Author's Note: Okay, I'm just tweeking this chapter. This is the last chapter, folks. No happy ending. Sorry.
Chapter Rating: PG-13, for mild gore, adult situations, and brief language.
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS ELEMENTS OF GORE, HORROR, AND ANGST. PLEASE BE ADVISED. (Oh and...character deaths. But I think you knew that was coming...)
CHAPTER THREE
The elevator ride was quiet. Leonardo was separated from Marika and The Shredder, and was accompanied by five foot soldiers. None of the ninja's paid any attention to him, and none of them spoke. The only sound, besides the modest hum of the elevator, was the Turtle's ragged breathing, and for some reason that irritated him.
Shame on him for feeling sorry for himself. His self-pity doesn't help his brothers…wherever they are.
Anxiety tingled the tear ducts in Leonardo's eyes, pushing more and more tears out. Where are they? Are they hurt? Are they alive? Are they in pain? A shudder passed through the Turtle's body as the questions ran through his mind, the remorse almost unbearable.
The Shredder was right. He may be a sick, evil bastard…but he was right. Leonardo is responsible for his brothers. He's the Leader of the clan. If they come to harm….it's because of his lack of judgment and guidance. Tears slowly glided down his face, the droplets heavy with guilt.
It's his fault. This is all his fault.
A brief tremor beneath the cage signaled that the elevator had stopped, and soon Leonardo was being wheeled down a short hall. After a right turn, the hall opened up into a large, dome-shaped room with a ceiling decorated with colorful illustrations. Creatures and animals of all kinds were woven together in a foreign and beautiful design, all of the figures leading up to large black letters in the center of the dome. Having only one usable eye, Leonardo had to squint in order to read it.
Animal Wonders.
A sound from across the room drew the Turtle's gaze, and over the maze of glass displays he watched darkly. Saki and Marika were gesturing to the wall behind them, laughing and pointing at the tall curtains covering four places in the wall. Each curtain was about ten feet high and twelve across, and each had a different color. From right to left, the colors were purple, orange, red, and blue.
His eyes widened.
This has to be the place where Marika's keeping his brothers. Hope filled Leonardo's empty stomach as he neared the wall of exhibits, seeing as sliver of light peek out from behind one of the curtains. She must be keeping them in separate displays, he thought, she probably hopes they'll perform for her public in their exhibits.
Leonardo's face twisted in disgust; like animals at a zoo.
The cage, which now felt like an extension of Leonardo's body, slowly maneuvered through the delicate and bizarre glass cases that littered the floor of the museum. A two-headed cobra, a lion with all of it's skinned peeled off; the displays were starting to make nausea creep across Leonardo's midsection again.
"Is the suspense killing you, Leonardo?"
The distinct Ukrainian accent of Marika pulled the Turtle's attention back to the curtained wall, his expression growing hateful as she smiled at him. Her ice-blue eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement and with pride she strutted along the huge wall, letting her fingers ripple the large curtains very slightly. A wider ray of light from behind the curtains danced briefly across the floor, and with new hope Leonardo strained for a glimpse of his brothers. If he could see them just once, and know they were okay, he could survive this.
An abrupt stinging sensation across Leonardo's cheek startled him, and quickly his eye darted to the woman before him, her expression one of irritation. The painful tingle of her slap made his eyes water, and with a deep breath the Turtle stifled his rage, glaring at her.
"I want your full attention. Do you understand?"
The hate he felt for her amplified at her condescending tone.
"When my brothers and I escape…I'll make sure to give you all my attention. I'll make your death nice and slow, okay?"
He made sure to mimic her patronizing tone, hoping to anger her further. Instead, Marika grinned cruelly, he eyes flickering back to Saki. They both shared a hideous bout of laughter.
"You must be eager to see them. Please. Allow me to do the honors."
The inflection of her voice made Leonardo's skin prickle. He didn't like how she had said that. His un-bloodied eye followed her carefully over to the side of first curtain, colored a royal purple. Her hands fell to the thick rope, and she paused, her smile huge.
"Gentlemen! For you're viewing pleasure, I give you…Donatello!"
With a long pull, the curtain split down the center, allowing the bright lights behind it to spill across the floor and throughout the exhibit, highlighting the display. Metal wires and piping of all shapes and textures covered the walls and floor of the exhibit, all of it leading to the center piece. On a pedestal made of wires sat Donatello; motionless and in the Thinker's position.
"Is this not exquisite? Does this not capture the very nature of your brother?"
Marika's voice swirled faintly in Leonardo's ear, but his mind had trouble registering it. His eye was too busy staring in horror at the figure before him. The wires that covered the entirety of the display weaved their way up into the place where one of Donatello's legs should've been, and wound around his body to the opposite side, taking the place of one of his arms.
"I know what you must be thinking: Is this the real thing, or just another, second-rate wax replica?"
A quivering in the pit of Leonardo's stomach made bile churn its way up his esophagus slowly, and with almost all of his will power the Turtle forced it back down. Please let this be a replica…
"To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted a wax sculpture, but even with the finest sculptors out there, I felt it did not do your brother justice. So, I decided to compromise; this piece is both turtle and wax. The outside is wax, perfecting every detail on this wonderful creature…and the inside is your brother, capturing the soul of this piece. What do you think, Leonardo?"
The gag reflex was almost involuntary at this point, and the Turtle felt and heard the sound of vomit splattering across his chest and floor before he tasted the bile. The sting of his stomach acids against his skin and in his mouth only fueled the sobs shaking his body, and with heavy breaths Leonardo shook his head vigorously. This isn't real. This isn't real.
"Aw…already had enough? You haven't even seen you're other brothers yet."
Marika's disdainful voice mocked him, and he could hear her moving to the next exhibit, behind the orange curtain. The sound of fabric swishing together followed soon after, and when he saw lights wash over the floor in front of him, the Turtle turned his head, unable to look.
"Leonardo, LOOK! You were so eager to see your brothers, before, now look!"
Her voice cut through his insides like a sharp knife, and by sheer will power Leonardo managed a glance, his eyes immediately assaulted by the new display.
"I call this one Michaelagelo. Modeled after Da Vinci's Michelagelo. Is it not beautiful?"
With his jaw hanging loosely and his expression one of complete horror, Leonardo stared at the exhibit before him, his body completely rigid. He couldn't recognize his brother, anymore. What stood in front of him, looking grotesquely peaceful in the pose of Da Vinci's famous statue, was Michelagelo.
Skinless.
With a gut retching cry Leonardo emptied his stomach again, spewing a mixture of vomit, disbelief, and horror all over the floor. Tears rushed his eyes and rolled like lead weights down his face. His exhausted body trembled violently and his legs gave out, making his bodyweight catch painfully on his bound wrists, tearing open healing wounds.
"I knew you'd like this one. It's so detailed…I felt it needed to be done. You and your brothers are so toned and your muscles to well defined…it would be a crime not to show just how muscular you are. People can see this, and appreciated forever how well you and your brother's were, health wise."
Marika's voice only added to the swirling agony of heartache and nausea twisting his insides, her voice sugar-sweet and full of mockery. Weakly he dangled from his restraints, sobbing and seething, the images and memories of his brothers consuming his mind. Distantly, he heard The Shredder speak.
"…I think he likes it, Marika. And I'm sure he'll like the next one."
Raphael. Oh God…please be alive. Please be the one who got away. Leonardo struggled to right himself, sniffling uncontrollably as sobs still continued to ratter his insides. Raphael was always so invincible…please let him live…
"Are you ready, Leonardo? Do I have your attention again?"
"NO! NO MORE!"
The last of the Turtle's energy was put into his feral scream, his body thrashing furiously in his restraints. He was bleeding, bruised, drugged, crying, and covering in his own vomit, but he wouldn't go easy. The entire floor seemed to shake with his rebellion, his shackles clattering noisily, but unfortunately his efforts did nothing but tire him. After his energy slipped quickly from his body, Leonardo collapsed again, his angry cries now replaced by Saki's malicious laughter.
"Poor freak! Your tantrum does nothing but provoke my humor!"
His body now swaying idly back and forth from his dangling weight, the Turtle wept, ignoring his Enemy. He dared not look at his last brother, fearing the possibilities of what he could see. This only made Marika's patience shorten and she snapped her fingers at the nearest ninjas, ordering them to lift his head. Leonardo did not struggle, his blank stare falling on the last exhibit hidden by a rich, crimson-colored curtain:
Raphael.
He was in dramatic pose. He arms were held stiffly in one of his tell-tale ninjitsu postures, his muscles bulging. His skin still held an earthy, green tint to it, and his mask was tied neatly across his face, the ends swept to one of his shoulders. His youthful, Turtlesque face was frozen in the expression of pure rage, his teeth bared and brow crinkled. For a moment Leonardo thought maybe his brother was alive, and just standing inhumanly still. Until he saw his eyes.
Lifeless, and glassy. They were fake, dead eyes.
"Now, this one was hard. I originally wanted to cast him in wax too, but he was such a difficult subject! He spit, swore, fought…you name it, he did it. He was a naughty little body."
She shot Leonardo a wicked gaze.
"Such emotion…such raw animalistic energy…I felt it would do him justice to have him stuffed. But promise you, Leonardo: He was done by the finest taxidermist in the world. It cost me much money…but it was worth every penny. Wouldn't you agree?"
If he had the energy, or any other fluids left in his stomach, Leonardo would've vomited again. Instead he whimpered loudly, closing his eye and weeping between small gags that tried to make his stomach jettison more bile.
He lost them. He lost everyone one of his brothers…and there was nothing he could do about it. He had just been given a formal tour of his brothers…mutilated. All because of his naivety. His lack of judgment. Leonardo stifled a sob, his body entirely limp, and let one stray thought pass through his head.
There is no hell. This is hell. And it's his fault.
The click of Marika's high heels against the marble floor pulled slightly at the Turtle's attention, and feebly he lolled his head to the side, his face wet with tears and blood. She swatted away invisible fumes of vomit, stepping over his puddle of sorrow and leaning in. Her body smelled of a perfume designed to make men weak at the knees, but all it did to Leonardo was induce another fit of gagging.
She chuckled.
"Now that you see my prized exhibit, you've probably realized it's missing one thing. You. Because you were such a good boy to my dear sister…I'm going to give you a choice."
Saki's approach was noisy; his cape dragged behind him and his metal armor sighed with every movement of his arms. Leonardo's trembling amplified when his Enemies surrounded him.
"So freak. How would you like to die?"
FINIS