Ariel here.

We spent several weeks there at Phantasma. Erik couldn't stop composing. After his initial warm treatment of Gustave, he had thrown his grief into music, most of which so terrified Gustave that he couldn't even stay in the lair and cried when I came to fetch him for bed.

It was no good talking to Erik when he was composing. I might as well have tried to convince a wall.

If I wasn't trying to mother Gustave after the loss of Christine – mothering being one of many things I'm no good at, by the way – I was singing Erik's new music. None of it was good enough for him. Each piece moved every emotion I had to its extreme – but for Erik, it wasn't enough. It was never enough. It was all dark and disturbing for the first week, but as the time passed, the music began to grow lighter, to show hope and light.

Still, it kept me too busy to think about everything that had happened. About my horrible guilt.

Erik kept scribbling notes and words onto music sheets, thrusting them at me, telling me to sing.

I didn't know where Edward was most of the time – I think he was visiting with Meg.

One afternoon, Squelch came down into the lair.

"Master, there's a visitor for your guest. He calls himself the Doctor."

Erik didn't even pause in his playing. "Do you know him?"

"I think so. If he's here, it's important."

Minutes later, the eleventh Doctor strode into the room. He smiled at me. "Ariel! It's good to see you again."

"Hello. Erik, this is the Doctor. He was a friend of my friend Ivy. The one from Paris."

The Doctor grinned. "And this must be Erik, the Phantom of the Opera! It's a pleasure, Phantom!"

"What brings you here?" asked Erik.

"Ariel and Edward can't stay here. It'll rip a hole in time and space."

"What?" said Erik.

"Very complicated, lots of timey wimey... stuff involved. But they need to leave."

I'd never see Erik again. Almost certainly.

The Doctor, as if reading my mind, handed me a mirror. It was a hand mirror, decorated with what looked like gold.

"So you can have lessons still. It can't break, it's made from highly refined and polished adamantium."

He gave Erik the same mirror. "If you take the stone out of the back and put it on a larger mirror, you'll be able to see each other in that, too!" he said. "And if you want to turn this back into a real mirror, just push on the flower at the top of the mirror design and you won't have to worry."

There was silence for a moment.

"Come on, Ariel, we have to go. I have a lot of loose ends to tidy up, now that..." he cut himself off.

"Now Ivy's dead?"

"Yes. Where's your friend?"

"Probably with Meg Giry."

"Then we'll have to find her. Say goodbye, we have to go."

I turned to stare at Erik, then threw my arms around his neck. "Erik... goodbye."

"I don't understand, what's he talking about?"

"I'll tell you through the mirror. As soon as I get home. But I guess now we have to go."

"Wait a moment." Erik pulled the music sheets off the piano and picked up the songs he'd written. I could barely carry all the papers. "Take them."

"Erik, I can't –"

"They're a gift for you. I can write them down again. Take them."

I took them. "Be good to Gustave."

"I will."

The Doctor took my arm and pulled me out the door. His TARDIS stood outside.

He pushed me inside and shut the door.

"Now, to find your friend..." He grabbed a switch and threw it.

We took off and hit the ground again hard.

The Doctor ran out the door.

A moment later, he dragged in a confused Edward.

"What are you doing?" he asked, pulling away.

The Doctor explained as he started the TARDIS up again.

Edward fell over as the TARDIS took off.

It hit the ground again hard.

We got up off the ground.

"I'm sorry about that," said the Doctor. "It was a... complicated situation. I both let you stay as long as you could safely, but for you to stay much longer was too dangerous."

"I knew I wouldn't be long until it came to that. But you really couldn't have given us any warning?"

"I was busy."

"You're a time traveler."

"And I didn't want to spoil your fun."

Edward glared.

I was kind of ticked off too.

"Thank you, Doctor, for taking us home," I said.

I left the TARDIS, clutching the mirror. Edward followed closely behind me.

We headed inside. I changed out of my dress and into jeans and a T-shirt.

Edward was waiting for me downstairs. "I have to go. Your parents will kill both of us if they find out you were in here alone with me for any length of time."

"Thanks. For everything."

I watched as he drove away, then walked up to my room and picked up the mirror. My own pale face stared back at me.

I pressed the flower. "Erik?"

A masked face appeared. "Ariel?"

A sob of relief escaped my mouth. "Yes, it's me. And this time, I'm not going anywhere."