"Ma belle enchanteresse," he says, turning to her, "can we throw a big party?"

"...How would they all get here?" asks Belle.

"You'd have to let me install a - a piece of a friend of mine," Aegis says. "She can pick people up and put them down, as long as she can see the person and the destination. She's not a human, she's a - you don't have computers here, do you."

"What's a computer?"

"It's a machine that - well, in some cases, thinks, but there are simpler ones that don't think and just do lots of math so fast that it's almost like magic," says Aegis, gesturing vaguely. "Jane thinks. She's a person and her body is made of metal and stuff instead of bones and guts. And it's in lots of worlds, and if I put some of her here, she'll be able to bring in lots of people to attend a party if you throw one. I'm not sure how we'll find Ghosty again, though."

"We should invite Jane here, then," Beast asserts. "And throw a big party."

"All right. I suppose. How many people does this all add up to?" Belle asks.

"Well, Stella's party had sixty-five guests after the belated ones showed up," says Aegis. "I don't know if the same friends and family tagalongs will want to come to another so soon, though."

"We should put in a ballroom," laughs the Beast.

"It sounds like it," laughs Belle.

"And make sure there are rooms for people to abscond to," says Aegis. "Certain templates are the absconding type." She elbows Sue.

"There is plenty of room. This is a castle," says Belle archly. "Even after I tell my student that he may come back there will be only three people living here."

"No kids, huh?"

"Not so far. I found a spell to postpone it, years ago - it may be time to reconsider - why, do many of us have children?"

"Golden has a daughter, Angela's pregnant, the rest of us are un-child-having," says Aegis. "But it does seem to correlate with being married, so."

The Beast laughs, kisses Sue's forehead, and hugs his wife.

"I suppose I will get to meet all these people after we've made - party arrangements, and you've put a... a part of your friend somewhere in our castle."

"All the Bells and Jokers, anyway, will almost definitely show up to meet you guys. Other guests are a maybe, maybe not deal, since the last party ended, like, a day ago, and Jane seems to be syncing up time between worlds she's got bits in."

"I want to meet them," the Beast repeats.

"We can put in a ballroom and warn the kitchen. We can probably be ready in about a day," says Belle, "but perhaps if there is reason not to have multiple parties in close succession it would be better to wait?"

"Jane," says Aegis, "you wanna check everybody's availability?"

The schedules of the Jokers are generally open. Some of the Sherlocks and Tonies have limited availability, but most of them are coming up on a weekend in a few days and will be free then. The Eos crowd has mixed responses, but Sandy, Anna, Lazarus, and Kolya are all available for most of the coming week.