Erik stared at her for a few seconds, taking everything in. She looked twice Allegra's age, but wore her age like a someone wears a beautiful scarf. The image of her hit him hard mentally every time he blinked, and he could hardly even think straight.

If Raoul hadn't ran over to Allegra and took her from him, Erik and Christine could have stayed there forever. Raoul checked Allegra's pulse and looked at his wife with his face covered in fear.

"I'm going to get some help," he said, dashing out of the opera house.

Christine crossed her arms, livid with anger. "Look, set aside what happened in the past for a second. What did you do, phantom?"

"I did nothing," he growled. "I found her like this."

She scoffed. "Yes, you happened to find her lying in your arms. I knew you would fall in love with her if she met you only because she looks like a younger version of me. How dare you!"

"I didn't try to!" he cried out in anguish, overcome with emotion. He looked down at Allegra. "... I didn't try to."

The sound of heels rushing towards them filled the silence that followed. Meg gasped when she saw Allegra lying on the floor, unconscious.

"Oh my, what happened?!"

Erik explained the chair and open pipe to the two in a monotonous tone, and then he turned himself invisible so he wouldn't have to talk to anyone any longer.

Despite saving Allegra, he still felt awful. If only he had checked up on her earlier instead of wallowing in his sadness.

As the ambulance's sirens came closer Erik sat in the corner of the room, watching everything. The men and women rushed in, placed Allegra on a gurney, then rolled her out of the room. Christine left with them. He was forced to stay behind, chained to the place, and not to the lady he loved.

Allegra woke up several times. For the first few times she could catch a word or two, and then pass out again. The last time she woke up the memories flooded back to her, and she gasped in a surplus of air, almost hyperventilating.

"Calm down, sweetheart. It's okay, I'm here."

Allegra slowly sat up in her bed and looked at her mother. "Get away from me!" she said, pushing herself away from Christine. She tried to reach out and touch Allegra's forehead, but she pulled back. "Don't touch me."

"Allegra, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong with me?" Allegra mockingly laughed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Never bothering to tell me about Erik, or your past. Luckily he filled in the blanks. Like how you shattered his heart and he killed himself. I'm an adult now, mom, not a child. You could have told me everything."

Christine looked away from Allegra. "Well did also tell you about tying up your father in a torture chamber, or almost forcing me to marry him?"

"Yes, but once he explained everything it made sense. You never stuck around long enough to know how much he cared about you, or how hurt he was on the inside."

"You say that almost like you care about him," Christine commented.

Allegra paused in thought. "I do.. Not because I pity his loneliness, but because underneath his persona he is a nice person."

"You do understand that he's a spirit, right?"

"I know.. I could find a way to bring him back, or.."

Christine watched her daughter carefully. "Or die trying?" she asked.

"Maybe, I don't know. Don't get worried about me all of a sudden. How did you even know I was here? Did Meg tell you?"

"No, I saw your name in an advertisement. I was fine with you traveling off, at least anywhere but the opera house."

"Well, I-. Wait, I forgot! Did you arrest Xavier yet?"

Christine nodded her head. "Luckily Meg installed security cameras. He happened to be the last one to leave the stage and is currently in the jail house right now."

"Does Erik show up on any footage?"

"No. Strange, but no."

Allegra stood up a little wobbly, then steadied herself. "I have to go back."

"Allegra," Christine stood up. "Don't. You'll only hurt yourself, learn from my mistakes."

"You're right," Allegra smiled at her from the door. "I should definitely go."

Allegra left the hospital before the doctor came back. The early rays of the sun were just starting to spark over the horizon, so the street was still relatively dark. Not many people were around, besides some shady characters. On edge, Allegra kept an eye around herself at all times, especially after she was just attacked.

After about ten minutes of walking she noticed someone following her. She turned a couple times but he was still trailing behind. She didn't know the city that well yet, but she recognized the street with the opera house. It was about half a mile down. If she could sprint far enough..

Without looking back she made a run for it. Not quite the athletic type of person, she wasn't that fast. She looked back while she was running and sure enough he was sprinting after her, only a lot faster.

"Oh God, oh God," she whispered, tears starting to form because of the fear building up inside. Why was she being hunted like a prized animal? What did they want with her? It didn't make any sense.

She burst inside the opera house. "Erik, Meg, help!" she screamed. The man caught up to her and grabbed hold of her from behind. She tried to yell again, but he put her in a tight choke hold.

Unable to think properly, she froze.

Suddenly, he let go of her with a gurgling cry. Allegra gasped for air and turned around. The man's face was covered with a black mask, and he was clawing at his throat.

Realizing who it was, she shouted, "Erik! Stop, you'll kill him!"

"He tried to kill you!" he responded, still invisible to her eyes.

"That doesn't make it right!" She watched the man fall to the ground, starting to panic. ".. Please, stop.. You're scaring me."

Immediately the man started coughing and breathing deeply. Knowing his plan was ruined, he stumbled out of the opera house.

Erik materialized in front of Allegra, his face a combination of fear and anger. "What just happened is who I am. I will never change. I kill, I murder, and I lie for those I care about. Deep down I'm a freak, not a normal person. If you can't handle that then feel free to walk out that door and forget about me."

The tears Allegra were holding back spilled over, cascading down her face like raindrops. She didn't know what to say, or think. So she ran away.

(Well, this is the longest chapter I've written, pretty awesome. The competition went amazing! We got the highest score a band could receive. The rankings won't come back until a week or so, but I know we did the best we ever performed this year. Now if only I could finish some other responsibilities I could focus solely on my hobbies, like fanfictions. I wish I had done one ages ago, it's really fun. 'Till next time. :) )