The boy stands to move a piece across the board for a checkmate as the shooter takes aim and begins to depress the trigger. Gibson pushes back from the table and the bullet finds its mark in the Russian man's chest and he falls to the stage dead. As the boy is surrounded by people, he looks back to where the shot originated but the gunman has disappeared. Catching up to CSM, the man removes his ski mask and reveals himself to be Krycek. "Go on! Take your shot, Alex," CSM yells. But Krycek says he's not there to kill him but was sent to bring him back. The shooter in Vancouver was caught and he was a National Security Agency operative. The case has been given to Jeffrey Spender; a request that came from outside the bureau. Spender specifically asked that Mulder be excluded from the team. Mulder shows him a moment on the tape when Gibson Praise pushes back from the table and out of the line of fire. If he hadn't moved, the bullet would have hit him in the back of the neck so he was the target. Diana Fowley says, "I think Agent Mulder is right. Looks like the boy sensed the shooter precognitively." As they rewind the tape further, it is clear that Gibson is looking over his shoulder up toward the location of the shooter before the shot is ever fired. Well Manicured Man and the Elders are joined by Krycek and CSM. They tell CSM that they heard he was shot and had assumed the worst. "Obviously, you underestimated me. More obviously, you overestimated the man you sent to do the job," CSM returns. Scully asks Fowley how long she's been with the Bureau and discovers she's been on board since 1991. She tells them she's returned to America, not only for this case, but for good. "There were things at home I decided I wanted to get back to," she replies cryptically as she makes eye contact with Mulder. Mulder rolls out his theory which is that Gibson really isn't a chess master but uses his ability to get inside people's thoughts in order to win. "That's how you knew that man was going to shoot you, isn't it," Mulder asks. Gibson tries to muddle the picture by telling Mulder that he knows what's really on his mind; that he's thinking about one of the "girls" with him. He comments that one of them is thinking about Mulder, too. Mulder arrives and wants to talk to their prisoner but Spender doesn't want to cooperate on this point or any other. "When I first met you I figured you were just ambitious and this morning my opinion changed and I thought you were arrogant," Mulder says, "You're insulting me when you should be taking notes." Mulder knows the kid is the key and wants to talk to the shooter regardless of Spender's ego. Back in his cell, the shooter is passed a message by a guard. "I was handed a note. Now I'm handing it to you," he says as he gives the shooter a Morley cigarette wrapper with the words "You're a dead man" written on the back. Scully wants them to tell her who Diana Fowley is. Frohike says, "She was Mulder's chickadee when he just got out of the academy." Langly says she was there when Mulder discovered the X-Files, adding that she has some background in para-science. Byers says, "I always wondered why they split up." Diana notes, "Sometimes I hear about you, about the work you're doing. And I think how it might have been if I'd stayed." Fowley doesn't think Scully has an open mind but Mulder tells her that Scully's a scientist and makes him work for everything. He tells her, "I've done okay without you," and she takes his hand saying, "Hey, I'm on your side." Mulder enters the garage and sees the clandestine meeting. Running up on the two of them, Mulder startles Spender, shouting at him, asking who he was talking to. Spender says he doesn't know but Mulder thinks he's lying. When Spender turns back, CSM's gone. Mulder is doubly confused, thinking CSM was dead. Scully explains what the tests and research seem to show; that Gibson's brain shows extraordinary activity in a center of the brain known as the "God Module". Mulder proposes that the boy might be the key "not just to all human potential, but to all spiritual unexplained paranormal phenomena. The key to everything in the X-Files." "You're allowed to investigate the X-Files as an indulgence," Diana says. Calling the wrong kind of attention will get them closed down and she doesn't want to see that happen, saying she has an interest in the work herself. Mulder thinks it's worth the risk and wants Skinner to contact the Attorney General to get the deal. "Most of us have genes we don't use. They lie there dormant, turned off. Science doesn't know what they're for, why they're there, or where they came from." Mulder says there are stories of prehistoric alien astronauts and, despite Spender's comment that he's letting himself be led, Mulder thinks that Gibson's abilities are a product of this latent alien DNA. The guard passes another message to the shooter. The shooter holds in his hand another cigarette wrapper but when he turns it over, he finds nothing written on the back. His momentary confusion turns to a knowing horror as he hears the click of a gun's hammer being cocked. As he looks up, the guard fires through the slot in the door, killing him. Gibson calmly looking outside says, "There's a man with a gun." Fowley jumps to her feet and drags the boy from the window but then, amazingly, remains in a vulnerable position in front of the window, clearly backlit for any shooter outside. She tells Gibson to stay back and get down but Gibson says, "He didn't come here to kill me. He's aiming at you." Mulder and Scully find that the US Marshall posted outside the room had been killed and that Fowley is seriously injured. Her vitals are weak and she has a hole in her lung, so Skinner says they're not optimistic. Scully asks about Gibson and is told that he's missing. He tells the agents that Spender is at the prison where the shooter was found dead in his cell with the Morley wrapper next to him. CSM delivers Gibson into the hands of WMM and Krycek. WMM tells him his work is done now but CSM says it's just beginning. As CSM walks away, Krycek says, "I've got a nice, straight shot." But WMM says that CSM is useful and "you may need him in the future." Mulder tosses Spender against the wall right in the hallway in front of other agents, smashing the Morley wrapper in his face. "Who do you work for," Mulder demands. "You work for him. You're going down for this, Spender. I'm going to see you prosecuted for murder! You watch me! Watch it happen. Your days are numbered." The bad news includes possible reassignment for both of them and instructions from the Justice Department to close down the X-Files. "This was all strategized, every move. I just couldn't see it. It was all of a plan," Mulder says. Scully tiredly replies, "Mulder, whatever you may believe, this time they may have won." We see CSM standing alone in the X-Files basement office. He lights a cigarette as he slowly looks around the office, as if to imprint it in his mind. He opens one of the filing cabinets and removes Samantha's case file. Spender has only one piece of information that interests him as he asks CSM, "Who are you?" CSM gives it to him straight, "I'm your father." As Spender looks incredulous, a fire alarm begins to sound and CSM quickly departs. All the familiar items and icons of the X-Files are either charred, melted, or dripping with water and ash. Mulder stops, frozen in stunned paralysis in the middle of the office as he scans the last five years of his life. As Scully wraps her arms around Mulder and places her head on his chest, the two are frozen in the wreckage as the camera pulls up and back to survey the scene.

The End The episode opens at a chess match taking place at a sports arena in Vancouver, B.C. [This is a great way to end The X-Files final episode shoot, by saying a thank you to the city that supported the five years of filming and to give the fans a chance to show their support and say thanks to the crew by attending and participating in the scene.] The match between a Russian chess master and a 12 year old American boy, Gibson Praise, takes place in front of a crowd of over 10,000 people. As the two takes their turns at the board and hit their timers to advance the game, we see a shooter in the rafters setting up his scoped rifle for a long range shot toward the stage. Gibson Praise seems to sense something and looks calmly around the stadium for the source of his unsettled feeling. In his head are fragments of muted voices. Turning back to the board, Gibson resumes the game but it's clear he is distracted by something in the arena. Through the cross-hairs, we see the shooter seemingly aim at the Russian, but then his sites drop down to the boy. The boy stands to move a piece across the board for a checkmate as the shooter takes aim and begins to depress the trigger. Gibson pushes back from the table and the bullet finds its mark in the Russian man's chest and he falls to the stage dead. As the boy is surrounded by people, he looks back to where the shot originated but the gunman has disappeared. An early morning sun shines down on the bright white snow in a remote mountain region in Quebec. Out of the sky, two silent parachutes appear as two men land on the snow-covered hillside. Wearing ski masks to disguise themselves, they approach the cabin where we previously saw Cigarette Smoking Man hiding out and recovering from his wound. As he moves around in the cabin, CSM hears a motion detector alarm go off and is aware of intruders outside. This is unfortunate for one of the men who tries the front door only to be blasted back into the snow by a well-aimed shotgun blast. The second intruder hears the blast and, finding his partner dead, heads off at a run to pursue CSM who is trying to escape by foot into the woods. Catching up to CSM, the man removes his ski mask and reveals himself to be Krycek. "Go on! Take your shot, Alex," CSM yells. But Krycek says he's not there to kill him but was sent to bring him back. As the camera pans the interior of the X-Files basement office, we see Skinner standing inside as he looks at the various items tacked on the bulletin board. He's flipping through a case file when Mulder walks in, looking surprised to see him. Skinner says he came down to ask Mulder about his long-term plans. Mulder says Skinner's got them right in his hand (meaning the X-File case folder). "What do you hope to find? I mean in the end," Skinner inquires. "Whatever I hope to find is in here. And maybe I'll know it when I find it. Is that what you came to ask me," Mulder asks. But Skinner apparently has other things to discuss. It seems that the shooter in Vancouver was caught and he was a National Security Agency operative. The case has been given to Jeffrey Spender; a request that came from outside the bureau. Spender specifically asked that Mulder be excluded from the team, though Scully is on board. Skinner obviously wanted to inform Mulder so he could crash Spender's party. The briefing is in progress when Mulder walks in with Skinner. Video of the Russian chess player being shot is rolling as the agents on Spender's team watch. The arrival of Mulder stops Spender in his tracks. "Please continue," Mulder offers which seems to anger Spender even more. Spender is putting forth the theory that the Russian was the target of the shooter but Mulder notices something on the video and asks that it be reversed and replayed. Spender tries to avoid cooperating, saying he'd like to finish his analysis but Mulder claims that the Russian wasn't the target and that it will be clear if Spender will just rewind. Scully motions to Mulder saying, "Mulder, what are you doing?" Spender says they can have questions later but Mulder doesn't have a question; rather he says he thinks Spender is simply wrong. Spender reluctantly relinquishes ground and Mulder shows him a moment on the tape when Gibson Praise pushes back from the table and out of the line of fire. If he hadn't moved, the bullet would have hit him in the back of the neck so he was the target. Spender tries to avoid this analysis and wants to move on but an agent in the back agrees with Mulder. It is an attractive woman, Diana Fowley, who is clearly someone Mulder knows. She says, "I think Agent Mulder is right. Looks like the boy sensed the shooter precognitively." As they rewind the tape further, it is clear that Gibson is looking over his shoulder up toward the location of the shooter before the shot is ever fired. At a clandestine meeting under a bridge, Well Manicured Man and the Elders are joined by Krycek and CSM. They tell CSM that they heard he was shot and had assumed the worst. "Obviously, you underestimated me. More obviously, you overestimated the man you sent to do the job," CSM returns. CSM tells them all is forgiven and wants to know what job they have for him. WMM says there's been an unfortunate mistake and the boy is now a problem to them. The Elders want to know if they can count on him and CSM agrees to their plan. Mulder, Scully, and Diana Fowley are driving on their way to pay a visit to Gibson. Scully asks Fowley how long she's been with the Bureau and discovers she's been on board since 1991 but was stationed in Europe working on foreign terrorism for several years. She tells them she's returned to America, not only for this case, but for good. "There were things at home I decided I wanted to get back to," she replies cryptically as she makes eye contact with Mulder. Scully does some quick math and states that 1991 was about the time that Mulder began work on the X-Files. Mulder says, "More or less," as he and Diana share another look. The trio arrive at the Inget-Murray Psychiatric Facility where Gibson Praise is being held until his parents arrive from the Philippines to pick him up. Mulder introduces himself and the two women by their first names. Gibson is watching "The Simpsons" on TV and continues to focus the majority of his attention on the show while Mulder talks to him. Mulder asks him how he's doing and Gibson says he likes it fine and that they get better TV here than where he lives. "All we get is Baywatch." Mulder asks what's wrong with "Baywatch" and Gibson looks directly at him and observes that Mulder has a dirty mind. Mulder has a computer chess game with him but Gibson says he doesn't want to play. At this point Mulder rolls out his theory which is that Gibson really isn't a chess master but uses his ability to get inside people's thoughts in order to win. "That's how you knew that man was going to shoot you, isn't it," Mulder asks. Gibson tries to muddle the picture by telling Mulder that he knows what's really on his mind; that he's thinking about one of the "girls" with him. He comments that one of them is thinking about Mulder, too. Clever kid. As they exit the room, Mulder says the boy should be under 24 hour protection. Scully isn't convinced that the kid can read minds, especially zeroing in on one mind in thousands, but Mulder thinks that's why someone wants him dead. "Who? Who are you talking about," Scully asks. Mulder doesn't know the answer to that or why they'd want the kid dead but Diana jumps in, saying, "Maybe somebody whose business is in keeping secrets." Mulder wants to test the boy to see the level of his ability and, as he leaves the hospital, tells Diana to get him a brain scan and evaluation, "You know what to do, Diana." Obviously some history here. Scully turns to Diana, "So, you two know each other?" "It was a long time ago," Diana replies. At the Federal Detention Center where the shooter is being held, we see Spender leaving following a six hour interrogation where he learned nothing. Mulder arrives and wants to talk to their prisoner but Spender doesn't want to cooperate on this point or any other. "When I first met you I figured you were just ambitious and this morning my opinion changed and I thought you were arrogant," Mulder says, "Now I'm beginning to wonder what you're protecting." Spender says he doesn't want his case to be run like a "paranormal free-for-all." Mulder comes back with, "You're insulting me when you should be taking notes." Mulder knows the kid is the key and wants to talk to the shooter regardless of Spender's ego. Mulder enters the cell with Spender at his heels. The shooter starts complaining about how Mulder's "squeaky friend" hasn't allowed him food or water for the last 16 hours. Mulder takes the opportunity to play good cop/bad cop and sends Spender out for some food for the prisoner. He says he didn't shoot the kid and Mulder says, "Thanks to the kid." Mulder says he knows Gibson can read minds and threatens to say he got that information from the shooter. Realizing the backlash that would come his way, the shooter says he'll talk if he can get a deal with immunity. Back at the psychiatric hospital, Scully is walking Gibson back from an MRI. He didn't like the tests and Scully has a maternal moment consoling him, probably thinking about Emily and her constant tests. "You're wondering, aren't you," Gibson asks her, referring to Diana Fowley. Gibson says Diana is wondering about her, too. Gibson is then subjected to a panel of people testing his abilities, guessing what's on hidden cards and telling each of them what they had for breakfast. His abilities are so strong they're impressed to the point of applause, as if he's giving a performance. As Scully and Diana watch through two-way glass, Diana comments that she's never witnessed someone with such an ability despite other cases she's seen. When Scully asks where she saw these things, she says, "Agent Mulder and I spent some time in psychiatric hospitals. There were some patients serving criminal sentences who we felt had been misdiagnosed." Scully chooses this moment to "disappear for a bit" and excuses herself. Back in his cell, the shooter is passed a message by a guard. "I was handed a note. Now I'm handing it to you," he says as he gives the shooter a Morley cigarette wrapper with the words "You're a dead man" written on the back. Meanwhile, Scully is making a late visit on her own to the lair of the Lone Gunmen. She is visible on a video monitor as she buzzes at their door and Frohike, in his pajamas and a kevlar vest (!), rushes to let her in. With all three gunmen assembled she turns over Gibson's MRI results and asks them to look at them "with an eye to the parapsychological", mentioning that the boy might be a fraud. But before she lets them at the data, she wants them to tell her who Diana Fowley is. Byers' comment is that they haven't heard that name for awhile and Frohike says, "She was Mulder's chickadee when he just got out of the academy." Langly says she was there when Mulder discovered the X-Files, adding that she has some background in para-science. Byers tells Scully that Diana got an appointment that sent her to Berlin and ends by musing, "I always wondered why they split up." Scully's receives the information she guessed but needed to hear then leaves them to the brain scans. Mulder hooks up with Fowley as she watches Gibson through the two-way glass. She tells Mulder that "he's the real deal" and capable of focusing on one thought or multiple thoughts at once. Mulder still thinks there is more to it, something they're missing. Diana congratulates Mulder on his catch of the video tape clue during the briefing. "You seem at the top of your game." Mulder tells her that it's been the main focus of his life for the last five years. Diana notes, "Sometimes I hear about you, about the work you're doing. And I think how it might have been if I'd stayed." She thinks Mulder could have used an ally; someone with her background who thinks like he does. Fowley doesn't think Scully has an open mind but Mulder tells her that Scully's a scientist and makes him work for everything. He tells her, "I've done okay without you," and she takes his hand saying, "Hey, I'm on your side." Scully chooses just this moment to arrive with the information she's gleaned from Gibson's file and sees the handholding through the glass window in the door. Instead of going in, she walks right by the door and pauses momentarily, deciding to leave without going in. She returns to the parking lot and sits in her car, thinking...then with a heavy sigh, she dials Mulder on her cell phone and tells her she has some information to show him. She lies, saying she's on her way to the FBI building and asks him to meet her there. Mulder says he's on his way. As Scully drives from the hospital parking lot, she sees Spender arriving. Spender exits his car and, as he walks away, is startled from behind by the appearance of CSM standing in the shadows. "Agent Spender, I need to speak with you," he begins. But Spender wants to know who he is and what agency he's with. Of course, CSM won't answer simply saying he's someone who's taken an interest in him and the case he's working on, "This case I gave you." He tells Spender, "Control the board. Know which men to sacrifice and when. Don't become part of someone else's cause or crusade. Pursue your own self interest, always." Spender has little patience for CSM's double talk and mysterious deep throat act and simply wants CSM to give him a straight answer. But at this point, Mulder enters the garage and sees the clandestine meeting. Running up on the two of them, Mulder startles Spender, shouting at him, asking who he was talking to. Spender says he doesn't know but Mulder thinks he's lying. When Spender turns back, CSM's gone. Mulder is doubly confused, thinking CSM was dead. At a briefing in Skinner's office, Spender's team is assembled, including Fowley, Scully, and Mulder. Scully explains what the tests and research seem to show; that Gibson's brain shows extraordinary activity in a center of the brain known as the "God Module". Mulder adds that individuals responsible for great leaps forward in science have apparently had access to special brain centers and that this may be a similar case. This could explain the talents he's demonstrated. Mulder leaps forward with this theory to propose that the boy might be the key "not just to all human potential, but to all spiritual unexplained paranormal phenomena. The key to everything in the X-Files." One of Mulder's more amazing leaps. As you can guess, Spender immediately dismisses this theory as ridiculous saying it's nuts to believe that the boy is going to be killed because of the X-Files. Mulder agrees, saying it's bigger than just the X-Files. Mulder still believes that the shooter knows information about Gibson and his importance in the greater scheme of things and wants to push through an immunity agreement to get him to talk. Spender scoffs at this idea but Scully says the boy is "quantifiable scientific proof of everything that Agent Mulder and I have investigated over the past five years." Fowley jumps in at this point saying that the spiritual can't be quantified and that the Attorney General will never deal with the killer based on this theory. "You're allowed to investigate the X-Files as an indulgence," Diana says. Calling the wrong kind of attention will get them closed down and she doesn't want to see that happen, saying she has an interest in the work herself. Skinner boots everyone out into the hall except for Mulder. He seems to forget that Mulder and Scully are a team. Skinner notes that Fowley is probably right and that the X-Files division might be in jeopardy. Mulder thinks it's worth the risk and wants Skinner to contact the Attorney General to get the deal. Back at the prison, Mulder and Spender inform the shooter that they needs more from him before he can get immunity. The shooter seems more desperate than before and offers some answers. He tells Mulder that the kid is a "missing link". Without saying more, Mulder makes the connection that Gibson is "genetic proof" and is in fact "more human than human." As they leave the cell, Mulder explains to Spender. "Most of us have genes we don't use. They lie there dormant, turned off. Science doesn't know what they're for, why they're there, or where they came from." Mulder says there are stories of prehistoric alien astronauts and, despite Spender's comment that he's letting himself be led, Mulder thinks that Gibson's abilities are a product of this latent alien DNA. CSM exits a building and, as he walks down the street, a car pulls up next to him. As the window rolls down, we see WMM in the passenger seat and Krycek playing chauffeur. "We entrusted you. You failed," WMM says angrily. He knows that Mulder has gone to the Attorney General for a deal and that he has testimony about Gibson. CSM says it's just part of the game, "You just take their pieces, one by one until the board is clear." Despite WMM's fury, CSM is cool, lighting up a cigarette as the car pulls away from the curb. We see Scully in a motel room, keeping watch on Gibson as he watches more shows on the Fox Network. She drags a chair nearer Gibson and asks him how he reads minds. "I just hear you thinking, like on a radio," he tells her. He says sometimes there are so many thoughts he just wants to turn them all off and watch some TV. She asks if that's why he likes chess and he says in chess "there's no talking. Just thinking. It's nothing like real life where people think one thing but they say something else." He says that everyone worrying about what everyone else is thinking makes him laugh. "They make up all this stuff to believe but it's all made up. Some people try to be good people but some people just don't care. Like you." A surprised Scully says, "You think I don't care?" "No, you don't care what people think," he replies, "Except for her. The other one." At this point Diana arrives, knocking on the motel room door for a change of shifts. Scully tells Gibson that they'll talk about this later. As Scully walks to the door, Gibson says, "They want to kill me, you know." "Nobody's going to do anything to you, Gibson," Scully promises. Gibson knows she means it but looks skeptical nonetheless. Back at the prison, the guard passes another message to the shooter saying only, "I've been handed another note." The shooter holds in his hand another cigarette wrapper but when he turns it over, he finds nothing written on the back. His momentary confusion turns to a knowing horror as he hears the click of a gun's hammer being cocked. As he looks up, the guard fires through the slot in the door, killing him. Fowley, on guard duty, is startled awake and looks around hurriedly for a missing Gibson. As she calls his name she realizes that he's standing silently at the window and heaves a sigh of relief. "What are you doing," she ask. Gibson calmly looking outside replies, "There's a man with a gun." Fowley jumps to her feet and drags the boy from the window but then, amazingly, remains in a vulnerable position in front of the window, clearly backlit for any shooter outside. She tells Gibson to stay back and get down but Gibson says, "He didn't come here to kill me. He's aiming at you." A surprised Diana has little time to react as a gunshot rings out and she's hit. On the scene the next morning, Mulder and Scully find that the US Marshall posted outside the room had been killed and that Fowley is seriously injured. Skinner tells them that the EMT's worked on her at the motel for an hour and are now transporting her in an ambulance since they couldn't get a chopper. (Where the heck was this motel? Outer Mongolia?) Her vitals are weak and she has a hole in her lung, so Skinner says they're not optimistic. Scully asks about Gibson and is told that he's missing. He tells the agents that Spender is at the prison where the shooter was found dead in his cell with the Morley wrapper next to him. At their meeting place under the bridge, CSM delivers Gibson into the hands of WMM and Krycek. WMM tells Gibson that there's nothing to be afraid of and Gibson says, "You're a liar. Just like him," indicating CSM. CSM tells WMM that he doesn't have the stomach for the business but WMM says it's just CSM's methods. "I'm a necessity," CSM claims, "The complement to your cowardice." WMM tells him his work is done now but CSM says it's just beginning. As CSM walks away, Krycek says, "I've got a nice, straight shot." But WMM says that CSM is useful and "you may need him in the future." Krycek and WMM drive off with Gibson in the backseat of their car. Back at the FBI building, Mulder makes a beeline for Spender, certain that he's been working with CSM. He tosses Spender against the wall right in the hallway in front of other agents, smashing the Morley wrapper in his face. "Who do you work for," Mulder demands. "You work for him. You're going down for this, Spender. I'm going to see you prosecuted for murder! You watch me! Watch it happen. Your days are numbered." Spender, watching Mulder's retreat, says, "You're wrong, Agent Mulder. It's your days that are numbered." Later, at Mulder's apartment, Scully sits in a chair next to the couch where Mulder is stretched out with his eyes closed. She's on the phone to Skinner and both she and Mulder look exhausted and nearly beaten. "We knew there were risks going to the Attorney General," Scully is saying. Skinner says they are serious about this and wants to be sure that she makes Mulder aware of what's going down. Skinner says he's trying to make a case that Mulder's personal involvement clouded his judgment but he's not sure how successful that will be. He tells her that Spender is going after Mulder with everything he's got and has been repeating Mulder's theory on alien astronauts which Skinner says makes both Mulder and Scully look really bad. When Scully hangs up, Mulder's only response is to ask if there's any word on Diana. Scully tells him that she's not doing too well but is still hanging on. The bad news includes possible reassignment for both of them and instructions from the Justice Department to close down the X-Files. "This was all strategized, every move. I just couldn't see it. It was all of a plan," Mulder says. Scully tiredly replies, "Mulder, whatever you may believe, this time they may have won." We see CSM standing alone in the X-Files basement office. He lights a cigarette as he slowly looks around the office, as if to imprint it in his mind. He opens one of the filing cabinets and removes Samantha's case file. Next we see him emerging from an elevator and walking down a corridor of the FBI building where he runs into Spender. Spender seems surprised to see him, saying, "Can I help you?" "Actually, I can help you," CSM says. Spender wants to know how CSM got inside and CSM tells him it's all about access. "It's what I can give you. It's what I can make you. It's why I'm doing this for you." Spender has only one piece of information that interests him as he asks CSM, "Who are you?" CSM gives it to him straight, "I'm your father." As Spender looks incredulous, a fire alarm begins to sound and CSM quickly departs. We see the source of the fire. It's the X-Files basement office in a blaze. The final scene is a harried Mulder and Scully arriving at the FBI. As they make their way down a hallway and try to gain access to the basement, they have to fight their way past firemen and Skinner, who tries to detain them. Walking into the burned out office as the last fireman abandons the smoldering wreck, they find the room and everything in it destroyed. All the familiar items and icons of the X-Files are either charred, melted, or dripping with water and ash. Mulder stops, frozen in stunned paralysis in the middle of the office as he scans the last five years of his life. Scully, right behind him, wanders the office, silenced by the extent of the damage. Walking to Mulder and gripping his arms, Scully gets no response. Mulder is in a state of disbelieving shock. As Scully wraps her arms around Mulder and places her head on his chest, the two are frozen in the wreckage as the camera pulls up and back to survey the scene.