HeHe I'm so so so sorry that this update took so long! I've been out of town almost every weekend (since I'm still in school) because one of my family members is really really sick... So yeah, that's the bad new and I'm really sorry! The good news is that I get out of school this week! WooHoo! Anyway, here's the chapter, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own PotO. I own Jane, her baby, and the stupid chief guy in this chappie.
The Ratcatcher held Jane's unconscious body tightly as he crept down many passages unknown to everyone except Erik. It had actually been by watching Erik that the Ratcatcher had learned the whereabouts of these secret corridors.
Jane groaned, and the Ratcatcher stopped moving. He peered at her face in the darkness, then continued on when she did not stir. The barest hint of a smile played about his lips as he recalled his plan for revenge. There would be death for Erik, pain for the girl (possibly death, too), and nothing but pleasure for the Ratcatcher. That was, if everything went right.
After a while, the Ratcatcher came to a hollow column at the end of a passageway. He tapped a small, slat latch on his right side, and the column opened up to one of the hallways in the Opera Populaire. It was one of Erik's favorite hiding places.
Genius, thought the Ratcatcher as he carried Jane down the hallway, purposely leaving the column open. It was, after all, part of the plan that Erik followed them.
Erik stared around the room in horror, unable to move from Jane's doorway. No. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be!
"Jane!" Erik cried in exasperation, knowing that he would get no answer. He walked over to the bed, touching the velvet material as though he could magically make Jane appear there with his fingers. Silently fuming in frustration, Erik took a deep breath to try and calm himself.
Something about the air troubled him. Erik paused thoughtfully and took another deep breath. There it was again. A sharp, disgusting smell that made him want to wrinkle his nose. There was only one person with a scent so vile as that. The Ratcatcher!
Erik's eyes opened wide as he turned on his heel and left the room as fast as he could. He strode quickly down the hallway and into his room, at a pace that would have made his cloak (had he been wearing it at the time) billow out behind him.
His sword was leaning up against the side of his coffin, the skull on its hilt glinting as if it was newly polished. Erik grasped the handle and attached the sheath to his belt, beside his Punjab lasso.
Oh, God, I hope I'm not too late... Erik thought as he exited his room.
A man's footprints were clearly imprinted in the ground, leading into the labyrinth. Erik followed them, and saw that they turned and began to lead toward the hidden passages behind the walls of the opera house.
But why would he take her there? Erik hurried on, finding his way expertly in the twisted hallways. He found it rather unusual that the Ratcatcher's footprints were so distinctly outlined in the ground, but he assumed that the Ratcatcher simply wasn't as experienced with sneaking around as he was.
Suddenly, Erik could see light illuminating one of the corridors up ahead. Closer inspection revealed that the Ratcatcher had forgotten to close one of the hidden doors.
"Idiot," Erik muttered, despite himself. He went through the doorway and into the hall, making sure he shut the column. The last thing he needed (on top of everything he was already dealing with) was anyone finding out how the opera ghost got around so easily and without being seen.
Unsure of where to go next but knowing that he had to keep moving, Erik decided to search near the stage. There he would be able to search the biggest room in the Opera Populaire, and he would most likely get a hint as to where Jane was.
The Ratcatcher ripped a small piece of fabric off of Jane's nightgown, leaving it by the door that opened up to the stage. Erik would find it, no doubt, and walk straight into the Ratcatcher's trap.
"Is that the girl, monsieur?" the chief of the police force asked, stepping from the shadows. He gave Jane an appraising look.
"Yes. It seems that that monster keeps her drugged when he is not... enjoying her company," the Ratcatcher spoke, "She was unconscious when I found her."
"How exactly did you find her, monsieur?" the chief questioned, eyeing the Ratcatcher, "And how do you know her?"
"I told you already, officer. I am the girl's uncle. My job is securing the sets in the Opera Populaire, and I saw the Phantom taking this poor girl below," the Ratcatcher lied. The chief detected an air of hostility in the Ratcatcher's voice, and he did not prod him to say more him, since he wasn't in the moodtofight with the man who had tipped him off.
"Okay, monsieur. I'll just assign one of my men to accompany you and the girl home-"
"No. You will need every able-bodied man to catch this criminal. Remember, this is the Phantom of the Opera. He must not be allowed to get away. If he does, then who knows what he will do? You cannot spare any men." The tone that the Ratcatcher used was firm, almost unquestionable, and the chief had no desire to question it.
"Very well then, monsieur. You just take that girl home. We'll be waiting when that Phantom shows up. He escaped us once, but it won't happen again. I advise that you get out of here before he comes. No doubt there will be gunfire," the chief murmured, slightly excited. There wasn't much call for guns in the police force of that time, and shooting was, to him, always a treat.
The Ratcatcher nodded once, then shifted his hold on Jane. He gazed around the stage for a moment, making sure that all of the policemen were well hidden. Once he was certain that Erik wouldn't be able to spot them, he left as silently as he had come.
The chief almost sighed in relief when the Ratcatcher was gone. For some reason, that man caused shivers to run up and down his spine. The chief hadn't heard of vampires until very recently, but he supposed that, if vampires were real, then the Ratcatcher would have surely been one. With those cold eyes and pale skin, he made himself the most likely candidate by far.
Oh, well, the chief decided, checking to see that his pistol was loaded. When he saw that it was, he joined his men in the shadows, waiting for Erik.
The Ratcatcher hurried down the hallway. He knew that the chloroform would soon wear off, and Jane would awaken. He was still very far from the column when Jane began to stir. She groaned and opened her eyes, which widened when she realized who she was with.
"No!" she cried, struggling as wildly as she could. She let out a loud scream, but the Ratcatcher covered her mouth with his hand. He was in a long hall, one with dressing rooms on either side, and surely Jane's scream would have woken someone up.
The room on his right was unlocked when he tried it, so he quickly took Jane inside and shut the door. Jane's head snapped up when she heard the familiar click of the lock of the door, and her heart sank in terror. She saw that she was indeed in her own dressing room, but it would hardly matter. She knew what the Ratcatcher was going to do with her.
Erik hurried on and neared the stage. He was silently keeping to the shadows when he found the fabric from Jane's nightgown lying on the ground. Erik bent down and took it his fingers, remembering that the last time he had gone after Jane, he had found a piece of her costume on the ground. He figured that Jane must be near the stage, or at least she must have been.
With catlike grace and silence, Erik slipped through the door and onto the stage, keeping to the shadows. He held his breath as he looked around. He couldn't see anyone, but he still kept his guard up.
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream filled the air, lasting only a second. That moment of noise was enough for Erik to recognize the cry. Jane!
He foolishly abandoned his caution and stepped out of the darkness and into the dim light given by a few tiny windows. By the time Erik realized what he had just done, it was too late.
At least a dozen policemen sprang out from different hiding places around the stage, guns raised. Erik barely has time to take a breath before a dozen more positioned themselves in the rafters above him. Every weapon in the room was trained on him.
"Ah, monsieur Opera Ghost, I presume?" The chief appeared before Erik, a smirk on his face and his pistol aimed carefully. "You may have escaped us last time, Phantom, but don't expect to again. You won't be so lucky."
Erik's mind searched quickly for any angle. He had to get away! Jane needed him! The chief saw his eyes daring this way and that, and he laughed.
Erik glanced at the rafters above his head, where two men were peering down at him. They were next to the lever that switched open the trapdoor that Erik had last used to escape with Christine. Erik knew that his only hope of getting away was disappearing through a trapdoor.
"Like I said, don't even think that you'll get away, Phantom. Don't waste your energy trying," the chief warned. Erik wondered if his words were hollow threats. He would have to risk it.
"Well, then," Erik began, heaving a dramatic sigh, "At least let me get one last breath of free air, monsieur." The chief raised one eyebrow, and Erik reached a hand up and tore off his mask.
The reaction was just what Erik wanted. The policemen all gave cries of terror and took steps back in shock. Erik used their moment of pure distraction to draw his sword and stab the nearest man through the stomach. Before anyone knew what had happened, Erik was concealed in the cover of the shadows.
"He got away! How the hell did he get away? Men, search the place! He will pay for this! We will catch him before dawn!" The chief was completely flustered , and he snapped at anyone unfortunate enough to get in his way.
Erik carefully climbed into the rafters, taking great care not to make ay noise or be seen. He was forced to kill two more policemen who got in his way, but there was no time for second thoughts or regret. He had to save Jane.
The chief let off a bullet, but it wasn't aimed for Erik. He had shot at a moving shadow high above and on the opposite side of the stage as Erik, and seconds later the body of a dead officer fell to the stage with a dull thud.
Great, now people will come to investigate, thought Erik as he neared the lever for his trapdoor. He flipped the latch, but nothing happened. Somehow, the trapdoor had been sealed shut!
Erik wasted no breath in swearing, but instead cautiously dropped down below to the stage, the sound of his impact muffled by the rubber of his shoes. He bent down low and began to make his way to the door leading out of the great room.
"There he is!" the chief shouted, cocking his pistol, "Get him!"
Erik was forced to dive into the orchestra pit to avoid a bullet, and he fell onto his side on the hard wooden floor. The shock forced the breath from his lungs, but he was on his feet in an instant. Beside him on the wall, there was a length of rope curled around a metal peg. Unsure of what it would do but praying that it would help, Erik used his sword to sever the rope.
It took a second, but at last the rope began to unravel from around the peg. Faster and faster it spun, until the last coil was free, and a huge wooden piece of set fell from high above the stage.
"Look out!" men cried as the set gathered speed. Many of them scattered just in time, but a few weren't so lucky. They were crushed under the heavy set piece as it hit the stage, and their pitiful shouts only added to the clamor already filling the room.
Erik, who had fortunately been unharmed by the wood, looked up to see that no one stood between him and the door. Without a single moment of hesitation, he straightened up and ran toward the way out.
The chief saw him leave (though it was difficult to see through the dust and debris), and stood up with a growl. He had already fired his last bullet, so he snatched up the pistol of a fallen comrade and quickly followed Erik at a sprint.
Hearing the heavy breathing of the man behind him, Erik turned. The chief fired, but luckily Erik was able to easily dodge the bullet.
Damn, how am I supposed to find Jane with this idiot following me? he wondered, whirling around and running again. Erik's mind almost went into overdrive. He knew that he couldn't stop moving, because he somehow needed to get away from the chief, and yet he had to stop so that he could figure out how to get away.
All of the sudden, and idea came into thought. There was one more trapdoor. The one that he had used to escape the crowd during the Masquerade ball!
Erik entered the main hall in a rush with the chief close behind him. He reached into a fold in his cloak and pulled out a small glass sphere with red powder in it. Coming to an abrupt halt, he faced the chief and smashed the sphere on the ground. He was immediately encased in a cloud of red smoke.
Erik flipped the secret latch, and the trapdoor beneath him opened. He braced himself for the short fall, and landed without so much as a gasp of pain. The trapdoor shut before the cloud of smoke cleared, so the chief never found out how he got away.
Erik glanced at his reflection in the many mirrors in the room, and realized that that he didn't have his mask on. He had dropped it on the stage.
Oh, well, too late now... Erik decided, and he opened the hidden door and stepped into the narrow hallway. He had barely walked three paces when someone called his name.
"Erik!" It was Madame Giry, her hair tied tightly in a bun. She hurried down the hallway to him, and he saw that she was dressed in an old ballet costume, as though she had been dancing.
"Erik, what is going on? Who was shooting? What was that crash?" she inquired sharply. She caught Erik's arm so that he couldn't walk away. Erik knew that there was not time enough to explain everything.
"Madame, please! I have to go! Jane is in trouble. I have to go to her!" Erik twisted out of Madame Giry's grasp and started to walk away.
"Is it the Ratcatcher?" she asked, and Erik turned back to her for a second. He didn't know that Jane had told Madame about being kidnapped before. He nodded once, and the old woman's eyes widened.
"Go, Erik!" she cried, shoving him toward the way out, "Go!" He needed no further prodding, and took off down the hallway.
Erik urged himself to go faster, until he came to the hallway of dressing rooms. He started to run down it, hoping to get back to the column quickly (for he had a feeling that the Ratcatcher had taken Jane back below), but something made him stop.
All of the doors had been thrown open, since the girls had flooded out to see what all of the commotion was about. That is, all of the doors but one. Jane's.
RoSeQuEeN- How was the wait, my friend? LOL I wish I could have actually posted this sooner, but I've been so goddamn busy studying for stupid finals! Gr, I hate finals!
Baby-Vixen- HeHe How could I do that? Easily... No, actually, it was really hard... but what comes up later in the tory was even harder to write... 'course, you'll have to wait until I post that part to read it!
TheAngel'sMaggie- HaHa that would be fun, huh? Thank you, thank you! I'm glad you think I'm doing alright (I personally think I'm not that good, but thank you, regardless)! Hope you liked this chappie!
Madame Opera Ghost- HeHe I hope that that cliffy wasn't too harsh for you! Sorry mate, but it was waayy too good to resist! Hope y'all liked this chappie, even though there's another cliff hanger.
PhantomPhluter- HeHe my bad! Sorry, mate, I meant "fingers"... Curse spelling errors! Damn them all! LOL But thank you, I'm glad you like my story! And no prob, always happy to help people with summer boredom (which I don't have, since I'm still in scholl GRR!)
Gabreil'sGirl- HA, I'm evil! Sorry, my friend, I hoped it wouldn't make anyone too crazy... Or did I? LOL But anyway, thank you!
PhantomAngel- Thank you, my friend! You make me feel so special! I don't deserve it! HeHe but one question: What's a keyblade? I'm guessing that it's bad, and it hurts people, but I don't know for sure... HeHe but seriously, I am so not worthy of your excellent reviews! Sorry this update took so long, but I'm almost out of school, and I'll be able to get more chappies up!
xxXGoddessXofXdeadXloveXxx- Sorry I haven't been on in a while, I've been having problems with a family member's health, and we've been outta town for, like, EVER! LOL It was a nice break away from home, though... you never know when you'll need one of those! Thank you so much for reviewing!
Christian Lopez- You loser, Chris! You only read up to chapter 4, yet you reviewed on Chapter 6! God, sometimes I worry about you... LOL But thanks for reviewing... I could've used that 5 dollars, though...
pinkyphantom- No, I don't think I'll have the Ratcatcher kidnap Jane's baby... course, you probably figured that out, since by the time you read this you'll probably have read how he just kidnapped her... LOL but thank you for reviewing!
VampireStalker- HeHe nice middle name! -wink- Jane... I love that name. My middle name is Rae... nothing special about that... argh. Cool middle name, though! Glad you love the story, and thank you for reviewing!
Again, I'm so sorry about the long wait! Hope you guys liked this chappie, even though I'm sure that you, like Jane, know what will happen to her... unless Erik gets there in time! LOL I have to go, we're actually leaving for my grandparents' house in about half and hour and I need to get ready... Review, please!