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Ghostbusters: Regenesis

Chapter 1 (Resurgence) Written by Leo_Todrius

Evening was quickly waning but the periwinkle sky above had not yet been conquered by the flood of orange light pollution that dominated the cityscape. In the midst of that sea of monochromatic light, there was one remaining bastion of blues and greens. Spanning the city's great river, the Morrison bridge was washed over with blues and greens flooding the mighty structure. LED flood lights projected a spray of color on the cement and metal as cars drove across a steel grating and water flowed placidly beneath... but it was bitterly cold on the Willamette River in the dead of winter, especially on the research boat anchored just north of the bridge.

The old boat shifted ever so slightly with the current, leaning one way and then the other. The wood and metal creaked and groaned as a testament to its age. While the cabin was fairly standard, the deck had a long, wide and low deck with a small crane and winch. It was on loan to the Portland University for their anthropology class, but there was no denying that the old boat had seen better days. Yahir knew if he had to spend many more nights in the cold air that his bones would feel as old as the boat. He paced around on the deck, trying to catch up on paperwork while he waited to be needed. His black hair glistened faintly blue in the reflected light of the bridge, though his upper lip was dominated by a soft mustache that he'd been growing since the start of the new semester.

The water gurgled and parted as a man in a wetsuit surfaced, reaching up to grab a hold of the end of the boat. Yahir put down his papers quickly, rushing to help his partner up. The man in the water was appreciative for the hand. Even with the wet suit he was tired and cold, but more than that he had a heavy polymer wrapped metal chain and breathing gear hooked to his back. Between the two of them, the man managed to get up onto the deck. He reached back and unhooked the wire, handing it to Yahir. Yahir rushed over to hook it up to the crane securely before turning back. The man in the wet suit had taken out his breather and taken off his mask, pulling back his hood. Platinum blond hair fell across his face, his skin looking even more pale than usual after his long dive.

"Jaiden, what did you find? Is it any good?" Yahir asked excitedly.

"More than good, it's unlike anything I've seen before... We're getting A's no matter how the presentation goes, I just know it. Get that winch started, we have to bring that thing up as soon as possible." Jaiden grinned. Yahir moved to turn the winch on. The crane rotated out over the water and the engine sputtered to life, starting to reel in the line. Guiding arms guided the line back and forth along the spool, keeping the pressure even and steady. Soon the line grew taut and the engine groaned even more, starting to hoist the object up.

"What is it? What is it?" Yahir asked quickly. Jaiden looked up with a grin while still trying to remove his diving gear.

"At first I thought it was some huge old steamer trunk that had fallen off of some ship coming into port, maybe that it had gotten covered in mud and partially petrified or something... That we'd find deteriorated clothes and jewelry or something..." Jaiden said. Yahir's jaw was wide.

"That does sound like a guaranteed A..." He whispered.

"But it's not, it's something even better. It's made of some kind of stone and metal... And it's old, really old. It might be Native American... Klikitat maybe." Jaiden whispered.

"Do you realize what that means? It wouldn't just be an A; we'd be remembered for being the ones to bring it up before it went to the museums." Yahir murmured.

"I just wonder what it was for." Jaiden said, setting his air tank down before he moved over to the end of the boat, watching the line reel in. Yahir soon joined him and the minutes passed before finally the water parted and the ancient artifact began rising up. Yahir was impressed; Jaiden hadn't oversold it at all. The object had to be at least eight feet wide and six feet tall. The surface was a bit pitted by the water and there were a few gouges, probably from the dredging the river went through every few years... but it was marvelously intact. Finally the crane lumbered to a stop, the object dangling over the water. Yahir rushed to the controls and the crane swung around, bringing the artifact over the bed of the boat.

"That's good, that's good... Okay, lower her gently." Jaiden said, keeping an eye on it. The object was lowered slowly until it came to rest on the deck. Yahir jogged back over, pulling out his digital camera. The flash pierced into the dark night, catching starkly contrasted pictures of the object, though they hardly did it justice. Jaiden circled the artifact, examining it with his eyes. It was covered in engraved lines and circles that seemed largely ceremonial, though there was extensive script on the object as well. Crudely forged metal bands wrapped parts of the device almost like braces as well, and on each end there was a massive turquoise oval stone with five notches.

"Hey, the one on this end is a bit lower..." Yahir said, reaching to touch the turquoise stone. Jaiden froze as he heard the sound of stone sliding against stone and the turquoise lowered further, revealing that it was set inside of a small track.

"Don't break it..." Jaiden murmured.

"I'm not; it's like... a lever or something. Maybe it opens!" Yahir said.

"We're not opening it without the professor being present. We don't want anything to deteriorate." Jaiden said, "Now, I'm going to pull up the anchor and we're going to go back to the truck and call the professor." Jaiden said, moving to the side of the boat. Yahir watched his fellow student move, waiting for him to activate the anchor mechanism. Yahir could understand Jaiden's hesitations, but he wasn't part Native American. It wasn't his own heritage he was looking at. Yahir took a breath before he moved around to the other side, reaching up to the turquoise stone. He pulled it down with great labor until it wouldn't lower any further... but nothing happened. Yahir sighed softly.

Jaiden was gazing across the river at the city lights when he noticed the reflection in the water was becoming disturbed. The boat started to groan and creak more than usual as it rose up and down, bobbing on the water. The water was rippling around them too, but... not away from the boat. The ripples were moving in towards them. Jaiden's back stiffened and he stood up, backing away from the edge.

"Yahir?" Jaiden asked as he turned around, "Something weird is-" Jaiden's words stopped dead when he saw Yahir by the artifact... an artifact that was starting to glow. The iron metal banding was starting to emanate its own amber colored light, growing in intensity while the turquoise stones glowed as well. The boat started to vibrate and shake. Even the air around them felt thicker, almost as if it was throbbing... throbbing in time with an invisible source of power. Yahir pulled his camera back up to take pictures but the device beeped and then the screen went dead.

"Come on, not now... Stupid piece of crap..." Yahir muttered, looking up at the device. The device shuddered and vibrated on the deck, moving inch by inch before the stone at the top seemed to splinter and crack. Intense amber light began spilling out of the cracks as they started to widen before all at once a huge column of light erupted into the night sky. Yahir and Jaiden were thrown backwards, slamming into the guard rails on the side of the deck as a shockwave moved out along the water. The light continued rising into the sky before it spiraled and twisted and shot off in a hundred different directions.

Yahir and Jaiden struggled to get a grip on the deck, pulling themselves away from the edge, trying to crawl and claw their way into the standing position. Yahir reached out before he saw a clawed paw set down in front of him. He lifted his head slowly, coming eye to eye with a translucent burgundy red creature. It was two and a half feet tall with a raisin shaped body, a long thick tail stretching out behind it, curling up into a sort of spiral. The creature's amber eyes blinked before it opened its mouth...a mouth that happened to take up nearly the entire front of its body. Yahir and Jaiden screamed out in terror, but their screams were lost beneath the massive sound of the light spilling out of the artifact into the skies above Portland.

****

Normally the maintenance room was a place of quiet, where equipment was brought to be repaired or stored. Metal shelves lined two of the walls while a work bench hugged the third. Most of the shelves were occupied by mundane things like screws and wires and washers and tubing, though some of the crates of pieces were emblazoned with the cautionary radioactive symbol. It was far from an ordinary maintenance room to be certain. The work bench betrayed what the room was usually used for. Resting on top of it was a partially disassembled proton pack. The lower portion was circular with three circular lights to indicate when it was powered up. The upper portion was a bit sleeker, angled a bit like a stretched out trapezoid with a long yellow cylinder on the uppermost part. It was an amazing feat of technical engineering, over twenty five years of advancement and refinement... but the proton pack was not what was getting worked over.

A young man was leaning back in an office chair, wearing the signature black jumpsuit of a Ghostbuster, the red and white emblem contrasting crisply on his sleeve... though the jumpsuit was zipped down all the way. The man was in his early twenties. His shaggy black hair was pulled back into a medium length ponytail while two strips of bangs had been left to grow long, one hanging down on either side of his face. Narrow black framed rectangular glasses rested on his face, though they'd slipped down a bit on his nose as he moaned and groaned. The man's hand was tangled in the shaggy red hair of another young man kneeling before the Ghostbuster, holding the intern to his groin where his achingly hard cock stuck out of the opened jumpsuit.

The red head bobbed his head up and down on the saliva soaked shaft, his tongue wrestling the mushroom shaped tip. He sucked and slurped with all his might, his head moving with a practiced motion. The black haired Ghostbuster moaned in deep satisfaction, his chest rising and falling rapidly as his heart raced before finally his back arched and his fingers gripped the chair. The intern buried his face in the Ghostbuster's groin before he was rewarded with thick hot cream. The red head swallowed slowly, letting the semen collect on his tongue, savoring the flavor before finally gulping it down. When the Ghostbuster collapsed in the chair, the intern licked and sucked the man's shaft clean before he pulled off and licked his lips.

"How was that Nico?" The intern asked gently. The black haired man grinned wide.

"Very good... I'm sure I'll be able to recommend that you're able to take another course here..." Nico said. He regained his strength enough to stand, stuffing his manhood back into his jumpsuit before he zipped it up, dusting off the nametag emblazoned with the surname Kingston. The red head smiled as if he'd just been given an award.

"Oh, yeah, and remember... When you're purging the buildup on the positron colliders that you should always wear suitable protective gear." Nico reminded. The intern nodded quickly, scribbling the tip down in his notebook so they'd have the guise of credibility. Both men looked up as a loud resonating bell went off, audible anywhere in the building. Nico looked back to the intern.

"You'll lock up, right?" he asked. The intern gave a quick nod and Nico was off. He moved out of the maintenance room and into the firehouse proper. While Portland lacked the tall and grand firehouses of New York, every franchise of the Ghostbusters across the country had elected to set up shop in disused fire houses. It was a modest two stories tall, but it did the job. Nico walked around the white Ford Explorer mounted with blue and white lights, tanks, cabling and a satellite dish and moved to the lockers to get his gear.

Two men were already at the lockers, also wearing the crisp black jumpsuits. The larger of the two stood at an impressive six foot and four inches tall with size fifteen boots. His smooth brown hair was cut simply, but a long goatee hung down at least five inches from his chin. He pulled out extra proton cartridges and a PKE meter before moving to the explorer. The other Ghostbuster had black hair like Nico, though his hair was straighter and his skin had a golden undertone hinting at his asian ancestry. He grabbed a pair of ecto goggles before moving following the first.

"Wait for me guys!" Came an excited shout from upstairs. A fourth young man came sliding down the pole. His black uniform contrasted sharply with his shaggy blond hair that came down to his shoulders, though his blue eyes were as piercing as the lights on their vehicle. The blond rushed over to the car, heading for the driver seat before he saw the goateed man was already there.

"Awww man, why does Seth always get to drive?" The blond complained.

"Eli, if you were on time maybe you'd get to drive." Nico smirked, climbing into the back passenger seat. Eli swung in next to Nico.

"Gray, is that true?" Eli asked, shutting his door. Grayson looked over at Seth as he climbed in and then shook his head. Eli sighed and slunk down in his seat. With all four inside, the lights on the explorer snapped on and it rolled forward, a great siren building up. Even the license plate was illuminated with extra lights, the 'Ecto 11'. Gray slipped the Ecto-goggles onto his head, letting them rest their as they moved through the streets.

"So, what's the job?" Eli asked, leaning forward.

"The calls started rolling in about twenty minutes ago; there was a huge PKE surge over the city. They've got full torso samurai apparitions at the Japanese gardens, a banshee bomber circling the waterfront and the art museum is full of class two pests." Gray replied.

"Sounds like we're going to be pretty busy." Nico said.

"Just be glad we haven't gotten a call from Oak's Amusement Park. They've got us on speed dial after all the rides were possessed last month." Seth chuckled, remembering the roller coaster car that had wanted to ride people for a change. The minutes passed before the Ghostbusters arrived in the Pearl District. The Ecto 11 stood out quite a bit rolling between the unique mix of artistic architecture. They passed brick, steel and glass buildings with modern styles and newly built brick buildings in a retro style, though up ahead several cars had slammed into one another and people were running in the opposite direction. None of the Ghostbusters had to confirm where their job was.

With well practiced precision, the explorer was parked and they were out of the Ecto. The back door was opened up and a rack was slid out. Unlike the original Ghostbusters, the Portland franchise had specialized. Gray and Seth pulled on their Proton packs and secured them. Eli, meanwhile, drew out a large green tank of positively charged slime. That left Nico as the team's trap expert. Three classic traps hung from his belt, each a foot long box in black and silver metal with yellow and black caution striped doors on the top and an L shaped handle. He also pulled on a chest harness to which a much larger yellow circular trap was attached. It was the size of a large pizza and half a foot thick, but it had the power to draw in many more ghosts at a time. Nico slid a proton cartridge into his personal blaster.

The air around the four vibrated as Seth and Gray powered on their packs. The three red lights on the back began to pulse with power while rings of bright white light throbbed up the sides of the pack. Eli turned on his slime pack and two flood lights snapped on above his shoulders. With their equipment on, the four advanced. It took some doing to get through the ring of crashed cars, but the cause of the accident was rather clear. Six translucent pink ghosts waddled around on small feet, flapping useless wings while their ribbed spindly necks held up a head that was little more than a mouth full of spiny teeth and bulbous eyes. While they weren't capable of much damage on their own, the massive purple squid like creature sitting in the center of the destruction certainly was.

While the tentacled creature resembled a squid in the long shape of its head, it clearly wasn't sure what it had intended to be. The large oval purple head was capped by jagged yellow teeth, another mouth ran around where the head connected to the body and two yellow eyes stuck out of either side, and yet another face covered the front of the beast, facing forward. It reached out and picked up one of the near by cars before tossing it.

"Someone's got an oral fetish." Eli joked, trying to make light. Nico blushed a bit but was standing far enough back for the others not to notice. So far he'd managed to hide his condition from them.

"Eli, get some slime tethers going to tie down those tentacles. Once he's restrained, Seth and I will try to lift him off that manhole. Nico, get into position." Gray said. The group nodded and split up. Amid the crackling of fires from damaged cars and the screams of citizens, soft 'shplort' noises ripped through the air as thick green ropes of slime arched out. One end stuck to the large ghost's tentacle while Eli shot a second time at the neighboring buildings. As the slime dried out it contracted, pulling tight and pulling the tentacles in place. Eli circled, taking them out one by one. The ghost roared in dismay and tugged on the tethers but the slime had just enough give to stretch and then snap back.

Seth and Gray gave each other a nod before they held out the proton blasters and started their stream. The cold winter night was disrupted as intensely bright and hot proton streams shot out, zig zagging all the way to their target. The beams were bright white and red with crackling blue lightning all around them. The pink creatures squacked in terror and started charging at the Ghostbusters. Eli turned the switch on his nozzle before he unleashed a flood of slime that spread over the ground like an oil slick, causing three of the chicken ghosts to trip and slide. Smaller proton bursts came from the opposite direction where Nico was herding them. Seeing a new target, they charged at Nico just as he knew they would.

When the charging ghosts got into position, his boot came down onto the foot pedal and one of the small traps opened. A huge white flood of light spread outward from the open doors. The ghosts clawed and gripped at the ground with their useless wings but they slid and were finally sucked up into the air and into the trap. The box snapped shut and the indicator light turned red, blinking. After a moment the trap crackled with energy. With the smaller ghosts incapacitated, Seth and Gray continued to wear the tentacle ghost down before they switched to the capture stream. Slowly the massive ghost began to be lifted up from the ground. It struggled, trying to grab onto anything for support, breaking one of the tethers before smashing its tentacle through a window into an office building, grabbing onto a desk and hurtling it at the Ghostbusters. Grayson ducked out of the way but kept his stream on. With great effort they managed to get the Ghost a few feet off the ground, just enough for Nico.

With all the finesse of an ultimate Frisbee champion, Nico pulled the large trap from his back and hurtled it through the air. It spun much like a Frisbee before landing on the cement, sliding beneath the ghost into ideal position. Nico pulled out his wireless remote and clicked it. The dome like lid of the trap opened up into three triangular pieces as a column of light engulfed the ghost. It let out an unearthly roar of fury as it was pulled down and in, compressing smaller and smaller as it was drawn in by the ion field. Its lower body was soon engulfed and as the tethers around it snapped, it slammed in almost all of the way. Its tentacles grabbed at the sides, trying to keep from getting sucked in but one by one they all slipped and the ghost disappeared. The three remaining pink spirits even slid across the cement before they too were sucked in by the power of the larger trap.

Once they had disappeared, the doors snapped shut and several LED's on the side of the yellow trap lit up, indicating that the trap was sixty percent full. Nico rushed out, picking up the two traps. The Ghostbusters looked around at the wake of the devastation. As usual it was about half from the ghosts and half from themselves, but the city had taken out a massive insurance and escrow account for their activities. Gray's pocket vibrated and he pulled out his cell phone, groaning softly.

"The water in the Ira fountain has turned into blood..." Gray murmured.

"We'll stop by there after the art museum." Seth said. The Ghostbusters nodded, moving back to the explorer, heading out to their next destination.

****

The door to the firehouse rumbled upwards as the Ecto 11 backed into the firehouse, sliding back into place before the lights snapped off. The four Ghostbusters were so tired that they just sat in the car, watching the door rumble shut before them, the glass windows looking out on the sun filled sky. They had been working for almost twelve hours after being up for a day. Eli had fallen asleep in the back seat after carrying around a heavy slime tank all day. Seth climbed out of the Explorer and moved back to open the passenger door. He reached in to scoop up the unconcscious blond.

"I'm going to put Eli to bed." Seth murmured, moving for the elevator. Gray and Nico lumbered out. They were both exhausted, but they knew there were still more Ghosts to catch and work to do. Looking up, Gray noticed that one of their interns was sitting at the desk fielding calls and a civilian was sitting on the other side of the desk.

"Will you take care of the traps and set the slime tank to refill? I'll see what this is about." Gray asked. Nico nodded, slinging the empty slime tank over his back before he scooped the traps up in his arms, heading toward the basement. The intern looked up, his neon teal hair falling out of his eyes as he looked to Gray.

"This is Yahir Ortega from Portland University; he has information about this recent glut of calls." The teal haired young man smiled.

"Thanks Jameson." Gray smiled, offering his hand to the man, "I'm Grayson Kale." Yahir reached up and shook it gently.

"I, uh, have seen your ads on tv... I think I liked your facebook page too for one of your contests." Yahir said. Gray smirked.

"Our t-shirts are pretty collectable." Gray smiled, moving to sit down next to Yahir, "So, you have information about this recent activity?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, you see... I'm in an anthropology class and we're partnering with various forensics and archaeology classes. My classmate and I were on the Willamette, by the Morrison bridge... We brought up this artifact, it was old... Looked like it was made of stone and metal, like a giant steamer chest... but we bumped some stones on the side and it lit up and there was a shockwave and a column of light and these... ghosts appeared." Yahir murmured.

"And is the artifact still where it was?" Gray asked.

"Last I checked, we... just ran. I'm sorry it took me so long to come to you, I didn't know what to do." Yahir said weakly. Gray smiled reassuringly.

"It's alright; you came to the right place. We'll check it out." Gray said. Yahir smiled.

"Thank you so much, you don't know what kind of relief that is." Yahir smiled.

"Where is your classmate, by the way?" Gray asked. Yahir grimaced.

"OHSU, he got hurt pretty bad by the ghost thing, it wrapped its tail around him and started crushing, but it ran off before it killed him. I should get back and check on him..." Yahir said softly.

"You do that." Gray said. Yahir nodded, standing up and moving for the door. Gray took a deep breath, noticing Nico come back up the steps. Nico looked over at Gray's look.

"We got a lead on this, didn't we?" Nico asked. Grayson nodded.

"Jameson, check on the camera, is Seth asleep already?" Gray asked. Jameson flipped through the cameras before he spotted Eli in bed and the large man asleep on the floor next to his bed. Gray sighed.

"It's okay; let them sleep... We'll just have to use smarts instead of brute strength. Besides, it'll let me put on a pack for a while." Nico smirked. Gray nodded, looking back to their acting secretary.

"If anyone calls, tell them we'll get to them as soon as we can but to expect delays." Gray said. Jameson nodded. Gray and Nico moved back to the Ecto, climbing in wearily before they headed out again.

****

The steady buzzing of the PKE meter echoed out along the waterfront as Gray and Nico moved toward the boat still anchored beneath the bridge. During the day it lacked the colorful flood lights, looking almost monochromatic. Even from a distance they could see the artifact sitting on the unattended boat. Nico's eyes widened in surprise as he took it in. Grayson spotted the wooden planks that Yahir and Jaiden must have used to escape the boat. They had fallen into the mud on the shore. He moved over and lifted them up, putting them back onto the boat. As they got closer, the PKE signal maxed out, the bars going straight out as the lights flashed rapidly. Nico crossed the boards and moved onto the boat, circling the artifact. Gray followed after, examining it himself.

"I can't believe it..." Nico murmured, "The design, the cross braces... I know the materials are completely different, but it follows the fundamental principles of a ghost trap..."

"But this is hundreds of years old, maybe even more..." Grayson said in surprise. Nico smirked at that.

"It isn't unheard of. Spectrology is one of the oldest scientists. The Eifel tower in France acted as a ghost trap; there are stone formations in Europe that held ghosts for hundreds of years." Nico explained.

"Like Stonehenge?" Grayson asked. Nico chuckled.

"No, that's an antenna." Nico said, looking at the artifact.

"Look here, these stones... It looks like they were slid down." Gray said. Nico nodded, pulling over the PKE meter, changing the filters to examine it further.

"It looks like there are a couple levels of security; I don't think this wasn't designed to be opened back up. I guess it's more like a containment unit... If I'm right, only the last level of the trap was loosened so only the most powerful ghosts and the last few trapped would have been able to get out, but its getting weaker, the field is deteriorating." Nico said.

"Alright... We should get this back to the firehouse, figure out how to restore the field there. I'll bring the Ecto over, you get the crane ready." Gray said. Nico nodded, used to following Gray's directions. Grayson passed over the planks back to shore and Nico moved around the boat to gather the line back up to secure it, neither aware that they were being watched. Floating high above them was a robed spirit; his transparent robes faintly red, his face obscured in such darkness that it seemed that the robes were empty. The ghost moved, shifting completely invisible as he headed off to figure out how to deal with the modern day ghost hunters after so many years of captivity.

****

Eli stepped down the stairs slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eye. He'd really needed to sleep, though as he approached the first floor, he started to wonder if he was still sleeping. The Ecto had been parked as close to the front doors of the firehouse as possible, leaving a lot of room in the back. In the center of the open floor was the massive artifact, around which at least twenty box traps and four disc traps had been set into a circle and connected together. All the yellow cords met in a junction box where a thicker shielded cable snaked between the desks and down the steps to the containment unit in the basement. Gray and Nico each stood with their proton packs and even Jameson had been given a small blaster, though he was shaking in his sneakers at what they were about to face.

"What did I miss?" Eli asked, moving over to his locker, pulling out another proton pack. He slipped it on and flipped the switch, the heavy pack rumbling to life.

"The ghost surge escaped from this. It's a Native American ghost trap." Nico said.

"It's deteriorating so we're going to try turning the outer shell off and then on again." Gray explained. Eli grinned.

"Cool, just like the computer... So when it's sealed up, problem solved?" Eli asked.

"Well, it won't get any worse. The ghosts that got out before will probably still be out there." Seth mumbled as he moved down the steps.

"Glad you could join us." Nico grinned. Seth moved to get a pack himself.

"Alright, so just to go over the plan again... We're going to shut the outer shell off and then turn it back on, but there are bound to be ghosts that escape. We've set up a trap net; we just have to keep them from getting past the line. If they get sucked up, they'll be shunted right into the containment unit. Everyone ready?" Gray asked.

"No..." Jameson whimpered.

"Alright, let's go." Gray replied. Nico and Gray moved over, resting their hands on the turquoise stones. They pulled them down as tightly as they could before they turned them. Once more the metal banding began to vibrate and glow, turning a bright yellow. Nico and Gray remained on the inside of the trap line to reactivate the device while Seth, Eli and Jameson were on the outside. Amber light began spilling out of the top of the trunk before clawed hands reached out. Flying crab ghosts flew out as well, though they were promptly ensnared in proton streams. Nico activated the trap net and a wall of white light spread up, sucking in the crab ghosts. The larger ghost crawled out of the artifact but was promptly sucked in by the larger traps. More small ghosts rushed out and were sucked in, then dozens. At long last the turquoise stones turned dark.

"Okay, let's give it a try!" Gray shouted over the noise. Nico moved over and tried to turn the stones but nothing happened. A shot of terror moved through Gray's heart, but Nico rushed over to one of the traps in the net. He pulled out his pocket knife and sliced into the cabling, pulling out several wires. He ran them over to the artifact and set the tips against the metal banding. The turquoise stones lit up again and the device rumbled. Nico laughed in delight.

"All it needed was a jump start!" Nico shouted over the rushing noise. Nico and Gray moved back to the device and grabbed the stones, turning them back and sliding them up. Inch by inch they eased the stones up. The amber light spilling out of the stone stopped rushing out with such force before soon it had reversed, sucking the light back in. Several ghosts that had made it part way out slammed back into the stone before the amber light closed off. Nico and Gray got the stones back to the top of the track and turned them again, locking them in place. The turquoise turned gray and the artifact went silent. Nico moved over and shut the trap network, letting the room fall into silence, save for the crackling burning pile of papers by Jameson's desk. Jameson looked rather sheepish. Eli moved over to the junction box, crouching down.

"Wow! We transferred over forty ghosts!" Eli said in excitement. Seth had already brought out his PKE meter, scanning the artifact.

"No residuals, its looking locked up tighter than Fort Knox." Seth smiled.

"Then it's probably safe to move down into the archives." Gray said, yawning a bit.

"Eli and I will take care of it, you two need to catch up on your sleep. It's your turn." Seth smiled.

"Thanks buddy." Gray said, moving to hang his pack up before he moved towards the stairs.

"I... gotta check something in the maintenance room, Jameson, would you help me?" Nico asked, setting his gear down. Jameson gave a grin and nodded, setting the blaster on his desk. Nico led Jameson around the corner and through the door, letting the intern in before he locked the door and pinned the teal haired young man to the door, rubbing up against him. Nico began grinding his crotch hard against Jameson, moving to kiss and suck on the intern's neck until blood welled up to the surface of his skin.

The big secret Nico had been hiding from his teammates was that he had satyriasis, the male version of hypersexuality disorder known as nymphomania in women. He'd suppressed it as best he could, but the urges got too strong, too frequent. Thankfully there were plenty of interns that didn't seem to mind. Nico reached down to unzip Jameson's jeans, running his hands through the teal bush that nestled his groin. Nico loved that kind of attention to detail. Nico knew he was going to sleep like a baby after this.

****

A strange wind blew through the trees, leaves shuddering and swaying as the robed ghost became partially visible again. He peered around at the massive park. It was called Hoyt Arboretum by the humans, but it was just enough of a stretch of nature for him to do his work. He had felt the pull of the artifact, then its silence. His prison was no longer in the picture. It was time to resume his work, but he had lost his army, his allies, even his superiors. The spirit came to a stop before he held out his hands. The ground rumbled and shook before two pillars of stone rose up on either side of him. He turned, then two more appeared, then two more. He stepped out of the circle and pointed. Large pillars jutted up out of the ground as red energy started to arc between them, crackling. The clouds above began to billow and thicken.

In the distance a shrieking sound came as a huge red scaled dragon beast with an extra large head approached, flapping its wings as it descended. Three foot tall pearl colored ghosts hobbled in, nothing more than tiny horns and eyes and a massive hollow mouth filled with rubbery bars. Blue glowing money bats and scrambling gremlins scattered over the area as the grass turned brown and a fog spread out. Even the trees grew black, looking more wicked by the moment.

"At last the time of Thana is at hand..." The robed ghost murmured, watching as a portal opened in the midst of the stone pillars, "Come forth my allies, help me rule this world." He called out, raising his hands in triumph.

****

After sleep and recovery, the Ghostbusters had headed back to work. Despite dealing with the artifact, it seemed that hundreds of ghosts had managed to escape between the time it was activated on the river and sealed again. They would be busier than usual for several months... at least they had assumed that would be the case. Seth drove the Ecto along, crossing bridge after bridge. Grayson had pulled the glove box open to reveal a computer interface. Nico sat in the back seat, mildly groping himself, trying not to gain the attention of Eli who was too busy playing his 3DS.

"The PKE levels are higher to the west, but we aren't getting reports anymore... Even the big baddies we knew were out there aren't terrorizing people anymore." Gray said.

"Don't sound disappointed." Nico smirked.

"Well, I'm worried they might have migrated... Or they're up to something.

"If they've migrated there isn't much we can do, but the higher levels indicate they're near by. What if they are hiding out somewhere there isn't anyone to report them? Somewhere that doesn't get a lot of visitors." Seth suggested.

"What's west and doesn't get many people..." Gray considered.

"The zoo! Cause they charge so much." Eli smiled.

"Actually, there's that arboretum by the zoo... It's the dead of winter, maybe people don't want to go walking in the rain and cold." Nico said.

"Sounds like a good enough place for me." Seth said, changing lanes and heading west. Despite the heavy traffic of Portland, the Ecto was given as wide of a berth as ambulances and fire trucks since it, too, provided the city a valuable service. They merged onto I-405 and accelerated, heading through the tunnels and out toward the arboretum. The closer they got, the higher the PKE signals climbed until they had passed the zoo. The clouds over head looked furious, stormy and thick. Seth took the Ecto as far into the park as he could get, passing numerous empty parking lots, rising up in elevation until they reached one of the taller hills.

The Ghostbusters climbed out and suited up. As usual Seth and Gray put on their proton packs, leaving Eli to slime and Nico to trap. They moved up the hillside to the peak, though as they saw over the edge, they saw just how bad things had gotten. Massive rib like bones stuck out of the muddy earth, fires snaked across the ground and it was rife with lower class ghosts all over the place.

"I'm glad the city pays us..." Nico murmured.

"Let's get to business... If we can close whatever dimensional cross rift is down there we'll have a chance." Gray said. The other three nodded and they began moving down into the gully controlled by the spirits. Proton streams cut through the air in sudden bursts, knocking back the smaller ghosts, though as they came in thicker and thicker swarms, Gray and Seth had to spend more time fighting them back. In addition to his usual four traps, Nico held an extra one in front of him. As ghosts surged, the yellow trap doors swung open and they flew right into captivity. Eli was firing off slime tethers right and left, sticking ghosts to trees where they couldn't escape.

"Ah, the Ghostbusters are here..." Came a deep growling voice. The four Ghostbusters turned to see the eight foot tall red robed spirit.

"You know of us?" Grayson called out. The spirit gave a spiteful chuckle.

"As long as humans have existed, there have always been 'Ghostbusters.' Only the name and your tools change... But it won't be enough to stop me, not this time... This will be my Regenesis, the resurgence of the ghosts by the hands of Thana!" The spirit called out. The Ghostbusters gave no witty retort, nor did they even look at each other. All four opened fire at once. Proton streams and slime arched out but Thana disappeared, appearing somewhere else a few moments later. He cast out his hand and the ground beneath the Ghostbusters shuddered and shook before it exploded, sending chunks of dirt and rock everywhere. While Grayson disappeared into a hole and Eli tumbled down the hill, rolling uncontrollably, Seth and Nico were lifted upwards by something beneath surfacing.

Both men held their hands out at their sides, trying to keep balanced. The dirt sifted away, revealing that both of them were standing on massive six foot long tongues... and in the mouths of creatures that had unhinged their jaws. Seth and Nico tried to jump, but the creature's heads snapped shut, knocking both onto the tongues inside. One creature was covered in orange scales with a single eye and two white horns sticking up. Its triangular shaped body was lined with tiny little claw like feet. It began scuttling away with Seth trapped inside. Nico's captor had four legs but had a thick purple leathery hide, his head shaped somewhat like a hippo. He waddled off in the other direction with his captive.

Eli coughed and sputtered, trying to get the dirt out of his mouth. He reached for his slime blower but a small flying blue monkey swooped down and opened his mouth, ramming his entire body over Eli's hand up to his wrist. Eli grunted in dismay, reaching for his weapon with his other hand. Another monkey swooped and did the same thing. Once both had engulfed his hands, their tails whipped out and coiled around each other, effectively making ghost handcuffs. Thana moved over, lifting Eli up by the straps over his chest, examining the heavy tank on his back.

"You hunt my kind with our own tool? For you I believe I have a very suitable punishment in mind." Thana said. Eli struggled against the bindings on his hands. Thana extended his fingers and long sharp black claws emerged. He sliced through the straps and Eli's pack fell to the ground. Thana fell to the ground and rolled, getting up onto his knees. He sprung up to his feet and sprinted, trying to make a break for it. Thana looked over to an amorphous floating blue ghost and pointed in the direction Eli had run. The blue ghost turned and swooped.

Eli zagged back and forth, trying to evade the blue ghost behind him. The ghost was catching up fast, passing right through stone pillars and trees, leaving only thick blue slime behind. The ghost reached into himself and grabbed balls of blue slime before hurling them at Eli. One ball missed and spread over the ground, but one clipped Eli in the back. Eli toppled forward, hitting the ground as the slime spread over his back, hardening at once. He grunted in dismay, trying to roll over. He managed to roll over onto the shell just as the ghost lobbed another slime grenade. The ball hit him square in the chest, arching over him, meeting up with the other piece. Eli roared in fury as the light faded around him, the slime completely encasing him. It continued to harden and thicken, forming a tight cocoon like encasement.

The blue ghost moved over and got a hold of the cocoon before he hoisted it upright and set it against one of the trees. The blue ghost slowly moved through the cocoon, entering it before he came face to face with Eli. The spirit put out just enough light to illuminate the interior of the cocoon. Eli struggled to get free but he could barely move at all. The blue ghost gazed into the human's eyes before smiling deeply.

"You like slime, so do I... I'm sure we'll be good friends." The ghost said before he pushed tight against Eli. Eli tried to pull back but there was only so much he could move. As the ghost's lips pressed to Eli's, Eli felt a flood of slime start pouring into his mouth. The ghost was exuding it, dripping like a faucet. The slime showered down Eli's body, washing over his jumpsuit, soaking the cloth. It was even building up in the cocoon, soaking his feet and filling his boots, slowly rising. Eli tried to fight it, but there was no way he could get away. The ghost could pass through matter; he could move through Eli and fill him with slime from the inside.

Eli coughed and spluttered, but the slime kept pouring. It coated him, it filled him... and it was mood slime. Eli could feel the psychological effects sinking into him, making him love slime, love being messy. He grunted as blood rushed into his cock against his will, making it harder and harder. His throat was tight in resistance but soon he took a gulp, then another, then another... and then he started guzzling it down. Eli moaned, gulping at the slime, drinking it down so fast that it was running out of his nose as well. The slime soaked into his skin, making it soft. The blue ghost caressed Eli's head, sliming his blond hair. The blue slime soaked into that too, staining it darker and darker.

The blue ghost moved deeper into Eli, sliming him inside and out. Eli continued to drink it down, his eyes slipping shut. His hair grew thicker, absorbing the slime, almost becoming tendrils like dreadlocks. His hair was even more intense than Jameson's, a royal blue in color. His skin had taken on a slight blue tinge as well, seeming a bit more rubbery as he began to secrete slime himself. The blue ghost slowly lowered, moving through Eli's uniform. He nuzzled the Ghostbuster's groin, licking and slurping his shaft. Eli felt like he was harder than he'd ever been before, but his cock seemed so rubbery and pliable... and so big.

Soon the blue ghost was sucking him off, bobbing his head up and down. Eli's balls ached as they turned blue and swelled, starting to produce slime instead of cum. Eli's entire body seemed soft and spongy, but he wouldn't have it any other way. He grunted and moaned before he came, pumping glowing blue cum into the ghost. The ghost gulped it down, but Eli was producing so much that the ghost was starting to swell. Eli kept cumming and cumming, filling the ghost. The cocoon cracked under the growing pressure before it exploded, pieces raining down everywhere. The blue ghost slipped back, turning to examine his handiwork.

The blue monkeycuffs flew off as Eli stood there in his new form. His slime soaked jumpsuit slid off of his blue shoulders, dropping to the ground. He stepped out of it and his boots, his naked flesh covered in a thin sheen of blue slime. He licked his lips, his tongue and mouth steadily drooling slime. Even his hair tentacles were covered in slime. He stretched and moaned before grabbing his rubbery cock, milking fountains of blue slime from it, spraying it all over the place. The blue ghost smiled in delight before tackling Eli, humping him furiously.

****

Seth had tried to escape his living prison for minutes, but the creature had continued to scuttle and take him further away from his friends. Worse, the ghost's teeth weren't the cleanest and the smell was disgusting. Seth's saliva soaked hands pushed against the roof of the beast's mouth but it still held him tightly. After several more moments the 'ghost trap' came to a stop and suddenly spit Seth out. The massive man landed on his hands and knees, but before he could get up, the stone beneath him moved, coating his legs up to his knees and his hands. Seth tried to break free, pulling and roaring in fury until he heard something scrape against the ground. He turned his head to see a thick talon covered foot, a powerful leg, a muscled torso and a thick leathery wing. It was a gargoyle...

The eight foot tall slate gray demon moved around, using his claws to cut the proton pack from Seth's body. He lifted the device from the human's back and tossed it aside like some unwanted magazine. He grabbed Seth by the collar of his shirt and lifted him upright. The stone shifted and moved with the Seth, keeping him trapped up to his knees. The stone around his hands let go of the ground but stayed on his arms, weighing so much he couldn't lift them. Soon Seth was locked in place, standing before the gargoyle in his stone braces.

"Yesss, you'll do nicely." The gargoyle said, "So big and strong... Stalwart and quiet."

"Your plan won't succeed..." Seth growled.

"My plan is to make you very... very much better. I hope it will work." The gargoyle smirked, "But that tongue is enough for now." He said, reaching to a boulder. His claws moved through the rock like it was butter, getting a handful before he spread it across Seth's mouth. It instantly hardened into a cement like streak, sealing his lips shut. Seth grunted hard, helpless. The gargoyle circled Seth several times before he nodded to himself, realizing where to start. Without any hesitation he sliced into Seth's uniform, shredding it and letting it fall aside. The Gargoyle looked at the man's powerful muscled flesh, long uncut cock and thick brown bush before he moved back to the boulder, scooping up his supplies like an artist.

Seth gave muffled protests of dismay, struggling to move but he couldn't. The gargoyle splattered liquid stone onto Seth's chest and began spreading it across him. Seth's eyes went wide in shock, pain, terror and power. His eyes shimmered, turning from brown to gray before his pecs began to twitch and swell. The gargoyle kept spreading the stone over Seth, sculpting the perfect muscles, but beneath his skin his muscles were pushing out and growing into just that. The gargoyle spread the slimy stone down across his abs, watching as they formed into a ten pack. The gargoyle stepped away to get more stone before returning, moving around Seth's back.

Two hands full of stone were lifted up before they were drizzled onto Seth's shoulders. He nearly collapsed in sensation as his bones, muscle and flesh stretched wider. Seth had always been huge, but as his shoulders widened and new muscles filled in, he was more than just the size of a linebacker, he was giving the gorillas at the zoo a run for their money. The gargoyle smeared the stone all over Seth's back, coating his spine, letting it cover every inch. He worked it over the man's muscles ass cheeks. The stone on his chest and stomach had been exposed to the air long enough to start hardening, but rather than returning to stone it was turning into leathery skin... skin that was becoming his own.

The gargoyle had meant to do a light first coat, but working with such a blank canvas was irresistible. He kept scooping up more and more rock, packing it onto Seth. More and more muscles were formed on his shoulders, capable of supporting immense weight... and then the gargoyle started building what they would support. He moved over to a spot cleared of all grass and dirt and reached down, cutting into the Earth itself before he cut out two sheets of stone in the shape of wings, bringing them over. He lifted them up, affixing them to Seth's back. The stone sunk into his flesh and became red hot fusing with his body until the entire wing suddenly flexed, growing ribs and flesh and clawed tips. With such positive results, the gargoyle lifted the other wing into place.

Seth shivered with such potent emotions as he felt his wings flex and flap, moving them for the first time. He felt so helpless, so trapped... but so powerful and amazing. The power was intoxicating. While Seth was so fixated on his wings, the gargoyle quickly built a spaded demonic tail, though Seth's anatomy wasn't quite right. He reached up and pushed Seth's ass cheeks apart so his pucker was exposed and there was room for a tail before he slid it into place and it fused with Seth's tailbone. Seth's leathery back arched as his tail whipped around for the first time. He growled against the mouth cover, feeling so overwhelmed.

"See, I told you it would make you better." The gargoyle chuckled, getting more stone to work with. He moved back to Seth and crouched down before the large man, starting to rub the stone over Seth's balls. With each rub, stroke and smear, they were growing large and heavier. While they had started at the size of golf balls, they soon surpassed the size of eggs, then kiwis, soon hanging low and as large as small oranges. Seth was starting to get a very good idea of why gargoyles turned into stone during the day if they were made of so much living rock... but all his thoughts came to a stop in a brilliant moment of searing pleasure.

The gargoyle brought his hand down along Seth's shaft, coating it in slick mud like stone that was seeping into him and becoming one with him. The gargoyle coated the length, sliding his hand up and down, stroking Seth off and adding more stone at the same time. Still, the gargoyle was a perfectionist and he wanted to get it just right. He added more and more, thickening the cock up, adding length to it inch by inch. He reshaped the tip until it tapered into a point. No matter how much the gargoyle added, he wanted more and more. Soon Seth was as thick as a beer can and very much longer, but then the gargoyle realized what was wrong, the angle!

The gargoyle slowly brought Seth's cock up, making it hard enough to stand on its own. It was so achingly aroused and it had been made so long that soon his drooling cock head was standing just a few inches from his nipples. Seth couldn't stand the pleasure anymore. His massive balls throbbed and his cock pulsed before creamy white seed erupted from the tip, running down his very long cock to drip from his balls. The gargoyle chuckled happily before moving around, finishing up various details.

Figuring the human was compliant enough, the gargoyle moved to reshape the stones weighing his arms down. He started on Seth's left, touching and massaging the weighted rock until it was as soft as putty. He carefully worked it around Seth's hands, forming the stone into over large talon tipped paws, making sure his palm was nice and massive. The excess claw was worked up onto the thick gray arms to give the behemoth even more muscle. The gargoyle moved around to the other side and soon changed Seth's other arm to match... leaving himself vulnerable should the human choose to use his new freedom to attack.

Seth warred at himself with his options. He had the body of a strong gargoyle but the head of a man, though his legs were still encased... He could try to escape, but with his legs stuck he wouldn't get very far... Seth decided it would likely be best to entertain himself until he was free. He wrapped one huge hand around his huge cock and started to stroke it, moaning and shuddering as it started leaking gargoyle seed again. The gargoyle suppressed a chuckle and moved down to work with the stone encasing Seth's feet. He worked the stone up and down, massaging Seth's legs into huge trunks of muscle, making his feet almost twice as big as before, tipped with huge claws.

Despite being free, Seth was too absorbed in his shaft to move or let go. He panted, thrusting into his hands eagerly, his tail swishing and his wings flexing. The gargoyle got two more hands full of stone and came up behind Seth, reaching up. He slopped the stone into Seth's hair, massaging it in before smoothing it over. It dripped down onto Seth's forehead and in front of his ears. The gargoyle kept sculpting Seth's head, curving it carefully before sliding the stone around his eyes and across his nose, building a good base. Once the stone soaked into Seth's skin enough, the gargoyle started to build a thick, proud horn rising up from his temple. He built it bigger and bigger, a bit curved and a bit angled, but perfectly demonic. The gargoyle moved to the other side and replicated the process.

It was hard to put into words, but the weight of the horns on Seth's head was intoxicating, like it was squeezing out his morals and inhibitions. When the gargoyle finished the very tip of his second horn, Seth hissed in pleasure... or he would have if his mouth wasn't sealed. The gargoyle took stone to Seth's ears next, sloping them back and building them into points, giving them little flares on the bottom edge for dramatic effect. He coated the man's cheeks, his upper lip, even his eyelids and nostrils. He bulked the nose up a bit, making it appear more animal. Carefully using his claw, he sliced into the stone seal over Seth's mouth and Seth gasped for his first unrestrained breath. His nostrils worked okay, but he'd been suffocating a bit anyhow.

While Seth reclaimed his breath, the gargoyle worked the clay down his chin and across his neck until every inch of his body had been covered and changed... but his goatee. The gargoyle smiled, taking a moment before he started massaging the stone into the long tuft of hair, the brown turning gray and hardening. The gargoyle pulled the tuft into two pieces, twisting the hair and curving it until the gargoyle had two long curved spikes coming down from his chin, making him look quite wicked. The gargoyle circled his creation, checking that everything was right before he popped a ball of liquid rock into his mouth and leaned in, giving Seth a kiss. The stone washed in, coating his teeth, hardening them and sharpening them, giving him fangs and a thick tongue. When the gargoyle broke the kiss, Seth hissed in delight, spreading his wings wide and proudly.

****

While Eli and Seth had fought their instincts the entire time, Nico had been unable to. He was trapped in a giant mouth, covered in saliva, squeezed and massaged by the writhing flesh. He finally knew what his cock felt like, and that made his cock hard. He had torn his uniform open, pulling out his naked malehood and was stroking furiously, spurting precum all over himself and the ghost tongue as he was taken wherever he was going. The creature seemed to be taking its time, going one way and then the other. Either they were going somewhere remote or the ghost wanted it's captive to cum before they got there. Nico was in no hurry to cum, wanting to make the pleasure last as long as possible. He didn't get the chance.

The ghost carrying Nico came to an unceremonious stop before it opened up and spat out its passenger, keeping the trap harness clenched in its teeth. It had already swallowed the smaller ones Nico carried. Nico tumbled across the ground, spinning around to watch the trap submerge into the earth, no doubt returning to its master. Nico stood up and looked around, trying to get the bearings of where he was... though wherever it was, it had been transformed quite a bit by the ghosts coming through the rift. A creek of thick, creamy white goo flowed off to one side and the plants had changed, growing into long thick tubular lengths dripping with sap and aloe. Nico fell to his knees, thrusting his hand up and down more furiously than before, his eyes squeezing shut in lust.

An airy chuckle came from the fog, though it was ethereal and otherworldly as it seemed to come from the fog itself. The vapor condensed and formed into an image. At first Nico thought it was that of a man, but it wasn't quite right. As the lower extremities grew clearer, they formed into two hooves... digitigrades legs, a nub of a tail... a fit torso, long arms, a manly head... and curved ram horns. The fog continued to shift, giving the spirit a gratuitous long dropping shaft and huge balls. He circled around Nico, leaning in to sniff the human.

"You, my friend, smell glorious..." He purred, "How many men have contributed to that scent? Ten? Eleven since the last time you washed?" The ghost asked.

"Only eight..." Nico admitted, blushing furiously. The satyr spirit chuckled.

"Then you have some very manly friends with potent scents, you'll have to introduce me..." The ghost cooed.

"We're going to stop you..." Nico said in an idle threat. The satyr chuckled softly.

"Stop me? You can't even stop yourself... You're sex crazed, but don't worry my son... You wouldn't want to stop it." The satyr said, leaning in close to Nico, "Not when I can help you achieve new heights of your abilities..." he whispered, licking Nico's ear. As the ghostly tongue caressed the flesh and passed through it, Nico's ear stretched into a long point for just a moment before returning to normal.

"What... abilities?" Nico murmured. The satyr nearly screamed in delight, he already had the human hooked.

"All you have to do is let me in... And you'll be able to suck men off without having to breath... You can cum any time you want for as long as you want... You can take more men than you can count into yourself and walk away unharmed... I can bring you such pleasures... if you let me in." The spirit whispered.

"Let you in?" Nico asked in surprise.

"My body was stolen from me long ago... but if we share yours, I know you'll enjoy it... Just... imagined. He whispered, moving his body through Nico's so their cocks lines up. The satyr's was so long it bobbed right in front of Nico's lips. Nico leaned forward to take it into his mouth instinctively, but the vapor disappeared as his lips touched it. The human whimpered in need, humping the air instinctively.

"Take me... Fill me... Fuck me with your soul..." Nico moaned, climbing onto his hands and knees before standing. The satyr spirit moved back and circled the human before slamming into him, the vapor disappearing before Nico was standing there alone. Nico panted hard, wondering at first if anything had happened... but then he noticed his fingernails were changing color. He lifted his hands, watching the nails turn from white to a deep brown. He then moaned as his head throbbed in bliss. His ears stretched out inch by inch into angled points, sticking out of his shaggy black hair.

Nico reached up to push his uniform off of him, letting it fall to the ground. His legs were already changing. The black hair that covered them had never been so dense before. New hairs were growing all the time, stretching thicker and curling. Slowly over the course of a few minutes his skin disappeared beneath the forest of black fur. Nico shivered as his pucker suddenly felt cool air, his ass cheeks parting as a goat tail grew in above his entrance, flicking about. The Ghostbuster stumbled as his toes started growing together. His toenails turned brown before spreading over his fused feet, covering them protectively and hardening into hooves.

Nico took a few steps before the bones in his ankles and knees shifted, his legs contorting quite a bit before they looked like those of the satyr. New blood and ectoplasm rushed into Nico's cock, the length throbbing as it stretched to new heights. Nico couldn't help but wrap both hands around his shaft, stroking wildly. Each time his hand slid up his length, the cock stretched longer and each time the hand came down, the shaft grew thicker without getting any shorter. Nico was pumping his cock like mad, watching it stretch up toward his face inch by inch. Nico was in bliss before blinding searing pain spread through his skull. His eyes wrenched shut and he moaned before he called out in pain, trembling. Lumps pushed out from his skull, the skin stretching more and more before finally the skin was pierced. Blood rushed down the sides of his face as thick brown horns emerged, curving out away from his forehead and then up. The horns grew in a few more inches before they stopped.

Nico was panting and drooling as his cock passed two feet and was so thick his cock couldn't quite close around it. Nico stretched toward his cock, his tongue sliding out longingly. The shaft continued stretching before, in one eager bob of his head, Nico managed to catch the head of his cock in his mouth. He started sucking vigorously, teasing his cock slit with his tongue, knowing all the right spots to stimulate himself... and the satyr inside him. Every so often one of his movements wouldn't be his own, the satyr was getting comfortable in his body. As Nico sucked himself off, his upper lip darkened as black stubble emerged, pushing out into a mustache. His chin darkened as well before black hair grew out, curling back under his chin in a short goatee.

While his cock had swollen to monstrous lengths, soon his stroking had little effect, though he was practically long enough to deep throat himself. Nico suddenly flopped down onto the ground, fondling his balls with one hand, stroking a huge shaft with the other and sucking himself off. It was quite possible if the satyr hadn't had partial control of the body that he would never leave that clearing again... Though the satyr was content for the moment remaining right where he was, feeling physical pleasure for the first time in so long, filling his stomach with the seed of a former mortal.

****

Thana paced back and forth around the rift, feeling the growing power of the spirits. They had added more to their numbers, they were more powerful than ever and the defenders had fallen by the wayside. There was no one to stand in their way... though something wasn't quite right, they hadn't added quite as much power as Thana had expected. Something was missing... Just as the red robed ghost contemplated, a wailing siren sounded before the flashing lights and flood lights of the Ecto 11 careened over the cliff, rolling down the hill and over ghosts, leaving a trail of splattered slime behind it. Thana roared out in anger, sending the hoard of ghosts after the trespassing vehicle. Swarms of flying two headed snakes and jail jaws moved after the car, leaving Thana behind.

It all seemed to be going well before there was a faint sound behind Thana. He turned, noticing a dangling green tether stuck to one of his stone columns, connected to a distant tree. Another of the columns had been tethered as well, connected to a distant rock outcropping. The tethers tightened and hardened before both columns collapsed and fell over, angling together. Thana's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. The portal in the midst of the circle flickered, losing power... because the power was being redirected...

Grayson threw down the slime back and used all of his body weight to knock the Micro-Containment Unit from the back of the Ecto over. The giant device was half the size of the artifact, but served a very similar purpose. The side facing Thana was covered in yellow and black stripes. Thana knew that the changes to his array would act as an antenna, magnifying the power of the trap a thousand fold. He had to stop the human. Thana stepped forward but Grayson shouted out.

"Don't you move..." Gray threatened, "Where are my friends?!" he demanded.

"Your friends are fine; they have been well treated... I can take you to them." Thana offered.

"Bring them here." Gray growled. Thana smirked. It had been a weak gambit to begin with.

"As you wish." The ghost said, reaching out into the night, beckoning with his hands. After a few moments a blue ghost arrived, followed close behind by the floating blue slimy specter of Eli. The moonlight was blotted out for a second as two gargoyles swooped by before landing, the weight of their bodies so heavy that the ground cracked beneath them... and after several long minutes, a very well endowed satyr moved out of the tree line, though the face was obviously Nico. Gray shivered in shock at what he saw.

"Eli, Seth, Nico..." Gray whimpered.

"Don't be sad for us Gray, this should be a celebration..." Seth growled in delight.

"We feel more amazing than ever... This is such perfection." Nico grinned.

"And all you have to do... is let us close, let us show you our affection." Eli murmured.

"You three are really happy like this?" Gray asked, walking around the MCE, taking several steps away from the trap to ease the ghosts, though his right foot nudged the slime blaster he had discarded moments earlier.

"More than you can no... We're so much more now." Eli said, his voice sounding almost song like.

"But you will know, you'll be so strong, so amazing like me." Seth said happily.

"Unless he comes to my bed..." Nico said.

"You have many choices human... Choose to live with your friends for the rest of time." Thana said. Grayson lowered his head as if to contemplate, but the gears were turning in his head. He had been prepared for many things, even his team being compromised... but Eli's state was a variable he couldn't have prepared for... But he remembered what Eduardo Rivera had told him in New York. After a certain point being a Ghostbuster came down to trusting your gut and taking really foolish chances, though he hadn't quite said it that eloquently.

With no hesitation, Gray grabbed the slime blower and fired slime tethers, sticking Seth right in the chest before attaching the other end to a boulder, turning to hit Nico in the chest before sticking the other end to the tree. Thana let out a roar and signaled for his minions to attack but Grayson had just enough time to lift the handle to the MCE. The massive doors flipped open and light flooded around Gray, pulling everything psychokinetic toward the device. The jail jaw ghosts and monkey cuffs went spiraling into the abyss. The banshee bomber scraped at the ground before its wings worked to its detriment, acting as a sail to catch the energy. It was pulled in, narrowly missing Gray as he ducked. The portal flickered and went out completely before the columns around the park illuminated with overwhelming light.

Both Seth and his gargoyle benefactor tried to take flight, though their heavy stone kept them from gaining altitude and finally both tumbled backwards. Seth's tether went taut and he dangled at the end of the line, but the gargoyle that had created him was drawn into the massive trap, disappearing. The stone around Seth began growing hard and lifeless at once before he was no longer at the MCE's mercy and dropped to the ground. The stone cracked and Seth rolled out onto the ground, unconscious.

More and more ghosts went flying into the MCE as the pillars enhanced the power of the device. The man sized trap ghosts were drawn up and out of the ground, clawing for grip before they went flying in... but the moment Gray had been dreading was at hand. Eli and the blue ghost had been trying to escape but they were both losing... and because Eli had become a slime entity, the tethers would have no effect. Grayson only had one chance. He charged forward toward Eli, holding out his hands. Eli slipped backwards before he slammed into Gray, passing partially through him, though there was still a tangible quality.

Blue slime soaked Gray and oozed down his front, the mood altering effects starting to kick in... but Eli was just enough ghost that he was still being drawn toward the MCE. Gray started to slide backwards, Eli acting as an anchor, pulling them both towards the trap. Gray screamed out in effort, digging his heels into the Earth. The blue ghost went hurtling past them and disappeared into the MCE, his influence likewise suppressed. Using every last shred of his strength, Gray pushed Eli just enough forward that no part of the boy was inside of him. Slowly Eli's body returned to normal, his hair becoming thin and shaggy and his skin picking up some tone, though he was still drenched in slime.

Eli looked into Gray's eyes before he passed out, going limp in the Ghostbuster's arms. He also was no longer pulled toward the trap. Gray carried Eli off to the side and set him down where he wouldn't be in the way of tumbling ghosts. Gray still had one teammate to save and no idea how to do it. He hadn't seen any other ghosts resembling what Nico had become; he hadn't seen any ghosts capable of casting that type of spell... So many ghosts had been sucked in that he was running out of candidates... Either had had been changed in a way that wouldn't revert without the ghostly influence or... the influence was being tethered just the same.

Like a soldier avoiding land mines an shrapnel, Gray made his way back to the slime tank and picked it up, strapping it onto his back. While it had been a later development by the original Ghostbusters, it really had become an essential tool over the years. Grayson ducked and dodged ghosts flying toward the MCE, making his way to where Nico was still dangling, trying to use the tether to climb up and away from the device. Gray opened the nozzle on the slime blower to full before he opened up the spray. Much like a fire hose, positively charged slime gushed out in a heavy stream that engulfed Nico, soaking his hair and body.

At first nothing happened and Gray started to fear for himself, but then he started to see it... a vapor was spilling out of Nico's nose and mouth before an after image of body parts seemed to 'echo' behind Nico's movements. The delay grew and grew before it was clear two souls had been inhabiting the same body. Eli kept the flow up, showering Nico before the satyr spirit had been knocked loose and spiraled back toward the trap in tendrils of smoke. Nico flopped down to the ground, no longer having any draw for the trap. Grayson sighed a huge sigh of relief, realizing that he had pulled his friends back from the brink... but his moment of victory wouldn't last long.

Thana had fought his fate for as long as he could, clawing and clutching and digging at the ground. He had been imprisoned for so many years... but he knew that he wasn't going to escape. He was only postponing the inevitable. He knew that he too had a choice; to be pulled in clawing and screaming, or to make his last act one of spite and malice. Thana stopped fighting and spun around; using the MCE's power to accelerate... and he aimed his body for Gray. Grayson had no time to react before the red robed ghost slammed into him. Gray was knocked off his feet and the two went rolling along the ground, grappling and fighting, drawing ever nearer to the device. Gray elbowed and kicked at the ghost that tried to hold on and take the Ghostbuster with him.

Gray groaned and fought the pull before he remembered the clasps on the straps. He reached up to his shoulders and clicked the emergency release clasps. The tank popped off of the straps and Thana suddenly lost the hundred and forty pounds of anchor that had been holding him in place. He went flying back, the slime tank in his arms before he disappeared into the massive trap. Gray reached to his belt and clicked the button and the doors swung shut. There was a moment of silence before huge jets of liquid nitrogen sprayed out of ports on the side, forcefully cooling the elements inside before they could overheat. Gray panted, out of breath, looking around before he smiled and collapsed on the ground, trying to reclaim his breath. It was going to be another long day after staying up all night.

****

The ensuing days after the incident were strangely calm for the Portland Ghostbusters. Seth, Nico and Eli had taken several days to rest up and recover psychologically while Gray and Jameson had gone out on the routine assignments, though Jameson had made it clear he was only filling in and wanted nothing to do with the job long term. The task had been made even more difficult by the fact that the Ecto 11 had crashed headlong into a series of stone pillars and had been clawed up by numerous ghosts. It hadn't yet been repaired by the shop, leaving Gray to use his own car. With Gray, Jameson and the Ecto out of the firehouse so much, it had been nearly silent. The three that had been changed stayed upstairs in beds near each other, though they said little.

On the fifth day Seth had gotten out of bed and gone into the small gym they had upstairs and had started to work out. He'd always wanted to be even bigger and stronger, but until he had been turned into a gargoyle he was afraid of how people would think of him... but he knew that the muscle and strength would feel good regardless of what people thought. He had mixed views about what had happened. He was glad that Gray had saved them, he never wanted to destroy humanity... but it had been like a wonderful drug to become what he had been for a few short hours... though he only had to look at his hands to remember what he had become. Seth's fingernails hadn't turned white again. They had remained a dark slate gray, almost as if he had painted them... and they were a bit pointed too, a faint memento of what he had been.

While Seth worked out, Eli got up to go brush his teeth after days of slacking. He moved into the small bathroom and shut the door, getting his brush out. He squeezed blue crest toothpaste onto the bristles before he paused, looking at the gel. Eli sighed softly before he put the brush into his mouth and started scrubbing. He worked at them all, focusing on his gum lines and making sure he got front and bath before he rinsed his brush clean before he cupped water in his hand and brought it to his mouth, swishing it around before he spat... though the toothpaste and his saliva was oddly thick, dripping down slowly.

Confused, Eli drank more water and swallowed before he opened his mouth and looked in the mirror, moving his tongue around. It hadn't just been the toothpaste; his saliva really was thicker... Eli closed his mouth and leaned in closer to the mirror, grabbing a lock of his hair. While it had become blond again, there were the faintest undertones of blue. Eli nearly squeaked in delight before he silenced himself. He moved out of the bathroom and over to his bunk, grabbing a PKE meter. Eli turned it on and ran it over himself but picked nothing up, no signs. He considered the symptoms a gift from his time as a ghost.

"You all clear?" Nico asked, climbing out of bed.

"Yeah, no valences." Eli said. Nico smirked.

"I meant the bathroom." Nico replied. Eli blushed.

"Oh yeah, go ahead." Eli smiled. Nico nodded, padding slowly towards the bathroom. Of the three, his experience had no doubt been the most profound. He hadn't just been transformed, he had shared his body with a ghost... and he had become the epitome of his disorder. It had been the best and worst moment of his entire life... And, for the first time since he was thirteen, he'd gone five days without jacking off. Nicolas reflected on everything... his disorder, his life, his urges and needs, what he wanted to be... and he decided that his days of having sex with every intern and hot guy he could bed had to be behind him... Well, he had decided that he'd try his hardest. He wanted to find a real boyfriend, one that he could fuck the brains out of... but be loyal to.

Nico moved into the bathroom and shut the door before locking it. He knew he wanted to be loyal to a boyfriend, but in the mean time he was horny as hell. He pulled his pajamas down before he reached in and caressed his cock, glad to give it attention after so long... but as his hand slid up and down, he realized that his cock had not quite returned to its former length. Nico slowly slid his left hand in as well, wrapping it around his cock... A grin spread across his lips as he realized he could double fist himself and still have room to jack off up and down. His back slammed against the door as he started doing just that, unable to restrain his moans. Eli glanced back at the door, wondering if Nico was okay before he heard the firehouse doors opening down stairs.

Eli turned and descended, moving out onto the firehouse floor just as the Ecto backed up into the firehouse with a fresh paint job and a new front end, all the slashes fixed. There was even a new strip of yellow and black caution lines running down the back end and up to one of the windows. Eli smiled and moved around before realizing Jameson wasn't in the passenger side. He moved to see Gray climb out of the driver's seat wearing the classic tan Ghostbusters jumpsuit. Their black ones had been so beat up that Gray had wanted to use a clean one for a while. Eli smiled before he moved to hug Gray.

"What's this for?" Gray chuckled softly.

"For saving us... And the city... and for figuring out how to use a hug to save my life." Eli smiled.

"I know any of you would do it for me." Gray smiled. Eli nodded.

"And given the way this business goes, we very well may." Eli smiled, "Now... You've been working your ass off taking care of things while we've been getting better. I'm going to order Chinese food with some of the petty cash and we're all going upstairs to eat together and then play some video games." Eli said. Gray nodded before heaving a sigh.

"That sounds very good. I'll be up once I dump the traps in the containment unit." Gray said. Eli nodded happily, moving back up the stairs. Gray looked up, hearing the weights being used and the water running through the pipes. He smiled in relief, knowing that they were bouncing back. Gray pulled the steaming traps out of the Ecto and carried them toward the stairs when the phone started ringing. Grayson glanced at the fire pole before he set the traps down on the desk and answered.

"Ghostbusters, we ain't afraid of no ghosts." Gray replied, pulling out a notepad, "Your garbage disposal is insulting your husband?.... Oh, and your cooking too... Well, we're pretty booked up at the moment. Unless you want to pay the emergency fee, I'd suggest ordering takeout until Tuesday and then we can perform a half priced drain exorcism." Gray said, pausing, "Good, see you Tuesday." Gray said, hanging up the phone before he took the traps to the basement. He moved down the metal steps, his feet echoing on them as he moved into their basement. Yellow light rose up through the metal grated floor as Gray moved over to the immense red containment unit at the back of the basement. The Micro-Containment Unit had been hooked in, shunting all the ghosts from the arboretum in, though the cycling had finished.

Gray double checked that the valves had shut before he pulled the hose out and moved over to open the cover on the center of the large circular portion of the containment unit. He slid the core of a box trap into the square slot and shut the lid before he lifted a disc trap and rotated it into the slot. He grabbed the lever and pulled down. A deep sound echoed inside the containment unit before the light turned green and Gray pulled the traps out, setting them aside. He shut the hatch tight before he turned and jogged up the stairs. Gray already knew deep down in his heart that it was going to be a great year.