Hey guys! I'm going to be going on a Mission Trip with my church this next week so I made myself sit down and type another few pages of this story. I might get a chance to post another chapter before I leave, but don't hate me if I don't. I'm getting really close to the end now, which makes me kind of sad but I'm sure you guys are just reading this, hoping I'll hurry and wind things up. I promise you, I am! I've already got some ideas for another story after this one... ;)

As always, please review this! I love hearing from you!

"No!" Ray cried out, his voice choked. His eyes were wide in shock and he fell to his knees as he realized with a wrenching sob that he had just lost his closest friend.

"Not Egon…" Winston added. He shook his head in disbelief. Peter said nothing, he only stared at the spot where Egon had went over the edge.

"You three will soon join him." Death said as another crash of thunder sounded from above the heartbroken Ghostbusters. Ray glanced over his shoulder to see that Death had appeared right behind them.

"And then what are you gonna do? Just…wipe out the city?" Winston asked, stepping towards the man. Death blinked and studied Winston as if he were stupid.

"No. Why would I stop with this microscopic excuse of a city? Try thinking more along the lines of…the world." Death grinned as another crash of thunder shook the building.

The three Ghostbusters just stared blandly up at him. After a moment, Death's shoulders slumped and his red eyes glanced around in confusion.

"Why aren't you afraid?" His intimidating voice cracked a little. Ray glanced at Peter who scoffed and stepped forward.

"We hear these type of threats all of the time. Yet no one is ever able to hold out against the four of us…" Peter trailed off catching his mistake, his eyes darting quickly to where Egon had unintentionally leapt to his death. "Ah…three now, but you get the point."

Death growled and raised his hand to send a pulse of burning energy toward the three men. Peter's cocky smile faded only slightly as he reached up for his particle thrower. Ray beat him to it. He drew his own and fired straight at the leering demon in front of Peter.

Death yanked his hand back in pain and looked at Ray with genuine surprise. Ray's face was a mask, void of emotion. Death stepped over to him and at the slight movement, Ray fired again.

"Your anger will not help you, Dr. Stantz." Death said lowly. Thunder shook the building and Ray stumbled back, firing another high energy proton stream at Death who dodged it. The stream blasted into the corner of the building's roof, causing a huge chunk of the structure to fall to the street below.

"Hey!" Winston called before Death could hurt Ray any further. The man was already on the ground, knocked out for the moment. Death looked annoyed as he glanced at Winston who was standing his ground with his proton gun at the ready. Death crossed his arms with an amused look on his face.

"And I'm supposed to be afraid of you?" He asked. Winston seemed to shuffle a little closer, his thumb hovering over the button on his neutrino wand.

"No, but you might want to take a look behind you."

Death frowned and then whirled around to see that Peter had found one of the slime blowers in the lab below them. It was cracked and slime dripped in a trail from the door but Peter still held it with a threatening stance. Death's eyes flashed in irritation as he stood in front of the man who once more had his cocky smirk on his face.

"Winston…if you would please…" Peter said dramatically. Death glanced over his shoulder as Winston readjusted his neutrino wand and fired. Death's focus was on evading the stream and he didn't realize that he'd left himself vulnerable to Peter and his slime blower. Death was blasted with a gooey spray of positively charged slime. Death grimaced and held his arms out, looking down at the slime that covered him head to toe.

"You…idiots! You've ruined my best suit!" Death howled.

"Well, it was worth a try, anyway." Peter muttered as he quickly tried to unfasten the slime blower from his back.

Death lunged towards Peter who dove out of the way, the heavy slime blaster weighing him down and preventing him from going too far. Winston fired his proton stream at the demon who screamed in agony and whirled on the last standing Ghostbuster.

"Ray…Peter…I might need a little help…" Winston said, charging up his wand once more and firing. Peter struggled on the ground to shake out of the heavy slime blower and then crawled to reach Ray who was finally stirring awake.

"Come on Ray, you're alright, aren't ya?" Peter asked, glancing up as Winston fired at Death point blank and sent him flying back towards the edge of the building. Ray shook his head.

"Venkman…I can't…did you see what he did to Egon?" He groaned, his face streaked with tears. Peter's heart wrenched as he watched one of the strongest men on the team falling apart in front of his eyes. His eyes fell upon the large purple bruise on Ray's cheek where Melanie had slapped him. He smirked and knew he had to get his friend to snap out of his grief.

"Of course I saw what happened to Egon. You don't want it to happen to anyone else, do you?" Peter said. Ray was silent as he stared at the rain falling on the ground around him. Peter shook his head and clenched his hand into a fist.

"OW!" Ray cried out as Peter's punch collided with his face, in the exact same spot where Melanie had hit him. Ray's eyes cleared and were instantly replaced with anger. He glared at Peter for a moment who smiled in relief.

"Hey guys! The fight's over here!" Winston called. Ray jumped to his feet and ran over to help, followed by Peter who grabbed his proton pack and threw it over his shoulder.

"Pin him down!" Ray called. He aimed for Death's left arm as the demon tried to climb to his feet. Death was pulled to the ground as his left arm was encased in Ray's proton stream. Winston aimed at his right arm and after a few seconds managed to get a hold of it as well. Peter stepped forward and charged up his neutrino wand, a weary smile on his face.

"For Egon." He said as he fired his proton stream, wrapping it around Death's waist. Death cried out in anger as the evil ghosts all flew up around him, flying wildly as their master was unable to move.

Suddenly a loud shout sounded from the side of the building. Peter glanced at Ray, who was the closest to the edge of the building. When Ray stepped a little to the side to glance over the edge, he suddenly ducked as something whooshed up past his face.

"Ray! Get back up! We've almost got him!" Peter yelled. He was instantly silenced when a huge red flash of light flew up from the side of the building and then Egon was there. He collided with the ground and he cried out as he rolled to a stop near the other three Ghostbusters.

Egon lay still for a moment, attempting to catch his breath and then he whirled around as Winston and Ray both ran to his side. Peter still had a strong stream around Death who seemed to be equally interested at Egon's survival.

"How…?" Death choked out, but then he got his answer. A bright red glow was shining to his left where Egon had been tossed back up to the rooftop. Ray, Winston and Egon all stared in amazement while Peter still held tightly to his particle thrower.

"Melanie." Egon breathed.

It looked like Melanie, but in some ways it didn't. The ghost girl in front of them was radiating a blazing red color, her hair billowing in waves of dark curls around her face. She still wore Dana's black formal party dress but it was torn in several places and floating around her in the supernatural breeze. All traces of emotion were gone out of her eyes, replaced with a glowing fiery color. She floated over the Ghostbusters, the pouring rain falling straight through her.

"Woah Ghost girl…new look?" Peter said. He threw a glance over his shoulder at Ray who was gawking up at Melanie in confusion. "Is this how she normally looks or am I missing something?"

"Something's wrong." Egon confirmed. Death smiled.

"My sweet Melanie…you will help me." Death purred.

Melanie's red eyes darted towards him and she threw her hand out towards Peter who instantly went flying away from Death, his proton stream cutting off sharply. Death's voice erupted into laughter as he rubbed his wrists and straightened his slime covered suit.

"Now, gentlemen…this is how things are going to run from now on. You will either stay out of my way…or you'll have to answer to her." Death gestured to where Melanie hovered next to him. Her eyes stared unblinkingly at the four men in front of her. The four Ghostbusters looked at her in confusion as Death whirled around and sent his army of red ghosts flying through the night, swarming over the city.

"Hey!" Peter yelled as he rushed towards Death's turned back. Melanie teleported in his path and shoved him to the ground once more.

"Venkman!" Egon called as Peter rolled on the hard rooftop. Egon ran to him, followed by Ray who was still in shock at the chaos going on around him.

"I…I thought she was on our side?" Peter hissed as he shifted the pack on his back. Ray shook his head.

"This isn't her at all. He's done something to her." Ray said. Egon was still staring up at Melanie with a heart wrenching look on his face. Ray looked at his friend warily.

"What did I tell you?" Death grinned down at the four men with a twinge of humor in his glowing eyes. Melanie's mouth twitched to the side in a smirk, daring them to make another move.

"What do we do?" Winston asked, moving slowly to the other Ghostbusters. Peter eyed Death who had turned around to watch the flashes of red trailing through the sky.

"We can't just sit here while he sends his goons throughout the city. It's still early morning, but people will be heading out to work in the next little bit and when they do…"

"Death will be waiting for them." Ray murmured. Peter nodded as Ray finished his sentence. Peter took his offered hand and stood again, sensing that Melanie was watching their every move while Death's back was turned. Sure enough when he had climbed to his feet, her fiery red eyes bore straight through him.

"Keep a good eye on those troublemakers, Melanie. I'm almost finished." Death said as he raised his arms to a rumble of thunder and several crashes of lightning struck the rooftops of nearly every building in the city. All of the lights in the surrounding buildings blinked out and there was a moment of silence as the city was bathed in darkness.

"That can't be good." Winston said as he looked around worriedly. His hand reached up for his wand but a strong force shoved his hand away. He looked up at Melanie who had her gaze trained on him.

"I don't think that's the best idea, Winston." Ray warned. Melanie's eyes flew to him suspiciously.

"Venkman." Egon mumbled. Peter half glanced at him, realizing that Egon was attempting to be discrete. Melanie's gaze was locked between Winston and Ray who both were slowly trying to creep closer towards her.

"Yeah?" Peter said, shaking the rain out of his hair.

"I think we need to follow the same pattern we had when we were fighting Death before. We need to distract her. Between three of us, I think we can disable her enough to allow one of us to reach Death." Egon said, looking at Melanie who had shoved Winston back a safe distance away from her. Ray instantly jerked back, afraid she would send a pulse of energy towards him.

"You don't think he'll just turn around and throw you off the building again?" Peter asked. Egon slightly shook his head.

"No. He's too absorbed in his work. That's why he's got Melanie keeping us away." Egon said.

Peter took a moment to watch Death who was floating on the very edge of the roof unmoving with his arms spread wide, his hands glowing with red hot fire. Ghosts swirled towards him now, spinning dizzily into what looked like the beginnings of a portal.

"But we've got to move quickly. If he opens that portal…it's going to be really hard to close it." Egon said, studying the swirling red light, wishing that he had his trusty P.K.E. meter with him. His heart sunk briefly as he recalled all of his ruined equipment, but then he was jerked back to reality once more as Melanie's glowing red eyes landed on him.

"Go! I'll tell Ray and Winston!" Peter yelled as he fired at Melanie and ran towards the other two Ghostbusters. Melanie instantly flew into action, blasting Peter to the ground and then whirling around angrily as Egon tried to sneak past her.

"Over here!" Ray called, shooting a proton stream at her back. She screamed and then teleported away. Ray's eyes widened and he just barely had time to turn around as she appeared behind him and grabbed the wand from his grasp. He froze as she used her telekinesis to point the particle thrower towards him and then he quickly tried to shrug out of the straps of the pack.

"Ray, duck!" Winston shouted.

Ray did as he was told as another proton stream shot towards Melanie. She cried out in anger and the wand clattered to the ground in front of Ray's face as she disappeared in a flash of shadows. Ray sighed in relief and rolled over to grab the particle thrower before readjusting the pack on his back and getting back up.

"Easy now Melanie…" Winston said, backing away as she slowly advanced on him.

"Right behind ya, Ghost girl!" Peter called. Her eyes flashed and she whirled around to see that Peter was aiming his proton gun at her as well.

"Okay guys…" Ray said. Melanie's face fell as she realized that she was pinned in between the three Ghostbusters. She spun around, staring at each of them trying to keep her stern gaze.

"Sorry, sweetheart…but we've got work to do." Peter said as he fired his proton stream at her.

Melanie closed her eyes in surrender. But before the stream could touch her, time seemed to slow. His proton stream barely reached a foot from her before sputtering out with a zap of electricity. Peter glanced down at his neutrino wand confusedly and pressed the button again but it was disabled. Ray and Winston both tried to fire theirs when they realized that Peter was having no luck. Their proton packs were unresponsive.

"Uh…Ray?" Peter said. Ray shook his head, equally confused.

As one, the three Ghostbusters looked up at Melanie who still floated above them in their tight circle. Red light pulsed around her, almost as intense as the glow coming from the portal Death was summoning. Her hands clenched into claws and two glowing spheres of flaming energy morphed in her palms. Her eyes flew open and she glared daringly down at the three Ghostbusters as a flash of lightning lit up the rooftop.

The sound of a proton stream charging through the air broke the thundering silence. Melanie looked away from Ray, Peter and Winston and her anger grew even more intense, the flames in her hands glowing brighter.

Egon had reached Death and as his proton stream collided with the demon, the portal stopped moving. Death collapsed and crouched low to the building's roof trying to recover from the blast. Egon hesitantly stepped forward, his neutrino wand aimed at the motionless Death. Then Death's head raised towards Egon, his eyes burning. Though he was down, his expression was still glowing with amusement.

"It's over." Egon said. He pressed the button and fired a stream at Death's smiling face.

"Melanie, no!"

Ray's voice echoed as another crash of thunder sounded and Egon was shoved off of his feet. He saw a flash of red and then his chest was burning with an electric white-hot pain. As he hit the ground he could hear Peter screaming with rage. Egon landed on his proton pack, feeling his back slam against it painfully. He rolled over, feeling something in his back grate together. He grimaced, biting back a cry of agony and then looked up to see Melanie standing over him. Her hand was poised to throw another of the burning energy spheres.

"M-Melanie…" He groaned. Her red eyes glared down at him and the fire in her hand glowed brighter.

"Egon! It's alright, we're here…" Ray said as he knelt at his friend's side, removing the damaged pack carefully. Winston took the pack and set it aside gently as he and Peter both crouched next to their colleague.

"Melanie…if you can h-hear me…you have to stop. You're letting him win." Egon said.

"Finish it!" Death erupted from in front of the portal. Melanie's eyes flickered to where he stood and her gaze rested on him for a moment. She looked back down at Egon and the ball of flame burned even more severely in her palm.

"Egon, she's not-" Peter started, but Egon grabbed his sleeve.

"If you don't remember us…then why did you save me?" Egon asked forcefully.

Melanie's red eyes flashed to a bright shade of violet as she paused, glaring down at him. Egon lay on the ground, his back throbbing and his chest burning as he waited for her to reply.

Ray glanced at Peter who was staring at Melanie hopefully as well. Winston met Ray's worried gaze and they both looked up at the girl who still floated towards them.

Melanie's eyes blazed as she lifted the ball of energy, and threw it.