World Tree MUSH

    The city of Terma is one of the nexus points for the current issue, and boy is it educational! Part of a world that uses 'scientific magic' of sorts, meaning magically-propelled maglevs and enchanted street lamps refueled by mana wave emitters, and other wonders, it is a cosmopolitan place that's a relatively new addition to the Tree, and has already established trade with its nearest neighbors.

    Those neighbors are now causing problems, unintentionally. Across both the city and various other places, but concentrating on the city and surrounding areas, Vines keep briefly popping open, sometimes even in the middle of crowded areas, and dumping something from offworld, or 'zapping' something from Terma into who knows where. A large tree is taking root in one part, threatening to tear up the temple district, and one of the factories has an emergency crew trying to cut up what appears to be a small spacecraft that toppled over it.

    Another interesting fact some don't know... the Gardeners appear to have a military? Not often seen, but well-disciplined, they're deploying as best they can to handle some of these situations, geared in Terma-appropriate tech and clothing.

    And of course those who pop in or have answered the request the Gardeners had sent out will end up near a large platform overlooking much of the city. Another surprise here, with numerous important-looking folks laying out plans and giving orders via radio, including one tall, masked man that some may recognize as the Will of the Tree, if they encountered him before. Another figure, also tall but more laid back and with tousled hair, leans on his spear but appears to be arguing with the Will of the Tree. As the masked man is obviously in charge of this operation it's growing a little heated.

    There are other problems around the city. In fact, near a residential block, an explosion balloons upward even now.

    Yumi has had the bad luck to just be deposited here - but perhaps it's good luck in disguise, as it's the kind of thing she'd help with anyway, and this saves travel time. On realizing the chaos in Temra, she immediately transforms into her magical girl form, and goes rooftop-springing for the sake of helping folks... and figuring out who, if anyone, is in charge of relief efforts. If they can coordinate, all the better.

    That's what leads her to the scene of the Will of the Tree in an argument; she knows neither, but recognizes authority enough to stop and ask, "Excuse me, what's going-" The explosion in the distance stops her short, and she turns to look over her shoulder, with a frown. The redhead is clearly torn over whether or not to go head for where that just happened.

    EARLIER...

    "Huh, the Gardeners are asking for help from me?" Michiru looks at the letter handed to her by courier, then frowns, "Nnnh... I really want to help but Shirou is out and I promised I'd stay out of trouble." She crumples it up and tosses it into the wastebasket.

    A BIT LATER, BUT STILL EARLIER THAN NOW...

    Yoink! "You aren't the first one to try snagging my wallet, come on, still up to those old tricks?" Michiru scolds, before a little bear-Beastman runs up to her.

    "Michiru! Michiiiruuuu! I heard you're going away to help those Gardener guys! Are you going to miss the game?"

    The young girl blinks, "Huh? No, Shirou would kill me if I got into trouble while he was away!" She laughs, "Don't worry, I'll be there!"

    NOW...

    A young girl(Michiru) looks up from her phone as she feels the texture of the hard asphalt change to something else. Blinking, she looks around at the chaos going on, then over her shoulder as the shimmer of the Vine that deposited her here fades away. "OH COME ON!!"

    Her ears twitch angrily, but seeing the Will of the Tree, her eyes narrow and her ears lengthen, rabbit-like appendages tilting toward the argument.

>> SUMMARY[Michiru Kagemori] >> Shirou is going to kill me.

    So uh.
    It just sort of happened.
    One minute The Razor Crest was cruising through space in a nearby world...
    The next minute a vine opened up and...
    There's a gunship slowly touching down in Terma, slowly lowering to the ground as the thrusters die down and the rear hatch begins to open, smokey mist and atmosphere venting from the ship as the hatch lowers to the ground.
    "Okay," The Mandalorian says to his little green charge. "You- stay. You stay. Onboard the ship. You got me? Staaaaay. On the ship." He says very slowly in hopes the tiny green tot will understand him, as he points a finger at The Child.
    So, as he's gearing up to exit the ship and see just what's going on, he pauses, shadowed from behind, by he light inside the ship as he looks down the ramp and-- turns his head just a little to the side to see the little green sprog standing at his side, ready to disembark too.
    The Mandalorian sighs.
    "What the hell, alright, come on." He relents as the two descent the ramp.
    "So what exactly is going on here?" He says, boldly approaching the Will of the Tree and his heated discourse partner- only for the explosion nearby to rock the ground enough to make him wobble and The Child teeter before holding on desperately to The Mandalorian's leg.

    Serrah actually doesn't know about the current issue. She's actually finally managed to overcome her procrastination, and is making her way resolutely home to Tokyo; Hyouka, Alty, and Leene are probably worried by now. She's just walking through one of the neighboring worlds, her sports bag slung under her shoulder, not even sure what she'll say, Juno is probably gonna be mad as well ...

    In her pensiveness, she fails to notice the sudden Vine until she's already tripping through it.

    Near Yumi, Mando's ship, and the Will of the Tree, she stumbles and starts to fall forward. "WHOA GOD --" As instantaneously as a video skipping ahead, she's suddenly on her feet, glaring at the Vine she just fell through, and her sports bag is sitting on the ground next to her. "--ell was that!?" she's in the middle of muttering.

    She pauses, looks around, and then grimaces at the sound of that explosion. "Nothing to do with me," she mutters, hefting the sports bag. Another glance around, and she takes a step back towards the Vine.

    And stops.

    "Why is it so hard for me to just not stick my nose in things," she mutters, staying where she is. "I-it's not like I'm a hero or anything! Motherfucker."

    A Vine opens up, and through it, tumble a woman in white robes, and a man in heavy armour. The man hits the ground near the Will of the Tree and his guards.

    The woman lands atop him, jamming something between the metal plates of his armour, causing a single gutterally wet cough to emit from him, before he goes limp.

    The Assassin doesn't seem to notice what's happened, until she stands from the corpse and says. "Requiescat en pace(Rest in peace)." then looks around. "This was unexpected." She then staggers from the concussion wave of the explosion nearby. "... where would my skills be best put to use?" she asks, acompletely disregarding the body she just dumped on the group.

    It's pretty much chaos right now! Lots of people running about, and the first thing ANYONE hears from the masked Will of the Tree is... "Get that corpse back to its home world," pointing at Piera's victim. Two of the workers nearby quickly lift one end each and start carrying the corpse away, without any comment. He then takes a tablet from a nearby worker, who quickly runs off while he reads over whatever new report he got. He holds up a finger indicating that he'll need a moment to answer questions.

    The more relaxed man beside the Will of the Tree gestures at the chaos. "Right, since this grouchy fellow is busy, I'll give you the basics. What you're witnessing is a rare event that will go on for a few weeks, no matter what we do. The Gardeners - and the Groundskeepers, for that matter - call it a 'Tangle.' Several worlds became conceptually close too swiftly, and are crossing over one another and threatening to collide. The end result will probably be a Thorn... one that's a bit uncontrollable, so it's one of the few times the Gardeners and the Keepers both have a vested interest in stopping it from forming. Of course-"

    The masked man cuts off the chatter sharply, "The issue is how to keep that from happening. Yes, we have things we need to do." He points toward the area with the explosion, where several small fires have started and are rapidly spreading. "We don't have many to spare over there. Get moving and evacuate the area, stop anyone trying to put out the fires, and make sure the block is burnt to the ground." He says that in the tone of someone used to giving orders and having them followed.

    The man with the spear tsks. "Or... OR... you can put out the fire and calm the residents."

    To which the masked leader counters, "That might not be best long-term. Also much harder anyway. If you want to help, move."

    Yumi turns to look at the other arrivals - Piera draws a particularly sharp stare, but... there's no time. Serrah is the only face she recognizes, and even she gets only the briefest of nods. The redhead has a pressing question... well, she has a lot of questions, but asking all of them would take too much time, so she pares down to the one that matters most. It comes with a glance between the spearman and the masked man. "Why isn't it best long-term?"

    No concern for how hard the task might be - only why trying to save peoples' homes wouldn't be a good choice.

    Hearing all that makes Michiru frown, and the ears return to normal as the tanuki-girl hurries up next to Yumi and the others. She grins and waves to Mando... or maybe the Child is who is getting that. "Hey! Aren't you like, the tip top head of the Gardeners or something? And yeah! I'm not going to help burn down houses!"

    She points to the spear-dude. "And who is that guy? Why can't we just do what he says! We can handle it!" True, she has no idea what most of these people can do, but she assumes they're at least as competent as she is. Hell, Piera obviously just murdered a dude and is now asking for help, though she's trying not to think about that.

    Serrah whirls around and does a double-take at Piera, and gives her a narrow-eyed stare of disgust and annoyance. There, yeah, that seems like a good enough justification for her to just make like a tree and GTFO. Nothin' doin', peace out guys. She hefts the sports bag and turns back to the vine.

    And then she hears the way the masked man is talking.

    She slowly turns back around. The idea that these people will be without homes is a touchy subject for her. She casually saunters over to Yumi, one hand reaching for the sports bag and facing the Will. Well, okay, if this guy is 'the tip top head of the Gardeners' as that unfamiliar girl with the ears said, she isn't gonna bean him with a baseball right there in front of God and everyone, but: "I would really like to hear the answer to that question," she says flatly.

>> SUMMARY[Serrah Delany] >> Serrah's "On The Run" comp beats her "The Call Is A Drag" comp.

    Michiru is recognized (in spite of her funny ears), The Mandalorian's distinct T-visored helmet dipping in a nod to the girl, The Child burbling as he raises one tiny hand in a little wave. And there's Piera-- and Serrah.
    "Weren't you supposed to be a Port Pixelito?" He asides to the dhampir, but his focus is mostly elsewhere.
    Mostly on The Will and the gentleman with the spear conflicting about how to handle the situation.
    "I can help evactuate, if there's pay." He says. "But I doubt I have the right equipment to put the fires out."

    "Ignore the fire, save the people... understood." is all Piera says, turning and beginning to scale up the side of a building, to take the 'high road' and straightest path to the area.

    She leaps from rooftop to rooftop, only descending when she's near the edge of the fire zone.

    She does this, by spotting a pile of soft material, and leaping straight off the roof she's on, to land in the pile... a soft hawk cry sounding as she falls.

    She extracts herself from the pile, and goes to the nearest group trying to fight the fire. "It's too dangerous here... I know you may not like the idea, but you must leave the fires and save yourselves. Things can be replaced, your lives cannot."

    The masked man sighs, "Yes, I am. Do not listen to William... we have the same general goal but our methods differ wildly. You may know him better as the founder of the Groundskeepers, who want to destroy the Tree."

    William gives a smile, "Guilty, as charged. That doesn't make me wrong, and you know it, High and Mighty."

    Expressing exhasperation rather than hostility in the face of what is supposedly his greatest enemy, the masked man continues, "Look, in a situation like this, if we don't want them colliding and causing mass destruction and manufacturing an out of control Thorn, we have two options. We can try to merge the worlds as smoothly as possible into a Branch, or we can quickly and decisively introduce enough inconsistencies that they split apart and spiral away, but in doing so they may have further damage. That explosion came from the city of Passut in one of the colliding worlds. Our troops there failed to stop the fire that parallels this one, but managed to save MOST of the civilians. If we mirror that here, it will help ease the two into merging worlds. It's a short term pain for a long term gain, and I don't have time to argue about it!" He looks at Mando, "Yes, we can pay, but you'll have to accept whatever the treasurers give, I can't negotiate that right now."

    The assassin is already heading for trouble! Which is fine, as she encounters a bucket brigade struggling against a fire and maybe(?) making progress, with the help of a few water mages directing a spray from the nearby well. It's an intense struggle, and they hesitate... at least the bucket brigade does, panting heavily and covered in soot.

    "I think we can save it though," one of them says, coughing lightly so the woman next to him pats him on the back and takes his bucket, relieving him for a few minutes. It has briefly slowed the brigade though they aren't going to stop with just that.

    "You may also get killed, if not by the fire, then by the smoke, or falling debris." retorts the Assassin, pulling her hood down and looking between the bucket brigade and the mages. "How long can you keep this pace up? Can you stop all the fires in this area?" she shakes her head. "Even if you save this one building, ten more will fall. Make a firebreak, contain the fire to the area, but allow the rest to burn out. That will make sure that more lives are saved." she shakes her head a little. "If you want to help, then rescue people from the fires."

    Yumi looks between William and the masked man, the frown on her face deepening. It's clear there's a deep distaste for what she's hearing. She glances at Serrah, and mutters, "...we... should probably let the houses burn." It would be different if William even tried to deny his goals, but... he's being open about it.

    Which means that trying to save buildings is probably the wrong call. And she hates it.

    Without another word, Yumi vaults off at full speed, going roof-to-roof with superhuman speed and agility. She spots the bucket brigade, and there's a moment's conflict... before she decides that, while she might not help them, she also won't stop them. Instead, all she does is drop down from the rooftops to land in their midst, armored dress flaring slightly. "Is there anyone still inside?"

>> SUMMARY[Yumi Tachibana] >> I hate that the jerk is right. >:| Not going to help save buildings, but definitely not going to stop locals from doing so. Will seek survivors, however.

    Serrah slept ... reasonably well, last night. She really did. But now she slowly turns to face The Mandalorian, every inch of her being revealing a blazing fury.

    And then she calmly says, "Shut the fuck up."

    And then William is introduced, the reasons given, and she facepalms. "Rrrrrright, then," she mutters. She's not the best at decision-making at the best of times, and this is decision-making process is giving her trouble. Yumi is decisive enough, though, so Serrah nods brusquely to the ... magic knight or whatever she is.

    She rises off the ground and flies through the air alongside her at roughly the same speed. She hovers by Yumi as she asks that question. "I can stop time, help get to people faster," she says, looking around for anything particularly obvious; now that the decision is made, she's not holding back from just jumping right in. "... and fly through windows if there's anyone in the upper stories or whatever ..."

    Michiru doesn't like the idea of things burning down, but the explanation given does help. She grimaces, and... does the same choice as Yumi. She isn't going to stop the firefighters, but she can definitely help evacuate.

    "Great!" Michiru says, from right next to Serrah. Though unlike Serrah, she can't just float along easily. It becomes clear why Michiru wears a sleeveless top now... her arms are broad, flapping wings and her feet are gripping talons. "We'll handle evacuating anyone up above, the rest of you can handle the ground and direct people, right?"

    She still hasn't decided if she'll help fight the fires or not, but either way, saving the immediately threatened people is something that will help either goal, right? It also looks like the situation has saved Piera from getting yelled at by the tanuki-girl!

    Those treasurers better be willing to dig deep. A Mandlorian's services don't come cheap, especially when Mando is probably one of the best bounty hunters in the parsec.
    And then Serrah is SUPER MAD AT HIM. In the face of that way too calm demand to shut his hole, he simply stares at her in silence with that impassive, faceless visor, before shoulders roll into a shrug.
    "Alright." He agrees easily enough before reaching down to scoop up his tiny companion. The explanation of fires in parallel worlds briefly turns over in his head, but he's set on his course.
    "Hold on little guy." Is the only warning The Child gets as Mando's jetpack kicks to life and he's zooming towards the fire.
    When he lands to the sight of a bucket brigade trying to quench the fire, he sets The Child down.
    "If there's anyone inside, keep the fire down enough to help the others extract them, but ultimately, there's no saving this--"
    He begins trying to reason with the bucket brigade, losing sight of The Child.
    The Child wanders in the direction of the burning building, staring at the roiling hot fire as it blazes.
    The Child lifts a tiny hand...
    Looking like he's under tremendous strain for a moment, the little green tot waves that hand, a wave of telekinetic force surging for the fires and- snuffing out a large portion of the blaze.
    Mando slowwwwwwwwly, stiffly, turns his head toward his ward, who has just done the opposite of what he had intended to do in the first place.
    "..."
    Mando heaves the most put upon sigh imaginable.

>> GAME >> The Mandalorian spends an Edge for: Baby's First Space Magic Puts Out Some Fire

    Apparently you gotta be decisive about NOT helping, because the group of heroes is reluctant to help the place burn down(understandably so) and more focused on the evacuation part(also understandable), which is definitely needed.

    As the flames die down, a ragged cheer rises up from the bucket brigade, and the mages collapse to take a short breather and recharge. There are still other fires to deal with, but they've gotten some breathing room.

    One of them answers, "I don't think so, but there might be down the block, there's an apartment block that really should have been renovated!" Pointing down the street at a place that doesn't initially look on fire, but a second glance shows thick choking smoke rising from some of the windows.

    The Child putting out the fire also helps reveal that there was a small family clustered below, hoping to ride it out in the bathroom. At least this place has plumbing. But the roof has partly collapsed, and the father is unconscious, while his daughter and wife are trying to rouse him.

    In a crisis situation, there's no time for worrying and fretting and pondering the best course of action. Yumi takes only the briefest instant to consider, then makes a quick snap judgment. She'll just have to hope those present listen - she's fairly sure Serrah will, but the rest remain big question marks. "Someone with normal human attributes, help that family. The man might have inhaled a lot of smoke. Anyone with superhuman strength, speed or both, or anyone that can pick up life signs, follow me, we're hitting the apartment complex to save anyone inside!"

    She doesn't wait to see if anyone joins her; just launches into a dead run down the street towards the apartment complex.

    Michiru can be a little bit out of it at times, but she clearly remembers that Serrah said she can stop time. "You head for the apartment with her, I'll handle these three!" She swoops down and snags the youngest first, closing talons on and then realizing she probably looks like a monster.

    "This way! I'll get you to the firefighters out front!" she says before flapping wings and heaving the girl up first, starting to shuttle the trio out and dropping them out in the yard next to where Piera was arguing with the others.

    "The others are correct... we cannot save these buildings, but if we can keep the flames back long enough, we might save lives... Anyone that can still stand, come with me, I will help evacuate that... Apartment block." she says the words like they're unfamiliar to her. "Everyone else, get to a safe location." She doesn't have any healing abilities, and her medicine is geared to her own physicality.

    "Din, can you get the family out of here?" she asks to The Mandalorian, before turning to run toward the apartment. "I can see the unseen." she mentions to Yumi. "I should be able to direct you to trapped people."

    She glances at Michiru's airferrying, then turns to sprint along the road to the apartments. She's quicker than a normal human, but not 'super', just peak physical condition.

    Serrah is ever-so-slightly startled by Michiru keeping pace with her, but there's no time to be chatty, and she simply nods along. Looks like even if they don't fight the fire, it's gonna be a --

    ...

    She bursts out laughing when the Child makes everyone's decision for them. "Oh my god," she says flatly. "Like they say, 'the kids are all right!'"

    She briefly glances between the charging-forward Yumi and the stricken family. But at Michiru's words, she nods. "I've got superhuman attributes, anyway," she says. She smirks. "I'll see you in OH WAIT, you'll probably go to heaven!" she quips, then zips off after Yumi and Piera. She's not a fan of sticking her neck out, but there's something exhilarating about this situation, at least.

    So uhhhh.
    That just happened.
    The Child teeters and wobbles after that display of Force, before Mando scoops the little guy up. His head snaps toward Piera when she calls him by name, but he doesn't comment on it, instead dipping his helmet in a nod. "Yeah, got it."
    He'll move to help Michiru get the family out before he goes to follow Yumi. He has to kick his jetpack to life just to keep up with her, but when he does get to the other apartment complex he thumbs a button on his gauntlet, visor swapping to thermal vision mode to see if he can spot any signs of life from within.

    The young girl, about ten, screams and starts to thrash before Michiru explains things, which makes her tremble but quiet down for fear of falling! She collapses next to the firefighters, which does at least help distract them as Michiru starts carrying out the small family, and Din's jetpack-assisted flight is a little easier to understand even if it isn't magical, getting the three out in very short time.

    The others, arriving at the complex earlier, find it to be pretty tall for the tech level! Maybe there's some kind of magical construction, too? Because it's over eight stories tall, and it looks like something crashed through the roof and it's burning up from the inside out! Heat vision and life sense can pick up two distinct clusters, about a dozen on the eighth floor who can't seem to get down the clogged stairwell(no fire escape, oops!) and down below, on the second floor, in the corner, a handful of people who may not even be aware there's a fire. The windows to that room are shuttered and closed, too.

    The armored magical girl skids to a stop not far in front of the building, straining her senses as best she can; but there's nothing she can see or hear from out here, no way to know. She'll have to wait for Piera or the Mandalorian to arrive. As soon as one of them's in earshot, she calls out, "What are we looking at?"

>> GAME >> Piera Forta spends an Edge for: Enhancing True Sight

    Piera skids to a stop at the apartment block, turning her gaze to the building. The irises of her normally brown eyes lim golden as she focusses her special sight. "Something fell through the roof, that is the source of the blaze... I see a group on the second floor, they may not realize that the building is on fire." she says in response to Yumi.

    Mando scans the building, heat sensitive vision picking up the life within.
    "I see more on the eighth floor." He adds to Piera's assessment. "Can't make it down the stairwell. ... Some explosives might clear it out for them." He suggests, already kicking his jetpack into gear to get up there and see the situation from a higher vantage and maybe find a way inside through a window.

    "Uhh." Serrah is just as at a loss as Yumi at first ... and then Piera gives her assessment. "Right," she says. "I'm goin' up!"

    She flies up after Mando, and stops at a window, pulling up the collar of her shirt to cover her mouth and nose. "Here, let me," she says, grabbing a baseball from her sports bag. She hurls it at the speed of a car on the freeway. It smashes through the window --

    -- and then, one timestop later, she catches the baseball barehanded, inside.

    "Hey!" she calls out. "Rescuers! C'mon, let's get everyone outta here!" She makes her way forward in search of people -- or the cause of the fire.

    Michiru drops the last of the family aside, then breathes deep. "Whew!" Landing, she stretches arms as her wings vanish into normal arms again, and she eyes the building. Stepping aside she tries to maybe get the fire going again, her back rippling as she tries to use an electric eel's ability...

    But it doesn't work. Either she's just not good enough yet, or she doesn't know the eel's ability... or maybe it's because she can't do fish? Or, perhaps, her heart really isn't in it.

    Yumi looks between Piera and the Mando with quick movements, then nods. "I'll help with the top floor, I can carry down two at a time. See if there's anyone who can get to that family on the second floor. If not, I can cut open that wall."

    The armored mercenary takes to the skies, and Yumi follows suit shortly thereafter; her method is a bit more brute-force than a jetpack, though, starting with a high leap a few stories straight up the side, a brief wall run, and then a shove of her hand right into the side of the building to give herself a handhold to fling upwards with. Her path shifts slightly once Serrah picks a window; a heartbeat after dhampir and baseball enter, they're followed by the senshi, who immediately whips around on the spot.

    There's a shimmer of sunlight, and suddenly Prominence is in her hand, the great runeblade whipping around to carve out the entire section of wall - both so that the Mandalorian has an easy landing spot, and so that they'll have somewhere to bring people. "Come on down, you're gonna be our eyes!" she calls towards the Mando.

    With Serrah busting in a window, Mando lands himself on the carved out wall courtesy of Yumi and takes to a knee to set The Child down ever so briefly while he eyes his thermals through the walls.
    "Serrah, guide them to me and..."
    Did he catch Yumi's name?
    "The... Magical... Girl..." Wow he sounds so awkward just saying that. One would think magical girls don't exist in his sector of the galaxy.
    But he's following, already considering his options on how to help with the blocked staircase.
    His options are mostly 'explosives'. But that's something he can try out when he gets there, if necessary.

    There are a lot of people upstairs, but fortunately most of the crew went up thataway. The window busts in, and the sound of coughing can be heard. The people inside don't ask questions, and right away, an unconscious woman is offered up, shoved toward Serrah when she appears. Looks like smoke inhalation. The group otherwise knows what they're doing though, and explain quickly, "The stairs are on fire!"

    Which Mando quickly discovers. Some of the fire has spread to the staircase, which is starting to crumble and fall. The other one is intact, but flames have cut off the way to the second staircase as well, leaving no easy outlet from the top floor without flight or some other ability.

    Down on the second floor, Piera can see that there's actually a clear path to the second, non-flaming staircase. There's just... nobody moving in that room right now. Are they asleep? There is some smoke gathering on the floor though, and it's hard to breathe. They might be suffocating...

    "Yumi. Tachibana Yumi." Pause. "You can use 'senshi'," she adds. It sounds like 'magical girl' is a bit embarrassing for the poor guy. "But going downstairs is dangerous. We need to get them back to the window. I can take two at a time, can you at least take one?" she asks the Mandalorian, before adding in Serrah's direction, "What about you?" While she's asking that, Yumi is already beckoning to the survivors. "This way, I can get you down to ground level from up here. It'll be a bit bumpy, but I promise it's safe. Anyone else hurt?"

    Piera watches the others go up to the top. It would take far too long to climb up there herself and she would only be a burden as she wouldn't be able to get people down.

    Instead, she goes in to get the second floor group roused, or at least start bringing them out if they're not able to themselves.

    She finds a largely clear path, on the inside, but climbs the outside to get up quicker. She kicks in a window, swings herself through, then takes a running charge at the door to the sealed up room, trying to batter it down, though there's not much weight to her for the brute force approach. "Hey! Is anyone alive in there? You need to leave, now! The building is on fire and likely to collapse!" she calls out, whether she's successful in her battering ram attempt or not.

    Plucking up his little green companion once again before they get to the stairs, Mando finds that...
    Yep. Those stairs sure are on fire.
    "Well, no one's going down that way." He mutters.
    "I can take one at a time, yeah."
    He's already warming up his jetpack to start ferrying people.

    Serrah nods. "I can prolly do two at once," she says, picking up the unconscious woman and putting her over her shoulder, well, a fireman's carry. "You, hang on!" She wraps her arm around the waist of one of the people who'd offered up the woman, and --

    (From the perspective of the person she's grabbing, there's a ripple of light, the world becomes drab and faintly tinted purple, and everything is frozen in place except for Serrah, the woman, and the other guy. "Okay, so!" She carries the two out the hole in the wall left by Yumi, and descends back to the ground. It's slightly slow going. "Okay, good, unconscious people don't drain my timestop, like --")

    -- then the three of them are suddenly a mere dozen feet off ground. "-- at all," she finishes, carefully landing and setting the two onto the ground a safe distance away. Then, in the cooldown of her time stop, she flies back up. "Okay, who's next?"

    It's a good thing so many are up top, because there are a lot more to ferry down! But with five at a time, that isn't going to be as bad. There's a very commanding woman guiding the evacuation, thankfully. "Go, no arguing!" she's yelling at one of the others as she shoves her, then her somewhat startled brother. Probably she was the one who got everyone in one place. One of the boys gets the bright idea of breaking a stool leg off and busts out the rest of the window so the glass shards aren't a problem, and helps Mando get a good grip on his friend.

    Piera is having a harder time down below... but only because hitting that door HURTS! It's on pretty solidly. Not solidly enough though, because slamming in does make a loud cracking noise, and as she rebounds, the door swings open, the latch demolished by the impact. Inside are some teenagers, three boys and a girl, and one of the boys is startling awake sluggishly. "Huh? What?"

    The other three are sitting in meditative trances, looking pretty... well, immobile.

    "Oh shit," the boy blurts, unlatching a window as he coughs woozily. He must have nodded off from carbon monoxide or something. "They're in the Astral right now, they can't move themselves and we can't move them far or they'll get lost!" Looks like he's fine with pulling them out of the building though.

    "... If we don't move them, they will not have a place to return to at all." replies Piera, wincing a little at her shoulder. "The east stairwell is on fire, the west is clear for now, get moving, there's a fire team trying to suppress the flames long enough for us to get you out." she then moves to scoop the girl up. "We will just have to hope they will be okay outside."

    When she gets to the stairwell, she calls out to the others. "I need another in here. There's someone in a trance who cannot move themselves, and I have injured an arm and cannot support two people!"

    The ones who get the ride down with Yumi have honestly drawn the short straw. It's no more dangerous than Serrah or Mando's methods, but... well, it's a straight drop 8 stories down.

    As she brings her first two passengers up to the edge, the senshi repeats, "I promise this is safe. Just hold on nice and tight."

    True to her word, the landing is perfectly fine - nice and soft, even. It's one of her special gifts as a magical girl; without it, the weight of her and all that armor would probably shatter the pavement every time she landed. And she can absorb the remaining foce with her body in such a way that the rescuees won't even feel it.

    None of that changes the fact that an 8-story drop is probably a bit terrifying.

    Regardless, once the people are on the ground, she gives them a quick, "Get clear, get clear!" before going right on back up the building.

    She'll probably be preoccupied with that just a bit longer, though.

    Serrah raises an eyebrow at Yumi's method of getting down. A part of her, the part that's still a creature of darkness, can't help but be ever-so-slightly amused by this. She ignores that part.

    "Right, gimme a sec!" Serrah calls down to Piera as she starts moving the next pair of people down. One timestop later, she joins Piera and hurries into the room. She reaches for the two sitting down, pulls them gingerly into a fireman's carry, prepares to stop time, and ...

    ... hesitates. "Y'know what," she says, "I don't wanna find out what happens when I use Stop the World on two people who're astral-projecting using magic I'm not familiar with."

    Without the need to fly, she decides to use her extra speed the usual way. It's not as fast as her maximum when she isn't weighted down, and certainly not as fast as stopping time, but faster than it was when there was a threat of accidentally dropping them a story or three.

    "And make sure you have some kind of safety when you're astral-projecting," she snaps at the one who's still conscious, "for exactly this reason, jeez!"

    The boy hauls the girl up as Piera grabs one of the other friends. "Yeah I know we'll have to risk it!" He agrees apparently, just explaining. "But keep them as close as we can!" He frowns, "If the building burns down they'll be able to find that in the Astral I think..."

    He's fretting, but Serrah appears to save the day! He's trying to pick up the girl, but is really not big enough to carry her safely(he's kind of a lanky teen), so her grabbing and running is a relief. Fortunately it's just the second floor, so it's a quick run out to the clear! The chiding makes the boy whine, "I fell asleep, I was supposed to be their safety! I fucked up!"

    "AAAAAAAAH!" Oh yeah, that's from the group being hauled out the windows, plummeting fast and then ending up on the ground trying not to throw up. They're all looking a little queasy, but of the five, one manages a thumbs up to let the trio know that yeah, they'll be okay. Serrah runs off to rescue more, and... as Mando and Yumi move to evacuate the rest, they find that William is there to help, strolling down the side of the building carrying two more. "Nice work," he comments, though not even snarkily. For a dude with a bad reputation he seems fine with people rescuing civilians!

    And the REASON he's here becomes clear. There's a wrenching sensation, the sky flickers, and some of the buildings warp for an instant, before more fires break out. Williams sighs, "Well, it'd be a lot harder to put out the fires NOW. It'll be a rough merge because of the delays but it's probably safer to let it happen now instead of trying a split." He sets down the two he was carrying, then hops off the wall and returns to a normal angle instead of standing 90 degrees. "Ah well, win some, lose some."

    "Oh my god, you don't --" Serrah groans theatrically. "This is why you don't touch magic without an expert watchin' you."

    And there's a vampire here -- wait, no, it's William, defying gravity in a way which is idiosyncratic to Hartford vampires. She gives him a sidelong look, because she's known nice people who were bad news --

    And then there's that wrenching sensation, and things get worse.

    She groans. "I'm just gonna ... head home," she says weakly.