Ghostbusters: Regeneration

Chapter Twenty

'Az'dor got 'em. They're both gone.'

Melissa stood in shocked silence, Callum's words echoing inside her skull.

She heard Ray's voice over the walkie-talkies calling out for Peter to check in. There came only silence in response.

Given what the Ghostbusters knew about Az'dor's powers, Melissa knew that her father was probably okay, likely having been transported somewhere as part of some fantasy or desire of his. Still, it felt like one of their team had just been picked off and she got the sense that their nemesis was not done taking his anger out on them.

There was no time for the team to investigate Peter's whereabouts and the extent of this new soul-pact, as the completion of their mission had to take priority. A resigned-sounding Ray soon told everyone to regroup at the command centre in the first floor gallery. The white mass of sheep that had been blocking the bottom of the rotunda's ramp had finally cleared out, so Melissa and Winston were now able to start their ascent.

Once the remaining Ghostbusters arrived at the mission's makeshift nerve centre, Ray and Egon began to explain what the team were to do next. Given how disastrous the operation had turned out so far, Melissa would have forgiven their mission leaders for falling into disarray and despair. However, they appeared to be as clear-headed and business-like as they had been at the start of the operation.

The ever-optimistic Ray began by reaffirming that Az'dor could not escape the museum, reminding the team that as long as the PKE barrier remained operational the advantage was still theirs. He and Egon were going to concentrate on forcing the six packs out of their safety mode shutdown, a task which would take them a good half an hour in total. Meanwhile, the remaining four Ghostbusters would be tasked with searching the museum for their nemesis, who was likely laying low and resting up after the ordeal they had put him through. The team's goal would be to locate Az'dor but not to disturb or engage him just yet. As Egon explained, it would be best to wait until they were at 'full strength', with all of their packs operational, before they made another attempt to catch him.

Before they started their reconnaissance, Melissa, Hiroko, Callum, and Winston went about gathering up the remaining Phantasm members and any nearby animals into another gallery. This was not just in the interest of safety but also to limit potential interference with the Ghostbusters' museum-wide search. The volunteers could not only be a source of noise but would also be emitting residual PKE signatures which could lead to confusion.

It took a good 15 minutes to get their four Phantasm friends secured away. Each were preoccupied with the results of their soul-pacts to a point where they were not interested in what the Ghostbusters had to say. Everyone of them had to be coaxed into the designated gallery in their own particular way. For example, the young woman whose wish had transformed the Guggenheim into a natural paradise had to be persuaded that the most adorable baby meerkats just happened to be hanging out inside the gallery.

With all four of them eventually rounded up, the team were able to bar the double doors to the room, essentially locking them in until the operation concluded. So far, Az'dor was yet to reappear, suggesting that he was indeed resting up somewhere. Returning to Ray and Egon, the group were told to split into pairs and start a floor-by-floor search of the museum. Winston and Callum would start from the top level and work their way down, while Melissa and Hiroko would begin in the basement and work their way up.

As soon as Melissa heard the word 'basement' she immediately pictured a dark, claustrophobic storage space crowded with art works. Perhaps sensing her and Hiroko's trepidation, Ray was quick to point out that the basement level was primarily filled with a sizeable theatre designed for live performances, presentations, and film screenings. This made Melissa feel a little better about her assignment, but there was still something a little creepy about going from the brightly-lit rotunda to an underground floor that presumably had no windows to the outside world.