World Tree MUSH

    The Cradle. One of the safest areas on the Tree, supposedly. In part, this is due to the massive fortress of Eden, a city that sprawls throughout the region, made up of smaller burroughs that are small fortresses unto themselves. And at the center of Eden lay the Nest, the home base of the Gardeners.

    That is quite some distance away from where we are right now. While one of the fortresses is quite nearby, it only connects to the Nest via a high-speed transport, and is merely watching over this large city. One of the more popular ports of call for those who sometimes do favors for the Gardeners, it's also a very active trade hub of late due to some recent Blossoms that have Vines semi-stable nearby. This makes it great for shopping as well, or just as a waystation before hopping onto a different vine. There's an embassy for exactly the normal handing out of rewards or finding new tasks to do not far from a lovely climate-controlled food court, meaning quite a few from different worlds are gathered here.

    One particular world is relatively new to being a Blossom. Yet not so new that paperwork and procedures haven't started, making travel possible. Here, one Michiru Kagemori is at the food court, looking over some papers boredly that the Gardeners provided the ambassadors from her world. Michiru is really not a paperwork kind of girl though, so she looks super mega ultra bored.

    Despite being in an area with a vast number of alien beings including anthropomorphic animals(and maybe a few that aren't even anthropomorphic), she's chosen to keep herself under the radar by showing up and staying in her human form. It isn't all that comfortable for her, but it's easy enough to chill in anyway, and it keeps people from staring at her. Probably. A nondescript late-teens human girl is maybe attracting attention just because she's so distressingly average.

    Aurelia is sitting in the food court, with a metal lion next to her. The young woman is enjoying some off-world ramen that has a different sort of spice than she's used to, while the metal lion is eating some sort of meat. She's trying to relax at the moment.

    Honestly, Dante's just here because he wanted a snack after a hard-fought fight. He's got some scratch to speak of, which is good 'cause he racks up one hell of a lunch tab. The white-haired devil slayer has just finished off a meat lover's pizza, a whole one, and slurping a strawberry smoothie.

    The Assassins can be considered 'insidious' by some. Creeping around in the shadows, killing seemingly innocent(at first blush at least) people, generally having a menacing skulduggery vibe about them.

    Today is no different. A small group has gathered near this crossroads, outside of the general view of their own worlds in neutral ground. One of these is Piera Forta, the young Assassin, sent as a liason with some off-world contacts. She blends in well enough with the crowd, the ecclectic garb of various worlds making sure her own white hooded robes aren't glaringly obvious to casual observance.

    Emily is here in the form of a woman wearing a black winter cloak that covers her from the neck down, robotic earmuffs playing a song from Dante's world called Lock and Load, a terrible white wig, and face-paint and prosthetics meant to resemble a silver-skinned robot. There's an oil funnel on top of her head. She dances into the food court, waves to Dante and Aurelia in turn, and cha-cha-slides to get in line.

    She doesn't notice Michiru. Attempt successful! Although her gaze does linger for half a second on Piera's white hood. Hmm.

    In a dark and brooding corner of the food court sits a solitary and solemn figure. Even despite the fact that the food court is pretty decently lit, the man in the heavy silvery looking armor and helmet with distinct T-shaped visor somehow makes the corner dark and brooding.
    Yet he isn't so solitary.
    Settled in an infant's high-chair at his side is a small child; no older than a toddler, with green skin and long pointed ears.
    he man known simply as The Mandalorian is silent as he surveys the food court and people in it, while the child at his side picks up a bowl of soup and starts slurping it down.
    Until... Until the soup attacks.
    Something stirs in the bowl; before a small tentacled creature attaches to the child's face. The bounty hunter shows little concern for a moment while the infant flails in distress, before he casually pulls a knife from his boot and gives the tentacled creature a poke, causing it to drop dead, back into the bowl with a plop, before he speaks up, voice gruff but also a little gentle.
    "Don't play with your food."

    And so it is a normal day! Well as normal as it can be for a bunch of world-hopping adventuring sorts. Which means... it isn't going to stay normal. Harbingers, a common name those who can easily travel between worlds, got their name for a reason! So is it REALLY that surprising that the Gardener Embassy nearby - some blocks away but visible - suddenly shakes, and then seems to disintegrate in a blocky manner, almost like a digital erasure effect. It's quite rapid, sucking itself inward rather than exploding and damaging nearby buildings, but it has a similar effect on the population. Panicked screams, sirens, a sudden rush of security guards.

    And more immediate, into the food court that already has a rush of people, a young man appears. Literally appears in a blip of silver-blue light, clutching a small case under one arm. He's bloodied and battered, but it doesn't look like any of them are fatal.

    Yes, this is happening. Sorry. Those nearby can see, Michiru gets locked on and the man shoves the case toward her. "Get this to the Nest, they'll know what to do. I'll draw them away." Yep, she just got handed a briefcase and told to keep it from 'them' effectively. The man doesn't explain, simply vanishes in another 'pop' of short range teleportation.

    Well that's great, huh? Michiru blinks, staring at the bloody case that's been thrust at her table while she was trying to finish a cup of noodles. "Huh?" What else is she supposed to say? She's not dumb though... somebody wants this bad, don't they? And she can't exactly wait for Shirou to get back and talk things out with him for her best course of action.

    The girl glances at the fortress in the distance, then to the destroyed embassy.

    Sigh. Grabbing the case she squints at it, then tucks it into her bag. "This had BETTER be pretty important. Ogami's gonna kill me when I'm not here when he gets back." It's very obvious she's going to run off toward the fortress, huh?

    Emily whirls around at the sudden commotion. "Aw, dang it, now I'm not gonna be able to do an 'I'll have what he's having' gag and order an entire pizza," she says, an amused and faintly smug smile forming on her face.

    She glides over towards Michiru. "Releasing Capacitor Seal Three!" she announces, pulling up alongside her. Three distinct auras appear around her: one silver, one gold, and one pearlescent; the first one shatters, and the other two fade. "Howdy," she says conversationally. "I'm Emily Nyx. I have no idea what's going on, or who the 'them' is, but I do ..." Her cloak disintegrates into what appears to be silvery glitter, revealing that she's wearing a black jumpsuit. And has four arms; the silvery glitter coalesces to form four rectangular swords in her hands, with circuit-board patterns and the four card suits. "... have swords. C'mon, Dante!" She holds her swords in a defensive formation away from Michiru.

    Aurelia reacts to the Gardener Embassy's weird vanishing act by being startled, spilling the ramen all over the table and onto the metal lion. He shakes the noodles, broth, and other food off as Aurelia's heavy sunset-colored armor appears in a snap of light. Both of them glance over as the man appears, shoves a box at Michiru, and vanishes. They look at each other, then dash over to join Emily and Dante in escorting Michiru to wherever she was told to go.
    "I'm Metallia and this is Zero." She introduces herself and the metal lion. She nods to Emily. "Nice to see you again."

    That can't be good or normal in any way, shape, or form.
    A building simply up and being erased from existence is one thing, but the panicked mob to follow means one thing.
    "Alright, kid. It's time to go." The Mandalorian mutters, rising from his seat and plucking the child from the high chair to deposit the toddler ina floating cradle that had been hovering nearby.
    Only for someone to appear out of literally nowhere, and hand off what looks like a very important case... To a teen girl.
    This is none of his business.
    This has nothing to do with him.
    He could just turn and walk away, back to the Razor Crest with the kid in tow and not think a second thought about it.

    She's just a girl.

    Heaving a weary sigh, the beskar clad bounty hunter wheels himself around. No words of introduction. No greeting. Michiru suddenly just has a Mandalorian bodyguard falling into step with her as she makes for the fortress.

    The small group around Piera all look up at once. The Assassin herself says something which causes the group to scatter while she approaches Michiru and the others. She nods to Emily, "I have no idea what is going on either. I will keep to the shadows and intercept threats." she says, adjusting her hood and slipping out of sight into the shadows.

    Dante waves back at Emily before he sees Michiru handed a briefcase. Well, that's a call to action if hes ever seen one. He hops up after finishing his malt, and grabs Rebellion. "I guess we're doin' this." He says, joining Emily and the raccoon girl. And then they're joined by Aurelia, Piera, and the silver-armored guy and his weirdly familiar friend.

    He swears he's seen a creature like it before, on TV. Strange.

    "Sup. I'm Dante." He introduces himself casually, Rebellion slung along his shoulder like it's nothing, the greatsword menacingly brandished to deter whoever 'they' are.

    Looks like a large number of people are suddenly swept up in helping the teenage girl! Which turns out to be a good thing, because that's about when the shooting starts. Nobody is shooting up the food court yet, but toward the now-destroyed building there are numerous strangely-clad people, soldiers they look like, engaging with the local authorities. It's already devolved into a shootout, with the locals outnumbered but probably reinforcements coming.

    What might be of more concern to the group here is how three oddly-dressed sorts rush into the eating area, one staring at his wrist while the other two, females, are looking about. By oddly-dressed, they don't have clothing that looks strange in and of itself... but thye have a bizarre mismatch of styles, instantly pegging them as from a mix of worlds. The man says, "He jumped here, then... that way." He points and they rush off. Looks like the initial target bought the group a head start, unless they want to confront the trio now.

    Woah! Suddenly, a whole group of people are offering to help Michiru! She's tempted to just hand it off to them, but never let it be said she shirked from a given duty. Besides, she wanted to know what this was! "Uh... thanks, but I really hope we won't need swords or guns or claws." Not that anyone here currently seems to have claws, except Aurelia might have access to just that! Michiru quickly looks around, figuring out where to go, when...

    A trio of people pop in, then rush out just as fast. "Huh, at least we know who is chasing us. Well if you're going to help, let's get moving! All... five of us?" Where'd the girl in white go? She's lost track of Piera already!

    Fortunately Michiru seems to be in good health and physically fit. She hurriedly says, "Michiru, that's my name. Come on!" Dashing off, she definitely has the build of a runner, but has a weird stumble getting moving.

    Assassins are good at disappearing into the crowd. Becoming just another face to forget.

    As the crowd is currently in a panicked evacuation only helps the young Assassin get close to that trio as they move with the rest of the non-combatants. Once she's close enough, she steps out of the crowd and moves to cover one of the females of the trio's mouth, while her other hand shifts and the thin blade in the bracer extends, aiming to slide it between ribs into a vital point.

>> SUMMARY[Piera Forta] >> Blending. Low Profile Assassination attempt at Female Mook #1

    Zero lopes alongside Michiru, the lion's metallic build belying the magical beast's actual speed.
    Aurelia's bringing up the rear, being a little slow in that massive armor of hers. To delay their pursuers, various metal objects in the food court are flipped upright, obscuring various lines of sight as they do. As she flexes her magic, the metal objects twist in subtle ways, leaving disturbingly organic forms in her wake. 
    "Go on, I can cover you guys. I'll catch up." She says to Dante, Emily, the Mandalorian, and Michiru. With armor like that, one might believe the girl is very capable of being a wall. Aurelia turns to face the mismatched pursuers.

    Things only get worse when the shooting starts. Even if the shooting is happening some distance away, that's never a good sign. Especially when three figures emerge hunting the original mysterious man that handed the case off to Michiru in the first place.
    "You've got a head start. Go." The Mandalorian says as the girl starts taking off.
    From this distance, with people rushing about in a panic, he doesn't have a clear shot at the trio, so he chooses to follow Michiru for now.
    ... With that floating cradle hovering at his side, the child inside looking on with clear wonder at the chaos.

    Emily nods in greeting to Michiru and the Mandalorian. "Nice ta meetcha, Michiru!" she says. "And ... big guy and little guy." She pauses as she notices Michiru's momentary distraction. "If you're looking for Piera, she, uh, she does disappear like that, yeah."

    She cranes her neck towards the destroyed building. That is, her neck extends, accompanied by another swirl of silvery nanomachines. "Huh. Some dudes!" Then she turns around and sees the intruding trio. "... Some ... other dudes. Hmm!" She reverts her neck to normal and looks at Michiru, then at the trio, then back at Michiru, then back at the trio again. "Is anyone gonna get those guys?" she says. "-- Okay, yeah, bye Metallia! Although, actually ..."

    Her eyes go slightly unfocused, and a holographic display appears in front of her, showing a web browser open to the local map. "Okay, if nobody objects to teleportation, I can get us right to the nearest transport station to Eden, and also we probably need to slow down a little bit for this." She snickers. "Still wish that timestop ring hadn't broken ..."

    "Nice to meet you too, kiddo." Athletic's good, because Dante gets a feeling they're gonna have to run a lot. The destroyed building does get Dante's attention, and he takes off toward that area with Ebony in his free hand. He's alarmingly fast and capable of closing the gap, sprinting directly to face one of the trio. He lines up the sights with Ebony, the accurate .45 cocking as he thumbs the hammer back, then he opens fire on the male.

    the trio is off to probably brutally murder the original courier, but now they've gotten some Harbingers on their tail. Notably... well, Piera. Who is good enough, and the three distracted enough, to clamp a hand over the mouth of the first woman and slide a blade right in! This... doesn't go as planned.

    In short, her response is a vicious elbow jab and cough! Yes, cough... she may have SURVIVED that and be in good enough shape to move, but whatever she is, she can't take a blade between the ribs and simply shrug it off. In fact it hit her lungs enough that she's wheezing and unable to cry for help, leaving it to the other two to notice she's been hit with a near-fatal blow.

    "We've got interference!" The man yells, moments before his hand darts up to catch Dante's bullet! They're definitely superhuman, but not completely unstoppable... bullet catching only works when the hand can SURVIVE that bullet, and this one merely deflects it with a spray of blood as it shatters a bone in his hand and blows through. Ow.

    This has made them turn about to head back toward the food court, pulling out odd, sleek weapons. Not lasers, but some kind of accelerated slugs like mini-railguns, which ping off some of the barricade before they stop wild shooting. The second female is searching for a way to get Piera without hurting her friend, while the man is diving for cover with a gun in his off hand, firing a few wild shots toward the crazy half-demon.

    This leaves Mando, Emily, and Michiru with a few moments to breathe and get moving. Emily COULD get them close to the nearby fortress, and from there it's a short dash to a place that they can drop off the package, or hitch a ride.

    Ah shit, this dude's got superpowers. Dante at least won't have a boring fight.

    Dante uses his speed to dodge and evade those railgun blasts, dashing side to side. All the while, he lays down suppressing fire until he's within sword range, and he lunges toward the man with Rebellion's tip thrusting out, swiftly carrying himself across the ground to close the gap, aiming his sword at the man's middle to impale him

    Crunch. Piera gets a jab in the ribs, which at the super-close range isn't crippling, but she's never had someone stabbed just... survive... before. The shock only lasts for a moment, her Hidden Blade retracting, as that hand reaches for her dagger, bringing it out to go in for a more overt stab to the first female's center-mass. She makes sure to keep her first target between herself and the other female persuer, using the first as a shield until she can take out the first target at least.

    Should she manage to finish off the first female, Piera flicks a couple of throwing knives at the second to delay being shot by those microsluggers. The futuristic tech is unfamiliar, but the concept of 'gun' isn't exactly alien either.

    Slow down but teleport? Surprisingly, Michiru doesn't have any surprise at that. After all, this is a four-armed lady who glows telling her this! "You know what? I'd rather not dodge bullets unless I have to. You got a problem, mister...?" She looks at Mando, then the child nearby, squinting in mild confusion there. "... Mister Dad?"

    When she stops squinting, Michiru shifts, easily and smoothly and almost instantly. A slight muzzle, a bloom of fur, and then a big puffball tail that sprouts. Ears perk up, then lengthen into rabbit ears, turning toward the battle. "We'd better hurry," she adds. "I don't know how long they can hold them and I'd bet they've got more coming. At least this Metallia woman you mentioned gave us a barrier."

    Emily does... Emily stuff.
    "... Droids." Mando mutters under his breath. But right now there's no time to kvetch about... Whatever Emily actually is.
    He spents a moment watching Dante and Piera engage the trio, but ultimately decides he's sticking with Michiru.
    Even if she turns out to be not entirely human, when she morphs like that.
    "Go." His reply is simple. "We'll keep up."

    Aurelia sees the trio are engaged by others. She turns and moves as fast as she can to meed up with Michiru and the others.
    Zero looks at Emily and says "Metallia is on her way." It'd be precious seconds for Aurelia to catch up though.

    Emily lets go of her swords, which hover onto her back and stay there without any apparent means of support, so that she can give Michiru a quadruple thumbs up. "All righty!" she says. "Okay, Lionel!" she answers Zero.

    She slows down, spares only a moment to snicker at the Mandalorian's comment, and a second or two of concentration later, she opens up a staticky portal, with the local fortress visible through it; her destination is across the street, because even she can tell that trying to pop up unexpectedly inside a fortress isn't the best idea. The fact that she'd need to push herself to get through the shielding totally didn't figure into this decision, nuh-uh.

    She leaps through. "Hey, got a package for the Nest!" she calls out to the nearest guard. "C'mon, we got ..." She pauses, frowns, and then in a swirl of silvery nanomachines, she shapeshifts into an auburn-haired woman in her late thirties with glowing purple eyes and with a (slightly wilted) glowing white Lunar Tear flower in her hair. She still has four arms and the same outfit, though. "... we got dudes after us, hurry it up, son!"

    ... Possibly not a droid?

    Keeping that trio busy is allowing the others to flee all right. The one shooting at Piera... isn't doing much shooting, having trouble lining up her shots without hitting her friend. Honor among thieves? Tough as she is though, the one in Piera's grip isn't in any position to truly fight back, and the assassin can kill her with a little more effort. But who are they anyway? It keeps them occupied all right.

    Especially the man, who is now dealing with a sword stabbing toward him. This drags a furrow along his maimed arm as he uses that to try to block, bloodying himself again with a short hiss of pain! He's tough. And fast. Far from invincible though, as his stacking injuries show. But a quick snap kick toward Dante proves he's also INCREDIBLY strong, enough to shatter brick.

    The important thing is they're fighting, though. This means that the only uninjured one has her attention split, giving Aurelia a chance to rejoin the others, if she can make it to the portal in time. But the shooting and chaos is spreading all over the city...

    So when Emily pops in and the others, whomever follows her, come behind her, there's already chaos. The guards have their weapons up and pointed toward Emily... but the shots fired whiz PAST her, revealing that a number of those strange troops are moving in toward the fortress entrance. Emily has weapons pointed at her too, but she isn't automatically assumed hostile.

    Which means Mando and the others will have to contend with some interference for a few seconds. Fortunately these types don't seem nearly as competent as the three that were pursuing the stranger.

    Dante stows Ebony and gets to fighting with the man. That kick leaves Dante disarmed as he loses his grip with Rebellion, but he's hardly harmless. He throws down once he regains his footing, delivering a furious series of punches to the malcontent, and a furious snap-kick to his side.

    Piera feels the first assailant go limp. She holds the body up as she advances on the other one, before dropping the corpse and performing a juking advance to throw off the other woman's aim long enough to get in close. The assassin draws her long blade to dual wield and aims her first strike at the weapon to deflect it, before ramming in close to get under the other woman's guard and go in for slashes to arms and a stab into a leg to disable the woman with her already bloodied dagger.

    Assassin combat styles are brutal and efficient, aiming to use as much the enemy's own force against them as piling in their own force to compound the strikes, but they also try to glean information from their targets, either before, or during a strike.

    Piera also tries to use her vision to pick up clues even while fighting, her irises shifting to a golden hue from the normal brown when she focuses on it briefly.

>> GAME >> Piera Forta spends an Edge for: = Focussing True Sight

    Mister Dad follows through Emily's portal. Droid or not, it's getting them to where they need to go faster and right now that's all that matters. He doesn't seem all that unused to guns pointed at him as soon as he's through, but the child sits up... Reaches forward, presses a button on the front of his floating crib and...
    The crib shuts right up like a big metal egg, encasing the toddler in a protective shell of steel.
    It's when one of the opposing soldiers gets too close to the group that he... Simply evaporates.
    One second he's there, weapon raised, and in the next instant he atomizes entirely, in a flash of bright golden light, leaving nothing left of the man except a small pile of ashes and the faint smell of ozone.
    The Mandalorian all too casually flicks open the breach of his Amban phase-pulse blaster rifle and loads a fresh enersgy slug into it, before snapping the gun back together and lining down the attached scope.
    A squeeze of the trigger and a bolt of bright gold lances from the rifle's twin pronged barrel, and just like that another soldier is turned to dust.
    He reloads again.
    A third man is reduced to particles while the Mando reloads.
    "Anyone else...?"

    Emily's eyes go wide as she sees the guards pointing guns at her, and whirls around to see the attackers. "Uhhh, whoops, bunch o' dudes at 6 o'clock!" she says, her face contorted in nervous contrition. "Releasing capacitor seal 2!" This time, only the gold and pearlescent auras appear, and it's the golden one which shatters, leaving the pearlescent one to fade.

    Leaving the portal open, she rises up off the ground, and launches golden bolts of light towards the troops, five at a time, each at a different target. Though she pauses in her assault as she regards Mister Dad's Vaporization Party. "And I thought I went off on overkill," she says dryly.

>> SUMMARY[Emily Nyx] >> The exact expression of Han Solo in that one scene with the door in Return of the Jedi, before joining in the fight.

    Michiru doesn't appear to be keen on fighting at all. Her ears are back to 'normal' at least... though for her that seems to mean little animal ears, taking on a raccoon-like look all told. Her tail sure is fluffy though! As she tumbles through with her bag, she encounters the whole mess going on. "Aw COME ON!" Why is she so upset? Because she's going full defence, and it tears her shirt a bit when the large bulge of a shell forms to protect her from incoming fire. A tortoise shell. Apparently she doesn't have a problem with speed though, because she's going to make a break for the entrance.

    She isn't going to try to hurt anyone herself though.

    Aurelia tromps through the portal to rejoin Zero, Emily, the Mandalorian, and Michiru.
    The fortress has lots of troopers. Great. She hustles to rejoin Zero, pulling rebar out of her non-dimensional space. "Okay, just like practice, just like practice." Aurelia mutters. She flings the metal bars at some of the oncoming troopers, the things twisting mid-flight to aim around the knees with a spin to trip and knock down their assailants.
    Zero does his best to shield Michiru, keeping his metal bulk between any attackers. "I think it's time to go."

    Dante is left behind with Piera and the other attackers! But that's okay, because Dante's counter slams the man into the wall, making him wheeze and cough and though not dead, he's too rattled to mount a counter to that. Meanwhile, the woman is prepared for battle, so Piera's attacks aren't as effective, given her lack of being in the shadows now. She does score a deep cut along the woman's leg though, and now said woman is on the defensive, seeing that she's about to be outnumbered. This makes it hard to hurt her, but at least Piera won't be hit back. She's clearly looking for a way out, because this is not going to plan.

    At the fight, Emily makes troops scatter for cover, which helps Michiru and Zero quite a lot! This means that most of the shots fired aren't really going for them with good aim, pinging off the metallic armor and maybe winging that thick shell. These shots falter a little as Mando decides that blasting them hard enough to disintegrate is good enough, causing them to fall back a bit, attempting to regroup.

    This has also given the defenders reason to cover fire for Michiru and the others as they approach. There's a wonderful moment of quiet as the enemy regroups, a few breaths where the guards say, "We're in lockdown, we can't just open for-"

    And that's when the gate opens up, and the attackers IMMEDIATELY flee in a hurry. The one who emerges is a cloaked man wearing a featureless mask, eggshell white with only two holes in the eyes. From his build, though, he's an adventurer by fitness, and walks with a staff in a steady, tired gait. "It's fine, Sergeant. They have something for me. Fortunately I heard of the attack and came here as swiftly as possible."

    The guards all salute crisply as the man holds out his hand. "I believe you have a package for me?"

    Getting shot at is... not pleasant but Michiru definitely doesn't seem like she's new to it. Watching the retreat is a little flabbergasting, but when the request is made... oh this must be a superior. "Yeah we were just told to take it to the Nest!" She tugs her pack off, grumbling about her shirt all torn up, and fishes out the bloody box to hand it over. "I don't know what's going on, I think maybe I don't want to. Who should I say I gave it to in case that guy asks?"

    Piera glances at the man, and says to Dante quickly. "Get his wrist band!" she doesn't know what a watch is. This gives a momentary opening for the woman to get some distance if she chooses to take it, though Piera does have a trick up her sleeve in the form of a built-in single-shot gunpowder firearm. It's snub-nose and short-barreled, and very likely not accurate for ranges above a few dozen meters, but if the woman flees, a shot is fired from this weapon at her.

>> SUMMARY[Piera Forta] >> @Dante Get the man's watch thing.

    The Mandalorian doesn't... Seem overly concerned by the incoming hail of fire from the opposing men. Several shots spang off that silvery armor, ricocheting off harmlessly; though he does jerk and grunt from each impact...
    The beskar holds.
    Once more he raises his phase-pulse blaster rifle, sighting down the scope, looking for a clear shot as the men begin to back off.
    He's not going to give them that chance, as he atomizes a fourth target. But when the fortress gate opens and the soldiers go in full retreat, he finally lowers the blaster, turning his head to Michiru and the faceless-masked 'adventurer'.
    He'll have to see if he can rack in a payment for his help, later, right now he has more important concerns to attend to, as the floating cradle slowly opens again, the child peeking out.
    "Hey..." The Mandalorian says. "You okay?" Asked, earning a slight burble from the floating toddler, before they both look back to see the package being handed off.
    "Wonder who that is." ... "... Wonder if he'll pay us."

    Emily does a double-take at Michiru's shell, but then simply nods in approval, shooting her and Zero a thumbs-up.

    When the masked man arrives, she turns around to face him. She glances between the soldiers and the man a few times, and does a halfhearted salute of her own. It ... doesn't quite match their salute, either. "Speak for yourself, Michiru!" she calls out cheerfully. "I want to know! It's kinda gonna to bug me, not knowing." She spares only a glance for Dad Man and Little Boy.

    "Yep!" Dante takes that opening as an opportunity to grab the man's arm as he reels back. He makes a wrenching motion and *snaps* the man's arm too, grabbing his wristwatch and punching him right in the face. "Night night, asshole." He says with a chipper grin, before head drags the man in his hand, going over to retrieve his sword.

    "Got his watch." He reports to Piera, tossing her the watch. "Dunno why you want it, but I guess you can fence it somewhere." He says. They rejoin the others, noticing ash piles that probably used to be people.

    "You do that?" He asks the silver-armored mercenary, pointing to the ash piles.

    The woman does attempt to flee, getting a bloodied shoulder for her trouble. Staggering away means she's leaving empty-handed and wounded, and Dante snags the watch as the man is left choking and slumping over. Piera can loot whatever she likes before more guards and soldiers show up.

    As for payment? The man speaks, "I can find some suitable compensation for your aid." He examines the case, then nods firmly, gesturing to one of the guards to fetch someone else who can pay. "You can inform the courier you delivered it to the Will of the Tree personally." He pauses, and then with a hint of humor in his tone, "Though I wish we had another name for me. That one stuck. I do not presume to know what the World Tree wants, but when the Gardeners High Council determines what is best for the Tree, I am the executor. Thus the name. You are welcome to stay in the bunkhouse inside for the evening as well, should you need to. I will be returning to the Nest shortly."

    Michiru doesn't want to know, but Emily does? Well, the Will of the Tree tells her, "Important missives have been flooding the Nest. It appears that our old adversaries, the Groundskeepers, are becoming more active of late, and with more subtlety. Their founder, a sociopathic man by the name of William, has resurfaced and is much more cautious this time. It is a matter of some concern for us, but you should not worry about it."

    Dante is unimpressed. "Oooh, groundskeepers. How scary. Are they gonna come at us with hedgeclippers next? A lawnmower?" He will however accept payment, 'cause cash is still cash. He'll let these guys handle the dude he beat up, as he leaves the unconscious man at his feet.

    Piera deftly catches the watch without looking, and goes over to the dead woman, snagging a necklace off her body without answering Dante's supposition. She then moves to join the others, pulling her hood down as she inspects the items in her possession. "I should take the device to Ser Da Vinci, perhaps he can figure it out... Maestro would likely have insight on the necklace." she muses to herself. "A deeper mystery is seated here, I fear... and we have likely not seen the last of that woman. She escaped and I did not feel I could have caught up to her to finish her off."

    Emily nods along with the Will of the Tree's explanation. When he tells them not to worry, however, her nodding turns sarcastic. "Hey Dante," she says, "I'm gonna bet you fifty bucks that if we ever find out how every single human being in my home Blossom fucking died, at some point someone saw the danger in advance and said 'you shouldn't worry about it' to the general public." Beat. "Also, the Groundskeepers are just their name, and they're the bad guys. Obviously." 

    She shakes her head, and turns to the Will of the Tree again. "But, my Will guy," she says, "who is different from the William guy ... the end of the world is everyone's business." For once, she sounds almost serious. "Just leavin' that out there."

    She frowns at Piera. "Oh, great, some of your Templar dudes drop by with some of their stuff?" she says, ever one to jump to conclusions. "... We haven't figured out how to fix the ring, by the way."

    "I mean, the Gardeners don't have a threatening name and they have this huge fortress," Michiru points out. "But I think I'm not keen on going up against an organization like that. We've got our own problems to worry about." She sighs, "Thanks though, I'd better just get my payment and get a new shirt. Shirou will still know I got in trouble with that nose of his, but at least if I look like I came out in one piece he won't scowl too much." Her ears fold back and she resumes her human appearance, albeit with the back of her shirt all torn and shredded for now.

    The Will of the Tree nods, "Of course, it may be your concern, but it is our fight. That is why we offer these tasks for those such as you to complete... in doing so, you aid our fight." He gestures absently. "But the grander strategy is complex. Perhaps not beyond comprehension - in my experience Harbingers are quite intelligent - but it would take a long while to explain, and be quite boring for our more impatient sorts. Simply be wary of William and the Keepers. Their end goal turns worlds into Thorns, or even kills them. They seek to destroy the entire Tree under the belief that it will separate the worlds from one another once more."

    He sighs, "I have much to do though. If I may..." Unless stopped, he makes to leave.

    Piera looks to Emily. "These were not Templar, as far as I can tell." she replies. "A pity, but perhaps for the best. First Civilisation artifacts are dangerous." She watches Michiru's transformation back to human, then continues. "If you cannot use the ring, I will ask for it to be returned so the Brotherhood can secure it where it can never be found."

    As the Will speaks, the Assassin remains silent, simply taking in the information like a sponge.

    Dante has little else to really contribute. He snorts at Emily. "Yeah, or the mayor in Jaws. 'Naaaaah it's fine we need the beach open!'" His questions regarding Michiru's transformation are answered when she turns into her normal human form. "Huh. A werecoon, that's a new one."

    Emily regards Piera for a moment. Then she fires off her amused and faintly smug smile. "I haven't given up on repairing it yet," she says cheerfully.

    She nods to Dante. "See?" she says. "He gets it. But ..." She shrugs, and nods to the Will. "All righty," she tells the Will. "That's probably a bit more sensible, I think." Reserving judgment on her own judgment.