Sanctuary
Athens, Greece
11:37 PM

It was already late by the time they left Taurus's temple. Mulder was completely blown away – more than he ever thought possible in his entire life. And that said a lot, considering he dealt with the bizarre on a daily basis. But this… this was something else. It felt like he'd stepped into a comic book or a movie.

After Mu had dropped them off at Capricorn's temple, Shura escorted him to a smaller house behind it and didn't leave until he was sure Mulder had everything he needed – and, to Mulder's mild annoyance, that "Agent Scully is properly settled in."

Once Shura left, Mulder lay down on the comfortable couch. He wasn't tired. Even if he had been, his mind was too busy trying to process everything to even think about sleep. All of it was just... too much. He didn't even know how to define it.

Like the telekinesis thing. The guys had insisted so much that Mu eventually gave in and moved a serving tray from the kitchen of the Taurus temple to where they were sitting – without touching it. The poor guy looked so uncomfortable. It was clear he hated being the center of attention. And even though he'd already used what they called "teleportation" several times since their arrival, seeing him move objects effortlessly was... jarring.

Almost as jarring as the young man named Aphrodite. He was, without a doubt, the most striking of them all – in that pure, almost unreal sense of beauty. But the stories Camus had told painted a very different picture. It was hard to reconcile them with this angelic-looking figure who didn't even seem to belong to this world. Could someone that lovely truly be as lethal as the Aquarius Knight claimed? And the way Camus talked about it – so casually, like discussing the weather.

"Mulder?"

Scully appeared in the small sitting room, settling into the space between his feet and the armrest.

"Have you been here long?"

"No more than half an hour. Sleep well?" He nearly laughed when he saw her hair was a complete mess, and her eyes were still heavy with sleep.

"Slept too much, honestly. I don't think I've slept like that since sophomore year in college..."

"Freshman year was easy, huh?" Mulder teased.

She made a face in reply.

"Hungry? I can fix you some tea and toast, if you want…"

Scully raised an eyebrow at his sudden helpfulness. She remembered her talk with Shaka and smiled. It was definitely easier to forgive their earlier almost-argument when he acted like this.

Mulder didn't wait for her reply. He stood and went to the small kitchen. As he set the water to boil, he started sharing his latest thoughts with her.

"Scully… I met three more of the Golden Saints today."

"Yeah?" she asked, snuggling under the folded blanket on the couch.

"Yeah. One of them is called 'Deathmask.' Can you believe that?"

"Deathmask? Wow, what a name…"

"Obviously that's not his real name, and honestly, I couldn't ask. He's the Golden Saint of Cancer, how about that." Mulder came back with a plate of toast. "Another one I met is Aldebaran, Golden Saint of Taurus. He's Brazilian. You won't believe it when you see him – probably the strongest man I've ever laid eyes on. And he can't be more than half our age…"

"Your age, Mulder. I'm younger than you, thank you very much."

"Fine, my age." He corrected himself. "And finally… Aphrodite."

"Aphrodite. Is she an Amazon?"

"An Amazon?"

"Yeah. Female Knight. Aphrodite is a woman's name, isn't it?"

"Scully… it's a he. The Golden Saint of Pisces."

"…"

"I'm serious, it's a guy. And I won't say anything else – just wait till you meet him and see for yourself."

"Why?"

"Well… I just don't want you to think that I…" Mulder hesitated. He wasn't sure how to phrase it. "He's just… absurdly beautiful," he finished, completely flushed.

"Mulder?"

"What?"

"Did you blush because you think a man is handsome?"

Mulder got up to check the tea, the water now boiling. Scully chuckled. When he returned, she tried to stop laughing to spare his dignity – but failed.

"Scully, once you see him, you'll understand. He doesn't even look like he belongs to this world."

"No one here looks like they belong to this world, Mulder…"

Mulder shook his head, recalling Mu and his telekinesis again.

"Scully?"

"Mm?" She looked up, munching enthusiastically on the toast.

"Mu has more powers beyond the teleporting thing…"

Scully raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Mulder continued.

"Telekinesis, Scully."

She nearly burned her mouth on the tea. Shifting to sit up straighter, she looked at him – telekinesis?

"Yeah, I was pretty shocked too. It's nothing like those poltergeist cases we've investigated. He does it effortlessly. No preparation. No focus. He just… does it. It's insane…"

"Wow… I mean, teleportation was already insane, but that... I'd love to see it," she said, more to herself than to him.

"Thing is, I don't think he likes showing off."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because he looked really embarrassed when they made him do that trick…"

"Mu must be really shy. He seems so young…" Scully mused aloud, not noticing how Mulder bristled at the soft expression on her face as she spoke of the Aries Knight.

"These knights are all really young, Scully. Way too young. Mu might not even be half your–"

"Mulder!" she snapped, glaring at him. "Don't start. Seriously. You're acting like I'm about to throw myself at one of these guys any second now. Knock it off."

She stood up and headed for the bedroom. Mulder wanted to punch himself. And this wasn't the first time he'd earned that feeling lately.

Just before she went in, Scully turned back with a strange little smile.

"You know what? I'm surrounded by some ridiculously attractive young men. If I did want to have a little fun, that wouldn't be your business, would it? I'm a free woman, remember? Good night."

And with that, she disappeared into the room. Mulder couldn't believe it. Was she seriously considering hooking up with one of those boys? Or did she just say that to remind him what an idiot he was being?

Out on the Capricorn temple steps, Shura sat under the night sky alongside Aphrodite, who'd decided to pause for a few moments before heading up to his own temple. Both could feel the agitation in the federal agent's energy – and Shura knew exactly what was going on.

"That guy's hopeless," he muttered.

"Seems like the jealous type," Aphrodite commented, brushing the dust off his robes as he stood.

"Worse than that. He's jealous and clueless. Totally in love with the redhead, but can't bring himself to tell her."

"Sounds like someone I know…" Aphrodite smiled.

"Yeah… it really does."

"Well, I'm off. I wasn't joking about being tired."

"See you tomorrow, Pisces. Don't skip free training."

"I won't…"

Aphrodite gave a lazy wave and headed up the stairs without hurrying. Shura glanced once more at the moonless sky and then stepped inside.

TO BE CONTINUED...