Notes: I know this is taking me soooo long, but I keep getting distracted! Mostly from my exams, but I keep getting ideas for other stories, then I had to write some chapters of them down before I forget them! I'm so sorry to all of you that like this story, but I PROMISE I will continue! There is no way I am giving up on it! Nadxxx

A tall man, with horrible glistening eyes stepped out from the shadows. His arm was out stretched, pointing a gun in Erik's direction. He was an older man, yet still had the hint of youth sprinkled through his greying hair. His face was illuminated with mad delight and hunger. He walked slowly from behind Christine, to stand at the side of her.

"The headlines read, "THE PHANTOMS FINALIE. Hundreds die after the mysterious collapsing of the grand chandelier, causing the destruction of the Opera Populaire." Well, monsieur, I must congratulate you! You're a man after my own… or should I say our own ambitions!"

He chuckled, holding out his other hand to shake with Erik's, never lowering is gun. Erik transfixed the man with a murderous stare. He was shaking with rage, and he had to resist all temptations to fly at the man in a fit of anger, which would certainly spell death to him. Yet he didn't care, all he could think of was how he had let Christine down. She would have been better off not coming here for safety. She had walked right into danger. And he knew why. How could he have been so stupid!

"You know why I am here, don't you my friend?" Pulling back his hand. He put an arm around Christine's waist. Erik felt himself move forward slightly, and then catching himself again. No man should dare touch her apart from himself.

"Get your fucking hands off her." Erik hissed. Christine herself pushed herself away from him, and the man laughed.

"Oh dear, you two have only got yourselves to blame! You know I wouldn't have found her if it wasn't for you! You sir, truly are a murdering genius, aren't you?"

Erik bowed his head from Christine's confused gaze. He couldn't face her. He had betrayed her whereabouts and she would die.

Stop it, Erik! You can save her, your not giving up now! The voice in his head called to him angrily. He didn't care if he got wounded, he had to save her. But the man was pointing his gun at Christine now, and he dare not flinch in case he pulled at the trigger. He would have to wait for the opportune moment.

"Has he not told you?" The man spotted Christine's confused gaze at Erik, who had not taken his eyes from the intruding man.

"…Erik…told me what?"

Erik felt himself choke up. "I…I have…"

"He is the guardian of your documents!" The man flared up in glee, taking the story for his own. "He was entrusted with them years ago when you were only a baby, and now, there whereabouts have led me right to you, my dear! What a stoke of luck, eh?"

The man threw his head back in murderous happiness. It made Christine feel shivers down her spine.

As Erik saw him loose focus in his laughter for a moment, he charged at the man. All too suddenly, he regained his sanity, and saw Erik lurching towards him at frightening speed.

Christine screamed as a gunshot sounded throughout the courtyard.

Erik fell to the floor, clutching his shoulder. Blood began to seep over his hands, and Christine began to weep at the sight of the staining of his hands.

"Don't try anything like that again!" The man became angry, and pushed the gun cruelly into Christine's back. "I will kill her slowly, and make you watch. How does that sound?"

Erik felt dizzy with the pain, yet regained his stance standing up. He fixed Christine with a look of such sorrow and failure, her heart broke.

"Oh my, you must excuse my manners! I have not properly introduced myself. I am Monsieur Robard." He gave a small bow to both of them. Christine felt a familiar memory coming back to her, yet she could not pin point exactly what. Had she heard that name before? "It's been a long, hard search for you, Miss Daae! I have waited a very long time for my money."

"You can have the damn money!" Christine now shouted angrily. She didn't care about the inheritance; he could take it for all she cared. All she wanted was Erik. They could easily live off his wealth.

"Tut tut, you must remember you can't start handing out your money till you come of age! Until then, all I need is the documents and your death. And very helpfully, it's all fallen into place!"

He began pacing; obviously enjoying the story he was so involved in.

"You see, Miss Daae, you wouldn't be in so much danger if it wasn't for your father. If he had just given the money to its rightful owner, then your death could have been avoided!"

"What do you mean?" Christine asked, half quietly and half with an angry undertone. She always kept one eye on Erik, who was trying to ignore his seeping wound, yet she could see there was pain sodden through his eyes.

"Your father…was once a dear friend of mine, Mademoiselle. I am surprised you do not remember me! My wife and I looked after you and your father when he was very sick. You don't remember Madame Giry?"

Madame Giry! So that was why she could remember his name! The man who had abandoned Madame Giry and Meg, and found himself in jail. Why now had he come to her? He voiced her questions.

"I took care of your father for endless weeks, and received nothing in return! Nothing, not a single franc! Your father deserved to die in such a painful way! I deserved that inheritance!"

"Don't you dare talk of my father like that!" She screamed at him. He turned to her, sending her heart quailing. He fixed her with such a murderous blazing stare, it silenced her.

"Your father ruined me! And now, he shall be punished with your death. I'm only sorry it had to be you. You're such a beautiful creature...shame."

He stroked her face softly, but she knocked it out of the way. He smiled triumphantly.

"As a matter of fact, I may as well ruin both your lives while I am here. I will be taking your account too, Monsieur," he indicated to Erik. ", that you will be so kindly handing over to me."

Erik hissed. "Just take mine and be gone! Or death will not stop me in hunting you down. I will kill the very soul of you."

Although Robard held the upper hand., he felt Erik's words cut through him, making him believe what he said. He shivered slightly

"No no, this is too personal to be ignoring the Daae inheritance! That one is rightfully mine anyway. Yours will be an added bonus!"

"You will leave him alone!"

The voice came from behind Robard. A gun was pointed at his head by a woman who was stood behind him. Robard seemed to freeze, and his neck stiffened upright. He turned slowly.

The woman moved into the light of the courtyard, illuminating her ethnic beauty.

"Sara?" Erik half whispered. She looked over to him lovingly, then furiously back at Robard.

"Did you hear what I said?" She shouted a little more in her heavily accented French. "Lower your gun from him!"

Robard did turn his gun, but continued to point it at Christine.

"Whoever your little friend is, Monsieur," Robard hissed. ", she cannot make me give up what's rightfully mine!"

He lunged at Christine, catching her from behind, and clawing her neck, pushing the gun into her temple. Christine remained silent, yet a tear fell from her wide fearful eyes.

Sara stood forward to Erik side, who was stooping slightly from pain.

"Take the girl, and leave him." She nodded her head back to Erik. "You don't need him, George Robard."

Robard looked strangely at the woman. He frowned at her, then began to pull Christine into the darkness.

"NO!" Roared Erik. He ran forward, but was stopped abruptly, strangely by Sara's gun.

"Don't you see?" Sara pleaded desperately. "Its either her or both of you?"

"What are you doing here Sara?" He growled in the native Persian. "Why are you here?" For the first time, he actually looked at Sara that night, confusion, anger, desperation all clear in his eyes.

"I came to say sorry!" She clung to his shirt, lifting a hand up to his face. "To say sorry for the other night! I…I couldn't bear I had left you like that…Erik, we share a special bond, you and I! Please let don't break it…Ill…I will help you through this!"

"Help me by getting out of my way!"

He pushed her roughly, while Sara screamed, threatening him with her gun, cocking it dangerously. He froze, staring curiously at her.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Erik…you should be with me! I love you! Please don't die on her account!"

"You love...?"

Suddenly he stopped talking. His eyes flitted from Christine to Robard and back to Sara. He seemed to think over something around and around in his head, and he paced from one foot to the other.

Christine had felt like fainting on more than one occasion. He fear had swelled to her mouth, and she could hardly whimper without it sounding chocked. Erik was in a dangerous position, and so was she. In a moment, Meg's father would become bored with this little show, and shoot her anyway, and force the grieved Erik to give up the documents. He would probably shoot Erik too just to keep him quiet. Why wasn't he doing that? It would look obvious enough, when someone found them. Christine returning to her former singing tutor and he had murdered her out of rage, and turned a gun on himself. Would that be so hard? Why was Robard watching this charade?

And Erik seemed to be pondering something furiously. Sara had just admitted that she loved him…no…he wouldn't…he wouldn't let Robard take her so he could live with Sara…could he even be considering it?

Erik looked at Sara for a long time. He walked up to her slowly, and took her gently by the shoulders. Sara smiled at him, and whispered his name, lowering her gun.

Erik, seeing his chance at her lowered gun, struck her. She screamed, hitting the wall hard behind her. Erik quickly picked up her gun, and pointed it at her. Sara turned, her nose running freely with blood.

"Erik…WHY?" She cried, screaming angrily.

"You lying bitch!" He raged, pulling back the hammer of the gun. Sara stopped screaming and looked terrified at the new, furious, out of control Erik she had never seen before. The Erik Christine remembered all to well.

"I…I don't know what your…"

"You told him were I was! You knew she was here! You're a scheming little rat, you were going to trade Christine's life for me, and looking…making it look like you saved me!"

"I came here to say sorry!"

"THEN HOW THE FUCK DID YOU KNOW HIS NAME?"

Sara stopped dead. Had she let his name slip? It didn't matter now, Erik knew their little scheme. Sara should have known that he was cleverer than what she had planned him to be, but she would have tried at any attempt to get Erik back.

Sara cowered on the floor, attending to her running nose. Erik turned to Robard and Christine.

"You pull that trigger, and I will blast your head off." Erik spat. Robard had a streak of fear masking his face, yet he pulled Christine tighter in.

"Well, Monsieur, it seems we are at a stalemate."