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Daemonicus

Episode: 9X03
Airdate: 12/02/01
Written by: Frank Spotnitz
Directed by: Frank Spotnitz
Starring: Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully, Robert Patrick as John Doggett, Annabeth Gish as Monica Reyes, and Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner
Guest Starring: James Remar, Andi Chapman, Sarah Benoit, Tim Halligan, James Rekart, and Troy Mittleider
NOTE: The episode name is actually spelled: "Dæmonicus" but not all browsers can see the Greek lettering


IMAGES FROM "DAEMONICUS" COMING SOON!!!


TEASER
WESTON, WEST VIRGINIA

The camera pans up from a reflection of the full moon to show a white truck.

Inside the house, Darren and his wife, Evelyn, are playing "Scrabble." Their dog Happy (I think it actually is Gillian's dog) is scratching at their door, so Evelyn gets up to let her out. She tells her husband not to look at her tiles, but he does anyway.

When she opens the door, Happy runs off.

Meanwhile, Darren has made a word using all of his tiles: "triumphs."

Suddenly they feel that something is wrong. Then, the lights go out. Darren tells his wife to go to the basement and then goes upstairs to get his gun.

Two men (who look deformed or like demons-at this point you can't tell) come in and the one cover Evelyn's mouth with his hand.

Darren comes back down the stairs. He yells at the person standing there that he is going to shoot. He fires the gun and the figure falls. He walks over only to discover that he just shot his wife-she was bound with duct tape, which also covered her mouth.

Strange whispers can be heard as the two demons walk towards him.

ACT ONE
WESTON, WEST VIRGINIA
Reyes pulls up to the house of the crime scene and then goes inside. Darren and Evelyn Mountjoy are sitting at the scrabble table, the gun in the woman's hand. She looks down to the scrabble board. There is one word there: "daemonicus."

Reyes touches the tiles of the word and then looks at the ceiling. She feels something. Suddenly the ceiling fan stops spinning. Just then, Doggett walks in. She looks at him, and when she looks back up, the fan has started spinning again.

Doggett tells her that they found the dog outside, its neck broken.

Reyes shows him the word. It's Latin for Satan, and can also mean demon possession. The murdersuicide posture they have been put into is also ritualistic. Doggett asks her if they were posed to they would think they were possessed. She tells him that that would be the textbook explanation, but it may be something else. Doggett tells her just not to tell him that she thinks that the devil did it. He tells her that the case isn't even close to an X-File-they even found prints on the lawn-there were two men there.

Two cops enter with a gurney. The one man walks over to the woman and yells in pain.

Doggett carefully lifts the woman's shirt. There are two snakes coming out of her stomach.

FBI TRAINING ACADEMY
QUANTICO, VIRGINIA
Scully writes "Dr. Dana Scully" on a chalkboard in a lecture hall. The room is filled with students. She tells them that she has been assigned at the academy as a forensic investigator. For the past eight years she has work on the X-Files, to which there are a couple of snickers, so she adds, which some of them may have heard of.

Doggett enters the back of the room.

Someone in the class makes a crack and asks if she has slayed any vampires. She just lightheartedly tells him that she is sorry to disappoint him, but she will be teaching them pathology-hard science. The X-Files are cases that the bureau deems unsolvable. Science tells them that evil comes from men-it's only after you have run out of ways for science to explain it, that you look for extreme possibilities.

Scully notices Doggett.

After doing an autopsy of the woman, Scully rules out exorcism. Reyes asks her what she found. She found adhesive residue on the woman's wrists and face. She runs a light over them so they glow so Reyes can see the residue for herself. Scully tells them that the woman was bound with tape and shot at close range.

Reyes is obviously sensing some things. She tells them that Evelyn's husband shot her. Scully has drawn the same conclusion. Reyes says that he was somehow tricked into shooting her. She then says that two men held Darren down and shot him in the chest.

Scully continues by saying that the snakes seem to be purely symbolic, were non-venomous, and were sewn into her chest cavity with household thread postmortem-by someone who appears to have surgical skills. She also found fingerprints on Darren's collar.

Reyes tells Scully that she had a strong feeling of a presence of evil, which Doggett doesn't believe. She tells them that she's worked on similar cases before, but she has never felt like she did then.

Doggett's cell phone rings and he walks out and answers it.

She asks Scully if she has ever felt that way before. She tells her that she has felt things that she couldn't understand and was afraid to admit, and she has learned not to ignore them, and to trust her instincts.

There is a storm in the sky. The white truck is shown driving along again.

CHESSMAN STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL
KITSONVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA
Reyes and Doggett arrive at the mental hospital where the one killer, Kenneth Richmond, escaped from. They talk to a doctor on the ward.

Doggett asks Dr. Sampson why Richmond was committed there. She tells him that he killed three patients-he sewed strychnine tablets into their stomachs during surgery. They tell her that they believe that there were two men involved in the crime and ask if she knows who else it could be, but she doesn't.

Reyes asks her if Richmond knew anything about satanic lore or spoke of possession. She tells her that he didn't have any kind of delusions like those. Reyes tells her that she isn't really talking about delusions. She then asks if he seemed himself, or if he displayed any personality other than his own, or if he spoke in tongues. She tells Reyes that they don't look to demons anymore to find reasons-he's mentally ill. Reyes tells her that she wasn't talking about mental illness.

The guard pulls the doctor aside.

Doggett leans into Reyes and says:

DOGGETT: You know, Monica, a room here just came open.

Reyes smiles and then tells him that Richmond didn't know anything. Doggett asks her if she thinks that that means he is possessed. She asks him how else he could commit the perfect example of it. He tells her that they can first try the obvious reason-his accomplice.

Dr. Sampson comes back and tells them that she might know who it is. Paul Gerlock, the man guarding Richmond the night before, is missing.

They asks her who the last person was that saw them together was.

The camera pans away showing the black and white checkered floor that slowly fades into the next scene.

The two 'men' walk through a swampy area, the one carrying a rope. The camera really shows their faces now. They are ugly and lumpy and look demonic.

The first one pulls out a gun and shoots the other.

Reyes and Doggett talk to Mr. Kobalt at the hospital. He is kneeling quietly on the floor. His room is next to Dr. Richmond's. They ask him if he knows anything about what happened.

KOBALT: You mean did the guard force the patient to escape or did the patient force the guard? Or are they both one mind like a snake eating its own tail?

(Ouroboros!)

Doggett asks him if he knows anything and tells him that if he does they need him to tell them before he hurts more people. Kobalt just says that they are too late. Doggett tells him that if he is afraid to talk that he can and they won't let anyone hurt him. He asks Doggett if he believes in the power of the devil. Doggett tells him that he was made up story to scare people. Kobalt, with a few tears running down his face, tells him that he can't protect him then.

The man/demon stands near his truck wiping blood off of his hands with a rag.

The scene changes to show him in the car. Strange whispers are heard as his face changes with the scene to that of Kobalt.

Kobalt looks to be possessed and hears voices in his head and starts saying something, possibly "Daemonicus."

ACT TWO
At the hospital, the doctor tells Doggett and Reyes that Kobalt has been asking for Doggett. He has been saying something about the Prince of Apostles, but she doesn't know what that means. They've restrained him for his own safety.

When they enter the cell, Doggett walks over to Kobalt. He tells Doggett that he's heard whispering in his ears-he's killed again. Doggett asks him who. He tells him that he doesn't know, but he can show him.

Doggett and Reyes step out of the car. An officer helps Kobalt out. He's chained so he can't get away. He tells Reyes and Doggett that they can't know what it feels like to be free of a cage and be able to see the sky.

He says he will show them where the body is, but Doggett says that he's gone far enough and tells the officer to take him back.

Reyes and Doggett walk forward. Reyes asks if he thinks that Kobalt is making it up. He does. He thinks that they are being sent on a snipe hunt.

Reyes looks up and tells him that maybe he's not. Hanging by the ankle, from a tree, is the body of one of the men.

Scully starts the autopsy of Gerlock, the guard, who was missing. She cuts around the 'man's' face. It was just a mask. He's been shot in the chest and was then hung postmortem. The killer staged it as he did with the couple before.

Reyes remembers Kobalt saying the "Prince of Apostles." Scully remarks that that is St. Peter, who was crucified upside-down. Reyes says that the symbol was later adopted by Satan to represent power of the antichrist. She thinks that Kobalt could be a medium-a willing host for Satan.

Doggett tells her that Kobalt is a master manipulator. Upon doing a background check, he found out that he was a history teacher who killed and ground up six coeds who he tricked to come down to his basement. He used their flesh as fertilizer.

Reyes asks him it is him who is doing everything, why he doesn't just escape like the doctor did.

Doggett asks Scully if she believes Kobalt. She tells him that she hasn't formed an opinion yet.

Reyes starts to leave and Doggett asks her where she is going. Eh tells him that Kobalt can help them and she will prove it.

There is another storm outside.

Reyes and Doggett go back to the hospital. They want Kobalt's help. He tells them that he can't help them in there, because it's hard to hear the voices-there are a thousand of them. He needs a larger space with windows where he can see the sky.

Reyes goes to set it up and Doggett tells her that she's making a mistake going along with him. Reyes tells him that either way, he can help them, and she asks him if he is going to turn his back on that.

Outside, Dr. Sampson gets into her car. She is followed by the white truck.

Doggett enters the new room with Kobalt. He tells him that Officer Custer will be watching outside.

Kobalt tells him that Reyes believes him but he doesn't. He asks him why a skeptic such as himself would join something like the X-Files to investigate things like paranormal phenomena. He says that ordinarily men don't pursue an occupation against their own inclination, unless there is some strong reason. He suggests that Doggett is seeking strong love or approval of a woman.

KOBALT: Agent Reyes may have affection for you, but you for her?

Doggett yells at him more than once to stop, but he doesn't. Kobalt tells him that of course it could be someone or something else. He says that it could be because of a dark secret from his past--an unsolved tragedy that he holds himself responsible for, in a morbid way that he hasn't admitted, so he chases ghosts to find the answers that damn him.

Doggett calls the guard to leave.

The guard comes in and sees what is happening behind Doggett. Kobalt is shaking again like he is possessed. Doggett tells him to get Reyes.

Meanwhile, Dr. Sampson enters her house, the truck still behind her.

Reyes enters, she realizes that Kobalt is mumbling something-"monicus," which means physician.

Reyes and Doggett arrive at Dr. Sampson's house to find her sitting in a chair with her back to them. They spin her around. She is dead, and there are syringes sticking everywhere out of her face

ACT THREE
Dr. Sampson is wheeled out on a gurney.

Scully walks up to Doggett and tells him that the syringes contain the same medicine that had been given to Dr. Richmond while he was in the hospital.

Doggett tells her that he's not who calls the shots.

Meanwhile, Kobalt is watching them interact from the car.

Scully asks him if he's considered something else. Doggett tells Scully that it's not about demons or demon possession, but about men. She even said that to her class. Scully clutches his arm to get his attention and tells him that she also said that when science offers no answers they sometimes have to turn to extreme possibilities. She tells him that she knows what he's feeling, and that he's frustrated, but he can't let it cloud his objectivity.

He just tells her that Reyes has been thinking what Kobalt wants her to think, and now she is too.

Doggett goes into Kobalt's cell again. He tells him that he brought him something-to read. It's the monograph that he [Kobalt] wrote years ago about the influence of Satan on Renaissance thinking. Kobalt stands up from his kneeling position and asks him if that means he thinks he's found his proof, even though it's all circumstantial. Doggett thinks that he planned everything and asks him why.

Kobalt starts in again on why Doggett is with the X-Files. He suggests Scully.

KOBALT: Clearly you have feelings for her.
DOGGETT: You ordered Dr. Richmond to kill these people, didn't you?
KOBALT: But you can't compete with the long lost Agent Mulder-his easy good looks, his Oxford education-
DOGGETT: This is about you, professor.
KOBALT: Mulder has what you can't have, but you stumble forward, the flatfooted cop, thinking you can put handcuffs on demons.
DOGGETT (getting angry): Answer the question!
KOBALT: You want her, but she feels sorry for you. They both do.

Doggett grabs Kobalt by the collar and he starts shaking and suddenly vomits everywhere, including on Doggett. It spews from his mouth for an unnaturally long time, coating everything in orange. Doggett yells that he needs a medic.

Scully checks Kobalt out.

Privately in the hall, Scully tells them that as far as she can tell his physically fine. She asks what brought it on, and Doggett tells her that he confronted him on it. He tells Reyes that she talking about a textbook case-he wrote the book.

In private, Reyes tells Doggett that what Kobalt threw up, which she shows him a sample of, could be ectoplasm, which is often found when someone is possessed. Scully says that Mulder calls it psychic plasma, a residual byproduct of telecommunication, and if it is, it should have inorganic properties that they won't be able to explain.

Doggett tells them that he doesn't care what it is. He thinks that Kobalt is behind it all. Scully tells him that Reyes is just trying to get to the truth, and then asks what he's doing.

Doggett stands staring at Kobalt through the small window in the door.

The scene changes to night and there is thunder again.

The guard sits in the hallway outside of Kobalt's room reading a copy of "Ronin." He suddenly hears voices so he looks through the window of the room to see what is going on.

When he looks in he sees Kobalt's face change into that of the face of the [first] demon.

Scully is driving home when her phone rings. It's Doggett. He tells her that the guard told them that Kobalt told him where they can find Richmond-at "Happy Landing." She tells him that she knows where it's at: it's on the state road, 710 near Anindale. It's an old marina that she passes everyday on her way home. She tells them that she is almost there. Doggett tells her that they will meet her there.

Scully arrives at Happy Landing. She gets out of her car and walks around, pointing her gun. She thinks someone is there and turns around quick, but no one is there. When she turns back again, she sees the demon's mask.

ACT FOUR
Reyes and Doggett arrive. Doggett yells at Kobalt, telling him to tell them where Scully is. He doesn't answer him. Doggett yells at him that he will kill him where he sits if he doesn't tell him. He just tells him that it's too late and it is over.

Doggett runs, looking for her. He finds the man lying dead on the ground.

Scully calls to him. She is all right. She tells him that he held her at gunpoint until they arrived, and then shot himself.

Doggett runs back to find Kobalt getting away. He yells at him to stop but he doesn't, so he shoots him. Kobalt falls into the water.

Scully is teaching her class again. She writes the word "Uncertainty" on the board. She tells them that with cases there are always some uncertainties left.

The bell rings and the students leave.

Doggett and Reyes walk down to Scully.

She tells them that she was going to file the case on the way home. Doggett tells her that she should wait-they haven't accounted for all of Kobalt's actions.

He tells her that he found out that Kobalt accessed all the information about them from over the internet. He had bent everyone to think and do what he wanted.

Scully is confused. She tells them that Kobalt played out every move of his game perfectly, except the last one. Reyes suggests that that was part of the game too. Scully asks if she means to get shot in the back. Reyes tells her that Kobalt's body hasn't been found. Scully says that they saw Doggett shoot him. Doggett questions if that is what they really saw.

Doggett erases "Uncertainty" and writes "Daemonicus" on the board.

He tells her that it goes back to Reyes's question: "why didn't he escape like the others when he had the chance?" Doggett says that it's because he wanted to escape without anyone knowing, so that by the time they found out he would be too far gone for anyone to find him.

Scully asks if he means that it's Satan. He tells her that he means "Dæmonicus"-the beginning and end of their case-a snake eating its own tail. They lost and Kobalt told him so.

As he tells her what he found out, the scene shows flashbacks.

He found a page from a phonebook with two names circled-Daryl and Evelyn (Mountjoy).

Scully asks him what he chose them from the phonebook. He tells her that it was for no reason, other than their names.

He then underlines the "DAE" on the board.

He goes on to say that Kobalt's doctor was Monique (Sampson). He underlines "MONI."

He tells Scully that the last is the man who's body they pulled from the bottom of the river that he shot. She reiterates that it wasn't Kobalt. He tells her that it was the guard that they'd assigned to him-he knew he'd have him when he was transferred-Custer. He underlines the "CUS" and proclaims, "Checkmate."

Doggett leaves the room and Scully talks to Reyes.

SCULLY: Something still bothering you, Agent Reyes? You don't believe his explanation?
REYES: It all makes sense to me as far as it goes. There's something else-something he's afraid to explain.
SCULLY: You mean that you felt the presence of evil?
REYES: No. I mean that he felt it too.

The camera pans away from them and the room fades into the sky.

Storm clouds fill the sky and whispered voices can be heard.