The Reek of Purity (11 of ?)

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Disclaimer: The X-files belong to Chris Carter
and 1013 Productions, not me. I'm only
borrowing the characters for now. I'll put them
back when I'm done.

Rating: NC-17, language and other stuff;Okay, I threw
in some gratuitous stuff! So sue me; the devil made me
do it.

Spoilers: Thru 7th Season; Amor Fati, All Souls, The
Calusari, Die Hand Die Verletzt, EXCLUDES all things
and the rest of Season 7.

Summary: Mulder didn't feel the first gunshot but he
felt the second one. A sharp, breathless agony took
him in the chest and he found himself gasping on the
pavement. Overhead he heard the explosions of
gunfire, then saw a terrified Scully pulling at his
clothing....

Author's Note: This is a story of Satanic possession,
based on the accounts and transcripts of actual
exorcisms found in Malachi Martin's book "Hostage To
the Devil" and M. Scott Peck's "People of the Lie". To
the extent possible I will use actual events to flesh
out this story within the boundaries of a fictional
work and the twistings of Mulder's character. But it
won't be pretty. Be warned.

"God, Creator and Defender of the human race; you who
made man in your own image: Look on this your servant
who is assaulted by the cunning of the unclean spirit.
The primeval adversary, the ancient enemy of Earth,
surrounds him with the horror of fear, paralyzes his
mind with darkness, strikes him with terror, agitates
him with shaking and trembling. Repel, O Lord, the
power of Evil Spirit!"

(Excerpt from the Roman Ritual of Exorcism, section 6,
Exorcism Addresses to Evil Spirit)

The demon quietly closed the door behind him and took
the stairs up two at a time. He fumbled with the door
at the top landing and succeeded in opening it,
swinging it wide.

There, in a white bathrobe stood Dana Scully, her face
pale and smudged with lack of sleep. The hallway lamp
cast a golden glow around her like a halo, glinting on
the Sig Sauer in her hand.

She fixed him with a cold look and held the gun
steady. "Back downstairs or I shoot," she said
steadily.

Mulder made an embarrassed gesture. "Come on, Scully.
You know me. It's me! Really! The demon's left and I'm
okay now." Mulder began to move toward her in the dim
hallway.

He was stopped when she lifted the gun and pointed it
at his chest. "If you consult Mulder's memories, you
know that I'll shoot."

Scully followed Mulder back down to the basement, her
slippers making scuffing noises on the steps. Before
they were half way down, Maggie's voice came from the
head of the stairs.

Scully opened the door to find Skinner lying on the
floor next to the overturned chair. But when Mulder
made a sudden move to turn and get the gun from her,
she was quicker, pressing it against his heart.

"What would a creature like you know about love?" she
returned bitterly. "Get in there. Go sit on the bed."
She followed Mulder to the bed and released one
handcuff, attaching it firmly to the bedframe. She
studied Mulder quietly and listened to the sound of
Maggie arriving with the first aid kit.

"He's breathing regularly. I think he was just knocked
out but you should take a look at him."

Scully gave her partner one last look and went over to
Maggie. "Here's my gun, Mom. Do you still remember how
to shoot?"

"If Mulder so much as twitches, shoot him," Scully
said so flatly that Maggie couldn't argue with her.

"Mulder knocked you out, I think. I caught him on the
basement stairs," Scully smiled grimly. "And by the
look of it, he got you in the jaw." She picked up his
weapon and handed it to him, then helped him up.

Skinner felt his jaw cautiously. "Yeah, he said that
Mulder's one fantasy in life was to win a fistfight
with me. Guess he did, at that." Skinner looked at his
agent, ghostly pale and tireder looking than when he'd
last seen her.

"Did Father Gregory say that the fireworks were yet to
come? I don't know how we'll all survive this." She
folded her arms and bowed her head.

"Hey! Hey, I gotta go to the can! Or should I just
piss against a wall?" Mulder shouted in glee. Skinner
looked at him, frowning, then saw the troubled look on
Scully's face.

"I'll take him, Agent. Don't worry," Skinner said and
grabbed Mulder's shoulder, then frog-marched him
upstairs to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, the demon delighted in slowly
unzipping his pants, looking deliberately over his
shoulder at Skinner. "Hey, Walter. Want to see what I
got? Bet it's bigger than yours."

The demon smiled and began to urinate. Then, when
finished, he kept his right hand on his member and
began to slowly and rhythmically pump it.
"Uhhh...uhhhh...uhhhh...don't you think...uhh..jerking
off in the morning is the best time of
day...uhhh....uhhhh...and that beautiful
redhead...uhhh..downstairs?"

Skinner could feel the confusion beginning to fog
around him again. What he'd like to do is grab that
creature by the scruff of the neck and throw him down
the stairs. Then he remembered Scully and Maggie out
there.

He held a hand against Mulder's windpipe. "Zip
yourself up. We're going downstairs."

The air whistled in Mulder's lungs. He nodded and
zipped up his pants, then was escorted back to the
basement. If Skinner looked grim at breakfast,nobody
commented on it.

They left Mulder in the basement and
Scully took a paper plate of toast downstairs to
Mulder after they'd eaten upstairs. She watched him
closely while he ate. Every attempt he made to start a
conversation was immediately rebuffed, then she left
the room in silence, taking the plate with her.

Upstairs, she excused herself and went to dress. She
frowned at the blouse and skirt she'd worn yesterday
and picked up her jeans and sweater. She walked over
to the dresser and looked at her naked body in the
mirror.

What had the demon seen when it looked at her? What
part of that was Mulder? Mulder and that creature were
sharing thoughts, memories of some kind. Was it
telling the truth about Mulder's fantasies? It
certainly knew hers, chapter and verse, even the ones
she was ashamed to admit to herself. Did Mulder know
them? How much of her soul had he read during that
brief period when he could read minds?

She ran a trembling finger over the nipple he'd
touched with his tongue and shivered at the sensation.

Shame. She felt shame. She'd enjoyed its attentions,
more than any devout being should. But if it had been
truly Mulder, it would have been the culmination of
years of longing. And Skinner had seen her like that;
he'd seen her in that erotic haze, out of control.

And now they'd begin to exorcise this demon devouring
Mulder. She wondered what would be left of the man,
after.

The Lone Gunmen arrived, toting video gear and looking
entirely too energetice for Scully's dark mood.

"Man, what happened to you?" Frohike exclaimed when he
saw Skinner's rapidly purpling jaw.

"Had a conversation with Mulder," Skinner replied
wryly. "Fortunately Scully caught him on the stairs
and brought him back."

Skinner and Scully exchanged looks. "We'd rather you
didn't until the priests arrive. Mulder...isn't
himself."

Byers looked uncomfortable but had to accept that
judgment. Frohike's eyebrows raised and Langly just
looked excited.

The doorbell rang and Scully soon ushered Father
Gregory and Father Clarence into the living room.

Father Clarence was tall and thin with a ring of white
hair around his bald head. He smiled easily as he
shook their hands, but Scully noted that he missed
very little.

Both he and Father Gregory were dressed in black
cassocks and both carried boxes which they set down in
the entryway.

"Prayer books, vestments, holy water, a portable
altar," said Father Gregory. "Do you have all the
medical records and charts for Mulder yet?"

The priest sat down and began to read through them,
then took off his glasses and sighed, rubbing his
eyes. His gray eyes met Scully's in a sharp gaze. "And
what do you think is wrong with your friend?"

Scully took a deep breath, "I believe that he is
possessed by an entity that may be demonic in nature."

"I understand that you're a medical doctor. Is that
your medical opinion?" he asked challengingly.

"No," Scully admitted. "But it isn't Mulder.
He's...changed. He isn't the man I know."

Skinner looked uncomfortable. "Mulder attacked me last
night and almost got away. I just wish I could figure
out why Scully and I didn't cuff him to the bed."

They both nodded and Father Clarence continued. "It's
a common phenomenon that when an individual is
possessed by demonic forces he seems to exude an aura
of confusion around him. Usually people so exposed
forget things, drop things, break things or are
otherwise frustrated. The demon is unaffected by it,
and generally is amused."

"Does this confusion...can it influence the judgment
of people around it?" Scully almost whispered, feeling
her face burning.

Father Clarence gave her a searching look. "Yes, it
can. Did you have such an experience?"

"He's...it has behaviors that Mulder doesn't," she
said haltingly and glanced at the Lone Gunmen with
embarrassment. "It tried very hard to persuade me to
let it go."

Father Clarence nodded and motioned the group into the
living room. "Then we need to discuss the nature of an
exorcism and its dangers. Please have a seat."

The Gunmen sat on the couch, while Maggie took the
rocker and Scully and Skinner the side chairs. Father
Clarence remained standing, as was Father Gregory.

"You've all seen exploitive movies about this process,
and some of what you've seen is real. The fact is that
demonic possession is very very rare, but does occur.
I myself have officiated at three exorcisms in my
thirty year career as a priest. In each case, the
demon was expelled. But there is danger."

"The demon will exploit any weakness it perceives, and
it will know the deepest and most shameful secrets of
each of you. It will focus most of its energy on me,
as the exorcist, but you will all be at risk as well.
I think it's already tried some of that on Dana and
Mr. Skinner," he gestured toward them and Scully felt
herself blush again.

"The important thing is not to engage it in
conversation. Don't ask it any questions. Its ability
to confuse and mislead will only trap you and place
you in its power. I will question it, but only as part
of the ritual. Is that clear?"

All the participants nodded solemnly, then Frohike
raised his hand. "Uh, excuse me, but I need to ask a
question. I'm not Catholic. In fact, I'm not even a
Christian; I'm Jewish. Will that make a difference?"

Father Clarence smiled. "The most important thing is
the faith and integrity of the participant, not his
particular brand of religion. My sole question of each
of you is, do you love and respect your friend enough
to see him through this? It will get ugly and you'll
see some things that normal people rarely experience."

He watched as each person thought about it, then
slowly began to nod their heads. "Good. I think we'll
have a good support team."

"Dana, I understand that you're a medical doctor. Do
you have your bag with you?"

"It could be. Often a demon will physically harm its
host in preference to being expelled. You will need to
monitor Mulder's condition and tell us how he's
holding up."

"Yes, it could. It's been known to happen before, but
we'll take every precaution to prevent any harm to
him. Additionally, any member of the team could be
physically attacked or affected as well. That's why
it's customary to have a doctor stand by."

The Gunmen looked at each other in stunned silence.
Scully bit her lip and looked at the floor while
Skinner frowned. "Well, let's take a look at the
patient, shall we? This will give us a chance to set
up the altar and the recording equipment."

The group went downstairs to find Mulder sitting
quietly on the bed. He grinned when he saw who had
arrived. "Hey! Fro! Byers and Langly! Great to see you
guys. I'd get up and say hello, but I'm kinda tied up
right now."

Frohike looked at Mulder doubtfully. "He looks normal
to me," he said in an aside to Scully.

"Trust me, he isn't," she replied. Frohike gave her a
searching look and wandered over to where Langly and
Byers were setting up camera equipment.

Byers threw Mulder a troubled look. "What do you
expect? Green vomit?" The expression on Langly's face
implied that he'd expected just that.

Mulder smiled at the priest, and for all the world
Skinner could swear that some kind of reptilian
presence had taken over Mulder's form. The younger
man's features had fallen into lines that he'd never
seen on Mulder's face and the eyes...the eyes carried
a thousand years of hatred. "I was wondering when I'd
see you again."

He and Father Gregory carefully brought a small table
into the room and placed candlesticks, crucifix and a
prayerbook on it. Then he drew his helpers to the
other side of the room.

"This could take a day, several days or a week.
Because of that, the helpers will work in shifts. I
will be present for the duration, and I'd like Agent
Scully to be here as well since she is a doctor.
Gregory will assist in the ritual." Father Clarence
turned to Father Gregory with a smile.

"Greg, you already know the substance of the ritual,
but your primary job is to poleaxe me and carry on in
my place if I make the ultimate mistake." Gregory
nodded, while Skinner and Scully exchanged worried
looks.

"First shift, I'd like Mr. Skinner and Mr.Frohike to
help restrain Mulder if necessary."

"Fine. In twelve hours, if necessary Byers and Langly
will relieve you. Frohike, you and Walter should rest
and pray while you are off duty. Be certain that your
prayers are every bit as much help as your physical
presence. And the same goes for each of us. Whenever
present in this room, or out of it, pray. Pray to the
God of your understanding for Mulder's deliverance.
Every little bit helps."

"I think your prayers would be most useful. That, and
support the helpers as much as you can. Do you pray
the rosary?" At Maggie's nod, he said "Then pray the
rosary in support of our intentions."

At his signal, Byers, Langly and Maggie left the room.
Maggie gave her daughter a backwards glance, then shut
the door behind them.

"One last instruction. Do not address Mulder or the
creature inside him. Don't answer questions, don't ask
them and don't argue with it. This is an absolute
rule. Don't break it, for your own safety."

Skinner caught sight of Mulder over the priest's
shoulder. The green eyes glowed with preternatural
calm while a tiny smile played on his lips. Skinner
shivered.

"One last question for you, Dana and Walter. Do you
know if Mulder had any religious beliefs? Was he ever
baptized, even as a child?"

"No observance that I'm aware of," said Skinner
slowly. "He left that part of the H.R. forms blank."

"His mother was Episcopalian and his father was
Jewish," said Scully. "He wasn't raised in any formal
religion but I think he told me once that his mother
had him christened in an Episcopal church when he was
a baby. Mulder has always believed in the greater
good, in sacrifice and in the existence of a greater
reality. But I think he's always had trouble with a
classic religious faith." Scully paused, troubled.
"He's one of the best men I ever knew. Will his lack
of faith...hurt...him in any way?"

"I've always believed that God takes care of his own,
whatever flock he finds them in," Father Clarence said
gently.

Father Clarence left the room briefly and returned
draped with a white surplice and purple stole. He
picked up the crucifix from the table and held a vial
of holy water in the other hand. He motioned for
Skinner and Frohike to move to the ends of Mulder's
bed, and approached the demon.

Mulder's eyes widened in terror as the priest
approached. He darted looks at both ends of the bed
where Frohike and Skinner looked grimly on.

The priest held the crucifix high, sprinkled Mulder
with holy water and said, "Fox William Mulder,
creature of God, in the name of God who created you
and of Jesus who saved you, I command you to hear my
voice as the voice of Jesus Christ and to obey my
commands."

Mulder stood bolt upright and opened his mouth into a
long, wailing howl full of agony, the sound of an
animal being slowly tortured to death. His eyes
rolled up, and his body became rigid with spasms as he
screamed and screamed and screamed...