Dark Ceremony:
Shortie by Lone Wolf
Starring: Ashley Williams

~Wicked prophets kill~

	The chapel at Old Hill in the Tomita Provence used to be the most 
respected of religious sites on planet. Towering at an impressive eight 
stories, it was build to worship the old world god known as Bahamut, an 
ancient dragon of legend. But the years flew by, and the chapel was overrun 
by so many different black cults and followings. The current residents were 
doing something that was a threat to us all.

	The town at the base of Old Hill has been known to ignore the constant 
problems that the chapel poses, so I was told not to expect any assistance 
from the local folk. But as I entered the supposedly dormant little village, 
I could tell something was up and I was definately going to get some help.

	A small group had gathered around a platform, upon which a raccoon 
stood. He was giving a speech of some sort. I had to move closer to hear 
what he was saying. "....will not stand for this!" he shouted. "We will go 
up into that chapel and we will take back our child. They will not sacrifice 
her to their dark god!"
	Instantly, I felt my muscles tighten. "Excuse me," I called to him. 
Everyone looked at me. "I think I may be of service."
	"Who are you?" the man asked.
	"I'm an Agent with the Hunters. I was sent here to deal with the 
disturbance at the chapel."
	His eyes lit up. "You're a Hunter?" I nodded. The crowd divided as he 
hopped off and approached me. "We need your help and fast. They start the 
ceremony in ten minutes."
	"Whoa, slow down. Who's doing what?"
	"The Kiri. They're planning on sacrificing one of our children to 
their dark gods tonight." He shook his head. "Their leader is a 
lycanthrope."
	I quirked a brow. "A...what?"
	"He can switch at will between a normal form like what we are and a 
ravenous, muscular beast. He is quite dangerous."
	"All right. What is he?"
	"He's a wolf."
	"Great, just what I need. Another Michael." I noticed the questioning 
look on his face. "Nevermind. I'll handle him."
	"Here, use this on him." He handed me a miniature crossbow and a small 
belt quiver of silver bolts. "Use this on him to get rid of him for good."
	I took the small package. "Thank you, but my firearm will do fine 
against him."
	"If you insist. When the opportunity presents itself, kill him. Don't 
allow our child to be sacrificed."
	"I promise you. She won't die." He nodded and stepped out of the way. 
My path to the chapel was clear. I knew what I had to do.

	I could feel the dark energies dancing along the stone walls as I 
entered the chapel. I stopped at the main enterance way and watched 
silently. All but the last row of seats had been ripped out by the many 
previous cults that set up shop here in the last century or so. The once 
white alter was now stained brown due to the many reported animal 
sacrifices. There was nothing but colorful shards of the beautiful stained 
glass window that I had heard so much about. The once mighty chapel, which 
housed the alter for Bahamut, was now dismal, dingy, and destroyed.

	There were a number of followers to the Kiri in the room. All wore 
black robes and were on their knees, bowing to the alter. Upon the alter was 
a young girl, probably no older than 16. Her long, pink tail, grayish fur, 
and short bucked teeth showed that she was a mouse breed of some sort. She 
was bound and gagged, squirming on the alter. My temper surged again, but I 
remained still. Another figure soon appeared on the scene. He wore black 
robes and a highly ornate mask, which depicted a demon with large, spiraling 
horns. The followers began to chant as he raised his hands and started to 
speak. "We offer this sacrifice to you, great Tiamat. Use its energies to 
come to our world and bring about your reign." With that, he took a gold 
dagger from the alter and raised it over the mouse. She screamed in silent 
horror. The chanting started to get louder.....

	There was a single shot from a firearm.....

	The gold dagger went flying from the leader's hand and imbedded itself 
in the wall.....

	Everyone, startled at the action, turned to me.....

	My firearm was drawn. It was pointing at the leader. I was not a very 
happy person.

	"Release her now or suffer with a hole in your head."
	The leader laughed. "I didn't think the townsfolk would get this gutsy 
and come up to stop us. What're you gonna do, little one?" Reflexes kicked 
in and I fired again, blowing the tip of one of his mask's horns off. I 
leveled the gun on his head.
	"I am an agent with the Hunters. I was sent in to stop you. Stop your 
ceremony and release the girl, or I will kill you."
	The creature laughed. "Yeah, right." He snapped his fingers. The 
faithful got up and turned to me. "Take care of her." The faithful chuckled 
and threw their cloaks open. Every one of them either had a firearm, a 
shotgun, or some other sort of weapon. They started to draw. My reflexes 
kicked in again. 8 were dead on the ground before their wepons could be 
fully drawn. I slid to one side as they opened fire. I took out a few more 
and dove behind the seats as they rattled off round after round at me. I 
watched as the back of the seats were filled with holes. I pulled a flash 
grenade from my belt and threw it at them. The grenade bounced once and 
exploded, stunning the faithful. I got up and quickly finished the job.
	"Not bad. You freaks almost had me beat." I turned to their leader. 
"Now, as I was saying, you going to set the girl free or am I going to have 
to riddle your sorry ass full of holes?"
	He laughed and took off his mask. All I could see was the tip of his 
muzzle and his glowing red eyes. "You will not be able to defeat me. I 
posess powers you Hunters can't handle. Fell my wrath." With that, his 
entire body began to grow. His hand sprouted ugly claws. His upper body 
exploded with muscles, tearing the robe apart. His muzzle grew ravenous 
teeth. Every bit of fur grew shaggy. And those eyes....they just grew so 
beady. He laughed, sending shivers down my spine. "Come, little one," he 
said, his voice deeper. "Meet your fate."
	"Bullshit asshole." I fired my firearm off a couple of times. He 
winced at the hits, my shots showing up on his chest as bloody marks. But 
did he fall? No. He just shook it off and laughed.
	"Nice try doll." Suddenly, every muscle in his leg tensed (I could see 
it) and he shot forward. He was as accurate as I was; I was knocked sharply 
into the wall. "You will know defeat." He came up to me. "Your time is over. 
See you on the other side."
	"See this, moron." I raised my gun and shot him in the eye. He howled 
in pain. Not too happy with what happened, he grabbed me by my collar and 
threw me across the room. I cleared the alter just fine.
	"You'll pay bitch." He charged at the alter and flew over it, and the 
terrified girl. 
	But I had other plans. 
	I raised the small crossbow at him. "Make you time," I said, pulling 
the tiny trigger. The silver bolt flew up and implanted itself in the sole 
of his foot. He howled, lost control of his jump, and crashed into what was 
left of the frame of the stained glass. I got up and loaded the crossbow 
again. "Don't you ever EVER call me doll." I aimed and fired a single bolt 
into his forehead. His misery, as well as his life, was over.

	But it wasn't over. I felt a dark energy behind me. I turned and saw 
the girl slowly rising, her body encased in a sphere of black light. Pain 
played on her face. I had to act quickly. I looked around for something that 
would help. And that's when I saw it - a medium sized rat that had taken up 
shelter in the chapel. My instincts kicked in. I quickly scooped up the rat 
and dover at the girl. I snatched her from the dark energy and left the rat 
in her place. I landed and we rolled away. I pulled the gag out of her 
mouth. "You okay?"
	"That hurt!" she cried.
	"At least you're still alive. Now, hang on." I sat her up and cut her 
bindings with my knife. "Now, get out of here. A whole load of shit is going 
to happen and I don't want you involved. Can you do that?" She nodded. "Go!" 
She got up and hobbled out. I stood and watched.

	The rat squirmed uncomfortably, trapped for good in the energy. 
Suddenly, it went limp. Death had claimed yet another victim. "What's going 
on?" I asked, not expecting to get an answer.
	One of the followers, which I thought was dead, started to move. I 
aimed at him. "Shoot the rat with a silver bolt."
	"What?!"
	He looked up at me. "We took the girl because....she was a virgin. She 
was pure. We needed a being....of purity to open the dark gate. The rat....
is not pure. Shoot it....with a bolt or we're all-" He collaped, never to 
get up again. But his message was clear. I lined the shot up, steadied 
myself, and fired. The bolt pierced the rat squarely in the center. The dark 
energy around it began to quake and turn white. The force from the activity 
forced me back a few steps. I decided it was best not to stay and ran out. 

	I reached the halfway point on the hill before the chapel was bathed 
in a collumn of white light. I was sent to my belly. I rolled over onto my 
back and looked up towards the chapel. I could see a faint image in the 
collumn of light - a five headed dragon. One head was white, one was black, 
one was blue, one was green, and one was red. The dragon howled and 
disappeared. I watched in horror as the beam of light got brighter. I had to 
cover my eyes. It was then I heard the voice. "I thank you," it said. "You 
have purged the chapel devoted to me of all it's desecration. I, Bahamut, 
thank you." With that, there was a flash. When I looked again, the chapel 
was gone.

	I slowly made my way back to the town. I was greated with a hero's 
welcome. I had done these people a great service. They could live in peace 
forever. I ran into the girl I had saved. She thanked me profusely. And 
then, she said she had something to show me. I agreed. "An old hermit 
approached me and handed me this pendant." She took it from her cloak and 
handed it to me. "He said to keep it with me at all times." I gave it a once 
over. It was made of platinum, and bore an inscribed picture of a noble 
looking dragon.
	I chuckled and handed it back to her. "Don't lose this," I told her. 
"You might just find it useful some day."
	She smiled. "I will, ma'am." She gave me a hug. "And thank you for 
saving my life back there."
	I laughed and hugged back. "It's my job. That's why I came here." She 
let go and I departed. But I couldn't help taking another look at the old 
hill. Tiamat and Bahamut, I suspect, must have been, or are, mortal enemies. 
I saw the hideous five headed dragon, which must have been Tiamat. And I 
heard Bahamut's voice. I was either going mad, or I had just been involved 
in something much deeper than us mortals could comprehend. Either way, I 
would have to report this when I got home.

	I knew it was going to be a bitch to explain.

End
Ashley Williams is © Lone Wolf and <([ Lone Wolf Studios ])>
Tiamat, Bahamut, and their descriptions were taken from the "Advanced 
Dungeons and Dragons™ Monster Manual." © 1977, 1978 TSR Games.

See you next time.
	-Ashley Williams and crew