Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Wheldon and The Phantom Of The Opera belongs to Joel Schmacher, Gaston Leroux and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The songs in this story belong to the songwriters who wrote these amazing songs. Please don't sue me, I'm completely and utterly broke and it's for entertainment purposes only.
Timeline: Post-season seven, Buffy and during the movie The Phantom Of The Opera.
Pairing(s): Erik/Christine, Buffy/Erik (friendship?), Dawn/Erik (friendship), Willow/Christine (friendship)
Author's Note: Okay, I know I said that my next update would be a while but I already had this chapter written and I couldn't resist not waiting till the end of the week to put it up. But just to warn those who are still voting for the pairing poll, this chapter contains a little Buffy/Erik although it hasn't become the offiicial pairing (yet!). Anyway, Raoul makes his first appearance in this chapter and I hope I haven't put him out of character but I'll let you, dear readers, be the judge of that. In the last chapter, I promised you guy to give you the lowdown on the two sequels that I'm planning on writing for this story and here it is:
The Other Side Of Courage -- a BtVS/Angel/POTO/Harry Potter x-over. This story will take place a few weeks after the events of 'The Other Side Of Compassion' and will be a Erik-centric story.
The Other Side Of Honor -- a BtVS/Angel/POTO/Harry Potter/Lord Of The Rings x-over. This story will take place three months after the events of 'The Other Side Of Courage' and will be a muti-pairing story from all five fandoms.
That's it for now. Enjoy dear readers and remember no flames. I will ignore them and I don't have the patience for them.
Summary: Buffy, Dawn and Willow attended an opera that Erik had written and the Slayer met Christine for the first time.
"God, are the vamps in this time always this hard to kill?" Buffy muttered to herself as she blocked a punch that the vampire she was fighting threw at her. It had been nearly four hours since she, Dawn and Willow returned to the catacombs and just as the redheaded Wicca predicted, Erik was very proud of the performance Christine had put on. After a short conversation with him about the performance, Buffy excused herself and went out on patrol to look for the demon and slay any vampires prowling around and after three hours, she ran into a group of vampires.
A group of very stupid vampires.
After a few minutes, she was getting bored and she gave the vampire a vicious kick to his stomach. Then she plunged her stake into the vampire's back turning it into a dust cloud. The other two vampires attacked her all at once but the Slayer proved to be the victor and she staked both without a mark to show for it.
"That was easy." Buffy said to herself.
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she instantly regretted them because she heard a cry of struggle and voices. Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes in frustration.
Man, I had to open my big, fat mouth!
"Great." She muttered as she ran to the source of the sounds. She followed the sounds in an alley behind the Opera House and saw four vampires. One of them was holding a young man against the wall and growling at him as he struggled to break free. Buffy drew her stake and before any of the vampires acknowedged her presence, she threw the stake at the vampire and it hit home into the vampire's back where his heart was. The vampire roared in pain and then turned into dust. The other three vampires spun around to face her.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Buffy said in a cold voice. One of the vampires growled at her.
"Slayer." He growled and he threw a punch at her to which she blocked easily. After exchanging a series of kicks and punches, she gained the upper hand and delievered a vicious kick to the vampire's ribs. When he doubled over in pain, she plunged her stake in his back turning it into dust. The other two vampires, not wanting to take a chance on her, fled and disappeared into the night.
"Yeah, you two better run." Buffy snarled. Then she went to check on the young man. He was cute with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you." He said. "I don't know what would have happened if you haven't come along."
Buffy smiled. "Well, I was just out for a walk when I heard sounds of struggle." She said. "I'm Elizabeth, by the way."
"My name is Raoul." The young man replied also introducing himself. He took her hand and kissed it. Buffy felt her cheeks grow hot as they turned into a dark shade of red. Then she remembered something.
Raoul is the other guy Christine is supposed to be in love with and her childhood friend! I'm never going to hear the end of it from Dawn and Willow. I met Raoul before they did!
"It's nice to meet you." She said proud that her voice was even. She was glad that he hasn't asked any questions about how she managed to take on a group of vampires without a mark to show for it. But her relief was short-lived when she heard Raoul say something to her.
"They were vampires, were they?" he asked.
Shocked beyond belief, Buffy nodded. "How did you know?" she asked.
"My brother is in England studying to become a Watcher." Raoul explained. "And he told me things about vampires and how to idenitfy them. He also told me about the Chosen One. A girl chosen by fate to slay vampires."
Surprised, Buffy raised her eyebrows. "I'm impressed. I thought you would deny the existence of vampires and anything out of the ordinary."
"That is what I did at first when my brother told me of all the things he had seen and experienced." Raoul replied. "I kept on denying the existence of such creatures until I saw them with my own eyes."
"And you knew that I'm the Slayer?" Buffy asked. "Before I told you my name?"
Raoul nodded. "My brother also told me how to identify the Slayer and when I saw you throw your stake at the vampire, I knew immediately that you were the Slayer."
"Just do me a favor and don't tell anyone about this." Buffy said. "This isn't exactly what I announce to people."
Raoul nodded in understanding. "I won't tell anyone what has happened. You have my word."
"Thank you, Raoul." Buffy replied.
"I must go. I'mwaiting foran old friend." Raoul said as he started to walk toward the end of the alley.
"I have to get back to my sister." Buffy said. "She's proably wondering what's keeping me. I'll walk you to the end of the alley before I get on my way."
"Thank you, Elizabeth but no." Raoul replied. "I can go on from here. It's a pleasure to meet you under the circumstances."
"It's good to meet you too, Raoul." Buffy replied. She waited until Raoul disappeared from sight before she walked to one of the windows of the Opera House and climbed inside. She carefully closed the window and walked to a door where the passage would lead to the catacombs. After following the passage to the catacombs, she waded in the lake til she reached the door to Erik's lair. Then she heard a shout of rage and a terrified scream. Both voices she knew well.
Erik and Dawnie!
Without thinking twice, Buffy pushed the door open and what she saw sent waves of anger and fear up her body. Dawn had a terrified look on her face and had tears in her eyes with Willow holding her protectively in her arms. Christine was lying on the floor also looking terrified. Erik was standing in front of her. His face filled with fury. It was at that Buffy saw that he wasn't wearing his mask and his hand was covering the right side of his face.
"Damn you!" he roared at Christine. "You little prying Pandora! You little demon!" He gestured to his face angrily. "Is this what you wanted to see!"
Dawn let out a cry of terror and her eyes filled with tears of anger, fear and pity.
"Erik, please calm down!" Willow shouted. She struggled to keep her anger and terror in check. Her eyes were turning black as her magic was threatening to leak out and she started to shake in fear and rage. But she fought back trying to regain control of her magic and her raging emotions.
I won't lose control. I won't lose control. I won't let my dark emotions take over me.
Buffy saw that her best friend's eyes were turning black and her fear grew when she realized that if she didn't do something to try to calm Erik down, Willow could lose control of her magic.
And she will end up being the Willow she became when she tried to destroy the world!
But Buffy also saw that Willow was fighting with herself to maintain control of her magic and her emotions. That wasn't enough to reasurre her. She had to try to end it.
"Stop it, Erik!" Buffy screamed in fear and anger. "You're scaring them!"
If Erik heard her, he gave no sign that he did and kept on yelling. "Curse you! You little lying Deliah! You little viper! Damn you! Curse you!" Desperate to calm Erik and afraid for Willow, Dawn and Christine, Buffy did the only thing she could think of. She hit him putting all of her strength in her punch. Her hand made contact with Erik's cheek sending him to the ground. He looked up at her stunned and shocked at the strength she had put into her hit. Then tears of remorse, pain and self-loathing welled in his eyes as he saw the rage and fear in Buffy's green ones and the terror on Dawn's face and in her own eyes which vanished when she looked at him.
Buffy was shaking with rage and fear as she stood over Erik but it vanished when she saw that he was starting to cry and knelt down in front of him on her knees.
"Erik." She whispered. Upon hearing her voice, Erik burst into tears. As he started to cry, Buffy put her hand over his which was still covering the right side of his face. She tried to pull it away but he jerked it back.
"It's okay." Buffy said gently. "I won't hurt you. I won't judge you."
The soothing tone in her voice made Erik cry harder and he sobbed profusely. Buffy, again, gently pulled his hand away from his face and saw for the first time what he had been hiding behind the mask. The skin was discolored and felt rough. The eyelid was drooping slightly and the hair on the right side of his head wasn't growing very well.
So that's what he has been hiding behind that mask. I've seen worse than this. It's no uglier than a vampire face. No wonder, he lives in the hellhole that he lives in. God, what did he do to deserve this?
Fighting back tears of anger and pity, Buffy stroked his hair and then kissed him on the forehead which made him cry even harder.
"Elizabeth." Erik sobbed softly. "Forgive me."
Feeling extremely sympathetic for him, Buffy gently took him into her arms and held him as he sobbed. Then she glanced at Willow, Dawn and Christine who were looking at the scene with pity and sympathy. To her relief, she saw that Willow's eyes had returned to it's normal green shade and now in control. Christine handed the mask to Dawn. The teen nodded and walked over to where her sister and Erik were and went down on her knees. Erik sobbed uncontrollably when he saw Dawn going down on her knees in front of him and Buffy. The teen had tears in her eyes and was looking at him with a twinge of pity and sympathy.
"Dawn. Christine." Erik sobbed harder. "Please forgive me."
Tears ran down Dawn's cheeks as she spoke. "It's okay, Erik." She whispered. "I forgive you. It's okay." Crying softly, Dawn rested her head on Erik's back and felt her sister's small but strong arm wrap around her in a big group hug. There was a lot that both Summers sisters wanted to say but nothing they could do to ease Erik's pain and remorse.
Two hours later …
Willow was having a terrible time getting to sleep. She replayed the entire night in her mind and thought of how things would been handled. It scared her and Dawn when Erik lost his temper and lashed out at Christine but not Buffy. Willow couldn't get the look in her best friend's eyes or the shocked look on Erik's face after she hit him out of her mind. She knew that he had been hit before but it was the strength Buffy had put into her punch that had shocked him. It also pulled him out of his rage and sent him sobbing in Buffy's arms. Willow knew that sooner or later, Erik would find out about Buffy being the Slayer and she couldn't prevent him from finding out.
Then there's Christine to consider. I mean, he scared the crap out of her and Dawn. Not to mention me.
Willow remembered the sympathy the young singer felt for her friend and the fear when Erik lost his temper. The Wicca had been afraid that he could hurt her but she was glad that he didn't. After Erik broke down, she had taken Christine back to the upper levels of the Opera House and she asked her not to reveal to anyone about what happened to which she agreed gladly. When Willow returned, she saw that Buffy, Dawn and Erik went to bed for the night so she didn't get a chance to talk about what had happened.
Sighing, she was about to close her eyes to try to sleep when she heard muffed cries coming from the room across from her. Curious, Willow got up and went out of her room to enter the room across from hers. Her curiousty turned to concern when she saw Erik tossing and turning in his bed. Sweat was pouring down his face and his breath was ragged.
"No!" Erik was crying out in his sleep. "No! Please! No! Elizabeth!"
Willow was at his side in an instant and tried to shake him awake. "Erik! Erik! Wake up!" At that point, he began trashing and crying in his sleep. Knowing that he wasn't waking up, Willow turned her head to yell for Buffy and Dawn.
"Buffy! Dawn! I need some help!" She screamed.
Buffy and Dawn rushed inside the room and were at the other side of the bed in seconds. Buffy grabbed Erik's shoulders and shook him trying to wake him.
"Elizabeth!" Erik screamed in his sleep still in the thoes in a nightmare. "Please, no! Please! Don't jump! NO!"
Ice water was sent through the Slayer's veins when she realized what he was dreaming about. He's dreaming of what happened in the final battle against Glory. Damn you, PTB! Why are you doing this to him? He's been through enough! Do you guys really hate me that much?
"Erik!" Buffy said. "Wake up! Please wake up!" She sat at the edge of the bed beside him. Her arms in a position to catch him just in case he woke up.
"ELIZABETH!"
Erik flew up from his bed and into Buffy's waiting arms. She held him tightly in her arms as he started sobbing uncontrollably and crying for the second time in the night. She stroked his hair gently and rubbed his back in a comforting gesture. Dawn went behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist in an attempt to comfort him.
"Elizabeth." Erik sobbed. "Elizabeth."
Tears welled in Buffy's eyes but she fought them back. "It's okay, Erik. I'm here. It's okay. Shh. Shhh. It's over. It's over." She whispered. More than anything, Buffy wished that she could tell him that it was only a dream but she knew that sooner or later, Erik was going to figure out who she really was and there would be no stopping it. For the rest of the night, she held him until he cried himself back to sleep. But instead of going back to her own room, she stayed with him just in case.
The following morning …
Buffy woke up with her back feeling stiff from the position she was in the night before. After she comforted Erik after his nightmare, she stayed in his room and fell asleep beside him. She opened her eyes and saw that Erik was still sleeping holding her hand. His face stiff with tears. Buffy saw that his unmasked cheek was bruised from where she hit him. She gently traced the bruise with her finger and then the tear marks that stained his cheek. Then she kissed him on the forehead gently. The feel of her lips against his forehead woke him up. His golden eyes instantly filled with emotions of pain and remorse when he saw her.
"Elizabeth …" Erik was cut off when Buffy placed her finger on his lips and she looked at him with compassion and understanding on her face.
"It's okay, Erik." She said. "You don't have to explain what happened last night. I know why you acted the way you did when Christine removed your mask. I just want to let you know that what I saw doesn't change the way Dawnie and I feel about you. Or Willow for that matter. You're still the Erik we know. The one who was kind to us. Who gave us shelter and clothes when we didn't have them before. You're our friend, our big brother and I would be very lucky to have someone like you in my circle of friends."
Tears welled in Erik's eyes at her words. In all of his years living on Earth, he never heard someone say such kind words to him before. He felt her finger trace the bruise on his cheek where she hit him the previous night and he saw the kindness and compassion in her green eyes. At that moment, he realized something. While he was still in love with Christine, he was developing feelings for Buffy also. The love he was beginning to feel for the Slayer was different than the love he felt for Christine. He wasn't sure how or why but it was a question that he could find the answer to on his own. Erik was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear Dawn's voice calling out to him and Buffy. He pulled himself out of them and turned to face the teen.
"Willow wants to see you and Buffy." She said. "She said that it's important."
Erik and Buffy gave each other knowing looks before turning to Dawn acknoweldging her. The Slayer got up but winced when pain laced through her back. That's what I get for lying in an uncomfortable position on a bed.
"Are you all right?" Erik asked worried when he saw her wince.
"I'm all right." Buffy said with an assuring grin. "Just a sore back. No big deal. Let's just go, talk to Willow and find out what's going on."
Erik nodded and followed her out of his room.
Okay, please don't flame me if you think Erik was out of character in this chapter or Buffy. Anyway, please review and remember (for the thousandth time) no flames! I will ignore them and I don't have the patience for them. My update will be up soon so please keep your eyes peeled and happy reading!