2022:
WHEN THE ZEPHYR LILIES BLOOM

From the Files of Dr. Fritz V. Baugh, GBI Historian
Addendum to GBI Case File GBNY-2022-40/408

Recently, Marie Lupin and TJ Anderson were sent with an ad hoc GBI team to deal with a werewolf prowling the grounds of Notre-Dame; the creature disappeared while leaving his motivations opaque.

While that was going on, Eric Stantz and the Spengler Twins attended a Zagnut concert that was interrupted by the notorious mummy Ahagotsu; during all of this, Eric encounters a magical cat with a mysterious connection to a dead wizard. A wizard known to none other than Eric's mother, Lady Enlightenment.

Dr. Johnathan Christopher Spengler immediately looked toward the offramp.

"Would you relax, John?" Dr. Raymond Francis Stantz chuckled. "They said 'momentarily' not 'within the next nanosecond'."

John exhaled and sat down next to the older man. "Yeah, I know...sorry...I guess I got a lot on my mind..."

"Oh, c'mon, you know why I'm here--I do understand."

"Yeah, I..." John suddenly stopped. "Wait, no, it's not like that, I think you're misunderstanding!"

"Right." Ray nodded, stroking his beard. "And just imagine how long it'd take if she hadn't sent her gear back on the charter flight with Marie?"

John rolled his eyes "Yeah, the TSA and Homeland Security guys would have loooved that..."

A few minutes later, as passengers filed off the newly-arrived plane, John Spengler breathed an audible sigh of relief (which caused Ray to chuckle) as one particular passenger appeared: a twenty-four year old woman with thick brown hair dressed in a green sport coat, her handbag sporting a keyring with a Ghostbuster insignia.

"Oh! You're here!" she said brightly, with a distinct upper middle class English accent.

"Like I'd be anywhere else?" John replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, I certainly..." she stopped, and her face tensed slightly. "Doctor Stantz!"

"I'm just the chaperon." Ray said breezily, which made John facepalm in embarrassment. "Welcome back, TJ."

"Thank you, Sir." Tessa Jane "TJ" Anderson nodded. "I didn't realize that airport retrieval was a two-person operation now?"

"I've told you before, my name's Ray." Ray said cheerily. "And I've got my own reasons to be here."

"Oh?"

"You weren't the only person I know arriving from England on this flight." Ray answered.

A short time later, John said "There she is, Uncle Ray!"

Just leaving the plane was an attractive woman who looked at least ten years younger than her chronological age of sixty-one, dressed in a dark red jacket over a dark blue dress; a symbol resembling a backwards letter "P" was pinned to her lapel. Her slightly curly dark hair was set off by one coppery patch over her left temple.

"Liz!" Ray called out.

"Ray!" Elizabeth "Liz" Hawthorne Stantz replied. She went up to Ray and they exchanged a long, hungry kiss.

John and TJ both looked away, a little embarrassed. Not just because of the obvious, but as TJ realized "I was on the same plane as Mrs. Stantz...and didn't even know it?"

The two Stantzes broke their embrace. "So I hear that our son has gotten himself into a lot of trouble since I left." Liz said.

"Yeah." Ray nodded, rolling his eyes. "But he had some good people watching out for him, so he's fine."

"I imagine he means you?" Liz grinned at John.

"Well, yeah." John answered. TJ gave him a look.

"If you two wanted to greet each other the same way Ray and I did, don't let me stop you." Liz said a bit mischievously.

"Aunt Liz!"

"Mrs. Stantz!"

Their faces were both almost as bright red as John's hair.

"Now, now, don't embarrass the youngsters, Honey." Ray said, almost laughing. "Let's get to baggage claim so we can get outta this place."

Liz gave them one last amused look as they left the departure area.

"The same reason as you, I imagine." Liz answered. "I don't know if Eric ever mentioned it, but I'm Canadian--as a citizen of the Commonwealth, it was my Queen also, who'd reigned since even before I was born, who died."

TJ nodded. "Understood. My apologies for being nosy."

Liz chuckled. "Nothing to apologize for. I've even lived in the UK for about a dozen years or so all told--I was a student at Rein-Hagen Academy in Cambridge, and was a staff adviser when Eric attended."

"Here's yours, Liz." Ray grabbed a suitcase.

John and TJ looked at each other.

"So am I to surmise, Mrs. Stantz, that like your son you are also..." TJ paused for emphasis. "...shall we say a 'stage magician'?"

Ray looked at them, but didn't say anything.

"We asked Eric about it once, after he told us about his own...stage magic." John added. "But he said we'd have to ask you directly..."

"...That it wasn't his secret to divulge." TJ finished.

They're finishing each others' sentences and everything... Ray remarked to himself. Man, Janine would be laughing her ass off right now...

Liz smiled. "Very perceptive, Ms. Anderson. Yes. By the way, I think that's your suitcase that just went past."

"Eh? Oh, bugger...missed it..." TJ shook her head in annoyance.

John sprinted and retrieved the errant item.

"Thank you." TJ moved to take it, but he kept hold. "I can carry it myself, Johnathan."

"I know you can." John countered. "But since I'm here you don't have to."

TJ rolled her eyes and grumbled "Fine. Let's go, then." as Ray and Liz exchanged another amused look.

"So you probably figured it out when Eric told you about being a wizard, didn't you?" Liz, in the front passenger seat, asked.

"He is a Spengler..." Ray chuckled from the driver seat.

John, sitting in the back with TJ, nodded. "Well, yeah...there was a lot of stuff I remembered from pretty much my entire childhood that suddenly made a lot more sense. Particularly being five years old and going 'Why is a legal scholar in England helping GBI fight Gozer?' "

Liz chuckled. "That's nothing...my nephew Jay told me that when he was a kid he thought I was a spy. I didn't like keeping things like that from anybody, but I didn't even tell Eric I was an actual wizard until he graduated Rein-Hagen and was ready to begin training with Vincent. I..."

It's at that point that she noticed that TJ had fallen asleep leaning against John, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Jet lag." Ray whispered, with a grin. "Or we're just that boring."

"This can wait for later, Johnathan." Liz said, also whispering, also with a grin.

John looked a little embarrassed. But with a bit of a smile of his own.

Eric Stantz, their twenty-six year old son, was waiting for them.

"There you are!" Liz hugged him. "I hear you've been getting in all sorts of trouble lately."

"Well, yeah." Eric nodded. "But I got out of it more or less intact."

She started to tousle his unruly hair. "Johnathan said you were concussed after getting beaten up by a zombie."

"Nothing a few days of bed rest and some pawns of vis for a creo corpus spell couldn't fix." Eric shrugged. "Thanks to that there probably won't even be a scar."

"The wonders of Hermetic magic." she nodded.

"I brought some West Pier Pizza!" Ray added. "One with bacon bits, just the way you like it!"

"All right!!!" Eric said excitedly. "So did you guys pick up TJ too?"

"Not without John's help." Ray nodded. "We went ahead and dropped her and John at the Firehouse. He said he'll get her to her apartment."

"I bet he will." Eric chuckled.

"I can't fault him for falling for someone from the former British Empire." Ray shrugged. "Means he has taste."

Eric rolled his eyes. After a few seconds, he sighed. "Mom, after dinner, there's something I really need to talk to you about."

"Eh?"

"It concerns something that happened on the last case, the one that put me in the hospital."

Eric blushed and facepalmed. "Mooooom..."

Ray chuckled. "You have no idea how patient she's been to not bring this up earlier."

Eric sighed. "Yeah, fine. Well, first, obviously, since she was mentioned earlier, even if I really liked TJ it's both vociferously denied but blatantly obvious where her attention is. I admit a time or two early on I wondered...you know, she is cute, has a sexy accent, and has a law background like some other women I'm very fond of, but it's only a matter of 'when' not 'if' for her and JC, so even if I did feel anything for her it'd be doomed anyway. She's a friend and colleague, that's it." He shrugged.

Ray nodded. "Thankfully John's a lot more assertive than Egon was at that age. I don't think this is going to take another fourteen years to happen."

Eric rolled his eyes. "I sure as hell hope not. Anyway...Marie Lupin and I...well..." He looked a bit sheepish. "We have a lot of fun together. She's energetic, witty, and keeps me on my toes. But...well...she's very...let's say free spirited. I'm not sure I want to be one among many, even if I was the most equal among many."

"You never know, though." Ray offered. "Jessica was also, you know, 'free spirited' when she was younger, and look at her now, happily married. And her Dad was the same way--'free spirit' when he was young, faithful father of two now."

"Your Father and I were there when Marie's parents met." Liz noted. "Barnard was a bit of a 'free spirit' in his youth, while Mariko was a very sarcastic wunderkind. And they're doing just fine too."

"Yeah...I know." Eric nodded. He sighed. "And then there's Eden..."

"I see that look in your eyes." Liz said.

"I've know her her entire life and so much of mine I don't even really remember before she and JC were around. When I left for Rein-Hagen she was still looking like a gawky little girl. Then when I came back last year...holy shit..." He gulped. "She was gorgeous."

Liz looked at Ray. "Were you keeping this from me?"

Ray shrugged. "Hell no. First I've heard of it too."

Eric looked like he wanted to melt into the table (as a wizard, he probably could if he really wanted to, of course). "But oh boy, she's..."

"She's Egon Spengler's daughter." Ray noted.

"Yeah. It's like the opposite of Marie or Jessica or Uncle Peter: that serious, all-science reserve, how to get through that and bring out just a little bit of that 'free spirit'." He sighed. "I always heard Dad's stories about what Aunt Janine and Uncle Egon went through, but now, though, I believe them in a way I didn't before."

"On a GBI job?" Ray asked, a little confused.

"I wasn't acting as a GBI agent at that point." Eric shook his head. "Ask Edie and JC--they'll verify. It's Order business. I know you're Mom's official amicus, but just in case..."

"Understood." Ray nodded, patting his son's shoulder. "I'll be in the main den--I've been meaning to listen to the commentary track on the Nerds In Space Blu-Ray! I hear the director spends the entire time complaining about MST3K making fun of the movie!"

"Enjoy." Liz smiled.

After Ray left, she looked at Eric with concern. "As a Quaesitor, I would say you handled that situation with your father correctly. But as your mother it feels very unfair." She shook her head. "So what's your concern, Son?"

Eric sighed, and then began to tell her the entire story of the night of September 14th. About his chance encounter with the magical cat "Panther-Panther" at the rap concert held by Matthew "Zagnut" Marshall, and interrupted by the mummy of the Pharaoh Ahagotsu.

Panther-Panther--or "Pippi" as Eric offered as a shorter nickname--had been depending on the mummy for magical sustenance for quite some time. Once, a long time ago, she approached a wizard to become his familiar, but he already had one and contained her. She was released from that confinement twenty-six years ago, when the wizard died--and Ahagotsu soon found her again.

But when Eric entered the Quinn Center, he somehow sensed the cat's presence, though he didn't know what it was; and the sensation appeared to be mutual. Unfortunately, not long after they met and before they could figure it out any further, Ahagotsu's pet zombie Bombie ambushed Eric and concussed him, escaping with Pippi while Eric was out of action.

Liz listened intently. "I would say the Hermetic procedure is clear. If you and Pippi both want to bond as mage and familiar, all you have to do is retrieve her. I don't see..."

"Pippi mentioned the name of the wizard she'd approached decades ago, Mom." Eric shook his head. "I looked the name up on Redcap--his name was Zephyranthes."

Liz inhaled in surprise. "Zephyranthes?!"

"So you did know him." Eric nodded. "The online listing was sparse, but enough to tell me he was a member of Nigrasaxa covenant, the place where you were trained, and would have been there when you trained because he didn't die until about the time I was born."

Liz looked a bit pensive. "Yes."

"So I figured I'd ask you about him first--a lot quicker than trying to check the paper archives at Horizon or going to England myself."

Liz exhaled. "Zephyranthes was, indeed, a member of the same covenant as my instructor, Lady Persuasion, or as I called her 'Aunt Tegan' even though she was technically my mother's cousin." She smirked slightly. "The day I met him he was sleeping at the entrance to the west tower because he'd had a fight with his familiar, a skunk named Fume, and had been basically gassed out of his lab like a character in some demented Pepe LePew cartoon." She couldn't help giggling at the memory. "You just don't win a fight with a skunk."

"So did he ever tell you anything about Pippi?" Eric asked.

"No." Liz shook her head.

"Damn." Eric muttered. "I was hoping that maybe he had...I mean, how normal is all this? I've heard about prospective wizard/familiar teams vaguely sensing each other even before they met, but this whole business where I can somehow turn her powers on and off? That doesn't make any sense, except like if we'd somehow already bonded on some level."

Liz's eyes went wide. "Oh my God..."

"What, Mom?"

She was quiet for some time. "This isn't going to be easy to talk about."

Eric mused for a few seconds. "I think this is something I really need to know."

She nodded. "Yes."

Liz gathered her thoughts for a few more moments. "If you saw his Redcap listing, you probably already know his birth name was Eric Collins...and if that made you wonder, well, yes. You were named for him."

"Eric was born in 1762, and liked to say 'I was born the same year as George IV and outlived the bloody bastard by over a century and a half'. He was like having a wacky old uncle...so when your father and I got engaged, I went to England to invite not only Aunt Tegan, but Eric to our wedding."

"Eric refused, saying he was 'getting way too old to be gallivanting around the world'...but gave us a couple of wedding presents. I got a collection of lab texts he'd prepared, including the formula for my favorite perfume." She smiled slightly. "The one he devised and I still use, which helps disguise my sigil."

"I think it sounds like he might have been a little sweet on you, Mom." Eric smirked.

"Aunt Tegan thought so too." Liz rolled her eyes. "But anyway...what he gave to your father was a small bag filled with enchanted zephyr lily seeds; he called it a 'good luck charm'. And told your father to keep it with him."

Eric wondered "I don't remember ever seeing Dad with anything like that...and I wouldn't think he'd just throw it away."

"He didn't." Liz shook her head. "Anyway, we got married, and didn't waste much time after that because almost fourteen months to the day of our wedding..."

Eric nodded. "Yeah."

Liz inhaled sharply. Her eyes were misting over. "Oh God, do I not want to relive this..."

"Mom?"

"There's one thing that your father and I never told you about...and until eight years ago we really couldn't have because you wouldn't have understood at all...but when you were born..." She sobbed.

Eric felt really confused. His mother had always been such a rock. It takes phenomenal will to control the forces of magic, and because of that any wizard who survives their apprenticeship will become very disciplined. What could make her so...weepy?

"...We almost lost you." she finally said.

He blinked a few times. "Whoa."

"You were due on August 7th, so you were premature, but about two weeks isn't unusual in and of itself." She stopped a few moments before continuing. "You weren't breathing right. The doctors were ready to take you to neonatal intensive care, said they were doing everything they could." A few tears came down her cheek. "I'd never felt so helpless in my life. Certainly not since the day Aunt Tegan opened my arts...but now..."

"Well, yeah, but..." Eric gulped. "...I mean, we know that I survived that."

"You did." Liz grinned slightly, wiping her eyes. "But the crux of the matter may be how you survived."

"If you say I need to know it, I need to know it."

"Your father and I were just holding each other, scared, in tears, and then he suddenly jolted up. And I felt a magical signature...that of Zephyranthes."

"Ray pulled the bag of zephyr lily seeds out of his pocket--it had been vibrating. It was glowing. Then, as the two of us watched, it levitated out of your father's hand and in a flare of white light, it disappeared completely."

She exhaled, now past the most unpleasant parts of the memories. "After the flash of light, we heard you squawk. The doctor checked you with a stethoscope, and was shocked--your father asked her what was going on..."

"I...I don't know how to explain it, Dr. Stantz. We had almost lost him, but...then, he started breathing normally. All his vitals are good now. I could almost swear it was like magic."

"Dang." Eric shrugged. "Um...sorry?"

She hugged him. "Certainly not your fault, you little scamp."

"So anyway...a few minutes later, we were back in a room and I was giving you your first meal..."

"I hope you will pardon the intrusion, Lizzy. I promise it won't take long--it kind of can't."

The looked up to see a glowing, semitransparent form appear--a robed man with a skunk perched on his shoulder.

"Eric!" Liz said.

"The 'good luck charm'?" Ray asked. "Was this what it was for?"

Zephyranthes nodded. "Years ago, Lizzy, back when you were training with Persuasion, I had a Twilight episode. In the vision I saw you, older...you were crying in front of a tiny casket." The spectral form shuddered. "I couldn't allow that to happen. So when Persuasion told me you were getting married, it was time to prevent that vision."

Zephyranthes leaned to look at the child. "As I foresaw, his life force is strong. But it would have trouble sparking--it would need a little push. That's what the 'charm' was for: it was a mystic conduit allowed me to supply that push."

Liz suddenly had a queasy feeling. "What was the 'spark', Eric?"

"I fanned the flames of your son's life force..." Zephryanthes answered "With the final remnants of my own."

"Oh no..." Liz's eyes started to water.

"No, no need to be sad. As you've heard me say time and again, I was born in the same year as George IV and have outlived the bloody bastard by one hundred and sixty-six years." He looked a bit embarrassed. "You've been important to me from the day you walked into my life seventeen years ago; I may have many faults, but I will do anything for those I love."

"Oh wow..." Ray said. "Thanks, Eric. I don't know how we could ever repay you for this."

"Well, good luck, Raymond--you don't have to!" the old man smiled. "I'm glad Lizzy found you. Keep being good to her--and your son."

"Wait, Eric." Liz said. "Something Ray said earlier...there is a way we can repay you, by making sure that your sacrifice is remembered every day of our son's life." She glanced at Ray, who realized what she was about to say. Ray nodded his agreement.

"Oh?" Zephyranthes' ghost asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Before you go, let me tell you our son's name..."

"I can't believe that Eric...Zephyranthes...did this on purpose." Liz mused. "If he promised Pippi that she'd be unsealed when he died, that was probably what he intended--that she be released and free with her own power intact."

"Or unsealed but with no way to activate her full power." Eric theorized. "I would imagine in the smaller form her danger of acclimation is diminished. And she's less of a danger to everyone else."

"Maybe it's my fault." Liz shook her head. "Giving you his name might have strengthened the arcane connection that was suppose to be released after he saved you, and this bit of his seal leaked through and took hold."

"We may never know, Mom. But intentional or not I'm glad he did it--if he hadn't, I might never have met her. Or she might have ripped me to pieces."

"I can contact Aunt Tegan." Liz offered. "Zepyhranthes' lab notes and papers should be kept in the covenant library, unless one of his former apprentices took them. I might even see if she can put us into contact with them--if there's any clue he left behind that might help, we'll find it."

"Thanks." Eric nodded. "The Order could have known about Ahagotsu's return at least as far back as the Spirit Guide being released, but if we didn't have any idea where he was and what he was doing until almost a century later, he has to be good at covering his tracks."

"Or a Quaesitor judged him harmless." Liz suggested. "I can check the Peripheral Code database at Magvillus, but my first instinct is that you're right--he's just managed to avoid Hermetic notice."

"Until now." Eric said with determination. "Because he's made a mistake--the Order and GBI both know he's out there now, and he has a hostage. And he's not gonna get away with it--we're going to find this freak. And soon."

He entered the familiar garage to find Slimer there babbling excitedly, clearly happy to see him. "Yeah, yeah, Spud, let me get to the desk!" He grabbed a dog biscuit, then thought better of it "I guess since it's been awhile." and he grabbed three more before throwing them. Of course, none of the four dog biscuits hit the floor.

Jeremy Cranston was at the reception desk. "Good morning!"

"Who else is here?" Eric asked.

"Eden's at the Institute today, but everyone else is here. Even Ms. Anderson, though she still looked a little tired from the trip."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Sure, but she's a workaholic."

"Not too hard, Marie."

"I don't hear that very often..." she chuckled mischievously.

John was scrolling through screens of code; Eric presumed it was from the GBX connected to one of the computers. He just grunted as the two old friends shared a fist bump.

"And how goes it for one of the subjects of the new King?" Eric asked.

"Quite fine." TJ answered. "Johnathan filled me in on the situation while I was gone. It sounds like you had quite an unfortunate encounter."

"No kidding." Eric answered.

"I was just about to contact my former Chief Inspector at the London OCU, in case they have anything on this 'Quentin Harley' chav."

"Thanks." Eric nodded.

"Hey, while we're talking about police stuff..." Marie got a wide, conspiratorial shit-eating grin on her face, and poked TJ's shoulder. "...You never did tell me which of those two hunky French cops that were both hot for your form you shacked up with for those two weeks you were gone. Was it Jacques, or Pierre?"

Eric rolled his eyes. Oh boy...here we go again...

TJ sighed. "Lupin, you've been huffing the Containment Unit outgassings again, haven't you? You're hallucinating. Sod off."

"Oh-Em-Gee!" Marie said excitedly. "It was both of them?! You utter skank! I am so proud of you!!!" She slapped TJ's back in mock support.

TJ's face turned red, and Eric thought the Englishwoman was about to slug Marie. "SOD. OFF."

"Marie..." Eric said, barely holding in his chuckle.

"Yeah, as you can see, Eric, my attempts to help her develop a badly needed sense of humor are still dismal failures."

"I dunno..." Eric shrugged. "I thought that line about 'huffing the Containment Unit outgassing' was pretty good."

"Maybe if your 'humour' didn't all boil down to the same rubbish joke over and over again." TJ muttered as Eric and Marie walked off.

"Don't let it bother you, TJ." John told her. "I don't."

"I don't see how." TJ sighed. "She accuses me of the most lurid things. Constantly."

"Because I know you too well to believe a word of it." John said simply.

She coughed, then went back to her email. "Thanks." she said after a few seconds, blushing slightly.

"And it still took them another twelve years to get married." Eric countered.

"Anyway, enough about the terminally repressed." Marie winked. "I want to hear more about this slinky, black-haired minx you met while I was in France...how jealous do I have to be?"

Eric laughed. "You forget about the part where I said she's a cat, right?"

"I don't judge. My Mom married a werewolf, after all."

"You're incorrigible."

"Maybe because no one's tried hard enough to corrige me yet."

"I don't even think that's a word."

Marie's phone rang. "Oh! It's my Mom! Like she knew I was talking about her." She answered the call, and started talking rapidly in Japanese "Kon'nichiwa Okaa-san..."

Eric smiled and walked to the kitchen, retrieving a Coke from the refrigerator. Opening the refrigerator caused Slimer to appear, of course. "So what do you think Spud? Maybe it's time to have a cat around here?"

Slimer looked confused.

Eric rolled his eyes. "You'll remember what it is when you see one, I guess. Just don't try to eat it."

Damn, Marie's a little bit right in a weird way...it is kinda like falling in love.

Just hang in there, Pippi. We're going to find you. I'm going to get you away from that creepy undead clown...

...Or die trying.