A bell cut through the afternoon sky, a harbinger of doom or delight, depending on one's point of view. For the student body of Casper High, delight was an understatement. It was finally Friday and the start of the weekend. For the three friends fighting their way against the tide of bodies, it was also the last day of dress rehearsals followed by opening night.

As Danny, Sam, and Tucker entered the auditorium, they were assaulted by noise from the small volunteer orchestra. It made a fitting match for the flurry of color as the few stage hands that had already arrived rushed to get props set up while the actors got in their way trying to find their costumes.

Sam and Tucker took seats in the back to watch the comedy that nearly always ensued during rehearsal. Danny trotted down the isle to join the rest of the crew.

"It is the worst possible thing that could possibly happen!" yelled a melodramatic voice.

"What happened this time?" Danny asked one of his fellow crew members.

The boy snickered slightly. "Lancer had them cut out Don Juan Triumphant."

"Um…I thought they got that all sorted out, already."

Kat grumbled something unintelligible. "Nope. Now, we go straight into Point of No Return."

Danny set down the prop he had been placing and joined the other stage hands in laughing at Kat's ranting. "Oh, come on. Can you blame him? This is high school, not Vegas."

The annual musical for the year was Phantom of the Opera. Don Juan Triumphant, in addition to being an important part of the show and the setup for Kat's favorite song, was an opera written by the Phantom himself. It was a disturbing display of darkness and fire reminiscent of its creator's state of mind. They had changed the original costumes and acting to something that was more family friendly, but apparently that was no longer enough.

Kat made a noise that was part sigh and part growl and stalked off to the other side of the stage. She was a thespian through and through; it wasn't what Lancer had cut that grated her nerves, it was that he had cut anything at all. Not that she would try anything on opening night. Like most theater actors, she was extremely superstitious.

The remainder of the cast and crew finally arrived to heated negotiations between Kat and Lancer for the return of the Phantom's opera. It wasn't going her way. The theater director finally called everyone to their places, effectively silencing the irate actor as she scurried to obey along with everyone else. The crew dispersed to their jobs, and Danny climbed up to the catwalks. For some strange reason, he was the only one willing to go up there. Something to do with a kid who fell from there and broke his neck. Supposedly, his ghost still haunted the place.

Danny grinned. The only ghost haunting the auditorium was himself, unless one counted the ethereal Kat Cadwell. She was an astral projection that had become separated from her body for some reason. She didn't like to talk about it.

A rattling noise signaled the arrival of Old Raoul's wheelchair in the auction house, and Danny quietly moved over to the crank that would help raise the broken chandelier. It had been made as lightweight as possible, but the Drama Club wasn't exactly the football team. They still needed some help to raise it.

After that, rehearsal went as it usually did, with kids forgetting their lines, Kat acting like a prima donna and threatening to quit, and inexplicable lighting and audio problems whenever the kid playing the Phantom messed up in some way. The self-styled gremlin was still sore that she hadn't gotten the part. She hadn't wanted to play Christine, but had finally accepted it on the grounds that no one else was qualified. Of course, to hear her talk, she should be playing every role in the musical single-handedly.

Danny sighed with boredom. He had seen this musical so many times that it just wasn't that interesting anymore. Although it was always fun to watch the kids mess up; they had a lot of fun with the outtakes. Kat's goof-ups were especially funny since she always acted like she was perfection incarnate. The boy laughed as she tripped over her tongue moments after reaming someone else out for the same thing.

She glared up at him. "You know there's a ghost up there, right?" she called.

He grinned ironically. "Yeah, I noticed."

There was a slamming noise and everyone jumped. The director stood from where he had just slammed his copy of the script onto the piano. "Children," he began angrily. "The musical is tonight. This will not do. Now, try it again from the top, and I want to see it flawless. Kat, if you threaten to quit one more time, you're out. I will put on a dress and play the role myself if I have to. Now, get with it."

She opened her mouth to retort but, for once, thought better of it. Danny jumped and rolled his eyes as the lights sparked briefly.

If the rehearsal was anything to go by, opening night was not going to go well. There was still the chance they could pull off a miracle, but it was doubtful. Rick simply could not play his part, a condition that gave Kat no end of smug pleasure. She had even gone so far as to suggest, within the poor boy's hearing, that the director play Christine and let her take over the Phantom.

They knew she liked to torment people, but that was just mean. True, she got more irritable when she was exhausted, but that was no excuse as far as her friend was concerned.

"How're you doing?" Danny asked quietly.

"I'm getting tired," Kat answered as they watched the seats slowly fill with people. "I was counting on getting more of break."

"Maybe if you'd stop bugging Rick, he'd know his part, and we wouldn't have been here so late." He jumped as she shocked him for the impudence.

"Attend to your own business, wimpled scut," she said warningly. "My mood fails to indulge."

In order to maintain the illusion that she was a normal human, she was forced to be solid to wear her costume. That was not a state she was very used to embracing on a regular basis. Additionally, she had to be visible all the way to the back of the auditorium, which took even more power. And, on top of all that, she had to stay audible at a decent volume. She had been in this almost-completely-human state for four hours and would remain such for several more. She was not happy.

Danny answered her threat with a roll of his eyes and quietly clambered up to the catwalk. From there, he could see over the top of the curtain to where his family and friends sat somewhere near the back. His father was going on about something; hopefully, it was ghosts and not "That's my son!" like he was afraid it might be. He watched the last members of audience trickle in while the orchestra faded out.

The little shade sighed as he watched his Christine play her part. She was angelic, he thought. Perfect. The star of show.

She would have loved to hear his ego-stroking inner monologue.

Soon, he thought, it would be time. He would finally be able to play his part, after all these years. He would be her Angel of Music, as he was meant to be.

"He must change!" "Raoul" exclaimed. "I'll order my carriage. Two minutes."

"No," Kat quoted the response. "Raoul, wait!" The orchestra played the slow interlude music while she wandered nervously around the set until it was time for "The Phantom" to sing his lines.

"Insolent boy, this slave of fashion," Rick's voice rang out, stronger than he had ever managed during practice. One of the spotlights blew out from Kat's amazement. "…basking in your glory! Ignorant fool, this brave young suitor, sharing in my triumph!"

She sang her response with an enthusiasm she had not shown in a long time, but Danny couldn't shake the sudden feeling that something was wrong. It was always somewhat chilly in the catwalks, but it had gradually been getting worse over the past few minutes. It was too dark to see if his breath was foggy, but he thought it had to be.

What could it be? Rick wasn't a ghost. He would have noticed a long time ago. "Oh, no…" he whispered, looking around. It just figured a ghost would decide to attack. He couldn't transform, not with his parents in the audience.

"Angel of music, hide no longer!" Kat sang below. "Secret and strange angel…"

Rick didn't answer. It took Danny a moment to notice that, focused as he was on trying to find the ghost. He glanced down to see the actor advancing slowly on Kat, despite the fact that he supposed to have been behind a false mirror. "Christine…" he whispered.

The orchestra faltered to ragged stop as everyone looked at each other. "Rick, what are you doing?" Kat demanded loudly, having grown tired of demanding it quietly.

"Kat!" Danny yelled down. "He's been overshadowed!"

The possessed boy looked up in annoyance. Suddenly, a loose cable dropped over Danny's head to tighten around his throat. He clutched at it, trying to pull it away. He could hear the roar of the frightened audience and his parents trying to shout directions, but it was fading.

Then it was gone.

A/N: Yes...well, to those of you confusing me with all the other authors who write cliched PotO stories, no. Sam is not even in the musical. She is certainly not playing the lead female, as that would be incredibly OOC for her. Further, Danny is only a stage hand, not the Phantom or Raoul, or any other character. Again: OOC. This is not PotO: DP style. This is not even "The school's putting on a musical and Danny and Sam are the leads". Sorry if I sound like I'm biting anyone's head off, but I'm getting a little sick of explaining this. Don't get me wrong; I love the fanmail. But stop asking about this, please.