Madness and Hope

Summary: Leroux-based. Erik decides he can't let Christine go and keeps Raoul as a hostage so Christine will not dare oppose his wishes. How can anyone keep sane in these circumstances?

Sorry, English is not my first language so please excuse the many mistakes I make. I hope my story is legible nevertheless.

"Erik, I have turned the scorpion!" Christine cried. A dreadful moment nothing happend, the Daroga, the Vicomte and Christine waiting desperately for what was about to happen. Would the explosion destroy the Opera or what else would happen? Erik, who had already been reaching for the grasshopper, trembled so hard he couldn't stand upright any longer and sank to his knees. "I love you", he moaned, as the hiss of the water flowing to the cellar, destroying the gunpowder, began.

Erik buried his face in his hands, as he moaned: "O God, thank you! Christine, thank you!" The girl couldn't look at him any more. She simply couldn't stand the sight of the man who just seconds ago threatened to kill all people in the opera house - and the house was sold out with the full cast on the stage in this Mayerbeer opera - weeping and bemoaning his cruel fate. But she didn't dare tell him that, she didn't dare go away, she just stood there, staring at the door to the torture chamber waiting what was about to happen.

Somehow Erik must have sensed her discomfort because he left her alone as he went to the kitchen. "Christine, turn off the water!" Raoul screamed as the waterlevel increased and water started to flow into the torture chamber. Christine had no idea how to turn off the water. Now the Persian started shouting: "Erik! I know you can hear me! I saved you, remember? Turn off the water! Erik!" The torture chamber was flooded with water and it became harder and harder for Raoul and the Persian to get air.

Christine ran to Erik, who was sitting in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water and reading a newspaper as if nothing at all had happened. "Erik, please turn off the water, they are drowning", Christine exclaimed. Erik didn't even look at her as he told her there was no reason to save anyone of them for she didn't need a second fiancee and he didn't need a friend who would stab his back. "You can't kill them!" Christine begged. "My dear, they killed themselves. They were dead the moment they choose to fight me", Erik said calmly, this time looking up from his newspaper. "Please, please save them! I will do everything you ask me to do, everything! I will be a good wife to you, I will fulfill all wifely duties, all of them, if you let them live", Christine begged, sinking to her knees before him, putting her armes around his knees. Erik stared at her in shock for a moment, then he felt the warmth of her touch, of her armes around his knees, her face resting on his lap. He had to get away from her or he would not be able to think in a few moments. He stood up but Christine did not let go of his legs, her face only inches away from his upper legs.

Erik couldn't describe the feeling this caused in him. His body reacted against his will and told him exactly what to ask of her in return for the lives of the two men. The tall man ground his teeth, fighting to control himself. "Very well", he hissed, "You have your deal." At his words the girl released her grasp on him and backed away as if she had just noticed that she was touching something awful. Erik felt a pain in his chest, a physical pain, as if she had stabbed him but he fought to controll the rage that was already forming in him. He wouldn't allow his bad temper to ruin everything he had fought for so hard and he had even taken the risk of eternal damnation to get her - he would not risk loosing her now.

Erik went to the LouisPhilippe Room and turned the scorpion again, which stopped the flow of the water and activated the pumps which pumped the water back into the lake. Erik didn't wait until the pumps finished but opened the door and rushed inside the torture chamber, which was dark exept the light that fell through the door from the LouisPhilippe Room. He found the Persian next to the trapdoor and Raoul near the iron tree. Both of them unconscious and Erik was tempted to check the Persian first and save only him but he knew Christine would never forgive him if he left the Vicomte to die. So he went to the boy, turned him to his side and tried to find a pulse. That wasn't a problem and as soon as Erik tried to lift the boy he retched and spit water, then took a deep breath but didn't wake up. Convinced that the boy was breathing regularly and would survive, Erik let him lie on his side and turned his attention to the Persian.

The Persian wasn't breathing and as Erik turned him to his side, water came from his mouth and nose but he didn't start breathing like the Vicomte. Erik turned the old man to his back and bent down over him. A horrible fear hit him, that the only victim of his violent madness might be his poor righteous friend. "I'm sorry", Erik whispered, but he didn't allow himself to moan as long as there was hope. Eriks fingers found the pulse at the Persians throad and Erik could feel a weak and unregular pulse rate. So there was a little bit of life left in the body. Erik knew what to do. He took off his mask and bent down to try some sort of rescue breathing as far as he knew it. Erik had never done this before but he had seen people rescue drowned people by breathing for them. First he was too nervous to do any good but after a few tries he saw the chest of his friend rise as he forced the air in his lungs. Erik had to take a deep breath himself and tried again. His friends chest rose and fell, but he didn't start breathing on his own. The pulse was still there, so Erik wouldn't give up.

It seemed to last for hours that Erik tried to breathe for his friend and finally felt lightheaded and nauseous. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep that up for much more. That moment the Persian resisted, didn't take the air in but gagged and retched. Erik turned his friend over to his side and watched him carefully bringing up all the water he had swallowed. When the Persian took a deep breath, Erik allowed himself to relax and in the next moment he found himself lying on the wet floor between the two other men. A shade fell into the room and only now he realized Christine standing in the door, watching him.

Erik tried to get up, but slipped and fell, then he somehow managed to crawl out of the torture chamber. As he forced himself to stand up, the nausea becaume too much for him and he retched, but since he hadn't eaten anything in days he only brought up a little bit of water he had taken before. Christine stared at him. Erik felt very weak, but he couldn't allow himself to break down now. If he wanted to save the Vicomte and the Persian he had to get them out of their wet clothes or they would catch an inflamation of the lungs after all the water they had inhaled. "Help me, Christine, will you?" he asked. The girl nodded: "Tell me what to do?"

"Get some blankets an two of my nightshirts", he instructred, then went back to the torture chamber to carry both men to the next room before he locked the door savely. "We have to undress them and dry them. Find some towels, will you?" When Christine came back with the towels she found that Erik had alreade undressed his friend. She turned away so she wouldn't have to see the naked body of a man. Erik didn't seem to care about modesty right now, he was too busy drying them and finally he even asked Christine to help him get two unconscious men dressed, since he couldn't do that alone.

When the Persian was finally tugged in in the bed and the Vicomte on the couch, Erik allowed himself to take a seat and relax. Christine started to clean the water from the floor and brought the wet clothes to the bathroom. Erik was too exhausted to even think about helping her, he slumped in his chair and closed his eyes to get a few precious moments rest before he had to deal with the intruders again.

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