Ruby - Transformers: The Last Knight

The Last Battle

Optimus prime hurtled towards the bottom of the tower. Towards Quintessa.

"You will pay for what you have done!" he roared.

He landed with a mighty thud. The newly restored statues of the creator's knights shook and cracks shot through the stone.

Quintessa turned from the reaction controls to Optimus. Her tentacles withered beneath her and her lilac eyes grew larger and brighter.

"My creation," she purred, "Do you remember your mantra? Do you seek redemption?"

Optimus drew his sword. A hundred feet above him, trapped in a hurricane of light, Ruby continued to scream. Optimus looked from her to Quintessa, his brilliant blue eyes shining as if with tears; "My maker," he murmured, "I do. But not from YOU!"

His mouth guard banged down and he charged at her. A shield of purple light burst out of Quintessa. Optimus pushed against it with all his strength, until the metal of his hide groaned and bent.

"To me, my warriors!" Quintessa shrieked.

*

Above, the autobots watched Megatron dive for Optimus, gradually mastering the zero-gravity.

"Should we help?" said Crosshairs.

"Er, nah," said Hound, "We should let the big guy sort this out, he'll be fine."

"oooOOoo," Cade attached the rest of Bee's scattered limbs, locking his right arm back in place whilst cradling his ruined hand against his chest.

"We must help Ruby," said Tom, floating by Hound's left ear.

"We can't get near her without being reduced to ash, man," said Cade, gesturing to his boiled and blistered hand.

"Perhaps we can bend the reaction again with your token, and pull her out,"

Cade shrugged, "I dropped it, it's gone,"

Lennox's radio buzzed to life, "Lennox, Lennox, COLONEL LENNOX IF YOU CAN HEAR ME GET YOUR BUTT OFF THAT PLANET RIGHT NOW!" yelled Santos, "The catapult is initiating! There are parachutes by the edge opposite the cave entrance."

"I am not leaving without her!" shouted Tom.

"Calm down, everybody, just relax," said Lennox, floating between Cade and Tom.

"It is quite hard to relax right now," said Hound, "What with the impending catapult and the screaming girl, it's too much. Just sayin'"

"RIGHT THEN," said Lennox, he was putting his Major badge back on now; "Here's what we're gonna do, we're going to get the heck off this planet before it blows and Optimus is going to get Ruby-"

"We have to help!" cried Tom.

"There is no time!" Lennox shook Tom's shoulders, "That catapult will hit in a matter of minutes! We have to have faith in Prime,"

"Autobots!" Optimus' authoritative voice rang around the tower, "I order you to get the humans to safety. I will deal with this,"

Lennox began swimming through the air towards the tunnel which led back outside. Hound and Crosshairs followed. Bee took a last look at Ruby, and with a whine, went after them.

Cade pressed his weapons belt into Tom's hands. It was laden with grenades, knives and spare bullets for his gun.

"I know you won't leave without your future wife," he said, "If it wasn't for Tessa, I wouldn't either. Good luck."

Tom fastened the belt around his waist, "Thank you."

"I hope you make it." Cade kicked off after the autobots.

Tom dived for Optimus.

*

"Who dares to challenge me?" Optimus boomed.

"Do you even have to ask?"

Megatron landed opposite Optimus, axe at the ready.

"Take a good look at what we have accomplished," he drawled, raising his clawed hands at the tower, pulsing with light, "Our home is regenerating. We did this, like the brothers we once were,"

"Once." Optimus repeated.

"We can be again,"

"No, I don't think we can." Optimus spun away from Quintessa's shield, flinging out his second sword, "Taste my metal!"

"RAWR!" Megatron lifted his axe and blocked Optimus' attack with a resounding clash.

Optimus kept pushing. His arms shook from the force. Megatron's nasty red eyes bore into his face, flashing purple every other second.

"This is why Quintessa chose me," he spat, "Because she knew I was strong and you would always be weak! All because of your love for this one girl, such a pathetic human emotion for a human ant. Now she will die,"

"NO!" Optimus drew both swords back and sliced through Megatron's newly attached arm, becoming the second person to separate it from his body after Ruby had done so earlier that day. The metal sang while Megatron shrieked;

"Oh no not again!" 

But Optimus gave him no further time to speak. He plunged his second sword through Megatron's chest, right to the hilt, and ripped out his spark. Broken shards of his body tinkled to the ground.

"You shall not harm her ever again," said Optimus. He flexed his fingers around his sword, then kicked Megatron's body away. It crashed down and went dormant.

"Optimus," Tom floated down to him, and managed to land on the floor where some gravity remained, "Please, we have to stop this reaction, it's even more damaging to Ruby than it seems, please," he breathed.

Optimus clicked his eye lids together as he looked down on the human. The one who had so nearly doomed them all the last time they had met. But now was not the time to question his involvement.

"I will draw Quintessa away from the control panel," he said, "Then you must reverse the switch,"

Tom nodded. 

Quintessa's shield flared. Optimus stepped back and Tom scurried out of the way.

"My humble servants have risen once more!" Quintessa cried with glee. 

Six identical robots marched out of the shadows. They had huge triangular faces with bull horns spiraling out of their heads; their mosaic skin matched their master's, and the size of them was second only to Optimus himself.

"Infernocus," Optimus muttered. He raised his giant sword and it flashed in the reaction light; "Stay back."

The menacing servants surrounded Optimus, murmuring to one another like ghosts. The autobot leader let them creep closer, until they had him trapped within their circle. Apparently.

"You are no match for me!" roared Optimus. He spun round at an impressive speed and, with one powerful swing of his sword, beheaded all six of them at once.

Tom's jaw dropped. 

The cry of rage from Quintessa hurt Tom's head almost as much as Ruby's screams hurt his heart. 

But he had to be quick, because she moved. Away from the control panel and towards Optimus, her purple shield sending the tall autobot tumbling over backwards. 

The lever, the one he needed to pull to save Ruby, glistened on the control panel. Blocking out the battling robots and the choking smell of battery acid, Tom ran for it.