A/N: Sorry for updating so late. I've lost my way with this story, so I've decided to end it with this chapter. Sorry my dearies. I hope you are all well. Love, Joanne.

20. It's Over Now

"Those fools!" cried Regina as she ran away from the mob that was descending on Belle and the Phantom. "Did they think I would really call off the mob?"

She headed to the main hallway, rushing through the front doors to her awaiting cab, where her lover Sydney awaited her. Just before she could touch the handle, Sydney blocked her way. "No, Regina."

"What the hell do you think you are doing Sydney?" barked the Diva.

"For once, I see who you really are," said Sydney. "It is not that man who tied me up who is evil, you are. You are the ultimate evil, Regina, and I will not let you escape."

"You're going to stop me?" asked Regina, her hands on her hips. "I'd like to see you try. A pathetic excuse for a man like you is no match for a woman like me. I have EVERYTHING you WISH you could have: beauty, brains, and magic. A puny man like you is not going to stop me from escaping."

"I just have," smirked Sydney defiantly. The horses gave a small whinny as the coach began to take off quickly into the night.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" roared Regina.

"I have redeemed myself," said Sydney as Regina hit him across the face. "Kill me, I don't care. I have not let evil go unpunished. I let you kill Leroy and blame it on an innocent man. I cannot let you get away with murder."

"You underestimate me, Glass," growled Regina as she began to choke him. "You're supposed to be dead, so if I kill you right now, everything still gets blamed on the Phantom. So, despite it all, I may yet have my way."

Sydney gasped for air, his eyes bulging out of his face. She threw him mercilessly on the ground. "Pathetic," she spat. "You may have thought you thwarted me, but I still have some tricks up my sleeve."

. . .

The roar of the mob was deafening, and Belle began to panic. "She reneged on our deal!" cursed Erik. "I should have killed her when I had the chance! Give everyone a REAL reason to want to kill me!"

"No, my love!" cried Belle. "Don't stoop to her level! There must be another way out. We can't just stay here now with the mob closing in on us."

"Come, I will show you the way," sighed Erik as he took Belle's hand. They wound through a labyrinthian maze as they surfaced to the world above them. To Belle's surprise, they reached the front of the opera house, and spotted a carriage that was ready to go. They quickly ran, and climbed into the carriage, urging the driver to make haste. "Where to?"

"As far away as you can get from here," ordered Erik.

The coach barreled down the lane, and just as it began to reach the border of the neighboring town, the horses whinnied and nickered. "WHY HAVE WE STOPPED?!" roared Erik.

"You are not leaving this town," said a cruel voice. Belle and Erik climbed out of the carriage, and to their surprise, they saw La Regina, but the Diva had changed dramatically. Her long hair was swept up into a high ponytail, her forehead decorated with an elegant black lace wrap. She was dressed from head to toe in black, except for her ruby red lips that were currently drawn back into a sneer. "You aren't going anywhere."

"Witch," growled Erik as he advanced towards Regina.

"NO!" cried Belle as she tried to intervene.

"Stay out of this, you little twit," snarled Regina. "This is between me and your lovely Rumplestilzkin."

"What?" asked Belle, confused.

"Ah, you haven't told her," smirked Regina. "You never change."

"It doesn't matter," growled Erik. "What matters is that you lied, and now you're going to have to pay the price."

"Aw, you're going to kill me?" said Regina in a baby voice. "Not unless you want me to kill your little precious Belle!" Suddenly the tree branches from overhead moved as if by evil, dark magic, and wrapped themselves around Belle, squeezing tightly around her small frame.

"STOP!" shouted Erik angrily. "Let her go. Your quarrel is with me and me only."

"You ruined me, Rumplestilzkin," said Regina as she twisted her hands in the air, drawing the branches that were wrapped around Belle to tighten further. "I was a young thing, and you tempted me with dark magic. After I fought so hard to stay away from it, and after knowing everything about my mother, Cora, you gave me my power anyway. Well, here's payback, and it's a fucking bitch."

"NO!" bellowed Erik. There was a blinding crack of light, and the branches that had been squeezing the life out of Belle retracted. "Belle, please wake up my dearie! Please wake up!"

"True love," said Regina mockingly. "What a waste of time. All it ends in is death and heartache."

"You're right about one thing," rasped a voice from behind her. There was a flash of steel, and soon Regina was on the ground with a knife through her stomach. "Our love was a waste of time, and it will only end in YOUR death!"

"S-sydney!" choked Regina. "I was only bluffing when I c-called you weak. I l-love you."

"You love power and hatred," said Sydney as he drove the knife into her deeper. "You have destroyed enough lives. Burn in hell, witch!"

With a gurgling last breath, Regina breathed her last. Sydney turned to Belle and Erik. "I'm sorry I didn't act sooner, but she was too powerful. I wish I could have reported to the managers and the police that Regina had killed Leroy, and it was all a set-up."

"And now," coughed Sydney. "I will go with my former beloved into hell." The tenor coughed violently, and fell to his knees. His body slumped to the ground as his life essence left him.

Belle began to cry silent tears as Erik took her in his arms. "Hush now my love, it's over now. We are free of that wretch, and we can finally be together."