?" Charles asked. "I have a pretty good idea where to start." Krycek replied. + + + + + + 7: 17 PM Greenwood, Conneticut Mulder ran inside with sweat dripping down his forehead and a tennis racket in his hand. Scully was waiting for him in the living room. "Hey, Scully!" Mulder greeted. "Mulder." Scully said quietly. "I beat Coach Marielle at the tennis game." Mulder said proudly. "Mulder?" "Yeah?" "When can we leave?" Scully asked. "You don't like this place?" "No." "Well..." Mulder just shrugged it off. "And I don't like your behavior either." Scully said. "What?" Mulder said innocently. "First of all, Mulder. The money. This god damn Uncle Leo thing. It's... it's changed you. Look at this place! It used to be Burger King and Pizza Hut now _this_. You're... obnoxious now!" Scully cried out. "This mansion! It's all so superficial and- and stupid! And the fact that I can't tell anyone where I am! I'm a prisoner in this place, Mulder." "I haven't changed. I've always been like this. And I just wanted to make you happy." Mulder said quietly. Then his face was distorted with anger. "But NO!! You can't get HIM out of your head, can you?!" "Him?" Scully suddenly froze. "Mulder, what are you talking about?" "N- nothing." Mulder shook his head. "Forget about it." "No, Mulder! I want to know what you're talking about!" Scully demanded. "Shut up and leave me alone!!" Mulder screamed and stormed off. Scully suddenly had a chill down her spine. The signs were all there, she was just too blind to see it. The money was suspicious as was the mansion and the guards. And him. How could Mulder have known? Finally, Dana Scully was realizing that there was a lot more to Mulder than she have ever known. + + + + + + It wasn't fair. She still loves him. He couldn't compete. Mulder drank another shotglass of whiskey. The money- everything, it was to buy her love. Idiot. He should've known better. Her love can't be bought. That's why he loved her in the first place. He brought her here because he heard that Krycek was back in the country. He couldn't let her see Krycek again. She would probably leave him. He sighed. Time to get drunk again. + + + + + + December 10th, Wednesday 7: 10 AM New York State Penitentiary "I just need twenty minutes alone with him." Krycek whispered in a low v oice. He walked side by side with Jeff Spender down the hallway of the prison. "Twenty, Alex. Just twenty." Spender sighed. "I can't you'd go through all this- for a woman!" "It's not just her." Krycek responded. "I want to know why Rivers betrayed us." "He didn't actually betray us, he just accused you of a crime you didn't committ." Spender said. They stopped at a door. "Okay, they said that he'd be in here." Spender said as he checked the number on the door. "Interrogation room 103. This is it." "Okay, thanks buddy. Keep watch, okay?" Krycek quietly opened the door and slipped inside. A haggard looking man sat inside with his head lowered and eyes closed. "How many times do I have to tell you guys, I don't know where Krycek is!" David Rivers said tiredly when he heard the door open and close. "Well, now you do." Krycek said. David's eyes shot open and he jumped out of his seat. Krycek dashed towards David and gave him a solid right hook to the cheekbone. David groaned and hit the floor hard. "Alex.." David groaned from the floor. "Alex, just hear me out, dude." "I'm listening." Krycek snarled as he kicked David in the stomach. "Wait... wait..." David gasped for air. Krycek grabbed David by the back of his hair and pulled his face up. "Listening." "I'm sorry! Mulder sent men to beat me everyday. I swear, I didn't want to do it. He made me!" David said. Krycek took a few quick steps towards the wall, still grabbing David by his hair and then slammed David's head into the wall. He released David and watched him stagger back a few steps upon impact with the wall then falling on to his butt to the floor. "So you lied and said I killed Bill." "It didn't do you any harm!" David argued. Krycek sent a fist into David's face. "You made me lose the woman that I love." Krycek said. "I had no choice, Alex. You've gotta believe me!" David begged. "I couldn't stand the pain. Mulder was one sick son of a bitch, he woulda tortured me to death!" "Like I won't torture you?" Krycek sent another fist to David's face, this time breaking his broad nose. "Shit!! Fucking bastad!" David covered his nose with his hand. "What'd you say?" Krycek kicked David in the chin and sent him sprawled on the floor on his back. "God!! You violent wacko!" David rubbed his chin. "Where's Mulder now?" "I don't know." David said quickly. Krycek grabbed David again and threatened to slam him into the wall. "Wait!! Wait!!" "Where is Mulder?!" Krycek slammed his head into the wall. "Ow!! God damn it! He.. he's in um... um..." "Now!" Krycek slammed his head into the wall again. "Conneticut!! Conneticut!" David said quickly. His head made contact with the wall again. "Okay, okay!! Greenwood, Conneticut!!" "Who's with him?" "Nobody! He's up there alone!" David said. His head hit the wall and this time it started to bleed. "TELL ME!!" "Dana Scully!! And guards!! Lots of 'em!!" David cried. "Thank you." Krycek whispered. Then he slammed David's head into the wall one last time, rendering him unconscious. + + + + + + 9: 43 PM Greenwood, Conneticut He has been drinking again. Lately, he drank a lot. She began noticing the drinking a few days before the proposal. She just never said anything about it. Usually he just gets wasted and then he's fine. But today. Today he's not fine. "Where the fuck are my pills?!" She could hear him loud and clear screaming from the bathroom. Which is pretty amazing, given the size of the place and how far apart they were. After 10 minutes, he appeared by the doorway of the living room with a beer bottle in his hand. "You've been drinking again." She said quietly, looking at his red face. "I'm aware of that!!" He yelled at her. "Don't yell at me!" She yelled back. "You yelled at me first!!!" "I did not!!!!!" "LOWER your voice!!!" Mulder said impatiently. "YOU lower YOURS first!!!!!" Scully replied. "WOULD YOU STOP YELLING AT ME???!!!" Mulder screamed. "I'M YELLING??!!! YOU'RE YELLING TOO!!!" Scully was screaming a the top of her lungs now. "LOWER YOUR GOD DAMN VOICE!!!" Mulder bellowed. "MAKE ME!!!!!" Scully screamed back. Without warning, Mulder raised the beer bottle and threw it at Scully. Scully ducked. The bottle smashed against the wall and beer splattered everywhere. "Oh.... god..." Mulder moaned as he rushed towards Scully. "I just ruined a perfectly good bottle of beer!" Mulder dropped to his knees and examined the wall. "Excuse me?!" Scully's head was bleeding. A piece of the glass had rochetted off the wall and scratched her head. "I'm bleeding here!" "Ugh..." Mulder just kept moaning at the mess he made. "God, there's beer all over the couch!" "Mulder!" Scully's mouth dropped open. "Man, look at this!" Mulder jumped up. "Damn it!" "Mulder?" "Damn!" "Mulder?" "God damn fucking stupid beer bottle..." Mulder muttered. "Mulder." Scully said firmly. Mulder looked up from the mess and stared her in the eye. "Mulder, I think we need to take some time apart from each other." "What?" Mulder froze then laughed nervously. "Scully, what are you talking about?" "I'm saying... I need to get out of the house." "Whew. I can do that." Mulder said. "I'll set up a tennis lesson with you and Coach Marielle." "No. Not just the house, Mulder. I need to get away from this place. I need to get away from you." Scully said. "There's no need for that. You're overreacting." Mulder said as he sat down next to her. "Mulder, what's going on?" She asked. "Everything is so screwed up. Everything's different. You've changed." "Everything is different, everything is right. It's exactly as it should be." Mulder answered. "Look, you just inherited money from this _Uncle Leo_ that I've never heard of- one billion dollars. Now that's suspicious enough. Then this place, Mulder! I'm not allowed to tell anyone where I am!! And- and the drinking. When the hell did you start drinking?! This isn't like you, Mulder. Something's going on and I want to know what!" "You don't need to know." Mulder said quietly. "You don't have the right to know." "What?!" "You don't need to know... don't need to know..." Mulder muttered as he shakily got up and stumbled out the door. + + + + + + She was right. Everything was wrong. He just couldn't see it. Why shouldn't he drink? His father drank. He had ate sunflower seeds just because his dad had, so why shouldn't he drink? Because it was uncharacteristically of Fox Mulder. But who was Fox Mulder? "Who am I?" Mulder whispered softly as he stumbled on to the tennis court. He looked back at the house and he was suddenly disgusted with it. He suddenly hated the clothes he was in and felt replused by the fact he was living here. But that moment passed quickly. Something else inside him was very darn proud of the house, of his clothes and of his money. It was like there was _two_ Fox Mulders now. One, the caring, loving partner of Dana Scully. The one that was dubbed "spooky" and jeered by his colleagues. The one that was passionate about his work, what he did. The Mulder that believed in everything. The other, was the egotisitcal, selfish, self-centered jerk. The man who purchased the mansion, bought the clothes and built the tennis courts. The one that was in it solely for the money. The one that didn't gave a damn about the world, he only cared about possessions. The Mulder that didn't believe in anything, not even the human race. He wondered which one was the original Fox Mulder. Did Fox Mulder started out as Spooky? Maybe he was transformed into The Jerk after his sister was taken, after he's gone to work for the Colonization because he was sick of the world and after they had threw piles of money at him. He was turned back into Spooky when he met Dana Scully and fell in love with her. And then he was turned back again into The Jerk after he had her, after he had his freedom from the Colonization and got a billion dollars after killing the First Elder. Or maybe he was always The Jerk. Maybe that's why he had gone to work for the Colonization in the first place. Not because he had lost faith in the human race- but because of the temptation of money. The Jerk had gone away when he met Dana Scully. The fire in her and his love for her turned him into Spooky Mulder. It came back again after he found out about Krycek. Krycek. --The bastard must be the cause of all this-- he thought angrily. He closed his eyes and saw Scully sitting by the couch, with the corner of her head bleeding. He saw the smashed beer bottle, the alcohol trickling down the wall. He moaned. It wasn't making any sense. He started banging his head against the ground. It didn't make sense, his life was in a mess, and the bastard's out to steal his woman again. Nothing that had just passed through his head made sense. If anyone knew about what he thought, they'd probably lock him up. It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense. "Ugh..." He groaned. He felt something bitterly sweet in the back of his throat. The next thing he knew, his back was arched, his head hung, and he was throwing up meals. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up with teary eyes and saw the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. It was just like the time they had first met. He still remembers saying "nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted", turning around in his chair and then seeing the most stunning beauty ever. "You okay, Mulder?" She asked. His vision blurred. He suddenly felt very, very lonely and longed for comfort. He threw his hands around her waist, burried his face in her stomach and started sobbing softly. + + + + + + She felt his weight on top of her and his whispers next to her ear. Everything kind of happened so fast, she didn't know how to react. One minute, they were outside, she was comforting him, who was crying for some reason. Then the next thing she knew, they were inside his room, their clothes thrown all over the room and he was on top of her. No conversation took place. She wasn't really asked. It just happened. Truth was, she was a little bit afraid and unready. But she was even more afraid to speak out and interrupt him. He seemed angry and hurt and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt his feelings more. So she just closed her eyes and let it happen. Outside, rain was beating on the roof and on the window. Lightening and thunder was everywhere. "Oh, Dana..." Mulder moaned. "Mulder..." She whispered back. It felt awkward. It didn't feel right. Lucky for her it only lasted 2 minutes. Mulder rolled off her, laid next to her and stared at her with puppy eyes. "Dana? I love you." He said breathlessly. "I love you too, Mulder." She said. But another name had replaced 'Mulder' in her heart. "What?" She heard Mulder said it softly but with tension in his voice. "I said I love you too, Mulder." She responded. "No, you didn't." He said flatly. "Yes, I did." "No, you didn't!" Mulder jumped off the bed angrily. "You didn't say Mulder." "Of course I did!" But she wasn't so sure. When she replaced 'Mulder' in her heart with 'Alex', did she happen to let 'Alex' slip out? "You said Alex!!!" Mulder boomed. Scully's heart sank. "Alex? Mulder, I don't know any-" "Don't lie to me, you bitch!" Mulder spat at her angrily. "You said the fucking bastard's name! Here we are making love and you're thinking about that god damn son of a bitch!" "Wait, wait, Mulder. What are you talking about?" "Alex Krycek! The fucking back stabbing murderer!" "I don't know what you're talking about." She denied. "Don't lie to me, you whore!" Mulder paced around the room angrily. "Don't lie to me!" --How did he know?-- was the question burning in Scully's heart. She decided that he must have seen them hugging in the interrogation room. "Mulder, listen to me-" "No! I had you first! Then he came and took you away!" Mulder shouted. "I should've killed that fucking bastard when I had the chance." "He's not what you think he is!" "YOU'RE DEFENDING _HIM_???!!!!!" Mulder exploded. "YOU'RE DEFENDING HIM??!!" As if on cue, thunder clapped outside. "He's just misunderstood- he's on our side- Mulder, listen-" "No!" Mulder raised his fist and struck her in the face. He hit her hard twice, sending her whimpering into the corner. "Mulder, listen-" She sobbed. "I don't want to listen to your excuses!!" Mulder struck her again. "Fucking ungrateful whore! David Rivers was right, all Scullys are god damn assholes and I'm glad I killed your brother!" Another clap of thunder. "What?" Scully froze. "What?!" He replied. "What did you say?" "I... I said I'm glad he killed your brother." "No, you didn't. You said _I_ killed your brother." Scully accused. "Mulder, what'd you do?!" "Alex Krycek and David Rivers killed your brother and you know it!! Don't try to make this about me!" Mulder jumped up and pulled her off the bed. "Get out! Get out!" He shoved her out of his bed room and slammed the door shut. Outside, Scully stood in horror thinking about what Mulder said. --He killed my brother-- she kept repeating in her mind. --He killed my brother--. She squeezed her eyes shut and let the hot tears stream down her cheeks. + + + + + + ***END OF PART 7***