Disclaimer: I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions. I don't own anything from the Phantom of the Opera; all rights belong to their rightful owners.

Claimer: I own all of my original characters.

Well here's chapter 10. This story is winding down but I don't know how many more chapters I'll have I might combine the last two chapters and only have two chapters left or I might keep to my plan and have three. I don't really know yet but I'll make it work. Again, I have no idea on what to write when this is done so I'm always open for new story or oneshot ideas so please let me know if there is a story you want me to do please let me know! (: other than that, please read and review and let me know what you think.

Chapter 10: An Explosive Breakup

I hoisted myself up onto the roof of the second opera house with a grunt. I took Erik's extended paw and finished pulling myself up on the concrete roof so we could blow it up. I was a thief and never did an arson job, if you could categorize this with arson, but it was important to Erik so it was important to me…I think. Who was I kidding I couldn't give a crap less about this. For example, this is why I never joined with anyone but my brother and sister. We had the same goals, Erik and I, not so much. The last thing I wanted to do tonight was do this job and I wanted nothing to do with Erik anymore. Maybe that made me sound like a horrible person since I went to him for support after I was broken by Cooper, but everything was the same and so boring with him. Every day and night it was talk about the opera house, write music for the opera house, or constantly being in a mood. I swear, if you put Erik and my sister together they'd be perfect for each other. I was just straight up miserable recently. I felt like I was just living each day simply to get to the next one instead of actually trying to accomplish something. I didn't have anything to actually live for anymore. Even if I did go back to my usual thieving routine and I didn't get caught by my sister or her partner, it just wouldn't be fun anymore. Sly was always the person that kept me on my toes and kept me on my game. Without Sly as my primary source of competition, thieving just wasn't enjoyable anymore. I also couldn't deny the fact that I was still in love with him.

I felt Erik's paw rest on my shoulder and pull me out of my thoughts. I hadn't realized I had been staring over the side of the building ever since I had gotten up here and Erik had already set up a majority of his explosive chain. He slid his paw down my arm and firmly gripped my own paw. He used the index finger on her other paw to quietly motion me to the 'base' of operations for his TNT. He pulled me forward and gently pulled me in front of him. He released my paw and wrapped his felt arm around my waist gently while his right paw was gently placed at the base of my neck. His snout slid to the left side of his face and I could smell that masculine cologne which caused me to shiver. There was just something about that smell that made me act like a blushing schoolgirl and cause my knees to go weak. My eyes closed as he whispered in my ear. His voice was so manly yet gently that I couldn't help myself.

"My dear," he whispered softly, "are you truly happy being with me?" my eyes snapped open and my heartbeat quickened.

"Of course," I said, "Why do you ask?" I was lying. I really wasn't happy but I wasn't about to tell him that when he had a relatively large amount of explosives only ten or so feet away.

"No reason, no reason," he whispered as his left paw crept up my back and rested on my shoulder, "I just wanted to assure myself that you weren't tying to pull one over me. I know you have a habit of doing that to the people you meet." The paw that was on my shoulder moved down my arm and wrapped around my wrist firmly.

"What are you talking about?" my eyebrows furred at his statement. My heart pounded in my chest when the grip around my neck tightened.

"Why don't you ask your lover?" he growled. His grip tightened and I felt the cold, unforgiving metal press against my skin as the unforgettable click of handcuffs filled my ears. I tried to pull my left arm up but just like I feared, I had been handcuffed to a drainpipe.

"Erik, I don't-" I stop talking when his thumb pressed firmly into the side of my neck and breathing became difficult.

"Don't me your excuses, Bandicoot. I know you've been sneaking around with that raccoon. Every night you go 'up into the rafters' to 'think', I know what really doing. You're sneaking off to go sleep with him. I know what you're doing, Bandicoot," he growled, "And I will make you pay." His voice was cold and I was terrified. I should have listened to Sly, he was right; Erik is trying to kill me.

"Did you really think you were going to get away with it?" he hissed, "You can't hide anything from me. I know what you're doing."

"…No I haven't." I gasped out, "Never…I've never cheated on you…never." It was becoming harder and harder to breathe as he pressed is thumb pressed deeper into my throat. He growled and threw me to the ground. My head hit the concrete lip of the building and I yelped. I met his gaze as he crouched and I screamed in pain as the paw of his paw impacted the right side of my face. The hit was so forceful that it slapped the mask off the left side of my face.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" he screamed as he hit me again, "You're not going to cross me and then think you can get away with it. Well let me tell you something," he stood and pressed his boot to my chest, "You're not." He removed his foot and walked to his explosives. I immediately started to try and slip out of the handcuffs. I didn't have anything to pick the lock with and I was short on time.

"Erik, please," I begged, "I've never cheated on you. The only time I've talked with Cooper is when he's trying to arrest us! I swear!" he shot me a glace and narrowed his eyes.

"Really," he sneered, "Then what about that night in the cemetery? You let him snuggle right up next to you, hold you, he even kissed you! And you let him!"

"I thought it was you!" I screeched, "I pushed him away, Erik! I told him to get away! I even locked him inside the mausoleum!"

"But you let him out! Don't try to weasel your way out of this, harlot." His words stung but I kept tying to escape while he fiddled with his TNT cache. I pulled away from the handcuffs and I felt them start to slide a little. Erik stood and loomed over me.

"You know, because I love you I'll tell you what my father said to me years ago," I met his gaze, "I'll see you in Hell." He said before clicking the timer on the bomb into the 'on' position and walking away. I was crunched for time and I had to get the handcuffs off. I pulled as hard as I could and I pulled my fingers together to form a point to try and get the metal cuffs to slide off my paw.

"Come on, work with me here," I grumbled to myself as I kept yanking on the handcuffs. The handcuffs started to slide off but it was taking too long. I looked deep into my throat and was forced to spit on the handcuffs. Thankfully, my spit was enough to let the handcuffs slide off with ease. I wiped my wrist off before glancing to the timer on the explosives. I bolted to go over the edge of the building but unfortunately the bomb went off before I was even halfway over. The heat was extensive but not enough to burn but still enough to scare me. The charges started at the bottom and worked their way up. I screeched as my section of the roof I was on caved in while I was still on top. I felt myself start to fall and I simply waited to smack the ground and die. My eyes widened when I felt something pinch the scruff of my neck and I swung briefly before simply hanging there. Thankfully the explosion wasn't that big to completely destroy the building but it did put a rather large dent in it. Even though I was on the same side as the explosives, I wasn't injured other than the beating I received from Erik and the few cuts I got from debris. At least I was alive and not a splat on the ground. I turned my attention to the pinching on my neck and moved my paw up to feel what was holding me in the air. It was an arm that kept me suspended; an arm of the one person who knew we'd be here tonight. And the same person who warned me about Erik and the same person I still loved.