#rubyshift

“Laaaaadies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! It’s now time for the match you’ve all been waiting for! The Major Circuit Title fight!” the ever-chirpy voice of Jo Hampshire boomed from the speakers as an excited crowd cheered louder than ever. The two fighters took their place in the ring. Gear Shift bounced around on the ropes, eager to begin. He’d been chasing Fuego Feathers for the champion belt for weeks and now was his chance to finally take it from him. 

Fuego took hardly any notice of Gear. Instead he faced the crowd, lapping up all the praise from all the gorgeous women and posing for them. They squealed in delight while he simply chuckled at their antics. Gear rolled his eyes. 

‘What a bloody show-off..’ he thought. How satisfying it would be to finally take the cocky birdbrain down a peg or two. 

“Fighting in the red corner, it’s the feathered Casanova with a burning passion for boxing, Fuego Feathers!” announced Jo. The crowd cheered loudly. Fuego couldn’t hide a smug grin as he posed again for his adoring fans. 

“Aaaand his opponent! Fighting in the blue corner, it’s the revved-up grease monkey ready to burn some rubber, Gear Shift!” came Jo’s loud voice once again. 

There was a large chorus of cheers but nobody could be heard louder than Gear’s adoring girlfriend, Ruby Johnson. 

“Go get ‘em, honey bunny!” she yelled, enjoying the VIP seating that Desire had snagged for her specially. Gear smirked and blew her a kiss. The referee entered, cautiously making his way to the middle. The two boxers approached the centre, gloves tightened and arms ready to start swinging. 

“Ready?” the ref asked. 

“Ready.” replied both men. 

“3... 2...1... FIGHT!” the ref declared, stepping back to avoid getting slugged in the face. Within seconds of the match beginning, Fuego immediately swung forward with a right hook to Gear’s cheek. Caught off-guard by this, the mechanic couldn’t do much but take the hit while trying to work out a game plan in his mind.

Fuego was a strong fighter but Gear was notorious for his speedy movements, which the latter was now demonstrating with a few quick jabs to Fuego’s stomach. Fuego stumbled back a little before rushing forward with a powerful hook. Gear tried to move out the way in time but only received a huge punch in the jaw for his efforts. 

“Think you can win my title, amigo? Pah! I was born to be the champion!” Fuego taunted, as Gear struggled to regain his balance. 

He swung forward, getting a good hit on the birdman’s cheek, but was swiftly knocked down with a body shot. 

‘Shit... Already got me once...’ Gear cursed to himself, getting back up to his feet. He rushed forward again, dodging a swing from Fuego and getting in a few jabs to his abdomen. He dodged another hook and retaliated with a much stronger one to Fuego’s face. 

His opponent looked dazed for a moment but snapped out of it fast enough to duck out of the way of another strong hook. After a brief moment of jabbing and dodging, Fuego managed to knock down Gear once again. Gear panted, out of breath and losing a little bit of hope. 

“Just give up now, you’ll never have my belt!” Fuego teased once again, showing off for the audience. 

Gear growled in annoyance, trying to get up. The crowd began chanting for him to keep fighting as he struggled to get back to his feet. 

“C’mon Jacob! You can do it!” cheered Ruby, who was practically jumping up and down from her seat. 

Gear looked over to her and smiled, a sudden wave of determination filling his mind. He clambered to his feet, much to Fuego’s shock and slight annoyance, and straightened his hat. 

 “Beat me down all ya want, featherbrain, I ain’t goin’ down easy!” he declared. Fuego grinned. 

“Very well, do your worst.” he fired back. The two lunged for each other, jabbing and dodging like their lives depended on it. However, Fuego was running out of breath whilst Gear was still bursting with energy despite being knocked down twice. 

After a clumsy slip while trying to throw a hook, Fuego found himself being knocked down. The audience went mad for this, hollering and screaming as loud as they possibly could. Fuego quickly scrambled to his feet, looking a little flustered. The bell suddenly chimed, signalling the end of the round. Both fighters returned to their corner, bruised and glistening in sweat. 

Gear felt a little hand tap on his shoulder. 

“Aye, mate, no muckin’ about with the fighters...” he sighed, assuming this was an unruly fan trying to get his attention. 

“No can do, sugar pie, ya’ll could use a little lovin’ right now.” replied the stranger. Gear suddenly turned his head to see his beloved Roo stood beside the ring. 

“Aww, ‘ello there gem!” Gear beamed, pecking her on the cheek. Ruby smiled and threw her arms around him. 

“I’m so darn proud of ya, Jacob.” Ruby said. 

“Hahaha, I wouldn’t be too pleased. I’m gettin’ me arse handed to me!” Gear groaned. 

Ruby chuckled. 

“Don’t worry, hun, yer gonna beat that darn birdbrain. I know ya can do it!” she insisted. 

“I mean... I’ll try me best.” Gear said, looking a tad uncertain about his winning chances. 

“That’s all that matters, honey bunny.” Ruby smiled “No matter if ya win or lose, yer always gonna be the champion in my eyes!”.

“Aww, gem... I bloody love ya” Gear grinned. Ruby gave him one final kiss as the bell chimed for the start of the second round. 

“Now go get ‘em, tiger!” she cheered, heading back up to her seat. Gear watched her walking back with a smile on his face. He looked down at his gloves, his left one in particular. 

‘I’m gonna win this. For us!’ he said to himself. 

He returned to the centre, facing his opponent once again. 

“3... 2... 1... FIGHT!” the ref called again. Fuego swung forward, just as he did last time, but Gear managed to dodge him. He then followed up with a speedy hook, catching Fuego off-guard for a brief moment. Fuego was surprised at this. Could he actually be in danger of losing his title? The title he’d held onto since the day he entered the Major Circuit?

He shook this thought off and landed a hook on Gear. Gear rushed back towards the ropes, making excited revving noises as he bounced against them. 

He then launched himself forward, striking the birdman down with one powerful hook. The crowd cheered loudly for him. Gear couldn’t help but feel proud of himself. He might actually do this! 

Fuego, however, was fuming. His title was about to be snatched by some lower-rank grease monkey. He slammed a fist on the floor as he got up, burning with anger. 

“Hijo de puta... You’ll never beat me!” he bellowed, rushing forward with a nasty jab to Gear’s chest. Gear stumbled back a little, hissing in pain. Fuego then stepped back, tapping his foot to indicate the beginning of his signature. He then swung with all his strength, trying with all his might to knock Gear down. 

But Gear didn’t tumble. He barely even got hit. While Fuego was blindly swinging at him out of rage, Gear had managed to dodge each punch almost effortlessly. Fuego practically screamed in frustration, his beautiful face paint smeared and his feathered costume leaving a huge mess on the ground. 

“Give up yet, mate!?” Gear taunted “I aint gonna back down!”.

“NEVER!” Fuego shouted “I’ll never surrender to you. I won’t let some filthy mechanic take my title away from me!” he jabbed Gear hard in the stomach to prove his point. Gear staggered backwards in pain but he stayed strong. 

“Don’t give up, Jacob!” Ruby yelled from her seat “You can do it!”. The crowd suddenly began cheering with her. 

“GEAR SHIFT! GEAR SHIFT! GEAR SHIFT!” 

With a cry of determination, Gear charged forward and swung... He couldn’t look. He kept his eyes closed, waiting for the crowd. Waiting for the ref to start counting. Waiting... The crowd finally began cheering. Some were even applauding. Gear finally opened his eyes. Fuego was knocked out on the ground. He’d done it! Well... knocked him down at least. He prayed that this was it. His moment of glory. 

“1... 2... 3... 4...” the ref began counting. Fuego raised his head, looking up at Gear with defeat all over his face. He didn’t even try to get up. He simply laid his head back down and waited for ten. 

“8... 9... 10! KNOCKOUT!” the ref loudly announced. The audience could’ve been heard from the next county from the amount of yelling and clapping they produced. 

Gear couldn’t believe it at first. He lightly jabbed himself in the arm to see if he was dreaming. He wasn’t. He’d actually won. He’d won the title. He punched the air in joy, yelling and screaming from how happy he was. Despite all the noise in that room, nobody was cheering as loud as his girlfriend. 

“Aaaaand there you have it folks! What an incredible fight!” Jo beamed over the speakers. 

“You took the words out my mouth, Jo, I didn’t expect this at all!” added Robin, who was admittedly quite shocked at Gear’s victory. Gear had the biggest smile on his face as the ref clipped the Major Circuit belt around his waist. 

“Here’s your new Major Circuit champion folks! Gear Shift!” the ref said, holding the victor’s hand in the air. Ruby charged down from her seat and clambered into the ring to hug her boyfriend. 

“Ya did it, hun! Ya won!” she beamed, kissing him on the cheek. Gear scooped her up in his arms and hugged her tight. Fuego finally got up from the ground, wiping a smear of face paint off of him. He looked around at the cheering crowd and at how happy Gear was. He approached him and held out his gloved fist to him. 

“Lo siento, mi amigo.” Fuego said “You’re an incredible fighter. You’ve worked so hard to get to your position and I was being childish about losing mine. I didn’t mean what I said earlier, you’re so much more than a mere grease monkey.”

Gear smiled and bumped fists with him. 

“No worries, mate. I knew ya didn’t mean it” he replied coolly. 

“And, congratulations. You deserve it.” Fuego grinned, patting him on the back. Gear chuckled and pulled him into a hug. Fuego protested at first but eventually gave in and allowed the shorter man to grapple onto him. Gear eventually let go and began signalling to the crowd to quiet down. After a short moment of both him and the ref trying to control the audience, they finally settled and awaited what the new champ had to say. 

“Well, for starters, I gotta say cheers to me mate, Fuego, for fighting wiv me tonight! Bloody well done mate!” he laughed, bumping fists with the former champion again. 

“Ay, it was nothing” Fuego replied, for once being rather modest. 

“And, of course, I have to say thanks to the WVBA and all their crackin’ staff fer bein’ the awesome people they are. ‘Specially the blokes in the commentator’s booth!” he chuckled. 

“Thank you, Jacob, we’re glad to have been here tonight!” Robin declared. 

“I wanna say cheers to all these amazing people who’ve come out to watch this match tonight!” Gear beamed. The crowd happily cheered in response. 

“Thank ya to all me mates in the Men’s Bracket and to me dad and sister who couldn’t be here tonight but are probably gonna watch the highlights. Love ya Dad! Love ya Cassie!” Gear waved at a nearby camera, prompting a few giggles and ‘awwws’ from the crowd. 

“And, finally, I wanna say thanks to me precious Ruby.” he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend, who was blushing a little. 

“She’s been here for me whenever she can and I couldn’t be happier with any other bird out there. She’s been proud of me fer gettin’ so far wiv me life and stuck wiv me when I wasn’t feeling a hundred percent.”

The crowd ‘awww’d at this adorable tribute. Ruby shook her head and nudged him. 

“C’mon, hun, yer embarrassin’ me...” she giggled. Gear simply kissed her in response, earning more sympathy from the audience.

“I’ll be embarrassin’ ya for years to come, Roo. I wanna be wiv ya for life.” he mumbled, softly. 

Behind his back, he gestured for the ref to untie his gloves. What was going on?

“From the moment we first started going out, I knew I’d found the woman I wanted to be wiv all me life.” Gear declared, taking hold of Ruby hand and kissing it gently. 

“Aww that’s mighty sweet of ya, Jacob. But why are ya sayin’ all of this now?” Ruby questioned. 

“Well, it’s cause I’ve got one hell of a question to ask ya gem.” Gear responded, getting down on one knee. He then held up a small red box and carefully opened it to reveal a stunning silver ring with a heart-shaped ruby in the middle. 

The crowd began screaming and applauding as Ruby felt happy tears running down her face. 

“O-Oh... Oh my GOD! YES! A thousand times yes! I do!” she wept, throwing her arms around Gear. Gear hugged her tightly, also weeping with joy. He slid the ring onto her finger and gave her a big loving kiss on the lips.

Robin and Jo quickly arrived at the ring to congratulate their friend, Robin practically squealing with delight for Ruby. The two looked over at Gear, grinning.

"So, when's the wedding?"

The front door opened and slammed shut. 

“I’m hoooome!” called a cheery Jacob as he flung his bag aside and hung his hat up. 

“Howdy there, honey bunny!” Ruby called from the living room, a wide smile on her face. Jacob entered and lazily glomped on-top of her. 

“How’s me precious gem doin’ then, eh?” he asked.

“Very well now that my sugarpie is home” Ruby smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek. There was a scuttling noise as the two ferrets scrambled in and began crawling all over their owner. 

“’Ey lads, that’s enough! I know, I know... Can’t go three minutes without me love” Jacob chuckled, allowing Chips to perch on his shoulder as Bolt curled up on his lap. 

“Reminds me of someone else I know~” he added, tickling Ruby under the chin. 

“Hahahah! Hey!” Ruby squealed, wriggling around in her seat like a fish out of water. Jacob grinned and pecked her on the forehead. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

“Somethin’ on yer mind, Jacob?” Ruby asked. 

“Ahh, nothin’ much Ruby-Roo,” Jacob replied. He heard his phone buzz and took it out to check what it was. He couldn’t help but grin when he read the message. 

“What is it? Who are you talkin’ to?” Ruby peered over his shoulder to have a peek. 

“Oi, this is private stuff missy!” Jacob cackled, lightly flicking her nose. Ruby couldn’t hide a slightly petty frown. Jacob tutted. 

“Now what’s wiv that face, hm? It’s just me sister,” Jacob explained. He looked back at his phone intently.

“Saaaay... What’s your favourite gemstone, sweet pea?” he asked. 

“Well, what’s my name~?” Ruby giggled.

“Ahhh, I gotcha" Jacob smiled. He turned his attention back to his phone. He couldn't help but smile at the stream of messages being sent over.

"C'mooooon sugarpie, lemme see!" Ruby begged, trying to peek over his shoulder. Jacob sighed and nudged her away.

"I'm sorry, Roo, but this is private. It's nothing bad, don't worry, it's just a surprise" he explained. He gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Aw man, alright..." Ruby pouted, crossing her arms and feigning irritation. Jacob giggled.

*BRRRRRRRNG*

Jacob grabbed his phone and answered the call.

"'Ello?" he said. He got up from his seat and walked off, chattering excitedly to the whoever was on the other side. Ruby laid back on the sofa and sighed blissfully. Chips and Bolt began scrambling about, treading on her hair and clothes.

"Hahaha, hey! Leave off ya little rascals!" she giggled, playfully tickling the cheeky ferrets.

"Alrighty then, see you in a sec! And, thanks Cas. For real. Byeeee!" Jacob beamed, hanging up the phone and entering the living room again. He smirked at the sight of Ruby having a fight with the two fur snakes.

"Alright then lads, off ya get" he cackled, picking them off of his girlfriend.

"Who was that on the phone?" Ruby asked, getting up from the sofa. Jacob laughed and tapped her on the nose.

"Nosey nosey!" he tutted "It was just me sister, she's popping 'round later to gimme summink."

"Ah, okay!" Ruby smiled.

"So, whatcha wanna do gem?" Jacob asked.

"Hmm... Wanna bake some cookies?" Ruby suggested "As long as ya don't get flour everywhere again!" the pair couldn't help but chuckle at the memory.

"It ain't my fault, gem! That bloomin' flour swung first!" he joked as they headed for the kitchen.

"Sure it did, honey bun" Ruby tittered. They rummaged around in the cupboard, setting down ingredients and equipment on the kitchen counter.

"Alrighty, Jacob, think you can open this WITHOUT getting it everywhere?" Ruby chuckled, nudging a new bag of flour towards her boyfriend.

"I'll try me best, gemstone" Jacob seized the bag and...

*POOF!*

"Aargh! Not agaaaain!" he cried, his face stained with a decent handful of white flour. Ruby took one look at him and cracked up laughing.

"Pahahaha! It's meant to go in the BOWL, Jacob! Not you!" she cackled gleefully.

"Ya don't say" Jacob replied, sarcastically rolling his eyes. He ambled over to the sink to wash off the flour's attack on him.

*DING DONG*

"That'll be Cass, " Jacob grinned "Be back in a sec, luv!" he charged out of the kitchen like a bullet. Ruby watched him run out with a smirk before turning her attention to the bowl of cookie dough in front of her.

Jacob came back in, hiding something behind his back. Ruby's eyes immediately went wide with excitement.

"Oooh! Whatcha got there, hun?" she asked, rushing over and trying to get a peek.

"Ah ah! No peeking you monkey!" Jacob replied, gently pushing her away.

"Awww, no fair!" Ruby sulked "Just a little peek?" Jacob sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry luv, this is a really special surprise" he insisted "I'll show you some other day" Ruby nodded and went back to her baking. With her focus taken off of him. Jacob scrambled to the garage.

He couldn't hide his huge smile as he looked down at the precious little red box.

"Trust me, gem, it'll be worth the wait"

At the last rubyshift I presented a quick introduction to zeus as a way to manage rails startup, so as a developer you don't have to wait for 10+ sec just to execute a simple rake command.

Lighting fast rails with zeus from Philipp Fehre