Perfect Sacrifice

by Parker, Jack

  "I said I'm sorry," she repeated, still with the same sincerity. "I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

  Leon didn't say anything. He simply watched her as she lowered her head. She bent down and pressed the black button on her skates. She then removed the set of wheels and put them back into her blue bag. Leon could see that she was exhausted. Her injuries were still healing, and with an incapacitated arm, it probably hadn't been quite as easy as she had made it look. She was indeed someone who was worthy of praise right now. Not many could have pulled a stunt like this off.

  Leon bent down and began to remove the pair of stakes he had on, disconnecting the metal plate and wheels from his boots. He handed them to Ray, who quickly put them back in her bag.

  "Thanks," he told her, drawing her attention.

  "For what?" she questioned, not seeing as to why he would thank her after an ordeal like that. She had just put him through hell, after all.

  "For not ditching me," he told her with a small smile. "You coulda left me at any time, but you didn't even though I was probably slowing you down." Ray smiled, swinging her bag back over her shoulder. It appeared that he had forgotten his original question to her, and she was sighing mentally in relief. That was the last question she wanted to answer. He would actually be safer if he didn't know. The less he found out about her and her enemies, the longer he was going to live.

  Ray was about to depart and leave Leon alone for the day when a whistling caught her attention. She jerked her eyes to the sky, noticing an incoming bullet that was probably about as big as she was.

  "Get down!" she shouted as she shoved Leon to the ground. The bullet hit nearby, kicking up sand and dust that swirled in a thick cloud around them. Ray was using her good arm to shield her face from the stinging sand particles.

  As soon as it all cleared, she began to make a dash towards the nearby sands of the desert. She had to act fast. She couldn't let something like that happen again. Whoever was shooting bullets was obviously aiming for her and only her. It was just one more reason as to why she had to get as far away from Leon as possible. Dr. Solaris would never forgive her if something happened to his son.

  After being brutally and hastily shoved to the ground, Leon was finally getting to his feet, his eyes on Ray. He coughed a bit of sand that he had so painfully inhaled with his collision. However, despite how harsh her actions had been, he was thankful. She had really saved him just then, and even now she seemed to be doing her best to keep them both alive.

  "Stay there!" she commanded as she reached the sandy desert layout, and he obeyed, not wanting to get into any more trouble.

  Once Ray was sure that she had found the right location, she pressed in a small button on her communicator, but nothing seemed to happen. However, the ground soon began to shake, and the sands shifted. From beneath the desert emerged a black Geno in its ground based, feline form. Ray had a small scowl on her face as she looked over the massive beast.

  "Stupid Gordan," she whispered. "He could've changed the armor back while he was fixing my controls, but no…"

  With a small sigh, she jumped up onto the crouching machine, slipping easily into the cockpit. She was greeted with the gentle hums and beeps of the living machine. A single control stick stood before her, modified for her damaged arm. The long black bar that connected to it had been hooked up to both the right and left sides of her Geno, allowing her to still be able to steer it properly.

  She inhaled deeply, preparing herself for the battle she knew was about to come. After all, there were probably about twenty enemy Genos in the sky, and she didn't even want to think about what might be waiting under the desert sands.

  CHAPTER 5

  Desert Battle

  Ray looked to the sky through the cockpit screen, monitoring her enemies overhead. They were her biggest problem right now. She hit a button to her right, a smirk developing on her face.

  "Might as well start off big," she said to herself. Tons of different panels flipped open on her Geno, revealing many different guns of all different sizes. They all fired at once, sending a barrage of bullets towards the air born machines. Quite a few were hit, but just as many were spared. A few bullets weren't about to stop them though.

  Ray pressed another button, closing the panels, and then flipped a small switch to her right. If she wanted to fight them effectively, she would have to do it in the air. Her Geno began to shift as gears turned, metal reshaped, and limbs transformed. However, before the transformation was done, she hit another button. The boosters on her Geno lit up, releasing a great amount of pressure and power. The unfinished Geno blasted off into the sky, finishing its transformation while spiraling through the air. The large black bird shrieked loudly as it approached the enemy Genos in the sky.

  Ray was pulling on her single control stick, trying her best to steer effectively. However, the controls were much harder to move now that she only had the use of her right arm. She was pulling hard, using all the strength she had each time she needed to shift. It really became hard when her enemies began shooting at her. With a little luck and a lot of pulling, she managed to dodge a great amount of the bullets.

  Ray's Geno flapped its wings harshly, its smaller guns letting loose tons of rounds. She hit quite a few of the enemy units, sending the large birds spiraling towards the ground. However, when they reached the desert floor, they quickly transformed into either the ground form or the water form. The water ones burrowed themselves under the sands, now invisible to Ray's sharp eyes. She cursed under her breath, realizing that this wasn't going to be as easy as some of her other battles.

  The remaining sky born Genos began firing on her, but she pulled away just in time. She turned the boosters up, performing another breaking of the sound barrier. The sonic boom completely destroyed the wings of the enemy Genos, sending them crashing to the desert floor below. Some of them managed to switch to their water forms while others weren't so lucky. They hit the ground, the metal bending and a system failure signal flashing through the cockpit.

  Seeing as there was no point in staying air born, Ray began to descend, switching to the ground form when she reached the sandy floor. She instantly opened fire on the few ground Genos around her, trying to eliminate the threat above the desert. She was met with a quick victory.

  Unfortunately, there were still a lot left, and they were all underground, out of her reach. She stood perfectly still, just waiting for a sign as to where one might be. The ground under her trembled ever so slightly. She sprang into the air just as one of the water bases came up where she had been. She instantly fired at it, taking it out quickly. Simultaneously, the other remaining twelve shot up, changing to either a ground base or a humanoid type. They all charged her at once. Ray really had a battle on her hands.

  Leon stood by the entrance of Torran, simply watching as Ray fought off the unknown enemies. She seemed unbeatable with her well rounded Geno. The fact that she was operating it with the use of only one arm simply added to the astonishment. She was indeed a great pilot with a very perceptive mind. She seemed to be able to sense things before they happened, escaping hit after hit by only mere centimeters.

  "Amazing," Leon whispered to himself as his eyes followed Ray and her Geno. He wasn't aware that a car was approaching him from behind. It was the same black car from before, the one that had followed them through the city. It stopped a good distance away, and the doors opened. About five men got out, their attention instantly going to Leon.

  Ray was still out on the battlefield, dodging everything that was thrown at her. Her Geno was staying on its feet, keeping its movements quick and light. She had already managed to take out a few more, but there was still a decent amount left. Suddenly almost all of them changed back to their water forms, burrowing under the ground.

  Ray scowled in annoyance and turned her attention elsewhere. Her eyes went to the city, landing on Leon. She also saw who was behind him. Five men were coming, the one in front reaching to his side. Ray narrowed her
eyes, focusing on the object he now held in his hand. It was silver, shining in the light of the sun. Her eyes widened. She had seen enough of those in her life to know what it was.

  "Leon!" she shouted in warning, using a speaker to project her voice outside of her Geno. Leon just gave a confused glance in her direction. "Behind you!" He straightened in slight worry and then slowly turned around. He was about to make a break for it when he was met with a silver pistol. It was aimed directly between his eyes.

  Inside the cockpit, Ray cursed under her breath. This wasn't supposed to happen. She had to think of something and fast. Her enemies were still lurking underneath the desert floor.

  "Warrior!" shouted the man holding the pistol, a portable communications device in his hand. His voice managed to project its way towards Ray, piercing through her cockpit. "Stay right where you are. If you even put up a fight, I can't be accountable for what happens to your friend here."

  "Damn it," whispered Ray as she tried to come up with a plan. She had been told over and over again to never surrender. She was never supposed to allow the enemy to get the upper hand on her. She remembered the way she had been trained, and she hated the option she was told to take. The safety of the GRC was supposed to come first, meaning that she was supposed to ignore their demand. However, she wasn't about to just let them kill Leon. After all, it wasn't his fault. She was the one who had asked to follow him. She wasn't about to abandon him. However, she had no intension of surrendering either.

  Ray released the controls and leaned back in her seat. She was racking her brain for a solution to the problem, but she was met with nothing. If only she could distract them long enough. If only the police would come. They had probably noticed the disturbance by now, but it would still take them a while to get there.

  A tremor ran through the ground under her Geno, but she didn't care. If she moved, they'd kill Leon. Despite the fact that he was somewhat of a know-it-all pain in the neck, she wasn't about to sacrifice him for her own safety. The tremor became more intense, but she still didn't move. Before she knew it, her Geno was launched into the air, spinning backwards. The only thing keeping Ray from being thrown around inside the cockpit was the harness that came around her waist and across her uninjured arm. However, when she hit the ground, her left shoulder came in contact with the side panel of the control console. A small cry of pain escaped her throat as she instinctively placed her right hand over her throbbing shoulder. Before she could even think, she was thrown into the air again.

  On the sidelines, Leon had been forced to turn around, the gun now pointing at the back of his head. He wore a glare on his face, doing his best to hide the fact that he was scared. He kept his attention on Ray, watching as her Geno was tossed into the air. Her speaker was still on since he was able to hear her cry out as her Geno smashed into the ground. He cursed under his breath, knowing that this was his fault in someway.

  Ray got her Geno to its feet, but she made no attempt to retaliate. She couldn't do anything just yet. She turned her eyes to the men at the entrance of Torran. The one man still held Leon at gun point, but his eyes were on her battle. If Leon were to move fast enough, he could take the man by surprise. However, he wasn't about to move. Ray needed to create a distraction for him. She smiled when a plan formulated on her mind. She only prayed that Leon would be smart enough to play along.

  "Hey Leon," said Ray softly, the ground beginning to shake under her. "I just wanted to say that…I'm sorry, and…" She was tossed into the air. She grabbed the controls, a gun coming out from the side. "Get down!" she yelled as she fired a single shot, praying her aim was accurate. Before any of them could react, the bullet hit the sands near the entrance. Leon had dodged to the side at the last second.

  The man with the pistol hadn't been able to respond fast enough, his gun getting knocked from his hand, now lying on the desert sands. They were all coughing as the dust choked them, their eyes stinging from the barrage of sand particles.

  Leon made a swipe for the gun, snatching it up quickly. Right as the dust cleared, he stood up, holding the men at gun point. He could hear sirens in the background, and a smirk crossed his face. The police would arrive shortly. It was almost over.

  Ray smiled as she began her assault once again. A tremor ran through her Geno, and she jumped to the side. About three Genos came up at once, and she quickly shot all three of them down. By her calculations, there were only about four more left, maybe less. She waited for the next tremor, jumping upwards this time. When two of the whale shaped machines surfaced, she came down on them. Her Geno's claws sunk into their armor, shredding it to the point where they were internally damaged. Only two remained.

  One last tremor ran through the ground. She repeated her previous move, resulting in the same outcome. However, only one had resurfaced. She simply decided that her count had just been off. With everything that had been happening, it was an easy mistake to be off by one.

  Ray stayed there for a while longer, but she didn't feel anymore tremors. The battle was finally over, so she victoriously walked back to the entrance of Torran. The police were already there, taking care of the five men who had probably been the mastermind behind this whole thing.

  Leon was leaning against a wall, his arms crossed. He watched as Ray's Geno stopped nearby, the cockpit opening. Ray jumped down from her now crouching Geno, landing effortlessly. She was once again holding her shoulder. The pain hadn't quite subsided yet.

  "Hey," greeted Leon, watching as she walked towards him. "How's your arm?"

  "A little sore, but I'll live," she answered with a small, arrogant smile. It fell, however, when her thoughts rewound through her day. "Leon?"

  "Yeah?" he asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

  "I'm sorry," she told him sincerely. "I didn't mean to get you in trouble. You could have died…thank you."

  "Thank you?" he questioned. "For what?"

  "For letting me follow you, for buying me lunch, for…just for being there." She smiled before turning around. She lifted her right arm, giving him a small wave as she walked back towards her Geno. "It's been fun, but let's not do it again."

  "Sounds good," he told her.

  "I'll see ya around sometime, ok?" she said as she jumped back into the cockpit.

  "Alright," he called back as he began to walk back into Torran. He still had a few matters to attend to. He stopped, however, and watched as Ray's Geno disappeared into the desert. It wasn't until she was completely gone that he realized it. He hadn't gotten an answer to his original question.

  * * * *

  Ray threw open the doors to the GRC base, walking in with a strong sense of pride. Her current victory was still fresh on her mind. However, she wasn't about to tell anyone about the events of the day. Brian would worry about her, Abby would lecture her, and Gordan would throw a fit, not to mention ban her from going into battle in about two days.

  "R.C!" shouted Abby as she came down the hall, a smile on her face. "How was your day in Torran?" Ray stopped walking, shrugging her shoulders.

  "Same old, same old," she told Abby, which wasn't far from the truth. She had been chased down in Torran more than once. No one needed to know something like that though. She was going to do her best to not answer this question

  "Come on R.C," her friend coaxed. "Tell me what really happened." This just earned her a sigh from the ace knight. So much for avoiding the question…

  "I ran into Leon," she said, deciding that the more exciting details would be left out. She would keep it as simple as she could.

  "Leon Solaris?" questioned Abby in slight awe and admiration.

  "Yeah, what other Leon do I know?" questioned Ray as she shoved her hand into her pocket. "He bought me lunch, but he wouldn't buy me anything else. Even when I begged, he wouldn't give in!" Abby just laughed at her friend as Ray fumed over the fact that Leon had been just as stubborn as she was.

  "Anyway," began Abby, "I'll see you later. Gordan wanted me to do something for him."
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br />   "Yeah, okay," said Ray, sounding slightly disappointed. "See you later." Abby turned around and walked off, heading towards her office.

  Ray continued down the hall for a while longer before deciding to retreat to her room. As she turned the corner that would lead towards the dormitories, she saw Brian standing near his office, talking to one of the officials. Ray smiled and walked over to him, going slowly. As soon as Brian was done talking to the man, Ray ran up behind him.

  "Hey Brian!" she shouted, startling him. He spun around, his heart racing. He sighed when he saw Ray, placing a hand against his forehead.

  "I hate it when you do that," he told her, his pulse slowing to its normal pace.

  "Sorry, but I couldn't resist," she said with a smile. Brian only sighed again before looking to a clipboard he held in his hand.

  "I set up your battle for noon on Friday," he told her.

  "Great," she said as she walked past him, continuing on her way to her room. She stopped, however, when a question formed on her mind.

  "Hey, Brian?" she called out, catching his attention. "Who am I up against?"

  "Oh," said Brian as he began flipping through the papers on his clipboard. He found the page and returned his eyes to her. "Leon Solaris."

  Leon opened the door to the kitchen of his base, heaving a relieved yet exhausted sigh. He tossed his keys on the kitchen table and walked into the living room. He proceeded to flop down onto the couch as Chris and Dr. Solaris walked into the room. They turned their eyes to him as he just laid there facedown, not moving at all.

  "Welcome back Leon," greeted Dr. Solaris. "How was your trip to Torran?"

  "Exhausting," he replied as he rolled onto his back. "I spent the day with Ray." Dr. Solaris quirked an eyebrow at that.

  "Really?" asked Chris, sounding interested. "How is she? Is her arm alright?"