Turn It Into Magic

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Abi asked Elizabeth via walkie-talkies. They weren't allowed to speak to each other in person before the event began.

"Of course it's a good idea. Why else would we have agreed to it?"

"Because we really have no other choice?"

"...Oh yeah."

Abi wiped her hands on her apron and turned to the man sitting on the counter next to her. He was pouting unhappily, looking disturbingly like a child. With a hand on her hip, the girl scanned him. She was a scientist of an obscene kind and he her sought-after specimen.

"I've got it," she said suddenly, snapping her fingers. She turned back to the kitchen cupboard, picked up a pencil, and began to sketch on a small sheet of paper. "Twiggs, go get Marilyn for me, would you?"

The bassist sighed and slid from the counter. He had no idea what had gotten into Pogo and the girls, but whatever it was, he didn't like it. Especially since he seemed to be the one that was going to be affected by their plan. All he knew was that he had to witness Abigail and Elizabeth arguing over who got the rights to whom, and he seemed to be their biggest subject of debate.

However bothered by it he was, he still continued on to the room he and the singer shared as quickly as he could. He simply wanted to get the ordeal over with.

"Marilyn?" Twiggy called when he entered their room. Marilyn gave a grunt of recognition from his sprawled-out position on the couch. "Abi needs us in the kitchen."

The singer dragged himself up and looked at Twiggy as if he'd just told him he had battled a dragon. "What for?"

"I don't know. I don't really want to know. But I don't want Pogo to come after us if we don't go," Twiggy explained as best he could.

Marilyn deadpanned, staring at the bassist. "Twiggs, you're scaring me."

"Just hush and come along."

As the two men wandered back down to the kitchen, Elizabeth was hunting for Zim. The guitarist seemed to have disappeared somewhere into the depths of the hospital, and everyone else was busy with Pogo's plan.

"John," she sighed, "Have you seen Zimmy anywhere around here lately?"

The blonde looked up from the magazine he was flipping through and shrugged. "Last I checked, he was looking for Pogo."

Elizabeth groaned and turned quickly. Within seconds, she had left the office and was flying down the stairs, as she didn't have the patience to wait for an elevator. She reached the first floor in seconds and found Zim talking to Tim in front of the ballroom.

"Zim!" she snapped. Both men turned their heads to look at her in surprise. Ignoring the bassist, she motioned for Zim to come forward. He glanced at Tim, who gave him a shrug, and walked up to her cautiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked cautiously.

"I've been hunting for you for the past half hour," she hissed unhappily.

"Oh... what do you need?"

"You're coming with me." With that, Elizabeth gripped Zim's arm and began to head for the office with the guitarist in tow.

They were halfway up the stairs when Tim called after them, "Do you guys need me for anything?"

"Nope. Just stand there, Skold," Elizabeth said, emotionless. Then, she began to pull Zim with her up the stairs.

"What are we doing?" he asked.

"I'll tell you when the time comes."

__________

"I don't think this is healthy, Pogo."

"Pff. If it wasn't healthy, they wouldn't sell it."

"Yeah, but..."

"Just hush and let me finish this."

Pogo frowned as he fiddled with the collar he was attaching around Skold's neck. Finally, he attached the thing properly, and with just enough room for the bassist to breathe.

"It's a bit tight, Pogo," he pointed out. Tim tried tugging on the collar, but it wouldn't budge. He couldn't even fit his finger through it.

"'S the way it's supposed to be," the keyboardist shrugged. He then turned to Trent, and, before the singer could object, began to put a collar on him as well.

"What are these even for?" Trent asked as Pogo tightened the strap. He winced, and the strap was loosened.

"They're shock collars."

"WHAT?!" The shriek came from both the men that now had the collars around their neck. Just as soon as they did so, they winced and waited for the impending shock.

Pogo chuckled and stood up from the floor. "They're not gonna shock you for being loud. Scream all you want. All I'll say, is that it's probably not a good idea to go near the ballroom."

"What the hell, Pogo? Why would you do that?" Trent demanded. He, too, jumped up from the floor and followed Pogo as he began to leave. The keyboardist whirled around, a dangerous grin on his face.

"We're busy, Reznor. We do not need you interfering. I'll be leaving now."

With that, the mohawked man left the room that the two men shared and continued down to the ballroom, ignoring the protests that followed him the entire way. Tim and Trent seemed to understand that Pogo was serious, however, and stayed away from the ballroom.

Once he was safely inside the ballroom, Pogo picked up the walkie talkie and turned it on to speak. "Are you two ready?"

"We've been ready, Pogs. What the hell have you been doing?" came Elizabeth's reply.

"I was busy with the shock collars."

"I can't believe you actually used them."

"Go see for yourself. Skold and Trent will probably be in their room. I'd imagine they don't want to take a chance at getting shocked."

"Yeah... I think I'll pass."

"Well, then get your asses down here so we can begin."

__________

"Are you ready?" Pogo looked absolutely ecstatic. He was proudly wearing an excited, childlike grin and stood with his hands pressed together as if he were praying.

Abi looked, confused, at Elizabeth, before turning back to the keyboardist. "Yes...?"

"Alright, let's get started!" He then turned and disappeared into the the depths of the fortress that had been erected throughout the entirety of the ballroom. Abi and Elizabeth exchanged a glance, but decided to follow after him.

"Where's Iggy?" Elizabeth wondered aloud, looking around to find that the girl wasn't there.

"Oh. I have her entertaining Tim and Trent. Wouldn't want them to get too fussy and try something, would we?" Pogo asked with a grin.

"Well... no, I guess not." Abi swatted a blanket out of her path. "Where are we going?"

"So many questions," Pogo sighed disapprovingly. He shook his head like a disapproving mother. "We're going to where the rest of the guys are."

"Ah."

Pogo's grin never left his face. In fact, it began to grow wider with each passing second. By the time they got to the door, it looked as though his mouth wouldn't be able to stretch any wider.

"Now, I'm sure you know what part comes next," he smiled. "The presentation. Abi, would you like to go first?"

"Sure. I chose Twiggy." The bassist walked out as she spoke, looking rather unhappy. He was wearing one of the singer's thongs from the earlier tours and was covered in a suspicious substance. "And he's wearing a decadent, drizzled chocolate."

They followed this pseudo-runway fashion show idea with each of their men. Elizabeth was next, and John stepped out. "Here's John, the first one I chose, and he's wearing a lovely whipped-cream-and-cherry combo.

Next came Marilyn, wearing a pout. Abi said, "This is my special recipe: frosting and sprinkles."

As soon as the singer stepped aside, Zim walked out. He was blushing furiously. Elizabeth grinned. "You see, I thought Zim was delicious without any topping."

"What about you, Pogs?" Twiggy asked, licking a bit of chocolate off of his finger.

"Oh, Ginger," the keyboardist called in a mischievous, sing-song voice. A sigh was heard from behind the door that all the men had entered through, then the drummer entered the room.

A collective gasp fell from the lips of every person in that room, excluding Pogo. No one had had any idea of what the keyboardist had planned, but this went above and beyond all of their expectations.

"My god, Pogo."

The keyboardist snickered. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is Ginger and a personal favorite recipe that I cooked up. As you can plainly see, he's covered from head to toe in lovely candy bondage gear."

"Holy shit." That voice was John's. The guitarist had never seen his lover in such an outfit. "I... I..."

"Pretty mind blowing, isn't it?" Pogo asked. He leaned back, crossed his arms, and looked the drummer over appreciatively.

"I think that's an understatement."

A few seconds of silence passed as everyone looked around them. Never before had they seen one another in such seductive attire. In fact, it was a rare occasion that they even allowed people to dress them up in such clothing - or lack thereof.

"So..." Abi trailed off and cleared her throat as she observed all the attention that one word had earned her after it cut through the silence. "How about that orgy?"