I am probably in the minority, but I really liked "Never Again" (just like I don't hate Diana Fowley. Oh what the hell, I love Doggett and Reyes too). I think for me, I am willing to buy almost anything if I can recognize the characters at their core. That said, I definitely have my limits as to what I enjoy reading.

Oh yes, Iolokus is GRIM. Good description! Everyone depresses the hell out of me in that story and with the possible exception of Evil!Bill Scully (he seems to be the bad guy in almost every fic, with very few exceptions that I find), the canon characters all seem to stray very far from, well, canon. Especially Maggie Scully. Yikes. Now I sort of want to reread this.