ONE WEEK LATER…
It started out as a simple, almost gentle tugging feeling, but then it became harder, more painful, like a twig about to snap. Over the course of only an hour it turned from a soft pulling sensation to waves of searing pain, getting more unbearable by the minute. Starscream didn't realize he'd been screaming in his sleep until he felt Thundercracker shaking him awake.
"Starscream, wake up!" he cried frantically. "What happened? Is everything okay?"
Unable to speak, Starscream just shook his head no. Absolutely not.
"What's wrong?" Thundercracker demanded. "What hurts?"
The pain was getting so bad that Starscream's vision was blurring and he couldn't even think clearly, but he gestured to his cockpit, squeezed his eyes tighter shut, then collapsed back down.
"Oh, scrap," said Thundercracker. "Here, hold on, I'll call Moonbeam. I've got her frequency on my com. link."
It was only around 3:45 in the morning. The sun hadn't even risen, and everything was pitch black. Starscream hadn't been in this much pain since his incident with the exploding energon cube, so long ago now. How could anything hurt more than that? Not to mention that he had no clue what was going on.
Starscream grabbed Thundercracker's hand as he waited for the line to pick up. To be sure, he never thought he'd want Moonbeam near him, but now a good medic was all he wanted.
"What is it, Thundercracker?" Moonbeam sounded bored.
"I think the little twins are here early," Thundercracker told her, trying to keep his voice steady.
"WHAT?!" Starscream shouted, but Moonbeam didn't lose her cool.
"Understood," she told him seriously. "Just try to keep him calm, and Skywarp and I will be there shortly. Moonbeam out."
"How—how is this possible?" Starscream gasped, feeling his chest burn with pain again. "They weren't supposed to be here for another month!"
"What do you want me to do, ask them?" said Thundercracker.
"Cut it out!" Starscream put both hands over his cockpit. "Do you two hate me?!"
"Stop that," Thundercracker told him, and gently pushed him back down. "Just relax and go to your happy place."
"My what?" said Starscream.
"I heard somebody say it on TV," Thundercracker explained.
"Guess what?" Starscream whined. "I don't have a happy place."
"Well, think of one." Thundercracker shrugged.
Starscream was trying to block the torturous pain from his CPU, wondering what his happy place should be, when Moonbeam and Skywarp teleported into the room.
"Sorry about that." Moonbeam, looking irritated, pointed to the half-awake Skywarp. "This joker is a pretty heavy sleeper."
"How come you're so awake?" Thundercracker asked.
"I'm a medic bot, moron," she snapped. "I'm used to getting calls at any time of the day."
"Fine, but why are the sparklings here now?" Thundercracker continued.
"Sparklings come when they come," Moonbeam replied. "And besides, early birth is actually pretty common for multiples."
"Well, you could have told me that earlier!" Starscream cried.
Moonbeam rolled her eyes then sat down on the bed, holding his hand. "Just calm down, okay? This is all perfectly normal."
"Can you awaken Skywarp?" Thundercracker asked, poking the purple jet. "He looks like he's sleeping standing up."
"Yes, he needs to get us to the med bay." Moonbeam got up and pinched Skywarp's wings. "And you need to go get Megatron."
"Why should I?" asked Thundercracker, as Skywarp jerked awake.
"Well, he made it clear to me that he wanted to be there when his CNA came into the world," said Moonbeam.
"I told him to stop calling them that!" Starscream informed them. "They're my sparklings too, y'know!"
"Yes, I'm very well aware of that," said Moonbeam. "Thundercracker, you go get the boss, then meet us in the med bay. Skywarp, teleport Starscream to the med bay and I'll be there shortly."
Skywarp nodded drowsily, grabbed Starscream's arm, and they both disappeared. Thundercracker left too, and Moonbeam walked down the hall to the med bay.
When she got there, Skywarp was trying to wake up Gemstone, who was still curled up on the repair table. Starscream was clinging to Skywarp and groaning a little, and Skywarp was having a hard time keeping him on his feet.
"What's that slut doing here?" Moonbeam pointed angrily at Gemstone.
"Gemstone sleeps here, remember?" said Skywarp. "There's no room for her anywhere else."
"Well, get her off the repair table!" said Moonbeam.
Skywarp picked Gemstone up and set her on the ground, leaving her to sleep there in peace. Then he set Starscream down.
"What the slag is h-happening?" Starscream mumbled.
"Just what I told you," Moonbeam replied. "It's your spark itself that's hurting, because two sparklings that used to be attached to it are trying to pull themselves free. I can't imagine that's a pleasant feeling."
"No, it's not," Starscream told her, clinging helplessly to the sheets. "What should I do now?"
"Your job right now is just to relax and let this pain pass," Moonbeam told them. "I know it's hard, but…that's really all you can do for now."
"Send the sparklings your love," Skywarp added.
Starscream was trying to send the sparklings his love (even though he wasn't quite sure how), and Moonbeam kept monitoring the health of both carrier and offspring, just to make sure everything was still going fine. That was when Thundercracker, followed by Megatron, walked into the room.
"What's going on?" Megatron demanded. "Starscream, are you all right?"
"Oh, yes, thank you for asking," said Starscream bitterly. "I'm having the time of my—OH, FOR THE LOVE OF UNICRON!"
"Well, I'm sorry, Starscream," Moonbeam told him matter-of-factly, "but I'm afraid there's not much I can do. The sparklings are just doing what they're supposed to be doing."
"What? Torturing me?"
"No," said Moonbeam, obviously trying to keep her patience with him. "Separating their sparks from your own."
"You're the medic, Moonbeam," Starscream whined. "Can't you do something?"
"This is a painful process!" Moonbeam snapped. "Get used to it!"
Starscream cried out again as he felt the first bond snap away. It must have been a little loud, because that was when Gemstone woke up.
"Where am I?" she mumbled, rubbing her head.
"Gemstone, you're awake," said Thundercracker, walking over to her and hoisting her up.
"M-Morning already?" Gemstone yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"Well, technically, yes," Thundercracker told her. "It's about 4 in the morning, maybe 4:15."
"What's going on?" Gemstone asked. "Why are we all up so early?"
"I don't think I can put this lightly," said Thundercracker, "but Starscream's twins are ready to be born, and you were on the repair table when we brought him here."
"Wow, really?!" Gemstone ran over to the repair table. "Oh, this is so great!"
"It's NOT great!" Starscream told her. "It's horrible!"
"You're halfway there," Moonbeam said. "One of the sparklings has already detached itself. Now you've only got one more."
"And it seems to be putting up quite a fight," Starscream moaned. "How could it get any worse than this?!"
MANY HOURS OF HORRIBLE LABOR LATER…
Starscream let out yet another involuntary wail. It was well past noon, and things really had gotten worse. Of course, now both bonds had snapped, but actually getting the little devils out was another matter. It would have been a lot easier for Starscream to concentrate on pushing two whole sparklings out of his body if it didn't feel like somebody was stabbing their exit point with a steak knife.
"I hope I've made clear my demand that they both be mechs," Megatron was telling everyone.
"They'd better both be femmes, you jerk," said Gemstone, scowling at him.
"I DON'T CARE!" Starscream screamed. "JUST GET THEM OUT!"
"The birth process is beautiful, Starscream," said Skywarp, but Starscream just swatted blindly at his brother because the little twins' creation day sure didn't feel beautiful. Every stretch, pull and tear was apparent and the only thought on Starscream's mind was that he was going to die, and—well, actually, dying didn't sound so bad right now. Once again, all he could really do was cry out in pain.
"Deep breath, then push!" Moonbeam shouted. "I want to see those sparklings!"
"I can't do this!" Starscream howled, digging his fingers into the cold metal of the repair table.
"You're doing fine," Skywarp told him, a little helplessly. "Just…just try to be brave."
"For a coward like him? Impossible," said Megatron, and that was when Starscream tried to actually hit him, but Moonbeam pushed him back.
"What are you doing?" she demanded. "Don't pay attention to your fellow morons! You're giving birth to twins!"
"Is there supposed to be so much raw energon?" Skywarp asked. "Because, I mean, that's kinda—"
"What? I'm bleeding now?!" they heard Starscream say.
"Just the normal amount, that's all," Moonbeam reassured him. "Honey, don't worry. I've done this plenty of times before."
And so it went on for hours, with Thundercracker holding Starscream's hand and Skywarp trying to help Moonbeam deliver the little sparklings. Gemstone looked fascinated, clinging to Thundercracker's arm as she stroked Starscream's helmet.
"Come on, you can do it!" she was telling him enthusiastically. "Those two little miracles will be in your arms before you know it!"
"PUSH!" Megatron hollered, violently banging one fist on Starscream's knee.
"It's like trying to squeeze all of Cybertron through the eye of a needle!" Starscream cried as another wave of sparkling pain passed.
"It's tough," said Moonbeam, "but you have to do it."
…
Megatron was holding the screaming Twin One, who looked exactly like a miniature, much younger version of him without the weapons, while Twin Two was still on his way. Starscream, the carrier, seemed about to black out, but everyone else was offering their encouragement, and Moonbeam was gently guiding the second sparkling out, trying to keep everything under control. It was true: her dislike for Starscream and generally negative attitude didn't stop her from doing her job.
"What the—OW!" yelled Thundercracker. Starscream, unwittingly, had just torn his arm off.
Gemstone giggled. "Looks like you're going to have to get a replacement arm, now, aren't you, Thundercracker?"
"I didn't know Starscream was that strong," said Thundercracker, rubbing the socket where his arm had been; the wires were still sparking.
"Well, he is now." Gemstone shrugged.
"When is this going to end?!" Starscream whined, clinging to Thundercracker's dismembered arm.
"Don't be afraid," Moonbeam reassured him. "You'll make it. The second twin takes much less time than the first."
And only a few minutes later, Starscream had fallen back onto the repair table in relief, Twin Two was here, and it was over.
"Oh, wow," Skywarp whispered.
"What? What happened?" Starscream frantically put his knees down and tried to sit up, but fell backwards onto the bed. "Is something wrong with him?"
"No," said Skywarp. Moonbeam handed him the sparkling, and he set it in Starscream's hands, tears in his eyes. "He looks just like you."
Starscream stared down at the impossibly tiny sparkling, a shocked expression on his face. Twin Number Two did look exactly like his carrier, from his wings to his black helmet to his bright blue forearms. He was crying, a lot, his little blue hands balled into fists. His wingspan was probably only a foot or two long, and he was even smaller than Rumble or Frenzy.
"Oh, he's so beautiful, Starscream," Gemstone whispered.
"Couldn't I hold the first one too?" Starscream asked.
Megatron handed over the other sparkling, who was no less perfect, and Starscream held both of them, one in each hand. The look of wonder and amazement on his face didn't go away—he couldn't believe they were actually here.
"You forgot something important," said Moonbeam. "They need designations."
Megatron took both twins from Starscream, and held them up. "They shall be named Megatronus I and Megatronus II, in order to carry on my legacy."
"Why should they be named after you?" Starscream demanded. "They should both be named after me, Starscream."
"Do you guys ever stop fighting?" Moonbeam sounded exasperated. "Just name one Megatron Jr., and the other Starscream Jr."
"Well, yeah, only that's too long," said Gemstone. "The first one should be named Megs, and the second one should be named Stars."
"Actually, that's kind of cute," said Thundercracker.
"Stars and Megs it is, then." Starscream smiled. "I like it."
"Um, Starscream?" Skywarp stammered. "Is it okay if I…y'know…?"
"Of course," said Starscream. Skywarp reached out one hand and Starscream let him hold Stars.
"Welcome to our world, Stars," he said, holding the sparkling close, his voice a little choked up. "I-I'm your Uncle Skywarp. You and your brother are even better than I thought you would be. I will always be here to sparkling-sit."
Starscream let Thundercracker and Gemstone hold Megs. Thundercracker held Megs in his palm (using the one arm he had left), and Gemstone kissed his little helmet. Then both of the sparklings were handed back to their carrier. By now, they had drifted into peaceful stasis.
When he got them back, Starscream put both Megs and Stars in one hand and held them close, so they could feel his spark beating again and know that he was still there—and always would be. For the past eleven months, they had felt and been comforted by his sparkbeat every day, and it was where they felt safest. The bond hadn't broken at all. Stars reached out both his tiny blue arms and latched onto Starscream's thumb, his wings twitching a little in his sleep.
"That was the worst eleven hours of my life," said Starscream, hugging both adorable twins. "But this is the best day of my life."
As the Command Trine and Gemstone fussed over Stars and Megs, Moonbeam went back to stand with Megatron, who was watching, arms crossed, a serious look on his face.
"They're your sons too, y'know." Moonbeam smirked. "I think you can reveal some sentiment for once. Besides, didn't you want to be involved in their lives?"
"I don't have 'sentiment'," Megatron told her. "However, I am pleased to see that my offspring arrived safely…although not without some difficulty on the carrier's part."
"As you know, I'm a general practitioner," said Moonbeam. "But delivering sparklings has always been my favorite job."
"Why is that?" Megatron asked her.
"Well, it's the only time I'm helping a patient with something good and natural," Moonbeam replied. "And then, when I let the carrier hold the sparkling for the first time? I can see love, amazement, disbelief, all in one glance. It's priceless."
TO BE CONTINUED…