Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

A Phantom Fanfiction

Fairywings817

Author's note: Sorry for another delay. School was busy this week, and I had gotten sick, so I missed a test and a drivers ed quiz. Which… I still need to go in and take. –cough- And now, my voice is almost gone to my disappointment. So that means, I can no longer sing the soundtrack in the shower. –sigh- Anywhoo… You all are going to hate this chapter. I know it… Because there is a rather…large cliffy at the end of this. I only have half written on paper, and again, the rest is just going to be typed up.

Review Responses:

Bobmcbobbob1: Yes. I was wondering when someone would ask that question. The POV of Erik and Christine are happening at the same time, and I tried to drop some hints in the chapters about it. But I guess they may not be that obvious. As to when both characters are bound to meet up… -long pause and a grin- You'll see in time.

LazyCat:-laugh- I suppose not. I'm just glad I only have one quarter to go, and I'm anticipating my report card in the mail any day now. But… as to the chapter. –another grin- You'll see what happens.

Chapter Four: 'Then My World Was Shattered'

His breathing was ragged and deep as he stared at the vast damage of his home. The mirrors were all broken in pieces that could never be repaired, cracking under the heavy weight of his boots as he moved. All but a few candles had been blown out and thrown to the ground in disarray, in the wake of his anger. His music cluttered the ground – no use found in the simple black script and lettering. His song now gone, he no longer cared what happened to him. The mob may kill him, but they would only succeed in giving him what he wanted. His soul would be condemned to hell, just was it always was. And he would leave her for good.

He did not know whether he should watch her from afar… But he knew her new husband was sure to keep her out of danger.

The damn fop took his place.

With a grunt, he forced himself to walk to his room, his eyes trailing upon the dark swan bed in front of him. The velvet wine colored sheets glistened under the candles that were lit.

"Christine…" He breathed out yet again, and for the final time. Her essence filled the room enough to make it feel as if someone was holding his heart tightly in their hands. He could still see her lying there, in only her night slip, her curls handing over her shoulders and spraying onto the dark pillows around her. He still remembered the precise falling and rising of her chest. The warm breath coming from slightly parted lips. The dart of her eyes as she slept a dreamful sleep.

And with each memory and thought, and yearn… He found it hard to even stand in the room. It was suffocating him. Smothering him with such want that he could no longer bear it. And he would no longer bear it, soon enough. Swallowing back another sob that wished to come, he turned and walked out of the room, breathing in heavily. This was it. He would either leave the Opera Populair for good, or end his life, and leave hers completely….

She frantically made her way through the freezing waters, repeating over and over in her mind that he would be there. She knew he would not be waiting… She knew she had broken him. But what is broken must be fixed, and she fully believed she could.

And even so, with such drive and adrenaline pumping through her veins, she found that it had become harder and harder for her to make her way through the waters. The dress was weighing her down, and with such breaths she took, her corset was making it far worse.

Yet she had to press on. For his sake, at least.

The water was becoming deeper, and for a moment, she had wondered if she had gotten lost. But there wasn't time for apprehension. She wouldn't let it hold her back. She would push forward, and find him… If she could.

"Angel!" She yelled out, her voice breaking as she did. It was hard to breathe, hard to move, and hard to even think. But all she knew, was she had to go back to him.

'Angel'

There it was. He had heard her voice again. And for a quick second, hope filled his entire being. His gaze fell to the calm waters of the lake, but he had caught himself quickly. No. It was only his mind playing tricks on him. He would not allow such hope to build, only to be shattered. For that was always how it had been.

He shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts, making his way through the main room of his caverns. His gaze trailed the untouched and seemingly perfect organ, and he ignored the urge to play it once more in a simple finality of the matter at hand. He ignored the aches in his fingers, in his arms, in his mind. He ignored it all, knowing it was useless to even extend his attachment.

And again he repeated… It's all over.

He walked onward, listening to the cracks and shuffles his boots made upon the cluttered floor. He could not stay here. He would not stay here and take the cowards way out. The way he yearned to take… It was weak, and the Phantom was never weak.

The tunnels became brighter as she shifted through continuously, and she noted the waters were only slightly warmer. Could she have been advancing upon her goal? She bit her lip in anticipation, seeing familiar landmarks. The familiar carving and intricate designs in the stone walls. She remembered it all the first night she was brought down to his lair, and it was a memory that would never leave her.

She knew now… She only needed to turn the corner up ahead, and she would be rejoined with her angel. That blasted corner that seemed so far off to her now, would lead to their future.

If he would still have her.

A ghost of a smirk found its way across his lips. The façade he would bare from this day forward. His gaze fell upon one of his discarded masks and he wondered if he should take it. It would surely make things easier for him, and would keep his known look among the ballerina rats and even the high distinguished guests of the Opera House. They would surely return once repairs were completed to the building, as would he.

Thoughts completed, he lifted the white mask carefully with an ungloved hand, staring at it for a moment. How could she? How could she love him with such a marred face? With a face that children only had nightmares about? No… He could not blame her. He saw the look in her eyes the first time she had disobeyed him. The night she had pulled off his mask in a simple sense of curiosity, only to be turned into fear.

He remembered her words to her fiancé.

'Raoul, I've seen him.

Can I ever forget the sight?

Can I ever escape from that face?

So distorted, deformed… It was hardly a face.

In that darkness.'

It came down to this. She did not love him, due to the fact that he was a monster. How could a monster flourish with such an angel, and live a happy life?

They couldn't.

He pressed the mask to the left side of his face, hiding the deformities as he always had. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips among the dried tears as he felt the mask meld to his features, forever to hide what is there.

He had passed the Point of No Return long ago, and he now knew he would never, ever go back. Not even for her.

With that final thought, he turned and made his way to the large mirror which was more than it had seemed to the human eye. Just as he was.

One boot in, followed by another, there were no backward glances. The wine colored curtain dropped, just as a thin form ran ungracefully through the waters.

Christine was breathless as she saw the scene before her. The once magical setting now in an image of disaster. The entire room held the pain her angel had surely been going through.

"Angel! Angel! Where are you?" She called as she breathlessly crawled onto the shore.

And again she was greeted with silence and the flick of a candle.

Her angel…Was gone.

Author's Note: -evil, evil laugh- This is not the last chapter! One more to go, but I can not give any promises of a pairing now… However, I am thinking about a quick sequel… It depends on how my next chapter goes. Review? Please? –hides behind Erik so she doesn't get stabbed with pitchforks and the like- xX