A/N: Thanks to my beta, Olethros.
Episode 18
By: Elektra
DeChagny-Giry Residence
Raoul DeChagny was having a dream. A lovely, wonderful dream: Meg was lying on their bed, wearing absolutely nothing as she motioned for him to join her. He soon found his own clothing disappearing as he enjoyed every inch of her highly flexible ballerina's body.
No wait… that DID happen… he recalled.
"Ray?"
Meg? Do you want to go another round?
"Sweetie? Wake up…"
Raoul's eyes opened lazily, a smile on his lips as he fully expected to see…
… A corpse's face hovering over him.
"Jesus Christ!" Raoul shouted as he jumped up in bed, eyes wide as he stared at the hideous sight before him.
"Hardly," Erik muttered in response, tugging his mask back on. "But now that you're awake, we must talk."
Raoul looked to the smaller figure standing a few feet away, wrapped in a robe. He noted she had averted her eyes when Erik had used his worst asset to wake him up most effectively.
Meg shrugged hopelessly. "Sorry, babe. Erik needs your help."
"Well, help is such a desperate word," Erik pointed out. "I prefer to think of it as… assistance. Financial assistance, more specifically."
Meg handed Raoul a pair of sweat pants. He pulled them on beneath the blankets, frowning at the man before him.
"Why do you need MY money?" The younger man asked. "Don't you have enough of your own?"
"I do, but you can explain this as a legitimate expense, I cannot."
"What do you mean?" Raoul asked as he climbed out of bed.
"The DeChagny family is heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the Opera Populaire," Erik explained as Meg and Raoul headed into their living room. "One of your employees has broken contract and has left your employ without your permission."
Raoul narrowed his eyes and sat down on the couch, "Who?"
"Oren Phyreus."
"He's on a leave of absence, isn't he?" Raoul asked as Meg made herself comfortable beside him.
"His leave of absence is UP and he has yet to return," Erik snapped as he sat in a chair across from the younger couple. "And he has not contacted his employers or informed them that he has left town!"
"Oren's gone?" Meg seemed surprised.
"Yes. Long gone," Erik answered. He turned back to Raoul, "He was still under contract, was he not?"
"Um…" Raoul scratched his messy blonde head, "I think so, yeah."
"Then you need to hire someone to find him and claim services owing."
"And who, exactly, should I hire?"
"Nadir Khan," Erik replied. "He is very skilled at finding people."
"Why do you care so much?" Raoul wondered. "I thought you didn't like the guy."
"I don't, but I have need of him."
"Can't your Hunter people go find him?" Raoul asked.
"I can't ask the Guild for assistance."
"You'd better explain that one to me," Raoul frowned, crossing his arms over his well-tanned chest.
Though Erik didn't want the latest turn of events to be public knowledge, he understood that Raoul and Meg needed to know, if only so they would understand why subterfuge was essential where the Guild was concerned:
Erik knew the Hunters – the ones that did not know him – would find his current state a cause for concern. As would Leroux. If the matter was not kept from them, Erik would come face to face with his own Executioner.
And that would be problematic indeed.
Populaire – above the stage (the next day)
"Hello, Erik."
Erik felt the air grow suddenly cold. He looked away from Christine rehearsing below him and turned to see a tall lanky woman dressed in robes that seemed to be made of the darkness itself.
He noted the shiny mask covering the right half of her face - the rotted half.
"Hel," Erik nodded in acknowledgement. "I have not seen you in a while."
Hel shrugged, "I had my charges to take care of. The dead do not rule themselves."
"I imagine they don't," he answered, and then glanced back at Christine, wishing the rehearsal would end shortly so he could see her face to face.
"Do you need assistance?" Hel spoke up again.
He turned back to the goddess, brow furrowed beneath his full white mask. "Pardon?"
"I only ask because I am aware you may need to visit the dead sometime soon."
"How do you know this?" Erik asked suspiciously.
"My father still lurks around here. He hears things. Am I wrong?"
"No. You're quite right, actually. But it's not your realm I desire access to. It's another one."
"Oh, which?" She asked eagerly. " Annwn? Mictlan? Yomi?"
"Hades'realm," Erik answered.
"Ah…" Hel replied, then seemed thoughtful for a moment. "But I cannot see how you expect to get there. It's a place where only gods can travel freely." She gave Erik a small flirtatious smile, "If it was my realm, I would grant you permission to come and go as you please."
"Well, that's very…" he tried to find the proper word, "…kind of you."
"Alas," she sighed, "You will only see Hades if you die." The left side of her mouth pouted prettily, the right still obscured. "I would not like you to die before your time, Erik."
"Thank you, Hel." He answered, realizing she truly seemed concerned.
"I may not have been to Hades' realm myself…" Hel continued, "But I have an idea of what you could expect." She sat on the rail beside him, balancing easily. "There is a dog guarding the gates, much like my Garm. My sweet pet lets no soul pass unless I invite them, but he is weak to music." She shrugged, "A nice lullaby will put him to sleep. Perhaps Hades' Cerberus is similar?"
Erik considered this, "And how big is your pet?"
"Oh, goddess…" she furrowed her brow, trying to remember. "Well, he just fits into Gnipahellir." She glanced back at Erik, "That's his cave," she explained. "But he's much smaller than my brother, Fenrir."
Erik nodded. Fenrir – a great wolf - was prophesied to grow so large, he would reach the sky.
The comparison did not give Erik much comfort, but at least Hel had offered a possible defense should he come face to face with a very large three-headed guard dog.
"If there's anything else you can tell me, I would much appreciate it," he said.
"I'll ask around," she replied. "I have friends in high – and low – places."
The goddess then disappeared, but not before she blew him a kiss goodbye.
Erik shuddered at the cold rush of wind she left in her wake and briefly wondered why he seemed to attract women of the undead variety.
Sytri laughed at Erik's silent musing. "Perhaps it's your corpsey good looks…"
Giry-DeChagny Residence – a week later
"You've been visiting us a lot lately," Meg said as she sat beside Christine on the couch. Raoul was in the shower and the two best friends were taking the time to share some girl talk. "If something's bothering you, I'm always here."
"I miss Erik," Christine said plainly, hugging herself. "I mean, I still see him every day at the theatre, and he still coaches my voice in the rehearsal rooms, so we DO have some time together… but… "
"But…?" Meg asked.
"I hate being by myself at night. I hate rolling over and not having him to snuggle up with."
Meg furrowed her brow, "Erik snuggles? He doesn't seem the type."
"Uh… no… no, of course not…" Christine said quickly. "Erik isn't snuggable …" she then smiled secretively, "At least, that's what he'll tell you if you ever ask."
Meg shook her head, "I would be afraid to!"
"Anyway," Christine continued, her voice soft. "The point is… I haven't felt alone like this since my dad died."
"Oh sweetie… I can loan you Raoul if you like," Meg offered, then snickered at Christine's shocked expression, "I'm KIDDING, Chrissy! Good lord, I'm not giving up my snuggable DeChagny ass to anyone, best friend or not!"
"Someone wants my ass?" Raoul asked as he exited the bathroom dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.
The two girls simply laughed in response. "I prefer Erik's, thanks," Christine replied.
"Should I feel insulted?" Raoul asked, sitting down on the chair across from them. He glanced at Meg, "You like my ass, don't you?"
"Very much," Meg agreed.
"Good. I would hate to think Chrissy's corpsey fiancé had a nicer backside than me."
"Speaking of my fiancé," Christine started as she leaned forward and directed her attention towards Raoul, "Has Nadir had any luck finding Orpheus yet?"
Raoul shrugged, "Someone saw a man matching Oren's description boarding a plane for Mexico a few days ago. After that, though… who knows?"
Christine nodded, "I guess he had to get away from all the trouble with Martine. She told the cops that it wasn't him, but I don't blame him for wanting to disappear." She then frowned, "But did he have to pick NOW to do it? After what Erik did for him, you'd think he would have stuck around to make sure everything was okay!"
"He was probably just so relieved that he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible," Meg answered. "He didn't want the chance Sytri would find his way back inside him again."
"Tell us honestly, Chrissy," Raoul spoke up, "How are you handling this? Knowing he's inside Erik? I never liked the man all that much to begin with, but this…" he spread his palms, unable to put it into words.
"I guess I'm handling it okay," Christine replied. "I mean, how is a woman supposed to handle it when her fiancé is possessed by his demonic daddy?"
"At least he has the good sense to stay away from you," Raoul muttered.
"He wants me safe," Christine explained.
"That I do…" a voice spoke as a shadowy formed dropped down from a vent in the ceiling.
Raoul jumped up, swearing inelegantly at the visitor.
"Really, DeChagny, do you think I would put Christine in danger by allowing us to be alone when I am not entirely… myself?" Erik asked with a frown.
"You've put her in a hell of a position though, haven't you?" Raoul shot back.
"Stop it!" Christine snapped as she stood up. "Yes, I'm angry that Erik didn't talk to me first, but I understand why he did it!" She focused on Raoul, "You didn't see Oren those last few days. He was losing control! It would have been worse to keep Sytri inside him."
Christine turned to Erik and reached a hand out towards him. He took it and the two sat together on the couch.
Raoul sat back down with a scowl, "I don't appreciate you sneaking into my home, Erik!" He then eyed the man before him, looking for any sign of his unseen companion, "Either of you…"
Erik shrugged, "I used to do it when it Little Giry and Christine lived here alone. They didn't seem to mind."
"Do I look like Christine to you?" Raoul scoffed.
Erik studied him carefully, "Well, you do have blonde hair, though you're not nearly as pretty."
Christine snickered. Raoul did not seem amused.
"So what do you want?" Raoul asked shortly. "I'm waiting for you to demand something from me again."
"Orpheus' whereabouts," Erik said.
Raoul told Erik the same thing he had told Christine. Erik took it less gracefully, allowing some rather colourful phrases to escape his lips. Christine hugged his arm to calm him down.
Raoul took it all in stride, knowing Erik's moods by now. "Give me your cell number and I'll call you when I find out anything," he offered.
"Wait, I'll do you one better…" Meg spoke up. "We still have the extra room. You and Chrissy can stay for a few days if you want. That way we can all find out at the same time," she offered.
"Meggy!" Raoul snapped, "I'd rather he NOT be here!" He glanced at Christine, "You're free to stay, though."
"Ray … can I talk to you?" Meg asked with a raised eyebrow. Raoul didn't like that look and reluctantly followed her into the bedroom for a chat. "Listen, Chrissy is lonely without him. Do you get that? Erik is afraid to be alone with her, but at least if WE'RE here, he may consider it."
"I'd be lying if I said Erik's visitor didn't scare the crap out of me," Raoul replied. "It's not just HER in danger!"
Meg studied Raoul, "Ray, Erik isn't going to get all hot and bothered and lose control while WE'RE around. I want to do this for Christine."
"Is she really that bad off?" Raoul asked.
"Maybe you haven't noticed how often she's visited us the last two weeks?" Meg asked.
"Geez…" Raoul sighed, rubbing his temples. "She really MUST be lonely." He took a deep breath and let it out. "Fine. They can stay. Only a few nights, though! Just because Chrissy and Erik can't be alone, that doesn't mean WE have to suffer."
Meg nodded. "Deal."
The two headed out again and turned their attention to Erik and Christine. "The offer still stands. You two can stay for a few nights. We'll be right here, so you can snuggle safely."
Erik frowned, "I don't snuggle."
Christine hid her smirk from Erik, though Meg saw it clearly.
Meg shrugged, "Well, feel free to stay anyway."
Erik glanced at Christine and saw the pleading look in her eyes. "It should be okay, right? We won't actually be alone," she pointed out.
Erik considered this. His main reason for not coming home was because he did not want to be unaccompanied with Christine while Sytri remained a part of him.
Considering her friends would be a scream away, then perhaps…
"I suppose we should be safe for a few nights," he mused, knowing that nothing but sleep would take place while there were others so close by.
Christine let out a delighted squeal. The two quickly made plans to grab their overnight bags from home and return within the hour.
Later
"Seduce her…"
"What?" Erik asked the voice in his head.
"She's right there. Seduce her."
Erik looked at the sleeping form beside him, and frowned. "I'll do nothing of the sort. Her friends are in the next room. I will neither make a spectacle of myself, nor will I allow you to trick me into making a spectacle of myself!"
"I cannot believe you've given yourself a security net!" Sytri replied angrily. "She is your woman! You can do what you please with her!"
Erik let out a cold laugh, "Yes, I can. YOU, however, cannot! If I feel I need a security net, so be it. It's better than letting you get even the smallest bit of advantage."
"You're a man. Act like it!"
"Am I? Sometimes I wonder," Erik replied, knowing his unresponsive behaviour was only infuriating Sytri. "Ah well, no reason to think on it now. Good night, Father…"
Erik wrapped an arm around Christine and pulled her back against him, spooning his long lean frame around her. It allowed the masked man a long-needed peaceful night without fear of a hellish end.
The fact that it angered Sytri beyond words didn't hurt either.
End of Episode 18