Perfect Sacrifice (60 page)

Leon just stood in the entryway, a smile on his face.  He leaned against the wall and just watched her, his eyes slowly going towards the television.  He could see two children, one who was obviously much older.  He was a boy with blonde hair and black eyes, a smile playing on his face as he held a young girl in his arms.  She wore one of the brightest smiles Leon had ever seen.  Her long, silvery blue hair was pulled back tightly into a ponytail, exposing both of her beautiful cherry eyes.  They were full of the excitement only a child possessed and a light that could rival that of the sun.  It was a little sad to think that that bright, cheerful child was now the arrogant ace knight he was currently living with.

Leon began to approach her, going very slowly and trying to be quiet.  He failed the second part.  When he was within a few feet of the couch, she snapped her head in his direction, a startled expression upon her face.  She relaxed when she saw him though, and quietly stared at him for a moment.  Before he could say anything, she got up and walked over to him, stopping just in front of him.

Leon looked down at Ray, wondering why she wasn't saying anything.  She was currently just holding his eyes with her own, a curious expression on her face.  There was something in her demeanor that was different however.  She looked a little shaken, like something in her world had been changed or removed.  Whatever it was, she looked different.

"So," began Leon as a smile spread across his face.  "Do you like your present?"  Her only response was a meek nod in which she quickly cast her eyes downward, folding her hands in front of her out of possible coyness.  She was just a little out of character right now.  He was seeing yet another side of her.  Just how many different Rays were there?

"Leon?" she questioned, earning her his attention.  In one swift and graceful movement, she threw her arms around him, burying herself in the fabric of his clothing.  Her arms wrapped around his waist, and she moved her head a little to rest it near his shoulder.  She wasn't quite tall enough to rest on it.

Leon was surprised to say the least, but something else quickly overwhelmed him.  He instinctively raised his arms and wrapped them around her, holding her tightly against him.  He realized that he liked it like this.  He liked holding her, and he marveled at the way she fit so perfectly in his arms.  He hadn't noticed before, however, that she was quite a bit shorter than he was.  Her head couldn't even reach the top of his shoulder.  That didn't really matter though.  Not in the least.

"Thank you," she whispered, and he smiled as a response.  He didn't say anything back to her; he only tightened his embrace, resting his head against hers.

Ray closed her eyes and gave a silent sigh.  For the first time in a long time, she felt completely content.  What was it about Leon that made her feel that way?  It was strange how at this close of range she began noticing things.  Leon was tall, even taller than Brian.  He was also incredibly well-built.  Then again, most Geno pilots were.  Piloting involved not only intelligence but a strong body.  At least he wasn't overly built like the muscle men on television.  He was just your average, everyday Geno warrior, and that's what she liked about him.

After what felt like forever but what only lasted about a few minutes, they broke the embrace, and Ray turned back towards the television.  There was a soft smile on her face as she watched her brother and herself playing in the hanger of the GRC headquarters.

"I remember," she began.  "I remember all of it.  Every detail."  She looked back to him, her smile still as soft as ever.  "Thanks to you."  Before he could say anything, she took his hand and brought him over to the couch.  They both sat down and began watching the videos.

Leon was actually enjoying the home movies.  He had heard of her family, but he had never seen them.  Ray didn't seem to have any pictures.  If she did, he had never seen them.  This was a good way for him to get to know her even better.  These movies brought up quite a few questions.  One was once again about her odd hair style.  Why was she keeping the left side of her face covered?  She hadn't as a child.  What was so very different now?

They had been sitting in silence for what felt like hours, doing nothing but watching the video tapes.  Leon was sitting comfortably, his arm resting on the armrest right next to him.  He was suddenly startled, however, when he felt a pressure against his other side.  He glanced over and saw that Ray was leaning against him, her head finding its way to his shoulder.  She appeared to be rather content right there leaning against him.

Leon smiled and brought up his arm, shifting Ray a little in the process.  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her just a little closer, and she didn't object at all.  If anything, she moved even closer, a sigh full of content escaping her lips.  It only caused him to smile more as he turned his attention back to the television.

It was only a few moments later that he looked back to her only to find that she was asleep.  She looked at peace for once.  He couldn't see it, but there was a small smile on her face.  Leon just smiled as well, resting his head atop hers.

"Happy birthday Ray," he whispered before closing his eyes, allowing himself to peacefully fall asleep next to her.

CHAPTER 30

Bridging the Gap

General Gordan sat alone in the main room of the GRC headquarters.  He was apparently working on something with the computers.  He let out a long sigh as he failed yet again to correct the error.  What was worse was that it was blatantly flashing his failure across the monitor.  It took every bit of willpower he had not to just chuck the computer out the window.

He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a moment.  He was trying to remember what he wanted to do today.  He knew of one thing that was incredibly important.  After over two months of delaying the mission, he was going to have Ramirez's excavation site destroyed.  They were still mining sacri crystals, and the last thing they needed was for the silver haired devil to create another monster sized Geno.  One had been more than enough to deal with.

"Gordan?" questioned a soft voice from the door.  He turned towards it, finding Abby standing in the doorway.  She walked into the room, followed by Brian and their newfound companion Aaron.  Jace was nowhere to be seen among them.  He was probably still sleeping.  That was one thing he was good at.  He had always been lazy.

"Yes, what is it?" Gordan asked as he spun the chair around so he could fully face them.  Abby just smiled as her eyes landed on the computer screen.  Their system still wasn't working.  The monitors had been down for a few days now.  They couldn't get anything to work, not even the communication system.  It was horrible for the main headquarters to be cut off from everything.  It was plainly obvious that Gordan was really getting ticked off at the machine.

"We were going to ask you about the excavation sites," began Brian.  "You mentioned yesterday that we were going to get rid of them."

"Yes," he said.  "You're going to get rid of only one though.  We haven't located any of the others yet."  He sighed out of irritation and shot a glare at the computer screen behind him.  "If I could just get this up and running again, we could locate the others."

"How's that going anyway?" asked Abby, and Gordan just gave her a small glare, indicating that he didn't feel like answering that question.

Aaron remained silent, but he turned his attention to the computer screen.  Without a word, he walked over to it, monitoring exactly what the message was displaying.  He was sure he had seen this kind of error before.

Everyone's eyes were now on the young commander as he looked over the computer screen.  He appeared to be thinking about something.  He then turned towards Gordan.

"Can I work on it?" he asked the general, who only gave him a skeptical look.  If Gordan couldn't fix it, then how did Aaron stand a chance at doing so?  It couldn't hurt though.

"Go ahead," said Gordan, getting out of the chair. 

Aaron sat down and began working on the computer, his fingers seeming to just fly over the keys.  In no time at all, the error message disappeared, and everyone gaped in astonishment.

"How did you do that?" questioned Gordan as he looked over Aaron's shoulder.  The ex-commander was still typing away, keeping his eyes on the monitor.

"Well," he began with a small smile.  "When you spend most of your time around a kid like Andy, you learn a few things.  He's an expert on practically everything." 

Gordan's expression faltered a little as Andy's name was mentioned.  It had been years since he had seen the boy.  He began to wonder just how he was doing.  It was true that his past had been a sad one, but the GRC wasn't to blame.  However, Gordan couldn't help but feel guilty about it.  It had been his command after all that had taken the lives of Andy's parents.  If only he had evaluated the situation better, maybe he could have saved their lives and the lives of his other men lost in the battle.

"Sir?" began Brian, drawing his attention away from the computer screen.  "About the excavation sites…"

"Oh, yes," began Gordan, regaining his original line of thought.  "I want you two to go out there.  Once Jace is ready, I'll send him as well.  If all goes according to plan, we shouldn't need to call Ray.  We'll let her have a break for once."

"Sounds good," said Abby.  "We can handle it, no problem."

"Alright then," he said as he turned back towards the computer that Aaron was working on.  "Good luck."

"Thanks sir," said Brian as he and Abby exited the room to head out for their mission.  Hopefully Ramirez wouldn't be there.  He was the last person they needed to see.  For once they wanted an easy assignment, one that didn't involve the silver haired general.  Perhaps they'd get lucky.  Maybe fate would finally be kind to the knights.

* * * *

Ray walked aimlessly down the roads of Torran, trying to find something worth doing.  She wasn't there because of any particular reason, but now she was trying to find a way to entertain herself.  She was there because Leon had needed a ride to pick up his Geno.  She would be driving the car back, but until she was too bored to think, she was going to wander the city.  She was hoping against all odds that she would find Andy.  She had no reason in particular to see him.  She just liked spending time with the boy genius.

Ray found her way to Sam's store, and she decided to go in.  It wouldn't hurt after all.  It may hurt Sam's business, but she would be alright.  Besides, she was hungry, and he was the only one who would give her free food.

"Hey Sam," she greeted cheerfully as she walked up towards his front counter.  He just sighed deeply, resting his head against his hand.

"What now?" he asked her.  She was about to say something when he sighed again and began heading to the back room.  "Never mind.  Don't even ask."  He came back with a bag full of food for her, and she just smiled brightly at him.

"Thanks Sam," she said as she walked to the door.  "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Make it much later," he mumbled, but she didn't here him. 
Probably for the best.
  He just sighed as he went to help his next customer.

Ray walked down the street with her bag.  She was heading towards the park, since it was probably the most peaceful place in the city.  She just wanted a nice place to eat her lunch.  She stopped dead in her tracks, however, when she saw Andy sitting alone on a park bench.  He looked rather depressed as he sat there with his eyes on the ground and his hands folded in his lap.  Without a second thought, Ray walked over to him.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile, drawing his attention.  His expression only fell more as he watched her sit down next to him.

"Hey," he greeted softly, saying nothing more to the ace knight.  She gave him a skeptical look, deciding to put the sandwich she had been eating back in the bag.  Whatever problem Andy was having was obviously more important right now than her food.

"Why the long face?" she asked gently, a small smile still on her face.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding very sad about something.

"About what?" she asked out of confusion.  He hadn't done anything to her.  Why was he apologizing?

"Ramirez told me what happened," he began.  "He told me about the battle ten days ago.  I'm so sorry Ray."  The ace knight was confused for a moment, but when she thought back to the battle, she realized what he meant.  Her smile only widened, and she began laughing softly, drawing a surprised expression from Andy.

"If you're talking about Leon," she began, "then don't worry.  He's still alive and doing well."  Her smile only widened as she watched the relief wash over the fifteen year old's face.  That had obviously been what was wrong.  She rather liked the fact that he was worried about Leon.  They had only met once, and he already liked the older boy. 
Andy always had a good judge of character.

"Hey Ray?" began Andy.  "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she answered.  "Ask me anything."

"Do you know anything about sacrum?" he questioned, not bothering to look up at her.  He missed the strange flash of emotion that ran through her eyes as that one word escaped his lips.  Ray didn't even answer him.  She only bit her bottom lip and folded her hands in her lap.