universal template sweep!

[incanted]

Bella's checks for templates other than herself, Brilliance, Matilda, Libby, and people attached to them like her and Lexi's parents or Libby's Chris turns up nothing - no friends, no villains.

Before Libby contacts her, she gets visitors.

"Shell Bell! Juliet! Wow, how long has it been for you guys?"

"At home, no time," says Shell Bell.

"Longer for me. I can get to Milliways anytime, but Jane is really fucking broken," says Juliet. "Not years, though, just a few months, and for a while nothing I urgently needed offworld help for came up. I finally had to force the door to Atlantis to get Shell Bell so we could go to Yggdrasil - the Jarvis there lost connection - and then we swung through all the other Jarvised worlds to quarantine a certain transmissible spell from Sunshine, and then we figured as long as we were together and Shell Bell can door near anywhere we'd stop here. For your charming company and also coins. Next is picking up Glass and trying for the world where Aegis went."

"Yeah, sure," says Aurora, "you can have coins, no problem - I'm not down much time, more than before but only about a week. It turns out I have a Matilda and also a Libby, but my Libby is less than impressed with me, I think, Juliet, can you run and get yours?"

"Working with Shell Bell's doors instead of Jane means the best way to do that without losing any time is going to your Libby and opening a door there," says Juliet. "Will she be up for that?"

"She said she'd call me today when she wasn't busy, I can bring you guys," nods Aurora. "If you don't mind waiting around a little."

"Well, in the meantime we could maybe meet your Matilda? Is she busy?" asks Shell Bell.

"I'll check."

[Hey, Matilda! Guess who's here!]

Comments

[withmypowers]

"I'm patient. But I'll take the door anyway if it happens to be convenient."

[cross_and_bow]

"It's Shell Bell's aura power. Doesn't even need a coin," says Juliet.

[she_sells_seashells]

"But," Shell Bell says, "getting contagious magic can take a while - if it was just a minute per person we'd have all tried it by now - and we'd have to all come with you so nobody would be stranded without me. I have a design for an anniversary festival to work out; do you guys have stuff to do?"

[cross_and_bow]

"I have books on my to-conjure-and-read list about various demons. Always with the various demons. And also I need to catch up Aurora on what's happened in Sunshine since Jane went down."

[incanted]

"I apparently need to be caught up, and Agent Honey recommended me some books on local magic - apparently we are 'mages', not 'sorceresses'," says Aurora. "Sounds like we're all set, let's have a door."

[she_sells_seashells]

Shell Bell flares, and opens the door, and lo, it is Milliways. "After you," she says, and the other Bells file in.

[withmypowers]

Matilda follows.

"Ooh," she says, peering around the bar. Adularia shimmers.

[she_sells_seashells]

Aura still unfurled, Shell Bell closes and then reopens the door to Wellspring. [Hey, Matilda!]

[withmypowers]

[Fancy seeing you here,] says Wellspring's Matilda. [Do you know anything about "error 18920: cannot connect to monitor lizard"?]

[she_sells_seashells]

[Jane broke. Worse than last time. I can't fix her, but I can door places. Rainbow turns out to have one of you and she wants Wellspring magic.]

[withmypowers]

[I see,] says Matilda. [Well, why don't you all come visit? I'm at home and Jenny's at work. It'll be just us.]

[she_sells_seashells]

"Porting to her place," warns Shell Bell, and she transports the entire party to Matilda's location.

[withmypowers]

Matilda looks at Agent Honey.

Agent Honey looks at Matilda.

They both grin.

[she_sells_seashells]

Shell Bell laughs, and floats in the air, and starts working through her aforementioned festival design in her head.

[cross_and_bow]

Juliet laughs, and starts explaining to Aurora about Soph.

[withmypowers]

The Matildas have a short discussion that ends in Agent Honey levitating while she reads up on the local magic system using a conjured laptop. Adularia shimmers contentedly.

[incanted]

"Since we're going to be here a while anyway, can you get me and Juliet too while you're at it?" asks Aurora.

[cross_and_bow]

"Yeah, even if we don't all get it sticking at the same time it'll shorten future attempts, right?"

[withmypowers]

"Sure," Matilda says agreeably. Aurora and Juliet also begin to levitate.

[cross_and_bow]

"Thanks." Juliet finishes her Soph-summary, then conjures a large onionskin-page grimoire and finds her spot on page 344.

[incanted]

Aurora conjures a book about Rainbow magic and starts at the beginning.

[withmypowers]

Book-reading levitation party!

[incanted]

Yep!

[withmypowers]

After half an hour goes by, Matilda says, "Congratulations, alternate me!"

Agent Honey floats down to the ground. And then floats back up.

"Ooh, I like it," she says.

[cross_and_bow]

"Anything sticking to me or Aurora?"