“In what many are reporting as yet another mark on the heavily controversial third season of America’s Next Great Assistant, the Wellspring located in Central London commonly referred to as Mister E’s was vandalized last evening sometime between eleven and two.” A blond haired reporter in a blue pantsuit read off the teleprompter, addressing the camera.

     The video feed cut to footage of each of the four girls rooms, large men in dark black coats examining each of the crime scenes, “It appears as the perpetrator was not targeting the contestants personally, as according to Hellsings on the scene their personal belongings had not been touched. The current working theory is that this was done in protest of the show.”

     “When it was announced last month that ANGA was going to be making a stop in the UK as part of its then five week long production cycle, protests quickly began popping up all over London,” the video feed cut to archival footage of various public protests. Some of the protests seemed peaceful in nature, others done in the background of raging fires. “These demonstrations primarily focused upon the question of magic reform, ranging from topics of public magic use to assistants rights.”

     “While both sides primarily protested in peaceful ways, conflict quickly arose as the demonstrations became more passionate. The first incident occurring on June 8th, when at a public demonstration for assistants rights, one of the pro-assistant protestors was struck on the back of the head by a still unidentified assailant.” The video feed showed a vertical video of a female protestor holding up a picket sign with, ‘Say “No!” To Verbal Contracts!’ a shape blurring by hitting her on the back of her head, nearly causing her to fall over as the shape melded in with the rest of the gathered crowd.

     “Since then, the protests have only grown larger, and these sorts of incidents have increased in severity.”

     “Due to the seemingly political nature of this incident, BBC Five has reached out to representatives from both the Society of Real Magicians, and the International Shared Assistant’s Guild for comment.”

     The screen suddenly cut to a street side interview of a menacingly eccentric looking fellow. He wore a bright white suit with a blood red tie, his slightly graying hair slicked back, a pair of perfectly circular spectacles perched on his beak like nose. His large toothy smile gave off an aura of malice, and a little name plaque underneath his visage identified him as ‘Steven Osbourne - SORM’. “You know obviously, what happened at E’s was an absolute tragedy. While we at SORM do not personally agree with the sorts of reforms proposed by the ISAG, we would never condone such behavior towards anyone,” the words he emphasized absolutely dripped with venom. “especially in what’s supposed to be neutral ground.”

     “Of course,” Steven sighed, shaking his head, “Really, is it any surprise that people feel the need to take such drastic and radical measures to get their point across, given the sort of firebrand the organization thought was appropriate to launch their UK branch?”

     The screen cut again, and this time it was Lisa being interviewed, she seemed to be maintaining herself well, although she seemed a little distracted, squinting her eyes from the sun as she explained, “Currently, the ISAG is fully cooperating with the Hellsings in order to determine who did this and bring them to a swift justice. We’re also currently in discussions to make sure that we can find more secure lodging for the cast and crew of ANGA, so as to prevent this from happening again.”

     “Representatives from ANGA have confirmed the safety of the contestants, who were mostly shaken up from the incident more than anything,” the female news anchor explained, reappearing on the screen, “For BBC Five, I’ve been Carly Richards, stick around after the break for more updates as the story develops-“

~~~

Mister E’s (Morning)

     Lisa turned off the TV, clearly very annoyed, doing her absolute best to contain her fury. “‘Never condone that behavior-‘ What a load of bollucks,” Lisa angrily slammed the remote to one of the two TVs above the bar on the table she and Peter were sitting at, “Steve knows damn well that’s not the truth.”

     Peter sighed, shaking his head, “Unfortunately Lise, his supporters aren’t going to see it that way.”

     After a rather chaotic morning filled with answering questions from the rather intimidating looking Hellsings and a whole lot of coffee, Drake, Martin, Peter, Lisa, and Sarah had all gathered in the main club portion of E’s. The girls, after being briefly questioned by the Hellsings to basically confirm they had not been anywhere close to the scene of the crime, were currently asleep in Martin and Drake’s room, splitting them up two and two so that they could have some sleep.

     Drake sighed, “Well, I’ve already gotten in contact with Stonehenge. They’ve got a bit of a campsite running in their Wellspring, so hopefully we’ll be able to get everyone set up without much problem.”

     Sarah spoke up, “Drake, as much as I understand why you want to leave, I really must insist you stay here at E’s,” She had a hint of authority in her voice, “After all, it would be rather unbecoming of the Keeper of London to have one of his guests wronged without making an attempt to right the issue.”

     “I understand Sarah,” Drake said, “But really, the girls have been through enough. I just want somewhere remote where I know they’ll be safe.”

     “I know Drake, and trust me, you’ll be getting the full protective force we can offer,” Sarah explained, “We’ll close down E’s for everyone except tenants. It’ll be a simple matter to move the girls to some more secure rooms and place guards out front. We can even get them some escorts if you don’t want them wandering around London alone any more.”

     Drake sighed, “That seems like an awful lot of extra effort Sarah. I wouldn’t want to burden you.”

     “Drake, I’m the Keeper’s Wife. I could practically snap my fingers and have this all set up in a moment. It’s not a problem at all,” Sarah waved her hand.

     “I’m with Saz,” Lisa said, “After all, the whole reason this happened is because they want you to leave. I don’t like the message that giving them what they want would send.”

     “Still,” Drake said, “I promised these girls I’d do everything in my power to protect them. I feel like staying here is just asking for more trouble.”

     Lisa and Sarah were both about respond, when Martin spoke up, “Well… Why don’t we ask the girls then? After all, they’re all grown adults, and this does sort of affect things for the remaining few days we’re here.”

     Peter nodded, speaking up before Drake was able to speak, “I agree with Martin. After all, this is a pretty big decision that’ll affect the rest of their time here. It would hardly be fair to them to make it without their two cents.”

     Lisa smiled brightly at Peter, “Exactly what I was thinking Magic Boy!” She gives Peter a small kiss on his cheek, causing him to smile.

     “Well, Sarah?” Martin asked, once again blocking Drake from responding.

     “Sounds reasonable to me,” Sarah smiled.

     “I’m glad we’re all on the same page then,” Martin smiled, looking down at his watch, “Now, I should probably go, Dahlia had a rehearsal scheduled in an hour, so I’m just going to go check and make sure she’s still up for it.” He got up, leaving Drake alone with the others.

     Drake had stopped protesting, giving a sigh, “You know, there wasn’t much need to dog pile on me. I was onboard as soon as Martin offered it.”

     Lisa grinned, a brief fire appearing in her eyes, “Sure you were Drake. While I have you by the way…”

~~~

Dahlia’s Rehearsal

     “How are you holding up?” Martin asked as Dahlia entered the practice studio. Her sun head had been packaged up and placed with the rest of her personal objects, her merged head once again on her body.

     “We’ll manage,” She smiled.

     “Are Dawn and Julia aware of what happened?” Martin asked.

     “No…” Dahlia said, nervously twisting her hair, “We-… We know how Julia would get if she knew what happened… We think it’ll be better if we stay merged for a while longer. At least until after we’re away from the UK.”

     “You’ll need to tell them eventually,” Martin said seriously, “And actually… I’ve been meaning to talk to them about you for a while.”

     “What?” Dahlia asked, still nervously twirling her hair around her finger.

     “Well… I was curious if Dawn and Julia were thinking of merging on a more permanent basis?” Martin flashed a toothy smile, “I know that there’s usually some pretty strong emotions between people who stay merged for long periods of time.”

     “We… We’re not sure,” Dahlia answered sincerely, sighing, “We get the distinct feeling that Julia would love nothing more in the world than to give herself up to be one with Dawn. But we also know that Dawn would definitely miss Julia if they were to ever do that permanently…”

     Martin nods along, “And how would you feel about it?”

     Dahlia smiles, “Well… We’re conflicted too. After all We know how much Juila and Dawn love one another. It would hardly be fair to trade that away simply so that We can exist. Plus,” she added, “If We exist, how would they be able to fulfill their dreams of working on stage together?”
    Martin smiled, giving Dahlia a reassuring hug, “Dahlia. That love they share doesn’t go away when you exist. If anything, I would say that you’re more like the living embodiment of their love.” Dahlia blushed. “And as for their dream. Well, I’m pretty sure they’ve already accomplished it several times over by this point. So I’ve got to ask again. How would you feel if Dawn and Julia merged permanently?”

     Dahlia smiled, “W-well… We’d like it a lot,” she admitted, “I love this form so much~,” she gave herself a hug, “And… There’s so much wonderful stuff to see~… I certainly wouldn’t complain about becoming more permanent… But I still feel like I couldn’t do it.”

     Martin nodded, “It’s definitely something I think that you’re going to have to get Dawn and Julia to discuss at some point…”

     “But enough of that,” Martin said, shaking his head, giving Dahlia a warm smile, “How about we get started with rehearsal then?”

~~~

Mister E’s (Afternoon)

     It was around lunch time when Carrie came into Mister E’s, spotting Lisa, who was sitting alone at a table playing with her phone. “Hey!” She said, walking over and sitting down, “I came as soon as I saw the news story!”

     Lisa looked up, putting her phone away. “Busy night last night?” Lisa asked a little coldly.

     “Well, after we dropped the girls back off… Tracy and I may have fooled around a bit later than we should have,” Carrie admitted, “But that’s not important. Give me details! Did they managed to figure out who did it?”

     “They’re still searching the rooms,” Lisa admitted, “That’s mainly why I’m still hanging around. Peter’s gone to pick up some sandwiches for us.”

     “Ooh! Really? Did he just head out? Could I text him to pick something-“

     “Carrie,” Lisa said, suddenly very serious, and in a slight accusatory tone, “Why did you take the girls out last night?”

     “Oh. Because they seemed bored,” Carrie said, without missing a beat, “I knew you probably didn’t have anything planned for them, so I thought I’d find them something to do.”

     “Mhm…” Lisa was still on the offensive, “It wasn’t because Mark asked you?”

     “What? No?” Carrie said, getting suspicious herself, “Wait… Why are you asking? Do you think Mark’s involved.”

     “Well… based on the attack, it probably was someone from SORM. And I don’t think Steve’s dumb enough to do it himself,” Lisa said matter of factly.

     “Mark-!… I know you don’t trust him Lise,” Carrie frowned, “But Mark wouldn’t pull a stunt like this. He’s changed.” Lisa seemed unconvinced, so Carrie continued, “Besides, he lives here. Why would he do something that could get him kicked out?”

     Lisa seemed annoyed, “Maybe he thought he could get away with it?”

     “With the leash he has?” Carrie snorted, “Please Lise. Mark’s been a good boy, I’ll swear on it if you need me to. And before you go ahead and start accusing your own flesh and blood. No, I didn’t do it either. Both Tracey and the girls can vouch for me,” Carrie was actively frowning now.

     Lisa lightened up a little bit, still seeming annoyed, “No… I know that Carrie. This whole thing’s just so annoying,” Lisa sighed, “I didn’t really think Mark did it…” From the look Lisa got from Carrie, she admitted, “Fine. Maybe just a little I thought he did it. But you’re *hurp*” she gagged a little bit, “You were right. Mark wouldn’t have done something this stupid.”

     Carrie smiled at Lisa’s little display of saying she was right, “Glad you see things my way… And don’t worry Sis. I’m sure they’ll find something.”

     Just then, Peter walked into E’s holding a brown paper bag, “I’ve got sandwiches!” He grins, Lisa’s mood lightening slightly as they sat down to enjoy a delicious lunch, Carrie scurrying off so she could apologize to the girls.

~~~

Kacie’s Rehearsal

     Kacie came into the studio carrying her head box with her, the spiked collar she had been gifted from yesterday’s punishment still around her neck, albeit returned to its original. In one swift movement, she removed her regular head, quickly swapping it out for Tetra and sealing the head box once more.

     “How are you feeling Tetra?” Martin asked.

     “A little shaken up…” Tetra admitted, “I know those creepy police officers said that they didn’t detect any tampering with our personal items… But still, I’m worried that I’m going to have to carry Tetra everywhere I go now just to keep an eye on her.”

     “Tetra,” Martin smiled, “I’m relatively sure this was just a fringe accident. Plus, since Tetra’s connected to GPS, I’m pretty sure you’d be able to find her without much difficulty.”

     “Fair…” Tetra said, extending the last syllable, “But that doesn’t change… just how dirty it sort of feels,” she visibly shudders.

     “I know,” Martin gave her a small hug, “that’s normal for this sort of thing. It’ll go away in a few days, most likely right around when we head off to the next location.”

     “Okay! Let’s get to it!” Tetra smiled, shaking Martin off, “I’m sure rehearsal will help me feel better. Especially with the setlist I’ve got planned.”

     “Alright then,” Martin laughed, the two getting to work on their next performance.

~~~

Mister E’s (Night)

     “So girls… What’ll it be? Stay here at E’s or camp out at Stonehenge?” Drake asked, everyone gathered in the club portion (which was completely devoid of other customers).

     “Well…” Paxton said nervously, “It’s only two nights until we leave… I don’t know about everyone else, but I think I’d be fine staying if we got new rooms.”

     “I’d feel more comfortable if we could be two to a room like before,” Natalie admitted, “but otherwise, yeah. I’d agree. Not much reason to leave if more precautions are going to be added.” Dahlia and Kacie, likewise agreed with the sentiments.

     “Okay,” Drake sighed, shaking his head, and addressing Sarah “Well then… I guess if Her Majesty is willing to accommodate our new needs, we would gladly continue to stay here.”

     “Wonderful~” Sarah clapped her hands together, I’ll show you to your new rooms then-“

     Just as she was about to lead them, one of the tall, dark, and creepy Hellsings skulked into the bar. “Mrs. Drake?” He asked in a soft, hissing voice, “We have concluded our investigation. We will be looking into the leads we have came to, but we believe with the tapes provided by Mr. Bordignon, we should most likely be able to get you a prime suspect.”

     “Really?” Sarah asked.

     “Yes.” The Hellsing said, “the lack of any sort of magic trace has drastically reduced our suspect list. Would you like us to press charges when we have determined the culprit?”

     “Obviously, They attacked a guest of The Keeper’s,” she said matter of factly, before asking, “But wait… No magic trail? Did they erase the residue?”

     “Negative,” The Hellsing said, “beyond the contestant’s magic trace, no other trace of magic was present in the room.”

     “Curious,” Sarah said. The Hellsing giving a short nod before seemingly disappearing into the shadows.

     The room took a moment to digest that revelation, before Sarah took the girls to their new bedrooms. They were rather similar to their old rooms, however the walls were a different shade, the floor plan was significantly larger, taking on a more apartment style vibe than a hotel room, and each bedroom was equipped with two queen style beds.

     After a long busy day, the girls were appreciative of the opportunity to rest up for a day full of rehearsals tomorrow.

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

& Question Corner &

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

To Drake: “Wait - this week is in England? Am I understanding this right? It's not just a layover on your way to New York or something? Hold on - how many assistants were there to start with? Right. Rachel. Six. So, five eliminations, five weeks... I guess I have to recalibrate my expectations on what "ANGA World Tour" means.” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician) (Added late to S3E23)

 Drake: “Well… Okay granted five tour stops is a little small for a world tour, it’s unfortunately as many as we could reasonably fit inside the format. But I mean, Australia, Germany, UK, I feel like it’s been rather globe-hoppy so far,” Drake smiles nervously, “But yes! We’re in England this week, and will be performing here on Saturday!”

To the girls: “I know you are afraid, but that is the downside of the UK, they are really conservative and rather radical. Don't worry about it though, you are safe and in capable hands. Keep close to Martin and Drake and try not to venture out too much from now on. I already contacted the British Branch of ISAG. And to quote Kacie, yes I am a force you don't want to oppose.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)

 Dahlia: “We don’t want to worry Julia and Dawn with this whole issue, so we definitely will be sticking close to Martin. Hopefully they’ll catch who did it soon”

 Paxton: “I wouldn’t dream of crossing you Andrea,” Paxton smiled, “And thank you so much for your concern. Martin’s watching over us, and I have complete faith he’s going to do a great job. Having Lisa and Sarah around is just icing on the cake.”
Natalie: “Not everyone’s that way though. I feel like it’s only a fringe minority of people who would be crazy enough to try something like this. Hopefully with the extra security we’ll be fine…” Natalie appears nervous.

 Kacie: “I’m just glad they didn’t do anything to our stuff. I’m still freaked out by what they did, but the thought of some weirdo… alone with Tetra… doing things to her,” Kacie shuts her eyes, shuddering, “I’m going to need to get a better lock for my head box for her…”

To Drake and Martin: “I'm sorry guys that you had to witness that kind of british hospitality, ISAG already dealed with that kind of behaviour a lot of times. Still, if I can do anything for you as official Member of ISAG, let me know. Also get in touch with the British Branch as soon as possible. Furthermore this might be a bit of an overreaction on my side, but change location too, I have a few save houses lined up for you and the girls. I will send them in a seperate E-mail to you.

Again, don't let the girls panic, I know this is scary, but ISAG is there to help. I am actually too.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)

 Drake: “Thanks for the list of safe places Andrea. Stonehenge was a pretty good pick all things considered, just obscure enough and with a small enough entrance that it would have been relatively easy to secure. I’m ultimately glad we didn’t have to use them. And don’t worry, LIsa’s the head of the UK branch of ISAG. She did an excellent job in helping us in a pinch. The girls are fine and secure.”

 Martin: “Well, you seem on top of your game as ever Andrea,” Martin smiled, “Thank you for the resources. As you probably saw, we got into contact with Lisa basically right away. She handled herself very well for being in the position for such a short amount of time. Obviously, if the situation worsens, we’ll deploy like a commando squad to get the girls out of there, but for right now, I think things have settled down.

To The Girls: “I'm very sorry you had to deal with the darker side of Britain, I'm sure it is just a few fringe idiots who have way too much time on their hands. I'm sure authorities will find them and see to it they are properly dealt with.” -Genie Schutter. (@@James-MacCloude)

 Paxton: Paxton sighs, “It usually is some outliers when dealing with these sorts of things. Hopefully they’ll be able to catch whoever did this tomorrow.”

 Natalie: “No need to apologize Genie. It’s not like you had anything to do with what happened. It’s mostly because the UK has a vastly different culture to the US. I still hope one day more people will be able to enjoy magic here than having to hide it away in clubs.”

 Kacie: “It’s okay Genie. I’ve dealt with rowdy fans and anti-fans before, so I’m well aware of these sort of harassment campaigns. Hopefully they’ll be brought into justice.”

 Dahlia:”Hopefully, this is the act of only one person. I would hate to think that multiple people would find what happened acceptable.”

To Drake and Martin: “My sympathies to you both, I hate it when I lose sleep because some moron decided to make trouble. I know when the authorities catch up to them they'll be hell to pay.” -Jacob Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Drake: “I’m just annoyed because it seemed like things were finally going well and we had managed to avoid causing another incident. No one decided to quit, or revealed that they were actually two people all along. I guess I can’t really say this is our fault, for once, but still… Not what I was hoping for this season to be known for.”

 Martin: “Well, it seems like we won’t have to wait very long to see them come to justice. I really just want to ask them why they did it. Surely if it was disliking the show, there’s more productive ways to go about doing it.”

To Paxton: “I'm sorry to see after a night of fun, your room was vandalized like that. I'm just glad you're safe. I know it would never happen here.  On a different note, don't worry about messing up, It won't diminish what I feel for you one bit.  As my Dad likes to say. "the best laid plans of mice and men are gone apt to glade." I think he got that from some old movie. Anyway I know you'll do fine.  Big hugs to you. And remember the best thing about you, is you!” -James Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Paxton: Paxton blushes, “Thanks James… I’m glad to hear you were nervous for me,” She smiled, “I’ll try to keep your words in mind for Saturday. Hopefully nothing crazy happens tomorrow… And um… Hugs to you!” She stretched out her arms, blushing deeply.