By: Icewoman
"EE-YAAAAAAAAAA!!"
"WHOOAAAAAAA!!!"
"LEGGO CHUMP!!"
**CRASH** **THUD** **BOOM**
"OUCHIEEEEEEE!!!!!!"
"Hey! Do that again and I'll come over there and slap you silly!" Peter Venkman yelled after ducking not one, not two, but three attempts at being slimed by a class 5 purple gooper that was being really nasty. The brown-haired psychologist spent most of the day complaining about his job. He usually had these moments, reflecting on how he should have listened to his Uncle Alf and gone into hardware. Although he spent a good deal of time complaining, Peter wouldn't have his life be any other way. Whenever he thought about hanging it up, all he had to do was look at his three best friends.
Ray, the energetic occultist, always had something cheerful to say. Mind you that sometimes it wasn't always the brightest thing to say. Winston, the down to earth spiritualist of the group, was most often the one with enough common sense. He may not have been a scientist like the rest of them, but sometimes Winston could piece together the puzzle before any of the others. Then there was Egon, the superior intellect of the group. Chances were that if they couldn't figure things out, and sometimes they couldn't, Egon could. Those who did not know Egon like the others did wouldn't believe that under that dour demeanor lurked a dry wit with a sharp sense of humor.
The bust of the day led them to Central Park. The purple gooper was tearing up the place, heaving garbage cans out into the street, and sending people fleeing in terror. Those brave and stupid enough to stay watched on as the Ghostbusters arrived. The four doors of ECTO-1 swung open and the four ectoplasmic eliminators quickly strapped on their particle accelerators.
The fairest of the group pulled a P.K.E meter out, taking a quick survey of the area. His blond eyebrows puckered with anticipation as he gathered information. "Gentleman, I believe we're dealing with a strong class five that has a penchant for malevolence," he said, raising his voice above the screaming that was taking place.
Peter scowled and folded his arms, glaring at Egon. "Malevolence, that's not good. I hate it when you talk like that Egon." Every line in his body spoke in volumes. It was very clear that Venkman wouldn't enjoy today's bust. The moment they climbed in ECTO-1 and pulled off, a suspicious feeling crept through Peter's system. He knew today would be a bad bust.
The youngest member of the team walked over to Peter and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Peter, you OK?" he asked with concern in his eyes.
Feigning a lazy smile, he clapped Ray on the shoulder. "I'm fine Ray, I'm just mad that I didn't have my coffee." The split grin on the occultist's face was enough. For a while he had fooled him somehow in thinking that he was fine. Spengler on the other hand wasn't buying it.
"Peter, are you sure everything is OK?" he asked, looking over the edge of his glasses, which slid down to the edge of his nose.
Peter let his shoulder's sag a bit, he knew he could fool Ray, and maybe even Winston, but it was always Egon, who could clearly see through the facade. "I don't like this," he said flatly, looking out at the park and the destruction left in the path of the crazed gooper.
Spengler shook his blond head in agreement. "I'm not too fond of the situation myself," he paused, his blue eyes gazing over the stoned expression of his friend. "Is there anything else?" he prodded.
Peter gave up, he knew that he wouldn't be able to bluff Egon into thinking that all was well. Sometimes Egon could become a wall of indifference, not caring at the words he sometimes hurled in self-defense. "It's just a real nasty feeling that I'm not liking."
Egon nodded. The P.K.E meter at his side starting beeping loudly. "Gentlemen, I believe it's wise to say. Let's just be a bit careful with this one." Grabbing his thrower, Egon turned his pack on.
Venkman nodded, his green eyes flashing with determination. "I counted four noses coming in and four noses better be here when we go out." Reaching up and behind his head, he flicked the switch that made the accelerator jump-start. Its low whine was a signal that it was ready for action. With his colleagues following suit, Venkman let loose a proton blast that sizzled through the ectoplasmic skin of the gooper. A feral howl was heard as the gooper swooped up in one of the trees for protection.
The youngest member of the Ghostbusters team, Ray Stantz, rushed over with his thrower in his hand. Hitting his thrower's switch, he fired into the tree, sending a few cats and birds helter skelter in the ambush. He screamed as one black and white tom fell on his head with a loud resounding flop. Clawing at the cat who seemed super glued to his hair, he tumbled backwards onto his butt.
Winston rushed over to aid his comrade, keeping a good eye on the gooper who was still in the tree. "Let go!" he groused at the cat, who somehow became part of Ray's head.
Seeing this as his chance, the gooper flew down from his perch, heading for the blond man that was busy fiddling with a P.K.E meter. Aiming to take a shot, Peter dismissed that thought as he spotted the blond's tall frame standing in his path of fire. Holstering his thrower, he took off towards Egon, calling his name. "Egon, DUCK!" Leaping the last few feet, psychologist and physicist became one as their bodies tumbled across the grass of the park. A few curses and grunts emerged from the tangle as they tried to stand up on their own.
"Next time, you're on your own!" Peter griped as he stood up, brushing grass clippings from his jumpsuit. With his left hand, he flipped his hair back from his face, glaring at the physicist who was still glancing at the meter.
"Fascinating," was all he said, continuing to glare at the meter's glass window.
One lone eyebrow perked up as Venkman squatted on his heels next to Egon. "What is?"
"This class 5 repeater is continuously fluctuating between class 5 and 6, I can't understand it--" he trailed off, blinking owlishly behind the red specs.
Ray on the other hand, finally free of the tom cat, jumped back to his feet and continued to chase after the purple slimeball. With each shot, he was herding the ghost back towards Winston. "Coming your way!" he called as he hit a well-timed shot at the gooper's butt. The occultist's auburn hair fluttered in the breeze as he suddenly stopped, pushing the gooper forward.
Taking this as his cue, Winston turned his thrower onto the gooper, causing it to scream even louder than before. Glancing at the two nearby he called out, "A little help would be nice!" He turned his attention back to the matter that was at hand.
"Hey Rocky, watch me put this gooper into the trap!" Venkman cajoled as he turned his stream full blast on the gooper, who was now trapped in a triangle of proton beams.
"You know that never works!" Ray yelled back, getting down on one knee.
"Hah, watch. Prestooooh SHIT!!!" Peter cursed as the gooper suddenly wrenched free, beating its chest causing purple globs to fly everywhere. One particularly large blob caught the occultist in the face, forcing him to backpedal in a disgusted manner.
Ray could feel himself starting to panic. The slime had lodged in his nostrils and mouth, cutting off both his airways. He scrabbled, trying to remove the slime only to suck in farther. Whimpering, he fell on his back trying to remove the slime. It seemed the more he fought, the more the slime fought back. He continued to struggle until he felt a pair of large hands with slender fingers grab his wrists. Another hand reached into his mouth, scooping out a large amount of the goo. With fire burning lungs, he drew in a deep ragged breath, happy that he could breath again.
Egon helped Ray into a sitting position. Gently he clapped Ray on the back, forcing the slime to expel from his mouth and nostrils as the occultist coughed. Reaching into his jumpsuit pocket, he pulled out a white handkerchief and gave it to Ray. "Blow, you need to remove all traces of the ectoplasm," he instructed, his bass voice rumbling in Stantz's ear.
"Thanks, Egon," Ray wheezed as he covered his face with the handkerchief. After coughing and sneezing out the remainder of the goop, he looked up into a pair of green eyes that were staring at him with concern.
"You OK, Tex?" Peter asked, reaching out placing a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze of affection.
Ray smiled weakly. "Yeah, I'm fine, just have to get use to breathing again."
Before Peter or Egon could say anything else, a pale blue streak ran by screaming. Chasing the blue streak while cackling wickedly was the large purple gooper that was taking pride in making the man scream. Once they passed, Peter jumped to his feet, with his thrower in his hand. "Say goodnight, Bunky!" he yelled as he hit the switch releasing ion streams that seared into the gooper's ectoplasmic flesh.
Finding a new target, the gooper spun around flashing it's pointed teeth. With rabbit like movement, it sped towards Venkman who boldly continue firing, making sure to move away from Egon, who was still holding Ray up. Falling backwards, he allowed the gooper to fly over. Hoping he could jump back up, the gooper surprised him by flipping him over, and pressing his face into the ground. Muffling curses of protest, Peter could feel the gooper ripping at the wires of his proton pack.
Peter didn't want to wait and see if the pack might explode. He unbuckled the belt and shimmied from under the pressing weight of the accelerator. Looking up he could see Egon helping Ray over towards to where Winston had hid behind a tree. Waving his hands madly, Peter ran as fast as his legs could carry him. The nosy gooper hovered over the pack still ripping at the wires that bounded it together.
Before Venkman even reached the tree, a large sonic like boom was heard. Large chunks of grass, rocks, and debris littered the air as Peter continued to run towards his friends. From the sound, he swore that he could envision a large mushroom cloud filling the air. Ducking as pieces of sod whizzed past his head, he didn't duck in time enough as a large piece of dirt, the size of a basketball, crashed into the back of his head, forcing him to nose dive towards terra firma.
Egon's azure eyes grew wide behind his glasses. "PETER!" he yelled hoarsely as the psychologist's form crumpled to the ground. Ray screamed the second Peter hit the ground unconscious. 'Damn!' Egon thought as he raced over to Peter's limp form. Peter's eyelids fluttered as he tried to regain consciousness.
Whipping around, Winston looked for a phone to call emergency. Ray's sudden loud and panic filled shrieks brought his attention back to Egon and Peter.
"Egon, get out of there!!!" Ray yelled, his raw throat feeling like minced hamburger. Waving his arm frantically, Winston noticed that he was pointing at something behind them.
Looking past the pair, Winston noticed a large gaping hole where the pack had exploded. What was odd about this hole was it was continuing to grow, sucking everything down in its path. Spectators fled the scene, trampling away like a herd of berserk elephants.
Egon grabbed Peter and pulled him close, he could feel the suction of the hole trying to pull him in. Trudging over, he grabbed onto the leg of a bench that was bolted to the concrete ground. With one arm around Peter's waist, Egon held onto the leg of the bench with the other, his biceps bulging from the force of the suction. Peter was dead weight in his arms. The fact that he wasn't fighting against the suction aided in the force of the hole to pulling him closer, slowly sliding him out of Egon's frantic grasp.
"EGON!" Ray screamed, allowing him to be pulled towards the pair. He tumbled across the park with his accelerator clanking on the concrete. When he reached the bench, he wrapped his legs around the other leg of the bench and grabbed Peter's arms. Before Ray could even call his name, Winston, who looked nothing more like a pale blue ball, came bouncing by, just barely grabbing the middle leg of the bench.
By now Egon was scarcely holding onto the psychologist's legs, with Ray holding his arms and Winston latched onto the waist. With the main idea of survival on their minds, the men held on fast, each feeling his muscles being pushed to their limit. Ray bit his bottom lip hard as he felt his thigh start to clinch up in protest. Egon could feel his biceps start to twitch slightly as he dug for a tighter purchase. Winston silently cursed under his breath as he could feel his calf scream.
Each man emitted a sound of pain, their ears popped in the sudden drop of air pressure. The wind force created by the hole was becoming stronger than they were. What didn't help was the fact that they had to hold onto Peter, while holding themselves. They squinted as a bright light emerged, shooting straight into the sky.
Peter's eyelids fluttered as he awoke. "Wha happened?" he asked, feeling as if someone left the window open during a hurricane. "Ray close the window," he muttered, trying to turn over, except three pairs of hands kept him firmly in place.
"Peter, be still," Egon commanded, raising his voice above the howling wind.
Peter craned his neck to see what was going on. His green eyes widened in fear as he saw the edge of the large hole moving closer to the group. Emitting a high pitch shriek, he struggled to grab the middle leg of the bench that Winston was perched on. He just made contact with the leg, when suddenly he was wrenched away from the bench and his friends' grips.
"PETER!" Egon shouted, suddenly loosing grip from his end of the bench. Peter was scrabbling at the edge of the hole, trying to hold on. Egon bumped into him, causing him to let go.
Ray watched in horror as Egon and Peter was sucked into the gaping hole. He could see Egon's hand still perched on the edge, digging into the soil. Taking a risk, he let go. Rolling with the wind, he stopped at the edge, digging his heels into the ground. Looking in he saw Egon holding onto Peter's collar, while Peter spun around screaming.
"Hold on Egon!" Ray called, grabbing the physicist's slender wrist. Moisture leaked from the occultist's brown eyes as he strained to keep a tight grip on his friends.
Egon's eyes grew large. "You can't hold us both!"
"Like fun!" Winston's voice reached him, he also allowed himself to be pulled towards the hole.
Combining their strength, they slowly pulled Egon and Peter from the hole. Moving backwards, Winston stepped on a patch of slime, causing him to loose his footing and bump into Ray. A domino effect followed, he crashed into Ray, who slammed Egon, who bumped Peter, who started to curse loudly. Falling together, they fell in a clockwise pattern, the sides of the hole closing in.
****
"Hey you, wake up!" a voice ordered, cutting through the dank, hazy fog of sleep. Peter moaned and rolled over, his throbbing head stopping him from performing any other actions.
Again, the voice cut into his sleep. "I said wake up!" This time a sharp point prodded into his side forcing him to shy away.
"Maybe its dead," a second voice said. This time the voice was a female one.
"Naw, it ain't dead, watch how it squirms," the first said. It poked again, making him squirm in protest.
"Neat!" the female said, this time poking Peter herself.
Ready to lay into the idiot that decided to prod Peter Venkman from his nap, Peter opened his eyes. What he saw forced his breath to catch in his throat. Standing over him, armed with long pikes, was two guards. The male guard was the tallest of the pair. The heavy silver armor he was clad in gleamed in the sunlight. An odd pattern consisting of flowers and thorns decorated the front of the breastplate. The female next to him was adorned in the same armor, except her helmet had a large red plume on the top like a ponytail.
'Where the hell am I?' he thought as he struggled to sit up, his stomach advising otherwise. "Something I can help you two with?" he said, mustering up as much charm as he could. He even tried to flash a grin with his patented Venkman smile, but it would have taken too much work to get his face to cooperate.
The female looked to the male, her red plume swirling about her helmet. "Dig this, the ogre can speak common!" The male smirked in response to what she said.
Ogre? Common? Peter put a hand to his forehead, hoping this would aid in preventing the world from spinning.
The male put a hand under his chin as if he was thinking. "This makes the fourth oddball we found around Darkhaven today."
"Yeah, first it was that tall elven mage, then there was that short half-elven ranger that was with the human cleric. Think we'd have room in the cell for one more?" she responded, placing a hand on her hip.
"I believe so, who cares it's an ogre anyway," he said as he brandished the large pike and poked Peter in his side again. "Get up buddy, it's time for us to go for a little walk."
Giving in to their wishes, Peter slowly stood on his feet. The world spun quickly around him, causing him to stumble as the female poked him in his back. "Move it!" she barked, adding a sharp prod.
Snarling under his breath Peter stumbled ahead. His vision was slowly dwindling to that of a small tunnel, everything was getting fuzzy and dark. He knew he was on the verge of passing out and with a small smile on his face, Venkman relinquished himself to the force of the darkness that surrounded him.
"Damn!" he heard the man say as unconsciousness slid over him like a silk glove.
****
"Peter? Peter?" Egon's deep voice cut through the darkness, bringing him back into the light.
"Is he OK Egon?" Ray asked from his side of the small cramped cell. The two guards dragged him and threw his limp body into the confines of the very small, cramped cell.
"I don't believe he has a concussion," the blond responded, running his hands across Peter's scalp, checking for fractures and lumps.
"Quit shoving Ray!" Winston snapped, drawing his legs close to his body.
"Sorry," the occultist whispered, trying to pull his body away from Winston, this was kind of hard considering their quarters.
For what seemed hours, the three was cramped in the small cell. Egon was the first to arrive, he was found on the northern side of the forest. When he came to, he gave himself a mental check over, making sure that everything was together and working. Glancing down at himself, he was dressed in a deep blood red robe that was decorated with some odd arcane symbols. At his side was a matching red bag with a golden tassel. He opened the bag and glanced inside only to find a red leather bound book and a small silver dagger.
At that moment, Egon realized that he wasn't in New York anymore. Before he could even contemplate his situation any further, the two guards appeared, poking and prodding him. They called him names like 'pointy ears' and 'spell boy'. Giggling and snickering they ordered him to his feet and marched him back into town into the jail. His bag was taken away and he was shoved, no kicked, headfirst into the small cell.
Grumbling, he rubbed his backside and settled into a comfortable position. He closed his eyes for a few moments, drifting off into a light nap, minutes later, familiar voices reached his ears.
"Keep on poking me punk, see that I don't kick your butt!" the first complained.
"That's not nic--OUCH!"
Egon's head snapped up, it had to be Ray and Winston. When they reached the cell, Ray spotted Egon in the corner.
"Egon! Gosh, are you OK?!" he cried out, gripping the cell bars.
Elation at seeing his two friends ran through him like ripples. "I'm fine Raymond, a slight headache, but fine."
"Oh whoopee, get in there!" the male guard snarled, shoving Ray and Winston into the small cell.
"Man if I get out of here, his butt is mine," Winston growled, rubbing his side where the male guard happily poked him.
"They were not nice," Ray winced as he sat up.
"Egon?" Winston started. "You think Peter is here too?" He had scooted back into a far corner, pulling his legs under his body.
"I'm unsure Winston. It seems odd that you two appeared in this, world or where ever we are, together. Peter on the other hand was separated from me." He placed a hand under his chin. Ray glanced across the cell at Egon, he could sense that Egon was worried about Peter. Ray fought a shudder; he himself was worried about Peter also. It was one thing to be trapped in a foreign world somewhere, but to be missing one of your closer friends was something worse.
Twenty minutes later the pair of snickering guards appeared again, this time swearing and dragging an unconscious man. "Hey girlies, I have another friend for you!" the man said, shoving the body through the small opening of the cell. Swinging the gate close, he locked it and him and his partner left again.
"Oh no Peter!" Ray cried out, he bit down on his lip hard as Egon checked Peter over for injuries.
"I think he'll be fine Ray. He may be a bit grumpy when he wakes up though," Egon responded, hoping that the news may calm the occultist down a bit.
"When is Peter ever not grumpy after waking up?" Winston added with a small smirk playing across his face.
"I heard that Zeddemore," Peter said, his voice muffled against his forearm. Wincing under his breath, Peter struggled to sit up. The gray metalarmor that clad his body was making the procedure a bit difficult. Egon grabbed one arm and tugged Venkman into a sitting position slowly, not to upset his throbbing head.
"How do you feel Peter?" Ray asked, his voice laced with concern.
Peter turned his green gaze at Stantz. "I feel like I just fell down 12 flights of stairs into an empty swimming pool." As good measure, he gasped on the last syllable, hoping to pull some sympathy from his friends.
"You'll live Peter," Winston said, laying a hand on his shoulder. The contact of the man's hand with Peter's shoulder caused a spark to emit. The glow of the spark surrounded Venkman, infusing with his entire being. Peter uttered a low moan as he could feel his pain slowly slipping away.
"I don't know what you did, but next time I'm hurt, can you do it again!" Peter exclaimed, glancing around and noticing that it didn't hurt to move his head anymore.
"Wow!" Ray exclaimed, grabbing Winston's hand and examining it closely.
Egon's eyes grew wide as he witnessed the incident before him. "Winston, what did you just do?" he queried, glancing at the older man.
Flabbergasted, Winston shrugged. "I don't know man, I just...touched him and it happened." He looked back at Ray, who was still examining his hand.
"Where are we?" Peter asked. "I don't mean as in this cell, but as in, what world?"
Egon delicately shrugged. "It seems that the force forged by the implosion of your accelerator initialized a temporal vortex of some kind between New York and this place. The centripetal force was concentrated enough to pull us in."
"What?" Peter asked, raising one brown eyebrow.
"He means that the nuclear implosion of your proton pack created a portal of some type that led to this world," Ray translated.
"OK, if the implosion of the pack got us here, what's going to get us out?" Winston asked.
Egon's eyebrows quirked up and down as he pondered this. "I do not know Winston, I'll need a bit more time thinking about that."
"Well, I hope you come on something soon, because I'm pulling up blank!" Venkman announced to his partners. The psychologist tried to maneuver his body into a somewhat comfortable position. He grumbled, the couch at the firehouse was easier to break into than this hole.
"What I want to know is why am I dressed in this robe?" Winston demanded, folding his arms across his chest.
Ray snapped his fingers. "You guys remember that game I played on OccuNet a while back?"
Winston turned to Ray. "You mean that Realms of Chaos or something...say you don't think we were sucked into your game?!"
Peter put his hand up for attention. "Hold it, is there something you two know that I don't?!"
"It seems we were drawn into a fantasy world. A world where creatures like half-ogres and elves exist," Egon supplied, placing his hand under his chin.
"Yeah, we've gone RPG!" Ray exclaimed. "This is great!!"
Peter covered his eyes and shook his head. Sometimes Ray's enthusiasm could come at the wrong time.
Noticing Peter's reaction to his last comment, Ray tapped Peter's leg with his foot and said, "Just look to the bright side of this Peter."
There's a bright side to this?" Peter muttered under his breath, unbelieving the optimistic view the occultist was trying to show.
Ignoring his last comment, Ray continued. "We have the ability to cast spells and fight with weapons." He pointed at Egon. Egon's features had undergone an extreme change. His face still held that gaunt look, but his eyes appeared to be more almonds shaped and his ears were standing straight out and away from his head. "Egon's got it the best, he's an elven mage. He can create any type of spell he want!" Ray hugged his knees tightly as he got a fey look in his brown eyes.
"Alright, Tex, if you can explain what Egon is, can you explain what we are?" Peter interjected, pointing at Winston and himself.
"Oh yeah, well you're a half-ogre warrior. Warriors are beings that have no limit to the combat skills they use at their disposal. Half-ogres are very strong creatures, that's why your skin is a bit yellowish."
Peter glanced at his hands, he thought he was looking yellowish because of the dull light in the cell! "You mean all this time I thought it was the light, it was my actual skin!?"
Ray nodded and turned to Winston and continued. "Winston is a human cleric, that's why his features hasn't changed any. Clerics are more spiritual than anything, they have the power to heal but they can do combat as well."
"OK, that explains us, what are you?" Winston asked, flicking one of Ray's small pointed ears.
"I'm a half-elven Ranger, I have the abilities of a cleric and a warrior. I can use fighting skills but I can cast spells." Ray's features had undergone a similar change like Egon's. His ears were pointy, just not as tall and his eyes were a bit more rounded than before.
Egon tore his attention away from his friends. "Sshh, they're coming again," he said, quickly closing his eyes and slumping down as if he was asleep or unconscious.
Quickly following suit, the others closed their eyes and slumped down. Trying not to risk the two guards' wrath, they listened on.
"It's about time we caught her!" the male guard cajoled, opening the door of the cell.
The female crowed, "All it took was a sleep dart and a pair of chains made from anti-Vampire metal!" Peter silently winced at the 'anti-Vampire' comment. "You think she'll rip the cell down once she comes to?"
"Nah, not as long as we leave these chains on her wrists." A loud thump was heard as a body was tossed into the already cramped cell.
"Heh, I just hope she doesn't get hungry, if you know what I mean." the female chuckled, closing the door and locking it.
"Just think, we'll be rid of the four and rid of her later. Come on Maeve, let's go get a mead at the tavern, my treat!"
"Let's go!"
The clanking of their metal boots on the stone floor faded away as the pair left the jail. Taking a small peek, Ray checked to make sure the pair was gone. "OK guys," he whispered, peering down the hallway. Glancing in the middle of the small cell, he spotted a limp form sprawled at his feet. Staring closer, he noted it was a woman. She seemed to be taller than any of the Ghostbusters. Her dark hair was splayed behind her head like a fan. Her skin was pale and her dark eyelashes graced her cheeks like dark fingers. She was wrapped in a large dark cloak, so he really couldn't see what she was wearing.
Reaching out, he grabbed the dart that was implanted in her left shoulder and gave a small tug. Not budging, he tugged harder, yanking the dart from her flesh. He looked down and noticed a pair of chains surrounding her slender wrists.
The woman moaned and rolled onto her back. The second time she moved, she yawned and revealed a pair of pearly fangs.
Ray gulped and scooted against the wall. "Did you just see what I just saw?!"
"No!" Winston said, covering his face.
"Me neither!" Ray said nearly with a whine.
"You know, it would behoove us to leave her hands chained," Egon started. "For our own safety."
"Yeah, I wouldn't make a good juicy snack," Peter complained, shifting his body closer to Egon and away from the woman.
****
For at least twenty minutes, each Ghostbuster kept an eye on the unconscious Vampire. Whenever she moved they flinched backwards in fear. Slowly but surely she was reaching consciousness, she moaned again and sat up, placing her back against the wall. This movement caused Winston to scoot close to Ray and Peter to nearly wrap himself around Egon.
"Oh Vl'arschet, where am I?" The woman said, glancing around the small cell. Peter noted her eyes; they were a vibrant violet that seemed to glow from her face. If she wasn't the 'blood-drinking' type, Peter might have made a play for her. Considering their present situation, hitting on the Vampire might not be a good idea.
"We're in jail," Ray stated meekly as Winston pressed himself closer to Ray and farther away from the Vampire. Any minute now and Winston would have successfully pressed Ray through the bars of the cell. Glancing across he noticed Egon going through the same with Peter, except Peter was almost sitting on the physicist's head.
The dark head lolled about for a few seconds as the woman tried to erase the cobwebs in her mind. "I'm willing to be these are anti-Vampire metal," she said, holding her wrists out in front. "It don't matter, I'll be free soon anyway."
Ray couldn't help it, he found himself fascinated by this odd woman. She didn't seem like she wanted to dine on them. He could hear the slight fear on the edge of her voice.
"Little one," she barked, turning her violet gaze on Ray. "This isn't a jail, it's more like a death row..." Her voice trailed off as she connected with Ray's brown gaze.
"A WHAT?!" Ray yelled, his voice rising a full octave.
This certainly pulled a full scale complain from the psychologist, who was busy trying to keep himself as far away from the Vampire as possible. "Oh no, not me, I don't know about you lady, but me and my friends are getting out of here!"
Egon raised a lone blond eyebrow. "And just how do we escape? Do you have a plan?"
A confused look flashed across the man's face before it was replaced with a look of defeat. "I....well...er...no."
The woman threw her head back and laughed a deep-throated chuckle. "You half-ogres, always willing to rush into things." She held her hands out towards Venkman. "If you can break these with your strength, I can bust us out." Each man held an expression of disbelief on their face as they glanced at her. " I promise, I will not bite anyone of you. Besides," She winked at Ray, who shrank back into the haven of Winston's embrace. "I already ate before I was arrested."
Peter fought a shudder that was trying to skitter down his spine. "I don't know...Egon?"
Egon placed his chin in his hand, a habit he displayed when he was thinking. "Considering the situation at hand Gentlemen, it might be best to escape, regroup and try to leave this world."
"A good idea at that Egon, but I don't want psycho lady here snacking on us!" Peter hissed under his breath and jerking a thumb in the woman's direction. Egon gave Peter a stern glare, what usually followed was a lengthy lecture. A lecture that Peter didn't have the stomach to swallow now.
She held her hands out again, this time rattling the chains that encircled them. "Please, break these chains so we can escape!"
"Just a second!" Winston interjected, four heads whipped towards him. "How do we know that you're not going to just bust out of here and leave us to defend for ourselves."
"I am a Vampire of noble stature, I do not make idle promises or empty threats," she nearly hissed.
"Yeah well, obviously we don't know that!" Winston shot back.
Her eyes narrowed into violet slits as she drew in a deep breath. "I can't perform to my full ability with these chains! If he breaks them I can get us all out!"
"I'm not buying it lady and neither is he," Peter responded.
She sighed, her broad shoulders slumping in defeat. "I promise on the head of my ancestor, Affyrne Durenor, that I will not leave you here to die!"
"I believe her," Ray suddenly piped up, causing him to be the focus of his friends' attention for that moment.
"Say what?!"
"I don't think so!"
"Look, she's in the same situation as us. It's pretty much do or die at this moment!" Ray defensively.
"Alright, Tex, but I tell you this, if she bites us I'm going to be real upset!" Peter felt that he should trust his instincts and leave the woman chained. After considering what Ray said, he knew it would be the only way. Peter had called Ray Stantz many things before, but liar wasn't one of them. He reached out and grasped the chain that held the Vampire's wrists in bondage. With a slight grunt and a tug, the chains snapped and fell in pieces at her feet. Peter sat back with a shocked expression on his face; he was able to break chains with his bare hands!
"Thank you!" She nearly yelled, quickly jumping to her feet. Stretching her body to its full height, she reared back in a primal yawn. Her fangs flashed in the dull light of the cell as her violet eyes glowed with growing power. She stalked over to the door of the cell and wrapped her hands around the thick bars of the cell. Pulling back, the muscles in her biceps bulged as the thick, ropy muscles of her thighs. In a clean jerk, she heaved the door from its hinges and flung it out into the hallway.
All four men's eyes grew large as they experienced the display of raw strength. Winston turned to Egon. "And you said this was a good idea..."
"Hurry, we must go before they return!" she yelled, taking off in a black blur. She reappeared, this time with a red velvet bag in her hand. Reaching into the cell, she hauled a stunned Egon out to his feet. "Here's your spellbook, let's go!"
Together the group crept down the darkened hallway. Torches adorned the stone walls highlighting the red velvet carpet that was centered on the stone floor. They had reached the outside of the jail, believing they made a clean getaway. The woman had led them to the stables where they found four Arabian brown horses.
Her, Egon, Winston, and Peter were already mounted when the same guards from earlier broke into the room armed with their pikes. "There they are!"
"Let's go!" Peter yelled, kicking the flanks of his horse.
Ray rushed forward to mount on the back of Egon's horse when the lady swooped by and snatched him up by his collar. "Hold on!" she ordered, baring down on the neck of her horse.
The four horses plunged themselves into the thick brush of the forest. Arrows whizzed past the riders' heads as they held on for their lives. Ray tightened his grip on the lady's slender waist as he buried his head against her muscular back. Egon's red robe and Winston's white one, billowed behind them like capes. Peter's armor clanked loudly with each gallop.
They continued storming through the forest in this fashion for at least another twenty minutes. Finally when the horses couldn't take much more, the lady stopped at a stream and allowed the horses to drink.
"I'm sorry for squeezing so hard," Ray apologized, finding himself unable to stare directly into her penetrating gaze.
To his surprise, she placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "It's OK little one. Besides, I don't mind being held tight."
A red blush danced across the occultist's face as the meaning of her joke sank in. Peter nudged Ray in his side. "You stud you!" He turned to Winston and said, "Hey Winston, you realize if our man Ray here hooks up with that Vampire, they're going to have a house full of ankle biters."
Winston smirked and swatted Peter on the arm. "That was bad man!" He snickered slightly at the pun.
"Shut up!" Ray said, feeling his face growing hot.
Rolling his eyes, Egon stepped forward. "I for one would like to thank you for saving us back there. The situation was looking pretty grim for us all."
She looked down at Egon. Egon took a step back slightly, it was a first for him to have to look up at somebody "I made a promise and I kept it."
"I don't want to intrude here, but what is your name?" Winston asked.
A small smirk emerged on her face. "I'm called many things, but my given name is Windwalker Durenor. Of course by now, you know that I am a Vampire."
"Cute. Any relation to Luke?" Peter asked, this drew a chuckle from Winston, who covered his mouth.
The Vampire looked confused for a second. "Luke? I don't know any Luke."
"Ignore him," Egon said, pointing at Peter. "We usually do."
"Hmm Windwalker, that's a mouthful of a name to say. Do you mind if we called you...Windy?" Ray asked.
With what looked like a smile, although Peter thought she was hissing at them, she turned to Ray and spoke. "I don't mind little one, but, what will I call you?"
Peter stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "I'm Peter Venkman, Doctor Peter Venkman. The man in the white robe there is Winston Zeddemore, the little red head you keep hitting on is Ray Stantz and the tall mage there is Egon Spengler."
"Pe-ter, Win-ston, E-gon, Ray? You surely have odd names. I'm guessing you're not from here." She stumbled over the pronunciation of their names.
Egon placed a hand over his eyes. He scrutinized the town that was a few feet ahead of them. Unlike the last town they were in, this one had one open gate with no guards. "What town is this?" he asked.
"That's New Thalos, my home is there but, we'll have to wait 'til dark before going in. After all I am a wanted felon," she smirked as she removed the dark robe that covered her entire body. Peter's breath caught in his throat as he examined her voluptuous figure. She was clad in a metallic blue-greenish tunic and pants. The brown leather boots she was wearing nearly reached up and embraced each thigh. Around her svelte waist was a belt of pure gold.
Egon spotted Peter staring at the Vampire with his lower jaw hanging open. Reaching up, her calmly closed Peter's mouth before the drool started to splatter on his armor, creating a wet mess. "How long till dark?" He asked, he didn't know if this place was on the same time as New York.
Examining the sky for a second or so, she replied, "Give or take a hour, if you're hungry I can scrounge something up for you all"
"Is that an offer?" Peter started, his eyes glittering. "If it is, what are you offering?" This comment earned him a hard glare from Egon and Winston. Ray on the other hand gasped and covered his face as a small blush started to grow.
She smirked, again, Peter thought she was hissing. "There are some rabbits about, I could catch a couple."
Stopping Peter before he could say anything else foolish. "Rabbit is nice. Thank you," Egon commented, glaring at Peter again.
Hunkering down on her haunches, Windy glanced around the clearing. She put a hand to one ear as if listening. A small rustle in the bush nearby caught her attention. With the grace and stealth of a cat, she slowly sneaked over and drove one hand into the bush. Pulling back and revealing a large rabbit.
It was a brown rabbit with large orange eyes. The rabbit screamed in fear as it tried to escape from her clutch. In a flash, she had her fangs out and sinking deep into the squirming rabbit's throat. It's small furry mouth opened in an ear-piercing squeal as its life was slowly drained away.
"That's disgusting!"
"I think I'm going to be sick!"
"Absolutely nauseating!"
"I don't think I'm hungry any more!"
A chorus of sounds imitating vomiting reached her ears as she caught another rabbit and did the same as with the first. Wiping the rabbits' blood from her mouth, she glanced up at the group, her violet eyes flashing. "You didn't have to watch you know." She stalked back over to the group and impaled the corpses on two sticks. Grabbing a few more sticks, she created a small pyre. "Care to start a fire, magi?" she asked Egon.
"Create a fire? It is theoretically impossible for me to create fire.. WHOA!" As he spoke, a small blaze of flame flew from his finger and landed on the pile of sticks, creating a small bonfire. Windy snickered as she placed the sticks containing the rabbit's skinned corpses, onto the flames.
After a hearty meal of rabbit and water, the four men settled down for a nap. Windy advised that it would be best to wait until midnight to quietly go into the city. Peter debated napping; he didn't want her to start ranging for a light snack. Tiredness took over and soon, he too was fast asleep amongst the pile of soft grass. Egon and Winston had wrapped the deep hoods of their robes around their heads as they softly snored. Ray had his arms covering his face as he curled up in the fetal position. Leaning against the rock and watching her new charges nap.
Ray coughed quietly and rolled over, bringing him facing towards her. With a soft chuckle, she grabbed her cloak and draped it over the occultist. 'He's too cute,' she thought as she sat back against her rock and continued to contemplate the situation at hand.
She wondered what stupid thing she'd gotten herself into this time. It was plainly obvious that they had no idea about their skills or spells. The expression on the elf's face as he created the fire was a sure sign. She glanced up at the sky; it was already a deep midnight blue with the stars shining. She leaned over and whispered quietly into Ray's ear, "Wake up little one, it's time to go."
Ray stirred, pulling the cloak tighter around his body. Windy gave the cloak a small tug causing him to sit up. "Oh...hi. Is it night already?"
She nodded, her violet eyes eerily glowing in the darkness. "Wake your friends, we must hurry." She quickly vanished, leaving Ray blinking in confusion.
****
It took Ray more than fifteen minutes to assemble the Ghostbusters to order. The reason it took so long, Peter refused to let go of sleep and tried to hold on the small snatch of a dream he was enjoying. It took Windy threatening to use him as her breakfast to get him on his feet. With Windy leading, the small group quietly stole into the sleeping town of New Thalos.
The town itself appeared to be straight out of one of Peter's western stories. The road was unpaved with small houses placed mere inches away from one another.
Minutes later they reached the center of the town. They turned left and continued down a similar street. At the end of the road was a house that was completely gutted out. It looked as if it caught fire and burned to the ground.
"Is this your house?" Ray whispered, tugging on Windy's cloak.
Windy turned around and said, "Aye, the villagers burned it, thinking it would get rid of me." A small note of sadness touched the Vampire's voice.
Ray held his head down. "I'm sorry."
She waded through the carnage, kicking a fallen board out of her way. "What the bastards forgot was, I had a cellar." She bent down and grasped a large metal ring that was covered with ash. With a loud grunt and tug, she revealed a set of stairs leading underground. "Follow me," she ordered, going down the stairs.
The room was expansive. Peter was willing to bet that it was even bigger than their bedroom at home. On the far left side of the room, there was a long table covered with pieces of equipment, tubes, and beakers. On the right, the wall was covered with ever piece of weaponry imaginable. There was even some he couldn't even name.
Egon's blue eyes grew huge as he spotted the items on the table. Noticing him, Windy walked over and pointed at the table. "I see you like my little lab." She ran a hand lovingly across the dusty oak surface. "Before I became a Vampire, I was an alchemist and the village's first female machinist," she paused suddenly. ' Why the hell am I telling them my story?!' she thought. Talking about her past opened old wounds that she believed to be healed some odd years ago.
She grew silent and left the four men to putter about the cellar on their own. Egon had taken up residence at the lab table, trying to figure out the mysterious items of this world. Peter was reclined on the small cot, trying to recapture his dream. Winston took a stab at trying to figure out the odd weapons on the wall. Ray was going through her shelves, admiring the different creations she made.
Checking the shelves proved to be victorious for the occultist. While searching along the bottom shelf, he came upon three large backpacks that looked oddly familiar. He snagged one and brought it out to the light. It was their proton packs! "Oh gosh, Windy! Where did you get these!!"
His frantic call managed to stir Peter from his catnap. He hurried over to inspect Ray's findings. Instantly he felt his spirits rise. Somehow, Windy found their throwers. "Old Betsy!" he cried, grabbing a pack and placing it on his back.
"I found them around Darkhaven. I knew those heathen guards would have destroyed them. There was a fourth, but it was so disarrayed, I used the pieces and made this." She pulled something from the shelf above Ray's head. It seemed to be a shotgun of some type, beneath the trigger was a glass cylinder containing two crystals. She passed the object on to Ray, who inspected it for a moment and gave it to Egon. "Only small problem is, I can't get it to keep and contain energy. Yet, it can work during a lightning storm."
Thoroughly interested now, Egon started interrogating the Vampire while Ray nodded as he scanned the numerous scrolls of schematics that she drew by hand in ink.
Feeling left out by the astounding scientific discovery, Peter decided to talk with Winston. "Well those three are on Mars. Think you could help a half-ogre find a nice, private bush?" he asked, cocking one dark eyebrow.
The black man chuckled, gathering the folds of his robe. "Come on man, but you're on your own when it comes time to do your thing."
Together the pair ventured out of the safety of the cellar without capturing the scientists' attention. Taking precautions, Winston peeked from under the trap door before emerging from underground.
They wandered into the surrounding large oak trees. After wrestling Peter out of a few pieces of armor, Winston leaned against a tree. The night air forced his white cloak to billow about him. Closing his eyes, he let his ears listen. The trees seemed to be alive, he could feel the crackling life force flowing through each branch. Every creak and rustle was magnified; he could even hear Peter humming softly.
"Oh, Winston," Peter called out, his voice quaking slightly.
"Yeah, Pete?" he could tell by the tone of the man's voice that something was seriously wrong.
The psychologist appeared before him, clutching at his pants. "R-r-r-rr-r," he mumbled, pointing at the bushes. Winston whirled around to see four large shapes glaring at him with fire red eyes.
****
"YEEEEAAAAAUUGGGHHH!!! I HATE RATS!" The wail reached Windy's sensitive ears, making them perk to attention.
"Damn!" she cursed, throwing down a page of schematics.
Ray jumped back, scared by her sudden outburst. "What is it!?"
She raced over to the wall covered with weapons. Grabbing a bo-staff, she hurled it at Ray and then grabbed two swords.
****
Peter whined again as he crawled higher into the tree's foliage. "Why does it always have to be rats!"
"I'd rather it be a New York rat than these!" Winston retorted. He reached up and grabbed a higher branch. Below the men at the base of the tree, the rats circled like vultures waiting for their prey to die. Their huge mouths hung open allowing large globs of saliva to ooze out and mat their fur. One rat even had the nerve to trail his claws against the bark, making it squeal in protest.
From his high viewing point, Peter could see Ray suddenly running into view, armed with what seemed to be a really big stick. "Hold on Peter!!!" he screamed as he stopped and took aim at one rat.
"Ray watch it!" Winston yelled in alarm as he spotted a huge rat coming to aid its friend. It squatted and launched itself at the occultist, clamping down on his calf. The instant the pain hit his system he could feel the hot poison burn its way into the wound. No matter how he batted at the creature, it remained fixed to his leg. Paralysis broke as the concern for Ray washed over the brown-haired man in the tree. His green eyes widened in fear as he leapt to the ground. He raced past a stunned Egon and flung himself at the Rat.
He pried it away with his bare hands and tossed it aside, where Windy quickly hacked it to death with her sword. Winston reached Egon's side and grabbed the fallen sword. "Do your thing man!" he ordered, keeping one of the monsters at bay.
The physicist pushed his glasses up on his nose as he quickly flipped through the spell book. "Here we go, Gas breath!" A spasm hit him in the gut forcing him to drop the book and double over in pain. He groaned loudly as a loud belch ripped past his lips. The remaining rats fell over dead once the noxious fumes of Egon's breath hit their nostrils.
Coughing and covering his nose, Winston fussed. "Damn man!"
A red blush stained the physicist's high cheekbones as he spoke. "Pardon me!"
"Ray's not looking good!" Peter called out. He glanced down at the occultist's face, it was already looking flushed with fever. He pushed the damp hair back from the forehead and fanned the man's face with his hand.
"Quickly, let's get him downstairs!" Windy stated, heading back to the gutted out house.
****
"Well, Winston healed the wound, but Ray's burning up," Peter reported, casting a worried glance to the younger man lying on the small bed. He had a sneaking suspicion that the Vampire was right. Ray was poisoned. It was a slow acting poison. The kind that made a person felt as if they had the flu. Now Ray's forehead was burning to the touch and no matter how many cool compresses they applied, the fever continued to rise.
Each man was lost within his own thoughts. Peter could feel fear slowly squeezing his heart. What if Ray died? None of them knew how to cure this poison, not Egon with his spellbook, and not even Windy with her vast knowledge of the foreign world. He couldn't bare to even contemplate what life would be like without him. Ray was too much like a brother to him. His friends were his life, without them, life would be unlivable. Peter envied Ray's innocence and optimistic outlook on things. It seemed odd to many people how a cynic, an optimist, and a scientific realist became true friends. He knew it was the same optimism and innocence, which drew Windy to him.
Thinking of which, he wondered where the Vampire was. She never returned from her so-called, 'Shopping expedition.' He just hoped that she didn't abandon them in this world, but he was too sure she would return, there was simply too much pain in her eyes.
Winston applied another cold rag to Ray's forehead. The younger man had started whimpering about being too hot. Egon and Peter stood at the sides of the bed, an arm around each other for support.
"What are we going to do?" Winston asked quietly as he applied another compress.
The blonde man shook his head. "I don't know Winston, I just don't know."
Peter felt a lump form in his throat at the sound of Egon's voice. Egon was just as tore up inside as he was. Every few seconds or so, the man would reach up and rub his eye as if something was in it. Peter knew all too well that Egon was dashing away tears before they could roll. They were going to loose their friend and there was nothing within their power to prevent it.
A creek above caught the three Ghostbusters' attention. They each grabbed a weapon and stood guard of Ray's bed, ready to fend off any intruder.
"Don't panic, it's just me," Windy said, appearing into view. At her side, she carried a brown bag. "I got some food at the market place." She started pawing through the bag. "Although I really have no idea--"
Peter's green eyes flashed with anger as two red dots of temper flamed his cheeks. "Where the hell have you been lady?!" he nearly roared, balling both his fists.
She removed her cloak and answered, "Like I said the market place!"
Peter growled menacingly under his breath. "It does not take two friggin days to find a 7-11! Do you have any idea what we're going through!?" He asked. Not waiting for an answer, he continued on, letting his anger ride free. "Two whole days Windy, what the hell is going on." He tried to take a step forward but was hindered by two strong and familiar grips on his shoulders. "Why should I even be angry at you, it's not like you gave a damn anyway!"
A look, which could have been described as hurt, flashed across her face before it settled back into it's deadpan expression. "Has it been two days?" she asked, somewhat confused. Most Vampires, especially old ones like her, get confused about time.
Peter nearly bit his tongue off in rage. "Yes it's been two days you selfish bastard!"
She reared back and blinked in shock at how fast he was tossing insults left and right. She knew he was feeling guilty for what happened. Somehow, he reasoned that if he hadn't gone outside, Ray wouldn't have rushed in haste to try and save him. "I understand your pain, but hurling insults won't change the situation. Now are you going to stand here and curse at me or let me try and help?" she folded her arms and raised one dark eyebrow.
"You know how to counteract the poison?" Egon asked, feeling the stirring beginnings of hope growing in his heart.
She nodded. "I would have to drain him to the point of death and then transfer the blood back from me."
"Oh no!" Peter started, stepping in front of the bed. "You just want to snack on him!" He drew himself to his full height, his chin jutting straight out.
The insults were one thing, but this defiant streak was another. Windy was a tolerable Vampire, but enough was enough. "Listen here ogre!" she hissed, slowly stalking closer. "Do you want me to help or are you so stubborn and pigheaded that you would let him die!?"
Emotions raged within Peter, he didn't know whether to cry or shout. Egon and Winston both placed an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a small embrace. "Please, do whatever you can," Winston said. "Ray's our friend and we love him."
She nodded and quickly set off to prepare. First she boiled a dagger in water and placed it in a bowl of dwarf spirits. She then cut a piece of leather into a thin strip.
She leaned over the prone man and gently shook him. "Little one," she whispered in his ear. "Wake up."
Ray's eyelids fluttered before opening. "Peter? Egon? Winston?"
"It's me, Windy," She supplied as she raised him into a sitting position.
"What are you going to do?" Ray asked weakly. He looked into the Vampire's face as she spoke to him with no words. Reaching out, he grabbed her wrist. "Please, do it...the pain..."
She couldn't bear hearing the hurt in his voice. She gathered his limp figure in her arms. Leaning close, she inhaled the scent of his blood. She could also smell the poison that was traveling faster through his system.
"Is it going to hurt?" He looked up into her eyes, feeling lost in their deep violet depths.
She wiped his damp hair back from his forehead. "No, little one." He threw his arms around her, pulling her face closer to his neck. She nuzzled the soft skin before plunging her teeth into the vein. An involuntary gasp escaped his lips as he arched his back. He gripped her tightly as she started to slowly suck his blood out.
The feeling was totally unexplainable. The word that could barely even come close was orgasm. Every nerve was alive. He could see her, feel her, smell her, and hear her. He didn't want the sensation to stop. The feeling was so strong it made him want to crawl inside her skin.
Windy pulled him closer, if she grabbed any tighter she could crush his ribcage. With each breath, the complex alleys of his mind open. She could see various points of his life. As the images started to blur, she knew that he was coming close to death. His heart was starting to slow and his breathing became shallow. She wrenched her head back. Her face was flushed with his blood. A thin bead of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Looking at her behind heavy lidded eyes, he reached up and grabbed her face. He then pulled her close as if to kiss her, instead he quickly lapped at the runaway blood on her face.
"No!" she forcibly pushed him down on the bed and had Peter, Egon, and Winston pinned him to the bed.
Using the dagger, she slit an opening on her wrist and then Ray's. With the leather strip, she banded the two together. Her blood flowed from the open wound into Ray's, binding them together. She plopped down on a nearby chair and stretching out her long legs.
"You know, contrary to what you've accused me of being earlier, I did find a way for you to go home," she said with a small smirk.
Peter's eyes grew in size. "You've WHAT?!"
"There's an old druid temple just half a day's walk north from here. Its called 'Soulerge'. Meaning it can transfer people from one point to another by simply speaking a sonic key."
"Go on," Winston pressed.
She shrugged sadly. "That's all I really can remember, I haven't seen the ruins in years."
****
Windy allowed herself and Ray only two days to rest and build their strength. Under Egon's suggestion of traveling like druids, the group exchanged their gear for plain clothing and robe with a bo-staff masked as a walking stick. Silent the five headed north for the temple ruins. Later that same day she spotted the ruins.
The ruins were built entirely of large boulders placed in a circle. Resting atop each boulder was a small stone slab. At the northern most part were two taller slabs with a third settled on the top, creating a doorway.
At closer inspection, Egon noticed writing decorating the 'doorway'. "Hmm." Pushing his glasses up, he glared at the squiggly symbols.
"Got something Spengs?" Peter asked, kneeling next to Egon.
Egon ran a hand over the carved inscriptions. "I can't make out this language. It's nothing I've ever seen before."
"Lemme see," Windy said, appearing at his other side. Her eyes narrowed into violet slits as she tried to translate the language. Suddenly they flew wide open. "Wow!"
"What? What?" Egon prompted. "You know what this is?"
Windy nodded, her black hair flowing over her shoulders. "This is a real crude form of Pixie!" she said with growing realization. "Oh man, there hasn't been a pixie on Enstar for ages!"
"I was reading one of your books. It said there was a large war in which many pixies died. Maybe they made this to escape?" Winston supplied.
"I just bet they did. The reading says 'Whosoever attempt this gateway must be pure of heart, mind, and soul'," She continued translating various pieces of the gateway. She nearly laughed when she found the sonic key. She reached into the small pack she carried for a charcol stick and parchment. She scribbled the key down in their language.
She showed the parchment to Egon, who clamped a hand over his mouth as a precaution. In thick black strokes the words 'New York' stared back at him. "I don't believe this!" he blurted, grabbing the parchment from Windy.
"All you have to do is stand at the doorway say it and boom, you're outta here!" she cajoled. A funny feeling stirred in her stomach, could it be that she would actually miss the four? She knew for sure that she would miss little one. "Come on, get going!" she said, pushing them towards the door.
Ray turned and caught her in a quick hug. "Bye Windy," he said sadly.
The vampire's violet eyes shimmered sadly. "Now go and remember be pure of heart, mind and soul!" she said acidly, throwing a glare at Peter.
The four removed their robes and stood before the doorway. "Now remember, clear your minds, think nothing and everything should be OK." They grabbed each other's hand in a tight clasp. Looking forward Egon spoke again. "New York." Windy slowly backed away, taking a spot behind a boulder. The ground roared to life as a bright light flooded the gateway.
With Egon leading, they stepped forward to enter the bright doorway only to be pushed backward by some unseen force. Four bodies flew through the air, some landed face down, and others face up. Venkman was the first on his feet. "What the hell happened?!"
"I don't know!" Windy emerged from her spot and walked over to the fallen men. "Are you sure you were all pure of mind, body, and soul?!"
A chorus of 'yes' reached her ears. Before she could ask another question, something came through the gate. It was a tall man with a blindfold over his eyes. He was dressed in the same type of clothing as the group and at his side he carried a large staff.
Windy's eyes grew large with fear. "Shit, run!" she whispered harshly, pushing Ray towards the boulders. Not asking questions the rest followed.
Winston peeked over the top of the boulder. "What the heck is that?!"
"A god's tracker!" she hissed, glaring at the four. "Which one of you did it?!" she pointed at each one.
"Did what?!" Venkman asked.
"Somebody thought something and screwed it up!" she folded her arms and leaned back against the boulder.
Three heads leaned forward to look at Ray. "Hey don't look at me, this time I'm innocent!" he cried defensively.
"Winston?" Egon asked.
"Nothing from me."
"If three of us didn't think anything then--" He turned his blue gaze at Peter, who was doing his damnedest to look innocent.
Peter sighed in defeat. "Sorry, I just thought of home for an instant."
"PETER!" The three men groaned.
"Couldn't we just leave? I'm sure the tracker would just leave. Right?" Peter asked after making sure that he was still in one piece.
Windy shook her head. "No, his job is to kill who was trying to access the gateway. He'll stand there until someone just happens to wander by." She looked over the top of the boulder. The man was patiently standing at the gate, his staff standing straight at his side.
"Maybe we can hit it with our throwers," Winston suggested, pulling his thrower out from the pack.
"No good," Egon began. "Remember the theory, this is a different dimension, we don't know the effects our throwers would have on it."
"Great back to square one," The black man groused.
"It's simple. I'll fight it, while you four run through the portal." She removed her cloak and laid it on the ground.
"No!" Ray grabbed her arm. "It could kill you!"
"Once you go through he'll disappear or I'll run," she replied, grabbing her staff. "Now, I want you all to wait at the first boulder. As soon as I yell 'Go', run like hell. You got that?"
Ray reared back in semi-shock. Windy was actually putting her life on the line for the sake of their safety. There seemed to be no other plan of action. Somehow, he could feel that this would be her last stand. A god's tracker was a powerful creature, even for a Vampire.
Ray's feeling seemed to be magnified by his companions. Each man felt almost guilty in a way. They were use to dealing with their problems on their own, together. They couldn't just sit here and let someone gladly put their neck on the chopping block.
Peter sighed under his breath. "Are you sure this is the only way?" It sounded more like a affirmation than a question.
Windy turned her violet gaze on the psychologist, he could see fear and doubt radiate from within. "It's the only way." Baring her teeth in what could be called a smile, she stood to her feet, and brandished her staff.
"Who dare enter the portal?" the man called out, sensing her presence. The deep timbre of his voice sent skitters running down the four men's backs.
The Vampire drew herself to her full height and smirked. "Tis I, Windwalker Durenor. Last of the true Vampires." She twirled her staff and presented it before her.
The man mirrored her actions and spoke, "Thy were not pure of mind, body nor soul. Now thou shall pay the price."
Smirking again she edged away at an angle from the gateway. She hoped that he would attack her, bringing him away from the door, allowing the men a chance to escape. "And what might that price be?"
The creature's voice sounded disembodied and as deep as a void. "Death." In a flash, he was before her, raising his staff overhead to strike. Stepping back, (and away from the gateway) She jammed the business end of her staff into his stomach. He bent over and scuttled backwards.
Using the time it would take for him to rebound and attack, she quickly casted two Vampire spells on herself, the spells of stone skin and shield. The stone skin spell turns a Vampire's skin into malleable stone that could withstand regular blows. The shield spell protected Vampires from magical attacks.
No sooner had she casted her last spell, the man was at her again. He was muttering something under his breath. A bright light appeared and fizzled out, he tried casting a spell of blindness. This time she ducked the flailing staff and swooped his legs, knocking him down.
She ran to the outside of the ruins and taunted, "What's this a god's tracker can't take down a Vampire? I'm shocked!"
The man howled in raged and stepped outside the barrier of the ruins. Using her staff as a shield, he barred down on her trying to match his strength against hers. They were a good twenty feet away from the glowing gateway. Now was the time for them to flee.
The god's tracker was strong, she could feel sweat starting to pop out on her skin. "GO NOW!!!!!" she roared, pushing back with all her might.
"That's it let's go!" Egon was the first to appear into view, his long legs quickly ate up the distance between the first boulder and the gateway. Not to far behind was Peter and Winston, with Ray trailing last. Ray paused, getting one last look at Windy who had her hands full with the raging tracker.
She looked back and noticed Ray standing and staring. "Dammit, Little one..GOOOO!!!!"
Ray stood in shock as he saw the man rear back with his left fist. "WINDY LOOK OUT!"
Before she could get her bearings, the man's hand crashed through her chest, his fingers cradled her heart before ripping it out her chest. Her mouth opened, releasing a primordial scream of pain, her dark hair flew about her face as her blood spurted in gushes as she fell backwards onto the dry ground. Blood sprayed from her mouth as she backpedaled, still living on the pure shock.
"Oh god!" Ray cried. He tore his hand from Winston's grasp and tried to run forward to help, but Peter grabbed him and jumped through the gateway.
She wiped her hand across her face, it came away scarlet red. "You've done a bang up job this time, Windy." She looked around and noticed that the tracker had vanished. She was now alone, bleeding, and dying. It was almost ironic at how her death occurred. Windwalker had always believed that she would die in some big battle, a battle where hundreds would have died. However, the only battle that existed was the one in her heart. So now heartless, Windwalker died, alone and peacefully.
****
It had been days since they successfully returned to New York. It was amazing coincidence that the gateway dropped them off right where they vanished, Central Park. They tried to resume life back to normal, or what was considered normal in their case. The idea that Windy sacrificed her life for them weighed heavily on their minds, especially Ray's. During those nights, he often woke up nearly screaming. The sight of her heart being ripped out continued to replay repeatedly deep within his conscious. He actually watched another person be killed. Peter talked with him on several occasions about reactions from tragedy. He assured Ray that the nightmares would go away on their own within time. The one thing that stuck out though was the idea that she died alone. He himself wasn't afraid of death, it was just dying alone. It hurt even worse because he knew she'd die alone, but couldn't do anything to prevent it.
They took a few days vacation time to rest. Egon, as usual, went to his lab tinkering with some new project. Winston had resigned himself to working on Ecto-1. Ray and Peter usually crashed on the couch, watched TV, and ate popcorn. Slimer popping in time to time looking for handouts.
One day, Ray decided to go to the mall. He wanted to see if any new editions of Captain Steel had arrived. He purchased two ultimate editions and wanted to do a little window looking. He was up on the second level when he spotted a new store. The name of the store was bolted on the top front in golden letters. 'New Thalos Bookstore' was it's name.
'New Thalos?! It can't be!' he thought to himself as he hurried over to get a peek. The bookstore was nothing he'd ever seen before. It sported a cafe in the back where patrons could read their selections before buying. He picked up a pamphlet that boasted about being the worlds first fantasy bookstore. Another oddity struck him, the cafe was named 'Darkhaven Cafe'. Turning around, he spotted a center display; the theme, Vampires. He perused the selection of Vampire novella, glancing at the different titles. He didn't feel a presence until it spoke.
"Enjoying our Vampire selection sir?" the female voice sounded too familiar. He looked up into a pair of eyes so blue they looked violet. He looked up at the tall woman, noting that she had dark hair also.
"Um, yes," he stammered, maybe she didn't remember him.
She stuck out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Gwindolyn Walker, proprietress of New Thalos Bookstore and Darkhaven Cafe. You can call me Windy," she plastered a smile on her face.
"Ray Stantz..." He responded, taking her hand into his own.
"Ah, the Ray Stantz," she rearranged a few books on the shelf. "Shall I just call you little one?" she winked.
A broad smile ran across his face, she did remember! "Oh gosh, Windy! How did you.." She covered his mouth with her finger.
"Not here, let's go to the cafe and have lunch. On the house." She placed her hand in the crook of his arm. "Besides, I haven't had a bite to eat in ages."
Oshimai. (The End)