[Woman] We're so sorry, Becky.
[Woman #2] If there's anything we can do for you,
anything at all, just let us know.
Thank you so much.
That would have meant a lot to him.
Oh, thank you. [Sobbing]
Thank you for coming.
Mrs. Crouch,
I'm sorry for your loss.
Thank you, Mr...
johnson.
I worked briefly with your husband.
I was impressed by him... very much so.
Thank you.
Sorry.
Hell of a Christmas, Raymond.
He's at peace now.
That's one small comfort to be drawn.
He didn't even leave a note.
"I am the resurrection and the life.
"He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."
"I am the resurrection and the life.
"He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."
"I am the resurrection and the life.
"He that believeth in Me...
[Grunts]
"Though he were dead, yet shall he live.
"And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me...
shall never die."
- "I am the resurrection and the life. - [Beeps]
"He that believeth in Me...
[Grunts]
"Though he were dead, yet shall he live.
"And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me...
shall never die."
"He that believeth in Me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live."
[Ringing]
[Ringing Continues]
- [Police Radio Chattering] - Yeah, four units and... [Continues, Indistinct]
Thank you, ma'am.
- Are you with the F.B.I. Too? - Yes, sir.
Look, I know my job. The man was deceased.
- I'm sorry? - I understand...
that he was one of your own.
But these rumors I'm hearing that I put a living human being into the ground?
You people better get your facts straight real fast.
Mulder? You been spreading rumors?
Why? You hear any good ones lately?
- Not particularly. - [Flies Buzzing]
So what do you have here?
Merry Christmas, by the way, Scully.
Thank you. Merry Christmas to you too.
Grave robbery with a twist.
Check out the headliner, Scully.
Well, it looks like someone on the inside was trying to get out.
Indeed it does. And to answer your question,
no, I haven't been spreading any rumors.
The local P.D.'s been doing a pretty good job of that,
ever since they matched the fingerprints on the dead man to these.
And to those up there on that headstone.
There's a big juicy handprint on the back.
What about the person, or persons, who did the digging?
Well, we've got one pile of dirt.
I'm guessing one man with a shovel.
Other than that, last night's rain hasn't left us much to go on.
Well, go ahead, Scully. Nay say me.
The body of an F.B.I. Agent gets disinterred,
only to climb out on its own and disappear into the Yuletide night.
- See, you had me up until there. - Did I?
I think it's what you said before. I think it's a grave robbery with a twist.
You've got the fingerprints and the torn casket liner.
Most likely, it's rigged evidence that's been faked by whoever exhumed the body.
- Faked for what effect? - Publicity.
Fear. Rumors. I mean, I don't know what specific effect,
but nonetheless, it's...
- What? - Looks like blood.
"And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."
"I am the resurrection and the life.
"He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."
[Pounding]
"I am the resurrection and the life.
"He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."
"I am the resurrection and the life."
[Scully] Special Agent Raymond Crouch.
Age 56. Married, no children.
After a sterling 21 -year career with the Bureau,
he retired in 1993.
And then earlier this month,
he was found in the garage of his Tallahassee home,
service weapon in hand.
Definitely self-inflicted?
I read over the report, and there's no indication otherwise.
How about a motive for the grave robberies?
Well, we've gone through all the cases Crouch had a hand in,
and he doesn't seem to have made any enemies.
Same thing with his personal life.
No large debts, no feuds with neighbors,
never a bad word against him.
- Nothing stands out? - Should something stand out?
Agent Mulder, what's your take on this?
Well, only that I don't think it was grave robbery per se.
It was necromancy... the summoning of the dead.
It's a form of magic dating back to primitive shamanism...
with a long tradition in the Christian Church.
Through it, the dead are brought back to life for the purposes...
of divulging arcane knowledge or performing ritual tasks.
So that's what this wacko thought he was doing... raising the dead?
That's what he was doing. This is a, uh...
That's a magic circle drawn in goats'blood.
The rain washed most of it away.
The blood attracts the spirits of the undead,
while the circle focuses the necromancer's power...
while protecting him from the spirits that he's conjuring.
Okay.
He may also desire to wear the clothes of the dead man to create a bond between them.
You would not want to be this man's dry cleaner.
Obviously, there are clear ritualistic elements to this crime.
But the question is, why were they directed at Raymond Crouch?
That is the question.
[Knocking]
Well, let's come up with an answer.
Mulder, Scully, a word, please?
Necromancy aside, this magic circle you mentioned,
what if it looks something like this?
It's an oroboros. Possibly.
Definitely a mystical symbol. The alchemists favored it.
They believe that it represented all of existence.
I'm thinking more of the Millennium Group.
It was their symbol as well. Are you familiar with them?
Yeah, somewhat. They were, uh,
former F.B.I. Agents who offered consulting services to law enforcement.
Somehow, they fell into disrepute.
[Skinner] They operated in extreme secrecy.
Rumors abounded that they had their own agenda,
which was less than altruistic, if not improper or illegal.
That it was, in fact, a cult based upon...
judeo-Christian End Time prophecies...
concerning the coming millennium.
- Was Raymond Crouch a member? - I can't seem to find out.
Apparently, the group dissolved several months ago.
They left no paper trail, nothing.
However,
I do have three other grave desecrations, all within the last six months.
Long Island, Northern California, Arizona.
All three graves contained the bodies of former F.B.I. Agents.
All three were recent suicides.
How long were you gonna sit on this?
Owing to the Millennium Group's former ties with the Bureau,
this matter is sensitive, to say the least.
Investigate them. Keep a low profile.
I think I know where to start.
- How well do you know this man? - Only by reputation.
- [Door Buzzes] - He left VICAP before I got there.
But he's been called the greatest criminal profiler that Quantico ever produced.
- What's he doing here? - Good morning.
Apparently, he, uh, checked himself in for a 30-day observation.
I gather the last few years haven't been very kind to him.
But if there's anybody that can tell us about the Millennium Group, it's him.
He used to consult for 'em. Later, he fought to bring 'em down...
at the expense of his own career and reputation.
- Single-minded. Sounds like someone I know. - Yeah.
[Announcer] Twelve yard line. They are threatening.
[Mulder] Frank Black?
Hi, my name is Fox Mulder. This is my partner, Dana Scully.
It's a pleasure to meet you. You mind if we sit down?
Higgins tries the middle, and he gets...
- [Groans] - Nowhere!
- Who's playing? - Uh, it's Notre Dame and Boston College.
Ah, the Fighting Irish and the Golden Eagles, huh?
What can I do for you, agents?
Well, we're working on a case that, uh,
we feel that you might have some particular insight to.
The deaths of four F.B.I. Agents.
- Do you recognize these men? - I do.
All four committed suicide in the last six months.
All were exhumed from their graves in a ritual desecration.
They were members of the Millennium Group. Is that correct?
Sir, we've been having a really difficult time...
gleaning any information whatsoever about the group.
About its membership, its practices.
I believe you can help us.
No, thank you. I'm retired.
I think you can tell by the circumstances...
that I'm trying to put my life back together.
I can't get involved in this.
We're not asking you to get involved.
I'm just asking you to take a look at the case file.
No, thank you.
Mr. Black, the day after tomorrow is January 1, 2000.
That's the significant date for these people.
That doesn't leave us much time.
Don't you wanna see them stopped?
[Announcer On TVContinues, Indistinct]
Well, Mr. Black,
you are not what I was expecting.
- Agent Mulder? - Yes?
It's first and eighteen.
Just let me watch this game in peace.
It's third and ten. Notre Dame.
- Happy New Year. - Same to you.
[Police Radio Chattering]
- Evening. - Hi.
Could I, uh, give you a hand?
Oh, no, I'm about done.
But thanks. Guess I ran over a nail or something.
- Well, I can help you see, at least. - Yeah.
I've been driving all night. It'll be good to get home.
I hear ya.
[Sniffing] Man! Whew!
- What is that? - Uh...
I think a deer maybe must've died out there in the woods.
[Flies Buzzing]
Sir?
What's in the truck?
- Nothing. - Mind if I take a look?
There's nothing in there, so...
Drop that, take two steps back.
Drop it.
[Crowbar Hits Ground]
[Flies Buzzing]
"And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."
"I am the resurrection and the life.
"He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."
Oh, Lord. Stand up there!
Stand up! Let me see your hands!
- [Continues Reciting Prayer] - What?
Speak up!
[Growling]
[Deputy Screaming]
Hey.
I've got the men concentrating on the woods.
Our necromancer was definitely here.
It's salt. Heavy magic.
Well, if you're gonna tell me that he, uh,
stopped by the side of the road to raise the dead,
which I hope you're not, I've got two things to say to you.
One is that his previous circles were made of blood, not salt. And two...
And they were large enough to contain a body.
This is just a protective circle. It's just big enough for one man to stand inside.
Protecting himself against what?
[Mulder] Whatever it was that did that.
[Man] Agents!
Over here!
I saw a lump in the ground.
My God.
Bite marks. They look human.
More salt.
"I am he that liveth and was dead.
"And behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen,
and have the keys of hell and of death."
Book of Revelations, chapter 1, verse 18.
Go Fighting Irish.
[Mulder] "First and eighteen."
It's not football. It's Revelations.
You wanted to tell us something, Frank.
Why don't you just come out and say it.
I don't know what you're talking about. I told you.
- I cannot get involved in this. - Right.
So you'll occasionally drop the little arcane hint?
A police officer was murdered, Frank.
Why do you want to play around?
Your denials aside, you obviously know something about that.
You knew that we'd find this.
What are you afraid of?
Losing your daughter.
You're in a custody battle with the parents of your late wife.
I just spoke with your doctor. That's why you're here.
They claimed I was an unfit father... that I was obsessed with conspiracy,
the end of the world.
That my work meant more to me than my daughter, Jordan.
The thing is, they were right.
- And so you retired. - I will sell insurance.
I'll do whatever it takes. I'll get well and jump through whatever hoops they want,
but I will not mention the Millennium Group again.
But you obviously want to help.
You... dropped that clue on us.
Look, Frank, nobody needs to know about this.
We're just three people sitting around talking.
The Book of Revelations describes the end of the physical world...
in a battle between heaven and hell... good against evil.
The Millennium Group believed that that time was upon us.
These four represent a schism in the group.
They believe that for the End Time to come as it must,
man must take an active hand in bringing that about.
- And to that end, they committed suicide? - Yeah.
With the express purpose of being brought back to life.
The four horsemen of the apocalypse.
These four men bring with them...
war, pestilence, famine and death.
So that all the dead of the earth will rise.
Armageddon.
It must begin with the dawn of the millennium, or not at all.
That's what they believe.
The man you're looking for, your necromancer,
he exhumed these men in accordance with their wishes.
- So is he a member of the Millennium Group as well? - No.
They sought him out.
He believes he's doing God's work.
But he's mistaken.
Could you tell us a little bit more about this man?
Well, he's a white male, 45 to 50.
He's a religious man. No police record.
No fulfilling relationship.
You would pass him without giving him a glance.
So this is the one event that will give his life meaning?
Yeah.
He needs privacy for this. He'll live alone.
Possibly in the house he grew up in.
Most likely it's a large, rural property away from prying eyes.
He'll own a truck or a van. He needs it to transport the bodies.
There'll be high fences, "No Trespassing"signs.
It's a solitary existence.
He's worked around death all his life in some capacity.
A funeral parlor or a cemetery.
- Death comforts him. - [Man On TV] A Rice County deputy missing...
He took great care in burying the deputy, in preparing the body,
despite the fact that he feared being caught.
He stapled the lips, sealed the mouth shut.
It was to prevent the man from coming back to life.
He believes that if disturbed, the deputy will rise from the dead.
It's too soon for that, which is why...
when he realizes the deputy has been discovered,
he'll feel a need to take action.
He'll return to the body the first chance he gets.
Rice County Morgue.
I think you'll catch him there.
These four members of the Millennium Group,
the ones that "truly liveth who are dead,"
there are the ones we have to catch.
- Mr. Black? - Yeah?
You've got a phone call. I think it might be your daughter.
Thank you. My daughter. Excuse me.
Mulder, you're telling me it's more important...
to track down four dead bodies than one live murderer?
He's not our murderer, and those four dead bodies aren't dead.
- And the millennium is 14 hours away. - [Door Buzzing]
Mulder, these people, even when they were alive,
mangled Biblical prophecy to the extent that it's unrecognizable.
And the year 2000 is just their artificial deadline.
And besides, 2001 is actually the start of the new millennium.
Nobody likes a math geek, Scully.
Anyway, I think that Frank's profile is sound.
- I do too. - And I think with it,
we have the best chance of finding this necromancer, as you call him.
So I'm going down to the county morgue.
- I absolutely think you should. - And what are you gonna do?
Follow the profile. The deputy was killed...
on a road that connects from the north with no major highway.
I'm thinking our necromancer lives nearby.
I'm gonna do a rundown on all single landowners in the area, see where the bodies are buried.
Oh, Scully, will you do me a favor?
Don't let anybody remove the staples from the deputy's mouth, okay?
Please? Just humor me? Thanks.
Proceeding with the visual examination of the mouth.
[Telephone Ringing]
Geez.
- [Answering Machine Picks Up] - What appears to be salt...
is packed into the victim's mouth.
- [Sully Leaving Message, Indistinctly] - God only knows why.
I'm removing it.
[Telephone Ringing]
[Ringing Continues]
[Man On Machine] You've reached Rice County Morgue.
No one can come to the phone.
[Scully On Machine] This is Agent Dana Scully with the F.B.I.
If you've already started, stop now.
I'll be there shortly, and I'll explain when I arrive.
- [Machine Beeps] - [Door Opens]
[Woman Screaming]
Hello?
[Busy Signal]
[Gasping]
Where is she?
[Scully] Sir?
How you feeling?
All things considered?
What the hell happened here? Who is that man?
The sheriff s deputy.
The man we found this morning.
He was dead.
And then somehow, he wasn't.
He attacked me.
You shot him?
Three rounds, center of mass into his chest.
No effect.
There's a gunshot wound to his head as well.
Yeah, this man, uh,
Mulder calls the necromancer, our suspect, he was here too.
He fired that shot with my gun.
He saved me. I have no idea why.
He got away, but I was in no shape to follow.
Look, sir,
I can't even begin to offer an explanation for what happened.
But I have to say it is exactly what Mulder feared.
Yeah, which is why I would like to talk to him. Why isn't he answering his phone?
Well, welcome to the boondocks.
[Beeps]
[Lock Rattling]
[Growling]
Hey! Open the door! Open the door!
Open up! Let me out!
Hey!
[Gunfire]
I haven't heard from him. He didn't go to the morgue with you?
No, he went looking for our suspect's home.
No one's been able to contact him since.
I've got task force agents canvassing the northwestern Maryland area,
but it's a large territory to cover, and we're running out of time.
Sir, I'm just afraid that Mulder may have found what he's looking for.
I need your help in finding him.
Now, you respected my reasons in the past, Agent Scully. Please respect them now.
I'm not sure that I really understand your reasons, sir.
And I'm starting to wonder what this is all about, and how much you know about it.
Mulder mentioned the four Millennium members...
"who liveth and were dead."
Now, this morning in the morgue, I saw what he was talking about.
You did?
One of them attacked me.
I'm sorry.
Now, as crazy as this sounds, I have to ask.
Do you believe that the Millennium Group...
is actually capable of bringing about the End Time?
Armageddon?
I understand their beliefs.
I've spent years trying to unravel them,
make sense of them.
It doesn't mean I believe them myself.
But what if it were true?
Good and evil... Which would prevail?
I'm sorry.
Octavia?
I'm gonna check myself out.
- You'd like a day pass? - I won't be coming back.
[Zombies Growling]
[Branches Snapping]
Who's there?
- It's me. - You came.
I almost didn't.
We'd given up on you. Thank God.
There's someone in the basement. A policeman.
He killed one of the members.
He shot him in the head.
But you're here.
Now we'll have four.
I'm here.
I can't tell you how happy I am.
You were meant to be the fourth. I always knew that.
- I so hoped you'd come around. - I didn't want to.
The man in the basement... I told him how to find this place.
You... Why?
I was trying to walk the straight and narrow,
leave the Millennium Group behind.
But I know I can't do that anymore,
now that I know you've succeeded.
You didn't believe the dead would arise.
- No. - You see what the future holds, Frank.
You know you can't run from it.
No, I can't run.
You've paid so dearly. They've taken your daughter from you,
murdered your wife.
There's no justice in this world.
But there will be in the next.
The hour is near.
Are you ready, Frank?
I'm ready.
"I am the resurrection and the life.
He that believeth in Me, though he were dead..."
"...yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."
[Cell Phone Ringing]
- Scully. - This is Skinner.
We back-checked Frank Black as you asked.
- And? - He took no calls at Hartwell Psychiatric...
other than from his daughter.
But the staff took messages, including one from a Rice County number.
Rice County? That's where I am right now.
We ran the phone records for Agent Crouch and the other desecration victims.
All four received calls from this same number in the weeks before their deaths.
I'm gonna need an address.
Don't do this. I'm begging you, please.
You know what the world is. Evil goes unpunished.
The good suffer. There's no future here but uncertainty and pain.
Let the judgment come!
- You're damning yourself, Frank! - Agent Mulder?
Can you hear me?
- Agent Mulder? - [Mulder] Yeah. I'm down here.
They're all around.
- You armed? - Oh, yeah.
Shoot for the head. That seems to stop 'em. There's three more of'em.
- Where? - I don't know. They're hiding.
[Growling Softly]
- Mulder, can you get up? - Uh, I think so.
- Look out! - [Roaring]
[Growling]
[Clicking]
[Dick Clark Over TV] Well, there's another shot...
of that beautiful millennium crystal ball all lit up.
And they're getting ready to bring in the new year.
Boy, are they packed in tonight.
The body heat alone is keeping 'em warm. And look at 'em,
all the way up past 52nd Street.
That is that X-shaped thing I was talking about before.
This is Times Square... the crossroads of the world.
- Mr. Black. - Hey.
MarkJohnson's been taken for psychiatric evaluation.
He'll be put under suicide watch, just as you asked.
- [TVContinues] - Good.
- And, um... - What?
There's someone here to see you.
- Hi, Daddy! - Hi ya, little one.
Wow.
- Oh, I missed you, sweetheart. - I missed you too, Daddy.
Let's get out of here.
Frank, good luck with everything.
Agent Mulder, Agent Scully. I guess this is it, huh?
- You're not gonna stay and watch? - No, we just wanna go home.
Take care of yourselves.
[Clark Continues] Thirty seconds now. Get ready...
for the loudest cheering you'll ever hear in your whole life.
Hug your friends and loved ones tight, and whoever that person is next to you.
No time like the present. Are you ready? Here we go.
Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one!
Happy New Year 2000!
The world didn't end.
No, it didn't.
Happy New Year, Scully.
Happy New Year, Mulder.
[Clark Continues] Happy New Year!
[Child] I made this!