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

[Saiyan Princess]

"It was that single night that I slept down there. We were together for that period and there was only the one bed. I never refused him, Raoul. It was before we were married and it was a moment of genuine fragility." Christine explained. "You haven't reached for him since?" He asked as he took this all in. She breathed. "Not once, my dearest."


Something about how the Phantom respected her values and her body was very pleasant in the eyes of the child. She allowed him to caress her hair as she kissed his scar. It didn't bother her in the slightest any more. "I just hope that he has a voice such as yours, Master." She started to feel her eyes get droopy, her stomach growl, and her body start to relax.

 

[Guile]

Unaware of the commotion going on above the two of them, the Phantom picked Catherine up in his arms, realizing she was growing tired. "I hope he does too, child. You deserve to have whatever you want in life. If that's what you want - I hope you find him." He placed her on the bed. "You may sleep here tonight if you wish, Catherine. You look tired. You should rest." He suggested, a smile spreading across his face at how precious the girl looked when she was so tired.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Raoul shot out of the seat and immediately searched for a way to get Catherine back to him. He had to know the truth. He found the open cellar door and climbed down the ladder to touch ground many feet below. Christine followed him, holding his hand. "Don't do anything stupid, Raoul." She begged her husband, who was wielding a dagger. He led her, pulling her in the direction of the student and her teacher. "He won't take her away from me!"


"Where will you sleep, my dear angel of music?" Catherine sat up, not wanting to sleep, for she wouldn't see his face after that. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable tonight." She took his hand gently in hers and held it to her lips.

 

[Guile]

The Phantom smiled at her and with his free hand, caressed the side of her face. "I won't be sleeping tonight, child." He said softly. "I have some thinking to do." He smiled and clarified, "I wish to start writing music again. That will occupy me for the better part of the night. Do not worry, Catherine. I shall be here when you wake." He assured her with his sweet smile once again.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

She leaned her head into his hand and kissed it, praying that he didn't think she was being too forward with him. "Mmmm, thank you, dear one." She laid back just in time for a crashing to sound against the walls on the other side of the gate. "Mama! Papa!" She shot up into a sit again and hung her feet off of the bed.

 

[Guile]

The Phantom was about to leave Catherine to her slumber when he heard the crashing sound. He turned around to go see what it was, but Catherine answered the question for him: It was Raoul and Christine. He went out to face them and, sure enough, there they were - Raoul looking furious, pulling Christine along behind him. He looked at the two of them questioningly, but didn't raise the gate just yet. He didn't like the way Raoul looked, however, he hadn't even taken notice of the dagger he had. "What is it you want?" He asked, not angrily, just...curious. He put his hand over the lever, getting ready to raise the gate once they answered his question.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"You disgusting creature! How dare you steal my wife's innocence from her! She wasn't even married and she was barely of age! Release Catherine De Chagney to me at once!" He held the weapon in front of him. "Raoul!" Christine begged him. "Silence! I've heard enough out of your mouth, Christine!" He spat back.


Catherine started whimpering in fright as she hid under the blankets, praying to God that this was all a dream. "Dear God, please....please, settle this situation. I can't bare to see him harmed!" Her whole body was hidden from the world.

 

[Guile]

The Phantom contemplated raising the gate, ready to fight Raoul, but then he moved his hand away from the lever. "What are you talking about, Vicomte?..." Then his mind wandered back to the memories of long ago. He hadn't forgotten that blissful night he had spent with Christine, it was just that there had been so many bad memories flooding through his mind lately, that one beautiful memory had been pushed to the back of his mind. Now he remembered. "I will not hand Catherine over to you in that state you're in." He ran his eyes disgustedly over the Vicomte. "...you've gone mad..." he whispered almost to himself, then he spoke up again. "She will be free to leave here when she wishes to go. I don't even see what she has to do with anything. You're jealous that I was once with your wife - what does that have to do with Catherine? You have no reason to come down here into my home demanding me to release a child that wishes to be here - and whose mother even knew she was here. It isn't as if she's being held captive." He was about to stop there, but then he remembered he had one last thing to say to the Vicomte. "And don't ever talk to Christine like that again." He said calmly. She may not be my wife, but I'll be damned if you ever speak to her like that again. He thought to himself, anger beginning to fill him.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"It is not your place to tell me how I speak to my wife." Raoul glared at the man. "I was talking about your little rendezvous with Christine almost fifteen years ago!" He folded his arms over his chest, dagger hanging loosely from the right hand, left hand clenched into a fist. "Wh-What?" Catherine sat up immediately. Raoul backed away from the door. "Catherine, I am not your father." Vicomte de Chagney wept uncontrollably. "Papa, what are you saying?" Catherine was so confused. Christine sighed and embraced Raoul. "He isn't your true father." She pointed to the Phantom. "He is."

 

[Guile]

The Phantom's eyes drifted back and forth between Christine and Raoul, to Catherine, back to Raoul. He finally let his eyes rest back on Catherine. He heard Raoul's weeping and, for the first time, felt a small hint of sadness for the Vicomte. However, he didn't have time to think about that. His attention shot back Christine as the word's "he is" came out and he saw her pointing at him. His heart stopped. The world spun. He felt dizzy and he fell to his knees, accidentally pushing the lever and allowing the gate to open. He barely noticed the gate though, inside of him his reality was collapsing. Tears started to flow from his eyes once again. "I-I'm...a father?" He whispered to himself, but he wasn't so sure that no one else could hear him. He was barely aware of their presence.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"You ripped everything from me!" Raoul stood with such speed that it knocked Christine away from him. The daughter was astonished as she processed this. She saw Raoul, who was ready to fight for his family. He charged, not at the Phantom, but at the girl he raised. She let out a scream of terror and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction. Raoul had lost his mind and she couldn't stop it. "RAOUL, STOP IT! PLEASE!" Christine chased after him. Catherine tripped and fell into the water.

 

[Guile]

The Phantom didn't pull himself from his thoughts until he heard screaming. He looked up and saw Raoul - who he assumed would come after him - chasing Catherine. Immediately, the Phantom got up and ran up behind the Vicomte just as Catherine fell in the water. He leaped onto his back and swung his left arm around his neck, trying to choke him, and grabbing the wrist of the hand that held the knife with his free hand, straining to try and pry it from him, but it was a useless effort, especially with one hand.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Hearing the child scream, the Vicomte came back to reality and let the knife go, but not by choice. He was having the life choked from him as his attacker held him by the neck. Catherine stayed on her knees, stunned. Her father had just attacked her! She couldn't move. Why had her lineage mattered so much to Raoul? Why was he so upset when she called him Daddy everyday since she could speak. Raoul stopped squirming and relaxed. Christine was sobbing as she held onto her only child. "This is all my fault!"

 

[Guile]

The Phantom released Raoul from his grasp, bent over, and picked up the knife before Raoul could do so. He backed away, nervously flashing it in front of him - a silent warning to Raoul to stay back, or he would be forced to use it, though his eyes showed that he disliked even having it in his hands. When he was pretty sure the Vicomte wouldn't try anything, the Phantom turned around and went to Christine and Catherine. He bent down and placed his hand on Catherine's shoulder, rubbing her arm comfortingly. "Are you alright?" He asked softly. "Are you hurt at all?" He meant from the fall into the water, but he knew she must be hurt inside. His own face was still tear-stained from this shocking news.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"Just a little bruised, sir." She whimpered to him, in her softest voice ever. "Y-You lied....t-to me..." Raoul spoke softly to his wife. "How can I look you in the eyes? How can I look at her!" he pointed at the quivering girl. Her lip was cut, as were both knees and palms. "You spawned the child of the man that stole you from me!" He still pointed. Christine waited for him to stop before she spoke. "Raoul, I love you and it was before I ever married you. I made my choice, Raoul, in lying down with a man, not a monster. I made the choice in having his baby." She took a deep breath. "But, you and I raised Catherine together. She needs you."

 

[Guile]

The Phantom whispered soft words of reassurance to Catherine to comfort her. He bent his head and whispered in her ear. "It'll be alright, Catherine. I promise." He pulled back and looked her in the eyes, the smile forming on his face telling her that he'd never lie to her. He turned to Raoul and listened to his argument. The Phantom, as much as he hated Raoul, had to admit Christine was right. Catherine needed Raoul - he had raised her along with Christine. At the thought of this, his heart ached and he suddenly realized that he wished it had been him that had raised his daughter, not Raoul. If only he had known before now, when that was still an option. The Phantom glanced over at Christine. He loved her with all of his heart and he certainly didn't want to be the one to try and piece together her relationship with the Vicomte, but again, Catherine needed him. He was doing this for her, not for himself. So, with that thought, he stood and addressed Raoul. "Christine is right, Raoul. As much as I wish I could have been the one that had been there for Catherine as she was growing up...I was not. She needs the man that raised her." He paused, the next words were almost the toughest he'd ever had to force out. "She does need you. Christine needs you too. You cannot blame them for anything." Although, you don't deserve them. He thought to himself, jealousy creeping into his body.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"I don't want you to get hurt, sir." Catherine whispered back to her father, still not addressing him as such for fear of an explosion from Raoul. "Very...very well, Phantom." Raoul retorted, holding his arms out to the females. He knew, as well as you and I do, that this story has a long way to go before the curtains close. Christine stood, holding Catherine behind her, as though protecting the little girl. Catherine, however, had other plans. She embraced her father around the midsection. "Don't let him take me!" She whimpered, lip quivering. She knew that she had to return, but the thought of being separated from her father again was killing her from the inside out. She would have to grow, away from him. She would face Edward, away from him. She would face being a chorus girl, away from him.

 

[Guile]

The Phantom wrapped his arms instinctively around his daughter, forcing himself to hold in his tears this time, though his voice quivered when he spoke softly to her. "He...he isn't going to hurt you, Catherine. I can't keep you here...your mother and Raoul...they have a right to take you from me." The words stung his own heart deeply; he couldn't imagine how much they hurt the child. His voice got softer as he continued. "I don't want you to go either...but I can't keep you from them..." He had to stop. His tears threatened to overflow so he ceased his speaking.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Raoul reached for Catherine first, but Christine stopped him and whispered in his ear. "Let me do this." She reached out and grabbed her daughter's shoulder with a soft grip. The crying child spun around, aching with the thought that this was the last time she would truly ever see him. She did something unexpected. She walked over to the pile of rubble, lifted the mask and brought it back, placing it carefully over his face. "If this is the only way that you feel comfortable seeing me outside of this room, so be it." She pecked his lips as a daughter would and allowed her parents to escort her to the boat again.

 

[Guile]

The Phantom leaned foreword as she approached with his mask, allowing her to put it back on his face. The words she said next made the tears flow down his face, but he said nothing. However, his eyes promised her that he would see her again. Her kiss made him want to keep her there with him even more - the kiss of a daughter. The thought floated around his mind once again: I'm a father... He watched Christine and Raoul take his daughter away from him - mere minutes after he'd found out that he'd had one. His heart ached as he watched them go.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

As night time approached, and the trio settled in at home, Catherine was trying hard to remain the nice, proper young lady she was raised to be. "I am glad that you are well, dearest Catherine." Christine lightened the mood with her voice. The aching question of why the Phantom being her father was such a big secret ate at her insides as she ate her food. "Yes, Mama." She raised the fork to her lips as someone knocked. Raoul smiled. "This should cheer you up, my child." He stepped out of the way to reveal Edward Tremaine. Catherine's heart sank. "I invited him to the masquerade ball as your escort." Catherine smiled a very thin smile. "Okay, Pap- Raoul."

 

[Guile]

After the three of them had left, the Phantom realized he was still holding onto Raoul's dagger. He glared at it, disgusted, then threw it across the room at one of his already broken mirrors. It smacked the shattered glass and clanked onto the floor. The Phantom sighed and ran his hands through his hair, exasperated. He was filled with so many different emotions: The joy of being a father, the agony of having her ripped from him the same night he found out she was his, and the bittersweet memory of Christine's kiss that he remembered from earlier that day. He sat down at his organ to play some music. Perhaps that would take his mind off of all of this for at least a little while.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Christine stepped up to her daughter and held her shoulders, smiling. "I think you'll have fun." The look on Catherine's face said otherwise, so her beautiful mother continued. "Just a few hours, love. I know that you'll learn to love Edward." She released the child, got down on her knees in front of her, and smiled. "Please, I know you're upset, but your...your father will be there as well, I assume. He's got a knack for showing up at parties, uninvited." She let a small blush escape. Catherine felt a little better as she stood along with Christine and curtsied to Edward. "I would be honored to accept your invitation, Monsieur Tremaine."

 

[Guile]

The Phantom had quit his playing and prepared himself for the masquerade that was taking place above. He wasn't in the mood for parties, but perhaps, if he was lucky, Catherine might be there. So, as a doubtful plan to see his daughter again, the Phantom dressed himself in one of his nicer suits and jacket before making his way up into the Opera House.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

As the blue, horse drawn carriage pulled up in front of the Opera House, Catherine's heart was beating rapidly again. She didn't want to go to this party, and especially not with Edward, but, these silly plans were already arranged and she had no choice if she wanted to continue pleasing her stepfather and mother. Edward stepped down first, helped his partner down and wrapped her arm into his as he escorted her inside. This party would be to celebrate their most profitable production ever. "Now, when they ask for the cast to take the lead in dancing, I shall escort you myself. Let me take the lead. Just because you bullied your way into the lead role, doesn't mean that you shall bully me into being your subordinate in a dance." Catherine was disgusted as she waited for the cue.