Sorry it's been so long. I've been having computer troubles, but I'm almost done anyway. Sorry if I don't respond right away. On to the next chapter!
Chapter Ten
It is the night of the performance, and the plan. As the patrons wait in a line, from outside the Krusty Krab Opera House, to be admitted, M. Plankton yells from across the street.
"Hey, everyone! I think the Chum Bucket Opera House is haunted too!" They all turn to his direction. What appears to be a ghost, which is really Mme. Karen, under a sheet, rolls next to him.
"Boo," she says, without emotion.
"How pathetic is that?" A female, fish patron asked.
"You stink!" A male fish yelled. They resume waiting for what they really came for.
"You will all perish!" M. Plankton yelled. Nobody listened to him.
Inside the opera house, everyone is preparing. The chorus is warming up and the orchestra is tuning their instruments. Officer John and Officer Nancy are present, in old fashioned, French police uniforms, with backup. SpongeBob is telling them their plan.
"You want us to shoot to kill, Monsieur?" Officer John asked the Vicomte.
"No no no," he protested. "If you did that, we'd have to change the rating. He's going to be up in Box Five. Just grab him when the time comes."
"How will we know when the time comes?" Officer Nancy asked.
"Look for a weird guy, wearing a mask," was the sponge's reply. M. Krabs approaches him.
"Are you sure this is gonna work, lad?" He asked, nervously. "Will Miss Daae sing?"
"Yes and yes. I'm almost sure this will work." SpongeBob didn't sound to confident. M. Krabs turns to the two officers.
"Make sure the doors are guarded. Nobody gets outta her with anymore refunds, or embarassing photos!" At the crustacian's word, the officers ordered their men to secure all the doors.
"M. Krabs," SpongeBob said. "We're keeping the Phantom trapped, not the patrons!" Once the doors are secure, everything falls silent. Very quietly, from nowhere, the voice of the Phantom softly and hauntingly, sings out:
"I'm here: The Phantom of the Krusty Krab..." They all look around apprehensively. The voice sounds again, from another location. "I'm here: The Phantom of the Krusty Krab..." The voice darts, bewilderingly from a different place each time. They follow the voice every time it changes direction. "I'm here... Now I'm over here... Over here, dunderheads... Haha! Up here..." That last one came from Box Five, and Officer John, in confusion, pulls out his pistol and shoots up at it.
"Hey!" SpongeBob shouts, ducking for cover. "I said, only when the time comes!"
"But, Monsieur le Vicomte..." Officer John's voice is intterupted by the Phantom's.
"No 'buts!' For once, Monsieur le Vicomte is right..."
"Question," said Officer Nancy."Why are we all saying, 'Monsieur,' and other French terms, if we're not in France?"
"Hmmm..." said SpongeBob, in thought, He puts his finger on his chin. "That's a good question..."
"Oh, stop breaking the fourth wall!" The Phantom's voice angrilly shouts. Then he sings: "Let the audience in... Let my opera begin...!"
The police let the audience in. They are seated, and the curtain rises. On stage is a fine table for two. The cast is a crowd of sixteenth century ruffians and hoydens. They, and La Pearl sing the "Don Juan Triumphant," piece. After that, they clear the stage and Don Juan, played by Patangi, and his servant, Passarino, played by a green fish, emerge from behind the curtain. Patangi looks at his hand and sings his part:
"All the single ladies! All the single ladies..."
"That's not even from a musical, man!" Informed the fish playing Passarino.
"Oh sorry," Patangi appologized. "That's from something I'm doing later." He looks at the lines on his other hand, and sings: "Passarino, faithful friend, once again recite the plan."
"Okay," Passarino answered. "We trade places. You pretend to be me and seduce Aminta."
"Sounds complicated," Don Juan (Patangi) replied.
"Just do it! Here, put my robe on." Don Juan puts on Passarino's black robe, and goes backstage, where he unexpectedly meets the Phantom.
"Here," he says to Patangi. "I'll play your part now. Go read this, you buffoon." He hands the starfish another score, steals his robe, and pushes him aside.
"But, I can't read English." Patangi said. When he recieves no reply, he sits down in a chair, and attempts to read the score. The Phantom is now in Patangi's place, waiting for his turn, backstage. Meanwhile, Sandy takes the stage, in her Aminta costume. Her puffy skirt bounced around her shins, whenever she moved. She sings happily in the distance:
"...no thoughts within her head, but thoughts of joy! No dreams within her heart, but dreams of love...!"
"Master?" Passarino asks, onstage.
"Passarino," Don Juan (the Phantom) answers from behind the curtain. "Go away, I got this." Passarino is confused by the very different voice, that adressed him. He goes backstage and whisperes to a figure, whom he thinks is Patangi. The figure was entirely concealed in his black robe, the cowl covered his face.
"What's wrong with your voice, man?"
"I, uh.. got a cold," the Phantom replied. He let out a fake cough. "But the show must go on!"
"Whatever." Passarino leaves.
Onstage, Aminta (Sandy) sits down at the table and looks about her. Once she confirms that no one is there, she picks up an apple. The Phantom, disguised as Don Juan pretending to be Passarino, emerges. His first words startle her. They sing the sensual, "The Point of No Return," duet. Sandy immediately knew it was the Phantom under the robe. Do SpongeBob and the officers know? She wondered. She decided to keep in character, to keep him onstage. She didn't want to do anything rash, for fear of him escaping. Hopefully someone would notice. Sandy, being swept up in song and dance, forgot for a moment that she was even acting. She lost herself in the sensuality of the duet. She didn't want to admit it, but she enjoyed playing along almost too much. However, upon feeling tentacles on her waist, she was reminded of her duty. But the Phantom started to get more agressive and tried dragging her backstage. She fights back. They sing the final line:
"We've past the point of no return..." The Phantom tries pulling her again, but Sandy throws his cowl back, revealing his white, half masked face, and slapped him. Both of them completely break character. In his seat in the audience, SpongeBob is at a loss for words.
"Wh... wh... Huh?!" He stuttered.
"Did you really think this little stunt would work?" Sandy asked the Phantom, rethorically. The audience is confused. They flip through their playbills, wondering if this was part of the show. The police are oblivious, for they are still awaiting the Phantom at Box Five.
"Funny, you seemed to like it at first," the Phantom shot back. Sandy felt her face burn. The Phantom smirked at her blushing. His smirk faded, once he remembered a serious question he had wanted to ask her. He began singing: "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime... Lead me, save me from my solitude..." Tears well up in Sandy's eyes at his sincere, sorrowful words. He takes from his robe, a ring and holds it out to her. "Say you want me with you, here beside you..." Slowly she takes it and puts it on her finger. "Anywhere you go let me go too... Sandy, that's all I ask of..." Before he can get to the word 'you,' Sandy, quite calmly removes his mask, revealing his deformed face to the audience. They scream in fright. SpongeBob fainted in his seat at the sight.
"It's hideous!" A female voice shouted. They advert their eyes and scramble toward the exits, to no avail, as they were gaurded. While trying to break out, they tople over each other, in a painic.
"My leg!" Someone yells in pain, amongst the chaos.
The police now know the Phantom is onstage. As they close in on the horrifying skull, the Phantom sweeps his cloak around Sandy, and vanishes in the fire that emitted from his tentacle. SponeBob comes to in time to witness it.
"How does he do that?" the Vicomte asks as he, Officers John and Nancy, M. Krabs, Mme. Puff, and Pearl rush on to the stage in confusion. "Where's Patangi?" SpongeBob pulls back the curtain. Behind it, they see Patangi, trying to read the score the Phantom had given him.
"Could someone help me read this?" The starfish asked.
"Let me see that," M. Krabs demanded, as he snatched it out of his hands. "Love Never Dies?!" He read the title out loud.
"The horrible, completely unnecessary sequel?" Mme. Puff said in horror.
"Dear Neptune!" SpongeBob exclaims in terror. "He really is more monster than cepalopod!"
"No, Patangi! No!" Pearl screamed and hugged her husband. "How much of it did you read? My darling, who has done this?" Patangi didn't answer. He just sat there, confused. Mme. Puff pulls SpongeBob aside.
"Monsieur le Vicomte, you have to go save Miss Daae!" She told him.
"I-I can't," the sponge protested. "There's no way I'll win. Besides, Sandy is Texas tuff, she'll save herself."
"But it's in the script..."
"Forget the script! Sandy would never forgive me if I tried to 'rescue' her. She'd hate being a damsel in distress!"
"You have to!" Mme. Puff tried reasoning. "It's part of the whole 'romantic hero' thing. It's the final confrontation, you have to be there!"
"Your right," SpongeBob realized. "If Sandy's going to kick some Phantom butt, I should be there to support her!"
"I know where they are. Come with me, Monsieur." She grabs his hand and leads him to Sandy's dressing room, where the secret passage to the Phantom's lair was hidden. "Hurry, or we shall be too late..."