Hidden Reflections (3/4)
by Penny Evans 
               
Feedback: evans_p17@sky.com 
Rating: R for violence, sexual images and language.
Category:  Post XF: I Want To Believe / Stand alone horror.
Pairing: MSR
Spoilers: IWTB / The End / Red Museum / Paper Clip / 
The Truth/ The Field Where I Died


PART 3
------

Our Lady Of Sorrows Hospital, Richmond, Virginia,
February 16th 2009

She had spent most of the morning in one of the operating 
theatres undertaking an extremely delicate procedure requiring 
her complete and total concentration. Performing a biopsy on 
a malignant brain tumour had involved the use of microscopic 
surgery, yet another revolutionary breakthrough in the world 
of science.  It allowed a surgeon the ability to magnify small 
fields of interest during an operation, as well as provide 
light in small cavities.  During that time, her professionalism 
as well as caring for the patient's well being hadn't allowed 
Scully to think about anything but the task at hand.  However, 
after completing the surgery successfully, she had returned to
her office without a word to anyone.  

Picking up the phone she dialled her partner's cell number, 
which she had done numerous times during the night.  Then after 
receiving no answer yet again, she started to become worried.  
Just where in god's name was he?  However before she could 
contemplate on any answer, there was a knock at the door. 

"Yes?" she called out, sounding rather tense.  It was the 
last thing she needed right now, as she really didn't want 
anyone to disturb her. 

Dr. Mark Holmes entered and walked straight into the room, a 
worried look etched upon his face.

"Mark?  Is everything okay?" Dana asked, forgetting her own 
troubles for a moment.

"I believe Naomi wasn't your chief assistant in surgery today?" 
he asked, concerned.

"No," Scully replied.  "But you've no need to worry," she 
added, trying to reassure him.  "She called and told me she 
wasn't feeling well; thinks she might be coming down with the 
flu?  So I gave her some sick leave, and told her to stay at 
home and rest."

"Ah," Mark sighed with relief.  "There's a lot of that going 
around lately.  I'll give her a call later and see how she's 
doing."  It was then he noticed his colleague was looking 
rather miserable.  "Hey, you all right Scully?" he asked, 
concerned.  "A nurse told me you seemed rather distant today?"

That must have been one of the nurses who had assisted her 
during the last surgical procedure.  Usually she thanked each 
one of them for their help, only this time she had refrained 
from doing so, wishing only to escape to her office for 
sanctuary.

"I'm fine," she lied.

"You don't look fine," Mark said, noticing the dark circles 
under her eyes.  "Did you get any sleep last night?"

She could see he was only being a friend, but did not wish 
to be interrogated by him right now.  "Comes with the job 
description Mark, you know that," she stated firmly, averting 
her eyes from him.

However, Mark knew their meeting had ended around 11 p. m., 
which meant she would have most likely arrived home close to 
midnight.  She should have managed to get at least four or 
five hours of shuteye.  He could also see she was now refusing 
to look at him.

"Dana, c'mon, what's wrong?" 

Realising she wasn't going to be able to keep her personal
problems private any longer, she reluctantly gave in.  "Mulder 
didn't come home last night," she said, worriedly.

"Have you any idea where he might be?" Mark asked, slightly 
annoyed.  Scully had already explained to him that in the past 
this guy of hers had a nasty habit of ditching her, and now he 
was feeling none too pleased, because from where he was 
standing it looked like she was getting the same treatment all 
over again.

"I've been calling his cell phone over and over and nothing,
it's dead to the world!" she exclaimed, bitterly.

"Dana, you don't deserve this," he told her angrily.  "If 
he is incapable of keeping his phone charged, or hell, while 
we're at it, can't even be bothered to call you?  Then why 
should you worry about him, huh?"

"You don't understand Mark," she replied, her voice wavering 
slightly. 
 
"Then explain it to me," he said, realising he was perhaps 
pushing her a little harder than he should have.  The truth of 
the matter was he hated seeing her like this, and also knew 
when she was upset; it usually had something to do with her 
partner.

Scully did not wish to give a detailed account on this latest 
craze that Mulder had found to occupy his mind but at least 
Mark was already aware of his obsession's with the paranormal 
to some extent, as she'd ended up telling him when he'd first 
come across her one morning looking so depressed.  So, she 
decided to explain her reasons to him, but keep them as brief 
as possible.

Mark decided he was prepared to give her the benefit of the 
doubt, as she gave a sketchy description about the 'Bloody 
Mary' folklore tales Mulder had described to her.  But he 
noticed she kept pausing a great deal and could tell it was 
because she didn't want to go into any more detail about the 
paranormal than she had to. 
 
"Dana?" he interrupted, breaking up her line of thought.  "I 
seem to recall you telling me before how Mulder disappeared, 
on numerous occasions in fact, while you were working for 
the FBI?"

"Yes, he did," she replied.  "And nine times out of ten it 
was because he'd got a hunch, which would more often than not 
lead to an emotional or physical threat," she added, 
emphasizing this fact strongly.  "Sometimes it was like he 
had a sixth sense or something and he would deliberately ditch 
me to try and keep me away from any possible danger that might 
occur."

"So, do you think maybe he called 'Bloody Mary' three times 
in front of the mirror?" Mark asked her, devoid of all 
teasing.

Surprised that he hadn't resorted to ribbing her about these 
myths, she confronted him with a question.  "Don't tell me 
you believe in this legend?"

"No, not really," Mark replied.  He saw himself as a very 
down to earth, run-of-the-mill kind of guy.  So in his eyes, 
the paranormal was nothing more than a bunch of spooky 
fairytales to frighten kids with.  However, he respected 
his work colleague and could tell she was hiding more than 
she wanted to admit.  "But you do Dana, or you wouldn't be 
this concerned about your boyfriend," he told her softly.

"I try to keep an open mind, because working with Mulder 
sure made me question many things I had held sacred in 
life," she admitted.  "We still managed to disagree on just 
about everything though.  He would never stop trying to make 
me accept the supernatural was the cause on our X File cases. 
And likewise I would try time and time again to counteract 
his answers with a scientific explanation, and so on and so 
on."  She cast a weary look at her friend and colleague and 
added, "We didn't see eye to eye on this 'Bloody Mary' stuff 
either, and he left my office intent on solving these old 
FBI cases, because he clearly believed they were related 
to these myths."

"Well, I'm afraid all I can offer is a rational explanation 
for his disappearance," Mark said, trying to help in any way 
he could.

"Which is?"

"That maybe he's gone off sulking somewhere, because you 
wouldn't listen to him," he suggested.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Mark," she said, giving 
a hint of a smile.  "I can see that any rational person would 
jump to that kind of conclusion."

"But you think it's something else?" he interrupted.  "Look, 
all I'm suggesting is you give it a few more days.  Then, 
when Mulder's calmed down he'll most likely come home with 
his tail between his legs."  He took hold of her hand and 
squeezed it gently.  "Until that time maybe I can persuade 
you to have a drink with me?  I really would like to try and 
cheer you up if I can?"

"That's really kind of you Mark," she said, gently pulling her 
hand away.  "But I think I'll pass."

He feigned surprise by the rebuke of his offer.  "Oh, Dana, 
I'm truly offended."  Then a smile broke through.  "Don't 
tell me you'd rather go home and sit in your empty house all 
alone so you can worry yourself even more about Mulder?  
C'mon, it's only a drink and I for one would love your 
company."

Dana realised he was going to keep on trying this art of 
gentle persuasion until she finally agreed to go with him, 
and after all he was trying to help in his own way.  She 
made her decision then and there, to take Mark's advice and 
wait a couple more days.  If Mulder still hadn't returned 
then she would take matters into her own hands and turn 
towards the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  She knew if 
she resorted to this plan of action that they would be far 
from overjoyed to see her, especially if her partner was the 
key reason she was contacting them.  But hell, they damn well 
owed Mulder big time, after kicking him out of the bureau and 
shutting down the X Files division for good, especially that 
Agent Mosley Drummy, who had persuaded her to get her partner
to come to their assistance the last time!

"Okay Mark," she smiled sweetly, gathering up her coat and 
briefcase.  "Just one drink, mind you."

His eyes brightened, realising he had finally started to break 
through that layer of Dana Scully which she tended to keep 
secret from everyone around her.  It was a part she kept well 
hidden from her everyday working life, and had only shared 
with her partner Mulder it seemed.  However strange and 
completely unbelievable it might appear to him, he couldn't 
help but feel rather privileged that she had opened up about 
such things, which were obviously very personal. 
 
"Ever the gentleman I see?" Scully said, as he opened the door 
and held it for her.

"Well, I try," he grinned.  "Okay, next stop Buffalo Wild Wings 
Grill & Bar."

"You sure know the finest of places to take a girl," she 
teased.  

"Sure do, ma'am," he drawled in a terrible Texas accent. 
 
Without warning a memory surfaced where Mulder and she had 
been sitting at a table adorned with a red and white cloth, 
happily tucking into Buffalo wings.  Scully remembered how 
during their conversation he had reached over, and with a 
napkin had tenderly dabbed at some barbeque sauce she had 
left on the side of her mouth. That innocent gesture, among 
so many more that followed, had led to them falling deeply 
in love with each other.  So much so that now she just couldn't 
imagine her life without him.

"Please be okay," Scully prayed, hoping he would hear her 
thoughts.  After all, this type of silent communication had 
worked for them a few times in the past, so why couldn't it 
do so again?  Receiving nothing but Mark's ever-present voice 
now trying to convince her just how great the food was at this 
Grill & Bar, she heaved a small sigh, nodded and quietly 
closed her office door behind them.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Naomi's Place - E. Franklin St, Richmond, Virginia

His first realisation proving he had returned to the land of 
the living became painfully clear when Mulder was met with a 
throbbing pain behind his eyes, so straight away decided to 
keep them closed.  Attempting to relieve the pressure by 
rubbing his head with his hands was immediately thwarted, 
when he discovered he wasn't able to reach that far.  Then 
he heard a small metallic clinking of metal hitting against 
metal, and just from the sound became aware that he was in 
a pair of handcuffs.  As a slight panic began to set in, he 
allowed his eyes to flutter open and realised he was lying 
curled up on a wooden floor.  His suspicions were confirmed 
when he saw just above his head the object of incarceration 
was wrapped around a radiator pipe, chaining him to it.  The 
room was dark but as his vision started to become a little 
less hazy he thought he was looking at the legs of a table.  
Raising his head slowly, as it was still pounding quite 
considerably, on closer inspection he could see an office 
desk as he noticed a stack of folders towering above him.  
Then he noticed a rectangular shape was casting an eerie 
fluorescent light onto the surface and realised it was a 
computer monitor.  It was against a wall which he could just 
make out from its silhouette, revealed a calendar pinned to 
it displaying a brash photograph that looked like the skyline 
of a city, Hong Kong maybe?  It also showed it was the month 
of February.

Mulder thought that perhaps he was in the 'locked room' as he 
didn't recognise any of his surroundings.  Apart from her 
bathroom and sleeping quarters it was one place she hadn't 
revealed to him during the guided tour of her condo?  But just 
who was 'she'?  Mulder's mind struggled to remember, the 
Japanese woman he'd brought home that night?  Forcing his 
body to turn around wasn't an easy task considering the 
unnerving, not to mention highly uncomfortable predicament 
he had discovered himself in.  It was then he realised she 
was leaning over him dressed in a little black silk negligee 
but what disturbed him the most was the fact she was wearing 
a pristine white surgical mask.  Then he noticed a syringe 
in her left hand, and his fear increased a notch.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked, hearing the nervous
tension in his voice as he spat out the words.

"Shhh," she soothed, gently.  "This will help you to relax."

The tenderness in her tone was really starting to creep him out 
but before he could make any attempt to reason with her, he 
felt the sting of the needle in his arm and realised to his 
horror she had injected him.

"What the fucking hell was in that?" he demanded, his
breathing becoming laboured.  For all he knew she had just 
shot him full of cocaine, or even worse a fast acting drug 
that once released into the blood stream would kill him, like 
cyanide for instance.

"Don't worry," she said softly, stroking his hair with her 
fingertips.  "It will help calm you down."

Mulder tried in vain to pull away from her touch.  Aside from 
the handcuffs holding him in place, he was starting to become 
extremely dizzy, and his head felt very heavy.

"Y-You bitch!" he thought he heard himself utter, although his 
voice now seemed so distant; it was as if it were no longer a 
part of him anymore.

Suddenly Naomi ripped off the mask, revealing a hideously 
mutilated mouth.

"Like the Joker in Batman," he mumbled, confusion now getting 
the better of him.

By now Mulder was so far gone he couldn't really register 
anything tangible at all.  In this delirious state her 
grotesquely wide blood red lips gave him the impression of a 
throat that had been severed, and even then he couldn't fully 
comprehend what he was seeing, which made him completely 
unaware as to whether or not what he was witnessing was real 
or imagined.  The woman behind the mask, the spirit of 
Kuchisake, had revealed herself to him in all her glory and 
she was pleased he hadn't resorted to screaming in terror.  
Even without the disguise he still couldn't observe the 
truth and see her for who she really was.  No, Yukio would 
see only a vision of the beautiful woman she had once been 
that had captured his heart in the first place.  Now she 
knew he was almost ready to submit to her completely, and 
then her husband could return to her loving embrace once more.

In the blink of an eye her image seemed to alter again, and 
Mulder was almost sure he had been smiling as Naomi's delicate 
features swam into view.  In the very next moment he found 
himself enveloped in an erotic kiss, the taste of which was 
overpowering but instead of trying to push her away in disgust, 
which if he had been thinking rationally he would have done 
without a doubt, he discovered he was actually responding, 
greedily devouring her mouth with an equal intensity.

Breaking the kiss, her haunting eyes stared deeply into his 
own, holding him hostage like a reflection in a mirror.  
"Ah, Yukio," she said breathlessly.  "There you are.  At 
last we can be together again, my beloved."  Reaching over 
his prone form, her own body shivered with anticipation as 
she unlocked the cuffs and helped him to his feet.  He 
stumbled, so wrapping an arm around his waist; she let 
him lean on her small frame for support, which very nearly 
undid her.

As she led him out of the study/den and into the bedroom next 
door, Mulder felt he was allowing something else to control 
his movements, pulling on his strings while he obeyed like 
Geppetto's faithful marionette.

Pushing him down onto the double bed whilst locking her lips 
with his once more, he felt her soft body fall against him.  
Then his arms were encircling her, stroking the delicate fabric 
of her negligee, as Mulder continued to obey the puppet master.  
Completely transfixed, he watched Naomi lift herself off him 
and undress right before his eyes.  Feeling a stirring deep 
within his loins, he gasped aloud upon witnessing her naked 
form.

"Utsukushii," he breathed.  "Kuchisake, my beautiful little
lotus blossom."  He realised those last words he had spoken 
were no longer his own and also knew there was absolutely 
nothing he could do about it.

The spirit was overjoyed that by delving into his subconscious 
she had managed to regress Mulder back to his past self, to 
another lifetime that she had shared with him so many centuries 
ago in Japan.  Finally the transformation was complete and now 
he belonged to her!  Climbing beside her lover she slowly began 
to unbutton his shirt, savouring every enticing moment.  He let 
her remove the garment then rushed to help, removing the rest
of his clothing, and in a heartbeat this task was accomplished. 
Taking her time, lustful eyes roaming all over his strong 
muscular body, she began drinking in his nakedness and the 
sheer beauty of him.

"Yukio, this is how we were always meant to be," she whispered, 
her arousal growing stronger with each second that passed.

"Koko ni kinasai!" Mulder demanded, beckoning her with open 
arms, now believing he was Yukio, the samurai warrior who had 
once been possessed by her, to the point of obsession.  "Come 
here my love, so I can taste your very essence."

Kuchisake obeyed without any hesitation, falling across him, 
letting her fingers entwine in his hair.  He kissed her 
forcefully, and then gripping her tightly, commanded that 
she must completely surrender herself to his will.  In answer 
she struggled to push herself upwards so she could wrap her 
legs around his body while he continued devouring her, 
hungrily.  Gently coaxing him inside herself, she began 
to rock in a slow rhythmic motion, and felt his response 
when his hips began to buck wildly beneath her.  Arching her 
back she thrust her small primrose breasts forward, to which 
he reached up and grabbed them eagerly, continuing to caress 
her in a rough manner.  His fingernails clawed at her leaving 
trails of blood on her delicate skin.  Then letting out a 
shuddering gasp, she cried out his name in sheer ecstasy, 
"Yukio!"

The heat between them continued to rise, and as the sweat 
poured from their glistening bodies their passionate lovemaking
increased in its intensity.

"Ohhh Kuchisake!" he yelled, body shuddering violently as he 
felt his release.

"Ahhh God!" she cried out, reaching her climax almost at the 
same time.  Collapsing onto him completely satiated and more 
than satisfied, she stroked his hair as they lay in each other's 
arms breathing heavily.
   
Moments passed by before the spirit of Kuchisake spoke through 
her host.  "Thank you," she told the woman, whose body she 
inhabited.  What a stroke of luck to discover Naomi had fallen 
for one of the reincarnations of her husband without her help, 
and therefore how easy it had been to manipulate her.  During 
their frenzied lovemaking she had seen only Yukio's beautiful 
physique, but now gazing at Mulder, she could see why it wouldn't
be so difficult to have a physical attraction for him.  The man 
was very handsome and right at this moment looked so angelic as 
he slept peacefully beside her.  However nothing was going to 
stop her from continuing what she had been doing countless times 
since her death.  "Once, I gave my heart to you completely Yukio," 
she told him, quietly.  "Are we destined to have a timeless bond 
that can never be broken?" she asked, her voice now a faint 
whisper.  Resting her cheek against Mulder's chest, so she 
could feel the gentle rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing, 
she closed her eyes allowing a solitary tear to fall.  "Soon 
my love," she said, softly, listening to the gentle beating of 
his heart.  "It won't be long now." But first she would let 
him rest before pursuing her next course of action, getting 
revenge on Yukio, for her sadistic and brutal murder.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Single-Story Rural Home, Virginia, USA,
February 18th 2009

Dana Scully had let a few days pass by as her friend Mark 
suggested, but there had still been no sign of Mulder.
  
Now as she sat anxiously on the sofa pondering the evening she 
and her work colleague had spent together, Dana became annoyed 
with herself.  It had only meant to be one drink, and then she 
should have made up some excuse to go home.  Instead she had 
let him persuade her to dine with him.  Mark had tried to point 
out that she wasn't taking care of herself and had insisted on 
buying her a meal with the drink he'd bought her, including an 
extra bottle of red wine to go with the dinner.  After drinking 
far too much of the stuff, she'd then found herself blurting 
out just how upset she was that Mulder had ditched her like 
he used to do way too many times in the past, and that perhaps 
Mark had been right after all.  During that evening in the 
Grill & Bar he had seemed the only person she could open up 
to with her problems. So when he'd offered her a shoulder to 
cry on, she'd accepted, and when he'd leaned in for a kiss, 
had willingly returned it.  However, he wasn't the type of 
guy who would take full advantage of a lady in distress.  
So when she'd come to her senses and he'd realised that was 
as far as the evening was going to progress, he had given 
an embarrassed apology and even offered her a lift home.

A case of momentary insanity, that's all it had been.  
Consuming far too much alcohol so she hadn't been able to 
think clearly, which in turn had allowed her to become open 
and vulnerable.  Whatever the reasons, Scully still couldn't 
help feeling guilty.  And now she was determined more than 
ever to put every effort into finding the man she truly 
loved.  Crossing over to the phone she picked it up and 
dialled the Bureau's switchboard.  

She felt Special Agent Mosley Drummy owed her one because after 
all, it was Mulder and she who had assisted him and Special 
Agent in Charge Dakota Whitney with that copycat Frankenstein 
murder case, so the least he could do was offer some damn 
assistance. 
 
However, when she was finally able to talk to the man, she 
realised to her dismay that all she was getting was a repeat 
performance from the last time her partner went missing.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Scully.  I can't help you," he ended abruptly.

"Agent Drummy, will you please just listen?" she tried again, 
in her best authoritative tone.  "I explained to you that Mulder 
was reluctant to assist the FBI on that missing agent case, but 
I persuaded him to accompany you anyway.  All I'm asking-?"

"Dr. Scully," he said, rudely cutting her off right in the 
middle of her sentence.  "I had nothing to do with asking him 
to join us on that case.  That request came from the board of 
directors, I was simply the messenger."

"Okay," she snapped.  "So, I'm asking as a friend, would you 
please help me find him?"

There was a long pause while she waited impatiently for an 
answer.

"May I remind you I lost a friend, ASAC Dakota Whitney, because 
she chose to listen to one of Fox Mulder's hunches?" he pointed 
out, harshly.

Scully couldn't believe what she'd just heard.  Oh yes, Whitney 
and he had been inseparable, like two peas in a pod.  What a 
load of crap!  "And you blame Mulder for her death?" she 
replied, amazed he could even contemplate such a thing.  "If 
you must know he was terribly upset about her murder!"

"Dr. Scully, I will refer the matter to someone higher up and that 
is all I'm going to say," Drummy said, trying to end the 
conversation. 

"Don't bother!" she replied, angrily.  "I'd rather do it myself."  
With that, she slammed the phone down onto its cradle.

Furious by Drummy's complete lack of cooperation, not to mention 
pig headedness, Dana decided she was going to dial her ex-bosses 
home number.  No way was she going to attempt to go through the 
FBI's switchboard again, not after being made to hold for forever 
and a day, the last time.  Besides it was late in the evening so 
hopefully Walter Skinner would have left his office by now.  If 
not, then she would leave him an urgent message on his machine.  
On many occasions he had been there for both herself and Mulder 
when they were agents under his authority.  He'd also stepped 
in the last time her partner had done a disappearing act and 
she knew if he hadn't, they would most likely never have gotten 
out of that makeshift experiment lab alive!

Wearily, she walked over to her partner's study intending to 
retrieve the address book from inside one of the desk drawers, 
as she couldn't remember Skinner's number by heart.  As she 
entered the room she was once more met with Mulder's wallpaper 
design.  It reminded Dana of the X Files office they used to 
frequent and she knew it had also been his intention to 
replicate the old haunt.  Sighing heavily she realised that 
by surrounding himself in all of this paranormal paraphernalia, 
he was never going to be able let go of the past.  Just then 
she spied the laptop on the desk, and chided herself for not 
thinking about it before.  Maybe if she checked his messages 
it might give her a clue as to his whereabouts.  After 
switching it on then typing in the password 'TRUSTNO1' that he 
had given to her in the past, she was relieved to see he hadn't 
changed it and could still gain access.   Unfortunately checking 
through the e-mails gave her no luck whatsoever and she was just 
about to turn it off in defeat, when Dana thought about the 
information he had shown her in the hospital three days ago,
all about the 'Bloody Mary' legends.  After going into My 
Documents, she found one folder with the initials B. M. typed 
underneath.  Once opened, this revealed several files copied 
from different web pages which on inspection just gave her 
varied tales related to the myth, all of which Mulder had 
already explained to her, before he vanished.  But there was a
nother folder in this file, labelled with the letters SMW.  
Now rather curious, she clicked on it and a text page popped up.  
The first thing that caught her eye was the title that stood 
out in bold capitals.

"The Slit-Mouth Woman?" she said, puzzled.

Scully had to admit she didn't remember Mulder telling her 
anything about this myth, and began reading the text.  The 
first paragraph revealed it was a Japanese Urban Legend about 
a woman called Kuchisake Onna who's husband, a samurai warrior, 
mutilated in a jealous rage, leaving her horribly disfigured 
and left with a mouth which extended from ear to ear in a 
horrible, permanent smile.  She became a vengeful spirit, 
who after murdering him with his own sword, was driven to 
seek out his soul through the centuries and repeat her actions.  
Sometimes she could be found wandering the streets of Japan 
wearing a surgical mask.

Scully shuddered after reading that last sentence.  "Surgical 
mask?" she said to herself.  "It couldn't be."  Compelled to 
find out more about this legend before jumping to any 
conclusions, she continued reading and discovered that these 
people often wore such masks during the winter to prevent others 
from catching their germs, so the spirit never stood out in a 
crowd.

Scully started to scroll down the page when suddenly an artist's 
design came into view, and she gasped.  The woman looked to be 
in her early thirties, and was incredibly beautiful, except for 
the hideous gash across her face where her mouth used to be.  
Underneath the drawing was a great deal more text, which she 
knew she couldn't afford to skim through, no matter how far 
fetched the whole story seemed at face value.  So persevering, 
she carried on reading word for word, soaking up all the 
information that was on display.  How this tale was related to 
the 'Bloody Mary' myth, and the spirit could be found in many 
types of reflections which she could travel through, exacting 
her anger on Asian women of similar appearance who had the 
nerve to chant the name three times, whilst admiring themselves 
in their mirrors.  Once summoned, she would force them to 
commit suicide through the power of telekinesis.

"Like Carrie at the prom," Scully said, remembering one of 
her favourite Stephen King novels.

She also realised the way these women died was exactly how Mulder 
had described. More information followed, revealing how this 
spirit disliked any beautiful woman, and should they come into 
contact with her, could sometimes feel her cold touch.  

This was starting to get really creepy, and suddenly she didn't 
wish to read anymore, but knew she had to keep going.  However 
when she had finally reached the end of the document, Scully 
had gone rather pale.  Reverting back to the previous folder it 
was then she noticed she hadn't read all of the files.  So with 
trembling fingers she opened it and realised it was a side note 
Mulder had typed up himself, about another paranormal theory 
that if someone is killed in front of a mirror his or her soul 
can become trapped in its reflection.

Now every scrap of information she had read about this legend 
was weaving together, and she didn't like the pattern it was 
forming in her mind.  Because it was making her seriously start 
to think that her new physician's assistant Naomi was somehow 
connected.  The rational part of her wanted to say how ridiculous 
it was to come to that kind of conclusion, but her imagination 
was now working on overtime.  She couldn't help remembering the 
incident in the hospital when the woman had seemed afraid to 
remove the surgical mask after being introduced to her, and how 
cold her hand had been when she shook it.  Also how her fiance 
had supposedly committed suicide by cutting his throat, and not 
forgetting the sister who had perished in front of a mirror.  
Perhaps Kuchisake ended up in Naomi's mirror?  But why didn't 
she kill her like she killed the others in those old cases?

"Oh, my god," she said, as the final piece of this bizarre 
puzzle snapped into place. "What if Mulder is one of the 
reincarnations of Kuchisake's husband, who she intends on 
murdering again?"  

Quickly closing down the computer, Scully rushed back into the 
living area and grabbing the phone's receiver, re-dialled the 
FBI's switchboard.  She knew it was going way out on a limb 
here, but as far as she was concerned right now reality was 
going to have to take a back seat, because fear for her 
partner's life was far more important than being rational.

"Please could you put me through to Agent Mosley Drummy?" she 
asked the operator.  "Tell him it's Dana Scully and it's urgent!" 
she stressed, hoping the man hadn't left the building yet, while 
at the same time praying he wouldn't choose to ignore her 
completely this time.  A minute or two passed then she heard 
his voice on the other end sounding rather annoyed, so nothing 
had changed there then?

"Don't tell me.  Mulder has been abducted by little green men 
who are threatening to destroy the world?" he sneered.

Scully stiffened on hearing his cruel jibe, because he didn't 
even know how true those words had been regarding Mulder and 
how those 'little green men' were still very much intent on 
accomplishing that goal.

"No," she said, abruptly.  "But I do know where he is now, and 
I'm going to require your help."

"Where?" Drummy asked, wearily.  To be completely honest he
really couldn't care less what trouble Mulder had gotten himself 
into but he had to admit he admired Scully's persistence, so 
would force himself to listen to what she had to say, for a 
little while at any rate.

"I found some information on his computer."  Scully paused for 
a moment, realising she couldn't tell this guy anything 
remotely related to the paranormal or he would think her 
completely insane and hang up immediately.  The truth was she 
didn't even know if Mulder was even with her assistant but her 
instincts were telling her he was, so she had no choice but to 
resort to some little white lies and hopefully get Drummy to 
listen.  "It was a journal he was keeping about an old case file 
he remembered from his past that was never closed, so he wanted 
to investigate it.  Now I don't want to bore you with all the 
details."

"How very thoughtful of you," Drummy said sarcastically, cutting 
her off.

"But," she continued, stressing the word, strongly.  "It involves 
this woman who is a key suspect and it says he was planning to 
go over to her place and confront her.  I think maybe she might 
have kidnapped him, or something," Scully said, weakly.  This was 
sounding incredibly lame even to her own ears, but she certainly 
couldn't tell him this woman was possessed by an evil spirit 
from Japan now, could she? 

"You think he's been kidnapped, by a woman?" Drummy asked 
sounding completely astonished.

"Yes, and I also think his life may be in danger," Scully said, 
impatiently.  "So I'm going to need a search warrant and someone 
with fire power.  I haven't had a gun in my possession since I 
left the FBI."

"Let me get this straight," Drummy said trying to wrap his head 
around what he'd just heard.  "You want me to get the FBI to 
give you a warrant so you can check to see if Mulder is being
held hostage by some female psychopath?"

"I know it sounds crazy," Scully admitted.  "But will you 
please just trust me on this?"

"It sounds completely insane, Dr. Scully," he stated firmly. 
 
"So you're not going to help me?" 

"I didn't say that."  

"Then what are you saying?" she asked, frustrated.

Mosley Drummy had been drawing his own conclusions during their 
conversation, and could now determine that Scully was refusing 
to see the obvious truth right in front of her face. 
 
"Dana?" he said, and couldn't help sniggering a little.  
"Have you even considered the possibility that you might be 
jumping to these crazy conclusions because you don't want to 
have to face the fact Mulder could be cheating on you with 
this mysterious woman?  I mean that to me sounds far more 
logical."

Scully was shocked by his response and wasn't going to believe 
any of it, even if it did sound much more plausible than what 
she had told him.  Unfortunately, he would always see her 
partner in a bad light no matter what the truth was, and he 
also didn't know anything about the Slit-Mouth Woman.  All 
the paranormal theories about that particular entity, as 
unbelievable as it sounded, were somehow starting to make 
sense, and she knew Mulder was seriously wrapped up in it.  
Despite knowing Drummy would never remotely accept any of this; 
she did have one more card up her sleeve.

"I seem to recall you refusing to help me find Mulder once 
before," she said, completely ignoring what he'd just told 
her.  "Because you didn't believe he was in any serious 
trouble.  So you turned your back on him, and if it wasn't 
for AD Skinner and myself he would have died at the hands of 
a psychotic, homosexual, Russian immigrant who wanted to 
behead him with a fucking axe!" she yelled, feeling the 
sting of tears welling up in her eyes.

Drummy was taken aback as he was sure he hadn't heard her use 
this expletive before.  He also realised the anger in her voice 
had been mixed with emotion, and suddenly began to feel sorry 
for her.  Why should Dana suffer this way?  It wasn't fair.  He 
had never liked Fox Mulder's arrogant nature and that attitude 
of his was probably the reason why the stupid man almost got 
himself killed.  So, maybe he should go along with her just 
so he could make the woman see sense by proving to her once 
and for all that her partner was a lying, cheating scumbag!  
Perhaps then she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

"All right Dana," he said.  "I'll see if I can get you this 
search warrant, and I will be your personal armed bodyguard, 
just this once."

Scully forced herself to utter a small thank you, before 
putting down the phone.  Once again Drummy had managed to piss 
her off with his sarcastic attitude, but at least she had 
finally got through to him, and now things were starting to go 
in the right direction.  All she needed now was to find Mulder 
and rescue him from yet another perilous situation without a 
hitch.  The question was, would she be able to, or would she 
discover too late that all of her luck had in fact run out?

---------------------------------------------------------------

Naomi's Place - E. Franklin St, Richmond, Virginia

He stirred restlessly as images took shape in his mind, fragments 
forming with such clarity that he believed what he was witnessing 
was actually taking place.  Lost in this dream world, he was 
completely unaware of Naomi leaning over him, one hand pressed 
against his temple, eyes staring at him with such intensity that 
they seemed to bore deep down into his very soul while he slept.

Totally oblivious to the fact that the woman was picturing exactly 
what he was seeing, Mulder became aware that he was in a cold, 
dark place surrounded by stonewalls.  Perhaps it was a secret 
vault somewhere underground?  His partner, Scully, was beside 
him and they were browsing through a folder, one of many in fact, 
that were being kept in rows and rows of filing cabinets which 
seemed to stretch into infinity.  The document appeared to be full 
of medical reports and a tissue sample had been attached to it in 
a little plastic container.  Feeling a sense of deja vu, the words 
Operation Paper Clip came to mind, and he now knew where he was.  
The Strughold Mining Company in West Virginia, and this was his 
sister's file that Scully was holding, containing smallpox 
vaccination records.  The scene altered and now they were in a 
greenhouse talking to Victor Klemper, the Nazi scientist who had 
come to the USA after World War II.  He was explaining to Mulder 
how during the cold war his father helped gather genetic data 
for post-apocalyptic identification which was to work on alien-
human hybrids.  Then, in the blink of an eye he was back inside 
the dissused mine, peeling off a label on the folder, only to 
discover to his horror that his own name had been typed 
underneath Samantha's, revealing that this file had clearly 
been meant for him.  

Still not aware that he was only dreaming of these past events, 
Mulder actually believed he was experiencing each one all over 
again, including the fear of knowing he had originally been 
the shadow government's sacrificial lamb.  He had been the 
original choice to be handed over to the extra terrestrial 
beings. 
 
Now, as the nightmare continued to play out, he was in their
family home in Chillmark, Massachusetts, a terrified young boy 
pleading with his father Bill to change his mind.

"Daddy, I'm scared.  Don't make me go with the grey men.  
Daddy, please!" he yelled.

"One of you has to go," Bill Mulder stated, holding his son close 
to his chest as tears rolled down his cheeks.  "Fox, I'm truly 
sorry.  Oh god, I don't want to do this, but I have no choice," 
he admitted, aware he was completely helpless.  The consortium had 
painfully agreed to let the aliens take one child from each of their 
families, with the promise that they would be saved from the 
apocalypse by becoming alien/human hybrid creations.  Yet, they 
had absolutely no evidence to prove these beings were telling 
the truth, only their say so, which wasn't exactly comforting.

"Then take her, not me!" Mulder screamed, pulling away from his 
father's embrace. "Please Daddy," he begged.  "Take Sam!"

He awoke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, his body shaking 
violently, to discover he was alone, dressed in shirt and pants, 
barefoot and lying on top of the double bed in Naomi's condo.  
As the nightmare visions began to fade he remembered telling 
Scully, how perhaps a dream may be a question that we haven't 
yet figured out how to ask, and confusion took hold once more.  
Allowing that profound statement to echo in his mind made him 
think that perhaps the last part of the nightmare had been 
another memory, locked so deep inside his subconscious that 
he had never even been aware of it, until now that is.  But how 
could he have said those horrible things?  He loved his sister, 
Sam, and surely wouldn't have wanted any harm to come to her.

Rolling over into a foetal position, arms wrapped around himself 
and knees tucked under his chin, he began to shake his head.
"No, dear god, it can't..?  It just can't be fucking true, it just 
can't," he stammered over and over, hot tears now falling down 
his cheeks onto the pillow.  As he continued to sob, another 
memory forced itself to be acknowledged.  This time it revealed 
he had been in this bed with the Japanese woman, having sex 
with her.  What the fuck?  Just why on earth was he being 
bombarded with such images?  He knew he could never cheat 
on the woman he loved, never!  God, this was becoming even 
more unbearable.  Just what the hell was happening to him? 

"Naomi!" he yelled out in anguish.  

A few moments later she entered the room and rushed over to
his side.  "Mulder, I've been waiting for you to wake up.  Are 
you all right?" she asked concerned, noticing the state he was 
in.

"No, I'm not all right," he replied miserably, wiping the tears 
from evidence.  "I'm very far from all right."

Not even aware that lies were now pouring out of her mouth, 
she explained to him that having shown him around her place, 
he'd then asked her to direct him to the bathroom.  Then 
realising time had passed and he still hadn't returned, how 
she'd gone looking for him only to discover he had collapsed 
at the top of the stairs, so she'd somehow managed to drag him 
along the landing and into the bedroom.  

"I've no idea what could have caused you to pass out like that." 
she said, a troubled look on her face.  "But I checked your 
pulse and everything seemed to be fine.  So, I decided it was 
best to just let you lie here until you came round."  Feeling 
annoyed with herself she added, "I should have stayed with you.  
I'm sorry, did you have a bad dream?"

A bad dream, now that was the understatement of the century. 
"Several in fact," he stammered.  Unable to describe the 
explicit details of the erotic one he'd found himself in, 
Mulder just said, "One involved you and me, together, in this
bed."  He looked right at her, trying to read anything from her 
reaction, that may suggest this act, as appalling as it seemed, 
had actually taken place.  Just like the other dreams had been 
lost memories, one of which was far too terrible to contemplate 
right now.  It had been far too real to dismiss the possibility 
that this event had also been one.

"Oh?" she exclaimed with a nervous giggle, rather embarrassed 
by what he'd just said.  "I'm flattered, really, that you could 
have those kinds of feelings for me."  She couldn't admit to 
the fact.  Should he ever actually pluck up the courage to ask 
her; she wouldn't hesitate to sleep with him.  Of course in 
reality, she had completely lost herself in Mulder, but remained 
ignorant of the fact.  This was because the spirit of Kuchisake 
was refusing to allow the memories of what had actually taken 
place the night before to enter her mind.  Those hours spent 
in wild, abandoned passion had been for her pleasure only, not 
the vessel she had chosen to inhabit.

Mulder didn't return the smile, feeling uncomfortable that she 
had taken his words the wrong way.  "I-,"he began, unsure as 
to how he should approach this without upsetting her.  "I do 
like you Naomi, but not like that."  Noticing her crestfallen 
look, he continued, "I'm sorry, but I love Scully, and so could 
never be with you in that way," he apologised.

"Then why tell me you had a dream like that?" she asked, confused 
and hurt that he could let his imagination conjure up such things, 
then refuse to admit he had any passion for her whatsoever.  It 
just didn't make any sense.

"I don't know why," he admitted, wishing he hadn't said anything 
now.  "The others were memories from my past.  I just thought-?

"That we made love in my bed?  I think I'd have remembered 
something like that," she said, believing that if they had 
actually spent the night together, it wasn't something she 
was likely to overlook.

"I'm sorry, just forget it," he told her, tears evident in 
his eyes.  "It's completely ridiculous."

Alarmed by the obvious distress he was in, Naomi knelt down on 
the floor so she was level with him and reached over, gathering 
his trembling body into her arms, allowing him to rest his head 
on her shoulder.  "Tell me about the memories that came to you," 
she said softly, rocking him gently.  Maybe once he got those 
out into the open she could help him to understand why they had 
been present in his dreams.

Her warmth and tenderness was beginning to calm him a little, 
so taking a deep breath, Mulder began to explain everything he 
could remember about what he had discovered, about the X Files, 
the government conspiracies, the aliens plans for colonisation 
and the hybrid programme.  Unable to stop, he then found himself 
blurting out about how he had been responsible for his sister's 
abduction all along. Speaking this out loud to someone made it 
all the more substantial now, no matter how much he still 
wanted to deny it.  Feeling so overwhelmed by his terrible 
confession he began to cry again, this time holding onto Naomi 
for support.

"Shhh, it's okay Mulder," her voice soothed gently, however her 
expression revealed a completely different guise.  "Maybe that's 
why you became so obsessed with finding her, because you 
harboured this painful secret?"

Delighted to hear him let out a ragged gasp in response to her, 
Kuchisake continued with her explanations, in a comforting tone.  
"At least you know now why you were driven to search for your 
sister, so much so that nothing else mattered.  It was because 
of all that hidden guilt buried deep inside your subconscious, 
that you had refused to accept was there."

Suddenly, Mulder understood everything now, and began to weep 
whole-heartedly.  "Oh g-god!" he cried, choking on his sobs.  
"I-I told him to take her.  I-d-didn't w-want to go.   I-was so
s-scared at the time."


"It's all right, let it all out," she said, stroking his hair, 
whilst at the same time loving every moment of his grief.

"S-Sam?  Oh g-god, c-can you ever f-forgive m-me?" he cried, 
breaking down in Naomi's arms.

"Of course she will," she said, continuing to rock him gently, 
while Kuchisake's smile remained very much in evidence. 

At some point in time his sobbing finally ceased although he 
wasn't sure exactly when that had occurred.  Pulling himself 
gently out of Naomi's arms, he looked up at her with eyes now 
red from crying.  "Thank you," he murmured.  "For being here."  
Then his partner came to mind and in a slight panic he added, 
"I can't ever tell Scully any of this.  She wouldn't understand."  
He paused, closing his eyes briefly.  "And who could blame her?" 
he added, sadly.

"That's okay," Naomi replied softly.  Even though the experience 
had been rather traumatic, she couldn't help appreciating that 
he had chosen to open up to her with such devastating news.

"I mean thank you for listening," he said, solemnly.  "If I'd 
had to lock it all away and carry on, knowing what I know to be 
the truth now.  It would have probably driven me insane."

"Glad I could be of help," she smiled.

The kiss that followed was completely unexpected, and he couldn't 
even be sure who had instigated it first.  The taste of her was 
so sweet, like orange blossoms and for a moment he let it 
continue.  Then suddenly he pulled away, ashamed that he had 
acted in such a way.

"I'm sorry Naomi," he apologised.  "I can't do this.  Even 
though I told you that painful secret, and not her, I'm still 
very much in love with Scully, and she is the only woman I want 
to share the rest of my life with."  As he spoke those words, 
the tears welled up, because he knew, god forbid, if she ever 
did find out what he had done, she would probably leave him in 
an instant.

"I understand," she replied, but continued gazing into his 
eyes.

At first this made him feel rather uncomfortable, then it was 
almost like a switch had been flicked inside as the puppet 
master returned for another performance.  Grabbing her by the 
hair, he lunged forward kissing her passionately, his tongue 
exploring every inch of her mouth.  With arms locked around 
her tightly in his vice-like grip, he yanked her up onto the 
bed, rolling her over so that she was now beneath him.  

"Yukio," Kuchisake gasped, realising they were his eyes that 
were now burning deeply into hers.  "Make love to me!"

Mulder obeyed, unable to resist the spell he was under.  And 
the dance of infatuation between the two former lovers began 
gain, with Naomi and himself being forced to play their roles. 

When it was finally over, she lay curled up beside him under 
the bed covers, watching him sleep.  Gazing at Mulder's slender 
neck, she reached up to touch the fluttering pulse, feeling the 
warmth of his skin as she did so.  She shuddered excitedly 
wondering just how wonderful it would be to watch his life force 
slowly ebb away, to observe every beautifully gruesome moment 
while his blood soaked into Naomi's silken sheets.  'Oh yes', 
Kuchisake thought eagerly.  Now she was more than ready 
for the next part of her little game plan.  Raising herself up 
on one elbow, she reached under the pillow and retrieved the item 
she had left there. 

"Oh, Yukio," she breathed, softly, gently running one finger 
down the serrated edge of the kitchen knife, being careful not 
to cut herself on its sharp blade.  "Much as I have enjoyed our 
precious moments together," she paused, then leaning over 
Mulder's sleeping form, placed the knife against his throat 
whilst whispering into his ear, her voice now dripping with 
venom, "But alas my beloved, I feel it's time to bring this 
part of our story to an end, don't you?"

END OF PART 3
-------------