What in the world is Erik gonna do? And who is this person from Erik's past? Will Christine and Madame Giry free Erik from jail? Or will they be too late? I still don't know why I'm asking these questions. It makes me sound more corny.
One thing's for certain. Erik's nightmares may come true.
Warnings: The usual; Adult language and violence.
Trouble
Erik sat in the carriage between the two security men. One of the men looked at him and laughed at the fact he was wearing a mask like before. Erik sensed why he was laughing and held back his anger. They reached the police station and one security guard pushed Erik out. Unable to balance himself, Erik fell to the ground. Humiliation and rage was building up in him, but what was he to do at a police station?
They dragged him in and went up to a cop at the front desk. "Monsieur, we have here what is believed to be the Opera Ghost." The cop laughed at his remark and then saw Erik.
"How can you be sure?" He asked.
"He claimed to be him and the managers of the Opera Populaire confirmed it." The other security guard said.
The cop looked towards Erik who was focusing on the ground. "Why are you wearing that mask?"
Erik didn't reply, 'Why do they always have to bring up the God damn mask?' He thought.
"Not much of a talker, are you?" The cop asked walking towards him.
Erik said nothing. He noticed that the police officer was not taller than him. Actually Erik nearly towered over him, but being bound by the handcuffs made him feel like he was only 3 feet tall.
There were a few other cops watching from a distance. One of them went to the back room to telegraph the Vicomte De Chagny, since he was the one who originally called for the investigation a while back.
The main cop moved closer to Erik and went for his mask. Out of instinct Erik was able to back away from his prying hands. The one security guard tried to hold him down but Erik gathered all his strength and pushed him away. He ran to the door, though he couldn't open it. He was desperate to find a way out.
One of the cops jumped in front of the door. Erik turned around to run in the opposite direction to find another way out. He was stopped by a cop who pushed him into the wall. Other cops gathered around him.
He felt like a cornered animal and was ready to attack any of them who dared come closer.
The main cop walked toward him again. Erik felt rage build up in him once more. He ran towards the man and bent over, ramming into the man's stomach with his shoulders. This impact caused the cop to fall and lose his breath. He laid there clutching his stomach and gasping for air. Erik got up and ran for the door again but was tripped by one of the original security guys. Tons of cops piled on top of him to keep him on the ground.
Flashbacks of his childhood returned to him. Javert first came to his mind. Just the thought of that evil and sick man made him cringe.
They pulled him up and gathered around in a circle. One cop, a taller and stronger cop, walked over to him and pulled off his mask. Erik gasped and tried to duck his face down.
One cop studied the Opera Ghost, "This is him. He fits the description of those witnesses."
Erik gave up on fighting. They picked him up and headed towards a cell.
"Maman! It's time for rehearsals!" Meg said and laughed. Who knew she would be telling her mother to get ready?
She walked into the empty room. She looked through it to make sure she wasn't in there. Walking out she realized she hasn't seen Christine either.
Meg ran over to the dormitories which were filled with ballet girls awaiting practice. She looked through the crowd but could not find Christine.
"Meg, is your mother going to start practice or not?" Jammes asked. She was a little older than Meg and was not the nicest of girls to be around. She didn't like Christine or Meg.
"I don't know where she is." Meg answered. She got up on a chair and asked the girls to quite down. "Has anyone seen my mother or Christine?"
They all shook their heads. "Is practice cancelled?" One girl asked.
"I don't know where they're at so I can't say if it is or not." Meg paused when everyone started talking again. "But if she doesn't return in an hour, then I guess it is cancelled." She said after waiting for them to be silent again.
She jumped off the chair and walked out of the dormitories to see if she could find either one of them in the hallways.
"Do you think they will harm him?" Christine asked.
"No, they are police officers. They wouldn't harm people." Madame Giry said to calm her down. But she knew that there was the possibility that they wouldn't be so kind to Erik. They were willing to shoot him before during the Don Juan Triumphant performance.
The carriage drove to the nearest police station, but it seemed to be taking too long.
"Can we get there any faster?" Christine asked impatiently to the driver.
"No." He said. His tone was low and mean, obviously in a bad mood.
"Please?" She asked.
"Lady, we'll get there when we get there. Alright?"
Madame Giry stopped Christine from saying anything else. She didn't want to make this driver angry and throw them out.
"Christine, I'm sure he's fine."
"Don't lie to me." Christine said almost bitterly.
"I'm not lying to you." She said. Christine stared at her which caused her to confess, "Ok. I have no way of knowing, but I'm sure he's just in jail and that's it. Nobody's bothering him or anything."
"Yet again this is all my fault." Christine said out loud.
"No it isn't."
"I refused to talk to him…"
Madame Giry cut her off by saying, "Because you know he's a murderer and you shouldn't blame yourself for that."
"But now he's turned himself in because he thinks that's what I want."
"No, he's probably doing this to pay for his sins."
Christine looked out the window and stayed silent throughout the rest of the ride.
Erik sat there staring out of the cell. The officers still had his mask and he felt extremely vulnerable without it. He had a view from his cells to the main lobby he was just in. This was so they could keep an eye on him. He sat back and wondered what they were going to do to him.
The door opened and an older and drunken man walked into the room. He was followed by a police officer. The man wore gypsy clothing which shocked Erik. The man looked familiar in a way.
The police officer spoke up. "We caught him trying to do business with a prostitute."
Another police officer walked in through the door with a prostitute.
The drunken man looked towards Erik. Erik hadn't realized that he didn't have his hand covering his face which left him exposed.
"Well If I'll be damned." The man said smiling.
"Monsieur, you will have to pay a fine for your arrest." The main cop said to him.
"Yeah, sure. But can I ask you something in private?" He asked.
"What is it?" The cop asked when they walked away from Erik's view.
"How about a business deal? How much would you want for the deformed guy back there?"
The cop looked surprised by his question. "I'm sorry but prisoners are not for sale."
"Sure, humans shouldn't be for sale. But that guy is not a human." The man paused. "He's the Devil's Child." He said that a little louder which caused Erik to jump.
Wheels turned in Erik's mind. The sound of the man's voice was so familiar. The way he said it…like he advertised it before, a lot like… 'Javert!' He remembered. 'I thought I killed him.'
"Good doing business with you Monsieur… what was your name again?" The cop asked.
"Javert." He replied.
'Dear God, please help me!' Erik prayed for one of the few times in his life.
The older man came into view and walked over to Erik's cell.
"The Devil's child is all grown up." He smirked. "And things haven't changed much; you're still in a cage!"
The laughter from this man brought fury even Erik has never felt before. He jumped up from his seat and reached his arms outside the cage to try and choke his tormentor.
Javert backed away and smiled. "Not this time! Maybe you should remember to make sure people are really dead before you leave." He laughed.
Erik walked over to a bench in the cell and sat down in defeat.
"It makes you think, doesn't it?" The man started with a sinister smirk, "How we met here again? What are the chances!"
Erik sat there covering his face. He listened to the man but refused to talk to him. 'I'll kill him for good' He repeated in his mind.
"It almost seems like fate…like God wants you to be mocked at." Javert continued. "You're the son of the devil, the Antichrist!"
"I'm a human being." Erik finally spoke up.
Javert was surprised to hear him speak, he barely ever heard Erik when he was little. There were times where he would catch him singing something though.
"Now who told you a lie like that?"
Erik silenced himself, all his life he was made to believe he was a monster. He wanted to stand up for himself, but how could he?
"It's clear to me that I'm just doing God's will. You must be captured before you bring about the end of the world."
Javert signaled 10 cops to assist him in capturing Erik. "I actually have a show in a couple of hours, even though we haven't advertised you, we'll put you on display as soon as possible."
Erik gasped and charged towards the bars reaching out to grasp at the man's throat again. He was furious with the drunken man but his arms couldn't reach him.
"God damn you." Erik yelled.
"You're going back where you belong." Javert laughed with an evil tone. "My main attraction is back…and he'll make his triumphant return this afternoon."
"No!" Erik yelled in horror.
"Get him handcuffed again and everyone hold on to him. The fair is only 6 miles away, this won't take very long!" Javert laughed again. He stared into Erik's eyes and showed no remorse.
Meg walked into the manager's office. "Have you seen my mother?"
"Yes, she left with Christine in a carriage. I don't know where they went though." Andre answered.
"She left?" Meg was shocked. Why would her mother leave when they had practice?
Andre shook his head and Meg thanked him for his time. She ran out the office and headed to the one place she thought they may go.
"Sir, you have a telegraph!" A butler announced.
Raoul was reading the journal he found. It belonged to his father when he was younger, before he met Raoul's mother. Raoul put down the book and went to the butler who held the telegraph in his hand.
"What?" He questioned after reading it. "Why is he in jail, has he committed another crime? Did he harm anyone? Did he harm Christine?"
"Sir, please calm down. I cannot say why he is in jail because I don't know."
"My God, I must find out!" Raoul yelled and ran out of the library room. He ran to the front door and opened it quickly. Outside the door he found a nervous Meg Giry standing there.
"Meg? What's wrong?"
"Is Maman or Christine here?"
"No…I was just going to look for them." Raoul stated.
"Why were you going to look for them?"
"I thought they might be hurt."
"Why would you think that?" She questioned.
"Because of this." He handed her the letter.
"The jail!" She proclaimed.
"What about the jail?"
"That's where they're going!" Meg said and pulled Raoul to run with her back to the carriage. Without any more questioning he went with her. Once they got in she ordered the driver to go to the nearest jail.
"I don't understand." Raoul said.
"Monsieur Andre told me that Maman and Christine left in a carriage. They wouldn't do that unless they had a really good reason, because we're missing the first day of ballet practice." She began. "If the Phantom was put in jail… that must be where they went."
"So they're not hurt?"
"No."
"Good." Raoul was relieved but then questioned the situation again. "Why was the Phantom captured then?"
"I don't know."
She stared at Raoul who still looked uneasy about everything.
"It's really sweet how you still care about her." She said changing the subject.
Raoul looked over towards Meg and smiled. "Of course I care."
"I know. It's just that most guys would never want to talk to a girl again if she broke it off with him."
"I wouldn't do that to Christine. I'll always be here for her when she needs help." Raoul paused. "…I'll be here for all of you." He finished.
Meg smiled back at him and then turned to look out the window.
Madame Giry and Christine arrived at the police station. They ran into the building and ran to the front desk.
"Excuse me, we would like to know if there was someone arrested today that was brought here?" Madame Giry asked.
"Only three people were arrested today, a prostitute and two guys. But they're both gone."
"Gone where?"
He didn't answer her question. Instead he went back to his paper work.
"Was one of them the so called 'Opera Ghost'?" She asked.
She got his attention and he nodded his head.
"Oh, so you let him go?" Christine jumped into the conversation.
"I guess you could say that." One of the cops laughed.
"What do you mean by that?" Madame Giry questioned.
"The Opera Ghost was bought by some gypsy fellow who was also arrested today."
Madame Giry's heart nearly stopped. Christine saw the fear that overcame the woman.
"What was the man's name?" She asked while praying in her head.
"Javert…or something like that."
Madame Giry gasped and her hand went up to her mouth. Tears soon threatened to fall from her eyes. The world seemed to turn black and she became dizzy. Christine held her up when she realized something was wrong.
"Maman!" Christine cried.
Madame Giry nearly fainted but Christine still was holding on to her. "Maman, are you ok?" Christine asked.
"I'm fine, dear." She said regaining her composure. She turned her attention to the cop who was in charge. "You have no idea what you've done!"
