By Shannon Rowley

RATING: Not sure yet, probably PG-13-R
ARCHIVE: Sure.
LEGAL STUFF: The Real Ghostbusters and Phantasm don't belong to me, so
please don't sue me. I don't have any money anyway!


** ** ** ** ** **

"Left here, Winston," Egon Spengler directed as Ecto-1 pulled up to a large brick home surrounded by neatly trimmed hedge. A petite, older woman with fading blond hair stood just outside the front door as the four Ghostbusters stepped out of the car. Winston gave a long whistle as he looked up to the third floor of the house and than around at the surrounding yard and large greenhouse in the back left hand corner.

"This is where you grew up?" he asked. Egon gave a nod as he turned and favored the woman with a warm smile. "Hello, Mother."

Mrs. Spengler walked up to her son and gave him a big hug, which he returned. "Hello sweetheart. Hello boys."

"Hey Mrs. S." Peter said. He walked up to her and gave her cheek a light kiss making her blush. Peter always had a soft spot for older women. Especially for Mrs. Spengler. She had become like a second mother to him when his mother died a few years after college.

She turned to Ray, who also had a big smile on his face and gave him a hug, then did the same to Winston. "All of you must be tired from the drive. Come on in and get yourselves settled."

Ray headed up a conversation with Mrs. Spengler as they climbed the stairs to the second floor. "The three end rooms are the guest rooms. I'll let you boys figure out who gets which. And Egon, you, of course, have your room. I'll be downstairs if you need anything. Please make yourselves at home." With that she smiled and headed down the stairs.

"Aaah, well, doesn't matter to me." Ray said looking at Peter and Winston.

"Me neither m'man." Peter just shrugged.

In the end Winston had the first room, Ray the middle room, and Peter took the one at the end of the hall across from Egon's room. Throwing his bags on the bed, Peter headed across the hall and gently knocked on Egon's doorframe.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course, Peter."

"Boy, your room hasn't changed a bit, Spengs." Peter noted as his eyes wandered the room. It had been seven years since he had been there last. Everything was exactly as it had been those many years ago. Egon had a full size bed against the wall by the window, two bookshelves filled with all kinds of scientific books, a desk with a computer, a dresser, and across from the bed was his closet, which was filled with some of the clothes he brought with him. A large oriental rug lay in the middle of the wooden floor and was the only colorful thing in the entire room.

Then Peter's eye caught something sitting on the small shelf above Egon's bed. It was an old beige antique teddy bear with a red bow around its neck.

"I thought you didn't have any toys, Egon?"

Egon looked up from unpacking and followed Peters gaze to the bear. He said nothing, just blinked at it.

"I don't remember seeing that the last time I was here." Peter added at Egon's silence.

"It used to be my father's." Egon finally said. "He gave it to me when I was two."

"Your father gave you a teddy bear?" Peter said in disbelief.

"Peter, my father and I never had the kind of relationship one might think a father and son should have, but he was not completely distant and cold to me. At least... not when I was a small child. Actually, it is the only thing I can remember him giving me when it was not a special occasion, such as Christmas, or my birthday." He paused again, lifting an eyebrow in thought while starring at the plush toy, then added, "You are correct, Peter. This was not here the last time."

"Did your mother take it out?"

"She must have...I wonder why?"

"Hey guys," Winston peered in around the corner, "it's gettin' kinda late. If we want to check out that call, we had better get goin' pretty soon."

Peter lifted his hand to Winston. "We'll be down in a minute."

Winston nodded and headed out the door. Peter turned back to Egon laying a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Are you gonna be alright big guy?" Egon looked back at Peter and gave him a light smile. "Of
course I will, Peter." Then before Peter could say anything else, Egon left the room. Peter took in a deep relaxing breath and turned back to the bear. "I hope you're right."

* * *
"Morningside. Is this it?" Winston asked.

"Yes, Winston." Egon noted from the front seat while fiddling with the PKE meter. Ray looked out the window at the gates. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. He turned back, about to say something to
Egon, when Peter grabbed his arm. Peter didn't have to say a word. He simply gave Ray the most serious look he had ever given anyone. That was all it took. Ray knew exactly what Peter was telling him.
Don't say a damn thing! Ray's expression calmed and he nodded to Peter.

Everyone got out of Ecto to look around. The gates had chains and a padlock wrapped around them.

"So, how are we supposed to get in? Peter asked, holding the padlock in his hand. "The gates are locked."

Maybe whoever's meeting us here has a key?" Ray thought aloud as he walked up beside Peter and looked through the gates. "Hey, they rebuilt the old funeral home!"

Where the old, one floor funeral home had sat was now a beautiful, but eerie, three floor Victorian style building, painted white with a light gray slate roof. The sun was just beginning to set, and it shown off the front of the building, making the Ghostbusters squint when they looked at it. A road lead from the gates to the funeral home, and on either side sat the gravestones.

"You've been here before, Ray?" Winston asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ray could have bit off his own tongue. He looked to Peter only to find the psychologist paying more attention to Egon adjusting the meter. Apparently Peter hadn't heard what Ray said. He turned back
to Winston and stepped a little closer. In a much lower voice he added, "Peter and I have both been here before. We came with Egon when his father passed away a few months after we graduated from Columbia."

"Oh, man, no wonder he's been acting a little strange the last two days."

"Mmm hmm, and that's also why Peter's been eyeing him so closely. For many years Egon has been holding a lot of pain in and I think Peter's just waiting for all of it to come pouring out."

"Not to sound heartless, or anything, Ray, but after so many years since his father died, you'd think Egon would be over it."

"I think it's the relationship Egon had with his father that has him a little upset. The last few years of his life, Egon's father had cut Egon off completely. Financially, emotionally. All of it. Gone. All because Egon wanted to take control of his own life. Egon wasn't there when his father died, and from what Peter had told me when we had gone to the funeral, Egon's father didn't want him there. They never got to put things back together between them, and now it's too late. All these years and Egon has been holding all that pain in."

Winston closed his eyes, empathy for his friend washing over him.

*********

"I'm not getting a flicker, Peter." Egon tried adjusting the dial again, but still got no reading from the meter.

A small red car pulled up beside Ecto-1 and a balding man, around his late sixties, stepped out of the car. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. As he moved toward the Ghostbusters, Winston noticed he had
a handgun in a holster under his blazer. He was also carrying a small folder in his arm.

"You're the Ghostbusters?" He asked, eyeing the four men up and down individually.

"That's us." Peter answered while holding out his hand to shake the gentleman's. "I'm Dr. Peter Venkman, this is Winston Zeddemore, that's Dr. Ray Stantz, and Dr. Egon Spengler."

"I'm John Peterson." He said, taking Peter's hand. "I spoke to your secretary two days ago."

"Yeah. She told us you said it was urgent."

"There's been a lotta creepy stuff going on around here lately."

"Creepy enough for you to be carryin' a gun?" Winston asked, suspicion dawning in his voice. This brought the other three Ghostbusters to attention, immediately. Mr. Peterson nodded while pulling his blazer away from the gun.

"After seein' what I've seen, you will too. Besides, it's alright. I'm a cop. Well, was. Anyway, here. I took these the other night. I'm afraid they don't look like much." He handed the folder to Peter. Inside were pictures, obviously taken at night, of what looked like gravediggers.

"People digging graves is what made you call us?" Ray asked, puzzled.

"Nope."

"Then, why?"

"Look at the next picture."

Peter flipped the top picture to the second one. "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"

"Yup."

"But, that is physically impossible!" Egon finally gave a comment to the situation. "One person alone cannot pick up a casket. It has to weigh at least four hundred pounds!"

"Whoever said it was a person, Dr. Spengler?"

"You sayin' they're ghosts!?" Winston took the picture from Peter to get a better look. "I'm not saying nothin' `bout what they are. All I know is, when one-a-them sons-a-bitches came after me, I shot it. And it dropped. And whatever it is, it isn't human either. Humans don't bleed yellow gunk!"

"What were you doing in the cemetery at night?" Egon wanted to know.

Mr. Peterson gave a long sigh. "I was out patrolin' this area in my cruiser. Saw some light s flashing around so I stopped to see what was up. That night, the gates were open and there was a black hearse pulled up next to one of the gravesites. So I walked up to see what they were up to and was confronted by, what I thought was a human. Told `em I was the police and I wanted to know what the hell they were up to."

He paused for a moment, while shaking his head. "Damn thing picked up a shovel and came after me! So I shot `em. When I got up to `em, I noticed that yellow stuff just oozin' out of the bullet hole. Then more of them came runnin' down the road after me. I high tailed it outa' there and called in for back up. Met the rest of my boys `bout half way to the station, so I turned around and followed them back. We all got there and there wasn't a trace of anything I said happened. The body was gone, there was none of that yellow stuff, the hearse was gone, grave covered over, and the gates were locked. The next day, we sent some investigators over, but they found nothin'. So, I, ah... To make a long story short, I was put on psychiatric probation. That's when I decided to call you."

"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out what's really going on in there..." Peter left the sentence unfinished. "Do you have a key to this place?"

"Nope."

"Well, we just can't break into the place and start looking around." Ray protested.

"I didn't expect you to." Mr. Peterson cleared his throat. "Do you all know where the town hall is?"

"Yes. I do." Egon answered.

"Good. You boys meet me there tomorrow night at nine o'clock. I suggest you get a good night's sleep and bring whatever weapons you brought along with you. Your gonna need `em."

"That didn't take you too long." Mrs. Spengler commented as the five of them walked into the house.

"It's not over yet. In fact, we really haven't even gotten started." Ray began to tell her.

"Then, what did you do over there?" She asked, taking off her gardening gloves and hat.

"We talked about the situation with the gentleman who hired us." Egon told her. He leaned up against the wall, gazing at nothing in particular. "Apparently we have to see whatever it is to understand what's going on."

"He told us to meet him at the town hall tomorrow night and bring whatever kind of weapons we have." Peter added. Concern was clearly evident on Mrs. Spengler's face, which Egon saw immediately.
"Mother, please do not worry. We handle situations like this all the time."

She brushed his cheek with her hand and gave him a tender smile. "I'm a mother. I'm supposed to worry."

Egon's cheeks blushed ever so slightly and Mrs. Spengler realized she was embarrassing him a little, so she changed her tone and subject, but not before the smile on her face widened with amusement.

"Okay, then. Why don't you boys go rest in the living room and Peter", she said turning her attention to the psychologist, "will help me get dinner ready."

"Huh?" Peter looked up, surprised, his gaze going from Mrs. Spengler to his three friends, and back.

"I'm going to mash the potatoes and you are going to make the salad." She said to him in a no nonsense tone.

"Okaaay..." Peter still had the look of surprise on his face as Mrs. Spengler shooed the other three men out to the living room. When she came back into the kitchen, she took out all the salad stuff for Peter then began mashing the potatoes, milk and butter together in a large pot.

There really wasn't that much for Peter to do, especially since the chicken was already in the oven, and just about done. And from past experiences, when Mrs. Spengler would visit them back at the firehall, he knew she could easily handle all this by herself. There was another reason she had him out here, besides tossing salad. He shook his head in realization.

"So, what did you was to talk to me about?" He asked, guessing it had to be something along the lines of what was up with Egon.

She stopped mashing the potatoes and listened to the conversation going on in the
living room. Then, turning to Peter in a much lower voice asked, "What's bothering him, Peter?"

Bingo. He knew it.

"I've been trying to talk to him about that, but..."

"It's his father, isn't it?" She asked. Concern mixed with sadness shown in her eyes.

Peter's gaze left her face and rested on the salad bowl in front of him. He took in a deep breath, and in letting it out, nodded his head. "Yeah."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "You know, after his father's funeral service was over and everyone came back to the house, I tried talking to him about it, but...well, you know how Egon is. He closes himself off from the world when something is really bothering him. To an untrained eye, he would seem fine, but to a mother...Peter, I knew how much he was hurting on the inside and I couldn't get it through to him that he didn't have to hide what he was feeling. He's as stubborn as his father ever was." She smiled at the thought, then continued. "I know how close the two of you are, and if there is anyone who he
can open up to, it's you. You are a psychologist, but more importantly, you are his best friend. No, you are much more than that to him. You are a brother." She reached out and covered Peter's hand with hers. "Being his mother, sometimes, when I look at him, I still see my little boy and think I can protect him from the world, and other times, I see a very strong man, able to stand up to anything. It's very hard, when a mother has to let go, and trust her child to do what they think is best. Peter, I know he thinks pushing all his
pain down is the best thing, but it's not. It's going to build up to the point he won't be able to handle it any more. When that happens-"

"I'll be there." Peter finished, placing his free hand on top of the hand she had on his. "I won't let him go through this alone."

* * *
"Boy, am I stuffed." Winston said, patting his stomach as he headed up the stairs. "Your mother sure can cook, Egon."

"Yeah. It's a wonder you've stayed so thin." Peter said, jokingly to Egon as they came to their rooms. Egon just cocked a half a smile at Peter. Peter let out a large yawn and stretched. "Well, g'night guys."

Everyone went to their separate rooms and changed for bed. It wasn't long before snores could be heard throughout the hall. Mrs. Spengler was glad she moved her bedroom to the first floor.

He didn't know why, but something had woken Peter up. He rolled to his side, looking at the clock. It was three in the morning. He rolled back over onto his back and stared at the ceiling for a few moments.
Then he rolled onto his other side and stared at the dresser. "Aaah, the hell with it." He said to himself as he sat up. "I'm never gonna get back to sleep now."

Sliding his feet into his slippers, he scuffed to the door and out into the hall. He could hear muffled snores coming from Winston and Ray's rooms, but he didn't hear any from Egon's room. "Hmmm, that's funny. Usually he snores so loud he wakes up the neighbors." He stood outside Egon's door for a while and listened, but heard nothing. After a while, he decided to knock. When he got no response, he opened the door.

"Egon?"

Peter found Egon wide-awake sitting on the edge of his bed holding the teddy bear. He hadn't even changed his clothes. Peter closed the door quietly behind him, walked over, and sat down next to Egon. Egon didn't acknowledge his presence, even when Peter put his arms around him and drew him into a tight embrace. Peter brought one hand up laying it on Egon's head, gently pressing him to his shoulder. After a moment, Egon wrapped his arms around Peter so tightly, Peter heard his own spine creak, but didn't complain. He just continued to hold Egon and began rubbing his back softly.

"It's okay, Egon." Peter gently whispered. "It's okay. You can let it all go now."

And Egon did.

There, in Peter's arms, he let out all the pain that had been building up inside him for years.

Peter said nothing. Instead, he thought of Mrs. Spengler's words from earlier that evening, about her sometimes still seeing Egon as her little boy she thought she could protect from the world. He looked down at the quivering form in his arms, and for a brief moment, he understood what she meant. He pulled Egon closer and resting his cheek atop Egon's head, Peter began rocking him gently.

"You want to talk about it, big guy?" Peter asked, once Egon began to calm down.

"N-no. I'm not ready for-for that yet, Peter." Egon said between softened sobs.

Peter nodded against Egon's hair. "Okay."

He could feel the dampness from Egon's tears penetrate his shirt. He reached over and grabbed a couple of tissues from the box on Egon's table. It wasn't until he looked down, he realized Egon was still
wearing his glasses.

Peter let out a calm sigh. "Egon..."

Egon looked up at Peter with red rimmed eyes and a tear stained cheeks. Peter let go of him long enough to slide his glasses off and wipe the tears away. When he was finished, he ran his fingers through Egon's bangs, removing the hair from his eyes. Then, he set the glasses on the table and leaned back against the pillows, pulling Egon with him.

"Peter?"

"Shhh. Go to sleep, Egon." Peter whispered.

He resumed rubbing Egon's back in slow, reassuring circles. He felt Egon snuggled closer, resting his head on Peter's shoulder. Soon after, Egon's breathing evened out, until Peter heard faint snoring. A light smile touched Peter's lips, and he reached over, pulling the Afghan over the both of them, before closing his eyes and falling asleep himself.

* * *
"Morning, Winston." Ray cheerfully announced as he came down the stairs.

Winston was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee and reading the local paper.

"Mornin', Ray. Egon's mom just put on the coffee a few minutes ago and there's some muffins she made, on the counter."

Ray helped himself to a cup of coffee and a muffin, then sat down across from Winston.

"What are you reading?"

"Hmm? Oh. I'm readin' an article about a local woman. Police have called off the search for her. She's one of the eight other missing people abducted from the local area within the past year. Huh. Sick world, man"

"Yeah." Ray shook his head as he took a sip of coffee. "So, where's Mrs. Spengler?"

"She said she was going to her weekly gardener's club meeting, or something like that. Said she'd be back in a couple of hours."

"Oh." Ray looked around.

"Lookin' for somethin', m'man?"

"Isn't Egon or Peter up yet?"

"What'sa' matter? Don't like bein' alone with me?" Winston said, mocking hurt feelings.

"Of course I do." Ray paused a minute to realize how that must have sounded. "Well, I mean. Oh, you know what I mean!"

Winston caulked an eyebrow, not sure weather to smile or not. "Man." Winston shook his head at Ray. "No. I don't think they're up yet. But if you're goin' to wake them up, I'm goin' to get in the shower
now. Pete'll be in there forever, and I like hot showers." Winston informed Ray as he got up from the table, folded the newspaper and carried what was left of his coffee into the bathroom.

Ray headed up the stars and down the hall to Peter's room. He knocked a couple of times, then went in.

"Peter? Hello? You up?"

When he saw no one was in the bed, he shrugged his shoulders "Huh, he must have just got up." and headed across the hall to Egon's room. He was about to knock on the door, when it opened and Peter stood in
front of him.

"What's up Tex?" Peter asked him still a little groggy from sleep.

"Peter? What are you doing in Egon's room?"

Peter turned back to see Egon still asleep and closed the door behind him. "He had a rough night Ray." Peter said rubbing his face with his hands while stifling a yawn.

"What happened?" Ray asked concerned.

"Reaction from seven years ago." Peter told him as they headed down the hallway.

"You mean...he's been holding ALL the grief of his father's death, inside...all this time?!"

"Mmm, hmm." Peter nodded, entering the kitchen. "Right now, Ray, I think it would be best to give him some space. Okay? Be there for him, but keep some distance. I'm so afraid that if I, or anyone else
pushes and try's to make him to talk...he'll close himself off again. That," Peter sighed, "I don't want that to happen. He needs to let it go, but when he feels ready." Peter stood in front of the counter and closing his eyes, rested his head against the cupboard.

"Are you okay, Peter?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm just thinking, Ray."

"About what?"

Peter turned to Ray and gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry about that, Ray. That's my department."

About a half-hour later Peter and Ray heard the bathroom door close.

"Whoever wants the shower better get in now." Winston entered the kitchen looking much more refreshed and awake. "Mornin' Pete."

"Mornin', Winston." Peter looked at Ray. "Why don't you go ahead, Ray? I want to talk to Winston."

Winston looked over at Peter from the sink as Ray nodded and headed for the bathroom.

"What's up?"

"Have a seat, Winston"

Winston seated himself across from Peter, studying the psychologist's face, hoping to find a silent answer to Peter's unusually calm and serious tone.

Peter was quiet for a while, gathering his thoughts. Winston was about to ask again, when Peter finally spoke.

"Umm...Winston, there's something you should know about, that is kinda, complicated-"

"Is it about Egon's father?" Winston cut in. Peter was a little surprised. He didn't think Winston knew anything about it.

"H-how did you know?"

"Yesterday when we went to the cemetery, Ray told me about Egon's father, when you guys went to the funeral with him, and that things weren't too good between them when he died." Winston paused. "Why
did you want to talk to me about that?"

"Well, last night I woke up and went to check on Egon..." Peter went silent again.

"He isn't doin' too well with this, is he Pete?"

Peter shook his head. "No."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm going to tell you what I told Ray. All you can do is be there for him, but give him his space. I don't want him pushed. This isn't something you can force him to talk about. Ever since I first met Egon, I've learned that you can't push him with certain things, especially this. It's just too sensitive an area, and he's too close
to a total break down. I just wanted you to know in case you were wondering why he's a little down."

There was a creaking noise coming from upstairs and then the sound of a door closing.

"Egon must be up. Don't worry, Pete. I'll be easy with him." Peter smiled and gave Winston a light pat on the shoulder just as Egon came around the corner of the stairs.

"Hey, Egon."

"Good Morning, Winston."

Winston looked back at Peter only to see him eyeing Egon's every move. He figured it would be best to make himself and Ray scarce for a little while.

"Well, I'm gonna go out to Ecto and make sure we have everything we need and get the rest of the stuff out, that we don't." Winston poured himself another cup of coffee. "Let Ray know where I am when he gets out. I'll need a hand in a little while."

"Will do." Peter hollered after him.

Egon took the seat next to Peter and stared blankly at the wall in front of him.

"Egon, are you-"

"No, Peter. No, I'm not." Egon closed his eyes and lowered his head. Peter laid his hand on Egon's back.

"You can tell me." Peter said, patiently hoping.

"Peter, it...it..." Egon stopped, stood up and left the kitchen.

Peter sighed. He got up walking down the hall to the living room, guessing that was where Egon went. Ray opened the door to the bathroom, just as Peter walked by, startling him.

"Geez, Ray!"

"Oh, heh, sorry." Ray wore an amused smile across his face that he tried to suppress, unsuccessfully. Peter smiled at him, and pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

"Winston's outside working on Ecto. He wants you to give him a hand."

"Okay. Thanks." Ray could tell from Peter's look, it was time to leave.

Peter entered the living room to find Egon on the couch, arms wrapped around his legs. Peter sat down next to him. He was going to be as gentle with Egon as possible.

"Egon?" Peter said in a near whisper. "Come on...look at me." Egon shook his head. Peter kept his tone very light and soft. He reached over and placed his hand on the back of Egon's neck, gently rubbing up and down. "It's okay. Show me those baby blues."

Finally, Egon looked up at Peter, his eyes brimming with tears. Peter reached under Egon's glasses and wiped them away with his thumb. Then Egon did something that took Peter totally by surprise. He fell
forward and hung on to Peter, burying his face in Peter's neck. Peter put his arms around Egon, not knowing what else to do at the moment. Egon wasn't really crying, but his breathing was rapid.

"Egon, calm down...calm down. It's okay. You're okay." Egon calmed, but his grip on Peter hadn't loosened.

"I'm sorry, Peter."

"No, Egon. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I-I just never thought it would hurt this much. "Peter began softly rubbing the back of Egon's neck again.

"Egon, can I ask you a question?" Egon nodded against Peter's neck. "Why have you been holding this in for so long? I mean, what finally made it all come out?" Peter felt Egon's warm breath against his skin, as he let out a sigh.

"That's two questions, Peter." A faint smile touched Peter's lips.

"Okay, then. We'll take them one at a time." Peter adjusted himself and Egon a little more comfortably on the couch, then continued. "Why have you been holding this in, Egon?" Peter was very careful. He
kept his words soft.

Egon was quiet for a long time.

"If you don't want to talk about it now, you don't have to." Peter told him. Egon took in a deep breath.

"I...remember when my father had gotten sick. All of the anger I had felt toward him--I pushed it aside. I called and wrote to him the entire time to see how he was doing, but he never...answered me." Egon's voice caught in his throat. "I called my mother and told her I would come home to help my father and her, but she insisted everything was fine. Then, not long after that, she called and told me...told me he passed away...I...I never--" Egon's voice failed and he closed his eyes to the burning tears. Peter brought his hand up and brushed Egon's cheek.

"You never what, Egon?"

"I n-never got t-to say good-bye! Oh, God, Peter! Why? Why wouldn't h-he let me s-say good-bye?!"
Egon buried his face in Peter's chest. His entire body shaking from intense sobbing. Peter wrapped his arms around Egon tighter. Peter didn't know what to say to comfort Egon. His heart ached for the pain he was watching his friend endure. He closed his eyes, feeling them burn. It was only then, Peter realized he was crying too.

***************
Mr. Peterson led them around to the back of the funeral home. The gates ended about half way up the road and were replaced with very tall, dense hedge. He got out of his car and holstered his guns and knives. The blowtorch had been altered, and was a custom-made flame-thrower. He slung it along with the two riffles over his shoulder. The chain saw he left in the trunk.

Egon, Peter, Ray and Winston strapped on their proton packs and Egon grabbed his meter.

"Through here, boys." Mr. Peterson pushed aside part of the hedge and went through.

"Yo, man," Winston grabbed Peter's arm and turned him. "What if this guy's really off his rocker? What if he never had a wife? Anyone could read that article. They didn't give out her name. Not to mention we'd be trespassin', Pete. We could get in big trouble."

"I've already thought of that, Winston. There's nothing here for him to take. We're here, so he can't do anything to the place without us seeing him..."

"What about entering the place, Pete? Not so much him stealin' somethin', or vandalizin' the place, but we could get arrested for breaking and entering."

"I have absolutely no intention of going inside that place, unless I see something out here that would give us justification."

"One other thing, Pete...What about that ammo he's carrying?"

"I've got ol' Betsy." Peter said, patting his proton riffle. "Winston, I know this sounds crazy, but I trust this guy to be who he says. Call it psychologist's intuition."

Peter and Winston eyed each other for a moment.

"Alright, man. I trust your intuition more than I trust some people's facts. Let's go."

They entered the cemetery. It was quiet. There was no wind, not even the sound of any crickets in the grass. The funeral home was about a hundred-fifty feet in front of them. They made their way slowly through the gravestones. Suddenly, Mr. Peterson stopped.

"Go around this way." He whispered, as he turned to his right.

"Why?" Ray whispered back. Mr.Peterson pointed to the ground and Ray saw a large, deep, rectangular hole.

"Oh."

They continued around the stones, looking in every direction.

"You guy's hear something?" Ray asked, stopping to hear better.

"What is it, Ray?" Egon asked, stepping up beside Ray, pointing the PKE meter in the direction he was looking.

"Shhh. Just listen.... There it is again."

They heard a very low raspy growl off to their left about twenty feet away.

"An animal?" Peter asked, Mr. Peterson.

"No." He pulled the riffle off his shoulder and caulked it once. "We aren't alone."

"I'm not getting any readings, Peter." Egon whispered.

"What is that thing? A spook detector?"

"Yes. It picks up the different readings and classes of various ghosts. It helps us to find them. If there is any supernatural activity out here, this will pick it up." Egon explained.

"Well than, son, I don't think it's gonna be much use to you. We aren't dealin' with ghosts."

"Hey, Egon. Remember the McCaubbs?" Ray asked.

"Yes."

"Well, what if it's paranatural?"

"Point taken, Ray." Egon hooked his meter and gripped his thrower. Something small and fast dodged from one gave stone to another.

"What the hell was that?" Winston demanded, gripping his thrower a little tighter.

"It's one of them dwarfs. Come on you little son-of-a -bitch." Mr. Peterson raised his riffle, ready to shoot the next thing that moved. "Come on out where I can see ya."

More rapid footsteps were heard behind them, and they turned quickly in the direction of the noise.

"I sure hope those are the neighborhood kids out playing trick-or-treat early," Peter said. His tone hinting panic. "Hey, Winston, remember what I said about that justification."

"Yeah."

"This qualifies, right."

"Pete, if these things are in the grave yard, what makes you think they aren't in the funeral home?"

"I don't. All I know, is I'm hearing more footsteps and they are coming from beside us, and in the direction of the cars. We can't stay out here. Even with our weapons, we're out in the open."

"Shit, man. I shoulda stayed a construction worker."

They moved toward the building, backs to each other, weapons aimed at anything that moved. The footsteps grew louder and in number. Each of them caught glimpses of dodging figures between the grave stones.
They reached the side of the building next to one of the basement windows.

"Alright, we can get in through here." Mr. Peterson bent down and smashed the glass with the butt of the riffle." Go. I'll keep an eye on them."

Winston went in first, followed by Egon, Peter and Ray. As they helped Ray down, they heard riffle shots from outside.

Mr. Peterson came through the window faster than lightening. Peter managed to get his flashlight out and shown it up at the window, just as one of the dwarfs put its face in the opening.

"Aaauugh!" Peter yelled, twisting his face in disgust.

The dwarf's face was hideous. Long, sharp, yellow, and brown teeth covered in drool dangled from its mouth. Its skin was mealy and decayed. And the eyes were completely white, except for small black dots where the pupils were. A hood covered the rest of the head. Peterson aimed the riffle and fired. The dwarf's head exploded into pieces when the bullet struck and yellow ooze dripped over the window casing.

"We need somethin' to barricade that window!" Peterson yelled, cocking his riffle again.

"No, better yet, we need a door." Winston said, looking around frantically. "Quick, over here." He tried the doorknob and it wasn't locked. "Ray..."

Ray stood by the opening with his proton riffle. He nodded "Okay, Winston."

Winston pulled the door open quickly. Ray stiffened, ready to fire. There was nothing, except light, made brighter from the white marble floor and walls on the other side of the door.

"Hey, guys, that room better be clean, `cos here comes mom!" Peter fired his thrower, hitting one of the dwarfs. It exploded, covering not just the window casing, but the walls, Mr. Peterson, Egon, and Peter.
Peter looked down at his uniform, than up at Peterson and Egon, who were both looking at him, quite annoyed.

"Eh, heh, heh...guess it needs to be on a lower setting..." Peter corrected himself, fumbling with the dial on the thrower.

"Yo, guys!" Winston hollered back at them. "Move your asses!"

All of them ran through the door, and Ray slammed it shut.

"What the? It's metal?...It's Metal!" Ray exclaimed, with widening eyes and a smile. The door and the frame were both made of metal. "Peter, you got that thing on a low setting?" Ray asked, quickly.

"Yeah?"

"How about a quick welding job?"

Peter smiled. "You got it. "He fired, tracing the door with the stream all the way around until the door and the frame were welded together.

"That should hold them for a little while." Egon said, walking up to the door.

"Now all we have to do is find our way outa here and back to the cars." Winston said, looking over his surroundings. "None of you have ever been in here before, right."

"Correct, Winston." Egon pulled out the meter again.

"Hmmm.."

"What is it big guy?" Peter asked, stepping up to Egon's shoulder.

"Interesting...I'm getting a very faint reading, Peter."

"A ghost?"

"I don't know."

"Which way is it coming from?"

"That way." Egon said, pointing down a long corridor.

"Let's check it out." Peter said.

Peterson stepped ahead of Peter. He slung his riffle over his shoulder and brought the flamethrower forward, igniting it. They crept down the corridor along the wall slowly. Ray kept his eyes to the side of them, while Winston brought up the rear. The meter's reading increased the further down they went. There were rooms to the right and left of them, and they could hear strange noises coming from one on the end.

"Sounds like...a...pump?" Peter asked. They crept down the hall a little further until they came to the door.

"Whatever's making the noise is in there. Anything, Egon?" Peter whispered.

"No. The readings are coming from somewhere further down the hall."

"Then, what the hell's in there?" Winston wanted to know. Peterson stood back and aimed the flamethrower toward the door.

"Open it."

Peter reached down, cautiously turned the knob, pushed the door open, and stepped out of the way.

In the room there was an old casket. Parts of it were dry-rotted, and it was covered with a thin layer of dirt. There were also tables that held operating tools and bottles full of various chemicals. But, what stood out was the woman laying face down on the operating table. There was a large black cloth covering from the back of her neck down to the backs of her knees and tubes, connected to the device making the noise, were pumping yellow colored liquid into her body.

"Linda." Peterson spoke her name as if it were the last time he ever would. The Ghostbusters turned and looked at him.

He had lowered the flamethrower and was leaning up against the doorframe. A single tear rolled down his cheek.

"Your wife?" Peter asked, tone soft with sorrow.

Peterson nodded. Then he stood up straight, abruptly, eyes widening. Everyone turned, following his gaze. She was moving. More precisely, something under the cloth was moving.

Peterson walked up to her slowly and with a trembling hand, pulled the cloth away.

Peterson's eyes widened and he went pale. He dropped the cloth stepping back slowly, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No..."

The skin on his wife's back began to split. White, bubbly puss oozed out mingling with blood. Something was under her skin. As it moved, more skin split, until it burst, and Mrs. Peterson, whom they thought
was dead, suddenly came to life. Her head shot up and she let out a blood-curtailing scream. Then her head slowly dropped to the table. Her wide-eyed expression, of shock and pain, remained frozen on her face.

Peter, Egon, Ray and Winston held their breaths. Their eyes were wide and their mouths hung open.

The new dwarf turned its head, looked at them and let out a low growl. It was covered in blood, slime, and puss. It slithered out of its host toward them.

"No." Peterson said in anger, gritting his teeth and shaking his head rapidly. "NO!"

He brought up the flamethrower and set the creature on fire, along with his wife's body. The creature howled in agony, then collapsed, burning.

All five of them backed out of the room. They stared at the two burning forms, panting with delayed reaction.

A figure caught the corner of Peterson's left eye, and he turned his head, the Ghostbusters following his movement. At the end of the corridor stood a tall man with pale features and shoulder length gray hair.

"That dude looks pissed." Winston said.

The tall man shook his head slowly. "That wasn't very nice." He hissed.

Peterson dropped the flamethrower and brought the riffle around. The tall man walked toward them.

"Stop! Or I'll shoot!" Peterson warned.

The tall man continued toward them, his pace increasing in speed. Peterson fired the riffle and the bullet hit the tall man in the middle of his chest.

He stopped, abruptly, and looked down at his chest, bringing his hand up to the wound. When he pulled his fingers away, they dripped with yellow blood. He looked back at the men and continued walking. Peterson fired several more shots, but nothing stopped the tall man. He only flinched as each bullet penetrated his body.

Everyone was concentrating on the tall man, and none of them realized the corridor was coming to an end. They bumped into the end wall and into each other. Ray and Winston were pressed to the wall behind Egon
and Peter. Peterson was in front of the four of them. He cocked his riffle again and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. He was out of bullets. He looked up just in time to see the tall man's hand grab him and shove him up against the wall. His head hit the marble surface and he fell to his knees, dazed.

Peter aimed his thrower. The tall man grabbed it, and Peter, shoving him into Winston and Ray. All three of them fell into a pile on the floor.

Egon took aim with his thrower, but the tall man was too fast. He knocked it out of Egon's hands and grabbed him by his uniform front, picking him up off his feet. He was about to throw Egon into the wall, when he stopped. He pulled Egon closer, towering over him, and breathed in Egon's scent. A wicked smile crept across the tall man's face.

"Hey! Frankenstein!" Peter yelled.

The tall man's smile left his face and he turned to Peter.

Peter was aiming one of Peterson's pistols at the tall man's head. The tall man had no time to react. Peter pulled the trigger, and he stumbled back dropping Egon.

More yellow blood poured out of the bullet hole in his skull. Peter dropped the Pistol, bringing up his thrower. He turned the dial up as high as it would go and fired. The tall man's body shot to the other
end of the corridor and exploded along with part of the marble wall behind him.

"Winston, Ray, check on Peterson." Peter ordered. He leaned forward and rested a hand on Egon's knee.

"You alright?"

"Yes, Peter. Just bruised."

Peter stood and extended a hand for Egon, pulling him to his feet. He then turned to Ray and Winston. "How's Peterson?"

"I'll be alright." He said with a strained voice. "Just gonna have one hell of a headache for a while."

Winston stood up. Some red drapes caught his eye. "Hey guys" Everyone looked up at him. "Those red drapes. They're facing the front of the building. Maybe our way out is through there."

"We still haven't found out what it was the meter was picking up on." Egon reminded them.

"Egon, we just watched a monster hatch out of a body and nearly got our ass's kicked by an old guy. I could care less what made the meter go off. I want outa here and I'm sure I'm not the only one."

Peter reached over grabbing Egon's sleeve and dragged him after the others through the drapes.

The room they walked into was full of caskets on display, and had a small desk with a ledger and pen on top.

"There's the front door." Ray said, pointing to the front of the room.

"Alright," Peter began. "We know there could be a lot of those things out there. We stay together, away from the gravestones, and clear a path to the cars. Anything moves, we shoot it."

Everyone nodded. They opened up the front door and ran out toward the hedge, where they came in.
They made it to the cars without a single dwarf chasing them. Peterson got in his car and the boys got into Ecto. Winston started her up and they sped out of there, Peterson right behind them.

"No way, man." Winston said, looking in the rear view mirror at Peterson's car. "We got outa there too easily. There were dozens of those things in that graveyard. Why didn't they chase us?"

"Egon, I just had a thought." Peter said. Egon looked over his shoulder from the front seat at him, waiting.
"If Peterson was investigating the cases, and his wife was abducted from their home by those things, because Peterson was involved....Egon...Your mom's home alone."

Egon swung forward and grabbed the phone, dialing his mothers number with trembling hands. He listened to the dial tone ring over and over. No one picked up.

Egon's breathing escalated. "Peter, she's not answering."

* * *
Ecto-1 flew into the Spengler driveway. Egon didn't even wait for the car to stop. He jumped out and ran for the front door, bursting through it.

"Mother!....Mother!" His panicked voice echoed through the house. He frantically looked through the rooms. Peter, Ray and Winston were right behind him.

"Moth--"

"Egon?! Egon, what's wrong!" Mrs. Spengler came running in from the green house. Egon ran to her and collapsed in her arms, crying.

"You're here. You're alive." He sobbed.

"Of course I am." She told him, startled by her son's behavior. She held him and stroked his hair, trying to calm him. "Shh. It's alright, Egon."

She looked up to Peter with questioning eyes.

"We ran into trouble. We were afraid what attacked us might've come here after you." Peter explained.

"Why..." Egon calmed pulling away from her, wiping his eyes. "Why didn't you pick up the phone?" He demanded.

"Egon, I was out in the green house. I can't hear the phone when I'm out there. Sweetheart, these old ears just aren't what they used to be."

Egon just stared at her, trying to catch his breath.

Mrs. Spengler reached over and pulled Egon back down into her arms, holding him close. Egon knew his voice would break if he spoke, but he didn't care.

"I...thought I lost you." He whispered against her chest.

Tears ran down Mrs. Spengler's cheeks. "No, sweetheart. You'll never lose me."

* * *
Everyone agreed Mrs. Spengler would be safer back in New York. Ray called the airport for the next available flight and then called Janine and let her know about the situation. She agreed to pick Mrs. Spengler up at JFK international and bring her to headquarters. Egon and Peter saw her to the airport and made sure the plane got off safely. They arrived back at the house around three-thirty in the morning.

Winston, Ray and Mr. Peterson were there waiting for them. They had made a pot of coffee and took out some of the leftovers from the fridge. Everyone drank the coffee, but after what they saw earlier that evening, no one was particularly hungry.

"Okay," Winston began. "So what have we got? Abducted people who's bodies are being used as hosts for killer dwarfs who live in a grave yard, are controlled by a very tall old man. And absolutely no clue why they are here, and what they want. Did I leave anything out?"

"Or where they came from." Egon added. "Which is why I wish I could have gotten a few more readings from that place." Egon stood up and headed for the stairs.

"Egon? Where ya going?" Peter asked.

"To get a few other books from my room. They may contain some information." Egon continued up the stairs and Peter turned back to Ray.

"Do you have anything on these nasties, Ray?"

"Sorry, Peter. I've never heard of anything like this. But maybe Egon's on the right track. Maybe the key to all this lies with that reading he took."

A loud crash was heard from upstairs, and a cry from Egon. Peterson grabbed his gun and ran after the others up the stairs.

They charged into Egon's room. Broken glass from the window littered the floor and the curtains fluttered in the breeze.

"Egon!" Peter yelled out the window. He got no response.

"We killed one of the dwarfs." Peterson said. "I'm bettin' his body is going to be used for a replacement."

Peter continued to stare out the window. His features hardened and his eyes narrowed. "Over my dead body!" He turned and headed out the door. "Come on!"

* * *
Egon woke up. He was strapped down on a stainless steel table and had surgical tape covering his mouth. He looked over and saw the table next to him held the same machine that pumped the yellow liquid into
Mrs. Peterson. The rest of the room was filled with various chemicals and the place smelled of formaldehyde. Egon looked back over at the pump and tubes and felt his heart rate speed up.

"Oh, not yet."

Startled, Egon turned in the direction of the voice. The tall man. He was alive and in one piece. As if Peter never shot him. Egon's eyes widened.

The tall man smiled at him. "I have something special planned for you, first."

With that, the tall man stepped aside and a young man in a black suit, perhaps in his early twenties, stepped up to Egon.

From the looks of him, he was, perhaps, a zombie. All color drained from his skin, stringy, dirty hair, and the color in his eyes was such a pale gray, they were almost white.

He picked up a syringe and checked the fluid in it. Turning, he bent down and found a vein in Egon's left arm and inserted the needle. Egon winced as it went in.

When it was finished, the young man stepped back and the tall man hovered over Egon smiling as whatever was in the needle began to take effect. The last thing Egon remembered was one of the gravediggers
from Mr. Peterson's picture rolling in a recently dug up coffin.

* * *
"Yo, Pete, The side road was back there." Winston said as Ecto-1 flew down the road.

"I know."

"Pete, where are you goin'?"

Winston's question was answered when Peter floored Ecto and put it right through the front gates of the cemetery.

* * *
When Egon woke again, it was totally dark. A putrid smell hung around him and he could barely move.
He decided he would try and reach for his flashlight.

The cramped space made it difficult, but he managed to get his pant leg pocket zipper open. He slid his hand in and found the flashlight. Shifting his weight to his right shoulder, he brought the flashlight up and turned it on.

The light hit something metallic and it reflected the light back in his eyes. Egon shut his them to the bright light and blinked several times. When he opened them again, they focused on what the light reflected off of.

Egon's heart stopped and the light in his hand began to tremble. It was a picture. A picture of a little boy sitting on his fathers lap, holding a teddy bear. The same picture Egon placed in his father's coffin at his wake seven years ago. Goose bumps formed all over his body.

As Egon's eyes continued to focus, he gathered in his surroundings. Egon shifted again and something sharp poked his side.

When he turned his head, he came face to face with his father.

********
Mr. Peterson loaded the stuff from his car into Ecto-1 and rode with Peter, Ray and Winston.

When they parked the car outside the front door of the funeral home, he took the chain saw and his riffle.

Peter, Ray and Winston strapped on their throwers. Ray grabbed one of the meters, and on a hunch, grabbed one of the traps. The front door to the funeral home was locked.

"Stand back!" Peterson said, as he fired up the chain saw. The door fell to the ground in pieces. They stepped through, looking in every direction.

"Ray," Peter whispered. "Can you pick up Egon's biorhythms with the meter?"

Ray pulled the meter out. "Sorry, Peter. Whatever the meter is picking up from this place, is jamming it. I can't get anything."

"Shit." Peter closed his eyes.

"This is a three story building. If were gonna find your friend, we're gonna have to split up." Peterson suggested.

"Alright. Ray, you and Winston check out this floor. Peterson and I will check out the other two. Keep your walkie-talkie's on. I don't want to loose contact."

Ray and Winston nodded and Peter and Mr. Peterson headed off in the opposite direction.

"Hey, guys." Winston called after them. "Watch your asses."

"You too." Peter said.

* * *
Mr. Peterson and Peter reached the second floor without any trouble. It looked just like the first, with the exception of a coupe extra rooms. They made their was down the hall, cautious of every open door.

"Listen. You hear that?" Peterson asked Peter.

Peter stopped and strained his ears. Then he heard it. A very low thumping noise and muffled screaming.

"It's coming from the end room." Mr. Peterson noted.

Peter quickened his pace. The closer he got, the clearer the voice was, until he knew it was Egon. The distress in Egon's voice made Peter go into a full out run. He reached the door where the screams were coming from and turned the knob. It was locked. Peter aimed his thrower and blew the door off its hinges.

He entered the room, seeing the coffin on the floor and heard Egon inside.

The screaming Peter heard was unlike anything he had ever heard come from Egon before. What he heard now, was out right terror in Egon's voice. He bent down over the coffin.

"Egon! Egon, can you hear me!"

"PETER! GET ME OUT! PLEASE...PLEASE! OH, GOD...GET ME OUT!!"

He could hear Egon's fingernails scratching at the lid of the coffin. He grabbed the edge of the lid and pulled, only to have it crumple in his hands from dry rot.

"Fuck!" Peter swore, as he threw the rotted wood pieces to the floor. He pulled out his thrower again, and switching it to it's lowest setting, lined it up along the side of the coffin and shot the hinges off.

He pushed the lid off and found Egon inside, half of his body lying on a decayed corpse.

Peter's body was flooded with adrenaline, at the sight before him. He reached down putting one arm around Egon's shoulders and the other under his legs and hoisted Egon out of the coffin. Once he got Egon out, he realized how much weight he was holding in his arms, and his body buckled.

They slowly collapsed to the floor.

Egon was shaking uncontrollably. His shoulders and chest heaved up and down rapidly as he struggled for air. As soon as Peter let go of Egon's legs, he pulled them up close to his chest and began rocking back and forth.

In their line of work, they had been up close and personal with corpses before. Peter leaned forward, and looked in the coffin, trying to figure out what had caused Egon to become so terrified.

The picture had been knocked face down. Peter reached in and turned it over.

"Oh, Jesus" Peter said, his voice a faint whisper.

He looked at the corpse again, this time, recognizing it. He gently laid the picture down on the chest of the corpse and turned back to Egon. Peter stilled Egon's rocking and leaned his own face close to Egon's.

"Egon...Egon, Look at me. Come on..."

Egon looked up, right into Peter's eyes.

"Peter...I-I think..." And that was all Egon managed to say before twisting to his side and vomiting. Peter put an arm under Egon's chest to hold him up, while using the other to rub his back. Egon's body went limp, and Peter pulled him back against his chest. He took out his handkerchief and wiped Egon's face, then wrapped his arms around him. Egon brought his own arms up and held on to Peter's.

"Egon..."

"Peter, please...just hold me."

Peter knew they couldn't sit there for long. If any of those dwarfs were around, they would show up sooner or later.

But he didn't want to move Egon just yet. He disentangled his arm from Egon long enough to unbuckle his pack and slide one arm out, then did the same for the other arm. He set the pack in the floor beside him and leaned up against the wall, pulling Egon close. They were sitting about ten feet away from the door. If anything happened, Peter would have time to grab his thrower. He leaned his head forward, resting it on top of Egon's.

"Wait a minute." Peter thought aloud, picking his head back up.

"Where's Peterson?" Peter had just now realized that Peterson never followed him into the room.

"He was with you?" Egon asked.

"He was right behind me."

An object flew by the door catching Peter's attention.

"Peterson?" Peter whispered.

No response. Peter leaned toward the door and whispered a little louder.

"Peterson!" Still no response.

They kept their eyes on the door while Peter loosened his right arm from Egon's waist and reached down to grab his pack. When Peter's hand came in contact with the floor, he turned his head and looked. The pack was gone.

"Oh, shit...Egon, get up...we gotta move." Peter slowly stood, pulling Egon with him.

"Come on big guy." Peter spoke softly as he put his hand around Egon's wrist and pulled him along behind him, looking out the door for Peterson.

Suddenly, Peter's arm jerked backward. He turned to see Egon standing frozen in place. His eyes were wide and he was staring down at the coffin.

Peter followed Egon's gaze.

The coffin was empty.

Peter pulled Egon close, never taking his eyes off the coffin reached for the walkie-talkie and pressed the button.

"Oh, Ray..." Ray's voice broke through the static.

"P-Peter. Did you find Egon?"

"Ray, get up to the second floor, the end room on the right. And get here now!"

"On our-r way!"

Peter's eyes frantically searched the darkened room. He couldn't see anything that wasn't in the line of light coming from the open doorway.

He heard a small crash come from the far corner of the room on the other side of the door. Egon's grip on Peter tightened. Peter could make out a figure creeping toward them. He backed himself and Egon toward the wall and pressed the walkie-talkie again.

"Ray, Winston...move faster!"

*********
The figure stumbled closer, causing Peter and Egon to back into the wall. It finally moved into the light. Peter drew in a sharp breath, his grip on Egon growing tighter.

The corpse of Dr. Spengler stood before them, holding the thrower, aimed at Peter and Egon.

"Father...no..please." Egon pleaded.

The hum from the pack told Peter it was ready to fire.

Outside the door, they heard Winston and Ray running to them. They came around the doorway and stopped dead at the sight of the standing corpse. It raised the thrower, thumb on the trigger.

Peter knew it was either Dr. Spengler's corpse or them.

"Guys..." Peter said hesitantly.

Winston and Ray brought up there throwers...aimed...Peter turned Egon's face away. "Close your eyes, Egon."

...and fired.

Dr. Spengler's body flew across the room, exploding into flames. He howled. The proton pack on his body sparked and emitted a high pitch whine.

"Get outa the room!" Ray yelled. "It's gonna blow!"

They all ran out and braced themselves on either side of the doorway just as the pack exploded, shooting flames and debris out the door. With the explosion over, the smoke and dust began to settle.

"Everyone alright?" Winston coughed.

"We're fine, Winston." Peter told him.

"Ray?"

"Yeah. I'm alright, Winston."

"How the hell did that thing get a hold of the thrower?"

"A stupid move on my part, Winston." Peter answered.

"Stupid move--"

Peter put his hand up to Winston. Egon was sitting up against the wall, his arms wrapped around his
legs, crying.

"Egon..." Peter crouched down and put his hand on Egon's knee using the other to wipe Egon's bangs out of his face. Winston and Ray moved closer, concerned. Peter looked up at them, shaking his head, and they stopped.

"Egon..." Peter tried again. Egon looked up at Peter.

"Peter, he...he tried to...and.you..."

"No." Peter said, more forcefully than he wanted to. "No." He said again, softening his tone. "Egon, it wasn't him. It was just his body."

Egon shook his head. "No...No! It was him! And you told them to shot him!" Egon brought his fists up and pounded them against Peter's chest. "You told them to shoot him!...You told them!"

Peter put his arms around Egon and pulled him against his chest. The emotional break down Egon was going through weakened him physically and he didn't even try to fight Peter. He curled his fingers into the front of Peter's uniform, burying his face and cried.

"Egon...If for one moment, I thought that was really your father...." Peter stopped. His own voice breaking. Ray and Winston stood there aghast at what they were hearing. Peter continued. "I would never...never do anything to hurt you, in any way."

"I know." Egon said between muffled sobs. His grip on Peter tightened.

Ray and Winston didn't have to be told. They put most of the pieces together. Both their hearts ached for the pain Egon and Peter were going through. Especially Egon.

"Peter." Ray's voice was gentle. "Is there anything we can do?"

Peter nodded. "In time." And gave them both a very weak smile.

"Where's Peterson?" Winston asked, noticing he wasn't around.

"You guy's didn't see him anywhere?"

"No." Ray said shaking his head. "We thought he was with you."

"We got separated."

"Peter..." Egon picked his head up. "The tall man is still alive."

Peter stared at Egon, furrowing his eyebrows. "What?"

"He's the one who put me in...in..." Egon's voice failed him and he rested his forehead back against Peter's chest.

"Shhh...shhhh." Peter brought his hand up to the back of Egon's head and held him securely.

"Peter, there's something else too." Ray began as he crouched down next to Peter and Egon. "While we were looking for Egon, we found out where the readings on the meter are coming from."

"Where?"

"From behind a locked door." Winston answered.

"Peter, " Ray continued. "Based on the readings, it's a gateway!"

"To their world?" Peter asked.

"Or dimension." Egon offered.

Peter looked down and rubbed Egon's back, then turned back to Ray.

"Or dimension." Ray repeated, nodding. "Remember when Janine brought home that lamp, and released the ghost's? Well, I think this works the same way. If we can get in there, I can hook the trap up to it and the feedback will close it off."

"Great plan." Peter agreed. "But what if it's a rip or tear and not a gateway?"

"No. It would read differently on the meter." Ray explained.

"Wait a minute." Winston cut in. "What difference does it make if it's a gateway and not a rip or tear?"

"If it's a gateway, it's being forced open by something here, in our world. Something I can hook the trap to. A rip or tare won't have that."

"Okay, then. We find Peterson, blast down the door, hook up the trap, and kiss all these nastie's and that tall man's boney ass good-bye!" Peter said with enthusiasm.

"There's just one hitch..."

"Hitch, Ray. What hitch?"

"Do you remember what happened to the lamp?"

"Yeah. It explo--ded." Peter closed his eyes and shook his head, then looked up at Winston. "We never, get a break. Do we?"

"Nope." Winston said. "We never seem to."

Peter sighed. "Well, I suppose, if we're gonna do this, we'd better find Peterson."

************
"Egon...can you get up?" Peter asked gently. Egon nodded against Peter's chest.

"I-I think so, Peter." He slowly began to rise, and his legs wobbled, threatening to give out.

"Hold on to me, Egon." Egon slid his arms around Peter's neck and Peter helped him up the rest of the way. Ray laid a supportive hand on Egon's back. He wished there was something more he could do or something he could say, but, at this time, there really was nothing.

"Did you guys see any of those dwarfs while you were down stairs?" Peter asked while brushing off his uniform.

"No." Winston answered. "Did you see any up here?"

"No. This is too weird. Our first visit here we hardly made any noise and they swarmed us before we even got in the building. Now we come back, and--" Peter stopped himself, careful not to mention recent events in detail. "--and we haven't seen any."

"Hey, ah, guys. What's that?" Winston asked, pointing down the hall.

Everyone turned and saw a large softball sized silver ball floating in mid air. Ray pulled out the meter.

"I'm not getting any reading from it."

Suddenly, the ball came at them, extending a blade.

"Look out!" Winston yelled.

Everyone ducked to the floor and the ball flew over their heads, the blade slicing into the marble wall.

"Jesus." Winston stood up. He walked over to the ball. Where the blade entered, there wasn't even a chip in the stone. "Whatever this thing is, it's made of a metal strong enough to slice through marble."

"Wow!" Ray said walking up to it. He reached out his hand to touch it and Winston grabbed him.

"Man what are you, crazy! Don't touch it!"

"Hey, look at that." Ray observed.

The ball extended two metal arms and began pushing against the marble.

"Guys, I think we'd better get outta here before this thing gets itself loose." Winston suggested.

They all turned and began running down the hall. The silver ball released itself from the wall, turned and came after them. Winston turned back and fired. The ball dodged the stream and continued after them.

"Duck!" Winston yelled. Everyone fell to the floor.

The ball flew over them, just missing them, then slowed itself down and turned, bringing itself around for another attack.

"Quick! In here!" Peter got up and opened a door next to them. They all ran in just as the ball flew by. Peter slammed the door. They all looked around.

"Where are we?" Ray asked.

"Crematorium." Peter answered. "See." He pointed to a large cast iron door with rollers extending from it. "They set the coffin on that and it rolls into the oven to be burned."

"How do you know about that, Pete?" Winston asked.

"My great uncle was cremated."

They heard a thump from beside the oven and everyone froze. The thumping was followed by a muffled voice.

"I'll check it out." Winston switched his thrower back on and crept to the far side of the oven.

"Peterson!"

Mr. Peterson lay strapped to a table with his mouth taped shut. Peter, Egon and Ray ran up as Winston ripped the tape off.

"Aaagh!...Geez boy, leave some whiskers!" Peterson complained.

"Mr. Peterson. Are you alright?" Ray asked while helping Winston to unstrap him.

"As best as can be expected." Peterson slid off the table and stood up. "Aaah, so they found you." He said looking at Egon. "Where'd they take you?"

"Uh, Peterson," Peter said hesitantly, stepping between Egon and Mr. Peterson. "I thought you were right behind me. What happened? How did you end up here?"

"I was right behind you. Then, when you took off down the hall a big guy grabbed me and knocked me out. Next thing I knew I was in here."

"The tall man?" Egon asked.

"No. This was someone else. A younger--"

Peterson was cut off by a drilling sound coming from the door. After a moment, it stopped and the silver ball burst through and flew across the room hitting Peterson in the shoulder with its blade, sending him crashing to the floor in pain.

"Peterson!" Winston yelled.

The silver ball lay embedded in Peterson's shoulder and extended six small triangular blades in a circle and began to spin. It quickly lowered itself down toward Peterson's skin and on contact began shredding his flesh.

Peterson screamed in agony as it drilled deeper into his shoulder, spraying drops of blood and tearing away at the muscle and bone.

"AAARRRGH! GET IT OUT!...GET IT OUT!" Peterson screamed. He could feel the vibrations from the blades grinding through his shoulder bone and Peter, Egon, Ray and Winston could hear the bone cracking.
Winston reached down and tried to grab the ball, but Peterson's blood on the smooth, silver surface made it too slippery.

"Peter! Get me that shovel! Hurry! Ray, get your thrower ready!"

Peter ran over and grabbed the long handled ash pit shovel and brought it back to Winston. Winston took the spade end and dug it under the ball, tearing it out of Peterson's shoulder. Peterson let out a loud cry.

"Ray!" Winston yelled.

Before the ball had time to react, Ray fired and it shattered into pieces.

Peterson laid there, a small pool of blood collecting under his shoulder.

Egon took off his pink dress shirt and then removed his t-shirt underneath, bunching it up and pressing it firmly to Peterson's shoulder.

He groaned, clenching his teeth to the pressure. The blood soaked through, and Peter unzipped his uniform, removing his t-shirt, as well and handed it to Egon. He then bent over and picked up Egon's pink shirt and draped it over Egon's shoulders.

Zipping his uniform back up, Peter went over to the table, removed one of the straps and looped it into a sling.

"Winston, would ya give me a hand." Peter asked, placing his hands under Peterson's back. Together, they got him sitting up and Peter got the sling on. Egon tied the t-shirts over the wound and secured them.

"Think you can move?" Ray asked Mr. Peterson.

"Yeah. Help me up."

Egon put his shirt back on and walked over to investigate the small pieces that remained of the silver ball. He bent down and stared at them.

A hand rested on his back and he turned to see Peter bending down next to him, looking at the pieces.

"Weird and scary shit, huh?" Egon nodded.

Peter patted his back. "Come on, big guy. We can't stay here."

They both got up and headed for the door, right behind the others. As they reached the door they heard a low growl come from behind them and they stopped in their tracks.

Peter swallowed hard. "Please tell me that was your stomach, Egon."

Egon shook his head. "Sorry Peter. It wasn't me."

They all turned and saw one of the dwarfs standing on the far corner table. Winston and Ray stepped in front of Egon and Peter, their throwers aimed.

"Get out the door guys." Ray said to them. "We're right behind you."

Peter, Egon and Peterson backed up.

Peterson stopped, bumping into something. "The door was open, right?" He thought to himself. He turned.

"Boys..."

They all turned their eyes from the dwarf and saw the tall man standing in the doorway. Egon, Peter, and Peterson were in the way and neither Winston nor Ray could get a clear shot.

The tall man reached down and grabbed onto Peterson's shoulder and squeezed tightly.

The next events happened in a matter of minutes.

Egon charged up and pulled on the tall man's hand trying to release his grip on Peterson. The tall man backhanded Egon across the face, sending him through the air, to land on the marble floor. Peter picked up the shovel and swung it at him. The tall man grabbed it and dropped Peterson, who had passed out from the pain. His now free hand gripped Peters throat and hoisted him off his feet. He placed Peter between himself and Ray and Winston's line of fire.

The tall man nodded and two very large men in black coveralls wearing gas masks grabbed Winston and Ray from behind, pulling their packs off. He nodded again and a group of dwarfs ran over to Egon, pinning him down. The tall man smiled with amusement at Egon's terrified expression as Peter's lips began to turn blue and he gasped for air, his feet dangling helplessly off the floor.

"Let him go!" Egon yelled.

The tall man turned his attention away from Egon, who was struggling to free himself from the dwarfs' grip.

"Take them." The tall man ordered to the masked men holding Ray and Winston, who were dragged out of the room kicking.

Still holding on to Peter, the tall man walked over to the oven and pushed one of the buttons.

He looked back at the dwarfs still holding Egon. "Tie him up."

Peter's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he stopped struggling. The tall man turned him, wrapping an arm around Peter's shoulders and releasing his throat to put his other arm under his legs. He nodded to one of the dwarfs tying Egon's legs. It finished what it was doing and ran over to the side of the oven, pulling a lever that opened the door. Egon looked over as the door opened and he saw the huge flames inside.

"Leave him." The tall man ordered the dwarfs. "Help with the others."

The dwarfs left Egon and went out the door. The tall man carried Peter over to the rollers and laid him on them. Peter's body, very slowly, began to roll toward the flames.

"Peter! Peter wake up! Please! You must wake up!" Egon yelled.

Peterson stirred to Egon's yelling, but did not wake. No one even noticed he moved.

The tall man walked over to Egon bent down and picked him up. Holding Egon in his arms, the tall man turned so Egon could see Peter rolling closer to the flames.

"Say good-bye." the tall man said, then he turned carrying Egon out the door.

"PETER!"

The door slammed shut behind the tall man, rousing Peterson back to consciousness. He smelled the smoke from the oven and looked up. "Oh, Jesus!" He said upon seeing Peter rolling toward the flames. With all his strength, Peterson pushed himself up with his good arm and ran over, grabbing Peter's feet.

Peter stopped rolling, his head only inches from the fire. Peterson pulled as hard as he could, getting Peter away from the door. He couldn't pull Peter off with just one arm and he didn't dare let go, so he stood there and shook Peter as hard as he could by his feet.

"Wake up, Venkman! The tall man has your friends and he's gonna kill them if you don't wake up! Venkman!"

The last shout did it. Peter came to life, coughing violently and gasping for air.

"E-Egon?..." He rasped.

"The tall man took him, and your other friends. You have to get up now, Venkman."

"Get up? Whadda mean get--" Peter tried sitting up and saw he was on the rollers. His eyes widened and he turned to look behind himself, seeing the open door and flames inside.

"WOAH!" Peter screamed and jumped off the rollers, while patting his head, reassuring himself nothing was burnt.

Peter calmed himself, then began looking around the room for something, anything that they could use against the tall man and the other nasties. They heard the doorknob squeak.

"Someone's coming...quick!" Peterson whispered, and both of them hid.

The door opened and in walked one of the gravediggers in a gas mask. Peter looked around his hiding spot and found a long lead pipe. As the gravedigger walked by, Peter ran out with the pipe and hit the digger on the head with a loud crack.

It fell to the floor. Peterson walked out from his hiding place up to Peter.

Peter poked the digger with the pipe, and it didn't move. Very carefully, he reached down and pulled the mask off.

"Eeegh!" Peter and Peterson said as one.

The face was similar to one of the dwarfs' faces, but hairier. Peter did everything he could to stop himself from being sick at the sight of it.

The gravediggers eyes suddenly shot open and it growled in fury, reaching up for Peter. Peter screamed and brought up the lead pipe, smashing it against the creature's face, repeatedly, until it was unrecognizable. Peterson laid a hand on Peter's shoulder.

"I think it's dead now son."

"What makes you think it wasn't already dead?" Peter asked. Peterson raised his eyebrow to him.

"This thing must have been sent back to get me. If that's right...then..." Peterson smiled at him. "I have an idea of how we can get to your friends, but I don't think you're gonna like it."

Peter shook his head. "Anything to save them."

************
The tall man set Egon down on the stainless steel table.

"Leave their weapons here and take them to the portal room. Let them get acquainted with our little family." He ordered the two large men.

"What are you going to do with Egon?!" Ray demanded as one of the large men began to drag him out.

The tall man looked down and rubbed Egon's forehead gently. Then looked back at Ray and Winston, smiling wickedly.

"Make him one of us." The tall man answered, then laughed softly.

"No." Winston said, shaking his head. "No!" And he and Ray began to struggle.

"Egon!" Ray yelled, as they were pulled out the door. The door closed behind them and the room was filled with a terrifyingly calm silence.

A small door on the other side of the room opened and the young man, whom gave Egon the injection earlier, walked in.

"Prepare him." The tall man ordered as he went to the other side of the room to get the machine ready.

Egon struggled to slide off the table, but the young man grabbed him and pulled him back. With a hard yank, he ripped Egon's shirt off, throwing it to the floor and turned him over, strapping his wrists to the table. Then he removed Egon's shoes and socks, throwing them to the floor as well. He strapped Egon's ankles down and took out a pair of scissors, cutting away at Egon's pants. The rest of Egon's clothes were removed, and he lay naked on top of the cold surface of the table. The tall man wheeled the prepared machine over and dismissed the young man.

The front door to the room opened and in walked one of the gravediggers, dragging Peterson's body.

The tall man looked up. "Is he still alive?" The gravedigger nodded.

"Good. Put him over there. He will be next."

The digger drug Peterson over and laid him on the floor by the packs, then looked over at the tall man.

The tall man felt along the side of Egon's ribs, and found the spot to insert the needle connected to the tube.

Tears began to pour from Egon's eyes, even though they were shut tightly. No one was going to save him. Peterson was unconscious, Ray and Winston were taken away, and Peter...Peter was...dead. Egon's entire body began shaking and he let out a cry at he felt the tip of the needle press against his skin.

Then it was gone.

Egon opened his eyes to see the tall man standing beside him, staring at something on the other side of the table.

Egon turned his head, and saw Peterson aiming a thrower and the gravedigger walking up to the table.

Egon's breathing quickened, the closer the digger got. The digger knelt down, coming face to face with Egon, and removed the mask.

Peter. Egon never spoke the name, just mouthed it with wide, sparkling eyes, and Peter smiled back, winking.

"I'm right here Spengs."

Peter reached under the table and retrieved a large white blanket. He unfolded it and laid it over Egon, helping him off the table.

"Where are the others?" Peterson asked Egon still holding the thrower on the tall man.

"He had them taken to the room with the gateway."

Peter picked up the other thrower, put it on and grabbed the trap and meter. Peter aimed his thrower toward the door, and turned the meter on.

"Out the door and to the right." Peter directed.

"You're too late, boooy. They're already dead." The tall man said, grinning.

Peter turned, narrowing his eyes at the tall man.

"Fuck you."

He pressed the button on the thrower and hit the tall man, sending him across the room, writhing in agony as his body burned.

Peter calmly turned, put his arm around Egon, and with Peterson right behind, walked out the door.

********
"It's the door straight ahead." Peter said looking at the meter's readings.

"There's no handle. How do we get in?" Peterson asked.

"With the master key." Peter said. He fired his thrower at the door and the metal slowly melted away.

"Aaagh! What's that loud humming?!" Peter hollered covering his ears.

"It's the gateway!" Egon hollered back.

Bearing the sound, they stepped into the room. Instead of walking into a big open area, they were in a short corridor. The walls, ceiling, and floor were totally white and glowed.

On their left side were large barrels with little windows in them, all stacked on top of each other.

"What the hell..." Peterson said looking into one of the windows. He was startled when a dwarf charged to the window, bearing teeth."Holy shit. These barrels are full of dwarfs."

"They must be stored in them for transport to the other dimension." Egon guessed.

Over the humming noise they heard yelling and ran around the corner. Ray and Winston were tied to the floor and two barrels had been opened.

New dwarfs, still covered in slime, pus and blood, were crawling toward Ray and Winston, snapping their jaws.

Beside them two tall silver poles stood straight up. They were about five feet high and four feet apart.

"Egon...Is that the gateway?!"

"Yes!"

Peter ran up to the dwarfs and kicked each one, sending them through the gateway. He knelt down and removed the straps holding Winston and Ray.

"Winston, mind if Egon borrows your uniform?"

Winston furrowed his eyebrows, confused at Peter's question, then looked over at Egon and understood. He nodded to Peter and got up, unzipping it, and handing it to Egon.

Egon abandoned the blanket and accepted Winston's uniform gratefully.

"Ray, I got the trap! Let's hook this thing up!" Peter yelled.

Ray gave a thumbs up to Peter and took the trap. "This is going to take a minute!"

"Ray!" Winston yelled over the noise. "When this is hooked up, and you press the pedal..."

"It will explode, taking out the entire building!" Ray finished.

Peter looked over at Egon. "Well big guy, at least you'll die dressed!" Peter and Egon's eyes met and they favored each other with weak smiles.

"We won't have time to run for it, will we?!" Peterson asked.

Ray paused, looked up at him with saddened eyes, and shook his head. "No!"

"It won't explode until someone presses the pedal, right?!" Peterson
yelled.

"That's right!" Ray yelled back. Ray hurried, trying to finish the connections as quickly as possible.

"AAAAGGH!!" They all turned at the scream.

Peterson stood there, in shock, blood gushing from where his already wounded shoulder used to be. His arm lay on the floor.

The silver ball floated in mid air, dripping blood, by the doorway. Peterson collapsed to the floor next to Ray.

Peter extended his free arm, pushing Egon and Winston behind him, then pointed his thrower at the ball, ready to fire.

The tall man walked in beside the ball and smiled at them. Behind him, the two large men stood.

"Ray..." Peterson said in a weakened voice. Ray looked down at him. "Ray...listen to me. Take the pack and... give me...the peddle. Shoot them sons-a-bitches out of the way and run. All of you...I'll give you all time...to...get out. I'll make sure the trigger goes off."

"Mr. Peterson...you'll be killed!"

"I know."

"We can't abandon you here to die! We started this together and--"

"Ray...look at me. I'm...dead anyway. I've lost too much blood. Besides, I've got nothin' left to live for out there."

Ray stared down at him, not wanting to move.

"Ray...you know this is how it has to be. I don't have time to argue..."

Ray hardened his features and nodded at Peterson, taking the pack. He reluctantly handed the pedal to Peterson and, with effort, smiled.

"Thank you." Ray whispered.

Peterson smiled back at him. Ray ran up to the others.

"Guys! We're gonna make a run for it!" Ray yelled.

"What about the trap, Ray!" Egon yelled.

"Peterson is staying!" Ray yelled to Egon, looking right into his eyes.

Everyone turned their heads and saw Peterson lying on the floor with the trigger pedal. Peterson was quickly loosing consciousness. He lifted his head and winked at them.

"Go on boys! Get outta here!" And he smiled.

Everyone smiled back, sadness and admiration written on their faces. They turned back to the tall man and the two large men behind him.

"Let's cook!" Ray yelled.

Peter and Ray fired. The tall man dodged the streams, letting the two large men be hit. Their bodies were engulfed in flames and they screamed in agony, dropping to the floor, burning.

"Head's up!" Winston yelled at the on coming silver ball. Ray took aim and fired. The ball shattered into pieces all over the floor.

"Two for two, Stantz!" Peter yelled at him with a smile. They turned, seeing the tall man standing beside the gates. Peter fired, hitting him in the chest. This time, he didn't burst into flames. The stream only knocked him
to the far wall, dazing him. He slowly began to rise, an evil grin on his face.

"Oh, shhhit!" Peter swore.

The tall man looked over at Peterson with the trigger and saw the hook up Ray made to the gate. Peterson looked down at the trigger pedal in his hand and then up at the boys.

"RUN!" Peterson yelled.

Peter grabbed onto Egon's hand and pushing Ray and Winston forward, they ran out the door and down the hall.

* * *
The tall man made his way over to Peterson and grabbed at the trigger.

* * *
The boys rounded the corner to the display room.

* * *
Peterson kicked the tall man's feet out from under him, causing him to land on the floor beside him. The tall man rolled over and growled at Peterson, looking him straight in the eyes, still struggling for the trigger.

* * *
The boys ran through the display room, and out the front door, getting into Ecto-1. Peter pulled out the keys and fired her up. Ecto-1 sped out of the driveway and down the road between the graves.

* * *
The tall man smiled down at Peterson. "You think when you die you will go to heaven?" He asked. A wicked grin formed on his face.

"You'll come to US!"

Peterson looked the tall man in the eyes. He thought of his wife Linda, smiled, and pushed the trigger.

* * *
The entire funeral home exploded into flames. Debris from the building landed all around and on top of Ecto. White streaks of lightening shot up from the flames, and then all the burning remains of the building were sucked into a black hole. The building was gone, and all was quiet except for the sounds of remaining debris falling from the sky and Ecto's motor.

The debris settled and Peter turned Ecto around, driving back up to where the funeral home once stood.
Everyone stepped out of the car. Ray pulled out the meter and switched it on.

"No reading." He said quietly.

They looked around.

Of the entire three story building, all that remained was a few pieces of burning wood siding and the broken foundation.

"He saved our lives." Ray said, breaking the silence with a sweet, fond smile on his face, as he looked up to the sky.

"That he did." Winston added, putting his arm around Ray's shoulders.

"Come on guys. Let's get outta here."

Peter turned heading to the car behind Ray and Winston. He noticed Egon wasn't beside him, and he turned back to see him still staring at the spot where the building was.

"Hey Winston!" Winston looked back at Peter.

"Here." Peter tossed Ecto's keys to him. "You guys head on down to the gate...We'll be there in a little
while."

Winston nodded and he and Ray got in the car and drove to the gates. Peter walked back up beside Egon, his hands in his pockets. The sun was just beginning to rise and Peter could hear birds chirping in the distance.

"Peter..."

"Yeah, Spengs?"

"I want to go home."

Peter looked at Egon, surprised. He wasn't expecting him to say that.

"Egon...You know--"

"Now." Egon whispered.

Peter took in a deep breath and looked down at the ground. He never noticed before, but right next to where the stairs to the front door used to be was a small rose bush and on it, were red roses. Peter
stepped over and bent down, carefully picking one.

He stood up and turned back to Egon.

"Come on." He said gently, and wrapped his arm around Egon's shoulders.

They headed down the driveway toward the gates, then Peter made a sharp left turn, pulling Egon with him.

"Peter, what are you doing?" Egon demanded.

After passing a few gravestones, Peter stopped, handed Egon the rose, and backed away.

Egon took the rose and looked at Peter, puzzled. Peter nodded his head to the ground.

Egon looked over his shoulder and saw his father's grave stone. Oswald E. Spengler, Beloved husband, father, and scholar, March 23, 1922- October 8, 1983.

Egon swallowed and looked back over at Peter, shaking his head.

"Peter...I--"

"Egon...You never got a chance to say good-bye to him then. Why not say it now?"

Peter noticed the rose in Egon's hands was trembling. He walked back up to Egon and cupped his hands in his own.

"Come here, Egon." Peter said gently. He pulled Egon into his arms and held him for a moment, then, very slowly, Peter kneeled to the ground, bringing Egon with him.

Once down, Peter looked at the gravestone and cleared his throat.

"Dr. Spengler, this is Peter Venkman...and I'm here today with your son, Egon, who has something he would like to say to you." Egon looked up at Peter, blinking wide eyes. "Go ahead, Egon....It's okay."

Egon remained against Peter's chest, but turned his head and looked down his father's name. He shook his head again and turned back to Peter, laying his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Peter...I can't..."

"Egon?...Egon, look at me." Peter said softly.

Egon looked up into Peter's eyes.

"Egon, it's October eighth, nineteen eighty-three. You're all alone with your father...and you know he doesn't have much time left....What do you want to tell him?"

Egon looked down at Peter's chest. "I..." Egon's body began shaking.

"What do you want to tell him?" Peter urged, while gently running his fingers through Egon's hair.

"I-I want to tell him...that I'm not angry about...our disagreements anymore." Egon said in a low voice.

"What else?" Peter asked.

"That...I always thought he was..." Egon's voice broke and tears began streaming down his face. Peter gave him a reassuring squeeze and rubbed his back.

Egon continued. "That I always thought he was..a...wonderful f-father to me. He...he taught me s-so m-many things. Th-that I had then, a-and always wi-ill..." Egon stopped speaking and was crying uncontrollably in Peter arms.

Peter closed his eyes, pulling Egon close. "You always will what, Egon?"

"Love him." Egon whispered. "I love you father. I love you...so much!"

Peter held Egon tightly and rocked him while he cried. The sun was rising higher in the sky and Peter turned to look at it. A warm breeze caressed his face, making him smile. He looked back down and slid his finger under Egon's chin. When Egon looked up, Peter, once again, brushed his bangs out of his face and
pushed his glasses back into place.

"You know what, Egon?" Peter said, while wiping the tears from Egon's face.

Egon shook his head, and Peter smiled. "I think it's going to be a beautiful day."

Egon unscrunched his arms from between himself and Peter's chest, and wrapped them around Peter tightly.

"Thank you, Peter."

Peter let out a light laugh and wrapped his arms back around Egon. After a moment, Peter brought his hand back up and combed it through Egon's hair, once, before leaning forward and laying a light kiss on
top of Egon's head.

Egon sat back surprised.

"You tell anyone I did that, Spengs...and you're a dead man." Egon closed his eyes with a content smile and nodded.

Egon looked over at his father's stone and laid the rose in front of it.

"Good-bye, father." He said with a fond smile.

Peter stood up and extended a hand to Egon, helping him up. They walked back to the driveway and continued down the path toward Ecto. Without looking at Egon, Peter reached over and wrapped his arm around him, pulling him close.

"I'm proud of you Egon...Very proud."


The End (But only to Morningside. The story continues in my next fic.)