Chapter Thirty-Nine
Final Attempt
As Mona sank lower into the water after being forced to let go of Diablo's ankles, she saw the bubbles rise up to the surface, the light of the moon bouncing off them.
Her spirit was broken and she felt no willpower to swim back up to the surface, her brother had broken her heart, and betrayed her and the pain within hurt more than any wound inflicted on her.
Her heart had been broken before when had awoken in the sewers after being raped and beaten to death and mutated, but the betrayal of her youngest brother, her flesh and blood, hurt even more.
Looking up at the surface, Mona saw a large flash of red and orange flames, almost lighting the whole sky, then she felt a pair of hands grab her and she was yanked to the surface!
As she was pulled up, Mona took a breath and coughed as her lungs filled up with much needed air and she turned to see Sharky next to her and holding her above the water!
"Holy Shit! Mona, are you okay?" the mutant shark asked pushing her soaked hair of of her face and making sure she was breathing.
Mona didn't answer but breathed hard as she tried to gather herself and she looked up to see Tyroth blasting fire at Diablo who was flying around him as the Dragon tried to catch him and bring him down.
Sharky also looked up and glared, then looked back at the island where he could see Leonardo, Heather, and Cam standing there waving their arms.
"Come on Mona!" Sharky said pulling Mona towards him "I'll get you to shore!"
"No...!" Mona gasped as she looked up at the sky and tried to pull away from the Shark but he held onto her tightly.
"Come on!" Sharky insisted as he began to swim back with the Lizard Lady to tow " We can't stay here! You'll freeze in this water!"
As Mona was pulled to the shore by the Mutant Shark, she never took her eyes off the fight in the air between her brother and Tyroth.
She wanted Tyroth to bring her brother down, but she didn't want him to be hurt badly, despite what Diablo had done to her, her family, and Mutopia.
She was so wrapped up in watching the fight between the Raven and Dragon that she didn't hear the shouts of her friends on the shore nor did she at first feel how cold the water was now her brain had reawakened from being pulled to the surface.
At the same time, as Sharky got close to the shore, Leonardo had waded in to help with Cam not far behind.
"Over here!" Leonardo shouted holding out his hands desperately "Come here!"
He then got hold of Mona, pulling her towards him and into his arms.
"It's okay sweetheart!" the blue masked turtle comforted as he pulled Mona close to him "I got you!"
He nodded at Sharky who nodded back at him and they waded towards the others.
Cam at the same time took off his jacket.
"Here!" he offered holding it out "Keep her warm!"
Sharky nodded in thanks and wrapped it around Mona to keep her warm.
"Are you okay Mona?" Leonardo asked as he sat on the beach and rubbed Mona's arms as well as cradled her head.
"It's okay! It's gonna be okay."
Mona, still in shock didn't speak and looked towards Tyroth and Diablo who were still flying around above the lake.
"Brother..." she breathed, fresh tears streaming from her eyes.
Cam, Sharky and Heather glared up at the sky as they watched the Dragon and Raven fight in mid air.
"Jeez!" Cam commented "That Raven is nimble! For a first time flyer!"
Heather nodded in agreement.
"He can't stay flying up there for long!" Sharky said narrowing his eyes "The Boss has a lot more endurance! And he can fly faster! He'll run out of puff before long!"
"That's what I'm hoping!" Heather said "The Raven can't keep it up for long! And even if he tries to escape, Tyroth will catch up to him"
"Please don't hurt him!" Mona pleaded softly in-between shivers "Please don't hurt him! Don't hurt my brother!"
Leonardo pulled her closer in comfort as well as tried to keep her warm despite being cold-blooded.
"He won't kill him." he murmured softly "Tyroth won't kill him, just bring him down."
Just then, they saw the Raven plummet towards the lake after Tyroth sliced his wing with his mana claws.
"He's down!" Sharky shouted then saw Tyroth swoop down "Nice going boss!"
"Yes!" Heather cheered.
"Grounded!" Cam yelled.
"No!" Mona shook her head, scared that Diablo would be dragged under the water, but she soon saw Tyroth grab him and pull him out before starting to fly back to the shore.
"He's got your brother!" Leonardo said holding Mona close as he felt her start to more again and he was worried she would break free despite the Lake stopped her from assisting in any way.
"He'll bring him back for trial!" Heather said.
"I can't wait to see him punished!" Cam growled "After everything he did."
But then everyone saw Diablo pull out his gun and aimed it at his captor!
"Tyroth!" everyone shouted in fear, but it was too late as Diablo shot him in the wing making him let go of the Raven.
"NO!" Heather yelled.
"Boss!" Sharky cried out as he watched the Dragon drop and blood erupted from his wing. Diablo then opened his wings and he was pulled up by the wings as Tyroth fell past him and hit the water!
"No!" Everyone cried as they knew that Tyroth couldn't swim and his wings would drag him under the currents.
Sharky instantly got into action and dived into the water to save him, meanwhile, Heather in a fit of rage flew up into the air and towards Diablo.
"Cheap trick!" Cam shouted shaking his fist.
"He has no honour!" Leonardo growled as he continued to hold Mona close to him, she didn't move but turned away, tears streaming from her eyes as she buried her head in Leonardo's chest.
"Brother..." she sobbed "How could you? Why? Why did you do it?"
Sharky instantly swam towards Tyroth as the Dragon struggled to keep afloat and he grabbed him before he sank.
"Hang in there Boss!" he shouted as he swam over and grabbed Tyroth's paw before he as dragged under the currents "I got you!"
Tyroth gasped both in pain and tried to get air into his lungs after he had been pulled under briefly.
"Thanks Sharky!" he said gratefully then looked towards where Diablo was flying and he saw Heather flying after him!
"Heather!" he shouted "Come back!"
"Stop!" Sharky yelled then felt Tyroth start to get dragged down again.
"Lets get you to shore!" he shouted as he pulled the Dragon away as the priority was getting Tyroth to safety before the currents dragged them both down.
Sharky knew he could survive having gills but he had to think of his casualty and quickly swam back as fast as he could to the shore.
Meanwhile Heather flew towards Diablo.
"Get back here coward!" she shouted yet the Raven kept on flying.
"I'm not through with you Devil!" Heather shouted as she drew her twin katar then using the wind to her advantage and her skills, she dipped low and shot under the raven as he flew then stopped him from going any further.
Diablo snarled and gripped his gun.
"Stupid gnat!" he hissed "Are you wishing for death? Get out of my way!"
"No!" Heather spat through clenched teeth "I'll clip your wings and bring you back to Mutopia myself!"
"You're all-to-powerful Dragon tried that!" Diablo retorted "And failed! What makes you think you can stop me?"
"You have no honour!" Heather shouted "Your cheap tricks got you this far! But it won't save you!"
Diablo glowered and pointed the gun at Heather.
"I've had it up to here with you getting in the way of my goals!" Diablo said in a low voice "Those who tried paid the price, and so will you if you don't get out of the way!"
"Never!" Heather spat.
"So be it!" Diablo shouted and he fired his gun at Heather but she moved quickly before he pulled the trigger and he missed!
"Fuck!" Diablo cursed then saw Heather soar up at him pointing her weapons and he quickly moved but the Dragonfly smacked into him and he felt his wing get wrenched up making him yell!
Heather then flipped in the air and brought her heels down on top of his head knocking him senseless.
"Ha!" Heather smirked then she brought her Kata down on the Raven's shoulder as he was stunned and stabbed him there!
Diablo yelled in agony as the blade went into his flesh and he dropped again and at the same time Heather kicked hard at one of his wings and she heard a crack as it snapped making him yell again in pain!
Back on the shore, Sharky had pulled Tyroth to shore and the Dragon shook himself off before turning to where Heather and Diablo were.
"What's going on?" Cam asked.
"I can't see clearly from here!" Sharky said.
"Nor can I!" Leonardo said.
Mona meanwhile stood next to Leonardo, still with Cam's Jacket over her shoulders and tried to see, she could see the Dragonfly flying around Diablo then she saw her manage to knock him down then she heard him scream to which she gasped in horror.
"No!" she cried in fear "Brother!"
"What happened?" Leonardo asked getting more anxious "I can't see!"
Tyroth glared and he opened his wings again and flew towards the scene, but then he felt his heart leap to his throat as he saw some lights on the water coming from the city!
"Oh Shit!" he thought realising what they were.
The mutants on the shore also saw and they too realised.
"Humans!" Cam cried.
"It's the early morning fisherman!" Sharky cried "They'll be spotted!"
Meanwhile, Heather as she stabbed Diablo's shoulder she saw the lights of the Fishermen's boats and she felt worried.
She was desperate to catch Diablo and bring him back for trial but she knew that if the humans saw them, their secret would be exposed and they might be followed.
Looking down at Diablo, the Raven looked up at her with a pained yet furious expression and he closed his wings despite the fact one of them was broken, making himself drop like a stone into the water!
"NO!" Heather turned to dive after him, but she was too late as the Raven hit the water and sank below the waterline just as the boats were getting closer to them both!
"You sneaking bastard!" she screamed as she almost hit the water but was forced to pull up as she saw the lights getting closer and she heard Tyroth voice commanding her to return to the island so they could get back to Mutopia before they were spotted by the humans!
"Get back here!" The Dragon roared to which Heather quickly turned and flew back towards him just as some smaller lights appeared from two of the boats and started to search the sky.
"What happened out there?" Tyroth demanded "Are you hurt, Fairy-Girl?"
"No..." Heather said breathlessly "But I did catch the bastard!"
So saying she held up her katar which had blood on it.
"Where is he now?" asked Tyroth as they flew to the shore where the others were waiting.
"He dropped into the water as the boats got closer! He closed his wings and deliberately dropped." Heather said then lowered her head in shame "I'm sorry I couldn't catch him."
"It's okay Heather." Tyroth soothed placing his hand on the Dragonfly's back "You tried your best."
They soon landed on the shore and the others ran over and Mona stared at them silently, seeing Diablo wasn't in their possession, she only knew what that meant.
"What happened?" asked Sharky "Are you alright?"
"He got away." Tyroth growled "The Gruth got away."
"No!" Cam growled "How?"
"He escaped by dropping into the water." Heather explained "But I managed to wound him!" she held up her katar where blood dripped off it.
Mona saw the blood on Heather's weapon and she broke down and Leonardo quickly ran over to catch her and held her close as she sobbed.
Both the Dragonfly and Dragon looked over and guilt overwhelmed them.
"Mona..." Tyroth reached over "I'm so sorry..."
But Mona refused any other comfort and just held onto Leonardo, almost clinging to him like a frightened child.
Heather looked at her weapon and sighed sadly then Cam called everyone to attention.
"We got to back back inside, before the humans get more curious."
So saying he pointed to the boats.
"What about my brother?" Mona sobbed "I can't leave him out there."
"We can't do anything else Mona." Leonardo said still holding her close "He made his choice to leave, but we have to get back into hiding before the Fishermen get here."
So saying, he pulled Mona with him and followed the Rhino back to the tunnel that lead back to Mutopia with Heather and Sharky following close behind.
Tyroth meanwhile looked back and glared wondering if Diablo had avoided being spotted by the humans and if he survived in the water after the injuries Heather inflicted on him.
Knowing the Mutopians as well as he did, they all had stronger bodies and healing qualities, and after seeing the tricks Diablo had pulled, more than likely he would try them again.
"I know you're out there Diablo." he growled "You might have escaped here now, but we meet again, I promise! You can't run forever and neither can you hide, we will find you! And you will answer for your crimes!"
Meanwhile on one of the boats on the large lake, a fisherman was looking at the night sky through his binoculars as he had heard the voices of Diablo and Heather, and thought he saw some figures flying in the night air.
His companion stood behind him.
"You sure you saw something out there?" he asked shining his torch around yet there was nothing out there, as if there never was.
"Yeah!" the first fisherman replied "I swear! I heard shouting from inside the cabin, like arguing then I saw a figure drop into the water not far from here!"
"What was it?"
"I don't know, but I could have sworn there was something out there! Neither man nor beast, but something."
The other fisherman mused for a second.
"Sure you weren't hearing things mate?" he asked "There's nothing out there."
The first fisherman lowered his binoculars then sighed.
"I honestly don't know." he said, then he looked at the remainders of a takeaway pizza he and his friend had been sharing in the cabin area of the fishing boat.
"That's the last time I have anchovies on pizza."
As the Fisherman tried to theorise what had happened, what they didn't know was that Diablo had managed to swim underneath their boat after dropping in, and grab a rope that was hanging over the side to save him from drowning.
His shoulder was seeping blood and his left wing was very painful as he was sure Heather had broken it when she kicked it.
Glaring and gritting his beak he tried to ignore the pain in his shoulder and wing, as he vaulted himself up onto the boat as the fishermen were distracted and went down into the hold where their catch had been stored.
The strong smell of fish hit his senses hard and he looked around for a place to hide until the boat got to the shore or he could sneak away after healing his wounds.
Reaching into his soaked bag he had on his back, he soon found the water-bottle and unscrewing it, he brought it to his lips and took a small sip, and before long he felt his wounds start to heal and the pain in his broken wing subsided.
Looking at the water, he smirked then saw a dark corner behind some nets and hid himself there as he heard the voices of the fisherman above.
"Fascinating stuff this water." he said softly "Not only does it turn humans into strong mutants, but it can heal wounds quickly."
Placing the water bottle back in the backpack he huddled further into his hiding place and started to try and plan what he would do once he escaped the fishing boat.
So Heather the Dragonfly made one last attempt to catch Diablo, but she failed as the Raven used his tricks to get away from her, even if she did manage to injure him!
I guess if it weren't for the humans appearing she might have been successful.
Now Diablo has really escaped and is hiding on a Fisherman's boat, but Tyroth swears that they will meet again and the Raven will pay for his crimes to Mutopia.
Meanwhile, a Heartbroken Mona along with the other mutants must return to Mutopia, and break the news, as well as wonder what will happen to their home now they have a Rogue Mutopian and Traitor on the loose.