Boot Camp Barracks, Landfall, Sunday Evening
When Alana had gone back to Landfall, she'd managed to beg her way into a spot at community college. It had been less than a success, and living with her dad wasn't making things any better. When she gave up on school for good and joined the army, it felt both inevitable and like the best of a lousy set of choices.
Not that she had much time to dwell on that. One thing about Landfall's military: It kept a girl busy. Alana was almost six months in before she could ask for a day off. She was still trying to decide how to spend it when the idea of taking a quick portal to Earth struck her.
On that whim, she dialed Dante's number. He'd know if there was anything worth coming back for.
Dante
"Yo," Dante answered, before he'd even bothered to check the-- "Alana?"
Alana
"Yep, it's me," Alana said, smile in her voice probably audible. It felt good to talk to somebody from Fandom again; she should have called months ago. "What's up? And is the island going totally crazy again, or would this be an okay time to visit?"
Dante
"Everything's cool right now, we just got back from this tropical island trip," Dante said, sitting up.
He had other things on his mind, though.
"What's up with you? Haven't heard from you in months."
Alana
"Wish I still got free vacations," Alana said, more wistful than envious. "And yeah, I know, I vanished. It's ... sort of a long story. Did you miss me?"
Because that was the important part, obviously.
Dante
Dante had to smile a little. "Island's not the same without you," he said. "You doing the army thing now?"
Alana
"... yes," Alana admitted, not sounding particularly pleased by the fact. "Long story. Turns out Fandom didn't exactly get me college-ready."
Who knew, right? Especially since Alana had taken such strenuous classes as "Hit Something" and "Pony Express!".
"So, I bailed before they could kick me out," she sighed. "But it's not too bad. Some of the people here are pretty chill. I don't hate the uniform."
Dante
"You gonna get sent out to fight?" Dante asked, eyeing the ceiling. "Or are you learning like, for other stuff."
Alana
"Right now I'm still training while they figure me out," Alana shrugged. "Looks like I'll probably end up a scout, so some fighting but not too bad most of the time."
Dante
"That's good," Dante said, frowning. "Right?"
Alana
"Sure, unless I scout a bunch of horn-heads waiting to shoot at me," Alana explained. "But, y'know. That's part of the deal."
She let out a breath. "Your turn. What type of fun are you having?"
Dante
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
"My life's gone all kinds of fucked up," Dante said, finally.
Alana
That hadn't been the answer Alana had expected, and she gave a quiet gasp of surprise.
"Jesus, what happened?" she asked. "Do you need me to punch somebody for you?"
Dante
"Nah," Dante said. He blew out a breath. "It's, uh. I used to have this hole in my memory? I got all of that back last weekend. The stuff I forgot... it's pretty big."
Alana
"Gonna guess it wasn't all that good, either," Alana said, curious but sympathetic. "I mean, if it fucked up your life that bad."
Dante
"You want a list?" Dante asked quietly. "The demons that keep attacking me are the same ones that killed my parents. My parents are an angel and a fucking demon. And I have a brother I didn't remember about because my dad wiped my memory."
Alana
"...."
Alana didn't have an answer, no. The "Well, that sucks" that finally came out sounded too stupid to count as one.
Another pause.
"And I can't help you punch the demons? You sure?"
Dante
"Can't get to them. They're in Limbo," Dante said.
He ran his fingers through his hair. "We're taking down the demons responsible for this," he said slowly. "Getting a plan together."
Alana
"Not gonna get anywhere until you have one of those," Alana nodded. "Especially if the demons are hard to find."
She ran a hand through her hair (shorter, now, than when Dante had last seen her), cursing under her breath. "Hey, like I said, I have some leave coming up. Could I --?"
Fight moonies for a day job, fight demons on vacation. Far as Alana could tell,it was all about the same.
Dante
"It'd be nice. To see you, I mean," Dante said slowly.
He was thinking of the mission Vergil had lined up, and Kat, and felt guilty for his next thought. "It's. Where's your training at?"
Alana
"Landfall, way in the north," Alana said. "But don't worry about it. Portals to earth are cheap."
Who wanted to vacation on a planet without magic, multiple humanoid species, or space travel?
Dante
"I mean, like... can you keep an eye on someone for me?" Dante asked. "Without-- maybe this is a stupid idea."
Alana
"Oh," Alana said, rubbing the bridge of her nose in embarrassment. "Yeah, that ... kind of makes more sense then you asking my, like, physical location."
Which had seemed like a weird question, now that she thought about it more.
"Anyhow," she added, "I guess? Hard to say if it's stupid if I don't know exactly what you need."
Dante
"Gonna break into a soda factory," Dante said. "I'll be fine, I can fight. Kat's... Kat's squishy."
To put it mildly.
But he didn't want to send Alana in if Alana was still squishy, too.
Alana
"Who's Kat?" Alana asked. The only Kat she could think of was Kathy Li, and Alana had missed the memo that she was back from the dead. "And why are you taking some squishy girl to a soda factory?"
Dante
"Friend of my brother's. She's... a witch, I guess?" Dante offered.
He wasn't actually sure.
"Anyway, there's a demon under the factory, poisoning the soda. So we're gonna sneak in and I'm gonna take it out. There's probably just gonna be guards and I can't watch Kat while I'm in Limbo."
Alana
"You're going to fight a demon who's poisoning soda while I babysit a witch."
Alana didn't sound disbelieving -- between Fandom and her home universe, Dante would have to come up with something a lot more unlikely than that if he wanted to faze her. She just needed to repeat it.
"Okay, sure," she decided. "Sounds fun."
Dante
Long pause. "If you're sure."
Alana
"What, you think I'd let you down?" Alana asked, some edge in her voice. She'd started to pace as they talked, and she was on about her eighth circuit of her tiny barracks room.
Then she sighed and attempted to sound halfway serious. "Look, you know what's going on better than me. If you think you need somebody more soldier-y or whatever, it's your call. But yeah, I think I can do bodyguard duty while you kill a soda-poisoning demon."
Nope, that hadn't gotten less weird to say.
Dante
"No, I don't think you'd let me down," Dante said, running his fingers through his hair again. "I just-- I appreciate it, Alana. A lot."
Beat.
"I'll owe you a drink."
Alana
"You'll owe me a bottle," Alana laughed. "Don't worry about it. Just tell me where to be when."
Dante
"Bellview Pier, Limbo City, Wednesday afternoon," Dante said. He smiled a little. "I'll see you there."
[OOC: Preplayed with the amazing rebelseekspizza.]
Not that she had much time to dwell on that. One thing about Landfall's military: It kept a girl busy. Alana was almost six months in before she could ask for a day off. She was still trying to decide how to spend it when the idea of taking a quick portal to Earth struck her.
On that whim, she dialed Dante's number. He'd know if there was anything worth coming back for.
Dante
"Yo," Dante answered, before he'd even bothered to check the-- "Alana?"
Alana
"Yep, it's me," Alana said, smile in her voice probably audible. It felt good to talk to somebody from Fandom again; she should have called months ago. "What's up? And is the island going totally crazy again, or would this be an okay time to visit?"
Dante
"Everything's cool right now, we just got back from this tropical island trip," Dante said, sitting up.
He had other things on his mind, though.
"What's up with you? Haven't heard from you in months."
Alana
"Wish I still got free vacations," Alana said, more wistful than envious. "And yeah, I know, I vanished. It's ... sort of a long story. Did you miss me?"
Because that was the important part, obviously.
Dante
Dante had to smile a little. "Island's not the same without you," he said. "You doing the army thing now?"
Alana
"... yes," Alana admitted, not sounding particularly pleased by the fact. "Long story. Turns out Fandom didn't exactly get me college-ready."
Who knew, right? Especially since Alana had taken such strenuous classes as "Hit Something" and "Pony Express!".
"So, I bailed before they could kick me out," she sighed. "But it's not too bad. Some of the people here are pretty chill. I don't hate the uniform."
Dante
"You gonna get sent out to fight?" Dante asked, eyeing the ceiling. "Or are you learning like, for other stuff."
Alana
"Right now I'm still training while they figure me out," Alana shrugged. "Looks like I'll probably end up a scout, so some fighting but not too bad most of the time."
Dante
"That's good," Dante said, frowning. "Right?"
Alana
"Sure, unless I scout a bunch of horn-heads waiting to shoot at me," Alana explained. "But, y'know. That's part of the deal."
She let out a breath. "Your turn. What type of fun are you having?"
Dante
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
"My life's gone all kinds of fucked up," Dante said, finally.
Alana
That hadn't been the answer Alana had expected, and she gave a quiet gasp of surprise.
"Jesus, what happened?" she asked. "Do you need me to punch somebody for you?"
Dante
"Nah," Dante said. He blew out a breath. "It's, uh. I used to have this hole in my memory? I got all of that back last weekend. The stuff I forgot... it's pretty big."
Alana
"Gonna guess it wasn't all that good, either," Alana said, curious but sympathetic. "I mean, if it fucked up your life that bad."
Dante
"You want a list?" Dante asked quietly. "The demons that keep attacking me are the same ones that killed my parents. My parents are an angel and a fucking demon. And I have a brother I didn't remember about because my dad wiped my memory."
Alana
"...."
Alana didn't have an answer, no. The "Well, that sucks" that finally came out sounded too stupid to count as one.
Another pause.
"And I can't help you punch the demons? You sure?"
Dante
"Can't get to them. They're in Limbo," Dante said.
He ran his fingers through his hair. "We're taking down the demons responsible for this," he said slowly. "Getting a plan together."
Alana
"Not gonna get anywhere until you have one of those," Alana nodded. "Especially if the demons are hard to find."
She ran a hand through her hair (shorter, now, than when Dante had last seen her), cursing under her breath. "Hey, like I said, I have some leave coming up. Could I --?"
Fight moonies for a day job, fight demons on vacation. Far as Alana could tell,it was all about the same.
Dante
"It'd be nice. To see you, I mean," Dante said slowly.
He was thinking of the mission Vergil had lined up, and Kat, and felt guilty for his next thought. "It's. Where's your training at?"
Alana
"Landfall, way in the north," Alana said. "But don't worry about it. Portals to earth are cheap."
Who wanted to vacation on a planet without magic, multiple humanoid species, or space travel?
Dante
"I mean, like... can you keep an eye on someone for me?" Dante asked. "Without-- maybe this is a stupid idea."
Alana
"Oh," Alana said, rubbing the bridge of her nose in embarrassment. "Yeah, that ... kind of makes more sense then you asking my, like, physical location."
Which had seemed like a weird question, now that she thought about it more.
"Anyhow," she added, "I guess? Hard to say if it's stupid if I don't know exactly what you need."
Dante
"Gonna break into a soda factory," Dante said. "I'll be fine, I can fight. Kat's... Kat's squishy."
To put it mildly.
But he didn't want to send Alana in if Alana was still squishy, too.
Alana
"Who's Kat?" Alana asked. The only Kat she could think of was Kathy Li, and Alana had missed the memo that she was back from the dead. "And why are you taking some squishy girl to a soda factory?"
Dante
"Friend of my brother's. She's... a witch, I guess?" Dante offered.
He wasn't actually sure.
"Anyway, there's a demon under the factory, poisoning the soda. So we're gonna sneak in and I'm gonna take it out. There's probably just gonna be guards and I can't watch Kat while I'm in Limbo."
Alana
"You're going to fight a demon who's poisoning soda while I babysit a witch."
Alana didn't sound disbelieving -- between Fandom and her home universe, Dante would have to come up with something a lot more unlikely than that if he wanted to faze her. She just needed to repeat it.
"Okay, sure," she decided. "Sounds fun."
Dante
Long pause. "If you're sure."
Alana
"What, you think I'd let you down?" Alana asked, some edge in her voice. She'd started to pace as they talked, and she was on about her eighth circuit of her tiny barracks room.
Then she sighed and attempted to sound halfway serious. "Look, you know what's going on better than me. If you think you need somebody more soldier-y or whatever, it's your call. But yeah, I think I can do bodyguard duty while you kill a soda-poisoning demon."
Nope, that hadn't gotten less weird to say.
Dante
"No, I don't think you'd let me down," Dante said, running his fingers through his hair again. "I just-- I appreciate it, Alana. A lot."
Beat.
"I'll owe you a drink."
Alana
"You'll owe me a bottle," Alana laughed. "Don't worry about it. Just tell me where to be when."
Dante
"Bellview Pier, Limbo City, Wednesday afternoon," Dante said. He smiled a little. "I'll see you there."
[OOC: Preplayed with the amazing rebelseekspizza.]