S2E6 · Ascension

Upon hearing Dana Scully 's (Gillian Anderson) kidnapping by Duane Barry as she leaves a message on his answering machine, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) heads to her apartment and surveys the crime scene. He meets with her mother, Margaret, who has had a dream about Scully being taken away. The next morning, Assistant Director Walter Skinner tells Mulder that he is "too close" to the case to be involved, and orders Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea) to escort him home. Meanwhile, Barry speeds down the Blue Ridge Parkway when he is pulled over by a highway patrol officer. When Scully—locked in the trunk—tries to get the officer's attention, Barry kills him. Mulder reviews a video of the traffic stop, and sees that Scully is still alive.

Mulder realizes that Barry is heading to a ski resort at Skyland Mountain, the location of his original abduction; he is attempting to follow through with his original plan of having the aliens abduct someone there in his place. Krycek informs the Smoking Man (William B. Davis) of these findings before departing with Mulder. When they arrive, Mulder boards the resort's aerial tramway in the hopes of reaching the mountain's peak before Barry. However, Krycek tries to delay Mulder by sabotaging the tramway's journey upward. Mulder manages to complete the journey and witnesses a strange light in the area. Upon finding Barry's car, Mulder sees no trace of Scully except her necklace. He then encounters a joyous Barry, who claims that she was taken by "them."

When Mulder interrogates Barry, he becomes so enraged that he nearly strangles him, only to stop himself. When he leaves the room, he orders Krycek to not let anyone inside; however, he finds Krycek talking to Barry when he returns. When Skinner arrives moments later, Barry breaks into convulsions and dies. Later, at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Mulder attempts to question the doctor who performed Barry's autopsy; she refuses to provide details since it was performed by the military instead of the FBI, claiming no other doctors were available.

Krycek meets with the Smoking Man and suggests that they kill Mulder. However, the Smoking Man orders that Mulder be left alive, unless they want to risk "turning one man's religion into a crusade". Mulder and Krycek are ordered to take a polygraph test about Barry's death. A desperate Mulder tries to visit Senator Richard Matheson, only to be discouraged from doing so by his secretive informant, " X " (Steven Williams). In Krycek's car, Mulder finds spent cigarettes from the Smoking Man's meeting with Krycek. Realizing his role in Scully's abduction, Mulder submits a report to Skinner accusing Krycek of impeding his investigation and killing Barry. Skinner summons Krycek to his office, only to learn that he has disappeared. Skinner then announces to Mulder that he is officially re-opening the X-Files.

Mulder meets with Margaret in a park and tries to give her Scully's necklace. Margaret returns the necklace to Mulder, asking that he give it to Scully when he finds her. Margaret also says that she had the dream again about losing her daughter; Mulder takes this as a hopeful sign that Scully may still be alive. A mournful Mulder later returns to Skyland Mountain, to the field where Scully was abducted. Seemingly alone without her, he looks up into the stars.