Chapter 13
Vulstrun's laughter still lingered in the minds of everyone as they gathered around the fallen form of Sephie.
"Sephie! NO! Not again!" Tyroth cried out in anguish.
"Mom! Mom, please wake up!" Freya and Loki wept.
"Out of the way!" James barked as he pushed his way past everyone. Quickly, and carefully, he examined Sephie. "She's alive! She's still alive!"
A collective sigh of relief was heard among the residents, but they were not out of the woods yet.
"Her neck is broken!" James continued hastily. "Her back too! It's a miracle she's still alive! We need to treat her! NOW!"
Tyroth hurriedly moved to pick up his mate, but James stopped him.
"No! We can't risk moving her! We must bring the water here! And quick!"
"I'll get it!" Sarah instantly volunteered, as she was the fastest of all, taking off like a blur.
As the cheetah ran towards the temple, Tyroth and his children could only wait by Sephie's side, holding each other close as they wait, and pray.
Sarah came running into the temple with such speed that she was almost unable to stop without falling into the well. She instantly reached for the water, but stopped when she realised that she did not have any form of container to carry the water in.
She began to sweat, panic forming as she racked her mind for a solution. Running back to the village to get a bottle or glass would be simple enough, but she didn't know if Sephie could last the extra time it would take.
Alternatively, she could cup her hands and carry the water that way, but that came with the risk of spilling it. Granted, some drops might still get stuck in her fur, and a single drop was all that was needed, but they also had to get said drop into Sephie for it to work.
As Sarah thought about the options, she was aware that time was running out. She had to come to a decision, and fast.
Looking back at the water, she knew what she had to do.
Taking a few quick but deep breaths, she submerged her head in the well, filling her mouth with as much of the water as she could hold before hurrying back to the dojo as fast as she could.
In the dojo, everyone was incredibly tense. James was keeping a close eye on Sephie, and he was very worried that her pulse had started to slow. She didn't have much time left, that much was clear, but without the water, there was nothing they could do for her.
The chimpanzee kept quiet though, as it would only worry people even more if they knew.
'Come on, Sarah. Where are you?' he thought to himself.
Just then, he and the others heard footsteps approaching quickly. Looking to the tunnel, Sarah soon came into view.
"Sarah! Where's-" James began as he could not see her carrying any water, but she quickly pointed at her filled cheeks as she knelt by James and Sephie. "Ah, I see. Well, just hurry."
Sarah nodded and leaned towards Sephie, being very careful not to cause any more damage by moving her. Pressing her lips against the gecko's, she performed an inverted mouth-to-mouth, forcing the water into Sephie's mouth.
A lot of the water spilled out when Sarah pulled back, but enough had found its way, as Sephie started coughing and her neck snapped back into the correct position and the bruising faded away.
James quickly examined her again, just to be on the safe side, and he gave a big sigh of relief as he confirmed that she was fully restored.
"She's going to be fine." he announced.
"Thank the gods!" Tyroth exclaimed, and the twins hurried over to their mother's side.
"She's still unconscious, and will probably remain like that for a little while." James said, and turned towards their other casualty. "How's Pandora?"
"She's in pretty bad shape, but she will recover." said Donatello. "Our poor little geisha. She's covered in bruises and cuts, some of them rather deep. We need to clean and bandage them. Some might even require stitching."
"Then let's get them both to the medical room." said James.
With the most immediate crisis adverted, the residents left the dojo, Tyroth carrying Sephie to the medical room, while Raphael carried Pandora.
Half an hour later, James and Donatello had finished their work of the young hybrid, and she was currently resting in a bed with her mother sitting by her side.
Internally, Monalisa cursed that they didn't know what the water of the well would do to other kinds of mutants like her, Pandora and the turtles. How many times could it have saved them a lot of trouble and trauma. And how many times would they be able to survive events like this without it.
Her thoughts went to Sephie, and she looked up to the bed next to Pandora's, where the gecko lay unconscious, the Geckolings sitting by their mother's side. Despite being a Mutopian, it was still a miracle that she had survived Vulstrun's blow. Had it been anyone other than a Mutopian, like herself, then that might very well have been the end.
Monalisa was brought out of her thoughts for a moment when Pandora groaned and shuffled a bit, yet did not stir from her much needed sleep. Gently brushing away a few locks of hair from her daughter's face, Monalisa then stroked Pandora's cheek with the back of her hand, causing a small smile to form on the hybrid's lips, if only for a little while.
Far too many had been hurt by Vulstrun, and while Monalisa had faith in Tyroth, she also feared what might await them if Vulstrun were to be the victor.
Meanwhile, outside of the medical room, Sonia had explained everything that had happened to the remaining Knights and Ninja, as well as a few others.
"It was so horrible… we could only sit and watch while he brutalised poor Pandora…" the chameleon sobbed and then looked at Raphael with teary eyes. "I'm sorry, Uncle Raph…"
"It's not your fault, kiddo. You did what you could." Raphael said calmly, though there was an underlying tone of anger, which was clearly not aimed at the chameleon. "None of you could have done anything against that… monster. Everyone is alive, and that's what's important right now."
"Yeah, but what do we do next?" Kate asked. "This fucker obviously knows where we live, can even find his way through the caves and tunnels, so he could come back at any time."
"He could, but I doubt he will." said Tyroth. "Remember, he wants to fight me. He didn't want to… waste his energy on Pandora, as he put it, and he would probably not want to waste any of you either. He wants me, and only me."
"You're surprisingly calm about all of this, boss." Percy remarked.
Tyroth glowered at the grasshopper.
"Trust me, I am furious beyond words, and when I find Vulstrun, I will kill him for this! But until then, all I can do is keep this rage contained."
"So no jokes or pranks, got it."
"But where could he be then?" Jake asked.
"Those tunnels lead everywhere." Heather stated. "Some of them lead to the surface, others into the depths. A few even reach a couple of smaller islands in Lake Michigan. He could be anywhere."
"I'm not so sure." said Leonardo. "Since he wants to fight Tyroth, have his challenge as he put it, then he'd want to be somewhere where he could fight with all his might, and with the least risk of outside interference."
"Somewhere remote. That makes sense." said Sharky. "With the kind of fight those two would have I'm thinking some kind of place that won't cave in, so the surface."
"And if we want remote, then that would be the islands." said Jack. "All that we have found so far are uninhabited. And it would take a long time for anyone to get over there, so they would certainly be undisturbed, at least for good bit of time. Not to mention that they'd be able to fly around all they want as well, unhindered movement."
"That narrows it down quite a bit." said Sarah.
"Then that's where I'll start searching." said Tyroth. "You guys stay here, and that's an order."
"Sorry, but no can do, boss." Jack said, earning a glare from the dragon.
"Jack?"
"Just let me talk, alright? We ain't gonna try and butt in on this, we ain't stupid, but we can't let you go alone. This will most likely be a very, very close fight, and you and we all know that it has to end with one, or both, of you biting the dust.
If you don't make it, then we will swoop in and hopefully kill him in his weakened state before he can recover enough to flee. If you kill him, then we'll be there to carry you back home and nurse you back to health."
"I said…" Tyroth held his tongue for a moment, then sighed. "No, you're right, what you say makes a lot of sense. We can't risk him getting the opportunity to destroy more lives than he already have, but I still want you to keep a safe distance."
"Crystal clear. We will stay out of ground zero, and let you handle the rest."
"Might I come with a suggestion." James spoke up. "Bring a small bottle or two of the water, in case Tyroth is left in critical condition after the fight."
"No arguments from us." said Sharky. "It was far too close with Sephie just now."
"I should start carrying a tiny flask of water on me at all times too. For emergencies." said James.
"So, how many of us are going on this?" Amber asked.
"Well, I'm staying behind." said Donatello. "I'm still injured from my last encounter with Vulstrun, and while I admit that it's nothing serious, I can't really do much against him should I have to. I doubt I could kill him with my staff, even if he was on death's door. And I'm sure that Mona wants to stay as well, for Pandora's sake."
"I'll also stay behind." said Jake. "Like I told you before, Tyroth, I don't really stand a chance against Vulstrun. Despite my gun, I am way out of my league here. Sure, I guess I could put a bullet in his head, but I think it would be a safer bet to simply decapitate him instead."
"Anyone else that's staying behind?" Tyroth asked. "How about you, Raph? I can imagine that you want to be with Mona and Pandora."
"I do, I really do, but I also want to make this freak pay!" Raphael growled. "If I can plunge my sais into his dark heart, then I'm going!"
"I think the rest of us are more or less required to tag along, just in case our skills are needed." said Leonardo. "Sarah's the fastest. Sharky is the best swimmer. Heather and Devina are the only others that can fly. Should you or Vulstrun end up somewhere that the rest of us can't reach, it is up to them."
"Then let's get this over with." Tyroth said. "Grab the water we need and we'll follow him through the tunnels. We're might at the very least find some clues."
The Knights and Ninja that were joining Tyroth for the trip all dispersed to take care of whatever remaining business they might have, be it grabbing their gears and weapons, collecting the water, or saying good bye to their loved ones.
And Tyroth waited impatiently by the tunnel that Vulstrun had escaped into. The red dragon's thoughts were as dark as the depths of the underground. They had given peace a chance with Vulstrun, and failed miserably, nearly loosing Sephie because of it.
That could not be allowed to happen again.
Peace was no longer an option, if it had ever been to begin with.
Any time Tyroth closed his eyes, he saw the events play over and over, but much to his own surprise, it wasn't Sephie's brush with death that stuck with him the most, but the wicked pleasure he saw Vulstrun take in the act, even though he knew who she was.
He didn't deserve to live.
Tyroth shook his head and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down before his rage could threaten to overtake him. Going berserk now would only do more harm than good, and for as angry as he was, Tyroth knew he needed to keep his head clear for the upcoming battle, but that proved to be incredibly hard at the time.
Still, thinking about it did bring up an important question; would what Michelangelo called, his Ty-wrath mode, even be of use against Vulstrun? Against some foes in the past, sacrificing control and tactics in exchange for overwhelming brute strength had paid off. But would it here?
Perhaps it was better to hold off on using the rage until later in the fight, at a point where he might have no other options, if possible.
Further thoughts were interrupted as his friends returned.
It was time.
With flash-lights in hand, the group began their trek through the tunnels, hoping to pick up Vulstrun's trail.
That was probably a closer call than anyone would want, but at least everyone is alive.
And if Tyroth wasn't out for blood before, he most certainly are now.
