Erik's POV

"Erik, what's wrong?"

I gazed at the watch…The watch I had given Gustave. No…He couldn't be in trouble. But if he wasn't, then why was the watch lying here without an owner. The boy had been here…The boy had met me here. But why? Who would want to harm a little boy?

"Erik?"

"It's Gustave…He's in trouble."

"Let me go!"

We both paused, when we heard that familiar cry.

"Did you hear that?" I gasped.

"Hear what?"

"Listen!"

We waited for a few moments before we heard the voice again.

"You're hurting me!"

"Gustave!" I pulled Christine's arm and headed in the direction that the voice was coming from.

"Gustave!" Christine shouted out his name as we headed towards the boating piers. Oh, when I got my hands on the bastards that had him, oh, I would murder them! I should have stayed…I should have told him to meet me backstage. But it was too late and someone had already gotten a hold of him.

"Erik, where is my baby? Where is my little boy?"

I followed his voice, but it was getting harder to track, for he was getting farther and farther away. I was once known as Persia's greatest tracker, for the Shah once hired me to track down all of his escaped prisoners. Nothing could hold me back….nothing. But as much as a good a tracker that I was, I was losing my track on the boy. If something ever happened to him, I would never forgive myself, nor would Christine ever forgive me. I had been responsible for watching him, and yet, I had let danger come his way. We were at the abandoned pier now…Abandoned and dark. The Coney Island sun had gone down, leaving the streets black except for a little light coming from the street lamps. It was the fourth, but there was no one hanging around these parts of Coney Island, not while my park was crowded and thriving. This was supposed to be a wonderful day, one that was supposed to end with me and Christine getting married in the gazebo beneath the fireworks, but now, the fireworks were going off above us, and we were no closer to being married. Oh, how badly I wanted to stop running and turn to this woman and kiss her beneath the fireworks, but it was impossible. Hot tears slid down my cheeks as the final firework exploded into the sky. That was it…The fireworks were over and so was my ceremony. The night had been ruined, and my heart was breaking. Not only was my heart breaking, but I could no longer hear Gustave's voice. The streets were silent, and my chances of finding him were becoming few and far in between.

"Erik, where to now? Where is Gustave?"

"I…I don't know…" I gazed down the street, looking both ways and trying to figure out where he could have been dragged to.

"Erik, don't say this…Don't tell me that you don't know."

The woman was sobbing now, and I didn't blame her. I had failed…I had failed in being a parent, and I wasn't even Gustave's father yet. No, that was supposed to happen tonight.

"Erik, you were supposed to be watching him!" she cried, shaking my arm. "You told me that he would be safe with you. I…I trusted you. Why did you let him out here on his own? Why? How could you do such a thing?!"

I was angry now…Angry and sad. Those two emotions did not mix well with me, for when I was sad and angry at the same time, I usually went off when the pressure became too much to bear, and with Christine yelling at me now, I found that I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"You know what?! Yes, you're right…I was wrong for letting the boy come out here on his own, but do you know why, Christine? He and I had been planning this for days. He was only going to be on his own for five minutes. We were going to meet at the gates of Phantasma, and then, I was going to escort you to the gazebos on the other side of the river…It was there, that I was going to give you a surprise wedding beneath the fireworks."

Christine's anger slowly disappeared and was left with fresh tears falling down her cheeks.

"…But it's ruined now. The fireworks went off, and I'm sure the priest that was supposed to meet us at the gazebos has left. And now, I'm no closer to marrying you as I am to finding Gustave. I'm sorry, Christine…All I ever do is disappoint you."

"Erik, please don't be like this. You don't disappoint me. You never disappoint me. Please, just help me find Gustave. I can't lose him…"

I nodded and pulled Christine along, still determined to find the boy.

"Gustave!" I couldn't shout out the boy's name, for my voice never went any higher than a low whisper, but it was high enough, for a few moments later, I heard his voice crying out once again.

"This way!" I grabbed a hold of Christine once again, pulling her in the direction of the Warf….But why was he being hauled to the warf? Curious, I hurried towards the direction his voice was coming from. And when I turned the corner, I spotted the boy standing at the end of the pier, his mouth being covered by Meg's hand. Meg…Oh, that little whore! I would murder her for attempting to hurt the boy.

"Gustave!" Christine and I cried out his name as we ran up the long pier. Meg was standing at its edge, the waves roaring behind the both of them. Meg was disheveled, her dress torn and her hair knotted and messy. She looked like a demon…

"You let him go, girl," I growled, stepping closer to the two of them.

Meg moved Gustave closer to the edge. "Not another step…" she growled.

"You listen to me right now! You let him go…"

"Not another word…" she warned, holding Gustave's body over the edge, his feet dangling over the waves.

"Don't you dare drop him!" I cried. "He can't swim!"

"Gustave! Oh, Meg, please…" Christine sobbed. "Please don't do this to my baby…"

"I've always tried to make you watch, now watch me now…"

"You don't want to do this," I slowly took a step forward, my hands held up in the air, as to not frighten her. "You're not a murderer, Meg. You're upset, this I know, and you have a right to be. You had a taste of fame and I took it all away from you."

Meg pressed her eyes closed, hot tears running down her cheeks. What frightened me was that she was losing her grasp upon Gustave's shirt. Oh, if he fell into the water I would never find him again. The boy wasn't strong enough to fight through the waves, nor could he swim.

"I do want to do this!" Meg cried. "I want to take away everything you have ever loved. It's the only way to hurt you, just like you've hurt me."

"Meg, we can talk about this," I slowly replied. "Just…Just please, put down the boy. You don't want to harm him."

"Talk? You never wanted to talk before! Give me a reason to talk now? No… I'm done talking. I was the star! I was the star for three days before you found out the truth and put Christine back. You canned me…"

"Meg, I know that it was wrong," I lied. "I know that you should have stayed as the star of Phantasma, but I was in the wrong. Please… Please don't do this to the boy. He's innocent. If you want to hurt anyone, hurt me. I was the one who hurt you, so hurt me, not the boy."

I took a step further, only causing Meg to hold Gustave closer over the edge.

"One more step and I'm going to toss the boy over the edge…"

I froze in place, for the last thing I wanted was for that to happen. Though, I was ready at any moment to dive over the edge and save him. I would die for Christine and the boy, and I wasn't about to let any hard come their way.

"Please," I begged. "Put the boy down, Meg. Christine was once your best friend. Why would you want to hurt someone that means so much to her? If it's me that's hurting you, then why don't you hurt me instead? I'm unarmed, Meg…Push me into the ocean, not him. Just please, put him down."

Meg looked at Gustave and then back at me again. I was trying to be as patient as I could be with her holding the boy over ocean, but I was having a hard time doing so. I was feeling anxious and wanted nothing more than for the boy to be back on the dock.

"Meg, please, listen to me…"

"Yes, Meg, listen to the man…"

When I heard another familiar voice, I spun around to find Mr. Tilyou standing a good distance behind me with Christine in his grasp, his hand covering her mouth and his other hand holding the end of a pistol to her head.

"Let her go…" I cried. "Please…"

"No, Erik…I'm going to blow out your woman's brains and Meg is going to drop that little bastard into the ocean. And then, when they are both dead, I'm going to take your life as well."

"Why? Why do you want to do this? I've done nothing to you…"

"You've done everything! You ran my park into bankruptcy and then, you took over. I'm nothing, nothing! You've hurt me for the last time. It's time for me to take things into my own hands! It's time to hurt you…It's time to make that weak heart of yours bleed. Oh, and when it bleeds, Erik, I'm going to make sure that every ounce of blood is drained from it. It's time to hurt you, starting with your precious girlfriend…With you out of the way, the park will be handed over to me!"

"Give me the gun…" I begged, slowly stepping towards him. "Please…Don't hurt her or the boy. Just hurt me. Please, hurt me, not them. You feel ugly, you feel used…I know that you feel broken and bruised, but please…Don't hurt my family."

I heard the safety of the gun being pulled back, silent tears falling down her cheeks.

"Don't do this…Please."

"Step any closer and I tell Meg to release the boy!"

I spun around to find Meg nervously shaking as she held Gustave over the water. It was then, that I realized that Meg never really wanted to be a part of this. No, she was following Mr. Tilyou's orders like a little monkey.

"Meg…I know that this wasn't your idea. Yes, I have hurt you in the past, and denied your requests to allow you to be the leading lady, but things can change…"

I couldn't believe that I was about to do this, but it was my only chance at getting Gustave to safety.

"Meg, if you free Gustave, I promise to have Christine share the stage."

"What are you getting at?"

"There's no reason why the two of you couldn't switch on and off with opening. Perhaps one night, you could open for Christine, and then, the next night, Christine could open for you."

"You're lying…You're only trying to get what you want, like always!"

"No, no…I promise this. Christine is a witness and when I make a promise, she knows that I never break them. If you drop Gustave, the only place that's going to land you, is in prison. You can't sing there..."

I held my hand over my chest and raised my other one into the air. "I promise, Meg… If you let Gustave go, I will make way for you and Christine to share the leading act. Cross my heart."

Meg's hand began to loosen on Gustave, causing Mr. Tilyou to cry out.

"Let go of that boy, Meg, and I won't think twice about shooting you and then your mother!"

"Meg, don't listen to him… He's only trying to frighten you. Please, just let go of the boy."

Suddenly, Meg pressed her eyes closed and placed Gustave back on the dock. From there, she released him and he came running to my side. His little arms squeezed around my thigh, his head burying itself into my pant leg.

"That was the biggest mistake you could have ever made…" Mr. Tilyou growled.

The moment I saw him lift the gun from Christine's head and point it towards Meg, I knew this was my only chance. I dashed forward and tackled the man, Christine rushing to Gustave and scooping him up into her arms. I wrestled with the man, attempting to pull the gun free from his tight grip. He was strong, but I was stronger. We wrestled on the boardwalk, my hands grabbing hold of his head and slamming it into the hard surface. Over and over again, his blood splattered all over the dock. And when his body went limp, I stood to my feet and turned around to face my family…Christine sighed in relief and I went walking towards her.

"Erik, look out!"

When I heard Meg's voice, I spun around to find Mr. Tilyou sitting up with the gun in his hand, and the gun was pointed at Christine and Gustave. I didn't think twice…No, the moment his finger pulled on the trigger, time seemed to slow down, for I dashed in front of the both of them and wrapped my arms around their bodies, my back facing Mr. Tilyou. And that's when I felt it…The agonizing pain of the bullet entering my back on the left side. It paralyzed me, for I immediately dropped to my knees. Christine immediately grabbed hold of me and laid my body in her arms…I couldn't breathe, nor could I see straight, but fearing that Mr. Tilyou was going to shoot again, I turned my face to find that he had passed out, most likely from a concussion.

"Meg! Get help!"

Meg dashed past us and headed towards town. Meanwhile, Christine pressed her hand against my chest, my shirt turning crimson red.

"Erik, hold on… Don't close your eyes."

"Mr. Erik…"

Gustave was kneeling beside me, his eyes filled with tears.

"Christine…"

"Don't talk, mon ange… Just lay still."

"Christine, I love you…"

"I know…"

"C…C…Come closer."

Christine slid farther beneath me, my head now placed upon her chest. I was weak, but I was able to reach inside of my jacket and take out the small box that held her ring. I opened it and my shaky hand was able to take the wedding ring and place it upon her left ring finger.

"Erik… Oh, don't do this."

"Be my wife…"

"I am…"

I wasn't sure if I would live to see tomorrow, but I wanted to die knowing that Christine was my wife.

"K…Kiss….me one…last time."

And just like that, we kissed. This marriage might not have been legal, but in the eyes of God, it was good enough. My angel, my world, my wife. Death couldn't have tasted sweeter.

This isn't the end! There are still a few more chapters left...Please don't kill me...Haha, please review everyone!