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// Welcome to the Show 
// Story: Norm, Genie of The Dazzlings 
// by Aku 
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"So, do we have unlimited wishes now?" Sonata asked the genie sitting next to her. There had been a loud gong and a bit of smoke, but there didn't seem to be any change to, well, anything.

"Yes ma'am. You, and your friends, now have all the wishes you could ever use." Norm replied with a smile.

Sonata's face lit up in excitement, "Then I wish for. . .!" 

"Ah bup bup bup!" Norm cut the excited teen off, placing a finger over her mouth. "Let me stop you right there. It's not your turn yet." He removed his finger, and casually floated to a recliner that had magically appeared in front of the sofa the three girls were resting on. "It's hers." He said, pointing at Adagio.

Sonata adopted a confused expression, "We're taking turns?"

"Of course we're taking turns!" Norm exclaimed, "How else did you expect this to work? You would all just shout out whatever wish you wanted whenever?" The girls couldn't help but nod.

"Isn't that how it works though? We wish, you grant." Adagio questioned, raising a brow. 

"One on one? Sure. But as a group? There's when it gets a little tricky." Norm gonged up a slide show, showing Adagio holding the lamp. "See, when a human touches the lamp, they set a sort of 'claim' on the genie, insuring that, once rubbed, the genie will listen to that human and only that human." The slide changed to show the three touching the lamp. "However, when a group touches the lamp simultaneously, the magic of the lamp takes a look at the character and attributes of the humans," The slide changed to show green magic surrounding the three, "And decides how they stand amongst the others." The slide changed to show Adagio standing proud while the other two sulked. "And the human that stands out as being more dominant gets first dibs, while the more subservient one or ones are decided by whose more dominant amongst them, repeating the process as needed." 

As Norm explained he inwardly laughed. He may have felt bad for the girls enough to resist twisting their wish against them, honestly there were at least five ways he could have twisted that infinite wishes wish against them, and give them free stuff, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to not mess with them a little. And making up some bogus rule to help regulate their wishes was the perfect way to do it. 

Adagio couldn't help but ask, "And who came up with this system?"

Norm shrugged as the slide show disappeared, "Beats me. All I know is right now, you're in charge. I, uh, took the liberty to adjust the amount of wishes you got until you have to pass the ball to four."

"Why four?" Twin tails asked in what Norm was coming to believe was her default sarcastic manner.

"Because I like to take it one step further. And I never really liked three, guess that's what happens when after the third wish you get forcible sucked into a tiny portable prison for fifty thousand years." Norm frowned, crossing his arms. "Got a problem with it?"

"No, no, no! Four is good!" Adagio assured quickly, sending a threatening look at Purple, "Right, Aria?"

Aria rolled her eye's, "Yeah, it's fine. I was just asking a question, it just seems odd to throw out four like that. Just seems a little random."

Adagio nodded, "Yeah, it does, but I don't think we should question the methods of an all powerful genie."

"Weren't you just doing that?" Sonata asked confused, her head tilted slightly to the side.

"No I was just . . . that is to say . . ." Adagio struggled to find the right words, growing ever more frustrated as she tried and failed to come up with a proper response. Slumping over in defeat, Adagio muttered, "Just shut up Sonata."

Chuckling, Norm leaned back in his recliner gonging up another glass of water. "Hey, don't worry about it kid. I don't mind a few questions, hell, it's refreshing to have a couple masters who know how to actually use that piece of meat between their ears. You'd be amazed at the amount of people who find my lamp and don't even take a minute before they're already on their second wish."  By smoof, I think the only masters I've ever really talked to are Turner and Crocker, and look how that turned out. The genie bitterly thought. "It's actually real nice to get a decent conversation in." The genie laughed, "And I'm betting we'll get to talk a lot more since you guy's got infinite wishes."

Adagio gained a thoughtful look at Norm's last words, something about them tickling at a half-thought thought. Something about what they had been talking about and the fact they had infinite wishes tied together. Wait. "Hold on a minute." Sonata, Norm and Aria, looked over at the leader of the trio. "How do we have infinite wishes?"

"Wow Adagio, just, wow. I would expect Sonata to ask something that stupid," Aria said, ignoring Sonata's shout of indignation, "But from you? Sonata wished for them, like, five minutes ago." She smirked, "Maybe you shouldn't be in charge if you can't even remember something that happened a few minutes ago."

Adagio let out a small growl, before leaning over and socking the purple girl in the shoulder, "That's not what I meant, I meant how were we able to get infinite wishes when I didn't wish for them? I mean, he said it was my turn so only I should be able to make wishes, but somehow Sonata was able to wish for them."

Aria blinked. 

Sonata blinked.

Norm let out a laugh. The three on the couch looked over at the laughing genie.

"What's so funny?" Sonata asked, nervously laughing a little. 

"Isn't it obvious?" Norm asked, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, moving his sunglasses back in place. Adagio and Aria shook their heads, wiping their over-sized hair back and forth, unintentionally assaulting Sonata who was sitting between them. "No? The reason lil' blue there got her wish first is because it was her turn!" 

There was a brief moment of silence in which Aria and Adagio just stared at the genie in stunned disbelief, while Sonata just sat there with an enormous smile, before the other two exploded in a furry of denial, anger and confusion. The two girls, one used to being in charge and the other used to being able to at least push Sonata around, turned on the genie, demanding an explanation, crying foul, and even issued threats of violence, making their opinion of the matter clear. Turns out Adagio wasn't a fan of not being in charge, and Aria didn't think much of being at the bottom of their social totem pole. Sonata, on the other hand, had taken to hopping around excitedly in the background, shouting about how she was now in charge. This had the unfortunate side affect of drawing Adagio's and Aria's attention.

After a quick little scuffle, that required Norm to repair their clothing after, and a good deal of lying from Norm, Adagio and Aria were satisfied that their positions were not in danger. Sonata, sporting a few new scratches and bruises, still had a small smile on her face, though she had  learned to not boast about her apparent 'position'.

"So now that that's out of the way," Norm began, applying the last bandage to Adagio's arm, "What are you going to wish for first, oh righteous leader?" Norm smirked at the look of irritation shot his way. "My suggestion? A decent place to live. No offense, but this place is a dump." He took a quick look around the room, noting the mold in the corners, hole in the ceiling and ratty beds in the corners. "But I'm sure you have some fond memories here, or something."

Adagio sent the genie a dirty look, "You know it's not like we exactly wanted to stay here, but we don't have any where else."

"Well now you got yourself an genie to take care of all of life's problems, so wish away."

"And what are we suppose to tell anyone that asks how a dumpy little hovel that's collapsing in on itself turned into an actual house in a matter of seconds?" Adagio questioned with a raised brow. "I've seen the movies, if I wish for a nice house, someone will inevitable question it and we'll lose it or be arrested for squatting in it." She took a look around, "Not that we're no squatting already. But no one's questioning us for now."

Norm rubbed his temple. "Jeez kid, your not going to make this easy are you? Alright, normally I don't do this, but if I'm going to be stuck with you lot I suppose I can help you out, at least so I don't have to look at this dump every time I get called out to grant your wishes. Now, repeat after me."

"Alright."

"I wish that this house was as good as new, with a bedroom for all of us with new clothes" the genie began, with the teen dutifully repeating, though with a bit of trepidation. "And that no one will question it, and that all the rooms were filled with new furniture." Adagio, finished repeating Norm, a bit happier after the full wish was made, not noticing any tricks in the wish. "Alright now kidies, prepare yourselves for a brand new house!" 

Gong!

For Aria, Sonata and Adagio, the experience was very disorienting, and if they had not been sitting on the couch, which was now sitting on grey carpet, they most likely would have fell from the dizzying colors spreading through the house. The walls shifted through colors, reversing through the stages of decay and years of paint jobs. Fallen bits of wood flew back into the wholes in the wall and ceiling, mold retreated and the general dirtiness receded. All the wear and tear the house had gone through was reversing at an extremely accelerated rate, and when it was finished, the house was exactly as it was when it was new, plain white walls and all.

Norm looked around with a satisfied smirk, sure he could have done it instantly, but there was something about forcibly rewinding the effects of time on something that just seemed oh so much more satisfying. "Well, time for part two."

Gong!

In a series of puffs of smoke, the room was suddenly filled with furniture. A coffee table appeared in front of the sofa, complete with some coffee that the girls drunk greedily, a T.V appeared on the wall, with a blue-ray player beneath it on a small table. A previously empty corner soon found itself inhabited by a d.v.d rack, while various paintings soon hung from the walls. The dinning room, which was only discernible by a sudden shift from carpet to hard wood, had a modest table taking up the center of the room with four chairs around it. Throughout the house, furniture and decoration popped into existence, all fresh and new.

Norm was even kind enough to fill the pantries, though that was mostly because he didn't want to be stuck with a bunch of food wishes.

"And there you go, one fully stocked house that no one will question." Norm floated tall, rather proud of himself.

Adagio looked around, eyeing the newly remade house with a contemplative look. "I think," she began slowly, Sonata taking off to check out the house, dragging Aria with her, "That you are right."

"Oh, about what?"

"That this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Tell me, what are your thoughts on revenge?" Adagio looked at the genie with a certain glint in her eye's that Norm knew all to well.

Norm smirked, "Who and why?"

Adagio smiled, and went to reply, when a crash came from the kitchen, "What did those idiots do now?" The teen stomped off to investigate, leaving the genie to float in the living room.

"Well," He smiled and sat in his recliner, kicking his tail up as shouts came from the kitchen, "At least I won't get bored." Another loud bang came from the kitchen. "I wonder if she'll take the Mars option?"