Okay, so I decided to start another story. I've always wanted to do and ErikMeg fic. This first chapter is really short, a tester, mostly, to see how you all respond. If I get at least five reviews, I will continue. Otherwise, I'm not going to waste my time. So, read and review, people. I don't own any of the characters, etc. Just read.

Dubious Beginnings

Fire, everywhere, all around; flames were burning away the memory of the splendid Opera House and raging through the minds of the mob that followed a small blond ballerina into the depths that harbored the arsonist, the Phantom of the Opera.

Christine, where is Christine? Meg had wondered frantically as she waded through water waist high, into the lair that most had known existed, but had never seen. The soprano the girl was seeking was nowhere in sight, and Meg assumed that she had either fled with Raoul or had been taken by the Phantom. Either way, I have to know, the girl thought. The two had been best friends for many years, and Meg was not willing to let her go without a fight. Seeing no way to find Christine if she was with Raoul and had left already, Meg had decided to plunge further into the labyrinth to find he whom everyone hated and feared above all others, to discover Christine's fate.

Meg had reached the lair minutes before the rest of the murderous throng had, so she searched, quickly, for some sign of which way the Phantom had run. Pulling back a curtain, she found a room hidden from the rest of the chamber. On one of the dressers, a white mask lay gleaming in the lamp-light. She picked it up and galred at it, and almost dropped it just to see it shatter. Then she decided to take it with her to taunt him. Looking around, she sought out anything that might hint at where he had gone. There, against the wall, was a mirror, shattered, revealing a passageway behind. Meg reached back and grabbed a curtain that had fallen to the ground and covered the opening with it so no one else would discover it and follow. Then, without a second's hesitation, she dove into the all-consuming dark and pressed forward, searching for a man whom she gladly would have slaughtered. Black boots crossed easily over the threshold, and she was not to know for a long time that it had been a step which would alter the course of the rest of her life.