When Boogieman returns, it spells out disaster for the future of the EGBs.
Night Terrors
by Becky Sue (aka DrSpenglersWoman)
Not a death fic! (Trust me.)
Prolouge: Once Upon a Time...
1963
No one would hear a little boy's cry in the night--except his mother, who heard every cry, every night. She wanted to go to him so desperately, but she knew her husband was right. Egon had to learn it was only his imagination conjuring up monsters in the closet. A brilliant boy, but a boy nonetheless, he was terrified of the Boogieman. Katherine Spengler cried every night too, every time her son's fears overwhelmed him, and she hoped the phase would pass soon. Unfortunately, the phase had lasted since he was five. Her husband had allowed her to coddle him at first, but this year, he'd claimed the "nonsense" had gone on too long.
1986
At last, Egon was free. The Boogieman's reign of terror was over, and Egon had seen to it personally. Children everywhere could sleep easy, without ever having to worry about him frightening them again. Or not having their parents believe them.
1989
Boogie was back, but Egon, with his friends' help, had handled him again. The creature was locked away, never to harm humanity again. Egon knew the return was his fault. But he had put an end to what he'd started, and that was all that mattered, right? No child would ever have to worry about the Boogieman in their closet, ever again, for real this time. As for the monsters under the bed...that was what the Ghostbusters were there for.
Chapter I:
2003
Dr. Egon Spengler loved his work. He loved it even more now that he was able to do it again. The ten years that Ghostbusters, Inc, had been shut down had been the longest of his life. Now, though they'd adopted the "Extreme Ghostbusters" name, thanks to Garrett Miller, the Busters were back, and had been for a few years. Life was good. Egon still missed Peter, Winston, and Ray, but it was something he could cope with now, as compared to the terrible lonely years of an empty firehouse. With four college students occupying the firehouse nearly every day and most nights, how could he be lonely? And Janine...she was back, too. It would have been impossible to find another secretary with the special traits Janine brought to the job. And maybe she could be more than a co-worker someday...
Egon was near the radio, wanting to call Kylie, Eduardo, Garrett, and Roland in the field. He'd gotten a vital bit of information about their latest bust and was eager to share it. He stopped cold as he heard the shrieking klaxons that signaled a potential containment breach. The radio forgotten, Egon raced downstairs. A scene from his nightmares met his eyes.
The containment was, impossibly, cracked, the way it had to let Stay Puft out once, long ago, when Egon's uncle had been fooling with the system. But...no one had fooled with the system. And it couldn't have been Stay Puft the containment let out. Oh, no. It was...the Boogieman.
"Hello, Egon," the creature practically purred. "Remember me?"
Egon snatched the nearest proton pack. "As if I could forget. But I put you away before and I'll do it now."
"Not without your friends, you won't." He turned one cloven hoof away, then apparently reconsidered the action. After fidgeting, he surprised Egon with his speed in dismantling the containment's security system...which should have been impossible. But it wasn't.
Egon hurried forward, forgetting his childhood menace in favor of trying to reclose the unit. If it breached, not only would it let a number of dangerous paranormal creatures loose, it would cause an explosion. He couldn't...no...too late, too late, always too late, Boogieman always won...
There was a burst of sound and light, and everything abruptly went black.
The Extreme Ghostbusters were blocks from the firehouse when the ground beneath them shook, rattling Ecto-1's windows...as well as everything else in the vicinity.
"What the hell was that?" Eduardo snapped.
"An explosion," Garrett said, looking at the billowing cloud of smoke.
"No joke, Sherlock."
Kylie stared at the beam of light at the center of the smoke. Right direction. It was almost as if... "No!" She tried to deny it with everything in her. "Nonononononono...not the containment!"
Roland understood. He put the pedal to the metal, literally, rocketing the old car through the remaining streets...to what had once been a firehouse on the corner of Mott and Pell. It was rubble now.
And Egon and Janine had probably been inside.
To be continued...