At RISE:
(A jungle-like setting, maybe with ambient sound effects and dimmed lighting except for a light on upstage, focused on a ring large enough for someone to jump through. TIANA and OTTO, both wearing slightly tattered prom outfits, jump through the hoop from backstage. The hoop is taken away and lighting is dimmed.)

(Otto sighs and sits down, exhausted.)

OTTO: No. Nope. This is so unreal. I'm so done.

(Tiana stands up straight and looks at Otto disapprovingly.)

TIANA: I think this is plenty real. Get up, I don't think we're home just yet.

OTTO: Nothing's trying to kill us right now, right? I need a break to process everything that's happened in the last…hour?

(Otto checks his phone. He lays flat on his back.)

OTTO: Yeah. Ohhhh my god, this is the worst prom ever. Absolute worst way this could’ve gone.

TIANA: Well, your whining isn’t really helping– Otto, was it? Yeah. You’re not helping.

OTTO: Look, I’m sorry, this is just…a lot, you know? Don’t you feel overwhelmed? Scared?

TIANA: I’m focusing on what we need to do, and that starts with getting it together. I agree, we should go over what happened, but we don’t need complaining on top of it.

(Otto sits back up.)

OTTO: Okay, yeah, yeah, I’m with you. Sorry.

TIANA: Thank you. (She sits next to him.) First, our prom was crashed, and then we were attacked by something…unnatural. Any ideas on what they were?

OTTO: Um…aliens?

TIANA: Okay. Aliens. We’ll go with that. They came out of these…portal things, and we escaped through one of them. Then we landed somewhere like a grassland, and we got attacked again by…ugh, I don’t even know what it was.

OTTO: Kind of looked like a saber-toothed tiger? But if they were seven feet tall and had two foot long chompers.

TIANA: How is that even possible?

OTTO: Maybe we time-traveled?

TIANA: That’s ridiculous.

OTTO: So is aliens crashing our senior prom.

TIANA: Right. Yeah. Back on topic. We escaped again, through another portal, right?

OTTO: Yeah. Still don’t know how that happened. Dimension anomaly?

TIANA: What?

OTTO: Okay, uh– this is a science-fiction-slash-fantasy thing so hear me out. Those aliens came from interdimensional portals, and now that’s caused anomalies all over the multiverse, and that’s how all this is happening right now.

TIANA: What are you talking about.

OTTO: Nevermind, i-it’s silly. (Beat.) But it’s also the only explanation I have.

TIANA: Why would aliens attack a senior prom, of all things? Why is any of this happening, actually!?

OTTO: Alien…things. Have you ever watched a movie with aliens in it? It’s kind of their thing.

TIANA: No, I– Ugh. Can you think of anything else?

OTTO: Not…not right now, no. I mean, I’m trying, but there’s only so much I can extrapolate from, uh. Aliens coming out of portals, you know. It kind of is the only explanation when you think about it.

(Tiana stands up and starts pacing.)

TIANA: This makes no sense. This makes no sense.

(Otto stands up, reaches to put his hand on her shoulder, but retracts it.)

OTTO: Calm down! We can get through–

TIANA: CALM– (She sucks in a breath.) Okay. Calm down. Calm down. (She takes deep breaths as she paces back and forth.)

OTTO: Better?

TIANA: Marginally. We need to get home. If portals took us here, they can take us back, right?

OTTO: Theoretically.

TIANA: Explain.

OTTO: Well- okay, it depends on the portal rules, I guess. But y’know, if those aliens made portals to Earth, we can probably find one that goes back there, too.

TIANA: Great. How do we do that?

OTTO: Oh– I don’t…really know. We don’t have a portal gun or anything…do you remember how the other one opened?

TIANA: It just did, didn’t it? Because of the anomalies, you said?

OTTO: Hm. Maybe–

(A loud growl. Tiana and Otto freeze.)

TIANA: Go! Hide!

(Tiana and Otto hide behind some foliage, but still visible by the audience. Tiana is peeking her head over.)

OTTO: See anything?

TIANA: No, but I’m not taking chances. (She turns back to Otto.) We need to get out of here.

OTTO: I’m thinking about it. We need to find another portal for sure, but– Well, we can’t go out there, huh?

TIANA: Absolutely not.

OTTO: Okay. Okay okay okay. What if– What if we recreate the circumstances?

TIANA: Uh-huh? Hey, wait–

OTTO: I know you just said we can’t go out there, but it’s the only thing I can think of! The last portal appeared when we were running from that gigantic sabertooth, right? Maybe dimensional anomalies respond to mortal danger or something?

(Tiana hesitates, peeks back over, then turns to Otto.)

TIANA: Crazy, but I’m willing to try anything at this point. You stay here, I’ll go lure it.

OTTO: What? No, no– I’ll lure it. It’s my plan.

TIANA: I’m on the track team, I can probably run faster than–

(Another loud growl; it sounds closer this time. Tiana and Otto freeze as a hostile creature makes an appearance, prowling around the stage. The hostile creature is vaguely spider-like. Tiana flinches.)

TIANA: Oh god. Not spiders. (She starts breathing erratically. The hostile creature notices and creeps towards their hiding place.)

OTTO: What’s wrong?

TIANA: I can’t do spiders. I can’t. I–

OTTO: Hey, it’s okay. I got this.

(Otto jumps out of the bush and waves his arms.)

OTTO: Hey!! Come and get me, y’ big beast!!

(The hostile creature growls and starts charging toward Otto.)

OTTO: Oh sh-

(The hostile creature chases Otto around the stage as Tiana watches, frozen.)

OTTO: An interdimensional anomaly would be REALLY convenient right about now!

(The hostile creature knocks Otto down and prepares to strike. Otto screams and braces himself, and Tiana forces herself to stand and reaches her arm out.)

TIANA: Otto!!!

(As Tiana’s arm stretches out, another portal appears close to offstage; lights on over the portal. The hostile creature gets startled and scampers offstage in the opposite direction. Tiana rushes up to Otto, kneeling next to him.)

TIANA: Are you okay!?

OTTO: It worked! I almost died, but it worked!

TIANA: I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have frozen up like that. I shouldn’t have put you in danger. I’m so worthless–

OTTO: Woah, hey, don’t talk like that. Okay? We all get scared. It’s okay, seriously. What kind of prom date would I be if I wasn’t willing to risk my life for you?

TIANA: You shouldn’t have to do that. You…barely even know me.

OTTO: I know enough to know you’re amazing, and you’re great at everything you do. So, y’know, it’s okay to not be great at other things. You’re already just…so incredible. So don’t worry about the other stuff.

(Tiana is silent, staring at him.)

OTTO: Um– A-Anyway! (He stands up; Tiana stands with him.) All I’m saying is that we’re in this together. I’ll be spider bait for you anyday.

TIANA: (Light laugh.) Hopefully that won’t happen anytime soon. Thank you.

(They both turn to the portal, still active.)

TIANA: …Did I do that?

OTTO: I think so! It appeared when you stretched out your hand, huh?

(Tiana briefly looks down at her hands, then shakes her head.)

TIANA: We’ll worry about that later, we gotta go through before it closes. Can’t stop until we get home.

OTTO: Right. You ready? (He holds out his arm as if to link it with hers.)

TIANA: Hm?

OTTO: Oh, I don’t…know why I did that. Maybe I’m still in prom mode. For some reason.

TIANA: (She takes his arm.) Well, why not? I’ll take any piece of home I can get.

OTTO: It’s like we’re doing interdimensional prom.

TIANA: Interdimensional prom. I like that. (She shakes her head.) And everyone said senior prom would be the highlight of the year. This is so outrageous.

OTTO: Yeah…I’m glad it’s with you, though.

TIANA: …Yeah. Same here. (Beat.) Okay. Let’s go through for real this time.

OTTO: Right! Let’s go.

(Tiana and Otto walk through the portal offstage. End play.)

~☆~

Tiana and Otto!!!

Fun Fact: I was gonna name them Character One and Character Two until I got better names but decided I like Tiana and realized Two and Tiana start with T. Following, the other character's name should start with O, and yeah.

These two are pretty fun to write. Wanna do more with them eventually!! Give 'em their own story (like I don't have 30 others to work on).

Okay bye 🙃