From: Erykah Miszti Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1998 12:07:48 +0100 Subject: NEW: The Light Warrior (1/1) TITLE: The Light Warrior AUTHOR: Erykah Miszti EMAIL: hamadryad@netscape.net (please reply ONLY to this email addy) RATING: G CLASSIFICATION: X SUMMARY: Mulder sees Scully in a new light. TIMEFRAME: Set sometime after Fight The Future, doesn't matter when. NOTES: The summary is an extremely bad joke, as you will see if you keep reading. This is just a short that came to me in a nightmare. The images in my nightmare were kind of nasty, I've toned them done a lot. Please excuse the rushed explanations of chunks of the storyline. I didn't want to waste time developing the background for those scenes. I only ever intended to show the last scene of the story but it needed some fill in explanations. DISCLAIMER - See end of story. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The Light Warrior (1/1) Western View, Washington State Temple of Light ruins 10 PM Mulder's return to consciousness was not a pleasant experience. Pain thundered through his head and his ears swam with a warm liquid that he fervently hoped didn't connote internal bleeding. Every bone and muscle in his body screamed as he tried to move. Thankfully the ropes tying him to the stone table were holding him so tightly in place that they were keeping him still and actually easing his pain. His vision from his left eye was coloured by blood and it gave the candlelight a surreal red glow. Wind whipped around him in this exposed position with a whisper that sounded like voices crying out for help. He'd woken up in some strange and dangerous situations before this so he was quickly able to discount some of the more outrageous images that came automatically to mind. It didn't take him too long to work it out. He was in the 'temple' ruins- and he was tied to the sacrificial altar. "Figures." Mulder muttered as he closed his eyes. He tried to concentrate past the pain in his head and work out what he was going to do about getting untied when he could barely move. The whispers on the wind changed and became more real. Mulder forced his heavy eyelids open and blinked repeatedly to clear the blood haze. It didn't work, so he saw the hooded figures approaching him as spectres floating through a thick mist. The preternatural wind which was rising in the ruins blew their cloaks around them and added to the impression of them being not of this world. Their low chanting on the other hand sounded like it came from a bad horror film. The lead figure pulled out a long curved knife and held it aloft, allowing it to glint in the flickering candle flames. Remembering what he had been told about the people who had used this place in the past he had a nasty suspicion that he was about to be their next sacrifice. XXXXX Outside the 'temple' ruins Scully slammed her foot onto the brake and the car screeched to a halt a few feet away from the entrance to the ruins. She turned off the engine, opened the door and started at a run before she remembered about the talisman. Her rush was momentarily tempered. She pushed the instinctive skepticism to the back of her mind and returned to her car. Retrieving the box the talisman was in she was once again assailed by doubts. It was just a little piece of metal and all reports of it's power were circumstantial. She was about to replace the box but she allowed other thoughts, other memories, to cast doubt on her other cynical doubts. The memory of her young daughters face and the truths she had led her to, the things she had seen as a result, gave Scully the impetus she needed to open the box. The silver salamander looked tarnished and grey against the green velvet. She took off her necklace and added the salamander to the chain with her gold cross. It was unexpectedly warm against her skin as she replaced the chain around her neck. Spurred back into action, Scully slammed the car door and ran towards the gate. XXXXX Inside the 'temple' Mulder felt as if he was going to pass out again. His vision was still red with his own blood and he was still in incredible quantities of pain. The 'false' members of the temple were clustered around him now on the stone platform. The light from the candles wavered in the circling wind, creating a suitable chiaroscuro of shadows in the ideal surroundings of the temple ruins. One of the hooded figures brought a bowl to his lips and, when he refused to drink, poured the liquid over his lips. Although only the merest splash entered his mouth, Mulder immediately felt something change in his head. Instead of wanting to pass out, his mind was suddenly heightened to a different level. The powerful drug in the solution acted instantly, soothing away the pain and yet taking the fight from his limbs. His red-vision cleared but he could not be sure whether that was his eyes finally adjusting and washing out the blood or another side effect of the drug. "FBI. I'm armed." A familiar voice yelled from miles away and Mulder managed to turn his head to look down the vast hall which led to the stone platform. Scully was standing at the far end. She was a small burst of red with her dramatic hair and burgundy suit, yet she was just an outline in the dim light of the 'temple' shadows. Her gun was in her hand and pointed directly in front of her. Scully took in the scene with hastily surpressed horror. The ruins of the 'temple' were a clich of terror in the evening that had only been hinted at during the visit they had made earlier in the day. Huge stone blocks and a vaulted roof made of local trees went into the construction of this vast anachronism in the middle of the forest. If anyone had told Scully that the ruins of a temple existed in the middle of Washington state, or in any state, she would have laughed at them. She had almost laughed at the man, the Sheriff, who had sent them out here this morning. His talk of devil worshippers had sounded like so many other silly cases that she had had the misfortune to read about that she had dismissed it out of hand. Mulder had insisted on investigating the case of the several supposed sacrifices and therefore it was largely his own fault that he was now in this predicament. There had only been one point which had caused Scully to go along with him. For once, out of all the cases of mass hysteria, there actually were bodies to back up the claims. The deaths had been linked to a religious cult, but the only difficulty there was that all the members of the supposed cult were dead and had been for over 100 years. Cruiser and curious, said Mulder. Scully had pointed out that the likelihood of dead cult members carrying out the sacrifices was about as likely as snow in the Sahara. Mulder had actually agreed. He believed, as she did, that someone was attempting to resurrect the cult. This had led them to the guardian and to the ruins of the Temple of Light. The guardian lived in a small house in the woods which was almost inaccessible. It had taken a four-wheel drive jeep to make the trails. The guardian's name was Jonas Mackenzie and he was an ordinary man with a wife, Andretta, and three kids. He did his business (selling specialty honey) over the Internet and gave no mention of how he and his family had lived before the Internet. He really loved the Internet and it was the family's main connection to the outside world. His other job was to guard the temple in the woods and it's secrets. He only agreed to speak to Scully and gave Mulder glances of disgust that were toe curling. He'd told her the truth, as he understood it. He told her that the Temple of Light had been built 1000 odd years ago by a group of outcasts made up of various nationalities. They had reached the area by some kind of teleportation after having chosen it by what would today be called remote viewing. They wanted peace, solitude and a place free of religious persecution in order to worship. Their religion was a mish-mash of current doctrines and ancient beliefs; a healthy dose of Christianity mingled with a pronounced Jewish flourish, a distinctly Muslim tenacity, a sense of logic and proportion from the Greeks, death rituals cultivated from the Egyptians and a lust for life and nature adopted from the Celtic and Norse mythologies. They had, through research and persistence, discovered many ancient rituals and secrets which they needed a private location to perfect. The Temple of Light was based on a single idea; that good will always conquer evil and that light will always drive out the darkness. The guardian was fearful about the supposed sacrificial deaths and the attempts by some people to resurrect the cult in a travesty of their original purpose and rituals. He'd had several of these texts stolen from his home and he felt that something had been awoken by the false members. Scully had muttered the right words, unsure why he had felt that he could only tell these things to her, and had repeated them later to Mulder with a certain amount of disdain. Having seen the 'temple' there could be no doubt that the group the guardian described had existed and the 'temple' was what it appeared to be, although Scully seriously doubted that it was 1000 years old. A mystery in the forest. The most intriguing aspect of the situation, from Mulder's point of view, was why had this cult disappeared. The guardian insisted that all the 'true' members were dead with the exception of him. His family had remained behind as the guardians of the temple and the texts which were it's most precious assets. When Scully quizzed him about what had happened to the rest of the 'true' members he had smiled at her and told her that they had joined the order of light in the battle against the darkness. He hadn't denied that the cult might have in it's time conducted some human sacrifices, but he stated that the current spate of killings was nothing to do with the light. It hadn't helped the investigation but it had been interesting hokum and the building was it's own testament to the possible validity of his claims. It was a large crumbling ruin, somewhere been a gothic-style cathedral and a Greek temple. "FBI." Scully repeated. The hooded figures standing on the platform either didn't hear her or just plain ignored her. The central figure was holding a large silver curved knife high in the air above Mulder. The chanting of the figures mingled with the surprisingly warm wind that swirled through the gaps in the structure of the building. When Mulder had disappeared a few hours earlier, Scully had had no clues as to where to start, so she headed for the 'temple' in the belief that, if the guardian was right, then the 'false' members would want to carry out their ritual there. Stopping first to see the guardian she had found the house brightly lit and wide open to the world. She had been repulsed by the sight of Andretta Mackenzie and her three children shot dead and left lying as they had fallen in the sitting room. She had been ready to bolt for the 'temple' but the sight of Janos clinging to his life, and the intestinal organs which had once resided in his newly ripped open abdominal cavity, had stopped her in her tracks. He told her that he had been waiting for her and that he had known she was the one they all had been waiting for. The light, he'd added, was with her. He gave her a small black box and she'd opened it to reveal the talisman. Scully had wondered what he would say if he knew that she already had the same symbol tattooed on her butt. He'd probably believe it to be portentous in some mystical way. She knew that the image of the salamander eating it's tail symbolized the eternal cycle of life but it surprised her that it had been the symbol of this enigmatic light and darkness cult. She'd taken the box and Janos' words of the power contained in the talisman with her customary pinch of salt. Then she had held the guardian until he died, aware that many of his 'secrets' were dying with him and surprised that this actually meant something to her. As soon as he was gone she had gone to find Mulder. Mulder's head was clear as a bell and yet he just couldn't move. He could only watch as Scully advanced up the hall. "Drop your weapon and release your hostage now or I will fire." She stated. The gun stayed trained on the hooded figure with the knife but it and her words were ignored. The low chanting continued and the figure drew the knife threw the air slowly, creating a tracery of invisible patterns. The talisman shuddered against Scully's skin as if it were alive. The sensation was neither shocking nor unpleasant. She kept walking but she became aware that she was humming a tune. The music seemed to come from inside her, as if it was a melody she had long been aware of but had never sung. "Put down the knife, before the darkness comes." She thought that she said the words in English but the sound of them which came back to her ears was a language which she had never spoken before. "You speak false rituals. You have been fooled by the darkness." She added in that mysterious tongue, speaking it as if it was her primary language. Mulder heard Scully speak and understood what she said but was aware that she had not spoken in English. He could feel the drug slipping through his bloodstream but his mind stayed clear. He let his eyes wander to the hooded figures standing over him to see how they were taking Scully's words and found that they were still ignoring her as if she were not even there. Then his vision shifted, as if the world had shuddered or a pulse of energy had gone through everything. The colours had altered and become more primary; violent slashes of red, green and blue where once there had been a rainbow of subtleties. The temple as it had been in ruins had disappeared and was replaced with the temple as it must have once been. A high vaulted ceiling stretched above them, held aloft by giant fluted marble columns. Gold decorations shimmered amongst the rafters as vibrant streaks of yellow. The hooded figures still stood over him but over them towered shapes, giant shadow shapes. Devils hiding in the darkness, was the thought that smashed into Mulder's head. Then came doubt. Maybe the drug was a hallucinogenic and yet no, he still felt completely lucid. The slashes of the knife were now creating patterns of light in the air, words were forming. Darkness. Comes. Mulder tried to move, but couldn't. He turned his head as best he could to look back at Scully and gasped. She was lowering her gun and putting it away in it's holster. She was still walking towards the stone platform. White light poured around her like an aura or a halo and the darkness on all sides of her was dispelled by it. "You can't win." She stated in that other language and she smiled. She was a wingless angel surrounded by light. Then she began a chant of her own. Mulder understood the simple words repeated over and over. "Bring forth light. Banish darkness." The already surreal light around her shimmered and figures began to form from the stardust in the air. The angels now surrounding her had the wings she seemed to lack. "Let there be light." She whispered in that foreign tongue, her voice loud in Mulder's ears, and noise exploded around them. Reality speeded up and figures darted in the mist. Somewhere, nearby, there was the sound of an intense battle raging and yet Mulder was distant from it. He lay on the stone slab, manacled and unable to move. Even vision had now been robbed from him by the strange mists. Patterns of darkness and light skittered around him, reflecting off sparkling objects which could have been swords and shields. "Hey." Her voice said into his ear, in English this time. "Hey yourself." He replied, he voice rough. "They seem to have everything under control." She replied. "Let's get out of here." She used the silver curved knife, which she had picked up from the slab next to him, to cut the ropes holding him. He stood up, shaky on his legs, and clung to her just to stay upright. He noted the talisman next to her cross on her chain. "Who are you?" He asked her. "Just Scully." She replied with a smile and held onto him tightly. He held her back, clinging for more than just physical support. Mulder blinked. He staggered and grabbed the edge of the stone table, seating himself to stop falling over. Scully was no longer near by him. He tried to stand. "Scully?" He gasped as pain returned and doubled him up. He bit down the sickening waves with difficulty. When he was sure he wouldn't collapse in a heap, he took a look around the temple. The colours had returned to normal and the temple was ruins once more. The 'false' members had also disappeared; defeated by the 'true' members or saved by them? It was impossible to tell. Had light won this skirmish in the eternal war? What was in that drug? Mulder's touring eyes fell on a prone form in a burgundy suit lying disheveled on the flagstones. "Scully?" He called, but she didn't responded. "Scully, can you hear me?" No reply meant that she couldn't. Forcing his legs to work, he stood up and promptly fell over. He tried in vain to stand upright and decided that, since there was no one to see, he might as well throw all dignity out of the window. He crawled over to Scully's body. He touched her shoulder and said her name but got no response. Mulder started to panic. "Scully!" He exclaimed and tried to turn her over. "No, no, not again!" He stated when he saw her face devoid of consciousness. The memory of her entirely lifeless body in his arms one time before invaded his mind, mixing him up so that he could barely think straight. Somehow he separated that time from now and checked her pulse. He was so scared and so clumsy that he couldn't find it. He placed his hand over her mouth but could feel no breath. In desperation his placed his head against her chest to try and hear if her heart beating there. He found it. He could hear it. He actually laughed out loud with relief. Her heart was still beating. She was alive. His shoulders sagged as the laughter died to be replaced by silent tears. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body against him as best he could. His eyes fixed on the talisman on her necklace. It hadn't been a dream or a hallucination. It had been real. Scully and the light. Mulder pulled Scully cell phone from its belt clip holder and rang for help. The phone call completed, he placed his head on her shoulder and held her. The End XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX DON'T FORGET THE DISCLAIMER! It is out of respect that I put this disclaimer stating that The X Files are the property of Chris Carter. I find it no hardship to do so. I would hope that other writers would grant me the same respect if an idea of mine grew to the same proportions as The X Files. This disclaimer cannot prevent litigation against me, which is okay because that's not why I put it here. Respect must go where it's due. This is not a justification for some of the actions committed by people on Chris Carter's behalf in the suppression of free speech.