Disclaimer – Yes, another onr. Go me. Anyway, just a 'little' chapter to keep the interest going. I'm still struggling with writer's block and life became – more interesting for a while there, when my husband was out of work for 6 weeks. Laid off; first time, too! But, he's back working again – hopefully for good, and so I thought I'd brush this chapter off and upload it. If you find any inconsistencies, please don't hesitate to tell me. After all this time, I might lose a few facts here and there. :0)

This was a hard chapter to write, for some reason; maybe because I'm rounding the 'far turn' of this story, heading for the home stretch (though I still have a few chapters to go before that happens). Ending a story is just as important – if not more so – than starting one. There has to be a sizable penultimate event to tighten the tale, so to speak, so I have to build up to it. When I finally tag this with an epilogue, it will end the story in the right way (I hope). Ah, the woes of writing. To appease not only my anal-retentive perfectionist self, but the eager expectations of my loyal readers. I write for you, yes, though I write for me, too. Nevertheless, without your indulgence and faithful attention, I would have very little enthusiasm to create! Thank you.

Chapter 28 – Land HO!

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If Mike wasn't bored, then he was restless, and if he wasn't restless, then he was a nuisance with his brothers and the crew.

And if he wasn't a nuisance, then he just wasn't having any fun, which meant he was bored, which would give way to his restlessness, which would…

Well, at least Mike had established some sort of routine.

Nevertheless, after the 'fun' of dueling with swashbuckling sailors, dashed once again were his dreams of what it would be like to sail the open sea.

Seriously, Mike lamented, these guys need some sort of hobby, other than swapping freaking ghost stories or talkin' about the best way t'gut…sea turtles. And what in blazes IS a salamander stew?

Maybe that wasn't quite the right name of the stew. Still, the thought of eating anything that had turtle in, regardless of genus, nearly made Mike sick, if not for the curse. Even the name of the stew sounded horrible, yet Mike was certain the pirates only wanted to annoy him. Of course, none of the men would dare say as much in front of Raph or Leo – or even Don, but whenever Mike found himself alone with the crew, they would launch into their best description with how to 'de-shell' a leatherback.

Of course, Mike probably brought all of this on himself. Until the comment he made almost a week following his first sea battle, the men actually held him in high regard. Mostly because of the way in which Mike fought the British. He had redeemed himself fully, in fact, enjoying pats on the back and kind words of praise…well, as kind as any pirate could muster.

Still, it only took about a week following the fight for Mike to become bored all over again.

At first, he tried distracting himself by watching porpoise keep pace with the ship, as he had done prior to meeting up with the British. This time he secured himself to the bowsprit with a line attached to his belt, just in case Jack felt a need to turn the Pearl about, as he had a few days earlier. Sometimes Mikey would even see a whale from that vantage point. That always made him cheer, although none of the crew could quite figure out why anyone would get so excited. It's not like they were in the whaling business.

On a few occasions, Mike even caught sight of sharks breeching the water as they chased their prey to the surface. Some of the menacing fish were quite large and made Mike glad he was in safekeeping on the Black Pearl. Maybe the sharks couldn't hurt him, but they were certainly scary enough to cause him to forget he was cursed and impervious to harm.

Mikey tried hard to keep himself occupied, he really did, but he couldn't help feeling constrained and sorely restricted with his limited activities. Even the katas that Leo had Mike and his brothers do seemed exciting; that's how bored the poor turtle was. Two hours in the morning and the same set in the evening. Mike was actually beginning to look forward to them.

"Man, we better hit land before I start turning into Leo!"

Then, for a few days, Mike tried to see how fast he could climb the masts, or how much time it would take to run the entire circumference of the Pearl, but it did little to distract him from the long, boring voyage. He soon realized that one can only do stuff like that so many times before it gets really old, really fast.

And, so, nearly two weeks after the fight with the British, Mike found himself one day wandering up to where Jack piloted the Pearl. As the turtle leaned against the railing while the pirate kept the Pearl on her course, Michelangelo absentmindedly, made an ill-timed – and poorly worded – remark. It was an innocent mumble, really, mostly Mikey thinking out-loud. Never a good thing to do, his brothers would say.

"How much longer is this gonna take?" Mike whined, "I mean there has to be an island somewhere, right?" he waved his arms around for emphasis, "There's nothing to do here, other than swabbing decks or tightening sails. Seriously, how many times can you do that anyway?" Mike sighed loudly, "There's isn't even a rec hall. Personally, this ship's… too small! There's nowhere to run, nothin' t'do. It's givin' me claustro…!" and then, suddenly, Mike found the business end of Jack's gun pressed into his nose.

"Ye take it back, laddie. M'ship isn't small; it's quite large fer a pirate ship and fast, too, even without th'curse." Jack didn't know what claustrophobia was, of course, but just hearing someone call the Pearl 'small' didn't help Mike's situation. In fact, Jack took great offense to the turtle's words.

"B…but, compared to land…" Mike tried to explain.

"Mind yer words, mate, or you'll be breathin' through yer ear-holes!"

Mike gulped and apologized, but it did little to appease his now defunct reputation, "Sorry, I'm just – used to more room, is all, and…"

"Not another word, lad!" Jack hissed.

Mike's faux pas would have remained with just the Captain, too, but Gibbs had overhead the idle comment, where he had been working just above, tightening a sail. Inevitably, word got around. Once the rest of the men heard about it, Mike's reputation went belly-up...again.

Forgotten, now, were his exploits against the British. All the men cared about was the insulting remark the turtle made about the Pearl – and to the captain, no less! The men began treating him as if he didn't exist or, if they had to address him, they punctuated their words with insults. And, of course, they took every advantage to explain once again the delicate technique to making salamagundi stew.

So THAT's what it's called, Mikey thought, somewhat mollified with the correction. At least it doesn't include salamanders – or newts, for that matter, he sighed in relief.

For a while after that, Mike sequestered himself down in the captain's quarters and out of sight from the crew. He sat at the large window at the back and watched the wake the Black Pearl made as she sliced through the sea. The water frothed and tumbled and a few porpoise 'bathed' in the foamy substance, playing with the turbulent backwash. Mike smiled for a moment and then overheard the captain shout orders from outside, above him. He hoped it would be about finding land, but – nope – it was all about getting as much speed from 'them sails' as possible. Mikey sighed again and rested his arms along the sill. He had half a mind to toss himself to sea, again, but given his current relationship with the captain and the crew, they probably wouldn't bother to rescue him.

Suddenly, a noise from behind caused Mike to sit straight up and turn around, but when he saw it was only Raphael coming through the doorway, he relaxed.

"Hey, what're ya doin' in here, Mike?"

Mike shrugged, "Nothin'."

"Seriously, bro, you'd rather be in here than out there with th'fresh air?" Raph pointed towards the door and then he sniffed, "I mean, with no restrooms and showers on this boat, this place stinks worse than th'sewers back home."

Mike chuckled halfheartedly and then turned back around to stare out the window again. He didn't flinch as Raph came up behind him and place a hand on his left shoulder. He felt his brother squeeze his shoulder, as Raph said, "Um, bro…it's all right, you know. I can't wait to be on land again myself!" he admitted quietly, "I've had enough of bein' at sea. I've been gettin' as 'stir crazy' as an electric mixer on steroids!"

"Yeah, but tell that to Jack and see where it gets you!"

"Hey, you insulted his ship!"

"I was stating the truth." Mike sighed again.

"And the truth is, Mikey, there's not much to compare the Pearl to, so as far as Jack and this crew are concerned…she is a big ship."

"Now you're starting to sound just like Donnie!" Mike suddenly grinned, only to get his head smacked in return, "OW!"

"Hey, now yer insultin' me!" Raph laughed, "But seriously, you're th'comic relief around here. I mean, I've treated you worse than these guys have and you've always bounced back."

Mike's smile faded a bit, "Yeah, but this time it's different somehow. Maybe…it's the curse, or…maybe it's knowin' we might never see Sensei again, get back home, ya know?"

"Don will get us back, Mike. You can be sure of that."

"How can you be so sure? I mean, it's strange enough how we got here!" Mike's eyes became teary then, "I'm so homesick, Raphie. All of this has been a great adventure, but I'm ready to go home. I'd do anything right now to get us all home." He sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But, we need t'make the best of it; that is...until we know for certain." Raph quickly smiled, "Hey…at least we don't have an overpopulated world to deal with. I'm sure if we have to stay here in this timeline Sparrow might know of a deserted island or maybe he can even drop us off somewhere near Florida."

Giving a half shrug, Mike turned back to stare out the window again, "Whatever. I just…what to walk on solid land again and not feel like I'm walking like I'm half-drunk all the time."

xxxxx

Two days later, Mike once again found himself positioned on the bowsprit while the rest of the crew worked the sails, tightened lines, and did whatever they did to keep the Pearl running smoothly. The crew had eased up on harassing him, too, so Mike tried to enjoy his time outside as much as he could. But, he still did his best to stay out of everyone's way.

It was forenoon when, suddenly, a shout from above grabbed everyone's attention. Giving a long punctuation for each word, the lookout in the crow's nest called, "LAAAAND HO!"

A thrill filled Mike like no other. Considering how the curse had dampened any kind of excitement, it felt almost intoxicating. With his own enthusiasm nearly off the charts, the moment he heard the shout, he had to see for himself. He untied himself from the bowsprit, worked his way back onto the ship, and then raced down the upper deck to the lower one, making for the main mast. Quickly shimmying up the tall pole, the moment Mike reached the top, he looked all over, finally settling on the southwestern horizon. That was when he saw the wondrous site of trees and mountains along its edge.

Cheering wildly, he nearly fell from his perch. Quickly rebalancinghimself on the yardarm, Mike yelled down to his brothers below.

"HEY, GUYS, HE'S RIGHT…THERE'S LAND! I CAN SEE TREES AND MOUNTAINS AND AND…LAND!" and then he almost fell off the yardarm, again, but he caught himself just in time, grabbing one of the lines. In his exuberance, Mike took out a chuck and slapped it over the line leading to deck. Yodeling like the exuberant turtle he was and hanging onto both sticks, Mike quickly slid all the way down to deck, bouncing off the railing with his feet and doing a neat flip to stand next to his brothers.

"I take it there's land ahead?" Don asked, smiling at his little brother.

"Yep!" Mike grinned brightly, "Lots of it, too!" and nearly giggled hysterically with pent up excitement.

Despite everyone's anxiousness to reach land, it took a couple of hours to reach the shoreline. Mike positioned himself on the bowsprit again, determined to watch as the island – or continent – grew in size. His grin grew just as big, too, as the horizon filled with trees and mountainous jungle. They anchored the Pearl about a couple hundred yards out, far enough to keep the boat afloat and not have to row very far to the beach. Considering the uncertainty of how long their next leg of the trip would take, three of the crew whom Jack trusted most – other than Mr. Gibbs – would remain behind with the Pearl. After all, other pirates – and especially the British – patrolled these parts. It would have been unwise to leave the ship so vulnerable, not that three crewmen could defend the Pearl – or even sail her - but it was better than leaving her without any crew at all.

And, of course, the cursed condition of both ship and man would be in their favor.

Jack had wanted Elizabeth to stay behind, but she insisted otherwise. "I will not leave myself to the whims of your – men, Captain, curse of no! And I will not put my Will into the position of guarding my honor, either. So, I will go with you…or," and here she smiled coyly, "if you force my hand to stay behind, I will toss ALL of your rum!"

Jack knew then that he had lost the argument.

The first couple of trips involved getting most of the crew to shore. Despite Jack's insistence and one sibling's complaint, Leo decided that he and his brothers would be last to leave the ship.

"Why can't we be first, bro? Why, why, why, huh? Com'on, Leo, have a heart for cry'n out loud!" Mikey whined, pouting unhappily.

"Trust me, Mike, okay?" Leo whispered.

"But, Leo…" and then Donnie eased up next to him and spoke softly to Mikey, taking care that the pirate captain would not overhear him.

"You want Jack to leave us marooned? He could do that, Mike, that is...if we go first. He could betray us - and his men - just to take the gold, and leave us here, while he sails off to his real destination, that is if this one is just a decoy."

"But, I thought he…"

"The GOLD, Mike, is cursed, remember? Don't you feel like keeping it to yourself?" Don raised one eye ridge.

Mike was silent for a moment, mulling over what Donnie had said. Finally and unhappily, he crossed his arms in petulance, harrumphing, "Okay, fine, we go last."

After depositing the second round of men on the beach, they went about tying together several of the long ropes that they had brought with them to shore. Securing one end to the stern of the longboat, while those on land held the opposite end, one man rowed the boat back to the ship for the chest of gold. Using the boom and in the way that they did when they first brought the treasure on board from the island, Leo and his brothers helped the pirates carefully lower the chest into the longboat's belly. Once they had the treasure secured, they had Raphael and one of the crewman swim alongside to steady the boat, while those on the beach pulled the vessel to shore. Once they had the chest unloaded and on the sand, while Raphael waited with the others, his partner rowed back to get the Captain, the rest of the crew, along with Leo, Don, and Mikey.

As the longboat eased up to the Pearl, Jack watched its arrival from the upper deck. He sniffed once and reminded Leonardo again about his complaint, "Ya see that, laddie," he pointed, "how much quicker it would have been had we two boats? Taken too long t'get me men and th'gold t'shore, it is. Four trips it took, when it should have been two."

"Whatever, Captain, at least we have a boat," Leo replied, groaning, "At least we don't have to walk." He was getting rather tired of the Captain's whining.

"Nev'r th'less, it's impeded me task," and under his breath, Jack muttered, "Stupid turtle."

"Stubborn pirate," Leo muttered in reply.

"If ya weren't cursed already…" Jack patted the hilt of his cutlass and gave a threatening sidelong glance at the ninja.

"If YOU weren't cursed as well…" Leo turned a steady eye on the man and winked, not smiling, and then he blinked. "Um…sorry." Golly, he thought, this curse really does a number on a person!

"Whatever," and Jack pushed away from the bulwark to head over to the gap in the ship's railing, where below waited his one and only longboat. He glanced back over his shoulder at the turtle, "Either way, Mr. Leonardo, I've forgiven ya yer charity. Who knows, maybe I'll even have fewer men to worry about once were done with this lil' adventure." Jack smiled, "After all, when we lift this blasted curse, we'll have bigger problems to consider!"

"Why so?" Leo asked as he joined up with the captain.

"I heard…these Aztecs are cannibals!" The man grinned mischievously.

Leo's eyes widened slightly, but even though Jack turned his head away, there was a bit of a smile playing along the man's mouth. Leo was certain the captain was kidding, but there was also something else in the man's expression. As he climbed down the side of the Pearl and situated himself in the boat with Don and Mike, and the rest of the men going to shore, Leonardo knew that whatever awaited them, he and his brothers would deal with it; that is if it meant lifting the curse and finding their way back home. Leo would do anything, now, to make sure of it, too.

xxxxxx

TBC