Hi!
So, yes, another chapter that took too long. By now, I assume all are used to it. So, yeah, from now on, I myself would expect it to take this same amount of time for each chapter, so keep that in mind!
Rose-true, you didn't have to worry then. Prepare yourself, because "All I Ask of You" is definitely gonna be in this chapter! Sorry that you don't like Raul OR Robin, but I have to admit that it is pretty darn hard to resist the Phantom any day!
Laurashrub-WHERE! PLEASE---if you care about my sanity you would please tell me where these mistakes you keep finding are! What two words are there that I would have messed up on not once, but TWO TIMES? I have checked many times over, and I still can't find what you're talking about! Please help me! Oh, and by the way, I am not usually this weird…sorry about that.
StarfireFowl-thank you! Yes, the heavily awaited "All I Ask of You" is finally here! I'm so happy!
TitansFan-thanks! And, you can finally hear "All I Ask of You" now!
StakeMeSpike04-thank you so much! I'm loving your story more and more! Glad you liked mine!
Robin and Star Fan-thank you! I'm so happy that you enjoyed it so much!
Another Freakish Fan-thank you! I am still very glad that people still recognize it as being 21st century, so I am super happy that you liked it!
Alright then…forward and onward…
Kori took a giant gasp of breath. Real fear and adrenaline-stricken panic flickered in her illumined green eyes. She ran stair after stair, Richard's comforting hand held firm in hers. She was now the one leading him, and she went faster and faster up the winding and twisting paths and steps.
They were about half-way to the roof, swishing from hallway to hallway, and for Kori, life seemed to have almost stopped. Each frightful step she ran she seemed to be going slower and slower. Each passing door became further and further away, with each glance she shot. And each path ahead stretched like an optical illusion before her eyes. She quickened her pace.
Richard noticed her change in behavior. He was becoming out of breath, and the girl he cared so much for who led him, only went faster. He pondered to himself at how she could have so much energy, and he began to heave with exhaust. He tugged on her hand, almost making her stop in her quick-moving tracks.
She turned her tranced head to meet his flushed face, but continued to move on slowly. She kept shooting her head back at him at intervals as she heard him speak.
"Why have you brought us here?"
She looked away, and quickened again, not looking back at him. She then said to him in a fearful and trancelike voice.
"Don't take me back there!"
He stopped her, almost trying to tug her back the other way.
"We must return!"
She pulled harder on his hand, and led him to the direction of her original destination. She stared him in the eye as she went on.
"He'll kill me!"
Richard didn't listen to this, and tried to console her.
"Be still now…"
But she continued, as if he hadn't said a word, her voice beginning to quiver and crack.
"His eyes will find me there!"
Again, he did not understand what she meant by this, but still tried to calm her down.
"Kori, don't say that…"
Kori's feet began to move quicker, each movement made with a swift swish of her dress that echoed her nervous soul.
"Those eyes that burn!"
Richard was becoming more nervous now, still not comprehending her words, but becoming more concerned with each.
"Don't even think it…"
It was again her turn to ignore, and she kept her eyes, head and mind focused on the path ahead of her, not removing her gaze or transfixing her plan of escape.
"And if he has to kill a thousand men…"
Richard grabbed her hand tighter.
"Forget this waking nightmare…"
She let go of his hand and spun around in the movement of lightning, and Richard saw what the girl looked like when in the absence of hope and pure helplessness. She approached him as in a movement of shock and almost anger, at his response of that none of it was real. Her pleading eyes glazed over as they poured into his, with a nervous and stressed tear forcing itself from her eye.
"The Phantom of the Opera will kill…"
She was beginning to scare Richard now, and he clutched her shoulders and swung her towards him with gentleness but with swift speed, as if to get her to finally understand his meaning. He moved himself in front of her, so that he was blocking her path, and could not pass. He looked her in the eye and said, also fearful,
"The Phantom is a fable!
Believe me!"
But she kept on keeping on, with her shakiness reaching a boiling point. Her tone got louder, and Richard knew the true extent of her outward flung emotions.
"…and kill again!"
He stared on, both not moving an inch. Richard's voice got slower and deeper at his final attempt to change her mind.
"There is no Phantom of the Opera…"
She, in turn, swung out of his hold with her acquired grace and spun around his shoulder, in attempt to pursue her original direction. She swerved from his side and walked ahead, this time in too much of a stress to take back his hand. She continued to speak, but now seemingly to herself.
"My God, who is this man…"
He looked on after her, and he hesitated a moment, watching her in awe. He stood for a split second of confusion before quickly trying to catch up with her. He wondered silently and then said, to himself,
"My God who is this man…"
He tried to keep up at her pace, but she was too fast. She would not falter a single movement unless distracted, which she definitely was not. He was beginning to lose breath again when he heard her horrified voice lull on.
"…who hunts to kill?"
Richard's eyes widened in false understanding, although he was unsure of the reason. He moved closer to her, he becoming one with her frustration and anxiety.
"…this mask of death?"
In a quick moment he shuddered at the thought that it might be real; that she could be acting like this for a reason. Her voice of shifting terror rung out once again, filling his ears with pity for the loving girl.
"I can't escape from him…"
He did not want to think of the possibility of her words being truth, but all the same pondered what she said. If it was true, if and only if, he was struck stupefied at her awful predicament. If it was true, which, of course, it was not to Richard, he was truly afraid for what lay in front of Kori when she crossed this thing's path in the wrong way.
"Whose is this voice you hear…"
She ignored again, her stutters now up to a pleading cry.
"…I never will!"
Another tear of frustration and loss of hope escaped her. Richard still moved behind the soprano with as much speed as he could muster, as well as not succeeding to run her down. Her words were certainly starting to scare him. An expression of sheer concern spread out upon his pale features.
"…with every breath?"
With a conquered step that relieved him, Richard was finally able to walk at the same pace as Kori. She looked at him, and they both began to talk at once.
"And in this labyrinth,
Where night is blind,
The Phantom of the Opera is here…"
Kori stopped short and stood still, her unmoving eyes as lifeless as stone.
"…inside my mind."
Richard did not notice, and kept moving, still concerned with her, pondering how any of this could possibly be real.
"…inside your mind."
He then noticed with a jump that she was not at his side. He turned at saw her, unmoving, planted at her spot. He walked the short couple of feet towards her and put his reassuring hands on her shoulders, again in vain trying to calm her troubled mind.
"There is no Phantom of the Opera…"
She stirred silently, and moved her eyes of lime to focus onto his caring ones. Her look of oblivion disappeared within the quickness of a split second, and in its place, an expression of seriousness and ice.
"Richard, I've been there,
To his world of unending night…
To a world where the daylight dissolves
Into darkness…
Darkness…
Her voice got deep and low, as if the very words spurting from her tongue were of pure evil, and of one that should never be discussed by the race of humankind. Her eyes went dark, and Richard panicked at what she might say next. She stared blankly into space at her last words spoken, and stood there, motionless.
As swiftly as she had fallen into her trance, she fell out. The blackness in her eye vanished, as if into thin air, and was replaced once again with fear and fret. She locked gazes with him once again, seeking a final understanding from the boy, her face now spread upon the hopelessness of recent minutes, alive again in her worry.
"Richard, I've seen him,"
Her voice now broke out into a slow sob, with cold, slow tears seeping from her eyes. Her cry got louder, with each emphasis of sadness reeking itself on her words.
"Can I ever forget that sight?
Can I ever escape from that face?
So distorted, deformed,
It was hardly a face,
In that darkness…
Darkness…"
Her face drooped, as if in despair, and her head fell slightly, looking sadly at the floor. She then changed her mood, and raised her head up, not looking him in the eye. She raised her eyes, and moved from his arms, whirling from him again, walking forward. Her changed mood had affected her tone as well, as Richard had noticed. It became lighter, but more ecstatic. She seemed to have lost all thought of space and time, for she saw nothing else.
She walked slowly towards her now unblocked direction. She opened the door to the roof, and tiptoed silently outward. She became consumed by the falling snow of a November winter, and was unconcerned with the cold. Richard looked up after her, and saw that she left no footprints in the fresh snow.
"…But his voice filled my spirit
With a strange, sweet sound…
In that night
There was music in my mind…
And through music
My soul began to soar!
And I heard
As I'd never heard before…"
Richard walked up from behind her and touched her arms gently, softly grasping them in his final attempt of soothing. He brought his head closer to her ear and whispered softly, so to calm her down,
"What you heard
Was a dream,
And nothing more…"
She turned to face him, unphased by his caring words. She fearfully looked into his eyes, her lip quivering, and Richard knew she was on the borderline of tears. But her last words cut into him like a sharp dagger of realization, as she did not falter to stare him down.
"Yet in his eyes
All the sadness of the world…
Those pleading eyes
That both threaten and adore…"
Richard didn't move. Her cries of helplessness terrified him, that she thought all of this in so much detail. What if it was true? No, no, it could not possibly work in Richard's mind. It definitely was not true, but he could not figure out for the life of him how she could be frightened by the level of magnitude that she was now.
"Kori…Kori…"
He wrapped his arms around her in a loving embrace, to which Kori fell into. Her cheek ran into his shoulder swiftly, but did not move it. Her silent tears slowly and swiftly rolled on, and went unnoticed by Kori herself. She stood there in his embrace, her own arms straightly drooping at her sides, dangling, unmoved. She would have hugged him back, she really would have, but an unknown cause would not allow her to move. She tried to force herself to respond, but felt an overwhelming purpose that kept her immobile.
She closed her eyes, leaned her head, and began to fall further into Richard, who held her close. But, as she did this, she heard a quiet echo, a taunting chant, a melancholy whisper that could be heard by her and her alone.
"Kori…Kori…"
Kori sprung her head from his shoulder and pushed herself free, staring blankly around, eyes wide. She knew she heard it, and she knew who it was. Her nervous eyes danced from side to side, gaining back its horrified tint. She did not look at Richard, and absentmindedly refused to meet his confused gaze.
"What was that?" she said fearfully.
For the first time that night, she acknowledged the freezing rain that surrounded her being and his. She grabbed her arms with her hands, and rubbed them as she shivered shakily. Richard swiped off his coat and drew it over her frail quivering body. Her fragile features were now exhausted from its previous overuse of getting to the roof in the hurry that it did.
Richard brought his hand to her chin, and moved her head to face him. His exasperated mind was evident in his eyes as Kori now willingly drowned into them. He wrapped his arms around her gently, and he finally saw a reaction from her.
She stared into his face, now fully understanding where her real trust lay. She smiled feebly at his hug, and he smiled back, not wanting to startle her. She leaned her head and laid it onto his chest softly. Richard, in turn, lowered his chin to rest on her head, gratitude welling his heart that she was actually hugging back.
"No more talk of darkness;
Forget those wide-eyed fears.
I'm here,
Nothing can harm you,
My words will warm and calm you.
Let me be your freedom,
Let daylight dry your tears.
I'm here,
With you, beside you,
To guard you and to guide you…"
Kori raised her head to look at him, her eyes now full of a calm joy that could not be expressed with words.
"Say you'll love me
Every waking moment,
Turn my head
With talk of summertime…
Say you need me with you
Now and always…
Promise me
That all you say is true.
That's all I ask of you…"
Richard smiled again, and looked down at her once tan face, which had turned pale not from fear, but from the freezing temperature and the falling snow. He spoke softly to her, almost in a whisper.
"Let me be your shelter,
Let me be your light.
You're safe,
No one will find you,
Your fears are far behind you…"
Kori lowered her eyes, and glanced at the floor, raising them at intervals to look at Richard's calm and gentle face.
"All I want is freedom,
A world with no more night…
And you,
Always beside me,
To hold me and to hide me…"
She stopped. She looked up at Richard, hoping him to speak. He did, and it made her swoon.
"Then say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime…
Let me lead you
From your solitude…
Say you'll need me with you
Here, beside you…
Anywhere you go,
Let me go too.
Kori,
That's all I ask of you…"
Almost before he could finish, Kori piped up, her cheeks now rosy with happiness.
"Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime…
Say the word,
And I will follow you…"
They hugged once more, and then said together,
"Share each day with me,
Each night, each morning…"
Kori's smile could surpass any fears or sadness of any kind at that moment, her eyes brimming with its own natural light.
"Say you love me…"
Richard almost cut her off, to make sure to answer her question that she sought.
"You know I do…"
They looked at one another, and said,
"Love me,
That's all I ask of you…"
They then shared a soft first kiss, there with the snow beating down their necks. But they did not care, for they had lost any help for use of this world in that very moment. After what seemed like a century and a second wrapped into one, the two separated from another.
"Anywhere you go
Let me go too…
Love me,
That's all I ask of you…"
They then stood there, for an unknown time, for they were too enthralled with the other to care about anything else. After the time unbeknownst to the two, Kori finally broke away from her new boyfriend. She started towards the door, looking back sheepishly at moments at a time.
"I must go,
They'll wonder where I am.
Wait for me Richard!"
Richard had barely heard a word that came out of her mouth. All he knew was that he was crazy about her, and that she now had to leave.
"Kori, I love you!"
She blushed at this. Although it was evident, she did not want to rush to the conclusion that it was love. She was infatuated, yes, but was it really love? Every time she thought of it, her heart soared and her mind fluttered. How could she not think so? She looked back at Richard, and called to him, him being a short distance away.
"Bring out your car to go home,
Be with it at the door!"
He was too entranced by her hair to think otherwise.
"And soon,
You'll be beside me!"
She smiled.
"You'll guard me and you'll guide me!"
Richard ran up to her and grabbed her hand. They went down in this way the whole rest of the evening, as happy as any couple could be.
And as the slinking shadows of the two lovebirds vanished from the outskirts of the snowy roof, all was still. All except for a third shadow, which had not moved since the arrival of the duo. A dark figure of a man emerged from the stooping silhouettes of the roof-held items. Very well hidden, the Phantom now fully revealed himself from within the darkening mist. His white and slightly X'd mask almost glowed in the lamplight which showed his tall and towering figure.
And along the face of the masked villain lay an expression of despair and sadness. He felt as though he was about to choke, and almost lost his balance. He grasped onto the wall of the door to keep himself upright, and stood staring at the snow, where their footsteps had only recently been put. His lip quivered, and a tear slipped through his mask and seeped into his cold skin. His head fell, and his eyes drooped, and he hung his head in an unstable upset, shocked to the bone at what he had just witnessed.
She was within his grasp. She loved him. She sang for him, she came to his home, the one place where he could live without torment. But torture would stalk him wherever he went, and he never knew why. She was his. His own. The one living thing that could make a life of horror and loneliness into one of happiness and freedom of oneself.
But that was not what he had seen. He saw love, compassion, emotion, all that he wanted and expected from her, but it was not for him. It was for a sissy pansy who merely had a lot of money, who did not love her like he did, who figured that he could have her as easily as a slice of meat. He did not understand it. He did not understand how she could become the traitor of his devoted heart, and not even acknowledge the slightest sign of guilt.
"I gave you my music,
Made your song take wing…
And now,
How you've repaid me,
Denied me and betrayed me…
He was bound to love you,
When he heard you sing…"
Another tear escaped his deformed eye. He could not hold his despair any longer, and wept bitterly. He brought his pale white hand to his covered forehead and blocked his pitch black eyes with it, and bent over slightly.
"Kori…" he whispered in between sobs, "Kori…"
He raised his ears, for he had heard something. Down below, near the street, stood Kori and Richard. Hand-in-hand, they continued to express their newfound infatuation with one another. Their distant voices floated to his ears, and left likea ghostlike taunt in his presence.
"Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime…
Say the word,
And I will follow you…
Share each day with me,
Each night, each morning…"
The Phantom's face then twisted into a mess of forced rage. His tears froze in the winter air, and his mouth curved into an angry frown. He shot his furious eyes down the winding shaft onto the icy streets of the school. His eyes narrowed, and he scowled at them malevolently. If he could not have her, no one could.
He raised his head, now shaking with fury, and screamed at the top of his lungs, although not a soul, lest the life of Kori, heard his roar.
"You will curse
The day you did not do
All that the Phantom asked of you!"
As Kori was about to step her foot into Richard's car, she froze in midair. His eerily angry voice boomed in her ears, and she could not move. She looked frantically to Richard, who stared blankly at her.
"Kori, what's wrong?"
She looked at him like he had gone insane.
"Did you not hear that?" she squeaked, her voice disappearing with the color of her skin as she turned dead pale.
"Kori, there was nothing…nothing was there…"
She began to move, but stood deathly still as she heard the voice sling out again in an anrry surge of agony.
"Go!"
And from inside the school, screams could be heard. Neither Kori nor Richard stood around to know why. Inside, all were running as if in a mad house. The new chandelier stood in a mixture of broken crystallike pieces all over the floor. No one was hurt, but no one remained calm.
Kori stood still outside Richard's car, this time not allowing her own self to move. She heard his thundering voice scream into her eardrums without mercy, as her frozen body stood in mid movement. She panicked, half expecting someone to jump out from nowhere, for no reason at all. She looked all around, then back at Richard, her voice faltering. She forgot thathe was waiting for an answer.
"I…heard someone…"
He only helped her into the car, with a loving hug right before.
"It's alright," he cooed, "you'll feel better after you get some food,"
He looked at Kori more closely, and realized how exhausted she was.
"…and some sleep."
She nodded, and Richard took her home. But she never ever forgot the Phantom's last words that swooned in her ringing head, as she tried fruitlessly to get to sleep that cold and snowy night.
Phew—end of Act 1, everybody! Wooohooo! I think I actually accomplished something here!