Perfect Sacrifice

by Parker, Jack

  "General Gordan!" he called, but their eyes all quickly found the man. He was sitting at one of the computers, his eyes currently on the floor. However, he quickly snapped his attention to the knights as they ran over to him to make sure he was alright.

  "General, what happened?" asked Jace, noticing that a few of the computers had been knocked over onto the floor, their monitors in pieces.

  "Are you alright?" asked Abby, concern flooding her eyes.

  "I'm fine," he stated with a sigh, one that gave away how stressed he was. What leader wouldn't be in a situation like this? "Listen," he began. "You need to find Aaron."

  "Aaron?" questioned Brian, finally realizing that the ex-commander wasn't in the room anymore. Hadn't that been where they had told him to stay?

  "He went out to lead them away from here," explained Gordan. "However, he isn't armed. I'm worried about what might happen if they catch him." Just then, a few gunshots were heard in the distance. They all turned to face the doorway, but no other sounds followed. For a gunshot to be heard like that, whatever had fired it had to be nearby. However, there were no other sounds. They couldn't hear the shuffling of feet across the hallway floor, nor did any more gunshots echo in the hallway. That meant one of two things. Either whatever they had shot at was now leading them away, or the thing they had shot at had been taken down. Either way, their uneasiness wouldn't be subdued.

  "Gordan," began Brian, drawing his general's attention. "I just have one question before we leave to find Aaron." Gordan nodded to him, signally for Brian to continue. "What is going on? Why are the Genos gathering here?" Gordan lowered his head a little. Perhaps he should tell them. It's not like they could do anything now.

  "Well, you see…" he began, but a soft beeping from the communicator on his wrist quickly cut his sentence short. He flipped the small lid up and came face to face with one of his officers still located outside of the building.

  "Sir," began the man, a smile on his face. "Our Genos are working again. We're now proceeding to push back the remainder of the enemy units." A smile spread across Gordan's face as he heard those words. If they could control their Genos again, then perhaps the ones approaching the base had stopped as well. If so, then Ramirez's plan had failed. However, this didn't quell the unease of the situation. If the Genos had stopped advancing, then what did that mean for Ray? Had she been killed, or had she and Leon come up with a way to get out? There were so many questions in his mind, but another explosion near the base quickly drew his attention back to the problem at hand. They had a missing ex-commander to find.

  Gordan closed the communicator and then turned back to his knights. They all seemed relatively pleased with the good news. This meant they'd have no problem winning the battle now. Perhaps they wouldn't need Ray's help after all. However, none of them were aware that even in her absence she was playing a big part in this battle.

  "Listen ," began Gordan. "Go find Aaron. Make sure he's alright. It'd be a shame if he died now." The knights all nodded and left the room without a word. They then began to run down the hallway in search of their missing friend. They heard a few more gunshots, deciding to follow. They just hoped they wouldn't find Aaron as a victim of them.

  * * * *

  Ray and Leon finally reached the hallway that led into the hanger. Ray peered around the corner, only to see that the enemy Genos were still there. All except for the raptor. She had been hoping against all odds that Ramirez would have had her send his Geno as well. Now he was probably waiting outside for her to come. He could very easily kill her if she didn't get to her Geno in time. He was probably thinking that she had sent it away, so she was hoping she'd have the upper hand for a while.

  "Hey Leon," began Ray, drawing his attention. "I want you to stay here, alright?" Ray reached around the corner and moved a few of the small crates. Her hand soon found the strap of her backpack, and she pulled it out.

  "What are you going to do?" he asked her, watching as she unzipped the bag and began taking things out. Her father's handgun was one of them. A pair of her skates was another. She quickly put the handgun in a holster at her side, hidden partially by her blue jean jacket.

  "What do you think I'm going to do?" she asked as she began putting the skates on. "I'm going to make a break for my Geno. Ramirez is out there waiting, after all. I can't disappoint him." There was a small smirk on her face, as if she really thought that this was it, that this was the day she'd finally be rid of the silver haired devil. However, Ramirez wasn't an easy target, and in no way was he predictably. This battle would be anything but easy for her.

  "Ray, I'll come with," he told her. "I can borrow a Geno. Let me help you." Ray stood up, now on her skates, and turned to glare at him.

  "Are you insane?" she asked him. "I just went through all this trouble to get you back, and now you want to get yourself killed? No way, nah uh, you're not coming."

  "But I can…" he began to protest, but she placed a finger on his lips to silence him. She took a few steps towards him and removed her finger, but before he could say anything, she silenced him with a kiss.

  Leon was shocked to say the least. His mind didn't register exactly what was happening until she released his mouth, leaving him a little dumbfounded. Ray just smiled at him, her eyes gleaming with a new found confidence.

  "I love you, Leon," she told him, snapping him away from his small trance. "That's why you have to stay here. This is my battle. In case you've forgotten, I'm the ace knight. I can handle this. Ramirez is mine." She turned around and prepared to leave, but she glanced back one last time, her smile still as bright as ever. "I'll come back, don't worry. Just stay here." Leon nodded once to her, and with that, she took off.

  Ray dashed across the large hanger, knowing that she had to time this just right. When she was just about to reach the large, open hanger doors, she pushed in a few buttons on her communicator, and the sands before her began to shift. She began to stake harder, determined to reach her rising Geno before it was too far up. She managed to position herself on the head just as it broke through the sand barrier, and just before she got into the cockpit, her eyes caught the sight of Ramirez and his blue raptor. They were just standing there, waiting for her. Ray already knew that this wouldn't just be some battle. It was time for her to bring out everything. She had to win this. People's lives were on the line this time. She wasn't just fighting for herself and Leon. She was doing this for the future of the GRC, for the survival of her fellow knights. She was going to win, no matter what. She had to.

  "We meet again," said Ramirez, his face appearing in her cockpit. He wore a rather confident smirk on his face, one that Ray desperately wanted to wipe off. He wouldn't be so confident in a few minutes. She was going to get the upper hand on him.

  "Just shut up and fight," she told him as her Geno let off a low growl.

  "You know," he began, "your skill really isn't even yours. The sacrum in your blood is the only reason you're an exceptional pilot. If it weren't for that blood, you'd be common, just like the rest of them."

  "I hate to break if to you, Ramirez," she said with a rather cocky looking smirk. "I've never once fought with sacrum. I didn't even know I could until a year ago, and still I never have. My skill is my own. Sure, maybe my eyes and ears have been a little enhanced, but it's the responsibility of the pilot to use every ability they have when fighting. I'm not going to hold back at all this time. I'll show you what a Geno is capable of when it has the right pilot."

  Ray reached over and shut off her communications device so that he currently couldn't respond. He'd override it eventually, but she didn't need him interrupting her or trying to shoot her down. She finally had the confidence she needed to win against him. This would be the end. One of them was going to die today, and despite what she had said, the game was tied. She had just as good a chance at winning as she did losing. She and Ramirez were both skilled, but this battle was going to prove to them which one was better.

  Ray pushed her control
s forward, and her Geno broke off into a sprint towards Ramirez. He began firing his guns at her, but she managed to dodge everything he threw. Her feline Geno moved gracefully, kicking up the sand as it approached the raptor. The second she was close enough, she lunged for him, but he stepped out of the way just in time. He turned his guns on her as she was passing by and fired, but they never connected. Her Geno had broken through the sound barrier at the last second, and the sonic boom was just enough to send Ramirez and his raptor into the air. However, he managed to land on his feet, his mighty Geno releasing a rather threatening roar from its mechanical throat.

  "Nice trick," he told her, his cocky smirk still intact. "I have a few of my own, however." The boosters on his Geno's back flared, and he was soon lifted into the air. He rose high enough so that she couldn't reach him.

  Ray stopped her high speed attack and began firing on him with a few of her guns. However, he managed to dodge all of her bullets. In the process of doing so, a chest compartment opened, revealing his rather large cannon that he had used on her quite a few times. However, she wouldn't be able to stop him from doing so this time.

  As he began to charge the cannon, she fired more at him. However, he managed to maneuver his raptor around most of the ammo. An arm or leg was hit every so often, but as long as the boosters remained intact, he would still have the upper hand on her. He would hover over her and fire his cannon as many times as he could. He had made some drastic changes to his Geno's core, so now it could probably last through at least twenty firings of his cannon. He wouldn't even need half of that if he timed everything right.

  The cannon fired, and Ray quickly withdrew her weapons and made a run for it. However, the cannon beam followed her, tearing into the ground behind her. She was honestly considering changing to the aerial form, but she decided against it. If Ramirez was going to fight in one form, then so would she, and she preferred the ground. So in a last ditch effort to escape the beam, she broke the sound barrier. She managed to get away, but Ramirez was now charging up another. He was also firing at her with the guns located on the head of his Geno. He had obviously made some changes to the machine, seeing as how it was outfitted with a lot more weapons, and the boosters were much more powerful.

  Ray stopped her high speed retreat and began firing at him again. She had to keep him distracted for a while until she could come up with a plan to take him out of the sky. He was too much of a risk at that height. She was currently timing him to see how long his cannon took to charge. If she could avoid one more firing of it, she could clip his wings for good. All she had to do was take out the boosters on his back or at least one of the ones on his side.

  The cannon fired, and she once again had to turn tail and run from the laser beam. She wasn't going to break the sound barrier just yet though. She had to time everything just right, and she would need her boosters at full power to do what she wanted to. She would take him out of the sky no matter what.

  The second the beam ended, she turned around and made a dash for his hovering Geno. He began firing at her as his cannon charged up again, but she dodged every shot, making sure to keep on her set path. She'd only get one shot at this, so she had to do it right. Ramirez would catch onto her plan if she failed. There were no second chances with him.

  Ray threw her boosters into overdrive, sprinting towards the raptor. At the last second, she leapt into the air, heading right for Ramirez. It looked as if she was going to ram into him head on, but she quickly used her boosters to lift her Geno above the raptor. She then opened fire on the midnight blue Geno. Bullets rained down on it, but she wasn't interested in hitting the arms or legs or even the head. All of her attention was currently aimed at his boosters.

  The shots connected, and the boosters began to short out. Ray heard a curse come from Ramirez, increasing the smirk plastered across her face. She flipped in mid air and landed on her feet. She watched as the raptor slowly came back down to the desert floor. Its red eyes gleamed in the sun, giving it a rather sinister look. It probably matched the glare that Ramirez had on his face after that little trick.

  Ray retracted all of her guns, and her Geno roared a challenge to Ramirez. He also retracted his weapons, and the raptor shrieked in response. Both Genos charged at the same time, meeting directly in the middle. It was then that the real battle began as they came to a silent agreement. This would be decided the old fashioned way. No weapons, just claws and teeth.

  The battle raged on, each one biting and slashing at the other machine. It was down to raw power and the attributes of their armor. Whoever had the best defense and offense would triumph. Occasionally one would pull away and try to charge the other, but usually those attacks were dodged. Ramirez was sporadically caught in the backlash of a sonic boom, but he always recovered very quickly. It was the same with Ray if he managed to use his tail to toss her across the desert. They were both powerful in their own ways, but the only way for them to figure out who was the best pilot on the planet was for one to completely destroy the other. This was a life or death battle, and they both knew it.

  Ray jumped back a little, preparing to charge at him. However, before she could, Ramirez broke their unspoken truce. He opened fire on her, blanketing her Geno in gun shells. When the constant hard rain stopped falling, Ray's silver Geno had quite a few dents in it. Otherwise, it was alright. Currently it was slowly getting back to its feet.

  "Damn you Ramirez," she began lowly. "I should have known you'd try something like this." As her Geno slowly got back up, Ramirez opened the chest panel on his Geno, preparing to charge his cannon again.

  "It's time we ended this," he told her with a smirk. "With you out of the way, the GRC is nothing." Ramirez was just about to release the beam he had charged up when his whole Geno suddenly froze. The charged beam completely disappeared and all of his systems began flashing. He tried in vain to work the controls. Nothing would respond to him. He quickly picked up the soft sound of laughter coming from Ray, and he glared in her direction.

  "I'm afraid it won't be that easy," she told him with a smirk. "I guess you forgot about what I can do."

  "Release my Geno," he demanded. "Using your sacrum is nothing more than a cheap trick."

  "Spare me," she told him as her Geno got fully to its feet. "You're one to talk. You broke the cease fire first, not me. However, I do agree with you that it's time to end this. This battle has gone on long enough." Ray's Geno quickly braced itself, and the tail rose up, the end now pointing towards Ramirez. It quickly began to change shape, and a cannon nozzle quickly replaced it. Not only that, but two panels flipped from the sides, revealing two rather big cannons stationed on them. Ray just smirked as she pictured Ramirez's face right now.

  "What are you doing?" he asked her angrily.

  "You know," she began, ignoring his question. "It's been so many years, and I'm really tired of these encounters. I'm sick of this war, and I'm sure as hell sick of you."

  "Release me! This is unfair!" he demanded, fighting with the controls of his Geno.

  "No, unfair is what you did," she told him. "You used Leon to lure me here in order to keep me away from the battle at the base. Then you tried to use my sacrum to control your army. You never fight your own battles. You're always trying to use someone else. The final battle is taking place at headquarters, and you weren't even going to be there to see it through. Just what kind of general are you?"

  Ray's Geno suddenly opened its mouth, and another cannon nozzle could be seen inside. As soon as it had extended far enough, all four cannons began to gather light, now glowing a soft red color. The light bounced off of Ray's Geno, making it gleam a blood red. It was almost as demonic as the eyes of the raptor before her. She smirked as she heard Ramirez mutter a few angry curses. He was apparently kicking at the controls, trying to get something to work.

  "You know Ramirez," she began, knowing full well that he was listening to her. "Maybe if you hadn't killed my parents, maybe if you hadn't shot my brother, and maybe if
you hadn't left this hideous scar on my face, I would let you go, and we'd fight this out to the very end." The cannons were now done charging, and Ray just smirked as her finger hovered over one small red button. "However…to me, this seems fair." She pressed the button. "Don't you think?"

  The four point cannon fired, one beam from each part. The white hot light raced towards the unmoving Geno, and it was enveloped before the beams even hit it. The four waves of energy slammed head on into the mighty Geno, and it shrieked in either annoyance or pain. It was hard to tell with these machines. However, a rather large explosion erupted in the torrent of light, sending it everywhere. Ray had to shield her eyes from its intensity, even though she'd much rather watch as the nightmarish Geno and its hell bent pilot were completely destroyed.

  After what felt like forever, the light finally cleared, and what Ray saw pleased her so. All that was left of the once mighty Geno was a pile of scrap metal and red glass. The core had been completely destroyed, along with most of the body. Half of its severed head was left, but the eyes had been completely blown out. However, when Ray saw the inside of the raptors head, the cockpit itself, she couldn't help but smile. The chair was gone. He got away then, did he? I guess not even I can override the emergency systems. She spotted the chair and a discarded parachute a few yards away. It didn't matter though. There really weren't that many places he could run to. His base was the only place in the area.

  Ray just sighed and did a quick system check on her Geno. Never before had she fired the four point cannon using all of its points. A lot of the armor on her Geno had been burned away, and it was only at half power now. It was enough to get both her and Leon back to Torran at least.

  She began to head back to the base, her Geno moving rather slowly. It could go faster, but she needed to conserve its remaining energy. There wasn't a lot left, and the trip to Torran would be a little difficult to make. If they were attacked during it, there would be no hope in surviving. They would have to be exceptionally careful.