The Island to Various Rifts, Friday Through Sunday

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This is what happens when you stopped listening to the radio for the island; you were taken by surprise when you stepped on the island and saw that half of it looked like it belonged somewhere and somewhen else. Like, even moreso than usual.

Even with all the differences in the island, the first rift took Kathy by surprise as it opened up under her feet, too wide for her to bounce out. It reminded her a little too much of that column of light that had grabbed her to bring her to LA. Only this time it was down instead of up and when she looked around...

"Okay, I am not in Kansas anymore."

[For thems what are there with her.]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

"And I mean, if we just showed up here, there's gotta be a way to just... show up back home, right?" Dante said. Optimistically.

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"Hope you're right," Kathy said. "I'm not ready to have to make another call to have Dad and Anders come rescue us again."

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"Between you and me, there's enough kick-ass to avoid that anyway," Dante promised.

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"Still, maybe we've got service," Kathy said, digging into her pocket for her phone. "We could just call Portalocity and get home that way."

...Which was a great idea, up until she held up her phone and observed a big red X where bars should be.

"I've, uh, never seen that before," she said.

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Dante frowned, digging into his pocket for his own phone--

"Okay, there's dancing bananas on mine."

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"Glad to see we don't even have to be on the island for island nonsense to follow us," Kathy scowled, shoving her phone away. "...Besides the usual kind of island nonsense that follows us around."

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"Still lookin' forward to one of us swapping genitals in the house," Dante said brightly, though his forehead was creased in a frown as he slid his phone back into his pocket.

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"Still can't believe Isabela didn't eat you out," Kathy grumbled. "That's just rude."

Kathy, it had been years.

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"Let it go," Dante said, patting her shoulder. "C'mon, let's get moving towards... that train... thing."

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"True," Kathy said. "Hate to be late getting to a building."

The surroundings didn't get less weird as they walked. Little yellow birds with one cyclopean eye darted through the air, fighting with what looked like oversized pitcher plants. Trees sat upside down, their branches buried in the earth, fruit resting right above the ground while bare roots reached for the sky.

"Is this what it's like to be high?" Kathy asked. "Because I'm starting to wonder."

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"Nah," Dante said, with the voice of experience. "Though now I do fuckin' want drugs."

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"It's been awhile since you've done anything more than drink, huh?" Kathy asked, the shock and disapproval that would have been present in her voice in high school nowhere to be found.

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"Couple years," Dante allowed. "Enough to get nostalgic without gettin' needy."

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"Mostly club drugs, right?" Kathy asked. "Funny, I can't see you smoking pot much. That slows you down, makes you relax. That woulda been a bad thing for you in old LC. Bet Anders would, though. He's generally chill."

She thought about it. "In high school, I woulda been the girl that abuses, like, Adderall. And 4 Loko on weekends or whatever."

Welcome to her brain, Dante.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Mostly club drugs, yeah. Shit that gets you up, not down, makes you dance and fuck all night. Sometimes shit that just put me out of the world, if I thought it'd be quiet for a while," Dante said, shrugging one shoulder.

Felt like a lifetime ago.

"Don't think you woulda ever touched anything. Not your style. Be too afraid your mom'd yell, or you'd turn into a stereotype."

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"I mean, obviously not," Kathy said. "Not in real life. But the version of Kathy that wasn't scared of drugs."

She snorted. "I nearly tried some a couple of times. But I needed my brain to turn off before I did."

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"Sex and then drugs?" Dante suggested merrily.

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"Except..." Kathy blushed. "The internet says sex on club drugs is an experience. So probably it would go trust, then drugs, then sex."

Beat.

"If that were ever a thing that was going to happen which it isn't."

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Dante shrugged.

"I've met you," he said merrily, "You can come on my mouth first, then the drugs, then more sex."

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Kathy blushed again. "I mean, umm, point," she admitted. "But again, not highly likely."

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Dante laughed softly, feet scuffing against the... ceiling? Floor? As they stepped on it. "Just sayin'. We could pull it off."

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"See, this is why you're dangerous," Kathy teased as she moved around a lighting fixture at ankle height. "You can make even my most idle musings a possibility."

[rebelseekspizza]

"See, that's the thing," Dante said, sticking his hands in his pocket. "You've got too much self control, I've got too little. Splitting it's just the sane fuckin' thing to do."

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"Is there really a thing as too much self-control?" Kathy asked, smiling up at him.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Yeah, and it's standing right in front of me."