Ruby screamed in pain as she quickly rolled herself onto her stomach and tried to scramble away using her good foot and arm, but it wasn't enough. Megatron laughed viciously as he slammed his front right food down on her legs, pinning her to the rocks below. The damage she sustained from her fight with Ravage and the fall from his ship left her at a disadvantage. She didn't think it could get any worse until Megatron started to bat her around like a cat toy, sending her sliding across the rocky surface between his fore claws, even grabbing her in his maw to throw her into the air.

"Oh, my, this is fun, isn't it my dear?" He asked her as he finally let her lay still on the ground, groaning in pain as she tried to move.

Ruby's optics flickered online finally as she tried to focus up at him, weakly trying to push herself away on her back with her left leg. She was stuck and it was her fault. Should have stayed away from the ship, she chided herself. Gotta think of something.

"Tons," Ruby finally groaned out, "but you're still not going to win. You know as well as I do how tonight ends. With the Maximals defending the Ark."

"I know full well how tonight is going to end," he told her darkly, moving his head right over her, close enough she could feel the heat of the fire in his throat. "The Maximals will only make themselves an easier target by trying to defend their precious Autobot ancestors, but I will defeat them."

"You can't interact with them, and you'll be putting yourself at risk of being seen by yourself," she reminded her foe. "That would defeat your whole purpose of being here."

"Not if they don't have their precious ship to aid them," Megatron replied darkly.

Panic shot through her, but she did her best to hide it. He was going to destroy the Axalon before his past self could order his troops to do so. She had to think fast on how to get to the ship to prevent that from happening. "Are you sure about that? You must remember that I know the future of this war, too. I've make preparations in Sentinel's programming. Your troops won't be able to get near the ship."

"Impossible!" Megatron shouted down at her. "You would change your own grandsparker's history?"

"Yeah, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Your past self and your troops won't be able to touch the Axalon or the Ark," she ground out as she rolled back to her stomach and tried to scoot away from the dragon. "If you would excuse me … I have a historical change to go watch."

Megatron shouted in anger, flapping his wings as he stepped completely out of the cavern that had been his resting place, "The only change you'll see, Maximal, is my victory!"

Ruby groaned in pain as Megatron clamped one of his fore claws around her, actually picking her up before he took flight. Her processor was spinning from the mix of pain and sudden movement, and the undulating wasn't helping either, but her little plan succeeded. Megatron might have been planning on heading to destroy the Axalon, but at least he was giving her a free ride in the process.

She looked down as the night finally fell completely around them, the ground looking like a violently swelling ocean below. If I toss my Energon cookies from the flight, is it still a free ride?

It was risky to remain so close to the surface, but after a long discussion Rhinox and Waspinator had both decided that it was better for them to grab some of the drones, or at least several parts of what remained of said drones, to begin working on Waspinator's smaller form. They wisely picked their battles, making sure that any skirmish they had happened far away from the network of entrances and tunnels that they utilized for their own safety.

The pair quickly dug through the remains of the drones, loading the vast quantities of parts into the large storage area Waspinator's current body contained. It was nice to have the mobile cargo transport, but their safety depended on the former Predacon being able to hide easily.

"Waspinator like working with Rhino-bot," the larger of the two told his companion as they slowly made their way to a temporary workshop with their bounty. "Waspinator not recall any battle in Beast Wars that didn't leave Waspinator in pieces. Waspinator should have joined Maximals sooner."

"I'm surprised that Ruby had not made the offer to you," Rhinox replied quietly, walking in his beast mode.

"Squirrel-bot smart not to trust Waspinator," the tankish form said, remorse predominate in his voice.

Rhinox frowned a bit, as he searched his memories for any possible changes since his last communication with Ruby before the events that lead them to the Ark, aside from a message that he had received from the Axalon. Part of him wanted to be angry at his new partner, but deep down he understood that Waspinator had no idea what was going on or how he was being manipulated by Megatron.

"Waspinator know!" the tank said suddenly. "Rhino-bot and Waspinator build new body for Waspinator and Rhino-bot and Waspinator back to help Squirrel-bot!"

"As noble as an idea that is, that's simply not an option," the animal said after quietly thinking the idea over very carefully. "We can't go back for the same reason I sent her. We'd risk unraveling the time stream if we happen to interact with ourselves at all."

Waspinator transformed once they reached a particular large metal panel in the tunnel wall, lifting part of it out of the way for Rhinox to enter before he slipped him himself, sliding their door back into place. Their bounty was quickly unpacked, various drone pieces strewn about on every available surface. With a quick inventory check and the pair were ready to begin.

Rhinox assembled the parts, reworking damaged components into properly functioning ones, as Waspinator fetched the parts he required, which the Predacon proved to be quite efficient in due to having to gather his own parts after the battles. He was able to find and retrieve what was needed most times before Rhinox even had to ask. It appeared that Waspinator had missed out on his real calling in life; he would have made a great medic.

Megatron smiled in victory as his target came into view. The Axalon sat quietly on the crash-site from so long ago, its shields down. What was left of Ravage's ship sat smoldering just slightly north of the Maximal's ship while pieces of his past crew littered the battle ground. Zooming in with his optics, he quickly double checked to make sure that none of his soldiers were functional, not wishing to have to battle them at this time just to keep his mission on track. As he swooped in over the ship to give it one last test of its defenses, Megatron began to laugh at his apparent victory as he began to build up a fireball in his throat.

Ruby looked down at the ship as they flew past it, trying to gauge if anyone was at the base or not, but knew she didn't have enough time to warn them as his fireball seared the air as it flew towards the ship. "Sentinel online. Activate 'Red Queen' protocol," she ordered.

The defense shields powered on in time to block the blast, making the Predacon dragon scream in rage. Before he could worry about that failure, two sets of auto-guns opened up from the top of the base and sent a violent volley his way, striking the massive beast and sending it and its prey crashing to the ground.

Ruby struggled to stay conscious, the ship still firing over her at its programmed target until it ran out of auxiliary energy. She looked from the ship, as the shields blinked on and off until it faded completely out of existence, to Megatron as he transformed and stomped his way over towards her.

"I tire of your games, Ruby, yeess, just as I tired of Dinobot's," he told her coldly. "Did you know that your precious Maximals are fighting a battle he helped begin? That he was a willing part in my agenda before we left Cybertron with the Golden Disk?"

Ruby rolled to her right side, using her left hand to hold her up enough to watch as Megatron approached. Her torso throbbed with pain, the spark within her pulsing with wildly from battle as she felt the overwhelming swell of emotions washing through her from each accusation from the foul beast. Anger, failure, … remorse … all pulsating around her processor and spark like a living thing until her body couldn't handle it any more. Pushing herself to her back, she lifted her arms up and activated her wrist weaponry, sending energy shots in a pulsating manner at her target until they fizzled out.

"Warning, systems failing," her internal computer began. "Power reserves at 87 percent depleted. Stasis lock commencing."

"Computer, override stasis lock systems," she quickly ordered.

"Negative. Unit Rhinox has disabled stasis lock override."

"Bypass command, pass code 'Castling'," she ground out. "If I die, I'm taking him with me."

"Acknowledged. Stasis lock disabled. Spark failure imminent."

"Don't worry, Ruby," Megatron smiled darkly down at her. "I'll let you live long enough to watch as I rip the heads off of your precious Maximals, oh yeess, and the Autobots, too! I'll show you exactly what Dinobot couldn't stomach to accomplish!"

"NO!"

Megatron's optics went wide at the beastial sound powered by a double voice that ripped out of the tiny wounded thing before him. Bright blue energy began to burn off of her form, slowly taking shape before his very optics as she slowly stood up and pulled Dinobot's sword from her subspace pocket. Ruby's actual body wasn't touching the ground, but floated in the effigy of one he thought defeated; Dinobot's very image glowing around her like a battle aura.

Rhinox held onto the front part of Optimus' hover board for dear life, not wishing to fall off as they sped over the terrain. He didn't mind flying, he just preferred the safety of a ship around him while he was doing it. The Maximal engineer was so focused on holding on for dear life that he almost let go when his internal computer suddenly broke through his thoughts, making him jump slightly.

"Red Queen protocol activated," the male system voice had kindly informed him.

Optimus had to adjust to keep from losing his passenger, but too had received the notification. He met Rhinox's optics as his friend looked back at him, knowing he had a puzzled look on his face as he mouthed, "Red Queen?"

It seemed that Rhinox had figured it out quickly, mouthing back, "Ruby".

Rattrap had glanced to the side, having noticed his best friend look like he was about to take a nose dive off of Primal's board. Whatever startled him apparently got Optimus, too, but with all the orders that he had been given lately, it made the infiltrator wonder what they were quietly sharing a look about. Good thing he practiced so hard at reading lips. Narrowing his optics, Rattrap firmly decided that he needed to find out exactly what it was about Ruby that those two were keeping from them.

He knew Megatron's true plans from the beginning. That ugly truth had come out and he had felt her repulsion from hearing it, but also her understanding as her memories of the mountain top with the Golden Disk played through him. She knew at that moment what part he had played, what part he was going to play, in the destruction of the Autobots. After the sting of shame coursed through his spark, which rested next to her own, he felt her acceptance of his error and her forgiveness. She knew he had been trying to right the wrong he had been a part of from that night forward.

After she released the blocking program the night that he had given his all came rushing back violently as the almost same exact events played out. He recalled the valley, his final battle that he sacrificed himself so that Optimus and the others could live. So Ruby could live. The very thing that drew him back to the planet now needed him once more. His spark could not rest knowing that she was in danger, that she would put herself in harm's way just to protect those she loved more than her own life. She would give the highest honor a warrior could give to their friends and family, and he could not let her do that.

"You will not be victorious this day, Megatron," Dinobot and Ruby said as one as they pointed the slowly spinning blade at him in warning.

Megatron narrowed his optics down at the glowing femme before him, anger seething from him. "So this is how you were able to aid the Maximals to the very end. You had come back, just like Starscream, and waited for Rampage to be destroyed so you could take over your new body. Too bad you wasted your chance on this poor excuse for a Maximal!"

Dinobot and Ruby dodged to the left, rolling along the ground, to avoid the downward swing of Megatron's fist, before they ran at the towering tyrant, the sword singing in the night air as the stars above watched the violent battle. The Maximal duo utilized their best traits, Dinobot's skill and Ruby's agility, to avoid their enemy's attacks while they struck blow after blow to their foe. They knew they had to take him down quickly before the last bit of Ruby's energy had become depleted.

It was the sound of battle that drew Rampage away from his own physical pain. He enjoyed feeling such wonderful delights, but there was a moment that he was actually worried that the huge explosive would actually end his existence. Fortunately for him he still lived. It was slow and enjoyably painful, but he managed to pull himself out of the charred crater that Ravage's ship had created. He saw his little toy battling a behemoth of a Cybertronian, her tiny form glowing brilliantly in the dark in the shape of … "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

He had fought the Predacon traitor a time or two before his valiant demise. Finding the noble ones the best source of pain he could tap, he had promised to make sure that Dinobot would suffer terrible pains before he ended his life, which sadly his plans never got the chance of fulfillment, yet. It seemed that Dinobot had other plans. No wonder his little toy had felt more powerful, having drawn him closer to her each time. It was not just one spark's pain he was feeding from her, but two.

Then Rampage's optics focused on the towering giant, feeling his face pull into a joyful smile. "Oh my sweet little morsel," he crooned. "You weren't lying to me about having the perfect target to take my frustrations out on, were you?"

In his dark mind, Rampage settled on the idea that Dinobot had realized that Ruby was not adequate enough to face her foe one on one any longer, that she needed help. The dark Predacon would help her out, get her ready for a battle to end all battles, and then after her victory relish her in his own, personal way.

Pulling out his massive triple rocket launcher, he pulled the handle that loaded it before he took aim. "Time to join the party."

Rampages mad cackle echoed around them ominously before the scream of rockets filled the air. Megatron half turned to look at his subordinate only to be struck in the center of his chest by all three of the rockets that the mad crab fired at him. Dinobot and Ruby, as one, watched as the tyrant, in his robotic form, went flying backwards, crashing hard onto the ground before he skidded painfully to a stop.

"How dare you!" the time displaced Predacon leader demanded as he climbed back up to his feet, his right hand holding his sparking torso armor. "You dare to betray me? I'll crush your useless core of a spark for this! Oh, yeess!"

Rampage laughed again, leaping from his craggy perch, using the fall to transform into his tank mode. "I'll share the pain with you!" he called out, more rockets screaming towards their target.

Megatron cried out in pain, moving his dragon head up to block some of the damage, but it was the several quick strikes of a very sharp blade across his back, mostly over the beastial tail that hung from his head, that gave him a quick distraction from his former subordinate's vicious retribution. Quickly reaching back with his beast head, the tyrant caught the glowing form on his back and pitched it away from himself before focusing on the crazed crustacean before him. Rampage, by this point, had regained his robot mode and was firing one rocket at a time, for once oddly focused.

Dinobot and Ruby hit one of the nearby buttes before crashing to the ground harshly, losing their sword along the way. They looked up in time to see Rampage quickly leap to the right to avoid Megatron stomping down on him, but the Predacon continued to fire up into the underside of the towering tyrant before him as he moved through the air before he rolled along the ground to upright himself. The duo-in-one ran back towards their enemy, drawing out her gatling gun and opened fire. Megatron had had enough by this point and quickly snapped his dragon's head down, tightly gripping the glowing femme and lifting her up in the air.

"Let her go!" Rampage yelled, shaking a fist up at Megatron since he did not want to risk hurting Ruby, not yet at least. "She's my play thing!"

"You are useless to me now, Rampage, yeess," Megatron informed him darkly before he swung the same hand that held Ruby firmly in its sharp grip, sending him tumbling a few meters away, before he pulled the angry looking pair back up to his face height. "As for you two, you have done nothing but prolong the inevitable." He poured all of his anger and frustration into his grip making them both cry out in pain, the squeal of bending metal and sparks from breaking connectors joining the macabre chorus.

The earth shook beneath them, making Megatron look up and past his hand in time to catch the violent energy storm heading his way. The wave struck hard, making him drop Ruby as the light around her faded and she crashed into the ground.

To be continued?

Author's Note: I don't own the show. Thanks for reading.

Castling is the move where you block the King in with the Rook, the only move where you can move two pieces at once.

Finally at the end of Season Two! Sorry "The Agenda" has taken me so long to post. I just wanted to make sure that I had gotten it right. It's a set of episodes that I've been pondering on and off for over the past 10+ years since I first came up with the fanfiction storyline concept, including the name of this chapter. Having to adapt it to fit Ruby was not only challenging, but quite enjoyable.