2018.08.26 The Itsy Bitsy Spider is Dead
Barksdale leads Kurt to a simple and unremarkable black van, ?Just you and I?? he ponders for a moment. ?It will have to do, The attack has to happen tonight.? It stands out in no manner whatsoever, completely unremarkable. That is its purpose. A quiet moment as he enters an address after checking his phone and then he hits the gas to lurch the van into motion. The van carries the group through the city, continuing to move its way towards a darker side of town. All warehouses and empty old manufacturing buildings. Relics of an industry past and dying part of old America. Even Prospect has the old skeletons.
Kurt is dressed in dark sweats and a hoodie, no suit here. This is hunt time. Giving Barksdale an upnod, the bearded one just shrugs one shoulder, "Just us, we'll make do," he says before climbing in. No gear, only the glint in his eye that says he's ready to kill something. He takes in the surroundings and chuffs lowly, "Hiding in the web of oldtown, how...cliche."
Barksdale chuckles softly, he is quite the opposite of Kurt. He is dressed for combat, tactical gear including a vest with light armor inserts. A modern vision of a merc or soldier. Barksdale pulls the van to one side and parks in the shadows beyond an old storage unit. Leaning on the cold metal is a man wearing all black save for a dark grey scarf around his throat. His features are all wrong, the skin a pale yellow, eyes fully dilated, something not quite right with him. Barksdale nods to him, given Kurt a silent acknowledgement of the guy in case he was missed. "That's our man." He notes as he climbs out of the van and begins to head towards the odd man. "A brief chat and we set upon our wetwork."
The man pushes off the cold steel and approaches. He clearly doesn't walk quite right, too stiff, like a puppet pulled on strings and directed. "Hello Wolf." comes a dark low tone that just doesn't quite fit. "Just the two of you?" it asks in somewhat surprise, but the facial expression doesn't move at all.
Kurt fives a few sniffs towards that armor and the weaponry, everyone has their way. When they park, he is alert, his eyes shifting this way and that in the darkness. Their contact is sniffed at, his upper lip nearly curling but he stays his rage for the time being. Following up with Barksdale he remains quiet for now, this isn't his contact. Just a quiet stare at the wrong-man and Barksy.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Barksdale explains to Kurt as they approach.
The man continues for a moment, ?My drones and string agents are engaged with hers. Cutting off the webs she has spun to escape her realm. I cannot face her in direct conflict for long, so this is your window. Go in. Kill her. Fail today and we will not aid further.?
"Which building." Barksdale asks as he draws his rifle, the sci-fi looking weapon pulled out, clicked to engage and activated as he draws a short breath.
The man gestures towards one of the buildings. "Through the front door. When you cross the threshold you'll leave this place and be in her home. Quick and efficient I recommend. The web strands connecting the locations may not last." You'll notice the man has what looks like a single thread, a small weave of spider threat from the base of the neck, a mere puppet being controlled by another master.
Barksdale loses one Magical Essence
Kurt will wait, his beast is ready though, roiling underneath the skin and waiting to be let out. A smirk comes though and he just chuffs softly, saying nothing of what is happening, simply observing. Sight of the weapon draws another eyebrow lift, but he leaves well enough alone seeing as they're about to hunt spider. "One opportunity, got it," is all he actually says before turning towards the building indicated. Only lingering long enough for Barksdale to follow.
Barksdale turns and moves to follow after Kurt. A focused look on the mans features, gaze ready and determined as they move towards the door. Weapon at the ready he takes a low exhale of a practiced soldier about to go to war.
Assuming they enter the building. The moment they cross the threshold it all changes, they aren't in the darkwarehouse district, at all. Like crossing a moon bridge, they move across the spiders web and they stand in a hallway of a what seems to be a school, perhaps middle school? Morda always liked the children, they taste so much better and they are so much more easily influenced. Dark, lit only dimly by the lights from outside and perimeter lighting that is always on, flickering now and again.
Kurt waits until they are inside, shedding those slip on sneakers, the sweat pants and sweatshirt so that he can assume his breed form. No charging Ahroun here, the Dox crouches low and begins to sniff, his nose the air as he attempts to get his bearings and attempt the stealthy approach first. The locale only brings a little twitch to his gaze as the wolf-drake lowers even more. A glance back at Barksdale briefly, "When we find her, I will take a moment to observe her weakness before striking." It's a warning to not expect the man to pounce immediately.
Barksdale likewise begins to shift, his clothing dedicated, the armor shifting with him, remaining on the crinos form. The tactical belt likewise, a strange cross between beast of primal war and soldier. The rifle lifted and held up as he begins to scan the hallway. <<Understood.>> he chuffs, <<But we have to find her first.>> he notes.
Kurt lifts his nose to the air again and just nods at the observation. Find the bitch first. Keeping low, his nose goes to the ground, being cautious to keep an eye out for tiny scouts, the little ones are what'll get you killed. Those claws of his wicked, carrying the poisons only the Wyrm can grant. He uses his senses first, he'll resort to magic last if it's needed.
Morda is not without her protections, and even under the seige of the other rival she has her protections. So as they round a corner of the hallway heading towards what looks to be an auditorium, they encounter the first fo those. A couple of roaming drone agents, dogsize spiders that quickly begin to charge at the two garou...
Kurt has been training. Hard. Not willing to leave another battle to chance or someone else failing, he acts decisively and slips over the space towards the drone spiders before landing claws first into the first, digging through carapace to find soft innards and eviscerating it quickly. The second spider lunges with fangs bared, and he twists to the side, easily batting it away from himself before rounding on it with a snarl.
The two spiders charge forward to attack Kurt as he is in front, chittering forward as they move quickly to claim their prey in defense of their Queen. The first one doesn't last long, not when faced with the fury of Kurt.
Barksdale stays back, that is the benefit of fighting with firearms afterall. The futuristic weapon firing off a single shot from the rifle, a dark green glow exploding from the weapon as the shot rings out and slams against the carapace of the spider with no effect.
The unfazed spider attacks Kurt as it had originally planned, with no effect as the Spiral is too fast.
Kurt is a streak and flash of pure white fur and scales, the pearled horns growing from his head gleaming just before more ichor erupts from under his claws again. Rip, tear, and quiet snort. The gun rings out again, and he watches the balefire blast narrowly miss with a growl. They have to deal with the drones a few more seconds.
The spider leaps into the air, dark ichor trailing as it cries out in pain and continues to desperately attempt to take out the Black Spiral Dancer. To no avail, the damage from Kurt's claw attack far too much.
You couldn't get a much more precise shot from Barksdale. The dark green fire erupting once more and blasting against a spider carapace...a carapace that is far too tough for the firearm it would seem at the moment.
It's Kurt's turn to feel the way his attacks glance off of that thick carapace, snapping his jaws and trying to claw through it to get to the soft squishy parts. Instead he only gets the satisfaction of scrabbling against the surface of the spider without getting an actual piece of it, spinning off he snarls at Barksdale, <<Drop it, we are burning precious time.>>
A single shot fired once more. This time, the balefire round cuts through the spiders thorax and sends the ichor across the hall in a bloody mess as it falls to the ground in a heap.
Noise can be heard beyond in the auditorium ahead, spiders moving in from the various hallways as well, closing in on their position. <<We have to keep moving forward.>> he snarls.
Kurt nods once when the spider drops and he flicks slitted eyes back at Barksdale with a sharp nod and grunt. He understands and is spinning on his hide quarters to tear towards the source of these spiders, to find the creature that pulls the strings.
Moving through the doors ahead to the auditorium, the two Spirals on the hunt find a typical school auditorium. On the stage is a single chair, Morda sits in it. The Spider Queen's face twisted in anger and rage. She's not alone however, she has guardians. Two more drones, and two humans armed with guns. String Agents, just as Mina was. "You can't win this." she explains cooly as he gaze turns up to the attacking Black Spirals. "My Agents will be upon you before you strike me down and then this is all for nothing. Give. Me. Mine."
Kurt's running comes to a slow and he looks around him, in the nest of the Weaver Bitch herself. Every angle is viewed, every nook and cranny observed and then the old woman. Those slitted eyes seek deception, seek truth, and seek her weaknesses - keeping low and aggressive in stance he is slowly stalking away from Barksdale in a circle, waiting for just the right moment.
Madame Morda was a slippery cunt, and she didn't have many chinks in the armor, but the moment Kurt saw even the fraction of a twitch on one side, he aimed there. Moving in bounding leaps, he snarls his answer for Morda, <<Death comes for us all!>> in glee as he finds that gap and sinks his claws under her skinny arms and through the many layers of robes to find a soft spot. Ripping through flesh and bone, he rends the creature with claws that leave behind a lasting sting. Her movements will be finite and minced now that he's left his mark.
Its quick shot, and Barksdale is raining Balefire rounds down on the Spider Queen. Hot fire blasting through the robes and the old weathered skin as she cries out in pain. The Spiral soldier growls out in rage and anger as the weapon fires into her.
The Drones move forward, a quick charge to attack each of the invaders on their territory. The String Agents quickly firing off shots at each of the spirals, kinfolk of some tribe or another, kidnapped and taken just as Mina was. Armed with rifles and firing back against the Spirals.
Morda is the real prize however. The old flesh changing, shifting, moving with a fury. Her form stretching, growing into this large spider...thing, like a centaur spider monster. Growing nearly fifteen feet tall, a beast of a thing. Its then that you realize, this isn't an Annassi, but something else entirely...
Kurt doesn't care about the damage this will incur to himself, he is finished dealing with Morda, with her webs and her bullshit. With a furious howl the Bastard of Dragon lunges after the humungous spider seeking the joint behind her bulbous head. Instincts kick and he thrashes with his whole weight, the beast struggles no doubt, but this is a wolf with a throat in his jaws. She claws, a spider even manages to sink its fangs into his leg soundly, releasing a gush of that balefire tainted blood. A scream of pain only fuels him wrenching and tearing Morda's throat apart snapping and severing the last strings of her nervous system, crunching the spiders her body turns into in his mouth. Riding the great arachnid to the ground his eyes alight, the back of his throat glows as the dragon summons that balefire to the surface.
When Morda goes down, the String agents are free from her control. A fog still over them, suddenly lifted as they do not quite know what was going on, and why they were doing as they were. They both begin to flee in different directions, the kin fleeing from the scene in fear that has suddenly over taken them as they see Black Spiral Dancers battling against Morda and various spider drones.
Morda screams as she is shreded by such a powerful bite, her screams drown out in a gurgle of hatred towards Kurt and Barksdale, "Seramina Minkovski...." she says Mina's true name, echoing it through her web with a dark laugh. "Her family will find you. Let the Kings of Silver get my revenge for me..." she shudders out as her blood continues to spill, the beast collapsing to the ground in a heap.
Barksdale fires off shot after shot at one of the drones, one of the surviving creatures and defenders of the now dead Spider Queen.
Kurt still has the taste of Morda in his mouth, the drones are still a threat though. The wolf wheels on the one that left marks in his leg - already healing. He doesn't tap into the magnificent force of cleaving he used to rip Morda apart piece by piece. He simply relies on that momentum to carry him through, and right through he goes - tearing into the carapace and splitting it open to relieve the drone of its service entirely.
<<Son of a bitch!>> Barksdale growls as he unloads a full clip into the first drone. Balefire round after balefire round exploding through the spiders body until finally the thing is ripped apart and dies in a heap. The Spiral soldier then turns to Kurt, a quick glance to look over the wounded Philodox as he reloads his rigle from the distance. His gaze steady. He mutters something to himself, and then says. <<Looks like we live to fight another day.>>
Kurt stands up slowly, wincing only slightly as the last of his wounds seal, that bullet slowly working up out of his pectoral where it nearly missed something vital. The seething wolf drake looks around him and then back to his fighting brother. <<We are not finished here yet.>> Fire. Fire solves all things. And with a bellow that sounds more like the mythical beast he worships, the man exhales a breath of pure balefire that spills over the once-throne of the once Spider-Queen. The flames will spread, leaping to the webs and silks, seeking out the rest of the drones. The freed Kinfolk will flee or die, <<Now we go.>> he growls before beginning to lope back the way they came as flames spread behind him.
