Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*
Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks
Additionally, Phantom of the Opera belongs to… er, Gaston Leroux I believe, and the musical belongs to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the book Phantom belongs to Susan Kay, the book Angel of the Opera to Sam Siliciano… I think that’s all I drew from…
Chapter 4
It wasn’t hard to ignore the mask, not really. She didn’t mind – and besides, if one looked at a god, it meant blindness or death, right? She had been reading mythology, fascinating…
She liked living with him. It was comfortable, and they had the most wonderful singing lessons every night, now that there was no fear of being overheard…
He showed an odd reluctance to being touched, as if he were afraid of her. Ashline couldn’t understand it, until she made a connection on the eighth day. There had been a puppy like that, once, kicked until it stayed away from people. Not that Lance was a kicked puppy, but still…
It might explain some things. If he’d been hurt in the past, no wonder he chose to live away from other people…
She liked his pets too, cute, wonderful creatures that couldn’t exist in normal life. Dragons, he explained, from the cute little Charmander and Larvitar and Horsea that lived in the house, to the Dragonair and Gyarados that lived in the lake, and the Aerodactyl that soared in the air…
So all in all, almost a month passed before she came back to reality. He took her back to the Opera, an instant and they were in her dressing-room, and she smiled and kissed him, startling them both, before he left her alone…
“Ash!”
She watched as Brock practically broke down the door in his haste to get inside. “Oh god, Ash, you’re safe, we thought you were dead…!”
“Dead?” She asked, absentmindedly… “Grandma Agatha knew where I was.”
Brock froze. He hadn’t even bothered to ask….
“A-are you all right?”
“Of course I am. I was on vacation…”
“B-but!”
“But what, Brock?”
“I was
worried!”
“I’m glad you were, but I’m
fine, really. Now if you’ll excuse me…”
Brock grabbed Ashline’s arm as she moved past him. “Now wait a moment!”
“What is it? Please let go of me.”
“Hell no! Who were you with?”
“Who was I with?”
“I heard a voice in your dressing room!”
Ashline’s eyes flashed. “And if you had checked after I left, you would have seen no one was there!”
“I… I did!”
“Well? I am a honest girl, Brock Slate, and I don’t shut myself up in dressing-room with men’s voices!”
“I… I’m worried about you!”
“I’m perfectly fine.” She snapped. “Now if you’ll excuse me…”
“Ashline!”
“What, do you think you’re my boyfriend or something?” The girl flared up. “I have no interest in you, Brock, now leave me alone!”
Something was wrong here…
Before Brock could ask more, Ashline had fled…
He was irritating.
Lance’s fingers twitched. He’d allow Brock some more time, but…
Did he fall for anyone else?
No.
Pity…
I know,
isn’t it, Master? What if I kill him?
Ah,
Aeroy, Karen’s sharp…
Ashline reported for rehearsal, and sank back into obscurity as a chorus girl. Oh, this wouldn’t do at all…
Pity Carlotta was such a domineering cow…
Hmm… something had to be done…
Lance nodded. Very well. He’d take care of it…
The next day, the managers found a note on their desk in red ink.
“Can Ashline Ketchum actually sing?”
“We heard her at the gala, didn’t we?”
“But where did she go for a month?”
“It says she was taking supplementary voice lessons with a tutor…”
“I suppose that’s as good an excuse as any…”
“Well, she certainly didn’t run off with the viscount… unless he’s an admirable actor, which I doubt he is.”
“Let’s bill her then.”
“The public wants her.”
“Excellent! We’ll raise the ticket prices…”
Fools…
Another song, another gala, another performance, another vanishing…
Brock knew there was something fishy going on here.
“How… how can she just vanish?”
She’d been in her dressing room, and then she was gone, and… it didn’t make any sense! He’d been guarding outside the door, so surely… surely she had to still be in there? But she wasn’t…
Had she been abducted?
He felt lost…
“Excuse me, sir?”
A girl in green tulle – a ballet rat…
“I was told to give you this…”
A letter! Was it from Ashline? It was her paper! Oh, he recognized her perfume! The girl smiled, as if she knew his secret…
“Well?”
“Yes, yes, let me see it…”
Smirk
End Chapter
Completed 7/29/05
Lance: At least I get to be evil…
Phantomness: *hugs* I love Phantom of the Opera
Ash: Has it anything to do with your name?
Phantomness: *grins* that’s where I got the inspiration for my name!
Shoyko: Ah…
Pika-chan: You wrote… fluff? Wow.
Kairo: That means it’ll transition to darkfic in 3, 2,1…
Shoyko: Bloody… phantomness!