Everyone turned to look at the door and saw three panting figures. They were the three lackeys that Aida had appointed to run the base. The three of them ran in, disregarding the children and began running around the room, checking the closet, underneath the table, behind the couch and other locations. Everyone was dumbfounded by their actions.
Amused and annoyed, Light inquired, "What are you all doing?"
"Where's boss?!?!" asked Lackey 1. The other two also looked over with questioning looks.
Light smiled wryly as he indicated towards Lucifer, who knew he couldn't delay the information any longer. Now everyone's attention was back on Lucifer. "She… didn't come back with us."
Light was about to follow up with more questions but Rin and the Lackeys cut in before he could. "What?!?" "Where's big sis?!" "What happened?" "I knew I should've gone with her!"
The commotion continued for some time until Light clapped his hands to silence the group. He had developed a strong reputation as a leader and everyone instinctively went quiet. After seeing that they were going to remain quiet, he gestured for Lucifer to continue.
Taking a deep breath, Lucifer braced himself as he explained. "She got caught by unknown assailants and we don't know where she is or how she's doing."
There was a collective pause in the room before another outbreak of noise continued. The lackeys began muttering to themselves as they continued to search the room as though disbelieving that someone so powerful could possibly get caught. The children started crying as ice began to cover the entire room.
The person more devastated and impacted by the news was Rose. She blamed herself for being useless and incompetent which was why her Mama left her behind. Her mind was slipping into the dark abyss, her vision had already dimmed and her teeth chattered as her powers began to turn on her. In just a short moment, half her organs already began freezing over despite her strong immunity towards the cold.
Her emotional fluctuations were alarming, and her self harm was even more alarming. Thankfully, Light had his empathic abilities and immediately began to channel calming emotions towards her. Little White also held onto Rose's hand tightly in silent support. The twins felt the cold and realized Rose's helplessness. They disregarded the cold and hugged her tightly, refusing to let go despite getting frostbitten. Ice began covering the three of them as well.
Yukio soothingly channeled healing energy towards Rose. He tried to comfort her, "Big sis will be fine. She is strong. We are connected, remember?"
He was referring to the blood connection that Aida formed with them when she healed them. Although it was weak, they could also feel each other's existence despite the distance. Through that, it was possible to confirm that Aida was still alive.
When Light heard this, he also paused for a moment and tried to sense the connection. In his haste and concern, he had forgotten to check on this as well! He reprimanded himself for his carelessness and praised Yukio for his strong rationality while checking for Aida's presence. As a psychic, he was able to sense the connection more keenly than Yukio.
He confirmed Yukio's remark, "Your big sis is indeed still alive."
Rin spoke out indignantly, "We will go to City M and rescue big sis now!!"
On the side, Artemis' eyes also lit up. She was still alive! There was still hope! A silent tear rolled down his cheek but froze before it could wink out of existence. He suppressed the excess emotions but his eyes remained red.
The twins, Light and Little White all continued to coax Rose out of her mental state. They were calm and patient as they slowly drew her out of the hell that she created for herself. Feeling the love and trust from the others, Rose calmed slightly as her vision slowly returned and the ice slowly receded. The lackeys and Artemis were considerably weaker so they had already turned into ice cubes, only to be thawed slowly as the temperature in the room returned to normal.
Seeing that her mood had stabilized, Light asked Lucifer, "What happened?"
Lucifer looked towards Artemis. "You will have to ask him."
Artemis' teeth were chattering from the cold as he looked up guiltily with his red eyes. He saw multiple murderous glares directed towards him. Instead of being scared, he actually felt more reassured by this. It meant the probability of rescuing Aida would be higher. He didn't mind the blame that they cast towards her and even appreciated it. He had indeed failed to save Aida and allowed her to be taken away and deserved every bit of reproach they dished towards him.
Using his ability, he directly phased out of the ice cube he was confined in. Then he bowed towards them and apologized. "Sorry! I have failed in keeping her safe." Without waiting for their responses, he explained what had occurred in extremely concise terms.
"We were attacked by the organization she served, then Xiao Ai got captured, then we went to rescue Xiao Ai who was kidnapped by her former master, then she fainted. While we were trying to escape, a group of men in suits captured her and knocked me out. I don't know where she is now."
Tears began to form in the children's eyes again. Light pursed his lips and asked, "Who are you? Why were you with her?"