Chapter Twenty: Night on Bald Mountain
It was a nightmare in Times Square. But not in the figurative sense with massive traffic jams or huge crowds gathered to watch a ball drop to ring in the New Year; it was literally a nightmare…and Pete was right in the middle of it all. He and several other New Yorkers ran throughout the square in a state of panic as various demon creatures terrified them from the air and on the ground. He didn't know where the monsters had come from; all that mattered to him was getting out of dodge before one of them ripped him to shreds. Unfortunately, that became an impossible task once the creatures blocked every path out of Times Square, robbing Pete and the other New Yorkers any opportunity of escape, until they practically surrounded them, closing in on them and causing them to crowd among each other.
Getting dangerously close to the creatures, Pete saw how they came in various shapes and sizes; some had large wings (a minority of which had ones that were engulfed in flames) and resembled bats or gargoyles, while others were basically ten feet tall ogre-looking creatures dressed in loincloth and welding giant clubs. Each of them was terrifying in their own way, and Pete had never felt more scared in his whole life, being surrounded by such hellish creatures that could wipe him out in a heartbeat. It was then that he heard the crowd's screams grow louder and felt nearly a dozen bodies press against the back of his, bringing him closer than he cared to be to a one-eyed demon-ogre with black teeth and foul breath.
"Hey! Watch where yer shovin'!" He angrily (and tensely) shouted over all the screams of terror.
When he turned to face the inside of the crowd, he suddenly discovered the reason for them backing closer to the demons that flanked them: standing at the very center of the crowd was an eight-foot-tall creature that Pete found to be much scarier and even more intimidating than the surrounding demons. He figured this one to be the leader, judging from how different he looked to the demons that he led and how he stood out of line from them.
"Mortals…just scared little children are what you all are." The demon leader addressed them in a deep, hollowed voice that chilled Pete to the bone. "Powerless weaklings unworthy of existing in a world ruled by gods! I will make sure that once my father – the all-powerful Lord Chernabog – awakens, no mortal will be left standing in his new world. And I will begin my first act of genocide on all of you!" His eyes, which were only just flaming sockets, searched through the horrified faces in the crowd – several men and women weeping and some even begging for mercy. He loved every second of it all, and it was hard for him to decide who to make an example of first. But then he caught sight of one particular face that looked the most terrified of them all. Extending his left arm and pointing with his index finger, his black, five-inch nail was aimed directly at Pete. "I'll start with you."
Pete felt his face go completely numb. The crowd parted, leaving just him and the lead demon standing across from each other. When the demon leader gave his declaration, one of the big ogre-looking demons pushed Pete right into him, causing him to fall right at the hideous, deformed, and bare feet of the leader. Pete found himself on his knees and staring up at the imposing monster, which looked ten times taller while looking from such a low level.
"Please don't kill me!" Pete tearfully begged. "I've got a wife and two kids!"
"Wife, kids, brother, sister, mother, father, a baby on the way – I've heard it all before, mortal." The leader responded. "Now do yourself a favor and keep silent. Your death will be quick but very painful."
Pete's eyes filled with tears and terror as he watched the monster's grotesque mouth grow large and wide over his head – a bright yellowish-orange glow emitting from the back of his throat.
"Leave my dad alone!"
The voice came from behind Pete far in the distance but loud enough to gain attention from everyone. The glow from the demon leader's mouth diffused and his mouth shrunk down to its regular size as he moved his head away from Pete and looked in the direction of the speaker that was so bold to interrupt his proceedings. Pete turned to catch sight of his savior, whose voice he actually recognized the moment he heard it.
Standing seven yards away from them was P.J., with Max, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Alex, CeCe, Rocky, Phineas, Ferb, Victor Frankenstein, and the Tampa Bay Ghostbusters at his side. P.J. had his Proton Gun firmly gripped in his black-gloved hands with a gallant look on his face that was surprisingly uncharacteristic to anyone who thought they knew him well-enough, like Pete. "In case you didn't hear me the first time, punk, I'll say it again: Leave my dad alone!"
Gorin stepped away from Pete and out of the circle his surrounding demons made, glaring at P.J. and the other Ghostbusters. "You must be the pathetic little band of sheep that have come to be slaughtered. Brave but foolish souls that don't stand a chance against me and my army. I have thousands of soldiers on my side, while you are all just a tiny speck of rebels in our new world." As he spoke, more demons emerged upon the rooftops and structures of buildings around the area. "And you bring toys that do nothing but tickle us! You all have just signed your death warrants!"
Lisa, who stood on the truck bed of the Tampa Bay GBs' "Ecto Truck," grinned on Gorin's insulting words and said into the truck's loudspeaker, "Wanna bet?"
Following on her remark, Patrick fired a stream from his newly-upgraded Proton Pack, unleashing swirling golden white energy that resembled pure light. The stream connected with one of the demons surrounding the trapped New Yorkers, disintegrating it on the spot – its remains scattered to the winds. But it did not end there with the one demon's disintegration; there was a chain reaction that passed on through the other demons, until all of them were wiped out and no one but Gorin was left standing near Pete and the New Yorkers.
The lone Gorin stood flummoxed from the immense firepower that had wiped out a dozen of his legion. Catching the petrified look on his monstrous face, Lisa bellowed with laughter and said with much boldness, "Ooh! Is that fear I see in your eyes, Gorin? Well, then you're really gonna shit yourself when you see this!"
On that exclamation, thousands more Ghostbusters appeared in Times Square, surrounding Gorin and his forces and almost dwarfing them in size. Pete and the other New Yorkers (half of whom were part of his "Anti-Ghostbusters Party") were practically overjoyed to see the army of Ghostbusters that had saved them.
It was a sight that made Gorin roar in great anger and frustration. "KILL THEM ALL!" He brutishly commanded his forces.
Lisa, who appeared to be playing the role of commander for the Ghostbusters army, yelled from the top of her lungs, "LIGHT 'EM UP!"
With the commands from the two leaders of the opposing forces there in the square, an intense battle enraged as demons and Ghostbusters attacked each other. Between the fired streams and the demons colliding into buildings, Times Square fell apart in the battle rather quickly. During the event, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J. rushed over to Pete and the other citizens, guiding them to safety inside the popular hangout known as Hoots.
Once inside Hoots, Mickey gave a direct order to Pete and the other citizens: "Now you folks stay here and barricade all the doors and windows."
The citizens immediately went right to work while Pete, astounded by the bravery of his son, took a moment to acknowledge it. "P.J.," he said in the softest tone P.J. or even Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Max ever heard from the commonly ruthless character formerly known as "Peg-Leg Pete." "Son…you saved my life back there."
P.J. smiled. "That's what Ghostbusters do: save people. But you're my dad – I had to save you of all people."
Pete's eyes darted in between his son and his fellow teammates. "I, uh…I admit I was wrong…about you guys…about Ghostbusters. They're heroes!" He then focused solely on P.J. and added, "You're a hero. And I'm proud of ya."
P.J.'s heart swelled from all the love that his father had shown him for the first time since he could remember. There were tears in his eyes as he smiled at his father and gave him a hug. Max and Goofy looked on, pleased to see Pete finally accepting his son and his profession. But the happy moment was disrupted by a sudden explosion outside, snapping them all back to the present situation. Reminded of what was happening, P.J. quickly told his dad, "Gotta go! Love ya! Bye!"
As P.J. rushed back outside with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Max, Pete proudly yelled, "Give 'em heck, son!"
Halfway across town, the Ecto-1 and the recently recovered Ecto-1K (the official vehicle of the Disney Ghostbusters) raced down the street at perfectly synced speed. Ray, J.G., Peter, Kim, and Kate rode together in the Ecto-1 with Ray driving, while Egon, Sean, Winston, and Diana did in the Ecto-1K, which Diana drove. Both teams were making their way to Central Park, but the journey there was less than reassuring. There were many obstacles faced along the way, such as several winged demons that attacked, urging J.G., Peter, Egon, Sean, and Winston to fire at them while their upper bodies stuck out of the car windows. Kim went the extra mile, however, and crouched atop the Ecto-1, firing at the demons from there.
Thousands more Ghostbuster teams were scattered along the street the two vehicles speeded along upon, providing assistance for them as they raged on with their own battle there, which ripped apart that entire section of the city. Unfortunately, matters became more complicated when one of the ogre demons stood in the path of the Ecto-1K and used its massive club to pound at the street, causing a large chunk of the ground to incline twenty feet up.
Seeing the incline, Diana panicked. "Oh, crap," she yelled before turning to her passengers and screaming, "Hang on!" Having no other choice, she drove the Ecto-1K up a makeshift hill and over its cliff, leaving the vehicle to fall directly towards the ogre-demon as it prepared to swing its club at the car as if it were a baseball – even positioning at a batting stance. Diana, Egon, Sean, and Winston could do nothing else but watch and brace themselves as they were about to be pounded into oblivion.
Fortunately, before the Ecto-1K and the ogre-demon came in contact, Kim fired at the monster, wiping it out just in time for the Ecto-1K to land safely (albeit rather roughly) back on the road. After fighting to get back control of the steering wheel, Diana glanced over to the Ecto-1 and gave Kim a thumb up for the swift rescue. Kim returned it from atop the Ecto-1, while the two vehicles continued on their way to Central Park.
As Times Square endured further damages with lit neon signs bursting into fiery sparks and going out, building structures collapsing, and Broadway show billboards scorched, Lisa and Patrick kept their cool while fighting back-to-back (or Pack-to-Pack) against Gorin's forces. "It's like the Rockin' New Year's Eve Party from Hell," Lisa said with a huge grin.
"Yep," Patrick acknowledged. "Dick Clark must be rolling in his grave right now."
Lisa briefly turned and looked at him, surprised. "Dick Clark's dead?"
Their conversation was quickly interrupted by the barbaric screams of a highly eager fellow Ghostbuster. Following the noise, they saw that it was Meagan. Lisa, believing her to be back at the firehouse, was more than shocked to see her there.
"Meagan, what the hell are you doing?" She shouted in anger. "You're supposed to be benched because of your condition!"
"I'm not going to sit on the sidelines like I always do!" Meagan retorted. "I wanna kick ass for once! I'm a Ghostbuster, dammit!"
The flared-up young Ghostbuster soon caught sight of Gorin – the primary target – who furiously watched on as his forces dwindled in numbers from the overwhelming instruments and craftiness used against them by their mortal adversaries. Without a second thought, Meagan rushed over to the Son of Chernabog, an act that didn't go unnoticed by Lisa. "Meagan! Get your ass back here!" But Meagan hadn't heeded her call; she moved in directly on Gorin and stood hazardously close to the tall, disturbing figure.
"Hey, asshole!" She immediately caught Gorin's attention with her profanity-laced addressed. "Suck on this!" At close range, she fired a powerful stream precisely at his left arm.
Gorin howled in pain as the stream came in contact with his forearm, disintegrating it entirely and leaving it to become nothing more than a stump. The vicious attack from Meagan brought more fury over him than before, and he backhanded the young woman with his one good arm, causing her to fall hard to the ground. In the process of her fall, Meagan's helmet smacked roughly upon the concrete, the impact from which made the helmet snap away from her head. Lisa and Patrick, witnessing what had happened to her, panicked as they saw the helmet roll away from Meagan and to a section of the street where it was straightaway stomped to pieces by a passing ogre-demon.
After watching the helmet get crushed to pieces, it occurred to Lisa and Patrick that Meagan was now left exposed for Allha to gain possession of her body again – and this was exactly what happened. The two Tampa Bay Ghostbusters backed away as they watched Meagan's body lift itself off the ground – unstrapping the Proton Pack from it in the process – and hover in front of a baffled Gorin. With Allha fully in control, she glared at Gorin with vicious, glowing red eyes.
"What is this?" An alarmed (and even frightened) Gorin questioned.
"Your reckoning!" Allha said in an echoed voice.
Allha proceeded in opening her mouth wide, unleashing an intense white beam of energy out of it. Gorin retaliated, opening his own mouth wide and spitting out his projectile lava vomit, which came in contact with Allha's energy beam. Allha's beam, however, proved to be more formidable and forced the lava vomit to fire back into Gorin's mouth. Lisa and Patrick could hardly believe just how easily Allha overcame Gorin's most destructive biological weapon. They watched in shock as Gorin began to choke on his own lava and suffered to the point where his head exploded to pieces. The rest of his body fell dead to the ground and burst into flames that rapidly evaporated into smoke.
As relieved as Lisa and Patrick were to finally see Gorin destroyed, they realized how things had only gotten worse with the emergence of Allha in the midst of any already-chaotic situation. They watched as she transformed from the form of Meagan into her true Terror Dog form and dashed away from Times Square, heading in the direction of the Tipton Hotel.
Lisa reacted quickly, using a special communicator earpiece given to all of the Ghostbuster teams by the Zetas to patch herself in to their current location in the city. "Zetas, come in! Zetas, come in! We've got an even bigger problem happening right now – Allha's just taken control of Meagan!"
A few blocks away, down Broadway Street, the Zetas were combating with the demonic legion with assistance from a thousand more Ghostbuster teams – including the Wauconda, Dallas, First Coast, and Holly Wood Ghostbusters – in addition to the Gargoyles and Elisa, who was strapped with a Proton Pack of her own.
In the midst of their battle, Lisa's unnerved voice came through their earpieces. "Zetas, if you're hearing me right now, I repeat – Allha's just taken back control of Meagan!" Just as they received the news, a ferocious hellhound charged through the area, knocking over parked vehicles (most of which belonged to the GB teams fighting there) and destroying some demons along the way.
Elisa, caught off guard from the sudden arrival of the demonic canine that looked bigger than Bronx, almost fired upon it but didn't have the chance due to its remarkable speed. "What was that?"
"That…was Allha." Maryl-Lyn informed her.
After slamming a demon into submission against a brick wall, Goliath looked to the direction Allha headed in. "Where is she going?"
"To the Tipton Hotel." Chrissy said. "She is going there to open another portal – for Gozer."
"Why is the Tipton the only place for these portals to open?" Maryl-Lyn inquired.
"It is the central beacon between worlds – much like Dana Barrett's apartment is in the '84 Ghostbusters' world." Chrissy divulged.
"Hey, cut the science bullshit!" Joie hastily demanded. "We need to focus on stopping Gozer's bitch! I'm going there right now to do what needs to be done – the rest of ya'll stay here and cover me!"
"No, Joie!" Maryl-Lyn exclaimed. "We go as a team!"
Joie attempted to argue against Maryl-Lyn until Goliath spoke ahead of her, warning the group, "Another wave of Gorin's forces are incoming!"
More winged demons and ogre-demons did indeed arrive through the area, forcing the Gargoyles, Elisa, and the Zetas to engage in another round in the increasingly intense battle. Joie, on the other hand, took advantage of the attack to make a quick exit and teleport away from Broadway Street, undetected by her allies and enemies.
After fighting countless demons on the way to Central Park, both the Ecto-1 and Ecto-1K were ravaged completely once they finally arrived there; both were missing doors and a hood, had claw marks all over their bodies, and their windows shattered. Fortunately, both teams were unscathed. They attempted to drive directly to Bald Mountain, driving across the park grass – even running over a "Don't Step on the Grass" warning sign on the way in. But when they drove less than a few miles across the park, a wall of massive headstones abruptly popped out from the grass and caused the vehicles to have a head-on collision with them, bringing them to a rough halt. Kim barely managed to hang on atop the Ecto-1 from the impact.
Recovering from the collision, J.G. gazed at the headstones ahead of them, feeling not all that surprised to see how they sprouted. "Chernabog must really not want us anywhere near him," he jested.
"Well, that's just too damn bad." Kim remarked while climbing off the Ecto-1.
The rest of the Ghostbusters clambered out of the damaged vehicles and joined Kim in blasting away at the headstones, making their own path towards the base of the mountain. As they got closer to their destination, a humming noise rang through their ear canals and the ground beneath them vibrated.
"What's the hell's happenin'?" Winston asked.
"These are signs of Chernabog's awakening." Sean indicated. "It's only minutes away from taking place."
Following on this information, Ray suggested, "Then let's not waste any more time. Let's blast that mountain into oblivion!" He then looked to Kate and said, "You're up, kid. Do your stuff!"
Kate detached the Proton Gun from her steampunk, cybergoth, medieval, and space-age styled Proton Pack, prepping it to fire a single stream upon the mountain. However, before she could, she spotted something in the sky that came towards them. "We've got company."
The others looked up along with her and saw that it was some sort of winged creature. "It's a stray from Gorin's legion," Egon indicated.
Peter snickered. "Gotta feel sorry for the poor bastard – comin' all this way just to get a crack at us. He's either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid." He then turned to his comrades and geared them up with commands: "Alright, people. Take aim and fire on the count of three. One, two…"
"Wait!" They all stopped on Kim's outcry. "It's got Dana!"
"What?" Peter yelled – more surprised than everyone else to discover what Kim had just then. "My Dana?"
"But she's back in our world," Ray said, prior to adding with a sense of uncertainty, "isn't she?"
The creature came to a landing right in between the base of Bald Mountain and the Ghostbusters, while it kept a firm grasp on Dana – its large, clawed, furry right hand over her throat. They saw how the creature wore a tattered Ghostbuster uniform with the "Rousselot" nametag half-stitched onto it. It immediately dawned on Kim, Diana, J.G., and Sean who this creature was.
"Seraphim!" J.G. cried out her name in complete astonishment.
From her full demonic form, Seraphim slowly morphed into a half-human/half-demon version of herself with only her horns, wings, claws, and demonic eyes remaining whereas the fur and protruding snout had disappeared. "Hello," she sardonically said to the Disney Ghostbusters. "Good to see you all again, because now you can witness how truly bad-ass I am."
"Beg your pardon?" Kim uttered.
Seraphim scoffed at Kim's remark. "Oh, Kimberly. Sweet yet stupid Kimberly. I was so much like you, until my father opened my eyes to the truth: there is no hope for humanity. As a human, I was weak and afraid – how all humans are, apparently – but, as a Child of Darkness, I'm strong and fearless. My brother is dead, so now I'm taking my rightful place at my father's side. Unfortunately, that means I'm gonna have to kill you, since you are the only thing standing in his way." She then mockingly shrugged and pouted her lips to say, "Saw-wee."
Kim, J.G., Sean, and Diana almost could not believe how different Seraphim was acting since they had last seen her. It was clear to them how far gone she was, utterly brainwashed by her father. Diana, feeling just as concerned as Peter about Dana (who was struggling beneath Seraphim's strong, ungodly grasp), questioned to the Daughter of Chernabog, "What are you doing with her?"
"Oh, this old thing?" She made reference to her captive in the harshest manner possible. "She's got a lot of that ol' Gozerian power still coursing through her, and it's just a-waitin' to get out."
"What does a Pagan god need with the power of a Sumerian one?" Egon asked out of curiosity.
Seraphim sinisterly grinned. "You'll find out real soon, Egon. I guarantee it."
"Theresa," Kim calmly said, hoping to plead to the human side of Seraphim. "We are not the enemy – Chernabog is. He's controlling you – making you believe all the things that you ever feared. But we…we're your friends."
Kim gazed closely at her face as she addressed her; for a moment, she could see Seraphim snapping out of her madness – her face registering sadness and apprehension, and her eyes returning to the iridescent blue eyes of a human female. Regrettably, the change was brief, and Seraphim's relentless demonic side instantly returned as she angrily yelled, "Liar! You never gave a damn about me! You all have feared me the moment I told you that I was Chernabog's daughter. Then you thought Gorin could destroy me the two times we fought – that's why none of you lifted a finger to help when he kicked my sorry ass!"
"That's not true!" J.G. refuted. "Kim, Sean, and I tried to help the first time, but our weapons were useless against Gorin then."
"Excuses, lies, and more excuses!" Seraphim roared, before gesturing to the '84 Ghostbusters and asking, "What about them? What's their excuse?"
Ray looked to Egon, Winston, and Peter – none of whom had any legitimate claim to back up for themselves. Sheepishly, Ray shrugged and said, "We thought you sacrificed yourself for us."
Seraphim bellowed with laughter that sounded deep and hollowed. "The spirit of courage – what a bunch of bullshit! Humans believe so much in nothing to deny the inevitability of fear. When I fought as a human, there was zero courage in me – only fear! I know that all of you are scared even now, because you know you will fail in stopping my father – just like 'Theresa' failed."
It was at that moment, as she distinguished herself from her human identity, that the Ghostbusters realized how Seraphim had truly abandoned humanity and embraced her demons.
"Well, I guess there's just one thing we can only say to that." Kim said as she shared a glance with Peter.
Peter knew his thought process was perfectly synced with Kim's that moment; that glance was the only signal he needed to yell, "FIRE!"
They all were ready and willing to fire their streams at Seraphim, hoping that Dana would somehow get out of harm's way once their firepower connected with the Daughter of Chernabog. But their plan didn't even go unhitched. Just as they were about to fire, their guns were suddenly yanked from their hands and they were snatched at the wrists and ankles by a collection of large roots that had slithered out of the ground. The roots pulled and pinned them down. They made attempts at breaking free from their binds, but they soon realized how durable the roots were.
Seraphim smiled, knowing what force had caused the Ghostbusters' sudden dilemma. "You see that, Kim? He does care."
"You really think he did this for you?" Kim debated. "Wake the hell up, girl! You are a tool to him! And you'll eventually outlast your usefulness!"
Angered by her words, Seraphim screamed, "SHUT UP!" And just as she made this command, another root slithered from the ground and wrapped itself around Kim's mouth like a gag. "It's time to admit to your failures, Ghostbusters. The hour is up. It's time for my father's awakening." Transforming back into her full demon form, Seraphim turned toward the mountain and forced Dana to do the same. She shoved Dana in closer to the base of the mountain and proceeded in unleashing bolts of red lightning from her fingers that struck Dana's body, making it convulse. Dana involuntarily raised her arms to Bald Mountain and released her own lightning (a purplish-blue color lightning) from her body, striking the mountain itself.
A massive tremor rocked the entire city of New York. Many of the other Ghostbusters and demon forces stopped fighting long enough to feel the tremor's remarkable effects. Even back in the firehouse, Christina, Ben, and Susan hid beneath tables.
"What's happening?" Ben asked.
"I think my bosses have pissed somebody off again!" Christina answered.
The top half of Bald Mountain crumbled apart and a whole different rock formation manifested there. But the Ghostbusters promptly realized, once they saw the rock formation moving, that it was not part of the mountain. A ginormous black creature was perched there and slowly spread its bat-like wings, stretching both them and its humanoid body out for the first time in centuries. A yellow glow shined within the mountain and illuminated the massive creature from underneath it, revealing the form of Chernabog in all its glory.
As the awakened Chernabog glared upon the Ghostbusters with his vicious, giant yellow eyes, Ray curiously asked, "Anyone else hear Modest Mussorgsky playing in their head right now?"