Disclaimer - Well, it's about time, right? Sorry for the delay, but life interrupted me a bit. This was originally going to be much longer, but at over six-thousand words, I decided to trim it a bit. Good for me, because it gave me an already-to-load chapter that I don't have work on. It gives me a bit of a breather, which I desperately needed.

As before, I only own the story idea and nothing else. Things change, though, so maybe next time I can boast that the turtles are mine.

Then, again, maybe not?

My thanks to Cynlee who beta read and to all who have read and reviewed!

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Chapter 14 - Walking, Talking, and Cursed, Oh My!

"Honestly, Leo, I don't know what happened…other than…than," With his emotions still fresh, Don's voice suddenly hitched. He took a deep breath to recover his composure, before continuing, "other than…you… were shot." With one bandanna tail, he wiped his face dry and then touched his brother's plastron, where the wound had been, "And I know you were shot because you had a bullet hole right - here, in your chest, right where your heart is and you were bleeding, but…" he shook his head, quite stupefied, "you're healed somehow. This time, Leo, I haven't a clue about what happened."

"Yeah, neither do I, Donnie." Leo sat up, his strength quickly returning, and looked around, confused. Although he remembered the piercing sting of the bullet, it was the last thing he remembered. Consequently, he didn't know who had shot him. As he scanned the cave's expanse, however, Leo soon found himself locking eyes with a man holding a gun. After a moment, he finally asked Donatello, as his gaze held the man's own, "Was he the one?"

"Yeah, but…" Don sat back on his haunches and sadly shook his head, "there's more than just him, now, Leo, lots more, and they've…they've killed.…"

However, a voice mumbled from across the cavern, as it interrupted Don, "Bugger all, we're too late!"

With his attention on the man who had just spoken and sensing fear from him, Leonardo didn't pay attention to the rest of Don's comment. He could easily smell the recently burned discharge of gunpowder, too, and it seemed heavy, as if a shoot-out had taken place while he was…'out'.

Next, he looked beyond the human in question and noticed even more men had gathered from behind. Like their compatriot, their uncertainty was just as worrisome and obvious. Worse still, all of them held similar weapons as the man who shot him, yet they didn't hold the implements as if they were ready to shoot. The turtle wondered if that was because they already had.

Suddenly, Leo saw one of them standing just a little in front of the human cluster. With 'his' weapon drawn and smoking from its discharge, it was obvious he had already shot at something. Still, with the way he was standing, this 'man' seemed different from all the others. To Leo, he didn't seem very masculine.

It puzzled him.

Nevertheless, the turtle in blue could only sit there next to the treasure chest and his brother in purple, and stare across the cavern at the humans, wondering how they had found their way into the cave. The tunnel he and his brothers had used was higher up and at the opposite side from where the men stood, so it made sense to assume that a second tunnel was somewhere nearby.

However, something lying along the floor in front of the men also caught Leonardo's interest. When he realized what he was looking at, he sucked in a quick, startled breath. At first, he tried to deny it, but as the truth of the matter finally registered, like a sledgehammer Leonardo felt his heart begin to pound.

Sprawled just in front of the crowd of men and lying motionless along the stone floor of the cave were two of his brothers, pools of blood seeping out from under their bodies. That was when he realized what else Don had tried to tell him only a moment earlier.

Leonardo's breathing suddenly strangled, his voice breaking, as he cried out, "No…NO, please, NOT…" and then, to his surprise and everyone else's, Michelangelo's body twitched!

At first, both Leo and Don assumed it was rigor mortis settling in. Incredibly, though, in the next moment, Leo heard Mikey cough and inhale deeply, just as he himself had done. Leonardo smiled with relief as his youngest brother rolled to his side and sat up. He then looked around and seemed apparently as confused as his oldest brother had been.

Mikey blinked a few times, trying to focus on the scene around him. However, when he saw the men with their guns drawn, he assumed the weapons were still loaded. In panic Michelangelo quickly backed up. He scooted along the roughhewn stone floor as far from them on his rump as he could, before finally scrambling to his feet. Quickly spotting and then grabbing his chuks from off the ground, Michelangelo growled and turned to face the humans. He then prepared for the worst and, if he had to, he readied himself to dodge more bullets.

However, before anyone could react, a movement to Mikey's left caused him to look away from the men. He gave a quick glance and then another, almost in disbelief. This time, his eyes grew large as he stared at a prone Raphael, reclined haphazardly along the floor of the cave, as if dead. Then, his brother in red jerked a second time, finally awakening from his slumbering death.

Like his two brothers, Raphael went through the same motions of revival as they had. It didn't take long for him to realize that he was very much alive, either, and, as the reality of that truth became clearer, he jumped to a ready stand. With his legs spread apart and his fists gripping both sai, the turtle crouched defensively, now, and prepared to meet his next challenge.

Suddenly, he remembered the event that had happened just before he lost consciousness.

Raph snapped around and looked back towards the treasure chest. Holding his breath, he expected to see Leonardo lying along the ground, dead and bleeding as he had last seen him. Yet the sight of his brother in blue, now climbing to a stand with help from Donatello nearly made him shout with relief, as well as disbelief. Next, he saw Mikey upright and apparently unharmed, too, and staring at him with equal surprise. Yet, Raph couldn't see one bloodstain or bullet hole marring his brother's body.

It was like a miracle - or something else entirely.

Shaking his head, Raph was more than confused, "H-h-how...I…what happened?"

Before anyone could answer him, though, he recalled his own encounter with a bullet. Raphael glanced down at his body and his eyes grew wider, "What the shell? Hey, I know I was shot, what gives…" Unable to believe what had happened, he felt his right arm that had taken the first hit, only to find his flesh unblemished. Next, he ran a hand along his side, the unprotected area between his plastron and his carapace, where the second shot had found its mark. Failing to find a wound, he seemed to be as miraculously unmarred as his youngest brother and as physically whole as they had been before all hell broke loose.

Yet, before Raph could question anything, a soft moan off to his left tugged at his attention, and so he turned to see what it was. There, lying along the ground in front of him was the very man with whom he had crossed steel. The man moaned again and stirred, but then lay still and unconscious. With the small bit of blood staining the human's head, Raph knew the man would have one whopper of a headache when he finally woke up.

"Serves 'em right!" he growled low.

Satisfied that all was right with his world, Raph turned and glared at the knot of men huddling in front of what seemed to be another tunnel opening. He recognized them as the ones who had shot Mikey, so they would suffer his full wrath. They would pay for trying to kill his brother and he would make sure of it.

However, it was then when he found himself staring face to face with the very one who had shot him. He easily recognized the person, too, their last visage he had seen before he 'died', or at least he thought he had died. In any event, it was apparent that the shooter had missed. How they could have missed, Raphael didn't know, because he distinctly remembered the bullet's painful impact.

Still, he couldn't deny the fact that he was standing, breathing, and physically in one piece, just like always.

Grinning wide in triumph, he mocked his assailant, "Looks like someone needs lessons in firin' a gun!"

In response, he heard the person huff indignantly and stand a little taller. They were obviously offended by his remark. Yet, by the sound of their disdain and the person's less than masculine physique, Raphael quickly understood something rather intriguing. He smiled just a little. "You're a - woman?"

Elizabeth straightened even more, her jaw tense and her eyes ablaze with anger, but she didn't move nor did she make a sound. Initially, she had wanted to go to Will the moment she killed the creature, but when the one in blue resuscitated, Elizabeth knew the inevitable had happened. She knew that it wouldn't be too long before the turtle in red did the same. With that in mind, she had waited, albeit impatiently.

Now that what she feared had come to pass, her anger towards the creature intensified.

Raph smiled wider at her discontent, too, "Lucky for you, toots, I don't fight unarmed opponents, especially broads."

At first, Elizabeth offered him a challenging glare, but then her brow knitted together with uncertainty. It was obvious that Raph's choice of words had confused her.

However, the turtle ignored the girl's obvious bewilderment and looked past her to the men gathered a few feet behind her. Seeing that each man brandished a sword or knife, Raphael grinned, "Howeveh, they'll do quite nicely." He then stretched his arms wide in mock welcome and growled a challenge, "So, boys, who's next?"

Their guns spent of their single shot and not having enough time to reload, two of Sparrow's men rushed the turtle in full yell, their swords in hand.

However, unlike Will's initial encounter with the turtle, they didn't get very far.

Easily dodging their attack, Raphael stepped to one side with the grace and speed of his ninjitsu training. This, of course, caused the men to stumble in surprise, because they had never seen anyone move so quickly, turtle or human. Still, they tried to recover but it was too late.

With blinding accuracy, Raphael pivoted around, his sai up and in position. Just as the men turned to adjust their angle and attack, with the speed of a viper Raph impaled both in the chest with one swift movement. Then the turtle watched as they crumpled to the floor of the cavern, dead. He could hear Leonardo scream something at him, something about stopping, but Raphael was in full blood lust. With his family's existence at risk, until he killed every last man - or woman, he knew that he and his brother's wouldn't be safe.

Then, after he wiped his bloodied weapons along his thighs, he greeted the next volley of men. Two more charged towards him with equal verve and voice, their weapons drawn.

In that moment, though, Raph realized something. Unlike the first two, instead of killing them outright, the turtle swiped aside their poorly executed attempt to do harm and easily dislodged the swords from their hands. As their weapons flipped into the air and clattered to the stone floor, the blades skittered a few feet away, impotent to the fight. Hesitantly, the men stilled their attack, shocked to immobility, and stared wide-eyed at the turtle.

Before they could recover, though, instead of cutting into their flesh as he had done with the first two, Raphael raised his weapons and spun the sai around. Not wasting a moment, he brought the pummel end of each sai hard against the side of his attackers' heads, and effectively knocked them out. As they fell unconscious to the cavern floor, Raph snorted a bit in satisfaction.

Considering that they were his and his brother's ticket off the island, Raphael realized he needed answers; he wanted to know how they got there. If the other man, the one who had initially shot Leo, pressed the issue and Raph had to kill him, he wanted someone alive to question.

As the two men lay inert along the ground, now, Raph glanced over at the girl. He had an idea. Holding her hostage might actually get him the information he needed. Sneering at her, Raphael asked, "So, sweets, which one's yer boyfriend?"

Elizabeth, for all intents and purpose, had rarely, if ever backed down from a challenge, using her wiles and charm if an outright fight was impractical. But the fact this creature would even ask such a question made her blood run cold. She tried to remain strong, stoic even, attempting to put to rest any suspicions that the creature might have had about her. However, the fleeting glance she gave towards the unconscious Will told Raphael all he needed to know.

Just as he began his advance towards Elizabeth, though, a voice of reason suddenly broke through the turtle's determine resolve.

"RAPHAEL, STOP, NOW!"

Leonardo's loud and persistent request stunned the humans, but it seemed to also rile the one to whom he had spoken.

"No way, Leo, they tried to kill us!" Raphael bellowed and continued to stalk towards a now frightened Elizabeth.

Her courage failing, the girl scrambled around the remaining men and back into the tunnel. "Keep away from me you…you filthy beast!" she called out.

"I'm not filthy, sweetheart; I took a swim jus' this mornin'!" Raph growled.

"I SAID STOP!"

"NO, LEO, WE HAVE T'FIND OUT HOW THEY GOT HERE!" Raphael turned slightly to challenge his newly recovered brother.

"We need to calm down so that they can calm down! They're afraid, Raph, they think we're something to fear."

"Don't care, Leo, they're gonna have a reason to fear when I get done with 'em."

This time, the rest of Jack's men decided that they had had enough. To see creatures as bizarre as the turtles were was bad in and of itself, but to see these same creatures alive, when they should be dead, convinced them that retreat was the better part of valor. In their rush to escape, though, they ended up pushing Elizabeth out of their way and back into the cavern again. Then, they ran noisily through the tunnel in their desperate bid to be first back to the boats.

Elizabeth, quickly repositioned herself back behind the imposing boulders for protection from the angry reptile. She huddled there, ready to make a break for it back to the boats if the creature continued his advance. Yet, she kept glancing at Turner, peering between the rocks, and hoping he, too, would get up.

Unlike his men, however, Sparrow stayed where he was. Next to him, Gibbs stood stoically, but he did debate the issue of joining the rest of the men. Then he decided to see it through with his captain, regardless. He turned his attention, now, to the present matter, his hand on the hilt of his own rapier, preparing to unsheathe it if necessary - curse or no curse.

"Ya certain about stayin', Cap'n?"

"No, but we need the treasure, Mr. Gibbs."

His first mate nodded hesitantly, "Could always come back another time, ya know."

"Not when they took some of the gold we can't. Have t'reason with'em to return it - somehow."

"But, they're cursed, Cap'n, can't reason with cursed men - or beast, as the case may be."

"True, Gibbs, but ya heard 'em, they can talk, so they can prob'ly understand things, too." The more Jack thought about it, though, he seriously believed that maybe it would be better if they were all cursed as well. In that way, it would mean that the beasties wouldn't have any way of killing him - or his first mate, or Elizabeth, or Will, or… Still, it was possible that this was indeed a fool's mission, as Elizabeth had so often reminded him throughout their journey. Yet, to concede and to a woman no less, rankled the pirate's pride. He was, after all, Captain Jack Sparrow, the greatest pirate to sale the open seas, owner of the grandest and fastest ship in the Caribbean, and he didn't need to consider any woman's word.

Still, Sparrow had a feeling these turtles were not one's ordinary beasties, even if they should be under the authority of Davy Jones.

If'n they can talk, they can savvy! he muttered to himself. Of course, they stood between him and the treasure and Jack was determined to follow through with his plans. He'd make friends with the devil if he had to.

Determinedly Elizabeth continued to hide behind the boulders and watch. Although she was petrified, she refused to leave Will behind. Then, she saw Jack Sparrow raise one hand and loudly clear his throat, effectively causing the red-wearing turtle to cease his advance. As the creature slowed, the girl let out a long, sustained breath, and, for the first time since arriving at the island, she relaxed.

Well, at least it can reason, as well as talk, she murmured to herself.

Just the same, she went about the task of reloading her gun with another shot. She cocked the hammer back and kept the pistol at the ready by her side.

"Should have gone with Will and Jack, rather than stay behind like I did, she muttered under her breath, then I'd know for sure if it's the curse or something else!

As Raphael slowed, Jack Sparrow smiled a little and bowed politely to the turtle. Assuming his stance once again, he looked back at the reptile and pulled a frown. The pirate could tell that the beast was anything but happy about the change in whatever plans it had for him. Yes, seems he's a bit displeased, Jack gulped a little and then looked beyond the creature in red to the one in blue. That one appears less addled, though, he smiled Nodding his thanks to him, Jack then addressed the one in red.

"Tis true what yer mate said."

"My…mate?" Raph repeated, quite confused. He glanced back at Leo and chuckled, before glaring at the pirate again, "He's my bro, not my mate. What'd'ya take me for?"

"Bro?" Jack queried, his brow pushed together in confusion. Shaking his head, "I - I don't savvy your meaning, turtle."

"Savvy? Oh…savvy!" Raph sneered, "I see, so you're into that new trend of pirate-speak. Okay, I can play along." The turtle cleared his throat and began again, this time taking one large step towards the man. Leaning into the pirate's widening face for emphasis, Raph explained, "Leonardo's my BROTHER, KIN, we're both MALES? Do ya savvy that, bucko?"

Nodding eagerly and smiling wider - and taking a tentative step backwards towards the tunnel, "Oh yes, yes, certainly." Jack swallowed and nervously made a side-ways glance towards the turtle in blue. "So, your - brother - is correct, mate…oops…sorry, but…um…what should I call you?" The man smiled tightly.

"You can call me your worst nightmare."

"Raph, knock it off," Leo admonished as he climbed his way down from the pile of treasure and forded the stream. Don followed likewise, with both of them catching up with Mikey. Then, the three turtles worked their way cautiously to where Raph, the pirate, and Gibbs stood.

As for Elizabeth, she continued to huddle behind the protective rocks just inside the tunnel, watching with great interest. She could barely make out Will's legs, where the rest of him lay beyond her sight, where the rocks interrupted her view. Still, she hoped for some movement, but was greatly disappointed. A sudden, irrepressible fear now tucked its way into the back of her throat and constricted her breathing with a terrible assumed grief. She recalled how hard her beloved had hit the wall and how limp he fell to the ground. She hoped against hope that Will had been knocked out and nothing more.

As the trio of turtles closed in on where he stood with their brother, Jack took two more steps backwards towards the tunnel. Slowly edging closer to the opening, he was ready to bolt, if need be. He turned and gestured with one hand to Elizabeth for her to move along, too. In that moment, gold or no gold, Jack valued his life more than his plan. As well as the beast in red had fought, the pirate knew when to concede a fight, especially one that had yet to begin.

Stubbornly, though, Elizabeth shook her head, "I'm not leaving, Jack, not without Will!" Hesitantly, she came around the end of the boulders and just outside the tunnel's threshold. She now stood defiantly behind the pirate, now.

Sparrow sighed and shook his head, pointing again at the tunnel. Through gritted teeth and with a low voice, he assured the girl, "Better t'come back another time, luv."

Yet, Elizabeth loudly countered his suggestion, "We get my fiancé' and then we can leave." Folding her arms across her chest, "And not before!"

"What about me other men?" Jack protested, pointing to the four, two of whom were still alive, but unconscious, "I would like fer them t'come along, too, but not to risk my life in doin so." The other two were dead, or so Sparrow believed. Might'n be the curse could fix'em, he mused silently. He watched them for a moment, hoping to see some evidence of life like the beasties had shown. Yet, the longer they laid there on the ground, unmoving, the more Jack realized that they weren't under the protection of the dreaded curse - at least, not yet, anyway. There was still time, though…at least Jack hoped so.

"Well," Elizabeth looked defiantly at Raphael and then to the pirate again, "maybe you can bargain with it and get them to allow us to retrieve your men and Will. Offer it some food or - or something." She then glared at the turtle and tilted her head defiantly.

"Look, toots, I'm not an 'it', I have a name, it's Raphael, an' I'm not hungry!" Well, the last part wasn't quite true, but Raph wanted to make a point that he wasn't going to step aside easily. He smirked at the girl, until he noticed her intransigent expression had returned; the one he had seen right after she shot him a moment ago. He then saw her gun firm in her grasp, with the pistol's hammer cocked back, ready. He looked at her once more, meeting her gaze, and then Raphael smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. It was one of grave understanding. He repositioned both sai in anticipation, wondering if she'd have the courage to try again in shooting him. If she did, he would be ready this time.

Nevertheless, there was something about Raphael's name and so Jack stared at the turtle, "You're…Italian?" He glanced at Leo as the turtle in blue came up alongside the one in red. This one didn't have the angry expression that his brother had. Maybe we can reason after all, Jack hoped.

"No, snapper, and my bite IS worse than my bark," Raph huffed, his eyes still on Elizabeth and her gun.

"Noted, but…that you have a name… an Italian one. That's amazing."

"Yeah, yeah, and I guess the fact that I can walk and talk and pretty much beat your sorry ass to a pulp, isn't?" Raph glanced once at the pirate but didn't linger his gaze for too long. His mind was more on the girl with the gun than with carrying on a conversation.

"Well, there's that, too," Jack shrugged and then he quirked one curious eyebrow before carefully asking, "Say…ya don't by chance knows anyone goin' by th' name of…Davy Jones, now would ya?"

Four reptilian faces turned a confused expression to the pirate and it was only then when Jack began to feel the slightest bit of confidence with his current predicament. He smiled wide, "I'm guess'n ya don't."