Once again, with a Saturday performance looming over the horizon, Martin found his schedule completely booked with back-to-back rehearsals, each of the girls wanting to finalize the details of their act before the big day.

~~~

Dahlia’s Rehearsal

     “I’m curious Dahlia,” Martin asked the merged girl as they took a little break in between reps, a significantly fancier wicker basket sitting in the corner. “If Dawn and Julia were allowed to perform on stage. What do you think they would choose to do for this task?”

     Dahlia blushed, “Why are you asking us? Would you rather ask Dawn and Julia?” Martin was still getting used to how well spoken Dahlia was now that she didn’t have to constantly monitor her language use.

     “Well, because I got the distinct feeling their answer would probably involve turning into you,” Martin grinned, “but since you’re the one answering the question, they can’t hide behind that excuse anymore.”

     Dahlia chuckled, “You’re probably right,” She closed her eyes, looking deep in her heart trying to find an answer, “We think… Julia would probably want to be some sort of animal… Just because the poor thing’s not the most comfortable with just being herself on stage…”

     “And then… if they couldn’t merge into me, Dawn would definitely want the focus being on the two of them merging anyways… So they would probably make a big show of turning into either some sort of hemi-human, or maybe a chimera? Ooh!” Dahlia opened up her eyes, “Probably something along the lines of a creature that is part ferocious lion, part soft rabbit.”

     Martin listened to Dahlia’s words, nodding along as he formed the mental image of their tricks in his mind. “Hm… I’m assuming Julia’s the lion in all this then?”

     “Oh… You~” Dahlia said, blushing and lightly slapping Martin on the leg, “You know very well which one Julia would want to be.”

     Martin flashed Dahlia a big, pearly smile, “Of course I do. Now, how about we get back to it?”

~~~

Kacie’s Rehearsal

     “So do you have much experience doing this?” Martin asked from his position in a rowboat that was floating across the floor, which was magically acting as a liquid, the wooden beams distorting from the slight patterns made.

     “Nope!” Tetra grinned, as she tried to move her siren tail around. The bright blue appendage flopping against the rocky prop they were using, across the room from them, something fell down. “Oops…”

     “I warned you about keeping your concentration,” Martin grinned, steering his boat over to where the thing had fallen over picking it back up and placing it back on its cue.

     Tetra’s avatar face stuck out its tongue. “I’ll get used to it,” the object on the other outcropping fell over once again.

     Martin grinned, sarcastically saying “If only there was a way to have two separate streams of your consciousness going at the same time.”

     Tetra’s face turned white for a moment, before turning back to its normal shade of blue, “I already told you… I- I just don’t think I’m ready to do that yet.”

     “Why not though?” Martin asked, “You’re both the same person, and it doesn’t appear that Kacie has much stage fright. So why not take advantage of the fact you have two heads?”

     “It’s… Complicated,” Tetra sighed.

     “No worries then,” Martin smiled, backing off, “Just a suggestion I think you should consider.”

     “Yeah…” Tetra sighed again, before perking up, “But for right now, just focus on looking properly mesmerized by my music,” Her electronic tongue poked out again, as Martin and her took their opening marks once more.

~~~

Natalie’s Rehearsal

     Natalie came into her Friday rehearsal once again sporting some pretty big bags under her eyes. “Woah, Natalie,” Martin said, noticing her, “You look tired.”

     “I was up all night… Designing a trick for tomorrow,” her voice sounded tired, but content as she pulled out a blueprint for a new big box illusion. “Do you think we’d be able to get this produced in time? I’ve thought about how we could practice without it, but it would look a lot cooler with something more official.”

     Martin looked the blueprint over, appreciating the finer details that Natalie added to it. He nodded his head, “I’ve got an old prop buddy in Italy who owes me a favor. I’m sure he could get it done in time for tomorrow,” He read the little notes attached, “This is really detailed though Natalie. I’m really impressed.”

     Natalie blushed, “I just tried to match up the prop notes to the diagrams in most magic history journals. It’s not all that special.”

     “Don’t sell yourself short,” Martin smiled, “This is still rather impressive. And I appreciate you taking some risks with it. I know that you were worried about Rachel getting kicked out, but I’d say that just the fact you want to try something like this is a pretty good indicator she rubbed off positively on you.”

     Natalie blushed, sighing, “Well, as much as I hate to admit it. She did have a point. I can’t just copy off of the old masters forever. At some point I’m going to have to contribute my own voice.”

     Martin nodded, grinning, “Of course… One thing I don’t like that seems to have rubbed off on you is her penchant for waiting until the last minute.”

     Natalie blushed further, “Okay- This was just a one time thing! I just couldn’t figure out a good starting point, and it took me all night to think of one!”

     Martin laughed, “If you say so,” He grinned, “Now, let’s get to work.”

~~~

Olive’s Rehearsal

    “Dear, can you be honest with me?” Olive asked as they were packing up from their rehearsal.

     “Of course,” Martin smiled at her.

     “Do you think my idea might be a little too high concept?” Olive blushed.

     “I certainly think it’s a unique idea to approach a flattening. If you’re worried people aren’t going to get it, we could script in you explaining it a bit.”

     “I’m just worried about it not coming across well on TV,” Olive sighed, “If we try and film it from your perspective, it’ll look weird unless we also do multiple camera angles.”

     “Well, I could spin you around in that case. It’d be pretty obvious then.” Martin offered.

     “I just don’t know dear,” Olive sighed.

     “Well,” Martin smiled, “We’ll find out tomorrow, Olive. But I think that it really shows off your lateral thinking skills. Seriously, I don’t think I would have ever thought of a trick designed this way.”

     “Thanks dear,” Olive sighed, giving Martin a big hug, “hopefully I’m just overthinking things.”

~~~

Paxton’s Rehearsal

     “Paxton!” Martin said, looking concerned as his assistant was dry heaving on the ground, “Don’t over-exert yourself! I know your magic reserves have gotten better this week, but the last thing we want to do is strain them for tomorrow!”

     Paxton wheezed a little more, looking really dejected, “But… *wheeze*… Everyone’s trying so hard… *wheeze*… And, I don’t want to go home yet… *wheeze*… Not when…” Paxton blushed, letting her comment end half formed.

     Martin sat down besides his assistant, rubbing her back as she continued to breath heavily. “I know… but you can’t keep pushing yourself this way. I know you were the farthest behind in magical ability, but I’m afraid there’s not any good shortcuts you can take to get better with conjuration.”

     Paxton’s breathing had slowed down to a much more manageable labored breath. “I-it’s just hard… Maintaining all the effects at once…”

     “I know,” Martin kept rubbing her back, “We could try minimizing the set decoration? I’m sure just three flowers will be sufficient to get the effect across instead of six.”
    “C-could we project a shadow of a flower, or something?” Paxton asked, her body relaxing as her breath calmed down, “It was much easier to conjure them if they had a focus like last week.”

     “We could,” Martin admitted, “But then they’d end up being pure black I’m afraid. We could potentially use real flowers.”

     “…But then I’m not really showing off my conjuration skills,” Paxton sighed, more or less having fully recovered by this point.

     “Nobody’s forcing you to stick solely to conjuration, Paxton,” Martin hugged his assistant, “You can have your magic show be about anything you want. I’m sure that the audience will love it regardless.”

     “But I want to show off my conjuration skills,” Paxton sighed, “And I want to get better at them! It just feels like trying to push a stone wall sometimes…”

     Martin continue their hug, “I know Paxton. Don’t worry, you’ll get there eventually. We’ll just keep working at it one day at a time.”

     After several more minute of relaxing, Paxton felt sufficiently recharged enough to go for another attempt, modifying some aspects to lessen the burden on herself.

~~~

The Birdyard

     With the day closing out, the girls, invited by Phian and Andrea, made their way through the enchanted forest to Austria, following directions to the bar known as the Birdyard.
    It was a rather trendy looking bar, the walls decorated with adorable pictures of birds of all different varieties. Likewise, the bartenders themselves had primarily avian features, such as large gorgeous wings and beaks instead of mouths and noses, matching up rather nicely with a majority of their clientele.

     Andrea waved the contestants over to their table. Phian was in their more feminine form once again, although this time they were wearing a pure white dress and was sporting a massive pair of white butterfly wings. Andrea was wearing her own black dress, although she did not have any butterfly wings.

     “So girls,” Andrea smiled, “Congratulations on making it another week! I’m so proud of everything that you’ve managed to accomplish.”

     Phian nodded along, “You all put in a great amount of work. I know you’ll make great assistants one day.”

     Andrea agreed, “So, that’s why Phian and I are going to cover for drinks tonight. Feel free to get whatever you want. We’ll make sure you’re back to normal before we head home.”

     The girls decided to branch out a little from the drinks they had previously. Olive, feeling more daring, ordered a soda (or pop, as she called it), with Juila joining in on the non-non-alcoholic side of the menu. Kacie and Dawn were interested in a local drink called a ‘Saccharine Surprise’, Natalie ordered a ‘Double Shot with Vodka’, while Paxton ordered some ‘Hair of the dog’.

     Their first round arrived, and the girls did a little toast before drinking.

     Kacie and Dawn watched with glee, as the hands that were holding onto their glasses began to disintegrate into a powdery substance. With some egging on from Dawn, Julia tasted the substance, revealing that their hands (and by extension, any part of their body that was later scraped off), had been turned into sugar (or in Dawn’s case, brown sugar).

     With her double shot complete, Natalie closed her eyes, her head throbbing, as suddenly, a pulling sensation occurred and she found that she now had two of them. Of course, being in complete control of them, she made quick work assessing her situation, and was soon holding multiple conversations across the table at the same time.

     After finishing her drink, Paxton found herself covered in a thin layer of fur the same color as her brown mane of hair. Her nose and mouth had adjusted outwards, becoming a snout, while her ears had migrated to the top of her had, becoming long and floppy.

     Soon enough, Phian and Andrea had joined in with the fun, grabbing cocktails of their own, the eight of them having a wonderful time until Phian’s alarm went off for the two hour mark. Phian sighed, sobering themselves up before transforming everyone back to normal, the party heading back to their hotel to answer the daily questions and head to bed.

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

& Question Corner &

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

To Drake: “You want my phone number? I'm surprised you don't already have it. Also, are we crediting Paige as a guest star? Because we probably should be.” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)

 Drake: Drake facepalms himself. “You see… This is why I don’t deal with issues before 9:00 AM. I must apologize, Phian. It never occurred to me that I could have just called you. Thank you for being prompt with changing the girls back, and I’ll make sure to call you in the future if I have any issues with your work.”

 “As for Paige, much like our other PA’s on the show, you can be rest assured that her name is featured in the credits every night along with all of the other production sta- Oh Wait! Paige!… Paige! Come in here!” Drake interrupted himself, briefly waving to someone off screen, before leaving the little sound booth that the questions were answered in, dragging back in the very nervous looking Satyr girl.

 Her voice could barely be heard through Drake’s lapel mic, “What’s up?”

 “Here, read the comment that Phian left you,” the smile in Drake’s voice could be heard more so than seen.

 The Satyr girl got up close to the monitor, her lips moving as she read through the comment, her cheeks blushing as she reached the end of it.

 “Well?” Drake had moved back into frame, a clear smile of pride visible on his face, as he unhooked his lapel mic, handing it to the Satyr girl.

 “T-thanks, Phian,” Paige blushed, moving her clipboard around nervously, “I-It’s been an honor working with you,” She gave a short little bow, before handing Drake back his microphone, leaving the recording booth.

 As Drake was putting his lapel mic back on, he smiled back at the camera, “Paige, and really all of our PAs, are the life blood that keeps this show running smoothly. I really should introduce everyone on the production team formally one day…”

To Natalie: “You know who comes in person-sized boxes? Vampires and mummies!” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)

 Natalie: “Blegh! It’s a shame that I’m getting this comment so late!” Natalie looks distressed, “A mummy sounds like it could have been a great idea for a classic box illusion! Maybe instead of Assistant’s Revenge, I could have done Mummy’s Revenge! Thanks for the great idea Phian! I just wish I had more time!”

To Olive, Paxton, and Natalie: “Oh, I love Fairy Village! It's a great place to get lost in - and find a party! Speaking of which, probably where I'll be tomorrow morning.” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)

 Olive: “Just make sure you party responsibly, dear. Wouldn’t want you to accidentally miss tomorrow’s performances!”

 Paxton: Paxton grins, “It seems like you had a good time Phian, based on how you looked at the Birdyard.”

 Natalie: “It really seemed like that was the sort of vibe all of the fae folk had. I would love to go back there one day. Especially since we only managed to barely scratch the surface of one of the birdcages!”

To Everyone: “Well to keep it short, you Girls, as well as Drake, Phian and Martin, you made my week quite amazing and wonderful so far. So there is that. Also I am grateful to appear on ANGA, especially after giving Howard such a roast. Anyway, I am happy to have met you all and spend time.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)

 Paxton: Paxton looks melancholically at the camera, “It’s been really great to spend time with you too Andrea. Thank you so much for all you’ve done. I’ll never forget it.”

 Natalie: Natalie smiles, “Andrea! I know you may still see yourself as new to the scene, but in my book, you’re definitely an assistant I’m going to have to keep an eye out for now. I’m certain that you’re going to go far!”

 Dawn and Julia: The two girls were separated, Julia holding tightly to Dawn’s hand, smiling at her and nodding along as she spoke, “It was a great time meeting you too, Andrea. We’re sorry we had to lie so long about who we really were, but trust us, even split up, our friendship will still remain.”

 Olive: Olive is tearing up a little bit as she talks, “Oh dear, I-I’m going to cry. It was such a nice time meeting you, and I can’t believe we’re already leaving. I-it feels like we only just met in person yesterday,” Olive is openly sobbing now, “It’s been a wonderful time dear. Please don’t ever change.”

 Kacie: “He he. I had a great time too Andrea! And don’t worry, we’ll still keep in touch! You’ll absolutely have to come out to one of my live shows when this is all over!”

 Drake: “It was an absolute pleasure to have you on, Andrea. You did an excellent job covering for me while we were in court, and seeing you in the comments section so often has greatly improved the morale of all of the contestants. We here on the ANGA Production team would like to offer you our sincerest gratitudes, and hope that you’ll look back fondly on your time with us, as we will of you.”

 Martin: Martin flashed his trademark smile at the camera, “Andrea, it’s been a pleasure to have you on. You’ve already done so much for the girls, I’m certain they feel the same way that you do about them. Anytime you need something from me, feel free to ask, and I’ll see what I can do.”

To the girls (who visited the village): “Oh that looked like a very lovely village of Fairy folk. My family and I are good friends with a Fae village near our home, and have even been made honorary members. They are some of our dearest friends.” -Charles E Brown and Family (@@James-MacCloude)

 Olive: “It was my first time ever visiting a Fae village, and I must say, I was pretty impressed! If all Fae villages are like that, I could potentially see trying to get Henry to retire to one. Life would certainly be exciting then!”

 Paxton: “Learning about all the different types of Fae yesterday was really cool! It must be pretty exciting living near a Fairy village.”

 Natalie: “Ooh! That sounds pretty cool! To be made honorary citizens of a Fae village. Did it come with any interesting perks? Like maybe passports or certificates?”

To Paxton: “I can't wait to see what you've come up with, I know its going to be spectacular.” -James Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Paxton: Paxton blushes, “Thanks James. Just… Don’t get too upset with me if it turns out poorly… Doing all this magic is still so taxing,” She sighs, giving a weak smile to the camera.

To Natalie and Kacie: “Hi, this is my first time posting on the show's comments. I saw you like box props, Natalie. My first experience with real magic involved a mismade, but my passion is the guillotine. I just love losing my head. My husbands jokingly complains, that he married Langwidere.” -Catherin Knight Welling (@@James-MacCloude)

 Natalie: “Ooh! The guillotine is an excellent choice to have as a favorite. It’s probably one of the most visually stunning tricks in the classic big box repertoire. Which is pretty funny, since it doesn’t actually have any boxes!”

 Kacie: “Um…” Kacie smiles slightly nervously, “I’m not sure exactly why I was brought into this, it seems more so directed just at Natalie. I guess for the fact you like to remove your head?” Kacie giggles nervously, “Well… In any case, that’s pretty cool to hear! Do you have extra heads like Langwidere that you switch between?”

To Dawn and Julia: “I'm so glad everything has worked out in your favor, and hope to see Dahlia preform well.” -Jacob Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Julia: Julia blushes silently, Dawn stroking her hand to calm her down.

 Dawn: Dawn smiles at the camera, “We’re truly lucky that things turned out the way they did. Hopefully Dahlia’s performance will go well tomorrow, and we’ll be able to celebrate another week together.”

To Dawn and Julia: “I am very happy that things worked out for you too. Though I didn't merge with anyone I did use transforming magic to do some very bad things when I was young.” -Morgana Pendragon (@@James-MacCloude)

 Julia: Julia looks mortified, her hand immediately climbing up to and entangling itself in her hair, as Dawn gave her a hug, cooing in her ear to try and get her to calm down.

 Dawn: Dawn looks at the camera, her eyes fleeting worried glances over to Julia to make sure that she was still okay, “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope that you are at least remorseful for the bad things that you’ve done. Youth is a time of folly and forgiveness, but we should still make an attempt to make up for past misdeeds.”

To Natalie, Paxton, and Olive: “I see you had a lovely time in the Fae village. I myself am half Fae, though I regret some of the things I've done in my youth. Always use you magic for good, even if it costs you.” -Morgana Pendragon (@@James-MacCloude)

 Natalie: “Oh wow! Does that mean you’re really short? Well… I guess it would depend on how your biology plays out. I don’t think I’ve ever met a half fae person before.”

 Paxton: Paxton balked slightly, “I would never dream of using magic to do bad things! Why would you even want to, when you can do so many good things with them?”

 Olive: “That’s different,” Olive said, her lips brought together in a tight thin smile, “s long as you’re trying to make up for it though, that’s all that really matters.”

~~~

In Dawn and Julia’s Room

     It was after questions for the night had been answered. Andrea walked into the room, smiling at all the contestants, all of them mostly in their pajamas, as it was rather late when questions had ended thanks to their journey to the Birdyard. Andrea had talked for hours with Drake to gain the allowance for this little get-together, since it was off schedule. She got in front of all the six of the girls (for this occasion she had asked Dawn and Julia to stay as the wonderful two girls they were). The German Girl, dressed in her casual street clothes, gives a wide smile at them all and asks them to take a seat, each of the girls taking seats along Dawn and Julia’s bed and the few chairs available in the hotel room. The young Magicienne also settled down and finally addressed the girls, who were waiting with anticipation for what Andrea had to announce.

    "Well speaking about revealing secrets..." Andrea eyed all the girls and giggled, making it clear that she wasn’t judging anyone. "I promised you that I would reveal another once you came to Europe… and I guess now is the time." She said in a really soft and unusual saddened voice, a serious tone she has never used up to this point.

     "Oh Dear, don’t cry, it’ll be alright." Olive began to say, practically out of her seat as she attempted to walk the short gap between them, stopping only when Andrea smiled at her and gestured gently for her to sit down again.

     “Well… You see… I am also a unique type of assistant… You see I didn't start out in this form you met me a couple of days ago-“ Andrea began explaining, only to be interrupted by Kacie.

     “No big deal."

     "We understand that living as Assistant is life changing~" Dawn and Julia say at the same time, which causes all of the other girls to giggle, including Andrea.

     All the tension had faded from the room, and the girls, as well as the young Assistant, looked at each other, grinning in joy. Before Andrea gets a little bit more serious and returns to explaining. "It's been actually over six years since Andrea, the real me, exists."

     An awkward silence settled upon the room, everyone looking with an expression of confusion and disbelief at that German girl in front of them. It takes a few moments before the first girl is able to respond.

     “Wait a second… So does that mean…” Natalie begins to look at Andrea in a quizzical manner, before giving her a rather surprised look. “Are you transgender?” Andrea with a small, nervous smile nods, making it clear that Natalie had figured it out.

     “Oh my gosh! Andrea! That means you’re super unique! I mean there have been only a handful of documented cases of transgender assistants as successful as you in Magic History!” She chirped, giving her a warm smile.

     The other girls looked a little confused, slowly shifting to smiles as they soak in this revelation. This time Olive managed to get over to Andrea and give her a warm motherly hug. “Oh dear, you never should have thought that you had to keep it secret from us. We’ll always love you no matter what.”

     This was enough to make Andrea cry, she leans into Olive’s Arms and sobs tears of joy. Still being embraced by such a wonderful and motherly person, the other girls join in on the hug.