“Good morning, Everyone~!” Howard’s voice echoed throughout the entire hotel, “This is just your friendly reminder that the Hotel Weiss will be opening up to special guests in one hour, and to reserved guests at one. I’m sure I'll be flying around all day fielding questions, so if you desperately need something, please don't hesitate to bug David.”

     “Oh come on Dad,” the voice of Nora rang through the loud speaker, “I’ve only been gone a month and you’re reusing your jokes already?”

     “It’s a callback, Nora,” Howard chuckled, the loudspeaker shutting down. Leaving the girls to get up, excited to face their final day of rehearsal before their big show.

~~~

The Front Entrance

     Drake was once again standing outside the Hotel Weiss, where a large red carpet had been spread out leading to the revolving doors. Various barriers, both metal and magical, prevented the large audience that had gathered out on the street nearby from interfering too much. Drake smiled at the camera, speaking into a microphone proudly displaying the Channel 17 logo on the side. “Good evening everyone! I’m standing outside the Weiss Hotel with a real treat for you all today! In just a few short minutes, limousines are going to be coming down the main stretch, carrying with them some of the most elite celebrities from all walks of magic. There converging today, for the exclusive honors of watching what is sure to be one of the tensest competitions in the history of ANGA. For Channel 17, I’ll be doing a live of coverage of the carpet and inside the building as the day progresses, snagging some exclusive interviews for ANGA, and some other exclusives for the Channel 17 Web Portal.”

     Drake looked on excited, as the limousines slowly started parading down the street outside of the Weise hotel, several guests being let out at a time so as to minimize the number of limousines. A dolphin headed woman headed over to where a wading pool had been set up, several mermaid fans cheering her name and holding up pictures for her to sign. A large, blond-haired muscular magician wearing a suit jacket with ripped sleeves walked by Drake towards a different reporter.

     Thankfully though Drake spotted his queries, smiling as they walked over, “Ah! Penny! Jean! Excellent to have you two back with us,” He grinned.

     Jean looked as she usually had in her new catgirl persona, a pair of perky cat ears on the top of her head, a tiny little black top hat nestled in between them, and a long black cat tail with a white tip barely visible behind her. As opposed to her more common outfit of a blue tank top with a pink skirt, she was wearing a sparkling blue sequined dress (although, she still retained the black boots).

     Penny was in yet another one of her changed forms. For all practical purposes, her form was just your standard, three legged SWB. She wore a rather short, purple sequined skirt that showed off more of her legs, and confidently strutted on three blue stilettos. What was different from most SWBs however, was that Penny’s head was still at her regular head height, her legs having been stretched out, her outfit showing off an enhanced amount of skin.

     “It’s grrreat to be back, Drake~” Jean purred into the microphone, “The Weiss Hotel is one of our favorite places to stop by whenever we’re in Vegas.”

     “So, I have to ask,” Drake grinned, “Since you two were on the show before Dahlia revealed that she was actually two people. Did you two know?”

     Penny took this question, “Well, we had our suspicions,” she looked lovingly at Jean, “When you merge with someone semi-regularly like we do~ You tend to get a feel of what signs to look out for.”

     “Her magic signature was a little weird too,” Jean chimed in.

     Drake and the two Australians chatted for a bit, before the next wave of limousines pulled up, “It’s been lovely chatting girls, and again, it’s always a great time to have you on.”

     “Likewise!” Jean smiled.

     “Go have a great time,” Drake waved them off.

     As he turned back around, he was suddenly attacked by a shape shouting out, “Drakie!” The four armed form of Genie Schutter wrapped her arms around Drake, giving him a healthy squeeze and lifting him up slightly into the air.

     “-Urp- Genie!” Drake croaked out, doing his best to remain professional as Genie lowered him back to the ground. Behind her, the whole Schutter family approached Drake, dressed in their Sunday best. “H-How have you been~?”

     “I’ve been doing great!” Genie smiled, practically hypnotizing Drake as he listened intently, “Our little homestead was really busy after you guys left! Howard came by to help us celebrate our Founding Day.”

     “Oh yeah, how was it?” Drake grinned.

     “You should have seen it!” Genie waved her arms excitedly, “It was probably one of the best magic shows I’ve ever seen.”

     The two chatted for a little bit, her family occasionally chiming in. Drake conducted the talk like two friends catching up, the formalities of an interview long forgotten by the time the next wave of limousines rolled up. “Oh~ Uh…” Drake blushed, “I’m sorry Genie, but-“

     “Don’t worry about it,” Genie smiled, giving Drake a small kiss on the cheek, “I know you’ve got to get back to work. Just remember to message me when you’re done… We can grab dinner~” Genie blushed, her family saying their goodbyes, Jenny giving him a hug while David, James, and Jake shook his hand.

     It was as Jake shook his hand, the rest of the Schutter family well on their way to the door, that he felt something be slipped into it. He opened his palm, and sitting in the center of it was an ornate ring box, opening it up, an extravagant golden ring with all varieties of gemstones embedded into it looked back at him, “Uh.. J-Jake… What’s this?”

     “Well,” Jake smiled playfully, “consider it a gift Drake… For all that you’ve done for my family.”

     “J-Jake… I really can’t accept this,” Drake said, looking at the ring in disbelief, “I mean, this must have cost you a fortune.”

     “Oh, it’s nothing. My daughter deserves the best after all,” Jake winked.

     Drake turned pale, stuttering usefully, before saying, “I- I- I can’t-”

     “Shh…” Jake smiled, “Don’t mention it. Again, I was young and in love once. And I definitely don’t want to force you two into something you might not be ready for. If you end up not using it, I can just take it back before the weekend’s over. Just… Hold on to it for me for now.” He smiled warmly, probably the nicest look he had ever given Drake, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, before heading off after his family, Drake awkwardly pocketing the ornate ring box, shaken but ready to get back to work.

     It didn’t take him long to find his next guest, “Holli!” Drake smiled, casing after the former contestant. She was walking down the carpet with her magician, but managed to turn around just in time to spot Drake.

     “Ah! Drake!” She smiled, giving him a hug, “It’s so good to see you!”

     “And it’s great to see you!” Drake smiled, “How have you been! We haven’t talked since last season’s finale.”

     “Oh, I’ve been absolutely wonderful,” she smiled, wrapping an arm around Kyle’s arm, “Just very busy, Between the grandkids, performances, and charity work, I feel like I hardly have any free time left for myself,” she chuckled.

     “Well now,” Drake grinned, “I hope you’re not trying to age Holli back so quickly. After all, she still in her prime.”

     Kyle laughed, “Oh no. Trust me, I’ve told Holli multiple times now that she should step back a little bit-”

     “And just step down as MFBT’s most active member? I hardly think so,” Holli grinned, “We’ve got a case going on right now, a poor young girl in Arkansas who was traded to another magician without being consulted first, and had to move half way across the country in three days or risk losing out on all of her magic to this new scumbag. I swear, some magician’s just make my blood boil!” Holli had a fire in her eyes.

     “I’m sorry to hear that,” Drake admitted.

     “Thankfully, Kyle’s one of the good ones,” Holli patted his arm, returning to her more calm demeanor, “and obviously as are Drake, Howard and Martin.”

     “They sure are,” Drake grinned, his attention pulled as the next wave of limousines pulled in. “Well Holli, it was wonderful catching up with you,” he gave Holli another hug, who easily reciprocated it. “Remember, there’s a former cast meet after the girls rehearsals I hope to see you there.”

     “I definitely will be,” Hollie smiled, “I always love meeting fresh faces.”

     “Ah! Devon!” Drake walked over to where the fashion icon was walking down the red carpet. She was wearing an understated white dress, her legs having been replaced with black, marble facsimiles, the joints accentuated with articulation points that would not look off on an action figure.

     “Ah! Drake, Dahling~” Devon said, hugging Drake and giving him a kiss on either cheek as they met up on the red carpet, “It’s absolutely wonderful to you again.”

     “It’s great to see you too,” Drake commented, “I’m actually rather shocked, I would have assumed you would have been busy planning for Milan next month.”

     “Oh I’m dreadfully busy," Devon admitted, waving her hand in the air, “But I would never miss out on this event, dahling. After all, it gives me the perfect excuse to show off some of my wardrobe,” She smiled, as she span around, her dress flaring out slightly in the wind.

     “It certainly looks lovely on you,” Drake grinned, “So, are you regularly much of a patron of the performing magical arts?”

     “My dear, some of my best outfits have been the ones I’ve designed for assistants,” Devon chuckled, “It’s truly the ultimate test for any fashion designer, to create something both for fashion and form. Of course I’m going to love seeing how they’re put into action.”

     Another wave of limousines arriving grabbed Drake’s attention briefly, “Well Devon, I’m going to let you go. It was absolutely wonderful to see you again, and we should definitely catch up later,”

     “Oh certainly, Dahling,” Devon grinned, waving her hand, “Make sure to give my regards to Kacie and Paxton,”

     “I will,” Drake smiled, heading off back into the crowd of incoming celebrities.

     “Oh, and over there’s Frankie. Let’s go see if we can talk to her. Frankie!” Drake smiled, walking over to where Frankie was standing for a photo op. Around her were several familiar faces: A frizzy redhead, an African American with short, dyed red hair, a brunette wearing glasses, a brunette with their hair in a pony tail, and another African American with curly black hair that flew in every direction. Frankie was wearing a maroon colored dinner dress, while the girls standing around her were wearing dresses of varying colors and design.

     “Drake!” Frankie smiled,”So good to see you again!”

     “The pleasures all mine,” Drake grinned, “And let me see if I can remember names…” He pointed down the lineup of girls, “JJ… Trina… Zoey… Jess… And I want to say, Maya?”

     “He he~ Got it one,” Frankie grinned, the girls giving Drake a polite round of applause. “So, did you want an interview?”

     “How could you have guessed?” Drake grinned, twirling the microphone in his hand.
    “Alright girls,” Frankie smiled at her friends, “Go on ahead without me, I won’t be too long.” Her group nodded, heading towards the double doors, “So, go ahead,” Frankie smiled.

     “Well, firstly. It’s nice to see all those familiar faces, they were sorely missed last year… And this year.”

     “Yeah,” Frankie grinned sheepishly, “Well, I owed them for them missing out on the pre-party fun last year, so I flew them out of pocket with me to come celebrate Paxton and Kacie. As for why they didn’t make an appearance during my week… Well, you remember how hectic it all was.”

     “Yep!” Drake nodded along, “Hard to believe that that only happened four weeks ago.”

     “Time certainly flies,” Frankie smiled.

     “Well, I asked Penny and Jean this earlier. But did you have any clue that Dahlia was actually two contestants in one?”

     “Besides their weird magic signature, I’m afraid they got the best of me,” Frankie grinned, “But still, I’m so proud of the two of them for what they did.”

     “It certainly was a bold move,” Drake nodded along.

     The two chatted for a bit, but eventually Frankie had to head inside to check in. Drake turned towards the camera, “Well folks, That’s it for the morning group, but stick around! I’m sure more people are going to make their way into the hotel in the afternoon!”

~~~

Kacie’s Rehearsal

     “So, are you nervous?” Martin smiled, as they finished up yet another rep to Kacie’s satisfaction.

     “For probably the most important show of my entire career?” Kacie laughed sarcastically, “Just a tiny bit.”

     “I think you mean of our careers,” Martin flashed her a playful smile, eliciting an eyeball. “After all, this is going to be my last show ever as an International Class Magician.”

     “Yeah, but there wasn’t ever going to be any doubt that you were going to finish become one,” Kacie sighed, “Even when you left us… There was a small part of me that just knew you were going to come back.

     “Well, I can say with absolute certainty, that there was no doubt in my mind you were going to become an amazing assistant, Kacie,” Martin smiled, causing Kacie to blush, “and that you are absolutely going to kill it tomorrow.”

     “Thanks Martin,” Kacie smiled, the two of them setting up for another rep.

~~~

The Lobby

     “Welcome back!” Drake smiled back at the camera. “We’ve moved inside, where things are still bustling, as more and more guests continue to arrive for what is sure to be the finale of the century!”

     The Lobby was an absolute madhouse of people. There was some order by the front desk (admittedly not much, but enough that there wasn’t any fighting over who’s turn it was next when one of the staff became available), but otherwise there were throngs of people all over the lobby in various stages of fancy dress and casual wear.

     A Sikh man in green robes was idly chatting with a cheetah-headed assistant in a hoodie and sweats. Over by the resting tables, some magicians had gotten together to play a game of 5-card draw to pass the time. One of the magicians looked significantly worse for wear, down to just a pair of hips, a hand and their head, while one of the female magicians was clearly enjoying having six arms, holding one card in each her hands, and her drink in the sixth.

     Drake scanned the crowd, “Hopefully, we’ll be able to spot someone soon…” he said.

     “Ah! There’s a familiar face,” Drake grinned, walking over to where three feminine people were chatting. One of them was a long necked woman, her head idly doing loops in the air as they talked, occasionally tying her neck into a knot, before untying. Another one of them looked mostly normal, she was wearing a kimono and had her black hair tied up in a bun. The big difference were the slits present on either side of her mouth that allowed for her to open her mouth an almost unnatural amount while she talked.

     The person who was most immediately recognizable of the trio waved as Drake approached, stepping away from their two friends. They had pale skin, their long hair which had previously been red and yellow died to a rather familiar looking shade of blue. They were wearing a long, white dress that appeared to be made of some sort of plastic polymer, giving off an unnatural sheen from the surrounding light as they moved. Along the length of their shoulders, cyan circuit board patterns ran down the length of her arms, feeding into and becoming a part of her plastic dress and giving them an almost robotic look.

     “Phian! It’s so wonderful that you could make it!” Drake smiled, giving the tsukumogami a big hug.”

     “I’m so happy I could come Drake,” Phian grinned, her tattoos lighting up playfully as her arms moved.

     “That’s an interesting outfit you’ve got going on,” Drake grinned, g “I’m guessing you have a favorite contestant to win already lined up then?”

     “Yep!” Phian said unabashedly, looking towards the camera before saying, “Go Kacie! I know you can do it!”

     Drake just laughed, “Well, I’m sure Kacie appreciates the support.”

     “It’s nothing against Paxton,” Phian smiled, “But I’ve got to support my girl, you know?”

     “Oh I completely understand,” Drake smiled, his eye being caught by a another familiar face, “Well, it’s been nice chatting Phian. I hope you’ll enjoy the show.”

     “Oh I will,” Phian grinned.

     “Okay, we’ll chat later,” Drake gave Phian a small hug, before going off to get his next interview.

     “Maya!” Drake grinned, walking up to the monoeye girl and giving her a hug. Standing next to her, and grinning proudly was the nearly ten foot tall, cyclops prop designer, Mono-I, standing in what must have been one of the largest tuxedos anyone had ever seen. “How have you been?”

     “Oh! I’ve been doing fantastic Drake,” Maya said proudly, looking up at her cyclops business partner, “Mono and I have been on an absolute roll recently helping design props for non-humans! And in a couple of months, we’re finally going to release a set based on some of my ideas!” Maya was absolutely giddy to be sharing the news.

     Mono-I chimed in, his bellowing voice easily audible over the crowd, “Maya’s been an absolute dream to have in my workshop. We’ve seen our sales numbers increase nearly two hundred percent in the last year since she’s joined.”

     “Well, they’ve definitely left their impact on the world,” Drake smiled, “Last I heard, the hiring rate for non-human assistants has gone up by some insanely drastic amount since your props have hit the market.”

     Maya blushed, “It’s only insane if you go by percentages, it’s still not all that impressive of a number.”

     “Still,” Drake grinned, “you two were responsible for that uptick. I imagine it must be rather ego-inflating.”

     “It’s definitely nice,” Mono-I chuckled, “But Maya and I are too focused on delivering the next great prop to really let it get to our heads.”

     Drake nodded along, “So Maya. You’ve been working with Mono-I for a whole year now. Has the thought of returning to stage magic ever entered your head?”

     Maya blushed, the cheeks on either side of her giant eye growing bright red, “Well… I’ve thought about it a couple of times. I definitely still miss my time with Howard, he was truly a wonderful magician, but I also really like working with Mono. We’ve been so busy recently with the massive influx of orders, that I’ve definitely let my love of performing magic fall to the wayside a little bit.”

     Mono-I chuckled, “I’ve told her multiple times that she’s free to find herself a magician to work with in-between product cycles, but every time she’s just wanted to jump right in to the next one.”

     Maya responded back, “Well, I want to make sure that there’s a good back catalog of magic for non-humans to try out before I take a break. I think maybe next year I’ll see if there’s still some magician’s out on the market interested in working with me, but for right now, I’m more than content to keep working on brining smiles to non-humans interested in learning magic,”

     Drake nodded, “Well, thanks Maya. It’s been great talking to you. Remember, we’ve go the rooftop meet and greet later on in the day. Will we be seeing you there?”

     “Of course,” Maya smiled.

     “Well then, I’m off to find some more interviews then,” Drake gave Maya a hug, before walking off.

     Not a few feet off from Maya, who should Drake manage to bump into but Andrea, who was wearing a black skirt with a pink tanktop. Literally bump into, by the way, as in he accidentally walked right into her. “Oops. Sorry-“

     Andrea turns around, clearly looking a little angry, her mood changing slightly as she’s caught off guard by Drake. “Oh! Drake!”

     “Andrea!” Drake smiles, equally caught off guard, “How are you? I’m really sorry about that.”

     “It’s okay,” Andrea grinned, “And I guess I’m a little sorry about what happened to you this last week. Although I’ve been warning you for ages that those punishments were going to come back and bite you in the butt one day.”

     “You certainly did,” Drake laughed nervously, “And yeah… I can see where I may have gone a bit too far in places. Being stuck in pieces, slowly feeling my body fall apart without any ability to stop it,” Drake visibly shudders, “Definitely not an experience I’d want to go through any time soon.”

     “And I bet you can see now why I care so much for the wellbeing of my fellow assistants,” Andrea grinned.

     “Yep,” Drake sighed, his face turning from sullen to looking surprised as he said, “By the way! Congratulations on the amazing news! I was rather shocked to hear that you had managed to sign Dawn and Julia up so quickly.”

     “Well,” Andrea grinned, “that’s just how I work Drake. I put in the effort, and I give it my all, no matter what I’m doing.”

     “I’ll say,” Drake nodded, “And getting your International license on top of it all. Absolutely wild.”

     “It’s definitely been a journey for me this season,” Andrea agreed, “But definitely one worth taking!”

     “Well, I’m looking forwards to seeing your first show with them,” Drake smiled, “You can definitely count on me to be right there in the first row. Cheering you on.”

     “Thanks Drake,” Andrea said, giving the host a hug, which he gladly returned, “And I’m sorry for always being so hard on you.”

     “Don’t worry about it,” Drake grinned, “I’m the host of the show, I’m used to people getting upset with me over how it operates.”

     The two chatted for a bit longer, before Drake was off on the prowl again for another good interview.

     It finally arrived when he spotted a certain copper hair assistant with her slightly messy-haired magician. “Peter, Lisa!” Drake grinned, walking over, clearly catching Lisa slightly off guard. They were wearing their more casual street clothes, and were clearly on their way to the golden elevator when they had been caught by the net of social obligation. “How are you two? Enjoying the States?”

     Peter chimed in, giving Lisa a chance to catch her cool, “Oh, we’ve been over here a couple of times now, Drake. It’s always a welcome change of pace to the busy streets of London,” Peter laughed, “Although, clearly that’s not the case right now.”

     “Oh definitely,” Drake laughed, another crowd of people entering into the large golden elevator behind them. “So Lisa, how goes things with the ISAG? Any news you’d like to share with the audience at home?”

     Lisa seemed to have calmed down enough to approach Drake’s question with professionalism, “Things have been going shockingly good over in the UK. We’ve had an uptick in applications,” Lisa seems genuinely happy to share the news, “Which has been really helpful in driving up support for our fledgling branch.”

     “Well, again, we here at ANGA have massive respect for what you and the ISAG is trying to do,” Drake smiled, “Who knows? Maybe if ANGA ever becomes an International Franchise, a UK branch of the show could be created.”

     Lisa visibly looked annoyed, “Sounds-“

     “Sounds really interesting Drake,” Peter interjected, “And of course, if ANGA ever does another globe-hopping adventure, E’s would be more than welcome to host you all again.” Lisa seemed a little annoyed at Peter interrupting her, but Drake just continued on in his normal oblivious fashion.

     “Thanks Peter, and obviously, I’m sure the fans back home would love to see more of you two,” Drake smiled, “But I’ve got to ask, what’s next? Any big plans?”

     “Well…” Lisa looks to Peter, who nodded in a ‘you can tell them if you want to’ sort of fashion, “We do have some big plans coming up… But I’m afraid their a little less magical and bit more personal,” Lisa intertwined her hand with Peters, a golden ring briefly visible on her ring finger.

     “Ah!” Drake smiled, understanding what she meant, “No worries then. Although let me just offer my congratulations on those plans in advance.”

     Drake and the couple talked for a bit longer, before he eventually allowed them to escape off to their hotel room.

     Drake looked at his watch, “Oh man, it’s getting pretty close to the former contestants meet and greet. Well, I’ll be sticking around a bit to get some more interviews for the web portal. See you soon!” he waved goodbye at the camera.

~~~

Paxton’s Rehearsal

     “Oh my God~” Paxton said, standing next to Martin in the back row of the bleachers of the rooftop stage and looking over the scene she had conjured up.

     “Yeah,” Martin nodded his head, “It looks absolutely amazing.” The two of them had done a few practice runs by now, but this was the first time they were going to do it with all of the stage dressing and conjurations Paxton had whisked up, just to make sure she would be able to handle conjuring and using magic on so many things at one time.

     “This is~…” Paxton was truly speechless, “I- I never thought I’d ever-“

     “You see,” Martin smiled warmly at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, waving her arm over the scenery she had built, “When I said I knew you could do great things with some practice and focus. This is what I was referring to.”

     Paxton nodded, “Martin…”

     “Yeah?” Martin asked.

     “Thank you,” Paxton said, giving him another hug. “For believing in me… And really everything else this season.”

     “Don’t mention it,” Martin smiled, “Now, lets give this rep everything we’ve got!”

~~~

The Rooftop Stage

     For the former contestant meet and greet, the event had been moved up from the conference room to the rooftop stage. All of the former contestants and their magicians (or work friends, if applicable) were invited, although unfortunately not everyone had been able to attend.

     Noticeably absent were Patricia, whom had still been missing unfortunately, despite her work’s promise that she was doing well; Leela, who was currently half way across the world, attending a funeral for her grandmother; Ophelia, who had kindly declined the offer to return this season; and Cammie with her partner Alex, who would be arriving tomorrow, as they had been foolish enough to book a performance in Rhode Island on the Friday after ANGA originally was going to end, and were unable to reschedule it when the additional week had been added to ANGA’s schedule.

     With half of season ones contestants missing, the three remaining members had mostly joined the circle formed by the season two contestants, who were all eagerly catching up with one another. Within this larger group, the subgroup of Saffron, Sable, and Sinopia had formed the three sisters having a side conversation about how happy they were to be out and about, and thankful that Silvia was at home to take care of the other girls. The current season three contestants mostly stood off to the side, a little too intimidated by the massive throng of former contestants to jump in just yet. Over on the other side of the roof, the various magicians of the girls were busy chatting with one another, the group being comprised of Drake, Howard, Kevin the Magnificent (Holli’s magician), Mono-I (Maya’s business partner and expert prop designer), Greg (Saffron’s Magician), Fernando (Saffron’s large, pink, sentient teddy-bear companion), Cody (Elise’s partner for her YouTube channel), and even Olive’s soon to be magician: Davy Jones.

     The season three contestants were waiting anxiously for Paxton and Kacie to arrive. Rachel cutting the tension by asking, “So Dahlia, Since Davy showed up, are we going to have the honor to finally meet your mysterious magician you’ve been telling us about?”

     “Well,” the half-sized Dahlia smiled, “We think she’s going to be here any second now…”

     The Golden Elevator door opened up, and Andrea proudly walked out of it, spotting the contestants and rushing over, “Girls! It’s so good to see you again!” Andrea was practically on the verge of tears, as she went around the circle, giving each of the former contestants a big hug, “You all did absolutely amazing this season. You should all be so proud of the effort you put in.”

     The girls were equally as happy to see Andrea returning the hugs in earnest. Natalie piped up though, “Andrea~! It’s so good to see you! But I don’t think you’re supposed to be up here right now. This meet and greet is supposed to just be for the contestants and their magicians.”

     “Oh,” Andrea smiled coyly, “Did Dawn and Julia not tell you?” She grinned.

     The girls looked to Dawn and Julia, who smiled, Julia lifting up Dahlia as they walked to either side of Andrea, Giving her a small hug. “We were waiting for the right moment to tell you all, but…” Dawn began

     “Andrea’s actually going to be our magician for a bit!” Julia finished, the girls looking on in shock.

     “Well,” Andrea blushed, “It’s more of an internship than a proper Magician/Assistant contract. Basically, I’m going to be mentoring them in the ins and outs of the magic world while they tour Europe this Fall. Maybe even do a few shows if they’re up for it-“

     “Which we are!” Dahlia cheered. Causing Andrea’s blush to deepen.

     “But yeah, I’m sorry for hiding this from you girls for so long,” Andrea smiled, slightly embarrassed.

     “Are you kidding me dear,” Olive smiled warmly, tears forming in her eyes again, as she went over and gave Andrea a hug, “This is amazing news! I’m so proud of you Andrea!” The other contestants shared the same sentiment, soon completely enveloping the German girl in a massive group hug.

     “Eep!” Andrea said, caught slightly off-guard by the love and affection, before giggling, “Well then, you all can help me out in breaking the news to Kacie and Paxton!”

     Serendipitously, that just so happened to be the cue for the Golden Elevator to open once more, Kacie, Paxton, and Martin earning a round of applause, as they existed out onto the crowded stage.

     From that point onwards, the lines separating the seasons and roles of the people on the roof disappeared, as the groups broke off, starting conversations about how people were going, or how great it was to see another person again. It was an excellent time for Kacie and Paxton, their worries about the upcoming performance slipping away, as they focused instead on making new friends, and catching up with old ones.

~~~

The Majestic Buck

     It was rather late in the evening by this point, but that hardly meant that festivities had finished. In the exclusive VIP bar at the Hotel Weiss, Drake spotted a lone figure sitting at a table, slowly nursing a beer.

     “Hey Rei,” Drake said, sitting down opposite the Japanese woman. While she normally was obnoxiously chipper, she seemed to be really downtrodden, “What’s wrong.”

     “Like you care,” Rei mumbled, taking another sip of her drink.

     “I care more than you might think,” Drake said, “Is it about your show? Or about your store?” Rei was silent. “So… Both then?” Rei gave a little nod.

     Drake continued on, “Rei… Yeah no… You definitely went through a lot… and I’m really sorry to hear it. You know, we still have some money left in the budget, I’m certain no one would object to giving it as a donation-“

     “I don’t want your pity money,” Rei said. Drake waited patiently for her to continue of finish her thought, but instead she just went back to nursing her drink.

     “And trust me, I understand what you’re going through,” Drake said, “Hosting a show’s really tough. Frankly, I’m amazed that you decided to try to both be the magician and host at the same time. You’re a much braver person than me.” Rei remained silent.

     “You know,” Drake looked up towards the ceiling trying to find what he was going to say, “Being a performer, really of any variety, is tough. You put in all this effort, and sometimes, you’re not rewarded with the recognition that you’re hoping for… Or sometimes your ambition to create vastly overpowers your body’s ability to create it… or things just go wrong all around you… and so all that you’re rewarded with for your hard work and perseverance are bad thoughts and burnout.” Rei remained silent.

     “I unfortunately don’t really have much I can say that I think will make you feel better Rei,” Drake admits, “I can’t pretend what we do as performers is easy. There’s no magic words that can just magically give us inspiration, or make us feel better. And I know with where your headspace probably is, saying that it’s going to get better, which it certainly is for you Rei, is just going to make you feel more frustrated with your current position.”

     “So Rei,” Drake said, holding her hand in his own and looking at her in the eye, “All I can really say is, I’m very proud that you made an attempt. You should be proud in everything that you managed to accomplish.” Rei seemed to acknowledge Drake’s words, but as for whether they really sunk in or not remained too vague to tell for certain, as she went back to nursing her beer.

     Meanwhile, at the Bar proper, a different scene was unfolding, as through the open doorway, Steve walked in, Melody not far behind him. As soon as he spotted the bow-tie wearing man in the tweed jacket, his face immediately lit up, “Oh wow! Art! Fancy seeing you here!”

     The Artificer bristled at the sound of his nickname. Turning to Amy (who was seated at the bar next to him), saying, “You see. What did I tell you? This is why I didn’t want you calling me Art in front of the Magicians. I knew a nickname like that would spread like wildfire.”

     “Oh come on Art,” Steve grinned as he used his nickname again, “It’s stuck so well because its so much easier to call you that instead of ‘The Artificer’.” Art sighed, accepting the fact that he was probably going to be called that in perpetuity from now on. “In any case, it is actually great that I caught you. How have you been? You still working that lab of yours?”

     “Yep,” Art said, “The lab’s been running fine. We actually got a few clients lined up thanks to that advertisement on ANGA. Which I told you would work,” He grinned turning to Amy.

     “I didn’t say it wasn’t going to work,” Amy laughed, “I just said that advertisement goes against your whole ‘sworn to secrecy’ deal.”

     “Unfortunately, that only gets you so far when there’s bills to pay,” Art commented, “And how about you, Steve? I heard that you got back in the ring and performed again?”

     “Yep,” Steve smiled proudly, “Also thanks to ANGA.”

     “Well then, I think a celebration’s in order,” Art grinned back.

     From the doorway of the bar, Martin walked in with Peter not that far behind him. A small cheer erupted around the bar, Martin smiling and waving nervously. “Ah Martin!” Steve grinned, “The man of the hour! How do you feel?”

     “Nervous,” Martin admitted, the two groups sort of merging into one. “I mostly just came in here to get something to help me sleep.”

     “Well then, that’s perfect timing,” Steve smiled, “We were actually just about to buy a round. You interested in joining us?”

     “Sure thing,” Martin replied.

     “Great,” Steve got up, “I’ll be right back.”

     As he went to grab the drinks, Martin looked between Peter and Art for a moment, before realizing, “Oh! Sorry, let me introduce you two. Peter, this is The Artificer, Artificer, this is Peter.”

     “The Artificer?” Peter grinned, “So… Sort of like-“

     Peter didn’t get to finish that thought, as surprisingly enough Steve came back pretty quickly with four glass mugs of ale.

     “Well gentlemen,” Martin smiled his trademark grin, “Any poetic words or words of wisdom to pass my way before my big show tomorrow?”

     The three other guys at the table looked at one another, not really sure what to say. Eventually Peter offered up a questioning “To ANGA?”

     Martin smiled, shaking his head, “To ANGA!”

     The four men raised their mugs, clinking them in the center before taking a sip.

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

& Question Corner &

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

To Kacie: “Since when did you have a second body? Is that something Martin created for you or was it something you you’ve always had, but never bothered to utilize until now?” -@@Gwiber49

 Kacie: “Oh no,” Kacie smiles, “I’m afraid I’ve always just had the one body. I’m sure you’ll see it tomorrow, but I’m basically doing what I did to get the two bodied effect in Europe week: Splitting myself in half at the waist and then regrowing the half that’s missing. Granted, I did that effect before I was on stage then, but it still a really cool effect, so I thought it would be nice to feature it again.”

To Drake: “It's a date Drakie though we're likely already on it by the time this comment airs. M’WAH!” -Genie Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Drake: Drake blushed, “W-well… That’s why I scheduled it for tomorrow Genie. I’m sure it’ll go great though…”

To Martin, Drake, Howard, and David: “Great little joke you played on the girls, though if you really had transportation issues in future you should let me know. I'd be happy to provide it as we have our own private jet. As well as more magical methods.” -Jacob Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Howard: As the primary person behind the idea, Howard is the only one to respond, “Oh don’t you worry Jake, David and I both have our private jets as well. I’m afraid we told a little white lie so that we could surprise the finalists with seeing the other contestants again.

To Paxton: “Oh you look beautiful as a head. I can't wait to give you a kiss and hug, but it should be long now.

Kisses and Hugs to you.” -James Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Paxton: Paxton blushes, “It was great to finally catch up with you James~ Wish me luck for tomorrow! I’m going to give it my all!”

To Howard: “I do hope your staff is prepared for what I call small tips. Ha ha. I actually never get tired of that joke.” -Jacob & Jenny Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)

 Howard: Howard chuckles right along with Jake, “After last year, I made sure to give the staff a thorough briefing on your generosity. Feel free to gift to your hearts content, but just remember that I do need to try to retain a staff after this weekend,” Howard laughs heartily.