A/N: This story has been a passion project of mine ever since I first saw The Phantom of the Opera over a year ago. The original idea that I brainstormed with a couple of friends who saw the show with me was simply "What if Phantom had Pokémon in it", which eventually became the story that I'm beginning to share with you today. This prologue, of course, is setting up the world more than the story, so it's not very Phantomy - that'll change very quickly. But while I've completed the entire rough draft of the story, the later chapters still need quite a bit of revising, so I'm rolling out the chapters gradually. Without further ado...here's the prologue!
"We finally made it to Nimbasa City, Black," White beamed, "which means…it's time to make the Pokémon Musical a reality!"
She bounced past the couch where Black was still fighting to shake out the last traces of haziness from his brain. "I prepared a surprise for you while you were sleeping," she grinned, gesturing beside her with a flourish. "Ta-da!"
Black's jaw dropped. White's Tepig sat on the side table, but she wasn't wearing her usual pink-striped bow. Instead, she was sporting a decorative yellow ribbon on her head, a small yellow barrette and a red barrette on her ears, a crimson-colored scarf around her neck, and a red parasol that she wrapped her tail around. "Th-that's…" he stuttered, unable to put his disbelief that anyone would make their Pokémon wear such a thing into words.
"Wonderful, right?" White laughed, picking her up and spinning around with her. "Let's make this a success, Gigi!" Black stared dumbly at them – he wasn't used to his boss being this cheerful.
White put Gigi back down and walked over to the window, gesturing for Black to follow. "Come here, look at this!"
Black followed her to the window and gasped, pressing his hands against the glass. Just across the street from the hotel they were staying at was a huge circular building with giant stars and spotlights decorating the dome. Cursive neon letters just above the entrance and just below a giant Poké Ball decoration labeled the building "Musical".
"Do you like it?" White asked. "It was just finished, you know."
"They built it just for this!?" Black exclaimed.
"Sort of. The theater already existed, but the city paid for it to be renovated. And the whole external dome was added, too, to make it visually dissimilar to Big Stadium and Small Court. The mayor of Nimbasa City is really excited for the Pokémon Musical!" White grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the window. "We have to get going – there are lots of preparations that still need to be done before the big opening!"
Black and White quickly got dressed and headed across the street to the Musical Theater. They entered into a foyer that was far more chaotic than either of them were expecting. People were rushing about with props and pamphlets, calling for their assistants or coworkers or manager, complaining about the layout of the theater and how disorganized everything was. No one even noticed White and her employee coming in – except for a young girl with golden hair who was standing in the center of the foyer.
The girl tugged eagerly on the sleeve of the purple-haired woman next to her until she finally turned away from the people she was instructing to look at her. The girl pointed towards the two newcomers, and the woman looked in the direction she was pointing. She gave the girl a few grateful words and hurried over to them.
"Miss White?" the woman asked breathlessly.
"Yes, that's me," White replied. "But–"
"Oh, thank heavens!" She breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so in need of help right now. My name is Iris Giry. You may know my husband, Miles, from the Nimbasa City Council. I have some experience in theatre, so the council appointed me to manage things until you arrived. But as you can see…" She gestured around vaguely. "It's quite hectic this morning, and I'm having trouble managing it all on my own."
"I'm happy to help!" White said with a smile. She glanced at the girl beside Iris. "And who's this?"
"This is my daughter, Yuki," Iris said, squeezing her hand. "She's staying with me until she goes back to school for the fall term."
Yuki straightened up a little, smiling proudly. They made a strange pair; with her pale skin and blonde hair, she looked at first glance to be the polar opposite of her mother. Yet in the shape of her face, the color of her eyes, and the set of her shoulders, she was unmistakably her mother's daughter. She shook White's hand, and then Black's, and returned to her mother's side.
"Now, I'll ask you the same question," Iris said, tilting her head towards Black. "Who's this?"
"This is my employee, Black," White explained.
Black shook Iris's hand. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."
"Ooh, so polite," Iris chuckled. "Always good to see that in a man."
"Now then, shall we get to work?" White asked.
Iris nodded. "I hate to ask this of someone I've just met…but would you mind watching Yuki for me, Mr. Black?" she asked. "We have a lot of work to do, and I could really use someone to help her stay out of everyone's way."
"Sure thing," Black said over Yuki's protests. "I'll see you later, Boss?"
"Yep," she called over her shoulder, already heading away. "Excuse me! Could I have everyone's attention, please…"
White managed to reign everyone into the auditorium, leaving Black and a disgruntled Yuki alone in the foyer. He didn't have much experience babysitting, but he knew that getting to know the kid was always a good place to start. "Hey, Yuki," Black said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, pouting. "Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?"
She quirked her lips, considering his request. "Okay," she finally decided. She took a deep breath and launched into an impromptu speech. "My name is Yuki Giry and I'm ten years old and I go to the Aspertia City Trainer's School and my best friend's name is Whitley Daaé and my partner's name is Wingull and my favorite hobbies are tennis and ballet–"
Black jumped in as soon as Yuki stopped for air. "That's cool, Yuki. Can you show me around this place?"
She brightened even more. "Sure! Follow me!"
Yuki darted away from Black, and he scrambled after her. She led him to a room in the east corner of the lobby. Unlike the reds and pinks that decorated the floor and walls of the lobby, this room was filled with oranges and white – a white tile floor, pale orange walls, and several comfy-looking white couches with patterned orange pillows. There was a table in the center of the room with a bowl of Berries on it, and Yuki swiped one from the bowl before sprinting at and leaping onto one of the couches.
"This is my favorite room," she said through a mouthful of Berry. "They call it the Trainer's Lounge. It'll be a place for Trainers to relax and chat between musicals, I guess. But since it's not open to the public yet, I get it all to myself."
"But I thought this building was only just finished?" Black asked, taking a seat on the edge of the couch.
"The renovations just finished," Yuki corrected him. "This building was a theater before, you know. They held musicals here, too – but those were musicals for people, not Pokémon. My mom was a dance instructor there."
"What happened to it?"
Yuki shrugged. "It closed. My mom lost her job. She hadn't been working until the city council gave her this position. It was always her dream to see the theater open again, but I don't think she imagined it would be like this."
Black furrowed his brow. "What do you mean by that?"
"It's cool that there are performances again, but all the performers are Pokémon," Yuki explained. "There's no singing or dancing. Not for the people, anyways."
"That must be rough," Black said. "I can't imagine what I would do if my dream didn't come true the way I want it to."
"What's your dream, Mr. Black?" Yuki asked.
"My dream is to be the strongest Pokémon Trainer ever," Black declared. "I'm going to get to the Pokémon League and become the Champion!"
"My dream is to become a ballerina," Yuki said, sitting up. "Or maybe a pro tennis player…"
Black grinned and turned to face her. "Well, here's to achieving our dreams!" He held his hand in the air, and she gave him a high five.
A/N: Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. :3