Perfect Sacrifice (58 page)

Andy felt trapped under the careful eye of Ramirez.  If he showed even the slightest sign of resentment or anger, or even if he shed a single tear, he would be punished.  He would be seen as a traitor, a sympathizer for their enemy.  He was though.  He didn't like watching them get killed.  True, he was mad at the organization for the death of his parents, and he
would
one day get revenge, but it hadn't been Ray's fault.  After all, she had lost more family than he had, and now she was losing her second one.

"Andy," began Ramirez.  "There's something I want you to do for me."

"What?" he asked softly, his voice shaking only a little.  Ramirez walked over to the desk he sat at.

"I want you to build me an amplifier," he explained.  "I want one that can draw on the power of Sacrum.  Can you do that for me?"  Andy nodded very slowly, and Ramirez just smiled.  The boy never let him down.  "Then I will give you as long as you need, but I would like you to start now.  You've done enough research on the sun symbol.  You may continue it upon completing my amplifier."

"Alright," responded Andy as Ramirez walked to the door.  Without another word, he left the fifteen year old alone.

Andy instantly removed his glasses and sighed.  He put his head in his hands, absorbing the information he had just received.  So much had just happened.  He couldn't help but wonder how Ray was doing.  The question was if Leon was really dead.  Had Ramirez stayed long enough to guarantee that?  After all, Ray wasn't the type to just let a person die.  She would do all she could to save someone, especially if she cared about them.  Maybe Leon wasn't dead.  Maybe this would all work out alright.  All he could do was pray.  That's all anyone could do right now.  Everything was getting so complicated.

CHAPTER 29

A Simple Gift

It had been about ten days since the incident with Ramirez.  Leon was still in the hospital, and he had yet to wake up.  At least his condition was stable.  Dr. Solaris and Chris were there quite often, but they always went back to the base to sleep.  After all, visiting hours were only from noon to nine.  However, Ray spent all of her time there, never once going back to the base.  Being the ace knight, she had special privileges.  Not to mention the fact that almost everyone who worked there knew who she was.

It was going on eight in the morning, and the sun filtered through the shaded window, letting light into Leon's room.  As it traveled towards his still form, it eventually reached his closed eyes.  When it touched his eye lids, he groaned in annoyance, his eyes slowly opening.  Everything was initially blurry, but after blinking a few times, they focused enough for him to see his surroundings.  Everything was white, and it hurt his eyes to see it.  After all, they hadn't been opened in ten days.

He attempted to sit up, only to be met with a pain in his midriff.  He fell back, inhaling sharply.  He decided to just observe the area.  The room looked familiar.  He was sure he had seen it before.  Everything was that same obnoxious color, right down to the sheets on his bed.  That's right; he was in a bed, but just where was this room located?  He quickly realized the one place he had seen this at: Torran city's hospital.

Now that that mystery had been solved, another one arose.  Why was he here?  What had happened?  He remembered being mad at Jace and Ray, and then Ramirez came.  He could remember hearing Ray scream for him, her voice filled with fear.  Why had she been so scared again?  He suddenly remembered the sight of the midnight blue Geno's fist hovering over his cockpit.  He could see the blade coming towards him, and his abdomen began hurting just thinking about it.

"I'm sorry," said a female voice from outside the door.  "Visiting hours aren't until nine."

"Please," began the other voice, also female.  "My name is Rayla Cayden.  I'm the ace knight."  Leon quirked an eyebrow at that.  Was Ray really coming to visit him?  Did she actually care that much about him?  Then again, she had been comforting him after the battle.  She had looked so desperate and scared.  She hadn't been the strong pilot he knew so well.

"Oh," said the other voice.  "I'm sorry.  Go right ahead."

"Thank you," responded Ray as the door began to open.  Leon closed his eyes, trying to make it look like he was still sleeping.  He wanted to know how she would respond.  He wanted to observe her.

Ray walked into the room, a somewhat sad expression on her face.  Her eyes went to Leon, and a small, nearly invisible smile appeared on her face.  His respirator had been taken off a few days ago, and so had the IV.  The heart monitor wasn't hooked up either.  They all had faith that he'd pull through.  Now all they needed was for him to wake up.

"Still asleep I see," she said softly as she came to stand by his bedside.  She gently reached over and ran a hand through his hair.  It took all of Leon's willpower not to tense up at the contact.

Ray just stood there for a while, staring down at the man below her.  At least he was sure to live now.  That's all that mattered.  He'd wake up someday soon, she knew it.

"I'll be back in an hour or so," she said.  She quickly bent over and placed a kiss gently on his forehead.  "Wake up soon, okay?" she whispered as she turned around and left the room.

Leon quickly opened his eyes when he heard the door shut.  He sat up, pain quickly shooting through his stomach, but he managed to stay sitting.  He leaned his back against the wall and placed a hand to his forehead.  He was having a hard time keeping the blush off his cheeks. 
Did she really just kiss me?
  It had only been a peck on the forehead, but that was good enough for him.

The door began opening again, and Leon didn't have time to pretend he was asleep.  He watched as Dr. Solaris and Chris walked into the room.  Their eyes instantly went to him, and they both looked surprised to see him sitting there.

"Leon," Chris whispered, and a smile soon spread across his face.  "Leon!"  He ran towards the bed, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Hey guys," Leon greeted, his hand still against his forehead.  "I thought visiting hours weren't until nine."  Dr. Solaris smiled at his older son.

"Is that all you have to say?" he asked while crossing his arms, a playful look upon his face.  Leon only smiled sheepishly as his dad approached his bedside.

"I'm glad you're alright," said Chris as he sat down in a nearby chair.  Leon only looked down and smiled at him.

"Thanks," he said.  "I am too."

Dr. Solaris glanced around the room, and he seemed a little disappointed about something.  He crossed his arms and sighed deeply.

"Strange," he began.  "I was sure Ray would be here.  I mean, she hasn't come back to the base in ten days."  Leon looked shocked, his eyes wide at the statement.

"She hasn't?" he questioned with genuine surprise.  Was she really that worried about him?  Had she stayed at the hospital ever since the accident?  He realized that his dad had said ten days.  That was a long time.  He began to wonder just what he had missed.  It was hard to believe he had been sleeping for so long.

"It's been quite lonely at the base," said Dr. Solaris, and Chris nodded in agreement.  "I think Ray spent more time here than the doctors did."  Leon lowered his head a little, a slightly downcast expression on his face.

"I really owe her this time," he said as he fumbled with his fingers a little.

"Yes," his father agreed, "she got you here just in time."

"That's not what I meant," he stated softly, his eyes focused on his hands as he twirled his thumbs in circles around each other, his other fingers tightly intertwined.  Before his father could question why, he continued speaking.  "I was ready to die the second that blade broke through the cockpit.  I was going to give up, but I forced myself from my Geno.  I don't remember exactly what followed, but before I knew it, I was lying on the sand, and I heard Ray calling out to me.  When I saw the look on her face, I…I changed my mind.  There were tears in her eyes, and after everything she's gone through, I didn't want to be the one to make her cry."

Dr. Solaris smiled at his son, even though Leon couldn't see.  He was too deep in thought at the moment.  It appeared that Dr. Solaris owed Ray greatly for his son's life.  If it hadn't been for her, he would have died long before reaching the hospital.  Whatever emotions were binding the two arrogant Geno warriors were obviously much stronger than he or anyone else could comprehend. 
Perhaps Ray will one day become my daughter in law after all.  She's practically already part of our family.

"Well," began Dr. Solaris, getting Chris's attention as well as Leon's.  "We have a few things to take care of, but we'll be back later on, alright?"

"Okay," said Leon with a small smile.  "Bye."  Dr. Solaris and Chris left the room quietly, leaving Leon alone in the silence of the white walled box he was stationed in.  He had nothing to entertain himself with except his thoughts.  He was beginning to wish that Ray would come in, but she had said she'd be back later, and this was hardly considered
later
.

It had been nearly an hour since his family had left, and he was still just leaning against the wall, staring at the ceiling.  He was thinking, something he had been doing a lot of lately.  For some reason all of his thoughts seemed to focus in on one thing.  That thing was Ray.  She was in all of his thoughts, and he wasn't sure just why.  He liked her and all, but they were nothing more than friends.  Besides, as soon as she was done protecting him from Ramirez, she would just leave and go back to the GRC headquarters.  He'd probably never see her on a regular basis again.  That one thought seemed to tear at his conscience, and he found himself dreading the day that she'd finally wipe out the silver haired devil.

The door to the room began to open, and Leon's attention all flowed right to it.  The soft sound of the door gliding against the tiled floor cut through the silence like a knife through butter.  He watched as Ray walked in, stopping the second her eyes fell upon him.  She didn't even bother to close the door.

"Hey," he greeted with a smile, bringing one out on her surprised face.  Without a word, she ran towards him.  She quickly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.  Surprisingly she didn't hurt him.

Leon was a little shocked at the sudden embrace considering the fact that Ray rarely came this close to him.  To make this predicament stranger, the only thing he had covering his torso were the bandages around his stomach.  She was hugging him rather tightly.  He found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't return the embrace.  His arms wouldn't move for him.

"I'm so glad you're alright," she sighed, hugging him tighter.  Just as he was about to embrace her, she pulled away, and he was able to see her face.  She wore a smile, and her visible cherry eye was shining with excitement and relief.  "We were all so worried about you."

"Sorry," he said softly, and she just beamed more at him.

"How long have you been up?" she asked as she took a seat next to him on his bed.

"I woke up right before my dad came in," he explained, not wanting to mention the fact that he had been awake since the first time she had come to visit.

"What was it like?" she asked softly after a moment of silence as she began kicking her legs back and forth.

"What?" he asked just as softly.

"Being asleep for ten days," she responded as she sighed deeply.  She really had been worried about him.  "What did you dream about?"

Leon just blinked a few times, not saying anything.  It was such a strange question.  He tried to decipher the look on her face, but he couldn't see her.  She was sitting to his right, and the left side of her face was always covered.  This wasn't helping him.  He might as well just tell her.  He didn't need a reason to answer a question.

"I…" he began, "I dreamt about my mother…about how things used to be."  He lowered his head a little as the memories played through his mind.  "It's strange," he began.  "After all these years, I can still remember her.  I can see her face so clearly."

Ray smiled as she continued to kick her legs back and forth.  She suddenly stopped, drawing Leon's attention.

"You're lucky," she told him with a wry smile.  Before he could respond, she continued speaking.  "You still have your father and brother, and you still remember your mother.  I can't say the same."  She sighed deeply as she hunched over a little.  Her hair was now concealing all of her face.  He couldn't see anything anymore, not even the tip of her nose.  She continued after a moment of silence.  "I try so hard to remember my parents, but they're starting to get blurry in my memories.  When I think about them, the only image I see…is the way they looked after Ramirez killed them.  Their mangled bodies are my only vivid memory of them that I have left."  She laughed a little, but it was dry.  "Not a pretty picture, huh?" she questioned as she gently kicked her right leg out.

Leon wanted to do something now.  He wanted to help her, to comfort her, but there was nothing he could do, and he knew it.  No one would ever be able to help her.  She was going to have to save herself.  That didn't mean he couldn't try though.  Before he could say any words of comfort, she opened her mouth again.