Love Never Dies: Secrets Revealed (Melody and Taboo)

[Taboo]

Erik sighed, not leaving the railing or looking away from the ocean. "You can't avoid me forever." He said in a casual tone. "Running away from your problems never works." He said before remembering what he had done and sighed again. "If you do, you will regret it later in your life." He turned his head towards her so he could at least see her in his peripheral vision.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"Well, what is it that you wish for me to say?" She was now facing him. "I'm sorry for doing all that I have been asked to do for you?" She walked toward him. "Is that what you want?" Meg groaned. "I'm sorry for what I did, or tried to do."

 

[Taboo]

"I never forced you to do anything." He said, pressing his lips together in slight frustration. "It was your choice to try and help me." He turned around to face her, his expression staying mostly blank until he remembered something he wanted to bring up. "My question is, how do you figure that you love me?" He began, his voice firm as he took a step forward. "You know nothing about me, nor do you understand my life in any way."

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Meg didn't know how to answer, nor did she want to. "I know how it feels to be alone and watching the person that you love loving another." Meg had said enough. "Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you anymore. Let me enjoy some time alone before I'm forced to stay in the dark with you forever." She could already see the island.

 

[Taboo]

Erik huffed, greatly annoyed by having to deal with such an emotional girl. "You can do as you please when we reach the island," he began, his eyes glaring at her. "Whether you leave or stay is your choice. However, you cannot put any blame to me on how your choice turns out." He sneered before turning away and going back to the room he had left.


"Why must women be so difficult?" Erik asked himself in exasperation. After all, he had only gone out to comfort her and it was she who made it more difficult than it needed to be. What had he done that made her so distressed?

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Hours pass, and the captain comes out and says that they have finally reached Coney Island. "Thank you for taking this lovely trip with our lovely crew. Please, exit and have a good stay on Coney Island. Your luggage is being unloaded as we speak." He smiled and walked off. The Girys quickly found Erik. "Are you ready to go? Our friends are waiting." Madame Giry took his hand. "Don't worry. Things will get much better soon." Now pulling her daughter and friend off of the boat, the old woman searched for their luggage.

 

[Taboo]

"Friends?" asked Erik, who was greatly confused by sudden departure from the boat. He stood in awe on the banks of Coney Island, taking in the sights. He could see circus', fairs and carnivals, all of the things where he spent a good majority of his younger days. "Madame Giry, I have an idea," he began as he gazed at the beautiful sights. "We must visit a few of these circus'."

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"Are you sure that you want to do this, Erik?" Meg chimed in. "Considering what I've heard about your past, this doesn't sound like the best idea." She looked at her mother, who shook her head. "Child, that's nonsense." Madame Giry followed Erik toward the circus. "What did you plan to do at the circus, anyway?"

 

[Taboo]

Erik nodded decisively, "I have a plan." Whereas the Giry's didn't understand his strange behavior, inside Erik's head it all made sense. He had spent a good majority of his life, being displayed as a sort of monster prodigy and felt he should begin his own little carnival of human oddities. Except Erik had an idea of trying to show the world a hidden beauty in them, rather than making fun at them like they had done to him.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

The two women followed him toward town, where there was a whole bunch of circus acts and such going on. But, one was not doing so good. It looked as if the place was going to shut down. "That's sad, Erik. I don't like this at all." Meg complained again. "Please, can we just hurry?"

 

[Taboo]

Erik lead them all from circus to circus, each one seeming to peek his interest more and more. Such excitement from a man who looked rather respectable (if you ignored the queer mask he wore) confused more than a few other spectators. "But this is just the place we need to be," he said distractedly as he went inside the drab tent. "Why on earth would we hurry?"


Inside it just so happened to be a freak show. It had all sorts of human oddities that made Erik's idea fall perfectly into place. He stopped one of the staff members who happened to be passing by. "Excuse me, monsieur. Could you take me to the owner of this particular show?" The man protested for a moment, but Erik's convincing finally made the man start to lead them all behind the scenes.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Meg groaned. "I've yet to see the point in this." It was then that the three friends in white makeup appeared. "What's going on here? I thought I said no one is to come back here." The tall one complained. Madame Giry cleared her throat. "Sirs, and miss." She added, noticing that the shortest of the three was female. "We've come seeking work." The fat one looked them over. "Well, our manager is quite old. He's thinking of retirement."

 

[Taboo]

Erik looked at the three with a serious expression. "May I speak to the owner of the show about hiring these people?" He asked quietly. "We come from Paris and I have an idea that would put this place to good and make it better than ever other show here."


The short female looked Erik up and down, examining his mask for only a second. "I'm Fleck," she said finally. "These two are Gangle and Squelch." She pointed first to the tall, skinny one and next to the bigger man. "Our manager is this way, follow us." Hey walked in a single file line, to lead Erik's group farther behind the scenes.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Meg clung to her mother, as if she were frightened of the whole situation. "Mother, I don't know that we should trust them." Meg quivered as she followed, noticing that they were being stared at by other workers. "Would you relax, Meg? Please, they're just going to show us to the manager. Just let Erik handle them." She hurried to catch up. "Erik, I hope you know what you are doing." Squelch chortled. "Why so nervous?" Meg groaned. "Because we're new, that's why." Squelch threw up his in defeat. "Don't shoot."

 

[Taboo]

"Meg, relax. I don't understand what you're so afraid of," Erik chortled. He had grown up in places like this, and definitely knew what he was doing. Of course, it had been many years, but if there was any trouble, Erik could handle it with ease. A couple of the older workers stared at Erik's mask, feeling as if they had seen something like it before, and then they would stare at the two women following him. Where are these people from? Paris? What could these two Parisian women be doing here and why did the Parisian man look so comfortable in such a setting? The workers whispered among themselves as they stared until Fleck turned back towards them and waved her hands to shoo them away. "Leave us be! This doesn't concern you."

 

[Saiyan Princess]

They all had the same reaction as Squelch, throwing up their hands as if telling her not to shoot as they went back to work. Meg grumbled as they finally reached the manager's office. Everything about this room screamed that it was not maintained very often. "Hello, Monsieur." Madame Giry finally spoke up, revealing a thin smile. "We're immigrants from Paris, France." She held Meg's hand, as if assuring her that things would be alright. "We've come seeking work." Madame Giry always felt the need to take charge, though Erik had told them that he would do all the talking.

 

[Taboo]

Erik shot a glance at Madame Giry that clearly said to stop talking before looking at the old manager with a smile. "Monsieur," he took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk, "I am Mister Y and I heard that you might be retiring soon?" He asked pleasantly. The manager only nodded, squinting his eyes as he tried to read Erik's. "For now, I only seek work and perhaps a place to rest my head until I find a home for my friends and I. But, Monsieur, I have an idea to turn this little tent into the best park on Coney Island." Erik's voice stayed quiet enough so that others outside couldn't hear, but it seemed to resonate triumphantly inside. "What do you say Monsieur? If you retire and let me buy this tent, I shall also give you a small piece of its earnings once it's in business." He said, lowering his voice as he tried to make the deal.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

The old man pondered this deal. "For fifty eight years I have owned this attraction, Mister Y." He croaked. "These are good people with good hearts that need someone to look after them when I'm gone." He raised a withered hand to Erik for him to shake. "Promise that I will receive my dues and my family will enjoy the rest of their lives under your care and I will gladly accept your offer." He gave Erik a toothless smile. "Bless you, Mister Y."

 

[Taboo]

The corners of Erik's lips curled into a small smile, he hadn't expected it to be so easy. He shook the man's hand with a tight grip, "You have my word, Monsieur." He sat back in the chair, relaxing slightly. "Would you like to hear what I have planned?" He asked, thinking it would please the man to hear the future of the attraction. "Of course, before it gets to its full glory, I'll have to make it just a little bigger." He said more quietly s he thought out the plan more.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

The ancient man gave a small nod of the head. "Very well, tell me." He ordered Erik with a kind, soft smile. "I would be delighted to know what you will be teaching my family." He waved the two women into chairs for themselves. "I promise I don't bite, Ladies." He chuckled as the mother and daughter sat to listen to Erik's ideas.

 

[Taboo]

"For years and years, people have come to freak shows to laugh and gawk at human oddities," Erik began, sitting back leisurely as he spoke. "I myself was included in these shows as a 'Devil's Child' or 'Monster Prodigy' for my own disfigurement," he gestured to the mask. "But I want this to become a show with them that will show the world the beauty underneath the hideousness. Show the world that if you look past these disfigurements and oddities, there is a beauty behind it." He took a breath, relaxing after such excitement. "Of course there will be other shows in it as well until we can get the human oddities show in order. I can write up some music shows and perhaps we'll have acrobatics and what not." He waved his hand, clearly showing this would be the minor part of the attraction. "It is going to be a long time until we can open, however. There is work that needs to be done to renovate this little attraction into something that everyone will flock to." He said smiling as he thought of is own amusement park.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"That is just fine, Monsieur. I am delighted to turn my family over to you." The man wheezed. "You will have the best business ever." His smile widened, there was a twinkle in his eye. "I expect nothing but the best work from someone who has lived the same way for some time." Ten years pass, and Christine has long since given birth to a single child, but, this child had a secret identity that not even he knew of. Christine has kept this terrible secret from her own blood, and her own husband. "Do we really have to go to America, Raoul? Why can't Hammerstein finish his business with us in Paris? Why Coney Island?"

 

[Taboo]

"Christine, you know as well as I do that we need this money!" Raoul said, taking a drink of scotch from his glass, clearly trying to hold down his anger. He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "I don't see what is so difficult about doing this. It's not as if we won't come back." He said, snapping his fingers at one of the servants to keep packing the luggage.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Christine shook her lovely brown curls. "It's nothing. Just forget I've said anything." She hated the fact that her dearest Raoul had changed dramatically these past ten years. He wasn't the same man. As she watched the servants carry the luggage out to the carriage, that would then take them to a ship to America, she couldn't even smile. "Raoul, I just pray that you know what it is you are doing." She helped a young boy with his hair. "Gustav, you've got the best hair that I've ever seen." She kissed his head as she got into their carriage.

 

[Taboo]

This day just so happened to be the grand debut for a new attraction on Coney Island. All the locals had seen the construction going up for years, and finally, Mister Y's Phantasma was opening. No one had a clue about what would even be in the place, all they knew was that it had taken the place of an old, unsuccessful freak show. That, and that it was a foreign man who had bought it, a man that no one had ever seen.


It was before the show, Erik sat in his large office and room, in front of his organ. He had been working at a piece of music for years, but for some reason he couldn't bring the celestial music in his head to justice like he used to. Crumpling up the sheet music he had just written, he threw it away in despair. "Ten long years, living a mere facade of life. Ten long years, wasting my time on smoke and noise." He paced his office, unable to focus on his music. "In my mind, I hear melodies pure and unearthly, but I find I can't give them a voice, without you." He turned to face a large portrait that he had made, of Christine. It looked exactly like her, and with certain techniques he had managed to make it so she looked like she was alive, and she could even move. "My Christine, my Christine, lost and gone..." He repeated these words, falling back into his seat, overwhelmed with his distress.


"The day starts, the day ends. Time crawls by." Erik sang quietly, his voice sorrowful and yearning, but still the most beautiful voice that was ever heard. "Night steals in, pacing the floor. The moments creep, yet I can't bear to sleep . . . 'Til I hear you sing . . . And weeks pass, and months pass, seasons fly. Still you don't walk through the door. And in our haze, I count the silent days, 'til I hear you sing once more." He turned about in his room, swearing he could see Christine's shadow and trying to catch hold of her, then remembering that she was gone. "And sometimes, at nighttime, I dream that you are there, but wake holding nothing but the cold night air . . . And years come, and years go, time runs dry. Still I ache, down to the core. My broken soul, can't be alive and whole, 'til I hear you sing once more." He put his head in his hands, a tear or two escaping as he let out his pain and anguish. "And music, your music, it teases at my ear. I turn and it fades away, and you're not here. Let hopes pass, let dreams pass, let them die! Without you, what are they for? I'll always feel no more than halfway real, 'til I hear you sing once more!"