The conflicted doctor was clad only in slacks, suspenders, and an Oxford shirt that had been bloodied badly on the left side. The cuff of the sleeve was ripped on the same side, and the long blonde hair hung down in tangled locks against the same shoulder. On the other side, the hair was tied neatly back. The doctor's chest rose and fell noticeably, and his head hung down forlornly until the music started.

Immediately, the blonde head rose to stare helplessly out into the audience, and he opened his mouth to sing the song that so well defined his character.


It's over now, I know inside
No one will ever know
The sorry tale of Edward Hyde
And those who died
No one must ever know


The note wavered gently with the trepidation that was obvious in Jekyll's defeated demeanor. He glanced tentatively out over the audience, his countenance pleading for the understanding of the people who had followed him through his ordeal.


They'd only see the tragedy
They'd not see my intent
The shadow of Hyde's evil
Will forever kill the good that I have meant


The doctor's gaze rose skyward, and his forehead wrinkled with helplessness as he voiced the questions that had come to constantly plague his fragile ego.


Am I a good man?
Am I a madman?
It's such a fine line
Between a good man and a...


Immediately, Jekyll's figure doubled over in pain, leaning slightly to the side so that the bloodied side of his shirt was showing. Without warning, he tilted his chin towards the audience, and an eerie blue light illuminated his sneer as he glanced out from beneath the mop of hair that had escaped the ponytail tied tightly on the other side.

Hyde was back.


Do you really think that I could ever let you go?

Do you think I'd ever set you free?
If you do, I'm sad to say, it simply isn't so
You will never get away from me


As the note crescendoed, Hyde's form collapsed above the waist, giving way to the kinder, gentler, more desperate face of Henry Jekyll, who reached to the opposite side, bathed in a beautiful white light. When he opened his mouth to sing, his sweet tenor burned with frantic resolve.


All that you are is a face in the mirror
I close my eyes and you disappear


The other fist reached around Jekyll's form, and Hyde emerged once more beneath the curtain of hair as the twisted figure showed his other, evil profile to the audience. The white light faded to the previous eerie blue as Hyde growled his lyrics in an intimidating baritone.


I'm what you face when you face in the mirror
Long as you live, I will still be here


The figure reached to the other side, displaying Jekyll's panicked countenance. The clean shirtsleeve curled around, and the Jekyll's fist found the air in his line of vision as he gazed anxiously toward the sky. Everything in his figure screamed defeat, but his stance was one of steadfastness as he sang defiantly.


All that you are is the end of a nightmare
All that you are is a dying scream
After tonight, I shall end this demon's dream


Once again, Jekyll collapsed to the other side, giving way to Hyde, who sneered out into the audience, cackling maniacally at the floor. Hyde gazed out into the blue light that struck centerstage and smirked ironically into the fist that appeared to emerge from his gut.


This is not a dream, my friend
And it will never end
This one is the nightmare that goes on


The note crescendoed to a scream, at which point the frightening figure threw his head back in victory before turning to glare again at the audience.


Hyde is here to stay
No matter what you may pretend
And he'll flourish long after you're gone


The vibrato of the note had only just begun to spin when Hyde collapsed again, and Jekyll emerged, still staring hopefully at the ceiling. His countenance grew firmer against the brightness of the white spotlight, and when he sang, his tenor voice was loud and clear.


Soon you will die and my memory will hide you
You cannot choose but to lose control


Jekyll doubled over again, and Hyde emerged on the opposite side of the body, cackling at the notion of death when he'd attained so much power in such a short time.


You can't control me, I live deep inside you
Each day you'll feel me devour your soul


The last words ended in a growl of protest as Hyde was forced back into the body, leaving a chance for Jekyll to emerge. As Jekyll rose his fist again in frustration, he adopted a strangely self-satisfied expression, and he bit the words out forcefully as he argued against his inner demon.


I don't need you to survive as you need me
I'll become whole as you dance with death
And I'll rejoice as you breathe your final breath


Jekyll held the note proudly, allowing it a moment to echo in the vast space of the venue before Hyde prevailed once more, a sinister expression clouding his bright, angry eyes. His eyebrows rose suggestively, and the corners of his lips curled in triumph as he lifted his chin from its downcast position and crowed into the audience. But although his baritone soared over the notes, each line was interrupted by a twist of the torso and a frantic scream of "NO!" from the terrified Dr. Jekyll.


I'll live inside you forever
With Satan himself by my side
And I know that now and forever
They'll never be able to separate Jekyll from Hyde


Hyde collapsed, staggering towards the edge of the stage, but his feet planted firmly enough that Jekyll could reach out from the other side of the torso, shaking his finger into the wings as he glared at the forced that was slowly overtaking him.


Can't you see it's over now?
It's time to die


Overtaken by Hyde again, Jekyll collapsed to the other side of his body, shifting his weight in the eerie blue light as Hyde's baritone echoed angrily both in the auditorium and against the walls of his skull.


No, not I
Only you


The resistance was apparent in every inch of Jekyll's figure as he emerged from the prison of helplessness Hyde was striving to create, arguing with every ounce of his energy.


If I die, you die too


Jekyll vanished with the white light, and Hyde surfaced on the other side of the man onstage, smirking victoriously.


You'll die in me
I'll BE you


Hyde collapsed back into the man's trembling form, and Jekyll emerged on the other side of the figure, shaking his fist angrily towards the ceiling as the blue light faded to white.


Damn you, Hyde!
Leave me be!


Hyde ripped himself from Jekyll's self-righteous light, surfacing with an evil smile.


Can't you see?
You ARE me!


The figure flung to stage right as Jekyll emerged once more, screaming in agony at the thought of a permanent defeat.


NO!
Deep inside...


Under the weight of his desperation, Jekyll collapsed to the left, where Hyde delivered a maniacal grin.


I am you
You are Hyde


Hyde's smirking form gave way as Jekyll reached his face towards the ceiling, screaming in despair.


No, never!


Jekyll was forced back into exile as Hyde surfaced with an equally forceful scream.


Yes, forever!


Shaking with the strength of his resolve, Jekyll broke free of Hyde's hold long enough to cry out in anger.


Damn you, Hyde, take all your evil deeds and rot in HELL


Jekyll collapsed painfully, and Hyde peeked out from the strands of hair that Jekyll's collapse had released. With a pointedly sardonic smile, he lowered his voice to a growl.


I'll see you there, Jekyll


The orchestral arrangement tumbled into an angry descending chromatic scale and the tortured man in the center of the stage turned so that both sides of his dueling personalities were facing the audience. Jekyll's white light overtook the stage, and with one last deep breath, the doctor's tormented figure let rip with an amazingly powerful proclamation.


No, no...
NEVER! *


The note rang out clearly in the venue until the orchestral arrangement ended, at which point the lights went out and the demented man collapsed into a pile on the floor of the stage.

Immediately, the house lights went up, illuminating Aaron's fallen form. For a moment, the entire auditorium was deadly silent. As soon as he got to his feet, though, the audience of cast members burst into raucous applause.

Cal vaulted onto the stage amidst the catcalls, trying to stifle the smile that threatened to surface at the enthusiasm of his young, talented cast. As soon as the cheering died down, Cal turned his attention to an exhausted Aaron.

"Well, you didn't suck."

The entire cast, including Aaron (whose chest was still heaving with the exhaustion the performance had wrought), turned wide eyes to their director.

"You have GOT to be fucking kidding me..." Theresa muttered. Amazingly enough, the comment was enough to incite a smile from Cal, who turned expectantly to Aaron.

"It's hard, huh?"

Aaron heaved a deep breath and nodded uncertainly. The past few rehearsals had been full of criticism and noticeably lacking in praise, and while the impromptu pep talk had surprised him, he'd still expected Cal to launch into a long, rambling rebuke once his performance wrapped. The director's casual conversation was suspiciously like stalling, and Aaron wasn't sure whether or not the critique's postponement was a good thing.

He lifted his head to meet Cal's scrutiny, and the two men locked gazes for a moment before the director spoke in more serious tones.

"Take note, Carter, because you won't hear me say this too often, but...I'm impressed." The older man paused to allow for the murmurings of the cast. Praise from Cal was infrequent at best. He rarely dubbed a scene anything better than "good." To hear him admit to being impressed was on par with the sight of a flock of pigs flying south for the winter.

Onstage, Aaron was shocked into silence.

"I'm not saying it's perfect or anything. You're still going flat on some of Hyde's lines, you're trying to pop-lock your pivot each time the character changes, and you're rushing just a touch, but overall..." Cal sighed heavily and cracked a small smile for his star pupil. "Overall, that was a pretty fucking solid performance. God knows it was gut-wrenching enough." Cal's gaze drifted over the cast in the audience, and he nodded ever so slightly. "You've all put a lot of emotion into things today. I know I harp on the technical imperfections a lot, but I'll be the first to admit that you don't have a damn thing without emotion. You guys are putting a lot of heart into this, and it shows. You've done a good job of getting to the heart of your characters, and your ability to empathize with them has greatly altered your performances, both individually and as an ensemble cast." He paused again to let the praise sink in before dropping the expected bomb.

"I'm fucking amazed at how far you guys have come from the stumbling, giggling kids you showed up as, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to let up. I realize that technicalities are little things, but they're also fucking important little things, and I'm too damn obsessed with this show to let you all get away with anything but a perfect performance."

When Cal moved closer to the edge of the stage, he could see the knowing smiles on the faces of his pupils, and the sight was enough to inspire a smile on his part as well. With a chuckle, he returned his gaze to Aaron. "It wasn't a perfect performance, kid, but it was pretty damn good. I'd say you're well on your way to perfect and, considering the fact that you couldn't talk a few days ago, that's a huge fucking improvement."

Aaron blushed at the praise, ducking his head modestly. "Thanks," he said honestly, smiling shyly at the director. Cal arched an amused eyebrow.

"Don't thank me. I'm a hard-ass, remember? I don't hand out favors or compliments unless they're deserved." Cal glanced towards the rest of the cast expectantly. "I'm sure your friends will attest to that. Hell, you should know that by now. If I tell you that you did well, it means that you did well."

"Go, Aaron!" Theresa hollered playfully.

"You rock my socks off, baby!" Larkin piped up.

"Dude, we should so write his name on our faces and make teenybopper shirts," Rob joked. He glanced up just in time to catch death glares from both Cal and Aaron.

"Rob, you're obnoxious to a fault, but I've come to see it as part of your charm. However, if you do ANYTHING to jeopardize the flawless depiction of the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I will personally make sure that the final death scene is yours." Cal paused to take a breath, but the intensity of his glare never wavered. "Do I make myself clear?"

Theresa snickered loudly as Rob struggled to stifle the smile that threatened to surface. "Yes, sir."

"Good." Having effectively reprimanded his problem child, Cal turned his attention back to Aaron. "Can you run it again?"

Aaron nodded seriously. "Yeah."

"You sure? You're okay vocally?" Cal sighed. "I know this song is intense."

Aaron nodded again, fighting the urge to grin in amusement at Cal's apparent concern. Hard-ass my ass. He's such a cast daddy. "I'm in good shape for now. I'll let you know if anything changes."

Cal nodded. "Good deal. Get back into position, and we'll run it again." He turned to the rest of the cast to deliver his next set of orders, but glanced over his shoulder to Aaron as an afterthought. "Nice collapse, by the way. I think you scared the holy hell out of Cara."

Both Aaron and Cara blushed a deep crimson, but the rest of the cast didn't bother to contain their laughter.

"Anyway, the torture of everyone's favorite couple aside, the rest of you need to book it backstage so that we can go on after this. We're going straight through to the narration and the wedding scene, provided that none of you fuck anything up. I want to get out of here at a decent hour tonight." A sigh of relief echoed through the auditorium, and Cal shook his head. "That doesn't mean I won't hold an extra practice if one of you decides to make the run-through particularly difficult. It just means that you don't want to see me after the rest of the cast leaves. If you think I'm an asshole now, you don't want to be around after ten o'clock tonight."

In the audience, the rest of the cast stood and began stretching, preparing themselves for the rest of the run-through. Onstage, Cal allowed himself another smile. As much as he enjoyed giving them hell for their imperfections, he really was fond of his cast. With a sigh of contentment, he turned to Aaron. "You ready, kid?"

Aaron nodded.

"Fabulous. Let's go again from the beginning of the scene."

They did.

As he rounded the corner and trekked down the hall to the conference room, he couldn't help but think that loving his brother had never been half so easy. In fact, he'd almost given up hope with Nick, but Cara had been quick to steer him in the right direction. Somehow, she'd made the older brother bearable and concerned and--well, almost his again. His smile broadened at the thought of progress.

She really is my guardian angel. Every time she's around, all the hard stuff seems easier.

With Cara's smile in his mind's eye, he sucked in a deep breath and walked through the doors of the conference room.

It felt strangely like going back in time. The chairs arranged in concentric circles, the rows of hunched shoulders and downcast eyes, the impressive number of ball caps and sunglasses--all of it was eerily familiar to him. Suddenly, he was fifteen again, decked out in an oversized jersey and a bomber jacket, looking over his shoulder to make sure that no one in his entourage had thought to follow him out of the hotel at this hour of the night. Once he'd gotten over the initial shock of going to the meetings, he'd found a certain solace in them. After all, he'd been young enough to rest assured that there would be no Aaron Carter fans among the group of reformed cocaine addicts.

He glanced up in fear when he realized that the coast might not be so clear now. After all, he'd gotten a good deal older.

He sank into the seat closest to the door and scanned the crowd of faces, half expecting to see one of his pop tart girlfriends from years past among the haunted figures. He had a good girl now in Cara, but he'd dated a number of doozies during his platinum blonde days. He could easily see some of his ex-girlfriends taking the road Nick had traveled down. In fact, he could almost see his brother's tall frame hiding amongst the regulars in the back row.

He caught sight of a dark blonde ponytail, and his jaw went slack.

Nick hadn't grown the ponytail until long after rehab. He'd grown it to have something to play with every time he wanted a line. Their mother had made a point of telling Nick exactly how unflattering the long hair was, but Nick was hardly offended. In fact, he seemed to delight in the fact that Jane Carter was disgusted.

Aaron blinked once, twice to clear his vision, but the figure with the ponytail remained. Nick Carter was, in fact, sitting directly across from his younger brother.

Aaron's shoulders began to shake with rage as he locked gazes with a pair of familiar brown eyes, and he pulled his trembling fingers into identical fists to keep from lashing out at the nearest inanimate object. Truth to tell, he wasn't all that surprised to see his brother sitting at twelve o'clock. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he'd known that Nick wasn't entirely done with drugs. The thought that his brother would put him through this kind of hell again made him angry, yes, but it didn't infuriate him. He'd almost expected it.

He hadn't expected to see Cara folded delicately into the chair next to Nick.