After an uneventful night, the Martin found himself back into the throws of last day prep and rehearsals
~~~
Paxton’s Rehearsal
Paxton was once again working up a sweat at rehearsal, her gray tank top almost completely soaked, but for once she seemed to be really in the groove, only being mildly out of breath as they finished another run through of their set.
“Excellent work, Paxton!” Martin beamed, his voice sounding fuzzy as he gave her a hug, “You’ve really improved with your conjuration!”
“Thanks,” Paxton took another deep breath, and blushing slightly as she said, “It’s all thanks to you really.”
“Please Paxton,” Martin said, his back to the camera, his voice sounding normal once again, “Like I’ve kept telling all of you, you’re very talented assistants. You just needed some pushing in the right direction to become great ones.”
“Maybe… but I still feel like I needed a bit more pushing than the others,” She sighed, grabbing a nearby hoop on the floor and quick changing into a new tank top for the third time that rehearsal.
Martin’s voice was fuzzy once more while he talked, “And that’s okay, because it means you’re more likely to think of out-of-the-box solutions to your problems then. For instance, your excellent trick idea,” He smiled.
Paxton blushed, “You don’t think it’s too silly?”
Martin grinned, still talking in his fuzzy voice “Paxton, your tricks are always wonderful to perform, and this is no exception. Silliness is by no means an accurate measurement for how good or bad a trick is.”
Paxton sighs, “I just hope people like it…”
“And as performers, that’s all we can do,” Martin gave her another hug, his face turned to the camera as he spoke in a non-fuzzy voice once more, “Okay. How about another rep?”
~~~
Natalie’s Rehearsal
Martin was tied up to a rack, the ropes visibly biting into his skin, “Natalie… I don’t have much of a problem being tied up for a trick, but could you consider loosening the ropes a little bit when we switch places?”
“Oops! Sorry!” Natalie said, walking over and loosening the ropes, “Better?”
“Immensely,” Martin smiled.
“You know though, if we were trying to make this authentic, you wouldn’t be enjoying it,” Natalie smiled back.
“Of course,” Martin grinned back. “After all, the first Assistant’s Revenge wasn’t a gimmick. Right?”
“Yep,” Natalie smiled, “Legend goes that this was back in the era where magician’s didn’t bother numbing the effects to get ‘real reactions’, and she just got sick of being sliced up over and over again and swapped places right before he was about to cut her.”
Martin shudders (well, as much as he can tied up to a rack), “Thank goodness we’ve moved away from such barbaric practices. I couldn’t imagine doing that without asking first.”
Natalie nodded, “Yep. Some things really are just better left in the past. Although at least we got a good enough routine out of it.”
Natalie and Martin got back to work, running through the set a few more times, Natalie figuring out just when to loosen the ropes a little bit to make sure Martin’s wrists didn’t get chafed.
~~~
Kacie’s Rehearsal
“Dance, Magic Dance,” Martin sang as he danced around the studio, vibing to the song Tetra was playing, “Dance, Magic Dance-“
“Martin," Tetra laughed, interrupting the music, “Are you really going to sing along every rep?”
“I can’t help it,” Martin grinned, still dancing to the music that wasn’t playing, “Bowie’s just too good.”
“Yes, and unlike you, he can actually sing in tune,” Tetra laughed, Martin grinning along.
“I’d like to see you try to do better,” Martin taunted.
“Alright,” Tetra smiled back, “You’re on.”
Martin went back to his mark, and once again David Bowie’s Magic Dance began playing once more. Surprisingly enough, it was an instrumental version of the track, with Kacie’s voice playing over it, Tetra’s avatar style face mouthing along to the lyrics. As the song progressed, Tetra seemed to get more into it, grooving along just like Martin, although noticeably much more in key and on beat with the song.
Martin smiled, as he offered his hand to Kacie, completely derailing the rehearsal as they danced along to the classic track.
As the music finished up, and the two stopped dancing, Martin clapped his hands, “Bravo!”
Tetra blushed, “T-Thanks.”
“You know,” Martin smiled, “You have a very lovely singing voice. I’m shocked you don’t use it in your music more often.”
Tetra started blubbering, “Oh- Well- You know- As a DJ… People aren’t really interested in hearing me,” Tetra finally worked her way into a sentence, “They’re usually there to just enjoy some music, and maybe dance with their friends. My singing would just get in the way of that.”
“I don’t think they’d find it distracting,” Martin grinned back, “I mean… You’re no Bowie, obviously, but still, that was still a solid A+ rendition.”
Tetra blushed harder. “Do you want to go back to rehearsal?” She asked, changing the subject, “We still don’t have things down on the second number all that well…”
~~~
Dahlia’s Rehearsal
Dahlia and Martin floated around the room weightlessly. Dahlia was testing on her phone, while Martin just had his eyes closed, taking a small rest in between reps. “Dahlia?” Martin asked.
“Hm?” Dahlia responded with, being pulled out of her phone.
“It’s just occurred to me that the of the contestants remaining, you’re the only one who’s had any practical stage experience as a magician’s assistant,” Martin said, his eyes still closed.
Dahlia thought for a moment, before going back to her phone, “We guess so.”
Martin chuckled, as the two of them bumped lightly into each other in the center of the room, slowly careening towards other opposite sides of the practice room, “It’s a little funny, if you think about it.”
Dahlia looked up again, “How so?”
“Well. You said the reason Dawn and Julia auditioned as Dahlia was because they were worried they didn’t have enough experience. And yet assuming they would have made it this far in the competition, either of them would be the most experienced assistant here,” Martin smiled.
Dahlia took this in, mulling it over in her head, before giving off a small giggle, “We guess you’re right… It is a little silly if you think about it. Of course though, then they wouldn’t be able to fulfill their dream… Unless they were to tie…”
“Oh no,” Martin said, raising his hand and swiping it through the air, causing him to spin a little bit in his weightlessness, “Unfortunately, the production team’s already thought of that. There’s specific stipulations now that if I’m going to pick up one of the former contestants as an additional assistant, it cannot be publicly announced until after production has ended.”
“In that case, We’re still very happy that we auditioned together,” Dahlia smiled, slowly bouncing off the wall and back towards the center of the room, “After all, a slim chance of fulfilling a dream is better than none.”
“Very true,” Martin gave a soft smile of his own, the two floating around for just a bit longer, before starting rehearsal back up.
~~~
An Upscale Italian Restaurant
The girls were once again dressed in their fancy dinner gowns, all squashed together in a single taxi heading towards a small, fancy Italian restaurant down an empty side street. As the girls stepped out, Peter was there at the door to greet them, “Welcome ladies, the wine is complimentary tonight, so feel free to drink as much as you’d like.”
Inside, the establishment had squashed nearly two tables together to form one long, family style table, with eleven seats placed around it. There was a duo of a man and a woman playing some ambient music for piano and violin in the corner, and the entire restaurant was lit with candles for mood lighting.
As the girls sat down, the rest of the guests slowly trickled in, Sarah, Carrie and Tracy, Martin and Drake. The final couple to sit down at the table was Peter and Lisa, and as soon as they sat down, three waiters came out of the kitchen to come fill up waters and take orders. Three bowls of sliced baguette were deposited around the table, with several plates of peppered olive oil to dip in.
As entrees were served, Peter dinged his glass with his spoon. “I’d like to propose a toast, if that’s appropriate?” He looked towards Drake, who shrugged. “Just something simple,” he smiled, “To new friends, old friends, and the friends we’ll make in the future.” Everyone raised their glasses with him, taking a quick sip, and about to put their glasses down, when Martin stood up.
“And also, another toast to Dahlia, Paxton, Natalie, and Kacie. They’ve done an amazing job so far navigating this strange new world for them. It makes me happy to know that regardless of where they, and Rachel and Olive, end up, they’ll be able to handle themselves.” Another round of sips.
The silence seemed to stretch on, as Peter and Martin looked over to Drake, who took too long to notice that everyone at the table was staring at him waiting for him to give a speech. “Oh!” He said, standing up quickly and fumbling with his glass, spilling a little bit of water onto the tablecloth. “Uh… And one final round to Lisa and Sarah, whom have conducted themselves with… strength and distinction and have managed to completely turn around what would have been a show ending attack mere weeks ago.”
Dinner went by uneventfully, mostly just everyone talking to one another, the subject occasionally shifting from work topics like stories from Lisa and Peter’s past performances, or how Carrie became and assistant, to more personal stuff, like how Sarah was feeling with Stu away on business, or how Carrie and Tracy met.
Eventually, it became rather late, and the group decided it was for the best to get desert to go. Luckily, the kitchen staff had produced a rather ridiculous amount of cannolis, everyone getting a little doggy bag with three of them.
As the group was walking out the door, Peter stopped to talk to one of the waiters, “Hey Tony… Thanks a ton for doing this. I know that Friday night’s usually your biggest night.”
Tony, for his part, held up his hands, “Don’t mention it Peter. After all, the ANGA folks paid more than twice what I normally make most nights. I really appreciate the recommendation.”
“Well, Of course I’m going to recommend the best place in town,” Peter and Tony share a handshake, as Lisa comes back to him, seemingly annoyed and putting her hand aggressively around his waist and dragging him towards the door. Peter laughed as he said, “Well, looks like the missus wants to leave. See you around Tony!”
“Yes! See you around Peter! Make sure to drop by again someday, it feels like forever since we last talked!” Tony waved goodbye, as he began closing up the restaurant.
~~~
Mister E’s (Late Evening)
“Oh Good!” Sarah grinned looking at her phone when they arrived back at E’s, “Here, I made sure to have one of the PA's tape it. They caught the vandals.” She turned on the TV over the empty bar, the prerecorded news report playing.
“And, we have one last update on the vandalism incident that occurred two days ago at the House of Mister E,” The same reporter from yesterday (Carly Richards) eexplained, adjusting her red pantsuit.
“At approximately nine o’clock this evening, the Hellsings, the private law enforcement group hired by the Conclave Adepti, brought three non-humans into custody for questioning. This included the twenty four year old Bugbear, Logan Hartell“ the video cut to a mugshot of Logan. He had a face that was somehow both orcish and goblin-like in appearance, with a massive toothy underbite and flappy hairy ears. Really, hair was a good adjective to describe him in general, the parts of his body that weren’t clothed covered in a fine layer of brown hair.
“Twenty three year old Hobgoblin, Rory Duster,” The mugshot of Rory was of a short, lanky man with pale skin, blond hair, a hooked nose and large droopy ears in a black hoodie similar to Logan’s. He scowled at the camera in both pictures, revealing sharp teeth.
“And seventeen year old Gremlin, Benny Duster, foster brother of Rory.” In comparison to the two other mugshots, Benny was clearly quite shorter, hitting only about 3’2” according to the height marker, and he seemed practically on the verge of tears. He had large, batlike ears, a rather pronounced nose, and a pale blue complexion.
“Logan and Rory are both affiliated with the controversial political movement, ‘Non-humans Against Magic’. This mostly decentralized movement has been gaining favor over the past couple of months across disenfranchised non-humans across the UK, demanding that secrecy laws remain in place in order, with the growing fear that magic will replace countless non-human jobs. Before tonight, it did not appear as though Benny had any open ties to this movement.”
“Due to his status as a minor, Benny was offered the opportunity for a plea deal, the chance to have a reduced sentence in the youth courts if he came clean. It’s thanks to his testimony that we now have a good idea of what went on last night.
According to his accounts, the plan had been concocted by his brother. The three of them had originally arrived at Mister E’s early in the evening, changing into their protest garb in the bathroom in order to be caught on ANGA to spread their message.” The video feed shifted from Carly to a still image from ANGA. The image zoomed and enhanced on three figures near the back, the three non-human perpetrators. Each wore neon colored shirts with large black lettering printed on them, the messages reading, ‘Magic Costs Lives!’, ‘No Magic! No Problems!’, and ‘Stay the Course!’.
“As active watchers of the show, the group had been able to spot one Carrie McCagherty, sister of the head of the ISAG’s UK branch,” Carrie blushed profusely, as the news anchor continued, “Deducing the contestants had most likely left with her, it was then that an idea had popped into Logan’s head on exactly how they could get their message across.”
“Using the convenient fast travel system available at E's, they were able to easily find exactly which rooms the girls were staying in. As a pureblooded non-human, and with his adept skill as a lockpick, it meant that Benny was in the unique position to be able to bypass the various enchantments in place at E’s and unlock the doors for his partners in crime. They then proceeded to trash the four contestants rooms, with nobody the wiser. Until, of course, the Hellsings found the telltale signs of pick scratches inside of the locks.”
Sarah seemed annoyed, “Well… Looks like our contractor’s going to get some strongly worded emails this weekend…” she muttered.
“When asked for comment, Logan unprompted confirmed that the vandalism was a spur of the moment change of plans, and that he had not intended to cause the four contestants any harm or distress, just hoping to spread their message of keeping magic out of Britain to a larger audience-“
The screen went black, as Drake turned off the TV, eliciting some cries of annoyance from those watching it. “There’s no reason to watch something you know is just going to make you more upset,” Drake explained, looking at Lisa, who was giving him the stink eye, “Besides, the girls have a show tomorrow. What’s important is that the people behind the act got caught, and we can put this unfortunate chapter behind us.”
There were some grumblings still, but ultimately everyone agreed it was for the best to rest up for the busy day tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
& Question Corner &
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Drake and Martin: "To be quite honest, the simple fact that no traces have been found makes me a bit worried, either they used incredible powerful and old, I mean really old magic, or the culprits, yes I am sure they were more than one, where absolutely untouched by magic, maybe got even stripped of all their potential at some time. Anyway, I know you are both weary, but I consulted the "Magierlekturn", the big German repository and will send you some stuff again in a seperate E-Mail. Guess you guys should know that I also have knowledge in Witchcraft. Anyway, wish you a good time and good luck and hope until Saturday everything goes well. You will recieve a package for the girls and for both of you, inside the one for both of you are crystals, I enhanced myself with a spell. If one of the girls is in danger, they will vibrate and tell you exactly where they are.
And thank you Martin, yes I really try to stay above the game and make sure everything goes smooth.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)
Drake: “Well, I guess we should be relieved that it didn’t end up being some ancient threat, but instead just some regular people, upset with their government.
Oh, and while we appreciate the gift, you do realize that we’re filming the girls, mostly 24/7… We have a pretty good grasp on where and how they are at all times. Of course, we still appreciate the gift Andrea. You just don’t have to worry. We’re on top of it.”
Martin: “Hm… I was never all that good at witchcraft when I was studying for all the various licensing tests. Just something about having to mix incantations with materials and rituals that I don’t vibe well with. Maybe it’s just that other instantaneous magic has made me impatient,” Martin smiles his sparkling white smile.
“And again, just wow, Andrea! I’m beyond impressed with your thoroughness. The PA’s usually do a good enough job informing us where the girls are going, and if anything happens to their status, but a more immediate response will always be useful.”
To the Girls: “I hope the Package arrives in time, before you leave the UK, it actually should, I send you some carepackages and German Sweets, hope you like them. Also for each of you is a lil amulette, it's enhanced with a limited spell, curtesy by me, which will give you the ability to call for help, It's simple to use, just touch it in a situation of danger and it will automatically call for help and build a lil bubble around you repulsing the offender, but this spell lasts only for a few minutes, the repulsion part that is. Sorry I couldn't do something stronger, but I need some strength for myself right now.
That said, enjoy the sweets and enjoy your performances, you all deserve it and again, for me you are winner. So stay magical and keep that smile.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)
Dahlia: “The fact you did anything at all is appreciated, Andrea. You really did not have to get us anything but your words of encouragement. We hope you enjoy the show tomorrow."
Paxton: Andrea smiles, “Oh man. I can see Olive’s rubbed off on you already, Andrea. Thank you so much for the care package! We haven’t got them yet, but I’m sure they’ll get to us by Sunday.”
Natalie: Natalie blushes, “Andrea! You really didn’t have to do this! Thanks! Hopefully you’ll enjoy the show tomorrow.”
Kacie: “Thanks Andrea! Hopefully there won’t ever be a situation the rest of the season where we’ll have to use that Amulet.”
To Dahlia: "Well, I know you have it difficult, I know of two assistants, formerly four girls, who got merged, their names are Sanea and Clarinette. They seem to be happy, but the down side of a permanent merge is that the girls who became them won't be able to see each other for a long time and also they had to deal with their families. So, I know you are probably the wrong person to say that, but try to consider the potential damage for Dawn and Julia, even though I know how exciting it is. To put it bluntly, I wouldn't be surprised, if one family straight up would accuse you of murdering their daughter. Sorry to be so straight forward, I know you have the best intentions, but I know the bad side too and I'm not the person to sugarcoat it.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)
Dahlia: Dahlia nods solemnly, “Don’t worry Andrea. We would never consider merging permanently. At least not without Dawn and Julia’s joint approval.
We didn’t want to mention it yesterday… but you seem a trustworthy person. The reason that Julia wants to merge permanently with Dawn is precisely because of her family. Her household never really approved of her… and the whole reason she moved in with Dawn in the first place was because they had disowned her after… Well, she’s never told Dawn nor ourself, so we don’t know why she was disowned. What we do know is that it was a lot for her, and none of us have talked to them since.
And for posterity’s sake, Dawn’s parents are aware about my true nature. She felt she had to introduce me so that they wouldn’t get worried when they disappeared for a few months right around ANGA. They seemed like understanding people, but understandably had a lot of questions.”
To Drake: “Well, no, you were only ever going to spend much time in five cities, of course. I was just expecting more... Casablanca? Rio? Tokyo?
Are the other two cities both in the US?” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)
Drake: Drake looks nervously at the camera before sighing. “Okay… You’re right, Phian. As far as World Tours go, we definitely could have tried to hit some more unique locales.
The process to decide the locations was based on a mix of factors. Firstly, budget. Channel 17 gave us a slightly larger budget than last years, however according to our production team’s accountants, this would have been only enough to maybe get us filming and assistants permits in probably either Canada or Mexico, which doesn’t even come close to covering the costs for travel, and lodging, and food, and security, and… Well, you get the picture. That’s why we accepted so many sponsorships this season, and even then, money’s still rather tight honestly.
We also chose locations based on the guest stars that accepted our offers. We tried to do our best so that we could minimize their travel costs for the season to help cut down on the budget more, although we’re still flying a few people out, such as yourself to Europe.
Finally, there’s the fact that we cater to our primarily English-speaking audience. We could hire translators in order to be able to cast the net out wider for the sort of guests we could bring on, but ultimately, just like everything else, it all circles back to the budget we’ve been given.
So, yes. The next two cities are both going to be in the US unfortunately. However they should end up being some rather appropriate stops. Maybe we’ll be able to get the budget to do a proper, exotic world tour one day. And while we may have faced one disaster after another overseas, I still think we did a pretty good job for our first foray outside of the US. At least we were able to fit some new perspectives in.”
To Drake and Martin: “Well it looks like there'll be a arrest soon, though from Sarah's expression after the no magic trace revelation, I would guess she has an idea who is responsible. Anyway I'm glad the girls decided to stick with E's. Best way to put a thumb in the idiot's eye.” -Jacob Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)
Drake: “I’m mostly happy that Sarah was so helpful in all of this. I mean, she was the one who paid completely out of pocket for the extra security. While I still think we probably should have moved locations, Sarah’s determination really showed that my fears were unfounded.”
Martin: “I think one of the good things about how tough this season has been on the girls is that they’ll truly be ready for anything now when they become proper assistants. I would never actively wish for such hardships to happen, but it’s better that they’re prepared for the worst than thrown into the deep end later in life.”
To Paxton: “Good Job staying at E's I'm sure the Keeper of London will look after you. Just stay safe, and have a great rehearsal.” -James Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)
Paxton: Paxton smiles, “Thanks James. I’ll do my best tomorrow! And don’t worry, Sarah’s doing an excellent job ramping up the security. I… I hope you like it~” She blushes.