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Ghostbusters: Regenesis Chapter 9 (Shard of Darkness) [Part 1] Written by Leo_Todrius

February in Oregon was often a gamble, but it seemed that the weather was improving earlier in the year than usual. The sun had been out for more than one day in a row and the sidewalks had managed to dry out enough for people to enjoy their journey from place to place. Grayson never minded even when it drizzled in Portland though. It was mild year round and a great place to live. He moved along the sidewalks, watching people ride by on bikes in the protected lanes and stop on the green rectangles painted on the cement at stop lights, the spot reserved for bikes so cars couldn't crowd them out. It was very progressive.

As a fresh breeze blew down the street, Gray caught sight of something blowing. Outdoor vendors had set up racks of clothing on the streets in front of a disused store. There were dresses and shirts of every kind and color, every material present. Gray looked down at the old Jurassic Park shirt he was wearing. While his wardrobe was perfect for business events and speeches, his civilian wear was sorely lacking. Gray moved up, his reflection catching in the window. He never seemed out of place thanks to Portland's large Asian community, his layered black hair having the faintest orange highlights in it.

Gray moved over to one of the racks and started riffling through, trying to imagine himself wearing any of it. Tie-dye was too Eli, and as much as he loved Seth, he doubted he could pull off a leather jacket. Gray passed by several Nike shirts. He was proud that they operated out of the area, but they weren't quite his style either. Gray turned to move to the next rack, pausing when he heard hangers jangling. For a moment he thought he had knocked something over and moved to catch it. Nothing was in danger of falling. Instead, Gray caught sight of a shirt he had missed, hanging at the end of the rack.

The shirt was a thin sleeveless red hooded sweatshirt. It seemed expertly crafted, the material spotless and pristine, the seams invisible to the naked eye. Gray reached out to touch the shirt. As his fingers caressed the fabric, he felt a shiver down his spine and his imagination filled with the image of him wearing it, that hood hugging his head. He'd always looked good in red. Gray pulled the shirt off of the hanger and draped it over his arm, heading toward the cashier.

With every step he took, the sky above seemed to grow darker. Clouds had started to gather, rumbling as the air pressure changed. The street vendors started pulling the racks of clothes back under the overhang of the building, worrying about the rain. Gray offered up the shirt to the cashier lady and she rang it up. The register chirped a bit before applying the discounted price.

"Six sixty six." The lady said. Grayson chuckled.

"That's a funny price." He said, pulling out his debit card, offering it to her.

"Third off sale I guess." She shrugged, sliding the card through the swiper. "Have a good day." She added.

"Thanks." Grayson said, turning. He took a few steps before he felt drops of rain pattering across his skin. He looked around as the cement started to grow speckled, the rain coming down in a fine mist. Oregon weather could be unpredictable at times, but he'd rarely seen a sunny day turn so quickly. Still, he was more prepared than usual. Gray pulled the sweatshirt up over his head, sliding his arms through the sleeveless holes. The sweatshirt felt good on him and the rain seemed to bead on the material before running off. Gray made it to the end of the block before hitting the crosswalk button. After a moment the signal changed, the blue man symbol beckoning from across the street.

Grayson looked both ways before he started crossing the crosswalk, reaching up with both hands to draw his hood up over his head. As the red hood slid past his ears and over his forehead, his face disappeared into the shadow the hood cast. The world faded away from Gray for a moment, leaving him in his own head. His stride changed a bit, less eager and energetic and a bit more confident. He came to a stop on the other side of the street and a small smile crossed his face, a smile that wasn't his own.

****

Grayson's keys jangled as he returned to his apartment, easing the door open. He stepped in, his nose wrinkling at how stale the air was. On duty or off duty, he spent all but three or four days a month at the firehouse. It was a demanding schedule but it was necessary to make sure the other busters were able to have their time off, but now that Gray thought about it, it seemed rather unfair. Why should they get to sleep in their own beds while he stayed up all night working on equipment? Gray moved over to open his windows, letting some of the fresh air in.

The apartment was modest, an old brick and mortar affair with wood floors, though he'd touched it up with framed photographs of the Japanese gardens, pieces of bamboo, and various artifacts. A stack of wooden boken swords were propped up in one corner while a katana was mounted on his wall. Gray moved over to his desk, seeing how many messages had accumulated, but he was starting to feel quite tired, like all his overwork was catching up with him. Gray kicked off his shoes and moved for his bed, stopping at the end before flopping forward, landing in his blankets. He climbed up higher onto the bed and rolled onto his side, sighing gently as he closed his eyes.

The sound of the gentle rain falling outside comforted him as he dozed off, his mind drifting toward slumber. As he moved towards the realm of sleep, fragments of memories sprung back into his mind, replaying... The mission in Hoyt Arboretum, the first time the rest of his team had been transformed... They had nearly lost everything but Gray was willing to sacrifice himself to save the world, even when the arch ghost Thana had tackled him, trying to take him into the micro containment unit with him... and then when Nico had been corrupted by Thana's minions and the containment unit had nearly been breached, the same ghost had nearly gotten out... he had made it half way through the airlock before it was closed, cutting him in half before he exploded.

As easily as the thoughts had bubbled up in Gray's mind, they were swept away as if an invisible hand had wiped them from Gray's mind. Instead instances of the Ghostbusters ignoring Gray or taking advantage of him played in his mind. Gray's fingers tightened and then released, his lips curling in disdain. Even in a twilight sleep, Gray knew that his thoughts weren't natural, that the pattern wasn't right. His eyes flickered open and he reached for his night stand where a PKE meter rested, but his hand stopped half way. Gray tried to reach for it, struggling with all his might, but his body fought him.

Slowly the shadow cast from the hood grew darker, absorbing the light itself until Gray's face disappeared from view, leaving just a dark maw. Gray's body went limp and fell back across the bed. The shadow faded, Gray's unconscious face exposed once more, though the hoodie itself shimmered gently, rippling with the energy it was drawing from Grayson, feeding on his natural PKE and his negative memories. Gray twitched in his sleep, being force fed more of his own worst memories of times the team had let him down. Even asleep, Gray's lips lifted into a deep, satisfied smile.

****

Seth, Nico and Eli moved down the ramp of the parking structure, keeping their eyes peeled. Seth and Nico's proton packs pulsed with energy while Eli's slime tank projected light from his shoulders. They moved slowly and cautiously, pausing when Eli pointed. A column of ice ran floor to ceiling, in the center of which a Prius was frozen in place. Further down the row a Ford truck had been detonated by the pieces were suspended in mid-air, connected by what seemed to be frozen flame.

"This really would have been a good time to have all four of us here..." Eli murmured softly. Seth shrugged.

"Didn't his time off end at three?" Nico asked.

"I guess Gray needed some extra time off, he stayed up for a days finishing the tank to get me back to normal." Seth said. It still felt a bit strange to be awake during the day after almost two weeks of turning to stone when the sun rose.

"Well, I guess, but it isn't like him to be late." Nico said. Eli paused, turning slowly when he heard a sound. The sound happened to be a gold Honda flying through the air at them. Eli ducked down, firing a slime tether at the ceiling and then the ground. The Honda hit the tether, slowing down... but not enough. The tether snapped and the Honda hit the ground, rolling once before it slid to a stop and nudged Nico's knee. The three looked over the car at the massive purple and blue hammer headed rhinoceros spirit that seemed to be made of living ice.

Hollow glassy eyes turned to peer at the Ghostbusters before frost sprayed out of its nostrils. The creature let out a call that sounded like a fog horn before it charged. The ground trembled beneath them as it advanced. Eli opened his slime blower and unleashed a flood of slime. His hope was to get the rhino to slip, but as the creature's paw came down onto the slime slick, the green slime hardened, turning to ice. The ice advanced even faster than the rhino, freezing Eli's spray. Soon frost spread across his tank before the seams burst, the frozen slime expanding.

"RUN!" Seth exclaimed. The three Ghostbusters split in different directions, trying to confuse the creature. The people that had gathered outside the parking structure jumped as they heard the creature roar in fury and the air snap with proton blasts.

****

The Ecto-11 lumbered back into the firehouse, caked with purple slime, Three broken windows, and a dent in the back driver's side door. The engine was rattling and shimmying before the vehicle came to a lurching stop. As the engine sputtered out, the front bumper unceremoniously fell off, landing on the cement floor. Seth opened his door, an act that shortly resulted in the door coming off its hinges and falling to the floor. Nico moved to help Eli out of the back. Eli looked to be caked in ice crystals. Even his hair was frosted. He shivered gently, but in his hand he held an occupied disc trap.

The three advanced slowly toward the basement, pausing when they saw someone behind the reception desk. Gray had made it into work, but seeing that the Ecto was gone he'd kicked his legs up on the desk and taken another nap. In addition to his red hoodie he'd apparently bought a pair of bright red running pants that matched his top, but most surprisingly of all were the freshly inked bands tattooed on his left bicep. Two solid black bands with an intermittent center line that broke every three inches.

"Here, let me take the trap down." Nico said to Eli. Eli slowly released his fingers, shivering still. Nico took the trap and gave Eli a kiss before he ran downstairs to deposit the aggressive ghost. Seth moved over to the desk.

"Did you get a tattoo?" Seth asked in surprise. Grayson's eyes snapped open.

"Yeah, what of it?" Gray asked. Seth tilted his head a bit.

"It's hot." Seth said. Gray cracked half a smile.

"Hot... I need to be hot." Eli murmured, "Hot shower..." Eli added, moving for the stairs. Gray looked over at Eli.

"Just don't run it too long, our water bill was pretty high this last month." Gray said. Eli stopped half way to the stairs before he pivoted on his heel.

"I was nearly frozen solid trying to catch a charging ice monster..." Eli said. Gray rolled his eyes.

"Alright, fine, take whatever time you need." Gray said, throwing his hands up into the air. Eli flinched a bit at the disrespect but all he wanted was to thaw. He moved up the stairs, disappearing.

"Are you alright?" Seth asked softly.

"I'm fine... Why wouldn't I be?" Gray asked, starting to sort through papers on the desk.

"Well, you seem a bit... testy, and you didn't show up-" Seth was interrupted.

"Didn't show up on time? Are you kidding me? Do you know how many hours I've spent here in the last month?" Gray asked, his muscles bulging slightly as he got riled up. Seth held up his hands to show submission.

"More than most of us combined, I know you pulled all nighters to try and get me restored, I'm very thankful. I'm just saying it's unusual, I'm not judging you." Seth said. Gray took a breath, sizing Seth up to see if he would remain a challenge before he sighed slowly.

"I think I've just been working so damn hard that if I keep going I'm going to snap... But I don't know how to get away if you guys are getting frozen on routine missions." Gray said. Seth's eyes narrowed a bit.

"Today was not routine, but even that you don't have to feel chained to. We operated with a three man team when Nico was on suspension, we can operate on a three man team so you can get some more rest and come back refreshed." Seth said.

"Oh, so that's it, huh? Go home and recharge like a battery so I can expend all my energy again later?" Gray asked.

"What is WRONG with you?" Seth asked, dropping all pretense.

"What is wrong with me is that I've been giving too much, all you guys do is take advantage of me, use me... I have to pay the bills, do the taxes, go out on field, work in the shop, keep the equipment running... I'm sick and tired of it." Gray said, pushing away from his chair, "I'm tired of all of this." Gray added.

"So what do you want to do?" Seth asked, knowing better than to suggest anything after the last explosion. Seth's change in tactics left Gray unsteady once more. Gray considered before he sighed gently.

"I want to take a leave of absence, rethink everything. I've been doing this for so many years... I've been turned into a dog, a bat, I've battled sentient mud... I need a break." Gray said gently. Seth reached out for Gray's shoulder but Gray slid his chair back. Seth grimaced at that.

"You deserve it; you deserve it more than anyone with how hard you've worked." Seth said softly. Gray looked into Seth's eyes for a long moment before he nodded gently.

"Well... then that's what I'm going to do." Gray said softly, "Though... the Ecto is in quite the state."

"We'll take care of it. I won't be selfish and keep you from what you need." Seth said. Gray looked at Seth for another moment before he nodded and stood up.

"Okay, I'll get in touch when I reach a conclusion." Gray said, "Tell the guys I'll catch them around."

"I will." Seth replied. Gray moved for the door, passing the broken Ecto. Seth leaned over the desk and pulled out a PKE meter from the drawer, turning it after Gray, but when he flicked the power switch it didn't turn on. The door eased shut and Gray was gone. Seth cursed under his breath, flicking the switch back and forth. It was no use, the meter was dead... Probably one Gray hadn't gotten around to fixing, but it was damned inconvenient timing.

****

As night slowly fell across the city, Gray found himself walking he streets. The storm that had appeared earlier in the day had broken up as quickly as it had formed, allowing everything to dry out once more. The street lights glowed orange and the traffic lights danced their dance. Warm lights spilled out of the light rail Max trains as they roamed the night. It should have been peaceful and relaxing, but there was still a seed of bitterness in Gray's heart. He'd been walking for an hour trying to figure out what it was.

'Ghosts.' The idea bubbled up into his mind. But what about ghosts? Gray reached for the cross walk signal, the black painted fingernails contrasting his skin tone as he pressed the silver dome shaped button. He returned to the question in his head, what about ghosts? Was he tired of fighting them? 'Fighting them is wrong.' came the answer. Gray's eyes widened in surprise that he would think such a thing, but the more he thought about it, the more correct it seemed...

Gray crossed the street, making his way back to his apartment with a hurried pace. It was true that almost all ghosts busters faced were not the deceased loved ones of the human realm, but manifestations of collected emotion or beings from other layers of reality or other dimensions... but didn't they have rights? Gray had been trapping them for years without any thought, any repercussions. Just like hunters hunting a species to extinction, he hadn't had any thought to what the future held, or worse, what their future held.

As Grayson's thoughts drifted to the containment unit, it all seemed unbearable... Sentencing the ghosts to eternal imprisonment, even if the simulated world inside was tailored to them. Grayson shuddered; it all seemed so offensive, so terrible. No one should have to be trapped for thousands of years. Grayson paused, wondering why he thought of such a large number, but the thought passed and his fury returned. Gray made it into his apartment building, circling up the stairs until he got to his apartment.

The keys jangled as always as Gray moved in, shutting the door behind him. Gray thought about going to sleep, he'd been so tired lately like all his energy was being drained, but he was still too riled up about the ghosts. It wasn't just their unfair imprisonment; it was their persecution in general. With every passing moment, the actions of the Ghostbusters seemed more and more intolerable. He couldn't just let the ghosts suffer like that in good conscience, he had to do something, he had to use his knowledge for good and make up for all the injustices he had been a part of.

Grayson moved over to his work bench and started pulling out his soldering iron, scrap pieces of metal and machine components. With great precision he laid out all the parts he would need for his work, but they were organized into sections for more than one project. The soldering iron sizzled as he worked pieces together, the last light fading outside until the apartment was bathed in pitch black, but Gray still worked. He'd often invented, but never with such fervor. Even in the darkness he fashioned the pieces together, his first creation coming together as a cylinder with a transparent dome on the top, surrounded by two half metal spades that stuck out an inch from either side. It was a design Gray had read about from the New York busters, a ghost beacon. He flipped the switch, the spades extended and reddish orange light began to pulse from the top, though that was nothing compared to the PKE pulses spreading out through the city and beyond.

With his first creation already operating, Gray began working on his next invention... something to protect the ghosts from the busters, though the light was so dim that Gray reached up to flip his lamp on. As the light came on, a reflection filled the window, but the reflection wasn't of him. In the reflection it appeared that Thana was sitting in the chair, working away. In a way he was, feeding off of Gray's psychokinetic energy and using his mind and body. Thana was still weak, his essence divided by the containment unit. He found it terribly fitting, however, that he was going to bring about the downfall of humanity as a parasite just like the ghosts he had employed to help him before. Gray continued his work, unaware of the influence tainting him, assembling the new tools piece by piece.

****

Proton streams cut through the air, sizzling and sparking as they ensnared their targets. Nico managed to get a capture stream around a plum colored ghost admiring her long pink hair while Seth was yanking around a glowing neon green spider with two massive eyes peering back at him. Eli was crouching down behind a fire hydrant and let out a capture stream just as a silver ghost came streaking down the road, hitting Eli's blast.

"I got one!" Eli said, lifting the silver ghost up off the ground with his stream.

"Me too!" Nico replied.

"And me, okay, let's go for the trap!" Seth said, stepping on the foot pedal to open the trap. It had been an absolutely insane night and an even worse morning. The Portland Ghostbusters had never before gotten so many calls at one time. There were so many instances that the ghosts were leaking out into the streets. They had no transportation with the Ecto down and Eli had run out of slime early on. They were even running out of traps, so much so that they were having to wait until they all had enough ghosts to trap them simultaneously to conserve space.

The column of light lifted up from the trap and began to draw the three ghosts in, bringing them down lower and lower before they disappeared into the box. Once all three were inside, Seth pressed the foot pad again and the doors snapped shut. Eli wobbled before falling forward onto his knee pads, hunched over and panting. His shoulders slumped and, his eyes sliding shut.

"I'm so tired... I can't keep this up..." Eli whimpered.

"We have to keep up or it'll just get worse... I'll call the taxi..." Seth said.

"The Taxi... Where are we going to tell it to take us? The next street? We have to figure out what is causing this..." Nico said. Seth said nothing, but he knew the other busters were right. Without Gray, it seemed like everything was falling apart at once. All three busters turned as a car erupted into flames. A ghost the size of a small compact car came running down the road, shaped like a massive purple tadpole with a ridge down its back and two massive black and white tennis shoes tipping its pudgy legs. Flame and sparks erupted from its mouth as it lumbered down the road.

"They're all heading in that direction... They keep going that way..." Nico said softly.

"Maybe we should follow them." Seth said, moving over to help Eli up. Eli accepted Seth's hand and labored up to his feet. The three busters moved out to the sidewalk and headed south east. They stuck close to one another, growing wary as it seemed they were falling in with a migration of ghosts. Flying snakes floated above them, pink cannon ghosts waddled along beside them and even ghost fish flopped along the road.

The busters said nothing to each other, incredibly unnerved by the phenomenon but continuing on until they reached a small park, or what should have been a park. Nearly every surface was covered with ghosts standing shoulder to shoulder. The stronger ghosts had pushed to the center and were standing in a circle, other ghosts circling around above the point like vultures waiting to swoop down. Eli pulled out his PKE meter and switched it on, though the bars snapped to full at once and the screen fizzled with incredible amounts of interference.

"It's no use, there are too many ghosts to figure out what's going on." Eli said.

"Whatever caused them to come, it's in the center there... We just have to make a path." Nico said.

"If we start this, they're all going to attack..." Eli said.

"We don't have much of an option, do we?" Seth asked. Nico nodded gently and Eli took a breath before he nodded as well. Nico reached to grab the last disc trap hanging from his proton pack.

"Let's go." Nico said. Seth and Eli began pushing through the crowd of ghosts, eliciting growls and grunts. When the ghosts started to advance on them, their proton blasters burst forth with energy, knocking the ghosts back. Foot by foot, the busters advanced, having to keep their streams steady. Nico followed in after, keeping close to the others. Seth and Eli closed in on the center, but suddenly Seth's blaster fizzled and cut out. The proton pack began beeping, indicating that something had gone wrong. Seth tried to fire, but nothing came out. As Eli took another step forward, his pack cut out as well, leaving both packs useless.

"What's going on?!" Eli asked in shock.

"I don't know, but we're going to have to-" Seth was cut off as a ghost tackled him, knocking him to the ground. Eli went to help but a ghost grabbed him by the foot and began lifting him up. Nico grunted and pressed the switch on his trap. The three yellow doors to the trap opened up, but no light emerged. It was as if the trap was completely useless. Nico cursed, forced to take a step back to dodge a ghost, but as he did the trap rumbled before the ion stream gushed out. The ghost carrying Eli was caught in the light and dropped the blonde, tumbling into the trap. Nico held the trap tight in front of him with both hands, using it like some sort of weapon. He cast the trap beam above Seth, pulling the ghost that was attacking him off.

"Pull back!" Seth exclaimed, crawling a short distance before getting up onto all fours. Eli rolled out of the way of another attack. The two circled around to get behind Nico and the three began backing out of the park. The indicator lights on the trap began illuminating more and more as Nico drew in an armada of ghosts, but soon the doors snapped shut and the trap locked. It was full. Nico handed the trap to Eli and pulled out his blaster, firing. The proton stream shot out part way into the crowd before the stream just seemed to fizzle out in mid air at the point Seth and Eli's packs had stopped working. Thinking of little more than retreat, the busters made it out of the park and turned, trying to get away from the few ghosts willing to leave the park and give chase.

****

Gray's fingers moved over the security panel at the firehouse, entering his codes. The system unlocked, releasing the door mechanism. Gray moved through the door and into the firehouse, striding past the broken down Ecto. He walked with clear purpose to the metal stairs and descended into the basement. In his mind it was very clear. He was going to release all the ghosts unfairly imprisoned, he was going to save them all. Even in the steady yellow glow coming from beneath the basement floor, the shadows seemed to cling unnaturally to Gray's face, filling the red hood with nothingness.

Gray reached the containment unit and moved to the controls. Once more he entered his codes, but the system rejected them. Gray's head tilted. It seemed that they had learned from Nico's incident and his resignation had come with heightened security... but unfortunately Gray had a very good memory. His fingers moved over the keyboard, entering Seth's code. The interface opened up, giving Gray access to the base code.

One by one, Gray started deactivating the containment unit. The laser containment grid was shut down; the interspatial manifold was opened up to its maximum. Gray moved, releasing latches on the front plate before he started the shut down procedure. The large circular face plate of the containment unit slid apart with the seam across the middle, the exposed interior revealing a shimmering barrier that was the last membrane between the simulated world inside and the real world.

A large rectangular recessed light in the unit began to flash a bright red as the customary klaxon sounded. The barrier would not be able to be maintained for long with all the other safeguards off, it was only a matter of time until containment was completely breached... but Gray would see to it that nothing could stop him, not like they stopped Nico. Gray reached into his jacket and pulled out a box trap he had modified at home. The silver side panels had been removed, wires plugged into one another in unusual ways. Gray was content to just wait, but the sound of the door opening upstairs alerted him to the fact that it might not be so easy after all.

Eli and Nico ran into the firehouse before Seth followed. Seth pulled the door shut and locked it tight. The door shuddered as several ghosts slammed against it, but after a moment two passed through the door, leaving blue and purple slime oozing down. Nico fired his blaster and caught one, holding it in place. The other swooped down, narrowly missing Seth. Eli ran to the lockers and threw them open, moving from one to the next until he found an empty trap. He turned around and rolled the trap across the floor before stepping on the foot pad. The doors opened right beneath the ghost Nico had caught, drawing it in. Seeing its fortunes had changed, the other ghost quickly retreated back through the door.

"My god... this is bad..." Eli whispered. Nico paused, his ears still buzzing a bit from the loud sounds of the proton packs, but he slowly turned his head.

"Do you guys hear something?" Nico asked. Seth listened before realizing what he was hearing coming from the basement.

"SHIT!" Seth exclaimed, dropping his broken pack and rushing toward the basement. Nico moved to scramble after him, leaving Eli upstairs. Eli started rushing over to the lockers, looking for working equipment. Finding nothing, he headed for the store room. He knew Seth and Nico would need help, if not with whatever threat opened the containment unit, then with what would happen soon after. The metal stairs rung out as Seth and Nico descended into the basement. Seth's heart skipped a beat when he saw that the containment unit was wide open already. The glowing barrier was deteriorating and a wall of ghosts was building up behind the field, each one clawing and pushing, doing anything they could to escape. Nico hesitated on the stairs, realizing how dire it was. He pulled out his proton blaster and readied himself to defend the stairwell. Seth rushed toward the control panel to try and reset the system, but every keystroke he tried was rejected, the system completely locked out.

"There's nothing you can do, the end of humanity begins now." Came a voice from the corner. Nico turned, seeing a red hooded figure.

"Thana..." Nico said, his finger depressing on the blaster trigger.

"No, that's Gray!" Seth shouted out. Nico hesitated, pulling back just in time.

"Well, I have to give you credit. You both are right after all." Gray said, crossing his arms.

"I don't care what part of you is Thana, Gray; you have to know this isn't right. If that containment unit opens up, you're going to hurt so many lives..." Seth said.

"I've already hurt 'lives.' Thousands of them. Just because they seem 'dead' to us doesn't mean they don't have rights. In nature the strong survive and the weak perish. I am just giving them a chance, they truly are the strong ones. Who knows, maybe humans will evolve to co-exist with them." Gray murmured.

"Gray, that isn't you... You know that we don't capture human ghosts, we help them move on. We even help lost spirits from other plains. All the ghosts in there are from the netherworld, other dimensions, or they are amalgamations of emotion and energy... They don't belong here and they are destructive." Seth said.

"And here I thought you were a democrat. Seth, I really-" Gray stopped mid sentence, turning to look at Nico. Nico had managed to silently pull up a piece of floor grating while Seth had been talking and had nearly triggered a physical reset that bypassed the computer. Realizing Gray had noticed, Seth took a step forward.

"Do it now Nico!" Seth screamed. Nico reached for the button, but Gray held out his hand. Nico's body froze in mid-motion. Nico grunted, trying to move, straining with all his might. Gray shook his head, looking at the buster from within the mask of shadows that filled his hood.

"Oh Nico... You don't realize just how much you've been tainted, do you? All of those ghosts, all of those changes... Their fingerprints are all over you... and so easy to turn back on. Do you remember my adorable servant? How well you two blended?" Gray asked.

Nico's back arched as the black from his pupils spread out to dominate his eyes entirely. His lips quivered softly before they were pushed apart, slimy green tentacles beginning to emerge. The small rubbery tendrils whipped about, but as a whole Nico was starting to breath deeper, his chest rising and falling. Small droplets of condensation began to collect on his skin, tiny tiny flecks of moisture... but they weren't water. Each fleck was just a bit green... and soon the green was spreading out through his pale skin. Nico's tan uniform grew wet in the chest and began to writhe before the zipper was pulled down and pushed apart by tentacles emerging from his nipples, each dripping a thick transparent green slime. As they grew longer they pushed the uniform back, then the proton pack straps.

The proton pack clattered to the floor before Nico's shoulders rolled to shrug his uniform off. The cloth slipped down his body, revealing that his manhood had grown to be over fourteen inches long, bending and curling as it secreted slick, musky green slime. The head tapered, the shaft warped before it began to pull apart into several tentacle cocks. Each cock pulled apart before it thickened again, each segment becoming as thick as his entire shaft had been before. His lap was soon dominated by a nest of squirming green tentacles resting above a swelling sack.

Seth watched in horror as Nico's ears stretched out, the top and bottom hardening into ribbed points, the center gaining a third until each ear looked like a webbed fin guiding sound to simplified ear slits. Every bit of flesh not dominated by tentacles was refining into pure muscle and emerald skin, the perfection of the human form. Nico's body glistened in the yellow light of the floor grating, a slick green sheen clinging to his lithe, supple body. The fine beads of musky slime saturated his hair, making the black seem even darker but with a green shine all its own. Nico lifted his head and let out a reverberating purr that was most unnatural as his legs all but exploded into a mass of green oozing tentacles. Most were lined with dripping, pulsating suckers, but others were smooth and thick, ending in bulbous heads that drizzled out slime steadily.

Several of the tentacles moved down into the exposed floor panel, curling around cables running into the box. They tugged at the cables and the exposed wires sparked before the box went dark. Seth's hope faded with the display light before Nico lowered the metal grating back into place, eliminating any hope of resetting the containment unit. Gray murmured happily before outstretching his hand toward the green tentacle beast.

"Come here my pet." Gray commanded. The tentacled creature scrambled across the floor, bowing his head to his new master. Gray reached out and stroked Nico's silky soft hair before looking at Seth, "And now you... We'll be together forever, just as we promised each other. All you have to do is submit."

"Never... I only submit to my boyfriend, not some ghost feeding off of his body." Seth growled.

"But Seth, I'm more than that now. I'm not Thana, I'm not Gray, I'm something more, something bigger... and better... and I can make your life more wonderful than you can imagine." Gray whispered.

"I'd rather die than give in to what you have become..." Seth whispered. Gray's head slowly lowered. Seth couldn't see his eyes but they were glaring.

"Then I will have to make you feel how amazing it will be to stand at my side and be with me." Gray murmured. Amidst the constant klaxon of the containment unit there was a small wet thwack sound, then another. Seth wasn't sure what happened at first, but then he saw a slime tether had connected Gray's wrist to the wall. Gray and Nico looked up past Seth, realizing Eli stood there with a fully charged slime tank. Gray growled, "Get him!" Gray commanded, tugging on the tether.

Like a storm unleashed, Nico's tentacle body went from still to a flurry of motion instantly. The swarming mass scrambled past Seth and up the Stairs. Eli backed up rapidly; unleashing slime tethers to try and trap his corrupted boyfriend in the basement but Nico's tentacles curled around the binds and pulled them apart, stretching them until they snapped. Eli gasped in shock. A single tether was enough to hang a car from a bridge. Nico reached out with his arms as they devolved into masses of green tentacles, catching Eli around the waist. Eli was lifted up, squirming, grabbing at his hips to try and pry the tentacles free. As Eli was brought closer, other tentacles removed his slime pack, lowering it to the ground. Eli's body came to a stop as he was held three feet off the ground, dangling in the air, eye to eye with Nico. Eli gazed into the dark black eyes.

"Nico, please... Let me go, let me save you." Eli begged. Nico leaned in, his lips parting, tentacles slurping out of his mouth and dripping with green saliva. He licked up Eli's chin, then across his lips. Eli squirmed, trying to keep his mouth closed, but he knew he would fail. He'd never been able to resist a kiss from his lover. Nico tilted his green head and pressed his lips to Eli's. His 'tongues' squirmed and pried Eli's mouth before penetrating into the wet depths. Eli murmured into the forbidden kiss, feeling the tentacles squirm around his tongue, rubbing it and caressing it. Eli moaned sharply, his tongue growing fatter and thickening before suddenly it split into a mass of tentacles as well.

Eli's chest rose and fell rapidly in shock and lust as he felt his tongue grow inhuman, their mouth tentacles coiling around each other and intertwining in a forbidden kiss. Eli's saliva began to thicken. While Nico still held Eli aloft, he had plenty more tentacles to continue his work. He unzipped Eli's uniform and tore it apart, letting the tatters fall to the floor. Soon more tentacles were rubbing Eli's nipples, letting them grow erect before they were encased. Soon they were tugged and twisted, manipulated and abused until they were puffier and bigger than ever before in his life.

Seth glanced over at Gray trying to get free of the tether, at the containment unit's field as holes began to form and wriggling ghost fingers emerged. It was no use... The ghosts had a foot hold, the containment unit was compromised, Thana would be free any moment. They had to pull back. Seth turned and grabbed the proton pack Nico had dropped before he ran up the stairs but as he came up to ground level, a tentacle began wrapping around his foot. Seth grunted and fired his proton blaster, splitting through the tentacle. He shot at four more to keep them back as he edged around Nico, his back to the lockers. Horror blossomed on Seth's face as he saw that Eli was already corrupted.

Eli and Nico gazed into each other's inky black eyes as they kissed, countless tentacles squirming and dripping between their mouths. The skin above Eli's ribs had turned blue, his own nest of tentacles emerging from his chest. His ears were the same three pronged fins, his blonde hair was now a powder blue and the color was already slinking down his body. Seth's heart broke into pieces, knowing that his entire team had fallen... but if he didn't get out of there, there wouldn't be any hope of calling in reinforcements, no hope of mounting a plan. Seth turned and ran for the door, throwing it open.

The outside of the firehouse seemed oddly calm, as if the world at large had no idea what was about to be unleashed upon it. Seth took a few steps before he skidded to a stop, hearing the roar of a powerful engine. An incredibly expensive silver Mercedes Benz came tearing up the street before skidding to a stop. The window was down and sitting in the driver's seat was Lucas Kingston. The eighteen year old turned to Seth with an anxious look on his young, pale face. He waved Seth over quickly.

"Get in!" Lucas exclaimed. Seth ran and lunged around the front of the car before climbing into the passenger seat. He barely got in and got the door shut before the Mercedes was tearing down the streets. Seth was about to speak when Lucas handed him a cell phone. Seth quickly dialed the mayor's number, his chest rising and falling quickly.

"This is Seth Dillon with the Ghostbusters... You need to evacuate Portland. Get everyone out you can, get people as far away, as fast as you can. Call the airport, turn planes back. There is going to be a catastrophic breach." Seth said. The phone call ended, the mayor was already calling everyone. Seth let the phone slip from his fingers, leaning back in his seat, watching the streets of Portland zoom by before he looked back at Lucas. Despite being eighteen, Lucas seemed too small to be at the wheel of such an expensive car.

"Are you alright?" Lucas asked after a moment.

"Yeah, but... how did you know to be here?" Seth whispered.

"When Avery had me, when he turned me into a vampire, he turned something on in my brain... Even with him gone, even with me restored, it's still... going on. I knew I had to be there, then... and I knew that we were going to need help." Lucas said softly.

"Your brother..." Seth trailed off.

"I know... He's fallen..." Lucas said gently.

"It's just the two of us until we can get some reinforcements." Seth said gently.

"Actually, it's the three of us. I'm taking you to meet someone." Lucas grinned, speeding the Mercedes up even more.

****

Nico and Eli had been sharing their enticing kiss for over two minutes without either taking a break for air. Nico's cock tentacles had teased and stroked Eli's, pulling it longer, inspiring it to engorge until it was over eight inches thick and fourteen long, and then it had divided into a thick nest of blue cocks rivaling Nico's. For a time they had tangled and curled around each other, but soon Nico's thick, long cock tentacles slid between Eli's legs, hoisting up his swollen balls, pushed apart his ass cheeks and started to probe his hole.

Eli let out a chittering purr of pleasure as his ring was spread by his mate's cocks. Nico's shafts began to ooze and pulse green slime, letting it dribble down Eli's cheeks and coat the ring before the honed in on their target and slid in. Countless inches of tentacle spread into Eli, plunging deep, coiling through his body before his stomach bulged out, distended by Nico's ultimate masculinity. Soon they began sliding out, giving Eli the royal fucking of his life, and all the while Nico's remaining tentacles continued grooming his mate.

Even as they made out, Eli's body still dangled in mid air. Tentacles caressed Eli's legs, coiling around them. Suckers adhered to the skin, sucking and sucking and sucking until his skin stung, leaving red circles all over his skin, but then they gushed forth with green slime, coating the sensitive skin. The red rings turned purple and the skin around them turned blue. Soon Eli's legs began to grow soft and rubbery as the bones disappeared, leaving only muscle and flesh. Soon creases formed and the tentacles probed the creases, pushing into them before they split into his legs and suddenly Eli's lower limbs split into tentacles, pushing out from him with impressive force before they scattered across the ground, forming pillars of sucker covered tentacles to support his weight. Soon Eli's cock tentacles weaved through Nico's leg masses to find his ass.

In a brilliant moment of great pleasure, Eli plunged his masses of sensitive flesh into Nico, filling him at the same time he was being filled. The two clung to each other, wrapping their extremities tight as they fucked each other, feeling the pleasure of filling and being filled at the same time. With every moment they kissed and fucked, more tentacles wrapped around one another until their bodies disappeared, wrapped up in an intertwined cocoon of slimy, squirmy lust, their bodies glistening in the light.

****

Grayson stood in the basement, having freed himself of the slime tether. With Seth gone and Eli occupied, there was no longer any threat. Gray stood before the containment unit, watching as the rectangular warning light went black and the field holding back the ghosts finally collapsed. The wall of ghosts built up at the front gushed outward at the forefront of a stream of pink energy. It cascaded outward in a growing spiral of concentrated PKE, gushing around Gray's body, flooding up the stairs before it exploded outward on the main level.

Passers by on the street screamed as the firehouse doors exploded out from the building, sliding across the street. The energy gushed out like a tidal wave into the street before flooding in either direction, but even with such an avenue for escape, it was too much to contain. The windows on the second floor of the firehouse erupted into a cloud of glass shards as more pink energy spread outward into the city, spiraling up into the sky. A thunderous crack came as cement, steel, wood and paint was slammed against, a sledge hammer of ethereal energy pushing up through the roof before it splintered apart and a thick, seemingly endless column of pink light shot straight up into the sky like a geyser.

The skies above Portland filled with spirals of pink energy like fireworks on some festive holiday, but as the energy spread out, the concentrated mass was given room to separate once more. Ghosts began to appear in the streets and in the sky, filling the sidewalks and covering roofs. Larger ghosts, stranger ghosts appeared back at the points they had been captured. Just when the pedestrians in front of the firehouse thought it might be safe to get up from their cover, the remains of the Ecto-11 came rolling out of the firehouse, knocked out of the way by a charging hammer headed rhino.

All throughout the city the effects of the ghosts began to manifest. Vines grew wild, fires burst out, fire hydrants froze and lightning danced from street light to street light. Manhole covers shot out of the streets before thick brown sludge bubbled up and formed into the shape of men. The red glowing hands on cross walk signs separated themselves and chased after humans, slapping them whenever they got close enough. Screams lifted up into the sky as hell itself was unleashed on a city that had, for very many years, been protected by the Ghostbusters.

Below it all, standing in the basement beneath the hole in the ceiling was Gray, still holding the custom trap in his hand. He personally watched every ghost escaping from the containment unit, watching the last stragglers emerge. A chirping came from the open hatch as a fist sized green creature seemed to swim out through the air, big inky black eyes dominating its round face with tentacles dangling down from its main body. The ecto parasite swam up the stairs, disappearing from Gray's sight, but Gray turned back, watching the very last escapee, the very last prisoner.

Like a puff of smoke, the red vapor spilled outwards before it struggled to take shape. Gray watched dubiously as the vapor formed a red hood, the sleeves of a robe and a vague torso. The yellow light escaping from the floor below shone right through the ghost, not enough left of it to fully manifest. When Thana had nearly managed his escape before he had been severed, divided in two by the containment unit. Half of his essence had formed the hoodie that took over Gray, but the other half had remained in the containment unit. The two hooded figures gazed at each other for a long moment.

"At last... I can be reunited, I will be whole... and I will lead out people to a brighter future..." The vapor exclaimed. Gray shook his head softly.

"Thana... You should have learned by now that your time is already over." Gray said, stroking the trap in his hands. The vapor seemed to grow brighter in rage.

"How dare you talk to me like that... You are me!" Thana proclaimed.

"No, I am something better... Better than you, better than I was. I will admit, you freed me... but I am smarter than you ever were." Gray smiled, "For instance... Do you know what happens when you remove the amplitude regulator on the ionization core in a trap?" Gray asked. The hooded vapor hung in mid-air, saying nothing. Despite the shadow filling Gray's hood, his teeth became visible as he smiled deviously, "It removes all safeties keeping the trap from nutronizing the ghost and destroying it completely. It's far too inhumane for any ghost, but since there's already one of us out here... We don't need you anymore." Gray whispered.

Thana turned, shooting upwards to try and escape but Gray opened the trap, the doors snapping open. Crackling crimson light spiraled outward and enveloped Thana, catching him half way to the roof. He struggled against the light but it began pulling him downwards toward his destruction. Energy crackled and arced in the field, tearing through what little bit of Thana remained. Pieces of his misty robe dissolved away, then an entire arm. Thana was drawn down, compressed and tightened before he disappeared into the box and the trap doors snapped shut. After a moment the indicator light flashed a bright orange, indicating that there had been an error. The capacity gauge indicated that there wasn't a single particle of PKE left in the trap.

Gray turned and set the empty trap onto a table and stepped toward the stairs before he shuddered, grunting suddenly. His eyes squeezed shut as a mixture of feelings ripped through his body. He could feel that he had destroyed a part of what was connected to himself, but without the essence being divided, it was almost as if he was growing stronger. Gray reached out and clutched at the hand rail on the stairs, growling sharply. As his fingers clutched at the metal, his black fingernails began spilling outward, growing longer and thicker, sinking into his fingers and turning into long claws.

"What's... happening..." Gray growled out. The bare arms sticking out of his sleeveless shirt began to bulge and bulk out dramatically. His biceps and triceps grew, then every other muscle in his arm until each was a pillar of perfect construction. His legs bulked out as well, creating pillars of strength for him. Gray grasped for an explanation of his sudden changes, but then the answer came to him. The part of himself that had been Thana was struggling for any PKE to draw on and make up for the destruction of its other half. It had latched onto the first part of him that had been touched by a ghost, the part of him that had been turned into a Nordic wolf. Gray hunched over as his pants slipped down, making way for a furry nub of a tail to push out, growing inches every second, filling out thick and silver. The tail whipped around, becoming as thick as Gray's arm before thickening even more, becoming quite fluffy.

The threads of Gray's shoes came apart before the rubber tore. Instead of human toes, boney shifting canine digits emerged. The shoes fell apart and Gray stepped out of them as his toenails curved into claws. Portions of the bottom of his feet began swelling into thick pads. His feet lengthened and narrowed, his toes grew long and boney before thick silver fur burst out, covering every part but his paw pads and the claws. As Gray's tail brushed the floor and his wolf paws gripped the metal grating beneath him, the sensations stopped. Gray panted softly, looking at himself. Humanoid hands, wolf feet, wolf tail... red running pants, red hoodie. Gray shook his head slowly.

"Great, I'm red fucking riding hood... and the wolf." Gray muttered, "Well, I can live with that..." Gray murmured before he moved up the stairs to the main level. He stepped out, his paw coming down into a thick puddle of teal slime. It didn't take long to link the source of it to the writhing mass of tentacles standing over by the burned out husk of a secretary's desk. Gray reached down and ran his claws along the fly of his pants, reaching in before he withdrew a long, thick, drooling red pointed phallus. He gave it a few good strokes before grinning wider, "Nico, Eli, time to please your master..." Gray commanded. Eli and Nico detangled from each other before they scrambled over to engulf Gray, caressing him with their tentacles, surrounding his shaft and stroking it tightly. As the city around them fell into chaos, the three former busters embraced in more intimacy than they had ever shared before.

TO BE CONTINUED