Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Devotion is such a fragile thing. Don't you think so?

It can be so uplifting, so inspiring. It can lead to great things, great feelings, great accomplishments.

Yet it can be shattered in an instant by a single word, a single action. It can cause horrible things, horrible feelings, horrible accomplishments.

Yet those horrible things, horrible feelings, and horrible accomplishments at their core could still be considered great.

Great is a fickle descriptor. Great could be horrible or it could be wonderful. No in between. No limits on those extremes. It doesn't care.

A lot of people don't care, either. They look up on the world as a string of good and evil, the nice and the not-nice, and that is how it stays. To them, it is simple. It is easy to understand. Peaceful.

They refuse to look upon the grey area that everyone and everything has.

They refuse to acknowledge the great.

They just see the extreme happening all around the world, and it is called either 'horrible' or 'wonderful'. The middle ground is not acknowledged. The great, to the people, doesn't exist.

Yet the people can be great. 

Time after time it has been proven. People stand up for what they believe in, whether it be 'good' or 'evil'. Leaders take action, accepting the consequences that may follow those actions. Their choices are either horrible or wonderful.

Yet all their actions are great.

Yet nobody acknowledges those actions as great.

Great actions, great words.

Great devotion. 

Devotion to their country, to their family, to their people. To their land, to their culture, to their God. 

To their God.

The most extreme kind of devotion.

God is a strange thing. 

What makes a God? Is it power, control, worship? Their views? What they have claimed to do? What the people believe the God to have done?

There are so many Gods. So many Gods in so many religions. 

What is right? What is wrong? Who is right? Who is wrong? 

Who is God?

Does God exist?

That, my friend, is the mystery of the universe. Nobody will ever know until they die. 

That... is a scary thought. 

Death is scary.

Death is great.

Yet, to some... Death is more than great. More than horrible. More than wonderful. It is all of those things at once. 

Devotion creeps in to seize the people who believe in God. 

One God in particular.

One person in particular. 

Devotion grows stronger. Devotion grows great. One person, one God. 

One leader, one God.

Leaders are rare, yet common. There are so many leaders, yet so few accomplished ones.

Devotion can create accomplished leaders.

It did so to one person, one single person. He accepted the devotion to the God of Death, the one he believed could reshape humanity into something different. A humanity without humanities. Without humans.

That's not humanity, is it? Do you believe that's a humanity?

This leader didn't care if it was a humanity or not. He doesn't care about your opinion. He gained followers; more people to join the Devotion, to join the Greatness, to join the Cult.

Their efforts were wasted at first.

But the Devotion was too strong. The leader refused to give up. 

He continued on alone. 

He was alone when he met the God of Death.

He was alone when his Devotion grew to the highest amount, when he pledged himself to his God, promising that they could rule the humanity without humanities together.

He was alone when he was killed by his God.

Or was he?

Did he die?

Death is an absolute. It takes, yet never gives back. It's final.

Yet even Death bows to forces outside of its control.

The leader picked himself off of the ground in a metaphorical sense. His God had split him in two. He couldn't get up.

As he gained consciousness again, the Devotion grew sour.

He had given everything for the God of Death. Yet here he was, tossed aside like he was nothing.

What an extreme action.

What a tragic action.

What a great action.

The Devotion bubbled inside of him until he could take it no longer. The agony shifted into anger.

Fine.

If the God couldn't provide the life he wanted, then the leader would make his own life.

The leader would become a God.

What a silly idea. The leader was human. How could the human become God?

But this leader was insane. His brain was torn in half, alongside everything else. He only knew the deep, boiling, bubbling anger inside him. 

If his God couldn't do it, then he would.

He would make a humanity without humanities. 

Yet he couldn't do it alone. 

The followers would come, he would reason as he looked back into the past. The followers would come. 

And yet... followers would never be enough. He needed someone to assist him; someone to be his partner. Someone who knew things he didn't, someone who he could throw away when they had done their job.

Ah, irony is so funny, isn't it, my friend? Our leader here is already so much like his God.

This leader looked into the past. The first efforts had been foiled, and now his God's efforts were foiled again, by the same people.

The same people, yet different.

One of them would do the job.

He already had the one he needed in mind. 

Yet the one he needed had already passed, had already dissolved into the place known as the fabric of the universe.

Our leader would figure this out soon enough.

Don't worry. He'll find a replacement. 

For now... he rests, waiting to build up his empire again.

Devotion gone sour, turned great.

Join me, my friends, as we spin this tale of devotion, anger, greatness, and mystery, three years after the fall of the great God Gozer to the Ghostbusters, five months after the fall of the faithful soldier Garraka.

It is time to tell the story of Ivo Shandor's return to power.

Chapter Text

Our story begins at a familiar place known as the Firehouse, with the ringing of a bell.

"TREV! LET'S GO!"

Trevor was already sliding down the firepole at Callie's call and immediately climbed into the back of the Ecto-1, shutting the door behind him. "Can you not? I was already there, and you don't need to talk to me like that, now that I'm an adult!"

"Oh, please. Long as you're my son, I'll talk to you however I'd like." Callie snarked back at him, turning around in her seat to look back. Trevor just scoffed and looked away.

Phoebe, sitting next to Trevor, looked towards him. "You were a bit slow today."

"Gee, thanks Pheebs."

"Anytime."

"Let's not fight back there, alright?" Gary calls from the driver's seat.

"That wasn't fighting."

"Yeah, fighting looks something like this."

"Ow! What the hell, Phoebe!"

Callie rolled her eyes, amused. "Phoebe, don't punch your brother."

"I was just demonstrating to Dad what fighting can look like."

"I think I got the memo." Gary chuckled, hiding the excitement he still got from whenever Phoebe referred to him as Dad. "But thanks anyway."

"Don't thank her! She hit me!"

"Shouldn't you be handling this like a mature adult?"

"I'm trying to!"

The bickering continued throughout the entire car ride and until they pulled into the driveway of an old but humongous mansion. The conversation quelled just so everyone inside could look up at the massive thing.

Quickly, the family scrambled out of the Ecto-1 and went up to the front door of the mansion. On it, a note was taped to the door. Gary read it out loud.

'Couldn't stay here due to the ghost. Please get it out! Give me a call once you're done, I'll pay you as much as you need. My phone number is XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thanks a million!'

Gary looked towards his family after reading said note. "They sound desperate."

"And they're clearly rich." Trevor was still looking up at the mansion. "They say they'll pay us as much as we need, right? We could ask them for a lot, and then maybe we can fix up some stuff around the Firehouse-"

"We're asking for our normal fee."

"Come on, Mom, think of the possibilities!"

Phoebe ignored the playful argument between her mother and brother and instead pushed past Gary in order to open the door. 

She was met with complete darkness.

Not a single light could be seen; instead, the blackness seemed to swallow everything whole, whether it be living or nonliving. For a moment, Phoebe feared that the blackness would reach out to swallow them too, to make them part of itself, before she scolded herself for feeling that way.

Even if she knew it was possible.

The darkness seemed to somber the mood around her too; Callie and Trevor's arguing quieted, and Phoebe knew they were all staring into the blackness as well.

After a moment, Callie held up her wrist. "...Synchronize watches, everyone."

"I don't have my watch."

"I don't know how to do that."

"Watches are a construct."

Callie gave the rest of her family a deadpan stare as they suppressed laughter. "Great. And just how are we supposed to be able to call for backup if you all don't have your watches or won't synchronize them if you do?"

Trevor pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Well, actually-"

"Do not."

"Alright! Alright! Excuse me for trying to think of an actual solution, damn!"

"This might not be the best time to argue, guys." Phoebe sighed. "Let's just use our phones for now, those should work fine. We'll just keep better track of our watches next time. Okay?"

Trevor and Callie exchanged a glance, clearly making a silent agreement with each other. "Okay."

Phoebe nodded, and before she could second guess herself again, she stepped into the darkness.

For a moment, it really was like the darkness was swallowing her. She could see almost nothing on all sides, with the only thing grounding her in reality being the open door behind her.

Phoebe forced herself to swallow her fear and continue onwards. From the footsteps behind her, she knew her family was following, and she pressed on.

The door slammed shut.

All of them jumped as the darkness became eternal around them, completely taking over every little thing. Only the faintest of shadows could be made out, distinguishing where the objects were.

A light suddenly pierced through the darkness. Trevor had grabbed his phone and turned the flashlight on.

"Thanks, Trev." Callie said in relief. "Stay together, everyone. We don't know what's here."

Phoebe didn't bother to acknowledge her mother as she pulled her PKE meter out of her belt. It was on, but barely. "There's not a lot of signs of psychokinetic behavior here. Wherever this ghost is, it's not on this floor."

"So we gotta locate stairs?" Trevor questioned. "Jeez, if none of us end up hurt by the end of this mission, I'm going to convert to Catholicism."  

Gary turned to Trevor, confused. "Don't you guys celebrate Christmas? I thought you were Catholic."

"We celebrate it because Phoebe insisted on it when she was young. She wanted to 'study' every holiday by experiencing it for herself, and we kinda just never stopped. Right now would be a bad time to stop celebrating anyway, since aren't you Catholic, Gary?"

"I mean, yeah. But I didn't realize Phoebe was the reason you guys celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah." 

"We've celebrated more because of her. Oh, Trev, remember when Phoebe really-"

"Can we not tell embarrassing stories about me and focus on actually catching the ghost?" Phoebe interrupted the conversation before it could fully turn to a topic she did not want to hear. "This is very much not the time."

Callie and Gary suppressed small laughs while Trevor rolled his eyes in an exaggerated way, illuminated by his phone flashlight. Phoebe just continued to glare at them.

"Fine, fine, Pheebs. Don't get so upset." 

"I'm not upset. I just don't think this is the time for stories. Especially ones about me."

"You never think it's a good time for stories about you."

"For good reason!"

"Well, now I'm curious."

"Dad!"

The bickering continued as they stumbled through the house, Trevor in the lead. A little bit of stumbling and cursing later, they were standing in front of an extravagant-looking staircase. 

Trevor went up first, still holding his phone flashlight. "Jesus, the people who live here are millionaires. Mom, we're definitely missing out by not-"

A low rumbling interrupted Trevor's sentence.

All four of the Spenglers froze in their tracks, each at varying heights on the staircase.

The PKE meter that Phoebe was still holding out in front of her suddenly jumped to life. 

Callie and Gary exchanged a look, then began to extract their proton wands from their respective packs.

Before they could do anything, however, a large bright blue and glowing arm lunged out from the above ceiling and grabbed onto Trevor's hand. Trevor screamed in surprise, shaking his arm in a desperate attempt to get the ghost's hand off of him.

While Gary fumbled with the proton wand out of pure surprise, Callie wasted no time in firing at the arm. However, before the proton stream could make contact, something dark blue and still glowing popped up right in front of the arm.

The proton stream went right through the thing- portal, Phoebe realized -and the proton stream was heard outside, making contact with some wall. Callie immediately stopped shooting, face pale.

Gary's attempt to shoot the arm yielded similar results.

The arm shook Trevor around for a moment before yanking the phone out of his hand, with the sudden imbalance causing Trevor to fall backwards down the stairs. The room was plunged into complete darkness as the arm retreated back into the ceiling, with the only noise being from Trevor's shouts and Callie and Gary frantically hurrying down the stairs and checking to see if he was okay.

Phoebe clung onto the railing and forced herself up the stairs, following the buzzing of her PKE meter.

She raced blindly through the dark hallways, bumping into a few objects and walls in the process, while the PKE meter lit up more and more.

Suddenly, it was fully on. Phoebe stopped in her tracks and did a 360 spin, scanning for any threats.

Something brushed the top of her hair.

Heart pounding, she looked up. There was nothing there except a lone string. 

Starting to get an idea of where this ghost was, Phoebe moved the PKE meter upwards. It practically jumped out of her hand upon getting near the ceiling.

There had to be an attic up there. That was where the ghost was.

Carefully, Phoebe felt around until she was able to grab the string, then pulled it down slowly. A ladder lowered, its disguise shedding as Phoebe guided it towards the ground.

There was light up there.

Phoebe put away her PKE meter and put a hand on the ladder.

"Phoebe!"

Phoebe froze, the reality of what she was doing sinking in.

She was going to investigate this ghost. Alone. With her family not knowing where she was- and clearly looking for her, based on the footsteps and continued shouts of her name.

Phoebe almost turned back, almost called out to them. Before she could, she covered her mouth.

She couldn't let the ghost hear her. It would go after her family then, and it would be her fault. Besides, Trevor was probably injured from his fall. He needed to be taken care of. She couldn't lead the ghost to him.

Even if she had to run away in the end, she at least needed to see what the ghost looked like.

But she couldn't allow her family to get too worried. That was cruel.

Quickly, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to her mother. Found the ghost. Can't talk right now, it'll hear me. I'll be fine.

Upon hitting send, she pocketed her phone and carefully climbed up the ladder.

She had gotten used to navigating in the darkness. Because of that, she was blinded momentarily by the bright lights in the attic. 

She stepped fully into said attic and put a hand up to cover her eyes. Every light in the house must have been there; lamps, flashlights, even Trevor's phone.

The attic door closed on its own.

Phoebe jumped and backed away, looking around quickly, fumbling to pull her proton wand out of its hook.

A rumbling sound froze her in place.

She turned around.

The ghost stared back at her, pupilless eyes narrowed. Two T-rex-like arms were borne threateningly near the shoulder area, while two absolutely massive arms- those were the arms that had grabbed Trevor -were placed on its back, with sharp claws located in its three-fingered hands. Lights like an anglerfish were placed along its back, and it had no legs at all, just a long snakelike tail.

Phoebe didn't dare move an inch.

The ghost advanced.

Chapter Text

The second the ghost began to advance towards her, Phoebe jerked up her proton wand, pointing it towards the ghost.

The ghost froze in place, staring at the wand, then staring at Phoebe. Phoebe stared back, uncertain of what was happening. Shouldn't she have trapped the ghost by now? Wasn't that her job?

Yet...

The ghost's eyes widened from their previous slit as it studied the wand and the glowing tip of it, indicating that it was on. It reached out with one of its smaller arms to grab at it, pulling it close and unintentionally dragging Phoebe along.

Phoebe let out a small yelp as she was pulled close alongside her wand and looked up, making eye contact with the ghost. 

The ghost looked back at her, clearly confused and curious.

Okay. It wasn't malicious. It maybe had just died and was figuring things out, or it just hadn't come into contact with a human, much less a Ghostbuster, before. Either way, she needed to tread carefully. She didn't know if it could turn hostile. 

"Hello?" Phoebe tried, doing her best to smile non-threateningly up at the ghost, although it came off as more awkward than anything else. "I'm- I'm Phoebe."

The ghost let out a happy rumbling sound, sounding a little like a cat's purr, and released her proton wand. As Phoebe hooked her wand back into her back, the ghost began using its small pair of hands to spell out her name.

"You know sign language?"

Another happy rumble.

"Okay. That's- that's really cool, actually, and makes sense since you don't have, well- well, a mouth." Phoebe was stumbling over her words trying to make a good first impression. For a moment, she felt like she was back in school again, trying to join a new clique of friends who were just waiting to harshly reject her.

The ghost nodded, seemingly not minding her awkwardness.

"Do you have a name?"

The ghost nodded again and spelled it out. N-Y-X.

"Nyx? That's your name?"

The ghost- now dubbed Nyx -nodded their head a third time. 

"Cool- cool name." Phoebe smiled. "Is it- Is it okay if I ask what you're doing up here with all the lights? Wouldn't it be better to keep the lights all around the house to chase darkness away? It's pitch black down there."

Nyx's eyes furrowed sadly, and their pair of large arms reached out to grab all the lights, holding them close to them. They shook their head again and again.

"Alright! Alright, okay. No need to get agitated, I'm- I'm just curious." Phoebe waved her hands in the air, trying to dispel Nyx from accidentally doing something they didn't want to do. "Could you tell me why you want the lights? Or if not, why you're here at all? It would help the both of us, I think. I won't hurt you. You- you don't have to tell me, I guess, but I'm just letting you know that you- could?"

Nyx's eyes studied her, narrowing again, and Phoebe prayed that she wasn't unintentionally posing a threat to the already anxious ghost.

Luckily, Nyx didn't seem to see her as a threat, and they nodded slowly. Carefully, they signed Hiding.

"Hiding? From- from what?"

Nyx seemed to shrug, then pointed at Phoebe questioningly.

"Me? Oh, wait, not me specifically- Ghostbusters? Are you hiding from the Ghostbusters- no? Alright, then... then humans in general? Are you hiding from humans?" 

Nyx considered this, then nodded slowly. 

"Ah, that explains some things, but that's- that's not good." Phoebe took a quick moment to gather her words. "Unfortunately, ghosts and humans are always going to fight, even if some are- some are nice." She swallowed.

Don't think about her now. This isn't the time, Phoebe. You can grieve later. Focus on Nyx.

"I- I take it that you're not hiding from all humans, though? Otherwise, you would have fled from or attacked me. Is there- is there a specific group of humans you're hiding from?"

Nyx nodded vigorously there, snapping as they took in Phoebe's words. They flew up, dropping the lights they were holding, and beckoned for Phoebe to come closer.

Curious, Phoebe obeyed, and Nyx led her to the wall. Using one of their larger arms, they began to carve into the wood, creating some sort of picture that Phoebe only was able to understand once it was finished.

"Is that- is that a mask?"

Nyx nodded immediately, pointing at Phoebe in victory.

"So you're hiding from humans in masks?" Phoebe studied the drawing that Nyx had carved out, taking in every little detail. Quickly, she took out her phone, flipped it open, and took a picture.

"For further study," She explained when Nyx looked at her, asking a silent question. "I like studying things. It helps me figure things out about- about a lot of things."

Nyx considered this, then nodded. 

"Do you know why these- these humans in masks are searching for you?"

Nyx shook their head, eyes morphing into a sad expression. They spread their arms in an "I don't know" gesture and waved them up and down, clearly beginning to get distressed at the thought of the humans searching for them.

"Alright- that's okay. That's okay, calm down." Phoebe put her hands up, trying desperately to reason with Nyx before they exploded or threw a tantrum, or something happened. "What- how about the lights? Let's talk about the lights. Why are you taking the lights?"

Nyx became visible happier as Phoebe brought up the lights, and they turned to their collection, circling around them and signing as they did so.

"You- you just like them?"

More sign.

"They make you feel safe?"

A nod.

Phoebe looked around the pile before spotting Trevor's phone near the edge, then walked over and picked it up. "Look- it's fantastic that you like all these lights and they make you feel safe, but you can't take these from people. There was someone living in this house before you came here, right?"

Nyx thought for a moment, then nodded. 

"They got scared when you came in and took their lights, and they left because of that. Like- like how you got scared from those masked people." Nyx deflated immediately at Phoebe's analogy, and Phoebe hoped she hadn't just spoiled her chances of reasoning with the ghost. "If- if you want lights, I could make you some!"

Nyx's head snapped up, eyes practically shining with stars as they looked towards Phoebe.

"Yeah- all you'd have to do is leave this house, return all of these lights, and find somewhere else that's not already occupied, and I'll make you all the lights you could want." Phoebe waved her hands in the air for emphasis. "I could even see if I could make different colored lights and shapes! Does that sound good?"

Nyx wasted no time in nodding their head rapidly, and they reached out and grabbed one of Phoebe's hands with one of their large hands, shaking it roughly. Phoebe bit back a wince.

As soon as the deal was 'sealed', Nyx began flying around the room in joy, making more of their rumbly sounds, although they sounded higher pitched than what Phoebe had heard before. Phoebe couldn't help smiling at the sight.

Nyx suddenly stopped flying mid-flight, remembering the deal, and rapidly signed at Phoebe to please help them as they began grabbing lights to return. Phoebe slipped Trevor's phone into her pocket, then began to help the ghost gather the lights.

Nyx quickly exited the attic while Phoebe followed at a much slower pace- she had to actually climb down the ladder, and by the time she had returned to the darkness, it was already being fought off by the restoration of the lights.

Phoebe smiled, then began to head downstairs. 

Someone shouted.

Blood running cold, Phoebe realized that she had forgotten about her family, and she sprinted downstairs to see all three members of her family pointing their proton wands at Nyx, who was holding up their hands in surprise.

"Wait! Wait, guys!" Phoebe rushed in front of Nyx, standing in front of them and earning three startled shouts of her name. "It's okay! They're not a threat! They don't mean any harm!"

"Phoebe!" Callie called out, clearly relieved. "Thank God you're okay!"

"If they're not a threat, then why'd they tale my phone and push me down the stairs?" Trevor asked right after, still holding his wand at attention. "That seems pretty hostile to me!"

Phoebe pulled Trevor's phone out of her pocket and tossed it to him, who fumbled at catching it out of shock. "They didn't mean any harm! They just liked the flashlight on your phone. They like lights. And they have a bit of a hoarding problem- no offence, Nyx. And to be fair, I don't believe they intended to push you down the stairs."

"They still did it!"

"They didn't know who you were, they just knew you had a light! And all you saw of them was their arm! Maybe if they got to know you they'd want to push you down the stairs-"

"Real funny, Pheebs!"

"I think we're getting a bit off topic!" Gary interrupted. "Phoebe, how do we know that this ghost- You mentioned their name was Nyx? -isn't gonna do anything else?"

"I made a deal with them." Phoebe waved a hand. "They return all the lights and get out of here, and I make them lights that'll belong to them only. Right, Nyx?"

Nyx nodded quickly, beginning to get starry-eyed at the idea once again.

"Are- are you sure that was a good idea?" Callie asked slowly, eyeing Nyx. "You don't know what they're capable of- and you know what happened the last time you trusted a ghost-"

Callie realized too late that she messed up with that line, and everything grew quiet. Nyx, not sure what was going on, looked between each of the humans, quickly growing concerned at the stormy and hurt look that crossed Phoebe's face and the panicked faces of the other faces.

"...It was my decision." Phoebe said at last, looking Callie in the eyes for the first time in a while. "Both times."

She turned away, hoping that none of them spotted the hurt that she knew was present in her voice when she spoke. "Come on, Nyx. Let's finish putting these lights back."

Nyx nodded, clearly confused, but they didn't ask about what had just happened. The remaining lights were restored without too much trouble, mainly because Trevor had joined in on helping restore them. Gary and Callie hung back, talking to each other.

Eventually, upon the completion of the job, Phoebe turned to Nyx. "Can you meet me at the Firehouse in two days' time? Do you know where the Firehouse is?"

Nyx nodded. 

"Great. I should have lights for you done by then. Alright? Keep yourself safe in the meantime, please."

Nyx nodded and waved to Phoebe using all four of their arms, then they were gone. 

Phoebe watched Nyx leave for a moment, then felt a hand on her shoulder. "Pheebs, I-"

"Save it." Phoebe moved Callie's hand off her shoulder. "Not the time. Please?"

Callie drew back and nodded, expression clearly showing regret. Gary cleared his throat then to get everyone's attention. "Let's head home."

The ride back home was quiet. Phoebe ignored everyone's attempts to make conversation with her, although not out of malicious intent. In fact, she barely heard the family whenever they tried to reach out.

She was too busy studying the mask on her phone.

It was nothing she had ever seen before, yet at the same time- it felt familiar.

Where had it come from? What was it? 

Most of all- what did they want with Nyx?

Chapter Text

A door opened, and a bell rang out as small footsteps echoed across the nearly empty shop.

Ray looked up casually from the book he was reading, his face immediately breaking into a grin when he saw who came to visit. "Phoebe! Great to see ya, how have you been doing?"

"Fine." Phoebe answered shortly with a small smile, more pleased to see her honorary uncle than she would have admitted. It had been a while since her last visit here, and tensions around the Firehouse had become a bit more prominent after the incident with Nyx.

Phoebe had worked all night making all sorts of colored lights for Nyx, who'd adored them from the moment they set their eyes on them. They'd happily waved goodbye to her before taking off with all the lights. Phoebe wasn't sure if she'd ever see Nyx again, but she found herself hoping she would.

She wasn't fully sure if she had forgiven Callie for her comment about Melody. She'd told Callie that it was okay, and it was. Callie was only looking out for her, and she'd clearly felt bad for her comment. 

So Phoebe had told her that everything was okay.

In truth, she wasn't sure if anything was okay at all, not just for Callie's comment. She had other reasons to worry.

"Has Podcast flown in yet?"

"He's arriving later this week. I'm still exhausted from that phone call I had with his parents- lemme tell ya, that took hours. They were hard to move, and to be honest, I don't blame them one bit." Ray chuckled. "If I found out my kid had lied to me about some camp in New York City so he could go live with a weirdo old man..."

"I'm surprised that you managed to convince them to let him come back at all." Phoebe commented, looking around the shop at the new items that Ray had set up, picking up an old doll with a single missing eye.

"I've got some tricks up my sleeve." Ray stood up and walked over to her, observing the doll from over her shoulder. "So, what're you interested in today? I just got some new spirit guides, and one of them contains all the spirits that were believed to have existed in Mesopotamian times. I figured that would be right up your alley."

"That sounds... fascinating, but I have something else to ask you about right now." Phoebe fished her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open, quickly pulling up a picture. "Have you ever seen this before?"

Ray's brow furrowed as he took the phone from Phoebe, studying the carving in the wood that was displayed there. "I... don't think I have, but it seems... almost familiar." He glanced towards Phoebe. "Where did you get this picture?"

"My family and I went on a mission a few days ago, and I met a pretty friendly but paranoid ghost there. They told me they were hiding from something and carved that into the wood after I asked who." Phoebe explained. "It's not another entity, it's clearly a mask. Plus they told me that they were hiding from humans."

"Interesting..." Ray pondered. "Yeah, I don't recall seeing anything like this before, but something about it is nagging at me."

"Is there something in one of your guides that we could use?" Phoebe wondered. "Maybe it's the mark of some entity possessing humans, or some cult that's resurfacing from ancient times. Or people have just gone crazy, and it could be completely unrelated to everything."

"That's definitely a possibility on both accounts." Ray noted. "Come on, I think I know which guides we could use to start looking."

Gesturing for Phoebe to follow, he led her to a specific part of his bookshelves, where he began rapidly skimming the shelves and pulling out different spirit guides and laying them on a nearby table. Almost in sync, the two took a seat and began fishing through the guides, only speaking when they had found something interesting or relevant.

Eventually, Ray brought his book closer to Phoebe, pointing at a picture. "Check this out. Does this look familiar?"

Phoebe peered at the picture of the stone carving present in the book, then brought up the picture of the mask again. "Definitely. They're clearly not the same mask, but they do have their similarities. See, look. Same markings."

"Right. This stone carving dates back to Mesopotamian times." 

"So are the people in these masks really just ghosts from ancient Mesopotamia?"

"I wouldn't put it past something like that to happen." Ray shrugged. 

Phoebe took the book from him and began skimming the text underneath the picture. "It says that these masks were used with worshipping their many gods and goddesses. Although," She looked closer, then looked up at Ray. "One of the most prominent gods mentioned here was Gozer."

Ray looked closer at the text. "So it is."

"Do you think Gozer's coming back?"

"Highly doubt it. Gozer's trapped and gone. We've had to deal with them way too much." Ray spoke confidently. "We don't have enough information to confidently nail this down. How about you get your ghost friend to give us more information?"

"I don't think they'll do that willingly. They were plenty agitated already when I spoke to them about this mask."

"Well, try anyway. This is important. We shouldn't proceed with any hypothesis until we've got more info. Take it from me, I've got plenty of experience with that from living with your grandpa." Ray chuckled as he bookmarked the page with the stone mask.

Phoebe looked away from her book. "I guess."

"Try not to let this stay on your mind for too long, alright? I know that's hard to do- believe me, I know -but at least give it a shot."

"I'll do that. Could you... could you show me those spirit guides you mentioned?"

"'Course, kiddo. You've already been reading from one of them, but I've got a few more in the back. Lemme show you where they are."

It was a few hours later when Phoebe finally left Ray's Occult, waving goodbye to her uncle with some new books tucked under her arm. The sky was growing darker and a chill was starting to settle around the city. 

Phoebe shivered, walking quickly, eager to get back to the Firehouse. The cold still held several unpleasant memories for her, and she couldn't wait to make those all go away by diving under a warm blanket with a flashlight.

Something echoed around her.

Startled, Phoebe looked around, pausing briefly in her journey, but she couldn't see anything. 

It must have just been the wind, she figured. Or some wayward ghost that was just trying to find its way around. Perhaps they'd get a call soon.

Phoebe resumed her walk immediately, yet couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Extremely off.

Why did she feel like there were eyes on her? 

She turned around, heart pounding, and caught something through the small opening of an alleyway. 

Her heart stopped.

She left immediately, and Phoebe ran as fast as she could the rest of the way home, retreating to her room before anyone could ask what was wrong.

How could she explain that she saw two of the same masks peeking out at her?

How could she explain that this time, those masks were on humans?

Chapter Text

"Phoebe?"

A double knock followed Trevor's call as he waited outside of Phoebe's door, impatient and checking the time. "Phoebe, it's dinnertime. Mom wants you to come down, now." 

"I'm a bit busy at the moment!"

Trevor suppressed a sigh, secretly not surprised at his sister's response. When was the last time she had actually joined the family at the table? Trevor had lost count.

"Mom said that if you don't come down, then she's dragging you out herself!"

"She can wait a moment!"

"She sounded serious! Don't blame me if you end up mangled on the street from Mom's wrath, I'm just relaying the message! Don't shoot the messenger, you ever heard of that?"

"I know what that is! I'll be down in a moment, okay? One moment! She can wait one moment! Tell her that!"

"Fine! Fine." Trevor huffed, turning away from the door and put a hand on the fire pole, sliding down without much effort. He landed hard and quickly launched himself forward to disguise his unease, grabbing a quesadilla from a fresh batch that sat right on the table. He didn't bother to sit down as he took a large bite, hoping that nobody noticed his unsteadiness. 

Callie shot him a look, and Trevor quickly settled down at the table, where Gary already was. "What did she say?"

"She'll be down in a moment." Trevor shrugged, finishing his first quesadilla and reaching for a second. "Tried to get her to come out right away, but she won't budge."

Callie sighed, then waited. "That's one moment. She's not down here. Gary, stay here, I may need to shout for you. Wish me luck."

Trevor and Gary watched with mixed expressions as Callie left, heading towards the stairs. Trevor rolled his eyes. "She's not going to be able to get Phoebe out of there."

"She might be able to."

"Without an argument? Yeah, no."

Gary acknowledged Trevor's sentence with a nod, then glanced up worriedly. "Has she been behaving... off, I suppose is the word, to you lately?"

Trevor finished his third quesadilla and looked towards Gary, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that when's the last time she came out of her room?"

Trevor opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. Gary did have a point. When was the last time Phoebe had come out of her room?

"She's left for missions," Trevor started again hesitantly. "And the bathroom."

"Trev, you know what I mean. Sure, Phoebe's always been introverted, but to this degree?"

"I know, I know. She always kept to herself when she was small, but I don't remember her locking herself in her room before."

"Do you remember anything that could have happened to result in this behavior?"

"Wish I could say I could." Trevor swallowed the final bite of his fifth quesadilla and stood up. "I'm going to Lucky's. They invited me over to come look at this new thing that she made- they weren't clear on what it was though. Could be a sculpture or a video game for all I know."

"Trev, it's 7 at night and it's snowing out there. Does Callie know you're doing this?" Gary raised an eyebrow.

"'Course she does, I told her. Besides, I'm an adult. If I wanna head out now, I can do that."

"I suppose that's true... although, did you tell her what time you were heading out at?"

Trevor's silence told Gary everything, and he shot him a look. Trevor flashed him a sheepish smile back and grabbed his winter coat from off the nearby couch. "And that is why you're here! To tell her that I left! Help a guy out?"

"Trevor-"

A shout of "GARY!" came from upstairs, causing both Trevor and Gary to startle and look up. Trevor's face quickly morphed into a happy expression. "And I believe I've gotta go now! Good luck with whatever's happening up there! See you later, love ya!" 

"Trevor-!" 

Trevor didn't wait to hear the rest of Gary's response before he was out the door, jogging away from the Firehouse until it was long gone. He let out a breath, hoping against reality that Gary and Callie both wouldn't kill him when he returned home.

As he slowed down his run, he fished his phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight, using it to navigate the dark fog that had descended upon the city. Holding on tightly, Trevor shivered, wishing that he had brought a hat or scarf alongside his jacket.

He walked alone for a while, humming to himself, before something else rang out.

Trevor stopped in his tracks, confused. The sound had been quiet and as he listened intently, he couldn't hear anything else.

Trevor was about to dismiss the sound as his imagination and continue on his way when the sound came again.

"Hello?" Trevor called out into the blackness. "Is someone there?"

He waited, then after a moment,

"Over here! Please!"

Trevor took out running towards the voice, almost not knowing where he was going. 

"Please, whoever's there!"

Trevor stopped in his tracks momentarily and held up his flashlight as he used it to scan around, looking for anywhere where a person might hide, before the light landed on an alleyway.

He headed towards it cautiously, poking his head in. "Hello? Who's there? Are you okay?"

"Oh, thank you, God!" The voice came from deeper into the alley. "Thank you, God! Please help, I'm over here!"

Trevor followed the voice cautiously, and the owner was soon visible. A man, probably in his late twenties, laid near the wall, waving at him. He looked perfectly fine at first glance, but as Trevor carefully got closer, weirded out, he saw the reason the man was stuck.

The man's leg was twisted into an unnatural position, trapped under a large, unopened wooden box. Trevor hurried over. "Jesus, man. How did this even happen? You trying to spy on someone or something and the box turned against you? You okay?"

"I'll be fine." The man said, a hint of relief in his voice. "Thank my God you're here, I was worried that I was gonna have to spend the night in this alley! Then they would have got me for sure! Could you help me get me back to my home, by any chance? I'll repay you tenfold! Whatever you ask for!"

"Oh, of course, dude! No worries!" Trevor quickly surveyed the situation, then squeezed his hands under the box and pulled upwards. It was much heavier than Trevor had anticipated, and it took a couple tries for Trevor to get the box off of the man's leg.

"Thank you! Thank you." The man sighed. "I am forever in your debt!"

"Yeah, whatever man. We'll discuss this later. We gotta get you to the hospital." Trevor helped the man to his feet and lead him to lean on him as he spoke.

"No, not the hospital. My house! I must get to my house!"

Trevor stared at the man in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Your leg's gotta be broken at the very least- you definitely need a hospital."

The man shook his head. "I don't believe it's broken- just twisted. I have bandages at my house, and I have very important research I must get home immediately! It is monumentally important!"

"Jeez, alright, psycho. Where's your house at?" Trevor got out his phone and quickly texted Lucky, telling them an abbreviated version of the story, before typing in the man's address. "Great. Let's go slow now. I'll help you, got it? Let's do this."

"Of course. Thank you again, really."

"Yeah, I got it. I'm gonna take a step now, okay?"

The man nodded, and Trevor took a wobbly step forward, carefully and slowly leading the man away.

If Trevor hadn't been so focused on the man, he might have noticed the eyes watching the both of them walk away.

Chapter Text

The trip to this man's house took an infuriatingly long time.

Trevor knew why, of course- he was supporting a stubborn old guy who had a twisted (Trevor was still convinced that it was broken) leg. They could only move so fast. 

Trevor couldn't say he regretted helping this man, but he wasn't sure he would have led him home if it meant it would take this amount of time.

Eventually, the man's house came into view, and Trevor helped him grab his keys out of the purse that was slung around his shoulders. The door unlocked, and Trevor could have sworn he heard a click as the door swung shut again. 

The house was cozy but cluttered, unpacked boxes lining the walls as the man's furniture was spread out in each room. It occurred to Trevor as he led the man to sit on his couch that the man seemed to have too little furniture for the house he lived at. The table in the living room was too far from the couch to rest a coffee or the remote on top of it, the easy chair across the room too far to be able to carry out a conversation.

"Thank you. Thank you greatly." The man said as they sat down, breathing a sigh of relief. "I shall forever be in your debt. But please don't leave yet. I still  have some small favors to ask of my savior."

"Jeez, how religious are you?" Trevor gave an awkward chuckle. "But sure, man. I've came this far. What d'ya need?"

"Bandages! There are bandages in my bathroom. Go through the kitchen and into the next room; bathroom will be on your right. There's a drawer under the sink." 

"Gotcha." Trevor rose and followed the man's instructions, casually taking a peek at the man's opened mail on the kitchen counter. He located the bandages quickly and brought them back to the man. "Why do you just have bandages in your bathroom anyway?"

"Emergencies. You see, you never know when you might need bandages, and I like to be prepared." The man adjusted his glasses before taking the bandages and beginning to set his leg, wrapping up. "Thank you again, truly. I don't know where I'll be without you!"

"Seriously, no need to thank me. Anyone would have done the same."

"And that is where you're wrong, my good sir. I've lost count of the amount of people who walked past me before you came along! Truly a miracle! As I've said, I'm forever in your debt."

Trevor laughed uncomfortably, putting up his hands. "Alright, alright, okay. No need to 'be in my debt', or anything."

"Ah, but I insist! I can't just let you walk away from a good deed unpaid!"

"...I can already tell I'm not going to change your mind about this. Fine, I'll call on you when I need you or something."

The man gave a nod and focused again on his leg, and Trevor stood awkwardly shifting from foot to foot before he finally broke the silence. "...So, I saw that your name is 'Edward?'

The man jolted up. "Ah, it is! How could I not introduce myself? What is wrong with me? Yes, I am Edward. Edward Alaister. Feel free to address me however you may like, Mr. Spengler." He offered up his hand, but Trevor didn't take it.

"How do you know my name?"

Alaister hesitated for just a moment before continuing like nothing had happened. "Why, everyone knows who Trevor Spengler is! It's hard to forget the name of a legendary Ghostbuster, is it not? I'm sure your name is plastered all over the internet!"

"...Well, that's comforting." Trevor shrugged it off. "I didn't realize my family was that famous. I thought that we were just known as the Ghostbusters."

"I'm sure it was the same way for the original team." Alaister pulled his purse into his lap and began rummaging through it. "It's just something to get used to!"

"Alright, makes sense." Trevor shrugged again. "What are you looking for? Your research that you mentioned?"

Alaister's head snapped up so suddenly that Trevor jumped. "What do you know about that?"

Trevor swallowed. Alaister's face had suddenly become incredibly serious, a stark contrast to the jovial and thankful man that had just previously been sitting there. "Um, I don't know? I don't know shit about your research! It's 'your research' for a reason!"

Alaister's face didn't waver. "Do you notice eyes watching you from the shadows?"

"Wh- excuse me?"

"Do you see the eyes?" Alaister's expression stared straight into Trevor's soul. "Those markings on their faces? They're coming. They've got a new target, sprung from a familiar face, yet that familiar face alludes me. The eyes are what's coming. They tell everything. They tell the end of mankind as we know it, to move on to a greater age. That's what I'm researching. The eyes are always there."

Trevor backed away, feeling around for something to throw in case it came down to it but feeling only air, then the wall. Alaister got up, moving closer as he spoke until he cornered Trevor against the wall.

Trevor's heart raced, and his feet felt frozen. He couldn't move, all he could do was open his mouth as Alaister pressed something into his hand. 

"Are you the one they seek?" he whispered. "Or is it the younger one? Tell me. Tell me now. Maybe I will get them to spare you if you tell me. Then you will witness the glorious reconstruction of mankind!"

Trevor forced himself to tear his eyes away from Alaister's face. His gaze raced around the room. He forced himself to disregard the voice that was trying to engrain itself inside his brain, make him listen and obey, and find a way out. 

A hand grabbed onto his face. Trevor's gaze was forcefully brought back to Alaister, who looked more and more insane by the moment. "Answer me. Answer me! Are you the one they seek? Tell me and your very soul will be saved!"

Trevor punched Alaister in the stomach and ran.

The lack of furniture space in Alaister's home made it easy for Trevor to cross the room in flying strides, and he reached the door in a matter of seconds. He turned the handle.

He turned the handle again.

And again.

For the love of- when did he-?!

"Mr. Spengler?"

Trevor jerked his head back as he felt his chest tighten. He quickly gave up on the door and sprinted away, locking himself in the first room he saw that had a lockable door.

Trevor stood with his back against the door, heart pounding, as he heard Alaister continue to call a much more polite version of his name. He put a hand on his chest. Okay. Okay. You're in a damn horror movie. Fantastic.

He forced himself to wrack his brain for ideas on how to get out of this, and a single vibration in his pocket gave him the answer.

Trevor pulled his phone out of his pocket, shoved what had been pressed into his hand by Alaister into that same pocket, and pressed his finger on the first contact that he saw. 

"Hey Trev, what's up?"

"Lucky, Lucky thank god, I need help, I really messed up and now there's some crazy guy who either wants to kill me or interrogate me for some insane research plot-"

"Hold up, hold up, slow down. What the hell is happening? Are you in actual danger right now?"

"Yes! I'm trapped in this guy's house, I'm hiding in his bathroom right now-"

"You're what?! How did you- okay, forget it. Do you have house numbers or anything like that?"

"No, but he locked the door so I couldn't get out-!"

"Stay calm, Trevor. Deep breath. Is there a window near you?"

Trevor scanned the bathroom. "Yeah, there is, but I don't know if I can fit in there."

"Okay, even if you don't think you can fit, get that window open. Only break it if you truly can't get it open. I'm tracking you down as we speak- I'll be there as soon as I can. If nothing else, a broken window will let me know where you are."

Trevor swallowed, then put his phone on the windowsill. The window opened easily, but that didn't mean getting out was easy.

"Lucky, I don't think I can fit through this!"

"Try anyway! Half of you hanging out a window will at least tell me where you are, dammit!" 

Trevor winced, then forced himself to focus. Lucky was right. This could be his only way of getting out. 

With no other option, he hoisted himself up and forced himself through the window.

Getting out through the window was an ordeal. He got stuck at least twice and panicked more times than he wanted to admit, but eventually he tumbled onto the grass below with a thump.

He lay there winded for a brief moment, then scrambled up and stuck his arm back through the window in an attempt to grab his phone, immediately ducking down afterwards to hide himself from the windows.

He sat there for a while, trying to catch his breath.

A horn blared across from him, and Trevor startled. Lucky's car had pulled up, and they gestured at him urgently to get in.

Trevor didn't waste time, immediately scrambling into the passenger seat, and Lucky stepped on the gas as soon as the door closed. Trevor lurched forward, grabbing onto the dashboard so that he didn't get flung into the windshield.

For a while, neither of the two spoke. Lucky eventually pulled into the parking lot of a nearby lot, then rounded on him. "Are you okay? What the hell happened to you?"

Trevor didn't answer immediately. "I... don't know."

Something in his mind rung, and he pressed his hand against his pocket, feeling for something. He pulled out what had been given to him and flattened the piece of paper out.

Doctor Edward A. Alaister. Scientist, paranormal researcher, Doctor of Medicine. 

"I truly don't know."

Chapter Text

Tap tap tap.

Phoebe's head jolted up towards her window, a spark of hope rising through her chest before it deflated.

Curse you, Spengler. Of course it's not her.

Nonetheless, Phoebe went over to the window and opened it, allowing the apparition there to enter. "Hey, Nyx. What brings you here?"

If Nyx had a mouth, Phoebe was certain they would be smiling. They circled around her affectionately, almost playfully, and poked Phoebe in the cheek with out of their small arms. Phoebe suppressed a small laugh. "Just here for a visit?"

Nyx nodded happily, moving away from Phoebe and beginning to fly around the room, looking at every little thing. 

"Hey- mind the tail there! Careful, you're not as small as you think you are!" Phoebe frantically waved her arms and tried to stop things from falling over as Nyx accidentally knocked them down, seemingly not caring about their size. Nyx spotted her and sighed an apology, pulling all protruding limbs towards them.

"Don't apologize, you're good." Phoebe set a trophy that had fallen back on her shelf. "Do you need more lights? I could work that out for you if you'd like-"

Phoebe stopped talking. Nyx was now hovering over her desk, eyes narrowed. They turned their head towards Phoebe and gestured towards the contents. 

"Oh- that." Phoebe went over to where Nyx was looking and flipped through her notes, allowing Nyx to see everything. "Sorry if they're messy. I tend to scribble things down first and organize them as I go along."

Nyx nodded and tapped a claw against a photo of stone carvings. 

"Yeah, there's your mask. I've been trying to find things connected to it. I got a good stepping stone thanks to my uncle, but I still don't have the full picture." Phoebe sighed. "I'm starting to wonder if the answers I'm looking for are in my books at all."

Nyx tilted their head to the side.

"Yeah, I know, don't give up. I'm really trying not to here." Phoebe sighed. "Hey, have you spotted any humans in those masks lately? Have you been chased like you were when you were hiding in the house?"

Nyx's face turned worried, and Phoebe rapidly added "Only if you feel comfortable saying so, of course. No pressure here."

Phoebe was answered with a shake of Nyx's head and some rapid sign language. 

"Ah, that's smart. Where have you been hiding all this time?"

More sign language.

"Gotcha."

Phoebe backed up and flopped backwards onto her bed, with Nyx eying her. "I just don't know what else I can find out without more sources. It seems like I've had everything that exists in terms of information for the past few days." 

Nyx floated above her and signed.

"No, I can't go out." Phoebe sighed. "...If I'm being honest, I've been hiding too. Just like you."

Nyx's eyes widened as they guessed the truth, and Phoebe nodded. "I saw them about a week ago. They were just... watching me. Like I was a cut of meat." She shuddered and hugged herself. "I haven't wanted to go out since."

Nyx's eyes were boring a hole into her, and Phoebe avoided their eyes guiltily, contemplating shutting them. They knew there was more to what she was saying, and Phoebe knew that they knew.

"Fine. I'm scared, okay? I'm scared, and I have no one to turn to because they'll tell me it was all my imagination or I'm being paranoid. Or worse, they'll bench me again." Phoebe covered her face with her hands. "I don't want to be benched."

Her admission was met with a flash of teal and a bit of nudging. Phoebe's head was lifted up, and she removed her hands from her face in confusion.

Nyx had curled around her and led her head to rest on their back as if they were a pillow, and their head rested on Phoebe's chest. They looked up at Phoebe and signed.

Phoebe smiled. "No, this is more than enough. Thank you, Nyx."

Nyx shut their eyes contently, and for a while the duo just laid there. Phoebe shut her eyes and let herself relax for the first time in a week.

She would have drifted off to sleep if her phone didn't ring.

Both Nyx and Phoebe blinked their eyes open, annoyed, and Phoebe tapped Nyx on the head and pointed to her phone. Nyx responded by using one of their large arms to grab it.

"Thanks." Phoebe said blearily and flipped her phone open. "Hello?"

"Hey, Phoebe. I'm calling to ask you a few questions."

"Thank god you're getting straight to the point. What's happening?"

"I'm... not exactly sure how to explain this, but your brother seemed to have just had... an interesting experience. He's with Lucky right now. Genuinely I don't think I understand everything that happened to him... something about living a horror movie?"

"Good to know Trev's delusional after all." Phoebe paused. "Is he okay? Hurt anywhere?"

"No, no, he's fine. A little shaken, but fine."

"Did he come across a hallucinogenic ghost or something?"

"No, he claims it was a human. That human mentioned some strange things that could involve both him and you, apparently. That's why I'm calling you right now. We got Trevor to write down the gist of what he remembers from what happened, so I can use that to ask some questions."  

"Let's hear them then."

"Alright. First question: have you noticed anyone stalking you lately?"

Phoebe choked, shooting up and startling Nyx, who uncurled and flew upwards, ready for battle. "I'm sorry?"

Phoebe could hear Lars shift on the other end. "Stalking. I'm talking about stalking. You alright?"

Nyx put a hand on Phoebe's shoulder, and Phoebe forced herself to take a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. It's just that... I have."

"You have?" Alarm swept into Lars's voice. "When?"

"About a week ago. I was walking home from Ray's when I noticed people in weird masks watching me from an alley. Booked it back home after that."

Lars sucked in a breath. "Okay. Okay. So suddenly I believe that everything else this guy said might be true."

"What did he say?"

"Oh, nothing much, just rubbish about souls being saved and the end of mankind coming as we speak."

"So it's like a regular Tuesday."

"Pretty much. Can you come down to the lab? It will be much easier to talk there. I don't think the rest of my questions should be asked over the phone anymore."

Phoebe hesitated and moved to the window, with Nyx watching her anxiously. She scanned outside.

Didn't seem to be any masked people down there.

"...Yeah. I'll get there when I get there."

"Stunning. In the meantime, I'm going to try and get a hold of this guy that Trevor had that encounter too. I guarantee you, if anyone's got any answers, it's him. Trevor said he was doing research on all the cryptic stuff he was saying."

"Great. See you then?"

"See you then."

Lars hung up after that, and Phoebe looked at Nyx. They tilted their head to the side in a questioning glance.

"No, I can't skip. I have to go." Phoebe sighed. "This could be my only way to get more information about the mask, maybe even answers. Plus I need to make sure that Trevor's really okay."

Phoebe looked towards the window again. "But I don't wanna go... I'm scared. What if they're watching me as I walk there?"

Nyx narrowed their eyes, deep in thought, then signed to Phoebe.

"What? No, you shouldn't. They're looking for you too. You could get hurt if you come with me."

Nyx folded one pair of arms and signed with the other.

"No! I'll go alone."

Phoebe has never seen someone aggressively sign before in the fifteen years of life she had lived. Not until that moment.

"Jesus- Fine! Fine. But you have to be invisible."

Nyx made a rolling motion with their head, the equivalent to rolling their eyes, but they agreed.

Phoebe put her phone in her pocket and slung on a coat, and with a quick glance backwards at Nyx, she climbed out of her window and down the fire escape.

Once on the ground, she began to run.

Phoebe knew Nyx was keeping up with her as she sprinted down the sidewalks to the lab through the whooshing sound that was next to her. A flash of thankfulness rushed through her, and she didn't stop running until she had opened the doors to the lab.

If she had indeed gone slower, she would have had her fears confirmed.

She would have noticed the eyes in the shadows watching herself and Nyx run past.

They knew exactly where she was going.

They knew more than Phoebe could have ever imagined.