After Allegra left, Erik went to talk to Meg.
She was in her office, of course, dealing with an extensive amount of paperwork. "Manager," he said, his tone firm and confident despite the emotions he felt after almost killing someone. "Allegra was attacked in the entryway."
"What?" Meg exclaimed, standing up. "Is she okay?"
"Yes… I almost killed the man to make sure of that."
Meg stared at him in shock. "I can lose my reputation of this place if someone is killed here. I thought you understood our deal."
"I do," he nodded, looking away. "This was an exception."
"Well.. You really do care about her if you were willing to risk your eternal life I suppose."
"Please don't do anything," he told Meg. He couldn't remember the last time he said please to anyone. Maybe Allegra's good nature was starting to rub off on him. "She would be devastated if I died again."
"It's okay," Meg smiled. "You can trust me to keep a secret secret."
Allegra sat in her room at Meg's place, thinking things over. To help her remain calm, she hugged her violin close to her, the only thing that seemed to remain constant in her life.
"Oh, what should I do?" she murmured to herself, bemused beyond belief. "I can't go anywhere without being attacked, and there's still the problem of Erik being a phantom… Well, it wouldn't be so bad if I died, because at least I would have the chance of becoming a ghost too." The idea of spending an eternity with Erik didn't sound as appealing after what had happened.
"Maybe they're right. Maybe I am stupid and naive. How can I care about someone this much when I hardly know him?" Allegra knew the answer to that. She felt it deep in her heart that their souls just clicked into place like puzzle pieces.
As if to reassure herself, she thought about teaching Erik how to open up to people and control his emotions. Not to change him, but to show him what goodness lies in the world when he didn't hate it so much.
"I have to go back. Oh, but can I after running away? I'm so stupid!" Allegra sat on her bed for a while, tossing the idea of returning back and forth in her mind. "Don't be a coward, Allegra. You can do this."
She placed her violin back in its case, leaving it in the corner of her room. She put on a grey pea coat jacket and scarf, since winter was starting to lower the temperature drastically.
On her way out she stopped by the kitchen, grabbing a sharp knife with a plastic cover. Allegra was tired of feeling defenseless. At least she could fight back if need be.
She walked briskly to the opera house, one hand on the knife in her pocket at all times.
Luckily, she wasn't followed. Everything seemed okay, but she still knew the conversation with Erik that she was walking into. It wasn't going to be pleasant.
Taking a shortcut, she bypassed the stage by taking a different flight of stairs to the balcony.
About to cut across it and find her way to Erik's cavern, she heard mystical chanting from below.
Bending over the railing, she saw a person cloaked with robes performing what looked like an exorcism of the opera house. Horrified, she noticed the woman standing next to him.
Meg.
"Hey!" Allegra shouted. "Stop! What are you doing?"
Meg told the priest to stop, and she glared up at Allegra. "What I should have done ages ago."
"He didn't kill him, I promise. He didn't break your deal!"
"This isn't about the deal!" she responded, obviously upset. "This is about getting even. Christine never realized it, but I always loved Erik. My mother told me stories about him, and I was fearless in my devotion. I was the first one to discover his cavern for a reason; I had followed him before. At first I wanted to get back at Christine, by killing you."
"What?! You mean, Xavier and that man with the mask?"
"Assassins, trained to kill, but obviously not well enough." Meg sighed. "But now I'm going to get even with you. The love of my life was stolen away from me. Now I'm going to send him far away, where you will never be able to see him again."
"Don't do this," Allegra warned. "I'll tell everyone what happened."
"No one would believe you, or care."
"What about him?" she pointed to the man.
Meg scoffed. "Him? A couple stacks of money kept him pretty complaisant. Finish the ceremony."
The man continued, walking around the stage and talking in Latin. Erik fell on the balcony next to Allegra, his image translucent and unstable.
"Erik!" Allegra rushed to him, her hand passing through his face.
"No.. time..," he whispered, wincing as if in immense pain. "I'm.. so.. sorry.."
"Don't be," Allegra's smile faltered, tears forming. "Everything will be okay, you'll be okay."
Erik looked up at her with a look of pure fear on his face. Fear of where he might wake up. The look of fear you can only have moments before you die.
Using the last of his energy, he touched Allegra's face and said, "Thank you," before simply vanishing into thin air, leaving behind a gold ring.
Allegra froze in place, staring at the spot Erik was lying only a couple seconds before. It all happened so fast, too soon. If only she had had more time to say goodbye.
Breaking down, she started to cry into her hands, feeling a sadness that she had never experienced before in her life.
(Hiya. Just in case, I'm making sure you guys know that this isn't the end. I'm not that sadistic. There's still a lot more in store for this story.)