EPISODE FIFTEEN
“Notes from the Underground” Part Three
Written by Greg Johnson
Original Air Date: May 24, 2003
Supervising Producer: Lloyd Goldfine
Producers: Gary Richardson, Frederick U. Fierst, Al Kahn, Norman Grossfeld, Thomas Kenney
Supervising Director: Chuck Patton
Story Editor: Lloyd Goldfine
MAJOR CHARACTERS:
Donatello (Sam Regal)
Leonardo (Michael Sinterniklaas)
Michelangelo (Wayne Grayson)
Raphael (Frank Frankson)
Splinter (Darren Dunstan)
SECONDARY CHARACTERS:
3 Mutant Monsters (Quarry, Stonebiter and Razorfist)
Mysterious Entity
MAIN LOCATIONS, VEHICLES AND ACCESSORIES:
Sewer Tunnels
Hidden Underground Tunnels
Subterranean Foot Facility
Mysterious Underground City
Synopsis:
The crazed mutants attack our heroes and everyone is forced to forget about Don’s disappearance and defend themselves. As the battle rages on, more of the mysterious whipping light “bolos” come out of the darkness and wrap around Razorfist and its foe, causing both of them to disappear. Stonebiter is also hit by the light orbs and disappears. The rest of the group decides it’s better to move forward then get picked off one by one, and they enter the hallway and close the door behind them.
The quartet heads down the tunnel and when they round a bend they see a vast cavern stretching below them, and the cavern contains the ruins of a sprawling underground city. In the middle of the city is an immense black tower, and the cavern dome is covered with dimly glowing crystals. Behind them, a mysterious being opens the door and allows the monsters to pursue our heroes.
The Turtles and Quarry face a deep and wide canyon. At the bottom of the ravine a river of bubbling magma surrounds the far away cityscape. Crossing this divide looks hopeless, until Leonardo discovers an old, rickety tram and cable. Due to the condition of the tram, the group isn’t exactly excited about the prospect of taking it to the far side. As the Turtles argue about alternatives, the roars of several approaching insane mutant monsters are heard. This new danger settles the issue, and the quintet hops into the tram. Leo inserts one of the crystals they brought along and the tram jerks to life and starts to unsteadily make its way for the far side off the canyon. Unfortunately two of the monsters leap onto the top of the transport and begin to tear it apart. The mysterious entity tosses the light orb bolos at them and they disappear – but the cable the tram is traveling along suddenly snaps from all of the violence!
The car falls hundreds of feet before it strikes a gigantic stalagmite that pierces the center of the tram. The cable car is destroyed as its ripped apart by the rock, but it broke the fall enough to allow the Turtles to land on their feet near the city walls far below. Quarry also manages to land on its feet, but a damaged wall collapse on the mutant before it can escape. Fortunately, the Foot designed the mutation process to allow Quarry to survive such a dilemma and it spits acid until it can free itself from the debris.
With everyone safe, our heroes get a good look at the vastness of the ruined city around them. It’s huge, and they have no idea where to start looking for Donatello, Stonebiter and Razorfist. As they discuss how to start the search, Leo stumbles upon three old hover-scooters. With the insertion of crystals, the scooters hum to life and the crew sets off to explore the city, Quarry riding with Mike.
As they move along the city streets, Leonardo catches a glimpse of a shadowy figure standing on a rooftop. Leo moves in to investigate, while the other three wait on the street. All is eerily quiet until the trio sees a flash of light within the building Leonardo entered. Fearing for Leo’s, safety Raph and Mike rush into the darkness, only to find that their brother has vanished. After a brief search, Raph and Mike return to the hover-pods and discover that Quarry has disappeared, too!
However, Quarry’s disappearance is not quite as mysterious as the others. Quarry simply got scared being alone and Mike and Raph find the mutant hiding in the shadows. As Raph and Mike try to get Quarry to come out of hiding, it points to the mysterious figure moving in the shadows across the street. As soon as Raph spots the figure, he rushes after him, in spite of Mike’s cries to stop. As Quarry and Mike look into the darkness, they see a flash and Raph is gone. Now it’s just Mike and Quarry, and Quarry is panicking.
As Mike tries to calm Quarry down, they spy the figure again, on a rooftop across the street. Mike jumps onto his hover-scooter along with Quarry (who doesn’t want to be left alone) and they take off after their antagonist. As they close in, Quarry freaks out and jumps off of the scooter, crash landing on a nearby bridge. Mikey continues the chase and gets a clear bead on the enemy. The ninja zooms in for the kill, but just before contact, the bike goes berserk and Mikey crashes to the ground far below.
Upon landing, Quarry goes aimlessly screaming along the bridge, only to be chased down by the figure. The Entity throws one of his lighted bolos, making Quarry vanish, like all the others. The sudden silence lets Mike know that he is now completely alone.
Mikey spots a black tower ahead and remembers seeing it in his dreams – thus the last Turtle heads off to investigate the structure. After entering the tower, Mike finds himself in a huge vaulted room, and in the center of the room are all the mutant monsters, friend and foe, on pedestals, encased in a crystalline substance. Each of the pedestals has a glowing crystal attached to its base. Just as Mike is about to turn one of the crystal sin effort to free Quarry, a voice behind him calls out, “Please, do not touch that”. Mike spins around to encounter an old, pale, bony, bald figure. Recognizing the Entity that’s been capturing his allies, Mike attacks and sends the man flying with a well placed kick. Mikey then grabs the Entity and demands to know what has happened to his brothers. Suddenly we hear a familiar voice – Leo welcomes his brother and tells him that they’ve been waiting for him.
Once Mike calms down, his brothers introduce him to the Entity, and the Entity tells him the story of the underground city. The Entity’s people lived deep underground for millennia, before ever going to the surface. But several centuries ago they detected evidence of life stirring on the surface, and they went up to investigate. The chamber the Turtles now occupy was their outpost. As the centuries passed, it became evident that the Entity’s people could not survive on the surface, and at the same time it became clear that for some unexplained reason, their time was drawing to a close – their species was dying off. The Entity is the last of his race. The Entity goes on to explain that he can return the mutant monsters to their original human state, but he expects the Turtles and the restored humans to remain in the underground city and repopulate it.
The Turtles thank him for the invitation but they explain that aren’t staying and they doubt that the others will want to either. However, the Entity won’t take no for an answer, and thus a battle erupts. The Entity uses a crystal to control the earth, attacking the Turtles with strange extremities made of rock. Raph is sucked into the floor, while Leo and Don are snared by rocky tentacles. All hope lies with Mike, and Don tells his bro to grab the Entity’s crystal amulet, as it’s the source of his power. Mikey manages to kick some spears the Entity was controlling back at the man and one knocks the amulet off of his chest. The ninja and the madman scramble for the gem, crashing through a wall in the process. The Entity gains his feet first and grabs the crystal, but Mikey picks up one of the teleporting light orb bolos at tosses it at his opponent. As soon as the bolo wraps itself around the Entity, he vanishes and reappears on one of the pedestals, quickly becoming encased in the crystalline shell that holds the other mutants.
The Turtles then turn the crystal on the pedestal holding Quarry, and much to their surprise, the mutant body crumbles and reveals Quarry’s true self – a human woman! The TMNT then turn the crystals on all the other podiums, freeing the people who have now been restored to their original forms. After a happy reunion, during which we learn a bit about the story of the Shredder’s “volunteer” test subjects, the group heads for the surface. However, as they exit the hallway leading away from the underground city, one of the test subjects starts to change back into a mutant! It turns out that the restorative powers of the crystal moon fades the further away from the underground city the people get. Thus the test subjects are forced to live in the ancient metropolis if they wish to maintain their human form.
The TMNT vow to stay and solve the problem, but Quarry tells her friends to go back to their lives above – if there’s a solution to the dilemma, she and her fellow test subjects will find it. Donatello promises to keep working on the crystals to find the solution and the Turtles bid their allies farewell. The test subjects turn and head back underground as the Turtles make their way home.
Unfortunately, all is not well at home either. The TMNT are walking in dejected silence through the sewers when they hear a noise and take cover. Soon a patrol of Foot soldiers run by with flashlights illuminating the tunnels ahead. Master Splinter arrives and explains that while the Turtles have been away the Foot has been scouring the sewers trying to find their lair. Therefore, it is not safe to return home and our heroes will need to find a place to live away from the sewers for the time being.
The episode ends with the Turtles on April’s doorstep asking for refuge while they find out what the Foot is up to.