Into Darkness

Chapter one

It was clear to anyone that she had an attraction to him when they first met, they spent a lot of time together - which he didn't mind, if anything he was grateful for it... but what surprised him most of all was his inability to respond to her advances. Even when she feared for his life the only thing he could think of doing was hang on to the shy hug she gave him. They had shared something together, after taking down Gozer and Mr Stay Puft they'd gotten a lot closer, nothing that could technically be called romantic, but there was something there; they found themselves having deep conversations into the late hours after Egon had pulled one of his common all night sessions with his research. But then things tumbled down hill. The Ghostbusters found themselves been sued for practically everything they had, everyone became angry, stressed and before they knew it they'd gone their separate ways. Egon and Janine saw less and less of each other... then Egon began his own lab research, and they didn't speak until the company made a comeback.

"So what are you working on?" she asked with a quiet squeak, partially interrupting his nostalgic thoughts.

They had both tried their best to pick things up where they had left off, but with the worrying case of Dana and her baby it just didn't happen, and before Egon knew it Janine was having some wild relationship with their very own Louis Tully. It had hurt him slightly. He was never a man of strong romantic desire, but he felt something for Janine, some kind of warm connection, however her relationship drove a wedge between them and after New Year's Eve it was his work that dominated Egon's life. But Janine's relationship with Louis had ended pretty quickly and since then she had changed too: her hair was cut short and dyed brown - what Peter often referred to as her 'original look' - and she was back to spending all of her free time reading and catering the needs of her employers - especially Egon. It was almost as if she had regained her intellect... Egon often wondered if she put on a kind of "dumb b***" act to attract male attention. He just couldn't figure himself out, but he definitely admired her in one way or another.

"Well, unfortunately the storage facility is beginning to get crowded again, so I'm trying to find a safe way to expand it... or at least find some way to solve the problem."

Janine swallowed hard: she didn't like to think about the storage facility... too many bad memories.

"Any luck?" she questioned hopefully.

"No, nothing yet, I'm trying my best to branch out from the original ideas I had a few years back, but none of my designs seem to be effective enough... or safe enough."

He sighed with slight embarrassment.

"Well, I'd offer to help... but I can't," she joked lightly and Egon gave her a slight chuckle as he sipped his coffee - Janine knew just how he liked it.

"Believe me, you're doing just fine," he said with a smile and a reference to the coffee mug.

She giggled at him before noticing that Egon's expression had returned to worry.

"Egon, what's bothering you?"

She leant on his desk slightly.

"Nothing -" he lied, "- I'm just trying to solve of storage problem."

"Egon, you're a terrible liar -" She said softly, "- Now, tell me, what else is bothering you?"

He couldn't resist her, the caring gaze she gave him was hypnotic. He sighed with defeat.

"I think something big is going to happen..." he admitted with fear.

"Something big?"

"Uh-huh..." he winced.

"What do you mean 'big'?" she questioned with a tight jaw.

He stood up in controlled panic.

"I mean like Gozer and Mr Stay Puft big... I mean the destruction of New York big... I mean the kind of big that's either going to kill one of us or put us out of business..." Egon's words were violent, but they way he delivered them was so calm... like he'd given up and just accepted a darker fate.