Archive of Our Own ^beta

Just another night of Artful performing.

Rays of moonlight pours down the wooden board below. Artful stood there, in the middle of the stage, tall and proud, as the audience watches his every move in amusement. This won't go wrong, surely.

... Will it?

An orange dummy who went by "Cottomon" sat behind the stage, holding a gun of some sorts, waiting for a good time to act. They've been wanting to do this since forever, there's NO way it's missing this golden opportunity.

Artful removed his hat and swung his wand, conjuring a white pigeon. He then held the pigeon up and placed his hat back to where it was, as the bird flaps its wings and takes off, white feathers gracefully falling down behind it. The crowd gasped in amaze as the magician prepares for his next--and last trick for the show.

"Go Artful go!!" Lizzy squealed, jumping up and down in joy. Even though this is like, the twentieth time that he performed this single trick, she never got bored of it--or any of Artful's tricks in general.

"Tous les yeux rivés sur moi, as this will be a SPECIAL special trick! Now who would be volunteering for-" Before Artful could even finish his sentence, Lizzy came in, enthusiastically raising her hand and jumping up and down. The kids behind screamed as well, screaming things like "Choose me Mr. Artful!!!" or "I'll do it!!!!", trying to grab the magician's attention.

"YOU, madam. Come up stage." Artful pointed his wand at his number 1 fan, gesturing her to come up. Lizzy gasped and immediately ran next to the magician, squealing and cheering. This is what she's been waiting for.

Before the magician could act, Cottomon IMMEDIATELY jumps up and shoots a laser beam in Artful's direction, then fell down on the soft grass again.

The crowd's smiles faded as Artful stood there, confused. The beam ends up hitting his back, before smoke surrounds the whole place. Lizzy couldn't see anything but she felt like something soft and fuzzy was on her foot. The smoke slowly fades away, revealing something that no one in the audience expected: an Artful-shaped plushie in place of him.

The magician's number one fan slowly picked up the plushie, confused. Is this the special trick he's talking about? Before Lizzy could do anything, the same orange dummy ran up stage and took the plush, showing it to the audience.

"Hello everyone! I am Cottomon and this is THE Artful plushie! After a particular performance go wrong, Artful turned himself into a marketable plushie! Oh noes!" Cottomon said, still showing the plush around to make sure everyone gets a good look at it. "Now's your only chance to get your own plush of your beloved magician at MY workshop near the area!! Invite him to meet your own plushies back in your own home, or shave him, or stick him onto the wall, or rip all his limbs off and stab him with a bunch of needles! ... Just don't throw bananas at him though. Any other questions?"

"I- Where's Artful? Like, the real one?" Lizzy points at the plush on the dummy's arms, looking around the stage.

"... About that... I- uh- he's in this plush. But don't worry, he'll turn normal any time soon." Cottomon threw the plush into the air as it explodes into smoke and confetti. Artful appeared in the middle of the smoke as he fell flat on the wooden stage. The crowd stood there for a long while before breaking into laughter (the good kind) and joy. Applauses filled the air as the magician stood up, still confused as ever. Lizzy stood besides him, clapping as well.

"That was a great trick!!" a child shouted.

"Yeah!! It was absolutely amazing!!" another child followed.

"Wh-what are you talking about?? I haven't even done the trick yet!!" Artful shouted, confused. Cottomon pressed his shoulder, laughing, "At least they're enjoying your show. Better than getting boo'ed off stage then becoming a criminal on the run." (ooooo subtle foreshadowing ooooo)

"What does that even mean??" The magician glanced down at the dummy, then back to the happy audience, eventually playing along. "Anyway, after whatever that was, this is the end of today's show. J'espère que tout le monde a apprécié, and see you again next time."

"And again, THE Artful plushie will be at my workshop near the area, remember to check it out!"

"The what plushie now."