Music of the Night: The Phantom of the Opera Returns (Guile & Melody)

[Saiyan Princess]

"They can't even sing!" Christine put emphasis on 'sing' as she rocked little Jonathan, who only seemed to be getting louder as the duet did. "Why are you going to her? She's an adult, Erik. We have no control over her any longer." Christine pointed out over her son's wails of frustration. "But, if you wish to go, very well." She heard a croaking, dying sound above and her eyes shot open. "What is it now, Carlotta?" Tremaine asked the pig like woman. Carlotta tapped her throat and let out another croak. "What will we do, Papa?" Anastasia looked from him to Carlotta and back again. Madame Giry got an idea, like she did so long ago with Christine. "Catherine Daae could sing it, sir." She chimed in. "The chorus girl? Preposterous! I will not have her replace Carlotta." "I assure you, Monsieur Manager, she is well taught." Alphonse thought this over. " Who is your teacher, Miss?" He felt that he knew the answer. "I-I can't sing the song, sir. I'm sorry." She started backing up.

 

[Guile]

Erik nodded in agreement - the duet sounded horrible with the two of them up there. "I know Catherine is an adult, but I figured that I should make sure she's okay." He flexed his fingers nervously, wondering wether Catherine was up there with those horrific women. Then, he got his answer. As they listened, Madame Giry, bless her heart, stepped in and suggested Catherine sing. Erik listened intently, curious as to how the managers would respond. As expected, Tremaine did not seem all that thrilled. However, what came as a shock to Erik was that Catherine herself was denying to sing it. He was shocked and started speaking out loud, as if Catherine could hear him. "No! What are you saying? You can sing it! You practically warm-up with that song!" Erik was stunned at his own excitement about the situation - here Catherine was, at least becoming a thought in the manager's mind, but she was denying it. Though he wasn't angry or disappointed, Erik couldn't say that he wasn't confused by her actions.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Giry, herself, was confused by this. "Catherine, please calm yourself. I know for a fact that your voice is exquisite for this song especially. I've heard you sing." She hugged Catherine for a second time. "No, I can't do it! I'm scared, Madame!" She was crying for a long time, as Giry pat her head lightly. "I don't want to do this. I can't sing in front of people." Catherine looked left and right at the cast members, who were stunned to silence at Alphonse's decision to allow Catherine to sing. "Ah, but you'll sing for your teacher, my Cathy?" A familiar voice came into focus. "Or me, correct?" Andrew finished off. Catherine stood still for the amount of time that it took her to realize who was speaking. "Andrew!" She tackled him to the wall, almost. "Only if I see you or my parents, dearest love." She answered. "Never for anyone else."

 

[Guile]

Erik stood below still, clenching his fists in nervousness - he didn't know what Catherine would do. All the years and Erik never had any idea that she was afraid to sing in front of people, the news came as a shock to him. However, as he stood there, Erik was brought from his thoughts by a familiar voice. Andrew! Erik felt himself smiling at the young man's voice and he listened closely to what he was saying. It sounded like Catherine was going to accept, just as long as she had either her parents, Andrew, or all three there to sing to. Oh, thank you, my boy! Erik laughed as he thought to himself about Andrew, the kind waiter from the night he had proposed to Christine. Boy, did Erik have much to thank him for. He would have to remember to invite him to watch Catherine with them in box five, providing she accepted Tremaine's offer.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"I'm waiting, girl. Please, we need another singer. We have no one else. Please, Miss Daae." Tremaine was almost begging her to accept this offer. "I-I don't want you to have to cancel, Monsieur, for lack of a cast, therefore, I shall accept your offer." Her face was pale as she stood on shaky legs and almost collapsed under the weight of this new development. Andrew held her shoulders to keep her steady. "Please, calm down." He whispered to her, then, aloud, he added. "She will gladly accept your fine offer, sir." His voice sounded confident and strong compared to Catherine's shortness of breath next to him. "From the top, then, Mademoiselle Daae, please." The manager stepped from the stage. "You better not mess this up for me, you leech." Anastasia hissed. As much as it hurt Andrew to leave his angel there, he stepped down and proceeded with pouring the wine for the cast. Catherine took center stage and watched Andrew as she started off. "Think of me, think of me fondly when we've said goodbye... remember me, once in a while, please, promise me you'll try. When you find that once again you long to take your heart back and be free, if you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me." She smiled as she noticed Andrew overdo it with the wine glass in his hand. He surely felt the red liquid squeezing between his fingers.

 

[Guile]

Erik listened to Catherine sing, ecstatic that she had accepted. As he listened, her voice carried him off to long ago memories - it was amazing how much she sounded like Christine, but at the same time had a beautiful uniqueness about her voice. Erik was drawn to her by the sound and actually started making his way up the stairs. He motioned back to Christine, telling her that he would be right back - he just wanted to see. Giving his love one last smiling glance, he found his way up the stairs and through the dark hallways of the Opera. Catherine's voice just got louder and louder as Erik got closer, making him rush around to box five. He couldn't go near the stage - there were too many people, but surely he could hide in box five. After all, he had done so for many years. He entered the box silently and watched from the shadows as Catherine sang, once again, on stage where she belonged. Erik was so proud in that moment.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

As Catherine continued the piece, Andrew mopped up his mess with a towel. "I don't believe this." Catherine watched him clean up, still hiding her giggle. "We never said our love was evergreen, or as unchanging as the sea. But, if you can still remember, stop and think of me." She had to turn her attention back out to the empty seats. "Think of all the things we've shared and seen. Don't think about the way things might have been. "Think of me, think of me waking, silent and resigned. Imagine me, trying too hard to put you from my mind. Recall those days, look back on all those times.


Think of those things we'll never do." She started dancing around, just like Christine would do when singing.


"There will never be a day


When I won't think of you.


Flowers fade, the fruits of summer fade.


They have their seasons, so do we.


But please promise me that sometimes


You will think of me." She gasped for breath as she finished the song off on that dreaded high note.

 

[Guile]

Erik just barely noticed Andrew watching and listening as he cleaned up his mess. Erik grinned at the boy's infatuation with his daughter. Seeing that Catherine looked just as giddy around Andrew made Erik immensely happy and, at the same time, the feeling was still bittersweet. Focusing back on Catherine's voice, Erik wanted to clap when she had finished the song - hitting that high note beautifully. Even he was breathless, and he hadn't even been the one singing.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"Thank you, Mademoiselle, that was very pleasant. Now, please, you are excused. Rehearsal for..." he sighed, wanting to sound as though he were pleased about his new star. "Rehearsal for your father's play shall begin tomorrow at three. Do not be late, Miss Daae. I would suggest another lesson. I say that with all respect, dear." He took a sip from his glass. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" She curtsied and helped Andrew clean up his mess. "You really should watch what you are doing, eh?" Andrew chuckled. "Well, your voice was so terribly done that I could not focus." Andrew retorted. She frowned and turned on her heel. "Fine," she teased. "If you hate it, you should go." Andrew faked a panic. "No, no, if your daddy finds out about this, he'll have my neck, like Bouquet!" He grinned sadistically. "Good, you will have learned your lesson, then." Catherine pushed him away with a laugh.

 

[Guile]

Erik grinned, very pleased with the way this turned out. He was about to leave when he overheard Catherine and Andrew speaking. To hold back his laughter he had to cover his mouth with one hand. They tease like Christine and I... Erik couldn't help noticing how genuine Catherine's laugh was. She really likes him... Removing his hand, a smile still on his lips, Erik turned and left box five so that Andrew and Catherine didn't have him watching over them, wether they knew it or not. He returned home to Christine. "She's got the part! Catherine's filling in for Carlotta - I'm sure you heard!" Erik was grinning with excitement. "Oh, and her and Andrew are really getting close." He started to tease. "I think our little girl has finally found someone again." Erik silently thanked God for that.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"Bouquet was a foolish man." Catherine smirked. "He should never have been in the rafters alone." Andrew laughed. "Believe it or not, I agree with you, sweetheart." He yanked on her arms and held her close. "Down once more?" He lifted her into his arms. "If we must, my love." Catherine didn't fight. Christine was feeding all four little ones at the time. "What was that? I didn't hear you. You forget that I'm upset with you." Christine teased, her back to the Phantom. "I didn't get my apology for Catherine singing our song." She covered her mouth. "I didn't get my payment."

 

[Guile]

Erik chuckled and shook his head at her tease. "I thought you would understand, my love." He teased her back as he made his way over to her side. "Our music is now our children's music, is it not?" Placing a kiss on her cheek, despite the fact that she was 'upset' with him, Erik smiled at her. "You need to learn to share, Christine. However, I will be happy to pay you back." He paused, crossing his arms across his chest. "What is it you want now?" Erik tried not to laugh.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

With the eldest child huddled in his arms, Andrew took her home. "Hmm, let me think about that, my king of the Opera Popular." She leaned against him. "Should I make you suffer by ignoring you? Or should I leave and never come back? I have plenty of hiding places, dear. You will never find me, unless, of course, you revert back." She winked. "Believe it or not, that man was much more attractive. He was my first kiss. My first time." She winked and hoped that Erik understood what she meant by that. "This is the choice. The point of no return."

 

[Guile]

Erik laughed at Christine's comments. He went around back of her and massaged her shoulders, grinning as he did so. "Ah, I see. So...you want that man back, do you? Well, my dear, I must say I am surprised. I never thought you as the type that liked murderers." He chuckled at his morbid humor, still circling his thumbs against her skin. "However, if you want him back I'm sure I could channel it one way or another. A surefire way to get him back would be to leave and never come back, or ignore me. Both of which you better not do, my sweet Christine. Or, I must warn you, you may get more than you bargained for." He paused for a few seconds to let the tease sink in before continuing. "Why do you want him back anyway? I thought I was just fine for you the way I am now." Chuckling, he added in a whisper. "And each time just keeps getting better and better for me. Why is he any better than I am now? I thought you were enjoying yourself."

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"Murderers?" She asked trying not to collapse as she cooked for the family. "Honestly, I believe Joseph Bouquet was asking for it. It's possible that the man just slipped and fell." She let his thumbs dig into her shoulder blades as she fought to stay standing. He had better not sing, or I will pass out. She thought to herself, though, out loud, she scoffed. "Ooh, I'm so scared." She teased. "The Phantom's big return show. Like I said, I want him back every now and then to toy with him." She considered his other question. "He seemed so devoted to music. I've always had a thing for a man like that. He was so dangerous, therefore, I wanted to prove that he had a heart. I do enjoy you now."

 

[Guile]

"That's so very kind of you to say, dear." Erik responded, teasing sarcastically on the matter of Joseph Bouquet. However, he did not clarify wether the man did indeed just slip and fall or not. Instead, he just kept digging his thumbs into her skin, gently yet firmly, and listened to the rest of her tease. "Oh! Are you no longer afraid of him?" Erik teased back. "Toy with him? How so?" He raised a brow out of curiosity, though she couldn't see it. Then, he let out a laugh again. "Oh, I see! So you're into music men? Well, I still very much love my music, darling." To prove it, he started singing lightly in her ear, trying to hold back his laughter. "Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses..." Erik let his words fade into thin air as he placed a kiss on the back of Christine's neck.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"No, I am not frightened by him any longer, Erik. I know that his weakness is me." Once the Phantom started singing, she cursed herself for saying, in her mind, that she shall faint should he start singing. She felt her knees buckle, but she did not fall. Christine merely let go of everything else, including the ladle that she held in her left hand. God, were the words to this song true! This spell could not be broken with a mere counter curse, for there was none. "Pl-Please stop." She 'begged,' though she did not want him to.

 

[Guile]

Smiling with satisfaction at her reaction, Erik slowly wrapped his arms around Christine from behind. He let his lips rest close to her ear as he denied her plea. "Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor. Grasp it, sense it - tremulous and tender. Turn your face away from the garish light of day. Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light, and listen to the music of the night." Erik continued to hold her close, knowing the effect it was having on his dear Christine. It made him smile, how he could make her feel so weak, but only because this weakness was a special type of weakness. It is a weakness brought on by the power of love, the very moment that you give into it.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

She was so close to really going weak in his arms, but chose to continue the song like she had done before, not singing, but giving in nonetheless. She looked at the light that was the fire torches and candles that lit the room. But, he had ordered her to turn away from the light and she did so. The music surrounding her was causing her to feel light headed.

 

[Guile]

Erik pulled back away from Christine just enough to take her gently by the wrist and turn her toward him as his voice got louder, more intense. "Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams! Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!" Erik waved a hand in front of her face slowly. "Close your eyes, let your spirit start...to soar!" His voice echoed off the walls and left them in a moment of pure silence. "And you'll live...as you've never lived before." There was another pause, and then music again. "Softly, deftly music shall caress you," Erik reached up and tenderly caressed Christine's cheek, "hear it. Feel it secretly possess you. Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind in this darkness, which you know you cannot fight. The darkness of the music of the night."

 

[Saiyan Princess]

As he held her in place, she regained some of her energy. Just enough to stand alone, should he let go. When the shadow of his hand soared past her eyelids, she opened her eyes wide, as though it were an alarm clock. God, this Angel was giving in to the power of the Devil's Child. Her eyelids grew heavier of their own accord until she was ordered to close them and relax her body. Just staying there was enough to make her happy, then his hand skated across her cheek and she found it difficult to stand straight. When the last part that he sang came around, instead of opening her mind, she opened her eyes to watch and see what he did next. Dear, this song is too perfect, my love. I can't move.

 

[Guile]

Erik started up singing again, not missing a beat though he kept his eyes on Christine. "Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world! Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before!" Erik went around behind Christine, a grin on his lips, and placed his hands on her waist. "Let your soul take you where you long to be!" His voice cut off abruptly, letting that last note hang in the air. Erik ran his hands from Christine's waist, up to her shoulders, then down her arms. When he touched her hands, he put his hands in hers and wrapped his arms around her in an embrace. "Only then...can you belong...to me." Erik's voice was as soft and beautiful as a heavenly choir as he sang into her ear and swayed slightly with the music. "Floating, falling, sweet intoxication. Touch me," he sang as he took one of her hands and brought it up to his lips, placing a kiss on it. "Trust me. Savor each sensation. Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in to the power of the music that I write. The power of the music of the night."

 

[Saiyan Princess]

With him all things were possible. Christine felt that now. She wrapped her hands in her hair as 'let your mind start a journey through a strange new world' came around and then leaned back against the man when he wrapped their arms together around her. "I do belong to you. You and only you. Now and forever." She swayed with him tossing her head left and right. Taking control of their arms, she brought his hands down her waist and behind her back, placing them there. "Though, I may stray from you and you may or may not have to retrieve me from other men. Especially at parties. I am a magnet at parties." Her tease was playful.

 

[Guile]

Christine's words sent a beautiful racing sensation through his heart and he felt his pulse rise at her touch. Erik let her control his hands and rest them where she pleased. He chuckled at her tease, loving how she could be so playful at any moment. "Oh, you may or may not, huh? Well, don't fret, my love. I shall always fight for you. I just pity the poor fool that falls in love with you, only to find out later that you're mine." Erik teased - never once believing that he owned her or that she was his - and turned her around gently to face him. He smiled down at her, his eyes shinning with joy at the words she had said earlier about her belonging to him and only him. Placing a beautifully passionate kiss on her lips, Erik found himself longing, once again, for the day that they would be wed and truly belong to each other.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"Well," she kissed him once more. "I pity them as well." She smiled at him again. "Don't let go or I may escape you." She hugged him, then her expression turned serious. "Well, don't leave a beautiful piece of art unfinished." She pleaded, laying her head under his chin. "I will always be yours. Even if I return to Raoul, my heart will have a huge gaping hole in it that pines for my teacher and friend." She whispered. "I've loved you everyday since you first spoke to me through the walls. Cried when you left and wouldn't let you go until you sang me to sleep. I remember placing a kiss on the mirror each night." She whispered into his chest.