A/N: Hello! Here's another chapter, I hope that you enjoy, as it might be a while until the next one. I hope you don't mind. I'm happy with this chapter, and I hope that you like it. Keep those lovely reviews coming!

Chapter Twenty-One: The Different Shades of Evil

I took the passageway to the roof.

I didn't bother with anything else, I just dropped my gold dress and ran towards the secret hall way and got in there as fast as possible. I needed to think, and I couldn't do that with Erik right in front of me.

"Slow down, girl!" I heard Sixty shout at me, but I ignored her, in fact, I actually ran faster. I had to escape these people, I had to escape my mind.

"Wait, Annika, stop!" I ignored Goblin as well, I just blindly ran, stumbling into things and cursing. I couldn't see with the tears in my eyes and I could barely run with the damn high-heeled shoes on my feet. I paused for less than a second to kick them off and let out a noise of frustration. I kept running non-stop after that, my feet getting scraped-up by bits of stone and metal. I thought for sure that if God was kind, he'd just kill me and spare me of my uncertainty, but it seemed like he was off duty today, for no lightning came to smite me.

"I'll just have to do it myself." I breathlessly whispered as I picked up the pace. I tore past my room, picturing the roof where I could hide, and the ledge that I could jump of off. These thoughts gave me more comfort than any of the others as I stumbled down the passage way. I didn't care when I heard a ripping sound from the fabric of my dress. I didn't scream in pain when my hair caught on a nail that stuck out from the wall. I didn't feel anything, I was numb.

He didn't love me, he didn't even want to kiss me. Oh God, why did I do that? I thought to myself as tears began to spill out of my eyes and roll down my already tear-streaked face even faster. I finally reached the trap door and I jumped up as high as I could, pushing the wooden flap and hoisting myself up onto the snowy room. I instantly felt the chill through my dress, but I didn't care.

I shut the trap door with a loud bang and walked calmly over to the edge of the roof. I dug my nails into the cold stone that formed the gargoyles and the Pegasus, breathing heavily as I closed my eyes. The snow had begun to fall once again and the icy flakes felt good on my skin. I let the rest of my tears make hot trails down my cheeks as the mid-winter cold froze the watery paths that they make as they fell off the end of my face into the snow.

I didn't brush the tears I shed away, I just let them have free reign as I leaned out over the side of the barrier and sobbed. Below me, the street was bustling with life, as it was most likely rush-hour. The cute little shops with their twinkling lights and warm glows were packed full of happy people, people who weren't prisoners, people who were in their own time-period, people who weren't crazy!

I forced myself to stop, I was only upsetting myself more than I needed to. I turned and sat down on the stone wall and felt very tempted to just fall back wards and end it all, but I found that I couldn't do it. Something was stopping me, something much deeper than just my own personal fear of death. No, this was something bigger.

And that something was hope.

I'd been rejected and humiliated, but still, somewhere inside of me there was an small, almost dead scrap of hope that perhaps, Erik did feel something for me. This is what kept me from killing myself, for that hope, that tiny amount of hope that would have been insignificant for any normal human being with a brain that functions the right way meant everything to me, as it felt so much better than the biting reality.

I sat down in the snow with my back pressed up against the wall as I finally stopped crying. A hollow feeling took up residence in my heart as I put my face in my hands and just tried to calm down.

I was almost at peace and I was almost rational again; keyword, almost.

"My poor, dear Persis." All my clarity and hope was shattered when Sycamore sauntered out from behind a stone gargoyle. I was very surprised at the fact that she decided to show herself, as she usually didn't, she was usually too much of a coward, what was she up to? Did this have anything to do with her plan?

"What do you want?" I asked, pretending like I wasn't shocked. She clucked her tongue and sat down near me, a look of fake sympathy in her fiery orange eyes.

"Oh my little darling, why do you think so little of me? Tell me why you always think that I reveal myself for my gain alone?" I couldn't help it, I snorted when she said that.

"Because whenever you do reveal yourself, it is only when you could some how profit. I may be hurt, but I am not stupid." I replied, anger in my voice and her sympathetic mask fell to reveal a slimy smugness.

"I understand, but, there is someone I want you to meet." I found my curiosity peaked as she waved her hand and out from behind the very same statue of the stone gargoyle stepped the Erik from my dream, with no mask to block his fine features.

Seeing him, even if he wasn't real sent a wave of butterflies to my stomach.

"I have been fixing him, I do apologize for the dream I gave you, I merely wanted to surprise you and he was not quite ready at that time." I wanted to tell her that she was a God-awful liar, but I was so engrossed by Erik that I found that all I could do was nod in agreement.

The Erik from my dream walked towards me, his movements fluid as the real one and he knelt down in front of me, taking my hand in his.

"I love you, Annika." He said, and even his voice was perfect; rocky and rough yet smooth and lovely at the very same time. I began to wonder of Sycamore was really all that bad, I mean, she gave me what I needed, and I needed Erik so badly.

I threw my arms around the Erik-bot, and pulled him into a hug. He hugged me back immediately and didn't stop until I pulled away. Everything was just like my dream, perfect for that brief moment. It was then that I leaned in to kiss him, the way I should have kissed the real Erik.

His lips met mine and instantly, I knew it was wrong.

Erik's lips, although somewhat rough, had life hiding just beneath the surface, even if Erik considered himself a corpse, Erik-bot was different, Erik-bot was disgusting. He really was a living corpse, his skin was icy and he tasted like rotten flesh, it was sickening and I shoved him away from me, wiping my mouth on the hem of my green dress.

"Take that vile creature away!" I screamed with all my might and Sycamore's facade vanished.

"It will take getting used to Annika, but he is what you want!" She tried to assure me, and even put one on her hands on my shoulder. I threw her arm off of me and stood up, backing away from her and her morbid creation.

"I want nothing to do with it, go away and leave me alone!" I exclaimed, kicking up snow as I tried to distance myself from the two of them.

Sycamore's look could murder as her eyes narrowed. She grabbed Erik-bot by his arm and pulled him away, a menacing look in her evil eyes as she disappeared behind another one of the statues. As soon as she was gone, my legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Fresh tears ran down my face again as I tried to forget about what I almost did. I felt sick once again and beyond stupid, how could I have let her lure me in like that? I thought that I had more brain cells than that!

I dug my nails into my scalp, tearing at my hair frustration as I let out all of my anger. I didn't notice when yet another person opened the trap door and came up on the roof.

I thought it was one of the Things, most likely an army sent by Sycamore to punish me, and so naturally, I flinched when I felt something touch me on my shoulder. It pulled away, which was odd and prompted me to turn and look at who or what was actually there.

Do you hear that? Oh, you hear nothing? Well, that is most likely because my heart stopped beating when I turned to find Erik, the real one kneeling down next to me, a look of disbelief and shock in his blue eyes. I felt sick with myself, but I knew that he hadn't seen my encounter with Sycamore, thank God.

"Erik?" I asked weakly and he nodded. I sat up and lifted a hand up to his masked face, wanting to tear it away and finally see what he was hiding from me. He didn't stop me as my fingers pried away at the porcelain, he remained still and stiffer than a board.

I took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to master my thumping heart rate before I finally removed his mask.

To a shallow person, the side Erik's face that he had tried so desperately to keep good and hidden was repulsive, with long claw-like marks raking down the twisted, burnt-black flesh, revealing veins and muscle beneath his skin. People like Christine would faint dead-away if they had to damage their perfect, beautiful minds with such horror, people like the new soprano could only see the world in black and white, with beauty equaling good and any ugliness automatically being considered evil, but to me, the world was a rainbow with many different shades of wickedness and light.

Erik's face was disgusting to look at, it was true, but what I felt when I saw it was different from the loathing and angry disgust that filled my soul when I thought of Erik bot. That creature was wrong and sick, Erik, well... Erik was beautiful, even without his mask.

I didn't scream when I looked at him, although I do remember one bubbling up in my throat. Did I let it out? Of course not, I couldn't do that to him, I could never do that to him, I loved him, yet did he still remain oblivious to such a claim? The answer, unfortunately, was yes, yes he did.

I placed his mask down beside me and put my hands on his shoulders. He looked at me with a neutral expression mixed with shock and bewilderment as I took another deep breath and willed myself to remember all the good in him, and not just what I saw.

I found it to be easier to accept the longer I looked at him, and it took a solid ten minutes to regain my composure enough to speak.

"There" I said quietly. "Now I can't leave you. And I'll never want to."