_Devil_Take_The_Hindmost_

"Not another word! Always wondered how to make you watch; well, watch me now! I took a little trip to Coney Island; I took a little trip because of you. I did as mother said, and followed where you lead, and tried to do what little I could do… Well, here's the way it works on Coney Island: they make you pay for every little crumb. I gave what they would take, I gave it for your sake; now look at me and see what I've become… Bathing beauty, on the beach; bathing beauty in her dressing room… Bathing beauty: in the dark, on their laps, in their arms, in their beds!"

"What are you saying?" The Phantom asked Meg hesitantly.

"Who helped you raise the money? Who helped the permits come through? Who greased the wheels of your high-flying deals? Bought you time when the bills came due? Who swayed the local bosses? Curried favor with the press? No, not her," Meg said, pointing the gun in her hand to her mother.

"And who kept singing: desperate for your favor? Who kept dancing: hoping you could save her? Who kept dying? And this is all you gave her!" Meg shouted, crying her eyes out.

"And now that I've got your attention at last…" She raised the gun to her hand, her tears done falling. "Here's the big finish and then you can go!"

"Give me the gun, Meg," the Phantom coaxed. "Give me the hurt and the pain and the gun, Meg. Give me the blame for not seeing the things you've done, Meg. Give me the gun, Meg. Give me the chance to see you clear at last… You feel ugly, you feel used, you feel broken, you feel bruised; ah, but I can see all the beauty underneath. You've been robbed of love and pride, been ignored and pushed aside; even so, I still know there is beauty underneath. Diamonds never sparkle bright, if they aren't set just right; beauty often goes unseen… We can't all be like Christine…."

"Christine! It's always Christine!"

A single gunshot lit up the night sky, its sound echoing across the pier and ocean. The Phantom grabbed his son and lover, pulling them away from the direction Meg fired.

A bit before that, the Victome de Changy, drunken yet again, stumbled through the cold air in an attempt to find his wife and Gustave. He tripped, falling face first, on his way to where Madame Giry had told him Christine and the Phantom were headed.

"Clumsy old fool," he murmured to himself, "no wonder she doesn't love you anymore. I just have to see her one last time; to know she's happy…" And with that, Raoul stood back up and stumbled drunkenly to the pier.

However, he didn't make it far onto the pier, because just as he was in yelling range of Christine and Gustave, he was shot.

He fell to the ground, yelling out for Christine. Just before he hit the ground, he was in her arms. Tears were streaming down her beautiful face, her eyes full of pain. The Phantom stood behind her, with his hand on her shoulder. Looking up at him, Raoul knew that he loved Christine just as much, if not more, than he did. He knew that Phantom would be a better husband, a better lover, and, most importantly, a better father to Gustave.

"Gustave," Raoul said quietly, and soon Christine's lovely son was kneeling by his side.

"Papa, no!" He said. "You can't go; you haven't played with me yet…"

"Oh, dear Gustave, I'm so sorry that I never played with you… I'm sorry that I was too addicted to drowning my sorrows than I was to enjoying my time playing with you… I do love you, my Gustave. I'm sorry I never showed you or your mother how much I loved you…" He coughed, trying to keep a bit of pressure on the bullet wound, hoping it would help him stay alive long enough to tell them what he wanted to.

"And, dear Gustave, I'm so sorry that you have to find out that I am not your real father this way…"

The Phantom's eyes widened, "no!" He yelled at Raoul. "Don't tell him! He doesn't have to know that… his father… is a monster! Let him believe you are his father. It would be better than who he really is."

"No, Phantom. He needs to know. You are now his father, as I'm sure you plan on keeping your side of the bet. Gustave, your real father is Mister Y…"

"Papa, no… You must be joking! His face – it's horrible!" Gustave cried out, backing away. He would have run off, if it wasn't for Christine's hand on his arm, keeping him close to her.

"Oh, dear Gustave," his mother coaxed. "He is your father… Look with your heart, and not with your eyes... Gustave! Gustave, come back!" She yelled, trying to grab Gustave to get him back when he ran into the dark out of anger and frustration. Raoul winced, Christine's motions moving the bullet in him.

"Oh, Raoul! I'm so sorry…"

"No, Christine, it is I who should be apologizing to you. All these years of being married to me have made you miserable… You do not love me; a blind man could see it! I was a drunk, I never did anything worthwhile, and I certainly didn't care for your son… Now, all I can ask of you is one last sign of your love… Let me know that you will be happy with the Phantom, so will Gustave..."

Christine, with tears pouring down her cheeks, kissed Raoul's forehead before turning to the Phantom. Her eyes filled with love and adoration, as did his. They kissed, and Raoul smiled. His love would be safe. She would be happy. She would be better off without him than she was with him.

With that thought in mind, the Victome de Changy closed his eyes, fully aware that he would never open them again.

"Papa?" Gustave said quietly walking back to where his mother and new father sat on the pier.

"Oh, dear Gustave," Christine sighed. "My dear, dear Gustave..."

"Papa is never going to wake up, is he, mother?..."

"No, little Victome… Le Monsieur de Victome will never wake again," the Phantom said, letting Christine hold Raoul while he went and kneeled before Gustave. "I hope that I can be half the father he was, my dear son…"

Gustave looked into his eyes: those pleading eyes that both threaten and adore, so filled with sadness and misery; and he smiled softly at his new father. He hugged him, leaving the Phantom in shock. He slowly embraced his son, stroking his back in a loving, fatherly way that Raoul never would. Gustave pulled away slowly and gazed into his eyes once more. A little hesitantly, the boy grazed his fingers along the white mask, and he gently pulled it off and set it next to them on the pier. Conquering his fears, Gustave hugged the Phantom once more, leaving him completely and utterly shocked still.

"Will you play with me?" Gustave asked him, cuddling into his new father's chest.

"Uh, yes, my dear son…" The Phantom answered, still completely shocked. "I'll just love, just live, just give what I can give; and take what little I deserve…" He stroked his child's back lovingly and fatherly, not noticing Christine laying Raoul down on the pier and kneeling besides him and Gustave.

"Who knows when love begins, who knows what makes it start; one day it's simply there: alive inside your heart…" She sang softly. "It slips into your thoughts, it infiltrates your soul, it takes you by surprise, then seizes full control. Try to deny it, and try to protest, but love won't let you go once you've been possessed… Love never dies, love never falters; once it has spoken, love is yours. Love never fades, love never alters; hearts may get broken, love endures…" Christine's voice filled the night's cold, empty air, seeming to be almost magical, comforting Gustave in ways that nothing else ever could. He joined in the song; their voices combined seeming to light up the dark pier.

Erik held her tight in his arms. He felt sorry for her; he knew that she had loved Raoul inexplicably, but he was also grateful. Grateful that his Christine could now, truly, be his Angel of Music. May your Angel of Music watch over you know, and give you what I wish I gave you somehow, he recalled Raoul's letter to his love saying. "Well, Monsieur de Changy, this is the one thing I can swear to you: I will do all that I can for Christine and Gustave. Devil take the hindmost…"

*A/N* Hey guys, hope you enjoyed my story! It may very well become a series of OneShots, as I have plans for that! Review! Please? It's like holding your hand at the level of your eyes ;)

Josephine