Perfect Sacrifice (61 page)

"…No," she said after a while, and if Andy had been paying more attention, he would have heard her voice shift.  She was lying to him, but he didn't know it.  The topic wasn't one she wanted to discuss with anyone, even him.

"I see," he said softly, seeming a little disappointed.

"Why'd you want to know?" she asked curiously, opening her bag back up to get something to eat.

"Because I'm being transferred to a different base soon," he began sadly, "and Ramirez wants me to build him a sacrum amplifier with the equipment I find there.  It's a base near one of the excavation sites."

"Oh," she said softly, seeming a little disappointed.  "How long will you be there?"

"It just depends on how fast I find what I need," he answered with a small sigh.  He was tired of doing all of this work for Ramirez, especially when the general asked for things that were insignificant.  Didn't he know that sacrum no longer existed?  There was no point in building a sacrum amplifier if no one had sacrum.  He was starting to think his general had lost it.

They sat in silence for a while, not having anything else to really do or say.  It was hard to start a conversation sometimes, especially after a topic like that.  Somehow they always ended up talking about work, even when they didn't want to.  It was hard when they came from two different sides of the battle.  Some information could be said while just as much couldn't.  Why couldn't Andy understand that what Ramirez was doing was wrong?  He probably did know, but he no longer had much of a choice.  He hated the GRC, and if he tried to leave Ramirez now, he'd probably be hunted down and killed by the silver haired devil himself.

"Hey Andy?" began Ray, her thoughts leading her to another topic.  "I need you to promise me something."

"Alright," he responded, not caring what the promise would be.  He'd do anything for Ray.

"You can't say anything to Ramirez that would hint at Leon being alive, okay?" she told him seriously.  "He's safe right now, but if Ramirez finds out that his plan failed, he'll fight back harder.  I don't need to lose Leon after all of this, alright?"  Andy allowed a small smile to cross his face as he saw the worry on Ray's

"I promise," he assured her, and she just smiled in response.  Without another word, she stood up and stretched her arms.

"What do you say we walk around for a while?" she asked him, and he smiled brightly in response.  He stood up, stretching a little as well before following after Ray down the park paths.  It was time for a day of relaxation for both of them.  Everyone needed a break now and then.

* * * *

Leon walked slowly across the desert in his snow white Geno, standing out in the gold and blue desert setting.  He was taking his time getting back to the base.  It's not like he had much to do anyway.  It would jut be another lazy day, full of watching TV and eating.  He was slowly starting to get bored of not having as many battles.  He had Ramirez to blame for that.  Ever since the GRC had stepped it up against the evil general, they had less and less time to regulate the battles.  Even if Leon was challenged, he may not get to battle on account of the GRC and their busy schedule.  It's not like he could battle right now anyway.  He had a week to go before his body was in perfect working condition.  That's why he was going so slowly right now.  He didn't need to injure himself further.

He wasn't sure just how long he had been walking, but he knew he was going the right way.  He'd already passed by the excavation area, making sure to steer clear of it completely.  He didn't need to run into anymore trouble, especially in his condition.

Leon stopped suddenly, his eyes catching something in the distance.  Whatever it was, it was picking up sand, a cloud of dust rolling behind it.  Only one thing on the entire planet moved that fast, and that was a Geno.  The way the sun reflected off of it assured him of exactly what kind.  The golden light was unmistakable.  Only three Genos on the planet still had that color armor.  It was one of the golden armored Genos of the GRC knights.

Leon watched as the golden blur streaked past him, heading further out into the desert.  His eyes continued to follow it, and he began to wonder where it was going.  After all, there wasn't much out in that direction, especially not much that the GRC would be interested in.  All that was there was the excavation site.

Curious, Leon turned around and began to slowly follow after the Geno that had streaked off at high speed.  He wanted to know what was going on.  If something was happening at the excavation site, then Abby and Brian were probably involved.  Perhaps that had been one of them that had just passed him.  It was worth checking into, so he picked up his pace a little, still trying to take it as easy as he could.

In a matter of ten minutes or so, he arrived at the area near the excavation site.  He could see explosions going off in the distance, and he began to fear the worst.  What had the knights gotten themselves into this time?  It seemed like they never got a break.  Why hadn't they called Ray yet if they were having problems?  Then again, she wouldn't be able to do much.  She was in Torran, and her Geno was at the repair shop.  There were still a few internal problems that needed to be fixed.

Leon got closer, and he could see three golden Genos battling against a small army.  The enemy Genos were all different colors.  Luckily there was no sign of Ramirez and his midnight blue one.  However, even without the devil there, the three knights were having trouble.  They were greatly outnumbered, and they all appeared to be running out of weapons.  He watched as one of them had a back mounted gun blown completely off.  The enemy units were going to win this.  Was Gordan insane sending just the three of them out against nearly forty units?  He began to think so.

One of the golden Genos was shoved to the ground, and the other two moved in to protect it.  Leon was starting to get irritated.  He wanted to go out there, but he wasn't supposed to battle for at least a week.  It had only been a day. 
Ray could do it.
  That one thought began to nag at him.  Ray would be out there battling even with a partially healed wound.  She'd done it before.  Then again, he wasn't Ray.  There was something different about her.  Determination alone wasn't the key to her success.  Her body healed quickly; his didn't.  What was he supposed to do?  He could only stand and watch as all three Genos were blanketed in heavy gun fire.

That was it.  Leon was just too sick of standing around doing nothing.  He had to be out there helping them.  They needed his help now.  He couldn't just stand around and do nothing anymore.  With one flip of a switch, his boosters flared, and he was off.  He didn't dare flip the second one though.  He was rash, but he wasn't that rash.  Breaking the sound barrier in his condition was a dangerous move.  He didn't need to risk reopening his recently closed wound.  It was sore just moving at this kind of a pace.

Leon quickly pressed a few buttons, and a gun appeared on his back.  Two also folded out from the sides, and he began firing at the many enemy units, hoping to blind them enough for the three fallen felines to get back up.  His plan worked, since all three were now back on their feet, watching him fire like crazy at their enemies.

"Who's there?" questioned a familiar voice over Leon's communication system.  It was one he knew all too well, and it was just as harsh as ever.  It would only get harsher.

"It's Leon," he answered, and he heard a soft gasp from Abby.

"What are you doing here?" questioned Brian, more curious than frustrated with the Solaris boy.  Leon wasn't supposed to be battling. 

"I came to help," he explained, nearly getting cut off by Jace.

"Just go home," he told him strictly.  "We don't need your help.  Besides, you're in no condition to be battling."

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Leon mumbled angrily, hoping Jace hadn't heard.

"Leon, are you sure you're up to this?" asked Abby as the enemy units started recovering from Leon's onslaught.

"I can handle it," he told them.  "I'll be just fine."

"Very well," said Brian as he glanced around the battlefield.  "Our goal is to destroy the excavation site, but we'll have to get rid of these guys first."

"No more playing games," stated Jace as his Geno crouched down a little, a low growl escaping its metallic throat.  "It's time we take this seriously."  With that said, he was off.  His Geno broke away at high speeds, and it soon broke through the sound barrier.  At least ten Genos were sent rolling on the desert sands as he streaked by.

Brian and Abby quickly transformed their Genos.  Brian used the water form to burrow under the ground, and Abby took off into the skies in the aerial form.  She was quickly met with a few air threats as some of the enemy units copied her transformation.  Lucky for Brian, no one tried to do what he was doing.  He would have an easy time ambushing them from below.

Leon continued to fire his guns, having nothing else he could do.  High speed battle was a definite no, and close range was just as dangerous.  Of course, he would fight like that if need be, but long range was definitely for the best right now.  He was doing a good job keeping them away like that anyway.

The battle continued, and the tides were slowly turning as Brian continuously assaulted their enemy from underground, occasionally knocking one out of commission.  Abby was having just as easy a time in the air, making sure to stay behind the other units so they couldn't take her out.  Using the sonic boom technique was also a really easy way to remove them from the skies.  Jace continued to attack with sonic booms, but he'd stop when he knew his Geno couldn't take anymore.  It seemed like all of the knights knew their limits.  It was the key to winning a battle.

Leon was finally drawn into close range combat.  His ammo had nearly run dry, and now his Geno was clawing away at another.  He was doing his best not to get hit, because not only did it damage his Geno, but it hurt him as well.  His stomach began to ache as he was jostled around in his cockpit, moving at a pretty fast speed to try and get away from the enemy.  He began to wonder if coming here was such a great idea after all.

"Leon, you alright?" called Abby from the sky as she took down a few more Genos.

"Fine," he answered shortly, not wanting to show her that he was running out of breath.  He was starting to get tired, and it showed.  He wasn't about to let any one of them know that though.  They'd tell him to go home.  There was no way he was going to leave them.

"Hey Leon," called Jace.  "If you're going to help out, then pick up the slack a little.  You're not accomplishing anything."  Leon only growled in response and began to push a little harder.  His Geno's claws found their mark in the side of the enemy Geno he was fighting.  He began to tear at the metal, and the enemy unit was soon out of commission.  He quickly went to another and began doing the same thing.  He was quickly assisted by Brian, who finally decided to resurface, his Geno changing into the humanoid form.  He began using his fists to send the enemy units rolling.

"Thanks," said Leon.

"No problem," responded Brian.  He knew very well that Leon was pushing his body beyond what he should.  Unlike Jace, he wasn't about to chide him for fighting slowly and inefficiently.  After all, it was Jace's fault in some ways that Leon was in this state in the first place.

A cry was heard from Jace as his Geno was sent flying into the air.  It smashed into the desert floor, and he slowly began to get back up.  He was apparently confused about something.

"How did that thing hit me?" he questioned to no one in particular.  He faced the Geno that had knocked him over, finding that there was a rather large gun mounted on its back.  The end was smoking from its recent fire, and it was already beginning to charge up again.

Jace tried moving, preparing to break the sound barrier when he needed to, but he quickly discovered that one of his Geno's joints had been damaged.  He cursed under his breath, realizing that he had no choice but to take the gun out.  Two panels flipped out from his Geno's sides, and he began firing the two guns stationed there.  However, before any of the bullets could successfully get rid of the cannon, another Geno came and took out one of the guns, firing at the side of his Geno.  He was sent to the ground.

"Damn," he cursed as he realized that he wouldn't be able to move out of the way in time.  The gun was nearly done charging.

Right before it fired the blast, the Geno was slammed from the side by Leon and his white feline.  Jace was utterly shocked at this new development to his situation.  He just sat there, watching as the beam fired off, completely missing him.

"What are you waiting for?" Leon shouted to Jace.  "Get moving!"  Jace said nothing, but he got his Geno to its feet and began making a slow retreat.

Leon quickly jumped away from the enemy Geno, firing a few of his last rounds at the machine.  It wasn't quite enough to take it down though, but Abby came down from the sky and finished it off with a sonic boom.  She had finished off the aerial threat and was now taking care of the Genos on the ground.  It didn't take long before the four of them had made scrap metal out of all of the mechanical creatures.

"Finally," said Brian with a relieved sigh.  "I wasn't sure if it would ever end."

Abby landed her Geno next to the others, transforming it into the feline form.  They all turned towards the excavation site, which was nothing more than a hole in the ground.  There were still a ton of blue sacri crystals near the bottom.