Having learned from the mistakes of last year, the producers had set up the voting period to end on Sunday Morning, knowing full well that people were going to party regardless of their request to hold off until that evening anyways.
Of course, that still didn’t prevent some wild shenanigans from happening in between Saturday Evening after the final performances and Sunday morning, just that less of them happened than the year prior. There were, of course, a large number of magicians and assistants who went out towards the Vegas Strip, hoping to waste the night away gambling their problems away, potentially placing a couple of bets on who was going to be crowned the winner.
Then you also had the numerous magicians and assistants who had decided to take over the rehearsal room, transforming the white padded room into a miniature stage set, taking turns to perform tricks for everyone. At least, that’s how it was when everyone was sober, as the night went along, fewer and fewer members of the audience were taking turns, the occasional magician or assistant walking up on stage in the middle of someone’s act hoping to add their own dimension to it. Tricks started having less concrete beginnings and ends and sort of seemed to just seep together in one incomprehensible ‘middle’.
There was also a similar get together in the hotel’s swimming pool, where magicians and assistants were invited to arrive transformed and perform magic underwater. There were your obvious morphs to accomplish this, many merfolk, some people who simply gave themselves working gills or bubble charms, some people who had gotten creative and simply removed their heads, and thus any need to breathe. There was one particularly imaginative assistant who arrived with their body transformed to resemble the classic depiction of a sea monkey, three prongs extending upwards from her head with a long, finlike tail. Most of the people who attended that event agreed that the best performance of the night was absolutely taken by Irvin Langstroth, but as a native born Atlantean and someone clearly used to performing underwater, it was a little bit of an unfair competition.
And that’s not even getting into the various bits of magical performance that assuredly happened in the private hotel rooms of the many, many guests.
In any case though, come Sunday morning, there was definitely a slight vibe of exhaustion prevalent throughout the hotel, and yet at the same time, one of unyielding excitement. That feeling of exhaustion probably wasn’t helped any by the always somehow chipper voice of Howard Weiss magically echoing throughout the entirety of the hotel bright and early at eight AM.
“Good morning, Everyone! This is your friendly reminder to be up and presentable at the rooftop stage in one hour for the Epic Conclusion to ANGA’s third, historic season. See you soon!”
~~~
Rooftop Stage (Results Ceremony)
Come nine o’clock the fully extended rooftop stage was absolutely abuzz with chatter and excitement, the rows packed once again to the absolute brim to try and fit everyone in. Despite the hot Nevada summer sun beating down on them, and the massive amounts of bodies on the roof, it somehow was actually rather cool, thanks to either the world’s best AC system, or the much more likely cool spell that had been cast over the area.
Standing on stage was Drake, Martin, Kacie, and Paxton. Of the four, it seemed like Drake had been the only one to get a full night sleep, the other three clearly having spent the previous night worryingly watching the polls. Drake and Martin were in their normal performance attire, while Paxton and Kacie were in the dresses they had actually designed only a few weeks prior, obviously modified for their normal bodies. In her hands, Kacie held Tetra against her chest, the still active face nervously smiling back at the crowd. Behind them, projected onto the back wall of the Rooftop theater, and the two large monitor screens set to project to the side seats was simple a pure black screen. It had been previously displaying the live poll results that were still coming in, but as it came time to actually reveal the results, the screens had dimmed, the audience letting out a little cheer of excitement.
Martin nodded at Drake, the host of the show walking more towards the front of the stage, as the magician offered his hand to both of his potential would be assistants, the two girls blushing slightly as they were led to the center of the stage, Martin still nervously holding on to both of their hands, with Kacie on his left and Paxton on his right.
“Ladies and Gentlemen!” Drake shouted into the microphone, a loud cheer sounding out (although without the audience members from the street watching, it was noticeably more quiet). Some magicians were determined to go above and beyond, either amplifying their voice, or causing various sound effects to go off. In any case, with the cheer extending well beyond what was expected, Drake held up his hand to silence them, which thankfully the audience respected.
“I know it’s hard to believe… But just six short weeks ago… six brave contestants were selected to compete in one of the most ambitious challenges ever to be given on live television: A world tour with International Class Magician, Martin Horn. All in the hopes that today… They would be selected by you, the viewing audience at home, to become his next assistant, as he ascends to World Class Status.”
“We’ve faced many hardships along the way,” Drake continued, a short chuckle at his understatement betraying his serious demeanor, “But we’re finally here… your attentive voting has brought us down to just two finalists. But unfortunately, only one of them can be crowned America’s. Next. Great. Assistant!” Drake made sure to heavily emphasize each word, the audience cheering loudly as he finished up.
“But before we get those votes,” Drake smiled, “I’m afraid we’ve still got some house-keeping to do. You see, these two assistants have proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they’re World Class material… However, Martin here, is still only an International Class magician…” He grinned, turning around and giving Martin a short smile, before looking back at the audience, “So… How about we the fix that?”
“Ladies and Gentlemen, here to officially present Martin with his World Class License, on behalf of the World Magic Organization, the last member to previously earn the World Class ranking, Dorothy Winter!” There was much applause, as from the side of the stage, a rather sweet looking woman in a pink pantsuit bearing a little pink ribbon on the upper right breast came out, waving at the crowd. She had straightened blond hair, and her eyes displayed a wisdom to them that did not match how young her body looked. In her hands, she held a large golden certificate folder, a small black box, and a golden wand attached to a trophy stand. Martin momentarily stepped away from his assistants, giving them each a reassuring squeeze, as he walked forwards to meet Dorothy at the front of the stage.
“Martin…” She smiled, her voice sounding well beyond her years, “On behalf of the World Magic Organization… It is an absolute privilege to present you with your world class license,” She opened up the large certificate folder, revealing to the audience an ornate piece of paper, proudly boasting that ‘This certifies that magician Martin Horn has met every requirement requested by the World Magic Organization, and is therefore recognized as a World Class Magician’. Along the bottom half of the certificate, in nearly unreadable small print were the signatures of every authorizing member of the WMO, which included not only the president and vice-president of the agency, but also every single country representative that had signed his various National Class licenses.
“The organization is unbelievably proud of the hard work and perseverance you have had in order to achieve this incredible milestone in your career, and hope that you will enjoy these additional gifts of gratitude,” She smiled, as she handed over the golden wand on its stand, and the little black box. Opening up the box, Martin smiled, pulling out a small golden pin showing the Earth being pierced by a magic wand. He pocketed the box, immediately putting the pin onto his lapel, before taking the certificate, pausing just for a moment so that the producers could get a publicity still of the moment.
With that out of the way, Dorothy left the stage once more. Martin impossibly tucked away the trophy and the certificate folder into his coat, before returning to his two assistants, once again giving both of their hands a firm squeeze, the two of them giving him a warm smile, while he seemed to have already moved his mind back to the fact that he was about to lose one of them as his assistant.
Drake returned to the center stage, a nervous grin on his face, “Well folks… It’s finally time… The moment we’ve all been waiting for… The votes have all been counted… And it’s my pleasure to announce… That the winner… Of the 2021 Season of America’s Next Great Assistant… Is…” Both girls closed their eyes, as the various monsters around the stage lit up once again.
They displayed a recap of the live polling. From the very beginning, it seemed that Kacie’s bar jumped into the lead, the number very rapidly growing several hundreds of thousands of votes in front of Paxton’s. However, as the poll went along, it seemed that Kacie’s bar had lost steam, as very gradually Paxton’s started to catch up. Soon, there were only one hundred thousand votes separating them. Then fifty thousand. Then ten thousand. One thousand. One hundred. five. three. two. one. And just like that, Kacie and Paxton were now neck and neck, one then the other jumping ahead but no girls seeming to hold the lead for very long. Until suddenly, the voting stopped, thankfully with one girl ahead of the other.
“Paxton Brooks!”
The stage lights flashed bright white, the girls opening their eyes, Paxton falling to her knees in shock, holding her hands up to her mouth, tears of joy already welling up in her eyes. Kacie looked over at Paxton, her face having a pained smile on her face, while Tetra’s was openly weeping, some physical tears dripping down her triangular face and causing the LED’s to distort slightly.
Martin gave Kacie a big hug, the Asian girl awkwardly shifting her grip on Tetra so that she could reciprocate, before he turned around to help Paxton to her feet. She was still clearly in shock as he slowly led her forwards to the front of the stage, a massive, genuine smile on his face, as he gave her a massive hug as well, the affection pulling her out of her shock for a moment.
From the side of the stage, Paige came out, giving Martin a large thick scroll, which he very quickly unrolled, the top of which had the big bold letters in ink proudly explain it is an ‘Agreement of Assistantship’. Martin smiled, staring into Paxton eyes, her glorious mane of hair blowing slightly in the wind.
“Paxton Brooks…” Martin smiled warmly as the name slipped off his tongue, “this contract is simply a symbol for the very real and complicated contracts and paperwork we’ll have to go through tomorrow in order to formerly declare you as my assistant and does not actually represent any binding agreement. But for right now, it’s the best surrogate we have. So…” From his inner coat pocket, Martin pulled out a blue fountain pen with the initials ‘M.H.’ engraved on it in golden letters. He handed the pen to her and asked.
“Paxton… Would you do me the honor of signing this contract, and officially becoming my first Assistant as a World Class Magician?”
Paxton stood there a bit like a dear in headlights, looking at the contract, and then at Martin’s face, the magician quickly flashing her one of his trademark smiles. Her resolve seemed to solidify at this simple gesture, as her grip tightened around the fountain pen. “I would absolutely love to!” She smiled, writing her name in big, cursive letters, many invisible cameras taking snapshots of the momentous event and almost immediately posting them all across the internet.
“Well then,” Martin smiled, accepting back his pen as Paxton offered it and putting it back into his coat pocket, before rolling up the contract scroll and doing the same thing. He turned to face the audience, a massive smile on his face, “I’m pleased to declare that Paxton Brooks is now officially my new assistant!” The audience cheered loudly, the sound easily eclipsing even the loudest cheers from last night.
As the cheering died down, Drake walked back out onto the stage, holding the microphone and grinning from ear to ear, “Well then… On that note, It’s my pleasure to officially announce, that this season of ANGA is o-“
“Wait!” A loud shout went out, the entire theater quieting down in shock, as from the front row of seats, David Angel stood up, walking over to the staircase by the side of the stage and completely catching Drake off guard.
“D-David? W-What’s-“ Drake stuttered out.
“Sorry Drake,” David smiled, gently taking the microphone from the host’s hand, “But… I’m afraid with Howard’s outburst last year and Martin’s little stunt earlier this season… I thought it was about time I finally got my chance at having a big, controversial event,” He smiled warmly.
Looking directly at Kacie, who was just as shocked as everyone else on stage was and tightly clutching a very nervous Tetra to her chest, David continued. “Kacie… Over these past few weeks, we’ve all seen you develop into much more than a simple magic DJ… From the very beginning you’ve shown off an incredible sense of style and panache that many assistants dream of achieving… Jill and I have discussed expanding our small troupe a little as Amanda continues to take care of Isabella… And… Well… Kacie Kondo,” David smiled, as from his pocket, David pulled out an almost identical piece of brown parchment out unrolling it to reveal it to Kacie, “I know I’m no Martin Horn,” He grinned, giving Martin a wink, the magician blushing slightly, “But would you do me the pleasure of signing on as my second assistant?”
The crowd burst out in a wild mix of cheers and confusion, as David similarly produced a large white feather, the tip of which was clearly dipped in ink. He was just about to hand it to Kacie, when from the audience a cry of protest shouted out, once again silenced the audience. “Hey!”
The cameras swiveled, and standing up in the front row, his hand being held onto tightly by a very nervous looking Nora was a rather irate looking Nudd. His two-tone suit jacket was slightly ruffled, and he was practically shouting at David now, “What gives you any right to make Kacie an offer right now!?”
The camera cut over to a very confused looking David, “I-I’m sorry?”
The camera cut back to Nudd, catching a glimpse of a very happy looking Howard, who was absolutely reveling in the chaos of the moment. “You heard me… As you said yourself, Kacie has proven herself an absolutely amazing assistant, that any magician would be lucky to have. So. What give you the right to offer her one right now and pressure her to sign up with you before getting the chance to hear other offers?” Some quiet murmuring echoed throughout the crowd, as various magicians and assistants listened to what Nudd had to say, slowly picking up on his thought process.
David simply blushed, “W-Well… I just thought since Howard had done something similar last year-“
“Howard had been working with Sable already for nearly a month before asking, and was basically her de facto magician by that point. You have no connection to Kacie other than being a previous magician on the show,” he turned to look at Kacie, who was blushing brightly slightly in embarrassment, Nudd’s tone relaxing slightly as he said, “And by the way, Kacie, I would also like to offer you the chance of being my assistant. Nora and I would absolutely love to be able to do some tricks that unfortunately require two people to pull off.”
“I want to offer my services too!” A shout went off from the audience, a buff, tattooed magician with beach blond hair said, standing up.
“Me too!” An old fashioned magician in a classic tuxedo and top hat shouted out soon afterwards. Soon enough, the entire theater was filled with magicians standing up and shouting their desire to work with Kacie right at her, the poor girl blushing more and more, as her eyes slowly began to fill with tears of joy from all of the attention she was getting.
This went on for quite a bit, before Drake, clearly quite angry at how far the finale had seemed to be derailed stepped in shouting, “Enough!” His voice booming over everyone, as whatever spell had been used to silence the audience last night was put back into effect, cutting off any more protests.
“Now then,” Drake looked angrily at David, “David, I’m sure Kacie’s very appreciative of the offer… But I’m afraid that you’ll have to wait until later to make her an offer with everyone else.”
David blushed, “O-Of course… Sorry for the interruption,” he gave a nervous smile, walking back off the stage and towards his seat. As he approached, the camera caught a glimpse of Howard Weiss, who if it wasn’t for the silencing effect, his jovial laughter at the entire exchange would have probably been audible all across Nevada. He was laughing with his entire body, slapping his knee at his good friend’s momentary outburst seemingly not helping him any on the embarrassment department. Thankfully though, he did reach over Annette and Sable, giving him a reassuring pat on the arm as he went back to his seat, clearly saying something that David understood, but was silent to the rest of the world.
Drake sighed, grabbing the bridge of his nose, and taking a deep breath to recenter himself. He looked back up, smiling at Kacie, Paxton, and Martin, before turning back to the crowd. “Well then… Anything else that needs to be said before I put an end to this season? Speak now or forever hold your peace…” Of course, even if the audience did have something to say, the quiet spell meant that Drake was returned with nothing but stillness.
“Great! Then, without further ado! I officially announce this cursed season of ANGA over! Now! On to the After Party!” Drake smiled, throwing his fist up into the air, the magic silence dissipating as the audience cheered out in joy, as an orderly line began to form for the golden elevator, those who could not wait eagerly jumping off the side of the rooftop bleachers to magically float back down to the front entrance.
~~~
The Weiss Hotel (The Afterparty)
To say that this year’s afterparty blew the previous year’s out of the water would be a bit of an understatement. There was hardly a single inch of hotel that didn’t have some form of magic going on.
Now, to go through the entire afterparty would just be a ridiculous amount of content (entirely too much for what qualifies as a single episode of this show anyways), so what followed next in the episode were more of some of the ‘best-of’ clips from the event.
The clip show started out only a few minutes after the big announcement, Kacie having gone to the dining room in order to grab some food, she was immediately bombarded with at least twenty different magicians all vying for her attention, each of them trying to shout over the other and give her some contract to sign. The poor girl was overwhelmed, until a loud, authoritative voice echoed throughout the crowd. “Hey! Give her some space!”
From within the crowd of people, Andrea and Phian (in their more feminine form) walked out, very quickly flanking Kacie on either side, as Andrea addressed the crowd, “She’s just gotten pulled from the show, I’m sure that Kacie needs a little bit of time to process this sort of thing before you all come swarming after her asking her to be her assistant!” The crowd seemed to back up slightly, as Andrea continued to accost them. “Now! We’re all magicians here! I’m sure that we can respectfully form an orderly line to give her your contact information, so that she can discuss the offers on her own time!”
There were some grumblings, but the crowd of people seemed to agree with Andrea, “Great!” she said, “Now, let her through so that she can grab some food! I’m sure she’s starving from this morning…” Andrea offered her a smile, to which Kacie responded with a relieved look, as she was escorted far away from where magicians were already flipping over tables to clear up space to perform.
“Are you okay Kacie?” Andrea asked after they were seated, some sandwiches appearing on the table automatically as they sat down. “That wasn’t too crazy?”
“It was a bit overwhelming,” Kacie smiled, taking one of the sandwiches, “Thanks for coming to my rescue though.”
“Don’t mention it!” Andrea smiled back.
“Yeah,” Phian smiled, adjusting their long blue hair slightly, their normally rather pale face blushing slightly “Some people in this business can be really desperate sometimes for a good assistant…” Phian subtly slid something across the table towards Kacie, doing their best to avoid making eye contact with either of the people at the table and especially making sure that Andrea didn’t catch site of it.
Kacie accepted whatever it was, revealing that it was a playing card. Flipping it over, the Jack of Hearts was displayed with a blurred out phone-number in black ink. One of the two heads of the jack was winking, leaving only one eye to stare at Kacie, as she pocketed the card, showing an appreciative look at Phian, who was busy whistling as though they hadn’t done anything.
“In any case, don’t be too upset that you lost,” Andrea continued on, completely oblivious to what had transpired. “After all, you’re clearly still really wanted as an assistant!” Andrea gave her a smile, reassuringly squeezing her hand.
“It sure seems that way,” Kacie smiled back, in the peripheral of her eyes, she could see that the magician’s that Andrea had told off were circling their table like hungry vultures, a makeshift lines of sort being formed.
“Yep, and obviously, I want you to know that I’m interested as well,” Andrea smiled, “Of course, you could have probably guessed that. And you have my contact info anyways.”
“Thanks Andrea,” Kacie smiled, before asking “W-Would you mind just sticking around while all these magician’s drop off their offer?”
“Sure thing!” Andrea smiled, as the first in the line of magicians approached Kacie. He would be far from the last to do so before the night was over.
As Paxton walked out into the lobby, she was immediately hit with the madhouse it had been transformed into. Just like last year, several of the larger hemi- and non-humans had turned the entire place into a race track. However, now the air wasn’t even safe, as an air race that travelled in all directions flew wildly about, the only guiding markers large floating hoops, the lowest of which practically touched the ground of the land-only racetrack.
Paxton scanned the crowd, until she eventually found who she was looking for. “James!” She shouted out waving at the significantly taller man with two upper halves. With his height advantage, and the fact that he was actively watching the golden elevator from his spot in some of the rudimentary seats, James had spotted Paxton long before she had spotted him, allowing him ample time to walk up to her.
“Paxton!” James smiled, wrapping her in a hug with just his lower set of arms, smiling down at her.
Paxton blushed from the hug, looking up and playfully smiling, “What? No proper hug for the winner?” James grinned, breaking their hug momentarily so that he could readjust his grip, wrapping his lower set of arms around her knees while wrapping his upper set underneath her armpits. As he lifted her up, he had the dopiest grin imaginable on his face, giving her a squeeze with all four of his arms.
“Of course you can get a proper hug!” He smiled, his face blushing as he gave her a squeeze, “I’m so happy that you won, Paxton! I was nervous there for a hot minute, but I knew you’d win in the end!”
Paxton blushed, “Well thanks, Big guy~” she giggled playfully, returning his hug eagerly, “And thanks! The news shocked me a little bit! I thought Kacie did an amazing job yesterday!”
“She did fine,” James admitted, his eyes remaining locked with Paxton this entire time, a twinkling of longing in them, “But you were sooooo much better~” They just stared at each other for a moment, the tension between the two building. “So… Are you busy right now?” James asked, grinning.
“Oh! You wouldn’t believe it~” Paxton giggled, sounding slightly miffed, “We’re doing all the paperwork and work stuff tomorrow, but Drake wants Martin and me to take a bunch of photos while all of the cameras and stuff are still under the show’s budget…”
“Oh~” James sighed, sounding equally as disappointed.
“But I’ve got some free time right now~” Paxton smiled, giving James another squeeze, resulting in him giving her a dopey smile. He seemed to be unable to stop himself, as he bent his head forwards, stealing a small kiss from Paxton’s lips.
Both of their faces immediately turned bright red, Paxton pulling her hand free to cover her lips in surprise. James looking more embarrassed than anything, as he stuttered out, “S-Sorry! Couldn’t resist… Here, let me put you down.” He made to put her down, but Paxton stopped him, placing her hand against his lips now, offering up a smile while still blushing.
“N-No! It wasn’t bad!” She smiled, “Just… unexpected!” She smiled, the two quietly staring at each other, Paxton still in James's embrace before the camera cut away again.
The show cut to Drake and Rei. They were watching, as several drunk magicians started yelling at each other about how the other act had stolen their assistant, neither of them seeming to remember that they had split an assistant in half specifically to avoid this issue. Drake shook his head, “You know, I really thought magician’s would be better at handling their alcohol than half of the people who come to these after parties.”
Rei shrugged, “It’s especially silly when you consider that they’re letting themselves get this drunk.”
Drake nodded, “They better not seriously damage anything though…”
Rei smiled, “Why? Howard’ll just pay for it.”
“Up to a point,” Drake clarified, “He was probably the most lenient as far as location damage, but we still had to put a rather hefty security down to film here.”
Rei nodded, “Yeah. That’s why I filmed my show exclusively in-“ She froze up for a moment.
Drake looked concerned, “Rei, like I said before I’m-“
“No!” Rei said, biting her lip and trying to look strong, “I promised that I wasn’t going to be this way at the party. This is supposed to be a time for celebration!”
Drake still looked concerned, “Rei… You know-“
“Drake,” Rei smiled softly, “I appreciate the concern, but trust me. I’m working through it. You know it takes a lot to really knock me down.” Drake didn’t seem convinced. “Besides! I’ve got my own assistant now! So I should be celebrating too!”
“Oh yeah,” Drake seemed momentarily distracted from being concerned, “Congrats on that by the way, I’m sure she’s going to do great things with you.”
“Hopefully!” Rei did her best to smile confidently, but it wasn’t completely convincing.
Unfortunately for her though, Drake’s attention was pulled away, “Ah! Be right back Rei. There’s something I’ve got to do quickly.” Rei nodded, her attention turning back to the two drunk magicians who were still arguing, their solution to being to cut their assistant in half vertically and take half of what was taken from them.
Drake rushed over to where Jake Schutter had walked out from the Golden Elevator. He was scanning the crowd of performers, and seemed shocked as Drake called out, “Jake!” trying to catch his attention.
“Ah! Drake,” Jake smiled, “How are you?”
“I’m doing fine,” Drake admitted, “Happy the season’s over though.”
“I can imagine,” Jake grinned, “You had quite the tough time this season.”
“Understatement of the year,” Drake laughed. “There’s something I wanted to give back to you though…” Drake fished around in his pocket, before pulling out the ornate ring box Jake had covertly handed him a few days earlier, handing it back to him.
Jake looked down at the ring box, a slight face of regret on his face, “Ah… Decided against it then?”
“I just…” Drake sighed, “I can’t give Genie that ring, Jake.”
Jake nodded, “Well… Again, it’s ultimately your decision Drake,” Jake smiled warmly at him.
Drake nodded, looking slightly embarrassed, “Thanks for understanding Jake…”
Instead of the bar, Howard had reserved the practice room away for the former contestants and special guests to hide away in, as the moldable nature of the room meant the celebration could be more flexible than the bar might have offered.
As Jill walked out of the elevator, her attention was immediately pulled by Frankie, who smiled saying, “Ah! Jill! Great to see you! We’re practicing for a little celebration show for Paxton and Kacie, and we need one more assistant. Would you be interested?” The redheaded magician gestured to the large box floating in the middle of the stage, which was slowly rotating at a 45 degree angle to the ground so that the bottom face was never directly facing the floor for too long.
The large box heavily resembled a Rubik’s cube, each face of the 9x9 grid colored uniformly, and all of them save for the green side holding an assistant smiling at the two looking over them. Each assistant was set up the same, with their torso in the center, their arms in the upper corners next to their head, and their legs in the opposite corners. The only people with any variation to this set up were Jean, who had her long black tail flicking back and forth in the panel between her legs, and Penny, who had her side cabinets containing a copy of her upper pair of arms, and her middle leg in the panel between them. In terms of who was in what panel, Penny was in the white face, Jean was in blue, Lisa was in orange, Melody in yellow, and somehow Amy had been roped into the red face. Each of them was wearing a similarly color leotard, some strips of cloth wrapped around their various limbs to better differentiate who’s limbs were who when they were all mixed up.
Jill grinned up at the large prop, the girls waving back to her, trying their best to convince her to come join the. “Alright,” she smiled, shaking her head, as she raised her hand, a trail of sparkles transforming her green t-shirt and jeans to a green leotard. “Anything I need to do?”
“Just relax and enjoy the experience,” Frankie giggled, the box slowly stopping rotating with the green face facing them. Frankie helped her climb in, the wooden walls of the cube acting like a liquid as Frankie helped her to set her body like the other girls on the cube, the walls solidifying once more and trapping her in place once she had done so.
“Alright girls,” Frankie grinned impishly, the box going back to slowly rotating, giving some much needed relief to Melody, who had been suspended facing towards the floor. “Let’s give this a little spin!” Frankie giggled, as suddenly, the topmost layer of the cube containing Jean’s head and arms, Jill’s right limbs, Melody’s legs, and Penny’s left limbs span around, Jean letting out a little squeal of shock as it made an almost complete rotation, stopping just before things would have returned to their natural spot.
What followed was about a minute solid of various side of the cube spinning around, thoroughly mixing up the various assistants and their bits. When Frankie had finally slowed down the spinning, only one or two rows now spinning around at a time, the various sides of the cube were thoroughly mixed up. Each side had at least one color from every other face (although not all of them were filled with a body part from an assistant). As the last side rotated. Frankie gave the cube a quick once over, before grinning.
“Looks good! Now for the conclusion!” She smiled, as suddenly, various doors on each panel flipped downwards, the cracks in between the sides clearing away, as suddenly the cubes fused into a singular large cube, the sides retaining the color that the panels were oriented with before the fusing process began. Slowly the front most face of the cube opened up like a door, and out walked the six very much transformed assistants.
Of all the girls, one of them had to come out the least transformed, and in this instance that turned out to be Lisa, who for the most part looked like a normal person. A head on top of her shoulders, still wearing her orange leotard. Where she differed was in that she had managed to steal a limb from every other girl: Jill’s right arm, Jean’s right leg, Melody’s left leg, Amy’s left arm, and miraculously enough Penny’s secondary right arm.
The next girl to discuss was Jill, who looked similar to Lisa, having kept her own torso in the proper orientation. However it seemed that along the way, her stolen limbs had swapped over to the opposite side of her body, Jean’s left arm, Penny’s secondary left arm and Amy’s left leg being on the right side of her body, while Melody’s right arm and Lisa’s right leg occupied her left half.
Next up were Melody and Amy, who had similar, although opposite transformations of the other. Melody (who had kept her torso with it still in the proper orientation), had managed to end up with all legs, Penny’s right leg and Jill’s left leg ending up in the proper spot, but somehow ending up with Penny’s left leg jutting out of her right shoulder, and Amy’s right leg from her left shoulder. From the tip of her spin, Jean’s long cat tail poked out of her leotard. Amy had ended up with all arms, Penny’s arms replacing her normal arms (although swapped from their correct configuration), while Lisa’s left arm was her new left leg, and Jean’s right arm as her new right leg.
Second to last to discuss is Jean, who probably had one of the more interesting transformations. For starters, unlike the other girls she had not ended up with her original torso, her new one covered in a white leotard indicating that it was Penny’s. But in addition, she had also not managed to end up in the proper rotation. Her head stuck out from her stomach perpendicularly on her right side, but thankfully, it seemed that her limbs had managed to strike the lotto, similarly being angled in such a way that appeared as though she simply had an incredibly wide and short body. Lisa’s left leg stuck out from her former left shoulder, while Jill’s right leg was attached to her former left hip. Meanwhile, Melody’s left arm was sticking out from her former right, and Amy’s right arm from her former right hip.
Finally, there was Penny. Miraculously, she had somehow managed to get to keep her middle leg. The only problem was, the orientation was all messed up, her middle leg now sticking up from Jean’s torso where her neck would normally go, her head hanging into between her legs. Well… Leg anyways. Her right leg had been replaced with Jean’s left leg, while her left leg had been swapped for Lisa’s right arm. Meanwhile from her shoulders and in the proper orientation, Jill’s left arm and Melody’s right leg idly swung.
Frankie grinned at her transformed assistants, commenting, “Oh yeah… This will work great for the finale~”
Drake and Genie were sitting in the Dining Room, just continuing to watch the utter chaos around them, as even more magicians and assistants made their way. Many of them were here simply for the complimentary dinner, but the various drunken tricks had continued to remain a constant, as the perpetual game of oneupmanship went on. The two of them were enjoying a spaghetti dinner, Genie adjusting her body, her back half sitting normally on a chair, while her front pair of legs straddled a modified stool to take the weight off her legs.
“So Genie…” Drake blushed, looking over at the humantaur, who slurped up some more strands of spaghetti, “… Did you have a fun weekend?”
“Oh!” Genie smiled, dabbing her lips with her napkin, “It was absolutely magical, Drakie~”
“That’s good~” Drake smiled awkwardly, his cheeks blushing again, “Really good actually…” He was avoiding eye contact with his date, staring off at the various magicians still arguing.
“Yep~! You’re an absolutely wonderful host, Drakie~” Genie smiled, her lower left hand crossing over the table and giving Drake’s a comforting squeeze, only causing him to blush some more as the rest of his body visibly relaxed some, “And so hardworking too~ Did you manage to get any rest time on your big globe-trotting vacation even?” She giggled.
Drake chuckled, “No. I’m afraid there wasn’t much down time for me…” His other hand seemed to slip under the table, his face clearly displaying a look of concern, as his leg bobbed up and down nervously. “Genie… Do you mind if I ask you something?”
Genie fluttered her eyebrows a little bit, “Anything you’d like Drakie~”
“Do…” Drake paused, taking a deep breath looking back into Genie’s eyes, “I know that we come from really different worlds-“
Genie blushed, looking around nervously and giggling a little bit as she said, “Oh~ I hardly think TV and movies are that different nowadays~”
Drake blushed, similarly look around, and nodding before continuing, “Even so… I just… Well… Do you think…” Drake was clearly struggling to get his question out, Genie nodded along, trying her best to give him a reassuring smile and give his hand a little comforting squeeze. “Do you think… Things could work out between us?” Drake asked, the lump in his throat practically suffocating him.
It was Genie’s turn to blush, as she tried her best to give him another comforting squeeze, Drake somehow finding the strength to continue, “I mean… I know you’ve got a lot of responsibilities… -As an Actress,” Drake quickly interjected, his blush deepening, “And… I mean… I can’t just ask you to change your… schedule on my behalf…”
Genie continued to blush, as she said calmly, “Oh Drakie~…”
Drake was still talking, babbling a bit like an idiot now, “I mean… And I’m sure I’d probably have to… change my schedule too… And I mean, I know I’ve met your family… but I’m just not sure if I can just jump all in… I mean, do we really know each other all that well-“
Drake was interrupted by another squeeze from Genie, this time a two handed one as Genie brought her other left hand also grabbing onto Drake. “Drakie~…” Genie sighed, smiling at him, “I-… I can’t pretend that I have all the answers… Me and my family aren’t omniscient or anything~…” Genie’s little giggle wasn’t exactly comforting at this line, but she continued on, “Who’s to say what the future really entails for any of us? After all, it hasn’t happened yet… But what I can say is that you have absolutely no reason to be freaking out about it. I mean, if there’s anyone here who I think has their stuff together enough to weather any storm life has to throw at them, it’s definitely you~” Her giggle after this line helped relax Drake once more, his leg calming down. Genie bit her lip, “A-and… if it means anything… I personally think things could work out between us…” It was her turn to blush now and look away towards the various performing magicians.
She continued to stare for a bit in longing, before suddenly brightening up asking, “Drakie~ Would you be at all interested in-“ Her words were cut short, as she turned to look at Drake, who was now kneeling down on one knee in front of Genie, several of the nearby tables’ attention being drawn immediately over as she let out a loud squeak of surprise.
“Genie Schutter… Would you make me the luckiest man in the world tonight, and Marry Me?” Drake asked, pulling out a familiar looking little black box. He opened it up, revealing inside a rather modest looking engagement ring; a silver band with a single, small to middle sized diamond.
Genie looked on in shock at the ring, Drake already reduced to a nervous groveling as he explained, “I know it’s not the biggest or most impressive looking ring in the world… but it’s the ring my Dad gave my Mom. So-“
“It’s perfect~” Genie squealed, standing up, and gently pulling the ring out of the box, putting it on her lower left finger and admiring it, before she smiled back to Drake, “Of course I’ll marry you, Drakie~!” Drake seemed relieved as Genie helped lift him up to his shaky legs, the host being embraced in a four arm hugged, as all around him various magicians and assistants cheered on the scene. Even some of the drunken performers stopped what they were doing to give him some congratulations.
“T-Thanks Genie~” Drake smiled, returning her embrace, “You don’t know how much this means to me~”
“He he~ I probably do~” She giggled, “I’ve been waiting for you to man up and ask me ever since you left Mageria~… You know, you probably should have told the editors to cut that scene out if you wanted it to remain a surprise, Silly~”
Drake blushed, “Ah… You saw-“
“Of course I did~” She giggled again, “But that’s not important~” She kissed Drake, Drake passionately returning the kiss, eliciting even more cheers and catcalls from their audience.
After such a bombshell, the show cut back to the practice room. The practice room was completely stuffed, all of the various talent that had taken part this season having been able to make it to the big celebratory exhibition (save for Devon, who unfortunately had left soon after the announcement, claiming that “Inspiration had struck” and that she had to get back to her studio immediately to begin working on it). It was the penultimate act, every magician having been able to do a little performance for the girls, and with Frankie coming up last to tie all of the various acts together.
Andrea walked up onto the stage, smiling as Sable, Annette, and Rocky came to join her. “So,” she smiled, giving a confident smile to the crowd, “We thought it would be a fun idea for my act for Sable to finally pay up for her promise she made me last season,”
Sable blushed, “I was meaning to get around to it Andrea… I’ve just been rather busy the last year.”
“It’s okay,” Andrea smiled sweetly, “After all. Now you have no excuse to get out of it~” She giggled, before turning slightly serious, “Although, if you’re going to do the magic on me, then does that make you the magician for the trick?”
Sable blushed harder, “Oh… I could hardly be a magician. Way too much paperwork… What about you Annette?”
Annette shook her head, “I’m just up here for moral support,” she grinned, before looking down, Rocky giving her adorable look, “What about Rocky? I’m sure he’d love the responsibility,” she giggled, grabbing Rocky’s cheeks, the flesh stretching out impossibly as she moved it around the canine shapeshifter’s face.
Andrea smiled, bending down and meeting Rocky on eye level, in a cutesy voice asking, “What do you say Rocky? Want to be our magician?” Rocky gave a little affirmative bark, giving Andrea’s face a big lick with his long black tongue, causing her to giggle as her features, which had magically shifted upwards with his kiss, slowly settled back into their normal spot. “Alright~ I think he’s fine with it. Make sure to make it an amazing trick Rocky~” Andrea smiled, standing up, Rocky sticking out his tongue in excitement.
“Okay,” Sable grinned, concentrating as she created a large slab of pure white light, she patted it, a sparkling sound effect coming out as she patted the top of it, “Feel free to hop on up, Andrea.” Andrea grinned, eagerly hopping up on the slab, her black dress visibly bunching up slightly underneath her. Sable smiled, as she concentrate, a blade of light appearing in her hand similar to a lightning bolt. “Alright Andrea, I hope you enjoy this,”
Andrea giggled, as Sable quickly lowered the blade against her waist, her skin brightening up as the blade slid through her and the table, her wound instantly cauterizing as the light passed over it, “Oh my~” Andrea smiled, “You were right! It is really different from a normal blade.”
Sable smiled, “I knew you’d like it.” Sable walked over, pulling on the light slab holding Andrea’s lower half, the two halves of the German assistant pulling apart easily, now revealing that her cross section was completely covered in a bright pink layer of new skin. “Ta da!” Sable grinned at the audience, taking a short bow, Annette clapping at the display.
Suddenly, before any of the girls on stage had time to react, Rocky jumped up in the air, and in a single movement completely wrapped himself around Andrea’s lower half, the pair of legs disappearing as Rocky hit the ground, his tongue sticking out excitedly. “Rocky!” Annette said in mock surprise, “What are you doing, boy! What have I told you about eating people without their permission?”
Andrea had a weird look on her face as she sat up, looking down at her lower half. It was partially of confusion but also intrigue as she could feel her parts slipping into whatever void they tended to fall into when things were absorbed by Rocky. “Annette, it’s okay. After all, Rocky’s the magician right now. I’m sure he’s just come up with a great finale for our trick. Right boy?” Rocky’s bark in the affirmative helped relax Annette’s nerves slightly.
“Okay then,” Annette smiled, bending down, Rocky eagerly licking her face, “Alright then Rocky. What else do you have?” Rocky seemed to smile evilly, as suddenly, he opened his mouth impossibly wide, swallowing up Annette in a single bite, returning to his normal form just as quickly and acting as though nothing had happened.
Rocky’s form slowly began to bubble, as he started to shift, gaining mass and becoming more feminine in appearance, his fur receding all over as a red dress grew out from his skin to cover his decency. As his form started to solidify, he looked almost as though someone had taken Annette, darkened her skin, exaggerated her proportions slightly, had changed her black hair to brunette, cast a dark aura over her, and had changed her eyes with Rocky’s distinct yellow irises. The new female looked herself over, smiling and rubbing herself down, her voice a mixture of Annette’s own and some inhuman guttural noises layering in below it. “Mmm… It’s been a while since I was let out~”
“Hey Roxy!” Andrea grinned excitedly, sitting up on her light slab and smiling at the merged girl between Annette and her beloved partner.
“Hello Andrea~” The monstrous fusion beamed, “Sorry about stealing your lower half… But I needed some more human mass to finish off my trick.”
“I figured," Andrea giggled, taking the news in stride. Roxy closed her inhuman eyes, concentrating as behind her, the red dress began to swirl, a black mass growing backwards, the tendrils slowly bending and morphing, taking on the form of Andrea’s stolen lower half, a black fleshy dress covering over it.
“Mmm~” Roxy purred, rubbing her slightly clawed hand down her new extended backside, she smiled at the audience, “It’s nice to try out being a humantaur for the first time~”
Andrea smile, “Well… You can stay that way for a bit longer,” Roxy grinned, “Only if you’ll give me a ride back to my seat though!” Andrea giggled. Roxy easily accepted, trotting over, Sable assisting Andrea onto her former lower half, the three of them quickly taking a bow, all of them clearly having a great time having performed together, as they were all smiles and laughing as they made their way back to their seat.
Frankie stood up, her massive prop already appearing on the makeshift stage, beginning the last trick before Kacie’s farewell ceremony.
~~~
Rooftop Stage (Goodbye Kacie)
It was rather late in the evening, when Howard made another announcement throughout the entire hotel, announcing, “Please make your way if your’e able to to the rooftop stage. We’re doing the final farewell of the Season!”
Of course, with how absolutely plastered and transformed a large amount of the guests were, it wasn’t all that shocking that the crowd who arrived for the final farewell of Kacie was significantly less large than the crowd that had shown up that morning, but that didn’t mean that the seats still weren’t pretty well packed.
Up on stage, Martin, David, and Howard were all standing together, Paxton giving Kacie a big hug and clearly talking with the DJ/Assistant. They both seemed in high spirits, despite the fact that Kacie had lost. They were clearly laughing at something, when Martin walked over, Paxton stepping aside as he gave Kacie another large hug.
“Kacie… I really want you to know… It’s been an absolute honor being your magician… It obviously doesn’t mean much, and I know you’re already absolutely stacked with offers-“ Martin’s little talk was interrupted by a coughing sound coming from Drake offstage, pointing to a large document. Martin rolled his eyes.
“Don’t worry Martin,” Kacie smiled, giving him a reassuring squeeze, “I’ll do my best to not be too woo’d by all these offers. After all, I still really want to perform with you,” she smiled, looking over to Paxton, “And of course, to work more with Paxton! I don’t think we even got to perform together all season!” Paxton giggled at that comment, nodding her head.
“Great,” Martin smiled back, “Now, how about we get you your presents and we can perform one last time together?”
“Okay,” Kacie grinned, watching as Martin rejoined his fellow World Class Magicians.
Howard spoke up first, “Well Kacie, this first gift will probably be appreciated with the large amount of offers you’ve been getting,” Howard chuckled, pulling out a rather familiar piece of paper from his pocket, that he unfolded out into yet another contract from the ISAG. “Unlike everyone else’s, as the first runner up, the ISAG decided to award you with an extended free contract. This one lasts three years, and just like every other ISAG contract, will give you access to a number of useful services, including some of the best contract negotiators in the business,” Howard chuckled giving her a little wink as he handed the document over to her.
Next up was David, “This was supposed to be the runner’s up prize,” David smiled, producing a large white binder similar to what other girls in the past had received. The thing was truly massive, easily thicker than the poor girl’s head, and flipping through it, the sheer volume of stuff to see and do was clearly evident, “It was going to be a proper world tour, making a stop in every country of the world, and expected to take a year to complete… But seeing as how that may conflict with your already, and soon to be even more busy lifestyle,” David grinned, as he span the binder over, opening it, and from behind it pulling out a rather large novelty check, flipping the binder over and revealing it now completely empty. The cash value on the check reading out ‘$500,000.00’. “How would you feel instead if I offered up the trip as a cash prize instead?… Oops! nearly forgot about taxes,” David grinned, his hand waving over the check, as that value magically increased to ‘$700,000.00,’ a little asterisk appearing next to it, and a little note explaining ‘*And any additional taxes incurred’.
Kacie looked on the verge of tears as she stared at the large novelty check, her eyes welling up as she shook her head and said, “T-The money would be perfect~.”
David grinned, “Glad to hear that… Although that’s hardly a specialized present,” David grinned, as from his pocket, he pulled out a rather dusty looking copy of the newest looking iPod touch. “It just so happens… That between the three of us, we have a rather extensive music collection that covers a variety of genres,” He grinned, as he pulled up the memory of the iPod, revealing it to have a truly impossible memory storage of 2 TB, a rather hefty portion of which was currently filled with music according to the detailed information. “Well… I think that you could probably make better use of this than we ever could.” He grinned, handing her the iPod.
Kacie seemed flattered, but not really impressed with the gift, until she opened up the music folder, her eyes growing wider and wider as she scrolled down the list, she would occasionally look up in shock, before her eyes returned back to the iPod. After a few more moments of scrolling, her eyes teared up, as she closed the device, rushing over to Martin and giving him a big hug, the young magician returning it happily, David and Howard grinning from ear to ear as well.
As they broke apart, Martin gave her another award-winning smile, “So… Ready for that last trick?”
“Does it really have to be our last one?” Kacie grinned back.
“For now,” Martin returned back, Howard and David walking offstage, The two of them briefly returning for a moment to deliver the props Martin would need for his final performance as Kacie’s magician.
David wheeled out a rather plain looking phonograph, the large golden horn pointing out towards the audience. Meanwhile, the device Howard had wheeled out was much more in line for a magic trick, a larger cylindrical metal container with a door on the front.
“Well,” Martin smiled, walking over and holding the door open for Kacie, “Thank you for everything Kacie,”
Kacie smiled, “Hey! That’s my line!” She walked into the door, giving one last wave to the audience, before Martin shut the door. Martin quickly ran off stage, and when he returned, he was pushing along a small staircase, what appeared to be a massive plunger pull from a syringe in his other hand.
As Martin lined up the staircase, he flipped open the top, the camera getting a view of Kacie who looked up at him, a massive smile still on her face. “Now Kacie, if you have any pressing issues, now would be the time to get them out,” Martin flashed her his famous grin.
Kacie rolled her eyes, “You know, puns are supposed to be Howard’s thing.”
“I’m afraid puns are universal in the business, Kacie,” Martin grinned, “I’ve just been holding back.” Before Kacie could retort, Martin lifted the Syringe up over the edge, slowly beginning to lower it into the chamber, the sound of giggling could be heard, as slowly, and impossibly, the plunger got lower and lower.
Martin smiled, as the sound of a ‘thunk’ reverberated throughout the night sky, the plunger not going any lower. Martin eagerly raised the plunger up about half way, still leaving it stuck in the prop as he climbed down the staircase, throwing the door open and revealing what had happened to his poor assistant.
As most people probably could have guessed from the phonograph that had been wheeled out, Kacie had been pressed down into a record. On one side, her face showed up, smiling in a frozen state back at the audience, the hints of her fingers visible on the pressing near the edges of her head. Turning the record over, a picture of her flattened, feet, still in bright blue heels, which were similarly crushed. He turned her around a few more times, before grinning and saying, “Well… Since it’s the end of the show, what better way to end it off than with a dance party?”
He placed Kacie on the phonograph, lining up the record arm, before noticing a problem, he lifted it up, revealing that the stylus was completely missing. “Huh… Probably should have checked that before the flattening…” He grinned, running off stage once more and producing Tetra. “Hey Tetra… Would you mind assisting me once more?”
“Of course,” Tetra grinned, “It would be my honor to help Kacie out~”
“Great!” From his pocket, Martin produced a handkerchief, very quickly covering Tetra up, eliciting a squeak from her synthesizer. With a puff of air, Martin blew against it, the entire thing collapsing rapidly in his hand, allowing him to pull it off and hold up what had become of Tetra to the audience.
“Wow! Everything’s so big!” Tetra giggled from her position held between Martin’s thumb and index finger. She was only about half a centimeter big now, and despite her much smaller size, her voice was projecting exactly the same.
“Well, thank you for being our new stylus Kacie, and as for everyone else, I hope you’ve had a wonderful season!” Martin smiled, as he addressed the audience, very quickly placing Tetra in place of the stylus on the phonograph, getting the device spinning.
As the device started projecting out some of Kacie’s rave music, the guests were shocked, as ever so slowly, the various bleachers began to lower, the seats transforming into a large, flat expansive plain, absolutely perfect to dance on. The audience cheered, the more exhausted members of the crowd leaving through the golden elevator, while everyone else eagerly made use of the new space to show off their dance moves.
And so, the magicians and assistants danced well into the night, absolutely enjoying Kacie’s wonderful music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
& Question Corner &
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Kacie: “Wow, that was pumping!” -Rei (@@quad2)
Kacie: Kacie giggles a bit at the usage of the word ‘Pumping’, “T-Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it Rei!”
To Paxton: “Hmm, pretty interesting if you ask me.” -Rei (@@quad2)
Paxton: “Thank you, Rei! I’m glad you enjoyed it”
To Drake: “Again thanks. I'll for sure join the after party of course!” -Rei (@@quad2)
Drake: “Hope you had a great time at the after party Rei! Again, I’m so sorry about all that’s happened to you, so I hope that you had an enjoyable time tonight!
To Paxton: “Good job Paxton Brooks, you did so well, and deserve to win it I think, but I'm a little bias Love.
Hugs to you see you at the afterparty.” -James Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)
Paxton: Paxton still is in disbelief, “James~! I- Thank you so much for your constant support! I don’t know if I could have won without you. I mean it. I love you so much! I hope that you’ll be able to come to my shows! I’m sure I can probably convince Martin to do a show in Mageria too!” Paxton blushed, “In any case, I know we’ll see each other again soon James! have a great rest of your break!”
To The Girls: “Excellent performances both of you! I know there can be only one winner, but it was a great show. See you at the afterparty.
Hugs to you both” -Genie Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)
Paxton: “Hey Genie! Thank you so much for the kind words! I still can’t believe I won! It’s like I’ve woken up in a dream! It was really great to see you again at the afterparty, and James,” Paxton blushes slightly, “Anyways, congrats on the engagement! I’m so excited for you two! Be careful not to break Drake now!” Paxton giggles.
Kacie: “Thanks Genie! I’m a little upset that I lost, but the massive amount of requests I’ve gotten have helped was the pain a little bit,” Kacie smiles, “It was great seeing you at the afterparty too! If you’re still around tomorrow, I’m totally down for a bit of a jam session before starting to go through all these offers!”
To Kacie: “A wonderful song girl and a very good performance, you should be proud!” -Genie Schutter (@@James-MacCloude)
Kacie: Kacie smiled, “Oh! I’m very proud. You know, that song came from the heart, so even if it had completely bombed, I would have still been happy with how it came out. I’m just glad I was able to get what’s been on my mind for a while out.
Oh! And before I forget! Congrats girl! I can’t believe Drake asked you to marry him! That’s crazy!"
To Paxton: “Amazing act darling, I love how far you have come.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)
Paxton: Paxton’s still very much overwhelmed, “Thank you Andrea! I couldn’t have won without your support! Really! Thank you soooo much! I’m so glad we got to meet each other! And that performance with Annette, Sable, and Rocky was absolutely amazing! I hope we can work again together one day!”
To Kacie: “What can I say, you maybe should consider getting opera training, your voice is magnificent.” -Andrea (@@Jeaune)
Kacie: Kacie blushed, “T-Thanks Andrea~! That really means a lot coming from you! Thank you so much for all of your support this season! And your performance with Howard’s assistants was great! I’ll definitely need to consider your offer, but I don’t want to spoil Dahlia’s time with you, so don’t feel too bad if I go with someone else! Anyways! Thanks again! I hope you have a ton of luck with your new assistants!”
To Paxton: “Understand that coming from me, this is high praise: I'm not entirely sure what you did.” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)
Paxton: Paxton grinned, “Well, it was just some simple conjuration magic really~… I just conjured up my drawings into a proper coffee shop set and some fake people that I did my best to control. Then of course there’s all the other feats of magic I did, and then revealing that I was actually conjuring up everything from the very beginning. You know, no big deal~” Paxton giggles.
“Thank you so much for the praise though Phian! I’m glad you enjoyed my act! Even if I think I know who you were actually rooting for,” Paxton grinned playfully.
To Kacie: “Great fun, pivoting to beautiful! You pulled out some new tricks I didn't know you had in you!” -Phian (@@vanishedmagician)
Kacie: “Thank you so much Phian! And thanks so much for the offer to be your assistant. It’s going to be so tough to go through all of these! By the way, I thought your outfit looked super adorable on you, although I couldn’t help but think it reminded me of a certain someone,” Kacie blushed, “In any case, thank you so much for all of your support, and hopefully I’ll be able to continue surprising you!”
To Kacie: “Words cannot describe how amazing your performance was! Knowing of the events that transpired back in DC, that scene where Martin and Tetra were literally fighting over you makes a lot more sense to those who’ve heard your life’s story. And like what Andrea said, you should definitely look into getting opera training in your free time. Your voice is amazing! Whatever happens next for you, I wish you the best of luck on the road ahead (pun intended).” -@@Gwiber49
Kacie: Kacie smiles, “I’m glad you enjoyed it! Yeah… I really put a lot of myself into that performance yesterday, in more ways than one,” Kacie laughed, “But I had to be true to my heart, you know? And while it was a little exaggerated, I can’t say I didn’t feel that way at times.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed my singing! I don’t think it’s particularly ‘opera-worthy’, but I definitely am thinking about taking a few singing lessons to get better! Who knows? Maybe I’ll start incorporating my singing into some of my DJing now,” Kacie smiles at the camera, “In any case, thank you so much for your support! Of course, I’ve got a ton of offers to look through now, but hopefully I’ll be able to perform again soon!”
To Paxton: “That was quite an interesting performance. The fact that you were able to create an entire scene from nothing is pretty impressive if I do say so myself. You’ve definitely come a long way from the start of this season. Keep up the good work!” -@@Gwiber49
Paxton: Paxton smiles, “Thank you so much! I definitely feel like I’ve came a long way since I first started. I’ve gone back and looked at my audition video a couple of times on the trip, and I don’t even recognize the girl in that video anymore. I hope that I can continue to impress you as Martin’s assistant! Thank you so much for watching!”