TMNT: Beauty and Dangerous (TMNT 2k12 OC fanfic)

Chapter 13: The Temple

He has finally reached to the end of his journey. There is still time for him to save his home.

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   Alex ran over to his siblings, with Mikey in the midst of his explanation of the recent events. "Not gonna ask what kept you," Leo said to his black-and-blue masked brother. "Assuming that the Guardian wanted to tell you something." the leader finished. "He said that he hoped that I found whatever it is that I'm looking for at the temple." Alex recalled. "And you think it's something that can help us defeat Temptress, right?" Leo asked. "It's not just that, Leo." the younger turtle replied. "This entire quest, why Temptress wants me, everything else that's been happening..." he began to explain. "There's something about it that I just can't shake." Alex said as he looked down.

   Leo took a moment to contemplate what Alex just said. "Splinter did say that you struggled to keep a grip on your powers before this ordeal started," the leader said. "I know there's clearly something between you and the Spirit Realm, but I don't have the knowledge to know what it is." he concluded. Leo turned his gaze back to Alex, his royal blue eyes meeting the younger turtle's cerulean blue orbs. "I'm sorry that I wasn't much help." the blue masked turtle said apologetically. The scarred turtle let out a quiet sigh. "It's okay, Leo," he said softly. "I guess it's better than nothing at this point."

   The six siblings emerged from the mystic forest and looked at the short path ahead of them. Up ahead by several yards, the Hamatos noticed the side view of a large white structure. Alex's cerulean blue eyes grew wide in realization. "Guys, this is it!" he exclaimed. "C'mon!" the scarred turtle then ran ahead of the Turtles and Karai, who all paced behind him. They all met at the base of a long stairway and looked up ahead. "Yeah, that definitely looks like a temple to me." Raph said as he gazed up at the temple. "We better get moving, everyone." Leo assured. The other siblings all nodded in agreement and proceeded up the massive stairway up to the entrance of the temple.


   The temple was exactly how Alex had envisioned it as seen in his dream. It was clearly a massive structure constructed with white boards, bright blue roofs and silver accents. The doorway before the five mutants and kunoichi was made of two doors that towered over them, with a décor of blue stones and a pair of large silver handles. Donnie was quick to observe the placement of the door handles. "Those are way too high up for us to reach." he observed. "Let me try something here, D." Mikey said with confidence as he whipped out his nunchuck. He then converted it into a Kusarigama and threw the chain around one of the door handles, in which it was barely able to wrap around.

   "Help me pull it open!" Mikey urged as he began pulling with all his might. The five older siblings were hesitant at first, but they soon joined Mikey's side and began to help him pull. With all their effort, the chain unfortunately unraveled from the handle, with all six Hamatos falling backward. "Well, that was just great." Raph muttered to himself as he and the others regained their footing. The hotheaded turtle then proceeded to the doorway and began to pound on the doors. "Raph, what are you doing?" Karai asked. "What does it look like I'm doing?!" Raph responded with a huff in his already tense voice. Leo proceeded to join Raph's side and caught a fist in his hands. "And you really think beating up the door is going to get us inside?" the older turtle brother asked. "I was trying to break it down!" the red masked turtle retorted.

   "You know if we do that, New York is going to be a supernatural wasteland by the time we get inside." Leo explained bitterly. Soon, the two Turtles were in yet another verbal quarrel, with Karai, Alex, Mikey and Donnie standing by, watching them awkwardly. "Aw, geez. They're at it again." Mikey commented. "These can be kind of amusing, honestly." Karai said with a light smirk. "Yeah, but the longer we stand by and watch them fight, the more likely we'll never get home." Alex responded. "Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this is a total waste of time." Donnie muttered softly. Hearing his brother's side comment, Alex rolled his eyes with a soft smile, all while catching a glimpse of something on his left.


   Staring down at Alex was a giant white statue of a dragon, with bright blue stones in place of eyes. The black-and-blue masked turtle stared at the dragon statue curiously, feeling a strange alluring force from it. His cerulean blue eyes then grew large and slowly proceeded to the doorway. Karai and the two younger Turtles looked at their brother strangely, especially after he walked between Leo and Raph, breaking them from their argument. "Alex?" Leo asked his second younger brother, who now stood at the doorway with wide eyes.

   Alex then slowly reached for a couple random stones at the doors. He closed his eyes and began to feel around some of the stones, much to the other Hamatos' confusion. "What is he doing?" Mikey whispered to his older siblings. "I'm not sure, Mikey," Leo started softly. "But he's been acting strange lately, and I think I might have an idea." he finished in a soft whisper. "Well, I just hope whatever weird thing he's doing helps us get inside this temple." Raph added with an equally quiet whisper.

   The Hamatos soon notice Alex take a few steps backward from the doorway. The scarred turtle opened his eyes, which now glowed white, and began to make peculiar arm movements and hand gestures. With each careful move he made, the five noticed a random stone on the door begin to glow a bright blue. "I think he's using some type of sequence to unlock the door." Donnie theorized. "This is basically a puzzle." he said after taking a moment to process the information. When the last stone of the sequence began to glow, a bright white flash of light seeped through the crack between the two doors.

   Alex then lowered his arms, blinked a few times and dizzily held his head. Leo then raced to his brother's side and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, Alex?" he asked. Alex then looked up at Leo with slight confusion. "What happened?" he asked his blue masked brother. "You just got us in." Mikey spoke up in response, as he pointed at the doorway before the siblings. Alex then looked to see the two large doors slowly open up, a white glow illuminating from the inside of the temple. "I did that...?" Alex asked softly, completely surprised.

  "Yeah, and if there's something in here that'll help us stop Temptress, we should head inside now." Donnie responded. Alex nodded and looked at the open doorway before the Hamatos. "Let's go, guys." Leo urged as he, Donnie, Raph, Mikey and Karai proceeded to enter. Alex then straightened himself out and followed behind his siblings. He stopped to look at the dragon statue behind him. The black-and-blue masked turtle was not sure what he felt from that statue, but it had to be the least of his worries at that point. Alex then faced forward before entering the temple with the others, the doors closing right behind him.


   Upon entry, the six Hamatos were greeted with a massive hallway with blue and silver decorative pillars acting as the Temple's support. On the walls, there hung several murals and display cases of different weapons. To the left of the hall, there was also a shelf that kept various scrolls. "Let's look around and see if any of us find something in here." Leo suggested before he and the others split up and began looking around the temple.

   Raph and Karai both gazed at the different ancient weaponry displayed on the temple walls. "Well, I'm not sure how these should help defeat a spirit that's turning New York into a personal garden." Raph said out loud. "I concur," Karai started. "But with weapons like those, they make great decoration." "Or they originally had some type of purpose behind them." the red masked turtle added. The kunoichi glanced over at Raph with a small smirk on her crimson lips. "Look at you, Mr. Weapons Expert." she said. "Don't get started with the ridiculous nicknames, Princess." Raph groaned slightly.

    Donnie looked at all the murals that hung on the walls, his red-brown eyes lit up in fascination. "Whoa, looks at all these mew-raws." Mikey exclaimed. The genius brother looked at his younger sibling and chuckled slightly as he joined his side. "Murals, actually." Donnie corrected. "And I didn't know you had a thing with artwork such as this." he said. "As an individual with a creative mind, I see that everyone sees the world as a blank canvas." Mikey began to explain. "And when that someone sees that canvas as a chance to create something totally awesome, they take it." the freckled turtle dramatically grasped the air before him in the midst of the explanation. In response, Donnie only rolled his eyes with a small smile. "You're not wrong there, Mike." he said softly.

    Leo and Alex both approached the shelf filled with scrolls, with each taking and examining one before them. The blue masked turtle skimmed through the scroll before looking at his younger brother. "Hey, Alex?" The scarred turtle looked over at Leo as he called his name. "Since you can apparently understand this language or something in this Spirit Realm, you mind translating what this form is called?" the leader asked as he showed the scroll to Alex. "Sure, I can do that." the younger turtle said with a nod and began looking through Leo's scroll.

   "It's called 'The Dragon's Traverse', and this isn't a combat technique," Alex explained. "Okay, what is it then?" Leo asked. Alex began to look at the images of the technique again and just shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure, but that could be useful in facing Temptress." he responded. Leo nodded as he rolled up the scroll. "We should still look around in case we find something else." the leader suggested. Alex nodded in response and noticed something at the end of the long hallway. "Alex?" Leo asked his younger brother, slightly tilting his head in confusion. "I think I found something else," Alex explained. "You guys meet me up there in a few." Leo only nodded at the response as he saw his brother continue down the hall.


    Alex was surprised to see a strange pool at the end of the hallway. The water was crystal clear and pure, much to his awe. He had never seen water this clean and pristine in his lifetime, not even the bodies of water in the forest near the farmhouse could compete. The black-and-blue masked turtle was even surprised to see his reflection clearly in the pool. He then sensed an unfamiliar presence nearby, alerting the young turtle. "The Pool of Comprehension is said to clearly show past events to ones with a clouded mind." a kindly voice addressed Alex. The mutant turned to see an elderly man dressed in a white cloak standing behind him. "Hello, Alexander. I have been expecting you." the man greeted.

   "Who are you?" Alex asked in confusion as he stood up. "I am the Keeper of this temple, and a protector the knowledge kept here." the man responded calmly as he approached the terrapin's side. The Keeper reached for Alex, who backed away slowly. "I assure you, my boy, I will not harm you." the elder spirit said. Alex then nodded slightly and allowed the mysterious stranger to carefully examine him. "I can tell it is hard for you to trust certain individuals." the Keeper observed. "But like her, you can see the good in someone if you allow yourself to trust them." he explained. "Wait, who's 'her'?" Alex asked, somewhat confused. The Keeper paused, took a step back and looked at Alex in the eyes. "I am not surprised that you do not remember," the wise spirit began. "But you were too young to vividly recall how it was that you survived all those years." the Keeper stated as he approached the Pool.

   Alex followed behind the strange man, still uncertain. "Ask a question about something you desire to know, place a possession into the Pool, and it will give you your answer." the Keeper explained to the mutant terrapin. Alex began to look through something in his belt until he felt his finger nearly slice open from a sharp object. He then pulled out the shuriken with the Hamato Clan's symbol engraved in it. Alex felt a small smile curve on his lips and looked back at the Pool. The cerulean blue-eyed turtle let out a deep sigh and lowered the throwing star towards the pure, clean water. "How did I survive that alleyway...?" he asked quietly before dropping the shuriken into the Pool.


   The shuriken lightly plopped into the Pool, with the water briefly splashing upward upon impact. Alex then noticed the throwing star sink deeper into the Pool, but he was also quick to notice the water beginning to stir and swirl around. The water began to form a whirlpool, while it also shimmered and gave off a mystical energy in the Pool. In the eye of the whirlpool, an image began to faintly appear. Alex then leaned a little closer to get a clear view of the image in the Pool.

   "I assume you know how it was you were separated from your family in the first place." the Keeper asked the turtle as he saw the images of Splinter fighting the Kraang in the last moments of his humanity. Alex only nodded and saw when the Mutagen canister hit Yoshi, dropping the glass bowl with the five baby turtles before the six mutated. "This will show the entire story beyond your mutation." the wise spirit explained. Alex kept his gaze as he saw his father figure frantically search for the baby turtles, but only being able to escape with four out of five. When the glass bowl shattered on the concrete, the five baby turtles were scattered across the alleyway, with a particular fifth turtle sent flying across the alley and hitting the brick wall.

   Alex noticed that his younger self was barely conscious, and his presence was oblivious to the Kraang, who were focused on tracking down the giant mutant rat and four baby turtles. When baby Alex started to come to, an immediate sensation of pain overcame the back of his head and started to bawl. Alex gently rubbed the back of his head, beginning to unconsciously recall the pain endured in his earliest moments of life. "When your father arrived in America, a familiar lost soul kept a watchful eye over him," the Keeper began to explain. "Until she saw you."

   In the whirlpool, Alex noticed the spirit of a woman appear before his younger self. She knelt down by the baby turtle's side and rested a gentle hand on his plump face. The infant turtle looked at the woman with grey eyes, which were all red from the excessive amount of crying. The woman was fascinated to see the baby mutant stop crying as soon as he saw her presence. "Such an interesting little creature." the woman said sweetly. Alex's cerulean blue eyes grew wide as he heard the woman speak. It was so familiar, and the woman herself looked familiar too. Her dark hair and eyes, a white kimono, a lotus blossom in her hair, he had seen her before. "Wait, is that-?" Alex mustered, completely stunned. "Yes," the Keeper responded with a nod. "That is Tang Shen."


   Alex looked to see the spirit of Tang Shen carefully inspect the back of the baby turtle's head. "Oh my..." Shen said softly as she saw the large bruise on the back of baby Alex's head. She looked around to find something to soothe the injury, but Shen could not find an ice pack. The woman was able to find an old, rotted pillow to use to rest the infant's head. Shen carefully propped up Alex's small head and laid it back down once the pillow was underneath him. "It will have to do for now." she said. Shen then noticed the baby Alex yawn cutely and begin to doze off. The spirit sadly smiled and began caressing his head, lulling the turtle deeper into his slumber.

   "Shen remained with you for several days, checking on you and caring for you," the Keeper began. "But overtime, the Realm's Elders sent spirits to help guide Shen here." he continued somberly. "She didn't leave me alone then and there, did she?" Alex asked the older spirit, who only shook his head. "Some spirits who visited Shen showed the same sympathy towards you, knowing that your fate will be sealed if left alone." the Keeper explained. "Even one you are acquainted with came to visit her and understood the situation." he recalled. The scarred turtle looked back into the Pool and noticed the Deer visit him and Shen. It sniffed the sleeping toddler Alex and looked at the woman before nodding its head and vanishing. "Wait, where did it go?" Alex asked the Keeper.

   "Many of the spirits who took sympathy towards you helped care for you, and they had also informed this to the Elders." the Keeper began to explain. "However, as stubborn as they were, they refused to listen." he looked down sadly, but there was still more to say. "It was the Deer who was able to convince the Elders to do something about it." the white cloaked spirit finished. Alex looked back down at the Pool, noticing that some time has passed since the Deer's visit. His younger self looked to be about a year old and Shen was still with him. The infant turtle slept soundly by her side, when suddenly, a group of cloaked spirits appeared before Shen.

   "Wait, what's going on now?" Alex asked. "The Elders visited Shen to inform her of what they'd do." the Keeper explained as the turtle watched. He saw one of the four Elders take out a blue stone and held it up as it began to glow under the moonlight. The stone glowed a bright blue and it shone a beam of light towards the sleeping Alex. The baby turtle was lifted from the ground as his body began to glow the same blue aura from the stone. The toddler Alex's eyes then flashed white before he stopped glowing and was gently lowered down to Shen's lap, still asleep despite the supernatural ordeal.

   "Was that how I got my powers?" Alex asked the Keeper, still somewhat surprised. "Yes, but the ritual performed came with a price." the old spirit replied. "Once you and your family's 'Mutation Day' fell on the same date as a full moon, Shen had to leave your world, remain in the Spirit Realm, and your memory of her will be erased." he explained sadly. "You had just celebrated two years of your mutation when she had to leave." Alex sadly looked to see the image of Shen just before she left his younger self alone. The woman gently kissed the sleeping turtle's forehead before vanishing in a swirl of pink cherry blossom petals. The image on the whirlpool then cleared, and the water in the Pool was still.


   Alex then patted his eyes dry with his wrist and shakily sighed, keeping himself from crying. "I can tell she didn't want to leave me alone..." he said softly. "She loved you, Alexander," the Keeper said. "She had to leave, or otherwise, she would never be able to cross over to the afterlife." he explained. "But the Elders made one exception to what you should remember from her; your name." the white cloaked spirit added. "Shen picked the name 'Alexander', for she believed that you were meant to do something great." the Keeper finished.

   "When I first met my brothers, my brother Donatello said my name meaning was 'defender of man'," Alex recalled, the first meeting still vivid in his mind. "But how come I don't remember my full name as 'Alexander'?" he asked. The Keeper lightly stroked his platinum beard and quietly sighed. "I do not know," he responded. "I know a lot of the Elders, but not everything of their power." the spirit explained. Alex then heard a familiar voice call out his name and turned to see the Turtles and Karai walk towards him. "Alex, did you find anything?" Leo asked his younger brother. "Also, who's the old dude?" Mikey added.

   "This is the Temple's Keeper." Alex explained to his siblings, introducing them to the stranger before them. "I did not account for your siblings to be here with you." the Keeper responded to Alex. "We came here in hopes to find something that can help us stop Temptress." Leo explained to the older spirit. The Keeper's partially dull eyes grew large in fear, but he was able to compose himself. "Temptress of the Earth?" he asked softly. "Yeah, that's her." Mikey said with a nod. "She tried to take Alex's power, briefly brainwashed me to be her soldier, and she's invading our home." he added, much to the horror of the Keeper.

   "Temptress is a powerful and dangerous entity," the Keeper said in a somewhat shaken voice. "You six are all lucky to have made it here alive and unharmed." he added as he looked at the Hamatos. "But who exactly is Temptress, and how do we stop her?" Raph asked as he lightly cracked his knuckles. "Defeating her will not be an easy task, but I will still provide the information you seek of her." the Keeper responded. He then took a piece of Mikey's bark armor and dropped it into the Pool. The water once again stirred to form a mystical whirlpool. In its eye, the siblings noticed the image of Temptress, only she looked very different.


   "Temptress, as she would later call herself, was a nymph that aided the Guardian of the Forest." the Keeper began to explain. "She grew fascinated of the Forest she inhabited, curious of its great power." he said as the Hamatos saw the images of their enemy from her past. "But one day, she had accidentally wandered from the Forest's territory, and she encountered a dark spirit." the old spirit added. "Taking advantage of her naïve nature, the dark spirit had promised her great power and convinced her to steal a powerful artifact from the Elders." The siblings all watched as the nymph steal a strange artifact from the Elders' chamber.

   "Upon realizing that their nymph was missing, the Guardian had informed the Elders to search for her, but they found her committing theft in their temple." the Keeper explained. "And as punishment, the nymph was banished from the Forest." he said. "But the dark spirit again took advantage of the nymph's sorrow and corrupted her mind." The Hamatos noticed how after her corruption, the nymph became the feared and rage-fueled Temptress of the Earth. "Temptress spent centuries plotting her revenge, until she found the key to her plans." the Keeper finished and glanced over at Alex.

   "She wants to use me to destroy our worlds." Alex said, somewhat stunned. "Temptress believes that your power and life force are what she needs to fulfill that." the Keeper stated. "But what's so special about Alex to her?" Karai asked the old spirit. "Because the Elders gave me the power I have now." Alex responded, recalling the new information revealed on his past. "But why?" Raph asked. The Keeper only sighed and looked down slightly. "There are some things about Alexander's power that are best left unexplained for now." he said somberly.

   The images of Temptress cleared from the Pool and the water was still yet again. "But there is one way to defeat her." the Keeper stated as he gestured Alex to unsheathe his blade. After doing just that, the black-and-blue masked turtle held his weapon out. "You have learned to channel your power into objects and charge them with the spiritual energy," the white cloaked spirit explained. With that said, Alex was quick to focus his power and make his blade glow blue. "Although Temptress wants your power, she fails to realize that it can cleanse any form of dark or corrupt energy." the Keeper stated as he took Alex's blade. He then dipped the metal part of the weapon into the Pool, turning the aura from bright blue to white.

   "This purified charge can only be used once, so be careful when you use your weapon." the Keeper told Alex as he handed him his blade back. "So, what does he use it for?" Donnie asked the Keeper as Alex sheathed his blade. "He must plunge it into the main source of where Temptress's plants are growing." the Keeper explained. "If Alexander is successful, it will destroy everything Temptress has created, rendering her powerless." he hypothesized. "But what about that scroll we found earlier?" Leo asked as the Keeper. The spirit looked to face Leo, unsure what the royal blue-eyed turtle meant. "What scroll?" he asked the eldest turtle brother.


   Leo then handed the scroll to the Keeper, who then opened it and his eyes widen in horror. "No, I cannot allow him to use the 'Dragon's Traverse'." the older spirit said softly. "What's so bad about it?" Leo asked the Keeper. "If plunging his blade into the main source doesn't work, this technique should!" the royal blue-eyed turtle argued. "Yes, it should," the Keeper began. "But this is a powerful technique, and it was said the one who first performed it had perished from certain complications." the white cloaked spirit. "Wha-? 'Certain complications'?! That makes zero sense!" Raph hollered.

   "Raph's right. It doesn't make sense," Alex said to the Keeper. "What's so bad about the 'Dragon's Traverse'?" he asked the spirit. The bearded figure sighed quietly as he rolled up the scroll. "Alexander, this technique is indeed powerful, but it comes at a fatal price." the Keeper explained. "Many centuries ago, a powerful spirit created this technique in the hopes to weaken Temptress's forces." he explained. "He was successful in slowing down her plans of attack, but he was greatly weakened and vanished from existence." Alex looked at the Keeper with uncertainty. "But what happens to me if I perform it?" the turtle asked. "Your soul would remain and be bond to the Spirit Realm forever, deliberately killing you." the Keeper responded.

   The Hamato siblings felt their eyes grew large in shock. Surely it couldn't be true, but there was a possibility that it might be. "But what if I live after performing this technique?" Alex asked. The Keeper took a moment to contemplate and let out a quiet sigh. "Then you live to fulfill your destiny." he responded quietly. "And your destiny is what you want it to be." the white cloaked spirit added. "The answer to that question is within you." the Keeper finished as pressed his hand over Alex's heart. The cerulean blue-eyed turtle then turned to face his siblings behind him, all five of them smiling confidently at him. Alex felt a comforting smile form, now realizing what the Keeper had meant. It was standing with him all along; his family was his destiny.

   "Guys, we should get back to New York and stop Temptress." Donnie spoke up, breaking the moment. "But it took us days to get here," Raph pointed out. "There won't be a New York once we get back home!" The Keeper lifted a gentle hand, silencing the hotheaded turtle. "Perhaps I can help you return to your world." he offered. The Keeper shut his eyes and looked down at the ground. The spirit's hand began to glow, and a portal opened up before him and the Hamatos on the floor. "There isn't much time left to waste," the Keeper said. "You must go now."

   The siblings all nodded and one by one, they jumped down into the portal. Mikey even plugged his nose and cannonballed into the portal, until Alex was left alone with the Keeper. "Thank you for your help." the turtle said. The old spirit nodded and watched as Alex jumped into the portal before closing. The Keeper quietly sighed and looked at the scroll in his hand, his eyes filled with worry. "Even if I told him what his destiny is, I have no control over it." he thought. The spirit then paced back to the shelf and placed the scroll back where Leo had found it. "But the fate of the Realms is in his hands."