The girls were rather surprised when they were awoken by the ship’s foghorn, lying down in their comfy beds. A text on each of their phones went off, Martin having sent them the adorable picture of the three of them passed out and wrapped cozily on the park bench from last night, a little note catching them up to speed that he had taken them back to their cabins.
The four girls went to breakfast (Dahlia having split up into Dawn and Julia, the two of them cuddling the entire journey around the boat), and soon enough found their lives eaten up by their busy schedules once again.
~~~
Paxton’s Rehearsal
“Paxton, I must say,” Martin smiled at where Paxton was resting on the ground catching her breath, “For just five weeks, you’ve really managed to become a natural with conjuration.”
It was hard to tell with how flustered Paxton already was, but her cheeks did manage to become a few shades redder as she said, “T-Thanks Martin.”
“I’m serious Paxton,” Martin grinned, “Conjuration’s a pretty tough branch of magic to learn. Trying to learn to be an assistant on top of all that,” Martin shook his head, “I really don’t know how you’ve managed it.”
“Well…” Paxton blushed, “I’ve had an excellent teacher helping me out along the way.”
Martin grinned at this, before his face turned slightly more serious, “It’s hard to believe that next week… I’ll be a World Class Magician, and one of you three will officially be my assistant.”
Paxton had calmed down enough to lean back, she smiled, “Yeah… It must be really scary for you.”
“Absolutely terrifying,” Martin confirmed, “I mean… I’ve been working towards this for as long as I can remember… I used to do little magic shows in my backyard almost every weekend for my Mom, and now I’m going to be granted one of the highest honors a magician can receive…”
Paxton gave Martin a warm look, “Martin, you’ve put in a ton of work this season too. Getting six strangers with almost no stage experience among them and making them into a loyal group of assistants? That takes an amazing amount of skill and dedication.”
It was Martin’s turn to blush, “Please,” he waved his hand dismissively, “all I did was help bring out what was in you girls this entire time.”
Paxton shook her head, “Martin… Before ANGA, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I’m pretty sure Magician’s Assistant was probably among the furthest possible thing. But now… I really can’t see myself being anything else.” Paxton stood up, approaching Martin, “You told us you left that first week because you didn’t think you were good enough for us… Well…”
Paxton blushed, as she gave Martin a sweaty hug, “In my book, even if I go home and end up working for someone else, you’ll always be my Magician, Martin.”
Martin blushed, reciprocating the hug. “And you six will always be my Assistants.”
~~~
Dahlia’s Rehearsal
Martin smiled as he walked back into the practice room from the main entrance. “Dahlia. I must say, this routine you’ve came up with is wonderfully brilliant.”
Dahlia smiled,” Thank you Martin.”
“I’m not joking. You really have the knack for coming up with avant grade visuals… I don’t want to jinx things, but if you decided that you’d rather not become an assistant, I’d gladly hire you as my trick designer in a heartbeat.” Martin flashed her one of his trade mark pearly white smiles.
Dahlia smiled right back as she said, “Thanks. But unfortunately, We still intend on becoming your assistant, Martin.”
“Oh obviously,” Martin chuckled, “and with the performances you’ve been putting in, you’ll definitely be giving Kacie and Paxton a run for their money.”
Dahlia and Martin had a bit of a laugh, before Martin sighed. “I am curious though Dahlia. What exactly were your plans going to be if you hadn’t gotten caught out as a merged person?”
Dahlia blushes, “Well… We would have told you eventually. Probably not too long after Europe. After all, we hardly would be able to move in sync if we were keeping secrets from one another.”
Martin smiles, “It wasn’t me I was really referring to Dahlia. I knew all along honestly. Your merging magic is very impressive, but it’s still quite clear there’s two entities in your body”
“O-Oh…” Dahlia continued to blush, her hand idly reaching up and wrapping around her hair, “Well… It might sound rather silly… But we weren’t going to tell everyone else about Dawn and Julia originally.”
“Really?” Martin sounded shocked.
Dahlia shook her head, “Julia- No… We were afraid that the other contestants would be mad with us… That they would think we were cheating and should have been disqualified…”
Martin looked concerned, “Oh Dahlia,” Martin hugged the merged woman, “I’m sorry to hear you were so worried. And I can’t imagine it would have been helpful with Drake freaking out.”
Dahlia nodded as she reciprocated the hug. “But… It’s okay… Because then you came in and helped us out~”
“Well of course I helped you out. I wasn’t about to let someone hurt my assistant like that,” Martin smiled.
“Of course leaving them behind on the other hand…” Dahlia gave a playful grin, but Martin’s sudden discomfort wiped the grin off her face, leaving her looking concerned, “S-sorry… Too soon?”
Martin sighed, “No… I definitely deserved that one.”
Dahlia squeezed Martin a little tighter, “We’ve already forgiven you for it Martin. And again, what you did for us is something we’ll never be able to repay back. Even when we become your assistant.” Dahlia said confidently.
Martin’s mood improved a little bit, as he gave a light smile, “Well then, we better get back to it if we’re going to make your dreams become a reality.”
~~~
Kacie’s Rehearsal
“Bravo!” Martin smiled, shouting at the top of his lungs as Kacie approached the end of their routine.
Kacie blushed, “S-Stop Martin. You have to let me finish so I can have it completely ready for tomorrow.”
“Kacie,” Martin smiled, “We’ve rehearsed this well over a hundred times by now, and you’ve nailed it every single time. I would honestly be more surprised if the audience didn’t give you a standing ovation at this rate.”
Kacie’s blush worsened, “Just let me finish it out… And we can call it a day.”
“Alright,” Martin sighed, going back to his mark as Kacie retraced her steps, finishing their routine as the two of them walked to the center of the practice room and took a bow.
“You know Kacie,” Martin smiled, “You really have an excellent sense of sharing the spotlight. I’ve enjoyed my time working with Tetra, but I’d be hard pressed to not call her a bit of a stage hog.”
Kacie’s self consciousness grows, causing her to eye Martin suspiciously as she asks, “Why have you been complimenting me so much today?”
“Sorry,” Martin grins, walking over and giving Kacie a hug, “I’ve just been in a reminiscing mood all day today… With it being so close to the end of the show, and next week most likely going to be extremely busy, I’m just trying to get it all out of my system now.”
“Oh good,” Kacie smiled, returning the hug, “for a moment there, I thought you actually thought I was getting better.” Martin cracked up at Kacie’s little sefl-depricating joke, soon causing Kacie to laugh with its infectiousness.
As they calmed down from their laughing fit and breaking up their hug, Martin became a little more serious. sighing, “I finally understand how Howard must have been feeling towards the end of last year…”
“How so?” Kacie asked, still beaming brightly as her giggles subsided.
“Well,” Martin smiled, “because if I could, I would offer all three of you an assistant’s contract in a heartbeat.”
Kacie blushed, “Well… What’s preventing you from pulling a Howard and offering us all contracts anyways?”
“My own contract I’m afraid,” Martin sighed, “After last year, they added a clause forbidding me from publicly or privately offering any of the eliminated contestants a contract until after a year has passed, so as not to ‘dilute the results of the winner’.”
“Dang,” Kacie sighed, sarcastically saying, “So, you’re saying I actually have to try in order to become your assistant?”
“I’m afraid so,” Martin chuckled.
“Well then,” Kacie smiled, “I guess I’ll really need to bring my A game then if I’m hoping to beat Paxton and Dahlia. Do you mind going through it one more time?”
Martin sighed, already en route to his opening mark.
~~~
Old Ebbitt Grill
From the outside, the Old Ebbitt Grill fit in well with the surrounding buildings of DC. It’s doors were marked by large marble archways, and the building itself was the classic off-white that many government buildings seemed to have.
The inside was a completely different story, with warm lighting and a wooden aesthetic perfect for a lazy July evening. Martin and the girls had arrived together, the waiter quickly showing them to their table, where Steve and Melody were already waiting.
Shockingly enough, despite his normal magician attire being rather plain, Steve had made an effort to fancy up for the evening, his black t-shirt and jeans having been replaced with a plain white button down and gray slacks. Melody, meanwhile, had actually put an effort into her outfit, wearing an understated black cocktail dress.
“Hey girls,” Melody smiled, the girls responding back in kind.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Steve smiled, “but I took the liberty of ordering us something to drink while we wait for our food.”
The mood at the table was rather strange, for the most part, the girls were used to eating with rather famous guests before a big show. But what was strange was just how quiet and small their dinner table seemed to be this evening. What normally would be a celebration with ten people was down to only seven (as Dahlia was currently split up to Julia and Dawn).
As they made their selections on their menu, Steve and Martin got to talking. “So Steve, any plans for after the show?” Martin asked.
Steve shrugged, “I’m not quite sure yet… This has been my first gig in such a long time, I don’t really know if I’d be ready to jump right back into the circuit.”
“I understand that,” Martin said, “plus, you’ve been doing such a great job as a writer. I bet it’d be pretty hard to just give that up and go back into magic.”
Steve laughed, “Well, it certainly doesn’t make it easy to just jump back in. Plus, it feels like the scene has really shifted ever since I left. I don’t know if I’d even fit in.”
“Oh please,” Martin laughed, “You’d fit plenty in. In fact, I’m sure audiences would love your show even more now. After all, people love to force audience participation into everything.”
Yeah,” Steve grinned, “But-“ Before he could continue his thought, a waiter arrived at the table with a glass of champagne. Holding it up, Steve gave a nod of approval for the variety and year, before finishing his thought. “But that’ll just be something I’ll have to decide later.”
The waiter went around, pouring everyone a glass. As they finished up, Steve held his glass aloft, “I’d like to propose a toast, to new beginnings, and the journey ahead!” He grinned.
A resounding, ‘Hear, hear!” was said by all at the table, before everyone chugged down their champagne flutes, the liquid going down surprisingly easy.
Suddenly, as if on cue, everyone’s head’s lit up at the exact same moment, rocketing up and off their body and showering the restaurant in a sea of golden sparks.
The rest of the evening went swimmingly, Martin very quickly restoring everyone’s head, as a second and third round of the specially vintage champagne were eventually consumed with excitement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
& Question Corner &
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To the girls: “I'm glad you all get along and accepted Martin's apology. I'm really glad for that, though I also have to act as ISAG official here, since Dahlia and Paxton, you two where imprisoned, which is in your case mental torture, which is an absolute no-go for ISAG. I'm sorry to be blunt, but this time Martin is in a bit of problem. Don't worry though, ANGA won't be cancelled and Martin will not removed or get in any way hindered, it just means that is now under close observation by ISAG. I know it sounds fearful, but don't worry.
But to be honest he can prepare himself for me getting him at the final, same goes for Drake allowing this and missing his chance to correct Martin's slip up, when he had a chance to.
You may ask, why I am so furious about that, well I was in a similar situation as you two, Dahlia and Paxton, but I wasn't freed for three days, I was also on my own. Therefore I don't joke about that matter. Yes for you it would have been only two hours at maximum, but you didn't know. That's why I come down so hard on Drake and Martin.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)
Dahlia: “We really don’t think you have to get Martin or Drake for us Andrea,” Dahlia says, reaching up and wrapping her hair around her fingers, “Martin’s already punished himself enough, and he stayed trapped much longer than he was ever intending us to remain trapped. We recognize that you are still hurting from that awful situation, but it’s important to remember to forgive others and not punish them when they show they are genuinely willing to change. Lest you change them into the monsters they never were.”
Paxton: Paxton seemed shocked, “I’ll agree it wasn’t pleasant… But I think calling what Martin did ‘Mental Torture’ is a bit extreme. Especially since Melody was so quick to rescue us.” Paxton blushes, “Not that I want to belittle your pain! I’m really sorry to hear that you had to go through that awful experience Andrea. I can’t even imagine the struggles you must have faced during those three days. But, I also don’t want to just throw Martin under the bus for a momentary lapse of judgement. We all make mistakes, it’s just that this one happened to be stupider than most, and that’s saying quite a bit since Martin thought it was a good idea to run away at the start of the season,” Paxton laughs nervously clearly uncomfortable. “Anyways. Try not to be too aggressive when you punish Martin and Drake. I know you’re impossible to convince when you get like this, but I just really don’t want to see either of them get hurt.”
Kacie: Kacie looks concerned, “I’m so sorry to hear that you had to suffer through that Andrea! I hope whoever did that to you got what was coming to them.”
To Drake and Martin: “I'm sorry to inform you that I had to issue a formal complained about this case, remember I'm still an active Member of ISAG, now what does that mean for the both of you, for now at least nothing too big, but you will be both under close observation by ISAG.
Now why both of you?
Well first for Martin not mentioning how long they had to stay in their flower state, then the fact that both girls where abandoned without any clue for how long, which is at the same value as mental torture. For Drake, you where at the scene yourself and didn't do anything to correct the slip up. Also it has a huge value, if the girls knew how long they will stay in their "prison" or not. Since they didn't know how long it was considered mental torture. Even if Melody freed them earlier, what she thankfully did, they both still suffered form that. Now let me tell you one thing, I was actually in a similar situation and I wasn't freed until three days later. This is why I don't joke on that matter, I hope I made myself clear!
What does that mean?
Well that is also fairly easy to explain, at worst, it could mean a year long block for Martin to perform any kind of magic with the potential for blacklist from working with ISAG members. But thankfully, I have some good news. The ISAG’s Council (that includes me) came to the conclusion that since this was your first offense over your entire career, that this whole case was just an honest mistake. Therefore, Martin’s going to be let off with a warning. But as I mentioned you, Martin and Drake, are now under close observation.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)
Martin: Martin sighs, “That’s probably fair. After all, what I did was inexcusable, even if it was my first offense. I can assure you that I shall be under my best behavior, and that hopefully one day I’ll be able to work off that warning.
Also, I’m sorry to hear that you got stuck like that. Hopefully the perpetrator was brought to justice.”
Drake: “I’m sorry too Andrea. Like I said, if I had realized at the time that Martin hadn’t told them how long he was going to entrap them, I would have stepped in and done so.
That said…” Drake raises a single eyebrow, “I really thought that we were beyond threats by this point, Andrea. I thought we were finally seeing eye to eye on things. You do realize I screen all these questions before we go to air, and it doesn’t matter that you were telling the girls you were going to ‘get me’ back for them.
So, I just thought that I’d remind you that the WMO’s terms of membership specifically forbids the ‘usage of magic in pursuance of revenge for a perceived slight of character, particularly against individuals unable to defend themselves adequately’. You and I both know that you have significantly more powerful magic reserves than I do, and also that you’ve been around the block enough that I shouldn’t have to mention what the WMO does in regards to members who break their agreements.
Again though. I understand your passion for the show. I’m always willing to throw water under the bridge, especially for people who appreciate all the hard work everyone puts in to make this a reality. I just also don’t want to have to watch my back every five minutes from worrying about you trying to do something to me.
I hope to have a nice chat with you at next week’s celebration.”
To Martin: “I'm glad to see you have learned your lesson concerning keeping your word. One's word should never be given lightly, and always with great care taken. In some places ones word is a binding legal contract.
Anyway I'll see you at the afterparty.” -Jacob Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)
Martin: “Yes, Jake. I’m well aware of the importance of words to Magicians. Rest assured, I won’t be slipping up that way again. It’ll be nice to catch up at the afterparty.”
To Drake: “It's ok Drakie, I know you wouldn't consciously do anything like that. God only knows how many times I've forgotten someone with out meaning to. sometimes I'm so busy, I come off as treating people worse than I should. I always apologize when I realize my mistake.
Still Its good to see that they forgave Martin and you. Kisses Drakie see you at the afterparty. We've all sent our RSVP’s.” -Genie Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)
Drake: Drake blushes. “Y-Yes… We’ve already got all your RSVP’s in order Genie. It’ll be nice to see you again…”
To Paxton: “Hugs to you Girl. I'm so glad you forgave Martin for what he did, I know he didn't mean it. Always forgive, even if the other isn't sorry for it. Anyway, I'm sorry to be a little preachy, must be our local priest rubbing off on me. Kisses to you Paxton.” -James Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)
Paxton: Paxton blushes. “Well, if Martin behaved like some of the magicians you here in all of the rumors, I would definitely still be mad at him. But, he did do his best to apologize, and from the way he talks, he clearly didn’t mean for it to be as scary an incident for us as it was. My parents raised me to always forgive someone for honest mistakes, so forgiving Martin for this one was a not brainer.”
Paxton blushes as she blows a kiss to the camera, giving a wink, “And thanks James… I’m so excited for next week. I really hope I’ll make it through!”