The revelation caused such a surge of panicked adrenaline to course through Peter's veins that his heart began race, pounding loudly in his chest as his breathing quickened and immediately transitioned into a violent coughing fit. The coughs so were so loud, haggard, choking and deep that Peter couldn't catch his breath and fell from the bench to the floor and curled up on his side and hacked desperately trying to breathe and calm himself down.

"You're very ill." Naiad stated as she listened to Peter's coughing fit from her cell. "You must be on your guard, lest Moirai brings her wrath upon you. Weakness will not be tolerated. She may hastened her schedule and resort to your torture sooner. In your current state you cannot possibly hope to survive."

Peter let out a weak breath and slowly took in a deeper one to calm his spasming lungs and ease himself out of the coughing fit. Rolling from his side and onto his knees he stood up very slowly in the center of his cell. "Ray is here..." His voice was shaking and cracked a little as he spoke. "and you said there is... a female with him. A woman." He blinked slowly and stared blankly at the floor. "Does she have red hair? Wear glasses?"

"Yes. Her hair is as red as the sun and she wore lenses over her eyes."

"Janine." Peter leaned against the cold stone wall of his cell and winced at the sudden throb of the headache that refused to leave him alone. "You said Ray was injured. How bad is it?"

"His abdomen. He is bleeding from a terrible wound and is now unconscious."

"No..."

"Do not fret." Naiad soothed, her voice as sweet and sincere as a kindly mother tending to her child. "Janine as you call her is with him."

"That's good." Peter suddenly felt weak, his legs trembling with visible shudders. His face paled further as his blood pressure suddenly dropped and his vision began to grow dark. "At least they're... together."

"Peter?" Naiad couldn't see him but could hear that he was still in distress. "Please do not fall asleep. You are too ill and may not be able to wake up again."

"You think that's... a bad thing?"

Peter let his legs give way and he slid down the wall until he was crumpled up into a ball pressed against the cell wall. His eyes closed and his head bowed as he let the sweet bliss of unconsciousness steal his mind away from the waking horror of his imprisonment.

Winston had finished modifying two PKE meters, using his own skills as Ray's apprentice engineer and Egon's guidance the device had been properly altered with no ill effects and would be able to properly shield any mortal being who dared to venture into Moirai's realm.

"Shouldn't take too long." Winston called out as he set the PKE meters into the large truck bed of Ecto-2 to receive a full charge. "I should be back within a couple of hours."

Egon had made his way down into the garage and zipped up his overtly tarnished jumpsuit over his torn shirt and bandaged wounds. "I'm going with you."

"What? No!" Winston tried to use his military voice to change Egon's mind but the physicist was too stubborn and emotionally discipline to be affected. "You're injured. You know as well as I do that you have a concussion, you're weak from blood loss and you've probably suffered from sort of internal bleed. You need to lay down and rest."

"I will." Egon pulled open the passenger side door of Ecto-2 and sat down in the seat. "After we rescue our friends."

"Just for the record, I'm completely against you going on there in your condition."

"Noted and appreciated."

"Alright then." Winston opened the driver's side door of the pick-up truck and took his seat behind the wheel. "Let's go save our friends."

A low groan of discomfort escaped Ray's lips as he slowly regained consciousness under Janine's watch. As her fingers gently combed through Ray's hair she whispered to him to gently rouse him back into the waking world. The coldness of the cell was dangerous and threatened to exasperate his already weakened condition.

"You're going to be okay." She stated confidently. "The bleeding has stopped and you've been sleeping for a while now."

"...Janine?" Ray's opened slowly but fully. His mismatched irises were glassy but he managed to focus on her lovely face as she smiled warmly at him. "Are we... still trapped?"

"Yeah. But don't worry, I think we have an ally."

"What makes you think that."

Janine motioned to the mass of green herbs that had been used to pack the stab wound in Ray's abdomen. The green hue of the plants had taken on a brown tone as the dried blood saturated each little petal and stem.

"She gave me the medicine that helped you to stop bleeding. She also said the plants would ease the pain."

Ray tentatively took in a deep breath and relaxed as the effort remained painless. Carefully he lifted away a few of the herbs to look at the wound beneath and immediately stiffened at the blood sight that marred his own body.

"Are you hurt?"

"Me?" Janine was a little shocked by the question. "I'm fine, you're the one who got hit."

"I just wanted to be sure."

Janine picked up Ray's hand again and held tightly. "Don't worry about me. Just worry about yourself."

Ray squeezed Janine's hand firmly. "Do you have any information on Peter?"

"No. I haven't see him and I didn't ask our little friend when she stopped by. I was too focused on you."

"It's okay Janine. We'll find him, I know it."

Peter rasped harshly as he struggled to breathe. What was once a simple chest cold brought on by the frigid condition of the cell had quickly evolved into a severe respiratory infection. Mentally Peter steeled himself and tried to use mind over to matter to keep himself from coughing and drawing unwanted attention from Moirai.

"You're awake, aren't you?" Naiad asked from her cell. "You're much stronger than I had anticipated."

"Y-Yeah." He stammered as he fought back a cough. "Ray and Janine? How are they?"

"I do not know. But I know that the guards are uneasy."

"Why's that?"

"Intruders."

"Intruder? We're not going to be caught up in the middle of a war, are we?"

"That has yet to be seen." Naiad didn't sound frightened. Her confidence was enough to keep Peter calm as well. "Be patient my friend. You are stronger than Moirai knows."

"I hope you're right..." Peter placed his arm on the edge of the seat in his cell and pulled himself back up onto the bench from the floor. "I hope Ray and Janine can hold out too. And Egon. And Winston. And everyone else who could be in danger because of me..."

"Do not blame yourself." Naiad urged fervently. "Your crime is merely being born of a treacherous bloodline."

"Thanks, that makes me feel much better!" Peter pressed his mouth into his arm to muffle a cough. His eyes were shut so tight streams of tears began to flow down his face. As he regained his composure and took in a deep breath he had one last question for Naiad. "How long have I been trapped here? It feels like I've been locked away forever..."

"You've been imprisoned for nine of what you would call days now."

"Nine... days?" The idea of being gone for so long, the idea of being forgotten or beyond aid was enough to break his heart. "Then... That's it. No one can help me now..."

"Peter, you mustn't lose hope." The kind Naiad was determined to keep Peter from falling into despair. "You are innocent, your ancestor is guilty."

"Sins of the father type of thing, huh?" Peter cleared his throat before answering. "Never been a fan of that type of logic."

"In this world to punish one man for the crime of another is the worst offense that could ever be committed."

"Our laws pretty similar back in my world. At least they're supposed to be."

"If Moirai attempts to claim the debt of your ancestor through your life she will lose her power and fall into a realm of nothingness to linger for all eternity."

"So what am I worried about?"

"Moirai is as clever as she is cruel." Naiad stated with an unwavering tone. "She must have another plan for you."

"Remember what I said about feeling better?" He quipped dryly in response to Naiad's revelation.

"You can outwit Moirai. You can use our laws against her."

"How do I do that?"

Naiad once again fell silent as the two orc guards made their patrol of the corridor. Much to Peter's chagrin the two orcs took posts outside of the cell doors and showed no sign of leaving anytime soon.

"Damn it..." Peter muttered under his breath as he stared at the massive guards who prevented him from speaking to Naiad in private. "There has to be a way out of here."

Darkness swam before his eyes and a sudden chill raced through his core.

"Help me... please."

Ecto-2 pulled up the abandoned lot with the lights off and the siren quiet. Parking alongside Ecto-1 the two Ghostbusters exited the vehicle slowly, cautiously and didn't say a word to one another as they pulled the two PKE meters from their charging stations and powered up the small devices. Despite Egon's best effort to hide the incredible pain he was pushing through Winston knew his friend was hurting.

"You sure you want to do this?" Winston asked before he switched the modified PKE meter to the unique shielding frequency.

"Yes." Egon held the PKE meter tightly in his hands as he began walking over to the epicenter of the activity where Ray's modified trap was still resting. "We should be able to locate their last known position from over there."

Approaching the trap with a timid mindset Winston switched his PKE meter's frequency and became awash in a layer of green energy. Peering through the green veil of the energy he could see that the trap was still powered on, the white light was now purple and transparent to the naked eye, and just behind the trap was a large swirling portal of purple energy that bridged their world to Moirai's world.

"Egon, turn on your meter. You need to see this!"

Complying with Winston's request he turned the meter's frequency to the new channel and also became enshrouded in the protective green energy. As his eyes fixed on the trap and the portal he developed a new theory.

"This is how Moirai has been able to easily pass between realms. An energy of infinite power had been tapped after a great paranormal event thousands of years ago fueled this land. Moirai must be connected to this past event and has used this location to harness and channel the energy for her own purposes."

"She must also be monitoring the area for any intruders. Wouldn't surprise me if she managed to take Ray and Janine as her prisoners, too."

"If the energy can shield us long enough to enter the realm we should be able to locate our colleagues without being detected."

"Want to go in shifts? Make the meters last a little longer by using them one at a time?"

"Logically yes, that would make sense, but since we cannot risk Moirai locating one of us while the other is shielded it'd be best to enter the realm together and split up."

"Do you think you'll be okay on your own?"

"I'll persevere." Egon claimed as he adjusted his glasses over his eyes, careful not to aggravate his black eye in the process. "We cannot be certain that the energy shield will prevent us from making any detectable sound, so we cannot risk using radios to keep in contact."

"One hour. Then we get out there regardless if we found Peter, Ray or Janine. We can always recharge the meters and try again." Winston pointed to the time on his watch and made sure Egon could see it.

"Agreed."

"Let's do this then."

Walking side by side Winston and Egon managed to step into the epicenter of the activity without alerting Moirai to their arrival. The green energy shield had rendered the two mortal men invisible to ethereal eyes as they stepped into the realm of paranormal existence.

The air was cold and smelled stagnant with age and dust. The interior of the portal lead to a towering stone staircase that descended into a pit of darkness that showed no sign of activity. It was quiet save for the sounds of their boot steps slowly marching down the stone surface into the utter blackness of Moirai's realm and to the dungeon in which she held her unfortunate prisoners.

As the duo finally reached the bottom of the stairs they found themselves standing at a T-junction, one corridor heading East and the second corridor going in the opposite direction heading West. At the the middle of the junction at the base of the stairs was a small alcove with a massive red door that created a central chamber of Moirai's dungeon.

"I'll head West." Winston whispered and pointed in the corresponding direction. "One hour."

Egon nodded once as he turned to walk down the Eastern corridor.

Winston's experience as a marine had given him an ideal sense for stealth and patience as he crept down the corridor at a steady pace, keeping his steps light as to not create noise. Whenever necessary he'd stop and press his body up against the wall to ensure he didn't disturb anything that could alert a patrolling guard.

"Man, this place stinks!" Winston complained to himself as the acrid stench of otherworldly decay stung his nostrils. "Where's it coming from?"

A loud grumble behind a large blue door at the end of the corridor made his jump. Freezing in place and pressing his back flat up against the wall the door opened and a large orc like beast stomped through the corridor, brushing past Winston without even taking notice of the mortal trespasser.

As the orc walked by Winston held his breath. "Now I know where that smell is coming from..." He said to himself as the guard passed by without incident.

The door wasn't locked and had barely closed when Winston grabbed onto the metal, round handle that hung on the side of the door and pulled it open just wide enough to slip through without the guard noticing a disturbance taking place just a few yards behind him.

"Okay, I have to be getting close." Winston closed the door very slowly and quietly behind him before moving on. As he turned to look down the next corridor his heart skipped a beat as the entire length of the stone walled walkway was lined with hundreds of cells, each one occupied in some form.

Each cell had the translucent purple energy barricade that barred entry or exit of the cell. The first dozen cells were filled with the bones of various prisoners who had long since died. Some of the bones looks humanoid while the others were that of creatures and beings that Winston couldn't even begin to fathom.

"I have to hurry." Winston looked down at his watch and calculated how much time he had left. "It's already been twenty minutes!"

Jogging down the corridor at a hastened pace Winston looked back and forth at both sides of the corridor to look into each cell as he passed by. None of the occupants were the friends he was looking for. Most of them looked to be inhabitants from another world who had been starved or tortured to the brink of death. A part of him wanted to stop and help the prisoners all escape, but he knew deep down that he couldn't do anything to help them; they were already too far gone to be saved.

A low feminine whisper from several cells away caught Winston's ear. "Janine?"

The voice stopped suddenly and remained quiet for a few seconds before finally responding. "Winston?"

"Yeah, it's me!" He raced toward the cell and stopped in front of the barricade. Peering inside he saw Janine kneeling on the floor beside Ray, who was visibly wounded and needing help. "I'm here."

"Where?" Janine asked as she looked toward the sound of Winston's voice through the barricade. "I can't see you."

Winston reached out a hand and held his breath. Without any resistance is hand easily slipped through the energy field of the barricade without suffering any ill effects. "Hold on."

Janine wasn't sure what she was supposed to be waiting for but she did as she was told. Putting one hand to the side of Ray's face she tried to rouse him from his light sleep and look at her.

As soon as he passed through the barricade Winston turned off his PKE meter to reveal himself to Janine and Ray. "Found you!"

"Winston!" Janine shot up and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "Thank goodness!"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Janine let Winston go and looked back down at Ray. "but Ray's in bad shape."

"Don't worry," he handed the meter to Janine to hold as he knelt down in front of Ray. Putting his hand to the side of Ray's neck he nodded once. "his pulse is strong. A little slow but he's definitely holding his own."

"How do we get out of here?" Janine asked as looked about the cell impatiently.

"First of all, I need to get Ray up and..." Winston had noticed the dried blood and dead herbs on Ray's abdomen. After examining the sight he found the stab wound and felt his heart sink. "Hm, I can't put him over my shoulder with his stomach injured. I'll have to help him walk."

Ray had heard and recognized the voices speaking around him. Opening his eyes he spotted Winston kneeling before him and he smiled. "Winston... Good to see you."

"Same." Winston happily smiled back. "Come on, we need to get you out of here. Give me your arm, I'll help you walk."

"I'll do my best..." Ray lifted one arm and let Winston take it, wrapping it around his neck before wrapping his own arm around Ray's waist.

Janine anxiously waited while Winston helped Ray to stand up and let him lean heavily against him. Certain he had steady enough footing Winston nodded toward Janine.

"Put your hand on my shoulder," he instructed her calmly. "and then power on the PKE meter."

Doing as she was told Janine, Winston and Ray were all enveloped in the green energy that protected them from Moirai and gave them all safe passage through the barricade.

"It's okay." Winston insisted as he took a slow step forward. "We can pass through the barrier as long as we have the PKE meter on."

"Do you know how to get out of here?"

"Yeah," Winston confirmed as the group walked through the barricade without any problems. "but we need to be quick. We can't risk the meter powering down."

Egon had made the same progress as Winston, reaching the end of the corridor and locating the blue door at the end. Like the door in the Western corridor it wasn't locked and Egon was able to pull it open without difficulty. Hundreds of cells lined the walls of this corridor as well, each one occupied either by prisoners who were already dead or in the process of dying.

"This is absolutely repugnant." Egon observed as he walked by each cell, glancing inside for any sign of his friends. "What intelligent being of honor could ever defend such an atrocious display of cruelty?"

"One might argue that such is a display is a punishment befitting the cruelty that has run rampant amongst the plane of the living." An unfamiliar feminine voice responded from one of the cells.

Egon stopped and looked inside the nearby cell to see a fair maiden with alabaster white skin standing idle in the center of the stone chamber. She was wearing a long white robe that flowed outward and billowed over the floor like a blooming flower. She had golden blonde hair that ran the length of her back and almost to her legs. Bright purple eyes stared at Egon, despite not being able to see him, and her rose red lips formed a kind smile.

"Do not worry." The strange woman told Egon softly. "I am Naiad. I will not harm another creature. Please consider me your ally."

"Why are you here?"

Her smile broadened as her eyes brightened further. "I will not harm another creature. That is why I am here."

"Your kindness is a crime?"

"My refusal to corrupt or to harm is my crime. Unwillingness to enforce punishment over our strict laws in seen as a weakness, and weakness itself is a crime."

"In whose eyes are you guilty?"

Naiad's smile faded and she turned away from Egon as she answered shamefully but honestly. "My mother. Moirai."

"Moirai... Is...?"

"Your friend is close." Naiad interrupted in a surprisingly sweet tone. She outstretched her arm and gestured to the cell next to her own. "But he is very ill. You must free him and escape before it is too late."

...to be continued...