Perfect Sacrifice (29 page)

CHAPTER 14

No Escape

After what felt like an eternity, Ray's probation period was over.  An entire month had passed, and she was happier than ever.  She couldn't wait to get to the base, to continue her work as the ace knight.  True, she would miss the Solaris family, but work was so much more important to her right now.  She had a lot to tell Gordan.  She was sure he had a lot to tell her as well.  Ramirez hadn't done anything to draw the public's attention lately, and she was curious as to why.  Plus, she had to ask her general a few things.

The Solaris family was currently standing with Ray outside of the base.  Gordan was bringing out his air born transporter to pick up her and her Geno.  She was excited, but it was easy to tell that she would miss the people standing with her.  She turned to them, a smile on her face.

"I just want to say thanks," she said.  "Thanks for letting me stay with you."

"It was no problem," said Dr. Solaris with a smile.  "We were happy to have you."

"We'll miss you Ray," said Chris, seeming quite sad to see his friend leave.

"Hey, it's not like I'm moving to another continent," she told him.  "I'll still be around.  We'll see each other again soon."

"Let's hope it's not too soon," said Leon as he stood with his arms crossed, a smirk on his face.  This earned him a glare from the ace knight.  Instead of harassing him, she just stuck her nose into the air and turned away.

"Fine then," she said snootily.  "I'll miss Dr. Solaris and Chris, but I can't say I'm going to miss
you
, Leon.  In fact, I'm happy I'm leaving so that I don't have to see your face anymore."  Leon scowled and looked away from her.

"Same goes for me," he said arrogantly.  Dr. Solaris just sighed as Chris remained silent.  Occasionally he found his brother and Ray arguing to be rather amusing, but today it just wasn't.  He knew that Leon would miss her.  Ray had made things more interesting around their rather lonely base.

"There's Gordan!" exclaimed Ray, watching as the large black, blimp shaped machine came into view.  It was the same one he had used during her battle with Leon.  Only a minute after her exclamation, the transporter landed, and a rather large door opened to reveal Gordan, who began to walk towards the little group.  He was followed by Abby and Brian, as always.  The general had to have two escorts, and who better to have than two knights.

"Hey Gordan," greeted Ray happily.  "I'll go get my Geno."  She ran back into the Solaris base just as Gordan got there.  The general looked to Dr. Solaris, a rather bland look upon his face.

"I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble," he said.

"None at all," assured Dr. Solaris with a small smile.

"Speak for yourself," mumbled Leon as he turned away from them.  From the look he got from his father, he figured he'd be scolded for his cynical attitude later.

"Anyway," began Dr. Solaris, "she's very excited to be going back to the base."

"Yeah," said Gordan with a sigh as he crossed his arms out of habbit.  "I knew she would be.  She loves being the ace knight.  I hope this taught her something, though.  Despite what she may think, we missed her.  Investigating isn't as easy without her help."  Dr. Solaris smiled, knowing how true it probably was.  Ray was a brilliant warrior who more or less knew her limits.  She knew when to be rash and when to hold back.

"Ready!" announced Ray from her Geno, the black metal gleaming in the sun.

"Alright, we'd better get going," said Gordan.  "I'll see you around sometime, David."  Dr. Solaris only nodded in agreement as the general turned and began walking away.

"Bye you guys," said Ray as she began to walk after him in her Geno.

"Goodbye Ray!  Take care!" called Dr. Solaris.

"Bye Ray!" shouted Chris as he watched her walk away.  All three of the Solaris men stood there, watching as Ray's Geno disappeared into the large transporter.  They stayed even to watch it lift off, flying across the vast blue sky.  It didn't take long for the transporter to become nothing more than a point in the distance.

"Well," began Dr. Solaris.  "Let's head back in.  It's rather hot out here."  He turned and walked back into their dark, cool base, followed closely by a silent Chris. 

Leon stayed outside a little longer, watching as the point in the distance vanished completely.  He hadn't meant what he had said.  He would deny it to no end, but he really was going to miss the cocky ace knight.

He pushed off of the outside wall of the base and walked into the hanger.  He shoved his hands in his pockets after he hit the button to close the large doors. 
Goodbye Ray.  Take care.

* * * *

Ray walked through the doors to the GRC headquarters.  She had a smile on her face that said "it's great to be home".  She walked down the hallways with a proud air around her, taking in the fact that nothing had changed.  It was all just as she remembered it from a month ago.

"R.C!" called Abby as she ran up to Ray, falling into step beside her.  "I didn't get to say anything before, but it's great to have you back."  There was a bright smile on her face which Ray quickly returned.

"Thanks.  It's great to be back," she said as she began looking around again.  "I really missed being here."

"But I'm sure the Solaris family wasn't bad company," said Abby as she walked with her hands behind her head.  "I'm sure you'll miss them."  Ray just crossed her arms, a scowl forming on her face.

"I'll miss Chris and Dr. Solaris but not Leon," she stated.  "He's nothing but an arrogant jerk."  Abby just smiled, knowing that she was probably lying.

"Not even a little?" questioned Abby.  "Come on R.C, tell me the truth.  Will you miss him?"  Ray's scowl fell as she thought about the question.

"I…" she began as she ran through the last few days in her mind.  There was one day in particular a few nights ago…

* * * *

Ray awoke with a start, beads of sweat clinging to her forehead, matting her hair against it.  She felt a chill run up her spine as the images replayed themselves in her head.  Why was she having these nightmares, even after eleven years?  It wasn't fair.  She didn't need to see this anymore.  The first time had been enough.  Her brother, Lee…she had watched him die, watched as his eyes closed, his chest stopped rising.  She had been there to hear his last words and see his last breath.  It was too painful to relive again.

"Ray?" questioned a familiar voice at her door.  Startled, she snapped her head in that direction.  She saw Leon standing at her doorway, his eyes swimming with a foreign emotion.  She wasn't sure just what it was, but at the moment she didn't care.  She didn't care about anything.  All she wanted was a familiar face right now.

"Leon…" she whispered softly, unaware that her voice was trembling.  Her throat felt dry, and his name escaped her as nothing more than a pained plea.

He walked into her room cautiously, the lights off seeing as how it was night.  He was supposed to be sleeping, but he had stayed up to watch a movie on TV.  He did that quite often without his father knowing.  Despite the fact that he was twenty one, his father still had a curfew for him.

"Ray, are you alright?" he asked her as he approached her bed.  His eyes quickly filled with concern when he saw that she was trembling, her single visible cherry eye full of fear.  She was clutching the sheets of her bed tightly to her chest, her knuckles turning white.  Her silvery blue hair was matted to her face, beads of sweat clinging to her temples.

Leon bent down a little so that he was at her eye level.  Her eyes seemed to follow him, seeming bright even in the darkness.  She looked lost, scared, alone…just the opposite of what she usually was.  Or was this the opposite of what she was pretending to be?

Before he could say or do anything, Ray turned away from him.  She hung her head so that he couldn't see her face.

"Please leave," she whispered weakly, her voice lacking any emotion.  Confusion washed over Leon's face, but she couldn't see it.  She didn't want to.

"What?" he questioned just as softly.

"Please leave…I want you to leave," she repeated.

"Why?" he asked, refusing to let his temper take control.  Her voice was still trembling, and he wasn't going to make it worse.  However, he had no intensions of leaving just yet.

"I don't want you to see me…like this," she said while burying her face in her sheets.  She shifted slightly, her hair falling around her.  "Besides, it was just a dream."  Leon said nothing.  Instead, he carefully reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.  He was expecting her to pull away, but instead she moved closer.  Not only did she move closer, she fell into him, releasing the sheet she had been clutching so tightly.  She buried herself in his shirt, not caring anymore.  She didn't care if he saw her at her worst.  None of it mattered anymore.  She just wanted someone to hold onto right now.

Leon said nothing.  He only wrapped his arms around her, deciding that that was best for now.  He wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to do.  Nothing like this had ever happened to him.  He wasn't used to comforting people.  It's not like she was crying or anything.  In fact, he wasn't sure what the problem was.  It didn't matter though.  None of it mattered anymore.  Nothing mattered…not a thing.

* * * *

Ray turned away from Abby, not wanting her friend to see her face.

"I won't miss him," she stated again.  Abby just sighed, realizing that Ray would never change her answer.  After all, this was Ray.  She was overly stubborn and too proud to admit anything remotely sentimental.

"Fine then," she said.  "I'll see you later, alright?  I've got some work to do."

"Okay," Ray said softly, almost as if she was daydreaming.  Abby just smiled and fell out of step with her friend, picking up her pace as she went down the hall.

Ray turned her attention to where she was walking, but her mind was now somewhere else.  Why did she have to let Leon see her like that?  Why hadn't he just left?  More so, why had she thrown herself at him?  She would have been fine.  She hadn't needed comforting.  However, she felt as if he understood, like he realized that this wasn't something to talk about.  He hadn't mentioned the incident for the rest of her time at the base.  In fact, he acted as if it had all been a dream.

Ray shook her head, deciding that it was best not to dwell on it.  She had better, more important things to do with her time.  Her mind was needed elsewhere.  She didn't need to think about the eldest Solaris son.  He was just a waste of her time.  She had better things to do than to think about the arrogant, cocky, good looking Leon Solaris.

"I won't miss him," she repeated to herself, but her voice said different.  "Not even a little."

* * * *

A good three days had passed since Ray had left the Solaris base, and now they were in another battle.  Like always, Leon was taking the one on one challenge.  He was far more experienced than Chris when it came to battling.  Chris was much better at strategies like their father was.

"Are we there yet?" asked Leon as he went at a normal walking pace in his Geno.  He was tired of seeing nothing but sand.  He wanted an opponent to fight.

"Almost," responded Dr. Solaris as he maneuvered their square like transporter.  Chris was inside with him, watching the desert pass by lazily.  He had nothing better to do, after all.

"Do your best, Leon," he said, sounding a little tired.  This was the same as all the other battles.  It was a one on one that his brother would dominate in.  How long had it been since he had battled?  Three months?  He couldn't remember.  It's not like he minded much; he wasn't one of the better battlers.  However, every now and then he would enjoy having a battle.

Leon kept his steady pace, waiting to reach the area assigned as a battlefield.  There he would find his opponent and a member of the GRC to act as their judge.  He sighed as he realized that something was missing.  In his last battle, Ray had been there cheering him on.  It was silent this time.  He was really starting to miss her.  The base was so quiet now, and the days seemed so much longer.

"About fifty more paces," said Dr. Solaris.  "Just over that hill."

"Okay," said Leon as he continued at his pace, not in the mood to run over the hill like an excited three year old.  He walked up casually, but the second he reached the summit, he froze.  His opponent was there alright, but not in the way he was expecting.  There was metal scattered everywhere from the armor of the Geno.  The mechanical creature itself was in pieces.  One leg was to his right while another was to the left.  The other two were still attached to the main body, now looking like an animal that had just been hit by a speeding car.  It was sickening just thinking about it.

"My God…" he heard his father whisper in dead shock.  Leon tightened his grip on the two control sticks before him.  He scowled deeply as he saw the wreck of what was once a Geno.  He didn't even want to think about what had happened to the pilot.