Act II – Peacock Blue

"I can't believe he is back here."

"Why did you bother fishing him out?"

"I couldn't let him die, Claude. You saved his life once too."

"What does he want? He is an American—like you."

"That sounds like an accusation."

"Maybe it is, Mary."

"I thought…Shh! He's waking."

Mulder heard the hushed conversation as if it was through a tunnel. He blinked open his eyes and sucked in a breath. One, he was amazed that he was breathing—he thought he had drowned. Two, the eyes that stared back at him were the most perfect shade of blue—peacock blue—Scully's eyes.

"Scully?"

The woman pulled away. "You have called me that before. I am *not* a 'Scully'." The woman wearing the blue, sparkling dress that hugged every curve, stepped away. A stern, but familiar face swam into view. It was Nazi Skinner.

"What are you doing here?!" He bellowed.

Mulder had to get used to Skinner talking like a German. "I was trying to find you."

"Why?"

Skinner's accent was annoying, but the man was supposed to be a double agent—he had to play the part. Mulder was honest. "I wanted to see *her* again…Mary…Mary Buckley."

The SpyScully pushed the large man aside. "How do you know my name? You didn't before!"

Mulder coughed for a few seconds. "I did some research after the last time. You are Mary Buckley, the OSS agent that disappeared with the Queen Anne in 1939."

"What?!" The woman reared back. "Disappeared? You are making no sense." She turned to the Nazi Skinner. "Claude, you were right. We should have left him to die."

Nazi Skinner/Claude touched Mary's arm. The familiarity of the touch wasn't lost on Mulder. Something wasn't right here. Mulder decided to go for broke. He wasn't acquainted with the 1930-40s culture and that would be obvious soon. If he couldn't make them believe that he came from a different time, they would assume he was a spy and shoot him. Hell, if he was an underground WWII agent, he would shoot him too.

"Wait." Claude spoke quietly. He turned to Mulder. "What else do you know of us?"

Mulder sat up, feeling much better. It was apparent that he managed to get fished out of the water and onto the ghost ship. SpyScully/MaryBuckley was here and the doppleganger of Skinner too. That meant the rest of the characters were here. The first part in his plan was accomplished.

"What do you intend to do with me?"

Claude rose to his full height. Mulder had to admit with the Nazi uniform, it was intimidating. "We think you are an American spy working for the Germans. What do you have to say that would dissuade us from that assessment?"

"Nothing. You saw what I came in with. I assumed you have searched my backpack. What do you want me to say? I'm not a spy for anyone. I just wanted to find the Queen Anne." He turned to the woman. "I wanted to find you…Mary Buckley."

"Why?" Mary looked fierce.

"Because…you were my last chance."

"At what?"

"Love."

Her eyes grew wide. "I hit you after you tried to kiss me."

"I *did* kiss you and yes, you gave me a black eye. But, you trusted me. You helped me. You can't deny that there is something between us."

Claude's face whipped toward the smaller woman. "Mary?..."

"This man is delusional. He nearly drowned. Pay him no mind." She wiped an imaginary fuzz off her formal dress. "Mr…?"

"Mulder."

"Mr. Mulder, as you are aware from before, the Nazis attempted to commandeer this vessel. We have stopped them. You are also aware that this man," she indicated Claude, "is an Allied mole. We cannot have you unconfined on this ship or put you with the other prisoners. Until you show that you are not a violent threat, you will remain here under guard. Do not attempt to leave or we will have you shot. When we dock, I will have the British authorities take custody of you and you can tell your story to them."

"You aren't going to dock at *any* port. I found you a year later—in this same location. You are trapped in time and soon you will wait another year. It has been 6 decades already. WWII is over and the Allies won. Don't you want to break free?"

Both Claude and Mary froze and then looked at each other. Mulder could see them trying to fit the pieces together. Claude spoke. "You will wait here." He took Mary's arm, not too gently, and left the room with her unwilling body in tow.

XXXXXXXX

"I found a breadcrumb!" Frohike was proud and waved his hands. Langley and Byers gathered around. "Mulder's credit card was last used in Key West, Florida to withdraw $600 in cash."

Langley was unsure. "Why would Mulder be in Key West? I thought Mulder hated Florida."

"He hates the humidity, not the state." Byers crowded around the two. "Do you have the note that Dana found?" They handed it to him and he read it again. "I think the key to this thing is some of his last words." He pointed at the page. "Mulder said, 'another time and place'. Don't you get it?"

Frohike shook his head, but Langley caught on. "That ghost ship! The one he thinks had another Scully on it! You don't think…?"

"We are talking Mulder here." Byers was being honest. "He believes six impossible things before breakfast. If he thinks that he has lost the real Scully, he is going to find the other 'Scully'." The Gunmen stared at him. "Wouldn't you?"

"I would try to get the real Scully back." Frohike was unsure of Byers' point.

The straight-laced geek sighed. "Mulder thinks he has already lost her. That…David…proposed last night. We all know Dana's dream is a normal life with children and a white picket fence. Mulder can't give that to her and so in an insane Quixotic way, he is granting her wish. He's left her and now he is in pursuit of the only other woman he could ever love."

"But that isn't the real Dana Scully," Langley said still baffled. "*IF* she even exists, the woman on that ship is a different person—no matter what she looks like."

"I know that," Byers explained, "but Mulder is too grief-stricken to understand. He thinks he has another chance at Dana through the Queen Anne. We have to tell Skinner and Dana that he is headed into the Bermuda Triangle. We need to rescue him yet again."

XXXXXXXX

"You are hurting my arm! Let me go, Claude." Mary was being almost dragged into her room. Once inside Captain Claudius Graber spun her around and pulled her hard against him.

"That man kissed you."

"I also hit him, Claude."

She was starting to be afraid. Mary had met the Nazi several years ago during the rise of the Third Reich. Her mission was to convince him to spy for the OSS and she accomplished that, but it took a large incentive. Mary was his mistress in Germany for a year. She had no complaints with his work as an agent, but the man was cruel in his methods and in bed. When the OSS finally extracted her, she was glad to get away from him. Seeing him again on the Queen Anne was a shock.

He started to unzip her dress and Mary struggled, but she should have known it would be useless. Finally, in frustration, he tore the fabric and pushed her roughly on the bed. She wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face as he unbuttoned his uniform.

"I missed this, Mary. You and I. We had a lot of fun in Berlin. I had a feeling that you might be here, that's why I volunteered to come along." He removed his coat and shirt.

Mary hadn't moved. She wasn't going to help him—it never mattered anyway. Looking at his broad, muscled chest brought back lots of memories. She also knew what was under the rest of that outfit. He was a big man—everywhere—and her small size made it all the more painful. Claude enjoyed hearing her cry out and would hurt her until she did.

"Take off your dress," He commanded. Mary shook her head. "Very well, I'll take it off for you." Claude rushed her, grabbing her wrists and pinning them over her head. "I so enjoyed our little games." More fabric tore and soon her favorite blue dress was in tatters. Her undergarments weren't far behind and she was naked to him.

The Nazi mole stood back up with a cruel grin as his eyes washed greedily over Mary's body. He unfastened his belt and pulled it through the loops. There was no warning as he flipped her over and lashed out with it on her pale rounded bottom. Mary cried out hoping to give him what he wanted so Claude would stop, but he kept whipping until it felt like it was on fire. Her tears stained the pillow and he stopped for a moment, but then she heard his unbutton his pants. She couldn't look, she knew what came next. Mary felt his meaty hands grab her stinging butt and raise it in the air. The bed rocked as Claude braced himself, positioned his large cock then unceremoniously thrust himself inside.

The invasion was as painful as she remembered. He was a large man. He started to move and the intense grunting seemed to have gotten louder over the last few years or maybe it was the echo off the cabin room's walls. A few times, he pulled completely out of her—rubbed his wide glans up and down her slit and then pushed back in. At least some of the pain was starting to subside as Claude found his rhythm.

When he buried himself deep and pushed in as far as he could go, Mary could feel his heavy scrotum pressed against her and his strong hands pulled her close for the maximum penetration. He was bruising her cervix, but even if Claude knew—he wouldn't care. The slapping sound of their bodies mingled with coarse roars as he took his animalistic pleasure. When she stopped screaming, he would slap her butt cheek and begin new a new round of torment so she kept it up. It wasn't hard to pretend she was in pain—she was.

When she knew him in Berlin, the man had incredible stamina and could take her several times a night. Each time came with a new kind of torture and Mary was counting on the fact that they were still in mortal danger from the U-boat for him to cut this short. It pissed her off that despite all the perils they were under, he still found time to indulge his base desires. She had no illusion that this would be the only time. Claude had a cruel and voracious appetite.

Finally, she could feel his speed increasing and the grunting get louder. Even so, he had pounded her for nearly an hour and when he shot his seed into her, she was alarmed by the pulsating of his cock as it pumped and pumped like it would never end. His hoarse cry was punctuated with a squeeze of her bottom and she cried out too. When he was finished (for now), he pulled out and a left wet trail of thick liquid. It was beginning to drip out of her already. She felt him get off the bed, wipe himself with her ruined gown and start to get dressed. Mary collapsed and refused to look at him.

"That was good, Mary. I'm glad we had this time together. I'm going to check in with the others, but I want to question the prisoner further. Come back to the room when you are dressed." Claude finished buttoning his uniform then strode out the door.

XXXXXXXX

Mulder was beginning to doubt his quest. Mary Buckley didn't behave as he thought she would. That Skinner's doppelganger was *way* too familiar with the mirror image of his partner and the woman was more hostile than he remembered. Yeah, it took 3 days before the black eye healed, but that kiss was worth it. Why is the ominous feeling growing instead of easing? He found her. She is the spitting image of Scully. What's the problem?

It was an hour before Mary and Claude came back. Claude was still in his Nazi uniform, but Mary had changed into an elegant tunic with slacks underneath. Mulder got the impression that Skinner's lookalike had a lot to do with her change of clothing and he looked smug—and satisfied.

Despite Claude's change in attitude, Mary was still irritated. "There is someone to see you. She insists!" The vitriol that Mary Buckley exhibited was unexpected, right up until Dana Scully was thrown into the room.

XXXXXXXX

"Scully?" Mulder gasped as he caught his tousled partner. "How did you get here?"

"I guess the same way you did." She glanced behind at the furious woman and brushed herself off. "Mulder? Where is here and who are *they*? Who is that woman and why is Skinner dressed like a Nazi?"

Both Claude and Mary waited for his explanation. Mary was especially peeved as she, no doubt, figured out why Mulder kept calling her a 'Scully'. He was going to have to talk fast if he wanted to save both of their lives. "This is the ghost ship I was on over a year ago. The two behind you are Allied spies and they think that I am a German one. You showing up isn't helping."

"You're welcome, Mulder." Scully was livid. "We came here to rescue you. I see that effort was wasted as you are living out some strange fantasy with a bunch of lookalikes on this weird ship. Last time we came here, this thing was empty—now it's filled with people that look…like me and Skinner. What the hell is going on?"

"It's a long story and you don't have time to…"

"Make time." Claude stepped forward. "Why do you know a woman that looks like Mary? What is she doing on the Queen Anne?"

Mulder realized that he was losing control of everything. "I told you already. This ship disappeared in 1939. The current year is 1999. This woman, is named Dana Scully and she is from the same time that I am. I came on board to find Mary Buckley, but Scully has nothing to do with this. Let her go before she gets trapped here like you."

Claude laughed. "You do not dictate to me. From what I see, you both are spies and if you weren't Americans I would have shot you by now. It is obvious that this…female…was designed to resemble Mary and you were plotting to take her place. You will not succeed."

Mary Buckley put a calming hand on Claude's arm to silence him. She walked to her twin and appraised her. "Your name is 'Scully'?"

The FBI agent looked back. "Yes. Who are you?"

"As your compatriot already knows, I am Mary Buckley and I work for the OSS. I don't know why you look like me, but when I met Mr. Mulder yesterday, he thought I was you. Now I see why. You said you were here to rescue him. Tell me why he needs to be rescued."

Mulder watched as Scully decided what to tell her. She began slowly. "I don't know what 'yesterday' means for you, but Mulder tried to reach the Queen Anne a year ago and we found him face down in the water—near death. He told a fantastic tale of people that resembled his friends and co-workers from some WWII era. Until now, I thought he was delusional. Now, I realize that there is another explanation. No matter what that is, neither Mulder nor I belong here. Send us off in a life boat and let us find our way back to our ship."

Mary was worried. "Your *ship*? There is nothing but a German U-boat out there. The fact that they think the Nazi's have commandeered this vessel, is what is keeping us alive. If they see another boat, they will blow us both out of the water!"

"We chartered a ship to take us here and the captain is threatening to leave. There is a tropical storm out there and it is getting worse."

"Who else is with you?" Claude stepped closer and leaned into Scully. "We know you were not alone. I have men looking for the others now. How many are there?"

Unfortunately, that question was answered when the door opened again and Skinner, Frohike, Langley and Byers were marched in at the point of a luger by an irate British sailor. Mulder wanted to laugh as Claude approached Skinner and looked him in the eye.

"What is this nonsense?"

Skinner stared back confusedly and then noticed Mary. His back and forth glances between the two women, was comical. "Mulder? What is going on?"

Claude grasped his hands behind his back and started to pace. "More Americans? This is quite a detailed plan. Very clever. I had no idea that the United States had the ability to create such clever doppelgangers. For what purpose, I can't even imagine—since I already work for you." He snapped to attention and faced the group. "You will all stay here until I figure out what to do with you. Come, Mary." He took her arm again and they left.

XXXXXXXXX

Once they were alone, Skinner wasted no time in confronting Mulder. They left work, took a plane and chartered this boat to save his rogue agent from trying to take a lover's leap into the Bermuda Triangle and he was sitting safe and sound on a luxury liner playing footsie with a twin of Scully. He didn't know what to think about his mirror image in the Nazi uniform and German accent. That was just downright eerie.

"Mulder? You had better start explaining." Mulder did and Skinner started rubbing his head as his headache grew. "Are you telling me that we are being held prisoner because they think we are WWII spies? Do you know how ridiculous this sounds?"

"You've seen it for yourself. What do you think?"

Skinner shook his head. "I don't know. We came here (at great personal expense) to find you before you did something rash. Now that we have, you are coming back with us so we can get out of this storm. I'll make sense of the rest of this later." The A.D. tried the door, but it was locked. As Skinner searched for something to pick the lock, Byers, Langley and Frohike took Mulder and Scully aside.

"Dude! This is so cool! Everything you said was true. There is another Scully and everything." Langley was having fun.

"That's not Scully." Byers looked at his friend. "Mulder, you know that—right?"

The agent was sheepish. "I'm beginning to realize that. You should have never come after me. When this ship vanishes in 2 hours, all of you are going to be trapped here."

Scully was dejected. "And what did you think would happen to *you*? Mulder, why?"

Skinner broke in. "Scully, do you have a hairpin or something? We need to get out of here before they come back. Ghost ship or not, that gun shoots real bullets."

Scully checked her hair, but she didn't wear hairpins. "Wait, I have a large safety pin! She turned around retrieved it. Skinner figured that it was holding up something delicate. He tried not to think of what it could be and started on the door. There was probably a guard outside and he may come in—guns blazing, but he was ready.

When the lock clicked, he motioned to the others. The sailor had taken both his and Scully's weapon so, he was hoping he could overpower the guard. When Skinner opened the door, no one was there. In fact, the entire corridor was empty. Cautiously, he stepped out and the group followed. If the ex-marine remembered correctly, they were taken towards the bow of the ship and where they boarded was closer to the stern.

"Where is everyone?" Frohike hissed. "I don't want some Nazi springing out at me."

"I don't know," Skinner replied. "Let's take the opportunity to get out of here."

The motley crew nearly tiptoed down the hall and was turning a corner when they heard loud voices coming from in front of them—they sounded angry and German. When they got closer, Mulder moved ahead.

"The ballroom is down there. I bet this is where they are holding the prisoners. Let's go the other way." They turned around, but heard someone yelling after them and saw three men in Nazi uniforms barreling down the hall.