Phantom Resurrected

Chapter 14

Desiree stood in the long corridor that lead to the manger's office holding her hands over the elaborate gown and pondered. There had been so many unanswered questions since she had traveled back to her former life, and a good amount of them still reminded the same. What was she suppose to be in this past life? Both of her parents had been reluctant to discuss anything.

Christine was constantly trying to change the subject, and Erik had developed efficient yet subtle ways of avoiding them all together. And why had they both being acting so strangely when they were together? What had happen between them?
Since she knew the road to information was blocked by Erik and Christine, Dessy decided there might only be one person who could help her find a clue to her past. She made her way down the hall and lightly tapped on the door.

"Come on in." Jacob's voice answered somberly. She pushed open to door to see Jacob hunched over his desk, his tie loosen and his wavy hair spilling over his forehead and his fingers which where furiously rubbing his temples.

"Good morning." Dessy whispered, causing Jacob to sit bolt upright in his chair and stare at her confused.

"Desiree.I mean Miss Demeters, what are you doing here? You should be resting!" he exclaimed rising to his feet and straighten himself.

"I felt better after the breakfast and hot water you gave me this morning. Besides I really wanted to see you. So your butler fetched me a cab and I came here."

He pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit down. "But why did you want to see me?"

"I was hoping you could answer some question for me. Remember when we first meet and you mentioned something about a person named Erik Destler." Jacob nodded. "Who was he, really?"

"Why does it matter to you Desiree?"

"Because I want to know who this person was that Matthews thought I had a connection to, that's why." Dessy stated feeling a stab of anger penetrating her voice.

"Do you think you're in danger?" He asked

Dessy's head slumped slightly in her shoulders. "I'm not sure really."

"Well you have more trouble with Matthews than with Erik Destler."

She started teasing a small curl that hung by her neck. "What do you mean by that?"

Jacob went back to his desk and started arrange papers. He seemed so nervous. Dessy could see the stress building up on him, and staying up all night to watch over her probably didn't help

"Because Erik Destler last anyone has heard has been dead for at least twenty years." Dessy twisted the fold of her dress she had been fidgeting with even harder. She took a deep breath.

"But who was he?"

"He was a composer, but the police at Scotland Yard had him as the lead suspect for about a dozen serial murders years ago. But they never caught him. Seems like the police can't catch anyone nowadays." He glanced at her briefly and then turned away. Dessy had a talent for reading people.

"There's more isn't there?" she asked plainly.

Jacob looked at her and smiled. "I really shouldn't burden you with the details."

"Please."

"All right then." He sighed encircling his desk as he spoke. "Destler was said to be obsessed with Christine Day, your aunt when she first came to sing here. He abducted her at one of the opera's parties-a masked ball of some sort. The police followed him down to his lair in the cellars of the opera. Well, the inspector said he saw Destler die in the flames and Christine disappeared after that. It's the last we heard of the whole scandal until you and Christine came here." He placed a hand on the desk. "You don't think you're in any danger, do you?"

Dessy folded her shaky hands in her lap and tried to shake her head no, but it looked more like a rapid uncertain jerk. Jacob saw this and went to her side. "I would never want anyone to hurt you. I want to protect you. You'll let me know if you're in any kind of trouble?" Dessy rose to her feet slowly and Jacob took her hand and kissed it. "I'm here for you."

Dessy smiled and reached a hand over to rest on the side of his face. "I understand that Jacob and I appreciate all that you've done for me." She whispered gently and then leaned over to kiss him softly on the cheek. Pulling back, Jacob turned his head and returned her display of affection with one of his own. She didn't pull away when Jacob's lips rested against hers, in fact she let herself relax in his arms and close her eyes. His gentle hands caressed her hair and neck before he jerked away suddenly. He looked at her as if he thought he was going to be hit.

"I'm sorry. Please, I didn't mean to be so rude." He stammered

She shook her head and smiled. "Sorry for what?"

His eyes grew even wider in shock. "You mean you're not offended by...my actions."

Dessy had to allow herself a small laugh. "Mr. Danvers, it obvious you've never been to New York City. It would take much more than that to offend me."

Christine watched Erik as he played the organ. His fingers pounded on the keys with such power that his back and limbs were shaking from the force. As she mounted the steps to where the organ was perched, she couldn't help think of him as some Greek God playing his instrument. Like Apollo and his lyre, Erik could make his music sound like the sobs and wails of a human heart.

Christine was sure it was intentional. She finally reached him. He stopped playing and Christine leaned against the side of the keyboard. "Bravo, Erik." She whispered. He looked at her admiringly and let his fingers enclose her hand.

"Yes, Bravo Maestro!" a sarcastic voice replied from below them. Both Erik and Christine turned to see to whom the voice belonged to. They saw Desiree leaning against the door frame. She had traded in her long dress for a baggy male dress shirt and men's pants. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes narrowed at them. Christine had seen that look before on her to know it did not mean good news.

Erik stood up and went to greet her. "There you are Dessy. We where worried about you."

She turned her head away from him. "Worried? Who would ever be worried about me?" she asked cynically.

Erik looked confused as he glanced back to Christine and then back to Dessy. "Well, your mother and I, we would. We didn't know where you were."

Desiree's eyes looked at her father like a pair of burning coals. "Why didn't you tell me, Erik?" she demanded flatly. Christine was surprised by the roughness of Dessy's voice and even more surprised to watch Erik take a step back from his own daughter with some nervousness. He held at a hand for Christine to take as they watched her.

"Tell you about what?" Erik asked

"Everything!" Dessy shouted slamming one of her fist against the honeycombed wall. "The murders, the obsession." She pointed at both of the in turn. "The reason mother you always acted so strangely for being a former lover and why you Erik are always acting so mysterious. Why couldn't you tell me yourselves?"

Christine felt Erik's grip tighten on her own and knew his temper was starting to rise. She decided to step in. "Desiree, how dare you talk to us that way, and how dare you decide to listen to all those rumors than us. We're your parents!"

Dessy's head shot to cover her ears. "Damnit mom, stop treating me like a kid. I know the secrets now. All you ever told me was a bunch of lies, fucking lies."

Erik broke away and Christine thought for a monument her would strike Dessy. "Never talk that way to your mother again!" he shouted, into a face that seemed to ignore him no matter what his rage. "You want me to tell you everything you've heard is true, is that what you want?"

"No" she replied coolly, enjoying the confused look on both of their faces. She went to the wall and placed her hands over two candle holders that where actually rusted blades shoved into the wall. She pulled them out and tossed on to Erik which he caught with ease. "I want you to prove it. Prove to me you are no 'Phantom of the Opera' as they say you are." Christine saw

Erik cringe at the mention of his former title as he took a step forward. She reached out a hand to try and stop him.

"Erik, no." The she turned to her daughter "Desiree stop this. You don't know what you're doing."

Erik shook her off. "Christine, stay back." He looked at Desiree. "Are you sure this is what you want, this is the way you want to settle this?" he asked her with a soft coolness in his causal tone.

"Indeed it is. If you are who to pled to be, then hold nothing back." She replied bringing her blade in front of her face in a fencing stance. Erik matched her move holding his blade inches from her's.

"Fine, if that's what you want. But I only hide the truth from you before because I was trying to be a good father." He admitted with sincerity.

Dessy blew a lock of hair away from her forehead. "Save it." She attacked first lunging towards his shoulder, but Erik quickly defended her off. He brought his blade over her head which she blocked. The echo of the clashing blades rang throughout the cavernous lair. Christine put her hands to her ears to block out the noise and she watched Erik and Desiree continue to spar. From the looks of it, she thought they were only fighting to test each other skills, even though Christine couldn't imagine where Dessy could have gain fencing practice. They wouldn't try to hurt each other, would they?

The two blades danced back in forth, as Erik and Dessy shuffled their feet in a circular pattern around the room. They stared at each other with such coldness, as if they were enemy predators, waiting for the right moment to attack. Suddenly Erik swiped sideways with his weapon missing Dessy's chest by inches. The force of the strike and the surprise of it cause her to lose her balance. When Christine saw Dessy stumble backwards onto the floor, with Erik leaning his blade over her neck, she realized this was no game.

Erik hunched over Dessy, the blade right on her neck. "Now give this up." He whispered. "You'll never win, no one wins against me." Dessy stared up at her father, her heart racing her breathing shaking her whole body. She glared up at him, and a coy smile spread over her face.

"Until today." She said. She gave a low snicker and then trusted her foot out between Erik's legs, in hopes of knocking him to the floor. Erik wobbled, using the wall to steady him but it gave Dessy enough time to jump to her feet and keep on her attack.

Again the two started the deadly dance of death with blades clashing and the limbs moving frantically through the air. Erik managed to pin Desiree against a shelve holding all of his scores of music, the two rocked back and forth trying to over throw each other. Music fell and spilled over the floor.

"Desiree, Erik, Stop this! Both of you!" Christine called rushing to them, trying vainly to stop the fight.

"Mom, stay out of this!" Dessy shouted back through gritting teeth. "You're just going to keep in the way and get hurt."

"You both are going to kill yourself if you don't stop this fighting." Christine managed to catch her daughter's eye for a moment as Dessy stared at her. "You can't beat him, Desiree." She spoke softly. "No one can, your father is the Phantom, it's true. I'm sorry I never told you before."

Dessy turned back to the fight, her eyes growing even angrier. "No!" she shouted. "I won't lose!" With a burst of strength, she managed to throw Erik off her. Off his guard, Erik didn't see Dessy's blade coming straight towards him.

"NO!" Christine cried, almost too shocked to look. Dessy's blade meet the end of Erik's with such force, it sent the weapon sprawling from his hand, falling across the room out of reach. Quickly she brought her blade to rest on the side of his face pinning him to the wall. Christine was speechless and she could tell Erik was too.

Dessy's breathing came out in hard huffs of air, shaking her entire upper frame. "You." she whispered

"Desiree, I can explain everything now." Erik said.

"I don't want to hear it! You let me win, you let me! I said hold nothing back."

"But, I didn't..."

There was a long pause and then it was shattered when Dessy threw her blade on the floor. "You're a liar." She hissed, turning to Erik and then to Christine. "Both of you."

And with that she left sobbing into the catacombs, before any of them could stop her.

The hot salty tears followed down Dessy's cold cheeks as she walked aimlessly through the streets of London. The cold wind stung at her fingertips and ears and she could hear all the sounds of the unpleasant dealings of the East End, but it didn't matter to her now. Nothing mattered anymore. Dessy leaned over a barrel of standing water that was in one corner of the alley. She saw her reflection in the water, and was disgusted by her drippy tears and red eyes.

She commanded herself mental to stop crying, but she couldn't, the emotion of betrayal was just too much now. All her life, it had been nothing but lie after lie it seemed. Her foster parents had breed her to live the lie that they where a happy family, when they where far from it. Her mother had acted like she was pretending she had never had a daughter. And then Erik, the one person she could actually connect with someone she could trust. A father, someone to take care of her after being neglected for so long, harbored the biggest secret and lie of them all.

She felt some when brush against her back and she turned to them, trying no to look weak. She could see the shadow of a tall man. "Excuse me love, do you have the time?" he asked.

Dessy sniffed back a tear. "No I don't, now get the hell away from me." She hissed.

"Well that's too bad ain't it?" he said and the Desiree felt a strong pair of arms over power her, pulling her back against a cold body. Before she could scream, a hand placed something damp over her mouth. She dare to taste it, it was like dirt and rust and the strong fumed invaded her nostrils as if she had been hit. Her eyes widen in shocked as she realized what had just happened. The drug knocked her out cold before she had a chance to get away.

A/N: Ah what can I say, sorry this chapter sucks everybody, I promise the next ones will be better.