“Confusion erupted at the Enmore Theater in Sydney, Australia last night, as International Class Magician, Martin Horn announced his departure from the third season of America’s Next Great Assistant.” A familiar red-headed news reporter shared on her news broadcast.
The screen cut to another news reporter, this time from MNN, “Currently, the internet is rife with speculation on what exactly’s going on. Theories range from this being a simple rating’s stunt, to some speculated improper behavior behind-the-scenes.”
The screen cut to another talking heads style show, as four magic experts at MGC discussed the event. “You know, people wondered where Howard Weiss went those few days he was gone in Season 2. I don’t really see-“
“-The difference,” one pundit interjected, “Is that Howard always framed it as he though he was coming back. If this is some sort of prank from the young, upstart magician, I’m afraid many people aren’t finding it funny.”
“I don’t really know why he would pull such a stunt,” Another of the experts said, “After all, surely ANGA Productions would be sure to include non-performance clauses.”
“True,” The final panelist said, “And if they’re to WMO standards. I’m shocked he would do something so brazen as he did.”
The screen cut again, this time featuring a clip from Elise, a former contestant of season 2, as part of her youtube channel Everyday Magic. It was a scene from her most recent podcast episode, discussing with a magic insider about the event. The insider said, “Clearly, Martin wasn’t ready to be the front-runner that ANGA needed. After all, he’s significantly younger than previous magicians. Frankly, I think his removal’s going to be a good thing!”
Elise interjected back, clearly annoyed with her guest, “But have you ever thought about what sort of message this sends to the contestants? Why aren’t we discussing that?”
~~~
Enmore Theater’s Office (Approximately Three Hours after the Incident)
Drake stood in the office, banging his head against the wall. The NSW Police Force had managed to disperse the small crowd of viewers who had stayed behind after Martin’s bombshell announcement, expecting some sort of explanation for his talk.
What had followed after that was two grueling hours of searching everywhere, trying to follow any possible magical lead to find the whereabouts of Martin Horn. However, after he had given his speech, it truly seemed like he had vanished off the face of the Earth.
The only response they had now was to react to the situation. They had already remotely dispelled the magic on Howard’s coin, the process of which had led them to realize that Martin had never bothered to pack his things in his hotel room, so they had police guards now stationed inside and outside of his room at the Moleside Inn. They had confiscated some of his belongings to get a sense of his magical trace, however that wouldn’t be ready for a proper search until the next morning.
Travel channels were easy enough to watch with Australia being an island. Notices were sent out to all of the ports, airports, and teleports to be on the lookout for him, and that strict dispelling checkpoints at these institutions would have to be set up until he was caught.
Now, nearly 3AM, Drake found himself in the office of the Enmore Theater. Alone. Banging his head against the wall.
A knock was heard. Drake mumbled out, “-t’s Open.”
Penny and Jean walked into the office looking pensive. Jean takes the lead, saying, “Drake?… Are you okay, bud?”
Drake stopped just banging his head against the wall and looked at Jean with a manic expression, “Oh sure Jean. I’m doing just peachy. The magician for the season just quit and seems to have disappeared off the face of the Earth, I’ve gotten multiple calls from Sponsors wanting to rescind their funding, and there’s high odds I may not have a job tomorrow morning. I’m doing just really swell.” Drake’s face soured, as he went back to banging his head.
“Well… Did you call David?” Jean asked.
“I left him a voicemail. He and Jill have a gig going on for the next couple hours though, so the earliest he’d even be able to get here via teleport is tomorrow morning.” Drake hit his head against the wall.
“So, what about the show?” Jean asked, her voice filled with worry, “And the girls?”
Drake banged his head against the wall even harder. “I guess we’re just going to have to tell them the shows cancelled-“
Drake’s thought was interrupted by Penny’s open hand slapping him hard across the face. Drake rubbed his face, the skin already reddening from the welt.
Penny didn’t look mad, but she had a fire in her eyes as she said, “Drake. I know you’re having a nervous breakdown right now. But, there’s currently six people in the green room that are scared out of their minds, and really could use someone to go in there and tell them that everything’s going to be okay.”
Drake blubbered, “B-but- I’m not good with that sort of thing. That’s usually-“
“I know it’s usually the magician’s job. But seeing as he’s gone missing, you’re the closest thing these girls have right now,” Penny sighed. the fire in her eyes receding slightly, “Jean and I could do it if you really can’t. But I’m telling you right now. Even if it’s the worst pep talk in the world, it’ll mean a lot more coming from you right now.”
Drake stood there, still rubbing his very red cheek. e sighed. “Alright… I’ll do my best.”
~~~
The Enmore Green Room
As soon as the door to the green room opened and the girls spotted Drake, they immediately stood up and walked over to him, surrounding him in a matter or moments.
“Drake, What’s going on?-”
“Where’s Martin?-”
“Is the tour still on?-”
“Is one of us going home?-“
These, and many more questions were all thrown rapid fire at Drake, hardly giving him a moment to respond to any of them.
Finally though, Drake spoke up, shouting over everyone, “Ladies, quiet!”
The contestants froze up, turning silent as Drake continued, “Thank you.
As I’m already sure you all are aware… There’s been an unfortunate incident this evening. Martin Horn has chosen to step away from the show… What this means for the show as a whole, we’re still in the middle of working out. We are currently trying to assess where Martin is, and why he chose to walk away-“
“Is it because we weren’t good enough?” Paxton interrupted, tears in her eyes already on the verge of spilling out.
“No!” Drake said immediately and forcibly, “I obviously cannot speak for Martin at this moment. None of us know what exactly’s going through his head. But I can tell you right now, with absolute certainty, that it was not based on your performance tonight-“
“And how would you know?!” Rachel shouted.
“Rachel, I’m not just the host, I’m also the show runner. Martin would come back to me every day after rehearsal, just absolutely gushing about how much progress you all were making in just your first week,” Drake smiled, “That’s how I know.”
Drake’s words seemed to cheer up the contestants slightly, although there was still an ever-present feeling of dread hanging over the room. “Now. I’ve already talked to the authorities about this, and made a call to David. He’ll be arriving some time this morning to discuss what exactly we’re going to do. Obviously, things may change with how the show will be structured, and you will also have the opportunity to opt-out.”
“A-and personally,” Drake let the facade of his professionalism slip for just a moment, “I want you all to know… I- I feel, almost slightly responsible for this mess… Martin had came to complain to me a couple of times, but… I put the show ahead of him.”
Drake sniffed, “I want to promise you six right now… If you choose to stick around, I- I will strive to be better.” He gave the girls a weak smile, but despite its small size, it was clearly also a genuine smile.
The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur. Right after his pep talk, all of the contestants and production team were questioned by the police for any information that may have been useful.
By the time everyone was finished, and the girls were escorted back to their hotel, it was almost 5:30 in the morning. The girls went their separate ways to stew in their bedroom, very few managing to get any amount of sleep.
~~~
Moleside Inn (8 AM, the next day)
The girls were unceremoniously awoken from a rather familiar sounding voice (trying its absolute hardest to not sound familiar) projecting into their room. “*Kzrt* Would the contestants of ANGA: World Tour please get up and make their way to the Amethyst Ballroom in fifteen minutes? Thank you *kzrt*”
The voice seemed enough to motivate the girls to get up early after their long night, all of them hastily getting dressed and heading to the Ballroom. They all seemed very tired, and very demoralized, but otherwise were curious to know what they were going to find.
The Amethyst Ballroom was in many way like their bedrooms: a cave with the normal furnishings one would expect thrown in. Of course, the ballroom had the benefit of a ceiling lined with purple gems giving off an unnatural light to the room below.
The girls moods were lifted slightly, as standing in the center of the ballroom was Drake, David Angel, Penny, and Jean. Natalie looked like she was practically about to, as the girls were lined up for the shot in front of them. David was significantly more dressed up than the others standing around him, still in his black tuxedo from the night prior.
David stepped slightly forwards from the other three celebrities, and just as he opened his mouth-
“Good morning, Girls!” The boisterous voice of Howard Weiss surrounded the Ballroom, as he opened up the set of double doors opposite the one the assistants had came in from. The walked with class in his old-styled suit, as he quickly joined the ranks of the other magic veterans. “I hope I didn’t steal your thunder, David,” Howard smiled mischievously, “You can go ahead and explain what we’ve decided."
Drake shook his head, as David laughed, speaking in his slight British accent, “No worries, Howard.”
David turned to the contestants, “Good morning, girls. I know yesterday was rather a rough time for everyone, but we hopefully have some good news for you.”
“So, first and foremost, I would like to say that we’ve decided to throw out the very first elimination vote of the competition.” The girls looked around at each other in shock, as David continued, “We’re not sure how long Martin had been planning to leave the show, but we felt, as long as there’s any shred of doubt that he was not giving his all in each of your performances, that it would be unfair to punish you all for it.”
Howard stepped out of line, walking over to David and wrapping his arm around his shoulder in a familial manner, he grinned at the girls. “The other good news is that David and I managed to talk most of the sponsors into staying. So from a financials standpoint, ANGA’s going to be able to continue operating as normal.”
“However, there was one pretty big issue we had to fix. Seeing as how we didn’t vote someone out today, we suddenly have an extra week added to the tour, and nobody to fill that slot…”
Drake, taking this as his cue, stepped forwards, “Luckily, we knew just the person to call on. So ladies, let me introduce for the third time, a woman who needs no introduction-“
Giggling could be heard, as Frankie stepped out from behind Penny and Jean, “Drake, you really don’t have to go into the whole spiel, I’m sure the girls already know who I am,” Frankie grinned, walking over to the two world class magician’s and giving them each a hug while Natalie practically screamed,
Frankie was wearing a pride variation on her normal performance outfit (a white dress shirt, top hat, black jacket and stockings), her normal red bowtie and golden cummerbund replace with rainbow stripes.
Drake laughed, “Fair enough. The wonderful Ms. Frankie!” She smiled at the girls, lifting off her top hat and giving a slight bow.
Frankie smiled, “I’m so happy to get to meet you all. And don’t worry, you won’t be able to get rid of me that easily.”
Howard grinned, “Frankie has so graciously offered to act as magician this week, as we continue to work out exactly what we’re going to do regarding finding a more permanent option.”
David smiled, “And not to worry, the venues have already been contacted and schedules and refunding are being figured out as we speak.”
Howard mimed counting on his fingers, “So… That covers, Magician, Schedules, Funding, Results… Is there anything I’m missing?”
It was Penny and Jean’s turn to walk forwards, “Well, if things are going to just keep chugging, I guess that means you’re missing a challenge?” Jean smiled.
Penny grinned, “Well, I think I happen to have the perfect idea, for one.”
“What is it, Penn?” Jean grinned.
“Well. If there’s one thing the magic community is great at, it’s coming together and working through a crisis,” Penny smiled, “So, how about a challenge that’ll help encourage that spirit of camaraderie?”
“Ooh… I think I know where you’re going with this,” Jean grinned.
“Really, then on three?”
“Sure! One, Two, Three!”
“-A team task!”
“-A team task!
The assistants giggled, giving each other a hug as Drake said, “That’s right contestants! This week’s challenge will be another team task! We’ll partner you up tomorrow, but essentially, just create the best possible trick you can that involves both of you!”
“And there you have it girls!” Howard beamed, “All the loose ends. Resolved! Well except one,” He grinned at Frankie.
Frankie picked up on Howard’s subtle hint. “Oh… I couldn’t” Frankie held up her hands in mock protest. “After all, I don’t have any assist-“
Penny and Jean didn’t let Frankie finish that sentence, Penny saying, “Oh, obviously we’ll help you out.”
Frankie sighed, “but what about a stage?”
David and Howard nodded at each other, walking to where the tables were set up leaning agains the walls of the ballroom and quickly setting two of them next to each other as a makeshift stage.
Frankie giggled, “I guess I’m not going to get out of this one, then?”
“Nope!” Jean smiled back.
~~~
Frankie’s Performance
Frankie climbed up onto the makeshift stage composed of two of the ballroom’s tables. “So obviously, I haven’t had much time to prepare as I would have liked,” Frankie grinned, as she helped Penny and Jean up onto the table top, “But I’ve been workshopping some ideas around, especially after last year’s trick, and thought of a pretty interesting effect that should be good for a trick or two” Frankie had a mischievous grin on her face, as David handed her a silver hula hoop.
Frankie passed the hoop over Penny and Jean, who looked excited as matching rainbow cocktail dresses appeared on their bodies (modified slightly each for their transformed anatomy). Penny’s stripes were angled down towards the right side of her body, while Jean’s were angled towards the left side of her body.
“So, I imagine we’d probably start off by doing something like this.” Frankie took Penny’s lower left hand, walking once around her body as Penny spun in place, and then shifting to Jean’s right hand, doing the same in the opposite direction.
“And then, we’d go once more, but this time, just stand still,” Frankie repeated her step, although this time, something strange happened.
As Frankie walked around her assistants, their upper halves swiveled around in a perfect circle, their legs staying in place. Both assistants grinned, as Frankie walked between the two several times, rotating each of them four times around their waist.
“Next, for the first reveal,” Frankie had Jean stretch out her arms, forming a T with her body. She placed under Jean’s and lifted up.
As she did so, Jean’s upper half cleanly separated from her lower half. Unlike in a normal division, the stumps were completely uncovered, and showed off in full to the audience.
Each half of Jean was now covered in a layer of complex, clockwork like machinery. The small brass gears and parts spinning and whirring as though she were still in one piece. The reveal with Penny was much the same, her parts having a slightly more golden hue to them than Jean’s.
Frankie smiled, as she then made a show of showing off that it was more than just their waists that had been roboticized. Reaching at Penny’s shoulder, she seemed to find purchase on a flap in her skin, pulling off the flesh of one of her arms like it was a latex glove. Underneath, a complex series of clockwork components and wires allowed Penny to move her new arm just as well and completely as her original. That was, until Frankie unnaturally spun it around twice, plucking the arm off and leaving a slot where it once would have gone.
Jean was laughing, but she soon didn’t have it much better, as Frankie spun her head around, one to the left, twice to the right, and then once to the left again, completely separating Jean’s head in a swift pull.
To finish off her act, She walked over to where Penny’s upper half was still patiently waiting, Jean still under her arm. Frankie twisted Penny’s head three times to the right, allowing her to slide it over to her left shoulder, a similar socket to the one where Jean’s neck had formally been appearing on her right shoulder. Frankie slotted Jean’s head in, before lifting up Penny’s upper half and connecting it to Jean’s lower half, their dress now a rainbow at a right angle.
“And now, to complete the trick: A bow!” Frankie lightly pressed down on both of her assistants’ heads.
A hissing sound could be heard, as Penny and Jean’s faces shifted to shock, their faces swinging open like a door. Inside of their heads, sitting behind a computer like device, were a miniature version of Penny and Jean, each operating the other’s head.
Frankie held out her hands, the tiny 2.5 inch assistants taking a bow as Frankie took her own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
& Question Corner &
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a first for the series, David entered the question booth. He didn’t have a question to answer, but still he had something to say. “Martin… I know there’s a high possibility that you’re going to watch this. I can’t say I understand the reasoning behind your leaving ANGA. I just want to make sure you understand the ramifications of your actions, and to ensure you, that if you decide to come back, we will gladly accept you back in the magician role, and that there’s still plenty of time to do so. Have a pleasant evening,” David gave a polite nod of his head, before leaving the booth.
To Everyone:
“What a wonderful and amazing performance, but holy Luna... Martin dropped out, what in the seven circles is now going wrong? I know you might not answer Martin, but your still invited to my lil get together.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)
Paxton: “W-why would…” Paxton trails off. Looking down at the floor and becoming unresponsive.
Rachel: “I really can’t believe Martin would pull something like that on us,” She seems genuinely angry, her knuckles nearly going white with rage.
Olive: “I wish I knew, dear. I really do. I feel like I should have talked to him more. Maybe I could have convinced him to stay.”
Dahlia: “…It’s truly awful… The wind has been plucked from our sails…”
Kacie: “Thanks, Andrea. It’s nice to have an anchor like you when things go topsy turvey… I’m glad you enjoyed my performance, and I’m sure the other girls do to, even if their minds are preoccupied right now."
Natalie: “I- I don’t know. Part of me is so excited, because this is definitely one for the history books… but… Why did Martin have to do it this way?”
To Drake and ANGA Productions:
“Guess that completely throws your plans out of the window, hope we all can find a way to get through it. But damn, that was rather unexpected.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)
Drake: Drake takes a big breath. He does his best to give a confident smile and a thumbs up to the camera, “Not to worry Andrea! We might have to reschedule things… But I’m sure we’ll be able to get things back on track,” Drake doesn’t sound like he’s all that certain he believes what he just said, but there’s still a slight hint of optimism.
To Olive: “Compressing to negative. Never would have thought of it! Clever and novel.” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)
Olive: Olive smiled, “For sure! When I went with it to Martin-“ All of the pep in Olive’s step drains slightly as she says, “Well uh… H-He thought it was a good idea too…”
To Dahlia: “Plein de beauté, de grâce et d'audace! Bravo!” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)
Dahlia: Dahlia looks surprised, before responding, “…M-Merci… Je suis content… de la façon dont ça s'est passé”
To Natalie: “Cute, fun, and silly! It seemed the whole time you were building up for a joke, and while I was expecting something more, the abrupt no-restoration ending certainly paid off.” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)
Natalie: “I really just wish that I could have gone even more in-depth! Like, maybe I should have talked about how the most common variation uses a single segmented tube instead of boxes. Or maybe explain what each of the other orders for stacking the boxes are called. Or-“ Natalie continues to list facts about the history of mis-mades used in performance, and her thought process for choosing to perform it the specific way she did. There’s a lot of technical details, but the response is simply too long to include in its entirety.
To Kacie: “You certainly know how to put on a show! Not that that was ever in question. The shattering audience was dazzling! I thought the assistant here was supposed to be you, though, not dozens of other people.” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)
Kacie: Kacie laughed, “Ha ha. Well, Martin-” Kacie’s face saddens at the mention of his name, “-Well… We thought it’d be a further spin on the theme. Because usually the Magician’s in charge… but I was more so last night…”
To Paxton: “Way to use ugliness to make something pretty. Further, you deserve credit for not being confined by conventional ideas of what a magic show can be! You used magic, yes, but more to the point you really used it to put on a show! Also, it's not every day you see one oracle inquire of another.” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)
Paxton: Paxton sits unmoving and unresponsive in her seat. She doesn’t seemed to have registered what was said at all.
To Rachel: “Upside down. I was thinking it. I would love to know how many other people were thinking it. Your performance was unnerving in several ways. Good use of narrative to give the audience an impression of danger!” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)
Rachel: Rachel is fired up. “I’m glad you enjoyed it! I thought it was a pretty clever take too. Although now, I have to wonder if Martin was actually trying his hardest out on stage. Seeing as how he went and did that stupid thing right after we went on!”
To everyone: “Sorry I've been silent the past couple of days, I've had an unexpected engagement I just could get out of.
I saw what is happened with Martin, I don't know what is going on, but I have a guess. I hope you can pull him back in.
As for your performances, I loved them very much, no matter who gets sent home, you should all be proud of what you've done.” -Genie Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)
Olive: “Oh dear, you don’t have to worry about us. After all, your own business should come first. I hope that we can convince him to come back too.”
Paxton: Paxton sits in her seat, just looking at the floor. She slumps down, slowly sliding out of her seat, landing on the floor with a thud.
Dahlia: “…No worries… The passage of time still flows onwards… And one day our paths with Martin may reconnect…”
Kacie: “I’m still in shock with what happened. It doesn’t feel real. Nobody going home only seems to add to that feeling that something is wrong.”
Natalie: “Thank you so much Genie! Gah I wish today didn't have to be so awful, because normally I’d be freaking out about how many celebrities I’ve ran into. Instead, all my mind can think about is replaying Martin’s farewell message…"
Rachel: “I guess the one plus side to this awful situation is that nobody has to go home. Although I would have loved to find out who it was going to be…”
To Rachael and Paxton: “Interesting. Interesting. Never expected that when it comes to upside down.” -Rei (@@quad2)
Paxton: Paxton is curls up as a ball on the floor.
Rachel: Rachel grins, “Well, taking unique approaches to challenge themes is typically how you win. So obviously I’m going to try to go out of left field.”
To Kacie: “Wow. I have done an area wide effect with my music but usually it's weaker when I am doing more that hypnotizing. How did you create an effect at that level?” -Jeanne (@@quad2)
Kacie: Kacie smiles. “In my case, it’s mostly a combination of three things: First is to have a strong set list and know what effects you want to include in your act. Next is having decent to good magic reserves. And third, and most important, is to properly set up your magic relays in your amps. Seriously, it’s probably the one hurdle most magic DJs have to face. Because if those relays aren’t set up properly, there’s going to be a group of people in the back row missing out on all the fun.
I hope that helps, Jeanne,” Kacie smiles.
To Rachel: “Nice of you to use the other definition of ‘upside down’. I wasn’t expecting that, and frankly, I like that daringness, if that’s even a word.” -Shannon (@@FlagsOtherSide)
Rachel: Rachel smiles a toothy grin, “Thanks! I told Martin to go ahead and do whatever he wanted to me on the other side of the wall, like maybe splitting me in half, but he thought it would be ‘too disturbing’ for the audience.
Now I wonder if he was purposefully trying to hold back…” Rachel scowls.
To Paxton: “The touch of humor at the end really makes your act for me. Well done!” -Shannon (@@FlagsOtherSide)
Paxton: Paxton is still curled up as a ball on the floor.