A/n: Well, bet you thought you'd have to wait another month, didn't you? Ha ha here it is! I'm on a roll... Thanks again to my wonderful reviewers, and my angel...I love you..

Story Time!

12: Dreams and Mistaken Identies:

Erik walked slowly down a pure white corridor which slightly resembled that of the private dorms of his academy, the soft click of his dress shoes on the marble floors the only sound to be heard.

He felt light, almost like he was floating in a dream, and the illuminate white walls of the curious hallway were soft and slightly blurred, as if they were part of a fresh watercolor painting which he had accidentally fallen into and disturbed.

As he walked, the walls began to transform before him and in no time, he was surrounded by many hundreds of mirrors on each side, spanning the length of the hallway which seemed to have no end.

He stopped dead in his tracks and clamped his eyes shut, afraid to look upon his hated reflection which was no doubt replicating itself throughout the never ending corridor.

Suddenly a familiar scent filled the air, making his heart feel as though it would leap from his chest at a given moment, and he slowly opened his eyes, almost afraid to look upon what he knew was there.

Chantelle danced before him, her long chocolate unbound curls swaying and bouncing in time with her movements. Her full rosy lips smiled chastely as her dark eyes focused on him and glittered in merriment, her long white skirts floating about her ankles as if they were caught in a summer breeze, even though the air was completely still in the hallway.

She carried the same appearance as the white walls had done, slightly blurred and out of focus, though radiating a light that glowed around her from her delicate feet to her halo of soft tresses.

He opened his mouth to speak but to his surprise no words were heard, just the humming white noise which surrounded the pair and filled his head. She laughed soundlessly and began moving away from him, beckoning him to follow, which he did, though he felt like he had no control over his body, it was moving by itself as though it were being controlled by someone or something else.

Chantelle kept her eyes fixed on Erik, her gaze still glittering though now it seemed as if she knew something he didn't, and this was becoming quite unnerving for Erik, who continued to follow her down the hall of many mirrors, mesmerized by her laughing eyes and fluttering skirts.

She suddenly stopped and reached out for his hands, embracing them and pulling him closer to her as he felt their feet leave the ground. Startled, he looked down suddenly and found that they were suspended a few inches off the marble floor, floating slowly down the mirrored corridor.

He turned a puzzled gaze back to Chantelle but she merely laughed silently again, and reached up to remove his mask, before stroking his cheek tenderly. A pang of humiliation shot through Erik's being and he pushed her hand away roughly, covering the deformity which he knew was there, and looked into her deep eyes once more, finding the same glittering happiness as before.

Was she laughing at his misfortune? His face contorted in sudden rage and he opened his mouth to shout at her, before she leaned forward and caught his lips in a soft, surreal kiss.

Only once had he kissed her, just moments before she had left him for the boy. His rage swelled once again before his breath caught in his throat as her tongue slipped between his lips, and all the years he had yearned for her came crashing painfully back, his rage dissipating into longing. She was so sweet, so inviting, so warm, he couldn't understand why he had given up on her, why he hadn't fought harder to win her over, why he hadn't pursued her after she left him.

He caressed her tongue with his own, delving into her delicious heat before sucking on her bottom lip, eliciting a small sigh from her. As he broke the kiss to look into her dark dancing eyes, they began floating faster down the hallway, and continued to gather speed until their forms were mere blurs in the mirrors they were passing.

Surprise struck Erik once again as he noticed that they were nearing the end of the corridor at rapid pace, and he pulled Chantelle to him instinctively, preparing to crash through the huge mirror many feet high that marked the end of the hallway.

A split second before impact, the pair came to a neat sudden stop just inches from the mirror's smooth surface and after a second or two of disbelief, Erik let go of his old love and looked at her questioningly.

Ignoring his puzzled expression, she moved to float beside him and let him gaze upon his reflection in the great mirror, and she was sure she felt his heart stop. Where once was puckered flesh and discolored skin, a perfect replica of his unblemished left cheek glowed, his face now the perfect picture of beauty.

Tears sprung to his eyes as he raised his trembling hands to touch his flawless features, before turning his disbelieving gaze to Chantelle, still smiling happily as she had been doing the entire time, though her eyes still held a strange teasing look.

His heart swelled with happiness as she embraced him once more and kissed him delicately, wrapping her slender arms around his neck. She broke away this time and giggled mutely at his disappointed gaze before interlocking her arm with his and turning him away from the mirror, moving towards a heavy white marble door which he hadn't noticed, with a large gold thirteen bolted to it.

As their feet touched the ground again, Chantelle reached down and turned the golden door handle, beckoning Erik to enter before she followed him in and shut the door behind them, a resounding rumble echoing around the room which was in pitch blackness.

Taking a cautious step forward and squinting into the dark, he heard a sound from ahead of him before a blinding light filled the room, causing him to cry out silently and shield his eyes until they accustomed.

Before they had a chance, a chilling scream filled his ears, cutting the thick silence he had been suspended in like a knife and he immediately recognized it as Alyssa. Forcing his eyes open against the white hot light he saw her, naked and writhing on a bed of white sheets surrounded by a pool of blood.

By her head stood none other than the Vicomte D'Changy, a hideous smirk plastered across his almost feminine features and a small dagger poised above her throat. Erik turned to Chantelle standing behind him and searched for answers, only finding that same jeering gaze in her dark dancing eyes, before she gave a slight nod.

Erik cried out soundlessly as Alyssa gave a final scream before the Vicomte bought the dagger down across Alyssa's throat, cutting short her final breath. Erik felt physically sick at the sight that he had just witnessed and fell to his knees, painful silent sobs wracking his body as the light from the room began to fade.

As he looked up one last time, his eyes connected with the forms of the D'Changy's, embracing each other and kissing passionately, and the last feeling that passed through Erik was that of such intense rage that the world went black.

-

Erik awoke with a start covered in a fine mist of sweat and sat bolt upright, the images of his latest drug induced nightmare still fresh in his mind. He moaned brokenly as he saw the Vicomte slashing Alyssa's throat over and over again and buried his face in his hands.

"It didn't happen…" he spoke to the darkness, "He can't have done it…"

As another painful scream filled his mind he leapt from the bed, only to sink onto his hands and knees seconds later with a head spin. As his weight bore down on the palms of his hands, he winced as intense pain shot up his arms and he slowly began to stand again.

Once he had reached a slightly slumped full height, with head hung he inspected the site of the pain, his swollen arms from elbow to hand littered with many tiny pinpricks, some beginning to bleed after being disturbed.

Sighing sadly he dragged himself out of his bedroom and staggered towards his beloved organ, turning to face the one unbroken mirror in the entire grotto, the one he was saving for Alyssa when she returned.

He glared long and hard at the man staring back at him through the glass, his filthy white shirt with the sleeves torn from the shoulders, his once smart dark dress pants stained with his own blood and scuffed at the knees from many an anguished stumble in the darkness. His hair had grown in the past few weeks since Alyssa's illness and his suicide attempt, and fell tousled across his unmasked face now sprinkled with dark stubble.

Sighing heavily, he turned away, cursing himself for allowing his self respect to drop so severely after a lifetime of taking a great deal of care in his appearance.

"How did it come to this?" he whispered to himself as a small silver tear slid down his cheek, "how?"

When he reached the concert grand he sat heavily on the stool and placed his fingers to the keys, and as he prepared to play the first chords that would flow forth, the voices in his head began.

"You want to know how it came to this? She did it to you…" Chantelle flashed before his eyes as he shut them, before Alyssa's pained scream from his most recent nightmare filled his mind. "She did this to you…" The voice continued, the images of Chantelle and the Vicomte, laughing, jeering, murdering his Alyssa swirling and overlapping before him. Erik shook his head violently as if trying to clear the mist of horror that clouded it. "You cannot escape…" the voice whispered, "Unless…"

"LEAVE ME!" Erik boomed, and as quickly as it had begun, he was left in the silence of his cavern, his fingers poised above the ivory keys. Heaving a sigh of relief, he lowered his fingers to begin one of his latest pieces, when he stopped sharply and stood, the force sending the stool crashing backwards.

With his breathing quickened in anger, Erik tested the keys once more andeach time his fingers made contact, fierce pain shot through his wrist due to the bodily abuse he had subjected himself to for the past weeks.

Erik lowered his hand to hang beside his thigh, a strange calm sweeping over him… The deep breath before the storm…Alyssa was dead, or if she wasn't she probably didn't want to see him again, Chantelle was still haunting him, and now his one escape from the cursed world had been taken from him by his own hand. It was the final straw.

Erik balled his hands into fists by his side and took several deep breaths, feeling the rage building in the pit of his stomach as it had done countless times before. He felt his eyes cloud over, and the familiar mist fill his tortured mind.

As he stood brewing in the complete silence, the final phase overtook him and his body began quivering uncontrollably, and seconds before he destroyed the closest object in range, he was interrupted by the sudden loud click of his cellar door. Raising his blazing eyes slowly, his gaze connected with that of a woman, a woman he knew all too well.

"Oh look who's here…" the voice in his enraged mind began, "The one who has you trapped…" Erik gritted his teeth and panted through them, creating a slight hiss with every inhale and exhale. "What's the only way to gain freedom, Erik?" it questioned. Erik's eyes narrowed on the intruder before he whispered "dispose ofthe captor."

The world went silent as he approached his prey, the one woman who plagued him night and day. The one who caused his soul to destroy any last shards it had left. The one who killed his love. Chantelle.

He was upon the woman within a matter of strides and had her slender neck encircled with his long, powerful musicians fingers. The immense elation coursing through his veins at the thought of crushing the life out of her was almost paralyzing, and it wasn't until the blood pounding in his ears had settled enough to hear the shrill scream of his name did he loosen his grip.

She cried his name again and this time it broke through his senses, chilling him to his very core. He tore his hands from her neck and stared wide eyed at her as the fog began to clear from his sight. A young girl of seventeen with dead straight ebony locks stood before him gasping for breath, before looking up into his disbelieving face with fear stricken, tear stained eyes.

"Alyssa!" he choked out, still breathing heavily. "Erik …" she whispered, before taking a faltering step backwards and falling softly to her knees. Erik's heart broke for her as she shied away from him and collapsed, closing her eyes and still trying to regain her normal breathing.

He stepped closer and knealt, reaching out his hand to gently cup her cheek. To his surprise she leaned in to his touch and he moved closer again, watching her open her eyes and gaze upon his punctured wrist now millimeters from her face.

He dropped his arm as he realized that she had seen the mutilation and stood, shame and pain showing plainly on his features. Suddenly she forced herself up off the cold stone floor and lunged forward and cradled his arm against her body, her face the epitome of care.

He winced at her movement as she looked back into his sorrowful face, such love and concern radiating from her features that he thought his heart would break for a second time.

"Erik…" she whispered, "What…" he couldn't meet her gaze as he answered, "I thought you had left me. It was my only escape, besides suicide which failed me…"

Tears began streaming down Alyssa's face at his words and she cried out as she embraced him, clinging to his torn shirt for dear life. "Never!" she cried, "I would never leave you!"

Erik wrapped his arms around her sobbing form and cried with her, his sadness, happiness and immense rage being poured out with his tears. As their sobs subsided, Alyssa took a step back to look upon him, and she suddenly realized he was missing his mask.

She carefully hid the shock of finally seeing the distorted flesh and finally understood why he was so insecure. Embracing him once more, she whispered into his chest, "I love you Erik, no matter what. I will never leave."

He understood her words as he had seen her subtle yet unchanging gaze, and still saw the care and love there as there was before. He broke their embrace to look down upon her once again, and dried her eyes with his thumb gently, watching the corners of her mouth twitch into a smile.

Her knees suddenly went weak and he caught her swiftly, turning a questioning gaze to her flushed features. "I am fine," she assured him, "Just a little weak, that's all." Erik inwardly cursed himself, blaming himself for her spell. If you hadn't almost killed her, she's just gotten well after your last curse for god's sake!

Erik shook his head as he took her hand and led her to their bedroom, got her comfortable between the red and black silk and as he turned to leave, a small hand wrapped around his bicep, preventing him from moving. "Erik…" she purred, "stay…"

It took every fiber of his being to stop him from falling into bed with her and cleansing his sins, instead he patted her hair and forced a smile. "Rest." He whispered, before turning on his heel and closing the bedroom door quietly behind him.

Walking back out into the lair, Erik ran a hand through his filthy hair before making his way back over to the organ and picked up the fallen stool. Taking a seat, he thought long and hard.

He hadn't forgotten the onslaught of voices before she came back, what's the only way to gain freedom, Erik? Dispose of the captor. Coming to a decision, he leapt from the organ stool and ran to his desk, pulling out drawers and upturning used paper until he found a clean piece.

As the tip of the quill made first contact with the parchment, a small hiss escaped his clenched teeth from the pain coursing through his wrists, but such was his great need to begin his plans, the pain was forgotten a little more with each word.

A chain of events were now in motion, which could not be undone until the final phase was complete. The world was not big enough for the two in question, and Erik was never one to go down without a fight.

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A/N: Well here we go folks, the climatic sequence is close at hand! The countdown is on to the end too.. this is the third last chapter before its over... (cries) so make it worth my while and REVIEW!