I'm gonna be nice and update earlier than expected. So you better update you fic Mouse. lol...that's a cool nickname.
Thank you for the reviews Mouse and Glinda :-)
More stupid advertising: How will they find Erik? How will they get him back? What is Javert planning? Will Erik ever stop being difficult? Probably not.
Disclaimer: I do not own the song "Learn to be Lonely." The song was written by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe...so it belongs to them, and not me. Obviously.
Karma
Raoul and Meg raced out of the carriage. Outside on the ground was Christine and Madame Giry. Christine was kneeling next to the woman she thought of as her mother, she had her hand on the older woman's shoulder to try and comfort her. Madame Giry was sitting down with her face in her hands crying hysterically. Meg ran to her mother to find out what was wrong. Raoul trailed over with her.
"What's going on?" He asked Christine.
"I'm not sure, someone's got Erik."
"Erik as in…him?"
Christine nodded her head, "Someone's bought him or something. Madame Giry won't tell me who he is. But from the looks of it, it's not good."
Raoul turned his attention to the woman crying on the ground. He took a deep breath and asked her who this person was.
"Javert! He can't be alive. I saw him….I saw Erik… he was dead I tell you!" Madame Giry was shouting things out which didn't make sense to them.
"Who is Javert?" Raoul asked.
"Javert…he'll kill Erik. He'll …kill his spirit. He'll kill what's left of him."
Christine looked to Meg hoping she would know what her mother was talking about but Meg shrugged. She hadn't the slightest clue what her mother was talking about.
Raoul walked into the police station.
"Vicomte! Great news! We caught the…" The cop began.
"Where did a man named Javert take him?" Raoul cut off the cop.
"I'm sorry monsieur, but I don't know where they went to."
"Why did you sell a prisoner to begin with?"
"Well he offered a great amount of money. Besides, that thing shouldn't be treated like a human. I would agree that people shouldn't be sold…but he's not a person!"
Christine heard the cop talking about Erik. She stormed over to the cop and punched him.
"Christine!" Raoul exclaimed. "You could be arrested for that!"
"I don't care." She said. Then she directed her attention to the cop, "how dare you!"
"Miss, I suggest that you leave immediately before I am forced to arrest you."
"Where did he take him?" She demanded.
"To the traveling fair." He said. Christine's heart nearly stopped. She remembered Madame Giry telling her about Erik's childhood. She realized who Javert must be.
She stared at Raoul, "We must go." He looked at her and agreed.
"Thank you for telling us officer." He said.
Raoul opened the door for her and they both walked out. "He took him to a fair." Raoul said out loud to Madame Giry and Meg.
"We must hurry then." Meg spoke up.
Meg noticed blood on Christine's knuckles. "Uhhh…Christine?"
"Yeah?"
"Why is your hand kind of…bloody?"
Christine looked at her knuckles. "Oh. I got angry."
Meg gave her a scared look and said, "Ok then."
"She punched the cop." Raoul informed Meg.
"Well, that's certainly interesting." Meg said.
"We don't have much time." Christine reminded them.
"…Right" Meg said. "Come on mom."
They all helped Madame Giry up from the road and got into a carriage. They ordered the driver to go to the nearest fair grounds.
Javert pushed Erik into the cage. Other gypsy members fought with Erik but managed to tie him up in chains. When they were done they left Javert with him. He gave Erik another sick smile.
"I'll fucking kill you! I swear to God I will." Erik finally managed to say.
"I'd like to see you try. But you can't because…you're a little tied up at the moment, aren't ya?"
Javert paused, "The Opera Ghost, eh? You know…I heard so much about you but I never made the connection. But now it's so obvious!"
Erik stared outside the cage which had a cover over it. There was a hole in the cover which he was able to peek out of. He prayed to find Madame Giry out there to save him again. But he prayed Christine would not appear… he did not want her to see this.
"Quit dreaming of living amongst normal people! You know it's not gonna happen. This is where you belong."
Javert left him to attend to the audience coming over to his tent. He heard him announcing to the crowd that they would have a surprise by the end of his section of the show. Erik knew his fate would be sealed in about 15 minutes. And he started to believe the drunken gypsy's words. 'Maybe it's about time to face the music.' He thought.
He remembered a song his mother would always sing to him. He started to sing it to himself after Javert was done talking to the crowd.
"Child
of the wilderness
Born into emptiness
Learn to be lonely
Learn
to find your way in darkness
Who will be there for you?
Comfort
and care for you?
Learn to be lonely
Learn to be your one
companion
Ever dreamed, out in the world
There are arms to hold
you?
You've always known
Your heart was on its own
So laugh
in your loneliness
Child of the wilderness
Learn to be
lonely
Learn how to love
Life that is lived alone
Learn to
be lonely
Life can be lived
Life can be loved…
Alone."
There were very few times in his life where he cried so hard. This was one of those times. Years of angst and sadness was built up in him. He completely let go.
The four of them rushed through the crowds. Madame Giry stopped to ask a young gypsy girl for Javert's tent. She pointed them in the direction of the tent. When they entered Madame Giry had to pause and breathe. She told Christine she had to prepare herself just in case. Christine wasn't too sure what she meant by it but knew it wasn't good.
"Where is he?" She asked the older woman.
"I don't know." The butterflies in her stomach grew by the second. Seeing Madame Giry nervous made her more anxious than ever before.
"And now Ladies and Gentlemen, a special treat." Javert announced.
"God in heaven!" Madame Giry gasped when she knew this was it.
Christine looked towards her and cried. She got the message of what might be behind the cover of that cage. 'God, please don't let it be him.'
"Years ago I had a young creature who was displayed to audiences all over this great continent! A creature, so disgusting but yet he looked so young…unable to harm anyone. That is, until he tried to kill me."
The crowd gasped. He smiled and continued, "A monster that was in the package of a small child. But not just any child, Ladies and Gentlemen, a child of the devil himself!"
The electricity in the air was intense, the audience was eager to hear more. Christine grew more nervous about everything.
She grabbed Meg's hand, "What do we do?"
"I don't know Christine." Meg replied softly.
"A monster that got away! His name was the Devil's Child, but now he is back. All grown up. Ready to do his father's work in destroying the world. He started his destruction in a building, yes you all have heard the scandal of none other than….The Phantom of the Opera!" He yelled.
The crowd buzzed in excitement, the thought of the captured Opera Ghost really got their attentions.
"The Opera Ghost and the Devil's Child are one in the same. He is essence of everything evil in this world, he is the antichrist, and he is a monster!" Javert ordered the other gypsies to unveil the cage. When they did Erik was shown hanging by chains. Christine let out a cry when she saw her former tutor hanging in the cage. He was beaten and bruised already, and he had the look of defeat. That was a feature she rarely saw in him. Javert walked into the cage with a whip and some sort of cane. He smiled at the defenseless man, "I'm going to enjoy this." He walked up to him and pulled back his hair. "Witness the face of evil."
Madame Giry fell to the ground in tears. Christine ran over to her. "We must help him."
Madame Giry stared at the cage, "I'll kill that man." She said with a fury Christine has never seen in her.
Javert held up the long cane to the crowd. "Who here believes the antichrist must be taught a lesson?" The crowd replied back with cheers. He laughed and smiled at Erik again. He hit him in the side of the stomach with the cane. The noise of his beating echoed off his body and into the crowd.
"No!" Christine screamed.
Erik looked up and saw her. In that one moment their eyes met. She saw the hurt in Erik's eyes, the pain she felt from him made her want to die. How could these people be laughing? Even Raoul looked disturbed by what was going on. Meg too was crying for the poor man in the cage. They were the only ones not cheering as Erik got hit mercilessly. Time seemed to slow down in those seconds of his beating. Christine felt powerless. She was unable to move, not able to do anything about it. She walked towards the cage trying to look Erik in the eyes, to give him some sort of hope. She looked up at him and noticed his body was a bloody mess. His eyes held all the sadness of the world.
Javert threw down the cane and found a whip. He started hitting Erik with it which caused more blood to shed. The stinging sensation coursed through his body. Memories of his childhood came back to him. In that one moment he just wanted to die.
He still had marks on his back from his childhood, Javert wanted to reopen those wounds along with the mental and emotional ones. Erik screamed in pain as the evil man continued his torture. "Christine…" He cried.
Christine was pushed back by the wild crowd. Meg pulled her over to them again, "How do we stop it?"
"I don't know…these people are getting a little too wild." Christine answered.
The crowd chanted for more so Javert started to physically abuse him more by kicking Erik and punching him. He was defenseless. 'I deserve it, I'm a monster.' He told himself.
He looked out into the crowd and saw Christine making her way towards the cage again. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd and blocked their view. Madame Giry ran behind the cage to try and talk with Erik.
Javert looked down at the girl, "Move out of the way."
"No!" She screamed. "You are all sick people to think this is entertaining. This is a human being, not a monster!"
"He is the devil's child." Javert informed her.
Christine turned around to face Erik's master. "I hope you rot in hell for this." Her tone was of disgust. She looked him in the eye but saw no remorse or regret.
"Christine…" Erik whispered. Her heart broke when she heard him.
"Erik…" She cried. She reached for him in the cage. Seeing him like this was torture for her.
Raoul walked forward. "You seem like a business man, how much are you willing to sell him for?"
Christine looked over to Raoul in shock. She smiled at him and then looked back to Javert.
"He's not for sale."
"I'll pay 1,000 francs." Raoul said.
"No deal." The crowd soon began to leave when they realized the show was pretty much over.
"5,000 francs."
Javert paused and smiled, "Nope."
"Name the price and I'll pay it." Raoul replied.
"10,000 francs." He smiled.
"Fine." Raoul pulled out his wallet and offered him the money. "But first let him go."
Christine couldn't believe her ears, but she thanked God for Raoul.
Javert looked over to the beaten man and grabbed his keys. "It's a shame; I was only doing God's will." He stated out loud. He walked over to the chains Erik was in and unlocked them.
"No, monsieur. What you where doing was the will of the devil. No one deserves to be treated like this." Madame Giry said.
Javert picked Erik up and threw him out of the cage and onto the floor. Christine ran over to him and hugged his limp body.
"I'm so sorry." She cried while hugging him. She buried her face into his chest.
Raoul walked over to the man and offered him the money. But before he could Madame Giry came up from behind Javert with a rope. She started choking him from behind. Meg's eyes widened. "Maman!" She yelled.
Christine looked up and saw the woman strangling him. She didn't think Madame Giry was doing anything wrong. In all honesty, Christine wished to kill him too in that instant. Erik woke up and saw Madame Giry choking the man. He eventually got up and walked over to them. Erik motioned her to stop and she did. Erik felt hatred boil up in him again. He looked at the drunken gypsy who was lying down. Erik started to punch the man who beat him for so many years. He started punching him left and right non stop.
"You God damn bastard!" He said in between punches. "I hope you rot in hell you sick son of a bitch!" He was to the point of screaming in the man's face but no one bothered to stop him.
After a minute of this Erik became exhausted and fell to the ground next to the man. He started crying again while everyone else could only stand there and watch. Christine walked over to him and held him in her arms. She kissed him on the head and told him it was ok. She rocked him back and forth like a child. She felt the need to nurture him and protect him from the world. She figured that was probably how Madame Giry felt when she was younger. After seeing Erik like that she started to understand his mindset. She once asked what kind of life had he known, but she never imagined it like this.
He felt safe in her arms as he rested his head against her chest. Erik just let go of everything he felt. Years of sadness came out again, and he couldn't help it. He hated to cry for he saw it as a sign of weakness but it was almost inevitable. Resting against her as she swayed him back and forth was comforting. He felt loved, but at the same time it scared him.
He was in Madame Giry's bed sleeping. Nightmares of his past plagued him, his childhood memories would not leave him a lone, and his ghosts wouldn't stop haunting him. Erik dreamed of something that never actually happened, but it might as well have…
He was a young boy again, around the age of 7. He was already used to this abusive lifestyle. He already accepted his fate at such a young age. The crowds cheered for more when he was being beaten. He reached for his monkey doll. His only friend was a stuffed monkey with symbols on its hands. "Learn to be lonely…" The boy sang to himself. He looked up to the crowd and saw his mother. His eyes lit up in hope that his mother had returned for him. "Maman!" He yelled. "Help please, maman…help!" Javert kept beating him and his mother watched. "…maman, please!"
"Don't call me that, I am not you're mother!" She yelled wickedly. "You're just a little demon." She spat out like venom.
"Mommy! Don't leave me…" He cried.
Erik woke up from his dream and saw Christine sitting by his bed. "Are you ok?" She asked.
"No." He answered.
"What happened with your maman?"
Erik looked up at her in sudden anger. "It's none of your damn business. Now get the hell out of here!"
"Erik please, I'm sorry. I just wanted to know."
"You know too much already." He said staring in her deep brown eyes. She looked like she shed one too many tears within the day, but it seemed her eyes were filled with more.
"Seeing you like that….it killed me inside." She whispered. "Did he take off your mask often in front of the crowd?"
"Every time." He replied. "Ring any bells?" He asked coldly while thinking about the night of Don Juan Triumphant.
"I'm so sorry, I had no idea." She said shaking her head.
"Well now you know. It's too late for pity and regret, Christine." He said. "You've already past the point of no return."
"I don't understand you." She said getting up in disbelief. "I do everything I can to help you, and you push me away. Why do you do that? Why Erik?"
"I don't want to love you anymore. You always hurt me in the end."
"I won't hurt you, I love you." She cried.
He shook his head, "It's too late." She stared at him for five seconds and then made her exit. Erik got up from the bed. He refused to be cared for by Madame Giry.
Erik walked out the door and returned back to the darkness where he belonged.
