Title: "Felis Domestica"
Author: KimotoCat.
Further notes: See part 1.
o o o
Felis Domestica – part 2"If you come from the future, as you say you do," Mulder said in, what he hoped, was a very confidence inspiring voice. "What can you tell me about our own future? The future of this world?"
"Well, here comes the part, that may interest you personally," Kim said. "As you know, Earth is in a time of change. Things are happening rapidly. And, well, I do not remember the exact time, but I guess about fifty years from now, the Americans launched, erh, will launch their first interstellar spaceship, complete with early type hibernation-cells and all, going to some sun near by, Proxima Centauri or something like that. Only, the ship will not make it there. They will be rounded up by curious Deltans, later known as the Tall Blue Folk."
"Deltans?" Mulder asked. "What's that?"
"Oh, I hardly remember much about them. There are so many creatures out there; beings demanding the right to be recognised as intelligent and sentient beings. Well, they are tall, almost like humans, and quite blue as the sky above us. Back then, they were also considered way beyond human technology. They were actually only a few hundred years beyond, but it seemed impressive enough, when the American vessel suddenly returned to Earth after only some five months, claiming that they had dropped going to Proxima and in stead invited some friends for supper."
Kim took a brake, drinking some more and sheltering her green eyes a bit with her one hand, seeming very tired. Mulder noticed that the tips of her fingers also did not seem quite like human fingers. It almost seemed at if she did not have nails but... claws? Kim looked at Mulder again.
"You know this world; you can probably imagine the reaction as the Deltans landed shortly after, just like the astronauts said they would. And there was no point denying it! They landed in a very big ship and a very public place. Well, turmoil is a mild word. The Indian-American crisis was this close to a nuclear solution at the time, but everybody forgot about pesky little planetary politics and started to look to the stars. Most anyway, some medieval land somewhere eastern nuked the hell out of one of the Deltan ships, only to be repaid by local, Earthly nations. Then peace came, and it was for real this time."
"Real peace," Mulder said with a smile. "I like that. But then what happened?"
"After very few years, Earth had the technology to travel in hyperspace, the travel-method enabling future travel over the vast distances of the galaxy. The rest is, as they say, history. Earth expanded and expanded, wanting little less than it all. American worlds, European worlds, Asian worlds, Chinese worlds and, well, Honshu II was populated by Japanese people, who saw this as an opportunity to revive the former glory of the land. They soon reinstalled the former Emperor, actually a son of the real Imperial Lineage from the Old World, Ashihito VI."
"A descendant of Hirohito?" Mulder asked, trying to keep her going.
"Yes, I think so," Kim answered. "A few hundred years later, Honshu II had established itself in the Galaxy. Even today, well, in my time, important parts for hyper drives, hibernation-cells and many other forms of high-tech hardware come from Honshu II. But the Emperor had become weak, and the people were against him. And so, Torihana Takita, a distant member of the Imperial family, overthrew him and declared himself the new Emperor of Honshu, backed by the people, the army and the government." Kim suddenly gave Mulder a sharp stare. "And that's some 1800 years ago in my home, humh, time, and the Takitas still rule the planet."
"What happened to Earth?" Mulder asked. It was always fascinating to see how far the delusions went. Had she concocted a story about this?
"I don't really know. But your planet wanted a piece of the cake; they wanted to control the colonies. They wanted heavy taxes and to be in charge. I think it was Turon VII who started, telling the Earth's' officials to go away or they would make them go away. More planets followed on this and it ended in chaos. Some people in other worlds still had families on Earth. And it was the mother world of all human kind. In my time we know, that humans actually also come from other planets, but we did not know this back then."
"From other planets?" Mulder asked, suddenly finding that he was fascinated. In spite of her obvious delusions, her story seemed valid, almost as if true.
"Yes, there are nine other worlds, from which humans have spread over the galaxy. There are many theories about how and why, but the species are so close, that humans from one planet can inter-mate with humans from another," Kim explained, still looking very sincere about it all. "But back on Earth, it ended in chaos. The Earth did not want to let go of the colonies, not realising that the colonies had become too powerful to be an adversary. Nuclear havoc and worse, coming from new alien allies, was spread over the entire planet about a thousand years ago. Hrmh, well, before my time, anyway. I guess, some 1700 years into your future. To tell you the truth, it is not known if the planet was destroyed or, hrm, only knocked back to the stone-age. I guess nobody really wants to find out. And there haven't been any signs from the planet ever since."
Mulder swallowed something, but he hesitated to speak. If this was true - which it by all likelihood was not - it was a both fascinating and terrifying story. The agent nodded to Kim to continue.
"I guess that just about raps it up," Kim said, meeting Mulder's hazel eyes with a peculiar glow in her own emerald eyes. "Basically, this is the story of my life so far. Now, do you understand why I asked you to keep your mouth shut and await my story? I mean, if I was to tell you more, such as the things happening on the other planet, I would seem even more out of my mind to you, than I already do."
"I am not saying, that you seem out of your mind, Kim," Mulder answered. "But I admit that it is a bit out of the ordinary."
"A bit?" Kim exclaimed with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Do they train FBI agents to understate things at the FBI-academy?"
"No, it's just, that I am not sure what to say," Mulder said, in accordance with the truth. "It is a bit, well, surprising. I would like to know more about it."
"Well, ask away," Kim smiled. "You made me promise that I would listen to your questions, remember?"
"Yes, well, I was just thinking, that perhaps we should go somewhere else than here," Mulder said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking around in the gloomy bar. "They call it the Sewer and I must say, it sure looks like one to me. We could go somewhere more comfortable and have a more decent meal or a cup of coffee. What do you say?"
"Oh my," Kim smiled, fixing Mulder with her eyes. "I think, I am being asked on a date by a handsome FBI-agent. Nice!"
"Well, a kind of date," Mulder smiled back, getting up from his chair. "Are you coming?"
"Why not."
Kim also got up, once again revealing the tail to be everything but a non-biological appendix. The movements were very real and lifelike. And to be truthful, it would not be the first time, Mulder had seen a human with a tail. It was the first time it was a furry tail though.
Being a gentleman by nature, Fox Mulder opened the door to Kim and showed her out into the alley.
"I am sorry, I can't offer you a car, I am afraid, I was on foot," he explained. "But I could get us a cab?"
"Why not, I am very tired of walking," Kim yawned in a very predatorily gesture. "I've been walking a lot these last few days. I do not have much money, you see. Only the few I've managed to get from selling empty bottles and $10 from some jerk who wanted a tiny kiss on his cheek. Well, I needed the money and I guess it was hardly real prostitution."
"Just a moment then," Mulder said as he took out his cell phone. "I'll get us a cab."
But the number, Fox Mulder dialled on the phone, was not for a cab company. It was for special agent Dana Scully. He hoped that she had returned home by now. He also hoped that she had not already gone to bed.
"Dana Scully," a tired voice sounded in the other end of the line, more than just suggesting that she was at home and that she had gone to bed.
"Good morning, my name is Fox Mulder," Mulder said into the phone, not wanting Kim to notice anything. "I would like to order a cab!"
"What?" Scully exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"
"I would like to order a cab," Mulder continued in a slightly higher voice, as if the line was bad. "For two people."
"Mulder, what's wrong?" Scully inquired. "Cause if there isn't anything wrong and this is a hoax, then something will be wrong."
"We are standing outside 112 Jefferson Road," Mulder continued. "Yes, 112 Jefferson Road, and we would like a cab downtown. There's a nice person, whom I would like to take with me."
"Are you at gunpoint?" Scully asked, now completely awake. "I'll get a car and come as quickly as possible. Jefferson Road, that's not much more than five minutes away from here. Should I call for backup?"
"Look, I need to bring this woman in," Mulder explained as he could see, that Kim had moved a bit away, so that he could speak freely. "I am not sure about her mental state, she is clearly delusional, but she is a biological miracle!"
"A biological miracle?" Scully asked in a stern voice, taken a bit aback by Mulder's eager voice.
"She is feline," Mulder said in a stressed voice. "Please get here and help me to bring her in! She mustn't know until she's in. I am not sure, she wants to."
"Feline?" Scully asked bewildered. "You mean, cat-like?"
"Yes, and delusional, she thinks she is from another planet and from the future, 2700 years ahead of us. Aside from her looks, she definitely needs help!"
"Is she armed?"
"I am not sure, but I have my weapon."
"I'll come as fast as possible. Then we'll see about what to do. Tell her, you've asked a friend to drive in stead of the cabs."
"Right."
Mulder could hear Scully disconnect. He knew very well, what his colleague would be thinking right now. Wondering, and not for the first time, if it was the feline woman or Mulder, who was delusional.
"Did you get a cab, Mulder?" Kim asked as she approached again, shivering slightly in the humid night air. "Garrh, I am freezing. Anyway, where should we go?"
"I tried to get a cab," Mulder answered. "But they did not have a free car for another half hour. So I phoned a friend of mine in stead."
"A friend?" Kim said, suddenly bristling at him.
"A good friend from the bureau," Mulder explained. "You can trust her. I trust her."
"You're not a stranded alien from the future," Kim snarled. "I am!"
"Well, yes, but..."
"Who says, I can trust her? Who says, I can trust you?" Kim asked, taking a few steps back. "You say you phoned the Cab Company and then your friend, but you dialled only once. Is that the basis of trust?"
"Look, okay, I phoned my friend right away," Mulder admitted. "But it's okay. Her name is Dana Scully; she's a doctor and an agent. She's a very fine person."
"A doctor? Oh, you do think, I'm crazy, don't you?"
"No," Mulder said with conviction. "No, I don't. But you must admit that your story is unusual."
"It is, but that does not mean, that I want to end up in a straitjacket," Kim said, now with a distinct spitting tone in her voice and seeming more feline than ever. "If you think, I'm going to come along into some hospital with the nice doctor Scully, then you are wrong!"
"Please just listen," Mulder said, not at all feeling sure, what he was going to say if she listened.
She didn't.
"I've been in and out of nice doctors treatments for years," Kim continued, continuously walking backwards, carefully followed at distance by Mulder. "My father, the Emperor, did not at all like, that I followed my own will."
"Please just relax and give me a minute," Mulder said, stretching out his arm in a friendly gesture, slowly following the feline woman and taking care that the distance between them did not grow much bigger.
"He wanted me to give up the sheerar-side of me! Trying to force me by drugs and treatments!" Kim cried, her voice trembling with anxiety. "Fox Mulder, how would you like parts of your nature forced out of you that way?"
"I wouldn't," he answered. "But if you'll just stay, perhaps I can help you. Really."
Before Kim could answer this, a blue Ford drove into the alley, its headlights bathing Mulder and his counterpart in bright light. The car stopped and Dana Scully jumped out, looking at the two of them.
"Is this your famous doctor?" Kim yelled before anyone else talked.
"Yes, it is Dana Scully," Mulder answered. "Please try to listen to her, just for a moment."
"Heyadnay, no!"
Mulder had taken into account, that the delusional feline woman could be armed. But he had not considered much, how she would be armed. When her hand whipped in under her garments, his hand automatically went for his gun; but before he could get it, she was pointing a gun at him.
That is, it seemed a bit like a gun. A heavy duty model, with a bulky casing and a very unusual design. Besides its basic form and structure, the weapon did not have a nuzzle opening! Either it was a science-fiction toy - or it was not a toy at all!
"If you as much as consider to come near me," Kim spat. "I'll fry you on the spot! Get it?"
"Mulder?" Scully inquired, taking out her gun and quietly training it at the woman.
"Wait," he said, trying to shade his eyes a bit from the strong headlights of the Ford. "Kim, Scully has a gun pointed at you. Put down your weapon."
"Remember, I told you about the way of the warrior?" Kim asked in a muffled tone.
"Yes, now please, put the gun down," Mulder insisted as he very slowly and very carefully moved towards her, his one hand reaching for the weapon.
"The code of Bushido," Kim continued, now visibly trembling. "You know what the worst thing about my fate is?"
"Tell me."
"It's actually not that people do not believe it," she gasped. "It is the fact that they think, I'm crazy! That is really disgusting. Really!"
"I said, I would listen to you," Mulder said, taking another step towards the shaking woman. "But I would very much like you to drop your weapon. Now!" During all this, it occurred to Fox Mulder, that none of the other guests at the Sewer had taken any notice of the events. Obviously, nobody came out now.
"The code of Bushido," Kim said again, snivelling. "The way of the warrior."
"Look, I am willing to listen to you and hear you out," Mulder said. "Really, I am not sure, that what you're telling me could not be true! But I talk much better if there are no weapons involved! Put it down!"
"You know, I can prove it," Kim snivelled. "You can see it on my DNA! Have your precious doctor check that out a little later."
"Later than what?" Mulder asked, taking another step.
"Bushido," Kim answered. "Death before defeat! Asshole!"
Without thinking, Mulder threw himself towards Kim as she turned the strange weapon around, aiming it for her head. The little voice inside his head, yelling about 'if...' forced him not to ignore the weapon. He struggled to get his hands on it before it could be fired, either at her or at him self.
Scully came over and intervened in the fight, helping Mulder to force the spitting and screaming woman down, trying to disarm her.
Suddenly, Mulder's world exploded in an overwhelming, white pain as a sharp, intense noise started next to his left ear. The pain was unbearable and for a moment, consciousness seemed vague and intangible, then it faded away and the white pain was replaced with black silence.
o o o
o o o
"Mulder?"
The concerned voice of Dana Scully came from far away and for a brief moment, Fox Mulder had absolutely no intentions of answering. He felt certain, that any such attempts would only leave him in pain.
"Mulder, talk to me!"
When he finally decided to communicate, more in respect of Dana Scully than for any other reason, it turned out that his answer, not much more than a groan, really did inflict pain somewhere behind his heavy, bloodstained eyelids.
"Are you in any pain?" Scully's voice demanded to know. "Talk to me! Look at me!"
Mulder opened his eyes, regretting this action moments later, as the sharp light penetrated his sore eyes and seemed to trigger a splitting headache. With some effort, he managed to focus on Dana Scully, noticing her relief to see him awake.
"You had me scared there, Mulder," she said with one of her charming smiles. "Now, are you in any pain?"
Mulder tried to get up, but was sternly forced down again by Scully, who insisted that he remained still as they waited for the ambulances.
"Ahww... Mmmm... Ambulances?" Mulder stuttered. "Whah… What happened?"
"Your feline friend was armed," Scully answered. "I do not know what that gun was, but it was not a toy. You took a blast to the left side of your head; I do not think it really hit you. Just after that, she took another shot at herself."
"She dead?" Mulder groaned.
"No, not at all," Scully said. "She missed. I think she was horrified to see that you were down. So I managed to overpower her and get her down. She is over here, cuffed."
"Have you seen her?" Mulder asked.
"I could hardly avoid that," Scully said, casting a sidelong glance towards Kim. "You're right, she is, humh, very feline. Tail, ears, whiskers and claws like a cat. Carnivorous teeth too. I don't know how she's evolved like that."
"She is only half human," Mulder smiled. "And from the future, remember?"
"Well, she is a biological miracle, I'll give you that," Scully said, her worried eyes now reflecting the blue lights from the ambulances approaching. "But apart from that, she was armed with a lethal weapon, I've arrested her and I am going to admit her to hospital for suicidal tendencies."
"What are you going to write in your report?" Mulder asked.
"I don't know," Scully admitted. "But science has an answer for everything, also a biologically unique specimen like this one. I guess that DNA analysis will help us. But here's the ambulance now."
"I feel much better now," Mulder said, rubbing his forehead with his one hand.
"That may be, but I'd like it if you had a medical check at the hospital," Scully answered as she got up. "And anyway, you can't see how you look right now."
"You're really not a very comforting person, you know that?"
Scully smiled, a smile containing both excuse and worry. Then she went over to explain about the situation to the rescuers from the ambulances.
o o o
To be continued…
