Perfect Sacrifice (50 page)

"I know," she said, looking away.  "It's nothing, really."  Andy just laughed, giving Ray a smile.

"You were always like that, weren't you?" he asked her cheerfully.  "Nothing ever keeps you down.  Even if you had a hole through your stomach, you'd still claim that it was just a scratch."  Ray couldn't help but smile at that.  What he said was probably true, actually.  Most injuries really weren't anything to her.  This one did hurt, however.

"Come on," she said, turning around.  "We need to get to the hospital.  You still need to see Aaron."

"And you need to get your arm looked at," stated Leon, walking over to her.

"I said I'm just fine," she claimed as she pulled away.  She even uncovered it, showing the world her bullet wound.

"Oh, so if I touched it," began Leon, "you wouldn't say anything, because it doesn't hurt, right?"  They began walking down the road with Andy following behind the two.

"Don't you dare touch it!" she shouted at him.  He didn't listen, however, and poked his finger near the wound.  She quickly covered it again and pulled away.  "Damn it Leon, I said not to!"

"I thought it didn't hurt?" he asked with a mock smirk.

"It doesn't!" she yelled back, looking about ready to pummel him.  Andy only smiled as he followed the two feuding pilots in front of him.  They were rather interesting to watch, and he began to wonder if they really were friends or not.  They sure did pick at each other, but the very fact that Leon had been so intent on saving her really made him wonder.  They both obviously cared about the other's wellbeing.  Perhaps the question wasn't whether or not they were friends but whether or not they were more.

Andy just smiled, keeping his thought to himself.  After all, he didn't want to face the fury of either of them if he were to let his thought slip.  Watching them pick on each other was much more entertaining.  He couldn't wait to get to the hospital and see Aaron.  He had so much to tell him.

CHAPTER 25

The Fourth Knight

Ray walked into the hospital with Leon next to her and Andy behind her.  Standing at the front desk were Abby and Brian, who quickly turned as they walked in.  They were a little surprised to see all three of them together.

"Hey R.C," greeted Abby.  "Man, we looked everywhere for you."  She and Brian quickly noticed the way Ray held her arm, and the trail of blood dripping down it was quite suspicious.

"What happened?" asked Brian, sounding rather worried about the ace knight.

"It's nothing," she told him.  "I'll be fine.  I just need to get the bullet out."  That didn't go over well with Abby and Brian.  Both were now looking extremely worried. 

"You were shot?" exclaimed Abby, somewhat in disbelief.  Why did Ray always get herself in trouble?  She was forever getting shot, stabbed, and no mater what happened, she always walked away claiming that it didn't hurt.

"Ray, let's check you in," suggested Brian.  "Since we're in a hospital, you might as well have them treat it."

"Yeah," she sighed, following after Brian.  She stopped, however, and looked to Leon and Andy.  "Hey Leon, take Andy to room 112.  Aaron should be there."

"Alright," said Leon as he and Andy began walking down the halls towards room 112. 

Abby walked over to Ray and Brian, deciding to accompany the injured ace knight.  Hopefully this wouldn't take long.  They didn't need to tell Gordan that she got in trouble again.  If she was there for more than a day, the doctor would call him.  For some reason, Gordan wanted to know things like that.

Brian explained to the receptionist about what happened to Ray, and she called down a doctor.  They walked down to one of the empty rooms where Ray walked over to the bed, jumping up on it.  This would take a while.  She had had this done before.  They'd put her to sleep and then proceed to remove the bullet.  It was as simple as that.  Unfortunately, she'd be out for at least two hours.

"Hello again Ms. Cayden," greeted the doctor as he walked into the room.  He motioned for Abby and Brian to take a seat.  The two of them were always allowed in whenever Ray was hurt.  They were knights after all.  Despite the danger of their job, they really did get a lot of benefits.

"Hey," greeted Ray.  "How long has it been?  A few months?"  The doctor just laughed as he walked over to her bed, taking a look at her arm.  He scribbled down a few notes on his clipboard and then turned away.

"You know the routine," he told her.

"Yeah," she said.  "About two hours, right?"

"I'll be right back," he said as he left the room.  Ray just smiled and looked to Abby and Brian.  They were giving her a rather skeptical look, one she wasn't sure she liked.

"What?" she asked them innocently.

"Tell us Ray," began Brian as he reclined in the chair, crossing his arms.  "How did you manage this one?"  Ray just laughed nervously, deciding right then and there what to omit from her story.  After all, they didn't need every single detail, right?

* * * *

Andy walked into the hospital room that Aaron was in, and he smiled when he saw the young man sitting up on his bed reading a magazine.  There really wasn't much to do in a hospital.  With only five television channels, the only real entertainment was playing with the controls for the bed.  Unfortunately, that got old after a while as well.

"Hey Aaron," greeted Andy as he ran over to the bed.  Leon walked in as well and shut the door behind him.  He decided to just lean against the wall and watch them.

"Hey Andy," Aaron greeted with a smile.  He glanced over and noticed Leon standing by the door.  "Hello Leon."

"Hey," he greeted, a small smile on his face.  It was nice to know that the ex-commander was doing well.  After all, they had tried so hard to save him.  It really wouldn't have been fair if he had died in the hospital.

"Aaron, you'll never guess what I discovered," said Andy, drawing Aaron's attention.

"What is it?" he questioned, wondering if Andy really wanted to say all of this in front of Leon.

"It has to do with that sun symbol," explained Andy.  Aaron glanced at Leon, but decided that Andy was smart enough to keep information from people he didn't trust.  If he was willing to say it in front of Leon, then Aaron decided he could be trusted.  Even though the ex-commander was no longer working for Ramirez, if something or someone was going to endanger Andy, he wouldn't hesitate to take care of it.  He wasn't going to let anything hurt his "brother".

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Aaron, encouraging Andy to continue.

"Well, the writing around the sides mentioned the ancient people on Des," explained Andy with zeal.  This really was his forte.  "I was able to figure out what they used the sacri crystals for since they didn't have Genos back then."

"What?" questioned Aaron, rather curious about the other uses of the brilliant blue crystals.

"They powered magnificent weapons," explained Andy.  "Most people see the ancients as uncivilized people who loved wars.  They indeed loved wars, but they were in no way uncivilized.  They had amazing technology.  Their weapons could level entire cities.  One of their greatest achievements was creating a sacri powered cannon.  Back then, only those with Sacrum could use it.  About a hundred years ago, it wasn't like that.  Anyone could use them."

"What weapon are we talking about here?" asked Aaron, the curiosity killing him.  Andy only smiled as he replied.

"A four point cannon," he said, startling both Aaron and Leon.  "Back then, anyone with Sacrum could control them.  They are very powerful, but for the ancients, they were beyond comprehension.  The destruction possible by those things was limitless.  If a person had enough liquefied sacri crystals, the cannon could demolish a city as large as Torran.  However, they were modified during the beginning of the GRC, because that kind of power was horrible to use in battle.  They made them weaker, and they ran on normal sacri crystals, and even then they were deadly.  Also, people could use them even without Sacrum.  After all, everyone knows that Sacrum died out with the ancients.  No one can have it anymore."

"Interesting," responded Aaron, letting the word hang for a while.  If it hadn't been for his battle with Ray, he wouldn't even know what a four point cannon was capable of.  After all, he had never seen one, only heard of them.  This information made him realize how lucky he was.  If the weapon had been toned down, then why had two of those guns nearly killed him and her?  He didn't even want to think about what all four could have done.  He got the feeling that not him, Leon, or any of the knights would still be standing if Ray had gone all out.  Why was hers so much more powerful than the ones from the beginning of the GRC?

"And that sun symbol," began Andy, drawing Aaron's attention again.  "I'm still working on it, but I think it's directly related.  I know it has something to do with Sacrum and the ancients, but I haven't gotten quite that far yet."

"How much have you told Ramirez?" Aaron questioned, wondering exactly how much information the boy was keeping from his general.

"Only what I told you a while back," he answered while looking towards the window.  He let out a long sigh, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair.  "He's really been pushing me lately.  Ever since you 'died' he's been really angry.  He promoted Nathan to commander."  Aaron's eyes narrowed, a glare forming on his face.  If there was one person he hated, it was Nathan.

"I can't believe he gave my position to that sick jerk," snarled Aaron in disgust.

"Nathan…" whispered Leon.  "Isn't that the guy that attacked Ray?"  Andy looked back at Leon, as did Aaron.  He hadn't known that.  What had happened to the ace knight?  If she had encountered Nathan without any weapons, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.  He knew that the pervert had a thing for the ace knight.  It wasn't a surprise.  Ray was both hot tempered and beautiful.  She was exactly what Nathan wanted.

"What did you say?" asked Aaron, drawing Leon's attention.

"Ray was attacked by Nathan," answered Andy.  "By the time we got there, he had already shot her in the arm."  Leon turned away in disgust, remembering the way Nathan had been holding Ray.  He suddenly had the urge to run back to forty-ninth and just finish him.  However, he knew he couldn't.  Besides, Nathan was probably already gone.  He would make sure that that man never touched Ray again.

"He didn't do anything else to her, right?" asked Aaron, wondering just what had happened.  He couldn't help but worry a little.

"No," answered Leon angrily, "but he probably would have if we hadn't gotten there in time."  Aaron and Andy said nothing.  Both boys were analyzing Leon's tone.  He was extremely angry about this.  It's not like they blamed him.  However, there was another sound in his voice.  Aaron only smirked as he thought it over. 
A little protective, are we Leon?

"Well," began Andy, interrupting the silence.  "I should probably get going.  Nathan will probably want to leave soon, and they'll come looking for me."  Aaron nodded, deciding that that was probably for the best.  They didn't need Nathan finding out about any of this.  If he knew that Aaron was still alive, he'd undoubtedly tell Ramirez.  Not to mention what he'd do if he found Ray.

"I'll see you later then," said Aaron as Andy turned and began walking to the door.

"Bye," Andy called as he walked out.  Aaron just smiled and watched as the door closed behind him.  He then turned his attention to Leon.  The boy shoved off the wall and was about to leave.  "Leon," Aaron called, stopping him.  "What you heard from Andy remains a secret.  No one, not even Ray, can hear what was said within this room.  You understand?"  Leon nodded once and then slowly made his way out of the room, leaving Aaron alone once again.

Leon began heading down the hallway, walking rather slowly.  He needed to go find Ray.  They had a problem to work out.  Since they had piloted their damaged Genos into Torran, they had to find a way to get back to the base.  The only way he could think of was mooching a ride out of Abby and Brian.  He needed to know what Ray thought.  The problem would be finding her.

Leon walked up to the receptionist, hoping that she would be able to tell him where Ray was.  Everyone at the hospital seemed to know her pretty well from what he could tell.

"Hello," he greeted, and the receptionist smiled sweetly at him.  "Could you tell me where Ray is?"

"You mean Ms. Cayden?" she asked, and he nodded.  "She's currently in room 141, but I can't let you go in right now."

"Why not?" he questioned, sounding rather disappointed.

"She's currently having the bullet removed from her arm," she explained.  "She'll be out for a good two hours."  Leon just sighed and sat down in one of the nearby chairs.  He might as well just wait.  It's not like he had anywhere to go.  Besides, he couldn't leave without Ray.  He needed her to help him get a ride from Abby and Brian.

* * * *

Gordan was standing around in the main room of the GRC headquarters.  He was tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for any news on Jace, the sole surviving knight of Trin.  He had been waiting for quite a while when the system let out the annoying beep of an incoming message.  It was the first time he had ever been happy to hear the dreadful sound.  He ran to the console and hit the button, bringing up a man who was standing outside, an ocean view out the window behind him.