Taiyoo Soshite Tsuki

(Sun and Moon)

Chapter Two: Birth

Year 5853

There was a meeting for all of those who were involved with the experiment. The humans were all grouped together, separate from the Predacons, although there were a few who glanced back at their partners, as if wanting to sit by them for protection from what may happen. Willow was sitting by Kelsi, silent. She and Wrangler had only been informed that morning, that their experiment was finally successful, and she was numb with shock. She had thought that it was never possible. Wrangler glanced at her, then at Kelsi, who returned his mournful look. He returned his gaze to the front, where the head scientist was stepping up to the podium.

She started her speech. "It has come to my attention, that all of you have been successful. Now, it has also come to my attention, that many of you, the humans, specifically, are eager to leave for your home. You have a choice, and that is to stay, and help raise the child that you have helped create, or to leave for Earth. If you leave, then you shall forfeit any and all rights over the child, and he or she shall be raised by the father alone. You shall never have any right to speak to them or to meet with them until they are old enough to agree to a meeting. They will be given that choice at the age of twenty-one, when they are nearly fully mature.

"At the end of the week, there shall be another meeting, and those who are leaving for Earth shall step forward, and shall thus leave. Dismissed."

All stood, and the couples met with each other. Kelsi and Satsujinhan’nin shared one look, then embraced. They had grown much closer over the two weeks since they had been informed that they would be the parents of a boy. In a sense, they had forgotten their first impressions of each other, and had started to see the true person within. The smaller human whispered, "I will never leave you. Thoughts like that never crossed my mind."

He smiled, and lowered his head, to rest his forehead upon the top of her own. "Thank you."

Wrangler was walking away with Willow, who was saying something. Kelsi looked over to them, and she and Satsujinhan’nin caught up, to hear, "– too young for the responsibility. I’m going home."

Wrangler looked heartbroken. He and Willow had been close ever since they had met, and they shared a lot of the same views in life. Willow ran to their rooms, and Wrangler looked at the other pair. Kelsi embraced him, and he allowed himself to be comforted by her, knowing that she belonged to Satsujinhan’nin. Another female came over, and once Wrangler pushed gently out of the embrace and walked away, asked, "Are you staying?"

Kelsi nodded, and the girl, about three years older than her, asked, "What’s your name?"

"Kelsi. You?"

"Aolani."

Kelsi looked at the straight, black hair, the dark eyes, and the tanned skin, then recognized that the girl had to have been from Hawaii, or of descent from that area. Aolani asked, "Then why did your partner turn away like that?"

Kelsi indicated Satsujinhan’nin. "He’s my partner, not Wrangler."

Aolani smiled, and bowed to the Predacon. "Hello."

He nodded once, keeping up his stiff front. Kelsi shook her head at his formality, then asked, "Are you the only other one? Or are there others staying?"

She sighed. "Only two others are staying, out of all ten of us."

"Then six are leaving."

"Yes."

Kelsi wanted to hit something. Even though she was young for becoming a mother, she knew that it was a responsibility, and not some flimsy experiment, that would lose it’s popularity once all the requirements were met. Her hands balled into fists, and with a yelp, she relaxed them, seeing blood starting to seep from cuts from her fingernails. Aolani started to walk forward, but Satsujinhan’nin wrapped his arms around Kelsi, and tugged the bandana off of her head, where it had been holding her curls back again. He quickly ripped it in half, then tied the separate halves around her hands, covering the small wounds. Kelsi sighed, and bowed her head. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that."

He kept one hand upon her shoulder, and said, "Aolani, all the others who are staying, and tell them to meet in the final dormitory in the east wing after sunset. Tell them to bring their partners."

"What of the fathers?" Aolani asked.

Satsujinhan’nin blinked slowly once, then nodded. "Yes, them too. We have things to speak about."

The group arrived on time, when Willow was out preparing for leaving, with the other five. Three humans entered, as well as eight Predacons. The fathers whose human partners were leaving were sitting silently, while the others were quietly talking. Kelsi walked out of the bathroom, dressed, and rubbing her hair with a towel. "Oh. They’re here."

Satsujinhan’nin nodded. "Yes."

She sat by him, and he bandaged her hands. While he started doing that, Kelsi started, "We have to talk about how we’re going to raise these kids. We know that they’ll be half-human, half-Cybertronian, and that there will probably be some side-effects of that lineage. First, though, most of us don’t even know each other. I’m Kelsi, and this is Sats . . . screw it. You say it. I never got it right."

"Satsujinhan’nin."

One of the Predacons looked up. "Captain?"

"Bloody idiot. Why did you not inform me that you were a part of this?"

"I thought that you would disapprove, sir."

He shook his head. "Don’t call me ‘sir.’ I resigned. I knew that this is something that will take up all my time now. Well? Introduce yourself."

He smiled. "I’m Baron, and this is Aolani, my partner."

Aolani hit him lightly, then smiled at Kelsi. Another human, her dark skin proclaiming her African lineage, said in an accent, "My name is Fola, and this is my partner, Rapid."

A Japanese girl said next, "I’m Nari, and this is Bastion."

The fathers who had been forsaken, said their names only.

"Stormsteel."

"Wrangler."

"Fiendfire."

"Hazard."

"Wraith."

"Brasswill."

Kelsi looked at them sadly. "I’m sorry. But you’re the ones that are the most special out of all of us. You’re the ones that we’ll be centered around, to help you with what we can." She sighed. "Right. So, now that we know each other, how should we organize this group?"

"Democracy, or at least having an elected spokesperson," Hazard said.

"That’s almost Maximal of you," Wraith sneered.

Kelsi glared at him. "Don’t take your anger at having your faith broken by your partner at him. He’s going through the same thing as you are, and you know it. If you don’t have anything constructive to say, shut up and sit down."

Fiendfire looked at Wrangler, Hazard, and Stormsteel, then said, "I nominate Kelsi."

She looked at him in shock, while the other three had second, third, and fourth his movement. "Do I have any say in it?"

Satsujinhan’nin sat her down. "Not by Predacon standards."

"Great. I’m the youngest here, and I’m expected to lead. Good-bye, common sense; hello insanity! Man, you guys . . . I’m gonna hurt you all, once I get a chance."

The others laughed at that, and the informal meeting started.

Wraith pounded on the door, seven months later. Kelsi untangled herself from her partner’s new beast mode, and opened it, yawning. "What time is it?"

"I . . . my daughter . . . Primus, Kelsi!"

The human understood immediately. "You and Stormsteel are the ones whose children are paired, right? Is he awake?"

"And waiting down there!"

"So why are you getting me?"

He paused. "I’m scared."

She nodded, and called in, "Sats! Wake up!"

He soon came, and they went to the laboratory, where Wraith was called in. The pair started to walk over to the viewing room, when Wraith called, "No, please . . . stay with me."

Kelsi smiled. "Only Cybertronians are allowed into that room. I’m sorry."

Wraith growled something to the scientist, whose optics widened, and he nodded. "Kelsi, we’ve decided to do away with that rule, since there are still four humans here."

Wraith grinned to the human, while Satsujinhan’nin whispered in the old language, "What did you say?"

"That I’ll eat his pulsating Spark if he doesn’t allow her in."

"Thank Primus that you convinced him."

Wraith walked up to the tub, where a small figure floated in suspension fluid. He placed a hand upon the tube, and then said, "Daughter."

There was a beep, and the liquid began to drain. Kelsi watched, and then gripped Satsujinhan’nin’s hand, without knowing that she had. The Predacon looked at their joined hands, and then pulled her closer, letting her hold onto his arms, which were wrapped around her, still watching the process. The child was in human form, or so it seemed. Small bits of metal, soft, almost the same color of her olive skin, shone. Wraith reached in, and pulled her out gently, then held her against him, wonder upon his face. He cradled the child, watching her small, round face.

Kelsi broke free of Satsujinhan’nin’s arms, and snatched the soft towel that a scientist was about to hand him, then brought it over to Wraith herself. He blinked, then handed the child over to her. With a smile, she patted the infant dry, then landed a firm, final pat upon her back, causing the child to cough, then set about wailing. Wraith looked at her in shock, and she soothed the child. "She had to clear her lungs, Wraith. Calm your circuits. She’s quiet now. Here, support her head."

He took the child back, then blinked up at her. "How did you know what to do?"

She smiled, and held up a diaper. "My mother is a midwife, the third in line of a family business. I was the one who had chosen to take her place, when she retired. My younger sister was also interested, so I’m glad, ’cause it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to continue it on."

Wraith smiled again, and bowed his head, acknowledging her sacrifice. "Thank you. I’ll tell the others."

Kelsi smiled. "Remember the words everyone had me look up? For the children’s names?"

He nodded silently.

"Love, in Japanese, is Ai."

The Predacon looked back at the child. "Have you heard, then? My . . . my daughter . . . Ai."

Sure enough, he told the others about her, and soon, there was another infant around. This was Uso, who was going to be raised by his father alone. A week later, Nari and Bastion’s daughter, Shizukesa, was born. Three days after that child, it was Hazard’s daughter, Shinri. Baron and Aolani had the next child, whom they had named Shi. That was a hard day.

Aolani watched the screens in fear, as the life signs became weaker and weaker. Baron held his hand upon her shoulder, and she threw it off, then broke into a run, at the glass tube. Kelsi started forward, but was held back by Satsujinhan’nin. She watched in disbelief, as Aolani leapt up, and kicked at the glass, landing all her weight upon the tube. It shuddered, and she kept running back and forth, leaping up to kick it. Finally, a leak sprang, and Kelsi struggled against her partner’s grip. He held her tighter, but carefully moved, so that his arms were around her waist. She bowed her head. "I’m sorry, Sats."

He looked at her. "Hn? For what?"

"This. Sorry."

She managed to twist, and pull up sharply with one knee. Satsujinhan’nin’s optics bugged out, and he fell to his knees, wincing. Kelsi kissed his head, then ran over to her friend, and now-mother. Just as Aolani hit the tube one final time, it burst, exploding. Kelsi shielded the other human from the glass, feeling the sharp pain, as glass, metal and fluid alike hit her, while Baron had grasped the child from the tube in exact timing, then shielded her. Silence prevailed, but before anything could be said, a thin wail was heard. Kelsi let Aolani up, then stood, panting. Satsujinhan’nin managed to stand, and he walked over to her, limping slightly, and wincing at every movement from the waist down. He walked around Kelsi, to look at her face.

Tears rolled off of her cheeks, and he reached for her, only to have Aolani intercept him, and place the child in her arms. Wispy dark brown hair was plastered against the infant’s crown, and Kelsi smiled. Aolani whispered, "Rapid said that we could switch names. This little one’s already faced death."

Kelsi smiled, nodded, and handed the child back. She couldn’t speak because of her pain. It was almost overwhelming. Satsujinhan’nin lifted her carefully, holding her as he would a sleepy child, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head upon his shoulder. Aolani saw the abuse her friend had taken on, in order so that she would have her full strength to tend to her child. Kelsi’s back was almost fully bloody from lacerations from the glass and metal.

However, she said nothing, but only held the child close. "Her name is Shi. Stay alive, Kels. We need you."

Those were the last words Kelsi heard, before everything went black.

Satsujinhan’nin sighed, and pulled off the cloth that Kelsi had upon her forehead. Her fever had finally ended, after having to save Aolani. As if by some odd phenomenon, the human opened her eyes, and saw her partner there. She blinked, and whispered, "I’m so sorry, Sats."

He smiled, and pushed her damp curls out of her face. "You did what you had to, and I don’t blame you one bit."

"Were there any other ‘births’?" Kelsi whispered, closing her eyes as his fingertips stroked her face gently. The patterns were familiar, and she realized that he had been doing that while she had been sleeping.

He smiled, and she heard that in his raspy, grating voice, as he said, "Brasswill’s son Kiran, and Fiendfire’s son Tatakai. They were ‘born’ without any snags."

Kelsi sighed, and there came a knock upon their door. Satsujinhan’nin called quietly, "Enter."

A scientist said, "Your son is ready."

They nodded, and the scientist left, passing Wrangler as he did so. The Predacon had heard. Quickly and quietly, he spread the word. Soon, all would be down there with their children, waiting.

Satsujinhan’nin carried Kelsi partially, and she asked, "What are we going to name our son?"

The once-Captain, once-harsh, now-kind Predacon smiled, and replied, "We’ll see what he looks like, first."

As they entered the laboratory, they saw all the others there. Even though most of the infants were bawling at the noise level, the parents were cheering. Kelsi blushed. "Stoppit, and calm your children down."

"But you said a good wailing session was healthy for them!" Wraith called over the crowd, holding Ai in his metal arms as gently as a butterfly.

She glared at him, then walked into the lab. Satsujinhan’nin smiled, and Kelsi went up to the glass, then looked in on the child within. He was small, and his coloring differed from the other children’s. While the metal on their skin was close to their skin’s shade, his was an odd blue, nearly a royal blue. Yet, she looked at his hair, a golden color that seemed to darken into a bronze color, if the lighting struck it a certain way.

The liquid began to drain, and soon, the upper half of the tube slid into the ceiling. Satsujinhan’nin walked up behind his partner, and she looked into the tub, and then, not caring about her sleeves, reached into the suspension liquid, and reached for the child. Satsujinhan’nin reached around her, and held her hands still, as they were trembling, while she pulled the infant free, and cradled him against her chest. He was small, but she felt a strength flow from him. Someone held out a towel, and she looked up to see Wraith there, holding Ai in one arm, the towel in the other. With a smile, she accepted it, and patted her son dry, while his father held him. The older Predacon wrapped the child in the towel, then gave him a gentle, yet hardy, slap upon the back, and he wailed. Kelsi laughed softly, and took the small infant back.

Satsujinhan’nin smiled, and said, "I have no idea of a name that will suit him."

"We’ll name him later, then."

The Predacon looked at the small thing, within his partner’s arms, the mother of his son, and he wrapped his arms around them both, not caring who saw him. She closed her eyes, and sighed, hearing the child’s small mewling, as he curled into her, for warmth.

The next day, Jinsei was born to Rapid and Fola. He cried from the moment he hit the air, and didn’t stop for a good hour. Once he did, though, he slept deeply, not making a sound. None were happier about that than Fola herself. Then, two days later, Wrangler’s daughter was born. She was as odd-looking as Kelsi and Satsujinhan’nin’s son was. Who, by the way, hadn’t been named yet.

White hair graced her head, and her eyes were as dark as midnight on a moonless night. She never cried, and Kelsi had to slap her back to surprise her into a wail, since she hadn’t responded to her father doing so at first.

Wrangle looked at her, and then held her up, away from him, while holding her carefully. She curled up slightly, and he said, "Hm."

Kelsi took her son back from Satsujinhan’nin. "What?"

"These two are paired, correct?"

"Yes . . . and?"

"All the others have opposing names. For example, Ai means love, and the infant she will be with when they are older, is called Kiran, or hate. Shinri means truth, and Uso means lies. Shizukesa means peace, while Tatakai means war. Jinsei means life, and Shi means death." He paused, and said, "My daughter, little though she is, looks almost like the moon." He smiled at the pair. "And your son, like the sun."

"Sun and moon . . ." Satsujinhan’nin said. "Kelsi . . . do you like it?"

She was smiling, as she kissed their son’s crown. "Taiyoo is your name, son."

"And Tsuki is yours, daughter," Wrangler whispered, smiling, knowing that everything would go as it her been for eons. But something felt different to him, once he had felt the slight weight of his daughter within his arms. Something was more real, more . . . substantial.

Kelsi looked down at her son, nestled within her arms. A human instinct had possessed the little one, and he had tried more than once to suckle. Satsujinhan’nin had roared with laughter at the look on the teenager’s face, as she blushed, reaching for a bottle to feed Taiyoo with.

"Sats, I don’t see what’s so funny about this."

He was still laughing too hard to reply.

"Satsujin."

She cursed under her breath, then growled, "Satsujinhan’nin, you bloody pervert."

Finally, he calmed down enough to stroke their son’s golden crown. "Yes?"

". . . at least he thinks that I have something of sustenance under my shirt."

That sent the Predacon off his rocker, and he walked out of the room, laughing. Wrangler walked in with a fussy Tsuki, and blinked at the grinning human, hearing the usually never-heard laughter of the ex-Captain. "Do I really want to know?"

Kelsi shook her head, and he placed Tsuki gently upon the couch beside the human, to shift to his beast mode. He was about to crawl up beside Kelsi, when he saw that Tsuki wasn’t wailing anymore. Taiyoo had stopped feeding, and was still as well. Kelsi gently turned him so that he could see the other infant, then watched their reaction to each other intently. Satsujinhan’nin had walked back in, when he had heard silence, and watched as well, when his son burbled to Tsuki, almost drooling on her, had Kelsi not shot her hand out, catching it, and wiping it on her jeans.

Tsuki blinked her dark eyes up at him, then sighed heftily for one of her small size. Her eyelids drooped, and she was soon asleep. Taiyoo whimpered, and Kelsi turned him back around to finish off the bottle she had held between her knees the whole time. Wrangler returned to his robot mode, and picked his daughter up, sitting next to Kelsi. Satsujinhan’nin sat upon her other side, and watched his son quietly.

Little did they know, that this was the beginning of something that was much more than what seemed to be a mere experiment.

This is their story.