Walk Away
by Erynn
For the "Endings" Lyric Wheel
Synopsis: The Lone Gunmen find their end, and a new beginning.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Written before the airing of Jump the Shark, based on some
nasty rumors/spoilers I've heard. This is my version of reality.
Disclaimers: They're not mine, but considering what Fox and 1013 did
to them, do they honestly deserve them?
Archive: Sally and I have an archive at:
http://www.gadsogunmen.topcities.com Okay to archive on XF Lyric
Wheel, LGM Fanfic Bunker, Gossamer, Ephemeral. All others ask.
Author's note: The Lyric Wheel is a short story board where
participants send lyrics to each other dealing with a theme. On this
wheel, the theme was Endings. Writers are required to use at least
one line from the lyrics they are sent in their story. No betas are
allowed. Lyrics are listed below.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
EARLY EVENING
"Do you think they'll be okay?" Byers asked. He stared down into the
bottle of beer in his hands.
Frohike shook his head. "Mulder and Scully will be fine as long as
they have each other. Yves -- well, she can take pretty much
anything. I just wish we hadn't had to do this to Jimmy. He'd never
have understood." He sipped his own beer.
"You know Yves will take care of him, though," Langly added, tossing
his empty bottle in an arc across the room of the small apartment
they'd just rented. It landed with a glassy crash in the plastic
garbage can. "If we'd tried to tell him, he'd have blown the whole
thing. We couldn't risk it."
Byers sighed. "I know. I just wish we didn't have to do it this way.
It'll take years for us to rebuild our operations."
"We're not even the same people anymore, man. We can't go to any of
our old contacts. Hell, if we even try anything like what we used to
do, somebody's likely to track us down." Langly pulled another slice
of pepperoni pizza from the box.
"All that we learned, all that we did. Sometimes I feel like it was
all for nothing," Frohike said quietly.
"I thought we could change the world," Byers agreed sadly.
Langly swallowed his mouthful of pizza. "We did, " he said, "in some
ways, anyway."
"I never thought it would come to this -- having to fake our deaths
in order to avoid being killed." Byers shook his head and turned his
face from his friends. "I'll never see Susanne again."
Frohike put a hand on Byers' shoulder. "You knew that when you put
her in that taxi in Vegas. What she told you was just to make it hurt
a little less. You know that all we need is just to believe in
ourselves; we face the truth, we see it clear, with no disguise. I'm
sorry, Byers, I know you wanted to find her again, but what we've
learned, what we know... we hold the key, buddy. We hold the answers.
We've passed those answers on to the people who needed them most, and
now we just have to believe in ourselves and survive. It's the
changing of the guard. We've gotta let go now."
Langly nodded. "It was just the three of us for years, dude. You and
me and Frohike. Susanne got us started on this, and Jimmy joined us
for a while, but we were meant to be together, the three of us. It's,
like, karma or something. Fate. We were brought together for a
reason, and we've done our job. Nobody knows what the future will
bring. We just need to lay low for a while, to rest after all those
years of putting our asses on the line. Give yourself some time."
Byers looked at his friends. It would take a while to get used to
responding to new names, living new identities. The truth might not
wear a disguise, but for the rest of his life, he'd be wearing one,
even if he looked just the same. "We've left so much behind. Friends.
Family. Work that we've done. People we've helped. People we've...
people we've loved. When does that part stop? When do we stop making
sacrifices for everyone else?"
Frohike and Langly sat in silence, sipping beer and eating pizza.
Byers put his beer down and stood to pace the room. "We stopped the
release of a deadly virus, saved potentially millions of lives, I'll
grant that. But what do we have to show for our lives' work? We've
got no money. We don't own anything. We have nobody but ourselves to
turn to now. We've abandoned our friends. We can't go back to our
families. We can't continue the work we've devoted our lives to. We
don't really even have identities anymore. No jobs. Nothing. What's
left?"
"You don't think saving millions of lives was what we started out to
do?" Frohike asked.
Byers looked down at his feet, ashamed. "Okay, so maybe I'm just
being selfish. What we did was necessary. It was right and good, and
ultimately we succeeded in at least part of our mission. We're where
we are now because we did what we had to do. None of us could do any
less. But aren't we entitled to a little happiness somewhere along
the line? A life that's worth living, rather than just enduring?"
"We can make that for ourselves now," Langly said. "That's what
beginnings are for. We can try being normal people for once."
Frohike looked over at Langly and snorted. "You? Normal? In your dreams."
Langly reached across the coffee table and smacked Frohike. "I'm
trying to make Byers feel better, man. You're not helping."
"The only way you'd make him feel better is if you got a hair cut, blondie."
Langly grinned. "Nah. I have a better plan than that." He pulled a
slip of paper out of his pocket and waved it triumphantly in the air.
Byers watched, curious.
"So you got a piece of paper. So what?" Frohike said.
Langly handed the paper to Byers.
Byers' eyes widened as he read. Langly's scrawl spelled out, 'Holly
Fitzgerald, 32146 Emerald Way, Redmond, WA, 98415, 425-555-1013'.
His face lit up with a smile brighter than Frohike and Langly had
ever seen on him before.
"Welcome to our new life ," Langly said, patting his friend's shoulder.
*end*
The lyrics for this story:
The More We Live - Let Go (Yes)
You and I can change the world;
The more we live, the more we learn, the more we know.
From this moment on we share the world;
The more we give, the more we love, the more we grow.
The spirit of imagination can lead us through the dark;
The more we see, the more we try, the more we show.
The evidence of our confusion, life has left its mark;
The more we fear, the more we lie, the more we hide.
As we walk into tomorrow
(Turning away from the path we know)
Holding the future with our hands
(We carry the weight of the world we go)
It's up to you and I -- We hold the key; we hold the answers
All our thoughts of doubt and fear are leaving one by one
The more we live, the more we learn, the more we know.
For each of us the road is clear and life has just begun;
The more we give, the more we love, the more we grow.
It's time to reach the goals we've set for ourselves;
The more we fear, the more we lie, the more we hide.
All we need is just to believe in ourselves;
We face the truth, we see it clear, with no disguise.
Cast away our doubt and sorrow
(Turning away from the past we know)
The Universe at our command
(Conserving the fate of the world we grow)
Together you and I, we hold the key to all the answers
Let go
Let go
Let go
Let go
Let go