AN: Hello evceryone. Thank you for all of the reviews. I am sorry for not updating recently. I have been traveling in Europe. Here is your next chapter.

X

Finding a hotel outside of the city where the gypsies were organized had been easy enough. Raoul had money, and in these parts of town, money was all one needed to get what one wanted. The room was quiet and away from anyone else. The only problem that presented itself was the fact that there was only one bed. The once Opera Ghost had simply settled for collapsing to the floor and falling asleep almost instantly upon their arrival. Waking up on the hard floor certainly had not helped his ailing, whipped back.

Erik was not focused on this, however. The viscount had gone out in search of food, insisting that they needed to eat. He had no use for food, never had. Often, he would forget to eat or simply see it as a waste of time and bypass it for the day. True, he had eaten when Christine had been in his house by the lake. He had prepared her food. Why would he not eat as well? He hadn't had the time to prepare anything for Raoul-then again, he had tried to kill the boy the first time he showed up in the underground home. The second time had been when the boy came asking for help to save Christine. He hadn't had the time-or inclination-to cook. He should have made a meal for the other unannounced guest to his home. She deserved it.

He did not blame Raoul for Eloise being taken. No, he took the full blame for that. If he had been more careful on that road that short time ago, none of this would have happened. How had he not heard those men? His hearing was acute to all things around him. Apparently, not that day. He had been attacked and taken away. The boy had simply been put aside. Raoul had explained that Eloise had found the fop and saved him. The girl had then been willing to continue on this crazy journey in an attempt to save him and Christine. The once Opera Ghost did not understand this. Why would she want to save someone she didn't know and someone like him? She had seen his face. She knew what a beast he was.

But she had not screamed. She had stared Death in the face and had not screamed, nor died. No look of disgust had passed over her face. There was a brief look of surprise, but that had been all. She had then proceeded to kiss him. The situation had been forced, but she had kissed him. And...later that night...she had willingly- No! He could not think of that now!

She was suffering for it. She was being tortured and "played with" as a result of being associated with him. Her mind had slipped into despair as a result of one man taking advantage of her. There would likely be no way she would recover from this. He was not yet strong enough to destroy Markus and his people-if they could be called people or even human. Hmm, but who was he to judge what was human? Perhaps Raoul could tell him. Still, he would bring down those creatures from Hell at the soonest moment. He had his deadline before Christine would become a victim; that was when he would have to be well enough.

So, the former Phantom found himself in the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bath tub in an attempt to pull the nails from his feet. Certainly, it was not easy work. With his hands injured as they were, any prospect of pulling the nails free only served to reopen the basal layer of flesh. Certainly, he could not afford to damage his hands beyond repair. That would be foolish. Though he wished not to admit it, Erik sighed in resignation that he would need Raoul's help.

"I'm back, Erik!" Raoul shouted as he entered the hotel room, a basket of breads and various cheeses carried under his arm. With effort, the viscount forced the door to close behind him. He disliked this place. The room was small and dark. There was the one bed, a small ice box, a small wooden desk, a plain chair, and an ordinary bathroom. Still, he had to concede to the Phantom's point; this was inconspicuous. The gypsies could possibly think Raoul was involved in the escape of the Devil's Child. They all knew he was rich and would only stay in the best places. Truly, this place was like a closet compared to the opulence he was accustomed to. It was perfect. No one would look for him here.

Hearing no answer from the Ghost, Raoul placed the basket of food on the desk-which creaked as he set some weight on it-and went in search of Erik. As the room was so small, it was clear that the man was not in the bedroom. Seeing the door open to the bathroom, Raoul quickly glanced in. He found Erik with bloodied hands and feet quietly watching him.

"Hello De Chagny," Erik muttered, a dull look on his face. "It has proven rather difficult to remove these nails what with the lack of flesh on my hands. Care to help?" The look of surprise that passed over the boy's face amused him. "Come now. You are accustomed to my face but this surprises you? I will need to be able to walk if we hope to save Eloise and Christine."

Awkwardly, the viscount closed the lid to the toilet and then sat upon it. "It is not normal where I come from to have people walking around with nails in their feet," he commented. After a moment under the close gaze of those mismatched eyes, Raoul found himself with a foot in his lap. Eight black nails were present. There was enough room between the end of each nail and the flesh that he would be able to remove them by hand.

"You must go slowly," Erik grunted as Raoul began pulling at the first of the nails. "They are not long but are bent at a 90 degree angle."

"My God," Raoul replied, disgusted. How could someone do something like this? He managed to remove the offending object half way. After a moment's effort, he managed to fully remove it.

Erik let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Not God, I'm afraid. He left me very long ago-hmm, despite my mother's wishes. On with the next then, Raoul."

Hearing his name uttered by his once enemy continued to surprise Raoul. Still, he did as he was asked. Perhaps talking would help distract Erik from the pain. "Your mother was religious?"

"The gypsies were not the only ones to think me a demon," came the reply. "Do not force me to converse now, boy. This does hurt. Erik is human. He does feel pain!"

So, the process continued on silently, aside from a few damnations shouted Raoul's way when the viscount caused too much pain. After finally removing the foreign bodies, Raoul was then tasked with cleaning the wounds. It seemed that he was getting a crash course in medicine. It was so odd to him, having the Phantom patiently teach him something. What was more impressive was the fact that Erik asked for help. Truly, he was bad off to be willing to ask for his help.

Erik had dressed the wounds himself. Eventually he would need to do something about his back, but for now he would settle with cleaning his face. Markus had caused much damage to the already sensitive flesh. With a resigned sigh, he stood up and took the few steps to be in front of the mirror. The slight movement and putting weight on his feet hurt. Still, what could he do? He could only hope that his feet would not begin bleeding.

The man's resolve was outstanding, Raoul thought. He had just removed nails-nails!- from the man's feet, and now Erik was already up. "What are you doing? You shouldn't-"

"Whipping I can handle. That is a part of Erik's childhood. The nails were fine. You removed them fine. Oh, yes, thank you for that. Hmm, Erik's hands are in severe pain, but pain is a part of his life. No, he has to face the monster and clean his face. Markus took a knife to the bone and skinned away flesh." Erik interrupted while removing his mask and wig. Once again, he was forced to stare at his distorted visage. The beast, the monster.

"You aren't a monster," Raoul replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

The other man turned around to briefly stare at the viscount before grabbing Raoul by the wrist to make him stand beside him. Erik gestured to the mirror. "What do you see?"

"Two men." came the simple response.

"No. One man that women would love, and the monster" Erik corrected. He gestured toward Raoul's face. "All of your features are normal. Now, tell me. How do you suppose a child would react to my visage?" He waited a moment, and noted the look of discomfort that passed over the other man's face. "My first piece of clothing from my mother was a mask. I was never permitted to remove it. Hmm, one day I upset her by asking for a small favor. Would you like to know her response, dear viscount?"

Raoul could only guess. How could a mother react to the birth of her child and only give him a mask to wear? True, Erik was not handsome, but to treat him poorly from birth on...it was unbelievable. "I wouldn't know..." he answered, fearful of the response.

Erik continued, "She put me in front of a mirror and removed the mask. I thought a monster was going to attack me. I struck the mirror, trying to kill the monster. It broke-the mirror. The shards of glass sliced my wrists. There was quite a bit of blood, though Erik does not remember well. Hmm, my mother's friend saved me. Do you think she should have let me die?"

"No," Raoul stated, growing concerned over the Phantom's state of being. Yes, it was clear that the Opera Ghost in him was coming out. The man kept using the third person. Raoul had only heard that when Erik was trying to kill someone. There had to be something he could do to help the man in order to distract him from whatever horrors were plaguing his mind. "I brought food. Come eat something with me."

"As you wish," Erik responded. "I will be along in a moment." He closed the door as the viscount left the room, effectively closing him in with only his thoughts as company. What a danger that was.

xxx

The two women were currently on a break. Both were always called by their stage names-Angel and Ice, so neither knew one another's name. They were not allowed to speak to one another. That would earn them three lashes each. They were, however, permitted to write to one another.

Eloise sat in the back of the cage as the other woman took to walking around. She wished that she had the strength to do this-to walk. Her body was simply too weak. Her knees were rubbed raw from her "acts" with the men. This was something she was used to now, though. In the morning and until midday, the men could have her. In the evening she would perform with the other woman. At night, the men would once again get to have their fun. Some were nicer than others. Some would simply show up, say nothing, and go on their way. Others would be abusive. Markus was the worst. He enjoyed in torture. She had to wonder if Erik would ever save her.

She doubted it though. She knew that Erik had escaped during the fire. All of the gypsies had talked about it. Markus had been enraged. That had been a particularly brutal night for her with him. She tried not to remember, but the scars were there. That wasn't the point though. Erik would come back for Christine, or so she hoped. He would see her then and rescue her. And, more than likely, this other woman in the cage was the infamous Christine.

As Eloise was slowly allowing her mind to drift into that place between waking and sleeping, the cage suddenly opened. This jerked her to full awareness. It was not yet time to perform. It was Markus paying the two women a visit. Eloise's friend came to stand behind her. This was always the case. Christine always looked to the other woman for safety. Eloise was simply viewed as the stronger of the two.

"Hello ladies," Markus greeted, a sick smile on his face. He came to Ms. Daae and grabbed her hair to pull the woman close against him. He laughed at her cry of protest, spun her around, and pushed her against the bars of the cage. "If your precious Phantom doesn't come back soon, I will have my way with you." He pushed her away, watching with humor as she fell to a sobbing heap.

He turned his attention to Eloise. She had once been such a good girl. Now everyone took their fun with her. Markus approached her and knew exactly what he wanted. He pulled the woman up to her feet, turned her so she was facing Christine, and bent her over. "Soon this will be you, Madame!" he shouted as Christine was forced to watch.

Angel of Music, she thought as she watched Markus enter the other woman, where are you?

xxx

Raoul had gone out in search of more medical supplies per Erik's request. The supplies he had purchased were already expended. He did not mind spending the money, but the amount of damage that had been done frightened him. How could anyone survive something like this? Worse still, Erik had not even begun to clean all of his wounds. The viscount knew that the once Phantom would need help with cleaning the whipped flesh. There was also that more sensitive area that had been harmed. He had no way of imagining how painful an injury like that must have been. To have to clean it would likely only bring back the memories of the pain.

He entered the small hotel room with these thoughts in mind, wondering what Erik would be up to at the moment. Hearing cries of pain coming from the bathroom, Raoul had a pretty good idea of what his counterpart was up to. As the door was closed, the viscount simply settled for sitting on the bed to wait for the Phantom to emerge.

The toilet flushing and the door opening brought Raoul back to the present, as his mind had drifted away for the moment. He had to try and escape the screams of agony that continued to course from that other room.

"Hello Viscount," Erik greeted while not looking the man in the eye. He had thought that he was alone, and so he had gone about cleaning the damaged area that was oh so sensitive. He did not like to show weakness in front of this man. "And when did you arrive?"

Was this a challenge? Raoul wondered. There was something odd in the other man's eyes, as if the man was asking-telling?-him to lie. "Only a moment ago," Raoul responded. He watched as those mismatched eyes seemed to relax. Apparently, he had given the correct answer.

A sharp knock at the door distracted any further conversation. Seeing Erik quietly slip into the bathroom, Raoul surmised that he would need to answer the door. Hopefully, this was nothing serious to worry about. He was not a fighter, and he could not expect Erik to defend them if this was someone wishing to do them harm.

With a glance back to the bathroom, Raoul opened the door partially. Seeing that it was merely the manager of the hotel, he opened the door fully. "Hello Monsieur Hetfield. How may I help you?" He flashed a smile, hoping that everything was okay.

The man frowned, glancing into the room. He noted the bed was in disarray, but everything else seemed to be in perfect order from what he could see. "Someone complained of screaming." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You might think this hotel is old and down trodden, but I-"

"Oh, please do not blame my friend," came another voice from the room.

As Raoul was standing part way in the door way, Hetfield was unable to see who this new man was. Soon though, a tall man glided up behind the other. He found it odd that the man wore a hat indoors and that the brim covered half of his face, but he didn't question it. Strange people always came through his hotel.

Erik continued, "See, it was not my friend doing the screaming. No, he is the one who can elicit that response in me. I'll try to be quiet next time." He smirked as the owner's eyes widened. How easy it was to make men uncomfortable. Were it a man and woman, perhaps the owner would have asked to join in on the fun. As it was two men, well, it certainly was a different reaction.

But, it was Erik's turn to be surprised, "Invite me next time boys. I will hope to see you later." He held out his hand to Erik, as if wanting to shake hands. When the man had captured the once Phantom's hand in his own, he brought his lips to the flesh to place a kiss to the wrist. With a wink, he turned and left the two men.

Awkwardly closing the door, Raoul looked at Erik and then back at the door. "What in the Hell-" Hearing Erik begin to laugh-truly jovial-his surprise died out to laughter of his own. The once Phantom of the Opera had convinced someone that they-the Viscount and the Opera Ghost!-were lovers.

"Perhaps he will come back with flowers for me!" Erik laughed, removing the hat and going to sit at the small chair in the room. When it broke under his weight, he only began to laugh more. He picked up one of the broken legs, "Yes! Upscale indeed, Raoul! He will believe you broke the furniture having your way with me."

"Oh, here I thought you would be the dom, Monsieur Phantom," Raoul joked.

"Hmm," Erik purred, "only when Erik needs to teach his little Viscount a lesson." Seeing the look of surprise-and red in the cheeks?-come to the boy's face, the former Opera Ghost laughed further. "It is but a joke. Disturbed as I am, I do prefer women to men."

Raoul shook his head. "Yes, of course. Though your friend may need to be told that."

Erik stood and gave a bow. "All in the acting, my dear boy." A ripping pain in his back brought Erik down to his hands and knees. The sudden pressure on his hands only served to crack the flesh in places, blood pooling on the floor.

The viscount found himself helping Erik to his feet and into the bed without any conscious thought. "It would appear we need to clean up your back."

Sighing in defeat Erik began trying to undo the buttons from the front of his shirt. The blood on his hands only made it difficult-if not impossible. When the viscount pushed his hands out of the way and began to unbutton his shirt for him, Erik smiled. "Now, what would our friend think if he were to walk in at this very moment?"

Raoul looked into those mismatched eyes and met the challenge there. He put his hands on the other man's shoulders and pushed him into the mattress. He leaned in close to the man, "That I am about to ravish my love."

Oh, the boy wanted to play? With a smirk and a quick moment, he was able to pull the viscount onto the bed and flip them over so he straddled the boy's hips. It seemed that even with his diminished strength, he was still able to surprise and overpower the boy. "And what would he think of this?"

An odd feeling passed through the viscount as Erik stared down on him. He wasn't certain what it was, but he did not want it to go away. "You tell me," Raoul answered, still unsure.

Erik tilted his head to the side, trying to determine what was going on in the boy's mind. The look that he was receiving from the viscount put him on edge. He did not know what to make of it, nor did he know why he had not removed himself from the boy's hips.

The door suddenly opening only made the situation worse. Erik quickly laid flat against the viscount's chest to hide his face from the intruder. He heard the boy's fast heart beat and then felt arms circle his lower back. The viscount told whoever was at the door that they had the wrong room. Hearing the door close behind whoever had entered the room, Erik sighed. He propped himself up on his elbows, not yet bothering to get off Raoul. "Very convincing show, Raoul. You managed to convince a total stranger of your gay lover. Where have you learned to act so?"

"Some old, eccentric man back at the Opera House," Raoul answered. He still hadn't released the other man from his hold.

"Old?" Erik questioned. A wicked grin crossed over his face as his hand quickly dipped between them to touch the member that had been poking his leg for the past five minutes. He massaged it for a moment, earning a quiet moan from the viscount. "Not so old to get a response from the young viscount!"

The widening of the boy's eyes and intake of breath at being touched made the former Phantom laugh before he pulled himself away from the boy to stand up. He stared down on the embarrassed boy who had quickly sat up and put his hands in his lap. The attempt to hide his arousal only made Erik laugh more. "Strange. Perhaps Erik is playing for the wrong team! I have already caught two men's attention and one is aroused-"

"Oh, shut up," Raoul growled. Why had he reacted so? When Erik only continued to laugh at him, the viscount grabbed one of the pillows from the bed to smack the other man in the face. That quieted him up. Raoul smiled in triumph and began to laugh himself.

The laugh was quickly silenced when Raoul found those deformed lips on his. He didn't push the man away or even resist. He leaned into it after a brief moment, and brought a hand up tentatively to the deformed face. The other man pulled away.

Erik smiled and sang quietly, "Don Juan will triumph once again."

"You are-" Raoul began feeling infuriated. What the hell was going on?

"Irresistible, it would seem," Erik supplied.

"Impossible!" the viscount shouted. "Now get your ass on this bed so I can clean up that back. I can't have you dying on me."

"Oh?" Erik questioned while removing his shirt fully. Obediently, he sat on the edge of the bed. Seeing the look of frustration on Raoul's face, Erik cocked his head to the side. "Oh, is Raoul upset with his Phantom of the Opera? He has done as he was told."

"Lay on your stomach," Raoul ordered while sounding annoyed.

Erik was quite enjoying this. "Make me." The look of surprise that passed over the boy's face made a wolf like smile pass over his face. "Come now, dear viscount. I told the owner you can make me scream. Can't you make me-"

His words were swallowed up as the viscount grabbed his face and pulled him into a hot kiss. That was certainly something he hadn't expected. The moment of surprise worked in favor of the viscount as he was able to pull away, turn the man around, and push him face first into the mattress.

"Now, I am going to clean your back. You are going to be a good boy and stay quiet so the owner does not come back for play time," Raoul commanded.

"Why is that?" Erik challenged, not really expecting an answer as he felt a wet cloth being wiped across his ravaged back. The deeper wounds hurt, and it took much self control not to cry out at the pain. The medication to clean the wounds would only be worse. The wounds would also need to be covered and bound after that.

Still, an answer came, "I do not share my play things."

xxx

Hi all. So, this chapter was a little different from the others. It would seem Raoul is interested in other forms of meat. Maybe I will develop this, maybe not. Let me know!