December 19th, 2022
Salamandria,
It was a peaceful day on Salamandria, the trainees were training, the soldiers were running laps, and the weaponry station was sparking. Everything was going well until a loud scream came from the nearby hospital, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"
The Salamandrian people all looked at each other, wondering what on Earth could cause such a high-pitch, agonizing blood-cry scream. Was there a battle going on inside the hospital, they wondered and yes, indeed a battle was going on, a battle of a certain 25 year old mutant turtle, who was trying his best to fight through the pain as his Salamandrian wife crushed the bones of his hand as she was getting ready to deliver their first child.
"AHHH!" The owner of the loud scream, was the brave and daring warrior, protector of Earth...Hamato Raphael and the woman who was lying on the hospital bed beside him, grunting, sweating, and gritting her teeth in pain was his wife, the fiercest and fearless Lieutenant Y'Gythgba or as you may know her, Monalisa.
"Alright, Y'Gythgba, keep pushing," The doctor ordered.
"R-Raphael..." She whimpered to him in fear. Monalisa has been through many scary things in her time in the army but delivering a child seemed to scare her beyond reasoning. Not only was this her first time but neither she, nor Raphael or anyone really, knew what to expect. There has never been a child born from two different kinds of species before, not that anyone knew of any way. Countless things could go wrong and right now, every worse case scenario was going through her head.
Raphael was not doing much better, though right now he was in pain from his broken hand, inside he was panicking, and feeling incredibly helpless. His wife was scared and his child was about to be born. He hated feeling so powerless but there was nothing he could do. All he could do was be by her side, allow her to crush his hand into tiny pieces, comfort her and pray that his child comes out alright.
"I-It will be okay, Mona," He wheezed, looking at her through his tearful eyes. "J-Just breath and keep pushing!" Mona nodded and lifted up slightly to push with all her might. She noticed how the doctor seemed to frown as soon as she took a break.
Regret and fear filled her chest, wondering if she made a mistake coming here instead of taking Bishop's advice and going to the Utrome hospital. Sure, perhaps they did not know much about different species births either but they knew more about mutants than Salamandrians did. However, Monalisa so badly wished for her child to be born on her home planet and after some reassurance from Raphael, she decided to go through with it. Now, she wished she had not.
"Raphael...what if something is wrong? What if our baby does not make it?" Monalisa horsed as tears start to fall from her face. Raph smiled at her, though inside he was just as scared. "They'll be fine, Mona. I mean, they're our kid after all, right? They are sure to be fighter!"
Monalisa smiled at that and nodded as the doctor then said, "Alright, Y'Gythgba, one more time. Push!" Gathering all the fire and strength within her, Monalisa sat up again and pushed. She panted, doing it a couple more times then- "I see the head!" The doctor exclaimed, in disbelief as well as relief. "Keep pushing, Y'Gythgba!"
"You got this, babe, keep going!" Raphael cheered on, through his shrill of pain as his hand began to now turn purple. Monalisa did so and a few moments later, she felt the pain and pressure begin to lift, and a silent, *plop* sound but otherwise...it was silent. Both her's and Raphael's heart dropped for a second until finally, they heard a loud wail as the doctor lifted a small form in his hand, smiling widely. "Congratulations, Mr and Mrs. Hamato, you are now the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl!"
Both Mona and Raph had tears in their eyes, as their faces broke out into smiles as they laughed in relief. After cleaning the small babe, the doctor handed her to Mona and both she as well as Raph looked down at her, eyes in awes at the sight of her. No one knew what the baby would look like but they never expected to look as beautiful as she did.
The baby was a mutant, salamander hybrid. She looked like her father but her green scales were slightly lighter than his dark green scales, and she had Salamandrian pale green spots all over her body like Mona. Her shell was also fused with her body and she had a long Salamandrian tail. And once she opened her eyes, they were just like her mother's, big round orange colored Salamandrian eyes.
"Oh...Raphael..." Monalisa breathed, stroking a hand over the baby's face, making her smile. "She's so beautiful..." Raph stared wide-eyed for a long while before grinning. "Yeah...she's perfect." He brought his hand out and his heart felt warm as her tiny hand, wrapped around his finger. She squeezed and he flinched slightly at the unexpected strength. "Ouch!" He said playfully. "You got your mother's strength!"
Monalisa chuckled at him as the baby giggled then a thought came to mind. "Raphael...after everything, I just realized we never thought of a name." Raph blinked. "That's true..."
"Well? What should we name her?" Monalisa asked and Raph tried to think as he looked down at his daughter. "I don't know. I would like it to be something that comes from both of us..."
"Ramona?" Monalisa said, teasingly, remembering the couple nickname Michelangelo gave them. Raph cringed but smiled. "No. That's too cheesy." The two sat in silence, thinking long and hard than Monalisa gasped. "I know!"
"What?" Raph asked and Monalisa gave him a smirk. "Do you remember how we met?" Raph gave her a playful scoff. "How could I forget?" He then smirked while rubbing his chin."I'm still swore from that punch you gave me."
Monalisa amusingly rolled her eyes. "Yes but, how we met is when we went on our first adventure together. Do you remember what we were after?" Raph raised a brow. "The Irrilium but what does that have to do with our baby's name?"
Monalisa smiled. "There is this name I once heard during my travels in the army. I name that was created from Irrilium. It means, "Fighter, leader, and...the will of a blade,"...and so, I think our child should be named, Irrilia. After the Irrilium we fought side-by-side together for the first time and it is a fitting name for our future warrior."
Raph considered it. "Hamato Irrilia, huh?" He echoed as he met the eyes of his daughter and grinned warmly. "Yeah...I love it."
A clear throat than caught their attention. "Sorry to interrupt but...sir, perhaps we should take care of your hand?" The doctor said while pointing at Raphael's purplish, broken hand. He cringed while lifting up the limp hand. "Oh yeah...right."
Mona cringed in guilt. "I am so sorry, my love..."
January 21st, 2023
Raph sighed as he waited in the waiting room, his leg bouncing anxiously as he sat on the chair. He hated not being in the room with Mona while she was getting ready to deliver their second baby but...he did not exactly have much choice-
"Papa!" A tiny voice called and Raph looked down with a smile to see his 1-year-old daughter, looking up at him with a smile while tapping his knee, wanting to be picked up. Raph grinned while lifting the young turtle-salamandrian hybrid off the ground and on top of his bouncing knee, making her giggle.
Raph wasn't as scared as he first had been with Irrilia. A lot of more mutant births have been happening since his daughter was born. He was now a proud uncle actually. His sister, had her own set of twins not too long ago. However, that probably is not the best example because during the birth, she almost lost one of them... There was still so much they didn't know about mutant pregnancies but so far, they were always difficult, especially halflings.
Leo's wife, Hé nà or Lotus was also expecting and everyone was scared for her because she would be the first human to deliver a mutant child. Human and Mutant relationships might be a bit more common now but no human has been pregnant by a mutant before, out of fear that their bodies just could not handle it. Leo and Hé nà were planning on just adopting a child but...fate had other ideas.
Because Mona is an alien though, she is at less of a risk and she already gave birth to Irrilia without much trouble, so Raph wasn't worried but he was still nervous because still, you never know what could go wrong and he wasn't by his wife's side to make sure she will be alright.
"You excited to be a big sister, Princess?" He cooed at his daughter, trying to distract himself and Irrilia nodded. "What do you think we'll have? A boy or a girl?"
"Boy!" Irrilia chirped, making him laugh and just then a Salamandrian nurse came out, wearing a soft smile on her face as she held a bundle in her arms. "Mr. Hamato?" She called, gently and setting Irrilia down on the ground, he got up and awed at the small form in her arms. She grinned as she passed it to him. "Congratulations, you now have a cute baby boy."
Raph looked down at his son and was a bit taken aback by his appearance. Unlike Irrilia, his son did not look like a hybrid at all. He almost looked full Salamandrian, no turtle feature in sight. The only thing he seemed to inherit from him were his green eyes and unlike most Salamandrians, he did not have spots instead he only had teal green colored scales which was probably a mix from his green and Mona's blue scales.
Raph grinned as he looked down at him but it was short-lived. "But wait, what happened to Mona? Is she alright?" The Salamandrian gave an assuring smile. "Lieutenant Y'Gythgba is fine, she is just resting. She told me to bring your son out, knowing you would start to get impatient."
Raph let out a laugh at that, his wife knew him too well. "I will let you know when she wakes," The nurse promised before leaving as Raph went back to sit down, showing Irrilia her new brother. "Looks like you were right, Irrilia. You have a baby brother."
Irrilia stared wide-eyed at her brother, her mouth agasp before she broke out into a smile, and gently tapped his face, making the baby boy laugh. "Brof'er!" Raph grinned as he watched his two children. "What do you think we should name him?" He asked his daughter.
Irrilia blinked, thinking about it then giggling, "Barn'y!" Raph winced at that. That stupid show his daughter is obsessed with, drove him crazy, hearing those cheesy songs play over and over, getting stuck in his head all day long. Yeah, there was no way he was naming his son after that sorry excuse for a dinosaur.
Raph then thought about Irrilia's name, she was named after the symbol of his and Mona's love, the name that came from how they met but...what about where they met. Raph thought of that cold, icy planet, where he met Mona and both of them almost died. He remembered thinking how beautiful that planet looked from afar but never knew how amazing it would be once he entered.
And with that final thought, he knew what he wanted to name his son and knew that his wife would love it too. "Well, that is a good name, Illy but how about...Hamato Thalos." Irrilia beamed and clapped at the name, "Thal'os!" Raph smiled at her then looked down at his son who looked up at him while chewing on his tail. "Well, Thalos, welcome to the world."
July 7th, 2025
Splinter sighed, this was the worst time for another attempted alien invasion. It has been many years since the Kraang have tried to conquer Earth, many assumed that they had moved on and given up after his sons had defeated them but of course, they have not, and of course, it had to happen right when Monalisa was soon to give birth to her's and Raphael's third child.
In the middle of their battle from trying to stop the mutation bomb that was sure to mutate the whole planet, Monalisa went into labor. Splinter is thankful that April, Angel and Hé nà stayed behind to help while he focused on taking care of his grandchildren.
They were all now sleeping in the pit, (Irrilia, Thalos, Yoshi, Amai, Lorenzo, Musashi, Jennika, Lita, Frida, and Artemisia) with Hé nà guarding them, her long spear sat beside her, just in case. Splinter meanwhile sat by the entrance of the lair, making sure no unwanted visitors came in while G'Throkka stood guard by Donatello's old lab, where April and Angel were helping Monalisa give birth. His arms were crossed and his back was to the door, and though his face remained stern, ready for battle, Splinter knew that his co-grandparent was just as worried as he was.
"They will succeed G'Throkka, they have many times before," He tried to assure and Sal Commander frowned while glancing at him. "One never knows what to expect in battle, my friend."
Splinter sighed. "True but we must have faith," Sal just nodded then jumped when he heard the door begin to unlock. Quickly, he moved out of the way as Splinter stood, just as April and Angel came out. " I never want to do that again," Angel deadpanned while going over to the children. "Is she alright?" Sal Commander asked, anxiously.
April smiled. "Yup. She had another boy and he..." She stopped to chuckle. "Looks so much like Raph." Sal immediately went into the lab to check on his lieutenant and Splinter soon followed, "April, guard the entrance for me, will you?" April nodded and did as was told as the two grandfathers went to check on Monalisa and their new grandchild.
"Y'Gythgba," Sal sighed in relief as soon as he saw her. "Are you alright?" He asked and Monalisa gave him a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. "Yes, I am fine but...I am still worried about Raphael. I wish that I was out there helping him."
"I am sure he will be back before you know it," Splinter said gently. "May we see our grandson?" Sal then asked and Mona smiled while handing him the new bundle of joy and Splinter leaned a bit to get a closer look. April was not kidding when she said that this one looked much like his father. Like Raphael he had dark green scales but also had lighter green Salamandrian spots. His eyes were green but had Salamandrian pupils, and his shell was almost fully formed. He also had a long Salamandrian tail.
Splinter grinned amused. "If I did not know better, I would say I was staring at the baby version of my son right now." Monalisa grinned warmly in return. "I know, he resembles his father so much, I wish to name him something that comes from him but I can not think of anything."
Splinter hummed at this and then suggested, "In the Italian Renaissance, Raphael Santi's father's name was Giovanni Bellini, who was a very talented painter and his son, Raphael, followed in his footsteps becoming a famous artist himself. So, I think it will be fitting to name this child, Giovanni."
"Giovanni?" Monalisa repeated then grinned. "Yes, I believe that is perfect! I am sure Raphael will love it when he returns..."
Few hours later,
"MONA!" Raph screamed as he slammed open the lap doors, he was badly bruised and bleeding, but he did not care. After he and the others once again saved the world, and he heard that Mona had gone into labor, he sprinted all the way here, ignoring his siblings and friends as they called out.
Ignoring the pain, he limped all the way to her as she shot up in a sitting position. "Raphael!" She exclaimed, noticing how badly injured he was. He panted and sat in a chair, beside her, looking her over. "You okay?"
"I should be asking you that! What were you thinking?! You could have worsened your injuries!" She immediately scolded. "Fuck that!" Raph snapped back. "I don't care if I had lost an arm, I still would have run all the way here!"
Monalisa sighed as she looked at Raph, knowing he was so afraid during that whole battle and hearing that he was not here, by his wife when she was in need of him the most, was enough to finally push him over the edge. Gently, she grabbed his face and leaned her head against his. "Oh, Raphael...We're okay, we are all alright...we won...everyone is safe now."
Raph sniffed as he fought back the tears and pressed his head against his wife's. He could have lost everything, he almost had. The whole world was almost destroyed and he, as well as his wife, children, his entire family could have been destroyed with it. This was not like back when they were teenagers, now he had so much more to lose and they only had one shot to win. Luckily, they did but...they were so close at not.
With a final sniff, Raph pulled himself away from Mona and rubbed his teary eyes then he heard a cooing sound. He paused and removed his hand from his eyes, to look at the small baby who was lying in Mona's lap and was staring up at him curiously. Monalisa noticed his gaze and smiled. "Raphael, meet your son...Giovanni."
Raph blinked and looked at her. "Giovanni?" Monalisa nodded. "Yes, your father suggested it to me. He just looks so much like you, I wanted to name him something that comes from you. Do you like it?" Raph considered it and grinned. "Yeah, I love it." He said as he went to pick up his new son, holding him close, chuckling wetly as Giovanni tried to grab his face. "He does look like me, doesn't he?"
"Yes...which means he will probably take after you as well," Mona chuckled. "And what's so wrong with me?" Raph asked, playfully acting to be insulted. Mona laughed and cupped his cheek. "Absolutely nothing, my love. Nothing at all..."
August 20th, 2027
Holding a little bundle in his arms, Raphael stared down at his fourth child, another son. His baby boy was a hybird like Irrilia and Giovanni, he had midnight blue scales, with green spots, orange Salamandrian eyes, and a black fused shell which went to his back to his long Salamandrian tail. He also had little spikes on his head.
Raph smiled down at him and looked at his wife. "So...what do we name this one?" Monalisa exhaled as she laid back on the hospital bed. "Honestly...I have no idea. Irrilia, Thalos and Giovanni were so easy. Irrilia and Thalos were named after a remembrance of our love for each other and Giovanni I named after the Italian renaissance like you but for this one, I believe we are going to have to think of something different."
Raph nodded in agreement. "It can't be something random or meaningless, that's for sure. Hey, what about your parents?"
"My parents? No. That will not work."
"Why not?" Raph asked with a raised brow as Monalisa began to explain, "Raphael, on my planet, a Salamandrian's name is our greatest honor, one that can not be shared. Not even to our children."
"Well, you aren't on Salamandria."
Monalisa smiled. "I know but my parents were so in the Salamandria way, that I don't think they would see naming our child after one of them an honor but more of an insult on the Salamandrian way." She then added with a chuckle, "Besides, remember how long it took you to be able to pronounce my name? Try pronouncing my parents' without stuttering."
"Oh come on, I've gotten good at my Salamandrian. Try me. What were your parents' names?" Taking her husband up on his challenge, she answered, "G'Arai'uk and Y'Eyonga."
Raph stilled, his eyes widening slightly and he moved his mouth, preparing to try to pronounce her parents' names. "G-G'A-Ga- no...um...Y-Y-Eya-" His wife's chuckling got him to stop and he pouted. "Well, I'm sure I can learn it!"
Shaking her head while still lightly laughing, Monalisa looked to her husband while grabbing his hand. "I appreciate the thought, my love but naming a child after ourselves or our parents is just not our way on my planet. Actually, on my planet, we are not even named by our parents but by the great elders."
"You think one of them can come here?" Raph asked and Monalisa rolled her eyes at his slight joke. "What about your father?"
"Taken. Remember?" Monalisa gasped. "Oh right, how could I forget about Yoshi. Umm..." She then sighed and hummed in thought as she stared at her son. "I just do not know Raphael...I just think he is beautiful. His scales and spots remind me of that painting you once showed me...what was it called again? The Starry Night?"
Raph nodded. "Yeah, painted by Vincent Van Gogh. My dad said it was one of Shen's favorite paintings when he showed her the Italian renaissance." Monalisa beamed. "Then I believe we found the perfect name!" Raph raised a brow. "What?"
"Vincent, after the painter and since it is something that your mother loved, it would be a way to honor her memory." Raph thought about it. His wife was right, the name Vincent did suit him well if his appearance said anything about it and naming him Vincent after Shen's favorite painter would make him feel like he was honoring her memory in some way.
It was not long ago when he finally had the courage to tell his wife about that night...how he and his brothers are still haunted by that night...He wanted so badly to save Shen, but he had failed, and all because he nor his brothers took the risk to tell her about her fate...Raph wanted to take the risk, and he tried to, but he did not make it in time. He could still see her dead body and hear his father's screams, like he was dying after losing the love of his life.
Raph knows that pain, after almost losing Mona to Lord Dregg, and the thought of never seeing her again almost killed him. To think that he himself put his father through that pain, because they were too worried about losing their own future...it just made him sick to his stomach. He regrets all the eye-rolls and annoyance he felt when his father used to use his loss to lecture him about losing a loved one. However, Raph was young back then and did not know any better until he actually experienced it himself.
Perhaps, naming his son Vincent, would be like saying sorry for all those times and giving an apology to Shen that he wishes he could give to her himself...
"Raphael? Are you alright?" Mona asked in concern when she noticed how sad Raph's face started to look. "Y-Yeah, I just..." He smiled softly. "I think Vincent is a perfect name, Mona..."
Later,
With his son still in his arms, Raph stood in the dojo, staring at the shrine. He looked at the family portrait which was his father's greatest treasure from his past. His eyes stayed locked on the woman in the photo and memories of that day, played in his mind.
"Are you aliens or Yokai?"
"I do not know who I will choose, I must do what is right for my daughter."
"Follow your heart Shen, you know who the better man is!"
Tang Shen!"
"Shen, wait!"
"SHEEEEEEEN!!!!!"
Raph winced to himself as he tried to shake the memory. He knew her only for a day yet still...he felt like he knew her all his life. Just from one meeting, he knew what kind of woman Shen was. She was not just a mother or some woman caught in a rivalry between two brothers. No. She was more than that. She was a fighter, a brave, fierce woman who always followed her own heart and would fight tooth and nail for her family...much like his Mona. The thought made Raphael smile to himself.
She was also caring, compassionate and accepted them, ugly turtle creatures she had only just met, into her home and fed them cucumbers. Raph still laughed when he thought of that. He remembered being a boy, staring at pictures of her, wondering what she would have been like if he met her and if she would accept them, ugly mutants as her sons. And she did. She accepted them and whatever he imagined her to be as a child...she turned out to be even greater than he ever imagined.
"You got another grandchild," He said to the picture, smirking slightly. "Hamato Vincent. We named him after your favorite artist" He lifted his son to look at the picture. "Say hi to your Gram-Gram, Vinny." Little Vincent giggled and reached for the picture.
'Gram-Gram' is the name Irrilia gave to Shen when she first asked who the woman in the picture with her grandfather was and he remembered it being a very tense, awkward conversation they had to explain to his six-year-old daughter but he remembered the tension immediately leaving as soon as she said, 'Gram-Gram' and sad but happy smiles were passed among the Hamato family. Ever since then the name, 'Gram-Gram' sort of just stuck between all the next gen Hamato children, and they talked of her like she was some ancient warrior, the way she sacrificed herself just so they could all be here today,and it warmed his as well as his siblings hearts.
"You love Gram-Gram?" Raph cooed and beamed when his son laughed again. He chuckled while lifting Vincent, over his head, making him giggle madly and as he did, a sudden warm breeze passed the tree, to his face and when it did-"Anatawa Hitorijanai"
Raph eyes widened, and he gasped as he whirled around but saw no one. Raph could have sworn, he heard Shen's voice but of course, that could have easily been his imagination. The cooing brought him out of it and he smiled down at his son, before finally exiting the dojo. He paused briefly, to glance over the photo one last time and said softly, "I wish you could have been here...Mother." With that, he left, not knowing that above the tree, a woman of shining, proud, gold-brown eyes was watching. "My brave kappa...I am always and forever here with you..."
May 1st, 2030
"ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT! NO MORE KIDS! I am putting my foot down! Five is more than enough!" Raph exclaimed as Monalisa laughed, all their children gathered on the bed next to her as they stared at their new and final member. A little Salamandrian that looked so much like Monalisa except instead of blue, her scales were gray and she had yellow spots. She also had shell plates that went from her back to the end at the end of her tail were, and just like Thalos she had Raph's green eyes.
The baby cooed up at all of them, smiling brightly and all their children awed at the sight. "Yes! Finally! I have a baby sister!" Irrilia cheered happily and Thalos huffed while crossing his arms. "Yeah, only took four tries."
"She looks just like you, Mama!" Giovanni pointed out and Monalisa smiled warmly while pulling him close to her. "What'cha gonna call her?" Vincent asked.
Monalisa hesitated. "Well..."
"I already have a name," Raph announced and all of them looked at him curiously. "You do?" Raph grinned as he said proudly, "Y'Thba." Monalisa blinked. "Y'Thba?"
"Yeah, for our last kid, I thought it only fair that one of them was named from your home-planet and Sal helped me think of a bunch, and Y'Thba was one of my favorites."
"Because it was easier for you to say?" Irrilia sassed with a smirk, causing her brothers to sneaker which earned her a half-hearted glare from her father. "No!" He turned and smiled at his wife. "It's because it has the same meaning as your name, Y'Gythgba and since this kid looks so much like you, I think it suits her."
"What does Mama's name mean?" Giovanni asked curiously and Monalisa smiled when she answered, "Warrior of the stars" She gave her husband a warm look. "I love it, Raphael."
"Welcome to the family, Y'Thba!" Vincent said and Y'Thba laughed at him as Mona and Raph leaned their heads against each other, their family finally complete...