Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapters! I am loving writing this story! It's great!
Now it gives me great pleasure to introduce Chapter 4! Read away people! And remember and click on the purple "GO" button at the bottom next to submit review! The Doctor will thank you ;)
Doctor Who?
The Opera staffs were going mad. Two of the sopranos had gone missing so they had no lead for their Opera, Il Muto. The Doctor was walking through the grand foyer of the Opera house. He tried to stay quiet. He went back to Christine's dressing room and used the sonic screwdriver to open the door again. There was no one in the room, so he knew she must be still down in the catacombs. He opened the mirror and he began his descent down to the Phantom's lair again. He wished that Rose was with him. He could have done with the company. It wasn't as dark this time so he carried on down further without the aid of a torch. When he came to the canal, he took off his coat and tie again, knowing that he would have to wade again.
"Bloody water!" he cursed. He put the sonic screwdriver between his teeth and he walked through the water. It wasn't long before he came to the portcullis. Suddenly, the most beautiful music he had ever heard came to his ears. He looked through the bars and saw the Phantom seated at a magnificent pipe organ. He seemed to get lost in his music. But suddenly the music stopped and the Phantom turned round. The Doctor looked to see what he was looking at. Christine Daae had just appeared at the top of the staircase. They stared at each other for a few seconds then the Phantom turned away. He began playing again. Christine started to walk towards him. The Doctor kept his eyes on her as she walked. She was indeed beautiful. He could see why the Phantom had taken some interest in her. But the Doctor could think of someone who was far more beautiful than anyone he had even seen. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of Christine's voice:
"Who was that shape in the shadows?
Whose is the face in the mask?"
She was at the Phantom's side and she caressed his face. But the Doctor knew something wasn't right. Suddenly, the Phantom jumped up as Christine had pulled the mask clean away from his face. His hand flew to his face in order to hide something. But the Doctor couldn't see what it was. He was storming about, knocking things over and cursing.
"DAMN YOU, CURSE YOU," he yelled at a sobbing Christine, whom he had pushed over when he had jumped up. She was clutching his mask in her small hand. The Doctor just wanted to go in and tell her it would be OK. But he didn't know if it would. The Phantom was crying too. This gesture had obviously offended him as he sat down on the small staircase leading to his organ and Christine held out the mask to him. He took it and looked at her thankfully. He stood up and towered over her.
"Come … we must return … those two fools who run my theatre will be missing you," he said and held out his hand to help her up. The Doctor knew they would have to come out through the portcullis. He had to hide.
xxxxxx
Rose awoke in the TARDIS. She looked over at the Doctor's bed with a smile, but her smile faded when he wasn't in bed.
"Doctor?" she called, but there was no reply. She got out of bed. She knew she would have to go back into the Opera. But she had to dress like one of them in the daylight. She looked through the Doctor's wardrobe of 'dress up' things and she picked out a blue gown that was similar to the gold one she had worn to the Opera. She put all the jewellery on to go with it and laced up the corset before slipping into the dress. She put her hair up then left the TARDIS. She walked round the corner to the Opera and entered the building. The moment she entered, she heard her name being called.
"Mademoiselle Tyler, it's a pleasure to see you again," Monsieur Firmin said, taking her hand and kissing it. "No Doctor?" he asked. Rose shook her head.
"I am actually looking for him myself; it's probably just me being paranoid. He's maybe looking around the town," she said. "But I wondered if I could see Mademoiselle Daae to offer my congratulations on the Opera." Monsieur Firmin nodded and led her towards the dressing rooms.
"Here it is. If you need anything, I will be in my office," he said, bowing his head and walking away. Rose knocked on the door and was surprised when Christine answered.
"Yes, can I help?" she asked. Rose smiled.
"I'm here to talk to you. I want to help you," she said. Christine looked confused for a minute then she ushered her in.
xxxxxx
It wasn't long after the Phantom and Christine left the lair that the Doctor decided this was his chance to get into the lair and look around. The portcullis was about to close so he went underwater and swam under. He came up at the other side and looked around. The lair was beautifully made, everything placed neatly, organ beautifully polished and clean. He walked out of the water and he got up onto the shore. He looked around again. In one corner, he saw models and pictures of Christine that the Phantom must have drawn himself. He also saw sheets of music, labelled Don Juan Triumphant. The Doctor was pretty impressed by how much he put his life into music and art.
"He must be very talented," the Doctor said to himself.
"Why thank you!" a voice from behind him said. He whirled round and saw the Phantom standing on the shore. He was staring at him with piercing eyes as if trying to read his mind. The Phantom pulled out his sword. The only weapon the Doctor had was the sonic screwdriver. He took it out anyway.
"Who are you?" the Phantom asked, his voice cold but calm.
"I'm the Doctor," he said. The Phantom was still looking at him strangely.
"The Doctor? Don't you have a proper name? Doctor who?" he asked. The Doctor grinned.
"That's my name. The Doctor!" he said. "And I know your name … Erik." Erik flinched at the sound of his name being used by a stranger. He stepped closer to the Doctor and pointed his sword at him.
"What do you want?" he asked. The Doctor shrugged.
"Nothing … I just wanted to see if the rumours of the Opera Ghost were true," he said. Erik glared.
"Well, now you have seen! Now leave before I kill you," he said. The Doctor smiled.
"Oh, don't worry! I was going to leave anyway," he mocked, running his hands through his wet hair. He walked past Erik, who still held his sword out as if ready to kill.
"Oh and Doctor, if you and your companion spy on me again, I will be forced to take action. Watch your back Doctor," he sneered. The Doctor put the sonic screwdriver between his teeth again and walked back over to the portcullis. Erik walked over to his organ and pulled a lever which opened it. The Doctor carried on walking without a backward glance. He suddenly heard the portcullis close behind him. Now that was something the Doctor didn't do everyday. Come face to face with the Phantom of the Opera.
xxxxxx
"You know about Erik?" Christine said, glad there was now someone she could talk about him too. Rose nodded.
"It's alright. My friend knows too. We want to help you," she said. "Has anything happened with him that you want to talk about?" Christine nodded.
"He wears a mask and I wanted to know what was underneath it. I started to caress his face and when his eyes were closed, I pulled off the mask. He pushed me, cursed me and hurt me. Not physically hurt me," she said when she saw Rose's expression. Rose took one of Christine's hands in her own.
"Don't worry, the Doctor and I will do what we can!" she said. Christine gave her a confused look.
"The Doctor?" she asked. Rose nodded.
"Yes, he's my friend. He can help. He has knowledge way beyond planet Earth. I'm sure some of it can be put to good use," she said, smiling at Christine. Christine returned the smile. She decided to change the subject as they seemed to have spoken about everything she wanted to speak about.
"Your gown is simply divine," Christine stated. Rose smiled.
"Just an old thing the Doctor kept in his wardrobe for me," she said and both women laughed lightly.
"Thank you for listening to me. I hope we can be good friends. I have no friends at this Opera House. They all hate me for singing Hannibal that night. They are jealous of my voice," she said. Rose patted her shoulder.
"I think your voice is beautiful," she said. Christine smiled again.
"Thank you," she said and Rose hugged her.
xxxxxx
The Doctor was coming back up the passageway behind the mirror when he heard voices. He looked out from behind the glass, knowing that they couldn't see him but he could see them. There was Christine, sitting upon the divan, laughing and joking and chatting with another woman. He looked at the other woman and was awestruck. There sat Rose, looking beautiful in her blue gown. Her hair was pinned up with a butterfly pin and she was wearing matching jewellery from the TARDIS wardrobe. He decided he would have to come out otherwise he would be stuck. He pushed open the mirror and Christine gasped. Rose stood up. There she saw the Doctor, dripping wet from head to foot. His shirt had gone see-through and he was carrying the sonic screwdriver, his tie and jacket in his hand. He smiled at Rose and Christine.
"Doctor!" she said. She walked up to him and slapped him on the arm. "Where the hell have you been? I have been worried." The Doctor smiled.
"I was down in the catacombs. I had a brief run in with the Phantom but I'm fine," he said. Christine's hand flew to her mouth. Then she got up and picked up a towel. She handed it to the Doctor.
"Thank you mademoiselle," he said and began to dry off his hair. "I'm the Doctor by the way." He took Christine's hand and kissed it gently.
"Oh Rose, I wanted to ask you, will you be attending the New Year Bal Masque?" she asked. Rose looked confused as she didn't know what she meant. The Doctor decided to help her out.
"The New Year Masquerade, it's a ball where you all have to wear masks," he explained. Rose nodded. Then she smiled at the Doctor.
"Can we go then Doctor?" she asked. The Doctor smiled and nodded.
"Well, we better be off Christine. We will see you later. There is an opera on tomorrow night, am I correct?" the Doctor asked. Christine nodded.
"Yes, Il Muto. I am a silent role because the leading lady wasn't having me singing at all because people like my voice better than hers," she said. Rose felt sorry for Christine.
"Well we will be in Box 5," the Doctor said. Christine gasped.
"But that's his box," she said, sounding a little afraid. The Doctor patted her back to comfort her.
"It's alright, we will be ok," he said. He kissed her hand again. Rose hugged Christine again and they left the dressing room.
"Oh Monsieur Firmin was looking for you," Rose told him. The Doctor rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Great! Just what I need," he said. But they managed to cross the foyer and get out to the TARDIS without being noticed.
"Now we have to find something to wear to a Masquerade which is in a month's time by the look of it," she said, looking at the little calendar she had next to her bed. The Doctor took off his shirt and hung it up to dry. Then he went to the TARDIS control panel.
"So what was you run in with the Phantom? What happened?" she asked him. He put on his glasses.
"He was taking Christine back to her dressing room. So I decided to sneak in and have a look. I was looking around. He spoke to me and I turned round to see him glaring at me, like he was ready to strike. He pulled out his sword and threatened to kill me twice if I didn't leave. So I left," he told her. She gasped.
"I'm glad you left then. I don't know what I'd do if he had killed you," Rose said, sitting next to the Doctor and hugging him. He hugged her back.
"Rose, I thought you didn't like wearing this stuff," he said, pointing to her dress. She smiled.
"I liked it, so I put it on. You get used to it. Plus … I'll have to wear it for the opera and the Masquerade," she said. The Doctor nodded.
"I think we have done enough today. I think we should just try and get to the bottom of everything soon. Not today though. We should just relax today," he said. He kissed Rose's forehead and he sat back. Rose's heart fluttered when his lips touched her temple. She had to say something … and soon.
Hope you enjoyed! If I should continue, please review! All reviews are much appreciated by me, Erik and the Doctor! Thank you xx
