Author Notes:

First off, I'm moving my review replies to the end, so they don't take up so much room. I can be wordy.

Secondly, ngh. This chapter wasn't supposed to exist. The contents of this chapter were minor things that were going to get a passing mention at most, and we could move on to the next plot point, but as I wrote, the little things became bigger, and soon I had a chapter written that was shorter then I was happy with, but long enough that it would be awkward to attach to the next one.

That being said, I'm not sure how long the next part is going to be. I plan on it being only one chapter, but, knowing the way I write, it'll probably end up two chapters, possibly more. Shenanigans are in the future.

Chapter 6: Plans Put Together

~Two weeks to Wedding Day~

Several straight pins with colorful plastic ends were clamped tightly between his green lips, and, concentrating, Leo gathered up the pearly white fabric carefully before beginning his measurements, taking out and sliding the pins in at intervals.

"Careful!" April squeaked, looking at him kneeling behind her nervously. "Don't poke me!"

Leo paused, then, unable to speak with the straight pins clamped in his mouth, settled for giving her a look. Please. He was a highly trained ninja who specialized in precision attacks. He wasn't going to accidentally poke her with a straight pin.

April was standing on a small wooden platform in the dojo, dressed in a flowing white wedding dress with poofy arms and rhinestones sewn in patterns, though she had jeans and tennis shoes on underneath.

Raph showed her a page in a bridal magazine. "So, April, you were thinking of curls like this, right?"

April glanced at the model he was pointing at. "Ooh, yes! I like the way they pile on her head. But do you think my hair is long enough for something like that?"

Raph reached over and gently ran a few strands of her red hair through his green fingers, gauging the length. "Yeah, I think we could pull it off."

April studied the picture a little more closely. "How did they get that sparkle in her hair? Did they actually use glitter? That seems like it would get everywhere."

Raph turned the magazine back to himself, studying it. "I think it's a spray you can get? We could probably get our hands on some if you really want it. The glitter look would look nice if we added a tiara like this chick here is wearing."

Leo finished adding the last of the pins. "Thus are uttered words and sentences I never thought I'd hear coming from Raph."

"Oh, fuck you Leo." Raph snorted at him without any real venom, flipping through the magazine. "We agreed that you wouldn't mock me if I helped April out with her hair, and I wouldn't mock you for your granny embroidery skills."

"First off, don't swear, Raph. I wasn't mocking you. I think it's a very nice thing you're doing for April. I was just making an observation." Leo fluffed the back of the dress a bit, then fished around for some more straight pins. "And second, I'm not doing embroidery, I'm performing alterations."

Beyond the dojo's curtained entrance, in the kitchen area, Mikey suddenly barked out in an authoritative tone, "Halt! Unauthorized civilian, you are in a restricted zone!"

"Oh for the love of... I'm not trying to peek in on April's dress, I'm just getting some water, Mikey." Donnie's voice sounded annoyed.

"Sir, I repeat, this is a restricted zone! I'll give you only one more warning! Please, calmly vacate the area."

"Mikey, seriously, knock it off. I'm not going to... Hey! Ow! Stoppit! Ow! Fine! I'm leaving! Ow! I'm leaving already!"

April snickered. "Poor Donnie."

Mikey poked his head in through the curtain, raising his dark aviator sunglasses as he peered in. He had an old, discard security guard hat on, and lanyard looped around his neck with a plastic nametag that apparently a 'Peter Jorgunson' had at one point lost down a sewer grate. "Bossman! There was a Level Two Code Romeo, but I'm happy to report that the perimeter is secure once again."

"Good job Mikey." Leo said absently, adjusting some of the pins.

"Nothing is getting by while the Mikster is on the job, Bossman!" Mikey gave him a sharp salute, then he disappeared through the curtain again, once again standing guard.

"Well, I think I've gotten all the measurements I needed." Leo examined the dress, then stuck a few more pins in. "I'm just going to let out the hip area a little, and then you wanted me to take off the poof on the sleeves and replace them with a flowing tulle fabric?"

Raph snickered, turning a page in his hair styling magazine.

"If it won't be too difficult." April bit her lips and looked down at her mother's dress that her dad had presented her with. "I don't want to change too much, even if we had more time, but the eighties' shoulder poof is a bit much, even for me."

"It shouldn't be beyond my abilities." Leo stood up and began putting away his sewing kit. Raph helped April step down from the platform, and she stepped behind the divider set up so she could peel off the dress and change back into her street clothes."I'll try to have it done by the middle of next week. We'll have to do another fitting then, and make sure I did everything correctly."

"I can't thank you guys enough." April said over the divider as she quickly changed. "I know we won't be able to pull off a really fancy wedding, but it means a lot to me that you guys are doing so much." She stepped out, April handed the dress to Leo.

"It is our pleasure, April." Leo bowed slightly, before taking the dress from her. "Anything for family."

Raph just gave a noncommittal grunt and handed her the magazines and books. "I bookmarked the pages you were interested in. We'll talk about it more later."

"Thanks Raph." She stood up on her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek.

His face reddened a little, and he looked away, obviously embarrassed.

"Well, if we're done here, I'm going to go meet my dad for lunch." April headed for the dojo exit. "Thanks again, guys!"

"Give your father our regards!" Leo waved a farewell. He began hanging the dress up on a large padded hanger. As he did so, he glanced at his red brother conversationally. "Say, Raph. You never did tell me where or why you learned the art of hairdressing."

"I don't see how that's any of your business." Raph was obviously embarrassed.

Leo chuckled. "You do realize that now that I know, I will get the full story behind that eventually, you know."

"Oh, fuck you, Leo." Raph growled red faced, flipping the curtain aside as he stomped out past his orange security guard brother into the lair.

"Don't swear, Raph." Leo grinned after him, then shifted the dress to one arm as he fished out then tossed a small colorful plastic bag to Mikey. "Alright, job well done, Mikey. The situation is now under control. Here's the agreed on payment."

Mikey caught the bag of gummy bears in one hand easily, and lifted his aviator sunglasses, resting them above his orange mask. "Sweet! Thanks, Leo!"

Shaking his head in amusement and wonder, Leo turned and disappeared into his bedroom, the dress cradled gently in his arms. Alone in the dark room, he exhaled slowly, feeling his mood shifting and growing more grim.

"April is going to look beautiful in this dress, isn't she, Sensei?" Leo asked as he walked across the room.

On the floor near the far wall of the sparsely decorated room lay a woven meditation mat surrounded by candles, where Splinter's ghost knelt. His father didn't open his eyes, but a proud smile formed on his muzzle, and he gave the smallest of nods.

Leo hung up the dress on a pipe, making sure that it didn't touch the floor. It would be safe in here, his brothers respected this room enough that they wouldn't enter without his permission.

Leo let his hands touch the satin and tulle fabric gently, then he sighed and moved to light the candles that were placed around the mat. After lighting some incense and making a small offering and prayer, he knelt before the rat spirit.

Splinter opened his eyes and looked to him calmly, waiting for him to speak.

"Sensei, I am troubled." Leo started hesitantly, bowing his head slightly. "I can sense changes are going to happen to our clan. In our clan, even." He swallowed hard, and his hands clenched at his knees. "Bigger then just April and Donnie and the coming baby, I think. I... I'm not sure how to describe it... this feeling. It's heavy and thick, like there's a big storm on the horizon. A tempest that's ready to rip up everything that's old and familiar, and leave us to tread in unfamiliar waters."

The candles sputtered and crackled as if a small breeze breathed over them, and Leo caught Splinter's comforting scent fleetingly. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, reveling in the familiar and calming scent. Then slowly, deliberately, he breathed out long and slow, letting the feeling comfort him. Grateful but still troubled, he looked up to his father's patient face. "I hope... I hope that I'm strong enough to protect and lead the family through these changes." He swallowed hard, then admitted in a whisper. "I wish you were here."

Splinter didn't move for a moment, and then he reached out and put a non-corporeal hand on Leo's shoulder, and where the transparent hand rested, Leo felt a warmth spread. He studied his father's whiskered face, and saw only confidence and pride there. The ghost of his father nodded at him, then closed his eyes, concentrated, and waved his other hand over a group of four of the lit candles. The flames flickered, danced, and then changed colors. Tiny blue, red, orange, and purple fires leapt up towards the ghost's hand, danced around one another, and merged into a single, colorful pillar of flame. After a few heartbeats, he moved his hand back, and the candles settled back down into normal, dim yellow candlelight.

Leo was quiet for a moment, then bowed low. "Thank you, father."

When he sat back up, the ghost was gone, and he was alone once more in the room with just the candles. He moved to settle down on the mat himself to meditate, the image of the four colored flames still burning bright in his mind. He would take his father's lessons to heart.

His brothers, his family, they were his true strength. No matter what came in the future, they needed to be able to rely on him.

He would be stronger for them.

Refreshed and calmed again after a short meditation session, and with the precious dress securely hung in his room, Leo stepped out into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before he headed towards the lab. Donnie was sitting on the floor, tongue stuck out slightly as he tightened some bolts on some sort of contraption he was building out of what looked like an old office printer.

Leo set the bottle on the table. "Hey Donnie. Did April leave already?"

Donnie nodded, concentrating on his work. "Yeah, she wanted to be there when Mr. O'Neil got off work. I've got to get my work done here for now, but I'll join her for supper later."

Leo nodded. "I'm going out for a quick exercise run. Is there anything specific you want me to keep an eye out for while I'm out there?"

Donnie paused, tapped the screwdriver to his chin a few times, giving thought to the question for a moment. "If you could find a few old microwaves, that would be extremely helpful." He went back to tinkering. "Also, any cables or wiring you can find, I can't get enough of those."

Leo nodded. "Right, I'll keep an eye out for them then. I should be back in a few hours." He adjusted his katanas on his back as he began walking towards the exit.

Raph, who was leaning against the wall by the door to the lab, grabbed the tails of his mask as he walked by, stopping him. "Hey. Leo."

Leo looked up at him, confused. "Uh, hey?"

Raph looked down at him and narrowed his electric green eyes accusingly. "You haven't asked any of us to join you on an exercise run in almost a week and a half now."

"Okay?" Leo blinked at him, perplexed. "Uh, Raph, would you care to join me for on my training run?"

"Eh, fine. If you insist." Raph released the blue cloth tails and stood up.

Leo readjusted his face mask, studying his red brother in confusion. Huh. Raph had always treated Leo's training runs as little more then tolerated homework, always grumbling and complaining as Leo almost pushed him out the door.

A grin slowly crossed his face.

Awww... Raph did care!

As if reading Leo's thoughts, Raph stiffly gave an annoyed snort, as if it were just the normal situation of Leo ordering him out to train and exercise, and turned away, trying to act casual about it. "Mikey wants to come along too."

"I do?" Mikey looked up from his bag of gummy bears, obviously taken by surprise by this news.

"Yes, you do." Raph checked his sais before attaching it back to his belt.

"Oh. Okay." Mikey blinked, and grabbed a mouthful of gummy bears, walking over to them. "Hey, Leo! Can we stop at the skateboard park after we're done?"

"Actually, I'm planning on taking a path that skirts near the dock areas and scouting the sewers around there." Leo informed him as he walked through the turnstile and led them out the lair.

Mikey leapfrogged over the turnstile himself, hopped up in front of him and started walking backwards, looking a little curious. "Really? We don't usually stomp around in that neighborhood."

"All the more reason to scout it out and make sure everything is quiet." Leo stopped at a metal ladder, placing a hand on it and looking up at the manhole that led to the surface. "And please don't 'stomp' around. We're ninja, remember?"

"That fact isn't in danger of being forgotten, Leo." Raph rolled his eyes. "You don't have to keep reminding us."

"Just... if you guys are going to come with me on this training run, then I'd like you to take it seriously." Leo shot him a look, then turned and nimbly scaled the ladder. He carefully pushed up the manhole cover, and, after taking notice that the coast was clear, led his two brothers out into the night into the city.

He hadn't been expecting to have company along tonight, but it shouldn't matter too much. He could still carry out his plan.

The sewers in this area were coated in a heavy layer of algae and seaweed, the occasional metal can, glass bottle, and other bits of garbage laying about. The smell of saltwater was thick here, and everything had a salty feel to it.

Leo dropped down from a drain pipe and landed on the stone floor with not even a whisper of sound. His nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air, he reached down and gently ran his fingers across the floor. He then exhaled in disappointment and stood up, looking around. It was pretty obvious that this area was extremely abandoned.

Raph landed quietly next to him, and took a look around as well. Mikey rolled out of the drainage pipe, and landed lightly on Raph's shell in a crouch. Raph pretended not to notice him.

Standing up and balancing easily on his much larger brother's shell, Mikey reached up and scraped some of the algae off of the ceiling, examining it. "Hey, this brings back memories. Remember when we used to live off of algae and worms, bros?" Sniffing it curiously, he then popped it in his mouth.

"Mikey! Don't...don't eat that." Leo at first looked startled that his orange brother would actually eat something that he peeled off a sewer tunnel wall, then sighed in resignation. He really shouldn't have been startled by that fact.

"Huh. Salty." Mikey plopped down on Raph's shoulders, smacking his lips thoughtfully. Raph snorted, reached up, lifted Mikey off by the shell, and deposited him on the floor next to him.

Leo studied the floor again. "It must flood regularly with sea water." He frowned, it was quite obvious that this area was completely uninhabitable for anything without gills.

"You're looking for something." Raph looked down at Leo and crossed his arms.

"What?" Leo looked up at his red brother, startled by the out of the blue accusation.

"You've been sneakier lately then usual, and I couldn't figure out why." Raph looked around the abandoned tunnel. "This is why you've been going out alone all last week, isn't it? You're up to some shit."

Leo rubbed the back of his neck, looking off to the side. "What gives you the idea that I'm planning something?" He cleared his throat. "And don't swear, Raph."

"Leo..." Raph narrowed his eyes.

Leo sighed and threw up his hands. "Fine!" he surrendered, turning to his brothers. "I'm still not entirely sure this plan will work. I didn't want to say anything until I was sure I would be able to pull it off."

Shoving another piece of algae in his mouth, Mikey looked interested. "Dude!" he said with his mouth full. "Lay it on us, bro!"

"If it's so important to you that you've been looking all over the city for it, then yeah, tell us." Raph frowned, looking at Leo. "You should share this kinda crap with us. We might be able to help."

Leo chewed his lip for a moment. "Okay, you're going to think this is a really dumb idea, but we might be able to help Donnie and April with it. Now, here's my plan..."

Leo carefully explained the details of his idea, and then, once that was out in the open, looked to his brothers.

Yup. Their individual reactions were pretty predictable.

Raphael stood there, completely stock still except for the occasional eye twitch. He looked speechless and almost horrified. Finally, he held up a finger and croaked out, "Is it too late to rescind my offer to help?"

Mikey, on the other hand, looked as if Leo had just told him that he had just discovered the existence of a entire pizza dimension, and they wanted to crown him king. His hands had flown to his mouth, his eyes were huge and sparkling, and he only made an ever increasingly loud squeaking inhaling noise of joy that finally accumulated in a delighted squeal. His hands flew up to grasp the sides of his head in disbelief. "Leo, that had to be the most beautiful string of words anybody has ever said to me!" He looked over to Leo with wide, amazed eyes. "Dude! Will you marry me?! We could totally make this a double wedding!"

Leo facepalmed. "Mikey..."

"Come here, you beautiful turtle you!" Mikey moved towards Leo, arms outstretched. "You need a big ol' smooch!"

Leo's hand shot out, quickly catching him by the face and stopping him. "That will NOT be necessary." he growled. Then he sighed. "Mikey, don't get too excited. Like I said, I'm not sure I can even pull it off. I haven't been successful so far." This is why he didn't want to say anything. He didn't want to disappoint his brothers if he failed.

"Mmmph! Mmphmph mmmmmph!" Mikey grabbed Leo's hand and peeled it off of his face, inhaling. "Dude! We'll totally do this! Now that you've told us, we can help! Right Raph?!"

"Nnngh..." Raph looked less then enthused.

"Let me guess." Leo moved over to put a brotherly hand on his shell. "You hate everything about this plan. It's stupid, I'm stupid, everything is stupid."

"Nngth." Raph didn't sound like he disagreed.

"Buuuut... you'll still help. Because you know that it'll make Donnie and April happy." Leo finished.

"Nnnnnnnuuuuuuugh..." Raph's teeth ground.

"You're a good guy, Raph." Leo grinned and gave his shell a pat, then turned, fishing a map of the city out of a pouch. "Here's where I've looked so far..."

His two brothers leaned over his shell, examining the map alongside him. Together, they planned and schemed and figured out the best way to carry out the Plan. Now that he wasn't working alone, Leo realized that he could cover much more ground, and both Mikey and, surprisingly, Raph came up with good ideas on how and where to search, and pointed out hiding places that he hadn't thought of.

And their teamwork paid off. A few days later, while searching his section of the city, Raphael was the one who found what they were looking for.

With the help of his brothers, Operation Fairy Tale Wedding was a go.

Author Notes:

Oooooh, you were so close and yet so far in interpreting Splinter's message, Leo. Raph kinda nudged you in the right direction later, but yeah... The leader in blue might have some issues to work out in the future.

As is probably obvious, I went for the silent haunting for Splinter. It felt too awkward and easy having him talk, so I went with the theory that, now that Shredder is dead, his sons are (for the most part) doing well on their own, and he can rest easy, Splinter moved on, but still pops in to check on them once in a while. Audibly speaking takes up a lot of energy, so he's going to save it for emergencies.

And I assure you that Raph's hairdressing skills have an explanation. I'm not entirely who exactly is going to spill that particular story yet, though

Reviews:

Stegosaurus1412: I'm glad the pain of the Hamatos amused you so! Just wait for the next chapter or two. Casey Jones himself might be planning something that's probably not going to end well. Shenanigans are probably going to happen.

TurtleGarg81: See, I grew up on a farm, so I also got that life lesson pretty early. Unfortunately, we didn't get books. We got visual observations of horses and cattle 'getting friendly'. Facts of life, ain't they grand?

Miraculous Pink Ninja: The turtles in this particular story are twenty three. I shared that in a round about way by stating that Splinter had died six years ago when Leo was only 17. I looked, and apparently, for some reason, I had put Casey down as 26, which probably accounted for the confusion. I'm not sure why I had imagined him so much older then the turtles, when really, in the 2k12 series this is based on, he's about the same age. I edited it to 24, a year older. That seems more in line with how I've written him in the past.

And yes, short Leo has definitely grown on me. I only made him that way so that I could make it in the same universe as my other fics, and I had made him the runt of the litter in the Big Brother story, but I'm finding him adorable like this. Smol!Leo is so fierce!

Techno Dawn: The Viking Funeral was actually a last minute addition. I was trying to figure out how to resolve the situation without them getting too violent, and decided 'Eh, a Viking Funeral is always a good answer to any problem'. And I don't think the turtles/Casey were quite as traumatized as they made it seem. It's just the whole situation in general. Nobody wants to get the sex lecture from your older brother/Kirby O'Neil. Just a bunch of drama queens, the lot of them.