Redemption (14/26)       
by GeorgeHale

Rating: R
Feedback:

Classification: Colonization/Mythology/MSR/William, post
I.W.T.B. Canon.
Spoilers: Left, right, & center. This is best served if you
REALLY know your X-Files.

Disclaimer: I wish I made this. This has been my catharsis, five
years in the making. Maybe it can be one for you, too.

Warning: Violence, Gratuitous employment of the 'Our little
sailor' clause (swearing,) Fluff with two 'f's, Cheesy dialogue,
Friendly Ghosts, Melodramatics, Plot devices, Fiji Mermen
(no, not really,) Angst, Blasphemy, Dehydration via crying,
Scientific Whammies, Plams, Lots & Lots & Lots of...Bees,
Magical Growing Scully Cross Chain, Red Herrings. It's going
to get strange and ugly before the end.

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XIV

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"Well, then, I hate thee, Unrighteous Picture;

Wicked Image, I hate thee;

So, strike with thy vengeance

The heads of those little men

Who come blindly.

It will be a brave thing."

- Stephen Crane, XII

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They had taken to talking through the night long ago, finding
that it helped with the sleepless nights they both encountered
and helped pass the long hours when one or both of them were
feeling restless. Scully had once been a sound sleeper, but she
had become as familiar with insomnia as her partner through
the years. Her patients had helped her belay the guilt she often
felt late at night, but they also plagued her with their own
desperate situations. They were often incurable and hopeless,
as helpless as she often felt late at night thinking of all the
things in the past she wished she could rectify. Now her
patients were gone, her lost son returned, and a new world of
problems ate at her.

Watching Mulder's chest rise and fall, she thought of all the
times she had nearly lost him in the past. His body bore too
many scars just as hers did. Her thoughts turned to the prospect
they had of losing their son once again and how she would
fight to prevent that even if it meant expelling her last breath.

Mulder watched her in the dark, facing her where they lay side
by side on their mattresses. He reached out and tentatively
stroked her arm. "I can hear you thinking."

Her continued silence bothered him. "Scully?"

She met his eyes acknowledging him, but got up and left the
room without making a sound.

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The dim reading light attached to William's bunk illuminated
his restful features in an otherworldly way that reminded
Scully's of Emily at her funeral. She didn't like it, the similar
way his still features appeared lifeless or how she just noticed
how much they looked alike from this angle. A fierce wave of
protectiveness for him washed over her and she suppressed the
urge to shake him awake for her benefit.

Mulder couldn't resist the urge to follow long and he found her
leaning against the boy's bedroom doorway. His hand on her
shoulder invited her back to bed, but she clasped his hand and
invited him instead to stand with her.

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William woke to the smell of coffee and found them both
seated at the kitchen table. They had been rationing what was
left of their supply, so it surprised him to see a whole pot made
and sitting between them. Mulder was furiously scribbling
something for Scully and they were both so intent on it that
they hadn't noticed him enter the room. He loved the dark
aroma of the beverage and how it lingered into his room in the
mornings. Caffeine had been a foreign concept at home, but
there was something comforting to him now about the smell of
coffee in the dark. It reassured him he wasn't alone and
reminded him that people cared about him. The liquid powered
Mulder and Scully to work long hours and while William's
parents had been no stranger to long days on their ranch; he
was amazed nonetheless by what he perceived to be its magical
properties.

"Can I try some?"

He watched Scully's eyes meet Mulder's over the table once
they realized he had joined him. They argued silently a
moment, and their nonverbal language confused William who
had trouble deciphering some of it. Scully eyed Mulder
disapprovingly before she relented. "Alright, but only one cup."

Mulder nodded in consent as retrieved a clean mug for Will
and filled it. "Hope you like it black." Mulder's personal hoard
of sugar had run out the week prior.

Slipping into his customary seat at the table, Will accepted the
steaming mug eagerly, savoring the aroma long before he
brought the cup slowly to his lips after blowing on it to cool.

Scully couldn't help but laugh when William ran and spit out
the small sip he had taken into the sink. Her gamble had paid
off.

Mulder furrowed his brow, unsure how any spawn of his could
not love coffee. "You don't like it?"

William looked at the cup like it had betrayed him before he set
it beside the sink. "How can something smell that great but
taste so nasty? Ugh!"

"It's an acquired taste," Mulder began to explain.

"It tastes like gasoline," William declared.

"And it's going to be just as rare, so don't get hooked." Scully
shared a poignant look with her partner before retrieving the
cup from the sink. Lesson learned.

"Hey!" William didn't want the coffee, but he thought he might
like to try it again later.

"Hey," Mulder interceded, "She brought you into this world
and if she wants to drink-" Their banter was cut short by the
dedicated walkie that set on Mulder's nightstand. Its
recognizable tune sent a wave of dread through Mulder as he
momentarily ignored it, staring at Dana and Will. A thousand
brief thoughts passed through his mind before he reached for
the device. He didn't want to leave them.

"Mulder," Skinner greeted him.

"What's happened?"

"The recon team isn't reporting back in, I need you here pronto
...he still wants to send you guys out. I'm to tell you the Over
wants you in his office ASAP."

"I'm on my way." Mulder shut the talkie off and absently
moved to grab his pack from the closet nearest the door.

"What is it?" Scully asked.

"Time," Mulder said, casting her a forlorn look. He was
searching for his photo but it wasn't where it was supposed to
be.

"Time? It's not supposed to be time."

"I know."

Scully's face briefly twisted. "Don't go, Mulder. They're using
you."

"This is what I signed on to do, Scully. I won't be gone long
and then we'll get out of here."

"It's a setup, Mulder, don't fall for it. You're doing exactly what
he wants you to do."

"Remember the hospital when I came to get you? You stayed
there how long working on those patients, even though you
knew they had no hope. You would have stayed there until you
dropped."

"I left them to go with you," Scully asserted.

"Only once you understood there was nothing more you could
do," Mulder paused, wishing she would understand why he
couldn't abandon his men so easily. "You'd do the same thing,
Scully. Don't forget what I said." Moving quickly, he hugged
William long and hard before the boy could protest. "Look after
your Mother. Look after yourself."

William nodded at Mulder, feeling upset, having difficulty
understanding. "Please don't go," he attempted, shaking his
head, bordering on tears.

"Sorry, bud..."Mulder felt terrible looking into William's eyes
as he drew back. "I have to go do this, but I'll see you again
soon."

Scully regarded him coolly and moved to help him with his
pack, saying nothing. Her face was a shield barely masking
how upset she was with him.

"I'll be fine. I'll be back, Scully. I prom-."

"No promises," Scully cut him off sharply, "Just go, Mulder.
We'll be here."

Mulder wanted to move to her, to embrace her, but stood
awkwardly before Scully, sad they would part like this. "I'm
sorry," he said, turning and leaving.

Will watched Scully hang her head a moment once Mulder had
left, breathing slowly. Then she regained her composure and
looked him over.

"Will, I want you to go pack the bag Byers brought you. I think
we're going to need to move sooner than we thought. Keep it
light and I'll come help you in a few minutes."

Returning to his room, he had just shut his door when he heard
Scully's fists crash down on the countertop.

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Mulder's legs burned from running. He felt like he was
breathing acid and the filter he was breathing through left him
feeling overexerted. He paused to drink but moved quickly as
soon as the water slipped down his throat. The Overseer had
pulled him from his mission and left his men to fend for
themselves. Mulder had been assigned instead to find out
where the headwaters of their water intake slipped below the
surface and how to install a filter that would keep the majority
of debris clear of coming through with it. He had agreed to
solve the problem if the Overseer gave him twenty-four hours
on the others, and while unhappy, he had relented.

Moving as he had never moved in his life, Mulder located the
water intakes and built a makeshift sediment filter for each the
water would pass through before slipping beneath the surface.
He had been moving since with several hours to spare courtesy
of the bike he had borrowed from the base, solely focused on
the men he was supposed to have been commanding and
reaching their coordinates before they did. The bike had given
out several miles back however, and now Mulder was left to
cover the remaining distance on his own. He hadn't been able to
believe the order for the attack had stood after the loss of the
reconnaissance team, but the Overseer had called it a rescue
mission and knew the team would be eager to deploy in light of
losing their friends.

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Mounting a hill approaching the team's coordinates, Mulder
spotted the still burning wreckage of the vehicle his troops had
deployed in as he fell to his knees, stomach lurching. The
Overseer had lied and deployed them while he was gone. With
the ash still darkening the sky and limiting visibility, he had
been right up to the remains before spotting the split body of
the sniper, Dean. Michael. He was badly burned and hardly
recognizable but Mulder knew him. He had a bad feeling he
would find all the others and read their tags one by one as he
made his way toward the collapsing, burning building.

Adrenaline pumping, he tried to piece what had transpired as
he moved forward, crouched and ready to open fire. The
building was ablaze but no one fired at him. Mulder searched
for tire marks but saw none. Finally approaching the building
despite his fear, Mulder noticed how empty it appeared. The
clones operating the facility had fled, but where? He made his
way back to the wrecked carnage of the truck. Drinking water
as he looked over the ruin before him, a new scenario began to
form in his mind. Colonists using the same opportunity the
Overseer had perceived to take the bunker for their own, giving
them a safe haven from the ash still falling from the sky. His
thoughts turned to Dana and Will and the chance he was
already too late if his assumption turned out to be correct.

With an audible groan he turned, running toward the bunker.

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The attack on the bunker had come during the night after
Mulder left. Will, Dana, and Kevin climbed stoically through
the off and on drafts of gas that were being pumped in below,
vision blurring with tears. Following below were Rachel,
Skinner, and the Gunmen. They were all moving as fast as they
could, but the handholds were difficult to navigate and they
were moving slowly, coughing as they hauled their heavy
packs. A sudden shifted pitch in tone from the base's siren
system below filled Skinner with dread.

"You've got to move faster, Will," he shouted over the weapon
fire and screaming sounding from below. "That's the
self-destruct!"

"Why the hell would they do that," Langly hollered from
below.

"Just go!" Skinner urged. "The base is going to blow inside
out!"

They moved at a frenzied pace but it wasn't long until the first
explosions began tearing the base apart from within beneath
them. Will was a short distance from the tunnel that would lead
them outside when a large chunk of rock broke free from the
ceiling and crashed through the air just behind them causing
them to hug the wall.

"Go! Go! Go!" Skinner screamed as they continued upward.

Scully pulled herself up onto the final ledge behind William
just in time to see the explosion that sealed the tunnel before
them. Hugging William fiercely and dropping to the ground,
she tried to protect him from the cloud of dust and ash that
enveloped them from the falling rock and crumbling walls.

"Are you okay?" Byers called up. "What happened?"

Coughing and sputtering on the dust that had invaded her nose
and throat, she fought the urge as she released William to rub
her eyes. She had managed to shield him but had not bowed her
head in time to keep the dust out of her own eyes and airways.
Keeping her eyes shut, she felt for a place to sit as coughs
wracked her body.

Scully coughed to clear her throat and it burned. "Water," she
instructed Will. "Quick."

When she heard him locate it, she leaned her head back and put
her hand out for the bottle. She was on the verge of panic, but
forced herself to remain calm as she tilted and began squirting
the liquid into her eyes, nose, and mouth to clean them, spitting
without apology once she gargled.

"What are you doing?" Will asked, feeling helpless.

"Find more," she told him, blinking past the pain, sputtering.

Behind them, the others were still coming over the ledge.
"What happened? Are you okay?" Skinner asked, rushing to her
side.

She squinted slowly up at him, ash and dust streaking down her
cheeks as she blinked, "Did I get it all?"

"Almost," Skinner said, removing a flashlight from his belt and
shining it in her bloodshot eyes. He used his own water bottle
to help her clean the rest he could see before handing it to her
to gargle. "You burst a few blood vessels. Are you able to see
okay?"

The others were already retrieving air filters from their packs
and putting them on. Very little light was penetrating from the
outside now and Frohike took a flashlight from his pack to
shine at the blockage. Loud explosions and rumbling continued
below them and faint wisps of teargas now mingled with waves
of acrid smoke as it searched for passage to the surface.

"Holy shit."

The entire twenty-five ton steel blast door barring their passage
to the outside world now stood behind a wall of fallen boulders
and debris.