This is a short, transitional chapter that was originally part of a much longer chapter.

I have to do some editing on the rest, so I thought I'd give you a little taste...cause that's better thana no-chapter day!

Enjoy!

-Nico

There was darkness.

Darkness and the vague sense that someone was watching him.

Erik forced his eyes open, painfully aware that every muscle in his body was seized in a sort of involuntary convulsion.

When his vision focused, he was met with a familiar sight.

The high, stone-pitched ceilings of his lair.

He sat up too quickly for his muscles to compensate, resulting in a primal scream.

He was in his black silk-lined bed in the depths of the Opera Populaire.

A quick survey of his surroundings confirmed that everything was just as it had been before the final performance of Don Juan Triumphant.

Erik forced himself to rise, wincing as a particular spot on his chest burned and ached with his movements.

Slowly, he made his way to the door of his bedroom, leaning against the oak frame and trying to catch his breath.

As he peered out onto the lake, he shuddered a sigh.

It had all been a dream.

Slowly, his right hand came up to his face, his eyes sliding closed in morbid frustration as his fingertips encountered familiar twisted skin and jutting bones.

The overwhelming feeling that he was about to pass out caused him to slide to the floor, tears of rage forming in the corners of his eyes.

It had been so real…everything.

But it was just his warped mind playing an unfair trick on him.

A trick that had convinced him that his angel loved him.

He allowed the sobs to come…harsh, wracking sounds that shook the very foundation he sat upon.

"Really, Erik. I thought it would take more than this to defeat you."

Erik raised his eyes, stunned to see Charles Daae standing before him in all his ethereal glory.

He forced himself to stand, too preoccupied by the glimmer of hope the presence of Charles had ignited within his soul to focus on the pain in his body.

"Charles," Erik rasped. "What happened?"

"You died," Charles said matter-of-factly. "And cleverly discovered how to return to this life."

Erik's head was swimming. "Please, Charles," he said beseechingly. "I can not handle any more mysticism…any more games. What is going on?"

Charles nodded, his eyes still carrying the glint of the humorous nature that personified the man in life, as well as death.

"Your death was a deal-breaker, Erik," the older apparition explained. "Everything has gone back to the way it was before." Charles smiled. "Well, almost everything."

Somewhere above their heads, the opening chords of Don Juan Triumphant began to resound through the Opera Populaire.

"This isn't where I left off, Charles," Erik said pointedly. "I believe it was actually a few hours later."

Charles winked.

"Then it seems you still have the power to change the future," Charles said. "Everything you experienced with Athena…without your scars…with Christine's love…you must utilize those experiences now…tonight…here."

"Christine," Erik said, the word playing on his lips. "She will remember nothing, will she?"

Charles' eyes darkened a bit. "This is where it becomes complicated," he admitted. "Unfortunately, Christine had been told about your second chance, courtesy of her bumbling father. It is now up to you to make her remember."

Erik scoffed as the overture above him rose and fell in familiar waves. "She will leave with Raoul," he said miserably. "I had confessed my love to her…asked her to stay with me…yet she still chose him."

"You also tried to hang Raoul with the Punjab lasso…after killing Piangi with the same rope… or have you forgotten?"

Erik stared at him in stony silence.

That particular bit of the story had been momentarily, blissfully forgotten.

Charles sighed. "Second chances come in all forms, Erik. I'm still offering you exactly what I did in the beginning of all this. It's just that you have a time limit now."

The orchestra swelled and roared, signaling that the show was about to begin.

"You have three minutes before your entrance, Erik," Charles said. "Perhaps it would be best if you changed into your costume?"