05x17 - All Souls

[bunniefuu]

Good evening, Father. Is she ready?

Yes.

Baptism is the rite of initiation.

This holy water takes away original sin.

The sacrament confers the grace of God, bringing the soul into God's family.

Dara, I baptize you in the name of the Father.

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Bless you, my child.

Dara?

Oh, my God!

Dara!

Dara!

Dara!

Dara!

Dara?

Oh, my God.

Dara!

No-o-oooo!

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.

It has been several months since my last confession.

You have a sin to confess?

Father, I'm an FBI agent.

I've taken it as my code and purpose to uphold the law.

To save lives.

And now your work has come in conflict with your faith?

In a way.

I was here for Easter services last week, and Father McCue approached me for my help.

Why did he come to you?

Because there was a family that he felt needed my help.

But it was more than that.

Father, I had a daughter who d*ed... a strange and sudden death several months ago.

Father McCue thought that by helping these people you might in some way help yourself to come to terms with your grief?

Yes. But you haven't?

Father, I told you that I had a sin to confess.

But the sin of which I'm guilty, I'm not sure if you can offer forgiveness.

What is the sin?

An innocent girl is dead because of me.

I could have saved her life.

But I let her die.

Thank you so much. Nice to see you.

Dana?

Do you have a moment? I need to speak with you in private.

I must say, it's been nice seeing you at Mass again. I've almost started getting used to it.

I've been trying to make an effort to come more often.

I don't mean to take advantage of your attendance, but I'm involved in a difficult situation with a couple that are also members here.

Do you know the Kernofs? No, I'm afraid I don't.

Recently they lost their daughter, Dara. You may have heard about the situation.

No, I didn't.

The circumstances of the girl's death were sudden, and I'm afraid the police haven't been able to tell them much.

Are you asking for my help?

The Kernofs are devout, but their faith is giving them little comfort.

I thought, with your background, your words might carry a certain weight.

Can I tell them you'll be visiting?

That's Dara on her 16th birthday.

We couldn't have children of our own. I persuaded Lance, six years ago, to adopt.

At first he was reluctant to accept a special- needs child, but he got so attached to her.

Then this happens.

You make the choice, never imagining something like this, or how vulnerable you are.

Dara had just been baptized. I know in my heart she's gone to a better place, but Lance is angry. Angry at God.

They say time heals.

Father McCue said that you've been having trouble getting much information about what happened to her.

They say she may have been struck by lightning, but no one seems to know for sure.

How she even got out of the house is a mystery.

What do you mean? Dara had congenital spinal deformities.

She's always been wheelchair-bound. Could somebody have taken her out?

Lance said he saw her walking, and when he found her she was on her knees, praying.

I think that's the hardest part for my husband.

He'll never understand how God could... forsake the life of an innocent girl.

How God in his mercy could let this happen to our Dara.

Mrs Kernof was talking about her husband but she might as well have been talking about me.

You too are angry at God?

I felt drawn to these people, Father.

In a very personal way.

I was determined to help them understand why their daughter had been taken.

And did you?

As much as I have my faith, Father, I am a scientist.

Trained to weigh evidence.

But science only teaches us how, not why.

If I have to stand by my report I will, but it's hardly open-and-shut on the cause of death.

You think it was lightning? I'm guessing it was lightning.

The way her eyes were b*rned suggests the bolt went to ground right through her head.

Funny thing is, there was no other sign of arcing except for the face.

Her mother said she was found in a kneeling position.

Genuflecting.

Are you a religious person? Why do you ask?

I haven't been to church since I was a kid. But I went last Sunday.

I'm gonna show you something.

Her body was so rigored that I had to do my examination in the position she was found.

I've never seen anything like it.

Looks like there was surgery on her hands. She was polydactyl. Same with her feet.

I haven't asked her parents yet - I haven't had the heart - but I assume they had the extra fingers removed.

What's the connection?

I found no other evidence of any other tissue damage or electrical burns or any other serious trauma.

It's as if God himself struck her down.

Dara was adopted.

I don't suppose you asked for any information about the birth mother?

I can do that if you like. No, it's OK. I, uh...

I have someone I can ask. Somebody I'd like to confer with actually.

Koklos. Paula Koklos. Room 213.

We'll get her things packed up and get you on your way.

Hold it.

Just hold it.

Are you Father Gregory? Yes.

I'm Aaron Starkey, with the Department of Social Services.

I am very sorry, but we've had a mix-up. What are you talking about?

Your adoption petition for Paula Koklos is missing an approval.

I've got the court order. That's the mix-up.

It shouldn't have gone to family court without an approval from the social worker assigned to the case.

And that's me.

Give it to me then, and we'll be on our way.

Well, I can't. At least not yet. I've just been assigned to Paula, so I'll need time to familiarize myself with her case...

Look, I've already been through all this. I'm here to take the girl home.

I'm sorry, Father, but you'll have to wait.

Until I can get the paperwork in order.

Hello? Hey, Scully. I'm returning your call.

Hi. Uh, something's come up. I was, uh, hoping that you could do me a favour.

What's going on?

This isn't official FBI business, so I was hoping we could keep it outside of work.

OK. Look, I'm kinda tailing a possible suspect right now, so I'm kinda rushed. So...

I need some birth and adoptive records on a Dara Kernof Who? Dara Kernof.

I can't tell you much more than that, I'm sorry.

You wanna give me a hint? Anything? Not until you get me those records.

All right. I'll talk to you later.

Scully?

Aren't you the secret squirrel? What do you mean?

I got a look at that body. You been holding out on me.

Mulder, it's not what you think. I didn't wanna involve you.

I got asked to look into this as a favour for a family.

Dara Kernofs family?

You found Dara's records? Those are her birth records.

The adoption records have been sealed.

I think one of my questions has already been answered. Dara was a twin.

No, actually she was a quadruplet. One of four girls.

Was this, uh, cross found like this?

Yes, as far as I know. Why? It's inverted. Upside down.

That's a protest, a sacrilege against the Church.

Put there by whom?

It's your case, remember, Scully? Do you have any suspects?

Not as of this time. Could the, uh, the victim have placed it?

It's doubtful.

Paula Koklos was severely impaired, physically and mentally.

As was Dara Kernof.

They both d*ed the same way? It appears that their eyes were burnt out.

Their bodies frozen in a position of prayer.

Physical deformities could account for that.

They might.

Look, Scully, I know you don't really want my help on this but can I offer you my professional opinion?

You got a bona fide super-crazy religious wacko on your hands.

What makes you so sure?

The mote in the eye, the window to the soul, an eye for an eye... He's working from ancient scripture, maybe even the Bible.

He may even think he's doing God's work. Did you find anything?

My name is Aaron Starkey. I'm the social worker assigned to Paula Koklos.

This is so tragic. I just hope you catch whoever did this.

Mr Starkey, do you happen to know if that cross overthere belonged to Paula?

I don't remember seeing it before. I'm sure it didn't.

Did she have any visitors who might have left it behind?

No, she had no family, no friends really.

I don't know if you knew this, but Paula was about to be adopted.

By who?

Scully, look at this.

Gnostic Gospels, Book of Enoch, Book of J...

Apocrypha...

I'm surprised there's nothing here from Jesus Christ Superstar.

What kind of church is this? There ain't no tellin'.

Can I help you? Father Gregory?

Yes? I'm Dana Scully.

We're here about the death of Paula Koklos.

Oh, God, no.

Are you all right, Father?

I was trying to adopt Paula.

I'm sure you knew that. We hear you were very anxious to do so.

I hope to God you're not suggesting I had something to do with it.

Why adopt her? You think I was interested in harming her?

Why adopt her?

I was trying to protect her.

I knew her mother. Do you know where she is?

Yes. We were looking for her name.

It's not listed on the birth records. Why would you want it?

The other two girls may be in danger. We hope she might be able to help us find them.

Their mother d*ed in childbirth.

Can you give us a name?

When I was a priest in the Roman Church, before I founded my own, I was her confessor. Divulging her name would violate the code of my faith.

And yours, I see. You said you wanted to protect Paula.

From what? Whatever your intentions, your secular prejudices blind you to what's really happening here.

Two girls are dead. Not by the hand of man.

Unless you accept God's teachings, that there is a struggle between good and evil for all souls, and that we are losing that struggle, you're but fools rushing in.

You put your own lives in danger, as well as the lives of the messengers.

I have nothing more to say.

I brought Agent Mulder on the case to help temper my feelings.

To keep them from clouding my judgment.

I wouldn't admit it to him, but... as we stood there I felt as if Father Gregory was speaking directly to me.

In a language only I could understand.

"The messengers"?

Yes.

I know people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, but that guy is paranoid.

I think you're a little extreme in your judgment.

All that crap about the fight for all souls, the literature, the performance we just witnessed.

It all fits. He thinks he's doing God's laundry.

He said this wasn't done by the hand of man. You think he believes that?

If so, he's more dangerous than he appears. Even if he's not your k*ller, he is hiding something. What?

He says he knew the mother but won't give her name. Maybe she's alive.

I think you have enough to bring him in for questioning, if not make an arrest.

But basically you're ruling out any element of the supernatural.

What do you mean?

Dara Kernof was baptized on the day of her death. Sanctified by the ritual sacrament.

Submerged in the spirit. Then why would God allow this to happen?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Religion has masqueraded as the paranormal since the dawn of time to justify some of the most horrible acts in history.

I was raised to believe God has his reasons, however mysterious.

He may well have, but he seems to use a lot of psychotics to carry out his job orders.

You wanna find out who did this? I suggest you autopsy the body of Paula Koklos before it's interred. Before the man who k*lled her has a chance to find her sisters.

The victim is Paula Koklos, age 16, cause of death unknown.

I'll begin with the external examination.

Victim has signs of congenital physical defects, including four supernumerary digits.

The only indications of external trauma are the burning... by means unknown, of both globes of the eyes.

I'm noting something on the shoulder.

A bony process of some kind, possibly a tumorous mass.

Note no indication of surgical procedure.

The mass appears on both the right and left clavicle.

Oh, God.

Mommy?

Mommy, please.

I told myself that it was all in my head.

A hallucination brought on by my emotional connection to the case.

That would seem to be a reasonable explanation.

But that's not what it was, Father.

I was meant to see Emily... for a purpose.

Which was?

To save these girls.

Scully, it's me. I did some more digging on those adoption records.

What do you mean? I think I got a lead on that third sister.

Where?

She was under county care ten years ago.

She wandered into a teen crisis center here in DC last week, homeless.

That guy over at Social Services, Starkey, he's helping me canvass the area.

If she shares anything with her sisters, she won't be walking far.

What did you find? Evidence of a degenerative bone disease.

And, uh, I know you're gonna think that I'm crazy, but I swear I found evidence of something winglike.

Well, then, maybe she flew here, Scully.

Mulder, there's something else.

Why don't you hold that thought and talk to me and Father Gregory when you see us.

Stop right there!

Move into the light. Move into the light! Hands where I can see 'em.

We're too late.

Where's the girl? She's dead.

Where is she? In there.

What are you asking for, Father? Mercy or forgiveness?

You know, they say when you talk to God it's prayer, but when God talks to you it's schizophrenia.

What is your god telling you, Father? I pray for the girls' souls.

Oh, you pray for their souls now. That's convenient.

I am immune to your mockery. You're not interested in the truth.

I am only interested in the truth!

I'd like to know why you did what you did to three defenseless, helpless young girls!

What in your sick mind would possess you to burn their eyes out?!

Did they see you for who you are? Like I do?

What does this mean, Father?

Tell him what it is.

Saint Peter. You know the story.

Saint Peter on the cross.

Saint Peter would only be crucified upside down out of humility towards Christ.

I've risked my life to protect their precious souls, which the Devil has sought to claim.

He took two before I could reach them, and I was too late to save the third.

Agents Mulder and Scully?

You know.

You've already guessed... what they are.

The last one is still out there.

The Devil is here.

And if he finds her, his victory will be complete.

Scully? They think they've found the fourth girl.

As long as I'm in here, there's no one to protect her. Let me go.

Or she will die.

You believed him. Yes.

But you didn't tell your colleague? He believed that he could find the last girl.

But I already knew I was meant to save her.

From what?

I wasn't sure.

Father Gregory said that the Devil claimed the lives of the first three girls.

You don't believe that.

I know now that Father Gregory was mistaken.

The Devil didn't take their souls.

But the thr*at to those girls was real.

And Father Gregory gave his life to protect them.

The fourth girl is Roberta Dyer, transferred to Maryland adoption services in 1995 when her foster father got a job in Gaithersburg.

Adoption services investigated allegations of child abuse in September of that year, three more times in '96 and then two more times in '97.

What's wrong? Father Gregory called them messengers.

Scully? You don't wanna let this guy get in your head. That's the last thing you want.

Sometimes the most twisted ones are the most persuasive.

Mulder, he knows where she is.

As long as he's locked up, it doesn't matter.

You won't find her. You're being misled. By who?

You're the one who's being misled. Not just willingly, but willfully.

I've never seen you more vulnerable, susceptible or easily manipulated.

And it scares me, because I don't know why.

I saw Emily.

She came to me in a vision.

I think you should step away.

Personal issues are making you lose your objectivity, clouding your judgment.

You go.

Go find the girl. I'm gonna finish up with Father Gregory.

OK.

Father Gregory?

Where is she, Father?

How did you get in here? I will not be denied this time, Father.

But you took the others. The others were taken from me.

I will not allow that to happen again.

Where is the fourth girl?

Urgh...

Tell me, Father.

Save yourself.

I'd like to get back in here. It should be open.

Father Gregory?

Father Gregory?

Yeah? We have a warrant to find your daughter.

She's not here, I tell ya. She's out. She's at school.

We checked the school. She hasn't been there in a week. Her life may be in danger.

If you know something...

What's behind this door? It's the basement.

Well, can you unlock it? I don't have the key.

Is this her room?

Where is she, Mr Dyer?

Where is she?

They'll cut off the cheques, won't they? Where is she?!

He said he'd take her off my hands but I'd keep the disability.

Who? The priest.

Who? Father Gregory.

Hello? Hi, Scully, it's me.

He's dead, Mulder. Who?

Father Gregory. They found him alone in the interrogation room.

No one can figure it out. There was a guard sitting right outside the room.

We didn't find her. The fourth girl. She was here.

Hey, Scully?

Scully, are you there? Answer me.

Scully?

Scully!

Scully?!

Father? Come in, Dana.

I understand you found the man responsible for the deaths of those girls.

I'm sure the Kernofs will be relieved. I'm not sure if they should be, Father.

Why not?

I've seen things.

Things that have made me question if there aren't... larger forces at work here.

What have you seen?

Visions.

Of my daughter Emily, for one.

That's understandable. I'm sure you identified with the loss.

I considered that.

But then I saw something last night which I...

Which I can't explain.

I saw a man in dark clothes.

But he had four faces.

They weren't human.

Is this what you saw?

It's a seraphim.

An angel.

With four faces.

Those of a man, a lion, an eagle and a bull.

In the story, the angel descends from heaven and fathers four children with a mortal woman. Their offspring are the nephilim.

The fallen ones.

They have the souls of angels, but they weren't meant to be.

They're deformed, tormented.

So the Lord sends the seraphim to Earth to bring back the souls of the nephilim.

To stop the Devil claiming them as his own.

How did he bring back their souls?

"They were smote with the brightness of his countenance."

To look upon the seraphim in all his glory is to give up one's soul to heaven.

You think that's what I saw? No.

I think what you saw is a figment of your imagination.

A half-remembered story from your childhood that surfaced because of this case.

But I saw it, Father.

Dana, the nephilim is a story.

The text in which it appears isn't even recognized by the Church.

Father, do you believe that... God has his reasons?

Yes. I'm certain of it.

It's how he rewards our faith.

Agent Scully?

I can't believe I found you. What is it?

Agent Mulder's trying to reach you. He's at the station house.

Trying to reach me for what? The fourth girl.

She's at Father Gregory's church. Come on, I'll drive you.

There's no one here. They must be on their way.

You don't see her in there?

She’s here.

I know it.

Agent Scully?

Did you find her?

Agent Scully?

My name is Dana. I'm going to get you out of there, OK?

I'm not gonna hurt you.

I'm gonna take you someplace safe.

Where are you going? Where are you taking her?

Everything's gonna be fine.

Bring her here.

Bring me the girl!

No, it's OK. It's all right. Stay here.

It's OK. Stay...

Just stay here.

It's gonna be OK. Bring her out to me!

Mommy? Mommy, let me go.

Mommy, please let me go.

Emily.

Agent Scully, get her out of there!

Mommy, please.

Emily?

Emily?!

You believed you were releasing her soul to heaven?

I felt sure of it.

But you still can't reconcile this belief with the physical fact of her death?

No.

I thought I could, Father, but I can't.

Do you believe there is a life after this one?

Yes.

Are you sure?

Has it occurred to you that, maybe, this too is part of what you were meant to understand?

You mean accepting my loss?

Can you accept it?

Maybe that's what faith is.