Hey everyone! I figured, since it's the first day of October, my favorite month of the year, I needed to update. So here's the next chapter! My brother has been sneaking into my room and adding on to where I've stopped and I'm actually saving it to another document to entertain him. It's actually pretty funny, so I might end up tagging that on to the end when I'm finished with this story if you all would be interested.
For anyone who doesn't know, I mention the Dark Matter Generator in this chapter. In the Ghostbusters Wii game that I've played almost three times through now, one of my favorite weapons on the proton pack is the Shock Blast which sends out a burst of Dark Matter particles to attack the ghosts. It's pretty cool. Just wanted to put a disclaimer on here that I wasn't the one who made that up. :)
Hope you enjoy!
"Stop, stop! I…I can't do this!" Keira cried out suddenly as she sat upright and pulled off the rubber spots from the sides of her forehead. Ray and Egon both turned to look at her quizzically.
"What's wrong?" Ray asked. Keira stared worriedly at the desk where Egon was hooking up a smaller version of proton pack.
"This is our modified version of the Dark Matter Generator…it's not harmful to you, Keira. Just the ghost." Egon explained as he turned around with the small thrower. Keira's eyes followed the movements his hands made as he powered up the thrower. A distinct hum flooded through the room and the girl's posture immediately straightened as she slid along the couch out of the path of the thrower.
"Hang on, Spengler…" Ray said as he narrowed his eyes at Keira's sudden change of actions. He leaned forward and placed his hand under her chin, tilting her face up towards his. She flinched at his touch but unwillingly met his gaze.
"…What is it?" Keira asked hesitantly as Ray stared at her. Ray quickly backed away a few steps and murmured something that she couldn't hear to the other Ghostbuster.
"…worth a try." Egon said back to him. Keira shook her head and started to get up from the couch as the two of them turned back to her. Ray moved back towards her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.
"Easy there, Lucille." He said. She looked up at him sharply, her eyes wide. She stared unblinkingly at him as he smiled knowingly.
"What-"
"Yeah, we know it's you. Sorry we haven't all been properly introduced. I'm Ray Stantz and this is-"
"I don't care!" She blurted out angrily. She placed her left hand on the arm of the couch, edging away from the two Ghostbusters. She attempted to push herself to her feet with the strength of her left hand but winced as the pain of Keira's fatal cut hit her.
Ray knelt next to her and gently took her arm to examine it. She withdrew from his grasp hurriedly, a pained gasp escaping her. He looked surprised as she jerked her arm away from him.
"You can feel her pain?" He asked, intrigued. The ghost's green eyes flashed angrily at him in response.
"Which most likely means that wherever Keira was sent to, she can also feel the pain from the ghost's memory…" Egon said thoughtfully. Lucille flicked her gaze to him, with panic in her eyes.
"How much has she told you?" She muttered, not really directing the question towards the two Ghostbusters. Her gaze darted around the room thoughtfully as Ray glanced confusedly at Egon.
That split second was all it took for Lucille to leap to her feet and dash past Ray and Egon on her way for the door. Clutching her pained left wrist to her chest, she nearly knocked over the abandoned vase on the edge of the counter as she ran for it.
Suddenly a loud bang sounded in front of her and she was thrown back across the room towards the Ghostbusters. She flinched as spots swam across her vision and whirled around to see that Ray and Egon both wore amused expressions on their faces. Egon lowered the thrower from where he had fired it towards the ghost.
"He didn't have to miss, you know." Ray said as he crossed the room and offered her his hand to help her stand. Lucille stared at his hand for a long moment before struggling to her feet on her own, ignoring his help.
"You're both insane." She muttered as she glared at the two Ghostbusters. Egon shrugged as he set the thrower on the table next to the rest of the pack.
"You kinda have to be when you're in this business." Ray admitted nonchalantly. He stared at Lucille expectantly. "Now are you gonna listen to us and help us figure out this mess or are we gonna spend the rest of the evening trying to chase you down again?"
Lucille growled under her breath as Ray gently took her uninjured arm and led her back to the couch across the room. When she had unwillingly settled back down in her place in front of the Ghostbusters, she spent several long seconds glaring back and forth between them in silence.
"You wanna tell us what you're doing here?" Ray asked after enduring the ghost's stubborn silence for a few moments. She simply continued to glare defiantly at him as he hesitantly motioned for Egon to power up the thrower for the dark matter generator again. As the other man turned slightly to reach for the device, Lucille straightened up and grimaced.
"I don't have to tell you anything. She's already done it for me, I'll bet." She grumbled.
"I think it'd be wiser if you were to tell us what you want. We're obviously not going to let you get anywhere with your plan until we're sure that Keira is safe." Egon stated. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Why would that matter? It's not like you can-" She said sharply but she instantly went silent as Egon reflexively reached for the thrower. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You're scared." Ray noted as she tried to keep up her defiant stance. She glared at him.
"So your name is Lucille…" Egon pressed her.
"…and because of your ignorance and hunger for fame, I was left to die in that alley those years ago." She said, her voice cold.
"…What are you talking about?" Ray asked glancing confusedly at Egon. Egon leaned closer towards Lucille, his interest peaking.
"Keira did mention something about you seeing our car drive by as you died…would you care to elaborate on that?" He asked. Her green eyes widened in her growing anger.
"Elaborate? You want me to elaborate? Okay…as I was bleeding out in that alley those years ago, my fiancé pacing over me like he didn't know what to do, I did see the flashing lights on top of your car. Thinking it was an ambulance, I thought I was going to be alright. But then that awful siren on top of it let me know that, though it was help, it was the help that would come after I was already dead. You catch the ghosts of those who have died, the ones who could have been helped if idiots like you had paused long enough to realize it. I don't want your type of help now." She said coldly.
Ray and Egon studied the girl in front of them, watching as she smirked mockingly up at the two dumbfounded Ghostbusters.
"Have I elaborated enough, Dr. Spengler?" She said sourly. Egon's grip on the shock thrower loosened slightly as he processed what she had thrown at them. Ray blinked several times before breaking the silence.
"I'm…sorry about what happened to you, Lucille. I realize that you're upset…confused, even. But that's no reason to take it out on this poor girl that you've possessed. Maybe we can figure out some way to help you cross over or something…you just need to let Keira go." Ray said gently. The ghost's green eyes softened a bit as she regarded his sincerity.
"If I do that, how can I be sure you won't go back on your word? You are Ghostbusters after all and I am a ghost." She said smartly.
"As long as you cooperate with us, we'll try to help you in any reasonable way that we can. We just need to ensure that Keira's safe." Ray said. Egon flashed him a questioning glance and then nodded in agreement as Lucille caught his eye. She narrowed her bright green gaze as she studied the two Ghostbusters.
"She's safe…for now. I'm able to bring her back each time before she actually goes through the full process of my dying in the past." She said.
"That's…very thoughtful of you…" Ray said slowly. Lucille smirked at him.
"I'm feeling a little merciful today. If you'll listen to me for just a few more minutes, you'll have your Keira back."
"Alright?" Egon said warily. He and Ray exchanged hesitant glances before turning back to the ghost.
"I want to see my fiancé again. I think…I think that once I'm able to make peace with him…I can move on." Lucille said slowly. Egon frowned to himself and looked at Ray. The other man was studying the possessed woman with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Okay…so how can we set that up?" Ray asked. Lucille smiled at him wearily as she leaned back into the couch nonchalantly.
"I've already set things into motion. He should come looking for me soon and when he does…" Lucille's eyes widened and she suddenly slumped over the arm of the couch.
"Hey-!" Ray exclaimed as he dove forward. The girl's eyes slowly opened after a moment, revealing their pale blue color. "Keira?"
Keira slowly sat up, careful not to put too much pressure on her left arm. She hesitantly raised a hand to her face and rubbed the spot on the side of her temple where a headache was forming.
"What happened?" She asked, sounding slightly shaken.
"We got her to talk to us. She told us that all she wants is to meet with her fiancé. She's not trying to hurt you." Ray said reassuringly.
"She wants to meet with John? Is…is he even still around here anymore?" Keira asked confusedly.
"She told us she's 'already set things into motion.' I'm not sure what exactly that meant, but we'll keep an eye on her from now on." Egon said, turning back to his desk. Keira's eyes widened in dismay.
"No…no…you're saying that I have to go through with this even longer?! I…I thought you were going to help me!" She exclaimed. Ray moved to sit on the couch next to her.
"Listen…we are trying to help you. We're just trying to see if we can help this ghost with her unfinished business so that hopefully she'll go away on her own. If not, we'll have to do it the hard way." Ray said gently. She shook her head.
"No, you don't understand! She won't go away on her own…" Keira grasped the sleeve of Ray's shirt. "She's been doing little things so far, but what if things get worse?"
Ray gently took a strand of her newly-colored dark hair in his hand as she stared worriedly up at him.
"Hey! Ray, Egon? You guys still up there?"
Ray looked away from Keira's pleading eyes as the voice carried up from the first floor. Egon stood up from his desk and crossed the room to the stairs and called back down to Janine that they were still there.
"Well, there's a Mr. John Bennett here wanting to talk to someone." Janine called. Egon glanced back at Ray who raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Think it's him?" Egon asked. Keira reluctantly shrugged in answer as Egon gestured for Ray to follow him downstairs.
"I think we're getting somewhere." Ray said lightheartedly as he slowly stood up so as not to disturb Keira where she sat huddled against the arm of the couch. She watched in dismay as the two Ghostbusters headed down to meet who she presumed was Lucille's killer.