SKYLAND MOUNTAIN

7.30 PM

After leaving Skinner's office, Scully drove to Skyland Mountain in search of her partner. She got out the car and shut the door. Scully started shivering at the cold wind always present on the mountain. She also shivered because of the tragic experience of her abduction. Unwilling to go far from her car, Scully yelled, 'Mulder!'

She waited for an answer, hoping he'd heard or had become lost to watching the stars. 'Mulder, where are you?' she tried again. Like the first time, the mountain answered with the sound of a cold wind. Walking back to the car, Scully stopped, experiencing a flashback.

'The ElySmith Project can change the character of the human brain. Individuals associating with clones are affected by time and distance to the alien virus. The temporal and parietal regions of the normal human brain are affected, causing changes in personality and planning. The individual may appear very different to friends and family. I think that's why Mulder walked away. He might not the Mulder we know anymore. His thought processes could be controlled by them.'

'Oh God...' Scully whispered, running to her car.

At the same time Scully stood on top of Skyland Mountain and considered Mulder's fate, Mulder drove with the feeling he had no control over his own actions. Stopping the car, he turned off the engine and opened the door. Unable to recognize this place, his eye's searched his surroundings. Apparently, someone or something had forced him to come to this abandoned warehouse.

Opening the warehouse door, Mulder saw a red light flare brightly for a second in the corner of the room. Then it disappeared. He smelt the odor of cigarettes as he walked inside and closed the door behind him. The end of the cigarette burnt for another second, distinguishing the silhouette of a man from the deep shadows surrounding him. Mulder knew exactly who'd forced him into this meeting.

'Is nice to see you again, Mr. Mulder,' Cancerman said standing in the darkness.

'You cigarette smoking son of a-' he couldn't finish his sentence because of a suddenly pain in the back of his neck.

Mulder saw the young man standing next to him before the world faded to black. The Cigarette Smoking Man walked over to his accomplas. He looked down at the unconscious federal agent and smirked, 'Good job, Mr. Krycek.'

Alex returned, 'he's still too innocent for what he's seen in his life. Pity he doesn't understand a single man cannot fight the future.'

'Get him out of here. I'll have everything prepared,' CSM announced, walking out the warehouse.

FBI HEADQUATERS

9.00 PM

'Project ElySmith - has the capability to control the human action. Infection with this virus makes the individual incapable of independent thought or action and susceptible to the power of suggestion,' Scully read in a loud voice, sitting in Mulder's chair. She stopped as she heard a knock on the door. 'Come in,' she invited, glad of the interruption.

Assistant Director Walter Skinner came in and sat before Scully. Her look questioned him. Razing her famous eyebrows, Skinner cleared his throat before starting, 'I've been informed that...Uhm...' he paused, taking a deep breath and repeating, 'I've been informed Agent Mulder's car crashed…'

'Is he injured?' Scully cut him off, fear encompassing her body.

Skinner nodded sadly and looked at his lap. 'Agent Mulder died at the scene. The car exploded before Mulder could get out.'

Scully shook her head, disbelieving. Rising from the chair, she knocked the trash can over with her feet. Mulder had done the same thing when he became angry once. Mulder's not dead, Scully repeated mentally over again and again. Skinner walked behind her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

'I know this hard to believe. It's been a shock for me too, but we have to face the reality, Agent Scully.' he said soothingly.

She turned around to face Skinner. Her eyes full of tears. In the moment she hated the woman pretending to be Samantha. Cheeks turning red, Scully knew this woman had something to do with the death of her partner.

Unknown Place

Next Morning

Fox Mulder woke up feeling a sharp pain in his chest. He looked around and found himself lying on a metal table in a completely metal room. Attempting escape, Mulder discovered his hands and feet strapped to the table. When he looked at his chest, he saw a long surgical scar. Incapable of keeping his eyes open any longer, he fell into the darkness once again.

DANA SCULLY'S APARTAMENT

8.00 AM

Twelve hours after Skinner told her Mulder died, Dana Scully still didn't believe. She felt a sharp pain in her chest. Unable to believe he could be dead, Scully needed proof before she'd truly believe.

Last night she'd dreamt about him, dreamt of Mulder, her partner, her best friend and secret lover. Maggie came to support her. Even the love of her mother wasn't enough to make Scully walk out the bedroom or eat breakfast. Dana Scully felt completely and utterly lost.

'Dana,' Maggie's voice broke the silence, 'Sweetheart, I know this is hard for you but you must eat,' she said, placing a tray of eggs and bacon on Dana's bed.

'I'm not hungry' she said in a low, indistinct whisper.

Maggie pulled her daughter in her arms and hugged her tightly. 'Dana you must be strong. Fox is watching over you. He'd want you to stay strong.'

She pulled away from her mother embrace. Getting off the bed, she walked to the window and stared out. 'If he wanted me to be strong, he'd ever have left,' her voice broke. The tears gathered, but Scully tried to hide them, her sobs, harder to conceal. 'If he'd stayed with me and wouldn't have been in that car.'

Maggie sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Fox had always been like a son for her. She felt a part of her breaking, just as she felt when Melissa died. Somehow this seemed different, as though she fought for her daughters' sanity. Maggie started to talk but Dana cut her off.

'Don't Mom,' she cried, 'I know you're here, that all you want to do is support me. I need him now. I need Mulder, the FBI's most unwanted,' Scully smiled sadly, remembering their very first meeting. She'd fallen in love with him the moment she looked into his hazel eyes for the first time.

Unknown Location

10.00 PM

Opening his eyes, the pain sharp in his chest, his terror intensified. Mulder knew he needed to see a petite redhead woman before he succumbed to the inevitable. Silently he cried for his partner of four years. Scully completed him, made him feel human once again. She'd cut through the hurt and abandonment he'd suffered after Samantha's abduction.

Memories of Dana Scully smiling, laughing, and loving circled his mind. Mulder needed to escape this terrible place and find his partner. To take her in his arms and to never let her go again. To tell her exactly what he felt for her and what she meant to him.

Mulder didn't want to die here. Not in this cold and lonely place, used as little more than a laboratory specimen, cut and bleeding. No, if he had to die, Mulder wanted it to be after he found the Truth and in his secret lover's arms. Scully, she'd held him in her strong arms every time he'd been hurt or sad. He wanted to die kissing her, touching her, not at the hands of the Cigarette Smoking Man.

I'll fight. I'll do it for her. I can't leave Scully alone, she needs me, and I need her, Mulder thought trying to gain power from his memories of Scully's soft voice and wonderful smile. I will find a way to escape and return to Scully. I have two tasks to complete before I die and neither is finished.