AN: Hello readers. Thank you for all of the reviews and support.

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The drunken man had abandoned the pair as soon as he pulled them through the entrance. Where the man disappeared to was anyone's guess. Perhaps he had gone to find himself more spirits before visiting a Spirit himself.

Raoul had never found himself in a circus before, which was according to Eloise, tame compared to their current location-a gypsy camp. He had to admit the truth behind her statement. It was like nothing he had seen before. There were wooden gypsy caravans scattered throughout the camp. Tents were set up as well. Neither looked to be in the best of condition. The wood on the caravans was rotting. The paint on the caravans was dry, cracked. The tents had holes in them, and looked to be at the end of their usefulness. It appeared that these gypsies had fallen on hard times. Perhaps that was why they were so focused on trying to capture the Phantom once again.

The tickets into the main tent to see the "Devil's Child" were expensive, more than Raoul cared to think about. What was worse was the early show was sold out. For the time being, he and his female companion were trapped waiting for the late show. For now, he would have to settle with looking at the various wares that the gypsies were trying to sell and hope that he would not be robbed.

Eloise felt odd being back in Markus's camp. It had been so long since she had been among gypsies. It oddly did not feel like home anymore. She hadn't been gone all that long, but she felt more at home under the Opera House with the Phantom. Was it because Erik had saved her?

"Hey old man!" a vendor shouted at the passing couple. She quickly came to Raoul's side, linking her arm through his. She smiled broadly at him, showing off a full set of yellow teeth. Still, that was much more than any of the other gypsies had. And this old man looked like he could use some fun, and he looked like he could afford it to.

Raoul was surprised to find a scantily clad woman suddenly asking him if he was lonely and if he needed any "special help" that his companion could not provide. He made the stupid mistake of telling the woman that he was not romantically involved with Eloise. That only prompted her to become more aggressive in her advances.

Eloise was becoming more and more irritated by this woman. She had never understood why Markus allowed these types of women into the camp. Sure, they could make money for the camp, but they usually would turn up murdered.

"Away with you," Eloise ordered, using old gypsy language. The surprise on the woman's face gave Eloise enough time to quickly pull Raoul away and disappear into a crowd. With any luck, they would not run into her again.

"Thank you," Raoul muttered, awkwardly glancing back to where the strange woman had been. At least in France, those types of women were not as open about their services. It seemed like the normal thing in this place, however. What world had he stumbled into? Even the Phantom's lair was better than this that time ago. At the very least, the Opera Ghost had never asked Christine to share a bed-well, aside from that little show of his called Don Juan.

Eloise sighed, seeing that Raoul was lost in thought. "It appears that you and our special friend are one in the same-always thinking."

"Special friend?" Raoul questioned, confused.

Was this man really that dense? Eloise shook her head, growing further annoyed by the noble. She brought her hand up to cover the right side of her face briefly. "Our special friend," Eloise repeated as she let her hand fall to her side.

"Oh," Raoul replied, not keeping his voice down. He was not aware that someone-someone very important in this camp-was paying close attention to himself and the woman he was with. "Erik," he supplied, as if to confirm it.

That was all this person needed to hear. Word had traveled quickly to him that his old pet had returned and brought along a friend. The whore had failed in capturing the noble, but it was of no matter. She would disposed of tonight. For now, his focus was on capturing Eloise and sending the noble away. It would do no good to kill him. That would only bring in the authorities.

Without a word, he quickly slipped behind Eloise, pulled her wrists behind her back, and bound them with iron cuffs. She would have no way of escape.

"Hello Eloise," he stated with a smile, looking around her shoulder to be close to the woman. "My, my, what are you doing here? And," he looked at the man who was with her-who was now being restrained by two gypsy men, "Raoul de Chagny-what a surprise. Why, I almost did not recognize you under all of that pretty make-up." He jerked his head to the side, giving the signal for his men to drag the de Chagny boy away and back to the woods. With any luck, the boy would run off.

"What do you want?" Eloise demanded, trying to pull away from him. There was no telling what those two men would do to Raoul. And, though she was loath to admit it, she needed the man. It would not be easy to rescue Erik and Christine and then escape. She would need help.

Markus shook his head and began pulling the struggling woman along. "I thought I taught you to be a lady. Well, if you insist upon acting this way, I will treat you just as any other gypsy." He managed to force her into a caravan. He pushed her to the floor and locked the door behind him. Over all the sounds from outside, no one would hear a poor woman being raped.

xxx

The last thing Raoul remembered was being dragged outside of the camp and clubbed over the head with a large slab of wood. Now, as he slowly awoke with a throbbing pain in his head, all he would see around him was a forest.

It seemed, however, that he had not been brought far into the forest, as he could see fire light through some of the trees into what appeared to be a clearing. He could clearly hear the sounds of the gypsy camp. Why would the two men leave him so close to camp? Was this their plan? Or, perhaps more likely, were the men merely lazy? For now, Raoul would settle on the latter.

Slowly, he pulled himself up to his feet. Now he had the added problem of rescuing the Phantom's wife-or whatever she was to him. He still was not entirely certain what she meant. The woman had told him of the Ghost rescuing her. Had she really married the beast though? It would be something to ponder later, for now he had to save this odd group of "friends" he had acquired.

xxx

The late show was about to begin. The crowd had been promised an extra special show for tonight. That, Erik knew, meant that he would suffer more than usual this night. He had heard Markus take away the woman from his cage. Clearly, tonight was solely to be his night. What joy.

What seemed off was Markus. Oh yes, he knew the new ring master-so to speak-now. This man took pleasure in bringing him pain. He had to wonder if the son shared his father's odd feelings when seeing someone else in pain. But tonight, the man seemed much more energetic. The man had been boasting on having his way with some woman. He had made it a point to tell this to Erik.

Now was not the time to focus on it, however. Tonight was made different from other nights. Tonight, he wore a masquerade mask. He could actually see some of the crowd. His vision was still hazy from last week when he had "entertained" the crowd. Markus had taken a whip to his face on that account.

Tonight, he was forced to stay in one place. His wrists had been clasped together by iron. The clasps were connected to a thick iron chain, which snaked its way upward to the ceiling of his cage. The chains were taught, affording him very little movement. Such a stance was unnatural. It restricted breathing. How could Markus expect him to perform this way?

The sound of the whip cracking just above his head signaled that Markus had made his way into the cage. It irritated Erik immensely that the entrance to the cage was behind him. He could never see who was about to join him. He had to rely on his ability to discern the footfalls of those who came to visit him in the cage.

"Hello, my gorgeous audience!" Markus called to the people standing outside of the raised cage. The cheers of the crowds only served to make him smile. He could already see his people making their way through the distracted crowd. His gypsies would collect much from the pockets of this crowd.

He turned to face his father's killer. He hated this man-this thing -for taking away his father. He had been so young when it had happened. Still, it had tainted his life. Now, though, he had captured the Devil, and he planned to make the Devil pay. Tonight, he would spill blood. Tonight, he would break the Phantom and finally hear screams of agony from the beast's voice.

xxx

Raoul had managed a bit of thievery. The noble had broken into one of the caravans set at the very edge of the camp. No one noticed him, and certainly no one noticed him leave the caravan, dressed in the garb of a typical gypsy. He had managed to work a wig into place as well. No one would notice him from the crowd. He was completely ordinary. The noble had an odd sense that Erik might actually approve of him for once.

De Chagny had remembered to keep his ticket with him. He had managed to be admitted to the show and stand in the very back of the crowd of onlookers. The sight of the man in the cage made the noble's blood stop. Certainly, it was no secret that he did not like the Phantom. Still, he would not wish this upon the man.

The Phantom was locked in a cage. The cage was tall enough for a man to comfortably stand in. Its length and width were comfortable as well. It was as if the Opera Ghost were an animal in a cage on display. What was more distressing was the man being chained to the top of this cage.

The worst of it came from the state of Erik's body. The man had no shirt, no shoes, no socks, merely dirty, sliced slacks. It appeared that the Gypsy Leader would not allow Erik to have the small dignity of being fully dressed. Perhaps the clothing only got in the way of the whip. There was still fresh blood visible on his chest from the last "show". And, this performance had been advertised as being better than the average showing. Raoul could only guess at what that meant.

How was he supposed to get Erik out of this? What had happened to Eloise? And, what had become of his wife? All he could do at the moment was listen to the show begin as the Opera Ghost began his song to enchant those before him.

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AN: Please review. :)