Categories > TV > X-Files > Incarnations of Immortality
Title: Incarnations of Immortality
Author: TheBear!
Crossover: XF/HL/FK
Pairings: M/S N/N T/V
161,428 words
15-Apr-02
Disclaimer—I don’t own any of it.
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Chapter 8
Terminal 3
Lester B Pearson International Airport
8:02 p.m. Wednesday December 13th.
Methos was waiting. “Bloody plane is 2 bloody hours late.” he thought sourly. “5,000 years of progress and we still can’t schedule traffic any better than we could with Bloody donkeys and carts.”
An announcement came across the public address system, “Flight 1013 From Seattle Washington Now Arriving At Gate B10.”
“About Bloody Time!!” Methos said while jumping up off of his stool at the bar. He threw down a $50 and took off for the gate.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Gate B10
Duncan MacLeod was pissed off. He had been woken up at 6 a.m. and had to pack and get to the airport for an 11 a.m. flight across the country and into Canada. With a sword. Across international boarders with a three-and-a-half bloody foot-long sword. Not an easy task when one plans ahead. Short notice; customs; sword. And no explanation why other than ‘It’s important, Duncan.’ “That SOB owes me for this one,” he thought.
He felt the quickening as soon as he stepped off the plane. “Hullo Mac!” he heard from off to his left. He turned to find a grinning Methos standing there looking entirely too happy to see him.
“Alright, Why the hell am I here, Methos?” Mac said without preamble.
“What… No ‘Hello’; No ‘Long time, no see’; Not even a ‘How’s it going’ for your old pal?” Methos teased.
“How about a ‘what-the-hell’s-going-on?’” Mac said sourly.
Methos picked up the carryon bag that Mac had dropped and hooked his free arm in Mac’s, pulling him close and whispering, “In the car. I have the feeling I’m being watched.” and then walked toward the terminal, dragging Mac along.
Mac quickly surveyed the 150 or so people in sight and kept pace with Methos.
As they entered the parking structure, Mac thought he had the tail spotted. He was very good, blending in with the crowd, never looking directly at them, or evenly matching their pace of movement. However, he wasn’t with anyone, wasn’t carrying a bag, and Mac didn’t recognize him from the flight, so why would he be in the group of people heading toward baggage claim? If he didn’t stop and pick up a bag at the claim, Mac would be sure- since he himself only had carry-on bags and wouldn’t be stopping.
As they came around a bend Mac broke off and gestured for Methos to keep going while he hid behind a concrete support and waited for their tail to show.
Carter knew it was a trap before he even entered. However, there was no way around, and if he doubled back, he might lose the target. Either he was already made or they were just being cautious. All he could do was move through it and either balls it out or fight through and wait on the other side for them to come out.
He could hear the heartbeat of the mortal behind the pillar, and of his target up ahead. He never broke stride as he passed the first, but the silly mortal whipped out a sword and held it to his neck. “Nice blade” he thought. If he had to kill the guy, at least he would get a nice souvenir out of it. “What’s your problem, man?” he said out loud, trying to balls it out.
“Nice try, but you forgot your bags.” MacLeod rasped out.
“Fight it out, I guess” Carter thought as he saw the target coming back with another sword drawn.
Methos came into sight of MacLeod holding a small young man at bay with his sword against the kid’s neck. He was going to say “Aren’t you a little short to be a thug?” when the kid moved. It was almost too fast for the eye to see. The kid leaned back at an impossible angle away from Mac’s sword then batted it up with one hand while striking a back-fist against Mac's chest, caving it in with a sickening crunch. Before he could even blink, he felt something strike his chest with a force like being shot with a rifle. He flew several meters down the ramp they were on and landed on his back. He was pretty sure he had at least several broken ribs.
As Carter flew away he chastised himself for not pulling his punches more. He was pretty sure the target survived, but the other one was almost certainly dead. If not, he would be soon, as Carter felt the ribs give way when he struck, penetrating the lungs and heart. Miklos was not going to be pleased. He wasn’t even going to think of how the General would react.
To say that he was surprised when he observed both of them walking into the parking lot not two minutes later was an understatement. Neither moved as though they were injured at all. He waited until they were in the car and then pulled out his phone and placed a call before leaping into the air after them.
MacLeod waited until they were in the car before he said a word. Methos turned toward him and started to speak, but Mac cut him off.
“Short notice, customs, sword, no explanation,” he was ticking each point off of the fingers of his right hand as if counting from 1 to 5, but on 5 he made a fist and shook it at Methos. “And dead from a bloody crushed chest- not the most pleasant way to go, by the way.”
Methos took a quick breath as if to say something when Mac jumped in again, “And what the hell was that? I’ve been hit by cars with less damage!” Mac complained.
Methos just started the car and began driving off. He waited for MacLeod to stop ranting before even trying to get a word in. Finally Mac wound down and Methos said, “I don’t know what it was MacLeod. I was in a club looking for Froag last night when I saw this guy.”
MacLeod jumped once more, “You mean the guy that just kicked out butts? And why are you looking for Phineas Froag?”
“Maybe if you would let me finish a sentence, I could explain?” Methos said, exasperated.
“Well by all means, please do go on,” MacLeod said sarcastically.
“Thank you,” Methos said just as sarcastically. “I saw a guy in the club that I recognized from a long time ago. But, there was no quickening. I’m sure it was the same guy, and he recognized me as well, even put my drinks on the house tab.” Methos shot a quick glance at Mac to gauge his reaction, before continuing. “Any way, ever since I left the club, I felt like I was being followed. I never could find the guy, no matter how many times I doubled back or walked in circles. That’s why I called you this morning.”
“So the thing that attacked us wasn’t the guy from the club? Are you sure you were close enough to feel the quickening?” Mac asked.
“No and Yes, respectively.” Methos replied.
“How do you know the guy from the club?” Mac asked.
“He had me crucified in Gaul in 74 AD.” Methos responded.
“Why?”
“He was a Roman General. He wiped out a tribe I had been living with for a decade or so.” Methos said.
“So why single you out for special treatment?”
“I had been leading raids against his troops for a couple of weeks before they got to our village. I never did figure out how they found us- we always escaped away from the direction of the village when we retreated from our raids. I left tails and we were never followed even in the wrong direction, let alone all the way to the village.” Methos shook his head slowly. “Any way, I was thinking of going back tonight…”
“And you wanted me as backup?” Mac asked, incredulously.
“Yeah, fat lot of good you did so far.” Methos teased.
“I didn’t see you get any good strikes in, and you had time- he attacked me first!” Mac complained.
“So, you want to go with me?” Methos asked.
“Well, I haven’t been killed in at least…” Mac looked at his watch, “10 minutes or so. Why not?”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick’s Loft
8:30 p.m. Wednesday
Vachon landed on the roof of the loft and looked in the skylight. He saw Trace, Nick, Natalie, and a Vampire and a mortal that he didn’t know. He was about to jump off the roof and come in the conventional way- since he didn’t know if Tracy knew about Nick being a vamp, and he didn’t know about the other mortal at all- when Nick looked up and gestured for him to enter. “He must have told Tracy. I’m sorry I missed that!” he thought.
Natalie, Tracy and Mulder all started slightly when they heard the skylight open and saw Vachon jump down. Mulder was like a kid in a candy store, seeing all of the X-Files fodder around and for once being able to share it with Scully. “She can’t ‘scientific explanation’ it all away this time!” he thought, somewhat uncharitably. He loved her more than life itself, “but damn! I get tired of being the only one to see it every time!” he thought, remembering all of the supernatural and/or alien phenomena he had witnessed while Scully was unconscious, missing, or just plain looking the wrong way.
“Hey Trace,” Vachon said.
Tracy promptly stood up and hugged him. Then she pulled back and punched him in the arm as hard as she could.
“Ouch! What was that for?” he asked the madwomen who had just assaulted him.
“That’s for not telling me about Nick!” Tracy said, looking fiercely at him.
Natalie and Nick laughed at the ‘little boy caught red-handed’ look. Scully had finally calmed down enough to start breathing again when she caught Nick’s ‘whipped’ comment through the link and started laughing. “Better not let Natalie hear you say that,” she thought to him.
Again, if Nick could have blushed, he would have. As it was, Natalie seemed to pick up on the exchange and elbowed Nick in the ribs, just in case.
Tracy transitioned back to perky and introduced Mulder and Scully to Vachon. Upon hearing the titles, Vachon commented, “How does one of us get into the FBI? Don’t they make you take all kinds of physical tests and such?”
Mulder chuckled at Scully’s sheepish look and answered for her, “She only recently, Ahh… joined your ranks.”
By that time Vachon had detected Knight’s scent on her. He spun around toward him saying, “You brought across an FBI Agent?! What were you thinking?”
Inexplicably, Tracy blushed at the comment and the rest laughed. Vachon was slightly nonplussed at the reaction and Tracy forged ahead, “Nick said we needed to talk, Vachon. So… Talk.”
Vachon told her what LaCroix had told him. Tracy paled and looked at Nick. “The Nightcrawler? Why would he be involved at all, and why is he giving my Boyfriend instructions on my life?” Tracy practically shouted.
Vachon thought “Well that answers one question.” He noticed that she was looking back and forth between Knight, Natalie and himself, trying to figure out why they were all smiling at her.
Tracy suddenly blushed when she realized she had slipped. Before she could protest, Vachon answered her question.
“LaCroix is the oldest vampire in Toronto, Tracy. He was doing Knight a favor by telling me before the choice was forced on you.”
Tracy was overwhelmed with the influx of new information and the seriousness of the situation that she was in. “Why would the oldest vampire in Toronto do me any favors, Nick?”
“Because you’re my partner, Tracy. He knows that I care about you.” Nick told her the rest, “He’s my Father Tracy.”
“Your Father?”
“Father, Maker, Master- how ever you choose to describe it.” Nick said.
Tracy was clearly overwhelmed. “Oh,” she said.
Nick looked at Mulder and said, “Why don’t you four go see our ‘suspect?’ I’ve got the address of the place where he is apparently staying from LaCroix. Nat can drive while you explain the situation to Vachon, and then Tracy and Vachon can talk on the way?”
“Yeah. I’d like to figure out what these guys are.” Mulder said. “Plus,” he thought to himself, “The sooner he trains Scully, the sooner we can be together again.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Raven
9:35 p.m.
“Irony,” was the one word Carter thought of to describe this situation. He was watching the target for Miklos, for when the General was ready to find him; however, it seemed that the target was ready to find the General first. Carter pulled out his phone.
MacLeod and Methos stood in line at the Raven for about 20 minutes when someone opened the door and the Bouncer stuck his head into the club for a moment. When he came back, he immediately opened the rope line and let everyone in front of them in until they themselves got in. Mac noticed that they were the last ones allowed in before the bouncer closed the line again.
Methos and Mac shared a look. “Quite a coincidence,” they both thought as they went to find a table.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
LaCroix’s Office
LaCroix was intrigued. First Miklos informed him of the incident at the airport, and now this man and his companion had come straight to him. He made sure they got in immediately, but winced when he noticed that his incompetent bouncer had been so obvious about it.
LaCroix reviewed the facts, such as he had, “They are both like the one Nicolas and Agent Mulder encountered the other night. They can be killed but they don’t stay dead. Unless you take their head, perhaps?” he thought, remembering Nicolas’ description of the first encounter on Saturday night. “There are at least three of them in the city. At least one of them is as old as I am, perhaps older.”
LaCroix watched them on the CCTV system for a bit, considering his next course of action. He was in no particular hurry. They would not be allowed to leave until he was ready for them to do so. “If that time should come,” he murmured. He thought it might be amusing to allow Nick to approach them in his capacity as a member of ‘Toronto’s Finest’ and see what their reaction was. Eventually he reached for the phone.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick’s Loft
Nick had decided that quick instruction was needed for a variety of reasons. He knew Dana wanted strongly to be with Mulder again- soon. He himself wanted to bring Natalie across and he didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary.
Fortunately there was a way to facilitate the training. Unfortunately it involved a level of intimacy that was rather uncomfortable to consider. He would have to be as intimate with Dana as he was with Natalie. Not physically, but in every other way. He thought Natalie would understand once she came across, but might have a more difficult time from a purely mortal perspective. That Dana might resist such intimacy was also a consideration. He would have to convince her.
Scully watched Nick as he considered her. She didn’t care for the new relationship that she had with this man. He was her master. She had the impression that he didn’t really think of her as a slave, but she could feel the power he wielded over her and, by any other name, she felt like a slave just the same. She tried not to resent him; he had saved her life, after all. It wasn’t his choice that made her what she was, it was hers. She could have gone on, not crossed back over. She thought of Mulder, and realized that whatever she would have to do, it would be worth it.
Nick felt his new fledgling’s turmoil and resolve. He decided that it was foolish to wait, and that it was equally foolish to try and reason and cajole her into what had to be done. He would play the part of master to the hilt, demanding what was necessary, and then releasing her once it was complete. They would always share a bond, but one not nearly as strong as the link between him and his own master. He would train her and then let her go her own way as she chose.
Scully was becoming uncomfortable as Nick continued to stare at her intently. He had closed off their link and she couldn’t feel what he was thinking. Suddenly he seemed to come to a decision.
Nick focused on Dana and spoke, “This is going to be uncomfortably intimate for both of us, but it is the quickest way to cover the basics and significantly reduce the time we will need to accomplish your training,” Nick sighed. He then continued with a tone that bore no argument, “I expect that you will obey me, Dana. You will feel the impulse to resist once the link is initiated. That is normal. I will beat down your resistance and completely possess you. It won’t last long, but it will feel as though it does. The more you’re able to relax and allow it to happen, the easier and quicker it will be.”
Before she could even comment, Nick struck. He had her in his arms and his teeth buried in her throat in less than an eye blink. She felt compelled to bite him as well, so she did. Intimate didn’t begin to describe it. Her instinctive resistance to this… Violation seemed to come the closest… was quashed immediately and she felt herself being erased and replaced with him. S/He was being taught by LaCroix. S/He experienced every agonizing moment- being repeatedly thrown off of a cliff until S/He grasped the concept of flight. Being abandoned in a maze and forced to focus on the link with her/his master and find him where he was hidden.
Then the killing came through. S/He was hunting. Hunting humans, reveling in the blood and death. S/He was a killing machine, draining and destroying wherever she went. S/He gloried in the power of the vampire. Suddenly the guilt began. S/He began to feel the crushing remorse that came from realizing that S/He was a monster, and damned for all eternity. Finally S/He found forgiveness and the chance for redemption.
Scully slowly came to an awareness of herself as a separate entity. She felt the bloodtears dried on her face, and the rawness and hypersensitivity of her flesh. She also felt gnawing hunger as though she hadn’t eaten in days.
As soon as he felt that she wouldn’t collapse, he flew to the fridge and grabbed several bottles. He tore the cork out of one and handed it to her, while biting the cork out of another for himself. After they each finished several bottles he reached through their link and compelled her to follow him. He took off into the air and through the skylight into the night.
Scully didn’t even stop to think but took off after him into the sky. She had been chasing him for several minutes before she realized what she was doing. “Wow!” she thought. The night was nearly as bright as it would be during daylight. Everything was crystal clear, and the colors were intense! She was slightly lost in the intensity of the experience when she heard “Find me” and realized that she no longer saw Nick anywhere near her.
She remembered finding LaCroix this way, “I mean, I remember Nick finding LaCroix…” Either way, she knew what to do. It seemed like only moments later that she came upon Nick hiding in a mausoleum in a graveyard on the outskirts of the city.
“Cliché, I know,” he said. Then he was gone again.
This time she couldn’t hear him calling her. This too, she remembered. She extended her senses, envisioning a cloud around herself that defined her awareness. She pictured that cloud growing larger in all directions. She could hear the heartbeats of the small mammals in the cemetery all around her. She could feel the movement of the trees as the breeze blew through the leaves. She felt the still coldness of the reptiles below the surface, hibernating through the winter months. Finally as she expanded her awareness to the limits of her ability she felt him. He was about 65 meters away from her in a tree. She laughed as she focused her attention toward him. He was hanging by his toes from a branch in a tall oak. “More Cliché, Master?” she thought toward him as hard as she could. She could hear him laughing with her ears, though he managed to keep the link shut to her.
He whispered to her from across the distance, “to the loft.” and then disappeared again.
She laughed again, reveling in the freedom of flight, now that she wasn’t focused on following or finding. “I can’t wait to bring Mulder for a ride!” she thought. She flew back to the loft, filled with excitement and wonder, “Yesterday Vampires were a myth. Something Mulder believed in, but didn’t really exist,” she thought ruefully. “Poor Mulder. I owe him an apology.” She smiled again as she thought of how she would show her repentance, and seek his forgiveness.
She hadn’t even noticed that the link was open again until she felt Nick chuckle and say to her, “You’re not quite ready for that yet, Dana.”
She didn’t miss the ability to blush, she thought, chagrined.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about Dana,” Nick said to her as she re-entered the loft. “You just need to know a couple of things about sex between mortals and vampires.”
She couldn’t meet his gaze as he continued. She felt exactly like she had at age 10 when her mother gave her ‘the birds and the bees’ talk.
“Except this is more like the bats and the bees, I guess,” Nick answered her train of thought. The important thing to remember is that carelessness on your part could lead to his death, Dana. That’s why it is important to wait a bit until your control is even better.”
“I thought you said I had good control now,” she complained.
“You do, Dana. You remember how wonderful it felt when you drank from him last night?” he asked.
Scully nodded.
“It is even more intense when you drink from here,” he said, gesturing toward his throat. “It is closer to the heart and mind, and the imagery, the link, will be deeper, as you discovered with our bloodkiss not an hour ago.”
Scully looked at her watch as though her head was being pulled on a string down toward it. “Has it only been an hour?” she asked, incredulously.
“The kiss only lasted a few minutes,” Nick smiled. “I told you it would seem longer.” He continued, “The point is, you could easily get lost, and Mulder cannot sustain a significant blood loss, like one of us can.”
“Can’t I do it without biting?” Scully asked.
“Technically, yes. However, you cannot personally… well… finish, I guess, without biting. Even if you just try to ‘be there for him’ you will have an almost irresistible urge to bite.” Nick shook his head ruefully, “Dana, I am 800 years old. Even I need to make sure I am well full before Nat and I, well, you know.”
“What if Mulder wants to, you know… come across,” Scully asked softly.
“I would strongly recommend that if the two of you make that choice, you wait a while- like a year or more- or you get someone else to do it.” He continued on over her protest, “Dana, you will have the basics down pretty quickly, but you’re not ready for a childé of you own, you won’t be for a while. You could effect the physical change, any of us could, but it requires a great deal of strength to control a fledgling. That kind of strength takes some time to develop.”
Scully looked crestfallen.
“Dana, even in a year, you would need my help to adequately train a fledgling, especially a strong-willed creature like your partner,” he returned Scully’s smile at that comment. “Frankly, I plan on having my hands full with my wife. If you really want to go that route, I would help you find a suitable master to bring him across. In any case it is hardly a decision that needs to be made tonight.”
At that moment the phone rang.
“Nick Knight,” he answered.
“Nicolas, our friend is back, and he has secured reinforcements.” LaCroix said and then went on to describe the incident at the airport and them showing up at the raven again.
Nick told him he would send Tracy, Vachon, Mulder and Natalie. LaCroix, of course, understood why Nick would not be attending. He inquired as to how the training was going.
“We did it the hard way,” Nick said.
“You always were impatient, Nicolas,” LaCroix said in an indulgent, though slightly disapproving tone. “Bring my granddaughter to me tonight after closing,” he commanded and then hung up the phone.
Scully, of course, heard the entire discussion. “Is there a problem?” she asked, somewhat worried. LaCroix intimidated the hell out of her.
“No. This method is somewhat frowned upon because weaker individuals can be entirely overwhelmed and crack under the pressure. Such creatures are usually destroyed.” Nick answered the look on her face, “I had no concerns of that sort whatsoever with you Dana. You’re anything but weak.”
Scully shut her open mouth with an audible- even to non-vampires- snap.
Nick said, “I’m going to call Nat and tell her what’s up.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Caddie
Natalie closed her cell phone with a snap. “He said that this guy and another guy like him are at the Raven right now.”
“What do you mean ‘like him’?” Mulder asked.
“Nick said the one they had following him had to fight them when he was detected. He killed our target’s partner and seriously damaged our target. Then not two minutes later they walked away like nothing happened.” Natalie answered.
“You’ve never heard of these people before, Vachon?” Tracy asked.
“No. But think about it, they don’t really stand out, you know? The General only recognized the guy we are looking for because he had seen him before. A long time ago. Otherwise he would have never known.” Vachon answered.
“I couldn’t tell anything out of the ordinary when Nick and I fought that guy on the roof, either.” Mulder paused and then gave a dry chuckle, “At least not until he got up after Nick shot him several times. That was a little unusual.” He said wryly.
“Yeah, I guess that would have been strange. Kind of like finding a guy walking around holding his right hand in his left hand,” Tracy said.
Natalie and Vachon laughed, Mulder looked confused.
Vachon explained, “I was on a plane that crashed. I lost my right hand and was looking for it when Tracy found me. I had just found it and picked it up when she told me to put my hands up.” He started laughing when he remembered the look on her face when he did as she asked.
“Not Funny Vachon!” Tracy complained, hitting him on the arm, again.
Mulder laughed as he imagined the scene.
Tracy pouted for a moment, as everyone laughed at her expense. She decided to change the subject, kicking herself for having brought it up in the first place. “Should we go to the Raven?”
Natalie was about to answer yes, when Mulder interrupted her. “How far are we from the apartment where this guy is staying?”
Natalie said, “About 2 blocks. Why?”
“Well,” Mulder began, “If we know this guy is at the Raven, it seems like this might be an excellent opportunity to check out his place, you know- see if any useful information might turn up.”
“We can’t do that, Mulder! It would ruin any case we might…” Tracy began.
“It’s not like you can take this case to court, Trace. Even if this guy is involved in the death you’re investigating. This can’t go to trial any more than a vampire kill could,” Vachon interrupted- rather liking Mulder’s suggestion.
“I don’t like it,” Tracy said.
“Look, it would be rather suspicious for all of us to go. Why don’t I go and you guys can talk about LaCroix’s ultimatum while I check it out.” Mulder said.
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Natalie said.
“If this guy is at the club, there’s no danger, right?” Mulder began, “What’s to worry about? I’ll go in, see if there is anything worth further investigation, and then go out.”
Natalie looked at the others. No one had a better idea to bring up, so she just shrugged and looked for a parking spot.
She was forced to park around the corner and halfway down the next street. Mulder Jumped out of the car and said, “Back in a few,” and then drew his coat tightly about him and briskly walked off.
Natalie watched him in the rear view until he rounded the corner. She turned in her seat and looked at the two in the back. “So... What are you going to do Tracy?”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Outside 3232 Tableau Ave., Apartment C
Jimson had been watching the door to the run-down looking brownstone for almost 2 hours. Pretty soon it would be Sonny’s turn and he could get a nap. “God, I’m tired” he thought. “I wish this freak would show up so we can get this over with!”
He felt his eyelids beginning to droop. As he forced them back open for what must have been the hundredth time, he saw a man in a black trench coat entering the door he had been staring at. Frantically, he looked at his watch, “How long was I… Damn! almost 10 minutes!” he whispered. He looked over at Sonny, who was in the back of the van sawing logs.
“Sonny! Sonny! Wake up!” Jimson shouted softly.
“What?!” Sonny said blinking the sleep out of his eyes. “Is it my turn already? Man! I was having this incredible dream…”
“Shut up, Sonny. He’s here!”
“What? Who’s here?” Sonny was still a little groggy.
“The freak we’ve been waiting for, you idiot! Let’s just grab him and get him to Perone. I want to see him chop this guy’s head off.”
“How do you know it’s the guy?” Sonny asked.
Jimson looked at Sonny like a monkey trying to solve a math problem. “Well, let’s see, He has short hair, a long black trench coat, and… Oh yeah! He’s the only guy who walked into the apartment we have been watching for the last twelve hours! I think that’s what clued me in!”
“Ok, ok! Sheesh! You don’t have to bite my head off.” Sonny whined.
“How did you ever make it into the Watchers?” Jimson asked, incredulous.
“Hey, Fu…” Sonny began.
“Shut Up!” Jimson interrupted, looking back over at the door. “He’s coming back out.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
“Well… that was a waste of time,” Mulder thought. The place was entirely empty except for a mattress and blankets on the floor, and next to it a single wooden chair. “Talk about traveling light.” Mulder mumbled as he pulled his coat tightly around him and walked out into the night. He pulled out his cell phone to call Natalie and let her know he was on his way back. “Just don’t want her to worry” he thought.
As the phone rang he heard the sound of a car starting down the street behind him. He started to turn around when she answered. “Hey Natalie, the place was empty. Yeah, there was a mattress and a chair and that’s it. I’m heading back your…” Mulder never finished the sentence because the car he had heard starting drove right into him on the sidewalk. Blissfully, he was rendered unconscious. Had he remained conscious he would have felt the pain of his broken legs, torn back muscles, and cracked skull.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Sonny yelled at Jimson. “He’s no good to us dead!”
“You really are an idiot, Sonny. He’s immortal remember? This just gives us time to get him secured. Now, get him cuffed and put him in the trunk!”
Sonny scrambled to obey.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Caddie
Natalie had been listening to Tracy and Vachon discussing the pros and cons of him bringing her across when the phone rang. She shook her head at the two, as they were dancing around the subject of their feelings for each other. “Are we really all so clueless?” she thought, remembering the tension between herself and Nick, as well as between Mulder and Dana. She listened to Mulder tell her there was nothing there and start to say he was coming back when suddenly she heard the screech of tires through the phone. “Mulder? Mulder, are you still there?” She could still hear sounds through the phone, but Mulder wasn’t answering.
Vachon heard everything through the phone as well. He said, “I’ll go check it out,” and just like that he was gone.
Tracy said, “I hate it when he does that!”
Natalie smiled in response.
Suddenly she heard Vachon’s voice through the phone.
“Natalie- I think somebody hit your friend with a car- his blood is on the ground and his phone was about 15 feet away from the blood, lying in a flowerbed. I saw a car spinning off around the corner- I’m going to follow it. You go to the Raven. I’ll call when I find him.”
Damn. When it rains it pours. Natalie started the car and pulled away from the curb.
“What happened? Where are we going?” Tracy asked.
“Let me call Nick and you can both hear it at the same time.” Natalie replied, hitting the speed dial and pointing the car towards the Raven.
When Nick answered she explained what happened, and where they were going, and that she would call back as soon as she heard from Vachon.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick’s Loft
“Stop right there, Dana.” Nick said as soon as he hung up the phone. “We will wait right here until we hear anything. You’re not ready to go out there right now, especially in your current state of control.”
This was her master speaking with all of the power and authority he could project. Scully sat down abruptly on the couch. She had heard the entire thing and the words ‘hit Mulder with a car’ had her ready to go out and destroy whoever had the temerity to harm her lover. Once Nick made her stop, she began to think rationally again. “Where was I going to go?” She wondered. I don’t even know where they are.
“You and I are going to practice, and you’re going to focus on the task at hand. We cannot do anything until we know where they have taken him.” Nick said sternly. “Now, Find Me!” With that, he disappeared out through the skylight again.
Scully sighed, as she felt that he had closed the link again. She flew up and out, once again trying to expand her senses.
Scully was hovering about 200 feet in the air, trying to focus her newfound senses outward, trying to find her master. “Funny how ‘master’, odious as it is, seems easier than ‘father’,” she thought. Nick called his master ‘father’, and she heard LaCroix refer to her as his granddaughter, but she still found the concept difficult to wrap her mind around. Ahab was her father- no one could ever replace him.
Not to mention she was having difficulty focusing on anything right now. She was terribly worried about Mulder. “Why is this happening to us? How many times can I lose him, when I just found him after 7 years of denial?”
Just then she noticed a shadow flit across the sky in the distance, landing on a building about 1500 meters away. “She couldn’t reach that far with her vampire senses, but her eyes still worked just fine. “Who else could it be?” she thought as she took off toward him.
“Talk about dumb luck” Vachon thought. He was following the car when it pulled in to a warehouse garage, not even a mile from Nick’s loft. He settled on the roof across the alley from where the car pulled in. He could sense about a dozen heartbeats, including one that seemed thready, unhealthy. “Probably Mulder,” he thought. “I feel sorry for those guys if Knight’s childé gets a hold of them.” Actually he didn’t feel sorry for them at all. He pulled out Mulder’s cell phone to call Natalie.
As Scully got closer, she realized that it was Vachon, not Nick. He was talking on a cell phone, though she was just a little too far away to hear what he was saying. Her undead heart beat twice in succession, “Mulder must be in there!” she thought, looking at the warehouse Vachon was focused on. Nick’s admonishment fled her mind as she thought of Mulder injured and hurt in there.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Sam and Sullie’s Auto Parts
Perone was not impressed when Jimson and Sonny showed up claiming to have captured the immortal and opened the trunk to reveal their prize.
Mulder lay groaning in the trunk. He was barely conscious, and wracked with pain. He was also still bleeding steadily from the wound on the back of his head.
Jimson and Sonny pulled him from the trunk and sat him on a chair in front of Perone and the others. “What makes you think that this is the one I sent you to find?” Perone asked disdainfully.
Jimson realized something was wrong when their quarry was still out of it. Sonny forged ahead “We caught him coming out of the apartment you sent us to. We hit him with the car and brought him straight here!” he said excitedly.
“If this is an immortal, why is he still bleeding?” Perone asked in clipped tones. “Get rid of it him, you idiots!”
Scully landed in front of a dirty window and peered in just in time to see a group of men standing around Mulder, who was propped up in a chair. Her heart broke to see him, he looked beat to hell, and she could smell and see his blood covering his face and clothes.
Natalie was on the phone with Vachon when she heard him say “Uh oh!”
“What is it, Vachon?” she asked.
“Knight’s daughter just landed in front of the warehouse.” Vachon answered.
“Where’s Nick?” Natalie asked.
“I don’t know.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick was becoming concerned. He had felt his daughter when she thought she had him located, but she had flown the wrong direction. He popped up into the air and began looking for her.
His cell phone rang and he stopped to answer it.
“Nick where the hell are you!?” Natalie practically screamed at him.
“What’s wrong Nat?”
Natalie began speaking rapidly, “Vachon followed them to a warehouse about a mile down the road from you, and he just told me Dana is there now!”
“Damn! She must have seen Vachon, and thought it was me. I’m on my way now.” he said and then closed the phone and took off toward the loft and past it.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nat called Vachon right back. She told him Nick was on the way, so he popped up into the air to look and saw him in the distance. Just then he heard gunfire and then an inhuman scream that sent chills down his spine. It was loud enough that Natalie even heard it over the phone.
“What was that?!” she demanded.
“I think they just killed your friend,” he said, stunned.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick felt a wave of despair/anguish/anger/hatred through his link with his daughter at the same time he heard the gunshot and her scream.
“Oh, no!” he cried.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Scully stood frozen as she watched one of the men pull a pistol and fire in one smooth motion. It was as if time came to a near-standstill. She saw the bullet impact Mulder’s chest directly over his heart. She saw the weak spray of blood as his heart gave one last contraction and stopped. She waited for a second beat, and when it didn’t come she felt her world end. Suddenly her vision was red, and her throat was raw and bleeding from the scream that tore out of her as if of its own volition.
Her body reacted without any direction from her mind, which was focused on Mulder. The words, “He’s dead, they killed him” reverberated in her mind as her body flung itself through the glass in front of her and began to rend and destroy.
When Nick and Vachon arrived only moments later, it was already over. The only intact bodies in the room were the corpse of Mulder, who was hand and foot cuffed in a chair; and the body Dana was just finishing draining. The others were in various pieces, strewn all over the room. Blood was sprayed all over the room and Dana was completely soaked. There wasn’t a square inch of her that wasn’t saturated in human blood.
Nick hoped she could calm down quickly. He really didn’t want to have to destroy this childé too. He was about to say something to her when his attention was drawn back to Mulder.
Scully returned to herself just as she finished draining Perone. She knew his name; she knew all of their names. She had all of his memories, she remembered Perone instructing the one called Jimson to kill Mulder. “Oh, Mulder!” she thought. She was suddenly aware of Nick and Vachon in the room. She was horrified and embarrassed at what she had done. She was not sorry that these monsters were dead, but she was ashamed that she had done it. She felt her master’s sadness and concern. He wasn’t angry, just disappointed and… “Wondering if he had to destroy her?” Her tears began to flow. “Am I a monster?” She didn’t really care if she lived or died at that moment. Mulder was gone, and her life was over anyway. Just as the overwhelming sorrow threatened to drag her back down into insanity, she heard a loud Gasp.
Mulder’s last memory was one of pain. He had been in intense pain already when the bullet ripped through his heart. His last thought had been worry about Scully. He hoped she would be able to overcome the pain and live. He didn’t think he could be that strong if the positions were reversed, and he just hoped she was stronger than he was. Then blackness… Until now. He gasped and began breathing raggedly.
As he opened his eyes he saw Scully, Nick and Vachon all standing there, gaping at him. He noticed Scully was completely bathed in blood. “My blood?” he wondered. Then he noticed the pile of body parts around him. He remembered the group of men standing around him before they shot him.
“Scully? Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” Mulder asked. He went to stand up and reach for her when he discovered his hands were cuffed behind his back. He took a step towards her and discovered that his feet were similarly cuffed.
When he started to fall, Scully was snapped out of her stupor. She was instantly by his side to catch him.
“Scully, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I let them do this. Please tell me you’re ok, Scully. I was worried about you.”
Scully didn’t even know that she had felt crushed until the weight lifted off of her. Mulder’s death had been like the weight of the entire world focused into a point pressing against her heart. Now that it was gone she felt exultant. She didn’t even realize she was floating in the air until Mulder’s head softly struck the ceiling.
Mulder still didn’t realize they were flying. He was so focused on the eyes of his love before him that the blood she was covered in disappeared from his perception. All he could do was kiss her thoroughly. He ran his tongue over her fangs and she moaned in delight.
Vachon was still gaping at the pair. He was sure that they were about to have sex floating 20 feet in the air above. He began to laugh at their antics. It was either laugh or… “Hell, I don’t even know!” he thought.
Nick was glad to feel Dana’s sanity return with the return of Mulder. That return bothered him though. It was apparent that Mulder was like the others in which they were interested. “And he didn’t know it?” he wondered. This needed to be resolved. He cleared his throat, loudly; reinforcing the gesture through his link with his daughter.
Scully felt the tug and broke off her kiss with Mulder. She looked down and couldn’t restrain a giggle.
Mulder felt a wave of disappointment when she broke the kiss. When he looked down, he gasped again and tried to grab on to Scully, but was, of course, stopped again by the cuffs. “Scully, why are we up here?” he asked.
She grinned at him and said, “I was just really, really happy to see you, Mulder.”
“Can we go down now? I’d really like to get these cuffs off.”
“Sure.”
They slowly floated to the floor and Scully reached around for Mulder’s cuffed hands, tearing the chain apart and bringing them around between him and her. She pulled apart the bracelets on each hand, and then kneeled down and did the same for his ankles.
“Wow… Thanks,” was all Mulder said.
Suddenly the situation came crashing back down on her. Mulder could see it in her eyes when they started darting around at the body parts on the floor. He remembered how he felt when he had witnessed the vamp who attacked Scully burn in the morning sun. Guilty. Not because of pity for the vampire, but because he enjoyed it. He decided that now would be a good time to share that with Scully.
“Did Nick tell you what we did with Freddie?” Mulder asked, derailing Scully’s obviously self-recriminating train of thought.
“Who?” she asked, suddenly confused.
“The one who attacked you…”
“Oh. No, he didn’t.” Scully looked at Nick.
“LaCroix let me stake him to the roof. I watched him writhe in agony for hours. Then the sun came up. That’s when the screaming began. It was like playing a blowtorch over his entire body. It started to smoke and turn black, then flames leapt through his skin, as though he was burning up from the inside. After a while there was nothing left but ash, and I watched that blow away in the breeze.” Mulder’s tone had been flat, emotionless; as he continued she could hear passion rising up in him, “I enjoyed it, Scully. I only wished I could hurt him more, make it last longer. He had attacked you, threatened to take you away from me. He failed, but still, he tried.”
Scully felt compelled to respond, “Mulder, I…”
“Afterwards,” Mulder interrupted her, “the only thing that I felt bad about, was that I didn’t feel bad about it at all.” Mulder locked his gaze on hers, “I don’t feel the urge to do that sort of thing, except when it comes to someone hurting you. I’m not a monster Scully, am I?” Mulder asked.
Scully felt relieved. He understood exactly how she felt. “No Mulder. You’re not a monster. Neither am I.”
Nick broke in at that point. “You need to go take a shower. Both of you,” he said, gesturing at their blood-soaked bodies.
“I know what they are, Nick.” Scully said.
Nick blinked at the segue. “What who are?”
“The guy you fought on the rooftop. Like the one LaCroix showed us at the bar. Like Mulder.” she answered.
“It was in their blood, Nick. They belong to a group called the watchers. They watch ‘Immortals,’ they record their history, their lives, and their battles.” She continued angrily, “some of them do more than watch. Some of them think immortals are an abomination. They hunt them.”
“How is it that Mulder didn’t know he was an immortal?” Nick asked.
“It doesn’t seem to kick in until their first death. Before that, they are just like mortals in every way. I can tell you from experience that Mulder has spent plenty of time in hospitals recovering from beatings, stabbing, and shootings.” Scully shook her head and looked at Mulder, “I have spent so many nights worrying about you dying… If I had known, I would have killed you six years ago.”
“Aw, honey, that’s the nicest thing you have ever said to me,” Mulder laughed.
“What about the lightening show?” Nick asked.
“It’s called a quickening. It’s their life force. When one of them takes another’s head, they receive the quickening that is released, increasing their power. The more heads, the more power they have. They call it ‘The Game.’ In the end, there can be only one. They fight until there is only one left, and that one gets ‘The Prize’ whatever that is. These mooks didn’t know anyway,” Scully said.
“That’s why they cuffed me after they ran me down with the car? They thought I would heal quickly.” He realized that these guys were after the same man they were tailing, but didn’t know what he looked like.
“Anything else we need to know?” Nick asked. “No? Then you two go take a shower. You can keep yourself occupied until 2. Then come to the Raven. We will keep the ‘immortals’ occupied.
“Wait, Nick.” Why do we need to keep them occupied at all? We know what’s going on already. Don’t we?” Scully asked.
“We still don’t know why they are here, and if it is just for this ‘Game’… Well, frankly, as a policeman in this city I don’t particularly like cleaning up after them. They can take it elsewhere.” Nick said.
Author: TheBear!
Crossover: XF/HL/FK
Pairings: M/S N/N T/V
161,428 words
15-Apr-02
Disclaimer—I don’t own any of it.
=====
Chapter 8
Terminal 3
Lester B Pearson International Airport
8:02 p.m. Wednesday December 13th.
Methos was waiting. “Bloody plane is 2 bloody hours late.” he thought sourly. “5,000 years of progress and we still can’t schedule traffic any better than we could with Bloody donkeys and carts.”
An announcement came across the public address system, “Flight 1013 From Seattle Washington Now Arriving At Gate B10.”
“About Bloody Time!!” Methos said while jumping up off of his stool at the bar. He threw down a $50 and took off for the gate.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Gate B10
Duncan MacLeod was pissed off. He had been woken up at 6 a.m. and had to pack and get to the airport for an 11 a.m. flight across the country and into Canada. With a sword. Across international boarders with a three-and-a-half bloody foot-long sword. Not an easy task when one plans ahead. Short notice; customs; sword. And no explanation why other than ‘It’s important, Duncan.’ “That SOB owes me for this one,” he thought.
He felt the quickening as soon as he stepped off the plane. “Hullo Mac!” he heard from off to his left. He turned to find a grinning Methos standing there looking entirely too happy to see him.
“Alright, Why the hell am I here, Methos?” Mac said without preamble.
“What… No ‘Hello’; No ‘Long time, no see’; Not even a ‘How’s it going’ for your old pal?” Methos teased.
“How about a ‘what-the-hell’s-going-on?’” Mac said sourly.
Methos picked up the carryon bag that Mac had dropped and hooked his free arm in Mac’s, pulling him close and whispering, “In the car. I have the feeling I’m being watched.” and then walked toward the terminal, dragging Mac along.
Mac quickly surveyed the 150 or so people in sight and kept pace with Methos.
As they entered the parking structure, Mac thought he had the tail spotted. He was very good, blending in with the crowd, never looking directly at them, or evenly matching their pace of movement. However, he wasn’t with anyone, wasn’t carrying a bag, and Mac didn’t recognize him from the flight, so why would he be in the group of people heading toward baggage claim? If he didn’t stop and pick up a bag at the claim, Mac would be sure- since he himself only had carry-on bags and wouldn’t be stopping.
As they came around a bend Mac broke off and gestured for Methos to keep going while he hid behind a concrete support and waited for their tail to show.
Carter knew it was a trap before he even entered. However, there was no way around, and if he doubled back, he might lose the target. Either he was already made or they were just being cautious. All he could do was move through it and either balls it out or fight through and wait on the other side for them to come out.
He could hear the heartbeat of the mortal behind the pillar, and of his target up ahead. He never broke stride as he passed the first, but the silly mortal whipped out a sword and held it to his neck. “Nice blade” he thought. If he had to kill the guy, at least he would get a nice souvenir out of it. “What’s your problem, man?” he said out loud, trying to balls it out.
“Nice try, but you forgot your bags.” MacLeod rasped out.
“Fight it out, I guess” Carter thought as he saw the target coming back with another sword drawn.
Methos came into sight of MacLeod holding a small young man at bay with his sword against the kid’s neck. He was going to say “Aren’t you a little short to be a thug?” when the kid moved. It was almost too fast for the eye to see. The kid leaned back at an impossible angle away from Mac’s sword then batted it up with one hand while striking a back-fist against Mac's chest, caving it in with a sickening crunch. Before he could even blink, he felt something strike his chest with a force like being shot with a rifle. He flew several meters down the ramp they were on and landed on his back. He was pretty sure he had at least several broken ribs.
As Carter flew away he chastised himself for not pulling his punches more. He was pretty sure the target survived, but the other one was almost certainly dead. If not, he would be soon, as Carter felt the ribs give way when he struck, penetrating the lungs and heart. Miklos was not going to be pleased. He wasn’t even going to think of how the General would react.
To say that he was surprised when he observed both of them walking into the parking lot not two minutes later was an understatement. Neither moved as though they were injured at all. He waited until they were in the car and then pulled out his phone and placed a call before leaping into the air after them.
MacLeod waited until they were in the car before he said a word. Methos turned toward him and started to speak, but Mac cut him off.
“Short notice, customs, sword, no explanation,” he was ticking each point off of the fingers of his right hand as if counting from 1 to 5, but on 5 he made a fist and shook it at Methos. “And dead from a bloody crushed chest- not the most pleasant way to go, by the way.”
Methos took a quick breath as if to say something when Mac jumped in again, “And what the hell was that? I’ve been hit by cars with less damage!” Mac complained.
Methos just started the car and began driving off. He waited for MacLeod to stop ranting before even trying to get a word in. Finally Mac wound down and Methos said, “I don’t know what it was MacLeod. I was in a club looking for Froag last night when I saw this guy.”
MacLeod jumped once more, “You mean the guy that just kicked out butts? And why are you looking for Phineas Froag?”
“Maybe if you would let me finish a sentence, I could explain?” Methos said, exasperated.
“Well by all means, please do go on,” MacLeod said sarcastically.
“Thank you,” Methos said just as sarcastically. “I saw a guy in the club that I recognized from a long time ago. But, there was no quickening. I’m sure it was the same guy, and he recognized me as well, even put my drinks on the house tab.” Methos shot a quick glance at Mac to gauge his reaction, before continuing. “Any way, ever since I left the club, I felt like I was being followed. I never could find the guy, no matter how many times I doubled back or walked in circles. That’s why I called you this morning.”
“So the thing that attacked us wasn’t the guy from the club? Are you sure you were close enough to feel the quickening?” Mac asked.
“No and Yes, respectively.” Methos replied.
“How do you know the guy from the club?” Mac asked.
“He had me crucified in Gaul in 74 AD.” Methos responded.
“Why?”
“He was a Roman General. He wiped out a tribe I had been living with for a decade or so.” Methos said.
“So why single you out for special treatment?”
“I had been leading raids against his troops for a couple of weeks before they got to our village. I never did figure out how they found us- we always escaped away from the direction of the village when we retreated from our raids. I left tails and we were never followed even in the wrong direction, let alone all the way to the village.” Methos shook his head slowly. “Any way, I was thinking of going back tonight…”
“And you wanted me as backup?” Mac asked, incredulously.
“Yeah, fat lot of good you did so far.” Methos teased.
“I didn’t see you get any good strikes in, and you had time- he attacked me first!” Mac complained.
“So, you want to go with me?” Methos asked.
“Well, I haven’t been killed in at least…” Mac looked at his watch, “10 minutes or so. Why not?”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick’s Loft
8:30 p.m. Wednesday
Vachon landed on the roof of the loft and looked in the skylight. He saw Trace, Nick, Natalie, and a Vampire and a mortal that he didn’t know. He was about to jump off the roof and come in the conventional way- since he didn’t know if Tracy knew about Nick being a vamp, and he didn’t know about the other mortal at all- when Nick looked up and gestured for him to enter. “He must have told Tracy. I’m sorry I missed that!” he thought.
Natalie, Tracy and Mulder all started slightly when they heard the skylight open and saw Vachon jump down. Mulder was like a kid in a candy store, seeing all of the X-Files fodder around and for once being able to share it with Scully. “She can’t ‘scientific explanation’ it all away this time!” he thought, somewhat uncharitably. He loved her more than life itself, “but damn! I get tired of being the only one to see it every time!” he thought, remembering all of the supernatural and/or alien phenomena he had witnessed while Scully was unconscious, missing, or just plain looking the wrong way.
“Hey Trace,” Vachon said.
Tracy promptly stood up and hugged him. Then she pulled back and punched him in the arm as hard as she could.
“Ouch! What was that for?” he asked the madwomen who had just assaulted him.
“That’s for not telling me about Nick!” Tracy said, looking fiercely at him.
Natalie and Nick laughed at the ‘little boy caught red-handed’ look. Scully had finally calmed down enough to start breathing again when she caught Nick’s ‘whipped’ comment through the link and started laughing. “Better not let Natalie hear you say that,” she thought to him.
Again, if Nick could have blushed, he would have. As it was, Natalie seemed to pick up on the exchange and elbowed Nick in the ribs, just in case.
Tracy transitioned back to perky and introduced Mulder and Scully to Vachon. Upon hearing the titles, Vachon commented, “How does one of us get into the FBI? Don’t they make you take all kinds of physical tests and such?”
Mulder chuckled at Scully’s sheepish look and answered for her, “She only recently, Ahh… joined your ranks.”
By that time Vachon had detected Knight’s scent on her. He spun around toward him saying, “You brought across an FBI Agent?! What were you thinking?”
Inexplicably, Tracy blushed at the comment and the rest laughed. Vachon was slightly nonplussed at the reaction and Tracy forged ahead, “Nick said we needed to talk, Vachon. So… Talk.”
Vachon told her what LaCroix had told him. Tracy paled and looked at Nick. “The Nightcrawler? Why would he be involved at all, and why is he giving my Boyfriend instructions on my life?” Tracy practically shouted.
Vachon thought “Well that answers one question.” He noticed that she was looking back and forth between Knight, Natalie and himself, trying to figure out why they were all smiling at her.
Tracy suddenly blushed when she realized she had slipped. Before she could protest, Vachon answered her question.
“LaCroix is the oldest vampire in Toronto, Tracy. He was doing Knight a favor by telling me before the choice was forced on you.”
Tracy was overwhelmed with the influx of new information and the seriousness of the situation that she was in. “Why would the oldest vampire in Toronto do me any favors, Nick?”
“Because you’re my partner, Tracy. He knows that I care about you.” Nick told her the rest, “He’s my Father Tracy.”
“Your Father?”
“Father, Maker, Master- how ever you choose to describe it.” Nick said.
Tracy was clearly overwhelmed. “Oh,” she said.
Nick looked at Mulder and said, “Why don’t you four go see our ‘suspect?’ I’ve got the address of the place where he is apparently staying from LaCroix. Nat can drive while you explain the situation to Vachon, and then Tracy and Vachon can talk on the way?”
“Yeah. I’d like to figure out what these guys are.” Mulder said. “Plus,” he thought to himself, “The sooner he trains Scully, the sooner we can be together again.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Raven
9:35 p.m.
“Irony,” was the one word Carter thought of to describe this situation. He was watching the target for Miklos, for when the General was ready to find him; however, it seemed that the target was ready to find the General first. Carter pulled out his phone.
MacLeod and Methos stood in line at the Raven for about 20 minutes when someone opened the door and the Bouncer stuck his head into the club for a moment. When he came back, he immediately opened the rope line and let everyone in front of them in until they themselves got in. Mac noticed that they were the last ones allowed in before the bouncer closed the line again.
Methos and Mac shared a look. “Quite a coincidence,” they both thought as they went to find a table.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
LaCroix’s Office
LaCroix was intrigued. First Miklos informed him of the incident at the airport, and now this man and his companion had come straight to him. He made sure they got in immediately, but winced when he noticed that his incompetent bouncer had been so obvious about it.
LaCroix reviewed the facts, such as he had, “They are both like the one Nicolas and Agent Mulder encountered the other night. They can be killed but they don’t stay dead. Unless you take their head, perhaps?” he thought, remembering Nicolas’ description of the first encounter on Saturday night. “There are at least three of them in the city. At least one of them is as old as I am, perhaps older.”
LaCroix watched them on the CCTV system for a bit, considering his next course of action. He was in no particular hurry. They would not be allowed to leave until he was ready for them to do so. “If that time should come,” he murmured. He thought it might be amusing to allow Nick to approach them in his capacity as a member of ‘Toronto’s Finest’ and see what their reaction was. Eventually he reached for the phone.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick’s Loft
Nick had decided that quick instruction was needed for a variety of reasons. He knew Dana wanted strongly to be with Mulder again- soon. He himself wanted to bring Natalie across and he didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary.
Fortunately there was a way to facilitate the training. Unfortunately it involved a level of intimacy that was rather uncomfortable to consider. He would have to be as intimate with Dana as he was with Natalie. Not physically, but in every other way. He thought Natalie would understand once she came across, but might have a more difficult time from a purely mortal perspective. That Dana might resist such intimacy was also a consideration. He would have to convince her.
Scully watched Nick as he considered her. She didn’t care for the new relationship that she had with this man. He was her master. She had the impression that he didn’t really think of her as a slave, but she could feel the power he wielded over her and, by any other name, she felt like a slave just the same. She tried not to resent him; he had saved her life, after all. It wasn’t his choice that made her what she was, it was hers. She could have gone on, not crossed back over. She thought of Mulder, and realized that whatever she would have to do, it would be worth it.
Nick felt his new fledgling’s turmoil and resolve. He decided that it was foolish to wait, and that it was equally foolish to try and reason and cajole her into what had to be done. He would play the part of master to the hilt, demanding what was necessary, and then releasing her once it was complete. They would always share a bond, but one not nearly as strong as the link between him and his own master. He would train her and then let her go her own way as she chose.
Scully was becoming uncomfortable as Nick continued to stare at her intently. He had closed off their link and she couldn’t feel what he was thinking. Suddenly he seemed to come to a decision.
Nick focused on Dana and spoke, “This is going to be uncomfortably intimate for both of us, but it is the quickest way to cover the basics and significantly reduce the time we will need to accomplish your training,” Nick sighed. He then continued with a tone that bore no argument, “I expect that you will obey me, Dana. You will feel the impulse to resist once the link is initiated. That is normal. I will beat down your resistance and completely possess you. It won’t last long, but it will feel as though it does. The more you’re able to relax and allow it to happen, the easier and quicker it will be.”
Before she could even comment, Nick struck. He had her in his arms and his teeth buried in her throat in less than an eye blink. She felt compelled to bite him as well, so she did. Intimate didn’t begin to describe it. Her instinctive resistance to this… Violation seemed to come the closest… was quashed immediately and she felt herself being erased and replaced with him. S/He was being taught by LaCroix. S/He experienced every agonizing moment- being repeatedly thrown off of a cliff until S/He grasped the concept of flight. Being abandoned in a maze and forced to focus on the link with her/his master and find him where he was hidden.
Then the killing came through. S/He was hunting. Hunting humans, reveling in the blood and death. S/He was a killing machine, draining and destroying wherever she went. S/He gloried in the power of the vampire. Suddenly the guilt began. S/He began to feel the crushing remorse that came from realizing that S/He was a monster, and damned for all eternity. Finally S/He found forgiveness and the chance for redemption.
Scully slowly came to an awareness of herself as a separate entity. She felt the bloodtears dried on her face, and the rawness and hypersensitivity of her flesh. She also felt gnawing hunger as though she hadn’t eaten in days.
As soon as he felt that she wouldn’t collapse, he flew to the fridge and grabbed several bottles. He tore the cork out of one and handed it to her, while biting the cork out of another for himself. After they each finished several bottles he reached through their link and compelled her to follow him. He took off into the air and through the skylight into the night.
Scully didn’t even stop to think but took off after him into the sky. She had been chasing him for several minutes before she realized what she was doing. “Wow!” she thought. The night was nearly as bright as it would be during daylight. Everything was crystal clear, and the colors were intense! She was slightly lost in the intensity of the experience when she heard “Find me” and realized that she no longer saw Nick anywhere near her.
She remembered finding LaCroix this way, “I mean, I remember Nick finding LaCroix…” Either way, she knew what to do. It seemed like only moments later that she came upon Nick hiding in a mausoleum in a graveyard on the outskirts of the city.
“Cliché, I know,” he said. Then he was gone again.
This time she couldn’t hear him calling her. This too, she remembered. She extended her senses, envisioning a cloud around herself that defined her awareness. She pictured that cloud growing larger in all directions. She could hear the heartbeats of the small mammals in the cemetery all around her. She could feel the movement of the trees as the breeze blew through the leaves. She felt the still coldness of the reptiles below the surface, hibernating through the winter months. Finally as she expanded her awareness to the limits of her ability she felt him. He was about 65 meters away from her in a tree. She laughed as she focused her attention toward him. He was hanging by his toes from a branch in a tall oak. “More Cliché, Master?” she thought toward him as hard as she could. She could hear him laughing with her ears, though he managed to keep the link shut to her.
He whispered to her from across the distance, “to the loft.” and then disappeared again.
She laughed again, reveling in the freedom of flight, now that she wasn’t focused on following or finding. “I can’t wait to bring Mulder for a ride!” she thought. She flew back to the loft, filled with excitement and wonder, “Yesterday Vampires were a myth. Something Mulder believed in, but didn’t really exist,” she thought ruefully. “Poor Mulder. I owe him an apology.” She smiled again as she thought of how she would show her repentance, and seek his forgiveness.
She hadn’t even noticed that the link was open again until she felt Nick chuckle and say to her, “You’re not quite ready for that yet, Dana.”
She didn’t miss the ability to blush, she thought, chagrined.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about Dana,” Nick said to her as she re-entered the loft. “You just need to know a couple of things about sex between mortals and vampires.”
She couldn’t meet his gaze as he continued. She felt exactly like she had at age 10 when her mother gave her ‘the birds and the bees’ talk.
“Except this is more like the bats and the bees, I guess,” Nick answered her train of thought. The important thing to remember is that carelessness on your part could lead to his death, Dana. That’s why it is important to wait a bit until your control is even better.”
“I thought you said I had good control now,” she complained.
“You do, Dana. You remember how wonderful it felt when you drank from him last night?” he asked.
Scully nodded.
“It is even more intense when you drink from here,” he said, gesturing toward his throat. “It is closer to the heart and mind, and the imagery, the link, will be deeper, as you discovered with our bloodkiss not an hour ago.”
Scully looked at her watch as though her head was being pulled on a string down toward it. “Has it only been an hour?” she asked, incredulously.
“The kiss only lasted a few minutes,” Nick smiled. “I told you it would seem longer.” He continued, “The point is, you could easily get lost, and Mulder cannot sustain a significant blood loss, like one of us can.”
“Can’t I do it without biting?” Scully asked.
“Technically, yes. However, you cannot personally… well… finish, I guess, without biting. Even if you just try to ‘be there for him’ you will have an almost irresistible urge to bite.” Nick shook his head ruefully, “Dana, I am 800 years old. Even I need to make sure I am well full before Nat and I, well, you know.”
“What if Mulder wants to, you know… come across,” Scully asked softly.
“I would strongly recommend that if the two of you make that choice, you wait a while- like a year or more- or you get someone else to do it.” He continued on over her protest, “Dana, you will have the basics down pretty quickly, but you’re not ready for a childé of you own, you won’t be for a while. You could effect the physical change, any of us could, but it requires a great deal of strength to control a fledgling. That kind of strength takes some time to develop.”
Scully looked crestfallen.
“Dana, even in a year, you would need my help to adequately train a fledgling, especially a strong-willed creature like your partner,” he returned Scully’s smile at that comment. “Frankly, I plan on having my hands full with my wife. If you really want to go that route, I would help you find a suitable master to bring him across. In any case it is hardly a decision that needs to be made tonight.”
At that moment the phone rang.
“Nick Knight,” he answered.
“Nicolas, our friend is back, and he has secured reinforcements.” LaCroix said and then went on to describe the incident at the airport and them showing up at the raven again.
Nick told him he would send Tracy, Vachon, Mulder and Natalie. LaCroix, of course, understood why Nick would not be attending. He inquired as to how the training was going.
“We did it the hard way,” Nick said.
“You always were impatient, Nicolas,” LaCroix said in an indulgent, though slightly disapproving tone. “Bring my granddaughter to me tonight after closing,” he commanded and then hung up the phone.
Scully, of course, heard the entire discussion. “Is there a problem?” she asked, somewhat worried. LaCroix intimidated the hell out of her.
“No. This method is somewhat frowned upon because weaker individuals can be entirely overwhelmed and crack under the pressure. Such creatures are usually destroyed.” Nick answered the look on her face, “I had no concerns of that sort whatsoever with you Dana. You’re anything but weak.”
Scully shut her open mouth with an audible- even to non-vampires- snap.
Nick said, “I’m going to call Nat and tell her what’s up.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Caddie
Natalie closed her cell phone with a snap. “He said that this guy and another guy like him are at the Raven right now.”
“What do you mean ‘like him’?” Mulder asked.
“Nick said the one they had following him had to fight them when he was detected. He killed our target’s partner and seriously damaged our target. Then not two minutes later they walked away like nothing happened.” Natalie answered.
“You’ve never heard of these people before, Vachon?” Tracy asked.
“No. But think about it, they don’t really stand out, you know? The General only recognized the guy we are looking for because he had seen him before. A long time ago. Otherwise he would have never known.” Vachon answered.
“I couldn’t tell anything out of the ordinary when Nick and I fought that guy on the roof, either.” Mulder paused and then gave a dry chuckle, “At least not until he got up after Nick shot him several times. That was a little unusual.” He said wryly.
“Yeah, I guess that would have been strange. Kind of like finding a guy walking around holding his right hand in his left hand,” Tracy said.
Natalie and Vachon laughed, Mulder looked confused.
Vachon explained, “I was on a plane that crashed. I lost my right hand and was looking for it when Tracy found me. I had just found it and picked it up when she told me to put my hands up.” He started laughing when he remembered the look on her face when he did as she asked.
“Not Funny Vachon!” Tracy complained, hitting him on the arm, again.
Mulder laughed as he imagined the scene.
Tracy pouted for a moment, as everyone laughed at her expense. She decided to change the subject, kicking herself for having brought it up in the first place. “Should we go to the Raven?”
Natalie was about to answer yes, when Mulder interrupted her. “How far are we from the apartment where this guy is staying?”
Natalie said, “About 2 blocks. Why?”
“Well,” Mulder began, “If we know this guy is at the Raven, it seems like this might be an excellent opportunity to check out his place, you know- see if any useful information might turn up.”
“We can’t do that, Mulder! It would ruin any case we might…” Tracy began.
“It’s not like you can take this case to court, Trace. Even if this guy is involved in the death you’re investigating. This can’t go to trial any more than a vampire kill could,” Vachon interrupted- rather liking Mulder’s suggestion.
“I don’t like it,” Tracy said.
“Look, it would be rather suspicious for all of us to go. Why don’t I go and you guys can talk about LaCroix’s ultimatum while I check it out.” Mulder said.
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Natalie said.
“If this guy is at the club, there’s no danger, right?” Mulder began, “What’s to worry about? I’ll go in, see if there is anything worth further investigation, and then go out.”
Natalie looked at the others. No one had a better idea to bring up, so she just shrugged and looked for a parking spot.
She was forced to park around the corner and halfway down the next street. Mulder Jumped out of the car and said, “Back in a few,” and then drew his coat tightly about him and briskly walked off.
Natalie watched him in the rear view until he rounded the corner. She turned in her seat and looked at the two in the back. “So... What are you going to do Tracy?”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Outside 3232 Tableau Ave., Apartment C
Jimson had been watching the door to the run-down looking brownstone for almost 2 hours. Pretty soon it would be Sonny’s turn and he could get a nap. “God, I’m tired” he thought. “I wish this freak would show up so we can get this over with!”
He felt his eyelids beginning to droop. As he forced them back open for what must have been the hundredth time, he saw a man in a black trench coat entering the door he had been staring at. Frantically, he looked at his watch, “How long was I… Damn! almost 10 minutes!” he whispered. He looked over at Sonny, who was in the back of the van sawing logs.
“Sonny! Sonny! Wake up!” Jimson shouted softly.
“What?!” Sonny said blinking the sleep out of his eyes. “Is it my turn already? Man! I was having this incredible dream…”
“Shut up, Sonny. He’s here!”
“What? Who’s here?” Sonny was still a little groggy.
“The freak we’ve been waiting for, you idiot! Let’s just grab him and get him to Perone. I want to see him chop this guy’s head off.”
“How do you know it’s the guy?” Sonny asked.
Jimson looked at Sonny like a monkey trying to solve a math problem. “Well, let’s see, He has short hair, a long black trench coat, and… Oh yeah! He’s the only guy who walked into the apartment we have been watching for the last twelve hours! I think that’s what clued me in!”
“Ok, ok! Sheesh! You don’t have to bite my head off.” Sonny whined.
“How did you ever make it into the Watchers?” Jimson asked, incredulous.
“Hey, Fu…” Sonny began.
“Shut Up!” Jimson interrupted, looking back over at the door. “He’s coming back out.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
“Well… that was a waste of time,” Mulder thought. The place was entirely empty except for a mattress and blankets on the floor, and next to it a single wooden chair. “Talk about traveling light.” Mulder mumbled as he pulled his coat tightly around him and walked out into the night. He pulled out his cell phone to call Natalie and let her know he was on his way back. “Just don’t want her to worry” he thought.
As the phone rang he heard the sound of a car starting down the street behind him. He started to turn around when she answered. “Hey Natalie, the place was empty. Yeah, there was a mattress and a chair and that’s it. I’m heading back your…” Mulder never finished the sentence because the car he had heard starting drove right into him on the sidewalk. Blissfully, he was rendered unconscious. Had he remained conscious he would have felt the pain of his broken legs, torn back muscles, and cracked skull.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Sonny yelled at Jimson. “He’s no good to us dead!”
“You really are an idiot, Sonny. He’s immortal remember? This just gives us time to get him secured. Now, get him cuffed and put him in the trunk!”
Sonny scrambled to obey.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
The Caddie
Natalie had been listening to Tracy and Vachon discussing the pros and cons of him bringing her across when the phone rang. She shook her head at the two, as they were dancing around the subject of their feelings for each other. “Are we really all so clueless?” she thought, remembering the tension between herself and Nick, as well as between Mulder and Dana. She listened to Mulder tell her there was nothing there and start to say he was coming back when suddenly she heard the screech of tires through the phone. “Mulder? Mulder, are you still there?” She could still hear sounds through the phone, but Mulder wasn’t answering.
Vachon heard everything through the phone as well. He said, “I’ll go check it out,” and just like that he was gone.
Tracy said, “I hate it when he does that!”
Natalie smiled in response.
Suddenly she heard Vachon’s voice through the phone.
“Natalie- I think somebody hit your friend with a car- his blood is on the ground and his phone was about 15 feet away from the blood, lying in a flowerbed. I saw a car spinning off around the corner- I’m going to follow it. You go to the Raven. I’ll call when I find him.”
Damn. When it rains it pours. Natalie started the car and pulled away from the curb.
“What happened? Where are we going?” Tracy asked.
“Let me call Nick and you can both hear it at the same time.” Natalie replied, hitting the speed dial and pointing the car towards the Raven.
When Nick answered she explained what happened, and where they were going, and that she would call back as soon as she heard from Vachon.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick’s Loft
“Stop right there, Dana.” Nick said as soon as he hung up the phone. “We will wait right here until we hear anything. You’re not ready to go out there right now, especially in your current state of control.”
This was her master speaking with all of the power and authority he could project. Scully sat down abruptly on the couch. She had heard the entire thing and the words ‘hit Mulder with a car’ had her ready to go out and destroy whoever had the temerity to harm her lover. Once Nick made her stop, she began to think rationally again. “Where was I going to go?” She wondered. I don’t even know where they are.
“You and I are going to practice, and you’re going to focus on the task at hand. We cannot do anything until we know where they have taken him.” Nick said sternly. “Now, Find Me!” With that, he disappeared out through the skylight again.
Scully sighed, as she felt that he had closed the link again. She flew up and out, once again trying to expand her senses.
Scully was hovering about 200 feet in the air, trying to focus her newfound senses outward, trying to find her master. “Funny how ‘master’, odious as it is, seems easier than ‘father’,” she thought. Nick called his master ‘father’, and she heard LaCroix refer to her as his granddaughter, but she still found the concept difficult to wrap her mind around. Ahab was her father- no one could ever replace him.
Not to mention she was having difficulty focusing on anything right now. She was terribly worried about Mulder. “Why is this happening to us? How many times can I lose him, when I just found him after 7 years of denial?”
Just then she noticed a shadow flit across the sky in the distance, landing on a building about 1500 meters away. “She couldn’t reach that far with her vampire senses, but her eyes still worked just fine. “Who else could it be?” she thought as she took off toward him.
“Talk about dumb luck” Vachon thought. He was following the car when it pulled in to a warehouse garage, not even a mile from Nick’s loft. He settled on the roof across the alley from where the car pulled in. He could sense about a dozen heartbeats, including one that seemed thready, unhealthy. “Probably Mulder,” he thought. “I feel sorry for those guys if Knight’s childé gets a hold of them.” Actually he didn’t feel sorry for them at all. He pulled out Mulder’s cell phone to call Natalie.
As Scully got closer, she realized that it was Vachon, not Nick. He was talking on a cell phone, though she was just a little too far away to hear what he was saying. Her undead heart beat twice in succession, “Mulder must be in there!” she thought, looking at the warehouse Vachon was focused on. Nick’s admonishment fled her mind as she thought of Mulder injured and hurt in there.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Sam and Sullie’s Auto Parts
Perone was not impressed when Jimson and Sonny showed up claiming to have captured the immortal and opened the trunk to reveal their prize.
Mulder lay groaning in the trunk. He was barely conscious, and wracked with pain. He was also still bleeding steadily from the wound on the back of his head.
Jimson and Sonny pulled him from the trunk and sat him on a chair in front of Perone and the others. “What makes you think that this is the one I sent you to find?” Perone asked disdainfully.
Jimson realized something was wrong when their quarry was still out of it. Sonny forged ahead “We caught him coming out of the apartment you sent us to. We hit him with the car and brought him straight here!” he said excitedly.
“If this is an immortal, why is he still bleeding?” Perone asked in clipped tones. “Get rid of it him, you idiots!”
Scully landed in front of a dirty window and peered in just in time to see a group of men standing around Mulder, who was propped up in a chair. Her heart broke to see him, he looked beat to hell, and she could smell and see his blood covering his face and clothes.
Natalie was on the phone with Vachon when she heard him say “Uh oh!”
“What is it, Vachon?” she asked.
“Knight’s daughter just landed in front of the warehouse.” Vachon answered.
“Where’s Nick?” Natalie asked.
“I don’t know.”
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick was becoming concerned. He had felt his daughter when she thought she had him located, but she had flown the wrong direction. He popped up into the air and began looking for her.
His cell phone rang and he stopped to answer it.
“Nick where the hell are you!?” Natalie practically screamed at him.
“What’s wrong Nat?”
Natalie began speaking rapidly, “Vachon followed them to a warehouse about a mile down the road from you, and he just told me Dana is there now!”
“Damn! She must have seen Vachon, and thought it was me. I’m on my way now.” he said and then closed the phone and took off toward the loft and past it.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nat called Vachon right back. She told him Nick was on the way, so he popped up into the air to look and saw him in the distance. Just then he heard gunfire and then an inhuman scream that sent chills down his spine. It was loud enough that Natalie even heard it over the phone.
“What was that?!” she demanded.
“I think they just killed your friend,” he said, stunned.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Nick felt a wave of despair/anguish/anger/hatred through his link with his daughter at the same time he heard the gunshot and her scream.
“Oh, no!” he cried.
===== X-FILES ===== FOREVER KNIGHT ===== HIGHLANDER =====
Scully stood frozen as she watched one of the men pull a pistol and fire in one smooth motion. It was as if time came to a near-standstill. She saw the bullet impact Mulder’s chest directly over his heart. She saw the weak spray of blood as his heart gave one last contraction and stopped. She waited for a second beat, and when it didn’t come she felt her world end. Suddenly her vision was red, and her throat was raw and bleeding from the scream that tore out of her as if of its own volition.
Her body reacted without any direction from her mind, which was focused on Mulder. The words, “He’s dead, they killed him” reverberated in her mind as her body flung itself through the glass in front of her and began to rend and destroy.
When Nick and Vachon arrived only moments later, it was already over. The only intact bodies in the room were the corpse of Mulder, who was hand and foot cuffed in a chair; and the body Dana was just finishing draining. The others were in various pieces, strewn all over the room. Blood was sprayed all over the room and Dana was completely soaked. There wasn’t a square inch of her that wasn’t saturated in human blood.
Nick hoped she could calm down quickly. He really didn’t want to have to destroy this childé too. He was about to say something to her when his attention was drawn back to Mulder.
Scully returned to herself just as she finished draining Perone. She knew his name; she knew all of their names. She had all of his memories, she remembered Perone instructing the one called Jimson to kill Mulder. “Oh, Mulder!” she thought. She was suddenly aware of Nick and Vachon in the room. She was horrified and embarrassed at what she had done. She was not sorry that these monsters were dead, but she was ashamed that she had done it. She felt her master’s sadness and concern. He wasn’t angry, just disappointed and… “Wondering if he had to destroy her?” Her tears began to flow. “Am I a monster?” She didn’t really care if she lived or died at that moment. Mulder was gone, and her life was over anyway. Just as the overwhelming sorrow threatened to drag her back down into insanity, she heard a loud Gasp.
Mulder’s last memory was one of pain. He had been in intense pain already when the bullet ripped through his heart. His last thought had been worry about Scully. He hoped she would be able to overcome the pain and live. He didn’t think he could be that strong if the positions were reversed, and he just hoped she was stronger than he was. Then blackness… Until now. He gasped and began breathing raggedly.
As he opened his eyes he saw Scully, Nick and Vachon all standing there, gaping at him. He noticed Scully was completely bathed in blood. “My blood?” he wondered. Then he noticed the pile of body parts around him. He remembered the group of men standing around him before they shot him.
“Scully? Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” Mulder asked. He went to stand up and reach for her when he discovered his hands were cuffed behind his back. He took a step towards her and discovered that his feet were similarly cuffed.
When he started to fall, Scully was snapped out of her stupor. She was instantly by his side to catch him.
“Scully, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I let them do this. Please tell me you’re ok, Scully. I was worried about you.”
Scully didn’t even know that she had felt crushed until the weight lifted off of her. Mulder’s death had been like the weight of the entire world focused into a point pressing against her heart. Now that it was gone she felt exultant. She didn’t even realize she was floating in the air until Mulder’s head softly struck the ceiling.
Mulder still didn’t realize they were flying. He was so focused on the eyes of his love before him that the blood she was covered in disappeared from his perception. All he could do was kiss her thoroughly. He ran his tongue over her fangs and she moaned in delight.
Vachon was still gaping at the pair. He was sure that they were about to have sex floating 20 feet in the air above. He began to laugh at their antics. It was either laugh or… “Hell, I don’t even know!” he thought.
Nick was glad to feel Dana’s sanity return with the return of Mulder. That return bothered him though. It was apparent that Mulder was like the others in which they were interested. “And he didn’t know it?” he wondered. This needed to be resolved. He cleared his throat, loudly; reinforcing the gesture through his link with his daughter.
Scully felt the tug and broke off her kiss with Mulder. She looked down and couldn’t restrain a giggle.
Mulder felt a wave of disappointment when she broke the kiss. When he looked down, he gasped again and tried to grab on to Scully, but was, of course, stopped again by the cuffs. “Scully, why are we up here?” he asked.
She grinned at him and said, “I was just really, really happy to see you, Mulder.”
“Can we go down now? I’d really like to get these cuffs off.”
“Sure.”
They slowly floated to the floor and Scully reached around for Mulder’s cuffed hands, tearing the chain apart and bringing them around between him and her. She pulled apart the bracelets on each hand, and then kneeled down and did the same for his ankles.
“Wow… Thanks,” was all Mulder said.
Suddenly the situation came crashing back down on her. Mulder could see it in her eyes when they started darting around at the body parts on the floor. He remembered how he felt when he had witnessed the vamp who attacked Scully burn in the morning sun. Guilty. Not because of pity for the vampire, but because he enjoyed it. He decided that now would be a good time to share that with Scully.
“Did Nick tell you what we did with Freddie?” Mulder asked, derailing Scully’s obviously self-recriminating train of thought.
“Who?” she asked, suddenly confused.
“The one who attacked you…”
“Oh. No, he didn’t.” Scully looked at Nick.
“LaCroix let me stake him to the roof. I watched him writhe in agony for hours. Then the sun came up. That’s when the screaming began. It was like playing a blowtorch over his entire body. It started to smoke and turn black, then flames leapt through his skin, as though he was burning up from the inside. After a while there was nothing left but ash, and I watched that blow away in the breeze.” Mulder’s tone had been flat, emotionless; as he continued she could hear passion rising up in him, “I enjoyed it, Scully. I only wished I could hurt him more, make it last longer. He had attacked you, threatened to take you away from me. He failed, but still, he tried.”
Scully felt compelled to respond, “Mulder, I…”
“Afterwards,” Mulder interrupted her, “the only thing that I felt bad about, was that I didn’t feel bad about it at all.” Mulder locked his gaze on hers, “I don’t feel the urge to do that sort of thing, except when it comes to someone hurting you. I’m not a monster Scully, am I?” Mulder asked.
Scully felt relieved. He understood exactly how she felt. “No Mulder. You’re not a monster. Neither am I.”
Nick broke in at that point. “You need to go take a shower. Both of you,” he said, gesturing at their blood-soaked bodies.
“I know what they are, Nick.” Scully said.
Nick blinked at the segue. “What who are?”
“The guy you fought on the rooftop. Like the one LaCroix showed us at the bar. Like Mulder.” she answered.
“It was in their blood, Nick. They belong to a group called the watchers. They watch ‘Immortals,’ they record their history, their lives, and their battles.” She continued angrily, “some of them do more than watch. Some of them think immortals are an abomination. They hunt them.”
“How is it that Mulder didn’t know he was an immortal?” Nick asked.
“It doesn’t seem to kick in until their first death. Before that, they are just like mortals in every way. I can tell you from experience that Mulder has spent plenty of time in hospitals recovering from beatings, stabbing, and shootings.” Scully shook her head and looked at Mulder, “I have spent so many nights worrying about you dying… If I had known, I would have killed you six years ago.”
“Aw, honey, that’s the nicest thing you have ever said to me,” Mulder laughed.
“What about the lightening show?” Nick asked.
“It’s called a quickening. It’s their life force. When one of them takes another’s head, they receive the quickening that is released, increasing their power. The more heads, the more power they have. They call it ‘The Game.’ In the end, there can be only one. They fight until there is only one left, and that one gets ‘The Prize’ whatever that is. These mooks didn’t know anyway,” Scully said.
“That’s why they cuffed me after they ran me down with the car? They thought I would heal quickly.” He realized that these guys were after the same man they were tailing, but didn’t know what he looked like.
“Anything else we need to know?” Nick asked. “No? Then you two go take a shower. You can keep yourself occupied until 2. Then come to the Raven. We will keep the ‘immortals’ occupied.
“Wait, Nick.” Why do we need to keep them occupied at all? We know what’s going on already. Don’t we?” Scully asked.
“We still don’t know why they are here, and if it is just for this ‘Game’… Well, frankly, as a policeman in this city I don’t particularly like cleaning up after them. They can take it elsewhere.” Nick said.
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