i am the oncoming storm

[autokinetic]

There are three Bells in Milliways.

They want a fourth. A fifth. A sixth. A seventh.

And then Downside is going down.

Comments

[nowait_letme]

Chainsaw blinks.

[temporal_affairs]

"They're talking to the admin," Nathan reports a moment later. "We'll see how far they get with that, I guess."

[lookingforwardtoit]

"Not far, I bet," sighs Eights.

[temporal_affairs]

"Well, I don't know, the ones who started out alive are still alive," he shrugs.

[lookingforwardtoit]

"I guess that's a start."

[temporal_affairs]

"I'd ask for a pancake, but I no longer eat solid food," Nathan says after a bit of an awkward silence.

[lookingforwardtoit]

"What do you eat?"

[temporal_affairs]

"Conjured synthetics. Occasionally human blood, since I've got a source who won't die of the loss. I am, you see, a vampire again."

[lookingforwardtoit]

...Eights looks speculative.

[temporal_affairs]

"I'll be happy to show you sometime," Nathan adds.

[lookingforwardtoit]

She beams.

[nowait_letme]

"Can I watch?"

[temporal_affairs]

Nathan peers at him.

"You going to try to make me regret it if I say 'yes' instead of inviting Eights out of the world for the purpose and then never interacting with you again?" he inquires.

[nowait_letme]

"Now why would I do that?"

[lookingforwardtoit]

Eights rolls her eyes.

[nowait_letme]

He laughs.

"All right, I won't. I promise."

[temporal_affairs]

"Hmm."

Now, when is a good time to take a bite out of Eights, and when is a good time to ask Jane to get him the hell out of here?

[lookingforwardtoit]

Good times to take a bite out of Eights are pretty much concentrated in the near future, on whatever scale; good times to ask Jane to get him the hell out of here vary much more widely, and don't correlate obviously with the bitey moments.

[temporal_affairs]

"All right, then, if you like." Pause. "I have something of a guess about what Stella employs Sandy to do. You just wanna watch?"

[nowait_letme]

"What," he inquires, "does Stella employ Sandy to do?"

[temporal_affairs]

"The Bella contingent has serious magic, with the little wrinkle that it is made out of pain. I think from how Stella was phrasing things that her Anna and Sandy share a job description with the Joker back in my world. Him you met. Actually, you managed to kill him."

[nowait_letme]

"I remember the Joker," says Chainsaw with a fondly reminiscent smile. "And no, I don't wanna do anything but watch."

[lookingforwardtoit]

"Although if you guys ever wanna go on a double date," Eights puts in, "I know I'd be game."

[temporal_affairs]

Nathan laughs. "Noted. You wanna say when, Eights, or you want a surprise?"

[lookingforwardtoit]

"I like surprises," she says brightly. "Your Joker and I have that in common."