Perfect Sacrifice (28 page)

Down in the site itself, Andy was wondering the same thing.  Of course, he
had
been the one who had built the machine, but he had no idea as to what it actually did.  He had only been following the blueprints that Ramirez had given him.

"Sir?" he began softly, drawing the general's attention.  "That machine…what does it do?"  Ramirez looked away, his hands folded behind his back.

"When you made the sacri core…" he began, "you added in everything I told you to, right?"  Andy's only response was a nod of his head.  "Then it should work as planned."

"But what will it do?" Andy questioned curiously, his bright eyes full of wonder.

"It will trigger a reaction from the sacri crystals," explained Ramirez.  "They will resonate, sending off a high frequency pulse.  It will allow the sacri crystals to combine into more powerful ones used in Genos like the ace knight's and my own."  Andy nodded, believing that he understood now.  "Would you like a demonstration?"  The fifteen year old nodded repeatedly, obviously excited about the idea.  He wanted to see how the machine he had built worked.

Ramirez looked to the men who had just finished setting it up.  The probe was facing towards the sky, the machine now sitting vertically.  He nodded to them, and they nodded back, understanding the silent message from their general.  One of the men flipped a small switch, and the probe lit up.  The blue center began to glow intensely, and the probe soon began to give off a yellow light.

In the excavation site, all of the sacri crystals began to resonate, turning a bright shade of blue.  They looked like nothing but a cluster of glowing lights.  Andy was delighted in the event while Ramirez only allowed a small smirk to grace his cold face.  He left out the other part about what his machine did.

At the top of the excavation site, Ray, Leon, and Chris were still behind the sand dune, watching what was happening below.  The machine had just been started, and the sacri crystals were beginning to glow.

"What's going on?" asked Chris.  Ray opened her mouth to respond, but her whole body suddenly froze.  Her eyes went wide as her throat felt like it was being squeezed.  In fact, her whole body felt as if it was getting crushed.  A wave of pain washed through her, all of it flooding to her head.  She managed to stifle a scream before placing her hands over her ears and falling to the sandy ground.

"Ray?" questioned Leon, watching the way she crumpled to the desert floor.  Her eyes were shut tight, her hands shoved firmly over her ears.  Her head felt as if it was going to implode.  She couldn't take it.

"Ray, what's wrong?" asked Chris, the worry evident in his voice.

"That sound," she whispered past her pain, her voice barely even audible.  "Make it stop."

"What sound?" questioned Leon, not hearing anything.

"It's so loud…it hurts," she choked out, her voice starting to fail her.  The simple act of breathing was beginning to become hard as well.  The pain was overriding everything, including her basic systems.  Her body began to tremble.

Chris was starting to panic while Leon looked around, trying to find the source of what was causing Ray such pain.  The only answer he could find was Ramirez's machine.  However, it didn't make sense.  He heard nothing, nor did he see anything happening to anyone else.  It was just Ray.  She was the only one in pain.

"We need to get away from here," he stated, drawing Chris's attention away from Ray, who was still writhing in pain.  Leon quickly picked her up, and she instantly turned in towards him, burying herself in his shirt.  Her body was still trembling.

Without a word, they began to run back to the area they had left their Genos in.  It was a little ways off, but it was out of range of the people at the excavation site.  It only took a matter of minutes to reach the rock formation they had hidden their Genos behind.  By now the pain had begun to die down.  Ray was no longer holding her head, but her body still hadn't stopped shaking.  She shifted herself so that she was no longer hiding in Leon's shirt.  He had yet to put her down.

"Feeling better?" he asked her.  She only nodded in response as he smiled down at her.  A soft blush formed on her cheeks as she realized her position.  Without a word, Leon set her down on the ground, but she quickly grabbed onto his arms as her knees gave out.  She felt a little dizzy from her recent headache, which hadn't fully resided yet.

"Ray, are you alright?" asked Chris.

"What was that?" she asked them, hoping for an answer.

"What was what?" questioned Leon as he helped her steady herself.

"That noise…didn't you hear it?" she asked, looking first to Leon and then to Chris.  Both of them just shook their heads.  "I…I know I wasn't imagining it."

"I'm sure you weren't," said Leon as Ray let go of his arms, now able to stand on her own.  "I think it had to do with that machine Ramirez had."

"Let's go," said Ray suddenly as she walked to her Geno.

"What?  Why?" questioned Leon.

"I only came to see what they were doing," she explained without looking back at him.  However, she did lower her head slightly.  "I've accomplished that goal, so let's get going before your dad gets home."  Leon and Chris said nothing, but they did follow after her.  There really wasn't much to say right now.  None of them knew exactly what was going on, and debating it wasn't going to help any.  It was best to forget about the incident, although they were all sure that none of them would.  This wasn't the type of thing normally forgotten.

They all got in their Genos, deciding to head for home.  There was a silent agreement amongst them.  This little adventure would be kept a secret from Dr. Solaris.  The last thing any of them needed was for him to find out.  For if he were to tell Gordan, Ray would be on probation for a whole year.  She shuddered at the thought.  This would definitely remain a secret.  She'd make sure of that.

* * * *

Ray, Chris, and Leon all sat in the living room, watching a movie that was on.  It wasn't all that interesting, but they really didn't have anything else to do.  They were simply waiting for Dr. Solaris to return.

"So…" began Chris, "are we going to mention
anything
to dad?"

"No," stated Ray as she grabbed the remote and changed the channel.  "He'll tell Gordan, and I'll get in trouble."

"But dad might know what that machine was," insisted Chris.  "He could help."  Ray paused at that statement.  Dr. Solaris was a very intelligent man.  He probably would know what it had been, and then she could find out why it had caused her so much pain.  The only problem was telling him without him finding out about the trip to the excavation site.

"Why not just ask about the machine?" suggested Leon.  "You know how to lie.  Make up a story."  Ray turned towards him, a small glare on her face.

"I'm not a liar," she stated.  "And besides, he figured it out last time, remember?"

"I thought you said you weren't a liar…" began Chris, but a small glare from Ray shut him up.  She sighed not long after, placing her head in her hands.

"I guess I could come up with something," she said after a while.  It was then that the door to the kitchen opened, and Dr. Solaris walked in.

"Welcome back dad," greeted Leon as he took the remote from Ray and changed the channel.  All that action resulted in was Ray reaching for the remote, in which Leon used his height to his advantage, holding it above her head as they sat there.  It wasn't until she stood up and grabbed at it did the battle really begin.

Dr. Solaris just sighed as Leon and Ray fought over the remote, yelling things such as "I was watching that" and "too bad" as they each pulled on it.  Chris got off the couch before their fight crossed over to his side.

"Did you have a nice trip?" he asked his father.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did," responded Dr. Solaris.

"Just where did you go again?" questioned Chris as he went to the cupboard to get something to eat.

"I was visiting a friend of mine in Lore," he explained.  "We went out for a while and then went back to his place to talk.  He had some very useful information for me."

"Dr. Solaris," called Ray as she got off the couch and went over to him, leaving Leon without the remote control.

"Hey!" he called.  "If you're not going to watch this, then at least give me back the remote."  He had to dodge the black rectangular object as it was thrown at his head.  He glared at Ray once more before picking it up and changing the channel.

"What is it Ray?" Dr. Solaris asked her.

"I've been thinking…" she began, only to be interrupted by Leon.

"That's a scary thought," he mumbled, receiving a rather menacing glare from the ace knight. 
Just you wait Leon.  I'll get you back someday.

"Ray, what is it you want to know?" asked Dr. Solaris as he went to the fridge to find some food.

"Back when we were in Torran and that building was robbed," she began, "I was thinking about the things they took.  I think Ramirez is planning to build some kind of device."

"What kind?" questioned Dr. Solaris with his head in the fridge.

"I think it has something to do with sacri crystals," she said, and he stopped his raiding.  He turned to her, a high degree of interest playing in his eyes.

"Sacri crystals?" he questioned.

"Yes, but I don't remember what the machine is called," she said as she made it look like she was in deep thought over this.  She crossed her arms and lowered her head a little.  "With the parts they stole, I think it's the…I don't know, the one that makes the sacri crystals glow blue…"

"A high energy pulse laser?" he asked, sounding shocked.  This drew the interest of both Leon and Chris.

"Yeah, that's it!" said Ray, sounding happy to hear the name of the machine.  "I'm sure that's what it is."  Dr. Solaris lowered his head in deep thought.

"What would he want with one of those?" he questioned softly, almost as if he was talking to himself.

"Maybe it has something to do with the sacri crystals at the excavation site," suggested Leon as he kept his eyes on the television but his mind on the conversation.  Dr. Solaris thought this all over, taking into consideration exactly what the machine was capable of.

"What does it do?" asked Chris, curious about the machine he had seen.

"It melds sacri crystals together," he explained.  "Those sacri crystals would be similar in power to the ones that Ramirez has in his Geno."

"That must be it then," stated Ray.  "He's going to build an army of super powered Genos."  She sighed deeply in disappointment.  "Great.  I can barely stand on my own against one.  I don't need five hundred of them running around."

"What else does it do?" asked Leon, still sitting alone on the couch with the remote in his hands.  He was curious as to why Ray had suffered because of it.  He hadn't heard anything at the time, so why had she complained about some kind of sound?

"Doesn't it emit a high pitch sound?" questioned Ray, acting as if she didn't already know.

"Well, yes," began Dr. Solaris while uncrossing his arms.  "But most people can't hear it."  Ray's face fell slightly when he said that.

"Why not?" she asked softly.

"Because," he answered with a shrug.  "I'm not exactly sure why.  I only know that it affects some and not others.  I'd have to research it to find out."  Ray nodded, not planning on asking anymore questions.  "If this really is what Ramirez is planning, then we have to tell Gordan."

"I guess," said Ray, "but he told me to stay out of this.  I don't want my probation period to be extended."

"I'm sure Gordan wouldn't want that either," said Dr. Solaris with a smile.  "He doesn't have many knights, at least not here anyway."

"What are you talking about?" questioned Chris, drawing Ray's attention.

"There are only three knights on this continent," she explained.  "There's Abby, Brian, and me.  There are a few on the other continents, but they don't do as much as we do."

"Perhaps they should all be moved over here," suggested Dr. Solaris.  "I mean, Ramirez
is
on this continent."  Ray nodded in agreement, but she said nothing to the statement.  She kind of liked it being only the three of them.  They made a good team, even though she was the only one who could go up against Ramirez.  Having too many knights would get on her nerves after a while.  A lot of the other knights were too arrogant for her taste.

"Well," began Leon as he got up from the couch, turning off the television.  "What's for dinner?"  Dr. Solaris smiled as he walked into the kitchen.  It was time to get dinner started, since it was rather late.  He stole a glance at Ray, however, as he began preparing.  Something didn't feel right here.  She appeared to be rather deep in thought.

Dr. Solaris narrowed his eyes when he thought back to their conversation.  She had been very curious about the machine that Ramirez was supposedly building. 
I wonder…is she able to pick up the high pitch frequency?
  If she was able to, then he would definitely research this topic.  Only a few could hear it.  The question was why.  What made Ray so different?