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The Four Corners Cycle Feedback- Cherished and answered: Spookey247@msn.com Summary - Truths lurk in a dark place. Our friends descend and delve. Summary - Truths lurk in a dark place. Our friends descend and delve. Notes and Acknowledgments at the beginning of 1/9 More notes and thank-yous at the end of 9/9. Dana feels her way to the door, trying the lock. She knows it is a pointless, futile thing to do. Over the last several minutes she has felt her way through the room, searching for a light, searching the walls for additional doors, ventilation shafts, anything that might give her a way out, and has come up empty. She slams her hand against the door. "Birch!" she screams, for what seems like the hundredth time. "Birch, I want to talk!" She slumps against the door, tears of grief and frustration rolling down her face. Ben has remained silent and still during her efforts. She can hear his slow, labored breathing, near the wall, close by. "Ben..." There's a hitch in his voice, the sound of tears. "Yeah." "Was Krycek lying?" He doesn't answer. "He wasn't lying, was he?" Still no answer. "How could you do that to Mulder, Ben?" she whispers. "Couldn't you have told him what happened? It might have saved Maia's life." He draws his breath in, sharply. "You think I don't know that?" he rasps. "He suffered for years because of what she did. I can't believe..." "*He* suffered?" Ben's voice has become a moan. "Everyone suffered." She listens to him crying in the darkness. "Why did she do it, Ben?" "They threatened the boys. They threatened Will. She did it to protect them and she made me promise not to tell. I didn't know about the other trips to Riverbend, Dana. But after the twins were born, when I saw the way she died, it wasn't too hard to figure it out." "And you could have told him about it, Ben. Why didn't you tell him?" "You'd have to know Maia to understand," he cries. "When she asked for a promise, she wasn't just saying it. It was really important to her, that's the way she was. God," he sobs, "I loved her. I *honored* her. She didn't want him to know, Dana. I promised I wouldn't tell." A key turns in the lock and the door swings open. A flashlight beam hits them as they scramble to their feet. "Dana?" A woman's voice streaks toward them in the darkness. They can just make out her silhouette, standing behind the light. "Who are you?" Dana asks. "If you want to keep living you have to come with me, now." They follow her into the hallway and are astounded to find Dru and Sam waiting for them there. "Oh my god," Dana gasps. "Dru, are you all right? Sam, where did you come from?" Sam looks bewildered. "Where's Will?" he asks. Dana and Ben exchange an anguished glance. "You're going to have to chat later," the young woman whispers fiercely. "This place is going up in smoke in about five minutes." The light catches her face. Dana stares in wonder at her shining red hair. The night keeps all her light inside. She wonders at the stars... "What's your name?" Dana whispers, reaching towards her. An explosion rocks the floor under their feet. "Follow me," the young woman hisses. "We have to get to the crypt." "Ben, where's Will?" Sam asks, as they run down the hall. "Katya, where's my father?" Dru shouts. They are nearing the door to the central chamber. Katya stops. She turns toward him. "He's dead, kid." Sam pales. "No," he whispers. "Look, I'm sorry, it's true." Another explosion shakes the passage. Dana and Ben exchange another desperate glance. "Sam, she's telling the truth," Dana says. Sam's mouth hardens into a tight white line. Dru stares at the floor. "Where's his body?" he asks harshly. "What?" "Where's his body?" Sam repeats his brother's words. "We're not leaving without it." "There's no time." Dana touches Katya's arm. "Please." Their eyes lock in the pale light. Blue into blue. "Check that room there," Katya whispers. "That's the lab." Sam hands his rifle to Ben. He takes the flashlight and runs into the lab, emerging, moments later, with Mulder's body slung over his shoulder. Dana's knees go weak at the sight. She slumps against Ben, insensible. "Dana, please," he begs. "We have to go." Forcing her legs to carry her body, she follows Sam toward the entrance to the burial chamber. She wishes she were strong enough to carry Mulder herself. They descend the stairs that lead to the crypt. An explosion nearly knocks them off their feet. A strong light pierces the darkness. Birch and his people are waiting. "Keep moving!" Katya shouts. They follow her across the floor. Dana hears gunshots echoing, Birch's voice ordering them to freeze. A wooden door looms ahead. Katya rips it open and urges them inside. Sam disappears from view, bent under the weight of his father's body. Ben turns back, raising Sam's rifle to ward off their pursuers. "Dana, go, go..." Birch and his men return fire. Shots bounce off the pedestal, making sharp cracking sounds. Suddenly Dana feels a searing pain across her forehead. The black air swims and swirls. She drops to her knees, dazed, tasting blood. Katya kneels beside her. "Dana!" she cries. "You, take her...here's the light, give me the gun. Carry her up. Go, now!" Ben carries Dana through the doorway and starts climbing the stairs. Her ears ring with explosions and her head swims with remembrance... Soft hands brushing her hair. "The night keeps all the light inside, to fill her empty womb..." A gentle voice, singing dark lullabies. "Her breath comes quick and shallow, like a dying bird..." "Ben, Ben...stop. Oh god, put me down. Ben, please...I have to go back for my daughter." She struggles. He sets her down. Her knees buckle. He catches her. "Dana, you're hurt, you can't." "She's my daughter, Ben. She's Mulder's daughter. I have to go back for her." Ben holds her tightly. "Dru!" Dru, a few steps above them, turns. Ben gestures for him to come back down. "Here's the light. Go, don't wait. I have to go back." He disappears down the stairway. ~~~~ Will picks himself up from the floor of the chasm. He moves his body slowly, gingerly. He is surprisingly free of pain. It's hard to understand. There had been a horrifying sensation when he hit the bottom, of his head slamming against some kind of blunt stone object. For a brief instant the pain had been unholy and indescribable. But now it's gone. Looking around him, he begins to understand. He's visited this place many times before. Black water purls and dances inches from his toes. A high, rocky bluff towers over the far shore of the river. A small, square structure is perched on its edge. In front of the structure, a figure stands waiting, wrapped like a mummy in a simple, black shawl. The figure raises an arm and beckons. Will knows what he has to do. Icy water fills his boots as he plunges into the river. It swirls around his calves, his knees, his waist, threatening to paralyze his body and suck it into the depths. It's a familiar sensation. The secret is to always keep moving. He strikes out against the strong current. Pulling himself through the shocking black water takes every ounce of his strength. He glances down. Helpless faces stare up at him just under the surface, their mouths and eyes wide with fear. His heart beats faster. He fights to keep his footing. The river bottom drops away, forcing him to swim. The hands of the forsaken pluck at his toes and grasp at his ankles, trying to slow his pace. He kicks harder and pushes against the flood, but it's difficult to keep his mouth and nose above the waterline, almost impossible to make any progress. It shouldn't be this hard, he thinks. It's never been hard before. He goes down. His lungs begin to fill. "Will!" A familiar voice in his head. He breaks the surface, gasping for air, casting a desperate glance upward. A thin, white rope dangles above his head. One determined grab and his fingers close around it. He lifts himself up and out of the current. Slowly, tortuously, he ascends, pulling the weight of his dripping body hand over hand over hand over hand... The wind plasters his wet clothes to his body. He's never been so cold. There's no choice but to keep climbing, though. He knows that someone is waiting. ~~~~ A deafening explosion rocks the winding stairway. Dust and debris shower onto their heads. Sam travels steadily upward. Dru follows, carrying Dana like a doll in his arms. She stirs. "Dru, where's Ben? Are they coming? Did he find her?" "I don't know. I don't hear them." "God, do you feel that?" Sam shouts. "Fresh air..." He lays his father gently on the stairs and lifts himself up through a hole in the rock. "This is it," he calls down to them. "Dru, help me with Will..." The earth shakes below them. "Come on, man, we have to get out of here. This whole damn bluff might come down." The rock wall of the stairway threatens to give way. Dru grasps Mulder under the arms, hoisting him toward his brother's waiting hands. Then he pulls Dana up the remaining stairs and lifts her through the hole. Sam has laid Mulder on the crisp brown grass at the top of the bluff. Dana collapses beside him, sucking fresh air into her lungs. "Dru," she cries, as Sam pulls his brother out into the night, "is Ben behind you?" "Goddammit, no." Dru peers back down into the hole, calling Ben's name. "We should go," Sam says. "Birch's people could be behind us." "What about Ben, man? What if he's hurt down there?" Dru crouches, preparing to go back into the hole. The ominous rumbling below them grows louder. "He'll catch up," Sam says grimly. Dru springs to his feet and runs to the edge of the bluff. He looks down, then jogs back toward them. "I can see a fire down there. Is that Kaya and Matt?" "Yeah, come on." Sam bends wearily toward Mulder's body. Dru stops him with a hand on his shoulder. "Sam," he says, quietly and firmly, "let me, man." Sam steps back. Dru lifts his father. He focuses the light and starts looking for a trail. Sam scoops Dana up without another word, following his brother. ~~~~ The walls of the chamber are beginning to crumble. Yekaterina squints in Birch's bright light, firing recklessly, blocking the exit that leads out of the crypt. "Put the gun down, Yekaterina." She fires toward the sound of his voice in reply. "There's no time for this, woman. We need to leave!" "Think I'm letting you leave here, Birch?" Rocks drop from the ceiling. A shot cracks into the wall above her head. "We're going through that door and you're going with us. Put the gun down and I won't have to hurt you." "Katya, come on..." Wallace's voice is desperate. "We've got you outgunned. Don't be stupid." A rock crashes down. Yekaterina dodges, keeping her rifle level. The wooden door creaks open behind her. "Katya," an unfamiliar voice hisses. "The place is coming down, come on, come with me!" She twists to see who's talking, dropping to the floor as several shots ring out. The man who came with Dana crouches and reaches toward her. "Dana needs you," he cries. "Come with me, now!" "Dana won't leave this canyon alive if Birch has his way. Go without me!" The earth rumbles under their feet. Long cracks begin to appear in the floor. "Give it up, Yekaterina!" Birch and his men are advancing. She straightens, leveling her gun and sending a shower of bullets in their direction. Wallace and Jonah scatter. Birch moves forward, unafraid. "If you don't put the gun down I'll have to hurt you, Katya. You won't be able to help your mother, then. Give me the gun and we'll talk about it later." Yekaterina tries to breathe. Rocks rain down around her. "She *is* my mother. God, I knew it. I knew it. That is what you're saying, isn't it, Birch?" "That's what I'm saying. Now put the gun down." The man in the doorway calls to her. "Katya, come with me, let's get out of here, now!" Birch draws so near she can smell him, staring at her over the barrel of his gun. Wallace and Jonah close in behind him, keeping her in their sights. Yekaterina lowers her rifle. "Let's deal, Birch." "Make it fast." "Let them all go. I'll come with you." ~~~~ Snap. Bright light. Will stands at one end of an empty room. A heartbeat, slow. Growing slower. Everything is made of smooth, polished wood: the floors, the walls, the ceiling. A large mahogany desk and an old-fashioned coat rack sit near the far wall of the room. In its center there is a simple ladder-backed chair. Silence, rushing like blood. The heartbeat, sluggish and irregular. The room has no clear exit. Will looks over his shoulder to see if there's a door behind him. A rustle. A flurry. Wings settle into place. His head snaps forward. A white owl sits in the middle of the desk. Silence, still as glass. The heartbeat, fading. The owl is waiting for him. His feet make hollow tapping sounds as he walks. He sits cautiously in the ladder-backed chair. The owl spreads its wings. It sheds its skin. It hangs its owl body neatly on the coat rack. Will blinks and shakes his head. Maia stands before him, wrapped in a black woolen shawl. Tears spring unbidden to his eyes. He blinks them back. "I've come here so many times," he says hoarsely. "I've looked for you. Why did you stay away?" Her face is grave, earnest, loving. "He's coming for them, Will. You have to keep them safe." ~~~~ Grief, like a bubbling spring. She can't suppress it any longer. Dana's spirit is leaden and cold, darker than the night. Sam carries her effortlessly; she feels weightless, more nothing than nothing. Dru speaks occasionally, warning his brother about impending hazards, but Sam's answers are monosyllabic; he works hard to keep his footing as they descend the steep, rocky trail. She lays her head against Sam's chest, blood and tears running pink onto his shirt. She keeps her eyes fixed on Mulder's face, lying half-hidden in shadows, rocking gently against Dru's back. Dana listens to the breeze rustling the grass as they walk. She prays this is all a dream. She feels Sam pressing his face against her hair. "Dana," he whispers, "we're back at camp. I'm going to put you down now." ~~~~ Kaya screams as Dru lays Mulder on the ground. She throws herself over her father's body, hiding her face against him. Dana walks unsteadily toward the blanket, leaning against Sam. She kneels by Mulder, laying two fingers on the cool flesh of his throat, checking for a pulse. Kaya lies prone, weeping. Dana reaches out to stroke her back, murmuring soothingly. "Is he really dead?" Dru asks, frozen in place behind her. Dana stares into Mulder's blood-streaked face, pushing a stray lock of hair off his forehead and letting her palm rest on his cheek. His flesh is growing colder by the second. Tears spill unheeded down her face. None of this seems real. Dru kicks the ground. "I refuse to believe this." "Yeah," Sam whispers. "Nothing can kill Will. He doesn't die." Dana traces Mulder's icy white lips with the tip of her index finger. "Go after him, Sam," Dru whispers. The shock of Dru's words raises Kaya's head. She stares at Sam expectantly. Sam backs away. "I can't go there. He hasn't taught me..." "Sam, please," Kaya begs. "Please try." "No." Sam says tightly, his face utterly blank. "Will wouldn't want me to." "It's okay," Dana says, her eyes locked to Mulder's face. "It's okay, everyone. I'll go." She closes her eyes, bends to kiss him, collapses on top of his body. ~~~~ Snap. She stands inside. The sky hangs low as earth. Mud. Rock. Air. The river flows. Dead fingers scratch the shoreline. Moans. Unnatural. Deafening. Hands like the moon. Hands over her ears. "Mulder!!!" she screams. No answer. ~~~~ Will shakes his head, bewildered. "Coming for them? Coming for who?" "The babies, Will. You need to understand." "Babies? Do you mean the twins?" "Your babies, yes. You have to protect them." "Who's coming for them, Maia?" "A man who wants to control them." "What do you mean?" "You've been told about Kaya." "It's true, then." "Yes. I'm sorry." "God, why did you..." "They said they would kill my children. I didn't have any choice. That's not why I'm here now, though. Listen: seven years after Kaya's birth they came to me and threatened to expose what I'd done. I didn't know then that Kaya was your child, Will. I was afraid I'd lose her, and Sam and Dru as well, if I didn't give them what they wanted. I left the children with my mother during Soyal. I went to Riverbend. The doctor put the eggs inside me, just like he did with Kaya, several, to make sure one would take. They told me this time the pregnancy would be different, more dangerous. They warned I would get very big. We didn't figure out there were two babies until it was too late. Then they told me to prepare myself. They told me I was going to die." "And you kept this to yourself? You went through that alone?" "I couldn't trust anyone, not Ben, not my mother...the situation was so serious, I knew they would tell you. I knew you too well, Will. I knew what you'd do, go off and get yourself killed. I was as good as dead. The children needed their father. So I did what I had to do." Light rushes in silence. Will closes his eyes. "Maia, the twins...I need to understand. Who's their father? Where did they come from?" Maia crosses the room, her feet barely grazing the smooth, wooden floor. "You're their father, Will." He whispers. "That's not possible." She lays an ice-cold hand on his cheek. "Will, they're you." The ladder-back chair clatters to the floor as Will rises, stumbling backward. "What do you mean, they're me?" The room fades away. The floor disappears. ~~~~ "Dana..." Kaya reaches for Dana's hand. Dana's unconscious form rolls off Will's body. Sam drops to his knees and feels for a pulse. "Holy shit," Dru says. "Do you think she really did it?" "Of course not," Sam murmurs. "She's hurt. She's exhausted." Matthew speaks quietly. "Where's Ben, Sam?" He stands at the edge of camp, looking out into the darkness. Sam doesn't answer. "Dru, help me move her." "Don't take her away from Will," Kaya cautions. Sam shoots her a wrathful look, but doesn't argue. They arrange Dana so she lies next to Will. Sam shudders internally at the sight of the two of them laid out together on the blanket. He kneels and tends Dana's injury. "Looks like a bullet grazed her forehead. Bleeding's slowing down. Her heartbeat's steady. I think she'll be okay." He paces, looking around. "We've got to move camp," he murmurs. "I don't know where Birch and his people are, but we need to hide until daylight..." Boots crunching over rock in the darkness. Ben steps out of the shadows. "Ben, you inconsiderate bastard." Matt throws his arms around his friend. "Where the hell have you been?" "We've been trying to get down that bluff in the dark without breaking our fucking necks." Matthew looks confused. "We?" Katya melts out of the darkness and stands near Ben's shoulder. "Holy fuck, Katya..." Dru starts toward her. "You've got to help my father." Sam moves toward the fire, intending to scatter it. "We need to get moving." "Sam, it's all right," Ben says. "We're safe. We can leave in the morning." Sam doesn't seem to hear him. He scrapes his boot through the embers. "We can talk later." Dru grabs his brother's arm. "Didn't you hear Ben, man? Just wait." Katya takes a few shy steps into the camp. "Where's Dana? I came to say good-bye to her." Sam gestures limply toward the blanket. "There. She passed out a few minutes ago, but I think she'll be okay." Katya moves swiftly, dropping to her knees with a small cry and placing her hands on both sides of Dana's face. Sam takes a few steps toward her. "She's going to be fine. It's nothing, just a crease. She needs to rest, that's all." Still sitting near her father's body, Kaya stares in astonishment at the new arrival. "God, they could be sisters," Matt mutters. Ben clears his throat and looks at the ground. Katya grasps both of Dana's hands. "She's cold," she rasps. "This isn't sleep." "She went to find my father." Kaya whispers. "I know that's where she is." "You can help them, Katya," Dru urges. "You know what I mean." Katya puts her hand on Will's chest. "You weren't dead when I helped you, kid," she says, softly. "I don't think I can do anything for him." Ben approaches Katya cautiously, squatting on the ground next to her. "Before you go, Katya, I... I need to tell you something about this man." He casts a glance around the camp. "Something your mother would want you to know." "Her mother? Who?" Dru crouches near them, listening intently. Everyone waits for Ben to speak. Ben hesitates. He stares at Katya. "No, Dru. This isn't for you, man. It's only for her, for now..." He leans over and whispers in Katya's ear. Her eyes go wide. She moans. ~~~~ Will hangs in the wind, bloodless fingers clinging desperately to the high, rocky bluff. He stares down at the rushing black water, far beneath his dangling feet. The white owl takes flight above his head, wheeling off into the lavender sky. "I have a gift to give you, brother." Will looks up. Alex Krycek stands on the bluff above him, the tips of his boots inches from Will's fingers. "There's nothing you can give me that I'd want, Krycek." "No? Are you sure?" The wind buffets Will's body. He strains to keep his grip on the sharp, slippery rocks. Krycek leans closer. "Listen to me, Mulder. You can go back to Scully. You can live beyond living. I'll tell you how it works." "There's no point, Krycek," Will gasps, his muscles beginning to ache. "I'm not going to listen to you." "Did you know that you have the power to save humanity, Mulder? Isn't that what you've always wanted? To be the big hero? Ride in on the white horse and save the day?" "The boys Maia spoke of. They *are* you, Mulder. When she came to Riverbend that very first night, she brought us the cells that we needed. There were still some bugs in our method, but we thought we had found the key. The Native women, their immunity to the alien virus...Maia was able to bear your children, Mulder. We hoped she'd be able to give birth to your clone. And she did, Mulder. It was better than we could have hoped for. Now we have not one, but two perfect replicas, with the same cell structure, the same body chemistry. You were engineered by the aliens to repopulate the planet with their bloodline. But we have successfully stolen the design." "This is sick, Krycek," Will shouts over the noise of the wind. "I don't believe you." "What possible reason is there for me to lie now? I'm trying to help you, my friend. Live. Raise those boys. When they reach maturity Birch will contact you. Breed them with your daughter, Mulder. Repopulate the planet. You'll become the Father of Humanity, Adam in a whole new garden..." Will stares up at him in horror. "My daughter? What are you talking about?" "Your first-born child. She's a miracle, Mulder. Conceived when the alien virus was ravaging your body. Scully's only successful birth. Think about it. She's the deal, Mulder, the real deal. The new model. When your clones breed with her, we'll win." Will's grip begins to fail. "I won't do it. It's insane." Krycek stares down at him, smiling cruelly. "Here's my gift to you, brother. The secret to eternal life. It's Yekaterina's kiss, my friend. Yekaterina's kiss." He kicks Will's fingers viciously. They lose their hold on the rock. Will plummets helplessly. Falling. Falling. The water waits for him. ~~~~ Kaya moves aside, puzzled, as Katya kneels on the blanket beside Will's body. Katya studies him tenderly, tears in her eyes, her face ablaze with rapture. "There, the nose," she murmurs. "I know that nose. Those lips..." She reaches out to smooth his hair. "When I saw you in Dru's mind, I knew I'd seen you before," she tells him, hoarsely. "...in Dana's mind, in my father's..." She smiles wistfully, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "I always knew in my heart Alex wasn't really my father..." She presses her lips against Will's. "Hey. Sam..." Kaya stiffens, looking toward her brothers in alarm. "What's she doing?" Sam mutters, taking a step forward, reaching out to stop her. "Sam, no." Dru seizes his brother by the arm, pulling him back. "Let her. Kaya, it's okay. She can help him." "I don't understand this..." "Neither do I. But you guys, I was fucking shot in the back. This morning I couldn't feel my legs. Then Katya came and...look, she has a gift. I know Will would want us to trust it." Sam gestures helplessly toward the woman who is kissing his father's dead body. "Dru...dammit, why should I trust her? I don't even know who the hell she is." "She's Dana's daughter." Three dark heads turn to Ben in amazement. "That's what you meant, before," Dru murmurs. Ben silences him with a hand on his arm: "And I don't quite know how to break it to you, kids, but she's Will's daughter, too. That makes her your sister." Kaya crosses her arms tightly over her chest, her face expressionless. Sam opens his mouth, then closes it again. Dru gives a low whistle. Smoke from the compound inside the mountain marches like an invading army through the camp. All at once a surge of energy runs through Katya's body. She reaches back toward Dana, grasping for her mother's hand. Will's body begins to shake. "Oh my god, look." Kaya rises slowly from the ground and backs away into Matthew's arms. "She has a gift all right..." Sam murmurs, amazed. He sinks to his knees, taking Kaya's place by Will's side. He reaches for his father's lifeless hand and closes his eyes to pray. End 8 of 9
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