Chapter 33: A Man and a Monster

TRIGGER WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT THAT MAY BE SENSITIVE FOR SOME VIEWERS

Erik's POV

The two of us ransacked our home as we gathered clothes, food, money, and supplies in order for us to move. That crash from across the lake made us work faster as that only meant one thing:

Someone had found the entrance to my lair.

We swiftly went from room to room as I soon gathered together some of our clothes and two of my masks, placing one over my face and placing the other one inside the bag with the rest of our belongings.

"Angel, open the safe and gather everything that you see." I said, handing her an empty bag. She nodded as I continued to gather supplies such as medicine, bandages, ointment, and the like in one bag and then placing food like bread, cheese, fruit, and a canteen full of water in another bag.

Evangeline came back a few minutes later, the sack full of everything that was in the safe as well as some personal belongings such as my drawings and music as well as her two favorite books and the King James Bible she read everyday.

With everything packed and ready for transport, I put on my cape and hat to shield my identity while she put on her hooded cloak and grabbed all the bags.

But as we turned for the main exit, we heard the thundering sound of footsteps rushing towards where we stood.

I grabbed Evangeline's hand and led her to the secret room that I hid in the first time a mob made its way down here.

"What're you doing?" She whispered as she noticed that I wasn't joining her.

"Shh, mon cœur. I love you too much to see you harmed. Whatever happens, no matter what you hear, stay inside this room and do not make a sound until I come back."

With that, I kissed her on the lips before replacing the curtain that hid her and the room from view. With my hand wandering to the inside of my waistcoat, I felt the familiar fabric that belonged to my Punjab Lasso, my uneasiness slightly diminishing as I knew that I wasn't facing this threat unarmed.

"Erik? Erik are you here?" I suddenly hear a familiar voice.

"Daroga?"

As if by magic, the man in question appeared before me, a worried expression on his face.

"Erik, what happened? Why are the gendarmes marching toward the Opera House?"

I didn't have time to waste words. Instead, I dragged him over to where Evangeline hid.

"Mademoiselle McKenna? What is going on here?"

A look of horror morphed over his face.

"Don't tell me that you had taken her against her will!"

"No he didn't. The two of us are in love." My beloved told him.

He just stood there dumbfounded.

"You love him? Even with his face?"

"Absolutely!"

Nadir stood in silence. I quickly became irritated.

"Daroga, if you don't mind, please stop standing there like a useless mannequin and help us leave this place."

With that, Evangeline handed the two of us some of the bags and we turned to leave.

"Where are we gonna go?" Evangeline asked as she picked up a bag to carry.

"I don't know, my love, but we can't stay here."

She sighed but nodded as we made our way towards the exit. But just as we were about to leave, I heard the sound of an angry mob marching towards my lair.

I pushed Evangeline into the entrance way of the exit in order to hide her just in time to hear the sound of a pistol being cocked into position. I turned around and there stood Robert Baptisté, a shining, silver pistol in his hand with his father and an entire squadron of gendarmes standing behind him.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Phantom." The fop said, an evil grin on his face.

At once, the gendarmes rushed at me with pure fury as I was tackled to the ground and forced to kneel in front of the boy and his father. The fop gave a sinister look as his eyes wandered about my home.

"Where is Evangeline?" He growled, noticing that she was not in his line of vision.

When I said nothing, he angrily punched me in the stomach, the stitches that mended my side starting to break, and ordered the mob to search the lair.

At first, my heart swelled with relief as their search seemed to end up fruitless.

At least she was able to escape. I thought to myself.

But all of that disappeared when an officer appeared, his hand gripping onto Evangeline's arms as he carried her out of the hiding spot.

"Evangeline!" I cried, my heart quickening with fear.

"Ah, Miss McKenna. So nice of you to join us, my dear." He chortled as the officer sat her down next to me.

"Well done, gentlemen," Johnathan said as the leader handed him 100,000 francs in cash.

I stole a glance at Evangeline, anger and worry evident in her eyes as Robert continued to speak.

"Take him to the stage. I think that our staff would love to know what had threatened their safety for years, don't you think?" He said as he grabbed onto her arm and dragged her up the stairs.

We arrived to the front of the house, all of the staff were still inside rehearsing. As we got onstage, I was forced to kneel as Robert began to talk.

"Everyone, may I have your attention please? I have an important announcement to make."

Everyone stopped what they were doing, staring at me in curiosity and fear.

"Here before you kneels the cause of the Opera Garnier's problems. The man responsible for the threats as well as the deaths of countless innocents. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Phantom of the Opera!"

At first, nothing happened. The crowd watched skeptically as Robert sauntered over to where I stood, determination set in his eyes.

"Now that the Phantom has been captured, let's see the true face of our enemy."

Immediately I began to struggle, realizing what he wanted to do.

"Stop it! Leave him alone,you jerk!" Evangeline protested in my behalf.

Robert didn't listen. All he did was cackle and yank off my mask.

At that moment, the sounds of screams and retching filled the air as my face met with hot air.

"My God! He's hideous!" Johnathan shouted in disgust as more people followed suit.

"It's disgusting!"

"That's a face only a mother could love."

"I bet even she hated him."

"Freak!"

"Monster!"

On and on the insults came and I began to feel my head lower more and more in shame. Evangeline has seen my face and told me that she was in love with me but I doubted that even she would bear to stay with me now that there might be chance that she would be mistreated too.

I watched her break free from Robert's clutches with a powerful jolt as he and the audience continued to taunt me.

"Do you now see the monster behind the masked man, Evangeline? Are you sure that this should be the man you choose? He's not even a man, he is a monster!"

Tears began to spring in my eyes as I tried desperately to keep them in. But as I began to wallow in self pity, Evangeline's voice rang out loud and clear.

"Yes. Yes I am. You're right, there is a monster here but he's not the one kneeling."

My eyes shot up as I felt her presence come closer as she knelt down and gave me a long, heartfelt kiss in front if everyone.

The boy's face turned scarlet with rage.

"No! You can't love him! You're supposed to love me! I love you!"

"Love?" His father exclaimed, appalled. He had stopped counting his blood money as he angrily began to rant.

"I knew that you actually listening to me was too good to be true! How dare you try and taint our bloodline with the blood of an inferior race! No son of mine would ever-"

He was suddenly cut off as the sound of a gun shot filled the air followed by a collective gasp as we watched Johnathan sink to the floor with a thud, a pool of blood beginning to form under him.

He had just murdered his father in cold blood.

Granted, I never liked the old man anyway, but even he did not deserve to die at the hands of his own son.

The gendarmes, clearly shaken by what they saw, quickly made their way to apprehend him (save for the two that held me bound), but were stopped as he dragged my darling by her hair and placed the barrel at the side of her head.

"Anyone moves, and she is sent to an early grave." The boy hissed.

Everyone became still. No one moved or even dared to breathe as he lowered the gun and threw her on the ground.

"Choose! You either become my wife or he dies!" He demanded, pointing the barrel at me.

It was at this moment that I pitied and respected Christine Daée and Raoul de Chagney. I had said the same thing to Christine once and Raoul's life was threatened.

Now, it was reverse. The monster had found love and had finally became a man and the man denied this love has become...

"A monster." I whispered to myself.

"You have turned yourself into a monster. You even killed your own father! And for what? Because I love someone else?! " Evangeline exclaimed.

"I do not care! Choose or else I'll choose for you!"

I felt my heart become torn as I stared into the depths of her soft, brown eyes when she turned to me. What should have been a day of endless joy had turned into a day of despair for my dove.

"Don't do it, Angel! My life is of no consequence. Please, don't throw yours away for mine!" I begged her as she contemplated what to do.

"You got till the count of three!" The fop angrily replied, cocking the pistol into position.

"One..."

"I love you, Evangeline," I whisper low enough for her to hear.

"Two..."

The two of us held each other's gaze as tears began to blossom in her eyes.

"I love you too."

"Three!"

The echoing blast of a gunshot filled the Opera House followed by a scream from Evangeline.

At first, I thought that he had shot me, but there was no pain and no wound or blood was to be found on my body.

But if it didn't hit me, then who was hit by the bullet?

As I looked around, I watched in horror as my beloved fell to the ground in front of me.

She had stepped in and was shot instead.

She took the bullet for me.

And now she was dying.

A/N: Hello my fellow Phantom Phans!⭐

Thank you guys so much for the 40.3k views, the 2.8k votes, and all of your lovely comments!

You guys are the best!😘

It seems that our tale is almost near it's close.

Will Evangeline survive?

Will our couple have their happy ending?

Or will it be an ending of tears?

If anyone is still interested in participating in the #TPARFanart competition, then here are the rules and regulations:

1. This contest is open to everyone.

2. You can post any type of artwork you like (such as silhouettes, character headshots, scenes from the story, character ships, etc), so long as it is NOT inappropriate. So, no highly sensitive content or anything that might seem pornographic.

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