"Mhm."

"We can't just wish the world - let's call it Rainbow - into the system, I guess?"

"Try it," says the Joker.

"I feel like it might help if I knew more about how Jane worked."

"She's an internet-eating computer person who can move people between worlds if she's looking at the person and the place she wants to put 'em. The technical details are lost on me," says the Joker. "Think it's something to do with the way I used to go to Milliways in my dreams, though."

"Hmm." Bella shrugs, and tries a few wish designs on a few coin sizes. "No dice."

"Didn't think so. But there's no harm in trying."

"Apparently not. Do you need to crash here while we wait for a door? Because that would be harder to sell Charlie on than Brilliance was, I think."

He laughs. "I'll bet," he says. "Nah, I can find somewhere to snuggle up, don't worry about me."

"Okay, good. I hope you're not stuck here too long what with the adorable moppet at home."

"I love my munchkin," the Joker says fondly, and the air shows Juliet a scene of Kerron cuddling his mummy. "But I can live without him for a while. He'll still be there when I get back."

"I noticed the angel one is pregnant. Just how many of me have reproduced, if you don't count Jane?"

"Golden and Edward have a daughter named Elspeth. She's a sweetheart." The Joker illustrates her. "And Micaiah and Angela have a fetus, and I think that's it."

"...Elspeth looks about as old as Golden and Edward do," observes Bella. "Vampire thing?"

"Yep!"

"Nifty."

"It is!" he agrees.

"So how does enchanting work and how does it run on pain 'worse' than minting does?"

"Minting, you get hurt and you make a coin and then you can fix whatever hurt you and you're done," he says. "Enchanting, whoever's casting the spell needs to use somebody as a channel - if it's you, it hurts and you might lose control of the spell and kill yourself; if it's somebody else and they're into it, it'll hurt them in a way that sticks around afterward, and there's just not that many people willing to let you give them chronic pain problems so you can do nifty magic; and if it's somebody else and they're not into it, it'll give them nasty brain damage." He grins. "Us Jokers are all over channeling, of course."

"That," says Bella, "is a mean magic system. Why bother channeling, willing channels or no, with coins available? Does enchanting do things coins can't?"

"Mmyep! You couldn't wish up a nifty enchanter's aura like mine," he says, flaring a little so that suddenly he is the most fascinating thing in the room and every emotion he projects - amusement, friendliness, a gentle affection for Brilliance - is visible with crystalline clarity. "Gotta get those the hard way. It's why all the Bells did it, pretty much. Everybody's aura is different, but you can't tell what it's gonna be until you get it. The Bells mostly look all powerful and stuff; the Jokers mostly get get what I just showed you, along with," there is a cheerful little drumroll, "soundtracks."

"...Oooh."

"It's fun," he says. "I'll channel for you if Nibbles here doesn't wanna."

"...Nibbles?"

Brilliance snorts.