Script by John Shiban and Vince Gilligan based on a story by Frank Spotnitz. Directed by Kim Manners
Summary by MaraKara
Angela and Wallace Schiff return from a day of hiking. He is in his late 20's, early 30's, she's mid to late 20's. Both are athletic - though he enjoys it more than she does. He has dark brown hair, she is a redhead. Angela did not enjoy their day in the woods -- she does not consider running after him covered in mosquito bites and blisters fun. He jokes about her little legs and apologizes.
Angela has a headache as she showers. While she is washing up, the shower walls cover with a dripping, mustard colored goo. A flash shows Angela screaming as the yellow goo pours down on her in a dark place. The flash and the shower goo suddenly disappear.
In bed, Angela asks Wallace to "just hold me". Her head still hurts. The next day, Angela and her husband are found as skeletonized remains in a field, in the same embrace they shared in bed.
The credits roll: The Truth is Out There.
Back at the basement, Mulder is starting his first slide show of season six. They may have regained the basement, but Mulder's screen was lost somewhere along the way.
Mulder's slide show features Angela and Wallace -- or what is left of them. Mulder finds two things immediately interesting -- the bodies were found as skeletons after just three days in temperatures under 70 degrees and they were found on Brown Mountain, N.C.
Scully tells Mulder that the cool temps exclude decomposition, the fact that the skeletons were in perfect shape excludes an animal eating them.
Mulder is interested in the fact that there was no clothing on their bodies.
Scully thinks the Schiffs were victims of a double murder, " possibly one with ritualistic overtones. The bodies may have been stripped, then skeletonized, possibly by boiling or by the use of some kind of acid solution. Maybe the arrangement of the bodies has some meaning to the killer or killers. At any rate, I'd term it ritualistic."
Mulder is skeptical -- no footprints, no tire tracks -- a big operation for killing two people.
Mulder's theory, not surprisingly includes aliens. "Brown Mountain, Scully. It doesn't ring a bell? Brown Mountain Lights? It's a famous atmospheric phenomenon dating back nearly 700 years witnessed by thousands of people, back to the Cherokee Indians. Strange, multicolored lights are seen to dance above the peak of the mountain. There's been no geological explanation, no scientific credible explanation at all."
Scully is skeptical of the Brown Mountain idea. "Extraterrestrial visitors from beyond who apparently have nothing better to do than buzz one mountain over and over again for 700 years."
Mulder is bothered by Scully's response. "Sounds like crap when you say it. I'm just, I'm just wondering if there's a connection, Scully. I mean the conditions of these bodies are reminiscent of certain southwest cattle mutilations, other cases where there's no physical evidence.. and they've long been associated with UFO activity."
Scully stands her ground, "Mulder, can't you just for once, just for the novelty of it, come up with the simplest explanation, the most logical one instead of automatically jumping to UFO's or Bigfoot or..."
Mulder interrupts, a bit angry and hurt: "Scully, in six years how often have I been wrong?"
She is a little taken aback and tries to answer but Mulder plows on, "No, seriously, I mean, every time I bring you a new case, we go through this perfunctory dance. You tell me I'm not being scientifically rigorous and that I'm off my nut, and in the end, who turns out to be right like 98.9 percent of the time?" Mulder takes a beat, "I just think I've...earned the benefit of the doubt here."
He walks away from a surprised Scully.
Mulder and Scully arrive in the Boone County Morgue, Asheville, NC. The local ME shows them the bodies. Scully is amazed that their condition, "Are you sure these are the right two bodies, and not two others that have lain out for six months?"
The ME is a little put off but shows that he checked the dental records three times -- they match. He shows Mulder and Scully the file folders he has for Angela and Wallace, including a nice photo of each.
As Mulder gets directions to Brown Mountain, Scully notices some mustard colored goo -- similar to the goo Angela saw in the shower -- on the skeletons. When she questions the ME about the material, he tells them that Angela and Wallace were found in a swampy area and the goo is probably bog sludge. Mulder heads off to Brown Mountain while Scully remains at the morgue to analyze the "bog sludge".
Mulder pulls up to the area where Wallace and Angela were found. He runs over several large mushrooms, causing them to explode and send spores all over the area. After scouting around for a while, he finds more of the mustard colored goo and mushrooms. As he looks around, Mulder sees a familiar figure running uphill -- it is Wallace. Mulder calls after Wallace, chasing him into a cave.
Back at the morgue, the local ME tells Scully that the "bog sludge" isn't bog sludge. It is a mixture of digestive secretions - - stomach juices. One particular chemical is only found in plant secretions.
The ME remembers several other hikers who turned up dead, but unlike Angela and Wallace, they were missing for months or years, not days. Skeletonized remains would not be uncommon.
Scully starts to worry about Mulder in the mountains on his own, but can't reach him by cellphone. She asks the ME to forward a sample of the enzyme to the FBI lab at Quantico for a complete analysis. Borrowing his truck, she is off to find Mulder.
Mulder chases the fleeing Wallace Schiff deep inside a cave. Wallace, traumatized by his experience, tells Mulder that he and Angela were abducted by aliens and only he has been returned. Mulder asks about the skeletons but Wallace tells him the bones were decoys so no one would look from them.
Scully finds Mulder's rented SUV at Brown Mountain along with footprints in the mud. Following Mulder's footprints, she steps in a large patch of mushrooms, releasing a cloud of spores. She calls for Mulder, but he does not answer.
In the cave, Mulder and Wallace try to leave but are stopped by a rumbling noise and bright light. Wallace panics and hides, begging Mulder to do the same.
Scully, meanwhile, is shining her flashlight into a boulder with an opening and calling for Mulder. She does not get an answer.
Back at the cave, Mulder is surprised that the aliens didn't find them, but Wallace seems relieved. As Mulder and Wallace look for a way out, they discover a frightened Angie.
With Mulder's help, she relives her abduction. She tells him of "terrible tests", including a drill and being unable to move but not held down. She was tested in a white featureless room with men all around. She could not see their faces. Finally, Mulder finds a small scar in the back of her neck. Mulder tells her that her abduction is classic, almost "textbook, down to the last detail, except for one. The skeletons that were found that were identified as yours and Angie's? I don't understand that. Doesn't make any sense to me. There's no precedent for it, it's in none of the literature."
Wallace suggests cattle mutations and that they didn't want Mulder to know the truth. Mulder wants to leave but Angie can feel the aliens returning. Another bright light causes the cave to shake. Angela and Wallace are terrified, but Mulder stands tall and walks into the light.
Scully goes to Mulder's apartment. She is annoyed that he left her alone in North Carolina but he is oddly peaceful. He explains that something came up he had to show her. Mulder ushers her in, introducing her to Wallace and Angela. Scully is shocked, she checked the dental records herself.
Angie explains to Scully that she was supposed to ID their bodies. The aliens wanted it that way.
Mulder takes Scully aside and tells her, "What I'm about to tell you will change your life forever. Your life, my life, the life of everybody on this planet. It's out there, I found it."
Scully is skeptical when Angie tells her "They took me to a white place. There were men there, they put an implant in my neck."
Mulder turns to Scully and says "Just like what happened to you."
Scully disagrees, "Mulder, from what very little I understand about this case, this isn't what happened to me."
Mulder takes Scully into his bedroom. It is dark. "It doesn't like the light." Mulder tells Scully. From behind one of his dressers peeks out a little grey man with big, blinking eyes. "I abducted him. Isn't it great. He speaks to me. We communicate telepathically. He told me everything."
Scully is stunned, "I...I can hear him. Oh my God." Her eyes fill with tears of wonder. Back out in the living room, Scully turns to Mulder, "I don't know what to say, Mulder, where to begin. You were right. All these years, you were right.
Mulder is beginning to have some doubts.
Scully is totally on-board, "You were right about the grays, about the abductions, about the UFO's, the lights, the Brown Mountain lights." Mulder wonders about the skeletons, but Scully just dismisses it. "They were fake, they were decoys."
Mulder begins to question the decoys, "You're buying that decoy theory? What about that organic substance we found on the skeletons? That goo you were so interested in."
"It was nothing, it was bog sludge." Scully tells him.
Mulder starts to rub his temples, he has a terrible headache. "That, uh, doesn't sound like you, Scully. I can't believe you're buying this."
"Mulder, I'm admitting that I was wrong.", Scully tells him, obviously worried about his discomfort, "Are you all right?"
Mulder goes into the bathroom to wash his face. The running water briefly turns to the mustard yellow goo, then returns to a worried Scully. Mulder looks around, and everyone around him beings to dissolve in a flood of mustard colored goo.
Mulder really isn't in his apartment. Instead he is trapped in an a dripping pod of the mustard colored goo.
Scully returns to the field with the local ME for help finding Mulder. As they retrace Mulder's steps, they see mustard colored goo in his boot prints. The digestive material is coming up from the ground. As they reach the entrance of the cave, the ME points out that there are prints coming out as well as going in -- they were only going in when Scully was alone earlier.
The ME follows them into some high grass and calls Scully. He finds a long skeleton, akimbo.
Back at the ME's office, Scully is stunned and disturbed by the skeleton. The ME has Mulder's dental records. Scully does the match herself -- the skeleton is Mulder. The ME offers his condolences to a numb Scully.
"That digestive secretion that we keep finding," she asks, trying not to cry, "could it- could it have done this to him?" The ME is confused. "It's chemically similar to gastric juices, right? Maybe- maybe he fell in it or maybe it's a product of a particular vegetation that grows in the area."
The ME thinks the idea is sound except there is no digestive material on Mulder's remains. Scully takes a piece of gauze and checks -- the bones are clean.
"I just think we need to look for the simplest explanation, the most logical." the ME tells Scully. He thinks "we're looking at a murder, one with ritualistic overtones. I think his body was stripped, then skeletonized, possibly by boiling or by the use of some kind of acid solution. Don't worry Agent, we'll take care of the arrangements."
"What arrangements?" Scully asks.
"We'll have the remains sent on to Washington."
Scully meets with Assistant Director Skinner. "I appreciate the thoroughness of your report," he tells her, "especially given the circumstances. Might be best if you took some time off. A short leave."
Scully is amazed, "Sir, you're satisfied with my conclusions in this case?"
"Absolutely. I take it you're not?"
Again, visibly upset, "I was unable to determine a clear cause of death. Nor was I able to fully account for the condition of Agent Mulder's body."
"You concluded he was a victim of a ... ritual killing."
"No, that was one possible scenario that I mentioned, but in my mind, it was the least plausible."
"Not only is it plausible, it's likely. Why are you questioning your own findings?"
"My role in the X-Files has always been to provide a rational, scientific perspective to cases that would seem to defy explanation, a counterpoint to Agent Mulder."
Warmly, Skinner tells her, "And you've done that. You've performed admirably."
"Have I? How many X-Files has my scientific approach fully and satisfactorily explained?"
"Your reports have consistently made sense of his conclusions." he tells her in a kind voice.
"Sir, this report makes no sense at all."
"Are you suggesting that this is anything but a murder?"
"That's what Agent Mulder would have thought."
"Would you think he'd be right? Given Mulder's life work it is tempting to attribute to death to the paranormal, the unexplained the unknown, but that's not the case. You need to see this for what it is and given that, I promise you we'll get the bastard that did this."
Scully heads to Mulder's apartment and knocks on the door. Frohike answers -- it is a wake, Mulder's wake. In his bedroom, Scully can see the flower-draped casket. Skinner offers his condolences.
The Gunmen approach. Byers is in a dark suit, Langley a tuxedo tee-shirt. Frohike is drinking heavily. They tell her they hope she's not offended, but they're launching an investigation of their own. She's relieved..she was beginning to think she was the only one who was suspicious
Frohike assures her they'll get the killer. At her questioning look, Byers tells her they got hold of her FBI report. They were impressed with her thoroughness, especially under the circumstances and agree that it was a ritualized murder.
"Those are not my findings!" she protests, "You guys believe that too, that Mulder was murdered?"
"We believe the body was stripped," Byers tells her, "then skeletonized, possibly by boiling or by the use of some kind of acid solution."
Scully is furious that everyone is buying the party line. Scully starts having headaches, her vision blurring into the mustard colored goo. She is getting louder and more frantic. Skinner comes by and tries to calm her down with no luck. She wants Mulder. A knock comes to the door -- as the wake guests fade away, Mulder enters his apartment.
As the two walk to his couch, Scully notices the casket is gone from the bedroom. Mulder, calmly and dispassionately tells Scully he was abducted with the Schiffs.
"From North Carolina direct to your apartment door?" Scully asks. "Mulder, you don't remember getting here, do you? Neither do I."
"Doesn't change what happened."
"Mulder, why did you knock? This is your apartment. And you don't seem the least bit surprised to find me here. And what about the Schiffs, if they're alive as you say, then where are they? Where'd they go? Mulder, five minutes ago, this room was filled with people attending your wake."
"What can I say, Scully? I'm here. I'm real."
Scully starts figuring it out, "Mulder, this is not reality. This is a hallucination, it has to be. And either I am having it or you are having it or we are having it together."
Mulder is unsure -- what would cause a hallucination?
"Something that we found in that field, Mulder, because that's where it began." Thinking, it dawns on her, "Wild mushrooms, Mulder, they were growing there, I stepped on one and it gave off spores. Several varieties of mushrooms are known for their hallucinogenic properties. If we inhaled..."
Mulder interrupts, "Whatever happened to the most logical explanation?"
"This is it, Mulder. What if we're still there, if we're still in that cave in North Carolina? We're not here in this apartment right now."
Mulder still isn't sure but Scully is "I think this is making sense. I think that Angela and Wallace Schiff were digested by that substance I found all over that field, that they were dissolved and then expelled up out of the ground. What if that substance, and this hallucinogen are one in the same organism?"
"A giant mushroom?"
"A giant fungal organism, Mulder, we already know that they exist, biologists have found specimens that range dozens of acres, that weigh hundreds of tons. And what if this one needs to feed on living tissue, Mulder? There is carnivorous plant life, the Venus Flytrap and the Pitcher Plant. Mulder, what if this one puts off an hallucinogen..."
"To lure its prey into the cave?"
"To make it complacent, to keep it still while it devours it. What if we're still underground?" Mulder is suddenly in pain, holding his face as Scully continues. "What if we're moving deeper into the cave, or being moved? Mulder, what if we're being digested? Right now?"
Scully fades into a mass of mustard goo.
Suddenly, a hand come out of some loose earth. Mulder pulls himself out, covered in goo and dirt. He pulls Scully out with him. Both are breathing hard, coughing and lying exhausted on a grassy field.
Some time later, they meet with Skinner to present their report. "The exact size of this organism has yet to be determined?"
Scully replies, "That's correct, sir. We know that the organism extends for at least ten acres, though it's mostly subterranean, so it might be larger."
Sounding quite professional, Mulder tells Skinner, "We've contacted Fish and Wildlife, we've contacted The North Carolina State Health Department as well as local FBI field office in Raleigh, and we've contacted a mycologist at the Smithsonian for good measure. We think we have our bases covered."
Scully tells Skinner, "The lab results determined that those spores we were exposed to had a chemical structure similar to LSD. They also contain an alkaloid, which induces a state of narcosis."
A little proud, Skinner tells them, "It's a rare day when the two of you sign off on the same report." He notices Mulder is suddenly silent. "Agent Mulder?"
"I'm just thinking. I'm not exactly clear on how we escaped."
"What's not clear?", Skinner asks.
Mulder turns to Scully, "Once you recognized we were under a chemical influence then, we kind of...broke the spell?"
"That's right." Scully tells him.
"Scully, how could we simply *will* ourselves out of a chemical hallucination?"
"Well, the fact remains, we did." Scully answers without really answering.
"Did we? Can you name me one drug that loses its effect once the user realizes its in his system?" Mulder asks.
"I assume the effects wore off as you made your escape." Skinner adds.
"Scully, how long were we underground, hours? A day? How come our bodies don't show any effects from being burned by the digestive fluids? We were covered in hydrochloric acid, yet look at our skin. Nothing." Mulder argues.
Skinner asks, "Agent Mulder, where are you going with this?"
Mulder ignores him, "Scully, we *never* escaped. We're still trapped underground."
"Mulder, we did escape. I think you're suffering from post traumatic stress."
"I'm not. This is not real. You, you're not real. I'll prove it, Scully." Mulder pulls out his gun and shoots Skinner. Smoking black holes appear in Skinner's starched blue shirt, but yellow goo pours out of them. The hallucination dissolves in a flood of yellow goo.
Mulder and Scully are, indeed, still trapped underground in that organic pod with mustard colored goo dripping down on them. Again, Mulder manages to get a hand out and push it upward out of the ground into the daylight.
It's seen by the swarms of men pouring over the area where the Schiffs bodies were found, wearing oxygen masks to protect them from the spores, One of those men is Skinner. They pull Mulder out and then Scully, load them onto gurneys. Scully mumbles something about the mushrooms, and the man pushing her gurney assures her they found it.
Mulder and Scully are put in an ambulance together. A groggy Mulder looks over and sees Scully is alive. He reaches his hand out and she takes it.
The final scene is Mulder and Scully holding hands as the ambulance takes them away.