Here is the second-to-last and the longest chapter. I hope you all are happy, it took me a long time to write.
Mutely, Erik made his way down the opera sewers and rowed across the lake. He didn't hear Laetitia's timid inquiry of what was wrong. She quickly gave up and disappeared under the black, still water.
Someone else, however, wasn't about to be ignored by the Opera Ghost.
"What's going on?" Pearl asked lazily, lounging across a chair and propping her chin on her hands. When Erik didn't answer, she said louder, "Hey, monster! I'm talking to you!" With still no response, she strolled over and slapped him hard across the face. "Don't you dare ignore me, monster! What's going on? Is it going to affect me in any way?"
He blinked, and looked at her. His dark brown eyes were snapping with fury. In a deadly calm voice, he said, "I'm going to do something I should have done the moment I laid eyes on you."
Pearl stumbled backwards. "What the hell are you talking about? I haven't done anything to you!"
"I'm not asking you to admit anything!" He hissed, advancing on her, grabbing his lasso as he went.
"Th-hen what?" Pearl stammered. "W-what happened?"
"Amme's dead!" The Phantom snarled. "And I should have killed you a long time ago!" He had put up with her for too long. From the first moment she asked him to do something for her, usually illegal, and then go blab to someone else. Only everything would be blamed on him, and he'd get the flogging.
"What?" She squeaked. "B-but, Amme's death isn't my fault! She didn't even like you!" She added cruelly, jumping back, closer to the lake and away from the deranged killer in front of her.
Erik lunged at her, but a pale green arm reached out and yanked the terrified woman away.
"Dammit, Laetitia!" He screamed furiously.
"Don't kill her!" Laetitia said courageously.
"Don't get involved!" The Phantom snapped, shaking furiously.
Laetitia could see he was close to killing her as well, so she shouted, "Amme wouldn't have wanted you to!"
He stopped, but the anger in his eyes mounted. "Amme's dead! DEAD!"
"Don't take your anger out on her," Laetitia breathed. "You're turning into what Amme hated!"
Erik collapsed, his head buried in his hands. His shoulders shuddered as the two women heard his sobs echo in the cavern.
Laetitia turned to Pearl. "I'd leave now if I were you," she advised her. "And don't come back if you want to live."
Pearl, of course, didn't understand Mermish, but she got the general gist of what the strange creature was saying. With a last, terrified look at the crying man, she swan as fast as she could to the opposite shore and fled to the world above.
Once Pearl had left, Laetitia turned all her attention to Erik. Tears continued to pour down his face as he cradled in his hands a small object, a diamond ring, by the look of it. His lips were moving, but his voice was so soft all Laetitia could make out was Amme's name.
"Is…" she hesitated. "Is Amme really dead, then? I mean, you saw her die?"
"No." His voice cracked. "But there's no way she could survive."
She bit her lip. "Listen, I'm really, really sorry. But you're one hundred percent sure she's gone? I mean, she's surprised you before."
"She's gone," he whispered, now stroking the engagement ring. "She's…." He stopped, and said something else. "I…I really, really love her. She's…she's," he gave a wild laugh. "She's insane, difficult, stubborn, infuriating, and completely impossible. And I fell completely in love with her…."
"I'm sorry," Laetitia said again, not knowing what else to say.
Erik looked up suddenly. "If…I don't suppose," he croaked. "You'd…kill me if I asked you to."
She started. "You suppose correctly!"
He stood and put the ring in his pocket. "I suppose that's for the best. There's something I need to do first, before I die."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Laetitia snapped. "Dying because the woman you love is dead is horrible! And utterly insane!"
"I've been called worse things," he replied looking around. His eyes landed for a brief period on the drawing on Amme in a wedding gown.
"Oh, yeah? Well, I haven't finished yet!" The mermaid shrieked. "Maybe I'll get there!"
Ignoring her, the Phantom picked up his lasso and sword, and strolled towards the boat.
"What exactly are you planning on doing, you…you…blockhead!"
Erik paused upon being called "blockhead," but only for a moment.
"Pervert!" Laetitia shrieked. "Stalker! Murderer! Reprobate!"
When he didn't stop, she screamed at the very top of her lungs, "MONSTER!"
-
Shortly after the Phantom had left the house, Joshua had been kicked out as well, along with the little kitten who had snuck in there. For some strange reason, the cat was in a very good mood, practically dancing and skipping around. When it began to do a very bizarre, cat version of the cha-cha, Josh got up and left. Quickly.
The street was dark and quiet, and Josh felt slightly uncomfortable. He didn't know why, but he felt someone was stalking him. But when he looked around, no one was there. How strange.
He walked a little farther down the road when he heard a soft whistling noise. He ducked instinctively, and it was lucky for him that he did. The lasso pulled around thin air, and dropped on his head.
Josh stumbled back, narrowly missing the Phantom who leapt out of nowhere with his sword drawn. The masked man's entire body quivered with rage; his eyes were wild with insanity.
Josh shrieked, and skipped backwards. Grabbing a fallen tree branch, he lifted it in front of himself defensively. The Opera Ghost brought his sword down on it, cutting the branch neatly in half. Josh threw one half at the Phantom, and gripped the other tightly.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Josh screamed.
Erik didn't waste his breath with an answer. He was going to kill the Englishman before killing himself, and that was the single thought he could hold onto. Reason, sense, logic was lost on him.
"Don't be stupid!" Josh snapped, jumping from the madman's blade again.
Erik hissed in fury and brought his sword down in a killing stroke that Joshua barely missed.
Josh thrust the branch forward as hard as he could and hoped. He got lucky; the branch clipped the Phantom on the shoulder, pausing his next attack. Josh took advantage of his momentary hesitation, and chucked the branch at his head. The end hit Erik, and he stumbled backwards. His sword dropped, and his thoughts caught up with him—not that they changed his mind any. Then more thoughts caught up with him, and he lunged for his fallen blade.
Josh was one step ahead of him, for once in their entire rivalry. He picked up the sword and swung it around. He wasn't particularly adept at swordplay, but it wasn't always necessary when fighting a deranged and unarmed man—especially an unarmed one.
Erik made a wild dash back to the opera house, or just away from there, but Josh somehow managed to cut him off. Swinging the sword clumsily around, he thwacked the Phantom and himself on the same pass. They both fell over, disoriented.
Erik blinked red and blue stars out of his eyes; his mind, which had gone spinning out of control, had settled back down into its usual pattern. In front of him, Josh was staggering to his feet, using the Phantom's sword as a prop.
"I think I've won," he said fuzzily.
The Phantom raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Since when have your thoughts been correct?"
"Huh?" Josh was confused, a typical response for him.
Instead of answering, Erik quickly reviewed the situation. He was currently down a dead-end street, his lasso was on the ground twenty meters away and his sword was held by the dolt he wanted to kill. Since he refused to die without killing the dolt first, he'd have to do it bare-handedly.
He stalked forward slowly, judging the other's reaction. Josh blinked in surprise and gripped the sword tighter. His jaw set and his eyes flashed dangerously.
Before Erik moved much closer, Joshua waved the sword out, forcing him backwards. He danced around the point for a few moments, looking for an opening. Finally, Josh tripped and Erik made the leap.
Luck was still on Joshua's side; he managed to jump back unscratched. The Phantom however was not so fortunate. He stumbled against the wall, clutching his stomach as red blood stained his white shirt. His lips twitched into a snarl, and he dropped. Colors and shapes swirled around his eyes, and Eddison's irritating laugh began grating against his eardrums. He wanted to raise his hands to cover his ears, but his arms wouldn't move.
The laughter was cut off by a high-pitched shriek, and the night was silent again. Erik could barely manage to keep his eyes open, but he was glad he did. An angel hovered in front of him, black hair fanning behind her like a halo, anxiety showing in her light brown eyes. Her pale hand reached out to him, touching the place where his own sword had slashed him, and Erik felt strangely content.
-
Everything was peaceful, comfortable, quiet.
Well, not completely quiet; low voices whispered in the background, but Amme managed to tune them out quite effectively. She needed to think, and this seemed like a good opportunity to do just that.
There was one fact she quickly decided on: she wasn't dead. She had no idea what death was like, but this wasn't it. The place she had been before, that was death. It had been just as peaceful and comfortable, but different. The difference Amme couldn't put her finger on, and she gave up trying.
The next important thing to settle was where she was. Doing so, however, required Amme to open her eyes, something she didn't feel like doing. So that would have to wait—next question, please.
What was she going to do now? Well, one thing was for certain, she wasn't going to die. Amme was not ready to die yet. There were a few things she still wanted to do, most included a certain human who shall remain nameless. She was having enough trouble admitting to herself she was in love—she wasn't ready for names to come into the equation. But they'd have to soon. Immortal she might be, she couldn't let herself be a coward forever.
The voices, very inconsiderately, got too loud for Amme to continue ignoring them. Irritatedly, she opened her eyes.
Wherever she was, it wasn't a place she recognized. The walls were smooth and polished to perfection. There was a chest of drawers next to the bed she was laying on, and it, too, shone dully. There were several chairs around the bed, with people in them. The people who were talking, people whom she recognized.
Most of them, anyways. Christine sat in the nearest one, a worried expression on her beautiful face. Meg sat on one side of her, and a strange man sat on the other.
"Amme!" Christine cried. "Are you alright?"
Amme sat up before her spinning head knocked her backwards again. "Where am I?"
"In my house, Amme." Christine still looked worried. "In the guest room, to be specific."
"Ah." It was all she could manage.
"Amme," Christine continued. "This is the doctor. He was looking after you while you were…" she hesitated.
"Dying," the doctor said bluntly. He held out his hand. "It's good to finally meet you, mademoiselle."
Amme smiled, and shook his hand weakly. "It's a pleasure, sir."
The doctor clapped his hands together. "Now then! Enough chitchat! I want to do another physical of you, mademoiselle, if you don't mind."
Amme shook her head. "I'm fine with it, but…." She bit her lower lip. "You said I was…dying, correct? So…how come I'm not anymore?"
The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather be dying?"
"No, but…"
"No buts! Stop you're complaining! You're alive, so leave the mystery of your miraculous recovery to me."
Amme smiled. As the doctor did the physical, she asked, "Did anyone come to see me? While I was indisposed?"
"Of course," Meg assured her.
"Joshua Eddison did," Christine added.
Amme nodded faintly. "Josh did? That's good…"
"The Phantom of the Opera did too," Meg interrupted. "I told him what was going on myself. Raoul wasn't too happy."
Amme didn't notice the pale rose blush creeping along her cheeks but the other two women did. "I…imagine not. So…did he…did they say anything to you?"
"The Phantom was very upset," Meg informed her.
Christine shot a dirty look at her friend. "So was Monsieur Eddison."
"The Phantom was more!" Meg argued.
"It doesn't matter," the doctor said, finishing his examination. "I threw them both out, anyways."
Amme's instincts began to prickle in a way that did not bode well. "Really? So you don't know where the…they are right now?"
Christine frowned. "No…but I'm sure they're both fine."
Amme was not comforted, but she lied, "Yes, I'm sure you're right."
"Of course she is!" Meg bounced up and down in her chair happily. "And now I can tell the Phantom that you're alive, and he'll be happy, and you two can get back together!"
Amme's blush deepened dramatically. To distract herself and everyone else, she said, "What's that scratching noise?"
Christine got up, and opened the door. Immediately, a black ball of fluff came bounding into the room, settling on Amme's chest.
"What's that cat doing here?" The doctor snapped. "I threw that out too!"
Amme cradled Starlight protectively. "Don't! She's saying something!"
The room fell silent except for Starlight's frantic meows. The humans were thinking Amme had completely lost her mind.
I'm glad you're better, Amme, Starlight began. And I hate to push you so, but something horrible's going on right now!
"What is it?" Amme whispered.
Your two lovers are quite literally fighting to death even as we speak! And I heard from that mermaid that the masked man intends to kill himself after he kills the blond man!
"NO!" Amme shrieked, jumping up. Her legs trembled alarmingly, but didn't give way. "He can't!"
"What's the matter, Amme?" Christine asked, concerned.
Amme looked at her. "I am very grateful for everything you did for me, and I do hate to run like this, but he needs me!"
"Who?" Meg asked.
"You're my patient!" The doctor replied angrily. "You're in no condition to leave!"
"I have to go!"
"But why?" Meg wailed, sensing something was very, very wrong.
"I'll tell you later," Amme called over her shoulder, nimbly dodging the doctor's attempt to block her and sprinting out the door. Her legs still shook, and she became short of breath very quickly, but at least she still could run.
-
Amme began shivering almost the second she stepped out the door; she was still wearing her costume from the opera, and it was very skimpy. The Phantom had probably specially designed her outfit to torture her onstage—the fact she had so little to show made things even more embarrassing. Amme wished she had taken time to steal a coat.
Starlight led her down street after street. Here and there, the kitten would pause, unsure of which way to go next.
"Are you sure you remember where they are?" Amme asked, her teeth chattering.
Positive. A cat would never admit they were wrong. They're around here somewhere.
"Somewhere, as in, the entire city?" Amme had had enough. "Let me try."
I thought you couldn't sense the masked man, Starlight meowed skeptically. Some sort of magical defense he naturally has, or something, that blocks it.
"He might," Amme agreed. "But Joshua doesn't."
Who?
She sighed. "The blond man."
Ah. Starlight learned his name and then promptly forgot it again. Go to it, then.
Amme smiled fondly before letting her mind open carefully. A thousand minds flooded into her own; she could feel every breath, hear every heartbeat. If she decided to investigate closer in one, she would even be able to hear thoughts. But that wasn't what she was after.
Still slowly—sorting through minds could be exhausting, and she wasn't in her best shape—she hunted through each mind. She quickly blocked out the non-human ones—that made things much, much easier. Then it was a simple matter of finding Josh's. She had spent so much time with him before, finding his mind wasn't very difficult.
"Got him," she announced.
'Bout time, Starlight grumbled.
Amme ignored her, concentrating on the pull of Josh's mind. He was close; he was also tired and hurt, but happy somehow. If she chose to, Amme could have searched his mind to find why, but she couldn't afford to waste anymore time: it would have to wait till later.
She discarded her shoes, and followed the pull, slowing only when Starlight meowed at her to wait up.
Amme turned left, sprinted down a long street before turning left again.
Wait! Starlight yelped.
"Hurry up!" Amme shouted back.
Slow down!
She didn't answer that time; a tall, blond figure was sneering down at a dark shape right in front of her. Amme didn't bother making her presence known; she merely picked up the fallen and forgotten sword and bashed the hilt against Josh's head. His laughter was cut off, and he went down with an "Oof!"
Erik had a long, deep gash right in his stomach. He would die without immediate attention—magical attention.
"Oh, no," Amme mumbled, kneeling in front of him. "If I'm not going, you're not either."
His eyes focused hazily on her, and the corner of his lips tugged upward. He didn't seem surprised to see her there, only curious. He mouthed you're alive?
Amme smiled reassuringly and pressed both her hands deeply into his wound. Blood rushed around her, coloring her pale skin red, and she forced back the strong urge to yank herself away. Then came the hard part.
Her body hadn't fully recovered from her near-death: it clung to every little bit of magic in her system. Amme did her best, pushing as much magic away from her, into Erik, as possible. The more she pushed in, the more difficult it got. Her entire frame trembled with the effort, and sweat dotted her forehead.
"Yes!" She gasped triumphantly, watching as the light blue magic sparks sealed the gash. She pulled her hands quickly away and wiped them on her thin skirt.
Out of the corner of her eye, Amme saw Joshua rising. Instinctually, she grabbed the sword.
He rubbed the back of his head. "Did you really have to hit me so hard, Amme?" Then it dawned on him. "Amme! You're alive!"
"It appears that way, doesn't it?" She didn't trust herself to stand, so she remained kneeling, glaring at the blond human. "Why did you attack him?"
"Me?" Josh said incredulously. "He attacked me. Not the other way around!"
Amme glanced at Erik. He was taking deep breaths, his eyelids fluttering up and down; he didn't appear aware of the present circumstances. "He must have had a reason, then."
"Oh, sure. If I attacked him, it's bad, but if he attacked me, he must have had a good reason!" He huffed and puffed indignantly. "Well, I got news for you, missy, he wanted to kill me! How's that for a good reason?"
Amme turned to face Joshua. "I'll listen to him when he wakes up. I trust him more than I trust you."
"What?" Josh yelped. "He's a murderer, Amme! A murderer! What did I ever do? Nothing! That's what!"
"Joshua…" Amme began, but Josh cut her off.
"You believe a murderer over me! He's a monster, Amme! Do you understand me? A monster! A freak!"
"Joshua!" Amme's tone became harsher.
"A freak! Monster! Murderer! Stalker! Kidnapper!"
"SHUT UP!" Amme shrieked.
Joshua froze, and Erik chuckled evilly—he had come back to his senses, and was enjoying the scene in front of him.
Amme wasn't finished. "I don't like you, Joshua Eddison! I have no respect for you, and I believe you are the most miserable excuse for a living creature in the entire universe! I don't know why I even thought I might like you!"
Erik chuckled again; the scene was only improving.
"Amme…." Joshua was shocked; no one had ever spoken that way to him ever.
"I hate it when you insult people like that! You don't bother understanding anyone! Your entire universe revolves around you! You never took the time to understand how I feel! You thought I would automatically fall in love with you, but I've got news for you, bucko, I fell in love with someone else!"
A warning flashed in both Erik and Josh's minds. "Who?" They asked at the exact same time.
Amme, however, didn't answer. She set her jaw and glared at the blond man.
The Phantom thought over these new discoveries. She didn't love Joshua, so clearly it wasn't exactly necessary for him to kill the man (he might do it just for fun, though). However, he might have a new, unidentified rival who would have to be taken care of. And quickly.
But first things first.
Joshua was very busy throwing a tantrum. "Amme! You're supposed to love me! Not some stranger!" And things like that. The man was literally on all fours, pounding the ground and bawling his eyes out. If Erik had time, he would have been quite amused.
Amme was shocked. Her almond eyes were open wide, and her mouth had dropped to her chest. She couldn't even regain enough composure to tell Eddison to shut up again.
Erik crept up behind her. Very, very softly, in her ear, he whispered in his most seductive voice, "Amme, I need a name."
Amme blinked, and turned towards him. His seduction had only worked so far; she smiled crookedly. "You're smart; figure it out."
"Amme," he said again. Sometimes eye contact helped. Absentmindedly, he twirled a piece of her hair between his fingers. "Just tell me. A name, that's all I need. It could even be just a first name, or a last one. A middle one, even! Just something."
"What if I don't know his middle or last name?" She asked flirtatiously. "What if I just know his first name?"
"Then tell me that."
They both were inching towards each other unconsciously. Their faces were only a few centimeters apart.
"Amme!" Joshua shrieked, interrupting them. "You can't fall in love with him! He's a monster!"
This time, Erik froze. Amme rounded on Josh.
"I can say it for myself!"
"What?" Erik whispered. Louder, he said, "Say what for yourself?"
"Ignore him," she replied, nodding to Joshua. "He's an idiot."
"You mean you don't love that monster?" Josh was relieved. "That's…"
"I didn't say that either!" Amme snapped. "Stop assuming things!"
"But…."
"Shut up!"
"So you do, then?" Erik asked quietly. He put his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. "Do you love me?"
His heartbeat started racing as he watched her struggle to answer. If she said no, that was it. His entire world would collapse again, he didn't know if he could even begin to put it back together. But if she said yes….
However, it looked like she wasn't going too answer at all. She was chewing on her lower lip so much, teeth marks were appearing.
"Amme." He meant for his voice to sound soothing, but he was far too desperate for this information. "Amme, I love you. And I know I'll never love anyone half as much as I love you. And I need to know if you love me back." Amme looked like she wanted to run far away, so Erik grabbed her arm. "You've been wiggling out of this question for months now. I need to know!"
"You love me…" Amme whispered. "Because of my singing voice…."
If the moment weren't so serious, Erik would have rolled his eyes. "Give me a little credit, Amme—I'm not that obsessed with music."
"You can't love him, Amme!" Josh protested hotly. He staggered forward and grabbed her arm too. "You can't love a monster! You have to love me!"
Erik hissed, and Josh backed up slightly. Amme didn't move; her eyes were glued on the Phantom's face, pleading, as if he could save her from this. Even though he was the one demanding she talk.
He reached up and stroked her cheek. "One word, Amme. That's all it is, one word. Yes or…no."
She gulped and opened her mouth. No sound came out.
"Don't say anything, Amme!" Joshua screamed. And he ran at the Ghost.
Erik stepped nimbly to the side, but Amme still hadn't moved. Josh crashed right into her, knocking her to the ground. The sword fell out of her hand, and went skidding.
Both men sprinted after it. When Amme had it, it was neutral. Now whoever held the sword had the power.
Josh was not a fast runner, and Erik pasted him easily. He lunged down for it when Josh's elbow collided painfully with his ribs. He rolled over, and sat up.
Joshua pointed the sword triumphantly at the Phantom's throat. "This time, I've really won!"
Erik opened his mouth to retort, probably in several different languages, when a gunshot echoed across the alley.
Amme blew the smoke away. "Do you honestly think I'm stupid enough to enter a battle scene unarmed?"
Joshua attempted a response, but that resulted in coughing blood out. Erik scampered back as the dying man fell forward. A small hole showed in his back.
Erik sheathed his sword, and looked at Amme. "You shot him?"
She got to her feet. "I didn't have a knife on me. I had to use what I had."
"You killed him?"
"Oh, is that what you're getting at?" She twirled the gun around her hand. "Yes, I killed him. You just saw it happen."
"You?"
"Be quiet!" She snapped. "Now, we should probably clean up. Then I need to thank Raoul for letting me borrow this."
Erik was momentarily distracted. "You borrowed this from that…?"
"Yes," Amme interrupted. "From him. Now, this was in self-defense, because he was obviously attacking me. Can you remember that?"
He snorted. "I don't think I can help your case too much. Can we just blame it on de Chagny?"
"No. I'm going to go the police to explain. He attacked me and I have to bruises to proof it, damn it." She showed him one forming from when she was pushed.
"Wait!" Amme stopped. "You still haven't answered me!"
"Oh." Amme blushed pink. "I think…I mean…this isn't the time…."
"This is the perfect time. Tell me now." Once again, they were nose to nose.
"I…." She blushed even more. Shyly, she admitted, "I love you."
His breath cut; how did this night turn into the best in his life? How did he get so lucky? However, he wasn't done yet. "Enough to marry me?"
Her voice went up about an octave. "Yes."
"Soon?" His lips lightly brushed hers.
"Okay," she managed to squeak.
And her thoughts were abruptly cut off as his lips pressed hard against hers.
Erik had the immediate sense he was in heaven and wondered briefly how he had gotten there.
And now all that's left is the epilogue. Not over quite yet!