From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (intro) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 13:29:23 -0500 DISCLAIMER: The X-Files, with all it's characters (including Mulder, Scully, Skinner, Cancerman, Mr. X, Krycek, the Lone Gunmen, did I forget anyone??) and it's conspiracies are the sole properties of the mastermind Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen Productions, and Twentieth Century Productions, Fox Broadcasting. No copyright infringement intended. All other characters as well as locations not mentioned in the show are of my creation, woo-hoo. *WARNING TO INTERNATIONAL READERS* There are MAJOR spoilers from Season 3 (and Season 2). BIG Spoilers for "Nisei" "731" "One Breath" "Endgame" "Ascension" The story takes place a few months before "Piper Maru" and "Acrophya". I decided I wanted part of this story to semi-flow into those eps, so look for subtle (and not so subtle) hints of some of the things that appears in them (especially things that happen to Krycek.) Rated PG-13, I guess. It has some violence, fighting stuff mostly, but it's nothing you haven't seen on the show itself. No Romance. PROCLAIMER: This is my first fan-fic, written for fun and as catharsis (you know, being a student and all...) I am no science person; all scientific discussions within the story are either taken from textbooks, or based on what I learned from the show (believe me, it's a lot more than what I learned in school!) A big thank you to Kate Oneschuk for editing and her feedbacks! Thank yous to Dotty K., Sarah C. and Mary Ann for helping me with the details of buildings around FBI Headquarters in Washington DC. I would love to hear your opinions, thoughts, etc; please e-mail me at: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu One more note: In honor of Darin Morgan, whose Humbug, War of Coprophages, and other eps has kept me in stitches, I have surreptitiously taken his name and used it as a location within this story. Please be advised that is a completely fictional place; don't go crazy trying to find it on the map, since it doesn't exist! "Kataki Uchi" means "vengeance, or to seek/gain revenge on a family traitor or enemy" All dialogues containing foreign language is set off by a line: ie "_Konnichiwa_" to avoid confusion (Kate, thanks for pointing this out!) May I also take a moment to applaud all the great fan-fics that appears on this newsgroup. I enjoy them immensely!! And now, on with the show... =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (1/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 13:29:41 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * * 10:56 PM Washington DC "Female subject, due to physiological differences, has been injected with a lower level of substance #CP5401 every morning and evening at a twelve hour interval over the course of six weeks... "...reactions indicate that the female subject has responded positively, in contrast to the weakening immune system of the male subject. Further tests found that the female body has begun to produce antibodies to fend off any antigen..." "...progess should continue, the female subject will be sent to Dr. Fujita's lab as scheduled for further tests and experiments..." Satisfied with his report, Dr. Tachibana shut his journal and carefully capped his pen. Scientists nowadays used their computers to store their notes and findings, but he disliked the troublesome process of working with his computer. Yes, it seemed strange that in his line of work, he didn't trust computers to keep his notes, but perhaps he was just old-fashioned in that sense. If anyone wanted to have them transcribed into computer databases, they would just have to wait until someone typed his prolific journals. Dr. Tachibana blew out the two candles on his desk. It wasn't that he didn't like modern things. He just felt that, due to his difficult, stressful work, the only way to wind down was to fall back to primitive. Ah yes, primitive. His work required him to take the next step into the future, but he knew that some of the best things in life could not be found anywhere but in the past. He got up from his seat on the floor and trudged over to the dark kitchen of his dingy apartment. A scientist, yes, but extravagant, no. His work kept him alive, not money or expensive cars, although he never needed to complain about his meager living conditions. His employers kept him happily supplied with whatever he needed, from transportation, food, to luxurious golf trips in Florida and the Bahamas. Employers... if the government could be called "employers". Dr. Tachibana made himself some ocha, or green tea. He wasn't hungry right now; in fact, he hardly remembered when he ever ate. He just wanted to sleep a little, and then go back to the lab to check on the test subjects. He only came home to organize his notes, or to calm down from an unproductive, frustrating day, or to just sleep. No wife or children to come home to. What else was there to do? He didn't even have a television set. A colleague who had just come back from a conference in Japan had generously supplied him with Japanese snacks: osenbei, or rice crackers wrapped with dried seaweed called nori. He popped one in his mouth and gave a satisfying crunch as the salty flavor of soy sauce mixed with the sweetness of the nori. He sipped the slightly bitter ocha to complement the flavors and sighed in satisfaction. What a nostalgic taste... Dr. Tachibana took a few more crackers and headed for the bedroom. He didn't have a bed; he slept on a futon mattress on the floor to sleep. With a grunt, he seated himself on the futon and switched on the one lamp in the room by his pillow. He picked up a Japanese magazine and began to flip through it, crunching on an osenbei once in awhile. Sipping the green tea, he felt himself grow drowsy, relaxed at last. He never noticed that someone was approaching him from behind out of his closet. "_Konbanwa, Tachibana-san_," a woman's voice called out softly. Dr. Tachibana jumped in shock and whirled around. The cup of ocha spilled in his haste as he tried to back away from the figure. Standing before him was a woman dressed in a black turtleneck and black pants. A mask covered her nose and mouth. "_D-da re?!_" he screamed. Who are you?! "I'm not surprised you don't recognize me," she answered sweetly, "After all, I'm sure you expect me to be dead." She removed her mask and smiled. "...who...?" he whispered as his eyes widened in shock. "You betrayed my grandfather," she spoke in Japanese in a low, angry voice, "Once he was murdered, you took his work and began to recreate what had taken him decades to design." Dr. Tachibana gasped in horror as he continued to move away form her. "No, no...you're..but you can't be..." he choked. Suddenly, she leaped over to him and grabbed him by his collar. He gasped again. "_Zannen daneh_," Her eyes squinted as her lips formed a mischievious smile, "But I'm alive." His eyes remained locked on her face. Zannen...too bad... Oh God, how did she ever find out?! "I can't let you live," she continued softly, in Japanese, "You see, I thought you respected my grandfather. "I did! I mean, I do!" Dr. Tachibana cried in vain. She shook him by the collar and then slowly began to squeeze her fists together, deliberately choking him gently. "Then why did you betray him?" she purred. Dr. Tachibana couldn't answer; he could hardly even breathe. He coughed and tried to draw in air, his arms and legs thrashing in panic. The woman suddenly let go of him and stepped away. Dr. Tachibana panted as he tried to get air into his lungs. His mind whirled in fright and utter confusion. How did this girl find him...how could she be alive? He turned to face her and that was when he noticed her extended right arm holding a gun. "No!!" he cried as he held up a hand. The woman simply flashed another smile. "Don't worry," she assured him, "I will make sure to visit Dr. Fujita-san." Dr. Tachibana looked at her with even more terror. Without another word, she shot him in the chest twice. He reeled back at the impact and his breathing became faster. In a second, her face appeared before him. She was holding something now...a vial. "See this?" she continued to smile, "I heard it's toxic to humans." He couldn't speak, but he felt like he was screaming. How could she have that substance!! She put her mask back on and then uncapped the vial. "It should do wonders for your wound," she laughed as she poured the substance onto his bullet wounds. He screamed as his wounds fizzled and a strange fume began to rise. His hands tried to grab her head, make her inhale that fume...but she was gone in a flash. He was left alone, thrashing on his futon, unable to breathe, but alive, as the toxic substance began to burn through his flesh, and the sickening smell from his body permeated the room. (End Part 1) =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (2/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 13:29:54 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * * 9:31AM Victim's Apartment Washington D.C. "Hi, what did I miss?" Agent Dana Scully entered the cramped apartment milling with police officers and detectives. She had just driven from her mother's house straight to the crime scene and was not exactly dressed for work. She pulled her trench coat closed tightly as her partner approached her. "Are you cold?" Agent Fox Mulder asked, noticing how she clutched her coat. "Uhhh, yeah," she lied and smiled. He nodded and pointed to a room in the back. "Victim's body's back there," he told her, "Name is Dr. Akihiro Tachibana, a scientist who worked for the government. Police say his colleagues got worried when he didn't show up for work for two days in a row. His body was found by the landlord after one of his co-workers asked to have his place checked." They entered the room and found the body of a man spread-eagled on the floor on top of a futon mattress. His shirt seemed to be burnt into his flesh, with blood and strange black patches covering his chest. Mulder and Scully immediately covered their noses and mouths as the stench of the body hit them. Mulder handed her a pair of rubber gloves and Scully snapped them on as she tried not to breathe in the horrible smell of rotting flesh. She crouched by the body on the floor and inspected the wounds. "Looks like he died of bullet wounds, but I don't understand why he has these burns around his chest," she remarked as she covered her nose. Mulder leaned over to look. The skin around the bullet wounds appeared to have blistered and charred, and some area of the skin seemed to have fused with the man's shirt. Mulder stood by the feet of the body. He craned his neck and tried to back up. He then extended one arm and poised his hand like a gun. "The killer stood around here," he said, "which means he could've been hiding..." He turned around and noticed an open closet door, ...in here." "But what could've caused his skin to burn?" Scully asked. Mulder shrugged. "Maybe the killer tried to set him on fire," he suggested. His eyes roamed around the room, catching every little detail. He peeked into the closet. "Well, I want to perform an autopsy before any further decay ruins evidence," Scully decided. She got up and indicated to the police to bag the body. "Scully, look at this," Mulder called to her. She stepped over to where he was squatting by the open closet. He pointed inside. The small closet only had a few articles of clothing hung inside. The rest of it was filled with boxes and books. Scully tried to figure out what Mulder was pointing out. He finally reached in between two boxes, one on top of the other, and pulled out a strand of hair stuck to the tape on the boxes. "Correct me if I'm wrong," he said to Scully, "but since when do bald men have long hair?" Scully eyed the hair suspiciously, then glanced back at the body of Dr. Tachibana. He was definitely bald, with only a patch of hair around the sides of his head. "Maybe it's from his wife, or whoever packed the box..." she thought aloud. "Excuse me, but we already have our detectives working on this case," a robust voice called out. Mulder and Scully turned around to see a large, burly man with grey hair stand before them. His police uniform stretched where his rotund stomach bulged precariously over his belted hip. "We're with the FBI; I'm Agent Fox Mulder, this is Dana Scully," Mulder pointed out, "Who're you?" "FBI?" the man snorted, "Why is the FBI involved? I'm Sergeant Cliff Barrows. I wasn't notified that the FBI would be called in." "I believe the victim was working for the government," Mulder said, "Something involving the Defense Department." Sergeant Barrows looked at the two agents with his eyebrows raised. "So you two gonna take it from here?" he asked. "I guess we have no other choice," Scully sighed. Mulder flashed a smile to the sergeant. "We're having it wrapped to go," he added, pointing to the victim's body. A police officer was just zipping the body bag closed. "By the way, my men already talked to the neighbors of Dr. Tachibana," Sergeant Barrows informed them, "Apparently, no one had ever spoken to the man before, he was such a recluse. They said he wasn't home a lot, or if he was, they never heard a peep from him." "What about the night of the murder?" asked Mulder, "No one heard gunshots? Voices?" "Nothing," Sergeant Barrows confirmed, "They didn't even know he was home." "I was told that his colleague asked the landlord to check on Dr. Tachibana," Scully said, "Can you tell us who this colleague is?" "Yeah, I got his name and number over here..." Sergeant Barrows tapped the shoulder of one of his officers and asked for the information. The officer handed him his notepad. "Dr. Phillip Rosenfeld...555-1724," Mulder read. Scully took note of it and thanked the officer. "Oh, and one more thing," Sergean Barrows said, "This Rosenfeld mentioned to the landlord that Dr. Tachibana might have some kind of a journal with him, notes and stuff that belonged to him. He said he needed it, but so far, we haven't seen it in this apartment." "You think the murderer took it?" Scully inquired. Sergeant Barrows shrugged. "Quite possibly, but who knows?" Mulder thanked him for his help and watched him leave the room. Scully gave a small sigh and placed her hands on her hip. Her coat slipped open to reveal her shirt...T-shirt, to be exact. Mulder raised an eyebrow. "Are you making a new fashion statement?" he asked her, nodding to her T-shirt, slacks, and pumps. Scully looked down at her outfit, then gave him a noble smile as she buttoned up her coat. "I didn't take take a suit with me to my mom's," she explained. Mulder nodded. "Sexy," he noted and turned away when she glared at him. "You think someone was after Dr. Tachibana's journal?" she returned to her professional mode. "Hmm...maybe," Mulder said slowly, "Since this Dr. Rosenfeld bothered to ask about it. Maybe it has some secrets in it that no one is supposed to see." Scully resisted rolling her eyes. "Why would he bring it home, if it's such a hot item?" she questioned. Mulder dug around his pockets for some sunflower seeds. "'Cause he doesn't trust anyone with it?" he responded with a smile. He looked around the room once more. "So the murderer probably hid in the closet. Otherwise, the doctor would've heard him come in," he theorized, "and when the doctor came home, got ready to sleep, he came out and shot him..." "...and managed to burn him in the process," Scully added. "Once he's dead, the murderer gets his journal and runs off," Mulder continued, "so...now what can he do with it?" "Before we jump to any conclusions about the journal," Scully interrupted, "I think we should go see this Dr. Rosenfeld." Mulder pulled out a sunflower seed and bit it with a satisfying SNAP. (End Part 2) =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (3/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 13:30:06 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * * 11:30AM Washington D.C. Dr. Rosenfeld's office was located on the fifth floor of an obscure office building. As she and Mulder walked down the quiet hallway, Scully felt something nagging her at the back of her mind, but she just couldn't put her finger on what it was. She decided to deal with it later and tried to pay attention to what her partner was saying. "...that he lived there all alone, with no family, no friends, no pets," Mulder commented, "He must have been very devoted to his work. Probably obssessed with it. Did you see how practically empty his apartment was?" "Gosh, Mulder," she admonished, "For a second, I thought you were talking about yourself." He gave her a pouting, hurt look. "I have a life," he defended himself, "...sorta..." Scully silently laughed as they reached the door marked with the doctor's name. She knocked on it and glanced briefly at her outfit. She had gone home after leaving the crime scene and switched into a forest green suit. She was in professional mode now, ready to tackle a new case. "Come in," someone called from inside. The two agents entered the office. Despite the unimaginative architecture of the building and its rooms, it was apparent that someone had gone through a great deal to make the office look hospitable. Books lined neatly against a wall of shelves. An abstract painting hung behind a mahogany desk, and two leather chairs sat before it. A few plants here and there breathed life into the austere, white room. Behind the desk, a distinguished looking man sat comfortably in a large armchair. He immediately stood up and offered his hand to the two agents. "Dr. Rosenfeld, I'm Agent Fox Mulder and this is Dana Scully," Mulder introduced them and affably shook hands with him. "Yes, yes, of course, we spoke over the phone," The doctor smiled pleasantly and gestured to the chairs in front of him, "Please, sit down." They did so and he continued, "I cannot believe what has happened. What a shame... who would do such a thing?" "That's what we'd like to know," Mulder admitted, "We were hoping that you could tell us about Dr. Tachibana. What exactly was he working on?" "That I cannot tell you," Dr. Rosenfeld said apologetically, "I'm afraid it's classified imformation." "Do you know if he had any enemies?" Scully asked. "Enemies? Scientiests always have enemies," the doctor replied, "but Dr. Tachibana never had any out-and-out rivals to contend with. Especially since he's been working on this classfied project for awhile." "And how long is that?" "Well, he's been involved with many projects here and there besides this one for the past ten or fifteen years." "You mentioned something about a journal when you called to have his apartment checked," Mulder commented, "Is there any significance in it to the project Dr. Tachibana was working on?" Dr. Rosenfeld's face turned pale for a second. He cleared his throat quickly and tried to retain a smile. "Well, notes," he confessed, "Bits and pieces of notes he took while he worked. He used it to organize his research, before he reported results or findings. I couldn't locate it in the lab, so I figured he had taken it home to work on it. I just wanted to make sure that he did." "Have you ever read it's contents?" Scully inquired. "Glimpses of it now and then," said the doctor, "when we discussed the progress of the project, he would point out notes or charts he had scribbled down in the journal." "And, it would be detrimental if it got in the wrong hands?" Mulder suggested. Dr. Rosenfeld blinked. "You're saying that's why he was murdered?" he almost whispered, "for that journal?!" "We don't know," Scully told him quickly, "But we haven't been able to locate it yet, so we would have to consider the possibility." The doctor rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Dr. Tachibana was a good scientist. I would hate to see his work fall into the wrong hands." He paused for a second. "I'm sorry I'm not being helpful at all. But I just don't know who could've done this." "Did he share his journal, or any of his findings with anyone lese, other than yourself?" asked Scully. "I'm very sorry, but I'd be in trouble if I told you. It's all classified," he answered remorsefully. "Classified, classified..." Mulder sighed in annoyance, "whatever happened to justice?" Dr. Rosenfeld bit his lips. "Well, what about other associates? People he worked with in the past?" Scully tried. "I doubt he would have been in contact with anyone outside the project," he stated simply, "He devoted himself to it, and he was not the type of person who bothered to keep in touch with people in the past." "So much for high school reunions," Mulder murmured. "Dr. Rosenfeld," Scully said suddenly, "Do you know how old Dr. Tachibana was?" Dr. Rosenfeld pondered her question in surprise. "Old, I'd say," he said, "Older than me. In his mid to late seventies. But his mind was as keen as ever." Scully nodded. Mulder gave her a questioning look but she ignored him. "What did he specialize in?" she continued. "Well...that I guess I can tell," Dr. Rosenfeld smiled, "Immunology." "And has he worked with the US government for his entire career?" "No, he came to the US awhile ago, but he worked in private labs previous to working with the government." "How long would you estimate that to be?" "I honestly don't know," the doctor looked at Scully carefully, "May I ask what this has to do with anything?" "Oh, background check," Scully smiled. Mulder continued to give a blank look at her. "Is there anything you can tell us that's NOT classified?" he spoke up. The doctor leaned back in his chair and thought for a second. "Well," he finally said, "Would you like to hear about his golf tournaments?" Scully's eyebrows rose slightly. She pulled out her business card from her purse and stood up. "Thank you for your time, Doctor," she said as she handed him the card, "if there is anything else that you could tell us, or find out, please call." "Of course," he nodded. Mulder followed Scully out of the office. Once they were out in the hallway again, he tugged on her elbow. "So what was that all about?" "What?" "Those questions. His age? His career profile? You could've found all that imformation in archives." "Do you think so?" Scully replied, "He worked in a classified government project, Mulder. The only people who knew of his existence were his colleagues, and the government. He kept such a low profile of himself, it'll be a wonder if you find anything about him in the archives." They reached the end of the hall and Scully punched the elevator button. "Doesn't it seem strange that he'd be targeted for murder, if no one really knows him in the first place?" she added. "Wait, wait, so you're saying someone in the GOVERNMENT killed him?" Mulder grinned, "Scully, and you thought *I* was paranoid!" "I didn't say that," she said carefully, "I'm saying that it had to be premeditated. You agree on that, don't you? I mean, no one followed him home and killed him. The murderer was waiting for him." "Of course it was premeditated, but how did all those questions to Dr. Rosenfeld help us?" Mulder stated. Scully bit her lip. "I don't know yet," She sighed, "I'm hoping to find some more clues in the autopsy." The elevator arrived with a PING! and they stepped inside. As they descended, Scully's thoughts lingered on the strange burn on Dr. Tachibana's chest. It disturbed her greatly, although she couldn't figure out why. "I'll check on his bio and try to get a little more hint as to what the classified project involves," Mulder was saying as he idly tapped the wall with one hand, "When's the autopsy?" "The body should be in the autopsy room by now," she answered, "I'll start on it right away." (End Part 3) =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (4/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 13:30:20 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * * J Edgar Hoover Building Autopsy Room 1:20 pm Scully flicked on the overhead light over the body of Dr. Tachibana. The sterility and coldness of the room only seemed to be sharpened by the harsh bright light and Scully wrinkled her nose a little at the smell of rotting flesh, despite the wintergreen gel she had dotted under her nose. She glanced over at all the equipment necessary for the autopsy, then switched on the tape recorder. Placing both hands on the table where the doctor lay, she looked up at the clock and began to recite the autopsy. Her lonely voice, speaking to no one but a machine, called out the date, time, subject name, and case file number. It seemed to echo in the pale blue tinted room as she read off the doctor's age, weight, and other facts from a chart. It remained monotonous and impassive as she pointed out the fatal bullet wounds and the peculiar burn on the subject's chest. It remained steady as she announced each procedure she conducted, and when she grew quiet in concentration as she removed the bullets, or took samples from the burnt area, the room grew heavy with silence. Silence that urged her to keep speaking, continue some kind of connection with the world of noise and life, instead of being drawn in to this room of stillness where only the dead spoke out their secrets through their physical body. Scully picked up a scalpel and, with the indifference of a college student dissecting a worm, sliced a Y-incision on the chest down to the abdomen. She chose a heavier instrument to get through the cold, hardened skin and cleared her throat. She declared no unusual findings and began to remove the internal organs. She weighed each one, announced its weight and its condition. She squeezed out the contents of the stomach, and reported that the subject had probably been snacking around the time of death, judging from the partially digested food. She continued on with the process of the autopsy without a second thought, without thinking that any of it was gruesome or morbid. Whatever clue the dead left, it was now up to Scully to make sure that it did not go unchecked. It was the last testimony that the dead could leave to anyone alive. * * * * * * FBI Archives 2:05pm Mulder yawned and stretched his arms over his head. He had been searching for any material that would have a profile on Dr. Tachibana. But at the moment, he felt would be relieved if he saw at least one file or periodical or anything that mentioned the doctor's name at all. It was just as Scully had said. There was absolutely nothing on that man. Sighing in frustration, he stared at the computer screen before him and pondered what to do. Out on a limb, he checked Dr. Phillip Rosenfeld's name and came up with a list of information. So the computer terminal wasn't malfunctioning. He scanned through the doctor's profile and found nothing mentioning Dr. Tachibana. Just as he was about to leave the profile, however, he found something that caught his attention: "Perkey, West Virginia". Mulder squinted his eyes as he carefully began to read the section. His expression turned incredulous at what he saw before his eyes. "...working briefly in a laboratory in Perkey, West Virginia. The classified nature of the project there kept his work disclosed, but professional complications with a fellow scientist caused mishaps within the project, which eventually led to its shutdown. He was later reassigned back to Washington DC, where he has now begun work within the Department of Defense of unspecified nature." "Perkey, West Virginia," Mulder murmured, "Perkey. Dr. Shiro Zama..." he whispered the name in horror, "Ishimaru...my god..." Almost a year ago, Mulder had gone on the trail of a Japanese doctor who had, according to sources, been conducting experiments to create an alien-human hybrid. He had followed Dr. Zama onto a train where a mysterious man assassinated the doctor and announced that Zama had succeeded in creating a humanoid that was actually immune to the effects of nuclear radiation. The doctor had been planning to sneak the humanoid back to Japan, and was traveling to California on the train with the subject hidden in a boxcar. The result had been disastrous; the doctor had been killed, and the boxcar had exploded along with the humanoid, but not before Mulder had discovered that Dr. Shiro Zama's real name was Ishimaru, a scientist who had been invited to work on the horrible experiment at Perkey, West Virginia, soon after WWII. Now, for some reason, Dr. Rosenfeld was, or had been, connected to Ishimaru. Mulder tapped a few keys on the computer keyboard and the printer began to print the file out. He leaned back in his chair, stunned. Something told him that Dr. Tachibana had also been involved with this. And Dr. Rosenfeld was not the one who could be trusted to discuss the matter. (End Part 4) =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (5/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 13:30:33 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * * Cigarette Smoking Man's office 3:10PM "Sir, if the wrong information gets out...the consequences could be devastaing," A nervous looking young man chattered. "Mr. Holmes, don't you think I'm aware of that?" A brooding man enveloped in a large armchair replied back. A cloud of smoke shrouded his head and in the shade, the butt of his cigarette lit up faintly. "Right now, I have everything under control. The only thing I need to do is keep Agent Mulder and Scully out of this." "Yes, I understand," the man nodded, shifting anxiously from one foot to the other, "but what about--" "_Guten tag, mein Vater,_" a female voice called out. The two men faced the doorway of the Cigarette Smoking Man's dark office to see a young Japanese woman standing before them. She was neatly dressed in a black pinstriped suit, and her thick hair was pulled into a French twist. Stray light from the window caught the flicker in her snapping brown eyes and her glowing skin as she entered the room and approached the desk. The young man stared at her, stunned. "Mr. Holmes, you may leave," the elder man said after a moment. The nervous Mr. Holmes nodded again and, after another stare at the mysterious woman, hurried out. "I see you are getting a new generation involved with your work," she said demurely. The Smoking Man extinguished his cigarette and leaned on his desk. He remained quiet. "_Was ist los?_" she smiled, "Don't you remember me?" "How could I forget," he finally murmured, "I almost didn't recognize you." "Yes, well, you haven't seen me for the past twenty four years," she said, "I'm surprised you remember, mein Vater." The Smoking Man carefully looked at her face. "You don't look anything like your father," he commented. "That's one thing I'm glad about," she smirked, "I get my looks from my mother's side, probably. But, I wouldn't know..." she leaned closer to him, "...since you killed her." The Smoking Man caught his breath. He leaned back into his chair, partially to hide in the shade, but mostly because the presence of this young woman disturbed him more than he would like to admit to himself. "I didn't kill her," he defended quietly, "it was an unfortunate accident." The young woman eyed him with distaste. She perched onto his desk arrogantly and folded her arms loosely across her stomach. "Convenient, you mean," Her voice was low and soothing, hiding any emotion she was feeling, "You were fully aware that she was injured and bedridden in that private hospital. Your men were there when the place burned mysteriously." "I had no power back then," he retorted, "Those were not my men." A smiled curved on the woman's lips as she gazed at the ashtray choking with cigarette butts. "Smoking is no good for you, _mein Vater_. You should know better." "Why do you keep calling me that?" "'Mein Vater'?" she raised an eyebrow, "Don't you like to be called, 'my Father'?" "As far as I'm aware, I have no child, illegitimate or legal. And you are definitely not my child, nor are you German." "No, I'm not," she agreed, "I couldn't imagine having you as my biological father. But no, you are a father to me in a very special way." She slid off the desk and walked over to the window behind him. With one finger, she pried aside the heavy draperies to peek outside. "You gave me a life I would never had known had I simply remained the innocent child of my parents," the woman said, "You pulled me away from my real father right after my mother had died and placed me in an orphange right here in the US. You made sure I was adopted by the right people, and you made sure I had enough distractions in my life so that I would never remember my real parents, or you. You made sure I received the best education, and learned all sorts of things so that I would never try to learn about the truth." She turned to look at the man but his chair had it's back turned to her. She leaned on the desk once more so that she would be face to face with him. "And for that, I thank you," Her eyes squinted for a moment into a glare, but then her Mona Lisa smile returned, "I was given the opportunity to learn anything that I wanted. As long as I never found out about my past. You expected me to forget it. That it would be buried into a numbing blur of images that could never be remembered. But, you know, I never forgot." The Smoking Man stared up at her. This was a moment he never expected to happen. In fact, he had hoped that he would never be reminded of this girl again. I should've killed her when I had the chance, he thought. "I remember clearly what you did to my parents. To me," she continued, "And throughout my life, I made it a point to someday to meet you once again to make sure that you never forget it either. And so I devoted my life to learning. Not only about history, or math, or languages. Five of which I fluently speak in," she added, "But also about the little secrets you and your little buddies in the government have. The horrifying things that could never be revealed to the public because it could ruin the nation. Even the world." "I don't know what you're talking about," he announced blandly. "die Ware," she replied just as blandly, "Merchandise. Colonies." He resumed his silence. "You'd be surprised at the things I know," the young woman gazed around the room as she spoke, "I worked very hard. So now, I have many connections around the world, and I've also got many powerful people owing me favors," She spread her arms out, "Do I sound like a spoiled brat still?" she purred and the man winced. It was true; she really did remember. When she had been so little, so vulnerable, he had pulled her roughly by her arms. Her mother was dead, and her father would follow her soon, if he didn't disappear first. The only child of a powerful couple...he had been told to kill her, never let her be found again. Her pitiful wails had made him reach for his gun, but no. He had killed men before, easily, without a thought. But now a child. He could not do that. She had bitten his hand, so he slapped her hard, which made her cry even louder. "You spoiled brat," he had hissed at her, "You and your family are nothing but a bunch of spineless, ass-kissing traitors!" How she understood what he had said when she was so little, he would never know. She wasn't even able to speak coherently yet. "My family were never traitors," she now said, her voice hinting at the anger that boiled within her, "The only ones we betrayed are ourselves, to have even gotten involved with any of the mindless, unorganized mess that you and your men thought up. But times are changing, _mein Vater,_" she spoke out 'my Father' as if it were a curse, "Just like that Mr. Holmes you were talking to before I came in. Someday, men like him will take your place and you, old man, will become useless. They will defenestrate you and leave you to drown in the hell you created for more than fifty years." The Smoking Man settled himself comfortably. Ah, finally she shows some emotions. Talking about her family still makes her vulnerable. He pulled out a cigarette from the inner pocket of his suit. That was all he needed to have the upper hand. Find the one weak spot in the opponent. He placed the cigarette gingerly between his lips. But the woman, in one quick movement, snapped it out of his mouth before he could even blink. The cigarette pathetically flopped onto his desk...broken into two pieces. He stared at it for a second, then looked up at her. "I don't want you to smoke to your death, _mein Vater,_" she told him sweetly, "I am not heartless enough to watch you fill your lungs with poison. In fact, I wouldn't dream of letting you do that to yourself. I'd prefer that I take care of you...till your end." She gave him a flash of a smile, then headed for the door. "But before that," she added, "I would like to do all that is possible to make sure that my family did not die in vain." She paused, "Including my grandfather." The Smoking Man almost gasped in shock. How did she know about...? "I told you, you'd be surprised with what I knew," she chided, "Yes, the brutal death of my grandfather on that train did not go unnoticed, mein Vater." "I had nothing to do with his death," he said calmly, trying to hide a strange sensation swelling in his chest. "Just like you had nothing to do with my mother's death?" she retorted, "Listen very carefully now," The woman stepped closer to him, "I have never forgotten nor forgiven you for her death, and for my father's disappearance. And now, to make matters worse, you have killed my grandfather, my last relative. He worked for you, devoted his life to the science that you demanded. You betrayed him." "He betrayed us!" The Smoking Man growled, "He thought he would be able to take his invention back to his country, and take all the glory. You are a fool to defend him." She stared at him coldly. "You betrayed him," she repeated, "and now you and all who turned against him will pay for it." With that, the woman sauntered to the door. Just as she opened it, The Smoking Man called out to her. "Is that why you killed Dr. Tachibana?" She looked back at him and for a brief second, a smile flickered again at the corner of her lips. "Dr. Tachibana's death is nothing, compared to what I have planned," she said, "Believe me. You'll be hearing from me again very soon." She slipped out of the door and it shut noiselessly after her. The Smoking Man sat still in silence for a long time. He did believe her. For some reason, the strange sensation in his chest seemed to spread throughout his body and he shivered for just a fraction of a second. It dawned on him that it was fear that he was feeling; something he hadn't felt in a long, long time. (End Part 5) =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (6/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 13:30:45 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * * 6:23 PM A restaurant/bar Washington DC Scully absentmindedly fiddled with the straw stuck in her glass of iced tea. The restaurant was packed with local business workers and government employees who stopped by on a regular basis to grab a quick dinner or take a break from work. A TV set in the corner was showing the news but the noise level in the room completely drowned out the reporter's voice. A couple sat at a table near Scully's. Both were dressed in suits; both wore the same type of rings on their left hands. Scully imagined them to be husband and wife, working all day, and having no chance to eat dinner together during the weekdays. They had probably scheduled things around so that at least tonight, they could have a meal together, catch up on each other's lives, or discuss some family matter. She didn't notice it, but Scully eyed them enviously for a full two minutes. Just then, a voice whispered into her right ear. "Hey," In surprise, she turned but just as quickly, Mulder slid into the seat in front of her. "What's today's special?" he asked as he tucked his tie with one hand. Scully regained her composure and handed him a menu. "Actually, I don't know," she told him. Mulder skimmed through the menu then tossed it aside. "I found something very interesting," he said. "So did I," she replied. "Scully, listen, do you remember a man named Ishimaru?" he continued. She stared at him in surprise. "Uh, yes. The man who used the pseudonym 'Shiro Zama'. He was conducting experiments on human subjects." "It wasn't on humans. It was on an alien-human hybrid." "What about him?" It was something they still argued about when the subject came up. Scully believed Ishimaru had been testing on humans, mostly people who were casted out of society such as victims of leprosy, the homeless, the insane. She felt Mulder had been tricked into buying the story that aliens were involved, simply to cover up the horrible experiments. Now she eyed him suspiciously. She didn't see how he came up with Ishimaru's name. "Rosenfeld was working in Perkey, West Virginia, around the same time Ishimaru was doing his experiments there. He came back to Washington DC when he and Ishimaru couldn't get along for some reason. He was assigned to work in the Defense Department right around the time Ishimaru was killed." Scully's mouth fell open. "Are you sure?" she asked incredulously. "It was right in the archives," Mulder pulled out the printed document and pointed it out to her. She read it carefully and then gave him a wide-eyed look. "What about Dr. Tachibana?" "It was just as you said. There were no records of him anywhere. I checked for Ishimaru's file, even under the name Shiro Zama, but there was nothing." Scully was speechless. How did those three men connect to one another? "Ready to order?" A waitress with a no-nonsense look suddenly appeared next to them. Mulder rattled off his choices to her while Scully became lost in thought again. "What about you, hon'?" the waitress asked her. "Oh..uh, grilled chicken salad," she murmured. The waitress nodded and was gone in a flash. "I tried to call Dr. Rosenfeld before I came," Mulder resumed, "but no one answered the phone." "Mulder," Scully said, "There's something I found in the autopsy that disturbs me," She paused. "When I checked his internal organs, I found some unexplainable things. His organs in the abdomen region were all normal. But in the area where the burnt skin was..." she tried to think of the right words, "I don't know how or why, but in his heart, the blood was thickened, clotted." "What?" Mulder almost shouted. "I've sent it, along with samples of his burnt skin, to toxicology; I've asked them to notify me as soon as they're done," Scully said, "but it was so strange, Mulder. If a sample of human blood is removed and placed in a test tube, it will eventually coagulate. But within a body, there are obviously mechanisms that regulate the whole process. Somehow, in Dr. Tachibana's heart, the blood came in contact with something that caused clotting." "So he probably died of thickened blood, not of bullet wounds?" Mulder inquired in surprise. "Well, it was kind of hard to tell," Scully's face clearly showed her confusion, "If he didn't die of the bullet wounds, then he died of a massive stroke or heart attack. But it was definitely not atherosclerosis." "Atherosclerosis?" "That's when the arteries thicken due to cholesterol and fatty substances build up in the coronary arteries. The arteries can't expand and blood can't move easily, so a blood clot could easily block the blood vessel," Scully frowned, "But Dr. Tachibana was a perfectly healthy man. He couldn't have died of atherosclerosis. And the only factor that could've caused the stroke or heart attack is in the strange component that caused the blood clotting." "You think whatever caused the burn on his chest could've stimulated blood clotting?" Mulder suggested. "But that's impossible," she responded doubtfully, "Blood clotting in the massive amounts that I found cannot occur within the body, especially if the body is not alive." Mulder was silent as he thought about what she had told him. A question lingered in his mind which he longed to propose, but he had the feeling that Scully wasn't going to like it. "Remember when I had been infected with an alien retrovirus, which caused blood clotting?" he finally said. Now it was Scully who fell silent. Of course she remembered; Mulder had almost died. He had come in contact with an unknown toxin that was actually a retrovirus which caused blood to thicken in warm temperatures. She had discovered that if the body was kept in cold conditions, the effects of the retrovirus would weaken and proper anitbodies could be introduced to eliminate it. But the toxin itself, and the conditions of the retrovirus remained a mystery. "Do you think some kind of retrovirus caused the blood clotting in Dr. Tachibana? Just as it almost did in me?" he said softly. Scully couldn't think. There were too many things about Dr. Tachibana's death that didn't make sense to her. She didn't want Mulder to start hypothesizing that it involved an alien retrovirus. "The burns were similar," he noted, "when the substance touched my face, it burned; and the conditions seemed to be the same on that doctor's chest." "What does it have to do with him, though?" Scully asked. "C'mon Scully, doesn't it seem to connect? Dr. Tachibana was working on some project for a long time, but there is no record of him anywhere. Rosenfeld and Ishimaru were working together, but then they began to disagree on some nature of their work, and so Ishimaru tried to split, but he's killed and now, Rosenfeld has all this information and test results from the experiments they've been conducting. So now, he starts to work with Tachibana, who probably knew about Ishimaru's work. It dealt with immunity to all kinds of horrific conditions, radiation and stuff. But there are some who'd rather not have the experiments be continued so he's killed too." "Dr. Tachibana and Ishimauru were killed in two very different ways, Mulder," Scully reminded him, "You told me that Ishimaru had been choked to death with piano wires." "Or something to that effect," Mulder agreed, "But what if their project had stumbled onto something some people didn't want them to know about?" Scully sighed and let her eyes wander around the restaurant. She was getting even more confused with their conversation. Her eyes rested once again on the husband and wife who were happily eating and laughing about something. "So why hasn't Dr. Rosenfeld been a victim?" The question fell from her lips before she realized it. Mulder took her iced tea and tasted a sip. "Maybe the government is protecting him," he guessed, "or he is working for whoever committed the murders." "We should talk to him again," she said firmly. "I'll try to get in touch with him," Mulder said as the waitress appeared and plunked down some appetizers. "Meanwhile, eat, Scully." He pushed a plate of fried calamari to her. "Hurray for atherosclerosis," he quipped, wiggling his eyebrows as she reached for a calamari. (End Part 6) =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (7/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 13:30:59 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * * 6:34 PM Dr. Phillip Rosenfeld's office That's odd, he thought as he tapped the numbers on his phone. He didn't hear a dial tone at all. The temperature in his office seemed to be a bit too warm so Dr. Rosenfeld had decided to call one of the janitors but when he picked up the phone receiver, he realized that it was dead. He pushed open a window and loosened his tie. I should just go home, he mused and glanced at his watch. He began to gather his things when there was a knock at the door. Maybe it's the janitor, he thought with relief and said, "Come in!" To his surprise, an Asian woman stepped in, wearing a blue suit. A beautiful scarf was wrapped around her neck and she carried a briefcase. Her eyes brightened as she saw him and she carefully shut the door. "May I help you?" asked a startled Dr. Rosenfeld. "Yes," she smiled, "I have something to give to you." She turned and locked the door. Then, from her briefcase, she calmly pulled out a gun and attached a silencer to it. Dr. Rosenfeld's eyes widened in horror as he shot out of his seat. He flung open one of his desk drawer and scrambled to pull out the gun he kept there for safety reasons but he froze when he sensed the woman right by his desk. "Close the drawer and sit down," she said coldly. He did as he was told and held up his arms, indicating her to not shoot him. "That won't help you," she told him, "I'm going to kill you anyway." "Who are you? What do you want! You must have the wrong person, I don't even know you!" he sputtered. "Of course you don't," she replied "but I know you and that's all that matters. Don't worry, I won't kill you until I tell you all you need to know." Dr. Rosenfeld eyed his phone desperately. "Your phone won't work," she explained, reading every movement he made, "I took the liberty of disconnecting it so that we won't be bothered." She kept her gun aimed at him while she pulled out a pair of latex gloves from her purse. "We have never met, but you see, you knew my grandfather. Quite well, in fact. He went by the name 'Shiro Zama'. I believe you knew that his real last name was 'Ishimaru.'" Dr. Rosenfeld's face turned white in horror. "No..." he whispered. She began to put the gloves on. "Yes," she smiled, "he was my grandfather. Someone who you worked with and respected, because of his brilliant knowledge and meticulous work." She stopped to carefully pull on her second glove. "But when he succeeded in his work, you blackmailed him. You were going to have him assassinated, around the same time the subjects in the experiment at Perkery, West Virginia were going to be eliminated. You were going to take his work, his findings, and get the credit and build clones of what he had created." "Oh God..." Dr. Rosenfeld whined, "God, what the hell are you--" "It was too bad that he found out about your little plot," she continued, "and he set about destroying all the data of the experiment in the computer database at Perkey. The only source for the project that remained was the journal he had secretly kept and written in Japanese. The one that was confiscated and handed to you after it had been translated. To start from scratch, this time with Dr. Tachibana." The speechless doctor shook his head in disbelief. "And Dr. Tachibana, poor man," she added, ignoring him, "My grandfather despised him. He was kicked out of the project earlier on. So he jumped at the chance to help you rebuild the experiment when my grandfather was killed." "Ishimaru didn't have a family," Dr. Rosenfeld choked, "He said he never married, had any children..." "That may be what he told you, but that was to protect the truth," the woman replied, "He had gotten married while he was in college. When he secretly left Japan during World War II to join the secret organization the US had created with Allies for scientific research, he left his family and faked his death. He had only one son, who married a Japanese woman and they had only one child too, a daughter. Her name is Miwa." She smiled at Dr. Rosenfeld. "That's me." Dr. Rosenfeld shook his head again. "Later the US government found out that my grandfather had a family still alive in Japan. They didn't want anyone to search for him, so they had my mother killed in a fire. My grandmother had died a few years earlier. And my father had to go into hiding to save himself. I was taken to an orphange in the US and brought up here." "But how did you find out about your grandfather then?" asked an astonished Dr. Rosenfeld. Miwa Ishimaru continued to smile. "My grandmother had told me about him when I was little, before she died. I remember a lot of things, and believe me, it took a long time to get to where I am now, but I took advantage of what I knew and here I am." "W-what do you want with me?" Dr. Rosenfeld's voice quivered. Miwa stepped closer to his desk. "We all die eventually," she said, "and that's unfortunate. But what's even more unfortunate is that in some cases, the lives of people are put into the hands of others and shortened," She wiggled the gun and Dr. Rosenfeld sucked in a breath in fear, "all for the purpose of satisfying human greed." "I didn't kill your grandfather," he whimpered. "No, you didn't," she agreed. Miwa pointed the gun away from him for a second. Just as he sighed with relief, she aimed at his chest again. "You betrayed him, just like Tachibana," she said "and I can't forgive you, since it led to his death." "No!!" Dr. Rosenfeld cried. "Don't worry, you aren't the only one I'm killing," she assured him with smile that, if she wasn't pointing a gun at him, would have made him want to trust her, "I am also planning on visiting the third party of your little conspiracy group." Dr. Rosenfeld felt his jaw quiver uncontrollably. "You won't find him," he said, but Miwa laughed. "Dr. Akihiro Fujita," she said as if reciting from memory, "He took my grandfather's journal after he was killed and translated it. He is the one responsible for setting up the experiment once again after the lab in Perkey was destroyed. He has created and is now testing on a humanoid in an isolated lab in Darin, New Hampshire." She gave Dr. Rosenfeld an icy stare. "He is the worst out of you three. He worked with my grandfather in Perkey, and was the only one my grandfather trusted. And look what he did. He helped you set up a trap when my grandfather tried to escape to Japan, just so that he could share the glory with you on the project." "Who told you..." Dr. Rosenfeld asked in shock. "I have my ways," she replied, "You see, before his death, I had been in contact with my grandfather." The doctor was speechless. "And now I must be moving on, since there are other things for me to be doing," she announced, placing her bag on the edge of his desk. "It's a shame that your life ends like this, but it cannot be helped." She shrugged nonchalantly. "No!" In one great sweep, Dr. Rosenfeld pushed his precious mahogany desk over and caught the woman off guard. She jumped back, barely missing the desk crashing down at her feet. He lunged at her and pinned her down, but Miwa tucked her legs to her chin and kicked him off with her heels. He gasped as he was thrown off and tumbled over his desk. Miwa was standing before he could get up and without another word, she shot him twice in the chest. Dr. Rosenfeld was flung back into his chair where he panted his last breaths. "_Bakamono_..." she muttered as she picked up her briefcase and removed a notebook from it. She waved it before Dr. Rosenfeld's glazing eyes. "Recognize this?" she sneered. Dr. Rosenfeld couldn't speak. He was breathing much too fast. "It's the journal Tachibana kept on his experiments. This," she shook the notebook, "is going to be very helpful once I get Fujita's notes, along with my grandfather's." Dr. Rosenfeld felt his chest was blown open. His mind screamed a thousand thoughts but only ragged breaths escaped his parched lips. He tasted blood in his mouth. Miwa retrieved something from her briefcase again. This time, it was a vial, containing a strange, green substance. Dr. Rosenfeld recognized it immediately and a bloodcurdling scream escaped from his throat. "I'm glad you get the chance to see this before you die," she sang, covering her mouth and nose with her scarf. She uncapped the vial and approached the doctor. Suddenly, she ripped his shirt open and deftly poured the entire content of the vial onto his chest. Upon contact, the skin blistered and fizzled, releasing a strange noisome fume. Dr. Rosenfeld's scream became louder and his hands gripped the arms of his chair as his chest burned and his blood boiled. Miwa capped the vial and slid it back into her briefcase along with her gun and the notebook. She stepped over the overturned desk and removed her gloves. The last thing Dr. Rosenfeld saw before his world closed in on him was the sight of the pretty young woman beaming at him as she waved goodbye and left the room. (End Part 7) =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (8/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 13:31:13 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * * Dana Scully's Apartment 8:13 PM Scully flicked on the lights as she entered her apartment. She was greeted by her Pomeranian who yapped excitedly at the propect of being fed soon. "Hey, were you lonely today?" she crooned as she struggled to close the front door without getting her coat caught. She tossed her briefcase and the mail she picked up onto her sofa and slipped out of her trench coat. "Just a minute," she told the pattering dog who began to nip at her heels. Scully rewound the answering machine and pressed the play button. As she disappeared into the kitchen to feed the pup, various voices from the machine asked her to call them, or or to buy their products, or to attend conferences. She dumped a can of dog food into a bowl and set it down on the floor. Immediately, a ball of tan fur hovered over it and strange slurping noises followed. Scully patted the hyperactive dog, then returned to the living room as she heard a familiar voice on the answering machine. "Dana, this is Ellen. I got the results from those samples you brought in this afternoon. But I think I should go over them with you in person. Call me ASAP, ok?" Scully picked up her phone and called Dr. Ellen Janson at her lab, but no one answered. She called her pager then went into the bathroom to take a bath. She kept the cordless phone next to her. Just as she was about to run the water, the phone rang. She got it on the first ring. "Hi Ellen," she answered. For a moment there was silence. Then, "Check your front door." Click. Scully didn't even get the chance to recognize the voice. It didn't sound male or female. She went to the living room and grabbed her gun. At the door, she looked through the peep-hole and saw no one outside. Cautiously, she opened the door. A soft thump made her look down to see that a package had been placed against her door and now lay at her feet. Scully picked it up and checked her hallway. No one was in sight. The package was a regular document size envelope with nothing written on it. Scully went back into her apartment and sat on her sofa. She opened it and found a thick manila folder inside. She drew it out and noticed that there was something written on the side label. She froze as she read it. "Scully, Dana Katherine" "Oh my god..." she whispered. Scully opened the folder and shivered as she recognized its contents. She and Mulder had found this very folder in an abandoned warehouse, along with countless others within some complex filing system almost a year ago. In each folder, there were records of a person's entire medical history, as well as a tissue sample. Mulder had even found a file with his sister's name on it. But before they could search for more information on the reason for the files, they had been chased by snipers and had to escape. The file, though, was once again in her hands. Someone had gone into that warehouse, retrieved it, and brought it to her possession. And Scully didn't like it one bit. All of a sudden, the phone rang again and she jumped. A small sigh escaped her lips as she raced back into the bathroom to pickup the phone. "Hello?" she tentatively answered. "This is Ellen, Dana. I'm stuck in traffic." "Oh," Scully breathed in relief, "You said you wanted to go over the toxicology report?" "Yes," She could hear cars honking in the background, "But can I go over to your place? I've got all the results with me." "Sure, that's fine with me," "Great, I'll be there in fifteen minutes." "Okay, see you then." "Bye." Scully took the phone back to the living room and then picked up the folder once again. She began to read through all the papers inside. All of it was typed up neatly on a series of forms, with exhaustive records of all her vaccinations, her medical history, even her blood analysis as well as her birth certificate. Her heart skipped a beat when Scully flipped to a section titled: "Experiment #101100101001 Takeo Ishimaru Subject No. 83951200354 R.R. 214 Darin Forest Research Facility Darin, New Hampshire Dr. Akihiro Fujita" Following it were a series of numbers and codes, along with short comments. "Excellent condition; no allergic respose to #CP5401" "IgM responding" "Monoclonal anitbodies introduced..." And down the list it continued. Her fingers slightly shook as Scully tried to understand exactly what she had in her hands. Were these the results from tests that had been performed on her during her abduction? Who brought them? Why? The sharp yapping noises of certain Pomeranian broke her thoughts and she put down the file for a moment. It still frightened her to be reminded of her abduction. She couldn't remember any of it. But something had happened while she was unconscious, although she couldn't explain what. She picked up her dog as he pattered by the sofa and gave him a quick hug. He barked at her, as if to reassure her that she was safe now. But even this little act of assurance didn't bring Scully any comfort to the thought of what secrets that file withheld. (End Part 8) =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (9/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 23:41:46 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * 8:41 PM Dana Scully's apartment "It's organic," Ellen Janson said. She and Scully were poring over the toxicology reports on the samples Scully had submitted earlier that day. "What?!" "The substance that caused the man's skin to burn. It was organic." Scully stared at her friend in amazement. "Well, how could it do that to his skin? Is it bacterial?" "That's the fun part," Ellen replied, "We've determined that most of it's properties are completely alien to what we know. We were only able to recognize a few things, like the fact that it contained some lymphocytes." "Lymphocytes?" Scully repeated, "You mean, it has something to do with the immune system?" "Well...it has EVERYTHING to do with the immune system," Ellen corrected her, "We ran some preliminary tests to see how it reacts to certain bacterium and viruses. I don't know what it is, but it managed to attack them in each test successfully." "Wait a second," Scully shook her head, "Are you saying that you found ANTIBODIES on Dr. Tachibana's chest? That IT burned the skin?" Ellen threw her hands in the air. "They act like antibodies. But they are toxic. The human skin willl react upon contact by burning and absorbing the substance. It then runs in to the bloodstream at the place it came in contact with. For some reason, the reaction is fast, but the toxic nature of the substance aggluates the blood, turning it into Jello." "Like lemon juice and milk," Scully murmured. "Exactly," Ellen nodded, "and in this Tachibana's case, the bullet wounds provided an opening for these toxic antibodies to enter his body immediately and zero in on his heart." "I don't believe this." "Well, you better, because I've been working all afternoon on this." Scully became quiet as she read through Ellen's notes and lab results. Suddenly she thought of something. She hurried to her living room and grabbed the mysterious file. "Ellen, could you decipher this?" she asked as she handed her the strange experiment section of the file. Ellen carefully read through the pages, her eyebrows slowly lifting in surprise and amazement. "Dana, where did you get this?" she asked in awe. "Someone left it at my door." Ellen's head snapped up. "At your door?" She looked incredulously at Scully, "Dana, this is... this is probably a prank or something, it's unbelievable!" "What does it say?" Scully insisted. "It's an extremely meticulous account of some kind of vaccination being introduced to this subject, as well injections of antibodies. It shows that whatever was the guinea pig for this was capable of making antibodies to attack the antigen, and even create interferons for the viruses which the guinea pig was injected with in subsequent tests." Scully's hands began to shiver at what she was hearing. "Does it say what kind of vaccination it was?" Ellen shook her head. "No, but listen to this. Apparently, it was able to destroy cancerous cells, a retrovirus which causes AIDS, and even some other retroviruses I don't recognize." She flipped through the pages over and over. "What the hell is this?!" she fumed. "Ellen, what about the antibodies?" Scully tried to calm her, "Are they anything like the substance found on Dr. Tachibana?" "It doesn't have anything on the chemistry of the antibodies," Ellen answered with a sigh, "It just has this number, 'CP#5401.'" She glanced at the title with Ishimaru's name on it. "I wonder what they used as the test subjects?" she innocently pondered. Scully's hand covered her mouth. She couldn't speak. * * * * * * 9:30pm A parking garage Mulder sat quietly in his car. He had been waiting in this abandoned parking garage for the past hour, after finding a ticket stub with the name on it in his car. He had never seen the stub before; he knew someone had placed it there on his dashboard. And he knew who did it. Suddenly, lights from behind appeared and a car slowly approached. It stopped a few feet behind and the sound of it's engine died. The lights remained on, blinding Mulder as it reflected off his rearview mirror. The sound of a door opening, then slamming shut echoed loudly in the dark garage. Careful, unhurried steps of the driver clicked on the pavement like a metronome as he walked towards Mulder's car. In a moment, he opened the passenger side and slid in. "We've really go to stop meeting like this," Mulder commented, "The woman in my life might catch us and get jealous." "Are you referring to Agent Scully or your mother?" Mr. X darkly replied. He carefully settled into the seat. "Agent Mulder," he said in his clipped tone, "You are not to pursue your current investigation any further, if you do not want to cause any trouble." "It has to do with that Ishimaru guy, doesn't it?" Mulder exploded, "His work is still being continued, because Rosenfeld and Tachibana stole it." "It has everything to do with Ishimaru," Mr. X answered, "You cannot even fathom how deep this goes. It goes beyond your understanding and your capabilities as an FBI agent." "Who killed Tachibana? Is someone trying to take Ishimaru's work again?" "Tachibana's killer is someone who won't be able to get a handle on. Listen to me, Agent Mulder. You don't understand all the players in this game. You're just a walk-in, who has no idea what the rules are, or who is dealing the cards. For your own safety, and for the safety of others. STAY OUT." Mr. X reached for the door handle to leave. But Mulder locked the doors and stared right back at the mystery man. "Are you having difficulty understanding what I just said?" Mr. X hissed. "I know what I saw in that boxcar last year," Mulder said in a quiet, angry voice, "It was alive, and it was not human. And if someone is trying to recreate that thing to use as a weapon, it can't remain a secret forever." "No one is going to find out, because no one found out anything in the past fifty years, and it's going to remain that way, regardless of whether you think you're being some martyr," Mr. X snapped back. Mulder glared at him. "You can tell me all you want to try to deter me from the truth," he replied, "But I am eventually going to find out. You can stop pulling all this 'I'm-protecting-you-from-the-truth' BS and double talk because no one is gonna believe it." He snapped the door's "Unlock" button and faced the windshield. Mr. X remained motionless and silent. Then, he said, "I am only going to say this once, Agent Mulder. Do not get involved. You'll only be causing unnecessary deaths if you stick your neck into a necessary assassination." He threw the door open and then, in measured steps, walked back to his own car. It's engine roared back to life and Mulder watched from his rearview mirror as it circled around and sped out into the night. (End Part 9) =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (10/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 23:41:59 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * * 10:41 PM A motel room Washington DC The sound of softly clicking keys filled the small motel room as Miwa's fingers flew over her laptop keyboard. Next to her computer, the journal from Dr. Tachibana lay open and she busily copied word for word each of his entries. Her facial expression remained blanched despite the extraordinary notes and findings her eyes ran over. After all, she was well aware of the fact that the project had been going on for years. Her bare feet idly brushed over the dull carpet of the room as she typed at an incredible speed, pausing only to take a sip of coffee now and then. Her hair was still damp after having been washed a couple of hours ago. It was part of her cleansing ritual; after each murder, Miwa went home, took a long shower, destroyed any item she had worn during the murder (including the expensive suits), and ordered any new outfits she needed. Usually within a few hours, her wishes were satisfied. It took a little longer, here in the US, where the locations of her sources were a little farther apart, unlike the closer proximities in Japan. Her clothes tonight had not arrived yet. Miwa was wearing a blue bathrobe firmly closed at her trim waist. She had just begun on a new entry when there was a knock at the door. Miwa padded over to it and looked through the peephole. Without a word, she unlocked the door and drew it open. "It took you long enough," she said as she threw her arms around the neck of Alex Krycek. He laughed as he embraced her back. "Your clothes, madam," he smiled as he dangled a garment carrier before her. Miwa grinned as she slammed the door shut and locked it. She tossed the bag onto her bed and wrapped herself around Krycek once more. "Nice to see that you're alive," she commented. He glanced at her from top to bottom with an appreciative smile. "You've grown up, Miwa. No longer the teenager with a ponytail," he said. Softly, Miwa gave him a lazy smile as she held his face with both hands. For a moment, they stared into each other's eyes. Finally she spoke again. "You've changed." Her tone was mixed wih surprise and a hint of sorrow. Krycek was taken aback a little. "Well, so have you," he murmured with a grin. "No...you seem different," Miwa hesitated, thinking of the right words, "...as if part of you died, and something new took over." She flicked his bangs out of his eyes. "And you wear your hair longer than it used to be," she added. Krycek laughed again. "When you're on the run," he explained, "it's hard to stop by the barber shop for a trim." Miwa continued to smile as she slinked out of his arms and returned to her computer. "So how did it go today?" Krycek asked as he pulled off his jacket. Miwa pressed a few keys and then turned to face him as her computer saved the document and retrieved a file. "It went perfectly, just as always," she replied, "He was just like Tachibana, only he tried to get brave once and pushed me down. But no big sweat," Miwa shrugged, "I got up, shot him, poured the toxin, and watched him die." "I like your style," Krycek remarked as he stretched out on the bed, "Nice, clean, quick work. 'Your Daddy' would die for someone like you to work for him." "Please don't call him that, Alex," Miwa looked pained, "I only call that bastard 'mein Vater' to get his attention. One of the only things that I'm grateful of is that he is not my father, and that I have the chance to make him pay for what he did." Her eyes flickered for a moment with anger. "And what he did to you too, Alex." "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself," Krycek replied. Miwa tapped her fingers on the desk as she stared at the laptop screen. "Even so," she sighed, "he is always trying to destroy the people who are important to me." "You had nothing to do with his attempt to kill me," Krycek interrupted her, "That was all my doing. I knew too much so he got scared and tried to get rid of me." "I know," Miwa nodded, "and personally, I'm glad you don't work for that son of bitch. You don't know how happy I was when I got in contact with you last year and heard that you were free of him." She watched the computer screen fill with a blueprint of a building. Krycek propped himself up on one elbow to look also. "Is that the lab?" he asked quietly. Miwa nodded. "I managed to get this layout of the building, along with the locations of the power control center, all the security system, and any alarm system around the perimeter of the building. Thank goodness it's such a small lab, the two of us can handle shutting the main power off and getting the auxiliary power off line. The rest will be a cinch." "Any guards?" "Only a few, but they won't be much of a problem." She grabbed a thin folder from her desk and handed it to Krycek. "Those are all the instructions you'll need. I've already got all the necessary equipment, so we can head up there once we get the sequences down," she told him. "Sequences?" Krycek asked, "You mean, we have to practice the raid?" He began to read the contents of the file, a series of lists explaining locations of certain systems within the building. "Since there are only the two of us," Miwa said, "we have to be quick and exact with everyting we do. We won't have time for mistakes. I want us to be able to do this even if we have blindfolds over our eyes." "How long should all of this take?" Krycek shut the folder. "If all goes as planned, we'll be out of there in six minutes." She looked at him sprawled on the bed. "Do you want to start practicing?" she raised an eyebrow with a smile. Krycek pulled himself into a sitting position and leaned towards her chair. He grinned back. "Let's get started," he whispered. (End Part 10) =========================================================================== From: LemonTree Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: xXx NEW: KATAKI UCHI (11/21) xXx Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 23:42:14 -0500 See Kataki Uchi (intro) for disclaimers. International Readers: Season 2 and 3 spoilers included Some violence, No Romance Written by Reina Utsunomiya: rqu2411@is2.nyu.edu * * * * * * * * * 7:20 AM J. Edgar Hoover Building X-Files Department "Mulder," Scully said in surprise. She had been unable to sleep all night and had decided to come in early, but apparently, her partner had beat her. Mulder lounged at his desk, staring at his blank computer. "Hey, Scully. Kinda early, isn't it?" he greeted her gloomily. She placed her briefcase on her desk and walked over to his desk. "Is something wrong?" she asked. Mulder heaved a sigh and put both feet up by the computer. "Everything is wrong," he responded, "Last night, Skinner called me and said that he was going to take us off this case, due to 'complicated circumstances.'" Scully was surprised. "I haven't been notified," she told him. Mulder shrugged. "He'll probably call us in today to talk about it. He said he'd like to see us when we come in." Scully perched on his desk and folded her hands. Her downcast eyes hid the emotional turmoil within her chest. "Mulder," she softly said, trying to keep her voice steady, "I... I think we need to pursue this case." He looked up at her, startled. Concern spread across his face as he put his legs down and sat up straight. "What is it?" he asked her. Scully tossed her head back, checking her tears. She slid off his desk and went over to her briefcase. She pulled out the folder she received the night before and slowly handed it to him. "Someone dropped that off by my door last night," she said. Mulder grabbed the folder and quickly opened it. His eyes ran through its contents. "Scully, why didn't you tell me?" "I couldn't," she replied softly, shaking her head," I needed to think. I wanted to figure out what it meant. Why someone would bring that. And what all those scientific notes signified." She began to walk around his desk in slow, deliberate steps. Mulder continued to examine the material in earnest. The proof... it seemed as if the proof of the existence of all the governemt conspiracies was right in his hands. But why? Why would someone conveniently bring it to them? He realized that Scully had stopped pacing. He looked up at her but she wasn't paying any attention to him. She had a far away look in her expression that worried him. "Scully?" he spoke out tentatively. Her eyes instantly focused on his and her lips tightened. "Don't you see, Mulder," she burst out before he could continue, "Someone is trying to toy with our minds, and make us go on a wild goose chase to distract us from our investigation! I--" "Scully," Mulder was astonished, "How could you deny everyting that is so obvious? This isn't a 'wild goose chase'. Why would anyone who wants to distract us go as far as to give us this file?" "Because that's how they operate," she snapped, "They've done it before and the're doing it again. Only this time, they're trying to convince me by pinpointing on the time I was missing. They know I have no recollection of it, and they are taking advantage of it to make me think..." Her voice trailed off in anguish. Mulder could see how frustrated she was. Scully hated to be reminded of the fact that she had been abducted. She didn't know what had happened to her during that time, and it made her feel vulnerable, defenseless. "You said we need to pursue this case," he reminded her gently, "and Scully, I don't care if Skinner throws me out of the FBI but we WILL get to the bottom of this." He reached out to grasp her shivering hand. Her face was mixed with confusion and fear. She didn't know what to believe anymore. She squeezed his hand and nodded. "Now," he continued, "do you honestly believe that this was brought to you to deter us from our case?" He knew she didn't. If she did, she wouldn't be so upset about it. "No..." she whispered to his relief. She cleared her throat. "Remember when you went on that train last year to find Ishimaru? The one that had a bomb in the boxcar where a test subject was kept." "Yeah," Mulder nodded, "You said you were taken to a lab in a boxcar." "The one where I was supposedly taken to when I was...missing," she confirmed, "The man who took me there was one of those high-leveled government officials. He told me that I had been taken accidently and used briefly in an experiment which tested on response to radiation. He said because of my importance in working within the government, he and some other men had made sure that I was returned. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be here." Scully bit her lip for a second before she continued. "As much as I was disgusted to hear about what they did, it made perfect sense to me, that they would use a story about an alien-human hybrid as a cover up to this horrible experiment." She held up one hand to her mouth, as if she couldn't believe what she was going to say next. "But I think...no, I KNOW that man lied to me. I think I was used in something completely different." Mulder was stunned. But before he could ask her how she could be sure, his cellular phone rang. He answered it on the second ring. "Mulder," His expression darkened. "We'll be right over," He put his phone away. "That was the police," he told Scully, "Rosenfeld was found dead in his office." (End Part 11) ===========================================================================