“Dammit, where’s some crazy glue when you need it?” The psychologist muttered. “Ray, how you holding up?”

“I’ve been better, Peter.” Ray answered, pale blue eyes staring back at the redhead from the watery reflection. “I think Angie and her guests will be coming in soon.”

When the possessed Ray’s statement sank in, Peter blinked and wheeled around to face the occultist. “Waitaminnit, how the hell do you know that?!”

“I’ve been able to watch some of the conversation, you might say.” Ray replied. “If I’m correct, they’ll be here any minute.”

“Couldn’t you use the meter to find the hinge pin?” Winston asked the physicist.

Egon shook his head. “I sincerely doubt it. This meter’s been malfunctioning.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding,” Peter protested. “Isn’t that the one that you repaired after that bust in that cat food factory?”

Egon nodded. “It is. It must be having some adverse effects from getting hit with the ectoplasmic bullets from the shooter’s gun.”

“Hold the phone, when did the *meter* get shot?!” Winston asked incredulously.

“I presume it was during the first loop. Perhaps the second,” Egon replied. “I’m not exactly sure myself.”

Peter gritted his teeth, really wanting to take the physicist to task over the broken meter, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good. Latching on the implications of the statement, the psychologist asked hopefully, “So, there could really be less than seven ghosts to nab?”

“Or more.” Egon told him with his usual logic. “It was only due to the stray amounts of PKE clinging to the metal that I was able to find the other half.”

Winston shook his head. “Why am I not surprised?” He absently put the two halves of the locket in the front pocket of his jumpsuit.

One of the double doors swung open with a loud squeak and Angie stepped in.

“Whoa!” Angie wheeled around to face the two behind her as soon as she spied Peter and Egon. “Back up!” she hissed, waving her arms around to get them to move back. “There’s somebody here!”

“Angie!” Ray stepped forward, grabbing one of her flailing arms, turning her around to face him.

“Brother Raymond!” Angie’s eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you,” Ray remarked, raising his eyebrows at her expectantly as he folded his arms over his chest.

“It’s all right, Raymond.” Egon stood from his search of the area to face the group at the door. “Please allow Angela and her friends to enter, if you would.”

“Egon, that isn’t a good idea, considering what’s about to happen. If you plan on resolving this ‘repeater’, I am not going to subject these children to-”

“Would you mind ever so *terribly* not talking about us like we aren’t here?” The girl asked pointedly, folding her arms across her chest peevishly. “C’mon, guys. The jig’s up anyway.”

Dave and Maxwell came in after Angela, looking at Egon warily. Closing the door, the taller boy turned to Egon, raising an eyebrow at the equipment.

“You wouldn’t happen to be bug exterminators, would you?”

“You could say that.” Peter joined Egon, his thrower already wielded and resting on his right shoulder. Egon rolled his eyes though Peter wouldn’t have been able to see him.

“Egon, I can’t let the kids get involved,” Ray shook his head firmly. “They don’t need to be here.”

“How about you allow us to listen to what these two have to say,” Maxwell offered to Ray, “and we’ll determine for ourselves whether or not to stay?” He turned to look at Egon. “What’s going on?”

“In less than ten minutes, a young man with a gun is going to enter this church and shoot you.” Ray turned to Egon, who nodded.

“Me?” Maxwell blinked.

“All of you,” Ray corrected.

“You feeling okay, Brother Raymond?” Angela stepped forward, laying a hand against Ray’s head. “You didn’t eat the fish at Flannery’s, did you? I *told* you it needs to be reported.”

“I’m fine, Angela,” Ray told her firmly. “You, however, are going to be in danger if you don’t find cover.”

Dave and Maxwell looked at each other, unsure how to react. Unconsciously, Max slipped his hand into Dave’s, all the while staring intently at the priest. “Angie, I think he’s serious.”

“He can’t be serious, Max,” Dave objected, turning to look at the taller boy. “How would he know? Priest Voodoo?” His strident voice failed to cut through the tension as Max continued to stare into the Ray’s unnatural blue eyes. Maxwell glanced at him with a squeeze of his hand and Dave fell silent after muttering an apology.

Egon glanced at his watch quickly. “The shooter will be arriving shortly, according to my calculations.”

Ray turned to the taller scientist. “Couldn’t we--”

Egon shook his head, thinking along the same lines as the other man. “There isn’t time. He’d catch them outside.”

Ray sighed, his eyes becoming glassy and unfocused as they flickered between blue and brown. Blinking a few times, he turned back to the three puzzled kids and shook his head to cut off any questions. “Go to the back room and hide.”

Angela gave him a dark frown. “Brother Ray, with all due respect--”

“Angela, if you don’t hide, I will knock you unconscious and *drag* you into the back room,” Ray cut her off with a sharp voice. “Is that clear?” She blinked, not sure how to respond, but Ray was already pushing her toward the back door, the two boys flanking him. The three were soon inside of the room, with Ray about to shut the door when Angie shoved her foot between the door and door jam.

“Brother Ray!” she protested one last time. “Didn’t that guy just say it was gonna be dangerous?! What are you *doing*?!”

“I’m saving your life,” Ray told her in a quiet voice, locking eyes with her. After a hard-won staring contest, the Ghostbuster waited until Angela’s foot slunk back into the back room before shutting it firmly. Turning back to the others, Ray sighed. “What now?”

“Ray, you sure those kids are gonna stay put?” Winston asked dubiously. “The quickest way for a kid to do exactly what you *don’t* want them to do is tell them it’s dangerous.”

“They will,” Ray answered, picking up a door wedge the other three hadn’t noticed before and firmly shoved it under the bottom of the back room’s door. As he strapped on the helmet, he continued. “There isn’t any other way out of the room than through this door.”

Peter nodded slowly, remembering the kind of skills at escape he had at his disposal when he was Angie’s age. “Well, we won’t know until we try. You better hope those kids don’t find some way to get that wedge loose, or they’re gonna be in big trouble.”

“They’ll be a lot safer than we’ll be, since we’re still in the repeater.” Winston remarked, causing Ray’s reply to Peter’s doubts to fall silent.

Peter turned to look at Egon. “’gon…You’ve got something up your sleeve. I know you do.”

“It promises to be extremely hazardous--”

“This bust has been hazardous from the word go.” Peter retorted. “Spit it out, Spengler, or I’ll be forced to threaten bodily harm on that precious South American fungus stewing away in your lab.”

Egon frowned behind his ecto-scopes. “Peter.”

“Well?” Peter folded his arms across his chest. “What’s the plan?”

“I’ll need to explain something first, Peter. I have reason to believe that the seven Class Threes that we haven’t seen are possessing the shooter.”

“But the shooter’s already dead,” Winston reminded him.

“That doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of possession, Winston.” Ray spoke up, his eyes flickering to their usual brown color. “It’s rare, but there have been documented cases where ghosts have been possessed. There was the Samson-Brown Incident of 1897--”

“Okay, that’s a little more than we need to know, Tex. Thanks.” Peter winced. “So, what you’re saying is that this kid with a gun has seven other voices in his head to keep him company?”

“Yes.” Egon agreed.

“Okay, you’ve explained what exactly’s going on with the kid,” Winston said to Egon. “So, how do we trap him and the other seven Threes?”

Egon took a deep breath. “We need to separate Legion from the ghosts. The best thing to do would be to tune the proton packs to the frequencies of the boy and the ghosts.” He glanced ruefully at his PKE meter. “However, considering that the meter won’t be able to tell their exact frequency with any amount of certainty, one of us will have to lure Legion into possessing them, and using that person’s biorhythms, we can try to separate Legion’s frequency from the other readings, as Legion will have closer readings to the possessee than to the other entities.”

“I’ll do it,” Peter volunteered without a second thought.

Egon shook his head firmly. “Absolutely not, Venkman.” Peter’s narrowed eyes lost their effect behind the ecto-scopes.

“Peter, you won’t be prepared.” Egon pressed his point. “I forced Legion to possess me before, so I will know what to expect.”

“No way, Spengler. I’m not about to let you do it again.” Peter crossed his arms over his chest.

“Peter, his thoughts were overwhelming. The first time it happened, I was barely able to warn you to move, though I should have anticipated your idealistic wish to talk to him sensibly.”

“If it didn’t work the first time, what makes you think it’ll work this time?” Peter pointed out with his usual amount of logic when he wasn’t throwing himself in the path of a bloodthirsty ghost. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m not new to the possession biz. Watt nearly freed all the ghosts in containment, but I was able to hold him long enough for you guys to save my ass. A piddly Class Three isn’t gonna be any different.”

“As I said, I know what to expect this time,” Egon told him, a shudder almost escaping him at the brief memory of the shooter’s mind. “I won’t allow Legion to take over.”

“And if he does?” Winston asked.

“I’ll warn you,” Egon answered calmly.

“Spengler, there is no way in Hell--” Peter began his protest when he was cut off.

“He’s here!” Ray shouted, bringing the trio’s attention to the double doors. Before Peter or Winston could protest, Egon shrugged out of his proton pack and let it land on the floor with a harsh thump.

“Egon!” Peter shouted.

“Take cover!” Winston’s voice followed soon after as the black man ducked behind the first pew to the left of the altar, prying open the case so he could change the frequency of his thrower. On the other side of the aisle, he could see Ray and Peter doing the same thing.

“Peter, set your thrower to Egon’s frequency,” Ray took a better grip on his thrower, his hands quickly fiddling with the switches and wiring. “Winston, I’ll take care of Legion. Set your thrower to 540 megahertz and higher.”

As before, the door gave a long creak, causing four pairs of eyes to tighten on the light that streamed in through the opening before it was blocked by a familiar form, wearing the same football jersey and carrying the gun. The boy’s eyes looked wild as they flicked from shadow to shadow before snapping onto Egon.

“Don’t be afraid,” Egon said in a calm voice, holding both hands before him to show he didn’t have anything in his hands. “I’m here to help you.”

“Oh, that’s comforting,” Peter muttered to himself, all the while keeping his eyes firmly locked on Egon as he approached the ghost. Despite the fact that he professed little or no skill with engineering, his hands were soon digging through the innards of his particle thrower, changing the frequency of the proton stream to match Egon’s biorhythms.

The boy blinked, startled out of his paranoid stare directed at the blond scientist. After a moment of confusion, the gun flashed back to aim at Egon’s chest. Egon froze in mid-step, his hands still held before him. “Who’re you?”

“I am Dr. Egon Spengler,” Egon answered calmly. “I’m here to help.”

“Yeah, right.” The kid snarled. Keeping his lips twisted in a sneer, the boy’s eyes suddenly widened, one of his hands going straight for his head, his teeth gritting at the same time.

“Are you all right?” Egon stepped forward, only to freeze again as the muzzle was pointed at his chest once more.

“Stay back, man. I’ll shoot you. I swear I will!”

“I don’t doubt that. But the demons you’re seeing are only tricking you into thinking they can be injured.”

The kid stopped, lowering his gun a little. “You see them?”

Egon nodded. “Yes, I do. I can show you how if you let me approach you.”

The boy stared at him suspiciously. “What’s that thing on your belt?” The barrel of the gun flicked to the malfunctioning PKE meter before returning with frightening accuracy to center on the blond’s chest.

“It’s a meter that helps me detect demons like the ones you can see. If you won’t harm me, I’ll show you.”

Legion’s eyes narrowed, and for long moments, the barrel didn’t move as the boy kept an appraising eye on the Ghostbuster. There was one moment where the muzzle straightened, but just as quickly as it rose to aim at Spengler’s head, it lowered to aim at the wood-paneled floor. “Okay, but no funny stuff. Got it?”

“Of course not.” Egon agreed absently, though the boy missed the distracted quality in his voice as the taller man approached him slowly. As soon as he was in range, Egon rushed at the boy suddenly, closing his eyes in a bid for concentration as the boy stumbled back quickly in surprise.

“Egon!” Peter exclaimed, but stopped short when he saw Egon fall *through* the ghost. Before Legion could react, the scientist righted himself quickly, turning around to blend into the now-wispy, terrified ghost. The gun blurred into Spengler’s grip as he stopped cold, his harsh breathing and rigid stance telling the others that the ghost was now possessing him.

“Egon?” Winston ventured, keeping his thrower trained on the possessed man as he shot a sideways glance at Peter. The dark-haired man’s jaw was rigid as undoubtedly wide green eyes were locked on the scientist.

>Where am I…?< Legion’s voice breathed inside of Egon’s mind.

/It’s all right./ Egon took a deep breath to calm himself down. /Everything will be just fine./

He could feel a flash of anger. >…No, it won’t! What the fuck did you just do to me?!<

/--DemON!! KILL, KILL!/ A new voice blasted into his mind. Egon gasped, one of his hands releasing the gun to grab uselessly at his hair as he mentally slammed a door in the intruder’s face.

>OW!< Legion howled in pain, his anger causing Egon’s body to jerk. > >Goddammit! Leave me ALONE!< Egon could feel himself lose control of his >hand.

“Down!” Egon exclaimed, quickly followed by an eruption of bullets as his finger tightened over the trigger spasmodically. He could see Peter’s form duck back down behind the pew seconds before the ectoplasmic bullets whizzed through the air to hit the wall behind him.

“Egon! You okay?!” Peter called out, risking a quick glance at the physicist. Egon was still standing, his hand sluggishly inching to point the gun away from the pews he and the others were ducking behind.

“Not *now *, Peter!” Egon shouted in frustration.

>What was THAT?!< Legion’s voice got louder.

/That was one of the entities--/

>’Entities’…? You mean the demons! Where?!< The hand with the gun spasmed, >trying to break free of the grip it was being held in.

/The demons can’t hurt you…/Egon’s voice trailed off uncertainly, realizing that he didn’t know the boy’s name. v >Derek….< The boy’s voice was now barely audible.

/I won’t let the demons hurt you, Derek./ Egon promised him gently. There was a sudden jarring in his mind, feeling as if a door was being forced open with a battering ram.

Through the red-tinted ecto-scopes, the possessed Ghostbuster saw something move slowly, causing him to jerk his head toward the movement. There was a momentary rush of paranoia, and he managed to keep Derek from taking over his hand again, relinquishing control of his mouth unconsciously as he did so.

“Who’s there?” Egon demanded desperately, glancing to the frozen hand and jerking at it firmly. It was useless, as the hand didn’t respond.

“It’s me, Egon. It’s Peter.” The psychologist straightened, keeping his posture relaxed even as he stared at the scientist.

/No! Peter, get *down*!/ Egon screamed silently, keeping his attention on keeping the gun still.

“Egon?” Egon’s lips asked in surprise. “Who’s that?”

Peter’s body tensed. “Egon’s a friend of mine… What’s your name?”

“Why the hell should I tell you?!” Derek’s awareness sneered. In another bid for the gun, he struggled for control, but Egon barely managed to keep him from moving it.

/Derek, no!/ The scientist told him sharply. When Egon felt the presence in his mind jerk suddenly, he lowered his tone. /Peter isn’t a demon! He’s trying to help you…/

>He’s just gonna lie to me, like you did!< Derek flared.

/I didn’t lie to you./ Egon responded calmly.

>Then where’re the demons?!<

Egon had to press against the ghost’s overwhelming presence, which wasn’t helped as another sudden ramming jerked into his consciousness, reminding him that there were other ghosts besides Derek to worry about. The scientist was surprised into action as his head whipped around of its own accord to follow a whisper of a shape as it faded in and out in front of the altar.

/YoU wANt ME? ComE AnD gEt Me!/ A high-pitched voice giggled.

/I’m OveR heRe!/ There was another whisper that flitted a few inches from Egon’s face.

Yet another flitted over Peter’s form. /NoPE!/ More insane cackling followed. /TrY AGAin!/

/C’moN! ShOoT mE! It’S The onLy WaY to gET RId OF Me!/

/Or aREn’T yoU *MAN* enOuGh?/

Egon felt his teeth grit with frustration, but he forced himself to take a deep breath. /Derek. Derek, can you hear me?/

>DEMONS….< Despite the soft tone, Derek’s voice sounded like a speaker that was about to blow out. >HAVE TO… GET RID OF…<

/No, Derek!/ Egon shouted, fighting another frantic scrabbling for the gun. /Not with the gun!/

Derek’s presence stopped in confusion. >But…<

/No, Derek. They can’t be injured./ Before Derek could speak again, Egon forced in another deep breath. /I will help you, Derek. You have my word. See for yourself./

The boy’s presence in his mind was confused with an increasing spike of fear, allowing Egon to gently take control of his neck to move his head slowly from left to right. There was a blurred shape on one side of the marble statue which came into focus as Egon blinked his eyes, trying not to alarm his unwilling passenger.

>That’s one of them…!<

/It looks like a projection…/ Egon mused to himself before remembering himself. /But, yes, Derek. You can see it now./

>…Are you God?<

Egon wasn’t exactly sure how to respond, but slowly shook his head. /No, although I have been called one of his emissaries at one time or another, but I know that the gun won’t hurt them../

>Are you sure?<

/Yes. Only innocent bystanders will get hurt if we don’t put the gun down. Do you want that to happen?/

There was silence from the boy before Egon felt the second grip on the gun vanish. He let the cool metal clatter to the wood-paneled floor before turning to where the others were hiding. “It’s all right. Derek is cooperating.”

Peter rose from behind the pew he was hiding. After he gave the physicist a long look through his ecto-scopes, he turned to Ray and Winston with a grin. “Okay, guys! Let’s make some money.”

/No-O-O-o!/ The inhuman scream jarred Egon and Derek. /WoN’t leT yOu!/ There was a sudden blast of pain that smashed into Egon’s head, causing him to gasp in surprise and stagger.

“Peter!” Another blast, this time more focused on his swimming eyes. “Quickly!”

Part5
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