Book Three: Culmination

Transcribed by Ben King and Iain Bennett, GBUK, Dr. Fritz V. Baugh and Dr. Jeff Nash, GBWC, and Dr. Vincent Belmont, GBUKGS


GBI Case File GBI-2004-22/001
June 3rd, 2004 5 days until the end of the world

12:45PM

Most of the morning passed without incident. Tommy continued trying to track down Jonathan Stanford's past with no great measure of success. Egon and Vincent continued to translate more of the Book of Gozer, and Iain performed a routine ECU check and the rest of the team took in target practice and recreational activities.

During the day most of the two divisions had met and got to know their new guest, Sarah Jones. At present, Sarah was taking her fury out on the staff punching bag in the GYM/Fitness area set up on the ground floor of the building near the offices. She grunted as she dealt the bag a series of punches, kicks and even the odd thrust with her shoulder. After ten minutes of this she let the bag swing slowly as she wiped herself down with a towel.

"Tough training, eh?"

She looked up to see Tommy Simpson, taking a break and in jogging trousers and white T-shirt leaning against the doorjamb.

"Yes...I must keep my skill focused." Sarah replied, matter-of-factly.

"Never said it wasn't." Tommy replied as he walked over to a treadmill, switched it on and began to jog at a quick pace. After several minutes of jogging he slowed the machine to a halt and paused to look up at Sarah who was looking back at him.

"What's it like...you know...busting..."

"Ghosts?" He asked, finishing for her, and for a moment there was a flicker of gratitude in her eyes.

"Yes." She replied.

"Well...it's different...I know we've been compared to paranormal "janitors" by certain members of the press. Hell, we're called fakes quite regularly...but there's something more to it then cleaning up litter...I guess when you've defeated an apocalypse you feel on top of the world." Tommy supposed.

"Until that feeling goes." Sarah continued.

"More like when people forget about you altogether..." he grimaced, "...but even then, there's the idea that we do something so dangerous...so advanced... that we are the experts in the field...we never had this type of determination when we worked as S.P.R.I.G." Tommy explained.

"Sprig?" Sarah asked.

"Senior Paranormal Research and Investigation group. It was something Iain Bennett and a photographer friend of ours started about four years back." Tommy explained.

"Ah." Sarah replied in understanding. "I'd better get going...your Professor Spengler and Dr. Belmont are wanting to conduct some tests on me later." Sarah replied as she began to leave the room.

"Sure." Tommy replied.

5:00PM
Ben King SR continued to make some observations from a series of sketches until the computer, which was sat on the desk behind him, chimed to get his attention. He slid the chair along to the desk and booted up the screen to see what he was being called to; which was in fact new email. He opened up the Hotmail viewer and spotted that there were three emails; one from Ray Stantz, one from GBI, and another from an address he didn't recognize.

He double clicked on the address he didn't recognize and was relieved to see that the email didn't contain a virus. However...it did contain some slightly worrying info that he'd relate to the other Ghostbusters once he'd finished checking the email. The GBI message simply turned out to be info about an upcoming recruitment drive. However the email he had been waiting for had arrived.

"From: DopeyDog@Yahoo.com
To: Kingpin1055@hotmail.com

Subject: Building specifications

Ben,

It took some time but I found what you had asked for...you should find scans of the architectural and structural details of the Shandor Building...I hope they prove useful...hope Egon's finding the book easy to translate.

-Ray Stantz."

Ben clicked on the attachment download button and waited as the files were placed on the computer's desktop, with that done he opened up the first file which was fairly large but shouldn't take up too many pieces of A4 paper when printed. Once he'd checked to make sure all of the files were uncorrupted he set about printing out each and every document.

5:05PM
"Guys." Ben spoke as he entered Iain's lab. Vincent, Egon and Iain, who'd entered the room to help perform some of the other duties relating to equipment checking and translation, looked up at the sound of Ben's voice.

"Yes?" Egon asked.

"We've got a slightly late email from a..." Ben paused to check the print out of the email. "Dr. Brian Walker of..."

"E.C.T.O. Canada." Egon finished. "What have they reported?" he asked.

"They've confirmed that Jeremy was involved in this incident in Toronto we've been hearing about..." Ben replied.

"Well, that confirms some of the specifics that I've been told about...do they have anything useful to contribute?" Vincent grumbled as he took a sip of Earl Grey.

"That wasn't very nice," Iain interjected. Vincent only glowered back.

"Erm...the use of portals...and..." Ben squinted to make sure he didn't misread it. "Terror Dogs." Egon, Vincent and Iain all shared the same look.

"That wasn't in the movie!" Iain protested.

"Highly conclusive, Iain. Suppose for a moment that we aren't in a movie?" Vincent droned, as he returned his attentions to his work.

"We weren't aware he could summon more of the Terror Dogs...it seems that Vinz's powers have been fully unleashed..." Egon said.

"Why not?" asked Vincent, still engrossed in his work, "according to the book, Vinz's race was the Sebhoullia, a warrior tribe from a distant world. When Gozer absorbed them into its own collective, their king, Vinz Clortho, was spared as a separate entity, not unlike Zuul. Now, they act as a consciousness separate of Gozer, taking possession of other forms to enact the ritual of Summoning."

There was a stunned silence from the other three men. Vincent turned around, and found them staring at him.

"...what?" he grunted.

"I wonder what the difference between Jeremy and Louis is?" Egon pondered.

"Apart from the fact that Louis was a dweeb?" Iain asked, the question prompting a chuckle from both Vincent and Egon.

"As entertaining as that was...there must be more to it then that..." Egon replied.

"Just thought I'd let you guys know...confirming that he was in Canada." Ben replied.

"Thank you." Egon replied. Ben left the room.

"It's getting to you...not knowing why Vinz has been given access to powers while in Jeremy's body and not Louis'." Vincent mused. It was a statement that made Egon wince. Egon was unsure whether Vincent had just read his mind, or if he had made an alarmingly accurate educated guess. Egon guessed that it was the former, rather than the latter.

"It is. When he inhabited Louis's body, he was docile; almost as if he'd been sedated. He hadn't been coherent and hadn't appeared to possess any form of power...but the ability to open portals, potentially to escape unwanted attention and to call forth members of the Canus Terroris family...these are things we haven't come across from this type of entity." Egon explained.

"And if he can do that...what else can he do?" Iain asked.

"This..." Vincent mumbled as he set down his teacup and propped the book up so that the other men could see, pointing to a peculiar diagram.

10:45PM
Ben King JR sat at the reception desk manning the computer terminal. He shifted slightly in the chair, and the blue flight suit he wore was itching...badly. Adam Blanc had told him it would do that for something like half a week...and Ben could only hope that he could also recommend a good lotion for it.

He was busy checking that all of the cases had been postponed when a pop-up from the MSN/Hotmail system reported that they had one new message. He moved the mouse cursor over the popup, clicked it and the email message was displayed on the screen, it was dated June 2nd.

"To: GhostbustersUK@hotmail.com From: PVenkmanLA@AOL.com

Hello English Tea-Drinking Ghostbusters,

Sorry...I couldn't resist :) . No doubt you guys have heard about our missing team member Jeremy Hicks...if not then I'm gonna pay a visit to our web monkeys at GBIWeb for not posting the info...whatever. Anyway...we've found out that 'ol Jeremy's been making flight charges to the company account after he went missing from here...they point to him going to little 'ol England after that little game he played in Toronto with E.C.T.O. Canada...so we're getting over there as soon as possible. The guys tell me he may not simply be AWOL...or suffering a breakdown...it would explain the strange powers he was reported to have had when he ran into Brian's mob in Canada...something about him being possessed by the Keymaster. Tell Egon that we're booked on the 9:15PM LA to London flight due out two days from now and should be there sometime around...er...one in the afternoon of the 5th? We're heading for Heathrow...but we'll give you a call from the plane...or something like that. I can guarantee we're gonna be there for a few days so put some brewskies on ice.

Yours, lovingly :)

Dr. Peter Venkman, Company CEO.

PS. Tell Egon and Spooky I said 'hi'."

"Marvelous." Ben muttered.

10:50PM
"Professor Spengler...there's a...message...for you." Ben King JR reported as he leaned on the door of Iain's lab.

"What about?" Egon asked.

"I think you ought to see it." Ben replied.

10:56PM
"I see your point." Egon commented as he studied the email.

"Is there a problem?" Ben JR asked.

"Yes," Egon mused, "don't let Vincent see this email."

"Why, is it something that might bother him?"

"You'll see if Venkman ever talks to Vincent when he gets here."

Ben JR only shrugged.

Standing next to Egon was Tommy Simpson. "Looks like the VIP Suite may need some extra beds." Egon commented with a dry tone in his voice.

"We have some camp beds stored in the basement." Tommy replied.

"They should do...we're going to be receiving and unknown number of Ghostbusters from the West Coast division...and Dr. Venkman...It looks like we may have to set aside some of our own members if they intend to look for their missing team member. We'll also need to use one of your vehicles to pick them up from the airport." Egon commented.

"It won't be easy...Heathrow's a good distance away. I could take Ben's mini...but I doubt that'd be big enough...looks like we're taking one of the Ectos."

"Agreed...would it be possible for you to greet the team members when they arrive?" Egon asked, looking Tommy dead in the face.

"I guess I can." Tommy replied with some reluctance. "Though it'll affect trying to find out which quarry the temple may be at."

"It's a unfortunate side effect...but we will need someone to bring them here...I suggest you take one of the other staff members with you...maybe Eric from your night time operating team."

"Yeah...he's the most trustworthy person who I can get without affecting anything important." Tommy agreed.


June 4th remained fairly uneventful. Egon and Vincent continued performing translation work on the book while Iain, along with Eric, Ben (When he could spare the time) and Roger Kennedy started searching the nearby towns for Jeremy, until the West Coast Ghostbusters could arrive. Hopefully, they would bring some data with them, as the members of Ghostbusters UK had to rely on the readings collected by Professor Spengler in 1983...which may not prove all that useful depending on how the signal may have changed from Vinz inhabiting Louis Tully to inhabiting Jeremy Hicks.
June 5th, 2004 3 days until the end of the world
10:45AM
The Ecto-UK's engine rumbled as Eric and Tommy prepared to depart from the building's garage.

"You know which motorway you're taking down there?" Iain asked.

"Yeah...we'll start on the A518 and eventually work our way onto M6...from there it's pretty much plain sailing until we get near the M40...and then one turn off onto the M25 and we should be there." Tommy explained.

"Well I don't envy you guys...it's gotta be something like a four hour round trip." Iain commented.

"Yeah...and from what I hear two hours is a long time to be in the same room as Dr. Venkman." Eric added from the driver's seat.

"Well, have a safe trip..." Iain replied.

"Thanks...we'll probably need it if the M25 is as bad as it usually is." Tommy replied with a smirk. With the well wishing over Eric shifted the Ecto-UK into second gear and pulled out of the garage and onto the driveway, which swept around from the front of the building to the rear garage.

1:54PM
Nearly two hours later, Tommy and Eric found themselves within one of the Terminal Buildings of Heathrow Airport.

"...Flight BA295 Los Angeles to London is now arriving at gate twenty-one...Flight BA295 Los Angeles to London is now arriving at gate twenty-one..." The announcer called over the loud bustle of people milling about one of the main Terminal 3.

"C'mon. That's their plane." Tommy motioned to move.

"Yeah." Eric agreed and they began to make their way to the appropriate gate. While they both wore their blue GBUK flight suits, combat boots and webbing belts they also wore leather jackets over the tops of their flight suits...though it did little to persuade the armed security guards not to keep a watch on them.

As they neared gate twenty-one they spotted a large group of passengers moving away from what was apparently the gate they were looking for...however they didn't spot anyone who looked like the party of Ghostbusters they were expecting. They looked around for a few minutes before they heard a slightly irate American voice coming from the corridor to the plane.

"...I swear she was coming onto me! ME! I mean I'm married for Christ's sake!"

"Dr. Venkman..." Both Tommy and Eric muttered in unison.

"Y--es?" Peter Venkman's head popped out of the corridor with his trademark Cheshire grin...however it vanished as soon as he saw the two non-impressed Ghostbusters. He then exited the corridor, followed by four men.

The first man had a wild mop of reddish-brown hair and a pair of thick-rimmed blue glasses. He was a lanky young man, and he walked next to Peter with a perfect posture. His head kept turning back toward the gate, nervously watching the guard.

The second man had brown hair in a simple short cut. He had a slight smirk on his face as he followed briskly behind Peter, slightly amused by the situation at the gate.

The third was a disheveled blond man with a cigarette in his mouth, and a permanent five o' clock shadow. He ambled next to Peter on his left, with his hands in his pockets, and his expression utterly bemused.

The last person to join the entourage was a positively pale and paranoid looking man with a chin beard and long black hair who scanned the room for what Tommy could only assume were potential hazards.

"Dr. Simpson!" The blond man greeted.

"Do I know you?" Tommy asked with a slightly quizzical look on his face.

"Robert Griffiths...I talked last year about a position on your team." Robert explained.

"Oh yes...I remember now. It was right after that whole nasty affair in the Atlantic. Welcome to Britain, gentlemen." Tommy greeted.

"Tommy...it's good to see you again." Peter shook hands with Tommy.

"As it is to see you...Dr. Venkman." Tommy replied.

"Call me Peter." Peter replied matter-of-factly.

"Okay...Peter." Tommy replied with a slightly nervous grin. "Anyway..." he broke the handshake. "I'd like to introduce Eric Rose, acting leader of GBUK's Graveyard Shift division when Vincent Belmont isn't around."

"Eric." Peter greeted.

"So, how is little Spooky?" Peter grinned, "I can't wait to give him a big huggy, and pinch those cute little cheeks!!!"

"It's...interesting to finally meet you...Peter" Eric mumbled, taking a step away from Peter, looking at him as if he'd just contracted Anthrax, "...your fame definitely proceeds you."

With those words, both the brown haired man and Robert snickered slightly while the man with glasses raised a quizzical eyebrow in a fashion that sent a shiver of deja vu down Tommy's spine.

"Really?" Peter grinned.

The man with glasses made a loud coughing sound. "Oh...yes. Tommy, Eric, I'd like you to meet West Coast division members Dr. Fritz Baugh, GBWC Co-CEO." The man with glasses made a slight nod of notification. "Joey Williams, GBWC Co-CEO."

"Hi." The man with brown hair and green eyes spoke.

"Two CEOs?" Tommy asked.

"It's mostly so he can push off the paperwork on me." Fritz responded dryly.

"It gives me more time to supervise!" Joey added brightly.

"Robert Griffiths...whom you've already met. And the man looking like the airport is full of terrorists is our resident occultist, Jeff Nash." Jeff also made a slight nod of his head, and immediately turned around, scanning the walls of the packed hallway.

"While under normal circumstances I wouldn't mind discussing certain matters pertaining to our respective franchises...at present I think we should skip the fraternizing until a more appropriate time." Fritz droned, carrying a no-nonsense tone that rivaled Egon Spengler.

"Err...yeah...what Fritz said." Peter replied with a lop-sided smirk.... but first we need to get our luggage." He added.

"Sure." Tommy replied, and both he and Eric waited as the West Coast Ghostbusters collected their luggage from the rotating conveyor in the collection area. Once collected, the West Coast Ghostbusters joined up with the two members of Ghostbusters UK.

"Look...they're probably gonna need a few minutes to grab their equipment from the shipping depot...I'm just gonna go phone HQ to let them know that they've arrived safely." Tommy explained.

"Sure." Eric replied and Tommy walked off in the direction of a set of public telephones. He fed several coins into the machine and dialed the number of GBUK HQ. For a few moments the phone rang with no answer before it was picked up.

"Ghostbusters UK - Ridding England of ghosts one at a time..." Ben JR's voice replied.

"Hey Ben...it's Tommy." Tommy spoke into the phone.

"Hey...everything okay?" Ben asked.

"Yeah...I'm just phoning to inform you guys that the team from California is safe and well and that we should be leaving the airport within the next twenty minutes or so." Tommy reported.

"Cool...I'll let the others know."

"You do that...we're pretty much ready to leave now, see you guys when we get home." He then hung up the phone and strode back over to where Eric was waiting. All five Ghostbusters from California had a luggage trolley with a large box set on it. "I'm guessing I don't need to guess what those are?" Tommy asked.

"Well...you could..." Peter began. "But I think you already know."

"Right." Tommy replied with slight wary.

"You got everything?" Eric asked.

"Yep." Robert replied.

"Okay guys, just follow us to the car park...our vehicle's parked outside." They remained in relative silence as they walked over to the Ecto-UK which was parked right where Tommy said it would be. The vehicle stuck out like a sore thumb with the visible logos, lighting rigs and equipment.

"Nice set up." Peter commented as they loaded their equipment into the ambulance. Tommy shrugged.

"It works." He replied.

"And I am eternally glad that I am not spending my remaining years in a Cadillac ambulance in New York." Peter replied as he dumped a suitcase into the rear compartment.

"Dr. Stantz's driving?" Eric asked.

"Not one of the things I miss having moved to LA...certainly." Peter replied honestly, with the loading finished the collected Ghostbusters climbed into the ambulance and began the journey back to GBUK HQ in Staffordshire.

"What did you do with the old Ecto-1? I heard it had been decommissioned and a new one was made." Eric asked.

"Gave it to Vinny and company as a launch gift," Peter chuckled, "he didn't think it was so funny that we gave it to him complete with non-working engine."

The six men looked nervously at each other.

2:06PM
"Guys...that was Tommy. He says that the California guys are safe and sound and that they were ready to leave Heathrow." Ben King JR reported.

"Excellent." Egon approved. "By my estimation that means they should be arriving back here around four 'o' clock if the traffic is as good on the return trip as it was on the trip to the airport. Has the VIP suite been set up to accommodate our new guests?" Egon asked.

"Most of it...though we've had to put some of the extra beds in the guest accommodations because there wasn't enough room." Ben reported.

"Good..." Egon added. With the job performed Ben left the room.

"We'll have to make sure that their equipment's all charged up once they get here." Iain commented as he went over the list of jobs performed the previous day.

"Indeed...we will need to ensure all of the Proton Packs are ready for action should Jeremy attempt to retrieve Sarah from here." Egon mused.

"Speaking of which...where is she?" Iain asked.

"Sarah? Last time I noticed her she was exploring some of the building."

"Is that wise?" Iain asked. Egon merely stared back.

2:06PM
"...I don't like it..." Sarah looked up and saw Adam and Roger Kennedy walking along the main corridor of the basement.

"Face it Adam...until this thing quiets down we've got to keep a watch on both the armoury and the Hell Hole..."

She crept out of the shadows and watched as the two Ghostbusters walked towards the end of the obscenely long corridor. She proceeded down the corridor and found a large metal door. It stood ajar, and hearing sounds within, she entered the room. Within the room, she was taken back by the large device which sat in the middle of the floor and reached up to the ceiling. It was large and round, most of the device appeared to be constructed from sheet metal which was painted red, but here and there were small chunks of what looked like stone block with wires trailing from them.

All around the walls and ceiling were wires, pipes and conduits of various sizes and colors, which either ran into the central device, a bank of monitors near the back of the room or through the walls. She walked over to the bank of monitors and studied what they read.

One monitor read: Coolant System: Operating within Normal Parameters, another read: Total Confinement usage: 25% Full, another read: Laser Grid: Operating and another one read: Containment Status: Normal. All of the controls and screens were alien to her but they all appeared to be working in relation to the strange central device within the room.

"Hi! Who are you?" A voice asked. She swore under her breath and turned around to be greeted by a woman's suspicious gaze.

"Sorry...I was just looking around and found this room." She replied, gesturing at the Containment area.

"Right." The woman with green eyes and glasses replied as she made a few more notations on a clipboard she was carrying and slotted it onto a hook the wall.

"What is this...thing?" Sarah gestured at the central device.

"That would be our Ecto Containment Unit...where we store all of the ghosts we capture." The woman replied. "I don't think we've met each other yet...I'm Rosey Collins." Rosey introduced herself.

"Sarah...Sarah Jones." Sarah replied.

"Ah." Rosey replied in understanding. "You arrived here yesterday...The others upstairs were performing some tests on you."

"Yes." Sarah replied. She glanced over to a panel set onto the wall; it had a switch that could be pulled down. Next to the switch was a red beacon and a sign read: Manual Shutdown. Authorization, Password and User Name required to activate. At the sight of the sign and switch Sarah suddenly shuddered.

"Are you okay?" Rosey asked as she moved across the room.

"I'm fine...I just got this weird feeling that something bad would happen if that switch was pulled." Sarah explained.

"Wouldn't be too surprising...if that switch was pulled it would shut down the Containment Unit." Rosey explained. "C'mon...I'll take you back upstairs."

"Thanks." Sarah replied. As Rosey led her across the room to the door Sarah took one moment to glance back at the Containment Unit as the room's overhead lights were turned off, even in the gloom the machine almost seemed to glow...and for some reason she knew that if that device was turned off it could mean the end of everything.

4:21PM
"They're here!" Iain shouted as he quickly walked up the driveway to greet the rest of the Ghostbusters who had been living within the former asylum.

"Excellent..." Egon approved. A few moments later the Ecto-UK passed through the large iron gates and made it's way up the driveway towards the entrance of the building, once it had reached the entrance it slowed to a halt and it's engine was shut off. A moment later Tommy climbed out, followed by Dr. Peter Venkman. A few moments later Eric climbed out of the driver's seat and the four other members of the West Coast Ghostbusters climbed out of the back of the vehicle, each one carrying a piece of luggage.

"Spengs!" Peter greeted. "Long time no see...you really need to stop by Venice Beach one of these days and pick up a tan." Peter shook hands with his fellow New York Ghostbuster.

"The risk of skin cancer eradicates my wishes to gain a 'tan'." Egon replied and then both of them shared a hearty laugh.

"Always reading safety over enjoyment." Peter replied with a grin.

"While yes...I have allowed myself to be introduced to the world in general more over the previous years...it never hurts to keep them in mind. How was the flight?" Egon asked.

"Tiring...not much sleep and a waitress who kept coming onto me." Peter reported, prompting a raised eyebrow and a bemused smirk from Egon.

"Really?" Egon asked.

"It's actually true Professor Spengler...every word." Joey replied, however in spite of better judgement both he and Robert burst out into laughter again.

"Iain...it's good to see you and your guys again! I'll enjoy seeing how you've set up this night shift..." Peter began.

Vincent Belmont entered the room and poured hot water into his teacup. He was busy looking at a couple of copied pages of the book of Gozer, and was completely oblivious to the new people standing in the lobby.

"SPOOKY!!!" Peter cried, sounding like a gleeful little toddler. He spread his arms wide, as if expecting a hug.

Vincent's head snapped up with a start, and he fumbled the glass pot, shattering it on the floor, and turning his head toward the group, his facial features twisted with horror. His horror quickly turned to fury as his eyebrows furrowed and he glared at Peter. The only movement in the room that complimented the awkward silence was the twitching of Vincent's upper lip.

"You..." Vincent hissed, pointing an accusing finger at Peter.

"Yeah...good to see you Vincent..." Peter added. "Could we dump our stuff before we continue the introductions?" Peter asked.

Everyone around Peter watched in stunned silence for a moment, and Ben JR finally realized what Egon had mentioned earlier in the email.

"Sure..." Tommy replied to break the silence, "I'll drive the heavier stuff around the back in the van...just ask one of the guys where the VIP suite is..."

He then climbed into the Ecto-UK and drove the vehicle round the back of the building as the welcoming party and West Coast franchise members entered GBUK HQ.

4:35PM
Once the West Coast team had dropped off their luggage on the top floor, they all reconvened in the reception area.

"Nice place...kinda cozy...but nothing like home." Peter commented as he led his team's representatives down the staircase. They were now dressed in their uniforms, the regular West Coast members sporting the traditional khaki uniforms, with the exception of having neon-orange logos, and Peter dressed in his famous brown with dark blue trim uniform.

"It's not much...we call it home." Tommy replied. "Dr. Venkman..."

"Peter...please...Egon...what's with all the formality?" Peter asked. Egon simply gave a slight shrug.

"I believe it is called 'hero worship,' Dr. Venkman..." Vincent chided as he was once again engrossed in the strange diagram that he had been staring at all day.

"Okay, sorry...Peter...I'd like you to meet our team...Eric you already know...as well as Iain Bennett...our Demonologist...and Ben King...our spirit photographer. I'd like you meet the newer addition to the team, Roger Kennedy, who is also our accountant. With the addition of the Graveyard Shift division we have Vincent Belmont...division leader and our resident magician and occult expert if you weren't aware..."

"We've known Spooky-poo for a long time, Tommy-boy...no intros needed here..." Peter chuckled, as he saw Vincent's hand reach toward the front pocket of his own coat. Jill Valentine touched Vincent on the shoulder. Vincent's hand quivered for a moment, and then retracted. Vincent just sighed.

"Peter, MUST you provoke him?" Egon groaned.

"Yes..." Peter replied, grinning at Vincent.

After a brief moment, Tommy continued.

"Adam Blanc...Roger Johnson and Leon Vega...our lycanthrope expert." Tommy then indicated a small group of people wearing blue jump suits that sported the nametag: TRAINEE. "These are our civilian staff...Rosey Collins...Jill Valentine...Ben King JR..."

"Junior? Ben, you old dog, you!" Peter raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"...and Molly Ann. They're currently working as reserve Ghostbusters." Tommy explained.

"I see...nice line-up..." Peter approved. "Well...here's the members of the West Coast which it was decided to bring on this little expedition...I'd like to introduce Dr. Fritz Baugh...resident genius...Robert Griffiths...our engineer...Joey Williams...the CEO and Dr. Jeff Nash...our occult expert."

"Now that we've had the formal introductions...would it be possible if we could see the book?" Fritz Baugh asked.

"Of course." Egon replied. He led the team into Iain's lab where the book was laid out beside piles of notes and translations. "We've worked through something like two thirds of the book so far...however it hasn't been easy."

"I bet." Peter agreed as he studied the piles of hand-written papers.

"The book is the diary of a Sumerian magus who first 'discovered' Gozer. The book is everything the madman learned about Gozer, and it is also a grimoire of his spells, and strange funeral rites, and something else that troubles me. We should publish an abridged copy for the GBI library, but pray that this never falls into a layman's hands." Vincent explained.

"What specifics have you found so far?" Fritz asked after studying some of the note making.

"Well, my fear is the spell I've found in here. It is a summoning spell. It acts as a beacon to the entity, drawing it across the stars to Earth. Now that we have the book, there is no fear of the spell being used to directly summon Gozer...but..." Vincent trailed off in thought.

"But what, Vince?" Fritz asked, looking at the page Vincent had been studying.

"...this spell isn't what worries me. What worries me is that Vinz Clortho, and the Zuul, were sent by Volguus originally to scout out worlds for its consumption...I..." Vincent trailed off again, "...perhaps, gentlemen, you should just see it for yourself."

"Let's see what you have so far..." Fritz asked, eager to see the manuscript. He took it from the table, and read aloud as he paced the room. All eyes watched...

2004, Anno Domini.

The following passages are a rough translation of the text discovered on the Chronicles of Gozer, in the year of our Lord, two-thousand and four. These beginning passages were translated by myself, and later subjected to revision by Dr. Egon Spengler. I know not lies missing amongst the text, nor do I wish to know the blasphemies written within, but we need information. Information will be the key to our victory, yet in it may lie our doom. For if we rely fully on the ravings of a mentally unfit magus of ancient Sumeria, we might yet share his fate.

~Vincent Abraham Belmont, Ph.D., M.D.,D.Litt, etc.,etc.

Whenever you will to divine through the means of those who know all, and call them forth from the outside *, you must know well the seasons, and the times in which the heavenly bodies are in place to enhance the flow of the endless space. One must observe the cycles of the sun and the moon, and the rising of the constellations...

It is here that a star chart and list of invocations are listed. For the safety of those who read this, I have omitted the incantations and diagrams.~V.Belmont

*: "Outside" may refer to "outside our normal space-time continuum," may also refer to the spirit world, or some pocket dimension. ~E.Spengler

Mighty Zuul will rise to your incantations, and knowledge will be imparted unto you on completion of the incantations, when Sol has entered the firey house of Leo, and the hour of Lammas is upon you.

Incantations for other beings are listed, but again omitted for safety.~V.Belmont

The next section is a bit of diary from the magus, though I am unclear on the dates, as the Sumer calendar is much still a mystery. ~V. Belmont

Mighty Zuul, retainer of the formless one, and keeper of the great gate, has revealed everything unto me. All of the secrets of the power of the universe has been revealed unto her faithful servant. Mighty Zuul will reveal more unto me, if I am faithful, and give unto* her the breath of life**.

*: Or "Into," both make strangely enough sense.
**: One might say "souls," as one of the incantations can supposedly remove a soul from a living subject.

(New date)
Mighty Zuul tells me of her consort, the warrior king, Vinz Clortho, custodian of the silver key. He too, awaits the great awakening. I will be mighty Zuul's tool in this great endeavor. They will bring great Volguus Zildrohar.
(Missing text)

It was here that Dr. Spengler had joined me and oversaw my translation.
~V.Belmont

Beyond the constellations, and beyond the sphere of time the formless one awaits. Over countless aeons has he traveled the cosmos. He has consumed countless worlds, feeding of the souls that inhabit it. The formless one is an endless void, and its hunger cannot be sated. It is Volguus Zildrohar, the Gozerian, the all-consuming fire and destroyer; great traveller from beyond.

The formless one traveled the great expanse beyond the void for aeons, and danced beneath the feet of the great boundless Daemon Sultan, whose name no lips may speak aloud. Volguus Zildrohar danced to the madness of the idiot god, gnawing hungrily in unlighted chambers beyond time amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the monotonous whine of accursed flutes. Beyond the stars it hungered. Beyond the void it sought sustenance.

Volguus Zildrohar pierced the great veil and entered man's time and space, from the great burning, and many stars were torn asunder. The great burning hunger was not sated.

The great living fire, C'tug'ha*, source of all creation and destruction, battled the formless one. The great Volguus battled C'tug'ha, and their arms swept the stars from the sky. C'tug'ha was cast down, and retreated unto the void, and Volguus remained at the sundering. The fires of C'tug'ha had blinded Volguus, and the great formless one was hexed to wander the outer void for aeons.

*:Two beings worshiped as gods of fire and destruction may fit this strange name; "Cthuga, the living fire, mentioned in a few tomes I have seen, or "Chat'tur'gha", a great firey crustacean horror, that feeds on the blood and the bones of the unbelievers...not that I see such THINGS as divine providence...
~V.Belmont

Great Volguus came upon the heavenly bodies, and to the great belt of the warrior god. The formless one harvested the souls there and grew strong. It consumed the living to feed its endless hunger, yet still it could not be filled.

It is here that I learned that Gozer the "traveller" may have spent its years consuming the Ectospheres of planets, making them bereft of life, and uninhabitable. For what blasphemous purpose it hungers for the breath of life, I do not know. I can only guess that this vile creature has no "breath of life" of its own. ~V.Belmont

Great Volguus wandered still the great expanse between the stars, and its hunger grew. It conquered the sting of the great scorpion, and came upon a world in war. The Vuldronaii sought reform in their conflicting world. Its great warriors drew together, wielding their weapons of brilliant flame, and lit up the skies of their world. Great Volguus was delighted in its chaos. The great chaos and burning was sweet honey to its lips. Its hunger grew. No longer content with consuming, great Volguus sought to savour the breath of life, with its flickering and waning, as a silent flame in the eternal darkness of the void. Great Volguus drew strength from the flame, and pondered upon it.

From here and beyond, Dr. Spengler has taken over the immediate translation, and I have added in my own thoughts and addendum.~V.Belmont

Great Volguus brought his countenance upon the world, a world in which the gods have died, and brought about the great Rectification.

"Choose!" called great Volguus Zildrohar.

The people called upon great Volguus, and he came in the form of the mammoth beast, Torb. Torb consumed the breath of the planet for many life cycles, and the formless one grew fat, yet it was not content.

Much to my astonishment, I have seen primitive sketches of these civilizations, and of this "Torb." The next ten pages are the rites of summoning to this creature known as the Torb. It seems that one can summon such entities absorbed by Gozer, by ripping a fraction of its essence, and binding it to the physical plane. All such rituals have been both redacted, and stored safely away for obvious reasons.~V.Belmont

Volguus traveled between the expanse again, and fought the great crawling chaos, Neer'latt'hotp* beneath the claws of the great crab. Neer'latt'hotp tore from Great Volguus his eyes, and was banished to wander the great expanse in the belly of the great crab for many aeons after.

*: I think this name might refer to "Nyarlathotep." ~V.Belmont

Within the belly of the crab, Volguus smelled the sweetness of the flame of chaos. Volguus suckled at the sweet milk of destruction as a baby at its mother's breast. Volguus rested its head upon the great sphere that flew above the skies of the breath of life*.

*: We surmise that this was one of the planet's moons, being described more "poetically" by the author. ~E.Spengler

The great world had but one god, and that god had two peoples. Meketrex, the holiest one, giver of life, judge of all life, wielder of the flame of divine judgment. The supplicants of Great Meketrex were two peoples.

The Shubs; makers of great machines, great scholars, and riders of the great dragons of iron and bronze. Many wise men and scholars dreamed dreams, and saw visions, and produced great cities of glass and iron.

The Zuuls; wielders of the great power, great sorcerers, seers of the future. Meketrex favored the Zuuls, and the Shubs detested them. Their great civil war was sweeter than all of the nectar of the flames of chaos consumed by the formless one.

Great Meketrex was mighty, but Volguus Zildrohar mightier still. Great and mighty Meketrex and Volguus battled for a cycle of the lunar body battled for dominance, and Volguus emerged the victor. Meketrex was consumed by the great formless one, and Volguus took strength from the feeding.

Volguus fed upon the flame of chaos, fanned by the war on the sphere below. Volguus came unto the Shubs and the Zuuls wearing the skin of Meketrex. The leaders of the tribes of Shub and the tribe of Zuul came forth. "Choose!" great Volguus commanded. "Chose the way that this world shall end. Choose the destroyer!"

"How shall we choose?" asked the Zuul.

"I bid the Shub to choose, and you will gain your reward." said Volguus.

The Shub, being of wisdom, chose a being that could not be*. The Shub chose the great fiery Sloar.

*: Or, an "imaginary creature"~ E.Spengler

This leads me to believe that this people had its own set of mythologies, and this, to them, was an imaginary creature. Why is it, then, that there are instructions on how to summon the beast? Let alone the fact that there is another crude sketch of the blasphemous horror? ~V.Belmont

The Sloar fed upon the Shubs and the Zuuls for a fortnight, leaving the land barren.

Volguus took unto itself a servant, the Zuul, chief of the tribe of Zuul. Volguus, having had its sight ripped from it by great Neer'Latt'hotp, could not leave. It sent its messenger, great Zuul, across the great void, to search and spread the words of Volguus Zildrohar.

Mighty Zuul, keeper of the great gate, came upon the sphere of the godless Sebouillia. Zuul came upon the the great warrior king Vinz Clortho, and the two became one. Proclaiming her a goddess, warrior king Vinz Clortho commanded that the teachings of Zuul be law. The people of the Sebouillia lived by the great teachings of Zuul, and they called out to Great and mighty Volguus Zildrohar. Mighty Zuul, keeper of the gate, and Vinz Clortho, keeper of the silver key, called out to Volguus Zildrohar. Their cries of passion reached out beyond the stars, and called great Volguus to them*. Volguus feasted upon the life of the Sebouillia, and made another servant; great warrior king Vinz Clortho, keeper of the silver key.

*:I'm not sure whether to consider the "Keymaster/Gatekeeper" thing as a sexual reference, as a metaphorical reference, or even both...~V.Belmont

The lord of the Sebouillia, great Volguus Zildrohar, sent out its servants to other worlds, to seek to spread the teachings, and to bring great Volguus to them. The hunger of great Volguus will naot be sated. This is said by great and mighty Zuul, keeper of the great gate, and Vinz Clortho, keeper of the silver key.

(Missing text)

Hail and sacrifice to Volguus Zildrohar, destroyer of worlds, all-consuming fire, and bringer of oblivion. Impart unto me your wisdom, Zuul, servant of the destructor. I am your tool in bringing the all-consuming salvation unto all.

(Summoning diagram omitted)

Ye, you who dwells within the darkness of the outside, come forth unto (Earth) I entreat you.

Ye, you who abides beyond the sphere of time, come forth.

(Incantation omitted)

Ye, who are the Gate and the way, come forth. Your servant calls you.

(Incantation omitted)

Come forth. I speak the words. I break your bonds. Your seal is cast aside. Pass through the door and enter the (Earth), I call to you.

(Incantation omitted)

~It is here that the authors handwriting becomes slightly marred. It grows difficult to decipher, and I must rely more fully on Dr. Spengler's guesswork. Still, I will translate as best as I can. V.Belmont

4) Beyond the constellations lie our salvation. I have seen it. I have been chosen to call out to it. I possess the knowledge. I possess the power.

(Line 72: missing script)

5) Hail and Sacrifice to Volguus Zildrohar, destroyer of worlds, all-consuming flame, and bringer of salvation. It is proclaimed by your holy servant that you require a body. I shall be your body. Use me as your vessel to purify the (Earth) with fire. Consume all of the unworthy, and take the worthy to be with you.

6) Mighty Zuul has imparted unto me the greatest of all magics. The summoning of great Volguus requires stones of power. To form the gate though which (They from the outside) may enter, you must set up the stones in an elevenfold pattern.

First, you shall set up the cardinal stones that mark the directions of the four winds that howl through their seasons. (Pattern diagram omitted) The stone of whirling air shall be in the (REDACTED), where the first equinox rises, and shall be graven with the sign of he that bears the waters (A symbol reminiscent of the glyph of Aquarius is inscribed here)

The gate of Torrents you cause to beat against the westmost point where Sol dies and the cycle of darkness returns. The stone shall be graven with the sign of the scorpion, whose tail reaches to the stars A symbol reminiscent of Scorpio is inscribed here)

In the North, beyond the stone of great cold set the stone of Saturn (spacing omitted) and place at equal distances following the stones of Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Sol, and Luna.

In the center of the stones, set the altar to Volguus Zildrohar. From here, will he from beyond time and space emerge.

The following Incantation and rites have been omitted, so that this atrocity NEVER happen again~V.Belmont

(Line:162-165:Missing script)

"...trace the pentacle of fire..."

(Lines:167-201: These seem to be peculiar burial rites, strange, blasphemous prayers, and even stranger practices. It appears here that now, in his delusions, the author has begun to insert his own ideas into his cult. Gozer has turned from malevolent destroyer, to a messiah that will burn the unbelievers and take his followers to a form of paradise.~V.Belmont

"...purifying flames shall consume the soul of the sacrifice...."
"...the blood is the power. I shall need more..."

(Incantations omitted)

I find the magus' work quite disturbing. The most Dr. Spengler and I can piece together is that this author used blood sacrifices quite frequently. It is our best guess that he chose women as his sacrifices, as the word "sacrifice" is referred to in the feminine case.~V.Belmont

"Zuul" as well is referred to in the feminine case, which leads us to believe that Zuul is definitely a female, and explains the exclusively feminine hosts.~E.Spengler

Fritz lowered the paper on the table and took off his glasses. He rubbed his forehead and placed the glasses back on.

"So, no one has directly summoned Gozer, but from what I just gathered...Vinz and Zuul can bring it here? If that's the case..."

Egon cut him off. "Then there's nothing we can do at this point except to prepare to stop it from breaching Earth. According to the manuscript, Gozer will be merging it's world with our own. We will have to meet it head on...I just don't know where or when that will be. We will just have to wait for...a sign."

"It has told us that the second gate is located on this island and that we are looking at an activation window of within the next week." Vincent explained.

"The fact GBI's big 20 is this week isn't a coincidence I take it?" Peter asked.

"Doubtful...it would appear...based upon the translations so far that the stars need to be in the correct positions for Gozer to come into our world...and it appears that this specific alignment occurs only once every twenty-one years." Egon explained.

"Jeez...this 'stars are right' stuff...I thought we'd had the last of that since the Necronomicon." Peter ran a hand through his hair.

"It would apparently not be the case." Vincent continued. "There's something else...you are no doubt aware that Jeremy has exhibited some...interesting powers?" Vincent asked.

"I assume you mean the ability to summon Terror Dogs and form portals?" Fritz asked.

"Yeah." Iain agreed.

"For some reason, Vinz Clortho has been given full access to his powers...and we believe we know why." Egon explained, opening the floor for explanation.

"There was mention...around..." Vincent paused to check his notes. "Around...6000, BC of a race known as the Hyksos...now...we did some checking and it seems that between that time and now the name has gone through some corruption known to have occurred when America started to appear as the continent it is today...and in that time Hyksos was corrupted to..."

"Hicks." Joey finished. Everyone looked straight at Joey. "What? It's always like that in the movies."

"Quite." Egon replied. "It would seem that Hicks is the descendant of what was a following of Gozer worshipers."

"It would go to explain why he had this type of power in Jeremy's body then in Louis Tully's." Fritz agreed. "The hypothesis fits."

"Anything else we should know about?" Jeff asked.

"Nothing that's particularly noteworthy at present...but we'll let everyone know if anything important surfaces." Egon added.

"Right..." Peter agreed.

"Would it be possible if we could be briefed on what else has happened so far?" Fritz asked.

"Sure...just follow is to the 'briefing room'." Ben King SR replied as he chuckled slightly.

"What's so funny?" Robert asked.

5:19PM
"...Until Ms. Jones had arrived all we had to work with was the book, however after conducting a few tests on her we have determined that she is the next host of the Gate Keeper." Iain explained.

"Why isn't Zuul in control of her though? Last time she was around she was pretty much ready to go at it with a table lamp if I said that was the Key Master...why isn't she in control this time around?" Peter asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine, and that is saying something." Vincent replied.

"We're currently theorizing that how powerful a host is determines how much power the essence has...plus there's also the possibility of mental ability...presently we're theorizing that Sarah has an extremely strong mental control...and has managed to suppress Zuul into a dormant state...however with Jeremy being a descendant of a previous set of followers of Gozer has provided Vinz with a link to a possible previous host and there-in giving him access to a new selection of old powers.... but it is all simply speculation through knowledge of previous and recently-discovered information." Egon explained.

"Understood." Fritz replied as he made some notes of his own. "I don't suppose you'd require another person to help translate?" He asked.

"If it gets the process finished in less time then we can use whatever help we can get. How good is your Latin?" Vincent replied.

"Passing..." Fritz replied.

"Beautiful, that will mean that I don't have to do it." Vincent chuckled.

"What do you have so far which we can use to find Jeremy?" Joey asked.

"Well...so far we've had a news report of him attacking a group of policemen and using his portal power to zap himself out of Penkridge...by the time we knew there wouldn't be much point going out there for readings." Iain replied.

"There's something very weird about them...like when Zuul resurfaced for a moment...there was an incredible level of power being let out...but only registered for a short time before it degraded."

"I guess as that's out of the question...you've brought a copy of Jeremy's biorhythms?" Adam asked.

"Yes...we've brought eight PKE Meters...four of which have been programmed to track Jeremy."

Vincent interjected. "My contacts have seen him snooping around Stonehenge...but he'd gone long before anyone could tell me about it."

"Excellent...it means that four of the group can split up and cover the four corners of whichever town you're searching." Egon commented.

"That'd probably be a bit more difficult if you were searching London." Ben replied.

"Indeed...however I strongly suggest against your team doing anything too debilitating today due to the likely event of jet lag, Peter." Egon suggested.

"'Bout time someone suggested sleep...I've been waiting to get some since we got on the plane." Peter replied with a grin.

"But...it's only the afternoon." Adam replied in slight surprise.

"Such a thing as time has never been known to control Peter's sleeping habits." Egon replied with a wry grin as he cleaned his glasses. "For now I suggest for everyone to relax...and possible get some extra sleep in...we've got a lot to do tomorrow if we're to have several groups of Ghostbusters going out to find Jeremy." With that said the group of civilian staff members and Ghostbusters broke up and went their separate ways.

"I would like to examine the book in more detail at some point...I also wouldn't mind seeing your armoury if there is the chance." Fritz asked as he and Iain left the room.

"Sure." Iain replied. "Maybe you can give us a few pointers on new equipment design."

5:23PM
"Well Egon...on a scale of one to ten...how do you rate the British boys in blue?" Peter asked as they watched the group leave the building's kitchen.

"I'd say they have coped admirably with the previous events they've had to deal with...such as the loss of their original HQ and the following court case." Egon replied. "Though maybe you should ask them yourself?" Egon asked as he looked at his former fellow New York Ghostbuster.

"C'mon Spengs...you know I don't do that...get in the younger crowd stuff...hell knows I have enough of a time not mortally embarrassing Oscar in front of his friends." Peter replied.

"How are the family?" Egon asked as they exited the kitchen.

"They're hanging in well...that weird event a few months back with that Oscar/Vigo from another reality hasn't affected things too much...though I'm sure Oscar's friends were treating him with a ten foot pole for the next few weeks after that."

"Indeed." Egon replied with an amused smile.

"And how are things in the Spengler neck of the woods?" Peter asked as they passed through the reception area on the way to Iain's lab.

"Just fine from what I've heard...though the twins continue to make life at the Firehouse less then dull." Egon replied.

"Yep...sounds like the twins to me alright." Peter agreed. Eventually they entered the lab and Peter was able to get a better view of the book. "So this is the thing which has been causing so much ruckus? Doesn't look any older then the 'Codex." Peter gestured at the offending book.

"While the exterior does bare similar signs of degradation as that of the Codex of Saint Theophilus...this book is immensely older and predates the 'Codex by more then a few hundred years." Egon explained. "It is a book of immense power if it were to fall into the wrong hands."

"Isn't most stuff that ends up in our hands one way or another?" Peter asked.

"Unfortunately, that seems to be a growing trend." Egon mused.

"Yeah," Peter said with a yawn, "...yet another reason we keep the Manhattan wiz-kids around. All of the "evil world destroying" stuff can be safely locked away in 'ol "Vault 51."

"Wouldn't you rather have these things locked away safely from supernatural intrusion as well?" Egon asked.

"Like I said, Spengie...if Vinny and his boys are "wizards," we'll just let them handle all of the "wizard toys" that might be bad for the existence of humanity if some new depressed nut job who wants to destroy the world wants to get their hands on it. We already gave them the Necronomicon...what's one more freakish Book of Nastiness?"

Egon only sighed.

To Be Continued

Questions? Comments? Go to the Ectozone Message Board

Based on Ghostbusters Created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis

Extreme Ghostbusters Created by Fil Barlow

Ghostbusters West Coast Division Created by Andy Harness and Vincent Belmont


Established 2005112w
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