This is the very last chapter of this story I am sad to say. D8 Hailey and I can't believe we started this story just for fun during Finals and now here it is, close to our end of the year Finals, and this story is coming to a close. We have had such a fun time writing this, and COUNTLESS class discussions that would somehow land us in trouble with the teacher for laughing so loud. I just want to say thank you again to all of my readers, followers, and favoriters for giving this story a chance. I'm also dedicating this final chapter to 'Judybear236' and 'FantomPhan33' for encouraging me with my story, helping me catch my mistakes, and always writing a review that makes me laugh.

One more thing, the song from the last chapter was, "Learn to be Lonely" by Minnie Driver. The end credit song in the '04 version of POTO.

Disclaimer: I own nothing POTO

Chapter 15

I kept falling, the images of Anthony and Erik beside me being the last thing I saw or could even remember. The pain in my chest was lessening some but it was still hard to breath. As I fell through the pitch blackness my heart started to beat faster and faster, I could feel the ground coming and the fall would surely kill me.

I heard the air whistle sharper in my ear; I started to count how long I had. Three...two..one...

GASP!

I jumped up from my position laying down, panting as I grabbed my heart, feeling the muscle slowly start to calm down. I was gasping for breath; I couldn't take in air fast enough for my lungs to exhale.

I heard a female voice in the distance say, "We've got the other one as well now! What in God's name is going on?!"

At that I started to take in my surroundings, I was in a hospital. I was hooked up to an I.V. and what looked like a blood bag. Holy crap, it WORKED!

I felt like laughing and crying all at the same time in that moment. I was back...but was Erica? She was dying in both times, how could she be alive now? Her body evaporated...did mine?

I looked to my right where I heard, what probably was, the nurse's voice. There was no one there now, but as I looked to my left I noticed a boy sitting in the chair next to my bed. His head was down cast and his breathing was even, he was asleep.

I took that moment to study him. He was probably between 5'7 and 5'8 feet tall with shaggy dark brown hair, muscles that could clearly be seen through his shirt by the way he was sitting, and a devilish grin that plastered his face as he slept.

I had no idea who he was but I had to admit that he was cute, but he wasn't Anthony. At this my eyes began to water, if Anthony was real then he's long dead and I never got to tell him I loved him.

I was holding my breath so the tears wouldn't cascade out of my eyes, but my lungs gave a stabbing protest to my ribs. When that happened I let out a noise that was between a gasp and a sob.

I've never made a sound like that in my life! I covered my mouth in embarrassment, and to make matters worse that's when the mystery guy decided to wake up.

He jumped at the sound I made and began to furiously rub his eyes to wake himself up. He glanced at me and I gasped. It was Anthony!

Like the idiot I was I screamed, "Anthony!"

He looked at me strangely, "You're up...? Anthony? It's Tony."

God, he even sounds like Anthony. I was quiet at that, realizing that this couldn't be Anthony. If anything, in my comatose state I conjured Anthony up in my mind after seeing or hearing this boy. How pathetic is that? I stayed silent, not wanting to talk to whoever this is.

He cleared his throat, "Well, everyone calls me Tony, but Anthony is my real name. I just wanted to let you know, well, I'm sorry about the crash. It was an accident I swear!"

My eyes widened in surprise before they squinted and glared back at him. He seemed to shrink away as I bellowed, "This is all YOUR fault! I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you! My heart wouldn't be shredded, it wouldn't be hard to breathe right now, and my best friend wouldn't be dying!"

I heard frantic beeps in the background but at the moment I was too pissed to care. This bastard was the cause of all my pain right now! If I had one wish I would wish I was strong enough to get up out of this bed and beat the snot out of this creep.

He jumped out of his seat and pushed me to lie back down, if I wasn't so weak I would have fought back, but as it was I barely had enough energy to sit up in the first place.

"Calm down," he soothed. "You have to stay calm or you're going to give yourself a heart attack. Just breath; in and out, in and out. There."

I didn't have to do a thing he said, but I really didn't have a choice did I? My life was in danger, again.

Once I calmed down we both sat in silence. I glared at him as he glanced between me and my heart monitor. Why was he even here? He didn't care about me, or maybe he just felt guilty he ran me over. Yeah, that's probably it.

After another minute or two he finally spoke, "You said that your heart was shredded...what did you mean by that? As I recall, the doctors said your heart was just fine."

I turned my head away from him and sighed, "I had a dream and it just...my heart is broken because the guy I 'met' never existed."

He inched closer to my bed at this and said, "Well, how do you know?"

I snorted, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. You look exactly like him, that's why I called you Anthony. I thought, you know, maybe he was somehow here with me."

He grinned and chuckled a bit at this, "So, you fell in love with this guy? This guy you dreamed up?"

I snapped my attention back to him and sat up in fury, "Just shut up and leave me alone! Yes, yes I did fall in love with him, alright? It was a dream though, I know that, but if you're just going to sit there and make fun of me then get the Hell out of here! I am in no mood!"

He seemed to get a kick out of that because he started to laugh. I wanted to punch his lights out so bad I was almost willing to risk breaking a bone to get out of the bed. He stopped laughing then continued, "Still not a morning person, huh Hailey?"

"I have never-...how do you know that?"

He smiled a smile I knew I would never forget, then leaned over and touched the top of my head with his hand.

Flashback...Flash-forward?

I saw an old man laying in bed and coughing. He had small wisps of grey hair, crinkled hands, and a sickly pale complexion. He was dying, there was no doubt.

He turned then, picking up an old picture on his nightstand of a masked man with his wife holding a baby and two other children standing next to her. He stared wistfully at it before setting it down with a trembling hand. He coughed once more then retrieved a vial from under his pillow.

He stared at the clear contents in silence for a long moment before looking at the picture again, "I hope this works, old friend. If it doesn't...well, you better be the first one to greet me when I get upstairs."

At this the old man unscrewed the cork and downed the contents of the vial quickly. He coughed again once he was through then grasped the vial desperately, chanting, "Nineteen ninety-four...nineteen ninety-four...please, nineteen ninety four."

His chanting died out along with him as his eyes slowly closed and the vial fell from his hand onto the hard floor with a crash.

The images blurred for a moment before they focused again on a woman lying in a hospital bed. She looked as if she were about to pass out. Her strawberry blonde curls were plastered to her face, her breaths were ragged, and her husband kissed her temple while lightly holding her hand. A doctor came into view carrying a baby swaddled in a blue cloth.

"It's a beautiful baby boy," The doctor said. He handed the bundle to the apparent mother then asked, "What are you going to name him?"

The mother pulled the cloth down a bit to look at her new baby's face then looked up at her husband smiling. He smiled back then said, "It's your decision, darling."

The woman smiled even brighter then turned back to the doctor, "Anthony. His name is Anthony. Anthony Erik Baudin."

The doctor looked puzzled, "That's a peculiar name. I recognize the last name as French but the middle name. Why 'Erik'?"

The mother smiled warmly, "Erik was the name of my great great grandfather, and my family always swore that if there was ever a boy born into the family he would either have his middle name or first name be Erik. This is the first time there has been a boy born into the family since the original Erik's son."

The father cut in as he gazed down at his son, "And Anthony was the name of my great great grandmother's brother. He died a bachelor at the age of sixty-five. It was sad really, he never married or had any children of his own, he had a sweetheart once but she somehow died before anything could go further in their relationship."

The doctor gave a smile, "Well then, this boy sure does have a past to brag about. Yes sir, I think you both can expect great things from this one someday." With that the doctor headed for the door saying, "I will give you two sometime alone with your son, Mrs. Baudin, rest. You need it."

Once the doctor left the room the father turned to the mother, "Do you think he has the gift?"

The mother looked at the boy, "I'm not sure, he's your son. Like you, he should have it naturally. He's a beautiful baby, dear."

The father chuckled at this, "You're biased sweet heart, of course you think he's beautiful...but I have to agree he is handsome."

The mother kissed the top of his head, "My little Anthony."

End of Flashback

The boy removed his hand from my head and my eyes refocused on his form. I stared at him for the longest time in shock then said, "You aged well, for a sixty-five year old in that time of course."

Anthony's head fell as he began to laugh, "Out of all the reactions and all of the things I expected you to say I didn't expect that to be one of them."

I shrugged, "I'm never consistent, and I keep you on your toes."

Anthony laughed again. When he stopped he surged forward and hugged me, but not too tight, knowing my chest was injured. He whispered in my ear, "I missed you."

I hugged him back tightly, "Even though it was only a few minutes for me I missed you too. I'm so glad you're here."

He pulled away and at the same time a nurse came running in, "Hi sweetie, I see you're up. How are you feeling?"

I grinned, "Not too bad, my chest hurts like all God's get out, but other than that I don't have any complaints."

The nurse laughed, "I'm not surprised your chest hurts, three cracked ribs and some minor scratch wounds are nothing to laugh at."

My eyes widened, "Three cracked ribs?"

The nurse looked at me oddly, "Yes, but what did you expect? You were hit by a car and landed on the concrete pretty hard. You should just be happy you're still alive. Most people in your situation would have died."

Anthony and I shared a look before the nurse left the room then returned to the room saying, "You're friend is awake if you wish to see her. I'll bring a wheel chair."

I nodded my head vigorously, "Yes! Yes, please!"

She smiled again then quickly left. Anthony grabbed my hand then said, "I'm glad both of you are alright. I wasn't sure if Erica was going to make it back. She was in critical condition when she was brought here. She lost a lot of blood when her head was sliced, and fractured her shoulder where she had landed."

I started, "Fractured? Not broken?"

Anthony shook his head, "No, the doctors said that if she hadn't split her forehead open she would have been just fine."

I blanched then shook my head, "She really is an expert at falling. She did freaking flips in the air, and only comes out with a gash across her forehead and a fractured shoulder. I simply fly backwards and I crack three ribs and scratch myself up like I went through a shredder. She needs to teach me how to do that."

The nurse returned with a wheel chair and was going to help me out of bed when Anthony said, "I got it."

The nurse smiled then nodded and left the room. I scooted to the edge of the bed and Anthony picked me up bridal style. I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed in a mock hug before he set me down in the chair. He gathered my I.V. and blood bag, placing them on my wheel chair as he began to push me out of my room.

We walked/rolled down the hallway towards I.C.U where they were keeping Erica for observations, making sure there was no internal bleeding or injuries they had missed. They were baffled that she wasn't injured further than what she was. Well, I can't blame them.

As we walked a thought struck me, "Anthony, who was the other man that was with you? He wrapped Erica's head to try to stop the bleeding."

Anthony nodded in recognition, "Don't tell Erica, she would...what did you call it? Phan-girl out? Anyway, he's my best friend and he is an exact replica of Erik. His personality, habits, and traits are Erik's to the letter, except his face of course. If I didn't know better I would say it was Erik himself, but I've seen his soul, it's not him. He has his talent for music though, and he can sing exactly, if not better, than Erik. It's strange to say the least."

We walked into Erica's room and she was sitting up in bed, talking to the guy lying in the bed that was beside hers. Anthony bit his lip then said, "Well, maybe I spoke too soon about his face."

I looked over at the boy that was turned on his side, his right elbow propping him up while he talked to Erica. He had midnight black shaggy hair, brown hazel eyes that rivaled Erica's in depth, and even lying down he had to be at least 5'9 feet tall.

He was handsome, but I saw what Anthony was talking about. The left side of his face had several cuts that had been stitched up. One across his left cheekbone, one from the center of his forehead to his eyebrow, and several other small ones around his cheek without stitches.

Neither had realized we were standing in the room, and I didn't want to ruin their bubble of peace so I whispered to Anthony, "What happened to him?"

Anthony grimaced, "When we wrecked his head hit the windshield and the glass shattered, embedding several pieces of glass in his face. It took the doctors two hours to successfully retrieve all of the glass then stitch him up."

At this the boy added, "Yeah, and the outcome is that my face will be scarred for the rest of my life. That is the last time I let your brother drive my car. Did you see the damage he did to the beauty?" The boy ended the sentence flinging is arm up in the air in aggravation.

Anthony rolled his eyes, "I know your car is trashed, but that's what insurance is for. You can always fix it."

The boy shook his head, "That's not the beauty I was talking about."

The phrase was left hanging in the air, and Erica looked away for a moment while her cheeks tinted red.

I cleared my throat, "So, Mr. Charming what's your name?"

He looked away from Erica with a proud smile, "It's Levi."

Erica cleared her throat then said, "Levi, meet Hailey, my best friend. Hailey, allow me to introduce my roommate, Levi." Erica paused then said, "And I believe I've already met you, Anthony, right?"

There was a hidden question there, she was asking if this was the original Anthony or not. Anthony smiled, answering both questions, "Yes, I'm sorry to say the last time I saw you you were lying in somebody else's lap wanting to go home."

Erica and I shared a smile then I turned my attention back to Levi, "So, Levi? Levi like-"

Levi waved his hand in dismissal, "Yes, like that. Any jokes about your blue jeans or the original Levi and I'll Punjab lasso you."

Erica looked at Levi curiously with a smile and Anthony and I shared a look before I laughed, "That's a very weird threat, not one that I haven't heard a hundred times by Miss Phan over there, but still.

Levi began to chuckle, "Why be normal when weird is ten times more fun?"

I slapped my forehead as Erica busted out laughing, "Good Lord, there's two of them now!"

Erica was still laughing while Levi simply watched her. When her laughing finally subsided she gasped, "Wait a second, I just realized, you like 'Phantom of the Opera'?"

The corner of Levi's mouth quirked up in a lopsided grin, "I'm not a Phan like you, but I do find the story intriguing. The music however...not a favorite of mine."

Erica blanched, "What are you talking about?! The music is fantastic!"

I shook my head, This boy has no idea what he's getting himself into.

Levi paused then held up a finger, "Let me re-phrase that. I adore the music, but most of the singers are terrible. I like Emmy Rossum, but Patrick Wilson looks too much like a girl and sings like his throat is raw. Gerard Butler, he is passable, but he doesn't have the power and true rage needed to play the domineering Erik."

Erica seemed to relax then began to laugh, "Oh, you're talking about the '04 version!"

Levi looked confused, "There's more than one version?"

I chuckled, "Anthony, have the time?"

He nodded as he leaned his arm down so I could see his wrist watch. Then Erica took off, "'There's more than one version?' Of course there is! I don't know if you have read the book but the silent black and white Lon Chaney version is closer to the book. If you've read the book I don't necessarily recommend that version. No point in seeing what you've already read. The only small difference is the ending, which is worse than the book, in my opinion.

There's a Claudie Rains version that's well...it's okay, but they hinted a couple of times that the Phantom was Christine's father and that's just, no. The singing is nice and sung as it should be sung for the time period it was filmed in.

Then there's the Julian Sands version, which is just too perverse to even contemplate watching. It shouldn't even be considered a Phantom version, he's not even deformed. Not to mention he-, uh, and Christine- I'm not going into that. It's gross. Never watch it.

After that, is the Charles Dance version which is phenomenal! I just adore that one, real operatic singing and a perfect Phantom. Christine is sweet and innocent but not so stupidly naive that she believes the Angel of Music story. Erik actually walks up to her in the theatre and offers her voice lessons; it's actually the most believable version in my opinion. However, if you're someone who focuses on his face, you'll be disappointed to find out that they never show his face. It doesn't matter to me really, but they tease you several times, making you think he's going to take off the mask when in reality he is wearing a second mask under a colored one. He usually wears a nude colored mask with black eye make-up.

Then there's the Robert England version, and I may not know you very well, but considering what I know about men you would like this version the most. Hardly any singing, blood, gore, violence, intimate moments, swearing, etc. etc. It has a demonic twist to the story that surprisingly does not undermine Leroux's original work and keeps the viewer guessing about the Phantom's connection to reality the whole time. Not only that, but when you think Christine has killed him, in self-defense of course, there's this last little bit in the film that makes it possible for the Phantom to still be alive.

Finally, we come to Andrew Lloyed Webber's play version of 'The Phantom of the Opera'. Of course you've seen the '04 version that is exactly like the play version, excluding a few pointless scenes of course. However, you have not seen the actual play version, such as the twenty-fifth Anniversary, with Hadley Fraser as Raoul, Sierra Boggess as Christine and Ramin Karimloo as the infamous Phantom of the Opera. Ramin, as far as singing goes, is by far the best Phantom this world has ever known. That is only my opinion of course, but if I had to suggest only one version, this would be it."

Levi seemed to be taking all this in while Anthony looked at Erica, mouth agape in utter shock at her focus and consistency. She didn't even pause to think about any of the details.

Anthony quickly shook himself out of his shock, "Erica, you sounded like you were a professor giving a lecture you have been teaching for years!"

Erica giggled embarrassed at Anthony's comment then turned to me, "How's my time?"

I smiled, "This is by far the longest record, four minutes and thirteen seconds."

Erica smiled proudly and did a fist pump in the air as Levi chuckled, "I think I'm going to like getting to know you. And, since you've so highly recommended it, why don't we find this 'Twenty-Fifth Anniversary' of yours and watch it?"

Apparently this boy does know what he's getting himself into. Which should I be more worried about? The fact that he actually wants to watch Phantom of the Opera with the biggest Phan in the world or the fact he just asked my best friend out? Eh, I'll let her worry about it.

Erica smiled, "Sure, I'd love to. Once they let me out of here of course. I'm fine, really. There's no internal bleeding, or broken bones, or something ridiculous like that!"

I laughed, "You still hate the hospital, don't you?"

Erica sighed as she began to shimmy down into her bed to lay flat on her back, "I hate hospitals as much as you hate waking up early in the morning."

"Touché," I said as I leaned against the arm Anthony was using to hold my chair in place.

There was a long lull in the conversation before Levi sat up, "Well, as much fun as this has been, I better get back to my room before they send the mob after me. I'm not technically suppose to be out of bed-"

Anthony's eyes widened, "Levi!"

Levi shrugged, "Come on, my face is the only thing that was hurt, and I couldn't miss out on the opportunity to talk to the girl who smiled before she fell unconscious because of blood loss." Levi turned his attention back to Erica at that point, "Thanks for clearing that up, by the way, I knew there was a lighthearted reason behind that smile."

Levi gave a quick two finger salute wave in good-bye then disappeared down the hallway. Erica sat back up, looking at Anthony and me as she bit the corner of her mouth to keep her excited smile hidden. "Hey Anthony. Miss us, or rather, Hailey already?"

Anthony chuckled, "More than you know."

Erica shook her head at this, "So, are you going to tell me or show me how you got here?"

Anthony wheeled me over closer to Erica's bed, then touched Erica's forehead with his hand as he had done earlier with me. Erica stiffened then began to relax once again.

Erica slowly pushed Anthony's hand away from her head, "Okay, Erik is a genius. Speaking of the ghost, what happened with him and Christine?"

Anthony shrugged, "How bad do you want to know?"

Erica's face fell, "Oh, come on Anthony! Don't tease me, I'm dying to know! I want you to tell me though, don't show me."

Anthony hummed, "I don't know..."

I hit Anthony on the arm, "Just tell her already! I want to know too."

"Okay, okay, I give." Anthony said as dramatically paused, "Once the two of of you had vanished Erik and I sat there in silence for a long while. Neither of us seemed to want to speak and break the moment. Something about the two of you being gone left us sad and a bit hollow inside.

Erik quickly filled that gap however, Christine returned like Erik had asked her too." Anthony now spoke directly to me, "When they kissed and we heard Christine say the words 'sorry' and 'you', the whole sentence was, 'I'm sorry for what I did and what I was going to do, I love you.'"

Erica squealed at hearing this, calling out, "Awwww!"

Anthony continued, "Erik had told Christine to return to him, if she truly loved him, an hour from then before she left with Raoul. When she did return she asked where you two had gone, and naturally we had no other choice but to tell her the truth. She took it rather well, and after that matter was solved the two left to be wed immediately. I was the best man, of course, and was the first to know a month after they were wed that Chrstine was pregnant with their first child. It was a boy; they named him 'Gustave' after Christine's father. His full name was 'Gustave Anthony Destler', and then the second and third child came a year after the first and less than a month in between each other. They were both girls. The first Erik named, and the second Christine named."

Anthony stopped there and Erica and I both looked confused. Erica huffed, "Well, what were their names. Don't leave us in suspense Anthony!"

Anthony sighed, "Erik named the first girl Erica, and Christine named the second girl Hailey."

I placed my hand over my heart at that. That was the sweetest gesture I'd ever heard of. I couldn't speak and apparently Erica had trouble with the task as well, "That is just...I wish I could thank them. I mean to name their...we, I certainly never thought they would...were they happy?"

Anthony nodded but then the small smile on his face fell. "They were extremely happy...until Erik died. He died two years before Christine did of a heart attack, and Christine died on the anniversary of his death in her sleep. Erik was seventy-two and Christine was sixty-five. If you asked me, she died of a broken heart, but they were together in the end."

Anthony pointed up with his index finger and we knew exactly what he was talking about. The news was morbid but at the same time it was happy news. Everybody had to die, and at least they were both together in a better place. After the news however, nothing else could be said. There was nothing but the silence.

It wasn't an awkward moment of silence; it was a moment of...content. We were home, we were safe, and we were alive. Everything was just...right.

The End

Hailey: Well... that was sad.

Erica: I couldn't help it! It just...came out that way. I wish it wasn't over though!

Hailey: Ah, well. It had to end sometime or another.

Erica: Okay, so last voting poll for you guys! It seems like Dark (plot) won out with you guys unless you want to change your vote. The plot won't be too heavy though so don't worry. Anyway, so type one of these in a review please!

Present Day

or

Original time Frame for POTO (something along those lines)

Hailey & Erica: Thank you! Please review! Bye! :D 8D