by Parker, Jack
Andy walked into the park, heading along the path. There was a variety of different food stands set up, some selling hot dogs, others selling drinks. He eventually came across one that struck his interest. It was one that sold ice cream.
He walked up to the brightly decorated stand, his eyes wandering over the different types of ice cream he saw. The vender just smiled down at him.
"Hello," he said. "Would you like an ice cream cone?" Andy looked up, a very childlike smile painted on his exuberant face. He nodded repeatedly, and the vender just beamed brightly. "What kind?" he asked.
"Strawberry," Andy answered.
"That'll be a buck fifty," responded the vender, waiting for Andy to pay for the cone he wanted. Andy reached into his pockets, searching for money. His smile fell as he found nothing in the first pocket. He checked the pockets on his coat, but he still found nothing. He had left his money back at the base.
Andy was about to just give up and leave, but someone reached out from behind him and handed the guy three dollars. Andy quickly spun around, coming face to face with none other than Ray.
"It's on me this time," she said, winking at the fifteen year old. "And make mine chocolate."
After getting their cones, Andy and Ray decided to sit down in the park for a while. There were so many benches that it was impossible not to find a place. They both sat in silence, slowly eating their ice cream.
"So," began Ray in a somewhat gentle voice, "how have you been?"
"Okay," he answered, seeming a little sad as he spoke that word. "I've been working more and more lately, studying the ruins I found at the excavation site."
"I see," she said, letting the word hang for a while. "I've been working too, sort of. It's really hectic right now, what with the…the knights being wiped out." She hung her head, as did Andy.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, causing Ray to regret saying it.
"No, I'm not blaming you," she said, sighing in defeat right after. "Let's not talk about work, okay?" Andy only nodded, and the silence set in again. They both just sat there eating their ice cream cones.
Unfortunately, Ray wasn't very good at silence. She enjoyed talking more. She was sure they could find something to talk about.
"I don't live at the base anymore," she said, earning her Andy's attention.
"Why not?" he asked, seeming rather shocked at the statement.
"I've got to help a friend of mine, and it's easier to by staying at his base," she explained, not bothering to mention Leon's name. "Currently, I'm training him in high speed battle." Andy smiled at that. He had always like watched people compete at high speeds. Breaking the sound barrier had always been a fascinating idea to him.
"Is he any good?" he asked her, earning him a rather proud smirk from the ace knight.
"He's good, but not nearly as good as me," she boasted, earning her a chuckle from the fifteen year old. "I mean, we just started practicing five days ago, and he's already got a pretty good handle on it. It's kind of impressive, actually." Andy only nodded, a soft smile still playing on his lips. If there was one thing he missed about the GRC, it was Ray. She was always so carefree and talkative. She had never once bored him. She wasn't quite as into the science field as he was, but they both shared a common fascination with Genos and the sacri crystals.
"Has anything really changed?" he asked her suddenly, a confused look crossing her face.
"What?" she asked, biting the cone part of her dessert.
"At the GRC. Has anything changed?" he asked, starting to eat his ice cream again.
"Not really," she said, seeming to think about it. "Everything is still basically the same."
"Like you?" he asked, earning him yet another confused stare.
"Me?" she asked, stopping from her ice cream devouring. She just sat there, waiting for an answer.
"Yeah," he said quietly, reminiscing about the old days. "You haven't changed. You're exactly as you were back then." He sighed, setting his ice cream down on the bench for a moment. "I remember when Lee would take us here, and we'd stop by the playground to visit with the other kids. When some of the kids would pick on me because I was younger, you'd always step in and defend me." He looked up at her, a small smile on his face. "You were always playing the part of a big sister, always looking out for me." He turned away rather sadly, picking his ice cream back up and taking a lick. "I don't want that to change."
Ray smiled and quickly finished off her ice cream cone. She put an arm around his shoulders, hugging him in a very sisterly fashion.
"Don't worry," she said. "Nothing will ever change. I promise. You're still my best friend, okay?" Andy smiled and began to eat the cone.
"Okay," he said, seeming rather happy with Ray's declaration. She released him and stretched her arms.
"And of course," she began, "this little encounter remains a secret, just like all the other ones, right?"
"Right," he said, adding a nod for emphasis. Every time they met randomly in Torran, they made sure to keep whatever was said between them private. Coming from different sides of the ongoing battle for dominance, they had to. They didn't want to get in trouble, nor place the other in any danger. However, Ray was in more danger if Ramirez ever found out. Then again, she couldn't even begin to imagine what he would do to Andy. Ramirez wasn't the one for forgiveness.
Ray stood up, as did Andy, his ice cream cone now finished. They both began walking down the pathways of the park, having nothing better to do. They had to be careful not to let people who knew them personally see that they were spending time together. They really didn't need to get into any trouble, and they both needed to make sure that the other was safe. After all, a brother and sister had to look out for each other, right?
* * * *
Aaron walked down the hallways of the cold base he had become accustomed to. That didn't mean he liked it there. In fact, he wanted to leave, to get away from Ramirez, but no one got away from Ramirez. He had made an example of so many people, showing that he always got his way. No one was able to defy him. Well, no one except for Rayla Cayden. She was the only one to ever walk away alive. Her luck was slowly running out though.
"Hey Aaron," greeted Nathan, walking down the hallway opposite of the young commander. Aaron only glared at the man before continuing on his way. Unfortunately, the rather annoying lieutenant followed.
"What do you want Nathan?" he asked the boy, not really caring what his answer would be. He only wanted to be left alone right now.
"I heard you got your next assignment," began Nathan. "You're going to kill the rest of the knights, right?"
"What concern is it of yours?" he asked while turning the corner, still unable to lose the man following him. He had been hoping that Nathan was on his way to do something. Then again, if he had been, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to turn and follow him.
"It's every concern of mine," stated Nathan with a smirk. "After all, two of the knights are women, one of them being the ace knight."
"Your point?" asked Aaron, sounding incredibly bored. He really didn't care about what Nathan had to say.
"Well," he began, "you already killed the other girl knights. I was hoping to meet one before they all got slaughtered. I mean, I've heard that the ace knight is this cutie with a fiery attitude. She'd be so much fun to…"
Aaron spun around, a full fledged glare on his face. He cut Nathan off with the look alone, but his words quickly cut through the sentence itself.
"Just shut up!" he yelled angrily. "I'm sick of you and your damn rambling. Just get the hell out of my face!" Nathan shoved his hands into his pockets and gave Aaron a nasty look, one that radiated hate. Without a word, he turned around and walked away, heading down the hallway opposite of Aaron.
The young commander sighed in relief, happy to finally be alone again. He needed to be. He wanted time to think. This mission was an important one, but it would also be very difficult. He had to make sure to kill all four of his targets, and one happened to be the
ace knight. Getting them all together would prove to be just as difficult. He would think of something though. He had to. Ramirez wouldn't accept failure. He had to do this, and he had to succeed. He didn't want to disappear like so many others had or like so many more would.
* * * *
It had been one week since Leon began his high speed training, and he was doing well. His endurance was better, and he didn't lose unconsciousness after a while. That first day, after landing during an aerial sound barrier breaking, he had been so drained that he had passed out. He was out for the rest of the day.
Currently, he and Ray were out again, this time far into the desert. They were in a completely barren place, ready to practice some more. Leon only needed to fine tune a few things before he'd be just as good as a trained GRC knight. High speed battle was their specialty after all.
"Okay Leon," said Ray. "Let's get ready." They were both about to take off when a beeping noise drew their attention to their monitors. Ray quickly brought up her tracking system. There were two Genos only a mile ahead of their current location.
"What is it?" asked Leon, unsure exactly what was going on. Ray didn't respond. Instead she used her console to bring up a communication link with one of the Genos. The way the dots flashed indicated that they weren't her enemies. She was, however, a little surprised to be greeted with Abby's face.
"Abby?" she questioned, startling the other knight. However, Abby quickly smiled to Ray, giving her a small wave.
"Hey R.C," she greeted. "What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," said Ray, a puzzled expression on her face. Leon quickly appeared on her screen as well, still seeming a little lost.
"Ray, what are you doing?" he asked her, but he quickly noticed Abby.
"Hey Leon," she greeted with another wave of her hand. A fourth communication link was opened, and Brian joined their conversation.
"Abby, what are you…? Oh, hello Ray, Leon," he greeted with a small smile. This was starting to get confusing for everyone. Neither group knew what the other was doing. They were all in the middle of the desert after all.
"Okay," began Ray. "Would you guys please tell me what you're doing out here?"
"We received a call," began Brian, his voice holding a very serious tone to it, accentuated by his expression. "Someone sighted that mysterious black Geno. We came out to investigate it…"
"Without me?" she asked in disbelief, cutting Brian off. "I can't believe you guys!"
"Relax," said Abby with a small smirk. "We were coming to get you, honest. This saves us a lot of time though. We think it might be somewhere up ahead."
"Alright," Ray said with a smirk, the anxiousness burning in her eyes. She was all heated up now. She was ready for a battle like this. However, she couldn't forget about her partner. Leon was still there. "Hey Leon," she began, drawing his attention. "I want you to head back to the base."
"What? Why?" he asked, sounding rather disappointed at her demand. "I want to help."
"You'll just get in the way," she said, not meaning to be mean. She wanted him to leave for other reasons. After all, she was still under the oath of her promise. She couldn't let him get killed.
"I won't be a burden," he stated, desperately wanting to help her. He hadn't done all this high speed training for nothing. This was the kind of battle he had been preparing for.
By now, Abby and Brian had made their way over to the two feuding pilots, arguing back and forth about why Leon couldn't stay even though he wanted to. Neither Abby nor Brian saw the conversation going anywhere. In fact, they were starting to repeat themselves. They'd be stuck there for hours if someone or something didn't end it for them.
Unfortunately, that wish was granted, just not in the way they had hoped. About ten stray bullets came flying towards them, and all four miraculously managed to dodge. The four felines quickly began looking around, trying to find where the shelling had come from. It wasn't until a gun was fired again that Ray saw it. She had snapped her head the second she had heard the gun fire, and quickly jumped out of the way. In the middle of thin air was gun, seemingly just floating there. However, it quickly disappeared, and they were left with nothing but the desert before them.
"It's here," stated Ray, watching the desert sands for the slightest sign of movement. She was lucky to have good eyes. She could catch even the smallest flinch. Nothing really escaped her line of sight.
"Hello knights," greeted a young but deep voice. All four of them just crouched down, ready to move when necessary. "I've been waiting for you."
"Likewise mister," stated Ray as her Geno gave a throaty snarl. "I've been waiting a long time. I'll make you pay for what you did on Azran and Trin. I swear on my honor as the ace knight that I'll get revenge. You're not leaving here alive."
"We'll see," he said, and Ray could have sworn that he was smirking. All of them knew that this wasn't going to be easy. They had no idea what the creature in front of them was capable of. And more importantly, Ray had lost her argument and would now possibly break her promise. After all, Leon was still there.
CHAPTER 23
Revelation
All four of them stood, facing what they thought to be their invisible enemy. Ray was watching the sand for any movement. She wasn't about to let this thing get the upper hand. If they had any hopes of winning, they would need everyone to remain intact.
"So," asked Leon, "how do we go about doing this?" They were all currently on a private link so that their enemy couldn't hear or see them.
"Easy," began Ray, preparing her Geno to lunge at the enemy at the first sight of movement. "We take out the stealth transmitter. It should be located on top of the Geno somewhere."
"Oh? And how do we do that? It's invisible!" he shouted at her, not really getting this. Ray only smirked in response, keeping her eyes on the desert sands.
"You obviously don't know much about stealth technology," she said, earning herself a small glare from him.
"It's like this," began Abby. "Only the armor is invisible. That's why we can see the guns when they flip up from the hidden panels. It's true that the transmitter is also invisible, but if you aim for the gun when it pops up, we should get pretty close to hitting it too."
"Alright," he said, still not seeming too sure about this.
"Are you afraid?" asked Brian, more in a question than in mockery. After all, only a fool wouldn't be.
"Well," he began, seeming to really think it over. "Yeah, I mean, if the other knights couldn't do it, why should we be able to? I'm not even a knight."
"Don't worry," said Ray with a confident smirk. "We'll win. You guys have me, remember?"
"Don't get too cocky R.C," warned Abby as she shifted her Geno a little, waiting for their enemy to make the first move. Just as she began wishing for it, the sands shifted.
"Jump back!" commanded Ray, and they all did as she said, just dodging a swipe from the mechanical ghost in front of them. A gun on its back quickly flipped up and began firing, but they all managed to dodge the bullets, each running in a different direction.
Ray began firing her own gun, aiming for the one he had on his back. She had to keep running to avoid getting hit by anything else, like one of the thing's legs or hands or whatever it used to swipe at them. She kept running until she was sure she was at a safe distance. She quickly spun into a stop, two side panels flipping out to reveal more guns. With the one on her back, she began blanketing the area in shelling. All it took was a few nicely placed shots, and the gun was blown off of the thing's back. Ray just smirked as she watched the gun slide off what was probably the main body and then clatter to the ground. It was crushed not long after, probably as the creature was turning to face her.
"Ray, be careful!" warned Brian. He, Leon, and Abby were still on the other side, unsure of exactly what to do. Without Ray's eyes there to help them see, they weren't sure how close it was to them.
Ray stood her ground, waiting for the slightest sign of movem
ent. It never came, however. Instead, another compartment flipped up on its back, and everyone's eyes widened as they laid them on what came out. It was a huge cannon, at least three times larger than the one Ramirez had used against her. She quickly recognized it as the same cannon that had completely obliterated the GRC base on Trin. It was also the cannon that had taken the life of more than one fellow knight.
"Ray, get out of the way!" shouted Brian, worry filling his voice. However, Ray didn't move. She just positioned her Geno into a pouncing position, now watching and waiting for the cannon to fire. The way she saw it, she'd have only a matter of seconds to jump away before it reached her. She'd have to be quick. This was her only chance to get rid of the cannon and the stealth transmitter. The cannon was just about ready to fire.
"R.C, move now!" shouted Abby out of worry. Too late. The cannon fired.
"Ray!" called Leon as they all watched the beam of white hot light race towards her Geno. In a split second, she jumped up, her boosters flaring, launching her not only up but over. As she began going over the cannon, still up in the air, she began firing her two side guns and her back mounted one. She covered the top of the Geno in shelling, eventually managing to blow the cannon clean off its back. That's not all she did. Just as she landed, she fired off a few more shots, and one hit the stealth transmitter, knocking it off the back of the Geno.
"Alright R.C!" cheered Abby. "That was amazing!"
"I'll say," whispered Leon, obviously impressed. The ace knight never ceased to amaze him. It was like she had a hundred different tricks. She was unlike any Geno pilot around, seeming completely unafraid of whatever was thrown at her during a battle. That was about to change, however.
The stealth shield slowly began wearing off, revealing one part of the Geno at a time. Just like the reports had said, it was indeed black, and it was incredibly big. Their Genos didn't even compare to this thing. It was a good ten times longer and five times taller than their Genos could ever be.
