I So Want to Be You
By Deep Roller
A/N: I actually got this all sorted out, but I'm still traipsing along with details, so I hope you'll forgive me. This is one highly illogical take on the whole final scene of the book (Kay's book, though I dunno why she left the scorpion and the grasshopper out...artistic licensing I guess) from what could have been the case.
Disclaimer: Hmmm...a profit you say? No, my only profit is from mucking stalls and taking care of my neighbor's canaries. Not from these characters, although the canaries are named Christine and Phantom. But they're just canaries, so don't sue!
Sitting in a puddle of water and tangled up in the dress, Erik growled to himself as he watched everyone fighting. What could he do now? Would this whole blasted mess ever get sorted out? Why in hell did he make his stupid wish anyway? But first he had to get rid of this horrible din of noise. And he had to stop Nadir from turning his feet into raw hamburger. "Quiet!" He yelled, but no one seemed to hear. Ugh, this was frustrating, this timid little voice wasn't effective at all, not even when he shouted. Okay, let's try again. "QUIET!!!!!" He roared this time, and that earned him everyone's attention.
"You really don't have to shout, Erik." Christine said civilly, blinking. She had gotten one hand free and it was locked around Ayesha's ankle, ready to trip her up if necessary. Ayesha had hold of Nadir, and they were all frozen in place now.
"Could everybody please just stop bickering for three insignificant seconds? Does it occur to anyone else in this mental asylum that we aren't who we're supposed to be?! Does ANYONE have a plan for getting back?" Erik asked quietly, trying to get up and slipping back down. "Oh, damn this stupid dress!!" He growled, getting to his knees and crawling to the closet door frame to pull himself back up. Slipping again, he banged his forehead on the closet's wooden frame, causing it to bleed a little, and when he felt it with one hand, he could sense the bump. Oh, how lovely, scratches and a bruise. Perhaps he wouldn't have to get his old self back, pretty soon Christine's face would resemble his own at the rate he was going.
"I don't have any idea of how to do it." Ayesha said with a shrug, stepping back out of Christine's hold. Christine shook her head solemnly, but Nadir became agitated. Meowing, he walked to stand in front of Erik, who just stared at him curiously.
"Nadir, d'you have a plan?"
"Mrrrworrr. Mrrror, miaow." Nadir articulated, frustration almost visible in his cat eyes. He turned around in circles and jumped up on the near by writing desk. Following, Erik and Ayesha left Christine tied in the closet as they watched Nadir trying to write out his plan.
"Frustrating with no hands to write with, isn't it?" Ayesha said almost mockingly. "Bet you wish you could talk, too." Giving her a dark look, Nadir dipped one paw in ink and tried to smear a letter out.
"It looks like a G to me." Erik said, studying Nadir as he wrote.
"That's such a messy way to write, and ink is so horrible to get off the paws. That red stuff you use tastes so nasty." Ayesha said, making a face and sticking out her tongue. Nadir continued to write, and before long he had spelled out his plan in messy, cat smeared ink.
"Go get the boy? But...why?" Erik looked extremely puzzled. Nadir merely stamped a paw on his plan, blue eyes stubborn. "Daroga, where are you going with this?" With an audible mrrowr of frustration, Nadir wrote a bit more on his ink smeared piece of paper.
'The boy may be able to help sort this out. I have a feeling he's involved somehow.'
"But I can't go get him!" Erik protested, holding his hands up. "Look at me, I'm a horrible mess, I look like something the cat dragged in."
"I never drag anything in!" Ayesha protested, grumbling. "And I can't go get him, I'm sure he absolutely hates my guts, I don't want to be shot at. I don't think he'd follow a cat, so who's left...?" All at the same time, they turned to Christine. After a moment, she sighed heavily and nodded acquiescence.
"Fine, I'll go get Raoul and bring him back. I don't know where you're going with this, but whatever gets me out of these ropes is fine!" Kicking the door frame, she sighed sadly. "I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe any of this at all." Going over to her, Erik untied the ropes and stood her up. Looking her straight in the eyes, his gaze was stern.
"You have to bring him down here without cluing him in to what's happening. For God's sake, ACT like the daroga, don't call him Raoul, call him the vicomte, and tell him whatever it takes to get him down here, okay?" She nodded, and then began to giggle. "Oh no, not you too."
"It's just....I've never seen myself this stern before!" She said while giggling.
"Oh, get over it Christine." Erik muttered, giving her a gentle push to get going. "We've got to try to puzzle this out while you're gone. Get moving!" Christine hurried down the steps and out to the lake. Grabbing the boat, she rowed across swiftly, reaching the other end in record time. Scrambling out, she dashed up the flights of steps and the corridors to find the outside.
Raoul was combing the Opera House for Christine. He wanted to see how she was feeling, she had been behaving so strangely today. It wasn't like her, and he wanted to make sure she was alright and not delirious or sick or anything. He inquired at the manager's office, but they were busy dealing with Carlotta, who seemed to have developed some sort of rash. Her screeches drove Raoul out into the foyers, where he called and called for Christine. Suddenly, a figure emerged out of the shadows, looking a bit harried and quite relieved to see him. It was the Persian! He had heard of this fellow from the talk of ballet girls, but had never seen him up close.
"You must come with me, monsieur le vicomte, you must hurry!" The Persian said, coming up to his side, a note of urgency definitely ranking in his words. Alarms suddenly clanged in Raoul's head and he almost hesitated to speak.
"What's the matter? Why do you want me?" He asked, hoping it had nothing to do with Christine.
"Your lady friend....she's..." Christine, when faced with Raoul, was at a loss for words, but Erik's intonation stayed with her. Whatever it took to get Raoul down there, to get them all back in their own bodies. "He's taken her, monsieur, Erik has taken your lady friend and is...keeping her with him. Follow me, I will take you to them!" Quite proud of herself for such a performance, Christine knew she had him now. He was sure to follow her now. "You must come with me, or we'll be too late to stop it!" Raoul nodded and followed Christine as she led the way down into the depths of the Opera once more. But it began to get so dark that she couldn't see her hand in front of her face, and she started to lose her way. Every so often, she'd hold her hand up in front of her eyes to check visibility.
"Forgive me sir, but why are you doing that? Raising your hand like that?" Raoul ventured as they trudged through the subterranean world of the opera underground. ~Don't let him know you're losing your way, act like the daroga. Ahah, I have it!~
"You must keep your hand here, at the level of your eyes or else you will be the...the next victim of his lasso. Do this, yes, just like that." She said, adjusting his arm and nodding. She was pretty good at this! They were getting closer, she could tell by the smell of the lake. But wasn't there an easier way? To the left, she remembered something about going left. Or had he told her never go left? No, she was sure it was safe to go, so she led Raoul left, glad to see a little light shedding on her hand now.
Inside, Erik, Nadir, and Ayesha were deliberating on the situation. Well, Erik and Ayesha were, and Nadir was sitting up and watching them.
"What did you wish for, Erik? You never told me." Ayesha said, curious. Erik was sitting in a chair, idly playing with the rope that Ayesha had used to bind Christine. He was tying his wrists together and seeing how long it took him to escape, a little trick he had picked up in Persia. It was rather fun, actually.
"I wished...well, I wished to be someone else too. But you aren't going to like it very much, so I'll refrain from mentioning it. Aha!" He exclaimed, slipping his hands free. "I'm not challenging myself enough," he muttered. "I need someone else to tie this knot, would you do the honors?" He held his wrists out, giving Ayesha the rope.
"Why do you want me to do this?" She asked, a puzzled look in her eyes.
"It helps me think when I've got a problem, and besides, I like proving that I can get out of things. It's much too easy with these skinny little wrists, though. Tie that knot TIGHT." Ayesha complied, tying the knot around Erik's wrists. "Now, to make a real challenge, since I have nothing else to do until that stupid boy gets here, tie my feet too. Go on, there we go."
Christine was in BIG trouble. She sure had lost her way this time. They had gone around the lake on the left side, but now she had no clue how to get to Erik's flat. There was a little room up ahead, with a small steel door. Perhaps that led the way. Beckoning to Raoul, she led him inside. The door slammed shut behind them with a loud BANG! That caused Christine to jump ten miles out of her skin. "Oh...no..." She said, looking around at the shining walls of the torture chamber. "This isn't good. Not good at all." Raoul, catching her feeling, began to beat and bang on the walls, shouting. "It's no use! We can't get out!" Christine muttered, sighing and sitting down. This was just fabulous, what was going to happen next?
"I see a little window, maybe if you boost me up, I can see what's going on in there." Raoul ventured, pointing upwards. Christine followed his arm and almost cheered. If they saw them, they could get out.
"Alright, here, stand on my shoulders and see what you can." She bent down, and Raoul climbed onto her shoulders, peering into the window. His eyes went wide as he saw a tall dark an in a cape tying Christine up by the ankles, her wrists already bound.
"My God, you were right! He's got her tied up! We have to get out of here!" Christine was so shocked she moved backwards, causing Raoul to fall down.
"Tied up? But why...?" Christine began to feel a numbing sort of panic.
"And it looks like she's got a pretty big bump on her head, too. And scratches. What is going ON in there?" Raoul asked. Christine had a brilliant inspiration then, and she motioned Raoul back over by the window.
"I want to see what's going on, if you'll let me up. Maybe...maybe he'll listen to me." Christine said, climbing up on Raoul's shoulders. She rapped on the window fiercely, shouting. "HEY! SOMEONE! GET over here!!" She took a look at the scene. Erik was indeed tied up at wrists and ankles, but he was doing his little Persian rope thing that helped him think. She had seen him do it a few times, and she knew by his wiggling legs that he was almost through. She winced when she saw the bump on his forehead, it looked worse than it had before when he had hit it. Ayesha was standing next to him, laughing happily. Craning, she could see that something was tickling her feet. She tried to get someone's attention by rapping again. Raoul was starting to get tired, and they needed out. Ayesha came to the window at the second rapping. Her voice was somewhat muffled by the glass, but she could hear it pretty well.
"Did you bring him? Is he here?"
"Yes," Christine hissed, nodding fiercely.
"Good! Finally this can end!" Ayesha thundered, finishing with a burst of near mad laughter. From underneath, Raoul shuddered. Something was going to happen, and from the insane laughter of their captor, it wasn't going to be good.
"What is tickling you?" Christine asked, peering out and trying to peer over.
"It's this blasted thread that I can't get loose." Ayesha laughed again, shaking her head.
"Listen, I need you to get us out of here. Can you do that?" Christine asked, praying silently.
"Oh, sure, I can get you out. No problem. Just get down and relax, I'll get you out."
Raoul, who hadn't been able to hear the words of the person on his shoulders, could hear Erik's proclamations loud and clear.
"He's letting us out? Is Christine okay?"
"I think so, and yes, he's letting us go. Oh please..." Christine sent another prayer that Ayesha knew what she was doing.
Up above, Erik had near gotten free of the ropes around his wrists, and was working at his ankle wrists. He was muttering to himself about the significance of Raoul's presence, thinking it had something to do with having all involved in the wish nearby. He didn't hear Ayesha move to the controls for the chamber. At the controls, Ayesha was agonizing. Which one opened the door? It could be the red lever, or the brass knob, or any one of a dozen little things. Most, she thought, probably changed the angles of the mirrors, but which one freed the door? Making a choice, she pulled a conspicuous lever and hoped. When she didn't hear a door opening, she ran to the window and peered in. They were still trapped, and she could hear Christine shouting one thing.
"You just made it hotter in here!!! There's no way out! The temperature is rising!!"
"Damn," she muttered, and taking a deep breath she went to go get Erik.
A/N: Now, more is coming, but this takes puzzling out and research people. I hope you enjoy.... ~_^
By Deep Roller
A/N: I actually got this all sorted out, but I'm still traipsing along with details, so I hope you'll forgive me. This is one highly illogical take on the whole final scene of the book (Kay's book, though I dunno why she left the scorpion and the grasshopper out...artistic licensing I guess) from what could have been the case.
Disclaimer: Hmmm...a profit you say? No, my only profit is from mucking stalls and taking care of my neighbor's canaries. Not from these characters, although the canaries are named Christine and Phantom. But they're just canaries, so don't sue!
Sitting in a puddle of water and tangled up in the dress, Erik growled to himself as he watched everyone fighting. What could he do now? Would this whole blasted mess ever get sorted out? Why in hell did he make his stupid wish anyway? But first he had to get rid of this horrible din of noise. And he had to stop Nadir from turning his feet into raw hamburger. "Quiet!" He yelled, but no one seemed to hear. Ugh, this was frustrating, this timid little voice wasn't effective at all, not even when he shouted. Okay, let's try again. "QUIET!!!!!" He roared this time, and that earned him everyone's attention.
"You really don't have to shout, Erik." Christine said civilly, blinking. She had gotten one hand free and it was locked around Ayesha's ankle, ready to trip her up if necessary. Ayesha had hold of Nadir, and they were all frozen in place now.
"Could everybody please just stop bickering for three insignificant seconds? Does it occur to anyone else in this mental asylum that we aren't who we're supposed to be?! Does ANYONE have a plan for getting back?" Erik asked quietly, trying to get up and slipping back down. "Oh, damn this stupid dress!!" He growled, getting to his knees and crawling to the closet door frame to pull himself back up. Slipping again, he banged his forehead on the closet's wooden frame, causing it to bleed a little, and when he felt it with one hand, he could sense the bump. Oh, how lovely, scratches and a bruise. Perhaps he wouldn't have to get his old self back, pretty soon Christine's face would resemble his own at the rate he was going.
"I don't have any idea of how to do it." Ayesha said with a shrug, stepping back out of Christine's hold. Christine shook her head solemnly, but Nadir became agitated. Meowing, he walked to stand in front of Erik, who just stared at him curiously.
"Nadir, d'you have a plan?"
"Mrrrworrr. Mrrror, miaow." Nadir articulated, frustration almost visible in his cat eyes. He turned around in circles and jumped up on the near by writing desk. Following, Erik and Ayesha left Christine tied in the closet as they watched Nadir trying to write out his plan.
"Frustrating with no hands to write with, isn't it?" Ayesha said almost mockingly. "Bet you wish you could talk, too." Giving her a dark look, Nadir dipped one paw in ink and tried to smear a letter out.
"It looks like a G to me." Erik said, studying Nadir as he wrote.
"That's such a messy way to write, and ink is so horrible to get off the paws. That red stuff you use tastes so nasty." Ayesha said, making a face and sticking out her tongue. Nadir continued to write, and before long he had spelled out his plan in messy, cat smeared ink.
"Go get the boy? But...why?" Erik looked extremely puzzled. Nadir merely stamped a paw on his plan, blue eyes stubborn. "Daroga, where are you going with this?" With an audible mrrowr of frustration, Nadir wrote a bit more on his ink smeared piece of paper.
'The boy may be able to help sort this out. I have a feeling he's involved somehow.'
"But I can't go get him!" Erik protested, holding his hands up. "Look at me, I'm a horrible mess, I look like something the cat dragged in."
"I never drag anything in!" Ayesha protested, grumbling. "And I can't go get him, I'm sure he absolutely hates my guts, I don't want to be shot at. I don't think he'd follow a cat, so who's left...?" All at the same time, they turned to Christine. After a moment, she sighed heavily and nodded acquiescence.
"Fine, I'll go get Raoul and bring him back. I don't know where you're going with this, but whatever gets me out of these ropes is fine!" Kicking the door frame, she sighed sadly. "I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe any of this at all." Going over to her, Erik untied the ropes and stood her up. Looking her straight in the eyes, his gaze was stern.
"You have to bring him down here without cluing him in to what's happening. For God's sake, ACT like the daroga, don't call him Raoul, call him the vicomte, and tell him whatever it takes to get him down here, okay?" She nodded, and then began to giggle. "Oh no, not you too."
"It's just....I've never seen myself this stern before!" She said while giggling.
"Oh, get over it Christine." Erik muttered, giving her a gentle push to get going. "We've got to try to puzzle this out while you're gone. Get moving!" Christine hurried down the steps and out to the lake. Grabbing the boat, she rowed across swiftly, reaching the other end in record time. Scrambling out, she dashed up the flights of steps and the corridors to find the outside.
Raoul was combing the Opera House for Christine. He wanted to see how she was feeling, she had been behaving so strangely today. It wasn't like her, and he wanted to make sure she was alright and not delirious or sick or anything. He inquired at the manager's office, but they were busy dealing with Carlotta, who seemed to have developed some sort of rash. Her screeches drove Raoul out into the foyers, where he called and called for Christine. Suddenly, a figure emerged out of the shadows, looking a bit harried and quite relieved to see him. It was the Persian! He had heard of this fellow from the talk of ballet girls, but had never seen him up close.
"You must come with me, monsieur le vicomte, you must hurry!" The Persian said, coming up to his side, a note of urgency definitely ranking in his words. Alarms suddenly clanged in Raoul's head and he almost hesitated to speak.
"What's the matter? Why do you want me?" He asked, hoping it had nothing to do with Christine.
"Your lady friend....she's..." Christine, when faced with Raoul, was at a loss for words, but Erik's intonation stayed with her. Whatever it took to get Raoul down there, to get them all back in their own bodies. "He's taken her, monsieur, Erik has taken your lady friend and is...keeping her with him. Follow me, I will take you to them!" Quite proud of herself for such a performance, Christine knew she had him now. He was sure to follow her now. "You must come with me, or we'll be too late to stop it!" Raoul nodded and followed Christine as she led the way down into the depths of the Opera once more. But it began to get so dark that she couldn't see her hand in front of her face, and she started to lose her way. Every so often, she'd hold her hand up in front of her eyes to check visibility.
"Forgive me sir, but why are you doing that? Raising your hand like that?" Raoul ventured as they trudged through the subterranean world of the opera underground. ~Don't let him know you're losing your way, act like the daroga. Ahah, I have it!~
"You must keep your hand here, at the level of your eyes or else you will be the...the next victim of his lasso. Do this, yes, just like that." She said, adjusting his arm and nodding. She was pretty good at this! They were getting closer, she could tell by the smell of the lake. But wasn't there an easier way? To the left, she remembered something about going left. Or had he told her never go left? No, she was sure it was safe to go, so she led Raoul left, glad to see a little light shedding on her hand now.
Inside, Erik, Nadir, and Ayesha were deliberating on the situation. Well, Erik and Ayesha were, and Nadir was sitting up and watching them.
"What did you wish for, Erik? You never told me." Ayesha said, curious. Erik was sitting in a chair, idly playing with the rope that Ayesha had used to bind Christine. He was tying his wrists together and seeing how long it took him to escape, a little trick he had picked up in Persia. It was rather fun, actually.
"I wished...well, I wished to be someone else too. But you aren't going to like it very much, so I'll refrain from mentioning it. Aha!" He exclaimed, slipping his hands free. "I'm not challenging myself enough," he muttered. "I need someone else to tie this knot, would you do the honors?" He held his wrists out, giving Ayesha the rope.
"Why do you want me to do this?" She asked, a puzzled look in her eyes.
"It helps me think when I've got a problem, and besides, I like proving that I can get out of things. It's much too easy with these skinny little wrists, though. Tie that knot TIGHT." Ayesha complied, tying the knot around Erik's wrists. "Now, to make a real challenge, since I have nothing else to do until that stupid boy gets here, tie my feet too. Go on, there we go."
Christine was in BIG trouble. She sure had lost her way this time. They had gone around the lake on the left side, but now she had no clue how to get to Erik's flat. There was a little room up ahead, with a small steel door. Perhaps that led the way. Beckoning to Raoul, she led him inside. The door slammed shut behind them with a loud BANG! That caused Christine to jump ten miles out of her skin. "Oh...no..." She said, looking around at the shining walls of the torture chamber. "This isn't good. Not good at all." Raoul, catching her feeling, began to beat and bang on the walls, shouting. "It's no use! We can't get out!" Christine muttered, sighing and sitting down. This was just fabulous, what was going to happen next?
"I see a little window, maybe if you boost me up, I can see what's going on in there." Raoul ventured, pointing upwards. Christine followed his arm and almost cheered. If they saw them, they could get out.
"Alright, here, stand on my shoulders and see what you can." She bent down, and Raoul climbed onto her shoulders, peering into the window. His eyes went wide as he saw a tall dark an in a cape tying Christine up by the ankles, her wrists already bound.
"My God, you were right! He's got her tied up! We have to get out of here!" Christine was so shocked she moved backwards, causing Raoul to fall down.
"Tied up? But why...?" Christine began to feel a numbing sort of panic.
"And it looks like she's got a pretty big bump on her head, too. And scratches. What is going ON in there?" Raoul asked. Christine had a brilliant inspiration then, and she motioned Raoul back over by the window.
"I want to see what's going on, if you'll let me up. Maybe...maybe he'll listen to me." Christine said, climbing up on Raoul's shoulders. She rapped on the window fiercely, shouting. "HEY! SOMEONE! GET over here!!" She took a look at the scene. Erik was indeed tied up at wrists and ankles, but he was doing his little Persian rope thing that helped him think. She had seen him do it a few times, and she knew by his wiggling legs that he was almost through. She winced when she saw the bump on his forehead, it looked worse than it had before when he had hit it. Ayesha was standing next to him, laughing happily. Craning, she could see that something was tickling her feet. She tried to get someone's attention by rapping again. Raoul was starting to get tired, and they needed out. Ayesha came to the window at the second rapping. Her voice was somewhat muffled by the glass, but she could hear it pretty well.
"Did you bring him? Is he here?"
"Yes," Christine hissed, nodding fiercely.
"Good! Finally this can end!" Ayesha thundered, finishing with a burst of near mad laughter. From underneath, Raoul shuddered. Something was going to happen, and from the insane laughter of their captor, it wasn't going to be good.
"What is tickling you?" Christine asked, peering out and trying to peer over.
"It's this blasted thread that I can't get loose." Ayesha laughed again, shaking her head.
"Listen, I need you to get us out of here. Can you do that?" Christine asked, praying silently.
"Oh, sure, I can get you out. No problem. Just get down and relax, I'll get you out."
Raoul, who hadn't been able to hear the words of the person on his shoulders, could hear Erik's proclamations loud and clear.
"He's letting us out? Is Christine okay?"
"I think so, and yes, he's letting us go. Oh please..." Christine sent another prayer that Ayesha knew what she was doing.
Up above, Erik had near gotten free of the ropes around his wrists, and was working at his ankle wrists. He was muttering to himself about the significance of Raoul's presence, thinking it had something to do with having all involved in the wish nearby. He didn't hear Ayesha move to the controls for the chamber. At the controls, Ayesha was agonizing. Which one opened the door? It could be the red lever, or the brass knob, or any one of a dozen little things. Most, she thought, probably changed the angles of the mirrors, but which one freed the door? Making a choice, she pulled a conspicuous lever and hoped. When she didn't hear a door opening, she ran to the window and peered in. They were still trapped, and she could hear Christine shouting one thing.
"You just made it hotter in here!!! There's no way out! The temperature is rising!!"
"Damn," she muttered, and taking a deep breath she went to go get Erik.
A/N: Now, more is coming, but this takes puzzling out and research people. I hope you enjoy.... ~_^
