Disclaimer: He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me…. Oops sorry I was just daydreaming. Not mine.

Author's Note: I was recently informed by a fellow writer that ffnet has banned reviewer responses in stories, and has gone so far as to suspend a few accounts of those writers who are still writing them. So until further notice I will no longer be responding to reviews in my stories. Please continue to leave reviews, and if there are questions to be answered I will be only to happy to email anyone who asks. Or explain some of my more outlandish plots, as I have done in the past. And if anyone agrees with my opinion that this rule is detrimental to the writer's learning experience, please feel free to send a little email to the admin of this site. I'm sure they would be glad to hear your opinions. Just please don't flame them, as I know none of use like flames.

Facing the Devil

Lily stood before the room staring at the door. She was trembling all over. She remembered the last time she had been alone with Philippe LaChance. She remembered the pain he caused her as if it had been only yesterday. She remembered the disappointed look on her father's face when he found her curled up in a corner in her dressing room. That had hurt her the most. She had disappointed the one person she loved the most. And then she never saw him again.

But now she had the chance to at least confront the man she suspected killed her father. It was what she had dreamed of for years. She had ached to accuse him. But now that she had the chance she stood there trembling in utter fear of what lie on the other side of the door.

"Lily. Calm yourself. He will not hurt you again. You are stronger now. You are wiser." She chided herself pushing the key into the lock and turning it. The door swung open and she saw the one person in the world that she hated the most. He was lounging on the bed holding the playbill for Le Fantome.

"Ma Cheri. I'm glad you decided to come." He smiled at her brightly sitting up and urging her into the room.

Lily swallowed hard disgusted at the thought of him calling her his sweetheart. That was just too perverted for her thoughts. She moved into the room closing the door behind her. "Why are you in Paris?" She asked coldly.

"What a greeting for your former lover." He said feigning hurt feelings.

"How dare you?" She said in a growl. She felt the heat rising in her replacing her fear. She looked at him and all the hatred she could muster shown through her eyes.

"Now Lily. We did not end things well that night in Venice, and I wish to apologize to you. You were not ready, and I did not realize it. But then you ran off and never gave me the chance to make it up to you. We could have been great together, you know?" He said standing and moving closer to her.

She started to slowly shake her head back and forth listening to his sweet words that disgusted her more than anything she had ever heard. "You are the most disgusting, vile man I have ever known. Your words are sweet as honey, but your soul is corrupted and evil. I am not the same naïve girl you took advantage of five years ago."

The smile slipped from his face at her words. "You misunderstand me, Lily."

"No, I understand you completely, Philippe. You have heard about the beautiful diva of the Opera Populaire, who it just so turns out to be someone you manipulated in the past. How it would boost your career to be attached to that diva. That's not going to happen, Philippe." She said with icy coldness seeping into her words.

"What do you think is going to happen, Lily?" He asked quickly pushing up against her pushing her back to the door.

She tried to break free from him, but he had grasped both of her hands and pushed them up and against the door. "Let go of me." She screamed.

"No. Why did you come here tonight if you had no intention of being with me." He asked his face within inches of her own.

"I came here to ask you a question." She said still struggling against his tight grasp.

A knowing look passed over his eyes. "Ah, I thought we would come to this. What question do you want to ask, Lily? Is it about your dear Papa?" He chided her, as he looked her up and down devouring her with his eyes.

"You know it is." She said driving her head forward connecting with his. The shock and pain crossed his face as he lost his grip on her hands. She pushed at him with one hand as her other arm snaked behind her back to remove what she had slipped into her waistband.

He noticed her actions and recovered too quickly, wrapping an arm around her and pulling the item from her hand. He backed up from her holding the Punjab lasso in his hand. "What is this?" He asked holding the item. "Oh Lily did you think this would save you? A knife would have been much easier to hide from me." He said shaking his head in disbelief. He unwound the rope letting the loose end drop to the floor. "I heard about your lover you know. The Phantom of the Opera. A killer. I guess this is his weapon of choice, so it seems to make sense that you would choose it also. What did you plan to do with this, Lily?"

She didn't answer his mocking words. She just looked at him miserably as he played with her one weapon. "Were you going to wrap this around my neck." He asked as he looped the lasso around his neck. "Then what. Pull as hard as your weak arms would allow. Could you do that, Lily? Could you listen as my neck snapped? I don't think so." He taunted her.

At that moment she thought she was capable of doing it, more than ever before. "Why shouldn't I? You were able to plunge a knife into me father's heart, were you not?" She asked bitterly.

"Lily, your father was a silly old man. He didn't know what his place was. He paid for it with his life." Philippe said laughing at the absurdity of the old mans actions.

"What did he do, Philippe? Did he want you to turn yourself in? Did he want a public apology? What angered you so much that you had to kill him?" She asked needing to know of her father's final moments on earth.

"You silly girl. He came to my hotel intent on taking my life. If I hadn't expected him to show up he might have too." He answered.

Lily was speechless. Her father was willing to kill for her. He was such a sweet old man, who she had never imagined could hurt anyone. But he had been willing to tarnish his own soul for her. The tears came unbidden to her eyes. She had been so afraid that she had disappointed him that she had never thought about the pain a father would feel at seeing his daughter violated.

"Tears now, Lily. Is your conviction failing you? Do you still want me dead?" he asked moving in closer to her again.

She did want him dead, but he had the upper hand. She slipped away from him heading towards the only escape she could see. The open balcony door called to her for her freedom. Once she reached the balcony she looked down wondering if she could jump. They were on the second floor. She turned as she heard the balcony door behind her close. "There is no escape for you now, Lily." He whispered, moving towards her. She could see that the balcony held no escape, except for maybe a broken neck on the cobbles below, so she slipped around him again trying to get to the balcony door.

But he was too quick for her and grabbed her arm swinging her around, and pushing her against the closed door. Her head hit the glass and wood door hard and she began to see stars. He was pushing all his weight against her holding both arms pinned behind her back. She was shocked when his lips descended upon her own, as he forced his tongue into her mouth.

She felt the bile rise in her throat at the feel of him touching her. She knew of only one way to break the kiss. She clamped down on his tongue with her teeth drawing blood.

He screamed in pain as he pulled away from her. Then he raised a hand bringing it down hard upon her face. But this time she did not let the pain pierce her conscious mind, as she knew she was fighting for her life this time. In the moment after he struck she shoved him back as hard as possible, and watched as he was forced back and over the balcony edge. Her eyes widened as she saw a taught rope stretched from the closed balcony door running over the edge of the balcony. He had still been wearing the lasso, and the end had caught in the closed balcony door. She walked forward looking down at the man swinging from the balcony. His body was wracked with spasms in his death throes. She did not move to help him. She just watched as he died before her.

She heard the scream from the street as a woman passing by saw the dangling body. But she noticed that the woman was staring above her and pointing. She turned and looked up to the roof four stories above her. There standing on the ledge was Erik, his white mask shining in the moonlight. He was looking down upon her and she could see that he had seen the final moments of the man's life.

She quickly made her way back into the room letting the rope fall away as she opened the balcony door. She met him on the landing of the fourth floor and rushed into his arms. "Erik."

He held her tightly letting her sob on his shoulder as he stroked her hair tenderly. "Lily, I was too late to help you." He whispered.

"Just hold me, Erik." She cried.

He held her for a moment and then whispered. "We must leave here, Lily. The Gendarmes will be here soon."

They made their way to street level behind the hotel and took off towards the opera house. She could hear the whistles all around them as the French Police descended on the scene. She heard a loud voice calling out behind them. "This way. There he is."

"Lily, you keep going to the opera house. I'll take to the roofs. They won't follow both of us." He said pushing her forward.

"Erik. I don't want to leave you." She cried out.

"We will see each other again soon. I shall meet you in the chapel. Now go." He took off in a different direction knowing the Gendarmes would follow him instead of her.

Lily stumbled forward in the direction of the opera house and said a prayer that he would make it.

She entered the secret passage leading to the chapel. She hoped he had some how made it before her, but in disappointment came upon an empty room. She sunk to her knees on the floor before the alter. She let her pent up emotions explode then as the sobs racked her body. So much had happened. She had learned so much about her father, and the monster who had died that night. She wanted so badly to sit with Erik in his underground lair and spill her heart to him. "Please come back, Erik." She whispered through her tears.

She heard a noise behind her and turned as her hope soared, but it was Antoinette. "Where is he?" The older woman asked.

"I don't know." She whispered.

"A messenger arrived at the employee's door. It said that the Phantom was seen at the Hotel Ajiel, and there was a death." Antoinette said with a stern look on her face. "Erik?"

"No." Lily whispered. "Me." She didn't know what Antoinette's reaction would be.

"You?" Was the woman's surprised question.

"I had no choice." Lily said slumping back to the floor. "I had no choice." She repeated looking down to her trembling hands. "Erik was there though. He was seen. We split up. He said he would meet me here. Antoinette, I'm scared."

Antoinette made her way to Lily and kneeled beside her reaching up and lighting a candle on the alter. "We shall we pray?"

Lily grasped the woman's hand and closed her eyes. "God in heaven. One of your angels is in danger. His only sin is to have loved too much. Please bring him home safely." She prayed with all the conviction in her heart.

They sat that way until night had passed to the first breaking light of morning, with no sight of him.

"Mama. Lily." Their prayers were interrupted as Meg entered the chapel.

"Yes, Meg?" Antoinette asked, noticing the worried look on the young ladies face.

"He has been captured. There is to be a trial to begin within the next two hours. They are building a gallows." Was her answer.