A/N: Hi! Thanks for all the reviews! Just want to point out that throughout the story, I put little references, facts, and french words in it, and they're all marked by things like *, *2, or *3 (The numbers are tiny, though). Be on the look out because at the bottom of each chapter when they show up, the facts and translations are at the bottom. There's 3 in this one I beleive. Also, I took a few influences from the Leroux book by incorperationg the Phantom's horse and Raoul's brother Phillipe, but I pretty much made my own versions of them. Thanks again, and if there are typos, please tell me.

Christine listened closely for any kind of noise. Any sign of a stallion or a coming mob. But all was quiet except for the sound of their feet and the Phantom's quiet, steady breathing. "What were his directions again?"

"He said to take the left path-"

"Which we did."

"And keep going until you...he got confusing here...until you get to a stone. Then he said 'third, fifth row, from there, Caesar', whoever that is, knows how to get out."

"Until you get to a stone? We find the horse behind a rock?" She looked to the ground for any kind of boulder. "That doesn't make any sense. Maybe...maybe he missed a word. He wasn't totally with us at the time. A stone...statue? Stone column? Stone pathway? Oof!" Her face was suddenly introduced to the wall in front of her. "Raoul, if I'm going to lead the way, I'm carrying the torch. I just walked right into a… stone wall."

"His horse is behind a wall with no doors? How does he get to it?! He must've given us the wrong directions."

"Wait, wait… what did he say after that? And hand me the torch."

"He said something about a third or fifth row."

She took the light in her hands and held it closer to the wall. It was full of stones from every shape and size that seemed to be placed into straight lines. "'Third...fifth row.' It sounds like you push one of these rocks and something happens. So… the third rock in the fifth row."

"I still think he gave us bad directions, but rows are horizontal, so it must be that one." He pointed to a large, brown rock about the size of an average person's palm.

"Let's hope this does something, or else we're back at square one." She took a deep breath and slowly pushed the smooth stone. It sunk inside and before their eyes, the entire wall began to move! "Raoul, come quickly or you'll be left out here!"

It continued to rotate, revealing a whole new room beyond it. They walked through the opening and the wall closed behind them, as if it had never moved in the first place. We'll, Christine thought. That was interesting. It's astounding what the Phantom thinks of.

It would be even more so, though, if he used his gift for good instead of tricks and threats. She walked over and lit the extinguished torches on the walls, illuminating the large room. It had a large stable and stacks of hay covered the floor. It crunched under her feet as they walked around.

A large stallion with a coat as black as night trotted out from the stable. His eyes seemed to glow in the light and his body was muscular and lean. He tossed his mane and nickered, looking them over. "It seems we found the Phantom's horse. But that doesn't tell us how to get out of here." Raoul pointed out as the horse began to munch on some hay. "He said something about a person named Caesar" - Christine saw the horse pause and look up at this - "Who knew the rest of the way, but… honestly, I think he made him up in some kind of delusion. No one else is down here, no one in the Populaire was named Caesar" - He looked up and flicked his black ears. "I really don't think he exists."

"... But he does, Raoul." she mumbled, astonished.

"What? What do you-"

"It's him." She pointed to the animal. "The Phantom's horse is named Caesar."

Her lover gave her a blank look. "So the horse… is supposed to show us how to get out of the tunnels. Brilliant. The Phantom's a genius. Who knew you could teach a simple animal how to escape a labyrinth?"

"Raoul-"

"I mean, I've heard legends of teaching horses to read or to do tricks, but this?! Astounding!" he snarked. Caesar neighed, sounding offended and stamped a hoof. "He's shared his gift of knowledge with this simple beast, and now they're both geniuses!" He turned angrily to the limp figure on his shoulder. "Bravo, Monsieur! You are truly a man of great talent!"

"Raoul!" She put her hands on her hips. "Don't mock him like that! Even if he can't hear you! He's just gotten the sense beat out of him, it's no wonder he thinks his horse can help! At least he was able to wrap his brain around how to get here at all!"

He turned a bit pale. "Sorry, Lotte. It's frustrating. You know I don't particularly like this man."

"Well, just because I'm saving him doesn't mean I'm not mad, too! I've known him for years and he used me the whole time! But I don't want to see him suffer. Now, we're going to get on this horse and do our best to get out of this, this, hellhole!" She glared at Raoul, who ashamedly turned away, then sighed and looked back at the horse. "Caesar," she called gently. "Caesar, come here. Do you remember me? You saw me once with your owner. Come here, now, I need you."

The horse looked at her with those eyes that seemed to illuminate themselves and slowly came closer. It was as if he was hesitant to trust other people. "We won't hurt you." she coaxed. "We're just trying to help the Phantom. Do you think you could help us with that?"

"He can't understand-"

"I'm aware horses don't know our language, Raoul, thank you. I'm just trying to get him to trust me.

"...Sorry." Raoul shuffled his foot.

"C'mere, Caesar, it's alright." She held her hand out and he backed up a little. "No, no, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. You do want to help your owner, don't you?"

Christine couldn't be sure...no, she must've imagined it, but...I could've sworn this horse just nodded a little. She whispered to him now, he was so close. "We just need to get out of here. Come here, Caesar. Come to Christine." Something in his eyes seemed to change. As if he'd recognized the name. "...Christine." she repeated, placing a hand on her chest.

Finally, a bit more confident now, the stallion strode up to her. She slowly stroked his nose. Christine then found his reins, saddle, and such and got the horse ready to ride. Caesar was calm all the while. "Good boy. Good Caesar. Come on now, let's go." She pulled at the reins slightly. Caesar neighed loudly and jerked away. "No, wait, wait, it's alright!" But before she could stop him, Caesar ran past the stable and towards a large pile of hay. "Caesar, come back!" Christine ran after him, the hay soft under her feet. It was very hard to run in the Phantom's wedding dress. It was still a bit wet from when she'd gone into the lake and kissed the man and it was big, hard to carry.

"Be careful, that's a wild animal!" Raoul protested. He followed her, the Opera Ghost sort of bouncing as he ran. Caesar had stopped and was now digging in the hay with his nose like he'd dropped something.

"What are you doing, you silly horse? There's nothing...there's...there's something." Christine got down on her knees and looked closer. There was something buried in the hay. A box of some kind. "Has he hidden something here? Something for you to guard?" She started to dig as well. "That's why you don't want to leave without it."

"Darling, this is an animal we're talking about. He's not doing anything but playing in hay."

"The Phantom is not an ordinary man, therefore it makes sense to assume that he doesn't have an ordinary pet." She brushed the last strands of golden straw away and Caesar backed away. Raoul's eyes widened. A very large suitcase was sitting there, latched and old looking. Christine admired it for a moment then slowly unlocked it. What she saw nearly made her fall over.

"...Is that...are those...Mon Dieu*, I've never seen so many." The Viscount gawked.

Francs. Hundreds of thousands of French francs. "Raoul, do you know what this is?" she asked. "...This is his salary."

Raoul made a face. "A salary is payment a worker gets when he does his job. The Phantom extorted this money. He didn't do a single thing to earn it."

But she barely heard him. She reached out and touched a few coins, felt the colored paper through her hands. When her father had been alive, they had very little money. He worked too much for too little. She'd had only the basics growing up, nothing extravagant. "...I've never seen so much money in my life. There must be at least a million francs here! I mean, every manager paid him around twenty-thousand a month, yes? Think of how many months he's been down here." Raoul merely grumbled.

Christine straightened, closed the suitcase, and picked it up. She took Caesar's reins and the horse obediently followed. He was much calmer now that they'd gotten the Phantom's money. "What are you doing with that?" Raoul asked.

"Well, he'll need it, won't he?"

"He got it illegally! It doesn't belong to him."

"It's a bit late to return it, now isn't it? Besides, he'll need money for clothes and such when he's on his own." The wall opened again with a touch of the stone and she led Caesar into the tunnels. Raoul placed the Opera Ghost on the horse like a deer who'd just been shot, then climbed on as well to make sure he wouldn't fall off. He took the suitcase, music box, mask and wig from her so she could lead Caesar and carry the torch. Raoul stayed quiet but she knew he wasn't happy. I know I'm asking a lot. He's carrying the man who tried to kill him, for God sakes. He would've wanted the Phantom to die down here, but...I can't let that happen. The Phantom's known a horrible life, I bet. We should at least offer him another chance to live a better one. I can only hope that Raoul will understand in time…

And pray the Phantom won't make us regret helping him.

They walked aimlessly down the tunnel, eventually coming to a place they could turn. "Shall we keep going or try this way?" Christine asked.

"I say we go back the way we came and try the left tunnel. I don't like the look of that one."

The other tunnel had no lanterns at all, only pitch darkness. The path they were on was lit. "Very well," she decided. "We'll follow the lanterns."

She began to walk forwards, past the turn, when - "Whoa!" - Caesar yanked her back, making her fall onto her butt.

"Stubborn animal!" Raoul growled. "Here, let me take the reins, I can handle him."

"No, Raoul, stay there. You must be exhausted from what you've been through." Even in the dim light she could see the rope burns on his neck still. "I can take him." She looked at the stallion. "Come on, now, this way." She tried to lead him but he pulled to his left, towards the other tunnel. A thunderous neigh echoed through the catacombs. "What's the matter with you?" Again, he nodded left. Christine's eyes got a bit wider as she remembered the Phantom's instructions. "...'Caesar knows'." she whispered. She touched his shoulder. "Do you really know the way? Perhaps you've been down here long enough to remember."

"Christine, this is a horse. He doesn't know anything! He's just being difficult."

But the more she thought, the more she was convinced. "... I think we should try this way."

"What?"

"He really wants to go this way!"

"He's! A! Horse!"

"A horse who just helped us find the Phantom's treasure!"

Raoul opened his mouth to argue, but couldn't fight her point. "You have to admit, he's smarter than the average stallion," Christine told him, stroking the horse's nose. "If it's not the exit, then we turn around."

"And if the mob comes back and finds us?"

"That's a risk we have to take, but the longer we stand here arguing, the higher the risk becomes."

Raoul sighed and gestured to the tunnel in the left. Christine let go of the reins. "Alright, Caesar, time to prove yourself. Lead on."

And he did. He strode down the tunnel with Christine at his side like he'd done it a thousand times. They walked down twist after turn, turn after twist, in the dark, in the light until Christine felt dizzy from all the paths.

"He's going in circles." Raoul grumbled. "He's just walking around, he doesn't know where he's actually going."

"If he was going in circles we'd see our footprints." I hate it when he gets like this.

Suddenly, Caesar broke into a run. "What the-!" Raoul was nearly thrown off the crazed animal as it raced forwards.

"Caesar, come back! Oh, I hate running in this dress!" As Christine chased them, Raoul tried to reach the reins, but it was a bit hard crawling over the Phantom on a moving horse.

"Christine!" he yelled. "Get me off this crazy thing!" *²

"Caesar! Where are you going?! Come back!" She was breathless now and kept tripping over the dress even though she was trying to hold it. "Here, horsey, horsey!"

Suddenly, just as quickly as he started, he stopped. Raoul nearly fell off his back. "Damn horse!" he shouted, taking the reins. "You're as crazed as your master!"

Christine ran up, panting. "Enough...exercise...for me."

"Are you okay, Lotte?"

"Just...sick of running. Where are we? Why'd he stop?"

"This is just another dead end. I told you, dear, he doesn't know where he's going. He's just a horse. Well...a crazed horse, but not a smart horse." Caesar whipped his head around and let out an angry neigh.

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. Heaven help me. I am in a maze with an unconscious man, my fiancé, and a horse with an attitude. God give me strength. She looked up, hoping for some guidance.

And that was when Christine Daaé saw the light.

The sunlight from the hatch above them.

Caesar looked up, bit down on the rope that was dangling in front of his nose, and pulled. He backed up and before their eyes, the hatch opened and a staircase dropped down. It hit the hard floor with a THUNK! Raoul looked at it in awe. "You have to admit," Christine told him as she took Caesar's reins, "As bad as he is, the Phantom is a genius. And it seems his horse is as well. Here, hand me his things. You go first with him, and I'll take Caesar."

Raoul still seemed a bit shocked by the fact that Caesar really did seem to know how to navigate the Phantom's lair, but obeyed. Once he had carried the Opera Ghost all the way to the top, Christine led the stallion up into the world. "Good horse, Caesar. You did a good job. Your owner will be very happy with you."

The dawn was breaking now. The sun was creeping over the hills and the sky was full of bright pink, fluffy clouds. Caesar nickered and squinted a bit. He's not used to sunlight anymore, Christine realized. I wonder how long it's been since he's seen it. Since the Phantom has seen it. They loaded the Opera Ghost back on the horse, and Raoul stood in front of them, next to Christine - who holding the reins again. "He doesn't seem tame, dear. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Honestly, Raoul, I don't think he likes you that much. He seems much calmer when I'm close. Do you have the mask, wig, and box?"

"And the suitcase full of stolen money, yes."

"Do you suppose we should close up that hatch?"

"I don't think you can close it from the top, just the bottom."

"In that case, we have no choice."

The hatch had let them out in an open field that was full of wheat and was very near the town. Caesar trotted along, relaxed. Raoul and Christine were anything but. She looked over her shoulder at the sleeping Ghost behind her. "What do we do now, Raoul? Any ideas?"

"Only one and you're going to hate it."

"You want to take him to the gendarmes." *3

"Yes."

"Dear, that's just as bad as leaving him for the mob!"

"The gendarmes aren't going to beat him like a dog!"

"No, they'll just lock him away in a tiny cell in the dark!"

"He likes darkness! Christine, he's killed two people! That we know of at least. He's a crazed killer who should be locked away for the safety of others!"

"Raoul…" She frowned and looked at the Phantom again. "I just...I just feel like...no one has ever given him a fair chance all his life. I at least want to give him that. A chance to show he's not just a madman. A chance to live a new life."

"... You are too good for this world."

"Please, Raoul, he was my friend once. I want to help him."

He sighed in her ear. "Alright, Christine," Raoul sounded defeated. "But don't get your hopes too high. He may be too far gone to salvage. Even for you. What do you want to do with him then?"

"... He's the most wanted man in Paris. We'll have to hide him somewhere. Somewhere completely out of France."

"...Like?"

She sighed, racking her brain. All of Europe will be looking for him. And his face is a bit… recognizable. It has to be somewhere very far. But somewhere he can make a new life for himself. Somewhere where outcasts and misfits like him can be successful.

"Let me point out that we might want to keep a low profile for a while as well," Raoul said. "People are going to be talking about you and the Phantom on stage, and everywhere we go they're going to be gossiping and giggling behind our backs. Not to mention this entire ordeal is just going to follow us around. People will wonder if perhapes you were at one point, in league with the Opera Ghost, and things like that. Unless you want to spend the next year or so with everyone turning to stare, we might want to think of leaving France for a time."

"...Philippe."

"When did my brother come into this conversation?"

"Didn't you tell me once that he moved to America to start some kind of business?"

"Temporarily. He's coming back to Paris next year. His company is doing quite well."

"We could go live with him for a while, yes?"

Raoul grew pale. "Are you honestly suggesting we let a murderer live with my brother?! Christine, what are you-"

"I mean you and I go live with him! Goodness, Raoul, let me get a thought out!"

"... That should be doable." he mumbled. "But what about him?" He pointed an accusing finger at the Opera Ghost.

"No one would find him in America. We find a way to get him there with us, then once we arrive, he is out of our hair and we find your brother."

"I still think the best thing to do would be turn him in, but you are determined to help him. And when you set your heart on something, there's no talking you out of it."

"No, there's not."

Another sigh. "Very well. Let's head to de Chagny Manor. People may be around waiting for me, but we could sneak in. We'll get some supplies for the journey, I'll write a quick letter to Philippe, and we will be on our way to America."

Christine stopped to kiss him on the lips. "Thank you, Raoul. You won't regret this."

She saw him look to the man of the hour. "I certainly hope not."

* Mon Dieu means "My God" in French

*² Jetsons reference anyone?

*3 French police force

Fun Fact: I did the math. If the Phantom started getting his salary when he was say, around 16 or 18, and asked for 20,000 francs a month since then, he would now have an estimated 3,840,000 to 4,320,000 francs (That's 4,041,408 to 4,546,584 US dollars) if he never spent any of it. (In this story he is 32, Raoul is proabbly 28, and Chrstine maybe 26)