XI. THE FOOT (pt 2)
LEONARDO
It took several months, but it finally appeared the Foot was slowly figuring us out. They stopped showing up in groups smaller than four, and they tended to shy away from the alleyways, even if that put them in plain sight.
DONATELLO
We decided we needed to do something to take this war to the next level. We had a few discussions about it, and Splinter came up with the idea of letting them know exactly who they were dealing with.
MASTER SPLINTER
I was quite certain that this Shredder was actually Oruku Saki. I decided it would perhaps unnerve him if I somehow let him know that I was the one behind these attacks on his clan.
RAPHAEL
I'd been reading a detective story from the library. The bad guy left business cards on each of his victims. I figured, hey, if a bad guy can do it, us good guys can do it, too.
MASTER SPLINTER
At their suggestion, I painted the kanji character for "karma" on some small pieces of paper, along with a painting of a three-petalled flower - my crest. I gave each of my sons a few of these to give to the Foot.
MICHELANGELO
It was sorta neat - knock out the bad guy, leave your calling card, and skedaddle. I thought we'd be doing this for a few more months before they started catching on. I mean, it took 'em long enough to start avoiding the alleys.
RAPHAEL
I thought we were being subtle, but the Shredder apparently figured it out right away. Within, like, five days, the Foot completely changed tactics.
FOOT SOLDIER 2
We were ambushed one night by those turtles - didn't even see them coming, didn't even have time to fight back. When I came to, they had shoved this piece of paper in my hand. (shrugging) Drawing of a flower, and something in Japanese or something. I took it back to my boss, and he takes it to the Shredder. Shredder takes it, looks at it, and just stops cold. He doesn't move for like a minute. I'm thinking, what? It's just a piece of paper. But then he slowly crumples it up, and I catch the look in his eyes. (shuddering) I thought I'd seen him mad before. Apparently that was just a warm-up.
FOOT SOLDIER 4
From that second on, it was like his brain was unglued. Looking back, if I had to pick a second when the Foot started falling apart, that was it. He lost all interest in the Foot's daily routine, and became obsessed with getting these turtle guys.
FOOT SOLDIER 1
Suddenly, a lot of us were pulled off our regular duties. We were told to help come up with a plan to completely demolish these freaks. And the Shredder didn't just want them beat up. Actually, he didn't even just want them dead. He wanted us to beat them up, and then to bring them back to him. At that point, he wanted to humiliate them, torture them, everything - and then kill them. (pausing) It freaked me out. Even though a bunch of us had fought these freaks, and all of us wanted to take them on, I started kinda feeling sorry for them. I'd had it bad enough just pissing off the Shredder from time to time. I couldn't imagine what it'd be like to be straight in his sights.
LEONARDO
The Foot had the right idea, but the wrong execution. Even after our many battles, they still underestimated our strength.
ROCKY
I don't wanna give my real name - I embarassed my ma enough as it is...I first met them turtles when I was part o' the muscle. That's what we was called - we'd go an' wail on targets that da Shredder picked out. Guys who didn't pay up, guys what was in th' way, stuff like that. Didn't have to go do it much - maybe once a week. But one day, we're told we got a new assignment. We gotta go this warehouse, sit in th' dark, wail on these guys when they came in, then take 'em back to da Shredder. Juntaro - he was th' guy what gave us our assignments - he says we'll know 'em when we see 'em.
FOOT SOLDIER 3
I asked Juntaro who the target was, and he wouldn't say. He got all tight-lipped and said, "You will know." And, yeah, we did.
MICHELANGELO
We were split up in two teams, as we usually were back then. Me and Leo, Donny and Raph. We weren't that far apart - maybe three blocks. That probably ended up saving our tails.
DONATELLO
We run into a largish group of Foot guys, and two of them are holding this crate. Before we can make a move, one of them yells, "Run! We'll cover for you!" Two of them take off with the crate, and the rest get ready to fight.
RAPHAEL
Oldest trick in the book, and we fall for it like the suckers we are. We figure there's something important in that box, and we gotta get it back. So we take out the guys in the alley and chase after the other ones. Ends up the exact same thing's happening down the block with Leo and Mikey.
LEONARDO
I failed. That's the long and short of it. They set a trap, and I walked right into it. (pausing) Some leader I am. (pausing) My only comfort is that Donatello and Raphael did the same thing. Had I not fallen into the trap, and Don and Raph did, they would have gone into that building by themselves.
RAPHAEL
We chase them down the street into an empty building, and we come across Leo and Mikey running from the other direction. We don't have time to explain, so we all just join up, run into the building, and head down the hall towards this warehouse-type section of the building.
LEONARDO
We pulled up to get our bearings, and suddenly we all realized it's dark and quiet. Michelangelo says, "Dudes, I think we've been set up." (pausing) He figured it out before I did.
DONATELLO
The lights go on, and suddenly we see we're surrounded. About fifty guys, all with chains, baseball bats, the works.
RAPHAEL
There was a second or two while all of us sort of took it all in, and then everyone in the Foot started laughing. (smiling) Mistake. That made me mad.
FOOT SOLDIER 3
In they come, the lights go on, and we all start laughing. We'd heard rumors about these guys in turtle costumes trying to break us up, but they looked pretty pathetic.
ROCKY
They looked stupid - like four kids on Halloween or somethin'. I was thinkin', geez, why'd they send so many of us down here? Just a couple of us coulda taken 'em out. I stand up and point at 'em. "Say yer prayers, freak." Then I grab my bat and start swingin'.
LEONARDO
We've got no time to really come up with a strategy. We all just stood back to back - not much room between us, and started taking them out one by one. I tried to keep an eye on the whole situation, offer some help, keep us together as a unit. But there wasn't much time for that. We all had our hands full.
RAPHAEL
If you watch kung-fu movies, you'll see the bad guys attack the good guy one at a time. That don't happen in real life. They all crowd around you at once, weapons swinging. And actually, there's some advantages to that. If they're not really good, and they rarely are, they often end up accidentally taking out some of their own guys. And when you knock people out, they form a sort of human shield between you and the others. Of course, on the minus side, it means you've gotta fight several people at once, and that ain't easy.
MICHELANGELO
Sensei and Leo had talked about that "selfless state", where you're fighting so intently that you sort of lose yourself in it. Leo said he'd gotten there a few times, but the rest of us hadn't. We just thought it was when everything went smooth or something. (shaking his head) But it's not. It's a whole 'nother thing. That night, when we walked into that trap, that was the first night I got there. As it ends up, we all got there that night. And it was freaky, looking back at it. I mean, I've got like thirteen guys rushing me. You'd think my brain would overload or something. But no, in fact, it was like everything slowed down. I could size up the situation, pick out my next target, decide what maneuver to use, and implement it - all in a fraction of a second. And while I was implementing one move, I could plan my next one.
DONATELLO
I had the advantage over my brothers - my weapon had the longest reach. I swung it around a lot, and that gave us a little breathing room. (smiling) It also almost took out Michelangelo, if I remember correctly.
MICHELANGELO
At one point, I knew I had to duck. I honestly don't know why - I didn't see anything, didn't hear anything that would tell me that was a good idea. Luckily, I didn't question it - I crouched down, just as Donny's bo sailed over my head. Then I was back up and fighting again. Didn't even give it a second thought until afterwards.
DONATELLO
All of us. We'd all entered that "selfless state" that Sensei had described, where you can instantly see what move to make, even if you've never made it before. I wish we had that battle on videotape. Not just because it'd be fun to watch, either. (laughing) But I'd love to see exactly what we did. I made a few moves that I'd never made before or since. Everyone did. It'd be great to be able to analyze those moves and add them to our training.
LEONARDO
The few times I've been in the selfless state, it's amazing how much better my fighting gets. But when all four of us got there... (shaking head) Had we not gotten there, they'd probably would've beat us. As it was, we felt like we could've taken on the entire Foot clan, not just the fifty we did.
RAPHAEL
Suddenly, the few Foot who haven't been knocked down yet turn tail and run. I started after them, but Leo hollered at me to stop. I turn around to look at him, and for the first time, I notice what had happened. There's my three brothers, standing with their weapons at the ready, panting, ready for more...and like forty guys either unconscious or barely moving on the floor. (pausing) It was the first time I realized...how powerful we four actually were. I mean, before, we ambushed a few guys and knocked 'em out. Big deal. This time, they ambushed us - fifty to four. And we still kicked their butts.
DONATELLO
Mikey held up his nunchucks and gave out this weird yell. Sort of a primal scream victory cry.
MICHELANGELO
No idea where that came from. It felt good, though.
RAPHAEL
Mikey gave out his victory scream, and we all joined him. Then Leo tossed Sensei's card on the ground next to the pile of bodies, and said "scatter", so we all ran back to the lair.
ROCKY
I don't remember a thing. I swung at the first freak, and then nothing. Woke up about two hours later - ends up I was one of the first. Looked around. Those freaks had utterly wasted us. Some of the other guys were bleeding, but most were just knocked silly, like me.
FOOT SOLDIER 3
My last day in the Foot. As we started coming to, most of my buds started limping back to HQ. I didn't. Never went back. I mean, what kind of gang was this? I had this blade-wielding psycho forcing us to go out and fight these ninja turtle freaks. When that happens, you start thinking a job at McDonald's might not be so bad, y'know?
ROCKY
We all get back to HQ. We had trouble finding enough guys to drive - most of us were kinda woozy. Th' Shredder was there waitin' for us. When he saw us limpin' in, I guess he knew the turtles weren't gonna be coming. (shuddering) He lost it. Started smacking us around. Like we hadn't gotten enough of that that night. Y'ever been smacked across the face by a guy wearin' blades? Not fun.
MASTER SPLINTER
When my sons returned home, I could tell something had happened to them that night. They all had injuries, many of them serious. However, they did not seem to notice. I noticed a gleam in their eyes, one that only comes when a large battle is fought and won. I knew most of the story before they began to tell it.
DONATELLO
Once we were back home, we started blabbing the story to Splinter, but he said, "Calm yourselves, my sons. Let me treat your injuries first." We were like, "Hey, what injuries, we're fine, don't worry about us." But then we finally took a look at ourselves. Ends up we weren't so fine.
LEONARDO
We were in pretty bad shape, actually. It must have been a major adrenaline rush that got us home, because suddenly I realize I'm in pain. Not just in one place, either - all over.
DONATELLO
A pretty bad blow had landed on my shoulder, just above where the shell meets it - got a nasty bruise there for a while. My hands were a bit banged up, and my legs had been chained once or twice, so I had some bruising down there, and a little bleeding. But I was the best off by far. The others couldn't really walk for about a week.
RAPHAEL
I notice Michelangelo's arm is bleeding, and I'm about to say something. But suddenly I notice everyone else was looking at me weird. Up at my head. You know, in that "You got something in your teeth" kinda way. I put my hand up to the side of my head, and it was all sticky. Apparently, that guy with the knives got closer to me than I thought. He'd cut me open on the right side of my head, just behind the cheek, and I'd been bleeding pretty bad. Didn't even notice. Still got a scar there if you look close.
MICHELANGELO
It was weird, y'know? We fought this battle, ran home, and we thought we had kicked major butt. Well, I guess we did, but none of us even noticed that we'd been hurt. Sensei ran out of bandages - Donny had to run topside and get more.
RAPHAEL
We went completely out of commish. Donny was more or less fine after a good night's sleep, but the rest of us needed a lot more. Splinter cancelled sparring, study time, everything for days. We just laid in our beds, read a lot, listened to the radio. (smiling) And, of course, talked about how much butt we kicked.
MASTER SPLINTER
While my sons recovered, I spent much time meditating on our next move. It was certain that we were now the target, and therefore our present plan of attack was no longer suitable.
MICHELANGELO
Splinter let us go on for a while about how great we were - for days, actually. But then he shut us up with one sentence. "Yes, you won the battle most decisively. Most fortunate that they did not have guns." Suddenly we all stop and think. Yeah, how hard would it have been to have four Foot guys up in the catwalk with guns? Four well-timed, well-placed shots - that's all, folks.
LEONARDO
Yeah, we won - they didn't get what they wanted. But if they'd even given any thought to the fact that maybe they might not win the battle with conventional weapons, if even one of them thought of bringing a gun, one of us would probably be dead. Or all of us. (pausing) Between that thought, and the thought that it was me that had led us into this trap, I became very withdrawn for the next week or so. Looking at me, you would've thought we lost.
MASTER SPLINTER
Leonardo took the battle very hard. He felt he had failed as a leader. I had to show him that yes, he had led them into a trap, but now we had more information, and could avoid such traps in the future. In addition, Leonardo had never faltered. He may have led them into danger, but he also had led them out.
DONATELLO
We all agreed that we had to change our strategy. Before, we were picking off the Foot like they were targets. Now, it was obvious that we were now the ones being targeted.
LEONARDO
Sensei made one thing clear - whatever tactic we chose to employ, it would have to embody the essence of ninja - the art of invisibility. We now knew they'd kill us if given half a chance, and so we were determined never to give them another shot at that.
RAPHAEL
We all agreed we had to hit them where they lived. But we didn't know where that was, really.
MICHELANGELO
Our major problem was that we didn't know nothin' about the Foot. (shrugging) Didn't need to, going in. We just busted heads together when they came by. But if we were gonna start playing this thing smart, we needed to start operating on their turf. And heck, we didn't even know where that was.
DONATELLO
We kept saying things like "Well, if we knew where they kept their vans, we could do this" or "If we knew when and where they got together, we could do that". Finally, it hit us - call in some favors.
MARCUS
Mikey came back around one night. That was cool, but I was surprised. I didn't think I'd see him again. He wanted to get the lowdown on the Foot - anything I could tell him. That wasn't much, as it turned out, but it was more than he had before.
SARAH
I didn't seen them turtle guys for like a month, but then Don shows up. He needs to talk to me, but he's scared of bein' seen, so we go back to my place - not the apartment, just the hallway. We chatted a bic. He needs to know everything about the Foot - where they are, when they meet, anything.
DONATELLO
When I asked, Sarah said she had some information, but she could get more. So we arranged to meet back up again in a week.
SARAH
During that week, I learned as much as I could. I asked everyone I knew 'bout the Foot - what buildings they mighta seen them come out of, all that. When I met Don again that next week, he brought a map with him, and we marked off all the buildings and places I heard about on it. Don's really happy. He says, "I think the Foot's goin' down," and I told him I sure hoped so. I didn't really think them guys could do it alone, but y'know, you can't help hopin'.
DONATELLO
Once we had as much information as we thought we needed, we had to decide what to do.
MICHELANGELO
There were four buildings that seemed to have the bulk of Foot activity. One ended up being empty by the time we visited - and of course, that was the only one close to us.
LEONARDO
There appeared to be one main headquarters, and two smaller buildings - we called them satellites. They had meetings there, stored weapons, that sort of thing.
RAPHAEL
None of those three locations were anywhere near the lair, and we weren't crazy on the idea of running all over New York just to get our licks in. We needed a car.
MASTER SPLINTER
I was adamant that none of our friends be brought into this fight. Thus I would not dream of asking to borrow their vehicles. If the license numbers were traced, it would put them in grave danger.
LEONARDO
Michelangelo came up with a great idea. He said, "Hey, what about that hockey guy?" After all, he was already fighting the Foot - he'd probably be willing to help us out in our quest. Problem was, we didn't know how to get in touch with him. We spent six nights on the rooftops just trying to find him.
CASEY
One day I'm out on the hunt, like most nights, and I hear someone call my name. It was one of them turtles - Leonardo. He had me join him up on the roof. I hadn't seen them for a bit, and he says they're getting targeted now, so they gotta lay low. But he says they're looking to really make a move, and am I willing to help them out? Are you kidding? Take the Foot out for real? Of course I'm in.
MICHELANGELO
Leo took Casey down to the lair, which was weird. We hadn't ever just invited anyone over before. Of course, I thought it was great - a guest for dinner!
CASEY
Man, that set-up of theirs was unreal. They were trying to tell me their master plan, and here I was just bugging out at their home in the sewers. Finally, we get down to brass tacks, and they tell me what they want from me.
MASTER SPLINTER
We had to stress to Casey that this would not be a one-night operation. It would be necessary to gather information for some time before we made our move.
CASEY
My idea was heck, you know where they are - go in with bats flying, right? But they didn't see it that way.
LEONARDO
We told him we might only have one chance at each location, and we wanted to make sure we hit them hard each time. No use going in if there was just two guys there. We wanted to cause significant damage each time.
CASEY
I finally agreed to do it their way. They seemed to have given it a lot more thought than me, so I figured sure, I'll play along.
RAPHAEL
(smiling, holding up one finger) Operation Amputation Phase One - the satellite HQ West.
MICHELANGELO
(grinning) Casin' with Casey. That's what I called it. Casey came and picked us up in his truck. We'd never been in a car before! Watching the city at night whiz by was so cool. I've done that a lot more since, obviously, but I still remember how cool it felt that night.
DONATELLO
He dropped us off about two or three blocks from the building we were looking to hit, then we'd approach from several sides.
CASEY
One word for those nights - bor-ing. I sat in the truck nodding off, night after night. I kept thinking there were all these Foot guys swarming around, and here I was napping. Night after night. (shrugging) But I had offered to help out, and given my word, so I sucked it up. Started bringing books to read.
LEONARDO
We were overly cautious on the first building. We knew it wasn't the main headquarters; it was more like a satellite base, and a storehouse for stolen merchandise. But we were sure we would only get one shot at this, so we spent the first night on the roof, just watching the Foot come and go. The next night, Donatello and I broke in through the roof while Michelangelo and Raphael stayed on top.
RAPHAEL
That was kind of...tense. I mean, we'd split into teams before, but each time, we were off doing our own thing. Mikey and I were stuck on the roof waiting and watching.
MICHELANGELO
We were really on edge. Every time we heard a sound, we thought, "Oh, no, they've been found out" and wondered if we should rush in.
DONATELLO
We watched for a couple days - we were looking for a good opening. We didn't want to be completely outnumbered, but we didn't want to make our move when there was nobody there, either - that wouldn't have the same effect on them. We decided we felt comfortable taking on around thirty Foot soldiers - enough for us to beat, but not so many that they might have a chance to grab a gun, or go for reinforcements.
LEONARDO
The Foot mentioned that they were going to be taking a shipment in at the beginning of the week. I thought that might be the best time to make our move - just after they deliver everything.
CASEY
They finally said they were going to make their move the next day, and I thought, "Finally - my chance to waste some guys." But then they said they wanted me to wait in the truck again! I was like, "You gotta be kidding me!"
LEONARDO
Casey took a lot of convincing. I told him, look, we were miles from home, and if you ended up getting delayed, or knocked out, we're gonna be surrounded by Foot with no way home. It's not like we can hail a taxi.
CASEY
I finally said I'd do it, but I didn't really mean it. I thought these guys were in over their heads, and they'd need me to help them out once they went in.
LEONARDO
Donatello had this great idea that if we cut the power to the building, we'd have this distinct advantage.
RAPHAEL
Our eyes do pretty good in dark - not sure if that's a genetic thing or just a side effect from living in the sewers so long.
DONATELLO
So the big night comes. We meet up on the roof, shake hands, and get to work. They dropped to the ground while I stay up on the roof and cut the power. The second I do that, the others rush into the building, with me right behind.
MICHELANGELO
Raph and I took the front door, and Leo took the back. That was brave - for all he knew, everyone was going to rush out the back - but he insisted. Donny was supposed to join him there a few seconds later, so I decided it'd be OK.
DONATELLO
One major flaw in my plan - there was a streetlight in the alley, and it lit up part of the main warehouse through the grate-covered window. So it wasn't quite as dark in there as I'd hoped. It didn't end up making a difference, really. We had knocked out most of them by the time we got to that spot anyway.
MICHELANGELO
I don't think any of us slipped into that "selfless state", but I don't think any of us had to. The whole battle was about three minutes long. No one escaped. Knocked every single one of them silly.
LEONARDO
Once we were done, I was ready to tell everyone to scatter, but Michelangelo and Raphael had cooked up their own little ending.
RAPHAEL
Back when Mikey and I were stuck up on the roof, observing nothing, we got to talking. We decided that Mikey could leave the calling card this time, since he's got the art skills.
MICHELANGELO
Raph handed me a spray can, and I spray-painted the kanji for "karma" on the floor, really big, along with Splinter's crest. It was tough - I hadn't practiced using a spray can before, and the light wasn't that great, but I think it looked cool. Then I tossed the can in the corner, and we headed out of there. Left all the doors open, though.
CASEY
I was counting off ten minutes, after which time I was going to go in after them. I was hoping none of them would be dead or anything. I hadn't even hit six when they showed up at the truck, hootin' and hollerin'. I said, "What happened? You chicken out?"
RAPHAEL
I was like, "Chicken out? They're all out cold!", and then Mikey gives his victory scream, and we all join in.
CASEY
(smiling) I'll be honest - I wanted to kick butt, too. But I started realizing yeah, they knew what they were doing. And they didn't need my help in that area. They needed someone to drive them. (shrugging) I decided if that's what I had to do to help destroy the Foot, then sure, I'll drive.
LEONARDO
On the way back, we had Casey call the cops. They ran over there, found all these unconscious guys with all this stolen merchandise, and hauled them all off to jail.
RAPHAEL
We got in the paper and everything. Well, they didn't mention us, but they had a picture of the place, along with Mikey's tag. The paper said "an anonymous tip" was responsible, which I guess was accurate as far as that goes.
MICHELANGELO
I'm sure the Shredder had a cow when he saw that.
MASTER SPLINTER
I was most pleased with my sons' first victory. It certainly helped Leonardo regain his confidence as a leader.
LEONARDO
It took several months, but it finally appeared the Foot was slowly figuring us out. They stopped showing up in groups smaller than four, and they tended to shy away from the alleyways, even if that put them in plain sight.
DONATELLO
We decided we needed to do something to take this war to the next level. We had a few discussions about it, and Splinter came up with the idea of letting them know exactly who they were dealing with.
MASTER SPLINTER
I was quite certain that this Shredder was actually Oruku Saki. I decided it would perhaps unnerve him if I somehow let him know that I was the one behind these attacks on his clan.
RAPHAEL
I'd been reading a detective story from the library. The bad guy left business cards on each of his victims. I figured, hey, if a bad guy can do it, us good guys can do it, too.
MASTER SPLINTER
At their suggestion, I painted the kanji character for "karma" on some small pieces of paper, along with a painting of a three-petalled flower - my crest. I gave each of my sons a few of these to give to the Foot.
MICHELANGELO
It was sorta neat - knock out the bad guy, leave your calling card, and skedaddle. I thought we'd be doing this for a few more months before they started catching on. I mean, it took 'em long enough to start avoiding the alleys.
RAPHAEL
I thought we were being subtle, but the Shredder apparently figured it out right away. Within, like, five days, the Foot completely changed tactics.
FOOT SOLDIER 2
We were ambushed one night by those turtles - didn't even see them coming, didn't even have time to fight back. When I came to, they had shoved this piece of paper in my hand. (shrugging) Drawing of a flower, and something in Japanese or something. I took it back to my boss, and he takes it to the Shredder. Shredder takes it, looks at it, and just stops cold. He doesn't move for like a minute. I'm thinking, what? It's just a piece of paper. But then he slowly crumples it up, and I catch the look in his eyes. (shuddering) I thought I'd seen him mad before. Apparently that was just a warm-up.
FOOT SOLDIER 4
From that second on, it was like his brain was unglued. Looking back, if I had to pick a second when the Foot started falling apart, that was it. He lost all interest in the Foot's daily routine, and became obsessed with getting these turtle guys.
FOOT SOLDIER 1
Suddenly, a lot of us were pulled off our regular duties. We were told to help come up with a plan to completely demolish these freaks. And the Shredder didn't just want them beat up. Actually, he didn't even just want them dead. He wanted us to beat them up, and then to bring them back to him. At that point, he wanted to humiliate them, torture them, everything - and then kill them. (pausing) It freaked me out. Even though a bunch of us had fought these freaks, and all of us wanted to take them on, I started kinda feeling sorry for them. I'd had it bad enough just pissing off the Shredder from time to time. I couldn't imagine what it'd be like to be straight in his sights.
LEONARDO
The Foot had the right idea, but the wrong execution. Even after our many battles, they still underestimated our strength.
ROCKY
I don't wanna give my real name - I embarassed my ma enough as it is...I first met them turtles when I was part o' the muscle. That's what we was called - we'd go an' wail on targets that da Shredder picked out. Guys who didn't pay up, guys what was in th' way, stuff like that. Didn't have to go do it much - maybe once a week. But one day, we're told we got a new assignment. We gotta go this warehouse, sit in th' dark, wail on these guys when they came in, then take 'em back to da Shredder. Juntaro - he was th' guy what gave us our assignments - he says we'll know 'em when we see 'em.
FOOT SOLDIER 3
I asked Juntaro who the target was, and he wouldn't say. He got all tight-lipped and said, "You will know." And, yeah, we did.
MICHELANGELO
We were split up in two teams, as we usually were back then. Me and Leo, Donny and Raph. We weren't that far apart - maybe three blocks. That probably ended up saving our tails.
DONATELLO
We run into a largish group of Foot guys, and two of them are holding this crate. Before we can make a move, one of them yells, "Run! We'll cover for you!" Two of them take off with the crate, and the rest get ready to fight.
RAPHAEL
Oldest trick in the book, and we fall for it like the suckers we are. We figure there's something important in that box, and we gotta get it back. So we take out the guys in the alley and chase after the other ones. Ends up the exact same thing's happening down the block with Leo and Mikey.
LEONARDO
I failed. That's the long and short of it. They set a trap, and I walked right into it. (pausing) Some leader I am. (pausing) My only comfort is that Donatello and Raphael did the same thing. Had I not fallen into the trap, and Don and Raph did, they would have gone into that building by themselves.
RAPHAEL
We chase them down the street into an empty building, and we come across Leo and Mikey running from the other direction. We don't have time to explain, so we all just join up, run into the building, and head down the hall towards this warehouse-type section of the building.
LEONARDO
We pulled up to get our bearings, and suddenly we all realized it's dark and quiet. Michelangelo says, "Dudes, I think we've been set up." (pausing) He figured it out before I did.
DONATELLO
The lights go on, and suddenly we see we're surrounded. About fifty guys, all with chains, baseball bats, the works.
RAPHAEL
There was a second or two while all of us sort of took it all in, and then everyone in the Foot started laughing. (smiling) Mistake. That made me mad.
FOOT SOLDIER 3
In they come, the lights go on, and we all start laughing. We'd heard rumors about these guys in turtle costumes trying to break us up, but they looked pretty pathetic.
ROCKY
They looked stupid - like four kids on Halloween or somethin'. I was thinkin', geez, why'd they send so many of us down here? Just a couple of us coulda taken 'em out. I stand up and point at 'em. "Say yer prayers, freak." Then I grab my bat and start swingin'.
LEONARDO
We've got no time to really come up with a strategy. We all just stood back to back - not much room between us, and started taking them out one by one. I tried to keep an eye on the whole situation, offer some help, keep us together as a unit. But there wasn't much time for that. We all had our hands full.
RAPHAEL
If you watch kung-fu movies, you'll see the bad guys attack the good guy one at a time. That don't happen in real life. They all crowd around you at once, weapons swinging. And actually, there's some advantages to that. If they're not really good, and they rarely are, they often end up accidentally taking out some of their own guys. And when you knock people out, they form a sort of human shield between you and the others. Of course, on the minus side, it means you've gotta fight several people at once, and that ain't easy.
MICHELANGELO
Sensei and Leo had talked about that "selfless state", where you're fighting so intently that you sort of lose yourself in it. Leo said he'd gotten there a few times, but the rest of us hadn't. We just thought it was when everything went smooth or something. (shaking his head) But it's not. It's a whole 'nother thing. That night, when we walked into that trap, that was the first night I got there. As it ends up, we all got there that night. And it was freaky, looking back at it. I mean, I've got like thirteen guys rushing me. You'd think my brain would overload or something. But no, in fact, it was like everything slowed down. I could size up the situation, pick out my next target, decide what maneuver to use, and implement it - all in a fraction of a second. And while I was implementing one move, I could plan my next one.
DONATELLO
I had the advantage over my brothers - my weapon had the longest reach. I swung it around a lot, and that gave us a little breathing room. (smiling) It also almost took out Michelangelo, if I remember correctly.
MICHELANGELO
At one point, I knew I had to duck. I honestly don't know why - I didn't see anything, didn't hear anything that would tell me that was a good idea. Luckily, I didn't question it - I crouched down, just as Donny's bo sailed over my head. Then I was back up and fighting again. Didn't even give it a second thought until afterwards.
DONATELLO
All of us. We'd all entered that "selfless state" that Sensei had described, where you can instantly see what move to make, even if you've never made it before. I wish we had that battle on videotape. Not just because it'd be fun to watch, either. (laughing) But I'd love to see exactly what we did. I made a few moves that I'd never made before or since. Everyone did. It'd be great to be able to analyze those moves and add them to our training.
LEONARDO
The few times I've been in the selfless state, it's amazing how much better my fighting gets. But when all four of us got there... (shaking head) Had we not gotten there, they'd probably would've beat us. As it was, we felt like we could've taken on the entire Foot clan, not just the fifty we did.
RAPHAEL
Suddenly, the few Foot who haven't been knocked down yet turn tail and run. I started after them, but Leo hollered at me to stop. I turn around to look at him, and for the first time, I notice what had happened. There's my three brothers, standing with their weapons at the ready, panting, ready for more...and like forty guys either unconscious or barely moving on the floor. (pausing) It was the first time I realized...how powerful we four actually were. I mean, before, we ambushed a few guys and knocked 'em out. Big deal. This time, they ambushed us - fifty to four. And we still kicked their butts.
DONATELLO
Mikey held up his nunchucks and gave out this weird yell. Sort of a primal scream victory cry.
MICHELANGELO
No idea where that came from. It felt good, though.
RAPHAEL
Mikey gave out his victory scream, and we all joined him. Then Leo tossed Sensei's card on the ground next to the pile of bodies, and said "scatter", so we all ran back to the lair.
ROCKY
I don't remember a thing. I swung at the first freak, and then nothing. Woke up about two hours later - ends up I was one of the first. Looked around. Those freaks had utterly wasted us. Some of the other guys were bleeding, but most were just knocked silly, like me.
FOOT SOLDIER 3
My last day in the Foot. As we started coming to, most of my buds started limping back to HQ. I didn't. Never went back. I mean, what kind of gang was this? I had this blade-wielding psycho forcing us to go out and fight these ninja turtle freaks. When that happens, you start thinking a job at McDonald's might not be so bad, y'know?
ROCKY
We all get back to HQ. We had trouble finding enough guys to drive - most of us were kinda woozy. Th' Shredder was there waitin' for us. When he saw us limpin' in, I guess he knew the turtles weren't gonna be coming. (shuddering) He lost it. Started smacking us around. Like we hadn't gotten enough of that that night. Y'ever been smacked across the face by a guy wearin' blades? Not fun.
MASTER SPLINTER
When my sons returned home, I could tell something had happened to them that night. They all had injuries, many of them serious. However, they did not seem to notice. I noticed a gleam in their eyes, one that only comes when a large battle is fought and won. I knew most of the story before they began to tell it.
DONATELLO
Once we were back home, we started blabbing the story to Splinter, but he said, "Calm yourselves, my sons. Let me treat your injuries first." We were like, "Hey, what injuries, we're fine, don't worry about us." But then we finally took a look at ourselves. Ends up we weren't so fine.
LEONARDO
We were in pretty bad shape, actually. It must have been a major adrenaline rush that got us home, because suddenly I realize I'm in pain. Not just in one place, either - all over.
DONATELLO
A pretty bad blow had landed on my shoulder, just above where the shell meets it - got a nasty bruise there for a while. My hands were a bit banged up, and my legs had been chained once or twice, so I had some bruising down there, and a little bleeding. But I was the best off by far. The others couldn't really walk for about a week.
RAPHAEL
I notice Michelangelo's arm is bleeding, and I'm about to say something. But suddenly I notice everyone else was looking at me weird. Up at my head. You know, in that "You got something in your teeth" kinda way. I put my hand up to the side of my head, and it was all sticky. Apparently, that guy with the knives got closer to me than I thought. He'd cut me open on the right side of my head, just behind the cheek, and I'd been bleeding pretty bad. Didn't even notice. Still got a scar there if you look close.
MICHELANGELO
It was weird, y'know? We fought this battle, ran home, and we thought we had kicked major butt. Well, I guess we did, but none of us even noticed that we'd been hurt. Sensei ran out of bandages - Donny had to run topside and get more.
RAPHAEL
We went completely out of commish. Donny was more or less fine after a good night's sleep, but the rest of us needed a lot more. Splinter cancelled sparring, study time, everything for days. We just laid in our beds, read a lot, listened to the radio. (smiling) And, of course, talked about how much butt we kicked.
MASTER SPLINTER
While my sons recovered, I spent much time meditating on our next move. It was certain that we were now the target, and therefore our present plan of attack was no longer suitable.
MICHELANGELO
Splinter let us go on for a while about how great we were - for days, actually. But then he shut us up with one sentence. "Yes, you won the battle most decisively. Most fortunate that they did not have guns." Suddenly we all stop and think. Yeah, how hard would it have been to have four Foot guys up in the catwalk with guns? Four well-timed, well-placed shots - that's all, folks.
LEONARDO
Yeah, we won - they didn't get what they wanted. But if they'd even given any thought to the fact that maybe they might not win the battle with conventional weapons, if even one of them thought of bringing a gun, one of us would probably be dead. Or all of us. (pausing) Between that thought, and the thought that it was me that had led us into this trap, I became very withdrawn for the next week or so. Looking at me, you would've thought we lost.
MASTER SPLINTER
Leonardo took the battle very hard. He felt he had failed as a leader. I had to show him that yes, he had led them into a trap, but now we had more information, and could avoid such traps in the future. In addition, Leonardo had never faltered. He may have led them into danger, but he also had led them out.
DONATELLO
We all agreed that we had to change our strategy. Before, we were picking off the Foot like they were targets. Now, it was obvious that we were now the ones being targeted.
LEONARDO
Sensei made one thing clear - whatever tactic we chose to employ, it would have to embody the essence of ninja - the art of invisibility. We now knew they'd kill us if given half a chance, and so we were determined never to give them another shot at that.
RAPHAEL
We all agreed we had to hit them where they lived. But we didn't know where that was, really.
MICHELANGELO
Our major problem was that we didn't know nothin' about the Foot. (shrugging) Didn't need to, going in. We just busted heads together when they came by. But if we were gonna start playing this thing smart, we needed to start operating on their turf. And heck, we didn't even know where that was.
DONATELLO
We kept saying things like "Well, if we knew where they kept their vans, we could do this" or "If we knew when and where they got together, we could do that". Finally, it hit us - call in some favors.
MARCUS
Mikey came back around one night. That was cool, but I was surprised. I didn't think I'd see him again. He wanted to get the lowdown on the Foot - anything I could tell him. That wasn't much, as it turned out, but it was more than he had before.
SARAH
I didn't seen them turtle guys for like a month, but then Don shows up. He needs to talk to me, but he's scared of bein' seen, so we go back to my place - not the apartment, just the hallway. We chatted a bic. He needs to know everything about the Foot - where they are, when they meet, anything.
DONATELLO
When I asked, Sarah said she had some information, but she could get more. So we arranged to meet back up again in a week.
SARAH
During that week, I learned as much as I could. I asked everyone I knew 'bout the Foot - what buildings they mighta seen them come out of, all that. When I met Don again that next week, he brought a map with him, and we marked off all the buildings and places I heard about on it. Don's really happy. He says, "I think the Foot's goin' down," and I told him I sure hoped so. I didn't really think them guys could do it alone, but y'know, you can't help hopin'.
DONATELLO
Once we had as much information as we thought we needed, we had to decide what to do.
MICHELANGELO
There were four buildings that seemed to have the bulk of Foot activity. One ended up being empty by the time we visited - and of course, that was the only one close to us.
LEONARDO
There appeared to be one main headquarters, and two smaller buildings - we called them satellites. They had meetings there, stored weapons, that sort of thing.
RAPHAEL
None of those three locations were anywhere near the lair, and we weren't crazy on the idea of running all over New York just to get our licks in. We needed a car.
MASTER SPLINTER
I was adamant that none of our friends be brought into this fight. Thus I would not dream of asking to borrow their vehicles. If the license numbers were traced, it would put them in grave danger.
LEONARDO
Michelangelo came up with a great idea. He said, "Hey, what about that hockey guy?" After all, he was already fighting the Foot - he'd probably be willing to help us out in our quest. Problem was, we didn't know how to get in touch with him. We spent six nights on the rooftops just trying to find him.
CASEY
One day I'm out on the hunt, like most nights, and I hear someone call my name. It was one of them turtles - Leonardo. He had me join him up on the roof. I hadn't seen them for a bit, and he says they're getting targeted now, so they gotta lay low. But he says they're looking to really make a move, and am I willing to help them out? Are you kidding? Take the Foot out for real? Of course I'm in.
MICHELANGELO
Leo took Casey down to the lair, which was weird. We hadn't ever just invited anyone over before. Of course, I thought it was great - a guest for dinner!
CASEY
Man, that set-up of theirs was unreal. They were trying to tell me their master plan, and here I was just bugging out at their home in the sewers. Finally, we get down to brass tacks, and they tell me what they want from me.
MASTER SPLINTER
We had to stress to Casey that this would not be a one-night operation. It would be necessary to gather information for some time before we made our move.
CASEY
My idea was heck, you know where they are - go in with bats flying, right? But they didn't see it that way.
LEONARDO
We told him we might only have one chance at each location, and we wanted to make sure we hit them hard each time. No use going in if there was just two guys there. We wanted to cause significant damage each time.
CASEY
I finally agreed to do it their way. They seemed to have given it a lot more thought than me, so I figured sure, I'll play along.
RAPHAEL
(smiling, holding up one finger) Operation Amputation Phase One - the satellite HQ West.
MICHELANGELO
(grinning) Casin' with Casey. That's what I called it. Casey came and picked us up in his truck. We'd never been in a car before! Watching the city at night whiz by was so cool. I've done that a lot more since, obviously, but I still remember how cool it felt that night.
DONATELLO
He dropped us off about two or three blocks from the building we were looking to hit, then we'd approach from several sides.
CASEY
One word for those nights - bor-ing. I sat in the truck nodding off, night after night. I kept thinking there were all these Foot guys swarming around, and here I was napping. Night after night. (shrugging) But I had offered to help out, and given my word, so I sucked it up. Started bringing books to read.
LEONARDO
We were overly cautious on the first building. We knew it wasn't the main headquarters; it was more like a satellite base, and a storehouse for stolen merchandise. But we were sure we would only get one shot at this, so we spent the first night on the roof, just watching the Foot come and go. The next night, Donatello and I broke in through the roof while Michelangelo and Raphael stayed on top.
RAPHAEL
That was kind of...tense. I mean, we'd split into teams before, but each time, we were off doing our own thing. Mikey and I were stuck on the roof waiting and watching.
MICHELANGELO
We were really on edge. Every time we heard a sound, we thought, "Oh, no, they've been found out" and wondered if we should rush in.
DONATELLO
We watched for a couple days - we were looking for a good opening. We didn't want to be completely outnumbered, but we didn't want to make our move when there was nobody there, either - that wouldn't have the same effect on them. We decided we felt comfortable taking on around thirty Foot soldiers - enough for us to beat, but not so many that they might have a chance to grab a gun, or go for reinforcements.
LEONARDO
The Foot mentioned that they were going to be taking a shipment in at the beginning of the week. I thought that might be the best time to make our move - just after they deliver everything.
CASEY
They finally said they were going to make their move the next day, and I thought, "Finally - my chance to waste some guys." But then they said they wanted me to wait in the truck again! I was like, "You gotta be kidding me!"
LEONARDO
Casey took a lot of convincing. I told him, look, we were miles from home, and if you ended up getting delayed, or knocked out, we're gonna be surrounded by Foot with no way home. It's not like we can hail a taxi.
CASEY
I finally said I'd do it, but I didn't really mean it. I thought these guys were in over their heads, and they'd need me to help them out once they went in.
LEONARDO
Donatello had this great idea that if we cut the power to the building, we'd have this distinct advantage.
RAPHAEL
Our eyes do pretty good in dark - not sure if that's a genetic thing or just a side effect from living in the sewers so long.
DONATELLO
So the big night comes. We meet up on the roof, shake hands, and get to work. They dropped to the ground while I stay up on the roof and cut the power. The second I do that, the others rush into the building, with me right behind.
MICHELANGELO
Raph and I took the front door, and Leo took the back. That was brave - for all he knew, everyone was going to rush out the back - but he insisted. Donny was supposed to join him there a few seconds later, so I decided it'd be OK.
DONATELLO
One major flaw in my plan - there was a streetlight in the alley, and it lit up part of the main warehouse through the grate-covered window. So it wasn't quite as dark in there as I'd hoped. It didn't end up making a difference, really. We had knocked out most of them by the time we got to that spot anyway.
MICHELANGELO
I don't think any of us slipped into that "selfless state", but I don't think any of us had to. The whole battle was about three minutes long. No one escaped. Knocked every single one of them silly.
LEONARDO
Once we were done, I was ready to tell everyone to scatter, but Michelangelo and Raphael had cooked up their own little ending.
RAPHAEL
Back when Mikey and I were stuck up on the roof, observing nothing, we got to talking. We decided that Mikey could leave the calling card this time, since he's got the art skills.
MICHELANGELO
Raph handed me a spray can, and I spray-painted the kanji for "karma" on the floor, really big, along with Splinter's crest. It was tough - I hadn't practiced using a spray can before, and the light wasn't that great, but I think it looked cool. Then I tossed the can in the corner, and we headed out of there. Left all the doors open, though.
CASEY
I was counting off ten minutes, after which time I was going to go in after them. I was hoping none of them would be dead or anything. I hadn't even hit six when they showed up at the truck, hootin' and hollerin'. I said, "What happened? You chicken out?"
RAPHAEL
I was like, "Chicken out? They're all out cold!", and then Mikey gives his victory scream, and we all join in.
CASEY
(smiling) I'll be honest - I wanted to kick butt, too. But I started realizing yeah, they knew what they were doing. And they didn't need my help in that area. They needed someone to drive them. (shrugging) I decided if that's what I had to do to help destroy the Foot, then sure, I'll drive.
LEONARDO
On the way back, we had Casey call the cops. They ran over there, found all these unconscious guys with all this stolen merchandise, and hauled them all off to jail.
RAPHAEL
We got in the paper and everything. Well, they didn't mention us, but they had a picture of the place, along with Mikey's tag. The paper said "an anonymous tip" was responsible, which I guess was accurate as far as that goes.
MICHELANGELO
I'm sure the Shredder had a cow when he saw that.
MASTER SPLINTER
I was most pleased with my sons' first victory. It certainly helped Leonardo regain his confidence as a leader.