"Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen! And welcome to the first episode of America's Next Great Assistant Season Two!" Drake shouted at the camera. He was wearing a fancy black tuxedo and was standing in front of a large, golden revolving door, with a set of golden double doors on either side of it. To either side of the red carpet that Drake was standing on, there stood a variety of people in normal clothes, cheering and holding up signs, excited for their five minutes of fame as a background extra for the long awaited second season of a famous TV show. Contrary to Drake's words, it was clearly either morning or early afternoon. "I'm currently standing outside the historic Weiss Hotel in Henderson, Nevada, eagerly awaiting for the arrival of our newest crop of contestants for the show!"

     The camera cut away from Drake, showing off an aerial view of the building. The high-rise hotel generally outshone the surrounding buildings, as it was several stories taller and seemed to be completely made of solid gold. "The contestants will be staying here, as they struggle over the next five weeks to become assistants worthy of helping pulling the great Howard Weiss of retirement." On one side of the building, a large billboard of Weiss holding a top hat containing the name of the hotel encouraged people to stay in 'The Choice for Magician's and Assistants visiting Las Vegas'. "And, will be among the first assistants to get to perform in the largest, open-air stage with Weiss's new rooftop auditorium!" On the rooftop, a platform similar to a helicopter pad seemed to be under construction, as several workers in hardhats worked on constructing some rigging around it.

     The camera cut back to Drake, who seemed to be showing some starting signs of sweat as the Nevada heat continued to assault him. Nevertheless, he kept his composure as he said, "So, without further ado, let's get the ball rolling and reveal our first new contestant!" The audience cheered, and off screen the first of the limos carrying this year's contestants drove forwards. Drake opened the door, and helped a rather gangly African American girl step out. While Drake wasn't exactly the tallest man in the world (only being about 5'10"), she still was taller than him by several inches.

     The girl was wearing a short, golden sun dress that barely went past her the tips of her middle fingers. Unlike in the video, she had opted to not bother putting her hair into a bun, letting her hair frizz out in a small, brown afro that framed her head beautifully. "Ah! Patricia! I'm glad to see that you decided to accept your offer to compete."

     Patricia dark skin blushed slightly, commenting, "Yeah. Well, it's not like there's really anything to do this summer with everything taking so long to open up. I would think that since they discovered a cure two weeks ago, there would have been a little bit more urgency to get it out to everyone."

     "Yes, it truly is a pity. I'm certain that everyone's going to be watching your audition tapes now that you've been confirmed a contestant, so is there anything you want to say out there to the fans?"

     "Not much. Just please judge me more so on my actions now that I've decided to join then when I was being constantly harassed by my roommates to compete."

     "Duly noted. Go on in and wait in the lobby, Howard wants to issue a formal greeting to everyone," Drake shook her hand, and Patricia made her way through the revolving door.

     Drake didn't have to wait long for the next limo to come parading down the way and stopped right in front of the hotel. Drake opened the door, and two girls came out, the shorter one wearing a black hoodie and black jeans, while the taller one was wearing the exact same orange, leotard that she was wearing in her audition video. Both girls had a look of absolute horror on their face as they looked around them at the crowd and the glitz and glamor of the hotel, the girl dressed in black tightening the draw strings of her hoodie to hid more of her face. "Welcome Sable and Sinopia, to the Fabulous Weiss Hotel. Anything you'd like to say, Sinopia?" Drake stuck the microphone in front of Sinopia.

     "Oh my God... Dad is going to kill us," she managed to whisper out into the microphone, no hope in her voice, before breaking down into some incoherent mumbling

     "Okay?... Anything you'd like to add Sable?"

     Sable's entire face seemed to turn a shade of pink as Drake stuck the microphone in front of her, "H-hi D-drake. N-n-nothing to add," Sable grabbed Sinopia's leotard, dragging the mumbling girl into the hotel through the revolving door.

     Drake looked on with a look of confusing, turning back around to the camera, breaking character and saying, "I think we might have broken them."

     Thankfully, Drake was able to recover quickly, as the next limousine pulled up with no delay. When he opened the door, a pair of red cowboy boots stepped out onto the red carpet. The cowgirl had on a red and white plaid shirt, blue jeans, and a black cowboy hat for her big red carpet debut. She was also lugging around a rather substantially large animal carrying case. Although, unlike most carrying cases, the structure seemed to have no door, and the air holes at the top were covered in a fine mesh layer like a mosquito net.

     "Hello there Annette!" Drake said, "I hope that Rocky wasn't too much trouble on your plane ride over."

     "Well, Howdy Drake!" Annette said, hefting Rocky's carrying case down on the ground. "It wasn't too much trouble. Had a bit of an incident with the TSA not wanting Rocky to fly since they had no clue what it could have done to him, but we sorted it out rather peacefully."

     "That's great to hear. Now is this Rocky's carrying case?"

     "Yeah. Had to go out and get him one after the TSA said he couldn't fly. And I understand, because the last thing we would need is to be in the air and for him to suddenly get nervous and blimp out."

     "Yes, but what's preventing him from doing so right now?" Drake asked, genuinely curious.

     "Oh, when Rocky gets in super enclosed spaces, he just sort of starts expanding himself until he can't expand anymore. It's why we had to modify the door and air holes, so that he wouldn't start pouring out of them."

     "That's so interesting! Alright, you can go on ahead and take Rocky into the lobby where the other contestants are waiting," Drake gestured, towards the door.

     "Gotcha! H'yup!" Annette grunted as she lifted Rocky's cage once more, waddling through the revolving door and taking her place among her fellow contestants.

     The fourth limo pulled up, and the one-eyed girl squinted as she stepped out into the Nevada Sun, reaching into her purse and pulling out a modified sunglass with a single large lens. She was wearing a green, wide-brimmed hat that covered up her straight black hair, which went well with her green sundress.

     "Hello Maya! I heard that you and your parents road tripped all the way down here from Idaho?"

     "That's right!" Maya blushed, "Mom said that she wanted to spend as much time as possible with me before she had to let me go."

     "Because she didn't get enough quality time with you during the quarantine?"

     "That's what I said!" Maya laughed.

     "Now, I got to ask. How does it feel being the first nonhuman contestant to compete in a purely magic based reality TV program?"

     "Well, for me it's a dream come true! I just hope that I can do a good job representing other nonhumans,"

     "That's great to hear. We're still waiting on one more contestant, but you can go right on through to the Lobby. Howard will be out to speak with you all in a moment."

     "Great!" Maya walked past down the crowd of supporters on either side, having to shield her eye a bit from the flashes of the News Reporter cameras as she entered.

     The fifth and final limo pulled up to the red carpet, and Drake didn't have time to come over and greet her before she stepped out of the limousine herself. She was holding her cellphone in a baby blue case above her head, and from the view that the camera gave, she was clearly live-streaming herself. "Alright guys! This is probably the last word I'm going to get to say to you all for a while, so I hope you all tune in and wish me luck! Bye!"

     She turned off her phone as she reached Drake, making sure that the video had started the long process of uploading the video. "Hello Elise. I hope that you remember the contract that you've signed."

     "Yeah, yeah. The show hasn't officially started yet, so I thought I could get in one last goodbye to my fans," She handed over her cellphone to Drake, who pocketed it without hesitation.

     "With that out of the way. How are you Elise? Are you ready for a potentially long five weeks of complete social media isolation?"

     "I'm hoping the pain will be worth it in the end, Drake," Elise smiled back, not letting his jabs get to her.

      "That's great to hear. I'll escort you inside and we can get the show rolling!" Drake said the second part more so for the crowd, whose cheers helped push the two indoors.

~~~

The Lobby

     The lobby was practically as ornate as the outside of the hotel, with stained marble floors and large golden columns supporting the ceiling. Past the golden front desk, the lobby stretched out into a sort of zen garden styled layout, with fake rocky paths leading to a small dining area of golden tables and ornate chairs, some lazy-boy recliners situated in front of two TVs (which were currently unplugged to avoid interfering signals), and in the center a large golden elevator.

     It was at one of the golden tables in the dining area where the rest of the contestants had situated themselves. Maya seemed to be struggling to maintain a conversation with Patricia, as Sable tried her best to comfort Sinopia, who had taken off her head and was hugging it like a teddy bear trying to cope with the unfamiliar situation she had found herself in.

     Drake beckoned for the girls to come over, and they stood in a line in front of the great golden elevator, as Drake began his introduction, "Welcome Ladies! You six have been chosen as the next contestants for America's Next Great Assistant. As I'm sure you all know, my name is Drake Bordignon, acclaimed reporter turned reality TV megastar and winner of the Critic's Choice Television Award for best reality show host. Once again, I'll be serving hosting duties for this year's season. It's my duty to help deliver the semi-weekly challenges, ensure that you all follow the rules, and make sure you all have an enjoyable time on the show. Now, let me introduce to you all, Howard Weiss!"

     The large golden elevator doors opened, and out stepped a tall, muscular man. He had flowing brown hair, a large fluffy beard, and the classic-styled suit that he word seemed to bulge at the seems. "Hello ladies," he grinned, his voice dripping with machismo.

     From outside of the field of view of the video camera, a production assistant wearing a black t-shirt and jeans ran in, whispering something into the man's ear. "What's that? Oh! Right! We decided on aged like a fine wine look, didn't we. Alright then." The man sighed, and as the assistant ran out of frame once more, the old man's features thinning, his hair graying and slicking back, his bear disappearing and his overall looking aging until he looked as he did during the reveal that he was going to be the magician for the second season.

     "Ahem. As I was saying, it's good to see all of you decided to accept our invitation. I'm sorry for the little joke, but if you're going to be my assistant I'm afraid you'll have to simply learn to love my little pranks." Howard stepped out of the elevator, and it was only now that the girls realized that he was significantly taller than Drake, almost a full head's worth.

     "Now, I'm certain that many of you have questions for me, as I do for all of you, but before we get to the pleasantries of getting to know each other, you all must prove that you are ready to be trained by me," From his pocket, Howard pulled out what seemed to be six hotel keycards, and a small, black box with some golden runes written on it.

      "You see, when I was a young boy, many, many, many years ago, I used to apprentice for a master apothecary. The work was hard and taxing, but along the way I learned many life lessons that would ultimately make me the master magician that I am. This first task I am giving to you all is a variation on the very first task my old master gave me, and if I am able to impact on you the reason behind this single task, then I will have done my part to lead you all in the right direction towards being amazing assistants. Your challenge, girls, will be to open this box, and retrieve your hotel keycards," upon saying this, Howard, split the box in half effortlessly, placing the keycards in before resealing the box, the golden runes shining brightly. "Your free to do whatever you like, although I must stress that whichever of you successfully opens the box will be allowed to do whatever they want with the keycards, including keeping all six to themselves. Until one of you succeeds in opening the box, I'm afraid that you all shall go no further than this lobby. Now, who is going to step up and attempt to open the box first?"

     Patricia stepped forwards, a look of intrigue on her face as she studied a new and unknown challenge, "This should be easy."

~~~

Many Long Hours Later

     "Ugh! This is impossible!" Patricia yelled. Over the past couple of hours, her cool, calculating demeanor had given way to one of confusion and desperation. Each of the girls had came forwards, attempting to either open (or in some cases, simply break) the box, but to no avail.

     To summarize the past couple of hours, despite the fact that Patricia had studied almost every runic script and enchantment language known to man, could not recognize any of the patterns on the shell of the box, but had made the most attempts in trying to use every disenchantment spell she could think of. Elise had the second most attempts, although many of them were simplified versions of the ones Patricia had cast in different languages. Annette had sicced Rocky on the box, but his attacks seemed to have no effect. Rocky did eat the box and try to digest it open, but all that resulted in was a slightly stinkier box.

     Sable gave an attempt by pouring a variety of mixtures on it and trying some other methods that Patricia and Elise had not done, including trying to cut the box in half (which failed miserably, as the blade passed through, leaving the box intact). Maya tried disappearing the box while focusing on keeping the contents inside there, but nothing happened, and Sinopia managed to set the box on fire, requiring a production assistant to put out the fire and making her even more despondent than she already had been.

     "Is this supposed to be some kind of prank?" Elise asked Howard, who was lounging in one of the lazy-boys, enjoying the chaos he had brought upon the girls. "Is there even a way to open the box?"

     "I assure you girls that there is a way to open the box," Howard said, standing up, "but I'm afraid that it is getting rather late, and I must be heading off to bed. While I was expecting to be able to enjoy a nice little celebration with you all for completing your first task, it appears as though I must instead go up to my room and drown my sorrows with a little bit of wine." Howard walked over to the large golden elevator, swiping his card and causing the elevator doors to open almost instantaneously.

     "W-wait! How are we supposed to get to our rooms?" Annette asked.

     "I'll have a bellboy bring down some blankets and some pizzas for you all. If you find the recliners not to your satisfaction, you can ask him to bring down a cot," Howard yawned pressing a button.

     "You're going to make us sleep in the lobby!" Elise asked incredulously, "What about the customized rooms? And infinite kitchen? Or the impressive feats of magic? This isn't at all what I signed up for!"

     Just as the doors were about to close, Howard pressed another button, the doors reopening. He approached Elise, towering over the petite girl. "Now listen here miss, but I believe you are mistaken, as this is exactly what you signed up for. I'm afraid I run quite the different ship from David Angel. While he is willing to play his hand on a risky gambit, I have had quite a few more years experience and understand what playing fast and free can result in. I'm more than willing to provide you all with everything you need to become a successful assistant, but first I need to be shown that I'm not expending all of my effort for someone who has not proven they are ready to take that first step. From what I've seen of your attempts today, I don't think that any of you are ready, or deserving, of having a proper place in this competition. Now, is there anything anyone else wishes to say?" He looked around the room, everyone's face having gone a little pale from this sudden maliciousness. "No? Well then good night!" He walked back into the elevator, pressing a button and leaving the contestants in a stupor. Sinopia started to cry.

~~~

Later that Night

     After the pizza had been consumed, the girls made an effort to properly introduce themselves to one another. They went around with some basic introductions, explaining who they were, where they were from, but really their hearts weren't into it. Having been told that Howard thought none of them had what it took to win the competition left them all in a very dower mood. Everyone took turns using the lobby restroom to switch into their nightwear, and settled down to sleep and then dispersed into separate recliners, the only person that asked for a cot was Sable, who knew that Sinopia was not in an emotional state to be left alone. They laid down and started trying to fall asleep.

     Just as she was about to finally go to sleep, Sable hear Sinopia whisper into her ear, "Hey Sable?"

     "Yeah?"

     "Do you think that Dad will take us back if we get kicked off the show?"

     "Sin... I-" she turned to look at Sinopia, her eyes opened wide and showing concern. "... Yeah, I think he probably would."

     "Even though we ran away?"

     "... I think he would love us even if you said that you would never love him again," Sable lied. Sable and Sinopia stared at each other for a while, Sable not sure if Sinopia would believe her deception.

     "Hey Sable?"

     "Yeah?"

     "Thanks," Sinopia smiled, before turning herself over, and trying to go to sleep.