Chapter Forty
Devastated and Fearful
Before long, Tyroth, Heather, Cam, Sharky, Leonardo and Mona made it back to Mutopia, as they arrived at the main village, they were greeted by Sephie who ran over and embraced her lover.
"Tyroth!" she said hugging him then looked at the others.
Heather, Sharky and Cam were looking furious and Leonardo was trying to comfort a still heartbroken Mona.
"Sephie." Tyroth said letting go of his lover "How is everyone?"
"Those inured are still in James's Medical room, everyone else, including the children are in the Mess Hall." Sephie reported.
"Thanks hun." Tyroth said then turned to Heather, Cam and Sharky "Go and join the others, I'll be along shortly."
"Yes Boss!" Sharky agreed then lead Cam and Heather with him to the Mess Hall.
Sephie looked at Mona who was leaning on Leonardo as she cried, and tears glistened in her own eyes seeing how upset the poor Lizard Lady was.
"What happened out there?" she asked.
Tyroth looked at his mate and shook his head.
"We chased him up to the entrance to one of the Islands of Lake Michigan." the Dragon explained "We fought but he used his tricks to fight us off and escape, he shot me in the wing with his gun."
"Damn!" Sephie cursed and she snarled as she thought of Diablo shooting her lover to escape.
"How are those injured?" Tyroth asked concerned before Sephie could ask anything else.
"Follow me!" Sephie said cocking her head, then lead Tyroth, Leonardo and Mona to the Medical room where Donatello was tending to the injured.
Michelangelo was sitting by the bedside of Kate, his arm in a sling, Jack, Percy and Patch were in their medical beds, even though their wounds had been healed due to the water and their more advanced healing, they were all in shock.
Leona was sitting next to a bed trying to comfort Patch who lay in the foetal position crying and Raphael was next to Michelangelo cradling his bandaged hand.
At the sight of her mate, Mona ran over to him and fell at his feet before sobbing into his knees.
"Raph!" she sobbed.
"Mona..." Raphael gasped as he saw his mate collapse on him and he stroked her head with his good hand to comfort her as she cried into his knees.
"Are you okay?" he asked "You're soaked! What happened? Are you hurt?"
Mona looked up at Raphael.
"He...he got away." she wept "My little brother...he's gone..."
Raphael lowered his head sadly and placed it against Mona's in a way to comfort her, yet he was furious that Diablo had escaped justice.
"Tyroth?" Donatello walked over to the Dragon.
"He escaped." Tyroth growled "He used tricks to get away." he looked at everyone injured and saw Splinter and James were nowhere in sight.
"How's Master Splinter?" he asked.
Donatello bit his lip and tears fell from his eyes to which Tyroth feared the worst.
"No..." he said.
"James is with him." Donatello said "He's been with him for a long time, we're...we're not sure yet..."
Leonardo's eyes widened.
"Master?" he asked turning pale at the thought of his Master being seriously injured or close to death "Please...no!"
Donatello stepped over to Leonardo and placed his hands on his shoulders to comfort him.
Tyroth shook his head then he saw James appear from another area.
"James!" he said looking at the grim faced Chimpanzee.
Both Donatello and Leonardo looked at James and swallowed hard fearing the worst.
James looked up and sighed.
"He's stable." he said "For now, but I need to keep an eye on him, to make sure."
Leonardo almost collapsed as he felt a small wave of relief wash over him and Donatello held him steady.
"Can we see him?" Leonardo asked in a shaky voice.
"Not yet." James said "I need to keep analysing him, as well as look after the others."
"I can continue to help." Donatello offered.
Tyroth placed his large hand on James's shoulder.
"Thank you doctor." he said "For everything you've done."
"It's my duty Big T." James said "My duty to all here in Mutopia, after all you have done for me."
Tyroth gave a weak smile then looked towards the others.
Jack and Percy looked towards Tyroth.
"Boss." Jack spoke "I'm sorry..."
"What are you sorry for Jack?" the Dragon asked "You all did what you could to protect Mutopia."
"We could have done fucking more though!" Kate hissed "What I wouldn't give to kill that Raven!"
"Where is that bastard?" asked Percy.
Tyroth sighed and once again explained how Diablo had gotten away, yet Kate smirked when she heard how Heather had stabbed him before he dropped into the water.
"I hope she wounded a vital area!" she growled "If the Lake didn't drown him!"
"I agree!" said Jack.
Tyroth looked over to Mona as the three Knights spoke about Diablo, even though they had every right to be angry and speak such words about Diablo, he was worried that Mona would get even more upset, but right now the Lizard Lady was crying into Raphael's lap as the red masked turtle continued to try and console her.
"As much as I know Diablo is Mona's brother." Michelangelo spoke "He tried to kill us!" he looked to Kate and squeezed her hand.
"I thought I was going to loose you again babe." he said in a scared voice.
"Don't worry about me Silly." Kate smiled comfortingly "That Raven didn't wound me bad! Being a Mutopian, we all have fast healing!"
"You got that right!" Percy agreed.
"And the Raven is also Mutopian!" Patch's voice called over "He too can heal!"
Everyone looked over at Patch who sat up in bed, despite Leona trying to get her to lie down again.
"Patch?" Tyroth asked looking over to the badger who was pale and terrified.
"The Raven can heal just as well as we can!" she said "Even if Heather did hurt him, he will heal! And maybe even more so!"
"What do you mean by that?" Tyroth asked cocking an eyebrow.
Patch sat up straight.
"When I confronted Diablo, before he shot me, I saw him coming out of the temple!"
"THE TEMPLE!?" Tyroth exclaimed "The Temple of the Well?"
Patch nodded, and everyone else looked terrified as well as shocked.
"No way!" Jack said.
"He didn't...?" Donatello gasped.
"No..." Leonardo stammered.
"He's stolen water from the well!" Patch said "I saw him coming out carrying a large water-bottle! With that amount, as well as healing himself more rapidly, he could use it for something else!"
Tyroth went pale and turned to everyone who were looking at each other fearfully.
Just hearing those words out of Patch's mouth, the Dragon realised that the situation was more dire than he thought.
Diablo hadn't just escaped, he had escaped with the magical water, the very water that mutated him, and all those around him.
If Diablo hadn't lost the water in the lake, what would he use it for? Apart from Healing himself.
The Raven had spoken of how superior the mutants could be, and what if he didn't wish to work alone?
Would he use the water to gather followers? And if he used the water to create an army of his own, would he turn on Mutopia? Not just try and hurt humans?
"Everyone." he said in a calm voice, making everyone in the room jump slightly, though there was a slight tremor
"Those able to leave the Medical Unit, and if James says you can leave, gather in the Mess Hall, we will have a conference."
At once, Percy, Jack, Kate, Leona and Patch got up. The Knights, along with Michelangelo and Leonardo left the Medical Room and Raphael and Mona followed suite.
Raphael despite the pain in his hand encouraged Mona to stand and walk with him, and despite her heartbreak, Mona knew she had to think clearly about the situation involving her brother especially since she felt responsible about the whole thing.
Only Patch and Leona remained behind and the badger looked up at Tyroth almost ashamed.
"Tyroth..." Patch said "I'm sorry, I wish I could have stopped him, but I..."
"Patch." Tyroth placed his hand on the badger's shoulder "You are not to blame in this, Diablo's dishonourable actions are to blame, and you should not shoulder yourself with the burden."
I threatened to drag him back to well myself." Patch confessed "But then he shot me."
Tears streamed from her eyes as she remembered seeing Diablo raise his gun and shoot at her before she could escape.
"You must not blame yourself." Tyroth said in a comforting but firm voice "You tried to stop him, and that is the right thing."
Patch looked at Tyroth and gave a weak smile and Leona put an arm around her friend's shoulders.
"I understand this has been terrifying for you." Tyroth said "And believe me, we're all scared now, but we must stick together and think carefully about how to go about this."
Patch lowered her eyes.
"Go to the Mess Hall." Tyroth said "And inform everyone I will be along presently, and inform Gramps."
"Yes Tyroth." Patch said.
"You can count on us." Leona agreed as she lead the upset badger out of the medical room.
Watching the fox and badger leave, James came to stand next to Tyroth.
"I knew there was something about that Raven!" James said "I could see it in his eyes, he never was to be a Mutopian, I should have kept him locked in here, maybe analysed him more? But George, he...he..."
"Gramps wished to give him a chance." Tyroth said "We all did, and yet none of us saw this coming."
James frowned.
"Never in the history of Mutopia would we have one betray us." he said "I knew he was difficult and had so much anger within him, but a traitor...I never saw it."
"None of us did." Tyroth said "But we need to discuss this situation with everyone, what would be the best way to go about this."
James looked to the door to where everyone else had left and he thought of Mona.
"I feel so sorry for the Lizard Lady." he said "I can't imagine the pain she feels."
Tyroth nodded.
"She only wished to save his life." he said "Like any of us would, I wanted to save my sister after what the Foot did to her, and Mona found herself in the same plight after what Shredder did to Callum...but now...Callum no longer exists...only Diablo."
"A fitting name." The Chimpanzee said "He is a Devil! And a traitor, like when Lucifer betrayed God...and was exiled from Paradise!"
"And Diablo had exiled himself from here." Tyroth said "If it weren't for his tricks that aided in his escape, I would have brought him back here."
"And what would you have done?" asked James.
Tyroth sighed.
"Since we've never been in a situation as this, I am not sure." the Dragon confessed "We have no prison, and I do not believe in the Death Sentence, and Mona sure would never allow it, despite of his actions, he is still her brother."
"But with exile." James said "We are in fear of being discovered, whether Diablo betrays us further, or he's caught by the humans or any of our other enemies."
Tyroth nodded in agreement.
"That is my main concern." he said and he took out his phone "I'll need to bring Hugh down here as well, he will need to know of the situation."
He turned to James.
"Are you able to leave so you can attend the meeting?" he asked, thinking about Splinter.
"Let me check on Splinter, and make sure there's an alert in case anything changes in his condition." James said "And I will join you."
"Very well." Tyroth said and watched as the Chimpanzee went to check on Splinter and he in turn searched for Hugh's number.
Before long he found it, and waited until he heard his human ally's voice.
"Hugh." he said in a grave voice "We have a situation..."
So those who chased Diablo have returned and luckily there are no fatalities, but Splinter's condition is still in question.
And now Tyroth knows Diablo hasn't just escaped with the knowledge of Mutopia but also with the magical water, he has every right to be concerned now!
Check back next chapter as the Mutopians, New Yorkers and Human allies discuss the situation.