Chapter 42: "Finale"

The dreaded blue ray shot out of his hands directly at me. Instinctively I raised my hands to cover, Writer's words flashing back in my mind.
"You have no more powers left." True. His Scroll Lock had effectively disabled most of my buttons.
"You now have no more possible allies." True as well. Toby, Melly, Moby, Telly, and U had all been permanently Deleted.
Would this be how it end? Would the finale of this story forever read that I had lost to Writer?
Suddenly a button embedded in my palm started flashing. Delete! It was the one power that had been given to me naturally, therefore it could still be used despite the Scroll Lock! I wasted no time tapping it furiously.
A blue ray shot out of my own palm, meeting that of Writer's. The two rays pushed at each other, each trying to overcome the other.
"Once more you defy me. But when all is said and done, you shall always remember that the Creation can never surpass the Creator."
The veins in his neck strained so hard they seemed almost about to burst as he grew another few feet taller. I forced every ounce of strength into my hands, hoping to overpower him in whatever way I could.
But it was an uphill battle, one which I was losing fast. His ray burned with an almost demonic intensity, as though he had this absolute resolve that the battle had to be won with this one attack. What could I do to escape this fate? Already his Delete ray was starting to push mine back.
Nobody. There was absolutely nobody. Unlike all those previous brushes with death, i was completely alone this time around. "So many have given their lives to me so that I can defeat you! I MUST WIN! MUST! MUST! MUST! MUST!"
"What do you know about giving? Do you know just how much, how unimaginably much I have given to my Blogspot? Your battle is not even half as important as mine. And victory has no choice but to favour me."
With a deafening roar his blood-red eyes bulged even larger. Surely his Delete ray was now no more than six feet away from me. I struggled hard just to keep my footing.
Four feet. No! He was just too strong. Already my entire body was quivering, every nerve begging for mercy. I took long, deep breaths, concentrating my energy harder than I ever had.
"Yesss...yesss...time to make way for a new story, my child."
I scanned the array of buttons. Only the supplementary buttons like Shift, Control, and Alternate remained. These only worked with other buttons, and those were the ones Writer had Scroll Locked.
Doomed?
Perhaps not! An idea formed within my mind.
A cold shiver ran down my spine when I found out that the ray was a mere two feet away now. Only one last chance for me now. I had to experiment to see whether the supplementary buttons could work with Delete. Either that or I was dead.
Control and Delete yielded nothing.
So did Alternate and Delete.
Shift and Delete. Nothing.
One more foot and that was it. Maybe a combination would work, I pressed Control...
The ray was so close I could almost feel it with my bare skin!
Alternate...
"End."
"DELETE!" To my amazement layers of deep purple and red appeared from my palms and encircled my ray, strengthening it so much it ripped through Writer's ray all the way to himself.
His disbelieving eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as the Control + Alternate + Delete ray went through him like a laser beam. He let loose a ear-piercing howl, collapsing into a heap. All at once the mighty demon that stood before me was reduced to a snivelling boy in glasses, bleeding profusely from the mouth.
"I...I...have lost."
"Indeed you have," I said. "Go home, boy. Go home, and forget that Blogspot ever existed."
He whimpered, not willing to accept that his chance at victory had slipped away. "The story...must be completed...only by me..."
"Let me take over," I gazed at the window which appeared. "END TASK."
His body slowly changed to the colour of his surroundings, blending him in. "Heh heh heh heh heh. This story crowns you its victor, but I will get my second chance. For as long as stories exist and people read them, I live on! Maybe not today, but the day shall come when my masterpiece unfolds! Farewell, my Blogspot! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
Just as suddenly as he'd brought me into this world, so vanished the one who had created it with all his heart and soul. At the same instant Climax City stopped burning and disappeared from sight as well. I was left in a blank white void.

Writer's Block

At the risk of sounding like Writer, it has been a long time since this story began, has it not? Let us end it at once.
Lol...but seriously, I mean it. A new year's coming, and a new year should mean new story, new template, new reactions (hopefully)! Yeap, I for once am proud to say that I'm sticking to my promise of ending this story by 2004!
On a side note, this is going to be a very weird new year...the tidal wave disaster means all "big" new year celebrations (Bukit Bintang fireworks, concerts, etc) have been cancelled and replaced with prayers. While my first reflex was "What?! Are they crazy?", a few settled-down moments have made me realise that it would be just plain selfish to party on while hundreds around the nation mourn. So ppl, do have a Happy New Year and all, but spare some time to pray for the families of victims that peace shall be upon them.
Erm...actually I do have more to say, but let's leave that for the final Writer's Block of 2004. It's called MARKETING, people. Heh.
And please...leave some comments...words...thoughts...anything...tell me my story sucks...that I'm boring...anything! Anything but this:













Get the message? Have a New Year's Eve that'll live on forever in your memories! =^)

Chapter 41: "Locked"

A bony hand reached out at my throat, making me choke.
"And here it comes now," he whispered hoarsely. "The end."
Tab! I hit the button a split second before his Delete ray could connect. A mixture of frustration and surprise on his face, Writer turned round and said that dreaded word again.
"Delete."
Uh-oh. I couldn't Tab again so quickly. Only one option left, Alternate and...
It worked! The ray stopped midway.
"Freeze Frame? Interesting. Now we truly have a battle on our hands."
"Bring it on," Beads of sweat started forming on my brow as I tried to control the Freeze Frame.
"Smart you might be," he swept aside my Freeze Frame as though it was a pesky fly. "But still your powers are controlling you."
No time to waste on needless banter, I proceeded to the next power: Control and C, followed by Control and V - Copy/Paste!
Unfortunately, after the first duplication the C and V buttons had sunk. Unlike Telly, I could only Copy one of myself at a time.
All the same, surely he couldn't take on two people at the same time. We both charged forward, one from the left and one from the right.
"Wrong move!" He caught a fist with each hand and Caps Locked, twisting our arms. "Let me show you how it's done!"
My eyes grew wide in horror as he lifted us twelve feet above the ground, preparing to feed us to the flames. I glanced around wildly at the array of buttons before me, desperately searching for one that could save me.
"In case you are thinking of using some powers to counter, save it," he roared. "Forget that you ever had any - Scroll Lock!"
Scroll Lock? What did that do? I peered at the buttons and gasped out loud. Almost all of them had sunk down! I tried pressing frantically, but to no avail. All my new-found powers could no longer be used! This didn't look good.
"It has been a good 41 Chapters...time to move on!"
My heart almost stopped beating. I had never felt so close to death before ever. What would happen to me if I died in this story world? Would I be able to come back to live in the real world?
I didn't have time to entertain those thoughts, for we were already being flung straight into a raging inferno. I took one last look at my buttons. Still sunken. Death!
But just moments before the flames could reach me, a body broke my fall and pushed me forcefully out of the way. My back thumped hard onto the ground, so hard I feared something might be broken. Who could possibly have rescued me again?
It was my Copy. Of course! Writer had just Scroll Locked me, but not him. Inches away from the fire, my Copy had Tabbed to where I was and pushed me out of harm's way.
"Farewell, Courageous One." I saluted him as he perished in the flames.
"You would've done the same for me," he appeared to say. "Fight."
"NO!" Writer's face grew distorted. "You cannot keep narrowly escaping Death like that! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!"
"Maybe so," I tried to heave myself up. "But nothing is impossible in a story like this."
His twisted face grew even redder. "Impossible yes, illogical no. You now have no more powers left and no more possible allies. I, on the other hand, can make myself as strong as I wish. There is no way, ABSOLUTELY NO WAY in the name of the Writer and the Creator that you can not die and let this story end with my next attack."
I swallowed hard, fists raised.
"Chapter 42," he brought up his hand. "IS the final Chapter. DELETE!"

Chapter 40: "Help"

I watched helplessly as he put both hands together, pulled them apart, and form a tingling blue ray. That darned Tab button was still not fully risen yet, eliminating my last means of escape.
Zap! The ray sunk itself into me.
I closed my eyes as my entire body grew numb. It didn't hurt as much as I'd feared. Had I been Deleted?
Then as suddenly as it came, the ray stopped. And that was when this burning, stabbing pain engulfed my body. Tears rolled out of my eyes, but yet I couldn't scream.
"Aww...somebody does not like being partially Deleted."
"Curse you," I inched my way to Melly's fallen body, trying to shake away the unbearable pain. "As long as I'm still alive you haven't won yet."
Writer grinned widely and burst out laughing. "Someday, many years from this day, they will still be browsing through the archives of Blogspot and read about how gallantly you fought. Only then shall you live on in history forever, no?"
"Nothing lasts forever. Nothing but stories, the words that tell others how we lived. Sure you could defeat me and put an end to Blogspot now, but that would mean both of us shall be forgotten the moment we die. Surrender to me now, and we shall live forever in immortality."
His words struck a chord in my head. I had already fought so long and hard against him with nothing to show but five dead friends. Why bother anymore? I had no possible way of defeating this evil genius.
After all, his Blogspot was already in tatters, and it would take a long while more for it to be rebuilt. Perhaps by then things would be different.
Things would be different.
Things would be different.
Things...would...be...
"No," a soft voice echoed beside me. I turned around in shock to see Melly shuffling her body, trying to get up. "The only way...is to kill him..."
"Melly! I thought you were Deleted!"
"Oops, looks like I forgot to permanently Delete you. My, my, how careless of me."
How I wished I could have done something to save her from an inevitable second death. But I could not.
"Press F1 for Help." were her final words.
There was no time to grieve now, I still had a villain to dispose of. And quite possibly, Melly had given me the solution how.
I scoured the buttons floating in front of me and sure enough, there was an F1 at the top left. A light push produced this shimmering light which hurt my eyes. Then for some strange reason, my knees gave way.
"Feeling weak again?"
The previously jumbled up buttons suddenly swirled round, forming organised patterns. Tiny descriptions flashed beside each formation.
"FREEZE FRAME - Alternate + F4. Prevents target from moving until deactivated."
"COPY/ PASTE - Control + C/ Control + V. Creates an exact duplicate of user."
"CUT - Control + X. Removes user from sight. To reappear, use Paste."
I read on it both awe and glee. Now I stood a chance against him.

Chapter 39: "Powers"

One on one. All my allies now lay dead, leaving me alone to face the creator of Blogspot.
"A fiery end to a brilliant tale...how does that sound to you?"
All the buildings of Climax City spontaneously went up in flames at the snap of Writer's fingers. He really was determined to go out in a blaze of glory. The only question now was who would go out first.
"And since you want this to be truly exciting," he pointed at me. "I now bestow upon you all the powers of Blogspot."
At once scores of buttons hovered in front of my eyes. They didn't seem to be there, merely
figments of my imagination - but I could see them clearly as myself.
"DIE!" Two fireballs were hurled straight at my face.
Somehow a button caught my eye and I hit it at once. Tab! I moved away to safety, three feet from where I previously was. Cool! So this was the Tab Toby possesed.
Without warning a black streak began to encircle me. It buzzed and hissed, making my skin tingle the closer it came.
I took a closer look at the buttons. Most resembled those of a regular computer keyboard, barring some oddly shaped ones with undecipherable symbols on them. But how could I use them? Perhaps I should Tab again.
Oh no! The Tab button had sunk, preventing me from hitting it again. I had to come up with some other attack.
"You are still only but a weakling when it comes to this. Therefore, you must allow time before each attack is used again. And time, unfortunately, is running out for you."
The streak wrapped itself around me, sucking the life out of my body. "Hahahaha...nothing quite like a Cross Over, is there? See how worthless you are? Though you have all the tools, you have no means of defeating me still."
"Face it, human...you are WEAK."
I struggled to reply but couldn't, for the streak was starting to suffocate me. I took a quick peek at the Tab button, but still it was halfway sunk. However, that meant it was halfway risen.
"Let me see...shall I finish you off now? That would be a pretty much spectacular finale, would it not? In a titanic duel till the end, Writer finally destroys his greatest foe yet. Thank you for having stayed tuned."
"Not yet," I gritted my teeth. "You're...still far...from victory..."
"True, true. Perhaps I should make you suffer more first. This still seems a little too abrupt for me."
He raised his hand, and to my horror I caught him mouthing the word "DELETE".

Chapter 38: "Storytelling"

"Hush now, this is the moment I have always dreamt of. At long last...the greatest story ever told."
"No," I shook my head. "No. You're wrong."
"Oh?"
"I see through you. You're afraid."
"Afraid?" he threw back his head and laughed. "Me, afraid? What do I HAVE to be afraid of?"
"You've already sacrificed virtually all of Blogspot just for this one battle. Therefore, it must be truly spectacular, something no one would ever forget."
"But it hasn't turned out that way, has it? All you've got are three senselessly dead characters and a cliched ending looming."
Writer remained silent.
"Let me teach you a thing or two about storytelling. Firstly, you don't kill off characters just to make things interesting - it limits your scope and wastes potential chances for further character development."
"Next, stop using ridiculously predictable lines every chance you get. Repeating the same point countless times pretty much insults the reader's intelligence. Some things are much better if they're left in uncertain "grey areas" for the reader to decipher with his or her own imagination."
"And no matter what you say, the fighting was simply a rehash of old tired scenes we've all seen before. There was no flow, no direction, no innovation in ANYTHING."
For what seemed like an eternity, nobody spoke.
"Heh heh heh heh heh." Writer started cackling. "Heh heh heh heh heh."
The pile of goo that was him turned colourless and fizzed out, leaving behind a stinking cloud of gasses. "You have insulted me for the last time, fool." A reddish demon with horns emerged. "NEVER! EVER! TEACH! ME! HOW! TO! TELL! A! STORY!"
"Tch, tch, a red demon with horns? What, you're going to start shooting flames next?"
"You aksed for it."
A wall of fire sprang from the ground, surrounding Toby, Melly and me. "Pay no attention to the flames, they're for grandeur. He won't dare hurt us with them."
Pow! A hot fist shot out of the fire and landed squarely on my jaw.
"Is this not entertaining enough? HUH?" Writer jumped out straight at me.
Fortunately I managed to get a hand up to lessen the impact. Nonetheless, it still hurt and I had to roll aside to allow the pain time to subside.
But he wasn't going to let me get away that easily. As I crawled away, he grabbed my foot and was about to stomp on it when Toby Tabbed behind him!
"Melly! Freeze Frame!" Toby yelled as he grabbed hold of Writer.
"Can you not see this is personal?" Writer rasped. "DELETE. DELETE."
I winced as Toby and Melly dropped dead simultaneously.
"Now," he glared at me with those cold black eyes. "Let us settle this one on one."

Christer's Block

Heh, I know it's lame, but oh well, it's CHRISTMAS (Eve) people!
Dunno why, but for some yet-to-be-identified reason this Christmas seems to be extra special...perhaps due to the many "spektakular" events of this past year, or the "sensesional" ways I'm blessed with people this year.
Oh my, two paragraphs in and I haven't even begun talking about my story yet. Have I grown laidback in my writing lately? I somehow get this impression, not sure what you guys think. Perhaps it has to do with several of the following factors:
a) I know I shouldn't be whining, but...not much feedback these days.
b) The story might have dragged on for too long to sustain interest.
c) The climax was probably a letdown by my expectations.
d) End-of-the-yearitis, symptoms include LEH-ZEE-NESS.

But hey, it's CHRISTMAS! Let's not get worked up over petty issues like that. If you ask me, I do in a way think the climax still has some way to go before being what I hoped for and promised. A half-hearted thanks to Zhi Yong (Penunggu) for reminding me that this fight scene HAS gone on for pretty long with no real impact. Let the torture end, I say! SOMEONE MUST DIE! AND IF YOU THINK THE GOOD GUYS ARE GONNA WIN, YOU'RE...
Hmm...that's one thing which has been crossing my mind lately. Ending the fight scene shouldn't be difficult, I'm in fact already seeking the best chance to do so. But ending the story, I'm not so sure. I mean, it's an age-old dilemma (dillema? How do you spell this word anyway?) ever since Disney family-oriented movies were produced. Good guys win, and it's boring. Bad guys win, and it's anti-climatic. Guess you can't have your eat and cake it too. ;^)
But hey, speaking of cake, there's more to Christmas than turkey! Have a blessed Christmas everyone who reads this! (And I truly mean it!)
Joy to the world! =D

Chapter 37: "Climaxing"

Indeed, Toby was trying desperately to Tab himself out of the goo trapping him.
"Just hang in there!" U shouted. "Undo!"
But it didn't work this time. Instead, some parts of Writer began to harden into metal. "You must take me for some sort of fool, falling for that again."
The blob rolled towards us, sucking Toby further in in the process.
"Toby! Tab out, before he devours you!"
"Can't you see that's what I'm doing?" yelled him anxiously. "He's somehow managed to disable my powers!"
Melly raised her hands to attempt a Freeze Frame, but for some reason couldn't move herself.
"Freeze Frame? I INVENTED Freeze Frame."
Incredible. Writer had actually turned Melly's powers against herself!
"U!" I called out. "Try Undoing repeatedly!"
"Undo!" he tried once. "Undo!"
Still there didn't seem to be much difference.
"More! More!"
"Undo! Undo! Undo! Undo!"
Bit by bit, Writer's grip on Toby loosened.
"Come on, U! Just a bit more!"
I looked up, and Tab! Toby stumbled onto the ground. However, Writer still retained his part metallic, part organic form.
Sweating profusely from the brow, U Cut himself without skipping a beat. Like a panther he sneaked up behind Writer, but it was fruitless. He reappeared forcefully, frozen in place.
"U...supposedly the one who would fight Blogspot's greatest battle as I had planned. I gave you life, but you let me down by taking up arms against me. And for that, there can only be one outcome...DELETE."
The blue ray. Before Melly could even conjure up a Freeze Frame, U fell.
Dead he lay on the ground. My Antagonist.
"Oohh...see how he cries, our little hero here. Weep not for that sorry soul, for already he knew he was destined to have his life ended when the story called for such."
"You've claimed three lives here today."
"Death...it sure stings, does it not? But dare you deny that it compels you to fight even harder, no? And thus, allowing our masterpiece to be born in this very spot."
Deep down, I was seething but I had to try my best and hide it. One thing was for certain - the longer this battle dragged on, the more lives he would take, eventually climaxing with mine.

Chapter 36: "Resistance"

"Telly...is your...SISTER?"
"WAS my sister."
"Then why did you Delete her for?" Melly cried out.
"I am the Writer, the Master and Creator of this world. Do not question my actions, you lowly Antagonist."
Melly's eyes burned back into him. "You might think that, but deep down I see nothing more than a lonely boy calling out for attention. Attention which your sister wouldn't give you, and therefore you now demand it from us!"
The lights on the flying hunk of metal dimmed as it gradually lowered, then landed on the ground. Was that a smile carving itself on its shiny surface?
"Funny, funny. You do somewhat remind me of my sister. DELETE."
A blue ray aimed itself straight at her chest. Melly stood there stunned, unable to bring herself to dodge it.
"NOOO!"
To my disbelief, Toby Tabbed himself in between her and the ray! What was he thinking? I shut my eyes, not bearing to watch.
One. Two. Three. One of them should probably be dead by now.
"Hey," U nudged me. "Look!"
I peeked. Telly somehow managed to cast a Freeze Frame on the ray! It trembled slightly in place, no more than a foot away from Moby.
This was my chance. I raised a hand at Writer and cast Delete myself. "DELETE - YES/NO?"
Yes!
A blue ray shot out from my palm. Cool! I sprayed it all over his exterior, hoping to produce maximum damage.
"No! Focus on just one area!"
Heeding Toby's advice, I put both hands together and concentrated on a set of blinking red lights. Writer creaked and groaned as he tried to manouevre out of the way, but had trouble overcoming the Freeze Frame. Meanwhile, Toby was Tabbing his way up to the main controls, trying to disable them.
"Resistance...truly I enjoy resistance. The stronger my opponents, the stronger I must become."
At once his metal parts started dropping piece by piece, revealing a shiny core. The core turned pink like flesh, hissing and melting in the process. Wires gave way to throbbing red veins and the flashing lights shattered, leaving behind slimy darkened spots. He'd transformed himself into a giant jelly-like blob.
"Toby!" Melly cried out. "He's stuck up there!"

Chapter 35: "Sister"

How in the world did Writer transform himself into that metal colossus in the air? We seemed like mice fighting an eagle now.
"Oh, it sure is going to be a happy day today," A gun-like tube sprang out from his side. "I will do all I can to make sure you become a part of Blogspot's history."
"We need no such favours from you." I said spitefully. "Come down here so that we can continue our fight."
Boom! He shot a laser beam at me, missing on purpose.
"Let me tell you all a story. There once lived a boy who hated his life. Everyone picked on him, everyone laughed at him, everyone stayed away from him. He was just one of those people."
"He begged his sister to take him to a new place where all those nasty people would no longer be around. She laughed him off, telling him everything would be OK soon."
"It sure was not OK when he came home one day and threatened to kill himself if they did not move still. After countless persuasions, at last she relented and agreed to leave the place with him."
"A happy ending? Not quite. Much as he hated it, she got herself a boyfriend. And of course, Mr. Boyfriend would not allow her to leave. Since Mr. Boyfriend was now the centerstage of her life, she could do nothing but firmly insist to her brother that THEY WERE STAYING."
"They were staying. After all the promises made, and how he had so dearly hoped for a new life. "
"That boy, as you can most probably guess, is me."
The edge of my lips curled up a little. "Hm."
"Now most would give up all hope in my position. They would continue living through their pitiful existences, or not continue living. Simple as that."
"But I am not like the rest. If I did not have friends, I would CREATE my own friends. If this was not the life I wanted, I would CREATE another life for myself. If I was nobody in this world, I would CREATE a world where I was somebody."
"And so Blogspot came into existence."
"And so Blogspot came into existence." he repeated. "But the story does not end there. My sister found out that I was gone, leaving behind nothing but a note blaming it all on her. It broke her heart that she was to blame for what she perceived as my suicide."
So one dark Monday, before anyone else was up, she stole the keys to Dad's office block and made her way there. Up, up, she went as I watched in glee."
My mind spun in horror. Why did this story sound so hauntingly familiar?
"She said we would go somewhere new together, and I told her the same thing. Looks like I do not break my promises, do I?"

Chapter 34: "Plot"

A tentacle reached out to hoist me off the ground. Once again, my concentration faltered.
"Get him, guys!" Suddenly I heard Melly's voice. Freeze Frame on the Writer himself? Would it work?
Not totally, but still it did. "Urrrrrghhh..." he struggled hard to wrap another tentacle around her.
Fearing for her life, she quickly released the Freeze Frame and tried to escape. Wrong move. Writer's tentacles extended surprisingly long and caught hold of her as well.
"Melly!" Toby Tabbed to her side and tried to free her. Thwack! Another slimy tentacle curled itself round his waist.
"Oh no, you don't!" He Tabbed further away, but another tentacle instantly caught him the moment he reappeared. Try as he could, he couldn't Tab free this time.
"Now...there was one more, I remember. He looked exactly like you."
Two new tentacles poked themselves through his forehead and he scoured the area for U in an antennae-like fashion.
"Nobody has ever managed to see you when you Cut yourself, true? Make that nobody but me."
A tentacle shot out in space, grabbing what appeared to be thin air. Slowly, U appeared in his grasp.
"I gave you Cut. Never use what I have given you against me."
"As you say, then," U grinned broadly. "Undo!"
All of a sudden we were all back standing on the ground while Writer held nothing in his tentacles. "What the...I never gave you Undo!"
"I learn quick, O Mighty Creator."
"Two can play this game then." He magically grew an arm and snapped his fingers. "Let us once more come before the light that struck so much fear in your hearts."
I spotted the flickering glint far, far away. "Give it up, Writer. It can no longer control our minds like what Archiver used to do."
"Who said I need that to control the shallow ponds you call your minds? Behold my masterfully crafted Plot Device. At times when a storyline seems having trouble breaking new ground..."
Bigger. Bigger. As always, the light started taking more space.
"At times when I feel my children need a push in the right direction to get them where I want..."
Any time now, we would be overwhelmed by it.
"The Light From Afar never fails to sustain interest in any plot! NEVER!"
White. Everything disappeared from my sight save a blinding white light. However, this time it cleared very much faster. I squinted my eyes, trying to find where Writer was.
"Up here." A metallic structure with blinking lights hovered above us.

Chapter 33: "Writer"

"TELLY! MOBY!" I dashed to their sides, trying to shake them back to life. But try as hard as I could, they were dead as dead could be.
My face shook in extreme rage. "You. Fight. Me. NOW."
"Well...two out of three is not so bad, I guess. Let us cut straight to the chase."
Then from the book, that dreaded light came again. I thought it'd gone with the Archiver.
Like always, it grew so bright till my eyes hurt and when it cleared at last, my most dreaded foe stood before me.
It was Him. Him who created Blogspot.
"Look like what you always imagined?" A tall young man tipped his glasses. Somehow he was right. There was this mental image I had of him which resembled what my eyes were now seeing.
"So how shall we do this then? Four of you against me, or should I brainwash Melly as well?"
Barely before his sentence ended I was already grabbing him by the neck, pinning him to the ground. So this guy wasn't as tough as he seemed. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Bring back my friends, or I'll make you join them."
"That shall be the only offence you will get, fool."
To my disbelief, his face suddenly expanded, sprouting tentacles from his eyes. "I have a real name, you know," rasped the hideous beast. "Call me the Writer."
"I possess no one face, one shape, one power. Back in the pitiful other world, I was always so weak...how I longed to one day step up to the other side of the wheel. And Blogspot has given me all that."
"I could turn myself a dragon, a fairy, a God! Anything my mind dreams of, my soul becomes. Whatever battles you've fought, whatever powers you've discovered, you could never defeat your Creator."
"Shut up," I held out my palm at him. "And prepare to die."
DELETE! Yes! I did it.
The beast froze for a moment and I could envision this window asking "DELETE - ARE YOU SURE? YES/ NO"
Yes!
A gigantic hand smacked me in the face, shattering the window. "Sure. Do you even think for one second you can defeat me with a power I bestowed you with?"
Tab! Toby, whom I'd even forgotten was still here, appeared beside him and punched him in the left eye. As he staggered backwards, U came out of nowhere and punched him in the right eye.
I decided to try my luck once more. DELETE!

Writer's Block

What? Another Writer's Block so soon? Hehe, can't blame me for missing you guys, can you?
So what did everyone think of that previous previous Writer's Block? You know...the special one? Was kinda proud of it, how it set things up for their final battle...ohoho, I'm getting conceited here.
Hmm...still busy, but heck, who isn't? And oh, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I killed Toby and Melly! Yes, I actually did it! Our Super Villain sure needs it for some added impact, doesn't he? Be warned, I might even kill EVERYONE if I get up on the wrong side of bed! (Now this is sad, killing imaginary characters to work off a steam.)
Was thinking of revealing some "Surprise twist" about how their pasts intertwined (e.g. Toby is actually Melly's brother/boyfriend, Melly is the one who cornered Toby in the abandoned warehouse, etc). However, I was worried it'd come across too cheesy and there wouldn't be any relevance to the story.
Yeap, let's not get ourselves distracted here...the main focus is on HE VERSUS I! I so wish my main character had a name other than "I"...and I didn't even mention anywhere that that's supposed to be his name! Gotta remember that for my next story.
Speaking of my next story, there're still no ideas yet at all, feel free to throw any names into the hat. I had an idea of doing a story about Moby/Telly's "intertwined past", but...sounds boring-ish to me. Some brilliant ideas are best left that way, I guess.
And this edition of Writer's Block has been brought to you by (PLEASE ADVERTISE HERE).

Chapter 32: "Delete"

I watched helplessly as He made Telly float in the air, terrified for her life.
"Behold, Telly. I caught her at a most desperate time of her life, when she would easily have been bent any way I wished. Alas, poor, poor Telly. She associated herself with you, and that made me hate her just as much as you. How I wish I could have wrote better stories for her, considering I saved her from committing suicide anyway."
Then up came Moby.
"Moby...trapped in that desolated warehouse, were you not? I, of course, saw potential in expanding you as a character like no other. Together with Telly you could have been so much IF you had just given yourself the chance."
Strangely enough, Melly stayed on the ground.
"Melly. A magnificent Antagonist you were, really. That battle between the four of you was truly something so incredible, it should have lived on in the history of Blogspot. If Archiver was still around, that is."
"WHAT?" Melly's jaw dropped open. "I'm an Antagonist?"
"Everyone always thinks they are not the Antagonist, my foolish child."
Tears started coming out of her eyes. "Noo...I'm not real. I belong to this world..."
There was a cold fire eating away at my heart as the face of this Him started showing itself to me. Here was a person who saw only himself and his visions in every human. He bore no qualms over taking away everything they had so that he could give it to his Blogspot. Like it or not, I had to be the one to put an end to all this.
"I'm warning you one last time - COME AND FIGHT ME! STOP USING MY FRIENDS, YOU COWARD!"
"You puny imbecile, do you not realise that I could do anything I want to you right now?"
"You always say that. But you know what I've found out? You've never lived up to your word, and guess why? It's because you've in fact lost your power over me. The moment I decided that I didn't belong to Blogspot, the ink in your pen ran dry. I make my own decisions, not you, you disgrace of a wannabe writer!"
The last line came without me even thinking about it. How would He react?
Instead of the fiery roar and thunder I expected, it was something worse. Much, much worse.
"DELETE."
Telly fell to the ground dead.
"DELETE."
Moby dropped, lifeless as well.

Chapter 31: "Foes"

The three of us stood in stoned silence. Either we killed the other three or left Climax City empty-handed. Both were difficult choices.
"Tough choice? Let us hear from our dear friends."
The red words hovered over Melly, Telly, and Moby before falling apart on them with a sloshy sound.
"Ohh...my head..." groaned Melly. "Hey, it's you Toby! And you...and you!"
She appeared dazed, unaware of what was going on. "Melly!" I called out. "How did you get here?"
"I...I...dont' know. How did you get here?"
"Hold on," interrupted Moby. "Isn't this...Climax City? What are we doing here?"
Telly gasped in shock. "CLIMAX CITY? We must leave at once!"
And then they turned red. Completely blood red, from head to toe. Their confused and desperate cries clenched my heart like a cold fist.
"Stop it!" I shook my fist at the giant book. "What are you doing to them?"
"Simple enough. I am putting them back half under my control. Now, does this not make our sticky little situation here so much more tantalising?"
"What do you want?" roared U.
"You have not been listening, have you? Kill them, and I shall come before you. Or spare their lives, and I shall kill all of you instead."
"If you think we're going to kill them, you're wrong. Dead wrong."
"Brave words for one I can sense is trembling with all his might. Observe! To make your task easier, I have given one of you a most powerful gift. Open your hands and you shall see it."
With cold sweat running down my spine I parted my fingers. A button with the word "DELETE" printed on it had mysteriously glued itself to my palm.
"DELETE. Point at intended target and click once to delete them temporarily. Click again to delete permanently. May cause dangerous effects to user."
"You...YOU'RE EVIL! You think giving me powers will make me kill my friends more readily?"
"Did not think so. You really have a mind so strong I sometimes find it hard to write. But as for these three..."
Moby, Telly and Melly fell to the ground, screaming once more before reverting back to their original colours. As they got up, I could see a different them in their eyes. Eyes which craved blood at the expense of theirs'.
"There is nothing you can do, really. It is merely a case of how many of you die, and how agonising the process is."

Writer's Block

Wow, it sre feeels weidr tyipng ona keybord agian...pardon the speeling erorrs...
Anyway, really good to be back again, the National Youth (Baptist, forgot to mention that) Camp. It was great with a capital G, R, E, and T, not sure what happened to the A. ;^)
JESUS ROCKS! Just couldn't help saying that, but He really does!
Next on the agenda...sorry.
Sorry for leaving on such short notice: like I said, I didn't really have time to notify till the last minute when my Mom was pestering to get ready to go to church.
Sorry for not "sneaking in a few chapters now and then", that was pretty much a naive thought; Internet at a camp? Yeah, rrrrrite...
Sorry that this grand finale has been dragging on for sooooo long...just didn't want to rush it in fear of spoiling it like burnt soup. But should all go well, I'm going back to one post a day now and a new story will begin before this year is seen out, I...uh, pro-miss.
On with the show, dudes and dudettes! =^)

(Note: In case you didn't notice, Episode 30 is up - BEFORE this post. That's because I started writing it at an earlier date and saved it as a draft instead)

Self-Destructive Writer's Block

And what exactly do I mean by the title? It simply means that this is just a temporary message which I'll delete later. In case you're wondering, this blog has NOT been discontinued, it's just that the past week was the final week of the semester for me, and lame as it may seem, yeah...i was busy.
It didn't help matters either that the post I typed out halfway on Saturday got lost when a blackout occurred.
Anyway, going off to a National Youth Camp today. Hopefully I'll manage to sneak in a few chapters now and then, in fact I already have one half-retyped out.
Whoops...just look at the time! Gotta go, see you for the BIG ending! =]

Chapter 30: "Friends"

"Hey," I tapped U on the shoulder. "Are those real?"
He attempted a half-shrug when a sudden creaking noise from the book caught our attention. The pages started turning by themselves, each containing a next frame of the illustration. I watched in a mixture of amazement and fearfulness as it formed an animation of them three breaking free of the shackles, and reaching towards us!
Horrors! The never-ending pages continued flipping, and somehow the illustrations of Moby, Telly and Melly were in fact stepping out of the book! How could this in any earthly way be possible? Standing before me were three moving life-size drawings of them. And they didn't look quite friendly.
It was difficult to tell whether the Melly staggering like a zombie was real or not. How could a picture move like that? But on the other hand, how could a person get stuck on a page?
There wasn't time for me to ponder on that, for they were moving surprisingly fast considering the fact that they seemed pretty two-dimensional.
"They're evil. Fight them."
The red words appeared and disappeared in a flash, distracting me from the suddenly-enormous Moby's grip. He lifted me in the air and let loose a primal roar.
"Moby!" I yelled in terror. "Stop it! You don't want to hurt me! He's making you do it!"
My words bore no effect on the glass-eyed Moby. He proceeded to raise me above his head, and drop me fifteen feet to the ground!
"AHHHH!" A familiar pair of arms caught me just as I was about to land. Phew! Thank God for Toby and his Tab.
"U!" Toby shouted at him. "Run! What are you doing standing there?"
He didn't move, but I noticed some effort to do so on his face. "He's caught in a Freeze Frame!"
"Melly!" hollered Toby. "Release your Freeze Frame at once! Fight us no more!"
It was useless too. To make things even worse, Telly was already Copying herself.
"Destroy them all!" I gave orders. "They're mere illusions! He's trying to mess with our minds again!"
"Oh, you think so, don't you? What if I told you that they indeed are the real Moby, Telly and Melly, re-written as evil as I want them to be?"
I wasn't so sure what to do. If they were real, then they were innocent and I couldn't bring myself to fight them. But it was hard to tell how true His words were.
"Kill them. Kill your friends. Only then shall you face Me."

Chapter 29: "Inside"

Climax City. It looked every bit like those spooky villain hideouts you always see on TV. A perpetual dark cloud loomed above, casting long shadows on the entire place. Even the buildings had this jagged uncomfortable feel to it.
"Now this is strange," U said. "Everything's the same as I can remember, but those papers littering the streets...they seem to be gone."
"Perhaps," murmured Toby. "It has something to do with the death of the Archiver."
I nodded in agreement.
Then without warning, a red patch materialised before our eyes. It quickly took form, spelling out "FOLLOW".
Unsure whether to heed, I looked at the other two. "Well, guess we don't have much of a choice."
It took us down a winding street, snaking in and out of dim paths expertly. An almost deafening silence hung in the air, lessened only by our plodding footsteps.
Was that a face a saw in a window of the house? I quickly looked away, not exactly keen on getting scared out of my wits.
"Pst! We're here."
Wow. We'd come to a huge book-looking structure fastened by gigantic straps, no less than twenty feet tall. The cover was intricately designed with all kinds of fancy illustrations only an extremely gifted artist could've conjured up. "Look at that," I whispered in awe.
"Um...so what do we do now?" Everyone appeared just as clueless.
Like smoke from a dying fire the red letters began fading away. It seeped into the pages of the big "book", making it quiver a little. Slowly this quivering grew more intense till the book was downright shaking violently.
Pop! A latch opened, followed by another. Three more at the bottom burst as a strong wind picked up. The cover creaked and groaned, then with a thunderous BOOM! It was open.
A passage on the first page caught my eye. "My, my, here are we at last. Let us see...three of you, three of them, all creations of mine. Shall we, gentlemen?"
The next page flipped open to reveal...
"Moby! Telly! Melly! What happened to you guys?"
Three chillingly real pictures of them in shackles glared back at us. So utterly real they could only be real.

Writer's Block

So they are coming for me next. Coming to tear down this world I painstakingly created inch by inch, character by character.
Could it be a mistake of mine that it has all come down to this? After all, I was the one who felt Blogspot could no longer survive on the same tired plotlines it had been thriving on for so long. Caught in the past he might have been, but perhaps Archiver was right when he said I should not risk it all for one shot at glory.
So he comes in as clueless as the others. He had that first meeting just as he should have. Being in no state of mind to choose, I paired him with two companions myself.
But that was when doubts started appearing. He questioned my authority, he seeked answers, he wanted more than I would allow him to have. Instead of using his gifted mind to hunt down his Antagonist and provide the ultimate battle I wanted, he decided to challenge me.
I had not counted on that happening. After all, his memory had been erased completely, not partially. It was just unfortunate that he still possessed much of that strong-mindedness I had never dealt with before.
So knowing that he had no intention of finding out the whereabouts of his Antagonist, I sent him straight to him. For all his hatred against me, this defiance of his only made me all the more excited at the prospect of two such personalities colliding.
And what happens then? He somehow manages to defeat his Antagonist, and oh joy, he turns him against me as well. But not to worry, Archiver would take care of this menace once and for all. So I foolishly believed.
That old fool's best days are behind him, yes they are. He lost faith in me, and thus lost faith in himself. Now, all the glorious memories of the past, all my stories I cherished so much are...lost. Lost in the earth the Archiver sank into.
Oh, I could be devastated. By all means, I SHOULD be devastated. But if he thinks he is strong, I am even stronger.
Forget the Archiver. Forget the Antagonists. Forget Climax City. I have let go of everything - all for the sake of that ending which will leave everyone asking for more. My Blogspot shall live forever.
Ah, yes...a new chapter is dawning, I believe. And this time, it shall be a story the world was destined to read. The story of my victory.

Chapter 27: "Nearly"

I tried to flee, but my feet just wouldn't budge. It was like the pause which occurred before each Load, just that it was happening to nothing but the three of us.
To confirm my worst fears, a glimmer of red light materialised in the sky. It kept growing, turning redder as it neared. This didn't seem good...U and I couldn't move to avoid it!
Any moment now and we'd be crushed by the light, I was sure of it. Archiver really was going to make sure he went out in a blaze of glory.
Three...
Two...
One...
If only this was an action movie, I thought. This was where the hero always appeared suddenly just in time to rescue the...uh, man-sel in distress.
And would you believe it, out of the utter blue a strong arm grabbed me away from the impending doom!
I tumbled onto the ground, not a clue whether I was still alive or dead. A ear-jarring zap rang out, like the sound of a malfunctioning appliance. "What the...?" I rubbed my eyes, looking to see who that arm belonged to.
"TOBY! What are you doing here?" Ecstasy washed all over me. But wait! The last time I saw him, hadn't he been fighting with Moby and Telly? There still was no knowledge of whether he was good or evil.
"Hey," he grinned, flicking back a loose hair. "Are you yourself, or your Antagonist?"
"Huh?"
"I'm the Antagonist," U strode over and shook his hand. "And you are?"
"I'm Toby, one of his First Meeting Characters."
"Hold it," I raised a hand. "Toby, where are Melly, Moby, and Telly?"
"I don't know. After that light hit, I found myself alone on a mountain road. I trekked some distance, came to this place, saw you guys in trouble, then Tabbed you both away. End of story." "Looks like we did indeed defeat Archiver." U pointed at his lifeless body sprawled nearby. Before my very eyes it disintegrated into strange symbols, then sank into the ground.
And that was the end of strange old man who lived for Blogspot itself.
"Climax City," U said out loud suddenly. "Somehow, it found us."
"What?" I turned where he was looking, and gasped. Plastered across the gates in inky red letters was "CLIMAX CITY" - I could've sworn it wasn't there before.
Ominously the foreboding gates creaked open. The red words swirled round, reappearing as "HE AWAITS YOU".
We glanced at each other, waiting for one to say what all of us were thinking.
"Let's go in."

Chapter 26: "Defeated"

Once more, I was frozen in place. Another Load, but U clung on tightly to Archiver.
"YOU SHALL RELEASE ME!" he roared in fury. "YOU SHALL!"
Pause, and a new scene appeared. We found ourselves in a valley of some sort, but just before I could even take in the surroundings we paused again. This time the place changed to an eerie stone hall. Pause! A crowded marketplace. Pause! A field full of overgrown weeds. Pause! A beach strewn with blue blocks.
This went on for quite a number of scenes; I was even sure we passed that empty void where I first came to at Blogspot at least twice. Each scene lasted no more than a second, and the ordeal must have gone on for something like two minutes. You do the math.
At last we came back to the same forest where the fight first began. "No," Archiver wheezed, drenched in sweat. "You cannot win with your inferior knowledge."
"Funny how I was just saying those same words a while ago," U smiled. "But now I understand that nobody can ever plan how everything will turn out."
"Shut up," A look of pure malice burned in his eyes. "I haven't lost yet."
He raised a hand, making me look at where he was pointing. Instantly my jaw dropped wide open in horror. It couldn't be. It simply couldn't be. Of all things...
It was the light from afar!
"U!" I screamed. "It's the light! Run, before we get killed!"
He glanced at it for a moment, then fixed his gaze back at the weakened Archiver. "It's a trick, isn't it?"
The light slowly turned lighter shades of grey. "You can't tell. Nobody can. Nobody but me."
"Are you sure? Nobody else knows what you know?"
"NOBODY! Nobody could ever possess the knowledge I've been given! Not you, or you, or anyone else in this wretched place!"
For no reason, the light dimmed and fizzled out. It morphed into dark red words splattered across the landscape.
"Archiver, you have forgotten the source of your powers. How dare you think you know more than I do!"
"No, Master!" he fell on his knees. "Forgive me! I would never....Master! Master! Come back!"
The red words evaporated, drifting away with the wind. Tears trickled down both sides of Archiver's face. "He left me...I've nothing left."
"Don't think that way," I put a hand on his shoulder. "Now you're free from His rule."
"You moron...you utter, pathetic, brainless moron. It's all your fault. "
He Loaded one final scene outside two towering black gates. "This was where I was born...it shall be where we all die."

Chapter 25: "Oppurtunity"

No! This was the closest we'd ever get! I couldn't allow him to Load the scene once more!
"AGHHH!" I closed my eyes and screamed, but already we were back in our original positions.
However, Archiver didn't seem as calm as always. "Let go of me!" he struggled to break free of some invisible hold. Our surroundings freezed and unfreezed again repeatedly.
Finally he stopped, panting hard. U, who had strangely been missing from the previous few Loaded scenes, was standing beside me.
"I've found it," he whispered excitedly. "There is a way to counter Save/ Load."
"Whenever he Loads, anyone who is in contact with him will stay in that same position in the new scene. So the trick is just to keep touching him before he Loads the scene."
Yes! Now I understood. But Archiver was no fool either...how would we be able to get close enough?
"Guess He was right," said Archiver. "You two really are smarter than the rest. It doesn't matter though, all I need to do is just keep my distance, keep Loading, and presto! All your previous attacks down the drain."
"Let's see about that!" I reached for him with all the speed I could muster. However, he saw it coming even before the end of my sentence. Pause, and I was back at the same distance away.
U then Cut himself, but couldn't get close enough either.
"I might be old," Archiver hissed. "But I've enough experience to see an attack before it comes."
Feeling somewhat pissed, I made another dash at him, but was once more stopped short.
"Tee hee hee, it doesn't matter whether you know how to break my powers or not. The fact remains, you can't beat someone you can't touch."
I looked at U, at a loss for words. He, on the other hand, seemed to have something on his mind. A plan, maybe?
"Throw." He mouthed at me.
At first I didn't quite catch his drift, until he bent down and picked up a stone. He sent it hurtling at the Archiver's face, but Archiver just managed to stop it inches before it hit.
Back to the same old pose, but I could now grasp a bit of his plan. Since a thrown stone could travel much faster than us, it would be our best chance of landing that first blow.
Archiver glared at U, a little flustered at nearly being outwitted. "Both of you ar-ARGH!"
Too distracted, he didn't see my stone coming. It took a somewhat lucky swerve, and...right between the eyes!
And that was it! U sprinted like mad, digging his fingernails into Archiver's skin. The old man howled in pain, trying to shake him off. Sensing an oppurtunity, I tried coming to U's aid.

Chapter 24: "Spirit"

"Why, I think you're getting the hang of this," he fixed his eyes on us. "I might not be the quickest or toughest around here, but I sure know how to break a person's spirit."
"Who could ever fight a battle where no matter what you do, it always amounts to nothing? A battle where your only outcome would be a never-ending draw or a loss? If I were you, I'd save us all a lot of time and give up."
Surely he had to be proven wrong. I reached for his face as fast as my arms would allow, but it happened again. Short pause, and we were back where we began.
"What's the point of all this?" U exclaimed in frustration. "Even if you keep Loading this scene, you can't defeat us as well."
"Do I sense hopelessness? Like it or not, all of you grow desperate long before I even get the slightest bit bored. I've been in so many of these battles, and they surrender to me every time. Every single time."
I looked at Archiver from top to toe. Surely there was some method to break his ability.
"Oh, and I suppose you think you're different from the rest?" His sneering voice saw through my thoughts as always.
"Perhaps you don't understand the true extent of my powers. Or how insignificant you are in the greatness of His plans. You're just another character, and a failed one at that. You won't be the first to be written off, and sure as anything not the last. Sorry, but that's just the way things work."
"It's over," U looked totally drained out. "Nothing can defeat Save/ Load. I used to not believe that, but now I do."
"Snap out of it! He's just trying to crush you!"
"I'd say he's got as much brains as you have gusto," Archiver strode to us decidedly. "Now, shall we? It won't hurt much, I promise."
Then a simple idea came to me. Perhaps I could use the same trick I'd used to defeat U - the oldest one in the book.
"You're right," I pretended to comply and kneeled before him. As he edged closer, I scooped up as much sand as I could, and glanced upwards once more to estimate the distance.
Whoosh!
Direct hit! Smack into his eyes! "U! Get him - NOW!"
Like a cat he took no more than a split second to Cut, then stealthily sneak up behind Archiver. POW! The old man was flung straight to the ground, still writhing in pain.
Yes! We were winning! I tried to follow up with another swift kick, but...I just couldn't budge. Like everything else.

Chapter 23: "Scenario"

Feeble though he seemed, there just was something about this old man which unsettled me. He claimed to possess knowledge about Blogspot second only to the creator, yet how much did he really know? How was it possible that he always appeared beside me, then vanish without a trace?
"Let's get him," U whispered at me before Cutting himself.
Suddenly everything paused for a moment. The leaves on the trees didn't move a single bit, Archiver's beard remained still as a rock, and I swore even my heart stopped beating. Oh no, did he know Freeze Frame as well?
Then it all resumed. What had just happened? It was probably some trick to scare me off. Without much thought, I charged forward and directed my fist at his face.
The very moment before it could connect, everything froze again. "You fool," I thought to myself. "As soon as you un-freeze us all, I'll break your nose."
Sure enough, this state of immobility didn't last long. I was about to land the punch when I noticed something very weird. I was standing where I had before the first pause occurred, and even Archiver was in the same pose.
Perhaps he could Tab his opponents and himself as well? But that was impossible! The switch had been absoulutely instantaneous, and everything was the same way it had been!
"Gotcha!" I heard U's voice as he managed to bear-hug Archiver from behind.
Archiver skillfully slithered free and once more, a pause occurred. And after a few moments, I was again in the same previous pose. So was Archiver.
"U? Are you there?"
He reappeared by my side. "H-hey! Didn't I get him?"
"Looks like this won't be ending anytime soon." Archiver stretched. "No matter what ways you can find to defeat me, all I need to do is to Load back to the scene when we first met."
"Load?"
"Heh. As the Archiver of this world, I've seen so many grand scenes that one would never wish to let go in their lifetime. It is, therefore, fitting that I possess the power of Save/ Load."
"I knew it," U slapped his forehead in exasperation. "He controls the flow of time in Blogspot. We'll never be able to get the better of him."

Writer's Block

Shortshortshortie here, i promise. It's actually just to just to clarify Sarah's (and maybe some of you less outspoken ones ;^p) question on whether I'm still going to kill off somebody. Heh, was kinda hoping you people wouldn't notice.
Fact is, after I made that solemn-but-not-so-silent vow, there was this teeny bit of regret in my heart. Once again, I'd succumbed to peer pressure without much prior thought, boo hoo hoo.
Daydream Of The Day, all of you: If this story was made into an animated series (don't they use "cartoon" anymore?!), how long would each Chapter/ Episode be? I read back on some of the older posts, and to my horror...they wouldn't even last 5 minutes each! For even more laughs, check out Chapter 2: it would probably just exceed the 45 second mark!
Death is always a space-consuming plot device, what with all the past flashbacks, scenes of death, and aftermath. And space is something I just realised I don't have much of...that one extremely rushed scene with U took no less than 3 chapters, sigh.
Did I hear a chorus of boos? Haha...I broke a promise, didn't I? Well, not exactly. I said I'd kill someone off "soon", but a "soon" here isn't the same "soon" most of us are accustomed to, since I can only do a very limited number of scenes all in all. Supposingly I had a fight scene between A and B which lasted 3 Chapters and I promised someone would die within that 3 Chapters, wouldn't it be painfully obvious? Death jolts us the most only when it happens to someone who should be alive.
And with that, I renew my vow: Someone may or may not die, soon or not so soon. Eee-vil.
And I'm rather excited at the prospect of that final fight scene, I have some blurry visions already mapped out. Now is the time to sand ot all those rough bits I've peppered throughout the story. But hey! Let's not forget that the first ever Archiver Fight Scene is up next.
Should I make another promise? Ooh, what's another one: The next edition of Writer's Block promises to be very special indeed.
Here's to another shortshortshortie. =]

Chapter 22: "Origin"

I could tell U did share many things in common with me; after all we were two of a kind. He too was a determined character made to believe in what was wrong. The only difference was that I chose not to accept, and he did.
"Tell me," I said to him. "What do you know about the creator of Blogspot?"
He closed his eyes, straining hard to recall. "It's getting harder to remember, because there's this light..."
"Oh, you're affected by that light too?"
"Sure am. It makes everyone in Blogspot forget some things, making their goal to defeat their opposite even clearer."
Now I understood the purpose of the light...it was a sort of constant measure to slowly mould them into utter single-mindedness.
"There's this place I have some recollections of," U said. "Everyone lives there before they're born. The streets were always filled to the brim with used papers, and you could see odd characters of every manner walking about."
"Weird...what's this place called?"
He frowned deeply again. "The sign...the sign...what did it say? There was a C...another C...something City..."
Within the recesses of my mind, a tiny bell rang. Someone had mentioned that name to me before. Since I'd forgotten everything from the real world, it had to be someone from Blogspot. That meant either Toby, Melly, Moby, Telly, Archiver, U, or...Archiver! It was Archiver! The other time in the hut!
"Climax City! It's Climax City, no?"
"Y...why, yes! Climax City, that's it! How did you know?"
"I met the Archiver, and he was going on about how he'd seen this place being built up. Is that where we should be going?"
"You could always try, that's for sure," A voice that didn't belong rang out. A voice that sounded like it belonged to...
"Yes, Archiver..." His sinister smile reflected in my eyes. "You are turning out to be quite a marvel, kid, I'll give you that. All my time here I've never seen anyone who managed to talk his Antagonist out of a fight. But this is where it all ends, I'm afraid."
He struck a pose. "I've been sent to write you off."

Chapter 21: "Enlightenment"

"You're wrong! I do have a purpose, to defeat you! You're the one who's clueless here."
"You might think defeating me is your purpose," I stared at him. "But you just can't see beyond that. In other words, you don't have a purpose for your purpose."
I noticed that blank glassy look in U's eyes. The meaning of my words seemed to have sunk deep into him, eating away at his perception of everything.
"You understand, don't you? And I'm afraid it's not just happening to you; it's happening to everyone in Blogspot. Someone - or something - has managed to convince all of you that this is a real world with real motivations, when it isn't."
U muttered something inaudible. Would he trust me?
"It has to be a real world...it has to be. It's the only world I've ever known."
"Consider yourself fortunate, U, to be pondering over this dilemma. All the others here are just unable to grasp the reality of what's truly going on around here."
"What is real, then?"
"I could tell you," I offered him a hand. "But then I would be no different from He who brought you all here. Life is all about something to look forward to, and surely there has to be more to that than defeating me."
Slowly he got back on his feet, eyes never leaving the ground. "Who told you all this?"
"More importantly, it's who I refused to believe in blindly."
"Hm."
"I didn't know where I was headed for in Blogspot, either. But after listening to what some people here have to say, I now know I must save everyone else before I can save myself. And I'm going to need lots of help."
"What could I do? I've been wrong all my life."
"Then it's time to finally be right. You know this place much better than I do."
He sighed deeply. "You sure about this?"
I nodded.
Another sigh, and he nodded in reply.

Chapter 20: "Purpose"

"Stop it!" I thrashed my arms about wildly. "Why are you trying to hurt me? Because He asked you to?"
I felt a powerful blow to the back of my head, bringing me to my knees. Fortunately, quick thinking made me roll out of the way, just in time to avoid a footprint which imprinted itself on where I'd lay moments ago.
There wasn't even time for me to feel the pain from the previous hit. Only the oldest tricks would work best in situations like this...I scooped up some sand and flung it to his eyes!
And it missed by inches! However, sand to the nose wasn't exactly a joy either. U wheezed to clear his throat, and that was all the time I needed. I tackled him to the ground and threw more sand on his face for good measure.
"Stop it!" he cried as he reappeared. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"
"And what was?" I threatened him with another handful of sand.
"I could Cut myself, and you couldn't! It should end with me defeating you!"
"Should...suppose. That's all nothing. Unlike you, my decisions are not from the minds of others."
"But...but...I developed the Cut ability myself!"
"You still don't get it, do you? Why did you develpo it?"
"I had to defeat you!"
"And what made you want to defeat me? Do you even know me?"
He paused for a moment. "I-I...I've always felt this urge to take you down."
"When were you first born?"
"Born?"
"As in, since when did you exist?"
"How would I know? I've always existed all my life."
Well, he did have a point. "U, listen to me. What is happening to you is one of the most terrible things that can happen to any being. You're living through your life without a purpose."

Chapter 19: "U"

He approached me at a steady pace, revealing every exact feature on himself which I had.
"So," grinned my Antagonist sinisterly. "You do look like what I've always imagined."
It was one thing seeing two similar-looking people standing together, but coming face to face with a real yourself is ten times more unsettling.
"You seem disturbed. Please...how can you be afraid of something that's so totally un-alien?"
I couldn't help retreating. Perhaps I should even run?
"Oh, silly me," he moved in on me. "I haven't even introduced myself yet. Call me U."
It figured. I was I, wasn't I?
"You're probably wondering where I came from, and what I'm here for." U ran swiftly behind me. I turned to face him, but he was no longer there!
Where had he gone? He couldn't have possibly disappeared so abruptly.
"And that's where you're wrong!" A hard fist landed on my cheek, flooring me. I tasted blood in my mouth. How come I hadn't seen that coming?
"That's because I've Cut myself."Another kick sent pain jolting through my ribs. "As long as I don't Paste myself, I can't be seen."
Now this was both scary and threatening. There was not even the remotest mathematical chance of me defeating U. I couldn't see him well enough to escape, I had no idea of countering his powers, nor did I have any myself.
"What do you want? Are you going to kill me?" I roared at the space before me.
An elbow to the forehead was all the response I got. "Probably." came his cheeky reply, echoing from somewhere to my left. I lunged at where he might be, hoping to get him before he got away again.
Yes! I succeeded in catching hold of a limb. U tried to wriggle out of my grasp, but I wasn't going to let him get away so easily. "When did you first come into Blogspot? And how?"
Uh-oh. A nearby rock floated to the air, positioning itself to strike my face.
I raised a hand to shield myself, but U was smarter. He slammed the rock onto the arm I was using to grab him, making me let go.
"Ho, ho, ho," I heard him chuckle as he slipped away. "Let's try to end this in five moves."

Writer's Block

Today my friend told me something, and...argh! It made me want to kick myself. This guy suggested I include "Scroll Lock" as a special power, which would make the victim unable to move. Without batting a Revlon-laden eyelid, I told him I already had such a "power", the Freeze Frame. Only then did it strike me...ARGH! Why didn't I name it Scroll Lock instead? Surely that made more sense, since I'd earlier mentioned that people in Blogspot moved using scrolls. And the killer blow, "Uhh...is there actually a Freeze Frame command on the keyboard?"
Oh well, let's just make do with what we have. Perhaps I'll find some way to cover it up later, but on with the story. I sense we're approaching the grand finale, but just a few more loose ends to tie up before we get there. The sensible path to go would be to defeat your Antagonist, then some filler/ explanation stuff, and bada-bing, bada-bang. However, I do succumb easily to temptations...
Anyhow, noticed how I haven't even yet revealed what gender "I" is? Yeah, go check it out! All 18 chapters, and still nobody knows whether it's a guy or a girl whom we've been reading about all along. I thought this would be cool at first, carrying all the way till the end, but...nah. I mean, how are you supposed to relate to someone you don't even know the gender of? Lesson learnt.
Guess I won't be able to hide it anymore, since "I" will be fighting his Antagonist next...whoops. It's a boy! Heh, as though that made a whole world of difference.
Now this is ironic...I'm getting writer's block while writing Writer's Block. Bye. Keep reading. Bye.

Chapter 18: "Message"

White.
I blinked my eyes twice, trying to come to terms with this alien surrounding.
Still white. Everything was washed in the whitest white possible, from the earth to the rocks to the sky.
And of course, not a single soul in sight.
I plodded on dejectedly, not a clue how this would end. Or whether it would end at all.
Suddenly, a slight rustling of paper caught my ear. I looked down and was utterly surprised to see a sheet in my hands.
"Greetings," it read. "We had to talk sooner or later. I am, of course, the one you have always heard Archiver babbling about, the old fool."
He?
"I see you have been asking a lot, and I would not expect less. After all, you were my proudest creation next to the Archiver. What is it with those Antagonists, you wonder? Listen."
"Every character I have ever written in has an opposite I created seperatedly. As you know, this is called their Antagonist. Everyone has a different tale of how they met their Antagonist, and the outcomes of the battles they fought. It is these incredible tales which drive me to write more and more, in search of that perfect story."
"But that is how you are alike the rest; in many ways you are one of a kind. You see, unlike you, every person here was taken in when they were at the edge of desperation. Only with such weak minds could I compel them to give life to the stories I have written for them. However, I do realise that fact is many a time stranger than fantasy."
"Already I am sensing some defiance on your part, and I like that. Perhaps sometime soon you shall deliver a tale beyond anything I could ever conjure up. And perhaps that time is...now."
I put down the note and looked back up. Just like I had guessed, a total replication of me stood in the distance.

Chapter 17: "Reset"

Archiver? What was he doing here?
"Quite entertaining, don't you think?" he stroked his beard. "I bet He's watching from somewhere too."
Smash! The giant Moby flung Toby to the ground, but he narrowly managed to Tab to soften his fall.
"You mean..." I looked at Archiver in horror. "You mean you planned all these? That they would meet and try to kill each other?"
"Hey, don't blame me, I'm just watching from the bylines."
This was too much. Unable to contain my anger, I squeezed my hands around the old man's throat. "Tell me! NOW!"
He struggled in vain to pry my fingers away, face turning red.
"Tell me, or I'll snap your neck, I swear!" I'd never felt angry like this before. The more I looked at him, the more I felt like everyone here was being used.
Out of the blue, a hauntingly familiar sight caught my eye. It was a speck of light from afar, so small a careless eye could well have missed it.
I swallowed hard. Could it be...
Expanding as fast as I could think, it turned a metallic greyish hue. This was bad! It was that exact same light I'd been hit by previously, and it was coming fast!
"AHHH!" There wasn't even enough time for me to let go of Archiver's neck, when shwoop! I had no choice but to close my eyes.
Then came that indenfinite period of time. My mind went completely numb to the concept of time, not even sure if I was growing older or younger.
I could only imagine what would await me next.

Chapter 16: "Again"

Helping Melly up, Toby glared at them both. "You might think you're good, but that meant nothing. Nothing, you hear me?"
"Let's see how long you'll sing this tune," Moby sneered. I shook my head in disbelief - was he growing bigger as he spoke? "Caps Lock!"
True enough, he was getting taller before my very eyes! He stood at least 12 feet from the ground, twice the height of the other three.
This was going to get ugly. Should I stop them? And if yes, how? I didn't possess any special powers like them. But if this went on, one of them could very easily get hurt.
"I've never destroyed anyone with my bare hands yet," roared Moby as he lifted Toby by the collar. "Yet."
Tab! Toby managed to escape his grasp, but this time he only managed to re-appear less than a foot away.
"Running out of energy? No surprise to me. You see, unlike your wimpy tricks, the longer I stay huge the stronger I become."
"Melly!" Toby called out to her. "Try your Freeze Frame on him!"
"I can't! I'm having trouble with Telly and her duplicates as well!"
I glanced over. She'd managed to freeze two Tellys, but one more was still loose. Having to fend her off, Melly had no choice but to release the Freeze Frame.
"Pst."
Somebody was tapping on my shoulder.
"It's me, the Archiver."

Writer's Block

Whew...haven't had one of these in a long while, huh? Something big's going on in my life now, and I apologise for not updating as faithfully as I'd got you accustomed to. Said the delusional writer to legions of applauding fans.
Enough about me, let's talk about...i said STOP CLAPPING. Let's talk about the story.
Finally got to that fight scene I was so terribly clueless about. Comic fight scenes I've seen, movie fight scenes are aplenty, but story fight scenes? I even had trouble describing "A Day At The Beach" in my English essay.
The genre of the fight was an issue too...I've only generally seen three sorts of fight scenes- kick/punch/jump, sword/gun, and mystical aura/fireball. The first could only last two sentences before making your computer enter sleep mode, while the latter two were either too cheesy or difficult with my limited knowledge.
Hehe, and so...there you have it. The making of the Computer Functions Fighting Genre. Pretty much a straightforward concept, hopefully I can add in little tidbits now and then to arouse interest. I'm guessing it's either "Favourites" material, or fit for the Recycle Bin.
Plot-wise, everything seems to be progressing OK-ly...need to speed things up a little, we're halfway through the intended length already. As you probably can guess, "He" will be your Villain For The Month.
Reconsidering additional characters and killing off somebody. I mean, somebody will die, but must it be at the expense of potentially attention-grabbing characters? There're no less than 17 million different ways to make Toby/Melly/Moby/Telly exciting, try discussing possible storylines people!
What, me trying to milk free storylines out of you people? I plead innocent!

Chapter 15: "Battle"

In a split second, Toby magically disappeared and reappeared a few feet away, where the three Tellys were coming at Melly. Their eyes grew wide, rather bewildered at how he could've done that.
"Ladies, I give you...Tab," he said, with all the pizzazz of a ringmaster. Before I could even blink, each Telly was on the ground and there he was, back where he had been. Two Tellys faded off into nothing, leaving only the real one.
Moby, still being caught in Freeze Frame, tried in vain to come to Telly's aid.
"In your dreams, Moby," grinned Melly. She tightened her invisible grip on him, making him vince in pain.
"Oh, look...poor Telly's trying to get up."
Gritting her teeth, she got back to her feet and motioned for them to fight her. "So you want another look at my Tab," Toby said. "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you."
Telly remained stone-faced.
Tab! And Toby was behind her. Without skipping a beat, Telly broke free and ran towards Melly. Meanwhile, a duplicate of Telly appeared, striking Toby from behind. He fell to the ground, but upon seeing Telly making her way to Melly, sprang back up.
Tab! He clutched her shoulders, and spun her around so that she faced him. Pinning her to the ground with ease, he beamed proudly at Melly.
Horrors! He had been pinning Telly's double! The real Telly raced swiftly to Melly, and faster than Toby could Tab once more, POW!
Melly managed to get a hand up to block, but not quite in time. She staggered backwards, then fell with a loud thud. But that was enough. The Freeze Frame had been broken!
"My turn next, huh?" said Moby, cracking his kunckles.

Chapter 14: "Confrontation"

"So...Toby and Melly. I see you found us."
I glanced back and forth between both pairs, trying hard to spot any differences between them. There were none. Each was as alike as the other, right down to the number of hairs on their heads, I believed.
Toby and Melly didn't utter a word. They just stood there, glaring intensely at Moby and Telly. In return, they were greeted with scornful half-smiles.
"Tell me something," I nervously broke the tension. "Because I've been confused ever since I got here. Who truly are the Antagonists, and what're your motivations?"
Strangely, the four of them seemed to have entered another world. It was like when I first met Toby and Melly, I couldn't see the four, but I could imagine them. What was happening? Were we still in the woods?
"We should've done this a long time ago." said Telly. She stepped forward, and lo and behold! Another Telly was right behind. That Telly moved sideways as well, and behind her was one more Telly!
Melly stared at the three Tellys, her lips giving away slight trepidation. Then she smiled. "Copy/ Paste. I know that as well."
She proceeded to take one step forward, and in the same way, a duplicate of herself appeared where she had stood.
"Tch, tch, tch," Moby clicked his tongue. "Only two? That's one short o...o...o..."
He struggeld to complete his sentence, but couldn't quite seem to move his jaw. The three Tellys watched in shock, but abrupty snapped out of it. "I'll break your Freeze Frame!" cried them as they charged forward.

Chapter 13: "Revelations"

Toby and Melly! Was it really them?
"Do you know where Moby and Telly are?" asked the girl allegedly called Melly.
"They...they..." I paused for a moment, wondering whether I should tell them. Numerous possibilities were running through my mind. They could be good, and Moby and Telly bad; or they evil, and Moby and Telly good. Alternatively, all four could be evil. It seemed unlikely that all four were good, seeing how this place seemed to stink of bad people with bad ideas.
"You were following them all this while, weren't you?" Toby took a step towards me. Instinctively I retreated, not too keen on getting near him.
"Hear me out," continued Toby. "Whatever they've been telling you are all lies, lies which He asked them to tell you. They are the true Antagonists, and I presume they were taking you to meet Him."
"What for?"
"Because," Melly cleared her throat. "He must meet every newcomer before He can create your Antagonist."
"So you mean both of you were tricked the same way into meeting Him, and from that He created Moby and Telly?"
"Yes. And the same scenario happens every time another being is brought into Blogspot. They'll always meet a Protagonist first, followed by an Antagonist. You must then decide who you want to follow, but the Antagonist will always try bringing you to Him."
Hmm...why had I gone with Moby and Telly in the first place? "But I didn't make a decision! The light appeared suddenly, and I found myself with them after that, remember?"
Toby and Melly didn't answer. They just stared blankly behind me, where a pimply-faced boy and pony-tailed girl stood.

Chapter 12: "Reverse"

Suddenly I had every reason to suspect Moby and Telly. If they knew that we couldn't destroy any Antatgonists, where were we headed then? Why had they brought me here?
"I know what you're thinking," spoke Telly. "But please trust us. All I ask of you is just to follow us till we get out safely."
I stopped dead in my tracks. "All right, and in return for that trust I think I deserve to know everything you know about the Antagonists."
"We've already said every thing we can."
"Yeah, come on along now. I know a shortcut to the next village."
"Oh, so you won't say any more, will you?" I snapped. "That's what you said at first. And then I find out that we can't get rid of Antagonists. How do I know you guys aren't even Antagonists yourself?"
They both appeared positively horrified. Perhaps I'd been more rash than smart. What if they really were evil, and intended to kill me? They could do it right away, and nobody would know.
Well, I wasn't sticking around to make their job easier. I fled down the dirt path with all the speed I could muster, never once looking behind. Okay, just once. But by then, they'd already vanished from sight.
Finally, just before I swore my lungs would've burst, I stopped and collapsed in a pile. Panting five times harder than any dog, I looked up and realised I had come to the nearby woods. Phew! Now that was one impulsive move. Only problem was, where could I go now?
That was when I heard footsteps behind me. I looked up, and to my disbelief, before me stood Moby and Telly!
"H-how on earth..."
"Huh, at last we found you." said the pony-tailed girl. "Remember us? I'm Melly, and he's Toby."

Chapter 11: "Uncertainty"

This Archiver was starting to get nasty. I didn't relish the thought of being a puppet at the end of some mastermind's string.
"He put in charge of enlightening all those who're new. Now that you know the basic works of our world, I've completed my task for today."
"No, wait!" I grabbed hold of his sleeve. "There's a lot more I need to know!"
"Let go of me," he wrested his arm away from my grip. "I shall return to you when the time is right.
"Ponder upon what I told you." And with those words, I was left with nothing more than emptiness before me.
"Ponder upon what I told you." What did he tell me? The Antagonists...this mysterious 'He'...that was mostly what I remembered.
"Found anything?" came a pair of voices from the entrance of the hut.
Moby and Telly! Didn't Archiver tell me I'd been tricked by them? But wait...he had seemed to be supportive of the Antagonists himself. Could he actually be hoping I'd have followed them as well?
"Moby? Telly?" I popped up my head meeky. "If you don't mind me asking...what happened to Toby and Melly?"
"We don't know. They can't be far off though, since they need to prevent us from escaping, remember?"
"If that is the case, shouldn't we be trying to get rid of them first?"
Melly laughed. "You can't eliminate an Antagonist, my dear. We need them to survive just as much as they need us to survive."
"WHAT?" Surely that meant our escapade was going nowhere then! "But if we can't get rid of them, and they won't let us leave, how-"
"It's all right," Moby cut me off. "We'll find a way."
I caught him throwing Telly nervous glances.

Writer's Block

Stalkers I don't mind, flashers I don't really either, but lately I've been receiving calls to...kill off characters! What are you people, SICK?!
Hehe...in all seriousness, a wise lecturer once said, "Life has meaning because it stops.". For those of you who aren't into this whole Wise Sayings Which Make You Appear Learned thing, that simply means things would get boring if you could live everyday like today forever. Likewise for pretty much everything else, a book would get tiring real fast if the pages just went on and on, and the characters stayed the same every time. No matter how exciting a gimmick appears to be, it cannot stay fresh without changes every now and then. (Disclaimer: Said the naive, uninformed one)
Having spewed all that, here're my Thoughts For The Day:
a) As much as the idea of a long-drawn 500-episode soap opera seems appealing, my stories will each last ROUGHLY 30 posts.
b) Be careful what you wish for...someone's gonna die die a terrible death soon. And no, I will not bring them back to life via some magical elixir.
c) There is no C.

Chapter 10: "He"

I'd been tricked? Was he saying that Moby and Telly were in fact Antagonists?
"Hold on there a minute, Mister. Why should I believe you?"
"Heh," he sneered. "You've got some nerve, kid. Listen here; when this universe was made by Him, I was the first being to be created. I've seen all the wonders He's done, from the creation of Climax City to the formation of the Antagonists."
My ears perked up. "You mean someone made these Antagonists? What are they here for?"
"Bah, you'd never understand. Every place, every setting, needs a contrast. Contrast is what makes us see who we really are. Only when people know what they actually believe and disbelieve in can there be a masterplan."
"And so this person created Antagonists for his great masterplan?"
"Well, not quite. There never has been doubt He had us all and this place figured out. I'd say Antagonists further made His wildest dreams come true."
"And that would be?"
"A story." The old man's eyes turned to slits. "We all love a good story."
I stood there, dumbstruck. "W...who is this 'He' anyway?"
"Why, He is the one who created you, of course."
"Shut up! Enough of this! I was brought into this sick place without a clue, and I demand to know how I can get out!"
"You can't," he grinned as though this was all unbearably amusing. "You might have been in control of your destinations back in your world, but over here He takes you wherever He wants."

Chapter 9: "Archiving"

And there I was, standing smack inside that spooky run-down hut. What could Moby possibly mean by "everything here happens because someone higher up wants it to"? Did he mean that this world was run by a ruler? Or perhaps some even more sinister being?
I strained my eyes, trying to make out the the contents of the hut. It sure seeemed a lot smaller from the outside, because I could've I was now in a hut three times bigger.
"Yes," a voice rasped from a dark corner. "Seems a lot bigger inside, doesn't it? Goes to show what you see isn't always real."
"Huh?" Somehow I sounded more interested than surprised. After all I'd been through today, a flying three-legged checkered allosaur would scarcely raise an eyebrow.
"They call me the Archiver," stepped out a wrinkled old man whose beard almost touched the ground. "New to Blogspot, I see?
"Oh...how did you guess?"
"Guess?" he chuckled. "I have no need for guesses...I know everything about everyone here. Where they came from, where they're going."
Finally! He seemed to be my brightest spark of hope yet. "How? Tell me, tell me!"
"Mmmm. Who did you first meet when you came into Blogspot?"
"Uh...Moby and Telly. No, wait! There was this Toby and Melly before them. I ended up with Moby and Telly after some big flash of light appeared."
"Mmmm. And they brought you here?"
I nodded.
The old man suddenly grabbed my shoulders, startling me. "Why? Why didn't you follow the first two you saw? YOU'VE BEEN TRICKED, YOU FOOL!"

Chapter 8: "Huts"

No! It was as though all the life had been sapped out of me. I slumped to the ground in despair, wishing this whole cruel episode would end now. It was bad enough that I had been taken from home, but now I couldn't even remember where my home was! Chances of me getting back anytime within the next seven thousand years were pretty bleak now.
"Huh?" asked Telly in surprise. "You forgot? But you only saw the light once! It takes more than once to wipe out your memory!"
"It's true." came my weak reply. "I-I can't recall anything before going to sleep and waking up here."
"Don't you worry, we'll get to the bottom of all this, i promise," Moby said. "Now that there're three of us, it shouldn't be hard if we know where to look. Let's start with these huts."
Before us stood rows of tattered huts which didn't look like they housed anyone. Somehow, such serene scenery felt quite out of place in the most absurd place I'd ever been to.
Crrreak! An unexpected gust of wind swung open the doors of the three huts closest to us. Every other hut remained firmly shut.
"It's a sign," muttered Moby. "Remember, everything here happens because someone higher up wants it to. I'm convinced we're supposed to enter these three huts."
Telly and I glanced at each other uneasily. "Should we split up, or enter together?"
"Hmm...I'm afraid we don't have much time left. Can't risk running into that light again, and having to start all over from somewhere unfamiliar."
"So," I swallowed hard. "We enter each hut alone."

Writer's Block

Okie, short one here...in the space of 24 hours, I've decided that Moby+Telly/ Toby+Melly needn't make way for some "more well-written character". I guess it's a case of improvising (improving?) on what you have, rather than starting all over from scratch. Still waiting for the right time and place to introduce another character, or is he/she even necessary? On one hand, I'd probably have to waste another good few pages making you guys care about him/her, but would the story still be able to maintain interest with just these 3 people? (Toby and Melly don't count ;p)
And surely Toby and Melly will have to return soon...which leaves me in somewhat of a sticky situation. I'm afraid there might be too many directions this is going - escaping Blogspot, defeating Mr. Super Villain, uncovering mysteries, Moby and friends. Wouldn't be surprised if some planned characters or plot lines are "combined", possibly even scrapped!
Yawnn...gonna sleep on it for now, maybe something will come up tomorrow. Or I could end up in some weird alternate universe. (Sheesh...shouldn't I be more concerned with globalisation, famines, and the like?) 8->

Chapter 7: "Forgotten"

Moby smiled faintly. "Ah, yes, that's when I first met Telly."
"In a way," she continued. "Blogspot is like the afterlife to me. I considered myself dead after leaping off, and in fact I'm still unsure whether I really am dead. Sometimes I wonder...is this heaven, or hell?"
I nodded my head grimly. "But how long have you been here?"
"That's the thing about this place. Every time that light hits, you lose a bit of your past recollections. Can't be totally sure any more, but I don't think I've seen the light over ten times."
"Same goes for me," interrupted Moby. "I've been here longer than Telly, that's for sure."
"So you don't remember anything about your past?"
"In bits and pieces. I remember this deserted warehouse...some tall men after me, thunder and lightning. Then came the light."
Things were getting more puzzling with every word spoken. What was that mysterious light, and where did it come from? Afraid that I might have lost some of my own memories, I racked my brains, trying to recall what happened before I came to Blogspot.
There was this headache...I'd slept...but wait, what about before that? I woke up, obviously, and...was it a morning? Yes, there had been sunlight.
And the night before...the night before...uh-oh, nothing was coming. Panicking, I tried furiously to make myself remember. It couldn't have been more than 24 hours! There was no way I could've forgotten.
"Mind if I ask in return?" Telly nudged me. "Where were you before all this?"
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Five seconds passed. Ever had one of those moments when you entered a room, but proceeded right away to forget what you came for? Well, it was happenning to me, just that this one lasted indefinitely.

Chapter 6: "Telly"

"Every time that light comes around, it always leaves us somewhere unknown. That's how we ended up here, no further or nearer away from leaving Blogspot." explained Telly with a tinge of frustration in her voice.
A few awkward moments passed, as we trod towards the huts. Finally I cleared my throat, "So, where did you two come from? When were you brought into Blogspot?"
"Aha, you want an introduction of ourselves," smiled Telly.
"I was in an extremely depressed stage of my life. How I longed for time to be turned back...just two weeks, and everything would've been fine again. I'd always read stories of teens committing suicide, finding them pretty dumb and shallow-minded. But when I was in their shoes, it seemed to be the only way out."
"So one dark, dark Monday, before anyone else was up, I stole the keys to Dad's office block and made my way there. The climb to the roof was truly difficult, granted that my mind was made up it would be the last thing I ever did."
"And there I was. My watch read 6:48 a.m., and already some specks peppered the streets below. Funny how the very moment before you end your life, it always seems the right thing to do. You usually only have your regrets on the way down. In that one second towards the ground, I thought more than I usually would've thought about in an hour. What would happen after I landed splat on the sidewalk? Where would I be? What would happen to me there?"
"Suddenly, mere fractions of a second from death, I cried with all my heart. I cried like I'd never cried before, both regretting and frightened of what would happen next. Then a flash of light similar to the one you just saw hit me. Something weird happened...some time passed, but i had no idea how long it was, nor what happened within it. When I came to my senses, I was already in Blogspot. The same black empty space where you first saw us. And that's when I met Moby."

Writer's Block

Haha, this is the only part of my blog which actually resembles a regular blog...guess I should've started this earlier, but oh well, better late than early rite? Rite...
Wow, it's been a week since I started this blog, and though it hasn't picked up any international awards or something, I must say at least it hasn't been condemned to the Land Of Forgotten Sucky Blogs yet. Things were quite scary in the beginning - there're few things in life scarier than standing on stage with an audience expecting something out of you, yet not knowing exactly what to do.
Thank God however, that at last this story seems to be heading somewhere. Yesterday while bathing (when most of my life-altering ideas occur), a vague "grand scheme" for Blogspot started appearing. Should be introducing some sub-villains, and a "Villain of All Villains", whom you'll have a "Final Hollywood-style Showdown" with. So where does that leave Toby/Melly/Moby/Telly? I must admit, they were sort of created just because I needed more characters...now that's what you call short-sighted planning. No long-term goals for them yet, but you never know. I'm guessing they'll be "transitionary characters", introducing you to Blogspot, before some more well-written character comes along. Something interesting might come out of Toby+Melly vs Moby+Telly, though...
SPOKEN!

Chapter 5: "Exploration"

Moby looked like he wanted to shrug, but changed his mind to avoid further disheartening me. "Perhaps we need to find more people who've been brought in here, so that we can learn how to escape."
Well, that sounded somewhat feasible. Somewhat.
"You see that blue bar on the side? The one with a white arrow on it? Hop on, and wait for the arrow to drag the bar along. That's how we get around here."
Dutifully, I cllimbed onto the bar with some help from Telly. Sure enough, a white arrow started snaking to the edge of it, tugging it downwards.
Before long, the black landscape began fading, giving way to strange symbols splashed across the ground. I tried to make out what they were, but the bar was moving too fast for me to see anything but blurry black shapes.
"Prepare to get off." came Telly's voice, snapping my concentration. The bar halted abruptly. She took my hand, and we got down, making our way to one of the weird markings. The moment we stood over it, it turned blue.
"Now, JUMP!" and...whoosh! Everything went white for a moment, then bit by bit a landscape started to appear. It was rather magical - first rows of mountains, followed by lush greenery, then a clear blue sky, birds, brown earth, and a sprinkling of run-down huts.
"Wow! That was cool." I said for all to hear. "Anyway, are we still in Blogspot, or what?"
Moby nodded. "I've never been in this section before, though."
"So, why are we here? Do you have a plan on how to get us all back home?"