They had all heard the rumors, but none heard them earlier than Jack.
None felt their effects as hard as Jack. Hell, they didn't honestly feel the effect at all. Sure, they were all shocked to hear it, and knew it would shake their world up at least a little bit, but its tremors ran more deeply than any of them would ever have imagined. Not a single Achievement Hunter suspected in the least that such a simple thing would throw their happy office upside down.
The sun was deceptively bright that morning. When Geoff walked in, he had no idea what would be in store for him and the Achievement Hunter Crew that day. A few videos planned, probably a lot of fucking off. The usual. Maybe Gavin would show up. Who knows. Not in a million years did he suspect that his co founder had undergone anything more than a few hours of angry ranting and mild despair at the news that had been leaked the night before. Surprisingly, there had been very little on twitter to indicate what he, and everyone else, was in for.
He opened twitter on his phone, curious. Still nothing from Jack. While he thought it odd that his friend had not tweeted any scathing criticisms at all, he chalked it up to Jack probably not wanting to say something in the heat of the moment that would upset the fanbase, and hopefully enough forethought to realize that it was probably a hoax anyway. He continued his morning without sparing it any further brain power, he needed that to deal with his employees.
A short while later, they started to file in. Micheal, Jeremy, Ryan, and, surprise of all surprises, Gavin too.
"Hey Geoff, did you hear about that thing?" Gavin asked from across the room at his desk.
"The Assassins Creed thing? Yeah." He said the last word with a slight knowing chuckle. There were small grins on everyones faces, everyone but Ryan.
"What Assassins Creed thing?" The fellow father asked from nearby.
"Oh, hah, someone leaked that they are rebooting it and getting rid of men completely." Micheal said, laughing. "Jacks gonna be pissed."
"I guess you wouldn't have heard, what with you doing dad stuff and all" Gavin threw across the room.
"How much do you think Jacks gonna rant when he gets in here?" Jeremy piped in, and everyone laughed.
"A lot." Geoff said. He glanced then at the clock. It wasn't like Jack to be here later than everyone else. He shook it off and kept the day moving.
They started to go over the plans for the day, and had nearly wrapped up when Jack finally arrived. None of them expected what walked through the door on that bright Texas morning.
Ryan was the first to see him. At first, he thought a fan had managed to get into the building, and was half standing when the man in the doorway opened his mouth and spoke. Even his voice was wrong somehow.
"Hey." Was all he said.
They all turned and looked, nobody noticed the flabbergasted look on Ryans face, but they were all soon sharing it.
From his head to his feet, Jack Pattillo was draped in black. His hair, which was flopped over one eye, had been dyed black. His skin was pale, and while nobody could immediately understand how he had become so ghostly white, if one of them were to touch his face, their finger would come away with three layers of white stage paint and powder. The ever present beard was gone, and there was black smeared under his eyes and on his lips. Instead of his usual t-shirt and shorts, he wore a long sleeve black fishnet shirt under a black button up, and a pair of black tripp pants. Black everywhere. Even his nails were a smooth gleaming midnight.
There was silence for a long time as one by one they tried to take it in. Mouths hung slack as this creature made its way to Jacks desk. He sat without another word and started working away at something. What seemed like an eternity went by before he looked up and asked softly what they were doing that day.
"Uh...right. Um" Geoff started to talk but words failed him. He shook his head with a sigh, as if maybe he could shake away this illusion.
"Jack...why are you all...goth?" Gavin asked the question that was undoubtedly at the top of everyones mind.
He just blinked at them, or maybe he winked. They could only see one eye, after all. His expression stayed even.
"What are you talking about?" He asked softly. Nobody could think of how to respond. They all returned quietly to their desks, and Geoff fell into his with a flump, as he ran his hand over his face, completely at a loss. Nobody spoke. They stared at their screens, thinking their own separate but more than likely similar thoughts.
"Jack, is this some kind of bit? Like, because of the AC thing?" Jeremy asked tentatively, laughing nervously and averting his gaze.
After yet another long silence, Jack simply got up from his chair and left the room.