A/N: Here is the next part of what may become a behemoth in the future. This and one other chapter for 'Grunt's Guide' will be my last set of posts before I leave. Have a great summer everyone, I'll see you in 9 weeks!

Part Two: For I Have Created Life

The room was silent as the dead spark faded to a dark gray, evaporating back into the Matrix from whence it came not a day ago. Such a life was never meant to be lived. Never to be used for the purpose it was created with.

When the last of the spark's light faded, the blue and red mech looked over to his Creator hesitantly, not sure what to expect. An outburst at least. Or perhaps a fit of violence that may very well destroy the infants not yet born. To his surprise and increasing concern, the old engineer was silent and still, harsh navy blue optics clouded with something.

Suddenly those old optics shot over to the one spark remaining. It shone bright and healthy, as though to show them just how alive it truly was. How superior it was to its companion.

The others also looked at the lone spark and then at each other. What was he thinking? His permit only allowed for two sparks to be given to him and that couldn't be changed. Every Cybertronian ever created off away from the assembly line was given to their Creator through a very rigorous process. It was how the government controlled the population as well as keep an optic on what bots were where. Two sparks meant two sparks. There would be no more.

"Triage, do you have your tools with you?" Triggerpinch asked, still staring at the spark that pulsed so strongly. He knew she did.

"Yes, of course. Why?"

"Get them ready. It's time you learned how fledglings are made."

"What are you going to do?" Flattop asked nervously. He didn't like how his Creator eyed that one last spark.

"I'm going to make myself another spark."

"What? How?" He looked at the spark again and then back to Triggerpinch. "Slag no! You'll kill it! It can't be done!"

"It can be done with the right mech doing it. I've seen it done. One spark is worthless to me, you know that. I have two mechs in those berths, not one! Either they come online together or not at all. Triage, come with me."

"But Pinch…" she had summoned her tools from subspace but held them to her chest, not knowing what to do. She respected her Creator, but her brother was one of her best friends. If he was nervous about this, it needed addressing. Circuitweaver only stood back, unwilling to challenge either Flattop or her employer.

"Triage!" the elder mech snapped impatiently. "Come."

Shooting an apologetic smile to her brother, the small femme did as she was told. One of her instructors at the medical school, Ratchet, had explained to the class that one spark could become two under certain circumstances. Sometimes it was spontaneous, sometimes it was done purposely. While 90 of these sparks died within megacycles of the split, some did survive. The mechs who had these sparks were considered special as they were so rare. Special, but notably unstable. Many who survived the procedure went insane.

"Pay attention, girl," Pinch ordered gruffly as he made the field levitating the spark as small as possible so he could get at it. "I need you to focus or they'll die."

She nodded her golden head, opening the case of tools and placing them on the table. "What do I need to do?"

OoOoOo

Circuitweaver watched the two work with sheer amazement. She had heard of mechs actually splitting a spark to create two, but never had she seen it done. Triage did most of the actual work, having smaller hands than her Creator. However inexperienced she might be, the gold and white femme sliced and stabilized as though she'd done it a thousand times. The only sound in the room was Triggerpinch's low commanding voice as he instructed his youngest.

She could never hope to be that good being as clumsy as she was. Contrary to her boss's belief, the blue femme was actually quite sharp if a bit unsure about herself. And she knew that the only reason he put up with her mistakes was because her Creator was so high up in the chain of command. Seeing his own fledglings beside him, acting as they did, Weaver knew that he was a hard mech to know. He tolerated only perfection and she was a far cry from that.

Flattop beside her was stiff as he eyed his sister and Creator carefully. He didn't agree with what they were doing, but he couldn't stop them and he knew it. No one went against Triggerpinch when he was determined and he knew that very well. The sparks were, technically, the engineer's to do with as he pleased now that they'd been issued. If he wanted to ruin his commission, Flattop wasn't going to stand in his way.

Yet, as he watched, he could see no problems occurring. By now the spark should be decomposing or growing unstable as its electrons were literally being pulled apart. Either this spark truly did want to prove it was stronger than its companion or his little sister was one of the best medics on the planet. Remembering her botched job on his arm a few months ago, he figured it was more the former than the latter.

Whatever would come of these twins being created, the Intelligence officer hoped the planet would be ready.

His wings twitched as the final cut was made and Triage gently used the electromagnetic field to pull the two halves apart. Warping themselves, the two halves pulled their nuclei inwards to protect it from the outside environment. Soon there were two sparks shining brightly where there once was one.

It was done. The two dormant mechs in the berths would become twins in every sense of the word now.

Triggerpinch said nothing for a moment, patting his golden child's back once before moving to sit. Meanwhile, she put down her scalpel staring at the two sparks as though she'd never seen anything so beautiful before, a tired smile lighting her face. The medic rubbed her white chevron, shaped like a spear-tip, to ease the tension in her head. She'd done it. She'd used every scrap of knowledge from her mere 500 years of experience and she'd done it.

"Should we insert the sparks now?" Circuitweaver asked quietly, breaking the silence.

Pinch looked at her, annoyed that she ruined this precious moment. "Flattop, go prepare the laser cores for insertion. Triage, check the sparks' vitals; we don't want them to blow up on us. Circuitweaver…" he looked at her eager face and sighed. "Just stay the slag away from anything you might screw up."

She took a step back, indignant, but entirely used to his less than acceptable manners. And besides, he had a point. Weaver's job was finished; she'd helped in the creation of the two infants and she'd been the optics and audios for her Creator to make sure every bit of the commission was followed through on.

Flattop was raised to join the Intelligence field but being the fledgling of an engineer had given him a certain level of authority on the subject. As he opened his little brothers' chestplates to get at their laser cores, he could see the level of care and expertise that had gone into their creation. Being Pinch's first creation, he was the most simplistic in make. His sister was a bit more complex as Pinch had gained more knowledge on what to do and what not to do when making a new bot. But these two… yes, the Primes would indeed be pleased, but he pitied the poor bot who would have to fix these two up if they were ever hurt. They would have their work cut out for them.

"They're ready," he reported when he was done opening all the valves.

"Good." Pinch enclosed one shimmering spark into a portable field and brought it to the red child. Opening it over the laser core, he waited for the spark to do the rest.

Once it was settled, he went to get the other, inserting it into the other child. "Close the valves and shut the chestplate," he ordered Circuitweaver who was the closest to the red infant. She smiled and moved to do so. Since she had worked on this one more than the other, she had grown an affinity to him and was pleased to be the one to help activate him. With maternal care, she secured the valves of the laser core and closed him up for one last time.

Triggerpinch secured his infant's new spark and shut the chestplate, feeling a great weight lift from his shoulders. Whatever happened now, he had done everything in his power to grant them life. Now it was up to them on whether or not to take this gift.

"Stand back," he told everyone. With the split in the spark, there was no telling what might happen next.

The four mechs could visibly see it as the sparks activated circuit and switches, bringing both children online for the first time. Their intakes started up, bringing in cool air to their systems. A finger twitched, a mouth, a foot…

And then their optics finally activated.

Flattop had been there for the 'birth' of his sister, and a few others besides. But he never got tired of seeing fledglings take their first glimpse of the world. During his time spent with the organics called the Kikri on Reshim III, he'd been amazed by the total dependency of the newborn pups to their parents. Even the dominant species on the planet were entirely helpless at birth. The young mech had scoffed then, glad that Cybertronian sparklings weren't so weak.

But as the twins sat up slowly, looking at each other, at the four of them, and at the workroom, Flattop knew that these young bots were just as dependent as any organic baby. He shot a glance to the impatient Triggerpinch. Just as needy for their creator's love. Perhaps more dependent than organics as they were built with knowledge already inside them. They knew language and history and what affection was.

The red one spoke first, in a soft hesitant voice that was smooth and light. "Hello," he greeted his twin, eyeing the yellow fledgling as though not sure what to make of him.

"Hi," his brother responded in an equally smooth but richer voice. He turned to their audience, seeming to bunch in on himself though not a servo moved. Defensive already of those he didn't know. "Who are you?" he asked no one in particular.

Sending a warning glare to the others to remain still, the old engineer stepped forward addressing both at once. "My name is Triggerpinch and I am your Creator. Come with me."

The twins looked at him as though he were mad. What was going on? Why did they have go with him?

"Come," he repeated in a harder tone. They might be bigger and they might be less than a cycle old, but by Primus they would be obedient. Soldiers like them had to be.

It was the red twin again who moved first. His light blue optics shined with a natural curiosity while his brother remained where he was. He saw no reason to move just because some short angry mech ordered him to. Triggerpinch led the way to another room, not paying attention to the child left behind. He knew he would follow. His spark was too newly severed to withstand being so apart from its other half. It would be a natural urge now to stay as close to his brother as possible.

It was a drive Pinch planned to use to his advantage.

Sure enough, the red twin hadn't gone ten feet before his brother stood up and followed. He gave one last cautious glance at the siblings and young engineering assistant, and disappeared around the corner.

Triggerpinch led them out of the work bay, past the apartment's entrance, and into a hallway with 4 doors. Each one led to a room, one of which being Pinch's own. Two used to belong to his fledglings before they left his home. The last one was for his new children.

"Get inside," he ordered, opening the door to their room. It was barren except for two recharge booths. They needed no forms of entertainment just yet, not while he had to focus on rearing them properly.

The red one's curiosity gave way to wariness. He didn't understand and the yellow bot looked as though he didn't want to comply either. "I… we… we need to talk to you," the red one said, light optics shining in question. "Please."

"We have to know some things," the yellow one finished in a stronger voice.

They were already speaking for each other? Good.

"I am your Creator and I am here to raise you to be the perfect warrior team. For the moment that is all you need to know," Pinch said with a calmness he didn't feel. It had been a long time, too long, since he'd had to deal with newborns. Always questioning. Always wanting to know why and how and what…

"But…" the red one interrupted.

"In." His darker optics narrowed as he pointed to the room. "You know very well that you must obey me as you are my creations. Your first lesson begins now: you were created together and that is how you must stay. Now get in, we will work on obedience later."

The twins looked at each other, not really understanding, but mutually deciding to do as they were told for the moment. There was no harm in it and the limited knowledge they were programmed with told them that the black and blue mech wouldn't allow any harm to come to them. He was their Creator and that meant he would take care of them until they were old enough to do it themselves. For now all they could do was trust that this was true.

As soon as they were in, Pinch shut the door and locked it. The first lesson began now.

He made his way back to the workroom to clean up all the equipment and prepare a report to send in. The government department in charge of population control needed to know that his creations had been activated.

"You're still here?" he asked of the three mechs when he entered. The show was over and he had no more use for them.

"What, no birthday party for my little brothers?" Flattop teased. Triage smiled and shook her head. That mech loved to butt heads with their Creator, it was a wonder he hadn't been deactivated by now.

"You," Pinch growled in annoyance. "Need to stay away from your organic friends. I'm here to raise two killers, not maintenance droids. The party can come after they make it out of the Academy."

"You're not going to just leave them in that room, are you, Sir?" Circuitweaver asked in concern. Surely it couldn't do any good for two brand new sparklings to be locked away so soon. They needed a gentle introduction to this world and it looked like Pinch would do no such thing.

"They need to rely on each other, not us," the engineer responded. "Flattop, give me that permit you picked up for me."

His eldest did so, following him to the computer. "What'll we call them till the ten days are up?" Flattop asked. "The usual?"

Pinch paused in writing the report, giving it some thought. For the first ten days of life, an infant was not given their true name unless situations dictated otherwise. It made it easier for the Creator if something went wrong and it died. Pinch did this as the initial ten days would give him a better idea one what to name them. After the government representative was done inspecting the fledglings, he would name them properly.

But until then, what should he call them?

For siblings born at the same time, the Creators generally gave them designations of alpha, beta, and so on or numbers. However, Pinch decidedly didn't want to do this with them, they had to be equal in every way. Giving one the initial name of Alpha or Number One would create a rift that he couldn't risk so soon after their birth.

"Yellow and Red," he answered. His other children and Circuitweaver gave him an odd look, but didn't speak against the uncommon designations. He knew what he was doing as he constantly reminded them.

"You know our numbers if you need anything," Triage said by way of parting. Her Creator grunted in acknowledgement as he typed, but gave no other indication that he'd heard her. Flattop just waved goodbye at his back and followed his sister to escort her home.

Circuitweaver finished putting away the last electromagnetic unit and turned to face her employer who was still writing his report. "They will have enough energon while they're in that room?" she asked tentatively. The blue femme knew better than to question his judgment, but her maternal side had to do it. They were too young and innocent to be mistreated by him.

"They are your Creator's commissions," Triggerpinch snarled, turning around. He didn't need some little upstart telling him how to raise his creations. "I'm not about to ruin them. Not for the amount of money he's paying me. Go home, Circuitweaver, I'll call if I require assistance."

She sighed, but nevertheless did as she was told, leaving Yellow and Red to whatever fate the belligerent engineer had in mind. Poor things, not a day old and already having to face being his fledglings. If they weren't built to take such harsh treatment, she'd feel very sorry for them indeed.

OoOoOo

Two young mechs sat on their berths silently. Occasionally they would look at each other, but often they would stare anywhere but at their sibling. Neither made to sit still, the megacycles spent in the room was beginning to wear on them. Red's right leg started vibrating on its own and he looked ready to explode. His yellow twin didn't fidget as he did, but instead conserved all the excess energy inside so that if he did let it out, it would be a great explosion.

They contemplated the lesson their Creator gave them to learn. How they were supposed to do so, he didn't say. Only that they were to 'stay together.' They were together, it didn't make sense!

Finally the red twin couldn't take it anymore and stood up, his brother watching curiously as he paced up and down. Making fists and releasing them, Red was a bundle of energy that he couldn't release. He needed to run, to yell, to do… something. Anything. He couldn't take it anymore; it was so like being a caged animal on display.

"You ok?" Yellow asked, amazed at the sudden frantic movements of the bot across the room from him. Something urged him to stand, to ease the other's nerves. Having only his instincts to heed, as their Creator had dumped them here alone, he did just that. Within 3 easy steps, he was in front of Red who was beginning to shake all over. "Hey, calm down," he said. "You're making me nervous."

"I can't help it," Red responded, looking at the walls around him. "I don't like being in here anymore. I want to leave."

Yellow nodded his understanding. "Me too. It's too small." Moving around only made the space seem smaller so he was content in staying in one spot. Apparently his companion didn't share this view. He placed his golden hands on his brother's shoulders soothingly. "Come on. Relax."

"Brother?" the other whispered as though not quite sure of what he was saying. But it made sense. This other sparkling, so like him, who felt so like him, was his brother. His twin brother.

Of course their databanks could tell them what a brother was. Could give them all the scientific, social, and legal definitions of 'brother,' but that wasn't what he thought of what he considered this yellow mech. That wasn't what he felt. There was no way to explain it, at least not for a little child such as himself, but he knew it was true all the same.

"Brother," Yellow nodded. He too knew that the word fit. And he knew if they were going to survive these odd circumstances, they had to stick together. When his newfound brother still didn't cease his nervous movements, he drew him into a tight embrace, touching his forehead with his own. Willing him to calm down before he too began to panic.

The physical touch seemed to do what words and light contact couldn't and Red finally stilled all movement, sagging against the other. They stayed like that for a few cycles, taking comfort in each other's presence. After a while, they sat back down on Red's berth together just talking about anything they could think of. Being only just activated, the list of things to discuss was not very long, but it kept them from thinking of the small room. The sound of the other's voice was calming and it didn't matter what was said after that.

End Part Two

A/N: I wasn't actually going to put out another chapter before I left, but I was a bit inspired to do it. Please tell me what you think, all your comments from last time were fantastic and a big help! I realize that if I fudge this up, it would be a bad bad thing, so forgive me if I seem a bit cautious about doing this right : ) I just want to be able to account for their personality quirks properly. The next chapter will have the twins running around in diapers (so to speak) as Pinch gets down to raising them to be proper fighters. Eventually we'll see Ratchet-sensei and some others, but not for a while ; )

A/N2: Just a quick note for anyone who was wondering since I had someone ask me. A 'triage' is actually a medical procedure in which a patient is looked over quickly by a doctor to determine what they might need before going into an operation. (Yes, I've been watching MASH way too much lately.) It's basically a pre-op procedure. A 'flattop' is the name of the area outside a hangar where the planes hang out while not flying. It's a 'flat top' : )

Reviews!

MariaShadow: Yup, this is Pinch : ) Charming little fellow, isn't he? As we go, he'll make Ratchet look like a tame puppy. Thank you, the characterization was rather hard to do for this one because I wanted them to feel like they could actually be a part of the universe. I'll try my best, though I may come out looking like Sunny at the orphanage!

Trueborn Chaos: Thank you, I was worried that they wouldn't be well-received. It seems like if OC's are shown frequently, there's a stigma that comes with them. I'm glad you liked them. Thanks for your ideas by the way, they're really helpful. The quirks that will eventually make up their personalities will be taking more shape in the next chapter. Like the title insinuates, I have to find a balance between what Pinch actually creates and what is already there : )

Tiamat1972: Lol, oh his vanity is a definite must! Can't have this be entirely serious ; ) And besides, it shapes who he is as a person, so it has to come in somewhere, right? That's a good idea, now to track down some of my mother's old baby books…

Soundwave's Idol: Thanks, I'm glad you like it : ) And here's the next part as promised for your viewing pleasure!

DesertCat87: I like to try things other people haven't before, I'm so glad you think I pulled it off. The commission idea was just something I went with, not really knowing how it would work out. If an employer, or whatever, is looking for a special kind of bot, it seems like an easy way to get what they want. Build-a-baby gone extreme! Thank you for your comments : )