<This doesn't look like Hell so I assume we haven't been shot or hit by a car or something...>

Being shot or hit by a car or something shouldn't matter but Hell lies but this place seems big, he can't think of anywhere in Hell that there's room for someplace like this, but that doesn't prove anything.

"Hi there," says a person behind them.

Atsinni spins them around.

"I didn't have much choice but to scare you. I'm sorry. You're in New Jerusalem. I can take you back where you were if there's a reason to do that, but I'm hoping we can help each other first."

"New Jerusalem?"

"One of three... places... sometimes known as 'Heaven'. Um, before I get into too much detail about that, I did get both of you, right, I don't want to leave anyone shriveling up by accident..."

"Uh, I'm not aware of having left anything on me behind."

"Good, it'd be a bad idea morally and strategically to leave anyone behind. So New Jerusalem is a monarchy ruled by a person sometimes known in English as Jesus Christ - I can give you the rundown on the laws you'll need to know about in a bit if you're staying - and we've dealt with people who've escaped one hell or another enough times already to have procedures for it, although, well, none of them take into account this situation. My plan is to take you to a place that's harder to teleport into, out of an abundance of caution, and discuss how the Yeerk Empire changes things. Is there any reason why, assuming this isn't a trick and I've been basically honest with you, you'd still want or need to return to Earth immediately?"

"Uh... not immediately but if I don't show up to work it'll complicate getting fed."

She starts walking and gestures for them to follow.

"I don't suppose you know exactly how to do that and just lack the runway or the materials to get it set up?"

"I do not know exactly how."

"That's annoying. We'll see what we can do. So - my current understanding is that the person I'm talking to, who is probably not named Stan Peters, is an alien slaveowner communicating through the body of someone also not named Stan Peters who was probably stolen from one of the hells, possibly one that lies about that. I would like to know if that's correct, and if you have any idea if they know about you, and I'm wondering about the prospects for an alliance between your people and New Jerusalem."

Well there goes the plausible deniability tactic not that it was a very good one. "I didn't think anyone knew that but apparently someone does."

"I honestly wasn't sure, it just seemed likely enough to be worth bringing you here."

"Well, I don't know how many people besides you know, but don't know there to be any - I mean, Yeerks know who I am and demons know who he is but not in combination."

"Speaking of which - I'm Sara, what should I call you?"

"Atsinni, I guess."

"Nice to meet you, Atsinni. So, do you have any useful input into the question of whether and how to reach out to your leadership or what it would take to make it easy for you to transition away from slavery?"

"I haven't really had much direct interaction with the higher-ups..."

"Hmmm. Would I be wrong if I said it doesn't seem like you'd be better off if you had?"

"I'm not really cut out for it."

"Huh. What does that mean?"

"I'm not ambitious or risk-tolerant enough?"

"I personally think that speaks poorly of them. If I were in charge of something I'd try to be - available - safe - if someone had something very important to tell me and wasn't very risk-tolerant or ambitious."