Perfect Sacrifice (25 page)

Ray sat down on her Geno's paw, staring up at the massive piece of technology.  Even though the Genos were man made, they sometimes seemed just as alive as a human being.

"Hey buddy," she whispered to the Geno, running her hand down the smooth metal of the creature's leg.  She received no answer.  Her companion remained silent.  "You miss him too, don't you?" she asked, lowering her head.  "I know he would have been a great pilot for you.  He was much better than I'll ever be."  She pulled her legs up against her chest, now rocking back and forth gently.  "God, I miss him."  She got off of her Geno's paw and sat down on the ground, leaning against it.  She closed her eyes, feeling tired again.  Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

* * * *

"Good job," congratulated a boy of sixteen.  He was watching as a beautiful silver armored Geno moved across the large hanger.  "You're doing great.  Just take it nice and slow."  The Geno continued to walk forward, its gears turning, its metallic legs bending.

"Lee," called a voice from behind the boy, drawing his attention.  A man walked up behind him, his hard green eyes containing a hidden softness to them.

"Yes General Gordan?" questioned Lee, a smile on his face.

"Exactly what is going on here?" asked the general, his eyes following the silver Geno.  Lee turned around and smiled as the Geno continued on its path.

"I'm just letting Ray pilot my Geno," he told Gordan, his dark eyes shining with pride.  Gordan sighed deeply as he began rubbing his temples.

"She's only seven," he stated somewhat skeptically.  "This is dangerous."

"She's doing fine sir," said Lee as the Geno stopped, and the cockpit opened.

"Lee!" called Ray, her bright cherry eyes shining with childish amusement.  "That was so much fun!"  She slowly climbed down the massive beast, her feet gently touching the metal floor.  Lee walked over to his little sister, a smile on his young face.

"Good job Ray," he congratulated.  "You're a natural."  She giggled as he rubbed her head playfully, tousling her soft hair.  Ray beamed at her elder brother and then turned to Gordan.

"Mr. Gordan!" she called out, waving frantically at the older man.  He sighed before slowly walking over.

"Hello Ray," he greeted, sounding a little tired.  "How are you today?"

"I'm great!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air for emphasis.  "Mr. Gordan, can I have a Geno?"  Gordan crossed his arms, as if thinking it over.  He didn't want to make it seem like the decision was simple, despite the fact that it was.  A seven year old should not be operating a weapon.  It was as simple as that.

"We'll see," he said, sidestepping the actual question.  He couldn't tell her no.  She was just a kid after all.  He wasn't about to crush whatever dream she currently had.  He would never admit it, but the siblings had grown on him.  He loved them just as much as their own father did.

"Okay," said Ray happily as she turned around to stare at Lee's Geno once again.  Gordan left them alone in the hanger, realizing that he had more important work to do.

"Well Ray, what did you think?" asked Lee as he stood next to his little sister.

"I think it's amazing.  Your Geno is really cool," she told him, her eyes still beaming with innocence and admiration.  "I'll have a Geno too someday, and then we can play with them together."  She took his hand in her smaller one, turning her beautiful cherry eyes to him.  "Right Lee?"

He didn't say anything as he looked over the mighty feline before him.  It was amazing what a little metal and a few sacri crystals could do.  He was now the proud owner of a living machine, a Geno that was made just for him.  He was the GRC's first knight, but he was definitely not going to be the last.  Gordan had mentioned this to him before.  Their army was going to be full of top class warriors, and there would be one ace out of the group to lead them.

"Lee," called Ray, now pulling on his arm.  He was snapped from his thoughts as he turned to his sister.  "Right Lee?  We can play together?"  Lee just smiled at his younger sister.

"Yeah Ray," he said as he squeezed her small hand, a distant look in his shaded eyes.  "I promise."

CHAPTER 12

A Boy Named Lee

The door leading down into the hanger opened, and Leon began his trip down the stairs.  It was still quite early, but he was already dressed and ready for the day.  He was going to start working on his Geno, seeing as how it had been damaged.  Normally he would just take it to a repair shop, but he had just gotten that done a few days ago.  It was true that he was a good battler, but money didn't grow on trees.  Most of their money went towards buying food.

Leon stepped off of the stairs and began walking over to where his Geno was.  His eyes strayed, however, to Ray's Geno.  Hers was in worse shape than his was, that was for sure.  For the ace knight's Geno to take in so much damage, Ramirez had to be incredibly strong.  No one ever damaged her Geno like that.

His eyes soon wandered to a certain pilot who was still asleep on the hanger floor.  She was sitting up, leaning against the leg of her Geno.  Her head was lolled in sleep, the gentle rise and fall of her chest being her only movements.

Leon sighed and shook his head.  Ray was indeed a strange girl.  Not only did she randomly run off on her own, she occasionally slept in the hanger.  However, Leon couldn't help but admit that it was all somewhat intriguing.  She was an interesting person with countless secrets, and he was becoming curious as to what more there was to her.

"Lee…" she whispered in her sleep, causing Leon to quirk an eyebrow.  He watched as a small smile formed on her sleeping face.  He waited, but she didn't say anything more.  Her small moment of sleep talking caused a question to arise on Leon's mind. 
Who's Lee?

"Leon!" shouted Chris as he stood at the top of the stairs.  Leon whirled around, somewhat startled.  "Breakfast is ready!"

"Okay!" he shouted back as Chris disappeared through the doorway.

"Breakfast?" questioned a somewhat sleepy voice from behind him.  He turned around and watched as Ray got to her feet, stretching her arms over her head.  She yawned deeply before shivering to shake off the last bit of sleep.

"Good morning," greeted Leon, a small smile on his face.

"Morning," she replied as she began to walk past him.  "Let's eat.  I'm starving!"  Leon walked after her, a question on his mind.

"Why were you sleeping in the hanger?" he asked her curiously.  He received a shrug in response.

"I had a nightmare, that's all," she replied.  "I just didn't feel comfortable in that room last night."  He nodded in response, not planning on pressing the subject any further.

They went upstairs where they were met by Chris and Dr. Solaris.  Breakfast was already set on the table.  Pancakes and eggs sat on each plate, already doused in syrup.  All of the food Dr. Solaris cooked was amazing.  Ray couldn't help but think about what Leon and Chris would do if he left for a few days. 
They'd probably starve.

They all sat down at the table, pulling up their chairs.  As they began eating, Ray decided to speak up.

"I was wondering…" she began.  "Can I go into Torran today?"  Dr. Solaris looked up at her from his plate, swallowing his current mouthful of food.

"I suppose so," he said.

"Great," she said with a smile.  "I'll leave right after breakfast."

"Why not just wait and go with us later on?" he asked her, stabbing at a piece of pancake.

"Because there are some things I want to do alone," she told him as she scooped up more of her scrambled eggs.  "I'll meet up with you guys later, okay?" 

She quickly consumed the rest of her meal before pushing away her plate and standing up.  The three Solaris men simply watched as she smiled and turned towards the door.

"Thanks for breakfast," she said cheerfully.  "I'll be leaving now."  Before any of them could get in a word, she was flying out the door, snatching her backpack off of the kitchen counter.

* * * *

It wasn't until later that afternoon that the Solaris family finally made it out to Torran.  They managed to find Ray's Geno, but Ray herself was nowhere to be seen.  Dr. Solaris was currently running errands while Chris and Leon were wandering the city in search of the ace knight.  If her Geno was still at the repair shop, then she had to be in the city somewhere.

"Where are we going?" asked Chris, looking to his elder brother.

"I don't know," he answered as he walked with his hands behind his head, staring at the sky.  He was curious as to where Ray had ended up at.  They had stopped by Sam's restaurant, but she hadn't been there.  In fact, he hadn't seen her all day.  There were quite a few thoughts that were running through Leon's mind, mainly concerning the ace knight.  When he had found her in the hanger, she had whispered someone's name.  He still wanted to know who Lee was.  If he could find her, he could ask.  Then again, that didn't mean he'd get an answer.  Ray was difficult sometimes.

They were currently passing by the cemetery, since it was placed near the middle of the city.  They had nothing else to do but look for Ray, so they were simply wandering.

"Hey," began Chris, pointing towards the cemetery gates.  "Isn't that Ray?"  Leon stopped and turned his attention to the thick metal gates, currently open.  Just as Chris had said, Ray was standing inside, walking slowly across the field of grass and stones.

"Come on," said Leon as he began to walk in that direction.  Chris said nothing, but he followed after his brother.

As they walked into the cemetery, Leon had yet to call out to Ray.  Apparently he didn't want her to know that they were following.  He and Chris walked at a distance that they could see her at, but she wouldn't suspect that they were following.

They watched as she walked up to a flat stone in the ground.  She stood there for quite a while, and Leon and Chris just stopped to watch her.  They made sure to keep away from her.  They didn't need to be seen right now.

Not long after, she began to walk away, her hands now shoved deep into her pockets.  Her head was down as she went on her way, disappearing down the other side of the small hill.  It was then that Chris and Leon moved, walking over to the stone she had been at.

Leon stopped and glanced down at the carved and polished stone with a metallic plating.  It was beautiful, but then again all the gravestones were beautiful.  That didn't mean that what was below them was the same.  Death was such a sad thing to so many people.  This was no exception.

"Is this what she was looking at?" questioned Chris as he stared at the stone.  Leon took a good long look over it, his eyes finally finding their way to the few words and numbers carved on the plating.  The name "Lee Cayden" was carved decoratively on the grave stone.

Leon's expression fell as he turned his attention to the hill that Ray had walked over not that long ago.  His eyes slowly filled with sympathy as he connected the name.  Lee had probably been Ray's brother.

"Come on," he told Chris as he began to walk up the hill.  "Let's go."  Chris nodded, not wanting to argue.  He didn't understand too much about what was going on right now.  He figured he'd just ask later.  So without a word, they began searching for Ray again.

* * * *

A little girl of about eight walked down the long hallway of the GRC headquarters.  There was a smile on her face as she made her way towards the hanger.  She had someone to meet.

The doors whooshed open, allowing her into the overly large room, still half empty.  It seemed like the corporation would never have the sufficient amount of Genos to fill the storage area.  All of the massive mechanical creatures currently in there were either white or blue.  Only one was different.  Its size was smaller, and its armor was silver with red and black streaks.

"Lee?" called the little girl, glancing around the room.  She couldn't see her elder brother anywhere.

"Ray?" questioned a male voice, drawing her attention to the far right wall.  From behind the leg of his Geno, Lee emerged, followed by another boy with blond hair and crystal blue eyes.

"Hi Brian," greeted Ray happily as she ran to them, her shoulder length hair swishing around her, the left side of her face now concealed by the silvery blue locks. 

"Good morning Ray," he greeted with a small smile.  The two older boys turned their attention to Lee's Geno.

"I can't believe I get to pilot today," he said.  "This time it's for real."

"Gordan said I could come," she told him, drawing his attention and Brian's.

"He what?" questioned Lee, concern filling his voice.  "I told him not to."