A/N: Sorry for the wait. I've been sick and wasn't in the mood to write or anything. And I know my cliffies are evil and I got mine back when watching the season finale of Supernatural. That was the Mother of all cliffhangers! DEAN! Done screaming. Thank you Halley for doing an awesome job and to my reviewers! Gotta feed the habit. And thank you to those who checked out His Modern-Day Angel. Enjoy! Oh… this is the fight that you've been waiting for. What will become of Emmy? What would Trey do?

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Fighting for Control

He was cut off abruptly as that boy came running out, pummeling him to the ground.

"Stay away from her!" Trey snarled, shoving himself off the masked man's body. Satisfied he caught him off guard, Trey ran to Emmy, grabbing her hand. He suppressed a shudder at the chilling touch as he tugged, "Come on!"

Mindlessly, she locked eyes with him. For a brief second, he thought he saw relief floating in her lovely brown eyes before being replaced by an erratic wildness.

"NO!" she screamed, lunging at him. Her icy digits wrapped around his throat, cutting off his windpipe. Trey, wide-eyed, choked as he tried to pry loose her death-grip. "Damn you!"

Trey gasped as he was thrown to the ground by her unnatural strength. Coughing hard, he looked up as Emmy stood over him, a lethal expression danced in her orbs as she delivered a powerful kick to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

She bent down, grasping his throat once more as she pulled him by his feet. "I want to live!" she growled, as spots were appearing in his pupils. "And no one will stop me!"

"Get off of him!" Sarah screeched, running to Trey's aid. She yanked on her arm frantically as she stared petrified at the girl she once used to taunt. "Stop it Emmy!"

"I am not EMMY!" the sadistic girl bellowed. With her free hand, she shoved Sarah across the floor. Eyes glittering dangerously, she dropped Trey unceremonious and stalked towards the sniveling redhead.

"I'm the prima donna now!"

Before she could lay a hand on her, Maggie scrambled onto the stage and pinned Emmy to the ground. Grunting, Maggie managed to hold her arms down as she shouted for Trey for help.

"Let go of my bride!"

Maggie was lifted up in the air by her shirt collar, gagging as she came face-to-face with the furious Phantom of the Opera. His sea-green eyes morphed into a ferocious gray as he spat, "I'll not be interrupted anymore!"

He flung her into the hysterical crowd, grinning as she lay crumpled between the second and third row.

Everyone was up out of their seats, voices rising and people calling for help. Maggie's parents flew to their daughter, her mother crying as she cradled her colorless face.

Will and Gloria were pushing their way towards the stage, screaming Emmy's name as the masked man walked over to her, gently bringing her to her feet.

"Erik." She smiled.

A ghost of his own smile flitted on his lips as he stroked her cheek. "My love."

As he went to embrace her, he was suddenly violently pushed away.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted. "Help! Someone hel--!"

Emmy/Christine staggered away only to run back into his waiting arms.

"Erik she's—" Christine started as her hand clamped over her mouth, blocking out the muffled curses.

He gazed helplessly as both Christine and Emmy struggled internally for control. She was being pushed away from his reach, an invisible body doing all it could to keep her from going to him.

"ERIK!" Christine choked as she held out a hand for him.

"NOO!"

He found his voice and rushed to his angel's defense, crushing her arms in his large hands. He shook her hard, ignoring her painful cries, as he stuck his face into hers. "I won't let you do this to me, you ungrateful brat! You can't defeat me!"

Panic gripped him as the changing of emotions raced through her eyes, hate and love. Love and hate.

He couldn't lose her. Not now… not when they came so far…

Pressing his palm to her forehead, Erik began chanting in a foreign tongue, slowly easing her to the cold ground. Her attempts to fight were slipping as a lax, placid state took over.

He was winning… they were winning…

Emmy's eyes rolled into the back of her head, her lids closing as a numbing sensation rose from within, robbing her from any sense of rebellion she could muster.

The pressure on her skin intensified as Erik's mantra became louder. Soon… soon… soon…

(Christine, I love you…)

His concentration broke as his face collided with the floor once more. He twisted around to see Trey's determined façade and that of another older male securing him so he couldn't move. Flicking his head over to his beloved, a distraught woman sat next to her, holding her head as she caressed her dark curls. The likeness of the woman to Amelia was striking.

"Wake up, Amelia," she muttered. "Oh please, honey, wake up!"

Erik moaned as Will slammed him face-first down. Tears pricked his eyes as he hissed, "You bastard! What did you do to my little girl?"

The Phantom gave no response as the angry father yanked his arm back. "I'll kill you," he whispered.

Erik chuckled. His mask was starting to fall from his ears, his mangy flesh becoming exposed, but what did it matter? His nose was pouring blood, a nasty deep purple bruise was forming around his right eye, and the wetness of his bottom lip dripped to the floor.

His throaty chuckle reverberated, a chilling sound matched to his hideous visage. Will looked away in disgust, yet it was too late to block the horrid vision.

Sarah crawled over to Gloria's side, tears cascading down her face, as she took Emmy's hand. Mother and teen exchanged an anxious glance when a soft croak brought their attention back.

Emmy's eyelids fluttered opened, wincing as her body screamed all over and in places she never thought existed. Her head throbbed but she paid no heed to it. She was… whole.

"Amelia?"

Emmy looked up at her mother and then to Sarah, forcing a tiny grin. "Hey," she replied.

Covering her mouth, Gloria wept as she hugged Amelia fervently and Sarah squeezed her hand.

The tender mood evaporated as they heard laughing. Emmy cocked her head to see her father and Trey hold down Erik, his piercing orbs boring right into her. Impulsively, she shrunk into Gloria's protective embrace, staring at the man she once esteemed as Angel, tutor, lover, and now madman.

The cheekbone protruded out with no coverage of flesh, the veins pulsed and a few broke as blood trickled down, his nose was bent as a sliver of white stuck out, and his mouth was curled upwards menacingly. Each burst of mirth caused his wretched smile to broaden.

"It's never over," he said. "You're mine forever."

Effortlessly, Erik tossed Trey and Will off his back as he stood on quivering legs. Throwing his head back, he declared, "It's never OVER!"

Reaching into his pocket, Erik revealed a tiny ball and discharged it at his feet.

A heavy cloud dispersed, flooding the stage as Erik's booming chuckle resonated.

"Mine, mine, mine," he chanted.

The cloud dissipated in seconds, the people on stage still lost in a coughing fit. Only Emmy was the first to see he was gone.

He's gone…

She heard a rattle and looking up over the still populated seats; the handcrafted chandelier shook until the hinge gave loose and plummeted.

TBC…

Yeah... I didn't learn my lesson. This is the last cliffhanger I promise!