Penny hissed as he shot up from the circle, raking his hands through his hair in frustration.
"Okay, fuck this. This isn't working at all."
Alice glanced at Julia with knitted brows. "Are you sure we're doing this right?"
Julia sighed, hugging her arms. "Marina never exactly told me how the spell was supposed to be performed. I just… I only know the requirements. The rest we're winging it, going off what we saw in the Library, plus what you and Quentin suggested."
Margo groaned and flopped onto the couch, tossing her legs over the armrest. "Perfect. Nothing screams success like a patchwork spell stitched together with educated guesses and half-baked instructions. Love that journey for us." She stretched and smirked. "So much for Mister Smartass being the grand timeline divergence."
Quentin frowned and spoke out in a defensive manner m. "It's not their fault. And besides, one of the requirements is sex magic. So, there's that."
Eliot didn't miss a beat before raising his flask. "Well then, get a room and get to it. Save the world through aggressively awkward thrusting."
Margo grinned wickedly. "Just make sure you're both thinking about Kai while you do it. That way the spell might actually have a fighting chance."
The room went still for a moment.
A voice, smooth and laced with sarcasm, cut through the silence. "Wow. Okay. I'm a little bit disturbed, concerned and flattered that you apparently need to think of me during sex."
Quentin froze. "It's not…" His words died in his throat as all of them whipped their heads around, eyes wide.
The voice chuckled again. "I'm here."
For a few tense moments, it teased them, Kai's tone bouncing between sarcasm and amusement, never revealing where it was coming from.
Eliot raised a hand. "Okay, so you all hear this too, right? This isn't me having a psychotic break?"
They all nodded quickly.
"Oh, thank God, I thought I was about to be diagnosed with schizophrenia." Eliot muttered just in time for the voice to target him directly.
"Don't worry, Eliot. You'd make an excellent psychotic break. Stylish, a little tragic and easy to drink with."
The laugh that followed was unmistakable. A shimmer pulsed in the air, and then suddenly Kai appeared in the room with them.
Penny was the first to recover. He threw his arms out. "What the fuck, man you play too much?!"
Julia leapt to her feet, rushing over. She touched his arm, then his chest and finally kissed him quickly before pulling back with a relieved smile. "It worked."
Kai smirked. "Yeah. It actually did."
Margo tilted her head, unimpressed but smiling. "I'll be damned. Here I thought we were just wasting our time and inventing new ways to disappoint ourselves."
Kai blinked. "Wait, what do you mean?" His gaze darted around the room, then stopped on a familiar book lying open. "Is that… my grimoire?"
Alice stepped forward, holding it slightly aloft. "Yes. We used it for a tethering spell to bring you back."
"Riiiiiiight," Kai drawled. "Well, either way damn, it's good to be back."
Quentin exhaled. "I can't even imagine what it was like… being stuck in a world where Brakebills was literally destroyed."
Eliot raised his flask. "I bet the cocktails were shit."
Margo followed with a smirk. "And the wardrobe options were probably worse."
Kai waved them off. "It wasn't all that bad. I had an alternate Alice to keep me company. Or… was it the other way around?"
Julia's eyes flickered at that, some unreadable glint surfacing as she asked softly, "Is that so?"
Before he could answer, Alice cut in quickly. "What happened to her?"
Kai's smirk faltered. "We were in the middle of a spell."
Penny narrowed his eyes. "What spell?"
"The very same tethering spell," Kai said, as if it were obvious. "To bring me back."
Julia's eyes widened. "What?"
"Yeah. And it worked."
Quentin frowned. "But I thought we brought you back."
Kai shrugged. "Details. Doesn't matter."
Alice's gaze lingered on him, heavy. "Oh."
Quentin looked at her. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Alice murmured, though her voice trembled faintly. "It's just… she's all alone back there."
Kai glanced toward the door, lips curving into a mischievous smile. "Yeah. About that…"
He strode over and pulled the door open.
Standing there was another Alice, her clothes were a little different, she had a long-sleeved half-net black top and comfortable jeans. She stepped inside quietly, eyes sweeping the room.
"Hi."
Quentin's jaw dropped. "Sweet Jesus. There are two of you now?"
Alice herself froze, eyes wide in shock at her counterpart.
Penny groaned. "Oh, you didn't."
Kai grinned. "Yeah. I kind of did."
The alternate Alice blinked rapidly, her eyes glassy red with unshed tears. She pressed her lips together before whispering, "I'm sorry." She quickly wiped her eyes, then looked directly at Quentin. "Quentin… it's good to see you again."
Quentin stammered. "Yeah—uhhh—me too."
Margo groaned, rolling her eyes. "God, could this get any mushier? We're one bad violin solo away from a CW drama."
The alternate Alice let out a soft laugh, genuine and warm. "I've missed you too, Margo."
Margo blinked, momentarily thrown off. Eliot leaned in, smirking. "Don't let it go to your head."
The alternate Alice turned back to the group, then to Kai. "He botched the spell. That's how I ended up here."
Kai lifted his hands, feigning innocence with a diabolical grin. "What?"
Penny sighed but smiled faintly. "Well… it's good to have you with us, Alice."
"Alicia," she corrected softly. She glanced at the original Alice and nodded. "Call me Alicia. The privilege of that name belongs to this world's Alice."
Slowly, she raised her hands and dragged them through her hair. The golden blond faded into a striking jet black.
Alice stepped closer, her lips curving in a small, genuine smile. "I love your hair."
"Thanks," Alicia replied.
Penny groaned loudly. "For the love of God, Quentin, keep those dirty thoughts to yourself."
That earned a laugh from Julia and Eliot, who tried and failed to cover his chuckle.
Margo, recovering her edge, clapped her hands together. "Well. Now that we've got Kai back and with bonus Alice or Alicia. I think it's time we actually talk about the Beast."
Kai smirked. "Yeah… but before that, there's something I need to do."
Julia raised a brow. "Where are you running off to?"
Kai gave her a devilish grin. "Let's just say I've got to stop a certain fox from trying to make a den where it doesn't belong."
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