Disclaimer: I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch. The idea of Phantom of the Opera belongs to its rightful owner(s).

Claimer: I own all of my original characters.

I know this chapter is short but this story is winding down. There is another chapter coming after this one but that should be it. And there is one thing out of order that I put in the middle but I needed to incorporate it in somehow. I know this story is more on the ChristinexRaoul side of things (if you want to say Ramona is the Christine character and Sly could be counted as Raoul) but in my personal opinion, I was pro ChristinexPhantom. I always found Raoul to be somewhat of a pansy but everyone has their own opinion. And I couldn't do the ChristinexPhantom side of things or I would have to have Ramona stay with the Phantom forever and she wouldn't be in any other stories. And I couldn't do that (: but, please read and review and let me know what you think!

Chapter 11: Ascending the Stairs

"Low blood sugar, huh?" I asked as my feet shuffled against the stairs.

"Yeah, it's a family curse." Ramona replied before yawning. I groaned as we continued walking up the stairs. Even if neither of us had a watch, it was getting late and we were both dragging. We had shifted positions and Ramona was the one carrying the torch. I, on the other hand, had somehow ended up carrying Ramona while we walked. She somehow persuaded me from the bottom of the steps to carry her up. Even if neither of us had a watch, we could tell it was getting late and we were both exhausted. Ramona had the habit of contentiously falling asleep and almost dropping the torch, the only source of light.

"How much farther do we have to climb?" she asked after I had to shake her awake. I put her feet on the ground and took the torch away.

"About another half, then we have to get you home." She groaned as she started to drag herself up the stairs.

"I think this leads to my apartment. I was in my bedroom when he dragged me down here in the first place." We continued to trudge up the stairs in almost complete darkness. The walls surrounding us were painted with gold from the torch and the only sounds I heard came from out clothing against the stone stairs and the sounds of water from deep within the sewers. Like the staircase I had come down here on, this one was a wide spiral and completely filthy. I felt Ramona attach herself to me when the haunting voice of the phantom could be heard from below us.

"I gave you my music. Made your song take wing and now, how you've repaid me, denied me, and betrayed me. He was bound to love you, when he heard you sing…my sweet…" his voice died off before Ramona and I shot each other a glance before going up the stairs as quickly as we could.

"I think it's safe to assume that your sister didn't catch him." I said as we hustled up the stairs, "and I thought he said this was over."

"I did too," she clutched onto my free paw while using her other to keep her dress from getting caught underneath her feet. Inside his chamber might have been the last I had seen of him, but it certainly wasn't the last time we had heard from him.

"You will curse the day you did no do all that the phantom asked of you!" his voice was soft and sorrowful the first time, now it was dark and he shouted his words.

"Go, go, go!" Ramona pushed me forward when we realized his voice was creeping up the stairs along with us. We hurried up the stairs as fast as out feet could carry us and relief washed over me when we finally reached the top of the stairs. But of course, there was a catch. The top of the stairs split into two pathways and I had absolutely no idea on which way to go. We were in a hurry, if the phantom was following us, which I was pretty sure he was, he had the upper hand. He'd lived in these sewers for so long he knew every nook and cranny.

"Have any ideas?" Ramona looked at the two pathways and pointed to the one on the left.

"I think it's that one but I'm not sure." I didn't want to think it over. Ramona would be in danger again if the phantom caught us still in the sewers. I followed Ramona's choice and we ran down the corridor.

Ramona's heels clicked against the stone floor and an echo could be heard behind us. I wasn't sure if it was the phantom of a lacking member or the police force but I didn't wasn't to come into contact with either of them. Dread washed over me when I saw that this corridor led to a dead end. I started to turn around when Ramona took the torch from my grasp and put it in a holder on the wall. The light from the torch reflected from the end of the hallway and I realized it was another mirror. We both glanced at the mirror and on the other side, it looked like clothing.

"Is that…the inside of my closet?" Ramona peered into the glass, "It is! That little sneak, it's another one-way mirror." We worked together and tried to pry the glass away from the holdings. We were crunched for time as the echoes got louder as the glass started to slide away. Just when the glass was open enough for Ramona to squeeze through, I gently pushed her though and blew out the torch. I squeezed through myself and quickly pushed the glass back into place. After the glass clicked shut, I made my way out of her closet and met Ramona in her bedroom. She sat on the edge of her bed before yanking off her shoes. She sighed and looked up.

"At least I know how he kept getting in." she muttered before she stood and wrapped her arms around me in a hug, "I still owe you one." she muttered. I chuckled before I felt myself loose all control of my actions. The only thing I remember doing afterward was leaning down and pressing my lips against hers. I felt the lace of her dress on my fingertips as my paws wrapped around her petite waist and she pressed her frame to mine. After seeing the phantom kiss Ramona twice in a row, I now know why. Her lips were soft and I felt shivers go up my spine as her body heat radiated from her to me. Things were almost perfect until I heard the sound no man ever likes to hear when kissing a woman with a brother.

"Cooper!" we were jolted out of our kiss and I realized Sitka was leaning against the doorframe to her bedroom.

"Sitka!" Ramona yelled back, "You little creeper!" their language switched from English to what I assumed to be Spanish, but I was lost anyway. They argued back and forth before Ramona finally shoved her brother out of her apartment. She pressed against her back against the door and laughed after I had made my way into the living room.

"I think he killed the mood." I muttered after everything had gotten quiet. She nodded and pulled me into another hug after she was sure her brother was gone. I sighed when I realized it never failed that when I kissed Ramona, something had to interrupt us. But I was relieved knowing that Ramona would be safe, as long as the phantom wouldn't sneak into her room again. I knew I'd have to keep an eye on her until things completely died down, but I had no problem doing that whatsoever.