forsyth | Nanowrimo - Stupid characters! (Reply)

Bloody characters. Broke 25K and they're STILL not off the planet. Though at least they're out of the boring bit now, and probably going to be off planet as soon as I finish writing their phone call, but still. Sheesh. There's a whole bloody universe of neat and weird stuff out there, and now I have to shove it all into half the novel, rather than making it the point of things. On the other hand, it's probably good on some levels that the plot's taken on a life of its own, I just really hope they do manage to get off the planet some time, it'd be much more interesting. I'll edit this if I write more tonight.

Update: No, still not off the planet yet.

Cal started toward the door before Twink was even finished speaking. Midas and Goob talked quietly for a minute, then nodded. "We have to get the information back to the Order, quickly and safely, so they can use it," Midas said.
"Why does protecting a little robot with valuable information feel so familiar?" Jayridge asked.
"And we have to warn the other ninja schools, if the Space Pirates are gonna attack them too, if it's not too late already," Goob said.
The WHZTTHUNKBOOM of plasma fire came from behind them. "Time to go! Now!" Goob said.
"But..." Midas protested.
"Go! Now!" Twink and Goob said together.
Then the floor/ceiling they'd fallen through gave up the ghost and failed, exploding bits of plasma and splinters and molten metal down at where they'd landed. All three of them ducked and darted for the door. Cal had taken off down the tunnel at the first shot. "Jayridge!" Twink said, "Grab that case!" and pointed at a briefcase on a counter as they ran by.
Jayridge snagged the briefcase, which was smaller than a normal briefcase, and light. The lights in the lab went out then, except for one just inside the exit door. Goob stood illuminated there, Midas down beside him, pointing the new gun at the entrance. "Arr! There they be! Fire, lads!"
Plasma splattered down from the hole in the entrance, but didn't get any further than halfway across the room, because of the angle and darkness. Tables and pedestals melted and exploded, not doing any damage to Jayridge or the others, but giving her more urgency. She ran past Goob and Midas, into the tunnel. The door closed so quickly behind her it almost caught her foot. Midas swore an "Ook!" in annoyance at not getting to shoot the Space Pirates, but turned and followed Goob and Jayridge. The tunnel was lit ahead of them a good ways, they could make out Cal's fleeing shape ahead of them. Behind them, the lights winked out one by one and the muffled sounds of plasma fire and explosions came for a few seconds more, then stopped.
They ran on, and though the tunnel wasn't that long in absolute terms, it seemed much longer to Jayridge, who kept expecting the Space Pirates to blast through the wall behind them and fry them all in sizzling plasma. Her imagination, she found, could be inconvinently explicit at times."There, pull that lever!" Twink said.
Jayridge pulled up by the lever and stopped. Goob and Midas stopped with her. "Before I do, what does it do?" she asked.
"It seals off the passage with plasma proof metal doors."
"Behind us, right?" Jayridge asked.
"Yes, behind us," Twink said.
"Okay, good," and she pulled the lever.
Thick metal doors slammed out of the walls and ceiling right right behind them (well, in front, since they were looking back that way, but behind in terms of where they were going), then from beyond those they heard another SLAMCLANG as more doors did so. "Plasma-proof?" she asked.
"Close enough to make no difference," Twink said.
"The other human is getting away!" Midas yelled, knuckling off down after Cal.
"I guess we're safe now?" Goob said.
"I'm gonna run anyways, it'd make me feel better," Jayridge said.
She jogged off down the hallway after Midas and Cal. Goob shrugged and followed, slightly slower. Cal, ahead, heard Midas's yell and saw the monkey coming up fast and ran faster. He was in deceptively good shape for a cowardly con man.
The hallway led Jayridge into a dry storm drain. Daylight illuminated a roughly circular outlet off to her right, so she jogged that way. There was a rumble from behind her. She paused and looked back, to see Goob come running out of the exit just as a metal door slid shut across the exit, then a concrete wall moved into position, matching perfectly with the other concrete walls in the storm drain. She looked down at Twink. "Just behind us, huh?" she asked.
"Hey, you dwadled. The timer gave plenty of time to get out."
Goob glared at the wall that had almost trapped him, then transferred his glare to the little bot and walked over. "Why didn't you tell us all this?" Goob asked.
"Because it wasn't relevant. And Celeste said not to tell you."
Jayridge narrowed her eyes at Twink. "So what's so special about this Celeste, huh? You're supposed to listen to me, not obey some other computer chick. I mean, hell, you're not even really a male, you don't have their excuse of being genetically distracted by boobies!"
"If we had more, time I'd defend my half of the species," Goob said, but I don't think it will take the Space Pirates that long to find this exit, or at least us. Especially with the amount of noise Midas and Cal are making. We're going to have to have a talk, Twink."
"Sheesh, I got everybody out safely, even blocked off the Space Pirates from chasing you. Don't make me activate my parental lecture subroutines, young lady."
"Stuff if," Jayridge said, and shoved Twink upside down under her arm and set off after Goob toward where Cal was screaming about manical monkeys again.
"Mmf mrrf mpfrl!" Twink said.