"Hmm, so this is it, isn't it?"
Back at the Ghostbusters' station, the men were asking Dr. Selwin various questions about what had happened with the previous events, while Eve was showing Egon the strange cube they received from Master Yen Sid, the Ghostbuster doing some preliminary tests with his equipment on the object.
"Yes, that's it. He told us that this cube would help us determine how to access the Fallen's world, but I haven't figured out how." Eve answered Egon.
"Well, I guess I could make more tests on this artifact, provided we have time." Egon said.
"Understood."
"Kairi, can we talk?" Edea called Kairi.
Nodding, Kairi followed Edea to Rena. "What's the matter?"
"I don't want to alarm you, but I believe that someone is watching us." Edea said.
"Watching? Like, spying on us?" Kairi asked, surprised.
"Yes." Rena replied. "You see, while we were preparing to try to catch Mr. Marshmallow, Eve detected a strange signal coming from the building. According to her, said signal seemed to get lost outside this world."
"What we are trying to say is that we should be cautious. Whoever it is, it's watching us."
Kairi was thoughtful, getting to observe everyone present, including Makoto who at that moment was confused by a toaster that seemed to move on its own.
"Tell Eve to try to find out what that sign was, and to keep an eye out if it appears again." Kairi suggested, Rena and Edea nodding.
Then Kairi and the others focused on the conversation with Ilyssa.
"So, you know so much about Gozer because…?" Winston commented.
"Because I am a specialist in ancient Mesopotamian cultures and architecture." Ilyssa replied. "Sumerian, primarily. gozerian, more specifically. I'm here as a guest curator for the Gozerian exhibit that's opening tomorrow at the Natural History Museum.
"You are aware that we also have some… history with Gozer." Egon commented.
"Yes, of course."
"Gozer was a bush-leaguer before he met us." Ray commented. "A strictly farm-team deity! We put him on the map!"
"You can say what you want, but I doubt he was all that." Nina commented. "We were lucky to get out alive."
"But our getting stiffed on invites to opening night... just an oversight, right?" Peter asked.
"I didn't see you as interested in museums, Venkman." Priere said.
"Well, at events like this, there are often big shots and potential customers, including potential sponsors. But no invitations…" Peter said.
"I don't have anything to do with that." Ilyssa said.
"That, ladies and gentlemen, was all me!" Suddenly a man coming up the stairs said. "And I can assure you, it was not an oversight!"
"Oh, by the way, you have visitors." Janine said casually behind the man.
"Thanks Janine. You're a first class lookout." Peter said sarcastically.
"And who is he?" Edea asked.
"Walter Peck." Peter said, addressing the man. "I did not recognize you without the Mayor's backside attached to your nose."
Anybody could tell there was some animosity between Peter and Mr. Peck, although he apparently had problems with the Ghostbusters themselves, noticing how he was about to say something nasty to Peter.
"Okay…everyone put it back in their skivvies!" The mayor appeared behind Walter walking beside him, ending the argument with a laugh.
"Great. Just who we needed here…" Priere commented.
Soon the mayor turned to Ilyssa. "Apologies, uh, Dr. Selwyn. Are you alright?"
"I think so, but... I'm worried about the exhibit." Dr. Selwin answered.
"Are you kidding?! You can't buy publicity like this!" exclaimed the mayor. "The guest curator of the Gozer Exhibit… the expert Peck recommended… is attacked the night before the opening by Gozer himself?!" So he turned to the Ghostbusters. "Please… tell me that was Gozer!"
"Seriously?" Edea asked Makoto, the latter shrugging her shoulders.
"Gozer manifested in a familiar form; one he had used before: the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man." Egon replied. "But this event was weaker than his first encounter with us."
"Ha! That's all I need. Thanks!" The mayor thanked them.
"It may be my imagination, but when we talked to him he was not as euphoric as he is now." Rena commented to Kairi.
"Well, if you're interested, it was Kairi who finished him off, finishing the threat." Edea said. "I suppose that for this service our debt is paid, right?"
"I'm afraid not, miss." The mayor said. "Even though you have done the city a great service by stopping Gozer, it doesn't quite make up for the damage to the Empire State Building. At most I can forgive you part of the debt, but not all of it."
"Mrgrgr…" Edea muttered as she turned around.
"Well, that's better than nothing." Said Kairi to calm Edea down.
"Come on Jock, what's the idea bringing…" Venkman falsely coughed. "...preck around here?" Then he looked at Walter Peck, seeing how upset he was. "Oh, have I coughed at the wrong time?"
"Listen. Here's the deal." The mayor said to Peter. "You and Peck and all of you are going to work together."
All the Ghostbusters began to make excuses for the mayor's idea, exposing what a bad idea it was. And some of the girls commented on the bad blood between Mr. Peck and the Ghostbusters and the problems it would cause.
"Look." The mayor began. "This city has given you at least a dozen contracts for the jails, courthouses and wharves. You guys want to grow your business. Get some county and state work too. I'm all for it. You've been big supporters, and great for my campaign."
"Well, some have said our endorsement is what got you elected." Ray said.
"That explains a few things." Edea commented.
"But not out loud." The mayor replied. "Anyway, after all the damage you've been causing lately, the city council wants you under close supervision for a period of no less than six months!"
"We file reports on time." Venkman said. "There's no need for extra supervision."
Then the mayor laughed. "Funny guy, Venkman! You've always been my favorite."
"Well, he'll be the only one." Priere commented quietly.
The mayor continued. "Well, that's where your old friend Peck comes in. He's annoying, a stickler for the rules. In other words, the perfect 'Peck' for the job. He's our new head of P-COC!"
"P-COC?" Ray, Makoto, and Kairi asked at the same time.
"P-C-O-C: Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission." Mr. Peck said. "And my first official act is going to be suspending your clown's operating license."
"Hey, what about us?!" Priere asked. "We are here for social services."
"Well, that's over, because you will all go to jail for damage to public and private property." Walter said. "Since you are here, you are endangering the city with your actions. And that will end today."
"Hey hey hey. Don't you think it's possible to find a solution to this problem?" Edea asked, trying to reason with Peck.
"Sorry but there's no other solution." Walter said flatly.
Then the mayor interrupted him. "lighten up, Peck. Launch your investigation if you have to but for now, just keep them under control and my office in the loop. But remember, if the Ghostbusters cease to exist, so does your job. So you need each other. Beautiful, in an ironic symmetrical kind of way, isn't it?"
"Well, I don't see it." Nina said.
"Neither you nor anyone else." Kairi commented.
"Hey, Mulligan. Come on…" Peter started to say to convince the mayor.
"It's Mayor Mulligan to you, Venkman." The mayor corrected Venkman. "So, we have an understanding? This kind of protects us all. You want more government business, the girls pay their debt with the city council, I want to keep my approval rating, and Peck wants his little fiefdom. You play by the rules. Easy, we all get what we want and the city council gets what they need."
Taking everyone's silence as acceptance of his plan, the mayor turned to Ilyssa. "Okay, big night tomorrow, Ilyssa! Get some rest!" Then he left the plant.
There was an awkward silence as the mayor left.
"Why do I get the feeling this is worse than it sounds?" Priere said.
"Oh, you have no idea." Winston said.
"So!" Ray said. "Now that we're all friends, can we get invites to the Museum opening?"
"Not likely. But I'll be seeing you soon. You can count on that." Walter said before leaving.
When Walter came down from the flat, Peter commented. "Doesn't Peck look exactly like the kind of guy who would 'accidentally' walk into the stream of a proton collider?"
"Hey!" The girls exclaimed… except for Priere.
"I'm just saying... it could happen."
After a while, the Ghostbusters gathered everyone in Ecto-1.
"Ray, Eve, and I have been talking..." Egon said.
"...and we think we should have a look at the museum. What happened tonight, it started there." Ray finished.
"Okay. I'll take one for the team and stay with Ilyssa." Peter said. "You guys go with Winston and the girls. I'll be her personal protection." Apparently, Ylissa wasn't a big fan of the idea.
"Edea, Eve, can you guys stay here and watch Dr. Venkman, to make sure he doesn't do something stupid?" Kairi asked.
"So this time we stay here, huh?" Edea said. "And why don't Priere and Nina? I wanted to see that museum."
"They stayed here before, remember?" Kairi said.
"Besides, with what happened, people wouldn't mind anymore seeing Nina and Priere." Rena said.
"Well, that's true." Edea said.
"What about Peck? He's supposed to be informed of everything we do." Winston said.
"What he doesn't know can't hurt us." Ray asked.
The group was in the Ecto-1 heading to the museum through the city streets when they received a call from Janine on the radio.
"Hey guys, you need to take a detour. Something big is going down. It's on 1010 WINS now."
"Tune it in." Ray said.
Turning on the car radio...
"...and another ghostly sighting has staff at the New York Public Library scrambling for answers."
"The Gray Lady." Egon commented.
"Who?" Makoto asked.
"The origin of everything." Ray replied. "Let's get her for real this time... go!"
Winston changed direction and they began to head for the library.
"Well, what about the museum?" Winston asked.
"Right, weren't we going there?" Kairi asked.
"It's been there for a hundred and four years. Where's it gonna go today?" Ray commented.
"Uh, this thing you guys have for the Gray Lady borders on the weird. You know that, right?" Winston asked.
"I am with him. It's a bit weird." Priere said.
"She made us look like schmucks. Not this time." Ray said.
"Oh, and another thing, Peck called and says I'm required to tell him where you are and what you are up to." Janine said over the radio.
"What a nuisance..." Priere commented.
"Tell him he can meet us at the Museum, We'll be there...eventually." Ray answered, just as they parked in front of a large old building, probably the library.
They all got out of the vehicle, seeing dozens of police fences surrounding the building, soon noticing all the people who were across the street behind another police fence, apparently elated to see them.
"Big crowd. Venkman would love it." Egon commented upon seeing the people.
Nina felt a little embarrassed that so many people saw her. Clearly, Priere, Rena, and Kairi didn't care about that, but Makoto seemed the most animated as she was waving to the crowd energetically.
"Captain McMahon from the 12th says there was a massive disturbance. Real fireworks show." Ray reported.
"Well, not much going on now." Rena said, looking at the library.
"Maybe. But didn't there used to be two lions out here?"
Egon made a good observation. Apparently, in front of the library, there was a statue of a lion, and from the arrangement of the platforms in front of the building, there should be TWO lions.
The group took a look at the lion as it was showing very high peaks of ectoplasmic debris detected by the detectors. And without warning the statue broke, revealing two ghosts who entered the library.
"Whoa! Double full torso animators!" Ray exclaimed. "Come on! After them!"
"You heard Stantz! Let's move." Winston said.
The group entered the library, seeing the two ghosts flying erratically through the hall.
"Couple of Class-five Animators. I've never seen them in tandem like that! They're really agitated!" Ray commented.
The group climbed the stairs to the upper floor, locating one of the ghosts.
"All right... take it easy, now." Ray said, pointing his gun at the ghost, but he quickly took off.
"Hey! He said 'take it easy'! That not 'easy.'" Winston exclaimed.
But the ghost continued to move uncontrollably, avoiding the Ghostbusters' lasers until it escaped.
"Missed! Damn!" Winston cursed.
"Sorry, Z." Ray said.
"How about a little warning next time, fellas?!" Winston asked.
"Okay, calm down everyone, okay?" Rena said.
"That one's a beast, Ray." Egon reported. "Let's chase him down. Winston, check that next doorway. See if he has any friends."
"Leave a haunted room? I got no problem with that." Winston said.
"Hey, girls. You think can handle that little fella yourselves? We'll meet you back here." Ray said.
"And how? You are the only ones with those trackers of yours." Priere said.
"Don't worry, I think I'll be able to locate him." Nina said.
While the Ghostbusters spread out to chase after the first ghost, the girls stayed in the Hall to search for the second ghost, which was tricky since it had apparently been hiding somewhere.
But Nina got the idea to use her magic to detect the ghost's presence, pointing out to Rena the approximate spot where the ectoplasmic being could hide.
But before they could react, the ghost came out of hiding, walking away from them down a nearby hallway, forcing them to chase after him.
"Stay alert." Ray called over the radio as they walked down the hall. "If you have a way to detect ghosts, use it at will. Animators can hide in anything."
"Thanks for the warning." Kairi replied.
"Hey! Ugly just shot around that corner!" Ray exclaimed over the radio at the same time the ghost they chased roared.
The group continued down the corridor until they reached the reading room, with a large number of tables and chairs around it.
"Hey gals! We're up here! To your right!" Ray exclaimed from one of the balconies that ran along the wall of the room next to Egon.
"Strong emanations. No direct source, though." Egon said as he looked at his equipment.
"We followed our guy in here and it gave us the slip." Ray said.
"Ours also gave us the slip." Kairi commented.
"Detecting a very strong anomaly here…" Egon said scanning the area.
While they were on the balcony, the girls investigated the reading room, until suddenly the furniture began to fly violently through the air.
"Uh-oh. Here comes something big!" Ray exclaimed when he saw what was happening.
"I'd rather it wasn't, thanks." Rena commented.
Suddenly the ghost they were looking for appeared to them, attracting all kinds of books on him, forming a huge book golem, similar to the one they found in the Sedgewick Hotel.
"Now that is a fine example of a Level 6 Bi-Dimensional Attractor." Egon explained.
"Oh yeah? I hadn't noticed!" Priere exclaimed.
The book golem began to run towards the girls, who separated to have more space to deal with the paranormal entity, although the creature seemed to be more focused on Kairi than anyone else, which allowed Nina and Rena to focus their attacks on it from a distance with magic and arrows.
"Egon! Did I mention what a good idea you had to come up on the balcony?" Ray asked.
"Good idea? If you don't help, I'm going to beat you down back here!" Priere threatened them.
The girls and the Ghostbusters focused on attacking the book golem who seemed to be obsessed with Kairi, forcing her to stay away from the huge animated construct so she wouldn't get crushed.
"Any ideas?" Asked Priere, who was in the business of throwing furniture at the book golem.
"All of its power is emitting from a single focal object!" Exclaimed Egon. "If we hit it, maybe we can destroy it and reveal the ghost!"
Makoto noticed the lamp that acted as the book golem's head, and lunged at it, jumping up and punching the lamp hard, sending it flying away, causing the book golem to explode. Although there was no trace of the ghost in question.
"Man. How much PK energy must take to collect and animate an entity like that? Ray asked.
"A lot. A lot of very angry energy." Egon replied.
"Too much, I would say." Nina said.
Kairi breathed heavily for a moment. "Nice punch, Makoto."
"Well, it was nothing." Squirrel Girl smiled.
"How easy was that?" Ray asked.
"Said by someone who was in a high place, safe from danger." Priere said.
"Wait." Egon interrupted. "Not so fast. I'm getting some big fluxes here."
The girls paid attention to this warning, looking around until they saw the ghost of an old woman reading a book pass in front of them.
"What the heck?" Kairi asked.
"Have you seen the same as me?" Rena asked.
"I've seen the same thing, and you?" Makoto asked.
"I think it's her." Ray commented. "Yes… yes, it is her! Eleanor Twitty, the Librarian!"
"Look! There she is! Meet us at the stairway door!" Egon warned.
Both went to the stairs that went down from the balcony, while the girls waited in the room.
"Do you think that ghost is…?" Kairi asked.
"No doubt. That must be the 'Gray Lady' they were talking about." Nina said.
"I have the feeling that this work is going to take longer than expected." Rena said.
At that moment Ray kicked open one of the room's doors.
"She went down that way!" Ray alerted, running off after.
"Winston, check upstairs to see if the other Phantom doubled back." Egon radioed Winston.
"Roger." Winston replied.
The girls followed Ray to the stairs leading down to the lower floors of the library, where they encountered the ghost.
"It's her, right?" Priere asked.
"Shhh."
However, the ghost silenced them before disappearing.
"She shushed us again. That witch!" Ray exclaimed, starting to run down the stairs.
"Seriously, a ghost shushed me?" Priere asked, perplexed.
"It seems like that." Kairi said.
Priere sighed loudly, and they all began following the ghostbusters to the lower floors, ending up in another room of the library.
"PKE's out." Egon said, scanner in hand. "And try to be quiet."
"Okay." Kairi said quietly.
"Er, guys?" Makoto warned, seeing the furniture… fly.
All the furniture in the room began to fly over the ground, hovering inertly in the air as if they were still flying.
"Oh, wow! A full stabilizing levitation!" Ray exclaimed as he saw the event before him. "I'd say we're close to something."
"Didn't they just tell us to be quiet?" Nina asked Ray.
"Ray..." Egon called out to Ray.
"You got something?"
"I got something. Right… here." Egon said, marking a specific spot in the room.
The girls also investigated the point detected by Egon, until without warning the ghost appeared on the site.
"Oh, dear!" Rena exclaimed at the sudden surprise, who was about to fire a surprise.
Shh.
The ghost silenced them again just before going in another direction.
"Ooh! She keeps shushing us!" Ray exclaimed, apparently annoyed.
"Well, if she's the ghost of a librarian, one of her duties is to shush those who talk loud." Makoto said.
They were suddenly startled when the furniture fell abruptly to the floor without warning.
"That's her!" Ray exclaimed upon being able to finally recognize the ghost. "The Gray Lady! She's the first ghost we ever hunted. Man, I wish Venkman was here."
"I'm pretty sure Venkman doesn't." Egon commented.
"The surest." Priere said.
"Easy now... she's real skittish." Ray said.
"Really?" Kairi asked.
The group began to chase after the Gray Lady, only to be forced into what seemed to be a section of the library lined with bookshelves, when without warning the lights went out for a moment.
"Great, now what?" Kairi asked.
"Wow!" Ray exclaimed. "Now listen. This place is reading like a psychic pressure cooker. Prime your thrower or whatever you use. Everybody stick close together."
Suddenly the shelves began to move on their own, blocking paths and leaving everyone isolated.
"Are you OK?" Kairi asked.
"Yes, I'm okay." Rena said. "And the others?"
"I'm fine." Makoto said. "But what can we do? We are separated!
"Priere and me can fly over the furniture, so we'll be with you soon." Nina warned.
"That's if I know where you are." Priere said.
"Certainly, you are the only ones with wings." Egon said.
"Okay, so much for 'stick together - new plan is 'fan out.'" Ray said.
"Flexible approach, Ray." Egon said.
"It's okay. Nina, go with Makoto. Priere, go with Rena. We will meet wherever we can." Kairi proposed. "We don't know if this furniture reacts to your flight, be careful.
"Okay."
"Remember, there are two hostile spirits roaming around in here." Ray warned.
"Two that we know about." Egon said.
"And let's hope there's nothing else." Rena said.
Kairi, for her part, began to wander through the corridors created by the shelves, which seemed to move at will, blocking and opening passages between them, which made it difficult to move around the place.
"Hey, are you there?" Kairi heard Makoto's voice behind a bookshelf.
"Yes I'm here. And the other ones?" Kairi asked.
"No idea, but I'm already tired of this maze. So stay away from the shelf." Makoto warned.
Kairi raised an eyebrow but did as she said. To her surprise, the bookshelf fell to the ground on her side from a blow from Makoto, as Nina watched in disbelief.
"Wow, bookshelf for the fireplace." Kairi commented seeing what Makoto had just done.
"And they tell me I'm the brute." Said Priere on the radio.
"Try not to break anything else, I don't think they'll find it very funny." Ray warned.
"Well, shall we?" Makoto asked Kairi, who nodded.
Now the three of them wandered through the corridors of shelves in the room, trying to find some route to get out of there.
"Guys, I'm in the periodical archives, looking at a stack of old newspaper clippings..." Winston began to speak into the radio. "All about some nut named Edmund Hoover; AKA, 'The Collector'."
"The Collector?" Rena asked.
"Hmm... Go on." Egon said.
"This dude has a history you should know about. He was a rare book collector who seduced Eleanor Twitty, the head librarian of this place." Winston counted.
"The Gray Lady?!" Ray asked, puzzled.
"That would be my guess." Egon said.
"Everyone has his tastes…" Makoto commented.
"I don't know, I have a bad feeling about this. Could you look up something else on this Hoover fella?" Kairi asked.
"I'm on it." Winston replied.
The three continued to wander through the gallery of bookshelves until finally managing to find a door through which to leave the room, but the adjoining rooms were also a paranormal chaos that did not stop harassing them. After a long time wandering through these corridors, the three arrived at a package collection room.
"Hey, girls. What's your 20? Ray asked. "I'm in some kind of a dark tunnel, moving fast... towards a bright light."
"Are you kidding me?" Makoto asked.
Suddenly Ray flew out of one of the holes in the conveyor belts, falling to the ground abruptly.
"I haven't said anything." Makoto commented.
Ray got up quickly. "Now where's that Class-Five Animator? I tracked the slug here!"
Ray, Kairi, Nina, and Makoto looked around for something that would indicate where said ghost could be until without warning both ghosts appeared to them.
"Here they are!" Kairi warned.
"Well, they won't escape this time!" Makoto said.
Kairi and Makoto began to attack one of the ghosts, while Nina supported Ray who was focused on the other ghost, but these ghosts were not willing to be caught easily since they were able to move the furniture and objects in the room and use them as projectiles against them.
Fortunately, Makoto's powerful punches and Nina's spells were more than enough to destroy the objects the ghosts were using, leaving Kairi and Ray free to focus on them. Although in the end, they had to focus on capturing one as Ray was the only one with a ghost trap, though luckily Nina and Makoto were able to hold off the second ghost long enough for the other to be caught.
And with the first ghost caught, the second wraith was soon lured into the trap.
"Phew. Good work. That took some doin'." Ray said as he picked up the trap.
"Yes, those two have caused us more trouble than expected." Kairi commented.
"Congratulations, Ray, uh…" Egon said, but he wanted to mention something more important. "but I'm near Special Collections with the others. Someone you've been wanting to meet again is here."
"We're on our way!" Ray confirmed.
"If that thing shushes me again, I swear I'm going to stick my staff up her-" Priere exclaimed over the radio, but Egon cut him off before he finished his sentence.
"I still don't think we have to go through the entire building to look for that ghost." Makoto commented.
"Yeah, neither do I." Kairi said.
Ray and the girls left the room, going through several corridors of the building until they reached another section with bookshelves, all keeping an eye out for any more ghosts, but several heavy footsteps caught their attention, and they peeked around a corner.
"Just what we needed." Kairi cursed, spotting a Fallen on patrol. "A Sentinel."
"I don't think so. It seems different." Nina commented.
The Fallen evidently resembled a Sentinel, but his coloration was more blue than red, and despite having an equally huge shield, he carried a huge sword on his arm instead of the Sentinel's huge cannon(Guardian). This Fallen was apparently patrolling the area back and forth between bookshelves.
"Wow, I've never seen one like this." Ray said. "Maybe a few from the red variant, but never a blue one."
"Shut up, you're going to discover us!" Kairi exclaimed under her breath.
"Well, now that?" Makoto asked. "I highly doubt that thing would go down easily in a fight, especially in this tight space. And I highly doubt the trap will work with that."
"I think I can handle this, but I need you all to be quiet. No exception." Kairi said, looking at Ray more than anyone else.
When he nodded, Kairi began to walk slowly to the shelves where the Guardian did not pass, and after hiding she closed her eyes focusing her magic, immediately changing to her Diabolos Form. Nina was quick enough to put her hands over the mouths of Ray and Makoto, who nearly gasped at what they were seeing.
Kairi's idea was simple. This Fallen would surely be aware of someone approaching from the sides since he did not use the Sentinel's cannon, but he suspected that he would not act against something non-human, so using the dim lighting in the room, Kairi disguised herself as Heartless, which left Ray and Makoto even more puzzled. Lucky that Nina covered their mouths.
Using that moment, Kairi passed in front of the Guardian just as he was passing by, getting the Guardian's attention, who stared at her for a moment, so Kairi had to act normally, or as a Heartless would act, to mislead the Fallen.
And as soon as the Guardian ignored her presence and turned around, Kairi took the opportunity to get behind him, and by reversing her disguise she impaled the Fallen's back with her Keyblade, managing to finish him off in an instant.
"Uh, how is that possible?" Ray asked with a stunning face as the Fallen disappeared.
"Too long to explain." Nina said.
"In any case, if this is the Gray Lady's doing, that means she makes her own reinforcements." Ray commented. "Keep your eyes wide open, team. She's upping the ante."
"You don't need to say it." Kairi said as she reversed her transformation.
"Thanks for the warning, Ray. But I have no idea what you're talking about." Winston answered on the radio. Apparently, he hadn't run into any serious problems where he was to answer that.
"You may wanna just take our word for it." Egon radioed.
The group continued to wander through the aisles of books until they came across levitating objects again, and near them, the Gray Lady was reading the book she had in her hand.
"There she is…" Ray warned in a low voice. "quiet, now... let's get a solid scan..." He said as he aimed his PKE detector at her.
"I missed that, Ray! Please repeat!" Egon exclaimed over the radio without warning.
That caused the ghost to notice them and shush them again, letting the objects fall and fly away again.
"Enough with the shushing!" Ray exclaimed irritably.
"Egon!" Kairy and Nina exclaimed into the radio at what happened. Although apparently they also heard the girls who were with him exclaim as well.
"That ghost is starting to make me sick!" Makoto exclaimed, kicking one of the pieces of furniture on the floor.
"Well, at least we're getting close." Ray commented.
"Could not hear a word of that, Ray!... Ray?!" Egon asked over the radio.
"I'm not going to say anything..." Kairi commented in a low voice.
After the incident, the group continued to advance through the corridors of the library for a long time following the trail of the ghost they were looking for or at least trying to meet the others, somewhere.
"Ah Winston, where the heck are you?" Ray asked Winston over the radio.
"Yeah, where are you?" Priere asked.
"In the periodical section checking the box score from the Knicks game last night." Winston answered, but he seemed to be joking. "Why?"
"Tell us more about this 'Collector', Winston."
"Yes, good idea. I'm kind of curious about him." Nina commented on the radio.
Winston checked the old newspapers on the newspaper monitor as he searched for information.
"Says here that this Collector used the Gray Lady to get to the rare books in her care - especially a book called, get this, the Gozerian Codex." Winston said.
"Great!" Ray exclaimed.
"Sorry, but I don't see what's great about it." Rena asked.
"Yeah. And when she found out what he was up to, she dumped him." Winston continued.
"Smart lady." Egon commented.
"Not really. Evidently he murdered her for it." Nina suggested.
"Just what happened." Winston said.
"Uh-oh." Ray blurted out.
"That's bad." Makoto commented.
"The Gray Lady was his first victim, but he killed a bunch more." Winston said.
"This isn't going well." Kairi commented.
"And let me guess, he collected their bodies, just like he collected books?" Ray asked.
"Ray!" Kairi exclaimed.
"Bingo. Ray, you get to buy me dinner." Winston replied. "And here's the last on The Collector. Seconds before he was hanged, he said he would return as Azetlor, some sort of god, to keep watch over the library and every rare book in its collection."
Priere was heard letting out a raspberry. "Gods to me…"
"Sounds like quite the bookworm." Ray commented.
"Sounds like the kind we run into all the time."
"Are you suggesting that those who care about the books are lunatic killers?" Nina asked, offended.
"Nina, calm down." Rena said on the radio.
"Are you suggesting that perhaps it is this Azetlor, and not the Gray Lady, that is the cause of both ghosts and Fallen here?" Kairi asked.
"It's a plausible theory." Egon replied.
"Then what a theory." Priere commented.
Kairi, Nina, Makoto, and Ray's group continued to wander through the halls, the Ghostbuster staying behind to keep an eye on the rear as they moved forward, coming to a door that slammed shut on them.
"Okay. I'm not saying that's a bad sign: but it sure isn't a good one." Ray commented after what happened.
"If you say so." Kairi commented.
Without warning, with a bang, a door next to Ray was flung open, hitting him from the side. "Jeez!"
The ones who opened the door were some spectral beings made up of papers, as well as the occasional Crimson Head, although fortunately, the girls were able to deal with these enemies without much trouble.
Makoto approached Ray who was on the ground after the blow. "Are you okay?" She asked, holding out her hand.
"Thanks. That'll only hurt for a minute." Ray said getting up with the help of the squirrel girl.
"Come on, let's continue." Kairi suggested.
The group kept going until they entered what looked like some kind of youth reading center, but due to the dim darkness and the strange feeling in the area, it was not exactly a quiet place. Especially when you could hear the faint laughter of children around him.
"Someone, please, tell me that none of that Collector's victims were children." Kairi said, looking from side to side.
"I don't know." Ray said. "But you have no idea of places that suffer from this paranormal effect."
For a while they wandered around the room, until finally, they managed to leave the room, breathing relieved that the strange sensation no longer surrounded them, which allowed them to continue with their search.
"Here's the place." Ray said as he reached a door. "Special Collections. These rooms are packed with rare & valuable volumes!"
"That will interest me to see." Nina said.
"Later, Nina." Kairi said.
The group entered the room, seeing that it seemed like the other rooms with bookshelves, but at the same time, the place seemed special.
"Okay, she's in there with Egon and the others. No noise!" Ray warned when he found the others next to the Gray Lady.
Egon was scanning the ghost while it was staring at a bookshelf, while the girls stood at a distance so as not to make any noise, only nodding when they saw the others arrive.
"Shh...almost..." Egon said quietly as he scanned her. Unfortunately, the ghost heard him turning around and shush him.
"Oh, boy." Ray commented.
"It's alright, woman." Rena said to the ghost.
The ghost flew away without a word, causing everyone to follow her, but something else caught her attention: soldiers made of books, complete with shields!
"Looks like they're throwing the whole science fiction section at us." Egon commented as he saw the freaks approaching.
"And if that wasn't enough, the horror section too!" Rena alerted them when she saw several Hunters and Skeleton Soldiers running towards them.
Everyone engaged the attackers in combat, though fortunately, the group was larger than before now that they were together again.
The book specters were quite troublesome because of the shields that for some reason were able to repel any attack with them, but Rena and Nina were able to avoid said shields with their arrows and magic. Makoto and Priere on the other hand were able to destroy the book shields with a clean hit, as well as send any Fallen flying that got too close to them. Kairi meanwhile focused on supporting both groups in battle along with the Ghostbusters who struck down those who were struggling with their proton streams. And after a while, the group ended the fight.
"Remember how you were saying print was dead?" Ray asked Egon.
"I wish." It was his only answer.
After the little brawl, the group began to look around, without a trace of the Gray Lady.
"Now where'd she go?" Ray asked.
"Valences up." Egon said looking at his PKE scanner. "She definitely left a trace somewhere..."
Everyone began to search the room in case they located any trace of the ghost, but apparently, the Ghostbusters were the ones who seemed to detect the trace of the ghost the most.
"Big spike!" Egon exclaimed near a bookshelf. "Riiiiiight… here!"
Ray walked over to the bookshelf with the others.
"Yeah! Check this out! I feel a breeze…" Ray said running his hand along the edges of the shelf. "Oh cool! Secret passages! These are great!"
"Okay, we have to open it. Make way, gentlemen." Priere said, ready to smash the bookcase.
"I don't think that's necessary, Priere." Kairi said.
Kairi walked over to the bookshelf and started moving some books at random, until moving one brought the bookshelf down, revealing a path behind it. It didn't take long for the group to start down the stairs that said path revealed.
"I didn't even know this area existed." Ray commented.
"Looks like the janitors didn't, either. For the last eighty years, anyway." Egon said.
"So we're in a section of the library that no one has seen in almost a century, right?" Rena commented.
On their way down they were surprised by another paper monster, but they were able to take care of this one easily.
"What ARE those? I don't recognize them from Tobin's." Egon commented.
"No, they're in the Revised Etheary Catalog." Ray replied. "I think the Gray Lady is constructing them from the books and minor spirits here. She may be more powerful than we thought."
"And if she can call the Fallen too, imagine the troubles we will have." Kairi said.
The group continued to advance through the underground corridors of the library, following the trail of the Gray Lady.
"Wonder what's down there." Ray said as they continued down.
"Something big. And, more than likely, terrifying." Egon replied.
"Yeah, as always here." Kairi commented.
They all continued down the tunnels, until they reached what looked like an old boiler room that looked like it hadn't been used for a while.
"Um…" Ray muttered as he looked around the old room.
"This is cheery." Egon commented. "Nice place. Nothing bad ever happen in here."
"Want to bet?" Priere asked.
"There she is!" Ray warned when he detected the Gray Lady. "Frank her! She's nowhere to run!" But then the ghost descended through the grate below him. "Except through the grate."
"Seriously, this is starting to get ridiculous limits." Makoto commented. "Are we playing hide and seek or what?"
"Believe me, I've been thinking about it for a while." Rena replied.
Then from one of the cauldrons, stones of burning coal began to come out, which ended up forming a huge corporeal shape with the grates of the cauldron as a face, just as two Iron Giants appeared.
"Oh boy. Burning coal. And comes with company!" Ray warned when he saw what was coming at them.
"Everyone pay attention! Remember that we are in a small space!" Kairi warned.
Ray and Egon immediately focused their proton streams on the carbon golem to attract its attention, while the Iron Giants advanced on the girls. Faced with this situation, Rena and Nina began to use arrows and spells on them to separate them, which allowed Priere to face one while Makoto took care of the other, and since Kairi knew how strong the demon woman was, she went to help the squirrel girl.
While the Ghostbusters continued to fire their proton streams at the coal golem which kept attacking them with its enormous size, Priere engaged in a fight with one of the Iron Giants using both her staff and her own kicks to keep it at bay, without even using her own demonic magic, while Rena covered her with her mana arrows to try and weaken it. For their part, Makoto and Kairi, using the Ramuh Form, faced the remaining Iron Giant with the support of Nina's spells. Kairi already had experience with this iron monster from a previous encounter, so she knew that speed was essential to avoid the slow but powerful blows of these Fallen. Of course, though, with Priere's brute strength and Makoto's ability to hit just the right spots to repel their attacks, it was clear that this fight wouldn't last long, even if both Fallen were dedicated to breathing fire from their mouths. But that's what Rena and Nina were for to take care of that from a distance.
Finally, the girls were able to destroy the Iron Giants in the skirmish, while the Ghostbusters managed to weaken the carbon golem enough to rip the grid off its 'face' and destroy it.
"Phew. We've got to bag the Gray Lady before this gets really dangerous." Ray said.
"Do you really think this can get more dangerous?" Rena asked, arching an eyebrow.
"We may have missed that window, Ray." Egon said.
"Well, we can't follow her through that grate." Ray commented. "Is there another way?"
Everyone began to look around the room in case they could discover something that could be useful to chase the Gray Lady, but considering the state of the room, it was difficult to distinguish anything useful.
But Makoto noticed a part of the wall and when inspecting it he noticed that there was a breeze behind it, and with a strong punch, she smashed that piece of wall, revealing a path behind it.
"Whatcha find there, backup?" Ray asked, seeing what Makoto did. "Good work! Spengler, girls, the squirrel found the exit."
They all approached the newly found entrance, but there was a problem. The way was blocked by an absurd amount of black mucus, so it was practically impossible to cross it.
"I think it's time to use the PDS." Egon said.
"PDS?" Rene asked.
"PDS: Plasma Distribution System. Basically, it's slime blower, Mark II, heavily modified from the earlier version." Egon explained. "The plasma banks integrated into our Proton pack uses a base culture of ectoplasm that can impair entities, cause caustic Black Slime to go inert, and reveal otherwise invisible ethereal structures that reside on this plane."
"And the explanation for those who don't have a Ph.D. in paranormal things?" Kairi asked.
"The plasma we use is charged with an extremely positive charge that neutralizes negatively charged ectoplasm, such as Black Slime, as well as any portals they may open. Look."
Ray began to use the snot booster against the black snot, launching a large jet of green snot on them, causing a reaction that made said black snot disappear.
"See! Neutronized Slime." Ray said after doing the test.
"So if we run into something like this, we'll have to be with one of you?" Makoto asked.
"Or that, or began to carry the Proton pack on your back." Ray said.
"You can try with anything you have, but I don't know what effects your magic can have with Black Smile, so I suggest you go with Ray's option." Egon said.
"Yeah, I know. In your dreams." Rena commented.
After the talk, the group began to descend the new path they had discovered.
"Our own private shortcut to hell. That's convenient." Egon commented.
"I was sort of in hell. And this isn't your typical entrance." Priere commented.
"Really?" Ray asked. "And how is it?"
"Pfff, different from yours. That's for sure." Priere commented.
The group continued down the tunnel until they reached an underground chamber full of books, being locked in when the entrance they went through was closed with bars, which only caused them to look at the closed entrance with a 'really?' face, turning their eyes away. look ahead. Right before them, they found the Gray Lady behind a desk, peering at the pages of a book she was holding in her hands, until without warning a spectral hand reached out of the book and seized the specter's head, beginning to shake the spirit hard until it fell. make her fall hard on the chair, remaining inert as if she were dead while the hand retracted the book closing itself. The whole scene shocked those present for a moment until after a while the book opened and the Gray Lady immediately went back to reading the book.
"Have you seen the same as me?" Kairi asked.
"Eerie place." Ray commented. "I wonder if this is where the Collector killed The Librarian"
"I think that would be a safe assumption." Egon said. "That book she's reading is emitting massive energy." Ghostbuster pointed to the book the Gray Lady was leafing through.
Ray made several weird faces in thought until he turned to the girls.
"Like hell!" Rena exclaimed, knowing immediately what Ray was going to order. What's more, they all knew what he was thinking.
"Look, if something happens to us, not even your containment machine will protect you from us!" Priere threatened.
Kairi shook her head. She knew that even though it was a bad idea, there was no choice but to take that book, so she went over and took the book herself. That made the Gray Lady disappear.
"She took that pretty well; better than I expected." Egon commented.
"It makes perfect sense if her residual spiritual energy is tied to the book. The Gozerian Codex, right? Ray commented. "Now that we have it, her echo must have been released. She's gone. I think we helped her cross over."
"I just hope I never see her again. What a walk the lady has made us take!" Makoto exclaimed.
"That's true. She made us go all over the place to find her." Kairi replied.
Nina turned around, putting on a worried face. "Well... you better not turn around."
Following her comment, they all turned around, finding the Gray Lady right behind them, shaking her head.
"And she just crossed right back." Egon said when he saw her.
"Oh, no." Ray said, fearing the worst.
Just then the Gray Lady transformed, taking on a much more grotesque and terrifying form, roaring fiercely at them. And at that moment several book stands began to fly around the room, forming a shield of books around the ghost.
"And now that?!" Kairi asked.
"The books stands are generating her shield." Egon warned.
"Say no more." Rena said.
The elf began to aim and shoot her arrows at the book stands, but they moved in such a way that it was difficult to hit. And let's not say if we add to that the number of books that the Gray Lady constantly threw at everyone.
Fortunately, the Ghostbusters and Nina also helped try to damage the book stands with what they had, while Kairi, Priere, and Makoto tried to contain most of the books that the ghost threw at them.
Fortunately, when they accidentally destroyed one of the lecterns, part of the shield covering the Gray Lady came crashing down.
"That's it! She can't regenerate the cage! Keep hitting the book stands!" Exclaimed Egon.
The group continued to focus on first destroying the book stands that were still generating the shields, while at the same time repelling the ghost's raging attacks while slowly breaking down the barrier.
Though Kairi noticed there was something off about all of this.
They eventually managed to destroy the last book stand, leaving the ghost vulnerable.
"that does it! Now let's attack the Librarian straight on!" Ray exclaimed.
"Set the trap!" Kairi warned, quickly taking on Titan form. "And when I say, activate it!"
Egon dropped his trap to the ground, preparing to act. As Kairi, Makoto and Priere quickly approached the Gray Lady, jumping right to where she was.
"Now!" Kairi warned.
At that moment the three hit the Gray Lady with tremendous force that sent her flying into the trap just as Egon activated it, immediately locking her inside.
"A good way to catch a ghost." Ray said as the girls landed.
"You don't know how much I wanted to hit that old hag." Priere said, sighing heavily.
Ray nodded, but then said. "Weird. That wasn't as tough as it should have been."
"I was just thinking of the same thing." Egon said.
"Certain. Everything has been too easy." Kairi said.
"Yes. For some reason, she was more focused on us than on defending the book stands that defended her. Someone else would have protected them instead." Makoto said.
"You've noticed it too, haven't you?" Kairi asked, Makoto nodding.
"It was almost too easy... like she wants us to have the Codex..." Ray commented.
"Yes, like she wanted us to blast this room apart." Egon said.
"But why?"
Nina looked at the remains of the books that were on the lecterns, coming to a conclusion. "These books were Codices. Charged with a lot of energy. Sometimes they are used to protect an entrance to another place, such as a portal, by keeping it closed, so destroying them could open the portal."
Just then a strange sphere of light appeared in the center of the room.
"Like that one over there."
Egon began to scan the sphere. "All the energy from proton packs, traps, and magic have weakened the membrane between this world and ..."
"Cross-dimensional portal." Ray interrupted. "From the fifth to the fourth. A whole world of ghosts. Something I've dreamt about since College. It's all in the Monarchia Daemonum. Fantastic!" Ray exclaimed excitedly. "Ghostworld."
"My dreams are somewhat safer than yours, Ray." Rena said.
"I wouldn't get too excited, Ray. I have a feeling she did it so we could meet an old friend of hers." Egon said.
Makoto asked. "Are you saying that behind this portal is..."
"The Collector." Nina replied. "Azetlor."
"Well, if we're going…" Ray commented
"Not much choice, is there? It's the only way out." Egon pointed out before addressing the girls. "You. Take the lead. Don't worry, we do this all the time."
"I don't know whether to believe you or not." Rena said.
Kairi sighed and touched the orb of light, causing it to rise above them.
"OH NO, LOOK OUT!" Ray alerted.
The orb caused an explosion of energy around them, and instantly everything around them began to change, destroying the walls and revealing that they were clearly in another dimension, finding themselves in front of a large, creepy-looking structure.
"Hmm. So this is what the public library looks like on the far side of a cross-dimensional portal." Egon said.
"It's one of infinite potential configurations. You know… theoretically." Ray said.
"Yes, well this looks like the Gozerian configuration." Egon said.
"Oh, don't tell me." Priere commented.
"Let's keep going. We must find a way out of this place." Kairi said.
The group made their way through the sinister dimension, looking for a way out, but found only ghosts and Fallen roaming the area.
"Ray, it occurs to me that these events are interrelated." Egon commented.
"The Gozerian Exhibit, the huge energy pulse, the Sedgewick Hotel, the return of Stay Puft… yeah…" Ray listed.
"Yes, even this. All pointing back to a single point of origin."
"Illyssa?" Kairi asked.
"Illyssa." Egon confirmed.
"Oh, great…" Makoto commented.
"You think she's a factor in this?" Ray asked.
"Maybe not intentionally, but almost definitely." Egon said.
"We'll find out later what exactly happens when we get outta here." Rena said.
The group continued to advance through the mysterious dimension, crossing several portals that allowed them to move around the place until the last one led them to a large room.
"I do like what they've done with the place here - but I hoped that portal would have taken us back to the Library." Ray commented.
"Actually, we are back in the Public Library. The dimensional membrane must be extremely thin here." Egon corrected.
"The truth is that it looks alike." Makoto said, seeing how the room resembled the one in the library.
"So close and yet so far." Priere said. "I wish that membrane was physical."
"That wouldn't be a good idea. Breaking said membrane in such a way could lead to unpredictable consequences in both worlds." Egon warned.
"Someone's holding us here." Ray said. "The collector."
"Yes, Azetlor wants to add to his collection." Egon said. "And he's probably not to happy about us taking the Gozerian Codex with us."
"Oh yeah? What can a twisted little bookworm do to scare us?" Ray asked.
"He murdered Eleanor Twitty for it when he was alive. And a dozen others just to cover it up." Egon warned.
"Ray, I see where you're going, and it's a really bad idea." Rena warned.
"Hey, Collector! We're taking your book! Whaddya think about THAT?!" Ray exclaimed as he turned around.
Suddenly there was a lot of movement behind him, as a huge floating metal mask with one eye appeared right behind Ray.
"Uh, he's right behind me, isn't he?" Ray asked, turning around.
"Yes, I think you got his attention, Ray." Egon said, looking at the monster.
"Ho boy." Ray said, looking at the monster.
"I already told you that was a bad idea!" Rena scolded.
Azetlor began to destroy all the furniture in the room as the mask moved to the center of the room, where it concentrated all the furniture and covered it with black slime, forming a golem shape with a tornado of broken furniture in its wake. its lower side.
Immediately Rena began to fire her arrows at him, Nina to use her spells, and the Ghostbusters to fire their proton streams at the creature, but Azetlor seemed immune to said attacks.
"He resists my proton stream!" Ray called as he continued to attack the dark god.
"Look!" Exclaimed Egon. "His face is protected by Black Slime!" Egon pointed out how the black snot protected Azetlor's mask.
"Well, you know! Get that nozzle out and hose him down!" Priere exclaimed.
The Ghostbusters began to use their slime blowers to launch the green plasma at Azetlor, but Azetlor did not seem to be willing to sit still as they doused him with said liquid, summoning tornadoes that moved towards them, forcing them to move away.
It also seemed to be able to summon dark crystals that came out of the ground against the girls, who could only dodge such attacks as they could because they could not do anything against those black mucus protecting the mask.
"This is ridiculous! How long are you going to keep with this?" Priere asked
"We do what we can, but it's not easy to dispel a bunch of Black Slime when you're attacked!" Ray exclaimed as he continued to shoot green snot at Azetlor.
"Let us be thankful that he did not bring reinforcements with him." Nina said.
"Yes, they would have surely damaged his precious Codex." Egon commented, as he was busy shooting hosing at the demigod.
"Well, except to dodge his attacks, I doubt very much that we can do anything for now." Makoto said. "Does anyone have any ideas?"
"I'm open to suggestions- Whoa!" Rena exclaimed as she avoided a tornado that was coming for her.
"Well, until they can weaken that mask…" Kairi said, moving quickly to Azetlor. "Hey, bookworm! Here! I am more valuable than any old book!"
"Are you crazy or what?!" Rena asked in shock, seeing how Kairi insulted Azetlor.
Makoto soon understood what she was up to and joined Kairi. "Hey, big guy! You will be very big, but I doubt you can catch anything with that size!"
"Yeah! Before as a human, you were insignificant, but you were worth much more than now!" Kairi yelled. "Surely you were given the choice of either that form or being a mere worm!"
Those insults infuriated Azetlor enough to focus on Kairi and Makoto, leaving the Ghostbusters alone and indirectly allowing them to continue to hose him.
"Okay, you have attracted his attention." Nina said, seeing the demigod approach. "But who saves us now from the furious god?"
That was a good question, which made them all start running avoiding Azetlor's furious attacks, trying to buy time for the men to do their part.
Fortunately, they managed to weaken the black mucus enough that it no longer covered the mask.
"It's clear!" Ray warned the group.
"And now that?" Rena asked.
"Rip his mask off, it looks vulnerable!" Exclaimed Egon.
"We take care to contain him!" Ray said.
Ray and Egon used their proton streams to grab the demigod's arms, but there was still a way to try to remove his mask.
"I think I have an idea." Makoto said, seeing various pieces of debris on the ground. Squirrel Girl picked up said debris and threw it at Priere. "All yours!"
"It's fine!" Priere said, slamming the debris with her staff hard enough that when they hit the mask it flew off, leaving only one eye visible.
"Yeah, that did it!" Ray exclaimed.
Egon soon noticed how Azetlor seemed to have gotten angry. "Oh, no, I think we just exposed his angry side."
"And you tell us that now." Kairi said.
The demigod's attacks became more savage and destructive, causing chaos throughout the room, putting any attack by the group against Azetlor at risk. But everyone was clear about one thing. The eye was their weak point, and they had to attack it however possible.
Considering the current situation, only Nina and Kairi with their magic, Rena with her arrows, and the Ghostbusters with their proton packs could attack Azetlor from a distance, forcing Makoto and Priere to be constantly on the move avoiding the onslaught. of attacks without being able to do anything. Priere was planning to throw her staff at him, but try to hit a tiny eye in the middle of so many attacks if you can.
Kairi used the magics she knew that could damage the demigod's eye, but it was difficult to aim her Keyblade and dodge at the same time.
"Any ideas?" Makoto asked as he ended up beside her after dodging one of Azetlor's attacks.
"Are you asking me?" Kairi asked the squirrel girl.
Without the slightest warning, one of Azetlor's tornadoes formed where they were, blasting them into the air as they screamed in fright as they climbed too high.
In the air, Kairi began to think about what to do, since if they fell, the hit against the ground would be very damaging, or even lethal depending on how they fell. Having no other choice, Kairi unleashed her Phoenix Esper form, grabbing Makoto with her claw-hands as they flew on their fiery wings.
Makoto looked around until he took in Kairi's current form. "Oh crap. As if I can see what's going to happen." Makoto said, knowing what happened last time.
"Well, the alternative was no better." Kairi responded with an annoyed tone at Kairi's comment.
Azetlor's roar attracted the attention of both, seeing how several enchanted books flew towards them forcing them to dodge them.
"I don't care what you do, but do it fast!" Makoto exclaimed, grabbing onto Kairi's claw-hand.
Kairi grabbed her Keyblade with her free claw-hand, and launched a huge ball of fire at Azetlor, as the demigod launched another attack to stop her. Although in full flight the fireball took the form of a fiery phoenix head that consumed Azeltor's attacks, hitting the eye.
The impact itself caused a powerful explosion that shook the entire room as it shattered Azetlor into a thousand pieces, his remains falling all over the place.
"Do I still have eyebrows?" Egon asked when everything calmed down.
"What did I tell you about putting limits on that, Kairi?" Rena asked Kairi, with her hands on her waist.
"Not now, please?" Kairi said as she landed with Makoto on the ground.
"She's right. We're lucky this was a parallel dimension." Nina said. "Imagine what would have happened if we had been on the other side."
"Enough! We had to finish him off, and that's it! All those he killed will be able to rest in peace now that the Collector has fallen. Can we leave now?"
"Kairi, I don't want to use this tone, but listen to your elders." Priere warned her.
"Okay..." Kairi said, turning back to her normal form and walking away from them while grumbling.
"Have you noticed it?" Nina asked Rena.
"What happens to her when she transforms into an Esper? How not to see it." Rena replied.
"I don't want to interrupt, but we need to get out of here!" Exclaimed Egon.
"There's a new portal back here!" Ray warned, pointing to a portal that had opened. "C'mon girls that's gotta be the way out!"
After his words, they all ran towards it, crossing the portal.
In the Library, Winston was walking around the reading room looking around, until a portal opened near him. And through it Ray and Egon flew and fell to the ground, followed by Kairi, Makoto, Rena, Nina, and Priere who fell on top of them.
"What a way to get out, isn't it?" Makoto asked.
"Can you get off of us? These packs aren't precisely lightly, and if we have your weight over us, I won't tell you." Ray said under the girls.
Soon Kairi and the others got up, leaving the Ghostbusters to get up.
"Where the hell were you guys?!" Winston asked as he approached them. "I've been runnin' all over this library, calling you, looking for you... nothing!"
"We passed through a cross-dimensional portal into an alternate version of the New York Public Library, and fought a forty foot monster made of priceless antiques to steal an ancient magical book." Egon explained.
"Well, that about sums it up." Rena said.
"Ah… well… that would explain it. Next time leave a note." Winston said.
"We don't promise anything, but we will try." Kairi said.
Suddenly Egon's PKM detector began to pick up a signal, causing Egon to look around, until they spotted a huge symbol filled with circles and symbols above the entrance to the room.
"Ray, does this mean anything to you?" Egon asked Ray.
"Nope, it wasn't here the first time we came through." Ray answered.
"Right, even I would remember something as flashy as this." Priere commented.
"What is it?" Winston asked.
"Not entirely sure. But whatever it is, I think we just turned it off." Egon said, as one of the symbols on the drawing disappeared.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Ray asked.
"Depends on what you're thinking." Nina asked.
"Thin crust New York with no visible anchovies?" Winstons asked, raising his hand, making the girls look at him like he was a freak.
"Maybe later." Ray answered. "Right now I need to go back to the lab and take a look at this codex."
"And analyze the data we've collected. It could help us when we go to the museum." Egon said.
"Slice to go on the way? Girls' treat? Winston asked.
"In your dreams." Priere replied.
"And we need to find out what this is." Ray said, referring to the drawing.
"I'll call for a delivery. Again." Winston commented.
"I don't care. I just want to rest a bit." Kairi said.
