Ruby - Transformers: Age of Extinction fanfic

The Ship

***I've only seen this film once, two years ago, so I can't remember it particularly well. You can tell that I've been improvising, feel free to correct me in the comments. Thanks for reading!*** 

Ruby's eyes took a moment to adjust to the vast darkness inside the ship. It's colossal size astounded her. There was enough space to fit an entire town in here. She couldn't even see the ceiling. And below the hanging net, lurked Lockdown.

The net released, sending Ruby, Optimus and all the abandoned cars plummeting ten feet to the platform below. Ruby clung to the net. She must not roll clear. She had to help Tessa.

Ruby landed hard on her stomach. She slapped her hands to the cold floor, only just saving her face. She sat up and scooted over to car that trapped Tessa. She pressed a finger to her lips, praying for Tessa to keep quiet. She could see her through the window, tears streaming from her eyes, popping with fear.

Optimus lay to Ruby's right, sprawled on his back. The ridiculous size of the ship made him look small. Why wasn't he getting up?

Lockdown walked towards him. His footsteps boomed across the platform, echoing around Ruby's head. He took hold of Optimus and dragged him to the middle of the platform. Despite the chill inside the ship, angry heat rose in Ruby's chest.

Lockdown turned. He removed his glowing green helmet, revealing a primal face. Ruby recoiled from how human he looked; apart from his steel cheeks and optic eyes, his features matched her own. Unfortunately, he saw her.

"Take those humans to the trash."

Robots Ruby failed to see before, stepped forward. They dragged the net, and both girls along with it, down the platform. Ruby spared Optimus one last glance. The sight of him, disarmed and defeated, called her to his side louder than his voice ever could. Somehow she knew that Lockdown was not going to kill him, not yet. But Tessa, she was in immediate danger. They both were.

"Wait." Lockdown's gaze bore into Ruby. She could feel him looking past her flesh, right down to her cybertanium skeleton.

"Take the cybertanium jewelry from that one, then proceed."

"No!" Optimus cried.

Ruby didn't dare provoke Lockdown while Optimus was in such a vulnerable state. So she just sat there, watching the approaching robot, ignoring her instincts that told her to fight, to run. The silver bangle around her wrist grew hot. The intricate engravings began to glow. She felt it tighten against her skin as the robot reached for it with a huge, metal pincer.

BANG. A wave of white light burst from Ruby. Lockdown's assistant flew back and smashed into a cluster of piping. Steam spewed from a burst pipe, obstructing Optimus and Lockdown from Ruby's view. She jumped to her feet, red energy tingling around her fingers. Her legs twitched, ready to run; towards Optimus or away from Lockdown, she wasn't sure. But she held her ground.

Lockdown emerged from the steam, steady and casual. Ruby curled her hands into fists. Her breath came in shallow gasps. Was she really that frightened? Or was the atmosphere in the ship different?

Lockdown stopped between her and the unmoving robot.

"Just leave it then. It's not important."

Ruby blinked. Relief and confusion crashed around her ears. Lockdown watched her, testing her she was sure. She either went back to Tessa and silently surrendered, or Optimus would suffer. She turned her back to him, and crawled into the battered car beside Tessa. Other robots resumed dragging the net.

Not important? Just a few short years ago Megatron had threatened to rip the skin from her skull to get the bracelet. It had been practically priceless to the Decepticons back then. Because of that, everything had changed for Ruby. Her life was fused with the power of the bracelet, and to have it taken from her would kill her. So she was glad that Lockdown had let it be, but why? Where was he from if he did not value such a thing? Couldn't be Cybertron. Her bracelet was made of silver, infused with energy from the Cube. Did he even know that?

Tessa screamed. Ruby snapped her head up. The robots dropped the net and strode off, closing the girls in a hot compartment of the ship that smelt strongly of rust and sulfur. She turned back to Tessa to tell her to calm the heck down, when she saw them.

A pair of barrel-sized, beetle-like robots with glowing green eyes scuttling eagerly towards them.

"Come on!" Ruby dragged Tessa from the car. The robots went straight past them, pulling the car into a smoldering hole in the middle of the compartment. It vanished. Flames erupted from the hole. Then the floor started to tilt, as if to tip them in too. The beetle-bots scuttled up the wall like gravity wasn't a thing.

Tessa screamed again. Not that she didn't have a good reason to, but gosh it was getting annoying. She clung to Ruby's arm as she steadied the floor with her power. It groaned against the conflicting forces.

"How do you do that?!" Tessa cried.

"That's not important right now!" Ruby shouted back.

She glanced desperately around the compartment, looking for something to plug that hole, for something to stop the floor from moving, anything! It was getting uncomfortably hot. The air became thicker. Ruby wondered if they would suffocate before finally succumbing to the hole.

Gears cranked and turned all over the opposite wall where the beetle-bots were.

"Hang on tight!" she called to Tessa, despite the fact that she already did.

Ruby dropped her hold on the floor and it resumed it's gradual pivot. She threw her weight back, leaning away from the hole, and began attacking the wall of moving parts. But her powers seemed to have no effect whatsoever. Panic rose in her throat. They could lose their footing any moment.

The beetle-bots squealed. Then converged on the girls.

Tessa made a grab for one of the many pieces of metal debris sliding past their feet. She flung it at the advancing bots. Ruby shot an energy ball towards them. It exploded into one, sending it screaming into the flaming hole. The second ball burned a hole right through the head of the other.

Step by step, they backed up until there was no where else to go. Ruby gave up with energy and copied Tessa, lobbing debris at the wall. The gears continued to turn, crushing everything like tin cans. With a scream of rage, she wrenched off her ruby necklace and flung it with all her might. It flew straight into the middle of the gears. They coughed and faltered. And then, finally, stopped.

The floor sprang back into place and both girls fell.