Payton POV

I once read somewhere that in ancient tribes, silence was their punishment. No one would respond to anything they said, give them anything, and would never talk the receiver of the punishment. The members of the tribe would ignore the poor guy who did something wrong.

Eventually, the person who was at fault went crazy, literally insane from the lack of communication.

Roxanne POV

I panicked. Okay, yes I was freaking out. It's been over an hour, and she hasn't come out of there yet. This was a new record for her, because she becomes bored very—almost too—easily.

Payton POV

She was freaking out, wasn't she? HA! Works like a charm.

Me? Yeah, I'm fine. It's not that big a deal, I just wanted to display some acting skills my sister claims I never had.

Shows how wrong she was, doesn't it?

Anyways, I couldn't be more bored in my room. There's nothing to do in there! So I decided to come out and face the music.

So, I walk into the kitchen, all innocent, and Raoul, the Prince of Darkness guy, Christine, and the person who I must call my sister is sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Payton, we want to apologize," Roxanne says.

"Well you should." I folded my arms and leaned on the counter.

"I apologize for my irrational behavior," Erik mumbles, fixing his eye patch.

I smirk.

Roxanne POV

"Let me make it up to you," I grab my car keys. "Let's go shopping."

"What are we going to do with them?" she wrinkles her nose.

"We'll take them with us, we can't just leave them here."

"Yes we can! Leave a little food and water out…put all the electronics away," she inserts a dirty look to Raoul, "and they'll be fine!"

"They might kill each other!"

"Well, we have only half the problem, don't we?"

I sigh. If only Payton realized WHO THESE PEOPLE WERE.

Payton POV

So I'm swindled into having to take those creeps with us. Great.

"Shotgun!" I call as we race out the door. Erik looks around wildly. "GUN? Where?"

"No idiot, I meant—" I slapped my forehead. This wasn't going to get any easier, I could tell.

So I sit up in the front seat, and Roxanne sits in the driver seat. Raoul, Erik, and Christine sit in the back. When the car first moves, Christine screams.

"What?" Roxanne asks. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why are we moving? Where are the horses? What kind of contraption is this? This is no ordinary carriage!"

"The horses are invisible, Christine." Roxanne improvises.

Roxanne POV

My sister seems exasperated as she looks in the rearview mirror. "Yes, Christine, invisible. As in unable to be seen, not visible to the eye." She then goes and rattles off the formal definition, doing her weird photographic memory stunt again.

Christine reddens, blushing. "I knew that," she mumbled.

"Sure you did, whatever stops the tears." Payton replies.

"Smartass," Erik mutters.

I wince. Bad move.

Quick as a flash, Payton turns around in her seat to face him. "Want a piece of me, Captain Hook, or the whole thing?"

Erik growls back in response.

Payton, acting childish, bares her teeth and growls right back at him. They have a massive stare down until I push Payton back to her seat.

She glares at me. "I was winning!"

Payton POV

So we stop off at Times Square. To be completely honest, I'm excited. I love being in the pulse of New York.

As Roxanne files out of the car and opens the door for the bunch of misfits, I go around back and get something in the trunk.

"Okay, everybody, New York is a very, very busy place… you can get lost." I hear her say as I make my way to them.

Raoul smirks. "I could make my way through Paris with my eyes closed."

I butt in. "Did Paris have rabid rats?"

"Rabid rats?"

"Yeah, they grow about five feet long, and have red glistening eyes. When their teeth sink into your flesh, you become one of them—"

"Payton, knock it off."

I pout. It could happen. The rats, I mean.

"Okay, everyone have a safety buddy?" Roxanne asked.

Christine and Erik grabbed onto Roxanne's arms, and Raoul grimaced as he shuffled over to me.

"Oh no. No. No, no, no, no no!" I stomped my foot. "I'm not going with Raoul. I would rather cut off my arm."

Erik slowly brought out his sword from his sheath.

"You do, you DIE a painful death." I warned him. "You'll end up just like Joe."

"Who's Joe?" Erik asked.

I grinned my evil smile. "Exactly."

Roxanne POV

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, everyone, we're going to be staying together—"

"Wait!" Payton brought something out from her back. "Let's use this."

"Payton!" I cried, exasperated. "That's a rope for kindergarteners when they go on a field trip."

"Yeah, that's why it's here…Ow!" she rubbed the back of her neck. I gave her a little slap.

"Anyways, stay together."

"And keep your hands at the level of your eyes," Erik said in a grave voice.

"Why?" Payton asked.

"That way, no one would be able to attack you. Most of the time attacks come from the back and you can easily deflect them…" he was cut off by a slap from Julia.

"Couldn't see that coming, could you?" she smirked.

I give her an evil glare, and she pulls it together.

Then, the Phantom, Christine, Raoul, Payton, and I begin our journey in New York.