Chapter 11

Alexander

Oh my God! Alexander screamed in his head.

He was running the fastest he had ever run away from something before; every fiber in his being told him to get away as fast as he could. But he never was able to run that fast.

But he wasn't running.

He wasn't moving at all.

He wasn't breathing but he was living.

He wasn't able to speak. He couldn't speak.

He couldn't do anything.

He couldn't feel his body.

If he could feel his body His heart was beating so fast that he could barely breathe and it felt like it was leaping out of his chest. But Alexander had no control. As soon as he saw Mr. Why's face he felt like he jumped out of his skin and was seeing everything around him as if he was watching a movie.

A scream had ripped through his throat when he saw Mr. Why's face without him doing it. He didn't scream. He never screamed. It was Gustave.

Alexander couldn't remember much else but he faintly felt himself run or at least he was watching himself run. It wasn't until after some time he realized what was happening; he was seeing what it was like for Gustave when Alexander came along. It felt like he was watching a movie or he was in a dream and couldn't do anything that he wanted to do. Then the next thing he could completely remember was the darkness around him as he ran. The only sense that was not fuzzy was his sight but even that felt impaired to him. Around him there were outlines of cages and furniture. Then he started to see shadows dart across the walls chasing after him like it was some sort of game. He thought he heard shrieks cry out from behind him.

The hallways elongated and the rooms expanded on all sides of him. He felt like he had drunk the potion in Alice in Wonderland that made everything smaller. It probably just his mind playing tricks on him. The building seemed to have grown into a maze of hallways and rooms that weaved together in a tricky mess. Each way he turned it looked like he was going the wrong way or it felt like he was about to run into a dead end.

Alexander was frightened by what he saw but he knew he shouldn't run. It wasn't even him who screamed and ran away. It was Gustave.

Mommy! Mommy! Gustave cried. Someone help. Monster. Monster!

Alexander was unable to regain control of his body so he couldn't calm Gustave down. Gustave kept running without looking where he was going because his eyes were full with tears and when he ran into Roxanne he didn't realize it until he looked up in fear at the kind face. When he recognized her face he thought it was his mother and he wrapped his arms around her waist for comfort.

"It's alright darling. Oh shh... Don't be afraid." Roxanne cooed while she smoothed his hair. Gustave whimpered and hugged her tighter. "It's me."

Inside, Alexander was comforted to hear his mother's voice trying to soothe him. He was done with that place. He was on the verge of snapping He felt like he was about to cry even if Gustave wasn't doing it for him.

"It's horrible! Horrible!" Gustave cried through Alexander's body. "Please don't let him get me!"

"Who?"

"Save me!"

"Christine?" Someone called. It's Roxanne and she's my mom not his. Alexander started to boil inside. Her name isn't Christine. Don't call her that!

"Can you please take Gustave back to the hotel for me?" Roxanne asked the woman. Alexander couldn't remember the girl's name. Something with an M…Madiline, Maggie…

"But—"

"Meg, please." Roxanne begged. Meg! That was it.

Meg walked up to them to take Alexander's hand. "Come along Gustave."

"No." He resisted.

"Gustave." Mr. Y whispered his name.

That's not my name! Alexander wanted to scream. He wanted for them stop calling him that. But he wasn't in control. Not with his body or his emotions.

"Stay away." He came closer to them but Gustave screamed "Don't come near me."

"Please go with Miss Giry." Roxanne instructed Alexander.

"No! No! No!" Gustave screamed. "I won't let that monster hurt you."

That was when Alexander snapped. Gustave's voice faded back into the background and Alexander was in control again. However it was the worst of times because his mother bent down towards his ear to scold him. "Alexander Gustave Destler, you leave with Miss Giry right now. Do you understand me?"

Great, now it's my fault. Nice going.

What did I do wrong? Gustave whined.

You couldn't keep you trap shut.

As Alexander was having the conflicting battle with Gustave, Roxanne gestured to Meg. He shook his head to show that he didn't want to listen to me so she bent down to his level to talk to him. "It's alright. I'll be fine, I promise."

Alexander looked at her to see if there was a glimmer of doubt in her expression that he could see, that would tell him not to abandon her. But when he looked into his mother's eyes he could see that she wasn't afraid. Why wasn't she afraid? He could see that she trusted Mr. Why above anything else and he could not understand why. His Mother was the most kindhearted person he knew but he also knew that she put her complete trust and life into a few people's hands, yet she chose to put it in hands that were soaked in blood. Why?

Why did she trust such a man? How could she just forget about all about the past and move on like it was nothing? This person who had tormented her years ago, how could she trust him?

He trusted Mr. Why. He didn't trust the Phantom. Even though he wasn't extremely afraid of Mr. Why's face he still wasn't fully comfortable with it either. It wasn't even the deformity that truly troubled him all it did was making Alexander realize who this man was. It reminded him that Mr. Why was also the Phantom: some dangerous deformed man who is insane. With little memory of the actual story about this character Alexander still remembered that this man was no person to cross; He had tormented the people that worked at the opera house like they were his little voodoo puppets that he could play with. He really should have read the book or paid more attention when he watched the musical. From what he could recall Alexander remembered how frightened Christine was after the Chandelier fell because of the phantom. She was so frightened that she sang about how deeply it troubled her. Later in the Musical the Phantom had killed another guy and threatened to kill the love of her life. It gave Alexander every right to be afraid of him for his life and his mother's. The phantom was still a cold blooded killer. Mr. Why might have seemed nice to him but what if that was just a trick to gain Alexander's trust just so that he could find his opportunity to strike.

The man that he had been touring Phantasma with, the one that showed him things that Alexander longed to know more about, the man that had save his life was still the very same man who was a murderer. He felt so stupid for forgetting that. Because of his incompetence he could have gotten himself killed. Even if Mr. Why had only shown him kindness what if he was like Dr. Jekyll and turned into Mr. Hyde suddenly and kill him. He shouldn't have left his mother in that man's hands. They should have run away from him. Alexander should have done something.

But he had to trust his Mother.

With one last look Alexander let go of his mother in eyes full of tears. He walked over to Meg and they walked through the maze of a building. Without looking back he headed out of the dark room.

You're just going to leave her there?! Gustave exclaimed. He could not understand why Alexander could do such a cowardly thing. How could you?!

Because mother knows best. Alexander answered simply as he wiped his eyes angrily so that no one would see the tears starting to fall. I might not agree however at the end of the day it is her decision on what she has to do. But if he dares hurt her I will kill him, I swear on my life.

Gustave could feel how much anger Alexander possessed deep inside him. At that moment Gustave realized that there was something else in Alexander beside him. Something evil. If Gustave was able to shiver he would have. He was afraid, not of it though. He was afraid that if Alexander didn't keep it in check it will take over him.

Just remember not to forget who you are. Gustave warned. Alexander's temper started to die down and so did the darkness. Gustave felt relieved. For one of the first time in his life Gustave was concerned for someone else's safety besides his own. He treasured Alexander's friendship and he didn't want to watch as Alexander threw his life away for that darkness that lived inside him.

Alexander and Meg both didn't talk to each other as they tried to find their way out. Meg didn't consol Alexander and he didn't question her on how they had found him. They walked in cold dead silence. The hallways seemed to get longer and longer, smaller and smaller, as they tried to figure out the building. The lights flickered on and everything turned back to normal. There were no longer any shadows hunting him as he maneuvered through the building. Finally they had reached the outside world. It was still dark out with millions of stars shinning down on him. The park was desolate and lonely with all of the people missing because they had gone home, gone back to reality leaving behind a fantasy. The wind howled between the buildings towards them as the lights slowly turned off leaving them in near complete darkness except for a few street lamps. Alexander jumped behind Meg and grabbed her hand tightly. He whimpered like a terrified puppy as he hid behind her skirts.

"Are you alright Alexander?" Meg asked him with a concern expression that was clearly visible in her eyes and face.

Alexander looked up at her. With a shaky voice he managed to say. "Yeah, sure, I'm alright."

"Then why are you holding my hand so tightly?"

"Oh, I was…. uh…. just making sure you weren't scared so I held your hand to let you know that I'm here."

"Oh is that all?"

"Yep." Alexander squeaked.

"Shall we go?" Meg posed.

"Ladies first." He smiled weakly.

Gustave sighed. He didn't understand Alexander. He was as brave as a soldier yet at other times he was a complete coward. At times Gustave is awed by how Alexander took on challenges will others were embarrassing for him to watch them go through it. Sometimes he was fearless and calculating like he was a few moments ago and at others, like now, he acted like a small frightened child. Who was he?

Meg broke the uncomfortable silence again. "Please don't hate Er- Mr. Y. Even though he looks that way he is really kind. His face might be gruesome but his heart isn't. You might not be able to see it but he is good. He might have done a lot of bad things in the past but he has changed. When my mother died he took care of me and after we fled the Opera house he took care of me. He still takes care of me even though I don't need it. He is a good person."

"I know that." Alexander confessed, nodding his head. "But my mother told me about the Phantom of the Opera and his murders there so I can't entirely trust him. He's a murderous monster. I can't take the chance."

"Christine told you that." Meg looked utterly shocked. She looked like someone had just punched her in the stomach without any cause.

She didn't. "Yeah." No I read about it. "She told me to be careful." I don't even know if it's true but I can't take the risk.

She kept shaking her head like she was trying to tell herself that it wasn't true. It looked like in her eyes something was breaking in her. "You know Christine, I mean your mom, and I weren't as close as we were back at the start. It wasn't until the events at the opera started to happen that she started to become like a sister to me. She watched over me and made sure that I was looked after. I've always wondered if Christine was some other worldly being, she was always so amazing and breathtaking. I used to think she wasn't real and that she would be gone before my eyes."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Meg pressed on.

Alexander nodded his head. "Yep. I'll be just fine."

Meg laughed.

"It is funny." Meg said. "You talk so funny at times."

"Oh?" Alexander inquired, not entirely sure what she was getting at.

"Christine talked like that until…. the night when she left. Then she rarely talked to me at all." Her voice faded until no sound came out of her mouth. Alexander looked up at her and saw that Meg's eyes glazed over as she said the last part. She was looking off into a daze like she was watching the sea of a gloomy day, thinking about a dreary past memory that still haunted her. He thought that he saw a tear run gleam as it ran down the side of her face.

He wondered why she stopped talking. "Miss Meg?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Well, it's just that sometimes you both talk like you are from America, using 'yeah' and 'sure' a lot. You even started using conjugations with only being here a couple of days, it took me years to start saying 'can't' instead of cannot or 'I'll' instead of I will. It seems funny that you have never been here before but you talk like true Americans."

"That's 'cause we are." Alexander confessed accidently. He covered his mouth quickly when he realized what he had said. Shit!

What? What happened?

I might have accidently said something I wasn't supposed to.

"What?" Meg looked so surprised that she stopped.

Quick think of something, anything.

"I mean I've wished that we were true Americans and live the American dream." He thought up quickly running his hands through his hair. "You know the land of the free and the home of the brave and all that jazz."

"I know when people are lying." Meg warned pointing her finger at him. You and Christine are the exact same. You are like an open book when it comes to your emotions. I remember one time Christine—"

"Her name is not Christine." Alexander whispered as he stopped abruptly. It was barely even audible but it still went unnoticed by Meg to see that he had stopped.

"Come on Gustave. Christine told me to take you back to the hotel."

"Her name is not Christine!" Alexander bellowed. He couldn't take it anymore, all this Christine and Gustave talk. It drove him insane. He wasn't Gustave. That wasn't who he was. It wasn't who is Mom was. "It's Roxanne Destler. She's my Mom. Raoul is not my father. Erik Destler is my father. I have a little sister named Ange. And my name isn't Gustave: it's Alexander. We don't live in Paris we live here in America. Well not in this time, a hundred years from now. Mom went to the Opera house when she was in High school and she somehow went back in time and everyone mistook her for Christine. She escaped and came back home. She married my Dad had me and my little sister. Then my Dad went to Paris and my Mom and I went to New York and we accidently went back in time and here we are. Now we are stuck here. All we want to do is go back home."

"What?"

"It's the truth."


Disclaimer: I don't own any Love Never Dies.

So Look with your heart and not with your eyes. A heart understands, a heart never lies. So please review what's in your heart.

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been a while. I have been busy with the Production of Wizard of Oz I was in, I was ensemble if anyone wanted to know, so I haven't been able to get on a computer and work. But I finally was able to post the new chapter and the next one will come next week.

So How are you liking the story so far? This Chapter is a continuation of the last Chapter and I wanted to show Alexander's side of the story. I wanted to show another level to his Character and I wanted him to become a lot more like Erik and I want to know your opinions on the Chapter.