A/N: Semi-spoiler alert right now: Raoul will be getting The Phantom of Manhattan treatment in this chapter. Every E/C PhanGirl's dream. Meg is so very lucky. At this point, I've decided that I wanted to base the remainder of the story on Goldman's original novel, Buttercup's Baby, and then work on my own ideas. Erik and Nadir's little exchange about what Nadir's going to do with the rest of his life was written by Sandal Walker.
XxXxX
Meg skirted along the edge of the wall, and dropped down to meet her friends. "It set them into a panic, just like you said. They were headed for the chapel. Now's the time to get going?" Erik nodded.
"Get in, try to rig it up like we planned, then come looking for us."
"But…"
"Meg, time is not on our side, just go!"
XxXxX
Hurry, please….Christine thought as Archbishop Valerius started rambling. "Mawwage. Mawwage is what bwings us togethew today. Mawwage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam." Nightmare would be more appropriate.
"Stand your ground!" Someone outside was shouting.
XxXxX
"Stand your ground!" Reyer yelled again. Erik smirked and threw his voice in the direction of Gerard's mouth, making it a ghostly, deep rumble.
"I am the Dread Pirate Robin! There will be no survivors!"
"Now?" Nadir asked.
"Not yet," Erik hissed, before going back to work. "My men are here, I am here. But soon, you will not be here."
"Now?"
"Light him." Nadir struck a match and set the holocaust cloak ablaze. "The Dread Pirate Robin takes no survivors! All your worst nightmares are about to come true!"
XxXxX
" And wove, twue wove, wiww fowwow you fowevah—" With a single jerk of his head, Raoul signaled Philippe, who snapped his fingers, and led out several of the guards.
XxXxX
"The Dread Pirate Robin is here for your souls!" Erik roared hoarsely, before laughing like a maniac. Every man at the gate, men who had been trained to never show fear, was suddenly screaming, and running for their lives
"Stay where you are! Fight! Stay where you are!" Reyer yelled hopelessly, since he was scrambling to get away, too.
XxXxX
"So tweasuwe youw wove—"
"Skip to the end, please," Raoul hissed through gritted teeth.
"Have you the wing?" Raoul took Christine's hand and she smiled smugly as he slipped the silver band on her finger.
"He's here," she said. "Erik's coming for me, right now."
XxXxX
"Gerard, the portcullis!" Erik yelled. Stripping off the holocaust cloak, Gerard caught the edge of the iron grate and pulled it back up.
XxXxX
"Erik is dead," Raoul told her coldly. "I killed him myself."
"Oh? Then why is there fear behind your eyes?"
XxXxX
Erik gave Reyer a deadly glare. "Give us the gate key."
"I-i-i h-h-have n-n-no g-g-gate k-k-key,"
"Gerard, tear his arms off." Nadir ordered. Gerard started to reach for him, but Reyer pulled out the key on a red and green tassel.
"Oh, y-y-you m-m-meant this gate k-k-key."
XxXxX
"And do you, Pwincess Cwistine,-"
"Man and wife! Say man and wife!"
"Man and wife."
Raoul passed Christine over to his parents. "Escort her back to the honeymoon suite. I'll be there shortly."
No… "He didn't come…" she whispered in shock.
XxXxX
Nadir walked slowly and calmly, Gerard dragging Erik behind him. Suddenly the clatter of footsteps sounded and five men were facing them. Four were French cadets, but the fifth was well dressed, a nobleman. Nadir's eyes traveled down to the man's right hand. One… two… three… four… five… six! The man wrinkled his brow at him, then shook his head. "Kill the dark one and the giant, but leave the third for questioning," he ordered. The soldiers raced towards them, but Nadir fluidly cut each of them down, stabbing the last one from behind. He turned back to the man he'd been hunting for over half his life.
"Hello. My name is Nadir Khan Daroga. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Philippe de Chandon stared at him in amazement. Then he turned and ran. Nadir bolted after him, but he vanished behind a locked door. Nadir slammed against the door, but to no avail. "Gerard! I need you!"
"I can't leave him alone."
"He's getting away from me, Gerard! Please! Arr! Gerard! Aaargh!" Nadir kept banging on the door. Gerard stuck Erik's arms through a suit of armor, and slammed his fist through the door. "Thank you."
XxXxX
Erik heard the sound of slower footsteps and a mumbling male voice. "Strange wedding."
"Yes. A very strange wedding. Come along." Then he saw her. Christine… she looked positively ethereal in her wedding gown… how many times had he imagined her dressed like that in his arms? She turned towards the King and gently kissed him on the cheek.
"What was that for?" the King asked her.
"It's because you've always been so kind to me, and I won't be seeing you again, since I'm killing myself once we reach the honeymoon suite." No….no...
The King wheezed in weak imitation of a laugh. "Won't that be nice? She kissed me!" Summoning all his strength, Erik pulled himself out of the armor, and started following them, using the wall for support. I'm coming, my love… I'm coming…
XxXxX
Nadir followed the Count down a staircase, still saying, ""Hello. My name is Nadir Khan Daroga. You killed my father. Prepare to die." But as he rounded the corner, all he got out was ""Hello. My na—" because Philippe hurled a dagger right into his stomach.
"Nadir!" He caught sight of Meg rounding a corner as she screamed his name. He grimaced as a second stab of pain ran through his stomach.
"Sorry, father…. I tried... I tried…." he whispered.
Philippe peered at him conceitedly. "Mon Dieu, you must be that little Persian brat I taught a lesson to all those years ago. Simply incredible. Have you been chasing me your whole life, only to fail now? I think that's the worst thing I've ever heard. How marvelous."
XxXxX
Christine carefully removed her gown and pulled on her robe. There's no need for Raoul to have to get a new dress for the next poor girl he tries to force himself on. She sat at the desk covered with all his favorite weapons, and selected a small dagger with a silver skull. Placing it to the side, she slowly pulled the eleven crystal-studded ring off her finger and laid it by one of the candles, then raised the dagger. I'm coming, my sweet Erik… She pressed the tip against her chest, and braced herself for the end.
"I've found that there's a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. It would be a pity to damage the one exceptional specimen I've ever encountered." Within the first few words of that statement, Christine knew she was not going to die. She whirled to see him lying on the red velvet mattress of the bed, unmasked and a sword at his hip.
"Erik! Oh, Erik darling!" She kissed his forehead, his lips, his wonderfully scarred cheek, every part of his face that she could reach. Erik returned her kisses faintly, but tenderly. "Erik, why won't you hold me?"
"Gently, angel" he whispered.
"At a time like this, that's all you can think to say, 'gently?'" she asked, wrapping her arms around his tightly and lifting his face closer to hers.
"Gently," Erik repeated, wincing as she released his head and it knocked against the bed. "Urr.."
XxXxX
"Nadir! Nadir!" Meg repeated his name over and over. "Nadir, answer me! Come on, don't just sit there, you idiot! Are you really going to let everyone down now?" Nadir slowly pulled the knife out, and moved his hand to cover the wound.
"Good heavens. Are you still trying to win? You've got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance. It's going to get you into trouble someday." Nadir glared, slowly advancing on him. Philippe lunged, but Nadir deflected the blow from his heart to his right arm. Philippe tried the other side, but Nadir parried that, too.
"Hello. My name is Nadir Khan Daroga. You killed my father. Prepare to die," he whispered softly. Philippe made a swipe, but Nadir blocked him. "Hello. My name is Nadir Khan Daroga. You killed my father. Prepare to die," he said, a little louder. "Hello. My name is Nadir Khan Daroga. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
"Stop saying that!" Philippe yelled.
"Hello! My name is Nadir Khan Daroga! You killed my father! Prepare to die!" Nadir yelled.
"No!" Philippe hissed as Nadir cut his cheeks.
"Offer me money!"
"Yes…" Philippe whispered breathlessly.
"Power, too. Promise me that!" Nadir ordered, running his blade through his foe's shoulder.
"All that I have and more! Please!" Philippe begged.
"Offer me everything I ask for!"
"Anything you want."
"LOOK OUT!" Meg screamed. Nadir caught Philippe's hand before he could get cut.
"I want my father back, you son of a bitch!" The great sword flashed through the heart of Philippe de Chandon, and he fell to the floor, dead.
"Nadir, you're hurt, let me see…" Meg rushed over to him.
"I did it… I can die now…" Nadir kissed the steel of the blade. "After twenty years, I have finally avenged him…"
"Oh, bollocks!" Meg huffed, pushing his hands down. "You'll get that wound dirty, let me take care of it."
"It's fine," he protested.
"Stop being so proud. I'm not going to let you die, not yet anyway. I got to see you murder that twisted maniac, and you have to see me avenge my family on the prince as repayment."
"That's what you were asking Erik about?"
"Let's just say you should be glad you've never made me very angry," Meg said, ripping off a strip of her blouse and wrapping it around his cut. "I've been wanting to do it to Raoul ever since he insulted my mother." She pulled him up. "That should do until we can get out of here. Come on, let's find the others."
XxXxX
"Oh, Erik, will you ever forgive me?" Christine whispered, running her fingers through his silky black hair.
"What hideous sin have you committed lately?" he asked with a smile.
"I… I got married. I didn't want to. It all happened so fast."
"Never happened."
"What?"
"Never happened," he repeated.
"But it did. I was there. This old man said 'man and wife.'"
"Did you say 'I do?'" he asked, slowly raising his hand to stroke her cheek.
"Uh, no… We sort of skipped that part…"
"Then you're not married. If you didn't say it, you didn't do it. And if it had happened, well, widows happen every day. Wouldn't you agree, Your Highness?" Christine followed his gaze to Raoul standing in the door.
"A technicality that will shortly be remedied. If you came here to save her life, you've done that by effectively declaring war. So, first thing first." He slammed the door shut and drew his sword. "To the death!"
"No!" Erik yelled, twisting his hand. Suddenly, a lasso rose up from the ground, seizing Raoul by the neck. "I suppose you're not familiar with that phrase, so I'll explain. And I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to understand, you warthog-faced buffoon."
"That may be the first time in my life a man has dared insult me." Raoul growled, struggling with the noose.
"It won't be the last. To the pain means the first thing you will lose will be your feet below the ankles. Then your hands at the wrists, next your nose."
"And then my tongue, I suppose?" Raoul demanded. "I killed you too quickly the last time, a mistake I don't mean to duplicate tonight."
"I wasn't finished! The next thing you will lose will be your left eye, followed by your right."
"And then my ears, I understand, let's get on with it." Raoul forced his hand through the lasso.
"WRONG!" Erik yanked his hand down and the noose tightened. "Your ears you keep, and I'll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, ever woman who cries out 'Dear God, what is that thing?' will echo in your perfect ears. That is what "to the pain" means. It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in the same freakish misery I once endured for ever."
"I think… you're bluffing." Raoul gasped. The lasso slowly loosened.
"It's possible, pig. I might be bluffing. It's conceivable, you miserable vomitous mass, I'm only lying here because I lack the strength to stand. Then again, perhaps I have the strength after all." He lightly brushed Christine's hand aside and stood, raising his sword to eye level. The lasso landed on the ground, and Christine saw that Erik had been controlling it with gossamer threads draped over one of the beams in the ceiling "Drop... your... sword." The fear Christine had seen Raoul hiding in his eyes was fully apparent now, as his blade fell to the ground with a clatter. "Have a seat. Christine, tie him up, please. Make it as tight as you like." She nodded, picking up the lasso, and wrapping it around Raoul's chest and arms. Raoul let out a grunt. "Just a little tighter, I think."
"Erik! Christine!" Meg strode through the door, the Persian man who had been one of Christine's kidnappers draped over her shoulders.
"Ah, Meg, Nadir. Impeccable timing." Erik smiled.
"Where's Gerard?" Nadir asked.
"I thought he was with you." Erik wrinkled his brow. The two shook their heads. "In that case, whooooa!" His knees began to buckle and he seized the bed frame for support.
"Help him," Meg urged.
"Why does Erik need helping?" Christine asked, moving into a position that mirrored Nadir and Meg's.
"Because he has no strength," Nadir explained.
Raoul laughed, "I knew it! I knew you were bluffing! I knew he was... bluffing." His voice got far less confident as Meg drew a dagger and pointed it as his face.
"May I dispatch him now, Erik?"
Erik sighed, "If you do, you have to make it quick, and try to not kill this one. Whatever happens to us, I want him to live a long life alone with his cowardice." Meg nodded, and in a flash of silver, Christine found herself feeling as though she wanted to puke. Did sweet little Meg really just cut off Raoul's genitalia and stick them in a jar?
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Raoul yelled.
"I should have said clean, too…" Erik muttered. "All that blood…"
"Daroga! Daroga! Where are you?" They all hurried over to the window to see Gerard standing in the courtyard. "Oh, there you are. Daroga, I saw the prince's stable, and there they were, five pretty horses. And I thought, there are five of us, if we ever find the lady. Hello, lady!" Christine waved shyly. "So I took them with me, in case we ever bumped into each other. I guess we just did."
"Gerard, you did something right," said Nadir with a fond smile.
"Don't worry, I won't let it go to my head."
"Come on!" Meg laughed, jumping down nimbly. Christine glanced at Erik timidly. He nodded, and Gerard held out his arms. She jumped.
XxXxX
She looked like an angel, practically glistening in the moonlight. Erik smiled wistfully as she threw her arms around Mozart's neck. Nadir tapped him on the shoulder.
"This isn't over!" Raoul yelled. "I'll conquer England and then I'll find you! It is to be war between us, and next time, clever friend, the disaster will be yours!"
"JE SUIS LE FANTÔME ROI DE LA MER! I will await you with pleasure!" Erik roared, throwing the silver skull dagger so that it landed inches from Raoul's head. Nadir tapped him on the shoulder.
"You know, it's very strange. I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it's over, I don't know what to do with the rest of my life."
"Have you ever considered piracy?" said Erik with a smile. "I think you'd make a wonderful Dread Pirate Robin."
"True," Daroga nodded.
"And I think it would suit her as well as it would you." Erik winked as he fell from the window. Nadir blushed scarlet, and jumped after him. "Hello, Mozart," Erik touched the horse's muzzle gently. "I've missed you, too, my friend."
"Bugger!" Meg pointed towards the gate. "It's Reyer!"
"Child's play," Christine said. Everyone stared at her in disbelief. "Watch and learn." She rode towards the wall of Brutes regally, her brown hair shimmering and flying behind her like a flag. "The Count is dead, and the Prince has been gravely wounded. He has urged me to flee with my entourage, and if you hurry, you might yet save him." No one moved. "Well? What are you waiting for?"
"They answer to me, Madame. I am the chief enfor—"
"So you think you are superior to me?" Christine demanded imperiously. "When I am the Queen?" There was no doubting her superiority or power as she said the final word. The Brutes parted to let her pass, the others followed her in amazement. "That was something of a lie," Christine blushed. "Seeing as Raoul and I aren't really married, and His Majesty hasn't officially abdicated yet."
"But it worked. You were magnificent," Erik smiled at her.
"Oy! Lovebirds!" Meg yelled. "Can it wait until we're actually safe?" Erik and Christine smiled as they rode to freedom. On the horizon, the silhouette of the Revenge came into focus. Erik caught his breath and yelled out.
"Gabriel! It's me! I've got her!"
XxXxX
"It's about time, sir," Gabriel called back, dropping down a rope ladder. "You've kept us waiting quite a while." Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past them, grazing Gerard's arm. They all turned to see French calvary advancing on them. "Hurry now!"
"The captain and Nadir don't have the strength," Meg shouted, leaping nimbly from her horse to the ladder. "Gerard, put them into one of the dinghies, then follow me. Christine… we have to leave the horses behind."
"But—"
"Now!" Christine nodded tearfully, and stroked Mozart's ears.
"Good-bye, my friend," she whispered, dismounting and following Meg up the ladder. She could hear Raoul shouting at the troops to cut them off. Farewell, France… I may never see you again… Then she started wishing she wasn't only in her dressing gown. She could feel the eyes of Erik's crew staring at her.
"Cast off," Meg requested, pulling Nadir out of the boat that had brought him up. "Oh, God… and get the Clogger!"
Erik started to rise, then collapsed in Christine's arms. "Erik? Erik?"
"What happened to him?" The young man Erik had called Gabriel bent over her. "Let me see." Christine pulled away long enough to show him. "Oh, God… is… is he mostly dead?"
"He was," Gerard said. "That scream earlier… that was him on a machine in the catacombs…"
"That was him? They did that? Oh, damn, I wish I'd been with you! I'd have rushed him straight to Signor Piangi, for a resurrection pill."
"That's what we did," Gerard said. Gabriel seized him by the shirt.
"Was it a fresh one? Not one he'd had lying around for ages?" Gerard nodded. "And this is the most important part: did Carlotta have time to do the chocolate coating?"
"She let me lick the pot," Gerard replied happily. "It was delicious." Gabriel released his shirt with a relieved sigh.
"Then there's still hope…" he turned to Christine. "And there is true love. Princess, if you work your side of the street, and I work mine, I think he'll survive. Right now, we should probably take him to your quarters."
"My quarters?" she repeated.
"The quarters you and my son will be sharing," a voice cut in. Christine gasped at the woman striding towards her. It was the woman from her dream. "I'm glad to finally meet you face to face, Christine."
"Madame," Gabriel bowed to the woman. " Christine Daaé, may I present to you Madame Antoinette Giry."
"And probably the first time a pirate has ever had his mother on his ship." Giry smiled warmly. "You've been very good for him, my dear child."
"I've killed him…"
"No, no," Giry stroked her hair gently as Gabriel led them into the cabins. "Love is what destroys us all in the end. But it heals us too, and that is what you must do for him now."
XxXxX
Meg passed Nadir a cup of tea. "I prefer sahlab," he said coldly.
"Someone's bitter about not being able to use their fancy sword," Meg retorted. "Here I am, trying to make you comfortable, and you say no!"
"I'm only stalling the inevitable. I'm the kind of man who always has to have a quest, a purpose."
"What about just living? For the sake of living? Life is short, Nadir, it's best to make of it."
"This from a woman who castrates the men who annoy her for fun?" Nadir asked incredulously.
"This from a woman who grew up being expected to do everything her father told her to do. Do you know what it's like in the English court?"
"I can guess."
"No, you can't. All I ever wanted was to be a dancer, like my mother was, and instead, I was supposed to learn court rituals, and decorum, and how to be a good wife! Ha! I'm not the kind of woman who wants to be tied down by marriage. I much prefer being the sister of the Dread Pirate Robin to being the of daughter King of England, or the possible wife of the Prince of France." Nadir raised an eyebrow. "It's true. Erik was the first man who treated me like an equal, not a pawn. And because of that, the crew genuinely thinks well of me, too."
"I guess it won't last long then,"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Erik mentioned that he plans to pass the title on to me."
Meg glared at him. "Bugger! He said I could have it. Like Mother did before me."
"Meg…" he placed a hand on top of hers. "I… I have no idea how I say this, but—" Meg cut him off and kissed him full on the mouth.
"Does that work?"
He smiled. "I think you'll make a wonderful co-captain."
XxXxX
Erik faced the sea, the wind blowing in his face. He'd returned to the same mysterious man in black he had been in the square, his white mask the only thing that kept him from vanishing completely into the night. "Are you worried, Erik?" Christine asked, walking up behind him and lacing her fingers through his. "I am."
"No… no… Christine, we're free…"
"But not safe… he could come for us at any time… he'd take me, and we'll be parted forever…"
"Shhh…" Erik kissed her thick chocolate curls and sang softly. "No more talk
of darkness, forget these wide-eyed fears. I'm here, nothing can harm you - my words will warm and calm you. Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry -your tears. I'm here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you . . ."
She nodded and joined in quietly. "Say you love me every waking moment, turn my head with talk of summertime . . . Say you need me with you, now and always . . . promise me that all you say is true - that's all I ask of you . . ."
"You have my word," he whispered, moving his lips to graze her forehead. "I do love you, from now until the very end of time. I have never stopped loving you, not for an instant."
"You never got my letters…" she murmured. "Oh, Erik…"
"Tell me now, what did they say?"
"I want you with me, here, beside me. I love you, I truly do. When I first heard you sing, I thought I knew what it meant to feel love. I was wrong, my angel, so very wrong. Love is understanding when you cannot live without someone, wanting to die with them. I said I could not bear it if you died again. You truly loved me in the Fire Swamp, you were ready to die with me. I was selfish enough to place my life above your own. I would gladly die for you now. I don't believe it possible that you could be damned, but if we both were, I think it would be just as good as being in heaven," she quoted.
"Beautiful," Erik kissed her gently. "But what made you think you could ever be damned either?"
"I left you."
"And I absolve you of that," he led her back into the cabin, and passed her a book. "Act 1, Scene 5. This is one of my favorites of what Meg's shown me of English culture." He raised her hand gently.
"If I profane with my unworthiest hand/ This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:/ My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand/ To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."
"G-good pilgrim," she read haltingly, "you do wrong your hand too much,/ Which m-mannerly devotion shows in this /For saints have hands th-that pilgrims' hands do touch, /And p-palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."
Erik drew her closer. "Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"
"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." She answered, her voice growing in strength.
"O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do/ They pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."
"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."
"Then move not while my prayers effect I take," he crooned, kissing her. "Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin in purged."
"Then have my lips the sin they have took."
"Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged!/ Give me my sin again," he kissed her with even more passion.
"You kiss by th' book," she gasped between kisses. "What was that?"
"Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. He's a British playwright. But I have a different motive behind my interest in it. We'll be leaving for Italy soon."
"Italy?"
"Italy. There's something I want to do. Have you ever heard of opera, Christine?" Erik asked, spreading out a map of Europe, and placing his finger on a peninsula shaped like a boot. She shook her head. "Well, it's a new form of theater, where everything is sung."
"Really?"
"Yes, and I think it's the perfect place for us to start again. I want to see you onstage, for everyone to feel the inspiration and beauty you give me." He leaned over to kiss her cheek again. "You will become the star of a thousand private fantasies—"
"But I will sing only for you," she interrupted sweetly. "I will give you my soul every night, and die. Then, when we're alone, you can kiss me, and I'll be reborn."
"My thoughts precisely. See? We have as much time as we want."
"Then we're doomed."
"Doomed, ange?"
"To be together. Until one of us dies."
"Well, that's another easily solved problem. We just have to promise to outlive each other, and I promise that now."
She looked up at him with pure love and adoration. "Oh, Erik, so do I." And she kissed him. Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.
"'The End,' my grandmother closed the book. "What did you think, Angel?"
"Well… it was good, I guess… but Grandmama, he didn't give them a happy ending."
"What do you mean?" Grandmama asked, gathering up her things.
"It just ended with that kiss. Not happily ever after. What happened next? Did they get married at the same time as Meg and Nadir? Did Raoul find them? Did Christine get that career? And what about Gerard, and Madame Giry?"
"I just read what was in the book, darling."
"Will you tell me what happened next," I asked. "Tomorrow, if I still don't feel well?" I heard my grandfather call to us from downstairs.
"Still reading, are we, my dear? Come down, it's late."
Grandmama smiled rapturously, and kissing my forehead, pulled the bedcovers over me. "Of course. As you wish." She picked up her coat, and headed out the door, still smiling her beautiful smile.
"What story did you tell her tonight?" I heard my grandfather ask.
"Our story, you could say."
"Did you? Well, then I think tomorrow is my turn, my dear." I smiled at the sound of him kissing her.
"Take me home now, darling?"
"As you wish."
