Wow...people really believed I was going away...
-dodges rotten tomatoes- It was a JOKE!
oo0o0oo
This sleeve is going to drive me mad. I love the dress...I just wish that it wasn't so loose.
She pushed up the sleeve one last time and made her way onto the stage, her smile creeping on as she reminded herself that Erik had told her that he would be alright, that she would be alright as well. Her smile faltered just barely when she counted about twenty five gunsmen in the audience, though.
"No thoughts within her head but thoughts of joy...no dreams within her heart but dreams of love..."
Now she sat on the stage, barely registering the voices behind her. Quietly she waited for her cue to look behind her.
"You have come here...in pursuit of your deepest urge..."
She furrowed her brows. That's not Piangi's voice...in fact, that sounds like...
"In pursuit of that wish, which until now has been silent...silent..."
She turned around to see a man in the Don Juan outfit, looking much taller and thinner...and not Piangi. The blue eyes gave her a gentle, barely noticable wink as he headed up to the front of the stage.
Erik!
"I have brought you that our passions may fuse and merge-"
Her green eyes followed him silently, not disguising the surprise in them. Just HOW did he slip into Piangi's place unnoticed?
"-in your mind you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me...now you are here with me, no second thoughts, you've decided...decided..."
Tori smiled a bit at the smirk that had crept onto his face. There was something slightly predatorial in the way he moved, but it was in a good way. It showed that he was playing with her head and held power over her, but still cared for her deeply. As she stood up, she looked up at him seductively through her eyelashes, ready to trust him, not really acting anymore.
"Past the point of no return...no backward glances! Our games of make believe are at an end!"
He was approaching her the way he should, but he kept some definitive grace in his step, something that Piangi's waddle could never master.
"Past the point of if or when...no use resisting!"
He was crossing in front of her now, and Tori started to breathe a little more heavily than normal.
"Abandon thought and let the dream descend..."
...she didn't expect this.
He finally lunged in for her, taking her from behind and keeping steady hold on her neck. Tori gasped as she closed her eyes and let her mind slip away a little.
"What raging fire shall flood the soul? What drenched desire unlocks its door?"
His hands released her and slid down her right arm. He held her hands close to him mouth like he was going to kiss them, but instead he whipsered on the surface, his hot breath brushing the surface of Tori's pale skin.
"What sweet seduction lies before us...?"
He straightened and led her out into the middle of the stage, singing as he went. The compassion was in his eyes, stronger than before, the blue orbs hinting that he still respected her, but he was in charge now and that she had already had her turn.
"Past the point of no return...the final threshold...what warm, unspoken secrets will we learn?"
As he released her hand and wrapped up his part, he smiled slightly at her.
"Beyond the point of no return..."
Tori let out her breath (which she had been unconsiously holding), took in a fresh one, and started singing.
"You have brought me to the moment where words run dry...to that moment when speech disappears into silence...silence..."
She forced herself to keep her eyes away from his, as she had been directed to.
"I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why...in my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent..."
With relief she turned slowly to him and gazed straight back, her eyes glimmering a little with excitement.
"Now I am here with you, no second thoughts, I've decided...decided..."
As Erik inhaled and exhaled deeply, both exchanged a fleeting smile before Tori started in again, both heading toward seperate staircases.
"Past the point of no return...no going back now! Our passion play has now at last begun! Past all thought of right or wrong..."
She stopped and leaned over the staircase as she sung her next line directly toward him. Erik stopped as well, keeping his eyes on her.
"One final question! How long are we to wait before we're one?"
She continued up the staircase, Erik following suit on his.
"When will the blood begin to race? The sleeping bud burst into bloom?"
Both finally reached the top of the catwalk.
"When will the flames at last consume us...?"
With one graceful movement, Erik flung off his Don Juan cape and hung it on the rail behind him. His voice mixed with hers as they continued toward each other.
"Past the point of no return...the final threshold!"
They met each other, and Erik winked at her before twirling her around to hold her from behind.
"The bridge is crossed! So stand and watch it burn! We've passed the point of no return..."
Now they just stood there as the orchestra kept playing slowly and softly, enjoying each other's presence. As Tori rested her head against his shoulder, her eyes closed and her heart filled with bliss, Erik whispered gently into her ear:
"Good job, my angel. Now you are officially finished with your lessons."
He stroked her hair and neck gently to make her stay calm, keeping his eyes out for the gunmen. He noted smugly that they weren't making any moves; they were simply staring, dumfounded, at the two on the stage. Most of the audience members seemed a little blanked out, and Raoul was craning his head this way and that from where he sat in Box Five (Although automatically annoyed, Erik mentally shrugged it off, seeing as he was on stage anyway.), looking for any mistake, any sign of weakness in Tori so that he could give the signal to fire.
Look at that, he found it.
Tori started to breathe more frantically, starting to tremble. The embrace had struck a chord in her, and as she struggled to keep her cool, her mind broke out in mass hysteria. Memories of that night which she would rather forget pummeled her, and she started to sweat, leaning back into Erik with nervousness. Finally she pushed him away, holding her hands to her ears as if trying to blot out a loud noise and screwing her eyes shut.
Erik, nervous and a little frightened, reached out reluctantly for her. "Tori...?"
"I'm sorry Erik, I don't know-"
But Raoul was already up and out of his seat. He yelled triumphantly:
"He hurt her! The monster has hurt her! Come, men, we must protect our little prima donna...OPEN FIRE!"
On cue, all of the gunmen moved to better places, took aim, and fired. Gunshots filled the air, and Erik watched with horror as they repeatedly made close calls, coming closer and closer to him. He made a signal for Tori to duck...
A bullet found its mark. He fell, whacking his head hard on the wood of the catwalk.
Faintly he registered Tori's scream. Through a sea of red he saw her waving her arms, and the gunshots ceased. The cries of the audience did not, however, and she bent over him, kneeling to his level. He could hardly hear her words.
"Erik! Erik! Tell me you're alright! Oh God, please tell me you're fine!"
Tears fell onto his mask: her tears. He groaned and shifted a little.
As blackness slowly took over, he heard Tori screaming.
"MADAME! MADAME!"