In the middle of the city, in the darkest hour of night, when the air is still and quiet and not cut by the wailing of sirens, is generally when strange events occur. At this time a loud crash of thunder resounded through the alleys and streets, waking anyone who slept in the streets and those who were asleep in the area around the crash. A brilliant flash of light followed, dropping a young man clad in violet armor and black pants to the street below. From beneath the cape came a black cat with a white star shaped patch on its forehead.
     “That was a different appearance,” the cat said, “hey narrator, why didn’t the universe belch us out or something?”
     <Nee - chan said if the universe burped or yawned again it would be grounded until it learned some manners.>
     “Oooooo - kay. Continue.”
     The young man took a small computer from his utility belt, opened it, and scanned the immediate area. Upon finding out his location he grumbled something in Elven, put the computer away, and said, “I’m sick of getting bounced around the universe!”
     “Where are we now?” the cat asked, swishing his tail about.
     “Manhattan again,” the young man sighed, “and it would figure we appear in a loud and ruckusome manner.”
     Moments later a brigade of police cruisers surrounded the cat and the young man. A moment after that a young lady with wild black hair pushed her way through the crowd. She was followed by a taller man of Spanish decent with mid length brown hair and a goatee. It was apparent that he wasn’t coming of his own accord since the young woman was bodily dragging him through the mass.
     “Kylie?” the first young man said in surprise, “Eduardo?”
     “That’s.... umph... us,” the young lady said, straining as the young man with her latched onto a side view mirror of a car, “I didn’t think to see you again so soon Alex.”
     “Kylie!” the cat exclaimed, leaping from Alex’s shoulder and alighting on Kylie’s, wrapping himself around the back of her neck and draping his tail down her left arm.
     “That damned talking cat again!” the second young man said, grabbing tighter to the mirror, “Kylie, have mercy on me!”
     “Come on Eduardo!” Kylie grunted, pulling Eduardo hard enough to wrench the mirror free and send both of them to the ground, Kylie on her back, Eduardo on all fours above her.
     “Wow, this is like in my dreams.”
     “And it will remain only in your dreams!”
     With that Kylie moved her knee so that it as in Eduardo’s stomach. Then she grabbed him by the shoulders. With a quick spring of her legs she catapulted her friend through the air, into a wall, and watched as he slid into a dumpster. Alex watched all this and said, “Score!”
     Once Kylie regained her feet and dusted herself off she walked up to Alex and said, “So, what are you doing here?”
     “I have no clue,” Alex said as his armor disintegrated to leave him in his normal street clothes. The police force took notice of this and decided to leave the situation in Kylie’s and Eduardo’s hands. Eduardo hoisted himself out of the dumpster, spaghetti in his hair, raw egg on his boots, and tomato sauce on his T-shirt and jacket.
     “Awww, man!” Eduardo sighed as he rejoined the other two, “I’m covered in trash.”
     “Your point being, goat boy,” Kylie. Alex and Star chuckled.
     “You look different from when you last were here,” Eduardo said, looking Alex over from head to toe.
     “The fact I’m not wearing armor, a cape, or make up of any sort is a good place to start,” Alex snarled.
     “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But why are you ears all pointy now?”
     This line drew Kylie’s attention to Alex’s ears, which were elven in form, yet not as pointy as strict Elf ears. In the left ear he had a gold hoop in the lower lobe and an emerald stud in his upper lobe. Alex blushed considerably as Kylie examined his ears.
     “You’re a half elf, aren’t you?” she asked at last.
     “Thanks to Washu, yes. My molecular structure is now part Elven.”
     “So that’s why you have the pointy ears?” Eduardo asked. Kylie and Alex glared at him. “Well, is it?” Eduardo got smacked by Kylie for being stupid.
     “Alex, guys, don’t turn around,” Star said, his tail wrapping tightly around his ward’s neck.
     “How bad is it?” Kylie asked, turning her head. She gasped something under her breath, which resulted in Alex and Eduardo turning around. The three came face to face with a literal wall of demons, ghosts, and spirits.
     “Give us the elf boy and we’ll let you live,” several of the spirits said as the wall moved forward.
     “Sure thing compadre,” Eduardo said, pushing Alex towards the advancing demon wall.
     “Eduardo!” Kylie said, smacking him a second time, “We do not turn our friends over to the forces of darkness!”
     “I do if it’ll save me!”
     “You chicken,” Alex said, levitating above Eduardo, his arms crossed before his body, “I’ll take care of these demons. Elmekia Flame!”
     A burst of blue white flames leapt from Alex’s hands, striking three of the spirits and wiping them from this plane of existence. Three more spirits replaced the three he erased, the entire wall laughing hautily.
     “We should RUN!” Eduardo shouted as he turned to run, only to find all means of escape blocked.
     “Give us the elf boy and you can leave,” the wall said.
     “Source of all souls which dwells in the eternal and the infinite, everlasting flame of blue. All power hidden deep within be called forth here and now,” Kylie chanted, a sphere of white energy forming between her palms, “Rah Tilt!”
     A wave of blue white flames erupted before her and beneath the spirits, engulfing a large portion of the army and erasing them from the mortal and astral planes. With the hole punched in this manner the three mortals and the guardian escaped moments before more spirits appeared to refill the gap. Once thus reorganized they looked around for Alex, Kylie, Eduardo, and Star, yet were hopelessly puzzled to where they went.
     Above the now vanishing wall of evil, hidden in a cloud of dark mist, hovered a bubble containing the hunted group. Alex’s amulet erected an armor bubble, he himself cast dark mist, and Kylie utilized a Ray Wing. Eduardo was huddled in a corner of the bubble away from Kylie and Alex and now was talking to himself out of fear.
     “Oh man, now Kylie knows how to cast spells. This is a bad thing, a very bad thing. She’s a witch or a sorceress or something like that.”
     “Will you stick a cork in it Goat Boy?!” Kylie grumbled, “It’s taking every ounce of my strength to keep us aloft.”
     “I’ll never get a date with her now,” Eduardo whimpered, “She could turn me into a frog or something.”
     “Shut up Eduardo,” Alex said, sweat forming on his brow, ‘How did I get into this situation?’
     “The ghosts are gone,” Star said, “we can head for the firehouse and maybe get some answers.”
     The dark mist dissipated, the bubble floated down to the ground and burst, depositing them near Kylie’s car. They hopped in, buckled up, and roared off towards the firehouse, laying a patch of rubber as they went.

     Back at the firehouse Kylie’s black Berreta pulled in, tires screeching as they came to a halt. Alex, Kylie, and Star hopped out, leaving a still shaken Eduardo holding tight to the edges of his seat, his eyes glazing over. Garret wheeled over to Eduardo’s window, which was open, and said, “Well, what’s wrong with you?”
     “Kylie.... Alex.... magic,” Eduardo said through clenched teeth.
     “We know Alex is a spell caster and that Kylie has been studying some old spell books. What’s wrong with that?”
     “Kylie... spell caster... oh my.”
     Garret’s eyes widened when he heard Kylie’s name in the same sentence as spell caster. “So Kylie can cast now?” Eduardo nodded a response. “So why is Alex here?” Eduardo shrugged. Garret rolled over to the elevator and headed for the rec. room on the second floor, where Kylie and Alex were talking with Roland and Egon.
     “You should have seen her in action,” Alex was saying about Kylie, “she was able to cast the most powerful spell in spiritual shamanist magic and blasted a hole in the wall of spirits.”
     “Sounds like Kylie’s been practicing,” Roland said, “though how do you practice a spell of that magnitude without alerting people.”
     Kylie blushed, but before she could respond Garret broke in on the conversation.
     “It’s because of mister elf boy here that Eduardo is still in shock,” he said, pointing to Alex’s ears.
     “You take that back,” Alex said, “I didn’t plan on winding up here.”
     “Then why are you here?!”
     “The freaking universe is screwed up and keeps belching me out in strange places!”
     “Why don’t you just go back where you came from?!”
     By now Garret had struck a nerve and a moment later Alex’s hands were around his throat, an Elmekia Lance in one hand and Garret suspended in the other.
     “I would go back if I could,” Alex grumbled under his breath, pouring more energy into the lance, increasing it in size.
     “And why can’t you go back? Did you dishonor somebody?!”
     The lance shifted in shape into a scythe of pure astral power, which Alex shifted around to hold the blade near Garret’s face.
     “That’s enough you two,” Kylie said, taking on an authoritative tone. When she got no reply from either side she said, “I will cast something unless the two of you smarten up!” Still no reply from either person. Kylie held her hands before her body, palms facing. A low chant filled the room as a wind began to blow up around her. A circle of power formed beneath her, energy waves causing her hair to rise and float about her face. Between her palms formed a sphere of blood red energy. Janine chose that moment to walk in, with Eduardo in tow.
     “All right you three,” she said when she saw what was going on, “knock it off!”
     “I don’t think they will until somebody gets blown up,” Eduardo said, speaking rationally for the first time since he returned to the firehouse.
     “Go back where you came from you pointy eared freak!” Garret snarled at Alex.
     “Why don’t you go to the underworld?!” Alex snarled back, holding the blade of the scythe to Garret’s throat.
     “Cool it you guys,” Janine said, raising her voice, “I’m warning you!”
     “Get back!” Roland said, dragging Egon and Janine from the room as the sphere in Kylie’s hands increased in size.
     “Oh boy,” Eduardo said as he backed out of the rec. room, “this is gonna be loud.”
     “GARV... FLARE!!” Kylie shouted, hurling the sphere at Garret and Alex. A large explosion followed, blowing out all of the windows in the room, plus the doors to the other rooms. Smoke billowed from the room’s windows. In the distance the sound of sirens were audible.

     “You three are in big trouble,” Eduardo said to Kylie, Alex, and Garret. The group were now standing outside the firehouse, all covered in soot. Alex and Garret had been given a chance to clean up in a neighbor’s shower, and were now wrapped in blankets. Slime was hidden inside of the Ecto 1, which had been moved into the street, and Star was nowhere to be seen. The fire department was inside of the firehouse, checking out the damage the blast caused and also checking to see that nothing was burning.
     “Well Doctor Spangler,” the fire chief said to Egon, “the rec. room is totaled, but damage to the other rooms is minimal. I would like to know what caused the explosion.”
     “We don’t know what caused it,” Egon said, telling a half truth while giving a sidelong glance at Kylie.
     “Chief, we found a cat in the building,” a firefighter with piercing blue eyes and a red beard and red hair said as he approached the group. Wrapped in a towel in his arms was a half conscious black cat with a star shaped white patch on its forehead.
     “Star?” Alex said, approaching the firefighter.
     “Your cat kid?”
     “Yeah,” Alex said, taking the bundle of fur and holding it close to his body, “Thank you.”
     As Alex turned from the firefighter he whispered, “Star, are you O.K.?” A muffled meow followed by a kitty sneeze told him his guardian would be fine.
     “The building is safe and sound chief,” the same firefighter said to the fire chief, “they can go back in now.”
     “Thank goodness nobody was seriously hurt,” Janine said as the group filed back into the firehouse. The phone was ringing off of the hook and Janine answered it.
     “O.K. you three,” Egon said, stopping Alex, Garret, and Kylie, “what happened in there?”
     “Ask elf boy,” Garret said, motioning towards Alex.
     “I see where this is going,” Kylie sighed, stepping between the two. “One more word out of either one of you and I’ll let fly with something more powerful than a Garv Flare.”
     “Isn’t that a spell in black magic?” Roland asked, tossing a couple of proton packs into the back of the Ecto 1. Egon looked at him before turning to Kylie.
     “You have studied black magic?” Egon asked. Kylie’s downcast eyes told everything. “I’m disappointed in you. I thought you were just going to study Shamanist magic.”
     “It started like that, but some black magic spells are a prerequisite for other shamanist spells,” Kylie said, “I also studied white magic as well, so I’m now have knowledge of a mix of spells.”
     “We have a call boys and girls,” Janine shouted from her desk.
     “Let’s roll!” Garret said, moving towards Ecto 1.
     “Oh no you don’t,” Egon said, “you, Kylie, and Alex are to stay here and clean up the rec. room. Janine and I will go in your places.”
     “What?!” three people exclaimed.
     “You made the mess, you clean it up,” Janine said, opening one of the closets to distribute mops, buckets, etc. “Make sure it’s clean by the time we get back.”
     “We’ll call if we get into any trouble,” Roland said as the Ecto 1 backed out of the firehouse. Once they were gone the three sighed.
     “We might as well get started,” Alex said as he levitated to the second floor. Kylie and Garret took the elevator and the three entered the now totaled rec. room. Smoke was still thick in the air; everything was charred or smoke damaged and soot covered; the windows were non existent and the doors were off of their hinges. On top of that the woodwork was as wreck and the ceiling was blackened.
     “Wow,” Kylie said, “I guess I overdid it with that spell.”
     “No kidding,” Alex said, whistling through his teeth, “even when I cast the Garv Flare I don’t do this much damage or even come close to it.”
     “Better start cleaning,” Garret said as he began scrubbing. He flipped out of his wheelchair and floated in midair. Alex and Kylie gasped in shock, but caught onto what was going on.
     “So the pot calls the kettle black,” Kylie said to Garret with a sly look in her eye, indicating his levitation spell.
     “What? I only know this spell,” Garret said in defense.
     “You’re still a spell caster,” Alex said, grinning evilly.
     “Well, call it what you may, but you and Kylie are the heavy hitters.”
     “Chill out you two,” Kylie said as she began scrubbing the floor. A moment later she sighed. “This is going to take forever.”
     “The guys are in trouble,” Star said as he bounded into the room and onto Alex’s shoulder.
     “What?” Kylie and Garret said.
     “I heard it on the radio downstairs. Janine is calling for backup. Seems they underestimated the strength of the things they’re fighting.”
     “HEY!” came from the radio on Kylie’s belt, “Guys, it’s what we fought earlier.”
     “Eduardo?” Kylie said, taking the radio from her belt, “What happened to Egon and the others?”
     “We’re in real trouble,” Roland said over the radio, “We’re out of traps and the proton streams aren’t working too great now.”
     “Where are you?” Alex asked.
     “Near the subway station on third street,” Egon said over the radio, “Your help would be...”
     The transmission went dead before any more could be said.
     “Egon?” Kylie said in shock, “Egon!”
     “They’re in trouble,” Garret said, “but what to do? What to do?”
     “You guys get ready to roll,” Alex said, “I’ll take care of the room.”
     As Kylie and Garret headed for the elevator, Alex incanted a spell under his breath.
     “Time which has passed, be called back once more,” he said, a small ball of light forming in his hand. The ball floated into the center of the rec. room and in a flash of light it was restored to pristine condition. With the spell completed he leapt over the banister at the edge of the second floor and landed next to Kylie’s Berreta, which had the engine running and two passengers all ready strapped in.
     “Let’s roll!" Alex said as he leapt in. Kylie cranked her care into drive, put the pedal to the floor and they took off, laying a patch of rubber in their wake.

     As they drove through traffic Alex was kind enough to provide a siren sound and full out magic flashing lights, which caused traffic to pull out of the way of Kylie’s car. Moments later they pulled up next to the parked Ecto 1. Nobody was visible in or around the car, and the only sign of the others were the full traps and a large puddle of red - orange slime.
     “Wow, nothing’s left,” Garret said as Alex constructed a Flow Break around the traps, “Where do you think they were taken?”
     “I don’t know,” Kylie said as she scanned the area with her PKE meter, “I’m getting squat on this thing.”
     “I’m not getting anything either,” Alex said as he scanned with his visor and computer. “Wait, scratch that. I’m picking up trace amounts of spiritual energy thataway,” he said, pointing into an alley.
     “Now we’re getting something,” Garret said as his PKE meter began to register off the scale.
     From a nearby alley stepped a girl with dark brown hair and dark eyes surrounded by dark makeup. She was dressed in odd rags and such, and all looked good on her. She was also coated head to toe in orange slime.
     “Garret?” the girl said as she approached. When Garret saw her his eyes and face lit up like a light.
     “Sephy, long time no see,” he said, rolling towards her, “What brings you here? And what happened to you?”
     Alex’s computer and Kylie’s meter registered off of the scale when they were pointed at Garret’s female friend. From the space behind the girl came four large tentacles, all dripping with the same orange slime. These wrapped around Garret and lifted him into the air.
     “Sephy, what are you doing?!”
     The girl stepped out of the shadows to reveal a large creature attached to her back. The creature looked at Alex and Kylie with some of its eyes, which gave both of them bad vibes.
     “What is that thing?” Alex asked, recoiling in disgust.
     “I thought you would know,” Kylie said, going for the particle blaster on her belt. She smacked herself in the forehead a moment later when she realized she didn’t have it.
     “I think it’s a grief or sickness demon,” Garret said as he used a very low powered Elmekia Lance to break free of the creature’s grasp, proving himself a hypocrite since he said he only knew Levitation. He fell and floated a couple of inches from the ground.
     “That’s helpful,” Kylie said as she began to chant the spell for the Rah Tilt.
     “Stop,” Alex said, “that won’t work. We need to dispel the hold the demon has on her and then take care of it.”
     “How do you propose to do that?”
     Alex took a familiar key from beneath his shirt and clasped it in his hands. As he chanted a spell under his breath a white light came from his hands and surrounded the demon and Sephy. A moment later the demon shrieked in pain and released its hold on the girl before trying to run. Garret floated over and caught Sephy and in one powerful motion had the girl in his arms. Meanwhile Kylie and Alex began their assault on the demon.
     “Flow Break!”
     A magic barrier formed around the demon, locking it in place and breaking down its mystical flow.
     “Rah Tilt!”
     Blue white flames erupted around the demon, destroying it from the astral plane. When the flames died away the demon disintegrated. Kylie and Alex hi fived, only to have their celebration broken up when Garret floated over with a very unconscious Sephy in his arms. When he shifted his hand beneath her head blood trickled through his fingers and collected on the ground.
     “Oh my word,” Garret said, looking at the blood. He turned a sickly shade of pale and began to tip over. Kylie grabbed his arm and stabilized him.
     “It’ll be O.K.,” she said in a comforting tone. Alex took his cape from subspace and spread it on the ground, and Garret lay Sephy on the cape. Kylie turned to Alex and said, “Can you cast a Recovery spell?”
     Alex looked at he and sighed. “I can try, but what she really needs is a Resurrection spell, which I don’t think I can cast too well.”
     “You have to save her,” Garret said, “you just have to.”
     Alex placed his hands on Sephy’s chest, closing his eyes, and began a prayer under his breath. “Holy light, heed my call and accept my vow. Please deliver this girl back to us. I pledge my life and soul so that this miracle might be done. Resurrection.”
     White light glowed around Alex’s hands as he chanted, a breeze of small points of light floating about him and blowing his hair about. The points of light floated about Sephy, healing her wounds and restoring life where there was little. The moment Sephy opened her eyes the spell ended and Alex keeled over out of exhaustion.
     “Is he going to be O.K.?” Sephy asked as she regained her feet and motioned to the unmoving Alex.
     “He’ll be fine,” Kylie said, taking an elixir from Alex's belt and giving it to him. “He must have needed more power than he thought to cast the Resurrection spell.”
     “What’s happening down below?” Garret asked.
     “There are a LOT of nasty things floating about down there,” Sephy replied, “I saw the others fighting them, then I blacked out and woke up here.”
     “That pain demon is what took you over,” Alex moaned, rubbing his head, “we defeated it and I cast a Resurrection spell which took a lot of my strength.”
     “We have some live ones down below,” Kylie said. She had since gone to the Ecto 1 and unloaded some traps, a couple of particle throwers, and her own handgun sized particle thrower. “Sephy, would you care to join us in this one?”
     “You want me to be a Ghostbuster?” Sephy asked with glee. The others nodded. “I would be honored.”
     “Then let’s lock and load,” Alex said, hoisting his right hand to the sky, “Saturn Star Power.... Transform!”
     A wave of light washed over Alex, changing his clothes for his armor and cargo pants. He stood up and helped Kylie distribute proton packs and traps. Kylie herself took one of the larger packs and a trap; Garret also took one of the larger packs and a couple of traps; Sephy took the smaller particle blaster and a trap; Alex hooked a couple of traps to his belt and concentrated to form another Elmekia Scythe. Once the equipment was distributed Sephy led them to an access way to the underworld of the city. One by one they entered, Alex casting a low powered light spell to shed some light on the tunnel, yet keep Sephy from being blinded. The sound of feet crunching on gravel or clumping on something hard echoed through the tunnels.
     As Sephy led the way, Alex and Kylie took readings from the surrounding areas, getting either no readings or low level residual activity. When they rounded one corner the meters began humming, and in Kylie’s case overheating, as the readings went off the scale.
     “We’ve got a lot of ecto here,” Alex said moments before a fairly good sized ghost sailed over his head.
     “Nuke ‘em!” Garret said, unloading a stream of super charged particles at the ghost. The beam bounced off and struck a wall, blowing a hole in it. “What in the world?”
     “Take this you slime sucker!” Alex shouted as he slashed at the ghost with the scythe. The blade passed through the ghost like it wasn’t there. “Ooooo-kay, that worked about as well as nothing at all.”
     “Rah Tilt!” Kylie said as she cast the more powerful astral spell. Blue white flames engulfed several spirits, only to fizzle out moments later. “What are these things?!”
     “No time to try to fight them,” Sephy said, “the village is just around the next corner.”
     The four ran and turned the corner, coming face to face with a wall of spirits. In the center, tied to crosses, were the other ghostbusters, their proton packs at their feet.
     “Give us the elf boy,” the wall said as it advanced upon the group of newcomers.
     “Give it up, will ya?!" Kylie said as she unloaded a combination of particle beam and astral energy at the wall of spirits. The effects of this combination were outstanding, for it erased a whole section of the wall and kept it from regenerating. The remaining spirits moved closer together to close up the gaps and holes.
     From inside the newly formed spirit dome came Egon’s voice.
     “Kylie, don’t worry about us. Just get rid of the spirits.”
     “We overestimated their strength,” Roland said, “that was where we failed. You guys can still get rid of them.”
     “Don’t let them have Alex,” Janine shouted, “they want his powers to unleash their lord from beyond the void.”
     When Alex heard this a devilish grin spread across his face. He stepped forward and produced his glaive.
     “So, you want me to unleash your lord?” he asked sarcastically, the blade of his glaive glowing an eerie violet black as he channeled energy into his weapon. “Who’s your lord anyway?”
     “Lord Hellmaster,” the wall of spirits said in unison, the word Hellmaster echoing through the underground.
     Alex cringed when he heard the name of Hellmaster, since he and Lina and the others had almost lost to him back on Halloween. “So, Hellmaster still has some followers who think he’ll be resurrected if they gain my powers.”
     “Most likely your power will come in at a key point of the process,” the spirit wall said. They then noted Alex standing before them, his eyes closed, his glaive before him with the blade to the sky, a large sphere of energy forming around the blade. “What in the nine hells?!”
     Alex opened his eyes, but kept them narrowed. “Source of all power, flames of the hottest corner of hell, imbue my weapon with your power and lend me your strength.” He then vaulted into the air and swung the blade in an arc that went behind his back and came up in front. “Giga Flare!” he shouted, the energy sphere exploding into an expanding wave of flames and pure energy which broke through half of the wall and destroyed it outright.
     “We have gravely miscalculated the elf boy's power,” the spirits said as they closed in to form a smaller dome due to their much reduced number.
     “So did Hellmaster,” Alex said, “he not only underestimated my power, but that of my friends, especially the power of Lina Inverse.” The spirit wall shrank smaller, spreading out and forming a Doom Wall when it heard this.
     “Oh crud,” Garret exclaimed, “How are we supposed to blast something that has the power of that many ghosts?”
     “Use your head Garret,” Kylie said, “it’s a single form now instead of multiple entities. We just have to weaken it and then trap it.”
     Three eyes opened on the wall and it began to slowly advance upon the group of fighters. From each eye came some sort of beam or spell, with differing results. Alex, being at the front of the group, was caught somewhat off guard by the opening attacks and suffered to be hurled through the air, across the square, and into a wall. A large balloon in the shape of a Moogle formed on his back, holding him in place.
     “Mister Alex,” Sephy said as she ran to Alex’s side. She noted how he was paralyzed, and the balloon above him. “A balloon spell,” she said, taking a needle from somewhere on her person. She stood on the tips of her toes and touched the needle point to the balloon, puncturing it. A split second later the balloon burst and Alex leapt to his feet, a little steamed that he had turned his back on an enemy and that his enemy didn’t wait before attacking.
     “That wall is going DOWN!” he grumbled as he ran towards the Doom Wall. A small gnome dressed in brown and green clothes appeared, a hammer in each hand, and ran after Alex.
     “Master Alex, you called?” the gnome asked as it hopped up to the running warrior.
     “I sure did Gnome. Use a gem missile on the central eye and send it back to slumber land.”
     “You know that you possess the power inside, and that you can cast the spell by yourself. You have known this for years,” Gnome said before vanishing.
     ‘Just dandy,’ Alex thought, ‘I need to recall what I learned from each of the eight elementals in the past and put that magic and knowledge to use.’
     He closed his eyes and began to perform the motions for an almost forgotten spell ritual. ‘From Undine I learned the peace of mind and harmony of water.’ “Freeze!”
     Blocks of ice cascaded from the sky, striking the middle eye and shattering in sprays of water and ice. The Doom Wall continued to advance upon Alex, yet was stopped by a couple of lance spells from Kylie.
     “Alex, continue what you’re doing,” she shouted before hurling a Burst Rondo at the Doom Wall.
     Alex continued the motions for the ritual, a brown gold aura forming around his body. ‘From Gnome I learned about strength and respect for that strength.’ “Earthslide!”
     Large boulders rumbled down and crashed onto the center eye, wounding the Doom Wall and giving it a headache. Alex continued the motions as he maintained the concentration required for the ritual.
     ‘From Sylph I learned how to go with the wind and be as free as the birds, and also the lesson I learned that comprises my Storm Striker spell.’ “Airblast!”
     Large blades of wind formed above Alex before spiraling off to strike the Doom Wall’s center eye. The wall took a moment to heal itself a little bit as Alex continued the motions for the spell ritual.
     ‘From Salamando I learned that true power comes from the flames of passion of those pure of heart.’ “Fireball!”
     Twin snakes of flames appeared and slithered at the Doom Wall, slithering around the central eye before entering and exploding. the wall stood stock still, its size diminishing to about one half of what it was. Kylie and Sephy charged past the wall to untie the others who were being held prisoner. Alex continued the motions for his ritual.
     ‘From Shade I learned that in every dark place there is a ray of light and hope.’ “Dark Matter!”
     Dark energy collected around the central eye before exploding in a wave of blue smoke and flames. The wall shrank a little more, giving less fight and setting up a defensive barrier. Kylie and Sephy ran past the wall with the other ghostbusters, who fell back to a backup position as Alex continued his spell ritual.
     ‘From Lumina, the light elemental, I gained the knowledge of the opposing power of light and dark and the data I needed to create my Goddess Slash spell. Also I learned that those who are dark of heart will run from the light.’ “Lucent Beam!”
     A giant beam of pure and searing light shot from Alex’s hands, racing about the room before striking the central eye of the doom wall and blinding it. The wall shrank as it lost more of its dark power. The ghostbusters, plus Sephy, fired up their proton packs and took aim. Alex continued his spell ritual as the wall tried to recast its barrier, which the lucent beam had shattered.
     ‘From Luna I learned the childlike innocence and wonder of the unknown which I had lost so long ago, and which, since, I had regained.’ “Magic Drain!”
     Alex absorbed some of the Doom Wall’s own magical power, weakening it and adding to his own power. The wall drew back out of fear as Alex continued to perform this dance of death.
     ‘Finally, from Dryad, the tree spirit, I learned undying vigilance to a cause and never to give up on anything, no matter how grave the outlook may be.’ “Sleep Flower.”
     Colorful petals floated from the sky, touching the doom wall and putting it to sleep. With his spell ritual complete Alex drew back and let the others do their job.
     “Time to put this thing away,” Eduardo said as he and the other Ghostbusters opened fire. The beams struck the doom wall and were harmlessly absorbed.
     “Uh-oh,” Sephy said as she opened up with another barrage, “I don’t think this is going to work this time.”
     “It’s no longer ecto,” Egon said, adjusting his glasses as he poured over the readings, “it’s merely there and living.”
     “Well, looks like it’s time to bring out the big stuff,” Kylie said, unstrapping her pack and setting it next to Garret’s wheelchair. She assumed a stance like many other spell casters who use high power magic. “Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows...”
     Egon perked up his ears when he heard Kylie begin her spell. “Kylie, stop using that spell. It calls upon a dark lord!”
     “Never interrupt a spell caster,” Eduardo and Garret said in unison.
     “Even I remember that one,” Eduardo added, “interruptions can cause the spell caster to screw up and ice our butts with a backfired spell.” Egon fell silent and crossed his fingers, which is something the scientist never did.
     “... buried in the stream of time,” Kylie continued, “In thy great name....” Egon swallowed loud enough for the others to hear. What would the next line of the spell be? Would Kylie be pledging herself to Ruby Eye Shabrinigdo, or would she skip that line? “... Let those who stand before me be destroyed by the power that you and I possess.”
     A large globe of dark power formed above Kylie’s head, her hair blowing wildly behind her. She brought the globe down before her body and shouted, “Dragon Slave!!” The globe exploded before her, a ray of darkness tearing through the air and striking the doom wall. The resulting explosion was loud, but didn’t bring down the ceiling or do anything other than burn the doom wall to a crisp. The doom wall shrank a little more, diminishing to a point where it would pose little problem.
     “Flow break,” Alex said, a magic circle forming beneath the Doom Wall and sealing it in a magical field, breaking down its mystical flow. The doom wall spit forth a single glass sphere, which rolled to a stop at Alex’s feet before the wall decompiled into several small ghosts.
     “Now you can open fire,” Alex shouted as he ducked and covered.
     “On three,” Roland said as the whine of particle wands filled the air.
     “Three!” everyone said collectively as the ghostbusters opened fire. The proton blasts tore through Alex’s Flow Break and caught the ghosts, holding them in place until Kylie unclipped the trap from her back and hurled it through the air. The trap struck the ground with a resounding CLANG before coming to a rest next to the flow break. A quick flip of a switch and the doorway to a containment dimension opened, Lewinskying the ghosts into it and closing them in. Smoke rose from the trap as it beeped to indicate it was filled.
     “Dusted!” Alex shouted, leaping up and giving a victory sign. As he came down his foot landed on the sphere, him falling on his butt, the sphere sailing through the air and landing in Kylie’s hands.
     “What is it?” Eduardo asked, pointing to the sphere as the others gathered around. The sphere began to pulse and glow as if it were conversing with Kylie.
     “I don’t know,” Kylie said as she gazed into the sphere, “I know that it feels warm and friendly.”
     “Miss Kylie, thank you for your help,” Sephy said as she began to unclip the proton pack from her waist. Kylie shook her head.
     “You keep it. If anymore of those nasty ghosts come back you might need it.”
     “Speaking of which,” Garret said, indicating a mass of possessed under dwellers, “We still have problems.”
     “And here’s our cure,” Janine said, tossing Alex a stone she had taken readings on. “Use this and send those ghosts reeling back to the nether world!”
     “Right on,” Alex said as he caught the stone. “A stone of binding for a powerful exorcism spell.” He clasped his hands around the stone, held it to the sky, and chanted the spell. “You who are not of this world; Pitiful, twisted creatures. By the light of purity which I possess I bid thee, be gone to the nexus of our two worlds. Meguido Flare!!”
     A blinding wave of light tore through the underground passageways, pulling the evil spirits from the bodies they possessed and sealing them in an extra dimensional space where they could not escape from. As the wave died away Kylie, using the crystal orb in her possession, cast a massive Recovery spell to aid those who had been possessed. With the threat sealed away the spell casters took deep breaths, released long sighs, smiled, and gave victory signs.

     Many hours later, after satisfying curiosity and such, the ghostbusters climbed out of the underground and returned to the Ecto 1, which thankfully was still in one piece. In the back of the refitted car sat a huddled mass of traps with anti evil charms stuck to each one and a flow break around the mass. All ready the traps were showing signs of containment loss.
     “Are we going to have a repeat of last time?” Eduardo asked as they added the two new traps to the others. The other people groaned collectively.
     “I just hope we can make it back to the firehouse before the traps lose containment,” Roland said before the Berreta behind them roared to life. Everyone turned to see a young man with long black hair seated in the driver’s seat. On his forehead was the golden crescent mark of a guardian, his golden green eyes very familiar. He was clad in tight blue jeans, hiking boots, a tight black T-shirt, and a tight leather jacket.
     “Hop in,” the man said, grinning at Kylie, Alex, Eduardo, and Janine.
     “Who the heck is this guy?” Eduardo asked. Kylie and Alex smacked him.
     “O.K. Star, let’s get these ghosties back to lockup as fast as we can,” Kylie said as she hopped into the passenger’s seat. Alex, Janine, and Eduardo hopped into the back seat, the traps in hand, seconds before Star put the car into drive and punched the gas. The Berreta laid a patch of rubber as it peeled out, the occupants screaming or shouting in surprise and joy.
     Several minutes later the Berreta pulled into the firehouse and came to a stop. Janine and Eduardo hopped out of the back of the car, taking the majority of the traps with them directly to containment. Alex, Kylie, and Star stepped from the Berreta, all three still a little stunned by their ride, especially Star who didn’t have a driver's license. The trio noticed that Janine’s chair had been replaced by a very exquisite high backed leather chair, and the back was turned to them. From the chair came a voice that made Alex and Star twitch.
     “Hello Alex. Greetings Star,” the voice said in a feminine tone.
     “How did she get here Alex?” Star asked moments before he turned back into a cat.
     “I don’t know,” Alex said as Star leapt onto his shoulder, “but I’m not about to stick around to find out.”
     Alex took his transformation pen and hurled it into the air. The pen spun, the violet jewel of power in the center glowing, a circle of light forming around the warrior and his guardian. The jewel glowed and gave off a pulse of light, Alex and Star vanishing in a flash. A split second later the pen vanished in a shower of sparkles, leaving Kylie to stare in open mouthed awe. The chair spun around a moment later, revealing a small white cat with purple ears, big blue eyes, and tiger claw gloves on its forepaws, which seemed remarkably like hands.
     “Aww, crud,” Gatomon sighed before vanishing in a shower of glitter. Her voice echoed, “I guess they didn’t want to play.”
     As the Ecto 1 pulled in, Kylie came to her senses, sighed, shrugged, and walked over to the car to help unload it.

     In the stream of time and space two separate teleporters collided, both spiraling off on the same trajectory. One was Alex and Star, the other being Andrew, who had decided to take a trip through time and space to locate Alex. Unfortunately, as will often happen, two paths cross and collide. These two were knocked towards a different spatial destination than they had intended; a destination where a handful of wizards and warlocks hold power over all.