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"This way," says Sherlock.

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Tony bounces along after her.

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And Bella follows.

"Well, this is cute," she says. "Very cute indeed for a limited budget. ...That looks like Forks," she adds, peering at one of the landscapes. "Which one put that up, your Shell Bell or the other?"
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"I think Bell said something about the other one doing the decorating, Sherry what's her official nickname—"

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"Amariah," says Sherlock. "And I am Sherlock, and this is Tony."

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"Sherlock? That's a girl's name where you're from?" blinks Bella. "Oh, a guestbook." She picks it up, reads it through lightning-quick, and then picks up the nearby pen and fills it out equally lightning-quick.

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"Not traditionally. Would you be at all interested in helping Bell take over our world?"

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"Is she having trouble with it?" Bella asks.

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"Considerably."

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"I can fix that," says Bella confidently. "I am extremely magic."

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"Excellent," says Sherlock. "She will be along in her own time. Would you like me to catch you up on the situation meanwhile? She summarized our troubles in her Bellbook entry, I believe, but I expect you will have questions."

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"Yes, please do," says Bella, taking a seat and clasping her hands over her knees.

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"Where would you prefer I start? I don't know how much detail her summary gave you."

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"You haven't read it? It says your government is lousy and she doesn't have any of her own magic, basically, but I don't know what in particular you're going to need. I can just visit and handle stuff magically myself once I scope it out, but I think she'd probably rather have her own supply. There is a slight complication to magic the way I do it, though," she adds, glancing at Alice.

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Shell Bell chooses this moment to walk in. "Hi Sherl- oh wow! Hi! I'm Shell Bell!" she exclaims when she spots the other her.

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"Hi!" replies Bella. "I've nicknamed myself Stella in your little book. I was about to ask - do you happen to know a cooperative masochist?"

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"...That's a weird question," says Shell Bell. "I don't think so..."

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"Ah," says Sherlock.

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"...Ah?" says Stella-Bella inquisitively. "I ask because my magic system, inconveniently enough, involves turning pain into wishes. I can be the sorceress-empress of the stars with a moon palace and all that good stuff because I have him." She gestures at Alice; the gesture turns into a grab and she kisses his cheek. "Unfortunately, one of the very short list of things that I cannot wish for effectually involves changing the rules about where wishes come from."

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Alice beams and hugs her.

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"I expect I could manage," says Sherlock.

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Stella peers at her. "I'm not ruling it out, but you aren't one of Alice, and I'm still frankly astounded that he occurs in nature," she says after a pause. "Wishes come in sizes. I think Shell Bell can probably manage without stars - I was planning to for a while - but she'll want at least some hexes, and those are serious business. I have only ever made one, and it was when I was hit by a van and broke most of the bones in my body. If Alice hadn't fixed me up, it's possible I never would have woken up and dubious if I could have walked again or regained the full use of both hands, even so. Does that sound like the sort of thing you could manage - regularly?"

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"Not with delight, perhaps," she says after a moment. "But if necessary."

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"There is another possibility, especially if Shell Bell objects to you being not-delighted, which is the distasteful subject of mental editing. Your entry says you don't have the mental opacity thing," Stella says to Shell Bell. "So I could - but even if you don't have the power you probably have the dislike of things fussing with your brain, I imagine that's the first thing you'll wish for. If you want and Sherlock doesn't mind I can just boost whatever Sherlock has to start with."

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"I'm... not mentally opaque," agrees Shell Bell. "There was this holiday here, once, and it involved... nonconsensual mind-altering drugs - run if you see red and pink and lace and this shape everywhere -" she gestures. "And they mind-altered me and I did not like it, but Sherlock, you didn't like it either..."

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