(A/N Sorry this took so long. I had camp, then I couldn't focus... anway, I'm going on vacation, so it could be another two weeks before 'Down Once More', or in Boston's case, Down For the First Time. Oops, I said too much! gasp Oh well, enjoy. Boston's going a little crazier, but somehow I don't think she minds too much. It's the point of no return, and pretty much all that implies.)

Boston shook herself a little, trying to prepare herself for the next scene. This one always seemed to do something to her. Maybe it was the wonderful smell of 'irony in the morning' that hung over it. But then, this wasn't usually an amused feeling, so she assumed what got to her was the dark seductiveness that was its main theme. Seduction was a foreign thing to her – she wasn't used to love.

Her friend, Rio, looked around as Aaron, playing the Phantom playing Don Juan, appearing and opened his mouth to sing. "You have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge, in pursuit of that wish, which till now, has been silent, silent ..."

Actually, Boston thought, as though the voice was speaking to her, I'm here because this is my job and I can't pay the rent unless I come. And I have no such wish. I want these weird mind problems, hallucinations, to leave me alone and let me get on with my life.

"I have brought you, that our passions may fuse and merge- in your mind you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me –"

No, I haven't. She has. I haven't. Boston sighed and shifted a little. Brianne, standing to one side at Madame Giry, gave her an odd look.

"Now you are here with me: no second thoughts, you've decided, decided ..."

Aaron put a finger to his lips as Rio shuddered. Boston glanced up at Eric in his box, who was staring open-mouthed at the pair.

"Past the point of no return - no backward glances: the games we've played till now are at an end ... Past all thought of 'if' and 'when' - no use resisting: abandon thought, and let the dream descend ... What raging fire shall flood the soul? What rich desire unlocks its door? What sweet seduction lies before us ... ?" Wow, singing of unsubtle metaphors, aren't we? Boston desperately ignored the fact that, every now and then, it wasn't Aaron's voice she heard.

"Past the point of no return, the final threshold - what warm, unspoken secrets will we learn? Beyond the point of no return ..."

Now, it was Rio's turn. Boston relaxed. This would give her a break from the insanity that kept intruding on her once-normal brain.

Now, one would have thought that Christine would be a little smarter than to just go running back into the Phantom's arms. Well, one doesn't know Christine well, does one? Boston thought wryly as Rio began her part.

"You have brought me to that moment when words run dry, to that moment where speech disappears into silence, silence ..."

"Why are they talking, then?" Jess murmured, earning a hiss from Brianne.

"I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why ... In my mind, I've already imagined our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent - and now I am here with you: no second thoughts, I've decided, decided ..."

Hasn't everyone imagined their body entwining with the Phantom's? Boston then checked herself. Well, I haven't. At least, not since the probability of his existence became an actual ratio.

"Past the point of no return - no going back now: our passion-play has now, at last, begun ..." Boston had always wondered if Christine was telling the truth when she sang this. Was Christine being the bait for the trap, or was she really in love with the Phantom?

"Past all thought of right and wrong - one final question: how long should we two wait, before we're one ... ? When will the blood begin to race, the sleeping bud burst into bloom? When will the flames, at last, consume us ... ?" Rio and Aaron drew close and grasped each others' arms, now totally wrapped in there performance and each other.

Boston drew a shallow breath as the Phantom's voice joined Rio's.

"Past the point of no return, the final threshold… the bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn!" She would have run away from his voice, the hauntingly beautiful thing that scared her so much, but her presence was required in the next scene. Her experience as an actress prompted her stay standing between Brianne and Jess.

"We've passed the point of no return…" They finished the phrase and stood staring at each other while the music played out the final notes of the song.

Boston was trembling, telling herself, there is no point of no return. We can always go back, if we want to… But she knew that, for the Phantom and Christine, that was the point of no return. But there isn't one for me. She told herself firmly. This is Aaron's voice I hear. Aaron's.

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime…" Boston grabbed Jess's arm and swayed, earning herself concerned looks from Brianne, the dancers, and her prop.

"Lead me, save me from my solitude… Say you want me with you, here, beside you…" This was the Phantom's plea, his last cry for help. Boston found that, even though some part of her screamed 'you're crazy', she could hardly resist the sad, despairing voice.

"Anywhere you go, let me go too… Christine, that's all I ask of you!"

Boston felt a rush of anger as Rio ripped the mask off of Aaron's face, revealing his makeup.

After a moment, Aaron and Rio disappeared and Jess found Gustav's 'body'. "What is it? What has happened?" She shrieked. Boston, still feeling faint, groped for something else to put her weight on. "Ubaldo!"

Somewhere, Marlon yelled, "Oh my God, my god!"

Fremon shouted at Marlon, "We're ruined, Andre, ruined!"

Brianne also left Boston's side, calling, "Monsieur Vicomte! Come with me! Monsieur le Vicomte!" Eric came to her. "I know where they are!"

"But can I trust you?" Eric asked, his voice only just audible about Jess's moaning and wailing and the others' screams.

"You must." Brianne replied. "But, remember – keep your hand at the level of your eyes!"

"But why…?"

"Why? The Punjab lasso, monsieur. First Buquet, now Piangi." She pointed to Gustav.

"I'll come with you!" Boston started forward, only just remembering her line.

"No, Meg! No, you stay here…" Brianne pushed her away gently. "Come with me, monsieur." They turned to go offstage as the lights dimmed. "Hurry, or we shall be too late…"

Too late. 'Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime…' No, I can't. You're dead. Leroux said they even found your body… 'Lead me, save me from my solitude…' How? I'm too alone myself. Rio doesn't know me, Jess doesn't know me, Dori doesn't know me, my own family doesn't know me. 'Say you want me with you, here beside you…' How can I admit that? I'm insane. I'm crazy. I hear voices. 'Anywhere you go, let me go too…' How? Dead bodies can't walk. 'That's all I ask of you.'

That's asking too much. I can't do that for you. I simply can't. Even if I try, I couldn't. I wouldn't know how to begin trying. Would I?