Ruby - Transformers: Age of Extinction fanfic

The Truth

Grimlock crashed into view. He barrelled right through the cars, drones and buildings in his way, like they were made out of paper. The ground shook under his tremendous footfalls. 

Ruby clutched her throbbing head as the giant stomped across the street and straight through another building. Ruby and Hound watched him go.

"What the..." Hound drifted off as Optimus came into view.

He hurried after Grimlock, swinging his huge sword.

"RAWR!" 

"Sounds like Optimus has found Galvatron," said Hound.

Metal clashed on metal. More explosions shock the city.

"Now's our time to move the Seed!" said Ruby, "Hound, come with me; Bee, go help Optimus!"

Inside the ruins of the human hideout, Tessa was hysterical.

"Where's my dad!? He'll get killed out there! They'll kill him!"

Thomas hugged the Seed, "He's got that big gun thing; he's going to be okay."

"Tessa! Tom! It's time to get out of here, now!"

"No!" screamed Tessa, "I'm not going anywhere without dad!"

Ruby turned away to roll her eyes, "I'll go get him, okay? I'll bring him back to you, he'll be totally fine, I promise."

"B-but he's only human, he's not a fighter like you!"

"As long as he has something to fight for, he'll always fight! Now at least tell me which direction to go in."

Ruby ran for the block of flats where they'd first found Tom on the roof with the Seed. The thunderous volume of gunfire and explosions fell behind her. If Cade was this way, he wasn't fighting a metal enemy. 

She looked up at the roof. No sign of him. But there was a broken window a few floors up. It didn't look like the causality of a stray bullet.

With no time to waste, Ruby scaled the building. Gosh, it had been a while since she'd climbed. She ground her teeth together, trying to remember how easily she'd gotten up a skyscraper during the battle of Chicago.

"Just a bit out of practise, that's all," she muttered to herself, fixing her gaze firmly upwards.

Splinters from rotten window frames stuck under her nails and her toes scrambled over loose fixings. Finally, she heaved herself through the broken window, narrowly avoiding the jagged edges of glass.

"Er, hi," she said to a shell-shocked old Chinese man.

But he wasn't looking at her. In the corner of the trashed room was an American soldier with cropped grey hair and a gun in his hand. He aimed at Cade, who was on his back with his hands up. 

Ruby's eyes darted from one to the other, taking in their bloody noses and ripped clothes. She stepped in front of Cade. The Chinese man ran.

"Oh, you're in trouble now," said Cade, dropping his hands and getting to his feet.

The man raised his gun to aim at Ruby's head, finger hovering over the trigger. She regarded him coolly.

"Go ahead."

And he did. The bullet shot forwards a meter, then simply dropped to the floor and rolled away. The soldier watched it go. His mouth went tight and he tossed the gun aside.