by Parker, Jack
"You have to save Ray, no matter what," he stated. "You two have to promise me that you'll get her out of here, okay?"
"Sure," responded Leon with a smirk. "That's what we were planning on doing anyway." Andy just smiled in response. He should have been expecting that. The two Solaris brothers would never leave her behind. Besides, Ray was the only one who had a Geno in the base that they could use.
"Okay then," said Andy. "Listen up. In about five minutes or so, I'll be out of the base. Please wait until then to break out, okay? I don't need to be caught after all of this. Once you break out, head for the end of this hallway. Go down the stairs and you'll reach the second floor. Ray should be in the cell at the other end of the hallway, so you'll have to move fast. There'll be another set of stairs after that, and they'll lead you to the hanger. From there, you should be able to get out. Just be careful. You don't need to get caught."
Andy pulled the key out of the hole and tucked all of them safely back in his pocket. He gave a small smile to both boys before turning around to leave.
"Five minutes, okay?" he reminded them. "I'll make sure to run, alright?"
"Good luck," said Chris.
"That's my line," he said playfully as he began walking away. He quickly stopped, however, and ran back to them. "One more thing." He reached towards his other pocket and pulled out a handgun from the inside of his lab coat. He handed it to Leon, who just stared at it a little before tucking it safely away in the large pocket of his jacket.
"Thanks Andy," he said, earning him a small nod from the boy.
"And just another thing I should warn you about," he began. "Everyone in this base is armed with at least one handgun and a grenade or two. Watch out, alright?"
"We'll be careful," Leon assured him with a thumbs up. "Now get out of here." Andy just nodded and then sprinted down the hallways. Leon and Chris watched until he completely disappeared around the corner. Five minutes and counting.
They waited patiently for what they assumed was five minutes before Leon kicked the door open. He and Chris began sprinting down the hallway, heading for the stairs at the end of it. They had to move quickly but carefully. There was no telling when a guard would appear, and since there was only one staircase, they could easily be seen on it. This wouldn't be easy at all. There was no place for them to hide if one of Ramirez's men came. They would just have to be fast enough to get this done.
They ran down the stairs, praying that there weren't any guards. Luck was apparently on their side, since not a single official was on the stairway. Now they had to make it across the next hallway. Leon peered into it to make sure the coast was clear before they began sprinting again. They had to reach the end. They had to save Ray.
* * * *
Nathan watched as Ray crumpled to the cell floor, completely knocked unconscious. He smirked as he crouched down next to her, examining her still form. She really was a beautiful girl, her silvery blue locks falling over her face. Her tight clothing hugged the curves of her body, highlighting everything.
He examined her further, his eyes scanning each inch of her. Her jacket was now hanging off her shoulders enough that he could see part of her back. Her halter top didn't do any good in hiding it. He became curious when he saw what looked like part of a tattoo. He quickly relieved her of the denim jacket, now able to see the marking near her left shoulder blade. His eyes widened in shock as they fell upon the whole tattoo, if you could really call it that. This looked more like it had been burned into her skin. It was in the shape of a sun, a circle for the body and different sized triangles for the points.
"Now where have I seen that before?" he questioned aloud. He didn't have anytime to ponder it though. The sound of the barred door swinging open soon caught his ears, and he realized that he had forgotten to lock it. He slowly turned to face the door, but all he could see was the angry expression on Leon Solaris's face as his fist connected with Nathan's head. The commander was quickly knocked into the wall, his head hitting the concrete. Strangely enough, he was still conscious, but he didn't have the strength left to fight back or move for that matter.
Chris and Leon got down by Ray, and Leon gently rolled her over enough to see part of her face. Her eyes were closed, a bruise placed near her temple. Other than that, she was fine.
"Hey Chris," began Leon as he took out the handgun. He handed it to his younger brother. "Take this and go on ahead, but be careful."
Suddenly, the halls lit up with flashing red lights. Sirens started going off, echoing down the hallways. The red lights danced along the walls, seeming to be just about everywhere. The sound of footsteps soon accompanied these other occurrences, and Leon glanced down the hallway. There were guards coming down it, and quite a few of them at that.
"Let's go," he said. Chris began running down the stairway to their right. Leon watched as he disappeared down it before picking up Ray. He then began running down the stairs as well.
Nathan watched as he disappeared with Ray, a smirk appearing on his face. He wasn't able to chase after them, but that didn't mean he was going to let them escape. He wouldn't disappoint his general. At his side was a handgun and a grenade, but only one was useful right now. He took the grenade and pulled the pin, quickly tossing it through the bars. He watched it fly down the stairwell. Hopefully it would be enough to kill them both. Now he just had to find a way to get out of the building. If Ray managed to survive, which was a high possibility, she would use her Geno to tear the base apart. He had to find Ramirez and get out of there. He had to survive. He was the only one who knew about the symbol on Ray's back.
* * * *
Leon ran down the long stairway. He was getting to the last ten stairs that would lead him into the hanger. Chris was probably waiting there for them. From there, they'd take Ray's Geno and flee the facility. It was all they really could do. They weren't stupid enough to try and take on the entire enemy force by themselves. Perhaps Ray would succeed, but she was currently unconscious.
Just when Leon thought he was in the clear, the stairway exploded behind him. He was thrown off his feet into the hanger. Before he hit the ground, he pulled Ray tightly against him, trying to keep her from getting hurt as they collided with the metal floor. His head cracked against it, and he blacked out, praying that his brother and Ray would be alright.
As Ray's head hit the floor a little, she was suddenly brought back to reality. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to focus them in the red flashing room. She blinked a few times before they finally did, and she realized that she was no longer in the prison cell. In fact, this room was at least fifty times its size. There were Genos everywhere, leading her to the conclusion that she was in the base's hanger. Now the only question was how she had gotten there.
Ray tried to move, only to find that something was holding her down. She glanced next to her and saw Leon, his eyes currently closed in a gentle unconscious state. Other than that, he appeared to be fine, but his weight was against her. He had collapsed while still shielding her.
Ray slowly pulled herself out from under him, seeming just a little embarrassed. However, she quickly realized that he wasn't waking up. She could now see that the clothing on his back had been singed a little, and there was debris all over him.
"Leon?" she questioned while placing a hand on his back. He didn't stir, so she placed her other hand on his back as well and began shaking him. "Hey Leon? Wake up." She received no response, so she shook him harder. "Leon!" There was still nothing. No matter what she did or how loud she yelled, he wouldn't wake up.
Ray stopped her attempts, realizing that they were indeed futile. He was out cold, and she wouldn't be able to wake him up. She was quickly overwhelmed with fury. She was mad at Nathan, at the people of the base. She was angry about their predicament, about what had happened to Leon. Most of all, she was furious with Ramirez. If he was still in the base, she'd make sure to kill him too. It was at that moment that the officials from the building entered the hanger.
They ran towards R
ay, but gunfire quickly halted their assault. Their eyes widened as they saw what had shot those bullets. More quickly followed, along with a threatening roar from a jet black Geno: Ray's Geno. It began walking towards them, letting out another roar. The men all began backing away from the Geno, scared to death of it. Not only was it larger than any of them, but it had no pilot. There was no weak point to it anymore.
Ray watched her Geno, not seeming surprised in the least that this was happening. After all, she had wanted it to. Her Geno would keep them busy for a while until she could come up with a plan that would work. She had to get out of the base, and she had to get Leon out as well, and what had ever happened to Chris? Hadn't he been with his brother?
"Ray!" called a familiar voice from behind her. She looked back and saw Chris approaching, a relieved smile on his face. "I'm glad you made it out."
Ray stood up to face him, giving him a soft smile in return. She had to stay calm in this situation. She wasn't about to let Chris panic over something like this. After all, she was the ace knight. She could handle it. There wasn't any predicament in the world that she couldn't get herself out of.
"Listen up Chris," she began, drawing his attention. "I want you to take Leon and get out of here." Chris looked to where his brother was lying, realizing that he had been knocked unconscious. He then returned his eyes to Ray, curious about what she was going to do.
"What about you?" he asked her, and a confident smirk spread across her face.
"I'm going to destroy this base," she told him, her eyes staring out the open hanger doors. She could see the blue sky and the golden desert sands. "Now go."
"Alright," he said as he bent down near his brother, lifting him up as best he could. After all, Leon wasn't light, especially not to someone like Chris. He looped his arm around his brother's waist and got Leon's arm to rest around his shoulders. Slowly, he began walking across the hanger, heading towards the wide open desert before them.
Ray turned towards her Geno, which was now blasting apart the hanger they were in. Pieces of the ceiling began falling around Ray, and she realized that she needed to get into her Geno now. She began to run towards the mechanical creature, its white glass eyes seeming to glow in the flashing red vicinity. It instinctively crouched down when she got close enough, letting her get into the cockpit that opened for her. Once she was inside, she took control, blasting at all of the other Genos in the hanger. She had to eliminate her threats.
As soon as all of the enemy Genos were taken out, she left the hanger, going into the desert. Once there, her Geno transformed into its aerial form, and she took to the skies. She began raining ammo down on the rather large prison base. She needed to destroy it. She was going to no matter what the cost. Ammo continued raining down on it, as if the base had been caught in a fiery spring shower. All it took were a few nicely aimed shots to start a chair reaction of explosions. After a few more seconds of raining ammo, the base exploded, changing into a ball of hot crimson flames.
Ray gave a contented smirk as she watched the building burn. That was one base down, but there were probably hundreds left. No one knew just how big Ramirez's organization was; in fact, no one really knew what it was called either. They were always so secretive. This was the first base they had ever found that the silver haired knight owned. Perhaps the rest were underground or camouflaged as normal battling team bases. Either way, finding them intentionally seemed impossible.
Ray began looking around the area, trying to spot Chris and Leon. It didn't take her long to see the two of them. They were sitting a little ways out from the base. Chris had apparently gotten tired from carrying Leon. It's not like she could blame him. Chris wasn't exactly built for lifting. He didn't have the physique of a Geno warrior like Leon did.
Ray landed her Geno and jumped from the cockpit. She quickly went over to Chris and Leon, who was still unconscious. At least there weren't any physical injuries, and his still healing one appeared to be fine.
"What now?" asked Chris. Ray sat down next to him and stretched her arms.
"We wait for Leon to wake up, and then we go home," she told him as she lied down in the sand. She was a little tired after all of this. She prayed that Leon would wake up soon so that they could head home. She wanted to get back to the base and take a nice long bath.
Leon groaned as he slowly shifted his position. Hesitantly, he sat up, placing a hand to his forehead. He looked like he had a headache, but that was only natural. He had taken a pretty hard hit to his head from the explosion in the stairway.
"Welcome back," greeted Ray as she sat up, drawing his attention.
"Where are we?" was the first question out of his mouth.
"In the desert," Chris answered.
"And don't worry about the base," said Ray as she stood up and stretched once again. There was a smile on her face. "I got rid of it."
Leon glanced back at where the base had been. All that remained was a hole in the ground. There were still a few pieces of flaming debris, but almost all of it had been completely obliterated. Not even the metal of the Genos had been left after Ray's onslaught.
"Let's go," Leon said as he stood up as well, followed by his brother. Ray only nodded as she began walking to her Geno, but she quickly staggered back a few steps. She managed to catch herself and quickly placed a hand to her forehead. She was instantly assaulted with a killer migraine, and everything suddenly felt as if it was spinning.
"Ray?" questioned Chris. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just a little dizzy," she said with a smile. She began to walk forward again, but everything just kept spinning, and she suddenly felt nauseous.
"Ray, are you coming?" asked Leon. He and Chris had already gotten ahead of her, now waiting by her Geno.
"Yeah, in a second," she responded as she tried to focus her eyes. Her vision quickly blurred, and the world before her looked kind of like the images in a kaleidoscope. "I'll come…as soon as everything stops spinning." With that said, she took one more step and collapsed to the desert floor. Before she knew exactly what was happening, Chris and Leon were at her side.
"Ray?" began Leon, worry flooding through his voice. "Ray? What's wrong?"
"It's hot…" she said as she tried to push herself to her hands and knees. Even that made her feel sick. Just what was going on? She had never felt like this before. Sure, she had been sick and even dehydrated at least once in her lifetime, but this was too much. She felt absolutely horrible, as if her head was splitting into hundreds of pieces. How could this have happened? What had she done to bring this upon herself?
Her mind suddenly snapped, and it was all so clear. She thought back to what Nathan had said when he had brought her the food. He had been so intent on making her eat it. The bread had been alright, but the water…it had tasted so foul. She had thought that perhaps it was just dirty, but now she understood.
"Poison…" she whispered as she fell over onto her back, her breathing now labored.
"What did you say?" asked Leon, rather alarmed. He had heard her, but he had to make sure that was what she had said.
"Poison…in the water," she said as she coughed a few times. "Nathan…he…he poisoned me." She couldn't speak anymore, her voice coming out in broken fragments. She could barely breathe anymore, let alone speak.
"Ray?" questioned Chris, noticing how her eyes were slowly closing.
"Hey, stay awake," demanded Leon, but she couldn't hear him anymore. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she could have sworn she had heard someone call out her name, but the pounding in her head quickly drowned it out, leaving her in nothing but an empty silence.
CHAPTER 32
Sacrum
Leon and Chris sat in the waiting room at Torran city's largest hospital. It was hard to believe how often they ended up there. Ever since meeting Ray, it seemed that they were there at least twice a month, if not more. They were currently waiting for the nurse to come back and tell them what was wrong with Ray. She had mentioned poison before
passing out, but that didn't really give them any leads to help her. There were so many different poisons in the world. How were they supposed to know which one Nathan had given her?
That wasn't all they were waiting for though. They were waiting for Dr. Solaris to show up. They had left a message for him, but they weren't sure if he had gotten it yet. They were also waiting for General Gordan, who they had called as well. The base was pretty far away though, so it was no wonder why he wasn't there yet.
The door to the hospital was quickly thrown open, and Dr. Solaris ran in. He went to the receptionist, but before he could ask any questions, Leon drew his attention. He ran to his two sons, a panicked expression upon his face.
"I came as soon as I got your message," he told Leon. "Now tell me exactly what happened."
"Ray was poisoned," explained Leon. "You see, we were kidnapped by Ramirez, but we managed to escape from his prison base. Ray demolished it, but when we were going to head back home, she passed out."
"I see," he said in a sigh. It was strange really. A few months ago, a story like that would have given him a heart attack, but now it all seemed rather routine. If they weren't being taken hostage, they were getting attacked by someone. It just didn't faze him as a parent anymore. He knew they'd always come back, what with Ray around.
"We've been waiting for hours," said Chris, "but they still haven't told us anything."
"Let's go then," he said to them, and they both just stared at him in confusion.
"Go where?" asked Leon. "We can't just leave without knowing if Ray will be alright."
"Exactly," he stated as he began to walk towards the receptionist's desk. She looked up at the three of them, a smile on her soft face.
"Hello," she greeted. "Can I help you?"
"What room is the ace knight in?" he asked the woman, and she quickly lost her smile.
"In room 120. I'm sorry, but you can't see her right now," she told him, and it seemed like she honestly was sorry. It's not like this was her first time seeing them here. By now, all of the doctors probably knew the Solaris family as well as they knew Ray.
