X-File Eve
Part 7
A Parasite Eve/X-File crossover fanfic
By: M.H. Torringjan

	My author's notes are at the end of this chapter so that we can get on 
with it.  Enjoy!

November 25, 2001
Harden Facility, West Wing
Harden, Fl, 5:15 a.m.

	Aya looked at the door that separated her and Azra.  The sturdy steel had 
recently received a shock from Azra passing through it.  She could feel the 
residue of Azra's power around the edges where he had passed.  A nervous feeling 
rested in the pit of her stomach as she held out her hand to push the door open 
slowly.  What if she couldn't do anything for Azra?  He would do no one any good 
as a puddle of goo, especially not her.
	Regardless, a voice in the back of her head said, you've got to do 
something about him.  He can't get loose and turn the world into ANMC's.  The 
world will go on if you don't save him.
	"No!  This has to work!  If it doesn't, then I'll back off and figure 
something else out!" she said to no one except herself.  She turned the lock and 
pushed the hatch open that lead to the central shaft.  A wave of mitochondrial 
energy washed across her as she stepped across the threshold.
	"So, you finally made it," the deep voice of the new Azra said from his 
waiting place in the center of the shaft.  He stood on top of the cocoon-like 
structure that Aya remembered seeing in Dry Field; the one that held the virus-
spreading ANMC.
	"Of course, I came," Aya said.  "You think I'm going to let you get away 
with this without a fight?"
	"So, you've come to kill me, then?" Azra said.  "Well, good luck.  I'm not 
the little child you fought anymore.  We, the mitochondria, have ascended to the 
next level of evolution!  That poor child was too weak, so he couldn't keep us 
from achieving our goal.  He welcomed us at first, when he didn't know what we 
would do to him."
	"Azra, I'll bring you back to your senses!" Aya exclaimed.
	"I'm actually closer to Eve than Azra at this point.  However, that name 
will suffice.  My siblings have underestimated your power, Aya Brea," Azra said.  
"I will not do the same."
	"They didn't underestimate me.  You just overestimate them," Aya replied.  
She took out her M4A1 and aimed it at Azra.
	"Even if you do stop me, you won't be able to stop this vessel from 
spreading the seed across the coast.  It's been programmed to go in a couple of 
minutes," Azra said.
	"It can't go anywhere without a pilot," Aya said.
	"Wrong again, Agent.  The scientists were so helpful as to add an 
automatic pilot to this one, just in case the pilot was injured.  It just won't 
be quite as accurate without the pilot," Azra said.
	"Then, I'll stop both of you with plenty of time," Aya said.  She turned 
to run for the control room, only to be stopped by Azra's hand slamming into the 
wall and blocking her path.
	"No, you take me on first," Azra said.  The rest of him rushed forward to 
where his hand rested in the wall, which he pulled out quickly.  He turned to 
face Aya, grinning.  He was fully twice her height now, his green hair long 
enough to reach his waist.
	"All right," Aya said.  She trained her sights on him again and fired a 
trio of shots.  Azra brought up his hand and the bullets volleyed back towards 
her.  She jumped quickly out of the way of the deflected shots and tried a burst 
of pyrokinesis.  Azra stood in his place and waited as the bursts of fire 
slammed into him full force.  He flinched only slightly at the third ball 
rushing towards him.
	"Well, that was fun," he said, grinning.  "It almost tickled.  Now, it's 
my turn."  He jumped into the air and floated the distance between them in a 
moment.  He threw a punch at Aya with his full force.  Aya was barely able to 
dodge the punch, which slammed into the ground where her feet had been.  When 
Azra pulled his fist back, a deep indentation remained in the metal scaffolding 
where she had been standing.  Aya aimed once more at point blank and fired into 
Azra's arm.  The bullets weren't blocked this time and went blasting through the 
muscle of Azra's arm, out the other side, and finally coming to rest in the 
cocoon of the virus pod.  Azra screamed in pain as the hit registered.  He 
brought his other fist around and slammed it into Aya's gut.  She flew through 
the air a couple of feet, landing on her back near the control room.  She slowly 
stood up, gasping for the wind that he had knocked out of her.  She reached in 
her jacket and fingered the M93R.  It wasn't quite time for her to use it.
	"Azra, you have to control the mitochondria!" Aya exclaimed.  "Don't lose 
yourself to those things!"
	"You're too late, Brea.  The child is gone," Azra replied.
	"I saved Eve, and I'll save him!  I just have to beat you!" Aya exclaimed, 
rushing at Azra with her weapon ready.  She tried firing another set of shots at 
Azra, which he deflected again.  One of the three bullets traveled back at an 
angle to send it through Aya's arm.  Aya grunted in pain as the bullet embedded 
itself in her flesh.  She stopped just in front of Azra and grasped her arm.  
Instinctively, she called on her mitochondria to heal the wound and expel the 
bullet.  The metallic clink was drowned out by Azra's laugh.
	"You're powerless!  I already told you that once," Azra taunted.
	"I'm more resourceful than you think," Aya said.  She let loose with a 
blast of Apobiosis, adding more energy than usual.  Azra felt it coming and 
braced himself for the blow.  The energy hit him and drove him back a couple of 
feet before he dug his feet in to stop himself.
	"Yes, that was a good shot," Azra said.  "Try this, though."  Aya felt her 
skin begin to burn as Azra used his fire powers.  She tried countering with a 
life drain to disperse the power.  It didn't work, though, and the full effect 
of the combustion reached Aya.  She felt her skin heat to what felt like the 
point of charring and struggled to keep from screaming.  It was becoming 
difficult for her to concentrate on the battle with the beating she was 
receiving.
	The heat soon passed as Azra let his powers stop working for a moment.  
"Aya, free your mitochondria!  They are who you really are!  This false face 
that you're displaying is so unbecoming of your true nature!" Azra exclaimed.  
Aya's eyes lit up at the suggestion.  Nothing else had worked so far, so why not 
try it?  Liberating them certainly wouldn't hurt her cause any.
	"All right, Azra, I'll do just that," Aya said, sending the signal to her 
body to let the mitochondria have free reign.  "I'll teach you to control 
yourself."  A flash of light shone from her body as her energy spiked and she 
began her transformation.  Flames enveloped her body, threatening to burn it to 
a crisp.  Wings sprouted from her back, twice as long as her arms.  Azra stood 
in awe as Aya finished her transformation and stood before him, still half his 
height.
	"It's you!" he exclaimed, shocked.  "You're the real Eve!"
	"Yes, I am Eve.  I am Aya, as well," the shining form said.  "And you are 
a maladapted evolutionary dead-end.  Release the boy and learn the true path of 
mitochondrial evolution."
	"No!  We mitochondria are the true dominant force!  Allying ourselves with 
the nucleus is what has kept us in shackles for the past six and a half million 
years!" Azra exclaimed.
	"Only until they learned to use us properly, as they have in Aya and 
Azra," Aya-Eve said.
	"Why don't we see which of us is better adapted, if you're so sure of 
yourself?!" Azra exclaimed, rushing at Aya-Eve.  He threw a punch at Aya-Eve's 
gut with all of his force.  Before the fist could land, though, Aya-Eve moved in 
a blur out of the way of the fist and in to land a punch of her own in Azra's 
gut.  The air rushed out of Azra's lungs as Aya-Eve's fist drove deeper into his 
stomach.  Aya-Eve drew back her fist and landed a left hook to Azra's face, 
spinning his head fast enough to give him whiplash.  A right hook followed close 
behind that, turning his head at a similar velocity in the opposite direction.  
Azra turned his head back quickly, only to receive a crushing uppercut beneath 
the chin that threw him to his back.  She flew up into the air to get some 
height and added momentum, and flew straight down at Azra, intent on driving her 
fist into his gut once more.  All Azra could do was watch as she flew straight 
into his body and cry out as the pain registered in his brain.
	"Aya doesn't want me to kill you, so I'll leave it at that," Aya-Eve said, 
standing up and walking to the other side of the cat-walk.  The light slowly 
faded as Aya's features returned to their original form.  Aya sunk to the 
ground, breathing hard.  All of her energy was gone from the effort of reigning 
in her mitochondria.  She turned around at the prone form of Azra and watched as 
he stood up, breathing equally hard.
	"Ouch," Azra commented, deadpan.  "Dammit, I'm not going to lose to you!"  
His second wind came around, and he stretched his arms at Aya, slamming her into 
the wall and pinning her by the shoulders.  He moved his body forward slowly, 
intent on finishing her off before she finished him.  "You've been more trouble 
than I should have had with you," he commented.  "Now, see what you get for 
being difficult!"  He released one of her shoulders and drew his hand back to 
drive his claws into her heart.
	There was nothing left for her to do except Plan B.  Aya reached into her 
jacket and pulled out the M93R.  She brought it to rest beside Azra's chest, her 
finger on the trigger.  "I hope this works," she said.
	The shots echoed through the chamber and Azra stopped stiff.  He looked 
down at the wounds in his chest, confused.
	"What was-?  What did you do to me?!"  he exclaimed.  He drew released Aya 
to grasp the wounds in his chest.  A pained scream escaped his lips as he 
staggered backwards and fell to his knees.  Aya felt waves of energy escaping 
his body and filling the room.  She gasped as Azra began falling to pieces 
before her eyes.  The longer hair and his claws fell off of his hands, and his 
wings began to melt.
	"No!" Aya exclaimed.  Then, Azra's body began to shrink and his skin took 
on a normal tint.  "Wait, it's working!"  The wounds from the battle on Azra's 
body healed, the bullet holes closing and the forming bruises fading from his 
skin.  Aya smiled as Azra's face returned to its normal shape, that of a tired 
boy.  She rushed to Azra, careful not to slip on the melted wings and turned him 
face-up.  He was still breathing, and his pulse seemed normal.  "Azra, wake up!"
	There was no response from the boy, though.  He was probably exhausted 
from the battle.  The peace was broken, though, when another wave of energy 
erupted from the center of the room.  The virus pod was waking up!  Aya leaned 
Azra against the wall and ran to the control room, hoping to do something.  She 
sat down at the main computer terminal and began typing frantically at the 
keyboard.  The system was password-locked, and she didn't know what it was.  She 
tried the two passwords that she knew, without success.  Outside, the cocoon 
began to crack and the energy around her intensified.  She slammed her fist on 
the desk angrily.
	This isn't the safest place to be when that thing hatches, Aya thought to 
herself.  Especially with both me and Azra as weak as we are.  But I have to do 
something!
	The ceiling above the cocoon slid open slowly as the first pieces of dying 
biological material dropped to the bottom of the chasm.  Aya ran out of the 
control room and aimed the M93R at the creature, hoping that her special bullets 
could do something.  She emptied her clip and grabbed Azra to make a run for it.

	Mulder, Scully, and Doggett stood in the center of the plateau, watching 
the army of creatures that surrounded them.  None of the NMC's or ANMC's had 
moved an inch since gathering on the hilltop.
	"What're they waiting for?" Doggett asked.
	"I don't know, maybe they're saying grace before chow," Mulder suggested.
	A slight tremor ran through the ground beneath the agents.  "That doesn't 
sound good," Doggett said.
	"I don't think the monsters are worried about us," Scully commented.  
"Does it feel hot up here to anyone else?"
	"Yeah, it is burning a bit," Doggett said.
	"Really?  I'm fine," Mulder said.
	"But that's coming from our mitochondria!  How can it not affect you?" 
Scully exclaimed.  They didn't have time to think about it, though, as the 
ground beneath them began sliding open, a hole opening in the center of the 
plateau.  The NMC's and ANMC's around them began calling into the night, as 
though they knew something that the three agents didn't.
	"What's that?" Doggett exclaimed.
	"It looks like it's a way back into the base!" Mulder said.  The trio ran 
to the edge and looked down.  At the bottom of the opening hole, they saw the 
mass of flesh that was the virus pod preparing to take off on its own, unmanned.  
The ground opened up wide enough for the pod to escape on its own and 
jolted to a stop.
	"It's coming!" Doggett exclaimed.  The three of them jumped out of the way 
quickly to avoid the quickly rising pod.  A moment later, it shot into the sky 
past Mulder, who was nervously glancing back and forth between the pod and the 
on-looking mob of NMC's and ANMC's.  A flash of light beside him drew his 
attention from both of the other things as Scully and Doggett burst into flames, 
their screams drowned out by the commotion of the beast passing them.  Mulder 
rushed to help them as the pod rose higher into the sky.  He took off his jacket 
and tried patting out the mysterious flames, all the while watching the pod as 
it hovered overhead, ready to begin moving.
	It turned to the north and floated noiselessly in that direction.  The 
eyes of every NMC on the plateau followed it as it moved through the sky like a 
helicopter without props.  When it got over the swamp, though, an explosion 
rocked it as a pair of missiles slammed into its side.  Mulder looked to the 
south and saw a set of planes in formation flying towards them.  Another set of 
missiles impacted the pod before it could move much of anywhere else, and it 
began to lose altitude.
	The planes flew past the plateau, closer in to the pod and burst suddenly 
into flames.  A second formation was close behind it and began firing on the pod 
where the first planes had left off.  The flames on Scully and Doggett began to 
die down, and Mulder stopped patting so vigorously.  From the direction that the 
planes had arrived, a formation of four military choppers flew in and came to a 
stop over the plateau, searchlights blinking on to illuminate the field.  The 
sound of machine guns rang out over the cries of the NMC's as the choppers 
opened fire on the NMC's.
	Mulder covered his ears to try and drown out the deafening din around 
them.  He watched as the NMC's around him fell to the ground and began melting.  
They watched the helicopters and tried moving to avoid the attack that had come 
upon them so suddenly.  The ground began to shudder again as the hole in the 
center closed.  When a large enough area opened up, one of the choppers landed 
and marines began jumping out to join the attack.  The remaining NMC's 
counterattacked them, ignoring Mulder, Scully, and Doggett for the moment.  The 
choppers took turns landing to let their loads off to join the fray.
	When the last one had emptied its hold, a corps leader approached the 
three agents and exclaimed, "Get on the chopper, now!  We'll get you medical 
help back at base!"
	"We're waiting for someone else!  Agent Aya Brea!" Mulder exclaimed back 
at him.
	"We can't wait for her right now!  When we find her, we'll bring her to 
meet you!" the soldier replied.  "Now, get on!"
	"All right!" Mulder exclaimed back, grabbing Scully and carrying her to 
the chopper.  A pair of spare hands took Doggett to the chopper, and the two 
were placed on stretchers.  When everyone was secured for flight, the chopper 
took off and headed into the night towards the south and the security of the 
base.

	Aya ran down the empty corridors of the facility, carrying Azra in her 
arms.  The resonance of the pod's energy haunted her senses as she made her way 
towards the exit.  Tears began to form in her eyes as she thought of the 
devastation that the escaping enemy would cause.  Azra had been right; she was 
powerless to save them.  She jumped through the port-hole into the cave outside 
and heard the sounds of a massive battle occurring overhead.  Explosions and 
gunfire penetrated the air as she ran to the entrance of the cave and looked 
around to see what was going on.  The tree-line was too thick for her to see 
anything except the sole chopper flying away to the south.
	Hope flared up in her as she thought to herself, The Cavalry has arrived.  
Remembering Rupert's suggestion, she made for the woods, hoping to make it to 
Harden without being noticed.  The shouting and gunfire from the top of the 
plateau gradually died away as Aya trudged her way through the swamp with the 
weight of Azra slowing her only slightly.  When the battle sounded like it was a 
safe distance away, she stopped to check her GPS for the path back to Harden.  
When she was satisfied that she had established the quickest route, she turned 
the machine off and placed it back in her pocket.  Picking Azra back up, she 
began the long hike back to town.
	The swamp was dead quiet after the battle had completely faded away, the 
silence only broken by the squelching of mud underneath Aya's shoes.  When Aya 
tried jumping a log, she tripped and fell to her knees, muddy water splashing 
all over her clothes and Azra.  A soft groan emerged from the boy at the shock.  
His eyes opened long enough for him to look up and see Aya's face as she looked 
down on him hopefully.  He wasn't over the strain, though, as he fainted again 
in her arms.
	"Sorry," she said, as though he could hear her.  She pulled him closer to 
her body and went on through the swamp for the rest of the path.  When she 
emerged from the swamp, she ran towards the hotel to her waiting car.  The 
danger wasn't far behind them, yet, though.  She'd have to find somewhere to 
wait out the military if she was going to get out of there with Azra.  The 
soldiers would surely check everywhere in a five mile radius if they were trying 
to find her, so she'd need a place with someone she could trust.  In that area, 
though, it would be difficult to find anyone.  She'd think while she drove.
	Aya grinned when the car started easily at the first turn of the key.  She 
had fared much better on this mission than she had in Dry Field.  So far.  She 
pulled out of the parking space and drove into town, looking for a place to 
stay.  The only place where people knew who she was and what she was doing was 
the police station, so she decided to take a gambit with them.
	Her car pulled in to the driveway of the police station as the first rays 
of sunlight began to trickle over the horizon.  She picked Azra up from the back 
seat and walked inside.  Chief Drowser sat at the desk near the front door, dark 
bags decorating the bottoms of his eyelids.
	"Agent Brea!  It's good to see you safe!" he greeted as she entered.  
"What happened in the swamp?  Because the monsters here just up and left about 
an hour ago."
	"Everything's taken care of," Aya said.  "I don't think you'll have any 
more problems with those creatures anymore."
	"So, you took care of it, did you?  What about those other Agents with 
you?"
	"I don't know where they got to.  We separated after a while," Aya 
replied.
	"And who's that?" Drowser asked, indicating Azra.
	"Just a little boy I had to save," Aya replied.  "Look, I need to ask you 
for something.  The military is swarming the swamp, and they may come here 
looking for me.  I'm not sure of their objectives, so I don't want them to take 
me.  Can you please tell them that I am not here?"
	"Well, I don't know," Drowser replied.  "They are the military, after all.  
Can't turn down the military."
	"Yeah, but they might be controlled by the people who set those monsters 
loose on the city, so they won't be too fond of me right now.  Just please keep 
them away from me for a day or two so that I can let this boy recover.  Then, 
both of us will go to safety elsewhere," Aya said.
	"If they set those critters on us, I'll do what I can to help you!" 
Drowser said, suddenly sure of himself.
	"Thank you," Aya said.  That was easier than it should have been, she 
thought to herself suspiciously.  As she carried Azra into the back room, she 
watched Drowser go about his business.  She didn't know why she didn't trust 
him.  It was probably normal paranoia from the small number of people she could 
trust.  In all, she'd be glad to get back to LA with Eve, Kyle, and, hopefully, 
Azra.  She laid the sleeping boy down on the bed to get some real rest.
	They had both had rough nights.  Aya knew about her own, and Azra at least 
looked the part.  She smoothed some locks of golden hair from his face so that 
she could clearly look at the boy for whom she had fought so hard over the past 
night.  At the slight disturbance, his eyes opened once more.  His eyes widened 
in fear of the woman who, only hours before, had been shooting at him.
	"Azra, you're all right!" Aya whispered comfortingly.  "Don't be afraid of 
me, please.  I'm not going to hurt you."
	"But-" he began, his voice rasping slightly.  He coughed to clear his 
throat before trying again.  "But what about my powers?  I thought you wanted to 
kill me because of my powers."
	"Why would I kill someone who's just like me?  You said it yourself, 
you're practically my son," Aya said.  A moment of silence fell over the pair.  
Aya wanted to give Azra a chance to talk.  She was clear on the situation, and 
she wanted him to be able to figure it out himself.
	"I can't control my powers," Azra said.  "You saw what happened to me."
	"You're young.  You haven't developed your strength to the point of 
controlling them yet," Aya said.
	"I was scared, Aya.  I could see everything that was going on, but I 
couldn't do anything about it," Azra said.
	"That's what happens in the early stages of the mutation.  If I had left 
you that way for much longer, you wouldn't have been able to sense anything," 
Aya said.  She looked down at his arm.  It had gotten cut while she was carrying 
him through the swamp, but she hadn't had a chance to do anything about it.  
"Can you heal your arm?  That's a pretty bad cut."
	"NO!!!" Azra screamed.
	"What?  Azra, I know you can heal yourself," Aya said.
	"I'll turn into a monster again!" Azra exclaimed.
	"You don't have to be afraid," Aya said.  "A little bit of power at this 
age won't-"
	"I don't want to become a monster!" Azra exclaimed back at her.  She 
looked into his eyes, those orbs filled with a genuine fear of the unknown.  Did 
he really think that doing anything with his powers would make him mutate?
	"So, what ever happened to ruling the world?" Aya asked.
	"It's no good if I can't be here to enjoy it," Azra said.  Aya was kind of 
glad that he could only see the two extreme scenarios.  She couldn't take much 
more fighting that night.  In the end, he really was just a child.
	"Are you afraid of me, Azra?" Aya asked.
	"I don't know," Azra replied.  "What are you going to do to me?"
	"You can't stay here," Aya said.  "The army would take you back and make 
you use your powers again."  Azra cringed slightly at the suggestion.  "I 
wouldn't feel right just leaving you with someone who doesn't understand you."  
Azra's attention turned back to her with a cautious regard.  "I would like you 
to come with me.  I feel responsible for your existence, to a certain extent.  
If you can trust me, I can help you.  You can learn to live a normal life.  I 
can teach you to live like a normal human being.  You won't ever need to worry 
about turning into a monster again.  We are kindred spirits in a dangerous 
world.  Let's take the opportunity to stick together."
	Azra looked at the ceiling for a moment, considering the suggestion.  "I 
felt so helpless as the monster, so alone.  I don't want to be alone."  Aya 
smiled at him and leaned forward to wrap her arms around him as well as she 
could.  He continued staring at the ceiling, evaluating the foreign sensation 
that he felt in Aya's embrace.  This would take some getting used to.
	"Azra, I want you to get some more sleep, all right?  It's been a long 
night, and a long couple of weeks for you.  It's not quite over yet, though," 
Aya said.  "I'll keep watch until we leave, all right?"
	"Okay," Azra said as he turned over to face the wall and closed his eyes.  
Aya pulled the sheet on the cot over his body and turned back to watch the front 
door.  The instant that a soldier walked through the door, she would be ready to 
go with Azra.

November 25, 2001
Fort Benning, Ga.
3:04 p.m.

	Mulder leaned back against the cold brick wall of the headquarters of the 
base where they were being held.  According to the only higher-up they had 
talked to, they'd be released once the investigation of the base was finished.  
Mulder expected that they were cleaning it up before blowing the place to bits, 
as per the normal cover-up protocol.  Right now, they were under quarantine 
because of potential exposure to pathogens.  He looked through the clear plastic 
of the other walls at the others.  Doggett was shifting uneasily around his 
cell.
	"What's wrong, Doggett?  First time in quarantine?" Mulder said.
	"I came from homicide, Mulder.  The only time I've been this close to 
disease was on that oil rig with you," Doggett replied.
	"Get used to it.  It'll happen a lot in this department," Mulder said.
	"How can you be so calm?  Scully and I may be changing into some semi-
human killing machines!" Doggett said.
	"Can you levitate things at will?" Mulder asked.
	"What?!" Doggett exclaimed.
	"Are things spontaneously combusting in your general vicinity?" Mulder 
asked.
	"Not that I've noticed," Doggett admitted.
	"Then, nothing's happening to you," Mulder stated.  Scully was still 
resting on her bed in the next cell over.
	"And what about you?" Doggett said.  "You said that when Scully and I 
fainted, you weren't effected at all.  Why not?"
	"I couldn't say," Mulder said.  "I'm not one of them, if that's what 
you're thinking."
	"But the only one who couldn't have been hit by that attack would have to 
have those weird mitochondria," Doggett said.
	"I was there for less time than you were.  How could I be effected if you 
weren't?"
	"Maybe sometime before that," Doggett suggested.  The airlock to the 
outside area opened and a technician walked in without a quarantine suit.  They 
had been introduced briefly to him earlier as Dr. Snedden.
	"Well, gentlemen, I have personally checked yours and Agent Scully's blood 
samples, and it appears that all three of you are free of mutated mitochondria," 
the technician said.
	"You know about the mitochondria?!" Doggett exclaimed.
	"Publicly, I don't know anything, but yes, I have knowledge of the little 
buggers," Snedden said.  "I used to work on one of the projects until I was 
relocated here because I was a potential security hazard."
	"Ah, right," Mulder said.
	"I'd advise both of you and your friend over there to forget what you've 
seen here.  If the government knew what you know, they'd come after you without 
a moment's notice," Snedden said.  "Now, Agent Mulder, I'm very interested as to 
why you weren't effected by the pod's energy as Agents Doggett and Scully were.  
Can you think of any reason?"
	"None that I know of," Mulder replied.
	"Have you had any sort of disease in the past that might have made you 
immune to the mitochondria?" Snedden asked.
	Mulder thought to himself for a minute.  There were a couple of different 
times that he could remember.  Not that he was going to tell this person.  "No, 
I can't think of anything," Mulder said.
	"I'd be interested to keep you here for some studies on you to see if we 
can't figure out why this happened," Snedden said.
	"No, that's all right.  I've got to get back to my apartment before 
someone picks my lock," Mulder said.  He was already wrapped up in one too many 
government conspiracies to be giving out his biological material to just anyone.
	"But we might find some way to beat this, Mr. Mulder!  You're putting the 
world at risk by not letting us test on you!" Snedden exclaimed.
	"I'm just a regular Joe who's been around a bit," Mulder replied.  "You 
probably won't find anything interesting in me at all."
	"Well, without your permission, I can't really keep you here," Snedden 
said.  "Or, at least, I won't.  I guess you're lucky I came across you in that 
respect.  Some of my colleagues wouldn't be so polite"  He turned away from 
them, his face downcast.  "We have yet to find Agent Brea in the facility.  Do 
you know where she could be?"
	"She was supposed to meet us outside once she finished with her own 
objectives," Doggett replied.  "We don't know where she could be."
	"It's very important that we find her, since she can tell us the most 
about what went on here," Snedden said.  "The investigation of the facility 
should be finished in the next couple of days.  You'll be free to go then.  For 
now, you can come out of quarantine.  Before you leave, you'll be questioned 
about the events of the past few days.  Please cooperate with them."
	"Yeah, whatever," Mulder replied.  Snedden shot a look at him before 
unlocking the doors walking out.
	"Mulder, you sounded like you were holding something back from him," 
Doggett said.
	"I can't say for sure," Mulder said, close to whispering.  "It could have 
been a number of things.  It might have been on a trip to Antarctica.  It might 
have been in Tunguska.  They tested on me to try and find a cure for the black 
cancer.  Perhaps that gave me an immunity to other things, as well.  It might 
even be a side effect of an encounter with a man-eating mushroom in North 
Carolina a couple of years ago."
	"Well, you were telling him the truth about one thing.  You've been 
around," Doggett said.
	"I really doubt that last one, though," Mulder pointed out.
	"Try waking up Scully," Doggett said.  Mulder went to Scully's cell and 
shook her shoulder to wake her up.  Her eyes cracked open and she turned over to 
look at him.
	"Feeling any better, Scully?" Mulder asked.
	"I'm still a bit burned out," Scully replied.
	"They're letting us out of here for now," Mulder replied.
	"We can go home?" Scully asked.
	"No, we're stuck on the base for the next couple of days," Mulder said.  
"Skinner's going to start wondering about his star agents, for sure."
	"And what about William?  The Gunmen won't be able to take care of him for 
that long!" Scully said.
	"They'll be fine," Mulder said.  "Just relax for now.  You're still 
injured.  We can give them a call a little later today if you feel better, see 
how long ago he died of starvation."
	"Don't joke about that, Mulder," Scully groaned.
	"Trust me, at the very least, he learned to talk out of desperation," Mulder said.

November 25, 2001
Harden Police Station
Harden, FL, 3:26 p.m.

	Aya sat on the floor of the makeshift bedroom with her back against the 
bed where Azra was still sleeping.  No one had entered the police station the 
whole time, other than officers returning from patrols.  She hadn't slept for 
three days, and hadn't eaten since she had left LA.  Her body was running on 
fumes; usually not a good idea for during a mission like this.  She felt her 
eyes beginning to droop slowly, no matter how much she had to stay awake.
	Walking around a bit'll wake me up, she thought to herself.  She stood up 
and started to pace around the cell, occasionally jogging in place.  The 
activity didn't help her eyelids to keep from drooping very much.  She was 
actually beginning to feel dizzy from exhaustion.  Her body began to sway, like 
a dance to a lullaby that couldn't be heard.  She sat back down to the ground 
where she had been moments before-hand.
	As her back came to rest against the frame of the cot, she found herself 
in a semi-comfortable position.  Apparently, it was comfortable enough for her 
to not even notice her eyelids closing as she drifted away to the depths of 
sleep.
	Azra woke up a little while later at the sound of someone in the main 
office talking.  He sat up on the bed and looked over at Aya, still soundly 
dozing in her place.  It wasn't necessary to disturb her unless someone tried 
coming into the room, he decided.  After the hell that he had put her through, 
she needed some rest.
	The conversation in the main office drew his attention, since he had 
nothing else to do.  The deep voice of some man with a southern accent seemed to 
be discussing something with a man with a higher, less-accented voice.
	"I'm looking for an Agent Aya Brea with the FBI," the higher voice said.
	"Really?  You his husband or something?" asked the deeper voice.
	"No, nothing like that," replied the first voice.
	"Oh, sorry.  I just assumed, since you had that little girl with you and 
all."
	"That's all right.  Have you seen her recently?"
	"You're not with the military, either, then?"
	"I'm not 'with' anybody.  I'm just a concerned friend looking for her."
	"Okay, then, she's right back in here," the deeper voice said.  Azra heard 
footsteps moving toward the room and began to get nervous.
	He shook Aya's shoulder and tried waking her up, not worrying about being 
gentle.  Her eyes shot open and she sat forward, her guard immediately up.
	"Aya, people are coming," Azra said.
	"Damn it!  I must have fallen asleep!" she exclaimed.  Her gaze fell on 
the door as the footsteps outside came to a halt just outside the door.  The 
doorknob turned and the door came open to reveal Kyle Madigan standing there 
beside Chief Drowser and Eve slightly behind them.  When Eve laid eyes on Aya, 
she ran through the door and threw her arms around Aya.
	"Hi, Aya!" she exclaimed cheerily.
	"Kyle?!  Eve?!" Aya exclaimed on seeing them.  "What are you two doing 
here?!"
	"We're your back-up from the office," Kyle replied, grinning.  "Just in 
case the military wasn't the real thing."
	"But how did you find out where I was?" Aya asked, confused.
	"I happened to drop by MIST around the midnight to see how things were 
going out here, and Rupert filled me in on the whole case," Kyle replied.  "He 
told me that you had disabled the security, so we hopped in the car and headed 
out here."
	"But how did you get through the military?  They've got to have this whole 
place in a lock-down!" Aya said.
	"I think they stuck to the swamp.  There are detours around the swamp-
area, but the other in-roads are open," Kyle explained.  "We ran into a couple 
of road-blocks trying to get in, but none of them gave us any grief."
	"Well, why'd you bring her out here?  It's dangerous for her to be here!" 
Aya exclaimed, indicating Eve.
	"We thought you'd want to see her by now," Kyle replied.
	"It is great to see her," Aya said, smiling.  "That's not the issue, 
though.  The point is, these military people are probably looking for Azra, and 
they may be looking for Eve, too."
	"Azra?" Kyle said.
	"Oh, right," Aya said, turning around to Azra, who had been looking on in 
confusion for the rest of the argument.  "Azra, this is a friend of mine, Kyle 
Madigan, and Eve.  She lives with me."  She turned to Eve and said, "Eve, this 
is going to sound kind of strange.  This is your brother.  His name is Azra.  
He's hopefully going to come and live with us."
	"Nice to meet you!" Eve greeted, extending her hand for Azra to shake.  He 
stared at it for a moment before taking it.
	"He was the one behind the shelter here, just like Eve was," Aya said to 
Kyle.
	"So, you're taking him home, too?" Kyle asked.
	"I've talked to Rupert about it, and he said he'd try his best," Aya said.
	"Speaking of the big man, he wanted you to call him to let him know when 
this was over," Kyle said.  "That was a while ago, but I'm guessing that the 
order still stands."
	"I guess so," Aya said.  She walked into the main office and picked up the 
phone.  "You don't mind, do you, Chief Drowser?"
	"Go right on ahead!" Drowser replied.  The phone rang a couple of times 
before someone picked up.
	"Aya?" Rupert's voice exclaimed from the other end.
	"Yeah, Rupert, it's me," Aya replied.  "What possessed you to send Kyle 
and Eve out here?"
	"In a minute.  First, how did the battle go?" Rupert asked.
	"You can tell Maeda his plan worked.  I've got Azra safely here at the 
Sheriff's office in Harden," Aya said.  "The marines got there just in time to 
save my butt and knock the virus pod out of the sky."
	"And those other agents out there?" Rupert asked.
	"I haven't seen or heard about them yet," Aya said.  "I told them to wait 
outside for me, but I'm guessing they were picked up by the military."
	"We'll check up on that later on.  If the marines have them, they're 
probably being treated as well as you were," Rupert said.
	"Azra's feeling all right by now, and apparently, he isn't against the 
idea of staying with me," Aya said in a suggestive tone.
	"I know, I know, I'm working on it," Rupert said.  "I haven't been able to 
talk to my connections yet, so just give me a while."
	"I've also got one last thing to report," Aya said.  "Scully and Doggett 
found a list of what they think are other facilities and suppliers while they 
were snooping around the lower levels.  I'll bring that home for us to look 
into."
	"Great!  We can see about finding the root of this problem and stop it 
before it starts!" Rupert said.  There was a pause in the conversation that was 
filled with the sound of papers shuffling on Rupert's end.  He must have been 
reviewing his notes from the mission.  "Wow, Aya!  This is an even better job 
than I had expected of you!"
	"Well, thanks, Rupert.  Now don't try changing the subject again," Aya 
said.  "Why did you send Kyle and Eve?"
	"Actually, I was getting to that," Rupert said.  "I told you last time 
that I was pulling some strings for you?  Well, we don't have anything major on 
our plates right now.  It sounds to me like you've had a rough mission down 
there."
	"Oh, nothing that a couple of square meals and a good night's sleep won't 
fix," Aya said nonchalantly.  Well, maybe a couple of nights' sleep.
	"Nice to hear that.  Now, since nothing's going on down here, I'm giving 
you the week off," Rupert said.  "And here's where the strings and Kyle and Eve 
come in.  How'd you like to go to a resort for your vacation?  You did pack your 
Mickey ears, right?"
	"Rupert, you've been talking to Pierce, haven't you?" Aya said, grinning.
	"He's the one who suggested the idea.  You can thank him when you get 
back.  Now, you take Kyle, Eve, and Azra and relax for a while.  I'm afraid 
you'll have to visit the park a couple of times while you're there, contrary to 
your wishes.  The kids've got to have something to do.  If you could just fax 
that list to the office, we'll start looking into those leads and hopefully have 
something by the time you get back," Rupert said.
	"So, I guess there is some rest for the weary?" Aya said.
	"When they're as weary as you sound right now," Rupert replied.
	"Thanks, Rupert," Aya said as she hung up the phone.  She turned around to 
find Kyle, Eve, and Azra standing behind her, waiting for her.  "You took her 
out of school for this?" Aya said to Kyle.
	"She'd never forgive us if we left her behind.  Besides, you haven't seen 
that place Pierce calls home," Kyle replied.
	"What's going on, Aya?" Eve asked.
	"We're going on a trip, Eve," Aya said.
	"Where to?" Eve asked.
	"We're going a little further south to a city called Orlando," Aya said.  
She looked down at Azra.  "We're going to spend a little time away from 
everything so that you can get to know us.  All right?"
	"I guess so," Azra replied.
	Kyle extended his hand to Aya, as though holding a microphone.  "Aya Brea, 
you've just saved the world from certain disaster once again!  What're you going 
to do now?!" he exclaimed, imitating a reporter.
	Aya shook her head, chagrin showing on her face.  "I'm going to Disney 
World."

The End

	Well, I never expected that I'd ever type that punch-line in my life.  
That finishes my first cross-over fic.  I'm overall pretty happy with how this 
fic turned out.  And thanks to everyone who gave feedback on the story at 
various points.  It's nice to know that your fics are being read and 
appreciated.  I may have gone a bit overboard with filling in my own exposition 
on subjects of the game, but I think it all works itself out in the end.  I may 
eventually try my hand at more Parasite Eve fanfics, or perhaps X-Files fanfics.  
For now, I'm going to finish up a couple of other projects I've got sitting 
around on my computer, a Ranma fanfic and a Sailor Moon series/fanfic.  Summer 
classes have been killing me for a bit, so I haven't been able to write as much 
as I would have liked of late.  Maybe when I start the next session, I can get 
more work done.
	Well, that's all for this fic.  Hope everyone who read it enjoyed!  E-mail 
me with any C&C at jmh6187@uncwil.edu.  Good reading to you!

M.H. Torringjan
(c) 2002