Brood

by clockwork_knight

Summary:

Moon found something rather interesting in an abandoned lab of the Creator and brings it home

Chapter 1

Eclipse stared at the large roughly woven basket that was lined with scraps of fabric that was sitting on the counter. Of all the things he could have woken up to and stumbled into the kitchen…the occupants of the basket were tiny. No bigger than kittens but nowhere near as cute.

 

“I’d ask where you got those but I’m afraid to know.” A small part of him wanted to reach out and poke the sleeping mass of long limbs but one of the little beasts yawned, showing off an impressive dental array. Riling them up probably wouldn’t be a good idea. 

 

“Moon found them in one of the Creators labs. Wisely he did not leave them behind.” KC dumped the bag full of tiny pale pink things into the sink before turning the hot water on. 

 

Eclipse tore his gaze away from the basket to see what his code donor was doing. His expression wilted. “In the sink? Don’t let Sun see you defrosting whatever the hell those are in the sink, he’ll have a coronary.” 

 

“Pinky mice. From the pet store.” he poked and prodded the tiny pale pink things around the hot water in an attempt to speed up the defrosting. 

 

“Still don't let Sun see. He’ll lose it over there being dead mice babies in the sink.” Eclipse pulled a mug out of the cabinet and helped himself to the fresh brewed coffee. 

 

“As distasteful as Sun may find it, this is unfortunately the only thing that is suitable for them. Anything bigger and they may choke on it in their eagerness to eat it. If they can’t or won't eat this then I may have to resort to putting the mice in a blender.” Which really would send Sun into a fit. While he was certain the solar bot would understand he wouldn't blame his partner if he had a bit of a freak out. 

 

Eclipse almost choked on his coffee as he let out a little laugh. “None of us will be able to use that blender afterwards.” 

 

“I will get a new blender for the others to use if I have to resort to that.” KC prodded at the still cold lifeless bodies, adding more hot water. The little ones likely wouldn’t be interested in the prey if it was still cold. 

 

“Has Sun seen them yet?” Eclipse hummed softly as he took a sip of his coffee, the bitter taste lingering on his tongue. 

 

“Not yet. I am certain he will understand.” He added more hot water then continued to stir the tiny corpses up until they warmed up. Using his claws he plucked one of the tiny bodies out of the water, shook it off then approached the basket. Holding it above the heads of the mini Kill Codes was like a dinner bell to the small predators. They stirred, crimson eyes opening sleepily while they chirped in confusion. One looked up then lunged, tiny claws digging into the pale flesh while it stuffed the offering down its maw as fast as possible. 

 

Eclipse grimaced and rubbed his neck then made a face of disgust. Much like their code donner the little creatures didn’t do much chewing, preferring to swallow whatever got near their mouths. At least Bloodmoon chewed.

 

The rest of the brood was awake now, their inquisitive eyes locked onto him. They chirped softly while jostling with each other trying to get into the best position to be fed. KC rumbled happily at their eagerness to eat. It meant they were not sick or injured. 

 

It would have been cute if it hadn’t been a basket full of small predators that would become large very dangerous predators. “Do they have the kill code? They are going to be dangerous once they get bigger unless they can be taught to control it.” 

 

“They do. I believe they were made using a copy of my kill code. They won’t have much control over it at this age but I am certain we can teach them restraint.” He plucked another pinky out of the sink and fed it to the now very active mini predators. The full ones settled into the corner of the basket away from their still hungry siblings. 

 

The moment KC turned around to retrieve another tidbit from the sink, one of the little predators decided it didn’t want to wait and tried to scramble out of the basket. Putting those animatronic reflexes to good use, Eclipse lunged and caught the little bot before it could plunge to the floor, something that no doubt would have ended its young existence. It began to wail and scramble at his casing with its tiny claws. 

 

KC’s head whipped around so fast he was certain the vertebrae in his neck cracked. 

 

“Someone decided you were taking too long and tried to help themselves.” He sat the mug down on the counter then carefully cradled the squirming bundle of limbs, wincing every time its sharp teeth scored his fingers. 

 

KC relaxed, instincts settling. “I didn’t mean to take so long, little one.” He chuckled at the unhappy little chirps that stopped the moment it saw the diminutive mouse dangling from the larger predator's claws. The moment the tiny rodent came near the hungry predator it scarfed it down in two gulps. Its belly plates bulged from the meal. Satisfied it curled up in the cage of fingers. 

 

It was kinda cute though he wasn’t willing to admit it. He lightly rubbed its swollen little belly with the tip of a finger before placing it back into the basket with its sleeping siblings. “Sun is going to lose it when he sees them. He’s going to want to dress them up and everything.” 

 

KC chuckled softly. “I am certain of it.” He placed the remaining mice in a plastic container then set it in the fridge. Hopefully Sun wouldn’t have an adverse reaction to finding them.

----

Any one want some mini KCs? You’d have to feed them extra small pinky mice until they get larger so it's not for the faint of heart. 

Chapter 2

 

“I know it doesn’t taste good but you won’t eat anything. Once you feel better you can eat all the gross mice you want.” Eclipse paced around the kitchen with the small bundle nestled in the crook of his arm while feeding it with a small bottle made for kittens. It had been a fight just to get the tiny nipple into the small creature's mouth and the moment it tasted the specially made formula it tried to spit it out. Hunger, thankfully, won out. 

 

Sitting on a bar stool he continued to watch the small on weakly suckle , tiny paws curling and uncurling. The others were sleeping in a large pile in the center of the basket, having been fed a short amount of time ago. 

Despite the creeping tiredness he smiled as a warm sensation bloomed in his chest while he hummed softly. 

 

Solar stumbled into the kitchen at ass o'clock in the morning, worn out from a rather…interesting night with Moon. “What was Sun screaming about? Did Bloodmoon leave a dead squirrel in his slippers again?” Solar poured a cup of coffee, groaning in pleasure as he sipped the elixir of life. He peeked into the basket.

 

The basket's occupants were curled up in a mess of long limbs, sleeping off their recent meal. 

 

“He accidentally opened the container that had the dead mice in it thinking it was something else, screamed and dropped it then screamed again when tiny mice corpses landed on the floor. Bloodmoon hoovered them up so KC had to go get more and to get something to make up for not labeling the container or warning Sun..” Eclipse chuckled. 

 

Solar chuckled and shook his head then noticed the one Eclipse was holding. “I thought they were eating solid food.” 

 

“This one is sick. We aren't sure what it is and we are hoping the broad spectrum antibiotics will help.” Probably going to give the entire brood antibiotics to make sure they didn’t get sick as well. A thought entered his mind and the dark sun smirked and motioned his head to the formula canister that was sitting on the counter near the sink. “I dare you to try it.”

 

Solar snorted. "Really?" he rolled his eyes and put his mug down. “How bad could it be?” He poured some into a clean glass, added water then knocked back the milky mixture.

 

Instant regret.  

 

Immediately, he spit the foul concussion up in the sink then grabbed the hose and began rinsing out his mouth, gagging as the formula stuck to the back of his mouth and coated his tongue. “That's disgusting!” 

 

Eclipse cackled, greatly amused. 

 

“That’s so nasty.” Solar picked up his coffee and gulped it in an attempt to get the taste out of his mouth. No wonder babies hated the stuff. “Not surprised that Sun screamed about there being dead mice in the fridge.” 

 

“At least KC isn’t using the blender to make mice smoothies.” Eclipse cackled again at the look of disgust on Solar's face. 

 

“Yeah no that’s a lot worse. None of us will be able to use that blender if he does.” Except Bloodmoon. It was that exact moment KC came walking in with several bulging grocery bags. 

 

“How is the little one?” He placed the bags on the counter then walked over to his son, crimson eyes watching the sick infant. 

 

“Eating, though a bit reluctantly. The rest of them are still sleeping.” Eclipse adjusted his hold on the small bottle, trying to make it  a little easier for the tiny predator to eat. “It's getting something inside of its belly at least.” 

 

“I hope you remember to label the container.” Solar committed while snooping through the bags. 

 

“I will not make that regrettable mistake again.  I bought some new containers with colored lids and will make sure to label the containers contents.” Sun hadn’t been…happy about the unexpected dead mice in the fridge and it had taken a bit to sooth his temper. A strawberry milkshake KC bought from Sun’s favorite place would make for an acceptable apology. 

 

Solar unpacked everything but the bag from the pet store since he didn’t feel comfortable even touching a bag with dead mice in it even if they were frozen. 

KC knocked on the door, patiently waiting for an answer for entering carrying the frosty milkshake in one hand. “Firefly.” Sun’s theater programming was on full display. He was lounging on the bench under the sun, one arm draped dramatically over his eyes. 

 

Smiling, he closed the door behind him and approached. “I brought an apology gift.” 

 

Sun peered out from underneath his arm, then sighed dramatically and sat up, rays askew. He eyed the offering, sighed dramatically again then held his hand out. 

 

It was taking every ounce of his self control not to burst out into laughter as he placed the cup in Sun’s outstretched hand. Crouching KC tried to school his expression and failed dramatically. “Not labeling the container was not intentional.” 

 

Sun vented softly and took a long drink from the milkshake. “You could have warned me that there were tiny dead mice in the fridge.” He replied sullenly. 

 

“I bought some new containers with colored lids so that unfortunate mistake will not be repeated.” 

 

Oh thank gods. He wasn’t sure he could take finding more dead mice by accident when he was expecting strawberries. “Alright fine, I forgive you.” his mouth twisted into a smile when KC laid his head on his midsection, the soft furry rim of his hat ticklish against his casing. 

 

KC chuckled softly. “Tiny mice are the only thing they will eat at their current size. Anything larger and they may choke on it.” 

 

“As long as I don’t have to feed them. Handing tiny dead things makes my casing want to crawl off.” 

 

“Myself and Eclipse can keep them fed.” KC reassured him. 

I want to flush them down the toilet!

 

If we do that, father will never forgive us. 

 

What if father likes them more! They even look like him! 

 

Harvest huffed and climbed higher up the tree, claws digging into the bark. Their code donner did dote on the minute versions of himself but he was certain that flushing them down the toilet wasn’t the answer. Maybe we can send them back?

 

But we don’t know where they came from.

 

Well, that complicated things. If they couldn’t flush them and couldn't send them back then what? Hide them? No, there would be hell of pay if they made father worry like that. Once he neared the top they sat on a branch that overlooked the forest below. 

 

What if their code donor did love the little version of himself more? Maybe they could just leave? They had been on their own before. 

I don’t want to leave. 

 

Think father will replace us with the little ones?

 

Doubt it. They can’t do anything other than eat and sleep. They can’t hunt.  

 

Eat, sleep and poop. That’s all they did. Maybe it was because they were cute? Harvest leaned back against the  tree, mind full of troubling thoughts. 

 

---------

 

You are NOT flushing them down the toilet! I can only imagine the wrath that will fall upon them if any one catches the twins holding one of the babies over the toilet attempting to flush them 

Chapter 3

 

“You are so incredibly tiny." Sun said in a hushed voice when the dozing infant stirred with a tiny whine. So incredibly tiny. And fragile. What would have happened to them if Moon hadn’t thought to check on the recently abandoned lab? They couldn't have been there very long given they were still in a relatively healthy state. 

 

Frightened, hungry and cold…they couldn’t have lasted long. 

 

A series of sleepy chirps drew his attention away from the dozing infant in his arms. While they couldn't talk he did understand the sounds they made on a deep almost instinctual level. At the moment they were walking up and wanted their caretaker to help them with their biological needs. 

 

One that didn’t involve eating. 

 

Sun looked around the kitchen for some place to lay the bundle down. Some place safe. Spotting a large mixing bowl he carefully tucked the sleeping infant into it. Unorthodox but it worked. “We need to get some kind of playpen or something.” Or a bassinet. Something that had a bit more room. They could use the basket to carry them around if needed. At least until they got larger. 

 

“So tiny.” He squeaked. Everything about them was tiny. Like someone took KC and shrank him down then cloned him. The chorus of unhappy demanding chirps grated on his nerves, reminding him that they were awake and needed tending to. 

 

“Alright, alright, I'm coming.” Picking up the baby wipes he turned his attention to the basket. Several pairs of crimson eyes stared at him and something fluttered in his chest. With great care he picked them up one by one and caressed their backsides with a cold wipe which caused a fair amount of vocal complaints and squirming. 

“I know it's cold but I can’t do anything about it right now.” he tossed the soiled wipes into the trash. “I need to make you some tiny onesies. You’ll be a lot warmer. Pretty sure they don’t make diapers small enough.” And tiny hats.

 

Once placed back into the basket the infants fussed, glaring at him. It was impossible to keep a straight face at the sight of so much grumpiness. After a bit they settled back down to sleep, curling around each other like kittens. It was beyond adorable. 

 

Note to self, get a baby wipe warmer. 

 

He was washing his hands when the one in the mixing bowl began to fuss as if it had been waiting for him to be done with its siblings. Sun chuckled and began making a bottle for it, adding a tiny amount of liquid antibiotics to the mixture before putting it into the microwave just long enough to warm the formula up. “So fussy.” Sun chuckled softly and picked the tiny infant up, cradling it against his chest. At first it resisted opening its mouth for the nipple, whining and batting at the unwanted object but hunger won out. 

 

“I know you don’t like that taste. Once you start to feel better you can eat the same stuff your siblings are eating.” the little one suckled weakly at the nipple, looking none too pleased. 

 

“I'd fuss too if someone was wiping me down with cold butt wipes and making me eat that god awful stuff.”  Eclipse walked into the kitchen, checked on the small ones then looked into the fridge, making sure there were plenty of mice. 

 

“I'm going to pick up a wipe warmer and some other things today.” Sun leaned against the counter, watching the small one eat. 

 

Eclipse snorted. “It's still a  butt wipe.” 

 

“It's not like I have tiny diapers. Even if I did, I'd still have to use wipes.” 

 

“Better you than me. No way I’m  changing diapers.” Eclipse made a face. “KC is pretty much passed out and so is Moon. That leaves us.” Eclipse crossed his arms and leaned against the other counter. 

 

“Pretty sure the Creator doesn’t want anything to do with them otherwise he wouldn’t have abandoned them.” But he understood why the lunar bots were being extra cautious. 

 

“The bastard could be watching at a distance. Waiting for us to raise them only so he can snatch them up once they are old enough.” 

 

“He can try but it won’t end well for him.” 

 

Eclipse puffed a little bit and smiled. Already Sun was becoming fiercely protective of the little ones. 

 

------

Sun pushed the cart down the baby aisle, the sick infant resting in a makeshift sling while the basket sat in the front of the cart. A powder blue blanket had been tucked around them to keep them warm and shield them from the harsh sun. Somehow they slept through being carried to the store and were still sleeping. 

 

The first thing that went into the cart was a wipe warmer followed by a few packs of wipes. Out of curiosity he checked on the diapers, surprised that they did indeed make tiny ones. Those went into the cart as well. 

 

Picking up groceries was simple, a long list of fruits and veggies, fresh eggs, cereal and assorted goodies. He was looking through the frozen treats for non dairy ones when he received a text. 

 

‘You at the store?’

 

‘We are picking up groceries.’

 

‘We? Eclipse is with you?’

 

Sun shook his head. ‘Yes. I certainly am not taking Lunar. All he ever wants is sugary stuff.’

 

‘It's not like it's going to hurt him.’

 

‘Brother, he gets withdrawals when he doesn't get sugar.’

 

Moons turn to laugh. ‘Eclipse and Solar get cranky and irritable when they don't get caffeine.’

 

Speaking of caffeine, that's likely where Eclipse had vanished off to. To get coffee. Sure enough the dark sun came around the corner with a small basket of coffee and supplies to make mixed drinks in one hand and two paper cups in the other. 

 

‘Did you get butter?’

 

Sun rolled his eyes. ‘I'm not getting butter. You'll eat it all and spend the next hour curled around a trash can.’ He took the offered cup with thanks, humming softly at the rich scent of coffee. 

 

‘Valid. Cereal?’

 

‘Yes I got cereal.’ he took a sip of the coffee and grimaced at the burnt taste. This place never had good coffee. The powder blue blanket shifted and a tiny head peeked out from under it. Crimson eyes narrowed at the harsh light. It looked around as if annoyed then spotted the dark sun. It chirped and raised its arms in a clear ‘pick me up’ manner. 

 

Eclipse sat his basket in the cart then scooped the little predator up. It chirped happily then curled up, bright eyes taking in its surroundings. 

 

“Someone has a favorite. Mom.” 

 

“Shut it.” Eclipse grumbled, cradling the small animatronic against his chest , fighting down the warm flush he can feel creeping across his faceplate. 

 

Sun snickered. 

 

----------

 

"Guys! We're home!"

 

Eclipse stepped into the kitchen with the one he nicknamed Atlas still cradled against his chest. At some point the little predator had fallen asleep. Once Sun put the basket down on the counter he carefully placed it back with its siblings. 

 

Earth squealed, rushing to the kitchen and startling the poor infants awake. A chorus of hisses and alarm sounds came from the basket as the small ones rushed to one side and bunched up. 

 

Sun laughed. “Think you startled them a little." Good thing KC hadn’t seen this. His instincts were strong and he’d become very protective of them. No doubt he’d bristle and put himself between their sister and the basket. 

 

“I'm sorry, sweeties. I'm just so excited to meet you, that's all."" She said softly, gently rubbing the little one's head causing the little predator to hiss and wail in a manner that was almost comical. Both Sun and Eclipse’s head snapped towards her so fast she was certain they'd suffer from whiplash. “I think I scared them.” 

 

Sun relaxed. “It's alright. They are pretty small and it's easy to accidentally startle them.” tiny watery eyes looked toward their caretakers for comfort. “It's alright little ones, Earth won’t hurt you. She didn’t mean to scare you.” One of them didn’t seem to have any of it. First it had to suffer the indignity of being woken up then a cold butt wipe and now this. It was just too much for its small mind. 

 

Tiny tears began to roll down the sides of his face. 

 

Eclipse scooped the little one up before it could begin to wail like a siren which no doubt would wake KC. Atlas hissed at the giant woman then curled into a small ball. “You don’t have to be afraid of Earth.” With a finger tip he gently stroked the little ones back. 

 

 “He's so precious! He's so small..."

 

"Do...do you want to hold him? Her? We don’t really know yet."  Sun asked softly, gently holding the sleeping infant up. A small part of him wanted to selfishly keep the small one all to himself. While he knew they were not related in the least he felt a connection with the small predators. 

 

Earth carefully took the little one into her arms, treating it as if it was made of spun glass. Half open sleepy eyes regarded her with curiosity. It yawned showing off its impressive teeth then became rather interested in its own paws. “Aww…those belong to you little one.” 

 

It looked up at her then back at its paws as if it was trying to figure it all out. 

 

Sun smiled and began putting up the groceries, gingerly putting the meat up in the fridge. The liver would have to be sliced up into tiny pieces for the small ones while the rest would go to KC. Just looking at the awful thing made his casing crawl. 

 

“I think someone is getting hungry-Oh!” the blanket the small predator had been wrapped in became damp and it began to fuss more. 

 

“I got this.” Sun gently took the little one and walked over to the sink. A fully liquid diet mixed with antibiotics was wreaking havoc with its sensitive digestive system. “Can you do me a favor and fetch me a clean blanket?” 

 

“Sure,” Earth nodded and went to grab a clean blanket. 

 

After making sure the water was lukewarm he gently bathed the animated infant. 

 

“It's getting more active, good.” Eclipse committed, lightly stroking the small predator's back that was curled against his chest, the sounds of his internals comforting it. 

 

“Squirmy little thing..” the infant constantly squirmed trying to escape the weird wet sensation. Once clean he dried it off then much to its irritation put a tiny diaper on it. Eclipse had to turn away, muffling his laughter at the absolutely enraged little face. Even Sun couldn't hold it in.  It made him think of KC when he had talked the lunar bot into wearing those booties on his paws to protect them from the hot asphalt. 

 

“And I thought they looked grumpy when you used cold butt wipes on them.” Eclipse chortled. 

 

“Not gonna lie, that’s pretty adorable.” Sun scooped the grumpy little infant up. 

 

“He’s so grumpy.” Earth giggled softly, a sunflower blanket in hand. She gave it to Sun so he could wrap the infant up. 

 

With the tiniest sound of irritation it burrowed into the blanket, somehow managing to turn around and upside down so only its diapered backside was visible which brought a round of laughter. “I guess we know how it feels about wearing a diaper.” 

 

The rest of the little predators had the exact same reaction to being placed in diapers, one of them even managed to wriggle out of the diapers and fling it as far as it could. Sensing it would only further upset and stress the niblet Sun left the diaper off for now. 

 

“Might as well get lunch started. They are going to want to eat before too much longer.”

Chapter 4: Basket of Grumpy

 

 

Eclipse stared at the brood. Serval crimson eyes stared back. 

 

“Why me?’ 

 

A chorus of chirps answered. 

 

Sun and Moon were at the daycare and KC was sleeping which meant it was on him to tend to the brood. His fingers tapped on the counter. The mice were defrosting in a bowl but he needed to change and clean them before feeding them, something that Sun or his code donner usually did. 

 

No point in putting it off. 

 

After laying the changing pad on the counter next to the basket he scooped the nearest nestling up then set it on the pad. It looked around, confused though that confusion rapidly became outrage when he stripped the soiled diaper off and cleansed it with a cold wipe only to remember a bit too late that Sun had gotten a wipe warmer. 

 

“Sorry.“ he muttered, struggling not to smile at the grumpy glare. 

 

Not wanting to be put into another diaper it tried to crawl away as fast as it could only to be caught before it could get far and much to its frustration a tiny diaper was put on. “You’ll be fine.” he lightly rubbed the small head earning a glower. 

 

One by one he changed the squirming little ones, each one glaring at him for wiping them down, warm or not. 

 

Holding back his chuckles he washes his hands then picks up the bowl of mice and plucks one out with his finger tips. The grumpiness vanished in an instead and they rushed to the edge of the basket, chipping in excitement while jostling for the best position. Gingerly he held the dead thing out to the nearest one. The miniature KC scarfed it down whole. 

 

“You can at least chew.” He shook his head. 

 

Two of them almost got into a tiny fight when he wasn’t fast enough to feed them, forcing him to separate them long enough for them to swallow a mouse. 

 

Once fed they curled up, bellies bulging slightly. “You are so cute when you sleep.” A soft smile formed while he watched them sleep, gently tracing over their full bellies with a finger tip. “I'm so glad I can’t get knocked up.” There was no way he could go through the pain, having his insides rearranged and weird cravings. Not to mention taking care of the brood was a full time job. 

 

Eclipse lingered, watching the brood sleep for a bit longer before cleaning the bowl and putting it back. 

 

Bloodmoon slinked in, side eyeing the basket. 

 

“Leave them alone.” the low agitated whine grated on his audios. 

 

“We are bored.” 

 

“We don’t like the little things. They smell funny.” 

 

“And all they eat is tiny mice.” and they didn’t get any other than the ones they ate off the floor when the sun man dropped the container. 

 

“It's all they can eat at the moment. Anything bigger and they will choke.” Eclipse vented softly. Of course the twins were jealous. They were far too used to being the ‘only child’ so to speak. “LIke it or not they are our new siblings.” 

 

Bloodmoon’s face scrunched up. 

 

“Once they get older they are going to need help hunting.” 

 

Bloodmoon twitched like an annoyed cat.

 

“We don’t like our replacements.” They scowed.

 

The dark sun shook his head. “They are not your replacements, you idiots.” The twins continued to scowl hatefully at him. Eclipse slowly pulled the basket of sleeping infants towards him, bristling. “Leave. Them. Alone.” 

 

Much to his irritation they hissed at him. Recalling something Sun had done earlier he rattled his vanes. They hissed again and shrank down. The tension was thick between them. 

 

Just at that moment Sun walked in, covered in glitter and paint, rays askew and clearly tired. A small bag hung off one wrist. And the recovering infant was in a makeshift sling. Tired eyes looked from Eclipse then the twins. He sat the bag on the counter, handed the dozing infant to Eclipse then ushered the twins into the living room. “Why don’t you start up a game, once I take a shower I’ll join you.” they grumbled a bit but flopped down in front of the TV to start up the PS5. 

 

Sun vented harshly then made his way to the shower, shedding his clothing the moment he stepped past the doorway. Whoever had screwed up the booking was going to get an ear full and then some. There was simply no way he could tend to thirty children, three of which were massive trouble makers that did everything in their power to piss off both Moon and Solar. 

 

The knobs turned with a squeak and hot water rushed from the large shower head turning the air in the bathroom warm. Stepping into the stall he pressed his face against the tiles, eyes closed while hot water ran over his hunched shoulders. The tension slowly bled from his frame. 

 

He didn’t open his eyes when he heard the door open then close, the faint sound of paws on the rugs barely audible over the sound of water. A deep rumble like thunder made him shudder and smile despite the endo deep exhaustion. 

 

“Hard day firefly?” 

 

Sun resisted the urge to dump on his partner. “Awful. And now the twins are jealous of the little ones.” 

 

“That may partially be my fault. I was so enthralled by them that I did not realize they were becoming jealous. I could have introduced Bloodmoon to them but…I was afraid that their small size may have triggered their instincts and something terrible would have happened.” 

 

“That was a valid fear. I’ve seen the way they stare at them. They may not mean anything malevolent but I rather not have them alone around the small ones.” Their instincts were strong and they hadn’t been taught how to resist them. Instead they had been taught to revel in them. 

 

“I understand.” KC stepped forward, uncaring that the water was rapidly soaking into his robe. Sun turned around and lightly pressed his head against KC’s. A low rumble stirred in his chest. 

 

The sound vibrated his casing. He let out a small needy sound while his hands tugged at the sodden robe until it fell to the floor with a splat. 

Bloodmoon looked up, pausing the game while listening. While muted by the walls and down pour of water it was still distinctive. A wicked grin forming on their face. Harvest crackled which caught Eclipse off guard. “They are playing with the wiggle worm.’ Harvest crowed proudly. 

 

Eclipse damn near dropped the infant in shock and stared at them from his spot on the couch. A quick glance at the basket sitting next to him assured him the rest of the brood was asleep. 

 

“Yes, the writhing worm.” 

 

"The sun man is licking his writhing worm!" 

 

“Putting is in his mouth.” 

 

Eclipse lit up like a supernova and was glad neither Moon nor Solar was there to see this. “How do you two even know about that!?’ 

 

“We’ve seen it.” 

 

“Walked right in while they were having sex.” 

 

"Such delightful sounds."

 

“You two need to stop doing that! It's bad enough Moon walks in on them having sex they don’t need you two doing that too!” Eclipse sputtered. 

 

“But their reactions are funny!” Bloodmoon grinned while slaughtering zombies. 

 

“Seriously, stop doing that. The fact you walk in on our dad screwing Sun is goddamn gross.” Eclipse’s face heated up. He wasn’t seriously hearing this right now was he? Now that they knew they could get a rise out of him they were not going to stop. “If I get you cheesy fries from Munchies will you stop?” 

 

Bloodmoon fell silent for a moment as they spoke to each other in the headspace. “Loaded fries.” 

 

“With extra meat bits.” 

 

“Fine. Moon and Solar are getting back late and Sun’s going to be too tired to cook.” Eclipse tried to stop the flush from crossing his faceplate while placing an order via the app. 

 

“Wriggle worm.” 

 

Eclipse groaned and resisted the urge to throw a pillow at them. 

Chapter 5: Foster

 

“It has a wriggle worm coming out of its butt.” 

 

Eclipse snapped awake and sat up abruptly almost causing the mini predator that was curled up around his neck to fall.  Startled, the twins backed up. “What the hell are you two up to?” The dozing mini predator in his arms stirred, glowered at the source of its irritation then wriggled around until only its backside was visible. 

 

“It has a wriggle worm.”

 

“It looks like a tiny caterpillar.” 

 

The fuck…Eclipse tried to crane his head to get a good look at the infant. “Why are you even looking at that?” Carefully plucking Atlas off the frill around his neck and looking the sleepy thing over. Then he saw it, a tiny little thing that could have been mistaken for a black fuzzy caterpillar sticking out of the top of its tiny diaper. He vented harshly. “It has a tail. Of course you’d be the one who would be different.” 

 

“Why?” 

 

“Why not? They have nanites.” The tiny stub of a tail twitched in annoyance. 

 

Which meant they’d have to hide micro particles of metal and nanites in their food. 

 

“It looks weird.” 

 

“Its tail is still growing so of course it's going to look weird.” Eclipse let the sleepy infant return to its place on his shoulders. 

 

“Mom.” 

 

“Shut it.” Eclipse growled. Hearing the door open he turned his head to see Sun walking in with a bundle in his arms and bags dangling from his arm.  What the hell did he bring home now? “Sun?” 

 

The solar bot jumped and squeaked, holding the bundle close. “What?” 

 

“What did you bring home now?” 

 

“I…uh…a cat. I couldn't leave her. I looked for her kittens but couldn’t find themIlookedeverywhereallovertheparkinglot-” a pillow bounced off his chest snapping him out of the loop. 

 

“We want to see the cat!” Bloodmoon rushed forward, all but jumping up and down trying to see the cat. 

 

“I just got her from the vet so be careful.” Hesitantly he unwrapped the cat's head and the twins immediately made a sound of awe. The orange and black cat looked around, nervous, vibrant green eyes taking in her new surroundings. 

 

“Her eyes..”

 

“So pretty.” They tried to get closer only to be hissed at. 

 

“I didn’t know cats could have green eyes.” Eclipse shifted a bit so he could get a better look at the cat. 

 

“Yeah, they can but it's pretty rare.” the cat squirmed her way out of the towel and jumped onto the couch, tail slightly puffed. Her long fur was still matted in a few spots and she was clearly thin but alert and curious. 

 

“You said she had kittens…” Eclipse scruffed the twins with his free hand before they could rush the poor cat and scare her. 

 

“Yeah, “ Sun’s rays drooped, “We looked all over the parking lot and the area around it. No kittens. According to the vet she’s pretty full of milk so she hasn’t fed any kittens in a while.” 

 

“They may have died. Look at it this way, you rescued her from an endless cycle of having kittens and losing them." The cat jumped down onto the couch and pawed at the blanket covering the basket away then climbed into said basket chirping. The intrusion woke the brood and they chirped unhappily as a large furry thing invaded their space. 

 

Everyone in the room stared while the cat made herself comfortable while the agitated infants fussed about being woken up only to resettle against the mass of warmth. 

 

“I need to find a bigger bucket-basket. I need to find a bigger basket..” Sun squeaked while smiling so hard his face hurt. Clutching the towel he puttered off to find a larger basket. 

 

“Guess they got adopted.” Eclipse released the twins only to grab them again when they rushed towards the basket. “Wait for the cat to settle in first before you crowd her.” 

 

The twins glowered at him then hunched up like a goblin. 

 

“Look you idiots, I know you want to play with the cat but she’s in an unfamiliar environment-” an odd soft sucking sound pulled his attention away from the twins. What the…his gaze settled on the basket. A pair of green eyes stared right back. 

 

The brood was crowded around the calico cat’s belly, each one latched onto a nipple, batting each other and growling. 

 

“She’s feeding the little ones!” 

 

“I hope that doesn’t make them sick.” Given the history of lunar models having lactose intolerance it might.  

 

“I found a bigger basket.” Sun walked in clutching the basket they often used for picnics. It was lined with cloth and should be big enough for both the brood and the cat. He stopped when he saw the cat sitting in the basket, calm as could be while the brood jostled each other for the best spot. Warmth blossomed in his chest. He took a few pictures and sent them to the others. 

 

“Awwww…she thinks they are her kittens.” He sat the basket down next to them. Once she was done feeding them then he’d move the group. 

 

------

 

“So what are you going to name her?” Moon reached out to lightly drag his fingers over the cat’s abc. 

 

“I don’t know. I have a few things in mind but I don’t want it to be on the nose.” Sun filled a small metal bowl with wet cat food the reeked of fish and set it near the basket. The brood was beginning to stir again. He checked his internal clock. It was close to feeding time and that meant they needed to changed too. 

 

“We are trying to settle between Nimbus, Grim and Hazel. The twins keep wanting to name her after food.” Sun made a face. There was no way in hell he was naming any cat after a food item. The calico cat managed to detach a few stubborn broodlings that weren’t willing to turn loose of their makeshift pacifiers and jumped out of the basket so she could eat. It was impossible not to laugh at the little disgruntled faces. 

 

“I kinda like Grim.” Moon pulled back a bit so the cat could eat in peace. “Nimbus doesn’t really fit. It's like something you’d call a white cat.” 

 

“I'm with Moon. Grim fits.” Eclipse plucked the pale pink things out of the bowl and laid them on a paper towel to dry while cradling the recovering infant in one hand. 

 

Sun tried not to make a face at the dead things laying on his clean counter. “Hazel doesn't feel  like it fits either.” 

 

“Where's KC anyway?” 

 

“Out with the twins. They were getting jealous of the little ones.” Eclipse held one of the tiny mice out for Altas who grabbed it and greedily scarfed it down. He handed the crabby infant in the blanket off to Sun to keep him busy while he fed the rest of the brood that was still waking up, chirping sleepily while swallowing down the mice. 

 

Sun chuckled softly while gently patting what he thought was the head only to hear an agitated noise from the other end of the blanket. Squeaking out an apology he turned the infant around. “Sorry…I got the wrong end.” 

 

Moon chuckled while he retrieved the diaper bag while Eclipse filled the sink halfway with warm water. He carefully plucked Atlas off his shoulders, stripped off the soiled diaper then placed it in the sink. The shock of warm water immediately woke it up and its reaction was to make unhappy noises and try to climb out of the sink. “No you don’t. You need a bath. You are not turning into Lunar.” He swore the small bot was allergic to water and was the lord of mold. 

 

Moon brought over the rest of the infants so they could be cleaned. Each one fussed loudly, letting everyone in audio range know how offended they were. They became louder when the butt wipes came out. The cat came running, chirping and meowing as if she was concerned that her ‘kittens’ were being harmed. 

 

“They're fine. They just don’t like wearing diapers or being wet.” Eclipse crouched and held one of the squirming infants out so she could see they were fine. Just upset. Once she was certain they were just miffed she calmed down. The moment they were tucked back into their basket, three pairs of eyes glowered at the ones responsible for putting tiny diapers on them. Since the sick one had recovered enough to be placed back with its siblings, Sun carefully nestled it among them. 

 

The cat waited for all the small ones to be placed into the basket then jumped in, curling around the brood. A few instantly reclaimed their makeshift pacifiers while the others curled up against the furry mass. 

 

Sun made a mental note to pick up some actual pacifiers, more cat food, cat toys, a better litter box on top of more cloth to make more onesies.

Chapter 6

 

“Leave him alone.” Eclipse paused in dumping pinky mice into a bowl of hot water, scowling at the twins who were oddly fascinated by poor Atlas who wasn’t enjoying the extra attention. The small predator hissed at them and tried to burrow under the towel on the counter, leaving its backside sticking out.

 

“Wiggle worm.” 

 

“It's so tiny.” 

 

“Like a fat caterpillar.” 

 

“He doesn’t like it when anyone touches his tail.” Eclipse wanted them, hand moving towards a spray bottle. The small KC look alike hissed and bunched up, trying to move away from the curious twins, stub of a tail flicking back and forth. The moment they made a move to poke the poor thing he grabbed the spray bottle and nailed them with it, as in threw it at them, bouncing it off their head. 

 

Hissing they darted off. Likely to tell on him. 

 

“Pests.” he grumbled, scooping the agitated small one off the counter. Atlas growled then curled up against its adoptive fathers chest, stub of a tail still flicking back and forth. “I know. They are idiots.” he lightly rubbed the arched back with a thumb. The hell was it with their obsession with the small ones? Jealousy? Or curiosity. Whatever it was they were causing the small ones stress and that wasn’t good for them. So far none of them had gotten sick or thrown up because of it. 

 

Feeling eyes on his back he turned to see several pairs of crimson eyes staring at him from over the edge of the basket. “Your food is defrosting.” A series of chirps answered. Smart little buggers. The cat was somewhere, probably found a warm spot to sleep in. 

 

Bloodmoon peered into the dim bedroom, the smell of warm metal, oil and something semi sweet hit them in the face like a wet rag. Snorting they brushed the odd smell then took in the sight before them. Articles of clothing were scattered on the floor. Their code father and the sun man were curled up against each other, sleeping. 

 

“They are sleeping. Should we wake them?” 

 

“Tempting but no. Father is cranky when woken.” 

 

Harvest grumbled. “The pointy man threw a bottle at us!” 

 

“We just wanted to see the wiggle worm.” 

 

“Different wriggle worm than the one the sun man has.” 

 

“Fuzzy little worm.” 

 

“Let's find the cat.” Closing the door they head back to the living room and began searching for the tempting cat. After digging through the couch and peering behind the curtains they found the cat sleeping in a window. Couching they inched closer. One hand extended to touch the soft fur. 

 

Eclipse held the tiny pale pink thing out for the small ones who began to jostle with each other, attempting to shove each other away from the offered food while growling and chirping. A loud hissing yowl sent them into a frenzy of fear, scrambling over each other to rush to the end of the basket and bunch up. Surprised, he dropped the pinky mouse and rushed into the living room just in time to see the twins sitting on the floor, looking rather confused and surprised. “What the hell did you two do?” 

 

Woken by all the unwanted noise and movement Atlas hissed then whined, curling up tighter. 

 

Bloodmoon looked up sheepishly. “We just wanted to see the cat.” 

 

“Idiots. Leave the cat alone. She’s not used to being around people much less animatronics.” He shook his head then returned to the kitchen. Peering into the basket he wasn’t surprised that the pale pink thing was still sitting in the bottom with the brood crammed into the far end in a tangle of limbs. Sighing he carefully scooped the tangle up with his free hand then with a bit of effort managed to cradle them against his chest while passing around the room. “Sun is so much better at this than I am.” Tiny hands clutched at his shirt that was rapidly growing wet from equally tiny tears. 

 

Something in his chest tightened almost painfully. “It's alright, you'll be alright.” Recalling that they liked the dark, he managed to pick up the thick baby blanket off the basket with his fingers and draped it over them. Spotting the twins peering around the threshold of the kitchen he hissed and rattled his rays at them. They made themselves scarce. 

 

Eclipse continued to pace around the room with his arms full of fussing upset mini Kill Codes. A wet hacking sound had him cringing. Thankfully there wasn’t much to come up but it was a worrisome sign of how worked up they were. Recalling some of the lullabies Moon used to sing for the children he hummed one, low and soft. “I’ll make sure those two idiots don’t scare you like that again even if I have to throw half the kitchen at them.” 

 

Little by little they began to calm down. The tears dried up and they began to chirp, demanding to be fed. 

 

Taking it as a good sign he plucked out one of the mice and pushed it underneath the blanket. He shuddered at the feel of something dead being dragged across his casing followed by subtle crunching. One by one he fed the small ones until their little bellies bulged. 

 

When he tried to put them back into the basket they fussed until they continued to hold them while pacing, the movement soothing. Eventually they fell asleep and he chanced putting them into the basket and tucking them in. The fussing was minimum. Venting a sigh he tucked the blanket around them then cleaned up the mild mess. 

 

----------------

“I want to see the fuzzy caterpillar!” 

 

“As do I but Eclipse won’t allow it.” Bloo moon groused, arms crossed over their chest. They stared at the kitchen, listening to Eclipse cleaning or making something. 

 

“I don’t want to have things thrown at us!” 

 

“There must be a way to distract him. Draw him away.” 

 

There had to be a way to draw Eclipse away, just long enough for them to snatch the basket. If they split up then one of them could knock at the door while the other got the basket. 

 

“That could work.” Grinning they leapt to their feet, their form shimmering as the nanites formed two separate animatronics. Cackling as they set their plan in motion. 

 

 

----------------------------------

This is going to end with someone being on the receiving end of a spanking isn't it

Chapter 7

 

“We're Home!” Sun announced cheerfully despite the endo deep exhaustion. Behind him KC strode in carrying the large box that held the playpen. The brood needed a lot more room than a basket but there were far too many things that they could get stuck under. Or in. 

 

Walking into the kitchen he paused, wondering what he had walked in on. “Uh…Eclipse, why is Bloodmoon taped to the wall?” Sun stared at the twins, stuck between wanting to help and wanting to know why they taped to the wall. The last thing he expected after coming home from the plex was this. 

 

The dark sun must have used the good stuff.

“They split up to distract me and the second my back was turned, one of the little gremlins  grabbed the basket and ran for it. I had to chase them down.” Eclipse paced around the kitchen with Atlas wrapped in a blanket, tiny pacifier in its mouth. The rest were crowded around the cat, latched onto a nipple while she glared at the pair that was responsible for upsetting her ‘kittens’.  “I tried putting them in time out but they wouldn't stay put so I taped them to the wall.”

 

Sun sighed and rolled his eyes. “You two know better than to do that.” 

 

“Get us down sun man!” 

 

“You won’t learn anything if I do. You’ve been told to leave them alone, they are fragile and stress is dangerous for them.” He had to keep a stern expression even though he was laughing on the inside when the twins began kicking their feet and whining. 

 

“But we want to see the wriggle worm!” 

 

KC nearly choked on air in shock, Sun’s shock and surprise mirrored his own. “That is inappropriate! They are infants!” 

 

“They have an obsession with Atlas’s tail.” Eclipse pointed out. 

 

“Wriggle worm!” 

 

“If you had a tail you wouldn't like it if someone messed with it.” Sun pointed out. The only response he got was a glower. 

 

KC huffed softly, mildly agitated. He had hoped the twins would have gotten over their jealousy issues by now. At this rate one of the broodlings were going to be injured. “I want the two of you to stay away from the small ones for now. They are far too fragile for your antics.” He leveled a serious look at the pair. Their sullen expression didn’t nothing but further irritate him. They were in dire need of a little discipline but he refused to fall back on the things he did while he was under the thrall of his dark code. Besides, being physical with them would only anger them. 

 

Why did they have to stay away from the small ones? They wanted to poke and prod them but they didn’t like the way the little ones smelled or that they did nothing but sleep and eat. 

 

So boring. 

 

I agree. 

 

“Let us down!” 

 

“I think not. You refuse to leave the small ones alone and refuse to stay in time out so you will stay where you are for now.” KC ignored the whines and soft curses. 

 

“If you bother them again you will lose your PS5 privileges for a week.” Sun sighed and shook his head at the groans and demands. “I'm going to take a shower, I feel gross.” 

 

Eclipse grinned but kept his thoughts to himself, refusing to give the twins any ammunition. He could tease Sun later. “Is Moon and Solar out on a date or something?” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

Eclipse chuckled. “It's about time. I thought Solar was going to pop a fuse given how pent up he is.” He peered into the fridge then pulled out the tray with the liver on it. There was no missing how the former virus perked up, crimson eyes flicking to it. “At least cook it first.” 

 

“But it's best raw!” 

 

“Yes, cooking ruins it!” 

 

Smelling the rich iron Atlas chirped and looked around, searching for the source of the interesting smell. Eclipse cut a tiny portion off with his claws and offered the morsel to the infant. The moment the meat came close to its mouth, it let go of the pacifier and snatched up the morsel, swallowing it. Once the pacifier was back in its mouth it yawned around it then settled for a nap. 

 

“It tastes best when it's cooked on the outside and raw in the middle.” KC purred. His head turned towards the muffled sound of rushing water. 

 

Eclipse snorted in amusement. “Go spend time with your mate, I’ve got things handled here.” The former virus's head snapped towards him, confusion written clearly on his face. “You might as well be holding a sign, it's pretty obvious you are interested in stuffing something.” The former virus lingered for a moment then padded off to tend to Sun. 

 

“Say it and I will wrap your head with duck tape.” He wanted the twins. Childishly enough they stuck their tongue out at him. 

 

 

Like clockwork the brood began to wake up, fussing and chirping. They yawned, showing off their formidable dental weapons and stretched out, uncaring if they slapped a sibling or shoved a paw into someone’s face which caused more fussing. They climbed over each other to get to the edge of the basket, demanding to be fed. 

 

“All right, calm down, your food isn't going anywhere.” Really should try feeding them other things and see what they like. Picking out of the tiny mice he held it over their heads just to watch them follow it around with their bright crimson eyes, tiny hands reaching for it. One of them jumped for it, claws sinking into the morsel. The others, seeing that one of them had food, swarmed it. “Shit.” He tried to separate them but they were too fast.  The result was nothing short of a blood bath. Bits of flesh and blood all over the place. 

 

“You all need a bath anywa--hey don’t eat your sibling..” he pulled one of the mini predators off the other, carefully prying the small jaws off before damage was done. “And here I thought Bloodmoon was a pig.” 

 

“We are not that bad!” 

 

“We don’t try to eat each other!” 

 

“I've seen you eat, you have no table manners at all.” Eclipse separated them then fed them. While they were settling down, bellies full he filled the sink half way with warm water. 

 

“That's for the weak.”

 

“We don't like the little pokey thing.”

 

“Kc has table manners.” Though he had seen the lunar predator pick things up with his claws and he didn't do much chewing but with teeth like that chewing wasn't much of an option.

 

Sun entered the dining room, practically glowing, casing still damp while KC followed behind with a goofy smile on his face. “If you two can behave then you can come down.” 

 

“Fine.” 

 

“Let us down, sun man. We are hungry.” 

 

“Behave Bloodmoon.” KC warned while helping his eldest bath the brood that was determined to escape the torture they were being subjected to. At no point did any of them remain still, instead they jumped around and wriggled, claws

scrambling against the sides of the sink. 

 

Sun ripped the tape off the wall and from around the twins, allowing them to run off to the living room to pout. After dropping the wadded up tape into the trash can he grabbed a few towels and began drying the infants as they were handed to them, chuckling at the angry little chirps that grew in volume when the diapers were put on. 

 

“They are rather vocal about anything that displeases them.” KC lightly stroked the miniature versions of himself, soothing their tempers.

 

“Why don't you two go set up that playpen while I make dinner.” Sun side eyed the liver. Oh how he hated the texture but he'd tolerate it for KC's sake.

 

 

Setting up the pen proved to be a simple task made difficult due to Grim wanting to help by laying on things, crawling in the box and chewing up the instructions. 

 

Once put together she walked around it, inspecting it. Once deemed satisfactory she flopped down in the middle as if she owned it.

KC laid a hand on his eldest shoulder. “After dinner why don't you go out for a while. You've been cooped up for too long.”

 

“Sure you just don't want the place to yourselves so you two can play with what Sun ordered from the adult toy shop?”

 

KC smiled and chuckled. “We haven't had as much time with each other as I'd like. You, on the other hand, have had no time for yourself.”

 

Eclipse tried to argue but his code donner was right. A few hours out on the town wouldn't hurt. “Try not to traumatize the twins and make sure you lock the door.”

 

Chapter 8

Eclipse strode into the kitchen into the most unexpected sight.He paused in the doorway, plastic bag dangling off one arm. “Sun’s been practicing magic again?” While he'd never admit it outloud his solar counterpart was far better at magic then he was but Sun had his slip ups. This time he had somehow turned KC into a ….cat. A large grey and black cat one that was sitting on the counter, a crescent comprised of white fur on one side of his face. He appeared a little miffed, large paws easily grasping a steaming tea cup. 

 

“Sunny is still learning. His grasp on magic has improved greatly since he’s no longer setting things on fire by accident.” the tip of his tail flicked, catching the attention of something small that had been comfortably curled up against his belly. Tiny hands grabbed at the tempting tail, chirping. 

 

Eclipse raised an eyebrow. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised since the brood shared every lunar bot’s love of dark warm places. A pair of crimson eyes peered at him through a screen of fur. 

 

“He is convinced that tails are built in toys.” KC chuckled while Atlas chirped and clutched at the rapidly flicking things. 

 

“Wait until his tail grows out. He’ll be after it.” Ellipse chuckled. 

 

“How was your night off?” 

 

“Maybe Earth was onto something about the Olive Garden. Not a fan of the breadsticks and they use way too much dressing in the salad. The lettuce was floating in it.” He placed the box with the leftover bread sticks in the fridge.  “They have some pretty good pasta dishes.” He lifted the blanket off the basket just enough to see into it. The brood was curled up in a mass of limbs, sleeping. Each one was dressed in a tiny space themed onesie and sported an equally tiny nightcap. Someone had been busy while he was out.  “Where’s Sun?” 

 

“He had to run out and pick up some things at the store. He will be back soon.” He hummed softly while sipping the warm brew. 

 

“Have you two tried anything yet? I know you two like to explore when it comes to sex.” Eclipse grinned. 

 

A chorus of Ewwwws came from the basement. KC chuckled softly. “The fur would get in the way and Sun doesn’t want a hairball.” Another chorus of eewws and protests. 

 

“Could just shave.” Eclipse offered. 

 

“And go around with a bare backside while I am stuck as a cat?” The protests grew in volume with a few we don’t want to see that added in. KC chuckled again. 

 

“You could just change back.” 

 

KC hummed softly in thought, toes tapping against the cup. “I could but Sun loves cats and is very enamored with my current appearance since Grim is settling and won’t allow him to hold her.” 

 

Almost as if someone had set an alarm the brood began to stir, kicking or slapping each other as they stretched and yawned. One hissed and growled when its sibling bit its paw, slapping its sibling ruthlessly as if it was their fault there was a paw in its face. 

 

Hearing the commotion Eclipse peeled the blanket off the basket causing the brood to become even more active, chirping and rushing to the edge of the basket. Several sets of crimson eyes looked up expectantly at him. “Alright, alright, I’m getting your food.” Eclipse placed one of the red lidded containers in the microwave just long enough to warm up pinky mice. 

 

Hunger gnawing at its belly, Atlas began searching through the thick fur for the familiar source of food. 

 

With a bark of surprise KC hunched up then frantically pushed the small one away from his belly before something very embarrassing and difficult to explain happened. Atlas of course didn’t take that very well and tried its best to burrow back into the mass of fur only to be scruffed and gently held. 

 

Atlas scowled at being denied food. 

 

Eclipse pulled the container out of the microwave and popped the top off. “Problems?” he held the tiny pale things out of the brood. 

 

“He was searching for a nipple. Unfortunately for him I lack such anatomy though if he continued to search…” KC adjusted himself. “He would have been very disappointed.” 

 

Eclipse laughed which startled the brood for a moment. They hissed and the one that had a mouse halfway out of its mouth vanished under the blanket that was in the basket. “That could have been awkward.” he scooped up the clearly disappointed broodling. The moment Atlas was curled up it began chirping as if it was telling him all the indignities it had just suffered which were silence as it gulped down an offered pinky mouse. 

 

“I would rather not encourage that sort of behavior.” KC huffed. 

 

“It's still kinda funny.” 

 

“What did I miss?” Sun strode in carrying a few reusable bags. 

 

“KC almost had an accidental boner.” Eclipse grinned despite the warning look from his code parent. 

 

Sun spluttered and his glow clicked on for a split second which made his dark counterpart laugh. A bit confused he sat the bags on the counter. “I don’t want to know but I’m curious at the same time.” 

 

Before KC could say anything Eclipse responded. “Atlas was looking for a nipple. Someone would have been disappointed and someone else would have been sore.” Much to his amusement they both all but glowed like malfunctioning nightlights which he found extremely funny.  

 

KC made a throat clearing sound and curled his long fluffy tail against his undercarriage. “He is too young to not realize that I do not have such anatomy.” 

 

Sun shoved the thoughts into the recycling bin and promptly deleted them. “I, uh..went to the Soda Fountain and..uh got some things.” he pushed the mildly uncomfortable feeling down while rummaging through the bags. “Loaded fries for the twins, chicken sandwich for me and a salad for Earth.” he pulled out the foam containers containing various sandwiches and sides. KC perked up, nose twitching at the scent of hot fried chicken. 

When they had finished eating they settled in the living room while the twins and Lunar retreated back to the basement to play more games while Eclipse released the brood into the playpen. At first they hunched up, unsure of what to do with all the space. A few bold ones slowly crawled away from the basket and towards the pile of brightly colored objects. They snuffled the items then experimentally batted at the soft toys. Seeing the others crawling around drew the rest of the brood towards the toys. 

 

The curtains at the front window stirred and Grim poked her head out. Seeing her ‘kittens’ were out and about she mewled and darted across the room, leaping into the playpen to check each and every one out before settling near them. Atlas, seeing its adoptive parent, crawled as fast as its uncoordinated limbs would allow. It plowed face first into the soft furry belly, seeking out the milk filled nipples. 

 

Sun picked his mate up and flopped onto the couch with a tired groan, quilt draped around his shoulders. Eclipse joined him after a moment. Moon and Solar were likely out being nerds and there was no telling when they’d get home. Probably well after midnight. 

 

After digging the remote out of the couch he turned the TV on. 

Moon staggered through the door, almost dropping his keys for the hundredth time. The warm haze of alcohol makeing it hard to think. Solar came in behind, just as wasted, rays askew. 

 

“We..n-need to do th-at again..” Solar stumbled over his own feet, one arm stretched out to catch himself against the wall so he didn’t eat floor. 

 

“Yep.” Moon smiled, eyes unfocused. He wasn’t utterly and completely drunk like what he used to do with Monty. Not after what happened in Vegas. He grabbed Solar’s free hand and tugged him towards their room. Neither of them acknowledged the trio that was sleeping on the couch or the fact the TV was on, playing late night infomercials. Something that Sun claimed was torture to watch. 

 

 Clothing was shed with every step leaving a trail of rumpled pants and shirts and shoes that led to their room though neither cared, they just wanted to sleep off the haze of alcohol. Giggling softly they stumbled to the bed and collapsed onto it, falling into a tangle of limbs. They were asleep the moment their heads hit the pillows

Chapter 9

 

“Looks like the bastard scrubbed the systems. I can’t find anything.” Solar pushed the keyboard away. 

 

“Yeah. I’m not finding anything either.” Moon let out a frustrated noise. The lab was dimly lit, likely operating on backup power. He was kicking himself for not checking the computers the day he found the brood but his concerns had been elsewhere. 

 

“It doesn’t make sense. Why make tiny versions of KC?” Solar looked around the large lab packed with equipment he had no name for. 

 

“That, my dear boy, is the question of the day.” 

 

Startled, they both jumped, Solar hissed and rattled his rays. 

 

“Is that any way to greet your creator?” The small grey drone asked. 

 

“Heya dad. Long time no see.” 

 

“Moon. Now why are you two intruding in my lab? There’s nothing here. I scrubbed the hard drives before I abandoned it and the failed project.” 

 

“Project? They were just a project to you?” Solar growled, hands tight around a large wrench. 

 

“Yes. My former slave is utterly useless to me at the moment. Pain simply makes him very angry and I have tried reactivating the Kill Code  only to have you shut it down.” The creator said. 

 

“So you copied parts of his Ai and his kill code and made tiny versions of him?” Moon tilted his head, confused. “Wouldn't it make so much more sense to build a much larger body?” 

 

“It would have. Yes. But that comes with its own downfalls. It's far harder to control a mature animatronic. Earth is a prime example of this.” 

“Still, why make tiny versions? You could have stunted the AI.” Solar interjected. 

“I wanted to raise them. Make them obedient. Then it slowly dawned on me that I would have to raise them. Why it could take years before they became something useful and it would have taken up a lot of my time.” 

 

“So you abandoned them to die? You're sick!” Solar snarled.

 

“Hardly. It was just a little side project. A whimsy.” The drone waved a dismissive hand. “They would have become a waste of resources. It was too much effort to recycle them so I abandoned them.” 

Moon growled deep in his chest. “They're infants you sick fuck!”

 

“They were nothing more than a simple side project made on a whim. A failed one unfortunately. I saw no need to continue with it.” 

 

Solar's hands tightened on the wrench. “They were helpless! They would have died if Moon didn't find them!” 

 

“It doesn't matter. As I said it was a failed project, I care nothing for them.” The Creator shrugged. 

 

“Good thing we have them now. God you are heartless.” 

 

“Indeed. Such feelings would only get in the way of progress.” 

 

“Let's get out of here. There’s nothing worth staying here.” Solar put the wrench back into his tool belt and rested a hand on Moon’s tense shoulders. 

 

“Yeah. Let's go.” Moon glared at his creator then walked back to the portal. 

The little ones chirped excitedly at the bundle of brightly colored feathers that was being held just above their heads. They jumped for it, tiny hands grasping for the feathers while Sun chuckled. More than once they tried to eat the feathers only to spit the offensive object back out. 

 

“I think the little ones may be hungry.” KC rose for the couch with all the grace of a predator. 

 

“It's been a few hours since they’ve eaten.” He looked up when the door opened and a tense Moon stormed in. Immediately he was on his feet and by his brother’s side. “What happened?” 

 

“The lab is a bust, there’s nothing there but the damn Creator decided to pay us a visit.” Solar vented a harsh sigh.

 

“Are you okay?” 

 

“I'm good. I just need a minute.”  Moon walked out into the backyard to decompress. 

 

“That bad?” Sun looked at Solar. 

 

“You can say that. The bastard brain made it pretty clear they were nothing more than some sort of project and he deliberately abandoned them to die.” 

 Finally alone in the furthest part of the back yard, hidden by a screen of low bushes, Moon crumpled to his knees. His fingers clawed at the earth. Hot, angry tears streamed down his face. He wanted desert to beat the old bastard to death. Their Creator had been the source of so much suffering, torment and anger. He let all the rage bubble up to the surface and took it out on the unfortunate foliage. 

 

KC watched sadly from the kitchen window. He knew all too well what was going through Moon’s head given that he had lived in the lunar bot’s mind space for a time. Crimson eyes glanced at Solar when he entered the kitchen. He reached out and gently stopped the dark eclipse from going outside. “Let him be for a few minutes. It will allow him to work through the anger.” 

 

Solar nodded and watched KC leave with a pink lidded container. No doubt full of food for the brood. He waited by the glass door, watching the bushes at the corner of the yard. It was difficult to not run out there and hug him but he knew that KC was right. Moon needed a few minutes to work it out of his systems. 

 

Nearly ten minutes later Moon came back in, clothing covered in dirt and bits of leaves, the traces of tears still on his face. 

 

“You good bud?” 

 

“Yeah. I'm fine now. I don’t do good with the emotional stuff.” 

“Let's get you cleaned up before Sun sees and has a coronary.” Solar smiled softly and led Moon to the bathroom, leaving a trail of leaves and dirt.

Chapter 10

 

Fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/makoto-kaiser-blog/778032385316012032/the-brood-lunch-time?source=share

I love the two that are getting upset because Mama Eclipse isn’t being fast enough to feed them

 

Everyone has fears and it often doesn’t get explored enough. Aside from the typical fears an eclipse has (abandonment, having everything stripped away, isolation) Eclipse has a deep seated fear of storms, specifically lighting. Lunar being a lill shit and electrocuting him left a lasting fear

-----------

Storms normally didn’t bother Eclipse. Not the howling winds, lashing rain or thunder. The lightning would send little shivers down his spine and send him scurrying for shelter though. He had no interest in becoming a walking lightning rod. 

 

That was before fucking Lunar turned him into said lightning rod. 

 

The white hot agony would forever be seared into his memories followed by the fresh hell of waking up in a new body that remembered what it had been like to be electrocuted. 

 

Thunder rumbled, muted by the thick walls, and he flinched. The brood was awake in an instant. Confused looks turned to fear when a crack of thunder shook the house. Hissing and chirping the dove underneath the blanket, burrowing into the soft cloth. Realizing there was no escaping the loud startling sounds they piled on top of each other in a panic while wailing like tiny alarms. 

 

Resisting the urge to curl into a ball and start rocking back and forth, Eclipse scooped the basket up and headed for the room furthest away from the outside. Slamming the door behind he curled up on the cold tiles of the shower stall. While tempting to turn his audio receptors off, that would leave him not only more anxious since he wouldn't be able to hear anyone approaching, he wouldn't be able to hear the brood.   

 

Squeezing himself into the furthest corner of the room he curled around the basket. 

 

The small ones wailed every time thunder rumbled. “It’s….gonna be alright…it's just thunder…” Lunar would have found it funny if he saw him balled up on the floor, on the verge of tears. He trembled more as thunder rattled the house. 

 

How long was he going to be sitting on the damn shower floor, terrified out of his damn mind because the little brat held a grudge? 

 

The brood wailed like tiny sirens, the sound grated on his nerves and scraped against instincts making him want to find another hiding place like a closet but he couldn’t move. The door rattled, making him flinch and hiss. “Go away.” 

 

The door splintered under the force behind it. 

 

An eldritch nightmare burst through the shattered remains of the door, crimson eyes glowing in the darkness. 

 

Terror seized him in a vice grip and threw him into a loop of emotions and fear sending him spiraling into a dark nothingness. 

Disorienting. 

 

Unsettling.

 

He felt…odd. Warm and surrounded by something comfortable. The scent hit him hard, a mix of tea leaves, faint muskyness of predator and warm metal. Sounds were muffled as if cotton had been stuffed into his audios. 

 

As badly as he wanted to stay wall warm and wrapped up like a grub he wasn’t sure whose bed he was in though he had a good idea. Slowly he wriggled out from under the thick comforter and sat upo, rays askew. 

 

Thunder shook the windows and lightning flashed through the gaps in the black out curtains. Eclipse let out a small shriek and burrowed into the comforter like a child. Huddling up he burrowed deep into it, eyes squeezed shut as memories flooded his already stressed brain, panic coursing through his systems.

 

“The storm can not harm you. Nor can Lunar.” 

 

He refused to respond. 

 

“Eclipse?”  

 

He flinched when he felt a hand on his back through the comforter. It was…reasuaring though he remained silent. Through the thick comforter he could hear muted fussing from the brood. That got him uncurling and peering out. 

 

KC was pacing around the room carrying a bundle of fussing broodlings wrapped in a blanket. The thunder clearly didn’t agree with them. 

 

“It's ok. I'll keep you safe.”

 

Something he was supposed to be doing but he chose to hide and cower away. Guilty chewed at him. He flinched at another lightning strike. 

 

Sensing his son’s anxiety he fished one of the broodling out of the mass and pressed it into Eclipse’s hands. Atlas immediately burrowed against its caretakers chest, the tiny tail completely puffed up. He vanished back underneath the covers with a hiss when lightning flashed. 

 

“Do you want me to turn down your audio receptors?” 

 

He shook his head. It would be difficult to hear anyone approaching. Besides, it wasn't thunder, it was lightning. While muffled he could hear the curtains being fully closed, shutting out any flashes. Atlas chewed on his ruffles, sharp teeth putting holes in the cloth. Really should get rid of the thing, it was a constant reminder of the past. 

 

The fear faded and was replaced with guilt. “Getting hungry? And here I am hiding uiver the covers like a child.” they all must be getting hungry. 

 

Slowly he peered out from under the comforter like a nervous animal to see the room was empty and the door was cracked open. A rather irritated Lunar was perring in. Eclipse glowered and gave the small animatronic the middle finger. The small lunar bot glowered back at him then vanished, likely to retreat to the basement. 

 

Little hater. 

 

The memory was still fresh. The small hands beating against his casing, the pure rage and fear in Lunar’s voice then the pain. The wretched pain of having wires melting and components scorched while his joints locked. He wasn’t even the one who had blown lunar up or tormented him but the little goblin was determined to take all his trauma out on him, a clone. A copy with memories that were not his own. 

 

He supposed he should be grateful Lunar hadn’t attempted to kill him again. 

 

"How are you faring my child?" Kc asked him softly as he entered the room carrying a small container in one hand with the brood tucked into a makeshift sling. 

 

“Better I suppose. I still feel really stressed.” Anxious and worried. He stiffened then shivered when he felt a large hand against his back, the silicon coated metal was comfortably warm. He was touch starved and knew it but he’d never admit it. 

 

“Your obsession has always been with control. You need to learn to trust though I know that is difficult for you.” KC lingered, hand resting on Eclipses back for a moment longer. The broodlings fussed loudly, their long limbs kicking as they became increasingly frustrated over not being fed. 

 

Eclipse looked at the floor. “It's easier said than done. I still feel like an outcast…they fully adopted Solar but…” 

 

“You feel as if you are still on the outside though Sun and reluctantly Moon have welcomed you into the family.” KC sat the container down and opened it, plucking out one of the tiny pink things. Several pairs of red eyes locked onto it. A moment later a tiny fight broke out that had to be broken up. “Easy, you will get fed, you must have patience.” the tiny mouse vanished down the maw of the little predator. 

 

“They don’t have much patience at this age. “ Eclipse smiled softly and offered Atlas one of the mice. Chirping happily it snatched the offering up, gulping it down. “You know you could at least chew.” 

 

“Their teeth were not designed for chewing unfortunately.” Perfectly designed for slicing and piercing just like the Creator intended. Another tiny pink thing was snatched out of his fingers and gulped down. 

 

“Good thing none of us have functional breasts.” Eclipse shivered and subconsciousnessly cross his arms over his chest while Atlas burrowed into his ruffles, full and content to chew on said ruffles shredding the cloth. 

 

KC mirrored the shiver. It wasn’t hard to think what those little sharp teeth could do. 

 

“How…how did you and Sun…you know…hook up?” Out of all the people the solar animatronic could have gotten cozy with, KC was the last one he’d ever suspect. Honestly he thought Solar was the one Sun would be chasing after. 

 

KC chuckled softly. “Sun treated me kindly and I returned it. He was willing to give me a chance when others had decided that I was nothing more than a parasitic virus. Things naturally happened from there.” 

 

Lucky. “What if I can’t…” 

 

“You will have to find some love inside of yourself first.” KC gently adjusted the blanket around the slumbering brood. 

 

Eclipse hunched his shoulders. No one could ever possibly love him. Pathetic clone. 

 

“Do not think so little of yourself, my child.” KC gently laid a hand on his slumped shoulders. “You are broken but you are also healing. Give yourself time.” 

 

“Thanks dad.”

Chapter 11

 

Eclipse angrily scrubbed his casing while standing under hot water. He had spent the entire night and part of the morning hiding like a frightened child while the storm raged. All because Lunar had to be a little hater. 

 

Lill shit. 

 

Hearing an odd sound he perked up, straining to hear over the rush of water. Maybe he was hearing things or the TV. The sound ebbed and flowed like a siren. Reaching up he turned the water off, listening closely. 

 

‘Waaahhhhoooo…waaahhhhhoooo!’ 

 

Groaning, he snatched up a towel and wrapped it around his waist. There was only one thing that could make such a sound.  The moment he opened the door a small bundle of long limbs came scuttling towards him as fast as it could, eating carpet more then once while wailing at the top of its tiny lungs. Kneeling he scooped the frantic Atlas up. “I thought you were asleep.” Damp crimson eyes looked up at him, tiny hands scrambling at his casing. “Guess you don’t want to be alone. Can’t blame you.” Atlas was going to turn into velcro at this rate. Sighing he carried the niblet into the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind him. After several failed attempts to put the fussing niblet into the sink so he could get dressed he vented softly then proceeded to use his free hand to get dressed like a drunk in the dark. 

 

“For something so small you are damn loud.” The only response he received was Atlas chewing on his shirt. “You're probably hungry.” he paused, crescent wrinkling. “How did you get out of the play pen?” They could barely walk without eating floor and their long limbs were uncoordinated. “You climbed out didn’t you?” 

 

No answer. 

 

“Better make sure your siblings are not all over the place.” Cradling Atlas to his chest he walked into the living room only to discover the pen was empty and the brood was busy exploring the living room, using the couch as a scratching post and one…one was in the potted plant using it for a litter box. “Sun is going to have a fit.” 

 

 Plucking the one out of the plant was met with loud protests as it tried to grab the plant, shredding the leaves. The rest proceed to scatter making it difficult to round them up. Grim peered out from behind the curtains upon hearing her ‘kittens’. Meowing she ran over to Eclipse and stood on her back legs trying to see her small one. 

 

“Its not  hurt, just mad that I pulled it out of the plant.” He winced at the surprisingly loud volume the small thing was capable of. If KC or Sun had been home he was certain they would have broken the land speed record. 

 

 He held the squalling fit throwing niblet out so the cat could see it. Grim grabbed the furious mini kill code by the scruff then darted off for the playpen, hiding among the small blankets. 

 

“That's one. Where are the others?” He plucked two of the long limbed predators and placed them in the playpen where they glowered at him and pouted. The last one was still missing. 

 

After searching the living room and growing more and more frantic, Eclipse entered the kitchen just in time to see the last mini KC had somehow managed to get on the counter, likely drawn by the smell of  food. Bloodmoon gave the small animatronic a look of disgust then backhanded it right off the counter. It landed in the trash can with a squall of surprise and pain. 

 

Eclipse’s face darkened in anger. Carefully cradding Altas he stormed over to the lill shits and grabbed them by the hoodie before they could escape. Growling he dragged them to the sliding patio door then tossed them out. “You two can stay out there until KC and Sun come back and you better hope neither of them bans you from the house after that stunt you just pulled!” He slammed the door shut and locked it while Bloodmoon cursed and ranted on the other side. 

 

Venting harshly he pulled the poor thing out of the trash can. Thankfully it was more upset and scared then injured. “It's alright…I’ll make sure they won’t hurt you.” He paced around the kitchen cradling two crying, fussing very upset little ones, unsure of what to do to calm them down. He really wasn’t used to any one actually needing him. 

 

As he circled around the island he could see the open container that still had a few tiny mice in it.
“Fucking Bloodmoon. They have their own food, they don’t need to be eating yours.” They could easily find all the mice they wanted. 

 

Jealous pricks. 

 

“I really don't want to ruin Sun’s and KC’s night.” But something needed to be done before the twins hurt one of the little ones. 

KC entered the house like a barely controlled storm. It was taking every ounce of control he had not to go off on the boys for what they did. He knew they had jealousy issues but this was going too far. “Where are they?” he rumbled. Eclipse motioned to the patio door. “I tossed them outside, I doubt they’d go far.” he handed the drowsy little one to Sun. 

 

Sun gently held the small bundle. “They know better than to do something like that! They could have broken its tiny legs!” Thankfully he had been too busy to take the trash out so it was mostly full which prevented any damage. 

 

“I will track them down and have a very long talk with them. Then we will decide what to do.” KC rumbled. 

 

“They are not coming back here!” Sun held the small one protective against his chest. 

 

“There's a treehouse in the yard. They can stay there.” Eclipse lightly patted Altas on the back and it let out the smallest bletch ever. “You got yourself so upset you swallowed air.” 

 

KC nodded. “That may be for the best for the moment.” 

 

Eclipse watched as his code donner padded out of the door and into the night. Hopefully the little goblins got the spanking they needed. “Didn’t get a chance to feed them, was too busy trying to round them up.” 

 

“What do you mean round them up?” 

 

“They climbed out of the pen.” 

 

“Of course they did.” Sun shook his head. “We are going to have to put something around the edges to keep them from doing that.” 

Finding the twins wasn’t hard. Eclipse was correct that they hadn’t gone too far. They had left a trail of clawed trees, torn up bushes and broken branches. By the time he found them by the creek most of the anger had ebbed. 

 

The twins sat staring at the water, a mixture of anger and confusion flooding their brain. “Why did we get into trouble?!” 

 

“They like our replacements more than they like us!” 

 

“Why do you think they are your replacement?” they nearly jumped out of their casing and spun around to face their furious father.  There would be no outrunning the larger animatronic. In fact running would only make him more angry, something they knew from experience.  How many teeth would they lose this time? 

 

They hunched up, frame tense. Waiting for the blows to fall. 

 

“Why do you think they are your replacement?”

 

They looked away. “You like them better than us.” 

 

“They look like you and we do not!” 

 

“The point man won’t let us near them.” 

 

“For good reason. You’ve proven you will harm them.” KC rumbled. “They are not your replacements, they are infants that need care. There is no reason for you to be jealous of them just because they require a great deal of care.” he dropped to a crouch. “I will not tolerate you harming them, nor will Sun.” 

 

Bloodmoon growled and hunched up more. ‘ I want to flush them down the toilet!’ 

 

Ever the voice of reason Harvest shut that down. ‘That will only make father angry. We will get a beating.’

 

‘I don’t care. I don’t like them. They smell funny and don’t do anything but eat and sit around.’ 

 

“Until you are capable of controlling yourselves, you will not be allowed in the house.” 

 

Snarling they spun around. “That’s not fair!” Bloody snapped. “We did nothing wron-” in a flash they were pinned to the earth, the kill code looming over them, growling. 

 

“You pushed one of the infants into a trash can. You could have easily broken its legs.” 

 

Harvest yanked his twin away from the front before he could get them both a beating because of his temper. “Brother doesn’t like them.” 

“That is not a reason to hurt them!” KC roared, temper flaring.  Hissing in agitation he moved back, pacing. “Until you are capable of not harming the small ones you will not be allowed in the house. You are not a slave to your base instincts any more, you are more than able to make decisions.” Growing he turned away and vanished off into the night before he gave into his tempter.

Chapter 12

“Come one, you can do it.” Sun leaned for a bit, hands held out, smiling encouragingly from his spot on the floor. 

 

The one they named Aurora lurched forward, long limbs uncoordinated. She, they assumed it was a she, ate floor more then once though the niblet wasn’t discouraged. She knew there would be food if she could just close the gap between them so she slowly but surely crawled forward. Her shaky limbs barely supported her small body but hunger gave her determination. 

 

“You did it!” Sun scooped her up the moment she was close enough only to be glowered at when he didn’t immediately feed her. Chuckling he sat her down on the floor. “It's not time for you to be fed.” The glower intensified. 

 

The one who had been slapped into the trash can, Nova, flopped around on the floor not quite coordinated enough to crawl very well but it was certainly trying since it had seen its siblings attempting to crawl though it had proven itself to be more of a climber which meant constantly pulling the little bugger out of potted plants. 

 

The other two, Sirius and Apollo were content to cling to Eclipse’s back like little Koalas and would wail like sirens at any attempt to remove them while Atlas clung to the front of his shirt. 

 

“I'm warming them up as fast as I can.” the dark sun gripped, poking at the tiny pink corpses that floated around the bowl. “You don’t want them cold.” 

 

The trio chirped in unison, tiny hands clutching at his shirt. 

 

Sun walked in carrying Nova who was full on pouting that no one was feeding her while Aurora clung to the back of his shirt. He grimaced at the bowl’s contents. He knew it wasn’t going to get better when they got older. The larger they were, the more food they would need and that meant larger mice then eventually rats. Good thing there was plenty of wooded land around them or the food budget would sky rocket. 

 

Eclipse made a face when he felt wetness seeping into the back of his shirt. Of course someone had either wriggled out of a diaper. The little buggers despised diapers and preferred Sun’s potted plants. Seeing that food was close by the miniature predators squalled unhappily, the noise grating against his audios. 

 

“Patience  little ones.” 

 

Cradling Atlas he turned to see a still half asleep KC dressed in an oversized deep blue robe padding into the kitchen. Given what he and Sun had been up to last night he wasn’t too surprised that the predator looked like a wrung out rag. “Go to your grandpa.” Like little spider monkeys the two that had been clinging to his back reached out and grabbed onto KC. 

 

Chuckling KC allowed the pair to clamber up his arm and cling to his back. Their natural instinct to cling onto their caretakers certainly made it easier to carry them when needed. 

 

Atlas, being the dominant one of the bunch, tried to clamber onto the counter to help itself to the food only to be stopped which was met with an angry growl. Scowling it reached out, hands making grabby motions towards the pale pink things, demanding to be fed. 

 

“So demanding.” Eclipse plucked a tiny corpse out of the bowl and held it out. In a flash Atlas scarfed it down, nearly barfing it back up due to its haste to fill the void that was its stomach only to swallow the mouse back down much to Eclipse's disgust. “That’s what you get for being greedy.” A moment later the mouse made a return trip, spaltering onto the floor. 

 

Sun nearly screamed while his cleaning protocols flared. 

 

“Don’t trouble yourself Sunshine. Such things are bound to happen,”  KC cleaned the mess up swiftly with a few paper towels, disposing of it in the trash. 

 

The dark sun offered another mouse to Atlas but the niblet refused, batting it away with a look of disdain. Figuring it would eat later once it felt better he gave it to Nova who snatched it up but didn’t swallow, instead it simply glared and hissed at everything with the pink thing hanging out of her mouth. Shuddering Sun handed it over to his partner. 

 

“No one is going to take it from you.” Had the twins been stealing food from the infants? For their sake they better hope not. Nova growled then burrowed into her caretaker's robe. 

 

The rest of the brood all but inhaled the offerings and thankfully none of them barfed. 

 

Changing diapers was an event in and of itself. The moment the infants realized what was about to happen they became very animated and vocal about their displeasure. Atlas hid in its caregivers shirt once the deed was done and the rest clung to KC, glowering at the ones responsible for the butt wipes. 

 

“You can’t keep using my potted plants!" Sun complained. 

 

 “I would suggest a litter box but that is not a habit that I want to encourage once they get older.” KC pointed out. 

 

“Yeah, let's not let them get into that habit.I really don't want to be changing a giant litter box.” 

 

Sun made a face. “I don't even want to visualize that.” 

 

“Once they get older we can get the equivalent of tiny training potties for them.  Getting them to use it will be another matter entirely.” Maybe they could place rocks in the potted plants to discharge the little ones. 

“You need to eat something.”  Atlas scowled at him, growled and batted away any offerings. It clearly associated eating with the very unpleasant act of vomiting and despite the hunger Eclipse knew it had to be feeling it still refused. Out of desperation he had tried to force the tiny jaws open only to be squalled at. 

 

It wasn’t worth stressing it out. 

 

“I can’t give you anything with dairy in it and you refuse everything else. I guess you will eat when you want to.” 

 

This isn't fair! 

 

I don’t like it either! 

 

We should have flushed them. Father would have forgotten about them eventually.

 

The twins sat on the edge of the tree house, watching the house. Out of retaliation they had wrecked the sun man’s garden. Sure they’d get into more trouble but they didn’t care. They didn’t like how the small things were taking over and getting all the attention. 

 

Maybe we can steal them and hide them somewhere.

 

Tempting but Harvest knew that would end very badly for them. They wouldn't just be banned from the house, they’d get a beating then likely disowned. It wasn’t fair that father liked their replacements better than he liked them. 

 

They scowled at the house. 

 

If they couldn't get rid of the small things then what could they do?

Chapter 13

Summary:

Blood Moon done fucked up

“I know you are hungry. You need to eat something.” Eclipse vented a sigh when Atlas refused, batting the tiny pink thing away with disdain then fussing when he wasn’t immediately fed. “I’ve tried feeding you damn near everything in the god damn kitchen but you wont eat it.” He even tried butter despite the risk of being vomited on. 

 

Pacing around the kitchen Eclipse cradled the fussing very upset niblet. His tiny tail flicked back and forth. Atlas wasn’t sick, of that he was certain but he refused to eat. “You haven’t eaten all day.” The others weren’t too worried, not yet. KC assured him that the little one would get hungry enough to eat soon enough. 

 

“The milk bar must still be open.” That was the one thing he was certain Atlas would eat. Since he would need both hands to wrangle the cat he placed the fussing unhappy niblet into a basket and tucked a thick towel around him. It was doubtful Atlas would go anywhere in the few moments it would take for him to find Grim and Blood Moon was locked outside. “Stay here.”

 

He crept into the dark living room. The rest of the brood was sleeping in a tangle of limbs in a pile, safely contained by a modified play pen. The house was quiet with every one being asleep except him and a very unhappy niblet. Now where the hell was that cat? 

‘I’m hungry!’ 

 

‘I know other.’ They could easily hunt but they knew there was something better in the fridge that didn’t involve chasing animals. There was the added bonus that it would piss off certain individuals. They slipped on to the back porch then tugged on the sliding glass door. To their surprise it wasn’t locked. Blood Moon stuck their head into the dim room, audios straining, body tense, ready to run for it if they spotted their father or the sunny one. Slowly they inched into the kitchen, leaving the door open just in case. 

 

Moving silently as a shadow they walked to the fridge then slowly opened it as if expecting an alarm to go off. Cackling to themselves they pulled out the container labeled mice. Rumbling in delight they opened it, plucked a tiny soft pink thing out then popped it into their mouth, shivering in delight. 

Why did the small ones that smelled funny get tiny mice and they didn’t unless they dug them up? 

 

They were half way through the container when they felt a pair of eyes staring at them. Turning they spotted one of the infants glaring at them from a basket on the counter. It clearly wasn’t happy to see them. 

 

‘It's the one with the wriggle worm!’ 

 

The one that the pointy man liked best. 

 

Grinning, they dangled a mouse over its head. To their disappointment the small one ignored it and continued to glare at them. Unable to get anything out of the small one they glared back.

 

‘I want to see the wriggle worm.’ 

 

 Instead of pausing to think about what they were about to do and the consequences they snatched up the poor infant, turning him this way and that, ignoring the small ones' protests at the rough handling. Atlas hissed and clawed at the large fingers to no avail. Eventually they grew bored and plopped him back into the basket. Tears welled up in the crimson eyes. He was hungry, wet and now upset at being handled like a toy. 

 

‘It's so boring! All it does is eat and sleep and wet itself!’ 

 

They grabbed the basket and dumped the contents into the trash can. 

 

‘Ooppsss.’

 

‘Into the trash! Where it belongs!’

 

Poor Atlas barely had a chance to brace himself or make an attempt to hold onto the basket for dear life before it was upended. Unlike last time there was nothing to cushion his fall other than a thin towel. He landed hard on the cold metal of the trash can with a metallic thump. Stunned, he sat there for a moment tangled in the thin towel.Then the pain hit. Eyes tearing up he wailed like a fire alarm at the top of his tiny lungs. 

 

Hearing the noise, Eclipse charged into the kitchen, rays pinned and claws out.  Fear, panic and rage welled up threatening to overwhelm him. “What did you two do!?” he roared, lunging for the trash can to fish out a very upset Atlas who was still wailing, tiny hands clutching at his shirt. 

 

“We didn’t do anything!” They protested.

 

“You threw a baby into the trash can!” 

“No we didn’t!” 

 

Pale yellow eyes bleed red and he lunged at them, snarling only to have the little goblins duck under the strike. Eclipse let loose with an indescribable noise of rage but the twins were nimble little beasts and easily dodged the strikes while cackling. 

 

“You won't win!”

“Slow and clumsy! You'd be faster if you dropped the parasite!” 

 

“He is not a parasite!” Eclipse snarled. The adversary in front of him became the sole focus of all his stress and anger. With his free hand he grabbed the little goblins by the front of the shirt and threw them against the cabinets with a resounding bang and crunch of wood. 

 A deep ugly growl drowned out Atlas’s cries. Eclipse turned his head to see a very enraged Kill Code in the doorway, dressed only in a robe and clearly pissed off. 

“Bloodmoon. What did you do?” 

 

“They threw Atlas in the trash while I was looking for the cat.” 

 

The crimson eyes flicked between him and the twins who wisely squeezed out the still open door. They were willing to throw hands with the dark sun but knew they didn’t stand a chance against their enraged father.  Brisling KC took off after them, going through the glass door. Eclipse turned, shielding Atlas from the shower of glistening glass shards. 

 

“What…what the hell happened?” Sun stumbled into the room, still half asleep, rays a mess. He looked at the glass shards all over the floor then froze. “Who broke in!?”

 

“The twins snuck in, dumped Atlas into the trash can then KC went after them. He didn’t bother to open the door.” Anger simmered as he paced around the kitchen. If KC didn’t beat the crap out of them he would. 

 

Sun’s expression darkened. “I don’t know why they hate the little ones so much. This goes beyond jealousy." He vented harshly, retreating the broom and dustpan from the closest so he could clean the mess before his cleaning protocols drove him batty. 

 

“I’m going to scrap them if they come back.” Eclipse growled, lightly patting a sobbing Atlas on the back before gently prying him off and laying him on the counter so he could gently examine the niblet who made it very clear that he didn’t want to be prodded. The rage flared up again, red hot and toxic. How dare those idiots harm an infant. “I think his leg is broken. Might have dislocated his hip too.” he would further examine the niblet but didn’t want to further stress and upset him. 

 

Scooping Atlas back up he carefully cradled the small infant. 

 

“I’ll find the first aid kit. We can at least make a makeshift splint for now.” After cleaning up the glass he replaced the broom and dustpan then returned with the first aid kit. To no one’s surprise the poor thing hissed and wailed at him, tiny hands swatting at his hands. 

 

“You're all right. Sun’s not going to hurt you.” Eclipse adjusted his hold on the small bundle so Sun could see the damaged leg. He winced at the clearly broken limb, the dark casing was cracked and Atlas wailed every time the limb was moved or touched. They were so tiny and fragile it was near impossible to do any repairs meaning they would have to use nanites and hope for the best. 

 

“You’ll be all right. We’ll get you fixed up right as rain.” He swished a fist with his words as if trying to encourage a frightened child. The only response he got was to be hissed at. Well it was worth a try. 

 

As it turned out getting a makeshift splint made from popsicle sticks wasn't that easy. The infant wailed and squirmed and kicked, forcing Eclipse to hold him down long enough for Sun to wrap Atlas's lower leg with gauze.

 

“It's alright…I know it hurts..” the dark sun cradled the infant.

 

“Has he eaten anything yet?”

 

“Nothing. He's more stubborn than Lunar.” he watched a bit confused as Sun filled a bottle with milk and popped it into the microwave. “Hes going to throw up and feel even worse if he eats that.”

 

“It's oat milk. KC likes putting it in his coffee.” Once the bottle was warm enough Sun took it out of the microwave and handed it to his shadow.

 

Eclipse vented harshly. It couldn't hurt to try. Personally he thought the stuff tasted awful. It took a few attempts to get the nipple into the niblet's mouth. Almost immediately Atlas began sucking on it, growling the entire time. 

 

The blaze of fury that had infused every circuit and thought was swiftly reduced to a smoldering ember. “I'm supposed to protect you and I failed.”

 

He didn't resist when Sun pulled him into a hug. Eclipse tucked his head against the other's chest, rays partly retracting. The steady gentle warmth was soothing. 

 

“None of us could have known that Blood Moon would sneak in and do something so cruel." His gaze flicked to the broken door, frame stiffening when KC stepped into the house. The robe hung in shreds, mud, leaves and animatronic fluids caked his casing. 

 

His internal phone pinged with a message concerning Atlas. Sun frowned and responded. 

 

It took every ounce of self control KC to not turn around and track the twins down again. ‘ They will not set foot near the house again. Injuring an infant is going too far.’ 

 

‘Go get cleaned up, I'm going to get Eclipse settled on the couch for now.’

 

Alarmed by the noise the brood had crammed themselves under the blankets along with Grim, each one latched onto a nipple, self soothing. 

 

Eclipse barely reacted when a cup of warm tea was pressed into his free hand and a quilt draped around his shoulders. 

 

“The twins were punished soundly for their cruelty.” KC rumbled, casing damp from the shower.

 

“I wish I knew why they were being so cruel to an infant.”

 

Eclipse cradled the now sleeping Atlas close to his chest, the nipple of the bottle firmly in his mouth. “Does it matter why the little goblins hate the brood? If they come back here I'll scrap them myself.”

 

“They are not allowed anywhere near the house, they have proven that they can not be trusted around the small ones. Despite everything I have tried to teach them, they remain as fickle and pointlessly violent as small children. ”

 

“They were made from the worst parts of me. All the violence and spite wrapped in fragments of the kill code virus.” Eclipse curled into the quilt, shielding his adopted niblet. 

KC frowned. “They made the choice to not change, not to better themselves.” he laid on hand on the quilt covered Eclipse.

 

Sun vented harshly in mid frustration. “We tried to get them to be more civil. This isn't on you.” 

“Aaaaawwwwwiiiie weeeiii weeiii”

 

The noise was so out of place that it started them both. Moon stared at Solar who was standing by the coffee maker. 

 

“Don't look at me. I didn't make that noise.” Solar sat his cup down and looked around for the source of the odd noise.

 

“Aaaaawwwwwiiiie weeeiii weeiii”

 

Sitting in the middle of the cat's food bowl was one of the brood, clad in blue and white. “How did you get out?” The only response was the same odd noise followed by crunching. “Pretty sure cat food isn't good for you.” The niblet growled around the mouth full of dry cat food as it was picked up. 

 

“I thought they couldn't get out?” Moon gripped. 

 

“Apparently they can. The rest are probably scattered around the living room.” Sure as shit the rest of the brood had somehow gotten out of the pen and scattered the moment they walked into the living room. It took them both to round up the squalling little niblets who made it clear they weren’t happy about being pulled off things or out of things. One screamed like a toddler when Solar pulled her off the plant. 

 

Wincing he placed the little trouble maker back into the pen to be glared at before helping Moon round up the rest. 

 

“Well that’s all of them except one.” Several pairs of crimson eyes glared at them. 

 

“Atlas is probably with Eclipse. He’s pretty much adopted that one.” Solar chuckled then grimaced his shirt was damp. “You little…you did that on purpose.” 

 

Moon cackled. “Better you than me. Little bugger has good aim.” 

 

“Laugh it up.” Solar grumbled then peeled the shirt off and went to toss it into the hamper. 

 

Hearing the result of cloth Moon turned around to see the brood once again having escaped the pen and was scattering in different directions. “I’m going to have to make a damn forcefield." 

It was the soft fussing of a hungry niblet that roused Eclipse from his stupor. He sat up and looked around his sparse room trying to remember when he ended up in his room. Sun or KC must have carried him into his room at some point. His internal clock told him it was rather early. 

 

“Hang on….I’m getting up.” he pushed the thick comforter off then shoved his feet into a pair of ridiculous cat slippers Sun had gotten him then shuffled into the kitchen. Yawning he puttered around the kitchen, pouring himself some of the fresh coffee while waiting for Atlas’s bottle to warm up then changed the squirming niblet, earring a paw to the face more then once. “Im going to have to get a changing table.” 

Chapter 14

 

Eclipse carefully laid Atlas on the blanket that had been spread out on the workbench. Instead of crying, the little one looked around, curious about his new surroundings, thumb in mouth. Crisis averted, he tucked the blanket around the small form so he didn't get cold. “Why do I smell something funny?” 

 

“It's legal.” Moon shrugged while moving the laptop closer to Atlas. “I get it from Monty.” 

 

“Im just surprised you do that.” 

 

“Why would I not? Have you met me?” Moon shrugged. It wasn’t like what he did in the garage turned workshop was a secret. 

 

“As long as you don't do it near the small ones.” It really was no surprise the damn gator smoked that stuff. Monty already drank his body weight in alcohol. “What  the hell does Earth see in him?” 

 

“No idea.” With a great deal of care he placed the scanner wand against the damaged limb. Predictably Atlas hissed and jerked the damaged limb away. “Sun would kill me if I did it in the house provided he didn’t get baked first.” With feather light touches he managed to move the wand over the infant's lower leg allowing the computer to scan for damage. 

 

Eclipse stared at the lunar bot as if he had grown a second head. Sun of all people was the last one he’d ever suspect of getting high. Honestly he wanted to see what that would look like, probably black mail material. 

 

“Shit.” Moon muttered softly. “ Looks like he landed on that leg.” The image on the screen wasn’t a simple fracture like they had been hoping for. The tibia strut was badly fractured with cracks radiating through it. “He’s so tiny and fragile there’s no way I can repair that.” He put the laptop back on its shelf, barely holding onto the simmering rage. “We’ll put nanites into his food along with some micro particles of metal and hope for the best. As for that dislocated hip…he’s not going to like it at all.” 

 

“No shit.”

 

“I can’t do anything to dampen the pain. This is really going to suck.” There was nothing on hand they could give the infant to dampen the pain and even then he’d be concerned about the side effects and dose. 

 

“Just…get it over and done with. He will forget about it after a few days.” 

 

Eclipse tensed, bracing himself for the wails of pain and fear that would tear into his very core even if it was for the best. If left alone the hip would never settle properly into the socket and Atlas wouldn't be able to walk without a limp. 

 

Moon nodded and gently manipulated the limb. As if sensing something bad was about to happen Atlas swatted at the large hand and began to whine, crimson eyes looking up to his adopted parent. When no words of reassurance came tears flowed from his eyes and he began reaching out, making grabby motions with his hands. 

 

The tears tore at him. No matter how much he told himself this was for the best and it would last only a few moments it didn’t stop the growing need to snatch up his little one and put a fist into Moon’s face while hissing and rattling  his rays. 

 

The second the femur head clunked back into the socket the wailing started, high pitched and full of pain. Wisely he stepped back as Eclipse surged forward, scooping Atlas up and rattling his rays. Holding his hands up, Moon moved back a few steps. “Easy. He’s going to be sore for a bit but that leg should heal.” 

 

Cradling the wailing infant to his chest Eclipse slowly calmed down, the tension draining from his frame. “It's alright…” he lightly rubbed the small one’s back while pacing around the garage. “I know it hurts but sometimes healing hurts.” The words were more for himself than for Atlas.

 

“Here.” Something small and soft was pressed into his trembling hands. A pacifier. “It might help calm him down before he throws up.” 

 

It couldn't hurt. Eclipse placed the pacifier into the wailing mouth. Poor Atlas almost spit it back out, tears streaming from his eyes while he hiccuped. His leg throbbed with pain. 

Eclipse paced around the kitchen cradling a very upset infant. “I wish I could take the pain from you.” A pair of damp crimson eyes looked up at him. “I won't ever allow anyone to hurt you again.” Angrily he scrubbed the tears away from his eyes. If he so much as saw a hint of Blood Moon he was going to turn them into a Speak and Spell and give it to Jack. 

 

A light knock on the doorframe had him look up to see a solemn Earth standing in the doorway. “I heard what happened.” he noticed a bag hanging off her shoulder, probably food or something. 

 

“I should have taken him with me instead of leaving him alone.” 

 

“What happened wasn’t your fault. There was no way you could have known Blood Moon would sneak back into the house and hurt a baby." She sat the bag on the counter. The rattle of plastic caught Atlas’s attention. 

 

“Still I should have been there. I could have prevented the little bastard from hurting him.” he continued to pace, adjusting his hold on the still upset Atlas. 

 

“Don’t blame yourself for things you can’t change. You clearly care a great deal about him and want to keep him safe.” 

 

He lightly patted the niblet on the back while he hiccuped and coughed then began to fuss. He opened his mouth to say something when he heard crunching noises followed by ‘aweeeiiii weeiiii weiii’. “What the..” Every bit as confused as he was, Earth looked around for the source of the noise. Sitting in the middle of Grim’s bowl was one of the brood dressed in blue and white. 

 

“How did you get out?”  The only response Aura gave was a low growl while she gnawed on the cat food. 

 

Earth chuckled softly and scooped up the tiny infant who growled and hissed. “She probably saw the cat eating it and decided to try it. Pretty sure cat food is not good for you.” 

 

“Pretty sure it's not. Still not sure how she’s getting out of the pen.” he made Atlas a bottle, warmed it up then tried to give it to him only to have it batted away. “Not hungry? I don’t blame you.” 

 

“I am very disappointed and very angry at Blood Moon. They know better than to do something so cruel to a helpless infant.” 

 

“KC chased them off and made sure they wouldn't come back.” He motioned to the still broken door. Beat their asses too. 

 

“I know this is mean but I hope they don’t come back.” She sat Aura on the counter, keeping a very close eye on her.

 

Eclipse made a noise of agreement. “Here,” he gave the small one the bottle, "your sibling isn’t hungry.” She latched onto the nipple almost immediately, tiny hands clutching at the plastic while sucking noisily. 

 

“Such a healthy appetite." She removed a few items from the bag, onesies, bibs, and a small turtle with the grumpiest expression he’d ever seen. “Atlas.” She held the silly turtle over the little one. His eyes locked onto it immediately. Drawn to the bright colors he hesitantly reached out for it. The moment the soft cloth was within reach he grabbed it. “Awww he likes it.” 

 

“Hopefully he gets hungry later.” Eclipse smiled softly at the tiny yawn. “He loves it. Thank you.” he tucked the blanket around the sleepy niblet, stroking the sleepy face with the tip of one finger. 

 

“We got you a bassinet too. I figured you didn’t want to be too far away from him.” 

What he expected was a modern sterile white or grey bassinet made of netting and padded metal. What he got was beautiful. A work of art. It was oval shaped and big enough to allow for growth with a celestial themed canopy. Even the skirt was celestial themed. As if it couldn't be even more of a work of art there was a space themed mobile with small soft cloth  space ships and planets. They must have snuck it in while he was in the garage with Moon. 

 

“I….” his voice box failed him and an unknown emotion welled up in his chest making it tight. “I love it.” he whispered. 

 

“You're welcome. We’ll help Sun and KC get a few more since it can’t be good for the little ones to sleep in a pen.” 

When he got no response Moon cracked the door open  hoping to not get an eyeful which would end with him scrubbing the images from his mind. In the dimness of the room he could make out to lumps on the bed, cocooned in the comforter. Venting softly he closed the door and made his way to the living room where Earth was trying her best to assure the rest of the brood that she wasn’t a giant monster. They were not convinced. 

 

"Where's Eclipse?” 

 

“Sleeping. He was very tired.” 

 

He spotted Aura chewing on a candy corn stuffy with a simple smiling face. “Solar is going to hate that.”

Chapter 15

 

“You are doing that on the couch! Really?”

 

Eclipse twitched in aggravation. This was exactly the confrontation he'd been hoping to avoid. He had been hoping to enjoy a few quiet hours sitting on the couch using the temporary silicon chest piece. Cradling Atlas he sat up a bit more, scowling. The infant remained attached to the nipple. “You act like you've never seen a boob before Lunar.” he grinned wickedly. “Didn't Gemini show you theirs? You were dating after all. Oh wait they kicked you to the fucking curb because you're a selfish hateful little twat that can't control your emotions." Eclipse growled softly. “I don't want your forgiveness Lunar, I'm fine with you hating me but if you become a threat to Atlas I will toss you out the door. Without opening the door.”

 

He could see Old Moon's fury in Lunar's eyes. Sparks danced off the tightly clenched fists. Instinctively he curled around Atlas while scowling at the purple nurple.

 

You're just using them like you use everyone!”

 

“That's not true.” He felt himself breaking down as his emotions spiraled.

 

“Lunar. Downstairs. Now.”

 

Recognizing the tone Lunar turned and wisely sprinted down the basement stairs.

 

KC squeezed his eyes closed in aggravation. He really didn’t want to see another family member vanish.

 

“I am not a monster. ..”

 

Opening his eyes  he turned to face a balled up Eclipse. “You are not a monster. You are a loving father and caregiver.” He sat on the edge of the couch, gently pulling Eclipse into a hug. Somehow the argument didn't wake the infant.

 

“Perhaps you and Sun should go out for a bit, run some errands and spend some time with you little  one.” KC pulled back, finger tips brushing over the small ones hat earing an agitated growl. 

 

"I'm not sure...? I guess..” They did need to pick up more diapers and he wanted to get some different food for the brood. It would be good for them to try other things. 

Sun tilted his head at a forty-five degree angle, pale eyes fixed on the swells under Eclipse's shirt, barely visible under the sling where Atlas rested.

 

“Put your head back Sun.” He chuckled. KC and Jack both had looked at him in the exact same manner when they saw the new upgrade, like curious cats. 

 

Sun splutters a bit. “I..it's a bit weird.” his head remained at an odd angle and pale eyes remained locked on his shadow even as he retrieved a shopping cart. 

 

“Heh, it feels a little uncomfortable when they're full but Atlas tends to drain them pretty quick.” he rolled his shoulders causing the sensitive nipples to rub against the fabric of his shirt. Suppressing a gasp he flicked the sensors off. “But the trade off is worth it.” He wouldn't admit it but the silicon lumps with their nanite filled pouches allowed him to bond deeply with his little boy. It felt good to know he could provide for his little one. 

 

He glanced over to Sun, a smirk playing on the edges of his lips. He could hear the gears turning in the other's head. "Be honest Sun, you want a set so you can play with them."  He made grabby motions with his hands and sent Sun the link to source. For a split second Sun lit up like a supernova.

Eclipse strode down the baby aisle while Atlas watched everything with great curiosity, silly turtle tightly clutched in his hands. He was picking through the puree baby food that resembled vomit when the last person he wanted to see turned the corner.

 

“Hey! Are you busy?"

 

Eclipse twitched in annoyance. He could have tolerated that idiot Freddy but why Chica the air head? “Yes.”

 

“I heard you had babies. Who's the father? We have bets that it's Moon or that other lunar bot.”

 

He twitched like an annoyed cat. “ Kill Code is their father-”

 

“He sounds like bad news. Do you need help? Are they abusing you?”

 

He twitched again. What kind of rumors were floating around the plex? “They are adopted-”

 

She continued on as if she hadn't hear him. “You decided to be a single mom? That's so ambitious! Wait, you said there were more but I only see one.” She moved closer and brought up an arm protectively.

 

“Me, Moon, Sun and Solar are raising them. “ He fought every impulse in his brain not to strangle the chicken. Atlas hissed and wailed in fright. Eclipse backed up a few steps.

 

"Oh, it's adorable! And it looks like its father.” 

 

Eclipse twitched so hard he swore if he had muscles he would have pulled something. “They. Are. Adopted.” Maybe if he said it slowly as if he was speaking to a stupid child she might understand. “Moon found them in an abandoned lab, they had been lfet to die. No one gave birth to them. The Creator made them by copying KC’s code. ”

 

“Do they eat?”

 

“They can eat, they have a tecno organic matrix.” 

 

She pulled out a piece of pink paper from nowhere like a magician. “If  you change your mind, call me!”

 

Eclipse took the paper then crumpled it up and tossed it the moment the damn chicken turned and left. Once Atlas calmed down he resumed shopping, picking out a few promising jars and putting them into the small basket. “I hope you will at least try this stuff, it's okay if you don’t like it and prefer my boobs instead.” The only response he got was a sleepy yawn.

 

After making a pit stop to the family bathroom to change a sleepy Atlas's diaper he tracked Sun down who was going through the cereal. No doubt for Moon who ate the stuff by the box full. “Found a few things the brood might be interested in.” he motioned to the small basket.

 

“Given that one of them eats cat food I’m sure they will at least try it.” He added a few boxes of Golden Grams then as an after thought a box of super generic sugar free cheerios. 

 

“You know Moon hates those.” 

 

“I know.” Sun said a little too cheerfully. He smiled when Eclipse let out a laugh. “Something is bothering you.”

 

Eclipse grumbled softly. “Fucking Chica. She started rumors about me giving birth to the brood. The entire plex probably thinks I'm a freak. I wasn't pregnant with them dammit!”

 

“For what it's worth you are not a freak. I know Chica made you upset, but I doubt it was intentional. She's not the brightest animatronic."

 

“Considering she compulsively eats garbage? That was an understatement.” Still her words had punched holes in the walls he had built up leaving him shaken. 

 

“Let’s finish shopping then go get lunch.” 

KC lay on the floor with the broodlings while they crawled around, slowly winding down now that they had spent most of their energy playing. One by one they snugged up against the mass of warmth, kicking and smacking each other as they settled. Even Grim had come out of hiding and was snuggled against his back. 

 

He was starting to doze off himself when he felt an odd sensation against his casing. Tilting his head down he searched for the source of the odd wet sensation. Reaching underneath his shirt he detached one of the niblets. Its eyes were closed and its mouth was still making sucking motions when it realized that it had been detached. Blinking it peered around then squalled unhappy. 

 

“I’m sorry little one. I do not possess the anatomy you are looking for.” That did nothing to stop the anger. He sat the little one down who sat on its diapered behind, still squalling. At this rate it was going to wake up the others. “Hush, you will make yourself throw up if you get upset enough.” he traced around its head with his finger tips in an attempt to calm it down. “You just ate so I know you are not hungry.” the small one hiccupped then latched onto his fingertip. It clutched at the finger while it suckled. 

 

Too surprised to react he lay there staring at the small one. It felt…odd to have a warm wet mouth latching onto his finger. (that wasn’t Sun’s) Eventually he sighed softly and allowed it. “If that's what it takes to prevent you from making yourself sick.” He made a mental note to find some pacifiers and put them in his pocket.

Chapter 16

Summary:

Sunny is trying his best

Jack eyed the small jar of gross looking mush. It was an odd shade of brown and didn't resemble food yet he had heard Sun say it was baby food. Curious he twisted the top off and stuck his tongue into the bit that was on the bottom of the lid.

Instant regret.

 

“Bllllaaaggggg!” He rushed for the sink and turned the faucet on. 

 

Solar watched with one eye brow raised. “It can’t be that bad.” Jack licked floors for fucks sake. Picking up the lid he too made the horrible mistake of sticking his tongue somewhere where it did not belong. A split second later he was joining his son at the sink. 

 

“That’s so gross.” Would the broodlings even eat baby food? 

 

“That’s nasty!" Jack scrubbed at his tongue with a towel. 

 

Screwing the top back onto the jar of demonic leavings Solar placed it with the rest of the jars that were neatly stacked up on the cabinet. “Can’t see that stuff going over well with the broodlings. At least I won’t be the one cleaning the mess.”

Eclipse settled Atlas on the counter, tucking a towel around him. “I guess there’s only one way to find out if you like this stuff or not.” picking a jar at random he scooped some of the pale mush up with a spoon then offered it to “It's supposed to be chicken.” The infant peered at the spoon as if trying to figure out what it was. The tiniest tongue he’d ever seen flicked out to touch the mush. For a long moment Atlas just sat there as if trying to decide if he liked it or not, tongue sticking out. 

 

Leaning forward a bit Atlas stuck his tongue back into the pale mush then began to attempt to eat it, getting more on himself  then in his mouth. “I guess this means you like it.” Might need a smaller spoon. “Here, you are getting more on you then in you.” he wiped the little one off with a paper towel getting the worst of it before feeding Atlas some more. 

 

Yep, going to have to get smaller spoons. 

The brood watched as Sun sat on the floor and poured the meat mush into a shallow bowl then placed it in front of them. Curious they clambered over the dozing lunar predator or reluctantly let go of his robe to crawl over to the bowl. “I know it doesn’t look like anything you’ve eaten before but it's good to try new things.” Sun crouched, hopeful that they would at least give it a try. 

 

A few approached the bowl and snuffled at it then simply stared, unsure of what to do. Several pairs of red eyes glanced up at him then back at the bowl. One of them tried to cover up the bowl the same way a cat would cover up a fresh deposit in a litter box.

 

“That’s rude. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean you need to bury it.”  the infant continued to try and ‘bury’ the bowl. Seeing that they might need a little encouragement, Sun lightly pushed one towards the bowl, overcalculating the force needed and accidentally sending the poor thing face first into the bowl. Panicking he grabbed the small one up and was rewarded by a squalling very upset infant that was coated in baby food. The rest of the brood scattered, vanishing underneath the blankets. 

 

Coughing and crying Aura squalled all the louder now that she was covered in the smelly wet cold stuff. Her tiny hands clawed at the much larger ones holding her hostage. 

 

Leaping to his feet he rushed to the kitchen (which was closer than the bathroom) to deposit the poor infant into the sink. 

 

“You know you are supposed to feed them, not dunk them in it.” 

 

“Shut it.” In no mood to be snarked at by Eclipse he peeled the soiled onesie of Aura while apologizing for accidentally giving her an unwanted baby food facial which did nothing to stop the melt down which of course started a domino effect of upsetting Atlas. 

 

Eclipse rolled his eyes and tried to push down the protectiveness and worry that made his emotions want to crash, somehow he managed to find something to latch onto, an anchor in a storm. Scooping up Atlas he cradled the small one, gently rubbing his back while mummering soothingly. “Calm down Sunshine. You dunking her like a cookie was an accident." 

 

“You are not helping!” 

 

Holding Atlas against his chest he nudged Sun to the side with his hip, running the warm water and placing a silly rubber duck in the sink with her. “They pick up on emotions, the more you freak out the more upset she is going to be. Calm down.” 

 

Easier said than done. It was hard to stop his hands from shaking as he tried to bathe the small squirming form who had become more interested in the rubber duck. Like every infant before her, Aurora immediately started to chew on the duck, the upset seemingly forgotten about. 

 

“They forget things that upset them pretty quickly. Don’t dwell on it.” 

 

“I…shoudn’t have pushed her…” he sniffled. 

 

“She’s already forgotten about it. Try a spoon next time.” 

 

Hands still trembling Sun fished Aurora out of the sink and wrapped her up in a towel. “I didn’t mean to…” 

 

Eclipse snorted. “You are still learning. Taking care of the bloodlings is different then the daycare kids, they are not as mobile and can’t feed themselves. Accidents are bound to happen. Just don’t put a diaper on their heads.” 

 

Sun chuckled softly. “Im not so inept that I am going to put a diaper on their heads.” 

 

Atlas fussed and pawed at the mounds of silicon making it clear what he wanted. “Hang on.” Eclipse reached under the shirt and freed one of his breasts allowing the infant to latch hungrily onto a nipple. 

 

“Those are pretty convenient.” 

 

“Heh, they can be. Atlas certainly likes them and dad likes to stare at them.” 

 

Sun flushed hotly. “He better not!” 

 

Eclipse cackled. “He’s curious. Pretty sure he’s not interested in trying the milk bar.” that made the solar bot lit up like a super nova and splutter comically.

Chapter 17

Boobha 

Solar had long come to expect all manner of mischief from Jack but when he walked into the kitchen he had to pause and stare. “Jack…what are you wearing?”  Solar stared at his child who was sitting on the counter, something he seemed to do a fair amount. The odd thing decorating Jack's head appeared to be a ….bra. A floral one. Oh god he hoped it wasn’t. 

“It's a hat!” Jack crowed proudly. 

 

“Uh..where did you find that hat?” 

 

“On the wash line.” Jack rocked back and forth, rather proud of his odd new hat. 

 

Solar pulled in a deep intake on and held it for a moment. He doesn’t know better, he doesn’t know better, he repeated the mantra until he felt the anger simmer down. Picking up his coffee to keep his hands occupied so he would yank the blasted bra off Jack's head and upset him. “Jack, that’s a bra.” 

 

Jack titled his head. “What's a bra?” 

 

Ignoring Eclipse’s cackling coming from the living room he vented harshly. “Bra’s are used to contain breasts. They are not hats.” 

 

“Oh.” Jack titled his head the other way, a sure sign he was thinking. “ Father, why don’t you have breasts?” 

 

Solar promptly choked on his coffee while more cackling spilled from the living room. “I…I don’t need them Jack.” 

 

“I bet they are soft.” 

 

More cackling. It sounded like a damn hyena was parked on the couch. More choking. Once he had his throat cleared he shook his head. “They are made out of silicon so yeah they’d be soft.” reaching out he plucked the bra off Jack's head then winged it as hard as he could into the living room. The article of clothing sailed past Eclipse and landed on Lunar’s head as he was sneaking up to cause some mischief. The most girly scream in existence came from the small bot and he took off at top speed, still screaming, to the basement. 

 

Cue yet more cackling. 

 

Solar rolled his eyes. Leave it to Lunar to over react. Feeling tiny hands tugging at his pants he looked down to see Aurora looking up at him, small hands clutching his pants. “How did you get out?”  The only response he received was a chirp. Probably hungry. Setting the mug down he scooped the little one up. Checking the fridge turned up no mice so that left the jars of the devils leavings. 

 

Not ideal but there was no way in hell he was walking in on what  Eclipse was doing in the living room. 

 

“That’s nasty." 

 

“I know Jack but there’s nothing else they can eat.” 

 

“They can suck on Eclipse's boobs.” 

 

Somehow Solar nearly choked on air. “Jack!” 

 

“What?” 

 

“Can we not walk about that?” The hyena residing in the living room went off again. Aura chirps and tugs on his shirt reminding him that she wants to be fed. “Hang on. “ The lid was unscrewed and spoon dipped into the oddly colored mush then presented to the small one. 

 

Aurora looked at the spoon then at Solar then back at the spoon, growling softly in disappointment. That wasn’t what she wanted! 

 

“There’s no gross mice and I can’t feed you the same way Eclipse can.” He tipped the spoon and accidentally gave the poor thing a baby food facial when the mush slipped off the spoon and landed on her face. Confused, she blinked a few times then began to square unhappily. “Shit.” Solar put the spoon down and grabbed up one of the decorative tea towels that hung off the stove handle and cleaned her off while Jack made himself scarce. 

 

“Sorry…it was an accident…” tossing the towel to the side he tried again, this time being a lot more careful with the spoon. 

 

“You are supposed to feed them, not dunk them.” 

 

“I don’t see you doing this!” 

 

“I have my hands full.” 

 

Solar rolled his eyes and vented softly. “I know it's not that good but it's all I have. You are not getting cat food.” At first she refused but eventually curiosity won out and a tiny tongue darted out to lick at the mush. “There’s no way it tastes worse than cat food.” Apparently it did since she made a face of displeasure. 

 

He tried a few different jars only to get the same reaction. When he sat her on the counter she tried to bury the jars like a cat burying a turd in the litter box. “Its not that bad.” 

 

“Father.” Jack repaired holding a bottle that was full. 

 

“Where did you find that?” 

 

“The fidge.” 

 

Given that Sun never had dairy of any sort in the fridge it was likely safe for the small ones. After warning it up in the microwave he held it up to Aurora who looked at it skeptically before reluctantly latching onto it. 

 

Eclipse lay on the couch, both hands preoccupied with a little one. Atlas wasn’t too keen on sharing the booba and had slapped at his sibling who squalled unhappily and slapped back so it had taken a bit for them to settle down. 

Despite the earlier upset he felt…light. The laughter had helped lift the darkness that lingered at the edges of mind. He had to admit that it was pretty damn funny that Lunar ran screaming all because one of his bra’s had landed on his head. Served him right. 

 

Sun pushed the cart through the aisles while going over the rather lengthy list of things needed. The usual meat, non dairy milk, bread and diapers. His gaze traveled down to his flat chest. What would he look like with breasts? It wouldn't be something permanent and mainly would be used to help feed the little ones. KC certainly wouldn't look down at him for such a choice. Hell he’d make full use of it. 

Moon used to tease him, call him a fem boy or twink. If he had boobs then he really would be a fem boy. 

The thought made him chuckle a little. 

 

Chapter 18

 

Lunar stared furiously into the mirror, scowling at his own image. Bright blue hair stood on end, mocking every attempt to tame it. Hair! Well as close as possible to hair. He scowled at it. Why him? Why did his body have to be weird? 

 

It wasn’t even proper hair, it was thin and short and made him look like a damn toddler. He’d shave it off then he’d be bald as Moon and that was worse. 

 

“Why me!?” The reflection had no answers. 

 

Filing the towel into that hamper he grumbled and stomped around his basement room. No matter how much he scrubbed he still felt the damn bra. He wasn’t sure how the hell Eclipse managed to throw the horrible thing without him seeing. Probably magic. 

 

Snatching a hoodie off the floor he put it on making sure to cover his ridiculous hair, making sure none of it was visible before plopping down in front of the TV. 

“Father, why do Eclipse’s boobs look sad.” 

 

Solar choked on his coffee and so did Moon. Once he cleared his throat pipe he stared at his son in horror. What?” while Moon hacked and coughed and nearly dropped his mug. 

 

“Why do Eclipse’s boobs look sad?” 

 

More choking. He’s just curious, don’t yell at him, he’s just curious. “I almost don’t want to know why you’d ask that.” 

 

Jack just stared, head tilted and book in hand. 

 

“I…don’t know and there’s no way in hell I’m looking. You shouldn't be looking either.” He made the mistake of taking a sip of coffee. He should have waited until Jack asked his next question. 

 

“He sits on the couch with them out. It's hard not to see.” 

 

Cue more choking. Whelp he was going to convince Eclipse to use a small towel or something to cover up so he wouldn't have to keep answering the odd questions. “Still you shouldn't be looking, it's rude.” 

 

“But the babies get to look."

 

“Because they are babies.” 

 

That seemed to satisfy Jack for the moment. Then he spotted the bottle sitting on the counter. They should have known disaster was about to happen. Before either of them could move Jack had the top of it off and like every child in existence drank it. He made a face of supreme disgust then spat up in the sink. 

 

"That's gross!”

 

Moon side eyed him. “Dare you to try it.” 

 

“It can’t be that bad.” Famous last words. The baby food had been god awful but this stuff couldn't be worse than that. Putting down his mug he picked up the bottle. It was just oat milk. Tilting the bottle back the horrible stuff coated the inside of his mouth and tongue with a vileness he’d never tasted before. The odd metallic taste did nothing to enhance it. 

 

“Blalrrgggg!” he spat it out and grabbed the faucet and washed his mouth out while Moon cackled. “That’s so fucking gross.” 

 

“That's not oat milk." came from the living room. 

 

A horrified look came over Solar's face and he turned the faucet back on. Serves him right for putting random things in his mouth. 

 

“Label the damn things or something!” Moon’s expression matched Solar's. 

“Why are two drinking out of a bottle?” 

 

“I was curious.” Jack crowed. 

 

KC walked into the room with a knowing expression as if he expected their impulse control to fail, a pair of infants tucked into his pockets. “Was your curiosity satisfied?” 

 

“Don’t think I’m going to try strange things left out again.” Solar shuddered and turned the water off. 

 

“Its probably best you don't." KC chuckled while he pawed through the fridge for something suitable to feed the small ones. Picking out a carton of eggs he closed the fridge and placed a pan on the stove. 

 

“I can’t believe I drank boob milk.” Solar took a deep gulp of cooling coffee in an attempt to erase every trace of the awful stuff. Eclipse cackled like a hyena. 

 

“Where’s Sun?” 

 

“Resting. He’s had a very….adventurous night.” He purred softly, fondly remembering last night's activities. 

 

“You two seem to have a thing for the Soda Fountain.” Solar leaned against the counter. 

 

“Its a very nice restaurant.” 

 

“It's gator repellent.” Moon snarked. No alcohol, no fights, total repellent for a certain gator. 

 

“I’m still trying to figure out what Earth sees in him.” Solar gently plucked an egg out of Jack's hands before he ate it. They didn’t need a repeat of what happened last time. 

 

“Hell if I know.” Moon shrugged. 

 

“He has changed for the better.” KC broke a few eggs into the hot pan catching the attention of the small ones. They chipped and leaned forward trying to get a better view. “Though he is still the rudest animatronic I have ever met.” 

 

“Yeah, that’s Monty all right.” At least he laid off drinking so much. Then again neither of them got black out drunk again after what happened in Vegas. It had taken the longest time to get the tramp stamps off. 

 

“Awweeeiii weeeiii weiii” 

 

“How is she getting out?” Moon put his coffee down long enough to retrieve a fussy Aurora out of the cat’s food dish. He swore they had fixed the pen so they couldn't crawl out. She glared at him for interrupting her meal, growling around a mouth full of dry cat food. “You will eat cat food but not baby food.” More growling. 

 

“There must be something about it she likes. Perhaps it's the texture.” KC pointed out while putting the eggs on a plate then placed the niblets on the counter. Immediately they went for the plate, tiny hands grabbing at the eggs and stuffing it in their mouths making a mess while their caregiver kept a close eye on them so they wouldn't choke. 

 

“You found something they like that isn't mice corpses.” Moon let Aurora go and she crawled wobbly to the plate, hissing and smacking her siblings like an enraged kitten until they moved enough for her so she could all but go face first into the yoke which prompted a rescue. KC chuckled softly and fed her bits of the egg while the other two began playing in the runny yoke. 

 

Moon discreetly made a retreat to his workshop while Solar shook his head and began running water in the sink so they could bathe the small ones. 

 

“Father, how do babies come out?” 

 

Nope, not answering that one. No way in hell he was answering that. His gaze flicked to the book Jack was clutching. “Care of babies’ “Where did you get that?” 

 

“The spicy Dorito.” 

 

Solar resisted the urge to groan. Of course Eclipse would give him a book like that. Now he could look forward to all manner of weird and uncomfortable questions.

Chapter 19

Because I wanted to make their lives a little harder

 

The mystery of how Aurora was getting out of the pen was solved when Moon spotted her wriggling out of a hole in the netting near the bottom. No doubt she had cut it with her claws, tiny as they may be they were wickedly sharp. Thankfully she was neither fast nor coordinated enough to escape him. 

 

“Gottcha.” 

 

She chirped unhappily, wobbling slightly in his grasp. 

 

That’s odd. Curious he sat her down on the floor, carefully watching  her as she crawled around. Being uncoordinated wasn’t unusual at that age but the slight wobble was concerning. Testing a theory he plucked a feather wand out of the toy box and dangled it in front of her. Crimson eyes locked onto the brightly colored feathers and she tried to crawl towards it, eating floor twice before she managed to grab it. 

 

That was cause for concern. 

 

While she was busy with the feathers he dug through the internet for some sort of answer and came up with one that made his wires tighten. Cerebellar hypoplasia, more commonly known as wobbly kitten syndrome. While it was something that affected organic life forms it oddly matched the niblets symptoms. Hopefully it was nothing other than something off with her balance or gyroscopes. 

 

“Let's get you scanned and hope it's not what I’m thinking it is.” Moon scooped her up, feathers and all and carried her into the workshop where he bumped into Solar working on some random project. 

 

Aurora couldn’t care less, she was fully preoccupied with chewing on the fathers. 

 

“Another broken leg?” Solar inquired. 

 

“Thankfully no. But I think she has something neurological. I hope I’m wrong.” He sat her down on the scanning pad. She didn’t so much as fuss though she did look around, clearly interested in her environment. “She’s really wobbly when she tries to walk.” 

 

“Could  just be uncoordinated due to age. They are still pretty young.” 

 

“I hope.” He really hoped it was nothing bad but many of her symptoms matched cerebellar hypoplasia. They knew nothing of the early days of the brood, something may have happened to her while she was under the care or lack of from the Creator. He tapped away on the keyboard while she watched, more interested in the rather in her grasp. 

 

Moon tapped his fingers nervously on the workbench while the computer did its thing. 

 

"How long will it take before the scan is done?"

 

“A few minutes, it's just a surface scan. Shit.” He muttered softly as the read out told him exactly what he didn’t want to know.

 

Solar’s rays moved in a sine wave as he did a quick search online. “Wobbly Kitten Syndrome? Did the old fucker drop her on her head or something ?” 

 

Moon grimaced. “I wouldn't put it past him.” He vented softly. “Its pretty harmless, she’s not in pain or anything, just uncoordinated.” 

 

“Think she might grow out of it? We can self repair.” 

 

“I don’t know. There’s a chance but this is neurological." He turned the lap top off and picked her up. She instantly began gnawing on his fingers. “Its not too bad, she will probably have to compensate for it.” 

“She has what?” Sun  looked at his brother confused, the sound of an egg shell cracking, pulling his attention away from Moon to the little bugger that was rapidly chewing through the shell of an egg. “How did you even get up there?” putting down the spatula he plucked Aurora  away from the egg carton. 

 

Apparently she was developing superpowers to move at impossible speeds while no one was looking given how fast she had gone from sitting on the island to being on a different counter in a matter of moments. 

 

“She has the equivalent of cerebellar hypoplasia, basically it means she can’t walk without wobbling. She may grow out of it.” 

 

Sun sighed and placed her into his apron pocket. “She gets around pretty well now.” 

 

“For now, when she gets older and heavier it may slow her down.” Moon surpassed a smile when Aurora peered out of the pocket, bits of egg shell stuck to her onesie. 

 

Since one egg was already cracked open Sun finished cracking it over the pan adding it to the other two eggs. “You are a little mischief maker.” She chirped in response and began digging around in the pocket. A moment later Sun froze, expression changing to one of disgust.. Plucking the niblet out of his apron he handed her Moon then stormed out of the kitchen. 

 

Confused, he looked down at the infant. She was still clad in her onesie and was compltly dry.  He laughed when he realized what she had done. “You really are a trouble maker.” 

While Sun was bus he walked into the living room only to notice the pen was empty. Of course it was. One was in the plant using it for a litter box the rest….they were under the couch. He could hear the sound of their claws scrambling against the carpet and see a paw or hand appear under the edge of the couch every now and then. 

 

Tucking Aurora into a pocket he lifted one end of the couch causing the brood to hiss and scramble to the other end like feral kittens. “If you want to eat you need to come out from under the couch.” Several pairs of crimson eyes stared at him. 

 

“Aweeiii weiii” came from his pocket along with crunching sounds. Looking down he spotted the niblet chewing on a piece of cat food that she had hidden in her onesie. Not just a trouble maker, a smart one. The other sensing that their sibling had something to eat they crept out from under the couch and gathered around Moon’s legs, looking up at their sibling expecting her to share.

 

That just left the one in the plant. Setting the couch back down he grabbed the one in the plant, wincing at the angry squalls. “That’s not a litter box.”

 

Relived to find nothing but crumbs of cat food in his apron pocket Sun returned to the kitchen  only to hear angry squalls. Curious and a bit concerned he walked into the living room, cleaning protocols twitching at the potting soil on the carpet. “My plants!” Sun waved his arms in the air. 

 

“Its always this one.” He held the very upset niblet up, checking its tiny paws. Grey and white. Sirius. “Probably  should get them a litter box.”

 

Sun shook his head. “I don’t want to encourage that behavior, it will be harder to break them of it once they get older. I’m not changing a giant litter box.”

 

“They could leave deposits outside.”

 

“That’s somehow worse.” 

Somehow the eggs hadn’t burned though they had been reduced to rubbery pucks. Figuring the infants wouldn’t care he plated the eggs and sat them to the side to cool off while the brood crowded around Grim’s bowl, crunching the cat food. 

 

“It won’t hurt them, brother.” 

 

“I know it's just that they shouldn't be eating cat food.” Sun washed the dishes then sat the eggs down. The second the plate touched the floor the brood swarmed it. 

 

“At least you found something they like better than dead mice.” Moon rummaged through the fridge, picking up a bottle of what appeared to be milk and began drinking it before Sun could stop him out of spite for not getting cheese. 

 

“That’s boob milk.” Jack crowed, entering the kitchen and clutching his new book about dinosaurs. 

 

Moon froze, horrified. He rushed over to the sink and spat it up then grabbed the faucet, washing the foulness out of his mouth while he swore he could hear Eclipse cackling. “Why!?” 

 

“Eclipse says they get too full sometimes and he has to-” Sun barely held back that laughter. Severed his brother right for drinking something random. 

 

“Nope, I don’t want to hear it.” 

 

“His boobs get sad.” Jack added. 

 

Moon groaned softly. “I’m going to the workshop. And tell Eclipse to label the damn containers!"

Chapter 20

Blame  angela1066 for this 

Solar padded into the kitchen to see something wholesome instead of Eclipse with his boobs hanging out and a niblet attached to each one like some sort of demented decoration. Aurora was sitting on the island, rocking slightly while Jack mirrored her, a bowl of half eaten cereal nearby. The infant giggled and burbled happily. He could see the two become close friends given how well they got along. 

Reaching for the coffee pot he spotted the jar. Candy fucking corn. There was no mistaking the Devils candy triangles for anything else. Given that Moon was still asleep it had to been Eclipse. 

He twitched like an annoyed cat. 

“Jack, do you like candy corn?” 

“No, eeewww. No.” 

Solar snorted. The one person who licked floors wouldn’t even eat the Devil's corn. He dumped the foul candy into the trash then placed the jar into the sink when he saw something oddly flesh colored in Jack's hands. Worry flashed through his systems. While it was very very unlikely Jack had found a body part (likely left by a vengeful Bloodmoon) and was now playing with it….his mind went straight to the worst possible scenario. Carefully placing the mug down he barely resisted the urge to slap the potential body part out of Jack’s hands. 

“Jack, what are you playing with?” 

The Halloween themed bot looked up, smiling. “A stim toy. It's soft.” 

Solar twitched like an annoyed cat again when he saw the time clutched in Jack’s hands was a  disembodied breast.  A ‘stim toy’ shaped like a god damn breast. Now he knew Eclipse was behind this. “Jack…you can’t play-” Predictably his son dashed off screaming no and mine. Scooping up the confused infant he stormed into the living room. 

 

Atlas churred softly then promptly stuck his paw into his mouth then looked surprised when it didn’t taste good. Eclipse chuckled softly. “You are not supposed to eat that.” He gently pried the infant's paw out of his mouth and replaced it with a pacifier. The rest of the brood was sitting on or near Grim, eyes glued to some random cartoon on the TV. It was all incredibly peaceful so of course something had to happen. 

A slipper clunked off the back of his head. His head wiped around, scowling at Solar who had his other old man slipper in hand ready to throw it. 

“Why the hell did you give my son a fake breast? What possessed you to think that was a good idea?” 

Eclipse grinned like the  Grinch that had just found the mother load of presents to steal. “Jealous? Sure you don’t want a set of your own to squeeze and hold?” He made grabby motions with his hands. “I'm sure your nerdy boy friend would look good with a pair of-” the other slipper clunked off his head. 

“Moon doesn’t need boobs!” Solar vented harshly. “I don’t want Jack playing with something so inappropriate.” 

“Its not like he’s going to go around groping strangers." 

“I know he won't. That’s not the point. I don’t want you giving Jack inappropriate things.” Solar growled. He was going to have to wait until Jack was asleep to get the damn thing away from him then toss it into the trash. “And fuck you for the candy corn thing.” he fumed while Eclipse cackled. 

Storming back into the kitchen Solar leaned against the counter trying to calm down before he went back into the living room and punched Eclipse in the face. Aurora looked up at them then stuck her own paw in her mouth, suckling on her own toes, slobbering all over the short silvery white fur. 

“That can’t taste good.” He gently pried her paw out of her mouth only for the other paw to end up in her mouth. “Goober. I bet you're hungry.” No more gross mice thankfully. Opening the fridge he ignored the twin bottles of milk with odd labels. Moon had likely snuck them into the house out of spite. Would serve him right when he ended up curled up around a trash can like every time he raided Monty’s fridge for cheese. 

“You like eggs don't you?” The infant looked up with wide innocent eyes and chirped. Eggs were easy to make. “I have to warn you I'm not much of a cook.” He could rebuild an engine but cooking was not his strong suit.

“You set water on fire last week.” Eclipse cackled. 

Solar rolled his eyes. Even he wasn’t sure how the hell he managed that. 

Dreamscape

Eclipse felt like he had gone from sleeping on a comfortable couch to sleeping on a very itchy stiff carpet. Has someone dumped him off the couch? Likely. Probably Solar as revenge for the candy corn thing. Groaning in agitation he opened his eyes to see a very unfamiliar sky. “The fuck…”  Sitting up it dawned on him that none of it was real, not the itchy carpet, not the endless grey sky or dark twisted forest. “Why the fuck is there a carpet in a forest?” 

“I don’t know. You tell me, this is your head after all.” 

“Oh fuck off.” He stood up and looked around with a scowl, refusing to acknowledge his shadowy double. 

“They will never accept you. You will never be part of the family.” 

He tried his best to ignore the voice, hands slowly curling into fists that made the metal creak. 

"They even replaced you with a patchwork hunk of garbage Eclipse from another dimension."

Eclipse barked out a laugh. “Solar is not my replacement. He could never hope to fill my slippers. He’s Moon’s side project." The shade seemed to waver a bit. 

“Your are the villain, you don’t get to be happy.” 

“Like hell I don’t! I'm not the original Eclipse! I am not like him! I’m his clone…” But he had the original’s memories. And new memories to override the old ones. Eclipse paced, rays rattling. He screamed and flinched when lightning split the grey sky, hunching up into a ball. 

 

Eclipse jerked awake with a snort. The room was dark and the sound of thunder was slightly muffled which explained the odd lightning in the dream scape. When he tried to sit up he felt a weight on his chest and midsection. Confused, he looked down and froze. Situated on the quilt that had been draped over him was the cat and the infants, all curled up and sleeping, tiny hands paddling against the quilt. He didn’t have it in him to disturb them. 

They looked so comfortable. 

It pained him that the patchwork eclipse had been so readily adopted into the family while he remained an outsider. Someone who was tolerated yet here he was, caretaker and parent to a tiny version of Kill Code. He had a future here, with people that didn’t hate him for something he never did with Lunar being the exception. Yet he felt like he didn't belong. 

“She brought the small ones to you one by one” A familiar voice rumbled. 

Eclipse craned his head to see KC holding a pair of ridiculous old man slippers. Solar’s slippers. 

“I take it Solar did not respond well to your prank.” There was no judgment in his voice.

How did he…it was almost creepy how observant KC was at times. Then againhe was the family patriarch for a reason. Eclipse shrank down a bit, grinning sheepishly. “He found the candy corn.” 

“Ah, a harmless prank. There is no shame in that.” He crouched, crimson eyes studying his son. “Nightmare?” 

How the hell….”Yeah…where is everyone?”

“At the daycare, they will be back soon. Earth will be coming over to help make dinner.” 

No doubt everyone would be tired from being around kids all day while he got lucky enough to stay at the house with the infants who slept more than anything. 

At some point he slipped back off to sleep despitethe raging storm, the hushed sounds of KC puttering around the house and muffled thunder faded into background noises that mixed with the endless drone of the TV allowed for a peaceful sleep. 

Earth knocked on the door, rainbow umbrella folded and the worst of the water shaken off of it. A large reusable bag bulging with ingredients hung off one arm. A groggy Sun opened the door, rays askew. 

“Hey Earth.” 

“Hello Sun. I brought some things so I can help make dinner, you must be so worn out.” She stepped in carefully not to shed rain on the floor knowing how fussy Sun could be.

“Thanks. I’m really tired. They over booked us again.” he closed the door behind her then led her into the kitchen. “Im going to go take a shower real fast. Eclipse is sleeping on the couch, the storm kept him up.” 

“I'm sure you and Moon need a break since you're both usually so busy." She made her way to the kitchen and sat the bag down before locating the pots and pans she needed. 

Lunar stared at the dark sun that was passed out on the couch, one arm over his eyes and a thin line of drool forming at the corner of his mouth. Even the cat and infants were piled on top of him. As much as he wanted to either yank Eclipse off the couch or dump him off it there was no way he'd risk injuring the infants so all he could do was stare.

His fingers twitched at the idea of yanking on the dark sun's rays but that would wake him up and potentially upset the niblets which meant he’d risk someone’s wrath. 

“You're so lucky they are cute.” he grumbled. 

 

Eclipse woke with a snort and little whine at being lightly shaken awake. His expression pinched into one of displeasure as he opened his eyes to see KC looming over him. The infants began to stir, chirping while kicking or slapping each other groggly. “Whaahtt…?” 

KC chuckled softly. “Earth made dinner. I brought you some.” He helped Eclipse sit up a bit and piled a few pillows behind his shoulders then handed him a plate heaped with meatballs and creamy looking noodles and slices of tomatoes. 

Now wide awake he took the plate. “It looks good.” Aurora yawned and extracted herself from the pile, wobbling over to the plate. She snatched a noodle off it and scarfed it down before chewing on a meat ball, growling and swatting at her siblings every time they got too close. 

Chuckling the dark sun broke a few meat balls in half and offered them to the rest of the brood who snatched the offering then scurried off to parts of the couch to hide with their food. 

Curious, he forked some of the noodles up and gingerly took a bite. His eyes widened in surprise at the wave of garlic and rosemary and other flavors he couldn't identify on top of the rich creaminess. “Holy shit that’s good. We need her to cook more often. Sun acts like he doesn’t know what seasoning is.” 

“Do not let Sun hear you say that.” KC chuckled again. “He tries his best.” Getting up he returned to the kitchen where the rest of the family was. 

Eclipse ate a few of the meatballs, savoring the flavor of meat and garlic while Aurora almost faceplanted into the noodles. “Easy.”  Resting the plate on his abdomen he used his free hand to steady her so she didn’t end up in the food. 

 

“This is really good.” Moon savored the thick rich creamy sauce coating every inch of the noodles. 

“Thank you.” She felt a warmth rushing through her systems. “I don’t know where you found that milk  but it’s really good. It makes the perfect sauce.”

“You know you can’t have dairy Moon.” Lightly scolded his brother for not getting the plain noodles like KC. His fork paused half way to his mouth at the mention of milk. He never kept dairy in the fridge. “Milk?”  

“I don’t care.” Moon said while stuffing more noodles into his mouth.

“Given all the times we find you curled around a trash can it's pretty obvious you don't care.”  

“Worth it.” Moon shrugged. 

Earth sat down with her own plate. “Yes, that Eclipse Farms organic milk. Do you know if it's sourced locally?" 

“I don’t remember buying that. Must have…um slipped my mind.” It must have been a non dairy milk or the kind that didn’t have lactose in it and he simply forgot that he had gotten it given how busy they had been at the daycare. 

Earth frowned and shook her head. She was used to having to step around Moon while he was curled up around said trash can. “Can’t you make it so your nanites can break down dairy?” 

“I’ve tried. I either end up feeling like crap or I’m back at square one so I gave up. I’ll just deal with it.” 

 

 Eclipse lightly patted Atlas's back until he burped, face covered in sauce. “Greedy little thing. Did you enjoy that?” a groggy chirp was the only response he got. As much as he enjoyed laying on the couch with a living weighted blanket the brood needed to be cleaned and changed. Since the family was still in the kitchen and he didn’t feel like dealing with his anxiety monster due to the nightmares he put the plate on the coffee table and carefully got up, carrying the brood to the bathroom while Grim trailed behind. 

He sat the very full brood on the floor while he filled the tub with just enough warm water to clean them. As an after thought he put the rubber duck into the tub then peeled the soiled onesie off before putting them into the warm water. They fussed at first about being wet, pouting while Grim stood on her back legs, watching. 

“They are fine. They just don’t like being wet.” Sirius squalled unhappily at being scrubbed with a damp rag. “You are not becoming a mold king like the purple nurple.” One by one the infants were gently cleaned then changed and put into clean onesies. They were so full and groggy that they didn’t fuss much and piled up on a towel to sleep. 

Not wanting to walk into the kitchen, Eclipse scooped up the towel, niblets and all and crept into his room, bedding the infants down into the bassinet. Grim waited until the small ones were settled before jumping in and curling around them. 

Chapter 21

Eclipse hummed softly as he hung up his delicates to dry while a very sleepy Atlas churred softly from his carrier, hands tightly gripping the silly grumpy turtle. Hearing a faint rustle he looked towards the window to see Lunar scowling at him. He grinned then continued to hang up his bras. Lunar made a face then yanked the curtains shut. 

 

Lill hater. 

 

It was turning out to be a rather comfortable lazy Saturday. He continued to hang up his bras, more functional than sexy. The damn things got heavy when full and Atlas wasn’t hungry.  Once done he checked on his boy who had fallen asleep, belly full, tiny toes curling and uncurling.  He reached out with one finger, gently touching the impossible soft little paws. 

 

No one would take his child away from him. The rest of the family felt oddly supportive with the expectation of Lunar. Maybe he should see if any of the other niblets had an attachment to him. It wouldn't be too hard to take care of two. He practically took care of the entire brood at times. 

 

The rest of the brood was playing in a large pen, enjoying the sensation of grass and leaves though they froze when they spotted something furry and odd perched on the top of the pen. Several sets of crimson eyes locked onto it. Chirping they slowly inched closer, tiny bodies tense. 

Sun scanned over the paper work laid out on the table. He wasn’t sure how Eclipse would handle it though he was certain that the dark sun would accept it. Eclipse was more sun than anything and he would no longer be an outsider and would be an official member of the family. It would help a lot with the anxiety. Lunar, of course, would hate it but he didn’t have a say in who Sun did and didn't adopt. 

 

He looked up in surprise when the sliding door was flung open with a bang and Eclipse darted in carrying the brood that was covered in blood. Panic tore into him. He stood up so fast the chair clattered to the floor. “What happened!?” Did someone get killed? Or worse did Bloodmoon return. 

 

“They ate a squirrel.” Eclipse was on the verge of tears. He had never seen such a blood bath before…bits and pieces of the poor animal were all over the pen. He placed the very unhappy brood into the sink then darted back out the door to get Atlas who had been left outside. 

 

Sun looked down in horror at the infants. Crimson soaked into their clothing and was splattered on their faces and hands. Aurora had the remains of the rodent's tails sticking out of her mouth. His OCD nearly went haywire. They had eaten a rodent. He nearly went for the bleach given how filthy rodents were but stopped himself. Washing infants in bleach wasn’t a good idea. 

 

Calm down, calm down. He wrestled the tail out of Aurora's mouth and tossed it into the trash can, shuddering in disgust. She squalled angrily about her toy being taken away. “You can’t chew on a squirrel tail! It's dirty!”  Her infant mind didn’t grasp the concept of dirty, only that her toy had been taken away. She continued to whine and cry even as the ruined onesie and diaper was stripped and tossed. 

 

Eclipse came back in, placed a still sleeping Atlas on the counter before picking up a crying Aurora. The sound of her upset was like a live wire lash across his systems. “You're  all right.” he lightly patted her back though that didn’t do a damn thing to calm her down. “It's alright Sunshine, I’ve got this.” Without hesitation he freed a boob and let her latch on. Like magic she began to calm down, the tears dried up and her tiny hands kneaded the soft silicon. 

 

“I saw the blood and all I could think of was fucking Blood Moon.” Eclipse paced around the kitchen, cradling Aurora. 

 

“That’s understandable. I panicked a bit too.” Sun turned the warm water on and the brood began to fuss loudly and tried to scramble out of the sink. It was almost comical how little they liked being wet. “I…thought something awful had happened when I saw the blood.” he tried to bathe the squirming slippery infants who were making it very clear that they didn't want to be wet. It took a split second for him to recognize the face one of them was making and what was about to happen. “Not in the sink!” He plucked the trouble maker up and rushed it to the bathroom while Eclipse cackled. 

 

Holding Aurora with one hand he finished cleaning the complaining infants and drained the sink. By the time Sun came back with a very grumpy infant the rest of the brood had settled though it was clear they were still hungry. “I only have two nipples, I can’t feed every one at once.” 

 

“There’s that milk in the fridge…Eclipse Farms…it's lactose free so that should be safe to give them.” Sun struggled to get diapers on the infants who were kicking and squirming and doing everything possible to avoid him. “I can’t for the life of me remember where I bought it.” 

 

It took everything he had not to smile like the Chestier cat or break out in laughter. Forcing himself to keep his expression neutral, Eclipse began pulling the small bottles out of the cabinet. “You’ve been working a lot, it's natural that you would, uh forget..” the tiniest giggle escaped. 

 

“Yeah…they keep overbooking us.” Sun vented harshly. He retrieved the bottle of milk from the fridge, never noticing as Eclipse turned away lest he see the silent cackle. “Earth really likes this stuff. She used it to make the sauce for the noodles.” 

 

That almost broke him. Everyone in the family had eaten a sauce made from booba milk. Logically he knew it wouldn't harm any one but the fact it came from him is what made it so damn funny. He vented harshly in an attempt to cool his systems down. 

 

Once the bottles were made the infants were settled into the patched up playpen and each given a bottle. They happily sucked on the tiny nipples, clinging to the plastic greedily and growing softly. Since Aurora wasn’t too keen on letting go he let her be, tucking her into a sling so his hands would be free. A muffled scream had him chuckling. Sun must have seen the outdoor pen and the remains of the poor squirrel that was plastered all over it. After checking on Atlas who was somehow still soundly sleeping he retrieved the bleach from under the sink and went to help Sun clean the pen out.