1Disclaimer: Still don't own 'em. Never will, either.
A/N: I really don't have much to say except thanks for all the reviews. Now, during Raven's little dream session here in the beginning, italics is her singing, bold is Beastboy singing, and both italics and bold is a duet, with them both singing.
Also, I made a small typo in chapter one. Raven has ben at the Opera house for three MONTHS, not three weeks. Sorry.
Enjoy:
Chapter Three
In sleep, he sang to me
In dreams he came
That voice that calls to me
And speaks my name
And though I dream again,
For now I find,
The Phantom of the Opera is there
Inside my mind
Sing once again with me
A strange duet
My power over you
grows stronger yet
And thought you turn from me
And glance behind
The Phantom of the Opera is there
inside your mind
Those who have seen your face
Draw back in fear
I am the mask you wear
It's me they hear
May spirit and my voice
In one combined
The Phantom of the Opera is there
Inside my mind
Slowly, ever so slowly, Raven's eyes began to open. Her eyelids fluttered for a moment, then sprang open. Her dream and its song slowly faded away into the mist of her memory. Looking around, she saw she was laying on a large bed with blood-red sheets. She was laying on its side, and was afraid to turn over. She was afraid of wait she would see on the other side of eh bed. Slowly turning, she saw that the bed was empty.
Breathing a sigh of relief, the events of the previous night began to flood back to her. The catacombs. . . the Beast. . . the obsessive art gallery. Shuddering, Raven began to stand up. She hadn't realized the Beast loved her. . . that much. She always assumed he loved her as a sister, or a daughter. Not that she didn't like the Beast, but this was a bit sudden.
Coming to her senses, Raven listened closely. Was that. . . organ music? Listening closer, she became sure of it. Walking away from the bd, she slowly pulled up the black curtain that surrounded the bed. Pulling it up, she looked around the cavern. She saw that over in the center of the caver was the large organ she had spotted earlier. And sitting there, playing the organ, was the Beast of the Opera.
The masked figure sat on the chair, pouring his life and soul into a number Raven had never heard before. Had he composed it? Raven figured it was possible, the Beast was a genius at his work. Any form of music was but a stepping stone for him, as Raven had learned. In just a few short weeks, the Beast had taught her to sing like an angel. He truly was a master. An Angel of Music.
Stepping out from behind the curtain, Raven slowly made her way to the organ. Hearing her, the Beast turned and gave her a fangy smile. He still wore the mask with white in the front, and green everywhere else. Raven wondered how he had made such an exquisite mask, one that covered his whole face and made it look so convincing.
Turning back to the organ, the Beast continued to play his lovely song. As his fingers danced along the keys, his cape billowed behind him, giving the impression of wind blowing it. Raven made her way up the stone stairs that led to the organ's seat. Looking around, Raven actually noticed a clock near the organ. It read 12:30. Good lord, it was already past midnight.
Raven, however, felt no urge to sleep. She felt herself drawn to the Beast, still playing his melody on the organ. She reached the top and continued to walk up to him. Turning, the Beast looked at her as if inviting her to sit beside him. She walked over until she was directly behind him.
Slowly, Raven reached out her hand and felt the Beast's cheek, still covered by the mask. The Beast turned to her, smiling. Their faces were but inches apart. And the Beast intended to change that. Slowly, their faces drew closer and closer. As the Beast closed his eyes, preparing for the moment, he felt his mask ripped from his face.
Raven couldn't help it. She screamed. It wasn't loud, nor was it long, but it was a scream. The Beast. . . hiss face was. . . green! The green faced teen quickly covered his face, trying to hide it from Raven. But it was too late, she had seen everything.
The boy's head and face were entirely green. He had real pointed ears, and he had a true fang poking out of his mouth. Along his right eye ran a large scar that extended from his forehead to his cheek.
The Beast cried out as the mask was ripped from his face. "NO!" he cried. "What are you doing!"
Scrambling about, the Beast knocked Raven over. She fell to the ground, still holding the white mask. The Beast drew up his mirror in rage, facing it.
"Is this what you wanted to see!" he cried. "Is it! A horrible face with a scar! A green face! IS this what you wanted!"
In rage, the Beast broke his mirror, throwing it to the ground. "Is this what you wanted to see the whole time, you bitch! I raised you, taught you to sing, and this is how you repay me!"
"I. . . I'm sorry," Raven stuttered, too surprised to move. "I didn't know. . . I. . ."
"It's okay," The Beast replied. He was breathing slowly, trying to calm himself down. "Please just. . . just give me my mask. . ."
Raven reached up and handed the mask to him. The green teen accepted it, placing it back over his face. When he turned back, his face was once again hidden by the white mask. The deceptive mask.
"I'm sorry," Raven apologized. "I swear, I won't tell a soul."
The Beast simply nodded. He reached down and grabbed Raven's hand, helping her get up. Raven looked into his eyes and saw that their were tears forming there. His smiling face was gone, and he was still breathing deeply.
"Come, it is late," he said. "Those two fools that run my Opera house will be wondering where you are. And you can't miss school."
PTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTO
Half-an-hour later, the Beast had taken Raven back to her room. As the mirror opened up to reveal her room, Raven tripped over a stone and fell. Luckily, The Beast was right behind her and stopped her fall. Picking her back up, he carried her into her room and placed her on her bed.
Raven had been living at the Opera house for the three months she had been signing there. Ever since her mother went to the hospital, Raven had been unable to pay the mortgage, and she had become homeless. That was when she remembered the Opera house where she sang. She secretly lived in her dressing room, unaware to the other actors or managers.
That had been how she had first met the Beast. She had been crying one night, and then he had appeared. His voice had sung her to sleep and comforted her. Every night since then, he had appeared in her room, never revealing himself, signing to her and tutoring her. He had trained her to become a perfect singer, using his own talents to teach her. He had turned her into a masterpiece. Through her, he lived his dreams. Through her, his art was appreciated. Where she triumphed, he did too.
"Beast," she said as he laid her down on her bed. "You will still come?"
"Every night," he whispered. "And you don't have to call me that. You may call me. . . Garfield."
"So, I will see you again?"
The masked genius smiled. "Yes, my Angel. You shall see me again. Sooner that you think."
And with that, the man was gone. Raven blinked in surprise, and looked around. The mirror slammed close from across the room, and the Beast had literally vanished. Raven laid back down on her mattress. Slowly but surely, she fell asleep.
"Garfield. . ."
PTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTO
"What do you mean, you met the Beast of the Opera?" Robin asked. It was 3:00, just a few minuted before Raven had to rehearse. She had invited Robin into her room to tell him of what happened last night. She left out most of the details, though.
"I mean, I met him!" Raven told him. "You remember the Angel of Music my mother used to talk about?"
"Of course I do," Robin said. "She would bring it up every time we sang together. He's supposed to be the Angel of your family, and protect you."
"Well," Rave said. "I believe the Beast is the Angel of Music! He protects me, he watches over me, he even sings with me! Who else could it be?"
"An obsessive teenage boy with a great voice," Robin answered. "What proof do you have?"
"He is always there for me," Raven told him. "Ever since I have liv– er, come to sing here, he has always been there! And he always disappears without a trace. I'd never even seen him before last night."
"So, he's a stalker," Robin said, cocking an eyebrow. "That's still not enough for me to believe you."
"Why not?" Raven asked him. She was growing angry. "Why can't you just accept who he is?"
"Because I care about you, and I care about your safety!" Robin shouted. "I love you Raven, even if you haven't figured it out yet! And I'm not gonna let some stalker take you away!"
Raven stared at him with wide eyes. He had admitted it! He loved her. Raven felt overwhelmed. Her heart ached with love and anxiousness. It roared at her to tell him she loved him. But another part of her heart said no.
The other part said, he's not the right one. It said 'what about the Beast?' Yes, what about Garfield. Did she love two men? What was she to do?
"Robin, I. . . I. . ." She stumbled for words, to try to express how she felt. "Thank you, but I. . .I don't know what to say. . ."
"You can say you love me," Robin said, grabbing her hand. "I'll give you time, but promise me you'll stay safe. I won't lose you like I've lost everyone else in my life."
'Robin. . ." Raven stuttered. "I promise." She reached over and hugged her friend, who may have been something more. As to that, she just didn't know. At least, not yet.
PTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTOPTO
"What are we to do?" Blood cried. He and Slade were in their office, arguing over what to do about the Beast of the Opera. Well, Blood was arguing. Slade ignored him.
"We simply cannot afford to pay this ridiculous salary, or give away balcony One!" Blood cried. "But we can still replace Jinx with Raven, right?"
"Wrong," Slade said. "I trust you got another note about Miss Raven playing the lead part this morning?"
"Of course I did, another note by the 'Opera Beast'," Blood sputtered. "What do we do?"
"We do exactly what he doesn't want us to do," Slade replied. "I have a plan. First of, we will not pay his salary, or leave balcony One open."
"But we can still replace Jinx, right?"
"No, I'm afraid not," Slade pointed out. "Despite the fact that Miss Roth is exceptionally more talented than Miss Jinx, we cannot replace her. Jinx is far too popular. Without her, the Opera house will fail."
"So, we are ignoring the Beast's demands completely?" Blood asked. Slade nodded. "But he said disaster would strike if his demands were not made!"
"Which is exactly why we will not do it," Slade said. "In his anger, the Opera Beast will be drawn out. That is when we will spring our trap."
"Trap? What trap?" Brother Blood asked. Slade merely grinned.
"Allow me to introduce my associate," he said, opening the door to the office. Blood's eyes widened at the figure standing before him. The figure was completely dressed up in a black uniform, with a long black cape flowing behind him. A skull mask covered his face, and various X-markings were made across the costume.
"May I introduce the expert assassin in Jump City?" Slade said.
"Ans just who are you?" Blood asked the mysterious assassin. The assassin only stared back.
"My name. . ." he said, drawing a red knife from his belt. "Red X."
A/N: Just so you know, this Red X IS NOT Robin. But that would be cool. . . Nope. Well, I hope you all liked the chapter, and I hope you review!
The X-Play Rat: "Review it, bitches!"
PEACE OUT!
