"So… that's it?" Kai said, eyes narrowing as he stood with Penny and Mayakovsky before what looked like a dull, crystalline sphere. It was like a globe suspended midair at the corner of the room, pulsing faintly. It was meant to be a prototype "battery," a reservoir of raw magical energy. The concept itself was brilliant, an attempt to stabilize, contain, and ration the fading wells of magic in the world.
Kai tilted his head, lips curving faintly. "Which, I have to say, is a very ingenious idea, by the way."
Mayakovsky's eyes flicked up from his flask. "What were you expecting, huh? A massive, distress-looking contraption? No, my boy, elegance in simplicity."
Kai smirked and glanced at Penny, who stood beside him with his arms folded, unimpressed. "Okay, fine. The battery's one thing," Kai said. "But how the hell do you expect the measly magic in this table and those knots to fill this up, huh?"
"I'll think of something," Mayakovsky muttered, taking another long swig of his drink.
Kai raised a brow. "Uh-huh, sure. Maybe start by demolishing the entire building. You'd probably need the magical energy of this school to get anywhere close."
Mayakovsky grunted, setting his flask down. "That," he said, "is what Penny will be doing."
Penny frowned. "What the fuck do you mean?"
"You will undo all the knots."
Kai couldn't help it as a snort escaped him, followed by laughter. "Oh, this I have to see."
Penny shot him a look. "Laugh, and I'll drop you into an antimatter universe."
Kai lifted both hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, no more jokes sheesh really? An antimatter universe wow."
Mayakovsky waved a dismissive hand. "For you to undo them, my dear traveler, you must do it without magic."
Penny turned toward the tangled heap of rope and wood with visible disbelief. "You can't be serious."
"Oh, do not worry," Mayakovsky said, rummaging through his desk drawer. "I give you tool for the table." He held up a file.
Kai broke into uncontrollable laughter. "Oh this, this is gold."
As the professor left, Penny dropped the file with a thud. "Yeah, I'm not fucking doing that."
"Oh, come on," Kai grinned, "don't ruin my entertainment."
Penny exhaled sharply. "Why does he even want you here? You shouldn't even be having this problem. You're a magical creature, aren't you?"
Kai tilted his head. "That's… a fifty-fifty kind of thing."
"What does that even mean?"
"I mean," Kai continued, leaning against the table, "I'm not exactly a magical creature."
Penny frowned. "You're a vampire. Speaking of which, I've never seen you drink blood."
Mayakovsky reappeared in the doorway. "He is different."
Kai raised a brow. "Oh, enlighten me, Professor on how you know I'm different."
Mayakovsky stepped closer, gesturing with his flask. "Typical vampires have a messy magical signatures, slippery, unfocused. They are merely junkies."
Kai nodded thoughtfully. "So… total losers."
"Exactly," Mayakovsky said, pleased. "But you, your magic is heavier, more stable, almost anchored. And when you entered my wards, they didn't know what to make of you."
Penny frowned. "Meaning?"
"To the wards," Mayakovsky said, "he's both vampire and something… other. A vampire whose magic doesn't budge."
He squinted at Kai. "Which begs the question… how is your magic?"
Kai blinked. "What?"
"Stand up, boy."
Kai reluctantly rose, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Do some magic."
"Oh sure," Kai said dryly. "Let me pull a rabbit out of my emotional trauma."
Penny rolled his eyes.
Kai waved a hand lazily as the knotted ropes and desk levitated. Mayakovsky immediately whipped out a shard-like crystal lens and peered through it, muttering, "Hmm… interesting indeed."
Then he grinned. "Balls."
Kai looked at him flatly. "What?"
"Let me taste it, my boy."
Kai blinked. "You said what now?"
Penny's voice shot up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa what the fuck do you mean?"
Mayakovsky sighed, exasperated. "His magic, you ingrate!"
Kai folded his arms. "Why?"
"For experimental purposes," Mayakovsky declared. "A test subject is required, and I give myself to science and magic! If I don't— I don't deserve to have my sac."
Kai blinked twice. 'Holy shit, he's serious right now'.
Penny crossed his arms. "You sure this isn't just your latest way to get high?"
Mayakovsky waved him off. "An acceptable side effect." He stepped forward, extending his hand. "Come, boy. Put it in me."
Penny groaned audibly. "You hear how that sounds right?"
Kai sighed, muttering, "Fine. But if you start moaning, I'm out."
He touched the professor's arm and instead of siphoning energy, he reversed it. Instantly, Mayakovsky's body jolted like a live wire.
"Блядь!" he shouted in Russian, eyes rolling back slightly. "Как оргазм, мать твою!" ("Like an orgasm, you motherf—")
Penny froze. "Uhhh… you okay?"
Kai winced. "Yeah, I'd say he's fine."
They both glanced down and Penny cursed. "Oh, for fuck's sake…"
Kai followed his gaze and sighed as he saw Mayakovsky's rock hard dick. "Well, that's… standing proof."
Mayakovsky gasped awake, hair disheveled and his face was flushed. "Balls! I haven't felt that kind of rush since I slept with a few of my students!"
Penny's eyes widened. "You what?!"
The professor blinked. "Oh, come on, I am a perfectly healthy man and they were asking for it… so I gave it to them how they wanted it."
Kai just stared, jaw slack.
Mayakovsky straightened his coat, ignoring their pointed looks and his hard on. "But your magic is raw, potent, like a drug. Yes, yes… but first, I must uh handle something." He looked down and then bolted toward the back door.
Penny rubbed his temples. "That guy is insane."
Kai chuckled. "Crazy can be another word for genius, you know."
"Sure," Penny muttered. "So your magic's different how, again?"
Kai shrugged. "I don't need to draw from ambient magic. I can cast from within. My own essence."
Penny tilted his head. "So that would make you a magical creature, wouldn't it?"
Kai paused, thoughtful. "Hmm. Now that you mention it…"
That's when Mayakovsky reappeared, his hair was slightly messier than before, muttering, "Moss."
Penny frowned. "What?"
"Moss!" Kai said suddenly, snapping his fingers. "It's a perfect conductor for gathering magic!"
"Okay…" Penny said cautiously. "And?"
Mayakovsky rolled his eyes. "Go and get it for me."
"From where?"
Kai grinned. "Fillory. We're going back to Fillory."
He smirked, looking at the glowing orb one last time. "I wonder what Margot and Eliot are doing right about now…"
He paused, eyes narrowing slightly. "Hmm… wonder what point we're at in the timeline."
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