=====o================================================o===== "Rustic Suite" - Gigue (presto) by Mary Ruth Keller (mrkeller@eclipse.net) Disclaimed in Prelude =====o================================================o===== -----o-------------------------------------------o----- Ah, what's more dangerous than this fond affiance! Seems he a dove? his feathers are but borrow'd, For he's disposed as the hateful raven: Is he a lamb? his skin is surely lent him, For he's inclined as is the ravenous wolf. The Second Part of Henry VI -----o-------------------------------------------o----- Circle H Ranch outside Maud, Texas Wednesday, January 22, 1997 9:23 am The timber wolf was trotting around the periphery of his chicken-wire domain, his eyes flicking from the drowsing coyotes to the dirt path leading up from the main road. Proudly, Steven Halberstam watched his Leader, knowing that somehow the animal sensed their approaching prey. It surprised him that the phone call from the local judge had come a day after the tape's mailing, but he was ready. Thanks to the free distribution of more green paper, he knew the local constabulary would refuse to accompany the agents. He had waited for this morning for almost six years. The Fox was coming so he could have his revenge. The black canine stopped, his eyes fixed on the horizon. Halberstam stared as well, but even from his vantage point at the top of the hill, above the enclosure, he could see nothing at first, then a cloud of dust, and finally five police vehicles coming up the road in a line. They were accompanied, apparently, by the Sheriff from Arkansas and his deputies. He lifted his hand radio from his pocket, and he heard three engines turn over behind the barn. His subordinates fanned out, stationing themselves at the entrance to the Ranch. --o-0-o-- Mulder tapped the front windshield. "Looks like a welcoming committee, Sheriff." Scully's green-blue eyes narrowed. "More firepower than we have." One man was passing semiautomatic rifles to the others so Fortner radioed the following cars to a halt. Mulder leaned over, quipping to break the tension, "I think I know how Mister Halberstam feels about the Second Amendment, Scully, and this is Lexington and Concord." The three descended from the cab, Mulder and Scully in their jeans, boots and FBI raid jackets. Fortner approached the armed entrance, nodding as the ranch foreman stepped out to greet him. "Morning, Sheriff." Fortner read the name patch sewn on the man's coveralls. "Morning, Vincent. We're not here looking for trouble, just to serve Justice." The tall man, his skin leathery and brown, took off his broad brimmed felt hat to scratch his grey hair. "Well, Sir, that's where my boss and you have a little disagreement. He'd like me to ask you and your deputies to remain here, while the two FBI agents go up to the cages." Mulder touched his partner's arm. They stepped behind Fortner's truck where he bent over her, his eyes intense. "Scully, I want you to stay here. Halberstam wants me, not you." Shaking her head, she crossed her arms. "No, Mulder, you heard the man. Halberstam wants both of us, not just you. We already know he's not all there, mentally, so if you go alone, he may order his men to shoot, just to get his way." He spun around, running his hand through his hair, but she continued, "We can talk our way out of this, if we appeal to his ego; I've read your profile Byers FAXed us." He looked down at her. "Yeah, Scully, maybe. But, I still don't like it." He sighed. "Let's go." They walked back to where the Sheriff waited. "We'll go in together, you get in the truck, and tell your men to back up some. No one else needs to suffer for his ego trip." Fortner looked from one to the other. "All right, but I can have the Rangers here in a few minutes, if you want." Scully touched her partner's arm. "That might not be a bad idea, Mulder. They're waiting just out of sight until we ask for them." She pointed in the general direction of Halberstam's armed subordinates. "If we can show overwhelming numbers, this situation might be diffused without injuries." Now she gripped his elbow firmly. "Given Halberstam's past, the Rangers have been tracking him since he entered the state. They already suspect him of bribery and public corruption here in Maud. We wouldn't have this warrant if they hadn't issued it, since Judge Lamb threw us out of his office." The partners faced off, he staring fixedly down, she glaring up. Finally, Mulder shook his head, Scully dropped her hand and her gaze, then the pair started up the hill. --o-0-o-- Halberstam watched the agents approach. "Well, Leader, it's almost show time." He grinned at his joke. "Yes, Steven, it is." Starting at the voice, he checked the two faces approaching from the main road. He looked down. A pair of red eyes met his brown ones. "Did you really think those bars would hold me if I didn't want them to?" Halberstam looked over his shoulder at the cage. The magnetic latch on the gate was still firmly engaged, the coyotes waking within. But the great dark beast sat at his feet, gazing up at him unblinkingly. "You're speaking in *his* voice!" Halberstam pointed at the tall agent. "Am I?" The wolf stood and shook himself. "It doesn't really matter, I suppose. Should I use yours?" The timbre switched, and Steven Halberstam heard himself speaking from the demon's mind. "Better? Good. I'd like to thank you for bringing those two right to me. They've been a nuisance for quite some time. But really, it's you who should thank me, you know. I can also help you with *your* problem. You want to remove the black stain of your almost conviction from your soul, which is something I have a good deal of experience with." The beast sat again. "But, you've let your revenge fester so long, I'm afraid it's taken over almost all of it. No matter. Surgery is surgery." The wolf sprang. Halberstam collapsed in the tall grass as four wide paws struck him full in the chest. "No!" The man looked up at the animal on his stomach, and for a moment, his eyes came unfocused until he thought he saw three huge heads on the body in front of him. But there was only one, and a bright pink tongue wiped the wolf's lips from side to side. As Halberstam watched in horror, the demon's head disappeared inside of him, and when it emerged, it was holding a black stone in its teeth. The animal shook the smooth cobble, its dark covering fell away, turning the rock white before his eyes. He heard his own voice in his mind again. The wolf began trotting away, his head held high. --o-0-o-- "Scully! Did you see that! The timber wolf went right through the wire fence like it wasn't there!" The agents were running now, weapons out. They passed the cage full of coyotes, all on their feet and pacing eagerly. Scully, closer to the great beast, fired at it. The first bullet missed, but the second found its target, the animal tumbling down the hill to lie in a heap at the bottom. The partners ran to Halberstam, who was jerking uncontrollably. "He's having convulsions, Mulder!" Scully knelt and reached out to hold his flailing limbs. "Go get help!" Mulder dipped his head once, turning to descend again. Halberstam's spasms stopped suddenly, changing to gasps when he looked up at the face hovering over him, the sun having set Scully's red halo of hair aflame. "Who are you?" His eyes were wide and dilated, but he was conscious. "I'm Special Agent Dana Scully, with the FBI. You've suffered an ictus, Sir. Lie still and Agent Mulder will call for an ambulance." The man was instantly focused. "Mulder is still here?" He shook her arms off, sitting up and swiveling in an effort to spot his target. The tall agent had stopped partway down the hill, waiting by the wire enclosure when he heard the man speak. "Good." Scully, assuming he was still in the throes of his seizure, attempted to calm him, but Halberstam reached in his shirt pocket for a small black control unit. When he pressed a button, the cage gate swung open. "Kill!" he shouted towards the animals. The coyotes had been trained to obey this command exactly, and the pack sprang at Mulder. Scully began running towards them as her partner fell under the snarling teeth. "Mulder!" --o-0-o-- The men at the bottom of the hill all turned when they heard the shots. Now leaderless, the ranch employees hurried away from the snarling and snapping, aware as they were of what their superior had trained the animals to do. The siege over, Fortner barked orders over the car radio, calling first to the waiting Rangers, then to his deputies, who exited their vehicles, rifles ready. The Sheriff had seen the pack descend on the tall agent, but he knew that if either his or Halberstam's men fired, they were likely to hit both Scully and the man he had come to arrest. "Hold your fire!" Hearing him, the deputies lowered their collective weapons. Halberstam's subordinates kept on running, only having orders to keep the rest of the law enforcement agents away until their boss was finished. Fortner knew Mulder's life was in his partner's hands, and he nodded as he saw the red-haired woman heading towards the cage. --o-0-o-- "Mulder!" Scully shouted again, her SIG out and aimed at the closest canine. "Not my beauties!" Halberstam staggered towards her. But Scully was firing relentlessly. She knew where Mulder was, so any animal not immediately on top of him was picked off. The clip empty, she began swinging the metal like a club, shouting in frustration as one of the coyotes sank its teeth in her swollen left wrist, another tearing at the flesh of her right forearm. "Scully!" Mulder found his feet, throwing the last two coyotes off him, as she approached. He had seen one of the animals slinking behind her, and she dropped to her knees, covering her head at his warning. The canine sprang, biting her left arm repeatedly, but she shoved it off, yelling as the teeth found her hand. He grabbed her waist, guiding her back to the cage. There, they could keep the four-footed predators out while she changed clips. "Mulder, he has controls for the magnetic lock!" Once inside, he used their handcuffs to chain the gate shut. "It's okay, Scully, they won't do any good now." --o-0-o-- Halberstam had collapsed again, so, once the agents were inside the enclosure, Fortner ordered his men to fire on the coyotes. When the repeated rounds brought down the last of the animals, the Sheriff felt for them. --o-0-o-- The control unit lying useless beside him, Halberstam was on the ground, jerking and gasping. Mulder heard the command to fire, so crouched lower. But Scully saw only a man in the grip of a heart attack, so she flung herself at the cuffs, while tugging her keys out of her jeans. Her partner reached out to grab her and pull her back down, but she shook him off. He stood, attempting to yank her down by her arms. As she grunted and was thrown back against him, he felt his shoulder burn; they fell to the ground together, Mulder covering his partner with his body. Fortner had watched in horror as the red-haired agent attempted to escape the safety of the enclosure, and now his voice rose over the din, "Cease fire! Cease fire!" The last of the canines was still, leaving Halberstam choking on his lost opportunity. Mulder and Scully pushed themselves to their feet, unlocking the cuffs with shaking hands. Since her arms were as battered as his own, he held her by the waist as they left the enclosure. "You're hit! Where?" She looked herself over, but saw nothing, and shook her head. She tugged on the torn shoulder of his FBI jacket. "They're worse shots than I am." The bullet had passed through his right shoulder, entering at the ball joint and skimming the shoulder blade itself, but had missed any major arteries or muscle groups. He snorted, then grasped her arm. "That's why you didn't see it." For her, the shot had travelled from her right wrist to her elbow, and she had mistaken the source of the blood when she first examined herself. They locked eyes. "We got off lucky, Mulder. I need to check out Halberstam." He released her as Fortner ran up to him. When the two men nodded, the Sheriff gestured for a pair of the deputies to carry their suspect downhill, while the others sought out and arrested those who remained. "Mulder!" He turned as she joined them. "I'm riding with him to the hospital." "So am I, Scully. He may talk and I want to be there." Fortner signaled his assent, then the three descended the slope. --o-0-o-- Maud Sheriff's Headquarters Wednesday, 3:17 pm The door to the Sheriff's inner office flew off its hinges, as the Texas State Police knocked it down, weapons ready, a warrant from the State's Attorney's office sworn out. Special Agents Mulder and Scully followed close behind, grimly determined to make this final arrest. Halberstam had given a full confession on the way to the hospital, so the agents decided to move on the corrupt judge and sheriff before either could destroy evidence of their involvement. The agents and marshals, operating under a Texas State Police warrant, collected the Sheriff's files and notes, ferrying them out to a waiting police van as evidence. Fortner had attempted to persuade Mulder and Scully, prior to the bust, to wait for medical attention and let his subordinates finish with the arrests. But, they outranked him once they crossed state lines and were both on an adrenaline high, so he knew they would stop when their bodies collapsed, not at his suggestions that they seek treatment. He had been dispatched to arrest the judge, whom he and his deputies apprehended in his chambers, while he frantically fed documents into a shredder. The endorphin rush spent, Mulder and Scully were now feeling their injuries. He holstered his weapon, falling in one of the office chairs. Scully's gun thunked on the desk top as she leaned against it in the demolished office, gasping and limp. "You'll need a tetanus shot, Mulder." He regarded her quietly. "So will you. How many?" Tearing the sleeves away, she held up her forearms so he could see the holes in her wrists, arms, and hands. "You?" When he copied her actions, she counted nine bites in all. "Shall we measure the spacings for more evidence, Agent Scully?" Shaking her head, she found she lacked the strength to respond to his grim joke. "Later, Mulder. It's over. We can go home." "Did you see it, Scully? What was that thing, anyway?" Shrugging, she found her legs felt like rubber, and she was sinking to the floor. "It was a wolf, Mulder, a huge black timber wolf, nothing more. I checked the body on the way downhill." He attempted to stand, but found his legs as weak and useless as hers. "There was something white in its mouth when you shot it, did you see it?" She shook her head. "All that was there was the wolf, Mulder. Nothing white. I still don't understand how it got through the cage. The wire was intact enough to protect us when we were inside." She was shaking in her effort to keep some portion of her body upright. Mulder realized they were both shocky and close to exhaustion. He forced himself to crawl to her. "This isn't over. There's something else, I know it." Even these simple motions were an effort, and his stomach recoiled. "Scully? I don't feel so good." She nodded blankly. --o-0-o-- Fortner pulled up to the Sheriff's Office, calling for the FBI agents. One of the marshals informed him they were still in the building, so he waited for them. When they did not emerge, he jogged back to the dark chamber. They were on the floor, their bodies lying in an eerie mirror of the postures he found them in early this morning. Scully was on her back, facing her partner to her right. Mulder was sprawled on his side, his left hand grasping her bloodied right arm. The older man knelt by the tall agent, placing a restraining hand on Mulder's shoulder as he gritted his teeth, struggling to move closer to his partner. "You two just stay here. We'll have you both to a doctor soon." --o-0-o-- Quad-State Hospital Maud, Texas Wednesday, 6:36 pm Dana Scully could hear her partner complaining loudly in the next examining room. Mulder, with his unique sense of gallantry intact, had insisted the doctor look at Scully first. The nurse, Sarah Rivers, smiled at her frown. "Men are always the worst, Agent Scully, you know that." Scully shrugged, having suffered through enough of her partner's tantrums at doctors to regard them with something approaching indifference. "If he's fussing that badly, he'll be fine. I worry when he doesn't." Sarah tore the needle free of its paper seal, and Scully dropped her trousers, wincing as the vaccine was injected in her thigh. As a precaution, they were undergoing the new compressed rabies treatment that would last for the next month or so, unless none of the coyotes was determined to have the virus. After Scully dressed, the nurse touched her shoulder. "Would you like to lie down for a while? Agent Mulder has more bites than you, and the way he not cooperating, he'll be another half an hour or so." Scully shrugged, then settled on the examining bench. There was obviously something else the woman wanted to say, so she waited. Sarah packed the medical supplies away, clearing the counter, then turned to the tiny woman. "We'd all like to thank you and your partner for finally getting Halberstam." Scully was sliding the torn jacket back over her bandaged wrist and arm. "Oh?" Sarah helped Scully with the other sleeve. "He was a real terror in the town. He assumed he was above the law, so he'd beat up on people he didn't like, regardless of age. He ran down a school crossing guard, but he had the Sheriff and the Judge in his back pocket, so we couldn't do anything about it." "That was his pattern back in Tennessee. Agent Mulder was the head analyst on his first trial, but Halberstam bought enough lawyers to get him off. If you have witnesses to the crossing guard's death, between the coyotes in Arkansas and that, you can put him away for good." Scully pushed herself off the paper-covered brown bench. "I'd better go rescue your boss from my partner." Sarah smiled as she followed the Agent into the next room. --o-0-o-- "Mulder! Stop! If you don't let them take care of you, we'll never get out of here. Do you want to spend the rest of your life in Maud?" The nurses headed out of the room as soon as the tall man was distracted. Scully pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "See? You're the new terror of the town." He held himself still. "What?" The medical personnel had succeeded in bandaging his shoulder and several scrapes on his chest from the coyotes, but both of his arms remained untreated. Nodding, she hopped up on the bench beside him. "Halberstam was up to his old tricks, Mulder. He ran down a school guard." The new information kept Mulder motionless. The doctor rolled his eyes, quickly swabbing the holes in his right arm. She sympathized. Even though Mulder sought her out when he wanted help, his paranoid nature drove him to resist assistance when tired or afraid. Scully stared at her swinging feet, raising both eyebrows to keep from smirking. Mulder twisted to face his partner. "Jeez, Scully, maybe we really can nail this guy. Ow!" She shrugged. "If he recovers. He had a major blockage in his cardioid artery. He's probably still in surgery right now, which is where you'll be if you don't keep quiet." While the doctor bandaged his arm, Mulder looked his partner in the eye. "What about you?" Scully held up her left wrist. "I guess you and Mom were right in Miami. I'll need to keep this wrapped for at least a week." She smirked when she saw the Doctor preparing the rabies shot. "I'll be outside, Mulder." He looked over. "Hey, what is that..." Scully rolled her eyes as she left the room. "Ow! I'm not a horse!" She leaned against the wall, watching the nurses laugh silently at his complaints. Sarah pulled her over to a chair. "He's absolutely gorgeous, Agent Scully, but he must drive you up a tree." She lifted one corner of her mouth. "He drives me up whole forests, most of the time." The nurses managed to contain themselves while Mulder limped from the office, rubbing his thigh and grumbling about quacks and charlatans. They waved as he and Scully left. But the auburn-haired agent checked over her shoulder while she waited in the car. The nurses had started hooting again, holding their sides, so she focused her attention on the Ford logo as they drove off. --o-0-o-- Fortner's Family Inn Wednesday, January 22, 1997 11:57 pm Dana Scully shuffled in a circle, trying to stay awake and warm. Her partner, as worn from the day's events as herself, was leaning against the door of the bungalow as he struggled with the lock. She had attempted to autopsy the wolf once they left the hospital. Fortner, however, had firmly insisted Deputy Archer drive them back to the Inn to rest, since he could keep neither of them off their feet in Maud. The Texas State's Attorney bowed to the authority of the FBI by agreeing to let her finish the post mortem examination back in Fordyce the following day. "Why is it all the rooms are full? Fordyce is in the middle of nowhere, Mulder." He jiggled the tumblers with the key, until the door swung inward. "I can't say, Scully. We *are* on something of a main road, I guess." He held his arm out. "After you." She staggered in, a bag over each shoulder. He followed, locking the door behind them. Dropping the luggage by the sofa, Scully sank into the cushions, hearing a grunt as Mulder joined her there. Without lifting his head from the back of the couch, he asked, "Do you want the bathtub first?" "No, I'll be fine here." She pushed him on his thigh. "You go. Then take the bed again. I'm too tired to fight you for it." Growling under his breath, he rose. Scully heard the scratching of wool against polyester. "Mulder! What are you doing?" She lifted her head, both eyes wide. She was suspended in mid-air in her partner's arms, his eyes gleaming as she struggled. "Not tonight, Doctor Scully." He kicked the couch as he walked away from it. "Neither of us needs to develop back spasms on that monstrosity. That bed may look hideous, but at least it's comfortable, so no arguing with the man in charge, hum?" Scully felt the mattress shift as he placed her on it, then gentle tugging on her ankles as he unlaced her boots. She heard two solid thumps as the thick soles hit the floor, and opened her eyes when she felt his hand on her shoulder. "You sure about the bath?" "Yes. Pass me a blanket, would you?" His mouth twitched, but he was too tired to do more than smirk at the verbal opening. When he returned to the bed, he handed her one of the grey covers the proprietor had left on the couch. As she expected, she was rocked from hip to hip as he sank into the other side of the mattress. While he was unlacing his own boots, a thought struck her and she sat up. "Hey, stay put!" He touched her arm. "I didn't carry you over here just to have you run away." She rubbed her eye with the heel of her hand. "No, I was just thinking about changing before I fell completely asleep." She finished after she yawned, "But, that's too much trouble." As she flopped down on her side, setting them both bobbing, he leaned over her. "I'd help?" Focusing one eye on his smirk, Scully unclipped her holster from her belt, waving the sheathed weapon in his face before dropping it on the floor. "I have my gun, Mulder." He pouted. "Spoilsport." Settling on his back, he looked over at her, still concerned. "You'll be warm enough?" She was already asleep, so he pulled his own blanket over him before turning off the light. --o-0-o-- Fox Mulder was walking down a dirt path, pine trees on either side of him. Ahead and to his left, the bright sunlight glinted off a helmet, pushed back on the head of a small man sitting on a rock. The warrior was resting, his spear leaned against a tree, and his shield lying on the grass, but he had not removed his sword from his belt. Instead, it was angled against the ground. The horsehair mane, dyed red, moved as the figure turned around. "Mulder, what are you doing here? This is my dream." His partner rose. He took in her apparel. Over her peplos, she wore a leather cape, fringed with chains. As an owl hooted overhead, he focused on the aegis. Suspended in the center was a face, its wild hair writhing as he watched. While he noticed how much the image resembled a hologram, he also wondered why the eyes were blindfolded. "Scully! Do you always think of yourself as Pallas Athena?" She looked down at herself. "I'd like to, Mulder. Although she was never real, I always wanted to be her when I was a girl." They locked eyes. "She did great things, you know. She invented almost everything useful, and she even beat Ares in a fair fight on the plains outside of Troy." Mulder closed his eyes and swallowed. "If you're Athena, then I'm..." "Hermes." They flew open in surprise. "Hermes? The one with the dorky shoes?" He looked down. Translucent pairs of wings sprouted from his ankles, and unconsciously, he flapped them, gasping as his feet left the ground. "But at least they work." Athena/ Scully grabbed his arm. "Settle down, Delivery Boy, there must be some reason why I'm in your dream, and you're in mine." He huffed. "Delivery Boy! I'll have you know, little-Miss-know-it- all, I am an Immortal Olympian and child of Zeus, just like your armored self!" She eyed him thoughtfully. "My brother, yet not my brother." He looked down at her. "My sister, yet not my sister. Is this what these dreams are all about? Our relationship with each other and how to make sense of ourselves?" Scully/ Pallas shrugged. "Who's to say, Mulder, or should I address the Divine One properly?" He smirked, wagging the Caduceus under her nose. "I believe this belongs to you." As she shook her head, the horsehair swished, and she had to grab the helmet with both hands to keep it from falling. "That was always yours, if you remember. The medical profession just borrowed it." She looked up at his forehead. "But nobody could ever figure out what to do with that cap." He lifted the round short-brimmed hat, that resembled, more than anything else, a bowler, off his head, examining it with distaste. "Ugh. Oh, well. Immortality has its failings. No fashion sense." Now it was her turn to smirk as her eyes travelled down his long form, enjoying the view the short chiton, fastened on one shoulder only, afforded. While grinning, she bent down to retrieve the shield and spear, swinging the long weapon clear of the tree branches. "I wouldn't say so. Great legs, Mulder." He leaned towards her. "Ooh, you coming on to me? I thought Athena was one of the chaste ones." "Mulder!" She shot him a Look. They both jumped when lightning leapt out of her eyes to ignite a nearby oak tree. "Whoa, Scully! I always knew you could kill with that stare." He smirked. "Remember how you did that the next time we get stuck in the woods." Her jaw set, and he backed up, waving his arms. "Just kidding. I don't want another hole in my chest." She tucked her arm through the shield straps, noting the holographic snake circling the inner rim. "Let's go for a walk, Fleetfoot. There's someone we have to meet." He trotted alongside her. "Oh? Who?" She shrugged. "Don't know. This is a dream, so something has to happen." She pointed the spear down the clearing. "Follow the beaten dirt path, Mulder." Grinning, he leaned towards her. "Do we get to link arms and skip?" His partner's only reply was to rest the iron tip on his throat. He raised both hands. "Yeah, right." --o-0-o-- They approached a wooden house, where they could see the bright orange light of a strong controlled blaze burning within. The one-room hut was empty except for a forge and a fireplace, with an opening on the left to the back. A shirtless man was bending over the forge, working a small blade to a fine point. Mulder/ Hermes stood in the opening, pushing the cap back out of his eyes. "Frohike?" Hermes/ Mulder stepped to one side so Scully/ Athena could enter, after she leaned the spear against the house. The short man turned to the door, beaming when he saw the armor- clad figure. "Uoy rof efink wen a gnigrof neeb ev'I! Eno riaf!" He hobbled towards them, holding the weapon that now had a hilt, over his head. Athena/ Scully took it, turning it over in her hands. "Very nice." Mulder/ Hermes recognized the icy tone. "Scully, why is he talking backwards?" Lifting one corner of her mouth, she held her helmet as she looked up at him. "I thought it was something from *your* past, Mulder." She watched him shrug in incomprehension. "Well, then, I'll guess he's Hephaestus." The tall man poked the helmet, and it settled down on her head. "Bless you, Pallas. I didn't think we had to worry about colds as Immortals." Frustrated, she began hopping, waving the knife. "No, no, He-PHAES-tus, He-PHAES-tus!" Her voice echoed in the tight space. "I bless you, I bless you." Hermes/ Mulder smirked at *her* incomprehension. Frohike/ Hephaestus looked from one to the other, finally turning to Scully/ Athena. "Nacluv dnatsrednu dluow eh kniht uoy od?" She turned on the tall man, her eyes blazing. He ducked, losing the cap, but just avoiding the twin beams. "Okay, Scully, okay. We'll have to work on that sense of humor. It must not have been something you invented." He leaned into her face. "I know who Hephaestus is, so calm down. The Greek myths were my favorite stories as a kid." He raised his eyes. "But Hephaestus was married to Aphrodite, and who could that be but..." "Hello, Mulder. Your divine equivalent was quite the lover, if we can believe these old tales." They turned to the door behind Hephaestus/ Frohike, where Phoebe/ Aphrodite leaned sensuously against the back opening, one peplos brooch falling off her shoulder and down her arm. She was clad in the sheerest of wool. The little man practically drooled. "Syug, emityna smaerd ruoy ot em etivni!" Aphrodite/ Phoebe sashayed across the room until she stood in front of Mulder/ Hermes. As Phoebe/ Aphrodite ran her index finger from his chin down his neck and chest, she whispered, "You know, in later sculptures of yourself, the Greeks liked to show you wearing nothing but those wonderful shoes." Hermes'/ Mulder's eyes began to bulge out as if he had been poked with a pin. "I'll bet your little armored partner would just love to see that." The goddesses/ women locked eyes. Shoving the cap back on his head, Mulder/ Hermes yelped, flying out the door before Aphrodite/ Phoebe could grab him. Scully's/ Athena's jaw tightened, and the bolts struck the goddess of Love full in the chest, throwing her across the room. While Frohike/ Hephaestus knelt beside her, Pallas/ Scully smirked. "I can only get away with that in a dream. Gotta go catch my partner before he hurts himself. Bye, bye Phoebe! I know you'll get all the loving care you deserve!" As she looked back over her shoulder, she saw the little man kissing Phoebe/ Aphrodite on the cheek, promising eternal devotion while she squirmed. "Mulder!" She wandered down the path. "Mulder, where are - Mulder!" She shoved her fists against her hips, the gesture clumsily executed given the shield and spear. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" He had flown head-first into an laurel tree, and was lying on the ground, rubbing his crown under the cap. "Where's Phoebe?" She pursed her lips, narrowly missing his nose with the tip of the lance as she laid it down. "Yowch, Scully, take it easy, okay?" He shot her one of his lost child looks. She rolled her eyes, set the other weapons, including the helmet, on the ground, and knelt beside him. Scully/ Pallas lifted the cap off, checked his head, and stopped. "Why am I doing this? You shouldn't need any medical assistance, you're an god, remember?" He squinted. "Yeah, right." Saddened, he looked up. "So I'll never need a kiss to make it better?" She began to frown, but he jumped to his feet, holding the cap over her face. "I'm fine, I'm - Ow, Scully, stop with the heat, okay?" He dropped the hat, shaking his arm. She was standing, glaring still, while he focused on his headgear. It was upside down, wobbling from side to side as twin plumes of smoke rose from the interior. "So there, Mulder, Wisdom and Reason aren't meant to be contained." He picked up the hat, waving it back and forth before placing it carefully on his head. Cautiously, he repeated the question. "Where's Phoebe?" As she picked up her weapons, positioning the helmet on her forehead, Athena/ Scully beamed at him. "I gave her a Look, and her husband is tending her every need." They walked off, Mulder/ Hermes draping an arm around her shoulders. "Glad to have you on my side, Pallas." He stepped in front of her, walking backwards. "Well, where to next, Dorothy?" Holding the helmet again, she looked up at him. "I don't know, Mulder, I think this was the easy part." --o-0-o-- Suddenly, they were standing beside a dark, flat structure, a single opening yawning before them. The low building extended under the forest, so they could not tell how large it actually was. "Looks like a black hole, Scully." She nodded. "This is where we're supposed to be, I guess." They turned as the bushes rustled behind them. An antlered roebuck shot out of the woods. As they exchanged a glance, the deer morphed into a man while it/he ran into the structure. "Help me!" They heard growls and baying back in the woods. Hermes/ Mulder nodded, looking from the woods to the dark opening. "Our old buddy Herne?" Scully/ Athena lifted her eyebrows in affirmation, reaching into the wide belt at her waist. "I know where we are, Mulder." She pointed at the structure with her spear. "We're on Crete, and this is Minos' - " they spoke together, " - labyrinth." She handed him the newly finished knife. He accepted it, frowning. "Okay, Goddess of Wisdom, how do I get out if I go in?" She held up a clear plastic box, breaking off the black tab on one edge. "Use this." Athena/ Scully hooked one finger under the brown ribbon of tape, tying one end off to a nearby bush. "Scully! Where did you get the MJ tape?" She shrugged. "I don't know, Mulder, but this *is* a dream. Here." He took the cassette from her, saluting before he disappeared into the darkness. "Watch my back?" She lifted one corner of her mouth. "Always." She heard his footfalls die away, and soon he had wound around so many turns the tape stopped jerking on the branches of the plant. Scully/ Athena turned to face the baying, which was drawing closer. --o-0-o-- Mulder/ Hermes cursed under his breath as he ran into another wall. "Ow!" He stopped to rub his nose, then bent down to fumble in the darkness for the cassette he had dropped. He continued walking, listening to the plastic gears rattling, and wondering what he would do when the thin strip reached the end of the reel. "Ow!" Another wall. More groping, but all he felt under his fingers was crumbling earth, not a smooth plastic rectangle. When he heard a man's voice cry out for help not too far ahead of him, he looked up. There was a faint light ahead, but in the total darkness, it shown like a beacon. Hermes/ Mulder began running, but found he was flying, truly flying, towards it. When he reached the source of the light, he gasped. The scene before his eyes was a replay of this morning's confrontation. There was a man, Herne, he presumed, lying on the alabaster floor of the maze's central circle. Sitting on the man's chest was a black timber wolf, only when the animal looked over, he could see an evil intelligence behind the gleaming eyes. In his mind, he heard another call for help, looked the supine figure in the face, and recognized - himself. Mulder/ Hermes and Herne/ Mulder locked eyes, and merged. As he stared up in horror at the glistening teeth, he called for the only person he trusted, hoping that in this realm of dreams, she would respond. --o-0-o-- When Athena/ Scully heard her partner's cry, the baying stopped. Running to a nearby olive tree, she hacked off a branch with her sword. She glared at the cut end, still dripping with sap, and it ignited. Scully/ Athena hung the sword back in its loop at her waist and slipped the shield over to her left arm, before she walked into the Labyrinth, holding the torch aloft to follow the brown tape. With one tap, the metal sheath fell over her face. She was surprised at the visibility the eyeslits afforded, and was beginning to enjoy the swish of the horsehair behind her. --o-0-o-- Athena/ Scully wiggled the tape. She could still hear him calling for her, so she quickened her pace. The flickering light reflected off a plastic rectangle. But the shouting was louder still, so she broke into a full run. Ahead, she saw her partner, but he was only the man, not the god. Sitting on his stomach was the same black wolf they had encountered today. "Mulder!" She met his frightened gaze as he blocked the wolf's fangs from his throat with his arms. Frohike's knife lay broken on the stones beside him. "Scully, help me!" Scully/ Athena glared at the canine, who laughed as the lightening reflected off his coat, striking Mulder's arm before entering the ground. Mulder shuddered. "Ow, don't do that!" She realized the animal was part of him, the paws hidden because the wolf's legs extended into her partner's chest and abdomen. "Mulder! He's the Beast in your soul!" The wolf growled, but it was speech. "Indeed, Agent Scully, so I am." The partners locked eyes. They had heard that voice last in Mulder's apartment, and never expected to hear it again, once they read the police report of the Smoking Man's death. Scully confronted the monster for them both. "It's *you*! But you're dead!" The animal curled his lips, running his long pink tongue over his teeth. "Am I? Perhaps, but then again, perhaps not." The wolf stepped out of Mulder. "It really doesn't matter, now that you are both here." Athena/ Scully ran to Mulder's side, swinging the burning branch to cover her. "Are you okay?" Her partner was sitting, patting his chest. "I think so, Scully." He looked up at her. "Glad you could make it." The wolf howled in the corner. "Are you ready for the Truth?" They looked over, and Scully/ Pallas rose, taking a step towards the demon. "And whose Truth might that be?" Mulder stood behind her. The animal with the eyes and voice of a devil laughed at them, prancing back and forth in front of them. "The ones about yourselves. It's time each of you knew what you really think of yourselves, and the other knew too. These god-personae are only the outer shell, the protective coating you use to survive from day to day." One red eye fixed on Pallas/ Scully. "Mister Mulder dropped his oh so easily, but you, Dana Katherine Scully, you are a little tough nut to crack." In an absurd gesture possible only in dreams, it rose up on its hind legs to clap its two front paws together. They heard children laughing, then a boy's voice. "Stay there, Dana, you're too little to chase me yet." A six year old Bill Scully ran into the room with his two year old sister, her oversized head covered in auburn curls, close behind. "Wait for me! Wait for me!" The toddler tripped and fell. As Mulder began to cross the room to the child, she pushed herself back to her feet, gulped twice, and ran after her brother, bloody knees and all. He looked down at his partner, who had turned her back on the sight. After dropping the torch, still burning, at her feet, she had pulled the helmet off, and wrapped her arms around it. She was gasping and gulping just like her two year old self. "Scully?" As he touched her shoulder, she shook her head. "I never want to remember that, ever. Why did he bring it up? Bill was always running away from me." Her eyes glistening, she looked up at him. "Why? Mulder, tell me why?" Deeply saddened, he shrugged. "You never ran away from Sam, did you?" He hung his head. "Sometimes I wanted to, Scully, sometimes I wanted never to have to worry about her, to be free to go wherever I wanted to, whenever I wanted." His voice cracked. "But she was so little, and we didn't have anybody but each other. There were times I wanted her to leave me alone, and I'd hide in the closet, until she would start to weep." He met her gaze. "I could never stand to hear her cry." The wolf had crept towards them during the discussion, and now he spoke from between them. "Good, Fox, I'm proud of you. Share your troubles with both of us before you die. Now if I could only force your partner to do the same. Let's see if hurting you will soften her up, as it did you." He smacked his lips. "I love that name, Fox, even though you can't bear to hear anyone say it except Samantha. Fox! Fox!" The words were spoken in the voice he would never forget, and Scully touched his elbow as he started to gasp in horror. "No, not that, anything but that." The wolf howled again. "Very well, then, as you wish." Sitting, the beast clapped his paws. A twelve year old Mulder wandered in from a corridor, wearing the same bereft and alone expression Scully had seen so many times on her partner's face. "Remember, Fox, the coyotes love to kill little foxes. They take the coyotes' food, so the coyotes kill the kits." Mulder backed away from the wolf, but the beast shouted, "Remember!" The younger Mulder began calling out, the tone of loss all too familiar. "Mom, Dad, where are you? Where's Sam? Mom? Dad? Where is everyone?" As her partner sank to his knees, Scully/ Pallas bent over to grasp his shoulder. "Mulder, what are we seeing here?" He refused to lift his head to meet her gaze, shaking with grief as he reminisced, "I must have passed out when Sam was taken, Scully. I remember waking up later, dazed, wandering through the house, but no one else was there." He had crossed his arms over his stomach, but he gritted his teeth to stare at their tormenter. "Why are you showing us this? Why?" The wolf growled, "You two want to improve your partnership, don't you? You want to learn about each other, to 'share your experiences'? Well, there you are. Work it out for yourselves." He began to leave. But Pallas/ Scully had donned the helmet and blocked his path, holding the torch under his nose. "No! I'm not that little girl! I'm a doctor, a Special Agent with the FBI! I have a job with responsibilities to others!" The animal flanked her, his hackles up. "So, you will not yield? Well, there is worse." The beast grew in size until it was as tall as she, bringing its red eyes level with hers. "Try this." Mulder and Scully/ Pallas saw Dana Scully's body, supine on an operating table, her stomach swollen and distended, tubes coming out of her arms, legs, neck, and abdomen. She heard herself screaming in agony. "No!" Pallas/ Scully dropped the torch, pulled out her sword, and hacked at the wolf, but the blade passed through it, over and over. It laughed again. "Face the Truth, Scully! It's your worst fear, to be helpless, in pain, and out of control!" Mulder dove between them, grabbing the torch and swinging it through the animal. But the beast was unharmed. Enraged and shouting, the tall man climbed to his feet. "No! Don't do this to her! It's my fault, all of it! Let her go!" Scully/ Pallas glared at the animal, but the bolts bounced back into her partner, who dropped to the floor. "Scully, don't do that!" "I have to do something, Mulder!" The wolf danced back and forth through her swinging blade. "You can't call on the power of your father here, Agent Scully. The Thunderer's domain is above, not below. We are in the earth, the province of the dark powers, the hidden things all fear in the night. Your soul will be mine, just as your partner's is!" Mulder pushed himself to his feet, still staggered. "He's right, Scully, stop." He reached up to hold her arms. "We can't fight back. It's over." Pallas/ Scully wrenched free, stamping her feet. "We can't give up, Mulder, we can't! If we give up, he's won!" As the wolf circled them, Mulder held her by her shoulders. "Scully, it's only a dream. We'll wake up, sit on that awful sofa, and talk about it." They heard a growl from behind her and turned. The black beast held a struggling kit fox in its teeth. It shook the little animal, and Scully/ Athena heard whimpers from both the tiny body and her partner, who had fallen to his knees, clutching his chest. They could hear the wolf's thoughts in their heads. Mulder desperately looked to his partner. Scully threw up her hands. "Mulder, what can I do?" The wolf tossed the kit to Mulder, who caught it, cradling it in his arms. The beast continued circling her as the trappings of the goddess began to fade. "Lost without your Father, are you?" The helmet disappeared. "Lost without your Thunderer's gifts?" The sword vanished. "Lost without your reason?" She began backing away. She heard her partner cry out in pain, then call to her in desperation. "Make a leap of faith, Scully!" "But it's only a dream!" He groaned. "Believe, Scully!" She shook the shield, still solid in her hands, and she saw the snake, writhing around the rim. Scully rolled the shield to her partner, who huddled beneath it with his little animal. She taunted the horror. "If you want me, here I am, defenseless!" It howled, "Foolish woman, do you know what you're asking?" She shifted to her right, keeping herself between Mulder and the white fangs. "I know, believe me, I know." She rushed the black beast, and it crouched, preparing to spring. Athena/ Scully danced on her toes, mocking the red eyes and snarling lips. As the growling demon flew through the air, she reached up to her aegis, grasped the blindfold, and pulled it away from the Medusa's eyes. The wolf, his red orbs fixed on Scully's/ Athena's throat, could not avoid the Gorgon's stare, could not turn away, but landed directly on her, knocking the red-haired woman down. Toppling over backwards, she grunted as they hit the alabaster slabs together. She expected growls and slashing teeth, but the wolf was still, and heavier than she thought. She heard her partner call to her in a voice free of suffering, but full of concern, so she shouted, "Don't look, Mulder!" She struggled to cover the eyes of Medusa with her hand as he lifted the weight off her. Once the animal was removed, she pulled the aegis over her head, turning it inside out and flinging it away. Mulder lifted her to her feet and steadied her before they looked down. The great beast had turned to stone, just as they had both believed it would. When he kicked it, it crumpled into a pile of dust. "We're free, Scully, you did it!" She touched his arm. "No, Mulder, *we* did it." She looked around the alabaster circle. "Where's the little fox?" He patted his chest. "Where he's supposed to be. Let's go. The sooner we're out of here, the happier I am." She sniffed. "Hum. I haven't smelled the torch burning before." --o-0-o-- Fortner's Family Inn Thursday, January 23, 1997 3:17 am Mulder and Scully awoke together, pulling themselves upright, gasping for breath. She looked over at him, suddenly aware of where the burning smell came from. "Mulder, your arm! You must have rested it on one of the heating elements for the waterbed." She slid off the mattress; he followed her to the bathroom. Scully reached for his wrist, ripping the sleeve and bandages away with a quick jerk. He winced as ice-cold water hit the burn, but nodded as she instructed him to keep it still while she went for salve and bandages. They were both stunned into silence by the images they had just experienced. Mulder retreated into himself to numbly follow her instructions; Scully fretted over him reflexively. "Oh, Mulder, I'm sorry. I should have used the sofa. I'm sure you had your arm hanging off the bed to give me some room." Equally instinctively, he began reassuring her. "It's okay, Scully." "By the time you're done with me, I'll be as well wrapped as your Mom and I had you in Miami." Finished with her work, she began packing her supplies away. Smirking, he confided to her, "If it makes you feel better, you can hold me on your lap for a while?" Scully shot him a Look. He started to duck, then chuckled, "So it was all a dream. Otherwise, I'd be fried to a crispy crunch right now." She lifted one corner of her mouth at his joke. "Mulder, I don't know if you dreamt what I did, but ..." He took her arm, guiding her back to the sofa. Once in the room, he retrieved the blankets and a pair of pillows from the bed. "Let's find out, shall we?" As they settled down, huddling under the wool covers, they faced each other from opposite corners of the couch. Each was crouching in identical postures, swathed arms resting on their knees. He leaned towards her. "We'll tell each other what happened in the dream, only I'll tell you what you did, and you tell me what I did." "Okay." They organized the images in their minds. "Ready?" "You were walking down a path, lined with pine trees. Hermes was a god of forested spaces, you know." He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Edith Hamilton, I *know*. No commentary, okay?" Smirking at her frown, he rubbed the bandage. "You were sitting on a rock, facing away from me, your armor all around you. You turned and asked me what I was doing in your dream." "You looked at the blindfolded Medusa in the center of the aegis and asked me did I always think of myself as Pallas Athena." She poked the scratching fingers. "Leave it alone, Mulder, it's a second degree-plus burn on top of all those bites." "Okay, *Doctor*." He moved the hand away. "You said she was never real - " He interrupted his words with a whooshing sound, while wiping imaginary sweat off his forehead. " - and told me some of her exploits, that she liked to beat up Ares, etc." Scully stuck her tongue out at him. But then, thought for thought, image for image, they scrolled through their mental experience, until they were together in the center of the labyrinth, smelling the burning torch. Scully eyed her partner. "What does it all mean?" He shrugged. "That we have some type of psychic bond? After all, you cut the monk who was supposed to be me exactly where I did at Oxford." He leered at her. "Or maybe you really *are* Phoebe under all that red hair, and you *remember*." He ducked as she swung her pillow at him. "Mulder! You may have already told me that story on a stakeout or something. Besides, if it were true, then you could tell me what I'm thinking now." She narrowed her eyes. He slid across the couch to lean into her face. "Ooh, Scully, you really *liked* me in that chiton, didn't you? I think the Phoebe idea is sounding better and better." She pursed her lips. "No, Mulder, I was thinking it's too bad Sal's is closed, because I'm hungry." He grinned broadly. "But hungry for what, Doctor Scully?" "Just a turkey sandwich, not your manly charms, partner." He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. "I don't see how I can stand all this abuse." She leaned towards him. "You know you love it." Sulkily, he returned to his corner. "Ha, Ha. What's *your* theory, Scully?" She shrugged. "Unfortunately, it isn't testable, like yours. I think we've been through so much together we're beginning to think alike. We're both educated people, both love the Greek myths, and both chose to take refuge in them in our sleep. We've been sharing our dreams with each other for the better part of a week, so tonight we were both thinking similar thoughts, and expecting meaningful dreams. That's all." He sighed. "I suppose. I'm just glad we don't have to include these in our report to Skinner. He'll be happy enough we caught an actual criminal he won't ask questions about this." He waved his hand at their surroundings. Scully rubbed her eyes. "I guess we should try to sleep a little longer. There's no way we can go interview Halberstam's people about the wolf and the coyotes at this time of morning, and Halberstam himself will be in ICU for several more days to come." Mulder nodded. "I think we have most of what we need for our report already, but I thought you said you wanted to finish the autopsy on the wolf's body?" "I still can't figure out about the tongues, Mulder. I know Halberstam said he had trained the wolf to bite them off, but the smoothness of the surface bothers me. If the animal had extra strong saliva, I suppose that would explain it, but that's the one unknown for me. Still." He ran his hand through his hair, rubbing his neck, wondering whether to press the discussion further, then decided against it. "Yeah." He pointed towards the bed. "Go. I took it the last night we were here. It's your turn." She shook her head. "I'll sleep here, thank you." She waved behind her. "Over there, I have no idea what I'll dream, or what I'll have to fight. It's all yours." "Well, I'm not sleeping there again, Scully. So, good night." He turned off the table lamp behind him. His partner, however, was standing, walking stiffly to her bag. "I think I *will* change. These jeans are beginning to itch." When she returned from the bathroom, his head had dropped onto the back of the sofa, so she knew the rest of the night would pass in meaningless, but restful slumber. After she settled in, she reached behind her to turn off her light, but he had shifted, so she looked over at him. He had pried open one eye to watch her. "Good night, Pallas Athena." She lifted one corner of her mouth. "Good night, Hermes. Great hat." He chuckled. "Right. Good in at least two religions." "By the way, partner, had it been without the tail, that little fox kit would remind me of someone." Her eyes twinkled at his growl. "Don't say it." "I don't have to. 'Night, Mulder," she trilled. She turned off the light, but knowing he was plotting, waited for his next demand. He grinned to himself. "With those telepathic powers you keep claiming you don't have, tell me what I want *now*, Scully." He waggled his eyebrows. She groaned. "Oh, okay. Perhaps this will guide you into Hypnos' care: There once was a agent named Fox, who had never been taught to read clocks. His partner was tired, but Fox, he was wired, and since he had never been trained, he had to talk on until drained, or 'til he could run and be free. He talked and he talked, 'til the moon it had walked down the dark sky to sleep in the sea. But rest, 'No! No!' said he. 'I'll keep up my partner, and theorize to her, because she must put up with me!' His partner was clever, and knew never ever, could Fox stand to listen to Dana sit down and work only with data. So on she did babble and wander and ramble 'Til sleep like an angel did he!" She leaned towards him. "I'm sorry, but Mulder didn't scan." "I noticed that, and for your punishment, I'll recite 'Jabbawocky' backwards." She shuddered because she knew he could. "Good *night*, Mulder!" He chuckled. --o-0-o-- End - Rustic Suite - Gigue