outsiderslogs | Fire, fire.

Entry tags:

!event: mercs

Fire, fire.

who. Anyone and everyone.
what. Fire. Varren. Pyjaks. Varren and pyjaks on fire. Everything on fire.
where. Zeta District.
when. Effective immediately.
warnings. Did we mention fire?

Needless to say, the station has been through some shit in the past week.

First, the water supplies went offline. Then, there was a pyjak infestation. Then, some well-meaning vorcha let loose a bunch of varren to take care of the pyjak problem.

Now, they're setting fire to the surrounding areas to take care of the varren.

The fire has started at one end of the living area and is very swiftly making its way through the district - but lo and behold, finally, the water comes back on! Now, this doesn't mean that everything is fine and dandy all of a sudden. Given the severe lack of engineers working on this problem, the fire can't be put out in its entirety, and will end up spreading far enough to render some of the buildings in the area uninhabitable. There will still be a scant few varren and space monkeys meandering about, but mostly, it's time to worry about not getting burned alive.

How your characters make it through is up to you.

Consider this post the end of the event - and use it as you like to to expand on any threads and CR you might have started. (Also, feel free to backtag as long as you want! We don't mind any of that 'round here.)

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Ino had never wanted to know water jutsu so much in her life.

Shintenshin had always worked fine for her; she was proud of the technique because it was unique to her clan and her clan only. Not many shinobi could say they could control another person's mind by their will. Besides, there had never been reason to use water jutsu while there were other ninja that could.

This week? There was nothing she wanted more than a mere droplet. At first she had wanted it because of the desire to take a shower, now it was for far more noble reasons. A fire raged out of control and there wasn't much she could do other than evacuate and save civilians.

But if she had a water jutsu...

She wished she could take back everything bad she said about the vogons, no matter how annoying they were. At least they didn't set fire to buildings. She would take all the paperwork they could throw at her, everything in the world if it meant these people could be safe and the station wasn't overrun with weird-looking beasts because of some vorcha.

Haruto's wind shot down Ino's hall and the people she was attempting to lead to safety shouted and cowered from the huge blast. Ino shielded her eyes and squinted in the direction it came from. Wind jutsu? She wondered -- the only people she knew that could perform wind was Naruto and...

Her sensei.

There was no time to think about what if's because Ino heard a cry behind her. She whipped around quickly as the others scrambled toward Haruto, and spotted a young boy that lagged behind. Although Haruto had a good idea, the wind he had sent in their direction had just caused the inferno to swirl behind them and scare a young boy to his knees.

Without another thought, she began to bolt down the hall toward the crying boy and the tornado of fire. She was at least thirty feet away and could just scoop up the boy and escape again.

Things never go as planned, do they?

A large piece of flaming debris was falling towards the frozen boy and he wasn't going to move. Ino pushed her body harder, to move faster, and then dove the rest of the distance. She clutched the boy to her chest and slid out of the way so the object could hit the ground with a bang. The place where the boy had just been a second ago. Ino cried out.

Instead of the boy, her leg was pinned underneath.

The group of people Ino had been leading along was the first civilians Wizard had seen while running through the halls of Zeta District. As soon as he heard the cries in response to his attack, Wizard abruptly stopped. When the group of people ran past him, Haruto stepped aside. Everything behind him had already been put out, unless someone had started something new. The escape path was clear.

"Garu-chan!" Wizard yelled to the small, red mechanical bird, which promptly zoomed down the hallway and trailed after the group of people. It made sure to fly ahead of them, circling around in the air in front of them until they noticed him, before he led them through the path Wizard had cleared. Having a familiar really was a very useful ability, especially in a place like this.

When he turned his attention back down the hall to the area he'd been trying to clear, Wizard heard the rubble fall before he saw what had happened, his body moving before he consciously realized what was going on. He knew he should have been prepared for something like this. He should have been paying more attention to his surroundings. The worst thing for him was seeing people in danger, especially when it was something he could help prevent.

The belt's voice sounded again as Wizard switched back to Land Dragon, switching out his Magic Ring to recast a spell behind the pair. "Defend, Please!" A large dirt wall went up between them and the fire, sealing the flames behind it. When he reached them, Wizard had already switched his ring again, but he waited to cast the spell until he was at Ino's side.

He could only imagine how strange he looked to someone who wasn't from his world, though even people from his world rarely encountered a Wizard. He offered his free hand to her to let her clasp it. "Brace yourself. This might hurt a little bit, but it'll be over quick, okay?" No matter how he looked or how bad the situation was, Wizard always put helping others as his priority. Being comforting was something he liked to think he was good at.

The warmth in her arms was wriggling uncomfortably when Ino finally pried her eyes open. Thank goodness the boy was fine, save for some cuts and probably a bruise from how rough she had to be to get him out of the way. It was nothing compared to what could have happened.

What did happen to her leg. She winced and furrowed her brow, craned her neck down to see how badly it was.

Someone else was calling out though and she looked up in surprise at the wall that surrounded -- protected? -- them. Her leg sent a flash of pain through her body and she ground her teeth in pain, grunted to hold back the cry of pain. She hadn't been as lucky as the boy but she could she was still alive.

The new body made Ino weary but he only seemed to want to help and she wasn't in a situation where she could be picky about who was or wasn't around. Not to mention his strange outfit, even more strange than some of the things she saw the aliens wearing around the station. It took a moment before she placed her hands in his, cautiously and still holding the boy with her other arm, her arms her own protective and impenetrable wall.

His answer was a firm nod and she tightened her grip on his hand and the boy to prepare herself. "It can't hurt any more than it already does," her voice is strained with pain. "I can handle it." Though it was clear she was more focused on the young, innocent boy in her arms.

Wizard smiled slightly behind his helmet. This girl was tough. She reminded him a bit of Rinko with how determined she was, still working to protect the boy that she had seemed to save. While giving her hand a comforting squeeze, Wizard switched out his ring and put it over the front of his belt, the same voice as before ringing out.

"Gravity, Please!" The debris was suddenly lifted up by a few feet by a yellow magic circle, Wizard moving his hand and the debris following the movement until he dropped it back down on the other side of the hallway. While he had been left with so few abilities upon arriving on Omega, it was good to know that he could still use what he had left to help out.

By now, Garuda had returned to his side, the red bird flapping his wings and circling around behind Wizard, waiting on its next orders.

"Do you think you can stand? I can carry you if you need it."

Her leg was throbbing but there were more important things to worry about. First, she had to get this boy back to his parent or guardian. He was still crying in her arms and the sound made her furrow her brow. His home was probably back there, now engulfed in flames and unable to be occupied until it died down. Whatever belongings they had would be turned to ash.

This place was horrible. Worse than Thor.

Second, was the power this stranger possessed. She wanted to say it was like her own world's but knew that probably wasn't the case. People here had all sorts of powers so it's not unusual he would be able to control certain elements.

Her stranger savior broke her out of her thoughts and she glanced up. Could she trust someone that wore a helmet like that? Even if he had helped them and was obviously doing what he could about the fire. "I'm...okay," she wasn't sure if her pride would allow her to be carried around. On the other hand--

"But he's not."

Pained eyes (for the damage done to homes and families as well as her own leg) looked down to traumatized boy. She couldn't carry him with her leg like this so she shot her gaze back to Haruto. There's an unsaid fierceness in her eyes. If he tried anything other than helping them...

"Could you carry him?"

This girl definitely reminded him of Rinko -- especially with the look that she was giving him. Wizard reluctantly released his hold on her hand and moved back, switching out the ring on his other hand from yellow to red, then putting his hands to his belt and shifting it so the symbol tilted to the other side. With a quick pass of the ring, he was intent on shifting back to his base form for the time being. Mana conservation was only now something he had started to think about again. There was a lot more work to do, plus Flame Style had offensive powers he could use if they ran into any trouble.

With the quick pass of a red magic circle, Wizard's form had changed considerably from one to another. He reached for the boy even before his transformation was complete, shifting his position to scoop up the small boy and carry him in his arms. It was strange to be working with someone so young. It reminded him a bit of himself, really. That was an uncomfortable pain he didn't want to think about. Hopefully, this child's parents were still alive. No child deserved to go through something like that.

Standing back up, Wizard cradled the boy against his chest, propping him up with one arm, while holding his free hand out to the girl. "Everything will be fine. I'll take care of you."

Ino wasn't sure who the assurance was directed at but she had a feeling it was to all of them. She thought again about trying to stand on her own but knew it wouldn't be possible as she was. Not like this. He wasn't an enemy however, so she shot a small, grateful smile at Haruto. While she took his hand, she managed to get her body upright and kept some of her weight off of her leg.

The trick was getting out of here like this, injured and with cargo. Haruto didn't seem to have any trouble with the added weight and he was even helping Ino with her balance. But they had to get out of this fire before she could concentrate on healing herself or anyone.

With the fire behind them, Ino limped a step forward to lead all of them to safety.

Once Ino was up, Wizard was careful to hold her hand, grabbing for her again as soon as she started to get out of range. Again, it was an action he was familiar with for a woman to want to force herself to be strong even when she was hurt. While he didn't want her to think that he was looking down on her for being weak, he wanted to make sure she didn't get hurt any worse than before.

With a quick swoop, Garuda had returned to the pair and flapped ahead of them, waving around a bit before going off the way he'd taken the previous group. At the very least, the boy could end up in the same place as the rest of his family, if they were still around. Wizard held the boy close against his chest, adjusting his hold from time to time to remind himself that the other was still there. Maybe deactivating his forms would be less intimidating, but he didn't want to chance being caught off guard.

Ino looked to the strange bird but decided to follow because they had no other options at this point. After plenty of struggle and wincing from Ino, they make it to the group and to safety.

A breath she didn't know she was holding whooshes out of her.

The boy in Haruto's arms seemed to immediately spot someone he recognized, squirmed and reached out. Ino glanced back at the two of them; for someone that looked so fierce in that armor and had a lot of power, it was obvious he was being careful with the boy.

Maybe this station had a few more good guys than she thought.

The guardian was thanking Haruto over and over, cradling the boy to their chest and very near tears. Ino, still injured, couldn't help the small smile at seeing the boy reunited with someone he knew and it was thanks to the two of them. That was the silver lining.

She moved to stand beside Haruto and watched as the two disappear into the small crowd again. "At least that's a few lives we managed to save from this," she commented aloud and then looked at him sidelong.

"And you saved mine." Now that things weren't so chaotic (at least less chaotic, the fire was still going but it was controlled from spreading) the rush of relief -- and new pain -- was immediate.

"Thanks."

Wizard was clearly caught off guard by the squirming bundle in his arms. "Ah! Ah!!" He fumbled a bit, doing his best to make sure the boy didn't hurt himself somehow. Thankfully, the boy was as resilient as children tended to be, taking off towards his parents without any sort of delay. While he was being thanked, Wizard kept waving his hand in front of his face, insisting that it was fine and he was happy to help. It felt even more strange to be in this place and addressing people while transformed, but it would have been even more uncomfortable to suddenly reveal himself to people. Not that he minded that his identity was public.

Once they left, Wizard let out a breath of his own. "Hue..." Shaking out his hands, he turned back to Ino and gave her a short, two-fingered salute. "You're welcome. Do you need anything else? I think there's a clinic here, somewhere. I'm still pretty new..."

A new arrival? To think he was already diving into the throes of danger the station had to offer. Her expression turned exhausted for a moment, exhausted with the problems this place had to offer, exhausted that she couldn't go home, exhausted that her home actually was no better off then this place as it was caught up the terrors of war.

Already she had lost--

No.

She was lucky to have him here. If it hadn't been for this guy, she might still be stuck under a lot of heavy debris. Not only that, but she had a feeling he was the one that controlled the fire. That power he had wasn't unlike the jutsu her world possessed.

Who was he?

"Then welcome to Omega," she tried to smile and managed a small one through the pain in her leg and heart. "The welcome committee leaves something to be desired but they try their best. Don't worry, I usually make up for it." As the fire suggested. She gave him her own version of a salute with a grin, until she nearly crumpled to the ground in pain.

Well, she was only human and her leg was likely broken or fractured.

Diving into the throes of danger was sort of Wizard's specialty, what with his specialized abilities and feeling the need to protect others. He knew there were still places he needed to clear out, but as far as he knew, all of the civilians were out. That didn't mean that he wouldn't double and triple check everything to make sure, or that Garuda wouldn't be flying around and checking again if he was busy.

"You're the first person to tell me that, really. No one else here seems to like talking or answering questions, but I haven't been too outgoing myself." He'd really been too concerned with figuring out where he was. There was an inner panic over Koyomi's status back home without him, but he was focusing only on the present. One day at a time. That was the way he'd told her to view things.

As soon as Ino started to falter, Wizard reached out an arm and caught her, moving closer to help support her weight. "You should stay off of that for awhile."

If he had told her he was more worried about finding out where he was than being social, she wouldn't blame him. Though he's making up for it now since he saved all those civilians and her, for that matter. "I'm not surprised I'm the first," she responded and was glad for the support. "There aren't too many friendly people here but I can direct you to the right crowd."

It wasn't vorcha, that's for sure.

He could ask her any questions too and she would answer -- as soon as her leg was fixed. "You don't have to tell me twice," she sighed and looked around for somewhere she could sit. "I think it's fractured." It's the only sort of diagnostic she can make like this. Once she used her healing jutsu, she could figure out just how badly.

"You asked if I needed anything else, right? Think you could help me find a place to sit and heal myself, Mr. Savior?" Being charming was a bit difficult in this situation but it wasn't Ino if she didn't try. Her smile is strained, but still sweet and almost reassured.

"I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding them, if I look hard enough." That was Wizard's way of saying that he really had been sticking to himself since arriving. Phantoms weren't a concern, so he didn't need to keep an eye out for Gates. Though, he had been standing around in the background watching for the slightest hint that the largest concern of his world had followed him along.

There was a moment of hesitation while Wizard decided what to do, if he should take the time to stay and help or go back to the hallways to make sure everything was cleared. Shifting from one leg to another, Wizard called the bird over, exchanging a few words. Garuda would return to the halls and let Wizard know if there was anything else that needed to be taken care of, guiding out anyone who might have wandered back in.

Once the bird was gone, Wizard undid his transformation, leaving a young Japanese man standing in his place. Haruto sighed heavily, wiping his hands on the side of his pants before returning his attention to the girl in front of him. "Would you rather I carry you or have you lean on me for support?"

Since she wasn't expecting the sudden change, Ino watched in some bit of amazement as the transformation happened. She hadn't expected the man underneath the armor to actually be a bit cute, either. For a moment she stared, blinking a couple times until reminded of her dilemma; leg injury.

Where was Sakura? Or Tenten? Or Hinata? She wished she had a girl friend she could gossip with again about cute boys. She had almost given up that the station just didn't have any.

The obvious choice was to be carried, but Ino had actual tact in the face of an attractive male. "I'm not picky," she answered while she straightened herself out but made sure not to put too much weight on her leg.

"You're worried about the fire too, aren't you?" She didn't want to leave it just in case more people needed help but she wouldn't be able to do anything the way she was.

The response Haruto received made it obvious to him what the option was. "Then I'll carry you." He was careful as he moved closer, putting an arm behind her knees and then sweeping her up into his arms to carry her as he had done with the boy. Carrying Koyomi was something he had done quite a few times before, so he had gotten better at it than one might expect. Having the girl walking around more and risking hurting herself was something he wanted to avoid.

At the question, Haruto smiled slightly, almost as though he were embarrassed. "I can't really help it. This place needs someone to help it and there's probably not that many guys here who can do the things I can."

Haruto only had to walk a small distance away before he found some discarded metal shipping containers, moving over to it and shifting his hold on the girl to lower her so she could sit on the edge. "I'm a lot better suited to the place I'm from, but I'm trying to adjust."

Ino couldn't stop the skip of her heart when she was suddenly being hauled in his arms nor the nearly inaudible gasp. Cute boy carrying her like he's a hero? She didn't mind it even if she was headstrong and stubborn and still wanted to walk herself.

This was still acceptable.

He was right. There weren't many people in her world either that could use all of the elements like he had. It was a special gift. In his arms, Ino smiled as well but it lacked the same embarrassment his held -- it was only friendly.

"Of course you're better suited to your home," she replied. "But while you're here, you're doing good by helping these people. We do need someone like you."

The ride was over too soon for her (especially because pressure was gone from her leg) but she quickly moved into medic mode and surveyed the limb; it was bruised and battered and definitely swollen. She tested the pain by pressing down on different points and gritted her teeth when a certain spot nearly made her cry out.

Then she got to work and began healing herself, a large orb of light booming as she concentrated. She was silent, brow sweating, as she worked and leaned over so blonde hair fell over her shoulder.

"There's a lot of skills I have that I can't use while I'm here." The Engage ring, for one, though it made him thankful that there weren't any Gates to track down. Without Koyomi's help and his usual resources, it would be a lot harder to track down Phantoms. The idea of one following him there didn't sit well with him at all. Even if one hadn't shown up yet, Haruto was still as alert as ever for them.

After he had set her down, Haruto crouched on the floor in front of her and rested his arms on his legs, tilting his head to the side as he watched her work. From what she was doing, Haruto could get a general idea of what she was trying to achieve. A healing spell? Even he couldn't do something like that... "Are you a Wizard too, or are magic users different where you come from?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fire, fire.

hope this is okay?

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