Washington, D.C.
October 12th
“Morning Muld……what happened to you, Mulder?”
FBI Special Agent Dana Scully looked up from
her desk to greet her partner, but she started to stare at him in awe as
soon as she caught sight of him as he entered the tiny office located in
a remote corner of the FBI Headquarters’ basement in Washington, D.C. that
belonged to the X-Files. Actually the so-called office didn’t look
like an office at all. It looked more like a store room, with files
piled up everywhere – on the floor, the desks, on and inside file cabinets,
and everywhere else one could think of. But Scully had long since
gotten use to the chaotic environment of the X-Files department years ago.
Well, it was just one of the disadvantages of having to work
with her partner, whom the other agents had not-so-secretly nicknamed
“Spooky Mulder” -- although Mulder didn’t look spooky at all. In
fact, he was a tall, handsome man in his early thirties, though he looked
younger than his age. He had acquired his notorious nickname because
of his farfetched -- if not absurd in the first place -- ideas and theories,
and the fact that he believed wholeheartedly in extraterrestrial lifeforms
and all sorts of paranormal activities. Nevertheless, he was one
of the best agents in the FBI. Even though his ideas might tend to
be more than a bit “spooky” at times.
“Well, to sum it all up, I’ll have to say
fate is not exactly going in my favor ever since I woke up this morning.”
FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder ran his right hand through his already tousled
hair and let out a heavy sigh. He was still wearing his suit and
tie from the day before. The fabric of his clothes was wrinkled.
The right sleeve of his suit was slightly torn, while his other one was
covered with green paint. His sleepy eyes indicated that he hadn’t
slept well the night before. His tie
hung loosely on his collar, threatening to fall off, but somehow still
managed to cling on his shirt against all laws of physics Scully had ever
learned while completing her undergraduate degree at the Academy.
“You mean they actually let you get in with
you looking like this?” Scully asked in disbelief. There was
unmistakable laughter in her eyes.
“I wouldn’t be standing here if they didn’t.”
Mulder took off his coat and hug it up as he spoke. Then he started
to roll up his sleeves and stretched. His eyes were barely open as
he performed the daily routine.
“So what happened to you?” Curiosity
danced in Scully’s eyes.
Mulder sighed yet again. “Well, let’s
just say the stories about bad luck following the breaking of a mirror
are proved true.”
“So you broke your mirror.” Scully noted.
“Well, actually, it all started with that
damned alarm clock.” Mulder sank heavily onto his seat and put his
long legs up on his desk, which was already piled with folders, documents
and other miscellaneous items that scattered around the tiny working space.
“I stayed up late to
finish up the report on our last case. But then that blasted
machine called a computer broke down and ate my work. I had to start
all over from scratch again. I had about an hour of sleep, and that
blasted alarm didn’t go off as it was supposed to. I was kind of
in a hurry and my sleeve got caught in a rusted nail on the wall.
Then I yanked the nail a bit to hard and CRASH! There goes my mirror.”
He spread his hands. “Guess what? It looks like I’ve got seven
years of bad luck ahead of me!”
“What about the paint?” Scully pointed
at the blob of green on his suit. She had kept a straight face all
along. But that only meant she was trying very hard not to laugh.
“Oh! That! They were painting
the walls in the hallway and I failed to notice the wet paint sign in my
sleepiness.” Mulder shrugged. “Then my car won’t start which
leaves me little choice but to squeeze in a bus that already has a thousand
people cramped in there. And that pretty much ruined my cool exterior,
huh?.”
“That doesn’t seem like you, Mulder.”
Scully teased. “I thought you could function just fine without any
sleep for more than 72 hours!”
“Correction!” Mulder pointed out.
“I can function with very little sleep. But I can't function without
any sleep at all."
Scully tried to suppress a smile from forming
on her face but failed. “Well, if Kersh sees
you like this, you’re gonna be in trouble. You know, something
like putting a negative image to the FBI with your appearances, or the
like.”
Mulder gave her a see-if-I-care look and started
digging in the files he had piled on his desk as well as the floor around
him. Scully shook her head and returned to her own work as well.
Another day of office work began.
Scully stepped out of the bank and into a clear,
late afternoon of weekday Washington, D.C. after she deposited her paycheck
just before the bank closed. She proceeded to her car parked a couple
blocks away, since she couldn’t find a parking place anywhere near the
bank. She dug out her car keys and was about to open the car door
when she spotted the antique store right beside her parked car. What
caught her attention was an ancient-looking mirror in the display window
gleaming in the daylight. She smiled as the mirror reminded her of
Mulder’s bizarre day. His computer at the office had broken down
twice on the same day. Luckily he had a backup in this computer so
his work wouldn’t have all gone astray. But nevertheless the technical
problems had caused quite a delay in submitting his reports. Then
he was called in by A. D. Kersh, who lectured him for nearly an hour about
his not-following-the-books’ ways of investigation. Right after that,
he had spilled ice tea all over his desk, destroying quite a number of
documents and files that were piled up on it, while staining a large portion
of his shirt at the same time. Then he had ran out of sunflower seeds
as well as other sources of junk food. But then the vending machine
in the cafeteria broke down as well. Adding to his misery, he got
stuck in a stalled elevator for an hour and missed a conference meeting,
in which A. D. Kersh wasn’t very pleased about, resulting with another
lecture from the A. D. that lasted for another hour. And not to mention
some minor injuries like paper cuts and burning his finger on the coffee
machine while trying to make coffee for his partner (for that Scully was
pretty sympathetic about) he had to put up with. To sum it up, Mulder
had a VERY BAD day. In fact, it was like hell to him.
Scully studied the mirror with curiosity as
she went up to the display window. The style of the mirror was oriental
in origin, with dark and mysterious patterns carved in its wooden frame.
For some weird reason it felt like the mirror was calling out to her, as
if it had a life of its own. But being the skeptic she was, Scully
quickly dismissed the thought and discarded it as one of the bad influences
from working with Mulder too long – a wild imagination. Then suddenly
she remembered that Mulder’s birthday was coming up and she still hadn’t
bought him anything yet. She smiled. The mirror would be a
perfect birthday present for Mulder. In fact he might even come up
with some bizarre theory about the mirror being magic or something equally
eerie. Her smile grew wider at the notion. Although she strongly
opposed Mulder’s strange theories all the time during their investigations
of the paranormal, trying to reason everything out with scientific means,
it was fun to watch Mulder coming up with all sorts of ideas only people
confined in an asylum could ever think of, and it had become one of Scully’s
goals in her work to prove Mulder wrong in every way she could. But
her success rate remained very low. Nevertheless, Scully’s effort
to disprove him had saved both of them almost as much times as Mulder’s
theories had turned out to be right.
With her mind made up, she went in the antique
store and bought the mirror.
FBI Headquarters
Mulder entered the X-Files office early the
next morning, looking considerably improved in comparion to his appearance
the day before, and to find a big, flat object wrapped in white paper lying
on top of his desk. Across the room, his partner Dana Scully sat
behind her desk, typing a report about a psychic case they had been investigating
in Ohio the week before. He looked back to his desk and then back
at Scully. His eyes narrowed in curiosity.
Mulder’s apartment
Mulder hammered a new nail into the wall swiftly
and adjusted the position of his new mirror in his apartment. Then
he stepped back to take another look at his birthday gift and met his own
reflection in the mirror staring back at him with a big grin. Nodding
with satisfaction, he threw the hammer carelessly back into the toolbox
on the floor. He had liked the mirror instantly as soon as he saw
it. The mysterious patterns carved on the wooden frame intrigued
him. And the fact that it was Scully who gave him the mirror warmed
his heart.
Mulder’s apartment was totally dark when Scully
entered. It took Scully a while to adjust her vision to the darkness.
She took out her pen light from her pocket and turned it on as she searched
for her partner.
Mystic Village, Stonington Town
“Mystic Village. Population 2618.
The village lies on the Mystic River at its mouth on Fishers Island Sound,
which is a section of Long Island Sound. Settled 1654. During
the 19th century Mystic was a great whaling and shipbuilding center.
Now a major tourist attraction, featuring a re-created 19th century waterfront
village and a notable collection of historic ships, including the Charles
W. Morgan, the only surviving wooden whaling ship. The name of the
village is derived from an Algonquian word for “great tidal river”.
Isn’t that interesting, Scully?”
“Mulder, are you sure we’re at the right place?”
Stay’n Save Inn
Since they were posing as a couple, Mulder
and Scully had to stay in one room. But the policy against two male
and female agents staying in one room while on assignment was far on their
minds at the moment, for they were too busy arguing the validity of a haunted
house they were going to visit later in the night.
Asherton Mansion
“Here we are!” Mulder announced as he
and Scully climbed out of their rental car outside the Asherton mansion.
The place was dark and quiet, not even the sound of birds could be heard.
~ The End ~
Washington D.C.
October 13th
“Morning, Scully.” He said to his partner.
Then he hug up his coat without taking his eyes off her. “What’s
that?” He gestured at the object sitting on his desk.
“Morning Mulder.” Scully looked up from
her laptop and smiled. “It’s for you. Happy Birthday, Mulder!”
“Birthday?” Mulder blinked. “Today’s
my birthday?”
“Com’on! Mulder!” Scully rolled
her eyes. She had to hide a smirk from surfacing on her face.
“Don’t tell me you can’t even remember your own birthday!”
Mulder ran a hand through his hair and gave
Scully a boyish grin. “Guess I’m not good at remembering birthdays.
In this case not even my own.”
Scully sighed. For someone with a photographic
memory, how could he forget something like his own birthday? But
given that it took him four years to remember hers, she shouldn’t be surprised.
Actually she should be grateful that he remembered her birthday at all.
“Well, anyway, thanks, Scully.” Mulder
giggled childishly. “It’s been a long time since I’ve received a
birthday gift from someone.” Then, he beamed at the present.
“What is it? Can I open it now?”
“Go ahead. Be my guest.” Scully
smiled at him. Then, remembering something, she warned, “Be careful,
it’s breakable!”
Mulder was already ripping the wrapping paper
off the present impatiently like a child unwrapping his Christmas gift
despite Scully’s warning. Then, his eyes lit as he held the wooden-framed
mirror in his hands with admiration.
“This is cool! Scully! Where did
you get this?” Mulder exclaimed as he examined the mirror with fondness,
his eyes were sparkling with excitement.
“From an antique store.” Scully shrugged.
She smiled at the way Mulder was reacting like a child had gotten a new
toy. It was amazing how childish her partner could be sometimes.
He could be so serious and all of a sudden snap a terrible joke at her
without any warning. Or he could be joking around and at the same
time dealing with deadly serious problems. But that didn’t change
the fact that he was a great agent, even though his ideas might be more
than a bit out there most of the time. “The one right across the
bank, you know? Thought you might need a new mirror since you broke
your last one, and possibly some luck along with it too! Glad you
like it.”
“I like anything you give me.” Mulder
winked at Scully. “Thanks, Scully. I really appreciate this.”
He paused for a second, then asked as his eyes danced with excitement.
“You know, Scully, since we amazingly don’t have any cases in our hands
that require us to fly all across the country at the moment, what do you
say if we go out for dinner tonight? To celebrate my birthday, that
is?”
“I can’t see why not.” Scully couldn't
help but smiled. The happiness in Mulder’s voice was becoming contagious.
“I pick the restaurant?”
“Sure.” Scully shrugged.
“So that’s settled.” Mulder declared.
“How about if I pick you up at seven?”
“Fine with me.”
Mulder smiled brightly as he put the mirror
down carefully behind his chair so he won’t accidentally break it.
Then the agents went back to their work.
“Just what I like. An ancient mirror
with the possibility of witchcraft and sorcery involved. What would
Scully think of that?” Mulder wondered aloud. “Absurd, of course.”
At that he smiled.
Mulder looked at the time and found that he
still had an hour and fifteen minutes to go before he had to pick Scully
up for dinner. So he took his time and showered, changed to another
suit and tie (which wasn’t really necessary, since all his suits and ties
are pretty much the same – dark and FBI-agent-looking), and got ready to
pick Scully up. He was humming to himself as he grabbed his car keys
and switched off the lights. But as soon as the lights were out he
realized something was amiss.
A dim, greenish light gleamed from the wooden
mirror on the wall, barely illuminating the room in a mysterious aura that
sent chills down his spine. Mulder blinked a few times to make sure
it wasn’t his wayward imagination playing any tricks on him. But
it was real. The mirror on the wall was really gleaming green by
itself. He approached his birthday gift slowly as he took his cellular
phone out and punched in the memory button for Scully’s number.
“Scully.” The phone was picked up on
the first ring.
Mulder took a deep breath. “Scully?
It’s me. I’m afraid our dinner plans just got cance lled.”
“Mulder?” She called. But no one
answered.
Scully closed the door behind her gently and
looked around Mulder’s apartment with her gun drawn. It didn’t take
her long before she found her partner staring at the mirror she gave him
early in the morning as if mesmerized. She ran up to him quickly.
But he didn’t seem to notice her presence. He just kept staring at
the mirror blankly, his eyes unfocused, as if he was staring into deep
space. Scully had seen that kind of expression on her partner’s face
before. It was when Modell, a man with a brain tumor who acquired
the ability to control people’s minds and make them do things against their
will. He had taken control of Mulder’s mind that time, and Mulder
fought for control of his mind with all his might. That time Modell
had almost succeeded in making Mulder turn against her and put a bullet
through her brain. But Mulder had held on long enough for her to
turn on the fire alarm in order to break Modell’s concentration.
He had used that split second to shoot at Modell and saved both of them.
Now Mulder’s face had the same blank expression on him, as if someone,
or something had taken control of his mind just like Modell once did.
Fear swept over Scully’s body, sending chills up an down her spine.
“Mulder! Are you alright?”
But her partner didn’t answer. In fact
he didn’t even hear her. He just kept staring at the mirror, as if
spellbound.
“Mulder!” Scully called him again.
Then she caught a glimpse at the object that held Mulder’s undivided attention
and froze.
The reflection in the mirror wasn’t Mulder’s.
“Mulder!” She shouted in his ears, trying
to get her partner’s attention one more time, but he still did not respond.
A sense of dread overcame her as she looked at the reflection in the mirror
again. It showed the face of a young man in his mid-twenties with
short, blonde hair and a round, slightly tanned face. His eyes were
dark blue, the color of the midnight sky. There was a touch of sadness
in his eyes. Scully tried desparately to figure out what was happening,
but to no avail. No deductive reasoning or scientific rationalization
could she fathom in her mind to explain what was happening right in front
of her eyes. She hated to admit it, but sometimes Mulder’s wild imagination
and far-off theories really helped in solving problems like this.
“Mulder! Do you hear me? Mulder!”
Fear vibrated in Scully’s usually calm, confident voice. “MULDER!”
Then, Scully scanned her surroundin gs and
ran for the light switch. The apartment was lit at once as
she flicked all the switches on.
“Mulder!” Scully called again as she
ran back towards her partner.
“Scully?” Still feeling a little dazed,
Mulder turned and asked in surprise. “When did you get here?”
Scully silently let out a sigh of relief as
her partner appeared to be normal again. “Mulder, are you alright?”
Her voice was filled with concern. She took a look at the mirror
o the wall and found that Mulder’s reflection had returned to normal.
“Of course I’m alright!” Mulder replied.
His expression was puzzled. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Then, remembering,
his eyes narrowed in confusion. “Wait a second here. There
was a green light from the mirror. What happened to it?”
“Green light?” Scully blinked.
“I didn’t see any green light. All I saw was......” Then remembering
what she saw in the mirror, she shivered. “Mulder, what’s going on?
Who......what was that in the mirror?” She demanded.
“Huh? What are you talking about, Scully?
What was what in the mirror?” Mulder’s expression clearly said that
he had no clue.
“You mean......you don’t remember?”
Scully asked worriedly. “You......you were staring at that mirror
when I came in. But the reflection......it wasn’t your reflection!”
“What do you mean? It wasn’t my reflection?”
Mulder demanded. His brows crossed in confusion.
Scully took a deep breath and explained.
“Okay, let’s start at the beginning. I came in the door, and it was
dark in here. I found you staring at the mirror. I called you
but you didn’t answer me. When I looked into the mirror......your
reflection......wasn’t your own.” Scully had to swallow twice before
she could go on. “It was someone else’s reflection. A man.
He was blonde, probably in his early or mid-twenties, with blue eyes, round-faced.
I don’t know what the hell was going on so I decided to turn on the lights.
And as soon as the lights were on you were back to normal again.”
It took Mulder a while to let all that sink in. After all, something
as non-scientific as that doesn’t come out of Scully’s mouth everyday.
“A reflection that is not my own, hmmm......”
Mulder pondered, his X-Files mind had already started to piece things together
in a way only he could understand. His eyes started to light up as
ideas flooded across his brain with a velocity faster than warp speed.
“But who could it be?” He wondered aloud.
“I wish I knew.” Scully sighed.
She was feeling a little better after she told Mulder everything she had
seen. But then her skeptic way of thinking began to look for a more
scientific way of explanation as soon as she calmed down. Unfortunately,
she found herself at a lack of a proper mundane explanation of what she
had just seen with her own eyes. “The reflection looked sad, as if
there was something he wanted to tell, to let people know, but couldn’t.”
She commented Then she looked up at Mulder, who gave her one of his
lopsided grins, indicating that a peculiar, if not bizarre theory had just
materialized in his mind.
“What is it you’re thinking?” Knowing
her partner, Scully asked suspiciously. Though she couldn’t hide
the sarcasm in her voice. “The mirror is extraterrestrial in origin?
Or an alien lifeform is trapped in it? I’m ready for anything.”
That was a lie, for no one in the whole universe could ever be ready for
Mulder’s farfetched theories and illogical explanations. And she
was definitely at the bottom of the list. Scully had a feeling that
she was going to hate this one very much.
“Na.” Mulder’s grin grew wider.
“I’m pretty sure whatever’s with that mirror you gave me has nothing to
do with anything extraterrestrial. My theory is pretty down-to-earth
this time.” He paused for a second. His expression turned serious.
Then he continued. “I think the mirror is being possessed by a spirit,
shall we say, with some unfinished business, or, for a better term, unrest.
And from the sad expression you were describing on that spirit’s face,
I wager that he probably died in some tragic accident. There’s still
something he can’t let go in the human world, and therefore remained in
the human realm after his death, existing only in the form of a spirit
trapped in a mirror. His unrest spirit is looking for a way to tell
somebody what happened to him, or find somebody who can help him finish
whatever that incited him to remain here.”
It took Scully quite some effort to keep herself
from rolling her eyes as her skepticism got the better of her. “Mulder,
What you said about this......spirit that’s trapped in the mirror, it’s
impossible!” She reasoned. “There are no scientific proof that
ghosts really exists! What I saw could have been the moonlight playing
tricks to my eyes.” She inhaled, knowing that her so-called deductive
reasoning didn’t sound convincing at all even to herself, but she continued
anyway. “I think what I saw is really your own reflection, it was
the moonlight playing tricks on me to make me think otherwise.......”
Mulder interrupted her by firing her a bunch
of questions that was left unanswered. “Scully, are you telling me
the moonlight can change my hair and eye color, as well as my facial shape
too? And you’re saying the dim moonlight out there is able to bleach
all my hair from dark brown to blonde in the reflection? And how
can you explain why I couldn’t answer you when you called me? How
about the fact that I was mesmerized by that mirror? Why I can’t
remember a thing about what happened, or when you came in? And how
can you explain about the green light I saw? Okay, I know you didn’t
see the green light. But Scully, remember, I didn’t see my reflection
of a stranger in the mirror, you did.”
Knowing that her so-called mundane explanation
was indeed very lame, Scully finally nodded in defeat and agreed reluntantly.
“Okay, I assume you’re right. What I saw was real. And we shall
consider the possibility of the mirror is being possessed by some kind
of spirit. But then what do we do about it? I mean, that thing
could be dangerous. You were mesmerized by the mirror before!”
Mulder didn’t answer her. Instead, he turned to look at
the mirror on the wall and met his own reflection staring back at him.
Something sparkled in his eyes.
“Oh no, Mulder, you don’t want to do that.”
Realizing what her partner wanted to do, Scully grabbed him by his arm
and shook her head in disapproval. Her voice was one of grave concern
for him.
But as usual, there was no stopping Mulder
in his quest for the supernatural. “It’s the only way to find out.”
He said quietly, without meeting Scully’s gaze. His eyes were fixed
on the mirror with the all-too-familiar glint that only indicated disaster
to Scully.
“But......”Scully tried to object, but Mulder
interrupted her before she could do so.
“It’s alright, Scully.” Mulder said
softly. “This time you’re here. You’re standing right beside
me. If anything happens, just flick the lights back on and everything
would be just fine.”
“But what if this time you can’t come out
of it?” Scully protested. “Mulder, we don’t know anything about
that mirror. It could be dangerous! We don’t know what kind
of power this thing possesses!”
Mulder chuckled. “Are you telling me
that you are actually admitting that there is a possibility this mirror
having some kind of unknown power in it, Scully? If you are, then
congratulations for starting to think like I do!”
“Mulder! I’m serious!” Scully
had to suppress an urge to strangle the man in front of her with her bare
hands. Instead, she gave Mulder an extremely DANGEROUS glare that
would put the Death Star to shame.
“Well, I’ll take my chances.” Mulder’s
expression turned solemn as he looked into Scully’s eyes and replied with
determination. Then, suddenly, he turned and walked away from Scully
and went to his desk. He opened a drawer and took out a microcassette
recorder. “Even better, if that spirit can talk, record the conversation
so I can listen to it afterwards.” He walked back to Scully and handed
her the recorder. “Well, Scully?”
His partner sighed and took the recorder from
his hands. “You sure you want to do this, Mulder?” She asked
him for one last time. Though she know that was not necessary.
Once Mulder’s mind had made up, there would be no force great enough in
the entire universe and beyond that could stop him from his quest for the
truth. Mulder just grinned his famous lopsided grin at her.
Scully reluctantly walked over to the light
switch and placed her hand on top of it. Mulder stood in position
facing the mirror and met his own enthusiastic reflection. He was
nervous. There was no telling what power the mirror or the spirit
could unleash. But he was willing to risk it. He wanted to
know the truth about the mirror.
“Ready?” Scully asked from the light
switch.
“Get set! Go!”
The lights were out in an instant. It
took Scully a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness that suddenly
surrounded her. Then just as her partner had claimed, a green light
began to gleam from inside the mirror.
“Scully! Look at this! Scul……”
Mulder shouted in excitement. But his voice was cut off abruptly
as the green light suddenly disappeared and Mulder was once again mesmerized
by the now darkened mirror.
“Mulder?”
He didn’t respond. His gaze was fixed
on the mirror, as if hypnotized by it. Scully approached her partner
slowly from behind. Once again she saw the young man’s face in the
mirror. This time Scully was able to make a closer observation at
the spirit who stole Mulder’s reflection. He was wearing a dark suit
similar to Mulder’s, but its style was long since out-of-date, possibly
from the fifties or the sixties. His eyes were sad, very sad, as
if they spoke a past so painful it was impossible to tell it in mere words
“Mulder?” Scully called again.
But just as she had expected, Mulder was unable to respond. Then
remembering the tape recorder in her hand, she pressed the record button
and started talking.
“Who……are you?” She asked the image
in the mirror, although she didn’t really expect an answer. She was
still having trouble accepting that someone, or something was indeed taking
control of Mulder’s body and mind. But she had to agree with Mulder
that they had to find out what was going on with mirror, before more weird
things started to happen.
To her surprise, the “mirror man” answered
her, though not speaking from inside the mirror. The voice
came out of Mulder’s mouth, but it wasn’t Mulder’s voice. It was
a stranger’s. What was more, Mulder’s eyes began to come
into focus – just a little.
“Ryan. My name is Ryan Moore.”
The “mirror man” replied. Then, “Mulder” turned to look at Scully,
his gaze seemed to stare straight through her. “Who are you?”
“I’m Special Agent Dana Scully. I’m
with the FBI.” Scully replied. It really felt awkward to introduce
herself anew to someone she had bee working with for the past five years.
“Mr. Moore, are you aware that you’re……speaking with my partner’s
mout h?” Her words sounded strange to her own ears. Sentences
like this didn’t come out of Scully’s mouth often. That was Mulder’s
department. But since Mulder was unable to speak at the moment, there
wasn’t much choice for Scully but to take over.
Ryan Moore didn’t say anything. He seemed
to be deep in thought at the moment. Then suddenly, he jumped as
if something had struck him. “Helen!” He cried out loud.
“Where’s Helen? I have to find Helen!”
“Who’s Helen?” Scully was still in the
mist.
“My fianceé.” Ryan replied
impatiently. “She’s waiting for me! I have to find her!”
Then Ryan, who was in Mulder’s body, walked away from the mirror and towards
the door ina hurry.
“Wait a second here!” Scully stopped
Ryan/Mulder before he could walk out on her. “You can’t just leave
like this! You’re in my partner’s body!”
“What are you talking about?” Ryan stopped
short and demanded with a deep frown.
“You’re……possessing my partner’s body right
now! You can’t just walk away like this! This is HIS body!
NOT yours!” Scully protested. She wasn’t very good at explaining
paranormal phenomena like this. Again, that was Mulder’s department.
Hers was in disproving Mulder’s theories in a scientific manner.
But problem was, she didn’t know how to explain the concept of body possession
scientifically.
“Possess someone’s body?” Ryan/Mulder
stared at her as if she was insane. “Are you out of your mind?”
Scully never thought she would ever get a
look like this from Mulder, much less the question. The fact that
it wasn’t in Mulder’s voice telling her so didn’t help either, since the
voice had come out from his mouth. But she had to put that aside,
for convincing Ryan to believe her before he walked out on her in Mulder’s
body was the more important issue at the moment.
“I don’t know how to explain this, but what
happened is, the body you’re in now, is not your own.” Scully tried
the best to suppress the frustration in her voice. “Look around,
this is not your apartment. It’s my partner’s. You’re in his
body……” Then, an idea came to Scully and she said, “Lift your shirt
up. There’s a scar of a gunshot wound on the left shoulder.
That’s when I shot him a few years ago to stop him from doing something
stupid. Take a look yourself.”
A little hesistant, Ryan/Mulder lifted his
shirt up. Then his hands began to tremble in fear and panic.
He stared at the scar in shock. “How……how did that happen?
It’s impossible! It’s insane!”
“You’re telling me.” Scully muttered
to herself. Then she asked Ryan. “Okay, I have to ask you a
lot of questions, so we can figure out what happened to you……and to my
partner.” She paused for a second, then continued. “Well, what
do you suppose the year is right now?”
Still recovering from the shock, Ryan replied
as he slowly lifted the shirt back down. “1952, why?”
Scully shook her head slowly. “No, it’s
1999.”
Ryan/Mulder just stared.
“Oh! God! I wish Mulder is here!”
Scully mumbled, despite the fact that “Mulder” was standing right in front
of her. Then she said to Ryan, “Okay, Mr. Moore, I think you
should tell me what happened to you before we can make any conclusions.
What is the last thing that you could remember?”
“Light. I remember a green light.”
Ryan replied. His voice sounded distant. “I……I remember now.
I was in China. I was there on business. I was supposed to
get this client to sign a contract about some trade agreement. It
was successful. My client even gave me a gift before I left.
It…...it was a pair of mirrors that looked identical to each other.”
He pointed at the mirror hanging on the wall. “This mirror.”
His said with certainty. “I sent the other one back home to Helen
as a gift while I kept the other one to myself. A few months later,
I sailed back to the states, back to home, so I can marry Helen.
She’s waiting for me back home. Back at the little village called
Mystic, our home. But something happened during the journey back
home. I was on the road, then suddenly all these people came out
of the woods. They attacked me and my men. They were bandits.
They killed everyone and took all the treasures they could find.
They……they killed me too…….and I was holding this mirror when that bandit……”
His voice faded out and he shivered.
“Mulder’s gonna love this.” Scully muttered
to herself again. Then she turned to Ryan/Mulder and fired a bunch
of questions at him. “Then what happened? How did you end up
in the mirror? How do you possess my partner’s body?”
“I don’t know.” Ryan’s voice was shaking.
“I don’t know. I remember gunshots. I tried to flee, but this
bandit caught me and stabbed me with his knife……I was holding the mirror
when I was fleeing. I don’t even know why I was holding it?
It’s just……everything happened so fast. The last thing I could remember
is that bandit stabbing me in the heart with his knife. There was
blood. But then it hurt so much and I couldn’t think of anything
else. I was losing consciousness. No, wait……I think I remembered
a green light after that. Yes! The light! It flashed
from the mirror and everything went black.” He paused for a second,
then said, “That’s all I can remember. I have no idea how
I……got into your pa rtner’s body. I didn’t even know I was in his
body! It was just weird! I was staring at my own reflection
and then I turned and found you standing beside me telling me I’m not in
my own body. God! What the hell is going on?” He glanced
at the mirror with mixed emotions of fear and curiosity. Then suddenly
his expression blanked out as a green light suddenly flashed from the mirror.
“Ahhhhhh!” He cried just before the
green light disappreared and everything went back to complete darkness.
Ryan/Mulder went unconscious and collapsed.
“Mulder!” Scully rushed forward to catch
Mulder’s body, but she underestimated his weight and ended up cushioning
him on the floor with his head resting on her stomach while they hit the
floor together. “Mulder! Are you alright?” She asked
as she tried to get up unsuccessfully.
Mulder’s eyes opened slowly and was surprised
to find himself in such an intimate position with Scully. “What happened?”
He asked. Scully’s stomach felt soft and warm to him. But he
got up immediately anyway. He didn’t want to risk the possibility
of Scully putting a bullet through him again.
Scully got up from the floor and went for
the light switch. “I don’t know, Mulder, but I think you were right.”
She sighed.
“Of course I’m right.” Mulder chuckled.
“Oh! By the way, Scully, your body felt wonderful.”
Scully shot him a DANGEROUS look and Mulder
shut up immediately. Though he couldn’t hide the sly smile on his
face.
“Well, here’s the conversation I recorded.
You can listen to it yourself. I’ll fill you in along the way.”
Scully replied with a level voice as she handed him the tape recorder,
but Mulder could see her cheeks flaming. She was definitely blushing
from his remark.
Mulder knew he shouldn’t push his luck, so
he clicked on his professional mode and listened to the tape instead.
He listened quietly through the whole conversation, while filing important
information into his X-Files head at the same time.
“What happened at the end?” He asked.
“I don’t know.” Scully shook her head.
There was confusion on her face. “He was talking just fine until
a green light suddenly flashed from the mirror. He screamed and fainted.
Then you were......back.”
“The green light.” Mulder pondered.
“So I guess that’s the key.”
“What? What key? Mulder?
I’m not following.” Scully frowned.
“I think, that this mirror has some kind of
power inside it.” Mulder began. Then he noticed the all-too-familiar
skepticism forming on his partner’s face, and he interrupted her before
she could say anything. “Just bear with me for a minute, Scully.
I know you don’t believe this, but just listen to me, okay? What
I think is that, this mirror has some kind of special power that can trap
a spirit inside. Have you heard of the legends about spirits floating
out of dying people’s bodies? Let’s assume Ryan’s spirit really floated
out of his body when he was killed by the bandit. But before his
spirit could go up to heaven, down to hell, crossover or whatever that
was supposed to happen to it under normal circumtances, the mirror had
absorbed his spirit and trapped him inside it. Whatever powers this
mirror might have, it had enabled Ryan’s spirit to possess me in the dark.
But the power supply was limited, and Ryan can only possess my body for
a short period of time. Any longer and he would be zapped back into
the mirror. And the green light we saw was evidence of the mirror’s
power at work!” He explained enthusiastically.
“Mulder, mirrors don’t trap spirits inside.
They’re just silica liquidified at a high temperature and then layered
with silver. They don’t have any special powers or magic or whatsoever!”
Scully argued.
“Yeah, they aren’t capable of showing a reflection
of me that is not my own.” Mulder just leaned back and said in a
sardonic voice. He was smiling the lopsided grin Scully hated very
much at her.
“Okay, I admit that’s strange. But that
doesn’t mean mirrors have special powers in them......”
But Mulder interrupted her before she could
finish. “Maybe other mirrors don’t. But this particular one
does. Say, Scully, what kind of mirror flashes green lights in the
dark and mesmerizes people? I’m living proof of that, Scully, and
so are you.”
Scully sighed heavily. “That makes it
an X-File, doesn’t it?”
“You bet it does!” Mulder’s grin grew
even wider.
New London County, southeastern Connecticut
October 14th
They were on the highway that leads to the
Mystic Village. As usual, Mulder was on the wheel while Scully was
still reading the information they had obtained from the internet.
Mulder had practically memorized all that in his photographic memory and
had read it out loud while Scully was reviewing her notes.
“I don’t know what’s so interesting, that
is unless you’re interested in wrecked ships or whaling.” Scully
shrugged.
“Com’on! Scully! What kind of
village has a name like “Mystic”? It’s certainly interesting enough!”
Mulder was certainly in a good mood.
“That’s because it’s right on the mouth of
a river called Mystic River. There’s nothing odd about it.”
Scully rolled her eyes.
“Why would a river be named Mystic in the
first place?” Mulder insisted. “Com’on, you’ve got to admit
there’s something unusual about the name. Downright mystical.”
“The only unusual thing this town’s gonna
get is a crazy FBI agent poking around in every corner chasing after aliens
and his partner who is trying her best to keep him out of trouble!”
Scully rolled her eyes.
Mulder looked hurt. “But we’re not chasing
after aliens this time.”
“Yeah, I know. We’re chasing after a
ghost.” Scully said sardonically.
“Well, actually, we don’t really know if this
Helen person is dead or alive. So to put it more accurately, we’re
chasing after a female, who may or may not be dead, and whose fiancé
died 47 years ago from a bandit attack on the road while he was on the
way home.” Mulder pointed out.
“Uh-huh. Whatever.” Scully just
rolled her eyes again.
Mulder glanced out the window to see a “Welcome
to Mystic Village” sign posted on the side of the road. “Here we
are!” Mulder declared.
“Where do we start” Scully asked.
“You and I both know that this is not an official investigation.”
“So maybe we should go undercover.”
Mulder suggested. “Like maybe we can pose as a couple or something?”
“Mulder!” Scully warned.
“Okay! I know! I know! You
hate undercover assignments!” Mulder threw his arms high up in the
air in surrender. Although what he said indicated the exact opposite.
Then, remembering that he was driving on a highway, he quickly put his
hands back down and grabbed the wheel. “But think about this, Scully.
We have no official authorization about this little investigation of ours.
Not that we’ll ever get one to investigate a missing person’s case that
happened nearly half a century ago in which no one remembered, or even
knew about. That means whatever we’re going to do here, it’ll better
go unnoticed, and especially not by Kersh. And it’s definitely not
going to work if we flash our badges all over the place, or if we go straight
to the sheriff’s office and demand information. So it’s best we go
undercover. And what’s the best cover for a male and female agent
to go under?”
“A couple, of course.” Scully sighed.
Mulder had a point.
“Bingo!” He cheered.
“So what now? We don’t even know where
this Helen person lives, or lived!” Scully asked, although she already
knew the answer to th at question.
“Maybe we don’t know much about Ryan Moore’s
fiancée, but we do know something about him. What do you say
if we pay a visit to his old residence?” Mulder suggested.
Then he glanced at his watch. It said 7:38 pm, and it was already
getting dark outside. “Well, of course, I wouldn’t object if we begin
our investigation after we had supper, find a nice inn for a good night’s
sleep, and a big breakast first early the next morning first.”
“Sure. Fine. Whatever.”
Scully muttered under her breath.
Mystic Village Museum
October 15th
Mulder and Scully stood in front of a large
structure. They had just begun their investigation. They double-checked
the address they had gotten off the FBI database just before they left
for Connecticut a day ago. The addresses matched, despite the fact
that they were standing in front of the village museum.
“Yes, this is the place.” Mulder assured
her as he put the little piece of paper back in his coat pocket.
“But this is supposed to be Ryan Moore’s residence!”
“Correction. This WAS supposed to be
Ryan Moore’s residence 47 years ago. It’s almost 50 years, Scully.
Anything could have happened.” Mulder pointed out.
Scully just stared at the structure in front
of her and sighed. “So do we go in or what?”
“Well, since we’re here already, why don’t
we take a look inside and see what Ryan Moore’s house has become?”
Mulder shrugged.
They went in, and was greeted by a middle-aged,
balding man in an elegant suit and tie who was no doubt the owner of the
museum.
“Welcome to the Mystic Museum!” He exclaimed
enthusiastically. “Is there anything I can show you?”
“Morning, uh……” Mulder glanced at the
name tag on his suit pocket. “Mr. Frank Moore?” He exchanged
a glance with Scully at the last name.
“Yes. Just call me Frank, if you please.”
Frank Moore said as he offered to shake hands with Mulder and Scully.
“And you are?”
“I’m Fox Mulder, and this is my wife Dana
Scully……Mulder.” Mulder introduced themselves. Scully winced.
Though mentioning of Scully’s “last name” made Mulder grin. “We just
got married a week ago, and are currently on our honeymoon. And since
we both have a great interest in historic ships and the whaling industry,
we came down here to visit.”
“Congradulations. Allow me to say that
you two are the loveliest couple I’ve ever met.” Frank Moore smiled.
“What would you like to see? Our museum is known for its collection
of historic ships, as well as the well known Charles W. Morgan, the only
wooden whaling ship that survived after all these years.”
“We would be delighted to see that.”
Mulder replied politely. Then he pretended to look around the place
and asked. “Uh……Frank? Your museum looked pretty new.
I gather it’s newly built?”
“Oh! That’s right.” Frank nodded.
“ This place used to be my uncle’s. But he disappeared a long
time ago while on a business trip to China. He and I were the only
Moores left in the family, though I’ve never actually met him in person.
We were pretty distant, you know. All the stories about him that
I know of are gathered from what other people told me. But since
I’m the only Moore left, it was natural that I inherited the place when
they finally proclaimed him dead. I didn’t know what to do with it
at first. The house was old and wrecked and dirty. It wasn’t
until a few years ago that I’ve decided to turn the abandoned house into
a museum. It’s become the major tourist attraction now!” Frank
Moore said proudly.
“What happened to your uncle?” Scully
asked.
“No one knew. Some say he got lost in
China. Some say he got killed by bandits on the way home. You
know, he left behind his fiancée here. They were about to
get married. But he just never came back. She waited for him
for three years. But then her father got impatient and tried to force
her to remarry.” He sighed. “That old man of hers……but she
and my uncle was really in love, you know? She just wouldn’t marry
another. And when her old man pressed her too hard……she hung herself.”
“How sad.” Scully said sympathetically.
“What’s your uncle’s fiancée’s name?”
“Don’t mind her. My wife loves writing
romance novels. She probably want to put her name in her story somehow.”
Mulder tried to cover for her.
“Oh! Really! You have such a beautiful
and talented wife, my friend.” Frank Moore, who didn't suspect a
thing, laughed. “Her name’s Helen. Helen Asherton. Her
father used to be the landlord of the fields a coupld miles from the village.
But he killed himself with grief after his daughter died. Shot himself
to death. Both father and daughter died in the same house.
Tragic, isn’t it? Their mansion’s been abandoned for all these years
now. It’s still out there in the fields.” He paused for a second,
then continued in a low voice. “You know, they’re saying that the
Asherton mansion’s haunted. No one dared to go out there. Said
they could still hear the daughter sobbing in the night, waiting for her
fiancé to return. Spooky, isn’t it?”
Scully smiled at the word. She cast
Mulder a knowing look, but he didn’t seem to mind. He was too preoccupied
with the notion of a haunted house to care about the word which happened
to be his nickname. She could see the familiar gleam in his eyes.
“Yeah. That’s indeed a very spooky tale.”
Mulder agreed, eyes shining with excitement. “Can you tell us where
this haunted mansion might be? Maybe we could pass by the place before
we head back home.”
“Sure. It’s just out there on the main
highway to the south. The only building outside the village.
Can’t miss it. But I suggest if you wanna pay a visit there, go there
by daylight. You never know what you may encounter at night.”
Frank Moore warned.
“Thank you, we’ll take your advice.”
Mulder nodded. He had gotten all the informatin he wanted.
“Ah, I think we just got a little off-topic here. Can we see the
Charles W. Morgan now?”
Mystic Village
“Mulder, there are no such things as haunted
houses! It’s just results of people’s wild imagination at work!
Those people probably heard a crow and thought it was Helen Asherton sobbing!”
“A crow and a human sob are two entirely different
sound, Scully.” Mulder just leaned back and shook his head.
“Fear can play tricks to a person’s mind,
making them jump to conclusions that are totally ridiculous and impossible!”
Scully argued intensely.
“You trying to tell me something here, Scully?”
Mulder teased.
Scully ignored her partner and continued.
“And not to mention the superstition they might have about afterlife and
deaths. These can all account to the stories of ghosts and haunted
mansions or a dead woman sobbing in the night.” Scully argued.
“Very well, are you saying that fear and supersition
is the reason YOU saw Ryan Moore in my reflection, as well as being able
to trigger the possession of MY BODY?” Mulder countered.
Scully found herself at a loss for words.
Mulder had a point. After what she had seen with her own eyes, she
could no longer deny the possibility of the existence of ghosts and spirits.
“So, I gather we have a haunted house to visit
tonight?” Scully sighed.
“Inny minny chily beanie, the spirits are
about to speak!” Mulder declared.
Ignoring her partner, Scully took out a map
from her bag and began reading it. “So the Asherton mansion would
be……here?”
Mulder leaned closer to study the map.
“Yup! A couple miles from civilization. I think there’s a narrow
road that branches from the highway towards the mansion. Yes!
There it is. We’ll take that way tonight. And then, we’ll let
the spirits decide our fate!” He declared enthusiastically.
Then he paused to ponder for a few seconds, “Wait…..I think there’s a slight
problem here.”
“What? Wh at is it?”
“I get possessed by that spirit in the mirror
in the dark, right? But the Asherton mansion’s bound to be dark at
night, with no electricity or anything else. What’s gonna keep Ryan
Moore from entering my body if we go in there with the mirror?” Mulder
pointed out.
“Well, maybe we can try shining a flashlight
on the mirror to prevent Ryan Moore from possessing you……temporarily, I
guess.” Scully suggested.
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Then we’ll just let Ryan Moore possess you.”
Scully shrugged.
“Now that’s very reassuring.” Mulder
said dryly.
It was Scully’s turn to grin.
“A typical haunted house setting in horror
movies.” Scully remarked. Then she opened the trunk and took
out the mirror. A dim, green light was gleaming from the shiny surface.
Scully shivered and quickly shined her flashlight on it. The green
light disappeared immediately.
Mulder took out his own flashlight and turned
it on. He offered to hold the mirror, which Scully didn’t object.
He was careful to hold the mirror with its surface away from him to avoid
risks of being possessed by accident. Then, taking a deep breath,
he and Scully went inside.
“Quiet as the night. No mysterious sobbing.
No ghost haunting the place. Not even a crow cawing on the roof or
anywhere near the mansion.” Scully declared triumphantly as they
began their search in the house, starting from the main floor. “Mulder,
I told you, those stories about this house being haunted are just folk
legends inspired by the villagers’ superstition and their fear of the unknown.
There ain’t no ghost in this house!”
“We’ll see.” Mulder just flashed her
one of his lopsided grins.
They looked around the mansion, but there
was nothing of suspicion they could find on the main floor. So they
decided to go up to the second floor to continue their search. The
stairs squeaked under their feet, making the aura of the house creepier
than ever.
“I feel like I’m in one of those really bad
horror movies or something.” Scully muttered.
“Or a real haunted house.” Mulder added.
Scully just ignored him.
“This place is nothing but dust and cobwebs.”
Scully shook her head as she followed her partner up the stairs.
Mulder was about to say something, but instead
cried out in pain. “OUCH!”
“What? What’s wrong? Mulder?”
Scully’s voice was filled with concern.
“I stepped on something.” Mulder said
painfully as he sat down on the stairs and lifted up his foot. He
took of his shoe carefully and found a large portion of his sock already
soaked with blood. Scully looked down to where Mulder had stepped
on to find a broken nail sticking out of the decaying wood that made the
staircase. Obviously Mulder had stepped on it by accident.
He proceeded to remove his sock to reveal an ugly-looking would that was
pumping blood out onto the staircase.
“Guess my bad luck isn’t over yet.”
Mulder winced.
“Oh! Big time! You still have
seven years to go, pal.” Scully joked. Then she examined Mulder’s
wound. “Looks pretty deep.” She looked up at Mulder.
“Can you still walk? I kept a first-aid kit in the car. Let’s
get back and I’ll tend to your injured foot.”
“Nothing better than to have a doctor around
you all the time.” Mulder tried to smile, but only ended up wincing
again. He tried to get up, but his hands slipped. The mirror he was
holding fell from his hand and landed on the stairs, but luckily it didn’t
break. Its shining surface began to gleam a dim, green light that
directed at Mulder.
“Damn!” Mulder cursed, but it was already
too late.
“Oh no, not again.” Scully muttered
in dismay.
Mulder’s expression blanked out, and he was
possessed by the spirit of Ryan Moore once again. “Where am I?”
Ryan asked in confusion. But before Scully could answer, Ryan/Mulder
suddenly jumped to his feet and exclaimed as he recognized his surroundings.
“Helen! I’m at Helen’s place! Where is she?”
“Mr. Moore……” Scully tried to
tell him, but Ryan didn’t seem to hear her, or even noticed her presence.
He(in Mulder’s body) ran up the stairs quickly. The wound in Mulder’s
foot didn’t seem to bother him one single bit. “Helen!” He
yelled. His voice echoed throughout the mansion
“Wait!” Scully ran after him with her
flashlight while Mulder had left his on the stairs along with the mirror.
But Ryan seemed to know the mansion well enough, for he didn’t seem to
have any trouble walking around the place in the dark.
“Helen! Where are you?” Ryan called
again. “Helen!”
“Mr. Moore!” Scully finally caught
up to him, gasping for breath.
“It’s you again.” Ryan/Mu lder frowned,
sounding annoyed to see Scully. “What are you doing here? Where’s
Helen?” But he didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he ran off
again and busted in one of the bedrooms on the second floor. “Helen?
Are you in here?”
“Mr. Moore! Listen to me!”
Scully chased after him. “You can’t find your fiancée here!
She’s dead!”
“Dead?” This time Scully had his full
attention. “What do you mean? Helen can’t be dead!”
“Yes, she is.” Scully said coldly.
“She died about 44 years ago. Remember! This is year 1999!
47 years AFTER your own death!”
Ryan/Mulder was taken aback. He shook
his head frantically. “No! It can’t be! It just can’t
be! Helen can’t be dead!”
“Believe it or not, it’s the truth.”
Scully said, as she studied her new surroundings for the first time.
It was a woman’s bedroom, with a large bed in the middle. A night
table stood by the window with bottles of cosmetics scattered around it.
The window was broken, its curtains floating with the gentle breeze.
Although it was as dusty and old as the rest of the mansion, it was in
a significantly better condition. Then Scully’s gaze locked on an
object hanging on the wall right beside the window. It was a mirror
that looked identical to the one she had given Mulder as a birthday present
which was still lying on the staircase.
“Liar!” Ryan/Mulder interrupted Scully’s
thoughts by shaking her violently. “You’re lying! Helen can’t
be dead! You’re lying to me!”
“STOP!” Scully screamed. She was
about to apply her self-defense techniques on her possessed partner and
hurl him towards the floor with a swift move of judo when a dim, green
light started to gleam from the mirror by the window. And before
Scully could figure out what was going on, blackness had surrounded her.
Ryan/Mulder stopped shaking Scully (or is
it Helen/Scully now?) as a familiar expression on her face struck him.
An expressin that looked strikingly like his Helen’s. Then, a voice
he would never forget came out of her mouth.
“Ryan?” It was Helen’s voice.
His Helen. Ryan Mulder looked into Helen/Scully’s eyes and found
the familiar warmth in there.
“Helen?” He asked in joy as well as
disbelief.
“Ryan! You’re back!” Helen/Scully
broke into tears as she threw herself into Ryan/Mulder’s arms. “You’re
finally back!”
“Helen! My love!” Ryan/Mulder
hugged her back as fiercely as she did. “I thought I’d lost you forever!”
“Oh! Ryan! I’ve waited for so
long!” Helen/Scully sobbed against Ryan/Mulder’s chest.
“I’m sorry, Helen. I’m so sorry.
I should have been back sooner, but……”
Helen/Scully silenced him with her finger
as she shook her head gently. “No, it’s alright now. You’re
back. And that’s all that matters.”
The lovers embraced for a time that seemed
like an eternity. Then Ryan/Mulder pulled away slightly and asked,
“Helen, what happened? How……”
Helen/Scully lowered her head. Her eyebrows
began to tremble. “You……you were gone for so long. Father……he
got impatient. He tried to force me to marry someone else.
I refused. But his mind was made and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
So, one the eve of my wedding, I……I hung myself.” She tried her best
to keep her voice level as she told the tale, but she could’t keep her
lips from trembling.
“Oh, Helen……” Ryan’s voice shook with
emotion. “Why would you do that? You……you could have married
that man. You could have a nice family and lots of children.
You could have found happiness with someone else. Why did you wait
for me? Why did you throw that all away? Why sacrifice all
the happiness because of me? Oh! Helen!” Tears welled
fro his eyes.
Helen/Scully just shook her head. “I
can never find happiness with another man.” Then she smiled.
“But it’s okay now. You’re back. We’re together once again.”
Ryan/Mulder returned the smile and nodded.
“Yes. And this time it’ll be forever.” Then he bent down to
kiss her.
Their lips met. Electrical sparks went
flying all around the room. A bright, white light began to shine
from the mirror on the wall. At the same time, the mirror Mulder
had left on the staircase started to float up the stairs and into the bedroom.
It began to shine the same bright, white light as soon as it entered the
room. The two sources of light engaged and melted into one, enveloping
the lovers who were lost in their own world completely. Then, as
abruptly as it had begun, the white light disappeared without a trace within
a second. Everything went back to darkness and silence.
Mulder and Scully woke with a start to find
themselves engaging in an empathetic kiss. They jerked away and stared
at each other in shock. Both were blushing vehemently.
Mulder could still feel the warmth and softness
of Scully’s full lips on his own. It was the most wonderful feeling
he had ever felt in his life. He knew he had been attracted to his
beautiful partner ever since the beginning, but he was careful not to let
any of his emotions show, lest he jeopardize their perfect partnership.
But there were times when he couldn't help but tried to envision what Scully’s
lips would feel like on his. But thinking about it in secret was
one thing, actually experiencing it was definitely another. And the
feeling was entirely beyond description. How he longed to taste those
lips again……
Scully could feel her heart beating in a speed
that would very well lead to a cardiac arrest. She was still slightly
dazed from the brief kiss she had just shared with Mulder. She knew
she had always been attracted to him. But she had hidden her emotions
well, for she didn’t want to put their partnership and friendship on the
line. Though she couldn’t help daydreaming about a kiss with Mulder
sometimes, and wondered what it would feel like. She never thought
it would feel so wonderful. And after what had just happened, she
knew she could no longer deny her heart’s deepest desires……
“Uh……sorry to interrupt your staring contest……”
Both Mulder and Scully practically jumped
at the voice. They were dumbfounded to see two phantom figures floating
in midair and staring at them with great interest. Scully recognized
the male -- it was Ryan Moore. A translucent figure of a young woman
who was no doubt Helen Asherton was floating closely beside him.
“What the……” Mulder muttered under
his breath. Despite his unusual expreiences with the extraterrestrials
and the paranormal in the past, coming face-to-face with not one, but two
ghosts at the same time was still a shock to him. Especially when
he was so preoccupied with his personal emotions at the moment.
“I apologize if we……uh……well, scared you.”
Ryan Moore spoke. “But we wanted to thank you two, for bringing us
together again.”
“Oh, you’re very welcome about that.”
Mulder replied sheepishly. “Acutally it’s pretty much all coincidental.
But I think I can speak for my partner here as well that we’re glad that
you two are finally reunited and happy.”
“Partner?” Helen Asherton blinked.
“I thought they’re lovers.”
“So did I.” Ryan shrugged and looked
at his love. “Maybe he meant it as in partners in a love affair?”
“Uh……not really.” Red-faced, Scully
clarified their situation. “We’re both with the FBI, and we’re partners
through work only.”
“Could have fooled me.” Ryan shook his
head.
“Well, can you two tell me just what the hell’s
going on?” Mulder demanded in embarrassment.
Ryan and Helen exchanged a glance, then Ryan
replied. “We’re not really clear ourselves, but I’ll try my best
to explain.” He clear his throat, then continued. “Back
in China, my client gave me a gift of a pair of mirrors. I sent one
back to Helen, while keeping the other one to myself. My client was
trying to tell me in Chinese about something with the mirror, but my Chinese
was pretty rusty and I could only hear words like “magic”, or “power”,
or some thing like that. I forgot about it very soon, thinking it
was probably just folk legend and superstition. Then, I went back
to the states. Then there was the bandit attack. I…..died, and I
think my spirits was somehow……absorbed into the mirror, until you somehow
unleashed it and I, well, possessed your body.” Then he looked at
Helen, silently asking her to continue.
Helen nodded. “I received the mirror
a couple months after Ryan left for China, and I hung it on the wall over
there.” She pointed at the mirror on the wall. “But then, my
father forced me to marry another, and I refused. I……hung myself
in this room, right beside the mirror. I guess it absorbed my spirit
into it just like it did Ryan, until now.”
“I think our spirits were somehow trapped inside
the mirror because of our grief. Then you two brought my mirror here.”
Ryan suggested. “And I possessed you later in the house. It
was pretty much a shock when Agent Scully told me Helen’s dead for nearly
half a century. But then Helen possessed Agent Scully as well.
And we recognized each other, even though in the wrong bodies. We……well,
kissed in the end. And then suddenly this white light flashed from
the mirrors and enveloped us and we are free. Free from the mirror
and our grief and everything else.” He looked at Helen lovingly,
who was blushing. Though how a ghost could blush was totally beyond
Mulder and Scully’s comprehension.
Mulder and Scully exchanged a glance.
So that explained the kiss. But the wonderful feelings they felt
was still lingering. And they couldn’t help blushing as they were
reminded of their unintentional kiss. Then Scully asked, “What are
you two gonna do now that you’re……free?”
“There’s a bridge that crosses to the realm
of all souls. We’ll cross that bridge now, for we have no more business
in the human realm.” Ryan replied. “But before we go, we’d
like to thank you again for what you did for us. We would still be
separated and trapped in that mirror if not for you. And we’ll be
forever grateful about it, even after we’ve reached the other realm.”
And, remembering something, Ryan added, “As for the mirrors, I would like
to give them to you as a gift. I believe no spirit will possess you
in the dark after today, so it would be safe to use.”
“Thanks.” Mulder and Scully replied
in unison. They both turned to lok at each other in surprise, and
quickly looked away at the same time with cheeks on the verge to burst
into flames.
“Fairwell, agents.” Ryan and Helen said
together as they began to fade. Then, just before she completely
faded out, Helen said to the agents. “Oh! Just one more thing!
About what you said about partners, I’m still thinking otherwise.
Well, I think you both know your own true feelings deep inside your hearts,
and I need not say anymore. So bye and live happily ever after!”
Then they were both gone.
Both agents watched in amazment as the spirits
disappeared in front of their eyes. Their faces were bright red from
Helen’s words. They both turned to steal a glance at the other at
the same exact moment. Their gazes met, and neither could move their
eyes from the other. They could clearly see the understanding and
the love in each other’s eyes. They could no longer hide or deny
all the feelings and emotions they had welled in the deepest part of their
hearts for all these years. Then, instinctively, they moved closer
and closer towards each other. Mulder held out a hand to touch Scully’s
flaming cheeks. He bent down till their noses almost touched.
They could feel each other’s hot breath on their faces. Finally,
he touched her lips with his. Everything else in the universe dissolved
into nothingness. None was aware of anything else but the other as
a long-denyed passion flared between them.
Their kiss lasted for what seemed like an
eternity. Then Mulder pulled aw ay to take a better look at
his partner, while the unmistakable love in her blue-green eyes mirrored
his.
“I love you, Scully.” Mulder whispered.
“I love you too, Mulder.” Scully whispered
back.
They kissed again. It was soft and lingering
at first. Then passion took over and they began to devour each other’s
mouth hungrily, until they were both gasping for breath.
“Why have we waited so long to do this?”
Mulder sighed. He was stroking Scully’s soft, red hair with one hand,
while still struggling for breath.
“I don’t know, Mulder.” Scully murmured
against his chest. Her voice grew so soft Mulder could barely hear
her. “But I’m glad we finally did.”
“So am I.” Mulder said softly, enjoying
the wonderful feeling of having Scully in his arms.
“What’s gonna happen now?” Scully looked
up into Mulder’s hazel eyes.
Mulder stroked her eyebrows gently.
“We’ll just go back to D.C. and pretend nothing happened between us.
It’s best that no one finds out. There are just......too many complications.”
Then, a sly smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. “But of course,
in private, we can do whatever we want to do.”
Scully tried to give him The Look, but the
laughter in the eyes betrayed her. Mulder’s sly grin only grew wider.
So she decided to give him a shove on the shoulder instead. Mulder
mocked the pain and backed up a step. Then he frowned.
“Hmmm......Scully?”
“Yes?”
“I just remembered something.”
“What is it?”
“My foot HURTS!” Mulder cried out in
real pain.
So, what do you think? If you have any questions, suggestions, comments, or even complaints, please email me
and let me know! Thanks! I welcome all messages!
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