On Holy Ground

[Dr Archeville]

"Ohhhh," the demon roars, "you are going to pay or that, mortal!"

The dark light from the demon's bones rolls up into his taloned hands, forming a ball of dark fire. Te ball grows and grows in size, until finally he releases it, slamming it into the guard which had shot him!

[MBCE]

Belphegor's firey ball slammed into the man causing serious damage. The fight looked to be almost over.

---

The Ghost saw that Belphegor was back to his own tricks. 'Good to see him back in the swing of things!'

Still holding on to the strange power even though it was costing him dearly, Ghost turned his power back upon the two men. The stagggered man was closer to the edge of the effect and managed to avoid taking any more damage. His partner, however, was grazed again.

The Ghost forwned as he saw that the two men were still standing. His breath was coming in large puffs the strain of focusing his power in such a different format showing. "Finish them off, Bel!"

[MBCE]

One of the gunmen managed to shake off the previous blast. He took a moment to see that the odds were not in his favor. His companion was seriously wounded and the other three underlings were out cold. He had a job to do though and running wasn't a part of his job description. He aimed his gun at the demon before him and fired. The blast barely hit the demon. Once teh blast was away, he quickly made an adjustment to his weapon, changing the setting.

---

The Ghost cringed when he saw the blast hit his companion again. 'He's tough. He can take it.'

The Ghost took a moment to look at teh demon to see how he was affected again this time. If Belphegor was taken out of the fight now, Ghost had no idea how he was going to be manage getting the coin from their adversary. Hopefully, Lady Fortune would watch out for them in the end.

[Dr Archeville]

"I'm gonna teARGH!" the demon roared as the force of the blow actually knocked him against the back of the elevator.

The shot tore through the demon's shoulder and wing, and Ghost could see a blue-white light at the edges of the wound, 'eating away' at the demon's flesh, which bubbled and dribbled down in back chunks.

Looks like... whoever Kapatelis got... to hallow these grounds... really knew his stuff!

[MBCE]

The Ghost's eyes widen at the sight of the blue fire burning through the demon's skin. Things had suddenly turned extremely bad for the two and it was just going to get worst if the two men couldn't be taken out of the fight.

The Ghost stepped out of the elevator covering Belphegor with his own body, hoping that his own uncanny luck could help keep the demon alive long enough to finish their job. "I've had about enough of you two as I'm going to take."

Again he exerted his power over teh area with devestating effect. The lights, already broken with wires exposed swayed around the area striking the two men again. The electric shock dropped the first man and heavily wounded the other.

"He's all yours, Belphegor." Ghost moved to the side to give the demon a clear shot at the distorientated man.

[Dr Archeville]

"Foolish mortal!" the demon bellows as another ball of dark fire appears in his hand, quickly swelling in size, "prepare to meet thy maker!"

The demon flings its beach ball-sized ball of dark fire, but it misses wildly; perhaps the damage the demon had suffered to its shoulder was throwing off its aim.

Oh, come on!

[MBCE]

The Ghost smiled as he saw the large ball of firey death fly passed him towards the remaining gunman. That smile turned quickly to a frown when he saw the blast miss its target, again. Sweat had begun to bead along his forehead, the strain of focusing his power in such an unfamiliar way starting to get to him.

"Great! Maybe if you stop bragging, you'd actually hit the guy, Belphegor."

Ghost released his concentration and returned it to a more familar method. He smiled as he watched Belphegor's ball of flame bounce of the back wall to hit the stunned gun man. The angle must have been off as most of the energy failed to damage the man much.

'Oh crap! Now my luck's failing. This is going to hurt.'

---

Seriously wounded, alone, and facing two powered beings, gave the security man knew it was only a matter of time before he was over powered. He glanced behind him at the door that was the last barrier of protection of his ward.

The man lifted his weapon and pointed it at teh two intruders and fired. A small bead of energy flew passed the lead man dressed in black before exploding. The blast expanded to catch both the demon and man.

[MBCE]

The Ghost's eyes widen as the bead of force moved passed him. Not really knowing what would happen, he dived to the ground to avoid what was coming.

The blast of energy exploded outward but as luck would have it, it passed above his prone figure.

'That was close!'

As the explosion subsided, Ghost glanced behind to see how Belphegor faired from the blast.

[Dr Archeville]

"I know what I'm doing, mor- whoa... oh, dammit!"

At first it looked like the demon had twisted behind the door of the elevator just enough to avoid the brunt of the blast, but at the last moment his damaged wing spasmed and stuck out, and was caught in the middle of the blast. It was apparently a very painful experience.

[MBCE]

Ghost couldn't believe it. the blast had caught Belphegor after all.

'Great! Now it's up to me to take out this guy.'

The Ghost looked about wondering how Lady Fortune would help this time when he noticed a small piece of rubble from the recent explosion. Quickly he picked it up and tossed it in the general area of lone gun man. The rock fell short but landed on trigger hand of one of the unconcious men. The sudden impact caused a jerking motion that set off the gun. The weapon, aimed awkwardly at the wall blew chucks of concrete at the lone man.

The security guard saw the debris coming and managed to twist just enough to avoid any more damage.

'This guy must have the Lady's blessing as well!'

[MBCE]

Again, he had avoided taking more damage from the two villains. One was stunned and the other was prone on the ground. He aimed his gun lower to ensure that the blast would catch the prone man in black even though it would lessen the chances of hitting the demon in the elevator.

A bead of energy sailed out closer to the ground and detenated only slightly beyond the Ghost's position. The blast, placed at a lower level than before caught the edge of the elevator, giving Belphegor a small measure of protection.

---

The Ghost saw the man taking aim and knew there was not much he could do to avoid the blast this time. He tried to roll to the side in an attempt to avoid the worst of the blast, but he moved just a little too slowly.

The Ghost's vision swam as he felt the pain rip through his body. 'Somebody get the number of that truck...'

[Dr Archeville]

"Oh, you miserable little mortal! I'm gonna roast you!"

Another ball of dark fire appeared in the demon's hand, but unlike the others it did not grow much larger once created. The demon pulled back and flung the hellball towards the one remaining foe... and missed as the guard successfully ducked out of the way.

I'm not sure which is worse, the pin in my shoulder or the fact this guy won't go down!

[MBCE]

The gunman smiled as the ball of fire flashed passed him to hit the wall harmlessly. Both of the intruders were wounded and were near falling.

"Looks like you boys picked the wrong place to break into!" he said as he fired again. Teh bead of energy flashed slighty between the two men and exploded in a ball of energy.

---

The Ghost could just barely make out the words being said. His wits had returned and he looked up just in time to see the bead of energy fly overhead.

'Not again!' was the only thought he had before his world exploded once again.

With nowhere to hide, the blast caught Ghost completely. It was only luck that kept him from only taking minor damage from the blast.

'Oh divine Lady. Thank you for watching over me!'

[Dr Archeville]

"Looks like you picked the wrong day to come in to work!," he demon roared back as it tossed another hellfire ball. The demon's luck appeared to have changed: not only was he unfazed by the guard's latest blast, but his hellfireball found its mark!

[MBCE]

The ball of fire seemed to grow larger and larger as it headed directly towards the wounded gunman. He tried to dodge out of the way, but in his weakened state, the blast hit him easily. He took the full brunt of the blast in the chest which lifted him from his feet and back a short distance. Only the door behind him stopped him from going further. The security man slumped unconcious to the floor.

The corridor was finally free of obstacles. Only a single door stood between them and their target.

---

The Ghost smiled weakly at the results of Belphegor's attack. Slowly he stood up and turned that same smile towards teh demon.

"I knew you had it in ya. Glad to see there's a use for you after all."

The thief moved over to the closest man and picked up the gun. He turned it over in his hands for a moment before tossing it to the ground.

"Pretty sophisticated weaponry for a bunch of rent-a-cops. I'm starting to think this George fella is a major player of some kind. I hope he doesn't have any more surprises like that one."

[Dr Archeville]

"You're not so useless yourself, Ghost," the demon replied, actually referring to him by name instead of "mortal". He stretched a bit, testing his badly damaged shoulder & wing, and from the expression on his face it seemed they were worse off than he'd initially thought.

"Think the Don would be... interested in this gear?," he asked, his breathing labored from the large amounts of damage he'd taken. "Might get us a.... a bit of a bonus with him."

[MBCE]

The Ghost shrugged his shoulders which brought a grunt of pain. "Not sure but it couldn't hurt to take one with us. I tried firing it but nothing happened. There must be some kind of key to use it. I can check later when we have more free time."

Ghost hadn't missed teh use of his name but neither did he let it change what they needed to do. Again, he picked up the gun an dquickly dropped it in his pack. With the weapon safely tucked away, he slowly made his way to the door.

'I can't continue like this. I need to do something if I'm going to complete this job.'

The Ghost squatted and checked the last man to fall. He smiled when he noted the small healing pack. Quickly, he took the pack and slapped it on his arm. Soothing energy flowed through his body, removing most of the pain. Feeling better, Ghost turned his attention to the door at hand.

"Let's take a look at what we have to work with."

[MBCE]

Teh ghost moved up to teh door and took a moment to look at the lock. It was a very well made one. Ghost opened his pack and took out his tools and began to work on the complex locing device.

'Haven't seen a lock like this in a normal home before. What do I expect considering the muscle he's got on his pay roll.'

After a short time, Ghost took a step back from the door.

"It's going to take some time to get through this. We could probably blast it down, but it's bound to be able to take a beating. By now, George would know we've finished off his guys. At least I would think so. Perhaps we can bluff him into opening it from the other side?"

[Dr Archeville]

When Ghost looked back to the demon, he was not standing beside him, as he thought. He was back at the downed men, crouched over one. Ghost could hear... sickening sounds.

I can't believe I'm doing this... but these demonic instincts... they compel me!

The demon rose up and walked slowly towards Ghost; he could see the the massive chunk which had been blown out of the demon's shoulder and wing was now mostly healed, though he still showed many wounds over the rest of his body from all the other blasts they'd suffered.

He then raised one taloned finger to his lips, and motioned to him to step away from the door. When he next spoke, he sounded less like himself and more like the one of the guard's leaders, "Mister Kapetelis, we've neutralized the intruders, but... but there's something really odd about them. I think you need to come out and see this for yourself.

[MBCE]

The strange noises drew The Ghost's attention. He looked over his shoulder and noted with disgust, Belphegor's method of restroing his health. Quickly he averted his gaze to keep from losing control of his own bodily functions.

'this is no time to lose it, Sammy. You're here to do a job and you knew he was going to have strange methods of dealing with situations. Just be glad it's not you he's using to regain strength from.'

As Belphegor moved forward, Ghost took a step back from the door. He ws surprised by the sudden change in voice but remained silent watching to see how effective the ploy was.

---

Silence coming from the corridor worried George Kapetelis. He had no idea what had gotten through his gate and set off his alarms. He had just enough time to reach the secured room before the intruders ahd reached the elevator.

His guards told him to lock the door and wait for their signal before opening it again. The muted sounds of gunfire as well as explosions, made its way into the George's area. Without a camera in the corridor, he had no idea as to the outcome.

George quickly moved to the door after hearing his guard signal the threat was neutralized.

[MBCE]

The sound of bolts being drawn was the first clue that Belphegor's words were even heard on the other side. Slowly the door swung open to reveal a short thin man. His eyes widen in surprised at the scene of unconscious men and damaged lights. A look of horror filled his face as he saw the winged demon standing before the door.

George Kapetelis knew he had been tricked. He began to close the door when the man in black pushed the door wide open, knocking George to the ground. The black clad man moved into the room and looked about the sparsely furnished room.

"Wh...what do you want with me?!"

---

The Ghost stood by the door, waiting to see the results of Belphegor's bluff. The sound of a bolt being drawn free was the first sign that Belphegor's ruse worked.

'What do you know. It worked.'

Ghost waited for the door to open before he pushed his way into the next room, knocking over the thin man that had opened it. The rest of the room was sparsely furnished, with only a few chairs and a desk in the room. A large bookcase covered the far wall.

"Doesn't look like anyone else is in here. This has got to be the fella we were sent to talk to. Doesn't look like much to me."

[Dr Archeville]

"Wh...what do you want with me?!"

"What we want, little mortal, is-" the demon began, then suddenly paused, and looked a bit... nauseous? He cleared his throat and began again, "What we want is... is...."

Intimidating demands did not flow from the demon's mouth. Rather, it was something far more vile, combined with wracking coughs. For while his half-demon body had been able to restore itself from the gruesome acts it had done moments ago, the other half -- his human half -- violently rebelled at those acts.

"Damn," he said with surprising regret at the ruined rug, "that looked like it was a nice antique kilim, too."

Kapatelis' expression had gone from fear to annoyance, "Who are you people?"

[MBCE]

The Ghost quickly sidestepped the sudden exspulsion by Belphegor. Seeing small parts of flesh appear almost made him lose his lunch.

"That was impressive."

Ghost moved in front of Kapetelis and dragged the man to one of the chairs, placing him into it.

"Who were are is not important, Mr. Kapetelis. What you need to be concerned with is whether you end up this fella's lunch or not. If you don't give us what we want."

Ghost smiled at the man.

[Dr Archeville]

"Wh... whatever you want!" Kaptelis screamed, "ju-just keep that thing away from me!"

Belphegor rose up, wiping vomitus from his fanged muzzle, "We want the coin, mortal! Give it to us!"

Kapatelis paled even more, and quickly glanced to the bookcase on the far wall. "The Coin of Ziocles?! No! I... I can't! I won't! I-"

Belphegor approached Kapetelis, grabbed him by the upper arms, and hoisted him into the air, "You will!"

"S-secret passage, behind the bookcase!" he blurted. "There's a passageway that leads to a secret vault. Take whatever you want, just please, please-"

Belphegor dropped him to the floor, then walked over to the bookcase. He studied it a moment....

Good selection here... art, history, medicine.... wait, are those real mystical tomes, or just poseur versions? Man, I wish I knew more about real magic. Okay, I could just pull books at random, hoping one is the right trigger... or I could do THIS!

The demon gripped either side of the bookcase, and pulled the entire thing forward. There was a loud CRACK as he tore the mechanisms free, and now they were faced with a hole in the wall which opened to some stairs going down.

[MBCE]

Ghost shock his head at Belphegor's brute tactics again.

"One of these days, I'll have to point out how to do things a lot more subtle. There's no need to destroy everything in our path. Who knows what valuable items will be damaged that way."

With the way opened, Ghost moved up to the edge and looked down the stairs. Not sure what to expect but willing to avoid any surprises, Ghost took the lead.

"I'll go first. Perhaps I can spot any surprises that may be in store for us."

Here, Ghost was in his world. He stepped lightly while keeping his eyes open for any possible pressure plates or trip wires. It was if he had truely become his namesake.