TMNT: Raph and The Secret Door

The First Eye

(Raph walks out the house and through the gates. The bright magic of the garden is darker now, with areas of black against areas of glowing flowers. He passes the pitcher plants, and the one with the frog suddenly eats the animal. He goes up the steps past the bleeding hearts, which now leaking sticky red juice that runs down the wall. At the top, a few snapdragons, feeble now, snap at him. He kicks them down. Behind him, a brick tree ring tree like a monster's mouth and five huge, pale snapdragons sneak towards him. They attack, knock her to the ground, spilling his bag)

Raph-No!!

(They grab him at his ankles, knees, hips, waist, and shoulder, and start to roll him up towards the stone mouth. Raph is just able to grab his garden shears. He cuts off one mutant snapdragon's head, then another, until he is free. The headless stems retreat into the rock mouth. Raph, winded, goes to gather his spilled things when a trio of hummingbird/wasp hybrids swoop in. They don't attack him; instead they poke their long beaks into the triangle candy and lift off)

Raph-Stop!!

(He chases them, but they're getting away. As he crosses the little bridge, he takes off his cap and flings it at them like a frisbee. They fall to the ground, near the eyebrow shrubs, sawdust spilling out. He picks up the triangle candy.

Raph-Why steal this? (With a look of what does he have to lose, he holds it up to his eye) (gasp) What the...

(Everything is blurry gray like a pencil drawing, all color gone. He scans the garden, turning slowly. As he turns back to where he started, he sees something, right in front of him. A burning red ember. A ghosts eye!)

Raph-That must be it. (He lowers the stone from his eye, to see that the ghost's eye is the faded stick shift knob from the preying mantis tractor, which is right in front of him with the Other April and Donnie, hollow shells, at its controls, their own hands imprisoned in the mechanical piano hands. The mechanical hands force them to shift gears, and the tractor lurches at Raph, its arms slashing. He backs away)

Other April-Sorrry, so sorrry.

Other Donnie-Brotherrr making uuusss.

(Raph backs onto the little bridge that spans the fountains as the tractor moves in)

Other April/Donnie-Don't waaaanno hurrrrrt you.

(The Other April tries to steer the tractor away, but the mechanical hands are stronger. It moves onto the bridge - stupidly smashing through the planks in front of it. Halfway over, it lurches, then starts to fall through the hole it created. The tractor hangs precariously for a moment. Other Donnie kicks away one mechanical hand, and with one hand free, manages to pull off the shift knob)

Other Donnie/April-Taaaake it!!!!!

(Raph dives forward and gets the knob just before the tractor and Other April and Other Donnie fall away and sink under the water. Rippling out from Raph like a gray wave, the entire garden becomes dead. Raph catches his breath, shaken. The ghost eye/gear knob glows red)

Tall Ghost Girl-Thanks boy, you found me! But there's two eyes still lost.

Raph-Don't worry, I'm getting the hang of it.

(He looks past the greyed garden towards the Other House. A lunar eclipse has begun, the full moon a pale acid green. Raph looks concerned, then resolved, and then he heads towards the house. A haunting version of Shinigami and Renet's show song starts to play...)