Christine somehow mustered up the courage to put the finishing touches on her Il Muto costume and head out onstage to finish the show. She had taken more than ten minutes, obviously, but everyone was still a little freaked out from the whole Joseph Buquet incident. Surprisingly, Monsieur Firmin had managed to keep everyone in their seats, and the show was finished without a disaster of any degree. However, when all of the actors rushed on stage to take their bows, something terrible happened. The chandelier was destroyed in what Christine could only explain as an explosion, and this did not go over well with the crowd. The terrified patrons had decided that this was the final straw, and they high-tailed it out of the Opera Populaire as fast as they could. Christine realized that there would be no foreseeable way to escape the opera house, if this was what Erik was capable of. She would stay, and hope that nothing else bad would happen to her.

Three Months Later

However furious Erik was that Raoul and Christine were once again in love and still very much a couple, it could wait. He had heard news of the Bal Masque, set to take place in three months time. It would be the perfect chance to see Christine again, as well as give the managers his new opera, Don Juan Triumphant, for the Opera Populaire to put on. And if they refused, he might just have a way of forcing them. However, deep in his core, he hoped that it wouldn't come to that. He also had plenty of time to prepare his costume, which would be totally awesome and the most extravagant at the ball. And probably eight hundred times cooler than Raoul's costume. Raoul was so stupid, he would probably forget his mask.

Three Months After That

Christine was in an awesome mood, probably she would be attending her first real ball. And she was beyond excited. She didn't have to worry about her hair, obviously, because it always wound up in perfect spirals framing her face, so she obsessed over everything else. For example, her gown. She had decided on a beautiful blue, pink, and purple dress with frills and lace and sparkles and everything else girly, with silver high- heeled boots that laced up to her knee. She also made sure her mask was sublime. It was silver with more sparkles and little stars all over it, and it was absolutely perfect. When Raoul arrived to pick her up at five, she was surprised at how gorgeous he looked. I mean, he was always gorgeous, but there was something special about him (was that eyeliner Christine saw?), like a glow. He was wearing a really cool jacket which opened up to reveal a shirt that looked exactly like the jacket. Christine had no idea why the jacket was necessary, but thought it was really hot anyways. The only thing missing was his mask. "Raoul, you look amazing!" Christine smiled at him and laughed when she saw he hadn't brought a mask with him. "Where is your mask?" she managed to get out through her giggles. "OH SHIT I KNEW I FORGOT SOMETHING!" Raoul exclaimed, frowning down at Christine. "Oh well", Christine laughed as she took Raoul by the hand. "Let's go!"