Just an alternate ending to Phantom of the Opera I've been playing around with for a while. Based off of the Joel Schumacher and ALW movie.
Disclaimer: I own nothing! And let's be honest, ALW and JS don't own that much either. Props to Leroux!!!
Christine looked up into the Phantom's face. His eyes were watering, and his mouth was stretched into what looked like a forced smile. As she looked on, the smile disappeared and tears began streaming down his cheeks.
"Take her!" he half-sung half-yelled. "Forget me! Forget all of this!" Turning away from Christine, he began to walk away from her and up onto dry land. She turned, watching him, still rooted to the spot. What was going on?
"Leave me alone. Forget all you've seen!" He continued walking away from her. "Go now; don't let them find you!" In the distance, the voices of those in the opera house above could be heard singing. Christine hurried over to Raoul, still tied up against the gate. She began struggling with the large and heavy ropes the Phantom had used to bind him.
"Take the boat, swear to me never to tell the secrets you know of the Angel in Hell." Retreating further towards what served as his bedroom, the Phantom turned away completely. The singing from above was growing louder and clearer. Christine heard them say, "The Phantom of the Opera is there deep down below!"
As Christine released Raoul completely and fell into his arms, the Phantom turned again, yelling, "Go now! Go now and leave me!" Christine shifted herself in Raoul's embrace, watching him go. She felt a pang of sadness strike her, similar to how she had felt when her father had died. Except this time there was no death, no child weeping over a lifeless body. Instead there was a broken man turning away from the one thing he had devoted his entire life to.
Her.
This realization hit her with the force of a falling chandelier. Everything he had done had been for her. He had trained her voice so she could have the chance to shine. He had brought her down here, to his world, to show her that he was a human. A human that could love and longed to be loved. Even his opera, his chance to feel pride, was for her. Hadn't he written the female lead in Don Juan Triumphant for her voice?
She had been his Angel of Music. He had been her beloved teacher.
He had abducted her from the stage, brought her down here once more in a deranged hope of forcing her into marriage. He attacked Raoul, the man she loved, lashed him to the gate, and came as close to killing him as anyone could.
But he let him go.
He let her go.
Pulling herself gently from Raoul's arms, Christine remembered the words the Phantom had sung earlier. "This face, the infection, which poisons our love. This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing. A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing." And then, later, when Raoul had begged for her freedom, "The world showed no compassion to me!"
He had grown up without a mother, without a father. He had no family, no friends. No one had taught him how to treat others, yet he had found it in his heart to let her and Raoul go.
"Christine."
Raoul's voice broke in on her thoughts. Shaking her head as if to rid them of these realizations, she turned to face him.
"We have to hurry." Raoul was forcing his way through the water towards where the Phantom had disappeared, towards the boat. His footsteps were hard and determined, creating loud splashes. His shirt hung open, the blood from his arm staining his sleeve to the elbow. His breath came short, as he was tired from his fight with the Phantom.
Raoul had done everything for her as well. This was not the Raoul everyone else saw, the polished façade that was the Viscount de Chagny. This was the Raoul Christine knew. This was her Raoul.
And the man that had disappeared into the darkness was her Angel.
"Raoul," Christine's voice cracked.
He turned, having made his way up onto the land. He stretched out his hand to help her up, and when Christine stretched out her left hand to accept this offer of help, she saw the ring.
It was Raoul's engagement ring that the Phantom had stolen. He had given it to her after forcing her into the wedding gown she still wore. The jewel sparkled in the candlelight, just as the Phantom's eyes had when she had first laid eyes on him.
Raoul helped her up onto land, guiding her toward the boat with one hand on her waist.
"Wait," Christine stopped, just about to enter the boat.
"What is it?" Raoul asked, concerned.
"I have to say goodbye."
Raoul said nothing, but the hand that had rested on her waist was pulled back to his side. Taking this as consent, Christine hurried after the Phantom.
She found him sitting on the edge of the swan bed, looking mournfully at his music box. The monkey on top was tapping his tiny cymbals together, and the familiar tune from the masquerade ball was playing. Christine paused, silent, watching him.
"Masquerade," the Phantom sang. "Paper faces on parade." His voice was laced with sadness, sounding timid and weak, a sound she had never before hear leave his mouth. For a man so forceful and demanding, this voice was foreign. He just sounded so… vulnerable.
"Hide your face so the world will never find you…" he trailed away, catching sight of her. His face softened, his eyes seeming to plead with her. "Christine, I love you."
He looked so helpless, sitting there with tearful eyes and hope etched in every muscle of his face. Christine could hardly bear to look at him, feeling her heart going out to her angel. She walked towards him, not knowing what she was doing.
As if in a trance, Christine paused in front of him, looking down into his scarred face. Tearing her eyes away from the heartbreaking face in front of her, she focused instead on her left hand, on which the engagement ring still encircled her finger.
She pulled the ring off her finger, then looked back at his face.
Every part of her was screaming inside, pleading silently with her to look away. The hope in his face had caused him to sit up a little straighter, caused his eyes to widen. It was almost as if he thought she was staying with him…
Christine reached down and took his hand in her own. Turning it so his palm faced upward, she placed the ring gently in his hand and closed his fingers around it. Watching the hope drain from his face, she backed away, turning quickly so he would not see her cry.
As she walked away, she could hear his voice echoing inside her head, singing to her as he had done earlier in Don Juan Triumphant. "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Lead me, save me from my solitude. Say you want me with you here beside you. Anywhere you go let me go too. Christine, that's all I ask of…"
As Raoul came back into view, the Phantom's voice became mixed with Raoul's in her head, both of them singing to her.
"Let me be your freedom. Let daylight dry your tears. I'm here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you."
"Let the dream begin. Let your darker side give in to the power of the music that I write. The power of the music of the night."
"Love me, that's all I ask of you."
"Have you forgotten your angel?"
"Say you love him and my life is over!"
"Angel of Music, do not shun me. Come to your strange angel!"
"For pity's sake Christine, say no! Don't throw your life away for my sake!"
Then, above all the other pieces of music spinning around in her head, came the words that made her heart break in two.
"The world showed no compassion to me!"
Raoul was standing in the boat, holding out his hand for her, to help her into the boat. Her Raoul was waiting for her to come with him.
Feeling her tears run down her cheeks, Christine backed away from him, shaking her head. Raoul seemed confused, almost dazed, as he did not move. Christine stood there, her eyes locked on his, shaking her head.
After a few seconds Raoul seemed to understand. He wordlessly pushed the boat out into the lake, turned, and was gone.
Christine turned around and began walking slowly back up to where the Phantom had been. As she walked, she sang, "Too long I've wandered in winter far from your far-reaching gaze. Now that my heart's led me to you, my soul obeys."
As the last note left her mouth, she saw him. He was looking straight at her, disbelieving, obviously thinking he was dreaming. Christine continued to walk closer, singing, "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime."
The Phantom stood up, his face still wet from tears, and continued, "Lead me, save me from my solitude." His voice was still rather timid, but it regained its strength as he continued.
They both continued, "Say you'll share with me each night, each morning."
The Phantom stretched out his hand and placed a trembling finger on Christine's cheek, one of her tears sliding down his finger and onto his hand. Breathing heavily, the Phantom managed to choke out, "Love me."
Stepping closer, Christine finished, "That's all I ask of you." Smiling softly, she brought both of her hands up to the Phantom's face, touching each side. She felt him wince slightly as her fingers brushed the disfigurement.
"I will never leave you again, my angel," Christine whispered as she took one more step closer, so close that she could feel the heat of his body. Turning her head, she kissed the right side of his face gently, feeling a tear from his eye drip onto her lips.
The Phantom slowly, almost hesitantly, pulled her closer, pressing her to him in a soft embrace. He felt her arms wrap around him, and his eyes closed, two tears falling down his cheeks.
"Call me Erik."