Father was there.
There was a shout, a loud, angry howl
Then there was pain...
...blood...
...Father screaming my name...
Eden Marie, Daughter of Spengler
What's that voice?
Time grows short.
For what?
The Sacred Twins must be together, or all is lost...
After a time trip on the night of their twenty-fifth birthday, Eden and John each found themselves in a different cracked version of reality as of the day they were born. With the help of the two distorted versions of their parents and the other original Ghostbusters, the mad plan of the man called Josiah Nodus was thwarted and reality was restored. But in the process, Nodus made the shocking claim that John is the missing Child of Zodiac, Gemini of the Primordial Winds.
John met with the Dean of the Sons of Ether, Dr. Enrico Amore, who reveals himself as another of the Children, Libra of the Dynamic Winds. But even he doesn't know if John is the one they've been looking for--no one will until something happens that would otherwise kill John.
To make matters worse, a mysterious woman visits Ghostbusters Central when the others are gone--the Herald of Gozer, aka Scorpio of the Steady Waters, the fallen Child of Zodiac not seen since GBI closed the Tonnes Quarry Crossrip in 2004.
Then she turns up at the Spengler Institute, claiming to be stalked by a werewolf--the same one Marie and TJ encountered two years earlier, Reinhold Talbot, aka "Tungsten"! The twist is--he's working with the Herald. And together they kidnap Eden Spengler, though the Herald abandons him to make her escape.
The current Ghostbusters--along with Ray and Egon--go in search of the missing Eden and her kidnappers, though TJ insists that John stay at GBCentral--he's the one the Herald is after.
Egon and the disgruntled Tungsten catch up to the Herald at the same time. The werewolf attempted to attack his erstwhile ally, but the Herald was quicker--and Eden Spengler bore the brunt of Tungsten's rage!!!
A lodge in Stockholm
A spacious grove in Greece
A secret lair somewhere in Tokyo, guarded by stone lions
A peaceful forest in Bohemia
A Gothic castle in Romania
The fortified null zone known as The Star Chamber
The covenant of Dragonsfall.
And in a hidden village in the depth of Africa.
They all felt it at once.
What was that?!?!
At those places...and in one more place, a city that has has been called the greatest in the world...
"...Called the EMT's--they'll be here if..."
"Where's the wolf? And the psycho woman?!"
"Pippi!!! Digivolve--FIND HIS ASS!!!"
"...bloody hell...bloody goddamn hell..."
"Professor, don't move her."
"SHUT UP DAMMIT!!!"
Blood? Yes...that's the scent. It's obvious. Why was it so difficult to identify it...I can barely...I'm so cold...
Janine chuckled. Amore noticed she was now wearing her Ghostbuster uniform, and had a curious device strapped to her arm. "John's not one for sitting around, Dr. Amore." She sighed. "Gets that from both sides of the family, actually."
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." John rolled his eyes. "I just wish they'd call or something, even just to say 'no progress yet'...this is driving me..."
He didn't finish the sentence before he doubled over, like he'd been punched in the gut.
"JOHN!" Janine called.
In her understandable concern for her son, she didn't even notice that their guest flinched at the exact same moment.
"You alright, Boss?" Terchi asked.
"No." the wizard shook his head. "But Delphia was clear..."
"Delphia?" Coda asked.
Fallagar smiled slightly. "I keep forgetting that neither of you have ever met her. I'll have to change that soon."
He had seen her at the Star Chamber the previous week, after he'd felt the first stirrings of something...changing.
" 'Is have anything to do wif what's got y' 'air on fire, Boss?" Coda said. "I fot for sure when y' said 'We're goin' back to Dragonsfall' we wuz about to go barnstorm some'um..."
"Me too." Terchi agreed.
Fallagar sighed, and sat down.
"Ultimately, Nodus was not right...but not wrong, either. Friedrich, my filius...you must not interfere. Remain at your covenant. All is about to happen as it should...Giordano must be there, and one other, but if any of the others--including us--were to interfere....the results could be catastrophic."
" 'One other', Milady?"
Delphia had merely smiled that infuriating, enigmatic smile she gave whenever she was about to not tell him something. "She will play the most ironic role of all--despite herself, she will make it happen."
She felt her senses expand. She saw them. Her father. Her friends. They all look so...
...Edward...I wish I could see Edward...I wanted to learn so much about him, and about these feelings...
There was a warm white light...still in the distance...but then, from the other direction, a sudden spark of orange light. She heard the voice from a moment before, and realized it was from the spark.
The divine light will receive you, Eden Marie, if that is your choice...but there is another path.
Choice? I don't...
But this is a choice that, unlike the eleven who came before, cannot be made alone
The Sacred Twins must make it as one.
Damn that Lupine...I should have completely destroyed what little brain he has when I had the chance...
How did it get out of control so fast? The fool Tungsten--she had reacted by pure instinct, the object--the person--her telekinesis was grasping was moved to intercept the angry cur.
She had stopped the Lupine, but then she was slammed by an angry proton beam accompanied by a feral howl that did not come from the wolf-man...
She managed to get away in the commotion--all of those assembled were more concerned for their wounded friend than her. But that wouldn't last long.
Then there was the stab of pain in her head when the Spengler girl went down.
What was that?! In fifteen hundred years I've never felt something like that...
She shook her head angrily. The Herald of Gozer had lost control of the situation, but it was time to take it back.
She pulled out her cell phone, and dialed a number...
"I...I dunno, Mom..." John replied. "It's like all of a sudden I felt like I was about to hurl up the Clown Burger I had for dinner..."
"Those Mystery Clown Spices are quite potent." Janine joked nervously. "Might be better for you if you did..."
"There...is some sort of alarm going off, Doctor." Amore said.
John realized he was right. He dashed to what he still thought of as his mother's desk and logged into the computer, patching it into the firehouse's main sensor array.
"There was some sort of widespread PK spike just now..." John read from the data.
"Simultaneous with whatever happened to us." Amore stroked his chin.
Before John could ask what the Italian man meant by "us" another sound caught his attention.
His GBX was beeping loudly.
"Where's it coming from?" Janine asked, looking around.
John's expression as he looked at the device was flabbergasted. "It says...it's coming from me!?!?"
With all of this going on, they didn't even notice the phone ringing. Jerry Cranston quickly picked it up.
"Ghostbusters New York, Jerry speaking. I apologize, but we're having a situation at this time and are not accepting new clients. Please call back tomorrow between eight and five..."
The female voice on the other end said a single word.
"Shillelagh"
If the two Ghostbusters and Dr. Amore had been paying attention, they would have seen Jerry's face go blank. And a flash of aqua blue light come from his eyes.
He sat down at the reception desk, and rechecked. Heh. All the invoices are up to date. He glanced around furtively. Now to check DMZ and see how the new Ichika Nakano movie's coming along...
To his delight, there was a top story about "Japanese Scream Queen on the Set of the 'Nature Trail to Hell' Remake". Man, my Mom would probably be mad at me looking at all of these Japanese girls, but...
It was about then that he heard the door to the firehouse open. He looked up to see a woman walk in. There was nothing exceptional about the way she was dressed, though the cloth face mask was a bit unusual (though less so than say five years earlier). Between that and the dark sunglasses, she could be anyone--heck, for all Jeremy knew, even the tightly-bound red hair was just a wig.
"Welcome to Ghostbusters, I'm Jeremy--how can I help you?"
She looked around. "Are the Ghostbusters here?"
"Afraid not, Miss..." He waited a few seconds in case she introduced herself. She didn't. "...The team just had a call, though one of the Spenglers had a meeting. Do you wish to wait, or do you want to leave your contact information? I'm not a paranormal expert myself, but I can answer some basic questions."
She reached up and removed her sunglasses. "Perfect. It means no one will stop me from getting everything you know from you." Her eyes were glowing aqua blue.
The young man made a garbled noise as she blasted her way into his mind...
"You will do everything I tell you." The woman said simply.
"Yes." Jeremy replied flatly.
"Access the personnel files of all five of the current Ghostbusters." she ordered.
"Yes." Jeremy said simply. "Done."
"Print out the summaries."
"Yes."
A few moments later, he handed the sheaf of papers to the glowing eyed woman.
"If I need your help again, Mister Cranston, you will hear my voice say the word 'shillelagh'. Until then...when I put my sunglasses back on, you will remember nothing that occurred when they were off, and you will leave my control until I need you again."
"I understand."
She put her sunglasses back on. His glazed eyes became clear again. "That will be fine for the moment, Mister Cranston." She turned and left. "I will try again some other time."
Jeremy found himself shivering as she closed the door.
"The ectoplasmic shutters!" John realized.
"Jerry!" Janine shouted, seeing him with the control box for the shutters.
Jerry vomitted a stream of aqua blue ectoplasm, then crumpled to the floor.
The doors to the firehouse were telekinetically torn open.
"You have served your purpose, Mister Cranston." the cold voice of the Herald of Gozer said simply.
"Back!" Amore said, interposing himself between the Spenglers and the Herald.
"Medici, really, after the Lupine disemboweled you just a couple hours ago? Even your kind has their limits."
"Our kind, Balor." Amore snarled. He made a gesture, and just as it had earlier in his battle with Tungsten, a rapier made of glowing green energy appeared in his right hand.
The Herald just snorted. She made a similar gesture, and a scythe made of the same energy, but glowing aqua blue, appeared.
"John?" Janine had grabbed her compact proton thrower, but realized her son was down on one knee, clutching his head.
"...Eden..." John said painfully. "...somehow...she's in my head...and in pain..."
"How is..." Janine didn't finish the question, as Amore was stabbed, and his bloody body thrown against the lockers, both the sword and the scythe disappearing.
"You were never a fighter, Medici." the Herald tsked dismissively. "And this is not your best day."
"Go to fucking hell, bitch!!!" Janine shouted, shooting the Herald with her thrower.
The Herald was thrown back into the front wall, beside the open doors.
"John!?" Janine looked back at John.
The Herald rose. "I remember you...the woman in the flying device." She simply slammed Janine with a telekinetic blast. "Just like then, I don't have time for you now either." Her eyes narrowed. "And the mother, I suppose. I truly did not intend to leave you completely childless today."
The Herald of Gozer, the woman sometimes known as Sharon Baylor, stood before the other sole remaining conscious person in the building.
"Johnathan Christopher Spengler, son of Egon the Ghostbuster." the Herald said. "We meet at last." She chuckled slightly. "Well, we meet again at last. You've grown since then." Her eyes narrowed. "How unfortunate that you will get no older after today."
John steeled himself, and looked at her, hoping his voice didn't waver. "I don't think I'm who you think I am. How about you come back in about eighty years or so and by then we should know for sure?"
"I give you efforts for trying." the Herald replied, a distinct note of amusement in her voice. "But that won't work."
If he were just a foot closer to that proton pack...
"Look, my understanding is that I don't really become a Zodiac guy until I die, right? So if you come back in 2104 and I'm dead then no harm no foul, right?"
He gripped his GBX.
"That is true."
"And if I really am this guy, wouldn't killing me now just make it happen?"
She chuckled slightly, which made him shiver. "Ah, you realized that. Yes, it requires death to undergo what they call your personal Ascension. Do you know how I underwent mine?"
"Nope."
"I was brutalized and murdered right after my family was slaughtered. But then I Ascended...and I literally made my killer's head explode." She stepped forward. "Which is why I cannot just kill you. I must annihilate you. I must so completely destroy you that there will be nothing left to undergo Ascension." She paused. "Proving the Children of Zodiac wrong in their absurd prophesies, and the man who's work thwarted Lord Gozer twice is dealt a harsh fate worse than his own death. A poetic end, I think."
He felt something well up. An anger. LIKE HELL his internal voice screamed. "But what if I'm not Lord Gemini?"
She actually laughed. "You really think you would be the first 'innocent' person I've murdered? You could fill rivers with the blood I've spilled over the last fifteen centuries."
He smirked slightly. "Then I ain't got anything to lose, do I?"
Before she could react, he hurled himself into her, slamming his GBX into her stomach, and released the entire energy load into her through the taser mode.
He then kept pushing, headbutting her through the doors of Ghostbusters Central, and taking them out into the street.
Until his head felt like it exploded.
"EDEN?!" he realized.
The Herald hadn't known what hit her. It wasn't until he stopped that she realized what the Spengler whelp had done...and even then, something was screaming in her brain.
Is this...is it happening?!
Excruciating pain overtook his senses.
"After I dismember you, I will throw your head into a blast furnace. You will be annihilated! Thoroughly, completely annihilated!!!"
She started to cackle loudly. "Forever Swimmer! Archmage of Winds! Technomage! Harlot of Venus! All of you--you have lost, and I HAVE WON!!!"
Johnathan Christopher Spengler felt his mind start to fade. He thought of his sister. He thought of...
"...Janey..."
Do you want to live?
He saw a spark of orange light. It grew into a shape, looking vaguely like two human-sized figures joined, literally, at the hip.
"What are you?"
Thirty-three revolutions of your planet ago, the others and we came to your world. Your parents, and the rest of the Five Who Are One, secured the future for the Age of Aquarius. I am the Keeper of the Primordial Wind, whom some would call...Lord Gemini
Time grows short for both of you, Johnathan Christopher...
" 'Both of...'?" John saw another glowing shape, a distinct female shape.
That of his sister.
Each time, we have appeared before those whom we have chosen as our successors. There is always a choice...
But alone among the Children of Zodiac, this decision must be made together, by both of the Sacred Twins. The Children of the Primordial Winds. Brother and Sister Gemini
An orb of orange light appeared between John and Eden.
"This...is the moment, isn't it?" John said "Everything I didn't want, didn't ask for...but there's only one real answer."
"I was so jealous of you...feeling so left out...and now..." Eden nodded. "Our job isn't done, Johnathan. We have a lot more living to do."
"For Mom, for Pop."
"For Eric, Marie...For Edward..."
"...For Janey..."
WE CHOOSE TO LIVE!!!
Hand in hand, the Gemini Twins reached for the ball of light...
...And it engulfed them.
Four times.
The late Eighth Century
The early Thirteenth Century
The mid Fifteenth Century
The late Sixteenth Century
But only a vague feeling of apprehension.
Not like this.
Not this searing, painful assault on all of her psychic senses.
Because those times were in connection to events unfolding hundreds, even thousands of miles away.
Not right here next to her
The pain was coursing through him...
Slower...concentrate on one thing...
...and then it stopped, with an abruptness that made his head spin.
But only for a fraction of a second.
"NO!" The Herald shouted. Something slammed into her, throwing her into the wall of the building next to the firehouse in a spray of crackling orange electric sparkles.
Something she knew well. Raw telekinetic force. And it wasn't hers.
Johnathan Christopher Spengler stood.
He opened his eyes.
They were glowing orange, the same electric sparkles playing around them.
"Sharon...you are beginning to get on my nerves..."
"DON'T MOVE!!!" another voice shouted, punctuated by the sound of a proton thrower being armed.
Janine stood there, compact thrower at the ready. Amore was right beside her.
The ECTO-1, lights burning, siren cutting the night, roared to a stop right next to John. The ECTO-3 screeched to a halt on the other side of the Herald.
In only seconds, with practice in two cases going back decades, the Herald of Gozer found herself surrounded by multiple proton throwers.
Janine and Egon Spengler. Ray and Eric Stantz. Marie Lupin. TJ Anderson.
The Herald stood there. Much of her black hood was gone, her limp red hair swirling around her. Under her low bangs, her eyes glowed aqua blue. "Damn you, Technomage, how in the name of the Traveler did you pull this off?!" she snarled.
"Believe it or not, Balor, I didn't do this at all." Amore shook his head. "You did."
"And how would I have done that?!"
The last door of the ECTO-1 opened.
It's surprisingly simple...
A blanket was wrapped around her torso, while her hair, her face, her skirt, and her legs were still covered with blood.
...You killed me.
Standing there was Eden Marie Spengler.
Like her brother, her eyes were glowing orange. Like her brother, sparks of orange electricity surrounded her head.
Giordano de Medici laughed, long and deep. "I can't believe that none of us--not even you--considered this, Sharon." He adjusted his glasses. "Gemini is the sign of the Twins. We thought him having a twin was enough...but it's not. In Atlantis a set of male and female twins were considered sacred. Thus, there is not just one Lord Gemini--there is also his Sacred Twin, Lady Gemini."
The Herald looked around. "Ghostbusters everywhere..." she sneered.
"Yeah, I know, that's an alien concept to you." John said firmly.
"I saw it in your mind." Eden nodded. "You have had allies, at best. But mostly you have patsies, and servants. You have no friends. You have no family."
John made a brief glance at TJ, smirking slightly. "And definitely not love." TJ rolled her eyes and smirked back.
"The first rule of Ghostbusting is 'Never go alone'." Eden stated.
"And because we're Ghostbusters..." John continued. "Our friends, our family, the people we love...are all right here! Which means..."
"We're never alone!!!" they said in unison.
"SETTING FIVE!!!" Egon shouted. "FIRE!!!"
Six proton beams--tinged in blue--slammed into the Herald of Gozer. "This can't be..."
The beams held her. She tried to move--but she couldn't!
She tried to reach out with her power...
"Intensity to level 2!" Egon ordered. "Modulating to disrupt her psychic resonance!!!"
The five beams became brighter. Egon's became the standard yellow-orange color.
The Herald writhed in the beam for a good thirty seconds.
Switch off!!!
All of them glanced at Eden...then complied.
After a few tense seconds more, the Herald shouted a feral Irish curse, and fell to her knees.
She remembered.
I had gotten so close...the portal was open. I had freed the Destructor, and reunited it with the Lord of the Sebouillia. The technomancers, the warlocks, and the beastmen were trying to stop us, but were failing...
...Until they weren't
"Fulmenius gladio!!"
The wizard's lightning tore through my abdomen.
I barely noticed.
The light had closed all around me.
Nothing.
"Macushla..."
A word in my own tongue. It meant "Beloved"
The voice called again. "My poor sweet bairn..."
The voice. One I still heard in my dreams, and my nightmares. A voice I had not actually heard in almost fifteen hundred years.
Then it said another word. A name. A name as dead as she was...the name she gave the girl that died and left me in her place.
I saw her appear out of the white mists...her head and arms were clear, the rest still concealed by the white light.
A head of hair the same red as my own, but cascading in curls. A face much like the one I see in my own mirror.
"...momma?" I was barely able to croak.
She took me into her arms. I could feel the warmth...a warmth that has been so alien to my existence...
"You've grown up strong, and beautiful, Macushla. But cold. A heart filled with such anger, such hate. It pains me to see you like this."
"I..." I felt shocked. "How could I be any different?! You know what I went through--what they did to me, what they did to YOU!!"
"And that blood has been repaid a thousandfold, my dear bairn..." She shook her head. "When will it stop?"
"When this rotten world is gone! When a better one takes it's place!!!" My voice wavered. "...when you, Da, and the others are brought back to me..." I found myself admitting.
"And do you think this is what your father, your sisters, your brothers...do you think this is what I wished you had become?" She paused, clearly not wanting to say what she said next, but she must. "Has it been worth it, Macushla?"
My eyes stung.
"...no..."
"I can still see what you cannot, Macushla. Your heart. It is stained by blood and atrocity. But you have a grand gift only a very few share, and even among them there is only one you."
"I still believe in you. Rise above all of the rage that has brought you to this place, and that has brought you nothing but pain. Even now...there are those who would welcome you."
This isn't possible. "I cannot believe..."
"It's true. Because one thing I've been told--you will serve a key role in completing the Circle of the Thirteen."
" 'Thirteen'?" What is she talking about? There are only twelve signs of the Zodiac.
She hugged me once more. The white light started to envelop me again.
"I will always love you, Machushla. Please...consider my words...heal your heart...it's your mother's only wish...my little...." she said the name she gave me again
My mother, myself, everything faded into the warm light...and I knew no more...
Janine looked ready to stop them, but Amore lay a gentle hand on her shoulder. Egon looked at his wife and held up a finger, signaling her to wait.
The Herald looked at the ground in front of her. Droplets hit the pavement.
"Tears?" she said in soft confusion. "After fifteen hundred years...I didn't think it possible..."
"Sharon..." Eden said. "Or whatever you wish to be called."
The Herald said nothing, still looking at the ground.
"You've done a lot of awful things."
"I...know..."
"I..we still have to figure out what's just happened to us." John said.
"I bloody did it to you..." The Herald shook her head. "The very thing I was trying to prevent..." She laughed ruefully. "Whatever I try always goes wrong."
"Maybe that's because you're not trying the things you're meant to do."
The Herald looked up at Eden. "What are you saying?"
"You've brought a lot of pain to uncountable people. Some of them are right here." Eden knelt down. "But it's not too late to change."
"Change?" The Herald's voice grew a little stronger, but still...unsteady. "That's not possible." She shook her head. "I've done too much...I can never be forgiven...never..."
Both women stood. The glows faded from their eyes, and John's. The Herald wiped her tear-stained face with part of her torn hood.
"I can't promise that everyone you've hurt will understand." Eden said. "But the moment you're willing to try, there are those who will be waiting to assist you."
Eden and the Herald's gazes met for a few seconds.
"You're...serious...you...even after what I just did to you and..." The Herald shook her head in confusion, trying to cover the rest of her face. "...I can't...no...I want...but...I..."
A whirlwind swirled around her, then came a blast of aqua blue light.
When the light and wind faded, the Herald of Gozer was gone.
Only a few seconds later, the Spengler family and the rest of Ghostbusters New York were in a tight group hug.
After a minute or so, it broke up, though John and TJ took the opportunity to have a long, passionate kiss.
Just about then, a battered panther hobbled up to Ghostbusters Central.
"Pippi!" Eric cried. He made a gesture, and the panther turned back into the form of a black housecat, still somewhat the worse for wear.
Eric picked her up gingerly. "You look like you've seen better days."
"You should see how the Lupine looks now." Pippi replied.
Eric laughed, and hugged her. "I better get you inside--a few pawns of vis and you'll be good as new..."
"Can you make it a knight or two?" Pippi asked.
"Eden scared us to death." Marie explained. "There was all this blood all over the place, and the Professor was about to completely freak out. Then there was all this orange sparklies and..."
"We need to call Eduardo and Dr. Gilbert." Janine said. "They're at the hospital guarding the rest of the Institute staff."
"Are they..." Eden asked with concern.
"Just some bumps and bruises." Janine answered. "Though maybe YOU should make that call, Dear...I hear a certain pediatric oncologist has been badgering them big time."
Eden smiled. "Yes, I can imagine Edward is in quite a state." She looked down at herself. "Though I think it can wait until I've had a shower and change of clothes."
Janine laughed, and grabbed her daughter to take her inside, the rest of the team not far behind.
John and TJ hung back a little. "I really did think she was going to die, John...and I hated the feeling. The feeling that I'd let her down. And the feeling..I'd let you down..."
"Never." John replied, and kissed her again.
"I can attest that Eden is physically perfect..." His face went completely bright red, realizing what he just said. "Physically unharmed, I mean! She's physically unharmed! I saw no sign of any injuries at all."
Eric tried hard not to break out in laughter. Marie had the most smug expression ever. Eden stepped out behind Edward, dressed in her Ghostbusters flight suit--one of the few items of clothing she had at the firehouse currently. She looked at Edward with some bemusement.
"That's a relief." Egon said. "Our...opponent generated an extremely realistic illusion of her being rather messily disemboweled. Having a medical doctor's assurance that nothing of the sort happened eases a father's mind."
"And friends and brother and mother too." Eric added.
"I will call you in the morning, Edward." Eden kissed his cheek.
He agreed, and left. She smiled slightly as she watched him go.
"Might I have a few minutes with the twins, Professor?" Amore asked.
Egon looked at him, then at his children. "Of course."
When they had left, Amore straightened his collar. "I had heard Lady Delphia's stories about the psychic backlash the Forever Swimmer endured during Delphia's ascension. It's even worse than she made it sound."
"Amore...Doc..."
Amore held up a finger. "Please, Johnathan, my name is Giordano. I would prefer you use it when in the company of only us and the others."
"I have a million questions about all of this." Eden noted. "I mean, for one thing, the 'others' you mention. At least Johnathan had some prior warning about what happened, unclear as it was..."
"My Dear, I am not exaggerating when I say you were a genuine surprise. The model we had all been operating under was that there would be twelve of us--six males, from the male signs (Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius) and six females, from the female signs (Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces). None of us even considered even the possibility that, as the Sign of the Twins, Gemini would throw such a remarkable curve at us." He chuckled. "I guess there's a reason the Zodiac force waited until the Age of Aquarius--it's the sign of the unexpected after all."
John and Eden looked at each other.
"And the supreme irony is that, as I said. Balor--Sharon--made it all happen. The metaphysical process was set into motion when she caused Eden's mortal injury." He stroked his chin. "But something was going wrong. Johnathan was here, inside the shuttering system..until Sharon made sure it was breached. Without that, I cannot be sure what would have happened."
He looked at John. "Johnathan, tell Eden everything I told you earlier today...er, yesterday." He looked at Eden. "He will explain who I really am, Eden. It will start to make more sense."
He stood up, and started to leave. "Both of you have a lot of questions, and I will answer as best I can, but not tonight; I will contact you soon. But one thing I must stress:"
He turned to them. "You are, and will always be, human beings. Never forget that. I mentioned something to Johnathan earlier, and I will expand upon it slightly: do not be afraid to grow close to others. Do not be afraid to love, any more than any other human." He turned and left "The future is not promised to anyone, even us, and a thousand years is a very long time to feel regret."
"I will ask you tomorrow." Eden said to her brother, after Amore left. "We are both exhausted." After a pause. "Are you telling TJ everything?"
"Absolutely." John nodded. "She already knows just about all of it anyway."
Eden sighed. "I don't know when I will mention it to Edward. Father's lie well covered any immediate concerns that he might have had, but...I honestly don't know Edward as well as you know TJ. We don't have that history, that depth to our relationship, yet."
"Valid."
"Though I will assure you." She smiled slightly again. "If Edward and I reach a similar stage of our relationship, where we contemplate marriage, I would have to tell him the truth."
John was quiet, but nodded. "contemplate marriage"...
"I think so." Ahagotsu answered, looking at Bombie. Bombie nodded.
"The energy you gave him saved him then." Igor exhaled. "The Count will be pleased--he invested quite a bit of time and effort recruiting Talbot."
There was a note of pride in Ahagotsu's voice when he responded. "Kittems did quite a number on him, didn't she? I haven't seen her full power since before Zephyranthes bound her--no wonder she's picked the gogglehead if he can let her do that."
"I don't know what to say to the Count about Sharon." Igor continued. "We have no idea where she's gone nor when--or even if--she'll return to us."
Ahagotsu made a dry, grating laugh. "So totally random, wasn't it? I think that's what makes her so interesting--not knowing what she'll do next is part of the fun of it!"
Igor grumbled. "As a distant relative of mine once reportedly said, 'That depends, I suppose, on how sick your idea of fun is'."
Ahagotsu laughed again. "Like you don't know already that my idea of fun is, indeed, the sickest!!!"
He looked to the woman sleeping beside him; he gently rubbed her back..
"...are you trying to molest me in my sleep, Johnathan?" came the woozy voice of TJ.
"Nonsense." John retorted, removing his hand. "Though, if it woke you up so I could molest you, well..."
She chuckled. "...you say the sweetest things."
After a few moments, he leaned over to her. "Hey, Janey..."
"...wot?"
"Do you want to get married?"
That got her to turn over and open her eyes. "Are you serious?"
"Quite serious." he replied. "We both know life can be too short; I don't want to waste any more of it."
"Bloody hell yes, I will!" she said, her stomach starting to fill with butterflies. "When were you thinking?"
"I dunno..." John shrugged "I mean, we could just go down to the courthouse tomorrow..."
TJ cut that off by putting her left hand over his mouth. "Your mother and both of our aunts would murder us."
"True."
"Next summer, I think--June's quite traditional."
"But then my birthday and our anniversary will be close together."
"And that's a problem?"
"Said the Valentine baby." John laughed, nodding. "Okay, next June's good. New York or London?"
"London. Or to be more precise, Lungbarrow. I know Aunt Dori will put on a good show, like she did when Paul got married."
John kissed her. "I realize this is way far from a normal proposal."
"Normal can be a fairly relative term in our cases, as Dr. Venkman has been know to say." TJ laughed. She got a more earnest look on her face. "Johnathan Spengler, that transcendentally romantic production you put on last week was more than adequate to cover this also." She leaned in and kissed him, her voice breathier. "We're not going back to sleep--I'm about to molest you..."
The Real Ghostbusters 2024 Created by Fritz Baugh and OgreBBQ
---EGB Fan!!! The first person to guess the main plot twist of "The Sign of the Twins"!
Ghostbusters: Answer The Call Created by Paul Feig and Katie Dippold
Bloodline lycanthropes were introduced into the Ghostbusters universe by "The Werewolf!" by James Van Hise (Now Comics Real Ghostbusters No.5) Our version borrows a lot of lore from White Wolf's Werewolf: The Apocalypse, created by Mark Rein-Hagen.
The Council of Eight and the Star Chamber created by Shannon McCutcheon, Barry Peterson, and Neil Grahame, and first appeared in "Tobin and the Maze of Time, Part One" (XU RGB2 0D) from The Real Ghostbusters 3-D Special. Their names and connection to Delphia Tesmihirus are from Fritz Baugh.
Krazy's, Clown Burgers, and Mystery Clown Spices were from Ghostbusters: Legion#2 by Andrew Dabb and Steve Kurth.
The ability of the Firehouse to be sealed, via the use of shutters impervious to ectoplasm, comes from "The Copycat" by Micheal Reaves (RGB-140009; #312).
The Ectozone version of the ECTO-3 combines elements of both the RGB ECTO-3 that first appeared in "The Joke's On Ray" (RGB-175003; #401) by Len Jansen and Chuck Menville, and the ECTO-C seen in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire written by Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan
The Monsters (Count Levant, Igor Gringoire, Tungsten, and Bombie) were created by OgreBBQ and Fritz Baugh, and are loosely inspired by the "Classic Monsters" from Kenner's Real Ghostbusters toy line. Bombie's name is a tribute to the classic Donald Duck story "Voodoo Hoodoo" by Carl Barks (W OS 238-02). Igor's full name also alludes to a character from the original Hunchback of Notre Dame novel by Victor Hugo.
"Lungbarrow" is not a real place, but is instead an in-joke to a somewhat notorious Doctor Who novel written by Marc Platt in 1996.
Characters not taken from official material were created by Fritz Baugh unless otherwise specified.
Marie Lupin, Eric Stantz, and the Herald of Gozer/Lady Scorpio created by OgreBBQ
Children of Zodiac and the Zodiac Lords created by Fritz Baugh and OgreBBQ
Edward Sanders created by Ghostdiva