Well, then, now I must defend myself from the flying monkeys now, eh? ::goes to basement:: MUAHAHAHAHA!!! They'll never find me down here! ::looks around all paranoid-ish:: Oh, and to Kaya DC Pandora, yay for LOK and Phantom! Oh how I love Raziel. ::drools:: Anywho, I find myself updating, yet again, nothing changes. Bleah. And I am going to take some suggestions and twist the plot some more. How the plot twisting pleases me. And now comes the infamous Buquet scene. YAY DEATH! Anyway, read or I shall send Audron the Phantom Pigeon after you!

Chapter 19: Murderer

Trying to control Erik was a hopeless task. Amile tried so hard to. She knew most of his plans for the night. Ill Muto would end horribly. His sanity seemed to be draining slowly from him. His mad ideas went to their fullest extent and he wrote little notes to himself, mumbling and cursing over things he knew wouldn't work. It was scaring his daughter now, and she knew that this night was going to be chaotic.

Amile sat on her bed in the lair, listening to her father talking happily about how Christine would do. Amile cleared her throat and he shut up. "Yes?" he asked. She brought her eyes down. "Well, I told Madame Giry about this, and that something bad would happen. I tried to warn her. She understood and told the managers, but they aren't going to do what you say." He laughed like someone would laugh at a joke.

"Oh, not going to obey, are they? Well, this night will change their minds."

He laughed again, sending shivers down Amile's spine. Then he regained his composure. He took Amile's hand in his. "My dear daughter, how about joining me tonight for the opera?" She gulped and nodded hesitantly. He stroked her hair gently, "Good, I'm sure tonight's performance will be first rate." She knew her father's sarcasm more than anyone else in the world. Another laugh erupted from him and he went back to planning.

Slowly, she got dressed. She wore a dark blue dress that laced up with black laces in the back. Erik had chosen it for her, thinking she would look beautiful in it, and she did. Erik laced up the back and touched her shoulder gently. "You look like an angel Amile." She merely nodded in thanks, too afraid to be flattered. Planting one last kiss on the top of her head, he went to get ready. She sat on her bed and pulled her knees up to her chest. Grasping her red blanket, she curled up tighter until she heard his voice, a smile evident in it, "Come along darling, time to go."

They went to Box Five and she hid in the shadows while Erik practically leaned out of the box. He seemed so excited that he could barely contain himself. She had never witnessed him being like this. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, hugging her blanket tighter. "I'll be back soon." he said gently. By soon, he probably meant, when I'm done. The door opened and closed and she sat down on the floor, wanting to hide from the world.

The show started and she listened to Carlotta reciting her lines and the songs that followed. That was when Erik's voice boomed into the room, causing gasps. Amile suddenly had a strange feeling in her. She got up and put her blanket around her. She had to stop him before it got out of hand. As Erik did before, she pranced out of the door and ran to the backstage.

It was very crowded and she could sense it. She felt Erik very close by. Much like a dog tracking a scent, she followed it. Then she found him. He was looking down at the stage from one of the rafters, very amused judging by the little laughs coming from him. "What did you do?" she asked angrily. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, nothing too horrible. It will get that toad off the stage though." A disappointed feeling took over her, she was too late. Carlotta started singing when suddenly, she let out the strangest noise to hit Amile's ears. "Co-ack!" A great laugh erupted from Erik. "You see? I have exterminated the vermin!" People laughed at Carlotta, causing her to go into hysterics. The maestro tried to calm everyone down. The curtains shut and Erik took her arm in his hand. "Come along, I don't need you to be here now." She fought against him. "No, there are too many innocent people out there that can get hurt!" He pulled harder.

"Innocent? Have they not all commited at least one sin in their lifetime! I am exterminating the vermin!"

She growled. "Then you would have to exterminate me as well. I am not innocent in any way!" He let go of her in almost a shocked way. Then he settled himself down. "You are nothing like them Amile. You have grown up different. You know what needs to be done and when to do it. As do I." Then he stormed away.

Reluctantly, Amile left the rafters. She felt Erik go back to the place where he stood shortly before. Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh God, what is he going to do?" she said, shivering at the thought. He was Erik, the Phantom of the Opera. He could do anything he wanted. Talent was one thing he had so much of. But she wished he would use it to do better things than what he did sometimes. She liked the music he made and the stories he wrote. But sometimes he scared her with what he did. He never liked anything, but obsessed over it, and that was what scared her.

She could hear the ballet going on below her as she sat in the high rafters. Tears slid from her eyes like streams of water. Her eyes opened suddenly as she heard a struggle going on under her. Quickly, she jumped down from the rafters to where the struggle was. Someone was choking. "No..." she whispered. Erik was killing someone. "NO!" she said loudly. But it was too late again. This time, loud screams came up. Off all of Erik's talents, his talent with the Punjab lasso was deadly. And he proved it. She heard the choking some more until it just stopped. Erik had hung someone. "Daddy..." she said softly. He turned to her and sighed. "And the exterminator wins again." he said gently. Her eyes watered up again. "You murderer!" she yelled. He laughed insanely. "I know I am! But I am no murderer. I am the Phantom of the Opera!" She choked on her tears and ran away.

Down in the lair, she sobbed on her bed. The tears wouldn't stop flowing. How could her father do that? And she still didn't know who was the victim. She felt Erik enter the room and stroke her back gently. "I'm so sorry Amile, but it had to be done."

"Who was it?" she asked softly. "Joseph Buquet, that pervert for a stage changer." She felt her sadness subside. Buquet was known throughout the opera house as a great storyteller and a pervert. But now he was known for being killed right on stage. She sat up and wiped her eyes. He touched the side of her face. "You know why I did it, right?" She nodded. He let out a sound of satisfaction and walked back out. Then she added quietly, "That still doesn't change anything."