Perfect Sacrifice (43 page)

* * * *

"Ready?" questioned Ray.

"Yeah," he responded in a voice that said differently.  He was very nervous right now.  He knew the consequences of screwing up.  He'd just have to remember what Ray had told him.  Keeping his body straight was probably the most vital of the information.  He would focus mainly on that.

"Go!" she told him, and he was off.  He flipped the switch for the boosters and then the one for breaking the sound barrier.  He was quickly forced back into his seat, very aware of every nerve in his body.  All of them seemed to be screaming at him as the desert flew by at impossible speeds.  He had to keep his mind focused, and he had to keep from becoming unconscious. 

He decided to turn around, remembering what Ray had told him.  He couldn't lean into the turn.  He had to keep himself as straight as he could.  He turned, going rather slowly in making his way around.  He was now heading back the way he came, and he took the time to watch as the desert sands swirled out of his path.  Everything was going by so fast.  Genos were incredible things, being able to keep you from getting crushed at speeds this high.  Whoever had originally designed the mechanical creatures had been a true genius.

The gage Ray had mentioned was beginning to flash red, so Leon quickly reached out and flipped the switch again.  Gradually, his Geno began to slow down, eventually coming to a full stop.  Someday he would have to try stopping the way Ray did.  She was always so abrupt, spinning in the sand to turn around and face her enemy.

"Congrats," said Ray as she walked over to him.  "With more practice, your Geno will be able to last longer.  You'll also be able to do more fancy maneuvering.  Your turns won't take quite so long.  Watch."  Ray's black Geno took off, kicking up the sand as it ran along.  She flipped the first switch to turn on the boosters and then the second to break the sound barrier.  She took off, the sand swirling in a torrent of wind and dust as she ran by.  Her Geno was going in a perfectly straight line until she turned.  It was perfect and very tight.  It would be hard to hit her like that.  She began jumping as she ran, landing each one perfectly.  However, to Leon her Geno looked like nothing but a black blur.  It was hard keeping up with something that moved that fast.

Before she reached him, she stopped, spinning into a halt.  When her Geno had fully stopped, she turned and began walking back over.  Her Geno's legs still appeared to be fine, even from those tight turns and that stop.

"See?" she said while opening the cockpit.  "The gage doesn't even blink for me anymore.  The last time it did was during that battle at the excavation site…and I hadn't been paying attention then.  Otherwise, I can last for quite a while."

"But my Geno isn't like yours," stated Leon as he also opened the cockpit.  He stood up and stretched his arms.  "I don't know if I'll ever be quite that good."

"Yeah," she said, not seeming all that down about it, "but you'll be able to get pretty close with practice."  She smirked and rubbed her hands together in anticipation, making Leon seem a little nervous.  "Okay, now I'm going to teach you about aerial high speed battles."  Leon groaned in protest and sat down.  He hadn't thought it would take this much work.  How was he supposed to remember two sets of rules?  Why couldn't he wait a while?

"Do we have to right now?" he asked in a slightly tired and whiney tone.  His body was already aching, and he had only gone through it once.

"Come on Leon," she said.  "You wanted to learn, so you're
going
to pay attention.  Okay, first remember that you can only aim forwards or up.  Never aim towards the ground, because that's like signing a death wish.  And like before, always keep your body straight, but it's okay to lean into the turns when you're going up, but don't lean when you're turning around, and you have to be careful not to turn too hard, or the wings will break, and…"

Leon just sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips.  This was going to be one long day, and it would probably last for a few after that. 
What have I gotten myself into?
  He began to zone out as Ray just kept talking.  This really was going to take a while.  At the rate Leon was going, a very
very
long while. 
It'll be worth it.  The next time I see Ramirez, I'll be ready.  I won't get in anyone's way.  Not this time.

* * * *

It was a beautiful day in Torran, and a certain young genius couldn't help but notice.  Andy walked down the streets of Torran, heading for the normally unpopulated park.  He needed to relax for a while and get away from the dark, slightly dreary base.  Torran had always been his favorite city.  He used to live there with his parents until they moved to the GRC base.  He was wishing they had never made that decision.

Andy walked into the park, heading along the path.  There was a variety of different food stands set up, some selling hot dogs, others selling drinks.  He eventually came across one that struck his interest.  It was one that sold ice cream.

He walked up to the brightly decorated stand, his eyes wandering over the different types of ice cream he saw.  The vender just smiled down at him.

"Hello," he said.  "Would you like an ice cream cone?"  Andy looked up, a very childlike smile painted on his exuberant face.  He nodded repeatedly, and the vender just beamed brightly.  "What kind?" he asked.

"Strawberry," Andy answered.

"That'll be a buck fifty," responded the vender, waiting for Andy to pay for the cone he wanted.  Andy reached into his pockets, searching for money.  His smile fell as he found nothing in the first pocket.  He checked the pockets on his coat, but he still found nothing.  He had left his money back at the base.

Andy was about to just give up and leave, but someone reached out from behind him and handed the guy three dollars.  Andy quickly spun around, coming face to face with none other than Ray.

"It's on me this time," she said, winking at the fifteen year old.  "And make mine chocolate."

After getting their cones, Andy and Ray decided to sit down in the park for a while.  There were so many benches that it was impossible not to find a place.  They both sat in silence, slowly eating their ice cream.

"So," began Ray in a somewhat gentle voice, "how have you been?"

"Okay," he answered, seeming a little sad as he spoke that word.  "I've been working more and more lately, studying the ruins I found at the excavation site."

"I see," she said, letting the word hang for a while.  "I've been working too, sort of.  It's really hectic right now, what with the…the knights being wiped out."  She hung her head, as did Andy.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, causing Ray to regret saying it.

"No, I'm not blaming you," she said, sighing in defeat right after.  "Let's not talk about work, okay?"  Andy only nodded, and the silence set in again.  They both just sat there eating their ice cream cones. 

Unfortunately, Ray wasn't very good at silence.  She enjoyed talking more.  She was sure they could find something to talk about.

"I don't live at the base anymore," she said, earning her Andy's attention.

"Why not?" he asked, seeming rather shocked at the statement.

"I've got to help a friend of mine, and it's easier to by staying at his base," she explained, not bothering to mention Leon's name.  "Currently, I'm training him in high speed battle."  Andy smiled at that.  He had always like watched people compete at high speeds.  Breaking the sound barrier had always been a fascinating idea to him.

"Is he any good?" he asked her, earning him a rather proud smirk from the ace knight.

"He's good, but not nearly as good as me," she boasted, earning her a chuckle from the fifteen year old.  "I mean, we just started practicing five days ago, and he's already got a pretty good handle on it.  It's kind of impressive, actually."  Andy only nodded, a soft smile still playing on his lips.  If there was one thing he missed about the GRC, it was Ray.  She was always so carefree and talkative.  She had never once bored him.  She wasn't quite as into the science field as he was, but they both shared a common fascination with Genos and the sacri crystals.

"Has anything really changed?" he asked her suddenly, a confused look crossing her face.

"What?" she asked, biting the cone part of her dessert.

"At the GRC.  Has anything changed?" he asked, starting to eat his ice cream again.

"Not really," she said, seeming to think about it.  "Everything is still basically the same."

"Like you?" he asked, earning him yet another confused stare.

"Me?" she asked, stopping from her ice cream devouring.  She just sat there, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah," he said quietly, reminiscing about the old days.  "You haven't changed.  You're exactly as you were back then."  He sighed, setting his ice cream down on the bench for a moment.  "I remember when Lee would take us here, and we'd stop by the playground to visit with the other kids.  When some of the kids would pick on me because I was younger, you'd always step in and defend me."  He looked up at her, a small smile on his face.  "You were always playing the part of a big sister, always looking out for me."  He turned away rather sadly, picking his ice cream back up and taking a lick.  "I don't want that to change."

Ray smiled and quickly finished off her ice cream cone.  She put an arm around his shoulders, hugging him in a very sisterly fashion.

"Don't worry," she said.  "Nothing will ever change.  I promise.  You're still my best friend, okay?"  Andy smiled and began to eat the cone.

"Okay," he said, seeming rather happy with Ray's declaration.  She released him and stretched her arms.

"And of course," she began, "this little encounter remains a secret, just like all the other ones, right?"

"Right," he said, adding a nod for emphasis.  Every time they met randomly in Torran, they made sure to keep whatever was said between them private.  Coming from different sides of the ongoing battle for dominance, they had to.  They didn't want to get in trouble, nor place the other in any danger.  However, Ray was in more danger if Ramirez ever found out.  Then again, she couldn't even begin to imagine what he would do to Andy.  Ramirez wasn't the one for forgiveness.

Ray stood up, as did Andy, his ice cream cone now finished.  They both began walking down the pathways of the park, having nothing better to do.  They had to be careful not to let people who knew them personally see that they were spending time together.  They really didn't need to get into any trouble, and they both needed to make sure that the other was safe.  After all, a brother and sister had to look out for each other, right?

* * * *

Aaron walked down the hallways of the cold base he had become accustomed to.  That didn't mean he liked it there.  In fact, he wanted to leave, to get away from Ramirez, but no one got away from Ramirez.  He had made an example of so many people, showing that he always got his way.  No one was able to defy him.  Well, no one except for Rayla Cayden.  She was the only one to ever walk away alive.  Her luck was slowly running out though.

"Hey Aaron," greeted Nathan, walking down the hallway opposite of the young commander.  Aaron only glared at the man before continuing on his way.  Unfortunately, the rather annoying lieutenant followed.

"What do you want Nathan?" he asked the boy, not really caring what his answer would be.  He only wanted to be left alone right now.

"I heard you got your next assignment," began Nathan.  "You're going to kill the rest of the knights, right?"

"What concern is it of yours?" he asked while turning the corner, still unable to lose the man following him.  He had been hoping that Nathan was on his way to do something.  Then again, if he had been, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to turn and follow him.

"It's every concern of mine," stated Nathan with a smirk.  "After all, two of the knights are women, one of them being the ace knight."

"Your point?" asked Aaron, sounding incredibly bored.  He really didn't care about what Nathan had to say.

"Well," he began, "you already killed the other girl knights.  I was hoping to meet one before they all got slaughtered.  I mean, I've heard that the ace knight is this cutie with a fiery attitude.  She'd be so much fun to…"

Aaron spun around, a full fledged glare on his face.  He cut Nathan off with the look alone, but his words quickly cut through the sentence itself.

"Just shut up!" he yelled angrily.  "I'm sick of you and your damn rambling.  Just get the hell out of my face!"  Nathan shoved his hands into his pockets and gave Aaron a nasty look, one that radiated hate.  Without a word, he turned around and walked away, heading down the hallway opposite of Aaron.

The young commander sighed in relief, happy to finally be alone again.  He needed to be.  He wanted time to think.  This mission was an important one, but it would also be very difficult.  He had to make sure to kill all four of his targets, and one happened to be the ace knight.  Getting them all together would prove to be just as difficult.  He would think of something though.  He had to.  Ramirez wouldn't accept failure.  He had to do this, and he had to succeed.  He didn't want to disappear like so many others had or like so many more would.

* * * *

It had been one week since Leon began his high speed training, and he was doing well.  His endurance was better, and he didn't lose unconsciousness after a while.  That first day, after landing during an aerial sound barrier breaking, he had been so drained that he had passed out.  He was out for the rest of the day.