Title: Breaking the Cage

Author: ontuva

Beta: Open Office, for now

Rating: T

Pairing: OC/?

Genre: Friendship, adventure, humor, romance

Summary: Aurora Banes suddenly finds herself inhabiting a Transformer. Never in her life have things been so utterly complicated. She can't even eat chocolate anymore!

Warnings: Cursing, domestic abuse, violence, AU, OOC(?)

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers and I don't gain any money from writing this fic.

Word count: 4,233

A/N: I'm baaack! Whoaah, that was a long break. ._. My health decided to take a rollercoaster ride and I've been enjoying sinusitis for the past two weeks on top of the "regular" (*cough cough cough*) stuff. But I feel like I'm getting better. (Then again, I've been eating antibiotics and cortizone, so I should be getting better...)

But now I'm back into writing again! Yay! *_*

On a side note – I was super nervous about this chapter. And I still am. So I hope I portrayed everyone right, or at least partially right. I'd love to hear feedback.

And last, but definitely not least, Thank you all! Readers, reviewers, alerters – I adore you! I'm not sure if I answered to every review, but I tried my best! Hopefully I'll see you after this chapter too, so I can once again wonder "Did I answer to that person already? ;_;".

Gaaa, wall of text is wall of text! I'm stopping now. ENJOY!

oOo

Chapter 7: The Twins

The drive to the landing zone was mostly uneventful. Occasionally Ratchet would steal a glance at the Dodge Aries driven by Will and snicker to himself. He already had everything ready for the great moment. Nothing would stop him from recording the twins' reaction.

And then he could replay it over and over again.

Now the fact that twins were actually coming didn't feel half as bad. Now he had the upper hand. And after he'd take some pictures of the twins with their stunningly beautiful Dodge Aries forms, nothing could stop him from using the pictures to blackmail them into behaving.

This day was getting better and better.

The place Optimus and Ironhide, with the help of agent Simmons and Will, had chosen for the landing zone was in the desert near an abandoned military missile silo. According to Simmons the thing had been empty for years and could very well hide the spaceship. Or at least the ship should fit in there. Unless the twins had stolen a Decepticon mothership.

Which was highly unlikely.

At least he hoped so.

He also hoped that the twins knew how to land without blowing anything up.

By the All Spark there were so many things that could go wrong here.

.:Did the twins specify what sort of ship they'd be arriving with?:. he asked from both Ironhide and Optimus.

.:A regular transportation vessel. Small one at that,:. Optimus answered.

.:Sunstreaker kept on complaining how he keeps scratching his paint, because it's so cramped in there.:. There was an amused undertone in Ironhide's answer.

Ratchet couldn't resist sighing in relief. With the twins, you could never know what they would come up with. Arriving to Earth with a mothership wasn't really past their abilities.

.:How long do you think it'll take Sunstreaker to start getting on your nerves?:. Ironhide asked him on private channel. Ratchet couldn't resist rolling his optics.

.:He already is,:. he muttered. Ironhide answered to him with amused chuckle.

.:You've been running worst case scenarios in your processors ever since you knew they were coming, right?:.

.:You got that right.:. Yes, Ratchet had gone through every trick the twins had played on him earlier on and hoped to Primus they hadn't got anything new on their repertoire. His nerves weren't twin-proof.

So, when the ship had finally landed and the doors hissed open, he thought he was prepared for anything. Anything he could come up with at least. What he hadn't expected was seeing two battered, dirty and very tired looking mechs holding up the third one.

The moment he saw the rigid looking Prowl, the medic in him kicked into action. There was only a small light in Prowl's optics, a sign he was still online, but he seemed to be somewhere very, very far away.

Fragging sparkshocks.

"Good to see you haven't lost your manners, Hatchet," the red mech on Prowl's right side commented.

"Ignoring us again? I thought you'd already realized it doesn't work on us," the golden one on Prowl's left added.

"Just keep Prowl still while I scan him," Ratchet managed to mutter. Maybe the twins would just disappear if he ignored them long enough. Oh, Primus how he hoped for that. Perhaps Optimus would send them on a new mission. He sent a pleading glance towards Optimus' direction.

To his disappointment, Optimus just seemed amused, although he did send worried looks on Prowl's direction.

"Not even a welcome speech? Sheesh, now I feel like you haven't missed us at all!" Sideswipe huffed and tried to poke Ratchet on his shoulder plate. He shoved Sideswipe's servo away and continued his scan. No injuries. Just low energon levels.

"Don't poke me," he muttered and added a colorful litany of Cybertronian swearwords. Prowl's spark was weak and his processor activity low. That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all.

"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe," Optimus addressed the newly arrived warriors.

"Optimus," the twins spoke in unison and also nodded to Ironhide as a greeting.

"I except to receive a full mission briefing when we get back to the base," Ironhide commented. He was probably as curious as Ratchet on how the hell the twins had actually managed to blow up a whole planet.

"Sure," Sideswipe's nonchalant reply was. "By the way, did you know Soundwave is busy touring around Earth's atmosphere? The slagger even had the nerve to wave at us when we passed him."

"And you didn't shoot him?" Ratchet hissed between his mouthplates. Oh Primus, Prowl wasn't answering any of his queries. It was like he wasn't there at all.

"This piece of slag of a ship doesn't have any weapons," Sideswipe added to his defense.

"I find that hard to believe," Ironhide muttered and Ratchet had to agree with him. Twins, stealing a ship with no weapons? Not happening.

"Well, you try and pick a ship when there's countdown on how soon the planet under you is going to explode and there's a very angry Shockwave trying to offline you. Not easy, I tell you."

"And because of Prowl, I managed to get scratches all over my paint job! I - look – horrendous! I even almost lost my arm and now it keeps glitching whenever I try to grab something with it."

"You always look horrendous," Ratchet shot back and pretended he hadn't heard Sunstreaker complaining about his arm. He'd live. Prowl was his number one concern now. After him came Aurora.

Quite frankly, Sunstreaker was at the very bottom of his do-to-list.

"Oh, shut up mister Green-is-my-color," Sunstreaker spat back at him. "You wouldn't know stylish even if it screamed at you with Starscream's voice."

"I never understood why you want to be golden. That'll automatically make you a target on a battlefield," Ironhide commented. "Not to mention it makes stealth-jobs almost impossible."

"He likes the attention," Sideswipe answered on his brother's behalf.

"Well, how would the Decepticons know I'm the handsomest mech to ever have lived in the universe if my paint was some ordinary gray or something. Or green for that matter."

Ratchet had to bit his mouthplate in order not to try and hit the mech. There he was, trying to get Prowl to answer to anything, and Sunstreaker had the nerve to insult him on his paint job?

"I don't understand what is your problem with the color green," he managed to sigh. Primus, he couldn't concentrate here. Not with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe sharing that amused glance.

"I don't. I have a problem with you being green. You gave the color green a bad name, Hatchet."

"Stop calling me Hatchet." Oh, if only he had his wrench with him right now...

"Not going to happen. Hatchet."

That was it. Ratchet stood up abruptly and was ready to give Sunstreaker a mouthful of opinions coated with Cybertronian insults, but they had all forgotten one participant, who apparently was tired of being ignored.

"I don't want to interrupt, but I seriously have no idea what you are speaking of. English, please?" Will managed to yell in between. He waved at the twins to get their attention. Ratchet closed his mouth. Oh yes. They had forgotten about Will.

The twins didn't really know anything about humans. And they'd had the whole exchange in Cybertronian. It was a wonder the major hadn't interrupted them earlier.

"What in the name of the pit is that?" Sunstreaker croaked out, seemingly in disgust.

"He's our ally. It would do you good to learn the language English, while staying on this planet," Optimus advised the twins, who shared a skeptical look with each other.

"I have the feeling you are talking about me? I'm major William Lennox and I'm in charge of the Autobots on Earth. Very nice to meet you. I think," Will continued in English.

"Is he serious?" Sideswipe asked in no one particular.

"No one is in charge of me... fleshbag," Sunstreaker growled in perfect English and would probably have introduced his weapon repertoire to Will if he hadn't been busy holding Prowl upright.

"Well, except the boss bot, of course," Sideswipe chimed in when Optimus let out a demanding cough.

"Did you just call me a fleshbag?" Will sounded surprised. Ratchet was amazed that Ironhide hadn't warned Will about the twins.

"I wouldn't mind myself on what Sunstreaker's calling you," Ironhide said. "You wouldn't believe the names he has called me by."

"You are a fleshbag are you not?" Sunstreaker addressed Will before turning to Optimus. "How low have we fallen to call...these... creatures our allies."

"Sunstreaker." There was a dangerous undertone on Optimus' voice. Ratchet felt his mood lightening. Oh, if Optimus would get angry, it would mean dire times for twins. Maybe they would get sent to Antarctica after all? He could always hope so.

"No, seriously. On what merits are these lowlifes our allies?"

"These lowlifes are letting you stay on our planet and are helping you fight the Decepticons!" Will argued. "Don't you think you should change your attitude to be a bit more respectful!"

"I don't need any help to kill a Decepticon. I especially don't need help from such a frail and miserable fleshbag as yourself."

Will looked like he was ready to take on Sunstreaker with bare hands. Although it would have been amusing see Sunstreaker's faceplates when a human would attack him head on, Will would have lost. Ironhide seemed to have the same idea, since he was placing himself between Will and Sunstreaker and flexed his weapons. The warning was clear enough.

"Sunstreaker! That's enough! You are not to call our allies anything! Humans are our allies and you will treat them as such!" Optimus voice was practically booming. Ratchet saw Will flinch. Yeah, angry Prime wasn't something you necessarily wanted to be nearby.

"Pfft" was Sunstreaker's answer before he gazed at Ratchet. "How long is it going to take for you to finish? I'd kind of like to take this weigh of my shoulders if you know what I mean."

"Sideswipe," Optimus warned the other twin.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll keep him under control," the red twin sighed and shared a long look with his brother. There seemed to be an inner debate between the two, which seemed to be won by Sideswipe, since Sunstreaker actually shut up. He didn't seem too happy about it though.

"What's Prowl's status?" Optimus turned his attention to Ratchet. He shrugged his shoulders. Physically everything seemed to be fine if you didn't count the weakening spark, but mentally...

"He's... stable. For the moment. But I can't do much here, we need to get back to the base," he admitted. He'd need to do the basic check-up for viruses and malware and after that start mending the shock that followed a broken bond.

"Alright. Agent Simmons is coming here with a team to hide the spaceship. Ironhide, you stay here and see that the agent doesn't do anything else," the Prime started giving out commands.

"Acknowledged" was Ironhide's stern reply. He still hadn't lowered his weapons, which were still aimed towards the golden mech looming near the spaceship's entrance.

"Major, you stay here too."

"With pleasure," Will answered and glared at the twins. Ratchet shared his feelings. The twins surely had made an impression. He actually felt kind of sad that Agent Simmons would miss the first meeting with the twins. Ratchet could have enjoyed that one.

"The rest – you'll return with me to the base. And Sunstreaker, Sideswipe," Optimus started and fell silent when he saw that Sideswipe was poking Prowl's head hoping to get a reaction.

"Yeah?" he asked while grinning. Ratchet slapped his servo away and Sideswipe made a face at him. Optimus sighed deeply before continuing his sentence:

"Majority of the humans do not know of our presence here. It is mandatory to stay undercover everytime you leave the base. Is this understood?"

Oh! Ratchet knew what was coming next. His mood improved rapidly. This moment, this small moment, would be worth all the torture he had endured in the servos of the twins. This. This would be – as the humans said – priceless.

"Yep." Oh, the twins were se oblivious. Ratchet had to bite his mouthplates again. He wouldn't give the surprise away. Sunstreaker glanced at him and his apparent happiness seemed to worry the golden mech. Sunstreaker shared a suspicious look with his brother.

Oh, you have no idea what's in store for you...

"We have chosen the Earth vehicles as our alternative modes. I have chosen you a model you can change into until such a time that you have chosen something for yourself. Enjoy."

Ratchet had to everything he had him in not to burst out laughing. The monotonous tone the Prime had used worked just perfectly there. His demeanor was utterly serious, which made the situation all the more hilarious.

Sideswipe seemed not to get it, although Optimus clearly was pointing at the Dodge Aries.

"I don't understand... What do you want us change into?" he asked while scratching his faceplates. By the look of Sunstreaker's faceplates he had gotten the idea though. Ratchet had never seen such horror on him.

By the All Spark, it felt good.

"That is your alternative form," Optimus explained very slowly. "It is called a Dodge Aries." Realization slowly dawned on Sideswipe's faceplates. And Ratchet was filming every bit of it.

"You are joking, right?" Sideswipe asked with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"I'm not changing into that," Sunstreaker said firmly. "I'm not."

"Yes you are," Ratchet grinned and motioned the twins to follow him. Prowl needed to be placed on Optimus trailer.

"No we are not. Are you filming this?" Sideswipe stopped walking.

"Oh, yes." The pleasure in his voice was audible. If Prowl had been okay, the day would have been near perfect.

"No. No, no no! You are deleting that file right now! And no, I'm not going to change into that! That is one fragging ugly Earth vehicle! There is just no way – you hear me – no way!"

"It is an order," Optimus boomed.

"This is payback for what we did to you in Cybertron, isn't it?" Sideswipe asked with a knowing face.

"Revenge, Prime... I didn't think you'd fall that low," Sunstreaker added. Ratchet gazed back at the Prime. What the slag had the twins done to Optimus to receive this kind of treatment?

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Optimus said coolly.

"Yes you have," the twins argued in unison. It was like watching a human tennis match. Which Ratchet obviously never did. And definitely not the female tennis.

"No. This was the only suitable vehicle we had at the moment. Now, you just must change into it. That is an order."

"Frag your orders!" Sunstreaker snapped. Everything seemed to stop. Even Sideswipe seemed to be surprised by his brother's outburst. Optimus just raised his optic ridge questioningly.

"Are you challenging me?" he asked slowly his stature changing a bit. Ratchet recognized the stance. Optimus was fully ready for battle.

This wasn't going to end well.

There was a tense moment where Sunstreaker and Optimus were just standing and staring at each other until Sunstreaker sighed and the moment was gone.

"No."

"You're a fragging idiot," Sideswipe commented to his brother, who didn't bother to reply. Ratchet shared the notion. But then again, both of the twins were idiots.

Idiots that had to change into Dodge Aries.

The way back to the base was as uneventful as the ride to the landing zone if you didn't count Sideswipe's occasional muttering. After they had checked that Prowl was safely ready for the ride both of the twins had grudgingly changed into their new alternative forms. Sideswipe had been muttering atrocities for the whole time, but Sunstreaker had been awfully quiet.

Ratchet had a feeling he was forming a plan of murdering everyone who had seen him.

Which meant he'd have to change the access codes to his room so he could sleep peacefully. He'd also need to take a backup file from the video he'd filmed. Preferably backup file from the backup file too.

He only realized when they were walking towards the med-bay that Aurora was in no way prepared to meet the twins yet. And he needed the twins to carry Prowl back.

Well, wasn't this all jolly good and fun. He felt his foul mood hit him back. Optimus had had to go to a human meeting, otherwise they could have carried Prowl back.

He would just have to hope Aurora wouldn't receive any traumas from the two forces of nature. Which meant he'd have to warn twins to stay away from her.

Which would mean they'd try everything they could to get near her.

Oh, fragging pit.

"I already have a patient at med bay," he started his sentence, trying not to make her too interesting, "a femme who has had a very traumatic event." To put it mildly.

"A femme?" Sideswipe asked, clearly interested. Ratchet cursed in his head. Yes, of course he'd only hear 'femme' and nothing else.

"Somehow I knew you'd get stuck on that part and not the traumatic event part," he muttered.

"What can I say? We like femmes. Or at least I do." Sideswipe threw a long glance towards his brother who sent an icy glare back.

"Yes, but you need to be careful around this one," Ratchet tried to explain, but was cut short by Sideswipe.

"Why? Does she pack a mean punch?"

"Not...that I know of. But seriously speaking, she's a special case and she doesn't need anymore drama than there already is. So as a medic I strictly advise you to leave her be, for the time being." Oh Primus, that came out differently than he had tried. It basically screamed 'GO TO THIS FEMME NOW'.

"Ok, that's cool" was Sideswipe's answer. Sunstreaker hadn't spoken anything since he'd changed into the Dodge Aries. Ratchet almost fell to his aft when he heard the twin's answer.

"Seriously?" They were going to listen to him? Well, that was news!

"Yeah, you are a medic, you know what's best for her."

"I don't think I've ever heard you say those words," Ratchet commented and tried to search the other mech's faceplates for the usual hint of mischief or lies. There was none. Either he was getting better at lying or he was serious.

"Well, we've been a long time apart. Maybe we grew up." Sideswipe's poker face betrayed him at that moment and he couldn't resist a grin. "Or maybe we didn't."

"Oh, by the Primus," Ratchet threw his servos in the air. "I give up. You are not allowed to come the med-bay after bringing Prowl in. Ever."

"You can't keep us out!"

"But I swear to Primus I will try," Ratchet muttered and stepped in to the med-bay.

What waited him there made his foul mood even fouler. Didn't anyone listen to him?

Bumblebee had heard the doors open and had turned to watch who was coming in. Upon seeing that it was indeed Ratchet, he had let go of Aurora's arm in panicked motion.

And in result Aurora was sitting on his aft on the floor cringing.

"Crap that hurt," she hissed between her mouthplates.

"I'm so sorry!" Bumblebee yelled, both to her and to Ratchet apparently. Ratchet had to count to ten.

Remember Dodge Aries. Remember Dodge Aries.

Yes, now his mood was better again.

"Oh, so this is your frail patient?" Sideswipe asked behind him with a hint of a smile. Aurora's head bounced up and she looked curiously at the new voice. A shy smile appeared on her face.

"Hi, I'm Aurora," she said cheeringly until her optics landed on Prowl and her face became worried.

"The Roman Goddess of the Sun," Sunstreaker commented. Ratchet almost landed on his aft too.

By the Primus. By the frigging Primus.

He didn't like the look Sunstreaker had. Not at all.

He didn't like the look the brother shared with each other.

And he certainly didn't like the look both of them sent towards Aurora.

"No!" he said firmly and waved his servos in front of them. "I know what you are thinking and the answer is no."

Both Aurora and Bumblebee seemed to be oblivious to the situation. And by the Primus, he didn't have time for this. He should be taking care of Prowl instead of chasing the twins away from the first femme they had seen in vorns.

"Well, yes, my name was given after the Aurora Borealis, but how did you know that?" Aurora asked from Ratchet. There was a stunned silence for a while.

"How come you have an Earth name?" Sideswipe asked before Ratchet managed to utter out anything. This situation was getting out of hand. He hadn't yet told them Aurora was really a human. And considering how Sunstreaker had reacted to Will...

"Oh, I am really a human. Ratchet didn't tell you?"

Oh Primus, what would he give to not to be in there right now.

"No. He didn't tell us." Sunstreaker looked towards him with a very stern gaze.

.:You didn't specify she's more crazy than Wheeljack or Red Alert on a good day.:.

.:She speaks the truth. I can explain it later on.:.

.:...WHAT?:.

.:Just try to act normal.:.

Well, his 'try to act normal' apparently went to deaf audios, since the twins acted anything but normal. Sunstreaker's gaze had went from predatory to cold in an astrosecond and Sideswipe just looked uncomfortable.

"Where do you want to put Prowl?" he asked.

"The free berth, on the corner," Ratchet answered and noticed that Aurora and Bee had managed to put some makeshift-curtains around it. Aurora had an uncertain smile on and Bee just looked like he'd been hit in the head too many times.

"What are your names?" Aurora asked, still sitting on the floor. Sunstreaker didn't even glance at her. Sideswipe actually managed to make his gaze apologetic. Ratchet saw Aurora's smile starting to waver.

.:I think you should leave.:.

Sunstreaker practically stormed out of the room. Ratchet had to sidestep to avoid a head on collision with the looming mech. This hadn't went well. Sideswipe followed in his brother's wake, but just before the doors closed after them, he turned his head and mouthed a silent 'sorry'.

"Was it... was it something I said?" Aurora asked quietly. Ratchet shook his head.

"They just don't like humans," he explained and shot a disapproving gaze towards the femme. He had not given her permission to get up. "And how are you on the floor?"

"It's my fault! I promised to walk her around a bit. To make her get used to her new legs," Bumblebee jumped in and offered to help Aurora up. She was still staring after the twins, with a sad look on her face.

Ratchet sighed. Well, he should have seen this coming.

"I guess that's okay. As long as you don't drop her on the floor like you just did."

"You scared the frag out of me!"

"Maybe you shouldn't do things you were told not to!"

"Please don't yell," Aurora whispered from the floor. Both Ratchet's and Bumblebee's attention was on her now. She looked so fragile sitting there, with her green optics drawn to the closed door. Ratchet sighed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. I'm just so worried that you'll break a part of yourself, when you don't yet know your limits. But walking around with Bumblebee should be fine if he doesn't let you drop."

"I won't do that again, I promise."

"No, it's okay. I'm tired anyway." There – that fake smile again. Ratchet got a sick feeling in his tanks everytime he saw it. It was so rehearsed he couldn't but wonder how many times she'd plastered that smile on her face.

"Oh, well, I'll help you back on the berth then," Bumblebee offered.

"Thank you."

There was an undertone in her voice, but Ratchet couldn't quite catch what it was. But Primus, did it bother him! But he knew that right now Prowl was his number one concern. And he couldn't force Aurora into anything.

She'd have to tell him herself what had happened to her. He couldn't force her.

"I need to start taking care of Prowl now. If there's anything you want, just...tell me alright?" he was sure his voice portrayed the worry he had for his patient. Too bad his patient didn't receive it.

"Yes, I will."

If that wasn't a lie, he didn't know what was.