Perfect Sacrifice (8 page)

"The east?" he questioned, focusing solely on that direction. However, there was nothing but sky. He still couldn't see anything.

Dr. Solaris smiled as he watched Ray eat up the attention. She was taking it all in, a smile on her face, her arms waving through the air. Such was the nature of someone like her. She had every right to brag like that though. She had done well today.

"That was an entertaining battle," he commented as he leaned back again on the couch.

"I'll say," agreed Chris. "She's an amazing pilot. There's not a scratch on her Geno. She took out two of those guys all on her own." Leon didn't say anything, offering no words of praise. He just smiled as he watched the energetic nineteen-year-old. She was incredibly happy about her win. To be honest, he had been rooting for her.

Ray suddenly stopped waving, her smile faltering slightly as she placed a hand near her ear, apparently listening to something. She then looked up to the sky, her eyes widening slightly. From above came a rain of bullets, showering the ground of the coliseum. A few bullets came down towards her, hitting the metal of her Geno's head. As she backed up to avoid them, she lost her balance.

The Solaris family moved to the edge of the couch, worry etched on all their faces. Ray was falling, but she quickly grabbed the side of the still open cockpit. She just hung there for a while before carefully pulling herself back up. The barrage of ammo had ceased for the time being.

"We have some urgent news," stated the woman reporter as Ray closed the cockpit to her Geno, now safely inside. "About fifteen air born Genos are flying over the coliseum!" Ray's Geno quickly leapt into the sky, instantly shifting into its air born form, taking off towards the people who had so unashamedly opened fire on her. "The GRC will hopefully send someone out here before-" The screen went blank as the camera was destroyed, the reporter's voice gone along with it.

"Change the channel!" shouted Chris, looking to his older brother. Without a word, Leon changed to another news station.

"We're live here at the coliseum where only moments ago, fifteen air born Genos appeared," began the woman reporter. "They instantly opened fire on Ray and her black Geno. She is now going into a head on battle with these red armored machines." The three Solaris men watched as Ray's Geno soared towards the flock of air born enemies.

* * * *

Ray wore a scowl on her face as she held her targets in her eyes. They were flying pretty close together. She thought about her options, but her usual cocky smirk didn't appear when her mind formulated a plan. They had really crossed the line this time. Not a single one of them was going to get away. They would receive no mercy from her.

A screen popped up to her right revealing Abby and Brian. Both looked equally worried about their young friend. She seemed highly serious right now which was highly unlike her.

"R.C, do you have a plan?" asked Abby.

"I think so," she responded. "I'm gonna see what they do first."

"They're from Ramirez, you know," said Brian, a solemn look on his face. "They know who you are."

"I'm aware of that," she stated, tightening her grip on the two handles in front of her, the controls for her Geno. "I'm not letting them get away. They damaged my Geno."

"Be careful, R.C," said Abby with worry hidden in her eyes. "We'll be on standby if you need help." Ray only nodded before ending the communication. She was now within range of the enemy. All at once they fired at her, sending a volley of missiles her way. She only narrowed her cold eyes as she lifted a small panel and flipped a switch. The boosters near her wings flared up, erupting in a burst of pressure that sent her streaming forward. She sped under and past the bullets, now pulling up to attack her enemies.

She flapped the large wings of her Geno, guns firing from under them. They let loose hundreds of little bullets as every gun fired repeatedly. The bullets made contact with most of the Genos, sending them plummeting to the ground, and the few who remained air born were about to suffer a similar fate.

The boosters on her back suddenly shot her off at full speed. Her Geno soon became hard to see clearly as she broke the sound barrier, and a sonic boom followed. The enemy machines were all shoved back by the force, their wings being bent to the point where there was no way they'd remain air born.

The Genos all began to plummet as Ray marveled silently at her work. She watched as they hit the ground, never exploding or compacting. The metal was strong enough so that the cockpit wouldn't be damaged too badly from an impact like that. She wouldn't have minded if they had exploded though. For attacking her like that, they deserved some kind of punishment.

Ray landed her Geno on the ground, switching it back to its ground form. The cockpit opened, and she stood up, but there was no smirk on her face and no air of pride surrounding her. She looked around at the mass of red birds scattered on the coliseum floor. Some of the cockpits were open, others still closed.

"Congrats," said Brian over the small speaker located in her ear. She had the earpiece, just not the microphone. "We'll be out there in a few minutes, alright?" She nodded even though he couldn't see and then continued to look around the battlefield. She was unaware, however, that one of the pilots had left his Geno, now getting closer and closer to where she was. In his hand was a gun, his finger near the trigger.

* * * *

The Solaris family watched in awe as Ray's Geno broke the sound barrier, causing a large sonic boom. The enemy Genos were all plummeting to the ground while Ray stayed air born for a while longer, most likely marveling at how easily she had taken them all out.

"Amazing," praised Dr. Solaris. "I've only seen a handful of Genos break the sound barrier."

"How's that even possible?" asked Leon. "Your body'd be crushed, wouldn't it?"

"Not in a Geno," he explained. "They're made for high speed battle as well as close range and long range combat. Genos are incredibly well rounded in all battle techniques. It's true that breaking the sound barrier is anything but easy on the body, but it's not impossible. People survive, as you can see." They watched as Ray stood atop her Geno, looking around the arena.

"She's an amazing pilot," stated Chris in awe. Dr. Solaris just smirked. He knew why she was so good at this. The ace knight of the GRC was rounded in all aspects of battle, including tactics. Her reaction time was crisp, and her eyes were sharp. She was good at predicting movements, and her strategies were often flawless. It would be hard to beat a knight like her.

"It looks like the battle is officially over," said the reporter, sounding slightly shocked at the speedy outcome. Ray didn't seem to be happy with her victory, however. She was still glancing around, as if looking for something. There didn't appear to be any more enemies though.

Dr. Solaris, Chris, and Leon thought it was really over, and they were all beginning to relax, but a single gunshot soon echoed through the coliseum. Ray suddenly cried out as a bullet hit her left arm, passing all the way through and knocking her off balance. Worry and shock quickly filled the eyes of the three Solaris men.

Ray cried out as white hot pain shot through her arm. It easily blocked out everything from her mind, and she wasn't able to recover her lost composure in time. The force of the shot shoved her back, and she quickly lost her footing. Before she knew just what was happening, she found herself falling backwards, and she wasn't going to be able to save herself this time.

She fell towards the hard, rocky ground, all the while trying to figure out what to do. However, this was one time where her mind wasn't fast enough. Even if she had been able to think clearly, she wouldn't have any options. Her fate was inevitable. She fell on her left side, a small gasp of pain escaping her lips as she felt her shoulder snap.

She didn't move from her position after hitting the ground. She couldn't. Pain was spreading through her entire body, and she was suddenly very aware of the wounds on her leg and midriff. Nothing else felt broken at least, but there was a throbbing in her wrist as well as her head.

"Ray!" shouted a familiar voice, but she didn't care to respond. Even if she had tried, she probably wouldn't be able to. The pain was just too overwhelming.

Leon and Chris were at the edge of their seats, their eyes fixed on the television set in front of them. Dr. Solaris was just as interested in what was going on, but he was leaning back on the couch, watching and waiting.

"The man who just shot our champion is now being apprehended by the GRC," announced the woman reporter.

"Come on already," said Chris impatiently. "Show us what happened to Ray." Leon agreed with his younger brother, wanting to know what had happened to their cocky friend.

On the television, the scene switched to Ray, who was currently being helped to her feet by Brian and Abby. She looked distraught, perhaps a little zoned out as well. She was covering the new bullet hole she had received with her hand, but the streams of crimson made it past her fingers and down her arm. The screen shot was up close, and Dr. Solaris took a good long look at the young pilot.

"Poor girl," he said, catching the attention of his sons. "She really got it this time."

"What do you mean?" asked Leon curiously. Other than the hole in her arm, he couldn't really see anything else that was wrong.

"She won't be battling for a while," he continued. He looked over her on the TV again as her friends were trying to move her away from the area. Her left arm hung differently than her right. "Her shoulder was dislocated," he explained to his sons. Leon took a quick glance at the TV to see for himself. "Also, her wrist is quite swollen. It's hardly noticeable, but it's definitely sprained."

Leon and Chris took this all in and then turned to watch as Abby and Brian walked off with Ray. Both boys had a great deal of pity in their eyes. The cocky pilot didn't look half as animated as she had a few days ago. It really was a pity to see such an amazing pilot have to suffer like that.

CHAPTER 4
Battle Challenge

Ray cringed as Abby tightened her bandages. The black haired woman, along with a team of nurses, was currently tending to Ray's injured arm. The knight wasn't enjoying a single moment of the braces and dressings, along with the sling she knew she'd have to wear.

"You really got it good this time," noted Abby. "Your wrist is sprained, your shoulder was dislocated, and to top it all off, you were shot again." She tightened another area of the bandages, and Ray cringed once more.

"Don't remind me," she said with a sigh. At that moment, Brian came to the door, an unadorned look on his face. In his hand was a clipboard, one that Ray knew all too well. It was a list of battle challenges for pilots.

"Hey," he greeted, seeming somewhat nervous or perhaps disappointed. "This might not be the best time, but you've got a battle challenge."

"I accept," said Ray quickly, a determined look on her face. Her response caused everyone to stop and turn to her, looking at her as if she had lost it which wasn't a very farfetched insinuation. They all honestly should have been expecting such a statement from her. After all, this was Ray. She never turned down a challenge, no matter what state she was in. However, she had never gone into battle before with quite this many or this severe of injuries.

"R.C, are you crazy?" asked Abby out of worry. "Your arm was nearly broken! You can't pilot like this."

"Like hell I can't," she responded. "I've never turned down a challenge. When people wanna challenge the ace knight, I can't disappoint them. I rarely get to battle, so I have to take every opportunity."

"So…" began Brian, drawing her attention. "Should I set up a time?"

"Yes, three days," she said.

"Three days?!" yelled Abby. "You won't be better by then!"

"I don't care," responded Ray stubbornly. "I won't be better in a week either, so what's the difference?"

"You shouldn't accept at all." Ray just glared at Abby and then turned back to Brian, who stood patiently awaiting her response.

"Set it up for three days from now at noon, alright?" He nodded and walked out the door, scribbling down a few notes as he left. It was hard to believe that he hadn't once argued the topic with her. Maybe he understood that it was a futile matter.

Abby just sighed out of annoyance and sat down on a nearby chair, watching as the nurses slipped Ray's arm into its sling. It was hard to imagine piloting a Geno like that. However, she seemed so sure that she could do it. Then again, this was Ray. Maybe she could pull it off. The smile on her face certainly seemed confident enough.

The young knight stood up, stretching her still good right arm. It was almost as if having one arm in a sling wasn't bothering her at all at the moment.

"You shouldn't battle," warned Abby, drawing just the slightest amount of Ray's attention. "You might get hurt."

"I'm already hurt, incase you haven't noticed," she responded. "I can still pilot, and I'll win. It'll just be a new challenge, that's all." Abby sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to win. Ray was far too stubborn to give in, and if she wanted to do something, she did it. No one ever tried to stop her, and when they did, they never succeeded.