DISCLAIMER - Don't own the turtles, just the Island, the fish and anything else living in the Pond.
ATTN: First, I would like to thank everyone who has already read this chapter.
However, you need to know that only half of it made its way onto FF! For some reason, lately when I load chapters into Document Manger, only 50 percent of them make it there. GAH...and when I uploaded a second time just a moment ago, once again only part of the chapter made it. I had to copy paste the chapter into the Edit/Preview window.
With that said, if you don't read the latter half of this chapter, the first part of the next one won't make any sense to you.
My advice to allwriters, though, is to double-check your Document Manager and your Edit-Preview window to be certain that your uploaded chapter or stories make it there completely.
The rest of this chapter picks up where Mikey glares at Raph for his comment regarding monsters in the lake. :0) For your convenience, I will bold that particular line, to make it easy for you.
And, yes, in case you're wondering if I made a mistake in how I labeled this story, it is still going to be a crossover. I'm just having some fun with the island and all the 'beasties' (as Jack Sparrow would say) living there right now. Besides, this is a big island. To have the turtles fast forward to where I need them to be - in order to meet up with Jack and company - would be missing a wonderful opportunity to create a world. So, be patient. I promise a swashbuckling good time on the open sea - once I get there. :0) Probably by chapter 7, if not before. And, as it's turning out, this is NOT going to be a short story, but I do hope I keep it from growing to marathon or epic length..
In the meantime, everyone get their swimmies on and start packing AK47's!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter 4 - The Pond
"Yee-freakin- haw!" Mike cheered loudly as he cannonballed into the pond. A geyser of water immediately shot up from where he had just plunged, with gravity quickly claiming the skyrocketing deluge. Now, it showered down and well beyond its launch site, thoroughly drenching his three brothers as they stood along the shoreline.
Moments earlier and drawn by the sound of a waterfall, the four turtles were surprised to discover a pond beyond where the trees opened to a small meadow. Before any of his brothers could stop him,Michelangelo had taken off running. He yipped and hollered excitedly as he sprinted down the hillside. Unbuckling his utility belt as he ran, he dropped it and his nunchukus to the ground. As Mikey neared the bank and despite his three brothers yelling for him to stop, he did three forward handsprings, then gave one more cheer, before leaping into the air. As he sailed high over the surface of the pond, Mike balled himself up seconds before plunging into its waters.
By the time his brother came up for air, Leonardo was livid - and very, very wet. "GET THE SHELL OUT OF THE POND, MICHELANGELO!" he yelled.
As Mike bobbed in the now-rippling lake, he grinned wide and exclaimed, "Hey, Leo, quit the gripping n'com'on in, the water's great!"
Leo threw his hands into the air, "Get OUT, NOW!"
"Ah, Leeeooo," Mikey whined playfully, barely suppressing a giggle, "Whhhyyy?"
"Because we don't know what kind of predators live in there, that's WHY!"
After trudging through dense jungle for several hours, Mike had become comfortable with his surroundings. He had completely forgotten the fact that they were still strangers in this place. Consequently, when he saw the refreshing waters of the pond, it had instantly appealed to the orange-wearing turtle, especially where the oppressive jungle heat had him wishing for home and cooler temperatures. In fact, Mikey thought it rather ironic that he, a reptile, would even wish for something cool in the first place.
Now, up to his neck in the refreshing pond, his eyes grew wide with a sudden understanding to what Leo meant. In the next moment and as his imagination kicked into high gear, Michelangelo found himself thrashing towards shore. Moving faster than he had when he threw himself into the small lake, Mikey now stood alongside his brothers, nervously shifting from foot to foot.
Dripping wet and fidgeting, even though he was perfectly fine, Mike couldn't help but swat at the imagined tentacles wrapping around his legs. As he did, he muttered, whining for real this time, "You - just - had to say that, didn't you, Leo! You had to act like there's some icky monster in there!" Images of giant octopus and squid now played mercilessly with Mike's imagination and he shuddered once, hugging himself protectively.
"Well, Mike," Don remarked, as he shook his head, "given our 'adventures' of late, how could you even ignore that possibility?"
"Idiot!" Raph snorted, critically regarding his youngest brother.
Mikey nervously studied the small lake, absentmindedly sucking at his bottom lip. His now-worried expression implied he really hadn't thought about it. He honestly believed the island was safe, given the fact that the largest 'predator' they had seen so far had been geckos. Now, with Leo's warning, he was having an 'ah ha' moment.
Gulping, Mike shrugged reluctantly. "Guess I should have been more careful." He still couldn't help but moan longingly, though, "But, that water sure felt good!"
"I'm certain it did, Mike, but we need to be careful. You know that," Leo admonished lightly, "Just because we haven't seen anything dangerous or life-threatening yet, doesn't mean there isn't any." He nodded towards the lake, "Something as simple as a pond might hide the very thing that could put us in danger."
By this time, Mike had calmed down, helped by his brother's kinder words. Just the same, he took a few cautionary steps back from the lakeshore. At that point, the ground inclined up the hill, and now Mike stood a little higher than where he was standing moments before. It allowed him a better view of the pond. It was then when he noticed how clear the water was, too.
Craning his head a little, Mike tried to see how deep the lake went - and maybe determine if there were any monsters living there. However, his angle wasn't quite right and so Mike studied the shoreline to see if he could find a better position. His brothers seemed to be doing the same thing, too, each one mindful of the unknown nature of the meadow.
Mike saw that there were trees growing near the bank, but one in particular grew very close to the pond. The tree was tall. One of its main limbs, fifteen feet above the water, stretched far over the small lake. It was a thick branch, too, and looked as if it was strong enough to hold him.
"Hey," he pointed excitedly, "Maybe I can crawl out on that limb there and see what's swimming in the lake?"
Leo saw the tree and noticed how far its branch stretched out over the water. It would definitely allow anyone from that vantage point to look down into the pond. With how clear the water was, it wouldn't be too difficult to see what lived there, either.
"Well, I guess that might work," Leo smiled, "but make sure you take into account underwater caves and other hiding places, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Mike chirped happily and then he was off, sprinting down and around the lake towards his target. Soon, he was climbing the tree, scooting up the fifteen feet of trunk to the branch in question. However, as he began inching his way along the limb, Mike quickly discovered it was slick with moss. He had to move carefully, now, going slower than he wanted, but he didn't want to fall, either. As it was, he almost slipped at one point, causing Leo to call out for him to be careful. The youngest turtle quickly recovered his balance, though, and continued his progress along the branch.
After he went as far as he could, Mike went about the business of inspecting the lake, staring down into its depths and giving it a thorough look. After a moment,Mikey finally hollered to his brothers, "Dudes, this water's so clear, it's like it's not there at all! I can easily see the bottom!"
"That's great, Mike, but how deep is it?" Don called out.
Mike furrowed his brow, "Right, lemme see," and so he stared again at the pond. After a moment, "It might be twenty feet deep, maybe twenty-five. It's kind of rocky, too, like that volcanic stuff we've been seein' a lot of." He squinted and then declared, "an' I see lots of grassy stuff and reeds. Hey, I see FISH, but they aren't acting like there's anything down there wantin t'eat'em. In fact, they're kind of kickin' back."
"What about the waterfall?" Leo asked.
"Right, the waterfall, I was just going to do that!" Mike glanced over at the cataract. Hmm… Mike thought to himself. He noticed the fall wasn't the hard-core variety, not where the water obscured the rock face behind it. Even though enough spilled over the top to qualify it as a waterfall, its waters cascading melodiously to the pond below, it was sparse enough to show there weren't any caves there. Likewise, the pond seemed vacant of such ominous hiding places, too.
More than elated with what he had found - or didn't find, as the case may be, Michelangelo officially deemed the pond safe for swimming! He excitedly yelled out to his brothers, "Nothing bigger than a trout in here, DUDES!"
Happily, Mike shimmied back towards the tree trunk. Once there, the spry turtle leapt down to the ground, rolling as he dropped to break his fall, and then was up again in one seamless move. Running back to his brothers, he declared breathlessly, "That water's just calling t'us, Leo! Please, pretty please, can we go swimming?" Mikey begged with palmed hands, grinning wide, and standing as antsy as a kindergartner in line for recess. His excitement was contagious, too, as his brothers now smiled wide in reply. Each was just as eager to cool of with a swim as their youngest sibling was!
Not long afterwards, two of the four brothers frolicked like children in the pond. The other two did a quick perimeter check, just to be cautious. Yet, just before joining Mike in the lake, it was Don's quiet assessment to Leo about the kind of island he believed they were on, and it added some reservation to their momentary reprieve.
"Considering the kind of plant life we've encountered since coming out of the lava tube, we're somewhere in the Caribbean, or at least near South America," Don had reasoned, "There could be jaguars or even reptilian carnivores."
"What do you mean by 'reptilian carnivores?" Leo asked softy, as Mike regaled Raph with information about what was in the pond.
"Well, alligators, crocodiles, and anaconda, for one."
"That's three, Don, and how would we know if they lived here?"
"Not sure, but from what I can see arond the shoreline," he kneeled into the sand, "only birds and small lizards - like geckos - have been coming to these waters." Don looked around, "I don't think this pond has ever had anything bigger visiting it." He stood up now and nodded towards the rocky area where the waterfall was, "But, that doesn't mean I'm right. That precipice up there would be a good place for something like a jaguar to hang out, just waiting for the right kind of meal to come along."
Leo stared up at the volcanic hill-rise and replied, "Yes, you may be right,. but I can't deny that the pond looks inviting. You and Mike go on in; I think the pond is safe for now. Raph and I will go and check on that waterfall."
As Don turned to go and get Mike, Leo called after hint, keeping his voice low so as not to offend his youngest brother, "Oh, and double-check the bottom, too; he might have missed something."
Not more than a minute later, Don and Mike both discovered that not only was the pond clear as glass, but it was cool and pristine, too. And, compared to the high heat and humidity, never had water felt so good!
Nevertheless, Don was still certain that they were probably the first humans - or mutants - ever to disturb the small lake. It was even better than the pond back at Casey's farm. Moreover, true to what Mike had seen while on the tree branch, nothing bigger than a five-pound fish patrolled the rocky and grass cluttered bottom. In fact, the relative safety of the pond allowed the turtles a bit of a break from their anxieties.
While the two youngest played 'dunk the turtle', the two elder brothers explored the waterfall. The small meadow where the pond lay didn't seem to have any evidence of predators. Yet, as Don had pointed out, the area above the waterfall, where that end of the meadow hilled up to a height of about twenty feet as it ran up the mountain, was hard to determine. Leonardo and Raphael easily climbed the dry side of the waterfall's rough, volcanic face. With one katana unsheathed as a precaution, Leo led the way. As he neared the top, he slowed, with Raphael doing likewise - and with one sai in his hand. Yet, the moment, Leonardo crested the edge of the precipise, he discovered a brook at the very top and which fed the waterfall.
He stood there quietly, with Raph coming up alongside of him. Now, both brothers and saw how the stream seemed to stretch far back into the rainforest and out of sight. An almost impregnable forest of trees filled the hillside, too, growing right down to the stream's bank. The embankment, itself, appeared canyon-like as it ran away from the brook. The father back it went, the deeper the gorge became, as it pushed its way up the mountainside and into the jungle. It was obvious that there were seasons here where it rained heavily, thereby causing the brook to erode away the dirt and volcanic rock of the embankment. It would explain why the sides were so high.
"Bet when it rains, this stream gets pretty big, an' then this waterfall would be really somethin' to see!" Raph theorized.
"Probably, but then the pond would flood, I would think. But, where does the extra water go?" Leo wondered aloud. He searched the lake below them. It didn't take long before Leonardo spied a streambed along the opposite side from where they had set up camp. "There, half-way around. It flows out from that point."
"Where does it go after that,. though?" Raph wondered rhetorically.
"Hmm…" Leo smiled and looked over at his red-banded brother, "Probably heads for the ocean! Seems like we have another adventure to look forward to!"
"Yeah," Raph grinned.
"But, I think we need to rest. This is as good a spot as any we've seen so far," Leo remarked.
Now, both stood there,silent, as they listened tothe sounds of birds and other tree-dwelling creatures calling out to one another. It was truly a jungle in everysense of the word.
Then, with his face more relaxed than it had been in a long while, Raphael remarked, "Ya know, Leo-san, I sure hope we get back to Splinter again, but if we don't, even without the sun shinin', this ain't such a bad place."
Reluctantly, Leo had to agree with his brother. He knew that, between the fish and the variety of fruit trees, they could very well live quite comfortably in this place if they had to. Its serenity seemed to strike a chord, too, and that resonated deep within the turtle. It was a basic need to find solace and peace. Still, there was a deeper, stronger need to find home, too- a home that he was familiar with and one where his father waited for their return.
Convinced the area was completely safe, Leo and Raph sheathed their weapons and climbed back down to join their brothers in the pond.
A short while later…
"MARCO!" one voice called out.
"POLO!" came three voices in reply. Each one came from a different location from the other, with its owner treading water in anxious anticipation.
Leo, his bandanna turned around so he couldn't see, swam in the direction of the voices. He heard two distinct sounds of splashing, as if two of his three brothers were trying to swim away from him.
But, where was the third, he wondered silently?
He stopped and listened, using his ninja sense. After a moment, Leo heard a soft, quiet 'bloop', as if someone had just ducked underwater. To the average person, it would have been hard to hear, but Leonardo - as well as his brothers - had learned to detect such subtle, inconspicuous sounds.
Quickly evaluating the direction of the noise, Leo took two, quick strokes in that direction and stopped. Keeping his feet still and using his arms to stay afloat. he cocked his head a bit and listened. He then focused on the way the water moved below the surface and around his legs. Suddenly, he felt a ripple, a current, where there shouldn't have been any.
Without warning, he slipped underwater and out of sight. A second later and a few feet away, he abruptly resurfaced again. Now,Donatello struggled in his clutches.
As Raph and Mikey laughed at their brother, Donnie complained mightily, more surprised than he was angry. He thrashed and hollered in protest, yet his discontented shouts quickly turned to laughter, too.
As his brother released him, "Man, Leo, I can't get passed you to save my life!" Don chuckled.
"That's why I'm the great leader, Don!" Leo laughed, almost mockingly.
Instantly, the blue-masked turtle found himself under attack as a huge spray of water pelted him from behind. Mike and Raph continued their watery bombardment of their older brother, smacking the surface of the pondto create the blinding shower. This only enticed Don to join his beleaguered brother. Now, an all-out water war erupted between the two opposing sides.
A while later the four brothers tiredly dragged themselves up out of the pond. All four flopped exhausted along the grassy shoreline. Between the hike and the swim, they were plumb tuckered out. Side-by-side they lay, looking up at the dismally, gray, cloud-covered sky. They noticed it was getting darker, too, which probably meant that it would be dusk, soon. They were hungry, as well, but far too tired to get up and do anything about it. So, they just continued to lay there, silent, and more content than they had been since arriving on the island. Each wore a smile and before long, each had fallen asleep.
It was hard to tell how long he had slept, but Leo was the first to wake and it wasn't because he wasn't tired anymore.
The absence of light startled him at first. No stars above, no moon, either, nothing but the pitch black of a lightless, night-filled world greeted him. Even the clouds were too dark to see at first.
Strange, he remarked silently, I would think some light from the moon would at least bleed through…
Leo then heard a sudden movement coming from the rainforest a hundred yards away - and it startled him. He sat straight up and turned to face the noise. It seemed to come just beyond the boundaries of the meadow, too, opposite from where the pond was. He realized then that the noise was what had woken him!
Whomever the noise belonged to, though, seemed to be heading right where they were. It shuffled quickly along and sounded heavy, yet not seeming the least bit worried about someone hearing it. The creature then crashed through brush a short ways off as it entered the meadow. Leo realized with a sudden and growing trepidation that he and his brothers were directly in its path!
"Raph," Leo hissed quietly and desperatelyto his brother as he lay next to him.
Raphael mumbled incoherently in his sleep. But when Leonardo clamped a hand over his brother's mouth, shook him, and repeated his name right into his ear, the red-banded turtle shot straight up.Reacting from years of training as a ninja, he instinctively tried to grab at whoever had wakened him. Leo effectively blocked his attempt, though, and as he did, he hissed sharply, "Raph, it's me, Leo, keep quiet, something's coming."
Without asking what it was, Raph helped Leo rouse Mike and Don.
Quickly gathering their weapons, all four brothers quietly scrambled for cover. While they strapped their equipment on, they ran as fast as they could. At the same time, they tried to remember where things were, where the unusual lightless night made it too dark to see anything at all. Only in the deepest part of the New York sewer system was it as dark, but at least there, they were familiar with the tunnels. Here they were virtual strangers. Now they truly had to rely on their ninja training.
The only object that stood out in their recent memory as having even the remotest chance of aiding them was the tree Mike had climbed earlier. Remembering its exact location along the lake, Leo led his brothers to it. They were already in its leafy branches by the time they heard something slam into the base of the tree below them. There was a growl of sorts and a hiss, followed by another attempt for whatever it was to compromise the evergreen. After a moment, though, it seemed to give up. There was a short pause and then something charged into the pond, with the sound of water disrupting the quiet of the night! Various birds squawked in protest, as other creatures joined in the complaint. It was obvious that the locals did not welcome whatever had found its way to the meadow.
"Man, that was too close!" Donnie quietly exclaimed.
"I don't know what that was, guys," Mike whispered nervously, his words trembling as he spoke, "but no way am I ever goin' in that pond again! In fact, I think I'll spend the rest of my time here in this tree. Yeah, it's a good tree, I like it. I can stay here until one of you can find a way off this island."
"Ditto, Mikey," Raph agreed, "But it looks like Leo was right about predators, except your monster prefers hunting at night."
"Thanks, Raph!" Mike said as he glared at Raphael, even if he wasn't able to see his expression.
"No problem, bro," his brother snickered.
Suddenly, they heard the lake erupt into a frenzied sound of 'something' splashing about. It was violent with an occasional low, guttural growl breaking the otherwise quiet. It went on for a while, long enough to convince the turtles in the tree that they were going to have to sleep there for the night.
Now, all four brothers climbed higher until each had found a niche in which to snuggle, balancing into it as best they could.
However, sleep did not come easily for them, though; at least not enough of it. By early morning, just as the meadow began to lighten with a new day, the grumpies had invaded the hapless four. As a result, each had all they could do to keep from snapping at one another.
"Would you paleeze get yer arm outtamyside," Raph growled.
Mike, who hadn't been as successful in finding his own spot in the tree, had used Raphael as his support. His brother had found a rather large crook high up and had claimed it for himself. Yet, because of their desperate situation, Raph allowed his baby brother to lean in against him.
Nevertheless, enough was enough.
"Eitheh find another spot, Mikey, or s'help me I'll toss ya to whateveh's in that pond!"
"Okay, okay, it was dark last night, Raph; you were the best choice I had to sleep with," Mike grumped.
Just above them, Leo and Don busted up laughing, but Raph only shook his head, as he groaned, "Mike, try t'pick yer words more caref'ly, 'kay? That sounded wrong on so many levels."
"What?" Mike snapped groggily, clueless to his brother's comment. It only took a second for it to sink in, though. "Oh, Give. Me. a break, Raph, As IF!" Mike grumpily remarked. Then, where he could now see better, he quickly began climbing further up in the tree to get above his brother. As he hoisted himself higher into the branches, he firmly placed a foot ontop ofRaph's head, using itas a step stool. Yet, before Raph could snap his hand up and try to grab onto Mikey's foot, Michelangelo was well beyond his brother's reach.
The orange-wearing turtle then stuck out his tongue, "Na, na, na, can't get me!"
"Plenty o'time for that!" Raph sneered, "you better like bein' in a tree, Mikey, cuz payback's just 'round the corner!" He leaned against the trunk, agian, and could almost envision his brother's second 'ah ha' moment.
Eventually, the meadow brightened to early morning. The clouds didn't seem as thick, either, and so the area seemed sunnier as a result. Now, Leonardo thought it was time to see what had invaded their little corner of paradise.
He worked his way down to the same branch Mike had used the day before and noticed the moss growing along the limb. Leoimmediately compensated by slowing his progress. As he edged his way ,along the branch, he stopped when he was directly over the pond. Ever mindful that falling into the water right then was NOT an option, he now inspected the lake.
Peering into the clear water below him, all Leo saw were the fish as they swam among the reeds and rocks. The day before, he had explored its depths, just after he and Raph had joined their brothers and before they decided on a game of Marco Polo. He didn't note anything unusual at the time and it seemed to him that it was in the same condition, now, as then.
Some of the fish appeared to be hiding, though. Leo saw that there weren't as many as there had been originally and he wondered about that, remembering how active the water had been during the night.
Yet, before he could figure it out, Leo glanced over towards the far side of the pond where the waterfall was. As he peered across the small lake and assessed the cascading flow of water, something at its base on the rocks, just above the pond, piqued his interest. It was a strange shape, unusual in that he didn't remember it as being there the previous day. It was lying low along the top of the rocks, a little left of the falls. Leonardo squinted to get a better look, trying to remember if maybe there had been a rock with an unusual shape.
Still, the form appeared oddly out of place, because the more Leonardo thought about it, the more he realized that it wasn't there initially. He stared harder, now, wondering what in the world it could be. It was lighter in hue to the rocks, grayer even, and its texture looked quite leathery.
Then, just as he thought of asking Don's opinion - fully confident his genius brother would know what it was - the thing on the rock moved!
Between wondering what it was and then realizing it was alive and moving, surprised Leo so suddenly that he jerked back.
And, as he did, in that same moment, Fearless Leader lost his grip on the moss-encrusted branch!
Now, Leonardo's fingers raked desperately over the slippery bark as his body twisted out of balance. He tried to find purchase on the tree limb again, anything to hold onto, but found none. He felt instantly foolish, too, for he never lost his balance, not ever! Yet the almost frictionless texture of the mossy limb made it impossible for him to grab.
The next thing Leo knew, he fell headlong towards the pond below!
And, instinctively, he called out. It proved to be a big mistake, too.
Alerted to their brother's plight, Raph, Don, and Mike turned in his direction, to see what was wrong.
Then, at the base of the waterfall, another head turned to look, too, but this one was long and filled with menacing teeth!
As Leonardo swiveled his head to glance back towards the falls, instantly the blue-banded turtle regretted making even a single sound. He saw a creature, long in body and snout, with an equally long tail, slip into the water.
In that moment a terrible word came to Leonardo's mind - and it nearly stopped his heart.
Gator!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A/N - Bwahahahaha!