Interlude - Quentin and Julia. (Offee POV)

Offee watched Quentin fall out of a ripple in space and crash land on the couch in a heap, and remembered the instructions Jay had left for her as she sprung into action.

"Back so soon? And with a new haircut!" She asked innocently.

"What? Ugh-" he rubbed his neck, "No. We were attacked, I....fell back into the fountain. Wait, what do you mean new hairc-" his hands wandered over to his head as he winced.

"Fuck!"

"Hey, it's not that bad..." Offee handed him a cap.

"I look like Doc Brown!" He whined.

Offee chuckled.

He did look like the old professor from Back To The Future, just with black hair.

"1 in 3 men have a receding hairline in their 20s so it's not that rare." Offee consoled him.

"Ju-just leave it. Can you not mention it anymore. I need a hair growth potion."

"How long will that take to make? Don't they need you in Fillory?" Offee pointed out.

"No they..." He realized something and looked down at his other hand, still clutching a map.

The map of Fillory.

Quentin sighed.

"They don't have a map."

"They need that, don't they?" Offee asked.

"Yes. But I don't... I-i-i don't have a way back. Shit!" He began to panic, "W-what do I do...what now? I-i-i messed up and now... Fuck!" He paced nervously around the room before something clicked.

"Wait, you're from Star Wars aren't you?" He turned to Offee.

Offee looked at him confused.

"Yes. What about it?"

"Don't y-you have some.....some thing or magic that lets you come here? Travel across worlds?"

"No? Is used a jedi ruin and that was....one way." She explained.

"Th-that key you used!" He pointed.

"Only leads to other keys or the book. And the book is upstairs."

"Shit." Quentin but his lip in frustration.

"Look, you need to relax. It's okay. We'll find a way back, okay? Surely, the kids in the books made it to Fillory, right? How did they do it?" She suggested word for word just as Jay told her to.

The goal was simple.

Get him and Julia to go to Fillory and hand Jay the implements he needed to achieve his goals.

Once he was a god, she was sure he would give her what she wanted too.

She counted on it.

It was Jay after all.

He'd never be able to betray her.

Zeus was an idiot for ever thinking that Jay would harm her.

She knew how much he loved her.

She giggled.

A bit too much.

Just the way she liked it.

"I.... don't know." He said softly, falling into a sofa chair.

"I just....I just know that if I'm going to die-"

"You won't die. Jay will get it right."

"How do you have so much faith in that asshole- I....nevermind. Of course you do."

Offee sighed and sat down beside him, pulling off her apron as she dug into memory packet Jay had sent her, cataloging all possible variations of this conversation, and picked out the right words.

"Look maybe you don't know a way back but you know what they say, two minds are better than one. Let me get the Fillory books and we'll read up on them together-"

"No. We don't have time. What if they get caught by the Beast or what if he cones here and-"

Offee leveled a stern gaze at him and gestured at the kids watching tv on the other end of the room.

That shut him up.

"Right. We don't have a choice. Alright. We'll need to read up fast-" He said when his eyes went wide in realization.

"Two minds are better than one." He muttered.

"I think I know where we have to go."

"Where?" Offee asked, even though she knew the answer already.

"My friend, Julia's place."

.

"So..... This whole conspiracy of time loops, the whole reason I wasn't allowed into Brakebills was because some bitch-"

That was what she picked up from the whole thing?

Offee scoffed internally.

Jay was right about the contracts.

It really was like herding cats with these people.

"Jane Chatwin."

"Yes. Jane Chatwin." She rolled her eyes.

"Come on, you believe magic is real but not Fillory?"

That shook her up.

"No." She admitted, "You're right. I have seen some shit. Powerful magic. The kind you wouldn't believe. I...can barely believe it."

"Wh-what are you talking about Julia?"

"Some friends and I... We got into some pretty eclectic shit."

"Hedge friends?" He asked.

"No. Not hedges. Proper magicians. And that hedge comment by the way, very disrespectful. If I recall correctly, your friend Jay got done in by a hedge spell."

"If I recall correctly, it didn't end well for you guys either-" Quentin only realized what he had said after it left his mouth and a cold look flashed over Julia's face, " I'm so sorry Julia I didn't-"

"No. You're right. I did something very stupid. And... It ended up blowing up in our faces. I... I never apologized to him... To you."

"To me?"

"I... Suggested trying the spell out on you first but the ingredients were expensive and-"

"That is so-"

"I know. I know. I was wrong. I shouldn't have done it. After I... After you were so nice to me I... I never realized what it really was like to have a true friend." She looked at him deeply.

"I'm sorry, Q." She hugged him and ge awkwardly reciprocated.

"You still smell the same." She giggled.

"I missed you too. I should have never gotten arrogant with you. You deserved to go to Brakebills."

"I did, huh?" Julia looked at the ceiling wistfully, and heaved a sigh of relief, " Let bygones be bygones?" She asked.

"That's what friends do." Quentin smiled in reply.

"Thanks." She slunk back into her seat.

"So that magic you were talking about?"

"Oh right. It's uh... We summoned a goddess."

"A goddess?" Quentin scoffed.

"What was that about believing stuff?" She reminded him.

"Touche." He admitted.

"So we summoned a goddess and she.... It was like the most massive dose of ecstasy I never had.y psyche was defragging. She grabted evry petition. She healed Menolly's breast cancer, she sent Richard where he wanted to go....she...she gave us missions. Strict marching orders. She told me I had a great task ahead of me."

"Maybe this is it." Offee put down a platter of coffee and habded them each a cup.

Offee once more picked the right words from the memory packet.

"The mission. Saving Fillory. Sounds grand enough."

"That....Offee was it?" She looked Offee up and down in a way Offee didn't quite like.

"I still can't believe Star Wars is real. I mean Fillory is one thing but Star Wars... "

"I'm right here." Offee said.

"Yeah sorry." Julia said, "And yeah. Maybe it is. But a way back. Across worlds....."

Just then her eyes lit up in excitement.

"Wait... If we just have to get to Fillory, can't we use a path Jane herself used? In the books? We can just follow her in if we get the time right! There was that one time she went there via a portal in a telephone booth.

Maybe... "

"What are you suggesting Julia?" Quentin asked.

"Do you know where we can find some time bridges?" Julia grinned.

A time bridge. A magical device that linked back to a certain point in time.

Basically a time machine that can only take you to one point in the past and back.

They planned to yse it to go back in time to Jane's childhood, when she had Narnia-esque adventures in Fillory and follow after her into a portal opened by the gods to summon her.

A good choice as far as Offee was concerned.

They were back together.

And they were back on track.

Offee smiled.

Her job was done.

It was all up to Jay now.

And that was a done deal already.

She sipped her coffee as she watched the two magicians pull out books and begin flipping through the pages to find the right place and time for the entry and disappeared, leaving a note behind that she was going back home to the kids.

______________________

An Interlude to fill in the blanks for what Quentin and Julia did to get back.

The regular chapter for the day.

The 400 powerstones extra chapter will be out shortly.

Thanks for reading.

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See ya later.