Erik felt a cold shiver run down his spine as the screams from above the Opera house echoed across the lake.

"Erik-" Christine trembled looking up, "What is that?"

Erik slowly pushed her aside, taking form and cautious steps out the door. His eyes glanced every so slightly to the empty beds in the nursery.

His eyes widened as thoughts started compiling together.

"Christine?" he said sternly, running to his room to grab his coat.

"Yes?" 

"Christine stay here."

"Erik, what's going on?" Christine exclaimed, her heart beating faster than she could ever remember it having done in the past.

Then came the blood-chilling call.

"Father!"

Christine's face twisted into a panic of desperation, pushing Erik aside she ran into the empty nursery.

"Erik whats happened? Where are they!"

Another scream, a woman's this time, shouting his name at the top of her lungs.

Erik grabbed Christine's hand and dragged her out into the cavern forcefully.

"They've taken the boat." he noted irritatedly. How was he supposed to get out? Insolent boy, how was he supposed to help them out of trouble when they gave him no escape from the blasted prison. 

"Christine I'm going to have to loop around. Stay here, I swear on my life, everything will be fine."

Christine broke down in tears nodding and shaking at the knees.

Erik turned to leave but found himself unable. Should some horror, some loss of one of their children taken place, he knew it would shatter them both.

"Christine, keep hope." he said reaffirming her and pulling her into a kiss.

Her eyes thanked him but showed desperation unlike any he had seen in her before.

"Go!" she stated, "Go find them!"

------------

Erik took off running, first to the nursery, to enter the ceiling and then through the never-ending twists and turns.

"Eli!" he yelled. "Ilios?!"

"Curse this dreaded place." Erik spat angrily to himself. What once had been his dream he now dreaded, the paths that had become his familiar friends now betrayed him, leading him further away from his children.

"Ilios?!" his voice boomed again.

Ilios looked up ever so slightly at the mention of her name and pushed Anabel aside.

"Father?" she screamed as loud as her little hoarse voice could manage.

Erik's head turned with a sigh of relief, below the stage, they had to be on the left passage.

Despite Anabel's pleas, Ilios started off limping towards the end of the passage.

"Father?" she cried, "Where are you?"

She was just about to give up and collapse into a lump of broken tears when her father's terrified face appeared on the other end of the corridor.

The two took off running towards each other, embracing in a tight hug that Ilios thought would break her spine.

"Are you alright?!" Erik said looking her up and down, his heart and head growing faint at the sight of red stains across her little white nightgown.

"Eli," Ilios sobbed hysterically, "I don't want him to die, tell me he won't die."

Erik looked across the way at the two faint figures in the dim light and picked his daughter up.

As he ran closer the red and the people became clearer, as did the danger of the situation.

"Anabel?" he marveled slowly.

"My God Erik," the woman whispered rising, "We need to get him out of here."

She lifted the small boy and handed him to the father, taking Ilios into her own arms.

Erik was afraid to look, the red that he felt staining his own shirt was explanation enough.

It was clear that Eli had either fallen asleep or passed out, Erik wasn't sure which was to be preferred. But he was thankful he couldn't see his son in pain.

He wasn't sure what that would drive him to.

Anabel had never heard anything so heartbreaking in her life than the scream Christine gave on seeing her son enter the room in his father's arm.

She rushed up to him, trying to awaken Eli, stumbling backward as she saw the blood on his arm.

"Christine, I need some hot water, a clean bandage and-"

She had already ran from the room by the time he had finished speaking.

"Anabel take Ilios out," Erik said gravely.

"but-" Ilios whimpered.

"Now!" Erik shouted, yelling at his daughter for perhaps the first time in her life with a voice so full of rage Ilios scurried out of the room faster than Anabel could follow.

"Erik-" Anabel started, staring nervously at his calm emotionless face, "How bad is he?"

Erik gave a sigh and ran his fingers through disheveled air, he threw his hands up and let them come crashing down on the bedside.

"I don't know I just don't know."

"How deep is his wound? I was a nurse, I might be able to help."

Erik looked up and thanked her, "You've helped enough," he said softly, "Make sure Ilios is alright."

----------

Christine brought the supplies in and sat down beside her son, stroking his sweaty mop of hair gently and staring in a horrified trance.

"Christine," Erik said gravely, "I think it's best you send for Gustave."

"There's still hope Erik?" She cried, "Please tell me there's hope."

He removed his son's shirt and winced as he looked at the deep bleeding cut in the arm. Slowly he cleaned the wound and was relieved the find no bullet embedded inside.

"There's always hope Christine," He said firmly, his eyes fixed on her pale white face. "There's always hope."

"There's a letter addressed to Gustave on his stationary." Christine noted, "Should I send it with ours?"

Erik nodded, "It's the least we can do."

Erik rose, his face still without any signs of intense emotion. but faces can lie.

"Erik where are you going?" Christine asked slowly, "Don't leave please."

"I'm going to sort out who did this."

When Erik had departed, Christine rushed to Anabel, "Follow him, my god don't let him lose his temper."

Anabel looked at her in confusion. "Wheres he going! Shouldn't he be staying with Eli?"

"He's going to find out who did this." Christine shuddered, "Anabel I can't lose my husband to the phantom again. I feel I've only just started to get him back."

Anabel's face went pale, the coloring leaving her rosy cheeks.

"Anabel are you alright?" Christine asked placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"My husband," She said, rising and heading out the door. "There's no time to explain. If Erik kills him I'll die, Christine, I swear I'll die."

Christine's eyes widened, "Your husband did this?!"

"You don't understand!" Anabel called out halfway across the corridor already. "It's not what you think happened."

------

Christine stared for a moment in breathless shock, trying to wrap her mind around events. Life seemed a hazy blur, a nightmare that wouldn't end.

"Come in with me and Eli," She whispered to the sobbing Ilios, drying her tears. "Are you alright dear?"

She went to take her hand but Ilios yelped in pain.

"Don't do that." She stated, "It's broke."

"Broke?!" Christine exclaimed her heart breaking a bit more.

"I broke it when we fell down the shaft, I had to carry Eli, it didn't hurt then."

Christine rolled up the little girls sleeve and kissed the black and blue twisted bruises gently. "I'll have to set it Ilios." she murmured.

"That's alright," Ilios said with a trembling lip. "Nothing hurts anymore. It's all my fault... How are people so cruel?"

"Ilios," Christine sighed, searching her daughter's eyes for clues of meaning, "What happened?!"

Ilios started to choke out the beginning about sneaking out to the opera, about seeing Anabel in the beautiful gown, but when she reached the part where Elis deformity was displayed in front of all she broke into tears again, unable to finish.

Christine was able to surmise the rest.

A chill ran down her spine, she had thought things would be different now. Eli's deformity wasn't half as bad as her Eriks was. What if the new baby had it worse, what kind of horrors lied in store, what pain and misfortunes that seemed to plague her and Erik wherever they fled. 

"Mother?" a small voice mumbled, scratchy and faint.

Christine turned her head and gave small cry.

Eli was awake.