Beyond the Point of No Return

-Warning- This chapter is a very detailed description of the scenes "Point of no Retun" and "Down Once More". I go in depth with what the characters were feeling and thinking, and it isn't really NECESSARY, but it is a good read. Now, without further adeu, Chapter 3:
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Christine walked out onstage and sang her line, praying that nothing in her voice betrayed her. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't seem to draw in enough breath. She walked downstage left and sat, just like in rehearsal. She fought the urge to look up into box five, instead pretending to focus on the flowers in her hands, her sleeves slipping off her shoulders She heard when Piangi came out in Passarino's clothes.



"Master?"



"Passarino..." Christine gasped. She knew that voice, and it certainly didn't belong to Piangi. "Go away for the trap is set and waits for its prey." Suddenly, the words took on a different meaning. How many times had she heard Piangi singing them in rehearsals? They were always just words, written on a page, recited by an actor, with no meaning. They meant something now. Christine was not playing the role of a woman in a trap. She was a woman in a trap. She fought to master herself. She was onstage with Erik. What could he do without showing the audience who he really was? He wouldn't take that risk... would he? "You have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge, in pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent..." She turned to look at him, her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide. "...Silent." He raised one finger to hover before his lips, his eyes only for her. "I have brought you, that our passions may fuse and merge." She looked back out into the audience, and closed her eyes, breathing shallowly. She was intoxicated by his words, having meaning now that he sang them to her. The feeling both excited and horrified her. She fought against the trance that only he could draw her into, struggling to remember Raoul. "In your mind, you've already succumbed to me. Dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me. Now you are here with me. No second thoughts." She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was looking at her, cheating his body out. A smile was playing across his lips, and he spun his cape, his eyes boring into hers. "Decided..."



Slowly, she stood, unable to tear her eyes from his. He approached her, following the blocking for the play. "Past the point of no return. No backward glances. Our games of make believe are at an end." Christine watched, horrified, as Erik glanced triumphantly at box five, and then began to face her, his back to the audience. He was still following script, but it still terrified Christine. "Past all thought of 'if' or 'when'. No use resisting. Abandon thought and let the dream descend." Erik slowly circled her, gazing at her hungrily. Christine gazed in wonder at him, feeling dread sinking throughout her. If he continued to follow his own directions, he would soon be making contact. "What raging fire shall flood the soul?" He swept over to her, and his hand caresses her neck. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder, just as she had expected. She still fought against the trance, but she was swiftly losing. He sang into her ear, and she knew that he had been planning this all along. "What rich desire unlocks its door? What sweet seduction lies before us?" He stepped away from her, his hands trailing along her shoulder and arm, until he held her hand before his mouth. She felt his hot breath on the back of her palm, and gazed at him in wonder. "Past the point of no return. The final threshold" He led her a few steps, then dropped one of the hands holding hers and, stepping backward, released it completely. "What warm, unspoken secrets will we learn?" Christine was aware of her bare left shoulder, and unconsciously pulled it back onto her shoulder in a desperate attempt to conceal as much of herself as she could. "Beyond the point of no return." Christine turned away from him, shaking her head very slightly to clear it. As fresh air flooded her brain, she regained herself, looking out at the audience.



She looked up into box five, at Raoul, and gave him a helpless look. "You have brought me to that moment when words run dry." Her gaze drifted away from Raoul, and then back to him. The rifleman was right behind him, and he looked at her in alarm, but what could Raoul do? She was alone, onstage, with Erik, and Raoul couldn't do anything about it. "To that moment when speech disappears into silence... silence. I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why. In my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining," Her sleeve fell off her shoulder again, and she looked into Erik's eyes, fueled by and intense passion that had flared up inside her. "...defenseless and silent." She turned wholly to him, and her other sleeve fell off her shoulders. She half smiled, and gazed at him with passion. "Now I am here with you, no second thoughts. I've decided. Decided." Erik had a triumphant look in his eyes, and she could see that he thrilled to hear the words coming from her. She watched as his breathing became difficult. He let out a shaky breath, and Christine smiled in spite of herself. "Past the point of no return. No going back now. Our passion play has now at last begun." She followed stage directions exactly, walking upstage towards the spiral stairs, and she had eyes only for him. All thoughts of Raoul and all fears were gone. The stage, the audience, the dancers, they didn't exist. The only two existing people were Erik and Christine. She began to ascend the stairs that would lead her to him. "Past all thought of right or wrong. One final question: How long should we two wait before we're one?" She leaned towards him, and he stopped on his staircase adjacent to hers, gazing intensely at her. "When will the blood begin to race? The sleeping bud burst into bloom? When will the flames at last consume us?" Christine reached the top step and watched Erik swirl his cape completely off his shoulder, leaving it hanging on the banister. They walked towards each other, drawn like magnets, and sang in unison.



"Past the point of no return. The final threshold." Christine placed her hands on Erik's well-defined stomach, and felt his one her waist. Gracefully, he spun her around and held her to him, his hand rested on hers, dancing over her thin stomach. Christine rested her head on his shoulder, eyes closed, captured in his trance more completely than ever. "The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn." He slowly led her hand up her body, over her breast, and to her collarbone. "We've passed the point of no return." The music began to calm, and Christine moaned quietly against Erik's shoulder as his fingers traveled over her neck, shoulder, and waist. He pulled her hair away from her ear and sang quietly, a tune meant only for her. His voice was unbelievably tender and pleading, and his fingers traced the contours of her jaw, neck, and collarbone. "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime." The song was familiar, but Christine couldn't remember why. She was sure it wasn't a part of the Opera, but she knew it. He stroked her neck, making her smile. "Lead me, save me from my solitude. Say you want me with you here, " Christine's eyes opened, and the trance was abruptly gone. It was her song, hers and Raoul's. "beside you." She looked at him as he stepped away, holding her hand between both of his, pleading with her. She smiled sadly at him. "Anywhere you go let me go too." She placed her hand on the side of his face. "Christine, that's all I ask of-" She tore the mask from him, revealing his disfigured face in front of the audience. He grimaced at her, and the audience began to scream. She looked pleadingly into his eyes, begging him silently to understand. He pulled her to him, and cut a red rope, then kicked a lever down, and the floor dropped out beneath them. They plummeted through the fake fire, and Erik grabbed a rope. He swung into a passageway, and began to drag her down the staircase to his lair. She had to jog to keep up with him as he dragged her along.



"Down once more to the dungeons of my black despair! Down we plunge to the prison of my mind. Down that path into darkness deep as hell! Why, you ask, was I bound and chained in this cold and dismal place? Not for any mortal sin, but the wickedness of my abhorrent face!" He pulled her the rest of the way in silence, but when he reached his lair, he began ranting again. "Hounded out by everyone. Met with hatred everywhere. No kind words from anyone. No compassion anywhere!" He stopped her before the mannequin of herself, and held her there. "Christine. Why? Why?!" She stared at him in horror, at a loss for words. He let her go and removed the dress from the mannequin, thrusting it into her arms. "Put it on." He commanded. She cast him a terrified look and went into his bedroom. She changed quickly, knowing there was no way to slow Erik down. He had taken her, and there she would remain.



She emerged to find him staring at the ring he had torn from her neck at the masquerade, and was filled with fury. "Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood?! Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?!" She demanded, approaching him.



He looked coldly at her. "This face that condemns me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh." He reached out, and she turned away, flinching from his touch. He instead picked up a lock of her hair, letting it run through his fingers. "This face, the infection which poisons our love." She looked at him, filled with pity. "This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing. A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing. Pity comes to late!" Erik placed the veil firmly on her head and turned her. "Turn around and face your fate! An eternity of this" He pointed to his disfigured face. "Before your eyes." He placed the ring in her palm, and she walked past him, pulling the veil off. She pulled the cover off the mirror, showing Erik his reflection. "This haunted face holds no horror for me now. It's in your soul that the true distortion lies."



Erik closed his eyes and looked down, then at the portcullis. His eyes lit up in sadistic pleasure, and he smiled at Christine. "Wait. I think, my dear, we have a guest!" Christine looked at the portcullis as well. "Sir, "



"Raoul!" Christine ran to the water's edge, gazing at her lover.



Erik was ascending the stairs. "This is indeed an unparalleled delight. I had rather hoped that you would come" he began to descend the stairs. "and now, my wish comes true. You have truly made my night." He pulled Christine against his side, grinning at Raoul.



She tried to pull away, but couldn't escape his arm. "Let me go." She breathed, looking from Erik to Raoul.



"Free her! Do what you like, only free her!" Raoul stretch his arm through the bar, trying to reach the one he loved. "Have you no pity?!"



Erik's grin widened. "Your lover makes a passionate plea." He said dryly.



"Please Raoul. It's useless." Christine wanted Raoul gone before any harm could come to him.



"I love her! Does that mean nothing? I love her! Show some compassion!" Raoul begged.



"The world showed no compassion to me!" Erik growled, enraged.



"Christine! Christine! Let me see her!" Raoul pleaded.



"Be my guest Sir." Erik said, grinning. He pulled a lever, and the gate raised enough for Raoul to stagger in. "Monsieur, I bid you welcome." Erik sat, walking towards Raoul with a mock bow. "Did you think that I would harm her?" Erik leaned down and grabbed something under the water as Raoul turned to watch the portcullis close. "Why would I make her pay for the sins which are yours?!" Erik threw a noose around Roul and forced him against the gate. Christine gasped in horror as her lover was bound helplessly. "Order your fine horses now! Raise up your hand to the level of your eyes!" He taunted, binding Raoul's left hand a half a foot away from his face, at the level of his eyes. "Nothing can save you now, except perhaps Christine!" He turned away from Raoul and looked at Christine. "Start a new life with me! Buy his freedom with your love! Refuse me and you send your lover to his death. This is the choice. This is the point of no return!"



"The tears I might have shed for your dark fate grow cold, and turn to tears of hate!" Christine watched as Erik walked to the shore and selected a rope, while Raoul begged her to forgive him. Erik ranted about how it was too late for pity and sadness. He tightened a rope around Raoul's neck and fed it through one of the bars above on the portcullis. "So do you end your days with me, or do you send him to his grave?!" He yanked the rope for emphasis, making Raoul grunt in pain.



"Angel of music, you deceived me. I gave you my mind, blindly." Christine whispered.



"You try my patience. Make your choice." He yanked again on the rope around Raoul's neck.



Christine had already made her choice. "Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known? God give me courage to show you you are not alone." She walked into the lake to stand before Erik, slid, the ring on her finger, and stood on her toes, one hand on his shoulder. She pressed her lips against his, and then fell back on her heels, looking into his astonished eyes. She stood up again and kissed him once more. Deeply this time, a lover's kiss. His lips met hers eagerly, and he slid his tongue into her mouth. She responded, exploring his mouth as well. One hand traveled to his waist, keeping her balance, and the other rested on the disfigured side of his face, holding him to her. She let go, and gazed imploringly into his eyes. He looked at her for a moment, and then stumbled abruptly away, ordering Raoul to take Christine and leave. Christine rushed to untie Raoul and then, as Raoul prepared the boat, she went to Erik, who looked up at her, tears flowing down his face.



"Christine I love you." He whimpered. Christine placed the ring in his hand and went to Raoul, climbing into the boat.



"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime." Christine’s voice drifted back to Erik, and he rose slowly to watch her leave his life forever.



"Say the word and I will follow you." Raoul replied.



Christine turned to look back at Erik and sang the words to him. "Share each day with me, each night, each morning."



He let out a shaky breath. "You alone can make my song take flight. It's over now, the music of the night!" He cried.



Christine heard Erik's cry and lost herself to tears on his behalf.

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Author's Note: Again, comments would be much appreciated. :3