Perfect Sacrifice (39 page)

He pulled away a little from her and slowly tilted her head up.  He could see the tears dancing in her eyes, but she was fighting them back.  She was determined not to let a single one fall, and she was doing a wonderful job of it.  Too bad it was unhealthy for her.

"Ray, if you need my help with anything, just ask," he told her.  "I can have my assistant manager take over for now."

"Okay," she said softly, her voice coming out rather unevenly.

"I'll be right back, okay?" he said as he left her standing there and walked behind his counter into the back area.  It only took a few seconds before he came back, removing his name tag.  He walked back over and put an arm around her shoulders.  "You ready?" he asked softly.  He only received a nod in response.

They made their way out of the store and began walking down the not so busy street.  He wasn't sure what he was going to have to do for the ace knight, but he didn't care right now.  He was going to help her.  Right now, she was all alone.  Her silence wasn't making him feel any better about this situation.  Mental pain was the worst to deal with.  He could only wonder about what this would do to her.  A wound on the soul took so much longer to heal, and sometimes it never did.  Sometimes it left a scar, and her soul was so full of them.  She didn't need any more…not one.

* * * *

In his dark office room, Ramirez reclined in his chair, a cruel smirk on his face.  He was fitfully enjoying himself.  In the course of two days, he had managed to take out eight knights.  His newest Geno was indeed impressive.  Not only that, but his most trusted commander was behind the controls.  It couldn't get much better.  However, he would wait a while to deal with the rest.  He had preparations to make.  He wanted to get rid of all three at once, and that required waiting for Brian.  Also, he would find a way to make sure that Leon Solaris was there.  He wanted to be rid of him as well.

Ramirez propped her feet up on his desk, now staring at the dim lights on his ceiling.  This was all like a game to him.  Everyone was just a pawn on his board.  He was going to win this war.  He would make sure of it.

He let out a cold laugh as he thought of the ace knight.  He wondered what her reaction would be to this newest development.  Mental pain was so amusing.

His eyes danced with excitement as he watched the GRC base disappear on his monitor.  He was so greatly enjoying this as one icy sentence fell from his lips.

"…And then there were three."

CHAPTER 20

How to Deal

Gordan slammed his hands down again and again on the console.  A string of curses fell from his lips as he mentally berated himself.  They had underestimated their enemy again.  This time, it had cost them four more lives.  Four more of his prized knights were dead.  In the course of two days, his elite had gone from eleven to three.

"Impossible," he heard Abby whisper.  "It made it to Trin…in just a day."  Gordan began cursing silently to himself again.  How could this have happened?  Everything they had worked so hard for was slowly falling apart.  With only about a fourth of his elite force left, how were they supposed to win this?

"Abby," said Gordan as he straightened himself out.  "I want you to go to Torran and see Brian.  Tell him about what has been happening.  I'm sure Ray already filled him in on most of it."  He lowered his head slightly, his mind now on the ace knight.  "And then I'd like you to stop by the Solaris base.  Check on Ray and see how she's doing."

"Alright," said Abby softly.  She had tears in her eyes after this experience.  Unlike Ray, she wasn't afraid to cry.  "I'll get on it now."  She turned around and walked away, leaving Gordan to berate himself once again.  He was their general.  How could he let this happen?  He was supposed to watch out for all of them.  Now most of his forces were dead.  How were they ever going to recover from a blow like that?

At the Solaris base, all three members of the family were watching a movie.  They had nothing else to do.  Since Ray had left, they really couldn't go anywhere.  It's not like there was anywhere they needed to go anyway.  Since Ray had volunteered to buy groceries, they really didn't have any errands left to run.  It was just going to be another lazy day.

The door to the kitchen opened, and they all turned to watch as Ray walked in.  Her head was down, and there was a rather dull expression on her face.  She looked like the walking dead right now, as if there wasn't a thought left in her head.  Or maybe there were just too many to sort through.

"Ray," greeted Dr. Solaris.  "We thought you wouldn't be back until dinner."  She didn't say anything.  She only closed the door and went to the counter.  She removed her communicator and tossed it onto the table.  Without a word, she walked into the living room, not sparing any of them even a glance. She went down the hall and to her room, closing the door behind her.

The Solaris family didn't say or do anything.  They were all confused though.  She hadn't spoken a word, and she didn't seem to have anything but her backpack with her.  Hadn't she said she'd buy the groceries?

The door opened again, drawing their attention.  They watched as Sam walked in, a bag of groceries in his hands.

"Sam?" questioned Dr. Solaris, drawing the man's attention.

"Hi David," he greeted as he set the bag down on the counter.

"Um, if I may ask," David began, "what are you doing here?"  Sam's expression fell, and he sighed deeply.

"I had to drive Ray home," he answered.  "In her state of mind, I didn't think it was safe for her to go alone."

"Her state of mind?" questioned Leon.  "What do you mean?"  Sam seemed a little surprised as he looked to each of them, the same confused expression on each one's face.

"You didn't hear?" he asked.

"Hear what?" questioned Chris, unsure if he wanted to know.

"That mysterious Geno," Sam began.  "It appeared on Trin just a few hours ago."  He could only cringe as he watched their faces fill with fear.  "It…well, you know."  He didn't even need to finish for them to understand what had happened.

"I guess Ray isn't taking it too well," noted Dr. Solaris, earning him a nod from Sam.

"She won't talk to anyone," he explained.  "I had to do her shopping for her, since she was too out of it to think straight.  I took the rest of the day off so I could keep an eye on her.  I don't want her doing anything stupid."

"You always were her father's brother, weren't you," said Dr. Solaris with a small smile, earning him one from Sam.

"Even though I dread the days she comes into my store, I do enjoy seeing her," he admitted.  "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to her."

A knocking at their door caught their attention.  Who else was coming to their base?  It's not like that many people even knew where it was.  In fact, no one had until Ray came along.

"It's open," said Dr. Solaris.  The door slowly creaked open, and Abby stepped into the room.  There was a rather grim expression on her face.  "Hello Abby," he greeted.

"Hi," she responded rather softly.  "Is R.C here?"

"Yes," he replied, turning around. "Follow me."  Abby followed Dr. Solaris into the living room and down the hall.  They eventually arrived at Ray's room.  Abby hadn't been the only one following though.  Leon, Chris, and Sam were now standing there as well.

"R.C?" questioned Abby as she knocked lightly.  "It's me."  The door was quickly opened, and they all laid eyes on Ray.  She looked so zoned out, as if she was having an out of body experience.

"Abby," she whispered softly before throwing her arms around the older woman.  Abby quickly embraced her friend, almost wanting to cry again.  She had already broken down in front of Brian.  She didn't need to in front of Ray.  She knew that the young ace knight was suffering more than any of them.  She had to be strong for her.  She had to be the one to comfort Ray.

"It's alright," Abby said softly, though her voice betrayed her.  The truth was that it wasn't alright.  None of it was.  Nothing about this was alright, nor would it ever be.  What was even worse was that there was nothing they could do.  That monster would come for them next.  There was no way to escape.  It was an encounter that they wouldn't be able to avoid.

"Abby?" Ray questioned softly.  "Does Brian know?"

"Yes," she said.  "He was worried about you.  He wanted to know how you were taking it."

"I'll be okay," she whispered while releasing her fellow knight.

"You sure?" questioned Abby with concern full in her eyes.

"Yeah," was Ray's only reply, the one word coming out as nothing more than an inaudible whisper.

"Good," said Abby with a small smile.  "Gordan was worried about you, so he sent me over here.  I'm sure he'll be happy to know that you're alright."  Ray only nodded, no smile or anything.  She was still like the walking dead.  There was no emotion anywhere on her, not even in her words.  Everything about her was gone.  Her eyes were dull, and her skin was slightly pale.  Her voice just fell, having no lift to it whatsoever.  It was somewhat unnerving.  If you really knew the girl like they did, then it was so strange seeing her like that.  It was exactly the opposite of how she was.

Abby turned around, preparing to leave.  She had a few things left to do, including some investigating back at the base.  She was going to find out as much about the mysterious Geno as she could.  They had to be ready when they encountered it.

"Bye R.C," she said rather softly.  "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay," was Ray's only response as she watched Abby disappear into the living room.

They all just stood there for a while, not knowing what to say or do.  Ray wasn't speaking now, but she wasn't retreating into her room either.  It was somewhat disturbing.  They weren't sure what to do with her.  It's not like they could really offer much.  They hadn't a clue as to how she felt right now.

Sam made the first approach.  He walked up to her and bent down a little.

"Are you sure you'll be alright now?" he asked her gently, acting very much like a concerned relative.

"Yes," she said rather blandly, but he would take her word for it.

"Alright then," he said while heading towards the living room.  "Feel free to come and visit any time, okay?"

"Okay," she said as she went back into her room, closing the door behind her. 

The Solaris family followed Sam into the kitchen where he stopped walking, coming to a small realization.

"Um," he began, "I don't have a way to get back home.  That and I didn't finish the grocery shopping.  After going to one store, I figured that Ray should get home."

"That's fine," assured Dr. Solaris.  "We can handle things.  I'll take you home after I drop Chris off in Torran to finish the shopping."  He turned to Leon, but the boy already knew what his father wanted him to do.  "Leon, you stay here with Ray, alright?"

"Yeah, okay," he said, not really caring either way.  It's not like she was going to come out of her room.

However, only moments after they all began walking into the hanger, Ray entered the living room.  Leon watched as she silently went over to the couch and sat down.  She didn't say or do anything.  In fact, she was sitting so very still that she looked like a statue.  Everything about her was just so lifeless, like a shell without a soul.  Leon was starting to miss the fiery ace knight.  He enjoyed her rather spontaneous personality and the way she always strutted around so proudly.  This Ray was just too boring and depressed.

Leon walked over to the couch, nearly bumping into the coffee table.  That's when he saw the chessboard.  They had never finished their game.  He smirked as an idea formed in his mind.  If he was stuck at home alone with Ray, he was going to make the most of it.  He would find a way to get her to cheer up.  She was fun to talk to when she was normal.  Then again, Ray never really was
normal
.

"Hey," he greeted softly, not wanting to startle her.  All he received was a glance, her cherry eye seeming rather dull.  He would change that, however.  "Do you want to finish our game?"

"No," she answered rather softly, turning her eyes away from him.  She looked down at the chessboard.  Something really wasn't right if she didn't want to play.  Chess was her favorite game after all.

"Okay," he said, deciding to try his plan.  He had to get her to respond.  "Besides, I was going to win anyway."  He smiled as his statement caught her attention.  She glanced at him, a small spark in her rather dull eyes.

"You were what?" she asked, a little louder than originally.  Leon only smirked, deciding he'd have to try a little harder.

"You heard me," he said to her.  "I was going to win anyway, so I guess there really is no reason to continue."  He began to cheer mentally as that got a small glare from her.  There was a tiny fire burning on her face, now in a deep scowl.

"I don't think so," she told him rather arrogantly.  "No one beats me."

"Then prove it," he challenged.  "Show me I'm wrong."  That did it.  He had accomplished his goal.  If there was one thing Ray couldn't turn down it was a challenge.  He knew her better than she thought.  If he kept this up, she'd be back to normal in no time.  He just had to keep her mind on the one thing she really loved: battling.  She would battle with anyone in anything.  This was no exception.