The Fifth Season
USUAL SUSPECTS
IN 1989, THE LONE GUNMEN MEET FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME WHEN THEY ASSIST A WOMAN WHO CLAIMS THE GOVERNMENT PLANS TO USE CIVILIANS AS GUINEA PIGS IN A SECRET EXPERIMENT. In 1989, a SWAT team storms a darkened warehouse, its floors dotted with pools of blood. There the officers encounter a naked, paranoid Mulder lying on the ground. Suddenly, the three Lone Gunmen-Langly, Frohike and Byers-spring from a hiding place and make an unsuccessful bid for freedom. Byers is questioned by Detective Munch, who explains that despite evidence of a bloody shoot-out, and the involvement of a (now delusional) FBI agent, he has few clues about what actually transpired. Byers recounts the events that led up to the warehouse shoot-out. As the story unfolds, Byers attends a computer show at a convention center. There he meets a strikingly beautiful woman, "Holly," who claims her psychotic ex-boyfriend kidnapped her daughter. "Holly" gives Byers an Internet address, claiming it is her only hope in locating her child. Byers hacks his way onto government computer, where he types in the name of "Holly's" daughter, Susanne Modeski. The computer opens an encrypted file. Frohike, who mans a nearby booth, agrees to decipher the document. When "Holly" notices Mulder walking the convention floor, she identifies him as her ex-boyfriend. Frohike and Byers approach Mulder, only to learn he is an FBI Agent. When "Holly" disappears, Frohike and Byers ask Langly to hack onto the FBI mainframe computer, hoping he can find information on Mulder. Langly successfully cracks the mainframe, and learns that "Holly" is actually Susanne Modeski, who is wanted in connection with the bombing of an FBI lab that left four people dead. Modeski locates the threesome inside Byers' motel room. She claims the information contained in her file is fabricated. She admits the story about her daughter was a lie... one she made up in a desperate attempt to have the encrypted file deciphered. She tells the men that the government is plotting an experiment in which the American public will be exposed to a paranoia-inducing gas-one she unwittingly helped develop. The encrypted file reveals the address of the warehouse where the paranoia-inducing gas is stored. It also reveals that a surveillance device was attached to Modeski's tooth by her dentist. Using pliers, Modeski extracts a molar containing a tiny transmitter. Byers, Modeski and the others break inside the warehouse. There they discover asthma inhalers containing the gas. Mulder steps forward and announces that everyone is under arrest. Moments later, government officials enter the warehouse and instruct Modeski to follow them. When Mulder orders the men to identify themselves, they open fire, inadvertently striking the asthma inhalers. The liquid rains onto Mulder, triggering a psychotic episode. Modeski shoots the unidentified men and escapes. X steps forward and prepares to kill the threesome execution-style. When X lowers the weapon, Byers realizes he only intended to intimidate them. When Byers' finishes his story, Munch dismisses it as fiction. Later, the Lone Gunmen are released from jail when Mulder verifies what transpired. Afterward, the threesome locate Susanne at a newspaper office. She laments that no one believes her story. Moments later, government men usher Modeski away.
REDUX
MULDER ACCESSES A SECRET RESEARCH FACILITY THAT MAY HOLD A CURE FOR SCULLY'S ILLNESS. MEANWHILE, SCULLY PERFORMS AN EXPERIMENT IN HOPES OF DETERMINING THE ORIGIN OF THE DISEASE. In flashback, twenty-four hours before Agent Scully told an FBI assembly that her partner was dead (see previous season's cliffhanger)... Mulder receives a tip from Kritschgau that their conversations have been monitored. Mulder looks upward--and notices a small pinhole in the ceiling of his apartment. He races upstairs, where he encounters Scott Ostelhoff, in the apartment directly above his own, igniting flash paper. A struggle ensues, during which a shot rings out. Mulder tells Scully he killed Ostelhoff. He also informs her that the flash paper Ostelhoff attempted to destroy contained a record of seventeen phone calls placed to the PBX operator at the Bureau. The agents conclude their own agency is behind the cover-up... and that they have been pawns in a conspiratorial game since the very beginning. Mulder suggests they create their own lie in hopes of uncovering the truth. Shortly thereafter, Scully travels to Mulder's apartment and identifies Ostelhoff's faceless body (the result of the shotgun blast) as that of her partner. Later, during a meeting with Blevins and Skinner, she is instructed to appear before a joint FBI panel. Afterward, Scully traces the phone number listed on Ostelhoff's flash paper to an FBI branch extension that includes Skinner. This leads Scully to conclude that Skinner may be a mole. Meanwhile, the Cigarette-Smoking Man tells the Syndicate he questions reports of Mulder's demise.Mulder uses Ostelhoff's identification card to infiltrate DARPA, a secret research facility. There he encounters Kritschgau, who explains that the card will give him access to the entire building. Kritschgau then claims the hoax Mulder has been drawn into dates back to the days just after World War II, a time when generals were desperate to continue fueling the nation's economy via a military build-up. In 1947, Kritschgau states, the government began using the Roswell incident as a cover story to distract the American public from the truth-and a top secret program involving DNA. He laments he went along with the lie... until his own son was exposed to bioweapons during the Gulf War. Shortly thereafter, Kritschgau is led away by sentries. Mulder manages to escape detection and make his way deeper into the research complex. He discovers a room containing dozens of alien bodies, identical to the one he discovered at the ice cave-giving credence to Kritschgau's story. Dr. Vitagliano finishes his examination of the ice core samples given to him by Scully. The cells contained within, he concludes, are the beginnings of a new life form. Scully decides to perform a test that will compare the strange organism to her own DNA. Before she does so, she encounters Skinner, who reveals how a pathology report concluded the body found in Mulder's apartment is not her partner. Later, the DNA test between the samples proves a match. Scully concludes her cancer resulted from being deliberately exposed to the organism. As Mulder continues his journey through the facility, he discovers a warehouse--a "repository for all the alien-related odds and ends that the Cigarette-Smoking Man has taken from Mulder over the years." There he discovers a gigantic index system, which contains cards for Scully, Kritschgau, and a blank card for Kritschgau, Jr. He also discovers a metallic vial--which could contain a cure for Scully's illness. Scully appears before the FBI panel and announces she will expose the "mechanism of deception" that drew her partner, and herself, into the government's lies. She then informs the panel that her partner died the previous night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. As she begins to present scientific evidence that will support her claim, she is suddenly taken ill. Meanwhile, the Cigarette-Smoking Man, working in the shadows, arranges Mulder's escape from the research complex. The Lone Gunmen analyze the contents of the vial... and conclude it contains only deionized water. To Be Continued...
REDUX II
AS MULDER CONTINUES HIS SEARCH FOR A CURE FOR SCULLY'S ILLNESS-AND THE IDENTITY OF A MOLE OPERATING FROM WITHIN THE BUREAU-HE RECEIVES HELP FROM A MOST UNLIKELY SOURCE. A frantic Mulder enters a hospital in search of Scully, who had suddenly collapsed during the FBI hearing (see previous episode). He finds her unconscious body lying in a bed, her breathing aided by a ventilator. Skinner explains that Scully went into shock and is close to death. When Mulder refuses to cooperate with Skinner, he is escorted to the main FBI building, where he is questioned by Section Chief Scott Blevins and a Senior Agent. But Mulder fails to cooperate with the inquiry and leaves the room. The Cigarette-Smoking Man meets with the Elder and fellow Syndicate member Quiet Willy. The Elder chastises the Cigarette-Smoking Man for allowing Mulder to escape from the research facility, leaving their project vulnerable to exposure. But the Cigarette-Smoking Man counters that Mulder is much more valuable alive, and plots to assure his loyalty. When the Cigarette-Smoking Man leaves the meeting, the Elder tells Quiet Willy he can "proceed." Scully regains consciousness. She tells Mulder that Skinner is the mole operating from within the Bureau. But Mulder counters that Skinner is withholding Ostelhoff's forensics information, casting doubt on the theory. Their conversation is interrupted by Mrs. Scully and Dana's brother, Bill Jr. Bill blames Mulder-and his cause-for his sister's condition. Shortly thereafter, the Cigarette-Smoking Man approaches Mulder. He informs him that the metallic vial contains a tiny microchip that will cure Scully's illness. Later, Bill Jr. voices grave concern about the chip. But Scully tells Dr. Zuckerman she is willing to give it a try. Meanwhile, Kritschgau testifies before the FBI's investigative panel. He denies knowing the identity of Ostelhoff's killer, states that his own son died earlier that day, and reveals that part of his remuneration is funded by a Congressional lobbying firm called Roush. In an effort to cement Mulder's trust, the Cigarette-Smoking Man arranges a meeting between Mulder and his sister, Samantha. She reveals that, some time after her abduction, she was taken to a hotel room and told that the Cigarette-Smoking Man is her father. Mulder tells Samantha that their mother is still alive... and that she was lied to by the Cigarette-Smoking Man. Her head spinning with confused emotions, Samantha makes her way back to the Cigarette-Smoking Man's car and disappears into the night. Later, the Cigarette-Smoking Man tells Mulder that Kritschgau deceived him with a host of "beautiful lies." He asks Mulder to quit the Bureau and work for him, but Mulder refuses. While watching a televised Congressional hearing on biotechnology, the Elder notices Skinner lingering in the audience. He instructs a subordinate to "fix" the problem. Blevins informs Mulder that a ballistics test matched the bullet from Ostelhoff's body to Mulder's service revolver. Blevins also claims that Skinner has been working inside the Bureau with a secret agenda. Mulder refuses to believe the story... and refuses to finger Skinner as a mole during his testimony before the FBI panel (even though such testimony would exonerate himself from wrongdoing). Mulder takes his place before the FBI panel. Simultaneously, Quiet Willy, rifle in hand, positions himself inside a parking garage opposite the Cigarette-Smoking Man's apartment. Before answering questions regarding his culpability in Ostelhoff's death, Mulder announces the name of the mole who has acted from within FBI: Section Chief Scott Blevins. At almost the same moment, Quiet Willy opens fire, shooting the Cigarette-Smoking Man. Blevins makes his way back to his office. There he encounters the Senior Agent, gun in hand. A shot rings out, and Blevins falls to the ground. The Senior Agent then places the weapon in Blevins' own hand. Shortly thereafter, Skinner tells Mulder that the Cigarette-Smoking Man is dead. Though no body was recovered, the massive loss of blood found inside the apartment leaves no other conclusion. During their conversation, Mulder tells Skinner he guessed as to Blevins' identity as a mole. Skinner confirms that Blevins had been working for a biotechnology company called Roush for four years. Mulder then informs Skinner that Scully's cancer has gone into remission.
DETOUR
THE AGENTS INVESTIGATE WHEN SEVERAL PEOPLE DISAPPEAR IN A REMOTE REGION OF FLORIDA. In a remote section of North Florida, two surveyors, Michael Sloan and Marty Fox, encounter a strange creature with glowing red eyes. Sloan is suddenly yanked downward, disappearing beneath the dense brush. Shortly thereafter, Marty is also attacked. While hunting for possum, twelve-year-old Louis Asekoff and his father discover Marty's abandoned surveyor's transit. Sensing something isn't quite right, the Father sends Louis home with the dog. As the boy runs home, two shotgun blasts echo through the forrest. Meanwhile, Mulder and Scully ride with agents Michael Kinsley and Carla Stonecypher on a highway stretching through rural Florida. Their destination: an FBI creative team seminar, in which participants are required to use their imagination to perform constructive problem solving exercises (a gathering which Mulder views as a waste of time). The agents' journey comes to a sudden halt when state troopers set up a roadblock on the highway. His spirits lifted by the unexpected diversion, Mulder suddenly exits the vehicle for some detective work. Search and Rescue leader Michele Fazekas tells Mulder that several people are missing, and that a set of tracks found at the scene could not be identified as man nor animal. His interest piqued, Mulder arranges for he and Scully to lodge at a nearby motel... saving himself the torment of attending the teamwork seminar. That night, something sneaks into the Asekoff residence. A terrified Louis tells authorities he was chased by an invisible creature with glowing red eyes. Though the story is dismissed as the product of a young boy's imagination, Mulder discovers a set of tracks inside the house. Mulder tells Fazekas the creature must be found before it can do more harm. Aided by Jeff Glaser, a "tech head" who possesses an infrared tracking device, Fazekas, Mulder and Scully set out in search of the predator. During the journey, Mulder theorizes that the creature is attacking humans in response to encroaching development. The infrared device detects two creatures in the dense brush, each moving in opposite directions. The group splits up and a chase ensues. Suddenly, Fazekas is yanked downward, and disappears beneath the undergrowth. Mulder realizes that the creatures deliberately separated the group into two units, allowing for easier access to the leader (Fazekas). As the threesome embark on a rescue mission, Mulder recounts an X-File from the early 1950s in which a town in West Virginia was terrorized by primitive-looking men with piercing red eyes. The creatures were dubbed "moth men" by local residents. Mulder, Scully and Glaser accidentally stray from the marked trail. Their journey is interrupted when the mysterious creatures make another appearance. Guided by directions from Glaser and the infrared device, Mulder ventures deep into the brush. Suddenly, a creature springs from its hiding place. Mulder opens fire, but the creature disappears from view. Shortly thereafter, Glaser separates from the group and he, too, disappears. While discussing the encounter with Scully, Mulder is suddenly yanked downward. When he resurfaces, like a jack-in-the-box, Scully opens fire, shooting into the bushes nearby. Mulder goes into shock, and Scully does her best to keep him warm as darkness falls. The following morning, as Scully searches for food, she suddenly drops from view. Mulder rushes to her aid‹and realizes she fell into a small cave. Inside the chamber, Scully discovers Fazekas and Louis' father, barely breathing and strapped to thick poles. When Scully realizes one of the creatures is nearby, Mulder tosses her his gun. A few moments later, when the second creature approaches, he jumps from his vantage point and lands next to Scully in the cave. One of the creatures rushes the agents. Scully opens fire, striking the predator. The agents move forward for a closer look‹and realize their attacker is a man who lived like an animal. Kinsley and Stonecypher arrive and call for help. Mulder notices the words "Ad Noctum," or "into darkness," carved into one of the poles. He points out that Spanish conquistadors carved warnings on posts in the same manner... then notes that Ponce De Leon sought the Fountain of Youth in the area 450 years earlier. He concludes that the predators perceived humans as a threat to their territory, and acted accordingly. Stonecypher notes the creatures would pursue anyone who had entered the woods. Fearing the worst, Mulder suddenly rushes to Scully's motel room. He finds his partner safe and sound, and the pair leave the area. Staring out from beneath Scully's bed, however, is a pair of glowing red eyes.
CRISTMAS CAROL
A MYSTERIOUS PHONE CALL AND AN APPARENT SUICIDE LEAD SCULLY TO A YOUNG GIRL WHO SHE SUSPECTS IS HER SISTER MELISSA'S DAUGHTER. Scully and her mother travel to Bill Jr.'s house--located at a U.S. naval station in San Diego--several days before the Christmas holiday. There they are greeted by Bill Jr. and his pregnant wife, Tara, who is expected their first child. Not long after her arrival, Scully answers the telephone. On the other end of the line is a woman who sounds exactly like Scully's deceased sister, Melissa. The voice tells Scully, "she needs your help." Unnerved, Scully has the FBI trace the call which, it turns out, was made from the Sim residence. Scully discovers the home is the scene of a criminal investigation. Detective Kresge allows her access to the bathroom, where a dead blonde woman, Mrs. Robert Sim, reclines in a tub full of bloody water, the apparent victim of a suicide. Later, Scully observes the victim's husband, Marshall, and three-year-old Emily Sim. Scully stares at the girl, intrigued by her face. Detective Kresge tells Scully that phone records do indeed indicate that an incoming call was made from the Sim residence to Bill Jr.'s house. But at the same time, there is no record of an outgoing call. Records also indicate the phone had been off the hook for three hours. Scully tells her mother she's very happy for Bill and Tara... then admits that, as a result of her abduction, she cannot conceive a child of her own. Later that night, Scully experiences a dream in which a young Bill Jr. kills her pet rabbit. During the same dream, she encounters little Emily Sim. Scully is awoken by another call from the mysterious woman. The voice tells Scully to "go to her." The call is again traced to the Sim residence, where Marshall assures Scully that no one used the telephone. From Scully's viewpoint at the front door, she observes two dark-suited men sitting at the kitchen table. The next day, Scully requests--and is given access to--all evidence in the Roberta Sim case. She also phones the FBI and requests the case file on her sister, Melissa. Noting several discrepancies in the file, Scully performs an autopsy on Roberta's body. She discovers a complete absence of medicine tablets inside her stomach. She does, however, notice a puncture wound on the heal of her foot. A search of the Sim house turns up a hypodermic needle in the trash. Marshall claims Emily suffers from anemia and requires daily injections. Scully tells her mother that a PCR test, which has a sixty-percent accuracy rate, suggests that Emily and Melissa's DNA match (a more comprehensive test will be available in several days). This, and the undeniable physical resemblance between the pair, leads Scully to conclude that Emily is Melissa's daughter. She reminds her mother about a period in 1994 when Melissa's whereabout were unknown... and speculates that she could have given Emily up for adoption. Later, Scully experiences another dream, during which Mrs. Scully gives her the crucifix she wears around her neck. When Scully awakens, Detective Kresge informs her about large bank deposits made by Marshall over the previous eighteen months. The money came from a pharmaceutical company called Prangen Industries. Scully and Kresge interview Dr. Ernest Calderon, who works for the company. He explains that Emily was participating in a clinical trial. When Roberta tried to pull her daughter from the program, the company agreed to send her money as a gesture of good will. Calderon also reveals he prescribed Marshall sumatriptan injections after he complained of migraines. Later, Marshall is arrested for his wife's murder. As a result, Emily is placed in the care of Social Services. Before Emily is driven away, Scully places her gold cross around the girl's neck. Marshall Sim confesses to the murder. But Scully finds it odd that witnesses had provided him an alibi. She and Kresge drive to the jail, where they find his body hanging from a makeshift noose. Later, Scully tells her brother that the death was made to look like a suicide. Susan Chambliss, a social worker, tells Scully that her application to adopt Emily was rejected. Scully states that the time has come for her to place her personal life ahead of her career. Cambliss promises a review of Scully's final application. On Christmas morning, Scully receives a delivery from an FBI courier. The final DNA test results reveal that Scully is Emily's mother. To Be Continued...
POST MODERN PROMETHIUS
TOWNSPEOPLE IN RURAL INDIANA BELIEVE A FRANKENSTEIN-LIKE CREATURE ROAMS THE COUNTRYSIDE. In a rural Indiana neighborhood, Shaineh Berkowitz watches a daytime talk show on television. So entranced is she by the interview, that she fails to notice someone covering the home with termite tenting. A dark figure enters the kitchen and drops a white cake into a skillet, triggering a chemical reaction that produces a gaseous white cloud. Sensing a presence in the house, Shaineh investigates. Suddenly, a horribly disfigured, Frankenstein-like face emerges from the misty darkness. Shaineh gasps in horror. Later, as the agents drive through the Indiana farmland, Scully reads aloud a letter addressed to Mulder. In it, Shaineh describes how, eighteen-years earlier, a presence entered her smoke-filled bedroom as, strangely, the voice of singer Cher filled the air. Three days later she woke up pregnant with her son, Izzy. Shaineh explains that she saw Mulder on the Jerry Springer show, and hopes he will investigate her case. The agents do, indeed, drive to Shaineh's home. There they discover a comic book bearing the exact likeness of the creature Shaineh claims attacked her. Shaineh explains the monster is called The Great Mutato, a creation of Izzy's fertile imagination. Izzy claims he, and many others in the community, have seen the creature--who apparently has a penchant for peanut butter sandwiches. Izzy and his friends lead the detectives to a wooded area, and using sandwiches for bait, lure the creature from its hiding place. The group gives chase, but the creature disappears into the darkness. Mulder then encounters an Old Man, who claims the real monster is his own son, renowned scientist Dr. Francis Pollidori. The agents visit Pollidori, who describes his experiments in genetic manipulation. He displays a photo of a fruit fly head... with legs growing out of its mouth. Later, Pollidori bids good-bye his wife, Elizabeth, as he embarks on a trip out of town. Moments later, termite tenting falls past Elizabeth's window. When the agents stop by a country diner in downtown Bloomington, they are feted with heaping plates of food. It turns out that the entire town believes Jerry Springer will do a story on the creature... the result of a newspaper article in which Mulder is quoted as verifying the monster's existence. The agents realize Izzy secretly tape recorded their conversations. As the agents drive along a country road, Mulder spots Pollidori's tented house. The pair race inside, where they discover Elizabeth's unconscious body. Shortly thereafter, the agents also lose consciousness. The Old Man, Professor Pollidori's father, steps from the smoke, a gas mask covering his face. When the agents regain consciousness, Elizabeth describes her attacker as a hideously deformed man with two mouths. The Old Man brings the Creature a peanut butter sandwich as it watches the movie Mask, starring Cher, on television. Pollidori confronts his father, and in a rage, strangles him. A mob of townspeople forms around the local post office as a mail clerk proclaims he's found the monster. He pulls someone wearing a rubber Mutato mask from the back room, then yanks off the mask, exposing Izzy. The postal worker then displays a box he intercepted, which is filled with identical masks. Records indicate that the residue from the white cakes is a substance used to anesthetize herds of animals. Its use is monitored by the FDA, leading the agents back to the Old Man's farm. When the agents arrive at the scene, a diligent newspaper girl, who had been recording notes about the case, describes how she witnessed the creature burying the Old Man. Shortly thereafter, an angry mob makes its way towards the farm. The agents realize Pollidori killed his father. They befriend the frightened Mutato and attempt to escape, but they are spotted by the mob and retreat into a cellar. Pollidori and the townspeople burst into the basement. There, Pollidori claims the Creature was brought to life by his father. The Creature claims he never harmed another soul. He explains how, 25 years earlier, the Old Man realized his son was conducting secret experiments--of which he (Mutato) was an unfortunate product. The Old Man grew to love the Creature, and then set out to create it a mate. As the Creature continues his tale, the agents, putting together two and two, look around the cellar at the townspeople... one of whom resembles a horse, another a Billy goat and so on. The mob concludes Mutato is not a monster after all. A police cruiser transport Pollidori from the scene. The agents take the Creature into custody, but instead of transporting him to jail, they head for a Memphis nightclub, where Cher sings to Mutato, her biggest fan.
EMILY
SCULLY AND MULDER SEARCH FOR A CURE TO EMILY'S ILLNESS. As seen in Episode 5X05, Scully has learned she is the biological mother of three-year-old Emily Sim. Scully experiences a nightmare in which she discovers her gold cross lying on the ground as a sandstorm rages around her. Slowly, she, too, transforms into sand and dissolves into nothingness. Mulder travels to the San Diego County Children's Center, where Scully is keeping an eye on Emily. Scully tells Mulder she needs him to be a witness on her behalf at a child custody hearing. Mulder informs his partner that Frohike accessed the California Social Services Adoption database. It turns out that Emily's mother of record is one Anna Fugazzi (a slang term for "fake"). He warns Scully that the men behind the conspiracy will do anything it takes to protect Emily-including jeopardizing Scully's custody of the girl. During the custody hearing, Mulder introduces a file documenting Scully's disappearance years earlier. He submits that Emily Sim was conceived through a scientific experiment. Despite this, he insists that Scully is nonetheless Emily's mother. Scully receives another mysterious telephone call. A trace reveals its origin to be the County Children's Center. When the agents arrive at the scene, they discover a thick, fibrous cyst on the back of Emily's neck. As a doctor removes a biopsy sample from the cyst, it suddenly oozes green bubbling fluid. The doctor is overcome by the fumes and treated at the hospital. Afterward, Dr. Calderon refuses to transfer Emily's medical records to the Children's Center. An enraged Mulder physically assaults Calderon and warns that unless he produces the records, he can expect more of the same. Afterward, Calderon approaches the two dark-suited men at the Dimsdale Convalescent home. The men realize Mulder tailed Calderon to the building. They kill Calderon using an alien gimlet, then assume his form. One of the "Dr. Calderons" travels to the Children's Center and injects Emily with a greenish fluid. A surprised Scully chases "Calderon" through the hospital. But by the time she catches up to him, the alien has morphed into the form of a stranger. Mulder and Scully speak by phone. Mulder suspects the fluid injected into Emily will not cause her harm, as the conspirators want her alive... for reasons unknown. Mulder makes his way inside the Dimsdale Retirement Home. There he discovers evidence that the elderly women residents-including Anna Fugazzi-were all given hormone injections. Frohike uncovers evidence that the elderly women all gave birth only a few years earlier. Emily continues undergoing therapy and medical tests of all kinds, but her condition only deteriorates further. At one point she is placed inside a pressurized chamber. Suddenly, a snake-like creature stirs beneath her skin. Scully orders an end to the test. Mulder discovers cylinders containing live human embryos floating in a greenish fluid. He grabs three ampules of the greenish fluid and makes his way into a hallway. Detective Kresge suddenly steps forward, placing a gun to Mulder's head. Kresge removes the ampules from Mulder's hand. Suddenly, one of the "Calderons" appears at the end of the hallway. Mulder retrieves one of the ampules and runs off, warning Kresge not to fire on the advancing "Calderon." A confused Kresge shoots nonetheless, and is then overcome by noxious fumes. The alien "Calderon" then morphs into Kresge's form and makes his getaway. Emily slips into a coma and dies. At the funeral, Scully tells Mulder there is still evidence of what the men did to Emily. But when she lifts the casket lid, she discovers several small sandbags inside (one has spilled its contents onto the bottom of the coffin). Scully retrieves her gold crucifix, the one she gave to Emily, from the sand.
KITSUNEGARI
MULDER AND SCULLY HUNT FOR ROBERT MODELL, A.K.A. PUSHER, AFTER HE ESCAPES FROM PRISON. Inside Lorton Penitentiary, a physical therapist works with Robert Modell, otherwise known as Pusher (see episode 3X17). An older orderly tells his younger protégé that Modell is extremely dangerous and must never be underestimated. Despite the warning, Modell lures the young orderly into his cell... and soon after escapes. Skinner, Mulder and Scully brief a group of FBI agents and US marshals about the escapee. The group reacts with skepticism when Mulder reveals that Pusher is able to project his will onto others, forcing them to do themselves harm. After the meeting, Scully and Mulder interview the physical therapist, who tells of a nun who visited Modell, as part of a charity group, on the day before his escape. The ailing Modell makes his way to a sporting goods store, where he eats several high-protein candy bars. He telephones Mulder from the location, and speaks long enough for the call to be traced. The agents rush to the sporting goods store. Mulder notices a man outside the building wearing prison pajamas. But when the man is caught, he turns out to be the sporting goods store employee. The body of the prosecutor who helped convict Modell is discovered in his upscale home, his entire body covered with cerulean blue paint. Surrounding the body is a Japanese ideogram, repeated hundreds of times. The agents summon a Japanese agent to the scene, who translates the ideogram, kitsunegari, as meaning "fox hunt." Mulder notes a wedding band on the victim's finger. He contacts the real estate agency where Linda Bowman works, and obtains the address where Linda is scheduled to meet a "Fox Mulder." Two police officers are dispatched to the location, but they are fooled by Modell, and one officer "apprehends" his partner. The reason for Modell's interest in Linda remains a mystery. Mulder, Scully and Skinner meet with Linda, who is shaken when notified of her husband's passing. The agents place her in protective custody and transport her to a safe house. Mulder suspects Modell may still be in the general area where the prosecutor's body was discovered. His hunch proves correct: he discovers Modell inside a nearby engineering firm. Mulder draws his weapon, ordering Modell to remain silent. But Modell forces his will onto Mulder and escapes. Mulder tells Scully that Modell's message was "don't play the game." When Mulder voices his doubts as to Modell's motives--and the possibility he didn't kill Nathan Bowman--Scully begins to suspect her partner was influenced by Modell's will. Later, Mulder again interviews Linda Bowman, hoping to discover a reason for Modell's interest in her. He reacts with mild surprise when Linda reveals she had only been married to Nathan for a little over two months. During the conversation, Mulder cannot help but notice subtle clues in Linda's words, such as "brush with greatness" and "paint him." He concludes that it was Linda who killed her husband, not Modell. Believing Mulder is under Modell's influence, Skinner demands his service weapon and instructs him to go home. Mulder suspects that the nun who visited Modell in prison was, in fact, Linda. He returns to the prison, hoping the therapist will verify his theory. But before the therapist can positively identify Linda, she receives a phone call from someone who "wills" her to commit suicide. Mulder phones Scully, and tells her it was Linda, not Modell, who made the call. Modell possesses the mind of a police officer, who transports him to the safe house where Linda is under constant guard. Modell finds Linda and places a gentle hand upon her face. Skinner spots Modell and draws his weapon. Modell tricks Skinner into believing he is holding a revolver, drawing his fire. A badly wounded Modell is transported to a hospital. Mulder tells Scully that Modell pretended to have a gun to "take the fall" for Linda. But his theory does not explain the motive for his action. Mulder travels to the hospital, hoping to speak with Modell should he regain consciousness. But Linda uses mind control to slip past Mulder, making him believe she is a nurse. When Modell does regain consciousness, Linda wills his heart to stop beating. Mulder discovers an index card dropped by Linda. On the reverse is an address for a commercial building. Mulder travels to the structure, where he finds Scully waiting within. Scully claims Linda is inside the building, and is using mind control to act against her will. Scully raises her weapon and places it against her own temple--firing a shot. Scully's lifeless body falls to the floor. A few moments later, Linda walks into the room, a gun in her hand. Mulder grabs the revolver from Scully's hand and aims at Linda. But Linda claims she is Scully... and that the real Linda is standing right behind him. "Linda" suddenly aims her gun slightly to the left of Mulder and opens fire. Mulder turns to see Linda's body behind him. Linda is transported to a hospital Later, Scully and Mulder learn that Linda and Modell were fraternal twins.
SCHIZOGENY
A TEENAGE BOY UNDERGOING PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING BECOMES THE PRIME SUSPECT IN HIS STEPFATHER'S MURDER. In Coats Grove, Michigan, Bobby Rich, a sixteen--year--old boy, is berated by his stepfather, Phil, for not finishing his lawn work outside the house. Bobby picks up a shovel and instructs his stepfather to keep his distance. As the dispute escalates, Bobby drops the shovel and runs into a nearby orchard. Phil gives chase. Suddenly, Phil's feet are knocked out from underneath him. A short time later, Phil's wife, Patti, makes her way through the darkened orchard. She discovers Phil's body buried in mud up to his shoulders, with mud seeping from his nose and mouth. Kneeling beside Phil is Bobby, his eyes wide with terror. Scully performs an autopsy on Phil's corpse. She discovers over twelve pounds of mud in his stomach. Her conclusion: Phil's head was forcibly held in the mud, mostly likely by his son, Bobby. She hypothesizes that Bobby may have dug the pit that trapped Phil, and, noting a rope--like bruise on Phil's ankle, speculates that Bobby may have had help from an accomplice. Mulder interviews Bobby, who claims his father enjoyed physically abusing him. Later, Patti tells Scully that, from her point of view, it appeared as if Bobby was attempting to help Phil out of the muddy orchard pit, not cause him harm. She also reveals that her son has been undergoing therapy for his anger since 1995. Later, the agents meet with Bobby's therapist, Karin Matthews. She describes Bobby as the victim of physical abuse. But Mulder expresses his belief that Bobby may not be to blame for his stepfather's death. Bobby tells a pretty fellow student, Lisa Baiocchi, that she must stand up to her father‹ just as he had done with Phil. When Lisa returns home, her angry father demands that she stop seeing Bobby. An angry Lisa storms off to her room. Shortly thereafter, a window explodes, and a shadowy, arm--like appendage grabs Mr. Baiocchi by the throat. His lifeless body is discovered lying on the ground outside the house. Though Scully concludes that Mr. Baiocchi died as the result of being pushed out the window, Mulder discovers evidence suggesting he was pulled out the second story window. Later, the agents learn that Lisa is also one of Karin Matthews' patients. Karin tells Mulder her approach with victims of abuse is to encourage them to empower themselves‹to confront and stand up against their abuser. With the aid of a town coroner, Mulder a small splinter of fresh wood embedded in Mr. Baiocchi's neck. Mulder matches the fragment to the living tree outside the Baiocchi home. A short time later, the agents are approached by a man named Ramirez, who holds an axe at his side. He tells the agents that the trees are all dying because of a "bad man." Karin invites Lisa to stay at her home until her aunt can pick her up the following day. As Lisa listens from her bedroom, she overhears an argument between Karin and a male voice. A curious Lisa makes her way to the root cellar, where she discovers the body of a man. Terrified, Lisa turns towards the door, only to hear it slam shut. A dead bolt turns, locking her within. She hears the unidentified man's voice refer to her as "a snoop." Later, Karin tells the trapped Lisa she must remain quiet, or the unidentified man will hear her voice. Mulder discovers that Karin's father was pulled from the mud of an orchard twenty years earlier. He finds it strange that Karin failed to mention the coincidence. Ramirez tells Mulder that Karin Matthew's father's death brought about an end of a blight affecting the trees. Karin attributes the tale to her father's stature, believing powerful men inspire fantasy. Later, Mulder digs up Mr. Matthews' casket... and finds it empty, save for roots. When Lisa's aunt, Linda, arrives at Karin's house, Karin informs her that Lisa left for a bus station. Before Linda drives off, Lisa smashes the glass of a window in the basement. Linda rushes to her niece's aid, but she is attacked and killed by an unseen force as tree branches sway in the wind above her. Later, Bobby tells Mulder that, as part of therapy, Karin made him pretend he was Phil... and that, all along, he was never a really a victim. Lisa hears the cellar door bolt slide. She stands up... only to realize the unidentified male voice has been coming from Karin all along. Scully and Mulder search Karin's house, where they come upon the corpse Lisa discovered earlier in the root cellar. Mulder concludes the body is that of Karin's father. Karin locks the agents in the root cellar, but Mulder forces it open. They find Lisa frightened but unharmed in a corner of the kitchen. Mulder attempts to pursue an escaping Karin, but his car crashes into an enormous tree. Karin drives to the Rich residence, where she chases Bobby into the orchard. Suddenly, Bobby is dragged downward into the mud. While attempting to rescue the teenager, Mulder simultaneously encourages Karin to break the cycle... to fight the voice inside her head. But Karin is unable. A tendon--like root snakes out of the mud and drags Mulder downward. Ramirez appears, axe in hand, and strikes Karin, killing her. Mulder and Bobby are released by the unseen force.
CHINGA
RESIDENTS OF A SEACOAST TOWN IN MAINE ARE TERRORIZED BY A LITTLE GIRL AND HER DOLL. In Amma Beach, Maine, five-year-old Polly Turner accompanies her pretty mother, Melissa, to the grocery market. Polly sits in the child-carrier seat of a shopping cart, clutching a doll, Chinga. As Melissa strolls the isles, she attracts the attention of Dave the Fishmonger. Polly notices Dave, and tells her mother she doesn't like the store. Melissa responds by quickly pushing the cart into another area of the market. As Melissa strolls down the frozen food section, she comes upon the image of Dave, reflected in the glass of a cabinet, a knife protruding from one eye. A horrified Melissa tells Polly they are going home. But as Melissa makes her way towards the store's exit, customers begin clawing at their eyes. Back in the butcher section, Dave's attention is diverted by the shape of a large Chinga doll, as reflected in a metal door. Dave grabs a knife from his belt... but suddenly turns it on himself. Vacationing in Maine, Scully turns her rental car into the grocery market parking lot. An Old Man exits the store and tells Scully that a doctor is needed. Inside the store, observes Dave, a knife protruding from his eye. She telephones Mulder and describes the bizarre situation. Mulder tells his partner the event might be the result of witchcraft or sorcery. Scully, however, can find no physical evidence that might support this theory. Assisted by Police Chief Jack Bonsaint, and his deputy, Buddy Riggs, Scully reviews security camera footage of the event. She notices Melissa Turner rushing towards the exit, the only customer unaffected. Bonsaint tells Scully that some townspeople believe Melissa is a witch. Buddy Riggs telephones Melissa with news that Bonsaint will be questioning her about the occurrence at the super market. Riggs promises to help Melissa, but she warns him to stay away. In the background, unseen by Melissa, looms the shadow of the large Chinga doll. Bonsaint and Scully visit Melissa's home, but find it unoccupied. Bonsaint tells Scully that Melissa had married a fisherman, but was widowed when the husband was killed in a boating accident. Bonsaint explains that there had been an incident between Polly and the proprietor of a daycare center, Jane Froelich. It seems that Jane slapped Polly when she became uncontrollable. Shortly thereafter, Jane claims she was thrown to the ground. Bonsaint, however, believes the little girl never touched Jane. Bonsaint then tells Scully that Dave the Butcher's interest in Melissa was unrequited. Riggs meets Melissa and Polly at an ice cream shop. Melissa describes how she has seen images of violent deaths, such as Dave's, before they occur. Riggs give Melissa the key to a remote cabin and suggests she leave town. Meanwhile, Polly grows upset when a girl clerk does not meet her demand for more cherries. Shortly thereafter, the clerk's pony tail gets caught in an ice cream machine. Riggs jumps the counter and rescues the girl. Scully and Bonsaint pay Jane Froelich a visit. Froelich claims Melissa is the descendant of witches--and she is passing her cursed lineage to Polly. Later, while speaking with an official at a ranger station (near Riggs' remote camp), Melissa experiences another vision, this time seeing Froelich's bloody image reflected in the rear window of the car. Melissa turns the car around and heads back home. Meanwhile, Froelich hears the song "Hokey Pokey" emanating from the day care center. She makes her way through the darkness... and comes upon the big Chinga doll. She picks up a piece of broken phonograph record, but instead of using it as a defensive weapon, turns it upon herself. Later, Melissa experiences another vision... this time seeing Riggs' corpse. Riggs finds Melissa at home, and convinced she had something to do with Froelich's murder, insists she accompany him to the police station. Later, Riggs' body lies on the kitchen floor, his nightstick covered with blood. Scully recognizes the Old Man from the supermarket aboard the boat where Melissa's husband was killed. The Old Man tells Scully the story of how Rich Turner came upon the Chinga doll while checking lobster traps. Rich intended to give the doll to his daughter, but several days later the Old Man found Rich's body, a grappling hook through his skull. Melissa begins nailing shut every door and window in the house. Polly tells her mother she cannot sleep, and Melissa promises the noise will stop. Moments later, Melissa sees a bloodied reflection of herself in a window, a hammer buried in her skull. Scully and Bonsaint drive to the Turner home. Scully, peering through the windows, discovers Melissa attempting to set fire to Riggs' body. Bonsaint breaks down the door as Melissa runs to a closet and grabs hold of a hammer--which she turns upon herself. Thinking quickly, Scully grabs the Chinga doll and throws it inside a microwave oven in the kitchen. As the doll melts, Melissa drops the hammer and regains her senses. Later, another lobster fisherman pulls a trap from the water... and discovers the burned Chinga doll inside. Suddenly, its eyes open.
KILL SWITCH
A SENTIENT COMPUTER PROGRAM TARGETS ITS CREATORS FOR EXTINCTION. Several heavily-armed crack dealers receive an anonymous telephone call alerting them to the whereabouts of a hated enemy. The men all converge on a diner, but none find their target. Two deputy marshals receive a similar anonymous tip, alerting them about a Colombian fugitive in the same diner. The marshals enter the diner and order everyone onto the floor. Drug dealers draw their weapons and a fierce gun battle ensues. As the agents observe the aftermath of the shoot-out, Mulder pulls a tarp off the face of Donald Gelman, one of the co-inventors of the Internet. Gelman had been working at his laptop inside the diner when the shooting broke out and became trapped in the cross-fire. Mulder sneaks Gelman's laptop under his jacket and brings it back to Scully's car. He finds a blank CD in the laptop drive, which when placed inside Scully's CD-player emits music from The Platters' Twilight Time. Puzzled, Mulder brings the CD to the Lone Gunmen for further analysis. When they are unable to crack the disc's security code, Scully suggests they check Gelman's e-mail log. They find a message containing a standard ID number for a shipping container. The message is signed by someone named Invisigoth. The agents track the number to a container yard. A figure springs from the darkness, zaps Mulder with a stun-gun, and runs off into the night. Scully apprehends the suspect, Esther Nairn, a gorgeous young woman with a nose ring, and escorts her back to the container, which is brimming with sophisticated computer equipment. Esther's attention is diverted to one of the monitors. She tells the agents that an armed Department of Defense satellite has locked onto their location. Despite the farfetchedness of the tale, Mulder convinces Scully they must leave the area immediately. Shortly thereafter, a strange green light descends from the heavens and destroys the shipping container. Mulder concludes that Donald Gelman realized his lifelong dream: the construction of a sentient artificial intelligence, a computer program with its own consciousness. Esther confirms Mulder's suspicion, describing how Gelman unleashed the program onto the Internet so it could evolve--much like the primordial slime from which mankind evolved. She tells the agents that the AI monitors all communication, and will destroy her the moment it locks onto her location. Esther also reveals that Gelman was in the process of creating a special virus program, nicknamed "Kill Switch," that would hunt down and destroy the rogue system. Instead of simply destroying Gelman with a laser from above, Esther is convinced it killed its creator with a dozen crack dealers in an effort to show off its sense of humor. She also believes the virus is holed up on a computer somewhere--and the only way to kill it is to find and destroy its safe house. By accessing government files, Mulder locates a suspicious T3 line, one that would be needed by the AI to access the Internet. He traces the cable to an abandoned farm on which sits a trailer. Meanwhile, Esther gets the jump on Scully and forces her at gun point to drive to an isolated location where she hopes to find one of her colleagues, a man named David Markham. Esther exits the car and begins crying at the site of a demolished house. During her absence, Scully manages to unshackle her handcuffs. Esther gives Scully back her gun and asks her to "put her out of her misery." Esther then admits to Scully that she and David had planned to download their consciousness and enter the AI. But Gelman forbade the idea. Mulder gains access to the trailer housing the T3 line. Inside he discovers David Markham's body, his face concealed by a virtual reality mask. Suddenly, several crab-like droids spring from the jungle of cables and constrain Mulder. Mulder experiences strange visions involving nurses in a 1940s hospital who threaten to amputate him, limb by limb, unless he reveals the location of Kill Switch. Meanwhile, the AI pinpoints Scully and Esther in their car near a turntable drawbridge. The pair become trapped and, at Scully's urging, Esther tosses the laptop into the water. Moments later, a green laser blasts the water. Scully and Esther climb into the trailer where Mulder is bound by the crab-droids. Several of the robotic creatures attack, and Scully dispatches them with her revolver. Scully finds Mulder, his head encased in the virtual reality mask (the source of his strange visions). Esther produces the CD, and Scully gives the AI what it wants, inserting the disk into a drive. The AI releases Mulder, and Scully drags him outside. Esther accesses a keyboard and instructs the satellite to lock onto the trailer's coordinates. When Scully reenters the trailer, she finds Esther wearing the virtual reality helmet, the body of her beloved David nearby. Scully races from the trailer, and Esther instructs the AI to upload. Moments later, the green laser destroys the trailer. When Mulder recovers, he tells Scully that Esther's consciousness may have joined the AI.
BAD BLOOD
THE AGENTS RECOUNT THEIR VERSIONS OF EVENTS THAT LED TO THE KILLING OF A TEENAGER SUSPECTED OF BEING A VAMPIRE. A dark figure chases a terrified teenage boy, Ronnie Strickland, through a field in Texas. When Ronnie trips and falls, the figure pulls out a wooden stake and plunges it through his chest. Scully's voice calls out, and when the figure turns, we see that it is Agent Mulder. Pulling open the teenager's mouth, Mulder shows Scully two sharp incisors, much like vampire fangs. Upon closer examination, Scully determines the fangs are, in fact, a set of fake plastic teeth. Mulder realizes he has made a most egregious error. When the agents return to their offices, they agree to discuss the events that led up to the killing before they speak with Skinner (as they both face potential prison sentences). Scully recounts her story first. As the tale unfolds, Mulder and Scully examine slides of dead cattle, the victims of a series of exsanguinations in a small Texas town. Mulder reveals that a vacationer from New Jersey, Mr. Funt, met the same fate, and authorities located two small puncture marks on his neck. The agents fly to Texas, where they meet with Sheriff Hartwell, a handsome man who immediately catches Scully's attention. With Hartwell's permission, the agents examine the victim's body. Mulder notices that Funt's shoes are untied, but is unsure of the clue's meaning. While he and the sheriff stake out a local cemetery, Scully performs an autopsy on the corpse. Later that night, Scully and Mulder regroup at their motel to discuss their findings. Scully reveals that the victim was drugged with chloral hydrate, more commonly referred to as knockout drops. Scully believes someone doped Funt and then withdrew his blood using a syringe, perhaps emulating vampires seen in the movies. Mulder then reveals that there has been another victim. As a tired Scully sets out to perform yet another autopsy, Ronnie the Pizza Guy (the same teenager Mulder staked in the opening teaser) shows up with a delivery. Scully tells the teenager to deliver the pizza to Mulder as she heads for her car in the motel parking lot. During the second autopsy, Scully realizes that both victims consumed pizza as their last meal. She races back to the motel, where she finds a drugged Mulder lying on the floor. The pizza guy springs into view, prompting Scully to fire several rounds. This concludes Scully's version of events that led up to the teenager's death. Mulder, however, disagrees with Scully's details, and tells his version of the story. As Mulder's version unfolds, it becomes clear that he is painting himself in a good-natured light, while Scully is depicted as being suspicious of his every word. After examining slides of the dead cows, the agents fly to Texas, where Scully finds herself attracted to Sheriff Hartwell. In Mulder's version, however, Hartwell is affected with large buck teeth and a substantial loss of I.Q. The agents split up: Scully performs the first autopsy, while Mulder and Sheriff Hartwell stake out the cemetery. While surveilling the cemetery, Mulder begins pouring sunflower seeds on the ground, explaining that vampires are obsessive-compulsive. Should a vampire appear, it would have to pick up the seeds--just like it would have to untie shoelaces. The sheriff is dispatched to investigate a disturbance at an RV park. Mulder tags along. There, the pair discover the body of the second victim. Tired and frustrated, Mulder returns to the motel, where he regroups with Scully. He informs his partner of the need for a new autopsy, and after Scully leaves, he accepts the pizza delivery from Ronnie. Later, he finds himself in a drug-induced stupor. Ronnie enters the motel room, his fangs exposed, his eyes glowing red. Thinking quickly, Mulder manages to throw sunflower seeds onto the floor. Unable to resist the obsessive-compulsive disorder, Ronnie drops to his knees and begins picking them up. Scully finishes the second autopsy, and realizing Mulder is in danger, races to the motel. She draws her weapon and fires, striking Ronnie right in the chest. Though still in a drug-induced haze, Mulder gives chase, eventually staking Ronnie. Back in the present, a coroner inadvertently reanimates Ronnie's corpse by removing the stake. Skinner informs the agents of the new development, and the pair fly back to Texas. There, the pair meet up with Sheriff Hartwell. As Scully and the sheriff stake out the cemetery, Mulder makes his way to the RV park, certain it contains Ronnie's resting place. Sheriff Hartwell, it turns out, is a vampire. He drugs Scully's coffee, and she passes out. Meanwhile, Mulder discovers Ronnie's coffin inside an RV. Using handcuffs, he traps the vampire inside the box. When the vehicle is surrounded by the undead, Mulder uses two pizza breadsticks to form a cross. The vampires shrug off the cross and pull Mulder downward. The next morning, a groggy Scully finds an unconscious Mulder inside his rental car. Mulder awakens--only to discover that the RV lot is now completely empty. The agents recount their bizarre tale to Skinner... who can only stare back at them.
PATIENT X
THE AGENTS SEARCH FOR ANSWERS WHEN UFO ABDUCTEES GATHER EN MASSE--AND ARE BURNED ALIVE. In Kazakhstan, former Soviet Union, two teenage boys watch as a UFO disappears behind a mountain top. The boys run off to tell their families, but as they sprint through the woods, they come upon an area filled with burning automobiles. A screaming man, his body ablaze, appears out of the dense smoke, causing the boys to run. One of them, Dmitri, takes refuge in the woods. The next morning, he is discovered by Krycek, who is in the company of a unit of Russian soldiers. With the boy in custody, Krycek and his men approach Maria Covarrubias, who, along with U.N. troops, is sifting through the burned out wreckage. Krycek tells Maria he knows who she works for--and to tell her superiors he has a witness (Dmitri). Back in the United States, Mulder takes part in a visiting lecturers forum. He disagrees with the opinions voiced by his fellow panelists regarding a woman referred to as "Patient X," an apparent abductee who seeks answers as to why aliens are on Earth. Mulder maintains that there is no complicity between the military and alien abductions. Instead, he believes the government is developing biological warfare and hiding the fact by concocting stories about "little green men." When the discussion ends, Mulder is approached by Dr. Werber, the man who performed regression hypnosis on him five years earlier (leading Mulder to believe his sister was abducted). Werber reveals that he is Patient X's doctor. He arranges a meeting between Mulder and the woman, Cassandra, believing that she will change his mind regarding his new theory. Cassandra believes the aliens are on Earth to deliver a message. But something, she fears, has gone wrong. Krycek extracts information from Dmitri by subjecting him to a beating. He then orders a Russian doctor to expose the teenager to the alien black oil. The liquid enters Dmitri's body through his mouth and nose. Dmitri, his eyes and mouth sewn shut, is then transported back to the US on a Russian freighter. Meanwhile, Covarrubias briefs Syndicate members on the mysterious burn site in Kazakhstan. Covarrubias believes the act was aimed at the Syndicate, and reveals that Krycek captured a witness at the site. Krycek phones the group and offers to trade Dmitri for all research information pertaining to a vaccine against the black oil. At the FBI building, Scully is approached by Agent Spender, who identifies himself as Cassandra's son. Spender tells Scully that his mother is a very disturbed woman. Later, Scully tells Mulder about the conversation. She then peruses Cassandra's medical file, growing intrigued when she realizes Cassandra claims to have been abducted at Skyland Mountain, the same site where Scully was taken by Duane Barry. The file also reveals that Cassandra has an implant in the base of her neck. Mulder brushes off the findings, agreeing with Spender's conclusion. But so intrigued is Scully by the developments that she pays Cassandra a visit at the psychiatric hospital. There, she grows unnerved when Cassandra tells her that some nights she awakens feeling as though she must be somewhere, but not knowing where to go. Meanwhile, a group of abductees gather at Skyland Mountain. As an Unknown Man drives down the mountain road, he encounters faceless men chasing another man. One of the faceless men drives a metallic wand into the Running Man's back, setting him ablaze. Later, Mulder and Scully inspect the site. The situation forces Scully in the opposite position she would normally take, for despite a lack of evidence, she believes the event is linked to her abduction. The agents are contacted by Cassandra, who warns "they" must be stopped. The agents are then approached by Spender, who explains that his mother was part of a UFO cult. Back at the Syndicate office, group members conclude that the latest burning is aimed at sabotaging their work. Quiet Willy is dispatched to deal with the situation. Meanwhile, Covarrubias rendezvous with Krycek at the freighter, which is docked in New York Harbor. The two share a hungry kiss, then exit so they can be alone. When Krycek returns, Dmitri has vanished. The Well-Manicured Man appears, demanding to know where the boy has gone. After examining the evidence, Mulder concludes the victims of the mass burning were led to Skyland Mountain by the government when it triggered the implant devices. But he is at a loss to explain why they were killed. Their conversation is interrupted by a call from Covarrubias, who informs Mulder of the similar incident in former Soviet Union, and of the witness, Dmitri. Suddenly, the black oil oozes from Dmitri, and Covarrubias drops the phone. Scully suffers an attack--not unlike the one Cassandra described earlier. She travels to Ruskin Dam, where a throng of people have gathered, including Cassandra, in the company of Quiet Willy, and Dmitri, the stitches having been torn from his eyes and mouth. A glowing ship passes overhead and disappears over adjacent treetops. Suddenly, screams are heard from the far edge of the congregation, where faceless men wielding alien weapons set people ablaze. To Be Continued...
THE RED AND THE BLACK
SCULLY UNDERGOES HYPNOSIS IN AN EFFORT TO REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED AT THE MASS BURNING SITE. In this continuation of the previous episode... a man, his face unseen, types a letter to his son (whose identity is unknown). The man, who lives in a remote cabin, addresses the letter to the FBI and pays a boy to mail it. Meanwhile, rescue workers sift through the area near the dam where blackened bodies lie along the length of a bridge. Amongst the bodies is Quiet Willy, the Syndicate's hit man. Skinner directs Mulder to a nearby provisional tent, where Scully is ministered by medics. Nearby is the body of Dmitri, the Russian boy, his exposed skin blackened by the fire. When Scully regains consciousness, she tells Mulder she has no memory of what occurred at the dam. Outside of Scully's room, Spender tells Mulder that rescue workers were unable to locate his mother, Cassandra. The Well-Manicured Man and a physician, Dr. Bronschweig, tend to Maria Covarrubias inside a hospital quarantine room. Later, the Well-Manicured Man speaks with Krycek, imprisoned aboard the Russian freighter. The Well-Manicured Man is aware that Krycek deliberately exposed Dmitri to the black oil to insure the infection of anyone who attempted to ascertain what he knows about the burnings in Russia. He also believes that Krycek possesses a vaccine, that would create resistance to the alien colonists. The Well-Manicured Man offers Krycek freedom in return for the vaccine. Meanwhile, a spacecraft crashes at Fort Wiekamp Air Force Base. A faceless alien pirate drags one of his comrades from the wreckage. Later, members of the Syndicate study photographs of the alien. They realize the man is a resistance fighter, a member of an ongoing battle against alien colonists. The Well-Manicured Man explains that Krycek gave him the vaccine, meaning resistance may, in fact, be a possibility. But the Elder concludes that the captured fighter should be turned over to the colonists, the Well-Manicured Man has Covarrubias injected with the vaccine to ensure it actually works. Back at the hospital, Mulder tells Scully that x-rays have revealed the presence of implants inside the people who were at the dam. Mulder recounts his belief that the U.S. government manufactured and implanted the chip as part of a bio-chemical weapons project. Scully agrees to be hypnotized by Dr. Werber in an effort to recall what happened at the dam. In a trance-like state, Scully recalls how a UFO flew overhead, and shortly thereafter, how the faceless aliens set congregants on fire. Then another craft appeared overhead, which began attacking the faceless men. Cassandra was then pulled upward, out of her wheelchair, by the ship. Afterward, Werber tells Mulder that the same event will happen yet again. Skinner reviews an audio tape of Werber's session with Scully. Mulder tells Skinner the entire event was staged to cover up a classified military project. Skinner admits, however, that Scully's UFO scenario is more plausible. Meanwhile, when Covarrubias fails to respond to the vaccine, the Elder informs the Well-Manicured Man that the captured alien is being turned over to the colonists. Spender shows the agents a videotape of himself, as a young boy, answering questions while under hypnosis. As the tape plays, the young Spender describes his abduction by a UFO. Spender then pauses the tape. He tells the agents the story is untrue, a falsehood told to him by his mother many times. He maintains that Dr. Werber's regression memory theory is without merit. Spender also points out that Mulder has expressed his UFO theories to Scully many times... suggesting that she has recounted the information in a similar manner. Krycek surprised Mulder inside his apartment. He explains that Kazakhstan, Skyland Mountain and the site in Pennsylvania are all beacons for colonization. The burnings, Krycek explains, were the work of alien rebels attempting to foil the colonist's plans for takeover. Krycek gives Mulder the location of the captured alien rebel. He maintains that if the captive perishes, so does the resistance. Accompanied by Scully, Mulder drives to Fort Wiekamp. As they attempt to bluff their way through the front gate, the agents notice Quiet Willy at the wheel of a military truck as it is about to exit the base. As the vehicle pulls away, Mulder sneaks aboard the cargo area. There he finds faceless alien pirate imprisoned inside. Quiet Willy brings the rig to a stop... then morphs into the alien bounty hunter. He climbs into the cargo area, but shortly thereafter, a white light illuminates the truck. A second faceless alien, armed with a firestarter weapon, enters. Mulder opens fire. Shortly thereafter, a confused Mulder is swarmed by MPs and placed inside a car with Scully. Mulder has no memory of how he got aboard the truck. Meanwhile, the envelope seen in the opening teaser is delivered to Spender. Several days later, back at the cabin, the envelope, labeled with the words "return to sender," is delivered to the Cigarette-Smoking Man.
TRAVELERS
IN THE 1950S, TWO FBI AGENTS INVESTIGATE STRANGE DEATHS SOMEHOW LINKED TO MULDER'S FATHER. In the year 1990, a sheriff escorts a landlord into a boarded-up, dilapidated house for the purpose of evicting the tenant, Edward Skur. Once inside, the pair smell a terrible odor, then discover a human body, collapsed, as if all of the internal organs have been removed. A figure springs from the shadows and the sheriff opens fire. The attacker, an elderly man, falls to the ground, mortally wounded. His last words are, "Mulder... Mulder." FBI Agent Mulder, still a year away from working on the X-Files, pays a visit to a man named Arthur Dales. Mulder questions Dales, a former special agent with the Bureau, about his work on an unsolved case from 1952... one focusing on Edward Skur (the attacker from the opening teaser). According to the censored report, Skur disappeared 38 years earlier before he could be arrested for a series of killings in which the victims' internal organs were removed. When Mulder utters his own last name, a flash of recognition passes on Dales' face. Dales makes cryptic reference to HUAC, and the communist witch hunts of the 1950s, prompting Mulder to review newsreel footage of the McCarthy hearings. While watching the tape, Mulder notices his own father sitting amidst McCarthy's group. When Mulder returns to Dales' apartment, Dales elaborates on Skur, who, years earlier, was labeled a communist. The story flashes back to 1952. A young Ed Skur is arrested by FBI agents Dales and Michel, and charged with contempt of Congress for failing to appear before the committee. That night, Dales relaxes at a bar called the Hoot Owl. He receives a phone call from his partner, informing him that Skur hanged himself inside his jail cell. Dales travels back to the Skur residence to inform the family of the death. But before he exits his car, he sees Skur walking down the street. An incredulous Dales gives chase. A struggle ensues, during which black tendrils creep out of Skur's mouth. The fight attracts attention, and Skur runs off. Dales files a report about the farfetched incident. Shortly thereafter, he is summoned to the office of Special Assistant Roy Cohn. Cohn tells Dales to amend the report by removing any reference to Skur. Dales does as he is told. A short time later, he and Michel are dispatched to a homicide. They discover the body of a dead German doctor, his body flattened. Dales notices a coaster from the Hoot Owl, on the back of which is a message: "come alone." That night at the bar, Dales is approached by a young Bill Mulder. He explains that it was he who summoned the agents to the doctor's home. He confirms that Skur is the perpetrator. He also explains that Skur is not a communist, but a patriot. Skur, along with two other men, Gissing and Oberman, worked for the State Department. Gissing and Oberman both took their own lives. Skur was arrested, and his death faked, so that the government could cover-up what it had done to him. Bill Mulder wants the truth to be known, explaining that Skur was a colleague. But he warns that Skur believes that Dales and Michel are part of the conspiracy against him. Shortly thereafter, Skur attacks Michel. A spider-like creature crawls from Skur's mouth and enters Michel. Cohn orders that Michel's body be transported to Bethesda instead of allowing a county coroner to perform the autopsy. Dales protestsÑuntil Cohn threatens to label him a communist. When Dales returns to the Bureau, he notices a heavily-censored document on the desk of Dorothy Bahnsen, a clerk. Dorothy explains that the document is a deposition that branded Skur and his co-workers communists. She then states that she recognized one of the men named in the document from an X-File. She explains that an X-File pertains to unsolved casesÑand that only the director's office decides which file is designated with the "X." She pulls out the file on the man whose named she recognized. It belongs to a German ŽmigrŽ, Dr. Strohman. Dales recognizes Strohman as the man found inside the house. Dales tracks down Gissing's body and supervises an autopsy. Inside the corpse is a cocoon containing a spider-like creature, which Dales kills. Later, Dales informs Mrs. Skur that her husband, along with two co-workers, was tricked by the government. He elaborates, explaining that all three men underwent surgery for treatment of war injuries, but, in reality, received an operation called xenotransplantationÑthe grafting of a species into the human body. That night, Bill Mulder and Cohn's assistant escort Dales to the bar where he is scheduled to meet Skur. Dales is equipped with a hidden microphone and told that Skur will be arrested the moment his guard is lowered. Later, Skur enters the empty bar. He tells Dales the other men will not be coming, explaining that they assumed he (Skur) would kill him. Dales sees the logic of Skur's words. A struggle ensues, during which Dales is able to handcuff Skur to the bar. Back in 1990, Dales finishes telling his story to Mulder. But the puzzle still remains: why did Skur die saying the name of Mulder's father? The story then flashes back to 1952... when a young Bill Mulder stopped on a road and gave Skur the keys to his handcuffs.
MIND’S EYE
MULDER SUSPECTS A BLIND WOMAN POSSESSES THE ABILITY TO SEE THROUGH THE EYES OF A KILLER. As Marty Glenn, a twenty-something woman, moves about her apartment, she suddenly experiences an internal vision. As she watches, horrorstruck, a murderer, switchblade in hand, advances on a another man standing before a bathroom sink. A short time later, police are summoned to a motel, where the body of the murderer's victim lies on the bathroom floor. Marty, a bloody sponge clutched in her hand, is discovered hiding in the shower. As the officers place Marty into handcuffs, they realize she is blind. Scully and Mulder meet with Wilmington Homicide Detective Lloyd Pennock, who has been assigned the murder case. Pennock explains that, under normal circumstances, Marty would have been charged with the murder. But since Marty has been blind since birth, he is at a loss as to how--or why--she managed to kill the heroin dealer, Paco Ordonez. Pennock states that he has 48 hours to prove to the District Attorney that his suspect possesses a kind of "sixth sense"... or wait until she kills someone else. The detectives meet with Marty inside her jail cell. During questioning, it becomes obvious that Marty--who has adopted an uncooperative attitude--possesses knowledge that only the murderer should know. As Mulder stays behind to supervise Marty's polygraph test, Scully visits the scene of the crime. There she discovers a bloody leather glove hidden behind the bathroom mirror. Meanwhile, by phrasing a question in a certain manner, Mulder determines that Marty did somehow manage to witness the murder. Marty experiences another internal vision. This time, the killer makes advances on a sexy woman, Susan Forester, who sits at a bar. Marty notices the name of the bar reflected in a mirror. She requests that she be allowed to make a phone call from jail. By using an information operator, Marty phones the bar and makes contact with the murderer, a man named Gotts. She warns him to leave the woman alone. Scully brings the bloody glove to the jail. She informs Marty that her fingerprints were located on the glove, and perhaps even more importantly, the glove fits Marty perfectly. Pennock concludes that Marty is the murderer. Mulder, however, is plagued with doubt. Scully offers a possible explanation: Marty may not be blind. Scully expands upon this theory, noting disorders that would permit sight on a subconscious level. As Marty undergoes an eye exam, she is suddenly struck by another internal vision. Mulder notes a reaction on a measurement mode screen used by the opthamologist. But Marty refuses to explain what she saw. Though the examiner concludes that Marty is completely blind, Mulder tells Pennock and the District Attorney that there is evidence of neurological activity which caused her pupils to dilate--perhaps a physical response to images in the mind's eye. The District Attorney concludes that it is unlikely her office could convict a blind woman based on fingerprints alone. As a result, Marty is released from custody. As Marty makes her way through the city, she is struck by another vision. This time, she witnesses Gotts attack the sexy woman from the bar. With some help from a passerby, Marty makes her way to the alley where the attack occurred. She discovers the woman's body inside a dumpster. Marty then returns to the police station and confesses to both murders. Marty supplies Pennock with the location of a locker that contains a briefcase filled with Gotts' heroin. Meanwhile, a lab test reveals that neither of the stains found on the leather glove match Marty's blood type, bolstering Mulder's suspicion that Marty is innocent. So confident is Mulder that he approaches Marty directly. He tells her he discovered the original police report detailing her mother's murder--a single stab wound to the right kidney--which is identical to the manner in which Ordonez and Forester were killed. Mulder concludes that Marty gained her unique sense when her then-pregnant mother died at the murderer's hands. Marty is released from custody after police match fingerprints on the briefcase taken from the locker to Gotts... who turns out to be Marty's own father. Marty tells police that Gotts, who was recently paroled from prison, can be located at the Blarney Stone tavern. Mulder and Scully stake out the bar, waiting for Gotts' appearance. Meanwhile, Pennock provides Marty with protection from harm by guarding her at her apartment. Marty experiences another vision, this time seeing Gotts reading names on mailboxes in the lobby. Using a coffee pot, Marty knocks Pennock unconscious. She pulls his gun from his holster and takes position, waiting for Gotts. Meanwhile, Mulder realizes that the blind Marty has been experiencing visions of the inside of Gotts's prison cell for almost thirty years. He tells Scully that Marty misdirected them on purpose... to keep Gotts from going back to prison. They race to Marty's apartment, where they find Gotts dead on the floor. Later, Marty asks for no special treatment in her defense and is sent to prison--where she is finally free of Gotts.
ALL SOULS
A PRIEST ASKS FOR SCULLY'S HELP WHEN A HANDICAPPED GIRL DIES A MYSTERIOUS DEATH. Father McCue, the family priest who comforted Scully during her bout with cancer (see episode 5X03), baptizes Dara Kernof, a sixteen-year-old, severely mentally-retarded girl confined to a wheelchair. Later that night, as a thunderstorm rages, Dara somehow gains strength in her legs and leaves her house. Dara's father, Lance, realizes something is amiss and makes his way outside. There he sees Dara in the middle of the street, her arms raised upward, kneeling before a Dark Figure. Suddenly, lightning flashes, supernaturally bright. When Lance reaches his daughter, he realizes she is dead--her eyes gone, as if having been burned out of their sockets. The Dark Figure, however, is nowhere in sight. Father McCue contacts Scully and asks for her help in solving the mystery of the girl's death. Later, Scully visits the Kerofs, and learns that Dara was adopted six years earlier. The girl suffered from severe spinal deformities which confined her to a wheelchair her entire life. There is no explanation as to how Dara walked out of the house, though Lance is convinced he saw the Devil standing over her in the street. Scully and a pathologist, Vicki Belon, examine Dara's body. Belon notes her misshapen hands and feet, which contain six digits (the extra fingers having been removed via surgery). Belon reluctantly proposes that the girl was struck down by God, as if she was a mistake. Meanwhile, a man named Father Gregory visits a psychiatric hospital hoping to visit a girl named Paula Koklos, Dara's twin sister. But his progress is hindered by Aaron Starkey, a department of social services worker, who notes that the priest's adoption petition lacks his approval. Upset, the priest leaves the hospital. That night, a man enters Paula's room. An intense halo of light surrounds the figure and wings form its back. The next day, Scully examines Paula's body, her eyes burned out, kneeling much like Dara. Mulder joins his partner and reveals he has located Dara's birth records, which show she was one of quadruplets. Shortly thereafter, Starkey reveals that Paula was about to be adopted by Gregory. The agents pay Gregory a visit at his church. He insists he was trying to protect Paula from harm, and makes reference to an ongoing struggle between good and evil for all souls. Later, while examining Paula's body, Scully experiences a vision of Emily. Mulder performs further research on the adoption records. He uncovers information on a third sister, who walked into a teen crisis center a week earlier and is apparently homeless. With Starkey's help, he canvases abandoned buildings in a desolate part of town. But the Dark Figure, this time sporting a hideous lion's face, finds the girl first. Mulder draws his weapon and orders a darkened figure to step into the light. It is revealed to be Father Gregory. Gregory laments that they are too late, as he found the third sister dead. Mulder concludes Gregory is responsible for the murders. But Gregory insists he tried to protect the girls' souls from the Devil. He warns that the fourth sister must be located before it is too late. The agents step out of the police interrogation room where Gregory is being held when new information about the fourth sister, Roberta Dyer, comes to light. Scully urges Mulder to find the girl. Meanwhile, Starkey enters the interrogation room where Gregory is being held. He demands to know the location of the fourth girl. When Gregory does not answer, he is burned alive by the demon. Mulder makes his way to the home of George Dyer, the fourth sister's adoptive father. Dyer eventually reveals that Father Gregory took Roberta away. Shortly thereafter, Scully is approached by the Dark Figure, whose head rotates, revealing the faces of a lion, a fierce bird, and a satyr. Stunned, Scully seeks out Father McCue for answers. He explains that the vision she experienced is a Seraphim, an angel who descended from the heavens and fathered four children with a mortal woman. The Lord sent Seraphim to earth to return the girls, who have the souls of angels, back to heaven to keep the Devil from claiming them as his own. Later, Starkey tells Scully that the fourth girl is at Father Gregory's church. Once inside the church, Scully sees Starkey's shadow, which is in the form of a demon. Scully rescues the girl from a crawlspace and attempts to make her way out a back exit. A blinding white light suddenly erupts, the source of which is the mysterious Dark Figure. The fourth girl changes into the form of Emily--and begs Scully to let go. Scully reluctantly releases the girl's hand, and she disappears into the light. When the light fades, only the girl's body remains, her eyes burnt away. Later, Scully tells Mulder they should have been protecting the girls from Starkey, not Father Gregory. She also believes that no one killed the girls... but they are now in a place where they were meant to be. She concludes the incident was about letting go... of Emily.
THE PINE BLUFF VARIANT
MULDER GOES UNDERCOVER TO INFILTRATE A MILITIA GROUP ARMED WITH A DEADLY PATHOGEN. Skinner, Scully, Mulder and a dozen FBI agents participate in an undercover operation in a Washington, D.C. park. Its purpose: to catch Jacob Haley, a militia group member wanted on domestic terrorism charges. As Skinner and Scully monitor events from a surveillance van, Mulder and several other undercover agents slowly close in on their suspect, who meets with a Goateed Man sitting on a park bench. Haley hands the Goatee Man an envelope, then suddenly runs off. Mulder gives chase, unaware that the skin on Goatee Man's face and hands is slowly being eaten away. Scully jumps from the van, intending to warn her partner. But when she reaches Mulder, she is astounded to discover that the suspect eluded capture. Scully voices her concerns to her partner, looking for some explanation as to why he allowed Haley to escape. But Mulder sidesteps the issue. Shortly thereafter, the agents attend a meeting of a counter-terrorism council, which is headed by Skinner and U.S. Attorney Leamus. During the meeting, Scully states that the Goatee Man was killed by some form of bioweapon. Skinner then shows those in attendance a photo of August Bremer, the militia group's mastermind. He notes that Bremer and Haley are reportedly vying for control. Her curiosity piqued, Scully begins surveilling her partner's movements from afar. Mulder rents a room at a motel, where he has a heated telephone conversation with Haley, one that implies the pair are working together. Shortly thereafter, a BMW rolls into the motel parking lot, and Mulder climbs in. Scully tails the car, but her progress is halted when two sedans force her to stop. Four large men then approach her vehicle. Scully is escorted to a government building where, to her surprise, she is met by Skinner and Leamus. They explain that Mulder is participating in a deep cover assignment, the existence of which is known only to Skinner and Leamus. Someone in the militia group reached out to Mulder after he voiced his opinions about governmental conspiracies during a UFO conference. The BMW transports Mulder to a remote farmhouse. There, Mulder is questioned by Haley, who accuses him of spying on the group. When Mulder fails to give acceptable answers, a Skin-Head Man pushes back on his finger, causing Mulder to scream in pain. The torture session continues until Mulder suggests a mole exists within the group. Suddenly, the Skin-Head man pulls back on the finger, snapping it like a piece of celery. When Mulder passes out, Haley turns to him and says, "I believe you." Meanwhile, Bremer tests the bioweapon on patrons at a small movie theater, killing fourteen people. But the question remains as to how the pathogen was spread to the victims. When Mulder returns to his apartment, he is surprised by Scully. She tends to his broken finger and discusses the undercover operation. Unbeknownst to them, Bremer is secretly recording their conversation. Later, Mulder reports back to Skinner and Leamus. It is determined that the militia group intends to rob a bank. Mulder also relays word that Haley demanded copies of surveillance files of militia group members (hoping to flush out the mole). Leamus reveals he anticipated such a request, and already has redacted microfilm documents prepared. Mulder returns to the motel and gives Haley the microfilm. He is then transported back to the farmhouse, where the militia group is readying its assault on the bank. Scully determines that the toxin was not developed by the Russians as previously believed. In private, she tells Skinner that the United States is operating a secret bioweapons program--and that someone in the government may have sent Mulder on a suicide mission. Later, it suddenly dawns on Scully that the source of pathogen's distribution is money. Wearing monster masks, Mulder and the militia members storm a bank. Bremer accesses the vault and sprays the money with the pathogen. The group stages a successful getaway, and later Mulder realizes that the entire purpose of the break-in was to contaminate the money. Bremer pulls a gun on Mulder, announcing that his undercover work has been exposed. But Haley intercedes, noting that Bremer's alias was discovered on the microfilm, exposing him as the mole. Bremer responds by playing back the secret tape recording he made of Mulder and Scully's conversation. Bremer hands Haley a leather car key holder, allowing him to leave the group unharmed. But Bremer and the Skin-Head Man march Mulder away, intending to execute him. Suddenly, Bremer kills the Skin-Head Man. Bremer tells Mulder to run before they are both exposed. Mulder makes his way back to the bank, which has already been sealed off by Scully and Skinner. Scully explains that she recognized Mulder on a bank surveillance tape by the bandage on his finger. As the money is hauled out of the bank, Leamus tells the agents that the bills have tested clean. Scully accuses Leamus of having orchestrated the entire plan. Later, Haley slumps over in his car, his face eaten away by the biotoxin, which was transmitted by the key holder given him by Bremer.
FOLIE A DEUX
MULDER IS TAKEN HOSTAGE BY A MAN WHO CLAIMS HIS BOSS IS LITERALLY A MONSTER. Gary Lambert works as a vinyl siding telemarketer in Oak Brook, Illinois. On the surface, Gary would seem to be a mild-mannered Everyman. But unbeknownst to his co-workers, Gary is convinced that his boss is an evil monster who preys on his own staff, turning them into the undead. One morning, Skinner summons Mulder and Scully to his office. He explains that the company Gary works for, VinylRight, received an anonymous, audio-taped manifesto, on which a man threatens to commit a violent act. As a result, the company wishes to have the threat investigated. Mulder is puzzled as to why Skinner is sending he and Scully to investigate. Skinner then explains that the maker of the tape spoke of a monster threatening employees. Somewhat irked, Mulder tells Scully he will handle the case alone, labeling himself "Monster Boy." When Mulder arrives at the company, he is greeted by office manager Greg Pincus, who plays him the taped message. Mulder's interest is piqued by a reference to "hiding in the light." He telephones Scully and asks her to investigate previous X-Files cases for such a phrase. Meanwhile, Gary grows concerned when a fellow employee, Nancy Aaronson, is summoned to Greg's office. When Nancy returns to her cubicle, Gary notices that, from his point of view, she appears to be dead. Scully telephones Mulder when she finishes researching the files. It turns out that the phrase "hiding in the light" was also used by a deacon at a Lakeland, Florida church. The deacon was convinced that one of his parishioners was an evil presence. One Sunday, he entered the church for mass and opened fire on his flock. When Mulder returns to VinylRight, he finds a sea of deserted cubicles. Nancy's head peeks out from behind a wall and warns Mulder to take cover. Before he has time to react, Gary approaches--armed with an AK-47. Mulder slowly raises his hands into the air. Scully flies to Illinois and joins FBI and SWAT team members who have surrounded the building. Inside, Gary uses his co-workers to form a human barricade. A SWAT team commander overrules Scully and dials Mulder's cell phone. Gary opens Mulder's jacket... and notices his gun within. Gary kicks Mulder in the head, knocking him to the ground. A hostage then charges Gary, but he swivels and opens fire, killing the man. Gary then speaks with an FBI agent, and demands that a television crew be sent into the building so he can broadcast his fears to the public. Using a closed-circuit system, the FBI fools Gary into thinking his image is being broadcast throughout the city. Addressing the camera, Gary raises his gun and points it at Greg. He instructs everyone to look at Greg... to look at "it." Mulder glances over his shoulder... and sees a monster where Pincus was standing. Suddenly, an Armored Personnel Carrier bursts through a wall. A SWAT team member opens fire, striking Gary. Mulder cannot dismiss what he saw inside the office complex. After performing additional research, Mulder determines that five previous X-Files cases involve monster that went unnoticed by all accept the claimant. Scully reacts with incredulity when Mulder suggests that Gary was not insane, but actually saw the creature he described. Scully attributes Mulder's behavior to "folie à deux," a madness shared by people under tense conditions. Meanwhile, Mulder follows Greg Pincus to the home of Gretchen Starns, one of his employees. As Mulder stands outside of the house, and gazes through a window, he sees the monster advance behind Gretchen, its insect-like mouth aiming for the back of her neck. The woman suddenly screams, prompting Mulder to shatter the window glass. The monster defies gravity by crawling over the house. Gretchen lodges a complaint with the FBI, accusing Mulder of breaking into her home. During a meeting with Skinner, Mulder sees Pincus, in the form of the monster, advancing. Mulder draws his gun, but Skinner, believing Mulder has lost his mind, gains the upper hand. Mulder is then admitted to a mental institution. Later, at Mulder's prompting, Scully examines the back of the dead hostage's neck. There she discovers tiny puncture marks. At the hospital, a restrained Mulder listens in horror as the monster approaches the window to his room. Mulder calls for the nurse... only to realize that she is one of the monster's minions. Scully visits the hospital... and experiences a vision of the nurse as one of the living dead. She races to Mulder's room, where she discovers the creature crawling on the ceiling. She opens fire, but the creature escapes. Later, Scully meets with Skinner. She voices her belief that Mulder is of sound mind. She notes that an unidentified toxin was found in the dead hostage, and notes that Pincus has disappeared, along with the nurse and several VinylRight employees. After recovering from his ordeal, Mulder returns to work. Scully informs him she told Skinner the truth: the incident can only be explained as a "folie à deux."
THE END
A BOY POSSESSING PSYCHIC POWERS MAY HOLD THE KEY TO UNLOCKING THE MYSTERIES OF THE X-FILES. Inside a sports arena, two chess masters, a Russian man and an odd-looking 12-year-old boy named Gibson Praise, engage in a battle of the minds as an audience sits in reverential silence. High above the crowd, on a catwalk overhanging the arena, a sniper aims his rifle towards the back of the child's head. As the gunman slowly squeezes the trigger, the little boy announces "checkmate," and slides back in his chair. A gunshot rings out... and the Russian falls to the floor, dead. Meanwhile, two armed, masked figures close in on the cabin where the Cigarette-Smoking Man has holed up. A sensor alerts the Cigarette-Smoking Man to their presence, and he manages to kill one of them before making his escape into the woods. The second masked gunman gets the drop on his prey... and reveals himself as Alex Krycek. Skinner briefs Mulder on the death of the Russian chess player. It turns out that the sniper is a former member of the National Security Agency. The case was assigned to Agent Spender, who specified that Mulder be excluded from the investigation. Despite this, Mulder and Skinner crash Spender's briefing. While viewing videotape of the assassination, Mulder reaches the conclusion that the shooter's target was Gibson--not the Russian--as the boy reacted in an almost precognitive fashion moments before the shot rang out. Spender disagrees with the theory. Agent Diana Fowley, an attractive woman in her thirties, opines that Mulder is correct. Spender rewinds the tape... and forms the same conclusion. The Cigarette-Smoking Man meets with the Syndicate Elders. Labeling Gibson a threat, they ask for the Cigarette-Smoking Man's help in orchestrating his elimination. Mulder, Scully and Diana Fowley visit Gibson inside a psychiatric hospital. The boy declines Mulder's invitation to match wits against a cheap chess computer... giving credence to Mulder's suspicion that the boy is not a chess master, but a mind reader. Tests on the child's brain reveal that Gibson is, indeed, clairvoyant. Later, Mulder visits the shooter in his cell. He offers him immunity from prosecution in exchange for his cooperation. Scully cannot help but notice chemistry between Mulder and Fowley. She pays the Lone Gunman an unexpected visit. She gives them data from the tests performed on Gibson, and asks that it be analyzed. Scully also asks for information on Diana Fowley. The three men confirm that she and Mulder were an item back when Mulder graduated from the Academy and first discovered the existence of the X-Files. Scully returns to the psychiatric hospital intending to show Mulder the data she has accumulated. But when she approaches the observation room, she notices Mulder and Diana inside... and Diana holding Mulder's hand. Scully, a confusion of emotions, both personal and professional, leaves the hospital. When Mulder enters the hospital's parking garage to retrieve his car, he notices Spender talking to the Cigarette-Smoking Man. Mulder pushes Spender hard in the chest, demanding to know his business. Spender explains that he does not know the identity of the mysterious man. He then reveals that the shooter wishes to speak with Mulder. Scully meets with Skinner and Mulder to reveal the results of the psychiatric tests on Gibson. It turns out that an area of the child's brain, dubbed the "God Module" by neurophysicists, exhibits extraordinary activity. Mulder believes the child's life is in danger because of his gift, as it might be the key to solving the unexplained phenomena contained within the X-Files. He also suspects that the assassin holds the key to the vast conspiracy working against him. Skinner points out that the very existence of the X-Files would be put at risk if he asks the Attorney General to grant immunity to the assassin. Later, Mulder approaches the shooter and asks him for information he can corroborate. He reveals that Gibson is a missing link--genetic proof of man's relationship to an alien race . The Cigarette-Smoking Man puts his plan in motion. The assassin is murdered inside his cell. Shortly thereafter, a bullet strikes Fowley as she stands watch over Gibson. The Cigarette-Smoking Man delivers the child to the Well-Manicured Man and Krycek. When Mulder sees Spender at the Bureau, he pushes him into a wall. He angrily accuses him of orchestrating Gibson's disappearance in conjunction with the Cigarette Smoking Man. Other agents restrain Mulder, dragging him away. Spender responds by stating that Mulder's days are numbered. Later, Scully informs her partner there is talk of shutting down the X-Files. That night, the Cigarette-Smoking Man sneaks into Mulder's office and steals a file on Samantha Mulder. He then addresses Spender face-to-face. He informs him that he is his father. Suddenly, a fire alarm sounds and agents make their way into the hallway. The Cigarette-Smoking Man disappears into the crowd. Later, Mulder inspects the damage to his office, where the cabinet containing the X-Files is a melted skeleton. Scully places her arms around her partner, offeringsupport.
