PART SEVEN Disclaimer, yada, yada, yada, in part one XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Part Seven-Preparations for the battle between good and evil Saturday, September 26, 1998 5:00 a.m. In the darkened hotel room Mulder twisted and turned on the bed. He didn't notice it though, being in a state of deep sleep. He was dreaming again. He was on the hill again where the first dream started. He wasn't three years old this time, he was his regular age and dressed in a grey t-shirt and jeans. He found himself walking up the hill slowly, not dodging any wayward sheep. When he crested the hill, the view was the same. Ahead and to the right of him was the large stone house, to the left, the towering cliffs. He stopped halfway in between each, unsure of where to go next. He heard a small sound behind him. He whipped around, the wind tugging his hair in many directions. His eyes lit on the stone wall bordering the land between hill and cliff. They glided up the grassy hill, to come to a stop right in front of him, looking down into the hazel eyes of his younger self. The boy and the man just stared at each other, neither one daring to do anything more than breathe. Suddenly the silence of sound and motion was broken by another child seeming to come out of nowhere and stop behind the boy. Mulder recognized her as Shannon, dressed in a dark blue dress with bare feet. She looked up at him, placing her hands on the little boy's shoulders. "Tomorrow," she said with confidence. Her wavy oak brown hair swirled around her face. Mulder cocked his head in a questioning manner. Shannon nodded and smiled brightly. "Tomorrow. Everything will be right tomorrow." Without warning the wind picked up. Mulder lifted his hand to his eyes to shield them as the wind blew faster and faster. It reached a frightening speed, when suddenly he felt himself falling back. Back, back, back, until... Mulder's eyes popped open. He was still in the hotel room, tangled up in the sheets. He looked over at the clock. It was only 5:10. He still had fifty minutes until it was time to get up. But he knew there was no chance in hell he'd be going back to sleep now. He pulled himself out of bed, and regardless of the fact he was only in boxers, opened the door connecting his and Scully's room. To his surprise she was already up. The light next to her bed was on and she was reading a book. She put it down when she saw him coming through the door. "What's up, Mulder?" she asked. He walked over and sat himself down on the bed next to her. "Couldn't sleep either?" She looked over at him. "I just got up about ten minutes ago. I didn't think it was worth it to go back to sleep. Your excuse?" Mulder sighed. "Another dream. This time I was in the same place as the first dream, the one with the big hill and the cliff. I walked up the hill, and stopped halfway between the house and the cliff. Then I heard something behind me, so I turn around and I see myself as three years old standing there. We're just staring at each other. Then Shannon-" "Your older sister from the dreams?" Scully broke in with a question. "Yeah. She suddenly appears behind the younger me and says that tomorrow everything will be right. Then there's a gust of wind and I woke up." He looked over at her with puppy dog eyes. "What do you think it means?" Scully bit her lip, deep in thought, and Mulder had to exercise extreme will power not to kiss her at that moment. "Well," she said, "maybe it means you'll find your real family soon." She looked over at Mulder who was staring down at the comforter. She inaudibly sighed, trying to figure out how she was going to tell him her latest thoughts. "Hey, Mulder, did you notice the other day that boy Alec?" "The one that looks incredibly like me, you mean?" his head turned back to look her in the eyes. She shrugged. "Maybe he's a relative of yours. I mean, aside from some slight differences and the difference in height the two of you could be identical." "Yeah, but what's the likelihood of that? Even if we are related what's the chance of looking as alike as that?" Scully laughed. "I keep forgetting you haven't met my family. Let me just say it is very possible for family members to look that alike. One day, after Christmas a few years back, my brother Charlie's sister in law called him up and told him there was a picture of him in the local paper returning gifts. That was impossible because Charlie avoids malls like the plague during return season. He went to check the paper, and it turns out that it was another cousin of ours, one of at least five who look incredibly alike. So yes, Mulder it is possible for family members to look that alike." "I guess it's worth checking out after the case is over," Mulder said hesitantly. Scully smiled and interlaced his fingers with hers. "Good. Now, we have to get up and get moving. If we're going to get out this early you're treating me to breakfast." She tossed back the covers and moved to get out of bed. As she got out of the bed she was jerked back upon it by her waist and fell on top of Mulder, who was grinning at her. "Breakfast? This early?" he mumbled while kissing her neck. She gently pushed his head away and turned around in his arms. She laid her forehead against his and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I promise as soon as this case is over we take a vacation. No FBI, no annoying older brothers, just you and me," she whispered close against his lips. "Okay," Mulder muttered. "I'll go get in the shower, and then treat you to breakfast." "Good," she smiled, and they both went to prepare for the long day ahead. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX At the same time somewhere across town Shannon Ramsay-Parker sat bolt upright in bed, startled awake from a dream. In her dream she saw her brother Fox, actually two versions of him. She herself was only about ten years old, and she was standing behind the little Fox. They were both staring at a man she just knew was what Fox looked like now. From what she could tell he'd grown up to be a good-looking man, even more handsome than Colin, and she remembered he was such a heartbreaker in school. She also remembered herself telling him that tomorrow everything would be right. Did that mean that she would see him tomorrow? Shannon could only hope that's what the dream meant. Shannon felt a stirring in the bed next to her. Her husband Johnathan sleepily opened his eyes and stared at her. "What are you doing up at this hour?" he asked in a barely awake voice. She looked over at the clock. 5:15. Might as well get up. "I've got to meet Alec, Robbie, and Molly at the store. Remember? They're fighting the Cader today." "Oh, yeah," Johnathan muttered, propping himself up on his elbows. "D'you need my help with anything?" Shannon leaned down to brush a kiss on his lips. "Nah, Molly's got the spells covered. Just watch Brian and Juli today. And..." Shannon faltered, not sure of what she should be saying, "just...just be prepared for anything, okay?" Johnathan wrinkled his forehead. "Why?" "I've got a feeling, okay. Just be prepared," she smiled at him. He let his elbows go out under him and flopped back on the bed. "Sure. I was a Boy Scout. I can do prepared..." He trailed off, quickly falling back to sleep. Shannon smiled and got out of bed. She pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She'd taken a shower the night before so she could sleep later in the morning. She did a quick once-over in the mirror, applied some lipstick, quickly brushed out her hair, once again mentally thanking the people at Manor Rd. Salon for removing all traces of grey from her hair. She pulled on a pair of boots and rushed down the stairs as quick as possible without waking any of the sleeping inhabitants. She opened the garage door and gasped at the temperature. The warmth of the early fall day that was yesterday had changed overnight into a biting cold day. She pulled a heavy sweater out of the coat closet. She opened the garage door and pulled her car out into the early morning. The car screeched to a halt in front of the bookstore. Shannon unlocked the door and raced through the bookstore to the stairwell in the back room. She climbed the stairs past the second floor meeting hall and up to the third floor library where the Dragon and Witch's books were. The library walls lined with shelves that held all sorts of books of different colors and sizes. On one wall, between the shelves was a fireplace and on another a window. The three kids were already in the room. Robynne sat at the table in there, tugging at one of the two braids her hair was plaited into. Molly was looking at the books, her still wet hair pulled back into a ponytail and dripping down the back of her sweater. Alec was pacing in front of the window. All three had dressed for the colder weather and the storm they could just tell was brewing. At least according to the weather report the night before. Alec stopped pacing when he heard the door open and saw Shannon enter. "Okay, what can we do?" he asked. Shannon began walking over to the bookcase near Molly. "Your job is going to be easy. Knock the thing out. Disable it. Molly's going to have the hard job." She pulled a selection off the shelves and dropped them onto the table with a bang and a puff of dust. Robynne jumped back slightly, waved a hand in front of her face and coughed. Molly dropped down into a chair along with Shannon. Alec looked over Molly's shoulder. "So what am I going to have to do?" Shannon flipped open to a page in the first book and turned it to Molly. "Here's the spell to retrieve the souls of the others. It's a bit complicated, so it would be best to have the thing unconscious. Any disruptions would not help." Molly's eyes scanned the page and sighed heavily. "Oh, this is gonna be real fun," she muttered. She looked up at Shannon. "What else is there?" "If the time slip the Cader made is there, just send him back through, and close it up." She picked up another book and picked another page. Shannon's photographic memory enhanced by supernatural talents let her remember the content of every book stored in the library. "This is the spell that'll close the slip." She handed the book over, and Molly groaned when she saw it. "I'm going to need a three day nap to recover from this," she whined. She looked up at Alec behind her, then at Robynne, and then at Shannon, who sat looking innocent. Too innocent. "There's more?!?" she yelped. "Only if the Cader closed the slip behind him. Then you have to open it as well." She turned the book in front of Molly one page back. She looked at the page and slumped back in the chair. Alec placed both hands on her shoulders and rubbed. Molly's hands went up to cover his. Robynne shot a knowing glance at Shannon, who rubbed a hand over her face to hide a smile. Molly leaned over and pulled a red, spiral bound notebook out of her backpack. "Let me just copy the spells down. I'm not lugging all those books with me." She took out a special fountain pen she used only for writing spells and began to copy them down in the notebook in bright green ink. When she was finished she slipped the book back in her backpack, stood up, and shouldered it. "Well, we better get going then, before too many people wake up." Robynne stood up next and the three moved to the door. "Good luck," Shannon called after them. When they were gone she turned to the phone sitting on the table. She punched in the familiar number and waited for someone to pick up. "Hi," she said after two rings. "Yeah, I know it's not even six yet, Mama, but I have to tell you about this dream I had last night..." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 6:45 a.m. Mulder parked the rental car in the parking lot for Sliver Lake park and the crossed the street to the entrance on the base of the hill. As Mulder unlocked the padlock on the small gate in the stone wall Scully looked up through the forest. The sky which should have been growing lighter was beginning to brew with storm clouds. She could see the faint outline of the back of the school through the leaves still not changed from their summer green. Suddenly the sound of the padlock shattered the early morning stillness. Mulder pulled it open and dusted his hands off on his jeans. "After you," he said with a smile. Scully walked through and Mulder followed, shutting the gate behind them. They began to hike up the small paved path leading up the hill. Scully pulled her jacket tighter around her in the cold, early morning air. "Did we really have to come out here this early?" she asked, trying to keep the whine out of her voice. She felt Mulder's comforting hand on her back. "Yeah, I think we have to be out here." He looked down at her, "I know it's early and it's cold, but it'll be over soon, and then we can go home," he said, his voice distant. She looked up at the sudden hollowness of his voice. She turned around and stopped in front of him. "Are you okay?" she asked. He pulled his steps up short. "Yeah, I'm okay," He wrinkled his brow in puzzlement. "Why?" She shook her head. "You just seemed really distant again." She rubbed a hand over her forehead. "I'm sorry. I'm...I'm just tired. I need a good night's sleep," she sighed, dismissing her actions. She wasn't really tired, but that was the only was she could explain the growing sense of apprehension in her stomach. Mulder wrapped a sweater-clad arm around her and they began walking up the path once more. "You were right before. I think we both really need a vacation." She let out a low laugh and he smiled at her. "So where's the first site?" he asked. Scully pulled a hand drawn map made by one of the officers. "I think--" she broke off abruptly. "Look at that," she said, pointing a hand into the trees. Mulder looked over her head and looked into the forest. He didn't see anything out of place, but then his eyes lit on a bright flash of red that wasn't supposed to be there. Then he saw the shape of three people. Two of them being Molly Addison and Alec Ramsay. "Well, well, well, what have we here? Think we ought to go find out what they're doing here?" he asked, removing his arm from her shoulders, becoming consummate professionals once more. They began to move off the path and into the trees. The three kids hadn't heard them coming, they were still talking amongst themselves when Mulder and Scully were only about five feet away from them. "Fancy seeing you here," Mulder said calmly. The three jumped around, Molly yelping in surprise. "Wha-what are you doing here?" Robynne managed to stutter out. "The same could be asked of you," Scully said, crossing her arms over her chest. Molly looked at Alec. They hadn't expected any intrusions or unexpected visitors so they didn't have any prepared cover story. Alec's look told her that she should take the lead. "Uh...I had lost a book out here when I found Jenna so we were just out here looking for it." She smiled her most winsome smile. Mulder glanced down at his watch. "At five to seven on a Saturday morning?" Robynne broke in with the next lie. They couldn't tell the agents why they were out there, they'd be tossed in the loony bin for sure. "There's a field hockey game later. We thought we'd get an early start." Scully and Mulder looked at each other. Captain Avery had told them that all school activities were canceled over the weekend because of the stakeout. "Nice try," he said and Robynne shrugged. "So what exactly are you doing out here?" The three didn't say a word but looked at the trees, ground, anywhere but at them. Mulder sighed. He looked at Scully and caught the meaning of her glance. "All right you three, let's go." "Go where?" Alec asked, a stubborn look on his face. Scully thought that at that moment he looked too much like Mulder. "Up to the school," Mulder said. "We've got to have a little chat." The boy and the man stood there, both refusing to budge. Molly looked at Robynne, then at Agent Scully, who she found had a look of amusement of her face similar to the one that was on her own. Molly rolled her eyes and Robynne looked skyward and muttered something unintelligible. Something shiny caught Robynne's eyes. Her head turned towards it, but all she saw was more trees. But there was something there. She was positive of it... "Fine," Alec eventually said, clenching his teeth. He turned around and began walking up the hill, Mulder following closely. The three women hurried to catch up with them. Suddenly Robynne's eyes saw the shiny thing again, a few feet ahead of Alec and Mulder. Before she could shout out a warning the shiny thing flashed and they all found themselves being pulled at, as if they were in a giant wind tunnel. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX END PART SEVEN-Preparations for the battle between good and evil Note: that story Scully told about another family member being mistaken for her brother really did happen, except my Dad was in the brother's face. All the guys in my family really do look that alike.