Artemis explained his situation and how he got to know Aida. He also explained why he chose to follow Aida into the city.
During this explanation, Lucifer remained alert and watched Light carefully. He had already heard the story numerous times from Artemis but couldn't verify the truthfulness of his statements. At the time, Lucifer had no choice but to believe him, but that didn't keep him from being suspicious the entire time.
Now that they were back, Light, the walking lie detector, would be able to determine the truthfulness of his statements and get the right information out of him. This was also another major reason Lucifer chose to come directly back to the base. With his limited ability, he couldn't just charge into City M on his own. If it was a trap, then he and the others would truly be in trouble.
Sensing Lucifer's thoughts, Light gave a slight nod in confirmation. Everything Artemis said was true. This was a bittersweet fact. They are thankful for having more updated information on Aida but naturally highly concerned about what happened to her.
After the explanation, Light began to dissect all the information with a fine tooth comb. He would ask questions from time to time as well. He soon came to the same conclusion Lucifer made, which was that Aida should be safe at the moment.
"You didn't manage to meet up with Ace?" inquired Light.
Artemis shook his head. "No, we thought Ace was caught along with Lucifer at the lab which is why I went there after Aida had been captured. His whereabouts are unknown."
Everyone had a complex look when they stared at Artemis. They didn't blame Artemis for his actions as it was clear that he was just as torn up about the situation and had tried his best. They were actually thankful that he had gone to such lengths to help Aida but also kicking themselves for not being as clever as him to just sneak in and jealous that he was able to spend time with Aida at City M. His description of their experience was clearly true because they had heard about Aida's situation and also her secrets. Only people who were close to her would have such intimate details.
Rose abruptly stood up and walked towards him. Everyone looked at her with puzzled eyes but no one stopped her. As she stood in front of Artemis, he closed his eyes shut and resigned himself to what he figured would be a grand punishment.
To his surprise, he suddenly felt warm. Opening his eyes in astonishment, he realized that Rose had removed all the residual cold from him. It was clearly a gesture of forgiveness and acceptance.
With that, Rose was the first to warm up towards Artemis. From her perspective, anyone who had helped her Mama, even though he failed to rescue her, was a good person. She instinctively understood that the others might not be willing to break into City M to rescue her Mama but this man would.
Artemis looked towards her in wonder as he absently nodded his thanks.
Seeing that they had come to a close on that conversation, Lucifer spoke up again to talk about the most important issue at hand. "The government is sending troops to destroy Green Base. We need to prepare."
The three lackeys who had been frozen into ice cubes widened their eyes and began struggling. It was quite a funny sight as they could only move their limbs but not their body. Quickly giving up, they began inquiring for more details.
On the side, Light was also drumming his fingers along the table. This was a serious piece of news and it also finally connected the dots for him on why Lucifer had chosen to return instead of rescuing Aida. "Do you have information and details? We're left blind without Aida and Ace around."
Lucifer nodded gravely and gestured towards Artemis. "He broke into their HQ and grabbed as much information as he could before we escaped."
Artemis presented a thumb drive that he had painstakingly kept safe during their journey back to Green Base. Handling it gently, Light took the drive and plugged it into a nearby laptop.
He began to sort through the information as he absentmindedly directed the others. "Rose, release those people, we need them to help prepare." "Yukio, heal their injuries and start preparing more medications." "Rin, get the guards to be on high alert."
Even the children understood the graveness of the situation based on Light's tone and didn't protest. They immediately got to work and began executing.
Not long after, Light finished reading the high level material of the army that was coming to destroy them. His face was grim and taut. Everyone could sense that it wasn't going to be an easy fight.
"I thought we would have more time. Our troops aren't ready yet," commented Light.
The lackeys, who had finally been freed from their ice jails, also nodded in agreement. "We don't have enough supplies, weapons or manpower."
"It seems we will have to take some drastic actions," said Light as his eyes glinted in the same manner Aida's normally would.
Lucifer nodded as well. "I can lead the troops and we can run tactics, but it only works if the people we work with are capable. We still have a bit of time."
"Maybe we can just send everyone away?" Lackey 1 suggested tentatively. He was the only one who didn't have any leadership background and only had a good heart. This was the reason Aida took him on, but it was also his greatest weakness. He was incredibly naive and didn't understand the bloodshed and sacrifices wars came with.
Lucifer shook his head at his suggestion. "We can't outrun the troops, not without Aida. Our best bet is to stand our ground and fight off the first wave. Then we can plan our next steps."
Light sighed, "Perhaps this is an opportunity for the base as well."