: Re: Introduce a character and forget about them until the last chapter? In my story, the main character gets help from / saved by two complete strangers. They don't tell the mc who they are or

I agree with wetcircuit, this is a deus ex machina.

I don't think it will help to show them more often, in the end they save the day and they are your heroes, not your MC.

The hero is the one that needs to take the actions and make the decisions (and any sacrifices needed) that lead to and through the climax. S/He can't be a defenseless waif rescued by somebody else.

(In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker chooses to fall, for all he knows to his death, after Darth Vader announces he is Luke's Father, then he is rescued. But this is after that climax, he risked his life to escape Vader).

I worry this will be an unsatisfying ending. The only way I know to save it is if the MC learns something from these strangers that in the end s/he remembers and uses to save the day, in their stead. If you need them for some other reason, have them reappear, to reinforce or clarify this lesson somehow, shortly before the climax and final chapter. Any relationship can be clarified then, a loose end tied up. But the hero has to fight their own battle, the bad thing cannot be defeated by somebody else.

Edit: From your comment: The two simply finish off the villain to prevent him from ever returning again.

If this needs to be resolved, I think the villain is not actually defeated, and this is a job for the MC or hero.

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: Re: Introduce a character and forget about them until the last chapter? In my story, the main character gets help from / saved by two complete strangers. They don't tell the mc who they are or

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