that always kept his head held high with pride. Philippe had quarreled with his mother, telling her that spoiling him would not teach him anything, but his pleas went unanswered.

   However, once Stephen turned 16, and their parents having already passed away, his brother still saw the hidden potential inside of him, and decided to be rid of his childish attitude. He soon shipped him off to the military, in order to turn him into something far greater than some kind of pure-blood dog. For the next 5 years, Steele showed great promise in the armed forces, as he was quite skilled with the rifle, and his strength seemed to out match those of the other soldiers.

   During his time at one of the many army forts, one of the gunpowder barrels inside accidentally exploded, and caused the building to catch fire. Even though most of the soldiers managed to escape, some of them were still trapped inside. Stephen volunteered to go back inside, and as luck would have it, managed to come right back out with all of the remaining soldiers, despite the ferocity of the flames. It was almost like the flames didn't encumber him, but only made him stronger, much like pure, unrelenting steel. Thus, he was given the nickname "Steele" by his comrades, and soon, everyone in Paris caught on to the name, and it stuck.

   Once Steele returned to the Chagny estate at the age of 24, he came back a popular celebrity, and yet, despite his brother's efforts to change his brother, his act of heroism seemed to grow the Vicomte's sense of pride. He was still just as selfish and stuck-up as he was before, and if it wasn't for his brother to straighten him out, he would probably be left to go on a gloating rampage.

   The brother's then turned their attention to the stage, as did everyone else, as the Gala began, with various composers performing classic compositions, such as Beethoven's 5th, Mozart's Symphony No.40 in G Minor, Bach's Toccata, and many others. As the Gala progressed, everyone eagerly anticipated the arrival of La Carlotta to blow them away as she always did.

   Unbeknownst to them, however, the pink and white poodle had unfortunately contracted a severe case of bronchitis, and was unable to get to the Canine on time. This wasn't exactly good news for Monsieur Belmont, the acting-manager for the Canine.

   "What do you mean she can't perform?" The rather short-tempered Beagle barked at the dachshund messenger that was sent from La Carlotta.

   "I'm sorry Monsieur, but I'm afraid she's ill," He replied, taking off his hat. "There's nothing I can do."

   The Beagle rubbed his forehead, "Great, we've lost our star! Now what? There's no understudy for La Carlotta! Oh, what are we to do?"

   Jennifer Daae…she will perform tonight…

   A voice whispered in the acting-manager's ear, almost like someone was speaking to him. He looked around him, but found that no one was near him. He shook his head, thinking he was hearing things.

   Daae? He thought, realizing that was the last thing on his mind when it came for an understudy. Why on earth would anyone suggest that? He slowly peaked out the curtain, and noticed some of the dogs were getting restless, and realized that he didn't have much of a choice.

   La Carlotta will not like this, he thought gravely.

   "Somebody, anybody, fetch Mademoiselle Daae please," He ordered some of the dog's around him, "Quickly!" Eventually, one of the dogs had heard his order, and rushed off to find her. The acting-manager fixed his coat a bit, and walked behind the curtain and onto the stage.

   "Ladies and gentledogs," He said, "It is my sad duty to report, that the great La Carlotta, is ill, and will be unable to perform this evening."

   The audience was rather disappointed to hear that, and started moaning and complaining.

   "However, we have managed to find a last minute replacement, an understudy for La Carlotta; Mademoiselle Jennifer Daae. Please enjoy."

   A few of the dogs in the front started whispering to one another. "Who is Jennifer Daae?" One of them asked with a rather confused look on his face.

   "I don't think she's part of the chorus." One of the dogs answered, "Believe me, I've checked the brochure. I've never even heard of that name before."

   "Excuse me, Mademoiselle," A dog said, who was sitting nearby, "But did you say Daae?"

   "I believe so. I've heard that name before, but the only thing that comes to mind is the Alaskan violinist of the same name." He replied.

   "That's it!" The first dog exclaimed, "I remember now. Jennifer Daae was his only daughter. I wouldn't be surprised that she decided to join the Canine. Why didn't she appear in the chorus? I thought she was supposed to be a good singer?" He also noticed that the huskies name was not on the list of performers on the program.

   "I heard she hasn't really been up to par. Mademoiselle Babette says she sings like a crock!"

   "I heard she keeps to herself, and doesn't really talk to many dogs,"

   "I heard she---" Everyone started to hush themselves, as the overture for Gonoud's Romero ett Juliette started up. As soon as it was finished, the curtain parted, as the figure of what looked like an Alaskan husky came onstage.

   The dog slowly walked up to the front, a tad nervous as the spotlight shone down on her form. She could feel her legs shaking, almost like her apprehensiveness wanted to swallow her whole. Yet, she soon found courage inside of her, and as the conductor waved his arm, the aria began.

   She rang out the high A that began the aria almost effortlessly, which made the entire theater fall silent. Some of the dogs seated in the audience dropped their jaws in shock, as this seemingly unknown backstage dog had suddenly sprung out something that had been hidden for quite some time.

   "…Je veux vivre…dans le reve qui m'enivre ce jour encor!...Douce flame, jet e garde dans mon ame cooooommmmee un tresor!" The husky swayed back and forth to the beat of the music, as the notes flowed freely out of her throat. Some of the audience gasped, as the notes were so beautiful, almost like they were listening to an angel from heaven sing to them.

   "Brother, mind if I borrow your opera glasses?" The younger malamute asked his brother. Philippe gladly handed it over to him, and as the malamute saw the husky on stage up close, he gasped. The image of a similar, much younger husky popped into his mind, almost like the dog singing was familiar to him. He shook his head, trying not to think of it, and focused mostly on her gorgeous features.

   "Stephen, are you alright?" The black husky asked.

   "She's…perfect," He replied, a surprising tone of adoration coming from his voice, which wasn't exactly natural for the older brother to hear from his brother. He knew that Steele was always getting winks and glances from various females when they attended parties, but this was the first time that Philippe had heard his brother say it in such a…romantic way.

   Once the aria was finished, the entire theater was filled with cheers and applause. Some whistled, some threw roses (that were meant for La Carlotta), and even some of the employees backstage that were watching were cheering for her.

   Up in the Chagny's balcony, Philippe was clapping for the husky on stage, and looked at his brother curiously; his brother was completely silent, as the malamute couldn't keep his eyes off the husky on the stage.

   Jenna…is that…really you? He thought, the same strange memory coming into his brain, one that had been locked away for quite some time. He wasn't sure what it was, but dismissed it, thinking it wasn't all too important.

   As for the husky onstage, everyone was cheering for her, however, something must have come over her, as she suddenly felt dizzy, and collapsed on the stage. Immediately, a few of the employees came over to her aid, and carried her off the stage.

   With the performance now over, Philippe placed the brochure in his coat pocket, and turned to his brother, ready to take him to the Grand Foyer where the retirement party for the manager was taking place, but found that he was gone from his seat. He groaned, as he realized that his brother was up to his old tricks again.

   As always, he thought, rolling his eyes, going after some girl, yet again. When will he ever learn? Philippe shook his head, and walked out of the box.

   After the performance, a few of the employees went to check on Jenna in her workplace, but they were met by a purple, feisty Pomeranian show dog instead, who was outside the backstage costume door.

   "Please, will you all keep it down, she's trying to rest!" She yapped at the dogs, "Come back later." Everyone walked away from the husky's costume room, and the show dog sighed. She closed the door, and turned back to the husky, who was sitting on one of the couches in the room, with a wet cloth over her forehead. Dixie was one of Jenna's few friends at the Canine, and she, along