About a week and a half later, Ashley woke up feeling happy. Why is she happy, you ask? Well, today is August 2nd, and it's Starmine's birthday. And Ashley was thinking that she was going to give him something special. Ashley looked over and her frown turned upside down. She forgot that Ciel was really sick. Ashley reached over to get the medicine so that she can feed him some. After she did that, Ashley went to get dressed and get Starmine's necklace. It's a peridot, which is his birthstone. Ashley put the present in her pocket. Ashley then went downstairs and saw the others eating breakfast. "You're eating breakfast without me?" asked Ashley.
"Well, yeah. Don't we always do that?" asked Punkish.
"No. The rule was to start eating after everyone took their seats."
"Well, I don't see Ciel with you."
"That's because he's still sick. And he can't eat much."
"Ashley, just sit down and eat your breakfast." said Crane, breaking up their argument. Ashley did so and ate her waffles. While she was eating, she was getting worried about her boyfriend.
After breakfast, Ashley went upstairs to see the birthday boy. Ashley opened the door to find Starmine still sleeping. She went over to his bed and laid down on it. Ashley felt Starmine's stomach, which woke him up.
"Hey, Ashley."
"Good morning. How are you today?" asked Ashley.
"Not so good. Actually, I think the baby might come today. And I'm scared."
"Oh, don't be scared. Remember that I'll always be by your side." said Ashley.
"Ashley, you don't know what having a baby is like. I heard it's painful."
"What about Vocaloids?"
"They usually get twice more pain as humans do." said a voice. Ashley saw Spacy by the doorway.
"How did you get here?" asked Ashley.
"I was here last night, taking care of Ciel while you were sleeping." said Spacy.
"Oh. Well, can you help Starmine?"
"Ashley, no Vocaloid has ever been pregnant before. Or even had a baby. But I'll see what I can do. By the way, happy birthday, Starmine."
"Thanks, Spacy." said Starmine.
"Remember when you and me first met?" asked Ashley.
"I remember that day clearly."
The date was August 2, 2008. Miku told Ashley that she was getting a new module. "I heard that this one is cute. So, watch your back, Ashley." said Miku as she left. Suddenly, the door knocked. Ashley got up to open it. There stood a Len module with blonde hair and blue eyes like most of the Len modules. He was wearing an orange shirt and dark blue shorts.
"Hey, are you the manager of this house?" asked the module.
"Yes. Nice to meet you. And what is your name?"
"My name is Starmine. I'm the module for the song Fire Flower." said Starmine.
"Starmine. What a beautiful name." Starmine giggled. Ashley thought his laugh was cute.
"Thanks. Miku told me that your name is Ashley."
"That would be me."
"I think that's a beautiful name, too."
"You do?" Starmine nodded.
"Well, can I help you with your bags?" asked Ashley.
"Sure. I warn you, though, they are heavy."
"I always thought your giggle was cute." said Ashley.
"Do you still think my name is... beautiful?" asked Starmine.
"Oh, of course I do, Starmine. I can't believe it's been 9 years since you came here."
"I first came to the Miku modules' place in 2009. And I don't remember the day." said Spacy.
"Well, Starmine, I decided to give you your birthday present now. Since, you know, we never know when that baby is going to come." said Ashley as she handed her boyfriend the present that was in her pocket.
"Ashley. I don't know what to say." said Starmine.
"You don't have to say anything. Just open it. I promise you will love it." said Ashley. Starmine ripped the wrapping paper and opened the tiny box. His hand went up to his mouth.
"What? What did Ashley get you? A wedding ring?" asked Spacy, trying to look.
"No. It's a necklace with my birthstone." said Starmine.
"Yep. It's peridot. Actually, my birthstone is peridot, too." said Ashley.
"Really? Your birthday is in August?" Ashley nodded.
"August 6th, to be exact."
"Wow. 4 days after mine."
"Put the necklace on." said Spacy. Starmine did so. And the peridot stone started to glow a faint yellow color.
"This was one of Trickster's necklaces, isn't it?" asked Starmine to his girlfriend. Ashley nodded. After a few seconds, the glowing stopped.
"Thank you so much, Ashley." said Starmine.
"Oh, you don't have to thank me, Starmine." said Ashley. Starmine kissed Ashley on the lips. And Ashley kissed back. Spacy just watched. Suddenly, Starmine broke the kiss and screamed in pain and clutched his stomach.
"Starmine! What's wrong?" asked Ashley.
"Is it a stomachache?" asked Spacy. Starmine said nothing and kept screaming.
"Spacy, the baby." said Ashley.
"What about the baby?" asked Spacy.
"I think Amanda's coming." said Ashley. She tried to get her boyfriend to calm down and take deep breaths.
"The hospital is too far away. We have to get the baby out here." said Spacy.
"What?!" said Ashley.
"Trust me, it'll work. Ashley, I'm going to need some help." said Spacy. Ashley nodded and went over to Spacy's side.
"You're going to be fine, Starmine. I promise." said Ashley. Starmine's head was full of sweat.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Len modules were watching TV. When suddenly, Append, Blue Moon, Polar, Receiver, Asymmetry, Crane, Yukata, Bad Boy, Punkish, Jersey, Eraser, School Wear, Aitetsu, Trickster, and Council's necklace started to glow brightly.
"Uh, guys? What is going on with your necklaces?" asked White Edge. Trickster held his ruby necklace in the palm of his hand.
"When your necklace glows, it means that danger is coming or is already here." said Trickster.
"But what's the danger? We're not in danger." said Dark. Trickster heard some noises coming from upstairs, like screaming and voices.
"Starmine." said Trickster softly.
"What? What about Starmine?" asked Receiver.
"The baby. He must be giving birth right now." said Jersey.
"Let's go." said Yukata. Everyone ran upstairs to Starmine's room. But they found the door locked. Spacy must've locked it.
"I can't open it." said Eraser.
"I guess it's up to Spacy and Ashley now." said Punkish. The rest of the Len modules went back downstairs.
"I can see the head!" said Spacy. Spacy forced Starmine to give at least 10 pushes. And they finally saw the head after 10 pushes.
"We're almost there, Starmine. Just a few more." said Ashley.
"Ashley, I feel dizzy." said Starmine.
"You're going to be fine. We can do this." said Spacy. She forced the mother-to-be to do another push. Starmine screamed as he pushed for an eleventh time.
"How long have they been doing this?" asked Yukata.
"About an hour now." said Stylish while looking at his watch.
"I'm bored." said Bad Boy.
"I can make some lunch while we wait." said Crane as he got up and went to the kitchen.
"Just one more push should do it." said Spacy. Ashley looked at Starmine. He looked like he is about to faint any second.
"The baby's almost out. We have to do one more, Starmine." said Ashley.
"Ashley, I don't have the energy to push anymore." said Starmine.
"Listen. After we get this baby out, then you can rest. We just gotta get the baby out." said Ashley.
"You're right. Let's not waste time. Now, push!" said Spacy. Starmine screamed as he pushed one final time. The baby was finally out after like 15 pushes.
"Why did it take 15 pushes?"
"Vocaloids are very different from humans. Probably Vocaloid babies take longer to get out than human babies do. I don't know." said Spacy, while holding the baby. Ashley took a peek.
"It's a girl. We did it." said Spacy. Ashley looked over at Starmine, who was unconscious and bleeding rapidly.
"I'll clean the baby. You try to do something about Starmine." said Spacy as she left for the bathroom. Ashley went over to Starmine and cleaned his bleeding stomach with a wet rag. Suddenly, Ashley saw some black smoke in the corner of the room. Trickster came out of it.
"What are you doing here?"
"Trying to see if you need help." said Trickster. Ashley nodded.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to get the multicolored necklace from my room."
"Ashley, that's not going to work. Just let me heal him." said Trickster. Ashley nodded. Trickster's ruby started to glow red. The bleeding from Starmine's stomach stopped.
"Thanks, Trickster. You're a life saver." said Ashley.
"Is he alright, though?" Ashley went over to her boyfriend and felt his pulse.
"His pulse is really high."
"That'll probably go down after a while. Want me to get the others?" asked Trickster.
"That'll be great." said Ashley. Trickster left in a cloud of smoke. Spacy came back with a clean baby girl. The umbilical cord was also cut. The baby was now sleeping.
"Would you like to hold her?" asked Spacy.
"Yes, please." said Ashley. Spacy gave the baby girl to Ashley.
"Be careful." said Spacy. Ashley could tell that the baby will have dark blonde hair like Ashley's. And her eyes will be a sapphire blue, like Starmine's. Ashley could also tell the baby was tiny, only 4 pounds and 6 ounces. Ashley went over to the couch with the baby in her arms.
"Hello, Amanda. I'm your daddy." said Ashley softly. Suddenly, the rest of the Len modules came upstairs. Yukata walked up to Ashley and the baby.
"Is that her?" he asked. Ashley nodded.
"She's beautiful." said Punkish.
"Thank you, Punkish." said Ashley. White Edge sat down beside Ashley.
"Can I hold her?" asked White Edge. Ashley nodded and carefully handed Amanda to him.
"Oh, you're so cute." said White Edge.
"Wait, White Edge. Give the baby back to Ashley. I wanna take a picture." said Polar. White Edge did so.
"Okay, everyone. Gather around." said Polar. Everyone gathered around the couch. Polar took the picture.
"That's a keeper." said Polar.
"So, do you have a name for the baby?" asked Jersey.
"Yeah. Starmine and I decided on Amanda. Named after my oldest sister." said Ashley.
"What a beautiful name. I think your parents will be proud of you." said Rose.
"Thanks, Rose." said Ashley.
A few hours after the baby was born, Ashley was pondering on how the baby should be fed. So, she asked Spacy.
"Well, I heard Miku told me that male Vocaloids will have to feed their babies with their... you know." said Spacy.
"Nipples?" Spacy nodded.
"Starmine should have milk in him now. Why don't you give it a try? I'll help you." asked Spacy. Ashley went over and put the baby on Starmine's chest. Starmine was still unconscious.
"Turn the baby's whole body toward him, chest to chest. Touch her upper lip with his nipple, and, when she opens her mouth wide, pull her onto his breast. Her mouth should cover not just the nipple but as much of the areola." said Spacy. Ashley did just that. And just like that, Amanda started to suck.
"Look at that. She's doing it." said Ashley. Spacy nodded. The 2 watched as the baby continued to feed on Starmine's milk. Suddenly, the 2 girls heard a groan. Starmine was waking up. He saw the baby sucking on his breast.
"What is she doing to me?" asked Starmine.
"You're nursing her." said Spacy.
"Oh."
"How are you feeling?" asked Ashley.
"I'm still tired. But I'm happy that the baby is healthy." said Starmine.
"And I'm happy that you're okay." said Ashley. She gave him a kiss on the lips. And he kissed back.
"Ashley, she's tickling me." said Starmine.
"I'll bet."
"Well, I better go. If you 2 have anything you want to talk to me about, you know where to find me." said Spacy.
"Thank you for everything, Spacy." said Starmine. Spacy nodded and left the room.
"I guess I better spend the night in your room tonight." said Ashley.
"You don't have to. I'll be fine."
"But I don't want you to be alone with the baby. Besides, what if you need help?"
"Alright, fine. You can stay." Suddenly, they both heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." said Starmine. The door opened and Blue Moon came in.
"Oh, Starmine, you're awake. And you're feeding the baby." said Blue Moon.
"Yeah. Why are you here, Blue Moon?" asked Ashley.
"Oh. Ciel was coughing up blood earlier. He left quite a mess on your bed, Ashley." said Blue Moon. Ashley gasped and looked at Starmine.
"It's okay. Ciel needs you. Just go." said Starmine. Ashley nodded.
"I'll be back, Starmine. I promise." said Ashley. She and left with Blue Moon to her own bedroom.
When they got there, Ashley saw a bit of blood on her bed. Ciel was having trouble breathing.
"When was the last time you gave him medicine?" asked Blue Moon.
"This morning. I must've forgot to feed him some this afternoon." said Ashley. She went over to Ciel and tried to calm his breathing down. She saw Blue Moon trying to help, too.
"Great. Now I have to wash these blankets." said Ashley.
"Wait. My necklace is glowing." said Blue Moon as he looked at his necklace.
"But why?" Suddenly, Blue Moon groaned and collapsed on the floor.
"Blue Moon!" said Ashley as she went over to help him get up.
"What happened?" asked Ashley.
"I don't know. Hey, wait. The blood on your blankets is gone." said Blue Moon as he pointed at the blankets. Ashley looked as well. He was right.
"Wow. Maybe this was the necklace's doing."
"I didn't know it could do that." said Blue Moon.
"Maybe you cured Ciel, too."
"Unlikely." Ashley heard Ciel cough again. Ashley went over to get a handkerchief in case he coughed up any more blood. He did, and Ashley held the tissue to his mouth. When he was done coughing, Ashley gave him some medicine. He drank it easily.
"Well, I better get downstairs. Supper's almost ready, by the way." said Blue Moon.
"Thanks, Blue Moon." said Ashley. Blue Moon nodded and left the room. Ashley looked at Ciel. He was paler than he was before.
"When are you going to get better?" asked Ashley. Then she left the room.
After supper, Ashley was spending the night with Starmine and Amanda. Amanda was now in her crib, sleeping. And Starmine was sleeping also.
"I better see Trickster." said Ashley in her head. She quietly got off of Starmine's bed. She didn't really want to wake the baby or Starmine. She quietly went downstairs and saw Trickster in the kitchen table.
"Hey, Trickster. It's time for our monthly meeting. Because there are no other birthdays for you guys." said Ashley.
"But yours." said Trickster.
"Yeah. But my birthday is nothing important."
"Your birthday is not important? Ashley, it's your birthday. Of course it's important."
"Yeah, but I'm getting old for birthdays. I'm 24, for Pete's sake, going to be 25." said Ashley.
"You're never too old for anything."
"Funny. That's what I told Asymmetry on his birthday."
"So, how's Starmine doing?"
"He's fine. He actually nursed the baby for the first time. I'm so proud of him."
"But there's another problem, isn't there?"
"Another?"
"There's Ciel."
"What about him?"
"Blue Moon told me that you forgot to give him medicine this afternoon. There was blood all over your sheets. And he also told me that his necklace was glowing. And then he collapsed. And the blood on the sheets was gone."
"Yeah."
"Ashley, tell Blue Moon that he's overusing his necklace's powers."
"Overusing? Need I remind you, he saved me a trip to the laundry room."
"The same goes for everyone else. They can't control the necklaces' powers yet. And if they overuse those powers, there could be dangerous results."
"Wow. You sound like an expert."
"That's because I saw the dangerous results I just told you about."
"What are we talking about here exactly?"
"They might lead to trying to burn the house down, everyone might freeze to death, lightning can strike the house or kill someone, a rockslide that can destroy things, a Len module can drown another with water, and there are others that I can't really explain, like a coma or someone dies from poison or insanity. Blue Moon was lucky that he can walk after today."
"Blue Moon only used his power once. And he stayed unconscious for only 10 seconds."
"Remember last year? When I helped Ciel revive those that were killed by Prince?" Ashley nodded.
"Except Ciel didn't have a necklace."
"Ciel has an ability that even is a mystery for me. He can revive people from the dead."
"Do you think he can revive Soleil again?"
"We're getting off-topic here. Just tell Blue Moon that he shouldn't use his powers too much, or he might burn the house down and he won't know it. In fact, tell everyone that."
"Okay. I will. Geez, stop getting your panties in a bunch."
"Ashley, I am serious. Someone could get really hurt if they use the necklace's powers too much."
"Okay, okay. Well, it was nice talking to you. I'll keep that in mind. I'm going to bed." said Ashley as she left the kitchen and went back upstairs to Starmine's room. As Ashley started to lay down, she heard the baby crying. She wasn't being very quiet.
"The baby crying?" asked Starmine sleepily.
"Yeah. I got this. Don't worry. Go back to sleep." said Ashley. Starmine nodded and went back to sleep. Ashley went over to the crying baby.
"Hey, what's wrong, little Amanda?" said Ashley as she rocked her. After a few minutes, Amanda fell asleep again. Ashley sighed in relief and put Amanda carefully back in the crib. Ashley then went back to Starmine's bed and laid down on it.
"Is she asleep again?" whispered Starmine.
"Yeah. This is what happens when you become a parent, Starmine. You have to deal with the sleepless nights." Ashley whispered back.
"Alright. Well, goodnight." said Starmine as he fell asleep again. Ashley joined him. But suddenly, Ashley heard the door knock. Ashley didn't hear the baby cry. She sighed in relief and got out of bed to answer the door. It was Phoenix.
"Phoenix. That's right. Another time-travelling adventure." said Ashley. Phoenix nodded.
"Follow me." said Phoenix. Ashley followed the Len module to his room.
"How did you get it working last time?" asked Ashley.
"I don't know. I pushed a button. But which button? There are so many buttons on this thing." said Phoenix. He pushed a random button on the machine and it was brought to life. Phoenix suddenly began to get sucked in.
"Ashley! Help!" said Phoenix.
"Not again." said Ashley as she tried to help her friend back in the room, but the machine was stronger than she was. She accidentally let him go.
"Phoenix!" said Ashley as she jumped in after him.
