The Newest Addition: Irrilia

No! Not My Baby!

It was night-time at Central Park with the wide, starry sky hovering over. Irrilia stared up at it in wonder. She sat next to her father on a picnic blanket as the two stared at the night sky. "Hey, Irrilia, look over there." Raphael said to his daughter, pointing at one, big star in the sky. Irrilia stared at it. "That's where mommy is right now." he stated. The little girl looked at her father in awe. "She's a soldier and she fights bad people up there to keep them from hurting other people and doing all kinds of evil things. She comes from this planet where there are a whole lotta other people just like you....well, kinda like you, heh. But one day, she's gonna visit us here on Earth."
Irrilia smiled and that made Raph's heart melt. A deep, gravelly voice chuckled. Raphael looked up at a very large and heavy turtle-beast. "Man, Raph...you sure have gone soft." he said. Raphael only rolled his eyes and said, "Thanks, Slash."
Slash reached down and tickled the top of Irrilia's head. She giggled. "But I gotta hand it to 'ya, she's a cute kid. You're doin' pretty good." Slash added. "Thanks." Raph said. Close by, Raphael's brothers, April and Casey, Leatherhead, and Splinter watched the three. "It's cool that you and Slash came to hang out with us, LH." Mikey told Leatherhead. "No problem. Slash wanted to see Raphael's baby." the giant crocodile said. April added, "Well, from the looks of it, Slash might be on his way to earning the title of 'Uncle Slash'." "Oh yeah, that guy could totally be Uncle of the Year. He could teach her how to smash everything in sight." Casey said sarcastically. April socked him on his arm and he yelped out. Leonardo chuckled. He turned to Splinter, who kept his gaze directed at his second-eldest son and his granddaughter.
"So how's being a grandfather so far, Sensai?" Leonardo asked. "It is a strange transition, but nevertheless, quite pleasant. Welcoming a new addition to a family is always a joyous time. And Raphael seems quite content with little Irrilia. She's a wonderful child." Splinter replied. Leonardo smiled. "Yeah, he does look pretty happy. And Irrilia is pretty cool." he breathed. Leonardo felt very happy for his younger brother and he too had grown strongly attached to the turtle-Salamandrian baby. In fact, the young ninja couldn't help but feel a little envious for Raph. After all, he not only found someone to love who loved him in return, but had already started a family of his own with a small bundle of joy made from his own flesh and blood.

Somehow, Splinter was aware of these thoughts in his eldest son from looking at him. "Leonardo," Splinter said, "I know it is difficult to find love, especially when you are rather...different from others. But I do believe that you, even your two younger brothers, will some day find it. When I was your age, I doubted I would find love and have a family of my very own like Raphael has now, but then I did. It may take time, but it will be worth it. Trust me: you will find the same happiness your brother has now."
Leonardo sighed with a smile. "Thank you, Master Splinter." he said.
Meanwhile, with Raphael and Irrilia, he was pointing out constellations to her. "It's like connect the dots, you see. You take one star and connect to another then another and you keep going until you find that there's a picture in them. Like...uh...that." he explained and pointed at one part of the sky. "That one's called the Big Dipper. And over there is the Little Dipper. One of my favorites is--" but Raphael was cut off by sudden rustling in the trees.
Next thing they all knew, Kraang bots came from the trees above and surrounded Raphael and Irrilia. "What the--!?" Raphael exclaimed. The Kraang bots pounced and began attacking, one tackling Raphael and another snatching Irrilia. "NO!!" Raphael yelled and knocked the bot's head off with his elbow to wrestle free. The turtles and Leatherhead and Slash charged at the Kraang bots with Raphael. Irrilia cried as the Kraang bot carrying her ran off to a nearby van with two other Kraang bots. While everyone else fought the Kraang bots, Raph chased after the one that took his Irrilia. "HEY!! GET BACK HERE!!" he furiously shouted. The Kraang bots quickly hopped into the van with Irrilia, who was still shrieking. "Daddy!" Irrilia cried to her father before the doors were slammed. The van swerved onto the street so violently, the violently whirring wheels created smoke. Raphael coughed on the smoke that also blinded his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, the van was gone....along with Irrilia.
Tears formed in Raphael's eyes.
"....no...."