"Opera Ghost?" he asked, noticing the tattered cape on the chamber floor. "Where did he go?" he asked himself. "He was by the wall when the light filled the place; he would have been a safe enough distance away, especially if I came through it unscathed…"

He trailed off as the Pharaoh's monster appeared, glancing disdainfully at an injury on her wing. Raoul took pity on the creature, which had, after all, saved the both of them from Ammit. He used part of the musician's torn cape to bandage the monster's wound. She glanced at him with her deep, sapphire eyes, and emitted a slight trilling sound.

"She thanks you, my friend," said a familiar voice.

"Your Majesty?" asked Raoul, surprised to see the ancient spirit back again. "I presumed that you sent her to help."

"It was clear to me that as you wouldn't abandon me so easily, you were not likely to run out on your companion," said Sethos, glancing derisively around the chamber. "Though he seems to have fled… As it is, I did not think it in the will of Ma'at to not offer you help against Ammit." He approached the creature, and spoke to her in his native tongue. The creature nodded and vanished. "I have told her to return to the spirit world," he went on. "Soon, I will be joining her there."

"You won't go alone," said Raoul, glancing at the golden statue that the Phantom had stolen. "Your queen will be with you." As he spoke, he broke the chains on another wooden sarcophagus. "Is this her?" he asked, moving the sarcophagus lid ever so slightly.

"Her mortal form," the spirit replied, beholding the face of his beloved after so long. "My cousin and I met her once when she was younger, when she came to Thebes with her father for a visit; she seemed smitten by the both of us, but we both dismissed it as a young girl's teasing. I never saw her again until several years later; she came to become a priestess, but she stole my heart and ended up as a queen." He smiled, wistfully, his transparent hand attempting to feel the mummy's face, but instead passing right though her. With a sigh, he withdrew his hand and looked away, his heart visibly heavy.

"That story reminds me of my relationship with Christine," said Raoul, trying to change the topic for the king's benefit. "I never expected to see her again after we parted ways as children, and then I heard her sing at the Opera Populaire…" He trailed off at the memory.

"According to that trial, your companion seemed to be in love with her, as well."

"He probably still is," said Raoul, with a slight roll of his eyes.

Sethos turned back to the mummy. "Túaa never had a chance to come between my cousin and myself. He was dead by that time, and I take full responsibility."

"I'm sorry?"

"I can't explain the whole story," said Sethos. "But I could have prevented his death, and Ma'at knows I tried my best to prevent it. But I was placed under a deep spell with heka by a man whose name I will not defile my mouth with. That jackal's spell not only prevented me from saving him, but… it made me contribute to the problem." He glanced at a carving on the wall.

"That's you, isn't it?" asked Raoul. "And… your cousin?"

"I wonder… if my cousin had lived, would Túaa have had the same predicament as your Christine?" asked Sethos.

"If you were under a spell, you can't be held responsible for what happened," said Raoul. "And by the looks of things, you weren't."

"You are correct, of course," said the king. "Ma'at agreed along the same lines when my time came. Alas, I left Túaa far before I should have. She lived on for several years after I entered the spirit world. But she did not remarry, even though she had the right to do so."

"I see no reason to keep you waiting to see her again," said Raoul, picking up the abandoned cape. "I shall try to find where the Opera Ghost vanished to. If he truly has retreated, I will head for the temple naos posthaste."

"I hope that statue flying away wasn't some sort of ill omen," thought Christine, as she entered the temple. "Oh, Raoul, if anything has happened to you, I don't know what I'd do…"

She paused as she saw Neferma'at and her brother running towards her.

"Mademoiselle Ishtar?" asked Christine.

"The viscount! The viscount!" Neferma'at exclaimed.

"He isn't--?"

"I do not know; he helped us escape from Hoularch and his men, but we got separated from him in one of the passageways…" Neferma'at trailed off as she saw the staff in Christine's hands. "He wants us to return to Luxor, but we would feel so guilty if we did so; can we travel with you?"

"Well, if Raoul told you all to go home, perhaps you should," said Christine. "However, I am not one to talk, as I am here after he told me to stay in Thebes. Very well, you may come with me, but you must stay with me at all times."

"We will," said Anhur-Ptah. "Our father gave you the staff of the queen, after all. If he could trust you, we certainly will."

"Yes, he did give it to me, but he didn't really explain what I'm supposed to with it," said Christine. Secretly, she was worried that the staff would also end up rising into the air and flying away of its own accord, therefore leaving her with no way to defend herself.

"No one is sure of how to use it, besides the queen herself," said Neferma'at.

"Then why on earth would your father give the staff to me?" asked Christine. "Am I to use it as some sort of bargaining chip against Hoularch?"

The children shrugged innocently.

"Never mind," she said, dismissing it. "Come; we must find Raoul and Erik at once."

The Phantom, in the meantime, had escaped the fury of Ammit by a long way. He had found the passageway just as the blinding light had filled the chamber. Desperate to shield his eyes from the light, he had gone through the passageway, which had closed behind him.

He was unpleasantly surprised to find that he wasn't alone; Hoularch and the thieves, who had been trying to find out where Raoul had vanished to, were equally stunned to see the musician's arrival. The Phantom cursed himself for abandoning his cape, which had held the lasso that he needed at the present moment. Still, he was undaunted, and raised his sword against the thieves, picking up the battle from where Raoul had left.

"Where's that Ammit when you need her…?" he muttered, derisively, as the battle raged.

"Why are we wasting our time with him!?" asked one of the thieves. "He is worthless to us; we need to find the viscount!"

"Stop this fighting… for the moment," said Hoularch, and the thieves slowly withdrew. He surveyed the Phantom, who did not lower the sword. "Based upon the Pharaoh's nemes you are wearing, you seem to be the one who stole the artifacts back from us in the market place a few days ago."

The Phantom said nothing.

"And how, pray tell, did you end up with a face such as that?" asked Hoularch.

The Phantom still remained silent, but his grip on the sword hilt grew tighter. He did regret not placing the mask back on his face when he had the chance, but he knew that it was the least of his worries.

"Very well then, Monsieur Erik; it is clear that you are not going to speak anytime soon, so I may as well ask you my true question," said the thief leader. "Where is the Vicomte de Chagny? We know that you are an expert at traversing labyrinths and passageways. Surely you could lead us to him."

There was still no reply.

"You see, Monsieur Erik, the Vicomte has gone back on his word and has betrayed us," Hoularch explained. "I was going to let him return to France, or perhaps even join us, but now I have no choice but to finish him off after the naos shrine is opened. And therein lays the problem, for he is the only one who can open it. Monsieur Erik, you loathe the traitorous boy, do you not? You loved Christine, too. If you were to convince him to open the shrine, after which we would deal with the boy, we could, shall we say, bring you and the soon-to-be-widow de Chagny together? Do we have a deal, Monsieur Erik?"

And here the Phantom flinched. He was ashamed that he had to consider this offer (albeit very briefly), especially after Raoul had just saved him from being eaten alive, risking his own life and soul in the process. The Phantom of four years ago probably would have agreed to the thief's offer. After all, he did still love Christine. But the musician had changed over time; that was why Raoul had refused to speak against him in the trial in the first place.

His thoughts turned to Raoul and Christine's young daughter, Giselle, who was waiting for them back in Paris; Madame Giry had promised to look after her, after the couple had agreed that the child was too young to go with them. He, the Phantom, had never experienced the joys of having a father. He could not and would not let this little girl suffer the same fate. And no one could deny that Raoul de Chagny cared for his family more than his own life.

"The Vicomte de Chagny is no longer my enemy," said the Phantom. "Suffice to say, I must refuse your offer."

"You must… but you won't," said Hoularch, under his breath. He still had one more card left to play. The Phantom of the Opera would end up working for him, whether he liked it or not.

A short while later, Raoul found the passageway that he had been fighting Hoularch and his crew in, but he was surprised to find it empty; Hoularch, the thieves, and the Phantom had left.

"I'll have to find him later," Raoul decided.

"Why not now?" a familiar voice asked. The Phantom quickly reappeared, but something about him caused the spirit of Sethos to regard him with a frown. Something was amiss, which prompted the spirit to make himself invisible, though he still remained in the corridor.

"So there you are," said Raoul. "Ammit is gone, and I've decided to head for the naos and free the queen before anything else happens."

"A sensible idea, Chagny," the musician replied, but with an air that didn't seem quite right. Raoul sensed this, too, and his eyes narrowed; he had been ready to return the Phantom's lasso to him, but decided against it. "But tell me," the Phantom went on. "There will be that ancient heka when you open the shine. Exactly what do you intend to do with it?"

"Seal it back, of course," said Raoul. "I suppose it is rightfully mine, but some things are better left alone."

"Admirable sentiments…" the Phantom mused.

"…Are you certain that you are alright?" asked Raoul. Something just didn't seem normal about the Opera Ghost, he realized. He wasn't himself, but maybe that was from his encounter with Ammit.

"You are sensing it, too?" asked Sethos, in an undertone.

Raoul gave a slight nod in reply.

"Raoul!" a voice called from down the corridor. "Raoul, is that you!? Are you alright!?"

"Christine--!?" he began, but he was dissuaded by his wife's embrace.

"Raoul, I know you said to stay there, but I was so worried," she explained. "And then Monsieur Ishtar gave me this staff, but I don't know how to use it…"

"I have a feeling that there's someone who could help…" said Raoul, as Sethos made himself briefly visible to greet Christine and the Ishtar children, who bowed before him.

"Oh!" exclaimed Christine, curtseying politely. She then continued her story. "I met the children as I arrived, and they didn't want to return to Luxor alone, so I told them that they could come with me…"

"Well…" sighed Raoul. "I suppose with all of us here, they should be alright. And I also suppose that I'm glad you decided to come after all. Your company is appreciated, especially after having to deal with the Opera Ghost."

The Phantom rolled his eyes slightly, prompting Christine to greet him, too. But when her greeting was not returned as warmly as she had expected, she, too, sensed that something was not the way it should be.

"Keep your eye on him, Christine," Raoul advised her, in an undertone.

She nodded in reply. And with that, the party headed for the temple naos.