Abandonment

"Welcome!" the grizzled pirate cried. An exotic dancer, a glowing-eyed skeleton, and what looked like a teddy bear with steel claws stood to greet the newcomer.

"Where am I?" the stranger asked.

"This is where deleted characters go," the skeleton rasped. "The darkest corner of the collective subconscious; real, for we are created, but empty; without life, without purpose."

"The Author banished us," said the teddy bear, flexing its claws. "So we wait."

"For a chance to be useful again?"

The dancer laughed. "Magnanimous, this one."

"Ah. So you lurk around, sabotage her ideas, and infect all her new stories until she regrets creating you?"

"Er..." The pirate glanced around. "Mostly we hide her car keys."

"I clogged the toilet once!" the teddy bear piped up.