Author´s notes: Long time, no update, I know! Sorry about that… I had exams. Hope they went well. Anyway, here it is! The replies to your reviews should be in my profile now!

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Chapter 20 - Really Ridiculous Rescue

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Meg, in the middle of her war victory dance, watched eagerly as the first and possibly final production of Don Juan Triumphant continued right before her eyes. It seemed that the audience hardly noticed what had happened on-stage, and that was fine with her. The less attention would be attracted to that, the better for them.

Meanwhile, she risked a precious minute of the production to run backstage and drag Piangi out of sight – a feat that wasn't exactly easy, considering how fat the Italian tenor was. Still, she heard everything, and once she closed the door to the small broomcloset into which she had pushed him, Christine appeared from nowhere, beaming. Meg gave her the thumbs-up, but a moment later, the other girl was required on-stage again, so there was no time to talk.

While Meg had only seen several operas – both here and before "getting here" – she thought this one was the best. For various reasons, naturally. The best thing about this was that it actually continued and she was able to find out how the whole thing ended. Well, she knew it before that, since she read the script, but seeing it was way better.

The looks on some of the people´s faces changed from distasteful to curious and in some cases, to fascinated. The ending was magnificent, the arias wonderful, the plotline unfolded itself neatly. In short, it was one hell of an opera, and even the total opera haters would end up with their jaws dropped low.

It seemed that after the curtain dropped, the audience didn't even realize that it was over. After a somewhat strange silence, applause broke out, and Meg punched the air again. Somehow, things were going well. One by one, from chorus girls and dancers to the main protagonists, the cast returned to the stage to take their bows when the curtain rose again.

Carlotta was rewarded with an applause as well, though Meg saw her throw a glare of deepest loathing at Christine when she stepped forth (though she was still on the bridge above the "put of fire") and claimed a far greater ovation. And, seemingly from nowhere, she saw Erik appear behind her friend and gently but swiftly claim her hand – Christine, by now used to this "Invisible Man" thing, didn't flinch that much now. Even most of the cast applauded them, actually, as they stepped forth and bowed.

And then, a shriek cut through the clapping.

Meg swore. Carlotta had stormed away the moment the greatest applause arose and seemed to have been so furious that she mistook the doors… and ended up finding Piangi, probably. Bugger. Looking up at Raoul just in time, Meg saw him gesticulating to someone quickly and saw that the police seemed to be nodding. She decided to be quicker.

Raising both guns at the same time wasn't hard, but aiming them was. Two shots rang through the air, one aimed at Raoul, the other aimed quite randomly (for informative purposes, it hit the creature often known as the Furby Man, this time disguised as a man in a suit, but the injury was not fatal – just a scratch. So the Furby lovers may sigh in relief).

It caused somewhat of a havoc, but Meg swore again when she missed Raoul by a few inches. However, the confusion was more than enough. Something silver flashed to Christine´s right and Meg turned her head just in time to see the flames literally consume the two people who were supposed to be on the bridge.

She had no time to even yell anything. At that moment, her shriek would have been drowned by the screams of others. Several hundred kilograms of metal, crystal and light came crashing down, tearing the supporting chains from the very walls. Meg´s mouth fell open at the sight of the magnificent disaster. It was so calculated and impressive that she was actually awed – a rare thing.

Throwing away the now useless pistols, wishing she had asked for the knife as well, Meg sprinted to where she saw a familiar dress whip out of sight. She sidestepped Gaston, who seemed to have found her even amidst the turmoil, and went for her mother. She found her just in time to see her answer Raoul.

"Meg, you stay here!" Giry ordered her, "Come with me, Monsieur!"

"Damn!" Meg cursed, but tried to stop the crowd rushing after them, as she remembered "herself" doing in the movie. There was no controlling a mob, however, so she went for Christine´s dressing room. She was almost there when a hand grabbed hers. She turned sharply. It was Gaston.

"Meg, we must get to safety!"

"I´ve got to get to Christine!"

"You cannot help her!"

"What makes you think I can´t?" Meg challenged.

A sigh. "I believe you know far more than you´ve told me… but it´s dangerous."

"Dangerous is my middle name."

"I thought that was Eloise."

"Well… another name, then." Meg said sheepishly. She sighed as well. "I can do this. Just… trust me. Please." She added, a word she didn't use often.

Leroux seemed very much against the very idea of letting her go down there alone, but then reluctantly let go of her hand. Meg smiled, but didn't even have the time to kiss him or anything, seeing as she realized that she was running out of time. Thus, she dashed to the dressing room.

She considered breaking the mirror, but that might provide the mob with a new entrance. After a minute, she discovered how it was opened. "Time to kick some fop butt."

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The endless wet stony corridors were a nightmare for Christine´s bare feet, especially when she was supposed to run through them. At least she was not being dragged, she mused, but nevertheless, it was like a sprint. She thought that overall, it went well, but the end was a bit messed up.

Erik hardly even spared her a glace as they ran, but it didn't bother her now. They probably got to the lair quicker since she wasn't giving any resistance. Once out of the boat, the chase finally seemed to stop for a moment, and, panting, they stopped to look at each other, this time not looking away.

"Christine," Erik said finally, "You…"

"I´m certain." Christine nodded, thinking she was thinking the same thing. She was right. "I said…"

"Christine Daaé," he interrupted her, stepping closer and then dropping to one knee, "will you marry me?"

Once her teenage mind grasped the full context of the words, which wasn't much later, she smiled and clearly said: "Yes. Yes, I will." She was rewarded with the most wonderful smile she could imagine – one of the first she had seen from Erik – and a ring she remembered from the book was on her finger a moment later. A simple golden band.

"We must leave, now." Erik said, interrupting the fireworks in her head. "You should change. But I´m afraid the only dress is…" the rest of the sentence was left hanging in the air. But Christine beamed, nodded, and went for the mannequin immediately. Still, she closed the curtains. They had time.

Is there anything Phantom that isn't cleavage-exposing? She asked herself. Still, she liked the dress. It was clearly made with love and caring, and it fit her far better than she thought it would. The bad thing was that she didn't know what to pack. The only thing she knew she must take was the script of Don Juan… and maybe the music box. Meg wouldn't want it anyway.

Emerging from behind the curtains, Christine went to find the script. She hadn't even progressed several steps when a voice she knew all too well called from her left. "Christine!"

Gritting her teeth, Christine turned to the portcullis with a not too friendly expression. Somehow, the Fop had survived. Then again, it was to be expected. After the end of the world, only cockroaches and fops would survive, she thought. It should be a biological fact.

"Raoul, what the bloody hell are you doing here?" she asked, not even bothering to hide her anger.

"I´m here to save you, come quickly!"

Christine almost rolled her eyes. "Rescue is unnecessary – I am not a captive."

"Then he has truly twisted your mind." The Vicomte said sadly, "This isn't right, Christine, you don't have to stay here with that monster."

"This is getting tiresome." Christine muttered.

Then, with a slight rustle of curtains, she knew Erik had returned. She turned her head only slightly, because she knew what she would see. Or thought she did. The "Oooh, chest!" avatar made her smile quite often, but she wasn't expecting Erik to be in full "Phantom attire", meaning that save for the mask, he was fully dressed in clothes similar to those he had worn when he first brought her down here.

"My dear, it appears we have a guest! Sir, this is indeed an unparalleled delight!"

At least some things never change. Christine thought.