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Full Summary: Nicole Leroux comes from a rich family and wants to be the manager of the Opera Populaire. The problem: women are not accepted as competent individuals. So, she poses as a man named Nicolas Lerouxand buys the Opera. She has another problem, she knows next to nothing about the arts, but knows how to do business. Her idea: Find the Phantom and make a deal. Erik is still mourning Christine and knows that he will never show his facein the real world,but has found new life in the new Opera. He finds Nicolas interesting and is curious about how this new manager will run things. See how these two people try tosurvive in this world.

Chapter 1 - The Plan

Nicole opened her eyes and saw a high ceiling above her. At first she wondered where she was, then she remembered.

I'm in the Opera Populaire…

She had moved into one of the spare dormitories the moment it had been refinished.

The fire that had almost demolished it had happened only a few years ago. Already people had been wishing they could have better entertainment than what was offered them. They wanted the Opera House back.

And Nicole had been the perfect person for the job. She had had a taste for the fine arts since she was a child. Painting, drama, music. The only problem was she couldn't paint, she couldn't act, she couldn't sing or dance or play any instrument. She could however surround herself with all these things, and what better place to do that than in an Opera House? That was why she was the perfect person for the job. But, again, there was a problem with that too. She was a woman and women were not allowed to live independently.

Oh, no. We are meant to serve as slaves for the men, was Nicole's constant thought.

Luckily though, she had a family that consisted of a loving father, a kind mother, and four over-protective brothers. They all supported her in whatever she wanted to do. The Leroux family was also rich which was how it had been possible for her to re-open the Opera House once again.

She climbed out of bed with a sigh. Today she was on a mission: Find the Phantom.

It was her goal to seek out the Phantom and ask if he wanted to be her business partner. She would take care of all the desk work and he would oversee all the inner workings of the theatre. But she had to find him first and there was only one person who might know where he was…

XXX

Madame Giry had finally finished sweeping up all the shards of glass from the floor. She heard a thump from Erik's room and went to see what he was up to.

As she entered she gasped, it was absolutely gorgeous!

Erik finished putting some books away on a shelf and then looked over at her. "What?"

"I didn't think you could work that fast! There is hardly a trace of the damage!"

That's why they were down here cleaning in the first place.

She, Meg, and many of their co-workers had found homes in shelters wondering what was going to become of them now that there was no longer an Opera House to perform in. Erik had stayed down here wallowing in the grief of both of his lost loves: Christine and the Opera Populaire. But then a new manager, Nicolas Leroux, had swept in bought the dilapidated building and restored it to its former glory. Then he had hired everyone back that hadn't died in the fire or had moved away.

Monsieur Leroux had breathed new life in the Opera House and its people. Even Erik had become more lively, though Giry suspected that was only because he had someone new to torture, and decided that a thorough cleaning was in order. Giry had offered to help and Erik accepted, glad to have his friend back, and together they had almost finished cleaning all of Erik's lair.

Erik got up from his position on the floor and took out a bottle of champagne from one of the bags Giry had brought.

"Let us take a break, shall we?"

Giry nodded gratefully and they sat down at the table that overlooked the "lake."

"So, what do you think of the new manager?" Giry asked, innocently.

Erik scoffed, "He is younger than I am and he obviously doesn't know the difference between a trombone and a tuba!"

"You think he is inadequate?"

Both of them knew that that was a trick question. Nicolas, despite his questionable knowledge of the arts, had been the best manager this Opera House had seen in decades. He truly cared for the actors and was willing to improve wherever it was necessary.

Erik had to give him credit for that.

After they had finished their limited glasses of champagne, the two went back to work, it was nearly seven in the evening when they had finally finished.

The Opera Ghost and the Dance Instructor shared a meal and then Madame Giry left to have a good night's sleep while Erik took a much needed shower and slipped beneath clean sheets.

Christine walked ahead of him through a forest. He tried to follow her, but she picked up speed and he tried to keep up. No matter how fast he ran she sprinted ahead, always more than ten feet from his reach. She continued on and on, finally disappearing altogether. Erik called for her, but she didn't answer. He began to fall…

Erik jerked awake and felt as if a fist had grabbed his heart and wanted to yank it out.

He willed himself not to cry, He still loved her, damn his wretched soul and revolting body to Hell, he still loved her.

It had been years since he had seen her face, years since he had heard her voice, but he could still remember how she had looked and how she had sounded.

He looked over at the mantel piece that had an old clock perched upon it. It read: 7:45. It was going to be a long night…

XXX

Nicole once again passed a mirror as she walked aimlessly through the halls still not giving up hope to find Madame Giry.

She stopped, retraced her steps, and stood in front of the mirror. Nicolas Leroux looked back.

Nicole had shoulder length dark brown hair that she placed in a bun and covered her head with a wig that matched her hair color. She had also a dark brown mustache covering her upper lip so as to detract away from her womanly appearance. She wore bulky loose fitting clothes to hide her curves and to ensure her safety even more, she bound her chest with bandages.

The only thing that belonged to both Nicole and Nicolas were the ocean blue/ grass green eyes.

She studied her refection carefully, making sure that only Nicolas gazed backed. He did, satisfied, she swept away again down the corridor.

It happened by pure chance that she saw Giry round the corner ahead of her. She wanted to call out, to ask Madame Giry to wait for her, but knew that if she raised her voice to a certain octave she would be caught. And the penalty for a woman impersonating a man, unless on stage, was death.

So, instead of yelling, she ran and caught up immediately.

"Madame Giry, a word if you will?" Nicole had a naturally low voice so it didn't put any strain on her if she had to keep it up for hours.

Giry turned and Nicole noticed right away how tired she looked.

"Yes, Monsieur Leroux, what is it you require of me?"

Nicole pointed in the general direction of the staff kitchen, which she knew wasn't very far from here.

"Would you like to talk over a soothing cup of tea?"

Giry nodded her head gratefully, "Monsieur Leroux, that would be most welcome."

"Please, call me Nicolas, Monsieur Leroux makes me feel like an old man." Nicole extended her arm, recalling all the times she had seen her brothers do the same.

Giry gave an amused smile and took the offered arm. "Very well…Nicolas."

Once Nicole had started the tea she took a seat at the table across from Giry.

"Now, what was it you wanted to ask?" Madame Giry asked.

Nicole took a deep breath, it was now or never. "I wish to speak with the Phantom of the Opera."

From the look on Giry's face it was quite clear that she had been expecting something else entirely. Then her lips became pursed and she said in a stiff tone, "It is widely believed that the Phantom died in the fire along with the old Opera House. Besides, even if he were still among us, why ask me if you can talk with him?"

"Because, I believe, I know, that he is still alive and I ask you because I think you can arrange a meeting between us."

Giry's nose flared and she asked in a dangerous voice, "What would be the purpose for this meeting?"

Nicole smiled. "Glad you asked, I want to know if he would be willing to be my business partner."

"Business partner?" Giry's eyes widened, then narrowed. "This wouldn't be a trick to trap him would it?" she added quickly, "If he were alive, of course."

Nicole's smile widened. "I don't play tricks, or at least, none as serious as what you are proposing. I trust you'll give him the message?"

Then she got up and left leaving the thunderstruck dance teacher and the still boiling water.

XXX

This is my first story in this catagory. Hope you like my idea. (Do you like my title and summary?)

- S.O.S.