I can't believe it! Only two more chapters! It's sooooo sad. . .
Lady Fae: Well, I didn't put this chapter up as soon as I would have liked to, but I hope it's good enough for you!
AngelicFlutist: I've gotten a lot of angry comments for me ruining the moment between Loralee and Erik. Oh well, the rest of your review most definitely makes up for it! Huggles for you!
Phantoms' Lobo: Wow, those are quite some words against Hector and Vincent. I agree wholly with Hector being thrown into a fire, but Vincent. . . well, you'll just have to read on!
greyhoundmom: Thanks for the review!
LittleMollysheart: No problem for the notes at the beginning of the chapters. I just figured everyone deserved them as a sort of "Thank You" for reviewing and reading my story. And I agree with you - I do feel sorry for Vincent even though he's quite the loser.
wolves-song: Thanks!
PhantomLover05: I think everyone should hate Hector right now. I mean, come on! He shouldn't have ruined that moments Loralee and Erik were having!
Carkeys: Yeah! Another fluff fan! I'm definitely a hopeless romantic, I'm just a bit shy about the fact in front of my friends.
HiddenOperaAngel: I really want to see "Van Helsing" and have heard so much good stuff about it from other PotO fans. And questions and theories should be answered sometime soon!
AngelOfMusic: I don't know why, but I get all happy and excited when I write about kisses. And I'm glad you didn't see Hector barging in - it was supposed to be a surprise.
Chapter Twenty Eight: Who Do You Chose?
"Hello my sweet," Hector said coldly, approaching her. Loralee backed up, hauling Erik with her, arms wrapped protectively around his heavy frame.
"Get away from us, you monster!" she said to him.
"Monster, you call me?" Hector asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'd think that man to be a monster. His face almost made me vomit with disgust. And to think my gun touched such a cursed beast. . ."
Loralee's eyes flashed as she dropped Erik onto the ground, walking up to Hector and back handing him hard enough to send him stumbling backwards into a chair.
"How dare you speak of Erik that way! How dare you call him a monster when it is you that are the true one!"
She started walking towards him again, but Hector held out his gun in her direction, making Loralee halt in fear.
"What are you going to do now with no Phantom to save you, Loralee? Everybody's too far away to hear your yells of help, and if they would, they'd think it's just some whore having fun with a man in a distant room."
"I am not a whore!" Loralee hissed through her teeth, yet standing still.
"Really?" Hector asked, getting up and moving up next to Loralee. "What are you then? Moments ago I saw you giving yourself willingly to that spawn of Satan, a task that only a whore perform."
"He's not a monster and I'm not a whore! We love each other!"
Hector looked in disgust at Loralee. Then, still keeping the gun on her, Hector went over to Erik, kicking him over. He could feel Loralee's hatred vibrating in the air but pretended not to notice. Erik's unconscious face had a look of disbelief and pain on it, hurting Loralee's heart.
"Some how I find that hard to believe," Hector said, deathly cold. "But I shall have fun with the both of you anyway."
He turned to face a pale and frightened Loralee.
"You wouldn't harm him!" she whispered, fear evident in her voice.
"Oh really now?" Hector said. He leaned down, lifted Erik's face off the ground by his cravat, and punched him in the head. Loralee screamed and started clawing at Hector which made him whirl around to face her.
"Wench! I should have known better!"
And before Loralee could do anything, he punched her also in the face, leaving her dazed so he could tie together her arms and feet. Loralee tried to get away from Hector but only tripped over her tied feet and landed on the floor, head hitting the ground and making her vision swim. Groaning, she lifted her head, so she could see Hector.
With his gun still on Loralee, he punched Erik again, blood now covering Erik's thankfully still unconscious face. Loralee screamed again, but instead of Hector rounding on her, he just laughed a cold and mirthless laugh.
"Scream all you want. There's no one here to safe your beloved Phantom."
He kicked Erik in the stomach and Loralee closed her eyes, thanking the heavens that Erik was unconscious. She screamed, feeling helpless, and hated herself for not being able to defend Erik from such harsh treatment.
Tears streamed down her face as she prayed that help would come, but Hector kept on torturing Erik right in front of her very eyes.
She screamed out louder than ever when he pointed the gun straight at Erik's head.
"ERIK!" she screamed out, and then shut her eyes tight, not wanting to see Erik get shot. Instead of the shot, though, a door slamming open made both Loralee and Hector jump, turning towards the entrance of the box.
In the door frame stood Vincent Badeau, gun in hand, the gun pointing straight at Hector's heart.
"Do not harm the girl!" he shouted at Hector, coming farther into the box.
"So," Hector said, spinning around to face Loralee. "You have a man to help protect you from me, eh? Worthless scum!"
Hector raised a hand to strike Loralee, but the audible cock of the hammer on Vincent's pistol stopped Hector's poised hand. Fire raged in his eyes as he turned to face Vincent, holding out his own gun.
"Monsieur, there is nothing to worry about. I have not been harming your precious little whore. I was only protecting her from the beast over here."
Hector waved over to Erik who was barely breathing on the ground. Vincent glanced quickly at Erik and his eyes widened. He let out a strangled cry of disgust at Erik's uncovered and blood crusted face before turning to face Loralee.
"I knew it! I knew it all along! You were friends with the Phantom of the Opera!"
Loralee stared at him, tears running down her cheeks.
"Oh, Beth, why didn't you ever tell me? Why didn't you tell me he was controlling you so that you couldn't court me?"
"He was not controlling me!" Loralee shouted at Vincent who was taken aback by her harshness. "He never has! I love him, that's why I never courted you. . . that's why I can't marry you. . ."
Vincent did look hurt and gulped when he saw her engagement ring lying besides Loralee's discarded mask. Hector stood between the two, clearly confused.
"Monsieur, perhaps you should like to know that this Beth McLay you have been visiting is actually the Loralee Donoghue I have been after all along. I am Hector Chaffee."
Vincent's eyes widened in horror as he looked from Loralee's tear stained face to Hector's own smirking one.
"You lie!" he said, raising his gun at Hector's chest again. "She is Beth McLay."
"No. . ." Loralee cried out quietly. "He's right. I am Loralee Donoghue, but I only ran away from you because you abused me beyond belief!"
Then Loralee spat at Hector who growled in anger, raising his pistol to Loralee's head. Vincent shouted out again.
"I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you if you have my love!"
"You're love, monsieur? This girl apparently wants to be with me. Don't you, Loralee?"
Loralee sobbed, shaking her head no, and watched the two men fearfully. What ever happened to her strong and brave self?
"No, she wants me," Vincent growled, glaring daggers at Hector. Both men were standing at opposite ends of the room now, Hector to Loralee's right and Vincent to her left. They had their guns stretched out, aimed at each others hearts, ready to fire.
"Well, we'll just have to find out, won't we?" Hector said cooly. He kept his gaze locked on Vincent's while he spoke to Loralee. "Loralee, who do you choose?"
Loralee was sobbing uncontrollably at this point. She buried her head in her arms, thinking madly. She hated Hector beyond belief and damned him to hell for all she cared, yet she didn't love Vincent either. He definitely seemed more trustworthy out of the two of them, but no matter how hard she tried, he always got on her nerves and never let her speak her mind. It was Erik who filled her with such bliss and freedom. It was Erik who cared for her even when he himself was burning in hell. It was Erik who she longed to kiss and feel in her arms.
Looking up, she stared at both of them before speaking rather calmly, eyes flickering over Erik's still form.
"I choose neither of you for my heart already belongs to someone else."
The silence that followed her words was almost unbearable. It was almost too loud for Loralee to handle, and she longed for her hands to be unbound so she could cover her ears. But instead she was forced to listen to the dangerous quiet.
Then Hector let out a wild cry of anger, eyes flashing, and a gun shot echoed through the whole theater.
Loralee let out a scream as she saw Vincent crumple to the ground, chest wound bleeding freely. Through the smoke from the gun shot, she watched, horrified, as Hector turned to her, madness clear all over his face.
"You choose neither, eh? Well, I'll make it so you only have one choice!"
Hector turned to Erik while Loralee struggled to get over and protect her love's unconscious body.
"NO!" she yelled. Hector didn't seem to hear and only cocked his hammer, taking aim at Erik's heart.
Finding her attempts at saving Erik useless, Loralee crumpled to the ground, screaming when a second gun shot echoed throughout the theater.
Loralee's world seemed to stop. Erik was dead. Hector just killed Erik. She sobbed uncontrollably, looking up fearfully.
Instead of seeing Erik dead, though, Loralee saw Hector lying, sprawled out on the ground, eyes wide open with shock, blood falling out of a head wound and making a halo of blood around his head. The sight made Loralee want to vomit, but she bit it back. She looked for his killer and saw Vincent propped up on his elbow, in obvious pain, gun still pointed at where Hector's head would have been.
Vincent looked at Loralee, pale and pained, and just managed to choke out a final sentence to Loralee.
"Forgive me. . ."
Then Vincent fell to the ground, eyes staring straight ahead and his body stilling forever.
Tear ran down Loralee's face as she suddenly realized what position she was in.
She was bound in a room with two dead men, one innocent and one a murderous lunatic. Her love was lying unconscious to the side, dried blood over his face and his deformity showing. In the distance she could hear a theater door open a shouts and cries ringing out as some people came in with the police to search for the source of the gunshots and screams.
Loralee raised herself so that if some one looked up, they would be able to see her.
"Up here!" she shouted weakly, yet a few people still heard her, pointed up to Box 5, and went rushing off towards it. The rest came after.
Loralee slumped back down, crawling over to Vincent. She made sure not to touch his blood while she bent down and kissed his cheek.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him before turning away and crawling over as quickly as she could to Erik's unconscious form. When she got to him, she shook him gently, trying to wake him up.
"Erik? Erik! Please wake up! Please wake up. . . I can't live with out you. . . Not now. . . Not like this. . . Don't leave me. . ." She started to cry again when he wouldn't answer. She buried her head in his chest. "I love you. . ." she whispered to him.
Her reply was something shifting underneath her.
Loralee stopped crying and looked up to see Erik's eyes flutter open, but quickly shut again, hissing in pain.
"Erik?" she asked, her voice choking on tears. His eyes opened up again, widening when they saw Loralee bound and crying.
"Loralee? What happened? Why are you bound?"
"Hector came and knocked you out. Then he bound me up and started beating you up while you were unconscious in front of me."
Erik's eyes widened and just then he noticed the blood on his face.
"Did he hurt you?" Erik asked suddenly, eyes wide with worry.
"Not badly. Just punched my face when I tried to safe you." Erik still shook with anger. "He was about to shoot you when Vincent came in with his own gun telling him not to harm me. They then made me choose between the two of them, but I chose neither of them."
She started crying again and Erik struggled to sit up, wincing at the pain.
"Then. . . Then Hector shot Vincent and I thought he was dead. He then told me that he'd make me have only one choice, and was about to kill you when Vincent used up his last strength and shot Hector."
With it all out she started sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder while he stroked her back and kissed the top of her head. Erik nearly jumped out of his skin when the door burst open and there stood Madame Giry and the Chief of Police, a crowd of people behind them.
Madame Giry screamed in horror and disgust, turning away from the scene to avert her eyes from such a gruesome sight. The Chief of Police let out a string of curses, entering the room and going over to Vincent's body. People behind the door were standing on their tip toes to get a peek of what happened, but the police kept them away from the door, while some others entered to investigate, Christine, Raoul, Meg, and Madame Giry standing off to the side, horrified expressions clearly written over their faces.
Erik covered his face with his hand and groped about for his mask and wig. He then saw them on the opposite side of the room and cursed under his breath.
The Chief of Police stood up from Vincent.
"Died from a bullet to the chest. Is holding a gun that is missing one bullet."
A police officer scribbled it all down hastily onto paper. Another police officer went over to look at Hector's body.
"Dead, also, from a bullet wound, yet this one to the head. Also has one bullet missing from his gun."
Then the Chief of Police went over to Erik and Loralee. Raoul gasped when he saw the Phantom but was restrained by Christine and Madame Giry. Christine looked on in horror while Meg started weeping silently.
"We're going to have to question you, monsieur, about this incident. Some basic questions first. What's your name?"
Erik looked up at the Chief of Police, hand still in place over his deformity.
"Erik," he said after a while.
"Last name?"
"I don't have one."
The Chief of Police raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't question on.
"What is your job?"
"I work as a ghost."
"A what?" the Chief of Police exclaimed, annoyed at Erik.
"I told you, my job is a ghost here at this Opera House."
"Are you the Phantom of the Opera?" the Chief of Police asked, astounded.
"Yes," Erik replied, emotionless. The Chief of Police looked quite confused and ordered some guards over.
"I'm afraid, then, we'll have to arrest you-"
"No!"
Loralee flung her tied hands over Erik's neck, hugging him close to her. She glared up at the Chief of Police, daring him to come forward.
"He's innocent! I can tell you the story-"
"Whether or not he's innocent tonight, mademoiselle, does not matter. He killed and burned down the Opera House long ago. Christine de Changy over there was the reason for his madness, and we must arrest him."
Loralee clung to Erik none the less and just looked at the Chief of Police with eyes full of pain, sorrow, fear, and desperation. The Chief of Police, although deeply moved by her saddened formed, ordered some police to bind Erik up.
"No."
This time it wasn't Loralee objecting. Christine stepped forward, glancing at Erik and Loralee before looking up to the Chief of Police.
"Don't arrest him."
The Chief of Police looked quite angered. He couldn't not arrest the Phantom, but with the Vicomtess saying he should be set free, the very Vicomtess who was taken prisoner by the Opera Ghost, he had to listen to her first.
"But-"
"No 'buts', monsieur, just let him free. He's a fine man now and won't cause any more trouble."
"Christine. . ."
Raoul stepped towards her, but Christine made him stay where he was with a glare.
"He deserves a normal life."
Erik almost cried right then and there when the Chief of Police agreed to Christine's order, motioning the police officers to let go of him. Erik had luckily managed to still keep his face covered the whole time.
"Right then, Monsieur Erik, I need details about this attack."
"I do not know what happened, monsieur. I was knocked out by Hector Chaffee and don't remember anything else."
"So that one there," the Chief of Police gestured to Hector's body, "is Hector Chaffee, the man searching for Loralee Donoghue?"
Erik nodded as a young police officer amongst the others spoke up, pointing at Loralee.
"Hey! Isn't she the girl Hector was searching for?"
Loralee looked up and nodded slowly, her eyes not leaving Erik's.
"Mademoiselle Loralee Donoghue, we'll have to question you first."
Loralee nodded, and not moving from her embrace with Erik, started explaining in detail what happened. She started to cry again and this time Erik growled when she mentioned getting hit by Hector. The free hand of his became protectively tighter around her waist.
"So let me get this straight, mademoiselle," the Chief of Police said after she finished explaining. "You ran away from Hector Chaffee because he was abusing you and you even have scars on your body to prove it. You then disguised yourself as Beth McLay at the Opera House and became the Phantom's messenger when Madame Giry gave you her job. Hector would always come back looking for you and abused you each time he saw you. Then Vincent Badeau had fallen for you, but you were already in love. Tonight, you came here with the Phantom to talk when Hector came in, knocked Erik out when he was distracted, and then bound you up so you had to watch Hector beat up Erik. Then Vincent comes in just as Hector was about to kill the Phantom. They make you decide who to go with, and you say neither making Hector shoot Vincent and almost kill the Phantom if Vincent hadn't shot Hector in the head."
"That's correct, Monsieur," she said. Loralee had purposely left out her confession of love to Erik and their kiss because she felt that was quite personal.
"Well, it seems that both the guilty people have died tonight at their own hands. Monsieur Edward Badeau will not be happy at the news of his sons early death, and I'm not sure there's anybody to mourn Hector Chaffee."
He turned back to Erik and Loralee.
"Thank you both. We can take you to the hospital and check over your wounds. I'll also give word to the world to stop hunting for the both of you.
"Thank you," Loralee said, before laying her head on Erik's chest. Erik was about to say something, but Madame Giry beat him to it.
"I think it best that I just take care of them both here. I know how to help the minor wounds they both have."
The Chief of Police nodded and allowed Madame Giry, Meg, Christine, and Raoul to visit Erik and Loralee if they wanted to.
Madame Giry and Meg rushed over, helping Erik and Loralee up. Meg untied Loralee's binds from her hands and feet, and after Loralee was free of them, she went into a tight embrace with Erik. She buried her face in his neck while he rested his now fully uncovered cheek against her smooth black hair, hands tight around her shaking body. He only looked up when some one tapped him on the shoulder. Madame Giry was smiling at him with his wig and mask in her hand.
Erik let go of Loralee while he quickly covered up his face. Luckily no police officers had seen his deformity, and the only people who had seen it didn't scream in fright, because they had all seen it before.
While Loralee was hugging Meg, Erik thanked Madame Giry and turned to face Christine who was smiling at him.
"I take it went well with you and Loralee, then?" she asked, eyebrow raised. Erik couldn't help but grin. Loralee came up besides him and looked at Erik questioningly.
"What do you mean, 'it went well'?" Loralee asked.
"Let's just say I told Christine my true feelings towards you before I told you."
Loralee's mouth fell open and then understanding hit her.
"Oh! So that's why you were both acting so calm around each other? You both new that Erik liked me?"
Christine covered her giggle with a hand at Loralee's disbelieving face, and Erik just grinned down at Loralee. Loralee stared up at him.
"Damn you!" she said to Erik, just making him grin wider.
"I love you, too," Erik said to Loralee before kissing her gently upon the tip of her nose. Loralee's confused and flustered face soon after broke out into a sheepish grin as she pulled him down by his cravat in a full kiss on the lips. Christine smiled at the two of them, walking back over to a rather amazed and uncomfortable looking Raoul.
"There's nothing to fear, my love," she said to him, hugging him close. "He's found his true love."