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Ghostbusters: Regenesis Chapter 29 (Devil in the Dark) Written by Leo_Todrius Commissioned by Draegon1993

The eternal ebb and flow of the tide had waged war on the Oregon coast for eons, reducing volcanic rock to soft sand and etching an ever more mystical network of nooks and crannies into the natural formations that predated man. One of the more interesting formations was known as the Devil's Punchbowl. It had once been a cave in pre-history, but the ceiling had collapsed, leaving it an open ring with an inlet to the ocean and an opening to the beach depending on the tide. Waves came gushing in the inlet, hitting the rocks and spraying upward in a swirling, seething mass. When the tide was low, huge boulders were visible, but as the water level climbed, it seemed like a giant pool. The stone gleamed with the moisture and the sunlight, practically glowing with shades of red, orange and yellow.

Even though it was easy to get to the Devil's Punchbowl, it wasn't one of the more visited sites, especially in winter. The lack of an audience was specifically what Lucien was hoping for. The twenty four year old stood on one of the huge, well rounded boulders, wearing black and red active wear pants and a red sleeveless tank top. The wind blew against the tiny wisps of brown hair hanging down from his chin. His short brown hair was hidden beneath a red backwards baseball cap with two metal spikes pushed up through the air vent holes to make it look like horns. He'd always been a daredevil, one more reason he felt compelled to come here.

The one part of Lucien's outfit that didn't seem to match were the unusual gloves he was sliding onto his hands. The graphite colored mesh clung to his fingers, but it was equally a support for the network of copper and gold colored veins of metal running over the digits, as well as the turquoise discs placed across the palms and fingertips. It had been a labor intensive project, one built off of plans from the deep web. For all Lucien knew, it was some sort of hoax, but if he was right... he was about to revolutionize leisure activities across the world.

Lucien made sure the gloves were on tight before he tapped his fingers together. The turquoise discs illuminated, a soft hum coming from the tech. He approached the cave wall and reached out carefully. His glove shot out and stuck to the rock surface like a magnet clinging to metal. Lucien's brown eyes widened with glee, a grin crossing his lips. He reached out with his left hand, a bit higher, letting it adhere. Then came the moment of truth.

The young man stretched, pulling his right hand off the rock wall, lifting it up, letting it stick before he pulled. His feet came off the ground and he repeated the process with his left. Soon he was free climbing the rock wall, his gloves grabbing on like something out of a superhero comic. Lucien grinned ear to ear as he climbed up and up. His speed wasn't the best, he was trying to be careful, but he was enjoying it still.

Below him the tide continued to come in, the water rushing in, swirling, splashing and funneling back out again, creating a barrier over the huge boulders that Lucien had walked on minutes before. He continued his ascent. He had to be at least twenty feet up. As he reached the upper edge of the wall, though, he started to feel something. At first it was like a tingling in his fingers, but then he realized it was a vibration... one that was spreading through the rock. The vibration was building fast. Soon the reddish orange rock was becoming blurry. Dust was falling from the top of the stone, pebbles and stones raining down from crevices.

Lucien went pale, realizing the ramifications of what he was doing. He had seen the kids crucified on the national news for destroying a standing rocks monument, what if he hurt the punchbowl? Lucien went to try and climb back down, but the vibration in the rock stopped suddenly - and so did the gloves. For a split second it seemed like time had frozen. He could see his hands come off of the rock and something come out of the wall in front of him, a red gem of some sort. He closed his fingers around it as he fell into the water below.

It was a seething swirl of cold salty water biting at his extremities. He tried to bob to the surface, but the current pulled him out of the cave. He felt the rock floor disappear beneath his feet. He paddled as best he could, managing to come to the surface outside of the cave. He coughed and sputtered, finding no solace in the sun when everything else was so cold. Lucien knew he couldn't risk swimming back into the cave and getting bashed against the rocks, so he'd have to swim around.

He felt the weight of the stone in his left hand, but he used his right hand to help him swim. It was hard making progress as he was pushed toward the cave, then pulled out to sea, then pushed toward the cave and pulled away again. He made it around the outer edge and then lifted his legs up as much as he could, letting the waves on the surface carry him towards the shore. He hit the sandy beach and dug in, but as the water moved back out he could feel the sand erode away around every finger and his feet.

The force of the water heading out to sea was great, like a tether tied around his chest, but Lucien held on for dear life. The water left him entirely, but he knew he couldn't collapse, not yet. He scrambled inland as much as he could before collapsing on the other side of a rocky vein that jutted up out of the sand. The black rock had holes and depressions in it, though none were deep enough for sea life to have taken root.

Lucien panted, laying on the cold, unforgiving sand, relieved to be alive. He started taking stock, trying to figure out what state he was in. He lifted his right hand and quickly realized one of the gloves was gone. His arm was also cut and bleeding in a few places. He reached up and felt his head, sighing with great relief that his lucky hat was still there. That was a miracle with the way the water was buffeting around. Lucien hoisted his left hand, seeing that the glove was still there. He opened it slowly and revealed the prize he had found inside the rock wall, a star shaped piece of translucent ruby red stone... but as he held it, it started to glow brighter and brighter. A line of light shot out from the stone, hitting one of the depressions in the black rock vein that ran along the beach.

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" Lucien panted, getting up onto all fours. He looked at the line of light, turned the stone, moved it around. Wherever he moved it, the light connected it to that one spot. Swallowing a little, he crawled toward the hole and ran his fingers on the inside edge. It seemed like a natural crevice in the rock, something nature had cut out, but it matched the jewel he had reclaimed. Looking around, it was clear the beach was empty other than some seagulls bouncing between bits of seaweed.

It was a natural impulse, a basic human instinct. He had a hole, he had something to fill it. Lucien slowly lowered the stone into the hole. As he got the edges lined up, it snapped itself down into place with the same magnetic force his gloves had shown... and then the ground began to tremble. The waves broke and the water went placid, showing off more of the wet sand. It glistened like glass, but slowly wide, flat obsidian stones began to rise out of the sand, pushing the sand and water out of the way. It was like a line of stepping stones, reaching out into the ocean. As they reached the water line, a curved pillar of sandstone jutted up, then another on the other side. A third piece floated up out of the surf and slipped into place on the upper edge, creating a half-oval archway a little taller than the door to a house.

The air in the center of the archway rippled before it revealed a space beyond, not an image. There was more reddish orange rock, just like the punchbowl was made of, but the sky beyond the archway was a dark purple color. There were strange palm like bushes with orange leaves and purple berries, it was like another world entirely. Lucien sat on the rock, feeling weak and cold and defeated, but a strange warm breeze blew from the archway, washing over him, feeling so welcoming. The air was a bit spicy, a little tart, but it made him feel better.

"Lucien... Come to us. Come join us." The words were faint, carried on the wind, almost lost in the sound of the ocean, but they were deep, resounding, reverberating. Lucien forced himself up onto his feet, moving forward step by step. His feet found purchase on the stepping stones. As he approached the archway, the water started to move back in, surrounding the stones without covering them.

Lucien reached the archway and extended his hand. It passed through the stone arch with no effect, reaching into the world beyond. Without a moment's hesitation, Lucien took the next step, passing on to the other side. The image in the archway faded, leaving a view of the Oregon coast beyond, but the arch did not break, the stepping stones did not sink. The archway would wait until it was needed again.

---

A strange warm fog drifted along the rocky ground, swirling around Lucien's feet as he walked before it dispersed again. The terrain was surreal, flat for the most part, stretching out in long plateaus that dropped off into unseeable depths off the edges. A blood red river ran down one of the larger sections, the waterfall cascading down into infinity. In the distance other islands and landmasses floated over the bottomless void. Somewhere some sort of sun had started to rise, turning the purple sky into lighter shades of crimson.

Lucien kept walking, not sure entirely why, but he was feeling a lot better. The water had evaporated from his clothes and the soreness in his muscles had ebbed away like taking a hot salt soak. Most of what he had seen had been natural, well, supernatural at least. There were trees, bushes, chameleons and salamanders as well as a rather frightening looking snake... but up ahead Lucien could see something else.

At first it was hard to make out of the fog, but the light coming from the structure itself made it easier to make out. It appeared to be a pyramid made of glass, the size of a medium house. There was a glass archway on the front of the structure that looked almost like a roman gate with large glass doors sealing the entrance to the pyramid. As Lucien approached, he started to slow. He hadn't noticed at first, but there were other figures outside the temple, and none of them were human.

There were tall beings and short beings, male and female and other, some had crimson skin, others jet black, a few blue, but they all had horns, pointed ears, claws, and long prehensile tails that ended in spaded tips. Lucien felt his muscles tightening as he realized just what he had walked into. The demons were already starting to whisper, some of them looking at Lucien, but they fell silent as fog started to spill down the steps of the temple, a great pearlescent light spilling out of the doors as they opened.

A shadow appeared in the midst of all the light - tall, broad shouldered, incredibly muscled. Huge, dark hooves stepped down onto the stone steps, thick curls of black fur coating his huge, animalistic legs. The fur was incredibly thick around the groin, hanging down like a loincloth, obscuring whatever features were there. The powerful black tail swept from side to side, the spade tip of the tail curling, as if in thought. The beast continued his descent, blood red eyes looking out at the new arrival.

Lucien was frozen in place, looking at that face. His crimson nose was broad and flat, almost like a cat's, and his flowing black hair was framed by thick curls of brown ram horns. Unlike the other demons, his ears seemed almost aquatic, webbed with points at intervals. Lucien had been so caught up in his face that he almost didn't notice when the demon's lower pair of arms moved, his double set of pecs twitching. Lucien's jaw slowly dropped lower as he took the behemoth in to his fullest.

"Ah, what a pleasure to have a guest after so long." The demon said, opening all four arms in welcome, "This is a cause for celebration. Everyone, gather food and drink for our guest." The demon proclaimed. At once the others started darting around, moving toward stone dome like huts, emerging with roast meat, stewed vegetables and casks of wine. Lucien's smile quirked a bit.

"Am I dead? Did I die when I fell?" he asked. The demon king let out a deep, resounding chuckle that seemed to reverberate through the ground itself.

"Oh no, not at all. You are very much alive..." he said, moving over toward the human, "Let me get a look at you." He added. A clawed hand extended, rubbing at the tiny fluff of hair on his chin, then reached up to touch the spikes on his hat. The demon grinned wide, "I have to admit, I like your style." He said.

"Th... Thanks. I guess I like yours too." Lucien said. The demon licked his lips a bit and swept one hand, causing a long table to appear. The other demons started loading it up with plates, glasses, and the food they had gathered.

"Join me for a feast in your honor." The demon said.

"I don't even know your name." Lucien said. The demon smiled slowly.

"Ah humans, I forgot they were so formal with names... And names do have such power. In a sign of good will, I am called Mastema." The demon said.

"Well, a pleasure to meet you." Lucien said, offering his hand. Mastema took the human's hand in his much larger one. Lucien was surprised by how warm and soft the skin felt. Whatever was going on, he wanted to enjoy it before it inevitably took a turn.

---

The sound of metal clinking against glass and ceramic was the same in any dimension, and the demon's feast was no exception. Mastema sat at the head of the table with Lucien to his right hand and an assortment of other demons down either row. Lucien had been a bit hesitant to accept the offers of the demons, but none of the dishware had engravings and it all seemed to be normal food for the most part, though he wasn't sure what several ingredients were. He held a chicken leg to his lips and tore into it with his teeth, finding the meat savory and succulent.

"So there are still stories told of demons on Earth after all this time?" Mastema asked, sipping from some blood red wine before he set the tall crystal glass down again. Lucien nodded, setting the chicken leg down in favor of getting a fork full of some root vegetable cooked so long that only the skin held it intact, the innards ready to gush forth in starchy goodness.

"Oh yeah, it's still part of several religions, and part of language too, when people are-" Lucien blushed a bit, not sure how to finish his sentence. Mastema chuckled.

"I assume... evil? Unrelenting?" Mastema asked. Lucien nodded, biting into the root vegetable, taking a few swallows.

"Yeah, but also little devils when they are mischievous or playful." Lucien said, hoping to soften the blow. Mastema nodded slowly at that.

"Good, you see Lucien, that is the way we like to be remembered. Playful, mischievous, daredevils. Tell me, Lucien, were you ever mischievous?" he asked. As Lucien thought about it, Mastema could see images reflected in his crystal glass through the wine of the young man when he was a teenager, joyriding in a car, attending a rave, skipping school. Mastema slipped a claw into his glass, penetrating the surface of the wind, sending ripples out. Lucien slowly inhaled, the brown in his eyes shifting to a bright cherry red color.

"Oh hell yeah." Lucien chuckled, taking a sip of his own glass of wine, letting it play across his teeth and tongue, "Yeah, boys will be boys." he smirked. Mastema chuckled at that, seeing a lifestyle of pansexuality, of celebration of life, of chaos and freedom. Slowly Mastema began to circle his finger in his wine, swirling the images of Lucien's life. His canine teeth started to grow longer into short fangs, pressure started beading up just past the end of Lucien's eyebrows. He shifted a bit, feeling oddly warm and sweaty.

"What about you Mastema, you ever do anything evil or unrelenting?" Lucien asked, looking up at the demon at the head of the table. Mastema smiled slowly.

"Oh hell yes." he replied before he pierced his palm with a finger and let a drop of black demon blood fall into the glass holding the images of Lucien's life. Lucien's head tipped back and he gasped as the metal spikes stuck through his hat sunk down into his skull, connecting at the root. Dark black bone oozed out around the metal, coating it in layer after layer, forming short curved black horns. Tiny drops of blood erupted from his temples as small gold piercings appeared, two dots on his right side and a ring on the left. More molten balls of metal burst through from either side of his bottom lip and his entire scalp started tingling.

Lucien grabbed onto the chair, trying to support himself as the base of his earlobes started to stretch and deform. A ring of metal appeared in the flesh and widened out, but as it did it made room for something else. Polished ivory appeared in the circular gap, but stretching out behind his ears, grazing against his neck were two long boney spikes... that were clearly fangs from some great beast. Lucien's scalp throbbed before his brown hair surged out, knocking off his red hat. The hair whipped about, spiraling and wrapping up, knotting into dreadlocks that swept down the top of his head before descending down the back of his skull to drape across his shoulders.

Mastema breathed in deeply, smelling the changing scent as the human was corrupted, watching his shorts billow and bloat before a thick, muscled prehensile tail dipped down, slithering from side to side. Lucien's crimson eyes glazed over as his cock's foreskin extended outward, slipping over the head of his cock for the first time since his circumcision. The shaft grew longer and wider, taking on a lot more mass as his balls rounded and filled out. Lucien's chest even started to burn as a black circle appeared beneath his now-pierced nipples, smaller circles radiating outward to the sides and up toward his throat, giving him a sunspot pattern.

The changes slowed to a crawl and then a stop, leaving Lucien still rather human, but decidedly demon. Mastema lifted his glass and tipped it back, guzzling down the wine until not a drop remained. He set his glass back on the table and let out a slow, deep sigh of relief. Lucien slowly let go of the chair, panting hard, looking at his black nails before reaching back to play with his long dreads. Mastema licked his lips again.

"That meal was rather satisfying, wasn't it?" Mastema said, savoring the flavor of a soul diverted and converted.

---

Twin moons slowly climbed into the purple sky, casting darker hues across the floating land masses of the other realm, though a dull ever present red glow wafted up from the infinite void below. Lucien walked through a neighborhood of structures, feeling the wind bat at his newly lengthened hair. He'd never had long hair in his life. It felt rebellious, wild, and a bit scary that it had been out of his own power. The houses this far out seemed better built than the ones near the temple. The corners of the homes were made with carved columns and there were simple roofs, though each building had one wall missing covered with just draped cloth. It seemed that weather wasn't a consideration in the ether.

Lucien leaned against the house, his elbow brushing against some orange ivy leaves as he gazed out into the distance, thinking about his life. He should have known something about the meal would have changed him. There were so many stories about not taking hospitality from supernatural beings... But it didn't hurt, it didn't feel bad. If anything, it kind of felt like a constant mild sexy energy flowing through him. He grinned a bit, reaching up to feel one of his fang earrings.

"Not bad, is it?" Came a soft voice. Lucien turned, looking at the source. A royal blue skinned demon was sitting on the porch of his house, yellow eyes looking at the former human. The demon had the customary spade tail of the other demons and a set of obsidian black horns that emerged from his forehead and curved before climbing straight up. His black hair was tied into a ponytail and his ears had large spacers in them. The demon's black goatee was braided into a serpentine back and forth pattern.

"Not really. It's kind of amazing, the view... and the body." Lucien replied. The blue demon chuckled and nodded.

"I'd have to agree there, on both counts." he said, offering a clawed hand, "I'm Shyn." he said. Lucien moved over and took his hand.

"Lucien, but I guess everyone knew that from the feast." Lucien shrugged. Shyn pulled out a bottle that looked oddly reminiscent of a beer bottle. Lucien smiled a bit and sat down hip to hip with the demon, accepting the offer. He tipped it back and let it spill down his throat, though he let out a hiss of surprise with a bit of flames kissing his lips.

"Its strong stuff, but I think you can take it." Shyn smirked. Lucien coughed a bit and handed the bottle back.

"Thanks." he said, his voice a bit hoarse. He swallowed a bit and soon recovered himself, "So, did Mastema change you like he did me?" Lucien asked. Shyn looked a bit startled at the question and was silent for a long moment.

"Sort of..." Shyn murmured, "The method was the same, but... It was he that came through the portal." Shyn replied. Lucien hesitated at that.

"Wait, you mean, you were here first and he came here? He's not from this place?" Lucien asked. Shyn looked around a bit in fear before he nodded.

"Most of us were born here, this place used to be a bit different... Mastema was banished from another world, but with his powers he couldn't be banished to a place without worshippers, without those to lead and manipulate. We were... sacrificed to ensure he was trapped here." Shyn said. Lucien looked horrified at that.

"So he changed you?" Lucien asked softly. Shyn was still caught off guard, but the human had a right to know what he had wandered into.

"He changed everything. This was a place of ideas, of thought and belief. Now it all serves his whims, our basic existence is at his mercy." Shyn said sadly.

"Did you ever try to get help? Reach out to other places? Maybe we still can." Lucien asked, looking at his new friend.

"Who are we going to summon?" Shyn asked. An odd smile crossed Lucien's lips, a television jingle that had been playing his whole life echoing at the back of his head.

"The real question is... Who are we gonna call?" Lucien asked.

---

The sidewalks of Portland were always at least a bit populated with pedestrians and cyclists; the city enjoying its distinction whether the sun was out or the rain was coming down in sheets. Lucien had always found that aspect charming before, but today it was more of an obstacle. It had been hard enough to sneak back to his own dimension through the archway without being seen - Shyn had done his best to provide cover, but now he was an altered human.

The young man moved along the streets of the Pearl District with a black hoodie on, the hood puffed out as much as he could manage to cover his horns. He hadn't had sunglasses in his car, and there was no way in hell he was going to stop short of his destination. The drive from the coast had been long enough. Lucien's red eyes gleamed in the afternoon light as he came up to the firehouse.

Lucien looked up at the building for a short moment. It wasn't the most aesthetic building from the outside, though the second floor did boast some pretty big windows looking out into the neighborhood. The first floor seemed to be more reinforced, and the way the bricks were designed, it looked as though they had long ago removed two garage doors, leaving just the one set for their current vehicle. Lucien shook off his thoughts of architecture and knocked on the door. After a moment it opened and a youthful blue face was looking out at Lucien with solid white glowing eyes.

"May I help you?" Rerun asked, still getting used to using speech. Lucien's red eyes went extremely wide. There was nervous tutting from behind before a blond twenty five year old young man edged into the doorway, his wavy hair falling across his face. He reached up and brushed it back, elbowing Rerun in the stomach. Rerun wrinkled his nose at that and started using sign language furiously. Eli sloppily signed with one hand until the time Wyrm swung his long body around and floated back into the building. Lucien still stood there dumbfounded.

"Uh, sorry about that... Is there something I can help you with? Ghosts, ghouls, specters?" Eli asked. Lucien reached up and lowered his hood, revealing his horns.

"Demons, actually." Lucien said. Eli's eyes widened.

"You better come inside." He said softly, opening the door wider.

---

The metaphasic scan of Lucien was displayed on a screen in real time, showing not a demon but a human with accelerated brainwave patterns. Somehow seeing his human face, even if it was in hues of green and blue on a computer screen, was comforting. Lucien looked at it with such focus that he did zone out a bit until he heard the question repeated.

"You said the demon's name was Mastema?" Grey asked.

"Uh, yeah... Mastema. He said names had power... and then told me his." Lucien said, "Somehow he already knew mine."

"Mastema... Hebrew, his name means hostility. Originally he was supposed to persecute evil, but things went off the tracks." Grayson murmured, reading from the old book on demonology they had ordered from Ray's Occult bookstore.

"Fallen angel?" Nico asked from where he was sitting, sketching Lucien's appearance.

"Well, more or less... He was the angel of disaster, a father of evil and a flatterer of god." Grayson continued.

"So a suck up that tortured people behind the boss's back. I've known that type." Seth shuddered, bringing water for Lucien. Grayson turned the page and continued.

"When the flood ended and Noah prayed that the demons were to be cleaned, his descendants free of their interference, Mastema stepped in and pleaded that he could have one tenth of the demons as his own, to assert his authority over and test humanity with. There are a few stories of him testing humans. Supposedly he was chained as the Israelites left Egypt, but then let loose and led the chase of them to the Red Sea." Gray reported.

"So that's, what, three thousand years ago, give or take?" Seth asked. Gray nodded.

"Shyn says that Mastema was banished, but he couldn't be sent to a place without people to worship him." Lucien said.

"The ten percent?" Nico asked, looking up. Gray nodded a bit at the theory.

"Despite being so different, this other realm must be somewhere close to our own. We're still tracking down frequencies with the arch, but there might be different access points around the world, more than just the coastal archway." Gray said.

"So what does that mean? Does any of that help you catch him?" Lucien asked. Nico looked up at Gray. Gray set down the book and grabbed his tablet, flipping through precious encounters with demons in New York. They almost always dealt with the Nether-realm.

"Most of the demons defeated by Ghostbusters were sent back to their own realms or destroyed by the anchor that brought them into this world. Very few were outright trapped." Gray said.

"Well, we already know this Mastema dude has one weakness, the requirement for worshippers." Nico said.

"Lucien, with your permission, I can take some more detailed scan. With that information, and if we pack to cover a few different bases, we should have what we need to make a good attempt." Gray said.

"We have to free those people... I'll do whatever it takes." Lucien said.

"Alright, let's get to work." Gray said with a smile. He gestured for Lucien to stand and he led him off, unaware that outside of the building four yellow eyes were watching through the window. The creature was the size of a large dog, though its red leathery hide was wrapped around a body that was equal parts dragon and hound. It snarled, keeping watch for its master.

---

The wind was picking up and silver clouds were gathering on the horizon, but that didn't dissuade the Ghostbusters as they moved along the beach. Gray, Eli and Nico were equipped with the enhanced prototype packs, the cyclotron lights flashing orange instead of red. The miniature slime tanks mounted on the side of the packs gurgled with the pressurized contents. Gray and Eli had box traps hanging from their hips, but Nico's pack had a disc trap swinging from the bottom rail. Unlike the normal traps, it had a purple base and an exposed ion grill with only narrow purple trapezoid doors slipped across the red surface. Following up behind, Seth had brought out the heavy artillery. His pack had a faraday cage mounted over a synchrotron, powering a proton canon. Seth moved to take up a position on the rocks, kicking out a tripod to steady the canon.

Lucien followed the busters, looking at the archway. It seemed so innocuous without the image of the other world. He almost thought it wasn't on, but he had made sure he could move forward and back when he came back. He took a few breaths, looking at it, bracing himself. Eli moved over, resting an arm on the young demon man's shoulder.

"You don't have to go back and face this, you already did what you could and got help." Eli said. Lucien shook his head.

"I have to be a part of the solution. These people have been enslaved, manipulated. They need their freedom. There must have been a reason why I was brought there, why it was me. Even if I wind up just being a distraction, we have to help." Lucien said. Eli nodded at that and looked at Gray.

"Let's go." Gray said before he walked forward with Eli and Nico, Lucien following up behind. Gray stepped through the archway and the Oregon coast disappeared, replaced by the floating islands and land masses that made up the other realm, but as he crossed the threshold a red mist swirled around him, clinging to his body, replacing his uniform with a sleeveless, flowing red robe, the hood covering his head and a shadow obscuring his face. Gray slowed down enough that Nico and Eli bumped into him from the other side.

"Oh HELL no..." Nico murmured.

"Thana..." Eli whispered.

"It's still me, I don't feel him at all." Gray said. Eli turned and looked back through the archway, seeing Lucien and Seth, but also something else running toward them.

"Guys!" Eli said, powering his pack up, bringing his blaster up. They couldn't hear the other side, but Seth apparently saw the red blur. He opened fire, sending out a stream from the proton canon. It hit the sand and melted it into glass, but the blur moved. Lucien stumbled over his feet before he ran through the archway and past the Ghostbusters, the red blur hot in pursuit. The red blur hit the archway and manifested fully, becoming visible, gold claws skidding across the rocky surface. It was six legged, with three sets of horns, red eyes and rippling muscles over its lanky, awkward form. A spaded tail swung around behind it.

The air lit up as three streams of orange-yellow proton shot out, snapping at the beast. It yelped and bounded around, dodging the streams as chunks of rock were hit and went floating up into the air. As the beast threw its head back and let out a long howl, one of the shadows cast by a large stone grew larger and larger until Mastema stretched out of it. The Ghostbusters snapped off their streams, looking up at the demon. The demon shook his head, letting out a soft hiss.

"Lucien, you make me very sad. We show you hospitality, and this is how you repay us? Running to mortals, trying to-" Mastema stopped, looking at Grayson. His eyebrow quirked slightly, "Thana?" he asked. Grayson slowly smiled.

"You think you could interfere with the humans again and not get my attention?" Gray asked. Eli and Nico looked at each other with some mounting concern.

"The human entered my realm, my territory. He became my property when he did." Mastema replied.

"You had your percentage, your followers. This is tricky business Mastema." Gray replied. The demon slowly smiled.

"Oh, I see.... I see." Mastema said before he held up a hand and then pointed at Lucien. The dragon dog beast jumped, knocking Lucien down onto all fours. The beast pressed against him and began sinking into his body. Lucien threw his head back and let out a yell that became a howl as the beast combined with him. Crimson color spilled across Lucien's flesh, staining it as his red iris spread out into solid red eyes.

The young man's arms and legs popped and snapped, deforming and contorting into muscled animal limbs, claws erupting from his compressing and shortening fingers. His clothes tore and his hair became more like a hyena mane. His crimson cock began to bloat out, stretching into a point as a knot formed at the base. His tail got thicker and more muscled and soon his face extended outward, stretching into a muzzle as more horns pushed out of his head. One last sickening wet squelching sound came as two more bestial arms erupted from underneath his first set, stretching down to the ground. The beast growled heavily, flames leaking from its lips. He still looked like Mastema's pet, but now he had Lucien's bodyweight and muscles added to his fearsome form.

"Good boy." Mastema said with a chuckle, looking back at the humans.

"Release him!" Gray demanded. Mastema laughed softly, circling the humans.

"Oh no, I do not think so. You may be playing as Thana, but you aren't really him. You are just more mortals for me to play with, for me to have my way with. And, if you are the best guardians your world has to offer, than it may be time for me to return. Just imagine what I could do with all of those humans. Sure, Earth isn't as easy at this place to manifest thoughts, but I'll make do. No one will betray me like Lucien, I will carve my mark into the world." Mastema said. Gray looked at Eli and Nico.

"On Three." he said.

"Three!" Eli and Nico replied. Their prototype packs hummed suddenly as numerous flaps opened up, glowing a deep royal blue. The cyclotron picked up speed, changing direction as the lights turned blue as well. As the Ghostbusters opened fire, their cobalt streams lanced out, hitting the demon. The air flashed bright white and blue, crackling as the streams lanced around the demon. He growled out sharply, trying to fight it, but with each passing second he felt like it was harder and harder to move.

"What did you do?!" Mastema grunted, letting out a dismayed growl.

"Dark matter generator, or as Doctor Stantz liked to call it, a freeze ray." Gray said. Mastema slowly extended a finger, giving a command to his beast. The beast charged at the Ghostbusters but let out a sudden yelp as he was snared with vines and lifted up into the air.

"NO!" Mastema howled in fury, looking at where the vines had come from. Shyn was crouching on the ground, his feet planted and a hand placed in front of him. His eyes were glowing solid white as he looked at his target. The ground trembled as stone seeped up over Mastema's feet, metal spewing out of a nearby geyser to snare around his wrists. The demon snarled, "You can't do this! I am your god! I have a purpose!"

"The purpose of Mastema was to test humanity with god's permission, but that age has passed. The final test has one solution, to end the threat of the demon. Let's see if we pass." Gray said, turning. He opened fire, sending a dark matter stream across the mesa, between the buildings, striking the glass pyramid at the center of the village. Nico turned on his, stepping next to Gray. He flipped off a regulator and tilted to the right. The stream sputtered, sparked, and then tangled with Gray's. Eli powered on his as well, turning off the regulator before he crossed his stream as well.

The trio of beams sparked and lurched, the feedback making the Ghostbusters shudder as wind started picking up. Gray's red robes fluttered in the wind, whipping around behind him. Mastema started to grunt and growl, the color draining from his body along with the light. Shadow crept over his body until slowly they could start to see through him.

"His connection is weakening!" Gray said.

"So is ours, I can see through my hand!" Eli said, looking at his body becoming more translucent. Mastema roared and snarled more, fighting against the bindings his own worshippers had put him in. The sound of the packs was almost deafening, but the shadow finished crossing over the demon. Nico grabbed the specialized trap from behind his pack and tossed it. It landed on the stone and the purple feet dug in before the yellow disc top began to spin, the purple flaps lifting up. A howling wind erupted from the trap, a column of light shooting to the heavens. The light splintered through Mastema's shadow form before it began to swirl and tug at him.

Mastema's rock bindings broke from the ground and he toppled forward toward the light. The Ghostbusters changed the mode on their packs, the lights turning back to red as they opened up with their capture streams. Red and orange light crackled, wrapping around Mastema as they began tugging and slamming against the beams. The demon's body began to stretch and contort until it spiraled into the trap. As it swirled and disappeared, the top flaps snapped shut and the column of light disappeared. Steam blasted out of the sides of the device as the lights went dead.

The demons that had come to liberate themselves stood still for a moment in uncertainty, but a deep, shuddering sound echoed across the mesa. The Ghostbusters turned, seeing the distant pyramid starting to crack and fragment before it exploded into dust, raining down across the rocky surface, leaving only a carved stone boulder in its wake. The purple sky started to brighten, taking on shades of bluish green. Across the land mass, the mighty crimson waterfall shifted, turning clear. The plants started to shift, taking on softer, more congenial appearances.

Murmurs of awe and surprise broke out among the locals as some of their bodies began to shift. While they all looked like demons at first, some started to look more like elves, others like satyrs, and some still defying description. The huts that had littered the grounds around the temple looked more elaborate, more complex and a true sun began to climb into the sky. The Ghostbusters looked around as everything shifted.

"What does this mean? Did we win?" Eli asked.

"You did more than that. You saved Refuge." Shyn said, watching as Lucien's body slowly shifted back to his hybrid demon shape, his flesh returning to normal, although he still had a second set of arms and double pectorals. He murmured softly, looking around at the others, a dopey grin crossing his face.

"Did we do it?" he asked. Shyn chuckled softly.

"We did it." Shyn replied. Grayson smiled softly.

"You saved all these people... You're a hero. But we should get you back to the firehouse, get you healed up." Grayson said. Lucien looked a little startled.

"No, I'm fine. I feel so much better now that you trapped Mastema." Lucien said.

"Uh, I hate to spoil the mood, but dude, you still have horns." Nico said.

"This place is a sanctuary to those that need refuge, that is how it was named." Shyn said, "And it is a place where our hopes, our dreams, can be made manifest. Lucien appears as he wishes to be." Shyn said. Eli slunk a little closer to Nico.

"I am getting the feeling he doesn't want to be turned back." Eli whispered.

"Perhaps... we were too hasty. We just want to make sure everyone here is alright." Gray said. Shyn moved over to Lucien, offering him a hand. Lucien was pulled to his feet and tried to get used to having another set of arms.

"You have helped us all in ways we can't even begin to thank you for. Thank you Ghostbusters." Lucien said, "Now, if you want to stay and help us celebrate, I welcome you. But you need to know that I'm not going back, not to Earth, not to the way I was. This is me now. This is my home." Lucien said. Eli looked at Nico and then Gray. Gray nodded gently, feeling incredibly awkward and a bit defeated.

"Then all I can do is wish you all well in your new, liberated lives." Gray said.

"To Refuge!" Shyn shouted, eliciting shouts of jubilation from the other inhabitants. The cheers got louder and louder, leaving the Ghostbusters to stand in view of it all.

---

The basement of the Portland Firehouse glowed with a steady yellow light seeping up from beneath the metal floor grating. Nico fitted the purple trap into the slot, turning it so it locked into the mount. He entered his code and grabbed the handle, pulling it down. The huge red containment unit shuddered as the demon was transferred from the trap into the pocket universe inside the device. The screen showed a progress bar, indicating that it was going to take a few moments. Nico moved back and sat down on the metal steps next to where Gray was sitting.

"Are you alright?" Nico asked. Gray considered for a moment.

"I guess so." Gray said, pausing, "No, not really."

"The Thana thing?" Nico asked. Gray shook his head.

"No, that they didn't want to turn back." Gray replied, "That they want to leave Earth behind entirely."

"We've been turned into so many things over the last few years, and we've been working so hard to turn Seth back, I guess it's easy to forget that some of these things, these ghosts, these changes, were improvements for people." Nico said.

"We've helped human spirits cross over to the afterlife before, the actual afterlife. And we've helped a few ghosts and spooks find their way back to their own dimensions." Gray said.

"And we kept this entire dimension from getting eaten by a big parasite." Nico added. Gray chuckled at that.

"My point is, we're not just some pest elimination service. The ghosts aren't just a nuisance. There's a whole spectrum, and I'm worried we've been too callous in how we've been treating them." Gray said.

"But we can't just pick and choose when we help and when we don't. We can't guess who actually likes it more and who is just under the influence of some ghostly barber or demon or party satyr." Nico said, "All we can do is clean up and then try to help the people pick up the pieces afterwards. Turning into gremlins or gargoyles won't make someone happy if they can't make themselves happy. It'll be shallow." Nico said. Gray smiled a bit at that.

"I know that, and you know that, but what about the vulnerable people out there? I feel like we need to be doing more. Counseling or something, post-traumatic ghost encounter." Gray said. Nico nodded.

"Maybe we do, maybe that government oversight thing can work out a branch for that. But right now you need rest. I'll watch the transfer, make sure it goes alright. Go get dinner ready." Nico said. Grayson smiled, glad to see how much Nico had grown over the years. He wasn't just a reckless wild child. He had wisdom, he had compassion, and their team had really become a family.

---

The Union Station in Portland was an impressive building made of red and slate gray brick. Shades extended out over the windows at sharp angles, the angular roof was interrupted by a curved extended portion, and a massive tower stretched up high above the station with a glowing clock and emblazoned with the phrase 'GO BY TRAIN'. The inside was almost regal with its shiny sand and brown floor and a waffle like pattern carved into the ceiling.

It was a strange place to hang out, but Simeon had been drifting around town since the notebook had disappeared. He sat on one of the chairs, watching people come and go. It was dying down for the night, the last Amtrak train having departed. He had used gel to lift his platinum blond hair up into a mohawk and his equine member hung down one leg, fat and plump. He was glad he had managed to keep a few of the changes the notebook granted him, even if most of it had disappeared.

It wasn't even so much his family, somehow his parents still... respected him. But it felt hollow. He had been on the cusp of greatness, of revolutionizing society. Maybe Nine had been right, maybe it hadn't been his place to change everyone's lives, but his felt empty now. He looked at the newspaper in the blue metal box, covered with the headline "Busters Busted by Class Action Suit." He shook his head softly and leaned back, looking across the crowd before he froze, meeting eyes with someone with crimson irises. Lucien slowly smiled, betraying sharp fangs.

Simeon slowly got up and started walking across the train station. He looked around as people walked around Lucien almost like they didn't see him. As he got closer, his jaw dropped. The red eyed guy had black horns, pointed ears and facial piercings. Simeon felt his zebra cock getting hard, blood rushing down into his member. He slowed as he got closer.

"You look amazing." Simeon said, blushing. Lucien grinned softly.

"You do too, but I heard you looked even more amazing before." Lucien said. Simeon's shoulders started to slump.

"I did, but that's gone now." Simeon said. Lucien shook his head.

"It doesn't have to be. There's a place you can come to, a place where you can have that feeling back. You can let out your inner beast." Lucien said. Simeon's heart fluttered so much it almost ached.

"Is this some kind of trap? A trick? What do you want in exchange?" Simeon asked.

"No price, no trick. Refuge is a place where people can be who and what they were meant to be, what they desire to be. I just heard about your story around town. You deserve to be the person you were writing yourself to be." Lucien said. Simeon was quiet for a short moment before he smiled.

"When do we go?" Simeon asked.

"We just have to wait for the others to get here. It won't be long now." Lucien grinned, offering Simeon his hand. Simeon took it in his, feeling hopeful for the first time since the ghost writing notebook disappeared. The two walked toward the doors, heading out into the cool evening air.