Disclaimer: I do not own "The Phantom of the Opera"; all elements belong to their respective owners

Based on: An early Elliot Clawson draft (never used)

Christine frantically ran about her apartment tossing the basics of her personal affects into the small carpet bag laid out on the bed.

It had all seemed to happen so fast: Erik kidnapping her, Raoul and the torture, the ultimatum of the scorpion and the grasshopper, her kissing Erik, their release….the mob.

Christine fought back tears as she remembered hearing the yells of rage and the violent destruction, as the mob had entered the Phantom's home. Erik had told them to run…. Erik shall stay and die! He had told them, shoving them through the secret door which led to the surface. Christine knew that once the mob found Erik there would have been no mercy. Erik was dead.

She and Raoul had done as the Phantom had said, fleeing the cellars and racing to Raoul's waiting carriage. From there, Raoul had dropped her off outside her apartment to gather her things while he went and made the final arrangement for their flight to England.

"We must leave before the cock crows this dawn!" Raoul had declared gravely before he left. "Even without the Opera Ghost, we can still lose each other; if my elder brother becomes wise to our plan he will separate us forever!"

A sudden knock at the door made Christine jump.

Believing that Raoul had returned, Christine snatched up her bag and quickly strode to the door, her perspiring palm closed around the cool metal of the knob and she flung the door open; to her bewilderment there was no one there! Did I imagine it? She wondered.

"Christine….?" Someone moaned, it was only then that Christine noticed a dark shape collapsed against the side of the doorframe. Her eyes went wide with recognition as a strangled shriek flew past her lips. "Erik?" She cried. At the sound of her voice Erik (for it was indeed he) pushed away from the wall, struggling to haul himself through the threshold. Christine instinctually drew back.

"Christine…." He panted. "…..please don't run…" As he stumbled into the light Christine realized what damage the mob had done to him. His face already twisted face was blue and swollen from bruising, his clothing shredded and torn to the point of being unrecognizable. If it was possible, he looked even more hideous.

Erik's features suddenly contorted in agony and he faltered, pressing a skeletal hand to the side of his rib cage. Without thinking, Christine reached out and caught him by the arm. "Erik what is wrong?" She asked frantically. Surely a few bruises wouldn't do this to him?

He was gasping for breath, barely able to support himself but finally he recovered enough to choke out. "I'm….I…." He broke into a coughing fit but managed to pull back his arm enough to reveal the especially large sanguine stain spreading from just under his left lung….fatale.

Erik leaned against the wall for support, blood smearing into the plaster, his chest heaving with every breath. "…Christine…I….came to apologize…t-to beg forgiveness…for my actions…" A choked sob bubbled up from his throat and he doubled over in pain, groaning. Tossing the carpet bag to the side, Christine caught him under the shoulders and guided him to his knees. Despite everything, Christine found she could not fear the man nor could she hate him.

Christine had not the will to deny the man mercy,

Quietly, she knelt down beside the "Opera Ghost" and placed a hand on his bloody shoulder. "I forgive you, Erik…." She whispered. "….I…forgave you when you freed me."

"Merciful angel…" He whispered softly. "I…thank you, Ch-Christine."

Christine wasn't sure what compelled her to do so but slowly she reached over and pulled his quivering wrist over her shoulder before wrapping her arm around his back. "Let me help you to the parlor." She offered gently. Not waiting for his reply she began assisting his frail body into standing position. "…Lean on me as much as you need, Erik…"

With some effort, she managed to half drag/ half carry the Opera Ghost into her living room and to the richly upholstered settee.

As Christine laid Erik against the soft cushions her hand softly came down and brushed his jet black hair away from his eyes. He shuddered at the contact before relaxing into the cushions and closing his eyes.

"Hush…" Christine cooed, as though speaking to a child. "….Rest now. Shhh…"

She slowly stroked his shoulder, smoothing out the blood dampened material of his jacket. His breaths deepened and evened as he nearly slipped into unconsciousness but suddenly his eyes flew open causing Christine to jump.

"Christine…" Erik wheezed. "Give me your hand…quickly!"

Apprehensive and confused, Christine gave her hand to him. Despite the trembling of his hands Erik quickly slid a wedding ring off of his finger, the ring was slick with blood and he fumbled for a moment before finally transferring the plain gold band into Christine's palm.

"My gift for the little chap you love…" Erik whispered weakly before his eyes suddenly rolled and he went limp.

Author's Note: I will be doing a series of short stories which are all alternate endings to the 1925 Phantom of the Opera film.

As you may or may not know, there were 5 different endings proposed, written or shot for this film, the one which survives today being the fifth and final revision.

I will be re-writing and presenting these other four endings in this series of one-shots.

Please realize that there is a lot of rumor and speculation about what is actually supposed to have been said or done in these varying endings, what I write is based off of the accounts from the most credible sources, I only want to present these to you in a way that might give you a taste of what this would have looked like on film.

I have used my imagination to fill in whatever blank points were left in these conclusions so do not expect these to be completely accurate.