Perfect Sacrifice (31 page)

As she sat there, she began to think of her predicament.  She was the ace knight of the GRC.  Her life belonged to them.  However, she had a promise to keep to Dr. Solaris.  She had to keep Leon safe from Ramirez.  The only problem was that headquarters was extremely far from the Solaris base.  In fact, it was extremely far from most places.  If she stayed there, she wouldn't be able to help him.  She had gotten lucky this time.  If she hadn't come when she had, Leon could have died.

She shook the thoughts from her head, trying to decide what to do next.  She needed a way out of this problem.  Before she could come up with anything, however, Dr. Solaris and Chris came back from the medical area of their base.  Ray turned to them, watching as they walked over and took seats in the various chairs in the living room.

"Well?" she asked, curious about the condition of Leon.

"He'll be alright," said Dr. Solaris, assuring both her and Chris.  "He cracked his head pretty hard, but he should wake up within the day."  Ray sighed out of relief, happy to hear the good news.  She hadn't been too late.  Leon was going to be fine.

Dr. Solaris sighed deeply as he removed his glasses.  He ran a hand through his short, grayish brown hair.

"This is a more serious matter than I thought, however," he said, worry filling his voice.

"What do you mean?" asked Chris.

"Ramirez really is going to go after Leon," he stated, his eyes landing on Ray.  The ace knight only lowered her head out of guilt.  That sinking feeling was returning to her stomach again. 
Why did he have to target Leon?  Damn you Ramirez!

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"No, no, I'm not blaming you," assured Dr. Solaris, wanting to make it perfectly clear that he wasn't.  He knew that Ray wasn't responsible for any of this.  If anything he should be thanking her for actually coming to help out.  From what he had heard from Gordan and Abby, Ray had bolted the second she knew that Ramirez had showed up to battle with Leon.

Dr. Solaris was about to say something when the sound of a door opening drew his attention.  Everyone turned to watch as the door to the medical area of the base opened.  Leon stepped out, one hand against his bandaged forehead and the other against the wall for support. 

"Leon?" questioned Chris in surprise.  He wasn't supposed to wake up yet, and he really wasn't supposed to be walking around.

"Why do I feel like I was just hit by a truck?" he asked rather tiredly, trying to fight off the headache that was pounding away at his mind.  He almost stumbled as he began walking down the hallway.

Ray quickly got off of the couch and went over to him.

"Here, let me help," she told him, offering to aid him in his trip to the living room.

"I don't need your help," he stated stubbornly.  That was an overstatement.  Not long after the words left his mouth, his legs gave out, and he nearly fell to the ground.  Instead, he fell against Ray, who would have been forced to the ground if Leon hadn't caught himself in time.  However, he was still leaning against her.

"Don't need my help, huh?" she questioned with a smirk.  She began to help him walk down the hallway into the living room.  When they reached the couch, she let him lay down on it, taking a chair next to Dr. Solaris.  They sat in silence for a while as the events from the day fell over their minds.

"So…" began Chris after what felt like an hour of saying nothing.  "What now?"

"I don't know," sighed Dr. Solaris.  "This is all so complicated."

"I don't see what the big deal is," said Leon as he lay with his eyes closed.

"This is a big deal," stated Ray out of annoyance at Leon's attitude.

"It was just one battle," he said carelessly, as if his near death experience wasn't bothering him in the least.  Ray clenched her fists, her temper starting to take over.

"Damn it Leon, don't you get it?" she yelled at him angrily, drawing everyone's attention.  "Ramirez won't stop coming after you until you're dead!"  He sat up and glared at her, taking her outburst as a challenge.

"Well, it's not like I asked for this!" he shouted back, his dark violet eyes seeming vicious.  "If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be in this mess now, would I?"

"Leon!" scolded Dr. Solaris, shooting his son a warning glare.  Ray just lowered her head, her clenched fists starting to shake.  Her hand soon shot out, aiming to strike him on the side of his face, but she stopped about two inches away.  Instead, she stood up and looked down at him.  Her visible cherry eye was full of a deep hatred for the boy in front of her but also a great deal of pity.  What he said was true.  It
was
her fault, but it's not like she had meant for anything to happen.  He had no right to say that to her.

"You're lucky you're injured," she stated coldly, "or I wouldn't have stopped."  She turned and ran from the room, heading into the kitchen and through the door.  It was only a few seconds later that a loud roar from a Geno echoed outside the base.  That was it.  Ray was gone again.

Chris and Dr. Solaris both turned to Leon, their eyes burning with deep annoyance towards him.  Dr. Solaris was ready to play the part of a father now.  He wasn't going to help his son, however.  It was time to defend the wrongly accused ace knight.

"Damn it Leon," he began harshly.  "What the hell is the matter with you?"  Leon was shocked.  It showed in both his posture and his expression.  His father never used words like that towards them.  Leon knew he was in for it this time.

"I…" he began, but he couldn't finish.  What was he supposed to say?

"That was harsh, Leon," stated Chris, his normally mild voice now full of shame towards his elder brother.  Leon only lowered his head.

"Ray was out there risking her life for yours, and this is how you thank her?" asked Dr. Solaris coldly.  "She didn't have to come you know.  She could have left you to die, but when they mentioned that it was you Ramirez was targeting, she bolted from the headquarters."

"She was only doing her job," he mumbled, avoiding his father's eyes.

"She stayed here afterwards for six hours, just sitting and waiting to make sure that you were alright!"  Leon's eyes widened slightly as he looked straight forward.  Disbelief played on his face, but it faded when he realized that his father wasn't lying.  He began to curse himself mentally.  This was the second time she had stormed out because of him.  He needed to learn when to keep his mouth shut.

"Sorry," he whispered ashamedly.

"It's too late for that now," stated Dr. Solaris as he stood up.  "Ray is already gone."  Chris stood up as well as he and his father left the living room.  Leon was left alone on the couch, where he would remain for a while.  He had some serious thinking to do. 
Why didn't I just keep my mouth shut?

* * * *

Ray walked through the main doors to the GRC base, now proceeding to head towards her room.  She was still in a bad mood from her confrontation with Leon.  It was bad enough that she
was
responsible for what had happened.  He didn't have to verbally point it out.

"Hi Ray," greeted Brian as he came up from behind her, falling into her slightly fast pace.

"Hi," she said softly, moodily.

"How's Leon doing?" he asked curiously, not seeming to notice the way her eyes flared when he mentioned Leon.

"He's fine," she stated through clenched teeth.  They reached her room, so she stopped and placed her hand on the doorknob.  "In fact, he's better than fine.  I don't think he needs my help at all."  Brian took a step back, now sensing the furious aura radiating from her.  Her posture alone stated that she wasn't to be messed with right now.  "In fact," she continued while opening the door.  "The next time Ramirez attacks him, don't even bother telling me.  He can handle it on his own."  With that said, she walked in and slammed the door shut.

Brian backed away, a nervous look on his face.  Ray had never been quite that mad before.  Leon really must have berated her this time and after all she had done for him too.

"Hey Brian," greeted Abby as she walked up to him, quickly noticing the way he jumped at her sudden presence.  "Wow, someone's jumpy today."

"It's not that," he said softly, looking back to Ray's door.

"What?" questioned Abby, her eyes following his.

"I think we should leave Ray alone," he whispered, making sure that the ace knight wouldn't be able to hear him.  "She's in a really bad mood right now, and I mean
really
bad."

"What happened?" questioned Abby in a whisper.

"I think it has something to do with what happened at the Solaris base," he explained as he began to walk away from the door.  Abby followed after him.  The further away from Ray they were right now the better.

"What do you mean?" she questioned a little louder.

"I don't know," he admitted with a shrug.  "I think it has something to do with Leon."  Abby didn't say anything, but she did manage a small smile. 
I guess Ray isn't used to having someone else as stubborn as she is to argue with.  This will be good for her.  After all, everyone needs to be shaken up once in a while.

* * * *

The next day rolled around rather quickly, but not for Leon.  He hadn't slept that well, and the night had seemed to go on for forever.  Why did he always lose sleep after berating Ray?  Perhaps the guilt was too strong.  He knew he had to apologize; the question was how.  He had no way of contacting her when she was at her base.

"Well Leon?" questioned Dr. Solaris as he entered the living room, walking over to his son.  Leon was currently sitting on the couch, doing absolutely nothing.

"Well what?" he questioned rather softly.

"Are you ready to apologize to Ray?" Dr. Solaris asked as he sat down next to his son.  Leon's only response was a small nod of his head.

Dr. Solaris stood up, and Leon followed him into his study.  In the large room was a monitor used for contacting people at other bases.  Since Dr. Solaris had once worked for the GRC, contacting their base was no problem.

"You better not insult her again," warned his father as he began typing in numbers.  Leon didn't say anything, but he didn't plan on saying anything offensive this time.  He was determined to keep his temper in check.  Strange how Ray was the only one able to make him act like that.

It didn't take long for Dr. Solaris to put a call through to the GRC headquarters.  When the screen lit up, Abby was the first person they saw.

"Geno Regulation Commission, how can we…oh, it's you Dr. Solaris," she said with a smile.  Her eyes fell on Leon, and it faded a little.  "Hello Leon."

"Hi," he replied softly.  He was sure that by now everyone at the base knew what he had done to Ray.

"What are you calling for?" she asked them.

"We'd like to speak to Ray," answered Dr. Solaris.

"I'm sorry," began Abby, "but you just missed her.  She and Brian left for Torran a few minutes ago.  They probably won't be back until late."

"Very well," said Dr. Solaris with a sigh.  "We'll just have to head for Torran and find her."  Leon looked to his dad, a nervous expression upon his face.  He didn't want to apologize in person!  If things did go wrong, then Ray could actually hurt him.

"Okay," said Abby as she looked to Leon.  "And just for the record Leon, we'd appreciate it if you
don't
royally piss her off.  Gordan had one hell of a time trying to talk to her yesterday."

"Sorry," said Leon nervously.  Abby just smiled while waving a goodbye as she shut off the link, leaving Dr. Solaris and Leon alone.

"Well," he began as he looked to his son.  "I think we should get going.  I was going to head into town today anyway."  He began walking out the door with Leon close behind him.  Leon was currently in a world of his own, fearing his approaching encounter with the hot tempered ace knight.  The very idea of facing her when she was this mad was nerve racking.  However, he got himself into this mess, and he was going to have to get himself out. 
What have I gotten myself into?
 

Leon walked down the near to empty streets of Torran as he looked for Ray.  However, at the same time he was praying that he didn't find her.  He was afraid of the ace knight, but he would never admit it.  After all, being afraid of a girl wasn't normal for a guy like him.

"Have you seen her yet?" asked Chris as he and Dr. Solaris caught up to Leon.

"No," he answered as he shoved his hands in his pockets.  He glanced around a little more and noticed an alleyway.  Ray used them occasionally to take shortcuts, this he knew from their skating trip.  He figured it was as good a place as any to look.  Besides, maybe he'd find her on the other side.

Without a word, he changed directions and began walking down the alley.  Dr. Solaris and Chris stopped walking.

"Where are you going?" asked Dr. Solaris.

"This way," he responded.  "It's a shortcut."  It wasn't until he had already turned down another alley that they began to walk down it.  Unfortunately, this alley was a little different.  It branched off into many different ones.  Leon knew where he was going, but Chris and Dr. Solaris didn't.