From: RobfromVoid <RobfromVoid@prodigy.net> Subject: [PW!] Real Magic on Cinnabar Island Date: Thursday, November 25, 1999 1:15 AM Sarah Jane, now that she doesn't need her crutches, leads her large group towards the Cinnabar Island Gym. She is holding her baby Nidoran and her tiny newborn Aerodactyl closely to her chest to make sure they don't get lost again. Close behind, Jon is to her left, and Damian Fox is her right hand man. Damian has Drake the Dragonite as his right hand dragon and Bulletproof the Magnemite as his regularly orbiting machine. Runt and Christy, two of the quieter group members, follow quietly, Runt taking notes for when he compiles the group's adventures and Christy soaking in every detail of her surroundings without saying a word. Julia and Purgatory are chatting quietly to themselves. Felix, Kirsty, and Dustin don't seem too excited about heading towards the Cinnabar Gym... especially Felix, who already earned a Volcano Badge quite a while ago... "There it is..." Damian points towards the Cinnabar Island Gym as they approach, "I can't believe we're finally here, Drake!" Drake is surprised that Damian addressed him, hoping that no one has told Damian about his little secret. Drake simply nods. "Hey!" Christy squeals, "What's that noise?" Julia and Purgatory stop talking. Over the roar of a nearby crowd of tourists, the group can hear circus music playing. In fact, the noise seems to be coming from the area where the tourists are gathered. Purgatory notes, "It is the famous siren's song that lures in more tourists than the Pied Piper lures in rats." Julia sweatdrops, "Uh, sounds more like clown music to me..." "A circus!" Runt exclaims, eager to visit the tourist trap, "Let's check it out!" Runt starts running towards the crowd. Felix, Kirsty, and Dustin all look at each other, nod, then follow Runt. Julia and Purgatory shrug and chase after the other four... Sarah Jane calls out, "Hey! There's no time for that! We have to go to the Cinnabar Gym, then Viridian..." Jon places his hand on Sarah Jane's shoulder, which startles the young girl who has just been through a traumatic experience. Despite Sarah Jane's shudder, Jon says, "We can take a quick break... If you really want to, you can go to the Gym, but I think its better that we don't split up. Hey, there might be a Mr. Mime like Shields at the circus! You like Mr. Mime, right?" "Not if the Mr. Mime is being treated cruelly..." Sarah Jane frowns, "Well, okay. I'll go, just to make sure..." Sarah Jane hugs her Nidoran babies and Pteryx closer while she walks towards the crowd that consists of almost every tourist on Cinnabar. Jon, Damian, Drake, and Christy follow Sarah Jane as she heads past all the adults to a place where she can see the action. The action is centered on a stage outside a brightly colored caravan. All sorts of colorful props are scattered about the stage, and a magician wearing a blue tuxedo and a red bow tie paces around the stage, nervous since his audience is so large... "Come one, come all, to the Greatest Show in a Quarter Mile Radius!" The magician calls out, adjusting his collar, "My name is Marvin the Magnificent, and if I don't astound you, I'll give you five times the price you paid to see this show! Don't get too excited, folks, zero times five is still zilch!" When no one laughs and some people groan, Marvin sweatdrops and pulls a black and white magic wand out of his tuxedo's pocket, "Today I will be performing the most dangerous trick ever - if I'm not careful, it might end up being the goriest, bloodiest, most titil..." Marvin stops when he sees ten kids, most of them young kids, standing in the front row. He can't perform that particular illusion with so many kids present, "...uh, change of plan, folks! Kids are present, and because of violence, the rating of this trick is worse than NC17. So forget what I just said!" Purgatory lowers his head, "Curses. I would have enjoyed that." "Instead of that trick, whose name I can't say without the risk of getting sued by overprotective parents, I will... pull a Nidoran out of my hat! Can I borrow someone's Nidoran? You there!" Marvin points at Sarah Jane, who is in the front row. Sarah Jane's eyes go wide and she shakes her head, afraid that Marvin might steal her Pokemon just like Minax did. "Well, okay, I won't force you to do anything. Does anyone else here have a Nidoran?" Marvin shouts to the crowd. No one responds. Marvin scratches his head, "*No one* has a Nidoran?! Well then, it looks like I'll just have to pull something out of my a... ah... amazing hat!" Marvin pulls off his top hat and waves his wand over it. He tosses his wand aside and reaches into the hat! His arm goes in all the way to the elbow, then he rummages around... He ends up pulling out a boot! Marvin sniffs at the old, dirty boot, cringes, and tosses it away, "Ugh, bad memories of my days as an amateur fisherman..." "Show us some real magic!" Dustin shouts, becoming the show's very own heckler, "And get a new writer! Your 'jokes' stink worse than that boot!" Kirsty looks shocked and whispers, "What are you doing?" Dustin chuckles, "Just spicing up the show!" Marvin puts his hat back on, "I'd like to slice someone's something in half right about now... but I won't! This is a kiddie show, after all. I need an assistant..." Marvin scans the front row, looking for a pretty girl. Sarah Jane was reluctant to give him her Nidoran, so he doesn't even bother asking her. He sees Christy and smiles, "You, in the cheerleader outfit, you'd make an awesome magician's assistant! You're very pleasing to the eye among other parts! Come on up and cheer me on!" Christy, always eager to entertain, pulls her pompons out of their hiding place and hops onto the stage, "Hi, everyone! My name is Christy. I'm from Celadon City, and I'm totally ready to rock and roll! Gimme an M!" She hops around while the crowd shouts the letter! "M!" "Gimme an A!" "A!" "Gimme an R!" "R!" "Gimme a V!" "V!" "Gimme an I!" "I!" "Gimme an N!" "N!" "What does that spell?!" "MARVIN!" Christy finishes with a split and shakes her pompons, "Gooo Marvin! YAY!!!" Marvin applauds, "You know Christy, I do my own kind of 'splits', and I think you're..." Marvin glances at the audience, sees Sarah Jane and Damian among other children, and changes the subject, "I now need a vict... a volunteer! Oh, how about... *YOU*, the kid who wants some real magic!" Marvin flashes an angry smile at Dustin, beckoning him to come on stage. Dustin looks to the left and right of him, and Felix and Kirsty step away. He then points at himself and makes faces at Marvin that indicates confusion. Marvin nods. Dustin climbs onto the stage, wondering what the magician has in store for him. "I need you to stand right here." Marvin points to an X drawn on the stage. Dustin steps on the X and smiles nervously. Marvin whispers something to Christy, then they lift a huge purple cloth that has small yellow stars on it off the floor and spread it out. Marvin and Christy show both sides of the plain cloth to the audience, then drape the cloth over Dustin, which covers his entire body. Marvin then yanks the cloth away and Dustin is gone, "I, much like corrupt governments, make my enemies disappear!" Applaud ensues from the audience while Christy cheers halfheartedly. She then asks, "You *will* bring him back, right?" "Of course, but I'll need you to find him for me!" Marvin motions to the caravan, "Bozo, bring the box!" A Mr. Mime emerges from the caravan, hauling a tall purple box with yellow stars on it, large enough for one person to step inside, onto the stage. When the box is in place, Bozo bows, and runs back to the caravan. Marvin explains the function of the box, "This magical box will take you to the place between worlds where the heckler was transported to! Find him and bring him back - if you dare!" Christy curiously approaches the box, opens the door, and examines the inside. It looks like any other interior space. There don't seem to be any trap doors or hidden passageways. She shrugs and steps inside. Marvin slams the door behind her. He waves his hands over the box and whispers some words, then opens the door! Christy has been replaced by Dustin. Dustin walks out of the box and places his hands on his hips, "Marvin! All you did was close the door!" At this point, a body under the limp purple and yellow cloth on the floor stands up. Everyone stares, wondering who is under the now erect cloth. After some struggling, the cloth is tossed aside, revealing Christy, "What happened?!" "Oh my gosh!" Dustin's jaw drops, "You made a clone of me? That's amazing! But Dustin is still missing..." Marvin chuckles, "Dustin isn't missing... He's right here!" Marvin runs up to Christy and grabs her long blonde hair. He yanks it, and a Christy mask is pulled off her face, wig and all, showing that Dustin is actually the one in the yellow cheerleader outfit! The magician then walks up to the Dustin who emerged from the box and pulls his mask off, revealing that he is actually Christy in Dustin's clothing! Christy and Dustin look at each other and shriek. Dustin blinks, "What the heck kind of magic is this?" Marvin smirks, "Real magic." He bows. The crowd cheers, though they're not quite sure what happened, and some toss donations onto the stage. Marvin points back to the caravan while addressing Christy and Dustin, "You can change in there..." While Marvin's assistant and his volunteer go to the caravan's clothing racks to trade clothes, Marvin walks into the audience to shake some hands, "Thank you all for your kind donations! And they say tourists are bad tippers... Prove them wrong, people!" When Christy and Dustin re-join Sarah Jane's group in their proper clothing, just about everyone has questions about the illusion, but both Christy and Dustin are confused about what happened. Marvin goes up to the group and kisses Christy's hand, "You were a lovely assistant!" He then addresses Dustin, "Let this be a lesson to you. Be careful what you wish for!" -Marvin