A Fight to Freedom

Alan and Nadia soon arrived in a dark cemetery with various graves in all directions. The place was dark and foggy, not to mention that they felt an eerie presence lurking about in that small graveyard they were inside. "So why may I ask are we doing here?", Nadia asked. Alan then said, "It's simple right. Erik is fighting Raoul. Once they arrive here maybe we can try and convince Erik to let her go. Either that or maybe we can calm him down since he trusts us." "What if he refuses and tries to go after her then?", Nadia asked again. "You're going to have to trust me on this. Following Erik is our best bet to finding the heart of the world." They soon saw arrive and they hid behind a couple of the tall tombstones near the cemetery building just as Christine arrived by horse carriage. They listened as best they could to Christine's tragic realization of her supposed 'Angel of Music'.

CHRISTINE
You were once my one companion . . .
you were all that mattered . . .
You were once a friend and father,
then my world was shattered . . .

Wishing you were somehow here again . . .
wishing you were somehow near . . .
Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed,
somehow you would be here . . .

Wishing I could hear your voice again . . .
knowing that I never would . . .
Dreaming of you won't help me to do
all that you dreamed I could . . .

Passing bells and sculpted angels,
cold and monumental,
seem, for you the wrong companions -
you were warm and gentle . . .
Too many years fighting back tears . . .
Why can't the past just die . . .?

Wishing you were somehow here again . . .
knowing we must say goodbye . . .
Try to forgive, teach me to live . . .
give me the strength to try . . .

No more memories, no more silent tears . . .
No more gazing across the wasted years . . .
Help me say goodbye.
Help me say goodbye!

Nadia couldn't help, but gain a tear to her eye as she said, "That poor girl. It must be that terrible losing your father isn't it?" "It is, now shh!! We gotta keep a good lookout for you-know-who. I know he's out there somewhere!!" There was a brief silence for about a minute which made it seem like an eternity just thinking about the Phantom's tricks. Yet out of the blue, came a light voice from a troubled male adult. That was the cue to move. Alan then told Nadia, "He's here, let's move in. The second he drops down from the cemetery house we go in to stop this little charade." Nadia nodded as they both headed for the cemetery house and Alan pointed out the mask just about ten feet from where Christine was kneeling.

PHANTOM
Wandering child
So lost, so helpless
Yearning for my guidance

CHRISTINE
Angel or father
Friend or phantom
Who is it there staring?

PHANTOM
Have you forgotten your angel

CHRISTINE
Angel, oh speak
What endless longings
Echo in this whisper

PHANTOM
Too long you've wandered in winter
Far from my fathering gaze

CHRISTINE
Wildly my mind beats against you

PHANTOM
You resist

PHANTOM/CHRISTINE
Yet your/the soul obeys...

PHANTOM
Angel of Music!
You denied me
Turning from true beauty
Angel of Music!
Do not shun me
Come to your strange Angel...

CHRISTINE
Angel of Music!
I denied you
Turning from true beauty
Angel of Music!
My protector...
Come to me, strange Angel...

PHANTOM
I am your Angel of Music...
Come to me, Angel of Music

RAOUL (spoken)
No, Christine, wait!
Wait!

CHRISTINE (spoken)
Raoul!

RAOUL (spoken)
Whatever you believe
This man-this thing-is not your father!

Then the phantom dropped from the top of the cemetery and clashed swords with Raoul. A clash to the left and then to the right and all of a sudden Alan and Nadia arrived in between each of the feisty men and tried pushing them back throughout each of the different parts of the graveyard. Erik then asked, "Why? I trusted you two knights as friends and yet you interfere with my intentions." "Raoul loves Christine though Erik. Nadia and I know that you have been heartbroken. That is tragic and no one deserves it, but you can't force her to love you back.", Alan said. Then Erik jumped over Alan and pushed Nadia aside as she was about to slash his sword away from Raoul. The Phantom kept slashing each sword from a left past a statue resembling a goblin and then the Phantom kept pushing back and forth narrowly missing getting his shoulder struck by Raoul's sword. Then Alan and Nadia jumped in front of the two swordsmen once again and Then Alan said again, "You both must protect the girl. She is in grave danger and if you two don't stop this madness she's going to get killed." Then Erik slashed Alan's legs after slashing his kingdom key four or five times left, right, left, right, left quickly. Alan screamed in pain as Nadia pushed Raoul down in the snow and rushed to his security. Raoul kept fighting Erik as well through many different parts of the graveyard and the Phantom snuck up on the boy and sliced his arm causing some pain and blood to spill. Then even after that, Erik's sword was still clashing move for move against Raoul until he accidently pushed his sword into a silver skull and Raoul used it to trip Erik and was about to stab the Phantom and kill him until Christine called him off. Christine and Raoul got on his white horse and they galloped away into the night. Erik stood up as Alan drew his keyblade to face this menace as did Nadia in kind did too. The Phantom then said, "You said you wouldn't harm me. Yet you did and now Christine is gone away with that Persian." Alan said in a gentle manner, "Listen, this isn't the time for bragging fights. The Knights of the Realm are in this world Erik. If they get their hands on Christine, your world is finished." Erik then said in anger, "All lies indeed. How dare you two try something like this? I gave you my trust and you all used me from the start." Nadia yelled as she sliced Erik's stomach, "You are such a coward!! Everything's always about me boo hoo!! Well what about her?" Nadia stared into the eyes of the Phantom as he panted and groaned. "You wanted to protect her and yet you were enticing her to go with you to live with you forever. That isn't protection. It's downright despicable. We're not trying to hurt you, but Christine has to choose for herself where she wants to go and who she wants to be with." The Phantom disappeared into a blanket of smoke and said, "Meet me in my quarters. We'll discuss more about this later."

Then everywhere they could see, there were French police looking Viraltroopers with rifles and blue royal shirts and white French pants marching around them. Alan then asked Nadia looking at his bloody tree bark brown clothing and cape, "You think they're here for an autograph?" Nadia then said, "I sure hope they got pens. They're gonna need it for hospital forms at this rate when we're done with them." Alan began slashing five, then ten were slashed, fifteen and in kind Nadia slashed away twenty just as they kept marching and marching towards them. Fifty were slashed by Alan. Then sixty were gone by Nadia. They still kept marching. Then Alan and Nadia stood close to each other as he said, "It's no use. They're everywhere. We gotta get out of here." "Yes, but how?", Nadia asked. Then a pit of smoke surrounded them and they found themselves in the Opera Garnier. Yet all they saw was panicking people, chandelier on fire and the lights of the building out. Alan then said, "There isn't much time. I don't know where that fog came from, but we gotta get to Erik before it's too late." As Alan and Nadia ran for the stage, above them was a familiar gold knight, Grogonopse awaiting them and he disappeared into a similar pit of smoke himself.

They travelled down every nook and cranny there was in the sewer system of the city, but they seemed to get lost every time they found a close enough spot with a torch to lead them. Nadia then said panting in her pink dress, "It's no use Alan. We keep getting lost and there's no way we'll find our way through this maze." Alan then shushed Nadia again as he said, "You hear that. It's Erik. He's singing again." "Yes. If we just follow his tune, we can catch up to him before we know it.", Nadia added. They soon followed every note that Erik sung and soon enough they found a familiar set of candles and gloomy lagoon where they first gazed upon the Phantom of the Opera for the first time. Even as Alan and Nadia arrived they saw Raoul tied up and saw that Erik was pleading Christine to leave him alone, she untied him and Alan and Nadia began helping even as she asked, "Why are you helping us?" Alan then said, "We're here to protect you guys from a monster that lurks in this very place. He isn't the Phantom though. It's much worse…" Before Alan could finish a black and purple dragon Viraltrooper with a heart on its nose (cameo of Maleficent) appeared from the lurky depths scaring away the Phantom's pursuers. It entered inside the cavern as Alan and Nadia took out their keyblades, Nadia then said to them, "Go now!! We can handle this thing." "But", Christine said and then Alan replied, "For crying out loud, go now!!" Alan then slashed the gate of the Phantom's quarters down in front of the couple as they ran towards the light of the torches. Meanwhile, Alan and Nadia jumped onto the giant snake and slashed each part of its scaly hide, but to no avail. It just kept breathing fire and Alan twirled his keyblade in a circular fashion to blow the fire in all directions. Nadia then asked Alan as she hung onto the beast's head even when he got blown off, "Any more bright ideas smarty pants?" Alan searched everywhere on the dragon and staring at its green eyes was a dark terror. He saw a broken heart and from that heart he saw it was the Phantom's. It was Erik's heart. "That's it. Nadia it's no wonder we can't find the heart of the world or a weak spot on this beast. We need Erik. He's the only thing that can slay this monster." They kept slashing at the beast's hide even when nothing worked and both of them kept getting weaker and weaker and Nadia asked, "So why are we attacking it if we can't defeat the dragon with Erik's help?" "Erik will help us in the end. He's got nothing left to lose and everything to gain by helping us."

Speak of the devil Erik swooped in with his dark clothes, his mask was broken and he took out his sword and slashed at the dragon and scratched out its eyes. Erik then slashed its nose and said, "I don't have much time Alan. Those guards are hot on my trail and I must leave. But before I do I have to tell you two key bearers one thing and one thing only." Nadia said as she hung onto the dragon some more, "Just say it already, this guy won't leave me alone much longer!!" Erik then said, "I lived in darkness, embraced despair, and the world's judgment was cruel. Out of everything though, you two were there for me to give me the truth. I let go of Christine before you arrived. I guess our love was never meant to be." Nadia then said as she stabbed the dragon, "If it's any consolation Erik, some people just never do win a lady love and trust me when I say this. You're not alone. You got friends like us." Then Both Alan and Nadia zapped the heart and it had chains attached to it and Erik said, "Oh chains of this heart be gone!!" He then sliced them in half with his sword and Alan and Nadia unlocked the heart of the world as the dragon disappeared and the Viraltroopers disappeared along with it. Alan then checked his watch as another world turned green just like the others on their travels. He also saw that the watch was beginning to glow as well and Alan then said, "Well it's time for us to go now Erik. Our work is done. Christine is safe, your world is safe, now you got to get to safety too." Erik then said, "I will. Take this though before you go. It's a special potion I use on my sword and any I find myself. It has a special entity in itself that states that whatever weapon you wield, you will have strength only in the greatest of intentions. In other words, your desire to fight for good and for your loved ones must be a high priority." Alan and Nadia nodded as Erik pressed the watch and waved goodbye to his friends to never see them again. Even as he ran up his stairs though, he felt a trickling tear this time not for Christine, but rather for the reality that he learned something new about friendship as Alan and Nadia smiled at their new buddy. Then within a pit of smoke, they disappeared from the Opera Garnier's sewers just as the authorities arrived to find Erik.

(A sad ending I might add. Like in the movie, the Phantom of the Opera lost his only love for a girl. Not to mention that his life was pretty tragic to begin with. It is also stuff like this that is what the main protagonists of KH BBS will have to face and in the end I believe that the ending is going to be sad just be looking at the secret ending from KH 2 Final Mix. The only thing I could possibly say at this point is to be prepared for anything in TN's newest installments of the Kingdom Hearts series. There still is more to come in the end though so stay tuned.)

(Next Time: The First Glimmer of the Eternal Beyond.)

(Review.)