A while later, trying the magic out

"This is so awkward, you guys..."

Having returned home with Kelly and Ivy with ink on all of their backs, the trio had finally decided to make an attempt to do what Emilia had suggested. James seemed like the obvious first choice to try, since he wasn't hooked up to any hospital equipment like Luke still had been. Worried about the possibility of what might happen if they're partly combined and then they change the state of the headsets, everyone opted to just basically shove James' limp body through the portal in Beth's while the two were still connected in the Ascend. There had been some other considerations, like recharging the headset James used, but those were easily fixed with other spells that exposed a charging port in their arms--seemed pretty simple.

But, the problem was getting James in... Ivy and Kelly grunted and groaned as they tried to lift his limp form up from the bed, inching his body toward Beth. Beth, for her part, had to try and maneuver herself in such a way that James could slide in and not get stuck...

Ivy turned to Kelly. "If you're taking that job with Emilia, don't write any of this in there, please? This is too dumb for anyone to know."

Kelly nodded, as the two tugged harshly at James to yank him forward, with his legs partway inside Beth's body. Beth could feel the entry, and kind of wriggled back and forth to try and get the feet to go roughly in the proper positions, not wanting both legs stuck to one side or anything! Not that it would matter from the outside, but it seemed like there was only so much internal space to work with in order to properly stabilize an essentially paralyzed inner body safely.

"I won't I promise. I think the job sounds good though, don't you?"

"Define 'good'," Beth said as she winced, feeling the body entering her back, now up to its torso. It wasn't painful, but it did feel like the trio were somehow acting out a science-fiction version of Weekend At Bernie's. "You were pranced around by Emilia's assistant for a while, is that worth it?"

"For the amount of zeroes in the annual salary, I'd say so!" Kelly and Ivy timed the next big lift, this time hoisting James' upper body upright while Beth stood up, hoping that gravity would assist the process. James sort of slumped most of the way in, but the bulky headset kept knocking against the back of Beth's head. Kelly and Ivy ignored any pain Beth might have endured. "Besides, Emilia said as long as I am an active participant in the process and take the initiative and stuff, I get to help choose what spells get written on me, or who I work with. I mean, to be honest, I'm a little jealous! Even if it was due to horrible Hideki oversight, you found partners you were able to get closer together with, to the point where now one is gonna be nested inside you. I kinda... want that too, I guess. Though for me it will be a bit weirder... I dunno. It felt good, and if I could feel good doing that with someone I liked, then that might make all the difference, right?"

Beth shrugged, which both showed her uncertainty at the situation and allowed James' body to finally slide right in completely! With a big sigh of relief, Beth stretched her arms up in victory. "Okay, hope we don't have to do that often... someone patch me up?"

Ivy looked behind Beth, and tapped the circles on her back, dragging her finger down to close up the portal into her. Beth shivered a little, mostly because Ivy's fingers were cold, but once it was done... she looked down at herself, stretching her arms out. "Everything feels okay... my brain feels the same I guess? The headset is showing there's still a strong connection, so I guess... this is it. Now I'm just Beth for good, huh?"

"Well, don't call it for good just yet," Ivy said, crossing her arms. "We'll have to figure out family stuff later, Emilia said we'd have to do that on our own. But I think we're good for a while, then we have to kind of temporarily undo things, then... I guess once we go off to university, we can do whatever, right? We'll figure it out. I'm out of the hospital next week, then I can get into this body and then, well, y'know."

Ivy turned back to Kelly. "So when are you going back to Spiral City?"

"I'm in the same boat, I'll finish the semester like the rest of you, then sometime during the summer I'll pack up and move. My parents think it's an internship with King for some sort of history magazine, so don't say anything if you see her..!"

With a giggle, the girls hugged, although Ivy and Beth's hug lingered a little longer, as Kelly stepped back and to the door to return home. She really did seem a little envious of their little relationship. She'd always felt a bit empty inside--literally, now, as her portal remained open, hidden under her jacket. Maybe she would have to turn to her own friend group and see if there were any good friends to help her out--maybe she would make some new ones in Spiral City. But at least at the moment, what was important was that Ivy and Beth were on a trajectory for happiness.

Kelly Laudner will return in her own Suits and Slimes branch.