“Good morning girls,” The voice of Howard Weiss sounded tired as it awoke the girls at its normal time, “Would everyone please come to my office within the next fifteen minutes? We have some things that we need to discuss regarding yesterday’s events.” Maya and Sinopia awoke in Maya’s room, the two very confused what they were doing there and with some particularly bad hangovers. Likewise in Annette’s room, Sable was confused why she was being woken up by Rocky’s lumpy tongue licking her face, and Annette was confused what Sable was doing in her bedroom.

~~~

Howard’s Office

     Howard’s office stood in stark contrast to what the girls had came to associate as his sense of style based on the overall opulence of the rest of the hotel. Howard’s desk was a simple, wooden one, the only things on it being a green desk lamp, a metal cup holding a variety of pens and pencils, and a calendar planner, which had a variety of things written down in each square.

     The room wasn’t furnished with much, some plain gray filing cabinets against one wall, a few paintings of nature against the other. It would honestly be easier to argue that you would get a better view looking out the large window at Henderson, Nevada, than looking around the room. In front of Howard’s desk sat five, plain wooden chairs, which each girl sat down in.

     “Hello girls,” Howard said, his face looking as equally tired as his words sounded, “I’ve called you all in here today to discuss what exactly happened yesterday. I’ve had the opportunity to look over the footage that was captured, and while my lawyers assured me that no breaches of contract occurred, I cannot condone the flagrant disregard for your own safety. So, I’m afraid I will have to punish you all.”

     The girls made to try and protest, but Howard held up a hand, “It’s not a magical punishment, more of an ultimatum. From this point forwards, if any of you leave the hotel, either normal or transformed, for any reason other than as part of an emergency or a midweek challenge, you will be disqualified from the competition. I’ve already told the crew to inform me if any of you try to run off, and that they must run any footage that goes to air past me, so don’t bother trying to figure out a way to sneak out again.”

     “Wait! Why am I being punished!” Elise whined, “I wasn’t one of the ones who snuck out!”

     “Yes,” Howard sighed, “but you did think it was appropriate to leave your fellow assistants to their own devices when they clearly were in an altered mental state. I would think that last week’s challenge was enough to instill a sense of wanting to help bring up your other competitors in this competition, but it seems that that wasn’t enough.

     Now, unless any of you girls has anything you’d like to say about yesterday’s events,” Howard briefly paused, looking at all of the girls, most of them looking like they had something to say, but based on the look Howard gave them they knew not to push the issue any further, “Then, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a brief respite in my bedroom. If you need anything, my staff is always on call, and Kairi will be available for any assistant-related issues you might have today. Good day everyone.”

~~~

The Lobby

     After the meeting, the girls had made their way to the lobby, so that Elise could fill them in on what happened the day prior. “I really don’t know what happened yesterday,” Elise explained, “After you four were merged, I went upstairs to practice with Howard. I then grabbed some lunch, and didn’t really do much else for the rest of the day. It was only after Howard started freaking out that Drake told me you both had left and the whole hotel went on lockdown!”

     “None of us went to explain anything to you yesterday when we got back?” Annette asked.

     “No! Do any of you remember what happened yesterday?”

     “I vaguely remember to get out of the hotel, and then we wanted to find someone to have a good night with, and then… I don’t know. It’s sort of blocked out, like a nightmare,” Annette said.

     “I don’t remember anything at all that happened yesterday. Do you Maya?” Sinopia asked.

     “Not a bit,” Maya said, her eye closed in concentration as she tried to recall the previous night.

     “How about you Sable?” Annette asked, “Do you remember much of yesterday?”

     The girls all looked towards Sable, causing her to blush as she stammered, “I d-don’t remember much of the morning, but I distinctly recall that when we got home, Howard started yelling at us, and then we yelled something at him that made him uncomfortable, and then went back to Ann’s room to cry.”

     The girls’ looks shifted to confusion, until Annette eventually spoke up and said, “I wonder what we said to him uncomfortable…”

     “Well, normally I’d just go back to my room at this point,” Elise said, “but since Howard’s clearly not going to help you anyone out today and you all were basically out of commission yesterday… and since I’ve already figured out what my trick is going to be for Saturday… I’d feel bad if I basically did nothing all day… So if you want, you can come over to my room and we can brainstorm and run through some ideas.”

     “Are you only offering because Howard called you out for yesterday?” Maya asked, eyeing Elise suspiciously.

     “Well, yeah partially that. But I would also genuinely feel bad,” Elise said, seeming slightly hurt by Maya’s words, “After all, this would be three days in a row of not being able to get in some practice, which is just unfair.”

     “Alright,” Maya said, her suspicions having dropped, “Well, why don’t we head up then, because I really need help in figuring out what I’m going to do.”

     “Ooh! Me too!” Sinopia said.

     “Okay,” Elise smiled, turning to Sable and Annette and asking, “What about you two?”

     “I’ve already figured out what I’m going to do,” Annette said, “I’m just going to head back to my room and start teaching Rocky what he’s gonna do.”

     “I’ve also know what I’m going to do,” Sable blushed, “but I’m going to go grab some lunch first.”

     “Alright, suit yourselves!” Elise said, leading Maya and Sinopia to the elevator.

~~~

Dining Room

     Sable walked into the dining room, but not before accidentally bumping into Kairi, who was looking at her phone and didn’t see the small girl in her way. “S-sorry!” Sable stammered.

     Kairi recovered from the bump, popping out her earphones and saying, “I think I’m the one who should be apologizing right now.”

     This caused Sable to blush even more, seeing this veteran assistant treating her so kindly, and knowing what she was about to ask, “Hey… Can you give me some advice?”

     “Um… Sure. About what?”

     “Well… you see… I’m a fan of this show…”

     “What show?” Kairi asked enthusiastically.

     “I don’t want to say… it’s kind of embarrassing actually.”

     “Hey now,” Kairi said, her tone getting slightly more stern, “Don’t get embarrassed for liking something. Just because someone else doesn’t understand why you enjoy doing something, doesn’t mean that their own opinion should impact how you personally feel about it. If you like something, you should wear it as a badge of honor that you’re willing to invest passion into something you love.”

     “Alright,” Sable finally admitted, her face getting extremely red as she explained “it’s this anime. All of my other sisters think it’s really dorky that I watch it, but I’m just love the characters and the world, and the art style is so cool and stylized! I don’t want to spoil it for the show, but I really want to dress up as the main character from it, and I was wondering if you could give me some tips so that it turns out well.”

     “Sure thing,” Kairi smiled, “Why don’t we sit down, so I can give you some pointers.”

     “Now, the first thing that I’d recommend if you want to cosplay this character is that you make your costume yourself,” Kairi explained, as Sable bit into her sandwich, “letting the magic do the work will make it look passable, but trust me, the audience can tell when you’ve put in the actual effort to make it.”

     “But,” Sable said after she had finished the bite of food in her mouth, “I don’t know anything about costume making. Plus, now that Howard’s restrained us from going outside, I wouldn’t be able to go out and get the materials.”

     “Hmm… That does make things a little bit tricky…” Kairi rubbed her chin, “How about this? I’ll go out and get the materials for you, and then I’ll do my best to walk you through how to make it.”

     “R-really?” Sable was taken aback by Kairi’s kindness, “you’d do that just for me?”

     “Of course,” Kairi smiled, “It’s my job to help, after all. Plus, I think you’d look absolutely adorable in the outfit you’re describing! Ooh! I can see it already!” Kairi pulled out one of the napkins, making a little sketch of what she imagined the outfit would look like on Sable.

~~~

Elise’s Room

     “Okay, explain it to me one more time,” Sinopia asked.

     “Okay, you know how Howard keeps doing that thing where he takes out the challenge or puts something else into his pockets?” Elise explained for the third time, trying her best to dumb it down as much as possible.

     “Yes.”

     “Well, what he’s doing is called ‘Hammerspace’. It’s basically transporting an object into a nebulous alternate dimension where it can be called upon again at a moments notice.”

     “But what does it have to do with hammers?” Sinopia asked again for the third time.

     “Because in old cartoons, they used to pull big things, like hammers, out of impossibly small spaces, and it’s just easiest to attach a complex concept with a similar, easier process.”

     “But wouldn’t it just be easier to disappear and reappear objects?”

     “In some situations, Yes. But the pros of setting up a Hammerspace on an object is that it’ll let you pull out simple items without having to set them up by disappearing them. Or, you can use them as a portal if you set up the entrances before hand.”

     “And what constitutes a simple item?”

     “Anything that is basically a uniform material, or it’s individual parts are. Like, you wouldn’t be able to pull out a cellphone, but you’d be able to pull out a bat with nails in it.”

     “Okay… I think I’m starting to understand,” Sinopia said, “and all I have to do to set it up is to have a non-visible space?”

     “Exactly, like a pocket, or a prop, or if you’re really clever, right behind your back.”

     Elise got up from her spot on her chaise lounge, walking over to where Maya was paging through Elise’s list of possible properties to performa trick on, “So… Any luck thinking of anything good?”

     “I have some ideas,” Annette flipped another page over, “I’m genuinely impressed though. This seems like you know a ton about entertainment.”

     “Thanks,” Elise smiled, “I have to keep up with the trends, in case I can relate anything back to my show and help drive traffic by getting picked up by the YouTube Algorithm.”

     “I’ve been meaning to ask,” Maya said, “any word on how the channel’s been doing since you got on the show?”

     “Not a clue,” Elise said, sounding frustrated, “I was hoping Cody would at least email me something, since Sable and I found a computer that can send and receive emails, but either Howard’s done something to that computer to stop me from seeing those channel related emails, or he hasn’t been sending any. It’s been driving me crazy not knowing!”

     “Well, I’m sure it’s doing fine,” Maya smiled, “how much damage could really be done to a channel in only two weeks?”

     “That’s not exactly the most encouraging sentiment, Maya.”

     “Really? I’m sorry.”

     Elise sighted, “You’re probably right though. I really need to just stop stressing and-“

     Elise was interrupted by the sound of a crash behind her. “Um… Guys. A little help?” Sinopia asked.

     Elise and Maya looked to her, and saw massive, wooden telephone poll, sticking out of Sinopia’s pocket that was currently pushing against her ceiling, the marble tiles around it cracking under the strain. “Sinopia! Push it back in!” Elise shouted, running over to her.

     “I’m trying, but it won’t go back!”

     “Why are you even trying to pull out a telephone poll?” Maya asked as she ran over.

     “Elise said I could pull out huge things, and it was the first thing that came to mind!” Sinopia shrieked, as she struggled to push the pole back into the much smaller opening of her pocket.

~~~

Unknown Floor

     Annette peeked her head out of the elevator to a dimly lit hallway. She had finished training Rocky for the day, and had decided to use her excess free time in order to explore the hotel more in-depth, since she would no longer be able to take Rocky out to the dog-park, and it would be a matter of days before he would probably start acting up again.

     Since Howard had explained it as a magic elevator, she had focused heavily on that same dog-park pressing a button and hoping for the best, but unfortunately all that happened was the elevator doors opened up to a large brick wall. After a few more failed attempts, she noticed that when she pressed multiple buttons, the doors would open and close automatically, and so had the brilliant idea to press all of the buttons, and just let her mind wander until the elevator stopped on something useful.

     And the elevator had stopped on some interesting floors on its multi-level journey, to summarize the highlights, it managed to take her to the basement, a spa-like room, the bottom of the swimming pool (Annette was unamused when the cabin flooded, soaking her clothes), the rooftop, the business center, a unmanned bar, and many, many brick walls.

     It was as the elevator reached the last of the buttons, that it stopped on this regular looking hallway. The fact that it reminded Annette so much of a regular hotel made her a little confused, as she had assumed by this point that all of the rooms were simply linked via the elevator and nothing else.

     “Hello?” Annette called out, not really expecting a response, as she stepped out of the elevator, the doors automatically closing behind her as she turned right down the hallway. The wall-paper in the hallway was a rather garish pattern of roses and playing cards, and as she continued walking down it, a sense of unease filled her.

     She rounded the corner, and out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she spotted something white whip past the corner at the other end of this new hallway. “Hello?” She called out again, her pace quickening. She rounded this corner, and when she spotted the shape again, knew that there had to be another person on this floor, “Hello?! Please wait!” Annette shouted, as she jogged down the corridor.

     When she rounded the corner again, the shape was gone, and out of panic that she had lost it, she turned left once more. This time, she was clearly able to make out the shape. It looked like a human’s leg, however the fact that it was a pale white, just as pale as the white of the shoe it was wearing, and was currently being sucked into the wallpaper, made Annette do a double-take.

     She ran to where she had seen the offending leg entering the wall, touching and then eventually banging on it when it seemed that there was no way to replicate what the specter had done. After a few more minutes of this, she returned to the elevator defeated, uncertain if what she saw was just a figment of her imagination, or something else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

& Question Corner &

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     To Elise: “Uh... I only have one spot…” -Rei

     Alright, well, depending on where I end up that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. As long as that spot isn’t somewhere impossible to get to, like on top of Mount Everest, I should be able to get there pretty easily.