61 The Raid

Aisha awoke with a start, her ears picking up… whispers - sinister, hateful… cold. She gasped as her eyes snapped open, only to see…

.

It was the shadow. It blocked her vision, cold, dark… Aisha's entire being trembled with a frigid fear, as she saw it get closer, and closer…

.

"Aisha! Dear!" Celeste struggled. "Stop screaming!"

"Aisha!" Hana said gently. "It's us! Please!"

.

The girl didn't stop screaming, her powerful muscles straining against Hana and Celeste's combined weight - They tried to calm her down using the usual methods, pets, hugs, kisses, but none of it worked, as if Aisha wasn't in control of her body.

.

Aisha saw the shadow grow closer - smothering her nose and mouth, making it difficult to breathe as it got closer, and closer… She felt her chest close up, and she struggled fiercely- until a familiar face appeared in her vision, blocking the shadow.

.

"Aisha… kitten. Hey, calm down, okay?" Mistress smiled.

.

Aisha gasped in a small breath as her heart filled with adoration, the suffocating all of a sudden going away, as if her mistress's presence healed her… set her free from all pain. She couldn't help but clutch her angel - her goddess, to her chest, kissing her desperately, passionately. Aisha usually loved to submit, to let mistress do whatever she wanted to her, but right now, she wanted so desperately to be comforted by her.

.

Celeste gave a small smile as Aisha kissed and cuddled the transformed Hana, the big woman looking quite surprised as for once, her partner's yearning absolutely overwhelming her own. Aisha squeezed Hana tight, mewling and moaning like an absolute idiot as she rained down kisses on her, an adorable, blushing expression on both girls' faces.

.

It was after a whole five minutes of kissing and snuggling, that Aisha noticed something wrong, her face curling into a frown. Her mistress didn't… blush that way, with her hand covering her mouth. And also… this wasn't their bed. It was too soft. Too… sweaty.

.

Realization hit her, and Aisha's expression slumped as Hana transformed back into her true form underneath her.

.

"I… Sorry." She whispered.

"D-don't be…" Hana stuttered, chest heaving up and down, as she still felt every single kiss, flustered and enraptured. "I-I never knew you were that good…"

"Mmmm…" Aisha mumbled, feeling like… she had shown a side of her that was reserved for her mistress. She felt… bad. And now, she had a very, very horny succubus clawing at her.

.

"Hey…" Hana cried in despair, as Aisha got up from the bed. "Come back… come fuck me senseless!"

"Sorry… I…" Aisha didn't finish her sentence, leaving Hana, even as she tried weakly to pull Aisha back into bed.

.

Celeste giggled as she saw Hana's dejected expression, wrapping her arms around the succubus as she looked down at her, making eye contact with the poor, horny demon, who gave the cutest, most pitiful look.

"Aw…" Celeste cooed, cradling Hana's head in her chest, feeling Hana's pink strands curtain her breasts. "It's okay. I'll take care of you."

"Mmm…" Hana pouted. "****?"

.

.

.

Aisha gasped for breath as she left the apartment, not having exerted herself at all, but all of a sudden feeling short of breath, having to lean on a wall for support. She put a hand to her forehead, feeling her temperature.

.

Normal. So why did she feel so…

.

"Aisha?" Aless said, concerned, as she ran over to the girl, supporting her with her back. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm… okay." Aisha struggled out.

"You don't look too good." Falo mused.

"Do you need to sit down and rest?" Kro asked.

.

"Urgh…" Aisha took a deep breath, feeling her heartbeat start to slow down. "All of you? Must be… important."

"It is important, but what's more important is that you're okay." Falo said, in his fatherly manner. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Aisha said, rising to her feet. "Just… just a little… thing…"

"Doesn't seem like a thing…"

"If she says it's good enough, it's good enough." Aless said dismissively. "Come on, we have to go."

"Okay…" She mumbled.

.

"Kro, can you get her crossbow?" Aless directed.

"Sure."

"Who's… Kro?" Aisha asked.

"You call him Two." Aless said. "Kro is his real name."

"Oh."

.

Aisha felt dizzy on her walk towards Raxas's office, but otherwise, she felt fine after a bit - although the sinking feeling in her stomach would not go away. She saw the shadow everywhere - in alleys, in the windows of buildings, sometimes right next to her. When it was closest, Aisha would feel that same suffocating fear - but she got better at hiding it.

.

(Just your imagination. Or your brain rotting.) Aisha thought, morbidly. (It hasn't been healed by the girls at the church. That means… )

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"So…" Kro mumbled. "What do you think it is? Must be something big, if all of us are here."

"Falo usually knows." Aless turned to the man, Falo raising his arms in response.

"I got nothing." He said. "James hasn't been in the office for a while. He's been investigating the lower ring for a long time."

"I wish he would trust us more to do these kinds of things." Aless muttered. "It's our job."

"He does trust you."

"But doesn't he hate work?" Kro wondered. "Why would he need to go himself?"

.

Falo ruffled Kro's hair.

"Hey!"

"Because he thinks his time is less valuable than yours." Falo said distantly, looking off.

"Really?" The young man said incredulously, raising an eyebrow. "A judge magister?"

Falo nodded. "You're young. You still have dreams, and hopes…"

"And Raxas doesn't?" Aless asked.

"...Not anymore."

"..."

"..."

.

"Must be a sad existence." Aisha said, in a low voice. "Trapped in a hell of your own making."

.

Falo looked at Aisha with a surprised expression, whereas Kro and Aless just raised their eyebrows.

"Huh?"

Aisha looked down at her boots. "Oh, nothing."

.

They arrived at the door to Raxas's office, where Aless knocked twice on the door, before Falo strode past her and made his way in.

.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that." She muttered.

.

The door was pushed open, and Aisha was greeted with the sight of Raxas in his full armor, the lion on his helmet glaring menacingly atop an incredibly ornate, imposing set of armor. Aisha realized that he had never worn the full suit, as now it was complete with a full cape, large pauldrons, and armguards that he had not worn before. As he walked towards her, Aisha could hear every step, creaking and grinding menacingly, the chains inside the armor clanking loudly.

.

"The full armor?" Falo asked. "Official business?"

"You could say that." Raxas said, his voice sounding hollow, echoing in the helmet. "Are you all armed?"

.

He looked around, seeing a variety of nods and "yes's." Aless palmed the handle to her katana, Falo fiddled with the string of his crossbow, and Kro played with a little bag at his hip.

"Then we go."

.

.

.

Aisha eyed Kro's little bag, hearing a faint jingling noise coming from within, as the group of five made their way into the lower rings of the city, people staring and muttering.

.

"What's in it?" She asked. "Bells?"

"Needles." Kro muttered. "Agent weapon."

"Why needles?"

"They're small." He explained. "And lethal, if you hit a vital area."

"Why not just use magic?"

"It's almost impossible to get magic that small and precise. Maybe an infused item, but raw magic kind of just goes wherever it wants."

"Hm."

"It's also because it's the only weapon he's good at." Aless chimed, to which Kro shot her a cross look.

"Thanks." He said, sarcastically.

.

"It doesn't matter." Raxas echoed in his helmet. "You and Aless will not be fighting. Ideally. Those are for last resort."

"Last resort?" Kro asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are we doing, anyways?"

"We're going to clear the Alcinera den."

"Whoa, really?" Falo exclaimed. "You found it?"

"Yes."

"Alcinera?" Aisha asked.

"It's the name of Raxas's district." Falo explained. "An eighth of the city. Cut like a slice of pie."

"I want pie…" Aisha mumbled.

.

"Enough of that." Raxas said sternly. "This is serious. I will be there, but there are going to be trained mages there. Don't slack off."

"...We won't." Aless and Kro chorused.

.

The rest of the walk continued in silence, the lights around them growing dimmer and dimmer as they approached the lower rings of the city. The buildings weren't any higher than the ones in the middle ring, but they extended much lower As they stepped downwards, the buildings stretched higher and higher, and when they finally reached the bottom, Aisha could barely see in front of her. She put on her the gas mask she had stolen from one of the guards.

.

Hearing clanking from behind her, one of the step guards turned around, hefting her rifle.

"Stop right there! Who- OH SHIT!"

.

The soldier fell flat on her ass as she stumbled backwards, terrified of the looming visage Raxas cast on the alley. With his massive frame, heavy armor, and lion's head, the man looked like a demon in the flickering lanternlight.

.

"J-judge Raxas!" The guard stammered, scrambling to her feet. "I-I-"

"Let us through." He said neutrally, blue eyes staring at the guard through the eyeholes of the helmet.

"O-of course!"

.

The party made their way through the decrepit slums, and Aisha noticed that while usually, the dregs in the lower ring ignored people walking through, they shrunk away from Raxas, as if his presence repelled them by some kind of force. While usually there was some kind of chatter to fill the noise of the darkness, all that there was was the clanking of Raxas's armor, and the light footfalls of his agents.

.

"Stop." Raxas commanded.

.

Four heads turned to Raxas.

.

"We split up here. The den is fifty buildings ahead."

"Do we all meet up at the den?" Kro asked. "Why aren't me and Aless fighting?"

"Aless and I." Falo corrected. He shrunk at the sight of four glares. "Sorry."

"You two are going to sneak in with Falo." Raxas directed. "Find your way to the main office. Take as many records as you can."

"Records?" Aless asked.

.

Raxas nodded.

.

"When you're done, leave. I don't care how. They have a teleport nexus inside as a last resort. Falo already knows his assignment. He will be out after you."

"What about you and Aisha?"

"I'll be there after you all are done. Aisha will be stationed outside the city limits, in case any… leak out."

.

Aless and Kro looked at each other with uncertainty.

"Wait" Kro mumbled, his voice wavering. "So… we're going to… kill everyone inside? How many… are there??"

"Yes." Raxas said darkly. "Today, the lives of 200 people are on my hands."

"..."

.

A long silence followed, before Kro tentatively spoke up.

"Why aren't we doing any killing?" Kro asked. "Actually… you've never had us kill… anyone."

"It's not your burden to bear." Raxas said. "This is my dirty work."

"What about Aisha?"

"She's got a fair share of blood on her hands too."

"..."

.

"This is going to be dangerous." Raxas warned. "You are... well, I've never tested your abilities like this before. If you two want out... I won't blame you."

.

Aless and Kro didn't even hesitate before shaking their heads.

"We're your agents, sir." Aless said resolutely. "We will go wherever you command."

"Good." Raxas nodded, before turning to Aisha. "You?"

.

"Huh?" Aisha mumbled. "Does this count as a contract?"

"Yeah."

"Then whatever."

.

.

.

"So how are we going to get in?" Kro hissed to Aless, as they walked briskly towards their destination. "It's an underground den! It's not like there are any windows or vents!"

"We sneak in." Aless muttered. "We're going to have to-"

"No…" Kro's face fell in despair.

"You're going to have to act." Aless rolled her eyes.

"Can't-"

"This is the best way!" Aless snapped. "Just suck it up."

.

Kro slumped his shoulders.

"Fine." He sulked. "What's our roles? Addicts?"

"No, we look way too clean for that." Aless rolled her eyes. "And we don't have rags or anything, and I don't particularly want to steal some."

"Then what? You know I suck at pretending to be in charge-"

"Well, you go to the academy, right?" Aless said.

"...Yeah."

"We can pretend to be academy students. You're always talking about how they think nepenthe is cool, right?"

"Hold on." Kro stiffened. "You're not suggesting that I lead, are you?"

"I know you can do it." Aless said softly. "Don't worry, it's not as if they'll be that suspicious. They haven't been touched by the magistrate in years."

"But-"

"I believe in you." Aless said firmly, looking Kro in the eyes. "You can do it."

.

.

.

"What do you want?" The burly storekeeper asked, crossing his arms. "It's a long way from the middle ring, and I doubt you want the food here."

.

There was a long silence, before Aless pinched Kro's leg on the other side of the counter. He jolted alert, looking up and down the neat looking shopkeeper, his short hair cut cleanly, and young face cleanly-shaven. His apron, despite being in a "kitchen," was stained, but was completely clean.

"Oh, um…" Kro stammered. "We were… we were…"

"Spit it out!"

"Uh…" He leaned in close. "We want some… we want some of the nep."

"It's five silvers for a needle." The shopkeeper said flatly, without even skipping a beat. "What, having a party?"

"We want the good stuff." Aless blurted, her voice notably changing from her stern, clear voice, to a more… stupid tone. "Not the stuff you sell to… these… guys."

The shopkeeper sighed. "There isn't any go-"

"We have money!" Kro interrupted. "Our parents are really rich!"

"I'm telling you, dude, there isn't-"

.

The shopkeeper shut up all a sudden, his eyes narrowing, and a thoughtful expression appearing on his face. Aless could almost see the gears turning in his head, as he thought of how to possibly squeeze the most money he could out of these "rich kids."

.

"No… you're right… I just forgot about our… premium stuff. Let me go get it-"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Aless interrupted. "How we know that you won't rip us off?"

"What?"

"We're going with you!" Kro said. "For… um… quality assurance."

.

The shopkeeper glared at the two of them, looking at the way Kro was sweating bullets, but evidently his nervousness worked to their benefit.

"Sure, whatever." He muttered.

.

He walked out from behind the counter and shoved aside a few chairs and a table, before putting his hands to the ground where the objects used to be. The ground split and opened in front of his fingers, the wood splintering and cracking as they were pushed aside, adding to the dilapidated look of the shop. Eventually a passage opened up, the width of a doorway, sloping far, downwards.

.

"Follow me." He commanded.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, Aisha closed her eyes, sitting down and leaning back against the castle rampart she had climbed on. She closed her eyes to block out the misty shadow she saw next to her, trying her hardest to block the sight out. She had been okay the entire walk over, but now, when she was alone… She felt the suffocation, more than ever. Her crossbow clanged to the ground as she started to struggle to breathe.

.

Closing her eyes didn't work. If anything, knowing that the shadow was there, close to her, made her heart beat so much faster, made her even more dizzy.

.

Pain was an emotion familiar to her. So was hunger, anguish, anger… but Aisha rarely felt fear. It made her feel so helpless - even more helpless than usual - she had never felt so afraid, so cold, ever since she had been training with Xelos. Back then her light, her warmth… it had been…

.

.

.

[

Aisha whimpered in pleasure as Lorian took her face in her hands, leaning in close so that she could plant a small little kiss right on the small girl's lips. Before Aisha could lean in, however, she pulled away, smiling at the panting, blushy mess that she had left the girl in, mouth slightly open.

.

She mewled pitifully again as Lorian teased her with another kiss, raising her arms desperately to pull the big woman in, but was unsuccessful, given how weak her mistress's heat and smell made her.

.

Another kiss made her whine pitifully.

"Pwease…" She moaned, giving Lorian the most submissive, cutesy look she could muster. "Pwease give me kissesww…"

"Mmm…" Lorian giggled. "I'll give you kisses, if you look me in the eyes."

"Nnnn…" Aisha blushed, looking away as her cheeks were peppered with kisses. "WWwww…"

"Why can't you make eye contact with me?" Lorian laughed. "Am I that ugly?"

"NO!" Aisha stammered. "IT'S- It's the opposite… you're too beautiful… looking at you is… hard."

.

"Oh, geez, kitten." Lorian mumbled, now blushing too. "You would make a great playgirl, you know that? So… cheesy…"

"It's true!" Aisha whined.

"Mmmmm…"

.

Lorian nuzzled Aisha's cheek lovingly, squishing her face. She liked to give off the illusion that she was immune to Aisha's begging, but her heart absolutely melted whenever Aisha squished her ears against her head. It was almost unfair how effortlessly the girl could milk kisses out of the woman - Aisha was still looking away, but seeing those cute, plump little lips in front of her, opened slightly in a pout, Lorian couldn't-

.

Aisha mewled as Lorian leaned in and swallowed her mouth, squeezing the girl tightly against her body. Her nerves lit alight as all of a sudden, all the muscles in her body relaxed, as Lorian rubbed her amazingly soft body against hers, cushy breasts against her chest, smooth legs interlocked around her own, and strong arms around her back.

.

Everything was perfect. She could probably have fallen asleep right there, if not for the constant stream of pleasure wracking her body, stemming from her lips. It felt so good…

.

After a long, long time, they finally separated from the kiss, Aisha's brains practically leaking out of her ears. Lorian paused a bit at the vacant look on her face, but after she fluffed the girl's ears a bit, Aisha mewled and giggled, pressing her tummy flush with her mistress's.

.

"More! More!" She begged. "More kisses!"

"Eeeeerrrrrrr…" Lorian mumbled, looking away. "I dunno if that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Aisha whined.

"I'm a little worried I might kiss you stupid some day." Lorian said sheepishly. "And we were kissing for like 30 minutes!"

"I'm okay with going stupid." Aisha pouted, somehow managing to snuggle even closer, pressing their crotches together. Lorian let out a gasp.

"I-I wouldn't be okay with it!" Lorian stammered. "It would be really cute, and we could just snuggle all day, and I could take care of you, and… um, but I like talking with you, and playing games too!"

.

Aisha pouted, making Lorian's heart skip a beat as she nuzzled the side of the larger woman's head. She frowned when she felt something… hard with her forehead, reaching up to feel it with her hand, rubbing and caressing it gently. Lorian moaned softly.

.

"What's this?" She asked, parting Lorian's hair, but not seeing the hard object. Hidden in her brown tresses, right above her ears, Aisha found the hard spot, her fingers stopping right before touching the skin. She felt on the other side of her head and found another hard bump. "It's invisible…"

"M-my horns are growing back." Lorian shivered. The nubs were sensitive, but it felt amazing when Aisha played with them, so she hid her shivers and moans. "T-the illusion magic hides them, b-but you cannnn-ooooh… s-still feeeeeel them."

"Does it hurt?" Aisha asked innocently. "When I touch?"

"N-noo it feels goooood." Lorian slurred. Aisha's hands were so soft, and so dexterous and skilled… Lorian could only imagine how good they would feel on other places of her body…

.

"O-okay, that's e-enough." Lorian blushed, attempting to stop the girl before she lost control. "Eeek!"

"But I want to make you feel good!" Aisha said cutely. "I love you!"

.

Lorian blushed red, the combination of lust, adoration and embarrassment sending her mind for a loop. Was this how it felt for Aisha? To have someone looking at you, so adoringly, just focused on making you feel good?

.

She felt like she was getting the tables turned on her - and all of a sudden, the dominant, competitive part of Lorian's spirit flared up. Her expression turned determined as she growled, flipping Aisha onto her back, bracing her weight on her hands on opposite sides of Aisha's head.

.

Aisha let out a meek "eep!" of surprise, as Lorian began to lick all over her disobedient little kitten…

]

.

.

.

"What is this place..?" Kro muttered, looking around him at the industrial hellscape around him. Hallways lined every corner, narrow and suffocating, with hardly any windows. The floors were tiled neatly with ceramic, and the pillars looked nice and clean, similar to the black market.

"It's our little operation." The "shopkeeper" explained. "Don't touch that."

.

He gripped Aless's wrist as she reached out a hand to open a door, a dangerous look in his eyes.

.

"Uh, sorry." She apologized, dumbly.

.

The three walked through the twisting hallways, and Kro felt a sinking feeling in his stomach - the place was like a maze. If they got their cover blown… it would be incredibly difficult to find their way back out. And their guide looked like he was becoming more and more suspicious by the minute.

.

They went through another door and Kro's eyes were instantly drawn to a long window in the hallway. He peered through it and gasped.

.

"Are those…?"

.

The window oversaw a massive room, the size of an auditorium, filled with people wearing gas masks, sitting at long tables. On top of the tables, glassware, beakers and tubing sat connected with each other, gasses, fumes and liquids flowing within. He looked at a worker as she shivered, dark spots under her eyes from a lack of sleep.

.

"They're addicts." Kro jumped as the shopkeeper spoke, startling him. "They work for us, in exchange for their next hit. Don't worry about them. I'm sure you smart kids have more self-control."

"What about… the glass things?" Aless asked.

"It's machina." He muttered. "It gets the job done tens of times faster than a hume."

"...But… it's evil." Aless said. "The gods… actually, nevermind."

"What we do isn't evil!" The shopkeeper snapped, seeing the accusatory look in Aless's face. "What we do is make a living for ourselves, unlike you spoiled tops brats!"

.

The guide pinched the bridge of his nose, scrunching up his face.

"Sorry." He said, apologizing for his outburst. "Let's just… ugh."

.

Aless bit her lip to stop herself from pointing out that he was leading them into the den in order to try and scam money out of two kids.

.

.

A few hallways later and Kro's ears heard the distinct noise of Aless tapping her foot two times, a skidding noise following as she dragged her foot slightly. After a few seconds, he repeated the pattern back.

.

To the guide, he heard nothing but bootfalls, but unbeknownst to him, Aless and Kro were communicating silently behind his back through secret code.

.

"H O W F I N D F I L E S ?" Aless tapped out. Kro paled. He didn't know!

"I N O K N O W" He tapped back.

"F I N D" Was all Aless tapped back, the woman shooting a glance at him.

.

Kro stared at the doors lining the hallways intensely, looking for anything, but even if he could figure out the small differences and intricacies between each, he would have no way of finding which one held records.

.

(Aa-aaah! Think man, think! Is there any way that you can figure this out? A map? No, that's stupid. A… tracking spell? For papers? Yeah right! Uh…)

.

He started to sweat as the guide stopped in front of a door, showing a storage room with crates of neatly stacked boxes. He took a needle out from one of the boxes and held it out for the two to inspect.

.

"Here it is." The man said, connivingly. "The… primo."

.

Aless turned her head to look at Kro, and all of a sudden, Aless felt the same sinking feeling, when she saw the sweating, vacant look in his eyes.

.

The guide scrunched up his face. "What's wrong with him?"

.

Very methodically, as if he had done it 1000 times, Kro took out a needle from his bag and casually jabbed the man in the neck, his head violently jerking to the side as he crumpled to the floor in a heap.

.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Aless exploded, the last thing he heard before slipping into unconsciousness.

.

.

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The shopkeeper woke up, groaning as he ripped the needle out of his shoulder, hissing at the way it sparked his nerves. He looked around, expecting to be bound, or dead, but oddly enough, he was completely fine. The two kids were nowhere to be found.

.

"Damn brats!" He hissed. "Fuck! Spies!"

.

He took off, sprinting through the hallways, bumping into other workers and administrators in the den.

.

.

.

"Whoa, what's going on, Yapi?" A young white haired man, guarding a door, put a hand on his shoulder, blocking his path. "What's the rush? You look… worried."

"There's two intruders loose in here!" Yapi hissed. "Spies, or something! But they tricked me into letting them in, and then they knocked me out, and now they're gone! We have to tell Mao!"

"She's not going to be happy." The man muttered, as he opened the door. "But I guess it's better than if she finds out later."

.

Yapi felt a nervous sense of dread as the door slowly swung open, his eyes meeting the dark green-eyes of Mao, the woman who ran the Alcinera den. She was a thin, lithe woman, and while her face looked young, the short, tomboyish, white hair, and immaculately pressed suit suggested otherwise. The look in her eyes was sharp and incredibly intelligent, and Yapi quickly broke eye contact under her gaze.

.

She was completely silent as Yapi stood in the doorway - too nervous to speak, the silence lasted a few seconds-

.

"You are the one who has something to tell me." She said, irritated. "Speak!"

"I-I-" Yapi stammered. "There's two intruders in the base, one male, one female!"

"Anything else to go on?" Mao demanded. "Other than the fact that they are human? Height? Faces? What they're wearing?"

"I-I think one of them-"

"You think?"

"I know... I mean, they're wearing white t-shirts, and black trousers."

"Is that it?" Mao asked.

"Err…" Yapi scratched his head. "Yes."

.

Mao got up from her desk, revealing a short stature to go with the thin figure. Despite that, the two men cowered in fear of her. Yapi's eyes widened as her fingers came close to his neck-

.

"What. About. This?" She asked, jabbing her finger into the bloody spot in Yapi's neck, where Kro had stabbed him.

"T-that's… He used a needle."

"The male one uses needles." Mao muttered. "Then we might be dealing with magistrate agents."

.

Mao strode out her door, closing it on her way out.

"You." She pointed to the white-haired man. "Go relay that information to anyone you can. Do not engage until I get there. You stand no chance. And you."

.

Mao set her hard gaze on Yapi, who shrunk visibly.

"You are lucky you are more useful alive than dead." She whispered.

.

Yapi stumbled backwards, as Mao shoved him down a corridor using one of her hands, the larger man landing flat on his ass as the force sent him skidding.

"Check the west corridor. Ciaran will check the north. I'll take east and south." She commanded.

.

Mao turned on her heel and strode away, and the other two scrambled away quickly after. The sound of footsteps quickly grew faint, and the hallway grew silent.

.

Kro and Aless burst in from a doorway, quickly shutting the door behind them

.

"See?" Kro said. "It all works out. He led us to the records."

"No, it doesn't." Aless furrowed her eyebrows. "This was supposed to be a stealth mission! How are we going to get out!?"

"Oh, no no no no!" The boy balked. "I came up with the sneaking in part. You have to do the rest!"

"Wha-" Aless stood, flabbergasted. "This isn't one of your group projects! Both of our lives are on the line here!"

"Yeah, well, I was in lead and this is where we are." Kro mumbled.

.

Aless rolled her eyes and sighed, pushing some of her hair out of her face.

"Whatever. Let's just get these files. That's the door there, right?"

"Yeah, seems right." Kro muttered.

.

The two agents stepped into the room, and they were met with the sight of massive stacks of paper, towering over them, some stashed carelessly into boxes, others placed neatly into folders. On Mao's desk alone, there were easily over 100 papers.

.

"That's not going to fit in my backpack." Aless muttered.

"That's a small desk."

"Well, what the hell do we do?" Aless asked, turning to Kro. "There's no way we can transport all these files. Should we-"

"Okay, uh… no, no no." Kro shook his head, taking a paper. "We only need… about 10% of these papers. It's something that Raxas taught me, um… A lot of these, are probably acquisition forms, inventory… Employee documentation… Let's see… This one we throw, throw, throw, throw, throw, keep this one…"

.

Aless smiled as Kro went to work, the look on his face intense, determined and intelligent, as he leafed through the papers, his hands a blur as he tossed papers aside almost as quickly as he picked them up. In about five seconds, . However…

"What do I do?" Aless asked. "I can't read these."

"Just… um… show them to me."

"You can read that fast?"

"I… I can, I think."

"Okay, okay…" Aless breathed out. "I think, we can get through these in… maybe 20 minutes? We have to work fast, they're going to-"

.

Aless yelped as the ground beneath her shifted, the tiles breaking apart as rocks and stone turned into tendrils that locked around her legs and ankles. Looking quickly to Kro, he suffered the same fate, the boy trying in vain to pull his legs out from the rock.

.

"You'll do no such thing." Mao said coldly, shutting the door behind her. "I have no idea why you're here, but this is where it ends for you."

Aless's eyes widened. "How did you..!?"

"You left that fool Yapi alive." Mao explained. "I can think of no reason why you would let that buffoon warn everyone, unless you wanted him to lead you to here. I-"

.

Aless shot a massive beam of lightning at the small woman at the same time that Kro threw one of his needles, but Aless's lightning dissipated harmlessly along the woman's skin, and Kro's needle plinked harmlessly off the woman's neck, dust crumbling off her skin. Mao looked at the needle on the ground, faintly glowing with mana.

.

"What do you know." She mused. "Yapi was right."

"An earth mage!" Aless struggled out, as the tendrils snaked higher up her body, binding her arms and torso. "Dammit..! I can't… break out?"

.

"Like I was saying." Mao said coolly. "I know you magistrate agents keep your secrets well, and I respect that. So I will just kill you here."

.

The two agents writhed helplessly in the binds, as Mao drew a dagger from her belt, advancing on the two menacingly…