Chapter Text
Quentin says goodbye to Penny and crosses the arch. He knows, from what Penny has told him, that he is apparently going to his personal heaven, instead of having to wait in the bowling alleys of the Underworld. He has made his peace and the only thing he truly regretted about dying, is not having been able to say goodbye to Julia and Eliot. However, he is excited to see his father, Arielle and Teddy again, as well as the rest of their family. He hopes that his personal heaven will be a quiet place, very much like the mosaic, where he will finally rest, until his other friends come too.
He walks through what seems a dark corridor, with a faint light signaling the end of it. He gets to the end and goes into the light. He expects to appear in a fillorian forest, with a path that leads to the cottage. Instead, he finds himself on an office floor. He is puzzled, maybe he must go through some other bureaucratic shit before he can definitively cross over. Penny could have warned him about it! But, maybe, it is above Penny’s paygrade, so it could be Penny doesn’t even know about this part of the process. Still, he wants to get over that and finally cross over. He speeds up his pace. He passes along several offices, but they are all closed. The corridor ends, stopping in front of an almost closed door. Quentin, not knowing what to expect, goes into the room.
It’s a conference room, with a big oval table, several chairs, a whiteboard and a little table with a pitcher of water, some glassed and a bowl of fruit. Quentin chuckles at the strangeness of seeing something so mundane as a conference room in the Underworld. And sitting on some of the chairs, he sees his father, Arielle, and Teddy, who looks just like he had, when he had left home. He exclaims:
“Dad!” And he rushes to hug his family. His dad is first. As he hugs him, Quentin apologizes: “Dad, I’m sorry, so sorry I wasn’t there when you passed away! And I’m sorry for being selfish and putting magic before anything else, you died because I brought back magic!” He says, tearing up.
His dad hugs him hard and says: “It’s ok, Curly Q. Just as I knew something had happened with magic when I started to get in remission, I had accepted that magic coming back meant cancer would return. I had already made my peace when I was first diagnosed, so those months in remission were just a temporary reprieve. And I knew something bad had happened when you didn’t come back, after your last visit. But, son, I didn’t expect to see you so soon. What happened?” Ted Coldwater asks, fearing the answer.
“Dad, I … I sacrificed myself, to save my friends, especially Julia and Eliot” Quentin answers. Father and son stop hugging and lean on the table for support.
“Oh, Quentin, please, tell me you didn’t ….” Says Ted.
“I’m sorry dad, I didn’t know what else to do, it was the only way of saving them, the world and I was so tired, so sad, I just wanted everything to end” Quentin explains, looking sad and dejected, for fear of having disappointed his father.
“Q, I’m sorry you had to go through that. But weren’t you with your friends? Julia was there, right? And your friends from school?” Ted asks
“Yes, but we had so many things going on, we were hiding and dealing with a monster at the same time. Plus, our own personal problems. I couldn’t burden them with mine too. I thought that when everything got calmer, I would resume therapy. I never got to do it” Quentin tries to explain the pressure they had all been under. His father shakes his head and sits down in one of the chairs.
Arielle and Teddy, who have been waiting for Quentin to finish talking to his dad, then hug him. Quentin kisses both and the three of them sit down in chairs next to Quentin’s dad, holding hands. He tells them everything that has happened: solving the mosaic and going back to their time. He tells them about the quest, the abyss, Blackspire, the deal with Ora, Alice betraying them, the Library taking control of magic, the faeries, the monster, the monster possessing Eliot … He tells them about everything that has happened since they’d gone back to their time. Arielle asks:
“Quentin, what happened to Eliot? Is he …” She asks, dreading Quentin’s answer. Teddy is expectant too: “Yeah, dad, what happened to pops?”
“He is alive. He was badly injured, but with magic coming back, I’m sure he’ll be on his feet quite quickly” Q answers like it’s nothing. Arielle doesn’t believe him for a second.
“Quentin, did something happen between you and El? Did you have a fight?” She questions Q.
“Actually, El and I haven’t been together, since we came back from solving the mosaic” Quentin answers shortly. He doesn’t want to talk about that, but Ari and Teddy want and need to know.
“What happened, dad? Why aren’t pops and you together?” Teddy asks. When he’d last seen his parents, Q and Eliot had been stupidly in love with each other.
“After we solved the mosaic and we went back to our time, because of the time key, we thought that our lifetime in the mosaic had been erased. Sorry, about that, by the way. However, in Whitespire, we saw the gift I had prepared for Margo, with a letter, telling her about our life at the mosaic. We then remembered everything. I asked Eliot to give our relationship a chance in the real world. I told him that we had proof it had worked, so why not give it a try?” Quentin explains. “He told me no, he implied our relationship had been one of necessity, and that given a choice we would not choose the other” Quentin finishes. Both Ari and Teddy are looking at him with, slack-jawed. They can’t believe Eliot had said that! They both look at Quentin, who is staring at the floor, with a sad look on his face.
Arielle tenderly caresses Quentin’s cheek: “Oh, Quentin. You’ve been through so much. And Eliot being possessed, I’m sure it hasn’t been easy. If he were here, I would bash his head with my bucket, for being so stupid! Trying to kill a monster and then being possessed by it! Ugh!” Quentin laughs at that. Arielle had been very feisty, and she hadn’t been afraid to call both on their shit when Eliot and he were being stupid. He had missed them so much … and he misses Eliot, and his friends, but mostly Eliot. He’d barely had any time to be with him after they freed Eliot from the monster. Someone hugs him tight and he goes back to paying attention to Ari, the one hugging him and still speaking:
“But Quentin, are you sure Eliot doesn’t love you?”
“I have absolutely no idea. He tells me he doesn’t want to be with me, yet he hugs me like we were still at the mosaic. He tells me to go be life partners with someone else but is mad that I made a bargain with Ora and tries to kill the monster. And when he managed to get through his possession, to tell us that he was alive, he used the same phrases I’d used in the throne room, when I asked him to give our relationship a try. He was hot and cold at the same time, Ari, it was so frustrating! And I guess I was afraid to try again. That I would tell him how I felt, and he would not feel the same, that it would ruin our friendship and I’d lose him as a friend. I didn’t want that.” Quentin admits.
“Oh, Quentin” Ari sighs, caressing Quentin’s cheek. “I’m so sorry. I was sure that Eliot and you would be together, even when you went back to your time. He loves you, so much! It was difficult to compete with that when we lived together”
“If he loves me, he has a weird way of showing it” Quentin responds, angrily.
“Quentin, you know better than anyone, that Eliot hides all his insecurities and fears, under that bravado. It’s easier for him to pretend he doesn’t care. Do you remember when Teddy was born?” Quentin nods. “He was so afraid of holding him, afraid that he’d drop Teddy and we’d be mad at him. It took us quite a while, to get him, to hold Teddy. But then, when Teddy was upset, like when he had a colic’s, he was the only one who could calm him”
“Yeah, it was like he had a magic touch” They remember fondly. Quentin continues speaking. “Ari, I know, ok. I know that Eliot pretends not to care, so he won’t be as hurt by others. But I was afraid too. You don’t know how many times I feared he’d get sick of me and would break up with me. You know, when he said that thing about choices, he was referring to me, that I would choose a girl instead of him. The truth is, he never gave me a choice. He pushed me towards you, remember?” Ari nods. She remembers Eliot’s not so subtle attempts of leaving Quentin and her alone. “And I’ve always thought he’d be the one who wouldn’t choose me. I mean, why would he? He is so cool. He is talented, kind, brave, charismatic … How can I compare to him? Me, a depressed nerd who uses fantasy as an escape mechanism” Quentin finishes, while he wipes the tears that have started to fall.
Ari hugs him again and kisses him. Holding Q’s face in her hands, she tells him: “Quentin, you are so much more than a, what do you call it? A nerd. You are brave, smart, so kind and gentle, you love with all your heart. How could anyone not choose you? Look, what you and I shared, it was great, it was magic. I’ve never felt so loved in my life. But what you and Eliot share is the type of love stories are written about. You will find your way back to him, and when you do, be sure to smack him on the head, for me” Quentin laughs at that last sentence.
“But Ari, how can I get back to Eliot if I’m dead? I mean, I’m … Well, honestly, I have no fucking idea of where I am. I was supposed to move on, go to the afterlife. My story, as Penny said, it’s over” Quentin says.
Ari caresses his face and with an enigmatic smile says: “Quentin, love, you will find out soon enough. Let’s join your father and our son” She pulls him by the hand and they both go to the side of the room, where Ted and Teddy are sitting down.
“Nice talk, dad?” Teddy asks. Ted laughs. When Quentin gives him a questioning look, Ted answers “I’d never thought I’d see the day when someone would call you dad. I’m proud of you son, Teddy is a great man. You raised him well”
Quentin hugs his dad. “Thanks, dad. But it wasn’t just me, Eliot helped”
“Ahh, yes, The famous Eliot. He is one of your friends from that school, right? Well, I’d love to have met him, and to give him the dad talk, about not hurting my boy” Ted says jokingly.
Quentin goes beet red “Dad!” Ted, Teddy and Ari laugh. Quentin is still easily embarrassed!
“Ok, let's change the subject. Do you know why we are here? And where are we by the way?” Quentin asks.
“Well, son. I wish we could tell you that, but they made us promise. They will explain everything. In fact, they should be here, any minute now” Ted answers.
Quentin sighs, getting a little frustrated. Who are they? What do they want? And whoever they are, why can’t they let him rest in peace? Hasn’t he done enough? He starts pacing, while Ari, Ted, and Teddy remain seated.
“I believe Mr. Coldwater, that your family is referring to us” Quentin jumps a bit when he hears that voice. He turns around and sees three men, sitting at the opposite end of the table. They are surrounded by more people, who are sitting in chairs, behind the three men. The three men have an air of authority and it’s clear that they are the leaders of the others. They are in their 40s or 50s and very good looking. The man sitting in the middle is an African American man. He is wearing a grey suit, that reminds Q, of the suits they wear at the Library. The man sitting on his right is red-haired and has long hair and a beard. He is dressed in sports clothes. The man on the left is blonde. He also has a beard, it’s well-kept and longish hair, tied in a ponytail. He’s wearing casual clothes, a t-shirt, and jeans, but he looks like he is the one mostly in charge. The African American man continues speaking:
“Please sit, Mr. Coldwater. There is much we have to talk about and not that much time to do so”
Quentin sits, grabbing Ari’s and Teddy’s hands. The man continues:
“Welcome to the Old God’s offices. I’m Hades and these are my brothers” He gestures to the right “This is Poseidon, God of the sea” and to the left “This is Zeus, father of the Gods and our leader. However, since you’re currently under my domain, Zeus has agreed that I should explain why you are here” Hades explains.
Quentin starts getting nervous. It seems like the whole Greek pantheon of Gods is there, which doesn’t bode well for him. Not after having helped the monster kill a few Gods, even if it had been unwillingly. Hades carries on: “Because of your actions, the twin monster-gods were freed from their prisons, several gods were killed, including my beloved Persephone and you almost provoked the end of the world” Hades stops, looking severe.
Quentin starts getting a cold sweat. Hearing Hades, all the Gods looking at him, with severe gazes… He feels like he is in a hearing, the Gods are the judges and jury and they are going to sentence him to the Tartarus, or Hell, or something equally horrible, for all his apparent misdeeds. He shivers, wanting it to be over. He guesses that having his family here is a small consolation, a chance to say goodbye before he is thrown to the pits of hell. Or maybe it is a sadistic punishment of the Gods, bringing your loved ones, knowing you’ll never see them again. Fuck, he is supposed to go to his personal heaven, Penny has told him so!
Then, Hades continues speaking “It would be very easy to blame your friends and you for everything that has happened. However, we created the monster twins, and when they proved too powerful for us to handle, we imprisoned them in Castle Blackspire. We also allowed for the sister to be kidnapped and sacrificed by those 4 librarians who became gods themselves. Therefore, we cannot hold you fully responsible for the chaos the monsters provoked” Hades pauses again.
Quentin and his family, who have been holding their breaths and gripping their hands, let collective sighs of relief. If the Gods are to blame too, that means they don’t intend to punish Quentin, or so they hope. They look at Hades expectantly, wanting him to tell them whatever they’ve decided for Q. But Hades remains silent until a younger God speaks:
“Come on uncle! Don’t leave the poor mortals hanging! I know you like your theatrics, but most of us have got better things to do, than to be here, intimidating a poor schmuck, who’s just died. Tell him what we want him to do and be done with it! I want to return to Naxos, to my beloved Ariadne” The younger god exclaims.
Quentin stares at the god who has spoken. Ariadne? Naxos? Isn’t Naxos the island where Dionysius lived? His knowledge of Greek myths is rusty, but Quentin also remembers reading about Theseus leaving Ariadne, at the island of Naxos. He stares at the God. If he is Dionysius, then what about Bacchus? Aren’t they supposed to be the same God, only with different names? The god, sensing Q’s confusion laughs
“Oh Mr. Coldwater, can I call you Quentin?” Quentin nods. Dionysius reminds him of Bacchus, with that laid-back attitude. Dionysius laughs again “Wouldn’t it be more appropriate that he reminded you of me? After all, he took on my mantle, when I decided to leave my partying ways. The only condition was that he couldn’t use my name, that’s how Bacchus became the god of wine, partying fertility and more. But I’m the original one.” He winks at Quentin. “Now that we’ve cleared things, uncle, for the love of us! Will you explain this poor boy, what we need of him?” Dionysius asks Hades again while gesturing at Q and Hades.
“Fine, fine. The impatience of youth. Now, Mr. Coldwater, the reason why we’ve pulled you from your rest is that we wish to offer you a reward. Not just you, your friends too. With the passing of the centuries and humans no longer worshiping us as they used to, we’ve become complacent, more preoccupied with our little worlds and neglectful, no longer paying attention to what happens to our creations. This has allowed the events that have led to your death. As a compensation, we’d like you and your friends to become the new gods of Earth and Fillory, since they are short of a few” Hades goes silent again, letting Quentin absorb what he is saying.
Quentin narrows his eyes. The gifts of the gods are never what they seem and there is always a catch. They are a curse and a blessing, and he isn’t sure whether to believe them or not. Another god lets a booming laugh. He is standing behind Zeus. He is tall and broad, red-haired and he’s wearing a t-shirt that says, “War is glorious”. Must be Ares, Quentin muses. “He’s a smart, that one! Uncle, tell him everything, he’s not going to accept otherwise. Quentin, you’re right not to trust us, we recognize we’ve been downright bastards in the past, always wanting to screw up people, even our favored ones” Ares says.
Poseidon and Zeus turn to whisper something in Hades’ ear. Hades nods and then Zeus addresses Quentin. “Mr. Coldwater, I know our past actions may lead you to mistrust us, and you’re not without reason. We’ve been petty, vengeful and offered poisoned gifts, just to seen how much you struggle with them. But this time, our offer is sincere. No drawbacks, no hidden clauses. We believe that you and your friends will be better gods than we’ve been. You’ve proven to be a formidable team, capable of overcoming betrayals and grudges, coming together even when everything seems lost.” Zeus stops for a moment. Quentin thinks about the quest for the keys, fighting the beast, the monsters … Even after Alice betrayed them, she came back to help. They’ve always worked better together, that is true. Zeus isn’t finished though: “Before we’ve often had petty squabbles amongst ourselves, we’ve tried to undo what one of us has done. We think that you’ll help each other carry out your godly tasks, even if each of you has a specific godhood” Zeus goes silent, staring at Quentin, straight in the eye. Quentin is shocked. He doesn’t know what to say. He has so many questions, but he thinks the gods won’t take lightly to them. He opens his mouth but closes it immediately. Hades says:
“If you have questions, you’d better ask them now. We might not answer all of them, but you can try”
Quentin takes a deep breath. He looks at his family, who is smiling at him. Arielle nods and squeezes his hand. He squeezes it back, kisses it and turns to stare at the Gods. “Ok, say I accept the offer. Why now, when I’ve died and not before? My friend Julia became a goddess and lost her powers. Why not approach her? Why me?” Quentin asks.
The gods look at each other. They seem to have a secret conversation. Quentin hopes he hasn’t angered them. He’s still very much a mortal man, even if he’s dead. They can still send his soul to whatever version of hell they have. But he won’t be intimidated by them. If they want him to become a god, they’ve better tell him why. Zeus clears his throat and starts speaking again. “Well Mr. Coldwater, we’ve chosen to approach you, because you’re the one who’s lost the most. You shouldn’t have died at the seam and we want to correct that mistake. About your friend Julia, she barely had the time to explore her powers as a goddess and we haven’t approached her, because we believe she won’t trust us, not after what happened to you” Quentin cheers Julia internally.
Zeus carries on “And the reason why we’ve approached you now is that the world is once more, at the brink of destruction. When you cast your mending spell at the Seam and caused Everett to explode, the magic he was hoarding, after having drunk from the magical reservoir in Fillory, was released to the world, without control. This excess is causing surges, which depending on the strength, have caused spells to misfire or people to die or become niffins. These surges are becoming stronger and more frequent. If they continue, growing stronger each time, they will cause such an explosion that it will destroy the earth”
Quentin thinks, there you go. That’s the drawback of the god’s gift. Stopping the Apocalypse. He suddenly becomes tired. He’s always wanted to be the hero of an epic story all his life, but after been involved in one, being a hero is not as glamorous as it seems to be. He asks the gods “Why can’t you stop the apocalypse? You are gods, you are all-powerful. What makes you think that my friends and I will do a better job?” He’s a little scared that he might have overstepped, but he’s done with being forced into magical quests.
“Ohh, I like him! He’s got spunk, even if he looks like he’s going to faint!” Ares says. “We are powerful, yes, but not enough. Most humans no longer believe in us, they don’t worship us as they used to, or need us. The only humans who know about us are magicians, and even they tend to avoid us, for fear of what we might do. It’s our own fault really” Ares explains. Quentin nods, but that doesn’t explain why they want him and his friends to become gods.
A goddess sitting next to Ares, speaks next: “Apart from losing our worshipers, our lack of interest in human problems and our own fights have made us lose some of our powers. As my father has explained, your friends and you have developed a bond that we’ve never had, even if most of us are related. You’ve chosen yourselves as companions and you have combined your talents to fight evil and save the world. As gods, you’ll do the same, you won’t abandon each other. Even your friend Julia, when she first became a goddess, chose to help you when you needed her” she states. She is tall and athletic, with long brown hair and a bookish air, that reminds Q of Alice. She must be Athena, goddess of knowledge and war.
Hades speaks again “We’ll give you some time to decide. Should you not accept our proposal, you will be sent to your resting place with your family and we’ll leave you be” he waves his hand and a small bell appears on the table, next to Quentin. “When you’ve made your choice, ring the bell” And the gods disappear from the room, leaving Q with his family. He turns to them. “What should I do?” He asks them. His dad, Teddy, and Ari look at him with sad eyes, knowing what his decision is.
“Well son, if the world is ending, you’d never leave your friends to fight alone, not if there is something you can do,” Ted says, squeezing Q’s shoulder.
“But I’m tired dad, I died, I saved the world. Haven’t I earned the right to rest?” Q protests faintly. He knows what his choice is going to be, but he needs his family to tell him.
Ari caresses his cheek tenderly. “Quentin, you’d never forgive yourself if something happened to them, not if you could prevent it. And you’ll be able to see them again”
“Dad, you never gave up on the mosaic, or on saving pops, or on saving magic. Are you going to give up on Aunt Julia, and Margo, and Alice, Josh, Kady, even Penny? Are you going to give up on papa?” Teddy asks, with big puppy eyes, just like the ones he would use when he wanted something.
Quentin laughs and looks at his family again. They are looking at him, with earnest eyes. “I never had a choice, uh?”
“No, Curly Q. The moment the gods told you about giving you a second chance, your mind was made up. You just needed confirmation. We support you, 100 %, no matter what you decide” Ted says, hugging Q hard. Quentin tears up, hugs his dad back and squares his shoulders. “Ok, I’m doing it. Ring the goddamn bell” His family laughs, his dad mock scolding him for using swear words in front of his grandson. Ari takes his hand again, while Teddy rings the bell.
The gods appear, just as they were. “Have you made your decision?” Hades asks.
“Yes, I’m accepting your offer,” Quentin says.
“Good. Before you leave, there are some things we need to go over” Hades says. Quentin nods. Hades continues speaking “First, there is the matter of your godhood” A white box appears on the table. It’s a jewelry box, white with gold filigrees, with a design of vines. A faint glow comes from the box and Q can feel the power it has. Zeus opens the lid. Inside, there are 10 spheres, each a different color and all of them glow. “These spheres represent different godhood’s. There is one for each of your friends. Quentin Coldwater, please come forward” Zeus motions Q to approach them.
A goddess takes the silvery sphere. The goddess is tall and svelte. She has translucent skin, which makes her look like an elf. Her hair is midnight black, like her eyes, which give her an air of mystery. When she speaks, it seems that three voices overlap, though the effect is not unpleasant “Quentin Coldwater, I Hecate Witch Goddess, goddess of magic and witchcraft, give you the godhood of magic” She lifts the sphere and guides it towards Q. The sphere gets in him and Quentin feels the rush of power inside. He glows with a silvery light for a second. He stares at the goddess with wide eyes. She smiles and touches his heart. “You are the god of magic” Sensing Q’s why she continues explaining “How could I not choose you as the god of magic? You’ve lost so much because of it, you’ve seen the worst magic can bring and yet, you’ve always believed in it, that it can be used for good instead of for personal gain” Quentin’s eyes well up. He looks at Hecate, who is smiling at him.
“Tha … thank you” He stutters. Before he can say anything, Zeus speaks again “Because of the nature of your return, we decided you should not return alone, you will be accompanied by a member of your family. We asked them and they’ve decided who should be the one to go with you” Zeus says.
Quentin turns his head so fast; he almost gets whiplash. “What? Who? Why” Quentin can’t get the words out. His dad, Ari, and Teddy come where he is standing.
Ted grabs him from the shoulder and says “Teddy is going back with you. When you passed to the Underworld, Hades came for us and explained everything. He said one of us would be able to go with you and we had a talk about who should it be” Ted explains.
Quentin is conflicted. He’s happy he’s not going alone, but at the same time … “Dad, Ari, why? Why Teddy and not you?” He asks tearing up.
Ted squeezes his shoulder again “Son, I’ve already lived a full life and I have no regrets. I always worried that you wouldn’t have the chance of having what I had, a family, a full life, but the truth is you did. You were a good husband and an excellent dad, from what Teddy says” Ted laughs and Teddy blushes. “I’ve seen the man you’ve become and I’m so proud of you” Both Ted and Quentin tear up. “I don’t need another life to know that you’ll be a good god, I already know” Quentin hugs his dad, hard. They let go and Q turns to Arielle, who kisses him and grabs his hands.
“Quentin, I love you, I’ll always love you. You changed my life. I was a farmer’s daughter in Fillory and I thought I had no other choices but to marry a boy from the village and carry on with the family business. But you and Eliot appeared, and you brought magic to my life, and love, and adventures, and most importantly, Teddy. When I got sick and we knew it was a matter of time before I died, I knew that I could die in peace, because I had been loved by tow amazing men and I knew that you’d be excellent parents for Teddy. I have no regrets. Quentin, our marriage, our life, it was the stuff of stories, as you used to say. But what you and Eliot have, is epic. And you deserve to live it again, even if you must bash his stupid head, so he understands!” Quentin laughs and Ari tenderly kisses him again.
Quentin then turns to his son. “What about you?”
Ted shrugs his shoulders and says “I’ve always wanted to go on a real adventure with you and papa, and meet Aunt Julia, Aunt Margo, Alice, Kady, Josh, Fen, even Penny. And I’ve always wanted to go to earth, see where you and papa grew up, Brakebills, New York, all the places you told me about. I’m ready dad and I know what I’m getting into” When he gets determined like that, Teddy reminds Q of Julia, or Margo, which makes him chuckle. Quentin nods and claps his shoulder as his dad does. “Ok, kiddo. Let's do this”
“There’s just one tiny thing” Teddy starts saying. Quentin rolls his eyes. This is it, the catch the gods have been hiding. He braces himself, to hear what crazy condition the gods have come up with. Almost like reading his mind, Teddy says “Dad, calm down. It’s not a catch, I decided to do this. When I go with you, I won’t go as I am now. I’ll go as a 6-year-old kid”
“What?” Quentin shouts. “No, no way. I won’t have it. Why would you decide such a thing? Did they trick you into it?” He asks angrily. “Did you know about this?” He asks his dad and Ari. Before Teddy can answer, Zeus, speaks again:
“Mr. Coldwater, we have not tricked your son, nor coerced him into taking that decision. He’s the one who suggested it” Zeus says angrily, a bolt of lightning cracking down inside the conference room. Quentin lifts his hands, in a placating gesture and asks Teddy: “Are you sure? Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life as a kid? Not growing up? I know you want to see papa again and meet the others, but it’s too big of a sacrifice. Teddy, tell me, are you really sure”
“Dad, relax. I’m sure. It will be easier for us if I’m younger. It would be strange for me to go looking like I do now and call you dad. We’d have to say we’re brothers or cousins or something like that” Teddy says. He looks sure of himself, determined. He’s made up his mind and Quentin knows that nothing he says is going to change Teddy’s mind.
“Will he be able to grow up, as a normal child?” Q asks the gods.
Athena nods “He will grow just like a normal child. The myths have often told you otherwise, but most of my brothers and sisters grew up as regular children. He will not be stuck as a 6-year-old child”
Quentin accepts the answer, not entirely happy about it. However, there is a part of him that is giddy at the prospect of raising Teddy again, on Earth, with Julia and Eliot and Margo, and the rest. Showing him all the things, he and Eliot would tell Teddy about, disguising them as fairytales.
Ares interrupts Quentin’s musings “Can we continue with the ceremony? We are on a time crunch here”. Quentin and Teddy nod. Zeus says:
“Theodore Rupert Coldwater-Waugh, please come forward” Teddy approaches Zeus, Ari, and Ted following him, a few steps back. A garnet sphere floats out of the box. Another Goddess approached Teddy, the sphere floating on her hand. “I, Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt, give you the godhood of wildlife. You are the god of all creatures, big and small, wild and domestic, magical and normal” She pushes the sphere towards Teddy, who feels the same rush of power Q has felt and glows too, with a reddish light.
Q hugs Teddy, recognizing the power inside him. He’ll be able to sense Teddy, through his powers, as will Teddy. He grabs his son’s hand, and both face the Gods. “Ok, what now?” Quentin asks them.
“Now you and your son will return to Earth and find your friends. When you’ve reunited, you’ll be able to give then the godhood’s.” Hades says.
“Just like that? It can’t be that simple. What godhood’s are there? And how will I know which godhood belongs with whom?” Quentin asks, narrowing his eyes.
“You’re right again, Mr. Coldwater. First the easy questions. The godhood chooses the person. Therefore, when the moment comes, each sphere will glow and float in front of the person it deems worthy. There are different godhoods: healing, war, knowledge, nature, love, crafts, traveling and sea” Poseidon explains.
“It’s not that simple. Your friends will pass a test. Not to determine they’re worthy, we’ve already chosen them. The test they must pass is regarding you” Hades clarifies.
There it is. This time, for sure. The catch of the god’s gift. Quentin pinches his brow, waiting, this time for real, for whatever crazy condition the gods have concocted. “Ok, let’s get over with it” He says, resignedly.
“I’m sure that you’re familiar with the story of Orpheus and Eurydice” Hades starts explaining. Q nods, everyone knows about that, the star-crossed lovers … Hades carries on “What people don’t know is that my wife and I, feeling sorry for them, we decided to give them another chance. This time, we would let Eurydice out of the Underworld, but we’d put a charm over her, to make her look like a different person. If Orpheus was able to see through the charm, Eurydice would recover her appearance and she would be allowed to stay” Hades stops for a second “the problem is that by the time we got around to do that, Orpheus had already been killed. They finally reunited in the Underworld” Hades finishes.
“What you mean is … Teddy and I will look different when we return. And my friends must overcome that. How?” Quentin asks.
“It will be different for each person. It can be something you say, something you do, how you act. There will be a moment that will allow them to see through the glamour. If they believe, the glamour will be broken for them. They will see you, the real you” Hades tells Quentin.
“What if they don’t? What if they are unable to see past the charm?” Quentin wonders.
“You need to have faith in your friends, Mr. Coldwater,” Hades says. “And we have a failsafe. If one of your friends seems resistant, there is a spell that you’ll be able to cast, to break the charm. But it’s to be used as a last resort”
“Ok. And the magical surges, if I’m the god of magic, won’t I be able to stop them?” Quentin asks. He has many questions and the god’s patience seems to be thinning. But he needs to get as much information as he can.
Hecate answers “You’re not powerful enough. You’ll be able to detect them and protect the people, but you won’t be able to stop them, not yet. The excess Ambien magic and the surges are not just because Everett exploded. The flow of magic is not supposed to be controlled. It can be stopped, but it should never be hoarded. When the librarians attempted to control the flow, they disrupted the balance. Now, the system is trying to right itself. Since there’s too much magic, the world can’t contain it, that’s why it’s in danger” Hecate exposes.
That explains things. Quentin would like to say that the Gods allowed the Library to take control of magic, but he’s already pissed them off and he doesn’t want to have them on his bad side when he gets back. Hades and Zeus look impatiently at him. “Do you have any more questions?”
Quentin shakes his head, then he realizes: the box has ten sloths for the spheres. Two have already been taken, Teddy’s and his. He makes a headcount of his friends. Then it comes to him. Penny, the original Penny, who’s now working for the Library of the Underworld.
“Yes, I have one. What about Penny?” Quentin asks.
“William Adiyodi from timeline 23, as part of your group, he gets to be a god, just like your other friends” Zeus answers, with an exasperated sigh.
“I’m not talking about that Penny. I’m talking about the Penny from my timeline, the one who works for the library, in the Underworld” Quentin addresses Hades directly.
“Unfortunately, your friend signed a magically binding contract. We can’t go against it, not even us, the Gods. The Library is an entity on its own, we have little control over it” Hades tells Quentin. “We can’t stall any longer. Your son and you must return to earth. You may say your goodbyes now”
Quentin and Teddy nod. They approach Ted and Ari. Quentin takes Ari in his arms and kisses her. They hug, while Ari whispers that she loves him. Before they let go, she grabs his face and tells him “Give Eliot a big kiss from me, ok”. Quentin nods and moves to say goodbye to his dad.
“Dad …” He tears up. Ted hugs him and pats him on the shoulder. “It will be fine, son. You go back, save the world and be the best God earth has ever had. And take care of that boy of yours, and Teddy. Oh, and if you can ever travel here, bring your young man, I would like to meet him” Ted says. Quentin lets out a half sob, half laugh and hugs his dad again. “Will do, dad. I love you”
Meanwhile, Ari and Teddy have been hugging. Before Teddy lets go and joins Quentin, Ari whispers something in Teddy's ear, which makes him laugh. Teddy joins Q. “What was that about? What did mum tell you?” Quentin asks.
“Uh, nothing special. Something mum wants me to give a message to papa” Teddy winks at Q. They join the gods.
“Before you go back, you need new names,” Hades says.
Quentin and Teddy look at each other. Teddy says, “Your call, dad”. Quentin thinks for a few moments. Their temporary new names can’t have anything to do with Fillory. He can’t use Bryan either and there are some names he just doesn’t want to, as they bring bad memories. Then it dawns on him. Luke, for Teddy, like Luke Skywalker, one of his favorite heroes. For him, Will Spencer, a combination of two beloved characters, like Will Graham, from the Hannibal tv show and Spencer Reid, from Criminal Minds. He’s always felt a connection to these characters, as they both have some sort of disorder that affects their lives and they are loners, often misunderstood.
Zeus asks, “Have you chosen your names?” Quentin tells the names he’s chosen. Teddy says he likes it. “Are you ready then?” Zeus asks again. They both say yes. They have a last family hug with Ted and Ari, and they approach the gods. Hades points to a door in the conference room “As soon as you go through that door, you’ll appear on earth, in Brakebills. You’ll know where to go from there. Good luck”
Quentin grabs Teddy’s hand and they go through the door. There is a blinding white light and when it fades, they are in the lawn of Brakebills, Teddy having gone to being 6 years old again.
Quentin crouches, so he’s at his son’s level “Welcome to Earth, kiddo”. Teddy looks around amazed. They hug and Quentin hoist Teddy up, to carry him and says “Let's go find our friends”.