A Phantom Christmas Carol - *Phantom of the Opera*

Chapter Nine

A/N: Again, for the video story it shows all of this  written chapter and goes into next chapter.  Asterisks (*) are unspoken thoughts - Clips from Phantom of the Opera. Also bits from Camelot, Pillars of the Earth, Count of Monte Cristo, The Little Match Girl, and The Gospel According to Scrooge

Music (in order): O Fortuna (Carmina Burana) - Carl Orf / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra... Mina's Photograph (from Bram Stoker's Dracula)/ Wojciech Kilar... Schindler's List main theme/ John Williams, and throughout vid- music from Phantom of the Opera/ Andrew Lloyd Webber, sung by Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler, and Jennifer Ellison

Gazing Across the Wasted Years

IX

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Facing the rock wall where the Spirit had left him, the Phantom gripped the sides of a small table until the hard edges pierced into his flesh.

"DAMN YOU ALL! I will not accept blame for the fate of those who have no part or parcel with me! I WILL NOT! Do you hear ...?"

With a powerful wrench, he yanked the table from the wall and sent it skittering across uneven ground. Icons, books, and papers went flying. A statuette splashed into the lake. He paid them no heed.

With his wig clutched in both hands, he paced, setting it askew. In frustration, he tore the false hair from his head and threw it to the stones to land with the fallen objects there.

"For what reason have you shown me these events, oh vindictive Spirits?" He doubted either of the two Ghosts remained within the vicinity to hear his rant. Regardless he gave vent to a host of new struggles that seemed to press hard against his chest, intent on stealing his breath. "Of what possible consequence are such occurrences to me? Am I intended to bear the shame for the outcome of those whose lives I have never known, never even knew existed?"

He strode the short distance to a shrine of drawings that bore testament to his feelings for Christine. He fingered the edge of one, an intricate sketch of her lying in repose with a sweet smile on her face, and pulled the parchment from the wall.

"Or am I to suffer remorse for creating with the woman I love a bond that cannot be broken, as evidenced by her desire to resume the acquaintanceship we have shared?" His voice gentled as he stared at the picture. "I tell you, I WILL NOT feel guilty for the very thing that has kept me - kept both of us alive and our souls flourishing. This undying bond of music, this empathy that fills our hearts, however much I may wish for more and know I shall never get it - I will not let what little we have that remains between us die."

He looked up from the drawing to stare across the quiet lake.

"She is MINE. She always will be MINE. I will see to that, and the rest of them be damned!"

A chill wind blew in from the direction of the portcullis. Flames from the surrounding candelabrum sputtered, struggling for life, then blew out in a whisper. Only sparse candlelight from two alcoves remained. His lips parted in certain dread. No strong current of air ever reached this far below the depths of the earth.

Even as that knowledge flickered, he sensed he was not alone.

Prickles of foreboding shivered up his spine as he slowly turned to see what new dark fate had become his to bear. Near the bedchamber he caught sight of a tall figure wearing a black robe and hood. The being stood with his back to the Phantom.

"Who are you?" he asked, edging closer. He snatched up his Punjab lasso from the ground, though he knew if this visitor belonged to the netherworld, such an attempt at defense would prove futile. "Are you the third Spirit I was told to expect? The Ghost of Christmas future?"