Perfect Sacrifice (23 page)

"Warrior," demanded Ramirez.  "Just who are you?  No one damages my Geno, no one!"  He charged for her, his raptor's jaws now open, preparing to grab the neck of her Geno.  She dodged and used her boosters to come down hard on him.  He swatted her away with his tail before she could do any real damage.  It was then that he was met with heavy fire from the remaining three.  Seeing as how Abby and Brian were more or less immobile, he turned to Leon.  Without warning, he charged for him.

"Leon!" called Ray, but then remembered that he couldn't hear her.  She cursed when she realized she had no choice but to use the sonic boom technique.  She flipped the switch, and her boosters launched her off.  She flew by Ramirez, making sure to turn out of the way before passing Leon.  Ramirez's Geno was knocked over, now rolling on the desert sands.  He glared at Ray and her black Geno.

"A sonic boom," he noted.  "Not many can do that technique without having their system fail.  Just who are you?"  Just then, Ray's Geno fell to the ground, struggling to get back onto its feet.  The legs were beginning to give out from all of the high speed attacks she had been using.

"Please hold out just a little longer," she begged, knowing that Ramirez was about to come for her.  Only a second later did he begin to charge, his guns firing.  The bullets slammed into her Geno, damaging the legs further.

Leon tried firing at Ramirez, but his Geno was moving too quickly.  Before any of them could stop his assault, his Geno rammed into Ray's, lifting her into the air.  Her Geno slammed into the ground, dust flying everywhere.  The raptor roared loudly, now approaching the downed feline.  Not knowing what to do, Leon made a decision.  He flipped the switch for his boosters and took off.  He flipped a second one, and his Geno broke through the sound barrier.

"Leon!" scolded Abby, knowing that she wasn't going to receive an answer.  His Geno sped right past Ramirez, knocking his Geno away and into a nearby rock formation.  Ray's Geno was now slowly getting to its feet.  She watched as Leon's Geno ran by again, sending Ramirez rolling across the area.  Leon's Geno came to a stop, but it didn't move after that.

"Damn it Leon," cursed Ray as her Geno fully got to its feet.  "I thought I told you…"  She realized that he couldn't hear her and stopped her ranting.  His Geno had yet to move.  She slowly made her way over, wanting to know what was going on.  His Geno wasn't moving at all, not even a twitch.  She bit her bottom lip, knowing of only two reasons that it wouldn't move.  Either the system had failed, or the pilot had been knocked unconscious.

Ray reached to her communication link activator, wanting to contact Leon.  She couldn't take this.  She hated being cut off from the others.  She hit the button, and a screen popped up revealing Leon.  His head was down, his eyes closed.

"Leon!" she called.  "Wake up!"  He didn't stir, and Ramirez was starting to get back to his feet.  Ray stole a glance at him and then returned her attention to Leon again.  "Please wake up!" she called out.  "Leon!"

"R.C, shut off your link!" demanded Abby.  "You can't let Ramirez find out who you are!"

"But Leon is…" she began.

"We'll take care of him," stated Brian.  "Now turn off your link."  Reluctantly, Ray disconnected her communicator, jamming the system again.  However, she quickly positioned herself in front of the white feline, staring down Ramirez.  She wasn't about to let him get to Leon.  She couldn't let him die yet.

"Damn you," cursed Ramirez as he got his Geno up and running again.  "I must admit, I wasn't expecting that."  He smirked, however, when he noticed that Leon's Geno wasn't moving.  "I see…so he wasn't able to handle it."

"Shut up Ramirez," demanded Abby as her Geno got fully to its feet.  She quickly opened fire on him, but he dodged all of the bullets.

Ramirez smirked to himself as he realized that he was definitely dominating.  A soft beeping soon drew his attention, however.  He looked to the flashing yellow button and pushed it, bringing up a screen.  There was a man there, a slightly nervous expression on his face.

"Sir," he began.  "We have a problem.  It's site number twelve…it's…"

"What's going on?" questioned Ramirez.

"We…we found something that you may want to see," he said.  Ramirez nodded and shut off the link.  He then looked to his four enemies.

"You're in luck," he told them.  "It just so happens that I have more important things to attend to."  He turned his Geno around.  "However, the next time we meet, I won't hesitate to kill any of you."  He smirked as he added, "Even the Solaris boy."  With that said, he took off, his boosters carrying him quickly away from the area.  The second he was out of sight, Ray opened her cockpit.  She got out and ran along the body of her Geno.  When she was close enough, she jumped onto Leon's still immobile machine.  She quickly went to the cockpit, banging on it a few times.

"Leon?" she questioned, but she received no answer.  She bent down and grabbed the bottom of the cockpit cover, trying to lift it up.  Her left arm began to hurt, and she had to stop.  Instead, she began looking for the hidden panel that she knew existed somewhere along the cover.  If she could find it, she could get the hatch open.  She ran her hand along the white metal, finally finding the slightly upraised area.  She took out a dagger and used the metal hilt to smash in the area.  It would take a lot of work, since the metal was incredibly thick.

Finally, she came down on it hard enough that the metal gave way.  Ray smirked and used the dagger to pull away some of the metal covering.  She looked down into the area full of wires and complex operating equipment.  She eventually saw what she was looking for.  She reached to her blue backpack and took out a small device.  It appeared to be a mini computer of some sort.  She jammed it into a connector and typed in a few codes.  Not long after, the cockpit cover began to open.  Inside, Leon was still unconscious.

"Idiot," cursed Ray as she got in, standing near him.  She knew what the possible consequences were for breaking the sound barrier.  Cautiously, she reached out and placed two fingers against his neck, searching for a pulse.  She had to rule out death as an option.  She didn't want to have to tell Dr. Solaris that Ramirez had killed his son.

Ray sighed in relief as she felt a pulse, still steady and still strong.  She placed both hands on his shoulders and began shaking him.

"Leon, wake up," she demanded.  She shook him harder, and his head slammed back into the seat, hitting the metal bar near the side.

"Ow!" he shouted as he was rudely awoken.  He instantly reached up to nurse the bruise forming on the back of his head.  He glared at Ray accusingly.  "What was that for?"  Ray didn't seem to notice the harshness in his voice.  She simply sighed out of relief.

"Thank God," she said breathlessly.  He quirked an eyebrow.

"What?" he questioned.

"I…" she began slowly, seeming slightly embarrassed, "I was…concerned."  She looked away from him.  "You wouldn't wake up.  I thought that…maybe you had been…"  She sighed and turned back to Leon, her expression now animated with her usual fire.  "Look, high speed battle isn't meant for regular pilots."

"I know that," he told her as he stopped rubbing his head.

"Well then, don't try it again," she demanded as she stepped out of his cockpit.  "You're lucky you weren't killed."

"Why do you care anyway?" he asked, stopping her in her retreating tracks.  "You said that my life was my problem this time."  Ray turned around angrily.

"Do you think I
want
to see you die?" she asked.  "What would I tell your father, huh?  I'm sure it would be a
great
conversation."  Leon didn't say anything after that.  He realized that he ought to think before speaking.  His words had already gotten him in trouble enough times with Ray.

"R.C!" shouted Abby as she and Brian came over.  "We should probably get going."  Ray nodded and jumped back to her Geno, quickly getting back into the cockpit.  Leon closed his cover and brought his Geno back online.

"Hey Abby?" questioned Ray as they began walking away from the excavation site, littered with Genos.  "Why did you call me instead of Gordan?"

"This area is jammed," she explained.  "It wouldn't let us contact through such a broad frequency.  Your communicator was hard enough to reach."  Ray nodded and then looked to Leon.

"Hey Leon?  How about we don't mention this little adventure to your dad, alright?" she said with a smile.

"Then how are we going to explain this damage?" he asked.  Both of their Genos were in rough shape.  Dr. Solaris would quickly notice.  "In case you didn't know, it's near impossible to fool my dad."

"I'll think of something," she promised as she turned her attention back to the open road.

"We'll see you later, Ray," said Brian as he and Abby began to pull away from the group.

"Okay," said Ray.  "Take care."  The two pilots simply nodded as their screens faded from the cockpit.  Ray and Leon were left alone on the long road back to the Solaris base.  However, this would give them some time to think about what they were going to say to Dr. Solaris.  He wouldn't let Ray out of his sights again if he ever found out that they had done battle with Ramirez. 

CHAPTER 11

Post Battle Syndrome

The sun was setting, and Leon and Ray were just now getting back to the base.  They stationed their Genos against the far wall and got out, preparing the story that they would tell Dr. Solaris.

"Just let me talk," said Ray as they walked up the stairs.  "I think I've got this all planned out."  Leon reached for the doorknob, but the door was opened before his hand even touched it.  Dr. Solaris and Chris stepped out onto the stairway.

"Where were you?" asked Dr. Solaris, his father like tone once again taking over.

"I told you," began Ray, "I went out for a while."

"You never said that Leon was coming with you," said Dr. Solaris as he turned his eyes to his eldest son.  Leon just took a step back, a nervous smile on his face.

"He followed me," stated Ray.  "And it's not like anything bad happened.  Don't worry."

"Nothing bad happened, huh?" he questioned as his eyes fell on their Genos.  "How do you explain that?"  Ray glanced back at the damaged Genos.  It was time for her story.

"Well," she began, "when we were coming back from Torran, we ran into a desert gang.  It was no problem.  We took care of them."  Leon only nodded, but he was pretty sure his father wasn't going to fall for the lie.  Instead, Dr. Solaris began looking over the two Genos.  His brows were ruffled in deep thought as he observed their conditions.

"Considering the damage done," he began and then glanced at Ray, "especially to
yours
…"  He sighed as he rubbed his forehead.  "You ran into Ramirez, didn't you?"  Ray and Leon both froze, staring at him in disbelief.  True, the lie hadn't been all that great, but he really hit the nail on the head with that statement.

"How did you know?" Ray asked him.

"Because not many can damage your Geno like that," he told her.  Ray only lowered her head in disappointment, fear lacing her eyes.

"You won't tell Gordan, will you?" she asked, hoping against all odds that this would stay between them.  Dr. Solaris crossed his arms.

"Well," he began, letting the word hang for a while.  "Seeing as how you're both still alive, I guess I could keep this to myself."

"Thank you!" said Ray gratefully as she bowed to him.

"However," he began, drawing her attention.  "I would like to talk to you alone for a minute."  Ray nodded and followed Dr. Solaris into the kitchen.  Leon and Chris stayed in the hanger to see how bad the damages really were.

Ray entered Dr. Solaris's study, and he closed the door behind them.  She walked over to his desk and waited for him to follow.  He sighed as he walked over, his arms crossed.

"Does Ramirez know?" he asked her.

"Know what?" she questioned softly.

"That you're the ace knight?  That you're staying here?"  Ray fumbled nervously with her fingers for a while.

"No, I don't think so," she responded meekly.  Dr. Solaris sighed in relief.  "But…" she began, drawing his attention once again.  She continued in a whisper.  "He knows about Leon."  Dr. Solaris paled slightly as he took a seat at his desk.  He placed his head in his hands.

"Ray…" began Dr. Solaris, but she quickly cut him off.

"I'm sorry," she said quite quickly.  "I didn't know he was following me.  I never meant to get him involved.  I promise that I won't let anything happen to him."  Dr. Solaris looked up, meeting Ray's dismal, cherry colored eye.

"That's a rather complicated promise," he told her.  "We're talking about Ramirez.  When he makes a threat, he carries it through."

"I'm aware of that," she told him softly, "but I've been protecting people all my life.  I swear, on my honor as the ace knight, that I won't let Ramirez get to Leon."  Dr. Solaris hesitated before nodding to her.

"Very well," he said as he stood up.  "But Ray, I want you to promise to stop running off like that.  If Ramirez finds out who you are, you won't get away so easily next time."  Ray nodded without saying a word.  It wasn't like she didn't already know that.  The few times she had tangled with him as the ace knight had made her cautious around the silver haired devil.  He was probably one of the best pilots on the planet, if not the best.  She knew that she couldn't stop him on her own.