Over the course of a month, the Joker and Crane (mostly the latter) spent an ample amount of time carefully planning the opportune moment to take Rachel. Fortunately for them, the city was holding a grand costume masquerade ball tomorrow night in celebration of Gotham's birthday. Crane was eager to get his revenge, but the Joker persuaded him to wait. He needed the Scarecrow to get in the Mob's ranks as a distraction as he made his own way up the power pyramid.

The Joker's grand future plan, after all, was not to be disrupted. He had two months to go before it was set into action. Right now, he was a nobody and hardly a nuisance to anyone but Rachel Dawes. The two pen pals were still going at each other daily, and by now the entire city (thanks to a gossiping neighbor) knew about it. It was now a popular joke amongst Rachel's friends and colleagues that every man she spoke to could be her secret admirer, even though everyone figured it was Harvey Dent. Recently, he had asked her out boldly to the masquerade. Naturally, she accepted although she secretly hoped her scarlet letter companion wasn't Harvey. Gotham's rising White Knight or not, he seemed almost too absorbed into his job. For Rachel, that was a bit of a turn-off even though she herself occasionally let her work take over her life. Her type was definitely her secret admirer: smart, funny, love for the arts, justice, creative, fun, and mysterious.

~*~Night of the Masquerade Ball~*~

As Rachel began getting ready for the masquerade, she wondered if her secret admirer would be there. All of Gotham was invited, so he very well could be. He didn't mention anything about it in his letters but she didn't exactly ask either. Would he recognize her? Surely he would, she's going to be dressed up as Christine with Raoul. What if he showed up as Phantom? Oh God, Harvey would hate that! She thought with a chuckle. As she put on her dress and started on her hair and make up, she realized something: she didn't have a mask!

"Christine" groaned loudly, mentally kicking herself for forgetting something necessary for a masquerade. Maybe they'll have free cheaply made ones there just in case? Oh well. She went ahead and fixed her hair in Christine's style: long, luscious curls pulled away from the face with a bow. Her dress, naturally, was a replica of the one from the masquerade scene. Harvey would be dressed accordingly as Raoul, Christine's fiancé.

Knock, knock.

Rachel turned and went to answer the door with a puzzled expression; Harvey wasn't due to pick her up for another half hour. On impulse she looked down and gasped: there lay delicately on the floor was Christine's mask.

"Of course he would," she breathed in awe. She combed the hallway for any sign of him but naturally there was none. It was a handheld mask, light peach colored like her dress with a single rose near one of the eye holes. Strangely enough, her secret admirer didn't leave any sort of letter with this gift. How much did this cost? She wondered, how can I repay him? If he was at the ball, the least she could do is treat him to a dance.

The next half hour was spent touching up and thinking about dancing with her secret admirer. Harvey eventually showed up, looking dashing in Raoul's fancy soldier-like outfit. He offered his arm very gentlemanly-like to escort her to the car, opening every door along the way.

"Are you excited?" Harvey asked.

"Oh, very much, I've always wanted to go to a masquerade! What about you?"

"To be honest I'm nervous."

"Why?"

"Well for one, I'm terrified of public officials," to which Rachel and Harvey both laughed. "And because I'm escorting the most beautiful girl in all of Gotham," he continued with a smile.

Rachel blushed furiously and decided she had indeed wrongly judged the running District Attorney. On the way to the ball, the pair sat in awkward silence; each wanting to say something to start a conversation but not knowing how to say it. Anyone could tell they were nervous just being with each other. Thankfully the place where the ball was being held wasn't a far drive from Rachel's apartment, so the silence was short. Upon seeing all of the traffic Harvey decided to let Rachel out at the front while he found a parking spot.

The inside of the ballroom was magnificent. It was the Beast's, Phantom's, Cinderella's ballrooms all in one glorious combination. The floors were painted like pure gold while the ceiling shone with sleek silver, the walls a split combination of the two. A grand chandelier hung in the center with miniature versions forming a circle around it. In the back, there was a grand glass balcony overlooking the skylines of the night obscured by two gigantic French doors. It was simply breathtaking.

Rachel eventually recovered from the shock of the beauty of the room and decided to look for some familiar faces while she waited for Harvey. This quest was unsuccessful seeing as how every person in the room wore a mask and a costume. Clutching her own precious mask to her bosom, she strode over to the snack table lined with all sorts of food: colorfully assorted fruit, chips, pies and cakes of all kinds, cookies, finger sandwiches, breads, salad, and an entire table devoted to a rainbow of drinks. Fortunately the lonely attorney was found by a few friends from the police department and struck up a conversation.

It was only when one of them asked if she had a date did she realize he had yet to show up. Surely it couldn't take this long to find a parking spot, she thought with worry. Deciding to scan the area one more time she excused herself from her colleagues and took position at the drink table.

"Are you here alone Miss Christine Daae?" A deep, unfamiliar voice inquired.

"No, I'm waiting for…" she trailed off as she turned to see the most handsome man dressed as the Phantom. A strong and masculine jaw, flawless face, and perfect facial features were the first things she noticed. Next, his eyes were a deep brown, almost as black as his slicked back hair. The eyebrow un-obscured by the half-mask rose with interest at her reaction.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss…?"

"Dawes, Rachel. I'm the Asisstant District Attorney."

"Ah, of course; you look very different with curled hair," the "Phantom" said with a chuckle.

As if on cue, the familiar trumpets of the "Masquerade" medley from their costumes' origin came on. Rachel and her new acquaintance smiled at the coincidence.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked with a gentlemanly smile.

"Sure," she answered breathlessly.

She placed a dainty hand in his gloved one and he gracefully led her to the floor. The crowd parted for them recognizing their outfits from the movie. The two began the dance with the lively gait of a waltz, twisting and turning across the floor. Rachel kept avoiding his bottomless eyes and kept her own on her feet to avoid stepping on his.

"You're dancing with me, not your feet," he commented with a smirk. She smiled and blushed in embarrassment, but still did not meet his eyes.

"Look at me," he commanded with a slight edge that Rachel didn't catch. She obeyed and fell completely into his spell. He led her with one hand into a twirl, pulling her back into his strong arms with a sudden tug. It felt like a dream to her dancing with this gorgeous man; this scene should have happened in the movie instead! She thought. At the same time, she felt a little like Cinderella with the time limit of making sure she found Harvey while she was not dancing with another man. But, she almost didn't want her date to show up. Dancing with this stranger was worth a thousand dates with Harvey Dent.

As the song ended, he dipped her so low that her hair almost grazed the floor. The entire room applauded them, turning Rachel's face into a bright red tomato. Noticing her embarrassment the Phantom stranger led her outside to the balcony, whispering in her ear that they should get some fresh air. Together they breathed in the cool rush of oxygen from the crisp night; the song had been eight minutes long, after all, they were worn out. The cloudless sky showcased a billion shining lights in the heavens, Rachel noticed, and leaned on the railing to watch them. The mysterious man in black joined her, gazing up with wonder.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" She asked.

"Indeed."

A comfortable silence passed between the two as their faces pointed toward the glistening night. Hardly ten words had been spoken from both combined, yet the quiet wasn't awkward like it had been with her and Harvey.

"I forgot to ask your name!" Rachel suddenly realized.

"Oh, it's—"

Before the fateful words could be uttered, darkness in the form of scratchy black cloth appeared over their heads. Within seconds they breathed in the chloroform soaked in the material, and they were unconscious. Several black figures dragged the motionless forms off the balcony and onto a lift used for power lines, quickly lowering the contraption to the ground and shoving them in the black van waiting for them.

"Your game has begun, Joker," said Crane as he saw the figures.

Little did he know that the game had begun long, long ago.