Ruby - Transformers: The Last Knight

In All Seriousness

Simmons couldn't meet her eyes. She was right. The decepticons wanted to harvest her energy to revive planet Cybertron, and they needed Cade's token to do it. 

"Well," said Ruby, desperate to break the cold tension icing over the room, "At least Brains' ramblings make a bit more sense now."

"If I may make a suggestion," 

Ruby jumped and stepped away from Cogman. Such a creep.

Simmons sighed, "Go ahead,"

"If we destroy the token, there'll be no other way for the decepticon's to drain Ruby dry."

They all cringed at his choice of words. 

"Yes," said Simmons, eyebrows climbing up his forehead, "But that won't stop the planet from colliding with our own."

"Excuse me for trying to save the saviour's life," his eyelids clicked together. Urgh.

Cade rubbed his chest where the token had protected him from Barricade's bullet.

"You said there were thirteen," he said, "We'd need to destroy all of them,"

"Yes, were thirteen. Since Megatron is making such an effort, I assume you have the only one on Earth, possible the only one still in existence."

"That's a pretty big assumption!" yelled Cade,

Ruby stepped between them, holding a hand up to Cade to silence him; "Simmons, you know lots of things you shouldn't, what do the government know and what are they doing about it? If they have a giant slingshot capable of throwing Cybertron off course, I'd feel better."

"They are working on something, currently only known as the one-oh-eight, but I have very little faith, it won't work," He said it casually, as though he declined a cup of tea from Cogman. 

"What if I did revive Cybertron, would that spare our planet?"

"Like we'd even consider such a thing!" cried Cade.

"Better I die than everyone on Earth!" Ruby hurled back. 

"Then at the very least Tom will go on a killing spree just to avenge you and people would get hurt and he'd get captured by the government and tortured and- do you see where I'm going with this? It's not an option!"

Just the thought had red power sparking around Ruby's clenched fists.

"Stop it, everybody just stop, take a breath," Cade slid the token across the desk to Simmons, "First, let's destroy this. Then we need to know for sure if it's the last one, you can do that right?"

"Fine," said Simmons. "Everybody gets four hours to sleep, you need it after the day you've had. At sunrise, we go to the beach."

Ruby watched the morning sunlight stretch across the waves. She sat on the sand in the same clothes she'd worn last night, hugging her knees. She hadn't even bothered going to bed. Her heart ached from the weight of the unspoken words in their conversation: Optimus would know what to do. Optimus would know about the tokens. He'd protect them. He'd protect her. A red and blue hide, twin samurai swords and a warrior's spark. 

She took shaky breaths, feeling like her body was being torn in two. The bracelet hummed, hinting at the power it held. It grew every day. With everything going on with her, Ruby was surprised to feel afraid. But it was true, her strength was enough to power worlds. If it didn't go to Cybertron, where would it go? How long could she endure it?

And then there was the diamond ring on her finger, getting heavier and heavier the longer she was apart from Tom. Her thoughts drifted back to the day he'd given it to her. 

"You couldn't sleep either?" Cade plopped down next to her and took a handful of sand, pouring it back and forth between his hands, like an hourglass being turned one way then the other. Like they were working on borrowed time.

"I need to ask you something," said Ruby, keeping her gaze fixed over the ocean. 

"Shoot,"

"If something goes wrong, if we can't destroy all the tokens and I get taken to be Cybertron's energy source, I need you to come after me,"

"Always, of course," Cade continued playing with the sand.

Ruby locked eyes with him, fire blazing in her blue irises;

"No, you don't understand. I need you to find me. And kill me."

Cade froze. The sand ran through his fingers and escaped on the sea breeze. 

"Why the heck would I do that?"

"Yo! Guys!" Hot Rod, the matte black Lambo, called to them, "Enough with the chit chat! It's time to play some ball, well, token, oh I don't know just get over here!"

Ruby moved away before Cade could argue.

Hot Rod was the spitting image of Bumble bee, apart from his colouring. The two autobots faced each other, several hundred yards apart, ready to spring like football players. Cade stood between them like the ref. 

"Ready? GO!" 

He flipped the token into the air and ran.

Bee shot first, his canon blaster smoking. The token dinged as it hit home, flying towards Hot Rod's face like a bullet. 

"Ha!" the autobot fired, and the token rocketed into the sky. 

Topspin, the second lambo, zoomed towards them, damp sand spurting from his tires. He transformed, and with a crackle of sparks, unleashed a torrent of flames on the token. 

Ruby risked a glance at Cade. He watched the token being beaten back and forth between the autobots, his eyebrows folded together. He caught her eye and Ruby read the confusion and anger there. He wasn't even considering her request. He thought she'd gone insane. Perhaps she had. 

When the sea was hidden by smoke and their noses all burned from the smell of singed metal, Simmons called half time. He picked up the token and smacked his lips together. He held it out for them all to see.

"Dam," said Cade under his breath. 

Dented and warped, the token remained entirely intact. 

"Put it down," said Ruby, 

"I wouldn't," Simmons warned her, watching the energy gather in her palms.

Ruby nodded her head, demanding. 

"Alright then," he dropped it on the sand. 

Ruby clenched her fingers, concentrating her power into a compact ball the size of a pea. She shot it too fast for the human eye to follow. 

The token reflected it right back at her, ten fold. Like a decepticon punch to the gut, Ruby sailed backwards the entire length of the beach, landing in an explosion of sand. 

Stars swam in her vision as she struggled to drag air into her lungs.

"Ow."

"Ruby!" Cade jumped from Bee's hand who had carried him over at a run, "Are you okay?"

"I told you!" snapped Simmons, gracefully stepping down from Hot Rod with his nose in the air.

Ruby took Cade's outstretched hand and he pulled her up. She staggered into him; he let out an 'oomph', reminding her how solid her body was. But he supported her all the same until her balance returned. She rubbed the grains of sand off her bare arms. Exfoliation was good for the skin anyways.

"Attention! Attention!"  All manner of sirens and horns bleated from Bee's speakers.

Drift's frantic voice came over his communication system:

"I have a signal, it came out of no where! It's aiming straight for you! You need to move fast!"