"My family would, they'd get in here and solve everything. 'S why I want to figure out how to get them."

"Maybe I could call them. I guess."

"You don't have to. The vampire lair that is apparently the last place I went that had a door doesn't have any vampires anymore but it's still pretty unpleasant."

"I mean, I think maybe so is having cancer?"

She doesn't even actually know what she's trying to argue herself into, here, but if she's willing to step out for a second and trust him to open the door again at some point, then in theory finding a phone shouldn't be that much more of a risk, and it seems like a bad thing not to consider it at all.

"That's a very Karen sort of answer."

She sighs at her food. Somewhere in the multiverse there is - no, was - a Karen who was much less of a loser than she is. She isn't at all jealous of that person, but their existence does sort of make her want to hide in a hole for twenty years.

Thing number one: Tyelcormo is the only person here who can open the door for her. Even if she called in someone she trusts from her world (so... Connor, or possibly her cousin), they wouldn't be able to open the door to where she was. She has no particular reason to believe that Tyelcormo is going to turn out to be randomly malicious, other than that people sometimes are, but she feels like she should still be weighing the possibility. He could, in theory, shut the door and leave through the back. He could also do this if she steps out without the intention of calling his family. He could probably even do it now, honestly, just grab her and shove her out the door after opening it, and the fact that he hasn't suggests that either he isn't this variety of evil or that his evil plan is very complicated. Probably it's the first thing, since the only reason she can think of why he might need to lure her instead of shoving her is that it might be important that she not realize that he's evil, and if he shuts the door and leaves through the back then she's going to know, because time will be passing and the door will be shut.

Thing number two: she's going to have to call smart important powerful people she doesn't know on the phone, which is horrible. 

Thing number three: if she succeeds, Milliways will be full of smart important powerful people, which will mean that she will probably not ever be able to spend any more time relaxing in Milliways. 

None of these are really reasons not to ask someone if they could maybe stop by and cure cancer. It's going to blow up somehow, because good things always blow up, but this is not really an excuse not to try.

She miserably pushes the rice around on her plate.

"Where do you think the closest phone is, from there?"

"You can see the town once you get outside and there's a convenience store there which has a phone. We're in no hurry even if you do want to do it."

"I guess. - Maybe in a couple days, or something."

"Mmkay."

She does not sigh at her food again. She doesn't have to be happy about giving this place up, but she doesn't have to be dramatic about it, either.

She finishes her food. It's a lot, but she has a hard time not eating food placed in front of her, given all of the everything. She asks for another novel, but when she gets back up to her room, she doesn't read it. She paces. She makes an effort to breathe disappointment out and breathe calm, levelheaded consideration in. She turns the situation around in her head, over and over and over, smoothing out the corners so that the sharp parts don't sting.

It does make it hard to feel like she's going to be able to spend any more time here relaxing, though. Crushing responsibilities are bad for that.

Eventually, when she's pried out most of her attachment to this place, she heads back downstairs.

He has given up on his book and is sitting there weaving baskets.

"I can do the thing. If now's a good time."

"- yeah, now's good."

She pulls out a pocket notebook. "I need a number to call and - when I get them what do I say?"

"Alex sent you, there's a magic anomaly here with controllable time dilation and lots of books, they should come by real quick. Should they ask Azalea if she wants to come?"

- different Azalea, not hers. Probably way cooler than her in some way. But an Azalea who's missing her Karen - and therefore going to be really disappointed by what she gets - although honestly it's really hard to picture Azalea ever being disappointed in her for any reason - that's her Azalea, though -

"...do you think she'd want to?"

"Yeah of course."

"OK. Then - sure."

"So then tell them to get Azalea because our Karen isn't here but an alternate universe Karen on the run from vampire bounty hunters in LA is and she could use a hug and I sure can't help."

"I will, uh, try saying something to that effect. You good to hold the door open until I get back?"

"Yes."

"OK then. Did the lair, um, have another door?"

"Yeah. It's a basement, you'd wanna go up the stairs."

"OK. I'll - see you in a bit. Probably."

"I'll listen the whole way and if anything seems to be going alarmingly wrong I will shut the door and open it once I have a solution."