The Cafe Lulu was a small but popular pastry shop, especially with the students from the nearby university dorms – it's always-open doors helped with that. Its patrons enjoyed knowing that, no matter how late a cramming session or thesis paper kept them up, they could still hop down the street for an éclair and a coffee.

The cafe liked to brag that it hadn't closed in over a decade, despite attacks from Martians, zombie T-rexs and even a mob of pheromone-influenced lunatics.

So when Yue and Sonoda burst through their sub-basement, basement and dining room floor, they took it in stride.

Yue and Sonoda, sufficiently slowed by the three intervening floors, bounced off the cafe ceiling before crashing into one of the tables. For a moment, the only sound that could be heard in the small pastry shop was the sound of stone collapsing three stories below them. The only other people in the room besides the cashier was three people who had been enjoying their confections before the ballistic interruption. Two of them pulled out their cell phones. One of them got to their feet and started picking their way across the rubble to help Yue and Sonoda out. They were from Mahora. The Cashier had moved to Mahora from Tokyo last week. She stared at the scene for about ten seconds before passing out in a dead faint.

Yue accepted the patrons offered hand as she shakily got to her feet, next to her, Sonoda was pulling himself out from under the remains of a table. "Well, that was insane." He managed as he got back on his feet. "Hey, where's your armor?"

Yue looked down and found she was back in her normal clothing. "Must have dispersed to absorb the impact."

"Which I imagine is why we're still alive." Sonoda tried to stand straighter, but winced at something in his back. "Oh, that doesn't feel normal."

"Neither of us should be walking." Yue replied as she slumped against a wall. "But look on the bright side – you've probably got a signal now."

Sonoda, slightly hunched over, carefully made his way over to the hole they had made. Down below, the tunnel had filled in with smashed rock and concrete. "Well, nobody is going in that way."

"Would you sit down already?" Yue glared at him. "Stop walking before you make something worse."

Sonoda grumbled but followed her instructions, taking a seat against the wall next to Yue as he pulled out his phone. "So, what should I tell them? 'secrete magic lair located' seems like a quick way to get a section eight."

"Tell them to contact that Dean and that a tunnel in a cafe collapsed." Yue replied as she dragged herself into a chair at a still standing table. Somebody had left the table in a quite understandable hurry and forgotten their to-go order. Yue commandeered the cup of latte and took a sip – way too much sugar, but for now it would do. "Tell them there's a class six cave in."

"I thought there was only five classes." Sonoda replied as he dialed.

"A class six cave in is a code phrase for reporting a magical incident over standard police lines." Yue replied. "At least, it was six months ago."

"Weren't you out of town six months ago?" Sonoda asked, his cell phone held to one ear as it rang.

Yue shrugged. "One of my friends was working in town and told me about it. You know how it is."

"Disturbingly, yes." Sonoda replied before the line clicked and somebody picked up. Yue left him to his call as she sipped at her pilfered coffee. After a couple of minutes he hung up the phone before making his way and falling into the seat across from Yue. "No coffee for me?"

Yue shrugged. "Steal your own."

Sonoda rolled his eyes as he leaned back in the chair. "Dispatch says a team will be out here in ten minutes and we should stay put."

"Our cloaked mastermind isn't going to risk going after us out in the open." Yue replied. "Not anymore. His first order of business is going to be packing up as much of his operation as he can and getting out of town – probably through his little jury-rigged gate."

"How did he do that, anyway?" Sonoda asked. "I thought you said those gates were big-time magic."

Yue gave another shrug as she sipped at her coffee. "My best guess? The World Tree has a large enough magic signature that he could actually hone in on it like the usual Cynosoral field generated by a gateport. He's probably using the Old Ostia gate to do most of the heavy lifting, as it were."

"Well, at least he recycles." Sonoda mused. "So, what's the plan now?"

"Now?" Yue replied as she extended an open hand to Yue. "Now I make a phone call while we wait. Hand over the mobile."

It was eight and a half minutes and one phone call later when the help Sonoda had called for arrived. It was around a dozen or so police officers and EMT's, followed closely behind by Yanasigawa and Kuzunoha. "Do you know how long you've been off the grid!?" the Chief snapped before the swordsman next to him could say anything. "The last report I received was of you and your new friend marching into Library Island before people started calling in a bomb detonation!"

"That was all her." Sonoda replied, gesturing at Yue with a thumb. "No idea how long we've been out."

"Hours!" the Chief yelled. "I do not need-" He was cut off as Kuzunoha held up a hand.

"Now Chief," Kuzunoha said calmly. "I'm sure they have a perfectly valid explanation for all of this." the swordswoman's eyes drifted to Yue's. "As well as a rather interesting call I just received from a mutual friend."

"We were tracking a lead on the killer from the incident in the square." Yue explained. "It got a little complicated."

"We've got a rat problem boss." Sonoda added before glancing at Kuzunoha. "Though I think this more their jurisdiction now."

The chief's brow furrowed as he pulled out another cigarette and lit it. "So blondie here has been telling me the whole trip over." He nodded at Yue. "I'm guessing she told you as much?"

"Sir," Sonoda replied, glancing back at the massive hole they had came up through. "This is so very completely beyond our business it's funny."

"Its my town." the Chief growled. "Means it's my business." His glare turned to Kuzunoha. "You want this one? Fine – but I want a report afterwards. A full one."

Kuzunoha smirked a little as she quirked an eyebrow. "You want a full report from us? After all the grief you've given my office?"

"Take it or leave it Toko." the Chief replied as he turned and started out of the semi-ruined shop. "I don't think either of us have time for games."

Kuzunoha sighed as she watched him leave before turning back to Yue. "Sadly, he's right – We don't have time to argue regulations." she turned to look at Sonoda. "Speaking of regulations..."

Sonoda raised both hands defensively. "Woah! Hey! I know that look. She said I was good." He pointed to Yue. "Article something or other from that treaty thing."

Kuzunoha raised an eyebrow and turned to Yue, who simply shrugged. "It was life-or-death." Yue explained. "Besides, you said you wanted a contact in the Special District Office."

"I'm not sure Inspector Sonoda would agree to espionage." Kuzunoha replied as she studied him.

"Spy?" Sonoda echoed. "No. But you guys need somebody on the inside you can work with and my boss would prefer to have one of his people on a case – you have enough leverage to at least get to choose who that is, don't you?"

"I wasn't expecting a volunteer." Kuzunoha said as she turned and nodded to Yue with a small smile. "It seems you have solved another of my dilemmas. I don't think I'm paying you enough."

"Wait, we get paid?" Sonoda said, blinking.

"I get paid." Yue replied. "Pretty sure this is just part of your usual job."

"My usual job does not specify dealing with magic bullshit!" Sonoda replied heatedly. "I want a bonus."

"That can be arranged." Kuzunoha replied with a shrug. "I'm sure we can file it under 'consultant fees' or something of the like. Now – I believe it's time that we got the two of you looked at and debriefed, hm?"

The next couple of hours were spent in the care of some EMTs with some lovely painkillers, followed shortly by the doctors at the hospital who were quite happy to scan, examine and inspect them for any major injuries. Luckily for them, they had managed to come out of it with nothing worse then some heavy bruising, a wide collection of scratches and some extremely sore muscles. "You said you were in an explosion?" one of the doctors asked, somewhat surprised. "I'd have expected worse injuries. Any idea what might have protected you?"

Sonoda shrugged. "Magic body armor." The doctor rolled his eyes at what he thought was sarcasm before continuing his exam. Once they had gotten a relatively clean bill of health, the two had found themselves lead to an empty room where Kuzunoha was waiting for them, along with pastries and coffee.

Recounting the last few days actually took Yue a lot longer than she had expected – then again, she hadn't really had time to reflect on what she had been doing. Kuzunoha was nearly silent for the entire rendition, only occasionally interrupting to ask for clarification as Yue and Sonoda alternated in recounting the chain of events, one picking up when the other began to grasp to remember details.

Kuzuoha tucked away her notebook back into a pocket as they finished. "Well, this certainly explains the phone call I received..."

"That was your phone call?" Sonoda asked as he turned to Yue. "You called your boss?"

"Not quite..." Yue replied before she began to explain. When she finished, Sonoda was giving her a look Yue was, after several years of having to explain Mahora to those who had never been there, quite familiar with. It spoke of great incredulity and questions regard her state of intoxication and/or her mental functions.

"Are you insane!?" Sonoda finally said after a minute. "You want us to go back in there!?"

"We would have back-up this time." Yue replied. "Plus we'll be better armed. Our window of opportunity is limited – we don't have time to pull anything larger together."

"You are certifiable." Sonoda said before slumping back in his chair with a groan. "The fact that I'm actually going to follow you into this probably makes me crazy too."

Yue raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to come, you know."

"Yes I do." Sonoda replied. "Same as you."

"I assure you, Inspector Sonoda." Kuzunoha cut in. "You have done quite enough."

"Well, since the guy who torched somebody is still running around," Sonoda replied. "I'm going to have to say that no, I haven't. I started this so I sure as hell aren't going to sit out the finale."

Yue looked at Sonoda for a moment before turning to Kuzunoha and giving her a shrug. "You heard him – I guess he's in."

"So it would seem." Kuzunoha said with a small smile. "Now, I am sure that you would like to retrieve your staff, Miss Ayase. I am sure that the Inspector has some armaments of his own he would like to retrieve."

"Only if you know where I can find a mercenary to borrow from." Sonoda said jokingly. He sat up a little straighter, looking between Yue and Kuzunoha as they both sat silently. "...do you?"

"I may know of..." Kuzunoha replied hesitantly. "...one. She might be convinced."

Sonoda arched an eyebrow. "Anybody I know?"

A couple of hours later, they were walking out of the Mahora central administrative building – home to Kuzunoha's office and the Magic Association's operations in Mahora – with their equipment as the sun was quickly dipping down on the horizon. Yue once again had her coat, pointed hat and staff while Sonoda was laden with a large duffel bag laden that clanked ominously as he walked. "I can't believe you know Mana Tatsumiya." Sonoda said incredulously.

"I can't believe you know her." Yue replied as they headed down the street and toward the World Tree. "When did you two meet?"

Sonoda shrugged. "Biathlon. The Office had a team and our primary broke his ankle a week before. I was the secondary."

Yue stared at him for a second. "Right...So, are you sure you're up to this?"

"I'm not the one who drained their batteries escaping a bond villain lair." Sonoda replied. "You sure you're ready?"

Yue didn't reply as she pulled out a small vial from one of her pockets and gazed at it. She had all but forgotten about it once they had dropped into the tunnels, figuring it had been lost somewhere in the chaos until she had found it sitting at the bottom of a coat pocket. "If this does what I think it does," Yue replied. "I am more then ready."

Sonoda arched an eyebrow. "And what is 'it' exactly?"

"Its a potion." Yue replied as she pocketed the potion again. "I based it on what I saw him do in the alley – I couldn't replicate all of it, but there are only so many ways to increase speed or reflexes like that."

"So you can do that super-human thing like him?" Sonoda replied. "Why didn't you use that when we were, oh I don't know, moments from death?!"

Yue gave him a level gaze. "Because it's an untested potion. It might work – it might just make you violently ill. It could be highly toxic."

"So why are you willing to use it now?" Sonoda asked.

Yue didn't reply with 'because I just remembered I had it', even though it would have been mostly true. Instead, she said "Using this isn't the plan – it's a last resort. I took some other potions already. Mana potions, basically."

"And my life is now a video game." Sonoda sighed. "I suppose you didn't bring extra quarters?"

Yue found herself grinning. "Afraid not. I recommend 'not dying' in any case."

Sonoda patted at his new duffel bag as they walked. "Oh, I am well ahead of you on that. I think you will quite enjoy my party favors."

"Save it until we get out of sight." Yue replied. "Last thing we need to do is be late to the operation because you got arrested for illegal possession of a high-caliber weapon."

The walk from the office to the World Tree was short enough to not warrant borrowing a police cruiser, and by the time they arrived most of the others were already waiting. Yue knew most of them from the rare occasions she had visited Kuzunoha in the past, and went about introducing Sonoda to them. By day, they had normal lives – a history professor, and archivist, one of Kuzunoha's sparring partners, and a bookstore owner among the dozen. When occasion required, however, they were Mahora's first line of defense against preternatural threats – agents of the Kanto Magic Association.

One of them – a burly looking fellow in a suit and sunglasses, hair tied back in a short ponytail – looked Sonoda over with a skeptical eye. "This is not a job for normal people."

Sonoda replied by dropping the duffel bag and unzipping it. He proceeded to pull out a reinforced tactical vest, complete with ceramic inserts, followed closely by what Yue vaguely recognized as an P90. Sonoda calmly donned the vest and slung the gun over a shoulder before pulling out a pair of pistols and their holsters, shortly followed by a shotgun that went over his other shoulder before he started loading his vest with ammo and what Yue was fairly certain were grenades. He finished with a pair of tinted shooting glasses before turning to the suited mage. "Still have a problem?"

The suited mage gave a small snort. "Are you even qualified for that equipment?"

Sonoda gave the compact P90 a quick lookover as he snapped a magazine into place on top. "SDO Quick Reaction Force. We get to handle everything the Riot Police can't handle – which around her includes rampaging robotic dinosaurs and martian invasions."

"I thought the Riot Police were a separate unit?" Yue asked as she watched Sonoda check his other equipment.

"The Riot Police get called up rarely enough as it is." Sonoda replied. "The QRF is lucky to get called up once a year – they have trouble justifying the cost of giving us the extra training."

"So how do they justify it?" the suited man asked again.

Sonoda grinned as she slung the P90 and pulled out the shotgun. "The one year we do get called."

"Well, if we are done with the macho crap," Yue replied as she adjusted her grip on her staff. "Can we maybe begin?"

The mage in the suit gave a curt nod as he let Yue's statement fly over his head – whether that was intentional or he was just oblivious to sarcasm, Yue wasn't sure – before he turned and led them a short way from the square toward the World Tree before stopping before a small stone shack that sat just at the edge of the Tree's roots, looking like a very out of place well. One of the other mages pulled out a worn looking key from a pocket, slipping it into the waiting lock and giving it a turn before pushing the door open.

Thirteen staff points and one shotgun rose and were pointed into the darkness, under-slung torches and conjured lights cutting through the darkness. A narrow shaft was cut into the floor, the stairs cut along the side as they spiraled down standing out in the harsh shadows. "So," Sonoda asked after a moment. "Who wants to go down the creepy staircase inside the well first?"

Yue rolled her eyes. "Move, you big baby." Yue pushed her way past Sonoda and started down the stairs, the pale light from her staff cutting a sphere out of the darkness as she descended. Behind her, the steady rhythm of footfalls indicated her cohorts following after her. "So, where does this come out exactly?" she asked.

"Just north of the World Tree's base." replied the suited mage. "Based on your information, our target doesn't have any infrastructure in that section. Resistance should be minimal."

"So," Sonoda replied. "Why am I getting a really bad feeling about this?"

"Sure thats not just the hospital food?" Yue replied.

"Oh, ha ha." Sonoda tightened his grip on his shotgun. "I'm telling you, something feels off about this."

"Keep it to yourself until its more than a feeling." Yue replied. "Until then, focus on the mission."

"Yeah, yeah..." Sonoda grumbled as they continued their descent. Without the aid of gravity, it took far longer than their freefall. Yue, at least, did not think this was a bad thing. Still, it didn't take long before a couple of the mages and Sonoda started complaining about the long descent. "Are we trying to get to the bottom of the tree or freakin' Sheol?" Sonoda grumbled after they had descended several stories. "How far down does this thing go?"

"All the way I assume." Yue replied. "I'm sure it'll stop before we hit magma."

Behind her, Sonoda rolled his eyes as they continued their way down. In the pitch blackness outside their little bubbles of light, with nothing to indicate how far down they'd gone or how far down they had left. For the moment, all that made up their world was that narrow stone shaft and the spiraling staircase making its way down and down and down.

Just as even Yue was beginning to think that they might have taken the wrong staircase, the faintest glimmer of light reflected its way off the pale stone walls and up to them. Another story down and they finally came face to face with a stone doorway, light leaking around the edges and through a small window at eye level. "Finally." Sonoda sighed in relief behind Yue. "Standard breaching tactics?"

Yue nodded. "Stack up." Their group lined up along the wall on either side, Yue front left and Sonoda front right as Sonoda slowly edged forward before peering through the window. With a quick nod to signal they were clear, Yue reached forward and pulled.

The door must have been on some sort of counter-balance as it slid open with little effort, silently sliding to a stop as they poured through the doorway.

The room beyond was another of the usual sort of chamber one found deep below the World Tree – a temple-like complex of carved columns and edifices, many of them having long since toppled over and now providing ample cover for the group. The room was thankfully a great deal smaller than the chamber Yue and Sonoda been in earlier, and soon they had all of the doors secured.

"Okay," Yue started as they regrouped near the center of the room. Yue pulled out her pactio card, summoning her tome before bringing up a map. "Assuming we did in fact take the right well, we should be..." she pointed to a point on the map. "Our goals are simple – secure the main chamber below the World Tree and capture our target. Any other objectives are secondary. Any questions?"

"One," Sonoda replied as he raised a hand. "What happens when everything inevitably goes pear-shaped?"

"Improvise." Yue replied as she adjusted her map. "The quickest route to our objective is the tunnel to the south." Yue pointed off to her right. "Everybody ready to move?" A series of nods and affirmatives.

"Alright then." Yue dismissed her pactio and tucked her card away before picking her staff back up. "Then let's move."

A few minutes later, a lone pair of guards were patrolling the southern tunnel and having a rather dull time. They were just passing the northern end and getting ready to start their way back to the end when there was a low grumble just beyond the door. The guards paused, taking a quick look at each other, before turning back to the door. They started toward it slowly, until they were close enough that it was clear that it the rumbling wasn't coming from beyond the door – it was coming from the door itself.

Carefully, one of the guards reached out, laying a hand against the door and feeling its vibrating like it was in the middle of an earthquake.

Then the door exploded.

The guard and his partner were sent flying back as the door suddenly exploded in a massive explosion of dust and sand, shrouding the tunnel beyond in a tan cloud as the dozen mages and one cop rushed through, quickly checking the two guards for pulses before zip-tying them and dumping them behind another piece of temple ruin as they took up positions. When the dust settled, the only thing that would have been visible from the far end would have been the glaring absence of the north door – and, if they looked closely enough, a collection of staffs, wands and other assorted weaponry aimed in their direction.

"Move up." Yue called from her position. Ahead of her, Sonoda and the mage in the suit rose to their feet, dashing forward before falling into new cover. There was a moment of silence before a crack of mage fire.

"Contact!" Yelled one of the mages. The word hadn't even been half-way out of their mouth before the others started to return fire. The steady sound of smell incantations and released bolts of arcane energy were punctuated by the thundering report of Sonoda's shotgun. "I'm counting...way too many."

"Very useful!" Sonoda shouted as he pumped his shotgun. "So, anybody have some party tricks?"

"I might." replied one of the mages. She stepped out of her cover, ducking low as she chanted at high-speed, a glowing circle of magic forming beneath her before she slammed her staff down. The ground pulsed around her like water before the ripple's converged in front of her and shot forward.

Suddenly facing a tsunami of stone, the guards turned and ran. Fallen comrades were forgotten and left where they laid as anyone still mobile rushed out of the way of the incoming rock all that had suddenly appeared and decided it really didn't like them being there. None of them were fast enough.

The moving wall of stone scooped up the running guards, their fallen comrades, and the few who had opted instead for trying to hide and carried them through the archway at the end of the hall where its came to an abrupt stop. The guards, naturally, did not.

Sonoda stared down the hall as the wall receded back into the floor, leaving only a pile of injured and groaning guards at the far end. "...huh. Maybe we should open with party tricks."

"Then what happens when we hit something really bad?" Yue asked as she rose from her cover. "Let's move fast while they're down – Down the hall and take a right!"

The group bolted down the hall, picking their way over the pile of still groaning guards, before taking their right.

Even from a different angle the World Tree's central chamber was unmistakable. "Where are all the guards?" Sonoda asked. The chamber was completely empty at the moment, though it showed signs of recent occupation – several carts will sitting abandoned in the middle of the room, still laden with crates, and several stacks looked like they had been toppled over in the rush out.

"Likely in that behind behind us." Yue replied. "Sonoda, with me – everyone else, spread out and secure the entrances." The other mages gave quick nods as they moved to comply as Sonoda followed Yue as she made a beeline for the center of the room and one of the consoles they had seen on their first time through.

Now that Sonoda had a closer look at it, it reminded him less of 'Swords and Sorcery' and more of 'Space Opera' – a few smooth stones seemed to be the only interface controls, while the displays consisted entirely of glowing translucent geometrics, all in neon shades of blue or green. "Are you, uh, qualified on this sort of thing?"

"Emergency gateport protocols came up in my training, yes." Yue replied as she started working at the the controls almost immediately different screens began popping in and out of existence. "Cover me while I do this – I can't exactly multitask."

"Right..." Sonoda replied as he turned his back to Yue, putting her between him and her console as he decided to switch over to the P90 – the compact machine gun out-ranged the shotgun and he had the feeling he might need it. "What are we doing again?"

"You remember how I explained that this was piggy-backing on another gateports capabilities?" Yue asked as she worked at the console.

"You said that this was just sort of a target, right?" Sonoda replied, keeping his eyes on their surroundings. It was unnervingly quiet.

"More or less," Yue replied. "I'm changing what gate it's being targeted by."

Sonoda risked a glance back over his shoulder. "You can do that?"

Sonoda couldn't see it, but Yue grinned. "Oh yes. And I think you will like where it's going to connect too."

"Tahiti?" Sonoda asked jokingly.

"Not quite." Yue said. "besides, Tahiti is over-rated."

"They do say its a magical place." Sonoda commented.

"So is the place I have in mind." Yue replied as she continued to work.

They had been at it maybe five minutes when trouble finally decided to show itself, and it was in quite possibly the most troublesome form possible.

There was a series of loud cracks as a ring of stone walls burst forth from the ground, rapidly surrounding the center of the chamber and entrapping Yue and Sonoda. "Think we have company, Ayase." Sonoda's grip on his gun tightened.

"Another mage?" Yue asked without looking up.

"Looks like he's handling this personally." Sonoda replied.

Yue's head finally shot up to look across the chamber behind her. She had looked up just in time to watch the last stone slam into place behind a familiar looking cloaked figure striding toward them, a gnarled black wooden staff in one gloved hand, a series of metal bracelets clinking around the wrist of the other. Yue bit off a quick curse before turning back to the console and working even faster. "Hold him back for a little longer!"

"How much longer?" Sonoda snapped back. "The guy was dodging magic missiles last time!"

"As long as you can." Yue replied hastily.

"Right..." Sonoda replied, rolling his eyes before he leveled his gun and fired off a burst.

The staccato of fully automatic fire reverberated off of the stone surfaces as the armor-piercing rounds impacted the figure at something in the range of 800 meters a second. Sparks flew as a few glance off whatever armor he was wearing, while others seemed to punch straight through him, staggering him back before the crashed into the stone behind him in small clouds of dust.

Sonoda stopped firing after a few seconds a the magazine ran dry. Was fifty rounds of 5.7 mm military grade ammunition overkill? Most of the time, yes. Sonoda wasn't interested in taking any chances though.

The issue turned out to be moot a moment later though.

As the compact machine clicked dry, their resident boogey man simply dusted himself off and started walking toward them again in the same slow, determined approach as before. "...I should have brought the assault rifle." Sonoda quipped to himself as he quickly shifted to his revolver.

The rounds from the revolver, surprisingly, seemed to have a more dramatic effect than the rounds from the machine gun. That they were aimed at his head likely had something to do with that.

The cloaked fiend staggered back again, hands raised defensively as round punched through his cloth mask and ricocheted off whatever was underneath it, sparks flying as they did. It was the fourth round that stuck gold, eliciting a sharp crack that made Sonoda pause and gave the fiend a chance to recover.

After a moment, half of a cracked metal faceplate fell forward and to the ground. A moment later it was followed by the other half along with most of the hood.

Sonoda lowered his revolver as he finally got a good look at the one who had caused him so much trouble for three days. "sonofa-"