I stirred awake after what felt like a really deep sleep. I glanced around confusedly and found that I still lay against Egon on the large couch. My stomach did a little flip flop as I realized how close he was and I smiled. I blinked the sleep from my head and then felt my heart skip a beat.
All of the lights were out.
I slowly sat up, feeling icy terror spread through my body. Lightning flashed and I could see the silhouette of a man standing in the center of the room in front of me. The terror died down and was almost instantly replaced with anger.
"What are you doing here?" I said, my voice sounding bolder than I actually felt. A rumble of thunder followed another flicker of lightning and I could see Death strolling closer towards me.
"You remember our deal…" He said warningly. I glanced back at Egon and slowly stood up so I wouldn't wake him. I whirled on the other man as he moved even closer.
"I remember." I said.
"Then proceed then." He gestured around with another flash of lightning. I looked around and hastily shook my head.
"You know I've already decided not to. I can't just…destroy…all of their hard work. You can't ask me to do that." I said, my voice shaking only the tiniest bit. I heard another crash of thunder and nearly fell as it rumbled throughout the room.
"That was the deal though, Melanie." Death growled. I shrank away from him, then stopped myself. I had to keep up the image that I wasn't afraid of him.
"If you knew I wouldn't keep it, then why did you agree to it?" I asked. I could feel the cold radiating off of him as he stepped even closer.
"I got to thinking…these Ghostbusters you led me to have made a fortune in undoing a lot of my work. I figured that if I could get myself in to their headquarters…and managed to get rid of their equipment and research…they'd have nothing left to stop the dead from taking over."
I blinked confusedly and held up my hand to stop him from coming any closer.
"You're changing your story…at first you didn't want me to stay around and now you're wanting the dead to come back? I'm…I don't understand…" I said. His eyes suddenly lit up like red flames in the dark room and I felt my heart quicken its pace.
"It was about you to start with. But now…" He grabbed my left wrist and twisted it. I cried out in pain and gasped as he pulled me closer to him. "Now…it's so much bigger than that."
He shoved me across the floor and I hit the armchair next to the couch. My wrist throbbed but I swallowed back the pain and blindly reached around on the floor.
"If you destroy their work, they'll just redo everything. You can't stop them completely." I said, as I finally found what I was looking for. Death flew towards me triumphantly.
"Then I suppose I'll just have to get rid of them too, now, won't I?" He breathed. I glared up at him in disbelief. He turned and moved towards the couch where Egon was still sleeping.
"Not on my watch…" I growled as I chucked one of Dana's high heels at Death. He whirled around and suddenly all of the dormant lights in the room started glowing with white hot energy. I shielded my face with my arm and crawled backwards as he advanced on me.
"If you won't keep your part of the deal, then here, let me help you."
He gestured towards the computer against the wall. I quickly jumped up and dove towards it and grabbed it before it could tumble off of the desk. I gritted my teeth against the pain in my wrist but managed to hold on to it. Death's eyes shone with amusement and he simply spun around and caused the few P.K.E. meters Egon had scattered on the counter to spontaneously combust with loud popping noises. I stumbled under the weight of the huge computer in my hands and quickly moved it to the ground before I could drop it.
"No - stop!" I cried as papers and boxes of half-finished gadgets were thrown to the floor. I chased after a box that held what looked like the beginnings of a new proton pack. I grabbed onto the sides of the box and let out a startled cry when it dragged me halfway across the room. It pulled me into the pool table and I got the wind knocked out of me as my hands slipped and I was forced to hurriedly climb over the table to grab the box before it could smash against the wall.
"Melanie?!"
I turned my head to see that Egon had woken up, thankfully, and was rushing after some of his equipment. Death seemed to further increase the damage he was causing as he spotted Egon on his feet.
"What's going on?" Egon shouted as he stumbled over a fallen table. I glared at Death as I realized that he had made himself invisible to Egon.
"He's here!" I said as I grabbed a chair and threw it at Death to distract him. He simply phased through it, amusement flickering over his face. I could see from across the room that Egon was struggling to try and save his equipment. I felt my heart wrench every time one of his carefully made devices shattered against each other.
"NOT THE PACKS!" Egon yelled desperately. I whirled around and spotted the four proton packs on the table where Ray and Egon had stored them for easy access. The packs were slowly rising into the air, twitching mechanically. I looked at Egon confusedly and then saw his face pale with fear as he rushed towards them. I dove toward them and threw myself on top of the nearest one as it started to levitate into the air. It fell to the floor with my weight and I quickly reached up for the strap of another one. Egon did the same, but only managed to stop one.
That left one proton pack still in the air, taunting us. I struggling to stay on top of the one below me and was being pulled in the other direction by the strap of the other. My left hand painfully gripped the strap and then I could feel the strap loosening.
"Egon, I can't hold it!" I cried. He reached up quickly and yanked the pack down by the handle. We both glanced up as the remaining proton pack sailed across the room. I choked out a scream as Egon moved in front of me.
"I've got it!"
Ray leapt out of the bunkroom and grabbed the flying pack before it could hit the wall. I breathed a sigh of relief and could see the worry flush out of Egon's face as well. Ray turned to us with a triumphant smile which instantly dissolved as he spotted the huge computer system rumbling unnervingly against the wall. He ran towards it, slinging the strap of the proton pack over his shoulder.
A flashing red light showed up on one of the main screens and he frantically started pushing buttons to fix it. Egon rushed over there as well, helping me with the heavy packs. We ducked as a chair was thrown at us and finally reached Ray's side.
"What's happening?" I asked breathlessly. Egon flipped a switch while Ray continued punching buttons and shaking his head.
"System malfunction…" Egon mumbled. His eyes were full of dread. I whirled around and found that Death had moved silently to my side.
"Stop this, please!" I begged. He smiled and shook his head.
"It's only just started." He said as he plunged his hand through the machine. It instantly started sputtering and smoking. Red warning lights flashed across every screen in the computer system and Egon and Ray worked faster to get it to stop. I dropped the proton packs I was holding and dove forward to grab Death's forearm. My hands were instantly freezing but I forced myself to hold on. Surprised, he released his hold inside the machine and the machine went completely silent. He threw me aside and stood over me threateningly.
"Get him!" Ray shouted as he and Egon both fired their proton streams at the man standing over me.
Death spun around and flinched as the streams struck him. He swung his arm and sent out a psychokinetic pulse that knocked Egon and Ray against the ruined computer system behind them. Death must have made himself visible then because both of the Ghostbusters seemed dumbstruck as he advanced on them. He reached down and grabbed them both up and slammed them against the machine.
"You insolent men think you can stop me?" He growled.
Ray's eyes were full of terror as he struggled to break Death's grip. His proton pack hit the floor with a dull thud and he kicked wildly as Death glanced down at the fallen pack. Of course Death was able to react quickly and phase through Ray's kicks. Egon just glared up at the man holding them, but I could see a calculating gleam in his eyes. I crawled towards them and grabbed one of the remaining proton packs at their feet. I retreated a few feet away and stood up, leaving the pack on the floor and charging it up as I held the blaster at the ready.
"No one can stop me from getting what I want." Death growled. His hands started to radiate with a red glow and I hurriedly flipped the switch to fire. The blast slammed into Death's back and both Ray and Egon slumped to the ground, coughing as the air finally reached their lungs.
"Melanie…run!" Egon shouted.
Death whipped around and I dropped the proton pack's handle and fled towards the stairs. I managed to run halfway down and then he was upon me. I fell to the firehouse ground floor as he sent a flash of power towards me. I scrambled to my feet as he teleported to my side for an agonizing blow to my side.
He stopped over me for a moment as if he was listening to something. I watched as he slowly turned his head and looked towards the basement. Confused, I looked in the same direction. He turned back to me and smirked knowingly. He shoved me aside and made his way towards the steps leading down to the basement.
"He can't get to the containment unit!" Ray shouted. He and Egon both rushed down the stairs after him. Death didn't even look behind him as he gestured his hand to the side and I heard a high pitched shrieking noise behind me. The Ecto-1 skidded across the floor of the garage and bumped into the foot of the staircase, nearly hitting the two Ghostbusters as they reached the final few steps. Metal screamed and I could see a pang of hurt hit Ray's eyes as his car slammed into the wall, denting a good amount of the front hood and bumper. He was instantly furious.
"HEY! Get back here! We're not finished with you yet!" He yelled. Death ignored them and disappeared out of sight down the basement stairs.
"He's going to do it…" I said in disbelief.
"…what?" Egon called from across the room. His voice sounded strained and when 1 turned back to them, I could see that they were struggling to get past the car.
"He's going to release the ghosts…that is what's in the containment unit, isn't it?" I asked. Egon and Ray exchanged a glance and I took that as a yes.
I turned and ran down the basement stairs after Death, hoping that I could get down there in time.
"Melanie, get back here!" Egon shouted after me. I ignored him. If Death was able to reach the containment unit before one of us did…and he released all of the ghosts that the Ghostbusters had captured…that wouldn't be good.
I reached the bottom of the basement stairs and stopped at the sight that waited for me.
Death stood in front of the bright red containment unit, eyes closed. His hands were outstretched and I could feel him drinking in the power that radiated off of the other ghosts in the system.
I crept across the room and shoved my way between the containment unit and Death. After a few seconds his eyes opened in confusion and then he found me. He considered me thoughtfully for a moment and then smiled wearily.
"Even alive you have such a strong aura, Melanie. Compared to the others trapped in this prison here, you outshine them all." He shook his head. "Why is that?"
"Because I still have my heart. And you're not taking it from me." I said fiercely. Death scoffed.
"I don't have to. I've found something of equal value." He nodded behind me. "If I get my hands on those lost souls in there, my dwindling army could resurface and the city would be mine. And once everyone in the city is dead…well then the only thing to do then is to send my army around the world. Then there will be nothing but death here. And your Ghostbusters would be the first to go."
"I won't let that happen." I growled. His eyes twinkled.
"You can't stop me! You've tried and only delayed me. You think you actually convinced me that you would keep a promise that would hurt your loved ones? I knew you would betray me…again. I just wanted to see your story play out so that I could build you up to tear you down even harder. And it's going to feel so nice to see you as one of my army…"
He reached towards me and I felt a cold pull in my chest where he was barely touching me. I gasped for breath but refused to step away from the containment unit. I clenched my fists as the cold slowly spread through my chest and to my shoulders. I squeezed my eyes shut as the cold spread up my neck, leaving a coppery taste in my mouth. I whimpered in fear as I knew that I would collapse at any second.
"Melanie!" Egon cried. I heard a proton pack being fired and I opened my eyes to see Death deflect the energy from himself. Death growled and then tossed me into the wall. I felt the cold of the basement cinderblock walls and I was out cold before I even hit the floor.