MW: Hello. This is a fic that actually popped out of an interesting debate that took place last year about POTO. Hopefully it's different and original. If not well, then I know I hit a rut. Please be kind, because I'm posting this against my gut feeling. (Sometime I very rarely do.) Since I've been hearing rumor of rabid writers ripping about new writers, I try to avoid those sections like the plague. But I love POTO a lot (all different versions of it), so I wanted to post this. This takes place after the musical with some elements of the book. (I'm sorry for mixing thing. Gomen)  Let's see, what else, oh yeah, No Flames are allowed, but pointing any grammar or canon mistakes are (since my book is now missing). I'm not perfect, in fact I'll be the first one to admit it. Anyways enjoy this story, if you don't, well, then don't read. On with the show.

Second Chance

Chapter 1- Erik's Journey

Erik sat at his organ. In the distance he could hear the mob coming. This is it, the end of his life here at the Opera House. He looked at the ring in his hand. The one Christine gave back to him. The feeling of rejection coursed through him. She didn't want to remember him or have any reminders of him as she went to start her life again.

Erika gripped the ring tightly prepared to throw it away. Just before he let it go, his hand tightened it grip around it. Slowly he looked at it again. The gold winked at him seductively. For some unknown reason, he put it in the pocket of his jacket by his heart. Even as he died, Christine would always be near his heart.

He walked to his chair and sat down. A sense of peace settled over him as he readied himself for the mob coming his way. As he closed his eyes, he could hear the intruders enter his house.

Why are you giving up, Erik? A voice asked him softly.

"There is nothing for me to live for. She is gone." Erik thought in response.

What if I can give you something to live for? The voice asked him again. Erik decided it was female and very light. Absently he wondered if he was going crazy. Not that it didn't matter since he was about to die anyways.

You don't have to. I can save you. Do you want me to?

Erik was about to question the voice farther when he heard the sound of a hundred footsteps enter the room. Absently he heard someone shout at his unmoving form. He relaxed his body as a hundred hands grabbed at him. This was it, the end of his life. His attackers hit him with their fist and weapons. The mask cracked and shattered under the onslaught of the blows. Erik felt his ribs crack as they kicked him. A groan escaped his otherwise silent lips.

He opened his eyes to see the hateful faces of his attackers. People who once feared him, sneered at him in ridicule. He was sure they were enjoying this chance to destroy the man who they once feared. He could hear their taunts as they continue to hurt him. One pair of eyes stood out from the others. A pair of compassionate brown eyes met his. White hair flowed around her face. Erik stared at her as the blows continued to come. The contact broke as someone stabbed him with a knife.

Erik howled in pain. A primitive instinct took over and he began to fight back.  He hit a few of them as he tried to scare them away. They got their revenge, now they should just let him die in peace. This surge of energy only lasted a few minutes before Erik collapsed to the ground. He noticed that the mob had left and he was alone. Erik closed his eyes and prepared to slowly die.

You don't have to die.

Erik's eyes snapped open at the sound of the female voice again. Crouched in front of him was the young girl with white hair. She was dressed in tight black pants and a black shirt with a silver ankh on it. Around her neck was a dog collar with an ankh hanging from it.

"Let me die in peace." Erik whisper to her pleadingly.

You won't die in peace like this. You don't have die. Her voice filled in his head although her mouth never moved.

"I'm better off dead. There is no place that will accept me."

There is a place. I can take you there. You are needed there.

"Why are you bothering to try and save me?"

There was no reply from the girl. Erik figured as much. He wasn't worth saving. Coldly he watched as the girl stood up and looked down at him. He was waiting for her to leave him there to die. She stared at him. Her brown eyes searched his as if to gauge his thoughts. Erik felt like she was seeing his soul. He wanted her gone.

"I'm not worth saving. My hands are covered with blood." Erik spat her hoping to drive her away faster.

Then she did something every unexpected, she spoke, "And mine aren't?"

Erik watched as a scythe appeared in her hand. Her eyes glowed with a dark light. Erik would have crawled away from her if he wasn't in so much pain. She reached a hand out to him. An offer to him to trust her.

I have watched you for years, Erik Noir. I have seen what you have endured in this life. Please allow me to give you a chance to live.

Erik looks at her out stretched hand. She was offering him a chance to try again. Erik looked at her face to see if she was trustworthy. He was constantly betrayed in his life. However, it would serve him right to be betrayed now at the end. Should he take it?

Trust me, Erik. I won't steer you wrong.

Erik reached for her hand. She smiled at him so radiantly. Erik wondered if she was an angel since a bright light seem to glow around her. Erik closed his eyes. It was an illusion, that's all. Why would any angel try and save him. He was only a worthless deformed creature of the night. Nothing could make up for the things he had done. The deaths he had caused.

Everyone deserves another chance. Everyone is worth saving, including you, Angel of Music. You will be needed in time. Don't deny them yourself. That is all they want a mentor to guide them. You can guide them. Let them love you.

Erik felt his being be picked up and dropped. He fell for what seemed like an eternity. Erik wondered where he was going. Probably hell, the one place he belonged. After an eternity, he felt the ground form beneath him. Absently he wondered why the grass was soft and the wind cool. Wasn't hell supposed to be hot and painful? He moved slightly and pain flowed through his body. He groaned loudly as his mind became clouded by the pain. He prayed the end would come quickly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was cool night. The wind whipped off the gorge by the small university. Through the night, a group of voices flowed. They were cheerful and joking around with each other. Soon on the edge of the campus a small group of student walked on to the property. They were different is size, shape and gender. Yet, they seem to share a common bond with each other.

The tallest one broke away from the others. His curly sandy blonde hung around his bearded face. Despite being the youngest, he looked the eldest. The unofficial leader of the small band of misfits, he was rarely serious. Even now he stood in an overly dramatic way as if to propose a toast. The others of the group was trying not to laugh at his ridiculous look.

"Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Lend me your ears!" The tall man proclaimed loudly.

"Hell no, Kurt!" A bespectacled boy in the back shouted over the other, "We need them for class tomorrow."

"Speak for yourself, Taylor!" A petite brunette with glasses and a fishing hat shouted from the front, "I got Ethics with Doctor Helman."

"Yeah!" A lanky young boy with messy blonde hair agreed, "Plus History of Music with Signora Carlotta Deaglasse."

A collective groan swept over the group. Taylor even groaned at being reminded of his schedule. Kurt blinked at the depression that settled over his friends. That would never do for him. Determined, he called for their attention again.

"My friends, what is this I hear? Groans of defeat, so soon in the semester?" Kurt declared in disbelief. "Mira, Felix, have your teachers defeated that sense of fun, you displayed not so long ago."

A thin young man with brown hair standing next to Taylor smiled, "What should we do, Kurt?"

"I'm glad you asked Christian!" Kurt beamed, "We shall not bend to the tyrants of Niagara. We shall give them what for. Are you with me?"

An African-American woman pumped her fist in the air, "Hell yeah, Kurt. I'm in."

"Wonderful, Ebony." Kurt smiled

Mira smiled at her best friend, "Why not? You haven't steered me wrong yet, you nut."

Felix considered the possibilities, "Do you think we can get Carlotta to retire this year?"

A short young man next to Felix smirked evilly, "Let's make that our goal this year."

"An excellent cause, Dean. All in favor say aye!"

 "AYE!" came the thunderous reply. Kurt smiled at his group of friend. This year Niagara won't know what hit it. He was about to tell them his plan when A loud groan reached their ears. Kurt turned towards the open field in front of the nearest dorm, Lynch. He felt the other join him as they scanned the field for some sign of life. Mira joined Kurt's side.

"Tell me we heard that." Mira asked.

Kurt nodded, "Someone is out there."

"Should we go and get campus safety?" Felix asked in general as another groan echoed through the night.

Ebony took a step out towards the noise, "Someone could be in trouble."

"I agree. Let's help. Then we can alert Campus Safety." Taylor nodded as he walked out. Soon the group was following him out to the noise. As they got closer they noticed a limp form lying in the grass. A few hung back as they walked towards it. Kurt, Mira, Ebony, and Taylor knelt down next to the fallen man. Ebony grimaced at the sight of its face. Taylor pulled out a pocket flash light and clicked in on. A horrified gasp came over the group, drawing the others closer.

"What's wrong?" Dean called out.

Mira shouted back, "How could anyone do this someone else?"

"He needs help." Kurt observed as he tried to stop a stab wound from bleeding.

Ebony pulled off her bandana and handed it to him, "Use this."

"Thanks." Kurt smiled as he pressed the clean bandana against the cut.

"Is he even alive?" Taylor asked as Mira checked his vital signs. 

Mira face was grim as she looked up, "He has a pulse but it's very faint. We need to get him inside. I can get a better look at his wounds."

Soon the other screwed up enough courage to join the others. Dean looked over Mira's shoulder as she tried to see every wound on the strange man's body. Taylor used his flashlight to guide her. Dean gasped at the sight of his face. Felix walked up and looked at the face in shock.

"Was he jumped?" Felix asked urgently, "Just look at his face."

"I don't know but they did a number on him that's for sure." Mira responded, as she checked his ribs, "He has some damage to his ribs."

"He has damage everywhere." Christian noticed, "He is soaked in blood."

"He needs help. We need to get him help." Ebony stated, "Maybe Father can help us get him to the hospital."

"We can't afford a hospital right now. All of us are broke remember." Taylor pointed out.

"We still need to take him somewhere. Father's would be best. He is the closet." Mira suggested, "We can use his cloak to carry him."

"But we could do more damage." Christian pointed out.

Kurt stood up, "We'll risk it. He needs help now."

Everyone agreed. Carefully, they positioned the man in the middle of the cloak. Using their collective energy, they  picked him up with ease. Slowly they walked to a small house with the lights on the far side of the campus.