(A/N: Thank you everyone, for your support! This chapter is going to be a little bit depressing, just to warn you. But the next chapter is better, I promise! Don't give up on me yet! We've come this far! Wow… chapter thirty-eight…

Oh, whoever asked about Nadir, lol, yes, he's still in it. He kind of pops in and out… He'll be in it at least one more time.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Destruction

When Christine woke, she was still in complete darkness. For a moment, she thought that she was still unconscious, but then she decided that she couldn't be. She felt around her and decided that she was on a pile of cushions somewhere. What had happened? Where was she?

"Christine?"

She looked up to see a familiar pair of golden eyes above her, and remembered everything. She smiled. "Erik."

There was a sigh of relief. "Thank God, I thought I had harmed you in that fall."

Christine grinned. "What was that?"
"What was what?"

"Did I just hear you say "Thank God?"

There was a moment's silence, and then an amused voice said, "Yes, I suppose you did."

Christine pushed herself to her feet, and then felt through the darkness until she found Erik. Immediately, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. "What happened after I passed out?"
Erik frowned, hesitated, and then began to tell her.

xxxxx

Erik landed on his feet, much like a cat would. Of course, he had been expecting the fall, and had positioned himself so that he wouldn't get hurt.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten to warn Christine.

He heard her gasp of surprise as the floor gave out beneath her. Then, when they had landed, there was silence.

A wave of terror passed through him. What had he done! Frantically, he knelt down next to her, and carefully lifted her into his arms.

There were angry shouts from above, and he knew at once that he would be pursued. Someone, one of the officers, most likely, was beginning to form a mob. The yells of rage, which once he had laughed at, now sent shivers through his spine. He had Christine to think of now, and if she was harmed, he'd never forgive himself.

Erik walked as quickly as he dared down the passageways. Christine would have to wake up soon… she would have to! He didn't know how long they could stay in his lair without being discovered.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, they reached the lake, and he rowed to the other side. As soon as they got inside his home, he gently set Christine down on a pile of cushions in the Music Room, and waited anxiously for her to recover consciousness.

xxxxx

"So the mob is coming? How much time has passed?" Christine asked at once.

"Too much." Erik sighed. "They'll be here soon. We only have two choices… there's no way we can run now, Christine, we'll be caught."

Christine nodded, trembling slightly.

"We can either hide, or I'll fight them while you run."

"We hide." she said instantly.

"Christine… I would feel better if…"

She stopped him with a shake of her head. "We're hiding, Erik, and that's that. I won't let you fight them alone… and I never want to see you kill again, let alone be killed."

He sighed, opened his mouth to argue, then stopped. He could hear voices echoing in the passageways. They were here.

Christine looked at him calmly. "Where are we hiding, Erik?"

"Follow me." he crossed the room, and slid aside a case of musical instruments. Behind it was a dark passageway.

Christine shivered, but followed him inside.
Erik took one last look at his music room. It had been his only solace for many, many years. Music had been his one true love, the only thing good in his life. With a sigh of sadness, he slid the case back into place and locked it. Christine was with him now, and he would give it all up for her.

"Erik," she asked softly, "Where does this passageway lead?"

He frowned. "It used to be a way out, but now it's a dead end. The ceiling collapsed, to my shame. I think it was the first time I ever made anything that didn't work as it was supposed to."

Christine hid a grin at his obvious dislike of imperfection, and didn't say anything about it.

A moment later, there was a heart-stopping crash as the door to the music room shattered. She gasped, and then bit her lip until it bled.

The sounds of destruction were almost more than she could bear, and she could only imagine how Erik felt.

Erik carefully kept the emotions from his face, not wanting to upset Christine. Every shatter he heard pierced his heart, and he immediately knew exactly what had been broken.

He counted them off in his mind. The coffin… the cases of instruments…the violin…

The list went on and on, but he stood quietly and took it all.

At least, until he heard the echoing clang of metal on metal. The sound vibrated through him and shook him to the core, making him collapse to his knees. The organ! A cry of pain escaped his lips before he could stop himself.

Fortunately, no one heard it over the sounds of destruction but Christine.

Erik was now crying silently. This had been his life. Everything he knew… everything he loved… was gone. Everything, that is, except Christine. He wouldn't lose her now by being foolish and giving away their hiding place.

He shut his eyes and tried to block out the terrible sounds, but it was impossible.

The next hour was one of the worst in his entire life. It was worse than his mother refusing to kiss him, worse than the gypsies tormenting, worse than the looks of fear on people's faces when they saw him. No, it was worse by far. In this hour, the only happiness that he had ever had in his tortured life was being shattered, little by little.

At long last, the sounds stopped.

"He's not here!" Someone cried out.

There were several faint responses, but Erik didn't catch them.

Then, there was a long, blissful silence.

After about a half an hour, Christine bent down and gently helped Erik to his feet. She was pale and shaking, and there were streaks down her face left by fallen tears.

"Erik, they're gone. They left a while ago."

He took a shaky breath. "You're sure? All of them?"

Christine nodded.

"Then…then I suppose…I'll have to face it sometime…"

He closed his eyes as Christine unlocked the hidden passageway, and pushed the case aside. She gasped.

Erik kept his eyes closed tightly, not wanting to see what he knew he would when he opened them.

"Erik…don't look." Christine choked. "I'll lead you out… please don't look…"

He couldn't stop himself. Immediately, his eyes opened. He cried out in anguish, and Christine ran to him.

He leaned on her for support as he surveyed the damage. The mob had destroyed everything, down to the smallest scrap of music.

The organ was smashed, the cases of instruments were shattered, and their contents strewn around and broken. All of the sheet music he had written had been burned, and there were scorch marks on the walls from where the mob had apparently attempted to burn the room down.

They didn't bother checking through the other rooms of the house. It was bad enough having to leave through the ones they did.

Every piece of art was completely destroyed. Nothing had been spared.

Erik tried not to look as he walked by, but he couldn't help but hope that something, something, had survived.

But nothing had.

Finally, they reached the lake. Christine wanted to go back to her dressing room. The boat, which Erik had hid, was surprisingly still intact. It was the only thing that made it.

Erik's turned for one last look at the place that had been his home for so many years. It was cold and empty, and the doors swayed softly on the hinges, some slightly crooked. Most of the windows were broken, and in one of the higher rooms, someone had managed to set at least one of the rooms on fire.

Erik turned away, trying to ignore the pain. That was his old life, he had to let it go…if not for his sake, then at least for Christine's.

Christine looked up at him, and then back at the house. Fresh tears ran down her cheeks. "I'm sorry Erik…I'm really, really sorry."

Erik shook his head. "There's nothing for you to be sorry about."

(A/N: Okay, I'm sorry this chapter was short, but it was too depressing to be long. I couldn't stand writing it. It took me two hours for the first two pages, and another whole hour for the last half-page. Yeah. It was bad… Anyway, please R+R to make me feel better! Lol, please? ((begs.))