"How nice to see you again, my old friend," Erik said jovially, "It's nice to see you haven't forgotten everything I taught you."

It was the first time that I had ever seen the Shade look truly disconcerted, however it was also the first time I had ever seen his face at all, so it was no wonder the expression seemed new. People don't go around hiding their faces without a good reason for it, but looking into the Shade's face, no explanation presented itself. He had the same intense eyes that had been alternately interesting and annoying me for some time now. He also had a nose, cheek, lips and all the accoutrements that belong on faces. Somehow, I'd expected hideous scars or a cleft lip, or some simple other easy explanation for all the scarves and cloaks and hiding. There was none. He did not share Erik's remarkable beauty, but he looked well enough, perhaps even handsome. There were no answers in his face, only more questions.

"Up to your old trick again, I see," Erik continued, waving his hand in GirySue's general direction, but ignoring her pleading eyes. The front of her black dress was stained with blood, and the bloodied knife that the Shade had wrestled from her was still in his hand.

"These are not my tricks, Erik. Murder was always your area of expertise," the Shade answered, fighting for control over his voice and mostly losing.

Erik was tremendously amused with himself, "Really? I daresay that the French police might disagree with you on that point. What was that charming little name the papers came up with for you? Refresh my memory, would you?"

"I never killed anyone and you know it." The Shade snapped back.

"Really? Then perhaps you should have mentioned that to the court instead of running off and hiding," there was something vicious in Erik's voice, something that I hadn't heard before, "Of course, what can one expect from a thief? Oh I remember the headline, 'Magician Murders Manager' had a nice ring, I thought. I remember being quite surprised that you left so many clues around for the police to find."

I vaguely remembered reading about the case. An artists' manager had been found strangled in his office by a stage magician that he had been representing. Apparently, there had been so much evidence that the guilty man might as well have been in the room, dancing on the tables naked while singing "I did it! It was me!" for all the evidence he had left behind. The police had come after him, but he had escaped and fled, proving that although he had been an incompetent criminal, he was a skilled illusionist. It had happened in some dumpy little theater on the other side of town, and I had never connected any of it with the opera house or Erik.

I turned and met the Shade's gaze. He looked back at me intently, almost pleading but I wasn't sure what to say or do. There was something in his look that burned, and the bloodied knife was still in his hand. He took a step towards me but instinct betrayed me and I flinched away. The Shade's face fell. It was as if I had struck him. I could see it in his eyes but there was nothing I could say and no way to take it back. It took a step forward, but he just stood there looking defeated and lost.

"Perhaps I should have expected you to turn to crime," Erik continued, "After all, your tricks were never more than pale imitations of mine. To think that I took you under my wing, and in return you betrayed all my secrets. Did you think you would become famous and successful while I languished in obscurity just because you were blessed with a face that people could bear to see?"

I waited for the Shade to respond, but he said nothing. He just stood there, looking at me. I wanted him to defend himself or at least explain, but he didn't. It was as if he had stopped caring or had been brought so low already that nothing Erik said could matter and I had a feeling that it was all my fault.

"You lost everything, didn't you?" Erik pressed on, becoming ever more pleased with himself, and ever more triumphant, "I wonder how that must have felt. I wouldn't know, since I never had anything to begin with. I wonder how it must feel to look in the mirror and know that you have only yourself to blame…"

"It sounds like you're the one to blame, Erik" I snapped. I hadn't meant to say it aloud, but there it was. I privately resolved to give the Shade holy hell over not telling me his history sooner, but now was not the time.

"What did you say?" Erik's voice had turned to ice. He had been just about dancing around the stage in his glee, but now he was absolutely still. His handsome face twisted itself into a hideous mask of hatred and rage, far more unpleasant than any deformity that an unfeeling god might have inflicted upon him.

"You're the one who murdered Christine Daaé, I'm sure of it!" I yelled back, if only to make sure that it was said before Erik could get to me, "And I wouldn't be surprised if you killed Joseph Buquet and anyone else who has died in this plot. There is only one murderer in The Phantom of the Opera, Erik- you!"

With a hoarse cry, Erik flew at me. I thought that this was surely my end and it was my own fault for provoking a crazy person. Erik was going to murder me right there, in front of everyone and no one was going to do a single thing about it because they were all stone idiots. Why no one had bothered to shoot Erik when he was standing right there in the open, practically asking for it was beyond me. Erik's soul might not have been redeemed but apparently his reputation had been. Erik was so lovable that everyone adored him, even when he was about to commit murder right before their eyes.

At the last possible second, the Shade stepped in front of me and held his sword at the ready. Apparently, he had decided to rejoin the world of living, and not a moment too soon. I am not particularly impressed by the sort of female who cannot take care of herself, and goes about swooning over any man who is willing to take the responsibility off her hands, but I confess that I breathed a sigh of extreme relief and if it sounded somewhat swooning, so be it.

"So be it," said Erik, with a sick, forced smile, "Now it is war upon you both." Well, technically it already was, but can you really expect sense to come from the mouth of a madman? Erik turned and ran upstage, all the way up the stairs and into the center of the bridge.

"This just can't be good," said the Shade.

Erik looked deeply disturbed. His hair was unkempt and his shirt had fallen open all the way to navel. I couldn't tell if he was crying or sweating but it was not pretty. His chest was heaving with the effort of either sobbing or possibly all the running around he'd been doing lately. Whatever it was, ChristineSue or GirySue would no doubt be delighted to soothe his supposed pain, or muscle fatigue. Erik flung his arm out in the general direction of the chandelier, and screamed "Now!"

All of a sudden, we were plunged into complete darkness. Someone had shut off the gas to the theater. I didn't have to ask what would happen next. Any imbecile would have that figured out, even without the strange noise of groaning metal against tinkling crystal coming from above and moving rapidly, and contrary to all the laws of physics, in the general direction of the stage. To give credit where credit was due, Madame Giry had been paying enough attention to know to turn off the gas, so that we wouldn't be blown up before she crushed us to death.

The Shade snatched me into his arms and said, "Hold on!" as the ground opened up beneath our feet. I sincerely hoped that he knew what he was doing, because death by falling is not particularly preferable to death by chandelier. Death is death, after all.

TECHNICALLY NOT SPOILERS BUT READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

A/N- As I'm getting into solving a few puzzles, I figure it's time to include some notes about the story. I will admit that some of the rules of the story evolved over time and that this is really a draft, as opposed to a completed project. Also, input from reviewers has affected which ideas were kept and which were jettisoned. I dropped a couple of things that caused confusion and ran with some ideas that everyone enjoyed. In a sense, the Shade evolved and I hate unmasking him because it means committing myself to one solid idea, that fits with the clues, which are as follows:

1. Carlotta can see the Shade's eyes, and probably the bridge of his nose between his scarves and hats, and she has explicitly stated that what she sees is attractive. If the Shade has a deformity or scars, they've somehow missed that part of his face. Carlotta has also kissed him once and has touched his cheek, and if there was something wrong, she'd have noted it. There really isn't any room for a deformity.

2. We know that the Shade speaks clearly and doesn't have any physical limitations, so he isn't injured or ill, nor can he have a cleft palate. Carlotta might not interpret things correctly, but she is honest about what she sees and makes logical guesses based on the information that she has.

3. Erik met the Shade and recognized him, therefore the Shade must be the Shade. If not, why wouldn't Erik have said something? Since when is Erik nice to strangers? Why would he protect someone he doesn't know? This is also me being really sneaky, because through the rest of the story, I've kept the Shade away from people who could identify him conclusively because he already has been identified by Erik.

4. The bumbling managers would also know the Shade. He does bring people to their office. If he was someone else, they would have said something.

5. Although the Shade avoids the Persian at his house, they do run into one another at the opera house. If the Shade was not the Shade, why wouldn't the Persian warn the other characters?

6. Erik and the Shade must have a back story because they know each other's tricks and hate each other's guts. They're sniping at each other almost the instant they come into contact, which is pretty weird if they haven't met before.

7. There are two good reasons why Erik hasn't tried to unmask the Shade before. Firstly, every time Erik fights with the Shade, he gets his ass kicked which means that pissing him off for no good reason would not be wise. Secondly, it wouldn't have been a big deal earlier in the story when the Shade wasn't as attached to Carlotta and the others. Erik is smart enough to know that the unmasking could be a trump card for him, if he was patient.

8. Unmasking a deformed guy in a story based on a book about unmasking a deformed guy? Oh come on, that's no fun at all.