The Wabbit's famous Adventure Caffè

The team gathered in a caffè near a cinema they knew well. The Cinema was named Stardust Village, which they felt was truly appropriate. Skratch was late as usual, and he stared at himself in the mirror. "What gives, Skratch?" said the Wabbit. Skratch spoke but continued to stare. "I'm looking at my image in the mirror - or is the image looking at me?" Lapinette giggled. "You're suggesting that mirror theory is wrong headed. It really applies to cats." It was time for the Wabbit to rap the table hard. "That spot is bewitched. Only theory can break the spell." Wabsworth raised a paw. "Then it's here that we'll break it." Skratch meaowed hard and long. "All texts are haunted I'd say. We are all hopeless victims of the ruling ideological classes." Being an android, Wabsworth had a vast knowledge of old texts and a complete collection of Cahiers du Cinema. He rapped the table himself. "A situation in which we are all quite blind." Lapinette laughed. "We do know that and therefore I'd say only part sighted." The Wabbit drew himself up. "Talking of sight, I see no wine. What's everyone having?" Skratch growled. "I'll have a Prosecco - no, Franciacorta." Wabsworth smiled. "I think my circuitry can tolerate an Aperol Spritz." "I'll join you," murmured Lapinette. "What about you, Wabbit?" "I'll have a whisky," he replied. "My goodness," yelled Lapinette, "The mirror cracked from side to side!"

[Our thanks to Paula Murphy]

7 The Wabbit and the Home Landing

The Wabbit and Lapinette spilled off the skateboard and onto the stairs in the ethnographic museum. They were roughly half a kilometre from their original position. The Wabbit glanced at the clocks. It was the same time as they left. The Wabbit winced as the whirling skateboard hit him on the back and sent him flying. Oil sprayed from the wheels and lay glistening on the marble stairs. He wiped some from his fur. "A bit liberal in your application I'd say, Wabbit." "Radical!" responded the Wabbit. Lapinette picked herself up. She glanced up the steps. "Are you sure this is the right dimension?" The Wabbit glanced up too. "Well, the Three in One got us home at exactly the right time." Lapinette smoothed her frock. "The right time - where?" The Wabbit looked downstairs this time. "I can see Skratch and Wabsworth coming." "That's reassuring," murmured Lapinette. "We'd better get this oil off the stairs," said the Wabbit, "or people will fall on their fundaments." He took a bottle of 'oil-away' from his fur and sprayed it around. He flipped the skateboard and tucked it under his elbow. "It needs more work," he declaimed. "I suggest a rigorous overhaul then hold it under lock and key." Lapinette was adamant and stood with her paws on her hips. The Wabbit turned. "Did you film any of this?" Lapinette shook her head. "Sick," moaned the Wabbit. 

6. The Wabbit and the Likely Spot

The Wabbit grinned. They were home. That's what he thought anyway. Lapinette leaned into the wind with no paws. "I've never seen Viale Pasteur so quiet." The Wabbit nodded. "It must be early in the morning." "On a Sunday," replied Lapinette. "In August," added the Wabbit. He paused. "I'm going to put her down." Lapinette jumped as they skidded along the road and landed near a curb. "The Wabbit and Lapinette. Coming to a dimension near you!" she yelled. The Wabbit flipped the board and grabbed it. Together they made their way to Caffè Palombini. "Maybe Palombini's is quiet too," suggested Lapinette. "I don't think it's ever quiet," answered the Wabbit. They rounded the corner. But Palombini's wasn't there, it was Ciampini's. "We're in the wrong dimension," scowled the Wabbit. Lapinette grinned. "We could still have a coffee." The Wabbit shrugged. "And a salad tramezzini." They sat down. Buses passed but they were the wrong colour. They swigged back their coffee and munched their sandwiches. "I think I know what to do," said the Wabbit. He lifted the skateboard and took a can of 3 in 1 from his fur. He oiled the wheel bearings. He span them round, then span them back. They left cash on the table and jumped on the deck. The Wabbit smiled. "When we hit the next dimension, get ready to bail."

5. The Three Muses and Time Together

Tipsy sprang in the air and somehow hung there. Then Fitzy, then Mitzy. Tipsy was first. "Where is the Wabbit? Is he in unpath'd waters or undream'd shores?" They all leaped and hung in the starry night. "There are worlds elsewhere!" shouted Fitzy. Mitzy was quick to reply. "And none so dark that ignorance shall come of them." Tipsy laughed a hollow laugh. "They are but a hairbreadth from our paws." They changed position and reassembled with Fitzy in the midst. "The enchanted skateboard takes the Wabbit both close and far." Mitzy took time to laugh. "Pleasure and action make the hours seem short. There is no journey like the present to be enjoyed." They hold paws and pirouette. Then chant simultaneously. "How shall we extricate the Wabbit from this untimely mess? How? How?" They raised their paws in the air. "For he wastes time and now time wastes him. Yet he is in the present still." The night crowded around them as they danced. "There is only now!" shouted Tipsy. They link together, holding paws. "If it be now tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now." Tipsy jumps high. "If it will come, tis now it will come for the Wabbit. Readiness is all and Lapinette is sure to be ready." A mist descends. They blow kisses. One by one they vanish into swirling clouds. 

4. The Wabbit and the World of Agents

The Wabbit and Lapinette soared into what looked like a cloudy sky, but it was another dimension. They looked down. The world was occupied by Agents of Rabbit. "Oh no!" exclaimed Lapinette. "They seem to have the upper paw here." The Wabbit sighed and tried to get more speed. "I don't think they'll want us messing in their dimension. "We've been spotted," cried Lapinette. The Agents looked up and shook their fists. One of them shouted. "Come down here and have a nice cup of tea. It's freshly brewed." "We can talk," shouted another. "We're lovely, lovely rabbits," yelled another. There was menace in his voice. "Got to go," said the Wabbit quietly. "Another appointment," said Lapinette. The Agents were jumping to grasp the edge of the skateboard. The Wabbit forced a bit more height, then boned it. Grasping paws flailed in the air. "I'm not sure we can keep this up without momentum from something. We need to do a gnarly." Lapinette had not the slightest notion of what he was talking about. But she knew he had to hit the ground at an angle and bounce. "The car," she yelled. She held on tight as the skateboard kickflipped from the car. They narrowly missed an Agent and heard him curse as they flew upwards. "I don't like it here," grimaced Lapinette. The Wabbit saw the air shimmering at a crossroads and he headed for the spot. There was a bang - and they vanished.

Car at Pixabay

3. The Wabbit and the Skeletal Dimension

The skateboard propelled them some distance and then the scene changed. The Wabbit was horrified. "This isn't EUR. Must be some kind of glitch." Lapinette pursed her lips. "An interdimensional glitch?" The Wabbit hopped up and down. "So keep a hold on the skateboard," he cautioned. He looked about. "This place, it's derelict. And it looks like Turin."  It had rained and the concrete glistened under an orange sky. They heard footsteps. A figure glided past them. It said nothing. Half skeleton, half muscle, it ground towards an unknown destination. "Maybe it couldn't get proper clothes in the abandoned shopping centre," observed the Wabbit. "It's a fine figure of .. something," answered Lapinette. "Perhaps there are others like it," said the Wabbit. "Perhaps they'll be more communicative," said Lapinette. The creature turned. "I am model TXY-495469. What models are you?" The Wabbit shrugged. "We are wabbits." Then he added a string of numerals so the creature wouldn't feel left out. "Wabbits 2024-uvxyz." The creature looked them in the eyes. "What is your function?" The Wabbit thought quickly. "We are the diplomatic legation from Terra..." "Terra 123," added Lapinette. "A far off dimension of which I know little," admitted the creature. Her head swivelled. "Is that your board?" The Wabbit nodded. "Your own board. You must be of extremely high status in your dimension?" Her voice was filled with awe. "Enormously," nodded Lapinette. "River deep, mountain high," quipped the Wabbit. 

Skeleton: https://pixabay.com/users/massagenerds-5254990/

2. The Wabbit and the Dimension Jump

The Wabbit went outside and hopped on the skateboard. He threw two coins on the ground. "Tethering," he said. The deck's wheels expanded to enormous proportions. Lapinette hopped on behind him. "Hold on. Don't get separated." The Wabbit's voice was firm. Lapinette did as she was told. The deck began to move. There was a shimmer. They were in the same place but it had different colours. The sky was steel grey. Buildings stood out like toys. "Where are we?" asked Lapinette. The Wabbit flipped the nose. "Any one of a million different dimensions." Lapinette glanced up and down. "Can we get off?" "No," said the Wabbit. His voice was emphatic. "Not unless we investigate first." A sound like thunder split the air. They looked down. A tyrannosaurus of sorts rose from the water, spraying water across their faces. It roared like a bull of Bashan. Then a voice. "Go away, you don't belong here." The Wabbit popped the rear of his skateboard. "Just visiting." The skateboard swung round. "This is our dominion. It belongs to the Great Tyrannosaurus League. An unavailability permit is required." The creature gnashed his teeth. The Wabbit felt Lapinette touch his shoulder. "Time to jump," she whispered. The tyrannosaurus roared once more and laughed. "Try C-01538. They take all sorts there. They might give you a job." The Wabbit jumped, kickflipped and shredded off. But they heard the tyrannosaurus yell insults behind them. "What an unpleasant reptile," said Lapinette. "Bogan!" shrugged the Wabbit.

Tyrannosaurus: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/dinosaur-tyrannosaurus-animal-t-rex-6286030/ Skateboard: https://pixabay.com/users/jillrose999-16379406/

1. The Wabbit and the Big Jump

Lapinette was quietly looking out of her office window in EUR when the Wabbit flashed by. She blinked. She gasped. She wondered whether she'd imagined it. She knew the Wabbit wasn't given to sport of any kind. But he was definitely on a skateboard. And his expression of grim determination suggested he'd been practicing. She waited a while. Then she heard a loud crash and a lot of cursing. More time elapsed. The Wabbit burst through her office door wearing dusty fur and a bloody lip. Lapinette looked at him with an unforgiving expression. "You think you're a teenager?" The Wabbit hopped to the window and shrugged. "It's a project." He stared at the window and revisualised his trip. "Needs tweaking." He stood for a moment and thought. Lapinette waited. "It's interdimensional," said the Wabbit, "It takes the passenger to other dimensions on this planet." Lapinette waited even more. "It's unobtrusive," added the Wabbit, "Just in case we meet anyone who takes a dislike to us."  Lapinette grinned a sickly grin. "Who's us?" The Wabbit spread out his paws. "You and me, of course." "Who could possibly take a dislike to me?" sulked Lapinette. The Wabbit brought out his best shrug and smiled. "Will there be aperitivi?" asked Lapinette. The Wabbit grinned. "If you travel the multiverse, I hear each place has welcoming cocktails." Lapinette grinned too. "Let's go. No great story started with a salad."