A/N: Greetings!

This chapter pretty much follows the Leroux/Kay storyline. I wanted to bring back the Erik from the original story; threatening, scary, and slightly unhinged. Too often I see Erik's character turned into mush (which sometimes I am guilty of myself). So if I elicit any *gasp!* reactions, then I know I've done my job as an author.

On that note, if you are interested in seeing the more tender, but still aloof and elusive side of our favorite phantom, then check out my other story, Thoughts of Summertime.

In the meantime, enjoy this chapter! ~J

I'm told that the entire incident happened in less than a minute. A brief interruption to the gas caused the whole auditorium to be cloaked in darkness. By the time the lights were restored, I had already vanished from the stage.

For me, the world had stopped turning. Once I realized what had happened, time stood still. Erik's grip on my wrist was like steel, cold and merciless as he pulled me along behind him. I remained silent, not daring to even scream, my protests squelched beneath the feeling of dread that had come to rest in my bosom.

When we reached the house on the lake he stormed into the drawing room and shoved me forcefully toward the settee. I stumbled and fell to my knees inches before it, bracing myself against the seat cushion. I heard him walk up behind me and inclined my head to see him towering over me with a look of pure derision. He was frightening to behold, dressed in full evening attire with his black cloak dropping over his shoulders.

"Going somewhere, were you?" he hissed with barely concealed malice.

My heart thundered madly. I dropped my eyes to the ground, unable to answer him.

He bent down, coiled like a snake about to strike. "Tell me Christine, did you think I would just let you leave?"

Still I said nothing.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't have found out about that boy's ploy? I am everywhere Christine. You will never escape me."

I gulped and cowered lower, putting my hands over my head. It had never occurred to me that Erik might have followed us and overheard our plans. I was too dazzled by the moonlight, too wrapped up in the security of Raoul's arms. How I wished for him now.

"Answer me!" he demanded. Grabbing me roughly by the arm he hauled me up to him.

"I-I don't know," I stammered.

His fingers tightened firmly around my arm.

"Please Erik," I sobbed. "Let go of me. You don't understand."

"Don't I?" He released his hold and began to pace slowly about the room, like a lion testing the limits of its cage. "I think I have a rather good handle on it all. I understand that you were going to run away, not bothering to say goodbye, to explain yourself, nothing! You had no qualms about leaving me to figure out what happened to you, wondering if you had been detained, or worse, if you were hurt." He gestured angrily to his mask. "You didn't even have the civility to tell me to my face that you don't love me! Am I correct?"

"I-"

"No! I am convinced that if it wasn't for that damned boy, we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

"I tried to tell you."

"Really?" he sneered. "When?"

"Last night. But-"

He stopped stalking back and forth and came over to me, where he brought his face within inches of mine. The low candlelight bounced off the black mask that covered most of his face, making him unbelievably threatening.

His eyes narrowed. "Lies do not become you."

"I sang for you tonight! I couldn't stand the thought of saying goodbye to you in person."

He turned up the corner of his mouth in disgust. "Of course. I, unlike other men, don't deserve that common courtesy."

I shrank away as his hot breath washed over my face, wanting to put as much distance between us as I could. The dead calm he was now exhibiting was infinitely more terrifying than the outright rage he had shown only moments before.

"Do I frighten you Christine?" he sinisterly whispered.

"Yes…"

"Good." He straightened and spread his arms out wide. "Because of your lies and the utterly callous way you have betrayed me, you are now a prisoner down here. You have lost the freedom to choose. Look around at your new home, because you will never see the surface again. Or," he added for spite, "that boy."

"You're a monster!" I screamed through my tears.

"Anything that I am now is because of you," he returned flatly.

Anger surged through my veins, making me careless and bolder than usual.

"It's no wonder that I chose Raoul over you!" I shrieked, heedless of the consequences my words would bring down upon me. "Not when you use fear and threats to force my love!"

Erik snarled, like a ravenous wolf showing its teeth, and turned to grab the small table next to him. There was a terrible crash as it collided violently with the bookshelf on the far side of the room and splintered into pieces. First edition volumes toppled off the shelves, making small thumps as they cascaded down and settled on the floor.

His eyes burned with fire as he spun around on me. They blazed with a fury I had never seen before, not even when I had first unmasked him. My breath hitched when he advanced toward me. Overcome by the sudden fear that he was about to do me harm, I bolted toward the door that led to the bedrooms. He was much faster though, and caught me by the arm as I dashed by, savagely whipping me around.

"Stop!" I screamed. I fought wildly against him, but my thrashing only made his grip tighten more. "Please! Don't do this!"

My pleas fell on deaf ears. He dragged me back to the center of the drawing room just as an electric bell started to sound. He let go of me abruptly and I was dropped unceremoniously on the ground. The look in his eyes made my blood run cold. It was one of satisfaction and sadistic pleasure. But thankfully, for the moment he seemed to have completely forgotten about me.

"Erik, what is that noise?" I asked timidly.

"Your lover has decided to oblige me," he replied with a smirk.

"W-what do you mean?"

"As I suspected, he could not keep away."

"Raoul? Raoul is here?"

"Don't sound so hopeful. I assure you, he won't leave here with his life. He is completely at my mercy."

My mouth opened and shut wordlessly. It wasn't very long until I found out exactly what he was talking about. A series of pounding filtered through the wall in front of us.

"Erik! For God's sake, let us out!"

Erik's body stiffened and for a fleeting moment, alarm passed through his golden eyes. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone as he regained control.

"Daroga," he called out cordially to the voice beyond the wall, as if he had just opened the door and invited him in for tea, "how exquisite that you have decided to accompany the boy."

I listened closely, hinged on his every word on the chance that he would reveal information on where Raoul was.

"Of course," Erik continued, "you do realize that your decision to assist him comes at the price of your own life. I cannot be held responsible for your ultimate demise."

I clamored to my feet. "Who are you talking to Erik? Where is Raoul?"

He swung around to me and as he did, his cloaked swirled in the wind the movement created.

"In the torture chamber, my dear."

The color drained from my face.

"The what?"

"You didn't think I was going to let him live did you? Oh no. I couldn't have him running about, involving the authorities. I really don't like the feeling of being hunted you know."

The room around me began to blur.

"But he was kind enough to make it easy on me by coming down here. Thank you lad!" he called out.

I heard Raoul scream my name before my knees buckled and all went black.

When I awoke some time later I was laying on the settee. Erik was nowhere to be seen. The foggy haze slowly receded and I sat up with a start.

Raoul!

Rushing over to the far wall I put my ear against it and listened intently. I could hear nothing coming from the other side. I shouted his name, but received no response.

Just then, Erik marched into the room. His gait suggested that nothing unusual was amiss. He went over to the large pipe organ and picked up a blank page of sheet music.

"What is happening to them?" I cried.

He looked up at me. "They are succumbing to the tortures," he replied cryptically before he turned and walked out.

The 'tortures', as Erik put it, lasted for hours. Raoul had enlisted the help of the mysterious man known only as the Persian, and together they had discovered an entrance in the third cellar that led them to a mantrap Erik had cleverly labeled his torture chamber.

He described to me, with some degree of pride, that it was a hexagonal shaped room lined from floor to ceiling with mirrors. They were positioned in such a way that one's likeness would be reflected back to them an infinite number of times, along with an iron tree that stood in one corner. The true torture began when Erik turned up the heat of a furnace, raising the temperature of the small room. The victims of the cruel device would start to hallucinate; soon believing that the only way out was by committing suicide with a rope that hung from the lone branch of the iron tree.

Desperate, I fell to the ground at Erik's feet.

"Please," I sobbed. "Please let them out. I'll do anything."

He looked down, his yellow eyes cold and indifferent.

"You have given me no reason to believe you."

"I swear it! On the grave of my father, I swear to you that I'll stay here with you. Just let them go!"

He folded his arms across his chest. "How noble," he mocked. "The young maiden heroically sacrifices herself to save her true love."

He scoffed and turned to leave. As I watched him walk away, regret settled into my stomach. I hadn't wanted it to come to this. I had not meant to wound Erik as I did, to the point that he felt forced to hold me captive, nor had I meant to endanger Raoul. Now another life hung in the balance, the Persian, who had unknowingly risked his own neck in order to help Raoul. I was overcome with crushing guilt. I could have prevented all this had I only followed through with my intentions the night before.

I couldn't let him leave. The time for hiding was over. Scrambling to my feet, I ran after him and caught him by the shoulder with enough force to bring him to a halt. His head traveled down to where my fingers entwined in his shirt, his eyes revealing his surprise that I'd willingly touched him. Artfully I stepped between him and the door.

"I came here last night. I intended to tell you of Raoul's plan…and inform you that I wanted to stay. I got as far as the mirror but then I…lost my nerve…"

Sadness flickered through his eyes, making them darken. He calmly removed my hand from his sleeve.

"Fairy tales are better left for children."

He tried to push past me.

"No! Wait!"

I had to show him, to prove to him that I was serious. There was only one way. I rose quickly on the tips of my toes and placed my hands on either side of his mask. It was cold and unfeeling to my touch. Using strength I didn't know I had, I pulled him down to me and pressed my lips to his. I felt his entire body go rigid and then his lips softened and his arms slowly encircled me.

Waves of electricity shot down my arms, making my fingertips tingle when he began to respond. His long fingers spread across the small of my back and using slight pressure he pulled me closer to him. His malformed lips danced around mine uncertainly, almost as if he was afraid they were fragile and he might break them if he pressed too hard. But even that fleeting touched ignited such a fire in me that I soon realized that I wouldn't be satisfied until I had more.

Strange, I thought, Raoul had never made me feel the way I did now.

Sooner than I wanted, we parted and I stepped back in a blissful daze. Suddenly everything made sense. For the first time in three months my head was clear. In that moment, while I was safely enclosed in Erik's arms, I knew I never wanted to leave them. I was ready to stay, not because I feared for Raoul's life, but because I loved him.

I searched his eyes, frantic to find any clues as to what he was feeling. The normally intense orbs were now dull and shadowed.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for only a second and then he went to the wall and activated a switch that I hadn't noticed before. A series of loud clangs followed and then the wall before me slid open, revealing the mirrored room beyond. A wave of suffocating heat hit me in the face, causing me to momentarily lose my breath.

Erik disappeared into the enveloping darkness and soon emerged with Raoul's limp body. I stood there dumbly as he placed him at my feet and then went back in for the other man. When he returned he laid him gingerly on the settee and left to fetch some blankets.

"Tend to your young man Christine," he instructed, handing me one. I was promptly presented with his back as he turned his attention to the Persian.

My head was swimming from all that was happening around me. He was letting them go? What about the kiss we had shared? Did he feel the same thing I felt? What would happen now?

Both men were unconscious. I unfolded the blanket and covered Raoul's still form and then settled to the ground where I gently rested his head on my knee. His blonde hair was damp, the strands plastered to his forehead and around his ears. Absently I brushed them away and stroked his clammy cheeks. I dreaded the moment when he would wake up and I would have to tell him that it had all been for nothing. In my heart I knew he wouldn't understand my decision.

I glanced over to where Erik was delicately administering care to the Persian. The act caught me off guard, as if I'd assumed he was incapable of that kind of tenderness. It was obvious that he knew this man well and held some type of affection toward him.

Raoul stirred, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Christine…" he groaned weakly.

"Yes, I'm here."

I looked back over my shoulder. Erik was now focused on our exchange. I heard Raoul grunt as he struggled to sit up.

"Don't try to move yet," I scolded, pushing lightly on his chest to keep him down. "Listen Raoul, I need to tell you-"

"That's right boy," Erik said, brushing by me. He grabbed Raoul's elbow, offering enough support to help him to his feet. "Yes, you're a strapping young lad. No worse for the wear."

Raoul looked at him, dazed.

"Now tell me boy, are you lucid enough to find your way out of here?"

He nodded, slowly regaining control of his senses.

"Very well. Christine knows the way and can guide you both safely to the surface."

"Both?" I jumped up. "Erik, what are you saying?"

"I want you to take her away, somewhere far from me," he told Raoul as if I had not spoken at all. "Marry her with my blessing and cherish her for the rest of your days. Can you do that?"

Raoul's hand slid possessively to my wrist. "Yes."

"Good. Then it is done."

With that, he pivoted on his heel and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. My jaw dropped.

"Erik!"

I tried to yank my hand from Raoul's grasp so I could run to the door. Erik was making a terrible mistake. I wanted to stay! I needed him! But his grip was like granite and I was unable to shake loose.

"Erik!" I sobbed.

I felt Raoul's arm circle around my waist and then I was hoisted off my feet.

"Stop it! Let go of me! Please!" I balled my fists and pounded on his arms, but I was no match for his resolve. Eventually I relented in my struggle and broke down into tears and he was able to lead me from the house and back to the surface.

When Erik closed the door behind him that night, it felt like he had shut it on my soul.