DISCLAIMER - TMNT's and Pirates of the Caribbean are owned by others. I only own the story and any interpretations of known events within the genre of these two fan-doms. Again, fantasy and supernatural are part of the story description.

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Chapter 3 - Volcano!

"AAHHHHHHHH!"

Michelangelo's scream resonated with an ear-piercing shriek,causing his brothers to cringe in response. Unfortunately, that was all they could do.

Just as things went crazy, Raph, wide-eyed, had grabbed onto Mike, while Mike had grasped Don's arm. A split second before everything changed, Don latched a desperate hand to Leo's carapace, while Leo could do nothing more than stand there, rigid, in the same fashion that his brothers were. Rigid, as in all four seemed helplessly immobile and caught in a strange invisible force that refused to let them go. And, despite the fact they felt frozen in mid-stride, they were completely aware of everything going on around them. The problem was they didn't have a clue what was happening. All they could see in place of the gaping hole leading to the sewers was a disjointed flux of colors, the way their television would behave whenever the signal got screwy.

It lasted for a minute of so, but then, suddenly, the dizzying scene stabilized. Now, the four ninja turtles found themselves able to move once again.

They stumbled forward slightly, unprepared for the release, but then their training kicked in. Easily recovering they found looming just ahead of them a different scene than the one that had been there before. No longer were they staring at the jagged opening in the cave wall with the sewer tunnel just beyond it. Instead, they found themselves staring at strange solid rock.

Although it was obvious they were still inside a cave, it looked different from the one with the skeletons. And, stranger still, there seemed to be a fresh flow of air, too, with an unidentifiable sweetness riding its waves.

Just the same, the breezed was the least of their collected concerns.

"What in shell just happened?" Raph nearly bellowed, looking around while his body shook from the shock of his forced rigidity. In short, Raphael was freaked out.

"D-d-don't know, dude," Mike replied nervously, almost hyperventilating. He quickly looking around, eyes wide as he said, "One minute we were in that - that cave with the skeletons and the next moment we're - here…wherever 'here' is." Then he suddenly sniffed and seemed to perk just a little, "But at least this one smells better!"

Curious, Don let go of Leo, who seemed equally stunned with confusion, and walked over to the rocky wall to investigate it. As he ran a hand over its surface, Donatello remarked, "Not the same kind of rock, guys. This is more…volcanic, not granite like in New York. Strange…it's almost as if we've been trans…" Don's voice suddenly trailed off, as if in thought. He didn't want to voice his concerns just yet, not until he was certain. He continued to inspect the hard, roughened composition of the wall's surface. The more he thought, the more there was something about it that told him they weren't in New York City anymore.

Finally, Leonardo found his bearings and clicked his flashlight off. After hooking it to his belt, he unsheathed his katana with seamless fluidity born from years of practice. The metal blades softly sang out, their voice echoing against the rocky interior of the cave. Their familiar sound gave Leonardo a bit of comfort. Then, as he nervously looked around, Leonardo quickly spied an opening in the far wall behind Raphael. It appeared be a break of some sort; a wide crack in the wall, and the way the air moved around, it felt as if that was where the air was originating from, too.

Hmm…might be an opening at the other end, he thought to himself. Then, pointing a katana towards the hole in the wall, Leonardo resolutely declared to his brothers, "Wherever we are, that's our way out. But, we need to be on alert, guys."

In response, his other brothers followed Leo's example by switching their flashlights off, too, and reattaching them to their utility belts. As they brandished their own weapons, anxious anticipation replaced their confused fear, but then suddenly, something didn't seem quite right. Where they had expected to be standing in complete darkness, the cave still seemed lit up. Not as brightly as with the flashlights, but it was enough to see each other by.

"How come I can still see you guys?" Mike asked, perplexed.

"Yeah, it's almost as bright as day!" Raph complained.

Curiously, Donnie looked around and then glanced upwards. He smiled and pointed, "This cave has a chimney!"

"A…what?" Raph asked, his own eyes following Donnie's gaze. Mike and Leo did the same.

There above them, maybe fifty feet straight up, they could see a small hole. The ceiling itself narrowed the higher it went, gradually shrinking in width, until it reached the opening. The opening itself only spanned about four feet across, but it was large enough to allow sunlight to shine through. In response the light filtered down through the neck of the chimney, somewhat diffused due to the position of the sun, but it still adequately illuminated the interior of the cave.

"Well, that's a help, unless we have to make like ninja and disappear," Mike remarked dryly.

Although relieved they would have some light, Leo was still apprehensive, He had been in some mighty strange situations in his life and had even found himself transported back to the dinosaur age, Yet, there were explanations and even a guide - Renet, to be exact - to justify it. Not so with this adventure and that was what worried him.

Who had done this?

Walking over to break in the wall, Leonardo peered around its corner. He expected to see nothing but darkness beyond. Instead, he saw a clearly defined tunnel, illuminated in a similar light as the cave. He looked up towards the roof of the tunnel, about ten feet high, and found pockets of openings here and there, as if someone had punched holes to the outside. As he further inspected the passageway, it appeared as if it was composed of the same material as that of the cave. Just the same, the tunnel seemed as if someone had carved it through the solid, volcanic rock, only…the tunnel didn't look to be manmade.

"What could cause this, Don?" Leo asked his brother, gesturing towards the tunnel with one katana.

Don came over to his brother's side. He studied the tunnel for a moment, running his hand just past its threshold and along the uneven surface of the tunnel's wall. Then, he looked at Leo and said, "Basalt, it's made of the same material as the cave."

"What's basalt?" Raph asked as he joined his two brothers at the opening.

"Lava that has cooled and hardened into rock," Don replied, moving away, now, and inspecting the cave's composition a little closer.

Mike's eyes widened considerably, "D-D-Donnie, wh-what do you mean… lava? Lava - as in - volcano?"

"Yes, Mikey," Don smiled and then turned to face his youngest brother, totally missing the look of horror on Michelangelo's face. Slipping into his professor-like mode, "This cave was probably a volcano vent, which explains the chimney. When it was active, it behaved like its larger counterpart, but was probably reliant on the same magma source. It created the tunnel we see here after a breach in the vent's wall, which, was probably when the tunnel was formed. When the volcano stopped erupting, the exterior side of the flow cooled enough to create a hardened crust and where the molten rock inside probably remained in liquid form, it moved through the newly formed tunnel like a river. If there's an opening at the other end, it would then empty out. Through the years, rain then erodes the more fragile rock and that's how a lava tube or tunnel is created."

"Oh, good," Mikey chuckled derisively as he grinned, "you had me worried there for a moment!" Then, his expression changed to one of pure panic. He nearly yelled, "We're inside a VOLCANO, DON! and you're standing here, wasting time giving LECTURES? What's wrong with you? We need to get outta here!"

However, before Mike could sprint through the cave opening, Raphael grabbed up his brother and clamped a hand over the resisting turtle's mouth, hissing, "Shut it, lamebrain!"

Mike tried to break free, to run, as he wriggled and protested under Raph's restraints. Despite Raph's hand across his mouth, though, to keep him quiet, Mikey still managed muffled shouts of 'we're gonna burn alive' and 'turtle stew' anda slew of other not-so-pleasant ways of dying.

"Mikey, it's all right," Don said, trying to ease his brother's concerns, "We're not going to die."

Mikey stopped his squirming, but Raph still held onto him. He knew his little brother all too well. Mike could feign compliance just so Raph would let him go, and then take off the way he first tried to do.

As Donnie laid a comforting hand along his brother's arm, though he explained as best he could trying to reassure him, "Mike, this is only a vent, but its host - the volcano - is probably very ancient, dead. It's no longer active. It's extinct. I highly doubt we're in any danger."

"Bub…" Mike tried to protest under Raph's hand. The orange-masked turtle suddenly gave a thumbs-up sign to his red-banded brother and mumbled, "I on't 'ell, promse."

Tentatively, Raph let go of his brother and warned him, "Betteh keep it down, nimrod."

Mike nodded agreement and then turned to Donnie, "You highly doubt, but are you absolutely sure?"

Donnie smiled at Michelangelo, "I'm sure, Mikey!"

It was then Donatello felt the air current pick up, so he licked a finger and held his hand out. As the breeze played along his moistened fingertip, he nodded in the direction of the tunnel, "and more than likely, Mike, there's another opening at the end of this lava tube," he added.

"Good, cuz the quicker we get there, the quicker I'm gonna feel safe!" Mike whined.

Leo whispered, "Then let's move out, but - be ready, just in case."

As Don took a step to follow Leo, though, he casually looked down at his feet - and then suddenly saw something. With a foot, he moved some of the dirt that had collected there, soon revealing something carved into the floor. Instantly, his eyes went wide, as he declared, "Wait, look at the ground!" He stepped aside and crouched to a squat, and then quickly brushed more of the dirt away. "Hieroglyphics!" he declared, "Someone's been here before!"

"Ya know, Don," Raph said, "I couldn't care less about someone's glyphics; I just wanna get outta here!"

"No, this is important!" Don insisted, ignoring Raphael's impatient grunts, as the ninja in purple swept away more of the dirt, "It may explain why or how we got here."

"What makes you so sure, Donnie?" Leo asked as he stepped over to see what it was his brother had found.

"Can you explain how we got here?" Don challenged, looking up at his leader with earnest eyes.

Shrugging, Leo sighed, "No, I guess I can't."

"Neither can I, but this…" Don indicated the etching with one hand and said, "Might be a clue!" He went back to cleaning the dirt from the carving, mumbling about portals and other technobabble stuff.

Raphael shook his head. Then, walking over to the side of the cave, he leaned against the wall. He took out one sai and began twirling it as he watched Donnie, with Mikey's assistance, sweep the carving clean of dirt. Still, Raph seemed mildly interested. In just a few minutes, his brothers had the area exposed.

Now, they all stared at the cave floor where - in the middle - a large circle loomed up at them. It was maybe six feet in diameter and, yet, scratched deep into the hard surface of the volcanic rock and inside the large circle was a weird style of hieroglyphics. Raphael now pushed away from the wall, intrigued with what Donnie had found. He walked over to get a closer look.

The markings were certainly very strange and seemed to line up just in front of the cave's exit. As Raph turned his head this way and that, trying to make sense of what he saw, he noted a crazy jagged line running down from the top center of the round border and dropping like stair steps to the left. Along the right side of the jagged line sat a set of smaller circles, two, in fact, one inside the other. It didn't make any sense at all to him.

Taking a step closer, Raphael asked, "Wh-what d'ya think it is, Don-san?"

Then Donnie stood up and was quiet for a moment as he thought. Stroking his chin, he walked slowly around the perimeter of the etching, studying it. Suddenly, his face brightened and he explained, "If I'm not mistaken, this line that stair-steps down from the top middle of the largest circle," he pointed his staff at the mark in question where it began and then used the tip to trace the carving, "Notice how jagged it runs towards the left side from the top? It just might be a prehistoric hieroglyphic of an earthquake. Someone from the ancient past might have tried to draw one."

Raph nodded, "Makes sense. But, what about the smaller circles along the right side?"

Don 'hummed' a bit, as he studied the strange symbol. First, though, he considered the larger circle that encompassed both etchings. With only the squiggly, stair-step line, there didn't seem to be enough carvings for the given amount of space inside the circle. There was still a lot of room left over. It was almost as if there should have been more. Yet, Don couldn't see any wear marks that suggested there had been, as if erosion had erased them. It was all quite odd.

Then, Donnie thought to himself, Could it be a…puzzle, perhaps?

He studied the second symbol, now, the small double circle that Raph had just asked him about. It was twelve inches across, if that much, with a smaller circle just inside it. Situated to the right of the jagged line at the top, the double circles sat along what would be the median line of the ring that encompassed the carvings.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and Don shook his head as he smiled.

It was so obvious to him.

"As for the double circle, Raphael, just think about it. What was happening back in New York, before we found ourselves here?"

"What does that have to do with this?" Raph grumped.

"Just - just think about it, guys. What does the double circle look like to you?"

Leo offered, "An eye?"

"Hmm…maybe, but wrong answer," Don smirked.

They were silent for a moment, but then Mike's voice declared, "A hurricane!"

"Right!" Don smiled at him.

"I knew it!" Mike grinned, pumping his fist in the air in victory.

Raph rolled his eyes and muttered, "Lucky guess."

"Yet, not just A hurricane, bros," Donnie remarked, "but two hurricanes joined together," Don then pointed to the circle again, indicating the second one just inside of it, "This could represent a double or twin hurricane to the prehistoric man!" Slipping a hand into a pocket of his utility belt, Donatello retrieved a small notepad and pen.

"Don't tell me…you carry pen and paper with you?" Raph asked sarcastically.

"Always," Don said simply, while he copied down the diagram, "one never knows when you have to take notes - such as now."

"And, pray tell, how is THIS gonna help us?" Raph asked.

"Don't know, but if my hunch is correct, what we experienced in New York, what with the impending hurricane and the earthquake happening at the same time, I believe it all has something to do with our being here. It's just too coincidental. I'm certain there'll be more hieroglyphics like this one somewhere else," Don explained casually. "There's just too much space left over in the main circle of this one for it to be otherwise. There has to be more." When he was done, he closed his notepad and returned it and the pen to his pouch.

"And how do you suppose we're gonna find these other - hier-what-have-yous, Mr. IQ?" Raph teased.

"Hieroglyphics, Raph, and I don't know that, either, so I guess I'm not Mr. Know it All - after all!" Don smiled and considered the ground carving again, "It's just a mystery right now."

"Well," Leo said, "we aren't going to find anything by staying here," so he unsheathed his katana and turned towards the exit. As he led the way, the other three followed him into the ancient lava tube.

As they walked along, though, Mike kept looking around, wondering if the volcano was indeed dead, hoping it was dead, praying it was dead, but still mindful that - from his experiences - anything could happen. Man oh man oh, man, how d'we get into these spots, anyway? he muttered anxiously to himself, it's almost like someone's writing us into these adventures!.

As they walked through the passageway, the air current blew harder, as if something was pushing it along. Don quietly explained it was due in part to the chimney back in the cave. Because of its small opening, the wind outside blowing across the top created a drag that drew air like a water wick from the opposite end of the lava tube, where - he assured them - there was probably an opening. The air then traveled into the cavern behind them and up through the chimney. Don hoped that whatever opening they did find, it would be big enough to all them to pass through. Still, adding to the allure, the strange, spicy aroma that had intrigued them initially seemed stronger the farther into the tunnel they walked.

"Did someone just set off a room deodorizer?" Mike finally asked, more to himself than to his brothers. In all honesty, he was still trying to forget about his more pressing concern - such as the volcano. A hard thwak to his head, however, had him ducking, "Ow, hey, Raph, stop it, I was only kidding."

"Well, keep yer yap shut, moron, this tunnel echoes! We're on alert until we can be sure things are safe!"

"Hey, Donnie talked and you didn't smack him!" Mike sassed as he pointed to the brother in question and who walked just in front of him. His head turning this away and that, though, Donnie seemed apparently more interested in the lava tube's walls than the on-going argument behind him.

"Shhh, guys," Leo admonished in whispered warning, now facing his brothers, "If we don't know where we are, we sure as shell don't know the dangers." He turned back around to continue working his way through the tunnel, swords unsheathed. Stilling his breath, he hissed, "We're ninja, no horsing around!"

As the four brothers continued to edge quietly along the passageway, they were ever mindful of an attack. Inch by inch they stepped, stealthily making their way through the tube as quiet and as cautious as their training dictated. The holes in the ceiling above them illuminated the tube with diffused sunlight, much in the way the cave had done, but unlike the cave, vines had threaded their way in. The air felt more humid, too, than while in the cave. It was obvious that wherever they were, it was some other place different altogether than New York City.

"Say, Donnie," Leo asked quietly as they moved along, "what made the holes in the lava tube?"

"Well," Don replied, looking at the various-sized openings as he walked along, "erosion plays an important part, of course, but sometimes air bubbles get trapped in quickly cooling lava and will create a thinner crust. Over a period of many years - the crust will erode and break open, creating the holes that you see."

Then, as Donnie happened to glance to his right, he suddenly whispered, "Everyone stop. Look at this!" He walked over to his point of interest and ran a hand along the tunnel wall.

"Ah, not another one…" Raph grumped, twirling one sai anxiously, "can't we get outta here first?"

"No, I've found another marking!" Don declared, "This one is different, though." He absentmindedly retrieved his notepad and pen again, flipping it open to the page he had drawn the first etching on. He looked at the new carving, studied it for a second, and then began sketching. While he did, Mike, Leo, and Raphael, moved closer to see what it was that had interested their brother.

"What is it?" Leo asked curiously.

"Well, if I should hazard a guess…"

"Better hazard fast, Donnie," Raph interrupted, "or I'll hazard your face!"

"Knock it off, Raph, this might be important."

"Whatever, Leo…"

"So, Donnie, what is it?" Leo asked again.

"Aztec. That's what this is and I'm certain the other symbols back in the cave are, too." Don replied, almost in awe, "Yet this one is kind of like their sun calendar, but different. See the skull in the middle? That's a symbol of death, it's kind of universal when you think about it."

"Could'a told you that one!" Raph mumbled.

His brothers ignored him as Don continued, "It has the same eight lunar solar rays, or points, as the original calendar - I've seen a picture of the artifact on the Internet - but the other symbols are wrong, or at least augmented. Here, they're not like the original calendar at all. It's - very strange."

As soon as Don finished sketching out the main components of the carving, he slipped his pen and pad back into his belt pocket. Glancing once more at the wall again, "It almost looks like a - warning of sorts." He glanced back towards the cave again, "Maybe to let people know to stay out of the cave?"

"Could'a told ya that one, too!" Raph deadpanned and then asked, "So, we done here, cuz I have to go - literally."

Leo smirked, "Urgent is it?"

Raph harrumphed, then smiled, showing Leonardo one sai, straight up.

"Funny, Raphael," Leo chuckled. "So, Don you done here?" Don nodded affirmative and then Leonardo turned to head the rest of the way through the tunnel.

The farther they walked, the brighter the area around them became and, before long, Leo found the other end of the tube. He exhaled a long breath of relief when he saw that the opening would be more than big enough to allow them to pass through to the outside. However, as he took stock of the scene before him, rather than stepping through, he suddenly stopped.

"Everyone on your toes," he whispered back, "something's - not right about this."

For a moment, Mike appeared taller. It confused Raphael for a second, until he looked at his brother's feet. He groaned. His goofball brother was literally standing on his toes.

Another thwak to the head brought Mikey back down on his heels, "Hey, mind if I have some fun?" he complained, rubbing his now-sore noggin.

"When are ya eveh gonna learn, Mikey?" Raph shook his head, "We need to secure the environment first, then ya can have fun, okay?"

"Okay, fine, whatever…but I am the designated comic-relief, you do know that, right?" Mike sounded genuinely affronted, as if his brother had missed the point entirely.

"Whatever…" Raph chuckled, shaking his head, and then directed his next comment to Leonardo, "So, fearless, are we staying inside or are we goin' out?"

Leo didn't reply at first, as he was still trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Finally, "I - I don't know…it's all so - so strange."

"Look, can't be stranger than that cave. Whatever it is…" Raph began as he moved his way up the line to where his older brother stood, "we've seen weirder stuff before, so…" but as he reached Leonardo's side and saw what his brother was looking at, his words trailed off.

With a voice soft and wondrous, Raphael exclaimed, "Wow, would'ya look at that!"