Hwoarang parked the bike outside the concert hall and got off, By-uong closely behind.
"What are we doing here?" By-uong asked, as they walked up the stairs to the large building. The concert hall was closed and the only light to guide them was that from the street. Hwoarang smiled at his friend, pointing to a poster hanging on the hall's door.
"The four Stairs to Heaven?" By-uong asked, a little confused.
"Well, I was supposed to pick number four in the casino," the Korean smirked, "And we should "mind our step", as the letter said, right? You have any other great ideas?" By-uong scratched his cheek. What were they meant to do in a closed concert hall? Hwoarang grabbed the handle on the door, slowly opening it. His senses were at their highest, ready to fight if need be. But the door opened with a loud squeak, revealing the dark hall to them. Silently, the two men walked into the place, looking around. Statues and pictures filled the large room, the moonlight illuminating as much of the room that the windows allowed. Without a sound, By-uong grabbed Hwoarang by the shoulder and pointed to a door with the same poster as the one outside.
"The four Stairs to Heaven, a musical inspiration. A story about love and death, and which that lives longer… Scary story," By-uong said in a low voice. It was a new setting that hadn't even been played yet. But even if it had, Hwoarang couldn't care less. He flung the door open, looking around the dark room.
"Alright," he called out into the dark, "Where are you?" A low chuckle was heard from the stage and a small candle was lit on it, the cat sitting beside it. She smiled evilly, showing the large fangs. Standing up, her large dark cloak followed her movements.
"What took you so long?" she purred, walking off the stage towards the two, "Had to bring your babysitter?" Hwoarang growled, almost running towards the cat. He stopped right before her, grabbing her by the throat.
"I'm gonna fucking kill ya, if you don't tell me, where she is!" he cried, tightening his grip around the fur. He could feel the calm rhythm from the pulse in the throat, and was actually surprised that it didn't go faster.
"Bad idea," the cat hissed, not moving, "Kill me, and you'll never find you pretty little girl…" With a quick movement, she raised her paw and scratched Hwoarang's lower arm, making the blood run down and land on the floor.
"That blood could be hers."
Hwoarang let go with a sigh.
"Alright, what is it you want?" he asked, gripping his soaring arm. The pain made his eyes flash for a second, but he hold his eyes at the creature. She chuckled and took a step back, bringing a bloody claw up to her mouth and licked it clean.
"Well," she started, "I just wanna play a little game. And since you are so good at treasure hunts, why not try a harder one?" She grabbed a mask from under her cloak, handing it to Hwoarang.
"An artist once wore this to hide his face from the world," she smiled, as the red-haired man took the white mask, "Now, if Raoul could find him to save his Christine, so can you…" Suddenly, the light on the stage died out and leaved the room empty and dark. Quickly grabbing his lighter, Hwoarang lit it, only to find the room empty.
"What the…" Hwoarang gritted his teeth. The damn feline was gone again, and had left them another puzzle to solve. He didn't know anything about the names. Christine? Raoul? And what did they have in common with the mask? Hwoarang could feel a tear trickle down his face. It was over, he couldn't save Julia, not even though he wanted so badly.
"This is no use," he muttered to By-uong, turning towards him. He loosened the grip around the lighter, letting it fall to the ground. He was worn out, for good this time. The first clue had been easy, considered that the poster from the musical had been laying right in front of them.
"Maybe there is…" By-uong said in a thoughtful voice, taking the mask from Hwoarang, "We just have to think of a play with an artist who wears a mask." Hwoarang raised an eyebrow. He didn't know anything about this stuff. Julia did. He could remember her sitting with her books in the chair, deeply strained by the stories
'It's a really sad story,' a voice, Julia's voice, said in his head, as she sat in the chair with a black book.
"Wait, how do we know, we're supposed to find a play?" the Korean asked, folding his arms. The wounds on his arm were less painful now, though the blood was still dripping from them. By-uong turned the mask around, letting Hwoarang look at the inside.
"Property of NY Concert Halls," the Japanese read aloud, a smirk on his face, "We just have to figure out which one." Hwoarang snorted.
"So, you suggest there is a play called 'The masked Cat of the Concert Hall'?" Hwoarang hissed, "Forget it, we're not getting anywhere." By-uong's face lit up, a thought popping into his head.
"Of course; 'the Phantom of the Opera', Hwoarang, you're a genius!"
"Awha'?" Hwoarang exclaimed, not getting the picture. By-uong grinned, though it maybe wasn't the right time for it.
"Don't you see it? The play is about a masked man hiding in the tunnels under an opera, and he kidnaps a woman, because he falls in love with her… Or, something like that." By-uong's face was actually happy, until he got a glimpse of his friend. Hwoarang's face looked awkward, like he had seen something both horrible and disgusting.
"Is the cat in love with Julia?" he grimaced, when By-uong grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him out of the dark and into the large hall.
"No," he frowned, "She dragged Julia down under the building." By-uong shaked his head, looking at Hwoarang. The Korean was beginning to turn a little pail.
"You alright?"
"I'm fine," Hwoarang said, taking back his arm. Actually, no, he wasn't fine. A psycho had taken Julia, he hadn't slept for over a day and the lack of blood was starting to get on him. He cleared his throat, looking at By-uong.
"So, we have to find a way down to the basement," he said, trying to concentrate. It was slowly turning harder, and his arm had started to turn cold. But he didn't care. They were one step closer to Julia…
I hope you guys could guess the "Phantom in the Opera"-quiz, 'course there are gonne be more of those, Mwuahahahahahahahahaa... Ehm, never mind...