Chapter 29: Bloodstream

                                    

                                          

LEON'S POV
I had returned to the basement with the worst news possible. A high shriek filled with despair was the only thing I heard before rushing down the stairs and finding that the furnace was finally off.
The group spent a good hour trying to breach through the door—even trying to shatter the walls. All of those attempts seemed to be in vain as I stopped in my tracks to see Grace in a fountain of tears.
Inside were piles of ash and dust everywhere, along with the corpse of Hydra.
There were no signs of Loki, either...so it seems like she perished in the fire.
This was all very hard to digest. It felt as if just a few minutes ago we were all together discussing an escape. Loki finding this basement seemed to get us somewhere, and now it set us back for what will be a long time.
Her death is going to be very hard to accept. She was definitely among the smartest...not to mention the most emotionally invested out of us all.
Even Zantai wasn't looking too good, either. The Blaziken was sitting with his back to the wall, the look in his eyes filled with a mixture of shock and anger, almost like he would have rather it be him dead.
This was also the first time I'd seen Vanta visibly distraught—Arceus, the Umbreon was even tearing up a bit.
Grace (as I mentioned before) was a mess, and it took all of Vince's attention to try and calm her down. 
In the meantime, I walked in—cautiously, of course—to the furnace. Hydra was slumped up against the wall, his eyes wide open and devoid of life. To the right of his abdomen was a bleeding wound, noticeably smaller than the size of my paw. 
Why would he have such a wound? Did Loki cause this?
Nonetheless, I can't gauge how important it is, as it's so minor compared to his body that it wouldn't have killed him. My theory is that he suffocated in the smoke, as there isn't enough blood loss here.
But the thought returns; why in the world would Loki stab him? I don't remember them fighting in there, at least from what I last saw.
However, if they did fight, I'm not surprised we couldn't find Loki's body. Hydra's around twice the size of her, if she wanted to pick a fight then it would have been the worst time to do so. Unless I have things reversed—Arceus, this is getting confusing.
Before I could think further, a familiar (and delayed) chime was heard.

"..."

Strangely enough, there was no one on the intercom. The sound was played after I walked in, so it seemed to be automated—even if it was delayed.
After a few seconds of silence, we could hear someone scrambling to pick up the microphone.

"Uhh, a body has been discovered? You all are in big trouble." Sam's voice was heard from the speakers before a loud click announced her leave.

I knew exactly what everyone in the room was thinking.
"So she's back now." Rayne muttered with an annoyed look. I don't want to jinx it, but the Manectric herself seemed a little shaken up as well.
The energy in the room was horrid, I almost regretted the fact that I could sense emotions. I had to walk away for a bit, realizing that staying too close would result in headaches.