After two days of being awoken by PAs, it was a rather nice change of pace to be woken up by the ship’s built in foghorns. Paxton and Dahlia looked themselves over, thankful that their magical punishments had worn off, the human complexions returning once again, although there were quite a few petals strewn about their beds that they ended up having to clean.

     Together, the trio of contestants headed off to the dining room to grab some breakfast. The buffet had been restocked with the basics one would get from a hotel, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fruits, milk, cereal, etc. The girls each grabbed a light breakfast before sitting down at a table and digging in, talking about their plans for the day.

     Their conversation was cut short as Martin walked up to their table, carrying his own plate filled with breakfast confectionaries. He had a massive grin on his face as he said, “Good morning girls! I hope you all slept well,” He took the remaining open seat at their table.

     Dahlia and Paxton, for their part looked away from Martin, their faces souring a little bit at his intrusion. Kacie, meanwhile, looked concerned, her eyes flitting between Martin and her fellow contestants. “Uh… Girls?” Martin asked, looking at their not subtle attempts to ignore him. Martin’s concern grew, “Girls… What’s wrong?… Was it something I did?” his voice was beginning to lose the confidence that it had gained over the past few days.

     Paxton and Dahlia remained silent, grabbing their food and standing up, leaving Martin to stew with Kacie sitting there, looking concerned at the magician. He turned around in his seat, about to get up and go after them before Kacie grabbed his arm, saying, “It’s probably best if you let those two calm down on their own… Their still pretty upset about yesterday.”

     “W-What did I do yesterday?” Martin still sounded very concerned, as he sat back down.

     “If I had to take a stab…” a familiar voice responded. Martin and Kacie turned to see Steve and Melody approach their table, each of them carrying a little plate with various breakfast foods on it. The two of them sat down at their table, Melody continuing her thought, “They’re probably upset with you for abandoning them in the atrium yesterday.”

     Martin looked surprised, “Abandon- I didn’t abandon them. I was planning on coming back around after Kacie’s rehearsal to set them free. I thought they would enjoy a couple hours alone in the sun. When I got back, they were completely gone, so I assumed they set themselves free.”

     Melody shook her head, “That’s not the story they told me yesterday after I set them free. They said you trapped them as plants and then just left them for who knows how long…”

     Martin takes this in, his face paling as he covered his eyes in embarrassment, “Oh God…”

     “It’s alright Martin,” Steve said, resting a hand against his shoulder, “Mistakes happen from time to time. I know I’ve had my fair share of incidents with some volunteers,” He looked over at Melody, who was nodding along.

     “I’ve got to fix this,” Martin said, standing up, determination in his voice as he left the table, leaving Kacie alone with Melody and Steve.

~~~

FDR Conservatory (Morning)

     Dahlia and Paxton had been reluctant to follow the PAs that had been sent to get them to the FDR conservatory, but when they had been told it was an urgent matter from Martin, they eventually acquiesced.

     In the courtyard, Martin was pacing back and forth nervously in front of a large pot from yesterday. When he spotted the girls, he seemed relieved, although the two of them remained silent

     “Girls,” Martin sighed, looking away from them, “I know what I did yesterday was horrendous… I intended to come back and free you girls after Kacie’s rehearsal, but evidently I had neglected to tell you that. I know how you must have felt, the worry that you had been forgotten and abandoned. I betrayed your trust, and I know that I’ll never fully be able to recover it in your eyes,” Martin bowed deeply, hanging his head low. When he stood back up, his eyes were watering up a little bit as he stared at the two of them.

     “I’m afraid despite my best efforts… I’m still not a David Angel or a Howard Weiss… I don’t know the answer to every question, and sometimes I’m going to make mistakes,” Martin takes a deep breath, “I know… that I don’t necessarily deserve your forgiveness… But the least I can do is try to make things right in my own way.”

     Martin climbed up on to the pot, sticking his feet into the soil. As he did so, thick green vines slowly began to climb up his body. As they did so, his body sans his face gradually began to shift color, taking on a deep green complexion and spiraling outwards. Soon enough, Martin’s body had completely transformed into a self standing tangle of vines, his face embedded on a particular thick length approximately where it used to be on his old body.

     “For the rest of the day, I’ll be keeping myself here, rooted to this spot. I can promise you two that the only time I’ll leave is for our rehearsals, as it would be unfair to take away what little time we have left to plan.”

     Dahlia and Paxton seemed unmoved by Martin’s gesture. He sighed, “Well… That’s all I had planned for you… You two can go back to whatever you were doing…” The girls left silently, leaving Martin to his own devices.

~~~

USS Saratoga (Afternoon)

     It had been about four hours since Martin had turned himself into a vine. Throughout the day, Paxton and Dahlia had been covertly taking glances through the many windows on the ships that had a view of the atrium, each time confirming that Martin was still there, still transformed, and utterly alone.

     It was around lunchtime when Dahlia and Paxton started to feel a little bad about it. “Do you think he’s alright?” Paxton asked, her voice filled with concern as she took another spoonful of her soup.

     “I’ve gone in and checked on him a couple of times,” Kacie admitted, putting down her sandwich, “He’s hanging in there. He seems really sorry about what he did to you two.”

     Dahlia sighed, “It has been longer than we were trapped for now…”

     “I know…” Paxton bit her lip, “But can we really just go in and forgive him?… He promised us he wouldn’t abandon us again, and yet he had no problem doing it yesterday.”

     Kacie looked at her two conflicted friends, “Girls.. I- I know that what Martin did yesterday was scummy. But… Think about how much Martin’s been there for us…” The girls sat in silence, Kacie continuing, “I mean… Who was there to help Dahlia out when we found out about Dawn and Julia? Or Paxton, what about how Martin helped you open up and helped you build up your magic reserves and conjuration skill? And Hell! What about me? I mean if it weren’t for Martin, I’m pretty sure I would have quit the show by now!”

     Paxton and Dahlia seemed shock at this revelation, “W-what?” Paxton asked.

     “Monday… Drake told me the producers had decided that I couldn’t perform wearing Tetra… I- I didn’t think I could do it, so I was planning on quitting… but then Martin helped me work through it… A-and I’m going to give it a real shot on Saturday!” Kacie said, “Martin’s always seemed to have our best interest in mind… I highly doubt that he did what he did yesterday on purpose.”
    Dahlia and Paxton took in this information, looked at each other. “I think,” Dahlia said, “It might be time to forgive Martin.”

     “I agree,” Paxton said, the three girls getting up and doing a group hug, before walking over to the atrium.

     They briskly walked over to the Atrium, where, much as they had suspected, Martin was still standing in his pot, He seemed to be trying to pass the time by trying to count the number of leaves on the tree opposite him.

     “Martin,” Paxton said, Martin perking up at finally be addressed by his assistant. “Dahlia and I have been talking it over-”

     “We forgive you,” Dahlia said, interjecting over Paxton’s big planned speech and giving the roots of their viney magician a hug.

     “Yep,” Paxton said, “What she said,” Paxton reached up, giving Martin’s vines a hug too. Kacie, seeing her two friends hugging it out, felt compelled to join in the three of them completely crowding his pot.

     Martin smiled, his eyes starting to well up a little as he said, “I’m really sorry girls. I know I let you down yesterday… I’ll do my best to try and make things right. Just please… If I step out of line again, make sure to tell me what’s wrong so that I can fix it, rather than having to hear it from a third party source.”

     “Of course we will,” Paxton smiled up at him, “And we’re sorry for making you have to guess.”

     “It’s quite alright,” Martin said, his tear drying up a little as he smiled down at his assistants. “Now… I believe it’s about time for Dahlia’s rehearsal?” The vines around Martin’s body began to shift, congealing together to form limbs once more (although these limbs were still very much the same dark green as they had been in vine form). A spattering of thick, reddish leaves thankfully not only provided him modesty, but heavily resembled a business suit.

     He climbed down from the pot, giving each of the girls a proper hug, before he and Dahlia walked off to the practice room.

~~~

Dahlia’s Rehearsal

     “So, Dahlia,” Martin smiled as they entered the ship’s practice room, “Have you put in any thought into what you want to do for Saturday?”

     “We have,” Dahlia nodded, “Going to the Smithsonian on Monday has been making us think about what exactly defines a prop…”

     “Really?” Martin smiled, “And what have you came up with.”

     “Well… From our findings there, and from the midweek challenge. We’ve came to the conclusion that with the right application of magic, and proper usage, anything can be a magician’s prop.”

     “So…” Dahlia blushed, her hand going up and twirling around in her hair, “We’ve decided that We shall be the prop in our next performance.”

     Martin’s eyebrows raised up, “A-Are you sure Dahlia? I mean, you do realize what you’re saying?”

     Dahlia nodded, blushing as she continued to twirl her hair “I want to be the muse through which magic is channeled,” Dahlia smiled seductively, “You will not use me to perform magic Martin… I will simply be magic~”

     Martin nodded, his eyes lighting up as he understood what Dahlia meant now. “Well then, I’m sure you’ll be best prop a magician could hope for.”

~~~

Paxton’s Rehearsal

     There wasn’t much of a break between Dahlia leaving and Paxton entering the practice studio. “So… Before you say anything, I want you to know that I’ve already thought about the risks. But I still really want to keep pushing myself this week.”

     Martin nods, “Okay… But Paxton, I want you to know if you push yourself too far, I’m going to have to stop you. Next week is the finals week, and if you blow out your magic reserves now, no amount of focuses are going to be able to help you out if you make it through.”

     Paxton nodded, “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

     What followed was a grueling hour of rehearsal, as Paxton pushed her body to the limit to conjure up various effects. She found that she was now able to maintain a pretty decently sized object up with only a little bit of sweating, but as more objects were added to the scene she wanted to make, she found herself growing weaker and weaker.

     She huffed, sitting down on the ground, “It’s no use… I’m just not strong enough to do what I really want to do…”

     “Paxton,” Martin put his hand on her shoulder, “You keep forgetting that all of these bells and whistles you want to add are nice, but at the end of the day, what people are really hoping to see on stage is you, and some great magic. With some little bit of tightening up, cleaning out some of the unused scenery, I know that you’ll be able to produce something to be proud of.”

     Paxton continued to breathe heavily, closing her eyes, before standing up and giving Martin another hug. “Thanks Martin. Hopefully we won’t have to cut too much though.”

~~~

USS Saratoga (Evening)

     Paxton and Martin separated ways after rehearsal. Paxton went off to the dining car in order to get dinner with Dahlia and Kacie. Afterwards, she decided that, with how much she they had been dealing with in the Atrium, she never actually had the opportunity to walk around and look at all the plants.

     One swing by the Conservatory, and she was met with a shocking site. Martin was still standing there, once again transformed back into his vine state and with his eyes closed. “Martin!? What are you doing?” she asked.

     Martin opened his eyes, “Hmm? Oh… Hello Paxton,” Martin yawned, “Well, like I said earlier, I’m going to stay here until tomorrow.”

     “But… You really don’t have to do that anymore Martin,” Paxton blushed, “Dahlia and I have already forgiven you…”

     “That may be the case,” Martin said, “But I’ve betrayed your trust. I broke my word, which is the one thing a magician must never do. The only way to make up for that is to show that I mean what I say, which means I’m afraid I’m stuck here all night.”

     “Martin-“

     “Paxton,” Martin smiled, “Don’t worry. I know I don’t have to be here. I’m choosing to be here. It’s really the least I can do.”

     Paxton sighed, walking away from the conservatory shaking her head. Martin, of course, continued to stand there, and was in the process of finally falling back asleep, when Paxton returned with Kacie and Dahlia in tow. They had some blankets and hot chocolate with them, and were grinning from ear to ear.

     “Hey Martin,” Paxton smiled.

     “We thought you might get a little lonely,” Dahlia smiled as well.

     “So we thought we’d stay up with you until your transformation wears off,” Kacie finishes, the three of them dragging over a park bench so that they could be closer to Martin.

     “You really don’t have to do that girls,” Martin smiled.

     “We know! We’re choosing to do it,” Dahlia grinned.

     “After all ‘It’s the least we can do’” Paxton smiled, having thrown Martin’s words back at him. Earning a laugh from the group.

     The girls talked the night away with Martin. Despite how long they had been working together throughout the show, they hadn’t really had an opportunity to just sit and talk with the man himself. They discussed a little bit of his history, what got him into magic, who he’s worked with, his favorite venues. As the night grew longer, the girls found it harder to harder to stay awake, and soon enough the three girls found themselves sleeping on the park bench.

     When the clock struck midnight and Martin’s spell finally broke, he was started awake as he nearly fell on the ground, catching himself using his magic to hover mere inches from hurting himself.

     He looked over to his three assistants, “Aww… How adorable~” He smiled, taking out his phone and snagging a picture of the sight, before he slowly started to hover each of the girls, taking care to ease them into a laying down position. He lead each of the girls to their cabins hovering them into their beds before finally heading back to his own cabin.

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

& Question Corner &

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

To Kacie: “Wow, Kacie, you are amazing and I'm proud of you, you pushed out of your comfort zone and told your dearest wish, never thought that you would decide against being a successful DJ and become Martin's Assistant, but I am - as I said - proud of you for your brave step forward. Hope you have a wonderful time and I root for you for the next Elimination. I really hope you win.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)

 Kacie: Kacie smiles, “Well… I didn’t think I’d ever choose it either… But I’d gladly still stand by what I said. These past few weeks have been some of the best of my life, I’ll never forget the people I’ve met, or all that I’ve accomplished.”

To Dahlia and Paxton: “Well that abandonment after the punishment was rather short sighted, even though I have been in similar situations, being simply forgotten by the Magician I worked with and yes you go nuts from that. Better you two let Martin know that this kind of treatment is not right. I will tell him that myself to be honest.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)

 Paxton: “Don’t you worry Andrea, we definitely gave Martin a piece of our minds. Well… In a roundabout way anyways,” Paxton blushes, “He seems genuinely sorry for what he did… So try not to go too overboard with him.”

 Dahlia: “All is forgiven. While yesterday was bad, a better future will hopefully arise.”

To Martin: “Nice to see you had fun with that transformation, but to be honest, do I have to remember you that "abandoning" your Assistant, even it's a punishment, is the worst a Magician can do?

To say it bluntly, I'm a bit pissed at that short sighted move of you. You are attempting to become World-Class Martin, you can't start treating your Assistants poorly. And leaving Dahlia and Paxton in their Flower forms like that without looking after them or giving them a chance to do anything. This was rather cruel.

Before my temper runs through with me, you better keep in mind, that I have no issues of cussing you out.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)

 Martin: Martin looks dejected, “I know… I fully deserve all the flack in the world Andrea. What I did yesterday was inexcusable, and I know there’s nothing I can do to fully make up for it. All I can do is promise you that I’ll do better in the future, and try to do my best to show it.”

To Drake: “Drake my Dear, I thought we treat the contestants with dignity and care, not transforming them in almost inanimate objects/plants and leave them to their own devices?

You know exactly what makes my blood pumping and you know that I'm an official Member of ISAG, I know this transformation was for the show, but the - excuse my language - dick move of letting the girls alone was cruel at best. You better keep an closer eye on something like that, or I will make sure you will know what it means to piss a Magicienne off.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)

 Drake: “Hey! Don’t look at me! The producers typically decide what options to offer to the viewers, and Martin’s allowed to do any transformation that at least tangentially fits that theme. Martin told me he was planning on transforming them to a more mobile form after his rehearsal with Kacie, so I saw no reason to worry, as it was only going to be two hours. If I had any reason to suspect that the girls would have been trapped in that form for longer (which, I might add, they were actually set free much earlier), then I would have spoken up to expedite the process.

 Don't worry Andrea. Despite what it may appear, I still do care deeply for these girls, and will continue to treat them with dignity and care. There's no need to attack me with your full fury.”

To Paxton and Dahlia: “I'm so happy Melody showed up when she did and you had a fun afternoon. I have been immobilized several times myself, and the boredom is maddening. Hugs to you both and especially you Paxton.  Praying for you all.” -James Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Paxton: “At least Dahlia was there to keep me company, but you know, you can only keep a conversation going for so long before you start losing your mind a little bit… And hugs right back at you James~” Paxton blushes.

 Dahlia: “The standing around wasn’t awful. We could do that easily, however it’s the lack of choice we found frustrating with Martin’s decision.”

To Kacie: “I'm glad to see you decided to stick it out. No matter what happens on Saturday, whether you survive to the final round or go on to do other things, I am very, very, proud of you, as if you were my own daughter Genie.” -Jacob Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 “Good for you in deciding to stay! I know you'll do well. Hugs to you.” Jenny Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Kacie: Kacie blushes. “T-Thanks Jake and Jenny… Hopefully I’ll be able to give you both an enjoyable show on Satuday!”

To Drake and Martin: “Shame on you for leaving Paxton and Dahlia immobile like that!!!... Oh I'm not mad, but it was a good thing Melody was there. Kisses to you all, especially you Drakie.” -Genie Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Drake: Drake blushes. “Uh… Sorry Genie… You’re right. It was very out of line for me to do that. I should have been more attentive with the girls. I didn’t think about the fact that two hours alone and stuck in place might be a little maddening. Hopefully I’ll be able to

 Martin: Martin sighs, “You’re right Genie. As I’ve already told the girls and Andrea, what I did was inexcusable. I’ve done my best to make it up to the girls, but that doesn’t change the fact I’ve probably permanently broken some people’s trust in me. I’m sorry.”

To Kacie: “I'm glad you're staying. I know how hard it is to work when you have to not use something you've been using for all your life.  Or have things changed in the script, or have an idea dropped that you really wanted in a movie. All you can do sometimes is the best you can.  As long as you do that you're a winner.” -Genie Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Kacie: Kacie nods, “Thanks Genie. I can assure you, I’m going to be giving Saturday my all! So hopefully I’ll be able to get into the finals and show what I’m really made of!”