by Parker, Jack
"So," began Leon as a smile spread across his face. "Do you like your present?" Her only response was a meek nod in which she quickly cast her eyes downward, folding her hands in front of her out of possible coyness. She was just a little out of character right now. He was seeing yet another side of her. Just how many different Rays were there?
"Leon?" she questioned, earning her his attention. In one swift and graceful movement, she threw her arms around him, burying herself in the fabric of his clothing. Her arms wrapped around his waist, and she moved her head a little to rest it near his shoulder. She wasn't quite tall enough to rest on it.
Leon was surprised to say the least, but something else quickly overwhelmed him. He instinctively raised his arms and wrapped them around her, holding her tightly against him. He realized that he liked it like this. He liked holding her, and he marveled at the way she fit so perfectly in his arms. He hadn't noticed before, however, that she was quite a bit shorter than he was. Her head couldn't even reach the top of his shoulder. That didn't really matter though. Not in the least.
"Thank you," she whispered, and he smiled as a response. He didn't say anything back to her; he only tightened his embrace, resting his head against hers.
Ray closed her eyes and gave a silent sigh. For the first time in a long time, she felt completely content. What was it about Leon that made her feel that way? It was strange how at this close of range she began noticing things. Leon was tall, even taller than Brian. He was also incredibly well-built. Then again, most Geno pilots were. Piloting involved not only intelligence but a strong body. At least he wasn't overly built like the muscle men on television. He was just your average, everyday Geno warrior, and that's what she liked about him.
After what felt like forever but what only lasted about a few minutes, they broke the embrace, and Ray turned back towards the television. There was a soft smile on her face as she watched her brother and herself playing in the hanger of the GRC headquarters.
"I remember," she began. "I remember all of it. Every detail." She looked back to him, her smile still as soft as ever. "Thanks to you." Before he could say anything, she took his hand and brought him over to the couch. They both sat down and began watching the videos.
Leon was actually enjoying the home movies. He had heard of her family, but he had never seen them. Ray didn't seem to have any pictures. If she did, he had never seen them. This was a good way for him to get to know her even better. These movies brought up quite a few questions. One was once again about her odd hair style. Why was she keeping the left side of her face covered? She hadn't as a child. What was so very different now?
They had been sitting in silence for what felt like hours, doing nothing but watching the video tapes. Leon was sitting comfortably, his arm resting on the armrest right next to him. He was suddenly startled, however, when he felt a pressure against his other side. He glanced over and saw that Ray was leaning against him, her head finding its way to his shoulder. She appeared to be rather content right there leaning against him.
Leon smiled and brought up his arm, shifting Ray a little in the process. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her just a little closer, and she didn't object at all. If anything, she moved even closer, a sigh full of content escaping her lips. It only caused him to smile more as he turned his attention back to the television.
It was only a few moments later that he looked back to her only to find that she was asleep. She looked at peace for once. He couldn't see it, but there was a small smile on her face. Leon just smiled as well, resting his head atop hers.
"Happy birthday Ray," he whispered before closing his eyes, allowing himself to peacefully fall asleep next to her.
CHAPTER 30
Bridging the Gap
General Gordan sat alone in the main room of the GRC headquarters. He was apparently working on something with the computers. He let out a long sigh as he failed yet again to correct the error. What was worse was that it was blatantly flashing his failure across the monitor. It took every bit of willpower he had not to just chuck the computer out the window.
He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a moment. He was trying to remember what he wanted to do today. He knew of one thing that was incredibly important. After over two months of delaying the mission, he was going to have Ramirez's excavation site destroyed. They were still mining sacri crystals, and the last thing they needed was for the silver haired devil to create another monster sized Geno. One had been more than enough to deal with.
"Gordan?" questioned a soft voice from the door. He turned towards it, finding Abby standing in the doorway. She walked into the room, followed by Brian and their newfound companion Aaron. Jace was nowhere to be seen among them. He was probably still sleeping. That was one thing he was good at. He had always been lazy.
"Yes, what is it?" Gordan asked as he spun the chair around so he could fully face them. Abby just smiled as her eyes landed on the computer screen. Their system still wasn't working. The monitors had been down for a few days now. They couldn't get anything to work, not even the communication system. It was horrible for the main headquarters to be cut off from everything. It was plainly obvious that Gordan was really getting ticked off at the machine.
"We were going to ask you about the excavation sites," began Brian. "You mentioned yesterday that we were going to get rid of them."
"Yes," he said. "You're going to get rid of only one though. We haven't located any of the others yet." He sighed out of irritation and shot a glare at the computer screen behind him. "If I could just get this up and running again, we could locate the others."
"How's that going anyway?" asked Abby, and Gordan just gave her a small glare, indicating that he didn't feel like answering that question.
Aaron remained silent, but he turned his attention to the computer screen. Without a word, he walked over to it, monitoring exactly what the message was displaying. He was sure he had seen this kind of error before.
Everyone's eyes were now on the young commander as he looked over the computer screen. He appeared to be thinking about something. He then turned towards Gordan.
"Can I work on it?" he asked the general, who only gave him a skeptical look. If Gordan couldn't fix it, then how did Aaron stand a chance at doing so? It couldn't hurt though.
"Go ahead," said Gordan, getting out of the chair.
Aaron sat down and began working on the computer, his fingers seeming to just fly over the keys. In no time at all, the error message disappeared, and everyone gaped in astonishment.
"How did you do that?" questioned Gordan as he looked over Aaron's shoulder. The ex-commander was still typing away, keeping his eyes on the monitor.
"Well," he began with a small smile. "When you spend most of your time around a kid like Andy, you learn a few things. He's an expert on practically everything."
Gordan's expression faltered a little as Andy's name was mentioned. It had been years since he had seen the boy. He began to wonder just how he was doing. It was true that his past had been a sad one, but the GRC wasn't to blame. However, Gordan couldn't help but feel guilty about it. It had been his command after all that had taken the lives of Andy's parents. If only he had evaluated the situation better, maybe he could have saved their lives and the lives of his other men lost in the battle.
"Sir?" began Brian, drawing his attention away from the computer screen. "About the excavation sites…"
"Oh, yes," began Gordan, regaining his original line of thought. "I want you two to go out there. Once Jace is ready, I'll send him as well. If all goes according to plan, we shouldn't need to call Ray. We'll let her have a break for once."
"Sounds good," said Abby. "We can handle it, no problem."
"Alright then," he said as he turned back towards the computer that Aaron was working on. "Good luck."
"Thanks sir," said Brian as he and Abby exited the room to head out for their mission. Hopefully Ramirez wouldn't be there. He was the last pers
on they needed to see. For once they wanted an easy assignment, one that didn't involve the silver haired general. Perhaps they'd get lucky. Maybe fate would finally be kind to the knights.
* * * *
Ray walked aimlessly down the roads of Torran, trying to find something worth doing. She wasn't there because of any particular reason, but now she was trying to find a way to entertain herself. She was there because Leon had needed a ride to pick up his Geno. She would be driving the car back, but until she was too bored to think, she was going to wander the city. She was hoping against all odds that she would find Andy. She had no reason in particular to see him. She just liked spending time with the boy genius.
Ray found her way to Sam's store, and she decided to go in. It wouldn't hurt after all. It may hurt Sam's business, but she would be alright. Besides, she was hungry, and he was the only one who would give her free food.
"Hey Sam," she greeted cheerfully as she walked up towards his front counter. He just sighed deeply, resting his head against his hand.
"What now?" he asked her. She was about to say something when he sighed again and began heading to the back room. "Never mind. Don't even ask." He came back with a bag full of food for her, and she just smiled brightly at him.
"Thanks Sam," she said as she walked to the door. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Make it much later," he mumbled, but she didn't here him. Probably for the best. He just sighed as he went to help his next customer.
Ray walked down the street with her bag. She was heading towards the park, since it was probably the most peaceful place in the city. She just wanted a nice place to eat her lunch. She stopped dead in her tracks, however, when she saw Andy sitting alone on a park bench. He looked rather depressed as he sat there with his eyes on the ground and his hands folded in his lap. Without a second thought, Ray walked over to him.
"Hey," she greeted with a smile, drawing his attention. His expression only fell more as he watched her sit down next to him.
"Hey," he greeted softly, saying nothing more to the ace knight. She gave him a skeptical look, deciding to put the sandwich she had been eating back in the bag. Whatever problem Andy was having was obviously more important right now than her food.
"Why the long face?" she asked gently, a small smile still on her face.
"I'm sorry," he said, sounding very sad about something.
"About what?" she asked out of confusion. He hadn't done anything to her. Why was he apologizing?
"Ramirez told me what happened," he began. "He told me about the battle ten days ago. I'm so sorry Ray." The ace knight was confused for a moment, but when she thought back to the battle, she realized what he meant. Her smile only widened, and she began laughing softly, drawing a surprised expression from Andy.
"If you're talking about Leon," she began, "then don't worry. He's still alive and doing well." Her smile only widened as she watched the relief wash over the fifteen year old's face. That had obviously been what was wrong. She rather liked the fact that he was worried about Leon. They had only met once, and he already liked the older boy. Andy always had a good judge of character.
"Hey Ray?" began Andy. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," she answered. "Ask me anything."
"Do you know anything about sacrum?" he questioned, not bothering to look up at her. He missed the strange flash of emotion that ran through her eyes as that one word escaped his lips. Ray didn't even answer him. She only bit her bottom lip and folded her hands in her lap.
"…No," she said after a while, and if Andy had been paying more attention, he would have heard her voice shift. She was lying to him, but he didn't know it. The topic wasn't one she wanted to discuss with anyone, even him.
"I see," he said softly, seeming a little disappointed.
"Why'd you want to know?" she asked curiously, opening her bag back up to get something to eat.
"Because I'm being transferred to a different base soon," he began sadly, "and Ramirez wants me to build him a sacrum amplifier with the equipment I find there. It's a base near one of the excavation sites."
"Oh," she said softly, seeming a little disappointed. "How long will you be there?"
"It just depends on how fast I find what I need," he answered with a small sigh. He was tired of doing all of this work for Ramirez, especially when the general asked for things that were insignificant. Didn't he know that sacrum no longer existed? There was no point in building a sacrum amplifier if no one had sacrum. He was starting to think his general had lost it.
They sat in silence for a while, not having anything else to really do or say. It was hard to start a conversation sometimes, especially after a topic like that. Somehow they always ended up talking about work, even when they didn't want to. It was hard when they came from two different sides of the battle. Some information could be said while just as much couldn't. Why couldn't Andy understand that what Ramirez was doing was wrong? He probably did know, but he no longer had much of a choice. He hated the GRC, and if he tried to leave Ramirez now, he'd probably be hunted down and killed by the silver haired devil himself.
"Hey Andy?" began Ray, her thoughts leading her to another topic. "I need you to promise me something."
"Alright," he responded, not caring what the promise would be. He'd do anything for Ray.
"You can't say anything to Ramirez that would hint at Leon being alive, okay?" she told him seriously. "He's safe right now, but if Ramirez finds out that his plan failed, he'll fight back harder. I don't need to lose Leon after all of this, alright?" Andy allowed a small smile to cross his face as he saw the worry on Ray's
"I promise," he assured her, and she just smiled in response. Without another word, she stood up and stretched her arms.
"What do you say we walk around for a while?" she asked him, and he smiled brightly in response. He stood up, stretching a little as well before following after Ray down the park paths. It was time for a day of relaxation for both of them. Everyone needed a break now and then.
* * * *
Leon walked slowly across the desert in his snow white Geno, standing out in the gold and blue desert setting. He was taking his time getting back to the base. It's not like he had much to do anyway. It would jut be another lazy day, full of watching TV and eating. He was slowly starting to get bored of not having as many battles. He had Ramirez to blame for that. Ever since the GRC had stepped it up against the evil general, they had less and less time to regulate the battles. Even if Leon was challenged, he may not get to battle on account of the GRC and their busy schedule. It's not like he could battle right now anyway. He had a week to go before his body was in perfect working condition. That's why he was going so slowly right now. He didn't need to injure himself further.
He wasn't sure just how long he had been walking, but he knew he was going the right way. He'd already passed by the excavation area, making sure to steer clear of it completely. He didn't need to run into anymore trouble, especially in his condition.
Leon stopped suddenly, his eyes catching something in the distance. Whatever it was, it was picking up sand, a cloud of dust rolling behind it. Only one thing on the entire planet moved that fast, and that was a Geno. The way the sun reflected off of it assured him of exactly what kind. The golden light was unmistakable. Only three Genos on the planet still had that color armor. It was one of the golden armored Genos of the GRC knights.
Leon watched as the golden blur streaked past him, heading further out into the desert. His eyes continued to follow it, and he began to wonder where it was going. After all, there wasn't much out in that direction, especially not much that the GRC would be interested in. All that was there was the excavation site.
Curious, Leon turned around and began to slowly follow after the Geno that had streaked off at high speed. He wanted to know what was going on. If something was happening at the excavation site, then Abby and Brian were probably involved. Perhaps that had been one of them that had just passed him. It was worth chec
king into, so he picked up his pace a little, still trying to take it as easy as he could.
In a matter of ten minutes or so, he arrived at the area near the excavation site. He could see explosions going off in the distance, and he began to fear the worst. What had the knights gotten themselves into this time? It seemed like they never got a break. Why hadn't they called Ray yet if they were having problems? Then again, she wouldn't be able to do much. She was in Torran, and her Geno was at the repair shop. There were still a few internal problems that needed to be fixed.
Leon got closer, and he could see three golden Genos battling against a small army. The enemy Genos were all different colors. Luckily there was no sign of Ramirez and his midnight blue one. However, even without the devil there, the three knights were having trouble. They were greatly outnumbered, and they all appeared to be running out of weapons. He watched as one of them had a back mounted gun blown completely off. The enemy units were going to win this. Was Gordan insane sending just the three of them out against nearly forty units? He began to think so.
One of the golden Genos was shoved to the ground, and the other two moved in to protect it. Leon was starting to get irritated. He wanted to go out there, but he wasn't supposed to battle for at least a week. It had only been a day. Ray could do it. That one thought began to nag at him. Ray would be out there battling even with a partially healed wound. She'd done it before. Then again, he wasn't Ray. There was something different about her. Determination alone wasn't the key to her success. Her body healed quickly; his didn't. What was he supposed to do? He could only stand and watch as all three Genos were blanketed in heavy gun fire.
That was it. Leon was just too sick of standing around doing nothing. He had to be out there helping them. They needed his help now. He couldn't just stand around and do nothing anymore. With one flip of a switch, his boosters flared, and he was off. He didn't dare flip the second one though. He was rash, but he wasn't that rash. Breaking the sound barrier in his condition was a dangerous move. He didn't need to risk reopening his recently closed wound. It was sore just moving at this kind of a pace.
