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 have to be honest… this chapter was freakishly hard to write. I had this idea in mind for a while now but I found out on Monday night, when I started writing it, that my Uncle had passed away the previous Wednesday in his home (he lived alone and no one knew he had passed). We think he died while asleep (that's what I'm praying for) but we don't really know that for sure yet. So, the entire time I typed this I had that thought in my mind and made this really hard to write but I eventually got it don't. So, please read and review and let me know what you think!

Chapter 10: A Death in the Family

For some reason, if someone thinks funeral they associate it with a dark and gloomy day and surprisingly this was one of those days. I realized long ago that half of the things in my life ended up being clichéd but there was nothing I could do to change it. Thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance and the early signs of rain were obvious. The scene I saw before me was your typical funeral and frankly as depressing as you could think of. People were dressed in black, most of them were quiet or sobbing, and the man standing at the front was going on and on in a never ending speech which only depressed the people even more. I watched silently as the ceremony carried on for another hour until they finally started to lower the casket into the ground. A few final prayers were said and people started to walk away. I noticed that the only person that hadn't moved for their seat was a distraught Ramona. She was slumped in her seat and her expression wasn't easy to look at. Her ears were drooped, her tail sunk into the ground, her eyes were watery, and she was sniffing up snot every couple of seconds. She was now completely alone and she still hadn't moved from her spot since I started watching the funeral. It only took a few more minutes of silence until she completely doubled over and let out a heart wrenching sob.

The sounds of her crying were the only sounds in the quiet graveyard and I couldn't stand to hear it anymore. There was nothing more that I wanted to do than to go over to her and let her know she's not alone but I knew I couldn't. I knew I couldn't go up to her and hug her or try to console her but I just couldn't. I sighed when her crying got louder and she was still alone. Rain started to sprinkle down on her and that just made me feel even worse. She wiped the tears streaming down her face but let her head fall in her paws and her sobs started up again. I shook my head and decided that it would be worth it if I got caught. I quietly climbed down from the building I was perched on and figured that if someone saw me out in the open and call the police then I'd be worth getting arrested. I silently knelt down in front of her and placed me paws on her shoulders. She didn't say anything but simply started muttering something into her paws. She eventually lifted her head, used her paws to wipe away her tears and sniffed once before finally meeting my gaze.

"The only adult figure I had left is over there in that casket." She mumbled. Her mother had died a few days after Ramona regained her memory but I still hadn't told her what had happened with the Phantom. Since she was trying to handle her mother's recent death, telling her what happened with the Phantom wouldn't be the best thing to do.

I nodded slowly and sighed when the rain started to come down a little heavier. She shook her head and stood abruptly after shoving my paws from her shoulders. I rubbed the bridge of my nose with a thumb and forefinger before standing and deciding to chase after her. Ramona was never a one who liked to be kept in suspense and since I refused to tell her what had gone on with the Phantom until everything with the funeral was over, she was frustrated with me. She never had a good way to deal with death in her family and most of the time she was on the edge of snapping. I knew she was stressed about different things so her short temper didn't really bother me. What bothered me was how she dealt with her emotions to other people. She almost refused to show any emotions to anyone which meant it was only a matter of time until she finally lost it. I hobbled behind her as quickly as I could without irritating the wound I still had in my abdomen. I had been released for the hospital a few days ago and until the cut had completely healed, thieving was out of the question.

"Ramona!" I shouted behind her after I had finally caught up to her. She stopped on the bridge in the middle of the city and shot me an annoyed glance.

"I'm not in the mood, Cooper!" she leaned against the side of the bridge and stayed silent. I shook my head quietly before strolling up next to her and placing a paw on her neck. I felt her muscles tense and she turned her head away, "I'm not in the mood." She repeated. I her voice was starting to crack and she started sniffing snot again.

"I'm just trying to get you to cheer up, Ramona." she shook her head and finally looked at me.

"Then tell me what happened and why I don't remember anything. Tell me why you got stabbed and why I don't remember it when you said I was there." Tears were streaming down her face again and the look on her face told me she was frazzled on the inside.

"Ramona, what you're going through with you mom's death is hard on you," she nodded slightly, "but if you knew what happened and who caused it you would loose it. I don't want to tell you until you're over the funeral. Then you won't have two hard things hanging over you and you won't go crazy." She shook her head.

"Tell me, Sly, please. I don't like being kept in the dark," she paused, "Just give me the name and tell me later." I sighed, knowing this wouldn't end well, and told her.

"The Phantom." I muttered quietly. Her faced dropped even more than before and she shook her head.

"No, no, no," she almost wined while gripping the sides of her head. She rested her elbows on the side of the bridge and ran her fingers through her hair, "I knew he'd be back sometime. I swear everything in my life goes wrong. First my mother dies and now this," she shot a glance to me again, "what else can go wrong?" I shrugged and she sighed again. I moved my paw from her neck and moved it to her shoulder to pull her into a hug. It only took a few seconds before she was crying again and her voice was caught in her throat.

"I feel so bad!" she mumbled into my shirt. It was the only thing I could make out before her voice was muffled by my shirt and along with her incoherent blabbering and half of her words drifting into Spanish; it had no idea what she was saying. I knew she had never had a good relationship with her mother and I could only figure that now that she was dead, it was hitting Ramona hard. The rain started to pour down in a moderate stream now and we had to get out of the rain. I also knew she still wanted to talk so I decided that taking her home and talking with her there would be good for her. We'd get out of the rain and she could get her pent up feelings off her chest.

"Come on," I whispered into her ear before pushing her home. She kept her head on my shoulder as we walked and the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of a sniffling Ramona, the pounding of rain on the ground, and the click of Ramona's heels on the pavement.

And again I'm sorry for the long update period but my mind's been frazzled because of the death of my uncle but I finally got it typed. (Even though I don't really like it since the story line of it is a funeral) but please review and let me know what you think.