Title: This is the Choice

Rating: T

Summary: Christine makes her choice. EC, ALW with Leroux hints.

A/N: A fic inspired by my sister and I crying over the ending one night and wishing Erik could have his happily ever after. Started out as a one shot...decided to add more. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with The Phantom of the Opera except the 2004 DVD, the 1987 soundtrack, and a rather unhealthy fixation on Gerard Butler/Erik. I am in no way profiting in this beyond the good feeling I get from giving Erik a happy ending. That said, on with the fic!

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So It Ends...So It Begins...

For what seemed to be the millionth time that day, she moved as if in a trance, knowing what she had to do, but wishing it could be done another way. She ran to him.

"Raoul!" She untied him, closing her eyes in sadness as he clung to her. After a moment, she pulled away slowly.

"Come, Christine, he's gone, let's go-"

"I can't."

He stared at her, unable to speak for a moment. "What do you mean, you can't? We are to be married, Christine! I came to save you, I'm not going to let you stay here because you pity that monster!"

"You came to save your Little Lotte, Raoul, the little girl whose scarf you rescued from the sea." She looked at him, sadness and pain in her eyes. "And if he is a monster, it is the world itself that made him so through cruelty, and it can perhaps be undone. It is something I should have realised long ago. I stay not out of pity, Raoul."

"You are not staying, Christine! Do you have any idea how hard I tried to find you? I will not have gone through this only to let you leave me! I love you, Christine, and you love me, or was that a lie?"

"Not a lie, Raoul," she whispered, shaking her head. "It was never a lie. I do love you... but not the way you love me. You must understand that everything that has happened over the past months... it confused me more than perhaps anything that has happened since Father died."

"So that's it, then? You're just going to stay? What kind of life could you have with him, Christine? I know you've always wanted a family. What then, would you do, if your child inherited his face?"

"Love it, Raoul, and in that it would never have to face what my Angel did! That is what you fail to see, that human beings made him the way he is! The same as you would be in his position!" She was almost shouting now, angry to a point that Raoul had never seen.

"And still, he is your Angel?" He sighed, reaching out to caress her face, then turned away. "Go, Christine. I can see you will stay whether I wish it or not."

"I'm sorry, Raoul..." Her whisper reached his ears along with the sound of the water moving as she made her way back to her Angel... her Phantom.

"Masquerade... paper faces on parade... Masquerade, hide your face so the world will never find you..." He paused in his singing as Christine drew near. "Christine... I love you..." His voice was soft and quiet in comparison to the anger it had held before. Tears in her eyes, Christine drew closer to him and knelt next to him, neither moving for a moment.

"You should go. Your Vicomte will be waiting," he said abruptly.

"No."

He stared at her. "No, you should not go, or no, your fiancé is not waiting?"

"No, I will not leave you again, and he is not my fiancé." She held out her hand, the ring he had given her still on it. "'The point of no return', Angel. My choice is made."

"And this is not a trick? Some sick new torture of the Vicomte's? If you think to cause me more pain, Christine, I beg of you to leave now!"

"I will not leave, now or ever. These past few months... I am so sorry, Angel, for everything I have done to you." The tears in her eyes finally succeeded in their attempts to fall.

"Erik."

"What?" Christine was confused.

"I am no angel; I am but a man, and a broken one at that. I am Erik." He reached out hesitantly to brush away her tears. "And it is partly my fault, beautiful, for it is I who made you believe that I was your Angel. Lies make a habit of catching up with those who tell them."

Suddenly, they both became aware of the sounds of shouting, of water splashing due to people running through it.

"Come, we must leave before they find me," Erik decided. Looking around, he picked up only his music box and one of his masks, slipping it on carefully.

"Oh, Erik, this is all my fault!" Christine cried softly. With a small smile, he turned to her, brushing a hand over her cheek.

"Things happen for a reason, Christine. And now, you are here with me... I have a reason to live again, mon ange." Turning, he grasped her hand and led her toward a curtain hanging on the wall. Drawing it back, he unveiled a mirror. "Stand back," he warned, letting go of her hand and taking instead a candlestick from beside him. He smashed the mirror, revealing a passage behind it, and took her hand again. He looked in her eyes, searching them. "You are sure about this, chérie? If you choose to leave now, I will not blame you."

"No, Erik. I said that I will not leave you, and I meant it."

"Then come." He pulled her gently into the passage, moving the curtain back into place. There was a lit torch in a bracket on the wall, which he took after putting the music box under his arm. Flicking a switch, a panel of wood slid across, closing the entrance. "They will see the after-effects of the Phantom's rage," he explained. "On the outside, it looks like the backing of a mirror. And now, Christine, will you allow the Phantom to have his fun?"

"Alright..." she said cautiously.

"Nothing dangerous, chérie. Only making sure that they will not harm my possessions... And that they know that they now have nothing to fear from their Ghost." After a few minutes of walking, Christine understood. They were in a small room overlooking Erik's home. Releasing her hand, he stepped to a small hole in the wall.

"Bravo, monsieurs, for you have found the domain of the Opera ghost!" Everyone looked up as Erik's voice, magnified menacingly, echoed throughout the cavern. A good half of the group began to run away. "Ah, but you thought him defeated, did you not? Think again, monsieurs, the Opera ghost reigns still in his kingdom!"

Shouts rang out. A few of the men had drawn guns and were looking around wildly.

"Fear not, good monsieurs, for the Ghost has ended his reign of terror. You will have no more trouble from me!" With that, he turned away, back to Christine.

"Happy, Christine?"

"Very."

A/N: I actually like this. Again, reviews are appreciated :)

EDITED: Alrighty, maybe not the end. I've had a couple people say they want to see more, and to be honest I've had an idea plaguing me, so... more on the way. :)