Disclaimer: The soldiers are mine. The rest is Gaston Leroux's or Andrew Lloyd Webber's.

Raoul was surrounded, and he knew it. He leaned mainly on his good leg, but he knew he couldn't keep it up much longer. It's only a matter of time. His bad leg tensed, and his good leg began to sag. Raoul winced as pain needled up and down his bad leg. I won't let you get Christine!

Suddenly the whole group of soldiers attacked him again. Raoul brandished his sword and began defending himself. Lunge! Recover, parry, repost, parry, retreat! His mind spat out orders as fast as it could go, but it was not fast enough. Reposts were replaced by retreats, lunges by parries.

Then Raoul got careless, striking out whenever he could, desperate to save his own life and Christine's. It earned him a nick on the cheek and lost him a lot of ground and energy. He stood facing one of the larger soldiers with their sword upraised. Raoul's arm trembled with the effort it took to hold his own sword. He caught a flicker of movement out of his eye-

And the Punjab Lasso flew! Raoul felt his heart skipped several beats. He remembered all to well the last time it flew- right around his own neck. The Punjab Lasso could not have been mistaken for another lasso- it was an ordinary rope, but it had been dyed red. The soldier clawed at his neck for a moment, then dropped dead. But the Phantom-

It was then a man in a black suit went into battle. He punched one soldier in the face, then whirled the Punjab Lasso around another. The whole group of soldiers stumbled back in surprise. Within moments, the man in the black suit had taken down three other men with the Punjab Lasso. As he did, Raoul saw something completely unmistakable.

The Phantom's mask.

"I thought you were dead!" Raoul cried. He jabbed his sword at some oncoming soldiers.

"I did too!" Erik shouted back. Erik and Raoul made quick work of these men. Raoul had recovered enough his strength to fight and kill a few, or at least distract them so Erik could throw the Punjab Lasso. As Erik began strangling the last soldier of the wave, Raoul saw his chance. When Erik finished his work, Raoul pointed his sword at Erik.

"What are you doing?" Erik snapped.

"Oh, you practically hang me and we're the best of buddies? Listen pall," Raoul hissed, "I don't trust you- the enemy of my enemy is not my friend."

"How bout the enemy of your enemy who just saved your life?" Erik retorted, "I'm not fighting on your side anyway- I'm fighting on Christine's side." This sent an alarm off in both men's heads. Christine! Erik and Raoul both ran over to her.

"Christine! Are you all right?" Raoul asked her. She nodded, unable to bring herself to speak. Erik stood off to one side, looking extremely agitated. He fingered the Punjab Lasso, tempted to make the same mistake twice.

Both Raoul and Erik looked up when they heard the distant sounds of marching. Off in the distance, a second wave of soldiers was approaching. Erik tightened his grip on the Punjab Lasso, and Raoul's hand strayed to the hilt of his sword. Erik's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the soldiers. Then they went wide in shock.

"They have guns!" Erik breathed. Raoul had seen them too. Christine didn't know what to do, and, to her own dismay, both Erik and Raoul were still working at the conundrum themselves.

Then they acted on instinct. Each believing they were stronger than the other, Raoul and Erik each grabbed one of Christine's wrists simultaneously. When they realized the other had done the same, they glowered at them angrily from the other side of Christine.

"Let go of her!" Erik barked.

"No!" Raoul snapped, "I'm about to hand Christine over to you!"

"Raoul you fool your too weak!" Erik cried, "For goodness sake they stabbed you in the leg!"
"And yet I still stand!" Raoul snarled.

"Oh come on, you won't be able to run that far! Let Christine go!" Raoul shook his head.

"I'm not handing over Christine to the man who nearly hung me!" Raoul hissed.
"Stop thinking of yourself for once and trust me!" Erik exploded. Time slowed as the two men looked each other in the eye. Raoul wanted to attack the Phantom, to take Christine and run so that the soldiers wouldn't get her and the monster wouldn't get her. Raoul's grip on Christine tightened.

Exhaustion nagged at Raoul's legs. Erik was right- he wouldn't be able to run far. But trusting The Phantom with his most prized possession was beyond Raoul. Is that all Christine is? A jewel? Raoul knew he had been foolish. He was so obsessed with himself that he forgot what he was fighting for. The thundering steps of the next wave of soldiers pounded in Raoul's ears. Erik stood fuming on Christine's other side. Pain coursed through Raoul's wound. He let go of Christine.

"Go!" both Raoul and the head of the army shouted at the same time. Erik's other hand gave a twitch and the Punjab Lasso flew once again. With one fluid movement, Erik gripped Christine's waist and tugged the Punjab Lasso in such a way that hoisted him and Christine up into the catwalks, bullets zooming where he and Christine were just a moment before.

Raoul's leg gave out again as lightning struck it as he watched Christine and The Phantom disappear. Soldiers swarming around him shooting their muskets while his leg was consumed by fire, Raoul could only hope he made the right choice.

After note: WEE! FENCING! Chapter names are always good suggestions.