A groggy crowd of people sat in the theater chairs, blinking their eyes. They would've sworn that the play weeks from now, not right now! But, here they were… how did they get here?

Madame Giry, her thin limbs trembling, climbed onto the stage and began to speak. "T-t-t-t-t…. Tonight we are h-having a performance of… Romeo and Juliet… p-p-please enjoy the sh-show."

A smattering of applause.

"Please enjoy the show!" Madame Giry's voice boomed. The air was alive with clapping from the confused guests.

Madame Giry blinked once, looking surprised, and then scurried down to change into her own costume. She would've sworn today was August second… she thought the play was supposed to be in July!

And the play went on without a hitch. Erik, his face wrapped in bandages, practically hurt the audience by the power of his voice. He radiated energy, and it seemed like the chandelier always cast its warm glow on him.
When Christine made her début, the audience seemed stunned. Christine was no longer shy, little, quiet Christine. Her hair was up in a bun, and she looked beautiful in a dark purple dress, almost frighteningly so. But, if you looked close enough, you could see that she was shaking slightly.

Her voice poured over the audience, and, when Erik and Christine touched, everyone could feel her fear and his ecstasy. They were the perfect singers, the perfect actors, and the perfect couple.

Then, Raoul came running onto the stage, interrupting Romeo's love sonnet. Raoul looked horrible, his chest heaving pitifully, his blonde hair hanging in a mess from his head.

"Get away from her, you beast!" He shouted, pulling out a silver sword.

The audience looked at each other, momentarily out of Erik and Christine's spell. Why was Paris here already? He was supposed to fight with Romeo much later…!

Erik, Romeo, laughed. "Oh, put that thing away. Don't poke your eye." Christine, Juliet, knowing that she was needed, ran down from her wooden stage balcony. "Ra-"

"Paris!" Romeo, hissing, interjected. Christine nodded. "Paris… what are you doing here?"

"Who is he?" Romeo asked, pointing to the new face. His gold eyes, peering out from beneath thick wrapping, stared at her. He wanted her to play along. But his note, the horrible note! Raoul would die tonight!

"He… he is Paris…" She turned away from him, hugging herself. "My… fiancé…"

Paris let out a gasp, louder then Romeo's fake one.

Juliet stepped away from them. "I'm… sorry…"

The audience shrugged. Well, it was a surprising change to the normal play, but not an unpleasing one.

"Well, I guess we will have to fight to see who wins you." Romeo growled, and turned back to Paris, whose hand was still firmly holding the silver sword. Romeo reached into the shadows at the edge of the back of the stage and suddenly he was holding a bright, golden sword.

"No!" Juliet screamed. She ran to stand in between them, her green eyes squeezed shut.

The audience thought this was mighty good acting.

"Get back, Juliet." Paris said, his voice venomous. "Tonight, I will kill this man, once and for all."

At that moment, Romeo pushed Juliet down, and lunged at Paris. Juliet hit the ground with a thump, and she let out a small peep, though she knew she had to let them fight. They were still on stage, and this had to look natural.

Gold met silver in a flash of dazzlingly bright sparks. Paris' sword was no match for the thick metal of Romeo's though, and soon the hilt was scratched up horribly.

The audience began to get the faintest idea that something was amiss.

Juliet inched away from the middle of the stage, her ears ringing with the clang of the swords. She wanted to get up and yell: "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"

But, they were acting now.

She was almost at the end of the stage when Paris gave a yelp. Romeo had pushed him against a fake tree, sword at his throat. Each was breathing heavily, their eyes locked onto one another's.

Juliet looked over her shoulder when she heard a strange grating of metal. It would seem that Paris was trying to get free.

"This face… which earned… a mother's fear and loathing…" Romeo sang, his quiet voice suddenly the only noise in the still theater. Everyone looked at him with surprise, and, in two cases, fear.

"A mask… my first! Unfeeling scrap of clothing… Bravery comes to late! Raise the mirror and face your fate! All because of your naïve kiss," He shot a single glare at Juliet, who had gotten to her feet, trembling a bit. When he looked at her, she saw insanity sparkling in his eyes. "Damn you to an eternity of this!" Erik raised a finger from the sword and pointed to his bandaged face.

The audience and Juliet started getting a tingling feeling of horror in their stomachs. Paris was already terrified for his life.

But Erik would not take Raoul's life tonight. Instead, he raised his golden sword up from the lock of Raoul's silver sword, and slowly brought it down so it grazed his rosy cheeks. Erik kept singing to himself, but the tune suddenly changed. He was singing something from Don Juan Triumphant? What?

"When will the blood begin to spill? The sleeping bud wither- become still? When will the flames at last consume you? Oh, Christine, sing with me! Sing with me like you did when you were young!" Erik demanded, pressing a bit deeper into Raoul's cheeks. He winced, but did not move for fear of making the blade go a bit deeper.

"Past the point of no return… the final threshold! The bridge crossed, so stand and watch it burn… We've past the point of no… re… turn…"

Erik smiled, and thus started the process of cutting up Raoul de Chagny's face.

(Updating... like mad... trying... to make up for... lack of updates... squaaa...

And, my dear friends, the true story starts here!...)