Episodes Season 6

"THE BEGINNING" #6X01 Original Air Date: 11/08/98
Mulder and Scully are brought before a review board to justify their re-assignment on the X-Files. The board needs scientific proof of extraterrestrial life. Mulder argues that concrete evidence exists via Scully, who had earlier been infected by an alien virus. When Scully is vague regarding this infection, the board gives the team their final warning - find concrete evidence or else.

On the sly, A.D. Skinner gives Mulder a lead on a strange case in Arizona that might give him the hard evidence he needs. At the crime scene, Mulder theorizes that the victim was infected by an alien virus and that this virus ultimately produced an alien entity. The entity then ripped away the victim's chest from the inside as it birthed itself.

Meantime, the Syndicate is irate that this "situation" has surfaced and is getting so much attention. Cigarette-Smoking Man assures them that he is taking care of the problem. He brings Gibson Praise, the young chess prodigy, to the crime scene in hopes that Praise can divine where the creature has escaped to.

The agents are drawn to a nearby power plant where another murder has occurred. They are met by agents Spender and Fowley who deny Mulder access to the new crime scene. When Mulder and Scully return to their car, they find Praise hiding in the back seat.

Mulder wants to use Praise to find the alien creature, but Scully talks him out of it, explaining that Praise is the scientific evidence Mulder's been looking for. Praise can corroborate everything Mulder's been saying. Scully tells Mulder that Praise needs medical attention and just as they're about to drive him to the hospital, Agent Fowley arrives. Scully continues on to the hospital with Praise, while Mulder and Fowley go to the plant to find the creature.

At the plant, Mulder and Fowley discover evidence that the alien is there. He calls Scully at the hospital to tell her this; in turn, she reveals that Praise has traces of the alien virus in his body -- somehow, Praise is part extraterrestrial. While Scully's attention is diverted, Black-Haired Man kidnaps Praise and takes him to the power plant to find and destroy the alien. Mulder catches up with Praise and Black-Haired Man, but it is too late. They have locked themselves inside the core reactor room. Mulder watches helplessly as the alien kills Black-Haired Man. The alien turns on Praise just as the plant's alarms sound and FBI agents swarm the area. Fowley, now seeming to be on Spender's side, approaches Mulder and tells him to back off.

Back at the review board, the panel tells Mulder and Scully to cease all association with the X-Files. They are put on probation and told to report to a new boss, Assistant Director Kersh.

"DRIVE" #6X02 Original Air Date: 11/15/98
Via a live news report, a high-speed car chase comes to an end in the Nevada desert. Assuming it to be a kidnapping, the female passenger is pulled from the vehicle and placed into the protective custody of a police vehicle. The driver, Patrick Crump, is pushed to the asphalt and handcuffed. The woman in the police car begins violently banging her head against the car window. As the news chopper catches all of this on film, the woman's head explodes, sending a spray of blood across the window.

The agents get wind of this bizarre car chase as they're doing scut work in Idaho. Mulder coerces Scully into taking a detour by Elko, Nevada on a hunch that this may be an X-File. Once there, however, Mulder manages to get himself kidnapped by Crump, who has escaped from the police.

Mulder realizes that Crump is in a considerable amount of pain and that the only way to ease the pain is to drive west. Scully investigates the Crumps home and discovers that an antenna array emitting ELF waves stretches beneath their property. She deduces that an abnormal surge in these waves somehow caused a rising pressure in the inner ear of the nearby inhabitants. Westward motion seems to be the only thing to help the ease the pain of the increasing pressure.

Mulder explains to Crump that Scully will meet them at the end of the highway. There she will insert a needle into Crump's inner ear, hopefully relieving the pressure. But when Mulder arrives, it is too late. Crump has already died.

"TRIANGLE" #6X03 Original Air Date: 11/22/98
Thrown out of his dingy by a ferocious storm in the Sargasso Sea, Mulder is fished out the ocean by hostile sailors. When he regains his wits, he realizes he's boarded the "Queen Anne", an English luxury liner that disappeared in the 1930s during World War II.

Brought before the ship's captain Yip Harburgh, Mulder tries to explain that the war is over and that the boat has been caught in some kind of time warp called the Devil's Triangle for the past 50 years. But he captain and crew have very different feelings, as the reality of the moment tells us that the liner has been captured by Nazi soldiers. The Nazis believe that the boat is carrying "Thor's Hammer", which they assume to be an atom bomb. When Mulder accidentally reveals that "Thor's Hammer" is the scientist who can make an atom bomb, the Nazis steer a path for Germany, hoping to use the atom bomb technology to win the war.

The atom bomb scientist on board is traveling with a woman who looks identical to Scully. Mulder enlists the aid of the Scully look-alike, telling her she must turn the ship around and save the future. If she doesn't, the Germans will win the war, and ultimately, Mulder and Scully will not exist. The Scully look-alike is confused, but Mulder is in a hurry, he's got to get back to his own history. Realizing he may never get another chance, he gives the Scully look-alike a deep kiss, for which she repays him with a "special" kiss of her own - a right hook to his chin. Mulder jumps overboard.

Meantime, the Lone Gunmen approach Scully at FBI headquarters and inform her of Mulder's disappearance. She enlists the help of Skinner to get information from the Navy's satellite tracking system to find the missing ship.

Racing to the spot where Mulder disappeared, the Gunmen and Scully find the ship and rescue Mulder. At the hospital, the Lone Gunmen, Scully and Skinner visit Mulder. He tries to explain all that happened, but they downplay it as a dream. They all wish him a speedy recovery and leave. It is then that Mulder feels a bruise on his face given to him by one of the Nazis. And he realizes it wasn't a dream after all.

"DREAMLAND" #6X04 Original Air Date: 11/29/98
Mulder drags Scully deep in the Nevada desert to meet a "source" who supposedly works at Area 51 and is going to give Mulder proof positive of the government's experimentation with alien technology. Unfortunately, before they can rendez-vous with the informant, they are stopped by other Area 51 officials who tell them they must turn around. As Scully tries to haul Mulder back into the car, a UFO flies overhead. It emits a massive heat ripple which switches the personalities of Mulder and Morris Fletcher, one of the Area 51 officials. Unbeknownst to anyone other than Mulder and Morris, Morris (who now inhabits Mulder's body) climbs back into the car with Scully, leaving Mulder (who is now in Morris' body) with the Area 51 goons.

Entrenched behind the walls of the mecca of UFO lore, Mulder tries to untangle the mess he's found himself in. Morris, on the other hand, is just happy to be given this new life as a single FBI agent; he doesn't lift one finger to try to reverse the situation.

Mulder tries to prove to Scully that he is not Morris, though Scully is skeptical at best. He tells her he will give her scientific proof via a flight data recorder which was recovered from another plane that crashed during test flights at Area 51. Unfortunately, Morris (aka Mulder) gets wind of Mulder's plan and informs A.D. Kersh. Kersh then orders Scully to set a trap for Mulder. The Area 51 police arrive and capture Mulder. And as Scully watches the MPs drag off this man who looks like Morris Fletcher, but claims to be Mulder, she wonders if there may be any truth to the odd turn of events.

"DREAMLAND II" #6X05 Original Air Date: 12/06/98
Still trapped inside Man-In-Black Morris' body, Mulder manages to evade the brig when his fellow MIB cohorts discover that the flight data recorder Mulder tried to give Scully was a fake. They come to the conclusion that Mulder was trying to run a scam on the FBI. Mulder plays along and the MIBs are relieved, but still want the original flight data recorder back. Mulder waffles, but tells them he has it and that he'll return it.

Meanwhile, Scully is put on suspension and Morris (in Mulder's body) tries to ease her pain by inviting her to his house for a home-cooked meal. Suspicious at first, she agrees. But when she gets there, she finds an immaculate apartment and an actual bedroom she never knew Mulder had. Things are just a bit too weird. She confronts Morris about the switch and he comes clean, further explaining that he has no idea how to switch back.

A reluctant Morris accompanies Scully as she reveals to Mulder that there may not be a way to reverse this process. But somehow, one of the MIBs discover that the time warp is snapping back, reversing time in the process. He positions Mulder and Morris in the right time at the right place and their personalities are returned to the rightful bodies. Their memories of the past few days are rewound as well and no one remembers a thing. This perplexes Mulder when returns home to find a spotless apartment.

"TERMS OF ENDEARMENT" #6X06 Original Air Date: 01/03/99
Wayne and Laura Weinsider are just like any other couple - they want to start a family. But when the ultrasound shows possible deformities in the baby that Laura is carrying, it is Wayne who becomes visibly upset. That night, Laura has a nightmare that a demon has come to steal her baby. When she wakes, she realizes the nightmare has come true and that her unborn baby has been taken from her.

The town's sheriff, who happens to be Laura's brother, brings the case to Agent Spender who round-files it to the shredder. But Mulder manages to salvage the report and begins his own investigation. His primary suspect is Wayne but Scully thinks that Laura self-aborted and has her arrested. Meantime, Mulder follows Wayne and ultimately uncovers that Wayne has been living a dual life. His second wife, Betsy, lives on the other side of town and Mulder fears for her safety. As Mulder and Scully race to save Betsy, a car skids to a stop in the middle of the road. It's Betsy, who exits the car bleeding, exclaiming that Wayne took her baby.


Moving on to Betsy's house, Mulder and Scully find Wayne furiously digging in the backyard. The agents think Wayne is burying Betsy's unborn baby, but before Wayne can tell them otherwise, the sheriff arrives and shoots Wayne down. What Wayne would have told the agents is that he was actually digging up unborn normal babies - the ones Betsy had buried there. Being a demon himself, a normal baby was all Wayne ever wanted. But it seems Betsy, being even more evil than he, had always wanted just the opposite -- a demon baby. And as Betsy drives into the sunset with her newborn baby, we see that's exactly what she got.

"THE RAIN KING" #6X07 Original Air Date: 01/10/99
Kroner, Kansas has been experiencing a three-month drought. It's Valentine's Day and Sheila Fontaine waits for her boyfriend, Darryl Mootz. When he arrives home, he's angry that Sheila has prematurely spread word of their engagement and storms out of the house, leaving Sheila alone with her tears and a box of chocolates. Shortly thereafter, Darryl is caught in a freak hailstorm which causes him to wreck his car.

It's six months later and nine months into the drought. Mulder and Scully are called to Kroner by the town's mayor who believes that Darryl is causing the drought so he can charge people for the rain. When the agents check with Holman Hardt, the local meteorologist, Holman substantiates part of the mayor's claim - Holman believes that Darryl can make it rain. While Mulder and Scully check out Darryl's side-show, Sheila tells Holman she's nervous that the FBI are poking around. Shortly thereafter, Mulder's life is threatened when a cow is picked up by a mini-twister and hurled through the roof of the motel where he's staying.

Out of guilt, Sheila confesses that she is the one who has been causing all of the terrible weather-related catastrophes that have been occurring in Kroner for the past twenty years. Mulder, however, has another theory. He believes that Holman is the culprit and that it is the feelings he can't express that have been effecting the weather. To wit, Holman has been pining away for Sheila since they were in high school together. But Sheila has divulged to Holman that she's got a crush on Mulder. Holman, in turn, causes it to rain in flash-flood proportions.

To stop the deluge, Mulder gives Holman "dating" advice, telling him that he must tell Sheila how he feels about her. After much prodding, Holman opens his heart to her. One year later finds Holman and Sheila married with a child. And the weather, as you can imagine, is perfect.

"HOW THE GHOSTS STOLE CHRISTMAS" #6X08 Original Air Date: 12/13/98
It's late Christmas Eve. Telling tales of star-crossed lovers who forged a pact to be together for eternity, Mulder lures Scully into the darkened mansion that the ghost couple purportedly haunts. Once inside, the front door locks behind the duo and traps them inside. Mulder believes it is the work of the ghosts who inhabit the house. Scully, ever the skeptic, instructs Mulder on the psychology of peoples' need to believe in the afterlife as a means to satisfy their fear of mortality. But when a previously locked door springs open and a light shines from inside the room beyond, Mulder chalks it up to ghosts. Scully, admitting that she is afraid but that it's an irrational fear, still sticks with the belief that people might be actually living in the house.

Passing through the door, the partners find themselves in a library. And in a series of odd twists and turns, they become separated -each trapped in some parallel universe version of the library. It is here that Mulder meets Maurice The Ghost (Ed Asner), who convinces Mulder to shoot Scully. In her own parallel library, Scully meets Lyda The Ghost (Lily Tomlin), who convinces Scully to shoot Mulder. When the two agents meet back up, they follow through on the ghosts' mischievous plan and fire their weapons on each other. As they lay gasping on the staircase landing, they realize it was only some kind of mind trick played on them by the ghosts.

Safely ensconced back in their homes, the duo agree that the events of the evening never happened.

"TITHONUS" #6X09 Original Air Date: 01/24/99
Relegated to doing background checks, Scully and Mulder are bored stiff. Assistant Director Kersh finally calls Scully up and pairs her with New York City field agent, Peyton Ritter, for a special assignment. While scanning old crime scene photos into the computer, Ritter stumbled upon inconsistencies in the times that the photos were taken. He feels that the man who took the pictures, a stringer named Alfred Fellig, is responsible. Ritter theorizes that Fellig kills people, takes their picture, then shows up later when called to do the crime scene photo job for the wire services.

In a dark alley in the Bronx, a mugger tackles and kills his victim. Mid-crime, the mugger looks up to see Fellig on a fire escape, taking pictures. The mugger then turns on Fellig and knifes him in the back. Fellig falls to the concrete, dead, and the mugger takes off. Minutes after he's gone, Fellig pulls the knife out of his back and staggers off into the night.

Fellig is brought in for questioning but denies killing anyone; he was just there for "the shot". And since they have no proof that Fellig committed the crime, they release him. But Ritter begins 24-hour surveillance on Fellig. Scully relieves Ritter late at night, only to realize shortly after Ritter leaves that Fellig is watching her. Exasperated, she confronts Fellig about his involvement in the murders that he photographs. He invites her to come for a ride and he will show Scully how he happens to be johnny-on-the-spot when a murder is committed.

After driving around for hours, Fellig finally stops and points to a hooker. He tells Scully that the hooker will be dead within the hour. Not believing him, Scully confronts the hooker, who backs away from Scully, heads into the street and is run down by an oncoming truck. Scully, in shock at what she may have just caused, looks up in time to see Fellig drive off.

Mulder does some low-tech research on his own and calls Scully to tell her that Fellig has a penchant for changing identities, the farthest one dating back to 1849. This makes Fellig 149 years old. Scully, not wanting Fellig to have another identity crisis, goes to Fellig's apartment where he ushers her into his darkroom. He explains that he was marked for death a long time ago, but somehow Death missed him. Fellig has been taking photos of dying people ever since in hopes of capturing the visage of Death on film so that he can look into Death's face and die as well.

During the conversation, Fellig realizes that Scully is marked for Death and readies to take her picture. Agent Ritter arrives and fires instinctively into the darkened room. The bullet hits Fellig as well as Scully. As Ritter moves into the other room to call for help, Fellig takes Scully's hand and tells her not to look into Death's face. She closes her eyes and Death finally takes Fellig.

"S.R. 819" #6X10 Original Air Date: 01/17/99
A man is rushed into the emergency room near death. One of the doctors tells the nurse to call Agent Scully because the sick man works for the FBI. We assume that it is Agent Mulder; only to find, however, that it is actually Assistant Director Skinner.

Flashback twenty-four hours. Agent Mulder finds A.D. Skinner in his office, not feeling well. He calls in Scully who posits that Skinner may have been poisoned. When asked to recall if anything out of the ordinary happened in his day, Skinner remembers that a renowned physicist named Kenneth Orgel stopped him in the hallway earlier in the day. Mulder and Skinner pay a visit to Orgel, only to find him in the process of being kidnapped. The kidnappers get away with Orgel; Mulder captures one of the fleeing bad guys, but must release him when he discovers that the man is a Tunisian with diplomatic immunity. Scully, in the meantime, examines a vial of Skinner's blood. Upon close levels of magnification, she finds miniscule foreign bodies that seem to multiply uniformly and rapidly. These specks are forming dams in Skinner's veins, cutting off his blood flow and building a heart attack.

Mulder rifes through Orgel's house and finds a connection to Senator Matheson. Paying the Senator a visit, he finds out about Senate Resolution 819 - a health bill which will supply medical technology for third world countries. Ripping apart Skinner's office, Mulder finds that Skinner was doing a security check on the resolution and that, somehow, his connection to the resolution is what got him poisoned. He confronts Senator Matheson again and finds out that nanotechnology - microscopic atom-sized machines that had been previously thought of as only theoretical -- have been injected into Skinner and someone is programming them to kill him.

Meanwhile, Skinner lies on a hospital bed, his pulse flatlines. The orderly calls time of death. Moments later, Skinner gasps and comes back to life. Weeks later, Scully reports that whatever infected Skinner has gone into remission. Mulder asks for permission to continue the investigation but Skinner closes the case.

At day's end, Skinner heads for his car. In the backseat, he finds the man who had been driving the nanotechnology atoms - Krycek. Krycek glares at Skinner - he's got Skinner under his thumb and intends to keep him there.

"TWO FATHERS" #6X11 Original Air Date: 02/07/99
Inside a stockyard in Arlington, Virginia, a surgeon escorts Dr. Openshaw inside a train car containing a surgical bay. Openshaw approaches an operating table, on which lies a patient, her face unseen. The surgeon congratulates Openshaw on his work, some 25 years in the making, which is now a success. The surgeon exits the train car, only to be lit afire by a Faceless Man. The rest of the surgical team, waiting in a nearby van, are also incinerated. A Faceless Man enters the surgical bay and thrusts his weapon at Openshaw, burning him. The creature then looks upon the operating tableÉ where an unconscious Cassandra Spender lies.

Skinner escorts Agent Spender to the stockyard. He explains that a group of people were burned alive, and that only his mother, and a critically injured man, survived. Spender sees his mother in a nearby paramedics vehicle and goes to her side. Cassandra asks to speak with Mulder. Moments later, Spender tells Skinner that he objects to the idea of Mulder's involvement in the case. But Spender changes his mind, and reluctantly informs Mulder of his mother's request to speak with him. Mulder tells Spender to find the truth himself.

Meanwhile, the Cigarette Smoking Man approaches Openshaw, who miraculously survived the fire and has been confined to a plastic tent inside a hospital. Openshaw tells him that Cassandra is a success, and must be terminated before the alien colonists find out that a human/alien hybrid exists. Shortly thereafter, the Cigarette Smoking Man kills Openshaw.

The Cigarette Smoking Man telephones Elder #1 to inform him about an emergency meeting of the Syndicate. Elder #1 promises he will make the meeting. He makes his way to the front doorÉ only to find Openshaw standing on the other side. Elder #1 grabs at the impostor's face, exposing a faceless rebel beneath. A struggle ensues, and the Elder is killed.

Scully and Mulder decide to meet with Cassandra without informing Spender of their action. Miraculously, Cassandra pushes back the covers and lets her legs fall to the floor. Scully looks on, incredulous, as the previously wheelchair-bound Cassandra walks without assistance. Cassandra tells the agents that surgeons worked in conjunction with the aliens to cure her. She now believes that the aliens are plotting to take over the universe by infecting all life forms with a black virus. The surgeons were burned by another race of aliens-faceless rebels-who mutilated their faces so they wouldn't be infected. Cassandra now believes that her son's life is in danger, as he is in collusion with men who have worked with the aliens.

In flashback, some 35 years earlier, Openshaw, Bill Mulder, and the Cigarette Smoking Man enter a train car containing a Native American test subject. The Native American's face, arms and body are horribly disfigured. Repulsed, Bill Mulder exits the train car. As the disfigured man is their best effort, both the Cigarette Smoking Man and Openshaw believe they must ally with the aliens if they ever hope to create a human/alien hybrid.

Back in the present day, the Syndicate members, including Krycek and the Cigarette Smoking Man, gather for the meeting. Elder #1 suggests an alliance with the alien rebels, something completely at odds with everything the group has strived for. After the meeting, Krycek informs the Cigarette Smoking Man that Mulder paid Cassandra a secret visit.

Scully and Mulder sneak into Mulder's old office, where they access computer files on Cassandra Spender, her son, and the Cigarette Smoking Man, who is identified by the name "C.G.B. Spender." But the computer has no additional information on the mysterious man. Moments later, Skinner warns the agents that they are about to get caught. Before Mulder and Scully have a chance to escape, they are confronted by Spender. Later, Spender informs his father that Mulder and Scully will be processed out of the FBI. He then asks for the truth about his mother. The Cigarette Smoking Man tells him that Cassandra has been involved in a very important experiment. But he does not elaborate further, as Spender must prove himself capable of the responsibility that comes with such knowledge. Meanwhile, Scully performs some research. She learns that Cassandra Spender was first abducted on the night of November 27th, 1973É the same night Mulder's sister was abducted.

The Cigarette Smoking Man tells Spender about Elder #1's death. He instructs Spender to kill the imposter using a gimlet weapon. Krycek drives Spender to Elder #1's home. Unfortunately, Spender cannot muster the nerve to carry out his assignment. The Elder #1 imposter sees the gimlet in Spender's hand and attacks him. Krycek comes to Spender's rescue, driving the gimlet into the imposter's neck. Afterward, a Iago-like Krycek informs Spender that his father directed the experiments forced on Cassandra. Spender realizes he is being asked to protect his mother so the experiments can continue.

Back at the hospital, Cassandra enters the bathroom to smoke a cigarette. As she looks in the mirror, her face suddenly loses its shape. Cassandra screams. The female FBI agent assigned to protect her races to her aid. She assures Cassandra that she will be all right, as she is "the one." Cassandra stares at her, not comprehending. The female FBI agent reaches up to her own face and pulls back her fleshÉ revealing a male Faceless Alien beneath. Cassandra recoils in fear. Clad in the FBI agent's clothing, she flees to Mulder's apartment. With time running out, she begs the agents to kill her, because if she lives, there will be no stopping what is about to happen. Mulder draws his gun and aims at Cassandra.

"ONE SON" #6X12 Original Air Date: 02/14/99
Mulder is about to pull the trigger and end Cassandra Spender's life, when the door to his apartment is forced open and CDC agents storm in, taking Mulder, Scully and Cassandra into custody.

In a quarantined area at Ft. Marlene military base, Mulder and Scully are addressed by Diana Fowley. She explains that Cassandra Spender had contracted a highly contagious virus and needed to be put in isolation pending full medical evaluation. Scully scoffs at this notion, calling it unjustified and highly suspicious. Scully believes that Cassandra was taken so that the tests could continue. But Mulder tells Scully that the tests won't continue because they have been completed; Cassandra is, in fact, the first successful human/alien hybrid. Cassandra knew that; she was begging Mulder to end her life so that the aliens would not start colonization.

In a hallway at Ft. Marlene, Mulder finds Marita Covarrubias. She is a shell of her former self, all her beauty gone. She tells Mulder that they have been performing tests on her - tests to find a vaccine against the Black Oil. She explains to Mulder that the hybrid program was in cooperation with the aliens, but the conspirators never intended to succeed. They were only buying time until a vaccine was created to fight the Black Oil. But now that Cassandra Spendor is a successful human/alien hybrid, colonization will begin.

Scully calls Mulder to the Lone Gunmen's lair where she tells him of her suspicions about Diana Fowley. Scully feels that Diana is somehow working with the Syndicate but Mulder refuses to believe her. Scully storms out and Mulder pays a visit to Diana's apartment. He begins searching her room for any incriminating evidence when he hears another person enter the apartment - the Cigarette Smoking Man. Mulder holds him at gunpoint as C.S.M. substantiates the entire Syndicate operation. He even explains that Mulder's father gave over Mulder's sister Samantha to the aliens as a guarantee of their honor. In return, the aliens gave the Syndicate the alien fetus that would allow the human/alien hybrid work to begin. C.S.M. truly believes that what he did saved millions of lives and ultimately would bring Samantha and other family members back home. It was Mulder's father who thought of the idea to use the alien fetus DNA to make a secret vaccine against the Black Oil.

Jeffrey Spendor pays a visit to his father in the Syndicate offices, only to find Krycek in the now abandoned space. Krycek tells Spender that everyone has left for El Rico Air Force Base to receive the hybrid genes and that Spender's father, C.S.M., has gone to get Cassandra to turn her over to the aliens.

"ARCADIA" #6X13 Original Air Date: 03/07/99
Welcome to "The Falls at Arcadia", one of the nation's top-rated planned communities. Unfortunately, three couples have vanished from the neighborhood over the past seven years. So Mulder and Scully go undercover and pose as new home buyers to investigate the strange disappearances.

Helpful residents Big Mike, a veterinarian, and next-door neighbors, Win and Cami Schroeder, help Mulder and Scully get squared away on move-in day. But Win balks when Mulder wants to erect a portable basketball hoop; this definitely goes against the community's strict regulations. Win suggests that Mulder take up the issue with Homeowner president, Gene Gogolak.

When Big Mike suddenly disappears, the Shroeders simply explain to Mulder and Scully that he went away on business. Scully and Mulder pay a visit to Gogolak, who tells them that regulations forbid the basketball hoop in the front driveway. He explains that rules are rules, and though it may seem tough to get used to, there's is a system that works. Mulder then changes the subject to Gogolak's decor. Gogolak explains that most of his antiques are Nepalese and Tibetan; he owns Pier 9 Imports and travels to the Far East often for business.

The Shroeders invite Mulder and Scully to dinner and Mulder presses the issue of Big Mike's disappearance. When Cami becomes uncomfortable with the topic and excuses herself to take the dog out, Scully accompanies her. During their walk, the dog gets loose and scrambles into a nearby storm drain. As Scully tries to fish out the lost pooch, she finds a caduceus necklace worn by Big Mike covered in what appears to be blood.

Scully has the "blood" analyzed, only to find that it is basically garbage; the neighborhood was built atop an old landfill. Mulder theorizes that the Klines are buried in the yard somewhere, and while digging a hole to find them, he dredges up a Malaysian artifact with a sticker showing that it came from Pier 9 Imports. Mulder confronts Gogolak with the theory that Gogolak, while on the trips to Far East, learned of the tulpa, or Tibetan thought-form, a creature willed into existence by one who possesses the ability. He believes Gogolak created this creature formed by garbage to keep the residents in check. Meantime, back at home Scully is surprised by Big Mike - alive - who reveals that he was attacked by the creature, but managed to escape. He tells Scully that the creature is coming for her because her "husband" has broken the rules. Big Mike barricades Scully in the closet and fights off the approaching monster. The firing gunshots warn Mulder, who races home, with Gogolak in tow. Mulder stops to handcuff Gogolak to the mailbox before going inside to help Scully. But outside, Gogolak is attacked by his own creation - yet with his death, the tulpa dies as well, disintegrating at Mulder's feet.

"AGUA MALA" #6X14 Original Air Date: 02/21/99
Arthur Dales, father of the X-Files, lures Mulder and Scully to Florida's Gulf Coast in the middle of a hurricane with tales of a sea monster on the loose. Scully is not so easily convinced and after checking out a house where the monster supposedly killed a family, she begs Mulder to take the last flight out before the hurricane descends full-force. But the hurricane strikes, closing the airport and all roads out of town.

Forced to take shelter in a nearby apartment building, they find a sheriff's deputy who has been attacked by what Scully terms a water-borne parasite. Mulder, surmising that whatever attacked the deputy might be in the plumbing, decides to check out the rest of the building for inhabitants. He finds a looter, a couple - Walter and his very pregnant girlfriend, Angela, and a militant neighbor, George Vincent.

Huddled in a darkened apartment together, the motley crew watch as the deputy hovers nears death. They pack him in ice in the tub, hoping to abate his rising temperature. But when the group's not looking, the looter steals the deputy's ring and inadvertently knocks a box of Epsom salts into the bath water. Minutes later, pregnant Angela uses the bathroom, only to emerge screaming that she had seen the creature with giant arms like an octopus. When Mulder enters the bathroom, he finds the deputy's body gone, melted into water in the tub. Mulder theorizes that the monster doesn't live in water, but that it is water, taking shape only when it attacks.

To avoid any further attacks, Mulder decides it's time to move everyone to another building. He goes out to the carport only to find the looter has taken the deputy's prowler and escaped, leaving the group stranded. On his way back into the apartment, he is attacked by a coiled tentacle that extends from the ceiling and wraps its arm around Mulder's neck.

Managing to free himself from the monster, Mulder tries to get back into the apartment, but Vincent has locked him out. As he struggles for his life in the hallway, Angela goes into labor and Scully must help deliver the baby. As the new bundle arrives, Scully deduces that fresh water kills the organism and has Walter shoot the sprinkler heads. Simultaneously, Mulder has the same realization when he sees a cat sitting out in the rain rather than finding shelter in the apartment building. The storm passes and Mulder and Scully wrap up their visit with Dales, who takes great delight in ribbing Mulder that Scully saved his life.

"MONDAY" #6X15 Original Air Date: 02/28/99
It's Monday morning, and already Mulder's having a bad day. His waterbed sprouts a leak, causing his alarm clock to short out -- now he's late for a meeting. His cell phone is busted as well, his neighbors downstairs are complaining about water damage. And to make matters worse, the check he writes to cover the damage is going to bounce unless he deposits his paycheck immediately.

Mulder rushes to his office to pick up his check, telling Scully that he'll be at the meeting as soon as he makes his deposit. Yet, as luck would have it, the very moment Mulder arrives at the bank, a disillusioned janitor named BERNARD has decided that he's going to change his own luck -- by robbing the bank. Bernard whips out a gun and forces everyone -- including Mulder -- to drop to the floor. He's edgy, just this side of snapping, and Mulder thinks better of trying to stop him.

Meanwhile, Scully waits with increasing impatience at their meeting -- she finally gets up to leave, going to the bank herself. Mulder sees her approaching from across the street and tries to get Bernard to lock the doors -- too late. Scully walks in, sees the situation, pulls out her weapon. In the ensuing chaos, and to Scully's horror, Mulder is shot squarely in the chest. As Mulder slowly bleeds to death in her arms, Scully attempts to talk Bernard down. But the burglar alarm has been tripped, Skinner has been alerted, and a SWAT team is just outside. Bernard sees all of this and realizes there is no going back -- he opens his jacket, revealing dozens of sticks of dynamite. He flips the trigger -- the bank explodes. There's no way anyone could have survived.

Then we're back where we started -- Monday morning, leaky waterbed, the same bad day -- but it still ends with the exploding bank. The day repeats itself over and over with small variations -- some days, Scully deposits Mulder's check, some days Mulder uses the ATM. But each time, no one quite remembers that they've done this repeatedly -- though Mulder is becoming gradually aware of a strong sense of dŽjˆ vu. And something starts to happen that seems to confirm this: each time, Bernard's girlfriend PAM desperately tries to warn Mulder not to go in the bank -- she seems to be the only one who remembers what is happening, and it is hell for her. She tells Mulder that she's tried stopping Bernard, tried calling the police, but nothing ever works -- Mulder is the only variable. She begs him not to go in the bank, telling him that "something went wrong on this day the first time around." And it's going to keep repeating until it goes right.

Pam's words sink in, finally -- the next time he sees Bernard, Mulder remembers the bomb, remembers the outcome of this Monday. He calls Scully for help, asking her to bring Pam into the bank. The three attempt to talk Bernard out of it, tell him to just walk away -- but Bernard reacts the same way he always does -- he shoots at Mulder. Only this time, Pam jumps in front of the bullet. It hits her in the chest and she drops to the ground, saying "This never happened before." She dies -- and the day is over. Mulder awakes the next day on his couch -- it's Tuesday.

"ALPHA" #6X16 Original Air Date: 03/28/99
When the ship docks, an irate Dr. Ian Detweiler, the owner of the container, sees that a pool of blood has oozed out of the crate and is furious that the animal contained within may have been hurt. When they remove the outer locks and open it, however, it is the two crew members who lie dead at the bottom of the crate; the animal nowhere to be found.

Mulder is tipped off to the event and after some preliminary investigating, finds that the ship's manifest listed the animal as a dog. When he theorizes that a dog might have been responsible for the deaths of the two crewmen, Scully reminds Mulder that in order for that to have happened, the dog would've had to escape from the box, kill the two men, put them back inside and lock the crate behind them -- hardly the actions of man's best friend.

On board the T'ien Kou, Fish & Wildlife Department officer Jeffrey Cahn takes Mulder and Scully to meet Detweiler, who tells them that the dog is a Wanshang Dhole, a very rare breed of canid from Asia thought to be extinct for the past 150 years. Just as Detweiler is explaining that the dog does not have a predatory nature, a US F& W officer reports that another dog attack has occurred.

Mulder and Scully pay a visit to Karen Berquist, the canine behavioralist who gave Mulder the tip about the first murders - she and Mulder had been communicating via the Internet. They hope Berquist might be able to shed some light onto the behavior of the animal. As they wait in her library, Scully notes a copy of the "I WANT TO BELIEVE" poster hanging on Berquist's wall. When Berquist finally arrives, she is less than hospitable. She tells the agents that while some canids use tricks to draw out their prey, they do not possess the intelligence to murder; murder is a human behaviorism. While Mulder believes Berquist, Scully is suspicious of her motives, thinking that Berquist may have tipped off Mulder so that she could meet him.

The assaults continue -- a U.S. F & W officer and a veterinarian are attacked and killed. Detweiler maintains that the dog can be captured but Cahn is incensed and wants the animal killed. Then Cahn himself is attacked but somehow manages to escape death and is rushed to the hospital.

Mulder finds Detweiler in Cahn's hospital room and confronts him with the theory that it is Detweiler who is responsible for the murders. Mulder posits that while Detweiler was in Asia hunting the Dhole, the Dhole found and attacked him instead, turning him into a shapeshifting trickster who can take the form of an animal. Detweiler denies Mulder's outrageous theory and leaves. Mulder then repeats his ideas to Berquist who confirms them. She tells Mulder to stay at the hospital and guard Cahn; Detweiler will want to come back and put down the threat he failed to eliminate by attacking Cahn.

Hours pass, but Detweiler never returns. Mulder realizes that Berquist lied to him. Detweiler, feeling a much larger threat from Berquist, has gone to Berquist's home to kill her. Once there, he takes the shape of the wild dog and attacks. Berquist stands her ground, and as the dog leaps, Berquist falls backward through the second-story window. When Mulder and Scully arrive, they find both Berquist and Detweiler dead.

Yet Berquist leaves somewhat of a legacy to Mulder. Upon his return to Washington, he receives a package in the mail - her copy of the symbolic "I WANT TO BELIEVE" poster that Mulder had lost in the fire.

"TREVOR" #6X17 Original Air Date: 4/11/99
Inside a prison compound in Stringer, Mississippi, two inmates, Rawls and Whaley, hurriedly board up barracks windows as stormy-and possibly tornadic-weather approaches. Rawls and Whaley get into an argument, and as a guard looks on, Rawls drives a nail through Whaley's hand. Rawls is brought before the superintendent, Robert Fellowes, who sentences him to "the box." As the wind howls, and the sky grows darker, Rawls begs to be let out of his tiny prison. But no one comes to his aid. After the storm passes, the guard finds that "the box" has been blown to oblivion. He makes his way to Fellowes' office to relay the news. Inside, he discovers Fellowes' body, which has been severed in half.

Scully and Mulder examine the remains inside a morgue. Though Fellows' body is cut across the torso, not a drop of blood was discovered inside the office. Scully is at a loss to explain his condition, except for the possibility of spontaneous combustion. The agents speak with the prison guard, who relays his theory that the ghost of Pinker Rawls is responsible for the murder. Mulder disagrees with the theory. He believes Rawls is very much alive. Shortly thereafter, Mulder discovers an irregularity in the wall of Fellowes' office. He applies some pressure to the area… causing a hole the size of a man to open. The agents then discover a photo of Rawls and his girlfriend, June, amongst his possessions. Meanwhile, June learns of Rawls' presumed death while watching a television news broadcast.

Rawls breaks into a department store to steal some clothes. A security guard catches him in the act and handcuffs him to a steal beam. But Rawls escapes from his binds and makes off in the security guard's car. A short time later, the agents arrive at the scene. The security guard identifies Rawls as the suspect. Mulder then examines the still-closed handcuffs… and whacks the ends against the steel beam. They shatter like glass. Meanwhile, Rawls makes his way to a dilapidated house rented by his old friend, Bo. It turns out that Rawls is looking for June, whom Bo ended up having an affair with. Bo pulls out a gun and fires, striking Rawls in the heart. But the bullets have no effect.

The agents discover Bo's faceless body inside his home. They assume that Rawls is after the $90,000 he made off with during a robbery years earlier. Mulder discovers tiny silver globules imbedded in the wall of the house. Mulder hypothesizes that the bullets travel right through Rawls without harming him… and that Rawls is capable of moving through solid objects.

A short time later, Rawls pays June's sister, Jackie, a surprise visit. Jackie grabs hold of a knife and barricades herself inside her bedroom. Rawls strips off his clothes and, when Jackie isn't looking, enters the room by passing through a wall. Mulder and Scully arrive at the house, saving Jackie from harm. The agents then head for June's house. Unbeknownst to them, Rawls stowed away in the trunk of their car (by passing through the metal).

June admits it was she who came upon Rawls' $90,000 while he was in prison. She spent the money on a down payment for her house. Later, when Mulder opens the trunk of his car, he notices a cracking noise. He pokes the lid with his finger, and it crumples. Mulder instructs two troopers to place June under constant guard. A short time later, he and Scully reenter June's house, where they happen upon the writing "I Want What's Mine," scrawled across a wall. Mulder assumes Rawls used his finger to create the message. He notices that the final "e" ends where a mirror hangs on a wall. Putting the pieces together, he realizes that Rawls' power is electrical in nature, and can be stopped by an insulator, such as glass or rubber. He and Scully discover unpaid hospital maternity bills amongst June's possessions. They realize that Rawls isn't after money-he's after his son, Trevor.

Rawls morphs though the ceiling of June's hotel room. By the time the agents arrive, June and Rawls are gone and the state trooper guarding the room is dead. Meanwhile, Rawls tells June that he heard about the existence of his son from a fellow inmate. He demands that she take him to see the child.

The agents realize that Jackie is caring for June's son. Unfortunately, Rawls arrives at Jackie's house before they do. Jackie hurls boiling soup at Rawls' face, but the liquid passes through it. Jackie then swings the pan… and the glass connects with his head. Trevor runs out the door with Rawls in close pursuit. Mulder and Scully arrive at the scene. Mulder shoots Rawls with rubber bullets, which slows him down. Scully makes off with Trevor, but Rawls follows. Thinking quickly, Scully takes refuge in a glass phone booth. Rawls is unable to pass through it, so he begins smashing the glass with a chunk of asphalt. Suddenly, June uses her station wagon to hit Rawls. He impacts on the passenger side of the windshield and is torn apart. Later, Mulder remarks that all Rawls really wanted was another chance.

"MILAGRO" #6X18 Original Air Date: 04/18/99
While on her way to Mulder's apartment to discuss a murder case, Scully runs into Phillip Padgett, Mulder's new next door neighbor. Padgett is an odd bird - a writer who lives in his own mind; he gives Scully a creepy feeling.

The agents discuss the case and Mulder expresses his theory that the murder is a result of psychic surgery - the victim's heart was removed without any incisions, no prints, no forensic evidence of any kind left as clues. Scully, at best, is dubious.

When a similar murder occurs out on Lover's Lane, Mulder gets a hold of Scully who happens to be in Mulder's office where she finds that a pendant has been slipped inside an envelope under Mulder's door. It's a "milagro" - a lucky charm, with an image of a burning heart engraved on it. Scully feels it may be from the murderer and sets out to do some research.

At a nearby church, Scully is studying a painting of Christ with a flaming heart in his hands when she is approached by Mulder's neighbor, Padgett. He tells Scully he sent her the milagro, that he has been studying her for a character in his novel, and that he's become enamored of her.

Scully is both intrigued and disquieted by Padgett, yet is drawn to visit him on her way to Mulder's apartment. He seems to be getting underneath her skin when Mulder barges in, gun high, and arrests Padgett. It seems that the murders which they have been investigating coincide with personal ads taken out in a local paper; Padgett used the ads to find his victims. He also wrote about each murder, in detail, in his novel.

But another murder occurs while Padgett is locked up. Mulder is even more fervent in his belief that Padgett psychically communicated with a partner in crime, Dr. Ken Naciamento - the noted Brazilian psychic surgeon, and that somehow Padgett directed Naciamento to commit the crime. Mulder feels the only way to catch Padgett is to release him.

Back in his apartment, Padgett is visited by Naciamento. However, Mulder and Scully, who have set up a surveillance on Padgett's apartment, see nothing on the screen of Naciamento. Is he only a figment of Padgett's imagination or not? Naciamento coaxes Padgett into the realization that Scully must be killed. Padgett hurriedly finishes his novel, then heads for the basement incinerator to burn the pages. Mulder follows him there and is about to arrest Padgett when he hears a scream from above. It's Scully, who is being attacked by Naciamento. Mulder races to her side, finds her covered in blood, but alive. Padgett, on the other hand, lies at the foot of the incinerator, his heart removed and beating in his own hand.

"THREE OF A KIND" #6X19 Original Air Date: 5/2/99
Byers recounts a dream in which he lives in the perfect house with his two little daughters and wife, Susanne Modeski. But his dream always ends the same way: the house, children and Susanne disappear, and all he is left with is a man's wedding ring.

The Lone Gunmen go undercover in Las Vegas when a defense contractors' convention comes to town. The threesome hope to ascertain confidential information about the industry by infiltrating its inner sphere. Byers accesses a poker game by passing himself off as an employee of Conglomerated Technologies. He receives help from Frohike, who is disguised as a casino employee. Unbeknownst to the other players, Byers' eyeglasses contain a tiny transmitter, allowing Langly, who is surrounded by laptops in his hotel room, to feed him information whenever someone discusses the defense contracting business. Unfortunately, the dealer outsmarts and exposes Byers by inquiring about a process that doesn't exist. As a result, Byers and Frohike are escorted out of the building by security.

The Lone Gunmen regroup in their hotel room. They receive a visit from Jimmy and Timmy, two card-carrying conspiracy geeks. Both men admit that their efforts to crack the contractors' inner circle was unsuccessful. Later, as Byers and Frohike walk through a casino floor, Byers notices Modeski off in the distance. He runs towards her, but collides with an older man and falls to the floor. When he rises, Modeski has disappeared. The Lone Gunmen telephone Scully and, using a synthesized voice program, trick her into believing that she is speaking to Mulder. "Mulder" requests that she fly to Las Vegas. When the call ends, Byers explains to the others that Mulder's high-profile presence would tip off the black operatives who kidnapped Modeski in Baltimore ten years earlier. A short time later, Byers watches as the dealer from the poker game kisses Susanne Modeski outside their hotel room.

Using his laptop, Frohike accesses the hotel's records. He learns that the room in which Modeski is staying is registered to a Grant Ellis. It is determined that Ellis is linked to an advanced weapons facility located in New Mexico. Byers concludes that Modeski has been brainwashed, a victim of the "psychological warfare" gas she invented. The group splits up to find out if Byers' theory is correct.

Langly and Byers are unable to infiltrate a private event being held by the defense contractors due to their previous run-in with security. They turn to Jimmy the Geek for help. Jimmy crawls through a ventilation duct to spy on the proceedings. To his surprise, he discovers Timmy amongst the group. Jimmy is taken into custody. Timmy places a medical injection gun behind Jimmy's ear and pulls the trigger. A short time later, the Lone Gunmen learn that Jimmy threw himself in front of a bus. Meanwhile, Frohike sneaks inside Ellis and Modeski's room to plant a recording device. He discovers the presence of a camcorder already hidden inside an air vent. He pops out the tape and crawls to safety.

Scully arrives at the hotel and, at the Lone Gunmen's request, begins to perform an autopsy on Jimmy's body. She comes upon a faint mark just behind Jimmy's ear. Moments later, Timmy sneaks up behind Scully, places the injection gun behind her ear, and pulls the trigger. When Scully regains consciousness, her personality has changed to that of an airhead.

Modeski pays the Lone Gunmen a visit. She tells Byers that she met and fell in love with Grant when she realized that he was working against the forces who were exploiting her work. She explains how she and Grant had intended to use the Las Vegas conference to expose the group. But the existence of the tape changes everything, as the operatives are aware of the plan. She is certain they will kill Grant and herself. Shortly thereafter, Modeski observes a red mark behind Scully's ear. She realizes that Scully was injected with her latest creation, a derivative of the E-H gas. But only she and Grant were aware of the derivative's existence… meaning Grant is behind the scheme. Modeski injects Scully with an antidote. Frohike realizes that the operatives drugged Scully to make her forget about the autopsy findings. He also realizes that Jimmy's death was not accidental. Unbeknownst to anyone, Langly has also been given an injection of the brainwashing compound.

Timmy instructs the brainwashed Langly to assassinate Modeski during a conference. As participants mill about, Langly opens fire, striking Modeski in the chest. Scully rushes to Modeski's side. She orders that Grant be detained. Moments later, Frohike and Byers, dressed as paramedics, rush Modeski away. Grant is led to a hotel room… where Modeski greets him. It turns out that the "assassination" had been staged with blank bullets and fake blood. Langly, it is revealed, had been given the antidote. Unfortunately, Timmy senses something isn't right. He leans over the "blood" on the conference room floor and tastes it. His suspicions are confirmed. He enters the hotel room and shoots Grant. He then turns the weapon towards Modeski. During the confusion, Byers presses the injector gun to Timmy's ankle, and he falls to the floor. Later, a television news anchor reveals that Timmy was arrested for the deaths of Grant and Susanne Modeski.

Byers gives Modeski her new identity: Holly Fitzgerald. Susanne asks him to come with her as she begins her new life. But Byers believes she will be safer without him. With that, Susanne gives Byers a wedding ring, which had been intended for Grant.

"THE UNNATURAL" #6X20 Original Air Date: 4/25/99
The time: 1947. The place: Roswell, New Mexico. Members of an all-African-American baseball team, the Roswell Grays, face off against a team of all-white players during a "cactus league" night game staged in the middle of the desert. As Josh "Ex" Exley takes his turn at bat, the outfielders play deeper, leaving little doubt that Ex is the best player on the all-black team. The white pitcher, Moose, lets fly with a pitch. Ex catches a piece of the ball, and it soars out into the darkness. Having won the game, other black players mob Ex and hoist him onto their shoulders. Moments later, a large group of Ku Klux Klansmen, some mounted on horseback, invade the makeshift baseball diamond. The group's Grand Dragon makes it clear that his men are only interested in Ex, who, word has it, has come to the attention of the Yankees. Suddenly, Moose lets fly one of his 100-m.p.h. pitches, striking the Grand Dragon in the head and knocking him off his horse. Moose then targets the other Klansmen, knocking them unconscious. The coach of the black team pulls the hood off the Grand Dragon's head… and reacts with horror when he discovers the face of a gray space alien beneath.

One Saturday, Scully finds herself assisting Mulder as he researches "flying disc" reports made in New Mexico in the 1940s. Scully soon realizes that her partner hasn't been researching U.F.O.s as he had claimed, but is studying fifty-year-old baseball scores. Mulder's attention is soon drawn to a newspaper page featuring a photograph of Ex standing near a young Arthur Dales and the alien bounty hunter. Mulder tears the page from the reference book and makes his way to Arthur Dales' apartment building. It turns out that Arthur Dales has moved to Florida, and his brother, who is also named Arthur, now resides in his apartment. Mulder shows Dales (Dales' brother will be referred to as "Dales" from here on) the old photograph. Dales, it turns out, worked as a police officer in Roswell during the 1940s. He identifies himself as the man standing next to Exley. Dales infers that both he and his brother have known about the bounty hunter's existence-and plans for the colonization of Earth-for some 40 years. He then begins to tell the tale he has kept secret for all those years.

In flashback, a young Arthur Dales enters a Roswell baseball stadium, carrying with him a racist pamphlet offering a reward for Exley's assassination. The pamphlet reads, "Keep Baseball Pure… Keep It White." Dales approaches Exley and informs him that he has been assigned to provide him protection. Dales accompanies the team to a baseball stadium. As the game gets underway, the pitcher deliberately hurls a ball at Ex's head. Ex falls to the ground, dazed. Dales notices the pitcher's mitt nearby, the leather being eaten away by a greenish bubbling fluid. The still-dazed Ex states that he is from Macon, Georgia. Intrigued, Dales places a call to the Macon Police Department. He learns from a Macon Officer (his face unseen) that a six-year-old boy named Josh Exley disappeared fives years earlier from the town. As Dales finishes the call, the Unseen Macon Officer is revealed to be the alien bounty hunter. Dales then gives the catcher's mitt to a police chemist for analysis.

As the game gets underway, Ex realizes that a group of Yankee scouts are sitting in the stands. He deliberately plays a poor game, and the scouts finally give up and exit the stands. Once they leave, Ex again plays like his old self. Afterward, Dales approaches Ex and promises to find out what he is hiding. Later that night, Dales is awakened in his motel room by a banging from the room next door. Dales jimmies open the door connecting the two rooms… and discovers an alien clad in boxer shorts and a baseball cap swinging a bat. Dales faints.

When Dales regains consciousness, he realizes that the alien is, in fact, Josh Exley. Exley tells Dales that he lived in Macon until the day he fell hopelessly in love with the game of baseball. From that day forward, he could not go home again. Meanwhile, the bounty hunter, having assumed Exley's form, kills the police chemist and destroys his lab work. A short time later, Dales informs the real Exley about the murder. Dales is certain Exley is not the killer, this despite an eyewitness account of the attack. Dales tells Exley to leave town. With that, Exley announces his retirement from the game. Before he disappears, Exley asks Dales to tell people about how he played the game. A short time later, Dales discovers a paper nearby, one addressed to him in Exley's handwriting. Inside is a map of Roswell, which contains a drawing of a baseball diamond. Home plate is some thirty miles from the town.

The story picks up where it left off in the opening teaser: people reacting in horror at the sight of the unhooded KKK gray alien. Suddenly, the alien morphs into the bounty hunter. Armed with a stiletto, the bounty hunter approaches Exley. Dales drives to the baseball diamond in the desert. But he arrives too late: the bounty hunter plunges the blade into Exley's neck. Exley warns Dales to stay away from him, fearful that his bubbling green blood will burn his skin. But Dales shows Exley that the blood isn't green or caustic: it is very much human red blood. Exley smiles softly… then dies.

When the Older Dales finishes telling his story, Mulder telephones Scully and arranges for her to meet him at a public ball field in Washington. As an early birthday present, Mulder shows Scully how to hit a baseball. The pair laugh, knocking ball after ball into the dark sky.

"FIELD TRIP" #6X21 Original Air Date: 5/9/99
A young couple, Angie and Wallace Schiff, return to their motel after spending the day hiking through the woods. Tired and suffering from a headache, Angie decides to take a shower. Suddenly, the white fiberglass walls begin to ooze straw-colored goo. Just as suddenly, the walls return to normal. Angie dismisses the experience as fatigue from her headache. Moments later, she finds herself inside a dark place, with goo covering her eyes and mouth. Angie finishes her shower and sits with her husband. Still shaken by the imagery, she asks him to hold her. Later, the couple's skeletons turn up in a wilderness field.

Mulder reviews the Schiff's death with Scully. He notes that the skeletons were found three days after they disappeared from the motel. Scully hypothesizes that the Schiff's fell victim to a ritualistic killer, one who placed the bodies in acid and stripped away the flesh, leaving behind only bone. As the bodies were found in the Brown Mountain region of North Carolina, Mulder suspects a connection between the deaths and strange, unexplained lights that have been seen on the peak of the mountain for some seven hundred years. Scully wonders why her partner won't-just once-accept the simplest explanation. Mulder reminds her that ninety-nine percent of the time, his theories have proven correct.

The agents travel to Asheville, North Carolina, where they observe the Schiff's skeletal remains. Scully asks the coroner about a strange, gooey substance clinging to the bones. The coroner believes the substance is an organic material from the swampy area where the remains were discovered. Mulder leaves Scully at the morgue and travels to the wilderness area for further investigation. As Mulder's vehicle traverses the field, the tires crush some puffball mushrooms, which emit some small spores. Moments after exiting the SUV, Mulder notices Walter Schiff, very much alive, in the distance. Schiff runs off. Mulder follows him into a cave, and soon loses sight of him. When Mulder turns around, the mouth of the cave has vanished, and in its place is solid granite. Confused, Mulder looks about for the exit. A lab analysis reveals that the gooey substance found on the Schiff's bones is the digestive secretion of a plant. Scully borrows the coroner's truck and sets off to find Mulder. As she traverses the field, she steps upon the mushrooms, which emit more spores. Meanwhile, as Mulder searches for the cave exit, he again encounters Wallace. He claims that the skeletons are fakes, and were planted in the field by an alien race. A short time later, Wallace points out the cave entrance, which moments earlier had been solid rock. Suddenly, a beam of light blasts through the entrance. Certain the light is emanating from the aliens, Wallace runs off into the cave. Mulder follows. In reality, the source of the light beam is the tiny flashlight in Scully's hand. Scully calls out to her partner, but receives no reply. Mulder and Wallace happen upon Angie, her body lying on the stone floor of the cave. She claims to have been abducted by aliens and subjected to tests. Shortly thereafter, the blinding light returns. This time, Mulder heads into the light.

Meanwhile, Scully makes her way to Mulder's apartment. Upon finding her disheveled partner inside, she demands an explanation for why he deserted her in North Carolina. Mulder introduces Scully to Wallace and Angela. He tells her that he has finally discovered "the truth" he has been searching for. He then leads Scully into his bedroom, where a small gray alien sits in the darkness. Scully congratulates her partner for being right about everything all along. Mulder reacts with surprise. He cannot believe that Scully is accepting his conclusions. Moments later, Mulder watches as Scully melts away. In reality, Mulder is not in the apartment, but in some dark place, dreaming in a comatose state.

Scully returns to the cave, this time in the company of the coroner, who is familiar with the wooded area. They discover a human skeleton, which is presumed to be Mulder's. Dental x-rays confirm the worst. Scully believes that Mulder may have fallen victim to the digestive secretion. She makes her way to Mulder's apartment, where mourners have gathered to pay their respects. The Lone Gunmen promise Scully they will find the man responsible for the ritualistic murder. Scully stares at them, exasperated. She insists that murder is not the "obvious answer" behind Mulder's death. Scully demands to know where Mulder has gone. With that, Mulder shows up at the front door. Mulder informs Scully that he was abducted by aliens and teleported to his apartment. Scully points out the illogic to this scenario. She concludes that they are both experiencing some sort of hallucination, perhaps triggered by wild mushrooms growing in the North Carolina field. She fears they are both, in reality, trapped underground, being digested. With that, Mulder regains consciousness and pulls himself from the wet earth. He then rescues Scully from her nearby cocoon. The agents meet with Skinner to discuss the case. He notes that "it is a rare day" when both agents sign off on the same report. This observation troubles Mulder. He wonders how he and Scully were able to will their way to consciousness… and concludes that, in reality, they are still trapped underground. To prove his point, Mulder fires his gun at Skinner. Goo oozes from Skinner's wounds. Not a moment too soon, the real Skinner locates the agents. Scully and Mulder are placed on stretchers and loaded into an ambulance. Mulder gains enough strength to grab Scully's hand. Scully squeezes back.

"BIOGENESIS" #6X22 Original Air Date: 5/16/99
On a beach in West Africa, a Yelling Man alerts a group of fishermen to the discovery of a piece of metal embedded in some rock. The object, which is the size of a candy bar, contains a series of symbols. Its edges suggest that is has broken off a larger chunk of metal.

Dr. Solomon Merkmallen makes his way to the tide pool, where the same group of fishermen await. Inside his university office, Solomon extracts the metal piece from the rock. He places it next to a matching artifact, which contains similar iconic symbols. As Solomon moves the pieces towards each other, they suddenly fly from his fingers and embed themselves in a bible. The rip mark made by the now-fused object highlights a passage from Genesis. Solomon makes his way to the American University in Washington, D.C. where he meets with a Dr. Sandoz inside a biology lab. As the pair converse, Solomon realizes the man standing before him is not Dr. Sandoz. Later, the real Dr. Sandoz discovers Solomon's body.

Skinner discusses Solomon's death with Mulder and Scully. Although Solomon's body is missing, a large amount of his blood was discovered inside the biology lab. Both Solomon and Dr. Sandoz believed that life on Earth originated elsewhere in the universe. Skinner hands Scully a piece of paper containing a carbon rubbing of the (second) artifact Solomon had in his office. A short time later, Mulder hears a cacophony of sound in his head. He quickly recovers from this mysterious episode. Scully wonders why Mulder still has any interest in pursuing "the truth" now that the Syndicate members are dead and their secrets exposed. Mulder explains that there is one more thing he hopes to find: his sister.

Mulder interviews the man who had earlier posed as Dr. Sandoz. That man, Dr. Barnes, is the head of the biology department at the university. Scully hands Barnes the carbon rubbing… which causes Mulder to experience another episode. He quickly excuses himself. Meanwhile, inside a hospital, Dr. Sandoz watches over Albert Hosteen, the Native American Navajo who assisted Mulder many years earlier. Hosteen is gravely ill.

Mulder meets with Scully and Chuck Burke, who analyses the symbols on the carbon rubbing. Burke declares that the writing is phonetic Navajo, but a literal interpretation is impossible. It turns out that Dr. Barnes authored an article on the manufacture of religious artifacts, and has made a career out of exposing scientific and religious fraud. Moments later, Mulder experiences another attack. He tells Scully that the attacks have given him a special "sense." He is convinced that Barnes murdered Solomon. He and Scully travel to Dr. Sandoz's apartment, where they find a photo of Sandoz posing with Albert Hosteen. They also find Solomon's body inside a trash compactor. The agents discuss their findings with Skinner. Mulder believes Solomon's body was planted in the compactor to frame Sandoz. He also believes that Sandoz possesses an actual artifact, as does Dr. Barnes. Lab tests reveal that Solomon was exposed to radiation that only exists beyond the solar system. That radiation, according to Mulder, originated from the artifact. Before the meeting concludes, Mulder accuses Skinner of secretly operating in conjunction with another party. After the agents leave the office, Skinner moves to a small pinhole camera mounted in the wall. He ejects a tape from a VCR… and hands it to Alex Krycek.

Mulder returns to the American University. He searches Barnes' office for the artifact, but comes up empty handed. Mulder suffers an intense attack that affects his vision. He collapses on a stairwell. Moments later, a dark figure steps over Mulder's body. Mulder, who is unable to see or hear, cannot identify the form. The figure turns out to be Krycek. He makes his way to Barnes' office and hands him the surveillance tape that Skinner gave him.

Sandoz tells Scully that the metal piece is only a part of a much larger puzzle. Solomon found two more pieces in the tidal pool. Hosteen was given a rubbing made from those pieces. Together, the elements formed a passage from Genesis. Hosteen was working on more translations when his health deteriorated. Scully telephones Mulder' apartment. An unidentified woman answers and hands Mulder the phone. Mulder tells his partner that the artifacts are extraterrestrial in origin… proving that mankind's progenitors are alien. The unidentified woman turns out to be Diana Fowley. Later, she contacts the Cigarette Smoking Man and reports that Mulder is suffering from attacks.

Scully and Sandoz accompany Hosteen to a place of healing in New Mexico. Skinner contacts Scully by phone and informs her of Mulder's deteriorating condition. When Scully reaches the hospital, she learns that Mulder has been confined to a psychiatric ward. Scully becomes suspicious of Skinner and Fowley and their interest in the case.

Dr. Sandoz telephones Scully. He informs her that the letters Hosteen translated from the artifact are a map to the genetic makeup of mankind. Krycek shoots and kills Dr. Sandoz.

Scully stands amongst the group of fishermen. She shows them the carbon rubbing. The Yelling Man points her in a direction further up the beach. Scully reaches the tide pool… where it is revealed that she is standing on a massive craft buried in the sand, its surface covered with the strange symbols.

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