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Ghostbusters: Regenesis Chapter 12 (Flipside) Written by Leo_Todrius

In many ways the Lloyd Center mall was the crown jewel of commercialism in Portland. Aside from having a wide variety of stores, the mall was designed to encourage people to spend a great deal of time there. It had a movie theater, office space, day care and medical facilities and it even had a full sized ice skating rink. Of all its amenities, though, it was the arcade called 'Tilt' that had occupied Damian and Clark's full attention. To them the low ceiling, cement floor and dim lighting was nothing short of a cave of wonders and the chaos of sounds a symphony to their youth. The attendant sat behind a desk at the entrance of glowing glass and neon yellow lights, like a silent guard... at least to the imaginations of the two fifteen year old boys.

Sweat soaked Damian's red hair as his socked feet came down on the Dance Dance Revolution pad, the squares illuminating brightly with every strike. Clark struggled to keep up, though his sweat was being pent up on the panda hat he wore, the fuzzy white flaps hanging over his ears. The two had played every arcade game, every prize game worth playing and they were winding up with DDR. Damian claimed it was to give them an adrenaline rush before they headed out so their senses were sharp, but Clark felt like it was just a way to expend the last of his energy.

The screens filled with accolades for both boys despite their fatigue, the speakers belting out the high pace beats of "Butterfly." Despite playing on different difficulties, Damian and Clark came down in unison for the last note before the song ended. The flashing lights on the console reverted from song mode to default, trying to lure in more players like a siren of the deep, but for the boys it was finally time to depart. Damian clapped Clark on the back before he moved to pull his red and white sneakers back on. Clark panted softly, grabbing his white ones. He had never understood why Damian insisted on playing without shoes, but he said it improved his reflex time. Clark was just glad it was over.

"Wanna grab something at the food court?" Damian asked.

"Sure, sounds good to me. Water. I'll go grab us a seat." Clark murmured. Damian grinned and grabbed his backpack, leading the way out of the arcade. They emerged between the movie theater and the start of the food court, leaving the low ceiling of the arcade for the vast architectural prowess of the rest of the mall. The ceiling had to be three stories above them, arching up and over with a vast skylight in the center. The light streamed down, caught by the cloth extensions around the support columns and scattered across the arching bridges that spanned the distance across the ice skating rink far below.

Damian headed off to the Taco Bell to get some water and food while Clark trudged up over the slight curve of the bridge. He felt like a very tired panda indeed, but he was still happy. He was happy whenever he was able to hang out with Damian. Clark moved past the half-walls filled with polished stones, moving into the eating area. There were a variety of options ranging from customary seats and tables to more plush furniture and even ottomans scattered about. Clark settled in a seat overlooking the ice skating rink below.

He regretted never having learned how to skate. His mother had always told him horror stories about when she had been growing up in Alaska and the boys had heated their skates and sharpened them to a razor's edge. If you fell down in front of them, bad things would happen. Still, Clark always imagined it would be a little like flying to glide along so fast past everything. The thought contented the teenager quite a bit as he waited. A few minutes passed and Damian sank into the opposing chair with a huge bag of food and two giant glasses of water. Clark clutched at the water before gulping some down, sighing with relief. Damian chuckled and began to unwrap his food.

"They tried to recruit me to join marching band again, can you believe it?" Clark asked after a moment. Damian chuckled.

"Well you do have a pretty good stamina, but I doubt the panda hat goes with the uniform." Damian joked.

"Actually I told them it was non-negotiable. They said they'd still consider it." Clark said. Damian nearly did a spit take.

"Dude, they totally called your bluff!" Damian grinned. Clark shrugged and the two continued to laugh, though their laughter ebbed as the light started to dim around them. Given that the food court was lit naturally during the day, both boys looked up through the skylight above. The bright light of day had suddenly grown very dark. They watched in surprise as the clouds grew furious, turning and twisting. There was even the flash of lightning up in the maelstrom.

"Maybe we should wait to go home until the storm blows over." Clark said softly.

"I think you're right. We're safer here than out in that stuff." Damian replied. The two boys continued to eat, though they were a little more reserved. Every so often one or the other would glance up, concerned that the clouds were only growing darker. As Damian finished off his enchilada, it was Clark that looked up and saw something he never expected to see.

"Dame... It's... There's a Tornado thingy up there..." Clark whispered. Damian shook his head in disbelief.

"Clark, Oregon doesn't GET tornados, least of all Portland. It's impossible." Damian replied. Clark gritted his teeth.

"Then what do you call that?!" Clark pointed. Damian lifted his head, gazing into the dark clouds above. While hard to see, it was surely enough a funnel cloud spiraling around above, starting to tip downwards. Damian slowly rose to his feet, gazing upwards in shock and surprise, his heart racing. He didn't know what to do. In his indecision the funnel cloud continued to drop down before the entire building shuddered suddenly. They could hear the wind speed pick up to insane degrees, washing over the massive building.

Customers began to scatter in fear, especially as the power started fluctuating to the shops and stalls. The neon signs in the food court flickered as the energy was interrupted. Amid it all, though, Damian stood right below the skylight, frozen in fear. Clark turned to run but realized his friend was frozen in place as darkness ensnared them. All light had drained away from the windows. What light did come was from the lightning above, and it was just enough to see that the window was losing integrity.

"Damian!" Clark shouted in concern, running for his friend. The skylight suddenly gave way, sending a shower of glass downwards. Clark tackled Damian, the two hurtling down the slope before Clark braced himself over his friend. The glass rained down across Clark, cutting his arms and legs a bit, but landing fairly harmlessly otherwise, at least on the bridge. Shrieks came out from the ice skating rink below as the glass scattered across the ice, sending skaters toppling to the ground, but their shrieks were lost in the screaming wind above.

Clark and Damian felt the wind licking at them, tugging and pulling. It wasn't like any tornado they had ever heard about before. The glass had been broken, but the building structure itself started to groan and creak as the storm dropped down through the broken skylight itself as if it was searching for prey. Clark grunted, the wind ripping around him so much. He gasped as he started to be pulled back up the slope, his legs lifted up by the wind. Clark grunted, rubbing Damian's shoulders.

"Damian, wake up! Wake up!" He screamed. Damian stirred, grunting, realizing they were being pulled by something. Clark looked around for something to grab onto, looking ahead. The chairs rattled before they suddenly shot upwards into the storm, disappearing into the dark vortex. The ottomans spiraled up into the cloud next, followed shortly after by the tables. The bridge had been picked clean of furniture, leaving only the patrons. Clark stood up as best he could, though the wind knocked him onto all fours a moment later. Giving up on all dignity, he started trying to roll Damian to safety... but the wind was too strong.

Clark felt his legs pulled out from under him and he slid backwards before a firm grip latched around his wrist. Damian held onto Clark with one hand and the guard rail with the other. Clark tried to grab onto the guard rail himself but the wind intensified. Clark was hoisted off the ground like a rag doll, dangling in Damian's grip. Damian growled in physical exertion, trying to keep a grip. He opened his eyes, looking at the terrified face Clark had. Clark tried to hold onto Damian, but the sweat from the arcade still clung to him and he knew he was slipping.

"Hold on!!!" Damian shouted into the wind, though it was too loud to be heard. Clark tried, but he knew it wasn't going to work. His look of terror became one of infinite sorrow before he lost hold. Damian's eyes went wide. "Noooooo!" He screamed, watching Clark spiral up into the cloud. The red head felt shock overwhelm his system. He had failed his best friend; he hadn't been able to save him... Damian couldn't imagine a life where Clark died and he lived, not that there was much chance of that...

Damian swallowed softly, feeling his fingers starting to slip. He wasn't going to go to his death willingly, but he knew if he had to go, at least he would be with Clark. Damian closed his eyes and said a short prayer. He barely had time to finish before his fingers lost a grip on the guard rail and the ground fell away from him. The wind tore at his hair and clothes, whipping around him at unimaginable speeds... but aside from that, it felt as if he was being lifted up, cradled, even flying. Damian closed his eyes and embraced what was to come.

****

The pieces of the glass chess board had been artfully arranged, the clear and frosted white pieces standing opposite one another. They were perfectly clean, perfectly polished and they had been a gift from Grayson's father. Gray sat at one side of the table, smiling with a great deal of mirth. The reason for his smile came from the incredibly curious expression that had remained on the face of the ghost the Ghostbusters had recently taken into their protection. Solid white eyes gazed through one piece and then the next, robin's egg blue fingers clutching the edge of the table for support.

Rerun was by his very nature incredibly curious, but his fascination seemed to be rooted in the past. He enjoyed repeated televisions and game shows more than new ones and his enjoyment of the past physical forms of the Ghostbusters had been explored to some length already. Gray had brought out the chess set in the hopes that he could see if the time wyrm would enjoy something new, something unpredictable. So far he seemed more fascinated with the way the light passed through the pieces.

"Are you going to make a move?" Gray asked with a smirk. Rerun lifted his torso back up, floating on the other side of the table. He rubbed his chin in thought before he moved a pawn forward, then looked to Gray to see if he did it right. Gray smiled and nodded, "A good move. I usually open with that myself." Gray said, moving a pawn of his own. Eli moved up the steps behind Gray, carrying two cups to fill with coffee.

"Are you guys playing another game?" Eli asked as he passed.

"No, we just started actually." Gray replied. Eli slowed to a stop.

"You came up here an hour ago to start..." Eli said. Gray hesitated before he looked at Rerun with suspicion.

"Did we already play a game and you looped back?" Gray asked. Rerun quickly covered his face with his hands as if that would shield him from the accusation, though after a moment his fingers spread apart and he peeked through the gap between them. Gray rolled his eyes before chuckling.

"If you're nice maybe he'll tell you who won." Eli chuckled.

"Guys!" Nico's voice echoed from downstairs, "Get down here!" he exclaimed. Gray sprung to his feet as he moved for the stairs, Eli close behind. The two jogged down the stairs to where Nico was sitting at the desk. Rerun swam through the air after them, moving to curl up on top of the Ecto and oversee what was going on.

"What is it?" Gray asked.

"There's a tornado just sitting over Lloyd Center, it isn't letting up and it isn't moving." Nico said.

"Then it isn't a tornado." Eli explained.

"We better check it out." Gray said definitively.

****

There were few things that unsettled Nico as much as an empty school at night, but an empty mall shrouded in pitch black darkness would have to rank pretty high on that same list. The mall had been evacuated of all customers and employees shortly after the roof had been compromised, but with the tornado sitting in place on top of the mall, the authorities had been all too pleased to let the Ghostbusters enter. The busters had attached lights to their blasters so they could see where they were going, though Eli and Gray had also donned Ecto-Goggles. It helped in low light situations in general, though there was obviously something going on. There seemed to be a general haze of PKE energy like background radiation.

"It's nice that the store owners had time to lock up shop, you know, when they were running for their lives." Nico commented, his black hair whipping around so much it was lashing his face. Despite being evacuated, almost all of the shops had the security gates lowered. Seth gave a gentle chuckle at the joke, though he kept his eyes peeled. They had entered at ground level through Sears, below the offices and along many of the shops, but as they advanced toward the food court, they could see that the tornado was still very much present, dancing around on top of the uppermost bridge. Eli and Gray focused their gaze on the funnel cloud's base.

"It's a cross-dimensional vortex!" Gray shouted over the wind.

"Okay, we know what it is, what do we do about it?" Seth called back. Gray tried to think, his uniform whipping around in the wind. Thankfully their proton packs helped weigh them down for the moment.

"There's a theory that heavy ions could plug up an inter-dimensional breach by slowing quantum vibrations in the universal membrane, but it's never been tested since the ions are hypothetical!" Gray shouted back. Nico glanced to his hip and the yellow ion trap sitting there, one of the two he had brought with him.

"What about ions trying to return to their point of origin?" Nico called out. Gray's eyebrows lifted. The trap pulling the ions away from the tornado might simulate the effect.

"It's a long shot, but we should try!" Gray said. Nico nodded, pulling the trap off his belt. He walked toward the inactive escalators, opening up the control panel. While Gray was the genius regarding all of the technology and the science behind it, Nico had been a pretty good study. He pulled out a small pin from the trap and used it to manipulate tiny switches. A series of green LED's in the trap turned from green to yellow, then to red. There wouldn't be any way to turn the field up higher and no way to make the ions seem any heavier. Nico began moving up the escalator until he felt a tug on his shirt. Nico turned back to see Eli behind him, pulling out a tether from his belt. Nico nodded and Eli hooked the clasp onto his partner's belt, giving it another tug to make sure it was secure. Catching onto their drift, Seth and Gray moved forward but Nico held up his hand.

'If we fail, you need a new plan.' Nico signed. He had never expected to use it, but being around Rerun so much had made it a lot more practical. Gray hesitated at the gesture before he nodded. Nico turned and moved up the stairs with Eli in tow. Eli winced as his blond hair whipped around, stinging his face. It already looked like the tornado had stripped the food court clean of every napkin, paper cup and food wrapper. Once on the upper floor, Nico grunted as he was tugged into the guard rail but he managed to lean against it, following it around the open space above the ice skating rink. Eli followed along, trying to keep a good grip at all times. He was Nico's lifeline after all.

Eli turned his head, looking at the tornado funnel. The center was oddly calm despite the uplift, as if the imbalance was not on the other side but on their side, as if energy was leaking out somewhere else entirely. Nico made it to the edge of the large bridge, unable to see the center for all the wind. He looked back to the trap and pulled out three feet that ran around the perimeter, sliding back covers underneath the feet. Inside were sharp metal teeth that would bore into the surface they landed on. Eli grimaced.

"What if it blows that around at us?!" Eli exclaimed. Nico, however, hadn't heard. He pulled the trap back and hurled it towards the tornado. The wind pulled it suddenly and Nico lurched forward. Eli turned around and grabbed onto the guard rail for dear life. The line went tight, circling around the base of the tornado before it started getting lifted up. Eli looked over at Nico, "Use it now!" he shouted, but once more his voice was muffled by the wind. Nico watched the trap ascend, waiting until it neared the skylight before he depressed his fingers around the trigger. The trap doors swung open and a bright white light was unleashed, spinning around like some sort of firework. The tornado shuddered softly and the wind speeds began dying down in the outer core.

"It's working!" Nico grinned. Eli watched the efforts with his ecto-goggles, able to see through the wind to the very energies itself. It was true; the trap seemed to be rather effective as the energy cut through the outer walls of the tornado. The wind speeds were dying down even further, enough for the trap to settle down toward the ground... but as the trap landed onto the bridge and dug into the cement, the ions went right up through the eye of the tornado, into the heart of the instability. Eli followed the ion stream with his eyes, but as it reached the point of the skylight, the ions changed color... They weren't white anymore, they were a vivid purple. The polarity was reversing, and if it did that it wasn't going to weaken the phenomena, it was going to increase it.

The air suddenly whistled as a vacuum was formed, stronger than anything the tornado had yet unleashed. The windows of the movie theater ticket booth shattered flew out, the glass lined guard rails exploded and chunks of ice from the rink below began to shatter and lift upwards. Nico yelped as he was lifted off his feet and pulled toward the tornado. Eli grabbed onto the railing with all his strength before his feet were pulled up as well. Eli turned his head, looking back to Nico.

"Turn it off! Turn it offff!" Eli screamed. Nico tried to turn it off, depressing the trigger again and again but it wasn't working. Eli clutched on with all his might. It was strong enough to hold onto the railing - but the railing was not strong enough to remain in place. The pipe snapped and Eli and Nico went hurtling upwards, caught in the tornado. They jerked to a sudden stop as the trap cord went tight, anchored only by the device, the distorted white light flickering around them through the instability. Nico wrapped the cord around his wrist and tried to pull himself and Eli back toward the ground. He made it a foot, then another foot, but then suddenly slid back several inches. Nico knew the cord was coming out of the trap. Nico used all his might to pull again, using all of his strength. Inch by inch he managed to advance, creeping down towards the trap.

Nico closed his eyes, unable to look into the trap he was climbing toward. He could still feel the weight of Eli against him, the tether pulling on his waist. He dared not look back; he had to get to the trap, to hold on for dear life. Eli held onto the tether, swinging around in the wind. He winced and gasped as the wind caught hold of his ecto-goggles and pulled them from his face, sucking them up into the vortex. Below, Nico gave one last pull... and then the cord suddenly went loose. Nico felt the loose tubing fly up around him, whipping him in the face, but it was too late. There was nothing left connecting them. Nico watched the Lloyd center mall disappear, hurtling around in the winds, being pulled upwards. As he tumbled around he noticed Eli on the other end of the tether, looking up almost serenely.

Eli had seen it far more clearly with the goggles he wore; another city, somewhere above them through the vortex. Glowing lights in the dark of night, an entire cityscape. With all the times he had heard Gray talk about other dimensions, he'd never expected it to be another reality rather than the imaginary dimensions math used, but this, this had been an entire other city. Eli grunted as his waist compressed. Nico was pulling the tether, bringing the two closer together. Realizing what he was up to, Eli started pulling from the other end. The slack was pulled back and they were soon close enough to grab onto one another.

Nico wrapped his arms around Eli's ribs and Eli wrapped his legs around Nico's waist. The two held on for dear life before suddenly the vortex around them dissipated. The two were dropped into open, empty air. The only whistling of the air came from the sound of them dropping. While the tornado had started inside a mall, it dumped out in the sky high above the city. Nico let out a yelp as they hurtled towards the ground below.

"We survived the tornado only to get squished like bugs across Portland..." Nico moaned. Eli shook his head.

"That isn't Portland! The buildings are wrong!" Eli called back.

"What are you talking about? Maybe we were tossed over to Vancouver, would that make you happy?" Nico muttered.

"No, I mean... It's like Portland but the bridges are wrong. I don't remember the Morison bridge being made out of bones." Eli said. Nico was stunned by that statement and turned, looking out across the city below them. Sure enough, things were just a bit off. In the pale moonlight the Willamette River looked blood red. The Koin tower was covered in gargoyles and stone snakes and there seemed to be legitimate castles in the West Hills. The landscape was right, but the city was very wrong.

The shock and confusion had been enough to distract the two from their freefall for a moment, but as they hurtled towards downtown, it looked clear that they were about to meet their doom. Eli closed his eyes and tightened every muscle in his body, as if will alone could let him shove himself away from the building, and suddenly Eli's body lurched out of the way of the building. The line between him and Nico snapped tight and Nico was yanked out of the way, his feet barely grazing the side. Eli gasped, though they approached another obstacle; the ground.

Not daring to question what had just happened, Eli suddenly tried pushing up with all his might. Nico let out a scream of fear as the ground came up toward him but his scream became a grunt as the air was knocked out of his lungs, the line going tight. Eli had moved upwards and lifted Nico along with him. Nico slowly opened one eye and then the other, realizing he was not falling anymore but was floating just above the ground. Nico reached out, touching the dirt with a finger before he let out a laugh.

"We aren't dead? Oh my god, we aren't dead!" Nico grinned.

"Um, Nico, are you sure?" Eli asked softly.

"Hey, we're not bug splatter. This is great." Nico sighed happily.

"Nico, I'm floating." Eli replied. Nico suddenly rolled over in mid air, looking upwards. Sure enough Eli was suspended in place, unaffected by gravity. Nico's eyes widened.

"This is different..." he murmured gently. Eli grimaced before he tried to control his newfound ability. He slowly deposited Nico on the ground before touching down himself, feeling rather like he had no traction in general. Nico slowly pushed up off the ground and onto his feet, the two looking around. They had landed in what appeared to be the back yard of a run down house. The yard was bordered by an ornamental wrought iron fence, though it didn't seem to hold the blackberry vines at bay that passed from one yard to another. Most peculiarly of all were the beds of black roses with thick thorns curving in every direction.

"This is terrible." Eli said softly.

"Eli, it's going to work out. We just have to figure out a way to get back home. For that we'll need tools to modify our equipment. The ion plan almost worked." Nico said gently.

"Even if we modified our equipment, what are we going to do? Fly all the way back up to that tornado in the sky? We fell for minutes..." Eli said. It was obvious that the strain was starting to hit him. Nico moved over and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend.

"We're going to get out of this place, don't worry." Nico said softly.

"But what if we are dead? What if this is hell? Blood rivers and everything dark and sharp... What if we can't escape from something like that?" Eli whispered.

"If this is hell, then I plan to become the sexiest demon around and rule the place with you on my lap." Nico said with a grin, "But... I don't think it is. Most of the ghosts we fight come from other dimensions; they aren't our own dead. I think the vortex is just one of those holes in reverse. The shoe may finally be on the other foot." Nico said.

"So we're... we're like the ghosts? I had no idea what it must be like, to have all the buildings and things be so alien." Eli said softly.

"It also explains why we can float. The laws of physics are probably set up along different lines." Nico said. Eli looked up at Nico gently.

"Just before we were sucked in, when the trap field intersected the roof line, the energy changed. I saw it with the goggles." Eli said. Nico sighed softly.

"I'll have to take that into account when I modify my last trap, but the proton packs aren't going to do anything but slow us down. We better leave them." Nico said softly, moving to pull his pack off. Hanging from the bottom was his other yellow ion trap. He pulled that off and clipped it to his belt before setting the proton pack in the bushes. Eli soon did the same, trying to tuck it away out of sight. Satisfied they were out of view, Nico moved over toward the gate. He lifted the latch and swung it open. The gate creaked as it moved. Nico paused in place.

"Slimey? Is that you?" Came a strange feminine voice, sounding both sweet and as if they had a frog in their throat. Nico looked over to Eli nervously before glancing forward again. "Slimey? You know I don't like pranks." The voice said before a figure moved around the corner. The female appeared to be seven feet tall and almost five wide with a football shaped head so pale it emitted its own light. A plume of neon pink hair lifted up from her head and she moved with a bit of a waddle. If anything, she reminded Nico of an old troll doll. As the woman laid eyes on the two humans, she came to a dead stop. Eli blushed.

"Hello..." Eli said softly.

"PEOPLE!" The troll shrieked, turning to waddle away as fast as she could, "PEOPLE!!!!! Someone call the Peoplebusters!" She screamed.

"All I said was hello." Eli whimpered. Nico grabbed onto Eli's wrist and pulled him, the two floating out to the street and then down it.

"This is bad." Nico grunted.

"I know, we scared that poor woman." Eli said softly.

"No, didn't you hear what she said? Peoplebusters. I tried my best to read up on old reports when I got this job so I'd know what I was going to be facing. Doctor Venkmen submitted a file once called Flipside... Three of the New York Ghostbusters wound up in an alternate reality where they were the 'ghosts' and there were Peoplebusters to protect the residents of Boo York from them." Nico said.

"So both shoes are on the other feet now." Eli murmured. Nico and Eli barreled around the corner before slamming into a large chest. They pulled back to reveal that the large chest had no head, but was dressed as a mailman with a hat resting on the shoulders. Suddenly the center part of his uniform dropped down to reveal a tall, narrow mouth as he let out an immense scream.

"PEOPLE!" he exclaimed before diving into the bushes. Nico grimaced before pulling Eli again, the two flying down the street quickly. Eli tuned his head as he heard something in the distance. It was a strange wailing noise, harsh and sharp, but it was very regular and steady almost like a siren. Eli swallowed softly.

"If I had a ghost Ectomobile, I think I'd make it sound like that." Eli whispered. Nico glanced one direction and then the other before he flew toward a two story house, heading for the upper floor. Eli's eyes widened as they approached the wall, "Nico, what... What are you doing?" he asked, closing his eyes. Nico did as well before the two barreled through the wall, passing through it as if it wasn't really solid. Once they were inside the house, Eli gasped softly in surprise before clinging onto Nico. The two barely had time to relax before they heard hushed whispers from around the corner.

"Blobby, what if my parents come home?" came one voice.

"They'll be at work for hours, but even if they do, we'll know before they get to the attic. Come on, be adventurous." Came another voice. Nico moved slowly to peer around the corner, his curiosity getting the best of him, though he wasn't prepared for what he saw. In the far corner of the attic stood too figures. One appeared to be a mummy, the other had a bat head and webbed hands. The bat slowly started to unwrap the strips of cloth around the mummy, a grin crossing his lips. Nico backed up slowly, almost chuckling.

"What?" Eli whispered.

"Teenagers, they're the same in every dimension." Nico whispered back with a grin. Their moment of mirth soon came to and end, punctuated by the screeching of tires. Eli and Nico froze, but around the corner they heard a loud thump.

"Oh creators, they are back!" The mummy trembled before he moved to one of the tiny attic windows. Nico and Eli did the same. They were aged beyond belief, but through the tiny slits Nico and Eli were able to see the massive vehicle that had pulled up out front. It was clearly a car, though the design was unlike anything either human had seen. The rear wheels were a story tall, the front wheels half the size. The body of the car was an off-white color like sun faded plastic. Was unsettled Nico and Eli the most, though, was the logo emblazoned on the car doors; a familiar red circle and cross, but instead of a ghost the interior held the bespectacled visage of one of the New York Ghostbusters.

"The peoplebusters? What are they doing here?" The mummy asked from the other room.

"Maybe they are here for another house." The bat replied. Eli and Nico's shoulders sank. Nico turned to escape but Eli lingered. Something in him needed to know. The doors to the odd vehicle opened and figures moved out. It was hard to see at first with the city shrouded in night. It was almost as if one of the doors had opened and shut itself but there was just enough moonlight to make it out.

Eli's eyes were drawn to the tallest of the figures, an eight foot tall horse man. He was garbed in a sleeveless gray uniform, one that contrasted with the thick black fur covering his muscled arms. His pant legs ended where hooves emerged, thick and large. His equine head was long and sloped, but most surprisingly of all were his glowing red eyes. The horse man reached into the trunk of the car. Eli expected him to pull out some kind of proton pack. Instead he withdraw a giant clear tank of glowing green slime filled with tiny squirming tadpole like eyes. He pulled a slime blower from the tank and held it before him, his eyes studying the surrounds.

A similar beast emerged from the other side of the vehicle, though he seemed far more regal. It was unclear what species he was based off of with his tall jackal like ears and his curved, almost anteater like muzzle, but he was positively Egyptian with the braided goatee extending from the chin of his muzzle. He too lifted up a slime pack, securing it over his shoulders. Eli nearly made a noise as Nico tugged on his shoulder.

"We have to go." Nico begged.

"I need to know what we're up against." Eli replied, looking back out of the window. He turned as he felt a tugging on his arm, watching Nico tear the Ghostbuster patch off of his uniform, then his own. He floated up and slid them out of sight in the rafters before coming down again. Eli had to admit, it was a good idea to get rid of that evidence. Nico and Eli both moved back to look out of the window and study their opposition. The third Peoplebuster was suiting up. Just as the other two, he was covered in black fur but he was far shorter and lither than the others. His muzzle was very muted, his ears pointed and soft and surprisingly enough he had two furry tails whipping around through the back of his uniform. As his paws curved around the slime blaster, Eli realized that buster was very feline in nature.

"Is that it? Three of them?" Nico asked. His question was answered as another pack was lifted up out of the back of the vehicle. The Peoplebuster they had missed thus far was harder to see than the rest, blending into the night perfectly. Part of it had been his black uniform, but it was quite a bit more likely because of the fact that he was entirely translucent, seemingly made of shadow itself. As the figure turned, two glowing yellow eyes gazed out of its internal darkness. He reached down to his belt and opened a satchel, removing what appeared to be a gelatinous skull. Inside the goo, lights began to flash and pulse.

"Looks like we've got two live ones, the signals are really strong. Let's move in." The shadow commanded. The two muscle bound entities charged toward the door.

"Oh my god, they're coming here!" The mummy said, turning to run. Unfortunately his foot caught his own unwrapped bandages, causing him to topple forward, landing and sliding across the floor... and to Eli's feet. The mummy looked up slowly, his eyes going wide, "PEOPLE!" he screamed in terror, scuttling backwards. Wings burst forth from the bat boy to shield his boyfriend, trembling in fear. Nico grabbed Eli's hand and took off, the two passing through a wall, then a chimney, then another wall to the outside world. Eli's feet treaded the air, trying to gain purchase. A life spent walking made it hard to transition to flight.

"Over here! I told you'd they'd run Set!" The horse chuckled. A strange shplorting noise like wet paintballs firing began to fill the air. Small projectile balls of slime rushed past, splattering across the nearby house.

"And here I was betting on the back door. You're going to be the life of me one of these days Coda." The Egyptian beast chuckled as he came around the corner. Nico and Eli narrowly avoided the two, diving down through a roof, though it was getting harder to pass through solid objects in such repetition. The welcome they received soon after did not make them feel any more welcome as four banshee heads screamed out from the same set of shoulders. Eli grabbed his ears and stumbled backwards just as the front door burst open, the feline entering.

"Come here you sexy fleshies." The cat said, baring his fangs before he opened fire. One blast hit Nico's hand and solidified at once, adhering it to the lamp cover just behind. Nico yanked the lamp cover off and dove around the corner with Eli in hot pursuit. The feline Peoplebuster fired for Eli's back. Eli gasped as he felt the slime impact him, but rather than adhere, it wormed its way through his body before coming out the other side. Eli shuddered softly, feeling a strange tingling coolness spreading through his chest. He reached his hand up to where the slime had pierced him. As he touched the spot and pulled his fingers away, blue slime leaked out, stringing between the two.

"Not fleshies." The feline murmured, tilting his head. Seeing his change to escape, Nico and Eli moved through the window. Nico passed through the glass easily but as Eli moved to follow, he screamed out in pain as his fingers very begrudgingly penetrated the solid surface. Nico turned around, his eyes wide.

"Go." Eli whispered pleadingly. Nico shook his head no. Eli pulled his hand back and turned to charge the Peoplebuster. Once more the banshee woman screamed, but the feline was forced to fire. Eli was peppered with slime projectiles. They ripped through his body, the tingling intensifying as they passed. A soft blue glow began to spread out from the entry points, slime leaking from the wounds, but it was spreading faster than that now. Eli panted softly, feeling his lungs fill up with slime before becoming slime. The peach color drained from his skin as the cerulean blue swept spread out from his chest.

Eli collapsed onto the floor, his eyes wide, gazing upwards. The blue of his eyes turned a neon turquoise, leaving the whites of the eyes to fade to a faint blue gray. Even his hair was discolored as it seemed to melt, the strands pushing into one another until it seemed his head was covered with a semi-solid robin's egg blue mass. For the first time since getting lifted up by the tornado, Eli felt the weight of gravity, the firmness of ground. He would have said he felt human again, but his body was anything but that. Eli lifted one hand, looking at the slime stringing between his fingers before he collapsed. The feline Peoplebuster moved over and lifted what appeared to be some sort of glowing crystal, holding it near his mouth.

"This is Neko. I slimed one of the targets and he reverted to a ghost. I think that other fleshie transformed him into a person but he should be alright now." The feline said. On the other side of the window Nico floated, frozen in shock. Neko? Set? Coda? The Peoplebusters were more similar than he would have expected. Were they this dimension's version of them? The crystal in the feline's hand suddenly glowed brighter.

"This is Shade. Does he have a pulse?" The voice of the leader passed through. Nekolas reached down, sinking his paw into the blue slime of Eli's neck.

"No, no pulse." Neko replied.

"Neko, why don't you and I get him back to HQ. We can find out more from him and leave the big boys to the chase." Shade responded.

"Righto boss." Neko said before he scooped Eli up into his arms, shifting him until the weight was just right, though the feline paused, looking down at the unconscious blue slime. There was something about the weight of him that just seemed... so right. Neko turned, facing the banshee, "I'm so sorry about the intrusion ma'am. The city of Morteland is in your debt." Neko said before he moved out of the house, heading back up the street. Nico crept along the roof lines, keeping an eye on where Neko was taking his boyfriend.

It was a short walk back to the vehicle but Eli was carefully loaded into the back and strapped in. Despite being made of slime, between the uniform and his own retention he seemed to be staying together and in place rather well. It seemed despite their appearances, the ghosts had no abilities in their world that humans lacked in their own. Nico curved around a chimney, moving to get to the next roof, but as he passed the gutters, he barely had a chance to spot glowing red eyes.

"There you are, you filthy fleshie!" The horse grunted before he opened fire. Nico dodged several blasts, darting out between the houses... and right toward Set. He was hit square in the chest by a slime blast which sent him hurtling backwards, only to be hit with one there as well. It seemed every blast was making Nico heavier, tugging him toward the ground. The more that stuck to him, the more of a steady flow came from the blasters. It coursed over Nico, soaking his uniform, growing thicker and gumming together. It pulled his arms to his sides, it bound his legs together, it bent him at the knees. Nico landed in the grass with a grunt, encased in slime from the neck down. Set and Coda flicked their blasters before firing again. Slime tethers shot out, adhering to the cocoon around Nico before reeling it in. He yelped as he was hoisted up, dangling between the two, unable to move in the slightest.

"We don't mean to be here, we're not trying to do any harm, let us go, please!" Nico begged. Coda chuckled.

"And that's why you scared all those innocent people and transformed that poor ghost into a... a person." Set said, shuddering in disgust."

"No, you don't understand, I g-" Nico was silenced as a bolt of slime struck him in the mouth, sealing over his lips. Shade sat on the hood of the car, a grin across his face. He hopped down and strode over, reaching out to run his fingers through Nico's black hair.

"Now this is a specimen worth studying before we dump him in the containment unit. We need to find out how he transformed the other one." Shade said, pulling out his strange gelatinous meter, "There are no other signals in the area."

"Then we can head back. I'll drive." Set said happily, piling into the driver seat. Coda tossed Nico into the trunk as they stowed their equipment, the trunk was slammed and before long the vehicle went peeling down the street, the ominous wailing belting out into the night.

****

Eli stirred gently, feeling his strength and consciousness return to him. He rolled over slowly, though as he felt his cheek ooze and squish against the cushion, his eyes snapped open. He sat up and looked down, realizing that his legs had melted into a pool of dark blue slime in his sleep. He tried to move them and they solidified at once, at his command once more. Eli looked around in a panic before he realized he wasn't alone. A short distance from him was a black cat man with vivid yellow gazing into his very soul. A soft purr was emanating from the feline's chest before he licked in, a sandpapery tongue plunging into Eli's slime. Eli shivered. It felt oddly good, but so, so weird.

"You're up, I'm so glad. How are you feeling?" The feline asked. Eli looked around, realizing he was in the equivalent of the firehouse. It looked almost the same in some ways, though the bricks were made of dark purple stone and the desk was impossibly ornate. But it had the same lockers, the same unused fire poles, even the same doors. Eli knew he'd have to play along, figure out how to get out of the place.

"Much... better now that you saved me. I can't believe that I got drawn in by that... I was on my way from Boo York when I got changed. Pretty bad for an apprentice Peoplebuster, huh? Eli lied.

"You're from Boo York? I've always wanted to see the Big Pumpkin. But I got saddled with the black rose city. Oh, I'm Neko by the way. Nekolas." The feline introduced himself. Eli blinked, connecting the dots. The affection, the fondness, the familiarity. It all made sense.

"I think I've heard of you, through the-" Eli hesitated, "Raison vine of course. Do you have a younger brother?" Eli asked, hoping to make small talk and solidify his claim.

"Oh yeah, Locust. I guess he caused enough trouble to get noticed all the way back east." Nekolas chuckled, "But what about you? What is your name?" Neko asked. Eli gave a soft smile, trying to buy himself time to think.

"Deadward...." He blurted, "But I hope you don't mind me being rude, but... I need to get my barings and figure out what is going on. I've been... a person too long." Eli said, "Did the ghost that change me get away?" Eli asked.

"Oh no, we caught him, and it's a good thing too, we were about to dump him in the containment unit when Shade picked up some PKE resonance. Buried deep under all that icky fleshie there was enough ghost energy to salvage." Neko smiled.

"Salvage, how?!" Eli asked in shock. Neko shrugged.

"We've been encountering more and more humans that have the ability to turn ghosts into fleshies... Usually it's easy to fix once they are in the containment unit, but we had to develop this tank to save people that were more completely affected." Neko said. Eli turned slowly to right where he knew the tank would be, the same place they had restored a gorgon to human form and suppressed Seth's gargoyle form. Sure enough, sitting in the corner was a tank of very similar design. The other Peoplebusters stood around it, monitoring the progress. Off to the corner of the desk was Nico's other ghost trap and his uniform.

"So it's... restoring his ghostliness?" Eli asked.

"Yep. I bet he'll be really happy too." Neko said happily. Eli smiled weakly.

"I bet he will." Eli lied, wrapping his slimy blue arms around himself. Neko slowly turned his head.

"Hey, I never asked. What was bringing you all the way to Morteland before you were transformed?" Neko asked. Eli suppressed the cringe that was trying to express itself across his face. He reached into his memory, grasping at straws for anything he could possibly use as an excuse. The first thing to come to mind was the truth, the mystery the Ghostbusters had been trying to solve in their spare time.

"I was coming to see if you had heard anything about an ancient spirit Zytu." Eli said, hoping to pass it off. He realized immediately as Neko's face went slack that he had not chosen well. Neko turned, looking to his leader.

"Shade? You're going to want to get over here. He knows about Zytu." Neko said. The yellow eyes that gazed back were just as wide in shock as Eli's were that he had uncovered something.

****

Nico stirred in a doze, his body floating in warmth and comfort. He was too far asleep to remember his predicament, that he had been captured or that he was in another dimension. Even his dreams seem suppressed, as if he had started over in a vat of primordial ooze. His brain kept trying to think, but only the faintest inklings went running about. He thought of himself as a satyr with his dryad man. Boy that had felt good, sliding in and out of Eli over and over again... And he also thought about them as tentacle lovers, entwined with more limbs than either of them could have counted. In both instances, their love shone through any barrier. Nico sighed happily, though bubbles left his mouth as slime gushed in.

While he felt quite safe, he had been submerged in a tank of slime. Strips of diodes infused him with psychokinetic energy on the ghost spectrum and Nico's body was starting to respond. His past exposures to ghosts left him susceptible, the power growing inside of him until it reached a point that could not be undone. Nico squirmed in the tank slightly, though only as a twinge passed through him. His ears throbbed as they started to change shape, the lobes stretching up into points. The ears grew taller and thicker, wider, and then a thousand soft tiny hairs pushed out along the back of them, coating them in black just like his head.

Nico stirred more in his twilight sleep as a tingling spread across his torso. His body contorted gently, hunching forward as his muscles began to shift. His abdomen hardened, taking on an eight pack, then a ten pack of muscles, but the extra muscles near his pectorals began to swell and grow as well, half way between the size of his chest and the lumps of muscle over his stomach. It was an odd change at first, but the reason soon became apparent. Tiny bumps of flesh began pushing out on the new muscle groups, expanding into nubs. The flesh around them discolored in perfect circles. As the moments passed, the nipples firmed. Nico had eight in all, running all the way down his mid-section.

The energy suffusing his body grew more intense, delving into his very core. Nico's fingers tightened, his fingers trembling. His fingernails hardened, stretching out longer, narrowing into points and curving. The ends grew quite sharp, the nails quite thick... and then they began to retract. The flesh on the top of his fingers reshaped and reformed as the claws almost entirely disappeared into his fingers. With them inside, a new change had started. Portions of his fingertips and palms began to swell, growing puffy and thick. They formed thick paw pads, distinct from the flesh of his hands.

The same odd feelings soon filled Nico's feet, his toenails growing and curving, but it was more than just that. His heel became less pronounced, his leg muscles began to change. Even his knee joint was shifting. His legs were becoming more animal in nature and his body hair was no exception. With every twist and change to his ligament and bones, his leg hair grew thicker. The black hairs were longer, softer, thicker. They swayed in the slime bath, stretching out. In minutes the hair had gotten so thick his leg flesh was no longer visible. The fur even swept down over the paws his feet had become.

Thick black fur pushed out of his chest, under his arms, even down his arms. The fur was spreading quickly, but not as quickly as his anatomical changes. As much as the strange discomfort filled him, the changes were almost euphoric in a way. Aside from the buoyancy of the slime, Nico was feeling more normal than he had since arriving in the new dimension. He had weight again, he had mass and he had enough blood flow to rush right to his cock. His member ached and throbbed as it filled, rising away from his body, jutting out before him. It floated closer to the emitters, bombarded with particularly strong energy. It was only natural that it start to change ahead of the rest of him. Nico took in a gasp of slime as his cock began to stretch. The mushroom shaped head pushed out, stretching and narrowing, forming into a tapered point. Even in his sleep, Nico had one skill he had perfected even in sleep.

Nico's paw drifted up through the slime to wrap around his shaft, though it felt different to him. His paws found the flesh tougher, thicker and tiny points were sticking into his paw pads. The cock throbbed as the barbs grew in, angling and curving just like a feline's shaft, to hold it in the mate and anchor it in place. Nico shivered at the sensation. He loved the feel of a more wicked tool. Slowly he began to draw his paw back and forth, stroking himself off, his hips thrashing gently in the slime. There seemed to be no stopping him from pleasuring himself, even when his consciousness was suppressed.

While the changing human was focused on self pleasure, the change had not stopped over the rest of his body. The black fur of his chest had crept down between his rows of nipples, connecting all the way to his bush before spreading out. Thick patches spread out across his back, sliding around his ribs o connect, even sweeping over his ass cheeks. The fur closed the gap along his torso until the nipples were lost in a forest of fur. Below the neck, his human flesh was growing sparser by the second. His bush hair grew softer like the rest of his fur, but soon it even began to grow across his sack... a sack that was growing.

While Nico had felt the stirrings of his past ghostly incarnations in the back of his mind, something new was filling him this time; a natural instinct, an inborn tendency. He didn't realize it yet, but he was becoming quite the tom cat. His balls throbbed and tingled as they swelled over the course of a few minutes to the size of oranges. They were quite prominent, but in a way they had to be. Furry flesh built up at the base of Nico's cock, ready to engulf it when it was no longer in use. The formation of the sheath signaled the last of the changes to his flesh below the waist, but his waist itself was yet to change.

Nico's back suddenly arched the other way as his hips grew wider, curving, becoming more supple. With it, his ass cheeks parted to reveal his pucker and give his tailbone space. Nico had grown a satyr tail before, he'd seen his friends grow a few other kinds of tails as well, but even he could feel the difference this time. Rather than merely growing longer, his tailbone began to divide. The bones pulled apart from one another, a seam of flesh sliding up the middle as a double joint formed at the base. The two nubs wriggled in the slime before they began pushing out, growing longer. Bone by bone, the two pieces extended, stretching the flesh around them. Thick, black fur began growing out across the surface, getting thicker and thicker, swaying and swishing around the tails as they grew.

The new extensions gently whipped one way and then the other, then opposite directions and then together. The movements were sluggish and weak. Nico's mind was still suppressed after all, but it simply could not be stopped completely. The tails grew longer by the moment, passing two feet, then three, then even four. They were quite long indeed, curving around the inner wall of the tank, but they would truly be a spectacle when they were dry and fluffed out completely. Nico's paw worked his shaft off even faster when he came to that particular conclusion, a grin spreading across his lips... lips that were changing.

Nico continued to grin even as his face grew tight. His upper lip began to curve into a w shape, splitting up the middle all the way to his nose, a nose whose base upturned, the nostrils changing as the base became rubbery and black, showing off a cute little triangle. His cheeks tingled before long, thick whiskers began to push out and then his entire face began to extend. His jaw, his nose, everything pushed out inch by inch. Nico's teeth grew sharper, turning into fangs. Just as his face finished pushing into a mild muzzle, the fur that had been creeping up his neck spilled over his jaw line to cover his cheeks, his nose, even to surround his eyes. His black hair meshed with the fur, even his eyelids were covered. The only exposed flesh left on his entire body formed his shaft, his paw pads, his nipples and his nose. The tank was filled with a very furry two tailed cat.

****

Eli had been escorted upstairs as the process finished on Nico, only to sit down at a table in the same spot Gray always conducted his long winded explanations. Neko sat next to Eli as Shade moved over to file drawers and pulled out a thick folder, bringing it over to the table. Eli jumped as he felt a paw groping him under the table. Some things apparently never changed. Shade set the folder down and started flipping through the files.

"The first mentions of Zytu came to us in the legends of lesser gods of ancient mythology, barely a murmur here and there." Shade said.

"That's consistent with what we found back home." Eli replied, not having to lie.

"For years it remained just as that, a passing fancy until Nekolas' brother here had a prophetic dream when he was visited by a fleshie auger." Shade said. If Eli still had a spine, it would have shivered at the continuity.

"And what did the vision contain?" Eli asked.

"Have you ever heard of the lantern keeper?" Shade asked. Eli paused.

"I... I'm sorry, I haven't." Eli admitted. Neko chuckled.

"It's a bit of an urban legend, well, more than that around here." Neko said. Shade pulled out a picture on which was a most peculiar creature. It seemed to be a sphere or orb covered with aged strips of cloth, the strands wrapped around and stitched shut, covering the entire surface solid... with the exception of a fang filled, gaping maw in the front of the sphere. Two long strands draped down from the sides, waving like tattered flags in the wind, but the tatters on the left side of the entity were curled around a solid object, a black iron lantern that was quite solid. In the picture it seemed to be filled with a blue-green glow.

"What is it?" Eli asked in surprise.

"It is a ghost like you or me... except that it seems to possess uncommon long life. It isn't like any ghost that has ever walked this Earth. It never eats, it never sleeps, it never ages, it never tires. It has stood watch at the stone circle for longer than there have been settlers in this part of the country." Shade said. Eli looked back at the photo in wonder.

"It never talks to anyone; it never lets anyone close... If anyone tries to interfere, that lantern shoots out the flame. Concentrated PKE, enough to fry the synapses of any ghost that comes near it... but when they aren't a threat anymore, it stops." Neko said.

"So, what did Luca... Locust's vision have to do with this lantern keeper?" Eli asked. Shade glanced to Neko. It was his brother's vision. Neko shifted.

"Locust said that the Lantern Keeper stood watch to protect all from Zytu, that when the time was right that it would entrust a weapon to a distant traveler most in need of it..." Nekolas said. Eli was wide eyed, looking back at the picture. Since arriving in Morteland he'd felt lost, isolated, as if his life had ended by foul chance. But not it seemed like they were there on purpose, if something larger was at work.

"It was just what we needed to get started on our research." Shade said after a moment. Eli's head snapped up.

"There's more?" He asked.

"We didn't know anyone else was looking into the legends or we would have shared information but... Knowing that the Lantern Keeper was somehow related to Zytu, we studied it and learned that it was from outside of our own dimension. We traced his PKE harmonics back through the dimensional void and found a dimension devoid of any sentient energy what so ever. No ghosts, no fleshies, nothing, nothing at all." Shade said softly.

"Then... we found Zytu." Neko said darkly, his eyes closing. Eli stood up slowly.

"Where? How? What is it?" Eli asked. Shade slumped in his chair softly.

"As far as I can tell? An entity beyond all measure, all comprehension. There are no numbers big enough. But what? That... I can tell you. It is a parasite, an inter-dimensional beast. It bores through the layers of reality itself, narrowing in on entire dimensions to feed on. Once it feeds, I believe every living thing in that dimension will die." Shade said softly. The three fell into silence for a long moment, left with the revelations of what they had learned.

"Oh my god... Nekolas?!" came a shout from downstairs.

"What?" Neko asked, standing up at the table.

"All of you; get down here quick!" Set exclaimed. Nekolas bounded down the stairs with Shade close behind. Eli looked around before he grabbed the files on Zytu and slipped them into his pockets, hoping the slime wouldn't melt them too badly. With them secured, he moved down the stairs to where the others were watching as Coda lifted Nico out of the tank. The figure they held in their arms was no longer human, but instead a slime soaked two tailed cat. Neko skidded to a stop, trembling in shock.

Shade brought out his gelatinous skull to scan Nico up and down, the interior glowing brightly with all manner of swirls of colors. Nico seemed dizzy and confused, but as his eyes opened he stepped back in surprise before he spotted Eli and tilted his head, realizing his friend wasn't restrained. Eli rushed across the firehouse floor over to Nico and wrapped his arms around the cat tightly, burying his head in his neck. The Peoplebusters hesitated in surprise.

"Oh Maul, I never thought I'd see you again!" Eli said as emphatically as he could.

"You know him?" Set asked in surprise.

"It's some kind of trick." Coda said suspiciously.

"No, it's not." Shade said, lowering the skull, "The PKE signals were very weak, muddled and confused, but he's been restored to his proper appearance." Shade replied.

"He looks exactly like me..." Nekolas whispered.

"I admit, the resemblance is impressive, but this is my friend Maul from Boo York. He went missing a few weeks ago and he must have run across a nasty fleshie that turned him into one so bad that he didn't turn back with the slime." Eli said, turning back to look at Nico, "It's alright, it's me, Deadward." Eli smiled. Nico's newly feline eyes widened.

"Oh Deadward, it's so good to see you again." Nico murmured before he wrapped his paws around Eli's head and gave him a deep kiss, his tongue slurping into the blue slime. Nekolas purred on the other side of Eli, able to partially see the kiss through his translucent slime. Shade turned and moved over to the desk, reaching out for the ion trap.

"Then what is this?" he asked, running his shadowy hand over the metal. Eli broke the kiss, scrambling for an explanation.

"It's a tool. I was studying strange phenomenon regarding inter-dimensional rifts when I was changed. That tool is what I need to modify to seal them." Nico said.

"You boys from Boo York really are on the ball... Shade, weren't you blathering on about rifts over breakfast?" Neko asked. Eli chuckled. He was irreverent in any dimension as well.

"Well, I wouldn't call it blathering." Shade defended, his yellow eyes narrowing, "But the storm system above was worrying me a great deal."

"The Peoplebusters in Boo York had experience with this in the past. The rift started above the city like this one, but eventually formed inside the containment unit. It was never formally sealed, but I believe that I could seal it inside the simulated environment where both sides are most similar, but I don't know if the rift will shift there on its own or if there's anything we can do to guide it." Nico said. Shade crossed his arms before smiling.

"I sense a challenge. Give me three hours and I'll tell you more than you ever wanted to know about that storm system." Shade grinned.

"In the mean time you two should probably rest." Set said, stroking his goatee.

"Actually, I think we've been people long enough. I really need to stretch my legs, walk around. All that floating was exhausting." Eli said, "Maul? Would you come with me?" Eli asked. Nico gave a nod and picked up his uniform from the desk. He tugged it on over his fur and zipped it up, though he really wished he could explore his body first.

"What about me?" Nekolas asked from where he stood. Nico turned, looking surprised. Neko reached out to rest a paw on Eli's cheek, a smile crossing his feline face, "If you have a thing for kitties, two for the price of one." Neko purred. Nico's jaw dropped and soon he began to emit a vibration from his chest at the thought of it. Eli rolled his eyes.

"When I get back, if there's time, we'll have play time for both you cats... But I really need a breath of foul air." Eli added, feeling proud that he was getting the hang of their slang. Neko smiled.

"Alright, I'll be waiting." Nekolas said, his twin tails flicking about behind him as he watched the two walk toward the doors. Eli and Nico excused themselves, shutting the doors behind them before walking down the street. They looked around, surprised by how similar the layout was to their own city. In a way it looked as if the city had been sitting around in ruins for fifty years, but it all was making sense to Eli. This was how they liked it. The night, the gloom, it was their reality and the ghosts were just as innocent in living their lives as humans were back home. Now that they blended in, no one was giving them a second glance.

"What is going on?" Nico finally asked in a whisper, breaking the silence.

"We're in Flipside just like you said. It's exactly like our reality but the roles of people and ghosts are reversed, and you were very quick on your feet." Eli said. Nico smiled softly.

"So were you, Deadward." Nico smirked.

"It's bigger than you and I thought though. They have information on Zytu, way more information than we did. I have some of it with me, but we... need to fulfill a prophecy before we head back." Eli said.

"Oh, is that all we have to do?" Nico asked.

"Taxi!" Eli called out, holding his arm out. For several moments there was nothing before a giant yellow and white striped bone scarab began trotting over, piloted by a skeleton with a taxi-cab hat on. Eli took a deep breath and put on a smile to continue trying to blend in. The two were helped up onto the shell, sliding their feet into stirrups to hold on for dear life.

"Where too?" The driver asked. Eli reached into his pocket and pulled out the files, flipping through before he found the location.

"Destroyt arboretum." Eli said after a moment. Nico cringed behind him, his tail fur standing on end.

"These puns are getting terrible..." Nico whimpered. Eli reached up to pet his furry cheek as best he could.

"We'll be home soon hopefully." Eli replied.

****

No matter what dimension they were in, it was always good to get away from the city for a little relaxation, though it did involve moving past Flipside's version of a zoo. The shrieks and hollers were rather disturbing even from passing by outside. Still, the walk up into the arboretum had been peaceful enough. They traveled up the wooden stairs to the hills, passing between the trees, meandering their way along.

"What are we looking for again? My paws aren't toughened up yet." Nico asked.

"A ghost holding a lantern standing in a quiet vigil for hundreds of years. It shouldn't be too much further." Eli replied, giving Nico an encouraging smile. It hadn't been easy getting chased and eventually busted. It was a lot to take in regarding how they treated ghosts. In many ways it reminded Eli of what Gray had said under the influence of Thana. He would have to remember to be more sympathetic to the plight of ghosts that may only be lost. While Eli had been contemplating that, Nico had been thinking about a rather different matter.

"So if all my family had been born ghosts... I would have been a cat?" Nico asked after a while. Eli chuckled softly.

"A nekomata actually. It's a Japanese ghost. They create fires, fly around and bring both good and bad luck. Some are said to eat humans." Eli said.

"Did you see that horse dude back there?" Nico asked with a smile.

"Coda? Yeah." Eli said.

"I think he was a Tikbalang. When you were on vacation we had to bust one once. They're from the Philippines, sort of a trickster spirit." Nico replied, though he noticed Eli had gone quiet again. Nico scooted a little closer as they walked, looking to Eli, "What is it?" he asked gently. Eli was quiet for a moment.

"I'm wondering if the reason there are so many ghosts in our dimension is because the barriers between worlds is weaker. The Peoplebusters think Zytu is some inter-dimensional parasite that bores around between them. What if Lucas is right? What if that vampire knew that our dimension was doomed and he wanted a way out, and Zytu's shaking all these things up so ghosts are coming in and we got knocked out..." Eli said softly.

"Well, if that's the case, then we are going to have to do some of the biggest busting of our own. We're going to have to think outside the box, outside our dimension, and - blue green fire..." Nico murmured.

"I was right with you until that last part." Eli said.

"No, over there." Nico pointed. Eli looked up. Through the branches of the trees he could see a faint flicker of light. They picked up the pace as much as they could, coming around the dead trees before slowing again. Off the beaten path and up on a small plateau there was a ring of stones set in the ground, above which was the lantern ghost. Nico and Eli were still for a long moment, looking at the spirit, but as long as they stood there, it did not waiver, it did not move. With no eyes and no tangible body other than the ball, it was hard to tell if it was even alive. Nico started walking towards it.

"Wait! It can shoot fire!" Eli said. Nico stopped, looking at the ghost.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Nico asked.

"How about we tell the truth. If we are part of the prophecy then it shouldn't be difficult for us." Eli said, sloshing his way up. He wasn't sure if slime could build muscle, but he certainly felt as if he was using parts of himself he never had before just to make the journey. Eli looked over at Nico hopefully. Nico smirked.

"I think this show is yours my friend." Nico replied. Eli nodded before taking a breath, turning to look at the lantern ghost.

"We have traveled very far to be here, from another dimension. We came seeking answers about Zytu. We were told that you were connected to the mystery, that you would entrust a weapon to those that needed it most." Eli said, "We believe we are the people most in need." Eli added. His voice carried and then faded, silence fell and then nothing happened. There was infinite quiet, the lantern ghost completely still. Eli shifted gently, "Please?" he added finally. Again, nothing happened. Nico shifted.

"It's probably in that stone ring, he's guarding it. It's probably inert." Nico said, advancing again. As he approached, the lantern keeper's cloth arm lifted, the lantern rising and the fires inside burning brighter. Eli rushed to Nico to pull him back, but as the lantern light fell across their bodies, it cast not a shadow behind them... but the opposite. Where there should only be darkness, a living, glowing shape was cast. It flickered with the soft cream color of the warmest of fires, and as the light continued to cast across them, the shapes resolved themselves into the outlines of their human forms. Nico shifted a bit before he started to reach for the stone. Eli grabbed him tighter.

"Don't... move." Eli commanded. The lantern keeper remained where it was for a long moment before it began to drift backwards, as if it had been caught in the wind. Its hand lowered, the lantern aiming at the stone circle. Nico tensed gently.

"Can I move now?" Nico asked. Eli hesitated. The lantern's fire grew brighter. "Now?" Nico added hopefully.

"Now." Eli agreed before they lunged back. A great blast of fire erupted from the lantern, striking the stone. The rock grew red hot before it began to ooze and melt, flowing away. The dirt in the center exploded into ash and smoke, the smoke catching on the wind and blowing around. Nico and Eli coughed and sputtered, clenching their eyes shut as best they could but some of the ash got caught in Eli's slime, soaking in. He shivered in disgust before looking back to where the lantern keeper had been, but the ghost was gone, as was the ring he had been guarding.

As the dust started to clear, there was a faint glint of light in the moonlight, something that had been uncovered. Nico moved forward before crouching down, reaching for it. Eli yelped in concern that it would be hot, but Nico grasped the metal and lifted it up, examining it. What had been left behind was an artifact, but it was most peculiar in its construction. At any given angle it appeared to be metal, stone or crystal... and it was clearly a piece of something else, with grooves and holes. Nico let it roll into the center of his palm.

"It feels almost cold." he whispered, "and that was too easy." he added.

"I don't think so; I think that hard part is still ahead of us. I think that's just one piece." Eli said. Nico nodded gently before he slid the piece into his pocket, glancing around. Eli looked up at the moon setting toward the horizon before he turned to Nico, "We should be getting back, before they miss us." Eli smiled.

"I think I already miss me. Did you see the way I was checking us out?" Nico grinned.

"Behave, or I'm getting you fixed." Eli chuckled. Nico opened his muzzle and hissed at that before he broke out chuckling.

****

The doors to the firehouse eased open as Eli and Nico returned from their trip. Eli led the way as he had made the strongest connection with the Peoplebusters, but even then he was hesitant. Still, the sight he found upon entering was nothing short of inspiring. A massive array of cables and computer chips had been set up, snaking their way out of the basement and all the way up to the roof. Eli cracked a grin as he looked around.

"Mu my, you sure have been busy!" He exclaimed. Shade glanced up from where he was working, his yellow eyes bright with excitement.

"I'm a little behind schedule, but I think by sunrise I should be able to get the system working to shift the anomaly into the containment unit." Shade grinned.

"I'm sure we can wait that long." Eli said. He smiled softly, loving watching the industry. Nico had been surprised as well, but nothing was quite as alarming as the feeling of a collar being put around his neck. A skull shaped bell on the front jangled as it was secured. Nico reached up with his paws to grab at the leather collar before turning. Just behind Nekolas stood with a matching collar, both of which were hooked to leashed. Nekolas lifted up the straps and offered them to Eli, his yellow eyes radiating lust and desire.

"Master, we have time. Wouldn't you like to show your love?" Nekolas whispered. Eli's eyes widened as he looked down Nekolas' body and realized he was very much naked. While his body was covered with fur, his nipples were visible through the coat and his balsl were very plump and round. His furry sheath was thic as well, though a pointed pink shaft was starting to emerge from the tip. Eli murmured softly, feeling the heft of the leashes in his hand before he looked at Nico.

"What do you think about all this, Maul?" Eli asked gently. Nico slowly cracked a big grin.

"I will think whatever master wants to think..." he whispered before purring. He reached up to start unzipping the jumpsuit he had been wearing, revealing his furry chest, tummy and then his package, his own shaft growing hard beneath. Eli flushed a bit, or at least what felt like flushing in his slime body. He wrapped the leashes around his wrist before he began leading the two cats upstairs.

"Shade, let me know when you are done." Eli said. Both Nico and Neko dropped onto all fours, scampering up the stairs after Eli like a pair of six foot tall pets. Shade was too busy innovating to notice, sliding every piece into place.

****

Eli flopped back into a chair in the upstairs of the firehouse, gazing down at the two identical black cats. He gave a tug on their leashes, pulling them closer. Both cats rubbed whiskers as they leaned in, bringing their lips to Eli's before plunging their sandpapery tongues in. Eli's slime tongue washed over theirs, coating them and sliding between them. It wasn't an ordinary kiss, especially given that two of the kissers had muzzles, but Eli's slime body was forgiving. Even though they wouldn't have quite fit before, their tongues managed to make it one way or another.

Their kisses were heated, their tenderness close, but slowly Eli extracted himself from the kiss, sliding back ever so slowly. Nico and Neko gradually made their ways to each other until heir muzzles locked and their heads tilted, their rough tongues grating against one another. Neko reached up to grab Nico's head, then Nico did the same. The two wobbled before they fell to the floor and Neko straddled Nico, bringing their groins together. At the same moment, both started to gyrate against one another, humping and grinding, and soon they were rewarded.

Much like their rough kiss, as their cocks emerged and the barbs began to tug on one another, the felines squirmed, filled by the intoxicating mix of pleasure and discomfort. Their tails thwacked against the ground, sliding around. While Neko had no idea, Nico was fully aware that he was taking part in selfcest, the ultimate in masturbation. In some ways it was wonderful. They knew every spot to touch and stimulate, every movement to make. The only downside was that their natural timing was the same, both trying to do acts at the same time. Eli suppressed a smirk as he noticed that particular side effect, but as much as he enjoyed watching them, he still wanted to take part.

Eli slipped off of the chair and landed on the two, his legs melting into puddle of slime that coated their lower bodies. He wriggled around to get into position to fuck one of them before he froze in surprise. He couldn't tell the difference... They were identical in every way. Eli wondered what to do for a moment before he realized it was a threesome after all. He would just have to fuck them both. Eli's hand moved to his cock, sliding up and down. It was longer in ghost form, a fair bit longer. The slimy shaft sloshed and shifted in his hand, fully at the ready. It seemed a bit thicker and more cohesive than the rest of his body. Perhaps it was the ghost equivalent of an erection. Eli brought the head of his shaft to the pucker of one of the cats before he plunged in with no warning, sliding as deep as he could get. He was his own form of lube after all.

"Deadward!" Nekolas moaned, his back arching before he moved to bite into Nico's neck. Nico yowled out in pleasure, humping all the harder. Eli grinned to himself. At least he hjad figured out who was who for the moment. Eli pulled back and thrust in again, working harder and faster. The slime sent out a tingling into Nekolas' body, filling him with an intense pleasure. Eli honed in on what he knew to be Nico's g-spot and soon found it in his new partner. Neko panted and moaned, his back arching, his tails whipping around Eli. He was in heaven. As he trembled, he moved his paws to rest them on Nico's chest, starting to pat them up and down. Slowly the claws emerged as he kneaded Nico's chest.

Nico gasped as the paws worked his chest and the claws poked his flesh. The fur coating protected him from most of it, but he was mildly surprised to see the cat behavior so perfectly replicated, but in a strange way it filled him with a contentment, and contentment brought out the heavy purring from his chest. Nico brought his paws up to Neko's chest and began to return the favor, kneading his flesh with paws and claws. Soon Neko was purring as well, the vibration filling them both before working back to Eli.

Eli thrust with all the strength he had, his lap splashing across Neko's backside as he buried himself only to pull back a moment later, the slime pulling off of Neko's ass fur. Eli worked deep and hard, wrapping his body around Nekolas slowly, fucking him hard. His eyes were shut but he could still sort of see, the black shape before him so pleasing. Eli grunted and moaned, fully intending to fuck them both, but he could feel himself moving toward orgasm, towards the brink... and then he could feel Nico move.

As content as he was, Nico couldn't pass up the most profound experience before him, to fuck himself. Nico hoisted up his twin tails and brought his ass to the ghost version of himself. He rubbed his furry butt cheeks up and down before he deftly used his hips to angle the cock right. Nekolas yowled in desire, reaching out to latch onto Nico's hips with his paws before he pulled. Nico gasped out loud as the cock speared into him and the rubbery barbs took hold, tugging at his insides. Nico panted before he clenched down, only adding to the pressure. He soon called out again as Neko pulled back at the precise right moment, waiting no longer or less than the ideal amount of time.

Neko began to push and pull, his thick feline shaft sliding in and out of Nico, filling him deeply before grudgingly pulling back. Neko's thick claws dug into Nico's hips but Nico only felt the cock filling him, probing him. His back arched again as his g-spot was hit, then hit again... and again. Eli was doing the same, sliding into Neko as best he could, though it seemed the pleasure was getting to him. Despite the confines of physics that the ghosts were held to, Eli seemed to be melting more and more, soaking into Neko's back, enveloping him. Thick tendrils wrapped around his midsection, anchoring him in place like slime bungee cords.

"Oh Maul, You are the perfect size." Nekolas moaned. Nico was confused for a split second before he realized that was his alias. The compliment made him proud and he soon purred even louder. The three fucked and bucked together, buried deep and linked. Unsurprisingly enough, it was Eli that lost restraint first. He let out a moan as his head tipped back before his body seemed to lose almost every feature, melting into a thick pile of slime until only the cock remained, pumping and spraying... spraying Eli himself. Neko shivered in bliss as he was filled so much, the slime coursing into him, and that was all it took for him to howl out in heat, his cock pulsing as he sprayed his load into Nico.

Nico let out a scream of lust and pleasure as his ass was filled with demon cat cream, squirt after squirt, the heat filling his body. He panted and grunted, his claws digging into the wooden floor before he shuddered. Thick jets of ghost cum launched out of his rod, splattering all over the floor to form a puddle. Nico came until he could cum no more, and then he collapsed back, weak and limp. Nekolas barely had enough strength to tug Nico close to him, wrapping his arms around the other feline. Never before had he felt so fulfilled... especially given the fact that there was no outward trace of Eli other than a slight blue sheen clinging to Neko's backside.

****

Shade yawned gently as he continued his work, running the last of the cables down the stairs and into the basement. It had been a long night's work, but if he was right about his calculations he could still get a good day's sleep - and he was always right about his calculations. At the far end of the basement was a massive rusted iron structure, orange and bronze in color. Two large green indicators rested in the metal monstrosity like eyes, the metal grill word looking almost like teeth. Shade knelt down and plugged the cables into the system, tightening them until they clicked, then he ran back upstairs. Outside the sky was starting to grow brighter, blood red light filling the sky with the touch of violet clouds. The light spilling through the windows was enough to pass through Shade, making him seem more intangible, his entire body nothing but shadow.

"What's the word Shade?" Nekolas asked as he trotted downstairs, Eli and Nico behind him. Both had pulled on their uniforms again, though they looked particularly loose after their sexual encounter.

"I'm all ready to make the transfer as soon as you are." Shade said. Nico made his way back to the desk and lifted up his trap, pulling off the side panel. He pulled out the pin and reconfigured it to maximum settings once more. When the lights flashed red, he slid the panel back into place.

"I am ready. I think it'll work this time with the two sides equalized." Nico said.

"Once we equalize them... We still have to shift the vortex and you have to go in there. Are you sure you're up to that?" Shade asked.

"We've faced some pretty big frights in the past, but I think we may face less resistance if Maul and I go in alone..." Eli said. It was a huge bluff, especially given how the Peoplebusters felt about fleshies.

"But what if you fail?" Shade asked after a moment.

"Then the vortex is still in your containment unit and humans that pass through will be there instead of causing havoc on the streets." Nico said. Neko nodded.

"He has a point." Nekolas agreed.

"Well... Alright, but we'll give you ten minutes, then we'll try and pull you back out. It'll take a minute for the vortex to fully form." Shade said. Eli cracked a smile.

"We'll just have to give them a fight for a change, right?" he lied. Shade grinned.

"That's the spirit, spirit." Shade grinned, "If you ever get tired of Boo York, let me know. We could really use some ghosts like you." Shade offered. Eli chuckled gently.

"Let's see how we do first." Eli said before looking to Nico. Nico nodded.

"We're ready." He said. Shade reached over and pulled a huge lever down. The containment unit shuddered before its massive metal mouth opened, revealing a swirling energy field below. Nico took a deep breath and hugged the trap to his chest before he jumped, plunging into the system. Eli stepped up to the edge and then dropped in himself.

The descent was incredible, sliding through countless layers of lights and metal, an entire world of circuits and systems packed into a space a fraction of the size of what it seemed like. Just when they thought they could fall no further, the two passed through the threshold into the containment unit's simulated world. Eli and Nico toppled downwards, landing on a grassy hill overlooking a vast prairie filled with wildflowers. The wind carried a sweet scent; the sun was warm and the waters cool. Eli slowly moved to stand up, only to find himself floating.

"Oh wow, it's beautiful..." he whispered. Nico got onto his knees before standing up, reaching to rub his tails. They had been squished rather rudely beneath him as he fell. He reached down and picked up the trap, looking around. In the distance they heard a faint flapping, like cloth on the wind. The two turned and moved up to the top of the hill, slowly coming over the edge. The sound appeared to come from a makeshift tent made out of parachute material. Three humans sat in front of the tent, surrounding a pile of money. Two were teenagers, no more than fifteen. One had red hair; the other wore a panda hat. Across from them was a man in his thirties or forties, wearing a vintage black and white suit with his hair slicked back.

"Oh my god, its D.B. Cooper..." Eli whispered. Nico did a double take.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"D.B. Cooper, the only air piracy in the United States never solved. He stole two hundred thousand dollars, hijacked a plane heading from Portland to Seattle and then parachuted out of it, never to be seen again..." Eli whispered.

"He wound up here?" Nico asked in awe.

"And no way to spend his money." Eli said, starting to shiver as the wind picked up. The breezes were increasing, starting to whip around the area. Some of the money from the pile blew away but D.B. only added more to replace it. Eli took a deep breath before stepping closer.

"Excuse me, I know you'll be afraid of me at first, but we don't want to hurt you." Eli said. The kids turned and let out a shriek of terror, though D.B. regarded them placidly.

"We're not really ghosts, we had to take on this form to try and rescue you. We're really Ghostbusters." Nico said. The red head sprung to his feet, moving out in front of Clark to protect him, watching the two dubiously.

"Prove it!" Damian shouted. Nico lifted the yellow trap.

"This is one of our traps." Nico said. Eli rolled his eyes.

"We're from Portland Oregon, the rose city. We were born in the eighties and love television and video games and nerd culture.

"Then I have been gone that long..." D.B. murmured softly.

"Whether you believe us or not, another tornado is going to form in here, it should lead us all back home. It'll be forming very soon." Nico said.

"More blasted wind. Hasn't it caused enough havoc in my life?" D.B. muttered, moving to quickly pack up the money he had left in his old suitcase.

"Damian, you should tell the others in the city." Clark said softly. Damian nodded gently before he turned, taking off across the hills, running as fast as he could. Eli and Nico were surprised, but as they followed Damian's trajectory, they could make out a primitive wooden city on the horizon, a colony of the people captured by the Peoplebusters. Nico slowly turned to Eli.

"You ever feel like you're about to conduct a jail break?" he asked with a soft grin.

****

The howling wind had continued for several hours, the tornado rooted in place. Grief had ripped through the Ghostbusters at the loss of Eli and Nico. With the failure of the ion plan, Gray had been forced to innovate using other equipment. An array had been set up around the food court with carefully focused lasers, bisecting and encircling the vortex, It had taken hours to set up, but in essence it was a laser containment grid that would starve the vortex of any energy, and with luck destabilize it. Seth had helped Gray set everything up, but he had ventured back to the closest point of the vortex he could to watch it. He understood the need to close the tornado, but it felt wrong. They had to launch a rescue mission.

"I'm done here." Gray said over the radio into an ear piece Seth had been given.

"Give it a few more minutes." Seth replied. Gray didn't object. He knew exactly what Seth was feeling. He was feeling it too. Gray leaned back against the terminal he had set up to control the containment grid. He'd never before had to put the city ahead of a teammate, at least not like this. It was a heavy burden to handle. Gray sighed softly before he stood back up and turned to face the terminal, only to find that several indicators were blinking.

"My calculations are off..." Gray muttered.

"But that never happens." Seth replied. Gray blushed, realizing he had left the radio channel open. He started typing across the keyboard, looking at the data before his eyes widened.

"The storm is weakening!" Gray exclaimed in surprise, "Can you confirm?"

"I can, it doesn't feel like my clothes are-" Seth's voice stopped dead. Gray lifted his head, looking over to the bridge. A teenager in a black and white fuzzy panda hat came charging out of the storm, skidding and tripping until he fell against Seth. A moment later a red headed youth appeared, then a man in a business suit, a man with an afro, a woman with dreadlocks. More and more people were appearing on the bridge, moving off to either side, wearing tie-dye and plaid and outdated materials.

The winds were weakening steadily as the environments on the two sides equalized. The storm itself shuddered, losing power. Seth moved up the ramp slowly, moving toward the winds, stopping as too figures appeared in the center of the wind. Nico set the trap down, anchoring it next to the broken trap from before. He grabbed Eli and pulled him back out of the vortex before activating the trap. The doors snapped open and red light shot up in a tight stream. The tornado almost seemed to hurtle to a stop. The wind grew calm, the air cleared and after a moment the trap slammed shut. A stillness spread throughout the mall, a quiet and a calm. Nico lifted his head slowly to see that the sun had just set, the moon rising above the broken skylight. Nico chuckled softly.

"I guess it really is flipped in every sense of the word." Nico sighed with relief. Eli gave Nico a kiss on the cheek before he turned, seeing Seth.

"Oh my god, Seth! We're so happy to be back!" Eli said, flying over with arms outstretched. Seth yelped before Eli passed through him, coating him liberally with thick, sticky blue slime. Eli floated to a stop on the other side before he turned around, cringing. Seth stood still, the slime coursing down him and soaking his uniform. He shuddered before he reached up to pull the slime off his face. Gray came running over, his proton blaster drawn just in case.

"Nico? Eli?" he asked hesitantly.

"It was an alternate dimension, ghosts were the citizens, they had Peoplebusters, physics were flipped. It was nuts." Nico explained.

"We found D.B. Cooper!" Eli exclaimed gleefully. Gray let out a single laugh.

"You're kidding me, really?" Gray asked.

"You can meet him yourself, he's right over..." Eli paused, looking at the crowds, his eyes scanning the food court. They saw no sign of the man in the suit, though Damian was standing on the bridge holding a large wad of cash. Gray moved past Eli, then Nico and finally Seth, moving over to the red head.

"Did you see where the man in the suit went?" Gray asked. Damian smirked.

"Nope, can't say that I have." Damian replied before he moved over to where Clark was and gave him a portion of the wad of cash. Gray turned, looking at Seth. Seth shrugged.

"Maybe some mysteries are better left unsolved." Seth said. Gray sighed softly before looking around at the crowds.

"This is going to be a long night, isn't it?" Gray murmured. Seth nodded before clapping a slimy arm around Gray's shoulders.

****

Rerun gazed down at the bowl of cereal before him, watching the colorful loops float around the milk. He dipped his blue finger in, swirling them about before he lifted the bowl in both hands, brought it to his lips and tipped it back. He gulped down the milk until the cereal clung to the sides of the bowl. The time wyrm flashed a grin before he added more milk and repeated the process a second time. As he was preparing to fill the bowl with the last of the milk in the jug, his long pointed ears quirked as he heard the firehouse doors open downstairs.

The ghost flew up and over the table, passing the tower of chess pieces he had built before he darted down the stairway. The Ecto rumbled to a stop, the light of morning peeking in through the doors as they closed. Seth and Gray climbed out of the ecto, then Nico climbed out of the back seat. Eli was so tired he merely passed through the door, floating along. Rerun's white eyes were wide in excitement at the new forms. He moved over to examine Nico, reaching out to pet his fuzzy ears and touch one of his whiskers.

"Easy there big guy, you can play with these forms later, but I think I need to get turned back before I get a hairball." Nico smirked, "Could you help Eli and me out? Revert us to our earlier forms?" Nico asked. Rerun looked sad, lifting his hands.

'I want kitty.' He signed. Nico chuckled softly.

"How about I let you play with me in any form, or all forms you want on my next day off if you just let us turn back for now? Does that sound good?" Nico asked. Rerun considered for a long moment before he turned to Eli.

'You tired too?' he signed. Eli nodded.

"Very tired." Eli answered. Rerun shook his head.

'Humans are no fun tired.' He replied before closing his eyes. The clock hands on his back began to spin around, moving faster before they stopped. Eli gasped as his feet touched down on the cold cement floor - human feet, human toes, flesh and bone. Eli sighed with relief before he ran over and grabbed Rerun around the waist and gave him a tight hug. Rerun's face lit up with excitement before he wrapped his arms and tail around Eli, snuggling him.

"Oh, Gray, we found out more about Zytu..." Nico explained, "Eli grabbed files and we got some sort of relic to use." He said, unzipping his pocket to pull out the crystal piece. Gray moved over and lifted it up, examining it carefully. Eli reached in between the folds of Rerun's tail to open his own zipped and pull out the files. Despite the slime clinging to them, they seemed to be holding up pretty well. Gray moved over to accept the files.

"This is a really fortunate turn of events for us. I'll start going through these files, but you two should rest." Gray said.

"I know we should, we've been told that by ghosts and humans alike." Nico smirked, moving toward the stairs. Eli waddled as best he could, trying to follow. Rerun was so content hugging him that he hadn't uncoiled or released. Eli managed the stairs fairly well, waddling up to the second floor before he moved into the barracks room, only to find Nico on his bed.

"Wanting more cuddles my kitty?" Eli smirked, moving to flop onto the bed with Rerun still around him. Nico smiled, scooting over.

"As fun as kissing myself was, I'd much rather kiss you." Nico said, trying to get close, though the time wyrm posed an obstacle. Nico cleared his throat. Rerun opened one eye before he let out a silent sigh and forced his body to become incorporeal. Nico passed through the time wyrm to cuddle up close to Eli, wrapping his arms around his lover. Rerun relaxed his tail, expanding it around both boys before he solidified again, tying them together. He snuggled his cheek up against Nico's shoulder, passing out. Nico and Eli gazed into each other's eyes for a long moment before they drifted off to sleep as well.