Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Wheldon, The Mummy belongs to Steven Sommers 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, post-The Mummy Returns and during the movie The Phantom Of The Opera.
Pairing(s): Erik/Christine (a little bit), Buffy/Erik, Dawn/Erik (friendship), Raoul/Christine (sorry for those of you who hate Raoul), Willow/Christine/Raoul
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, dear readers. I was away on vacation for a couple of weeks but now I'm back. Anyway, I have an announcement to make in terms of returning POTO characters in the sequels. Christine will be the only POTO character besides Erik who will return in the sequels to this story. As the result of that, I decided to pair Christine up with one of the male characters from either the BtVS/Angel universe or the Harry Potter universe but I'm not sure which character to pair Christine up with. This is where you, dear readers, come in. Which BtVS/Angel male character or Harry Potter male character should Christine be paired up with?
BtVS/Angel
Xander
Angel
Spike
Connor
Gunn
Other Character (except Wesley, Giles and Andrew)
Harry Potter
Harry
Oliver
Fred
George
Other Character
Either vote via a review or e-mail me at The voting poll will close at the final chapter of this story. The reason I decided to have Christine return for the sequels is because she's another one of my favourite POTO characters besides Erik and also because she will play a very important role in both The Other Side Of Courage and The Other Side Of Honor. That role will be explained at the beginning of TOSC. Also, I'm adding another fandom to the sequels just to give the stories more of a magical flare. The fandom is the TV show Charmed (which is one of my favourite shows and it's ending, 'sniff, sniff'). I listened to Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from the POTO soundtrack as I wrote the beginning of this chapter. I loved how Emmy Rossum sang it. It made me cry from the beginning of the song to the end. Now, I'm listening to the music from the battle scene from the movie The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (I love that movie almost as much as POTO!) Anyway, please enjoy and remember no flames! I will ignore them and I have no patience for them.
Summary: Buffy encountered Imhotep via a dream who gave her a grim warning that the demon is after Christine to kill her because her future daughter will be of great inportantence to the Chosen Line. Meanwhile, Willow confronted her growing attraction to Raoul but is unable to act on it because of her grief over Tara's death and also because he is Christine's fiancé.
God, please don't let anything happen to Christine! Please! I'd hate for Erik to lose it if something happens to her.
That was the one thought that ran through Buffy's mind as she sat in her seat in the carriage that she and Erik managed to borrow from Raoul. But despite hers and Erik's protests, the Viscount had insisted on coming with them, Willow and Dawn which, to both the Slayer and the Phantom, was a bad idea.
A very bad idea because of the tension between him and Willow. But, we're going to need him if the demon shows up. If Christine dies so does the Chosen Line.
Buffy turned to face Dawn who looked more anxious and afraid for Christine than she was. And for good reason. Dawn and Christine have become such good friends in the three months we've been in this century. The Slayer then glanced at Willow and Erik who were staring at opposite sides of the carriage and looking very grim.
Man, I'm glad Raoul is driving the carriage and not somebody else. Otherwise, we'd have World War III going on in here right about now with the way Erik's temper is.
"We're almost there!" Buffy heard Raoul shout. "We are about five minutes away!"
"Okay, Raoul!" Buffy shouted back. Then she turned to Dawn who was now looking very remorseful and upset.
"I shouldn't have left her last night." Dawn said mournfully. "Christine was so upset after what you guys told her …"
With tears in his eyes, Erik moved over to the teen and took her hand. "I know, Dawnie." He said. "But this was not your fault."
"He's right." Buffy said. "You had no idea what she was going to do. But I promise you, nothing is going to happen to her. Not on my watch."
Dawn smiled at her. "I know." She said. Then the carriage stopped at the slightly open gates of the cemetery. At that, Dawn jumped out of the carriage and ran to the entrance of the cemetery.
"Dawn, wait!" Willow shouted.
Dawn ignored her friends and sister's cries for her to stop and kept on running searching frantically for her friend.
"Christine!" Dawn shouted with fear and concern creeping into her voice. "Christine, are you here? Answer me if you're here." The teen looked around frantically and drew a dagger that Buffy had given her months earlier listening for any sign of either Christine or something else. Then she heard something in the distance. It was the sound of someone singing. Her heart pounding heavily, Dawn broke into a run and then she stopped when she saw who it was.
Christine! Oh, thank God! She's okay!
Dawn nearly burst into tears of relief but she fought them back when she saw the look on her friend's face which looked very mournful and sad. The teen remembered how when Christine talked about her father to her, she looked very sad and longing. Dawn's relief turned to sympathy as she understood the grief Christine was feeling over her father's death. Even the song she was singing made Dawn feel sympathetic toward her friend.
I was the same way when Mom died. I missed her and I still do. Poor Christine.
With tears still in her eyes, Dawn walked slowly toward her friend and as she did, she started to sing joining Christine in her mournful song showing for the first time the feelings she had felt over her mother's death two years previous.
"Dawn." Christine gasped as she turned to face her friend. "What are you doing here? How did you …?"
"I came to see if you were okay." Dawn replied cutting her off. "I knew you were here because I remembered what you told me about your father. About how you watched him die when you were only a kid. Christine, I know what's it like to lose a parent. I lost my mother just a few years ago. Like your father, she was sick. The doctors treated her for her illness but then something happened and Buffy found her dead on the couch. I loved my mother just like you loved your father."
"He was your world." Dawn continued. "And he was taken away from you. My mother was mine and Buffy's world and when she died, our lives and world was shattered. I know that losing a parent at fourteen years old isn't the same as losing a parent at seven years old but the effects of it are the same. You and I are not so different; Christine and I want to let you know that I will be there for you in all of the remaining time that I have left here. I will be there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on, someone to share your fears and a friend to lean on."
With tears in her eyes, Christine glanced up at Dawn with a sense of gratitude and friendship. Then she started to sing again with her voice mingling with Dawn's.
As the two friends reached the end of the cemetery, Dawn looked up to see that she and Christine were standing in front of stone steps that led to a crypt. That was when she realized that Christine's father was buried in a crypt. Dawn was pulled out of her thoughts when she turned to see that Christine fell onto her knees onto the snowy ground. Dawn knelt down in front of her and sang with her the last words of her song.
Then Dawn gently took Christine into her arms. The young singer began to cry in earnest on her shoulder. As she was comforting her, the tears Dawn had been fighting back swam down her cheeks. With nothing to say to ease her friend's pain and agony, Dawn simply held her ignoring the coldness she was feeling in her legs. But then she felt the hair at the back of her neck stand up and she started to sense that something was wrong. Still holding onto Christine, she slowly turned her head and recoiled in horror when she saw it.
The demon!
"Hello, hello, hello." It said appearing out of nowhere. "Christine Daae and the Key. What an unexpected pleasure."
Christine pulled away from Dawn's embrace and screamed in terror when she saw the demon. Dawn, however, stepped in front of her and glared at the demon viciously.
"I don't think so." Dawn snarled. "You'll have to kill me to get to her." She slowly pulled out the dagger she hid in her sleeve.
"I'm prepared to do that since you are in my way." The demon sneered. "Besides, I'm tired and I prefer to kill you both quickly.
"Not on my watch, asshole."
Dawn and Christine both turned to see that Buffy, Willow, Erik and Raoul had finally caught up with them. The Slayer had a deadly look in her eyes and on her face as she glanced at the demon.
"Well, well, well. The Slayer and the Phantom." The demon sneered again. "I was nice enough not to kill you three months ago. But now my mercy has run cold."
Erik laughed coldly. "I wasn't aware that a foul creature like you would be capable of showing mercy." He said in an equally cold voice.
"Be careful who you insult, Phantom." The demon snarled viciously. Then it took out a rather long sword and aimed the tip of it at Dawn and Christine.
"It's your call, Slayer." It said with an evil smile. "Like I said before, I'm tired and I prefer to kill your bratty sister and Christine Daae quickly. We can do this the easy way which is stay out of my way or the hard way which is to fight each other to the death. It's really up to you."
"Personally, I prefer just to kill you and put you out of your misery." Buffy replied in a snarl. "Come and get me if you can."
The demon simply just grinned a twisted, evil grin. "With pleasure, Slayer." Then it took out a sword out of its cloak and held it high above its head to prepare to kill.
"Elizabeth!" Erik yelled as he threw the sword he had brought with him to her. Buffy caught the sword in her hands and blocked the demon's attempt to deliver the killing blow on her. As the demon began another attack, Buffy yelled out.
"Take Christine and go!"
Raoul, Erik, Willow, Dawn and Christine all broke into a run to get to the cemetery gate but their way was blocked by a group of, what looked like to Dawn, bloodthirsty hellhounds. One of them ran toward Christine growling viciously. Before she realized what she was doing, Dawn threw her dagger at the creature. The weapon hit home in the hellhound's head killing it quickly. Without giving it another thought, Dawn ran to Christine to check her for injuries.
"Are you all right?" Dawn asked.
Terrified and crying uncontrollably, Christine only nodded. Dawn took her hand and turned to Willow, Erik and Raoul.
"You guys try todistract them, I'll get Christine to the carriage." She said. Before either of them could object to her plan, she and Christine broke into a run. They didn't stop until they reached the gates to the cemetery and the carriage but the teens were unaware that two hellhounds had followed them and before either of them could do anything, they sprang out of nowhere and one of them dug its teeth into Dawn's left leg. Dawn screamed in pain and fell onto the ground.
"Dawn!" Christine screamed in terror. As she stood in utter terror and horror, the hellhound dragged Dawn back to the gates. Dawn grabbed onto one of the bars of the gates and struggled to hold on.
"Christine!" Dawn screamed at her friend. "Go! Get out of here! Just get out of here!"
"No!" Christine sobbed. "I won't let you die for me!"
"Better me than you!" Dawn shouted back. "You're too important to the Chosen Line to die. If you die, the Chosen Line dies with you."
As she said her words, Dawn screamed in pain as the other hellhound bit her on the side and on her stomach. Her breath came out in sharp gulps of air and Christine's screams and sobs echoed in her ears. As she began to slip into unconsciousness in a haze of pain and satisfaction, Dawn's conscious thought was on the young singer whom she was beginning to care for like a sister and a best friend.
Christine screamed in terror and grief when she saw the second hellhound bite Dawn on the side and stomach. She could hear her scream of pain from where she was standing. Then she saw the fire that she knew Dawn had in her die in her eyes and she was beginning to loosen her grip on the bar of the gates.
"NOO!" Christine screamed in grief. "Please, Dawn! NOOO!"
Overcome with grief, fear and anger, Christine turned and her eyes darted at Dawn's fallen dagger. Shaking, she picked it up and walked over to where the two hellhounds were with Dawn and with a violent rage she didn't know she had inside of her, she stabbed the first one over and over again killing it quickly. The last hellhound lost its focus on Dawn and turned to Christine but before it could do anything, she thrusted the dagger into its chest. Then it fell onto the ground dead. Still shaking, Christine crawled over to Dawn, lifted her into her arms and then gave in to her raging emotions.
"Oh, Dawn." Christine sobbed uncontrollably. Tears streamed down her cheeks and long, heaving sobs racked her body. She was crying so hard that she didn't even hear Erik calling out her name. She didn't acknowledge his presence until she looked up and saw him on his knees in front of her. Christine couldn't even hold back tears when she saw that Erik had tears in his own eyes when he saw Dawn lying motionless in her arms.
"She saved me." She sobbed. "Dawn saved me from the hellhounds even though she couldn't fight them on her own. I couldn't even help her …" Christine sobbed harder. "I couldn't …"
"You can still help her, Christine." Erik replied still fighting back tears. "I will take you both to the Opera House. Madame Giry is Dawn's only chance."
Slowly and gently, Erik scooped up Dawn in his arms and carried her to the carriage. As he got her as comfortable as possible in the carriage, he got out in time to see Willow and Raoul running out of the cemetery.
"Where is Elizabeth?" Erik demanded worried for both his fiancée and for Dawn's condition.
"Still fighting the demon." Willow answered. "Where's Dawn?"
"In the carriage. She has been wounded." Erik replied.
Willow opened the door to the carriage and recoiled in horror when she saw the wounds covering Dawn's body from her encounter with the hellhounds.
"Sweet Goddess!" she whispered in horror. Then she examined the wounds before she came out of the carriage.
"We're two hours away from Paris." Willow said. "She'll never make it. I'll have to come back with you."
"Willow …" Erik began to say but was cut off.
"I know some healing spells that will buy Dawn some time before we get back to Paris." Willow said pleading with him. "Please, Erik. If I don't go with you, she'll be dead before you get back into the city."
"She's right, Erik." Raoul agreed. "Let Willow go with you and Christine. She may be Dawn's only hope."
What would Elizabeth do in a situation like this?
That was the one thought that ran through Erik's mind as he glanced at Willow and Raoul and then back at a tearful Christine. If Willow went with them back to Paris, she could save Dawn's life but also leave Buffy and Raoul unprotected.
But if Willow doesn't come back with us, Dawn will die. I will never forgive myself if that happens. It will destroy Elizabeth if that happens. I can't let Dawn die. I can't.
Taking a shaky breath, Erik nodded and made a gesture to Willow to come with him. "Come, we don't have much time."
Willow nodded and then she turned to Raoul. "Get Buffy, tell her what happened. Once, we get back to the Opera Populaire; I'll send another carriage for you and Buffy."
"I'll wait for you once I find Elizabeth." Raoul replied. "Be careful and take care of her." He gestured his head toward Christine.
Willow nodded. "I will." At that, she ran inside the carriage and sat down. Gently, she laid Dawn's head on her lap and quietly began to chant a healing spell that she knew would not completely heal all of Dawn's wounds but will buy the wounded teen time. Once she was finished the spell, she looked up to face Christine.
Poor girl. The Wicca thought as she took in her appearance. Christine's face looked red and swollen from crying and her eyes were still filled with tears. Willow felt very sympathetic toward the young singer knowing that she was frightened for Dawn's life and terrified at the thought of losing her. Gently, she lifted Dawn's head, got up, and then she lowered it gently on a pillow. Then she walked over and sat down next to Christine with a gentle expression on her face.
"Christine." Willow called out softly and gently.
Christine glanced up at the redheaded Wicca and then burst into tears. Gently, Willow took the crying teen in her arms and held her. Christine's head rested on her shoulder and she stroked her hair gently.
"It's okay. Shhh. It's all right. Shhhh." Willow whispered soothingly. "It's okay, Christine. Just let it out. Let it all out. Shhh." Willow simply just held Christine and let her cry for the rest of the journey back to Paris.
Six hours later …
Buffy and Raoul both walked toward the door of Madame Giry's room where Dawn was recovering from her wounds that resulted from the attack of the hellhounds. While Buffy was able to fight the demon off, she was horrified when she learned of what happened to her beloved sister but she was relieved when Raoul told her that Willow, Christine and Erik were going to return to Paris to get Dawn some help. Thanks to Willow's quick thinking, Dawn survived the journey back to Paris but when Erik brought her to Madame Giry, the ballet instructor had to call a doctor to examine her. Poor Christine was so upset and devastated over what happened to Dawn that she refused to come out of the room after the doctor left. Buffy couldn't help but feel so sorry for the young singer knowing that both her and Dawn were like sisters.
When they reached the door, Buffy knocked on it. "Christine." She called out. "Christine!" Then she and Raoul turned to Erik, Willow, Madame Giry and Meg.
"She still hasn't come out?" Buffy asked.
Meg shook her head. "Christine still refuses to come out." She replied. "She insisted that she stay in case Dawn wakes up."
"What did the doctor say?" Raoul asked. "Will Dawn be all right?"
Madame Giry gave both the Viscount and the Slayer a grim look. "The doctor said that Dawn's wounds are very serious and there is a fifty-fifty chance that she will recover. He did what he could for the wound on her leg."
"Willow's healing spells probably saved her life." Buffy replied. "Dawn is a pretty strong girl. She'll pull through."
"I hope so for Christine's sake." Meg said mournfully. "It will destroy her completely if she dies. They are as close as sisters could be if Christine had a sister."
I hope so too for Christine's sake and mine. Buffy thought sadly as she glanced at the door and then back at Raoul, Erik, Willow, Meg and Madame Giry.
"I better go in and check on them." Buffy said earning nods from her friends and fiancé before she opened the door and went inside the room. She fought back the urge to break down when she saw the bandages that covered Dawn's stomach and leg. But it was the way Christine looked that made the Slayer feel worse. The young singer looked paler than usual and her face was swollen from crying. She looked tired, frightened, devastated and grieving over what had happened in the cemetery.
Buffy took a chair and sat down next to Christine at Dawn's bedside. "Hey." The Slayer said gently. "Meg was telling me that you wouldn't come out the room after the doctor left."
"I couldn't leave her alone." Christine said so quietly that even with enhanced hearing Buffy had to strain her ears to hear her. "Not after what she did for me. She saved me from the hellhounds even though she couldn't fight them on her own."
Then Christine let out a sob. "I wanted to help her but I couldn't. I was so frightened that I froze… I could have …"
Feeling extremely sympathetic for her, Buffy laid a hand on Christine's shoulder. "Christine, what happened to Dawn was not your fault. You were scared. You had every right to be. I don't blame you for what happened. I know that I should be angry and be blaming someone but the only one that I'm pissed at is that demon that got her in this situation in the first place. The demon that's after you. Dawn put herself in danger trying to protect you. That's what Slayers do. Protect the innocent. Hell, I did it my whole life and then when Dawn turned fifteen, I began teaching her everything I knew as the Slayer and I'm still teaching her everything I know."
"Dawn cared about you and still does." Buffy continued. "You're like a sister to her just like Willow is like a sister to me."
At that point, Christine lost it completely and broke down crying for the fifth time in six hours. Gently, Buffy took her in her arms and let the tears that she had been fighting back run down her cheeks. There was a lot she could say but nothing she could do to ease Christine's pain and grief what happened to Dawn.
One week later …
Poor Christine. She hasn't slept and has hardly eaten since the incident with the cemetery. Plus, she's blaming herself for what happened to Dawn when she saved her.
That was the one thought that ran through Willow's mind as she walked slowly toward the room with a stack of towels in her arms. It had been a long difficult week for everyone involved. Christine spent all of her time at Dawn's bedside and had a terrible time sleeping due to horrible nightmares of what happened three days previous. Buffy also stayed but she stayed out of concern for both her sister and for Christine's health and well-being. Erik and Madame Giry took turns taking care of Dawn at night and day praying for any change in her condition. While Willow stayed in the catacombs to work on the spell to send her, Buffy, Dawn and Erik back to the twenty-first century, Raoul went back and forth between his family home and the Opera Populaire to check on both Christine and Dawn and also to check on Willow's progress.
As she entered, Willow couldn't help but stare in concern and worry at Christine's appearance. Her normally brushed curly brown hair was mangled in knots and her face was red and puffy from crying so much. Her brown eyes were bloodshot from both crying and lack of sleep. She was still dressed in the clothes that she was wearing three days ago. Willow glanced up at Buffy and saw that she looked just as concerned and worried as the Wicca was. Then Christine started to fall over but Buffy caught her before she hit the ground.
"You need some shut-eye." Buffy said as she started to carry the tired teen to the door.
"No." Christine protested and she began to struggle out of the Slayer's grasp. "I need to be with Dawn. I can't leave her."
Willow felt sorry for Christine but that didn't ease her concern for her. "Christine, I know you want to take care of Dawn but you have to take care of yourself too. I mean, when was the last time you slept in a bed or eaten a proper meal?
"Willow's right, Christine." Buffy agreed. "You haven't had a decent night's sleep since Dawn was brought here and you take only two or three bites of a meal then you leave it. You need to take care of yourself."
"You don't understand!" Christine screamed at her. "I can't lose her like I lost my father!" Then she let out a sob.
Poor girl. What can I do to help her to pull through? This can't go on. First we tell her that a demon is after her to kill her because of a future daughter who is of great inportantence to the Chosen Line and now this? Christine has already been through enough!
"I know you're scared of losing Dawn." Buffy said to Christine struggling to keep her voice even. "So am I. But you have to remain strong for her sake and stay positive. Dawn is a very strong girl. She will get through this. She will come back to us. Just have faith in her. Don't give up on her."
Christine glanced up at Buffy with tears in her eyes. "I haven't." she whispered. "And I won't. I just wish …"
"I know, Christine." Buffy said to her gently. "I know." The Slayer could tell that Christine didn't want to be alone just by looking into her eyes and knew that was one of the reasons why she didn't want to leave Dawn. That made her feel more sympathetic toward the young singer but at the same time, Buffy didn't want to leave her sister's side. Then a solution entered her mind and she turned to Willow.
Wills, do you think that you could take over for me and watch over Dawn? Buffy asked telepathetically. I don't think Christine wants to be alone despite the fact that she needs some sleep.
To her surprise and relief, Willow nodded her head. Of course. She replied silently. I need a break from using magicks anyway. If Dawn's condition changes or if she wakes up, I'll come and get you.
Thanks, Wills. I owe you one. Buffy replied before she turned back to Christine. The Slayer almost winced at the tearful look on the young singer's face.
"Elizabeth, I don't want to leave Dawn." Christine said. "But you and Willow are right. I do need to take care of myself. The only problem is that I don't want to be alone. I just …" Christine let out another soft sob.
"It's okay, Christine." Buffy replied gently. "I know that you don't want to be alone and you don't need to. If it will make feel better then I'll accompany you to your room and stay with you for a while. Willow will stay and take over for me and watch over Dawn. Will it make you feel better?"
Christine, silently crying, could only nod.
"Okay, come on." Buffy said and she gently escorted Christine out of the room. Together, the Slayer and the young singer walked in silence to Christine's room. Once they entered the room, Christine flung herself onto her bed and burst into tears in her pillow. With tears in her own eyes, Buffy sat down in front of her at the edge of the bed, took her hand and held it wishing that she could do something to ease the girl's pain.
Meanwhile …
Dawn opened her eyes but then closed them again as she was suddenly blinded by a flash of light. She opened them again and saw that the light was the sun. Frowning, she spun around and saw that she was not back at the cemetery being eaten alive by hellhounds but in a desert under the hot sun.
"Where am I?"
Confused, Dawn took in to her surroundings and started to walk. After close to twenty minutes of walking, she saw that there was a shape a few feet away from her that she couldn't mistake to be a man. Then she broke into a run ignoring the wave of dizziness she was feeling from the heat. Once she stopped, she took in the man's appearance. Handsome with a bald head and wearing clothing that obliviously were Ancient Egyptian. Dawn didn't need to guess the man's identity because she already knew who he was.
"Imhotep." Dawn whispered softly.
"Hello, my Princess." Imhotep said. "It is wonderful to see you again after all of these years."
Dawn felt her cheeks grow hot when the former High Priest took her hand and kissed the back of it. "I hardly know you but yet I feel like I do."
"It is your memories of your former life." Imhotep replied. "When I turned you into the Key, I made sure that if you retained human form and if we meet again to let you keep your memories of your life as the Princess of Egypt."
"The monks must've screwed up something when they made the Key into human form then if you made sure that I keep my memories of my former life." Dawn said. "Because I don't remember anything."
"Perhaps, in time you will regain them." Imhotep said in a reassuring voice.
"It is true that you and I were friends once upon a time?" Dawn asked.
"Very close friends." The former High Priest answered. "But of course, we had to keep our friendship a secret from your father, the Pharaoh. You feared that I would be executed for treason if he knew of our friendship. However, you told only one person of our friendship and she kept our secret."
"Who was it?" Dawn asked.
"Your sister, Nefertiri. The only one you trusted with our secret." Imhotep answered.
I had a sister in my former life too? Cool!
"I had a sister in my former life as well as my new one? Wow!" Dawn said with a grin. Then it disappeared quickly and was replaced with a sad smile. "I wish I remember her."
Imhotep gave Dawn a gentle smile. "You will, my Princess. You will soon." He said in a soft, gentle voice. "Just like she will remember you soon enough."
Dawn was confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Nefertiri has been reincarnated several times over the years in different people." Imhotep answered. "However, in the century that you and the Slayer are currently trapped in, Nefertiri has been reincarnated into someone you know. Someone you have become very close to."
At that point, Dawn realized whom Imhotep was talking about and it made sense to her. "Christine." She whispered.
"Yes, very good, my Princess." The former High Priest said. "Christine Daae is the reincarnation of Nefertiri as well as the one who would become the mother of the Slayer who would be of great importance."
"As you told Buffy." Dawn said. "But I guess you can't tell me why Christine's daughter is important to the Chosen Line."
"I'm afraid I cannot." Imhotep replied. "But I can tell you that Christine Daae's destiny lies not in the century that she is living in but in the century that you and the Slayer live in."
"I don't get it, Imhotep." Dawn said sounding very confused now. "What are you trying to tell me?"
"What I am trying to tell you, my Princess," Imhotep answered as evenly as he could "Is that you and the Slayer as well as your friends back in your century need to be prepared to defend the Earth. The danger to it is far greater than just the Alga demon that is after Christine Daae."
"What kind of danger?" Dawn asked.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you that." Imhotep replied. "But I can tell you this. Christine Daae's future lies within your own century and that she will have a part to play for good in the fight against this new threat. If she survives, what will transpire after will come to pass but if she is killed before you and the Slayer go back to your century, chaos will reign and the balance will tip over to evil."
"Again as you told Buffy." Dawn said. "But you didn't tell her about Christine's destiny."
"Only because it was not what she needed to be told about." Imhotep said. "I was told to tell her about the Alga demon. Nothing more. Christine Daae will need you now, my Princess. More than ever. Time is running out."
"Protect her, my Princess." The former High Priest said as he began to fade away. "Do not tell her what I have told you. Let her find out on her own time."
"Will I ever see you again?" Dawn asked.
"We will see each other again soon, my Princess." Imhotep answered. "Until then, farewell." Then he disappeared into the now setting sun.
Dawn became aware that she had regained consciousness and felt pain all over her body but she kept her eyes closed. She heard two voices that decidedly sounded female and felt a blanket go over her legs and upper body. Then what happened in the cemetery with the hellhounds came back to her in clarity.
What happened? Dawn remembered fighting the hellhounds with Christine watching in horror…
Christine!
Dawn's eyes flew open and she groaned in pain when she moved her bitten leg. Then she turned to see that the two female voices she heard earlier were Willow and Meg, Christine's best friend. Both women stopped what they were doing and turned when they saw that Dawn was awake.
"Dawn!" Willow and Meg both shouted together and they rushed to her bedside.
"Thank Goddess, you're awake!" The Wicca said with relief. "We thought we were going to lose you."
"Can't get rid of me that easily." Dawn quipped. "I'm not going away for a while."
"I better get my mother, Raoul, Christine, Erik and Elizabeth." Meg said as she rushed to the door. "They were so worried about you." As she ran out the door, Willow went to change the bandage on Dawn's wounded leg.
"How long was I unconscious?" Dawn asked.
"A week." Willow replied. "You were wounded so badly that I had to use a healing spell to keep you alive on the journey back to Paris. Christine was beside herself and hadn't left your side since it happened. Buffy stayed with you too but she did it also out of concern for Christine. Erik and Madame Giry took turns taking care of you during the night. Poor Erik was an emotional wreck by the end of the seven days when he came to see you earlier. He started sobbing like a little girl when he sat down at your bedside. He was crying so much that Buffy and Madame Giry had to escort him out so that Meg and I could change your bandages."
Dawn was about to say something when she saw several familiar faces enter the room. Christine rushed to her side and started to cry.
"Thank God, you're awake!" She sobbed. "I was beginning to lose hope that you would survive."
Ignoring the pain in her stomach, Dawn leaned forward and took her friend in her arms. "It wasn't my time to go just yet." After she and Christine pulled away, Dawn opened her arms for both her sister and future brother in law but to her surprise, Erik flung himself on her bed, threw his arms around her and held her tightly. So tightly that air suddenly became an issue.
"Uh, Erik." Dawn groaned. "Not that I'm not happy to see you but the need for oxygen is suddenly becoming an issue as well as pain."
Realizing what he was doing, Erik released her and pulled away looking a little embarrassed. "Forgive me, Dawnie." He said. "I did not mean to embrace you so tightly."
"That's okay. Buffy has done it to me more than once." Dawn replied.
Buffy ignored her sister's last comment. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Dawnie." She quipped. "Nice to see you back among us again."
"Indeed." Raoul agreed. "You are incredibly lucky to be alive after an attack like that. From what I've heard about hellhounds, they are extremely vicious."
"They are." Madame Giry said as she gazed upon Dawn with a gentle smile. "But I am glad that you are alive, my dear. But I think now you need some rest."
Raoul nodded in agreement and gently took Christine's hand. "Come, Christine. Dawn needs some rest."
Christine nodded her head and glanced at Dawn. "We will talk later, Dawn." She said.
Dawn nodded and watched as Raoul, Christine, Meg and Willow left the room. Erik got up from the bed and he was about to leave with Buffy when the teen called out to him.
"Erik, could you stay with me for a little bit before I go to sleep?"
Erik looked at her before he turned to Buffy.
"Go ahead and stay with her." She said. "I'll wait for you down in the catacombs."
"All right, Elizabeth." Erik agreed and he remained where he was at Dawn's bedside. He brushed away a strand of hair from her face and smiled at her gently.
"Can you sing something to me?" Dawn asked.
Erik nodded. "What would you like me to sing?" he asked.
"Anything you want." Dawn replied quietly.
Erik just nodded again and began to sing the first song that entered his mind. It was one of two songs that he had written and worked on since the night he first met Buffy, Dawn and Willow three months ago. As he was singing, Erik saw that Dawn's eyes were closed again and that she was sleeping a peaceful sleep and with a smile on her face. With tears in his eyes, Erik continued to sing his song.
As he finished singing his song, Erik whispered softly. "Sleep now, my sweet sister. You are safe." Then being careful not to wake up Dawn, he took her hand and held it before he finally fell asleep at her bedside sitting in his chair. When Buffy came back into the room later that night to check on Dawn and found Erik asleep at the teen's bedside, she only smiled and sat down next him careful not to wake him or Dawn up. Then after an hour, she kissed Erik softly on his unmasked cheek, stroked his hair and then left the room quietly with a smile on her face.
Well, that's it for now. I just hope that I didn't confuse anybody with this chapter or put Christine out of character. Remember, don't forget to vote for the BtVS/Angel male character or Harry Potter male character should be paired up with Christine in the sequels. Please review and remember no flames. I will ignore them and I don't have the patience for them. Also, I'm not sure when I'll update next so keep your eyes peeled! Anyway, cheers for now!