Dragons in A Mirror

Mon Nov 25 1996

All Characters copyright of TenThirteen Productions and Chris Carter. No
infringement intended on any part... go ahead, take me to court...
I'm using the insanity defence... heh, heh, heh...
The character of Jackie St. George belongs to me though...

Comments, complaints and just plain talk to sheryl_martin@tvo.org

Summary: G, S, X - For want of a nail...
Author's note: If you haven't seen the first three seasons, you might get a
bit lost in the references - and yes, there is a spoiler from the first show
of the fourth season... you've been warned...

Dragons in A Mirror (1/4)
by Sheryl Martin

The day was sunny and the air crisp; holding the promise of snow in the snap
and crackle of the leaves blown off the branches. The small clearing in the
park held a strange scene; two people calmly sitting on a wooden bench while
two others circled each other, waving what appeared to be swords. The couple
on the bench watched and chatted like spectators at a football game, a gentle
laugh from one or the other breaking the cool air with a puff of whiteness.

"I keep telling you to dodge..." Marty Nantus huffed, taking a deep breath.
"You'll get your head chopped off otherwise..."

His opponent laughed, spinning the sword in her hand. "That means backing
off... you know I can't do that."

"Can't or won't?"

"You know the answer to that..." Jackie St. George lunged forward, slashing
at him. He easily parried it with his own sword and counterattacked. She
parried and they began their strange choreographed dance again.

Fox Mulder offered a handful of sunflower seeds to the woman sitting beside
him. "Seed?"

"No, thanks." Scully watched the pair circle around each other; the metallic
clang of metal on metal ringing through the air. "Mind telling me how you
managed to let her use the sword without killing herself and the rest of us?"

Mulder smiled. "I wrapped enough duct tape around the handle to keep those
dammed needles down. She'll have to cut it off; and she was careful to start
with, but they won't penetrate the tape and hit her hand." He put his hand to
his mouth, removing an empty shell to drop it discreetly in a growing pile
beside him on the wooden plank. "'Cause she wanted to practice with the real
thing, of course. Marty's just using one of the old ones from his
collection."

Scully nodded. "Good thing. I've wrapped her hands enough for now. If she
just didn't have to bleed to activate her... ability."

Her partner grinned at her. They had these discussions often; brawling
intellectually about if St. George's Gift was hereditary and a freak of
nature or paranormal... with nothing being resolved. Scully thought that
maybe genetic testing might be the way; Mulder refused to admit that this
ability could just be a trick of her metabolism available on call. But the
mental jousts were always fun.

Heck, everything was fun if Scully was involved.

He dragged his eyes back to the duel in front of them. Jackie had managed to
disarm her fiance, and was laughing as she waved the sword at his exposed
throat. For his part, he lay there laughing back at her, his eyes sparkling
with the eagerness of the fight.

"Now, about that new computer you were promising me..." She threatened with a
giggle.

Suddenly Mulder frowned. There was a shimmering around... behind... it was
moving towards them somehow; through the trees...

Getting to his feet, he walked towards the centre of the clearing. The two
combatants stared at him, Marty scrambling to his feet as the tall lanky
agent strode by them and gazed intently at the trees.

Scully moved as well, frowning as she took up a position behind him. "What is
it, Mulder?"

"I don't... do you see it?" He gestured at the trees. "It's like... it's
rippling like the water when you toss a stone in it..." A finger jabbed to
his left and right. "There... and there. You see it now?"

St. George moved towards the nearest tree; poking the sword out in front of
her cautiously. "Mulder, I don't see..."

Suddenly a wave of dizziness washed over them; spinning them around in a
vortex of nausea. They crashed to the ground in a twisting flurry of fall
leaves and crisp cut grass.

It might have been a minute, it might have been a day. But eventually the
world settled back into focus and the spinning subsided.

Shaking her head, Scully got to her feet carefully; noting that Mulder was
nearby on his knees and cradling his head in his hands. "Mulder..."

"I'm fine..." He groaned. "Just wish I had the drinks to go with the
hangover..." He looked at his watch instinctively. "It's the same day... the
same time..."

Scully ignored him - he was obviously fine. "Jackie..." The redhead turned to
see the Canadian staggering towards them, one hand on her forehead.

"Oh, man... I need some peppermint tea..." Her voice trailed off as she spun
around. "Marty?"

The three of them exchanged glances. St. George's voice took on a trace of
panic as she sprinted around the small clearing.

"Marty?" She skidded to a stop by the two agents, panting. "He's gone." She
said quietly.

"What happened?" Scully looked to her taller partner. He shrugged.

"I don't know. I just saw this... wave coming towards us, and then it hit..."
Mulder paused. "He was standing over there. It must have passed him."

"Or it hit him and not us." Scully volunteered. She looked at St. George,
seeing the worry in her face. "I'm sure he's fine."

"He better be. Or someone's going to be in a lot of pain." The CSIS agent
waved the sword in the air before putting it back in the scabbard handily
strapped to her back. "A lot of pain." Her voice dropped to an angry growl.

"First things first." Mulder gestured down the path towards the main road out
of the park. "Let's get someplace and get some readings or reports on what
that was. We can't have been the only ones who saw it."

"My office's closest." St. George took the lead, walking quickly in front of
the two agents. They silently followed, seeing the tension in every step she
took.

*******

The man stood alone in the small park, frowning as he spun around and around;
trying to see his friends.

"Jackie?" He mumbled, his voice rising into a shout. "Mulder! Scully!"

Breaking into a run, he headed for the path and the road beyond.

*******

"Let me get into the databases and see if there was anything strange
weather-wise or otherwise." St. George punched the elevator button angrily.
"Come on..."

Scully put her hand gently on her friend's arm. "He'll be fine. Marty's quite
capable of taking care of himself. He did manage to get through the Gulf War
without you."

"Although if you had gone over..." Mulder joked. "That would have been a
sight to see." St. George's weak smile consoled him slightly.

The doors slid open, letting them onto the floor where St. George's office
was located in the Canadian Embassy. Striding quickly down the corridor, she
stopped in front of a vacant desk. The woman frowned.

"Where the hell is Rosie?" She brushed a hand over the empty desktop. "Her
computer's not even here..." Shaking her head, she walked into her office and
sat down behind her desk, punching buttons to bring her system online.

Scully sniffed the air as Mulder closed the door behind them. "Someone's been
smoking in here."

The woman tensed as she bashed on the keyboard. "Nonsense. No one smokes in
my office. Cancer Man did that once, and I just about threw him out the
window..." Her voice trailed upwards in confusion. "Dana, look at this."

Scully made her way to stand behind her, looking at the screen. "What's
wrong?"

"This..." St. George waved a hand helplessly at the monitor. "Files are gone,
some new ones are there that I sure didn't put in... Some bastard even erased
all my emails to and from Marty!"

"A hacker?" Scully frowned as she leaned in to study the scrolling files.

"If it's the Gunmen, they're all dead." The Canadian swore under her breath.
"And if it was Cancer Man, I'll do it slowly..."

Mulder leaned against the half-open door, studying the room. "I hate to say
it, but unless you redecorated since last week; someone's definitely been in
here - and not the cleaning lady." He gestured. "That chair hasn't been there
since the last time you trashed the office in a fit."

St. George looked around, swearing again. "Yah. Things have been moved. And
the dammed idiot didn't even think of trying to hide it." A hand pushed a
full ashtray to one side. "I'm not a happy camper." She looked at the screen
again. "And some of my passwords have been changed. Aside from them hiding my
pictures of you two and Marty. Someone's gonna be in a lot of pain..."

A series of footsteps echoed down the hall, coming towards them. Mulder
smiled. "Betcha it's Rosie to tell you it's a practical joke."

"See how I'm laughing?" She growled as Scully straightened up from staring at
the screen. Pushing her chair back, the Canadian stood up with a snort of
disgust. "Ha, ha, ha... you're fired..."

Suddenly a hand wrapped itself around Mulder's arm, pulling him out of the
room with a jerk. A strangled cry came from the man, cut off sharply as he
disappeared from sight.

Instinctively the two women drew their pistols, racing for the door and
throwing it open.

Fox Mulder stood there, locked in a passionate embrace with some woman who
had the heaviest liplock on him that either one had seen in a long time.
Lowering their weapons, Scully let out a nervous laugh.

"Old friend, Mulder?"

For his part, Mulder honestly didn't know what to do. One second he had been
watching St. George moan at her terminal, then suddenly some woman had her
arms around him and was kissing him in a way that he barely remembered. A
small voice yelled that this was in front of Scully, and god help him, St.
George and that he was never going to live this down but she was pretty
dammed good and if she worked here in the Embassy maybe St. George could get
her number and maybe he might get a date for the first time in years but he
knew he wouldn't since he would feel so guilty spending time away from the X
Files and from Scully...

The woman reacted first, flipping her dark hair back from where it had fallen
to cover their faces. Releasing Mulder, she patted his face playfully.

"Foxy, Foxy... what did I tell you about coming to my office in the daytime?
And bringing a friend..." She stared at the woman behind Scully. "Who the
hell is this?" Her voice lowered to a familiar growl.

Scully looked from St. George beside her to Mulder in front of her to...

St. George standing beside Mulder.

Two of them.

She sized the pair up, noting the differences. While their St. George was
wearing the dark green combat jacket she always wore; the double was nattily
attired in a well worn black leather jacket. Her hair was pulled back in a
ponytail, like Jackie's. She was identical to their Canadian friend, except
for her eyes.

They were ice.

With a curse Jackie brought up her pistol, levelling it at the woman beside
Mulder. She reacted, reaching inside her leather jacket as Mulder pulled free
of her grip.

Seconds later they stared at each other in some obscene comedy, all three
agents aiming at the woman and her Glock steadily pointed at St. George's
head. She cocked her head to one side.

"Seems like a standoff, wouldn't you say?"

"Who the hell are you?" Jackie snorted, pulling the hammer back on her
revolver.

"St. George. And if you're supposed to be a double, you're doing a lousy job.
I dumped the antique years ago." She gestured at her automatic. "Works a lot
better." Her eyes glittered. "But you got a sword. Did some research." She
let out a rough laugh. "So who are you and what are you doing in my office?"
Her gaze went to Mulder, standing beside Scully. "And what's up with you,
Fox? Did you think..." She stared at him. "Dammit... you're not Fox Mulder."
Her voice lowered to a familiar growl. "Who are you 'cause you're not
Mulder."

His eyebrows rose. "Really. Be news to the IRS."

She shook her head. "Man, whoever sent you guys did a really crappy job.
You're supposed to have a small scar here." A finger slashed across her own
chin. "You remember, from when we dispatched those three guys? You let the
woman scratch you."

"Sorry, I don't remember." Mulder smiled.

"And the babe..." The woman shook her head as she looked at Scully. "I don't
know who you're supposed to be copying, but it's not that good if these two
didn't get it right." She took a deep breath. "Now just back into my office,
all of you, and we'll get this straightened out."

"I don't think so." St. George advanced, letting her weapon come within
inches of the barrel of the double's automatic. "I think we're walking out of
here."

"I don't think so." She retorted. "I'm not against turning in a dead body
instead of a live one."

"Except you'll die as well." Jackie grinned. "And no Rage can keep you alive
if we all pump you full of bullets." Sliding to one side, she stepped around
the angry woman. "And yes, I will take a head shot."

"As will I." She watched as Mulder and Scully moved into the hallway behind
their friend. "And I never miss."

"Funny." Jackie cocked her head to one side. "I still do."

During the conversation she had been manoeuvring them closer and closer to
the stairwell, and now Mulder opened the door quietly. The two agents stepped
inside and watched as the angry woman stared at them. Finally she pulled up
her Glock at the same time as Jackie pulled up her revolver.

"Be seeing you." She laughed. "And Fox - you weren't bad..." Spinning on her
heel, she disappeared into her office.

Closing the door, Jackie let out her breath in a slow sigh. "I don't know
whether to faint, scream, or rinse my mouth out with bleach." She smiled at
Mulder. "No insult intended."

"How would you leave the building right now?" Mulder pressed her. She
frowned.

"If I had someone I wanted to avoid - down into the underground garage and
out the side fire door."

"Right." Mulder began to climb the stairs. Scully and St. George didn't move,
staring at him in confusion.

"Look, if she knows what you're going to think, then she'll have men waiting
for us down there. I say we try to go out the front door after taking the
elevator down."

"Mulder, I'd never do that." St. George protested. His face split into a
grin.

"Right."

************

Inside the empty office, the woman sat down behind the desk and stared at the
computer screen. Pulling a pack of cigarettes from inside her jacket, she lit
one up and looked at the monitor as she picked up the phone and dialled a
familiar number.

"Mulder... yah, I know..." With a laugh she blew smoke into the air. "You
won't believe what just happened to me. I think we better set up a meeting
with your boss."

************

They walked out through the front doors of the Embassy, the few RCMP officers
who were on duty glancing in confusion at St. George. As they sauntered down
the steps, Jackie couldn't help but glance back at the offices on the second
floor.

"Nothing yet."

Mulder nodded. "Because she's thinking like you. Or you're thinking like
her."

Scully led them around the corner and down the street. "What are you saying,
Mulder? This is the real St. George here. This is Jackie, that woman is a
fake, a copy, a..."

"A clone?" Mulder smiled. She ducked her head away from his grin.

"I didn't say that. But she has obviously taken Jackie's place in the
Embassy."

"And someone's taken mine." He retorted. They all stopped still on the
sidewalk, ignoring the crowd as it surged around them.

"You?" Scully said. "I don't remember..."

He tapped his lips with a single finger. "Scully, that woman is so unlike St.
George that I can't see her trying to 'take' Jackie's place. So this is her
time, and she's in the right place. We're not."

St. George moaned. "If you're going to tell me we've done that 'Sliding'
thing like in the show, I'm going to kill you."

"Only if you kiss me like that again." He leered at her. "Marty is a lucky
man." Mulder chuckled as she turned away, her face scarlet. Returning his
attention to Scully, he continued.

"The objective of replacing someone is to duplicate them exactly - she's
nothing like our St. George; which means that in this world she's right. And
obviously the Mulder in this world also is right; and knows her."

"But she didn't recognise Scully." St. George chirped in, her embarrassment
forgotten. "She didn't know her at all."

"Hmm." Mulder nodded. "Which means that either she's never met you for some
reason or she chose to not let on that she knew you. Remember, she's as
well-trained as you are. She might have been doing that to throw us off the
track."

Scully held up her hands. "Hold it." Raising one hand, she ticked off the
points on her fingers.

"You're saying that this is an alternative world, a different timeline. Now,
call me silly, but we're still in Washington. You, or your double still works
for the government. There's no alien ships in the sky, no monsters crawling
across the street - this looks exactly the same as it was when we walked out
here this morning to go to the park." She looked from one face to the other.
"So what's changed?"

Mulder shrugged. "That's what we have to find out. And then see if it can
help us slip back." He pointed down the alleyway. "And I don't think we'll be
able to go back to our apartments, since our doubles will have the keys and
probably not like us showing up."

"Mulder..." Scully's voice took on that tone that sent a chill up his spine.
"Stop it right now."

They stopped walking, waiting for her to continue. She took a deep breath.

"Has it occurred to either one of you that it's possible that this is the
reaction that they want to get from us? Hysteria?"

St. George frowned.

"Look, it wouldn't be hard to put some actress in your place; maybe another
agent. And setting it up to look like this 'phasing' or whatever you want to
call it happened and taking Marty away. So you both go off the deep end with
some wild theory."

Mulder crossed his arms with a sly smile. "Why?"

"Why?" She repeated automatically.

"Why?" He spread his arms. "We're not working on anything sensitive. Hell,
we're not working on anything. So what purpose would there be to send us off
on a wild goose chase?"

St. George nodded. "Nothing in my folders. Well, there's a reception for the
Chilean ambassador in two weeks, but that's hardly a secret. And I'm just
doing the window dressing for that one - nothing I can see."

Mulder smiled. "So..." He led them down the alley.

"So where are we going?" Scully asked.

"Where we always go when we need unofficial answers." He smiled.

*************

"Yah, it was spooky." St. George looked over at Mulder, resting her boots on
the edge of her desk. "Though she looked pretty mellow. And who would the
third one have been, the woman?"

He paused, just long enough to make her wonder. "She was a friend. But I
don't know why they put her in the group. It won't make any difference."

"Good." She said. "I don't like that emotional stuff to get into work. I've
got Vic following them right now. Give us a trace if we have to find them."

Mulder nodded, scratching his chin. "I put out the word. He'll be in touch
and give us information on what to do." He paused. "What if he wants us to
kill them?"

St. George smiled, patting the side of her leather jacket. "This won't be a
problem. She's weak, anyway. They all are." A finger traced her lips.
"Although he wasn't as good as you are, Mulder."

He laughed. "Glad to hear that." Reaching over, he deftly picked a cigarette
from her open pack and lit it. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"A few months." She laughed. "But we've all been busy..."

The man nodded, taking a deep drag and releasing the smoke into the air
around them. "Well, I'm about due for some R&R."

The phone rang. St. George let out her breath slowly and picked it up.

"Yes..." She nodded at Mulder before putting it on the speakerphone. "It's
the boss..."

***********

Picking up a paper from a garbage pile, St. George showed them the dates.
"It's the same. As the headlines. So whatever happened, it wasn't that major
a thing."

"To the rest of the world." Mulder nodded. "But it somehow changed us."

Scully let out an exaggerated sigh, letting them both know her thoughts.
"Right."

Mulder ignored her. "The office should be the third door on the right off
this street..." He stopped in front of a barricaded entrance. "Or not."

St. George looked at the thick planks nailed over the door. "This isn't
recent, you know." She picked at the rusty nails. "This is pretty old..." A
hand slipped between the wood beams to rip off a yellowed patch of paper. She
held it out for them to see.

"A police seal on the door." Scully said quietly. "So they came and got the
Gunmen to shut down their magazine?"

Mulder shook his head. "That doesn't matter - there were plenty of places for
them to duck into for this type of situation. They were always prepared for
the authorities to come after them, rightly or wrongly."

"But..." St. George swallowed. "This is old, Mulder. I'd say weeks, maybe
months..."

"Yah." He sighed. "And I would have been informed of this when it happened."
Leading them back down the alley, he let out another deep sigh. "Well, when
in doubt go to the source..."

The thin man watched them leave the small lane before punching in a number on
his cell phone and whispering his information into the receiver.

**********

"We don't have any reason to believe that these aliens are part of the
assigned personnel to this area." The Africian-American rapped his fingers on
Mulder's desk, looking at the two people seated in front of him. "Therefore,
they're likely to be renegades trying to infiltrate our group for some
reason."

Mulder shifted uneasily in his chair. "But why bring Scully into it? They
must have known that it would blow any pretext of taking our places?"

"That I do not know." X said quietly. "But your orders are to apprehend them
for further questioning." He looked directly at the woman. "Of course, if
they have to be killed in the line of this investigation it would be
understandable. We could use their bodies for further experimentation." His
cold eyes went to Mulder. "Your father would appreciate that."

Mulder laughed hoarsely. "Yes, he would. There would be a certain irony in
giving him those bodies to work on."

"I remind you that if they are renegades that you might have to..." A finger
slid quietly under his throat. "We can't spare any weapons to assist you."

St. George snorted. "Like you ever have." A hand reached up to caress the
sword lying across her back in a leather scabbard, matching her jacket. "I'll
just have to do it the old-fashioned way. Bring you the heads in a bag,
okay?"

X nodded. "By whatever means necessary you are to apprehend them and bring
them in." He looked from one agent to the other. "Thank you for bringing this
to my attention. We have to maintain the security of the operation."

"My pleasure, sir." Mulder nodded. St. George shot him an angry look.

*************

Mulder hung up the phone. "No Langly or Byers. Hope they're just out chasing
conspiracies." Taking a third quarter from his pocket, he pushed it into the
slot. "Well, one left to go..."

The phone rang for about ten times as they waited, a cold wind whipping
around the trio.

"Hello?" The voice was soft and quiet.

"Frohike? It's Mulder..."

Click.

"He hung up on me." The tall man looked at his partner. "He must be in some
sort of trouble to not even give me a clue."

"Could they be involved in something deeper than they've let you know?"
Scully took the phone from his hand and hung it up. He shook his head.

"No... they usually let me know if they're about to try anything really
dangerous so that I can be aware if something happens to them. He must be in
trouble."

"Where is he?" St. George shivered. "'Cause I'm getting cold out here."

Mulder gestured at the street. " A few blocks away - I left him until last
because he was so close - figured we could hit him up for a cup of coffee
while figuring out what was happening."

"Then let's go see what's happening with him." Scully said. "And hope we get
there in time."

A scant half-hour later they stood in front of the small basement apartment
that was Frohike's; sandwiched in between a warehouse and a small pizzeria
and under a small convenience store. Mulder rapped on the front door lightly.

"Frohike? It's Mulder... we came to see if we could..."

A flurry of gunfire burst through the door, thankfully above Mulder's head.
As he ducked to one side, almost flattening Scully, St. George grunted
angrily.

"Guess they got here before us." Winking at the pair, she rubbed her right
temple with the cold steel barrel of her revolver. "Too bad they can't aim
properly..." Her mouth silently counted to three before she jumped in front
of the door and slammed her foot against it, kicking it open before ducking
back away and behind the wall for safety.

No more shots came at them as they waited. Scully looked at Mulder who
shrugged.

"Let me try." She said quietly to the two agents. Sliding past Mulder, she
bent her head towards the doorway, careful not to give the gunman or gunmen a
target.

"Frohike, it's Scully. Are you okay? Are they hurting you?" Her voice rose to
an authoritative tone. "We're Federal agents. Please put down your weapons
and we'll talk this over." She looked at Mulder who shrugged. St. George
chuckled and shook her head, tapping the Maple Leaf on one patch of her
jacket

"Scully?" The timid voice was so low as to be barely heard; a whisper over
the sound of their hearts pounding. "Dana Scully?"

"It's me." She cautiously poked her head around the corner, feeling Mulder's
hand secure on her shoulder and ready to pull her back at any sense of
danger. "Frohike, are you okay?"

"Prove to me you're Scully." The voice rose in intensity. "Prove to me you
are who you say you are."

She looked to Mulder in confusion. He shook his head and shrugged again.

"Frohike, the first time I met you you were taking pictures of me and
commenting that I was pretty hot - remember that?"

A deep weepy sigh came from inside the darkness. "Oh, god... it is really
you..." A faint smell of alcohol drifted towards them.

"Yes - and I've got Mulder with me and St. George."

His voice went ragged and angry. "What, after what he did? And that bitch,
that killer?"

St. George sighed. "Just because I was late in returning those books..."

Scully smiled. "Frohike, you have to trust me. If you believe that I am who I
say I am, then you have to accept that the people with me are the ones you
have to trust. I do." She twisted her tongue around the logic. "Mulder was
the one who introduced us; he was the one who laughed about you calling me
hot."

"He's the one who killed Byers and Langly... or tried to..." The words
trailed off. "Oh, to hell with it. Come on in, but I've still got another
clip in my gun."

"I'm so reassured." Mulder muttered as he followed his partner into the
basement apartment, St. George close behind as she pushed the door shut
behind them.

Their eyes adjusted to show the dimly lit room, a hodgepodge of electronic
equipment and files and videotapes; all stacked in a hazardous pile that
threatened to overwhelm them at any minute. A series of computers ran silent
programs to one side; old eight-track tapes playing softly at the opposite
end of the room.

He appeared out of nowhere, holding the bottle tightly around the neck as he
sized up the trio. Stepping forward, he stared at Scully for a long minute;
the Colt .45 pointed directly at her stomach. Then he let out a long
agonising sigh and put the pistol down on the nearby desk, followed by the
near-empty bottle.

"My god... but how did you..." His eyes went to Mulder and then to St.
George. A frown crossed his face. "You're not... I mean, you are but you're
not..." He put a hand to his head before reaching out to tentatively touch
Scully's cheek. She didn't flinch, but let him run his fingers lightly over
her face; seeing the confusion in his eyes.

"It's me, Frohike." Her eyes twinkled. "Still think I'm hot?"

"Yes. More than ever." Then he fell into her arms, crying uncontrollably.

**************
end of part one...

From Sheryl_Martin@tvo.org Mon Nov 25 00:24:27 1996
All Characters copyright of TenThirteen Productions and Chris Carter. No
infringement intended on any part... go ahead, take me to court...
I'm using the insanity defence... heh, heh, heh...
The character of Jackie St. George belongs to me though...

Comments, complaints and just plain talk to sheryl_martin@tvo.org

Dragons in A Mirror (2/4)
by Sheryl Martin

Dana Scully was, for one of the first times in her life, totally at a loss
for words. Awkwardly cradling the sobbing Gunman in her arms, she looked to
Mulder for help, her eyebrows arched up in confusion and bewilderment.

He shook his head. He had no idea what to do.

Gently she pried herself free of Frohike's grip, putting him at arms length
to look closer at him. The medical training kicked in, noting the red eyes
and bulbous nose. This wasn't a casual drinker. Somehow Frohike had become a
major candidate for AA.

"I'm sorry." He snuffled, wiping his glasses on his shirt. "I mean, it's been
so long and it's such a shock..." His bloodshot eyes widened. "I guess it is
you. No one else would have let me get away with a comment like that back
then."

She smiled. "It's me. For real." Taking his hand in hers, she squeezed it
tightly. "Flesh and blood."

"Thank you." He mumbled, slightly flustered. "I guess if you had been one of
them you would have killed me by now anyway... but what are you doing here?
With them?" Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the
sweat from his face.

She put up her hand, stopping him in mid-sentence. "First, tell me what you
mean by Mulder killing Byers and Langly. And about me."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Well, to start with - you died about two
years ago."

"What?" Mulder and Scully chorused together. St. George rolled her eyes
heavenward. Frohike nodded, his voice gaining strength as he spoke.

"When you reappeared in the hospital after your abduction - we hoped you
would come out of it, but then they shut off your life support as per your
living will... and you died a few days afterwards." He frowned. "At least
that's what we thought. We came to the funeral and everything."

"But I'm alive." Scully protested.

Mulder snapped his fingers. "Not in his world. Not in this world." His
forehead crinkled up in deep thought. "The idea of alternative worlds has
been discussed in both fiction and fact. Somehow we..." He looked at St.
George and smiled. "'Phased' into this world where you died in the hospital."

Frohike frowned. "I might be a bit drunk, but this isn't making much sense to
me. If you do come from a different world, how did you end up here?"

Mulder sighed. "Wish I knew." He looked at the man. "Tell me about the Mulder
here, what he did. What happened to the guys?"

Sitting down on one of the office chairs, Frohike sighed. "It was just after
the funeral that you began to... change. You were quiet, too quiet for our
liking. Byers said it was just part of your grieving; to leave you alone.
Then you began to visit less and less; telling us that you had new contacts
and new assignments, and that you didn't have time to prattle about silly
theories about aliens and such." He let out a deep breath. "Then Langly found
you in the background at a murder scene. MUFON activist. Demanding
information."

"You thought I was involved?" Mulder asked.

"No." The Gunman stared at him. "We thought you had killed him." Pushing the
chair over to one of the terminals, he pushed the mouse around to activate
files. "We checked on your car rentals; your plane reservations... and
suddenly you were showing up at a lot of murder sites and abduction sites
without reason."

"You became a MIB..." St. George whispered. "You became one of them..."

"No." Mulder shook his head. "I'd never work for them. I want to find the
truth, not help them hide it."

Frohike clicked the icon, pulling up the picture on the screen. "We wanted to
believe you. We believed too much."

The picture was of a newspaper clipping, detailing the sudden death of Byers,
found murdered in his bed one morning. Another click showed the official
autopsy report, mentioning the garrotting of the victim.

Langly had been quick. Bullet to the head while he worked on his computer.
Frohike tapped on the keyboard, his voice cold and official.

"We asked you, you told us it was a coincidence. Then you showed up at the
office one day with her..." He jerked a thumb at St. George. "And warned us
to drop all our investigations and to let you access all our files when you
needed to. You threatened us." He sighed. "We didn't listen."

"Why didn't he kill you?" Scully probed gently.

"Because he needed one of us to access the files. We have keywords, secrets
that would take years for them to break. I know them all." He tapped the side
of his head. "Mulder just calls when he wants to know something."

"But you were ready to kill him." St. George offered.

"I was going to." Frohike looked at the near-empty bottle. "I thought I
could. I was wrong." He sighed. "Maybe I'm just a coward who wanted to stay
alive."

"No. The Frohike I know isn't a coward." Mulder said strongly. "He's a good
man. Who thinks Scully is hot." He watched as the Gunman's face split into a
smile. "Now let's access some old archives and find out what exactly happened
here..."

*********

The man waited patiently in the alleyway until St. George appeared out of the
shadows.

"They're all in there?" She asked quietly. He nodded.

"Good work, Vic." She pressed a couple of bills into his hand. "Go away and
forget this place. Because it's not going to be here in a few minutes."

Tapping the brim of his baseball cap, the surveillant complied; but not
without a shudder at the eagerness he had seen in his boss's face.

"Your call, Mulder." St. George murmured into a small microphone attached to
the leather collar.

"Give them five. I need to get my backups in place, then we'll go in." He
looked out the van window to where the woman was standing. "I'll lead."

She shrugged. "You're in charge."

"Yes." He bit down on the words. "I am in charge."

************

Scully watched the screen as it scrolled down. Frohike had linked the two
other terminals up to a database while he and Mulder concentrated on digging
up information about the Dark Mulder, as Frohike called him. As St. George
had commented, it was better than tossing double names around.

"Look at this." Something between a curse and a sob came from the woman
sitting next to her. "I've killed... god, it must be close to fifty people to
date. They've got me linked to so many cases..."

The redhead frowned. "But why did you go so... bad, if you'll excuse the
expression. Where's Marty, where's Mulder... a good Mulder, you know..." Her
head was beginning to spin with the possibilities of what could have happened
to them.

Silently St. George tapped on the keyboard. "Marty's dead. Unsolved murder
where someone took his head off with a sword."

"But..." Scully's forehead furrowed. "We were there - we saved him."

"No." The Canadian shook her head violently. "We weren't... because I wasn't
with you and Mulder to save him. Because we weren't on that case because I
never met you. Because Mulder was already spiralling downwards." Sliding her
chair over to Scully's side, she stared at her. "Your death meant that I
never met you; that I never... well, it's hokey but let's call it redemption,
what I've been doing. I stayed in Canada according to these records until I
was sent down here by Senator Griss to help Mulder out as a backup assassin."
She jabbed a finger at the screen. "And without you, or Marty, or Mulder..."
The voice trailed off. "I was lost."

Turning her attention back to the screen, Scully tapped frantically on the
keyboard, her mind labelling the possibilities. The evidence spun onto the
screen.

Melissa Scully... alive. She had never been in that apartment to take the
bullet meant for her sister. Instead her mother had grieved for Dana, then
retired back to her home.

"Mulder - my sister's alive." Her voice croaked with emotion. "I think that
maybe she might be able to help us..."

"How?" Mulder peered over St. George's head to stare at his partner. "She's
alive?"

"Missy was always sensitive to... things." The logical part of her mind
screamed at her to tell them the truth, to just come out and say that she had
to go and see her sister one last time. "Maybe she's got some idea of what
happened to us."

Mulder locked eyes with her, and she knew he saw through the lie. Then he
smiled.

"Sure. While we're in town, might as well look up all the old relatives."

St. George had turned her attention back to the screen and was now frowning.
"Whups... I got one up on the other Dragon."

Frohike looked up in astonishment. "You have something she doesn't? Other
than humanity, I mean..."

With a chuckle the woman drew a finger along the picture of the woman with a
sword. "This. She doesn't have Ascalon."

"What?" Mulder asked. "What or who is that?"

"My sword." She almost blushed. "I found the real name for it in some old
books. But look at the GIF - she's just using a regular sword. Which makes
sense, since the sword wouldn't work for the type of person she is. So I've
got at least one ace up my sleeve, so to speak." In a fluid motion she pulled
the sword off her shoulder and began to rip off the duct tape. "And I want to
have that in my hand when I need to play it..."

"Good." Mulder turned his attention back to the monitor. "God, Scully... X is
still alive, my father..." His voice took on a tone of wonder and
expectation. "My mother is still in fine health... she doesn't talk to me,
but she's alive and well."

"And you're working for who?" She probed.

He shook his head. "Cancer man or X. Either one."

"Oh, Mulder." She whispered. "How could you?"

He looked at her for a long second, unable to speak. And deep in her heart
she knew why, and it scared her to think about it.

It scared them both.

Suddenly a buzzer went off, startling them all. Frohike swore, punching in a
series of commands on the computer.

"What is it?" Mulder demanded.

"An alarm." He looked at the images on the monitor. "They're back - or you're
back, depending on how you want to look at it."

The pictures showed St. George and Mulder approaching the front door slowly,
both with their weapons drawn.

"Why didn't it go off when we approached you?" He asked. The short man
smiled.

"It did. I reset it after you got in. There's no use in hiding from these
people; but if you get enough warning you can hide some information." His
fingers flew over the keyboard. "And you three can escape."

Getting to his feet as the computer screens went blank, he dashed over to one
wall, pushing effortlessly the seeming huge piles of debris to one side.
"This door leads to the basement of the warehouse, then to the docks after
that."

"They don't know about it?" Scully pressed. He shook his head.

"I kept it for the final exit, after confronting them for one last time." He
picked up the Colt .45 from the table.

"You couldn't kill him before." St. George said quietly. "What makes you
think you can kill him now?"

He smiled back at her. "I don't intend to kill anyone. I want them to kill
me." His eyes dropped to the ground. "I'm tired of living. I'm tired of
giving them what they want out of fear. I don't want to help them anymore."
He waved the pistol towards the doorway. "You better leave before they take
off the rest of the door. I'll delay them for as long as I can; but that
won't be long."

"Why not come with us? We can help you disappear; find a new life
somewhere..." Scully broke off as a pounding knock came at the door. He shook
his head violently.

"I'll just be a pain. An old drunken fool. You have to go back home." He
looked at Scully. "But at least I got to see you again."

Bending over, Scully kissed him tenderly on the forehead. "I'll never forget
you, Frohike."

"No matter what happens, we'll always have the basement?" He joked, on the
edge of tears.

"Scully." St. George looked at the doorway. "We better get going before this
entire conversation is moot." She extended a hand to the Gunman. "I know you
don't know it, but we're pals in the other place. I'll try to be a bit nicer
- but you're still not videotaping my honeymoon."

Frohike laughed, coughing loudly. Mulder stood awkwardly by as the two women
entered the tunnel.

"I... I want you to know that I always respected what you and the others
did." He jammed his hands in his pockets. "I wished sometimes that I had the
guts to drop out of society to pursue the truth alone."

"Nah." He smiled at the agent. "You wouldn't pass up the babes." He waved at
the door. "Go. I'll move it back but you probably won't have more than ten
minutes - I'll try to buy you more time."

Nodding, Mulder stepped into the darkness and heard the debris slide back
into the opening behind him. Reaching out, he felt Scully grasp his hand as
they descended through the stairwell.

*************

"You're sure they're in there." Mulder growled at St. George as they walked
towards the door.

"Vic isn't ever wrong." She smiled. "My people only screw up once."

"I've got people behind the building. They won't know what hit them if they
try to escape." Mulder lifted a fist to pound on the door.

"Unless he's smarter than you are." She retorted. He glared at her.

"He's the same as I am. But not as wise. A flawed copy."

"That's your point of view." She lifted the pistol.

***********

Sprinting along the narrow corridor, they eventually found themselves
scrambling up a series of steps towards the surface. Pushing at the solid
door with their shoulders; it took the three agents a good two minutes to
dislodge the heavy wooden door and make their way up into what appeared to be
an abandoned garage on the edge of the ocean.

Mulder looked back. "I think..."

St. George shook her head and let the door fall behind them with a powerful
thud. "His choice, Mulder. And his world. Besides, I have a feeling all we
were doing was prolonging the inevitable. He was ready for a showdown when we
arrived - we just gave him a dry run to prepare."

Scully wrapped her arms around herself, deep in thought. Mulder went to her,
seeing the tension in the way she ground her teeth together.

"Let's go see your mother. And Melissa." He said quietly. "Maybe they might
be able to help us, maybe not. But we can't stay here."

She lifted her face to stare at him, her eyes wet. "So many lives, Mulder...
how could so many lives change because of one person dying?"

Taking her hand, he shook his head slowly. "I never thought about it until
now, Scully. But maybe when we get back we'll make sure that we make it all
worthwhile."

They stared at each other until St. George cautiously cleared her throat.
"Sorry to interrupt this deep, introspective moment, but I would like to
bring to your attention that they will find this tunnel really soon after...
whatever. We should get our butts in gear and get moving." She scuffed her
toe in the dirt on the wooden floor. "'Cause I want to go home."

*********

They stared down at the body. The single bullet had travelled through the
back of his head; sending the contents against the monitors and keyboards
stacked behind him in some strange altar. Mulder stared down at him.

"He knows where they are; where they're going."

She nodded. "Bloody nit was too fast. If we had been a few minutes sooner..."
She let the intentional dig hang in the air.

He turned on her angrily. "Look, I want to find them as badly as you do! So
don't give me any shit about how we could have stopped him and captured
them!" Mulder stared down at the limp body in the chair. "He knew we would
get the information out of him. He knew." Spinning on his heel, he stomped
out of the small room. "Have them tear this place apart - they got out of
here somehow. I want them found and tracked!"

St. George tapped her forehead with the barrel of her pistol. "Yes, sir." The
words held a degree of contempt that he couldn't help but hear.

***********

Mulder bent over the steering column, swearing under his breath as the two
women waited.

"Mulder..." Scully tried to be tactful, glancing around them apprehensively.

"Yah, yah... give me a minute." His fingers danced over the wires. "It's been
a long time since I had to hotwire a car."

"Obviously." The response from the back seat. He winced, then broke into a
grin as the engine started up.

"We're on the road." Throwing the car into gear, he pulled out of the parking
lot. "Anyone see us?"

"Aside from the SWAT team and the fifty armed agents?" He turned to see
Scully's sly grin. "No - where to now?"

His tongue flicked out to wet his bottom lip. "You wanted to see Melissa. We
might as well before anything else. And there's a chance she might be able to
help find out what brought us across and how to get us back." Twisting in the
seat, he looked at her. "Any idea where the best place to find her is? That
won't cause a stir... I understand most people don't take to dead relatives
appearing too well."

She let out a low chuckle. "Morbid, but I get the point." A hand waved at the
road signs. "Just head for my house - I'll take it from there."

*********

"He's dead." The stern voice came over the cell phone, making him cringe.

"I've got a team already getting the records to Analysis." Mulder looked at
the stream of people travelling in and out of the basement. "We'll be able to
retrieve all the information in their files in a few weeks or so."

"You hope. I remind you that it was your idea to keep this man alive to give
us the information without having to use our own resources." The voice
sounded harsh. "I hope that your involvement with the intruders hasn't
impeded your ability to do your job, Mulder."

"No, sir." A thin trail of sweat ran down his back. "I don't care who or what
they look like, we will apprehend them. Or eliminate them." He looked over at
St. George, who was enjoying this little chewing-out by the expression on her
face.

"Good. Do you have any idea where they're headed?"

"I think..." He drew in a breath. "I'm going to start with Mulder's family.
If he's hoping to somehow get information out of my mother or father, he'll
be heading there."

"I see." The voice held a questioning note. "Why not Scully?"

The words caught in his throat. "I think that Mulder would be looking for
answers and information. Scully's family has nothing for him." He paused.
"I'll send a secondary team out to monitor them just in case, but we're
headed for the primary site."

"Agreed." The tone grew conciliatory. "Good thinking, Mulder. Just like your
counterpart."

He hit the disconnect button hard. She looked at him.

"You're taking a risk."

"Yah."

"Hope it's worth it." Leaning over, she put a soft kiss on his cheek and
whispered. "'Cause I don't want to become your replacement."

************

The graveyard was quiet and silent, fulfilling the usual requirements for a
ghost story. The three of them sat silently in the car; watching the paths
leading up to a series of gravestones.

Scully shivered. "It's funny. I never quite understood the phrase of 'feeling
like someone had just walked on your grave' until now." She shook again. "Can
you turn the heat up a bit, Mulder?"

He did, even though the inside of the car was already sweltering. St. George
caught his eye in the rearview mirror and nodded.

"How long do you want to wait?" He asked gently. She shrugged.

"I know Mom would visit after church tomorrow. But since Missy doesn't attend
church with her, she'd make a visit today or tonight to even up the time
spent there." Another shake went through her body. "We usually divvy up the
time like that; make sure that everyone gets proper and equal time. No use
doubling up; Dad would hate that type of waste." Wrapping her arms around
herself again, she shuddered.

Mulder shifted himself sideways until he was close enough to wrap one arm
around her shoulders. She didn't flinch from his touch, instead relaxing into
it like a warm cushion.

"Why don't you take a nap?" He whispered. "St. George and I can watch from
here and there's no use in all of us staying awake. It's been a strange day."

She looked at him. "I don't know if I could. Or if I should." Her voice began
to crack. "Dammit, Mulder... that's me buried up there and not Missy. And I
don't know how to feel about that." Her last words were muffled as she buried
her face in his coat, the tiniest of sobs breaking loose.

In the back, St. George lay her head down on the seat and closed her eyes.

*********

"Echo One to Echo Leader."

"Go ahead."

"No sign of any activity at the main house."

"Continue your assignment."

Mulder put the cell phone down and looked up the stone steps to his mother's
house. Although they had begun to talk more in the past few years, she had
never forgiven him. Or his father.

Which, in retrospect, was probably the wisest thing she could do.

St. George stifled a yawn. "Anything at Scully's?"

"Not yet." He stared at the light in the window. "We'll stay here."

*********

Mulder shook the limp body against him lightly; not wanting to startle her.

"Scully..." He whispered. Her eyes opened wearily, innocent and soft. Then
she realised where she was and the mask fell into place; leaving nothing but
Dana Scully, FBI agent.

He gestured at the hill. "It's been three hours. Look."

The lone figure made her way along the stone path, picking a way carefully
through the dying leaves as she headed for the gravestones. A gust of wind
caught her coat collar and whipped it back, revealing Melissa Scully.

Scully let her breath out slowly. "Missy..."

Mulder released her. "Let me get this started. No use in making her run." He
opened the car door, suddenly colliding with St. George. She smiled
sheepishly.

"Gotta have someone watch your back, Mulder." She leaned on the hood of the
car, withdrawing her revolver. "Just in case someone followed us."

"Okay. But stay back unless I get in trouble." He ordered. She nodded.

Taking quiet steps along the path, he made his way up to the small plateau
where the stones lay; one so familiar to him that it reappeared regularly in
his nightmares.

Mulder cleared his throat. "Melissa..."

She whipped around to face him, the shock evident in her face. "Wha...
Mulder." Her words were cool and stern. "Funny to see you here. What
happened, you couldn't get a date for tonight?"

He sighed, his hands deep in his pockets. "Melissa, I know it sounds strange,
but I..." He broke off as she approached him, a worried look on her face.

"Mulder..." Lifting her hands, Melissa ran them up his front and down his
sides; a good three inches from touching him physically. Taking a step back,
she swallowed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Mulder."

"No, you're not." Her voice was strong. "You... are not who you should be."

He smiled. "Sounds like something your sister would say."

Melissa smiled back. "Probably. But you're not Mulder. Your aura; your
soul... it's not the same."

"Because I'm not..." The tall man fumbled for words. "Ah... this might sound
strange, but..." He stopped, seeing her stare past him; over his shoulder.

At the car.

No, not at the car. Nor at the woman standing at the driver's side; warily
eying the older Scully with her revolver flat on the rooftop.

At the woman inside.

Who she couldn't possibly see at this distance.

Her steps slow and unsteady at first, she began to walk towards the car;
gaining speed and strength. By the time Melissa reached the passenger door,
she was at a full run; braking with a rapid puff of breath. Glancing at
Jackie, she pulled the door open.

Dana Scully jerked awake, as if dreaming. They stared at each other as Mulder
walked up slowly from behind; exchanging nervous glances with the Canadian as
they waited.

"Dana." Melissa said finally.

"Missy." The seated woman replied.

Putting a hand to her face, the older woman began to laugh. "God, you look
good for someone's who been dead for two years."

Falling to her knees, she began to laugh childishly as she hugged her little
sister, who joined in with tears and giggles.

*************
end of part two...

From Sheryl_Martin@tvo.org Mon Nov 25 00:24:13 1996
All Characters copyright of TenThirteen Productions and Chris Carter. No
infringement intended on any part... go ahead, take me to court...
I'm using the insanity defence... heh, heh, heh...
The character of Jackie St. George belongs to me though...

Comments, complaints and just plain talk to sheryl_martin@tvo.org

Dragons in A Mirror (3/4)
by Sheryl Martin

The two agents watched the Scullys wander up the hill again, holding hands as
if they were twenty years younger and on their way to play games on the
sidewalk. Resting his hands on the roof of the car, Mulder looked beside him
to St. George; who had turned away and was leaning back on the passenger door
while staring into the distance.

"What are you thinking?" He asked, trying to wipe the emotion from his voice.
She shrugged, trying to regain her composure.

"About how awful this place is. I mean, I'm some sort of amoral killer
working for the government, taking lives without thought - no Marty, no
Margaret Scully to nag me on the phone about possible wedding dates, no Dana
to watch Red Shoe Diaries with - and the worst thing of all..." Her voice
took on a melodramatic tone. "I'm sleeping with you." She shuddered, playing
it up. He chuckled, resting his chin on his hands as he watched the pair on
the hill.

"Well, look at it from my point of view. I'm sleeping with you." He rubbed
his chin. "And probably a lot of other women, I'd wager." A sly grin crossed
his face. "On the other hand, maybe there's some good things about this
place."

"Hope they've found a cure for AIDS in this world." She retorted. "Or you'll
be dead long before lung cancer gets you or her." The Canadian chuckled. "I
never knew you were such a tramp, Mulder."

"Or you, St. George."

"Hey, if I'm settling for you, I must be desperate." She shot back. "Besides,
you're lucky to have survived this long if she's half the woman I am."

"And if I'm half as good here as I am back home, you're lucky you can still
walk. And all those other lucky women."

"Oh, like I'm supposed to be impressed by that?" St. George snickered. "But I
never thought you'd change so much if Dana hadn't... you know." She waved her
hands in his direction.

He sighed. "I never thought about it. Now that I see the potential, I
wonder..." His words trailed off as he watched his partner let out a laugh,
still clutching her sister's hand. "I wonder..."

St. George's next sentence was slow, the words carefully chosen. "What if...
what if we can't find a way back? If we're really stuck here."

"Then we'll have to figure out some way to stay here."

"We won't be able to." She shook her head violently. "They're after us, and
they won't give up easily." St. George smiled. "We wouldn't."

Mulder nodded. "Which makes finding a way back a bit more crucial." He
gestured at the two figures silhouetted on the hill in the failing daylight.
"Let's hope that Melissa might have some ideas or theories on that one."

*********

"You look so much... older." Dana said softly. Melissa nodded.

"Death adds a lot of years to you. Mom still hasn't really gotten over it -
and when Mulder walked away from us she took it hard." A low sigh escaped the
tall woman. "She never accepted the change in him; always hope that he'd come
back to the light."

"He walked away?"

"Literally and figuratively. He went on a crusade to find the men who had
done this to you and kill them. No judge, no jury. He found someone who would
help him find the people; give him the names and the addresses; where to find
them. I told him he was being used, but he just didn't care anymore. He was
determined to have his revenge at any price." A cold wind rushed around them,
whipping the loose leaves into a frenzy. "He used to take pride in announcing
to us that he had found them one at a time, taking their lives with the ease
that he was fulfilling a promise to you. To us." A shake of her head. "He
just didn't see that it wouldn't bring you back. And the price he paid..."

"I'm sorry." Dana responded. "I didn't know there would be such a difference
if I didn't come back..."

Her sister smiled. "And here you are, one of the few people in the world to
know such a thing. If you ignore 'It's a Wonderful Life'."

A laugh. "Yah - guess I'll be watching that in a different light this
Christmas." Her face grew solemn. "Do you have any idea of what happened to
us?"

Melissa sat down on a park bench, patting the seat beside her. "I think it's
obvious - you went through a hole of some sort, a gap in reality that brought
you here."

"There have been theories about wormholes, at least in space." Dana admitted
reluctantly. "But were we caught in some sort of uncontrolled experiment;
some freak act of nature? Why did it open up in the middle of a park and pull
the three of us in? Why not Marty?"

The older Scully laughed, a carefree laugh that almost made her sister cry
with the ache of memory. "Dana... you did it. All by yourself."

"What?" The colour drained from her face. "You can't be serious..."

Melissa nodded. "Tell me what you were thinking at the exact time that Mulder
first noticed the shimmering around you."

The redhead frowned, pursing her lips. "I was... I was thinking about the
files I had to rewrite for Monday... about what we would be doing for
dinner..." Her eyes went wide. "About missing you. And what we would be doing
on a fall day like this if you were still alive."

Her sister smiled triumphantly. "There. No mystery that." She wagged a finger
in Dana's direction. "And when you opened the rift, you pulled in the three
people who were most affected by your/my death. You, Mulder, and this St.
George. This other one, Marty... what connection do you have to him?"

"He's engaged to Jackie. But I don't see him outside of the rare times we're
all together."

"Exactly. He wasn't affected at all except by another connection. So you let
him go."

"Missy, if this is true..." Her head spun with the heady concept. "Then I'm
responsible for Frohike's death now."

She responded with an angry shake of her head. "No, that's this world. You
told me yourself that he was ready to kill them when you arrived. You're not
really affecting this place; you're just fitting into events that are going
to happen regardless. Anything you do here is not going to change this
universe, this existence. You don't exist here, so you're just delaying the
inevitable that would happen if you weren't here. It's not the same as a time
paradox where you're changing history."

"Okay." Dana blinked rapidly, her logical mind trying to fit square pegs into
round holes. "Then how do we get back?"

Her sister paused. "You have to want to get back."

A sharp laugh broke free. "No offence, Missy... but we really, really do."

"I know. I can tell." She sighed. "What we need to do is refocus your
thoughts and channel them properly. I bet that park is on a ley line."

Dana nodded. "I've heard of those. Imaginary lines of force crisscrossing the
globe."

"They're also called Dragon lines."

"I know." The younger Scully smiled. "We've had experience with them in the
other place."

"Ah, good." Melissa got to her feet. "Of course, with a friend called St.
George, it's no wonder. I'm glad to see that you're a bit more open-minded in
this future."

Dana bit her lip. "A bit - but I'm still not buying every wild theory Mulder
tosses out at me."

Her sister's laughter settled on her like a warm scarf. "That's the Dana I
know and love - let me get back to my place and pick up some things to help
you concentrate the energy, and I'll see what I can do to help send you
home."

"Missy..." Dana held onto her hand as the older woman stood up. "It's so good
to see you again..." She choked on the words. "I just miss you so much..."

Melissa smiled softly and nodded. "As much as I miss you, little brat."

***********

"No way. I'd serve under Picard in a second. At least he cares when his
security people die." Jackie said.

"But Kirk got to all the interesting planets." Mulder retorted as the two
women approached.

"And he got all the women." She responded. "Didn't leave any for his staff,
as I recall. Besides, wearing a red shirt was a death sentence on that ship."

"Point granted. But Kirk did have more fun breaking the rules."

"But Riker... now there's a man any security woman would love to serve
under."

"Is that a confession?"

"Hey, I like Mel Gibson, Kenneth Branagh... and that guy from Red Shoes. So
sue me." She wagged her engagement ring in his face. "I'm not dead - I can
still look."

"But not touch."

"Can't touch my Wookie." She sighed. "I don't know what I'll do if we have to
stay here, Mulder. I'll go crazy."

"Well, we could go to Vancouver and audition for parts in 'Millennium'." He
shrugged. "I like the show."

She snorted. "Oh, yah. Like I want to work for that guy." Looking up, she
jostled his arm. "They're coming back."

"And they're smiling." Mulder sighed. "I hate it when Scully smiles. It means
she knows something I don't."

"Hmm... like that would take much." St. George turned her attention to the
Scully sisters. "So - any earthshattering revelations?"

"Ah... yah." Dana looked at Melissa, almost blushing. "We think we know how
we got here and to get home."

"So?" Mulder urged her on, staring at her anxiously. "Tell us..."

"Well... it seems that it might be my fault..."

********

"Echo One to Echo Leader. We have the suspects under surveillance. The tag on
the sister worked, as you suggested."

"Good. Any idea how long they've been there?"

"Negative. We just pulled up to see them at the grave site."

"Maintain discreet distance and follow until we get there." Putting the cell
phone down, Mulder didn't look at the woman beside him. "They went to
Scully's grave. They've met her sister, Melissa."

"Civilians." St. George spat out the words. "Wonderful. Think we'll have to
remove her?"

His face was red with anger as he snapped his head around to stare at her.
"No one kills Melissa Scully. I'll take the fall for it; but no one touches
her."

"Agreed." She responded sulkily. "But you could tell me why."

His knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel tightly; pulling away
from the curb. "I won't have the blood of two sisters on my hands."

********

They drove slowly along the streets; the wheels churning up the piles of dead
leaves blowing around them. Melissa sat in the front, beside Mulder while
Dana and Jackie sat in the back.

"There." She gestured at a house. "I live in an apartment there." The car
pulled over to the curb. "I'll just be a few minutes." The elder sister
disappeared into the building.

Mulder stretched his arm out along the seat, turning to look at the women in
the back. "Are you sure that she knows how to... activate this thing?"

"No." Scully admitted. "I'm a bit unsure about this entire theory about ley
lines and activating them at all. But it's the best we have to go on for
now."

"If we have to stay here..." He started to speak, then stopped. "If we can't
find a way back, you won't be able to see her. Or your mother." Their eyes
met in a flash of sadness. "They'll be watching them both to see if we show
up. We'd have to go so far underground that they can't find us at all; find
someplace to live, far away from all this."

St. George spoke up. "I know a few places up North - they won't find us
there." Her voice held a trace of sadness.

Scully nodded. "Let's try this before we head for the hills." Her mind spun
at the concept of becoming an outlaw in her own country - not that she hadn't
been presented with that choice before, but just for being alive...

Melissa reappeared, holding a small leather bag in her hands. "I've got the
crystals - maybe they'll help you refocus the energy." She smiled. "And I'll
give you a hand, as well."

"I still don't understand how Dana turned this thing on." St. George said. "I
mean, it's fine and dandy to think about this and that, but you don't hear a
lot about people being misplaced on the basis of their thoughts."

Mulder manoeuvred the car through the narrow streets. "Actually, there's been
cases of people supposedly 'slipping' sideways through time and space. They
turn up without knowing how they got into our universe, or there's no record
of them. Around the turn of the century there was a little girl found dead at
the examination of a circus fire - she had been trampled by the crowds
rushing to get out of the burning tent - and although the papers ran her
picture for months, no one ever came forward to claim her body or to give her
a name. Maybe she was from this world; and fell into ours."

"Uh... okay." The Canadian admitted. "But how do we get back?"

"I'll work on it." Melissa Scully smiled. "Have a little faith."

**********

"They're heading back towards Washington." Mulder lowered the binoculars. St.
George nodded.

"Any time in particular you want to grab them?" She shifted, adjusting the
sword hanging from her hip. "I mean, it's fine to tail them for a bit..."

"I want to figure out who and what they're after." He snarled at her. "If
they're aliens trying to infiltrate our system then they're taking the most
roundabout way of doing it. Melissa has no information that they could use."

"No." She admitted. "And I can't understand why they didn't do a better job
of copying us if they intended to replace us." She looked at him. "Unless..."
The sentence hung in the air.

He started at her in disbelief. "You don't think..." Mulder turned the wheel
hard as they spun the car around. "I swear, St. George... you have stranger
ideas than I could ever come up with."

"Had a good teacher." She shot back. "But what if they are from another
place?"

"Where Scully didn't die?" A trace of sadness ran under his words. "But
they're in our world now, and we can't let them run free."

"So we take them out?"

"Or give them over to be investigated more thoroughly."

"I'd rather be killed." She stared out the window. "You know what they'll do
to them."

"Yes." He snapped. "And you know what they'll do to us if we don't try."

**********

St. George looked behind them, swearing under her breath. "I hate to mention
it..."

"We're being followed." Mulder nodded. "For the last three blocks." He caught
her eye in the mirror and grinned. "I'm not totally incompetent."

Melissa looked at Dana. "Are we going to be fine doing this? I didn't
think..."

"There's people after us." Scully admitted. "It seems that the Mulder and St.
George in this world see us as a menace; enemies of some sort."

She nodded in reply. "I can understand that. The Mulder I know would be keen
on searching out those type of mysteries and disposing of them." Her tone of
disapproval chilled the car. "Not understanding them, not studying them. Just
disposing of them and denying everything."

Mulder looked sideways, catching Scully's eye. Then he broke contact to press
down on the gas pedal. "Let's see if this guy's as good as I am."

************

"He's trying to lose you." St. George yawned. "Amateur."

"Yah." Mulder grinned. "I've already got the second squad heading for the
Embassy in case they try to get into your files again." He paused. "They
didn't get into anything, did they?"

She shook her head. "Nada. Keywords on everything, and anything sensitive
doubly so. Don't worry, Mulder - only the top guys know what we're doing."

He let out a soft sigh, so low as to be inaudible. "I know."

************

"Back to the park?" Mulder turned the corner. "How are you going to activate
the ley line, or whatever we tripped over?"

Melissa's forehead furrowed as she thought. "The best thing to do is recreate
the exact environment as it was when you 'slipped' - not so much thinking the
same thing, but the same actions and reactions."

St. George frowned. "But we can't - Marty and I were fighting..." She cut off
her words with a sharp curse. "But there is another one here with a sword."

Scully turned to look at her. "Your double?"

A nod.

"I don't think she'll come to play with you if we asked."

Jackie smiled. "No - I think she'll come for a good fight. I would." Reaching
up, she ran her hand lightly along the scabbard on her back. "And if they're
following us already, why not make the best of a bad situation?"

"But can you take her? I mean..."

"Sure." But Scully heard the apprehension under the words. "Sure, I can take
her. I'm the good guy, after all. We always win." Shifting in her seat, the
Canadian looked out the window to end the discussion.

She turned her head to stare at the car behind them.

<don't think. do.>

************

"Where the hell are they heading?" Mulder grumbled as he turned the corner
again. "Sure not being direct."

"So... who do you want?"

"Hmm?" He concentrated on the road and the car ahead of them.

"Who do you want to have for first target if they don't give in? And if
they're anything like us, they sure as hell won't." She asked.

"I won't kill Scully." Mulder said quietly. "I can't do that."

"Okay. I'll take her. You can take the other Mulder, if it comes to that."
St. George shrugged. "And I'll take the other one." She patted the sword.
"Even if they are aliens, taking off their heads certainly provides a
permanent solution."

Mulder nodded. "At least we know that much."

*********

"The park's up ahead." Mulder announced. "How long are you going to need to
put up this exhibit of stuff to help us?"

Melissa looked at the bag in her lap. "At least ten, maybe fifteen minutes.
It's not rocket science." She chuckled. "I just need to set the circle
properly to focus the energy along the line again. And I'll try to give it a
kickstart before you arrive."

"Right. When I stop at this sign, you and Scully head for the park. St.
George and I'll try to delay them and meet you in twenty or less." He put up
a hand to silence Scully before she had a chance to open her mouth. "She
doesn't know where the park is, and frankly you've got to be there. If this
theory has any basis, you've got to be the catalyst to start it working."

The car slowed, then stopped at a sign. "Out." Mulder demanded. The two women
dashed from the car, heading for the bushes.

St. George looked behind them, crawling over the seat into the front. "Would
you believe that I think they didn't see them?"

"No."

"You'd be right." Jackie glanced back again. "But they're following us -
hopefully Scully won't be interrupted."

**********

"Two of them got out - Scully and her sister." St. George snorted. "Lousy
timing."

"Let them go." Mulder kept his eyes on the car ahead of them. "Melissa's no
threat, and Scully..." His voice trailed off. "I don't want to worry about
her right now. Let's focus on these two up here."

"Your call, Mulder." The woman looked to the side where the two women had
disappeared among the bushes. "But I have to remind you that if we blow this
one, we'll be in a lot of trouble."

"I know." He chewed his lower lip. "I know..."

*********

The park was nearly deserted; the sunset throwing various hues of gold and
red over the horizon. Dana made her way along the path, pistol drawn.

"I think it was over here..." Pushing her way through the overgrown branches,
she revealed the little-used path. "Jackie wanted to be out of the way so
that we weren't interrupted by watchers."

Melissa nodded. "Yes, I can understand that. Sword play tends to startle
people."

They broke into the clearing together; senses aware and screaming. Dana
looked quickly from side to side.

"I don't see anyone. Maybe they're not following us."

"I hope not." Stopping by the bench, the elder Scully opened the bag.
"Because it's really going to screw up the vibrations to have too many people
around."

********

"Your next idea, Mulder?" St. George watched the car in the side mirror.

"We dump the car and head for the park." His eyes flickered from the mirror
to the road back to the mirror again. "And hope that they've got something
going, or we'll be in for a fight."

"I'll take them both, if you don't want to shoot yourself." She offered
nonchalantly. Mulder chuckled.

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Hey, I've been dying to take a shot at you." She shot back. "And I can't
believe that you wouldn't take a freebie at me."

"But I shoot low."

"Good. I aim high."

*********

"They're bailing." St. George watched as the car ahead of them suddenly came
to a stop; the two figures sprinting from the vehicle and disappearing into
the thick bushes around the edges of the park. Mulder cursed, slamming on the
brakes.

"Let's go in after them." He growled. She looked at him.

"No backup?"

Pulling his pistol free, the agent snapped a bullet into the chamber. "You
want to take a chance of getting killed by mistake by our own people?
Besides, the less people who see this, the better. Going to be hard enough to
hide these bodies as it is." Stepping from the car, he looked into the
forest. "Just make sure you kill the right ones."

"Oh, I'll be sure." Her feral grin made him wince. "And Scully's mine - a
favour from me to you."

He shuddered. "Yes. Please."

*********

Melissa scurried around the small clearing, depositing small crystals in key
spots. Finally she made her way back to the centre, near the bench where her
sister stood; pistol raised and acutely aware of every sound and whisper in
the air.

"I've got them as centred as I can - but you've got to start focusing on
getting home."

"I'm missing the red ruby slippers." Dana grumbled. Melissa giggled.

"Well, it's not that bad. At least you don't have to say 'there's no place
like home' over and over again. And I make a lousy Glinda."

A sudden thrashing to the left startled them both, causing Dana to point her
pistol carefully in the direction. They both let out an audible sigh as
Mulder and St. George crashed through the brush, skidding to a stop in the
grass.

"Are we there yet?" St. George panted.

"We're working on it." Scully retorted while her older sister sat on the
bench, putting her hands on her lap. Closing her eyes, Melissa's face took on
an air of peacefulness and tranquillity.

Suddenly another crashing came towards them. Pulling their weapons free, the
three agents hesitated as the two bodies worked their way free of the
branches.

"Hi, guys." The leather-jacketed St. George snarled. "Sorry we're late, but
now that we're here, let's party..." With a grin she withdrew her sword,
holding it lightly in her left hand with the Glock securely in her right.
"And like I promised you, Foxy..." She levelled the pistol at Dana Scully.
"I'll do her first."

**********

end of part three...

From Sheryl_Martin@tvo.org Mon Nov 25 00:23:56 1996
Please do not post to ATXC...

Comments, complaints and just plain talk to sheryl_martin@tvo.org

Dragons in A Mirror (4/4)
by Sheryl Martin

St. George stepped in front of Scully, her revolver levelled at the other
Dragon. "I don't think you want to do that."

She laughed. "Why? Not like you'll be able to kill me before I kill her. And
then..." She waved her sword at the rest of the small group. "Of course, you
could always surrender..."

"Not likely." Mulder said calmly, standing beside Scully. Taking a step
forward, he shielded the petite redhead. "I know what you'll do to us if we
do."

The dark-haired woman shook her head. "See, I told you so, Mulder. They won't
give in that easily. Like we wouldn't."

Mulder stared at his double; seeing the anguish in his eyes as he looked past
the pair to Scully.

"You can just let us go." He offered. "We'll be out of here in a few minutes,
hopefully... you can just say that we escaped." A hoarse laugh came out.
"It's not like they won't believe you."

The man shook his head. "It's not that simple. It's never been that simple."
He continued to stare at the redhead. "God... I'd forgotten how beautiful you
look."

A slight blush on her cheeks, Scully stared at him. "Mulder, you have to let
us go home. It's the right thing to do."

St. George snarled, staring into their faces. "No, the right thing to do is
to let us figure out who the hell you are! And how dare you torture him, you
bitch!" This last comment was directed at Scully, who took a step back in
astonishment.

She continued her rant. "Yah, it's you I always hear about, you he keeps
looking for... all the women, all the killing, all the lying - it's always
been for you; for his precious Dana Scully. And I'm tired of your ghost
keeping him from living a real life. Let him go and find his own path instead
of trying to resurrect the dead." She spat out the words. "And you..." Now
her eyes were locked with St. George. "You're nowhere as strong as you could
be; what you should be - I can tell that."

Reaching behind her, Jackie loosely gripped the sword in her hand; not
gripping it just yet. "You wanna go for the title?" She snarled, a grin
splitting her face. "You want a real challenge? Not just some dumb guy in the
way - you want a real fight? Let's do it, let's go..." She hummed the last
words over and over again like a mantra, seeing the other woman's face light
up with the dare.

With a wicked smile she nodded, re holstering the Glock. Taking the blade of
the sword, she drew it across her forearm; leaving a long bloody streak at
the same time that her counterpart grabbed ahold of her own sword and swung
it off her back.

The static was deafening; sending them all off-balance for a few seconds
until they could hear again. The dark Mulder took a step to the side, his
pistol firmly set on the other Mulder. Behind them all sat Melissa Scully;
seemingly oblivious to what was going on. Dana stayed behind Mulder, feeling
an odd sense of deja vu as she pointed her pistol at the dark man.

Raising her sword, St. George slashed down at her opponent, barely missing
and catching the fringes of the combat jacket as she brought her weapon
around for another strike. The next jab hit home, grazing the woman just
above the knee and ripping her jeans open.

"You're weak. You're too loose." She joked, hissing the words between her
teeth.

With an angry cry, St. George jabbed sharply with Ascalon; tearing an angry
slash across the left sleeve of the leather jacket, deep enough to make them
both wince with the sight.

"Don't make me shoot you, Mulder." Scully said quietly. "Just let us walk
away from this and everyone will be fine."

He stared at her, then at her partner. "I can't do that. The people I work
for... they won't let you go. They'll hunt you down."

"If they can find us." Mulder said. "Which I doubt considering the leap of
faith I'm making to believe in this." He cast a glance at Scully beside him.
"And I can't start guessing how far you leapt for this one."

"I should have told you..." The tall lanky agent ground his teeth together as
he spoke. "I should have told you and made sure you came back to me." The
pistol wavered in the air, still aimed at Mulder where he stood in front of
Scully. "You came back to him... why not to me?"

The redhead pondered her words before speaking. "I don't know. I chose to
come back... here, I didn't. It wasn't anything to do with what you did or
didn't say..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to remember what she had
done and what she had chosen so long ago in that hospital bed.

Behind them, the battle raged on; with one apparent fact - St. George was
losing. Badly.

Now both arms of her green jacket were torn with small slices; bleeding
freely as her attacker delighted in nicking her with every pass she made,
ignoring the small cuts on her own body as she wore the Canadian down.

Jackie took a deep breath, feeling the Rage beginning to ebb. The rush the
Dragonsword gave her wasn't permanent, and took a lot out of her. And usually
it was enough to finish most fights.

But not this one.

And she knew in her heart why she would lose; why she had to lose.

Rushing the woman, she smashed her sword up against the weaker weapon;
grabbing ahold of her opponent's wrist and pulling her face close. The sweat
dripped off both faces; ragged breathing coming from tortured lungs.

The woman smiled. "Mercy? Are you going to beg me for mercy?"

"No..." St. George gasped, feeling the weakness spread through her body. "I
wanted to tell you a secret..."

A frown etched itself on the woman's face. "Secret? But I know them all..."
She stopped pushing on her sword. "Tell me and I'll let you live. I'll
promise to try and help you." Her grip grew slack on Jackie's wrist; the
tension on Ascalon lessened.

Jackie smiled. "The secret is..." Bringing up her knee quickly, she smashed
it into her stomach with the last of her strength and ripped herself free to
bring down the pommel of her sword on the back on the woman's head.

She dropped to the ground like a rock, her sword skittering away from her on
the grass like it were on ice. Falling to her knees, the Canadian turned her
double over and leaned over the pained face.

"Love... the final secret to all this, all that we are and all that we can
be... it's love." Dragon whispered to Dragon; icy eyes staring into fire.

"Dana..." Melissa finally spoke, startling them all. "It's coming..." She
waved a hand around the clearing. "It's coming to take you home..."

"No!" Mulder's hand shook as he took a step closer to the two agents. "I
won't lose you again! I can't lose you again!"

Pushing Mulder gently aside, Scully walked towards the frantic man; ignoring
her partner. When she was close enough to touch his pistol, she gently tapped
it down with one hand, her own weapon at her side.

"I'm always with you, Mulder. Wherever, whenever... you know that..."

The shimmering was rippling around them; distorting the images of the trees
and bushes until it looked like they were in the centre of some sort of
vortex; spiralling around them.

"Scully..." The tortured cry ripped out of Mulder's throat. "I never forgot
you..." His eyes locked with her partner. "I never told her. Don't make my
mistake." Turning his back on them, he walked over to the prone St. George
and knelt down beside her, ignoring the panting woman leaning over her.

"She's going to be fine." St. George rasped. "A helluva headache, but she
knows about that."

He nodded. "We'll work something out."

Staggering to her feet, the woman nodded. "I'm sure you will." Still gripping
the sword in her left hand, she weakly looked at Melissa. "You don't know it,
but we had some good times." Falling back to her knees, she waited for the
waves to overtake them.

"Missy..." Dana was afraid to leave Mulder's side; afraid that somehow it
would damage the cycle they had started. "I always loved you..."

Melissa smiled. "And I always loved you, little sister." Raising her hand in
a farewell wave, she laughed. "I'll tell this story to the kids - a Scully
ghost story..."

Then the waves hit; whipping around them until they fell to the ground.

***********

"Jackie?"

She had to be dead; 'cause she hurt so much.

"Jackie?"

Hell was pretty cold and felt like she was lying on frosted grass.

"Jackie?"

On the other hand, that voice sounded so familiar...

Wrenching her eyes open, she stared up into the concerned face of the man she
loved more than life in this world and any other.

And laughed.

Mulder opened his eyes to find the cool cement of the park bench close enough
to kiss, and thought for a second that McCoy might have had a point about
transporters and how they could land you inside solid objects. Pushing
himself upwards into a sitting position, he shook his head to see if it were
still attached.

"Mulder!" Byers's face appeared in his view, joined by a grinning Langly.
"Glad to see you back."

Getting to his feet, the agent looked around. "What..."

Langly shrugged. "Marty here called us and we came to see what you guys had
gotten yourselves into." He waved a hand at the truckload of electronic
equipment sprawled across the clearing; taking measurements of every type and
kind and cameras whirring madly. "Although we can't take the credit for
whatever you did - we monitored it and found only a few odd magnetic readings
that fluctuated when you came back." He pushed his glasses up his nose.
"So... where'd you go?"

"A long way from here." He put one hand on the bench to steady himself while
the roaring in his ears subsided. With relief he saw Scully crouching on the
grass a few feet from him.

"Agent Scully?" Frohike's voice was soft and worried. "Agent Scully... would
you like some water or something?"

She smiled as he gallantly extended a hand to help her to her feet. Looking
to one side, she watched St. George rolling back and forth on the ground with
her fiance; switching from laughing to crying to finally hiccupping as he
gently pried the sword loose from her hand, shaking his head at the wounds
left in her palm.

"Can I get you something?" The bespectacled man asked again.

Turning to him, the redhead bent down and hugged him tightly; releasing him a
few seconds later. He stood there, mouth open and a delirious look on his
face as she reached for the cup of water still held tightly in his hand.

"Oh, man..." Langly breathed. "I knew I should have rigged the coin toss."

***********

"So..." Mulder accepted the hot mug of coffee gratefully, sinking into the
softness and familiarity of Scully's couch. "What do you think?"

Scully appeared, clutching her own mug. Putting it down on the coffee table,
she pursed her lips before speaking. "I'm not sure. It might have been a case
of mass hallucination..."

Mulder smiled. "Uh-huh."

"Maybe some of your government friends working on a new drug..."

"Uh-huh."

She put up her hand. "Hold it." Stepping briskly to the washroom, she poked
her head inside. "You can't need that many bandages. And you're not borrowing
my bedroom or my shower. Take it to your own place."

The couple's chuckles followed her back to the living room. Mulder's puzzled
expression made the redhead laugh.

"Marty's trying to patch up all the cuts on her. There won't be any scars;
but a lot of healing needed. Aside from testing the strength of my bathroom
counter."

His eyebrows rose. "How strong is it?"

She smiled at him. "As strong as it needs to be." Taking a sip of coffee, she
settled down beside him. "So... what is it exactly that you think that the
other Mulder should have told his Scully?"

He looked at her, then took a mouthful of coffee. "Well, if you believe in
ESP..." Their eyes locked for a second before he pulled away and closed his
eyes.

Putting her head on his shoulder, Scully let a soft chuckle escape. "Message
received loud and clear, Mulder."

**************

"You've become a world-class hopeless romantic."
"Not hopeless... hopeful. A world-class hopeful romantic."
Joan Wilder -- Romancing The Stone