AN:

FB: very short… Like eight pages… O.O

GM: okay I don't really like this chapter. I just don't feel like I made it interesting. There's a reason it's short. Just… ah well at least it shows off Lyre. But we kinda had to show Olivia's emotional state and this was how we ended up deciding to do it… Man I would rather be doing many other Fringe episodes.

I guess we're all kinda busy working in our minds on the four part finale.

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Tuesday, January 24: Fear

"What's the story on this one?" Scully said, looking at the man lying on the hospital bed.

Olivia pursed her lips, fiddling a business card she had just gotten from the taxicab driver. "Greg Lieter, normal boring cardboard cutout office worker went berzerk yesterday, and killed his boss in a fit of crazy rage before falling unconscious and remaining unconscious for sixteen hours."

Walter shivers. "Unnerving."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Looks like he's waking up."

"Amazing timing." Scully observed, not even surprised at convenient timing anymore.

The two women walked into the room, observing the restrained man in front of them.

"Um… why exactly am I restrained?" Greg asked, looking very disoriented.

Scully frowned. Either he was playing the "I remember nothing" card or this was going to be pointless.

"You went crazy." Olivia offered. "Beat your boss senseless."

Greg shook his head. "No. I don't remember that…" He focused. "But I do remember that the office was filled with… creatures… and that there was some kind of demon I had to defend myself from." He laughed. "I must be crazy."

Scully and Olivia raised eyebrows. Not necessarily…

"It's almost as if I was dreaming." He sighed. "That's all I can remember." He turned to his only other visitor, his wife, smiling a sad smile. "Guess I finally lost it huh?"

"Greg…"

Greg convulsed, his entire body racking the bed. The doctor and Walter ran in, attempting to see what was wrong. Greg took in a deep sharp breath, his hair turning white before everyone's eyes. Then he fell down, dead.

There was silence.

"I'll need to examine his body." Walter commented, clapping his hands. "We just got an unexplained death!"

Scully and Olivia sighed. Did he really have to sound so gleeful about it?

"Let's see…" Walter poked the body a bit, grabbing a few needles and instruments for measurement as well. "Dehydrated… severe thyroxine deficit… and high adrenal hormone levels… and…" Walter examined the readings for a few more moments, sneezed, and poked the man's skull. "Cause of death… acute exhaustion. Most intriguing." He checked his watch. "Yes! New record! Quickest posthumous examination ever!" He whirled around, grinning. "Take him to my lab so I can use the special tools on him!"

"The bone saw?" Scully asked.

"Why yes of course what else could I have meant?"
"The lase-"

"I have more than one special tool, miss Scully." Walter clapped his hands. "Shall we continue?"

As they left, Olivia picked up a business card from the hospital.

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Mulder adjusted his coat. It was cold today.

He walked up to the address Scully had given him. He was going to be the one to question Greg's wife, apparently.

He honestly thought his skills were better suited in physically investigating the strange way in which the man died, but hey, interviews always had to be done by someone.

He knocked on the door, flashing his badge as the woman, Jill if he recalled correctly, answered the door. "Oh. You're here to…"

"Yes… Just answer my questions and I'll be out of your hair." In all actuality, Mulder expected to return here several times, since most cases involved a lot of backtracking. He walked into the room, examining everything closely.

The general questions were asked. Had Greg been acting weird? Not really, missed a few phone calls and seemed a bit tired. What was his relationship with his boss? Not excellent, but not murderous. Did she see him at work? No, not really, and he had been working more than normal. Did he go on rampages ever? No, never. It was way out of left field.

Mulder frowned. This wasn't useful. He stood up, looking around with a close eye.

He noticed a few books in a shelf about sleep disorders. "Did Greg suffer from any sleep issues?"

"He used to sleep-walk, but that was treated and he hasn't had an episode in six months. And he wasn't asleep when he went crazy, after all." She reached into a bookshelf and pulled out a leather-bound notebook. "He kept a dream journal, if that's any help."

Mulder picked up the book and flipped through it. There were nightmares, happy dreams, and some stuff he honestly felt embarrassed reading about. He closed the book. "May I use this in the investigation? I'll return it to you once we're done."

"Of course." Jill said, nodding.

Mulder began to walk out. "I'll tell you if we find anything." He said, going against his better judgement and reading the journal some more.

The rather disturbing psyche of a boring office worker was… interesting to say the least.

He had a strange fascination with pie…

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...Lampkin ate a slice of pie as the Cardassian standing in front of him gave his little speech. They were inside Deep Space Nine, sitting at a table within Garek's shop. Once again, a tailor.

It was amazing how few people remembered who he was.

"...and people like them would have a very specific goal in mind..."

Lampkin raised an eyebrow. "Really? Do tell."

Garek smiled, pretending like he was making a new Presidential Cloak for Lampkin. "They are a group that is mostly religious in nature, serving their nameless God. Though unlike the God of the humans, this God is a vengeful beast obsessed with purity of humanity…"

"Yes we know this…"

"And they are planning an insurrection to purify themselves completely. What they don't realize is that the natural foregone conclusion of their actions is self-defeating. They will become a savage group, eventually focusing their hatred on themselves. And what a hatred it is…"

"Surely unnatural."

"Almost assuredly. Then again, in this new day and age, what isn't unnatural? The Force… Magic…" Garek turned to look deep into Lampkin's eyes. "Gods…"

Lampkin raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"They serve their God, who is most assuredly an actual being of some kind. The influence is too strong, too guided to be simply dismissed. They are serving something. Their minds strive to fulfill one goal.."

"What is it?" Lampkin asked.

"Desolation." Garek said, momentarily stopping his "work." "Xenophobia is just the preparation for something greater. More sinister. Anger like that won't simply stop, it must continue."

Lampkin finished his pie, sitting back into a thoughtful position. "What do you suppose this "God" is?"

Garek simply smiled, knowingly. "How would I know? I'm just a simple tailor." He turned his back to Lampkin. "But given what we do know. If I was you…" He turned around, all jovial features on his face glaring deep into Lampkin's soul. "I would be very, very afraid. And I would take the threat very, very seriously."

A grin appeared on Garek's face. "Now, here's your order!" He said, giving the President a cloak that he had finished days ago.

Lampkin took the cloak, nodding. "It has been an interesting morning, mister Garek."

"I try my best to make life more interesting." Garek said, smirking. "Now on your way."

Lampkin turned to leave.

"Oh, and if you don't mind, put that hat back unless you plan on paying for it."

Lampkin's eyes widened as he removed a hat from his cloak, setting it back on the shelf. He quickly left the little tailor shop.

Garek was a little too smart for Lampkin's liking.

The Cardassian smiled as the President left, which was quickly replaced by a frown.

He had to get back to "work."

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"Come, Peter, let us investigate a body!"

"Walter…"

"Mister Leiter here must be examined!" Walter took out a laser cutter.

"WOAH! woah! woah!" Peter said, grabbing Walter's wrist. "Can we just not… cut him open?"

"Hrm?" Walter said, blinking. "Whatever do you mean?"

"We can examine him and discover any oddities by first examining the outside!"

"Oh right. Mustn't forget important parts of the process."

Lyre's voice sighed from a nearby speaker. "Oh. Good. Gravy. You two. The crazy and the sane. This is so stereotypical."

"What?"

"STEREOTYPICAL!" Lyre said, before playing the sound effect of a stereo and a harp tone.

Peter groaned. "Lyre, can you not play comedic sound effects and see if you can do any research into Leiter?"

"Done aaaaand done already. I know Leiter inside and out. I know what he ate for breakfast yesterday (turkey breakfast burrito) and when he brushes his teeth (7:23 on the dot daily) and how the cardboard office worker liked his staples (at a precise 45° angle, though anything from 42 to 48 was acceptable)."

Peter blinked. "Well… that's certainly thorough."

"I've got all the information. I just don't know what's important and what's not. Your job, bearded one, is to tell me what parts to scrutinize."

"Yeah Lyre we get it…" Peter muttered.

"EUREKA!" Walter yelled, examining the body's neck.

"What is it?"

"I have discovered surgical scars!" Walter said, shoving Peter's face a few inches closer to the body than he would have liked. "See the scarring on the back of the neck? Something was inserted through here…"

Walter produced a very very tiny pair of scissors. "Laser-guided scissors, don't fail me now…" And with that, the old man went to work on the neck.

"Can I remove my face from the proximity of the body now, Walter?"

"Of course of course…" Walter said, involved in his work.

Mulder walked in, holding the dream journal, apparently absorbed in the tales of a man's subconscious.

"Anything interesting?" Peter asked the agent.

Mulder nodded. "Lieter had been having nightmares about demons for a long time. Then, exactly six months ago, they just stopped. Everything. The journal is largely empty after that. Though of course there are the day-to-day musings of a secluded office worker…"

"Nightmares…" Peter said, scratching his beard. He hadn't really had any nightmares throughout his entire childhood. They were still rare occurrences, though he suspected most of them were caused by weird stuff he got involved with since he moved to Fringe. (Or Fringe-X?)

He took the book from Mulder and began to flip through it. Images of gnarled beings, horned monstrosities, and descriptions of the most gruesome kind greeted him. Then they quickly stopped, revealing the psyche of a normal man. (even if that normal psyche was a bit of an uncomfortable read.)

Peter pondered this.

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"What's the story on this one?" Olivia said.

"Woman deliberately rammed her car into a man on a motorcycle." Scully responded, investigating the body. "Cyclist died upon impact. However… the woman died minutes later with her hair going white and seemingly dying of exhaustion…"

Olivia checked the body. Sure enough, the hair was blanched. "And now we have two murders."

"It's almost always that way isn't it?" Scully said, frowning. "Why can't we just have a case where the enemy isn't a serial killer? Why does everything have to kill multiple people? Why is everything so… deadly?"

"It's worse in Australia, from what I hear."

Scully let a smile form on her face. "Of course…" Scully stood up, observing the rest of the scene. The wreck had been largely cleaned up at this point, she was just standing next to the ambulance on the median. Cars sped by, doing their best not to give attention to the death sitting on the road next to them. A piece of the motorcycle was still in the road, reflecting lights into Scully's face.

A man walked up to them. "I… I'm sorry." He said, walking up to the woman. "I was on the phone with her.. Just an hour ago…"

"Oh? What was going on?"

"She was screaming something about a monster…"

Olivia nodded. "Of course. The cases are linked."

The two women ignored the man's bewildered look. They simply nodded to each other knowingly. Olivia's phone rang.

"Hey Olivia?" Peter said, using the Walter-is-being-crazy-and-I-need-to-tread-carefully voice. "We discovered a computer chip embedded in Lieter's brain stem."

"Oh?" Olivia said, stooping down to look at a the white-haired body. Sure enough, there was a surgical mark on the back of her neck. "The new body has a surgical mark…"

"Of course. The chip itself is an electronic device used to regulate sleep. So…"

Olivia stared at the white hair. "It helps them sleep, but gives them waking nightmares."

Scully shuddered as Olivia said this. Living nightmares.

Normal people shouldn't have to experience our lives…

"So our next step…"

"...is to find out where the chips are made!" Lyre's voice yelled. "No fear, investigative ones, I shall find out!"

"How?" Olivia questioned.

"By visiting a friend of yours…"

"You can't physically go anywhere."

"Ah blonde psychic, I don't have to physically be there…"

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Olivia's phone rang. It was Sam Weiss.

"Um… Hello Sam-"

"Have you been getting the business cards?"

Olivia frowned slightly. "Of course…"

"Good. Now circle the a letter in every name on every business card, both first and last names."

Olivia blinked. "Why?"

"Just do it. This is part of therapy."

Charlie… Olivia nodded. "Okay." She circled the letters.

"Now arrange those letters in a line."

N.

"Okay…" Olivia said, looking at the nonsense.

"Now. Look into that string of letters and find a message."

Olivia blinked. "It's nonsense-"

"You think that now." Sam said. "But later, you will find a message in it. Just the one you need to hear."

"It's a piece of paper Sam…"

"It is what you make of it." Sam said before hanging up.

Olivia sighed, slumping. Sam was supposed to be helping her. While she had been giving him the benefit of the doubt (he had helped her get over her injury) but how could a random string of letters help her in any way?

She had just shot a lookalike of her best friend!

She had been living with a lookalike of her best friend for weeks!

Her best friend was DEAD!

How could a message she found in a string of letters help her at all?

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In Massive Dynamic, Nina sharp sat at her desk, looking at her computer. Checking messages. Looking through basic reports.

A message overtook her screen:

WHAT IS THE LN 24 CHIP?

Nina blinked. Who was-

HERE'S A CAT GIF AS A GIFT.

Nina sighed as the second message came up. This AI. While obviously an amazing feat of engineering, it had quite the personality subroutine. She had spent hours wondering where on earth the Fringe (Fringe-X?) team had gotten it. It was far more advanced than anything she'd ever seen.

She quickly typed back.

Before we do any business I must know what to call you.

YOU MAY CALL ME Y.

I suppose you think that's funny?

IT IS, MASSIVE RED ONE. NOW WHAT IS THE LN 24 CHIP?

Nina sighed at the "massive red one" remark. She quickly brought up the file on the LN 24 chip (on her protected computer, the one she believed "Y" couldn't access.)

I'M BORED AND WAITING.

Be patient. The LN 24 Chip is a chip developed by independent researcher Doctor Laxmeesh Nayak. We've been tracking him for years, trying to recruit him, but he never accepts. The chip's purpose is a BCI (Bio-Chip Interface) that generates a wireless transmission, connecting the brain of the user to a remote computer. In the case of LN 24 this computer is used to monitor sleep and induce deeper sleep states when needed.

THANK YOU. I SHALL NOW LEAVE YOU TO WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE DOING, REDHEADED CAPITAN.

Nina sighed, wondering what the heck they should do to deal with this AI. The retaliatory virus had only stopped it momentarily, and she was positive the blackout from a few days ago was due to another attack on it. The advanced firewalls were keeping it out, but she knew if it decided to go at them for a few weeks they would fall.

They needed to make new ones…

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N.

YOURE GONNA BE FINE.

Olivia stared at what she had written down in utter disbelief.

How…?

How had she…?

She must have something going for her if she could find that in there.

But… Fine? Really? Fine?

How could she be fine?

She looked around the lab. Walter and Astrid were having their usual banter, with Peter trying very hard not to get involved. Mulder and Scully were having their own playful flirting-ribbing banter. Lyre's voice kept yelling at all of them to eat more pie (or something like that.)

Olivia smiled.

She had friends.

She really was going to be fine.

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Night was falling.

And Lyre was giddy.

He had found the patients with the chips in their minds. All he did was send out a basic signal until the already existing chips reacted, and then send out a ping to locate the other chips. He sent part of himself into the minds, waiting for any sign of outside chip activation.

He discovered it in the mind of an aircraft pilot.

Ho boy. That boded well.

Lyre entered the mind of the pilot, watching as the world slowly distorted from a casual day flying an airplane to a horrid nightmare. The co-pilot's face seemed to melt away into a blank, soulless shape. The pilot began to panic, and the plane took a nosedive, pointing directly at an ocean liner.

Lyre quickly traced the signal, finding the "dream computer" and discovered another man hooked up to it. Doctor Nayak. Lyre entered his mind, discovering a world of bliss. Rainbows everywhere, a rush of hormones, and powerful urges.

This man is sucking the dreams off of people… Lyre realized.

Lyre quickly hacked into the "dream computer" and reversed the settings. He re-entered Nayak's mind, which was now a very different place. Horror was everywhere. The mind seemed to be breaking all around him. Lyre got out of there quickly.

Within five minutes Nayak's hair had turned white, his own invention turning against him.

Lyre sent the report to Fringe within five seconds.

And with that, the case was wrapped.

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AN:

GM: I just… didn't enjoy writing this one. I wasn't into it. So. Uh. Yeah. Luckily enough it wasn't THAT important to plot. (except the part with Garek, which I literally just added in because I needed something interesting to write.)

I apologize for this short chapter. ^^" Also I apologize for not including the explanation or investigation sections of this that were in the Fringe episode. Yeah. ^^"

Rewriting episodes can be annoying. This is an example of it going… eh. (now Fallout was an example of it going pretty well, as was Evolution.)

BUT to make up for it, next episode will be: REMNANT.

Featuring the RETURN OF SPOOKY! :D

*SPOOKY METEOR IMPACT*