"You have come here, in pursuit of your deepest urge…" The words of the Phantom struck fear into Cassandra's heart, for they were sung as they'd never been sung before. "I have brought you, that our passions may fuse and merge…."

Cassandra stood straight and tall as he sang the words, staying on the opposite side of the table from this man, this threat. He was the Phantom of the Opera, in life and in play. Though her mind screamed out for her to believe it, her heart still tried to convince her otherwise.

"Past the point of no return. No Backward glances, the games we've played 'til now are at an end…." Cassandra believed it, she'd played with fire and now she was going to get burned. He'd seduced her, tricked her into believing he was an innocent being, she'd kissed him and fueled his hunger for her.

"I have come here hardly knowing the reason why…." Cassandra had to force herself through the next line, talking about their bodies entwining. The last performance seemed like a dream, so effortless and easy. The reality, this performance, was difficult to say the least. "When will the flames at last consume us?" She could only hope it wouldn't come out too badly.

He whisked her off the stage as planned and she went to get her wedding dress on for the last scene. She was grabbed while still trying to undo the buttons of her Don Juan dress. She lashed out at her captor but was restrained and pulled into shadow.

"Cassie, it's me….stop!" Cassandra froze and turned in the arms of the person who'd grabbed her.

"Mark?"

"Yeah…."

"What the hell is going on? Where have you been?"

"The American Embassy, trying to convince them and the French inspectors that Rick Villefort is not who he says he is."

"He's not."

"How do you know?" Cassie told Mark about the drawings, the maps of the secret passageways, the roses, and what Mr. Giles had spoken.

"Well, I doubt he's the original Phantom….but he's not Rick Villefort…Rick Villefort died six years ago in Denmark."

"He said he was from Denmark."

"Well, that explains a little. They're still getting into position; you're the only one that knows I'm back. They wanted me to tell you to be careful, and that they're going to make the arrest after curtain call. Don't let him out of your sight…just lead him to the edge of the stage and they're going to march him off."

"I don't know if I can…"

"Cassie, you have to!" Mark said grabbing her shoulders. "If you don't go, he'll suspect something and make a run for it."

"I'm scared." She looked back towards the light where Ryan and Mrs. Giles were singing, Mr. Villefort mysteriously invisible in the backstage world. Mark hugged Cassie quickly.

"Don't be….the police are here, he won't suspect a thing."

"And if something goes wrong?"

"It' won't." He clasped her hands in his and looked into her eyes seriously. "It won't. I'm going to let Ryan in on the plan in a moment. Finish dressing quickly. Go!" Mark dashed off in the shadows and away from Cassandra. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest and she was sure the audience would hear it through the microphone when she got back on stage. She did not speak to Villefort before they entered the stage for the final scene. Once on stage, she looked about for any sign of the police but couldn't see them.

"Pitiful creature of darkness…what kind of life have you known?" Cassandra stepped closer to Villefort whose eyes danced across her face. "God give me courage to show you" and to get through all of this in one solid piece "You are not alone!"

She pressed her lips to Villefort's and closed her eyes, praying for the minute to end. Suddenly he moved…he wasn't supposed to move. His arm came up around her back, the long cloak he wore covering them both and then, with an audible click, the ground dropped away beneath them and the two of them plummeted into darkness.

Cassandra couldn't push away from Villefort. She was pressed tightly to his body as they continued to drop; she wasn't sure she wanted to push away even if she could have moved. Someone shouted her name and it echoed off the walls of the shaft they were falling through. Suddenly the angle of their descent changed and she realized they were going down a slide, something like the speed slides at a water park. When they slowed and finally came to a stop Villefort released his hold on her and pulled her to her feet. She was yanked down a dark corridor and thrust roughly into a large chamber lit with dim lights. At the far side of the chamber in the darkest shadows she could just make out the lake.

"What's going on? What's the meaning of this?" Cassandra said whirling to face Villefort.

"Come now Cassandra, I've told you before…playing dumb doesn't become you."

"I don't understand any of this…."

"Sure you do….I know you were standing on the other side of the curtain when Horrace slipped and accidentally said my true name….not like he knew it, but he said it just the same. Shocked me as much as it shocked you, I'm sure."

"You must be mistaken." He gripped her arm harshly and pulled her closer to the shore of the lake where a boat floated gently at the waters edge. Just before they reached the lake's shore he pulled her to him and without preamble held something over her mouth. She struggled against him but he was too strong. The world around her slowly faded and she lost control of her ability to stand.

"I told you stupidity is not your strong suit, neither is lying." He said as he took up the weight of her body in his arms and carried her to the boat. He laid her gently in the bow of the boat and rushed to a rusty fly wheel on the wall. He cranked it effortlessly and Cassandra, still trying to cling to consciousness, heard the unmistakable sound of rushing water.

"You mean to drown us?" She said weakly.

"No…only stop our pursuers." Villefort jumped into the tiny boat and began to pole it across the black waters of the lake. "They won't be able to get across, and even if they did, with all the water it will be impossible for them to reach us." Cassandra, fought off the darkness for only a few moments more before succumbing to it.

Cassie came back to consciousness slowly. It took her several minutes to focus on the world around her. She could see high damp stone walls, in her peripheral vision she just caught the sight of a flickering candle. She was still laying in the boat, but Villefort was no longer standing in the stern. The boat rocked gently in the water. For one terrified moment Cassie thought she'd been set adrift. She grasped the cold sides of the wooden gondola and sat up, fighting the swirling sensation that engulfed her.

"So, you're awake." Cassandra turned towards the voice. Mr. Villefort was sitting in a large, throne like chair, one leg lazily slung over the arm. He was cutting into an apple with a sharp knife and eating pieces of fruit off the blade. Cassandra squinted at him and shook her head to clear it of the drug induced fog.

"What did you do to me?"

"I drugged you with a little bit of laudanum. Just enough to knock you out so you'd be no trouble on the boat ride here." He stabbed the knife into the arm of the chair and stood up, brushing his hands on the black trousers as he came towards her. "But that's all in the past, isn't it?"

He came to her side and, after throwing the apple core into the lake, helped her stand in the boat and lifted her effortlessly onto dry ground, the hem of the wedding dress never once touching the water. He extended his arms and gestured behind him.

"Welcome home my dear…"

"You can't be serious." Cassandra snorted as she slowly allowed him to guide her up a series of stairs to a second level. "I'm not going to stay here."

"You will because you have no choice. No one will come to get you, because they can't, try though they might." He turned his back on her and made some notes on a piece of paper on the desk in front of him. She balled her hands into tight fists trying to calm her nerves and keep a hold on the situation that was already out of her control. She was shocked to see he still had the face make up on.

"My father will have the police down here tearing this place apart brick by brick looking for me."

"Really now Cassanrda? Are they going to come?" He had turned back to face her, a sheaf of papers still in his hands. "What makes you so sure?"

"They know you are a fake! Mark said they told him Richard Villefort died six years ago."

"Wonderful thing technology….all one has to do is steal a name, and so much else comes with it."

"Who are you really then?" Cassandra took a few steps forward. "Who are you and what do you want with me?" His face lit up with her request.

"All in good time." He smiled lasciviously and put the papers back on the desk. "But first a tour of your home…." He made a move to grasp her hand but she pulled it away. "Don't be like that Cassandra, come….let me show you around." Cautiously Cassandra allowed him to guide her through the lair and around the different rooms showing her different antiques and telling her stories about who had owned what at what point in time.

He marched up the stairs to another level of the lair and Cassandra, gathering her skirts followed.

On the walls were drawings of girls of various ages and looks. Brunettes, blondes, old, young, curvy, fat and flat, all were surrounding a painting of a girl with smooth ivory skin, long blonde hair, a winning smile and surrounded by roses.

"Cassandra, I give you Mademoiselle Christine Daaé."

"She's a fictional character." Cassandra said looking at what could have been a picture of her.

"No she's not!" The man before her yelled then turned back to the picture. "She was quite real, quite alive. You've been staying in her dressing room these past several weeks you know." Mr. Villefort said touching the oil painting delicately. "She adored Roses."

Cassandra looked at his feet where several other pictures lay on the floor. They'd been torn from the wall and she looked up to see why they'd been removed. Just to the right of the painting was a place cleared of all drawings except one. On a large sheet of vellum was a drawing of her in her school uniform. She maneuvered her way around Villefort to stare at the drawing. "You resemble her quite a bit. I noticed it the first I saw you. I didn't dream to hope that you had her voice as well." Cassandra reached out and touched her picture not believing it. She looked into Villefort's green eyes which glimmered as he stared at her.

"You're crazy."

"You're not the first to say that, you know." He smiled. "Nor will you be the last, but that's beside the point." He moved back to the main area that overlooked the lake. "They've all said that before, but all of them were grateful for my teachings….I made them stars in their own rights!" He said gesturing back towards the room where the pictures were. "All of them gave it up for some handsome young fool who swept them off their feet in a moment of pleasure and weakness." He turned abruptly to face her. "I swore I would not give you that chance. I would not let that fool take you from me."

"Ryan?"

"Yes….Ryan." he imitated. "That young fool spoiled things from the very moment he walked into the music room. I knew that look from the very start. I did my best to keep you from him but it would seem I failed."

"You knew I went out with him."

"Of course I knew. Ha! I knew you were at Graceview to see their pitiful performance. I saw you and the other three. The Giles' were pleasantly unaware of your presence."

"Why didn't you say anything then?"

"I knew you hadn't done anything….it was unimportant." He said with a shrug. "Giles wanted to encourage the two of you to court because he believed it added passion on stage; that your kisses were made more realistic between Christine and Raoul. What he didn't understand was that Christine was destined to be with the Phantom….with me!"

"Never!" Cassandra was shocked with how fast the man moved. He grasped her arms and pressed her roughly against the wall behind her. His lips were close to her ear, his words turned her guts to water. She could feel his hot breath dance across her collar bone and over her shoulder; it made the hair on the back of her neck and arms prickle.

"You say that now….but look where you are standing? Pressed to the wall by the Phantom himself? Hidden away from the world where they cannot get to you. No one is going to come for you Cassandra."

"You say that now." Cassandra answered stiffly as she felt his hands caress over her waist. They were gentle, she couldn't deny that, but they were also cold….like hands of death. She felt his lips dance across her neck distracting her slightly. "You say that now, but who are you trying to convince, me or you?" The man growled and turned away from her, pushing her hard against the wall. "You're not so sure! You're not so sure this is going to work!"

"You've come here, you will not leave!" He said quickly. "You love me, though you fight it now, I know you do."

"You're a fool to think that! I feel nothing for you but loathing and hatred…."

"No fear?" He turned back to her and raised an eyebrow coming slightly closer to her.

"I don't fear scum like you!" She made to run thinking that if she could swim out of the lair, she'd be able to find those coming to rescue her. She was just reaching the place where the boat was when his voice stopped her.

"You don't want to do that." She stopped and turned to face him, backing towards the water.

"Why not?"

"You'll drown as sure as we're both standing here. You don't think that gown will pull you down?" Cassandra looked down at the layers of lace and heavy satin that made even walking a difficult procedure. "That dress will pull you down to the depths of the lake and then truly, no one will find you…for who would think to look for you at the bottom of the lake?" His voice was calming and she stopped moving as he walked slowly down the stairs, his hands clasped behind his back. "Now, come here…come away from the water…"

"No!" Cassandra made to turn back towards the lake, determined to make an attempt regardless of the clothes she wore. Cassandra stopped cold as she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. There were two darts jutting painfully from just below her collar bone.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this Cassandra, but you've given me no choice." Villefort moved slowly across the floor towards her and lay a long skinny tube on the table beside the stairs. Things around her began to swim, his words became slow and slurred. "I spent quite a bit of time in the Amazon where they taught me to create a serum that would temporarily paralyze prey and to use this wonderfully useful blow gun." He was at her side just as her legs gave out beneath her and swept her up into his arms. "That's more like it, isn't it love?" She wanted to scream, to fight but couldn't get the commands to run from her brain to her paralyzed limbs. She was as helpless and as gentle as a kitten in his arms. He carried her up the stairs to one of the bed chambers and lay her gently on a great bed. She could only watch as he arranged her skirts across the bed, crossed her arms over her stomach and brushed some of her hair away from her face.

"Sleep…you've had a trying day." He whispered in her ear. Before he left he placed a chaste and gentle kiss on her un-responsive lips. "Sleep well my love." He left the room taking the great candelabra and all the light with him.