The man on the bed groaned softly, legs shifting beneath the sheets. Brown eyes fluttered open quickly followed by a soft muttered cursed. "Shit." eyes shut tight the man stumbled from the bed,made his way clumsily toward the window. It took him several tries before his hands managed to find and pull on the string closing the blinds.

"Better." the man sighed opening his eyes and taking in the wreck that was his bedroom. "What the fuck did I do last night?" Brian frowned making his way to the bathroom. His reflection left him even more confused. The man staring back at him looked haunted and scared.

But why and of what?

The previous evening was a total blank. He remembered how he started off his morning. He had met a colleague for breakfast. He and Ben had met at the diner across from his favorite book store.

They had gone over the curriculum for his class. Brian was an high school English teacher and Ben was assisting him with his schedule. Correction Ben was suppose to help him but really all Ben wanted to do was flirt and hit on Brian. Though flattered Brian had turned him down, again.

After breakfast Ben left with a stolen kiss on the lips and a promise to keep asking until no turned into yes. It took all of Brian's strength to not roll his eyes at the man's persistence. Not that Brian wasn't flattered he was. Really, there was no reason that he could think of as to why he keeps turning Ben down. To be fair Ben was a very attractive man. Standing at 6'2, dirty blond hair, very athletic build and green eyes that stared at Brian like he was the only reason for Ben to breathe. He was gorgeous and by all rights a perfect match for Brian. It's just too bad that Brian could not see himself with him. For no other reason than it...they didn't feel right.

So after Ben left Brian made his way to the book store, where he wandered for the next 2 hours. It was really Brian's idea of a perfect day. He even managed to find several books he had been looking for. After paying for the books he made his way out of the store and …...there is when things get all muddled. Brian vaguely remembers a man approaching him on the street. The man called him by another name. ...Quincy? No that wasn't right. No it was...

"Quentin." a voice called out from behind him.

Brian's breath caught in his throat. A chill ran along his spine causing him to double over in sheer terror. A memory of red glowing eyes caused him to whimper aloud. Looking up he saw a man tall, handsome non threatening at first glance. That was just in illusion as was the childlike innocence that hung about the man. That illusion shattered like thin glass when he was denied his desires. Then he became dark, menacing and threatening. Brian trembled in fear, his captor unmoved or unaware of the reaction his presence caused moved closer to his prisoner.

"Here, I brought you some cards." The man smiling widely held out a brand new deck of cards. He gave an encouraging nod to Brian to take the offered cards. "Do a card trick for me Quentin." he said in a voice filled with curious wonder.

With those words Brian remembered. He remembered how the man followed him and took him from the alley transporting them here to his home. He remembered how he fought him in vain for his freedom. All of it had been for nothing the man simply smiled and nodded asking him over and over again to play or do a card trick. Brian's answer today was the same as last night. "I don't know any tricks." Brian slid along the wall putting distance between him and his captor. "I'm not Quentin. My name is Brian."

"No you are Quentin. They made you forget. They made all of you forget." The man moved closer to Brian grabbing his wrist and placing the cards in his hands. "Just try." he asked, demanded.

Brian nodded and taking a deep shuddering breath with trembling hands he opened the deck of cards.

Alice paced her cell. She did not know how long she had been there, locked up and held prisoner. A day, a week, a month? It didn't matter an hour was too long. That monster was out there and hunting her friends. Her friends. She wasn't sure she was even allowed to refer to them as that anymore. Not after she betrayed them. What Alice did was for everybody's own good. Magic was not something to be used so lightly. It would destroy everything. People were selfish and naive in the use of magic.

Magic was a living breathing thing that would kill and destroy. We humans are so easily corrupted. We think what we are doing is for good when its really for our own selfish reasons. She had to destroy the keys. She really did.

Quentin didn't understand all he saw was the good magic could do. He didn't understand that magic came with a price. A deadly one. Alice only hoped she would get a chance to explain make him see. But first she needed to get out of this cell. Alice moved over to the bed and threw herself down in frustration. She was going over another plan in her head when she heard the door open. Looking up she saw Dean Fogg standing in the doorway. "Did you find them?"

"All are accounted for..." Fogg paused.

"Except?" Alice stood up anxiety rising to rumble deep in her veins. "Who is missing?"

"Eliot." Fogg moved over to her desk and sat atop it. "We went to where Eliot was suppose to be and found he had never made it there. He had to have been taken right away." Fogg took a deep breath and continued. "We also believe that Eliot is not Eliot anymore."

"Of course not. You and the library took his life from him and gave him another." Alice said bitterly.

"You know why we did that. You were also complicit with why it was done. No pointing fingers Ms. Quinn." Fogg had made a deal with the devil but it didn't mean he was happy about it. The deal he made was to protect his students. It was the only way he could make sure that they all lived. He was not proud of what he did but he was happy they were all saved. "After they were dropped into their new lives a watcher was assigned to each one. Just to make sure there was no complications. No stray memories." Fogg was not happy about that when he found out. He still did not trust the Library to not double cross them. However in this case it gave them a heads up. "The watcher in charge of Eliot was found dead. When his body was examined they found traces of very powerful magic. Magic that could not be done by a magician. This was creator magic. Magic from a God."

"The monster." Alice whispered. "I told you. I warned you! That he could jump from bodies. Now he has Eliot. Who knows what or who he'll go after next." Alice was seething. Her warnings were pushed aside as crazy ramblings. She had only felt anger like this once before. When she was a niffen. It both frightened and excited her. "So what do we do..." Alice stopped as saingle most frightening thought entered her mind. "Quentin. Oh my god Quentin promised to be his jailer." Alice looked to Fogg hoping for his reassurance that Quentin was fine.

Fogg looked away not able to look at her pleading eyes. "I'm sorry, Quentin is also missing."

Alice stalked towards Fogg standing on tip toes she pressed her face close to the big man. "Get me out of here, the fuck now!"

Penny was filing away books in the library. His cart filled to capacity. It was truly amazing how the fucking cart never seemed to empty. He put book after book away and still the cart remained the same. "A fucking billion years of this."

"Penny."

"What...what are you doing here?" Penny stared at Dean Fogg. To say he was surprised would be an understatement.

"I need you. They need you." Fogg walked over to the confused man taking him by the arm he led him out the room.

"Who...they?" Penny was dragged across the hallway into a part of the library he was not allowed in. "Where hell are we going?"

"I'll explain when we get there." Fogg turned down another hallway until they reached a metal door. They both waited until it buzzed open when Fogg flashed an ID. Inside the room was another hallway. It was very plane with gray walls, no windows or pictures it was very cold and sterile. In fact if Penny were to describe it he would say it reminded him of that mental hospital that Quentin had been trapped in. A prison.

Fogg finally stopped when they reached the hallways end. Opening the door he waved Penny through. Penny hesitated only slightly before stepping in. He smiled wide when he saw Alice sitting on the bed. "Alice."

Alice stood from the bed and hugged her friend, their Penny. "We need your help. They need your help."

"Okay ominous. Who needs my help and why." Penny sat down on the bed and waited for an explanation.

Fogg looked to Alice nodding for her to start. "Okay a lots happened since you've been gone. You know we gathered all the keys."

"You found seven, yes." Penny knew they would. Quentin was many things but he knew the little fan boy son of a bitch was not one to give up. Penny very grudgingly had to give him respect for that. Not that Quentin would ever know. So Penny was okay with that. "Quentin must have been fan-girling like shit over that."

"They all were." Alice smiled softly with regret. She had not been as happy at their success.

Penny able to read Alice said knowingly, "But not you."

"No, like you I worked for the library and they had their own agenda. One that ran along the lines of my own. So I ..."

"Fucked over our friends and now you need help in fixing that shit you caused." Penny knew this story. It was one playing out since he started at Brakebills.

"Yes." Alice held her head high. She had made a choice one that she still stands by. She would not apologize for making it. She was only sorry that it caused so much hurt to her friends. Especially to Quentin.

"Tell me one thing first. Is Kady okay? She is not hurt is she?" Penny was desperate to know.

Dean Fogg answered him instead, "Kady is fine. Being her usual bad ass self. You'd be very proud of her."

"Okay then." Penny smiled thinking of his bad ass girlfriend. "Tell me exactly what the problem is."

Not one to beat around the bush Alice told him, "Eliot has been possessed by a monster god thing and he kidnapped Quentin. We need to find them and stop the monster. Please will you help us?"

Penny would help. Hell he acted like he didn't care especially where Quentin was concerned. What the hell the little nerd grew on him, dare he say he even liked him. Plus, if it wasn't for Quentin he would not have gotten his hands back. So if there was a way for him to help. "Of course I'll help. Tell me why are you are locked up in here and the others are not."

"They didn't like my little improvisation to their plan. Because of that I am stuck here for the unforeseeable future. Just like you. As for why the others are not that's a little harder to explain the quick version is their lives and personality's have been erased and replaced with a new personality, new name, and a new normal life. They are sitting ducks out there not knowing who they were or that magic exists. They are prey for the monster that is hunting them. A monster that has possession of Eliot and is doing God knows what to Quentin."

"Fuck. Situation bad. It must be Wednesday." Penny didn't know how they were going to get out of here but he knew that they were. Alice and him have friends to keep safe and a nerd boy to rescue. Hopefully a way to de-possess a king.

"Is de-possess a word?" He asked.

TBC