Author's Note: I wrote this story years ago. However, this story has written so many nice reviews, that I've decided to start posting what I had written. I plan on finishing the story as well... but don 't be surprised if the writing style changes after the fifth chapter.

The Mastermind sat watching the scene on her magic ball with a bemused look on her face. Perhaps bringing the Audrey II to her island hadn't been the best idea, no matter how nice its voice happened to be. After all, she wasn't sure exactly how a giant plant could be integrated into any musical, and it certainly didn't help to have it eating her other performers. The Mastermind sighed. This would have to be taken care of.

She closed her eyes, mentally disconnecting herself from the room around her. Colors swirled and sparkled, combining until her mind's eye had a clear view of the Theatre. Reality shimmered as her astralobe entered the room an instant before her physical body. Then she was standing in front of the great leafy monster that was the Audrey II.

The plant licked its huge lips greedily, its tentacles automatically reaching out to grab its seemingly helpless pray. A vine slowly began to wrap itself around The Mastermind's leg, deceptively gentle at first. She wrenched her leg free.

"Awww..." The Audrey II said, slowly running a vine down the Mastermind's chest, in a way that was apparently meant to be seductive, "Don't play that game with me..." The vine wrapped itself tightly around her. She started to laugh.

"I don't think so..." The plant started to crumble into it's self, leaves and vines melting away until it was a pale, pint sized version of it's former self contained in a tiny flower pot. Its lips puckered hungrily, but no words came out. The Mastermind lifted the little fly trap up so it was at face level.

"I'll play whatever game with you I wish sweetie," she said as though she were talking to a frightened puppy, "And if you're a good little plant, and promise not to eat anymore of my guests, I'll change you back to your normal size..." The plant nodded its pod furiously in agreement. The Mastermind watched this critically. "I don't believe you. At any rate, I don't see any harm in letting you stay like this for a few days." The Mastermind placed the Audrey II on the edge of the stage, and then let reality shimmer around her.

It had taken Dinah a long time to calm down. Even now, she didn't feel calm so much as merely composed. Her mind kept flashing with the image of Annie's severed foot, and the cold strangling insides of the plant's mouth. She wasn't crying anymore though, and at least she felt like she could function again. She gently untangled herself from Mark's arms, suddenly feeling very self-
conscious. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

"Thanks..." She said softly, wanting to say more, but not sure exactly what. Electra purred at her. "Y'all saved my life..." She gave her companions a small smile. It was strange to think that a couple of passengers and a giant cat who she had only known for less then a day had come through for her like they had, and the gratitude she felt towards them was immense. Mark smiled gently at her.

"It... was nothing." His tone was awkward but in a way Dinah found that sort of sweet. "Are you sure you're okay?" His face was so concerned... Dinah found herself smiling broadly at him. She threw her arms around him in a quick bear hug. When she pulled back she noticed he was blushing slightly. She hugged Electra next, who licked her cheek. Florence stood watching al of this, with a look of aloofness that Dinah chose to ignore. She got up, and flung her arms around the strange passenger woman. Dinah was surprised to hear Florence laugh slightly.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing. You do seem to be feeling better..." Dinah nodded quickly.

"Now, what are we going to do about the plant..." Mark started. Dinah felt her throat tighten at the mere mention of that horrible plant. She didn't even want to think about it anymore.

"Kill it!" Electra said cheerily, picking up he stick. The end of it had been stained green. Dinah shook her head quickly. Her voice rose in fear.

"No! stay away from it... if it wants to stay in the Theatre let it, just as long as it can't get at any of us..." She paused, realizing she had grabbed rather tightly onto Florence's arm. Florence yanked her arm away. Apparently any affection between the two of them was still extremely limited. "Before... it ate a little passenger girl..." She explained, trying to sound calm, and failing miserably. She wasn't exactly sure whether or not she had liked Annie, but she had never wanted to see her or anyone devoured by a giant plant.

"Oh dear..." Florence said. Dinah nodded.

"A-and I don't know what I'd do if I had to watch it eat someone else..." She admitted. Electra sighed and put her stick down. She had wanted climb on the plant again. Dinah sat back down on the ground, leaning against a tree.

"Well, with people just appearing out of nowhere..." Mark started, "You never no if..."

"The point is, anybody could appear in that room, at anytime." Florence said logically.

"And become plant food." Mark finished, "We have to at least go see if there's something we can do about it..."

"I'm not going back in there!" Dinah said, surprising herself with how forceful she sounded.

"We never said you had to..." Mark said gently. Dinah pouted.

"I don't want to stay out here alone either..."
"No," Florence said, "I believe it would be safer if we stayed in pairs for the time being. If nothing else, this island is unpredictable." She started towards the door to the Theatre. "Mark, you're with me. Electra, you stay with Dinah." Electra plopped down next to Dinah with a sigh.

"I wanted to fight with the plant again." She complained. Florence continued to speak, ignoring the cat girl's protests.

"If at any point we require your assistance, I'm sure our screams should be more than efficient as a means of alerting you." Florence smiled wryly. Dinah felt something jump inside of her.

"Don't go in there!" She pleaded, getting up off her spot on the ground. Mark put a light hand on her shoulder.

"We'll be careful." He said quickly. With that he turned to follow Florence into the Theatre.

The Audrey II felt a warm heat coming towards him, as the light clap of feet against wood reverberated through him. He couldn't see, so much as sense, the humans coming towards him. In the midst of the battle he had had with them, he had heard the two that were approaching called Mark and Florence. Of course, this didn't really matter. It all amounted to the same thing. To him, supper was the first, last, and middle name of every human he encountered. He started to crane his stalky neck to try and get a better view of them, and then thought better of it. He was small again. His only hope was to look innocent, and hope they'd feed him. A powerless villain was a dead villain, unless he was smart.

"Where'd it go?" Mark asked, looking about him in a state of disorientation. The Theatre was once again nearly empty, no longer a malign jungle of hungry vines. Florence sighed.

"Don't tell me the Mastermind brought in a giant plant for the sole purpose of frightening Dinah, and then just sent him back to wherever the hell he came from." She complained. Mark laughed lightly.

"I guess that'd be kinda anticlimactic, huh? It couldn't have just disappeared without a trace."

"And why not?" Mark nodded, still searching the room for some sort of proof that the plant had been there at all.

"Good point" Suddenly Mark came across something he had never wanted to see. A child's foot lay surrounded by a crimson puddle of blood. "Florence... come look at this..." The woman came over quickly, and looked sick as she gazed down at the severed foot.

"We had better dispose of that before Dinah sees it. I doubt she would hold up very well under the sight." Mark nodded.

"How are we going to move it?" Mark asked.

"Pick it up." Florence suggested, elbowing Mark to indicate she expected him to do this particular task.
"But it's covered in blood..."

"I noticed." Florence's tone stared to take on an irritated edge, "Would you rather I took care of it?" Mark shook his head

"I wouldn't touch that. You never know what sort of things she could have been carrying in her blood... HIV.." Florence rolled her eyes, and reached down to pick up the child's foot. It's clammy wetness turned Florence's stomach.

"For goodness sake... I'm not queer, and I certainly don't have to worry about such an... illness." Florence said the word illness distastefully, as though she thought the disease was something far more disgusting than any mere virus could ever be.

"What does being queer have to do with anything?" Mark wondered aloud, watching Florence throw the foot beneath the stage. Florence looked at him as though she couldn't quite believe that anyone could be so daft.

"Listen, I may have taken it up with a Russian, but I can assure you I would never..."

"A Russian?" Mark questioned.

"Yes, and you may insult me however you wish for it. I can assure you I am not a communist, and..." Mark stared at Florence in a state of complete and utter confusion.

"I'm sorry... you've completely lost me." Florence let out exasperated sigh.

"Never mind."

"So, now what?" Mark asked, purposefully changing the subject.

"I suppose we get Electra and Dinah. There don't seem to be any man eating plants in here at the moment."

"Oh Phantom..." The Mastermind shimmered into existence, "have you been considering my offer?" The masked man nodded mutely, without turning to look at her. The muscles on his back were knotted, tensed to attack. "Good." The mastermind cooed, putting a solicitous hand on his shoulder. His entire body seemed to flinch, and tighten further at her touch. "What is your decision then?" The question was asked gently, but the unspoken threat was all too obvious. He didn't have a choice.

"I'll write it." The Phantom hissed, shaking her hand off harshly. He whirled to face her, moving towards her with deadly intensity. "But if I find at any point that you have been lying I will make you sorely wish you hadn't." The Mastermind smiled at him.
"Agreed. You do as I ask you, and you will have your reward. In the meantime..." The Mastermind waved her hands. "You are above the Theatre. I have unlocked all the doors, and you are free to interact with my other guests as you wish. Or if you prefer," There was another quick motion with her hands, and a tiny crystalline globe, a perfect replica of her own magic tool appeared before The Phantom, "You may watch them through this. You will find all of your needs have been provided for. Now you must excuse me, I have a cast to assemble." With that The Mastermind was gone.

"So..." Electra said, sitting down next to Dinah, under the shade of a tree, "Are you really a train?" Dinah nodded.

"Of course... I've never been anything else." She still looked nervous, Electra noted, as if she expected to have something jump out her at anytime. In this place, that fear didn't seem to be to far fetched. Electra smiled at her.

"My friend Skimble works on the railroad." She said, unable to keep herself from staring at Dinah, "I've been there with him before, but I've never seen a train that was anything like you."

"Most of the cats I've seen are tiny things... and they never say anything but 'meow'." Electra laughed.

"Well, we don't usually speak train language! Most trains I've seen are big hunks of metal, not at all pretty like you..." Dinah blushed.

"The passengers are strange to." Dinah commented.

"You mean the humans?" Electra asked.

"I... don't know. I mean Mark and Florence."

"I mean them to. They're to tiny!" Electra exclaimed.

"To tiny? For passengers they're huge! I couldn't imagine trying to stuff something that big inside me... they'd overload me in a second!"

"You actually carry people inside of you?" Electra asked.

"Well, yes. Passengers and food."

"So you work for the humans then?" Dinah nodded. Electra's ears perked up in surprise,

"Wow... the humans work for us." She said proudly.

"Oh?"

"Yep. They feed us, and brush us, and stroke our fur... they make adorable little pets, but they're not really smart enough to be good for anything else." Dinah nodded.
"No... I don't think I ever have met a very smart passenger! Well... Mark and Florence are a bit different I guess..." Dinah said with a slight smile.

"I know! Who'd have ever thought that humans were actually capable of intelligent thought..." Dinah giggled at Electra's comment.

Suddenly Mark and Florence were calling their names. Dinah got up quickly, nearly loosing her balance as she tried to skate over the sand.

"Oh no.." She murmured, paling considerably. Electra raced out ahead of her.

"Come on in, it's safe!" Mark's voice was a bit muffled by the door of the Theatre, but his words were unmistakable. Dinah picked up her pace as much as she could, while Electra disappeared into the Theatre.

Dinah reached the door, peaking in carefully. Florence, Mark, and Electra were standing in the middle of the room, all in one piece. There was no sign that the monstrous plant had even existed. Dinah entered slowly, still expecting the plant to suddenly jump out at her.

"Where'd it go?" Mark shrugged. Dinah smiled, glad that it was gone. Then something struck her. "But if it just came out of nowhere, and then disappeared... couldn't it come back again just as easily?"

"Possibly," Florence said, not sounding overly concerned, "We'll have to deal with that when we come to it..."

"So you do think it's coming back then?" Dinah asked. Florence sighed.

"I don't know. If it does, we'll take care of it. if it doesn't... all the better for us." Electra walked up to them, carrying something small and potted in her paws.

"Hey, look what I found!" She exclaimed, walking close enough so Mark, Florence, and Dinah could see. Inside the pot, there was a tiny venues fly trap type plant.

"What a strange and unusual plant..." Dinah said softly, leaning in to get a better look. Mark grabbed onto her arm.

"That looks like the plant..." He said. Dinah shook her head.

"But how could it be the same plant? It's not big enough..." She reached out as if to touch its tiny pod. Suddenly it shot out, snapping at her finger with alarming speed. Dinah jumped back several feet. "That's the plant!" She said quickly. Electra raised it high above her head, making as if to smash it.

"Wait!" Mark said. Electra looked confused, "Well, you can't just kill it... it's stuck here just like we are."
"It tried to eat Dinah!" Electra argued.

"Yeah!" Dinah agreed. Slowly though, her face softened a bit, "But it's so small now... and it wouldn't be fair to just kill it while it's like this. Maybe we could just... I don't know. Bring it into the woods or something?" Dinah paused for a second, looking at the tiny plant. It seemed so harmless now, but she knew it really wasn't at all, "Very far away from here..." She added quickly.

"That way if it returns to its normal size it can eat another little girl." Florence said dryly. Dinah looked as though she might cry.

"It won't really do that, will it?" She asked.

"There's no way to tell." Mark said. The plant seemed to be busying itself with trying to snap at Electra's arm. He quickly took it out of her hands, holding it far away from himself.

"So if we can't kill it, and we can't get rid of it..." Electra started.

"We'll feed it!" Dinah interrupted, "If we keep it well fed, then it won't be hungry, so it won't try to eat anyone who appears in front of it." Dinah smiled broadly, proud of having come up with such a good idea. She took the plant out of Mark's arms, resolutely heading for the theatre door. Florence rolled her eyes.

"And what exactly do you expect to feed it?" She asked, snatching the plant out of Dinah's grasp.

"Um... mettle I guess."

"Mettle?"

"Yeah. I'm mostly mettle, and it tried to eat me before so..." Dinah couldn't help but notice that once again the passengers were looking at her strangely, "What?"

"You are not made of..." Mark put a silencing hand on Florence's arm, "Never mind. We'll feed it mettle. Let's just be rid of the bloody thing." She handed the plant back to Dinah and started to walk away. When she turned to look back however, she was still standing there, holding the plant at arm's length. "What?"

"I can't go out there, remember? There aren't any tracks, and the ground's to rough..."

"Fine." Florence snatched the plant out of Dinah's grasp and headed out the door. Mark followed silently behind her.

In his silent little prison above the theatre, The Phantom watched the events below him with fierce intensity. Despite all she had done to him, the crystal ball The Mastermind had given him was a wonderful convenience. He had always been able to observe from the shadows, haunt the recesses of The Opera House, and come and go unobserved. However, despite all his talents, there was always the slightest insecurity, the tiniest chance that some how he could be captured, once again be at the mercy of the human race which he so abhorred. Now he could watch their activities with the same feeling of safety that a spectator at an opera was privileged with. Now he could despise them at a distance.

It wasn't getting him anywhere, and at any rate it was boring. He pushed the magic ball away from him just as it began to show the image of Florence walking out of the theatre door carrying a plant in her hand. The Phantom's skeleton like fists were balled, as his entire thin frame seethed with anger. They didn't even know what they were doing on the island. Never before had he seen a director quite as irresponsible than the Evil Mastermind, or a cast quite as unfit to perform his music. After all, what sort of musical could he write that would include a man eating plant, a giant cat, and a talking train, not to mention whatever else The Mastermind decided to throw into the mix? Some things needed to be taken care of, and it seemed he was the only one to do it.

"I don't understand why Florence is so mad at me all the time." Dinah pouted as she used the ramp to skate up onto the stage. She plopped down near the edge, allowing her silvery legs to dangle off the side. Electra followed, holding her long brown tail in her hands like a child holding a stuffed toy.

"Yeah." Electra agreed, "I miss having big dumb humans." She got down on all fours, stretching out so she was half lying in Dinah's lap. Dinah shifted slightly, a confused look crossing her features.

"What are you doing?" Electra got up, crossing her furry arms.

"Nothing. Your lap's to small." Dinah looked down at her lap, not seeing any sort of size deficiency.

"For?" Dinah asked.

"To sleep on." Electra said in a soft, defeated voice, "Usually when I'm at home, I sleep in my human's lap, and they stroke my fur." She crossed her legs, "But now everything's to small. There was a sound from above them, like a creature of some sort was caught up in the boards of the ceiling. Electra sat up on her hunches, and hissed warningly. A red and black shadow swiftly soared above their heads, accented by the tiniest flash of bone white. A sheet of paper came fluttering to the ground, like a single snowflake on a bright summer's day. Dinah reached out to pick it up. On it there was a short note, scrawled in frantically elegant handwriting.

"You have been selected to perform in a musical of my making. I expect that each of you will keep your voice in top condition. Further information will be supplied at a later date.

Sincerely, The O.G." Dinah read out loud. She and Electra exchanged glances.

"We're here to perform in some musical?" Electra asked, clearly confused.

"That's what it says..." Dinah glanced over the letter again, trying to verify that that was what it really said. "It's signed O.G..."
"Who's that?"

"I don't know." She looked up at the rafters, "But I have a feeling we're going to find out."

The sunset melted into the island's white sand, staining it a million different colors. Shades ranging from crimson to a creamy yellow spread across the sky, until the only colors left were black and silver, and a thick blanket of silence had settled.

The Mastermind sat calmly in her library, pouring over the world presented in the glass confines of her magic ball. Her guests were asleep, she had made sure of that. They were lying in a nearly perfect row across the stage, with Electra snuggled up close to Dinah. In the moonlight, the Mastermind's demented countenance took a sort of youthful sweetness that never showed itself during the day. She was at once mischievous pixie joined with an evil hag. She was cursed with a vision, the catalyst of all insanity.

"More characters..." She muttered under her breath, in the tone of a mad woman waking up from a fever dream, "I must have..." Suddenly many different faces were appearing before her on her magic ball. Their histories, who they were, flooded overwhelmingly through her. There were so many characters to choose from, the good, the beautiful, the strange, and the magical; they were a million brightly colored threads that made up a thousand rich tapestries. The Mastermind knew that if only she could weave them together, she could create the most beautiful thing the world had ever seen. First she needed more strands though.

Something flashed before her on her ball. It was neither a man nor a woman. It was an odd mixture of both, clad in black leather and fishnet stalkings.

"Dr. Frank N. Furter. The island is waiting for you." The Mastermind smiled maniacally as her magic ball showed an image of her newest guest sleeping soundly besides those who she had already captured. "And..." Another person appeared before her. This man was hunched over with age. He wore rags, and his hair was stormy and wild. The Mastermind felt something jump excitedly with in her. This man, like her, had no name. He was an enigma. He was merely mysterious. In a flash he to was asleep in her Theatre.

Frank N. Furter awaked to find himself comfortably sandwiched between two sleeping females. This in itself was a perfectly normal occurrence. However, he couldn't help but notice that one of the girls appeared to be a giant bipedal cat. The other one seemed fairly normal, with the possible exception of the fact that she was wearing roller-skates and he had never seen her before in his life. Oh well. That was merely a technicality. She was fairly pretty, and nearby. He could guess what she was waiting for, and even if she wasn't she would want it soon enough.

The girl shifted in her sleep, seeming to sense his presence. Her head turned so it was rested against his chest, her copper brown hair fanning out around it. Frank N. Furter grinned at her, amused. He pulled her closer to him, delighted to feel her responding to his touch without even opening her eyes. He laughed lightly under his breath, as he rolled on top of her, his toung slowly tracing moist a line from her chin down to the crack between her rather large breasts. She tasted strange, like a warm mixture of metal and baked goods. She sighed, and smiled in her sleep. Frank smiled back, placing both his hands on her waist, and gradually allowing them to move down lower. He had always loved exploring. Suddenly the girl's thick lashes parted to reveal a pair of wide brown eyes. Frank put a finger on her lips.

"Hello there..." He said quietly, smiling hungrily at her. For a moment her eyes traveled the length of his leather-clad body, then her mouth widened into a high pitched scream.

"Dinah?" A girl's voice murmured fuzzily. Another tired female voice joined hers, this one with a thick English accent.

"What's going on now..." Then a man's hand was prying Frank off of the girl he had found... Dinah. The cat girl jumped up in his face, swiping at it with her surprisingly sharp claws. Frank just licked his lips, rolling off a rather disheveled Dinah. He took hold of The cat girl's hand.

"Ah... a feisty one." He said intently, before pushing himself off the ground. He seemed to be inside of an odd little Theatre, but how he had gotten here he didn't know. He half walked, half pranced up the stairs that led to the stage. He slowly looked the room over, staring intensely at each of it's occupants in turn.

"I demand," He started, in his most indignant tone, "To know why you beasts have brought me here." He gave his audience a showman's malicious stare.

Dinah stood up, but Frank did not receive an answer as he had expected.

"You... you tried to couple with me!" She whined accusingly, a look of anger on her pretty features.

"Yeah!" The cat girl agreed, "You leave Dinah alone!" She rubbed her head against Dinah with a soft purr before sitting down at her feet. The man gave the two of them an exasperated glance, before speaking, in a nervous voice.

"Um... Hi. I'm Mark..." Frank walked over to him, putting a hand on his chin.

"Ah... it is good to meet you. Now I expect you'll have a good explanation for why I'm here.." Mark backed away, and then shrugged uncertainly.

"Actually..." He trailed off. An older woman sighed and stepped foreword.

"We were all brought here against our will by a demented old hag, who may or may not be the same as the 'O.G.' who has been sending us letters," She stated in a business like tone, "Apparently we are all expected to perform in a musical, and the casting will take place shortly." She looked around at her companions, "You've already met Mark. I'm Florence" She pointed to the cat girl, "That's Electra, and yes she is a giant cat. The girl standing next to her is Dinah, who believes she's a train. There's also a giant man eating Venus fly trap outside the Theatre " She paused to take a breath and look Frank N. Furter over disdainfully, "You'll fit in here perfectly." She said in a clipped tone, before abruptly turning and walking away. Mark just looked at Frank, and shrugged uncomfortably

"Well, I never..." Frank muttered.

"So...um... who are you?" Mark asked, after several moments of silence. Frank raised his head indignantly.

"I? I am Doctor Frank N. Furter, a sweet transvestite from the planet of Translyvania in the galaxy of transsexual."

"Ah..." Was all Mark said. He had a look on his face like one who had just waken up from a very bizarre dream, "That's good to know. I guess." Dinah skated up, standing on her tiptoes so that her mouth was near Mark's ear.

"AC/DC" She whispered, giving Mark a slightly amused smile, before going back to glaring at Frank. He walked up to her, moving like a runway model. Dinah backed up several feet. Frank turned his nose up.

"You liked it!" He snapped, before exiting the Theatre in a small huff. Mark, Dinah, and Electra exchanged glances.

"Another interesting morning." Mark said with a sigh, heading over towards Florence. From behind him he could hear Dinah telling Electra just how much she had not liked it.

Florence stood in the corner, her shoulders tensed almost angrily. A ragged hunchback lay curled up by her feet. His hair was a wild gray, and his face was an ageless mass of wrinkles.

"Are you going to wake him up?" Mark asked. Florence shook her head mutely, her lips pursed into a scowl.

"Why? So I can meet another deranged cartoon character?" She nearly shouted. The old man shifted in his sleep, but did not awaken. Mark looked concerned.

"Florence... are you okay?" Florence gave him a strange smile.

"Yes. I've gone absolutely mad, but I'm perfectly fine."

"Nah. You're not any more crazy than the rest of us..." Mark said softly.

"Oh. That's comforting. I'm no less sane than a cat, a train, and an alien transvestite. Thank you Mark, I feel so much better." Florence retorted sarcastically. Mark shrugged.

"Sorry... That's about the best I can do right now. Maybe we'll both wake up soon and..." The sleeping man at Florence's feet whirled into motion, as he stumbled up onto crocked feet. His brown eyes seemed to sparkle, as for a moment he stared at Mark and Florence. Then he smiled a toothless smile.
"Though at first I seem a mystery," He started grandly, circling them, "I am not the strangest thing in history. And seldom does what is nefarious, initially just seem... mysterious." With that the Man scampered off, seeming to disappear beneath the stage. Florence looked just about ready to strangle someone. She turned to Mark.

"I'm going out, alone. I'll be in the woods if anyone needs me..." She started towards the Theatre door. Mark made as if to follow. "Alone."

"I thought we decided that we were going to stay in pairs..."

"I don't care!" Mark could do nothing but watch her go.

The Phantom approached The Mastermind, no hint of caution in his steady gait. He frowned beneath his mask, allowing the thin sheet of whitewashed plastic to hide his inner fury, even as his façade of composure was becoming even thinner.

"I have informed our guests of why they have been taken here Madam." He said in an even tone.

"I know." Was the Mastermind's only response.

"I assumed as much. And exactly how many more do you intend to capture? The Mastermind grinned, seemingly finding something very amusing about this question.

"Many! Very many. You can plan on a large cast."

"I see." The Phantom growled.

"Any suggestions?" The Mastermind flicked her wrist, and suddenly she was holding her magic ball. "I think I can make the cast very interesting for you my dear. Look close now." The ball was thrust at the Phantom's masked face, where it stayed suspended in the empty air before him. For a moment a smiling face appeared on it, then it shattered into a thousand bright stars against the wall.

"You don't want Christine?" The Mastermind asked innocently. The Phantom's voice suddenly became as twisted as his face, as a thousand emotions swarmed dangerously out towards The Mastermind.

"I don't want to see her pulled from her home, so she can perform like a monkey for your demented entertainment!" Her yelled maliciously enough to make even The Mastermind back away. He turned his back on her, his fists tightly bawled. The Mastermind, suddenly filled with rage, gripped his shoulders tightly.

"And do you think you have any say in who I bring to my island for my musical?"

"Christine is off limits."

"Oh is she?" The Mastermind sneered.
"Yes." The Mastermind let out a growl like a rabid wolf. A great bolt of thunder rocked the entire building. The wind began to howl outside as if were trying to tear the island apart, and rain spattered above them with the strength of silver bullets. Now it was The Phantom's turn to back away.

"I will not allow you to harm her. If she is brought here, then there will be nothing you can do to make me write your musical."

"Is that what you think?" The Phantom merely nodded, full of quiet intensity. The Mastermind's face contorted in blind rage, as she gestured to her ruined magic ball. The shattered glass swirled around the room, like a swarm of angry hornets, before finally recollecting into their normal smooth shape. With another gesture, a huge organ appeared, suspended over The Phantom's head. To The Mastermind's displeasure, he did not try to scramble away, or even move to protect himself. "Aren't you going to run?"

"No." The Mastermind just starred at The Phantom for a moment, then she let out a furious holler. The Organ came crashing to the ground, but not on top of The Phantom. "You... you just play your organ! Now!" The Phantom simply walked over to the Organ, and began to play, his magical music accenting the sounds of the storm outside. The Mastermind spun, and then she was no longer standing before him. Reality shimmered crimson.

Florence raced through the woods, not caring where she was going, or heading the thorns that stung her ankles. All she wanted was a little sanity, and all she could find was an endless wood. It was beautiful and wild, like a corrupted Garden Of Eden. There was no escape in sight. Finally Florence stopped, as the trees cleared and she reached the beach. This was not the time to run through the trees like one possessed. She sat down by the tranquil ocean, with a soft sigh. There was nothing she could do but wait for the situation to change and make the best of it while she had to. With that realization the sky opened above her, and a dark rain came pouring out of the once sunny heavens, soaking Florence in less than a second. Thunder ripped through the sky, and the water in front of her was no longer calm.

Florence hardly had time to scramble away as a gigantic wave tried to swallow her up. Suddenly the beach was no longer a safe place to be. She did the only thing she could do. She returned to the woods, and began to make her way back towards the only shelter she had found on this island. The trees seemed to have come alive, as the wind blew them every which way, some even being uprooted in the tempest. Florence broke into a run, as the forest darkened to pitch black, moving swiftly and blindly. Then light and sound flashed instantaneously besides her, and the entire forest was illuminated by flames.

Electra let out a frightened meow as the sky above the Theatre let out a loud rumbling, like the stomach of a hungry pollicle. She leapt behind one of the chairs, trying to hide from the terrifying sound, but it only became louder. All of her fur stood on end, as she huddled in the growing darkness.
Dinah and Mark both followed after the cat girl, and Dinah got there first. She quickly gathered Electra into her arms, rocking her back and forth comfortingly. Electra cried softly, and snuggled in as close to Dinah as she could. Dinah just kept her arm's tightly wrapped around her, feeling terrified tremors run up through her with each new blast of thunder.

"Shhh..." Dinah whispered, "It's gonna be okay sweetie. Mark and I are right here, we wont let you rust..." Dinah continued to speak soothingly to Electra, smiling as she relaxed into her arms. Electra slowly began to feel calmer, even though she hardly understood half of what Dinah was saying. Somehow the words coming from her beautiful train friend didn't have to make sense to be comforting. Electra purred, and hugged Dinah tightly, surprised to find herself hoping she would never let go.

"It looks like a hurricane out there..." Mark said worriedly, looking out the window. With each new gust of wind, the seemingly thin glass threatened to shatter in his face. Dinah nodded, also wearing a look of concern.

"Florence is out there." She said softly, meeting Mark's gaze in the darkness.

"I know." Mark paused, looking at the door. "I've got to go out and look for her."

"But... but you can't!" Dinah said, "You're not going out there alone... you won't stand a chance in this sort of wind."

"I have to try!"

"Not unless we all go! We decided that nobody was going to be left alone anymore." Dinah argued.

"But you can't with your..." suddenly they were interrupted, as The Mysterious Man came scrambling out from beneath the stage, past Dinah and Electra, past Mark, and out the door.

"You wait here!" he announced, with a toothless grin, "I'll find all who need finding." With that he disappeared into the woods.

Frank N. Furter stomped through the forest indignantly. How dare some O.G., hag, or whatever nefarious force was controlling this island wrench him from his home! He would show them. Nobody messed with a certified mad scientist and got away with it. Mentally he began to make a list of what he would have to do while he was stuck of this forsaken island rock. He would start with Dinah... or maybe Mark. Both were fairly cute, and would certainly make interesting evening diversions. Electra had been a little hairy for his taste, and Florence a little old, but he'd get to them if he had time. He hoped he wouldn't! As interesting as the island's locals were, he much preferred his nice sinister little castle, his conventionalists, and the creature he was creating. He got goose bumps just thinking about his beautiful man creature!

A crystalline drop of wet coldness landed on Frank's nose, followed by another on his forehead. Then another fell, and another, until the rain was coming down so fast it was more like a waterfall then a mere shower. Frank stomped his go-go boot clad foot, hissing with frustration.

"Now you stop this right now, or I shall be very cross!" He yelled up at the gray sky, receiving only a mouth full of water in reply. Earth weather was so infuriating, especially with his castle so far away! For a long time now, he had been considering trying to make a machine in which to control the weather, but he always got distracted making machines to control people instead. He found that as long as he was safely indoors, the latter was more worthwhile.

With in only a few moments his hair was soaked, and his carefully applied make up was threatening to drip off his face. There was only one thing left to do. He would have to return to the Theatre he had first arrived at. He had made a sufficient show of his disgust. Now it was time for him to welcome himself into the little building, and partake of it's warmth, food, men, and women.

Florence spun around, trying to escape the flames that reached out closer and closer towards her. There was no hole in the great firewall that surrounded her. She was stuck. The rain, rather than extinguishing the flames seemed to feed them, and it was so dark. Florence shivered, a sort of desperation running through her. She had to escape, but how? Then a knurled hand wrapped itself around her own.

"Follow me..." A swift voice said, then she was being dragged away, straight towards the flames. She tried to pull away, but the old man who pulled her was surprisingly strong. "Just come, just follow..." He was saying hurriedly. Florence had no choice but to obey. Soon she was weaving through the flames as if guided by an angel, with each movement barely avoiding having her skin scorched off her bones. She squinted, as a spark nearly flew in her eyes, and like everything else it was nearly avoided. Smoke filled her lungs instead of air, but she kept pace with her strange guide until she was safely out of the flames.

Florence's knees sank deeply into the rain soaked ground as she fell in a fit of coughing. Desperately her lungs tried to expel the smoke she has inhaled, even as she inhaled more from the fire that was burning so close behind her. Suddenly The Mysterious Man was pushing her up to her feet.

"Go!" He yelled, but before she could turn to look at him, he was gone without a trace. Florence unthinkingly stumbled to her feet, running haphazardly in the direction she hoped the theatre was in.

Electra hissed warningly as Frank N. Furter entered the theatre door. She didn't like the strange alien transvestite one bit. It wasn't only his outward appearance, which was a more than frightening mixture of male and female attributes and gothic style. It was that he had come onto Dinah as if she were in heat. She didn't know why this should bother her, but it did more than anything else about him.

Frank glared at Electra warningly. He was soaked, dripping wet from head to toe. Dinah skated coldly to the other side of the room, Electra following her. Mark was the only one who stayed to great Frank.
"Quite a storm we're having out there..." He said nonchalantly, with out even tearing his gaze away from the stormy window to look at Frank.

"Obviously!" Was Frank's haughty reply. "I trust you're going to provide me with some towels and..." Mark sighed.

"Listen, does it look like we have any towels... or anything for that matter?" Mark said, looking round the dark theatre, "We didn't exactly have time to pack before we were brought here..."

"Florence!" Mark was interrupted by Dinah's ecstatic cry. Florence entered the theatre, soaking wet and coughing violently. Soon Mark, Dinah, and Electra were standing around her.

"You're soaked..." Mark said sympathetically.

"What happened?" Dinah asked, gently pulling Florence further into the protective warmth of the theatre.

"A fire..." Florence gasped between hacking coughs. Dinah patted her back as she doubled over in another fit of coughing. Mark took off his shirt and quickly wrapped it around her dripping shoulders. Frank cleared his throat dramatically, forcing his way into the little circle around Florence. He snatched Mark's shirt away from her, using it to dry his own leather clad body.

"I have never been treated so shabbily in my entire life!" He exclaimed, but not without taking a moment to look at Mark's now bare chest. He was indeed a good specimen of the human male. Dinah nearly seemed to growl, as she grabbed at the shirt that he had taken. Soon the two of them were engaging in a sort of tug of war, with Dinah losing as Frank pulled her easily on her wheels.

"That's not yours!" Dinah yelled, trying to pull the shirt away from him, "and you can't have it!"

"Oh really?" Frank sneered, "I can have anything I want you puny, insignificant little..." Frank was unable to continue, as Dinah kicked him as hard as she could in his lower region. For a moment she just stood there with Mark's shirt in her hands, looking surprised at what she had just done. Then she noticed the look in Frank's eyes, and did the first thing that came to mind. She ran.

Frank scrambled after her, sometimes on two feet, and sometimes on four. He had a look of insane anger on his face that made Dinah pray to The Starlight that something would happen to prevent him from ever capturing her. After circling the theatre several times, she came to a breathless halt behind Mark. She carefully handed him his shirt before proceeding to cower behind him. Frank advanced towards her menacingly, only wishing he had a knife. He knew how to take care of troublemakers like her.

Reality shimmered.

The Mastermind watched the events that unfolded in her magic ball with her arms crossed and an angry snarl on her lips. First there had been the fire. Truly that was her own fault, but it irked her to see two more of her guests nearly be killed. Now Frank N. Furter seemed intent on causing Dinah serious harm. This just wouldn't do. She willed herself to appear before them.

"You will NOT act this way!" She shouted before reality even solidified. She stalked over to Frank N. Furter, pointing a finger at him. He crumpled to the ground as a wave of pain burst through him. "If you EVER harm one of my guests, I will personally destroy you, and everything you have ever cared about. I will..."

"Hey Florence... is she The Mastermind you were talking about?" Dinah whispered, interrupting The Mastermind's menacing speech.

"You shut up!" The Mastermind ordered. Then she turned to Florence, "And you never, ever go out into one of my storms again, foolish woman!" She waved a hand, and Florence was once again her dry, stately self. Her coughing fits also ceased. "Now I fully expect you to behave... all of you! You have a musical to perform in, and I expect everyone to be in top condition. If you want to kill each other after the show, by all means do so. And somebody take that plant in out of the rain." The Mastermind blinked out of the room with a furious growl, returning to her own little study.

"Idiots." She muttered to herself. They were like children who just couldn't behave. She had expected a docile group, interested in performing and not much out. Now she was finding that their interactions were a drama in themselves, that constantly switched from being intriguing, to being trying. Beings such as these had never existed in her world, and whether they were meant to or not she was going to bring in more.

"What was that all about?" Mark whispered, as he followed Florence through the woods. The rain had stopped for the most part, but the ground seemed to be one thick soup of mud. Water still dripped from the over hanging foliage.

"She's a very disturbed woman, with to much power." Was Florence's response, "The dangerous type."

"You believe we're really here?" Mark asked. Florence shook her head despairingly.

"I don't know. There was a fire in the woods... flame surrounding me. I almost died. It felt real." Mark reached out to take her hand, real sympathy written on his face. Florence jerked her hand away, shaking her head.

"So your life's a game of chess, huh?" Florence nodded in an agreement. "What's it now that you're here?"

"A game of chess."

"How do you figure?"

"Chess is a very complicated game." Florence stopped as they reached the little clearing where they had deposited the plant. "Lets just get the plant and get back to the theatre. There's no telling what sort of trouble Dinah and Electra will get into while we're gone, especially with that Frank. N. Furter." Mark made a face.

"I'm not sure I want to know." Florence just took the plant under her arms, and started to walk back towards the theatre.