POTOlvr24: thanks. I thought the beginning of that chapter sucked, but I guess you thought otherwise. I am updating pretty early! I just had an idea so I had to start with it. And you better update your story, how dare you leave me hanging! Lol j/k

I still don't own any part of the phantom of the Opera. Curses.

Chap.4

Erik looked around his Lair. It was a mess but not as messy as the main part of the Opera Populaire. Where the chandelier fell.

His precious organ was wrecked, far beyond repair. He walked over to it and ran his fingers over it remembering the time he was playing it and Christine was sleeping in his bed.

Flashback

Erik was sitting at his piano bench, playing just a little tune, nothing special. He heard vaguely in the back round. 'There were candles all around and on the lake there was boat, and in the boat there was a man." Erik stopped playing, realizing Christine's presence. He didn't turn to look at her. He went back to playing softly. Then he heard her singing again. 'Who was that shape in the shadows? Whose is the face is the mask." He stopped playing once again and enjoyed the feeling of Christine's touch on his face. He felt her going over to the right side of his face, and then he felt the Mask leave his face. He jumped up his hand coming up to hide his face. "Damn you! You little prying Pandora! You little demon." He stopped in front of a mirror and uncovered his face. "Is this what you wanted to see?" He covered his face again and turned on her. "Curse you! You little lying Delilah! You little viper now you can not ever be free." He started to calm down a bit. "Damn you. Curse you. Stranger than you dream it can you even dare to look or bear to think of me, this loathsome gargoyle who burns in hell but secretly, yearns for heaven secretly, secretly." He lowered his voice to a mere whisper. "But Christine." Then he raised it again. "Fear can turn to love you'll learn to see to find the man behind the monster…this repulsive carcass who seems a beast but secretly dreams of beauty secretly, secretly. Oh Christine." He saw out of the crack in between his fingers, her holding out the mask to him. He slowly took it from her and placed it on his face, while standing up. He exhaled. "Come we must return those who fools who run my theatre will be missing you." He said very calmly.

End flashback

'Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! You yelled at her, and were a crazy man, no monster. No wonder she was afraid of you.' He thought. He left his Organ and went over to his manikin of Christine. (Obsess much?) It was practically all burned off. But now he had the real Christine, he didn't need this big doll anymore. He decided to walk around see what was still useful. He passed his smashed mirrors. Which brought back very painful memories? He stopped when he stepped on something. He moved his foot away and bent down. He picked it up and smiled slightly. The veil. It was completely unharmed, it had a few glass pieces on it, but he could just pick them off. He sighed, and kept it in his hand and kept exploring. His desk was burnt down, and so were all his paper and his pen and ink and his stamp. His famous stamp the red skull. The Opera ghost's signature. But he was not the Opera Ghost anymore, he was just Erik now. The Phantom of the Opera is long gone and he is never coming back.

Christine awoke and looked around. She was in an unfamiliar place although strangely enough it was familiar. She realized she was on a bed; it had red sheets and red pillows. It was shaped in a round shape and there was a head of a swan at the foot. There was a black curtain all around it. It was starting to come back to her. She pulled up the curtain and slowly the place came into view. There was lake, with a boat. There was a burnt down Organ the whole place was a mess. She saw the backside of a person, a man. He was just standing there, looking at something. He had something in his hand. He appeared to have light brown, almost blonde, hair. And it was messy. She continued to look around and stopped when her eyes fixed on something. It was a giant doll of her. And it was badly burnt. She finally realized where she was. She was in Erik's lair. She smiled softly and started to sing, "'Angel of music Guide and Guardian Grant to me your Glory. Angel of music hide no longer secret and strange Angel.'"

Erik turned whipped his head when he heard that. He saw Christine standing there smiling. He smiled too and walked over to her. "Did you have a nice rest, my love?" He asked. "Oh yes, lovely. I was quite confused by waking up here. I thought you said you had no place to live." She said. "well…I didn't think anything was left I haven't been here since you left and when you fell asleep, I had no idea where to take you." He explained. She sighed. "this place brings back so many memories." "Painful memories, that are not in need of repeating." Christine nodded in agreement. "you had to sing that song didn't you?" he asked her after a moment if silence. She gave him a weird look. "what song?" She asked. "Angel of Music. You had to sing that bring back all the memories of my blasted past as the Phantom of the Opera." She raised her eye brows and shrugged. "well, you are still My Angel of Music." She said. He nodded. "yes..i suppose I am. Now onto further matters, are you hungry my dear. It is quite close to supper time." She nodded vigoursly. "oh yes, I haven't eaten in a while." He held out his hand and she took it just like she did when he was leading her down the hallway to his lair for the first time. Except this time, His hair was a mess, he didn't have all that black leather on. (and speaking of that. Yesterday my friend asked me, what is up with him and black leather! And I replied. Well all villenyish people wear black leather. LOL) including his gloves and he wasn't wearing his mask. (very important detail!) The mask that made him the Phantom of the Opera. That white mask that when people saw him made them say, "it's him! The Phantom of the Opera!" or scream and run in fear. (:-D)

He led her over to the boat and told her to wait in it for him. "where are you going?" He smiled slightly at her. "im just going to get something my dear." And he walked up the stairs and started looking for his mask. He went over to the table that he left it on, right near the monkey music box. "damnit." He said as he realized it was not there. "what is it Erik?" She called from the boat. "nothing, nothing at all." He quieted his voice down to a whisper. "Where is that damn mask." He sighed. And went over to a box, it was apparently all filled with masks. He took out one similair to the one he wore during Don Juan. He put it on and started back towards Christine.

When Christine saw what he was looking for she sighed. "Erik there is no need to wear a mask." Erik came over to the boat and got in behind her. "ah but there is my dear. We are going out into public. I am not ready to show my face to the world, for they are not ready to see it." "oh yes and im sure a man in a mask, when there is not a masquerade anwhere, is not suspicious." Erik was silent and started to take off. He finally said, "well it's better than seeing my hideous self." Christine sighed. "you are not hideous. Your haunted face shows no horror for me…" He finished for her, "yes it is in my soul that the true distortion lies…I've got that concept." Christine leaned her back up against his legs and looked up at him. "I was mad at you then. I am not now. Your soul is troubled, yes, but it can be healed…" once again he cut her off. "by you and only you Christine." He looked down at her and smiled. "exactly."