by Parker, Jack
Reluctantly she sat up in her bed, stretching her arms. A large yawn escaped her mouth, followed by a shiver that ran up her spine. She quickly ran a hand through her hair, making sure it fell in the right places. She also didn't need it to look like a ratty mess if she was going to have company.
"Come in," she finally said, and the door slowly opened, gliding along the tiled floor. She was greeted with the welcoming sight of her friends. The six of them walked over to her, all looking rather relieved to see that she was doing well. Then again, they expected nothing less from Ray.
"You're looking better this morning," pointed out Brian with a soft smile. "It's good to see you're alright." Ray just gave a small laugh as she mockingly flexed and arm.
"It'll take more than poison to kill me," she stated confidently. "If Nathan thinks he can get rid of me so easily, then he's mistaken. I'll get him back next time."
"Well, it seems like you've made a full recovery," stated Gordan, a lopsided smirk present across his face. "You're always shooting your mouth off, Ray. You shouldn't underestimate him."
"Please, he's nothing but a second rate commander," she said arrogantly as she crossed her arms in front of her. "I could beat him, no problem." Everyone just sighed mentally. She really was better if she was this cocky so early in the morning. Everything was back to normal again.
"It's a good thing you're feeling better," said Dr. Solaris. "You can leave this afternoon if you'd like. We'll go now though and let you rest for a little longer if you want."
"Thanks," she said sweetly, happy that at least someone understood her need for sleep. The antidote for scarlet poison doubled as a sleeping aid. It could knock anyone out for an entire day, and she was currently still tired from it. The amount of sleep she had gotten hadn't nearly been enough to last her the whole day.
The six of them began to walk out the door. Ray managed to catch Leon's eye before he walked out, and she flashed him a soft smile. He returned it, understanding the silent message she was giving him. He'd talk to her about what had happened later, but right now she really wanted to get some sleep. However, Abby was just about to walk out the door when she stopped and turned towards Ray. There was a bright smile on her face as she walked back over to the bed that Ray was sitting on.
"Let's talk for a while, okay?" she said to Ray as she sat down. The ace knight didn't seem to mind at all. She hadn't really gotten to see the other knights recently, so catching up would be a good thing.
"Hey Abby?" began Ray. "I was just wondering. When I blew up that base, did I take out Ramirez?" Sadly, Abby shook her head. She wished that Ray had gotten rid of the silver haired devil in her attack on the prison base, but it just hadn't happened. Ramirez had already gotten out long before the explosion. They had received word of a raid on one of the parts shops in Torran, and it had been noted that Ramirez was responsible. Besides, he wouldn't let himself die so easily. He was insane, not stupid.
It wasn't fair though. The evil general seemed just as hard to kill as Ray was. Neither of them would give up their life so easily. She had been so close to finally killing him. It really wasn't fair.
"So he survived, huh?" said Ray rather sadly as she sat there on her hospital bed, her legs hanging over the side.
"Yeah," said Abby in the same tone of voice. "It's a shame really. If you had killed him off, you wouldn't have to keep living at the Solaris base." Ray gave Abby a confused stare at that comment. She hadn't even considered that before. If Ramirez were to be killed, then there would be no reason to remain with the Solaris family. She'd end up going back to headquarters.
"Honestly, that thought never crossed my mind," she told her.
"What?" the knight questioned, seeming a little confused by the sudden change. "I thought you wanted to go back to headquarters."
"Well, I…" she began, seeming a little embarrassed about the answer she was going to give. "I guess it hasn't been so bad." That's an understatement. She blushed a little, trying to avoid Abby's steady gaze. Unfortunately, the other woman knew her far too well, and she caught on rather quickly to the shade of pink across her face. She only smirked as Ray turned away even more, trying to hide the steadily increasing color on her cheeks.
"You like Leon," stated Abby, earning her a very interesting response from Ray.
"I-I do not," she stated. "We're just friends." However, the claim didn't seem to help the red on her face. If anything, it got much worse. But she wasn't lying, was she? She didn't like him as anything more than a friend. He was just a really cute guy who she happened to be living with. Nothing more, right? For some reason, that just didn't seem quite right, even to her. Besides, even if he was more than just a friend, she'd deny it till no end.
"Okay R.C," said Abby as she stood up and began to leave the room. "Whatever you say." Abby only smirked as she left Ray alone to perhaps get a bit more sleep. Besides, she had someone else to talk to right now, and she would enjoy every second of it.
* * * *
Leon walked down the hallway, having no real destination. He had decided to wander the hospital for a while, since he had nothing better to do with his time. He wasn't going to leave until Ray was ready, but then again, it's not like he had much of a choice in the matter. The only car they had now was his dad's. Then again, Ray's Geno was currently stationed at the repair shop. She would just have to go home in that anyway. There was no other way to get it back to the base.
"Hey Leon," greeted a cheerful voice from behind him. He didn't even need to turn to know who it was.
"Hey Abby," he greeted as she walked up to him, now proceeding to follow him down the hallway.
"I have a question to ask you," she told him.
"What is it?" he asked, not seeming to care all that much.
"Even after Ramirez is gone, you wouldn't mind if R.C stayed at your base, would you?" she asked.
"No," he said rather quickly, as if the answer was obvious. However, when he saw the smirk on her face, he quickly began to regret the answer. "Wait, I mean yes…no, wait…" He began to fumble with his words, and Abby just laughed. She began laughing harder when she saw the small blush spread across his face. "It's not like that," he defended.
"Not like what?" she asked him. "I haven't implied anything."
Leon only hung his head out of pure embarrassment. Why did everyone have to pick on him, and why was Ray always involved somehow? Exactly what were they all implying?
"You do know," began Abby, a little more serious than before, "that once Ramirez is dead, R.C won't have a reason to stay at your base anymore." Leon seemed a little disappointed as she pointed that out, and it didn't go unnoticed. "That is…unless you can give her one."
"What?" he asked, but Abby just sped up and began walking away from him.
"All I'm saying is that it's up to you to make the first move, because there's no way she will," Abby called back as she disappeared around the corner, leaving a very embarrassed and confused Leon in her wake.
* * * *
Everyone was sitting around in the cafeteria at the hospital, having nothing better to do with their time. After all, they had to wait for Ray. It wouldn't be fair to leave her at the hospital alone. Sure, she was fully capable of taking care of things by herself, but it was just lonely in Torran and in the desert when you didn't have at least one other person with you.
They were all currently in the middle of laughing at a good joke, but a soft beeping sound soon broke through their fun. It was coming from Brian's communicator. He quickly flipped up the screen and hit one of the small buttons. On his screen appeared Jace, who looked just a little panicked.
"Jace?" questioned Brian, wondering why the other knight would even bother calling. He also began to wonder why Jace had insisted on staying at the base. Wasn't Ray his best friend? Why wouldn't he want to go see her?
"I don't have a lot of time to explain, okay, so listen up," Jace began. "It's Aaron. He went out earlier this morning, said he had something to look for, but his sign
al went dead just a second ago." Everyone was dead quiet as Jace spoke. He was interrupted, however, when Abby came through the door, shouting a "hey" to all of them.
"What are you guys doing?" she asked them. Brian quickly stood up, his communicator still on.
"We're leaving," he stated as he began to head for the door.
"Why the rush?" she asked him curiously. Brian wasn't usually so serious. He only acted this way when something important was going on.
"Jace can't locate Aaron," he began. "He went off earlier this morning, but his signal went dead. We're going to check it out, alright?" Abby didn't say anything to that. For once she just shut up and followed Brian out of the cafeteria. They had an ex-commander to save.
At the table they had been sitting at, Gordan stood up and began to follow them. The members of the Solaris family followed him with their eyes, all curious as to why he was leaving with his knights.
"Gordan, where are you going?" asked Dr. Solaris. Ray would be fine now, but he had thought that the general would at least be there to see her off when she left the hospital.
"I'm going with Abby and Brian," he told them as he kept walking. "It's true that Aaron once worked for Ramirez, but he's a part of the GRC now, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to him. After all, we did promise to keep him hidden from Ramirez." He suddenly scowled, but they couldn't see. He was already out the door. That idiot. Just what was he thinking? Just wait until they bring you back, Aaron. You'll get one long lecture, that's for sure.
* * * *
By the time noon rolled around, Gordan and his knights had arrived back at the GRC headquarters. Currently they were standing around in the main room, all staring down at Aaron who sat in one of the computer chairs. He was looking down at the ground, avoiding their heavy stares.
"Aaron, what were you thinking?" asked Gordan harshly as he crossed his arms. "You could have been killed out there."
"I know," Aaron whispered in response. He had so many bruises and cuts from the battle he had gotten himself into. If Abby and Brian hadn't come just in time, he probably would have gotten killed. He was a good pilot, there was no doubt about that, but against thirty Genos, no one really stood much of a chance alone. Unfortunately, it wasn't the battle that had him so shaken up. It was what had happened before it.
"Then why did you leave?" Gordan asked Aaron, watching as the ex-commander lowered his head further.
"I wanted to help you," he told them. "I went to see if Ramirez's base was still in the same location, and it was, but…they were preparing to move it again." This drew a shocked expression from the group, and he was hoping that they'd forget about his punishment for a while. He really had been trying to help them, even if he had gotten himself in trouble.
"His base can move?" questioned Brian.
"Yes," he responded. "He moves it every few months to make sure that you guys don't find it. I knew the location, but now…"
"It's alright," began Gordan. "You tried. However, you should have said something sooner. We could have sent the knights out with you."
"Sorry," he whispered, his eyes flooding with remembrance of the battle. Actually, he was recalling what had happened before the battle. He had made the ultimate mistake. He had allowed them to see his face. It's not like he had wanted them to, but they had hacked into his communication system before he could pull out. There was no doubt in his mind that Ramirez now knew about him. He was now a target for the silver haired general.
"Aaron, is something wrong?" asked Abby, noticing the way he was clenching his fists. He would break the skin at this rate.
"I didn't mean to," he began as he put his head in his hands. His voice was shaking from fear. "I let them see me."
"You what?" questioned Brian rather loudly.
"They were able to see me…before I punched out," he continued. "Ramirez…probably knows that I'm still alive." He sighed deeply, his hands falling back to his side. "He'll come after me now. I'm not safe here anymore."
"Nonsense," stated Gordan, drawing everyone's attention. "You're safer here than you are anywhere. Let's not forget that Ramirez doesn't know where this base is. If you stay here, he won't find you."
Aaron said nothing to that, but his mind wouldn't let the subject rest. He just didn't feel safe anymore. His nightmares could very well come true now. And if Ramirez were to find the base, he'd be putting them all in great danger. After all, Ramirez never let his pray escape, and Aaron had just found himself a place on his hit list.
* * * *
Later that day, the Solaris family and Ray had all returned to their isolated desert base. Ray was happy to be back to the place she knew as home. She had never liked hospitals, but she tended to spend a lot of time at them. She was forever getting herself hurt. That or she ended up getting someone else hurt.
Everyone had retired to their rooms, not having too much to really do. After all, the day was starting to unwind, and they had just eaten dinner. The sun would be setting soon, and then night would set in. It was time to just relax or even get a head start on sleeping.
Leon was lying on his bed, staring at his ceiling. His mind was running at about a hundred miles a minute, his head feeling overwhelmed with thoughts. For some reason, what Abby had said was really making him think. If Ramirez was killed, Ray would have no reason to stay with them. She'd leave and go back to the GRC headquarters, and he probably wouldn't get to see her so regularly ever again. He hated the idea. He wanted her to stay with them, but she needed a reason to.
Leon sighed deeply, his mind once again returning to the conversation he had had with Abby. She had told him to give Ray a reason not to leave. What had she meant by that? The very last thing she had told him still left a soft shade of red on his face. He knew she was right though. If their relationship was going to go anywhere anytime soon, he'd have to take the first step. It's not like this was his forte or anything though. He barely knew how to interact normally with other people. How was he supposed to treat Ray if their relationship was bumped up a notch? It was all so confusing.
Then again, did he even want to take this further? He kind of liked things the way they were. What if he did something wrong, and she ended up hating him? He wasn't sure if he wanted to go through something like that. If they were just friends, then maybe they'd be safe. Then again…something inside of him just wouldn't let that be. He knew it with every fiber of his being. He loved her, and friendship alone wasn't going to fulfill that feeling.
He sighed again as he got up and off his bed. He glanced out his window and noticed that the sun was just starting to set. Sunsets were always so fun to watch, and they were incredibly beautiful. That one thought quickly struck an idea, and he knew just how he wanted to spend the rest of his day. He left the room and walked down to his dad's study. He normally wouldn't have to ask permission for something like this, but he needed to use the car.
"Hey dad?" he asked as he opened the door, drawing Dr. Solaris's attention.
"What is it?" David asked as he looked up from the book he was reading.
"Can I borrow the car for a while?" Leon asked, praying that his dad would say yes.
"What for?" he asked, going back to reading his book. There was a smirk on his face though. He had a pretty good idea as to what Leon was planning.
"Just for a drive," he answered as he reached for the keys that were hanging on a hook by the door.
"By yourself?" his father asked him, his smirk only increasing as he awaited his son's response.
"Not exactly," he answered, seeming perhaps just a bit nervous. He didn't want to have to tell his dad exactly what he was planning. After all, it was embarrassing enough the way it was. All he wanted was to spend a little time with Ray without his father and Chris around.
"Fine, take the car," Dr. Solaris said as he turned away from his son. He missed the huge smile on Leon's face as he grabbed the keys and tore off down the hallway. Now there was just one part left of the plan. Leon had to get
Ray to go with him.
Leon ran down the hallway until he stopped at Ray's room. He was hoping that she would be willing to go on a drive with him. There was something he wanted to show her, a place he needed to take her.
"Ray?" he called as he knocked gently on the door. In a matter of seconds, the door opened, and Ray smiled up at him.
"Hey Leon," she greeted. "What is it?"
"Do you want to go for a drive?" he asked her with a smile, hoping that she wouldn't turn him down.
"Sure," she said as she stepped out of her room, not forgetting to grab her blue jean jacket off the back of her door. She quickly slipped it on and followed Leon down the hallway. She wasn't going to bother asking any questions. She didn't really care where they were going or if they were even going to any actual place. It would be fun just to get out of the base for a while, and even though she'd deny it till the end of the world, she enjoyed spending time with Leon. She knew she'd probably go back to headquarters after killing Ramirez, but she would spend as much time as possible with him until then. And who knows? Maybe I'll find an excuse to stay here longer anyway.
* * * *
They had been driving for at least an hour now, and Ray wasn't sure just where they were going. Then again, she wasn't sure if Leon even had a location in mind. He had only asked if she wanted to go for a drive. He had never stated where to or for how long. It's not like it bothered her any. She liked seeing the desert during a sunset. The sky was always so incredibly beautiful. It was something she had watched many times with her family when she was younger. It held a lot of memories for her, some better than others.
They were now going a direction that Ray had never once traveled, and she wandered the desert quite often with her Geno. She was starting to get curious about Leon's intentions. Just where was he taking her? It would start to get dark in another hour or so, and it really wasn't safe to travel anywhere at night. Exactly where were they going?
