TIMELINE: Late May 2000

BELLEFLEUR, OREGON

"Agent Mulder?"

Mulder could hear Skinner's deep voice cutting through the night-time silence, but he couldn't turn around or respond or call for help. He had done his usual trick of sticking his hand in the goo and this time it looked like he would pay heavily for his insatiable curiosity.

His right hand was stretched out in front of him, shaking violently. He tried to pull it back, to extract it from the invisible grip, a grip that was slowly moving up his arm. He felt himself pulled forward, embraced by something he couldn't see, something that felt as alien as he could ever imagine, yet somehow comforting and tranquil at the same time.

The crushing grip lasted only a second as he passed through to the other side.

"Mulder!"

He could still hear his boss and lover, but the older man's voice was muffled and fading. He tried again to turn around, but was unable to will his body to make the needed movements. There was only one direction that he was permitted to move and that was straight forward towards an impossibly bright, pure white light.

"Mulder. Mulder...."

*Walter!!!* He screamed in his mind, somehow knowing that he couldn't communicate verbally. He couldn't even take one last look at his lover as he was propelled toward the cone of light.

Just before he reached the edge of the lit circle, he used all his strength of will and control to stop, refusing to go any further. Ahead of him he could see some of the residents of Bellefleur, fellow abductees; Theresa, Billy, Billy's father.

They were all calling to him, in his mind, in his soul, telling him to come into the light, that the light was safe, the light was home.

Home??? His home was with Walter and Alex, snuggled between them on his couch, nestled in their arms in Walter's massive bed. That was home, not some cold white light in the middle of the Oregon woods.

Suddenly his legs moved against his will and he entered the light. He was welcomed and touched, gentle hands on his shoulders moving him deeper into the group and away from his lover.

He looked up, although he already knew what he would see. The craft was directly overhead, with a circular opening. At the centre of the opening was a light brighter than he had ever witnessed and yet it didn't hurt his eyes. Around the light the air shimmered and rippled like a whirlpool.

*You came.*

He felt the tingle of telepathic contact without the pain that had crippled him seven months before. He didn't want to show the overwhelming fear he felt inside, the painful remembrance of his last contact with the being who was approaching the group.

Mulder levelled his head and turned slightly to face his nemesis. The group parted to allow the Bounty Hunter to enter the circle, to stand before his prey.

*It is time.*

*Time for what?* Mulder formed the thought knowing it would be received.

*Time for your destiny to be fulfilled.*

*I don't understand.*

*You are not required to understand.*

The light surrounding them grew even brighter. All Mulder could do was stand there and blink. He wondered when and if he would ever see his home, his friends and lovers, again.

He felt no movement around him, no sensation of floating upwards. When the light finally faded, he was shocked to find himself still standing in the clearing, just him and the Bounty Hunter. All of the abductees had vanished and he couldn't help looking upwards. The craft was gone as well.

"Mulder!" Skinner's cry was full of anguish and it ripped through Mulder's heart like a chainsaw. He saw his lover stumbling through the forest, looking right and left and occasionally upwards.

"Walter!" He rushed forward only to be stopped by another invisible barrier that he couldn't breach at all, no matter how hard he pushed.

The Bounty Hunter stood by silently as he tried to alert Skinner to his plight.

"Walter. Over here!" His voice echoed around him loudly, as trapped as he was.

Skinner's search brought him to within a couple of feet of Mulder's location, but he gave no indication that he saw him or heard his screams.

"Walter! I'm right here. Can't you hear me? Help me Walter!"

A large palm flashed toward his throat and he felt the thin gold chain being yanked from around his neck.

*You think your useless gods can help you now?*

Mulder could do nothing as the Bounty Hunter's thick arm penetrated the force field and flung the precious cross and chain onto the ground at Skinner's feet.

He watched helplessly as Skinner spotted the cross and picked it up, tears running down both their faces.

"Walter." His voice was little more than an whisper and he fell to his knees. "Please..."

Skinner arched his neck and head back, looking up at the star-filled sky and released an animalistic howl of rage and despair.

"FOX!!!!!!!!"

Mulder moved forward to touch him, even though he knew it was useless. He placed his hand against the barrier as close to his lover as he could get.

"Walter. I'm right here. I want to touch you, to hold you but he won't let me." He shuddered as he felt the Bounty Hunter's long fingers stroke his hair, a flat thumb brushing the back of his neck.

*He is of no use to you either. No one can help you now.*

Mulder detected the faintest hint of concern, of sympathy from his alien foe. The Bounty Hunter was puzzled by him and his connection to Skinner. *We do not form close personal bonds. It is not in the best interest of the Hive.*

*Then you'll never understand.*

Skinner collapsed to his knees right at Mulder's feet, sobbing. Less than an inch separated them yet he didn't know Mulder was right there, watching, listening and sobbing himself.

His lover was all alone with his grief whilst he was being fondled by a being from another planet.

Skinner shakily rose to his feet a short time later and with one final, brief look around, he turned away and headed back to where they had parked their car. Mulder could see Scully's necklace in Skinner's hand, glittering in the moonlight.

"Walter! Don't go. Please. Don't leave me." He repeated his plea over and over until he could no longer see his lover's departing form. The Bounty Hunter had knelt down behind him, wrapped him in his powerfully long arms and was rocking him back and forth. Waves of wordless thoughts, of soothing emotions washed over him, but nothing could lessen the absolute hopelessness and helplessness he felt.

He wasn't sure how much time had elapsed before he was pulled to his feet and led deeper into the woods. The invisible barrier moved with them, not allowing him to get more than an arm's length from his abductor.

He resisted the constant questioning, the gentle but insistent probing of his mind and his feelings for his superior. He thought only of Walter and Alex and Scully.

Finally they reached a narrow track. Waiting there was a small black car and suited driver. He was directed into the back seat with the Bounty Hunter close behind. He sat as far away from the alien as he could. The windows were tinted black, allowing him no view of the outside, no clue as to where he was being taken.

"It is a long journey. You should rest while you can." The Bounty Hunter spoke aloud for the first time, his voice flat and emotionless.

"I'm not tired," Mulder replied defiantly, even though he could barely keep his eyes open.

"You will rest."

He felt a hand on the side of his face as he slipped into unconsciousness.

He woke up an unknown time later to find himself laying on his side, his head resting on a denim covered thigh. A very familiar hand was stroking his face, another was lowering the zipper of his jeans and reaching inside.

He opened his eyes and thought he was dreaming. Looking down from above was Walter.

He reached upwards, tracing the curve of his lover's face. "Walter. I knew you wouldn't leave me."

"I could never leave you, Fox." Walter leaned down and kissed him, claimed him and devoured him. They were both breathless when he pulled back, their faces flushed with passionate arousal.

"I want you Walter." Mulder shifted, allowing his jeans to be pushed down, baring his ass and freeing his rigid, weeping erection. "I need you."

"I know, baby. I know." Skinner gestured for him to kneel as he worked his own pants down.

Mulder salivated at the sight of the massive cock that stood at attention surrounded by a mass of dark curls. He straddled the muscular thighs and, without thought of preparation or lubrication, impaled himself. He was filled and stretched more than he could ever remember, but he didn't mind. He was where he wanted to be and he wanted to stay here for the rest of his life.

Hands grasped his hips, guiding him up and down, off and on his lover's cock. A brutally fast rhythym was set and soon sweat was pouring off the both of them, soaking their clothes.

"Oh, fuck me, Walter. Harder, harder...." In response, he was slammed down on the large cock, over and over. He gave control totally over to Skinner, trusting his lover like he had trusted no other.

"Come for me, Fox! Come for me now."

Mulder's fingers were digging into Skinner's shirt, tearing the fabric and scraping the hot flesh. His fingertips burned but he didn't care. He only wanted to possess his lover as he was being possessed. He felt Skinner shudder beneath him and knew that his climax was imminent, knew that he would obey the command, that they would come together.

He found the one place on Walter's neck that he knew would drive the older man crazy and placed his mouth against the soft skin, preparing to bite down, to mark Walter as his.

His teeth had barely made contact when he was shoved backwards, ending up on his backside on the floor of the car.

He looked at his lover and then wished he hadn't. Skinner's features were changing, melting into another form, just as familiar but far more horrifying. Within seconds, Walter was gone and the Bounty Hunter was staring back at him, his face as cold and stonelike as ever.

"What the fuck?" He watched in dawning horror as the Bounty Hunter unhurriedly tucked his softening cock back into tailored trousers and tried very hard not to throw up. He could still feel Walter's hands on his hips, still taste his salty skin on his tongue, smell his aftershave lingering in the air.

"You were going to harm yourself. That is not allowed."

"But...but why?...why did you?" Mulder stammered, still coming to grips with what had happened and what had almost happened.

"It was what you wanted. There was no risk to the project."

"Well, now I want you to let me go."

A hint of a smile flashed across the alien's features. "That would constitute a risk to the project."

Although he had expected the answer, he was still demoralized when he heard it. He lowered his head in defeat. He had never felt so alone or so lonely. He had really believed that Walter had rescued him, had snatched him from the grasp of his enemies. For it all to have been a lie, a charade to trick him, was cruel and heartless and he said as much to his captor.

"I have heard your law makers grant condemned criminals one last request," his captor cryptically replied.

Mulder had no idea of where he was being taken, and tried not to think about what would happen once he was delivered. Maybe those who had always seen him as a threat to their plans had finally decided to kill him. But as far as he knew most of the senior Syndicate members were dead, burnt to a crisp at El Rico Air Force Base and, according to Scully, Cancerman was seriously ill, perhaps even dying.

"You let me go once before," he pleaded. "You can let me go again." Mulder knew it was useless but he tried anyway.

"You have always acted with honor and dignity, even in the face of death. You are a rare creature...."

"That's all we are to you. Animals to be herded and bred and enslaved," Mulder said disgustedly.

"That is all most of your race are worthy of. You are an asset to your species and to your father. He is wise to want you by his side."

At least now he knew who was behind his abduction. The fact that the alien referred to the smoker as his father wasn't much of a shock or surprise. He had questioned his parentage on more than one occasion, his mother's denial only confirming his worse fears. The biggest shock had taken place when he had first heard the smoker's gravelly voice in Skinner's office after the Aricebo incident. Although the tone was completely different, it was the same voice he had heard two decades before on the night of his sister's abduction.

..."don't be afraid, Fox." Soft, full of concern and love. "No harm will come to her as long as you keep our little secret." One hand stroking his hair while the other slid under his shirt. "One day she'll return. One day when you submit to me." He had somehow edited his recollections to Werber, unable to even think about that incident subconsciously without becoming nauseous.

..."your time is over... and you leave with nothing." Arrogant and smug. Standing close to him, too close to him. The real meaning behind his words thankfully hidden from his boss and future lover.

"You don't have to take me to him."

"I must obey him and so will you. It is your destiny."

The tone of his voice signalled that the conversation was over, leaving Mulder to ponder his fate and his father's plans for him as they drove onward into the dark night.

**********

When they arrived at the small private airfield just outside Portland, Mulder's hands were bound behind him with strange manacles that grew tighter and bit into his flesh if he struggled against them. He quickly gave up struggling and followed the Bounty Hunter onto the small jet that sat idling on the runway. Once on board his hands were secured to the armrests.

As far as Mulder could tell there was just him, his alien captor and the pilot. The Bounty Hunter sat across the aisle from him and switched off. That was the only way he could describe it. It was as if a plug had been pulled from the alien, draining the large body of all its energy. The take off was steep and turbulent, but the alien didn't move a muscle.

Mulder stared out the window but all he could see were the stars and moon and, far below, the scattered lights of Portland. The jet banked sharply and then they were headed east. He could see tiny points of light moving along the roads below and wondered which one was Walter. He would be headed back to DC, back to Alex and Scully to deliver the news of his abduction and to start the search for him. But where would they look? Walter was sure to think he was on the alien craft that had vanished with the real abductees. Would they give up before even beginning, realizing that the prospect of finding him was so low as to be practically non-existent?

NO! For his own sanity, he HAD to believe that those who cared about him would never give up looking.

On the other hand, could he condemn those he loved to the same fruitless search he had conducted for Samantha for almost thirty years; to the sleepless nights and pointless midnight flights on the slimmest of dead-end leads, the most suspect of contacts and informants?

Fifteen minutes into the flight, the pilot came out of the cockpit and headed straight for Mulder, his intention clearly showing on his dark face. Mulder didn't need to see him lowering his zipper to know what was in store.

Mulder waited til the pilot was within reach and then kicked out, connecting with the other man's groin and sending him flying backwards.

He got to his feet and brushed himself off, even though the floor of the luxury jet was spotless.

"You're gonna regret that, boy." He struck Mulder cross the jaw, driving his head back into the seat and bringing tears to his eyes. "I've heard talk of what the old man has planned for you and it ain't gonna be pretty." As he spoke, he bound Mulder's ankles to the frame of the seat, leaving him even more defenceless and vulnerable.

Sliding his belt free of the trouser loops, the pilot looped it around Mulder's neck, losing a chunk of flesh on one hand and immediately delivering another blow to Mulder's jaw with the other.

Mulder spat out the strip of bloody skin, happy that it landed on his abuser's shiny leather shoes.

"If you don't want the same thing to...." The belt was tightened cutting off his threat and air supply. The pilot knelt between his spread legs, leant forward and kissed him.

"I also hear he's gonna charge more than I can afford, so I figure he's owes me a freebie."

Mulder's jeans were undone and his cock pulled from his boxers. The pilot took hold of Mulder's penis and began stroking and pumping it. He didn't have much work to do. Mulder was still semi-erect from his aborted encounter in the car and his cock was soon hard and weeping again.

The make-shift noose loosened a bit and Mulder gulped in precious air while he could. He watched in shock as the pilot prepared himself, one long arm twisting down and behind. A lubed condom was rolled over Mulder's stiff flesh and without missing a beat, the pilot straddled his legs, impaling himself on his victim's cock.

Mulder bucked and twisted trying to dislodge his rapist but to no avail. He could do nothing but allow the other man to ride him, to grip his cock with strong rectal muscles. The belt hung loose and forgotten around his neck, neglected as the pilot pleasured himself with Mulder's body, caressing his sweaty flesh and fingering his nipples. They both came explosively, Mulder in the condom, the pilot squirting creamy fluid over Mulder's belly and chest.

The pilot stood, pulled up his trousers and reached into the pocket. He extracted a small bottle and tipped a small white pill into his hand. He forced it into Mulder's mouth, not removing his hand 'til Mulder reluctantly swallowed.

"What the hell was that?"

"Just a little something I keep handy for my in-flight entertainment." He reached down and fiddled with Mulder's watch, setting the alarm function before returning to the cockpit without a glance back.

Mulder was left bound, covered with drying semen and wondering what the hell was going to happen when the alarm went off... he strained to see his watch... in thirty minutes.

He concentrated instead on what he knew was fact not speculation. The fact was, while he hadn't been penetrated, he had still been raped. It was sex and it was without his consent, therefore it was rape.

With his wrists bound to the armrests he couldn't get rid of the evidence of his abuse that still covered his softening cock. He could feel the semen dripping out of the condom onto his balls and into his underwear. He had never felt so degraded and humiliated in all his life.

Thirty minutes later, the alarm beeped. It was barely audible over the jet's engines, but it sounded like an air-raid siren to Mulder. He hadn't noticed any changes brought on by the mysterious pill, except for a slight headache that he attributed to the stress of the last few hours.

The pilot came sauntering out of the cockpit, his erect cock poking through the open zipper of his navy blue trousers.

"Not happy to see me, hey?" he asked conversationally as he once again knelt between Mulder's legs.

"Get away from me, you bastard," Mulder growled.

"Now, now. We're only just starting to get to know each other." He removed the soggy condom from Mulder's limp penis and lovingly licked it clean.

Mulder was shocked and outraged when his traitorous cock responded to the treatment. There was absolutely, positively no way he was turned on by being sucked by the man who had just raped him.

The other man must have detected his horror. He released his erection and looked up at him. "Well, at least part of you is happy I'm back." He rolled a new condom over Mulder's cock and once again impaled himself, an exact recreation of his earlier actions.

This time Mulder stayed perfectly still, his eyes closed, imagining it was Alex moving up and down, guided by Walter's strong arms and large hands. He automatically shouted out his green-eyed lover's name as he came for the second time in half an hour. "ALEX!!!!!!"

He was punished by a stinging slap across his cheek. His rapist angled his cock upwards so that his semen spurted in Mulder's face.

Mulder collected the fluid on his tongue and spat it back, watching with pleasure when it landed on the pilot's previously spotless tie.

"You are a feisty little devil, ain't ya, boy?" the pilot asked as he stood up and tucked himself back in. He leaned in and kissed Mulder passionately on the mouth, forcing his tongue inside.

Mulder tightened his jaw, preparing to bite down when he felt his balls being gripped and squeezed. A warning not to fight, not to attack. To do nothing but submit to his attacker's caresses.

And that was the pattern for the next few hours. The watch alarm would go off, the pilot would come out of the cockpit and Mulder's abuse would begin again. Sometimes there would be a blowjob or handjob, sometimes just kisses, caresses and touches. Neither man came. It would have been an X-File if either had or would do in the near future.

Mulder's stomach started churning and he felt hotter than he should have given the jet's air-conditioning. Outside the tiny window, the sun was just clearing the eastern horizon, but it looked blurred with a strange bluish tint to Mulder's tired, tear-filled eyes.

They had been in the air for about six hours as far as Mulder could tell when the alarm sounded for what would be the final time. The Bounty Hunter hadn't stirred during the entire journey, no matter how loud Mulder had screamed at and pleaded with his attacker to leave him be.

He watched with hopeless resignation as the pilot once again approached him. As usual his cock protruded through his fly, but this time it was covered in latex and Mulder knew immediately what was going to happen.

"Please.... no more." Mulder still had an erection of his own and figured it was a consequence of the pill he had been given so many hours before. Probably Viagra or something similar.

"Come now, Fox. Don't be selfish." The pilot reached over him to the controls on the side of the armrest and Mulder felt the plush seat recline 'til he was lying almost horizontal. The pilot had released his legs, but because they were so numb from lack of circulation, they were no use as potential weapons. "I've looked after you so well, made you feel so good..."

He couldn't stop his jeans and semen covered boxers from being pulled down, exposing his ass. "You've been raping me, you bastard. That's not what I call looking after someone."

The pilot continued, ignoring his victim's outburst. "It's time for you to give back a little." He pushed one lubed finger into his anus, probing and stretching the tight muscle. "Oooh, yeah. You gonna be so good, so tight and hot." He slipped another finger in, finding and pressing against the tiny gland, sending erotic spasms through Mulder's exhausted body.

He withdrew briefly and positioned Mulder's legs over his shoulders as he placed his large cock against the puckered opening. With one smooth thrust he was inside.

Mulder let out a gasp of pain and anguish as he was filled and then brutally fucked. The violent thrusting seemed to last forever, but Mulder was unable to escape the pain and reality of what was happening as he had done earlier.

The pilot didn't touch him this time, other than to grip his hips in order to increase the pace and force of his thrusts. There were no kisses, no sweet endearments whispered in his ear between nibbles. He was simply there to be used, to provide pleasure and sexual stimulation to his attacker.

He barely heard another alarm sound, this one louder and more insistent than his watch and the pilot sped up, causing them both to climax. His rapist pulled back, clearly disappointed at being interrupted and having to rush.

Mulder's legs dropped with a thud as the pilot withdrew. He didn't move. He couldn't. Didn't have energy or the will to try. He watched in a shocky daze as the pilot returned to the cockpit without a look back.

Minutes or hours later, the small jet began its descent. Perhaps the change in air pressure alerted the Bounty Hunter to their impending arrival. He came to back life as suddenly as he had suspended it and rose.

Mulder pleaded with his eyes what he could not ask out loud. The Bounty Hunter understood and went to the small toilet at the rear of the plane. He returned with a damp wash cloth. He released Mulder's left hand, placed the cloth in it and returned to his seat.

"I thought... supposed to help....to protect..." he stuttered as he shakily wiped himself clean and struggled to cover up.

"I was monitoring the situation. You were in no danger. There was no reason to interfere," the Bounty Hunter explained with his usual emotionless tone.

"I...I was in danger... was being r... raped."

"Raped? You were happy to join with the one you call Skinner. Why not with this other human?" He seemed genuinely confused at this. "You were very aroused by him. You released a lot of your seed."

"It was against my will." Christ, in the last twelve hours he had been abducted by a being from another planet, tricked into thinking he had been rescued by his lover, deceived into believing he was having sex with his lover, then raped multiple times on a luxury jet flying to god knows where and here he was attempting to explain human mating habits to an extra-terrestrial shape-shifter. "It's wrong... a crime... to force someone if they are not willing."

The plane landing roughly on the runway brought the conversation to an end. The pilot re-appeared to open the door and lower the steps. He grabbed a small bag and left the plane, ignoring Mulder and the alien.

This time, Mulder's hands were bound in front of him and he was escorted off the jet into bright mid-morning sunshine which stung his eyes. He raised his hands to shield his unusually sensitive eyes and let his captor lead him to another small black car, identical to the one used in Oregon.

He'd had a brief glance before entering the car and recognized the distant skyline. He was back home in DC. He had thought he may have been taken to New York, knowing the Consortium had offices there. He almost wished he had. It was heartbreaking to be home and so close to those he loved and yet know it would be almost impossible to escape and go to them, to the familiar places and safe embraces.

WATERGATE APARTMENTS WASHINGTON D.C

They pulled into an undercover parking lot. The car came to a stop and the Bounty Hunter got out. Seconds later he leant back into the car and dragged Mulder out. The driver also exited, immediately lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag.

In the next bay was a long black limousine. Mulder strained to see the license plate but it was mostly hidden in shadow and he could only make out some of it. Given that the lot was virtually empty, he figured there had to be a reason why the driver had parked next to it. He was fully alert for any clue to his fate, anything he could use to his advantage.

They headed for the elevator and Mulder realised where they were. He had secretly met Scully here years ago after the X-Files had been shut down and they had been reassigned and separated. He had also come here more recently, to Diana's apartment. He had ransacked it, looking for evidence of her betrayal and complicity. He had found evidence but not the sort he had been searching for. Evidence, courtesy of CGB Spender, that his theories and fears about alien invasion/colonization were all too true. That the group of faceless men who had thwarted his investigations for so long, had taken his partner and killed her sister and the man he thought of as his father, really were collaborating with the invaders in order to save themselves.

They rode upwards in silence and walked along the plushly carpeted hallway. The door to Diana's apartment was closed but not locked and they entered into the darkness.

A soft sobbing could be heard and there was the thick smell of tobacco and rotting food in the air.

The alien flicked a switch, revealing a blond-haired woman in a nurses uniform cowering in one corner.

The Bounty Hunter moved forward and pulled her upright, with a gentleness that Mulder didn't think he was capable of. "Where is he?"

She spoke without raising her head, "They were here....couldn't stop... took him..." She waved a shaking hand in the direction of the front door and slumped in the alien's grip.

"Took him where?" Mulder asked without thinking about it, automatically slipping into his usual role of investigator at a probable crime-scene.

"I.. I don't know. Heard a loud noise. They didn't come back. I keep waiting for them to come back...to finish me off too." She was babbling now, almost incoherent.

Mulder looked around. There didn't appear to be any signs of a struggle, but then someone in Spender's condition wouldn't put up much of a fight anyway. He noticed that there were narrow but deep depressions in the thick carpet, like a wheelchair would leave behind.

He was dragged over to the dining area and pushed into a chair. The back of his neck was gripped and he felt a small electric shock travel down his spine. He was paralysed, unable to move, but still able to breathe... and to talk, he hoped. The Bounty Hunter left the apartment and Mulder continued questioning the woman.

"Who are they? Who took him?"

"I don't know who she was but the man, he was different, stood different. His left arm was stiff like it was in a cast or something."

He knew straight away who she was describing and his heart leapt. Alex. His former enemy and current lover. He had said he wanted to damn the soul of the Cigarette Smoking Son-of-a-Bitch. And it looked like he had succeeded.

But the smoker had been declared dead before. Mulder wouldn't allow his hopes to rise til he saw the black-lunged bastard's corpse for himself, would trust no-one but Scully to do the autopsy.

Sometime later, the alien returned with a body in his arms. He laid the still form on the leather couch and Mulder could clearly see that it was Spender. The old man's skeletal body was bent and twisted, a small hole in his flabby throat. Scully was right. He was seriously ill and may not have lived long anyway.

From his position, Mulder couldn't see any sign of life and there was the distinctive stench of decay hovering around the body.

With his boss dead and the conspiracy shattered, surely the Bounty Hunter would have to let his prisoner go. He was of no use nor threat to the colonists.

The alien had kneeled down beside Spender, one hand on his forehead, the other on his chest. He closed his eyes and drew a couple of deep breaths.

Mulder realized what was happening and did his best to talk the alien out of reviving Spender, to do him and the rest of humanity a favour and let the old man rot. Of course, his pleas were ignored and he watched transfixed as the smoker's chest began to rise and fall and his eyelids fluttered.

The alien moved back and helped Spender sit upright. His gaze immediately went to Mulder as if he knew he was there the whole time.

"I knew you would come, Fox." He held out one bony arm in welcome.

"It wasn't my choice, believe me," Mulder replied as he was *released* and led over to the couch. Rather than being seated next to Spender, he was forced to his knees in front of him, the alien standing guard over him. The paralysis was applied again and he was getting pretty pissed about being turned on and off like some remote-controlled toy. Plus, the electric shocks hurt, damn it.

Cancerman reached out with his thin right hand and stroked Mulder's cheek, ancient fingers rough against youthful flesh. Mulder was sickened by the touch but could do nothing to stop it.

"It's time for you to stop resisting, Fox. You have known all your life what your future is to be and you have fought it and me all the way. But you must realize it is a fight you have no hope of winning." He clicked his fingers and the blond nurse moved to his side, holding out a lit cigarette which he accepted, puffing deeply with obvious satisfaction. The hole in his throat had healed completely with no scar, no sign it had ever existed.

"I'll never stop resisting, never give up the fight. You'll have to kill me for that to happen," he replied defiantly.

The smoker stood up, supported by the alien and shuffled towards the door behind Mulder. "Don't expect death to be a release, son. We were meant to be together and together we will be. For all eternity." And then they were gone.

The nurse sat down, puffing on a cigarette, her whole body shaking. She was his last hope, his last chance at freedom.

"Please, ma'am. I need your help." He indicated the phone on the coffee table just inches from his frozen body. He had slightly more movement this time. Maybe the alien hadn't enough energy left after doing the Lazarus trick to immobilize him fully. He could turn his head a little and wriggle his fingers. "I need you to call som...."

"I can't. He would be very angry with me." She rose, paced to the cabinet at one end of the living room and poured a large measure of scotch into a glass which she swallowed in one gulp.

"Please! You just have to dial a number and put the phone down where I can speak into it." She didn't turn around and Mulder knew she was right to be afraid.

"I'm sorry but I can't help you. I can't get involved... he scares me. You have no idea how much he..."

"I know what he is capable of," Mulder interrupted, knowing that time was running out. "I can get you protection. He won't be able to hurt you. I promise." He felt guilty about making a promise he had very little chance of fulfilling, but he had to try something. He couldn't just kneel passively and wait for the Bounty Hunter to return and collect him.

While he waited to see whether she would help him, he managed to undo his watch. He silently thanked the Gunmen for the state-of-the-art timepiece, especially its database feature. He concentrated on entering the partial number plate he saw on the limo. He let it fall to the floor between his knees. Maybe he could kick it under the sofa as he was being dragged away. Hopefully it would remain hidden until Scully or Walter came to search the apartment, a small but vital clue that he had been here, that he was alive, a way of tracking him to his next destination. He ignored the voice telling him that it was probably a phoney plate anyway, one that would prove untraceable. But it would do no good if he couldn't get a message to one of them.

Something he said or maybe how he said it had some effect on her for she slowly swivelled around to face him, though she kept her eyes averted. She moved slowly to the centre of the room and mechanically picked up the phone. She stared at it as if she had no idea of its purpose.

He started to tell her Skinner's number but cold logic told him that Skinner would be too far away to be of any assistance. Instead, he gave her Scully's number, hoping with all his heart that she had her cell phone with her and switched on. Was she even aware of what had happened? Would Walter have called her from Oregon with the news of his disappearance or would he wait 'til he could tell her in person, be there to comfort her and so she could comfort him?

The nurse dialled the number, set the phone down as close to Mulder's cheek as possible and left the room.

He listened to the ringing of Scully's phone and the longer it rang the further his hopes plummeted. He heard Scully's message service answer at the same time as he heard the door being unlocked. He was running out of time and he knew it.

He didn't wait for the message to finish. "Scully. It's me. I'm alive and in DC at the Watergate. At Diana's. Left my watch. Spender's here. I don't know what he wants but I'm scared, Dana...." He was running out of breath but needed to leave as much information as he could. He knew what Spender wanted, but couldn't admit it to himself, let alone tell Scully.

The door burst open and the alien marched across the room. He calmly picked the phone up and turned it off, breaking Mulder's lifeline to the outside, severing his link to Scully.

"Who were you communicating with?" he demanded as he yanked Mulder to his feet, again cancelling the force that had held him immobile.

"I was calling out for pizza. Hope you like olives and anchovies."

The Bounty Hunter searched the room. There was no sign of the nurse and Mulder hoped she would stay out of sight. What happened next dashed those hopes and reinforced his guilt over making promises he couldn't deliver.

"Greta." It was Cancerman's voice but it came out of the Bounty Hunter's body. "Come here, dear."

Mulder tried to call out, to warn her that it was a trap. A large hand fastened across his mouth, silencing him. He couldn't bite down, knowing the effect the alien's toxic blood would have on him.

As soon as she opened the door, a shot rang out and she slumped to the floor. A steady flow of blood poured from a wound in her chest, but Mulder knew she was dead before she hit the ground.

"Why... why did you kill her? She wasn't a threat. You didn't..." Mulder stumbled in his captor's grip, managing to kick the watch almost under the sofa as he righted himself.

"All witnesses had to be eliminated. She did not suffer."

Mulder was dragged out the door, down the hallway and into the elevator. Once in the parking lot, they went directly to the long, black limo. The trunk was open and Mulder was certain that he would be locked inside it. However, Spender gestured for him to be pushed into the main compartment, which was already hazy with smoke.

He was again pushed to his knees, his bound wrists chained to a small, steel ring set in the floor.

"Cigarette?" Spender offered once the door was closed and they were on their way.

"Where are you taking me?"

"We are going home, son."

"Don't call me that. You had my father murdered," Mulder spat, his voice full of hate and loathing for his newest captor. "You played some part in my mother's death."

"But you want the truth. You have searched all your life for it and I am giving it to you now."

"You wouldn't know the truth if it bit you on the ass."

"I know the truth with regards to Samantha." The smoker reached out to ruffle Mulder's hair. "With regards to her well-being."

Mulder flinched away from the vile touch. "You have no hold over me anymore. Samantha is dead. She's been dead for over twenty years."

"Are you so sure? Are you willing to sacrifice her safety on the word on a woman convicted of killing her own child?"

"Yes. I am sure." He looked Spender in the eye and if looks could kill... "I saw her with my own eyes, I held her in my arms. It may have only been her spirit but she had more life and soul than all the clones and copies you've shown me combined."

He could tell that he had hit a nerve. The smoker blinked a couple of times, as if composing himself, reassessing his plan of attack. When he spoke again, the topic changed, giving Mulder a tiny sense of victory. He had a brief, nauseating image of Cancerman sitting alone in his dark, empty apartment, being serviced by clones of his son at various ages, driven to use imperfect replicas instead of his own flesh and blood whom he had desired and lusted after since the day Fox was born.

"I have been promised an influential position in the New Order. It is only natural for me to want my only son and heir by my side. Together we will welcome the Colonists with open arms and assist them however they require."

"I'm not going to be a collaborator to an alien race. I won't sell out my people and my planet just to save my own skin."

"But you have no choice, my darling son. It is your destiny, Fox, set in motion long before you were conceived."

Spender took his face in his hands and pulled him in close for a kiss. The old man didn't try to force his way inside, for which Mulder was thankful, but he still felt like throwing up when he was finally released.

"I don't want to be your heir or your lover. I hate you from the bottom of my heart, always have, always will. You are sick and perverted and you should be rotting in hell for all the evil you have done."

"Ahh." Spender smiled as he took another drag on his cigarette. "You have your mother's fighting spirit, all right. It took a while for me to tame her and I expect that you will present the same challenge."

Mulder spat in the smoker's face but got little pleasure from the act of rebellion. It didn't seem to affect Spender at all.

Mulder slumped in exhaustion but also defeat. He was trapped, with the man he hated more than any other person stroking him like he was a faithful pet. He was being driven to his enemy's home, wherever that may be. He had no idea if his desperate call for help would ever be received and acted upon. He didn't know whether he would ever see his lovers and friends again. Despite all this, he couldn't completely lose hope. He had to fight, couldn't not fight for his life, his sanity and his freedom.

Unable to stay awake any longer, he lay on the floor of the car and closed his eyes, praying that this nightmare would be over when he next awoke.

THE END