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.

Well, here's chapter 3! I know the first two chapters were a little boring, maybe, depends on your opinion, but things start to pick up in the end and will start to get more complex in the next chapter. This chapter is a little longer than the other two and I'm going to try to make the others the same. So please read and review and give me your opinions. I like knowing any ways I could improve this story, or any other, or if I'm doing great so far. So, here's chapter 3!

Chapter 3: The Phantom Has Returned

"Are you sure spying on her is really the best idea?" Bentley asked as I placed my updated binoccucom in my leg pouch and got ready to get to the bottom of this mystery.

"What else do you suggest? Talking to her won't work and since we don't know who or what caused her memory loss, this is the best way to figure this out." I had thought all last night about how we could keep an eye on her and I figured this would be the best way to do so until Bentley could fix his grapple-cam.

"Just don't let her know you're following her. If she finds you then you'll have no chance on figuring this out. You said that she told you that she stays at her fiancé's while he works, right?" I nodded, "So, I can only assume that if she finds you then she won't be coming back out until after her wedding."

"That wedding's not going to happen," I said as I grabbed my cane from the living room, "All we have to do is get her out of her trance and everything will be back to normal." Bentley nodded and I left the building, ready to go into spy mode.

I stuck to the rooftops to avoid being spotted by Ramona before I could find her. I decided that going out in the morning would be a decent time to look for her. Even if she didn't have her memory, there was always one thing she enjoyed; a cup of coffee in the morning. I headed for the local coffee house that she usually went to and decided that I'd stay on the roof of the opposite building and keep an eye on her there. After I was on the roof, I crouched down and pulled out my binoccucom. I scanned the outside table looking for Ramona and eventually found her sitting with another man at a table. I zoomed in on the man and felt my stomach turn when I though I recognized him. I could only see the left side of his face and I knew that the right side of his face would confirm my suspicions; which I hoped they were wrong. I watched how Ramona behaved around the man and I could only assume that the man was her estranged 'fiancé'. She would laugh when he talked, I couldn't hear what was being said but frankly I didn't want to know. I watched as the man reached over and grabbed her paw with his own and kept talking which only made her giggle harder. They sat and they drank their coffee while Ramona kept laughing like a young school girl and the man that caused it chuckled along with her.

I watched until they finally got ready to leave. Being a gentleman, Ramona's partner stood before she did and helped her out of the chair. When he helped her up, the other side of his face was exposed and my suspicions became horribly true. The right side of his face was covered with an unfortunately familiar white mask. I groaned silently when realization hit me like a ton of bricks. The Phantom was somehow behind Ramona's memory loss and was up to something horrible. He had kidnapped and attempted to marry Ramona a few months ago but I stopped his plans before they could be married. I followed them from the rooftops as I kept thinking about what I had just seen. I watched and followed as they walked arm and arm down the streets and talking softly to themselves. However, with the phantom you never knew if he was talking or singing. I went over scenario after scenario in my mind to think of reasons why this had all happened. After thinking, I came up with only one decent reason. Since the phantom was madly in love with Ramona and wanted to marry her but was stopped, I thought that maybe he had altered her memory so she would think they were engaged and he could marry her without any issues. But I wasn't going to let that happen.

The three of us were the only ones in the surrounding area and I still stuck to the rooftops to avoid being spotted and so I could keep an eye on the entranced female only a few feet from me. She and the phantom were practically glued to each other and his trance over her was obviously fogging her emotions. Only a few months ago she couldn't stand even the thought of the phantom, and now she was glued to his side like a life source. They took a break and sat side by side on a nearby bench. I pulled out my binoccucom again and zoomed in on Ramona's face. Her smile was goofy and there was something going on with her eyes. Her pupils were larger than normal and her eye colors were fogged. Maybe after the spell over Ramona was broken everything on her would return to normal. I soon realized this was not the best way to spy on her since I could see but not hear. I'd talk to Bentley later and see if he could do something to his grapple-cam that would give me this advantage. They were talking to each other, more like singing to each other, and I wanted to hear what they were saying.

I got down from the roof I was currently on and quietly snuck down to the streets below. I stuck to the shadows and could finally hear a little bit of what they were saying but I'd have to get closer. I kept close to the nearest building wall and shimmied down it until I was only a few feet from the two raccoons. I still had to strain to listen but I figured it could manage. Ramona was the one speaking and her voice was soft and it took everything I had to hear what she was saying.

"…I swear I'm getting stalked and it's scaring me. I mean, he snuck around and pulled me into an alley! He tried to fill my head with all types of lies and I just don't get it!"

"Listen, as long as you ignore what he tells you, you'll be safe." I realized they were talking about me talking with Ramona last night in the alley. He was still feeding her lies and she believed it! He kept talking on instead he decided, like last time I dealt with him, did it in song, "No more talk of darkness, forget these wide-eyed fears. I'm here, nothing can harm you…" I can't believe his plan was actually starting to work and I had to stop this and fast, "I'm here with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you." Then Ramona herself started singing herself.

"Say you love me every waking moment, say you need me with you now and always, promise me that all you say is true. That's all I ask of you."

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Let me lead you from your solitude. Say you need me here beside you, anywhere you go let me go too, that's all I ask of you." Then their voices combined into one as they started to stand.

"Share each day with me, each night, each morning," they paused briefly to embrace, "Love me, that's all I ask of you. Anywhere you go let me go too, love me, that's all I ask of you." My heart wrenched as they suddenly kissed and I decided to go home and see if Bentley had gotten any progress on improving his grapple-cam.

I bolted down the streets, thinking and tried to get the image of their kiss from my mind. I shook my head continuously as I ran and wanted nothing more than to just go home and get this out of my mind. I ran faster at the thought again and it only took a few minutes until I burst through the front doors of my hideout. I huffed out my breaths and met Bentley in the living room. I watched as the turtle took a screwdriver to one of his grapple-cams and started tinkering.

"You got a letter while you were out." he muttered as he kept working on the camera. He took a small break and handed me an envelope. My name was handwritten on the front and the last time I received a note like this, I was dealing with the phantom. I ripped the envelope, took out the note, and read it.

Dear Mr. Cooper-

It seems as if we have met again and like last time, we meet due to one woman. Like I warned last time, Ms. Bandicoot belongs to me! But, do not fear for her life. I, the angel of music, have her under my wing and will care for her unconditionally with love and our music. But I do warn you, make NO attempt to see her again. For this being your first warning, I will give you one last chance to leave us alone. I know about the incident in the alley and your attempts to change her mind. I will keep my eyes open for any sign or you and if these demands are not met…a disaster beyond your imagine will occur. Ramona Bandicoot is mine and after we are wed, we will be together forever!

-O.G

Note: I know the All I Ask of You song is from the original play but I'm going to try and put the other songs that I didn't put in my first one, since I didn't do them all, and this just happened to be one of them. And I know this song wasn't sung with the Phantom in the play but it's just how it played out in my story. So I hope you enjoyed and let me know if you did or not! Thanks (: