"Where are you taking me? My mother will be very worried about me," Diana said as she was being pulled by the arm. While she was searching for the Girys, this woman just took her away, saying she had a surprise for her set by her mother, but even Diana was started to figure out that something was off.

"It's all right, dearie. In a few moments, this will all be over," Annabel said as she kept dragging her through the streets. The pier was finally in her sight.

"Stop it! You're scaring me," she said with a frightened tone. "I can't swim!"

"Oh, I'm the bad guy, right? All I did was give and give and the one time I ask for something in return, I get rejected! It's funny how that works out. The world is a cruel place."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Little girl, you wouldn't understand even if a told you. You're too young."

"I'm not that young! Just tell me and maybe I can help," she said as bravely as she could, however, it was short-lived as she put a razor to her neck.

"I admire your innocence, but I've had enough out of you," Annabel said. This time, Diana started to cry out of fear, which caused her to sigh in annoyance, but soon started singing a tune she learned in her childhood:

The sea is calm

The sea is grey

It washes everything away

Sink into the deep

Blue and cool and kind

Then drift off to sleep

Let the past unwind

Leave the hurt behind

Soon, they heard footsteps reach the pier and the two of them saw a group of people with worry on their faces: Erika, Christopher, Nadir, the Girys, and . . . Katia. That poor blonde girl had tears in her eyes. She must have found Lilliana's body. "It's about time that you showed up."

"Annabel, what the hell is this?! Never did I ever say that doing anything to Diana was acceptable," Nadir said.

"I'm sorry, Nadir, but when you want something done, you got to do it yourself," she said as she grabbed Diana and put the razor to her neck.

"What would you be trying to achieve by doing this?"

"Please, don't hurt my little girl. She had nothing to do with this," Erika said with tears running down her cheeks.

"No, she didn't, but that's how the world runs. Innocent people get hurt while the wicked walk among us. That's what my life has taught me."

"Annabel, why are you doing this," Christopher asked, just as worried as she was.

Annabel giggled as she said, "You know, for the longest time, I thought the one thing that would make me happy was a family and I was so close to getting it. My love and I thought about having kids, but he died before we could even try. However, it turned out that one time was all it took. I found out I was pregnant and I couldn't have been happier, but even then, fate had different plans. I lost it and was in deep depression . . . and that's when Nadir came in. He saved me from the hell surrounding me and . . . maybe that's why I loved him."

"Wait, a person like you . . . could love Nadir," Katia asked. Annabel only scoffed and didn't say another word.

"Annabel, I'm so sorry for all of this. I only said those things in case Christopher didn't sing tonight. I wanted to be available for Erika, but I see that they truly do love each other and I called off my pursuit," Nadir said as he started to walk toward her, but Erika and Christopher held him back.

"Nadir, don't do this," Erika said.

"I'm sorry, but I have to," he said as he shook the two of them off him. He then headed toward her like anyone would do to a rabid animal. Christopher had a flashback when he did the same to Erika when she was considered dangerous, even to him, and thought, by some chance, he could get her back to the peaceful state she was once in. "Annabel, you know I do care deeply for you. You're a very beautiful and kind woman. Even when your heart wanted me, you were willing to help me win Erika's.

"That is a mistake I will never make again," she said, but loosed her grip on Diana as he got closer and closer to her.

"Annabel, I promise that if you let her go now, I will be the man you wanted me to be. I promise to love you and although this heartbreak hurts now, I promise to make it up to you by proving that I love you each and every day," he said as he kissed her, but the kiss was short-lived as Annabel put her razor into his chest. Erika and Diana screamed in horror, but all the rest could do was stare at the sight. Nadir backed away and clung to his blessing chest, but soon fell to his knees.

"It's too late for that, Nadir. There is nothing you could do now that would convince me that you would change," she said as he tried to scoot toward the fence of the pier, but she followed him, hoping to put him out of his misery. "For a whole year, Nadir, I have helped you with your little mission and not once did you ever see that you loved me! I was just a pawn in your game!"

"Leave him alone," Erika said as she pulled out her gun. The tears were running down her cheek and her hand was very shaky.

"You have to be kidding me. This girl, who is almost as sweet and innocent as her dear daughter, is going to try to kill me? Why, I don't think you have it in yourself to-," she tried to say, but before she could finish, she was shot in the chest. Erika might have had a shaky hand, but one thing is true: she never missed her target. Though, she did mean to shoot her in the head. Annabel fell on her knees and soon on her stomach, trying hard not to die, but it didn't seem to work.

"I forgot to mention . . . one thing about Erika . . . before everything . . . she was a circus assassin," Nadir said in between heavy breaths, but they were getting shorter. Erika ran to him and held him in her arms.

"I told you not to do that! What were you thinking," Erika said with tears falling down her cheek.

"I thought . . . I could calm the beast inside her . . . like Christopher did with you, but . . . I was wrong," he said.

"You didn't need to do that! She was far past saving."

"It couldn't hurt to try," he joked, but his laughs were soon taken over by coughs of blood. "I meant every word I said. . . . I was going to let you . . . and Christopher . . . be together. I was going to let you two . . . be the family . . . you were meant to be. I was so foolish . . . and didn't realize it until . . . now."

"Nadir," she said as she squeezed his hand. "You have been an amazing friend to me all these years. When I thought I was going to be alone, you were there to support me. You helped me raise Diana as if she was your own and I can't thank you enough for that. . . . I love you, Nadir."

Nadir chuckled. "I was dying to hear . . . those words . . . for ten years. Thank you, Erika . . . for everything." Erika then kissed Nadir right as he breathed his last and his life left him. Erika couldn't help, but cry even more knowing that a man who has loved her all this time was finally gone. He might have been rude or impulsive at times, but he supported and loved her all the other times. She couldn't believe that he was gone. Diana rushed to her parents and started crying on their shoulders. She saw him as a father figure while her father wasn't around, so of course she would be crying like a baby.

"He's in a better place now," Katia said as she approached the family. "I'm sorry it had to end this way."

Soon, they heard fast footsteps head their way and saw Rachel running to them. "What the hell is going on? I heard gunfire."

"I'll explain it all to you soon, but now, we have to bring Nadir Khan . . . to a mortuary," Christopher said.

"What happened? Did he die," she said, tears filling her eyes.

"Yes, by a woman who said she loved him," Meg said. Rachel covered her mouth in horror. Annabel killed Nadir? She never thought she would do that in her entire life. She was just as insane as everyone was warning her. The seven of them carried Nadir's body to the mortuary, tears falling from their cheeks to the ground below them. Lucky for them, the mortuary was not that far from the pier. When they entered, they laid him on a silver tray and said their last goodbyes.

"So, how did this chap die," one person asked as he was writing the death certificate.

"He died from a stab wound in the chest by a madwoman," Madame Giry said as the rest of the group went to say their last goodbyes to a dear friend. She was the most emotionally stable, so they believed she would be able to explain what happened more clearly.

"And do you know where this madwoman is at?"

"She drowned herself by jumping off the pier."

"And do you know her name?"

"No."

Annabel was still writhing in pain as the gunshot was slowly consuming her life. Blood was pouring out of her in large quantities. So . . . this was the end. This is how she was suppose to die; broken-hearted, alone, and will forever be remembered as the bad guy. "I guess fate . . . has a funny way of . . . repeating itself, right . . . Sweeney Todd?"

"I told you this would happen to you, Annabel, but you didn't listen to me, now did you," a familiar voice said. No, it was impossible. She looked toward the direction of the voice and saw a woman a black skirt, a button-down blouse, and a green scarf. She had curled black hair, but there was one thing unmistakable: those godforsaken green eyes.

"What the hell?! I thought . . . I killed you," she said in utter fright.

"Oh, you did a number on my neck," Lilliana said as she removed the scarf to reveal a pretty nasty scar on her neck, but despite it being a deep cut, it seemed to heal pretty quickly. "It hurt a lot more than I would like to admit, but it wasn't enough to kill me."

"That's impossible!"

"Believe me, dearie, it isn't. Katia is rather pissed at what you did to me and is glad you're dying."

"But you're fine! How is that possible?"

"I have Gods of Death on my side, but, do you remember when I said that your life would affect if I am able to stay here? Well, I'm afraid once you die, I must return."

"So you came here just to watch me die? Who the hell are you to even say such a thing to me?"

Lilliana smirked as she took out a file and read off, "Annabel Lee, born on December 26, 1860 and died August 13, 1887. She was the daughter of two cannibalistic parents who never killed people, but instead ate up the victims of murders. However, they were both tried and hanged for murder. She was taken under the care of Judge Turpin, but ran away soon after. Later, she met Mrs. Eleanor Lovett and years later, she met Benjamin Barker, or more infamously known, Sweeney Todd. The three of them, along with a child named Toby, ran a barber shop/pie business that put human meat into meat pies and served it to customers. Soon, she and Sweeney became a couple, but Judge Turpin lusted for her as well. One fateful night led to the deaths of Beadle Bamford, Lucy Barker, Judge Turpin, Eleanor Lovett, and finally, Sweeney Todd. She later traveled to Coney Island to avoid prison and possibly death with a man named Wilbur, but killed and ate him once they arrived. She was expected to have a child, but an accident led to its death and she fell into depression. Soon, she met Nadir Khan and they planned to win Erika Destler's heart. However, after a drunken night after she confessed her love to a man who didn't love her, not only did she kill her supposed love, but was also shot by Erika Destler."

"How the hell . . . do you know all that? Were you . . . spying on me?"

"No, that's what's in your file. I just read the summary. Your Cinematic Record is rather long for someone who is as young as you. You have had quite a life, Ms. Lee."

"You bitch! You've never . . . felt the pain of losing the one you love!"

"Actually, I have, just not the same way as you have, but I do know one thing: loneliness is a terrible feeling. That's why I don't want to go back to London. No one is there waiting for me. In fact, they are dreading my return. I'll be lonely . . . and it's all because of my stupid decisions, something you and I have in common," she said as she put the red stamp on the file. "But, Annabel, there is one more thing we have in common."

"And what is that," she asked angrily, but soon had a face of horror as she looked at her eyes that were once green.

"We both like the taste of blood," Lilliana said with red eyes as she pulled out her Death Scythe. "And we both have learned to control our bloodlust."

A month had passed since Nadir's funeral and although those days seemed depressing and colorless, some good things arose. First, Darius, who decided to stay after Nadir's death, was running the spice shop and made it even more successful than it ever was. Annabel Lee's barbershop home was sold to a family of four, the father being a barber, and they decided to keep most of the items in there, including the wooden box full of silver razors and a beautiful green dress that fit the wife. The Fantôme Theater and Phantasma resumed their normal schedules after they took a hiatus to settle down after that horrific night. Christopher even became the star of the Fantôme Theater and he even convinced Erika and Diana to stop living in the room behind the mirror and into a cozy little home for the three of them. Rachel and Christopher decided to divorce, but they remained close friends since she became his manager and was helping him book gigs all over America.

Not long after that, Christopher and Erika were finally able to get married and not just in their hearts. They were seen by a priest and everything. Many were there to watch their marriage: Diana, Rachel, Madame Giry, Meg, Darius, Jackson, Bianca, Wendy, Monte, Erik, though he was in the shadows since he saw other guests, Gangle, Squelch, Ms. Fleck, Katia, and even Christopher's cousin, Christine Daaé, or should he say, Christine de Changy, Raoul, her husband, and their beautiful boy, Gustave. Though, there were others, but those were the notable guests. Erika thought it was a good idea to invite Christine and her family, hoping that Erik would finally talk with Christine, but he was staying in the shadows the whole ceremony. Still, it was her special day and not his. Christopher was wearing a specially made tuxedo from a tailor while she wore the wedding dress she wore when they were first "married". The rings were the ones they have been wearing all these years, except they were specially cleaned for this day.

"And do you, Christopher Daaé, take Erika Destler as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in rich or poor, in sickness and in health, until death do you part," the priest asked.

"I do," he said with the biggest smile on his face. Erika couldn't help, but cry at those two words. She has been waiting for this moment all of her life.

"And do you, Erika Destler, take Christopher Daaé as your lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold-,"

"I do," she said rather impatiently. She wanted to say those words for a long time. Everyone laughed and she calmed down as the moment they were waiting for has finally arrived.

"By the power invested in me, I pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss your bride," the priest said. The two of them finally kissed as man and wife and everyone cheered. The two have been "married" for ten years, but now, they were officially married. "May I present to you: Christopher and Erika Daaé!" They all cheered once again and then two walked down the aisle to a horse-drawn carriage. The two of them quickly entered it and they drove off to their wedding reception in Phantasma.

Everyone was enjoying the reception. Cast and crew, both from Phantasma and Fantôme Theater, were riding the rides that they wouldn't have been able to go on otherwise. Jackson was riding the roller coasters over and over again with Gangle, Squelch, and Ms. Fleck, Bianca was shopping through the many stores, and Monte and Wendy were sharing their first kiss on the Ferris wheel. Gustave and Diana were having a lot of fun, running around the entire fairground, making the parents a bit worried. The Girys were chatting with the many guests that arrived for this special moment.

Christopher found Katia standing by herself, watching everyone have a fun time, but she had a sad expression on her face. Christopher walked to her, which surprised her at first, but she tried to smile. "Are you enjoying yourself," he asked.

"Oh, yeah . . . I'm having a good time," she said hesitantly.

"I'm glad you took time out of your schedule to come to our wedding."

"Oh, it's no problem. My boss was willing to give me a day off after my last successful assignment."

"Right, you never told me what you do for a living."

"And I'm going to keep it that way. There is no reason for you to know."

"But I do know one thing: you and Lilliana have the same job," he said, but he noticed that she had an even more depressed face than before. "So, Lilliana did go back to London."

"Yeah, she left the day Nadir and Annabel died. She couldn't stay that long."

"I do wish that she could have come."

"Me too. She would have loved to come," she said before Erika walked to the duo.

"What were you two talking about," she said with a smile.

"Nothing really. I was just congratulating Christopher on his wedding. You look beautiful," Katia said.

"Oh, thank you," Erika said. Katia was about to leave their side, but Erika stopped her as she said, "Katia, I'm sorry for my behavior toward you. I was stressed out and so many things were happening that I lashed out at you. I hope you can forgive me."

"I forgive you. After all, we've both had some stressful days," she said as she left their side.

"Congratulations on your beautiful wedding . . . again," Christine said as she approached the lovely couple. As she approached Erika, though, she had a look on her face of discomfort. It wasn't that she was scared or anything, but it was because she reminded him of someone that she used to know. "I'm surprised that you invited your ex-wife to the wedding. Isn't that a bit awkward?"

"Not at all, actually. We both agreed that our marriage wasn't working out like we planned, so we decided to divorce. She is now the best manager I have ever had. She's already gotten me a gig in Virginia! Can you believe it?"

"I couldn't be happier for you, but you two seemed to get married rather quickly. How long have you two known each other," she asked with suspicion.

"I've known her for a very long time and I'm glad to finally call her my wife," he said as he kissed Erika.

"Oh, well, regardless, I'm happy for you two."

"So, how have things been with you since you worked at the Opera Populaire," Erika asked.

"Well, I think almost everyone knows what happened during that fateful night, but I've married my dear Raoul and soon, our dear Gustave was born. We became performers for hire at different opera houses and theaters."

"That sounds exciting. When is your next performance," Christopher asked.

"We haven't officially booked it, but we might be performing in Sweden sometime soon," Christine said with an almost fake smile.

"Oh, well, we should see you one day. Sweden may be a little far for us, but if you do return to France or even Spain or Italy, we would happily come and watch you."

"I would love that."

"Hey, where is your husband, if you don't mind me asking," Erika asked.

"Oh, he's probably at a bar somewhere. He likes to enjoy a drink wherever he goes," she said, making excuses for her husband.

"Oh, I should find Rachel. If we're not careful, she might be with him," Christopher said as he and Christine walked to one of the bars. Erika separated herself from the party to find her friend in the shadows, who was watching them this whole time. After all, this was his domain.

She made sure no one would see them as she asked him, "So, you don't want to talk to her?"

"No," he blurted.

"Erik, I know it's difficult for you, but it's been seven years. You need closure."

"How can I? She's with her husband and they have a child. What if I can't control myself and force her to be with me?"

"I'm sure you won't do anything like that. I just wanted the two of you to talk. I can arrange it so that no one can bother you."

"No, this is not the time for that. I'm sorry, Erika, but I don't believe I'm ready to do this. Please, go back to your wedding reception and enjoy yourself. This is your day, after all."

Erika sighed, but said, "All right. I'll leave you alone . . . for now," she said as she left his side. This was her day, after all.

The snow was falling down the Parisian town. Not much activity was filling the streets since no one wanted to endure the cold winter, except for one family of three. They finally reached their destination: the cemetery. It had been eleven years since they were last here, but they thought that it was finally time to visit this place. They explored other areas of the city, like the opera houses that burned down, but they were all refurbished or rebuilt into something else. According to people they talked to, they never ever wanted to repeat the Phantom incidents that they left behind. Erika even tried to find her secret passageway, but it seemed that they sealed it off, never to be used again.

Diana rushed into the cemetery with her parents not too far behind. They thought that it was finally time for their little one to learn about her family history and the best place to do it was an area where they were the closest to them. First was the tomb that held Gustave Daaé. They all entered and he said, "This man, right here is my father, Gustave Daaé. He was a very famous violinist at his time. He was the one who first allowed me to sing for an audience when I was a young lad. He was my life and when he died, it did hurt me, but he is now playing his violin in Heaven," Christopher said.

"Wow! This is grandpa. I wish I met him," Diana said as she placed her hand on his coffin.

"Me too, darling."

"Where's grandma?"

"Her grave is in Sweden. Maybe one day, we can visit her." After a while, they placed a rose with a black ribbon on it on top of the coffin had headed out. Now, it was time to visit the next grave.

"It's not much compared to the other one, but it's just as important," Erika said as she showed them the headstone in the shape of a cross. "This is Giovanni Destler. He too was a famous violinist at his time, but he was so much more to me than just that. When the world shunned my face, he was there to comfort me and when he died, I made sure to visit his grave every year and sing to him."

"How can he hear you if he's dead," Diana asked.

"I have faith that he can hear me in Heaven. After all, he sent me my Angel of Music."

"And my father sent me mine," Christopher said as he kissed his wife on the cheek, making her both blush and giggle.

"Maybe one day, I can meet my own Angel of Music," Diana said with hope.

"I hope so too," they said in unison. Erika then opened her violin case and took out her violin. She quickly tuned it and was ready to play a simple melody. "This is the song I would usually sing to him. You two should know this song by now since I sing it as a lullaby." They nodded and as the melody started, they took a deep breath and sang:

Say you will love me forever and ever

Say you will love me through all my endeavors

My heart will only beat for you and it will never cease

For you are the only one who sees the human being in me

The story may be over, but the question remains. What will become of the Daaés? How will Diana grow up, now that she had Christopher in her life? Will Erik ever try to communicate with Christine? So many questions, but only you can answer them.

Thank you so much for reading my story and I hope you enjoyed yourself. If you would like, tell me your answers to those questions and maybe a sequel will be written in the future.

Thank you so much! PhantomGypsy13