Here is the second part to Missing!

~

Shintaro wrapped his arms around a distraught Linda's shoulders, pulling her into a gentle embrace as he mulled over what she had told him. Only an hour ago, everything had seemed normal - Falte in the library flipping through books he'd never read before, Kai nearby and drawing in an old journal he'd found, Gabriel and Ezekiel conversing casually in one of the hallways, and Ruby and Moon somewhere downstairs finding something to eat. But the whole day had flipped upside down after Gabriel had realized that no one had seen Rachel the whole day, and everything had spun out of control when Linda declared she couldn't find her sister's thoughts. 

And now, things were completely shattered from the peace that had settled over the beginning of the day. Linda had explained solemnly and anxiously that she was almost completely sure she knew where Rachel was since she wasn't in the fortress. 

Linda had brought everyone - aside from the former Darks - together to explain so she didn't have to tell everyone the same thing over and over again. She had told everyone that Rachel had been captured - this sent Gabriel into a panicked, snappy frenzy that Linda had to tamp down with a few yells - by a mad scientist by the name of Tartarus. She had explained that she and her sister had been held captive by this man for a long while of their life, and she and Rachel had been separated when they escaped. Whatever Tartarus wanted with Rachel, it wasn't good - Linda had told them that Tartarus was basically insane. He tampered with physical and mental and emotional sciences, messing with one's body, brain, or feelings to alter them. She had also said that this was how she gained her telepathy, which made sense to Shintaro. As she had explained, Kai's expression switched to one of realization and familiarity, which meant he'd probably heard that story before. 

But why would Tartarus capture Rachel out of the blue? 

As Shintaro hugged Linda - who had faltered and cut off her explanation a few moments ago, probably realizing that everyone got the gist of what was happening; but also probably trying to hold in her anxiety for her sister - he let his mind wander around in worried circles before he realized why Tartarus would take action now. 

Because The Dark Lord was out of the way, he could get what he wanted without being opposed by the Darks. Now that Brethren was gone, people could do what they pleased - and that included the ones who had grudges against Shintaro and his friends. 

Gabriel suddenly turned sharply and hurled the book he'd been holding at the nearest wall with an angry yell, watching with hard eyes as the spine of the book slammed into the wall. "Well, we're not just going to stand here," he spat roughly, turning back toward Linda and Shintaro. "We're going to go get her back. Right now." 

Linda leaned away from Shintaro and turned around to face Gabriel with a grim expression. (Thankfully, the scratch on her eye had faded into a scar and she could open the eye, but like the doctors had said, she couldn't see out of it. That made Shintaro extremely angry and upset.)

"What?" Gabriel said flatly. "What's with that look?" 

"That's going to be hard," Linda admitted, picking at her nails nervously. "Tartarus hardly ever stays in one place for more than a few months. I don't know where he is now. I just know that he's the one that has Rachel. There's no other possibility." 

Gabriel's mouth twitched like he was going to scream in rage again, but he kept himself still and stared at Linda. 

"Is there a way to track him?" Falte suggested from his seat on the couch, tilting his head slightly. 

Linda's face fell, and Shintaro didn't doubt that she was thinking of Amy - who had claimed to be a skilled tracker. But after a moment, Linda raised her eyes again and blew out a breath. "I can try to search for his head, and it should be easier since he's a telepath too; but I don't know if I'll find it." 

Gabriel huffed impatiently. "Well, try it! We don't have many other options here!" He turned on his heel and began pacing off to the side, frowning harshly. 

"Don't be so hard on her, Gabriel," Kai said in the soft tone he'd donned ever since they'd returned to him. "Rachel is her sister, you know." Kai was sitting on the couch next to his father, his feet drawn up under him in a crisscross position and his hands resting against his ankles. Every time Shintaro saw him, Kai seemed to be trying to make himself as small as he could in that position, which made Shintaro want to make him stand straight. 

Gabriel didn't respond to the teenager, instead crossing his arms over his chest and continuing to pace. 

Linda took another deep breath and closed her eyes, making Shintaro's stomach twist anxiously. She was looking for the mind of a madman, one that had done countless things to her in her childhood; and yet here she was, willingly searching for his head. 

The things Linda would do made Shintaro admire her and worry for her at the same time. 

Sighing, Shintaro pulled his thick hair over one shoulder and began absently running his hands through it, his fingers occasionally catching on small tangles. He couldn't look away from Linda, though she wasn't doing anything that was particularly strange. She was standing perfectly still with her hands resting at her sides, her eyes closed, her mouth set, and her eyebrows drawn slightly. 

But it was just the fact that she wasn't doing anything that bothered Shintaro. Had she found Tartarus's mind? He wasn't sure if he even wanted her to, but at the same time, she would have to in order to get to Rachel. 

For almost fifteen minutes, Linda's face remained neutral as she stood quietly beside Shintaro. He was afraid to move away from her, although his anxious nerves were telling him to start pacing around the room in step with Gabriel.

But quarter of an hour later, Linda's facial expression changed dramatically. Her eyebrows creased deeply, her mouth tightened into a thin line, and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. 

Shintaro fought down the urge to grab her shoulders and ask her if she was all right. That would break her concentration, and based on her angry and focused look, she'd entered Tartarus's mind. Shintaro couldn't decide whether that was good or bad. 

"What happened? Why is she making that face?" Gabriel asked quickly, pausing in the act of turning around to pace the other way. He frowned at Linda, his face a mask. 

"She probably found Tartarus's mind," Moon said with a shrug, tilting her head to the right. Shintaro wasn't entirely sure why Linda had pulled Moon aside as well, but there wasn't anything too wrong about it. He just wasn't sure how Moon would help. 

Although, she had proved herself trustworthy enough. Shintaro was still a little skeptical about how... strange her mind made her seem, but she seemed all right. She had apologized for her actions, especially murdering Nanami's parents, and she specifically pulled Shintaro aside to tell him she was sorry for ever bringing his father out. 

For ever abducting Shintaro, for messing with his head. 

Honestly, Shintaro figured it was genuine, but sometimes she still made him wary. 

Nanami, who had sat quietly on the arm of the couch all throughout Linda's explanation, began tapping her fingers on her thighs. Ever since she had used a lot of her magical strength helping Shintaro rid the word of darkness, she'd gotten exhausted much quicker than any normal eight year old. 

But thankfully, a few days ago, she'd begun to improve. She started eating more, walking around the hallways with Rachel, and even playing with some of the children that still lived in the fortress. Shintaro was glad to see that she was recovering from her magical exertion. 

Falte tilted his head at Nanami with a small smile, then reached around and gently pulled her into his lap. "Rachel is going to be all right, okay?" he said encouragingly to the young girl, and she looked up at him with a soft smile.

"Okay," she agreed, nodding her head once. "Miss Linda will find her and bring her back safe. So will Taro." She turned her head and smiled wider at Shintaro, her green eyes sparkling.

Shintaro couldn't help but return the smile, but his felt small and halfhearted. 

They were all too busy smiling at Nanami to notice that Linda had opened her eyes and was staring blankly at the floor, her clenched fists trembling at her sides. It wasn't until Shintaro turned that he saw she was aware of her surroundings again, but she hardly seemed like it. 

"Linda?" he said quickly, sidestepping to stand directly in front of her. "Are you all right? What happened?" 

Shintaro noticed with a small gasp that her eyes were shining slightly. "What's wrong?" he asked frantically, taking her shoulders and shaking her gently. 

"He doesn't have her," she murmured faintly. "He did for a while, but she escaped on her own a few hours ago. The last he saw her... She was... She had... She'd been-" She cut herself off and lifted her arms and pressed her palms into her face, forcing Shintaro's hands away from her shoulders. 

It was completely silent behind Shintaro as everyone fought to imagine what "she'd been". Shintaro was sure all of them didn't want to think about what could have happened to her, but they all had to know. 

"What?" Gabriel's frantic, shaking voice pleaded from behind Shintaro. "She'd been what?" 

Linda took a long, shaky breath and lifted her head away from her hands. "Tartarus said that one of his men had shot her leg before she escaped." She spoke in a rush, like she was afraid if she said it slowly she wouldn't be able to speak ever again. 

Shintaro heard the sharp intake of breath behind him, and he felt the panic and anger that everyone else was undoubtedly experiencing. 

"Did he say where specifically she'd been shot?" Shintaro asked eagerly, pushing past the emotions that were boiling in his chest. He hadn't known Rachel for long, but she was definitely one of his friends. 

Linda shook her head. 

Shintaro cursed under his breath, clenching his hands. The bullet could have hit anywhere and gone who-knows-how deep, but his main concern was that an artery had been hit. 

If she had escaped a few hours ago with a wound like that...

She could already be dead. 

~