I am so, so sorry for leaving you hanging this long! Stupid writer's block! I made it long to make up for it!

I own nothing! (except Anna and Leo)

And now for the exciting (I hope) final chapter!

Paris, France

Summer, 2007

2:45 AM

Anna and Leo raced down the stairs as fast as they could. Anna wanted to reach the bottom as soon as she could, and Leo had to run just to keep up with her. Several times, they stopped in order to avoid a trapdoor, but after the fifth one, they didn’t come across any more.

All in all, it had taken them almost two and a half hours to reach the fifth cellar. Anna guessed it would have been quicker if Erik had been leading them, but all they had to go on was what Anna’s grandmother had said. It was the vagueness of those words and lack of a map that had gotten them lost a few times.

Every so often, when she thought Leo couldn’t hear her, she whispered Erik’s name. She wished he would appear. Four and a half years of speaking to a ghost… she wanted to see him. It was very annoying to have a friend that was invisible.

Finally, they came to the lake. The dark water was murky, and some unknown goop had collected at the water’s edge. Anna curled her lip in disgust. Stupid pollution…

“Where is it?” she muttered. Snatching Leo’s flashlight out of his hand, she started scanning the surface of the water with the beam of light. “Aha!” The light had come into contact with a rickety old boat, complete with a pole lying across it. It was banked a few yards to their right, kept safe from the water.

“You actually want to get in that thing?” Leo asked incredulously as Anna started to push the boat into the water. “It could break the instant I get in!”

“Come on, Leo,” Anna laughed. “Where’s your sense of adventure?” She hopped into the boat, and it groaned slightly in protest. “Hurry up and get in before I float away!” Leo obeyed hastily.

As they slid along, Anna listened hard for the slightest inkling of Erik’s voice. Occasionally, she would whisper his name, but he never replied.

“Uh, Anna?” Leo asked. He sounded a bit freaked out.

“Hmmm?” Anna only half listened to what the chorus boy was saying.

“Have you noticed that the boat is moving by itself?”

“What?” Anna looked about, and saw that Leo was right; they were moving smoothly through the water, as if someone was steering, yet the pole was still lying across the boat between them. She smiled. “He’s helping us.” Leo gave her a bizarre look, like he thought she was crazy.

The boat lurched to a stop as it scraped along the shore of the opposite bank. Anna couldn’t stop herself from gasping at what she saw; there were tables and loose papers everywhere, as well as a miniature stage and a large assortment of statues. But the most incredible thing there was the enormous organ that adorned one entire wall, and the dark form that sat before it.

“Erik…” she whispered. The figure turned to face them. He was tall and skeletal, dressed entirely in black, except for the blood red cravat at his throat. His dark hair was slicked back. Everything about him was perfect, except for the right side of his face; distorted features, multiple scars, and mottled flesh. It was the most hideous thing she had ever seen, but she was immediately distracted by the left half; a straight nose, sculpted lips, high cheekbones, piercing blue eyes. The face of an angel.

The Phantom of the Opera stood from his seat, and sauntered down to the edge of the lake, where he lifted one finger, and curled it towards himself. Anna stood, absolutely mesmerized, and stepped out onto the bank. Erik took her hand in his one, and stroked her face. He smiled, making the right side of his face even more distorted.

“I am glad you have come,” he whispered. Even in those simple words, it was the most beautiful voice Anna had ever heard. Even back in New York, he had not sounded like that. She realized that he was no longer the ghost of a long dead angel of music, but a living, breathing man, kept alive only by the will of whatever held him in this plane of existence; a man with some supernatural ability that allowed him to reach out to her from across thousands of miles. To bring her to him. To repay his debt. But how, Anna was uncertain.

“Still,” Erik continued. “I can’t help but wonder.” His icy sapphire eyes turned onto Leo, who had started to exit the boat behind Anna. His next words were cold, as if he was reliving some hated memory brought forth by the mere sight of Leo. “Why are you here?” The question appeared to be directed more towards Leo than Anna.

“I came to return something of yours,” Anna said, reaching into her backpack. The Phantom shifted his gaze back to the young girl before him. Anna had in her hands an object wrapped in silk. She unwrapped it, revealing the white half-mask. Erik gave a sigh of relief when he saw the mask. He took it in his gloved hands, and slowly placed it over his mottled face.

“All these years,” he mused to himself. “I have been without this.” He turned and started walking through his lair. “And now you, my friend, have returned it to me. I am forever grateful. For this, and everything your family has ever done for me.” His crystalline stare fixed itself again on Leo. “But I do not understand. Why are you here, boy? What part do you play in this tale?”

“He showed me where the dressing room was, so I could get here,” Anna answered for Leo before the boy could even open his mouth.

“Now, now, Anna. Let him speak for himself. I’m sure he has much to say.”

“Yeah…” Leo had a very befuddled expression spread across his face. “What is going on here? I have been kept in the dark all night!”

“Isn’t that the point of the night, boy? It does tend to get dark after sundown.” Erik smirked as he spoke, his azure eyes laughing, though they remained hard. The smile vanished suddenly. “I hope you realize, boy, that you might be prying in matters that don’t apply to you?” The Phantom turned his back on the two teenagers to straighten a stack of music.

“What? She dragged me down here without telling me why, and then I follow her here to find a so-called Phantom of the Opera who was supposed to be dead a hundred and thirty years ago!”

“Hey!” Anna protested. “You wanted to come down here! You wanted to see if the legend was true!”

“Ok, so maybe I did!” Leo shouted, his voice echoing off of the cavern walls. “But then you refused to tell me anything!”

“Only because you refused to shut up!” Anna raised her voice even louder than Leo did. “I would have answered your questions if you had just closed your mouth for a few minutes!”

“Enough!” Erik’s sharp command halted both of their voices. He was facing them again, lasso in hand and eyes ablaze. There was silence for a few moments. Suddenly, the Phantom was at Leo’s side. “She was right to keep her secrets.” Leo was thrust into the water. He came up spluttering, only to be forced into a grate that had closed silently behind the boat as they had entered. Within seconds, the lasso was around the chorus boy’s neck. Erik leaned in close and whispered in Leo’s ear.

“Children should mind their own business.” The rope tightened. “Play with fire, and you will get burned.” Leo struggled against the twisted rope. He choked as he fought for breath.

“Erik! No!” Anna shouted. “What are…?” She froze as a strange feeling came over her. It was as if her memory was wiped clean. She tried to remember who she was, and the only name that came to mind was Christine Daae. Leo had experienced the same feeling. He believed he was Raoul de Chagny.

“Angel of Music…” Anna/Christine pleaded. “Let him go! He has done nothing wrong!”

“Too late,” Erik growled. He tightened the rope further.

“Christine,” Leo/Raoul croaked. “Don’t… throw out your life… for me. He… has to win.”

“Erik, please, I beg of you. Spare him and take me.” She gulped before continuing. “I am yours, if you’ll only let him live.”

“Don’t try my patience!” The Phantom snarled. “If you mean what you say, prove it to me!” Anna/Christine acted without thinking; she marched forward, into the water, and took Erik’s face in her hands. She stood up on her toes, and brought her lips to his. She felt his arms wrapped around her; he had let go of the rope, and Leo/Raoul could be heard coughing and spluttering nearby.

And then it was over. Anna was herself again, and she pulled away from Erik, appalled. His face was guilty.

“I am sorry,” they said in unison.

“I don’t know what came over me,” Anna said, absolutely embarrassed.

“It was my doing,” The Phantom admitted. “I… I wanted to see if she would make the same decision as before.” For a moment, Anna did not see the Phantom of the Opera, but rather a small, innocent child. The child that had been neglected by his mother; the child that had asked for a kiss for his fifth birthday, and had been denied the one thing he wanted. “I wanted to be sure of her choice. You needn’t forgive me.”

Anna said nothing, but turned away. She bit her lip as she walked away, toward the hidden passageway that was marked by a shattered mirror. Leo followed, and then pushed past her, impatient to get out of the home of the man who had just attempted murder.

“Go,” Erik told Anna when she stopped to look back. She stepped through the tunnel entrance, and disappeared from view.

Two weeks later, Anna and the rest of her group boarded the bus to the airport. It was an evening flight, so the late afternoon sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon. She had been distant throughout the entire trip, and Leo had avoided her.

She was still perplexed about what Erik had done; it was so unlike him. She had seen his face several times over the past weeks, every time his face was apologetic. She hadn’t told him, but by then she had partially forgiven him.

Taking her seat by the window, she gazed out at the opera house. It was a beautiful place, and she would miss it. Scanning the rooftop, she nearly jumped out of her seat; a dark figure stood there. There was no mistaking the person’s identity. The figure raised a hand, in farewell.

She smiled, not knowing if he would see. She turned her attention to Emalia, who sat behind her, and began talking excitedly about how much she loved the trip. The bus’s engine started, and drove them away. Hurriedly, Anna stole one last look at the roof of the Opera Populaire only to find there was no one there.

“I bid thee adieu, my angel,” a ghostly voice whispered in her mind. A small smile rose to Anna’s lips. “Until we meet again.”

“Goodbye,” she said, half to the opera house, and half to her unseen friend. “Until we meet again.”

The End!

I hope that satisfied you well enough. Please review for me!