I've always hated the ending to POTO. Sure it's beautiful and breathtaking but also heartbreaking. This is how I wanted the story to end and what follows after that ending. Erik's past is Kay based, but everything else will be musical based. I know a lot of people write alternate endings, but I want to have my go. Enjoy! Oh and there is no Love Never Dies even though I really enjoyed the show. :)

Beauty in the Night

Chapter 1- The Phantom

Her soft hands cradled my cheeks as she kissed me. Those sweet, luscious lips were locked to mine sending magnificent shivers throughout my body. She stopped the kiss and looked up at me with big, beautiful eyes that looked astounded through the tears. Then she kissed me once more. This time it was deeper and there was more confidence in her lips.

I couldn't believe it. My entire life I had never been kissed by a woman. Even my own mother had refused to kiss me. To feel this love, to feel someone loving me and kissing me this way…it broke me. She pulled away from the kiss, touching her sweet lips. Shock was evident in her features. I took little notice though. I knew that as much as I wanted her to always be by my side, I couldn't force her to do so. My entire life I had never forced a woman to be with me. When I shared intimacy with a woman, I wanted it to be with a woman I loved and that loved me in return .I had turned away slaves offered to me in Persia and denied myself from paying for prostitutes. I did that for women I didn't love. How could I now force my beautiful Christine to be with me…if she didn't want to be?

Slowly, my movements surprising myself, I grabbed a candle off my piano and went to the boy tied up to my gate. I looked to Christine, who was not looking at me. Her graceful fingers were still touching her swollen lips. Her other hand clutched her chest.

The poor boy fought to get away from me as I approached him with the candle. He looked terrified that I would hurt him with it. I looked at Christine once more, who seemed lost in her own thought. Then before I could stop myself, I burned the top of the noose, and Raoul fell to the ground holding his sore neck. Quickly he ran to Christine. I looked at them no longer. Watching them embrace would kill me.

"Take him…leave me," I cried as I dragged my feet away from her. I fell to the ground when I could no longer hold myself up from the sheer agony I felt in my chest. This was the hardest thing I had even done, but I knew it was the right thing. "Forget me…forget all you've seen," I yelled as I crawled my way to my piano, away from the lovers who were surely in a passionate hold right now. "Go now don't let them find you! Take the boat swear to me never to tell…the secret you know of the angel in hell!"

I did not hear them I was so devoured from my grief. I thought surely the pain within my body would cause me to die right here and now. God had never been kind to me, but even he could not be cruel enough to let me live so much longer with the pain that I felt right now. There were no words to describe it. There was a soft touch on my hand. I looked up to see Christine standing there with her big wide eyes filled with the grief I had caused her. "Go now and leave me!" I begged her. Why was she prolonging this torture? Raoul was a few feet behind her. He looked confused as to what she was doing. I was confused too.

She looked upon her hands as she played with the ring I had placed upon her finger only minutes ago. Then she turned up to me with big eyes. "But I don't want to," she murmured.

My brow furrowed along with that of the young Viscount. "What?" I gasped, astonished.

She looked to Raoul who couldn't seem to believe what she had just said. Then she turned back to me. "I don't want to leave you," she said again.

"Christine there isn't much time," Raoul pleaded behind her. He went to grab her hand, but she pulled away from him and took as step closer to me.

"I'm staying with him Raoul," she told him sternly. She knelt down beside me and grabbed my hand tightly. To say I was shocked would have been an understatement.

"Christine?" I whispered wearily. She turned to me and placed her soft hand on my distorted cheek.

"I'm not leaving you…not ever," she told me again.

"Christine you can't be serious?" Raoul said.

"Go Raoul…I thank you for trying to save me, but I didn't need to be rescued," she responded.

"You're choosing him…after all he's done?" Raoul looked astounded, hurt.

Christine nodded. "I can't go with you Raoul. I just can't." She held my hand tighter. I was still in too much shock to say anything.

"Christine!" Raoul implored. He came to her and held her cheeks with both his hands and kissed her. Christine let go of my hand looking furious. She pushed him away.

"No Raoul. I love you…a part of me will always love you, but if I choose to leave with you it would be a…a mistake."

"But…Christine," he cried, clearly hurt.

Christine grabbed my hand again and helped me up. When I was standing on my own two feet she cupped my cheeks with her hands and kissed me once more. This time it wasn't a desperate plea and there was no surprise in her kiss; there was just a needing passion. "My angel," she smiled when our lips parted.

"Do you really mean it Christine?" I asked incredulously. I took her hands in mine and held the soft skin to my distorted face.

She nodded with a smile and kissed me once more. "With all my heart," she replied.

I couldn't believe it; the only woman I ever loved, the only woman that I would give my life for had chosen to be with me. I had given her the choice to leave, but yet here she was wanting to stay…with me. The echoes of the descending mob filled my lair. "We have to go," she cried. "They can't find you. They'll kill you if they do."

I was too in shock. My hands played in her dark curls as if they were the sweetest substance known to man. I was in a beautiful daze. This woman was mine…and she wanted to be. She grabbed my trembling hands and kissed them. "My angel…we have to go," she said one more time.

The sound of water splashing snapped me out of my trance. "Right," I said. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room that housed my coffin. Raoul was a wreck on the floor, but we scurried past him as if he were not there. From within a drawer I withdrew a small bag I had prepared for just such an occasion. It had papers in it and enough money to go wherever we needed to go. When I had created this bag, I had done so with the assumption I would be traveling alone. To have Christine with me would make things so much more difficult but also so much more glorious.

I grabbed a cloak as well and then quickly led Christine to a hidden door beneath my throne of a chair. She descended the ladder quickly with my help. I swiftly followed her into the dark hallway beneath. The last I saw of Raoul, he was still on his knees sobbing.

Christine waited at the bottom as I descended the ladder. She kissed me once more as soon as my feet touched the ground. The tunnel we were in was dark and wet. The sound of dripping water echoed all around us. It was also dreadfully cold. Instinctively, I placed my cloak over Christine's shoulders. She held it close.

"Won't you be cold?" she asked, worried.

"I'm used to it my dear," I assured. I then grabbed a lantern I had placed down here ages ago and quickly lit it. When I brought it upon Christine's lovely face she was smiling. Her pale cheeks had turned a rosy red again. I was helpless to resist the urge to smile too. There may have been a mob above us that wanted my head, but I had the love of my life with me. "Come," I whispered as I took her hand in mine and led her through the tunnel.

She held my hand tightly and followed. As we made our way further down the tunnel I could hear the sounds of the mob behind us. Surely the Viscount had told them where we went. I figured they wouldn't be far behind. The tunnels turned into a maze though. It was a maze I knew all too well because I had been the one to create it.

"They sound like they're getting closer," Christine said with terror apparent in her tone.

"Don't worry my love. They won't find us. This is my domain," I assured. She said nothing but held my hand tighter.

We turned another corner when I was suddenly greeted with a face I hadn't expected on seeing. It was the daughter of Madame Giry, Meg. She tried to scream when she saw me, but I quickly covered her mouth before she could give away our position. She dropped her own lantern to the ground and it shattered on the floor beside us. The sound traveled through the silent stone tunnels ominously.

I cringed. Meg shook beneath my grasp, but she did not struggle. "Do you promise not to scream?" I whispered coolly.

She nodded with wide blue eyes, and I removed my hand from her mouth. "Christine!" she cried with a low voice. She looked down to notice Christine's and my hand firmly grasped in one another's. Her eyes went to Christine for some kind of explanation.

Christine shrugged and turned to me. "The heart wants what the heart wants," she explained simply before kissing me lightly to confirm her words with action.

Meg looked surprised, but a determined look soon came over her face. "I'll distract them," she said. "Mostly everyone's come down to look for you, but there are still a few guards at the street level," she warned.

I nodded. Little Giry was a helpful as her mother had been through the years. I was hesitant on trusting her, but I had seen her with Christine over the years. They truly cared about each other. "Thank you Meg," Christine said. She gave her friend one last hug. Meg then ran behind us to distract the approaching mob.

I continued leading Christine through the tunnels until we reached a barred gate at the end that led to an alleyway. I quickly retrieved a key from my bag and opened the gate. We were a couple of blocks away from the Populaire when we came into view of the beautiful night sky. The moon shone brightly above us along with its army of beautiful, glistening stars.

The streets were mostly deserted. Everyone had run closer to the Populaire to see what all the commotion was about. I held my hand to my unmasked face. I had brought an extra mask but did I dare wear it? Which would draw more attention, the white mask of the Phantom of the Opera or my distorted, hideous face? Christine grabbed my hand from my face and looked up to me with a knowing smile. She removed the cloak and put it around my shoulders. She brought up the hood to cover my face as if knowing exactly what I had been thinking.

She looked down. "Perhaps it's best if we separate?" she suggested sadly, holding my hand as if it were a lifeline. "They'll be looking for the both of us."

"No…never," I replied quickly. There was no thinking about this. "I fought for you all this time. I'll be damned if I'm going to lose you ever again." I kissed her once more, savoring the feeling of her lips on mine.

"I don't want to leave you either…," she said. "But where do we go from here?"

"I'm not sure. I know one thing we need to get as far away from here as possible. We'll take the side streets. Once we're a few miles away from the opera maybe we can find a hotel room for the night," I said thinking aloud. I couldn't be seen anywhere. I would have to sneak anywhere we went until we got out of France. "It's not going to be easy Christine," I warned as we made our way out of the alley. I held my cloak close to my disfigured cheek, and in my other hand I held Christine.

"I know," she said, "but I want to be with you more than I ever wanted anything else."

Oh how her words warmed my cold heart. I wanted this to end well, but I knew how rare it was for a monster to have a happy ending. God had played cruel tricks on me before. What did he have up his sleeve now?

A black carriage shot in front of us as we turned another corner. A dark haired man with a top hat looked nervously down upon us. He said nothing though. The carriage door opened to reveal Antoinette Giry. She looked from me to Christine who held me close. "You better get in," she ordered.

I quickly helped Christine into the carriage before placing my foot on the stair to climb in after her. Suddenly there was a loud noise. Then a tense pain erupted in my shoulder. Christine screamed. Madame Giry pulled me inside the carriage before I lost my balance and fell to the ground outside. Before she slammed the door shut, I saw the Viscount standing a small distance away with a smoking revolver still held in his outstretched arm.

When the carriage started moving, I held my hand to my throbbing shoulder. Dark blood covered my fingers. Christine held my head to her shoulder. She was sobbing. Madame Giry ripped a piece of cloth from Christine's dress and held it to my bleeding shoulder. The feeling of her touch made the area erupt in a scorching sting. I held Christine close to withstand the pain.

She was crying into my hair. I could feel her tears. My sweet angel was crying for my safety. "Is he going to be alright?" she demanded.

Madame Giry looked determined. "We need to get him somewhere safe," she answered.

I was vaguely aware of the rest of the ride as rode into the dark Paris night unsure of where the next day might leave us.

Please review! Sorry about an early cliffhanger. :p