Sacrifice

A/N: Im glad you guys like it! Thank you for the marvelous reviews! Now on a sidenote, a sidenote really to some of you ;D

Celtic Authoress of America: I looked it up and read the first chapter...my sincere apologies, I in no way shape or form meant it to be somewhat like yours! I noticed we shared some similarities but not all, I didnt add them walking in with a CD player with the POTO soundtrack (although it would have been badass lol) nor did he break her arm or other countless differances, but if you are reading this...you can see I did not steal your ideas, nor will I ever try to. My apologies once more ^_^' and since you posted yours first, I must give you credit for the ideas which we shared so no one thinks I ripped you off ;D and for like the millionth time...I am so sorry!

*On a sidenote...I switched the name Anna to Monica by various demands from my friends...the bastards waited for me to post teh first chapter and then had the nerve to demand changes...so dont be confused my dear readers Anna=Monica now...dont worry...I shall send the Phantom after my friends to make em pay :D

The Phantom ascended the stairs slowly thinking on just killing the girl he had in his arms there to save himself the trouble of having to carry her further. He knew he couldn't though; it would just be another mess to clean up.

He finally let a relived sigh escape his lips once he reached the door to the roof as he opened it slowly and exited as he was greeted by glares from her other two friends whom he had gaged and tied up.

He walked over to the slowly and lowered the third member of their group as Jack's eyes widened with anger as they shot up to glare at the Phantom even more as he tried to speak through the gag to no avail.

"Who told you to come here? Did someone dare you? Did they not believe I was real?" The phantom asked as he walked out of their sight as Lucy started to shake; it made her nervous to have the Opera Ghost out of her sight where she couldn't see what he was doing.

The snow around them made them shiver as Jack tried to get free of the tight rope which bound his arms and legs, it however proved useless and only ended up digging into their skin as a cold breeze picked up and danced around them.

"Poor fools, what will they think when they find you..." the Phantom told them as Jack glanced at Lucy who was having a hard time holding back her tears, she didn't want to die, not like this.

"It was an accident…just like the rest, you simply slipped off of the roof…such a tragedy," he added as Jack tired once more to untie the bindings but stopped once he noticed Monica shift slightly, she was starting to wake.

He hopped the Phantom wasn't looking at them as Monica opened her eyes but closed them quickly pretending to be unconscious still once Jack threw her a warning gaze. They heard some footsteps behind them as the Phantom finally appeared once more before them.

He was dressed all in black, his cape dancing in the cold wind as he crouched down and picked up Lucy as she tried to scream through the gag. He started to walk towards the edge of the roof still holding her about to let her fall.

He hadn't expected to be tackled sideways; he released his grip on the girl as Lucy fell back and landed on her back in pain. The Opera Ghost quickly turned to look at the body on top of him, how could he have been so careless? He had forgotten to tie the other girl up, and as a result she was currently on top of him buying her friends some time.

Jack finally managed to get loose from the tight bindings thanks to Monica's help as he picked himself up and scurried over to help Lucy, Monica still struggling with the Phantom trying to gain advantage as he flipped their roles in an instant, he pinned her down as his hand wrapped around her neck hoping to end her life quickly.

Monica however, wasn't about to let this be her end. She in turn rose her hand as well wrapping it around his neck as she applied pressure and dug her nails into his skin drawing blood.

"Get out of here!" Jack told Lucy as she nodded in fear and headed towards the door rushing by the pair as she headed downstairs. Jack quickly moving towards them as Monica shook her head struggling to breathe; she could tell the Phantom was having a hard time as well his grip lessening in the slightest bit.

Jack knew if he got any closer he would probably snap her neck due to the look the Phantom had thrown him, he had to risk it, he wasn't about to let her die in front of him.

"Godamn masked freak let her go!" Jack yelled as he tackled the Phantom tearing his hand away from Monica's neck as she sat up and coughed before she was pulled to her feet by Jack as he urged her towards the door hurriedly.

She stumbled through the doorway as Jack followed slamming the door and bolting it with some spare wood he found lying around.

The Phantom stood up shocked, these three were different from any other intruders he had dealt with before, they had managed to escape him once, but their luck would run out soon. He walked over calmly to the side door he had while he rubbed his neck in agitation, no one had ever dared lay a hand on him.

He glanced down at his blood stained glove and ran it once more over his neck confirming his thoughts; she had actually made him bleed. He hadn't bled in years.

"Past the point of no return," he sang quietly stepping though the hidden door and descending to the lower levels quicker than they would have ever though. This had to end now.

"He's real Jack! He fucking exists!" Monica cried holding on to him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders leading her through the hallways in desperation hoping to beat the Opera Ghost in his own game. If he found them it was game over.

Jack only hopped Lucy had made it out already and had something planned for their escape.

They reached the lower levels about to run out through the main doors when a familiar sound of a cape resounded through the halls behind them, Monica turning to look at Jack desperately and then at the open door just behind him offering freedom.

"One of us has to come out smiling love," she whispered to him as she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him catching him of guard, they had always s had feelings for each other, neither of them wanted to admit it.

She made him back up as tears streamed down her face, she knew what had to be done, and yet it broke her heart to do it.

"I'm sorry," she cried as she pushed him out of the door and slammed it shut behind him pressing herself up against the wooden doors once he tried to get in once more.

She knew the Phantom couldn't follow after both of them, he had to keep his attention on something, and she was the bait.

"Jack lets go already!" Lucy called from the other side of the fence as she neared a car, she had called one of her friends who was thankfully in the area, they had come to pick them up.

Jack however wanted to stay and get Monica back; there was no way in hell he would leave her to the Phantom.

"Jack get your ass in the car its freezing…and hurry up the Phantom might actually be real!" one of their friends called from within the car as Jack found it in himself to turn away from the theater and run towards the car, he would be back to get her, even if it cost him his life.

"You think your clever, don't you?" the Phantom's voice asked mockingly as she stood up and looked around like a cornered animal, this was never in her plans, not even in her wildest dreams would she have ever thought of the Opera Ghost being real.

He was messing with her mind again, his mocking laugh echoing through the theater, it sounded musical, and yet it had a tinge of blackness to it.

"You can't get us all at once!" she yelled back at him fighting back the tears that were begging to be released, she kept looking around, she was out of her element and he was in his.

She walked slowly away from the door turning at every sound she heard and every shadow she saw move as she found herself once more on the stage, she kept looking for the Phantom, he seemed to have disappeared.

Her mind found it ironic, she had truly liked the movie, the book was superb, however reality seemed to frighten her. She had never thought he would have been real, she could only wonder if he was more like his movie counterpart, or the more insane book counterpart.

"I can't escape from him…I never will," she sang quietly remembering the line from the movie as she looked around shaking like a hopeless dog before its abusive owner. There truly was no way to escape from him, this was his home, it had been so for years.

She gasped in fear once she heard someone land behind her as a black cape shrouded her view and wrapped around her as she was forced to back up against the Opera Ghost.

"Be careful what you wish for," he whispered to her as he glanced out at the empty seats of his Opera House. It had once been thriving with life, booming with business, but that all went downhill when she denied him. When she chose the pampered rich boy over her angel of music. When she tore his heart from his chest and mocked him. When she left him, having taken all he could offer, his music, his trust, his hopes, his dreams. Everything.

"You just might get it all," he finished as darkness took over her, her eyelids feeling heavy as he hummed to himself putting her to sleep.

The Opera House would be in business once more, and he would be there to see it all happen, the time was drawing near for his legend to be revived once more. He hadn't composed for so long…he wondered if he still could, if his mind could still hold all of the mesmerizing ideas it once had.

"Damn bastard," she mumbled falling back against him once more as he caught her much like before, after all he needed her alive to use her as bait. Her friends would come looking for her, and with them would be whatever little authority the world still had, the ever-present media and newspapers.

Yes this could work out for him after all; all that was needed was someone to be his mask, his voice, his interpreter. And there she had suddenly fallen into his trap, he had been waiting so long for this chance, and now he had it.

He walked towards another of his countless hidden doors and opened it walking through it and down into the lower parts of the theater. The girl over his shoulder unaware of the mess she had gotten herself into…

The Angel of Music was back, and he was in desperate need of someone to revive him, to spark something long forgotten by him, his ability to compose glorious music.

The time was now.