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.