Synopsis: To this point, Christine came back to the lair and confessed her love to Erik, they proceeded to escape the opera house. Raoul went back looking for them and found the way out of the lair barely escaping in time to avoid burning to death. Finds the mask on one of the steps of the Opera Populaire, grabs it and leaves. Meanwhile Erik and Christine escape on a train and arrive in a small town somewhere away from Paris. They find lodging and food at the Pension Au Derlie and proceed to try to come up with a plan from there. Meanwhile Raoul is raging with the lack of assistance finding Christine, whom he is now unsure whether she was actually taken against her wishes. He rides off looking for them, certain that they have not perished in the fire, as the Gendarme continues to want Raoul to believe. Feeling betrayed by Christine and foolish to believe in her against his family's wishes, he resolves that this time the fight will have to be to the death, no matter what. There, that brings you up to date in a nutshell.

Chapter 4

What Raoul wants, Raoul gets?

"Good Monsieur, I beg a moment of your time, I am looking for my fiancée; whom seems to have been abducted by another man. He is very distinguishable; he will be hiding his face in the daylight, while she is none other than Mam'selle Christine Daae from the Opera Populaire."

The group of people walking down the road paused and the blustery middle aged man walked up to Raoul, looking at him as if he had been living in a cave, such was the querying look upon his face.

"We heard the Opera Populaire burned, did not she perish as they say she did? She has been reportedly missing since that fateful moment, has she not?"

"While it's true she has been missing since that night, I happen to know that she has most certainly left with none other than the so called Opera Ghost. A mere man, disfigured since birth, near as I can tell, who will not stop assaulting Christine's emotions. He has extraordinary power over everyone, since they are unaware of his true identity and nature. He is but a murderer who believes he is justified in anything he does to achieve his desires. He has his sites set on Christine, he wrote her an opera and performed it with her, stealing her away at the end and causing the collapse of the Opera Populaire. The fear he has cultivated has caused his escape to be but an illusion to those whom have fallen for the phantom of the opera legend. I have seen and know differently, why won't anyone believe me?"

"Exactly, Monsieur, that would imply that the whole mystique of the Opera Populaire is but an illusion, that a man can cause so much death and destruction, we all hope that if he was, that this was the fatal mistake and he is gone at last. I don't think there are many people who would not want to believe that. It is rather remarkable that so many people could be fooled so well, no?"

"With all due respect, does not the explanation you hold on to seem just a bit too fantastic to be believable? Monsieur, you would do better to believe what I tell you. Someone has to believe. I am the Vicomte de Chagny, does that not merit respect any longer? No, enough, I have had enough, none of you make any sense at all!"

With that Raoul shook his head in disgust, placed his hand up begging no more conversation, and promptly turned and rode away. There was no way that he was going to get any cooperation, not easily. He was unaccustomed to this, it was very disconcerting to him. His bearing and upbringing did not allow for this fall from respect and power. Then he thought of the mask he had, maybe, just maybe he could get people to listen if he found a clever way to put the mask into use. He knew they were not dead, he could just feel it, and the craziness was coming from the insistence that everyone had that they were. The condescending glances, and the people refusing to listen to him. It was more than he could stand. He let out a loud scream as he rode towards the west, back into Paris. He needed to be smart and come up with a plan. He needed to talk more with Mme Giry, she had to have more information, something that he was missing.