Finally an update! That's probably what you're all thinking, right? I have to admit, this chapter was quite hard to write and I'm not sure it came out exactly the way I wanted it to. I might have to come back and redo it someday. Anyway here's chapter 9-Erik's chapter!

Chapter 9 (Erik)

I had not seen the boy sneak up behind me. I had lost myself in my music. I was trying to comprehend what he had said. Friends? I had no friends. People avoided and hated me. Even Christine had, even though I had secret hopes that she loved me. It was an impossible kind of love, one that came from fear and pity.

But actual friends with a little boy? Impossible! I had thought us acquaintances through medical research. He had a vast amount of knowledge that I found I could expand if I took the right approach. He would be very successful in the future. He had the right appearance and his mind was ever-expanding. In a few years he would know more than most adults. Then he would either despise me or forget about me because of society's standards and influence.

But now it could be certain that he would be repulsed and hate me.

I had not heard the telltale creak of the floorboards when he had come down. I had been playing a piece that reminded me of Christine. I felt the warm, loving embrace of the music as I began to play.

I had not realized that he was behind me until I felt his warm fingers on my flesh. I had turned around in terror, knowing that he not only shared a similar name with Christine but the same nature.

The masked dropped to the floor with a muted thud for a moment all we could do was stare at each other in shock. Our minds not completely processing what had just happened.

Then the reality seemed to set in. The boy's face turned a very alarming colour of white but he held his ground and looked me in the eye. I have to admit, I took the time later to admire this feat. Even grown men had blanched or backed away in fear at the sight of my face. The boy did nothing of the sort, he stood there staring me in the eye.

There was a sudden sound, to this day I do not know what it was. But that snapped me into my emotions.

I pushed the boy down. He landed with a rather large thump.

"You fool! Did you come here to gawk? To ridicule me like so many others? If you think that I will tolerate this you are sorely mistaken! If you think that pulling my mask off would change anything you were correct! It changes people's loathing of my mask to fear at my face! It teaches people to fear me! You damned boy! You are more ignorant then I thought!" I yelled at him, my anger turning to fear. Why had I come here to see the damned boy in the first place? I had not done something like that before. Maybe I was insane, but I had not yet realized it. Perhaps Christine's visit had brought me to the brink of insanity.

"N-no!" The boy exclaimed trying pick himself up off the floor. "I just wanted to show you-." I cut him off in pure rage.

"Show me what? How much the human race hates me? I already know that boy! I need no one to show me that I am not accepted by society! I am not an idiot! I can very well tell when I am not wanted!"

"We can all see why can we not?" The boy shouted back. I stiffened at his words, how dare he!

"Oh yes, I thought that you were taught better than that you insolent boy! Perhaps I was wrong about that. Perhaps I was wrong about everything!" I hissed in a dark voice. The boy now looked positively green. I expect that this was a delayed reaction of shock.

"Wha- what does that mean?" The boy stuttered. I glared down at him, silent and then I moved towards the door to take my leave.

"WAIT!" He shouted. I turned around, shocked that anyone besides Christine and the Daroga would use that tone of voice with me.

"Will you come back?" He asked, sounding hurt but angry. I was taken aback, why would this boy want me back? But then I remembered. He would bring his friends, father, hell he could bring all of Paris and show them my face. That was most likely his plan.

I stared down at him, my gaze burning into his.

"No." I said coldly. That is when I turned and walked out the door. I had no qualms about doing this. The boy would live, grow up to be successful and wealthy, never having to murder or commit a crime because of an accident at birth.

I stopped once again outside of the doorframe. I did not turn around, did not look back.

"If you tell anyone about me, or even think about coming to find me, I can promise you that you will live to regret it. I can make you feel pain in a way that is almost beyond human understanding. I have no mercy for children, spoilt or otherwise. But I can promise you this, if you do not seek e out then I have no qualms with you. You will be able to keep your life, for now. But remember this. Your life is now mine!"

With a flourish I disappeared in a flash of smoke. As all he could see was the smoke I hid in the ally ways hiding in every shadow and anxious to get home. I knew that this had been a mistake. I should not have accepted to see the boy. Granted, he would be dead by now but that would be a fair price would it not? All those people I had killed had been for many reasons but there was always one link to them: I killed to ruin another's life like mine had been ruined. Most all of these people had not had much of a life so I had to kill many just to get revenge. That was what it was all about.

But killing a child? I had not done such a thing before but I was certain I could do it. Yes, if I were to be forced I would have no choice and I would once again have innocent blood on my hands.

Not that I had anything to worry about. I was already going to Hell and nothing could change that because there was no God or Heaven.

I was musing this as I slipped through the shadows. I reached home in a matter of minutes. I arrived at the front door of the Paris Opera House. Or what was left of it. I felt a twinge in the heart that had been shattered when I looked upon the building's ruins. The construction had already taken place and it should be fully restored in a couple of months.

I had been forced to burn the Viscount's estate when they left my lair. He had ruined my home so I had ruined his. Christine still did not know this. I felt strangely guilty for leaving her without a home to go to with that boy.

I walked into the ruins and found a trapdoor that led to my lair. I gently slipped down the gaping black hole. Down once more to my dungeon of my black despair I suppose. I thought bitterly, these were the words that I had spoken to Christine on that night.

I no longer needed a torch to light up the catacombs beneath the Opera house and into my lair. My eyes could see well enough in the dark I no longer needed any light.

I effortlessly guided myself to the entrance of the lake, avoiding all the fallen brick and debris. I was weaving back and forth throughout the larger pieces of wood and such that had fallen from the roof.

I frowned as I remembered something from earlier today. When I had asked the boy his symptoms I had the feeling he was not entirely telling the truth. This puzzled me, why would he not have told me the truth? I needed to know the side effects if I wanted to use the medicine in any further research.

Some of the side effects could be quite harmful and it was possible that they could kill a weak child. There were different types of Peruvian poisons in the medication that if I put 0.001 more grams than was needed it was lethal. I had long perfected the arts of killing and healing. But I had only made this specific medication once before. That had been almost two decades ago. When I had made it this time I had felt my stomach tighten in nervousness.

Not that The Opera Ghost ever got nerves. Well, not that anyone else knew anyhow. To most I was the fearless Phantom of the Opera, who no one really knew if he were ghost or man.

I slowly guided the gondola to the dock in my lair. I looked around for a moment, something did not look quite right. I was fairly certain I had extinguished those candles before I had left this morning. There were other suspicious things that did not look like they belonged in my lair.

I stood there, confused and trying to comprehend the changes in my lair. Then I heard a faint noise coming from my sitting room. It was so faint that had it not been me no other man would have picked up on it.

I briefly considered taking my dagger or my noose with me, but then realized it would most likely be pointless. All the intruders that had visited my lair in the past two weeks had lived even when I had tried my best to kill them. With the exception of Christine of course.

I practically ran to my sitting room to greet my invader. They would not receive a pleasant welcome from The Opera Ghost. The closer I got to the room the stranger the sounds became. It almost sounded like someone was sobbing! I could understand, anyone who dared venture down to my lair had a right to sob. They were about to be killed, and sometimes in a very gruesome bloody way. Many think that the art of hanging, drawing and quartering was lost but they do not know me, this also goes for many other gruesome ways of torture.

But the closer I became the more I realized that the reason they were weeping was not fear, but loneliness. I had cried enough times in my life because of loneliness that I could tell immediately when someone was lonely.

This was very puzzling. Why would someone be in my home, crying not out of fear, but loneliness?

I stopped outside. Took a deep breath and opened the door.

I walked into the well lit room and a gasp escaped from my lips. She was sitting right there! Christine.

She was huddled on the floor in the dress which she had left in two weeks ago. Her head was hidden from me but I saw her shoulders shaking. Occasionally I heard her shaky intake of breath. I just stood in the doorframe. Watching her when she did not know. Just like when I was her l'Ange de Musique. Even when she was upset she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

I sighed when I realized that I must make my presence known to her.

"Christine..." I said softly. I heard her gasp and turn around to face me. Her eyes were bright red from her weeping. I felt immediate rage to whoever did this to her. They had hurt her and by God they would pay for it. They would die in a way that I have not tried since the Khanum's palace.

"Erik..."She whispered back. She seemed surprised to see me. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell slack for a moment but then she regained her composure.

"Shh, mon ange. It is really surprising to see me in my own home?" I asked trying to distract her from whatever caused her pain.

He gave a weak smile.

"You have been gone for the past few hours. Where were you?" She asked quietly. I stiffened. She had been waiting for me. She had been here for a few hours. I wondered why she was here. There must have been a reason.

"I am not a total recluse child, I do go above to the surface from time to time." I said smoothly, avoiding telling her where I had gone.

Her eyes seemed to sharpen for a moment, as realizing that I had been avoiding the subject. She simply let it go.

"Erik, I need a place to think for a while. May I stay here. Since I left there have been...complications." She said. I wondered what these complications might have been

"My dear, I can refuse you nothing." I replied. I was furiously thinking. Why had she come to me? Why did she not go to the boy? Did these complications have anything to do with him?

"Your dress is torn and quite bloody Christine, perhaps you should change it." I suggest. She nodded mutely and I led her to the Louise-Philippe room.

I closed the door and let her change in peace. I stayed outside of her door. Then I heard her talking. This puzzled me. Who could she possibly be talking to? There was not a single being in that room other than her.

I shifted closer to the door to hear her conversation. She seemed to be talking to herself!

"Great Christine, you leave Raoul just to come the manic killer. Why did you come here? How will he react when he finds out what happened ?" She muttered. My eyes widened. What was she talking about? What happened? Was she in trouble? Was it that damned boy?

I wanted to walk in and demand to know what had happened, but being the gentleman I am I could not do that. I had never seen a lady without clothing on and I knew that no matter how tempting it was, to walk in on Christine and kiss her, hold her, anything without her clothes on would scare her and she would run back to the boy.

So I stood at the door listening.

"But why? Why did I do that? I knew that when we married that it was expected of me to behave like that. I have known that since I was a child. But after Erik, everything was different...everything!" She cried in despair. My heart was throbbing, what had the boy done to her? That thought kept repeating over and over in my head.

She did not talk to herself for the rest of time she was changing. But I stood ever vigilant outside of her room. She stepped out of the door a few minutes later, she was wearing a simple blue dress without a corset or anything else really. The dress was a midnight blue color that brought out the blue in her eyes. She looked gorgeous.

"E-Erik." She stammered shocked for a moment and I wondered why she always seemed so surprised to see me.

"Yes my dear, now shall we have tea? I am sure that it has been a very stressful day and that you would like to relax." And perhaps tell me what that damned boy did to hurt you so much.

"Of course, thank you very much." She agreed. I gently took her hand and let her down the hallway.

I sat her down at the table as I prepared some Russian tea using my Samovar. In the weeks that Christine had been here before she grew to like the tea, no matter how bitter it was.

I poured myself a cup, God knows I needed it. After the encounter with that boy, Christian I needed to relax. I filled our cups and sat down at the table as well.

I lifted the cup to take a sip of the hot liquid. Then, without warning I dropped the cup. It smashed into a thousand pieces on the floor, the liquid had been spilled on my chest and was now burning. But I could not feel any of it for there was one realization that I had.

I was not wearing my mask. I had not put it back on after the boy ripped it off.

And Christine had stayed with me the whole time.

"Erik!" I heard her cry out. I felt her rip my shirt off to get the hot liquid off. But it was not the feeling of my burning flesh that caused me to cry out. No, I had burnt myself many times when trying to perfect some magic that I had learned, it was when I felt her tears fall against my chest.

Started, I looked up at her lovely face. She was crying. I wondered why. What possible reason would she have for crying? Perhaps she had suddenly realized what a monster I was without the mask. Perhaps she wanted to get revenge for the pain I had inflicted on her before.

I knew I had to find out what was wrong. If I did not I would hate myself for it later.

"Christine, what is the matter? Have I hurt or offended you?" I asked worriedly. She shook her head.

"How can you not flinch when you physically get hurt? But when someone hurts you emotionally..." She trailed off but I caught the meaning behind the words. I had to tell her the truth, I was powerless to do otherwise.

"I have been hurt physically many times Christine, by my mother, by the Khanum and often by my own hand. But to be hurt in such a way that it tears your mind apart, it is a truly terrifying thing. People have often tried to break my mind through my emotions. But they could find no weak point in my facade. To them I was emotionless. There was only one way to get me to react to anything and that was by music. No one dared touch my mask after the first man. And no one ever found out about my music. So I was never really hurt. But then you came. I began to feel things again. I was terrified at first. I was not used to these emotions that swelled within my heart. I knew that if you ever hated me, be it my mask or my undying love that I would die. I had never felt such a way before and my emotions and my mind where constantly at war with each other. Then, when you ripped my mask off for the first time I felt as if my soul had been taken with it. I knew you would hate me and I have to say I went quite insane because of it. The boy did not help matters. I know that what I have done can never be forgiven Christine, that is quite impossible. But the one excuse that I have is that I have never felt anything so excruciatingly painful as when you ran from me. All I ask is understanding Christine. Then you may go back to the boy." I said, pain radiating from my voice and movements.

Her eyes widened and tears entered them. But to her credit they did not fall.

"Erik, you said I may stay here as long as I like, does that no longer apply?" She asked worriedly. I frowned, why would she still want to stay here? Why did she not want to return to her precious fiancée?

"Of course it does my dear, it's just that I thought that you would no longer prefer to spend time in my presence. I also apologize." I said smoothly. This time it was her brow that furrowed.

"Apologize but...why? That story meant the world to me. I feel as if I do understand now Erik."She said confused.

"No my dear, you have misunderstood. I apologize for making you look at this" I pointed to my face. " I had not realized that I was not wearing it. Today had been a very stressful and unpleasant day so far." I said bitterly. I had almost forgotten about the boy because Christine was here.

"Erik, you do not need to apologize. Have I said anything? Have I done anything to show you that I despise you and your face? No, I have not. Not of late anyhow. That is because I realized that none of this was your fault. It is no one's fault. I am also sorry that your day has not been a pleasant one, to tell the truth mine had not exactly been the happiest day of my life." She replied.

This reminded me of the rage that I had felt before. Someone had undoubtedly hurt her today. But that rage was tinged with ecstasy. She did not blame me for my face! It was true, she had not done anything lately that had suggested that she hated me. But people could become experts at hiding their emotions.

"Tell me what happened." I demanded. She looked quite depressed for a moment but then eyes the burns on my chest.

"But Erik you are hurt!" She said.

"It does not matter that Erik is hurt mon ange. He does not even feel it." I promised. She looked at me again, puzzled this time.

"Are you sure?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Quite." I assured her.

"It's quite a long story." She replied nervously.

"I do believe I can clear time from my insanely busy schedule to listen" I said calmly trying to make her smile. It worked, she let out a chuckle. I smiled, she was chuckling because of me!

"Thank you Erik." She said quietly. Now I was truly curious. Why was she putting off this conversation?

"Think nothing of it. But please, tell me what happened." I implored.

She looked into my eyes and said:

"Erik...Raoul and I are no longer engaged."

Oh, another cliffie! I know what you're all expecting- you probably think that Christine will tell Erik she loves him, he'll accept her feelings and they'll live happily ever after. I can assure you-that will not be the case. I'm not going to ever do it like that, I to tell you- the next chapter will be Erik's as well! I think I'm growing overly fond of writing as him, but I can't help it! And for those of you who read my other story- I apologize, it must seem as though I've been wiped off the face of the earth, but I promise that it will be my next update!