Turn It Into Magic

Abi, Elizabeth, and Iggy sat in a semi-circle of armchairs, sipping their coffee and glaring furiously at the floor several days after Iggy arrived. They were thinking hard and getting nowhere, and that frustrated the trio of them. Portrait of an American Family - which they claimed was their 'thinking music' - was screeching softly in the background, adding more fuel to their fire.

"I guess we'll just have to wait until they come out," Elizabeth said, sounding exhausted. She looked up from the floor to meet the questioning eyes of her friends. "There's no other way. Marilyn is too stubborn to let either himself or Pogo out, and we know that if the motivation is good, Pogo won't even consider coming out until he's done."

"And it sounds like they're not giving in until they get the job done," Iggy interjected.

"Exactly. Which means we're going to have to sit it out until they decide to present us with whatever creation of mass destruction they've managed to create down there," Elizabeth added."

Abi sighed heavily and wearily stared into her coffee cup, thinking over the problem before making her solution. "I guess you're right. Although it does make me nervous to think about what they're doing down there that's so goddamn important they can't just show it to us."

"You think it doesn't make me nervous, too? I can only imagine what they're doing down there," Elizabeth replied, shuddering.

"Don't even remind me."

As if on some unspoken cue, everyone swallowed the last few gulps of their coffee.

"I'm really in the mood for some donuts," Iggy said out of the blue.

"That really does sound amazing," Abi said, a grin suddenly present on her features. "Let's go to the kitchen. I'll bet John bought some the other day when he went out shopping."

"You're right, he probably did," Elizabeth said, setting down her mug. She stood up and looked at everyone else. "Well? Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to come get some donuts?"

__________

As the three girls sat gossiping over their cider and cinnamon sugar donuts at the large dining room table, a door creaked open faintly in the background. Abi briefly stopped telling her story of the time Pogo slipped down the stairs and landed on Tim at the bottom to listen, thinking she heard something odd.

"What is it?" Iggy asked, being the first to notice Abi's inquisitive look.

"It's nothing. Thought I heard something out there, but I guess not," she said, then shrugged. "Anyway, Tim rounded the corner just as Pogo tripped over a misplaced rubber duck. Someone told me later that it was Trent's, but I didn't really believe them."

__________

Pogo listened cautiously to Abi tell her story and tried to focus on the task at hand rather than grimace at the memory the story brought back. Aside from their talking, there were no other sounds. Twiggy had most likely gone off with Zim and Sara Lee, pouting because Marilyn had disappeared for weeks. John and Ginger were probably off enjoying each others company. He didn't even want to think of what Tim and Trent were doing; just the thought gave him shivers. Anyone else who happened to be in the hospital were probably watching TV or wandering around their rooms.

He turned and nodded to Marilyn, who nodded at the men behind him, letting everyone know that the coast was clear. Pogo slipped out of the room, slinking silently to their final destination - the ballroom.

Following closely behind Pogo came Marilyn. The two of them were going to make sure no one was in the ballroom before they began their work. Silently, they peeked through the doorway. It was, thankfully, empty.

Marilyn motioned for the men to continue following them. They followed his orders, stepping carefully so as not to make much noise. In their arms they carried giant slabs of painted wood, making it harder for them not to stomp and complain about lifting the items.

Once they had all set down their wooden slabs, Pogo turned to the men and took control. "We still need the supplies, but those are down in the basement. I'm trusting you to be silent on your way down to get them," he whispered so quietly that even Marilyn had to strain his hears to hear him, and they were standing right next to each other. A few of the closer men nodded and turned around, heading back to the basement while Marilyn and Pogo waited anxiously in the ballroom.

A few silent minutes passed, and then the men began to file back in, although this time they were carrying tool boxes and several other items that the keyboardist began immediately sizing up for their possible use as weaponry.

"You know what to do," Marilyn said to the men quietly. "We need to go get our living utensils from the basement. Don't let anyone in here but us."

"How will we know its you?" a blonde, young-looking man asked.

Marilyn looked at his bandmate before replying. "Pretty much anyone else is going to be loud and pound on the door."

"Gotcha."

With that, the two men slid out of the room, stopping briefly in the doorframe to listen for any noises that might indicate someone spotting them. There were none, aside from the story telling that was going on in the dining room, but it didn't sound like they were going to be done talking any time soon.

Both of them walked quickly, staying on their toes as they slinked into the basement. It was dark and dingy with smoke curling throughout the large room, all acquired recently through Pogo and Marilyn's insistence on little lighting and lots of marijuana.

Once down, they parted ways once more. Pogo grabbed the sleeping supplies, toiletries, and the blueprints to their grand surprise. Marilyn grabbed what little food was left and made a mental note to make Tim get them some more.

"You ready?" Pogo asked quietly, looking at Marilyn out of the corner of his eye as they stood side by side. The singer nodded once, and they began their ascent once again, nearly forgetting to stop and check to make sure it was all clear.

As soon as they were back in the ballroom, the door closed and was soon locked, while Marilyn contacted Tim and let him know that they'd be needing more food and all the keys to the room they were now retreating in.

__________

"Well," Abi sighed, looking at her now-empty mug. "It looks like we drank all the cider. Do you want to clean up and then go try to check out what the guys are doing in the basement?"

"Sounds like a fantastic idea," Elizabeth agreed as she stood up and grabbed the cups from in front of everyone else. "I'll get the cups. Would you two clean up the table?"

"Absolutely," Iggy agreed, pushing back her chair. She began cleaning up the napkins and boxes. Abi decided she should also participate, and grabbed a napkin to wipe down the table.

They finished their tasks quickly, excited to see what progress had been made on being admitted entrance to the basement, if any had been made in the first place. But when they reached the door, they stopped short in surprise; it was open.

"Do you think they came out?" Abi asked quietly, awe-struck.

"I'm not sure," Iggy replied.

"Do you think we should check?"

Elizabeth responded this time. "I'm kind of scared."

"Yeah, me too."

Cautiously, they stepped closer to the door. It's safe to say that all three of them were expecting a trap, even Izzy, who hadn't even been present for a quarter of the crazy antics that the men put on.

Abi was the first one brave enough to poke at the doorframe. There wasn't any firecrackers exploding, any cackling laughter, and no sudden darkness. Meaning there was no trap at that point. Then she cautiously waved her hand in what appeared to be darkness, and much to her surprise, it was. It wasn't just some elaborate poster or painting depicting an open door, it was an open door.

"Weird," Elizabeth breathed, then jumped as she was startled by her own voice.

The trio slowly walked down into the dark, leafy-smelling basement. It occurred to them that there probably was no trap when they safely made it down the creaky wooden steps without coming to any harm, unless you counted Elizabeth tripping and stubbing her toes on the top step.

"They're gone," Iggy whispered incredulously. "And they took everything with them. There's not even a nail left on the floor."

"Damn," Abi muttered, observing the room.

In a sudden fit of rage, Elizabeth growled, "I can't believe them!"

"Where the hell could they go? I'm sure Twiggy would just be a ball of screaming joy if Marilyn came out, but I haven't heard any of that yet. Do you think that they're somewhere else in the hospital now?" Abi wondered aloud.

"You're probably right!" Iggy exclaimed, causing a few odd looks to be shot her way. "Well, think about it. If they made some huge thing, they can't possibly put it together down here - it's too small. They probably built the pieces, took them upstairs, and are putting them together in a bigger room."

Abi and Elizabeth stared, awe-struck, at their new friend. "You have just enlightened us," Elizabeth said, sounding almost in a daze.

"Thank you," Iggy smiled, doing a little curtsy. "The only question now is what room is big enough to hold such a beast?"

Abi and Elizabeth turned to each other, smiled, and nodded once. Then they looked back at Iggy and repeated in unison:

"The ballroom."

__________

A soft knock sounded on the door of the ballroom. All ears strained to that knock, listening for the specific beat that was being played. It was that of the bass line to the Spooky Kids song, Choklit Factory.

"It's Tim," Pogo confirmed with a nod. Marilyn walked over to the door and opened it a crack, knowing that the blonde responded best to his presence.

"I brought the things you need," Tim said quietly, offering up the plastic shopping bags in his hand with an expectant smile. Marilyn snatched them out of his hands and dug through them quickly, making sure there was enough.

He looked back into the room and called,"Pogo," as he held out the bags. The keyboardist retrieved them and walked over to set them up in an elaborate pyramidal shape.

The singer rolled his eyes and turned back to the grinning man in the crack of the doorway. "You brought the keys, right?"

"Oh, yeah!" Tim exclaimed, digging in the pocket of his jeans. He frowned when he came up empty-handed. "Sorry, I know they're in here somewhere."

A movement behind Tim caught the singer's attention. All he seen was a flash of Elizabeth's blonde hair and he grabbed Tim's arm, widened the crack of the door, threw him on the ground, and slammed and locked the door in less time than it took Tim to realize what had just happened.

"What is it?" Pogo asked, looking up from his cross-legged position in front of his canned food pyramid's base.

"The girls are out there. I didn't want to take the chance that they'll shove their way in here and see what we're planning. I also don't really want to pay the hospital bills if they tear Tim to pieces," Marilyn said, motioning to the bassist who was still laying on the floor, dazed.

Within seconds, three sets of hands were pounding on the door and three mouths were demanding entrance into the ballroom, each with different claims on why they should be admitted entrance.

Pogo looked at Marilyn, a serious look on his face. "That's actually kind of scary."

"Tell me about it," Marilyn agreed. "Tim, where are the keys?"

"Oh!" Tim exclaimed, as if just being reminded where he was and what he was doing there. "They're in my pocket, just a second. I got all the skeleton keys I could find, too. Just in case they came up with that idea."

"Good thinking," Marilyn murmured quietly. He was lost in thought, trying to figure out how he could make the girls go away before they broke down the door. He took the keys from Tim's hand in a daze and pocketed them. The blonde turned to Pogo, who had gone back to stacking cans.

"What's he doing?" he asked, motioning to the black haired man's determined thinking face. The keyboardist turned to look at what Tim meant.

"He's plotting. Let's just hope he's not plotting someone's demise, because it takes a whole hell of a lot to stop him," Pogo responded. Then he turned back to making his pyramid, leaving Tim to try to figure out what was going on himself.

__________

Twenty minutes later, the three girls had abandoned their attempt to try and break down the door. Their hands were sore and their throats were screeched raw.

"I guess you were right," Abi sighed to Elizabeth as they sat nursing hot chocolate.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth was truly confused by her friend's statement.

"You said they weren't going to let us figure anything out until they were done. And, of course, you were right," she explained. Elizabeth mouthed 'oh' and nodded, not wanting to strain her voice.

Iggy sighed. "And to think I've only been here a few days."