(NSP: Almost done. Many thanks to Jim7, Highemperor, TLTE, Ford, and the others who have contributed, and especially to Krig for doing practically all of the compiling and writing for this post.)
*The Arena. Legion of Spookay. That Big Volcanoey Deathmatch-Type Place. It goes by many names. Within its now-decayed stadium, the fate of the world has been decided many times over. Row upon row of empty seats encircle the dusty battlefield, cracked and lit by the lava below. Rain filters in through the dome's opening, splatterig the dust into mud, as thunder breaks overhead and shakes the very ground. The battlefield is dotted with people -- heroes and villians, protagonists and antagonists. Though the universe doesn't know it, their fate is to be decided here.*
*Bill Gates, Darkside, The First False Evil, and their allies from NeS adventures past stand in the centre of the battlefield, in a half-circle around one man. One ordinary looking man, with a menacing glare in his eyes as he looks at those who oppose him. Vinny. The Ever-ending Plot. Across from him stands Gebohq, leading a ragtag band of Heroes, followed closely by a stranger named Erik. The Last True Evil, Absolver, Galrek the Neutral, Tracer, Dr. Dor, Maeve, Galvatron, MZZT, and a very confused Cool Matty. Behind them are the Elder Heroes -- Maybechild, Semievil, Losien, Krig the Viking, Kyle Katarn7, Ford, Cooked Haggis, and Janitor Bob. The whole gang slowly advances toward the villians, jaws set, eyes determined. And the Ever-ending Plot waits for them.*
*The EeP notices Erik amongst the crowd of heroes, and smiles.*
Vinny: "YOU! At last, we meet face to face, after all these years! Though we've known each other all along, haven't we?"
*Erik looks at Vinny as if he'd just seen him for the first time.*
Erik: "I'm sorry, were you saying something?"
Vinny: "...and you're as idiotic as ever. I can hardly wait until you're finally destroyed."
Erik: "I love you too. I'd say "can't we just get along", but I have a feeling you're still holding that time against me when I gave you a swirlie."
Geb: "Um, do you guys know each other?"
Erik: "Yes, Geb, we do. Always there to state the obvious, and that's what makes you so lovable."
Vinny: "Mortals. Always good for a laugh. Filthy, inconspicuous specks of dust they are. And you let them run the show!"
Erik: "Your fight is with me, not them, don’t forget that. Maybe you’d like to shed some light on our history for the benefit of those present. You like to do that sort of thing, don’t you?"
Vinny: "And what is my motivation, might I ask, to divulge our history?"
Erik: "Because you’re EVIL!"
Vinny: "Always quick to give me such little credit."
Erik: "Please?"
Vinny: "You’d like me to, wouldn’t you? Tell them all about our thousands of years of conflict, and while I’m distracted you pull off some sneaky, outrageous plan with your “heroes.” I’ve fallen for that trick for the last time, NeS!"
Heroes: *gasp*
Vinny: "The sad part is that wasn’t even scripted."
Erik: "And we don’t
have to follow the script, EeP. We don’t have to see this battle through."
Vinny: "Oh, it won’t be a battle, it’ll be a massacre! ATTACK!"
*The Villians charge forward, weapons drawn, looking very evil and menacing. All the major villians from story-arcs past are there -- Farr, Totallyevil, Burby00, "They", Gettleburger's Keyboarding Teacher and the rest. The Heroes stop and strike Heroic poses, awaiting the incoming onslaught as the Villians close the distance between the two groups. Finally, just before the Villians reach the Heroes and the battle is joined, five mysterious figures leap between the groups in front of the Heroes, moving swiftly and purposefully, unleasing flames and destruction upon the Villian horde. The Villians attempt to fight for a few moments, and then they retreat before these new combatants, fleeing to cower behind Gates and the EeP. The Heroes stand in various stages of bewilderment at this impressive show of force.*
Gates: "Who are you? Quit interfering! This has nothing to do with you!"
Ares: "On the contrary, it has everything to do with us. You are endangering the plotfractal. We cannot allow that."
Vinny: "YOU! Of course, I should have known you fools would show up. But why are you protecting these "Heroes"? That doesn't seem like you at all..."
Jim7: "We are not protecting these n00bs. We are protecting the Plotfractal which we serve."
Ares: "We are slaves to neither Good nor Evil. From the beginning, we have had only one purpose: to ensure the survival of the NeS."
Gates: "Then why are you siding with Good? You're breaking your own rules!"
Rob: "Siding is such a strong word."
Morris: "Your evil has grown too great, nerd-boy. Things have been thrown out of balance.”
Jim7: “The Plot threatens to replace the Story entirely, calcifying this once-great plotfractal into a dead, stale plot
line.”
Cthulhu:
[“ We bring chaos where there is order. Confusion where there is clarity. Action where there is stillness. Life without uncertainty is not life at all. We prevent this world from grinding to a momentumless halt. But your plot would end everything. So we must oppose you.”]
Vinny: "Well, I am afraid you have come too late. You see, everything is in place. My presence has infected every part of the NeS. My servants have stepped into position all around the world. All that is left to take care of is these pathetic mortals, and it will be all over. So you see, the cards are not in your favour."
Ares: "Not if you die first!"
*Vinny smiles, chuckling to himself.*
Vinny: "The ant threatens the mountain. How amusing. But I have better things to do. Gates, summon your lacky."
*Vinny waves at Gates, and Gates grins an evil grin. He bows his head, and begins to make a humming noise. Slowly, he lifts his head again, his eyes rolled back into his head, eyelids fluttering, teeth bared, the hum rising in pitch and volume.*
Gates: "Arise, my servant! Do my bidding! Destroy my enemies!"
*A chill fills the Arena as the light fades and it grows darker and darker. A roiling blackness descends like a thick, impentetrable fog from the sky, crackling with energy, screaming with the souls of the lost. Everyone present looks up at the lowering menance as a thousand shrieking voices echo through the stadium, filled with lust and hate and malice.*
Darkside: "
We are one. . . . You are ours . . . Forever. We will devour you mind. . . your flesh. You will be ours totally. You will be part of us. We are the Darkside. We are its echoes. We are its past. Its present. Its future. We will devour your flesh, your mind, your force. You are ours now. And now we will feast!"
*From the darkness, five twisting pillars of writhing black descend upon the five Protectors of the Plotfractal. They are lifted up into the dark fog of hatred, and dissapear from the view of those below. Sounds and screams can be heard as an epic battle begins above, unseen. The cloud receeds, funnelling through the open Arena roof and into the thunderstorm above.*
Vinny: "So now they are gone. And we are alone again."
*TLTE steps out in front of Geb and the Heroes.*
TLTE: “Let's finish this already.”
Vinny: “Ah, Springfield-Wesson. You lost your Last True Evil title to me, and now you hope to absolve youself before you lose the rest of that you failed to save before. I see the Higher Being, your "Writer God," sent Absolver as well. What a joke. A toast to your death then!”
TFFE: “I believe we have a score to settle, S-W is it?”
TLTE: “Better than ‘Norman.’”
*Everyone snickers*
TFFE: “You’ll pay for that!”
TLTE: “So shall we dance this dance again, tovarish?”
*With a shriek of rage, TFFE lunges at TLTE. The two clash, punching and kicking, and TLTE lifts TFFE into the air. The two fly wildly across the Arena, crashing into the ground, soaring above the stands, and finally plunging into the bubbling lava surrounding the arena's surface.*
MZZT: "Is he...?"
Absolver: "Alright? Of course! Well, for now anyway. Havin' angelic powers can be real useful at times, ya know."
Vinny: "I've had my fun now. Now for yours, Gates."
*Gates raises his Plot Hole Pistol and aims it at Gebohq. Gebohq holds his sword, his grip tense. Gates squeezes the trigger, a dark swirl of a muzzle flashing as the plothole fires foreward. Gebohq closes his eyes, but is startled when the plothole dissapears in a flash.
Geb: What the...?
*To his side, Gebohq sees Highemperor and an vast army of what appear to be writers equipped with automatic weapons, combat vehicles, each one hefting a writing tool. They fill the Arena's stands spilling over into the main battle field, more of them entering via fancy flashes of light at every moment. A group of particularly beefy men in full plate armour stands beside Highemperor, one of them with a still-smoking pencil in his outstretched hand. The other men in full plate armour stand in a protective circle around Highemp, pencils in hand, warily looking about for threats.*
Gates: "Blast it! This wasn't suppose to happen!"
Geb: *to Highemperor* "Who...?"
Man in Full-Plate Armour: *in heavy Eastern European accent* "I am Vlad."
Highemperor: "These are the KNeLL; the Knights of the Never-ending Literary Legion, and beside me are the elite and my personal bodyguards, the Death KNeLL. I convinced the Editor and his minions to aid us!"
Geb: "Uh..."
Highemp: "You can thank me later. Now to vanquish the EeP!"
*The KNeLL troops begin advancing on the cluster of Villians gathered in the centre of the Arena, now far outnumbered. From their midst strides a bold, bespectacled figure, having the appearance of a man in his late forties, slightly balding, with a bit of paunch under his white collared shirt. In his hand he holds an instrument of great power -- the red pen. It is the Editor of the Omnicron, roused from his high tower to settle the disruption in this one of his stories permanently.*
Editor: "Ever-ending Plot! You have transgressed the most sacred laws of good storytelling! You have invaded a story where you do not belong, and you threaten to end that which should not be ended! Even worse, you threaten to plot an ending wherein Evil is triumphant! For this, you must be removed!"
*As the Editor marches toward EeP threateningly, the EeP stands and waits for him calmly, the corner of his mouth twisting upward in a self-assured sneer.*
Vinny: "Editor. I would have thought you would stay out of this. After all, your primary concern is that the story is entertaining, and how can the events of the past few pages be anything less than entertaining?"
Editor: "You have broken the rules, underling! You will be silenced!"
Vinny: "I think not. You see, I am already more powerful than even you can comprehend. I am the Ever-ending Plot. I exist to destroy. And you will be destroyed."
Editor: "Rubbish. Your power is that of Plot. You control stories' events, manipulate chance into an ordered series of events. I am the Editor. I am above the plots of the stories I oversee, and their courses and turnings have no effect on me."
*Vinny smiles*
Vinny: "But O great and mighty Editor, have you not humbled yourself and entered one of your precious stories? Do not your actions here have to comply with the rules of this world, to its plot, whatever they might be? You wouldn't want to create a plothole, now would you? After all, eliminating plotholes
is your job -- not that you've done a very good job in this particular realm, I might add. But enough talk. Your doom awaits."
Editor: "What are you talking about? So I've entered a story! I can still edit it as I see fit! And what are you going to do? You have no powers that could affect me! You don't even have a weapon! And your men are severely outnumbered! You have nothing!"
*Vinny smiles.*
Vinny: "On the contrary, Mr. Editor, I have everything. And now..."
*Outside the Arena, the Editor's literary troops are forming a perimiter around the Arena. Their numbers fill not only the slopes of the volcano-top the Arena is located within, but spill over into the Thames where the uprooted volcano floats, and into rain-drenched London itself. Then there is a crack and a flash of blood red lightning in the western sky, shining through the rain and the fog. The KNeLL troops cast wary glances in that direction, and those wary glances soon turn to wide-eyed stares of horror. For in the western sky a dark cloud, far darker than than the thunderstorm that surrounds it, looms nearer and nearer. It is a cloud made not of water and air, but of demonic swarms -- their black, misshapen bodies filling the storm-soaked sky, black wings beating at the rain, their shrieks and cries echoing through the darkened streets.*
*But the nerve of the KNeLL is not easily shaken. Streaks of fire begin flashing from their weapons, lighting the clouds from below in an ever-shifting kalaidescope of colour, tearing into the nearing beasts of Hell. Their leader, a massive crimson beast, goat-horned and lashing a long red tail, plummets toward the city and the KNeLL, smashing through buildings and ripping into the literary troops with a blade of searing black energy, leading his hordes to fall upon the knights in vicious ecstasy. It his the High Imp, come from the dark reaches of Canada to aid his masters. A battle breaks out in London, the likes of which the city - and the world - has never seen before.*
*Inside the Arena, the standoff continues. Vinny, Gates, and their villians stare down the Editor and Highemperor with the Death KNeLL surrounding, Geb and the Heroes holding back and hoping to keep from getting disintigrated or something equally unpleasant.*
Vinny: "...now, you shall die."
*A portion of the roof of the Arena shatters, and a crimson beast slams into the ground before the Editor, accompanied by a hail of rain and several flashes of lightning, and some thunder too. The Editor has only a moment to stare at the towering High Imp in horror, before the beast lashes out with his shimmering black sabre, causing the Editor to burst into screaming flames and disintigrate. Highemp hesitates for only a moment at the sight of the Editor's death, before a sword of crackling light flashes into being in his hands and he launches a powerful overhand swipe at the High Imp. The demon is quick to parry the blow, and for a moment the two stare each other down, blazing swords crossed, fiery eyes unflinching. With a thunderclap they burst into a savage flurry of slashes and swings and whirls, their weapons snapping and crackling (and popping) with each parried strike. Meanwhile Erik, the avatar of the NeS, stares across the Arena floor at Vinny with jaw set, their eyes locked.*
Vinny: "You can feel it, can't you, Never-ending Story? Your power is failing. Resist while you can, but rest assured that soon you will be dead."
*Erik seems to flinch as Vinny speaks, but the determination soon returns to his face.*
Erik: "The NeS will never end, Ever-ending Plot. Don't you ever read books? Villians always fail in the end."
Vinny: "Not always, NeS. Not always..."
*Vinny lifts his eyes to the Arena's cracked roof, to the hole High Imp made where rain is now gusting in, turning the Arena ground to muck. A crack of lightning illuminates the dark energies of Darkside swirling about, still battling the Protectors of the Plotfractal. And then, with inhuman groans and cries, High Imp's demonic legions begin to enter the Arena's legendary grounds. Crawling, flying in from the cracked roof, from the entryways on the sides, from all around, the demonspawn begin leaping upon the KNeLL, clawing and biting and lashing and cutting. The KNeLL fight back bravely, their writing utensils quickly rearranging parts of the story, destroying the Canadian demonspawn left and right, but there are too many. A group of the twisted creatures breaks off from the others and descends upon the clustered group of Heroes, who are quick to respond in defence of themselves in whatever way they can.*
*Up in the Crow's Nest, the sound of screaming can be heard.*
Otter: "Ahh! Ahh! Get-them-off get-them-off!"
*The window of the Crow's Nest shatters as theOtter leaps through it, two smaller demonspawn clinging to him, stabbing him with little pitchforks. He swings his bag at them, but one of them latches onto it and tosses it away, into the lava below. He impacts the Arena floor with a nasty >>crunch<<.*
Otter: "Helphelphelp!"
Geb: "Kinda busy, Otter!"
*Geb smacks one demonspawn away from him with his sword, as another bigger one jumps him from behind and tackles him to the ground. The other Heroes are variously engaged in combat with the creatures, and pretty much all of them are getting their butts handed to them. The only exception, surprisingly, is Dor, who is sitting on the ground oblivious to it all, protected by some sort of forcefield. Geb flails at the demon on his back wildly.*
Geb: "Get offa me, you big --"
Erik: "Ahhh! Help!"
Geb: "Erik! Oh no!"
*Three enormous demon creatures, all horns and wings and claws, have grabbed Erik and are lifting him high into the air. The EeP, Vinny, stands in the middle of the Arena, laughing as if it's a very amusing joke.
Geb: "Erik! I'll save you! Hold on, don't--oof!"
*Two large demonspawn tackle Geb, punching and clawing at him, holding him down on the ground. The flying demons begin to pull at Erik's arms, trying to pull him apart. Just then, there is a flash of white light from somewhere, and a bulbous pinkish figure unleashes blazing streaks of white energy at the demons, incinerating two of them and forcing the other to flee. Erik falls from the air into the waiting arms of JediKirby the White.*
Erik: "Hey there! I was beginning to think you would never get here!"
JK the White: "The avatar of the NeS must be protected at all costs. Come, we must get you to safety!"
Erik: "Um, ok, if that's what you want to do. I don't really make many of my own decisions."
*The EeP's smile has been wiped from his face at these events, but rather than looking angry, he looks bored. Lightning crackles outside, and he turns his attention to the duel between Highemp and High Imp.*
*The two swordsmen have been battling relentlessly, lashing out at one another not only with their blazing swords, but with various magical and physical attacks. A bolt of lightning flashes from Highemp's hand, only to be stopped by a wave of the Imp's fist. Black and red flames spring up around Highemp, threatening to consume him, but they have no effect. The two are nearly equally matched, but the High Imp seems to be gaining the upper hand. The demon beast's blows are beginning to shake Highemp, throwing him back more and more each time. Finally, a sneak blow from High Imp sends Highemp careening to the edge of the Arena field, where he teeters on the edge of the long cliff down to the lava for a moment. A massive ball of dark flame roars from the High Imp's fist, sending Highemperor hurtling downwards, falling toward the lava below. The High Imp smirks, his grin full of jagged teeth, and lifts into the air on tattered wings, sailing directly toward where Geb is being held to the ground.*
Vinny: "Goodbye Gebohq. I hope you die a most painful death."
Geb: "Whuh? What are--" *sees High Imp* "--oh."
*The demon beast swings down at Geb with his blazing black sword, but Geb somehow manages to do what he does best -- get out of the way. The black sword misses Geb and cuts into one of the demonspawn, disintigrating it with a shriek into little dust particles. The High Imp swings again and again, and each time Geb manages to barely dodge. TheOtter emerges from the roiling chaos about them, swatting at the little imps pestering him, and accidentally runs into High Imp. The great demon swats him away like a fly, sending him sailing across the battlefield. Another swing sends Geb to the ground, and his massive clawed foot clamps down on Geb's leg, pinning him there. The High Imp grins, and his black sword shimmers and changes into the form of a fiery black pitchfork. He stabs at Geb...*
Highemp: "Noooooo!"
*Bursting up from the lava below, Highemp sees what High Imp is about to do, and thrusts himself at superhuman speed across the battlefield. Slowly, so slowly, the pitchfork descends, and Highemp crawls toward Geb. In an ultimate effort of will, Highemp forces himself to cross the remaining distance in the split-seconds that remain, imposing his own body between Geb and the great demon's fork. The searing black points puncture Highemperor's torso, digging into his flesh. A flash of surprise crosses the High Imp's face, and then a small explosion of energy obscures them both, knocking everyone in the vicinity away.*
*Geb tumbles to a stop and staggers to his feet, his shirt and skin torn and bloodied. Where Highemp and High Imp had once stood, there remains nothing but a few small drops of blood on the charred ground. Little time is spent in thought, however, as a random hellspawn is slammed against Geb, pushing him into the thick of the battle.
Geb: "I could use a little backup! Maybechild? Semievil? Anybody?"
Maybe: "Geb! I'm right here!"
*Maybechild pushes through the fray, to Geb's side. Geb manages to squirm away from his attackers, if only for a moment.*
Geb: "Maybe! Thank God you're here, I -- hey!"
*Pulling a switchblade from somewhere, Maybechild viciously slashes at Geb, leaving a long red cut along his cheekbone. Geb stumbles back, staring at Maybechild in astonishment.*
Geb: "Maybe! What are you doing?"
*Maybechild continues to attack, slashing and stabbing at Geb with the switchblade. Geb stumbles back each time, reluctant to attack her with his sword. Elsewhere in the Arena, Losien trips Maeve, the Otter tosses a empty vodka bottle at Absolver, CookedHaggis attempts to backstab Tracer with a spork, Kyle Katarn 7 disrupts The Mega ZZter’s equipment with his datapad, Semievil slaps duct-tape across Galrek the Neutral’s face, Ford kicks Doctor Dormouse with his magic Vans shoes, Krig smashes his axe on Galvatron’s head, and Janitor Bob sprays Windex in CoolMatty’s face. Each defender exclaims with similarly confused reactions. Vinny grins.*
Geb: "What's going on? What did you do?"
*Vinny gestures and the twisted demons pause for a moment, ceasing to attack the Elder Heroes.*
EeP: "You didn't really think I'd let such useful pawns out of my control, did you?"
Geb: "You.... you--"
*A slash from Maybechild catches Gebohq by surprise, and he falls to the ground, quickly scrambling away. A smaller demonspawn latches onto his shoulders, and he swipes at it with his sword frantically. He falls again, and Maybechild advances...*
*In a different part of the battlefield, theOtter and Absolver stare each other down warily. They circle each other, each examining the other for weakness, stepping carefully around the battlefield debris, their dark trenchcoats flapping in the gusting wind. Otter takes a swig of some unidentified alcoholic substance from a bottle, and Absolver munches a piece of blackened toast. Then with a war-yell, they leap at each other in a frenzy of combat.*
Otter: "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"
Absolver: "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaarrr!"
*As Absolver and Otter descend into a mass of fists, feet, and Vulcan's Flames, another battle is already underway. Tracer has taken the spork from CookedHaggis, and now they wrestle for control of the powerful weapon.*
Tracer: "Give up, you upper-class sissy! The spork is mine!"
Haggis: "Not by your life, you foul-mouthed rapscallion! Your filthy hands do not deserve to wield even a lowly salad fork, you uncouth slack-jawed philistine!"
Tracer: "Rrrg! Yer mother wears army boots!"
Haggis: "That tears it! I'm going to give you the worst beating of your life!"
*The two break out into fisticuffs, trading vicious blows perilously close to the edge of one of the long cliffs down to the bubbling lava. Meanwhile, a fist smacks into Janitor Bob's face, snapping his head to one side. Cool Matty stands victoriously as the much-beloved, but now Evil, Janitor falls to the Arena's muddy floor. Balls of blue flame appear in Matty's hands, sparking and crackling.*
CM: "...and
stay down!"
Janitor Bob: "Urggg... you got me dirty..."
CM: "Yeah, well I was
dead for a while there! I don't think you have much to complain about!"
Janitor Bob: "You... got me...
dirty!"
CM: "Well boo-hoo, you filthy traitor! At least I didn't spray Windex in your bloody eyes!"
*With a scream of rage, Janitor Bob whips his pushbroom around as he leaps to his feet, cracking Cool Matty in the skull. Cool Matty spins around from the force of the blow like a ragdoll, but Janitor Bob doesn't give up. With ruthless blows born of fury, he wields his pushbroom like the fearsome weapon it is, breaking bones and spraining tendons. Meanwhile, in another part of the fray, Doctor Dormouse, sitting on the mucky ground, looks up at Ford in surprise.*
Dor: "Why hello! You've come to help me with my equations, have you? I'm working on a fascinating theory, but I'm not quite sure about the hippopotomus factor in the equation dealing with the squared tangent of the--"
Ford: ****Ok, Ford can take over here. Yaketty yack, Ford kicks some butt. Boo-urns.****
*Meanwhile, in another part of the battle, Kyle and MZZT stand across from each other, Kyle typing furiously on a datapad, MZZT hacking away on a laptop, each trying to crack the other's system. Occasionally, sparks fly from one or the other's system, and that one will cringe and begin typing all the more furiously. At long intervals, one glances across the small gap between them.*
Kyle: "You'll never defeat me, you pathetic excuse for a sentient being! I've sliced tougher security in my sleep while dreaming about... never mind what I was dreaming about!"
MZZt: "Hahaha! Your systems are so old they're laughable! They must have been manufactured a long time ago, in someplace far, far away -- Medieval China, for instance!"
Kyle: "How little you know! I've just about had it with this pathetic "Earth", and your silly "Graphical Interfaces"! I've seen better programming in Tatooine vaporators! It's like it was designed by a child!"
MZZT: "Ok, I'm tired of this,
die!"
*MZZT whips out DHUDGUN, the doughnut-hole gun, and blasts away at Kyle. But Kyle doesn't even flinch, and the shots pass right through him, hitting Absolver and Otter in the midst of their epic grappling match and causing them to run around howling in pain.*
MZZT: "A hologram! Blast you!"
Kyle's Hologram: "You ignorant savages don't even have holographic technology! It's enough to make one laugh in derision! In fact, I think I will! Aaaahahahahahahaaa!"
MZZT: "Kyle, listen to yourself! It's the Pie talking! Fight the Evilness, Kyle! Fight it!"
Kyle's Hologram: "Oops... look who left his laptop unattended! Buh-bye, Junior! I hope your death is painful!"
MZZT: "Uh-oh..."
*MZZT picks up his laptop and looks at it, his eyes widening as he recognises the code streaming past on it. A few seconds more, and the laptop explodes in an enormous ball of flame, sending demonspawn and KNeLL alike flying in every direction. Nearby, Maeve watches the explosion in shock.*
Maeve: "MZZT! Oh no!"
*A high-heeled foot comes into contact with Maeve's face, sending her spinning to the ground. She attempts to get back up, but another high-heeled foot boots her in the stomach. Losien looks down at her and grins.*
Losien: "You shouldn't let your concern for your new friends take control, Maevie-poo. Remember who you're fighting. You don't have much of a chance against me, even if you do pay attention!"
Maeve: "Listen, you don't know what you're saying! It's the Evil Pie -- it took control of me, too! But I was able to escape! Don't give in"
Losien: "The pie? The pie is not evil, Maeve -- the pie let me see clearly for the first time! It let me see what losers those "Heroes" were! They treated me like I was nothing! They played with my emotions! No, Maeve, the pie is not evil -- it is freedom! Freedom to do whatever I feel like! Freedom to leave you pathetic do-gooders and side with the real power in this world!"
Maeve: "If you're truly free then why do you blindly follow the orders of Gates and the EeP? Why did you attack your own brother, Geb?"
Losien: "Geb means
nothing to me! He is
nothing!"
Maeve: "Losien, he's your brother! Doesn't that mean anything to you? And what about TLTE?"
Losien: "TLTE... Geb... I... they... stop it! Stop talking!"
Maeve: "Ok."
*While she was talking, Maeve had slowly worked herself closer to Losien, readying herself, keeping Losien distracted. Now, Maeve lets loose with a roundhouse sweep that takes Losien's feet out from under her, sending her to the ground hard. Quick as a flash, Maeve grabs Losien and puts her in a headlock, teeth bared with the effort.*
Maeve: "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to... please don't make me do this!"
Losien: "I'll... kill... you..."
*As the two women grapple, a pair of robotic legs run past, followed closely by a pair of stumpier, dirtier legs. Galvatron flees at top speed, pursued by a wild-eyed, axe-swinging Krig the Viking, intent on destruction. Several dents riddle Galvatron's body, and in at least two places wires have been exposed, sparking brightly now and again.*
Krig: "KRIG SMAAAASH!!"
Galvatron: "Ahhh! Make it go away! Stop following me!"
*At this, Krig leaps forward and lands on Galvatron's back, holding on with one hand and bashing the robot's head repeatedly with the axe in his other. Galvatron flails at him madly.*
Galvatron: "Yaaaagh! Get it off get it off!"
*As Galvatron runs, he leaps over a body lying on the ground. The body is that of Galrek the Neutral, trussed up in duct tape, unable to move. The skeletal Semievil stands over him malevolently, a wicked red gleam in his eyes.*
Semievil: "Behold the power of the dark side of the tape, Galrek! No force on earth can withstand it! Your struggles are in vain!"
Galrek: "Hm. I know I should be trying to escape, but really, what would it gain me? I'll probably just get knocked out or something anyway. But then, if I stay here this guy will probably do something painful to me... but should I risk it? I don't know..."
*As Galrek tries to choose his actions, his great indecision warps the forces of plot and story and chance, and a rabid wallaby which had earlier escaped from a nearby London zoo leaps out of the surrounding chaos and onto Semievil's head, scratching at him furiously. Semievil cries out in pain, and begins hitting his own head in an effort to get it off. As Galrek tries to decide how to react to this, a group of seagulls which had followed the wallaby also attack Sem, creating more chaos.*
*From across the Arena, the EeP glances sharply in Galrek's direction, as if he had just sensed something unexpected. He watches for a moment, a concerned frown on his face, and then slowly his smile returns. He looks to one side, where the remaining Death KNeLL soldiers are battling a horde of demonspawn. White-hot streaks of energy flash from the Death KNeLL's weapons, all of them missing their intended targets. The shots streak across the Arena, and each one catches one of the seagulls in mid-flight, incinerating it. The EeP smiles more broadly and looks up at the domed ceiling of the Arena, cracked and weathered from the battle. Lightning strikes a particularly weak section, and a chunk of the roof falls to the Arena floor, catching the rabid wallaby and smashing it into paste by Semievil's feet. With a brief chuckle, the EeP turns his attention back to other parts of the battle.*
*Finding himself free of the wallaby and the seagulls, Semievil picks up his staff which he had dropped, and returns to where Galrek is still not sure if he should try to escape the duct-tape or not. Semievil stands beside him and raises his staff, its sharpened point hovering over Galrek's chest.*
Semievil: "It's been fun. But this will be even more fun."
*With a roar of delight, Semievil plunges the staff into Galrek's torso, twisting it violently. Galrek gasps in pain, his eyes wide. Slowly, the life drains from him...*
*Nearby, Galvatron hears Galrek's gasp and stops mid stride.*
Galvatron: "Galrek!"
*With an inhuman spin, Galvatron manages to throw Krig from his back. With unerring precision he fires off a blast of his laser, burning into Krig and sending him tumbling. Galvatron turns and rushes to Galrek's side. Galrek looks up and sees him, and chokes trying to speak.*
Galrek: "G...Galvatron... help me..."
Semievil: "It's too late, Galvatron. You can do nothing to help him."
Galvatron: "Semievil! You twisted son of a... you've become just like your sister!"
Semievil: "Yes, Galvatron. I know now that TotallyEvil was right. It is useless to ride the fence. Goodness is but another euphamism for weakness."
Galvatron: "You'll die for this!"
Semievil: "No, you will."
*From behind Galvatron, rushing out of the swirling mist that now covers the Arena floor, comes Krig. He whips his axe at Galvatron's head, and the robot has barely time to see his attacker before his head is loosed from his shoulders, sailing into the roiling battle where it is soon stomped into the ground. The midget madman sets about hacking at Galvatron's body, bits and pieces of metal flying every which way. Semievil looks up as they are joined by a woman dressed all in black - his malicious sister TotallyEvil. The two nod in greeting, and look on solemnly as Krig tears wiring from the still steel body, biting at it and jumping at the shocks he receives, muttering to himself in barely coherant phrases.*
Krig: "Shiny metal... Krig smash... not like shiny man... little pieces... smashing... rrrraaaaaAARGH! KRIG SMASH!"
*Krig leaps up from Galvatron's still-sparking remains, leaping into the crowd of battling demonspawn and KNeLL troops, his axe flailing this way and that.*
*Nearby, the charred body of a KNeLL soldier falls to the ground before Losien and Maeve, who hardly notice, so wrapped up in their own battle are they. Losien manages to pull away from Maeve's headlock, chopping her on the back of the neck and pushing her away with her feet. Maeve rolls to her feet, and the two face each other in cautious martial arts style stances.*
Losien: "You think you can just come in and woo everybody, don't you? I'm not fooled by you. You want to take my place!"
Maeve: "I want no such thing! And I thought you didn't care about them?"
Losien: "I won't let you take what is mine!"
*Losien shrieks and leaps at Maeve with a deadly high-heeled drop-kick. Maeve twists and bats the foot away, kicking Losien in the stomach as she lands. The two exchange blows briefly, and then break apart.*
Losien: "Impressive. There's more to you than you seem..."
Maeve: "I'm just bursting with surprises, darling..."
Losien: "But then again, I have been around for far longer than you. You are nothing next to me."
Maeve: "You seem to hate me an awful lot for someone you've just met."
Losien: "Some people are just that horrible. Not to mention incompetant."
Maeve: "You're stalling me, aren't you?"
*Losien smiles sweetly.*
Losien: "Just turning the tables, my dear! See how it feels?"
*Maeve looks around to find the impending threat, just in time to see a mouthful of pointed teeth grinning at her. Farr leaps, claws tearing. Maeve falls under the onslaught, her eyes squeezed shut to block out the sight of the killing blows...*
*Smoke rises from a crater in the Arena's battlefield, where MZZT had once stood. Kyle steps through the swirling fog, a victorious grin on his face. He picks up the charred remains of a laptop, turns it over in his hands, and tosses it away. Suddenly, a blackened hand grabs his ankle in a grip like a vise.*
MZZT: "I don't die so easily, slicer."
*Kyle pulls a blaster from a holster at his side.*
Kyle: "Let's see you survive *this*."
*Kyle pulls the trigger, but MZZT is too fast. He rolls out of the way, leaping to his feet. With a yell, he tackles Kyle, spearing his shoulder into his gut. They hit the ground rolling, each grabbing for the blaster. The blaster flips away from their grasp, tumbling over the edge toward the lava below. The two wrestle it out for a moment, then MZZT leaps away and hits a button on a small device in his hand. Kyle gets up and kicks MZZT in the back, causing him to yelp in pain. Kyle continues kicking him, rolling him toward the cliff-edge. Just as he reaches the edge, MZZT grabs Kyle's foot and twists, sending the StarWars slicer to the muddy ground. The two quickly scramble to their feet, MZZT with his back to the edge of the cliff. Kyle grins at MZZT, the two tattered, dirty figures striking a classic action-movie confrontational pose.*
Kyle: "Say hello to Obi-Wan for me!"
*Kyle leaps at MZZT, causing him to step back involuntarily, back into thin air. MZZT plummets, but miraculously he manages to grab the edge of the cliff. He dangles, hanging by one hand over the bubbling lava far below.*
Kyle: "Blast it! Why won't you die?!"
*Kyle stomps on MZZT's fingers, but he doesn't let go. Again, and again, Kyle brings his booted foot on the bloody fingers, but MZZT refuses to fall. Finally, Kyle pulls out a knife and kneels to chop at his opponent's hand.*
Kyle: "I'm getting very sick of you..."
MZZT: "Likewise. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep my fingers. Ta."
*As Kyle brings down his knife, MZZT lets go of the cliff, and the knife snaps on a rock. MZZT descends flailing toward the molten rock underneath. Kyle stands and turns away.*
Kyle: "That took far too long..."
*Kyle barely finishes his sentence before a high-pitched whine behind him causes him to whirl about in disbelief. MZZT stands there triumphantly, on his battered Missle Boat, floating in hover-mode. MZZT's fierce grin switches to a grimace of anger, and he presses a switch held in his hand. The Missle Boat opens up with both barrels, tearing up the ground around Kyle's feet. Rather than turn and flee, Kyle runs toward
the craft, leaping at MZZT like a madman. He tackles MZZT, and the two punch at each other while holding desparately to the Missle Boat's hull as the craft spirals crazily out of control. Skimming across the Arena's battlefield, plowing combatants aside like a car through a cornfield, the boat skitters wildly as MZZT and Kyle battle fiercely, risking life and limb to deal the other damage. Finally, MZZT clamours to get inside the boat's cockpit, while Kyle grabs his legs and tries to hold him back. MZZT reaches inside and takes hold of the controls.*
MZZT: "Let's finish this..."
*The Missle Boat sails into the air, and seems to hang there for a moment. Then, the engines cut out and the boat goes dead. It plummets toward the Arena floor along with the rain, falling silently. Kyle stares at MZZT wordlessly.*
MZZT: "Sorry it had to come to this, buddy. May the force be with ya, or whatever."
*With a sickening >>CRUNCH<<, the Missle Boat crashes into the ground. MZZT and Kyle impact with the snaps of breaking bones, and moments before the boat explodes MZZT finds himself hoping that the others can win this fight without him...*
****Ford finishes off Dr. Dor. Note that the death should seem final but still leave a possibility, however improbable, of Dor surviving.****
*Meanwhile, Cool Matty and a decidedly Evil Janitor Bob trade blows in a battle fiercer that one would have expected. Cool Matty's pyromancy would seem to give him the edge, but he has underestimated the deadly effectiveness of the Way of the Janitor. With ease J-Bob twists out of the way of Cool Matty's attacks, deflecting flames with deft sweeps of his broom, spritzing Cool Matty in the eyes with industrial strength Windex to blind him, seeming to be everywhere at once. Blows rain down on Cool Matty, but every once in a while an edge of a fireball catches the Janitor off-guard, scorching his uniform and burning him badly. Both of them are hardly recognisable, their faces and bodies beaten, burned, and torn so badly. A concentrated spear of white fire lashes out from Cool Matty and sears Janitor Bob's side. Janitor Bob reacts with a swift pirouette and crack to Cool Matty's head with the end of his pushbroom. CM is sent reeling.*
J-Bob: "I'm not taking it anymore! You people are filthy, dirty animals! Do you think the world just cleans itself? No! Those of us who actually
care work our butts off for you!"
CM: "Listen, buddy, I have no idea what you're talking about! I'm a fairly clean guy! I put my garbage in the garbage can!"
J-Bob: "Yes, but when was the last time you emptied that garbage can into the dumpster? Huh? When was the last time you peeled the gum off the bottom of a chair, or mopped up someone else's vomit? Well I'm not taking it anymore! You can all just up and
die!!"
*Janitor Bob unleashes a furious flurry of blows, his pushbroom whirring through the air like a giant dragonfly. Bones break and blood flies under his assault, and Cool Matty is forced to the ground.*
CM: "You're crazy, man! If you kill everybody who isn't an obsessive clean freak, you'll kill the whole world! Think about the children!"
J-Bob: "Children? Children?! I hate them more than anybody! Always dropping their food, breaking things, drawing on things, trekking mud over carpet, everything! I'll throw them all in a vat of acid! That oughta teach them! Haaaahahahahaaa!"
CM: "If that's the way you feel, then I'm sorry, but this just isn't worth it. I'm already supposed to be dead."
*Blue flame gathers around Matty's hands, growing hotter and hotter, turning white, then clear, as ripples of pure heat emanate from him. The flames grow unbearably, scorching everything, until finally they reach a crescendo. Cool Matty leaps towards Janitor Bob...*
*Across the battlefield, Tracer lashes out and cracks Cooked Haggis across the jaw with a right hook. Both are looking torn up and ragged, Tracer with a black eye and a cut on his cheek, Cooked Haggis with his tuxedo jacket off and his carefully slicked-back hair all in disarray. Cooked Haggis spits blood, wipes his mouth, and feints a left punch. Tracer blocks, and Haggis switches up and crunches into Tracer with a swift right-hand uppercut. Tracer stumbles back to the edge, teetering over the long drop to the lava below. Haggis is about to push him over, when an explosion of pure white flame shakes the whole Arena, rising in a feiry white dome that incinerates demonspawn and KNeLL troops alike, sending flocks of others sailing through the air away. Another chunk of the Arena roof, shaken loose, plummets to the ground, smashing into a cluster of battling KNeLL troops, and killing off the last remaining elite Death KNeLL. The shaking causes Tracer to lose his footing, and fall backwards towards oblivion.*
Haggis: "See you in hell, you uppity commoner!"
*Tracer's fist clamps onto Cooked Haggis's torn lapel, yanking him forward.*
Tracer: "Care to join me, you pretentious prick?"
*The two plummet toward the lava, locked in a deadly embrace. Above, the battle continues unabated -- though deaths on both sides are mounting, this makes those who remain fight even harder, propelled by forces beyond their control. High in the stands, JediKirby the White and Erik, the Avatar of the NeS, stand in a small area of relative safety, JediKirby easily destroying any demon beast that dares venture near. Erik himself merely stands, staring back down at the battlefield, to where one solitary figure stands motionless in the midst of chaos. The EeP's Avatar, Vinny, turns a gloating eye up to the distant Erik, and grins. Erik's face is taught, his jaw clenched, as if pain was wracking his body. Suddenly, he lets out a grunt and falls to his knees, clutching his chest. Vinny laughs and looks away as the Arena seems to grow darker, as if the very presence of such a great evil were draining the light from the room.*
*Down amidst the chaos, two odd figures do battle. Absolver and theOtter, locked in mortal combat, in something that looks like a bizzare combination of fight scenes from the Matrix and the Three Stooges. Flips, kicks, and martial-arts moves are followed up with eye-pokes, head-bops, and nyuks. But this is no laughing matter, for the participants are deadly serious, waging battle as best they know how.*
Absolver: "Freak!"
Otter: "Loon!"
Absolver: "Weirdo!"
Otter: "Lunatic!"
*Absolver punches Otter in the face, and his sunglasses go flying. For the first time, Otter's eyes are exposed to the world.*
Otter: "You shouldn't have done that..."
*Otter leaps forward, slamming into Absolver, pinning him to the ground. Absolver struggles, but Otter knees him in the gut. TheOtter, teeth bared, puts his palm on Absolver's chest.*
Otter: "Vulcan Flame!"
*As Absolver gasps for his last breaths, and his lungs fill with flame, one last Hero falls to the ground. Gebohq, propelled by a kick delivered by Maybechild, falls and rolls, clutching his sword to him. He breathes heavily, exerted from avoiding Maybchild's blows, but unable to bring himself to return her attacks. He staggers to his feet, wildly stumbling away from a slash of her switchblade.*
Maybe: "Stand still and fight me, you incompetant idiot! You coward!"
Gebohq: "I can't, Maybe, I know you, or I knew you, and I can't. Not to you."
Maybe: "Of course you can't! You're a coward and a fool! What happens if you don't resist me? You die, that's what! Do you want to die?"
Gebohq: "I would rather die than kill one of my friends..."
Maybe: "And let the world be destroyed because of it! That's not morals, Geb, that's cowardice! You can't do it because you're afraid!"
Gebohq: "I don't care what it is, I can't..."
*Maybechild slashes at Geb again, and again. Tears stream down her cheeks as she lashes out, and Geb merely backs away and dodges, never even attempting to counter attack.*
Geb: "Maybe..."
Maybe (crying): "You were never a leader, Geb! You could never see what needed to be done! You relied on those around you to help you! On me! You have to fight me, Geb! Fight me or you'll all die!"
Geb: "Maybe... I can't! I won't fight you! I... I love you!"
*Maybechild stands still for a moment, staring at Geb through tear-filled eyes, her switchblade hanging neglected by her side. Slowly, her eyes begin to clear, and it seems as if a heavy weight lifts from her.*
Maybe: "Geb? I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-"
*A zap and a flash of light, and Maybechild is knocked away from Geb, to the ground. Geb runs to her, but when he lays a hand on her, he finds her cold, hard. She has become a granite statue, lying on the ground, face frozen in a grimace of pain. Geb looks up, and there stands Gates, a malicious grin on his face, a smoking plothole-gun in his hand. He blows the smoke away with an arrogant gesture.*
Gates: "Oh I'm so sorry, Gebohq! But I couldn't let her escape my master's control! You do understand, don't you Gebbie dearest?"
Geb: "You little son of a..."
*Geb starts toward Gates, fists clenched in anger.*
Gates: "Not so fast, Geb! Krig! Sic 'im!"
*From a smoking crater left by one of the many small explosions that have littered the battle, a beast strikes. Covered in mud from the Arena floor, splattered with the blood of his enemies, Krig the Viking looks barely even human anymore. His hair and beard matted with filth, his teeth bared in a feral snarl, Krig lashes out with his red-slick axe, slashing at Geb's head. Geb is barely able to hurl himself out of the way, the axe tearing a long gash in his shoulder. He falls into the mud, and immediately another blow lands beside him, and another on the other side, as Geb twists desparately out of the way. Krig raises his axe over his horn-helmed head, and lets out a roar of rage.*
Krig: "rrrrrrRRRAAGH! SMASH!"
Geb: "Krig, no!"
*The axe-blows fall like hail, and somehow, desparately, Geb manages to dodge, twist, and parry his way clear of the worst of them, displaying an agility never seen before in this long-haired Hero. He manages to plant a foot on Krig's chest and push him away just long enough to scramble to his feet, and the spitting ball of fury is upon him again. With no time to speak, think, or even breathe, Geb parries and deflects and nimbly squeaks away from the blows which come within hair's breadths of removing his head or other vital organs. Krig roars incoherantly, consumed in a berserker rage, his axe whistling through the air seeking the taste of flesh. A maniacal Gates looks on in delight as Geb barely has time to block one slash before another one is hurled at him, the axe's blade banging and shaking his sword as Geb is driven back under the hailstorm.*
Insert TLTE's scene with Evil Losien HERE!
*High above, lightning flashes in the blackening storm, and howling gusts of gale-force wind hurl raindrops like iron spikes down onto the Arena's grim contestants. Even higher in the stratosphere, where the churning clouds are darkest, another battle is taking place. The five Protectors of the Plotfractal, trapped in the icy dark clutches of Darkside, do battle with the very incarnation of evil. The clouds tremble and flash from the tremendous energies being unleashed within, as five of the most powerful beings in all of the NeS bring their full strength to bear on this single foe. But Darkside, his power swollen from the great flood of evil being unleashed in the climactic battle below, refuses to give an inch. Displays of light and flame burst forth from the five, and clash against the pillars of dark cast up by the many. Thunderous explosions shatter the sky, battering the adversaries on either side, burning the stench of death into the air. Ares, his armour battered and broken, his hair wild and flying, clenches his teeth in fury and spits the blood from his mouth.*
Ares: "You insignifigant piece of filth! I should have killed you on page 1!"
Darkside: "Oh, but you tried, Ares! You hit us with everything within you, and still you failed! You are but one lone being, your power limited by your mind! We are many, for we are the Darkside! You are five against a legion! Why do you resist so long?"
Morris: "What, you want us to give up and die? For an amalgamation of thousands of souls into a single being, you're not very smart..."
Darkside: "
Millions of souls, mortal! Our numbers, our power, grow by the moment, while your's weakens! Your fall is inevitable!"
*Morris snarls and lunges toward Darkside's shifting ethereal form, breaking through the ghostly cold tendrils holding him, his all-consuming maw wide. Too late, he realises his mistake -- Darkside's goading has caused him to let down his guard, and he has rushed right into a trap. From all sides, the hazy screaming shadows of souls lost to Darkside's clutches descend upon the omnivorous feline in a frenzied struggle, like a pack of jackals upon their prey. Morris sinks from view, leaving Ares, Jim7, Rob, and Cthulu trapped in Darkside's clutches. For a moment, they seem torn, and then Ares clenches his fist and summons a blazing ball of fire around it.*
Ares: "We fight to the last man! We will never surrender to the dull chains of Plot!"
*As the others rally behind Ares, readying for one last stand in the sky, Jim7 manages to make his way through Darkside's gripping ghostly tendrils to Ares' side, his long dark hair whipping about in the winds.*
Jim7: "Ares, old buddy. We're running out of time, and I don't think we're going to survive this one. Sorry about this."
Ares: "What are you talking about?"
Jim7: "This."
*Jim7's face suddenly twists into a leering, demonic visage, as he pulls a wicked-looking knife from somewhere and stabs Ares in the chest, punching through his battered armour straight into his immortal heart. A sickly green venom spreads from the skull-handled knife's crooked blade, through Ares' veins, spreading under his skin like a coursing, living thing. Ares gapes wordlessly, trying to speak, his voice trapped within his lungs. As the venom spreads up his neck and into his face, his eyes focus for one last time at Jim7's face, burning with rage. And then, awareness slips from him, his eyes roll up into his head, and Ares falls back, lifeless and limp. Jim7 turns to face Darkside.*
Jim7: "I'm no fool, Darkside! Let me join you, and victory will be yours all the sooner!"
Rob: "Jim! What are you doing?!"
Jim7: "I know a losing fight when I see it! Better to be a slave and live, than be a fool and die!"
Darkside: "The dark one speaks wisdom. We may let you live, if you turn. But death awaits you if you do not!"
Rob: "Then at least we die well!"
Jim7: "Fine, then. You die!"
*The thunderclouds resonate with the final blows of battle, and the last of the Protectors of the Plotfractal perish under the screaming souls of Darkside. In the Arena, the avatar Erik's eyes go wide and his face pales, as the NeS weakens under the assault of the Ever-ending Plot. Above, the black clouds lower menacingly, spreading wide from horizon to horizon, Darkside's power no longer occupied with battle and spreading like an icy cold wind. And like a falling star, a certain Father of Lies descends back down toward the Arena.*
*In the Arena's stands, an ashen Erik grabs onto JediKirby's robe, hand trembling from the effort. He speaks, and his voice is weak, barely audible over the Arena's resounding battle.*
Erik: "Help me... I don't feel well... I feel... stretched. Frayed... at the edges. I can't... hold it together... much... longer..."
JediKirby: "Don't worry, I'll defend you! I won't fail again!"
Erik: "No... The NeS... frayed... failing... Ever...ending Plot is... tearing. Burning at me like... acid. It hurts!"
JediKirby: "What can I do to--"
*Erik interrupts JediKirby the White with a raw scream of agony, falling to the ground and writhing in pain. JediKirby's eyes widen, and he looks around for the cause of this new attack. His gaze is drawn down to the Arena floor, where events are unfolding at a frenzied pace. The First False Evil, taking advantage of TLTE's distraction, has returned to the side of Gates and the EeP's Avatar, Vinny. The three have confered quietly, as battle raged about them, and now TFFE stands, hands outstretched, wind tossing his thin hair about, a small black remote trigger device in his fist. At first, nothing happens. And then, it begins.*
*In Australia, under the desert, where Ares once trained an army of clowns, old machinery rumbles to life. Lights flash, sirens blare, and the crackling energy of harnessed White Plotholes begins to fill the engines. Above first Australia, and then the world, their effects begin to be seen. Lights in the sky, random things changing, clouds taking the forms of sharp-toothed birds and serpentine elephants, things from nightmares and bad acid-trips. Trees begin to moan and swat at each other with jagged leaves, fields of grass become fields of knives, then fields of gnarled fingers reaching to the sky, then barren fields of multicoloured mud and sand. In the Arena, the crackling glow of several White Plotholes surrounds TFFE, who cackles madly, caught up in the power. The Arena itself twists and changes under the influence of the White Plotholes, replaying scenes from its past. Crowds of onlookers fills the stands momentarily, cheering on the battle between Ares and RobX. A flock of rubber duckies fills the sky, changing into pigeons and then robotic rabbit-walkers before dissapearing again. Briefly, the Arena takes on the appearance of a great Temple, a cathedral filled with stained-glass and beautiful murals adorning the walls. It returns to its former self, but twisting and shifting constantly, the ground rolling like a ship on the sea, the walls moving away and then back again, all manner of impossible things. TFFE stares about, wide-eyed, yelling at the top of his lungs.*
TFFE: "Do you see that, Last True Evil? You have no defence against it! It's a White Plothole, TLTE! Thousands of them, all over the earth, and I control them all! You thought you could destroy me, you all did! But who has the last laugh now? Who is the Last True Evil now? You tell me, TLTE! A White Plothole is an explosion of all possible events occuring at the same time, you know -- and I control them! It's all me!
I control every one of them! And there's nothing you can do! By weeding out those events I don't like, I can effectively control all of reality! What did opposing the Ever-ending Plot get you, TLTE? What did opposing
ME get you? You're inferior to me, TLTE!
Inferior!"
Insert brief segment with TLTE noticing what TFFE is doing, dealing with Losien or whatever, and joining the battle with TFFE again.
*Back on the ground, as Gebohq desparately fends off the berserker-mad viking, the malevolent Ever-ending Post, Vinny, looks on, his eyes distant, contemplative. He doesn't even seem to notice Geb scrambling to get away from Krig, slipping and sliding in the rain-drenched mud. Lightning flashes, and thunder cracks and rolls, as the Arena seems to shudder and shift its form from time to time from the White Plotholes. The storm rages on.*
*On the battlefield itself, the number of corpses is beginning to outnumber the number of the living, as the battle begins to wind to a close. The KNeLL forces have been decimated, almost entirely wiped out, but not before destroying a large part of the EeP's demonic army. In the centre of the Arena, Bill Gates steps closer to the imposing Vinny, his rain-soaked hair plastered to his skull.*
Gates: "Master.... sir! May I speak?"
Vinny: "What?"
Gates: "Sir, the Avatar is still alive... shouldn't we kill him? He could still be trouble."
Vinny: "Erik is useless at this point. But you are right. We cannot have any loose ends in this. You know how Writers are. We cannot give them even the slightest opportunity."
Gates: "Yes, Master."
*The EeP, Vinny, raises a hand, and immediately the demonspawn stop in their tracks just as they finish off the last of the KNeLL. Vinny motions toward the stands, and immediately the hell-beasts rise into the air, a flock of twisted nightmares, flapping and clawing through the air toward Erik, who is lying in a fetal position between the rows of seats. JediKirby the White stands over him, robes flowing in the gusting wind. Erik sputters, and groans, and lifts his head slightly to speak to JediKirby.*
Erik: "Jedi... Kirb... vital... keep safe..."
JediKirby: "I will keep you safe, my liege. Do not worry."
Erik: "No... I..."
JediKirby: "There is no time. Keep still, I'll deal with them."
*JediKirby looks up at the oncoming horde, his round face set in a determined scowl. As the black hordes draw near, swooping low in anticipation of attack, the round robed figure pulls something from his robes. A shockwave of white light explodes from it, incinerating the nearer demonspawn and pushing back the further ones. JK stands defiantly, pudgy fist raised above his head, lifting high a glowing torus shape.*
JediKirby the White: "Back, servants of death! Fly, or face your doom! For before you this day stands the last Druid of Doughnutdelf, Guardian of the Secrets of the Ancients, Holder of the true holy Doughnut! The Elder Pastry, made according to the recipies of the Ancients, the Druids of long ago! Flee before me, or be destroyed!"
*Down on the Arena proper, Gates looks to the EeP, a worried expression on his face.*
Gates: "Er... This does not bode well. Perhaps we should act, master?"
Vinny: "It's a trick. There are no more Druids of Doughnutdelf -- I made sure of that myself. This is an imposter."
Gates: "Uh... oh. Ok."
*Vinny makes a gesture, and the remaining demonspawn rally and swoop down upon round glowing white figure. White light flashes from the Doughnut in his grasp, and the beasts blaze into nothingness in mere instants, large numbers at a time. JediKirby rises into the air, grasping the Doughnut in his fist, white light flashing to and fro, burning demonspawn all about as he soars toward the Arena's centre. The glow from the Doughnut heightens, brightening the whole of the Arena in an ethereal wash of white, driving back the darkness that has settled over it. Scorching the last of the demonspawn in the Arena out of existance, JK the White descends toward the Arena ground and the EeP.*
Gates: "Uh... sir... maybe now..."
Vinny: "Have a little faith, you pathetic idiot."
JediKirby: "I will destroy you, Ever-ending Plot! I have sworn to protect the NeS and its avatar -- the Last of the Druids shall see you dead!"
Vinny: "How amusing. With a few little powers, constrained by the rules of your little world, you would destroy me, who controls Plot itself? I destroyed the Druids of Doughnutdelf, and I will destroy you as well. The power of the Plot is beyond what your limited minds can understand."
JediKirby: "The time for words has passed! Show me your powers in battle, evil one!"
Vinny: "As you wish."
*As JK the White readies the Doughnut, Vinny crosses his arms and looks down his nose at JK. For a moment, JediKirby stares at the EeP, wonders why he does not act. And then, with a restrained yelp of surprise, JediKirby's eyes widen in pain. He totters forward a step, wavers, and collapses to the ground, blood oozing from a large gash in his back. Ford stands behind him, teeth bared, holding a long jagged piece of bloody iron in his hands. A ghost of a smile crosses Vinny's lips, and he looks up to where Erik the Avatar of NeS lies now unprotected in the stands. Ford turns his attention to Gebohq, who is wrestling desparately with Krig, holding his arms and trying to keep the axe away from his face. Unnoticed by any of the remaining Evil ones, Jedi Kirby uses the last of his rapidly ebbing strength to raise his face to Geb and whisper in a strained, piercing voice.*
JediKirby: "Geb... Gebohq..."
*Geb, busy wrestling with Krig, spares a glance at JK and gets a helmeted head-butt to the face for his efforts.*
JediKirby: "Geb... the Doughnut. Use the Doughnut... it is the only hope that is left..."
*Geb looks over at JK the White again, and sees the glazed pastry that the round one holds. Unfortunately, Ford also notices and turns to JediKirby. Raising the ragged metal spike again, he plunges it deep into the pudgy Druid's body. JediKirby jerks at the impact, and speaks one last time...*
JediKirby: "The Doughnut..."
*JediKirby goes limp on the rain-soaked ground. Abruptly, a blazing white light emanates from his body, so bright it obscures him from sight and throws Ford back into the mud, the metal spike flying off into a crevasse. When the light passes and the afterimage fades, JediKirby's body is gone, vanished into the ether. All that is left is a lone doughnut, lying in the mud, but surprisingly undirtied. There is absolute silence for a moment, the splash of the rain the only sound to be heard as gloom settles over the Arena once more.*
Krig: "HUNGRY!"
Geb: "No!"
*The hairy Viking leaps from Geb's chest, making a beeline for the dimly shining pastry as fast as his stumpy legs will take him. Geb scrambles to follow, to retrieve the thing that might very well save them all. But Ford, rising mud-covered from the muck, leaps upon Geb, grabbing his throat and choking him. Geb tries to throw him off, continue to the doughnut, but it is too late. Krig reaches the doughnut, grabs it, and lifts it above his head.*
Krig: "Foooood!"
Geb: "Noooooooo!"
Krig: *Gulp!*
[This message has been edited by Gebohq (edited June 18, 2004).]
*Meanwhile, as the battle underneath builds to a crescendo, The Last True Evil and The First Fake Evil tumble and spin above in the icy rain of the thunderstorm, trading vicious blows. Finally, TFFE spins and delivers a crushing punch that sends TLTE rocketing into the atmosphere, only to return moments later.*
TFFE: Don't you feel that it's time to give up? You're inadequate, aged - a relic from when this thread was single figures! I am comparatively young...the world belongs to ME now!
*He grabs his legs and cannonballs toward TLTE, who spins in mid-air, grabbing TFFE's moving form upside down and using the momentum to throw him earthward, smashing through what's left of the Arena's roof, forming a crater in the side of the arena. Other fighters battle past, oblivious, throwing their all into the growing threat of the EeP. TFFE wedges himself out just in time to grasp TLTE's incoming fist and throw them both to the ground.*
TLTE: This is pointless. We mirror each other in skill; it's like trying to get a step ahead of your own reflection!
TFFE: Not quite. The Last True Clones belong to me, now, and it is control of them that will dictate the control of this fight.
*They both rise to their feet. TLTE gazes up; TFFE's words are confirmed. Around the arena, forming a perimeter on its walls, occupying its bleachers, selling popcorn and watered-down drinks on the sidelines, resides an entire TLTE clone army. Thousands upon thousands seem to occupy the area, and from the distant rumbling, it is obvious that more are coming.*
TFFE: You like the support? I invited some friends along to fill the seats. Quite a view of the end of the world, don't you think?
*TLTE focuses. He can begin to feel some waning, latent ability of his screaming for use before it is forever lost. Concentrating all his willpower, he is able to collect a sort of conscious awareness of his clones - he can feel them, empathetically sense their mood. Overwhelmingly, he realises, they are confused. Their feeling for TFFE is indeed one of patient obedience - but TLTE is suddenly aware of viewing himself as suspicious, hesitant even. It isn't the strangest feeling of his life, but it is, safe to say, right up there.*
TLTE: What have you done to them?
TFFE: Nothing more than inform them of your...discretions. How disappointingly, you lost yourself and re-emerged under the pretence of a 'good guy'. You're deluding yourself, TLTE.
TLTE: It's not my fault! I took a look at myself! I fell in love! Speaking of which, where-
TFFE: Love?! LOVE??? You are a villain! You swoon at the heroines, shoot at them and once in a while, you kidnap them and hold an abortive marriage foiled at the altar by the heroes! You don't fall in love!
TLTE: Which is why this 'evil' thing would never work out. I'm a romantic.
TFFE: The Romantics are all dead, TLTE. You can join them.
*He strikes like a rattlesnake, lashing out in an explosive punch which TLTE barely blocks. They circle the arena, truly mirror images, watched silently by the clone TLTE army. TLTE begins to detect, with his strange sixth sense, a kind of wonderment and confusion from his clones; it is clear they do not know which one to trust. Unfortunately, he focuses too long on these thoughts, and is hammered by TFFE. TLTE drops to the ground, and instantly catches his chin on TFFE's boot, sending him rolling further away.*
TFFE: Too late, TLTE. You're no longer focused; you cannot hope to win.
*Another kick, and TLTE rolls again. Suddenly, a not-too-distant heat surrounds him, and he realises that he is close to the lava. In his weakened state, he will not be able to-*
TFFE: DIE!
*Yet another kick, and TLTE cries out in pain. He is almost over the edge. TLTE thinks.*
TLTE's Internal Monologue: OK, options. Can't fight - too injured, TFFE too fast. Can't run - this is fight-or-die stuff, here. Can't call for help - EeP too much of a burden for others. I can only rely on myself-
*His train of thought hits the emergency brake, as out of the corner of his hazy vision he spots the TLTE army in the crowd.*
TLTE: Or rather, I can only rely on myselves...
*Despite himself, despite the growing heat and the constant kicks to his side, TLTE focuses, bending all of his willpower to his global consciousness. The TLTEs of the crowd stop all of a sudden, squinting and clutching their heads as if victims of mass migraine. At that moment though, TFFE lunges with a final soccer-style kick and knocks TLTE over the edge, who grabs onto the ever-handy small jutting out section of rock.*
TFFE: It is done. Screw whatever purpose the EeP has for you - I am killing you now.
TLTE: No.
*TFFE moves to kick again, but is grabbed by a rough hand. He spins, only to see TLTE punch him in the face. Feigning extreme disorientation, he snaps back and throws his foe over into the lava, only to see many hundred more standing patiently behind him.*
TFFE: No...it can't be...
*TLTE flexes and leaps over the lip of the precipice, landing in front of TFFE, grabbing him by his collar. TFFE screams.*
TLTE: For I am The Last True Evil, if not in intent than in name, and I claim that which has always been mine; my heritage.
TFFE: No! This new world is mine!
TLTE: You are False. You are the First, and now I proclaim you the Last False Evil.
TFFE: No! NO-
*TLTE throws him into the crowd of TLTEs, who grinning, descend on him. Inhuman shrieks can be heard from in the crowd. TLTE stands upright, born again of purpose. The moment lasts for only a second, and then he staggers and falls to the ground, unconcious from his wounds.*
*On the other side of the Arena, Krig chomps down the holy pastry, the Doughnut of the Druids of Doughnutdelf in one giant bite, and swallows mightily. Ford slams Geb to the ground, holding him there, and Geb gasps for air, able only to make constricted gurgling sounds. Krig blinks for a moment, shakes his head, and burps. Then he looks at Ford and Geb, and his eyes widen fiercely.*
Krig: "You no hurt friend! Krig SMASH!!"
Geb: "Uh-oh..."
*Krig barrels toward Geb and Ford, his axe at the ready like a baseball bat. Geb turns his head away and closes his eyes, knowing he is unable to dodge this time. Krig reaches them, and his axe swings forth. The blade sinks into Ford's abdomen, lifting him off of Geb and sending him twisting like a ragdoll into the air to land with a splash in a murky puddle some distance away. Krig turns to Geb and stares at him with bared teeth and twitching eye.*
Krig: "Friend Gebbing all right? Krig hope not hurt bad..."
Geb: "Krig? Why aren't you trying to kill me anymore?"
Krig: "Krig not know. Krig eat tasty, not want smash friends anymore."
Geb: "The Doughnut! Krig, that was supposed to be our only hope!"
Krig: "Krig do bad?"
Geb: "I don't know, Krig... I don't know anything anymore."
Gates: "Good. Then you won't mind when I dispatch our traitorous little friend, here."
*Bill Gates steps closer to Geb and Krig, his plothole pistol aimed at Krig. Gebohq clenches his fist.*
Geb: "Gates, you slime--"
Gates: "Shut up, you worm! You've been a thorn in my side for too long! Enough is enough!"
*Gates points his plothole gun at Geb, but before he can fire, he is knocked over by a very hairy Viking cannonball.*
Krig: "KRIIIG SMAAAASH!!!"
Gates: "Augh!"
*Gates hits the ground rolling, and scrambles to his feet as he runs to get away from Krig. Krig comes after him with his bloody axe above his head, snarling and snapping ferociously. Gates brings up his pistol to fire at Krig, but Krig is too close. A swipe of the axe removes Gates' pistol hand, and the return swipe removes his head. Gates' body falls to the ground like a sack of wet rags, and Krig kicks Gates' head as hard as he can. It sails over the ledge like a soccer ball, and into the lava below. Vinny, the EeP, walks calmly to Krig's side, as Krig spins and snarls at the interloper.*
Vinny: "Though he was an idiot and a fool, that man had power and connections in this world. I could have used him after this battle, to finally destroy your pathetic NeS. But you had to kill him, and now I am forced to play a part in these events myself. You have no idea how angry that makes me, Viking."
Krig: "You bad. You make friends get death! You make Krig bad, too. You make Krig sad."
Vinny: "Yes, you imbecilic slack-wit, I orchestrated those occurences. Everybody else but you has figured that out by now, moron. No wonder it was so easy to trick you into becoming my most loyal slave! You have no mind of your own!"
Krig: "RAAAGH! YOU DIE!!!"
*The EeP smiles and calmly steps to one side as Krig lunges forward, letting his axe whistle harmlessly through the air and splatter into the mud. Krig attacks again and again, furiously slashing at the EeP, but each time Vinny has carefully stepped out of the way just before impact, calmly, as if he can see the Viking's moves before they happen. Finally, he stops toying with him and stands still, raising one arm before him as the axe descends upon his chest. The axe contacts Vinny's arm and shatters, shards of metal flying in all directions. Krig's eyes are still widening in surprise as Vinny strikes him with a carefully placed punch to the chest, followed by a flurry of lightning-fast punches that culminate in one powerful kick, sending Krig sailing through the air and coming to a splashing halt in a deep puddle.*
*A few yards away, Ford lies in the muck, clutching his stomach tightly, as if to hold his insides inside. He watches Krig with an expression of astonishment, and mutters to himself.*
Ford: "It can't be! The prophecy is coming true! I thought it was a bunch of hooey -- but it's happening!"
Geb: "What's happening?"
Ford: "...with horns on his head, and beard that is red, he lifts up the broken axe-handle!"
Geb: "Uh... what?"
*Krig rises from the puddle, leaning and wavering like a drunk. He stumbles forward, back towards the EeP, who regards him with a cold sneer. He stumbles, falls to hands and knees, and picks up the handle of his battle-axe, the double blades shattered and useless. Baring bloody teeth, he explodes into a kamikaze charge at Vinny, swinging his axe-handle.*
*Ford attempts to get to his feet.*
Ford: "He must be stopped! The prophecy will interfere with the EeP's plans!"
*As Ford deleriously half-crawls toward Krig, grabbing a demon-spear from a corpse, Geb stands unnoticed behind him, looking sad.*
Geb: "I wish I didn't have to do this, Ford. I'm sorry."
*Geb raises his sword, and brings the pommel down on Ford's head. There is a crack, and Ford slumps to the mud, his long hair stained with red. Geb looks at him for a moment, then tears his eyes away, turning his attention to the EeP -- just in time to see the EeP deliver a kick that knocks Krig's head back, sending his helmet flying. Krig stumbles for a moment, but before he can fall Vinny grabs his axe-handle and smashes him in the face with it. Blood flies, and Krig tumbles to the ground, not to rise again.*
*Gebohq watches, horrified, as his small friend falls, leaving Geb alone on the battlefield with the EeP. The EeP looks down at his defeated opponent dispassionately, seeming not to care one way or another that he's won. He drops the axe-handle on top of the motionless bundle of Viking rag, and turns to stare with piercing eyes at Gebohq. Geb stands motionless, unable to think what to do, as the EeP begins to slowly stride toward him.*
Geb: "Where to run -- no. Stand and fight -- no. Crap. What to do..."
Voice: Gebohq...
Geb: "Aaagghh! Who's there?"
Voice: Gebohq... hope is not lost.
Geb: "What are you talking about? I'm the only Hero left, and in a few moments I'll be dead!"
*Geb looks over at the EeP, who is taking his time, slowly walking in a menacing fashion.*
Voice: Have faith, Gebohq. There is a way.
Geb: "A way? What way? Krig ate the Doughnut! And now he's dead! There's nothing left!"
Voice: NeS still has hope left in it, Gebohq. But it will not be for long. The Ever-ending Plot intends to destroy what I have created, unravel it beyond repair. Nothing can stop him.
Geb: "Then it's hopeless!"
Voice: End the NeS, Geb. Finish it before it falls wholly under the rule of the Ever-ending Plot. Good must endure to the End.
Geb: "End it? What do you mean, end it? What are you talking about? Who are you?"
Voice: Have faith, Geb. End the NeS.
Geb: "What are you talking about? Tell me!"
EeP: "Talking to yourself, Geb? Finding the solitude a little much, are you?"
*Geb looks up in fear to see the distinguished form of Vinny only a few strides away, approaching with a calm, dispassionate expression on his face. Like a doctor about to cut a man open with detatched clinical coldness.*
EeP: "The viking was amusing to defeat at his own game, but brute force was never my favorite method of operation. I prefer... subtler ways."
Geb: "Villians never win, EeP."
EeP: "No? You've never read a book or seen a movie where the hero dies? Where the villian gets away scot-free? What about a movie where the protagonist is a villian? It is not a common occurance, I concur, but it happens, Gebohq. When the plot is just right, when it makes dramatic sense to do so, the villian sometimes emerges victorious. How was I able to defeat your viking in battle? Physical combat is his greatest ability, he is unparalleled in the brutal savagary of war. It is his defining characteristic. But you see, your so-called Never-ending Story now has a plot. And in that plot, it was fitting and ironic that your viking should be defeated at his own game, and that it should be his demise. The Never-ending Story will end, because it has become fitting irony that it do so. The plot has locked into place, Geb, you cannot change that. NeS will end."
*Echoes of the mysterious voice whisper in Geb's memory. End the NeS. Geb looks around, trembling, seeking escape but not really expecting to find any. Have faith. Abruptly, Geb's trembling stops and his hand clenches into a fist.*
Geb: "It will never end!"
*Geb leaps forward and swings at Vinny, his sword curving to meet Vinny's neck. What happens next is unclear, but with a twist and a chop Vinny is now holding Geb's sword, and Geb is lying on the ground under Vinny's foot. Vinny clenches his jaw, the sword plunges, and Geb somehow pulls himself to one side. The blade, aimed for his heart, instead pierces Geb's arm, pinning him to the muddy ground. Geb yells in pain, clutching his arm as Vinny pulls the sword out again, visibly perturbed. He grips the sword with both hands now, and rams it down at Geb's chest. Just as he does, a tremendous clap of thunder rocks the Arena, causing the sword to swerve and leaving a long gash along Geb's ribs. As Geb cries out in pain, the EeP looks to the sky to see the cause of this thunder. A dark figure descends, wreathed in blackness, like a ragged dark prince returning to his throne.*
Jim7: "It is finished, my master. The Protectors of the Plotfractal are no more."
EeP: "You? Why do you call me master?"
Jim7: "Ask Darkside. He'll tell you. I have chosen the side that will win."
*The Ever-ending Plot looks up at the black sky, and the sky glowers back. Vinny's eyes return to Jim7, a frown furrowing his brow.*
EeP: "So you betrayed them. This was... unexpected."
Jim7: "Why fight for my power and my kingdom when it is already lost? There is no hope of defeating you. Better to share power than to have none at all."
EeP: "Power is overrated. It is useless without influence, and that I have complete mastery of. You have made the right choice."
*Geb lies entirely still, hoping he's been forgotten. Jim7 approaches the EeP, and kneels before him.*
Jim7: "I swear an oath of fealty to you -- on my honour and my life, I will serve you for as long as I live. May it be so."
EeP: "Yes, may it be so. Rise, Jim7. Already, I am incorporating you into the plot."
*Jim7 rises, as a gust of rain blows his hair back dramatically, and a flash of lightning illuminates his grim face in harsh white. A grin splits his face, dark and menacing, as he leans forward to whisper in the EeP's ear.*
Jim7: "Never trust the prince of lies.... Vinny!"
*Suddenly, a dagger is in Jim7's hand, stabbing into Vinny's chest. Vinny is thrown back from the force of the blow, but amazingly, he rises from the ground, still holding Geb's sword. The two face each other down for a moment, Jim's face full of rage. Jim throws his dagger to the ground, and produces a sword from behind his back, a wicked-looking thing of gleaming black metal and a hilt made of bones. Jim bares his teeth.*
Jim7: "This time, Vinny, you're going to stay dead!"
*As Geb watches in pure amazement the two powerful beings join in battle, their swords shining as they dance in the small amount of light from the moon that has found it's way through the storm clouds almost as if the swords themselves were alive. In the stands, a pale hand reaches up and grabs the back of a seat, and Erik pulls himself up to watch, looking on the edge of passing out from exhaustion.*
*The battle rages back and forth, a furious exchange of blows, each combatant giving and receiving an equal number of wounds. It seems to drag on for hours as the two evenly matched superpowers duke it out. Then, without warning, Vinny gasps and falls to his knees, clutching his chest where the dagger pierced him.*
EeP: "What... how..."
*Jim7 grins.*
Jim7: "Poisoned dagger, old man. A poison of my own making, I might add. A god-killer."
EeP: "This won't kill me..."
Jim7: "The poison is just to weaken you. I'll do the rest."
*Jim7 walks up to Vinny and grabs him by the face.*
Jim7: "I share my kingdom with no man!"
*It was just the moment the EeP needed. With effort, he hefts his sword and runs it through Jim7's leg. Jim7 falls to the gorund in pain but still able to fight, he knocks Vinny back long enough to get to his feet. The two continue fighting for several moments more, clumsily from the wounds, each drawing blood several times. And then the worst possible thing happens. Vinny falls to the ground from a hard knock, right beside Jim7's dropped dagger. He grabs it, just as Jim nears, and shoves it right into Jim7's chest.*
EeP: "It looks like I win.. sorry it had to end this way..."
Jim7: (struggling to speak) "Don't... be so quick to speak....
UINVJKAFBNKJFJNHGBJFJKJDAPIODJFLNHGKIUHN JKIUDHUIFGHGDFJKGDTHNGU GUVBIKIDHNGFGKJSIFUDVBGHSBEIDUVBJNIUBVDFHNG FDJBLBGHUFDHGFD GFGBKJHFHYUVBIFDIGNHUSDUFIGH FKJGNDFJGUID "
*With those words, spoken in the ancient language, the ground begins to rumble and quake. A crack appears underneath Vinny, who looks down in horror, apparently unable to move. The crack widens, and shadows begin to seep through, living moving darkness reaching up from the depths of the pit, carressing and curling about Vinny's ankles. Then, with an ear-splitting crack, the ground rips wide open under Vinny, and the shadows themselves reach up from the yawning chasm and latch onto Vinny, tearing and pulling him into pieces before dragging him back under with them. The rift closes, and the screams fade, and it is quiet.*
Jim7: "It's done.... "
*Jim7 staggers, and falls to the ground dead at Geb's feet. Geb looks down at him, wide-eyed, not sure what to feel. With a flash of some cool flame and smoke
effects, Jim7's body vanishes from sight, as if it never was. Geb teeters on his feet, clutching his wounds, and looks around at the silent, body-filled Arena that fluctuates uneasily around him.*
Unidentified Voice: "So, comrade, the world is saved again?"
*Geb turns to see TLTE walking towards him, bruised and dishevelled but otherwise looking fine.*
Geb: "TLTE. Good to see you made it."
*TLTE, bruised and battered, staggers over to Gebohq, who is comparatively barely able to stand up. Together they survey the carnage; aside from the quiet shuffling of the TLTE ensemble in the crowds, all is deadly still. The visual display, however, rages on. Bodies of all size, gender and description litter the scorched Arena. Looking like a very authentic impression of Armaggeddon, the two heroes stare about themselves sadly. After a time, Gebohq steps forward, bends down, and picks up the sword lying where Vinny had been.*
Geb: "I think this is yours -- I pulled it from the EeP's chest in the Hall of Heroes."
TLTE: "Keep it, comrade. I have another."
*The two Heroes stand wearily side by side for a moment, quiet. Thunder rumbles in the distance -- the sky is still black from Darkside's presence. The scattered bodies seem to stare back at them in accusation.*
Gebohq: "To continue...like this? How?"
TLTE: "The NeS is a zany piece, or at least it's meant to be...what happened to it?"
Gebohq: "It must have been the EeP. Its influence has actually changed the genre of the NeS."
TLTE: "My God...what would Lenin do in such a situation?"
*They sit down amid the rubble, staring into the twilight. Their future, it seems to them, has been bought at a terrible price.*
TLTE: "So this is what the end of the world looks like, tovarish."
Gebohq: "TLTE, forgive me but..."
*TLTE turns to look at him.*
TLTE: "But what?"
Gebohq: "I didn't think it would be you."
*There is a pause.*
Gebohq: "If the NeS survived, I would have to be here...but you? Krig, maybe...or Ford...Tracer, Antestarr...hell, even Dart Wader sitting next to me would have tied loose ends up, in a comedic sense! But you don't seem like..."
TLTE: "...like a survivor."
*He grins. With all of the dead around him, it looks like the most bitter smile in the world.*
TLTE: "It's OK, you're right. I'm not meant to be. Still, I imagine now that it's just me, you and my clone army, you don't mind the companionship?"
*They laugh, in spite of themselves.*
Gebohq: "What do we do now, TLTE? They're all dead...the culture, the spirit of the NeS died with them..."
*They both glance over at Erik, who is still alive, but looking emaciated, pale, and not at all charismatic.*
Gebohq: "What do we do?"
TLTE: "The same as we always did. You'll lead the NeS. I'll follow you. And everyone else will do what they can."
Gebohq: "It won't be easy."
TLTE: "It never was. But this is the Never-Ending Story, not the Walk in the Park, or the Piece of Cake. Neither of them roll off the tongue, do they?"
*They are about to laugh again when a shrieking cackle beats them to it. Both of them raise their swords to see a spectral mist swirling and rolling in front of them. It is undeniably forming the shape of the EeP.*
EeP: "You cannot defeat me so easily, you fools! I am the end of this story, contradiction or not!"
*He rushes at them, screeching, but passes straight through them. TLTE and Gebohq watch as the demonic plot rushes through them insubsantially again and again, to no effect. The EeP releases a howl of impotent frustration.*
EeP: "I survive, but I am so weak...I cannot harm...I must..."
Darkside: "Perhaps I can render some assistance."
*The trio turn and face the evil NeS mainstay, who watches them all, arms crossed.*
Gebohq: "Darkside! What do you want?"
Darkside: "To aid and facilitate evil, NeS-wielder. Even if it destroys me and everything else. Hold still my demonic anti-story - I have a fiendish plan!"
*With the sound of a million screaming souls, Darkside raises his arms and lets a torrent of infernal energy consume the EeP. The energy flies a hundred feet, then turns and rushes back in Darkside's direction. Shifting his posture, Darkside turns his arm in a semi-circle and the blast of energy collides with TLTE. Gebohq is knocked to the floor in the blast.*
Gebohq: "TLTE!"
*He leaps to his feet, sword raised, but Darkside is gone. To his relief though, TLTE appears dazed but unharmed.*
Gebohq: "Quickly, we have to find where Darkside has gone!"
TLTE: "I think he's retreated to watch his handiwork. And I can't say I blame him."
*Gebohq begins to turn, but his ears make out a whistle through the air. He ducks his upper body backwards, Matrix-style, and watches as TLTE's officer sabre slices the air above him. Geb finishes his turn to see TLTE advancing on him, grinning madly.*
TLTE: "Turning one friend on the other; what a brilliant finish! You'll remind me to thank him later, won't you? Well, maybe you won't..."
Gebohq: "TLTE-"
*The possessed Russian spy lunges at him again. Instinctively, Gebohq brings up his sword and deflects the blow. The EeP grins, using TLTE's mouth.*
The Last True Ever-Ending Evil Plot: "Wow, best abbreviation ever. I mean, en garde!"
*TLTEeP shrugs off his spy overcoat and tosses his hat away in slow motion. He looks ruggedly handsome and well-built, a Russian duelist in his prime. Gebohq rips off his shirt, immediately thinks better of it, puts it back on but leaves it unbuttoned. He uses his best trick - flicking back his hair better than any hirsute hero ever did, he equals TLTEeP's challenge.*
Gebohq: "TLTE, don't do this! Fight him!"
TLTEeP: "He can't hear you. He's lost somewhere in his subconscious...dreaming, no doubt, of Losien, death, and vodka, in that order; that's all that seems to be bouncing around in this pathetic mind. In the meantime, I can appropriate his skills. A duel!"
*He raises the sabre to his face in offering. Gebohq, very reluctantly, raises his in
acceptance.*
TLTEeP: "BEGIN!"
*TLTEeP lunges, and Gebohq manages to bat the sword away. Again, and again, TLTEeP lunges, but each time Geb manages to defend himself just in time.*
TLTEeP: "This is getting to be a habit with you, Gebohq! Fighting your friends to the death, that is..."
*Geb steps backwards and trips on a body, nearly falling to the ground but catching himself just in time. TLTEeP snatches the opportunity and swings at Geb's head. Geb barely dodges, scrambling backward and away. He wants to run, to flee for his life, but he can't, not now...*
TLTEeP: "You know Gebohq, it's almost amusing. When I first met you, you seemed so important. The big hero, leader of the forces of Good, responsible for the saving of the world countless times over. I even thought you were the incarnation of the Never-ending Story itself, the Avatar of the NeS. Plot after plot was wasted, trying to ensure your destruction. I had analyzed every possible plot, every possible path. Only the Avatar of the NeS could threaten my plans. But after all that, it turned out I was wrong..."
Geb: "Not perfect after all, eh?"
*With a snarl, TLTEeP swings and thrusts at Geb, sabre whizzing through the air with cold menace. Geb dodges and jumps back, parries and blocks. The ground is uneven, strewn with the dead and slick with the rain. Another major portion of the Arena roof gives way, collapsing onto the stands with a billowing cloud of debris that is quickly washed out of the air by the rain. Lightning cracks, thunder rumbles. TLTEeP strikes.*
TLTEeP: "I thought you were the one, Gebohq. Once I came to believe that you were the Avatar, my quest to see you dead became so intense, so single-minded that I was blinded to any other possibility. My plans failed because I was chasing a phantom. You aren't the Avatar and never were. Still, I remained convinced that there was something different about you, something that set you apart from the rest of humanity, some sort of Guardian of NeS, a designate saviour for the Story. I thought Fate had dealt you an extra hand, given you some grand destiny. But now I realise -- now I see the truth for what it is."
Geb: "You're crazy."
*TLTEeP advances on Geb, forcing him to move backwards. Lightning flashes, playing over the muddy Arena, making the corpses seem alive. Geb forces himself to concentrate on his former friend, forces himself to watch for attacks and try to ignore the words coming from his mouth.*
TLTEeP: "You're nothing, Geb. I see that clearly now. You're not the Avatar of NeS. You're not some annointed Saviour of NeS. You're hardly even a real Hero! You're nothing but a coward!"
Geb: "Shut up."
*Geb frowns at TLTEeP, his lip trembling with emotion. TLTEeP advances, one foot in front of another, forcing Geb back and back.*
TLTEeP: "You're a weak-minded fool who somehow get a cadre of raving idiots to follow his lead. Every success you've had you've stumbled across through sheer luck, and you've had more failures than successes. You're an ordinary human being, Gebohq, mostly below average and hardly a threat to a fly. You represent so little danger to me that I barely need to kill you off at all."
*Geb slips in the muck, only just managing to stay upright. He stands there on watery knees, his sword in front of him wobbling from his exhaustion. He struggles to think, the cobwebs of sleep thick on his mind. He wants nothing more than to just give in, throw down his sword and stop fighting...*
Geb: "Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm nothing. Don't you have more important things to do than fight me?"
*EeP throws back TLTE's head in a raucous laugh, as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. Abruptly he breaks off, rushing Geb and lashing out with his sabre, connecting with Geb's sword and sending it twirling away as Geb collapses to the ground, drained. TLTEeP plants his foot on Geb's neck, choking him, as he runs his finger along the edge of his blade.*
TLTEeP: "Conflict, Geb. Story is all about conflict. Emotional conflict, personal conflict, conflict in battle, all the various types you learned in High School English. What happens when there is no more conflict? The story ends. When one side or the other triumphs, there is nothing left to tell. No-one wants to hear about "Happily Ever After". That's what I'm about to do, Geb. Oh, it won't be a happy ending. Not by any means. But look around you -- everything is falling under my control! The Darkside has ensured that the populace of the Earth will remain my loyal, mindless minions. Those who would still resist, these "Heroes", have either been turned to my side, or they have been destroyed. The so-called Protectors of the Plotfractal, those foolish bringers of chaos and instability, have been destroyed. Even physical reality itself has been bowed to my will, by The First False Evil's White Plotholes. You are the only conflict that is left, Geb. Everything else follows me, loyally, mindlessly. All is order. You will die, Geb, and the NeS will be mine to do with as I please. And I will destroy it. The last scene of the NeS will be no heroic battle-cry, but a pathetic puff of breath as the army of clones your friend has graciously donated bring an end to the world as we know it, hacking apart a lifeless husk that offers no resistance. There will be no more conflict. Thus there will be no more Story. Thus, I win.
The Story shall be overcome by Plot, Geb. And all Plots must come to an end. A pity you cannot live to see it."
*TLTEeP lifts his foot from Geb's neck, and stabs at his throat with his sabre. Summoning one last burst of strength, Geb throws himself out of the way, towards his fallen sword. Just barely does he lay his hand on it, when TLTEeP catches up, stabbing downwards at him. Though it seems to weigh at least a ton, Geb drags his sword between them, and deflects the blow so that it merely stabs his shoulder. TLTEeP bares his teeth.*
TLTEeP: "You're only prolonging the inevitable, Gebohq. You're a mortal human being on the edge of death, whereas I have lived thousands of years and am stronger now than I have ever been. Don't delude yourself as I did about you."
*Gebohq, bleeding badly from the shoulder, looks up at his foe. The rain pours down on both of them, drenching them, mixing with their blood and sweat.*
Gebohq: "Then kill me…"
*TLTEeP advances on his hunched form, the lightning overhead catching on his sword as he raises it…*
Gebohq: "…tovarish."
*TLTEeP’s hand stops just as it begins its downward stroke. The muscles in his arm tremble.*
Gebohq: "All of your time here you bowed to me, as if I were the NeS WriterGod personified. You deferred to me as leader and deity of the NeS, when really I am neither. This…"
*He indicates to his broken, bloodied and rain-drenched form.*
Gebohq: "…this is all I am. It’s all I ever was. Just a friend. And now you will make me nothing at all. So strike, and end it."
*TLTEeP struggles, obviously fighting an internal battle. Gebohq, however, is too weary and wounded to take advantage of the situation. He bows his head, looking sadly over at Erik, who appears to be breathing erratically and growing more pale.*
Gebohq: "I’m sorry. It was my task to protect you. Please forgive me."
*Overcome, he sinks to his knees, leaning heavily on his sword planted in front of him. TLTEeP staggers, appearing to lose control for a moment. Then, with an overwhelming roar, the EeP recovers itself and glares at Gebohq.*
TLTEeP: "At last…DIE!"
*He rushes at him in the rain, and as the events of the Never-Ending Story reach their final crescendo, time visibly slows. TLTEeP's sabre swings forth, and shatters Geb's blade into a hundred spinning pieces. Gebohq slowly gazes up at TLTEeP, who lifts his blade over his shoulder, his face contorted in rage. Between them and around them, the rain splashes and spatters. Above them the blackened sky erupts in a wild surge of lightning. The TLTE crowd watch, stock still, a haze of shocked faces. The sabre, gleaming with the light of a thousand suns, comes at Gebohq when-*
Voice: NO.
*There is a fiery and brilliant flash of energy between them. Gebohq and TLTEeP are thrown twenty feet apart, tumbling and rolling on the shattered arena floor. TLTEeP groans, clearly staggered, but Gebohq jumps to his feet in wonderment, casting his eyes up to the heavens. The pieces of Geb's sword hang frozen in mid-air, spinning slowly in their flight. His sword's hilt, still clutched in his fist, starts humming and vibrating at his side, whereupon it suddenly pulls his arm up above him, holding it up to the sky. The black clouds part for all of a moment, and Gebohq is amazed to see a mighty hand, bathed in light, extend down to point at him. Geb is unsure, but thinks he can see ink smudges and various notes jotted down on the hand.*
Voice: JUST THIS ONCE, MY CHILD, SHALL I INTERVENE. THE WRITERGOD GRANTS YOU…
*Gebohq’s sword begins to crackle and spark with energy. The pieces of the shattered blade swirl through the air, returning to the hilt and re-forming in their original pattern. Amazingly, the whole thing bursts into a clear blue flame that somehow doesn’t burn his hand. When the flames die down moments later, what remains in Gebohq’s grip is a sword unlike any other. Shining with radiant brilliance, the sword looks like it could cut through time and space itself. Its hilt is glistening a fine silver-blue, and the blade itself is glowing fiery gold like the sun. Simply put, it is a priceless, incomparable weapon.*
Voice: …THE NESWORD!
*The clouds swiftly close again, leaving the same grim scene, but somehow the NeSword dispels the grim darkness around Gebohq and he feels secure. He turns, just as TLTEeP scrambles to his feet.*
TLTEeP: "That blade cannot save you! Taste my vengeance!!!"
*He leaps at Gebohq, with a sweeping lunge that should have easily finished his weary foe off. Instead, the NeSword moves almost of its own volition, effortlessly deflecting the blow. TLTEeP snarls and unleashes a cyclone of swift jabs, each on their own an impossible strike to dodge. The NeSword, seeming to hum with the ebb and flow of the NeS universe itself, blocks every blow.*
TLTEeP: "NO! I AM STRONGER! I AM BETTER!"
*He strikes again and again, his strokes growing increasingly frenzied and desperate. Gebohq watches with a look of stunned astonishment as his blade blunts his foe’s every offensive. Finally, as if automatically, the NeSword bats aside TLTE’s blade and delivers a swift jab to his side. TLTEeP howls, falling back for a second. Gebohq grabs his sword with two hands, struggling to control his own weapon.*
Gebohq: "TLTE, please stop…I don’t want to kill you!"
TLTEeP: "RRRRRAGGGHHH!!!"
*He rushes forward, his sword coming over his head. Before Gebohq can stop it, the NeSword buries itself in TLTE’s leg. The Russian spy drops to his other knee, letting out a pained noise through gritted teeth. Geb swiftly leaps forward, plucking out his sword and facing his enemy tentatively, ready to move. When TLTE looks up though, the rage in his eyes is gone.*
TLTE: "…Gebohq!…."
*Geb lowers his sword, relieved. He begins to go over to help his friend, but TLTE lets out a roar and tries to get to his feet. Geb jumps back, and TLTE looks at him helplessly.*
TLTE: "Please, don’t come any closer...he’s not very far…Darkside has bound him to me somehow, I can’t get rid of him…"
Gebohq: "I’ll help you, TLTE. I’ll go find…someone…"
*The Russian laughs gingerly, trying not to move too much. He clutches his leg, trying to contain the overflow of blood.*
TLTE: "Who, Gebohq? We don’t have to see the rest of the world to know that it is all gone now…the NeS is too weak. Walk outside of this Arena and you will walk off the edge of the metaphysical world."
Gebohq: "What are we going to do? It’s the EeP, isn’t it? He’s severing my link to the NeSflow…stopping me from rewriting this all…"
TLTE: "As long as the EeP has a grip on the NeS, this destruction will spread. I understand now…we have to get rid of it completely. We have to bind it to something, and destroy it."
Gebohq: "You mean…the NeS itself?"
TLTE: "No. Me."
*Gebohq stares at him for a moment, not comprehending…but realization and horror begins to dawn on him.*
Gebohq: "What….no!"
TLTE: "Understand, Geb; the EeP was not expecting to be defeated. He had all of the advantages, you were wounded – the chance that you would best him was so remote that he hadn’t considered it. So he allowed himself to be vulnerable, to tighten his grip on me…he is now stuck with me."
*He pauses. The rain is still pouring down; Gebohq looks down to see that he is now ankle-deep in water.*
Gebohq: "I don’t care, TLTE, it’s still a crazy idea! You want to destroy yourself-"
TLTE: "I – I can’t, Gebohq. He won’t let me. You have to do it."
*He nods at the NeSword, which seems to hum back in response…or in anticipation.*
TLTE: "Use it. I’ll die an honourable death, and then the EeP will be gone forever. That is the sword's purpose."
*Gebohq looks at TLTE as if he has suggested to him to commit ritual suicide. In a way, he has.*
Gebohq: "Wh- …no! No, of course I won’t! There’s another way we haven’t thought of yet-"
TLTE: "There may be, but we don’t have the time. The EeP will- Aaaagh!"
*He doubles over, muscles trembling wildly. After a time, he looks up again.*
TLTE: "Not much time now…kill me! Do it!"
Gebohq: "No, TLTE, I won’t do it!"
TLTE: "You have to!"
Gebohq: "I CAN’T!"
*He looks over at Erik, who is lying nearby. The physical embodiment of the NeS is not moving, and his breathing is more shallow than ever. His eyelids flutter rapidly, as if he is caught, like the rest of them, in an unending bad dream.*
Gebohq: "TLTE, you’re all I have left. If you die, then how is the NeS going to go on?! I can’t do this alone…"
TLTE: "You won’t have to. For better or for worse, this Never-Ending Story thread is over. We will post no more on these beloved pages. It must be so."
*For a moment there is no sound but the pouring rain, which shows no signs of abating.*
Gebohq: "Why? Why does it have to happen like this? Why does it have to end?"
TLTE: "Endings are not such a bad thing, Gebohq. When one thing ends, another begins. Things are not without hope. I, however…I’m not so fortunate. This ending must be stamped permanent with a significant event, and the death of the EeP is the last significant event we have. Remember, good must endure until the End. It must. Now... any more questions?"
Gebohq: "…how do you expect me to do this?"
*He flicks back his hair in anguish. His collared work shirt and torn black dress pants are soaked through, and the look in Gebohq’s eyes is pitiful.*
Gebohq: "I’m a Hero. I can’t just kill you, you’re a Hero…a friend!"
TLTE: "Yes, it hardly seems fair, does it?"
*He smiles, but it cracks on his face and he stares at the floor miserably. When he speaks, his voice is thick.*
TLTE: "Geb, there’s nothing left for me now. I’m alone, like you. The NeS is nothing special, it’s just the people here who make it home. And now they’re dead. Tracer…Randy…Wuss…Jim…Krig….Losien…"
*He looks slowly up at Geb.*
TLTE: "I’m nothing without them but a sad, wretched fool. But happy or sad, I must leave this world now."
*There is a last pause. TLTE’s hands start to shake. Absently, he wipes his eyes.*
TLTE: "One day, I would have liked to live in peace, Geb. Thrown away the Cold War rhetoric, the nuclear arsenal, the demonic fiends, the plots and betrayals…I would have lived in a never-ending world with you, and Krig, and Losien, and all the rest of them…can you believe that was the reason I came back from Heaven? Paradise itself? I thought that paradise was here. That we could make it right here, among all the craziness and doughnuts and whatever else popped up. A fool’s idea. But aren’t all of the best ideas seemingly foolish, at first?"
Gebohq: "I…"
TLTE: "What do you think, Gebohq? Could we have lived in paradise someday?"
*Geb hesitates, but TLTE shakes his head, smiling for the last time.*
TLTE: "Wait, don’t answer…keep it interesting. Leave it to be resolved after the End..."
Gebohq: "Wait, TLTE-"
TLTE: "Get ready!"
*Behind TLTE’s back, his trembling hand reaches for his service pistol…*
TLTE: "Do you understand what you have to do now?"
Gebohq: "I…guess I always did."
TLTE: "Then DRAW!"
*TLTE’s eyes mist over with the EeP’s influence; his hand, pistol gripped tightly, draws a bead on Gebohq’s forehead with intuitive precision. He fires-*
Gebohq: "NO!"
*Geb darts forward at the last moment, the bullet sailing past his head. He races to TLTE, the NeSword flashes up, past, through…and then, abruptly, it is over. Gebohq stands, head bowed, just a step past TLTE.*
Gebohq: "It's stopped raining."
*His words are true; though the clouds hang still overhead, the incessant downpour of rain has finally ceased.*
TLTE: "I know."
*He falls to his knees. Slowly, he pulls the NeSword out of his chest, places it down reverently and slumps to the floor.*
TLTE: “'Every life…has a story'”.
*And then he speaks no more. The Last True Evil, Gebohq’s final heroic companion, is gone. The NeS wielder is alone on the floor of the Arena. For a full minute, he stands stoic, lost in thought or despair or a futile mixture of the two. Then, a marching sound breaks his concentration. Geb looks up to see the TLTE clones filing in a rough formation down from the grandstands to where he is. In an instinctual panic, Gebohq snatches up the NeSword, ready to defend himselves…but the TLTE clones silently march to their fallen comrade’s side, and no further.*
Gebohq: "I think I understand. Take him back to Russia, he would have wanted it that way. And…see that woman over there? Put her next to him. Bury them in the Siberian wastes."
*The clones offer no acknowledgement, but comply with Gebohq. Slowly, they lift TLTE and Losien above their shoulders, marching in synchronized steps out of the Arena, on a final quest into oblivion…or paradise.*
*Outside, in the ethereal, ghostlike world that used to be the NeS, an explosion tears apart the fragile remains, shattering the very fabric of the world, fabric weakened to the consistency of cobwebs. Another explosion shreds apart the things that are, then another and another. Around the world, the clones of TLTE erupt into flame as their self-destruct sequence is activated, annihilating the last feeble remains of a once-proud world. Final bursts of conflict tear apart what little remains, leaving nothing in their wake. No conflict. No story. Nothing.*
*Inside the Arena, the last broken remnant of the NeS, the last part of the story remaining, shimmers and sways as its reality deteriorates. Geb stands passionless, emotionless, sword before him held ready, staring across the Arena at the corpse-like form of Darkside. The villian stares back, long-dead eyes revealing the tortured souls of the damned within. Gnarled lips part, speaking in voices that come from no eartly throat.*
Darkside: You think you've won, mortal?
*Geb stares back, wordless, needing no words. Darkside smirks.*
Darkside: Then enjoy your victory, fool. Enjoy what you've won.
*And with an abrupt scream of a thousand voices, Darkside vanishes in a swirl of black mist.*
*And Geb is alone.*
*Moments pass.*
*High above, the last parts of the Arena roof collapse and shatter, leaving a blank void of nothingness behind.*
Erik: "Geb..."
*Geb turns around to see Erik, the Avatar of the NeS, standing behind him. He wavers, barely able to stand, his skin as white as chalk and shining with sweat. Despite his condition, Erik seems calm.*
Geb: "I'm sorry I couldn't save you..."
Erik: "You have, Geb. You've done everything you could. You've defeated the enemy. Now I can end in peace."
*Gebohq tries to speak, but his voice catches in his throat.*
Erik: "You've been a good friend, Geb. Farewell."
Geb: “No, wait!”
*And as he finishes speaking, the life fades from Erik's eyes. He teeters, and falls, descending slowly as time falls with him. He hits the ground, and instantly his body erupts into a spray of papers, the script-filled sheets that are the lifeblood of the NeS. The papers swirl about on the air like doves on the wing, surrounding Geb in a final embrace. And one by one, each paper ignites, bursting into flame as the NeS consumes itself.
Geb: “This isn’t right. It can’t be right. Where are you writers? Don’t leave me like this! It’s not funny, come on!”
Gebohq tries to grab the pages and keep them from burning with little luck.
Geb: “What am I suppose to do, damnit! This doesn’t make sense. I can’t do this alone…”
The Arena rumbles, and Geb turns to look. As he watches, the walls and floor of the Arena crumble and crack, breaking up and dissolving like ice in the Arctic spring, leaving behind an empty dark void. The pages about him are being consumed, burning away until even the bits of ash are gone. A blank sheet flutters down to his feet, burning and crumbling around the edges. Geb picks it up as the last of the fiery chaos around him dies away, with only the dark unknown surrounding him. He looks at the paper, and discovers that he is now reading about his own actions as they occur. The final page of the NeS. The last piece of its existence. Burning away in his hand. Ending.*
Geb: “No, don’t do this! Don’t…”
Tears run down his face as he himself begins to fade away, his hand and his page growing darker. His words become less his own, spiraling into his own narration as the last page become more difficult to read. Ending.
The Never-ending Story… ending. My friends, my family… they’re all gone. Zero Hour. And there’s nothing I can do. I can’t save them this time. I can’t be the big hero. I should be happy that I have kept the Ever-ending Plot from getting its way, but I’m not. It doesn’t seem right, and yet, I can’t see it having gone any other way. Is this how it’s really going to end? Why does it have to go like this? For all its faults, the Never-ending Story wasn’t bad. Where others might have seen a senseless world only becoming worse, I knew it wasn’t a lost cause. There is good. There is a lot of good. The rainy days running to get inside, the strange places I visit, the stranger people I’ve met – I thank the chances I had. If only they could see the good in a rainy day like I do. Like I was able to…
Where is it now? How can I find hope in a place where there is no one to hope for? What hope can be found when there’s no chance? I didn’t want to end the Never-ending Story, but I didn’t have a choice. I’m no savior, no big hero. Oh God, if only I were. Forgive me for not being strong enough, if only I weren’t so weak and scared. Why don’t I know what to do? What am I suppose to do? Am I suppose to die here? Do you want me to fight off a little longer? Fight or flight – they always seem to be my options. Every time… and so many times I ran away. Ran away from Ares, ran away from the Darkside, ran away when my sister needed me the most. The other heroes were so much better than me… why me?
So many questions, but the answers are hidden from me. Have faith… that is the only answer I have been given. Faith. Not exactly an easy task, given the situation. No real reason to believe anything could come out of this. The Never-ending Story has no more magic for its show. No plotholes to jump through, every action fell like dominos. My words are all that is left of this thread. Perhaps if I recounted the Never-ending Story, always talking, I could keep this story from ending. How long though before I can’t go on? No, that’s not the way. Have faith… if only my word was your word, Writer of writers. You will be here when I am gone. Your will never breaks, every word a promise for something new, your promise a rainbow bridge over troubled waters. Have faith… not a reason, but a chance. The Never-ending Story never made much sense to begin with… why not?
To hell with reality! Good WILL live another rainy day! I believe good will never end, so long as these words are spoken. No writer can end all that is good, and I will be living proof, for I have been given a chance to multiply these words for the better. With help from high above, I will make this dream a reality, and raise the power of the Never-ending Story! May a new page be turned in the Never-ending Story!
--------------------------------------> to page 51
[This message has been edited by Gebohq (edited July 04, 2004).]
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