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A woman's figure crawled up the side of a building in the last light of day.
Her claw-like fingernails dug into the stone and pulled her up. The bottoms
of her high-heeled, hip-high boots were well-treaded to help her further.
As well as her black, leather boots, she also wore a black, leather body suit. Her
black hair was tied in a bun, pinned down flat against her scalp, and around it
was a thin, black leather hairband, wrapped around several times. Her black
hair stood out against her well-tanned skin and purple lips. Her eyes were
something else, not normal human eyes, but green-yellow cat eyes!
She crawled up the wall and slipped into the building through a small, open
window about twenty floors up, agile, and quiet as cat. She slipped behind
a filing cabinet and her form changed. She still had the same hair style,
skin, and lips, but now wore a black leather dress and her fingernails shrunk
and magically looked like she wore black nail polish. Her eyes went from
looking cat-like to looking human in one bat of her long eyelashes. She
came out from her hiding place.
She quietly slipped up behind the only person in room. A tall, handsome man.
She folded her arms across his shoulder. He didn't hear her come up and was
startled, but when he looked at the seductive woman, he relaxed.
"Who are you?"
She folded her arms across his chest and stroked his neck. "A pretty kitty,"
she purred. Her fingernails grew long and her eyes flashed back to their
original cat form. She hissed and bared sharp teeth. The man screamed and
tried to pull away but the girl dug her claws into his chest. He wailed in
agony. The woman changed back to her original form all together. She ran her
hand down the poor man's face, "Don't worry. It'll all be over soon. This
is a most pleasing meal!" The last thing anyone heard were a man's pained
screams.
The cat woman jumped out the window and fell quickly toward the ground,
she landed easily on her feet and ran into an alley. She changed into a
ginger house cat and ran into the dark.
*****
[The Firehouse]
Cassy took out a picture and gave to Eduardo. "That's her." Eduardo smiled
at the picture of two newborns, with one dark hair, the other blond. The
babies were probably no more then a day old. "That's my twin."
Kylie looked at the picture. "What was her name?"
"Cassidy," Cassandra smiled. "She died when she was two weeks old. She was
too weak. I always felt so guilty about it, like it was my fault. Even now,
I still feel bad."
"Like me and Grandma Rose," Kylie sighed.
"And Kali," Eduardo added.
"And Krista," Garrett threw in.
"Who?" Cassy raised an eyebrow.
"She was my sister. She died in 1989, when she was seventeen. I was ten."
"Sorry," Cassy spoke softly, "Never knew."
"How come you never told us?" Kylie asked.
Garrett looked at her a little leery. "My family doesn't like to talk about
what happened." His mind drift back... *I just HAD to be the one to find her
like that. I never knew a person had so much blood....* He shook his head
clear of the memory.
"I never even knew you had a sister," Eduardo told him.
"Nether did I," Kylie and Cassy said together, they looked at each other
in suprise, then broke out laughing. Garrett smiled.
"Oh well," Cassy said, kissing Garrett's forehead. "It's in the past.
Why should we carry the guilt?"
Garrett nodded.
"Angelface is right," Eduardo agreed. "It's the past, we should get over it.
It's the future we need to worry about." He smiled quickly at Kylie, she
smiled back.
"Yeah," Garrett agreed, taking Cassy's hand.
"What's in the past?" Roland asked, entering the room.
"We were talking about things in the past we wish we could change," Kylie
answered.
"What's your big regret?" Garrett prompted.
Roland looked thoughtful. "I was watching my little sister once when
I was nine. I made her mad by not playing with her and she ran out of
the house, in to the street, and got hit by a car. She only had a few
bruises, but I always hated myself for that. What was your's, Garrett?"
"My sister's suic... um, death."
"How 'bout you, Cas?"
"My twin sister's death. She was two weeks old."
Kylie spoke, sensing she was going to be asked next. "Grandma Rose.
You know that."
"Kali," Eduardo simply said.
Egon entered. "Ghostbusters, we have a call." The teens grabbed their gear.
*****
[A board room in an office building]
The teens entered to a gruesome sight. Blood was splattered across the
walls and floor. On the floor was a man, or what was left of him. Long,
cat-like slashes were across his body, from head to foot.
"Oh my god," Kylie murmured.
Cassy turned away, "I think I'm going to be sick."
Eduardo ran his hand through his hair and looked away, a sad look on his
face. Roland just stared. Garrett's mind wandered back to a similar scene,
of Krista laying across her bed, blood dripping from her wrists and smeared
throughout the room.
"What do you think?" Roland broke the silence, as police snapped pictures.
"Eduardo?" a voice called.
Eduardo turned. "Hey, Carl," he answered.
Carlos came to up to them. "You know it's a problem when I have to call
you people in."
"You called us?!" Cassy practically screamed. She liked Carlos about as
much as Eduardo did.
"I know it wasn't no alley cat that killed that man."
"It's some kind of cat," Kylie looked at the gashes. "Looks like one of Seckmet's
victims."
"Don't tell me that freak is back!" Garrett groaned.
"She's not," Roland said holding up his PKE. "This is a different
PKE pattern. But whatever it is, it's ecto." Cassy scanned the room with
her PKE.
"It left through the window," Cassy said, turning the meter off.
"But this place is twenty stories high!" Eduardo gasped.
"It came in through the window, too," Kylie said.
"How do you get that?" Garrett asked.
"There are no PKE traces outside the door, so it had to have come in
through the window, not through the door."
"At least that was simple." Cassy stuck her head out the window and looked down.
"Hey, guys! Get a load of this!" Kylie looked out. "Claw marks. Going up
the side of the building."
"So, it did come in through the window," Cassy stated, as she stood up.
"I think we should report back to Egon," Roland put in. Kylie nodded.
*****
[The Firehouse]
Egon looked carefully at the PKE readings the teens had taken. "This
is not good."
"I hate it when he says that," Eduardo groaned.
Garrett looked at Kylie. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to tell him to stop whining?"
"No," Kylie smiled to herself. Garrett shook his head.
"So," Roland started, putting the subject back on track, "What is it, Egon?"
"I think were are dealing with Mirage," Egon announced.
"Who?" Garrett, Eduardo and Roland spoke together.
"She's called the 'Goddess of Cats'," Kylie told them. "But she's not
really a goddess, just a very powerful demon. So powerful in fact, that
people call her a goddess. And she has nothing to do with cats, except
that she, herself, is half cat."
"Okay," Roland noted, "So, if this thing IS Mirage, why would she kill a man?"
"Mirage eats the energy from her victims," Egon answered. "Then she kills
the victim for the fun of it."
Garrett put the pieces in place. "We gotta find her before she attacks again."
"Why do they call her Mirage?" Roland asked.
Kylie pulled a book from the shelf and thumbed through the pages until
she found one and pointed to the picture, "Because she is the
queen of illusions and deception."
*****
[The Dream World (Mirages realm)]
The catwoman, Mirage, sat on a white, velvet couch, looking into a
crystal ball that hovered over a small stand. She wore a dress and
Egyptian collar, almost exactly like Seckmet's. In the ball, she could
see all that was going on in the firehouse at that moment, and could
hear all they said...
*"We gotta find her before she attacks again."*
*"Why do they call her Mirage?"*
*"Because she is the queen of illusions and deception."*
Mirage's eyes held an evil look and her odd half-smile made her seem
more eerie. "The queen of illusions and deception," she purred.
"I'm more then you've ever come up against and I think you should find out
why I am the queen!" she cackled. Her sinister laughter echoed
through the room.
*****
[A back alley]
The Ghostbusters walked down the alley. "Trail ends here," Kylie said,
switching off her PKE meter. Suddenly, a ginger alley cat jumped down
in front of them.
Cassy let out a surprised yelp, but when she saw it was just a small
cat, she breathed a sigh of relief. "That thing freaked me. It's just
a small cat."
"Uh, that's not just ANY cat!" Eduardo spoke with a bit of panic
in his voice, as the cat began to glow. The cat seemed to explode
in a flash of light and the group saw Mirage, in her Egyptian wear
before them.
"The Ghostbusters, I presume?" she hissed. Then she gave a little
half-smile. "Poor kids," she purred.
"What?" Suddenly everything seemed to go blurry, like when someone
mixes a bunch of different paints and they all swirl together.
"What's going on?!" Kylie cried.
"I was going to ask you the same thing, chica!" Eduardo called.
The whole world seemed to dissolve. Kylie felt herself go weak
and then, everything went black.
*****
[The Dream World]
"Kylie? Hey, Kylie?" The voice pulled Kylie back into realty
from unconsciousness. She knew she was awake but didn't want
to open her eyes.
"Come on, senorita, nap time's over." Kylie finally opened her
eyes to see Eduardo looking down at her. "Welcome back to the
world of the living milady," he smiled, and she smiled back.
"Where are the others?" she managed to get out, sitting up.
"Cassy has gone to see if she can find out where we are, and
Garrett and Roland are still dead to the world." He motioned at
Garrett and Roland lying on the black floor, out cold. Garrett's
wheelchair sat near by. Kylie looked around but there wasn't much
to see, except a vast, black expanse that seemed to go on for miles.
Eduardo put his arms around her. Kylie curled up in his warm, welcoming
arms. Then, the sound of footsteps echoed through the black expanse and
Cassy came into view. Kylie and Eduardo separated and looked at Cassy
expectantly.
"There's nothing. Just blackness for miles," she shook her head.
A soft groan came from behind them. Garrett opened his eyes.
"Wow, where are we?" he asked, pulling himself into his chair.
"Don't ask," Eduardo groaned, "'Cause we have no idea."
Roland opened his eyes. "Oh, my head hurts."
"Not the only one," Cassy said.
"You want to know where you are?" A womanly voice echoed through the dark.
"Oh wow," Garrett posed his fingers in a mock 'killer's claws' motion,
"Oooh, she reads minds!"
"Put a sock in it," Cassy scolded, then turned toward the voice. "Yeah, we'd
like to know where we are." Suddenly, there was a flash of light and
they found themselves in a room that looked like it was from an Indian temple.
It was lit by white candles and in the center of the room, was a white,
velvet couch. Mirage lounging comfortably across it, picking red grapes
from the stock and popping them into her mouth.
"There's no mistaking who you are!" Roland watched her for a moment.
"I," she spoke, with pride, "Am the cat warrior, lady of dreams, goddess
of illusions, the great and all powerful..."
"Mirage." Kylie and Cassy chimed, finishing the sentence for her.
The catwoman glared at them.
"Correct." She sat up. "Now it's time to play a little game!"
"Look, Mujer-Gatuna, we ain't got the time for games."
As Eduardo spoke, he reached up for his proton gun, only to find it gone.
"WHAT?"
Mirage laughed, "You really didn't think I'd let you keep your little toys,
did you? That would ruin my fun!"
Kylie checked her side and back, no gun, no trap.
"What are you talking about?" Garrett demanded.
"I'm the lady of illusions." Mirage rose from her set and walked up to
Eduardo. "I can be your greatest dream." Her form melted into a figure
that sent shivers down their spines, an impeccable copy of Kylie!
She turned to Garrett. "Or I can be your biggest regret." Her shape melted
again into that of a tall, brown-haired girl.
"Krista..." Garrett murmured. Mirage laughed as she changed back into
her original form.
"With just a thought, I can create an image so vivid, you would think it's real,
and it IS real..."
An image of Raichu appeared before Cassy, and punched her hard in the face. The blow sent her backwards, then she punched him in the nose
so hard, blood adorned her knuckles. Then the image faded. She wiped the blood
off on her vest.
"... You see? Real."
"Man," Eduardo breathed, "She's like that Fear critter we sealed in the wall!"
"Was that the little cricket guy?" Cassy asked.
"Yeah," Garrett answered.
"Well," Mirage purred, "Now we can begin." The Ghostbusters then found
themselves in a long stone hall. Mirage was no where to be found, but
they could hear her voice. "Now, if you want to leave my realm, alive,
you have to conquer..."
"Sorry," Garrett cut her off, "We already played the "worst fear" game."
Mirage's voice laughed. "Oh no! You have to conquer your pasts!"
"Mujer-Gatuna Loca." Eduardo cursed.
"What's a Mujer-Gatuna?" Kylie asked.
"Cat-woman," Eduardo answered. Suddenly tentacles shot out of the
wall and grabbed hold of Kylie. She screeched and tryed to pull away.
"KYLIE!" Eduardo yelled and grabbed her wrists, as the tentacles tried
to pull her into the wall. "A little help here!"
Garrett and Roland grabbed a hold of Kylie's arms and Cassy yanked at
the tentacles.
"Don't let me go!" Kylie begged. From the opposite wall more tentacles
emerged, grabbing Roland and dragging him, screaming, away from Kylie.
The wall opened up and swallowed him inside.
"ROLAND!" Garrett called. Cassy shrieked as a tentacle wrapped around her
waist and pulled her into the wall. Garrett's grip slipped and he fell
backwards. Kylie gave a yell as the grip slipped. Both Eduardo and Kylie
were pulled into the wall, leaving Garrett alone in the dark.
*****
Kylie opened her eyes to a dark room. Eduardo had been pulled in with
her, but now was no where to be found. The blackness gave way to a
strange scene, that to Kylie, was eerily familiar. A small room with
blue painted walls, an old worn out bed and a dusty floor. Kylie stood
up and turned around. She frantically grabbed hold of the brass doorknob
in the wooden door, only to find herself locked in. *Mom always locked me
in here, just to keep me away.* The room was her old bedroom, from when she was
a kid.
From downstairs she heard voices that, too, were haunting. She looked into
the broken mirror over the worn out desk, gasped and touched her face. She
was a child, seven years old, again. The angry voices from downstairs
filtered into the room. She felt like a child again, confused and scared.
She put her hands over her ears in a desperate attempt to block out the
sound, only to find it fruitless.
"MY KID?! SHE'S YOUR KID! I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!"
"IT'S YOUR FAULT SHE EXISTS!"
"DEAL WITH IT! I REFUSE TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH HER!"
Kylie never dreamed she would be back here. Overwhelmed with pained
emotions, she broke down and cried.
*****
Cassy looked about the blackness. There was nothing to be seen.
"Hello?" she called, the call resounded several times from the
darkness before dying away.
"Cassandra?" a voice asked. Cassy turned to find herself staring
into the face of a girl who looked exactly like her, only she had
short, blond hair, wore a white crop top, black, leather jacket and
extremely short shorts. Cassy slapped her hand over her mouth and
uttered one word.
"Cassidy."
*****
Eduardo opened his eyes when a man's voice pulled him from his reverie.
He looked around for Kylie, only she wasn't there. He looked up and saw
before him a tall, plump man in a police uniform, and a small boy with
an unruly mop of hair. It took less then half a second to realize it
was himself as a child and his father. He listened to his father yelling
at his younger self.
"You little idiot, you better not give me none of your lip, or I'll pound
your butt so hard you won't sit for a week!" He slapped the small Eduardo
upside the head. Young Eduardo fell on his knees, with a hand over his
swollen cheek, and tears of pain in his eyes.
"Are you crying, you little wimp?" His father pulled him up roughly and
clocked him again. "I'll give you something to cry about!" He pulled out
a belt and raised it to strike the poor boy.
The older Eduardo watched helplessly, tears forming in his eyes.
*****
Garrett looked around the dark bedroom. It was completely quite. In the bed
was a young red-headed boy, a wheelchair beside the nightstand. It took a
minute for him to realize it was himself, as a boy, in the bed. He heard
the door creak and turned to see his older sister, Krista, walk in.
He watched her walk toward his old bed and kneel down beside it. The
young Garrett's eyes fluttered open, then he rubbed them. "Krista?"
"Yeah, hon, It's me." She stroked his hair.
"Why are you up? It's late."
"I can't sleep."
Young Garrett looked at her. "Why'd you come in here?"
"Just wanted to look at you."
"Why?"
"No reason."
The older Garrett suddenly had a harsh reality check, he could quote
every word that was being said. It was the night Krista died.
Young Garrett closed his eyes. "Krista?"
"Yeah, hon?"
"Sing me a song."
Tears formed in Krista's eyes and in a melodic voice, she began to sing:
Oceans apart day after day
And I slowly go insane
I hear your voice on the line
But it doesn't stop the pain
If I see you next to never
How can we say forever
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
I took for granted, all the times
That I though would last somehow
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears
But I can't get near you now
Oh, can't you see it baby
You've got me goin' crazy
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
I wonder how we can survive
This romance
But in the end if I'm with you
I'll take the chance
Oh, can't you see it baby
You've got me goin' crazy
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
She sang through tears and her voice cracked several times, but
to a ten year old, warm and safe in his bed, it went undetected.
Tears rolled down the older Garrett's cheeks.
Krista looked at the sleeping boy in the bed. "I'm going to miss you,"
she whispered. She stood up and walked toward the door.
Garrett turned his wheelchair and headed after her. "Krista, wait!"
She didn't hear his voice, she turned and went down the hall.
"Krista!" he yelled. She still didn't hear him. *It's the past,*
Garrett thought. *I'm seeing the past. She can't hear me.* He followed
her into her bedroom, where she went into her adjoining bathroom.
"No, Krista!" he yelled at her, involuntarily. "You can't," he sobbed.
*****
Roland looked in the mirror. He was a kid again, in his house.
"I don't like this. Not one bit!"
"Roland!"
"Mom?" he looked around. His mom walked in the room.
"Your father and I are going shopping. Take care of your sister for
us." Before he could answer, his mother and father walked out the door.
"Rooollllaannddd..." his little sister called. "Play with me!"
"I don't feel like it."
"I'll tell mommy on you!" Roland rolled his eyes.
"Like I care."
"You're mean!" she yelled at him. "You better play with me! Or, or..."
"Or what?"
"I'll, I'll run away! That's what! I'll run away!"
He tried to change the subject. "Keri, isn't it time for your
favorite TV show?"
"NO! I WANT TO PLAY!" she screamed.
"Keri, I'm sort of trying to figure out something. Can't you please
go play Barbies or something?"
"NO!" she screamed again, "I WANT TO PLAY BALL!"
"Keri."
"NO, NO, NO! YOU'RE MEAN!" She turned on her heels and ran. Suddenly,
Roland realized where she was going, out the door, into the road,
and maybe this time, not as lucky as before.
*****
Kylie lay on the cold, wood floor. She had tuned out, as
best she could, from the voices ringing through the house.
She sat up. Anger bubbled up inside her, like a pop can that has
just been shaken. She stood up and looked in the mirror, and the little
face looking back at her. Then it was like someone popped the can open...
all her emotions seemed to explode inside of her. Both screaming and
crying hysterically, she swung at the mirror, fully intending to break it
but before she hit it, it shattered into a thousand pieces. She stopped
and stared. Was she controlling this? She had wanted to break the mirror,
but it broke on it's own.
She looked around. She spied a small, wooden box lying on the floor.
Carefully focusing the image in her mind, Kylie watched the box.
She quickly tossed her head and the box flew off the floor
and smashed on the opposite wall. Kylie smiled and wiped away her tears.
This was being controlled by her own mind.
She walked to the door, put her hand on the knob, and heard
the lock click. She turned the knob and the door swung open.
Kylie stepped out and walked down the wood staircase. She headed
for the front door to escape.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!?" her father yelled.
She meekly turned around.
"I'LL TEACH YOU NOT TO DISOBEY ME!"
He broke the bottle he was holding against the wall and before
Kylie could do anything, he brought the razor sharp edge of the
glass to her shoulder. Kylie felt the glass cut into her skin
and muscle. She fell to her knees holding her shoulder. She
looked up at him, with such fury in her eyes, he began to back away.
She felt a new courage come up from inside her. "You can't control
me anymore," she hissed. A wave of dizziness struck her but she
steadied herself against the wall. Both her mother and father were
staring at her.
"All my life, you've controlled me, used me, and
abandoned me." She went on in a righteous fury, "You have no right,
NO right to treat me like this. God forbid, if I ever see you again,
I can make your lives a living hell!"
Kylie glanced in the mirror next to her and did a
double take, she had grown back into her seventeen year old form again,
in her red skirt and gray tank top. Her shoulder was still bleeding heavily
but she didn't care.
"Look witch girl, you can't..."
"I can't what?" Kylie focused on a lamp on the coffee table. The lamp
flew at her raving parents and barely missed them, shattering against the
wall. The adults stared at her.
"It's MY dream," she continued her lecture, then her speech slowed as
she noticed something strange happening. As she spoke, her parents
seemed to shrink and change. She stopped and watched them shrink and
dissolve into two maggots writhing on the floor.
She watched a minute, repulsed and scared... then it dawned on her that Mirage was trying
to frighten her. She smiled and raised her foot, bring it down on
the two maggots with a disgusting crunch.
"Sorry, but you're not my parents," she smiled. The images around her
began to disappear.
*****
Cassy stared at her sister a minute. "So you're the impeccable 'Angelface',"
Cassidy grinned. "I guess we really are twins."
"I guess so. No, wait, you're dead, long dead."
"Geez, and you call yourself a Ghostbuster!" Cassidy laughed.
"You're a ghost?"
"YES!" Cassidy chirped. "So how's Eduardo?"
"How do you know Eduardo?" Cassy asked.
"I watched you a lot. You lived my life for me, since it's your
fault it's gone."
"It is not," Cassy responded, a little shake in her voice.
"Admit it, Cassandra, it's your fault. If you were the second
one born, you would've died, and I would have lived," Cassidy integrated.
"You have no right..."
"To what? To live? It's YOUR FAULT!" Cassidy screamed, wildly.
"It's not MY fault! YOU were weak, you couldn't live!"
Cassandra screamed, but she couldn't help feeling that Cassidy was right.
"If YOU died, I would have lived. Do you deny it?"
"No..."
"Then you're guilty!" Cassidy screamed.
"You're dead!" Cassandra screamed at her twin sister "Let it go!"
"Let it go? LET IT GO?! BECAUSE OF YOU I NEVER EVEN GOT A CHANCE TO LIVE!
I never met Eduardo. I don't have a friend like Kylie. I never fell
in love, YOU'VE got Garrett!"
"DON'T BRING MY BOYFRIEND INTO THIS!"
"Oh! Offended by wheelchair-bound boy?"
"I love him, and I refuse to let you talk about him!"
Cassandra replied with an unusual calmness.
"What are you going to do?" Cassidy crossed her arms
and smiled "Beat me up, like all your enemies?"
Cassandra was quite for a moment, then raised her fist
and punched Cassidy in the jaw.
Cassidy staggered backwards
from the blow. "You would punch your own sister?"
"You're not my sister."
*****
The belt was brought down across the young Eduardo's back.
The older Eduardo felt the same crack across his own back,
and both screamed out in pain. Both came to their feet and
as the belt was again raised. The older Eduardo snuck up
behind the big man and grabbed the hard, leather belt.
"If you so much as lay a finger on that boy," he growled,
"I'll make you deeply regret it."
His father turned around, facing the teen. "Are you challenging me?"
Eduardo half-smiled. "Yea. I'm challenging you. You know why?"
he paused, "Because I've got something you don't."
"And what's that?"
"A life."
Suddenly the large man seemed to flicker and disappeared.
The small boy looked up at his savior. "Who are you?"
"Uh... I'm from the future," Eduardo smiled.
"Cool!"
Then the image began to fade.
*****
Garrett found himself unable to move. He pulled at his wheelchair,
but it refused to budge. Krista looked into the mirror and slammed
her fist into it, making it shatter in to thousand razor sharp pieces.
She careful surveyed each piece and eventually picked one up. She turned
it over and over in her hand, looking at every edge.
"Krista, it's not worth it!" Garrett screamed at her. Still she didn't
hear and continued. Garrett turned his head and closed his eyes,
praying to god that he could move again soon. He heard a little gasp
come from Krista and still he didn't open his eyes. He heard another
gasp of pain and he opened his eyes as she walked past him, her wrists
leaving a blood trail on the wall she was steadying herself on.
She quietly lay down on her bed. Garrett watched helplessly,
suddenly he felt a jolt. He shifted and his chair moved,
so he wasted no time getting out of that room.
A wave of panic hit him. *What I'm I going to do?* He looked about
frantically and went back into his old bedroom. He looked at the
boy in bed, clueless to what was going on. In frustration, Garrett
slammed his fist on the dresser. The force of the blow made a picture fall
from the desk and hit the floor with a small crash. The noise woke
the sleeping young Garrett.
Suddenly the older Garrett had an idea, if they couldn't see or hear him,
he could sure make they knew he was there. He picked up a baseball
from the floor and threw it across the room.
"HOLY!" the boy gasped. Garrett picked up several things
and threw them about. Little Garrett watched in amazement
and got out of bed, pulling himself into his wheelchair.
Older Garrett backed out slowly, throwing objects. He went
into the hall and started knocking the pictures off the walls.
Little Garrett went into the hall, following the crashing objects,
seeing where they were taking him.
*Come on kid,* Older Garrett thought, *It's not too late.*
*****
Roland darted after his sister. She jerked open the door.
"KERI STOP!"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she wailed, as she ran out the door and on to the road.
Roland followed and grabbed her shoulder, just in time. A red car zoomed by,
just inches from her. The driver skidded to a halt and got out of the car.
Keri's eyes were wide. "It would've hit me..."
"I know," Roland answered.
"Is she all right?" the driver asked, running up to them.
"She's a bit shaken, but just fine."
Suddenly, Roland found all the images disappearing,
leaving him in the dark.
*****
[Mirage's throne room]
Mirage scowled as she watched all the was going on in her crystal ball.
"No fair!" she cried. "Kylie can't win! Eduardo can't do this!" She picked
up a glass bowl, threw it against the wall and watched its pieces
fall to the ground. Then she smiled. "If I can't trap them in their
painful memories, I'll trap them in their good ones!"
*****
Kylie watched the scene about her fade, leaving her in the empty dark.
From behind her she saw a light glow. She turned to see a funeral
pyre, its white candles glowing. She walked up to the casket and
looked in. Her Grandma Rose lay in it. Kylie closed her eyes and
bowed her head.
"Here child," a familiar voice spoke. Kylie opened her eyes to
find her Grandma looking up at her! She jumped back with a
yelp of surprise. Her Grandma sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Well, that was a nice nap, I must say!"
"Grandma Rose?" Kylie choked out.
"Kylie!" she said warmly, as she opened her arms to the young girl.
Kylie hugged her grandma. "Kylie dear, what happened to your shoulder?"
Kylie stepped back, remembered her bleeding shoulder and touched it
gingerly. She yelped in pain, her fingertips adorned with blood.
"It was a broken bottle," she respond glumly.
"Oh." Her Grandma was quite a minute, then she smiled.
"I'm so happy to be back!" she grinned, "I have so much to tell you, Kylie."
"I have so much to tell you!" Kylie smiled, but her expression quickly faded.
"What is it child?"
"You're not real."
The lady laughed. "Of course, I'm real!"
"Only in my imagination," Kylie said glumly, "You're dead, been dead for
two years now. Sorry, Mirage, you won't trick me that easily."
The old woman frowned, then disappeared.
Kylie knew what she had to do. She closed the lid of the casket,
covering it with the white silk cloth that was lying beside it. She pulled
a handful of flowers from one of the many bunches of flowers around the
coffin and put the on the cloth. She gingerly took a candle from one of
the holders. She held the flame close to the silk and it quickly caught
fire. Then she set all the flowers on fire and threw the candle in to the
flames, as well.
Kylie stepped back and watched as the whole pyre was consumed in flames.
She turned and calmly walked away.
*****
Cassidy was blown back by Cassandra's remark. "What?"
"You heard me," Cassy scowled "I have no sister." She turned
and began to walk away.
"You can't walk away from me!" Cassidy screamed.
"Watch me!" Cassy retorted.
"You can't avoid me, Cassy," Cassidy smiled. "Every time you look in
the mirror, my face looks out too."
Cassandra turned around. "You are not my sister, she's dead, long dead.
YOU are one of Mirage's illusions."
Cassidy frowned and vanished. Cassandra smiled, then turned and walked away.
She had to find her friends.
*****
Eduardo watched the boy disappear and a new image emerged... a high cliff
over a rolling ocean. He looked out over the dreamy water.
"Eduardo?" a light voice caught his attention. He turned around to
see an auburn-haired girl standing behind him.
He stared at her. "Kali?"
She smiled.
Eduardo would have known her anywhere, she looked older then when
she died, but he knew her.
"Hi Eduardo. I haven't seen you in a while."
"It's good to see you. You look... um... good?"
She giggled and smiled at him. Eduardo didn't smile back.
"What's wrong Eduardo?"
He shook his head and turned back toward the ocean.
"Eduardo?" she came up in front of him. "What is it? You've got me back."
"Sorry Mirage, I'm not falling for it." With one strung push, he shoved
the girl over the cliff.
"Damn brat!" Mirage swore, as she floated back up. In a quick flash,
she changed back into her normal form.
"Sorry, Mirage, you can't fool me," Eduardo half-smiled.
"What gave me away?" Mirage asked.
Eduardo shook his head "It's simple really... Kali's dead."
Mirage screamed in defeat and disappeared. Again Eduardo's surroundings
dissolved and he walked away.
*****
Garrett knocked down another picture *come on kid, a little further,
it's not too late.* He finally reach Krista's room. He banged hard
on the wall by her door, trying not to look in at the horrific sight.
Little Garrett came up to the noise and looked in the room, seeing
his sister lying on her bed, wrists slashed.
"MOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!" he screamed.
"What, honey?"
"GET IN HERE!!!!!"
Garrett watched as his younger self rushed to his sister's side.
"Krista?" Her eyes fluttered opened.
"Garrett?" she asked, weakly.
"It's gonna be okay, Krista."
"Garrett," his mother scolded, "Why is the hall in such a..."
She looked in the room "OH MY GOD!!!!" She ran to the phone.
"Hello? 911? My daughter is bleeding to death, we need an ambulance
at 617 East 68th Street!"
In a few minutes, there was an ambulance on the scene.
Older Garrett listened to what the doctors were saying.
"She's going to be fine, we got there just in time. I can't
explain what happened to your son, but it was nothing short
of a miracle."
Garrett smiled and all the images disappeared. Finding himself again alone,
he rolled off to look for his friends.
*****
Eduardo wander through the dark.
"Eduardo?" a voice called out.
"Kylie? Kylie! Over here! Follow my voice!" he called back.
Kylie came out of the darkness. "Eduardo!" she breathed.
Eduardo opened his arms to her. Her weakness from loss of blood forgotten,
she ran up and wrapped her arms around Eduardo, causing him to spin around
in a complete circle. He laughed and put his hands on her shoulders. Kylie
yelped and jumped back. Eduardo looked confused, then looked at his hand,
ite was smeared with blood. He looked at her again and saw one of her
shoulders was badly cut.
"Kylie, what happened?"
She cowered into his arms, "I'll tell you later." She closed her eyes.
"Kylie?" he shook her gently "Kylie?" he shook her again.
"She's passed out." He gently lifted her into his arms and
cradled her against his body.
Then he heard a strange noise. He turned quickly, "Who's there?"
A person emerged from the dark. "Hey, Eddy! Is that you?"
"Rollerboy?" Eduardo called.
Garrett came out of the dark and rolled up to him.
"How are you, peach fuzz?"
"I've been better," Eduardo replied.
"What happened to Ky?"
"She's hurt pretty bad."
"Need me to take her?" Garrett asked, "I can take her on my chair."
"No, I've got her. Let's go!"
"Hey! HEY!" They turned to see Cassy rushing toward them, "Don't forget me!"
she smiled.
"Hi, Angelface!" Garrett smiled. She childishly plopped herself down on
his lap and kissed him full on the lips. When she pulled away, obviously
quite pleased with herself, Garrett could only stare at her.
"What was that for?"
She smiled and curled up comfortably against him "For being MY boyfriend."
Garrett smiled.
Eduardo began to laugh in spite of himself. "Okay, can we go?" he asked.
Garrett and Cassy nodded. With Cassy still on his lap, the group ventured
into the dark.
"Eduardo? Garrett? Is that you?"
"Roland! Over here!"
Roland walked out of the dark and over to his friends.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Mirage appeared. She screamed in defeat.
Cassy stood up. "We played your little game, Mirage," she yelled,
"And we won! Let us go NOW!"
Mirage studied her fingernails. "Fair is fair. Unfortunately,
I don't play fair."
"What I would give for a proton pack!" Garrett sighed.
Eduardo felt a movement in his arms and looked down,
Kylie's eyes fluttered open. She looked around and let
her eyes rest on Mirage. "Eduardo, put me down."
"But..."
"Put me down!" He placed her gently down, and with a little
help from Eduardo, she kept her balance. She looked at Mirage.
"I suppose you think you've won?"
"I did win," she smiled, evilly. "You'll stay here for all eternity!"
"But," Kylie went on, "If we had our proton guns, who would win then?"
Her proton gun reappeared on her side.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" Mirage screamed. Cassy stared at Kylie's gun for
a minute, then smiled.
"WE control what happens!" Cassy cried in delight, "Like in dreams!"
"We ARE dreaming!" Kylie smiled, "She's only influencing the dreams,
we control what happens!"
"NO!" Mirage screamed. The teens smiled as all their proton guns reappeared.
"On three," Roland grinned.
"THREE!" they cried and opened fire on Mirage. She cried out in pain
as the streams hit her.
"YOU'LL NEVER WIN!" she wailed.
"You know," Cassy spoke, matter-of-factly, "I'm not one to hate..."
She turned up the power on her gun to full power,
"... But I'm REALLY starting to hate you!"
Mirage cried out in agony. "We need a trap!" Garrett called.
"Got it covered!" Kylie grinned. In front of her, a ghost trap
appeared, she grabbed it and threw it under the struggling ghost.
She slammed her finger on the button and the trap came open.
Mirage was pulled into the vortex of light and the trap snapped shut.
Kylie fainted again, overwhelmed and exhausted. Eduardo caught
her and again picked her up. The empty blackness around the
teens seemed to flash and swirl about.
"What's up?" Garrett called.
"I think we're going home!" Cassy answered.
*****
[A back alley]
When the flashing stopped, the Ghostbusters found themselves
back in the alleyway where they met the ginger cat. Cassy
picked up the trap lying on the ground.
"Let's get back to the firehouse!"
Eduardo nodded and looked down at Kylie in his arms.
*****
[Kylie's apartment]
Kylie opened her eyes, but it took a minute for everything to come into focus.
"How ya feeling?"
She turned her head and saw Eduardo sitting in the chair beside her bed,
dabbing her forehead with a wet cloth.
"Dizzy."
Eduardo smiled.
"Where am I?"
"You're at your apartment. I took you here 'cause it would be a lot
more quiet and peaceful. It's hell at the firehouse now."
"What happened?" she asked, still a little dazed.
"Well," Eduardo started, "Slimer stole Garrett's sub sandwich,
and Garrett went after him. Then Slimer ran into Janine, making her
spill a full pitcher of orange juice, so she grabbed a few books
and started throwing them at the 'flying food disposal'. A book hit
Slimer, so he crashed into a desk and knocked over that card castle
that Cassy's been working on for a week now, so, she went after him.
Then Slimer ran into Roland, he fell backwards and accidentally
knocked the spare proton canisters down the drain. Now they're
all yelling at Egon about doing something about his 'pet ghost'."
Kylie giggled, then cringed as a surge of pain shot through her shoulder.
She looked down at her shoulder, witch was wrapped up in bandages.
"So was this before or after my shoulder got wrapped up?"
"After," Eduardo smiled. "Egon had to put in stitches,
but I wrapped it up. Egon says you'll be back on the job in a week or so."
"Stitches?" she pondered. "How many?"
"23."
"Whoa. I got hit good," she smiled. Eduardo smiled back.
"Get some rest, Ky." She nodded and closed her eyes,
falling in to a deep sleep.
The End.
My thanks to Krista for jokes, Jenna for a great villian suggestion and Erin for 99.9% of Cassy's antics. --Helen-Kylie
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