Chapter Eleven: Children of Darkness

"I'm Winston Zeddemore, Your Honor. I've only been with the company for a couple of weeks, but I gotta tell ya…these things are real. Since I joined these men, I've seen shit that'll turn you white."

That statement Winston gave Mayor Lenny Clotch when he, Peter, Ray, and Egon had to plead their case to him to save New York from Gozer the Gozerian still held true in the situation he found himself in that very moment. There he was, staring at six live gargoyles that stared back at him, and he thought it was a "good" idea to leave his Proton Pack back at the firehouse. Had Elisa Maza led him into a trap? Were these gargoyles there to rip him to shreds? The one they called "Lexington," who was the shortest of the brood, stepped forward and raised his right hand, making Winston flinch instinctively, believing Lexington was making an attack.

But the complete opposite happened…

Lexington was shaking Winston's hand. "It's a real honor to meet you," he jubilantly said.

"You guys are the best!" The Pterosaur-faced one known as Brooklyn exclaimed.

"You're the real defenders 'round here!" The pudgy one named Broadway complimented.

"Aye. The world's been a lot safer with you lads protectin' it just as we've been." The elderly Hudson stated.

The last one to show his appreciation was Bronx, who walked over to Winston's feet and warmly rubbed his head against his legs like a friendly dog (which Winston assumed him to be a gargoyle version of). Winston, completely caught off guard from the gestures and compliments, smiled in relief. He was still tense around the mythical creatures, but he was relieved to find that they were fans of his. "Uh, thanks," he timidly remarked. He momentarily glanced over to Elisa, who smiled from all the appreciation he was getting. "But, uh…really…it's just a job."

"It is more than that, my friend," said Goliath, the tallest and the leader, who – until that second – remained relatively silent while his clan showered Winston with respect. "Four years ago, you saved this world from the threats of Shan Yu, The Horned King, and the Black Cauldron. It was a day none of us have ever forgotten since. The skies filled with blood and the sun was blotted out, awakening us from sleep earlier than expected. We saw the Horned King's face there in the sky, calling to Shan Yu, and we knew the Hour of Chernabog was near. Thankfully, your interference had averted whatever destruction that could have befallen upon this world."

Winston knew of the event that Goliath referenced; he, Peter, Ray, and Egon had heard of it shortly after saving the New York of that reality from the malfunctioned Ecto-Relayer that somehow brought Gozer back. Even though the four of them had no clue how it happened or what caused it, they knew the Ghostbusters of that world were the real ones responsible for stopping it. However, it was Peter's idea for them to take the credit for themselves in order to build a reputation and earn the respect of the people, who – at the time – had no idea who they were or when the Disney Ghostbusters would ever return. But Winston felt it was time to come clean with Elisa and the gargoyles: "Well, uh…the truth is that it wasn't us that did it…it was another Ghostbusters team – the ones of this world – that really saved the day. All we really did was save it from a device one of the recruits made that got crazy when we arrived here."

Hearing the truth from Winston brought out surprise from Elisa and the gargoyles; they all looked to each other in deep thought. Winston wondered if he should've kept his mouth shut, seeing that it might've cost him whatever trust he could have made with such moral beings. Thankfully, Goliath rectified his fears as he told him, "It does not change how we feel about what 'Ghostbusters' represent. Your purpose is to protect humanity from the threat of the supernatural – a purpose that we commonly share. In these dire times, you and your team are saviors in the oncoming invasion that Chernabog intends to bring on the world."

"There's that name again – Chernabog." Winston said. "What connection do you guys have to him anyway?"

"Our 'connection' is not a pretty one; that much is for certain." Hudson stated.

"We were bred from the flames of hell by Chernabog himself to be prepared for ragnarök." Goliath explained. "Chernabog's plan for conquest upon this world was meant to occur much earlier – over a thousand years ago to be exact. He saw this world as being imperfect with the barbaric humans that lived at the time. It was corrupt enough for him to make a new home for us…his Children of Darkness. We were supposed to be the enforcers in the invasion he intended to take place long ago, but we eventually saw the wrong in his plan."

"We grew the one thing Chernabog hadn't expected us to: a conscience." Brooklyn commentated.

Goliath continued in his story: "We escaped to the mortal world to live a life of peace, protecting the very humans we were sworn to conquer and destroy. We lived through the medieval era and maintained a somewhat rocky relationship with the humans, until one day an act of betrayal and misunderstanding led us to be cursed to sleep in our stone forms for centuries. It wasn't until we reawakened in 2009 when we learned of Chernabog's impending return from the events orchestrated a year prior by Maleficent – an old adversary of ours."

"Elisa told us how it was Ghostbusters that stopped the apocalypse from happening twice – once from Gozer and then again from Maleficent." Lexington said.

"And it was those actions that have led us to contact you through Elisa." Goliath indicated. "We believe another attempt on this world is imminent now more than ever, perhaps at an even greater scale. Chernabog knows how much of a threat anyone carrying the title of 'Ghostbuster' is and will not hesitate in going to extreme measures to get them out of his way. He might be more powerful and dangerous than he was centuries ago, but we have faith that you will defeat him. If Gozer and Maleficent could be defeated by mortals, Chernabog can as well."

The task sounded more overwhelming to Winston than Goliath or his friends even realized. He was virtually asking him and the Ghostbusters team he had worked with for a short amount of time to go up against another deity. Gozer might as well have been a pushover compared with Chernabog for all Winston knew, and it scared the hell out of Winston not knowing what to expect. But if Goliath and his clan were on their side for this one, then he felt somewhat hopeful in succeeding. And that was why he finally came to the decision that he did: "Alright. You got a deal." He put his hand out for Goliath to shake, and the tall, empowering gargoyle merely stared at it for a few seconds; it was clear how much of a cautious fellow he was, which was understandable considering all that he had been through. Finally, he shook Winston's hand (it was dwarfed by Goliath's) to seal the deal.

"Thank you." He graciously told Winston.

"Not a prob." Winston remarked. "I know Ray and Egon will get a kick out of this. They always dig these types of things."

Goliath was lost in the diction of Winston's words. "They…kick…and dig?"

Elisa chuckled over Goliath's confusion. "I'll explain later, big guy." She then moved in close to Winston, looking him directly in his eyes, and respectfully said, "You are a brave man for agreeing to help. I know you're probably terrified about all of this – heck, I'm scared myself – but I have a strong feeling we'll make it through this."

Winston heard every word she said, but he was lost in her beauty again. It was just something that he could not ignore. His agreeing to help had certainly gained some respect and admiration from her; he didn't want to think of it as "scoring points" with her – the last thing he wanted was for this to be a Dana/Peter type of relationship. If his bravery did bring out feelings that Elisa had for him, then that only made his duty as a Ghostbuster in this situation all the more worth it. He wasn't in this for the fame like Peter or for the science and mythology like Egon and Ray; he was only in this for a "steady paycheck." Yet it only took one female detective from a world he didn't belong in to change all of that.

Unbeknownst to them, Winston and Elisa had been locking eyes for quite a long moment. It was not until a sudden tremor came over the tower that their attention was directed to their surroundings as they and the gargoyles searched for whatever was the cause of the quake. But a quick glance at Goliath and the anticipated look on his face told Winston that he knew who was behind it.

"This is all so damn unbelievable."

Lisa sat upon the brown leather sofa of the living room of Patrick Creel's home in Tampa Bay, Florida. Earlier, she was dropped off there with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J., thanks to Remus, who was nice enough to offer them a ride. Tampa Bay was twenty-five miles and forty-one minutes away from Clearwater, but the time it took for them to get there felt longer in Remus's old, beat-up 1951 Ford truck. They didn't mind how slow the ride was as it gave Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J. the time in explaining all that had happened to Lisa between being attacked on Clearwater Beach and waking up there earlier. Lisa almost couldn't believe that her body had been swapped with a Hun warrior's and used to fight against the Horned King's army in the Underworld. She was certain that whatever the Ghostbusters did to stop them and bring her back to herself was the reason for her memory loss.

But nothing was more surprising to her than all that had changed in her life in the four years she had been away – she had been left widowed, a new Ghostbusters team that were apparently from another world had formed in New York and taken the place of the ones that had yet to reemerge, and many other teams had grown all over the world because of these "new" Ghostbusters. For Lisa (as well as Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J.), it was like waking up out of a four-year coma; nothing felt the same. Lisa's daughters, Selina and Zoe (who had been staying with Patrick in her absence), were older and practically almost women. She had missed the years of witnessing crucial events in their maturity and left them believing both of their parents were dead. It was that reason why Lisa hugged them for several minutes upon arriving at Patrick's house.

"They should be rightfully pissed at me for leaving them alone like that," she told Patrick, who sat by her on the sofa. "I'm pretty pissed at myself right now."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Patrick urged. "You couldn't have known what would happen while investigating the cauldron."

"Bullshit! I did know!" Lisa exclaimed in frustration. She lowered her voice once she reminded herself that Selina and Zoe were in the next room (Patrick's "Entertainment Room") with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J., watching television. "We both knew from the time we investigated it and all that weird stuff happened to us. I always know the risks, but I never think of how it'll affect others when I take them."

Patrick grinned. "Sounds a lot like someone we know."

Lisa nodded when she realized that he had referred to Kimberly Venkman. "I really wish I knew where she was. I could really use her and the rest of her team right now."

"You still got me."

She immediately looked to him soon after he said that and saw the warm, loving smile that he gave her. The amazing generosity he showed in stepping up to take care of her daughters while she went missing gave her a whole new appreciation for this kind man, who had become more than a friend of hers. "Thank you, Patrick," she whispered, almost choking on her words as she began to feel emotional – not just from the immense gratitude she had for him, but from the thought of the world moving ahead of her. It would take a long time for her to adjust, but she knew Patrick would be there for her every step of the way. That much was certain from how the two of them held hands – an action they only took notice in as soon as they felt each other's thumbs soothingly rubbing against their palms.

It was a moment of romance that Lisa and Patrick did not anticipate to find themselves in, yet it was a welcoming experience after all they had been through. That made it all the more frustrating when Max suddenly rushed into the room and interrupted their moment by shouting, "You guys have got to come and see this!" It seemed extremely urgent, judging from the alarmed expression on his face, which carried a lot of his father's goofy features. Lisa and Patrick joined him and everyone else in the entertainment room as a simulcast of a live event happening in New York City played on the flat-screen television set. The volume was already up high enough for them to hear the newscaster give an update on what the audience was seeing:

"Just a few minutes ago, right where the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir used to be before mysteriously drained from a sinkhole just yesterday evening, this mountain you're currently seeing live helicopter footage of right now has risen from that very same sinkhole in Central Park. Now we don't know how exactly it got there but, prior to the time of its rise, there were reports of tremors in radius of the park. Police and military have strongly cautioned everyone to remain off limits from the park until this matter is further investigated."

They watched the looped footage of the large, dark, towering mountain standing within Central Park and encompassing much of the area. Although it was an alarmingly unnatural sight to Lisa, Patrick, Selina, and Zoe, it was Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J. that were strongly affected by it, watching the footage in horror. "Oh, man!" P.J. was the first to vocally express their terror. "Is that what I think it is?"

"It can't be!" Donald shouted.

"I'm afraid it is, fellas." Mickey regretfully acknowledged.

Noting their increasing concern and getting confused by it, Lisa questioned, "What? What is it?"

"Oh, that's right." Mickey said, finding comfort in looking away from the TV and towards Lisa. "You weren't with us when we first encountered it, but the time we were trapped in the Seventh Circle, we had the unfortunate pleasure in visiting the home of Chernabog. We'd imagined that we'd never see it again after that place was destroyed, but…" The petrified mouse gazed back at the television, once again seeing the mountain that was as high as the skyscrapers around the park. "It looks like it's found a new spot in our world."

Following on what Mickey was telling her, Lisa began to tense up herself. "Wait a sec. Are you saying that's…?"

Mickey fearfully nodded. "Bald Mountain."