Leonardo liked to think he had a fairly well-developed sense of right and wrong — a moral compass that had never failed him in his short life. Even when he wasn't sure what he should do, he knew very well what he shouldn't do — what it would be wrong to do.

This felt wrong to him.

Raphael was still limp and unresponsive as his brothers slid him into April's waiting van, and clambered in along with Casey. Silently they formed a ring around Raphael's body, their hands gripping their weapons, just in case the unconscious Turtle woke before they could get him back to their apartment.

"You didn't hit him too hard or somethin', did you?" Mikey said worriedly. "He hasn't got a combustion, has he?"

"Concussion," Donnie said, bending over Raphael. "And no, I don't think he does." He pulled up Raphael's upper eyelid, and a golden-brown eye stared at them for a second until Donnie let go. "His pupils are normal sizes and responsive to light. I'm betting he'll wake up in an hour or so."

The van went over a bump in the road, and Raphael's head lolled to the side, resting lightly against Donnie's leg. Leo crouched down beside his lost brother, watching Raphael for even a twitch of awareness, the faintest hint that he was regaining consciousness. He was going to be very dangerous when he woke up, especially if they hadn't restrained him. His behavior both times they had met him had been wild, almost savage.

"Is he always that friendly?" April called over her shoulder.

"That was better'n the first time," Mikey said despondently. "He wasn't tryin' to stab us this time."

"We jumped on him before he could," Donnie reminded him. "If he had seen us coming…"

Leo didn't want to think about what would have happened if he had seen them coming. For one thing, he knew that they would never have gotten another opportunity to trap Raphael — he would have figured out their plan, and skittered away back to the Foot Clan before they could catch him. They might have never had another chance to speak to him if that had happened.

And they did need to talk to him. Not just a few passing words in the middle of a battle, but a real conversation once he had calmed down from whatever frenzy he had been in. They needed to see him for who he really was, whatever he was, not just the wild-eyed, screaming creature they had encountered in their one battle with him. And for that, they needed time. Time to learn. Time to plan. Time to make him think.

They had to make the best of this opportunity. They couldn't waste the little time they had with Raphael, because they might not have much more.

"I don't like this," Donnie said suddenly.

"What?" Leo said.

Donnie gestured at Raphael, his still face and limp limbs. "This plan. I don't like it. It doesn't feel right."

"I—I know how you feel, but we can't let—"

"Leo, stop being the dutiful son for one moment and think about what we're doing," Donnie said in a hissed whisper. "Technically, we just assaulted Raphael, kidnapped him, and are planning to hold him against his will."

"I know." Leo wanted to shrivel under Donnie's fierce scrutiny, but forced himself to remain stoic.

The truth was, he was wondering just how far his father's desperation for Raphael would push him. Upon hearing April's idea for luring their lost brother into the open, Splinter had devised the plan they were enacting — it was simple and straightforward, almost too much so. All they needed to do was locate Raphael, and his vigilante activities would distract him long enough for his brothers to pin him down.

They had spent the next week attempting to put the plan into action, until Leo had begun to wonder if it was even going to work, or whether Raphael had gotten wise to their plan before even showing his face. Or, perhaps even worse, whether the Shredder was keeping Raphael close by, thinking he might have been disloyal. Leo didn't know what Raphael's standing in the Foot Clan was, but a chill rolled through him at the thought of what that maniac might do if he believed Raphael was a traitor.

April had spent every evening that week walking down different city blocks that the vigilante had been known to patrol, with Casey prowling behind her, and Leo, Mikey and Donnie lurking behind him. But no luck for a long while — and Leo was just about to give up and start formulating a new plan when they saw a dark figure landing behind Casey, a pair of glittering sai at the ready.

The van hit another bump in the road, and a faint moan came from Raphael, as if protesting his treatment. Don slumped down against the wall, steadying Raphael's head so it wouldn't flop around as they drove.

"So how can you be okay with this?" he said in a low voice.

"It's our only chance," Leo said. "The only opportunity we might have. Father—"

"Father is desperate, Leo, and desperate people sometimes make the wrong decisions," Don said. "Can't you think for yourself?"

Leo bristled, his lip lifting in a snarl. "I am thinking for myself, thanks. But as wrong as this feels, in one thing I agree with Father — we need to speak to Raphael. Really speak to him. He needs to know he doesn't have to stay with the Foot Clan — that we want him, we care about him and that he belongs with us, not them."

"Maybe it's too late, Leo," Donnie said quietly. "If his behavior towards us is anything to go by, he might be too damaged by them to come back to us."

"I don't believe that, Donnie."

"Is that you talking," Donnie asked softly, "or Father?"

Leo grimaced. "Me."

Don sighed and looked down at Raphael's sleeping face. He looked oddly peaceful now, a stark contrast to his frantic eyes and furious behavior the previous time that they had seen him. But Leo knew that when he woke, his first impulse would be to attack them, violently. They had to get him home before that happened.

"Has it occurred to you that kidnapping him might not be the best way to win his trust?" Don said.

"Yes, it's occurred to me," Leo said quietly. "But I didn't hear you volunteering any other ideas for how to make him listen to what we had to say."

"I tried to make him listen before you did," Donnie said defensively. "He punched me in the stomach and tried to slash open my face."

"Well, he won't be able to do any of those things this time," Leo said, grimly settling back against the side of the van.

Raphael's face tensed, as though he could hear his brothers arguing and was disturbed by the sound. Donnie's hand immediately went to his bo, in case someone needed to render their brother unconscious a second time, but Raphael's expression smoothed out, becoming peaceful and softer once again. Leo breathed a sigh of relief, glad that a battle wouldn't be breaking out in the back of a moving vehicle.

"How is what we're doing any different from what the Foot Clan did to Father, Leo?" Donnie said softly.

Leo closed his eyes. "There are two ways that it's different," he said at last. "First, we want to give him a choice — another option. Second… when he's heard what we have to say, we're going to let him go." His words seemed to echo through the van, and he felt a twist in his heart at the idea.

"Guys," Casey's voice suddenly piped up. "We've got company."

He pointed at a nearby rooftop, where two dark shadows were flitting past, obscuring lights as they moved. Leo's heart jumped into his throat. Someone had been following Raphael — and now they were following the van.

"April, slow down," he said, placing a hand on his katana. "Mikey, you're with me. Donnie, you stay with Raph and make sure that no matter what, they don't get to him. If he wakes up, keep him restrained."

"Sure, leave me with the easy job," Donnie muttered.

As the van slowed, Leo threw the door and sprang out, hearing Mikey just a step behind him. They had to get rid of these two Foot ninja, or Raphael would be the least of their problems.