2 Phantoms 1 Opera House (Original, unedited story)

Chapter 6

     As soon as he knew the two of them were out of the Chamber, Red Death fled the scene.

     "Erik! How could you do this? He's going to die now. Because of you!" tears streamed down her face. She took a deep, shakey breath and whispered, "We had a past, a future, but now that's all gone..." her voice grew gradually louder, "Thanks to YOU!" she screeched.

     "Please... Christine... it isn't that bad..." Erik said, sinking down to the floor where she sat, her arms wrapped around her knees.

      "Isn't that bad?" she repeated, "You gave him the means to kill the Viscount! You're basically his accomplice!" she screamed.

      "Christine!" he exclaimed, "You don't know what would happen."

     "Idon't care what would happen to me."

     "That's because you don't know." he replied.

      "No, Erik, you don't know. You don't know how I feel." In the pause that followed, Erik's eyebrows rose as he waited for her to  continue.

       "I feel incomplete... almost... like this." Confusion covered his face in the milli-second before she painfully ripped his mask from his blackened face. He screamed in pain as black skin ripped from his face, sticking to the mask. She held it up and as he reached for it, his face contorted in rage and pain, Chistine threw it as hard as she could into the lake. He breathed deeply, trying to control his anger. After a minute he said to the Persian, who had stood there, seeminly emotionless asthis had taken place, "Please, Daroga, leave us be." Although Christine could see a bit of melancholy in the Persian's eyes, he still left, however reluctantly it may have been.

     "Christine," he said when he was sure the Persian was out of hearing range, "I wouldn't have done this if I had had a choice."

      "But you did!" she cried, "I heard him as well as you did! I've seen you at work before! You could have come up with something to trick him, if you were to kill the Viscount!"

      "You don't understand what would have happened to you!" he repeated more forcefully, his yellow eyes boring into hers. There was a silence where they could both hear the Phantom's words echoing and bouncing off the water so the sound could probably be heard across the lake.

     "And you do?" she asked.

     "Yes," he replied, "I do.... for he did it before... back in Persia." Christine's eyebrows shot up.

      "Persia? You've been to Persia?" he chuckled a bit before replying.

      "I spent a good part of my life there," he said picking up a rope that was made into a noose and sighed, obviously remembering the past. She gestured to the noose and asked after the silence that had settled on them, "Did you make that?"

     "Yes, why?"

      "Have you ever.... used it before?" she ignored his inquiry.

      "Not this specific one, no. There have been others that I have used, though." he said, answering her next question.

      "So... that means that you've... killed before."

     It wasn't a question but he answered anyways, "Yes," He said after a short pause.

      "Then--what would have happened if you had chose to 'kill' Raoul but tried to... avoid it?"

     "You really want to know?" she nodded, determined.

      "Welll... he would kill the Viscount with you in the audience then he would kill me and the Daroga--      "Daroga?"

       "My apologies, you don't know him as I do. You know him as the Persian."

     "Oh, that's horrible!" she exclaimed.

      He laughed darly and said to her, "The worst isn't even over yet."

     After a pause she cried, "No... no..." she sunk to her knees. Tears streamed down her face as she broke off in horror. Before she knew what was happening, she felt herself being gently led across the cellars into a room and being lowered into a chair. She murmured a thank you past the lump that had appeared in her throat. After a few silent minutes she stopped crying enough to ask, "Erik, do you know what will happen to him? To Raoul that is?"

     "No, I'm afraid I don't. He almost never uses the same method of killing twice." She exhaled heavily, trying to banish thoughts of Raoul being painfully killed from her mind. She looked around the room and saw countless drawings that were drawn to the utmost perfection. As she looked around, she came to the conclusion that the drawings--all of them--were of her.