Chapter 17

Christine, Darren, and Erik had packed the car and were on the road for Boston the following morning. Normally, Erik probably would have been watching the strange sites passing him as they traveled, marveling at the evolution of technologies and industrial wonders of this new world. But right now, his mind was set on Ashley. He knew she was in Boston and it would take them several hours until they reach the city, but from what he learned, the convention center was going to be packed with people. But Christine had assured him that if need be, she could probably reach Ashley on her cell phone. He was still slightly confused on how the little device allowed people to speak to others even if they were exceedingly far distances away.

"It's not something that can be easily explained." Darren said. "It's just one of our more convenient technologies." Erik would have to be satisfied with that.

"How will we know where to find her?" Erik asked. Christine shook her head but kept her eyes on the road as she drove.

"The center is massive and there should be hundreds of people there already. Not to mention they'll all be in costume."

"Why?" Erik was beginning to feel his hope fade at finding her.

"At anime conventions, it's a pretty normal occurrence. But, I know who Ashley is dressed as." Erik perked up. "She's dressed as Alice from a version of Alice in Wonderland. So, we have to look for a girl in a blue dress and wearing a blond wig."

"And how hard will that be?" Christine remained silent making him nervous. He remembered how they explained these sorts of events; hundreds of people all dressed I various costumes, games, guests, a formal ball…

"Christine, does Ashley plan on attending the ball tonight?" He questioned. She shrugged.

"Not sure." She answered. "I think she does since ever since she found out about them, she wanted to go." Erik began formulating a plan. If he couldn't find her while they were there, it was a strong possibility she would attend the ball. If he could find out where it's being held he could easily slip in and find her.

"If she is there, I will be there as well."

"First things first." Darren said. "If you're going to attend the con, you'll have to register. Then you'll have to get a ticket for the ball itself."

"And how, pray tell, am I to do so?" He all but growled at the younger man.

"If you're worried about whom you are or something, no one's going to care." Erik raised his visible eyebrow at him. "The Phantom of the Opera, in this world, is just a story. No one will think you're the real Phantom. But you may be swarmed by a lot of girls while you're there."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, you're the Phantom for one," Christine began, "and you have a legion of Phangirls that you could only dream of. Second, believe it or not, but you are pretty sexy." Erik was definitely not expecting that.

"Just letting you know what you're in for." Darren said playfully. Erik was beginning to feel more uncomfortable about the situation after hearing this. He was just hoping he could find Ashley and they would return to Paris, but now he knew it was going to be much more difficult. "And don't worry about registration. I can give you some money to cover it."

As the hours flew by, there was still one thought on his mind. Since Christine obviously remembered him from the past, did that mean their father remembered as well? The thought of that man withholding such memories from his daughter made his blood boil. He was the reason she died all those years ago. If he hadn't found them, Ashley would have still been with him and would have never gone a day without him by her side. He remembers the day their world fell apart for it has haunted his dreams since that day…

Erik prowled the cat-walk watching the police search the stage for any of his secret entrances. They had come close to finding a few, but the made sure they were all secured before he took Ashley. He wasn't going to let her go without a fight. Her father has been working with the police to find them since her disappearance and Erik was becoming very irritated with the man.

"Anything yet?" He asked the chief of police.

"I'm sorry Mister White. We've had no luck locating an entrance." He answered. He gave a cry of frustration and ran his hands through his hair.

"Dad, you've been at it for three days now. Maybe we should go home and let the police find her." Christine said to her father. "Besides, if I know the Phantom, he'd be three steps ahead of us and locked up his lair tight and booby trapped it to a T." Erik smirked at the older girl at her deduction.

"You can return home if you wish Christine. But I'm staying to make sure Ashley is safe." Erik's smile turned into a frown at his words and knew he would become a nuisance to him. He supposed that came with being a father, not as if he would know. "Take your brother with you too. You can stay with your mother until I find her." Christine nodded and left her father to his excursion. A rumble of thunder was heard outside indicating an approaching storm. He knew Ashley was terrified of loud noises and wasn't sure if she hated thunder, so he figured he could leave them for a while and return home for some time.

"Monsieur!" Just as he made his leave, he heard a triumphant cry coming from the dressing room. He ran down to check and found that one of the guards had found the entrance behind the mirror. "I found an opening! We can get in here!"

Damn. He thought and opened one of his other entrances and began his hastened decent to his lair.

By the time he reached the lake, he could hear the faint shouts of the approaching mob. He had to hurry if he and Ashley were to escape. He crossed the lake and found Ashley sitting at the piano playing an unknown melody. Maybe a song from her world. She turned and saw him leaving the boat and sprang from her seat and ran over to greet him like she usually did.

"You're back early." She said and pulled him into a big hug. For a second Erik forgot about the approaching danger and hugged her back and kissed her hair. He pulled back after a moment and Ashley noticed the serious yet fearful look on his face.

"We have to leave, now." He said. "They've found one of my entrances and are on their way here." Ashley's smile faded and was replaced with a look of panic.

"How?"

"The mirror, in the dressing room. They must have found out it was two way glass. We have no time to waste." He grabbed her arm and brought her over to a curtain and lifted it revealing a secret passage. "I believe you're familiar with this passage?" It took a moment for it to sink in, but she remembered it as the corridor she fell into that first night. "We'll take this passage to the dormitories, then we can take another passage leading to the stables and we'll find my horse and escape."

"I'm scared." She muttered. Erik threw his cloak over her shoulders then wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I won't let them take you from me." He promised her and they began their journey through the dark. The walk was taking a long time, but it was the best way to get to the dorms. Ashley's ears pricked up when she heard voices coming from behind.

"I hear something." She said. Erik stopped and turned to see a light back where they came.

"They found the tunnel." He hissed and took Ashley by the hand. "Run!" They ran through the corridor with the mob hot on their trail. Ashley looked back and saw some people appear.

"They're gaining on us!" She shouted and they picked up the pace.

"They're they are!" Someone shouted. "Don't let him get away!" They finally found the way to the dormitories and made their ascent. By the time they reached the opera house again, there were some police officers in the hallway that must have still been searching for an entrance.

"Hey, over there!" One of them noticed them and they came towards them.

"Damn. Let's go!" He pulled her from the corridor and they ran off in the opposite direction. Erik wasn't sure where he was running but anywhere they could hide would help.

"Halt! Or we'll shoot!" One of them shouted and aimed a gun at them.

"No! You could hit the girl!" The other shouted and they began pursuing them. With no other option, Erik decided to head towards the roof. He pulled her along up the many twisting stairs until they reached the door to the roof. When they made it outside it was raining. Erik was glad he gave Ashley his cloak or he would have to worry about her catching a cold.

"Over here." He pulled her over to one of the statues and hid them behind it. They heard a door open and several footsteps were heard on the stone ground.

"I saw them coming up here." One of the officers said. There was some silence for a while but Erik knew they were not out of danger just yet.

"Let's check the upper levels." Another officer said and they left the roof. Erik peaked around the corner making sure no one else was outside. When he saw that they were alone, he moved out from behind the statue and Ashley came out after him.

"Are they gone?" She asked.

"I believe so." He answered and held his hand out to her and she took it graciously. But as soon as she stepped away, the door opened again with a group of soldiers came out pointing their guns at them.

"The Phantom of the Opera, we presume!" The chief shouted. Erik pulled Ashley behind him but as soon as he did, a guard sprung out from one of the statues and grabbed her, pulling her away from him.

"NO!" The guard pulled out a gun and pointed it at him making him stop.

"Come no closer!" He said. "Monsieur, we've recovered your daughter." Erik turned to the mob and saw a man in regular clothes step forward.

"Ashley, my little girl!" He said and pulled his daughter into a hug. "I've been so worried about you!"

"Dad, please! Let him go." She begged him. "Just let him go. He's not a bad person." He looked over at Erik and glared at him.

"Trying to brainwash my girl, are you?" He said icily. "I want him killed for kidnapping her!"

"No! Leave him alone!" Ashley tried wrenching herself from her father's grasp but he was too strong. The police all began taking aim at Erik.

So, this is how it ends. He thought and looked over at Ashley. At least I was able to love you and have your love in return. Then, the next few seconds became a blur. Just as the police were about to fire, Ashley managed to free herself from her father and ran out in front of him. He heard one of the officers shout to the others not to shoot, but it was too late.

BANG!

A single shot rang out through the air and he saw Ashley's father's face contort with horror. Then, he saw Ashley fall to the ground. He looked down at her still form and began seeing a pool of blood form around her body. His blood ran cold and his body started to shake. She was dead! He ran towards her and knelt beside her. He saw her father begin to approach but he fixed an icy glare at him.

"Stay back!" He hissed and he stopped. Erik stared down at the girl before him and knew she had died on impact since he couldn't see her breathing. "This is your fault! If you didn't try and take her from me she would still be alive! Best hope you never meet me again monsieur, or you will know what hell is truly like."

Yes, he would take great pleasure placing him into his own personal hell. But the time for revenge will have to wait until he had Ashley back in his arms.

Ashley was becoming exhausted. When she arrived at the con, she and her friends went to get in line for opening ceremonies, only to have her kidnapped by another Alice cosplayer, this one from Pandora Hearts, grabbing her and pulling her aside asking for her picture. Afterwards, she had planned on going to the Anime Court Case but found if she did go she probably wouldn't be able to get in. So now she was seated outside the large ball room where the dance lessons were being held and waited. Her phone started to ring playing the Heart no Kuni no Alice theme and she jumped a bit when she felt it go off. She pulled out the phone and checked the caller ID.

Dad. She thought slightly irritated. She pressed the answer button and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, how's the convention?" He asked cheerfully.

"Fine." She answered.

"What did you do so far?" She really didn't feel like talking to him right now.

"I went to opening ceremonies and right now I'm waiting for the formal dance class to open up." She said.

"That sounds like fun." She rolled her eyes. "So, did you find out anything about your grades?" She sighed. She hated when he got to the topic of school.

"I tried finding out but I couldn't." She stated. It wasn't a lie; she did try to look up her grades but had no luck.

"Well, I want you to make sure you're able to go back next year. School is very expensive." Ashley was about ready to shout that she already knew. But she held her tongue, knowing getting angry would do her no good.

"I know. I'm doing the best I can." She explained.

"I'm just saying this because I care about you. I want you to do well."

"I know." She said curtly. "Look, I have to go. Their beginning to line up for the lesson."

"Alright. I'll call you later." Her head was already hurting thinking of their next conversation.

"'Kay. I'll talk later." Hopefully not for the rest of the con.

"Bye." She forced out a 'bye' before pressing the disconnect button on her phone. Ashley couldn't stand talking to her father, especially when it came to school. She didn't want him constantly giving her grief about what she was doing. As she looked back on her decision on majoring in meteorology her parents were excited with the idea. Ashley was only half excited. In fact, she was only half interested. It's true that she found the subject fascinating and was willing to learn, but her heart always seemed to pull her in a different direction.

In her earlier years of high school, she was still unsure about what she planned to do with her career afterwards. She was not very good in History and was average in Science, Math, and English. However, one subject she always did well in was Music. She joined the girl's chorus her first year of high school then placed in concert choir her sophomore through senior year. Music had always been something special for her since she was young, long before her love for Erik had even appeared. When she sang, she always felt a sense of freedom and expression. A couple times in the chorus class she would start belting out the song they were practicing and have a few heads around her turn in her direction with astonished looks on their faces. And when she began concert choir, she tried being a little bolder and tried out for solos for songs. She never got any, but she felt a sense of accomplishment just by trying. She believed that music was something she would love to continue doing. It seemed like a good idea. But all dreams end eventually…

One day, while she was out with one of her family members, she had said that she probably wanted to go into music as a major. Almost immediately she was shot down. She was told that she would never get anywhere with music; that it was just a waste of time. She felt a part of herself shatter with embarrassment and sorrow. She finally said what she wanted to do and was told this. It was one of her rare moments where she would open up about her thoughts and ideas only to have them thrown back at her. So, she decided she would have to think of something else to satisfy everyone's curiosity. That's when she decided on meteorology. It seemed like a good option. But now was feeling the strain that her choice landed her with. At her current school, her classes were driving her mad! The Calculus course she was taking taught everyone as if they had taken the course in high school, assuming they understood the material already. Her chemistry class was using online homework that, she would be able to work on and finish a majority of, but also have things they have yet to go over, even on the last day it was due. And her main meteorology courses... well, she wouldn't say they were bad. They weren't as bad as her other classes. But some of her professors were also not that great either. A vast majority of them would just give them the notes they have then leave them on their own without going into a bit more for this who didn't quite understand. Some would just not tell them much at all and have them find out themselves. This wasn't how she was taught in high school or at the community college she attended. She felt a sense of loss in her choice.

Now, when the anniversary of her and Erik's first meeting arrived, she was tossed back into his world for a second time and went through so much. But, in the end, she found him again and managed to help him see her once again as he did years ago. Erik… she missed him so much. She still wore the ring he gave her before her death. She raised the ring on her finger to her lips and kissed it. Was Erik still in his world? Was he finding a way to her and will take her away from this world? Or would he believe her dead like before and lose hope?

Then she turned her head and saw her reflection in a mirror that embodied the wall behind her. She could barely recognize the girl staring back at her.

Yeah, no song just yet. But there will be in the next chapter. So, I did keep Erik's flashback to Ashley's death but changed when it happened. This will come into play later on. I also took out the return to Ashley's school but I made a big change with it. You'll see soon...