Perfect Sacrifice (15 page)

Leon released a barrage of missiles, but she managed to just miss them, reading the projection of his guns.  Each time he fired, she dodged within seconds, the bullets coming only centimeters from the metal of her Geno.  She had to stay focused.  With how difficult it was to steer, every prediction had to be perfect.  There was no room for error this time.

Ray cursed to herself as she realized that the battle had been going on for a while.  Her battles were usually done within a few minutes.  This one was lasting longer.  Also, she had yet to land a fatal hit on Leon's Geno, not to mention that her own had taken in some damage.  Gordan had been right when he had said not to underestimate the eldest Solaris son.  Leon was obviously much more skilled than the other pilots she fought on a regular basis.

"I have to say I'm impressed," she told him as she began firing at him, now following behind his Geno.  "However, this battle needs to end.  It's gone on way too long."  Ray flipped a small switch, the boosters on her Geno's back heating up.

"Leon!" shouted Doctor Solari, a screen popping up on the inside of Leon's cockpit.  Leon gave his father a sideways glance.  "She's about to break the sound barrier."  Leon only smirked as the screen faded.  This was his chance to try the technique for himself.  He flipped a small switch and quickly spun his Geno around to face Ray's.  Her Geno shot off at break neck speeds, and only a millisecond later did his follow.  Both Genos passed each other, but the forces of their sonic booms clashed in the center, causing not an explosion, but a large bang.  The force of the blow nearly sent Ray down to the desert ground, but she managed to keep her Geno in the air.  However, Leon's was now heading downward.  Just as it reached the desert, his Geno quickly transformed back into the feline form, making a decent landing.  However, it wasn't moving anymore.

Ray sighed in relief as she watched him land his Geno.  However, that relief was quickly replaced by anger.

"Leon, you idiot!" she shouted over a communication link.  It allowed everyone to hear the words she was currently speaking.  "What the hell were you thinking?"  She was barely able to keep the worry out of her voice.  He didn't respond, so she continued speaking.  "No one is allowed to attempt that kind of attack unless they've been put through special aerial training from the GRC.  Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?  Breaking the sound barrier can easily rip the armor off of your Geno, not to mention possibly kill the pilot!"

Inside his cockpit, Leon was panting, trying to bring in more air.  He hadn't been able to breath going at those speeds.  He hadn't thought it would hurt as much as it had.  As he heard Ray's words, he began scolding himself for ever trying the move.

"You're too damn cocky, Leon," she shouted at him.  "Don't ever try to copy me again."  Leon just smirked, relaxing in his cockpit.  The battle was over.  He knew it.  His Geno wasn't able to move.  Transforming back into the ground form had taken the last of the machine's energy.  A system failure signal flashed through his cockpit.  Ray had won this battle.

"The battle is over!" announced Gordan over the speaker.  "The ace knight, Rayla Cayden is the winner!"  Ray swooped down, landing her Geno a small distance from Leon's.  His cockpit opened, allowing him to jump out, landing softly on the desert sands.

Ray sighed to herself, realizing that her secret wasn't going to be a secret anymore.  She began to change her mind about getting out of the Geno.  She was biting her lip, trying to come up with a solution to her small problem.

"Come out!" demanded Leon, drawing her attention.  He had a smirk on his face, his hands shoved in his pockets.  "I know you can hear me…Ray."  Ray's eyes widened as he said her name.  Her secret was out, and she hadn't even told him.  She sighed as she hit the button that would release her from her Geno.  The cockpit opened, and she jumped out.  Leon just smiled as she approached him, a defeated look upon her victorious face.

"How'd you know?" she asked him.

"Your fighting style," he responded.  "That and your little speech just now."  Ray extended her hand, waiting for him to shake it.  He reached out and took her hand, looking her right in the eyes.  "Great battle," he told her.  "I hope we can fight again sometime."  Ray just smiled.  It had been a fun battle.  He had lasted longer than most people had.  Her expression became serious again, however, when she thought back as to why he had lost.

"Don't ever try that again, alright?" she told him.  He nodded, noticing the tiny pinch of concern in her visible cherry eye.  They had yet to drop hands.

"Ray!" shouted Gordan, his voice heavy with alarm.  Both Leon and Ray looked up at the huge floating device.  "It's Ramirez!  Some of his troops are heading this way!"  Ray looked to the distance and noticed that the sky was heavy with her enemies.  She cursed to herself.  Luck really wasn't on her side. 
How do they keep finding me?

"Ray," said Leon, drawing her attention.  He had a very serious look on his faces.  "What are you going to do?"

"Fight them, of course," she responded arrogantly.  Leon glanced back towards the transporter that his father and brother were in before quickly returning his worried eyes to Ray.  "Don't worry," she told him, reading between the lines.  "I won't let anything happen to them."

"Ray…" he whispered, wanting to tell her something, but she cut him off again.

"Don't worry," she said again with a smile.  "I won't let anything happen to you either."  He squeezed her hand slightly, as if trying to reassure her of something.

"That's not what I'm worried about," he whispered.  She released his hand and turned away, getting back into her Geno.  Leon watched as the mechanical creature once again came to life.  "Be careful," he said, but she couldn't hear him.

Ray launched her Geno back into the air, picking up speed as she flew higher and higher.  She was just waiting for her enemies to get closer.  A screen popped up to her right.  Gordan was there, a serious and very father like look upon his face.

"Ray, be careful," he warned her.  "I meant what I said about putting you on probation if you get hurt."

"I know," she told him.  "I don't plan on getting hurt."  Gordan sighed.  Talking with Ray about battling was always such a frustrating process.  The girl just didn't listen, even to her general.

"Very well," he told her.  He was about to say something more when his screen filled with static.

"Gordan?" called Ray out of worry.  She looked up at the huge floating device and saw that it was under heavy fire.  She cursed under her breath and took off higher to reach her enemies. 
If anything happens to them, mark my words.  Not a single one of you will leave here alive.
  She had a cold look in her eyes as that thought finished forming.  She flipped a small switch, and the boosters heated up.  It was time for another sonic boom.  Her Geno took off, breaking the sound barrier.  She sped past about one fourth of the enemy Genos, tearing them apart with the sonic boom that followed her.  The force of the winds bent their wings, sending them crashing to the ground below.  The pilots always managed to eject just in time.

Ray flew higher, determined to reach the Genos attacking her friends.  She had to keep an eye on all of the enemy units.  She had a lot of people to protect right now.  She flew higher yet, finally reaching the ones attacking her fellow GRC officials.  She began firing at them, releasing whatever ammo she had left.  Luckily, she hadn't wasted too much on Leon during the battle.  Every bullet hit its target as she accurately predicted the movements of her enemies.

"Pathetic," she stated as she repeated shot at the Genos.  "You never get any better."  The remaining few began to escalate, heading further and further up.  Being her normal cocky self, Ray followed.  She soared higher and higher, following after her seemingly retreating enemies.

"Ray!" called out Gordan.  "You're too high!  The controls will become almost impossible to operate if you go up any more!"

"Relax, I know what I'm doing," she stated.

"Ray, get the hell down from there!"  This was just as bad as talking to a stubborn child.  Ray only tightened her grip on the control stick, a hard look on her young face.

"I've got it under control, Gordan," she insisted.  "Just stand back and let me work."  She shut off the communication link and continued on her current path.  She wasn't about to let her enemies get the better of her.  When they stopped escalating, she opened fire.  What Gordan had said was proving to be true.  The controls were suddenly much harder to operate.  Also, if worst came to worst and she ended up in a nose dive, she wouldn't be able to pull out of it.  The crash would completely destroy the cockpit, killing her.  She began to doubt her actions as she released a wave of ammo at the remaining few Genos.  An explosion followed, a cloud of smoke now surrounding her enemies.  Before they began falling, however, about twenty bullets pierced through the smoke.

"No way," whispered Ray as the bullets came right at her.  She tried to veer left, but the controls were too firm.  She couldn't dodge in time.  The bullets pierced the metal on her Geno's wings.  Her eyes widened in pure horror as she realized what was about to happen.  Her Geno was falling, heading into a nose dive.  Normally this wouldn't be a problem.  She would just pull up and go into a small, non-lethal crash landing.  Unfortunately, that wasn't going to work this time.  She desperately tried to pull up, but the controls wouldn't budge.

Everyone was watching as her Geno plummeted towards the ground.  At this rate, the crash would undoubtedly crush the cockpit.  There was no hope in her surviving.

"Ray!" shouted Chris from the transport.  Dr. Solaris watched with wide eyes.  There was no way for her to land it.  This didn't look good for the ace knight.

Ray tried desperately to pull on the controls, using all of her strength, but it just wasn't enough.  She released it and sighed exasperatedly.

"Man," she said, "what do I do now?"  She tried yet again to pull up, but she couldn't stray from her fatal nose dive.  "This is hopeless."  She was ready to just give up.  The ground was steadily getting closer.  "Damn…this isn't fair."  She hung her head in despair, unaware that something was approaching from behind. 

A bird like shriek caught her attention.  A white Geno streaked through the sky, coming up behind her.  Before she knew it, it slammed itself into her Geno, grazing the underside of it.  Now the white one was nose diving right along with her.

"What the hell…?" she questioned, confused at the new development to her situation.

"Pull up," demanded the voice from the white Geno's pilot.  Ray quirked an eyebrow, confusion flooding her features.

"Leon?" she questioned.  "Why…how are you…?"

"I'll explain later," he interrupted.  "Just pull up."  Ray scowled deeply.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked him.

"I'm trying to save your ungrateful cocky hide before you hit the ground, now pull up!"

"Just leave me alone!  I don't need your help!" she shouted back, not liking the way he referred to her.  Their Genos were still falling, hers just lying atop his.

"Look, just shut up!" he yelled at her, his voice holding an overwhelming amount of fear, diluted only by his anger.  "If you don't pull up now, both of us will die!"  He began pulling up on his controls, trying to bring not only his Geno up but hers.  He was failing on his own.  "Ray, I can't do this by myself!  Pull up!"  Ray just sat there, her eyes slightly wide.  She was zoning out, confusion overwhelming her mind.  Only when Leon screamed her name did she come to again.  She grabbed the control stick and began to pull up on it.  Leon was doing the same.  They were trying to level both of their Genos out.

"Pull harder!" she yelled at him.

"I am!" he shouted back.  "Why don't you?"

"I only have one arm right now, remember?"  They both pulled up as hard as they could.  Slowly, the Genos began to level out, but a crash was inevitable.  There was only a small distance left before they'd hit the ground.

Ray and Leon pulled up as hard as they could, only managing to level their Genos out slightly.  Much to everyone's dismay and fret, they slammed into the ground, skidding along the desert sands.  They picked up a path of dust, concealing whatever damage was done to their machines.

"Leon!" shouted Chris as he whirled around and ran out the door.  Dr. Solaris followed, fearing the worst for both his son and Ray.

"Ray!" shouted Brian, looking down below at the crash site.  Abby was pressed up against the glass window, trying to see what had happened.  Gordan just stood there, a scowl on his face.

"Bring us down," he commanded to one of the officers.  The man complied, and their huge flotation device began descending to the desert floor.

The dust finally cleared, and the sight wasn't pretty.  Both Genos were lying motionless on the ground.  Neither one had any power left.  The glass eyes had been shattered, and there were pieces of the metallic armor strewn across the desert floor.  They had slid for a long distance, their trail visible in the sand.

"Ouch," Ray murmured as she rubbed the back of her head.  She looked around at her cockpit.  The system failure signal was flashing on the damaged console.  Other than a dull pain in the back of her head, she was fine.  She couldn't remember exactly what had happened.  The impact had shaken her composure.  The last thing she remembered was arguing with Leon.