*
*The video screen flares to white, then pans to a familiar white, featureless room. There is a din of activity off camera. The camera pans left to show an odd sight: *
*
*...a room full of Jack Powers, conversing. A Jack with slicked-back hair and a gray pinstripe suit (“Smith” Jack) is talking to a person in a gray luchador outfit with white and black highlights (Abraxas). A wild-haired, wild-eyed Jack in a leather jacket (crazy House of Blood 3 Jack) laughs with a bright, happy Jack (Lord of Mayhem Jack), and standing off to the side are a Jack in a white suit (Son of Man Jack), a pair of very young Jacks, one in a grey suit (Fight Club Jack) and one in a black suit (Heel Jack), all looking very confused. Another Jack, looking disheveled and near-catatonic (post-torture Jack) broods and mingles among the crowd.*
*
Lord Of Mayhem Jack: “...then she cried, "I'm gonna have puppies!" *laugh*”
*
Crazy Jack: “*laugh* Okay, okay, I got one: A priest, a minister, and a rabbi walk into a bar...”
*
Voice from off-camera: “...the atheist ducked.”
*
*The two of them turn their heads and see the current Jack Power walk by them, making his way to the "front" of the room.*
*
Crazy Jack: “*snort* Look at that guy, walking in here like he owns the place.”
*
Lord Of Mayhem Jack: “Dude, he does own the place.”
*
Crazy Jack: “Ohhhhhh....”
*
*Current Jack steps to the front of the assembled Jacks and clears his throat.*
*
Jack Power: “Attention, everyone! Can I have everyone gather up front, please?”
*
*With much grumbling and fussing, the many Jacks make their way in a semicircle around the current Jack.*
*
Jack Power: “All right, folks, I think you all have an idea as to why I've called you all here. Here's the deal: That thing that's possessing Argo is going to break its containment soon. Needless to say, it'll be gunning for us, and, long story short, that means that everything we know is coming to an end. And we need to make sure that it's a happy ending, and not a permanent end for everything.”
*
*Fight Club Jack and Heel Jack exchange a couple whispers, then Fight Club Jack raises his hand*
*
Jack Power: “Yes, me in the gray.”
*
Fight Club Jack: “Um, I'm not sure if we're supposed to be here. Who are you all? Where are we? What's going on?”
*
*Jack goes to answer when Smith Jack interrupts*
*
Smith Jack: “You are a construct, Mr. Carter. You are a creation, a character in an online wrestling game, as are we all.”
*
*Fight Club and Heel Jack look at Smith for a moment, then at each other*
*
Jack Power: “You guys okay?”
*
Heel Jack: “Actually, that makes a twisted kind of sense. *waves dismissively* Carry on.”
*
Jack Power: “Okay, then. *sigh* There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to come out and say it: it is likely that we're not going to survive this. ...in fact, I can pretty much guarantee it.”
*
*The room becomes eerily silent for a moment before Jack continues*
*
Jack Power: “The reason I have summoned all of you - er, me.... whatever - here is simple: I can sense the end coming. If not for TWG, then possibly for me, and definitely for XFE. And in order to face my end, I need to come full circle. My first roleplay was an interview with myself. Seems only fitting that I end with a full group interview of my own past selves.”
*
Fight Club Jack: “*Laughs* I remember that! *sigh* the memories...”
*
*Jack walks toward Fight Club Jack and slaps him on the shoulder. *
*
Jack Power: “Indeed. You were the genesis; the Alpha. You represent my innocence, my idealistic, funloving youth, playing myself with a wink and a nod, before being burdened with knowledge.”
*
*Jack steps to Heel Jack next*
*
Jack Power: “You represent me embracing my shadow side. The darkness that I would never touch in reality. You set the stage for my transformation, whether intentional or not.”
*
*As Jack turns from Heel Jack, he bumps into the disheveled copy of him. He recoils fr om Jack, but Jack hugs him*
*
Jack Power: “You... you I don't envy at all. You glimpsed into infinity and came away lost, twisted... but greater than you were before.”
*
*The shabby Jack, after a /short hesitation, embraces Jack back, then walks off and joins the circle. Jack walks up to Lord of Mayhem Jack and shakes his hand briskly.*
*
Jack Power: “You embraced infinity. You saw youself as more than just words in a screen. You looked for your limits... and eradicated them.”
*
*Jack then walks up to Abraxas*
*
Jack Power: “You weren't satisfied being a side show. You sought to do something with your power. You created the Righteous Anger, defeated the Black Rage, and combined them to defeat the Dark Side's hold on XFE. Thanks to you, we are more than the sum of our parts.”
*
*Jack walks over to Smith next*
*
Jack Power: “You... you I learned the most from. You showed me that even I have limits, and that I need to be careful not to be so far outside the system that I become a slave to it.”
*
*Jack steps up to the Son of Man in his white suit, who steps away. Jack just smiles*
*
Jack Power: “You... you poor soul. Deluded and manipulated. You showed me what happens when I let someone else define who I am. Hopefully, you'll learn that lesson as well.”
*
*The Son of Man looks at him, skeptical, as he moves to the Crazy Jack*
*
Crazy Jack: “Let me guess: I'm your wild, untamed side ready to kick ass?”
*
Jack Power: “*laughs* Close. Between *points at Son of Man* him and what happened with Argo, I spent so much time worrying about who I was and what I was “supposed to do” that it almost cost me everything. Then you came along. You showed me that I don't have to micromanage my own life. It's okay to lose control. Fun, actually.”
*
*After slapping Crazy Jack on the shoulder, he walked back toward the center of the semicircle.
*
Smith Jack: “And what of you, Mr. Carter? Where do you fit into all this?”
*
*The other Jacks murmur in assent. Jack turns to face them*
*
Jack Power: “Me? I'm the Omega. The end. I am the sum total of everyone and everything I've been. And I'm going to need all that - all of you - if we're to have any hope of saving this game. It isn't about me; my time is done. It's about all the other Creators who have and will continue to make this game. I'm not going to let some Xorn wannabe tear this all down. Are you with me?”
*
*The other Jacks mull around for a moment. Then, Fight Club Jack enthusiastically puts his hand in the middle *
*
Fight Club Jack: “Be a part of an epic storyline like this? You bet I'm in!”
*
Not long after, Heel Jack puts his hand in.*
*
Heel Jack: “In.”
*
*The shabby Jack shuffles forward and looks at Jack through his broken Ray-Bans. His eyes brighten and he smiles for what appears to be the first time in years and puts his hand in, immediately followed by the Lord of Mayhem.*
*
Lord of Mayhem Jack: “To quote Reb Brown, “Let's go out there and kick some ass!””
*
*Abraxas steps up next and puts his hand on.*
*
Abraxas: “I am ready to give all.”
*
*Smith Jack steps up next.*
*
Smith Jack: “Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure. *puts hand on*”
*
*The Son of Man looks at the pile of hands, then looks at the current Jack*
*
Son if Man Jack: “I... I don't know...what should I do?”
*
Jack Power: “*shrug* Your call. Keep in mind, though, deciding not to decide is still a choice.”
*
*The Son of Man thinks for a moment, then smiles.*
*
Son of Man Jack: “I will choose a path that's clear. *puts hand in* I will choose free will.”
*
Crazy Jack: “Let nail the b*****d! *puts hand in*”
*
*Jack Power looks at the assembled and starts to tear up.*
*
Fight Club Jack: “You okay, man?”
*
Jack Power: “Good-byes are hard. *ahem* I will now speak as my Creator, to everyone reading this.”
*
XFE was not Jack's first fed, but it will be his last. I want to thank everyone involved, especially Sentinel for indulging my crazy storylines and insane plots, and mostly for giving me an opportunity to help make this show the best it can be, both as a player and as a VGM. I also want to thank all my colleagues and friends I made during my time here, both past and present for making this an amazing run. I hope wherever I and my fellow Creators end up, we have as much fun and raise as much hell as we did here. I love you all.
*
*Jack straightens his glove and places his hand on top of the others, and suddenly, every one of them is bathed in a brilliant white light, coalescing in a bright flare that erupts from their enjoined hands, blinding the camera for a moment. When the image returns, there is only one Jack, dressed in a pure white suit, white fingerless gloves, and a white fedora, but no sunglasses. The camera pans down to him at face level. Jack looks at the camera, eyes focused*
*
Jack Power: “Let's end this.”
*
*Jack vanishes in a flash of lights. Fade to black.*
