"What's Goin' On"
Running all over "Old Paris" for what felt like hours, Alexis had to give the Terror Dog credit on one thing – it was without a doubt the fastest paranormal beast that she ever encountered. It only angered her that she let the demonic canine escape without a fight (one that she obviously wouldn't have won, due to the uselessness of her Proton Pack). But she hoped that maybe she would get another shot – this time without the help of any timid former authority figures, teens who could see the future, or any other people who would just get in her way.
That's when it hit her…it was that kind of gung-ho attitude growing her so apart from the other Ghostbusters. She never would've imagined herself to act in such a selfish way, knowing full well that being a Ghostbuster was all about trust and teamwork. And it was those two things that helped her reunite them, when she teamed up with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Cody, and Alex almost a year ago. Even while she stood there on the street corner, all by herself, she felt disappointed in herself for being such a glory hog.
In the midst of her self-pity, Alexis heard an eerie, familiar growl. She looked ahead of her to see her primary target – her new 'friend,' the Terror Dog – creeping up toward her. After feeling the way she did about herself, Alexis could've cared less what the outcome of this battle would've been, especially under the notion that she couldn't get hurt or killed from it.
"Go ahead," she told the beast, uncertain if it could understand her or not. "Do whatever it is you have to do to me! You couldn't possibly do much worse to me than what's done already!"
What occurred next was something much unanticipated for Alexis, as the Terror Dog morphed into a character that she was all too familiar with, even if she had only met her earlier that evening. That character was Meagan Tully, who looked just as menacing as the Terror Dog inside of her, with her extraordinarily pale skin and red eyes. Looking at her, Alexis wasn't certain if she was possessed or actually was the Terror Dog that she and the others had been combating during the night. But the latter assumption quickly proved false, once she realized that Meagan and the Terror Dog were in the same place at the same time when she was attacked.
Striding towards her, Meagan darkly said to Alexis, "Believe me…I would…if I were not forced to seek allegiance with you."
Alexis looked closely at the young woman, seeing pass the possessed features and trying to find the same girl she met earlier. "Meagan? Is that you?"
"My name is Allha…there is no Meagan," she remarked in a tone of voice that was unparallel to Meagan's usual timid way of speaking. "From my realm, there refer to me as 'The Observer of Gozer' – I seek worlds for 'The Traveler' to cross and conquer. Five years ago, I visited your realm in guise of one of your human inhabitants, witnessing how frail and weak your world was – an easy target for Gozer to destroy. Unfortunately, when I had left, I had not counted on your band of eliminators to stand in my lord's way."
"Oh, my…Just how many of you are there?" Alexis inquired, before coming upon the realization of an even more important question. "Wait! I thought the Ghostbusters vanquished Gozer! Are you telling me that she still lives?!"
Allha seemed extremely angry as she responded to Alexis's assumption. "No mere mortal can kill a god like your companions have! Only one other god can vanquish another!"
"But then where…?"
"I have no time in answering your pointless inquiries, Caretaker!" Alexis rolled her eyes on Allha addressing her in the same way as the pirates – who didn't know about her identity as this "Caretaker of the Underworld"? "I seek your allegiance in stopping this merger between the realms. It is preventing me from being able to scour the universe for the Traveler's next path."
Alexis scoffed at her proposal. "Sounds like the only positive thing to come from all this craziness. Without another 'frail and weak' world for her to conquer, she's like a chicken with her head cut off."
"And yours will suffer, because of your incapability to save it!" Allha snapped, her eyes flashing red in conjunction with her attitude.
Despite the harsh way she pointed it out, Alexis knew that the paranormal entity had a point. If she didn't do all she could to save her world, then it would surely come to an end. But stopping this merger would mean having to sacrifice other worlds for Gozer the Gozerian to conquer and destroy – possibly including her own. It was a matter that was just as hard for Alexis to stomach as joining forces with the Terror Dog that attacked her for reasons that were yet to be explained (she would make certain to find out, before all of this was over).
Just as she was about to answer to Allha's proposal, a familiar voice called out from behind her. "Embers! There you are!" It was a furious (and exhausted) John Hardemeyer. When Alexis turned to face him, she saw that he was accompanied by Louise and Pete (who looked equally exhausted as he did), the two kids they met a while ago, and the pirates, as they were all approaching her.
"Don't ever leave us in the dust like that again, young lady!" Louise angrily declared, right before she noticed the girl standing in front of Alexis. "And who in the bloody world is this?!"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told ya," was Alexis's only reply.
"Try us." Hardemeyer challenged.
"No, John…I don't think I will." Alexis said.
Allha glared at the group before her and impatiently stated, "We're wasting time standing here and conversing with one another. I shall lead you in finding the location of Chernabog's follower."
"Now who's Chernabog?!" Louise exclaimed, sounding more frustrated than confused.
John just shook his head and said, "I gave up trying to figure this whole thing out, when we met the girl who could see the future."
Meanwhile, Alexis focused on Allha and said in response to her offer, "Alright then lead us. But please do it in this form and not in your wild, cheetah-fast one."
Allha let out an exasperated sigh. "Very well. It will take us quite some time to get there. Considering how feeble and clumsy this mortal's body is, I might as well take my time."
As she turned to begin leading the group to their destination, something suddenly materialized before them – the same monster that had been stalking Meagan Tully for countless hours, Randall Boggs. He hissed at the young woman, without knowing what had become of her "real" identity, and threatened, "This is the end for ya, human! I'm gonna tear ya limb from limb for ruining my gig back in Monstropolis! I'm gonna…"
"DO YOU BAR MY WAY?!?!"
Randall was nearly scared stiff from the horrifying way she had addressed him, her voice sounding heavily demonic and extremely inhuman. Still not knowing what had happened to her (and not caring, for that matter), he maintained his toughness and answered, "Yeah! I bar your way, little girl! What're ya goin' to do about it?!"
Alexis, unaware of the history between Meagan and Randall, was just about ready to blast the unusual monster away with her neutrona wand, while the others just stared on in confusion. That was until the moment Allha did something from Meagan's body that made them all blink twice…
She opened her mouth and eyes wide, inhaling deeply. Letting out one monstrous roar, iridescent lights began pouring out from her eyes and mouth, shining brightly over the truly horrified Randall's form. He attempted to camouflage himself again, but was finding it very difficult to. His body felt hot – extremely hot – and it was starting to turn into a violent shade of red. Seeing this, he screamed in remarkable agony.
Within seconds, Randall Boggs was no more – all that remained in his place was a small pile of ashes that soon vanished into the wind. Her opponent finally (and quickly) defeated, Allha continued leading the group on their path to the desired destination. The others could barely move after watching the unearthly display – even the pirates had never bore witness to such brutality.
Alexis, with half of a grin upon her face, looked towards Louise and John. "You two still want to know who she is?"
Peck and Hardemeyer nervously glanced at one another and answered simultaneously, "No, no! We're cool!"