A/N: I got 4 count em! FOUR reviews for last chappie! U GUYS ROCK MY SOX!

Surrender: Why would I Punjab you? I enjoy your story and your reviews.

RaeRobRocks: pat on back Are you all right? Okay, good. But what about after I finish The True Opera Ghost?

ME: I do not know who Javert is, but why don't you write something about that?

Kchan88: Thank you for your continued support. You are the second person to comment on Stella and Ari being Christine and Meg's daughters. Thank you.

So far I have 2 votes for a prequal to "The True Opera Ghost". Read it and let me know, prequal or sequal first? Both are in progress, by the way.

Chapter 4—Forever

The five of them sat in the parlor until suppertime, when Christine invited Erik to stay for a meal. He, however, graciously declined, saying that he had affairs to take care of in town.

"But you don't have a car," mused Ari.

"Well, how did they travel in 1870?" he countered.

"Horse and cart," said she.

"If they didn't have one?"

"Rode the horse."

"Okay, well, if you didn't have any mobile assistance whatever?"

"Couldn't go too far," came the good-humored reply. Erik glared in exasperation at his pupil.

"I shall walk—you little idiot," he said. "Besides, a car is one of my affairs to be seen to. Farewell for now, my dears."

It was odd for him to be outside. It was still early in the year, so it was getting to be dark and cold, but it was only 5:30, so the car dealership would not be closed. Erik hoped to God that there would be no problems with any of the people that he had to speak with. He really didn't want to draw attention to himself—a masked stranger showing up the day after two teenaged girls were snatched from their school? Ludicrous. Even if he had done it—that was the point. Erik was no good at lying under pressure, never mind under oath, for God's sake.

"Ludicrous," he repeated out loud. "Simply ludicrous."

i

Several days later, Ari was walking down her long driveway for no particular reason, singing softly to herself.

"Shamed into solitude, shunned by the multitude,

I learned to listen! In the dark, my heart heard music!"

She heard a car coming, and stepped off the narrow road to let it pass. She'd never seen this car before—it was a black Mercedes, and the license plate read, PHANTOM. She grinned as the car slowed. She knew who it was.

The driver's window slowly rolled down, and she said, "Hello, Erik."

"Good afternoon, my dear," he replied, all suavity.

"It's even better now," she said, then smirked, "to a little idiot."

That got him to laugh. "Come and take a drive with me," he offered, indicating the seat beside him.

"I'd have to ask my mom," she said, "but I would love to."

Since the driveway was roughly a quarter of a mile long, he gave her a ride back to her house, where she got permission to go for a ride.

"You may want to take the back roads," Meg cautioned them. "The news is already having a field day."

"Don't worry," Erik assured her. "We shall be as careful as reindeer crossing thin ice."

"Reindeer don't cross thin ice—they're smarter than that," Ari broke in, beaming devilishly at Erik.

"I suppose I deserved that," he said, eyes twinkling.

i

They drove around the forested area of the town, far from the busy streets of the center. While they drove, Erik and Ari talked.

"So, you wanted to know about me," he said rather abruptly. She looked a little startled, but nodded. She wanted to hear everything. "I know that you are familiar with Phantom of the Opera," he began, and she laughed.

"That's an understatement," she remarked.

"Do you want me to tell the story or not?"

"Huzzah, story time!"

"Fine, I won't tell it."

"Tell it!"

"Okay." Ari's face twisted in amusement, but she let him continue the story. "You are completely and utterly obsessed with Phantom of the Opera. That is not to question. You have, no doubt, noticed certain similarities between Erik, the Phantom, and I? Even, perhaps, between yourself and Christine?"

"And Stella," she reminded him subtly.

"Yes, yes…of course. Remember when I told you I was a hundred and sixty?"

"Wait—were you…him, then?" Ari thought to be confused, but somehow the realization did not surprise her.

"He and I are one and the same," Erik affirmed.

"How?" She was dying to know.

"I'm not exactly sure," he said, almost to himself. "It was when I was about twenty-five. Christine Daaé had left me, and the worthy Madame Giry came to see me. I told her, surely, that I was going to die. 'Erik,' she said, 'there is one possibility—one way things can be different. You know that I am part gypsy…'"

"She was?" interrupted Ari.

"Yes. Now, the entire tale is obviously longer than you can sit through—"

"Thanks very much."

"—so I will summarize. She did something to me—I don't know what—but it killed her. And now, I live forever."

"Wow," said Ari, entranced by the profundity of the statement. "It's like Tuck Everlasting."

"I've read that," Erik remarked.

Suddenly, she noticed that he was driving in a more purposeful direction. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"You will see," he replied impishly. She sighed. She would let him have his secret if it made him happy. Soon, he turned down a smaller, winding driveway. Slyly, he sang to her.

"Close your eyes and let music set you free!

Only then can you belong to me!"

Shaking her head at him, she obeyed. She felt the car pull to a stop, and a moment later, Erik opened her door. He kept telling her to keep her eyes shut as he led her by the hand up a few stairs and into a building.

"Okay, you can open your eyes." So she did.

The scene that she saw made her gasp. One side of the room was almost entirely covered in an organ's pipes. The rest of the room was draped in red and black velvet, and covered in the decorations from his old home. However, the lack of mist from the lake and the presence of two large, open windows changed the countenance of everything to create a much cheerier air. Sheet music still covered tables around the area, making her smile. He was still the same Phantom he'd always been.

"How do you like it?"

She turned to look at him. "This is all yours?"

"Yes," he said. "Forever."

"It's brilliant," she breathed, glancing around once more.

A smile crept onto his face. "Would you like to see the rest?"

"I would love to."

He caught her hand and kissed it graciously. "Follow me."

It was not a very large house, but it had, besides the music room, a parlor, kitchen, dining room, two bathrooms, and three bedrooms. One, which was belowground, was Erik's. The other two, he explained, were for guests.

"I had, mainly, the two of you in mind, of course," he said, which made Ari blush slightly. He showed her Stella's room first.

It was furnished with a color scheme of white, gold, and pink. Pretty, delicate flowers adorned the wallpaper and rested in vases on the dresser and nightstand. On the vanity was a small diorama of Il Muto. Ari thought it would suit her friend perfectly.

She was astounded when Erik opened the door to her room. The colors here were black and scarlet, with mere touches of white. The flowers were blood-red roses, Ari's favorite kind. The diorama on the vanity was of "The Point of No Return," from Erik's own Don Juan Triumphant She turned to Erik, where he was leaning against the doorframe, the cocky grin still apparent.

"I love it," was all she could say.

"I thought, while I was designing, that Stella would like something simpler and delicate, as she shows herself to be. You, however, have a deep passion within you that cries out romance. You do not hide your inner emotions. You are much more intense than she is, my dear, and I believe that this room reflects that. Should you ever wish to spend the night, it is yours."

"Thank you," she said almost shyly, reaching out to touch his face, "for everything."

He covered her hand with his, and she drew into him gracefully. He caressed her back with his fingertips, his lips just brushing her hair. God, how she reminded him of Christine.

Neither of them saw the sunlight suddenly go. Neither was prepared for the booming clap of thunder that suddenly sounded—crash! Ari jerked back and toppled, and Erik, whose grip had tightened, fell with her, landing in a heap. An instant later, everything went black.

Erik muttered a curse under his breath. "The power's gone out!" He had to speak loudly over the sudden, hammering sound of rain and a fresh clap of thunder.

A streak of lightning illuminated the room, and for the barest moment, they saw each other's faces, and they knew that there was something worse than a storm lingering on the horizon. But the light disappeared, and Erik pushed himself away from Ari to his feet.

"I'm going to get some candles," he said. Ari scrambled to a standing position and groped in the darkness for his hand. She found it and clutched it tightly.

"Please, don't leave me!" she said. His other hand went to her face.

"Of course not."