Whoo...some of you HATE me right now...lol...it's okay guys. It's gonna be ok!
Thanks for the reviews! I think at this point I'll mention a few things.
A lot of your were pissed because you were like, hey, how the F did Raoul overcome Erik? ERIK IS THE INVINCIBLE PHANTOM! hahah...
Well, one of the main points I've been reinforcing in this story is that Erik is a human. He was just never given the chance to behave like one. He is not invincible...sexy as all get out, but not invincible. Plus, love can be distracting.
And the short lines. I like it! I can't help it! I write in statements, not paragraphs. hahaha! I know it's not for everyone, but I think it would be weird if I changed my format at THIS point, right? lol...
Two things you need to know about this chapter...One, we're backtracking a little. Two, someone is about to die.
evil laugh
-Nico
She turned to him. "May I have just a moment alone, Erik?" She asked softly.
Erik hesitated.
"Just a moment," Christine repeated.
He nodded. "I shall be right outside of those doors," he said, pointing to the back entrance to the stage.
Christine nodded, kissing him fully on the lips.
And with a flair of his cape, he left her alone on the stage.
He hadn't wanted to leave her alone, not in a space that had proven over the years to be so dangerous.
Yet he had known she needed this closure.
Besides, he would not be far.
The wooden hallways behind the main stage of the Opera Populaire had always echoed strange noises. Even as Erik stood there now, he smiled at the sounds.
They were actually comforting to him.
His mind began to drift to the years he had spent maneuvering the hidden passageways and staircases within the theater. He had had access to nearly every nook of the large building. He knew things that others merely suspected.
And he could remember it all…
Including the precise moment he had fallen in love with Christine Daee.
"Meg, you're terrible!" Christine giggled, rushing into the bedroom she shared with her friend.
"It's the truth, Christine!" Meg laughed breathlessly. "And then after he kissed me he said, "It was like tasting the heavens!""
The two girls collapsed into a giggling heap in front of the mirror Erik was standing behind.
It had been Summertime, and the two pretty girls were wearing almost identical summer dresses, Meg's a pale green and Christine's the light blue, the color the 15-year old adored above all others.
Christine's brown hair was loose, as she was still young enough to wear it as such. Large doe eyes, ruddy cheeks and full lips offset her pale face.
She was beautiful, Erik realized.
The girls sat in front of each other a short distance from the mirror. Had the smooth glass not been between them, Erik could have reached out and ran his fingers down Christine's smooth face.
"Oh, Meg," Christine was saying, still laughing. "I think it's romantic," she said of her friend's first kiss. "I want my first kiss to be one that takes my very breath away. One that I shall never forget…the kiss of true love."
Meg laughed again. "You and your dreams, Christine," she chided. "I doubt very seriously that your first kiss will be with your true love."
Christine suddenly looked at the mirror, although she did not know Erik was watching.
Still, it startled him.
"Perhaps not," Christine relented. "I meant that when I do finally kiss my true love, it shall feel like my first kiss, and I will never want to kiss another."
Meg sighed, lost in the sweet, innocent picture Christine had painted for her.
Erik had never noticed his heartbeat before, but upon hearing the talented young woman's description, a warmth had spread through him.
It had been the first time feelings of an amicable nature towards another human being had coursed through his body.
Lost in his thoughts, Erik did not hear Raoul's footsteps behind him.
Nor did he hear the sound of a thickly coiled lasso being swung through the air.
He did, however, feel the rope as it encircled his throat, nearly cutting off his entire supply of air.
Erik was suddenly jerked backwards, landing on his back.
Looking up into the eyes of Raoul, who was smiling.
"How does it feel to be on the other side of the rope?" The younger man hissed, obviously pleased with himself.
Enraged, Erik began to struggle, trying to simultaneously rise to his feet and pull the rope from his neck.
Both proved impossible. Raoul had the advantage, having pre-planned this attack.
How predictable Christine was, Raoul thought as he brought the heavy pipe down onto Erik's body, causing the man to double over in pain.
Raoul knew she would have to return at least once more. He knew she could not just forget this place.
It had meant too much to her.
He had also known he would be with her.
And so he had waited, watched and listened from behind the curtains.
When she had asked for a moment alone, Raoul had almost laughed.
How fortunate he was!
He kicked the already injured Erik in the ribs and squatted down beside the fallen man, keeping the lasso tight in his hand.
"Have you missed me, Good Monsieur?" Raoul asked.
Erik looked over at him, somehow managing to find the strength to struggle once more, this time making it to his feet and landing a punch across Raoul's face.
Raoul responded by tightening the noose once more, instantly bringing Erik to his knees.
"She…doesn't love…doesn't love you," Erik managed to growl. Raoul's eyes darkened. "Would you…sacrifice her happiness for yours?" Erik continued, the rope painfully tightening once more.
"Do not speak to me," Raoul barked, moving closer to Erik. He stood before him. "It seems our roles have reversed," he continued. "It seems I am now the one creating the terms."
Erik watched as Raoul pulled a sleek dagger from the sheath at his waist. "Only this time, I will not be so foolish as to let her go."
And with that, he plunged the dagger into Erik's midsection.
Erik doubled over once more, his sight blurry as he watched Raoul enter the stage.
He must have passed out for a moment, because the next thing Erik knew, he was being dragged back onto the stage by Raoul with his hands tied behind his back.
He struggled once more and was met with several blows to his face, the final once bringing him to the ground once more.
"Erik!" Christine shrieked, instantly running to where he lay.
Raoul instantly knelt next to Erik, pulling him up by his hair and placing the dagger to his throat.
Christine stopped in her tracks.
"Raoul! What are you doing?" Christine wailed, feeling as if she might be ill.
"Let's see how you choose now, Christine, now that I am the monster who is in control!" Raoul yelled back, tears visible on his face.
Erik's eyes fluttered open, focusing on Christine.
"Christine…whatever…whatever he asks of you…do not agree," he whispered, blood trickling down his chin. "Don't throw your life away for my sake.."
"Shut up!" Raoul roared, pulling his hair tighter.
"Raoul, stop it!" Christine cried, watching as the white shirt Erik wore beneath his dark suit became stained with his own blood.
"Shall we three play another game?" Raoul asked in his desperate voice. "Shall we truly rehash the ghosts of so long ago? Tell me Erik, what was the choice you once placed before our beautiful Miss Daee? Ah yes…"
He looked to Christine, his eyes wild and foreign.
"Start a new life with me," Raoul growled. "Buy his freedom with your love. Refuse me and you send your lover to his death," he caught his rasping breath. "This is the choice. This is the point of no return."
Tears fell down Christine's face as she watched Erik, caught helplessly in Raoul's grasp.
She opened her mouth to speak, to say something, anything to save Erik. His eyes were locked with hers. How she loved him! She would give her life for him!
And his eyes told her the same.
It wasn't fair, that this love, this purity, this climax of incidence and accidents would end like this. A sob escaped her lips. Raoul wouldn't stop here. No matter what she chose, he would win. Even if she chose him, he would kill Erik.
Suddenly, a single, sharp, loud shot rang through the Opera Populaire.
And Christine realized this time the choice had been made for her.
Raoul was dead.