Bluestone- 54

Part 2.25:
On their way back to the canyon, Raizor couldn’t help but notice the gathering storm clouds in the distance.
They had left the motorcycle up at the top of the canyon, and Metyl led them back down through the dirty rocky maze to the door, which was clawed open.
“I guess that’s how the Sigmas got out,” Iris noted. “I’ll bet that Cyclone was in charge of sending them to attack Tealios as well. It appears that they left Bluestone intact.”
Entering the base again, the only things in the main room were the fallen bodies of the Sigmas that the Bluestone team had defeated earlier. “It could be this way,” Iris motioned, gesturing towards the corridor that the Sigmas had been pouring out of earlier. “The device itself is quite big and bulky. A smaller version is technically possible, but technology just isn’t there yet.”
Walking down the hallways, Iris and Metyl ignored several of the smaller doors on the sides. There was a very obvious destination, a huge door with a security padlock. “You, uh, wouldn’t happen to know the password, would you?” Raizor asked hesitantly.
“Sorry, I actually don’t,” Iris admitted.
“Oh, it’s not that hard to figure out,” Metyl piped up.
“There are a lot of combinations to try,” Raizor shrugged. Metyl, however, walked calmly up and pressed six numbers in sequence, allowing the door to make an audible click, which she then opened.
“How did you…” Iris started to question, but Metyl just joked, “Yeah, I just saw Arkea input them one day.”
Inside the door was a large machine, about as large as a desk. The upper half was clear, and a large chunk of Genium was suspended in the center. “I… didn’t realize that there was a sample of this element here!’ Raizor exclaimed.
“Cyclone brought it with him,” Iris explained. “Did he tell you about how it could affect people outside of how it affected us?”
“Indeed he did,” Raizor grimaced. “Mutations and other types of insanity… sounds horrible.”
“Anyways, it should be able to locate all the traces of Genium on this planet,” Iris continued, opening the computer that was built into the lower half of the contraption. “See, there’s us, and… oh. That’s more than I thought there would be…”
Pointing to a large congregation of purple dots on the map, Iris shrugged. “Well, there’s as good a place to start as any. It’s in the woods that stretch in between Tealios and Cyannis, the capitol city. The good news is, if we take the most direct route there, we can cut through the forest by Bluestone and end up in the same area. It’s inaccessible by road… what’s he doing there?”
“I don’t want to waste time and find out the hard way,” Raizor asserted. “Let’s go. The sooner we can take him down, the better.”
“Agreed,” Iris nodded. “Seeing the carnage in Tealios today was… hard. I’d gotten to know some of those people… I hope some managed to hide from him.”
Heading out of the canyon again, the trio was met with a light rain. The clouds had finally met overhead. “It’s only going to get worse,” Metyl noted. “The weather, I mean. The rain is going to pick up quite soon to a very heavy pace.”
“How fitting,” Raizor grimaced. “It was raining that first day, too, I remember.”
“It’s nothing,” he continued, acknowledging the strange looks that both Metyl and Iris were shooting him.
“Well, let’s get going,” Metyl smiled, walking into the woods. “I kept track of the location, so I should be able to lead us right to him, assuming he stays in the same general area.”
“I understand,” Raizor nodded. He and Iris followed Metyl, brushing away the green undergrowth as they went further and further into the dark, wet, forest. After just a few steps, the outside world seemed to be shaded, lost in the trees. The sky was grey, nearly invisible behind the mess of green leaves that surrounded them overhead.
“It should actually just take a couple hours of walking to get there,” Metyl calculated. “This isn’t so bad after all.”
It was a wet few hours. The rain, a light drizzle at their outset, became a torrid downpour when Raizor, Iris, and Metyl found the source of the Genium. Or, rather, it became clear that they were on the right track.
Standing in the bushes in between the hundreds of trees were three of the members of the Bluestone team. Infyl, Etrian, and Xian. They all had weapons.
“Guys!” Raizor exclaimed, excited. “…What are you doing out here?”
The guards raised their guns, firing. Raizor yelped in surprise, ducking behind a nearby tree. Iris and Metyl did the same.
“What the hell happened?” Raizor murmured. “Xian! Infyl! Etrian! It’s me, Raizor!”
“It’s them,” Iris realized, the truth dawning on her. “Cyclone exposed them to Genium. Prometheus Gas, I’d expect.”
“And what, it wiped them and made them slaves or pawns?” Raizor asked, confused.
“Well,” Iris pointed out, shouting over the gunfire, “It’s better than then mutating into monsters.”
Suddenly, there was a ceasing in the gunfire, and a scream of pain from across the twisted branches. Peering out, Raizor saw that Xian had hit Etrian in the head with the barrel of his rifle, before shooting out Infyl’s prosthetic legs. “Raizor, get out here!” Xian shouted, as Etrian got back up, charging at him and slamming him into one of the trees.
“…Xian avoided the gas! Smart fellow,” Iris nodded. Raizor dashed out towards the group, but Infyl had gained his footing again, raising his rifle. Seeing this, Xian pushed Etrian past him, tackling Infyl to the ground right before he fired at Raizor, who was running forwards rapidly. Etrian turned, rifle still in hand, and fired off several shots, the last three connecting up Xian’s back and shoulder, before Raizor reached him, knocking the gun out of his hand. Throwing another punch, it was blocked by Etrian, who returned with a jab to the chest. Looking into Etrian’s eyes behind the mask, Raizor was disturbed at the lack of life that he found within them.
Raizor brought his leg up, hitting Etrian in the chest with his knee. This allowed Raizor to follow up with two consecutive punches to Etrian’s head, dropping him to the ground. Turning around to face Infyl, who was pushing Xian’s bloody body off of him, Raizor was surprised to see Iris charging him with her swords. “Don’t kill them!” Raizor protested, but Iris swung down at his legs again, dropping Infyl down to the ground again, where he was also met with a sharp knee from Iris. “I wasn’t going to,” Iris pouted.
Running over to where Xian lay, Raizor hurriedly turned him over. Wincing in pain, Xian gave a slight chuckle. “Cyclone… what a cocky bastard.”
“You’re going to make it, Xian,” Raizor reassured. “The bullets passed cleanly through. We just need to stop the blood.”
“He’s got Mint with him,” Xian coughed, tearing off part of his drenched shirt and wrapping it around his shoulder. “He’s so full of himself. I was able to fake it to the extent that he believed me to be under his control. Get ready; Rain and Caitlyn are up ahead. They’re armed with swords, but you should take this rifle, just in case.”
“Hold on to it, Xian,” Raizor smiled. “Damn, you’re tough. …You’ll need it in case anything else comes your way. I don’t know what else Cyclone might have up his sleeve.”
“He expects you to make it to him,” Xian informed. “He’s convinced that he’s going to kill you.”
Raizor frowned. “I’ll try to find a way to save the team. What did this to you?”
“He called it the Prometheus Gas,” Xian recollected. “I was lucky enough to pretend to get a whiff of it, while in actuality maintaining a clear head. He… he breathed it out after he kissed Mint.”
“He… kissed her?” Raizor asked, quite concerned.
“Yeah…” Xian squinted, true pain kicking in. Leaning back, he propped himself up against a tree. “You’d better hurry. Don’t worry about Infyl and Etrian, I’ll tie them up once my bleeding dies down a bit. Don’t let me keep you.”
Raizor nodded hesitantly. “You’re a brave man, Xian. It’s not easy to turn on your own team. Believe me, I know.”
Xian nodded. “Give ‘em hell,” he grinned.
In the distance, beyond the pouring rain, Raizor perked up at the sound of thunder. “There’s lightning coming,” Raizor frowned. “That, indeed, is fitting as well.”
Turning to Metyl and Iris, Raizor motioned for them to proceed. “Let’s go. I’m confident that Xian will have things under control here.”
The two girls nodded. They followed Raizor deeper into the forest.