Even though I've only gotten four reviews so far, I'm going to assume you like it... So, here's the second chapter. I've already gotten enough reviews to know that it's okay, so I won't bother giving quotas. I just hope you like it. I don't own the characters, etc.

Mixed Emotions

With long, angry strides Meg stormed through the corridors after the only man who could tell her where Christine had gone. Thoughts of revenge, and death, filled her normally tranquil mind, and they scared the girl, much as she hated the Phantom at the moment. She did not wish to ever feel so violent, but the man had destroyed the Opera House, the only home she had ever known, he had killed a man, and he had torn Christine's life to pieces. For that, Meg could never forgive him. No matter how much he said he loved Christine, he should have known she was too young, too fragile to withstand the pressure of such passion as he had shown her! She was not as strong as she had seemed, and he should have known! Rage consumed the girl, and she pushed on, determined to find the killer before he vanished into the cold night. For if he escaped into Paris, Meg knew he would never be found again, and she could not let him go without taking her revenge.

When the passage suddenly turned into a large, candle-lit cavern, the girl was shocked to find the man she hunted sitting on a bank of the subterranean lake, his head cradled in his hands, and her resolve weakened a little to see him, the figure of power and mystery, crippled by such agony. Then she remembered her purpose, and was once again hardened and angry.

"Phantom!" she called across the cavern. "What have you done with Christine?"

He slowly rose to his feet, and Meg saw from across the room that his eyes gleamed with tears. He turned to face her, and for the second time that night, she saw the hideous mockery of a human face that scarred him, the flesh raw and torn, and she shivered involuntarily, but refused to break eye contact. He slowly moved toward her, but there was no menace in his movements, just resignation, and a weariness that comes from losing everything one has ever cared for. So she held her ground, and eventually he was standing only feet in front of her. He stopped, looked at the girl for a long moment, and finally sighed deeply.

"Mademoiselle," he said softly, his voice rasping from having shed such agonized tears, "she did not choose me." Tears were falling silently again, and he moved as if to turn away. "She left with the Vicomte, a long time ago."

"Wait," Meg cried, "I do not understand. How can you be here, crying, when it is you who destroyed the lives of so many people this night, you who murdered Piangi, and Buquet, you who tore Christine's life apart? What right have you to feel so desperate, you monster?"

"I have no right. No right to feel this sadness, no right to live any longer. I loved her with everything that I am, and I never meant to hurt her. Everything I did was because of her, and she chose another. I have been betrayed, hunted, and hurt more than you will ever know. Do not come here and threaten me as you are. I would not have another life on my conscience this night. Get out, and leave me in peace. I will not be a threat any longer."

"Phantom," she said, more softly,"I did not know..." She held out the mask, and he took it gently, placing it on the ruins of the right side of his face.

"No one ever knew. No one will ever know. And my name is Erik... Ah, Mademoiselle Giry, tell your mother I thank her for everything she has done for me over the years. Tell her to take all my funds and rebuild the Opera House. There should be sufficient money to undo the damage I have caused."

"Erik... Your life funds? What shall you use to live off of?"

"It does not matter any more."

"But, Erik, you cannot make a living with your appearance, and without your funding-"

"I do not plan to make a living. I do not plan to live."

"But- but you can't! You're still young, yet! Surely-"

He turned on her, suddenly angry. "Don't you understand? I have nothing left to live for. Nothing! My life will be agony, day in, day out. I will face the wrath of everyone who knows of my existence for what I have done! Worse, I will live with the unbearable pain of having lost the only one I could ever love! How can you expect me to suffer through such a terrible fate? Do you hate me that much, to see me in never-ending torture, in wretched solitude forever? No, little Giry, I will not bear it any longer."

Meg's anger had almost completely faded in the face of such hopelessness. "Erik, you can't. I won't permit it. My mother worked for so long to keep you safe, and you can't waste all that effort now by throwing your life away. Come with me. I'll take you to her, and we'll help you."

"Do you not hate me any longer? What happened, little Giry? You came down here entirely ready to kill me yourself. I saw the anger in your eyes."

"Yes, well, as much as I blame you for all that has happened, I pity you more, I think. And you say you never meant to hurt Christine, and that she is safe now. Her being hurt is why I was so bent on revenge in the first place. But she's not. So let's go. I hid the entrance to this passage, but they are bloodthirsty and will be coming this way eventually."

"Who are 'they'?"

"The murderous throng that is hunting you even now through the bowels of this Opera House. Come, we must go, Erik!"

"Mademoiselle Giry, I can't-"

"Don't give me that!" Meg yelled, impatient. She reached out and grabbed his wrist. He looked up at her, shocked by the physical contact, and she turned and half-dragged him out of the cavern.

"Do you know where we're going?" Erik asked after a while. Meg stopped and shook her head. She was suddenly very dizzy, and very, very tired. Her head spun and her thoughts swam as she tried to shake off the exhaustion that was suddenly claiming her. "Well, we need to go this way, then. It's the only way out. Are you feeling well, little Giry?" She turned and looked at him for a moment, eyes blank, and collapsed. He reached out and caught her before she fell, then scooped her into his arms and continued walking for a long time until he hit fresh air, just as the sun began to rise over Paris.