friendly door

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth gets a door.

It's been so long she reels for a moment, and then she throws herself forward and almost lands in a peal of Bells. Yes, there's Shell Bell, there's Juliet and Aurora, there's Glass, there's some Matilda she hasn't seen before.

"Elspeth!" exclaims Glass.

"How long has it been?" Aurora asks.

"Seventeen years. Shell Bell - I need you to help me find Harley," says Elspeth.

Comments

[incanted]

"I think a subset of us should go to Milliways," puts in Aurora. "Shell Bell and Golden are the only Bells who need to be here - and maybe Tab but we'll only be out for a moment and she's got New Bell Stuff to do. Me and Glass and Juliet between us can get Downside to grab Corona, to Rainbow to snag Brilliance if Corona's not on board with enchanneling, and to Chronicle so Tab can dump power into the forest, and have her back all nicely Belled up, yeah? And Harley and Elspeth don't need to be here unless anyone besides him needs deprogramming. You have been safe, right, Tab?"

[giftedandtalented]

"Yeah, that's my Gift."

[cross_and_bow]

"I'm on board with going to do New Bell Stuff, trying to do diplomacy is -" Juliet shakes her head. "Shell Bell, if you would? Agent Honey, sticking around or following us?"

[salus_populi]

"Have fun," Aelise says dryly to Tab. "Don't stay out too late."

[withmypowers]

"...I think I will follow you," Agent Honey decides. Adularia shimmers back into her dormant form as a pendant around her neck.

[giftedandtalented]

Tab sticks out her tongue at Aelise.

[salus_populi]

Aelise grins at her.

[she_sells_seashells]

Shell Bell's aura flares from normal to blinding, and she opens the door to let the departing contingent out.

[cross_and_bow]

Out they go. Juliet concentrates and reopens the door shortly after it closes. Downside! They don't want to split up, without Jane syncing them, so she just sticks her head in, torchables Tab while Elspeth starts summarizing things at her, and says to the admin, [Just added a world. Can I get its Joker?]

[ending_of]

[Of course.]

The requested party appears, fresh from the catacombs and entirely unclothed. That isn't usual; apparently he died naked. Well, he is a Joker.

[incanted]

Aurora squares him clad in something Brilliance might wear.

[giftedandtalented]

"He might not want to go back to my world - do I get to name it? Is that how we do it?"

[cross_and_bow]

"That is how we do it," says Juliet. "If he doesn't, we drop him off in the Home for Wayward Jokers, also known as Pattern's world Origin." And she wakes clothed Corona.

[pythbox]

"...What the hell?" says Corona, blinking. "Shit, why am I not dead?"

[cross_and_bow]

"You are! So'm I. We're the queens of Hell," says Juliet, waving him into Milliways.

[incanted]

"Juliet," chides Aurora. "Elspeth, could you - I know you're trying to concentrate on Harley and explain to Tab, but -"

[her_imperial_radiance]

Elspeth pets Harley's hair and nods.

(He died (there is an afterlife (it was once awful (torture and eternity and the uncaring infinite) but it has been fixed by these and their alts (alts are this thing; like him and Harley (she is Harley's Elspeth, if ever he mentioned her or Corona guessed)) and they can remove people from it at will; and they knew he took his own life (but the other Jokers, of whom there are many, whom he may meet, like to be alive, and Chelsa can never touch him again, and Elspeth can deprogram him as she is doing for Harley, if he likes, when she is done with her fosterling.))

[pythbox]

Corona blinks.

And grins at Juliet, and says, "I'll be your queen of Hell any day."

[cross_and_bow]

"Some of me would be all over you. I'm not one of them," Juliet says. "After we've brought Tab up to speed we're headed for Origin. We can drop you off there with some other stray Jokers if you don't have anywhere else in mind."

[pythbox]

"I don't really care where I go as long as it's not back and you scrub Chelsa off me first," he says. "And I get to hug Harley. I wanna hug Harley."

[her_imperial_radiance]

"Probably he will let you at some point," says Elspeth, looking down at Harley who she's holding so he doesn't have to support his weight, who doesn't currently appear to harbor any intention of ever letting her go.

[giftedandtalented]

Tab is now reading a copy of the Bellbook eagerly.

[pythbox]

Harley clings to her some more.

Corona smiles fondly at them.

[incanted]

"One of the things on Tab's checklist is acquiring an enchantress's aura. This requires a helper. The helper hurts," says Aurora. "I dunno where you are psychologically; if it's not good I can lean into my world and get Brilliance instead, but you're more convenient."

[pythbox]

Corona shrugs. "I can do hurting."