by Parker, Jack
The heavy wave of bullets ceased as the enemy units noticed that neither of the golden colored Genos was getting back up. It looked like they had won this round. It was then that the wind picked up for a second. Before any of them knew what was happening, a black blur sped past them. The sonic boom that followed took out about five of them.
The black Geno skidded to a stop, spinning around to face the enemy units. The side panels flipped out, revealing two guns. In an instant, both guns were firing away, launching a volley of shells at the remaining enemy Genos. Some managed to burrow under the ground in their water forms, but most of them received the brunt of the attack. Their systems failed quite quickly.
"Only one person can take Genos down that fast," said Brian with a smile.
"Glad to have you with us, R.C," greeted Abby with a thumbs up and a smug grin.
Ray retracted her guns and began scanning the area. Unfortunately, her scanners weren't able to reach underground. Instead, she turned her attention to Abby and Brian, who were slowly getting their Genos up and running.
"Are you guys okay?" she asked them, seeming slightly worried.
"Of course," responded Abby. "No problem…now that you're here." Ray just smiled, but a beeping on her tracking system quickly drew her attention. From the excavation site, more Genos were appearing, crawling out of the hole.
"Here we go again," said Brian with a sigh.
"My God, how many of these cockroaches are there?" asked Abby. This whole ordeal was beginning to get frustrating. Nothing ever seemed to work out the way they wanted it to.
Ray smirked as she flipped a switch, starting up the boosters. In an instant, her Geno took off at top speeds, looking like nothing but a blur. As she disrupted the sound barrier, she managed to miss the underground attack that had been launched on her. Now the whale shaped Genos were easy pickings for Abby and Brian. They ambushed them with a volley of missiles, taking all five out at the same time.
Ray shot off towards the approaching Genos, streaking right by most of them, sending them flying in the backlash of her attack. She leapt into the air and came down on one as it was trying to flee by transforming into its air born form. The system failed as she drilled her claws into its back. Before any of the other ones could fire at her, she sped off again.
Unfortunately, she was unaware of one Geno that stood atop a rock formation. It was concentrating on her, a single gun aimed at her black blur of a machine. All it would need was one second to launch its heavy round of ammo. The second she slowed down, he would be ready to end her triumphant victory.
As soon as most of the threat was gone, Ray shut off the boosters, knowing that her Geno wouldn't be able to take too much more of the high speeds. The cooling systems were already working overtime. It was then that about five rounds were fired. Before she could dodge, the bullets slammed into her Geno, knocking it over. If it hadn't been for the harness keeping her in her seat, she would have slammed into the console.
"What was that?" she questioned as she rubbed the back of her head, a bump now forming there. She looked around, but was soon met with a gun barrel aimed directly at the cockpit. Ray inhaled sharply, her body and mind freezing up on her. This had never happened before. She was cursing herself, wondering how she could have been caught off guard like that.
"R.C!" shouted Abby out of fear. She and Brian were currently caught up in their own battle with a few humanoids. Before any of them knew what was going on, a stray bullet hit the enemy feline Geno. It bounded back, looking around for where the shelling had come from. Just as it looked up, a white Geno slammed into its back, shredding the armor. The enemy Geno was out of the battle.
The white Geno jumped off of the now inoperable one. It roared in victory and then turned to watch as Ray brought her black cat to its feet.
"You okay?" asked the pilot, and Ray instantly recognized the voice. She quickly became annoyed.
"Leon, what are you doing here?" she asked him, demanding an answer.
"I came to help," he stated.
"You were supposed to be back at the base sleeping," she stated, gripping the controls in her cockpit. She had to keep her temper down.
"I would have been, but your Geno woke me up," he retorted. "I wasn't about to let you run away again, so I followed."
"Idiot," she whispered, knowing that he had heard her. "Go back to the base. We can handle this."
"Come on R.C," coaxed Abby as she finished off a few more enemy units. "Let him stay. We could use the help."
"After all," began Brian with a small smirk. "He did just save your life." Ray growled deeply out of sheer annoyance. She turned her attention back to Leon.
"Fine," she said harshly. "You can stay, but if anything happens to you, I won't be held responsible. Your life is your problem now, got it?"
"That's fine by me," he stated. "Now let's go." He bounded off towards Abby and Brian, firing his guns at the enemy. Ray followed shortly after.
It wasn't taking too long to finish up the remaining enemy units. In fact, with the four of them, the cleanup was coming along nicely. Pretty soon, the area was littered with different colored Genos, some in separate pieces, others without armor. Either way, their systems were all down.
"Well, that was fun," commented Abby. Usually she'd get a response from Ray, but the ace knight was currently glancing around the area. Something didn't feel right here. The excavation site was supposed to be important. Wouldn't they try a little harder to protect it? She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that this wasn't over yet.
At that moment, a low but ear piercing roar echoed through the area. It shook her insides and jostled her mind. Only one Geno made that kind of sound, and it was the only thing that could strike fear right into her very core.
All four warriors turned around, and there it was. Standing on top of a large rock formation was a midnight blue Geno with hellish red eyes. It was unlike any Geno they had ever seen. It wasn't shaped like any of the four forms that Genos were meant to come in. This one looked like a raptor, its body sleek and powerful. Its sharp claws and teeth were all a fine pearl white, simulating the real thing. It roared loudly once again, arching its back as it allowed its roar to echo across the desert.
"No," whispered Ray as she slowly began to back up. "Ramirez." The mighty raptor Geno looked around, taking note of all the scrap metal strewn across the excavation area. Inside the powerful beast, Ramirez sat at his console, a slightly annoyed look upon his rather tranquil face. His eyes soon landed on the four Genos that had turned his troops into scrap.
"Hello," he said, his voice echoing in all of their cockpits. "I see you had some fun playing with my units. Impressive handiwork." All four Genos began slowly backing away.
"We need to get out of here," whispered Abby on a private communication link, making sure Ramirez couldn't hear her. "He'll tear us all apart."
"Don't think you can get away," he told them as he watched them backing away. They all halted their retreat. "After all," he continued, "Gordan did send me two of his dogs to play with, isn't that right?" His eyes were currently on the two golden armored Genos.
"Damn," cursed Brian. "He knows it's us."
"I'm punching out," stated Ray, her voice slightly low. They were still on a private link. Ramirez could speak to them, but he couldn't hear them. That would change soon, and they all knew it.
"Alright," said Abby. "We won't try to contact you."
"What's going on?" questioned Leon, feeling a little lost on more than one topic here.
"I'm punching out," explained Ray, "so don't try to contact me. Understand?" Leon knew this wasn't a time to be asking questions, so he responded with a nod. Her screen then faded from his cockpit.
"Abby, Brian," began Ray, catching their attention. "Keep an eye on Leon, alright?" Abby quirked an eyebrow in confusion.
"I thought you said he was on his own," she questioned. "Why the change?" Ray looked somewhat ashamed, pulling her gaze away from Abby.
"I…I owe him," she said softly, "so just keep an eye on him, alright? He doesn't know what he's up against."
"Alright," responded Brian. Ray gave them both a soft smile before jamming her communication system.
"Let's see," began Ramirez. "Just who do we have here?" A smirk developed in his eyes, never reaching his straight line of a mouth. He looked to the white Geno. "Leon Solaris, I presume?"
"How did he…?" questioned Leon, now a little more than freaked out. This man was indeed strange.
"Ramirez is very perceptive," explained Abby. "That's why Ray punched out. If he were to find out that she's the ace knight, all hell would break loose."
"Why?" questioned Leon.
"Ramirez wants her dead," explained Brian, his eyes narrowing a little. "She's the only one who can hold her own in a one on one battle with him. He's the one who's been searching for her." Leon nodded and returned his eyes to Ramirez and his mighty Geno.
"I see the ace knight isn't among you," said Ramirez. "It's a shame. I was hoping for a real challenge." He prepared to leap from the rock formation, his Geno now crouching down.
"Why is his Geno different?" asked Leon.
"You sure ask a lot of questions," commented Abby.
"His Geno was altered using sacri crystals," explained Brian. "Unlike most Genos, his has double the amount. It allows his Geno to have five forms instead of four."
"Incoming!" shouted Abby as she prepared to dodge an attack. Ramirez and his raptor jumped from the summit, landing on the rocky ground. His Geno roared again before charging forward. They all managed to dodge before he could ram into them, but when they were up in the air, there wasn't much they could do.
Ramirez turned towards Abby and Brian with speed that wasn't thought possible. Before either of them could land, he shot off six bullets, three for each. Not a single shot missed. Both Genos crumpled to the ground, three of their legs now damaged. Still they managed to get back up.
Leon opened fire on the raptor, but Ramirez was quick enough to dodge, using his boosters to carry him out of harms way. As he was still levitating in the air, Ray jumped towards him, preparing her claws to shred his armor. He rose higher, but she slammed on the boosters, allowing her to jump higher as well. It wasn't quite high enough though. Her attack only caught him on his left leg. She landed back on the ground, watching as he came back down.
"Warrior," demanded Ramirez. "Just who are you? No one damages my Geno, no one!" He charged for her, his raptor's jaws now open, preparing to grab the neck of her Geno. She dodged and used her boosters to come down hard on him. He swatted her away with his tail before she could do any real damage. It was then that he was met with heavy fire from the remaining three. Seeing as how Abby and Brian were more or less immobile, he turned to Leon. Without warning, he charged for him.
"Leon!" called Ray, but then remembered that he couldn't hear her. She cursed when she realized she had no choice but to use the sonic boom technique. She flipped the switch, and her boosters launched her off. She flew by Ramirez, making sure to turn out of the way before passing Leon. Ramirez's Geno was knocked over, now rolling on the desert sands. He glared at Ray and her black Geno.
"A sonic boom," he noted. "Not many can do that technique without having their system fail. Just who are you?" Just then, Ray's Geno fell to the ground, struggling to get back onto its feet. The legs were beginning to give out from all of the high speed attacks she had been using.
"Please hold out just a little longer," she begged, knowing that Ramirez was about to come for her. Only a second later did he begin to charge, his guns firing. The bullets slammed into her Geno, damaging the legs further.
Leon tried firing at Ramirez, but his Geno was moving too quickly. Before any of them could stop his assault, his Geno rammed into Ray's, lifting her into the air. Her Geno slammed into the ground, dust flying everywhere. The raptor roared loudly, now approaching the downed feline. Not knowing what to do, Leon made a decision. He flipped the switch for his boosters and took off. He flipped a second one, and his Geno broke through the sound barrier.
"Leon!" scolded Abby, knowing that she wasn't going to receive an answer. His Geno sped right past Ramirez, knocking his Geno away and into a nearby rock formation. Ray's Geno was now slowly getting to its feet. She watched as Leon's Geno ran by again, sending Ramirez rolling across the area. Leon's Geno came to a stop, but it didn't move after that.
"Damn it Leon," cursed Ray as her Geno fully got to its feet. "I thought I told you…" She realized that he couldn't hear her and stopped her ranting. His Geno had yet to move. She slowly made her way over, wanting to know what was going on. His Geno wasn't moving at all, not even a twitch. She bit her bottom lip, knowing of only two reasons that it wouldn't move. Either the system had failed, or the pilot had been knocked unconscious.
Ray reached to her communication link activator, wanting to contact Leon. She couldn't take this. She hated being cut off from the others. She hit the button, and a screen popped up revealing Leon. His head was down, his eyes closed.
"Leon!" she called. "Wake up!" He didn't stir, and Ramirez was starting to get back to his feet. Ray stole a glance at him and then returned her attention to Leon again. "Please wake up!" she called out. "Leon!"
"R.C, shut off your link!" demanded Abby. "You can't let Ramirez find out who you are!"
"But Leon is…" she began.
"We'll take care of him," stated Brian. "Now turn off your link." Reluctantly, Ray disconnected her communicator, jamming the system again. However, she quickly positioned herself in front of the white feline, staring down Ramirez. She wasn't about to let him get to Leon. She couldn't let him die yet.
"Damn you," cursed Ramirez as he got his Geno up and running again. "I must admit, I wasn't expecting that." He smirked, however, when he noticed that Leon's Geno wasn't moving. "I see…so he wasn't able to handle it."
"Shut up Ramirez," demanded Abby as her Geno got fully to its feet. She quickly opened fire on him, but he dodged all of the bullets.
Ramirez smirked to himself as he realized that he was definitely dominating. A soft beeping soon drew his attention, however. He looked to the flashing yellow button and pushed it, bringing up a screen. There was a man there, a slightly nervous expression on his face.
"Sir," he began. "We have a problem. It's site number twelve…it's…"
"What's going on?" questioned Ramirez.
"We…we found something that you may want to see," he said. Ramirez nodded and shut off the link. He then looked to his four enemies.
"You're in luck," he told them. "It just so happens that I have more important things to attend to." He turned his Geno around. "However, the next time we meet, I won't hesitate to kill any of you." He smirked as he added, "Even the Solaris boy." With that said, he took off, his boosters carrying him quickly away from the area. The second he was out of sight, Ray opened her cockpit. She got out and ran along the body of her Geno. When she was close enough, she jumped onto Leon's still immobile machine. She quickly went to the cockpit, banging on it a few times.
"Leon?" she questioned, but she received no answer. She bent down and grabbed the bottom of the cockpit cover, trying to lift it up. Her left arm began to hurt, and she had to stop. Instead, she began looking for the hidden panel that she knew existed somewhere along the cover. If she could find it, she could get the hatch open. She ran her hand along the white metal, finally finding the slightly upraised area. She took out a dagger and used the metal hilt to smash in the area. It would take a lot of work, since the metal was incredibly thick.
Finally, she came down on it hard enough that the metal gave way. Ray smirked and used the dagger to pull away some of the metal covering. She looked down into the area full of wires and complex operating equipment. She eventually saw what she was looking for. She reached to her blue backpack and took out a small device. It appeared to be a mini computer of some sort. She jammed it into a connector and typed in a few codes. Not long after, the cockpit cover beg
an to open. Inside, Leon was still unconscious.
"Idiot," cursed Ray as she got in, standing near him. She knew what the possible consequences were for breaking the sound barrier. Cautiously, she reached out and placed two fingers against his neck, searching for a pulse. She had to rule out death as an option. She didn't want to have to tell Dr. Solaris that Ramirez had killed his son.
Ray sighed in relief as she felt a pulse, still steady and still strong. She placed both hands on his shoulders and began shaking him.
"Leon, wake up," she demanded. She shook him harder, and his head slammed back into the seat, hitting the metal bar near the side.
"Ow!" he shouted as he was rudely awoken. He instantly reached up to nurse the bruise forming on the back of his head. He glared at Ray accusingly. "What was that for?" Ray didn't seem to notice the harshness in his voice. She simply sighed out of relief.
"Thank God," she said breathlessly. He quirked an eyebrow.
"What?" he questioned.
"I…" she began slowly, seeming slightly embarrassed, "I was…concerned." She looked away from him. "You wouldn't wake up. I thought that…maybe you had been…" She sighed and turned back to Leon, her expression now animated with her usual fire. "Look, high speed battle isn't meant for regular pilots."
"I know that," he told her as he stopped rubbing his head.
"Well then, don't try it again," she demanded as she stepped out of his cockpit. "You're lucky you weren't killed."
"Why do you care anyway?" he asked, stopping her in her retreating tracks. "You said that my life was my problem this time." Ray turned around angrily.
"Do you think I want to see you die?" she asked. "What would I tell your father, huh? I'm sure it would be a great conversation." Leon didn't say anything after that. He realized that he ought to think before speaking. His words had already gotten him in trouble enough times with Ray.
"R.C!" shouted Abby as she and Brian came over. "We should probably get going." Ray nodded and jumped back to her Geno, quickly getting back into the cockpit. Leon closed his cover and brought his Geno back online.
