The four brothers enter the lab to retrieve breathers. Their focus is the same: they need to go to Dimension X to borrow a ship from the Utrom. Then, they can fly to Salamandria to see Sal Commander.

Donnie goes to his desk and opens one of the drawers. He pulls out a small piece of tech.

"Woah, isn't that the portal thingy for Dimension X?" Mikey half whispers-half squeals as he leans on Donnie's shoulders.

"It's not a thingy," Donnie said. "The Utrom council gave me a portal generator to their base, so I have easier access to them and their laboratory. This way, I can go to their world anytime I wish."

Donnie presses a small button on the portal generator. It begins to glow. The generator floats off Donnie's hand and hovers above the brothers, as a triangle-shaped portal appears, glowing pink.

"Everyone have their breathers?" Leo asked.

They all nod, strapping on the apparatus that will help them survive alien atmospheres.

"Well, here goes nothing," Raph says as he enters the portal, his brothers following close behind him.

As the Turtles exit the portal one by one, they find themselves in the Utrom lab.

"The Turtle Warriors!" a surprised voice exclaims. The brothers turn to see Rook. She is alone in the lab, working on her computer. She jumps up from her seat and hurries over to the Turtles to greet them.

"It's always a pleasure to have you here -- but you're not scheduled for another meeting with the council .... um, for another month."

"Rook! Perfect, just the Utrom I wanted to see!" Donnie says as he walks up to her,

"Donatello! Have you finally changed your mind about the Queen's offer?" Rook asked.

"N-no." Donnie answered.

"What offer?" Leo asked as Donnie's two other brothers looked at him confused.

Donnie looked at his brothers and sighed, "The Utrom Queen offered me a position in her council. To become 'Knight'." His brothers stood there shocked, "but I already told the Queen that I'm not interested."

"I understand, Donatello, but remember the offer is always open. The council would be lucky to have someone as brilliant as you." Rook smiled at him.

"Thank you, but my answer is still no."

Donnie's brothers looked at him surprised that he turned down such an offer. It's a dream come true for him, yet he said "No." Why?

"My brothers and I came here because we need to borrow one of the Utrom ships," Donnie continued.

Rook looks at the Turtle confused, "Why so?"

"That's for us to know and you to find out," Raph rudely says. Donnie rolls his eyes. Raphael has been in Dimension X for five seconds and is already getting impatient.

Leo jabs at Raph giving him an annoyed look that tells him to behave.

"We need one for a quick personal mission," Donnie explains. "Can you please give us one? We'll bring it back undamaged, like it was never taken."

Rook sighed "Look, Donatello, as much as I would like to help you and your brothers and lend you a ship, I cannot allow that. Bishop will not be happy knowing you borrowed a ship without his consent. And besides, we have rules. If you want a ship you need to go through some paper--"

"Oh! If I knew you four were coming I would have cleaned up the lab a little," a kind voice said entering the room.

The Turtles turn to the voice. They see a robot in white, with gray and brown metal patches covering parts of his body. The robot smiles at the Turtles.

"Fugitoid!" The brothers shout, smiling, as they walk up their old friend to greet him.

"It's been too long!" Mikey laughs.

"How's that new body treating you?" Donnie asked.

"Oh, perfectly fine, thanks to you, Donatello, and your friend Rockwell. So, what's with this you needing a ship? Planning on going somewhere?"

"He said it's for them to know and for us to find out," Rook said, pointing at Raph.

Raph rolls his eyes and groans.

"Impatient, aren't you, Raphael?" Fugitoid asked, "Does this have something to do with you?"

"What's with all the questions? Can you just give us a ship!?" Raph complained.

"Calm down, Raphael! I may not be as together as I used to be, but my smacking hand still packs a punch," says Fugitoid as he lifts his left hand and twirls it in Raphael's direction.

"Sorry," Raph sighs. "Look, I just need to get to Salamandria to see Sal Commander. That's it."

"Does this have something to do with Y'gythgba?" Fugitoid wondered aloud.

Raph blushes. He can't help it, even when he hears her name. Mona Lisa. Y'gythgba. It doesn't matter. Both names sound equally beautiful to him. Raph nods.

"Is something wrong with her?" Fugitoid asks, worried, "Is she alright?"

"No, she's fine," said Leo. "Raph just wants--" Leo looks at Raph, remembering his brother's wish to not tell anyone what he's planning, unless it came for him. "...Nevermind."

"Raphael," Fugitoid said kindly, "If it's something urgent then I must know... I'm your friend. You can trust me."

Raph sighed and looked at Fugitoid. He knows that in order to accomplish his task, he must learn to trust his friends with his heart's secret.

"I want to ask Sal for his blessing, so I can ask Mona to marry me. Can you please lend us a ship?"

Rook's eyes widened with surprise. Fugitoid's robotic eyes did the same. Rook stayed silent with shock as Fugitoid smiled at the turtles.

"Well, I think we can make an exception for you, my friend."

"But Professor--"

"It will be fine, Rook," Fugitoid says, cutting off the Utrom. "I'll explain everything to Bishop."

Raph smiles, "Thanks, Fugitoid."

"There's a newly repurposed stealth ship outside. Be careful out there, my friends."

As the Turtles leave the lab, they thank their robot friend one final time - and waving him goodbye, they enter the stealth ship.

The ship smells of engine oil, disinfectant and fresh paint. The boys inhale the mechanical aromas and can't help but smile. Mikey and Leonardo take their places around the control panel, stabilizing themselves for take off. Raphael steps into the navigator's position, and Donnie takes the controls. Soon, the engines roar to life. The ship begins to hover off the ground, and the four brothers set off to Salamandria.

In the ship, the brothers stayed silent as Donnie piloted the ship. All staring at him. All thinking the same thing.

"When did the Utrom Queen offer you a position?" Leo asked, breaking their silence.

"...A few months ago..." Donnie answered, keeping his eyes on the controls.

"When were you gonna tell us?" Raph asked.

"I didn't see a reason to. I never accepted it."

"But the offer is still on the table," Leo added, "Donnie, this is an amazing offer you were given -- but you turned it down."

"Yeah, Donnie. Why did you refuse it?" Mikey gently asked his brother.

"Because I didn't want to be away from my family. You guys, April, everyone... If I joined the council I wouldn't see you all as much as I do now. I actually really do want that job, but not if that means I have to be away from my family. Besides, me being Knight? I would have equal power to Bishop, maybe more! I couldn't handle it."

"Yeah, but if you did have that power, maybe you could change some of those laws Bishop planted on us mutants," Leo said.

Donnie stayed silent.

"Well, if you ever do change your mind and take the job, we'll be there to support you," Raph said to his brother giving him a slight smile, "Just like how you guys are with me right now."

Donnie turned his head to his brother and gave him a soft smile before bringing his focus back on the control panel of the ship. He couldn't possibly have Raph worrying about his brother now. Donnie decided then that his dilemma will linger and be dealt with after Raph and Mona are happy.

The brothers stayed silent again as they traveled in the space ship, the gentle hum of the engines barely noticeable. It didn't take long before Salamandria appeared in the window, glowing brilliantly in its nebulous atmosphere, that misty cover reflecting the light from orbiting satellites and space stations. This was a welcome sight for Raphael, because if he stayed on that ship for another minute, he would have thrown up.

After a perfect Donnie-landing, they disembarked and were immediately greeted by Salamandrian guards. Explaining who they needed to see, the guards guided Raphael to the training hall while his brothers waited by the ship. The brothers knew that this was something Raphael had to do alone.

Raphael entered the training hall. Immediately, his attention was turned to a sparring session. Sal Commander.

He was as battle scarred and roughed-up as ever. But still, Sal Commander had a regal air about him. His battle posture always erect and forward facing, dominating the room and all within it. You knew by just a glance, this is the man in charge.

Sal was training with two other Salamandrians. Based on their fighting stance and bad form, Raph could tell they were rookies.

The two warriors attacked Sal with their blades, but he easily dodged them both. Quickly, he responded with a counter attack which produced a couple of blows to the soldiers. They both fell to the ground.

"Oh, Raphael! What a surprise!" Sal Commander said as he noticed Raphael enter the hall. At that moment, one rookie attempted to do a sneak attack on the Commander. His failure was epic -- Sal grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder, resulting in a spectacular crash into the wall near Raphael.

The other rookie attempted another charge, but as soon as Sal heard her 'warrior screech', he drew his sword and deflected her blade with his, pushing her back and slamming her to the ground. He aimed his sword near the rookie's face, the point of his blade nearly touching her nose.

"You both need to plan more carefully. You're not going to survive in battle if you don't know your strategies well." The Commander aims his sword away from the rookie on the ground. "I think that's enough training for today, recruits. You are dismissed," he announces.

The two rookies nod and quickly leave, leaving the old salamander and the red turtle alone.

"It's been awhile," Sal says as he approaches Raphael.

Raph smiles, "It's good to see you, Sal Commander."

"You've grown." Sal says with a chuckle as he places his hand on Raph's head, "Last time I saw you, you were half Y'gythgba's height."

"I wasn't that short!"

    The Commander snickers, "Speaking of, where is my Lieutenant? Did she not come with you?"

    "No, just me. Well, my brothers are here, too. But no, Mona's not here."

The Commander walks towards a nearby bench and sits down. "I see. Then what brings you to Salamandria?" he asked, gesturing to Raphael to sit with him. "It's not everyday you travel across the galaxy without my Lieutenant."

Raph joins Sal on the bench. He continues, "I actually came here to talk to you. It's about Mona Lisa."

The Commander looked worried, "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's perfectly fine. I just wanted to ask you something. Something important."

"Which is?"

Raph was quiet for a moment. He knew just learning from Mona that marriage doesn't exist on her planet, so how was he going to be able to explain this to him?

"Well, um, on my planet, there's a tradition," Raph begins. He runs his hand over the top of his head. "It's when a couple who have been together for a while and love each other very much want to, I guess you could say, commit to their relationship. So I wanted to ask you..."

Raph stopped, his race turning red. He looked up at the commander standing before him. His confused but intimidating gaze made Raph more nervous. Raph knew he was dragging this one, he had to just pull the bandage off. Taking a deep breath, Raph fixes his posture and tells the commander, "I want to marry your lieutenant!"

"Marry her?" Sal Commander repeated, looking at Raphael confused, "I'm unfamiliar with that term."

"It's something a couple does on my planet when they want to spend the rest of their lives together, how you would put it, becoming mates for life. I wanna be with Mona for the rest of my life. I want to ask her to marry me, but I wanted your permission. I wanted your blessing."

"Why me?"

"It's tradition on my planet to ask the parent or guardian of the person you wish to marry. She told me about her childhood and what you did for her. She said you were her mentor and kinda like her guardian. So ... I wanted to ask you."

"She said that?" The Commander was flattered.

"Yeah... She told me about her parents and how you were there for her when they died."

"She told you about her parents?"

"Yes. She did."

Sal Commander sighed, "Those two were the best warriors I've ever had. Respected and admired by all. Their love was pure and true, something I'd never seen in a pair in a long time. Not even my former mate and I had that kind of romance."

Raphael stayed silent as he listened to the Commander telling his story.

"They were so happy and when they had Y'gythgba -- she was such a joyful child when she was little! I thought they would be happy for the rest of their lives. But then the Triceratons attacked..." The smile on the commander's face quickly began to fade away. "After their deaths, Y'gythgba's life changed. That little girl who always had a smile on her face was gone. I took her in and-"

"And you trained her to be the best warrior she could be. Just like her parents?" Raph added.

Sal nodded, "Exactly. I wanted her to live up to her parents so I turned her into the ultimate warrior. She was strong like her mother and intelligent like her father. She became the top fighter and respected by many, just like them. She and I were so focused on training and nothing else." He sighed. "I was so focused on training her, I never gave her the childhood she deserved and once she was old enough, I realized that I only made her suitable enough for battle or to find a suitor."

"What do you mean, you made her 'suitable'?"

"Raphael, when a Salamadrian female reaches a certain age, she is required to follow a protocol. She will be matched with a male so they will conceive a child who would be capable and useful for our planet. Since Y'gythgba was my top fighter, all the males wanted her."

"Yeah, Mona told me a little bit about her, um, suitors..." Raph began to feel uneasy. It was weird knowing there were other men in Mona's life before him, but yet he knows how she felt about them.

    Sal Commander huffed, "Those men were never worthy enough to be called a "suitor" for my Lieutenant! Each one was worse than the last. They saw her as a trophy. nothing but a prize for them to brag about. They never wanted to love her. Just wanted her to bear children for them. All of her suitors wanted to control her, but she didn't let them do that. My brave Lieutenant scared those honorless men away! And I'm glad she did! They didn't see her as a warrior like you and I do."

    Sal looked at Raphael, seeing him begin to become enraged. Knowing that these other men never treated Mona Lisa like the warrior she was and only wanted her for their enjoyment and praise disgusted him. The very idea that men in Mona's life treated her with such disrespect angered Raphael. She never deserved to be treated that way.

    "You're different from the other men who were in Y'gythgba's life," Sal said, placing his hand on Raphael's shoulder. "You listen to her. Care about her. You make her happy. An emotion she wasn't able to experience when with me." Sal Commander looked at Raphael with distress and sighed, "I put her through a lot, you know. She was so devoted to training and to fight the Triceratons, and I was proud of her. I put her through the most brutal and harmful training I could throw at her. All she did was train or fight in wars, never having time to actually be a child and live her own life. She sacrificed her childhood for her military training, never having a chance to live her life and have fun. But that's what you gave her. A chance to live."

A smile begins to appear on Sal Commander's face once again, "Everytime she comes to visit I notice she's smiling, laughing, and seems more relaxed. Something I haven't seen her do since she was a child when her parents were around. No longer does she have to worry about which war will call her to battle next. I receive messages from her from time to time, telling me that Earth makes her feel free, but I don't think it was Earth that freed her. I think it was you, Raphael. You freed her from a life that broke her. You came into her life. You fixed her."

    Raphael smiles at the Commander, touched by his complement.

"You're a good man, Raphael." He smiles, "You have my blessing."

Raph smiles at the Commander. "Thank you, Sal Commander. I promise I'll protect her and make her happy for the rest of my life."

Sal gives Raphael a smile, "I already know you will."

With that, the Commander escorts his future son-in-law back to his ship, where his brothers patiently wait for him. The brothers are happy to see Sal Commander, and after warm greetings, Turtles head back to Dimension X.

Back in Dimension X, in the Utrom lab, Rook quietly organizes her desk as Fugitoid goes over files on a big screen computer.

"You think he's going to go through with it?" Rook asked, breaking the silence.

Fugitoid looks at Rook confused, "Who?"

"Raphael. Is he actually going to ask that Salamandrian girl to marry him?"

"It appears so. I saw it in his eyes. He seemed so passionate in what he was saying. I think it's sweet."

Rook stacks up some files into a neat pile on the desk. She smiles, "I think so, too."

Fugitoid smiled. "I was there when first met, you know. They were young and in love. Both inexperienced with romance yet they still made it through some tough times together. I have no doubt that they will be forever happy with each other."

"Perhaps you're right," said Rook, "Just imagine the results these two could create for the galaxy. They could change it for the better. I think it might be even possible for--"

"Why is one of the stealth ships missing!?" a demanding voice enters the lab.

"Bishop!" Rook exclaims, "Y-you're back early!"

"The meeting with the EPF ended early today," Bishop explained. "Now, why is there a stealth ship missing from outside? All ships must be accounted for. You know that."

"Yes, Bishop. We're aware," Rook stammered, too nervous to tell Bishop the truth.

"My apologies Bishop," Fugitoid jumped in, "but I have to put the blame on myself. The Turtles came by earlier and needed to borrow a ship for one quick trip."

"Why did they need a ship?" Bishop asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Bishop, the Turtles are just going to Salamandria and they'll be back to return the ship soon."

"Salamandria?" Bishop wondered. "Why are they going there?"

"I think it's best that you don't worry about it, my friend," said Fugitoid as he gently pats Bishop's shoulder.

Bishop glares at Fugitoid, "Tell me," Bishop demands.

Fugitoid sighs, "It's nothing for you to worry about. Raphael just wishes to marry Lieutenant Y'gythgba and is off to Salamandria to ask for her commander's blessing. Like I told you. Nothing for you to worry about."

"What?!" Bishop said, shocked.

"If you think about it, its kinda wonderful," Rook said popping in between Bishop and Fugitoid. "Just think about the results and changes they could create in the galaxy," she paused. Then gasped, "Their offspring!"

"It could be possible," Fugitoid added.

Bishop was silent, standing still as the two scientists continue talking about the possible events of such a marriage. He pushes up his glasses that were sliding off his face and clears his throat.

"I must go," he said as he quickly turned and left the room, leaving Rook and Fugitoid to their discussion about the couple.

Bishop entered his private office, and closed the door behind him. After a minute of pacing, he sat at his desk.

He tosses his glasses onto the desk. "I always knew that Turtle was trouble," he mumbled to himself. "Him being with her is already out of order for the galaxy. He's a mutant, she's a Salamandrain. In love? Marriage? Offspring?? It's not right. What will happen if they do wed? The rules I made for the galaxy will change! Or break completely. It's not how I see the future for Earth!"

Bishop clenches his fists in frustration and slams them down. The organized chaos on the desktop jumps, shivers, and is still.

"I cannot let Raphael go through with this..."