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Since I've already sunk tremendous effort into what's here, I'm going to keep up what I have completed. There is a very complete record of season 4 and the first half of season 5. Seasons 1, 2, and 3 are about half-done since I was filling in from the videos.

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That being said, here's the good news: I have officially unveiled my Comprehensive X-Files Drinking Game, which I will be taking good care of, mostly because it's low maintenance. I have the assurances of my beta-testers that it is the funniest and most thorough X-Files drinking game available on the Internet. I hope you all have fun playing.

Play the Comprehensive X-Files Drinking Game.

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DISCLAIMER: The plot content of episodes of The X-Files, the characters of Mulder, Scully, and everybody else belong to Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions, and Fox TV. I am not posting this material for any form of profit or gain, but simply as a source of information for the fans of the show. These plot summaries are not in any way official, but rather my own observations on the important content of the episodes.

Past Seasons (1-4)

Season 5: 1997-1998

The story opens 24 hours before the end of "Gethsemane" in Agent Mulder's apartment. As he sits and watches the debate on intelligent life in the universe on TV and contemplates taking his life, his phone rings. Mulder reluctantly picks up to find Kritschgau on the other end; Kritschgau says that he believes he was followd and that people may be monitoring Mulder's apartment. Glancing upward, Mulder notes a tiny hole in his ceiling where a fiber-optic security camera hangs down. Mulder charges upstairs, kicks in the door of the apartment above his, and finds a DOD guy with video cameras and tapes. There is a brief scuffle, shots are fired, and the door closes.

Story note: during the credits, the closing tag line reads "All Lies Lead to the Truth" instead of "The Truth is Out There."

Shortly thereafter, Scully returns to her apartment to find Mulder waiting in silence in her darkened bedroom. Mulder explains how he's been under surveillance and how he killed the man monitoring him; the body is now in Mulder's apartment. He found the DOD operative's ID badge (identifying him as Scott Ostelhoff) and a list of phone records. The records all point back to a phone exchange at the FBI; Mulder now knows that the hoax is now connected to the FBI. Unfortunately, neither Mulder nor Scully can figure out who had been contacted at the FBI. Mulder suspects that this activity may have been going on since the beginnings of the X-Files. He plans to execute his own lie to find the truth.

The next morning, Scully goes to Mulder's apartment and identifies Ostelhoff's body as Mulder. Mulder (on voice-over) talks of how Scully has always been honest and forthright, and how hard it was to ask her to lie. Scully runs into Skinner outside Mulder's apartment; Skinner wants to know how she could identify a body which had been wrecked by a shotgun blast, and Scully says she recognizes the clothes. Skinner also says that Section Chief Blevins wants to speak to Scully at an inquiry. Elsewhere, Mulder uses Ostelhoff's security card to gain access to a Department of Defense building and begins

Scully reports to Blevins, who questions her at length. Blevins says that he has information from the DOD that Scully may have been contacted by a DOD man who released classified information. Scully reports that the DOD man (Kritschgau) offered evidence that Mulder's proof of alien life was nothing more than a hoax. Scully refuses to talk further on the subject, though she does identify Kritschgau by a photograph. Given her silence, Blevins is forced to call her before a board of inquiry later in the day.

At the DOD building, Mulder runs into Kritschgau while wandering around. The two move into a quiet room to talk. Kritschgau explains that Ostelhoff's ID card gives Mulder access to everything, including what he wants most of all--"a cure for Scully's cancer." Elsewhere, the Cigarette-Smoking Man (CSM) sneaks into Mulder's apartment and looks with some dismay at the blood-stained chalk outline on the floor. He picks up a picture of Mulder and his sister Samantha, and looks even more concerned.

Back in the X-Files office, Scully calls the FBI communications office and tries to find out who Ostelhoff was trying to call at the FBI. Unfortunately, she can only find out that it was somewhere on the executive level--which includes Skinner. No sooner than Scully hangs up the phone, she gets a call from a Dr. Vitaliano at the paleoclimatology department of American University; he has been investigating the ice cores that Scully gave him and has turned up something interesting.

Back at the DOD building, Kritschgau explains to Mulder how the DNA of every American born since 1945 has been carefully catalog. He says the US military concocted all of the UFO stories to draw attention away from its atomic bomb effort. He explains how the best business for the economy has always been war, and the "Cold War" was really concocted as a device to justify continued military spending. Mulder wonders what the connection to UFOs is, and Kritschgau says that it was yet another excuse to build up money for the military. The military fed fake photos, fueled by the Roswell incident, and commissioned some very famous groups (Project Bluebook, Project Grudge, the MJ-12) and got them all to believe the fake evidence. What was even better is that the UFO stories were a perfect cover for a new wave of secret US fighters and bombers. The UFO stories are all a hoax; the military has gone so far that they still routinely "abduct" people and do tests on them to perpetuate the lie. Mulder counters that he's seen his sister abducted, and Kritschgau immediately fires back, "You've seen what they wanted you to see." In their latest efforts, they created the fake alien body that Mulder was allowed to discover; it was so real that only close examination would reveal it to be a fake ("Scully would have known," comments Mulder.) Armed with this new knowledge, Mulder passes a security door into the depths of the "Level 4 clearance" areas; shortly thereafter, Kritschgau is apprehended by the military police.

Early in the afternoon, CSM meets with another Consortium member at a racetrack. CSM is upset about being left out of the loop regarding the surveillance on Mulder. He is even more upset because he has "always kept Mulder in check--I created Mulder"--and now Mulder is dead. CSM says, however, that he has never underestimated Mulder, and still doesn't. Elsewhere, at American University, Dr. Vitagliano has discovered chimeric hybrid cells in the ice core samples, which are dividing and differentiating--developing into a lifeform; Scully is amazed. Back at the DOD, Mulder descends into the depths of the DOD's Level 4 areas and finds his way into a dark room--full of government-bred fake gray aliens. In an adjacent room, Mulder finds a series of women being tested upon--another part of the hoax.

Scully (on voice-over) speculates that if this genetic material is indeed a government fake, there may be some viral connection between the DNA in the chimera cells and her own DNA. At the lab, she draws blood to conduct a DNA test for a match. At the lab, she notices Skinner in the hallway and confronts him. She wants to know why he followed her, and if he's working for the DOD. Skinner refuses to answer, other than to say that he wants to know Scully's motivation for lying. Skinner has the pathology reports on Ostelhoff's body, and he knows that it wasn't Mulder who died. "All lies lead to the truth," remarks Scully. She hopes that her investigation will reveal the true nature of her cancer. Skinner says that she is headed for serious trouble at the inquiry, and demands to know where Mulder is--a question which Scully answers by walking away. Nothing will save her, says Skinner, if she continues to lie. "Except proof," counters Scully.

Scully spends the rest of the afternoon trying to find a direct connection between the mystery organism in the ice and her own cancer. Back at the DOD, Mulder has found his way through a connector leading into the basement of the Pentagon. In the vast space, he finds thousands upon thousands of file cabinets. Looking through the filing system, Mulder finds Scully's name with a reference to a box number; he also locates a card with Kritschgau's name. Meanwhile, the DOD Level 4 security guard calls CSM and tells him that someone has used Ostelhoff's ID card to get into the Pentagon; CSM replies that he will be over shortly. Mulder finds the box matching the number on Scully's card, from which he extracts a vial containing a clear liquid.

Back in the lab, Scully finishes her analysis of the alien DNA against her own and finds a match. The virus from the chimeric cells has clearly caused her cancer; the scientific proof is irrefutable.

Meanwhile, Mulder weaves his way out of the Pentagon and the DOD facility with his vial of liquid in hand, depending on Scully to perpetuate the lie he created. Mulder narrowly escapes, allowed to exit by CSM. Scully appears before the board of inquiry and relates the story given in pieces during "Gethsemane". Her words take on an entirely new meaning as it is clear now that she is lying to the committee. She proceeds to tell them that Mulder committed suicide, and seconds later, Skinner walks into the room.

Blevins says that the charges Scully is making about the origin of her cancer are quite serious, but Scully counters that she has proof, waving up the results of her DNA testing. She says there is absolute proof that the same perpetrators of the UFO hoax have also given her cancer, and that the plan was carefully calculated to lead both to her death and Mulder's. She further speculates that the person responsible for orchestrating the whole plan is in the room with her. Before she can get any further, however, her nose begins to bleed and she collapses in Skinner's arms, only able to breathe out the word, "You..."

Mulder, meanwhile, has made his getaway, and has the Lone Gunmen analyze the liquid in the vial he took from the Pentagon. Byers unhappily reports, "It's deionized water. Nothing more than that." To be continued...

Back to the top.

We open on Trinity Hospital in Washington, where a panicked Mulder scours a hospital floor to find Scully. A doctor finally tells him that Scully is in the ICU. On his way there, Mulder runs into a furious Skinner, who says that Mulder has a lot to answer for. Mulder finds Scully lying unconscious in the ICU, and Skinner tells him that Scully is dying. Skinner then tries to convince Mulder to leave, and when Mulder protests, the two scuffle briefly. Finally, Mulder gives up and goes with Skinner.

Back at FBI headquarters, Mulder is hauled before Blevins to explain his actions. Blevins is concerned because the investigation has now changed from investigating Mulder's suicide to identifying the body in Mulder's apartment and placing blame. In the face of repeated questions and the threat of the case turning into a murder investigation, Mulder keeps a tight lip and answers questions evasively. When asked why Scully lied, Mulder simply refuses to answer and asks to leave.

Skinner follows Mulder out of Blevins' office and advises Mulder (as a friend) to "keep playing them the way you are." Mulder replies cynically, "Thanks buddy." He thinks that Skinner sold him out by bringing him to Blevins. Skinner then informs Mulder that he's been deliberately witholding the forensic evidence on the dead man in Mulder's apartment in order to protect Mulder, and says that Scully can confirm this. Skinner says that the evidence doesn't look good: a man killed by a pistol shot and then defaced with a shotgun to disguise his identity. Mulder wants to know how Skinner can help; Skinner wants to know why Scully lied. Mulder then reveals his theory: that Scully's cancer was given to her by an unknown mole in the FBI. Skinner reminds Mulder to remember who his friends are.

At the racetrack, the Cigarette-Smoking Man (CSM) meets with a Consortium member, who is watching Senate hearings on cloning on his portable TV. Both now know that Mulder is alive. The Consortium man is unhappy that CSM allowed Mulder to go into the DOD building and then to escape; he feels that the Consortium is too vulnerable. CSM proposes that Mulder is in too much trouble to do anything damaging, and further suggests that they offer to help him--in exchange for his loyalty. When CSM walks away, the Consortium member tells the man sitting behind him, "You can proceed now."

Back at the hospital, Mulder meets with a now-conscious Scully, who has been moved out of the ICU. "I'm officially among the un-dead," reports Mulder, kissing Scully on the cheek and taking her hand. He says that he's prepared to go before the FBI committee and testify to his knowledge of the Consortium and its purpose, even though he doesn't know who the FBI mole is. Scully reveals her suspicion that Skinner is the mole, but Mulder refuses to accept that. In any event, Mulder insists that he has to testify now before the truth is buried again. Scully then tells Mulder to place the blame for Ostelhoff's death on her; Mulder steadfastly refuses. Scully simply says she wants to give meaning to what happened to her.

Their conversation is interrupted as Scully's mother and brother Bill arrive. Mulder excuses himself to give the family time alone. On the way out, he introduces himself to Bill. Bill says that he knows something about Mulder from what Scully has told him, and then says to leave work out of the picture. "Let her die with dignity," he insists.

Across from the hospital, the man the Consortium man at the racetrack spoke to sets up his sniper rifle in an upstairs room. Back at the hospital, Mulder runs into CSM and immediately quips, "Please tell me you're here with severe chest pains." CSM reveals his knowledge of Mulder's activities at the DOD, and further tells Mulder that the vial he found is essential to Scully's survival. Mulder reluctantly follows CSM (who insists he is "here as a friend") to hear more of what he has to say.

Later, Mulder meets with the Lone Gunmen, and to his surprise, discovers a tiny microchip stored in the water in the vial. He speculates that this chip may be linked to the one Scully found in her neck after her abduction. Back at the FBI, Kritschgau is brought before the FBI committee. Kritschgau confirms that he was in contact with Mulder and Scully and passed classified information to them; he says his motivation came from knowledge of "a conspiracy against the American people." When asked if he knows who killed Ostelhoff, Kritschgau says he doesn't know; the only person he knows of who died in connection to this case was his son, who died early that morning. Kritschgau reveals that he is paid by the DOD, but also by a lobbying group called "Roush."

At the hospital, Bill Scully rips into Mulder for suggesting that the doctors implant the chip he found in Scully's neck. Scully's oncologist admits he has no knowledge of such a treatment. Scully believes that everyone has their heart in the right place, but that she has to make the decision. Upon learning that the chip and the conventional treatment are compatible, she decides to try the chip. Elsewhere, the Consortium sniper continues setting up his equipment.

Outside Scully's hospital room, Bill Scully confronts Mulder. "You really believe this crap, don't you?" asks Bill, to which Mulder replies in the affirmative. Bill suggests that Scully may be Mulder's big defender, but really just doesn't want to disappoint him. All Mulder cares about is whether or not Scully gets better. Bill is irritated, knowing that Mulder is the reason for the tragedy; he's already lost one sister, and now he's losing another. Bill wants to know if it was all worth it, to which Mulder must answer no. Mulder does go on to say that he's lost people too: his sister and his father, all for what Bill calls "little green aliens." Bill calls Mulder a sorry son of a bitch and then walks away. Mulder's phone rings, and he answers, "One sorry son of a bitch speaking."

CSM is on the other end of the line, confirming that Mulder has found the chip. But the final word isn't in, so CSM knows that he hasn't earned Mulder's trust yet. CSM suggests that he has something else to offer: a meeting. Later that night, CSM drives up to a diner where Mulder waits, and out of the car steps his long-lost sister Samantha. All she can say is how she was afraid she would never see him again, that "her father"--indicating CSM--had told her something had happened to him.

They go into the diner, and Samantha confesses that she couldn't put the memories back together; she was too young and wanted to forget it all. She was taken into the care of foster parents, who one day took her to meet her real father--not Bill Mulder, to her surprise, but CSM. CSM said it was all a secret kept by him and Mrs. Mulder to protect the family. Mulder offers to help Samantha recall her memories, but Samantha isn't interested. She says that her father only brought her to this meeting because he had "found" Mulder, who had been looking for her for a long time. Mulder tells her that CSM is a liar, but Samantha can't accept that, because CSM has always been a good father to her.

Samantha is, of course, immediately suspicious. Mulder suggests that they go to see their mother; to his surprise, this further shocks Samantha, who thought their mother was dead. Samantha breaks down in tears, saying that she can't, that the whole situation is too much for her. She says she has her own life now, and children. Samantha says she needs time, and tells Mulder to just let her go for now.

At the hospital, Scully is undergoing treatment with her oncologist, Dr. Zuckerman. He says he's doing everything he can, trying to get Scully's immune system to recognize her cancer as an invader so that it will fight back. Scully asks him if he's ever witnessed a miracle. Zuckerman says that he hasn't, but that he's seen people come back from very far--too far to explain. Scully thinks that qualifies as a miracle. Elsewhere, Mulder meets with CSM, and we see that the Consortium sniper has a gun trained on both of them. Mulder demands to know why CSM has done all of these things for him; CSM replies that he wants Mulder to work for him. He further suggests that Kritschgau hasn't told Mulder the entire truth, just fragments of the story; he offers to tell Mulder everything. After just a second of hesitation, Mulder refuses. He realizes that CSM has really given Mulder nothing: Scully has not been cured, and his sister was taken away as quickly as she appeared. Mulder threatens to kill CSM if Scully dies. CSM says that he's well aware of Mulder's "murderous impulses" and the fact that he's facing an FBI committee tomorrow. Mulder just walks away, with CSM shouting after that the offer still stands if he reconsiders.

Scully's mother meets with Scully in her hospital room. Scully collapses in tears in her mother's arms. She says that she came far with faith, and now that she needs it most, all she can do is push it away. Why wear a cross on a necklace, why implant a chip in her neck, go through all the treatments? Mrs. Scully tries to tell Scully that she hasn't lost her faith, but Scully says that she has. Scully then reveals that she's not getting better: her PET scan showed no improvement.

At his office, the Consortium man continues to watch the Senate hearing on cloning, and is shocked to see Skinner on television, apparently gathering information. He makes a phone call and speaks briskly to the person on the other end. "Our colleague was supposed to have fixed the FBI problem. You will fix it now, do you understand me? Then I will fix it for good." That evening, Mulder quietly walks into Scully's hospital room, where he finds Scully sleeping. Unable to say anything, Mulder simply collapses at her bedside and cries.

The following day, Mulder meets Blevins in Blevins' office. Blevins reveals that he has a copy of the forensic evidence for the Ostelhoff murder; and the ballistics data matches Mulder's service revolver. Mulder wants to know where the information was obtained. Blevins refuses to reveal his source, but says that all the evidence points to Mulder unless he names someone else. Blevins says that Scully was prepared to name Skinner, and that he has collected substantial evidence against Skinner, though he refuses to share it with Mulder. In essence, Blevins tells Mulder that if he blows the whistle, then Skinner will be brought down and Mulder will be cleared--this is the course of action that Blevins recommends "as a friend."

Mulder goes back to visit Scully at the hospital; he reveals that he visited Scully the previous night "because I was lost." He says that he was offered a deal to save his life, and last night, he was ready to take it. But after the meeting with Blevins, he's decided not to take the deal. Mulder says that he won't name Skinner, and Scully counters that Mulder will be prosecuted. She offers to take the blame again, but Mulder says he couldn't live with it. "We all have our faith," he says, "and mine is in the truth." Scully wants to know why Mulder came to see her if he'd already decided, to which Mulder says he knew Scully would talk him out of it if he was making a mistake. As Mulder leaves, Father McCue arrives to speak with Scully.

At the FBI hearing, Blevins recounts the incidents leading to Mulder's appearance at the hearing. He points to the fact that the murder weapon appears to be Mulder's own gun. Mulder interrupts, saying that he wants to set the record straight once and for all. Skinner tries to interrupt by asking for a break, but Mulder insists on continuing. He recounts the beginning of the X-Files, where he felt that Scully was sent to spy on him and debunk the X-Files; he credits Scully for not following orders. He says Scully lied to protect Mulder, who had evidence of a "conspiracy against the American people." Mulder further suggests that a key aim of the conspiracy was to destroy those threatening to expose it.

While Mulder speaks, we see shots of the Consortium gunman keeping his sniper scope trained on CSM, and Father McCue praying with Scully at her bedside. Mulder says that the conspiracy is engaged in human testing and perpetuates lies at the expense of innocent people's reputations, all to protect itself. Mulder then says he is prepared to call out the FBI mole by name. He continues to evade questions regarding Ostelhoff's death up to the point where he calls out the mole--Blevins.

In his apartment, CSM picks up a picture of the Mulder children, perusing it slowly. He looks up just in time to catch a bullet in the chest fired by the Consortium sniper. At the FBI, Blevins charges in a panic into his office, where he finds another man waiting for him; with no hesitation, Blevins is immediately gunned down. Back at his apartment, CSM draws the picture of the Mulder children closer as he lays on the floor bleeding to death.

At the hospital, Skinner meets Mulder outside Scully's room and informs him that CSM is dead, though no body was found. Skinner hands over a bloody photograph of Mulder and Samantha that forensics found at the scene. Skinner then changes the subject, wanting to know how Mulder knew to name Blevins. Mulder says that he guessed. Skinner says that Blevins was on the payroll of a biotech company known as Roush for the last four years; Mulder counters that not much will come of that fact because the connections are probably being erased.

Mulder then has the pleasure of telling Skinner that Scully's cancer has gone into remission. When asked what turned it around, Mulder can only honestly answer with a smile, "I don't know. I don't think we'll ever know." Skinner goes in to see Scully, who offers a slight smile to her boss. Out in the hallway, Mulder holds the bloody picture of himself and his sister in his hands and begins to cry softly.

Back to the top.

We open on a warehouse in Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland, in 1989. Sirens wail and police bust onto the scene. Entering the warehouse cautiously, the police quickly find blood on the floor. Continuing the search, the locate someone moaning in a box. Opening the box, we find none other than a very naked Fox Mulder mumbling, "They're here" over and over again. Just then, three figures make a run for it, but are snatched by the waiting police. The three figures turn out to be none other than the Lone Gunmen--Frohike, Byers, and Langly.

Frohike, Byers, and Langly are incarcerated in a Baltimore jail and pass the time arguing among each other--it's clear that they've known each other for a very short time. As Frohike and Langly are ready to come to blows, Byers tells them to relax, to which he is told to, "Shut up, narc!" Byers is taken from the cell and brought before Detective Munch, Baltimore homicide for questioning. Munch is obviously confused by the case--Mulder is in restraints, jabbering incoherently about space aliens, and there is a crime scene with a shootout (but no guns) and blood (but no bodies).

Byers begins his story by stating his full name (John Fitzgerald Byers) and birthday (11/22/63); he also states his job--a public affairs officer for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He says that he was at a communications convention in Baltimore, when he first saw a mysterious woman heading his way--tall, blonde, striking. Byers offers her an FCC button, but she just walks away. Intrigued, Byers decides to follow her. The woman walks up to Frohike's booth, where he tries to sell her free cable. In the next booth, Langly criticizes Frohike and says that his bootleg cable is better. As the two continue to argue, the woman walks away. Still following, Byers gets too close and bumps into the woman, who drops a photograph of a young girl. Byers helps her with her things, then follows after, saying that the woman looks like she needs some help.

The woman and Byers go to have lunch. She explains how her daughter, who is just 3, was recently kidnapped by her psychotic ex-boyfriend. All the police and PI's she called were unable to help her; she's following her own leads, having heard that her boyfriend was in the Baltimore area. She shows Byers her lead--a web address on the ARPA Net, which is the home of the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Byers' heart goes out to the woman, who introduces herself as Holly, and he offers to look up the address on the internet for her. Returning to the FCC booth, Byers kicks his buddy off the computer and then looks up the address. He hits a security wall; Holly suggests hacking around the security. Byers is reluctant, but in the face of a departing Holly, changes his mind and hacks in anyway. He looks up Susanne Modeski, who Holly says is her daughter. Completing the search, Byers turns up an encrypted file; he begins to print it, but is cut off in mid-stream when Holly reports seeing her psychotic boyfriend just a few feet away--and the lucky psycho turns out to be Mulder.

Evading Mulder, Holly and Byers seek out the help of Melvin Frohike, computer hacker extraordinaire. Byers explains the story to Frohike, then asks him to help break the encrypted file. Frohike wants to know why they don't find Holly's boyfriend and kick his ass. He says that he can decode the file--"my kung fu is the best"--but that it would take hours and it seems much easier to just beat the information out of her boyfriend. Holly is resistant, explaining that her ex-boyfriend is armed and dangerous. Choosing not to listen to Holly's protests, Frohike and Byers go to do some surveillance on Mulder--from a distance. Seeing Mulder exit out a side door, they follow him into a dark hallway--only to have Mulder step out of the shadows and question them. "What's up fellas?" he asks nonchalantly. Mulder introduces himself as an FBI agent. He says he's looking for a woman, and holds up a picture of Holly; Frohike and Byers choose to play dumb, and Mulder lets them go. Byers returns to the FCC booth to find his friend being dragged away by military police for hacking into a computer. Frohike realizes that whatever is going on, it's big; he suggests hacking into the FBI mainframe to get information on Mulder.

To this end, Byers and Frohike interrupt Langly in the middle of a role-playing session. "Me and the narc have a proposition for you," says Frohike, "The coolest hack in the world." Langly refuses to help until Frohike says what Langly wants to hear--"Your kung fu is the best." In a hotel room, Langly sets up his hack software and easily breaks into the FBI mainframe. They find Mulder's biographical sketch, and find that he's utterly clean--commended, in fact. Searching under "Holly Modeski" turns up nothing. But a search on "Susanne Modeski" turns up a picture of Holly: a defense department scientist, wanted for murder and sabotage. She's supposedly brilliant, psychotic, and unpredictable. Just as they realize how much trouble they're in, the door to their room opens--and in walks Holly/Susanne.

Seeing the information on the computer, "Holly" finally comes clean. Her name really is Susanne Modeski, and she was an organic chemist in the employ of DARPA. She claims her total innocence, saying that all she tried to do was quit. Her daughter story was a front; the photo she had came with the wallet. Susanne believes she has evidence of a conspiracy against the American people perpetrated by the government--and the proof is in the encrypted file that Byers printed for her. She says she helped to develop an aerosol gas which induces anxiety and paranoia when inhaled; she further says that the government has plans to test the gas on the citizens of Baltimore.

She then goes on to suggest that the conspiracy is quite large, invoking the Kennedy assassination. She pulls out the hotel Bible and says that they're in every hotel room in America--and thus the perfect device for electronic surveillance. Frohike sums it up: "That's just crazy." Susanne says she can offer proof--if she gets help in deciphering the encrypted file. As she moves to take the hard copy of the file, a gun falls out of her purse, which she picks up.

Feeling forced, Langly proceeds to decode the file. The file reveals fairly clearly that what Susanne said was true. What is especially upsetting is the phrase: "Dr Modeski's team has been processed, and plausible denial constructed."--which Susanne takes to mean that the government killed her research team and then blamed the whole thing on her. The tail end of the file gives the address of a warehouse in Fells Point where the gas is being stored. It also says that "covert electronics" were installed on Susanne's person in 1988 by a doctor--whom Susanne identifies as her dentist. Shocked, she disappears into the next room, and using Langly's pliers, yanks one of her molars out. Under a magnifying glass, a small radio transmitter is visible on the tooth. Now convinced, Frohike, Byers, and Langly are ready to check out the warehouse.

Byers reports in his interview with Munch that they flushed the tooth so they couldn't be tracked. With Susanne, they break into the warehouse and find the correct packing create, which turns out to be full of asthma inhalers--which is how the gas is going to be distributed. Just as they have proof in hand, Mulder comes into sight with his gun out, telling Susanne and the others that they are all under arrest.

Byers tries to explain that there's more to the story, while Susanne begins to edge away from Mulder--only to walk into two goons who appear out of nowhere. Mulder cocks his gun, demanding that the goons identify themselves. They take a step forward, grab Susanne, and then draw their weapons and open fire on Mulder. In the exchange, the packing crate is damaged, Mulder gets a faceful of the gas, and collapses to the floor, disoriented and in pain. Just as the goons are about to finish Mulder off, two shots ring out and they drop to the floor--shot by Susanne. Just as Frohike, Byers, and Langly emerge from cover, they find that Susanne has disappeared and that a team of people in spacesuits--led by none other than Mr. X--have entered. Looking at the situation, X makes his decision: "Sanitize it."

Disoriented, Mulder tries to sit up and get his bearings. All he can see is strange black outlines that look like aliens walking around. He begins mumbling, "They're here. They're here." The room is cleaned, bodies are dragged away, the packing crate of inhalers is removed, and all Frohike, Byers, and Langly can do is watch. Byers asks X for the source of his authority, which X ignores. Looking at Mulder, X says, "No one touches this man." Finally getting X's attention, Byers wants to know why all of this is being done. Enraged, X puls his gun, puts it to the back of Byers' head, and pulls the trigger--no round in the chamber. "Behave yourselves," says X.

"It's all true what Susanne said about you people, isn't it?" shouts Byers. "About John F. Kennedy. Dallas." All X replies with is, "I heard it was a lone gunman." X and company disappear, just in time for the Baltimore police to arrive on the scene.

Finishing his questioning, Munch is in disbelief. "Do I look like Geraldo to you?" Byers is returned to jail; Langly bemoans their situation, saying it's all the fault of Susanne, who has left them twisting in the wind. Byers counters that he simply wanted to learn the truth, and he doesn't owe Susanne anything. Just then, Munch comes in and says that Mulder has come around and has verified their story. The "Lone Gunmen" are free to go. As they are getting their possessions back, they overhear another officer telling Munch that Mulder's car turned up stolen in the train station parking lot. Byers realizes that Susanne must have stolen the car to escape from the warehouse, but she would never be so stupid as to take the train.

Byers realizes that the offices of the Baltimore Guardian, a newspaper, are only a few blocks from the train station. The Lone Gunmen catch up to Susanne just as she is leaving the newspaper offices--they didn't believe her story. Susanne expresses her gratitude, and Byers says that the three of them still want to help. Susanne kisses Byers, and tells him, "You already have." Seconds later, a black sedan pulls around the corner and agents drag Susanne away. In the back seat X is seen to be in charge of the whole operation.

Back at the now-empty convention center, Frohike, Byers, and Langly sit down and try to figure out what they're going to do. They are quickly interrupted by Mulder, who wants to hear their story. Mulder says he has some "weird ideas" he can't get rid of. He says that Susanne Modeski is no longer wanted by the FBI. They begin to tell their story, one of a conspiracy against the American people perpetrated by the government--a conspiracy to control everyone's lives. "What?!" shouts an incredulous Mulder.

Continuing on, Byers says, "It all began with Susanne Modeski..."

Back to the top.

We open on a team of surveyors working their way through swampland in Leon County of northern Florida. They are in the process of staking out new land for a strip mall; one of the surveyors, Marty Fox, seems depressed at the new development and the ecosystem destruction. His partner Michael Sloan, could care less. When his equipment becomes stuck and Sloan reaches down to free it, he discovers blood on the ground. Suddenly, he screams and disappears from sight. Seeing movement in the bushes, Fox takes off in a in a panic and hides in a ditch. When he looks down, he sees two red eyes peering back at him in the dirt. He screams, and is dragged down by the red-eyed creature.

Later in the day, a father and son (the Asekoffs) are hunting in the woods with their dog. Noting the abandoned surveyor's equipment, the father goes to investigate and finds a bloody coat. The son, Louis, is sent home to call for help and the father proceeds forward with his shotgun. While Louis is running, two shots ring out. Alarmed, Louis takes off at a sprint.

Mulder and Scully are passing through northern Florida on their way to an FBI convention in the company of Agents Kinsley and Stonecypher when they are stopped at a roadblock. Mulder, for one, is relieved for an excuse to get out of the car: Kinsley and Stonecypher's incessant prattling about the teamwork seminars they're going to drives him nuts. Stonecypher has recounted several of the activities, including building a tower out of office furniture ("Kill me now," quips Mulder) and not using negative words ("I'm having that same problem right now.").

Mulder is immediately accosted by Mrs. Asekoff, who wants to know what happened to her husband; Mulder promises to find out. He heads into the woods, and Scully follows. Meanwhile, Kinsley and Stonecypher find a cross-section of an old tree which started growing before Ponce de Leon first arrived in Florida. In the woods, Mulder meets up with Michele Fazekas, who is with the local sheriff's office. Fazekas recounts what is known about the incidents in the woods, and speculates that the missing people are probably victims of an animal attack. There was one confused and unidentifiable set of tracks leading away from the scene. Scully interrupts the conversation, suggesting that it's time to get moving again. Mulder asks Fazekas for the location of a hotel, and Fazekas counters that the local police can handle it. Turning to the waiting Scully, Mulder quips, "How can I say this without using any negative words, Scully?" Scully realizes that Mulder won't be going to the FBI seminar, and Mulder counters that they don't need to work on their communications skills--Scully already knows what Mulder's thinking.

That evening, we cut over to the Asekoff residence, where Louis is in bed watching a video of "The Invisible Man." His mother shuts the TV off, and Louis wonders aloud that his father isn't coming back. His mother says they simply have to keep their hopes up. Downstairs, the family dog begins whining and staring out the front door.

In a nearby hotel, Mulder is scouring a database of wild animals when there is a knock on the door and Scully enters bearing a tray of wine and cheese--"since we won't be making it to the conference." Scully also reminds Mulder that this goes against the FBI policy regarding agents of different sex consorting in the same hotel room, to which Mulder deadpans, "Try any of that Tailhook crap on me, Scully, I'll kick your ass." Mulder then goes on to explain that he thinks the current case isn't as simple as the local police think. No known wild animal will attack the strongest in a group when the weak are vulnerable, which is exactly what this "animal" did. Mulder leaves to do a little detective work.

Back at the Asekoff residence, the dog is barking wildly at the front door. Mrs. Asekoff goes outside with the dog to investigate, but can't find anything. Sensing movement in the woods, she moves further in, only to find the dog stubbornly sitting in the woods. She returns to the house, only to find the front door locked. She pounds on the door, and Louis responds. Leaving his bedroom, Louis suddenly sees a pair of red eyes heading his way and he takes off running. He gets out the front door just in time to run into a snooping Mulder.

The following morning, Mulder and Scully have a look around the Asekoff residence for clues. Scully thinks that the red-eyed creature is just a figment of Louis' imagination, brought on by watching "The Invisible Man." Mulder, however, points out that the front door was locked behind Mrs. Asekoff from the inside, and there are tracks inside the house. He thinks the tracks are from an animal that walks on the ball of its foot--a fact which Michele Fazekas confirms. Fazekas also says these tracks are just like the ones she found in the woods. Mulder firmly believes that they have to find the animal before in strikes again.

Later that day, Mulder and Scully proceed into the woods with Fazekas and another man, Jeff Glaser, who brings a Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) instrument with him to pick up traces of body heat. Scully gets off the phone with the police, who think that a murderer may be on the loose. Mulder, for his part, thinks there is more than one animal at work--utilizing a "divide and conquer" strategy against its enemy, development. Mulder suggests that with increasing modern encroachment on the woods, something may finally be striking back. A short search turns up nothing; Glaser speculates that there are plenty of things in the woods that could have killed the missing men.

Finally, Glaser picks something up. They chase after it, and then suddenly there are two creatures. Scully and Fazekas chase one, while Mulder and Glaser go after the other. Suddenly, the creature that Mulder was chasing disappears. Scully and Fazekas realize that the two creatures worked to separate the team, and proceed back. Suddenly, ten feet in front of Scully, Fazekas drops out of sight. Alarmed, Scully shouts for help.

Mulder and Glaser arrive at Scully's position within seconds. Mulder says that finding Fazekas has to be a priority, but Glaser and Scully both point out that they are inadequately equipped for a long stay in the forest. Resigned, they resolve to head back to their starting point. While walking, Mulder recounts the tale of similar-looking "Moth Men" with red eyes who terrorized a town in West Virginia, an X-File dating back to 1952. After a short while, Glaser realizes that they are totally lost; the stones Michele used to mark their way have disappeared. Suddenly, another of the creatures is upon them. Mulder chases after it and fires several shots from his pistol, as does Scully. In the confusion, Glaser is dragged away. Mulder realizes that they need to conserve ammunition--the creature is trying to outsmart them. Suddenly, Mulder is pulled down as well. Scully sees him being dragged away by an invisible form; she fires several more shots, and the creature releases him.

Lost and without Glaser or Fazekas to guide, Mulder and Scully are forced to spend a night in the woods. Scully attempts to start a fire using the powder from one of her bullets as an igniter, but is ultimately unsuccessful. "And maybe it'll start raining weinies and marshmallows," quips Mulder. Scully says that Mulder needs to keep warm because he's still in shock, to which Mulder replies that he heard the best way to get warm is to crawl naked into a sleeping bag with someone already naked. Scully flatly replies, "Maybe if it rains sleeping bags you'll get lucky."

Scully asks Mulder if he ever thought about dying; Mulder answers, "Yeah. Once, when I was at the Ice Capades." Scully recounts how angry she was while she was battling cancer, but that she ultimately realized that the struggle was really to give meaning to something which seemingly had none. Mulder's view is that you're lucky if you live 75 or 80 years; Scully agrees.

Giving up on trying to start a fire, Scully hugs Mulder for warmth. Scully agrees to stay awake. Mulder asks Scully to sing something so that he knows she's awake; Scully is resistant, saying that she's unable to carry a tune. Finally giving in, she sings a verse of "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog" by Three Dog Night. Mulder prompts, "Chorus."

Mulder awakes in the morning to find Scully gone. He calls out for her, and she pops up in a bush nearby, having found some wild berries to munch on. Just as suddenly, Scully disappears from sight. Fortunately, she has only fallen down a hole. Looking around, Scully realizes she's in a labyrinth of tunnels, and all around are the bodies of most of the missing people--they're not quite dead, but very close. Scully senses movement and realizes her gun is missing; Mulder drops his gun down. Seconds later, a second creature goes for Mulder. Realizing he's under attack, Mulder dives into the hole with Scully. The creature in the tunnels charges Scully, and she guns it down. Finally killed, the creature appears to be a chameleon-like human.

Mulder and Scully begin piling bodies over the hole in an attempt to climb their way out. "Twenty more bodies and we win the honey-baked ham," quips Mulder. Just then, they hear the voice of Agent Kinsley overhead. Search teams scouring the woods have finally located them. Mulder and Scully are pulled out, and some of the surviving victims (Fazekas and Mr. Asekoff among them) are taken to the hospital.

Looking at the tree that Kinsley saw on the way down to Florida, Mulder recounts how he saw a post in the cave Scully fell into which had the words "Ad Noctum"--Latin for "into darkness"--carved onto it. These are the very words that Spanish Inquisitors used to carve on posts that they lashed natives to as a warning. Mulder recalls how Ponce de Leon came to Florida looking for the fountain of youth, and maybe these natives had found it--through perfect adaption to their environment.

Kinsley is doubtful. Stonecypher walks over and says that neither Glaser nor the second predator have been located. She also doesn't understand why the predator would attack Louis Asekoff at his home. Mulder explains that the predators would go after any encroachment on their territory, and Stonecypher realizes that would mean they would go after anyone who had entered the woods. Mulder suddenly wonders where Scully is, and Stonecypher reports that she went back to the hotel to pack up her things. Mulder takes off in Kinsley's car in a panic.

When he arrives at the hotel, Scully turns out to be fine. Mulder is insistent upon leaving immediately, to which a puzzled Scully merely acquiesces. As Mulder closes the door to the hotel room, we pan down under the motel bed, where a pair of glowing red eyes lay waiting.

Back to the top.

Historical note: This is the first (and so far only) episode of The X-Files to be filmed entirely in black-and-white.

The story opens with a picture of the cover of the comic "The Great Mutato." A hand flips to the first page, and the shot dissolves into the reality of a small Midwestern town. 18-year old Izzy Berkowitz and his friend Booger depart for a comic book convention over the protests of Izzy's mother, Shaineh. Resigned, Shaineh heads back into the house to watch Jerry Springer on TV. While she's watching, a figure stomps through her house. Heavy cloth drops over all the windows and a disc of some mystery subtance is dropped onto a frying pan in the kitchen. The disc begins to give off smoke, which quickly fills the house. As a hideous two-faced form approaches the choking Shaineh, music from Cher plays in the background.

Mulder and Scully are brought onto the case by a letter from Shaineh. The letter describes an incident 18 years ago where Shaineh fell unconscious for three days and then woke up pregnant with Izzy. She reports that the same thing just happened again--but that she saw a monster before losing consciousness. She got Mulder's name on TV after watching Jerry Springer. "Scully, do you think it's too soon to get my own 1-900 number?" quips Mulder.

The FBI duo proceed to interview Shaineh; Scully, as always, is doubtful. Shaineh says that nothing ever came of the investigation when the incident occurred 18 years ago; "nobody ever locks their doors around here," she notes. But then she drops a big surprise: she had a tubal ligation two years ago, and should be incapable of having children--but she's pregnant nonetheless. She then shows them how something was cooking on the skillet on her kitchen, and how the intruder ate nearly an entire jar of peanut butter. Scully thinks that perhaps Izzy could have caused the mess.

Investigating Izzy's room, Scully turns up a "Great Mutato" comic book, which Izzy apparently created himself. Scully finds it remarkable how her description of her monstrous attacker matches Mutato almost exactly. On cue, Izzy walks into the house. Under brief questioning, Izzy claims to have seen the Great Mutato. Later that night, Mulder and Scully go out into the woods with Izzy, who lays out a peanut butter sandwich to lure Mutato. Scully thinks the whole thing is ridiculous, and that the townspeople are just easily duped by what they see on TV.

Her attitude quickly changes when they detect someone going for the peanut butter sandwich. Mulder gives chase, and Scully finds the peanut butter sandwich with two bites taken out of it. Unfortunately, Mulder loses Mutato in the woods, but they do locate another figure--an old man. The man is irate and demands that the agents leave his property. He says the monster stories are nonsense, but if they really want one, he can show them.

This brings Mulder and Scully to a meeting with the ill-tempered Dr. Pollidori, a scientist working in the town--the old man is his father. Pollidori is very full of himself, believing himself to be a visionary scientist. He works in creating genetic mutations; by a bit of manipulation, he's actually gotten a fly to grow legs out of its mouth. "Why would you do that?" asks Mulder. Pollidori only replies, "Because I can." Mulder wants to know if such a thing could be done with humans. Pollidori says it's possible in theory, but entirely unethical. In private, Scully thinks that such mutations are nearly impossible in humans, and that no scientist would ever attempt it. "Who could resist the temptation to create in his own image?" muses Mulder.

Later that evening, shortly before Dr. Pollidori is to leave to give a talk in Europe, he gets into an argument with his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth wants to settle down and have children. Pollidori wants to leave the "hick town" and get a Nobel Prize. Pollidori leaves in a huff, and Elizabeth collapses on her bed in tears. As she bawls away, drop cloths suddenly cover up her window.

The following morning, Mulder pops into JJ's Country Diner for breakfast, where he is given all smiles by the locals and a royal treatment by the wait staff. Looking at the local paper, Mulder sees a story where he and Scully reportedly believe the rumors of the monster Mutato; now he knows why everyone is treating him so nicely. While sitting at the counter, Mulder notices a twitchy woman next to him writing in a notebook, who takes off in a flurry when she sees Mulder looking at her. Scully comes into the diner and tells Mulder that the newspaper story recounts Mulder and Scully's conversation during their Mutato hunt word-for-word.

Suspecting some treachery underfoot, the agents interrogate Izzy, who finally admits to taping Mulder and Scully's conversation; he was trying to get publicity for his comic-book creation. Fast-forwarding the tape, Mulder comes across a Cher song that Shaineh said was playing when she fell unconscious and became pregnant. Back at the Pollidori house, the song continues to play in a smoke-filled house while Mutato dances around.

Leaving Izzy behind, Mulder speculates that Pollidori is in some way involved, figuring him to be the "post-modern Prometheus"--a genetic engineer. Scully finds the "mad scientist" stereotype alarming--but Mulder thinks that it's the only rational explanation for impregnating Shaineh. Mulder and Scully hit the road. Passing the Pollidori house, Mulder notices that it is covered with drop cloths and screeches to a stop. Going inside, the agents find Elizabeth Pollidori unconscious, and are quickly overwhelmed by the smoke themselves. Standing over them is the old man--Dr. Pollidori's father--wearing a gas mask.

When the agents awaken, Dr. Pollidori is back and wants to know what the agents are doing in his house. Elizabeth explains what happened to her, and Pollidori becomes increasingly alarmed. Mulder thinks that Pollidori knows more than he let on, but Pollidori isn't telling. Mulder finds some important clues--a "violated" frying pan and an empty jar of peanut butter in the trash can.

Back at the home of Dr. Pollidori's father, Mutato sits up watching TV. The old man comes in and tells Mutato, "Don't stay up too late, son." Pollidori's father gets back to his kitchen and flips through a scrapbook containing photos of the young Mutato. His musings are interrupted by the entrance of Dr. Pollidori. "Tell me it isn't true," he says. "You didn't. You wouldn't." Pollidori demands to know why, to which the father replies, "Because I can." The two struggle, and in the end, the father is strangled to death.

When Mulder returns to the diner, customers try to trip him and throw food at him. The cook spits in his free food, and the waitress spills coffee on him. The word is out in the newspaper that he thinks that Mutato is a hoax, and local opinion has changed fast. Mulder's unpleasant meal is mercifully interrupted by the passage of a forming mob outside the diner. They gather at the local courthouse, where the police have fingered Izzy; intercepted mail showed he had ordered a fake Mutato mask.

Scully, however, now believes there is more to the story than meets the eye. She has had the residue in the violated frying pans analyzed, and it turns out to be an anesthetic used on animal herds. One needs a license for this chemical, and only one person in town has one--Dr. Pollidori's father, the farmer. Before Mulder and Scully can arrive, Mutato finds his dead "father" in the house and quietly buries him in the barn, sobbing all the while. Mulder and Scully arrive at the barn shortly thereafter, finding nothing except blocks of the anesthetic chemical and traces of a shallow grave. They hear noise overhead, and drawing their guns, they force the twitchy newspaper woman out of hiding. She says the old man was murdered--by Mutato. The three enter the farmhouse and look through the scrapbook. Seeing the pictures, Mulder dryly comments, "It's alive." Just then, their musings are interrupted by the arrival of an angry mob bearing torches.

In the lead of the mob is Dr. Pollidori, who says he's seen the murderer--Mutato--on the premises. The mob begins searching the grounds. Shocked, Mulder and Scully stand by; Scully realizes the only way Pollidori could have "seen" the monster was if he'd been here before. Looking around, Scully spots Mutato hiding in the storm cellar. The two go down to apprehend him, but the sullen monster simply seems quiet and withdrawn and scared. In a corner, Mulder finds that Mutato has erected a small shrine to Cher. Mulder realizes they have to get him out before the mob kills him.

In the barn, the mob has succeeded in doing nothing save for setting the barn on fire. Forced to run, they head outside and catch Mulder and Scully trying to spirit Mutato out of the storm cellar. They run into the cellar, cornering Mutato with Mulder and Scully protecting him. Dr. Pollidori denounces Mutato as a twisted creation who destroyed the very being who created him--Pollidori's father. And then everyone receives an alarming shock--Mutato can speak for himself.

Mutato has a different story to tell. He insists that he never harmed another soul. He says that 25 years ago, Pollidori's father realized that Pollidori had been conducting secret genetic experiments on humans, of which Mutato was the twisted product. Pollidori's father took pity on him and raised him as his own son. With the passage of time, Mutato grew restless for friends; this led Pollidori's father to learn his son's art and begin doing genetic manipulations of his own--this explains the spate of unknown pregnancies, including Izzy (from a pig) and the newspaper reporter (from a chicken). Unfortunately, Pollidori's father's experiments never succeeded, producing only relatively normal humans instead. The latest spate of pregnancies were specifically induced to be children of Mutato, who only ever wanted a companion. Pollidori says he can never recreate Mutato, who was a mistake. Mutato admits his guilt, but says that they gave children to the community, and learned of the world from the townsfolk, and of the love of a mother--explaining his respect for Cher. "Hey. He's no monster," remarks Izzy.

Pollidori is taken away by the police, and Mutato is taken into custody by Mulder and Scully. Mulder, for one, is sad at how the story is ending--Frankenstein has paid the price, but the monster didn't escape to pursue his bride. "There's not going to be any bride, Mulder. Not in this story," says Scully, to which Mulder counters, "Where's the writer? I want to speak to the writer." In walks Izzy.

We next see Mulder and Scully and Mutato driving away, with other cars behind them. In the background, Cher's "Walking in Memphis" plays steadily. Mutato begins tapping his foot in time with the music. We dissolve into a dance hall where a Cher impersonator is singing--Mulder and Scully and Mutato are in the front row, and the townspeople fill the rest of the hall. We cut briefly across to the Jerry Springer show, where Jerry asks Shaineh and Elizabeth if it's hard to love their Mutato babies. "What's not to love?" answers Shaineh.

Back in the dance hall, "Cher" descends the runway and takes Mutato on her arm. Mulder gets up and offers his hand to Scully. They get up and dance. Smiling, they turn to face the stage. The strains of "Walking in Memphis" fade away, the shot of Mulder and Scully turns into a comic book image, and a hand turns the page, closing the book.

Back to the top.

We open on the house of Scully's brother Bill on Navy property near San Diego. The front door opens, admitting Scully and her mother; Bill's very pregnant wife Tara greets them. Mrs. Scully gets momentarily lost in thought, remembering her husband and her dead daughter Melissa. When the phone rings, Scully answers; a mysterious voice says, "Dana, she needs your help. She needs you Dana. Go to her." Scully has the call traced by the local FBI office and goes off to find the source.

The source turns out to be the residence of Marshall and Roberta Sim, where police cars and ambulances swarm the scene. Inside the house, Scully meets Detective Kresge, from the local police department. He informs her that no one could have called from the house because the phone has been off the hook; moreover, the call was placed after Kresge arrived. Finally allowing Scully to see what all the excitement is about, Kresge leads her into the bathroom, where Roberta Sim has committed suicide by slashing her wrists in the bathtub. Outside, Scully meets up with the waiting Bill, who drove her over; Scully tells him about the phone call and says that the voice sounded just like her dead sister Melissa.

Scully waits at the Sim house while Kresge checks her story; apparently her trace came up correct, but tracing from the Sim house reveals that the phone has been off the hook for over 3 hours--he thinks it was just a glitch in the system. In any event, he thinks the case is just a simple suicide. Kresge goes off to talk to Marshall Sim and his daughter Emily, closing the door on the lingering Scully.

That evening, Scully suddenly excuses herself in the middle of dinner with her family. She calls Mulder on the phone; Mulder answers, but Scully changes her mind and hangs up. Back at the table, Tara waxes on about the joys of motherhood; she feels that her life was somehow incomplete without a family of her own. After dinner, Mrs. Scully asks Scully what's wrong, and Scully reveals that as a result of her abduction, she cannot have children. "I never knew how much I wanted it until I couldn't have it," she admits.

Going to bed, Scully dreams of a Christmas past. As a little girl, Bill chased her around the family home, demanding to know the location of a rabbit Scully is keeping; he apparently wants to turn it into rabbit stew. Sneaking into the basement, young Scully pulls out the airtight box where she hid the rabbit, and to her horror finds it dead and crawling with maggots. Turning to the stairwell, she finds herself looking back at Emily Sim.

Scully's dream is interrupted by the ringing of her phone. The mysterious caller and message are repeated. Though it's after 2 a.m., Scully goes to the Sim house to speak to Mr. Sim. Surprisingly, Mr. Sim is still awake, in the midst of a "meeting" with two strange men. She explains the phone call to him, but Mr. Sim is in total disbelief; he quickly turns Scully away, closing the door in her face.

Still curious, Scully heads to the police station and asks Kresge to see the available evidence on Roberta Sim's suicide. Initially reluctant, Kresge eventually relents. Scully notes that the police had been to the Sim house two weeks earlier on a domestic dispute call--"happy people don't kill themselves," remarks Kresge. A tox screen also showed that Mrs. Sim was pumped up on a new migraine medicine (empty boxes of which were found in the trash and in Mrs. Sim's purse); Kresge suspects she anesthetized herself and then slashed her wrists. The one piece of evidence that Scully finds and keeps is a picture of Emily, which was in Mrs. Sim's purse. Returning home, Scully flips through an old family album and finds that a young Melissa is a dead ringer for Emily Sim.

Working into the morning, Scully goes online to check Emily's birth records and finds that they're sealed--she was adopted. Placing a call to an FBI friend, she arranges to have the complete case file of Melissa Scully sent to the San Diego field office. Falling asleep again, Scully dreams of being a young girl and walking toward a coffin at a funeral. As she approaches, the coffin spills over with blood. Looking into the casket, she finds the bloated body of Roberta Sim floating. The corpse's eyes snap open, and the young Scully recoils in horror. Scully is woken by Bill, who is concerned that Scully isn't enjoying her vacation. Scully insists that she needs to continue working, but Bill makes her promise to come to lunch with the family.

Scully returns to the police station to meet with Kresge; she wants to order an autopsy on Roberta Sim, suspecting the husband murdered her. Kresge says Marshall Sim's alibi is airtight; he spent the day at the doctor's office with his daughter. Scully has noticed two suspicious things, however. First, there are no "hesitation" cuts on Mrs. Sim's wrists. Second, she wonders how Mr. Sim called the police from his house if the phone was off the hook--unless he was thoughtful enough to leave the phone the way he found it. Scully is allowed to perform the autopsy, where she finds no evidence of pills in Mrs. Sim's stomach. She does, however, turn up a small needle injection on Mrs. Sim's foot; she is now convinced that Mrs. Sim's suicide was staged.

The police return to the Sim house, where Marshall Sim becomes enraged with Scully and Kresge. Searching turns up a hypodermic needle in the trash; Mr. Sim explains that his daughter Emily has a rare form of anemia that requires daily injections. Scully orders a DNA test run on the blood on the needle. Looking outside the house, Scully also notes the presence of two strange men waiting in a car--the same two men who were "meeting" with Mr. Sim the previous night.

Returning home late, Scully finds a folder of evidence waiting for her on the dining room table. Her study of the evidence is interrupted by the entrance of her sleepy mother, who demands to know where she's been all day. Scully then reveals a remarkable finding to her mother. A DNA test run on Emily Sim matches Melissa's exactly--Emily is Melissa's daughter.

Mrs. Scully is convinced that Melissa would have told her if she had had a child, unconvinced by the photographs or the DNA test--which Scully admits has only a 60% chance of confirming Melissa as the mother. Another, more detailed test, will be able to confirm maternity in a few days. Scully recalls how Melissa disappeared to points all over the west coast in 1994, a time that coincides perfectly with Emily's birth date. Mrs. Scully thinks that Scully may just be imagining much of this because she misses her sister.

Scully dreams of another Christmas, this time as a teenager. She and Melissa are rooting through the presents late on Christmas Eve. Mrs. Scully finds her daughters and tells them they can open the present that they both received--a gold cross necklace. Mrs. Scully says she got a necklace like the cross from her mother at around the same age. When teenage Scully looks up at her mother, she finds herself staring back at her older self. The dream is interrupted by Tara, who says that Kresge is downstairs and wants to talk to her.

Kresge has made an interesting discovery: Mr. Sim has been cashing checks made out to his wife in the amount of $30,000 for the last several months. The checks trace back to a company called Transgen Pharmaceuticals. Scully and Kresge question a doctor there, who reports that he was treating Emily's rare and incurable anemia with an experimental therapy. He says that the checks were given as a token to Mrs. Sim; Mr. Sim, on the other hand, was entirely in favor of the treatment. The doctor also reports that he prescribed the migraine medication to Mr. Sim, who said he was suffering from headaches. Feeling enough evidence is in hand, Kresge arrests Marshall Sim at his home, while Scully takes charge of Emily. Emily is silent and sullen, but shows an interest in Scully's cross. Giving in to the child's wish, Scully gives her cross to Emily.

Scully returns home for the family Christmas party, but can't work up much enthusiasm for the event. Bill draws her aside in the kitchen and demands to know what's wrong. Since Marshall Sim is now in jail, Bill suspects that the real issue is Emily. Bill says Mrs. Scully told him about Scully's theory that Melissa is the mother; he suspects that Scully is just trying to fill the emptiness in her own life. Scully responds angrily, but is interrupted by a phone call.

On the other end is Kresge--who now has a signed confession from Marshall Sim. Scully is now worried about all the witnesses who placed Sim at the doctor's office. Scully goes to see Sim at the county jail, and on the way in, passes the two mystery men she saw outside the Sim home earlier. The jail guard says the men identified themselves as Sim's lawyer. Arriving at Sim's cell, they find him hung to death by his shirt.

Scully returns to find Bill on the way over to visit the neighbors. She tells Bill about Marshall Sim's death; Bill wonders if there is a connection to Emily. He then shows Scully something that puts a big hole in her theory: a picture of a very non-pregnant Melissa dated October 1994. Scully suggests there are other ways to have children, but Bill thinks that Scully is just trying to fulfill her dream to have kids. Their conversation is interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

Bill admits Susan Chambliss to the house; she is there to review Scully's application to adopt Emily Sim. Later, Scully begins to choke up and asks to know why her application is being rejected. Chambliss cites that Scully has never been in a long-term relationship and has a high-stress job, and Emily is a very sick child who requires constant attention. Scully says that she's been re-thinking her priorities since she got cancer, and feels that she's been given a second chance. She says she's avoided emotional attachments to distance herself from loss, but also thinks she's changed. Chambliss can only wish Scully luck.

Scully dreams that night of one more Christmas, this time shortly before she joined the FBI. She talks with Melissa, and expresses her doubts about joining the FBI, citing her father's disapproval. "Follow your heart and it'll take you where you're supposed to go," suggests Melissa. Scully counters that she doesn't believe in fate; Melissa suggests that she really just needs to remember that what's important is the people she will meet and how her life--and the lives of others--will be changed by it.

Scully wakes to find herself on the couch on Christmas morning. Tara begins ripping into the presents, but the celebration is interrupted by the arrival of an FBI courier with a package for Scully. Scully reads over the information in the courier pouch, which is the results of her detailed DNA test. The tests conclusively show that Melissa is not Emily's mother.

However, striking genetic similarities showed up between Emily and Melissa, which prompted another test on another sample. A shocked Scully is left to drop an amazing surprise on her family: "According to this, I am Emily's mother."

To be continued...

Back to the top.

The story begins with Scully walking across a dreamy sand-swept landscape. She speaks (on voice-over) of the journey beginning where it ends, of nightmares, and of isolation. She says what lies ahead is just like what has already passed; she scoops her cross necklace out of the sand. She is now facing "a truth I can no longer deny; alone, as ever."

Mulder meets Scully at the San Diego County Children's Center, where Scully is visiting with Emily. Scully introduces Emily to Mulder; Mulder notices Scully's cross around Emily's neck and they go to talk privately. Mulder informs that with a little hacker help from Frohike, he's found Emily's surrogate mother, a woman named Anna Fugazzi--"as in fake," suggests Mulder. There are no true records, and the agents are left to wonder how Emily came to be; they only know that those responsible will go to great lengths to protect her. Scully says she can protect Emily, but Mulder wants to know who will protect Scully. Scully has called in Mulder to be a witness in her adoption claim; Mulder says he should have refused in order to protect Scully from harm, but came because he has vital information that he hasn't shared with her.

At the county courthouse, Scully and Mulder meet with Judge Maibaum, who is deciding Scully's adoption petition. Mulder tells a quite imaginative story; he says that Scully was abducted along with other women from Allentown, PA ("Nisei"/"731") by people working for the federal government. During her disappearance, all of her ova were removed; he suspects that Emily Sim is a result of this testing. Mulder cannot offer proof, but says that Scully is clearly Emily's mother, whatever the circumstances, and no one should stand in the way of that.

Back at Bill Scully's house, Scully asks Mulder why he never said anything; Mulder says that he was trying to protect her. Scully wonders why this was done, but Mulder doesn't have any answers; he only knows that the experiments were done. Their conversation is interrupted by a phone call; when Scully answers, she gets silence. Mulder has the call traced, and it turns out to originate from the Children's Center. Mulder and Scully rush over and find Emily asleep but running a high fever. When Mulder picks Emily up to take her to the hospital, he notices a greenish cyst at the base of her skull.

At the hospital, a doctor tells Mulder and Scully that Emily is suffering from some kind of viral infection; he doesn't know what the green cyst is, but will have it biopsied. The doctor asks if the agents are the parents; Mulder quietly moves away, and Scully identifies herself as Emily's mother. Scully and the doctor discuss Emily's anemia, while Mulder watches over Emily. When a nurse moves to biopsy Emily's cyst, Mulder emphatically pounds the door to Emily's room and tells the nurse to move away. The nurse continues the biopsy, and when the cyst is pierced, foaming green fluid spouts out of her neck (like the hybrid clones, cf. "Colony"/"End Game") and the nurse collapses.

The nurse is placed in a cooling bath at Mulder's advice; he tells Scully he suspected this given their previous encounters with this lifeform. Scully cannot understand why Emily is suddenly getting worse, but Mulder reminds her that Emily was undergoing treatment. At that moment, the ER doctor pops in and says that Dr. Calderon (the doctor treating Emily at Transgen) will not release her medical records. Scully says Calderon is endangering her life; the ER doctor says that Calderon feels Scully has no authority. Somewhat incensed, Mulder goes to meet with Calderon. Calderon acts sympathetic, but refuses to release any information on Emily's involvement in experimental drug trials, in order to protect the company. Enraged, Mulder slaps and kicks Calderon around and demands information regarding abduction of women and stealing their children. Security arrives, and Mulder is forced to leave. Shortly thereafter, Calderon leaves Transgen, and Mulder follows him.

Calderon shows up at a home, where he meets with the two mysterious men previously seen in the company of Marshall Sim. Calderon reports that Mulder knows of his involvement. One of the men peeks out the window and notes Mulder approaching.. One of the men produces an alien sticker and jabs Calderon in the back of the neck; he oozes green fluid and collapses. Both men then morph into Dr. Calderon, and one of them leaves the building. Mulder follows after.

Back at the hospital, Scully consoles Emily before she is subjected to further tests. An MRI is performed and shows a massive tendril-like infection spread through Emily's body, originating from the back of her neck. The ER doctor says the infection is growing rapidly, and that options are limited. Susan Chambliss, from the adoption agency, has arrived, and wonders what Dr. Calderon would do. Little do they know that "Calderon" has just passed them in the hallway and injected Emily with a bizarre green fluid. When he is leaving, Scully spots him, but he morphs into someone else and disappears.

Mulder drives up to Transgen, where he has followed "Calderon," only to get a phone call from Scully saying that she just saw "Calderon" at the hospital. Mulder suspects that "Calderon" wasn't trying to harm Emily; they don't want her dead either. Scully gets off the phone and finds that Detective Kresge has arrived at her request. She explains that the men responsible for Emily will not hesitate to kill obstacles in their way, but they seem to require Emily alive.

Mulder returns to the house where he saw Calderon earlier. He finds the door open; the building turns out to be a nursing home. Looking around, Mulder spots the room of none other than Anna Fugazzi, who is a 79-year-old woman. Back at the hospital, the ER doctor reports that whatever Calderon gave Emily, it has reduced her fever and other problems, but strangely, the infection in her body continues to grow more aggressively than ever. Chambliss arrives again, concerned that Scully is jeapordizing Emily's health. Scully becomes angry, saying that she is only looking out for Emily's best interests, and that any court order to remove Emily from the hospital will hasten her illness. She vows to figure out what to do for Emily.

Mulder calls Frohike and runs down the roster of nursing home residents. By hacking into a social services database, Frohike reports that all of these old women reportedly gave birth within the last several years. Looking at the charts, Mulder notes that all the women are on hormones; Frohike says that pregnant women already have those hormones and wouldn't need them. Questioning Anna Fugazzi, Mulder learns that the old women have been visited by Calderon for "beauty sleep" treatments.

Back at the hospital, Emily is subjected to treatment in a hyperbaric chamber, but quickly complains of discomfort. Looking into the chamber, Scully is shocked to see writhing tendrils in Emily's arm. In the nursing home, Mulder continues his search and finds a room full of unconscious old women. Further searching turns up a freezer full of odd-looking embryos in a strange green fluid; one of the names on the enclosed packing slip is Scully's. Continuing to nose around, Mulder turns up a box full of vials of green fluid. He takes several and then moves to escape, noting that "Calderon" has just pulled up in his car.

Halfway down the hall, he is stopped at gunpoint by Detective Kresge. Mulder identifies himself just as "Calderon" walks in. Kresge now trains his gun on "Calderon," but Mulder tells him not to fire. "Calderon" throws Kresge aside and bears down on Mulder. Kresge recovers and shoots "Calderon," who begins oozing green fluid. Mulder runs out of the building, and Kresge is overwhelmed by the green ooze. Outside, Mulder calls in for the police; just then, Kresge walks out to inform Mulder that he's captured "Calderon"--but Kresge then gets in Calderon's car and drives away--a morpher.

Mulder finally catches up with Scully back at the hospital; he offers Scully the opportunity to save Emily, but Scully refuses. She says that Emily was never born to be loved, and Mulder speculates she was born "to serve an agenda." Scully cannot pass on the chance to stop that and let Emily's life end with dignity. Mulder offers to stay with Scully, but she wants to be alone. Clutching the vial of green fluid, Mulder walks out, and Scully goes to lie down in Emily's bed.

We dissolve into a church, where a memorial service for Emily is concluding. Scully's mother offers Scully a ride, but she opts to go with Mulder. Scully and Bill embrace, and Scully greets Matthew, Tara and Bill's new baby boy. Scully stands alone in front of Emily's coffin when Mulder walks in and deposits flowers on top of it. Scully can only wonder, "Who was the man who would create a life whose only hope was to die?" Mulder cannot think of a reason, but thinks that Scully was fortunate to find Emily and to love her; in a sense, Scully has saved Emily.

Mulder reports that Kresge is doing better, but that the men who hurt him have vanished, and the nursing home has closed up shop. Transgen denies knowledge of Calderon's work; all the evidence is gone. Scully thinks that evidence does remain; she steps forward, removes the flowers Mulder has just placed, and opens Emily's coffin. But inside, she finds only sand--and her gold cross returned.

Back to the top.

In a prison in Lorton, VA, Robert Modell ("Pusher") is undergoing physical therapy. Two attendants take Modell back to his cell; the older attendant tells the younger that Modell is a cop killer and should never be trusted. That evening, the younger attendant is on duty and sees the signal light going off at Modell's cell. He investigates, and the restrained Modell whispers something into his ear. The following morning, Modell is gone, and the attendant is found banging his head against the wall; when asked Modell's whereabouts, he only replies, "He had to go."

Skinner conducts a briefing to FBI agents and US marshals, who says Modell just walked out the front door. He places Mulder and Scully as Special Agents in Charge because they captured Modell the first time. Mulder tells the other agents about Modell: a sociopath responsible for 17 murders, mostly law enforcement officers. Scully says that winning makes him feel important, and that he has no fear of dying; he also likes to leave clues. Mulder expects Modell will start killing again; he then tells the agents that Modell (who calls himself Pusher) has a bizarre ability to force his will on others.

Privately, Scully expresses her surprise to Mulder that Modell is up and about. Modell can barely walk, and despite being left in a coma after Mulder shot him in the head last time around, he miraculously woke up 6 months ago. Modell is also still dying of a brain tumor. Scully becomes concerned that with Mulder heading the manhunt, Modell is getting what he wants: another crack at a worthy adversary. Meanwhile, Modell turns up at a sporting goods store in Virginia. The clerk has seen Modell on TV and begins to apprehend him with a baseball bat, but Modell "pushes" the clerk into thinking the bat is a timber rattler. Modell gets a change of clothes and grabs a handful of carbohydrate boost bars to fuel his ability.

In prison, Mulder and Scully talk with Modell's physical therapist, who is quite surprised that Modell is walking, given the extensive damage done to his head by Mulder's previous gunshot. Scully notes that Modell has been visited by "LSC" several times; the therapist says that "LSC" is the Little Sisters of Charity, who try to visit all inmates. The therapist says that she's sure Modell belongs in jail, but that she never had problems with him. Just then, an agent comes in and says that Modell's on the phone. Mulder talks to Modell while a trace is run. "Two words: it's alive," quips Modell. Modell says he knows the call is being traced, but says he has something he needs Mulder to hear. Thinking that Modell is starting to "push," Scully urges Mulder to hang up, and he does. The trace is run, and the FBI descends on the sporting goods store. The only signs of Modell are an empty carbo bar wrapper. The store clerk is found wandering the street in Modell's prison uniform; when asked where Modell is, he just answers, "He had to go." Modell is then seen briefly at a fresh murder scene, where a man has been covered in blue paint. He picks up a framed picture of a woman, sets it down, and then leaves.

The FBI soon finds the house of the man drowned in blue paint. The scene also has a Japanese character painted on every available surface. "I'm going to take a wild stab here and guess that this is a clue," Mulder quips. The victim turns out to be Nathan Bowman, the attorney who prosecuted Modell's case two years ago. Meanwhile, an agent fluent in Japanese has translated the painted character: kitsunegari, or "fox hunt." "Fox Mulder," Scully realizes. Mulder notes a paint-stained fingerprint on a photograph; learning that Bowman was married, Mulder tries calling his wife, Linda, at work. Linda works as a realtor; she's not in her office, but is out meeting a client named Fox Mulder.

Realizing the work of Modell, Mulder finds out where Linda Bowman went, and local police descend on a property up for sale, a warehouse. Two local cops go in and zero in on Modell's taunting voice. One of the cops holds Modell at gunpoint, but when the FBI shows up, we see that Modell has "pushed" the cop into holding up his partner. Scully wonders what Modell's interest in Nathan Bowman's wife was. Later, the agents meet with Linda Bowman and interview her. She says the "Fox Mulder" who contacted her never left a number; she seems more at a loss to explain her husband's death. She says that Nathan mentioned Modell's case at home, because it was his biggest triumph, and seems doubly shocked to learn that Modell has escaped from prison. Bowman goes with Skinner, who places her in protective custody. Privately, Mulder wonders why Modell didn't kill the cops when he had the chance; it doesn't fit his earlier pattern.

Modell, meanwhile, is watching the scene from a nearby building. Mulder, searching the area, enters the building and finds a carbo bar wrapper on the floor. He heads to an upper floor and finds Modell standing in a hallway. He holds Modell at gunpoint and calls for backup; Modell tries to tell Mulder that he has something important to say. We next see Mulder walking out of the building and Scully and other agents come charging up. Asked where Modell went, Mulder says, "He had to go."

Mulder tells Scully he feels all right, except for the humiliation of letting Modell escape. He says that Modell deliberately sought him out to deliver a message: "Don't play the game." He further speculates that it's not Modell's game; Modell may not even be playing a game. Modell has had ample opportunity to kill people, including Mulder, but didn't. Mulder is not convinced Modell killed Nathan Bowman, but Scully thinks that Modell has just influenced Mulder's mind.

Curious why Modell was after Linda Bowman, the agents go to interview her at an FBI safe house. Bowman recounts her husband saying that Modell was a menace to society, and wished that Mulder's bullet had killed him instead of crippling him. Throughout the interview, Bowman professes ignorance; she says she only had been married to her husband for two months, having known him just two days longer than that ("Why wait when it's true love?" she asks). She drops subtle hints in her speech, using phrases like "brush with greatness," and "I don't want to paint him as that," that make Mulder suspicious. He thinks that Linda Bowman is the killer; why else would she drop the references to painting, when she didn't even know how her husband had died? He also suspects that Linda Bowman has the ability to "push." Scully and Skinner both think that Mulder is seeing things and is too close to the case; Skinner temporarily suspends Mulder and sends him away without his gun. Annoyed, Mulder storms off, saying he will prove his theory on his own.

Mulder goes back to interview Modell's therapist in prison; the only odd thing the therapist remembers is the nun who visited Modell calling him a "conquered warrior." Mulder shows her Bowman's picture and asks if she was the Little Sister of Charity who visited Modell. Before the therapist can put on her glasses to point out Bowman, she is interrupted by a phone call. Still on the phone, the therapist calmly walks over to a circuit breaker panel and electrocutes herself.

Back at the safe house, Modell turns up, escorted in by a police officer he's currently "pushing." He orders the guard at the gate to go home, and then goes in to speak to Linda Bowman. Meanwhile, Mulder calls Scully and brings her up to speed; he suspects the therapist was killed because she could have fingered Linda Bowman. Scully says the FBI is currently investigating a nearby suicide; Mulder wants to know why no one is answering the phone at the safe house. Realizing that Modell is at the safe house, the agents rapidly backtrack. At the safe house, Skinner finds the hallway deserted and the phone ringing; suspicious, he draws his gun and kicks down Bowman's door, and finds Bowman and Modell inside. Modell "pushes" Skinner to think he has a gun, and Skinner shoots him down.

Modell is taken to the hospital. Skinner insists that Modell had a gun, unwilling to believe that he was "pushed." Mulder thinks that Modell deliberately drew Skinner's fire to protect Linda Bowman; Scully thinks the theory too elaborate, and says Bowman has been sent home. Going to see Modell at the hospital, an irritated Mulder tells Scully, "You give me a call as soon as you think I've come to my senses, all right?" Mulder waits at Modell's bedside for him to awaken, only to be excused by a nurse who wants to change Modell's bandages. Mulder leaves, and we see that the nurse is really Linda Bowman with a card pinned onto her blouse that says "NURSE." Bowman wakes Modell and asks him why he came after her. Modell warns her not to make a mistake, but Bowman is set on finishing what Modell started. Realizing Modell's great pain, Bowman "pushes" him into a peaceful death, stopping his heart.

Mulder comes back minutes later to find Modell dead; the only clue at the scene is the "NURSE" card, which has an address on the back. Mulder heads to the address, another one of Bowman's warehouse properties. Heading inside, Mulder hears Scully calling out for him. Mulder finds Scully with her gun drawn, insisting that Mulder was right; she says Bowman is pushing her. Scully then turns the gun and shoots herself in the head. A panicked Mulder runs forth to find Scully's blood oozing onto the floor. Hearing a voice behind him, Mulder grab's Scully's gun and whirls to point it on Bowman. But Bowman insists that she is Scully, and that Bowman is currently "pushing" Mulder to see her as Scully. She says that Bowman wants Mulder to shoot Scully because he couldn't live with the act. Just before Mulder is about to shoot Bowman, Bowman fires her gun just over Mulder's shoulder. Mulder whirls and finds Bowman shot on the ground, and then whirls back to find the real Scully in Bowman's place. Gasping for breath, Linda Bowman says, "You think you can hold me?"

Debriefing with Skinner, Scully reports that Bowman had the same kind of brain tumor that Modell had, an incidence that runs in the family: Bowman and Modell are fraternal twins who were separated at birth. Bowman only learned of Modell's existence six months ago, and set out to get revenge on the man who crippled her twin brother: Mulder. Privately, Skinner congratulates Mulder for being on the mark when everyone else was off, for "winning" Linda Bowman's game. Ill at the thought of having nearly shot Scully, Mulder asks, "How come I feel like I lost?"

Back to the top.

In Coats Grove, MI, Phil Rich returns home late from work and almost immediately gets into an argument with his son, Bobby, who has been negligent in his chores. Unplugging Bobby from his video game, Phil drags his son outside, where his job of digging a ditch lies incomplete; Phil insists that Bobby finish shoveling, even though its late at night. Bobby threatens his father with a shovel, but loses his resolve and runs into a nearby grove of hazelnut trees, passing a strange old man. Phil chases after, but suddenly, the earth opens up underneath his feet and sucks him in.

The next day, Mulder and Scully are on the case. Scully performs Phil Rich's autopsy and determines that his stomach was full of over 12 pounds of mud; the mud in his lungs killed him; she finds it odd that such a well-liked man turned up murdered. Mulder, however, is suspicious; the body was found buried upright in the earth; despite Scully's suggestion of a mudslide following heavy rains, Mulder cannot fathom how Bobby Rich could have killed his much larger and stronger father in such a manner. Mulder goes to question Bobby, who says he's innocent and is merely who the police have decided to blame for the death; Bobby does admit to hating his father. Scully, meanwhile, interviews Bobby's mother, Patty, who says that Bobby was a typical rebellious teenager, and that everything just came to a head the previous night. She says that Phil was agitated due to a blight that had recently fallen on the local hazelnut crop, but that he never raised his hand to Bobby. When Phil was pulled into the earth, it appeared to her that Bobby was trying to save his father. Bobby, meanwhile, says that Phil would shove him around from time to time.

Mulder and Scully meet up in the family's blighted orchard and compare stories from their interviews; neither is terribly surprised at what the other has to say. Mulder goes to the hole where Phil Rich's body was found (and later dug out with a backhoe) to look for clues. Scully offers an elaborate scientific theory as to how Phil's stomach filled with mud, which Mulder simply doesn't buy. She says that Bobby is still the most likely suspect, having been in therapy for his anger since 1995. Just then, Scully spies a strange old man wielding an axe in the orchard, but the man slips out of sight.

At school that day, Bobby meets up with his girlfriend, Lisa Baiocchi, who wants nothing to do with the murder suspect; Bobby is then roughed up by some other boys, but they back off when he threatens to "kill them too." Elsewhere, Mulder and Scully go to speak with Karin Matthews, the psychologist treating Bobby. Karin says that Bobby has a long history of being abused by his father; she recounts an incident where the boy spilled a glass of milk at dinner and was sent into the basement by his father for an entire evening. Matthews is evasive in asnwering questions, not willing to point out Bobby's guilt; she will only say that sometimes in crimes there are only victims. Mulder suggests that Matthews be frank, because he believes that Bobby is innocent--but the psychologist keeps a tight lip.

That night, Bobby meets up with Lisa outside her home; Lisa is still scared of Bobby, but he's proud of the fact that he "stood up" to his father, after all the abuse. He further suggests that Lisa stand up to her father as well. Returning to her house, Lisa receives a stern lecture from her father, who warns her at length to stay away from Bobby. Lisa screams at her father and storms out of her upstairs room. Suddenly, the window glass blows into the room and there is a terrible clatter; when Lisa rushes back in, her father has plunged out the window to his death.

Examining the crime scene the next morning, Scully reports that the victim, Mr. Baiocchi, was a forman for one of the local grovers; he appears to have been pushed out the window. The agents go to speak with Lisa, who is now being counseled by Karin Matthews. Speaking with Matthews privately, Mulder learns that Lisa is another of her patients, being treated for an eating disorder; again, Matthews remains very hazy about details. She says that Lisa's father was also abusive, and that her therapy technique was to teach victims to "own" their anger and break the abuse cycle. She also says that Lisa was crying tears of joy when learning that her aunt was coming to take her away tomorrow.

Meeting up again, Scully reports that Lisa met with Bobby, who was sitting nearby in his truck when Lisa came home. Mulder is still doubtful of Bobby's guilt in either death; when he looks at Lisa's window, he notes glass inside the house--indicating that the window was blown in, not out. That day in school, Scully comes in with two police officers and takes Bobby Rich into custody. Meanwhile, Mulder goes to talk with the coroner regarding Mr. Baiocchi's death; the cause of death was a broken neck. Looking at the body, Mulder is surprised to find a small wood sliver in the body's neck. Still believing the boy's innocence, Mulder goes and shows Scully (who is interrogating Bobby) the sliver.

Lisa Baiocchi returns home from school, staying in the custody of Karin Matthews while waiting for her aunt to pick her up. Lying in bed, Lisa hears a distraught female voice elsewhere in the house, having an argument with an unseen voice; the voice is harsh, saying, "I wish you'd never been born." Alarmed, Lisa peers out from her door, and sees a downcast Karin Matthews returning to her room. Mulder, meanwhile, has learned that the wood sliver is greenwood, from a fresh, live tree. He climbs the hazelnut tree outside Lisa's house, looking for clues. Scully, remaining on the ground, is suddenly startled by the arrival of the strange axe-wielding old man she saw earlier. The man says that he takes care of the trees, and that they are dying. The old man recognizes the wood sliver as being from a hazelnut tree; Scullyquestions that, saying the sliver is live wood. The old man hacks into a tree with his axe, and a strange bloody sap oozes out of it; he says the strange happenings occurred 20 years ago, and are caused by "a very bad man." Elsewhere, a curious Lisa has gone lurking into Karin Matthews' basement, where she finds a body sitting. A strange voice calls her a "little snoop," and the door slams shut, locking her in.

The following morning, Mulder and Scully go to question Karin Matthews, having learned that her father died in a hazelnut orchard 20 years ago under circumstances nearly identical to those of Bobby Rich's father. The rumor among her father's old grove workers is that his death brought an end to a blight on the hazelnut trees in the area; Matthews remains reclusive and unwilling to talk about the incident, saying the grove workers were simply superstitious. Meanwhile, we see that Lisa is still locked up in Karin's basement, pounding on the small window for help. Karin refuses to let Lisa out of the basement "until it's safe."

Curiosity aroused, Mulder goes to the local cemetery and digs up the grave of Karin Matthews' father; he finds the casket empty, filled only with hazelnut branches. In the meantime, Lisa's aunt arrives to pick her up, but Karin says that Lisa left to go to the town bus station. In the basement, Lisa continues pounding on the window for help, and her aunt hears her. But as soon as her aunt approaches the window, tree branches reach up from nowhere and impale her. Mulder, meanwhile, has begun to concoct a theory: all of the victims, including Karin's father 20 years ago, were tied to the local hazelnut orchards--they "lived and died" by the trees. He suspects that either nature itself or someone controlling nature is responsible for the killings--which explains all of the physical evidence, including the missing body of Karin's father. Scully just thinks that they are looking at classic cases of abused children; Mulder wants to go and talk to them again.

Mulder goes to question Bobby Rich at home, demanding to know who really killed his father. Mulder gives his version of the events surrounding Phil Rich's murder, which are quite accurate; Bobby never wanted Phil to die, and in fact tried to save him. Finally, Bobby admits that Karin made him stand up to his father; in therapy, Karin had Bobby pretend he was his "abusive" father. Meanwhile, Lisa is still stuck in Karin's basement. A taunting voice from the top of the stairs tells Lisa that she isn't safe, and she's going to wish she was dead--and then we see that the voice is coming from Karin.

Mulder and Scully descend on Karin's house that night, but find that she's not home and her front door is wide open; strange muddy footprints are found on the floor. Descending into the basement, the agents find Lisa's dead aunt, and something even more bizarre--a human skeleton shrouded in tree roots. Mulder suspects that the skeleton is Karin's father. From the beginning, everything that's happened has been about Karin and the abuse she suffered as a child; she is responsible for manipulating nature and causing all of the recent deaths. Suddenly, the agents hear a muffled scream and find Lisa upstairs, where Karin has just fled.

Mulder pursues Karin into the hazelnut orchard in his car, until a branch drops off of a tree and the car wrecks. Karin, meanwhile, goes to the Rich house and demands to see Bobby; in a panic, Bobby flees into his family's orchard. Karin catches up to him quickly and begins burying him in the orchard mud, speaking in a creepy voice, repeating her father's old abuses. Mulder shows up and tries to talk Karin down, telling her to stand up to her father; but the voice inhabiting Karin's body says that Karin is dead now. As Mulder and Bobby are pulled into the mud, the axe-wielding caretaker shows up and lops Karin's head off. "It's done now," he says. "No more." Karin's body sinks into the mud.

On voice-over, Mulder reports that forensics teams haven't been able to establish how Karin controlled nature, why her body sank into the mud, or how her father's body wound up in her cellar. Mulder's personal speculation, however, is that Karin herself, being a victim of abuse, never faced her fears--or her father. She began seeing abuse in the children around her, and began to give them the power to fight that she never had. He thinks that Karin experienced "a release for a victim who, unable to face up to her own past, was finally consumed by it."

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Last Update: 13 September 1999
URL: http://www.oocities.org/khornberger_1/xfiles/xfiles.html

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