Chapter Text
We’re coming after you,
Nowhere to run
We’re coming after you,
This is the hunt.
---- Ruelle “This is the hunt”
Armand had been locked away within a vault in the dungeon that Maharet had built specifically for holding more powerful vampires. Marius told us about the way he had been dragged before the twins and, in a spiteful tone of voice, Maharet had told Armand that he would account for my crimes and face a death sentence.
Marius was a nervous wreck, pacing like a caged lion and looking at me fearfully. He was terrified of my mutant fledglings but his worry for Armand outweighed his terror.
Finally, Raphael could stand no more. He strode towards Marius purposely, enfolding him in his arms and cuddling him close to his plastron.
“We will get Armand back,” Raphael promised, looking at us and then at the shaken bundle of vampire flesh in his arms.
I knew exactly where Maharet was located. She was in a jungle in Papua, New Guinea. In some wild, remote place of the world she had built her fortress and was requesting my company.
Who was I to refuse?
I would either die saving Armand’s life or take her down. There was no going back, no more negotiations. As we flew to the fortress, there was silence. I had left Louis back in Armand’s penthouse. He was comforting Marius as we undertook our journey and landed silently outside Maharet’s fortress.
Leonardo had been cloaking our presence as we neared the fortress and I looked up at the freshly built rock edifice. It was an impressive building, starkly grey against the exotic jungle myriad of colours. There were no windows and only a single door allowed entry, seven stories high. We easily landed on the platform jutting out before the doorway. Michelangelo and Donatello prised open the massive, stone-heavy door and we entered, walking down a massive set of spiral steps and throughout an underground corridor.
We approached the main room, brightly lit with candles. I had seen no sign of Armand or his prison. Entering a vast throne room that was dark, dank and musty I saw Maharet sitting in a large chair. To her left, Mekare sat impassive. Behind the two vampires Mael, Avicus, Eric, Eudoxia, Pandora and Thorne stood respectively. They were as still as statues as we walked fearlessly into the room and stood before Maharet’s judgement.
There was an audible sigh as the elders clocked my mutant fledglings. Wearing robes that complimented their masks, Japanese symbols marked down the sleeves and front portions, they were a formidable sight as they stood around me in a loose circle. Splinter took his place by my side, his own velvet robes as intimidating as his sons.
“Lestat, so good of you to join us,” Maharet’s voice was icy.
The change in her was so apparent. After consuming Akasha’s power with her sister, she had been completely corrupted. Her eyes were narrow and malevolent. Thorne’s eyes in her head staring at me wildly.
“Where is Armand?” The room echoed my voice and I waited, somewhat impatiently.
“He is completely safe. Mael?” Maharet beckoned and the vampire stood forward. “Bring out guest out of the safe room.”
The turtles stood completely still as Mael walked out of the room by a back door and came back a few minutes later with Armand.
I looked at him, shocked. His face was bloody, torn and bruised. They had not been gentle with him and had wounded him grievously.
“Your hosting skills are abominable!” I tried to lurch forward and grab the teetering vampire but Mael pulled him back, away from my reach.
“Him or you, Lestat. I will let these… mutant vampires live. I only need the one sacrifice.” Maharet said viciously. Leonardo’s hands balled into fists and I felt Raphael’s consternation beside me.
“Armand will not die here.” I vowed.
“So you will take his place?” Maharet asked, her flat and unemotional.
“I will not! Give him to us immediately!” I held out my arms and Mael drew back further, stepping into shadow.
“Very well, then Armand will pay the price for your defiance.” Maharet promised, looking over at Mael.
The vampire drew a dagger from his belt and placed the tip at Armand’s throat.
“Now!” Leonardo roared at the top of his lungs.
The room shook with the mighty cry and I saw my fledglings attack as a unit. A moment of shock coursed through me at the sudden abrupt battle but I wasn’t going to be a coward. My children needed me. Armand needed me.
I darted towards the shadowy part of the room and leapt upon Mael before the dagger could rip into Armand’s throat. He stumbled and fell as we tussled and I drew him away from the wounded vampire on the floor.
Braving a glance, I saw Splinter attack Eudoxia, Leonardo land on Eric, Raphael had challenged Avicus, Donatello went for Mekare and Michelangelo had his sights set on Thorne. Pandora merely stood frozen in place, watching the fight erupt around her as her face paled and her hands shook with fear.
The turtles and Splinter were ruthless in their assault. The vampires tried to defend themselves, bringing up their arms to ward off the incoming blows but they were ripped apart where they stood. Mael had noticed the carnage and completely stilled as we watched the gruesome display unfold.
They didn’t pull any punches. Arms and legs were separated from torso as the enraged turtles pressed onward.
“I yield,” Mael cried, stepping back and almost falling over Armand’s poor battered body. He took off, sprinting down the back passage without a backwards glance.
Leonardo had decapitated his own adversary with his katana and turned on Pandora who sank to her knees, expecting the same fate as Eric.
“Are you going to fight me?” Leonardo asked coolly, his blade reddened with Eric’s blood.
“No, please. Spare me.” Pandora closed her eyes and awaited the fall of the sword.
Leonardo merely moved away, content with her answer. The room was swathed in blood. The turtles had united, now their opponents were slain and were directing the Fire Gift to destroy the remains of the elders to ashes.
This was unparalleled power. Elders rarely died and this was a massacre of such beings. Beings that had seen time unfold for thousands of years. It was such a waste.
Pandora has risen shakily to her feet, moving away to the back door and sprinted down the passage after Mael.
That left but one adversary.
Maharet had watched the entire event unfold in a silent rage. Slowly, she rose to her feet and descended down the steps of the throne, coming directly for me.
“Lestat de Lioncourt, I condemn you to death for the making of these beasts…”
Michelangelo jumped at her and she swatted him back with her hand effortlessly. The power inside of her, the stolen strength of Akasha was in her veins now. The turtle tumbled away and hit the wall on the opposite side of the vault with an almighty crash.
“… I condemn you for the death of Khayman, of all those here who sacrificed their lives for my cause…”
Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Splinter jumped her together and she flailed madly against them. They took hold of her the way they had defeated me on the rooftop. Raphael and Leonardo held her arms back, away from her body. Donatello had lunged towards her feet, winding his arms around her legs to keep her still. Michelangelo, recovered from his impact with the wall, grabbed hold of her around the middle. Splinter was standing in front of her, between us both, his hand against her chest. Still, she moved like a snake, her skin constricting as they held her and, at that moment, I felt the Fire Gift erupt from her like a volcano.
Splinter was badly singed as the power concentrated on me and I felt blood running from my eyes, my nose and my ears. Flames erupted from every pore as the single, concentrated effort made my skin start to melt. The intense pressure was horrifying, building to new heights as I merely stood and basked in it. The fire was like sunlight, like my ill-advised jaunt over the Gobi desert.
“Lestat!” Raphael shouted as they twisted with Maharet, trying to still her.
I sank to my knees, hearing Armand shuffling towards me in a panic. “You need to…”
The pain was brighter than I had ever known. My fingers were melting away as Leonardo leapt onto her shoulders, taking her head between his two mighty hands.
“… consume the heart and the brain!!” I finished, my vocal chords burning away.
I felt a sense of completion settle over me. No matter what happened now, the turtles knew what they had to do. I could only trust that they would follow my instructions, although the idea of giving the mutant vampires even more power was terrifying to think about.
My brain was melting into my head as a sudden woosh of energy hit me and I flailed back blindly. My eyes were puddles, oozing out of the sockets, dripping to the ground as the force that was assailing me suddenly stopped.
I felt Armand reach me, his arms encircling me, his wrist at my mouth.
Then, I was hovering above the vault floor, looking down at myself. What a sorry state I was in, body half melted and vital organs spilling out even as Armand pushed them back inside. The turtles and Splinter had succeeded, taking Maharet’s brain and heart into themselves, the power whitening their skin further. They were almost pure white now with a green hue.
As I watched, hovering in my spirit form, Raphael turned and looked directly at me. His eyes bore into me, capturing me with their intensity, refusing to allow me to leave the room.
I was frozen to the spot, in mid-air, my ghost simply waiting.
Then, they all sat together on the floor and began to meditate. A faint glow came from all five of them, becoming brighter and lighting up the vault like sunlight. The light cascaded from them, poured from them in bright streams that ran over Armand and my poor body. As my melted form disappeared under the stream of light, I felt an unearthly happiness descend over me.
It was as if the light had enfolded my spirit, drawing me back into the form beneath.
I sat up, suddenly. The light had gone.
Back in my body, I looked at my hands expecting to see melted flesh but they had been completely healed. Armand was sitting beside me, confused and intoxicated, his body also healed and flawless.
The turtles sat in their meditative pose before us both, their eyes tightly closed.
“Are you all right, Lestat?” Armand asked. He was shaken and terribly upset but he was no longer wounded. In fact, he shone with an almost preternatural gleam.
“Yes, are you?” I tossed back at once.
Armand nodded and we waited for the turtles to emerge from their meditation.
Splinter was the first to waken from his trance. His eyes locked onto mine and I smiled at him. His face broke into a grin and he climbed to his feet and looked at his sons. “They will not awaken for some time. They have left their bodies and are travelling together in spirit.”
“I don’t blame them.” Armand said. “They have all this new power and they must control it or it could destroy the whole world. I’ve never seen abilities on this scale before, abilities to heal with pure light.”
“We will take them home and prop them up in your bedroom, Armand.” I said at once, picking up both Raphael and Donatello under one arm each. They remained comically frozen in a sitting position as I scooped them both up and gestured for Splinter and Armand to take hold of the remaining two turtles.
“Oh no. No more.” Armand said, his face determined as he picked up Leonardo. “Absolutely not! My penthouse will never be the same again. You have an apartment in New York, Lestat. Take them there if you want. No more blood orgies in my place! Do you hear me?”
I was laughing outright at Armand’s indignation. His face broke out into a smile and chuckled at my cheek. “Good luck getting all that semen out of the carpet, Armand. Yes, I suppose I have imposed on your hospitality for a little too long.”
“Speaking of you not knowing when to leave…” Armand walked out of the door, through the corridor and up the spiral staircase with Splinter and I following. I was trying not to laugh at Armand but it was so hard to hold back. I was elated because we had won.
Pandora and Mael were no-where to be seen which was just as well considering their allegiance to Maharet.
We left the fortress together, flying back to New York and holding onto our turtle treasures.
As we arrived at the penthouse, I gathered Louis and Marius and we headed over to my New York apartment. Placing the turtles on the floor of my favourite bedroom I suddenly descended into a fit of hysterics. They looked so comical sitting there, posing with their hands on their knees.
Sitting cross-legged before them, I struggled to contain my laughter as I waited for them to awaken.
The End