Erik's POV

After a while of following Gustave around the hall, I began to feel ill. All that ran through my mind was Christine and how much I missed her. The masquerade ball was bringing back too many memories of her, memories that made me ache. She was no longer here, Christine was gone… Reality was hitting me deep to the core, reality that I couldn't handle.

"Mister Y, look," I was dragged out of my dazed mode when I heard Gustave calling for me. The child was having so much fun, and yet, here I was, standing around and feeling ill. "I got an apple."

The boy's face was wet, making it obvious that he had been bobbing for apples. But I wasn't interested…The music was so loud, causing the sound to hurt my ears. Soon, all I could feel was the pounding of my heart against my rib cage.

"Mister Y…"

I needed to sit… I stumbled away, taking a seat at one of the tables. I had hoped to feel better afterwards, but it hadn't helped. Nadir must have seen me sit, for he came rushing over to me in a matter of seconds.

"Man, you look pale…" Nadir attempted to touch my cheek, but I moved away from his hand.

"Enough, Nadir," I growled. "I'm fine. I just needed to sit."

"You don't look so well, Erik. Perhaps you should take Gustave and go home."

"I will be perfectly fine, thank you. I just need to sit is all, now let me be!"

"Suit yourself, man…" Nadir sneered, walking away.

A few moments later, Gustave took a seat beside me and began to play with my skeleton mask that I had removed from off of my face. Yes, I was still wearing my white mask, but I knew removing the costume mask had upset the boy. I wasn't interacting and this upset him.

"Mister Y, are you all right?"

I nodded. "I just needed to sit for a few moments. I'll be all right, Gustave."

"It's mama, isn't it?" he pouted. "You're sad again."

"I am no such thing," I reassured. "I have a headache is all. Now, run along and enjoy yourself. It is Halloween. You should be feeding your face with candy apples and cake."

"I don't want to have fun without you, Mister Y…"

"Well, what would you like to do, Gustave?"

"Could we dance?"

"Then dance, we shall."

I wasn't ready to stand up, but I did it anyway, for Gustave's sake. The dance floor was extremely crowded, but I ignored it. My child took my hands and began excitedly dancing like children do. And as I watched him dance, it reminded me of Christine, and the way she used to dance. Tears rushed to my eyes, and my chest began to ache…To stop the searing agony, I lifted my hand and placed it on the center of my chest, pressing my eyes closed as I did so.

"Mister Y, are you all right?"

After hearing Gustave's voice, I nodded and continued watching the boy dance. Soon, the entire room began to spin, and I found it hard to breathe… My chest tightened with a searing agony, one that left me stumbling around in a constant circle. I could no longer see straight, my sight darkening and becoming blurry. I heard my child screaming for me, but I couldn't respond. Once more, my chest tightened and that's when I fell to the floor. Crowds of my employees surrounded me, but everything went black…

Gustave's POV

I had been dancing and having a great time with my papa, but when he fell to the floor, my joyful smile turned into a horrid scream. The music came to an abrupt halt, and all of Mister Y's employees came rushing to his side.

"Papa! Papa…"

I knelt at his side and shook him over and over again, but he wouldn't wake. He wasn't even breathing…As the tears came rushing to my eyes, Nadir broke through the crowds and dropped to his side.

"Erik," Nadir pressed his fingers against his neck, his face turning into one filled with fear. I prayed that my papa would be all right, for if he wasn't, there would be no one to care for me. "Erik, man, don't scare me like this…"

Tears streamed faster down my cheeks as I sat there watching Nadir loosening the shirt collar that was around my papa's neck. Over and over again, Nadir pressed his fingers in different spots around his neck. Finally, Nadir lifted his head and screamed.

"Someone get a doctor! Quickly…"

Mr. Squelch and Dr. Gangle ran out of the hall. Oh, what was wrong with him?

"Get this contraption off your face," Nadir barked, pulling the mask away from my papa's face. When his distorted face was exposed, I heard people gasping, some even left the circle. I knew no one had ever seen what was behind my papa's mask. I wasn't moving…I wasn't afraid of his face, not any longer.

"Monsieur Khan," I sobbed. "Is my papa all right?"

But the man didn't say a word, he just continued working on my papa. It frightened me when Nadir began pressing his hands against my papa's chest. What was he doing? He looked like he was hurting him, but I wasn't sure. I just wanted my papa to wake…I wanted him to be all right.

"Come on, man!" Nadir grabbed hold of my papa's shirt and pulled him upward before letting him drop back to the ground. "Don't do this, you selfish bastard…"

To help him breathe easier, Nadir pulled off Mister Y's wig, revealing his exposed skull. I had always seen Mister Y without his mask off, but he hardly ever removed his wig unless he was sleeping. A few moments later, the doors burst open and a doctor appeared, followed by two other men. The doctor knelt down beside my papa and moved the end of a stethoscope around his scarred chest.

"He's not breathing…" the doctor confirmed.

Not breathing? How couldn't he be breathing? No…I began to sob and Nadir grabbed a hold of me, pressing my face into his shirt.

"He was fine a few minutes ago…" I sobbed. "He…he was dancing me with…"

"Load him up," the doctor cried. "We need to get him to the hospital…"

My Halloween was over…It would never be a joyful day for me ever again, especially if I lost my papa forever. No, he couldn't die, he just couldn't…I prayed to my mother, prayed that she would look after him, prayed that he would be all right…I could only hope that she was listening.

Erik's POV

I woke on the floor of the hall…I could barely move my body, and to make matters worse, everyone was gone. Alone…The hall was deserted, seeming as if there was never a party.

"Gustave," I mewed his name as I lay immobile on the floor. My arms and legs felt like a ton of bricks, and I was still having difficulty breathing. Why had everyone left me?

"Erik," Christine appeared at my side with a face that seemed to be filled with worriment.

"Christine…wh…why am I here alone?" I breathlessly gasped.

"Mon ange…you have to fight. You have to pull through this."

I didn't understand what she was saying. Pull through what? What was this woman talking about? I was on the floor and alone. What else could she be possibly speaking of?

"Pull through what?"

Suddenly, the floor beneath me disappeared, leaving me lying on some sort of clear surface, but below that clear surface was an operating room or some sort of emergency ward. There were doctors surrounding a table…And there was a body lying atop of it. But wait! I knew that face…the body was me. What was happening?

"Ch…Christine…"

I felt so cold, so cold and tired. Christine caressed my cheek and pressed her lips against my own.

"Erik, what happened to you? What happened at the party?"

I didn't remember a thing. All I remembered was talking to Gustave and then nothing. But I did remember feeling pain in my chest.

"My chest…" I crooned. "I couldn't breathe…"

Tears began to fall down Christine's cheeks as she sat there beside me.

"Your heart… You always had a weak heart, ange… I thought ten years would have hardened it, but…You can't, Erik, you just can't. Gustave needs you. He's praying to me at this very second to help you, but I simply cannot. There is nothing I can do for you."

"Am…Am I in heaven then?"

Christine shook her head. "No, not yet…"

"Then…if…if I am dying, why am I here? And why do I still feel so weak? I…I thought when you died, you became strong and healthy again…I'm…I'm in agony."

"It's called the in between, Erik," Christine cried. "It's not earth, nor is it heaven, which is why you still feel pain."

My eyes began to close, when Christine lightly slapped my cheek.

"No, Erik, don't do that…You need to pull through this. For me, ange…for Gustave. Don't leave him, don't leave the boy. He needs you."

"W…What do…I do, Christine? Ho…how does one live?"

"You have to fight the pain, Erik…you have to fight exhaustion. If you surrender to any of it, you won't return. You're doing great…Just a little longer, Erik, a little longer and everything will be over."

"My…my head hurts…"

Christine came to my aid and rested my body in her arms. I felt much warmer now, warmer and more comfortable. The pain in my chest was still as intense as it was a little while ago, and breathing was like sucking air through a straw.

"W…will you sing to me, Christine?"

"Of course, ange…" she cooed. "If it will keep you awake, I will sing to you."

And she did…Her voice swarmed over me like a wave of pleasure. Soon, the music became distant and I could hear the beating of my heart against my ears. After closing my eyes, I felt as though I were falling. When I landed, my eyes shot open, noticing that I was in some sort of strange room and that my body was in dire agony.

"Erik," I heard a soft voice, turning my head to the side to spot Nadir sitting beside me.

I tried to open my mouth to speak, but found it nearly impossible to do.

"Save your strength, man…" he murmured. "You're going to need all the strength you can get. You nearly died tonight, Erik. You were in surgery for nearly five hours now. Apparently, you experienced a massive spasm in your heart, Erik…One that stopped it. The doctors had to open you up and massage your heart."

I lifted my heavy hand to my chest and felt the bandage that was wrapped around my torso.

"He says you are suffering from a broken heart. I remember years ago you were suffering the same thing. But your condition was never as bad as this. Even when you did have spasms, they were never so severe."

I pressed my head into my pillow and closed my eyes. Oh, Christine…Just thinking about her caused another jolt of agony to wrack my chest. I cringed and pressed my hand against my abdomen, causing Nadir to call for one of the doctors. Years ago, I always suffered from these spasms, but never had they ever been this bad.

"Breathe, Mister Y…"

A doctor held me up into a sitting position so I could breathe easier. I concentrated on breathing, closing my eyes and breathing deeply until the pain had passed. And when it did, I was utterly exhausted. After being laid back down, I closed my eyes once again, and this time, I surrendered to sleep.

Gustave's POV

Monsieur Khan spent the night with me at home, even though I would have rather had been at the hospital. After the doctors told Nadir and I about my papa, monsieur Khan took me home. I couldn't sleep the entire night, due to the fact that I wanted to see Mister Y. The doctors had said that my papa was suffering from a broken heart. But why? Why was he suffering from that? Even I was sad about my mama, but I wasn't sad enough to start having heart problems. The following morning, I woke early and hurried down the stairs. Monsieur Khan was still asleep on the couch, and I didn't wake him. Instead, I hurried out the door and towards the hospital my papa was in. I walked to his room and went inside, taking notice that he was indeed still asleep. My mama must have listened to my prayers, for he was still alive. Tears ran to my eyes as I took a seat at his bedside.

"Hi, papa," I cooed. "Mama must have heard me. I prayed that you would be all right."

When my papa opened his eyes, he looked at me…He seemed exhausted and in dire pain, but at least he was awake.

"G…Gustave," his voice was parched, but he continued to speak. "W…Why are you here? It's…it's so early."

"I couldn't wait any longer to come…" tears were already rushing to my eyes again. Why? Why was my papa suffering from a broken heart? Was I not enough to fill the hole my mama had left? I tried everything to be the best son in the world, but I had failed.

"Wh…why are you crying?" he breathlessly asked.

"I tried…" I cried. "I tried to be the best son I could be. I tried to take mama's place…I tried everything, Mister Y. I failed…"

"Failed?"

I nodded. "You have a broken heart. If I was enough to fill mama's place, you wouldn't have a broken heart. This is all my fault."

"Gustave, no…" Mister Y reached across the bed for my hand, lightly squeezing it. "You…you have done thing wrong. I've been suffering for a very long time, son. I've had a weak heart ever since I was your age. Sometimes, things just happen at the wrong times…Sort of like the way everything happened last night."

I wiped my eyes. "So, I didn't cause this?"

Mister Y shook his head. "Of course not…You bring me more joy than anything in the world. You're the best thing that's could have ever happened to me. So don't blame yourself for something you have no control over."

I crawled into bed with my papa and embraced him, sobbing silently into his shoulder.

"You scared me last night…I thought I lost you. The doctor's said I could still lose you…"

Mister Y embraced me. "Gustave…I…I am going to stay with you for as long as I can. I will never leave you as long as I have control over it. Only God knows, son…"

"And I will pray to god to keep you safe, and here with me…"

"You are a wonderful boy, Gustave…The best son a man could ever ask for."

For the remainder of the afternoon, I stayed by Mister Y's side, never leaving him for a single second. Mama might have been his guardian angel from heaven, but I was his guardian angel on earth…