Aimee had raced back to the destroyed Opera House as fast as was possible. He had to be back there, if he was not Aimee would quit her search. Standing inside the drafty and rather spooky theater again, the girl's heart pounded with excitement, hope, anxiety, and fear. Though she was completely terrified, she pressed on through the dilapidating palace. To calm her nerves, especially when she drew near to where the small boat was on the waterways, Aimee softly began to hum and sing.

Finally reaching the eerie lair of the Phantom, Aimee noticed that some candles were lit. Silently and slowly she stepped out onto the few steps leading to his home. Her blue-green eyes quickly darted around searching for the man, but they were fruitless in their findings. It looked almost the same as last time, but slightly cleaner, the organ being the most organized. She cautiously continued to move about, not wanting to surprise her brother, but also not wanting to bring attention to herself. Without realizing it Aimee began to sing softly again, her heart still racing, her hands, drawn together, clenched the coat she wore. When she finally caught herself singing she stopped, but then thought better of it and sang louder. The girl's voice was heavenly even more so than Christine Daae's. As it echoed under the Opera House, her spirit lifted somewhat. Her song was of a sister's quest for her brother, and how her only wish was to find him.

"Brother, oh, brother of … mine," she sang, ending the tune on a longer note.

All was silent, Aimee sighed, this may be the end, it did not seem like he was here.

"Why do you sing of such things?" a deep voice asked behind her.

Gasping, Aimee immediately turned around, her knuckles changing to white while her adrenaline picked up speed. There before her stood a tall and looming figure half covered in shadows. As for Aimee, she stood exposed in the candle-light feeling as though her very soul presented itself before the Ghost. Swallowing, the girl finally mustered up her courage to speak.

"Because it is true, I … I do search for my brother – "

"So why do you search here in this abandoned place?" he suddenly asked rather menacingly, though still not emerging from the darkness.

"Is it not obvious Erik?"

She then prepared herself for the worst. Her feet were ready to run, her body prepared to duck or dodge. But so far his figure had not moved, he was probably still trying to process the rather unbelievable news.

"Who do you think you are? Coming into my territory, my home! How dare you! I have every right to kill you!" he growled, seething with complete rage, his body tense.

"Please! I mean not to upset you so! Do not kill me until you hear what I have to say! I know this seems impossible – "

"Of course it is impossible!" he cried making Aimee jump. He then moved away from her, throwing stuff out of his way as he went, now becoming completely immersed in the shadows, "I never had a family and never will, understand? I am alone and should remain so!"

Aimee listened though she could not see him, her eyes following where his voice moved.

"But why? Why should you be alone?" she asked confused.

"Because of this!"

The Phantom suddenly appeared in the light showing his deformed face to Aimee. She winced slightly, she had tried to picture what it would look like, but she had actually thought it would be worse than what it was. As the infamous man continued to stare at her with hate-filled eyes, Aimee suddenly began to cry though she tried to hide it.

"See? You understand – "

"I do not cry because of your face Erik!" she yelled causing him to take a step back, "I cry because of what you have gone through simply because you are not perfectly handsome or beautiful. There are plenty of deformed or so called "ugly" people in the world, and they are doing just fine, or they at least do not need to hide underground! They deal with the world and its people, they do not cower in some hole feeling sorry for themselves!" her voice rang clear within the lair, "You don't have to live like this."

Erik was speechless for the moment, trying to comprehend everything she had said.

"There… there is no compassion in the world for me I –"

"Don't let the experiences you've had with – with the gypsies or in the Opera House close your mind to the possibility of a normal, love-filled life."

"How … how do you know about the gypsies?!" he bellowed angrily taking a step toward her.

"My Aunt told me!" she defended, taking a step away and glaring at the Phantom.

"How could I possibly be your … brother?" he spat.

"How many other children have been born with a half deformed face and given to the gypsies by their mother!" she said out of anger, but then regretted her harsh tone.

"My mother did give me away then…" he whispered more to himself, then looked over at the woman claiming to be his sister. Now he just looked hurt, his eyes full of pain and suffering.

Aimee sighed, and then reached into her coat and pulled out an old looking and somewhat faded baby outfit. Carefully and slowly she came closer to Erik, holding out the tiny piece of clothing.

"This was yours, I found it one night when I was little and asked my Aunt about it, and she described you. Erik, I want to help you, and be there for you. You don't have to be alone. I want to be your sister," she said firmly.

Erik held the outfit gently, looking it over, feeling how soft it was. He then gazed into the very same blue-green colored eyes that he had.

"You may regret saying those words. I'm not likely to quickly warm up to you and be the so called "brother" you want."

"I know, but you have not killed me yet, and even seem to be accepting that I am your sister, that can only be a good sign," she smiled.

"I cannot kill you," Aimee sighed with relief, "what would I have done with the body?"

Aimee frowned, her eyes widening as she stepped back from him again. The Opera Ghost smirked slightly, though something in his eyes told her he was only jesting.

"Anyway," her voice cracked and she quickly cleared her throat, "if you would like to leave this place I am inviting you to come and stay with me. I would love to help you with your image, you're a handsome man Erik you just don't see it yet."

"You're a brave woman," he commented looking her up and down.

"You have no idea," she sighed, "Oh, my name's Aimee just so you know."

"Well I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. You have given me plenty to think about Aimee – "

"Only if you promise me that I will see you again," seeing him about to protest she added, "Erik, you're not the only one without a family! You're all I got left and I'm not letting you go without a fight."

"Have you not heard the stories about me?" he cried exasperated.

"I have heard, does that mean you cannot change? You are an intelligent and talented man; you should know better, you're not mad!"

Erik was unsure how to deal with this woman. She was quite firm in her belief that he was her brother, and it seemed as though she would continue to come back no matter what he did or said. She had some good evidence too. Even as he looked at her she had the same colored eyes, same dark hair, and even a great voice. But it was still hard to believe that he actually had a sister, someone who wanted to love him. Love, actual selfless love, he didn't know how to act; he never thought this would ever happen to him. As a child in his cage, he would dream of a family member coming and rescuing him from his torture. But it never happened, and he gave up on the idea of family. Now here stood before him a family member, wishing to show him a normal life, it was too good to be true.

"Is this some kind of trap?" he suddenly asked.

"No! Erik, I've been searching for you for goodness knows how long! I wanted to make sure I got to you before anyone else did so I could help you in any way that I could," tears began to form in her eyes again, "Please, please, I've finally found you I don't want to loose you."

"Brave and stubborn," he sighed, "All right, all right, stop crying! I still need to think about everything though, and I can't promise anything, but maybe I'll give you a chance," he replied defeated.

Aimee smiled slightly, nodding encouragingly. As she was being swiftly and harshly escorted out, she told him where she lived and then bid him farewell. Rubbing her sore arm where the Phantom had griped it while dragging her out, Aimee stood outside for a moment watching the famous Opera Populaire with a very small smile on her face, even though her skin was as white as a ghost's. This could either completely fail or she could finally have a brother, at least she had tried. Turning, Aimee headed for home.

Author's Note: I'm here! I'm not dead! Yay! … Anyway, please forgive me for the crazy long wait! Hopefully this chapter was all right. Thanks to all my faithful readers!