"It was one of the strangest things he's ever done," Raoul explained. "And what he said made absolutely no sense. I swear, Christine, Erik is getting crazier the longer we're around him."

But Christine barely heard the end of that. Her eyes were wide but not focused on much of anything. I can't believe it, she thought. All I asked was for them to be civil. I never thought…

"Christine? Did you hear me?"

She snapped to attention. "Hmm?"

"I asked if you have any clue what possessed Erik to do that."

She grinned a little. "I think I do, dear. I think it was you."

The confused and shocked look on her fiancé's face was pure gold. "Me? What do you mean?"

"Raoul," she began, taking his hand. "Were you lying in bed thinking of your father?"

"...Perhaps."

"I thought so. Raoul, I think it's very easy to see why Erik did that. I think he did that because you were sad."

"...I'm confused. Could we start over? By Erik, you mean the man who hates every fiber of my being, correct? Because that last sentence sounded like we were talking about a different Erik."

"That was a different Erik, dear, don't you see? He's starting to change. His feeling towards you are starting to change."

"You're scaring me very much right now."

"Raoul sit down, it's very simple." He took a seat next to her on the bed. "You were sad. Erik saw you were sad. Erik didn't like you being sad. But being Erik, he had no idea how to cheer you up. So he did the only thing he knew how to do and hit you."

"But what about what he said?"

"What he said was that he preferred Raoul, the sarcastic, annoying, pain in his butt, over Raoul, the mopey, depressed, sad sack. Don't you see? He's starting to care about you!"

"... Once again… which Erik is this?"

"Think about it. Now that you two have stopped arguing with each other, you've been pretty nice to him. Yesterday, when he fell on that woman, I bet his first thought was that you would laugh at him. But all you did was help him back up, like he was any other person. And you gave him your brother's address so we could keep in contact."

"You realize I only did that because you asked me to, don't you?"

"Well you did still did it. And I didn't tell you to get him paper, now did I? Oh, this is fantastic. Finally, he's stopped seeing you as his mortal enemy. And so have you! That's why you did those things. The past is behind you, and now you're just two men on a boat in dresses."

"You had to throw that in there."

"I'm so proud of him. Why, Raoul, by the time this trip is through, you two might even like each other."

"I think Erik would sooner give a shark a dental inspection."

"But he hit you with a pillow!"

"I don't see how that translates to caring about me."

"I don't think anyone has really cared about Erik before. No one has even cheered him up when he was down. So he doesn't know how to do it to anyone else. Hitting you with a pillow was all he really knew how to do. And it worked!"

"... It did?"

"Yes! Because I bet the rest of last night, instead of thinking about your father, you wondered 'Why did Erik just hit me?'. It worked because you stopped thinking about what was making you sad."

Raoul stared at her for about a full minute.

"He's finally starting to care about people other than me. So many doors are opening up to him now. This is phenomenal!"

"This is ridiculous."

"Do you have any other explanation?"

"Yes. He's insane."

"Raoul."

"Christine, I know we've put the past behind, but let's be logical: this man tried to kill me less than a week ago. Why would he care if I was a little upset?"

"Because he's changing, Raoul. He's becoming a better person. Someone who cares about how people other than myself feel. And I have a feeling that compared to others, you've been one of the nicest people in his life. It's really no wonder why he's starting to like you."

"...I still don't know about that. But I have no other explanation, so, there we have it then."

"Speaking of Erik, where is he?"

"Last I saw him, he was begrudgingly getting into his Evelyn outfit."

"You should go and get him then. We should head to breakfast."

As Raoul left the room, almost tripping in his shoes, Christine smiled widely. Erik may not even realize that he's starting to like Raoul. And it's clear that Raoul has no clue that he no longer holds a grudge against the former Phantom. That's probably the best part about this.

Oh, men. They're so oblivious to their feelings.

I certainly hope I'm there at the moment they finally realize.

Four days passed with nothing much to note. They had five days left until the ship docked in New York. In those four days, none of them saw hide nor hare of Alastor Mauvis. Erik and Raoul said very little to each other except out of necessity. They kept up the Rose and Evelyn act seamlessly, being stuck in the company of Sophie and Victoire.

In the dark of that night, Erik woke up suddenly. The sun had not even begun to rise. His hands clenched and unclenched. His mind was awake and excited for some reason he didn't know. Though he'd only slept for a few hours, he felt wide awake, Erik knew there was only one explanation. His hands were itching for ink and parchment and his was awake with potential ideas.

But what to write about? Christine had become his muse, his inspiration. Considering the fact that her future husband was lying next to him, he didn't see a point in writing something like Don Juan again.

Erik looked around at his surroundings for a moment before sighing. Well, you know what they say: Write what you know.

With that, he sat up, grabbed the paper the Viscount had gotten, an ink quill, and began.

Raoul woke up slowly to the sunlight peeking through the thin curtain in the room. His ears suddenly tuned in to the sound of a quill scratching on paper with great vigor. Opening his eyes, he saw Erik lying on his stomach, writing something down on the paper Raoul purchased. "Midnight inspiration?"

But Erik didn't answer.

He sat up and picked out his dress for the day. "I certainly hope that isn't a continuation of Don Juan," he joked. Raoul figured Erik would probably throw something at him or shout in retaliation. But he still just kept writing, as if Raoul wasn't there. "Erik?"

No reaction whatsoever.

Raoul decided to test just how enthralled the man was in his work. "You're looking very nice this morning, you know? Even with that mask…What's that, Christine? You say you've changed your mind and have fallen for Erik?"

Not even that got him out of his trance.

"Well, since you're so busy with your writing, I'll just go jump off the edge of the boat and drown myself. I may even be eaten by a shark. Is that alright with you? Because it would mean Christine would be all alone and vulnerable. If you have anything to say, say it now."

Erik grabbed another sheet of paper.

Raoul surrendered and walked back over to him. "What are you working on that's holding so much of your attention?" He picked up one of the papers that were already complete, but before he could read three words of it, Erik snatched it out of his hand.

"Don't," he snarled. "For one thing, it's still in an extremely early stage, and more to the point, you won't understand it."

"Was that a jab at my intelligence?"

"It was a fact."

Raoul decided it was too early to get into it with Erik. "I hope you got enough sleep. I have a feeling we won't be able to dodge Sophie and Victoire today."

"Can't we just lock them below deck?"

"As talkative as they are, we need them. If we didn't socialize with anyone on this boat, people might get suspicious. And by people, I mainly mean Mauvis."

"We can lock him up as well."

Raoul rolled his eyes and got into his Rose disguise. Just as he was fixing his eye makeup - he hated the fact that he know knew how to put makeup on - he heard Erik struggling. "Damn...this...dress!"

"Do you need a hand?" he asked.

"No." he snarled. "And turn around!"

"Erik, you know I have no intention nor desire to watch you dress. However, you are clearly having trouble fastening your-"

"I said I didn't need you help!"

"Alright," Raoul threw up his hands. "Then just be stuck like that. Here, I'm facing the wall." True to his word, he'd turned away. He could hear Erik snarl and fumble with the back of the dress. He's never going to be able to get out of it now that his temper's boiling. He started to turn. "Erik, just let me help y-"

"Turn around again and I shall kill you faster than a viper, I swear!"

Raoul turned towards the wall again. Erik hadn't threatened his life the entire trip, especially not in a way where he sounded serious. His mind was racing. He'd seen them. It was only a glimpse, and they were faded, but he'd seen them. And it was very clear why Erik had gotten so furious.

Scars. All over his back - the part where the dress was undone - scars covered his skin. A sick feeling was still filling the Viscount's stomach. There we so many. I've never seen anything like it, even just for that moment.

Only then did the full weight of Madame Giry's tale hit him.

She had told him about how she'd found Erik locked in a cage, being tortured by gypsies. She said he'd been filthy, malnourished, and badly beaten. Raoul had listened to all of what she had said. But at the time, he had not been able to fully understand it. He thought he had, but seeing the scars in front of him in that moment made him think otherwise. Clearly he'd been to concerned for Christine to really hear the woman's tale.

Erik wasn't always this way, he realized. He was a child, just like everyone else. A blank slate. He could've grown up to be anything, just like Christine said.

But people took that away from him.

They locked him away because of his face and beat him like an animal. They made him a killer. Yet his first kill was out of the sheer desire to free himself.

People did this. Ordinary people, just like… Like me.

They're… we're…. the reason there ever was a Phantom of the Opera. All that time, Erik had simply been playing the part the world had cast him into.

All the pieces were finally fitting in Raoul's head.

"Finally!" Erik growled. It sounded like he'd finally figured out the dress he was struggling with. Raoul waited silently,, staring at the wall. "You may turn," the other man snarled after a moment.

He did so. Erik was in his full Evelyn outfit. Raoul hesitated to say anything: it was clear the man was already angry beyond reason. He decided to remain silent until Erik said something to him. However, Erik seemed to be staying quiet as well.

Raoul's thoughts were going a mile a minute even still, but one thing was very clear to him now: Erik needed their help.

It was official. Christine really hated mustaches. Why didn't I make Monsieur Gustave clean shaven? This thing is so annoying! And it itches. Now I know why Erik and Raoul don't have any facial hair.

Her mustachioed thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. She creaked it open just a little to reveal Raoul in his dress. Christine let him in since he looked like he wanted to talk about something. "Is everything alr-" But she was cut off as he wrapped her in a tight hug.

"You were right," he told her. "You were right this entire time, and I should've listened to you. You're so smart, Christine."

"...Um….Thank you. May I ask what brought this on?"

They broke apart and their eyes met. "About Erik. You were right about Erik. Yes, he's crazy, and yes, he has some homicidal tendencies, and yes, he kidnapped you a few times and almost killed me. But all of that is a result of what the world did to him. So maybe we can…undo it? Or at least lessen it?"

She stared him for a minute, then gave him a kiss on the lips. Finally, her future husband was seeing the light. "You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that."

"I'm just not sure what we can do."

"Well, above all, he has to learn to trust. I don't know who made him think he can't put faith in others, but that's got to stop if he's even going to have a decent life. If we can get him to trust you, someone he used to hate with a burning passion, that may just be the solution."

"And just how do I do that? Every time I try to have a regular conversation with him, he pushes me away and retreats back into solitude."

"Because he's not used to that, dear. He's not used to being treated like a normal person. What you need is to… Break away the ice somehow. Make him feel more at ease around you."

"How?"

Christine had to think for a moment. "...I am not sure, actually. Use his interests so that he does not retreat into silence."

"Even then he keeps to himself. I saw him writing something on that paper I got him the other day, and when I asked about it, he shut me out once again."

"Oh, this would be so much easier if he was not so secretive. I suppose we just have to keep trying. Perhapes his own work is too important him. Start small. But do not press too hard."

"Yes, if we try too hard, it will make it worse. He would find it suspicious."

"Exactly."