Summary:With a hit on the cultists, Piotr and Koa get to attend. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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WAND got a hit about an hour ago, on the cultists that are targetting Piotr. The cultists that seem to be working with Belasco - what they're hoping to achieve no one really knows.
The location is a house on the outskirts of the Disaster Zone. It's somewhat dilipated but in good enough repair that it's habitable.
The message is passed to Koa Turner. Where Keiko is, is anyone's guess. It's up to Koa and Piotr to address this and it's getting late, about 9pm, and all they know is there are cultists in that house.
Cultists. Piotr would probably have rather waited, but he's learned that he can't give them time to prepare. The old pickup truck that arrived at the edge of the zone was just large enough for the large mutant to squat into and drive. Closing the door, he shifts immediately into his metal mode and gives a slight grunt of disatisfaction. This is a strange place for them to be. And part of him feels like it is a trap.
Then let it be. Now encoated in the metal that makes up his frame, he may not even be waiting for Koa as he starts towards the house. It's time for the walls to go tumbling down.
Koa, fortunately, arrives at roughly the same time. It's pretty natural for Piotr to go in and rely on his superhuman strength and toughness. That is, after all, something the man does better than almost anyone else. Certainly better than anyone else Koa knows.
Whether or not the big guy sees him, Koa draws his side arm and moves in behind, trailing by about twenty feet. Piotr's going to hit the place first. As to where the hell Keiko is…
Koa's got no idea.
There's no knowing how many are in the house. It might be one or it might be a few. It might be empty. Scrying can be like that sometimes. Piotr going in like this is a risk …
Koa can see the magic that rises from the place. Wards most likely, set on the boundary of the property. They flare just as Piotr barrels on in, blasting at the big mutant before he can touch the walls. The strength of the blast is magical and creates enough kinetic force to push the big man back.
That might deplete the wards though.
From inside the house, they can hear people scrambling. Calling out to each other as they move. At least seven different voices - and they're getting organised.
Koa is just far enough behind that the bolt of magic energy hits the ground at his feet.
They're not very friendly are they?
The idea of a frontal assault is the only way that Piotr knows how to go. The cerebral approach is best suited for someone else. As soon as he hits the first wards, there's a growl of pain and he stumbles back. Managing to finding his footing again, the Colossus was about to push his way through the wards when the blasting begins. Twisting his body to the side to present that abyssmally tainted arm, Piotr curls his arm up to form something of a shield.
Each of the blasts slams into his arm, or into the ground around him, or passes by him. "You can do better!" he yells out in defiance of the blasts as he continues to draw the attention of the wards.
His attention turns to face Koa, and his eyes narrow slightly. When did he get here? Why is he here?
But he's someone that can help, so his fleeting steps fallback as he moves to stand in front of Koa, a seven foot plus human shield.
"Hang on big guy. They've got a ward up." Koa takes advantage of the cover Piotr offers to create a counter ward which looks a little bit like him making golden chalk drawings in the air while doing vector calculus. It only takes him about thirty seconds though and then the silver-eyed man pushes power through his calculations and the shield stutters.
"Alright. Give 'em hell, Piotr!" He should have no problem smashing through that door now. And smashing whatever's behind it. The Agent himself draws his weapon and begins to lay down rapid cover fire.
Something both men may think on later is whether those wards stopped everyone but a select few getting in, or whether they were specific. There's not time for that now.
The ward flares as Koa's counterward goes into action, the kinetic force and magical blasts abating around the big metal man. That's when the shots ping off his frame. Bullets and blasts of magic. Coming from inside the house.
The magic will hurt but how much? The bullets? Perhaps they need to try harder, though Koa is at risk from richochet.
Koa can easily the voices with his weapon fire. Cover fire doesn't necessarily aim at anyone in particular but the WAND agent can hear as people are people are hit. It causes a stuttering in the barrage against the pair, allowing Piotr to barrel through the door.
Inside the building, it's dark. The lights are out but they can hear scrabbling as intermittent blasts of magic and weaponfire come at them from doors along the hall they find themselves in. From the back of the building though, they can … chanting.
Are they being delayed?
"Spasibo." Piotr responds as Koa speaks and casts the counterward, but it flares hard around the metal frame and he cries out for a moment, smoke and steam rising from the massive mutant as the ward shatters. But now he's free to operate as he wants, and he does so. Stepping through the rubble as he approaches the house, bullets smack into the armored form uselessly.
"Stay behind me." comes the order to Koa as he provides the shield for the WAND agent and grabbing a piece of rebar, he starts to stride forward towards the door of the house. And with the chanting beginning, he starts to pick up speed. "We must move quickly."
And with that, he's smashing open the door, planning to rip it aside from its frame - and part of the wall with it.
Koa does follow closely enough to continue to use cover. He isn't bullet proof even at his best. Once inside he takes the shots he can take but seems content to let Piotr do a lot of the clearing otherwise.
"Back there. I don't recognize the chant but any ritual spell they COULD be casting is probably bad news. Maybe we'll be lucky and they're just saying their affirmations."
Probably not though. THey should deal with that.
As Piotr moves down the hallway, the two men can hear the chanting grow louder. Koa might not recognise the chant, but he certainly can make some of the word. Old Gods, Chthulic, in nature. Probably not good news as he says.
The hallway opens into a big room at the back. Robed figures arranged about an etching on the floor can be seen. Hard to tell what that etching is, but there are five figures standing at points - probably not a stretch to imagine what that is.
Piotr is thrown back as he hits the doorway. He can't get through but he can feel the pull on him, the draining of his spirit - it's not strong yet, but it *is* getting stronger.
From behind them, four people exits rooms - how they were missed in the clearing is a good question. A wave of magical energy washes down the hall, one of them is a caster. The others, just open fire.
"Clear!" Piotr was walking down the hallway, looking into rooms, not realizing what he's actually missing in the process. That is until he gets to the end of hallway, and he tries to prepare to throw the iron bar, just as the spell slams into him and he's thrown back against the wall as he gives a sharp gasp of not exactly pain - but being caught off guard.
The the gasp turns into a growl and he's lowering his tone in Russian as he tries to break through the spell - his armored form a hinderance more than a help at the moment. But he can't transform back, because he knows that would rip at his spirit faster.
And then he turns his head, catching sight of the opening door. "On your left, Agent Turner!"
Koa turns when Piotr shouts his warning and tosses up a shield just in time to not get shredded by a barrage of gunfire. "Can you get through?" He calls over his shoulder. He can't drop the shield or it's trouble for the both of them but he also can't attack through it.
Fortunately… he has an option. This is a building. So he punches into the wall and finds a water pipe.
"Alright. Surf's up, folks." The water that comes out of the pipe is shaped into a cutting edge and sent through the wall, arcing around toward his attackers. Hopefully Piotr can push through the barrier.
Piotr batters at the spell that holds the pair out of the room. It arcs and sparks across his metal form - for anyone else that would painful, but for Piotr? Maybe not. The drain on his spirit slowly growing as the chanting increases.
The water literally slices up the hallway, through Koa's and Piotrs attackers, the water turning red as the bodies are swept away. They hadn't expected *that*.
With the attackers down, the barrier starts to wane as the chanters focus their effort on their ritual. The cadence doesn't increase but the intensity does. There's a sense they're hoping to get this finished before the pair break through.
Piotr can though. And Koa can follow … although when he broke through the wall, he revealed some interesting markings - Crosses marked on the sheeting. Crosses that have absorbed some of the previous occupants faith.
The pull on his spirit is rough, but Piotr grits his teeth, determined to push through it as he finally forces himself forward, into the wall - and then through the wall. Plaster, wood, and wallpaper are all shredded as the massive mutant rips into room and stumbles slightly. Much like the massive wrecking ball that he is.
Grabbing the nearest piece of furniture, he's turning to fling it at the nearest figure. But he's not able to throw it as hard as he can. He feels that pull, that drain on his spirit keenly. It's what has him away from that piece of him that's given form.
Koa comes in behind, still controlling that sharp stream of water. The crosses will bear a closer look later but at the moment the key is to stop that chanting. While the big metal man comes in from the front, Koa sends the water on an arc behind. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
Piotr's thrown piece of furniture hits the nearest figure and they sway, not leaving the mark they're standing on. It *has* to hurt.
Koa can see it now, the pentagram with Cthulic markings at its points and its starting to glow, a portal opening … yawning wide. "Welcome, King of Limbo." one of the figures intones "We have been waiting for you. Well, Belasco has. Just … step through the door."
The pull on Piotrs will is immense now and it would be just so easy to step through. He can resist it but the spell needs to be broken.
There's a guttural noise that rises from Piotr as he glares at the portal. What was it that Koa said?
Don't accept anything?
"This is my response." He grabs one of the casters and turns to fling him through the portal in his stead. "KOA! CLOSE IT!"
Because Piotr knows, a few more moments of this, and he may cave.
Koa steps out from behind Piotr with his silver eyes gleaming. "My pleasure."
The circle is shielded and defended by the power of the Old Gods. But Koa is familiar with this. A lot more familiar than he used to be. He starts weaving another counterward all while directing the surge of lethal water with his free hand to bat away any efforts to stop him.
When he's finished his ward dissolves into fine golden dust and flows into the portal. It shrinks and shrinks and shrinks and finally vanishes, taking the power with it.
Then Koa's water simply… rips through most of the magi. Most, but not all.
Just before Piotr can throw the caster, the portal opens fully and solidifies. Anchored. Throwing the caster sends them through it. Does it bother them? Hard to tell, they're gone before they could utter a sound.
Koa can feel the old world gods power. The draw of it is intoxicating as well. When the fine gold dust flows into the portal, the one that spoke cries out "He will return to our Master. The King of Limbo will …" The flow of water silences him - but he's one of the two left alive.
The remaining casters meet the same fate as their brethren in the hallway. It's a little like a jaws movie really.
All is finally silent and the tug on Piotrs will abates.
"Thank you.. Agent Turner." Piotr draws in several heavy breaths, trying to find his focus again, and pull himself back together. At least his will. "I will get you vodka." he rumbles finally in a moment of gratitude. "At least they are focused on me, and not Keiko."
"Yes though if Belasco wants you I'm not sure that's good news." Koa says. "Either way I could use that Vodka. Let me call this in and then we can go get it."
Koa finally lets the reddened water go and it splashes down on the floor lending a more jaws like air to the scene. He's used to it. Piotr clearly is too. Right now, though, he doesn't want to think on it too hard, nor the way the world seems to slow when he feels his heart beat once every blue moon. He just wants a stiff drink.