Chapter 12: Brothers

"I know," sitting in the kitchen of the firehouse Carl was on one of the other Ghostbuster's cell phones with Beth doing as best as he could to explain a situation he was unsure to describe, "it's just that with all these attacks, they have to keep us locked down. It's chaos." "What about Kevin?" she asked, "Carl, we can't just forget about him!" It was clear to anyone with any of the five major senses that Beth was stressed and upset. Her only child is likely still missing in her mind, Carl not explaining Kevin decided to join a cult out of alienation.

Carl was at a crossroads. He knew the truth about Kevin's disappearance and knew that the attacks were now linked to both Eduardo and the rest of the Ghostbusters, but now his own son. He had to tell Beth some kind of story and the best he could come up with was that he was still missing while being under some kind of perpetual duty charge. In truth he had to get ahead of the department. In his mind he knew if the captain in his current station house was likely a part of the Bishop back pocket assets - if Carl was now aware of the cult - they would likely not attack Beth unless he was home with her. In order to not draw suspicion on themselves, they would avoid calling the Rivera household. There was no doubt the members of the Order within the department tapped his home's phone lines, so he tried the best he could to leave her in the dark as a means of letting even the Order know Beth is a no-go target. They're not above kidnapping - obviously - but bringing in more heat was a bad idea; both Carl and the Order knew it.

Carl sighed, "I haven't. I still have everyone working to get him back." He was obviously being vague on who was doing the helping. Where that statement made Beth think it was still other NYPD staff, Carl knew outright it was actually the Ghostbusters and their strange Japanese visitors. It gave him plausible deniability and - therefore - breathing space. There was just something itching in the back of his mind about these Japanese people, though…

The stress was so bad it was making Beth's voice waver a bit as she spoke, "Carl, I want you to call me the instant you have something. I just have to know…" "I know, Beth, I know. The first break I get I'll call you." The phone went silent for a moment. He could hear her breathing in the receptor as she was trying to quash her panic attack. He heard her whimper before asking, "What did I do wrong? How did I mess up?" Carl closed his eyes and swallowed. If anyone could see his face it would have been one of guilt and self-disappointment. He had to set his wife straight, "It wasn't you. It was me. When you stayed over at Eddie's a few weeks ago after that fight with him, Eddie, and even Shannon, I thought about how I was justified in saying what I did. I was trying to convince myself I was right. Last night I thought it over again. That was when things went absolutely wrong. Beth, there's no one to blame for this but me. I had hoped Kevin would have seen things my way, but I kept forgetting he's his own person, too. I really pushed it."

There was another prolonged silence. He knew his wife well enough to know what she was thinking, "I'll get him back. One way or another, he'll come home to us." "I know you will, and I know he will." she said sternly. He knew it was time, "I gotta get going. I'll let you know what's happening when I find out." Telling their love for one another, Carl ended the call and put the phone down on the table before putting his elbows beside each side of the phone and putting his head into his hands. After a moment he leaned back into the chair and rubbed the spot he was tased under his ribcage, his NYPD uniform removed with just his tank top undershirt in its place. He felt the welts left from the electrical current that passed from one point to the other, Manny putting a great deal of pressure on the spot to make sure good contact was made. It still hurt.

After grabbing the phone and starting to walk toward the spiral staircase he once again attempted to figure out what to do about dealing with his department and potentially the compromised officers and even the captain. The whole situation was already weird enough as it was; cults; winged creatures; giant smelly zombies; it was always weird how others in his line of work described the Ghostbusters of old. Some believed them, others thought they were making it up. Even the previous mayor Jock Mulligan ran on a Pro-Ghostbusters platform before McShane took over and pulled the licensing agreement with the city. Carl's own personal history with them before Eduardo was nothing short of hard to believe. Eduardo believed in what he was doing despite previously believing otherwise, just like him. If it was only that easy to see what he did…

The whole walk down the stairs he was lost in his own thoughts. He was oblivious to the whole situation going into the lounge. He took mild notice of the couch and saw the residents and guests of the firehouse gathered around it. He haphazardly walked to the group and walked to Roland, "Hey, Jackson, I have your…" he finally looked up toward Roland and was about to hand the cell phone to him when he noticed the most absolute insane thing he'd seen all week:

A black cat shooting a yellow beam of energy into Dan and Darien's heads from her own head.

The whole sight caused him to yell out, "What in the hell?!" Carl's yelling broke Luna of her concentration, making her turn her head while her Luna Mind Meld was still active. She looked at Carl causing her Meld beam to strike the man directly into the head. Eduardo was standing nearby as he witnessed what was now happening and tried to grab his brother just as he was hit with the beam. Eduardo was then enveloped with the energy of the beam causing both of the Rivera brothers to tense up. Before anyone knew it Luna finally stopped projecting her beam, the black cat shaking her head and putting her paw to it. Once the beam cut, both Eduardo and Carl were on the floor.

Dan and Darien snapped out of their hypnotic state just as Roland, Amy, and Egon started rushing to the Rivera boys' sides yelling out commands and checking vitals. Once Luna shook off the sudden disorientation she realized what just happened, "Oh, my goodness! What did I just do?" Artemis was beside her, but had jumped down and rushed to Mina's side who had also knelt down beside Eduardo. The white cat asked, "Are they okay?" Kylie got beside Mina and took out her PKE meter to see if the meld did anything, "I'm not seeing a significant change in brain wave on Eduardo, but it looks like Carl's took a hit." "Confirmed," Amy stated as she scanned the both of them with her computer, "glutamate neurotransmitters have increased in the hippocampus center of Carl's brain. Whatever just hit Carl seems to have been transferred from Eduardo's memory."

Kylie put down her meter, "What could possibly be in Eduardo's brain other than cheat codes for DOOM to change Carl's so significantly?" Mina turned to Kylie and started to get angry with her. Kylie took notice of the woman's face as she scowled at her. At first she was put off by the woman's facial expression but then asserted herself, "What?" "How could you possibly insult him and call him stupid every opportunity you get?" the Scout of Love asked, "What is the matter with you?" That made Kylie flinch in surprise at the woman's angry statement, making her take pause. Just as both Carl and Eduardo were coming around and Egon and Roland were helping them up, Roland spoke out, "Stop it, you two."

Egon got Carl stabilized and proceeded to ask him, "Sargent, are you okay?" Carl's eyes snapped open as he started to frantically look around at everyone in the room. The girls in the room started to take notice of Carl's frantic behavior. Dan, Darien, and Luna finally joined the rest of the group behind the couch, the three in the meld with the crystal disoriented with the sudden break of communication. Carl saw the black cat and started to scramble to his feet, nearly knocking Egon over in the process. He backed away, "What are all of you? How… how… how…"

"They're the Sailor Scouts, Sargent Rivera." Luna walked her way to the front of the group and addressed the man who was clearly weirded out at the whole situation. He stated out loud, "I know. I know it all! I saw everything from you and Eduardo." Amy had helped Eduardo to his feet with Roland before interjecting, "You likely retrieved information not only from Eduardo, but also Luna herself."

"You're correct, Amy," the black cat stated, "I saw into Eduardo's memories, the Sargaent's, and then proceeded to project my own. I just shared all of our memories with each other. He knows everything about us, the Ghostbusters…"

"I know it all," Carl said with regret. He looked at Eduardo, "Eddie… Man, I'm so sorry, I-I never…" "Dude, we know," Dan started walking his way toward the front of everyone with Darien walking up behind him. He rubbed one of his temples as he spoke, "I just woke up from a nightmare myself. After the first few unlocks and transfers, you get used to it." "T-then," the NYPD officer stuttered, "it's all true! Everything that…" he especially looked at Dan and realized what it was he was looking at. He saw into the memories of Luna and saw the first transformation Dan ever performed that night after the fight at the Tokyo International Airport. He then saw the first time Eduardo did the same. The name echoed into his mind, "The Sailor Scouts protectors, the Solar Knights. All the Ghostbusting stuff, then this? I can't…"

"Yes, you can, bro," Eduardo finally got himself situated and approached his brother, "When I first got into Egon's class, I didn't believe a damn thing about any of this. I just learned about this a couple of days ago. I may not be the brightest in this place, but damn it, I'm trying. I am officially done with all of you thinking I can't do my job," he turned and looked Kylie square in the eye, "and I damn well mean it." That sent a shiver down Kylie's spine for some reason. There was a confidence in him she never saw before. Something clearly took place more than her meter told her. This whole time Eduardo became aggressive in a way she didn't think he was capable of doing.

He finished off the statement by looking back to his brother and punctuating his point, "We have a massive problem here. We have these things chasing after us and a bunch of cult guys wanting us dead. If the Old Dan learned anything it's that all the guys in the station you're in have to be cult assholes. We have a serious problem and we need your help." "He's right," Dan stated, "in all reality, we need to get this place cleared out." Raye had been quiet thus far into the situation. She was trying to keep up with the conversation and needed more context, "Clear what place out?" Egon knew what Dan was saying. It wasn't the first time, but this time it was the worst he had ever seen. There was but one option. Egon stated with dread…

"We need to evacuate New York."

Holly's BMW finally arrived back at the main concrete storage warehouse. Matthew was driving his Gydja to the facility, her still being dressed in her jeans and loose tee-shirt. She was confused as to why the facility was so empty. The repairs to the warehouse were supposed to hold after the second earthquake, so it made no sense the facility was closed and no one was there. No damage was supposed to result. Holly was disturbed, "Matt, what's going on? Why's the depot closed?" Matthew shifted the car into park before answering, "Prying eyes don't need to witness what I'm about to present to you, my Gydja." She didn't like that answer.

Neither did the voice, "Uh, oh. That does not sound good. We better see what he's done."

After they exited the vehicle they walked inside the main warehouse and were greeted with darkness. The further they walked the more ominous it began to feel. She was actually becoming scared. This place looked so different now that she was nearly sober, but there were issues she was having due to the lack of alcohol in her system. She felt this horrible anxiety as she walked deeper into the warehouse. The place felt alien to her, but she'd known of the place all her life. The summers she spent in the facility, making little molds and using some of the excess waste concrete to make little cement statues. She had since lost all of those statues when the Bishops took everything from her. She had since lost her creative drive and just lived in a bottle. She remembered her dad having one of the statues sitting on his desk so long ago…

She was jarred back into reality and her current anxious state when Matthew called out, "My Gydja," the boom of his echo startled her as she turned to him now standing near one of the main electrical service panels, "I present you your new allies." Flipping the circuit breakers, the warehouse started to light up bit by bit. She watched as the light illuminated and she found herself seeing through the partial darkness a group of people. She saw they were wearing the robes she had supplied but days earlier, but there was something else off about the whole ordeal. She could swear she could see something glowing green mildly through the darkness. Once all of the lights were on, she saw several people in cloaks before her, all of them with their hoods up. She was confused, "What…?"

"Don't you recognize us, my Gydja?" one of the figures asked. It was a male voice that stood out in the front of the pack. He walked forward and stopped before the woman with the light gray eyes. He slowly removed his hood and revealed himself. He was clearly of Asian descent, but his skin tone was far more pale in tone and around his eyes were red. The iris of his eyes were glowing a green fluorescent color. It was outright clear who was before her. She gasped, "Brother Chang?"

The others of the Forgotten began to pull back on their hoods as Manny talked, an almost sinister tone of voice came out of him as he spoke, "New and improved, my Gydja. Honestly, this is the best I ever felt. God, I couldn't begin to describe how any of us feel."

"Now now, Brother," Matthew stated as he walked from the electrical panel, "remember how we rehearsed it." The Forgotten member nodded, a smile across his face, "Yes, Mr. St. James. I didn't forget." Manny walked to the pile of cinder blocks that were on a pallet and grabbed one. Like ripping a loaf of bread he tore the block apart with his bare hands. Taking one of the ends of the block he crushed the piece in his hands and ground it into a fine powder. Holly watched as the man actively destroyed the brick like it was made of crackers being crushed to be used in soup.

"All of the Forgotten have been converted into the perfect soldier," Matthew spoke in his even tone as he explained, "The creatures that had been released when the First Stanza was played carried a toxin that made them stronger. After working with our doctor, we made it where they had been administered the perfect dose. They're stronger; faster; more agile; above all else," Matthew produced a 1911 .45 ACP from his jacket pocket and cocked it. Holly heard the weapon load a bullet into its chamber prompting her to turn her head toward the weapon. Before she knew it he aimed the weapon at Manny, point blank into the heart.

He shot him.

Holly jumped and screamed as the man's heart was pierced by the bullet, a large gnarly gush of blood and visceral blowing out of the wound. Manny fell to the ground and squirmed. Holly's first instinct was to pull the gun out of Matthew's hand, "Matthew, are you out of your fucking mind?! Why in high holy hell did you…" After a moment she started to hear a shuffling coming from where Manny fell. She looked back to the floor and saw Manny starting to stand up as though nothing happened. Manny approached and opened the hole in his cloak that showed the wound in his chest. He tore it open further and revealed that the wound was still there, but something was starting to happen.

Right before her eyes Holly watched as the wound started to close. The visceral pieces of flesh and bone that were ejected from the bullet impact started to grow back at a rapid pace. After roughly 30 seconds the wound was healed and gone, a small layering of blood on Manny's skin being the only indicator of the wound being there. Holly dropped the gun in sheer terror, "What the fuck did you do to them?"

"I told you, Madame Holly," Matthew said with a smug tone, "I made the perfect soldier. Above everything I described, they're also unkillable."

"Oh, my God," the voice was very disturbed by what just happened, "It's happening all over again!" That statement from the voice made Holly turn tail and start rushing for the exit to the warehouse. Manny and the other Forgotten stepped forward to go after her when Matthew put up his hand. After being stopped Manny asked, "But, Mr. St. James…?"

"I know, Brother Chang, I know," he stated calmly as he lowered his hand, "She's finally reached the stage where she's starting to get wise. Let her go," He watched as Holly got into her BMW and started backing out of the warehouse parking lot, "she already got the ball rolling. All we need to do is pick it up."