Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for Mercedes. Everything else belongs to ALW, SK, GL, …
Prologue
"Masquerade, paper faces on parade. Hide your face so the world will never find you." Erik knelt on the cold pavement, his distorted, unmasked face in his large hands. Tears streamed down his cheeks, spilling onto hands that both created and killed. He was a monster. How could she stay here when she didn't love him? Life here for Christine would be even worse if she had compared it to a lifetime with her beloved, Raoul.
Letting out an anguished scream, his already misshapen face twisted into an un-human portrait of anger, pain, and sorrow. His sobs grew slowly quieter, and eventually died out. Slowly he himself from the unfeeling stones on which he had been kneeling. Drawing himself to full height, he drifted to stand next to his pipe organ, the instrument where he had composed all of his masterpieces.
Masterpieces! Oh, how could he! In his rush to escape from the police and the fire, he had forgotten to rescue his life's work, "Don Juan Triumphant," from the flames that had surely destroyed the masterpiece and erased all of the music that he had composed. New tears sprang forth from his bloodshot eyes and his entire body shook from his sobs and gasps for breath.
Grabbing one of the candlesticks that sat on top of his beloved pipe organ, he marched purposefully in front of a full length mirror. Drawing his arm that held the candlestick, he swung his arm as hard as he could and smashed the glass mirror. A second before the glass shattered, he caught a glimpse of his repulsive face in the mirror. With a crazed fervor, he ran to every mirror, smashing it into thousands of shards, all reflecting his wretched face! He couldn't escape his hideousness! Turning his face towards the ceiling, he let out an animal-like cry of anguish. His eyes were filled with a feral fury. Suddenly, overcome by his emotions and fatigue, he collapsed in a black pile. He finally slept.