Hello! Haven't written any fic for a while, so I'm a bit rusty. This is my first PotO/LND based fic, and this is the prologue to an idea I had the other day.

Anyway, constructive criticism is always welcome, and I hope you enjoy!

Prologue

Gustave watched as this man, Mr Y, leaned in to kiss his dying mother. He saw her grip loosen on his arm, and he knew then that she was gone. His beloved mother was dead, killed in a fit of rage. He looked behind him and saw Meg crying behind him, alone and cold. She met his gaze for a moment, and he could see that she was broken, dead inside. He turned once more to where his mother lay. Mr Y had hold of her hand as tears ran slowly down his face. He wasn't Mr Y anymore though, he was his father. This man that hadn't existed until the other day was his father.

Gustave moved closer, and his father looked up from his mother's lifeless form, setting her gently down on the soft ground. It was like she was sleeping. He wiped a tear away with his hand, before turning to face him again. He looked him up and down, as if he was searching for something to say, but his words escaped him. Slowly, Gustave reached out to touch the mask that covered the right side of his fathers face. He knew what was underneath now, and he knew to look beyond the deformity, as his mother had done, to the beauty underneath. He had no more fear. Gently he pulled the mask off, and unflinching looked into the eyes of his father. It all made no much sense now that he thought of it. He was nothing like Raoul, he never had been. He had the same eyes, the exact same colour. Looking past the mangled flesh that lay beneath, he could see the pain in his father's eyes. It was obvious that he had loved his mother so much, and he could feel his pain as he looked at him. Gustave kept tight hold of the mask and he watched as his father stood up and removed his cloak, placing it over the body.

The Phantom stepped back, and rubbed his face with his hands. His Christine was gone, and now she would never return to him. It didn't seem real. His heart was broken into pieces, and yet, he had to compose himself; he had the boy to think about now. He looked down at Gustave. Gustave, Christine and his own flesh and blood. She was still alive, inside Gustave. But what was he to do? He never knew his father; his mother had abandoned him, sold him to a freak show. He had never lived in a proper home, had a proper job. How was he to care for a child that would be totally dependant on him? He didn't know the first thing about being a parent. In the back of his mind, he heard a voice, that same voice that he had heard the night he left Christine, "You can't look after the boy, and he won't love you. He'd be better off with out you. Raoul could take better care of him than you!" He closed his eyes and shook his head. He had made the mistake of listening to the voice before. He would never do it again. He could do this; he would do it for Christine. He took a deep breath, and held out his hand, and the boy, his son, ran towards him and wrapped his hands around his waist, sobbing in his arms.

He kept a tight grip of the boy, running his hands through his hair, and he felt some comfort. So long as he had Gustave, he had Christine. His eyes and looked around; Meg was in a heap on the floor. The gun still in her hand, he felt hate for her. Her stupidity had killed the only woman in the world that he had ever loved. The only person to have ever loved him back. He could kill her, he had killed before. She deserved it, just as the others had deserved it. His mind was taken over by dark thoughts. "Please, you're hurting me!" Gustave was squirming in his arms, and he loosened his grip, his arms dropping to his sides. Gustave had an uneasy look on his face. He took one last look at Meg. Those days were gone. He couldn't kill her, not now that he had a son.

In the distance could see Madame Giry returning. She had a crowd of people behind her. He looked down and saw Gustave still had hold of his mask. He held out his hand, "Gustave, Please." Gustave placed the mask in his hand and quickly he placed it on his face once more. "Gustave, stay here." Gustave nodded, and knelt on the ground, next to his mother. The Phantom stepped forward. He could see in the crowd the flashbulbs. It was disgusting that at a time like this. He could feel the rage building up inside of him, but he had to be strong, for Gustave. The police and paramedics separated from the crowd, surrounding both Meg and Christine, The press and public stopped in front of him. The cameras went off. "Mr Y!"

"Mr Y, are the rumours true?"

"Christine Daae, is she dead?"

"Sir, where is the Vicompte?"

"Please! Quiet. QUIET!" The crowd hushed, and the Phantom cleared his voice, "Christine, the Countess de Chagny, is dead" it pained him to use her married name, she would always be Christine Daae to him, but it pained him even more to say that she was dead aloud, it made it so final. The crowd was hushed, and he could hear whispers, sobbing from deep within the crowd. "The Vicompte, had business in France to attend to, and boarded the Atlantic Queen this evening. He will be informed as soon as possible" They would never have to know the real reason for Raoul's departure, "If you will, please, go to Pantasma, free of charge, and I will tell you more later. But now, for the sake of the boy, Leave." Almost in unison, the crowd looked down at Gustave, before they slowly began to disperse. The Phantom sighed once more. He heard a scream, and saw several police officers wrestling Meg to the ground. He stepped towards the scrum, "Please gentlemen, don't harm her. There has been enough pain tonight." The officers nodded, and more gently now, they picked Meg off the ground. As she stood up, she looked at him. He could see that the brightness was gone from her eyes; she was dead inside the hate that he had felt moments before turned to pity. "I'm sorry" she croaked apologetically, before looking at the ground as she was dragged away. Madame Giry hung back as they led her away. She turned to face him, "Master, I'm… I'm sorry, if only I had never… I had no idea…"

"It is too late for "If only's" Madame" he whispered coldly. Giry guiltily averted her gaze to look down at the boy, before looking back to him, "You know where I will be if you need anything, Master" Giry bowed down, before rushing away to follow after Meg.

He turned back to face where Christine lay. She had been lifted onto a stretcher now. Gustave was stood to one side, a glazed look on his face. The Phantom stepped towards the men about to take her away, "May we have a moment please?" The men nodded and set the stretcher back down on the ground, and the phantom knelt down next to her. Slowly he removed the cover from her face once more. Her skin was pale, and her skin now felt cold to the touch. Were it not for the blue tint now creeping across her skin, she could be mistaken for one of his automatons back at the Aerie. Gustave was knelt next to him now. He placed a reassuring arm around him and pulled him close. "Don't ever forget, Gustave. Never forget. If you always remember, she will always be alive, in your heart. Love will never die." Gustave nodded. "Christine didn't deserve to die. She was so young, so full of life and song" Gustave nodded again, and wiped tears from his face. "What happens now, father?" It was strange being called father, it was never something that he had expected to happen. He paused in thought. "We leave. I can't bear it. I can't be here, knowing…. Knowing that this is the place where she died. We can leave, start again, just us."

"But where? Where will we go?"

"I don't know, Gustave. I don't know. But we must go forward, and not look back" He took one last look a Christine, and kissed her gently, one last time. Gustave did the same. "Goodbye, mother. I love you." he whispered. The Phantom slowly covered her once more before he stood up, and lifted Gustave into his arms, and together without a backward glance they left Coney Island, into the unknown.