(A/N: Hey! Been a while! I'm super sorry about not updating the story! I had loads going on and hit a bit of a snag with the story. Updates may be spottier since school started again, but I will do my best to keep up with my weekly Monday schedule. Hope you guys have had a good summer and let me know how you enjoyed the chapter! And I hope it was worth the wait :P)

Those words haunted Raoul all through the night. Poor Erik? What the hell was Christine thinking? Raoul was the one who'd been through more – and Erik was nothing more than a creepy stalker-murderer. So what about poor Raoul, who had risked his social status and his inheritance to marry the love of his life? What about poor Raoul, who had been there for Christine every time Erik appeared and she inevitably had a nervous breakdown? Who had been there that day after Christine had been abducted? Who had comforted her and offered her a place to live, to the chagrin of his dear brother? And whose family had welcomed her and treated her with nothing but kindness, even getting her a kitten, and had cried more than her own best friend at their wedding? But no – poor Erik…

Raoul went to bed in a horrible mood and did not speak to Christine. She attempted to whisper to him a few times, but she gave up after a few minutes and only said, "Oh, dear, he heard me."

Yeah, Raoul thought bitterly. I heard you.

"I didn't mean that I feel sorry for Erik – well, I do feel sorry for him – but he won't replace you, Raoul."

Raoul said nothing.

"I just need all of this to end. I want him to let me live."

"That makes two of us," Raoul said curtly.

Christine sighed and kissed Raoul's cheek before turning off the light.

He slept fitfully, and he thought that Erik had broken in and taken Christine in the night but that Christine went with him willingly, telling Raoul that things never would have worked out. He woke up with a start and saw Christine peacefully sleeping; but it didn't ease his mind. Erik would clearly come again for Christine – even Bhuvan thought so. But now, things were different. Christine had been in a sort of trance last time; now, she had full possession of all her senses and she still might go with him willingly. So what was the point, Raoul thought, of trying so desperately to protect her when she might just throw everything he offered back in his face and go with the man who had murdered?

Poor Erik…

Poor Erik!

Raoul woke up to find Christine's spot empty. He looked around in panic and shouted her name.

"It's better this way," Christine said, almost agonised. She was standing at the foot of the bed. Perhaps it was grogginess, but Raoul thought he saw a dark shadow behind her.

"Better what way?" he asked. "Christine!" He got out of bed and started to go after her – but she was too fast.

"Raoul, I have to end it," she said fitfully. "I can't live like this anymore. I have to end this once and for all."

"Christine!" he shouted, dashing out after her.

She was gone. Disappeared. Raoul walked back to their bedroom, confused and scared. On her pillow was a note, with that same loathsome, childish writing.

Raoul picked it up with trembling hands.

Raoul de Chagny,

You have done well in caring for Christine. She seems happy. But you must understand that I am unhappy and Christine is the only one who can solve my problem. It's between a grasshopper and a scorpion – but never mind that, I suppose it means nothing to you. But once she has made a choice between these two, she can return. Or perhaps she will not. I do promise that she will be safe, for I understand that you love her. I do not understand how I love her, and perhaps I never will. I am afraid I still do not understand love.

Raoul, you are a gentleman and you will be a good father, should Christine choose to return and have children with you. I know that you will be better than my father. Oh, if only I had been born with you and Christine as parents instead of the devils I got! But I am the only devil I know.

Note well, Raoul: Christine can choose to come back to you, or she can choose to stay with me. It is the choice of the grasshopper or the scorpion – but one is more deadly than it seems! – aha! It's quite genius. I almost wish you were around to see it.

I suppose this is our goodbye, Vicomte de Chagny. It has been a true pleasure doing business with you.

Erik

Raoul wanted to crush the note right there; but he didn't. He needed to call Bhuvan. Bhuvan would know what to do. Raoul clearly needed to follow Christine and rescue her – but he didn't know where to start. He had never known where Erik had taken Christine the first time; so he wouldn't know where to look a second time. But Bhuvan would know. The problem was that Raoul had no idea where to find Bhuvan, either.

Reaching for his phone, Raoul looked through his contacts and finally found the one he needed. He dialled quickly and hoped that it wasn't too early to call. After three rings, he thought it was probably too early to call, but he hoped that she would answer anyways.

"… Raoul?"

"Meg, hi."

"What's going on?" Meg asked groggily. "It's nine in the morning."

"Christine is in trouble. She's gone."

Raoul could hear sheets rustling in the background. Meg sounded much more alert when she said, "You sound awfully calm. I'll be over there in fifteen minutes. When did she disappear?"

"About five minutes ago. She – she walked away. She seemed really upset and said something about ending this once and for all. I think Erik was behind her."

"Oh, no… But… she just left? With Erik?"

"Yeah," Raoul said miserably. "But that's not all."

"What could be worse?"

"The thing is, Meg, Erik left me a note."

Meg groaned.

"You can read it when you get here. I don't think I can stomach reading it out loud. But Meg, I think he's insane. Something happened and Erik is really insane this time. We need to find Christine before he does something awful."

Raoul could hear a television running in the background. Meg grew very quiet and then said, "Something awful… like planting a bomb?"

"A – a what?" Raoul stammered.

"Turn on your TV."

Raoul ran to the living room and switched on BBC 1. The news was running on an emergency broadcast: someone had wired bombs all throughout London.

"The threat came in at eight thirty this morning," the news anchor said, looking unusually calm for such a large story. "Security teams soon discovered the threat was credible and that someone has put bombs all over London in strategic areas. While teams are working to deactivate the bombs, we are unsure of when the unidentified person will activate the code to set off the bombs. The note did not have any demands. The note was delivered by a man who kept his face hidden from the cameras and disappeared as soon as he had left the note at the Prime Minister's doorstep. MI6 and MI5 are searching for the man but have no evidence to go by. We are asking for the public's help in identifying this man. If you have any information on him, please call the number on your screen."

"You should call, Raoul," Meg said, "assuming you're seeing the same thing as I am. We don't know much but we know a little, and that can help."

"How soon will you be here?" Raoul asked.

"Ten minutes," Meg said.

"Okay. I'll see you then."

Raoul hung up, noted down the number, then went in for a quick shower. After all, if he was going to rescue Christine, he needed to be dressed in something other than flannel pyjamas.

In ten minutes, Meg had appeared at the door with wet hair and a hastily thrown together outfit just as Raoul was putting on a shirt. He answered the door and beckoned her in without a word.

"Did you call?" Meg asked.

"Not yet," Raoul said. "Had to shower."

"Fine," Meg sighed. "I'll call."

She dialled the number Raoul had noted down. "Hello," she said. "My name is Meg Giry. I haven't met the man in question who's got bombs all over, but my best friend has. Her name is Christine Daae de Chagny. She's been kidnapped by this guy. Yes – yes – no, I don't know – well, he started sending her boyfriend death threats back in secondary school and now – well, no. His name is Erik. No – don't know his last name. Maybe he doesn't have one. We went to school in Surrey but he appeared at our university a few weeks ago – no, of course it wasn't reported. People thought it was a prank. Kings College London. Yes, he's stalked her for years… Well, we did report it several times but the police did nothing! I know, bloody useless… Do you remember the murder of Joseph Buquet, a few years ago? It went all over the news. Yeah. Erik killed him. His face? Um… never seen his face. He always keeps it covered."

"I have," Raoul said in a whisper.

"Wait, hang on – got a friend here – no, Christine's husband – yes, yes, the Vicomte – oh my gosh, you read Daily Mail, don't you? Well who he marries is none of your business and I'll have you know he and Christine are very happy together! – yeah, fine, until this Erik business but that has nothing to do with their relationship and if you simply saw them you'd see they were perfect for each other. I – what? – oh, yeah, sorry." And Meg handed the phone over to Raoul.

"Hello," Raoul said. "I'm Raoul de Chagny."

"Quite the story in the papers a while ago," a girl with a cockney accent said.

"Yeah, whatever," Raoul said irritably. "Listen, I've seen Erik's face. It's pockmarked and he's got veins running up his head. His skin sags on the left part of his face and looks really red and torn on the right side. It – it looks like those victims of acid attacks. That's sort of what he looks like. His mouth is really swollen and his left eye sags. That's why he keeps his face covered."

"Right," the girl said slowly. "I got all that. We'll have an artist do a rendition and come over to your house in half an hour with it, yeah?"

"Fine," Raoul said.

"Right. Cheers." The girl hung up.

"They're sending an artist over with a rendition in half an hour," Raoul said to Meg. "So we have half an hour to figure out what Erik's note means."

"It was a pleasure doing business," Meg said venomously. "He said 'doing business'! What the hell does this dude think Christine is? She's not a fucking object! She's a person! Oh, man, if I ever get my hands on Erik –"

"The scorpion and the grasshopper, Meg!" Raoul said loudly. "I know, that part bothered me too, but I think the grasshopper and the scorpion are more important right now."

"Right, the grasshopper and the scorpion," Meg mused, reading the letter. "But one is more deadly than the other… well, obviously, the scorpion is more deadly than the grasshopper. Scorpions kill you. But it also says one is more deadly than it seems… but grasshoppers aren't deadly at all. Like, all they do is jump on things and eat screens."

"Everyone knows scorpions are deadly," Raoul pointed out. "But perhaps – well, weren't grasshoppers a plague? They eat all the crops and then everyone dies."

"But what does it mean that Christine has to choose?" Meg wondered. "She has to choose between a grasshopper and a scorpion. I hope they're not living – er – alive. But surely these things symbolise something?"

Raoul shook his head hopelessly.

There was a banging on the door. "It's only been five minutes," Raoul said, frowning as he went to the door. "No artist is that fast."

Bhuvan and Philippe stood outside and rushed in the moment Raoul opened the door. "He's got her," Bhuvan said breathlessly. "You have a note! Fantastic!"

Philippe put a protective arm around his little brother. "Have you seen the news?" he asked. "Erik put bombs all over the city. I called that hotline number but I didn't know a lot so I couldn't give them a lot of information."

Raoul nodded. "I called and described Erik. But they won't find him. He's got to be underground somewhere."

"You're going after her, aren't you?" Philippe said.

"Meg and I will," Raoul said, nodding.

"I'm coming too, then," Philippe decided. "And so is Bhuvan. He said he knows you."

"Yeah."

"A grasshopper and a scorpion… oh, but Erik, why?" Bhuvan exclaimed.

"What?" Meg asked frantically. "Do you know what it means?"

"Christine chooses the grasshopper and the bombs are activated," Bhuvan said hopelessly, sitting down. "But Erik won't tell her that. He'll… he'll tell her it's some kind of happy ending. She gets to leave and go with Raoul. But of course they'll all be dead! But if she chooses the scorpion, she stays with Erik forever… Erik views himself as a scorpion. He is deadly by nature. But grasshoppers are more destructive."

"We've got to find her!" Raoul exclaimed in a panic. "If she chooses the wrong thing then – then…"

Raoul hesitated. Bhuvan thought the grasshopper meant that Christine came back to Raoul – but all of London paid the price. But if Christine chose the scorpion, then she condemned herself to a life with Erik…

"It's an impossible choice," Meg whispered.

"We'll get her," Raoul said determinedly. "Christine is smart. She'll figure out that the grasshopper activates a bomb – she's an engineer. So she'll choose the scorpion. And then we'll go in and rescue her so she's not stuck there."

"You want to go down there? Into Erik's lair?" Bhuvan asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Raoul said determinedly. "I need to find her. She can't condemn herself like that."

Bhuvan shook his head at Raoul. "You are a determined young fellow who is ardently in love," he said. "I will lead you there, Raoul de Chagny."

"I'm coming too," Meg said, crossing her arms.

"And so am I," Philippe added.

"I warn you," Bhuvan said, "it will be filled with obstacles meant to kill. I cannot guarantee the safety of everyone. Erik will not be pleased with any of us if we try to get into his lair."

"Christine needs us," Meg said determinedly. "We promised her. And we don't break promises."