Disclaimer: Now who owns what, huh?! I just bought myself some coat buttons, so now I own something as well…and they are MINE!

Vestque's Lawyer: These buttons are indeed copyrighted by Vestque and her company, Vestque 'n Company. Any use, manufacture, imitation, or illegal sell of Vestque's Buttons will be deemed illegal and the participants will be severely punished.

Vestque:…Heh heh! I have a Hankerin' for some Featherin'…with Tar that is! -evil grin-

Vestque's Lawyer:…-rolls eyes-…whatever…

Chapter Sixteen

Owen blinked as the room's motion slowed before completely ending, everyone moving to their appointed rooms in order to fulfill their pre-appointed tasks. Even Michelangelo, he noticed, had, too, rushed out of the room, his bag in hand as well. That had worried him.

Wasn't Michelangelo the one doing the "makeover?"

However, it was not until Owen turned back to the den did he finally notice the answer to his questions. One form still remained in the room, having not moved at all from his spot next to the door after opening it.

One single form…in red.

"Well, I guess we should get started then. Come on, O', let's get goin'."

Owen soon found himself alone in the dark den blinking in Raphael's wake as he left the room. It seemed that as soon as Raph had finished his order, he brushed past the white haired vampire and into the halls ahead without another word.

Owen bristled.

'A 'please' would have been helpful…'

How dare that turtle just order him around as if he was just some kind of slave. Definitely not polite, and definitely not acceptable! He had a good mind to just stay where he was until asked properly and politely by the turtle in red.

A good mind!

However, his thoughts skidded to a crashing halt as he heard a door shut from the very end off the hallway.

'The end of the hallway?…My Room!'

Owen rushed out of the den and to his own doorway, nearly throwing the door off it's hinges as he opened it, his shrill exclamation filling the hallway before he could even stop himself.

"What are you doing?!!"

Inside of his room, the turtle stood there, a slightly bemused expression on his face at Owen's new and panicky tones. Meanwhile, Owen flushed as the bathroom seemed to explode in laughter, proving that its inhabitants had heard his exclamation as well, as shrill and panicked as it was. He sighed…

He just couldn't win.

Meanwhile Raph chuckled before crossing his arms in well trained defiance, responding in tones that could only be described as sarcastic and cocky, a.k.a., normal.

"What does it look like I'm doing?!"

His stance was all but relaxed as he watch Owen lower his head to shake it in disbelief, his eyes closing for the same reasons. However, before he could open his eyes, or even look up, the spastic sound of rustling plastic made him cringe as he peaked out from behind his own eyelids.

'That's not what I think it is…is it?'

However, an even bigger rustling as well as the creak of the bed tempted his curiously just enough for him to open his eyes, and even then, he wanted to close them.

In the short period of time it took Owen to bow his head, Raph had already found the bags of clothes, and had, rather chaotically, emptied the bag's contents onto Owen's bed. Raph heard a moan from behind him, but ignored it as he sifted through the various shirts and pants now spewed all over the formally neat bed. Although all seemed lost, Owen still didn't give up on his complaint, conversing even as Raph seemed to completely focus on the clothes before him.

"So, wait. Let me guess. You're the one that was chosen to pick out my clothes for the evening…right?"

Raph almost smiled at Owen's tone. If he sounded any less 'thrilled' he would have almost hurt his feelings.

Almost.

Raph snickered.

"Why yes, Owen. I am…indeed."

He mocked Owen's proper speech seemingly earning himself a rather disgruntled grunt in return, but other than that, the room fell into a silence only broken by the rustle of clothing as Raph sifted through the pile before him. Owen watched the turtle's shell as he worked, picking up onto to the turtle's sorting pattern almost immediately. Raph would pick up a shirt or pants, then turn to look at it, as if in judgment, before scowling and tossing it over his shoulder in displeasure. He did this several times, each shirt, each pant, not fitting his standards, and as such, they found the floor. Meanwhile, Owen eyed the ever growing pile with distaste. It seemed that nothing fit into this turtle's criterion, resulting in a growing pile of clothes…

On the floor.

Owen frowned.

"Um, do you think that all of this is necessary?"

Owen walked up to look past his shell and into the turtle's face, and just like before, the turtle paid him no mind, his eyes on the clothes before him in complete concentration. However, just like before, Raph answered, his answers just as short and unsatisfying as the answers on the couch only a few minutes earlier.

"Yup…"

Owen waited.

Raph smirked.

Rolling his eyes, Owen finally went to sigh in defeat but before he could finish, his sigh was cut off by a sudden and brilliant idea.

Maybe dealing with this turtle was simpler than he thought…

Much simpler.

And as such, it was his turn to smirk as he finally responded.

"Why?"

Raph froze, a small grin forming on his formally smirking face.

Owen was finally playing the game…

Owen watched the turtle's grin as Raphael finally broke the intense gaze on the clothes before him to look up at Owen with a new vigor. Definitely a big change in demeanor. The turtle almost seemed…pleased, as he responded, easily continuing the 'game' of words he had adopted all of his life.

"Cause…"

As a response, Owen raised a sly eyebrow, his next question coming just as easily as the first, for obvious reasons.

"Why?"

He then crossed his arm, a smile playing on his lips as Raph slightly bristled from his spot next to the bed. Most people wouldn't have even seen the change, but…Owen…wasn't most people.

He had seen it, and he smiled as a result. He finally found Raph's game, and as such, it was his weakness.

Thus giving him a sense of victory over the turtle. A great sense of victory.

At his smile, Raph gave the vampire a sideways glance; seemingly turning back to the clothes before him before responding with his part of the game, more out of habit than anything else.

"Cause."

Although he tired to keep his response somewhat absent sounding and uncaring, his smile could be heard in it as well. Owen picked up on immediately.

'He's enjoying this.' Owen grinned.

And so was he. And as such, he continued.

One more time, just for the books.

"Why-"

"Cause I said so! Ya nut!" Raph suddenly laughed, spinning quickly to shove a few articles of clothing in Owen arms. It was quite clear that Owen had finally gotten to him, Raph's short one worded answers dissolving into jesting laughter. Meanwhile, Raph continued.

"Here, try these on. Wiseass!"

Owen looked at the outfit in his arms, and then back up at the turtle, of which he now understood, before walking to leave with a small grin on his face.

However, that grin did not last long for it soon faltered and fell at Raph's next question.

"Where ya goin'?"

Owen stopped mid-step only to turn back to the red banded turtle, blinking in confusion.

"The bathroom?"

His response came as more of a question than anything else, and as an answer to that question, Raph shook his head.

"Can't." He stated simply, "Mike's in there gettin' ready for ya."

Owen thought over what that meant for a moment, the feeling of dread consequently rising in his gut. Yes, he did hear people in the bathroom earlier, didn't he?

Only proving that Raphael was right.

Michelangelo, and from the higher laugh he had heard as well, Centrice, was indeed in the bathroom, and according to Raphael, they were in there preparing for his impending doom.

Meaning…It was best to avoid that bathroom at all costs.

"Well…where am I supposed to change, then?" Owen turned to the turtle in genuine confusion, and as a response, Raphael only rolled his eyes before turning his back on him once again.

"In here, dum-dum!"

Raph fell silent, his attention going back onto the clothes before him as he sifted through for something else that could also be fit for the occasion.

Meanwhile, Owen fell silent as well, but for different reasons.

'In here?'

He looked around the room in sudden realization of what the turtle asked of him, and as a result, he cringed.

He had never changed in front of someone before…

Well, maybe not never. He changed in front of his wife…occasionally. But this was a completely different pot of porridge all together.

"You're not done yet?!"

Raph spun suddenly with two more articles of clothing in his grasp only to find the two from before still in Owen's arms. He huffed.

"Come on O', we don't have all day!" He chided, his voice just below a yell as Owen just watched him from his side of the room. Owen seemed to flush, which was more than an interesting sight to see in Raph's eyes as he watched on. Nevertheless, Raph waited, growing more and more amused as Owen seemed to grow perturbed under his gaze. After a moment of this, and with no moves from either party, Owen finally cleared his throat, his eyes anywhere but on the turtle before him.

"Raphael, can you please turn back around?"

Raph raised a stray eye ridge, crossing his arms. He couldn't help but smirk as he finally sensed the opportunity to give Owen a piece of his own medicine.

"Why?"

'Oh the irony of it all…' Raph grinned.

However, through his nervousness, Owen smirked despite himself.

It seemed that his former conclusion was wrong. Raphael was the mean one, and for more reasons than one it appeared.

"You're enjoying this aren't you? You take pleasure in my discomfort and pain…"

Even through his accusations, Owen's smile still gave him away, as did the smirk for the turtle as Raph leaned back coolly, his arms still crossed.

"I sure do."

Owen let his head drop in an attempt to hide his growing grin, but it was no use, for soon he was beaming.

"So, who's the "nut" now?" He asked, his grin crooked as his head tilted to one side in mock seriousness. The grin proved contagious for soon Raph grinned as well before turning back around, his head moving in a slow shake. However, Owen sensed the opportunity and seized it, quickly sifting out of his clothing before sliding into the clothes before him. It only took him a moment, the fear of Raph turning back around making him move just that much quicker. Meanwhile, Raph continued.

"It's still you, O', it's still you. At least I'm not the one taking an hour to chan-" Raph glanced back then before double taking on the newly clothed Owen only to raise an eye ridge in response. Meanwhile, noticing his look, Owen only shrugged.

" …Can't change if you're watching me…"

Raph looked him over, growing silently displeased with the outfit Owen was wearing and turned back to the pile of clothes before him to search for a better choice, but not before responding to the situation as a whole, summing up all his thoughts of the vampire in two simple words.
"…damn nut."

The minutes soon turned into a full hour as Raph still sifted through the pile of clothes. Owen watched as the pile on the floor became bigger and bigger as the pile on the bed became smaller and smaller.

"Can I ask a question?" Owen asked, switching from one pants to the other at Raph's request. Meanwhile, with Raph's back to Owen, and his attention on the bed, he responded.

"Yeah, what O'?"

Owen pulled up the pants, and at the sound of the belt's buckle, Raph turned to look him over only to shake his head before throwing Owen another outfit. Now Owen found himself taking off the new pants and shirt, and seemingly not caring anymore. After a full hour of just changing from one outfit to another, who cared anymore? All Owen wanted was for this to be completely over with, and he knew that if there were fewer complaints from his lips, this would take much less time. So after a while, he figured his best bet was to just keep his mouth shut.

Besides, it was easier that way.

However, that didn't mean he couldn't talk overall…just that he couldn't openly complain. And even then, the vampire still found loopholes…

"Why did Mike choose you to pick out my clothing? You truly do not come off as the "fashion bug" type to me."

Owen finished putting on the newest outfit just as Raph turned around to check it out but just as quickly, he shook his head before turning back to the now cluttered bed.

And just as dejectedly, Owen removed the new set of clothes.

Meanwhile, Raph huffed at the now minuscule pile of clothes before him. It seemed that nothing had the right feel to it. Not that these clothes weren't 'good' but Owen needed a certain…look…if he was going to be accepted tonight, and none of these were 'it.' On the outside, though, he sighed before finally answering Owen's inquiry, being as clear and as blunt as the new scowl on his currently displeased face.

"Because I know when somethin' looks like shit."

There was a short pause, Owen becoming rather thrown off with Raph's bluntness and its obvious hidden indications before swallowing his displeasure and resuming normal function as he buttoned the pants of which he was trying on.

"I see."

However, it was at that moment that Raph reached the end of the pile, his mind beginning to grasp the thoughts of failure, until he caught sight of one last outfit.

His eyes widened slightly as he held up the dark materials.

"This is perfect…"

His grin was slow but genuine and beyond him, Owen grew curious, sensing the break in rotation almost immediately.

"What? What did you find?"
"Here, put this on!" Raph spun; suddenly shoving the new set of dark materials into Owen's fumbling arms. Nevertheless, Owen eyed them wearily before complying.

Truthfully, he was getting rather tired of the entire thing as a whole. Change, get judged negatively, and then changed again?

Tiring, not to mention embarrassing.

However this time, Owen immediacy recognized that things were…different.

Evidence?

Raph was smiling for once…

Owen put on the clothes, sipping into the shirt and pants as well as buckling the belt that came along with the ensemble but half expecting Raph to shake his head. However, that never came. Instead, Raph nodded, his smile spreading on his stern face as he looked the vampire over with a manner that could only be described as 'approving.'

"Much better. You still look kind of crappie, but Mike said he was fixing your hair as soon as we were finished here. So now that this is over, looks like you can go now."

Raph waved him off before seemingly reaching for the clothes on the ground to dump them back on the bed. Meanwhile, all Owen could do was just stare, not move from his spot as he watched the turtle in slight shock, blinking in disbelief at the turtle's cocky words.

And likewise, his prolonged stay did not go unnoticed. Raph huffed, falling into a seat on the bed before addressing Owen one last and final time…

"Dude, I said you can go! Mike's gonna be on my ass if we take too long. So before that happens, you need to get out of here, unless you want me to kick your ass!"

After a moment of stunned silence Owen gathered his wits and began to remove the articles of clothing, coolly hanging each piece on his arm to give neatly to the turtle before him.

To say that he was not pleased would have been a grave understatement.

He was appalled, having never been so offended in his life…

Nevertheless, he bit is tongue, just as he had for the entire afternoon.

'It's not worth it, it's not just worth fighting over anything now...' However, as the rage grew in his body, he soon realized that he needed more to calm his sprits than just a simple thought of reassurance; so instead, he meditated, gathering his wits for the appointed and difficult task before him.

And what a difficult task it would to be. For this mission alone he would need to be unnaturally cunning, extremely smart, and deceivingly imperceptible…

Otherwise, he knew he would never be able to make it through Michelangelo's portion of the makeover.

…Never.

He couldn't help but shutter in slight dread. When Michelangelo had volunteered to help him, he took it with a grain of salt. Although he was pleased that they had even wanted to be a part of his solution, they still caused another problem altogether, and to Owen it was just as bad.

Smothering. And what a problem it was!

Mike had taken the entire situation and blown it completely out of proportion, taking the slight job of making Owen unrecognizable and turning it into a complete and utter makeover.

But the question was, was it too much?

Owen sighed. Only time would tell.

But for now, Owen knew had to suck it up. Everything would get worse before it got better.

A lot worse.

So being the brave vampire he was, he would face this obstacle head on. No matter what fate threw at him.

He was a true vampire; a fighter by nature. Surviving for nearly a millennia, he was the best of the best of his kind, and for good reason! He couldn't let a few compromising situations take that away from him now. He needed to be at that meeting, no matter what!

Besides, at least with the turtles' help, there was literally no chance he would be recognized when he finally got there. Hell! He had a good feeling he wouldn't even be able to recognize himself…

So, with that in mind, he handed the newly removed articles of clothing to the disgruntled turtle, once again, not caring at all if he saw his neatly 'boxered' pale form.

He was vampire. As a species, they had survived, literally, several millennia against all odds.

He could survive this now.

Stepping into his own pants, he prepared to pull them up, however, and once again to Owen's complete and utter demise, fate had its own agenda…

There was a short knock on the door before it was immediately opened, proving that the person on the other side didn't truly have the time to actually wait for an answer from within. Nevertheless, Owen still sighed in self pity as everything went from bad to horrible in under a second flat. It was a new record for the end of his life…only being matched by the 'scene' the night before.

And just as before, this time it was brought about by the untimely entrance of the very same turtle…

Owen had to admit though; this time the scene was much, much worse.

This time Leonardo had somehow managed to walk in perfectly synchronized with the worst moment of Owen's life, and just like before, it happened the worst possible way as well.

"Ok, I'm sorry, but Mike is really getting anxious and I just can't take it anymore. You guys hurry up! Mike is…expecting……you."

Leo slowed down as he finally caught sight of the wide eyed Owen, his compromising position making his eyes widen as well. There Owen stood, only clad in a pair of black boxers and white tube socks, of which just poked out from under the only other peice of fabic on Owen's body. His pants...of which, lay in a mass at his ankles...

A thick silence fell over the room, a silence only broken by Raph's ill-timed snicker and then full blown laughter, his form doubling over as he caught sight of both of their faces.

Too much!

"Oh man, Where the hell 'sa camera when you need one?!"

Owen turned then, his head snapping back to glare absolute daggers at the turtle in red, of whom had been riding Owen's nerves all afternoon, and with his laughter, it was the last straw. Fire and Brimstone would have been a walk in the park compared to Owen's glare, which now literally burned from a fire within, hotter than the fires of hell themselves…

Meanwhile, at the sight of Owen's glare, Raph's laughing stopped instantly as he was suddenly taken back by Owen's intensity. Meanwhile, Oblivious to both enraged vampire and turtle, Leo coughed before stepping through the door and out of the room.

"Well, I guess I'll just leave you two to finish…whatever the hell you were doing." Leo sputtered before leaving the room completely, a shutter going through him.

"I really need to just stop barging into his room. Loads of bad mental pictures avoided that way, that's for sure!"

-

Lol! Well, not as long as I wanted it to be, but oh well. Hm, Mikey's segments seems to be next, I'll take any suggestions you guys might have about Owen's hair style and such, (jewelry ideas, hair cut, possible make up ideas, ect.) Just leave a review or something' if you have any ideas (I have a basic mental picture of what I want, but hey, I love adding stuff from the readers as well, makes it more fun that way) So, R and R if you wanna. More coming soon regardless, though.