The night of the show came in the blink of an eye. Everyone seemed to dread it, but if it was to put an end to the nightmare, then they had to stay tough. Trey taps his baton, opening up the music booklet on the stand before him immediately and the orchestra begins to play the sheet music in front of them, the notes as high as they could be.
The chosen actors and dancers scurry onstage for the performance when they heard the music start up. Dressed in tight and dark Spanish-like clothing, they prepared to set the 'plan' in motion. The audience was full to the brim, curtains opened as the small troupe appeared before the viewers' eyes. The color of scarlet danced around from the curtains to the fire pit, as the performers begin to dance around before the wooden set; all sang loud as they carried their cups of gold and food galore.
Here the sire may serve the dam
Here the master takes his meat!
Here the sacrificial lamb
Utters one despairing bleat!
Several of the audience members whisper to one another in confusion and fear at the dark tone this opera had as it was completely different from what the troupe was used to performing. Everywhere, police stand at nearly every entrance as Ashton and Vargas along with Riddle watch the show from their places in the box seats.
Poor young maiden! For the thrill
On your tongue of stolen sweets
You will have to pay the bill
Tangled in the winding sheets!
Vil did his best to keep his pitch and volume of voice down from belting out the notes in his usual cocky and snide way. He grit his teeth as he did so, knowing it was a matter of time before He would be ensnared, so if he had to know his place, he would do it with a smile....a very strained smile.
Serve the meal and serve the maid!
Serve the master so that, when
Tables, plans and maids are laid
Don Juan triumphs once again!
From the backstage curtain, Rebecca enters with a flirty dance, and Rook follows soon after to the main stage. She poses coquettishly for him and he tosses to her a purse in response. Several coins clinked as they landed in her open palm as she catches it and leaves, joining Rose and the other harlots as they dance and run offstage with the others. Rook was dressed in all black, from head to toe. His hair was much longer, dyed black and slicked back, where atop of his head were long elongated horns. But one minuscule detail was what seemed to be black markings at the base of his hairline. Prosthetics dotted his face to give his sharp features like that of a dragon, completely changing his appearance.
Passarino, faithful friend
Once again, recite the plan
Another actor, a lithe young man named Kalim, joined him in the song.
Your young guest believes I'm you
I, the master; you, the man!
When you met, you wore my cloak
She could not have seen your face
She believes she dines with me
In her master's borrowed place!
Swiftly, the two move towards the back curtain as they continue to sing, whilst a few officers in the wings shifted on the balls of their feet but kept a tight hold on their guard for any suspicious activity.
Furtively, we'll scoff and quaff
Stealing what, in truth, is mine
When it's late and modesty
Starts to mellow, with the wine
You come home! I use your voice
Slam the door like crack of doom!
Charlie, now in her costume, watched from the wings as the actors kept singing and dancing, a nervous feeling stirred in her stomach but kept herself strong.
I shall say, "Come, hide with me!
Where, oh, where? Of course—my room!"
Poor thing hasn't got a chance!
Here's my hat, my cloak and sword
Conquest is assured
If I do not forget myself and laugh
Passarino hides in the shadows taking Don Juan's things as Rook laughs as he slips on the black mask to hide himself as he moves behind the curtain. Just as Epel appeared to help him prepare for reentry, unaware of the dark shadow looming over both of them ominously.
With the disappearance of Don Juan, the main star herself appeared, the imaginary flames of the fire pit showing her true beauty. Charlie, now Aminta, walks on stage singing.
No thoughts within her head but thoughts of joy!
No dreams within her heart but dreams of love!
Behind her on the platform, Don Juan returns silently, the cape raised to cover the lower half of his face. No one said a thing until Passarino murmurs,
"Master?"
Passarino, go away!
For the trap is set and waits for its prey.
Moving forward to the edge as the cape his lowered; his eyes lock on Charlie, who sits in front of the fire pit, before the audience looking at a flower in her hands, her back facing him. Her dark hair flowed down her shoulders like a waterfall, leaving them bare and exposed to the cold and warmth simultaneously. He begins his approach.
You have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge.
Her heart stopped.
Her fingers stopped caressing the flower petals.
She knew that voice.
It was HIS voice. The voice she had fought so hard against.....
If she wasn't wearing this damned corset, she'd have thought the breath was stolen from her lungs long ago.
She felt his voice tugging at her, once again, with its influence, forcing her head to slowly turn and look at him, he placing a finger at his lips.
In pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent
Silent
His voice began to steep into her blood and work its inescapable power over her. But she still stood strong, thinking about Riddle and her brother and sister, even when His body moved forcefully and with purpose, strong and virile.
I have brought you
That our passions may fuse and merge
In your mind, you've already succumbed to me
Dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me
Now you are here with me
No second thoughts, you've decided
Decided
Malleus swished back the cape he had with him as Charlie slowly stood, looking at him with wavering eyes, their line of sight never shattering.
Past the point of no return
No backward glances
Our games of make-believe are at an end
The actors watched nervously from the wings, Lilia mutely joining them, as the dancers moved silently behind the main actors. Both pairs of eyes from the main duo remained interlocked with one another as the music played on in a low yet seductive tone. Malleus them moved behind Charlie as he had one arm at her waist and the other under her chin.
Past all thought of "if" or "when"
No use resisting
Abandon thought and let the dream descend
What raging fire shall flood the soul?
What rich desire unlocks its door?
What sweet seduction lies before us?
He let her go as he glided his hands over her arm and grasped her hand in both of his. He released his hold on her hand as she moved a bit further away from him to create distance.
Past the point of no return
The final threshold
What warm unspoken secrets will we learn?
Beyond the point of no return
Charlie's head turned to the audience as she sang, feeling her mind beginning its wandering fight between self control and the Phantom's, a game of tug-of-war....
You have brought me
To that moment when words run dry
To that moment when speech disappears
Into silence
Silence
Riddle watched with laser-focused sight, but as of sensing the air shifting, he sent a quick look to Vargas, who nodded quickly in turn, and left his seat silently, only to reappear with another guard, firearm held up, but will be poised read to fire if commanded.
I have come here
Hardly knowing the reason why
In my mind, I've already imagined
Our bodies entwining
Defenseless and silent
Charlotte's eyes changed as she felt the power she believed to have forgotten began to control her body as she turned to look at Malleus with submissive eyes. Although her heart was loyal to Riddle, her physical form had a mind of its own it seemed....
Now I am here with you
No second thoughts
I've decided
Decided
Together, as one, the two moved towards the spiraling staircases as the dancers flourished and spun like flames. As they moved up each step, the line of sight they shared never wavered or broken.
Past the point of no return
No going back now
Our passion-play has now, at last, begun
Clutching her skirts, Charlie began to ascend the spiral staircase, Malleus following suit. The orchestra seemed to build the dramatic flourishes with notes that filled the hollow halls. Several audience members leaned forward to witness the tension onstage, blissfully unaware of the real truth...
Past all thought of right or wrong
One final question
How long should we two wait, before we're one?
When will the blood begin to race?
The sleeping bud burst into bloom?
When will the flames, at last, consume us?
Before long, the two had reached the bridge stretching over the fire pit as the dancers began to become more vigorous and sharp in their movements. Malleus threw off his cape as he and Charlie began to walk towards one another, their voices intermixed like light and dark, the music crescendos to something more climactic.
Past the point of no return
The final threshold
He spun her around, hands looping at her waist, her back at his chest. As they were together in an embrace that gave them passion and a fiery but indescribable feeling surging between them, it felt like they were the only two people in the world. Not in the Opera, not before a theater of unknown people, nor even before the people who loved or despised them. It was an Angel of Music and a Muse, together alone as one.
The bridge is crossed
So stand and watch it burn
We've passed the point of no return
The music began to grow quiet as not even a breath of air was taken by anyone in the audience or the actors, watching from the wings with captivated gazes. Even Riddle couldn't find it in himself to tear his sight away from the spectacle, but pleaded in the darkest part of his mind for Charlotte to remember what she was to do....if she could....he could sense the pleasure radiating off her as she stood in the arms of the enemy.....
Silently, two guards slipped up into the rafters and standing on either side of the high platform awaited command as the scene was seemingly prolonged.
Charlie's eyes slipped shut and breathed out a quiet sigh, feeling like she was on cloud 9. It was just her and Malleus.....a comfort that she seemed to find solace within like that night all those months ago.....it gave her a cold-like warmth, something different than what she felt when she was around Riddle.....it felt euphoric....
Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime
Lead me, save me from my solitude
Say you want me with you here, beside you
Her eyes opened with wide surprise when she realized what Malleus was beginning to sing...the spell over her seeped away instantly as she felt what he was pleading for her to know. He made her face him as he took his hands into hers with desperation.
Anywhere you go, let me go too
Charlotte, that's all I ask of—
Suddenly, without thinking, Charlie's hand went straight towards the mask and she ripped it clean off Malleus' face, revealing his scales underneath.
The audience was broken from their trance and screamed in horror and disgust at the visage underneath they now bore witness to. Rebecca tried not to pass out at the sight as the people in the wings shouted profane animosity. Trey nearly felt like puking, baton slipping out his grasp; Crewel and Vargas reeled away at the grotesque sight as several guards began to rush to the stage.
Rose quickly catches Rebecca from falling, as he tried his best to soothe her and the other dancers down from the shock. But he'd be lying to himself however to say that he didn't feel surprised at the reveal himself!
Malleus could only look at Charlie with betrayal as she looked back at him with sympathy. But the warmth vanished, his eyes went cold. He saw several of the police force running to the stage. Likely an attempt to capture him, he assumed, but he moved fast; gripping Charlie close to him with one arm, he kicked a lever on the platform, opening a trapdoor beneath their feet, sending them plummeting into the makeshift fire pit, disguised as another trap door that led straight into the catacombs of his lair. The lever in turn began a chain reaction, forcing the set began to fall apart as the wooden frames of the staircases began to fall forward and backward, some catching alight with fire that began to spread to the audience, who ran for safety, causing a mass hysteria to ensue. Trey urged the orchestra to evacuate quickly before they could get hurt from the flames. The main curtain caught alight and the fire spread rapidly up to the proscenium, forcing the actors onstage to run to safety.
Many audience members beelined as fast as they could for the exits, but the hysteria caused many to get shoved to the floor, trip or get stepped on by others, injuring several more in the process. The same was said for the actors as they fled backstage for safety.
Vil, caught in the chaos, stumbled across a gruesome sight and seeing the two faces of the bodies that laid on the floor: bloodied and eyes closed, their limbs flung like they got shot....he screamed inhumanely. He fell before them, a mess of tears and screams as he wept over Rook and Epel, silenced and prone.
Divus and Ashton fled their box seat, knowing they were ruined because of Malleus' actions as the fires began to spread and consume the building. Riddle used one of the side curtains to propel himself down from his box seat to the main floor and ran for the backstage area as the officers began to direct everyone out of the house. Outside, even more chaos ensued as fire trucks arrived on the scene to extinguish the incontrollable fire, garnering many other people and side witnesses to scream and shout seeing smoke spew from the broken windows of the opera house.
"Where did he take her?!" Riddle shouted as he pushed his way through the frantic crew. He bumps into Rebecca, she having ripped off her costume, leaving her in only black pants and boots and a white bishop sleeved blouse.
"He must've gone back to his lair!" Rebecca surmised. "Follow me, Riddle! I know where they are!" She grabs his hands and they began to run down the hallway.
"Let me go with you!" Rose shouts, starting to run with them, but was stopped by Becca.
"No, Rose, no! You gotta stay here and wait for Erica to give orders!" Becca said as she dragged Riddle away, leaving many others to follow after them to find the murderer but Rose held them back before they could get far. This was one fight that only one person had to finish....
'Charlie....wherever you are, PLEASE be strong!' He prayed in his head helplessly while the screams and shrieks from everywhere and nowhere reverberated through the house.