The fine print: Disclaimer: The X-Files and all related characters "yada yada yada" are property of Chris Carter, "blah blah blah", Fox, and 1013, And so on and so forth...... Everything else is mine. NIKE X-Files fan fiction by Tiffany Dickinson send comments to edtiff@centuryinter.net Somewhere north of Detroit, MI 1895 exact time: unknown Erica didn't like her new home. The woods weren't exactly her idea of nice surroundings. It was entirely too quiet and too full of animals. Animals that were very dangerous. She had only been gone for a couple of weeks, but she was already missing her home town of New York. At least there they had streets and carriages. Here there was just trees, and you had to actually ride the horse everywhere you went unless you were on foot. Seeing as she was afraid to ride horses, Erica had go everywhere on foot. She felt as if she was a million miles from civilization, even though she was only about 20 miles from Detroit. It didn't matter though, it could very easily have been a million. On this particular day, Erica had decided to try and explore the forest. It's not that she really want to, but it was all she could do to avoid having to help chop firewood with her father. At lest the woods were better than hard labor. As she walked along a crude trail that ran behind her cabin, she noticed a wooden box half buried in the dirt. She was curious as to what was in it, so she started to dig it out with her hands. After about 10 minutes the dirt gave way and she pulled the box out of the ground. On the top was a ornate carving of what looked to be a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of a bird. Around the edges, several small jewels were set in the wood. She opened the box and found a beautiful ruby on a golden chain. She had never seen a stone that large. Not even back in the city. She unhooked the chins clasp and put the necklace on. She wondered who would ever leave something this beautiful, and valuable, out in the middle of the wood. She figured that someone was bound to come back for it so she decided to take it off and put it back where she found it. It wouldn't come off. The clasp was stuck tight. The back pains started. Chapter 2 Washington, D.C. May 22, 1996 11:30 p.m. Mulder stepped out of the small restaurant and took a deep breath. The spring air smelled good for a change. A whole winter of being cooped up inside had almost drove him insane. He had to keep moving, and that was hard to do in below zero temperatures. He wondered how Scully was doing in Georgia. She had gone there to visit and old High School friend who was getting married. He could just picture her in the bright pink bride's maid's dress her friend was using. He couldn't help but laugh when he thought about her wearing all those ruffles. Mulder turned left and headed towards his apartment, which was about 5 blocks away. The fresh air would help clear his mind. He needed a clear mind with the complicated Mafia he had been recently been assigned to. About a block away from his apartment, Mulder heard a noise coming from one of the alleys to his left. He stopped and listed to the sound for a few seconds and decided it was coming from the one directly in front of him. Carefully, he pulled his gun and turned the corner. Nothing. No, there was something there. It was in the back corner on top of a pile of old newspapers. It was too big to be a stray cat or dog which meant that it must be human. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Mulder shouted. In a movement so quick that he hardly saw it, the person had jumped to their feet. Then he realized something. It wasn't human. In the dim light Mulder could make out a female figure with one major variation. She had wings. Extremely large ones that sparkled like fresh snow where the light hit them right. Just then he realized that he had let down his guard and lowered his gun. He drew it up again and yelled, "Don't move!," But the girl was gone. ************************************************************ ************** Mulder walked the block back to his apartment wondering how anyone could sneak out of a dead end ally that fast. Even with wings it would be impossible. Wouldn't it? He went into his apartment and glanced at the clock on the wall. That's when he realized what had happened. It had only taken him about 20 minutes to get from the restaurant back home, and he was sure that he had left the restaurant and 11:30. He had left because they were getting ready to close. The problem was, all his clocks read 2:44. Chapter 3 Washington, D.C. May 31 12:05 a.m. Mulder had hardly slept for the last few weeks. The incident in the ally had started him thinking. Lost time was associated with UFOs and he had defiantly lost some time. Does that mean that he had been abducted? He may have seen Samantha, and couldn't remember. Just the possibility was driving him over the edge. Scully had returned home four days earlier and could tell immediately that something was bothering him. And whatever that something was, it was big. That's all she know though. Mulder wouldn't answer her questions about his condition. All he ever did was mumble about how everything was perfectly O.K. He was lying and she knew it. It wasn't like him to keep things like this from her, and that was driving her over the edge. On this particular night, Mulder was walking down the street looking in all the allies. He didn't honestly expect to find the creature, but he couldn't stop himself from looking. She was out there, somewhere, and he had the feeling that she had the answers to some of his questions. He walked down the ally where he had seen her, and stood on the spot where she had stood, but there was absolutely nothing abnormal about it. Then a voice came from directly behind him. "You're the fed who's been on our tail. We don't take very kindly to people who stick their nose in business that it doesn't belong in." a rough voice whispered in his ear. The mysterious assailant was holding a rather wicked looking jack-knife to Mulder's throat. "This is the second time I've let my guard down in the ally," Mulder thought, "and it may just be my last." Another man dressed in dark clothing stepped in front of him and held a gun to his head. "This is what you get for messing with the Mafia." In one fluent motion, Mulder pushed the knife away from his throat and ducked away from the gun's firing path. The problem was, he hadn't ducked quite quick enough. A bullet from a .45 was let go and found it's mark in Mulder's right shoulder, dangerously close to his lungs. The pain was terrible. Another shot flew and Mulder braced himself for the impact, but it never came. He looked up in amazement to see the winged girl standing a few feet away to his left. She what appeared in the dark to be a sword. She raised it and threw it at the man closest to her and it went clean through his neck. Then, before she had a chance to turn around, a bullet flew from behind her and hit her in the left shoulder. It didn't seem to have any affect on her though. She turned and jumped in the direction of the last assailant. Mulder couldn't see what was happening because they had gone into his blind spot and he found it very painful to turn his head. All he heard was a man scream. He looked up as far as he could. She was walking toward him. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was her arms reaching down to lift him off of the ground. Chapter 3 Washington, D.C. May 31 12:05 a.m. Mulder had hardly slept for the last few weeks. The incident in the ally had started him thinking. Lost time was associated with UFOs and he had defiantly lost some time. Does that mean that he had been abducted? He may have seen Samantha, and couldn't remember. Just the possibility was driving him over the edge. On this particular night, Mulder was walking down the street looking in all the allies. He didn't honestly expect to find the creature, but he couldn't stop himself from looking. She was out there, somewhere, and he had the feeling that she had the answers to some of his questions. He walked down the ally where he had seen her, and stood on the spot where she had stood, but there was absolutely nothing abnormal about it. Then a voice came from directly behind him. "You're the fed who's been on our tail. We don't take very kindly to people who stick their nose in business that it doesn't belong in." a rough voice whispered in his ear. The mysterious assailant was holding a rather wicked looking jack-knife to Mulder's throat. "This is the second time I've let my guard down in the ally," Mulder thought, "and it may just be my last." Another man dressed in dark clothing stepped in front of him and held a gun to his head. "This is what you get for messing with the Mafia." In one fluent motion, Mulder pushed the knife away from his throat and ducked away from the gun's firing path. The problem was, he hadn't ducked quite quick enough. A bullet from a .45 was let go and found it's mark in Mulder's right shoulder, dangerously close to his lungs. The pain was terrible. Another shot flew and Mulder braced himself for the impact, but it never came. He looked up in amazement to see the winged girl standing a few feet away to his left. She what appeared in the dark to be a sword. She raised it and threw it at the man closest to her and it went clean through his neck. Then, before she had a chance to turn around, a bullet flew from behind her and hit her in the left shoulder. It didn't seem to have any affect on her though. She turned and jumped in the direction of the last assailant. Mulder couldn't see what was happening because they had gone into his blind spot and he found it very painful to turn his head. All he heard was a man scream. He looked up as far as he could. She was walking toward him. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was her arms reaching down to lift him off of the ground. Chapter 4 Scully's apartment May 31 11:21 a.m. Scully sat nest to her window on her favorite chair, taking in the breeze that blew through every-so-often. It was so nice to be back home. Georgia had been too hot, even though it was still relatively early in the spring. Here, it was the perfect weather. Sunny and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The kind of day that usually takes a person's troubles away, but for Scully, all she could do was worry. Ever sense she had gotten home four days ago, Mulder had been acting strange. Granted, he always acted a little strange, but now he was acting down right weird. He had been very quiet and refused to answer any of her questions about his condition. All he did was mumble about how everything was fine and that nothing was wrong. He was lying through his teeth, and she knew it. What was truly bothering he was that he obviously didn't trust her enough to tell her what was wrong. After all they had been through together, he still wouldn't open up. That thought hurt her more than any physical wound ever could. She felt like her best friend was slowly slipping through her fingers, and her wouldn't let her catch him. "I wish I was a psychologist so maybe I would know what goes on in that head of his," Scully thought aloud. She knew it mostly had to do with his younger sister getting kidnapped, but there had to be something else. Something deeper, something darker. But she knew that she would probably never know what that something was. She wasn't even sure he knew himself. She decided to try to cheer him up with a phone call. Maybe she could talk him into a better mood. Perhaps they could get together on the day off and have lunch or something. She dialed his home phone number and got his answering machine. She left a message saying that she would call him on his cell-phone, but when she tried the cell-phone, there was no answer. He always had his phone with him. He was almost fanatic about it, and he never turned it off while he wasn't home. Which meant something might be wrong. Scully threw on a light jacket and started out to look for him. Chapter 5 Mulder's apartment June 10 10:19 a.m. Mulder awoke feeling rather groggy. He had just had the worst nightmare. The Mafia group he was investigating had attacked and shot him. He knew he was dead until she showed up........ Then he felt the pain in his shoulder and realized it wasn't a dream. He saw that the wound on his shoulder had been dressed. He tried moving it and besides a dull ache, nothing seem to be in very bad condition. Upon removing the bandage, he found the wound was almost healed. he thought to himself. He had been shot before and he knew that it took hospital attention and a lot of time to heal up. But there he was in his apartment, and his dated watch showed that he had only been out for about 10 days. Then he heard the noise coming from the kitchen. He slowly eased himself out of his bed and threw his shirt. He hadn't even noticed that his shirt had been removed and all the blood washed from his chest and back. He was too intent on the sound. He saw his gun sitting on his night table and grabbed it. He had let his guard down twice already. He wasn't going to let it happen again. The last time almost cost him his life. he thought. He hoped the charm was on his side. He mentally counted to three (old habits die hard) and threw his bedroom door open. There, standing in his small kitchen, surrounded by pot and pans, was the girl. They just stared at each other for a while. He swore he saw fear in her eyes. She just stood totally motionless except for the occasional rustle of her large golden wings. He had never seen anything so beautiful. Even from across the room he could seen the intense blue of her piercing eyes. They seemed to look right through him. She wore a what looked like some sort of suit of armor. It was defiantly reminiscent of the Dark Ages. She looked like she had just stepped out of king Arthur's court. She finally made the first move. "Well, are you going to stand there holding a gun to my head or are you going got help me make breakfast?" ************************************************************ ************ "I don't know why I saved you. It actually goes against all of my natural instincts. Humans are the enemy, but I can tell your different, Fox," she said over a cup of steaming hot coffee. "How do you know my name?" "I know a lot about you. Your name is Fox Mulder. You work for the FBI, mostly the X-Files. Your partner and best friend is Dana Scully. Your sister, Samantha, was abducted from her room when she was 8 and you were 12. Probably and alien job. That's how you became what you've become." Mulder was suddenly on her guard again. "That still doesn't tell me how you know all that." "I'm very powerful. You can fill in the blanks from there." "Psychic? Is that what you mean." "You're a good guesser, but that's not the limit of my powers." She raised her hand and a cup of milk flew from across the room into her hand. "Not too bad, if I do say so myself. I hardly spilt any that time." "You must be fun to have around at parties." Mulder had always believed in telekinetics, but he'd never actually seen it in action. This girl (or whatever she was) was amazing. He had to learn more. "Sense you know all about me, tell me about you. Sorry, not all of us are telepathic." "What's there to tell?" she answered. "Let's start with your name. You could at least tell me that." "I haven't used my name in years. You can call me Nike." "Nike...Wasn't she the winged goddess of victory in acient Greece?" "Bingo! And what do we have for him Jonny?" She was sarcastic, he liked that. A good battle of wits was exactly what he needed right now. Chapter 6 FBI headquarters June10 12:24 p.m. Scully sat at her desk on the brink of tears. Mulder had disappeared 11 days ago, and hadn't left a trace behind. She called his apartment at least 50 times a day to check and see if he was there. She did the same with his cellular phone, but so far, nothing. Not even a note saying where he was going, how long he'd be gone, bye, or even "kiss my butt" for that matter. How could he leave her like this? Had she truly lost him? They had searched his apartment, but that didn't shed any light on the subject. Except, the place.....well.....felt different to her. She couldn't explain it, but it felt like he was there. she told herself. "Scully," came a voice from the doorway to her office. It was agent Coleman. "Have you looked over that Mafia case yet?" Her voice sounded sympathetic. Jacee knew how the loss of Mulder was affecting her. "Yes, I glanced over it. Two suspected members of the Mafia ring Mulder was investigating turned up dead in an ally on.......May 31. Approximated time of death was midnight. One was decapitated and the other had apparently had his jugular ripped open. The pattern of the wounds showed it may have been done with fingernails." Scully gave one of her well know skeptical looks. "I've never met a woman who had nails that strong. It's highly unlikely that was the murder weapon." "I'm just helping, I didn't come to any of those conclusions." Coleman returned. She didn't give Scully time to respond before she turned and stormed off down the hallway. Scully told herself. She picked up the phone and dialed Mulder's home number. Chapter 7 Mulder's apartment June 10 12:31 p.m. Over the past few hours, Mulder had gotten the battle of wits he was hoping for. Between the run-around and the throwing of sarcastic remarks he was able to get this information: Nike's power was derived from the magnificent ruby she wore around her neck. The gem heightened her mental and physical powers well beyond what anyone had ever documented before. She had found it in a box in the woods. She called it a "chaos gem" and said that there were 7 of them. Each one carrying the power of a different mythological creature. (She also said that the creatures weren't mythological, they had just been all killed off in the dark ages.) She hadn't found any of the other 6 wearers though. She had made him lose time with what she called a "dimensional worm hole." It was basically a portal that could take you anywhere, to any time. She was also skilled in mind control, that's how she got him to forget the incident. She also demonstrated this power (when Mulder had showed his disbelief) by making him cluck like a chicken. (He never questioned her again after that.) She was the one who had healed their wounds. Just another on of her many powers. As to where she lived now, she wouldn't tell him. Every time he asked the question it was followed with a long string of "him"s and "haw"s that ended with "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." "Are you sure you don't have anything else to tell me?" Mulder ask when she refused to answer any more of his questions. "Not now. In time you'll understand everything. Trust me." Just then the phone rang. Mulder went to pick it up, but before he knew what was happening, Nike had jumped up and blocked his path to the phone. "You'd better not tell her of anyone else about me." She said in a rather evil tone. "Remember, I could have left you to die. Don't turn me in so they can dissect me and "see what makes me tick." Mulder pushed past her and went for the phone. "They wouldn't hurt you." "Are you that sure?" ************************************************************ *********** It was Scully on the other end. She sounded like a mixture of mad, happy, and relieved all at the same time. "Were in God's name have you been? What have you been doing? You had me worried sick!" If looks could kill, Nike's would have dropped them both. "I was called off on a personal trip. I'm sorry, but it was important that you didn't try to follow me. A UFO crashed in Montana and I had to check it out, and I didn't want to drag you down with me if something went wrong." Nike silently mouthed and gave him a thumbs up. He could see the relief on her face. Chapter 7 Mulder's apartment June 11 9:05 p.m. Mulder walked in the door to see Nike sitting on the couch watching talk shows. She looked up with a smile and said snidely "How was your day at work, honey?" "Just fine, sweetheart. Thanks for asking," he said in a tone that matched her own. "How can you watch that crap?" "I don't usually. I just find it intriguing how messed up this world is. Like this program, "People who claim their child was fathered by aliens." That's the biggest crock of BS I've ever seen. It's all quite humorous." "So you don't think that's possible?" replied Mulder in a very serious tone. She caught the innuendo and tried her best to change the subject. "I'm mean.....I'm sure the kid wouldn't just look like a human with a big head. His eyes would be bigger....Uh ,oh." "I knew it! You're one of them!" He pulled his gun. He then had the irresistible urge to lower it. Then he remembered the mind control. "You only think you know something. I am NOT one of them. They're my mortal enemies. I'm on your side. You have to trust me." "I don't have to trust anyone. Where's my sister." "I don't know. How could I know?" Just then the room started to shake and a bright light came through the open window. "Oh, no!" Nike cried, "They've found us." "What do you mean "us"? Don't you mean they've come for you." "No, you idiot! They've come for you. Don't you get it. I've been sent here to protect you. They've been planing it for years. In fact, they took the wrong child to begin with. They meant to take you! And now they're back for what they believe is theirs" "Why would they want me?" "Poor fool. You don't even realize your potential yet." She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the hallway. "If you value your life, run and hide. Go to someone else's house. Dana's isn't safe though. They'll know you're there." She thought for a brief moment. "The assistant director's house. They'll never think of there." "I can't just go...." "NOW! And hurry. I'll come after you shortly." Mulder hurried down the stairs to the garage. Chapter 8 Outside Assistant Director Skinner's house June 12 12:45 a.m. Mulder sat in his car. He hadn't had the guts to go to the door. Skinner was to much of a private man to ever let him in. Mulder was sure of that. Mulder was in that gray area between awake and sleep when the vision came. "Fox, you're safe now. You can go home. They won't bother you now." "Nike," Mulder asked the ghost-like aberration, "Why didn't you come in person?" "I'm sorry, but I had to leave here. I have to make sure they stay away." "When are you coming back?" "Never. It would be too much of a risk to come back. For both of us." "You have to come back. There's still so much you have to tell me. There's still too many questions I have to ask you. You can't just leave me here alone." "I'm not. You're not alone, you have Scully. And as for your questions, be persistent and the truth will come to you. Some day, you'll understand everything. Then you'll be able to come and find me. Until then, farewell." "What if they come back?" Mulder yelled after her, but it was too late. The vision had already faded. He was alone again. He vowed that he would find the truth some day. He knew, although he didn't know how, that when he found the truth, he'd find Samantha and Nike again, too. "Scully's never going to believe this one." Mulder thought out loud as he pulled out and drove home. THE END Or is it? - ---- Tiffany aka Tiffi aka X-phile aka Miss X Winner of the "Spends WAAAYYYY to much time on the web" award 6/96 Keeper of the Scales (Tiffi's scales of 1 to 10) Keeper of X-Files Sillyness Room #42b XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX X MARKS THE SPOT! THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE TRUST NO ONE DENY EVERYTHING "Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy" - -? "I know it's only rock 'n roll, but I like it" - -The Rolling Stones "Keep your friends close but keep your enemys closer" - -The God Father - -Deep Throat John: "Don't you want to live forever?" Mulder: "Not if drawstring pants come back in style." "Peace, Love, and Fruit Loops!" :) - -My friend Kristy "If a tree falls in the woods and hits a mime, does anybody care?" - -The Far Side "Mulder is a Greek God." - -Me "A rock feels no pain and an island never cries" - -Simon and Garfunkel "May the Force be with you" - -Star Wars "Who's the bigger fool, the fool or the fool who follows him?" - -Obi Wan Kenobi Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet And what a BIG tuffet she had If you're insecure then stand next to her And then you won't feel quite so bad - -Dot "You're making me angry!.... Very angry indeed!" - -Marvin The Martian "That was a hoot!" - -Rocko's Modern Life "A dragon would never hurt a soul, unless they tried to hurt him first" - -Draco I DENY COMPLETELY THAT I EVER TYPED THIS MESSAGE