Previously: Don Juan Triumphant premiered, Edward replaced Michael as the star and joined Bella in an unforgettable Point of No Return. Then they were interrupted by James who attacked and bit Bella.

Music Note: I've pretty much got nothing ... for the rest of the story. GASP! But here we take a definite turn from the climax of Phantom of the Opera. Although, we will repeat that Point of No Return scene in a couple different POVs so if you want to go listen to Point of No Return once or twice or ... (well, it's one of my absolute favorites!) :-) Enjoy.

The Music of the Night

Chapter 22

Down Once More

Jacob had watched enough of the rehearsals to know that he was going to dislike this opera, and would dislike it even if the man he loathed beyond all others hadn't written it. And for the woman that Jacob loved and that monster claimed to love, no less.

From the first, blaring note, Jacob knew that he had been correct. He was not a huge fan of music in general. It was pleasant enough and sounded pretty, even if he couldn't understand the attraction Bella had to it.

This music, however, was not pleasant and did not sound pretty. It was discordant, harsh, and unfamiliar. He grimaced in distaste, wishing he could cover his ears from the noise without ruining his noble appearance. He just hoped that they could find and capture Edward quickly so that they could end this farce.

Perhaps they could do it before Bella even came on the stage! He gave a genuine smile at the thought and began looking around, searching through the crowd for a man he had only seen once before and in the shadows. When all he saw was a huge number of well-dressed people staring up at the stage in shock and fascination, he suddenly began doubting his absolute plan.

What if Edward didn't do anything dramatic? What if they went through this whole opera, if Bella went through this whole opera, without even catching a glimpse of the man? He frowned, alarmed by the new thought.

He searched out Quin and Embré in their box across the way from his own. He couldn't catch their eyes though; they seemed as engrossed by the spectacle on stage as the rest of the audience. It was probably a good thing that he couldn't manage to get their attention, though. He had no idea what he would signal to them if they had noticed him.

He looked over at the police chief next to him and was calmed by the reassuringly menacing gun in the man's holster and his official looking uniform. Everything would work out. It just had to.

Then he was happily distracted from his thoughts by Bella's voice on stage. He actually smiled. She managed to make even this travesty of a production sound lovely. He frowned at her costume though. He had seen it on the hanger, but he hadn't been able to come to the dress rehearsal yesterday and had never actually seen the dress on her.

What had seemed mildly indecent on the hanger was devastatingly, scandalously attractive on her. And yet somehow it still maintained an appearance of innocence. The black lace was the only darker compliment to the virginal white dress with its puff sleeves that had already slid down from her shoulders twice in the few moments she had been on stage.

He stifled a groan with difficulty. But then he found himself completely distracted by the vision of Bella by an unfamiliar voice from offstage.

"Pasarino, go away for the trap is set and waits for its prey"

Jacob knew enough about this opera to know that the line was supposed to be spoken by Michael and he knew enough about Michael's voice to know that the darker, more smoothly perfect voice was not his.

What? Jacob leaned over the edge of his box to get a better view of the stage. Perhaps he had just imagined the different voice. Perhaps he was hearing things.

But the figure that came onto the stage now seemed taller than Michael, perhaps more lean, even though it was hard to tell under the cloak. And what little Jacob could see of the stranger's shadowed face did not look familiar.

And then he began to sing and Jacob, along with the rest of the audience, was no longer in doubt about whether or not this figure was Michael. It was uncertain if the flawless voice pouring from under the hood was even human. There were gasps from the crowd, whether over the switched male star or said new male star's voice, it was unclear. Jacob couldn't pay them much attention though; he was absorbed by the look on Bella's face. She seemed … blissful.

Jacob shot a quick glance over to the managers, but they were once again paying no attention whatsoever. He looked back at the stage only to watch the man playing Michael's part touch Bella. And the song went on and Bella fell back into his arms.

Instantly, there was no doubt in his mind about the imposter's identity. Edward. Bella's Angel of Music had slipped past every defense they had put up against him by being bolder than they had ever imagined he would be.

Agitated, Jacob turned to the Chief of Police next to him and said, "Monsieur Banner I …" But then he was frozen in his tracks by the sound on stage. Bella had begun to sing.

"You have brought me
To that moment when words run dry
To that moment when speech disappears
Into silence. Silence."

He watched, transfixed by horror as Bella turned toward the monster, walked to him, sang to him, touched him of her own accord. A strange burning sensation began in his eyes and he raised a finger to touch the corner of his eye only to have it come away damp. He stared at his fingertip, unable to watch what was happening on stage.

Some part of Bella wanted the monster's touch, wanted to sing this achingly dark, seductive, beautiful song with him.

He couldn't have spoken up to Chief Banner if he had tried. Instead he waved a hand at the man, making sure that he didn't call the guards just yet. Some masochistic part of him had to watch the rest of this song.

The end of the song was a blur of heart-wrenching jealousy. Until the very last, that is. He watched every moment of their embrace on the top of that bridge, could see from the vantage point of his box every detail of their faces, Bella seemingly oblivious to everything except Edward.

He saw everything, that is, until a flurry of action had him shocked and lost. Something happened between them and Edward pushed Bella away. Bella lost her footing, fell to the floor of the bridge and cut her arm in the process. Jacob leapt to his feet even as he watched Edward back away. Chief Banner sounded overwhelmed as he asked, weakly, "Monsieur?"

Jacob never got a chance to answer because at that moment, a third person appeared on the stage. Jacob's eyes widened. Where in hell had he come from? It was as if he had blinked and missed something because the third man was leaning over Bella. Jacob's voice was filled with outrage. "Well, do something man!" He cried to the exceedingly lost Banner.

Jacob's eyes stayed trained on the stage, but his preoccupation with what was going on with Bella made him miss what Edward was doing. It was impossible to miss the swishing, unraveling, creaking sound of what came next though. Jake turned almost involuntarily to follow the noise and his eyes nearly popped out of his head as he watched the chandelier sway once and then begin an almost graceful sweep just over the heads of the orchestra to crash against the edge of the stage.

The deafening noise made Jacob want to cover his ears, but he was far too invested in the action to take away any of his senses. He watched with horror as the candles that had once hung elegantly overhead in a spectacle of gold and crystal now fell to the floor of the stage, where their flames licked at the wooden ground.

Banner seemed to have put 2 and 2 together, finally. "My god. The opera house is going to catch fire." Well, at least he had realized something.

When Jake finally managed to look away from that disastrous spectacle, Bella, Edward, and the third man were all gone.

Jacob whirled around to find Chief Banner sitting back down in his seat. "Sorry Monsieur but I'm just not sure …" Jake didn't have time for this.

There was only one person who could tell him anything about this disaster, only one person who could help him save Bella, even from herself. He broke into a run, determined to find Madame Esme Hale.

- - -

You know, Esme thought with a beam, this might be the proudest moment of my life. In tonight's opera, her biological daughter was the star ballerina, the girl she thought of as a daughter was the female lead, and the man she thought of as her son had written the whole thing.

While under other circumstances this may not have been her first choice of opera, she couldn't help but love everything about it because of who had created it. Rose looked lovelier than ever, Bella's voice was clear and flawless, and Edward's music was ingenious.

She was watching the whole thing from the side of the stage, where she not only could see the actors on stage, but also had a prime view of Carlisle, Alice, and Jasper who were all sitting in one of the first rows of the audience. She caught Carlisle's eye for the hundredth time tonight and grinned broadly. She was just so proud of all of them!

And then it was time for Bella's big entrance and Esme paid rapt attention, ready to be enthralled by her daughter's voice even if she had to pretend not to know what the song was about in order not to embarrass them all. There were some things a mother didn't really want to know about her children.

Oddly enough, her first thought when she heard the distinctly Not-Michael voice was that she had never actually heard Edward sing before and she was quite looking forward to the experience. Then, of course, she thought the logical things. What on earth was Edward thinking to show up like this? Though Bella had managed to remain oblivious to the managers' plans to catch the Phantom of the Opera, Edward certainly hadn't.

On the other hand … how adorable of them!

After a few bars of the song, adorable was no longer quite the word Esme would use to describe her children, but she couldn't look away, even if perhaps it would be the better thing for a mother to do. They were just so beautiful together on the stage.

She watched them, as transfixed as the rest of the audience. And then the song was over and they were holding one another in the center of the bridge. Esme shifted impatiently, craning for a better view. As she did so, she had a clear view of Rosalie, watching fascinated from the other side of the stage, but still couldn't quite see Edward and Bella.

Until, that is, Bella fell. Then, Esme could suddenly see her clearly, could see the man who leaped onto her clearly. Most importantly, she could see his eyes, which were a vivid red, and his mouth as it latched onto her wrist.

No! The word wouldn't come out of her throat, which seemed blocked by the sudden shock of it all. She took a single, faltering step toward them, although she had no idea what she intended to do, when she saw others race in who could actually help.

She almost missed the falling chandelier until it crashed deafeningly right beside her because she was so horrified by what was happening to Bella right in front of her eyes. But then Carlisle, Alice, and Jasper were on the stage with Edward. She watched the blurs that were her adopted family as Alice and Jasper seized the man who had bitten Bella and ripped him away from her. Meanwhile, Edward seemed to have overcome his attraction to Bella's blood in the face of the disaster at hand.

She watched him lift Bella up in his arms, cradling her to his chest. For a single, heart-rending moment, Esme met his eyes from across the stage and saw the half-mad, tortured look there. Edward!

And then he and Carlisle jumped down from the bridge and Edward did something that, Esme assumed since she hadn't actually been able to tell, opened a trap door. They were gone.

Esme panicked at having lost sight of them and turned, running backstage. She knew ways to get down to Edward's home and she was prepared to use them in this desperate circumstance.

Pandemonium raged backstage. At the center of the chaos was Jessica bent over Michael, who was stirring weakly. Esme couldn't spare a thought for what exactly Edward had done to him so that he could take his place.

She pressed her way through the crowd when she was interrupted by a panicky voice. "Mom! Mom!" She wouldn't have stopped, but Rose seized her shoulder and she was forced to turn toward her daughter and Emmett, who stood beside her.

"Where are they?" The panting, shaky voice was nothing like her normal daughter.

Esme could still only spare them a moment. "I don't know, I'm going to try and find them. Everything is going to be okay. Bella's going to be okay. She has to be."

And then Esme was off again, down to Edward's home. But Rose wasn't about to be so easily dissuaded. "I'll come with you!" She insisted, running alongside her mother.

"No, Rose, no. You stay here. Stay safe." Something in her emphatic tone must have gotten across to her scared daughter, or perhaps it was Emmett's restraining arm. She didn't really care what got the message across as long as Rose didn't try and follow her.

And she was off again, through the twisting passageways to Edward's home and to Bella.

- - -

Of course, Edward had known about Jacob's plan practically from the moment that he had first come up with it. After all, people had a bad habit of not knowing that they had to hide their thoughts as well as their words in his opera house.

The plan of taking Michael's place had come to his mind rather too quickly for his more noble side to be completely satisfied. He wasn't going to lie to himself, from the first moment he had conceived of this opera, it had always been himself and Bella in the main roles. And he loathed watching her sing his songs with that boy.

Not to mention, the idea of Jacob's face when he realized who was on stage with Bella would be very satisfying.

Exactly. Not at all pleasing his noble side, the side that realized that all these concerns were petty if not rather cruel.

But still, over the three weeks of rehearsals, he had managed to convince himself that it was not only the best idea on all fronts, but really the only thing to do. It hadn't taken much convincing.

He did have a back-up plan, just in case. If Jacob called the police in the middle of the opera, pointing out Edward, he would simply disappear through a convenient trap door, one of many on the stage of the Opera Populaire. But if I pull this off, no one will be thinking about calling the police. He knew exactly when he would enter in order to provide the most enthralling scene and prevent anyone from calling the guards who would be surrounding them.

And now, as he tapped Michael on the head just hard enough to knock him out and took his cloak, he felt a tad guilty for orchestrating the whole situation to fit what he had always wanted to do. He had one moment of doubt in himself, whether this was actually the best idea or if he had just convinced himself that it was, before he heard Bella sing her first line and every doubt vanished. Of course it was right for him to sing his opera with her.

There were no words for the song that followed. Nothing could describe the experience of knowing that Bella was giving herself to him as thoroughly as he had given himself to her. He heard the double meaning in her words, the same implication that she had been pressing upon him over the past few weeks. The idea of becoming a vampire.

And at the top of the bridge, holding the love of his existence pressed against him, her heat burning him alive, he was absolutely convinced, willing to do anything she wanted if he could just stay like this forever.

In hindsight, to lose himself to the music and Bella so thoroughly was complete idiocy. At the time, there was no other option.

For him, things seemed to slow down after Bella cut her finger on his rose. Everything moved in slow motion as he pushed her away from him, not trusting his unrestrained body to resist the scent of her blood. And then the realization that he had pushed too hard, that she was falling and he didn't dare catch her because everyone was watching and it was too late anyway.

And then there was blood everywhere and the heavenly aroma of it was thick in the air. Edward stopped breathing and fought himself to step back, to turn away. Which, of course, ended up being the worst possible thing he could have done.

The other vampire dropped from the scenery above. Edward's eyes were wide with horror as he heard the screams of the audience, and then heard Bella's scream and everything else lost focus.

He was almost unaware of his own action. With one movement he leapt to create a distraction, shield the stage from prying eyes, by ripping the rope that held up the chandelier. With another, a millisecond later, he was hurtling toward the other vampire.

But Alice and Jasper beat him there. He was barely able to register Alice's comment in his head. We'll take care of him. You help Bella!

As if she needed to tell him that. He bent to Bella's side and lifted her into his arms. Despite the proximity of her flowing blood, the danger her life was in meant that her blood had never smelled less appetizing.

Carlisle's mind was there to help him find logic amidst the insanity and panic. We need to get her to your home. We can't stay here. People aren't going to be put off by the chandelier for long.

Edward nodded and leapt down from the bridge, Bella still in his arms. Her eyes were shut, but her heart was beating. He had never heard a more reassuring sound. In less than a second, Edward had opened the trap door beneath both of them and they were running, Carlisle following him.

It was a matter of minutes before they were down at his home, coming around back so that they didn't have to cross the lake.

Edward laid Bella down on the bed she had slept on that night more than a month ago. Oh god, Bella, you have to make it through this. I can't even imagine … He couldn't think about the possibility of Bella dying or he was going to fall apart. He already was falling apart.

"Carlisle! You have to help her!" He didn't even recognize his own voice, the terror giving it a completely different tone than usual.

Carlisle's grim expression was horrifying. "I'll do everything I can, but Edward …" Edward knew the implied ending. It could come to her death or … something that might be even worse. The near agreement on the subject between them that had been underlying every word of their song abruptly vanished in the face of this crisis.

Not like this! He couldn't rip her away from her humanity so suddenly! Not yet and not now!

He hovered by the edge of the bed, torturing himself with his own thoughts and what ifs. How could he have been so distracted that he hadn't registered the other vampire? How could he have let Bella be harmed right in front of him? Carlisle fluttered around Bella, trying to stem the flow of blood from her arm while simultaneously setting her leg, which had apparently broken when the other vampire had fallen onto her.

Edward wished he could be helpful, but knew that he would be more of a hindrance to Carlisle at this moment. Instead he knelt down by Bella's head and brushed her hair away from her brow. He was amazed to note that it had only been a matter of minutes since the attack, something he realized as soon as he became concerned about Bella's lack of consciousness.

All his senses were on heightened alert after the attack, so he knew the moment that Esme came within range of his ability to hear her thoughts. He didn't listen for long though, unable to hear her panic as well as his own. But before he completely turned off the extra perception, he noticed someone else, further away than Esme, but closer than any of the people carrying on in the opera house.

I could have sworn she went this way, but it's insane! This is some sort of secret passage. My god, I was right. She is in on everything and … Edward couldn't stand listening to Jacob anymore. What terrible timing the boy had!

His eyes darted back to Bella's face and he caressed her cheek gently, before standing again. Carlisle was bandaging Bella's head, looking extremely focused. As much as he hated to interrupt, Edward wanted to give him some warning.

"Esme is on her way. And she brought a guest that she doesn't know about." His voice was still too fast, betraying his fear.

Only half of Carlisle's mind was paying attention. Of course she is. Who is the guest? The other half was still absorbed with Bella. That should do it, but there's something else … why isn't she awake? It must just be the shock …

Edward took a deep breath, forcing himself to fight back the spasm of fear that shot through him at Carlisle's doubts. Bella had to be okay. There was no other option.

"Jacob. The Vicomte." Edward said, grimly. Ordinarily, he would simply go frighten him off, but at this moment, he couldn't imagine leaving Bella's side. "Why couldn't Esme have been more careful?!"

The question was ridiculous of course. Esme was worried about Bella. It was completely logical that she would not take every security precaution. He certainly hadn't taken any security precautions tonight.

Carlisle ignored his question, ever the patient and understanding father. "I don't know what to tell you, Edward. Perhaps he won't make it down here. It is quite a maze."

Edward gritted his teeth and brushed his fingers along Bella's cheek to her hair. The rose was still secured in her curls. That horrible rose. He pulled it away furiously and dropped it on a nearby table. What have I done?

At that moment, Esme burst into the room. "Edward, Carlisle! Is Bella alright? Are Alice and Jasper with the other vampire? Oh Bella!"

She rushed over to the bed along with them and placed a hand on Bella's shoulder. "How is she?" She asked again, panicked.

Carlisle answered, "She's going to be just fine, as far as I can tell. Just a broken leg, a clean break that should heal fine, and the cut in the arm which is bleeding worse than it actually is."

Esme blinked at him blankly, but Edward barely heard her swirl of thoughts because he was paying attention to those behind her. "Esme, Jacob followed you." He said, his voice accusatory.

"But, Bella …" Esme hadn't registered his words. Not that it mattered anymore, because at that moment Jacob burst into the room.

"Let her go!" Jake cried and with the same motion, laid his hand on his sword.

Edward was kept from being amused at the human's desperate grasp by a stir from Bella under his hand. He turned to her, eager to see her alert again.

Her eyes snapped open, but they weren't truly alert. More like they were clouded with pain. "Edward …" she whispered hoarsely, "Edward, it burns!"

"I know love, I know." He reassured, his own pain echoing hers. "Carlisle is bandaging your arm and he's setting your leg."

"No!" She cried, her voice gaining strength. "My hand burns!"

"Hand?" Edward's question was quizzical for a moment before Esme's thoughts and voice made him turn to her.

She spoke in a soft, grim whisper. "Edward, he bit her."

A/N: So I have to start by saying, I am SO sorry for how long this took to get up here. I am having an absolutely insane (although very amazing) summer. Unfortunately, it isn't leaving much time for my online and writing life ;-) Next, and more importantly, I have to say that I was totally blown away by the response to the last chapter. You guys are amazing and your compliments make me so happy ... I can't even describe it. Although I will say that I'm kind of scared that I left this chapter at a cliff-hanger as well ... ;-)

Now the last thing I have to say is that there is only one real chapter left after this and then an epilogue. It's actually freaking me out because it's a very rare thing for me to actually finish something like this. I usually have too many plot bunnies jumping around in my head to finish one all the way through. It's a testament to your constant support (and the awesome power of the Phantom soundtrack) that we are very close to the end. It's going to be a sad good-bye ... but not quite yet!

Tell me what you think! Your comments are the reason I squeeze in time to post in between summer camps and vacations and summer homework. Love you all and thank you so much for reading.

Next Time: The Grand Finale. :-)