Epilogue: The Bold Future

 

            With the combined usage of the Necronomicon, the Sandersons’ spellbook, and the Calamity Box, the USS Enterprise was successful in returning to 2019. The shutdown of Facilier’s magic had removed his shadow spell over Earth. To verify that everyone down on the planet was safe and unharmed, calls were made to family, friends, business associates, and others. Apparently, the blackout only lasted overnight, which was about as long as the Ghostbusters and their allies were away on their bizarre adventure.

            Facilier’s spell over M.I.B. agents Ess and Em had also been removed, returning them to their normal appearances. “What was it like being frozen in stone?” Mabel curiously inquired.

            “Like taking a very long nap,” Em answered, yawning and stretching.

            Preparations were already being made for the M.I.B. agents, the Ghostbusters, the Greens, the Pines, the Shadowhunters, the Descendants, Ash, and even Milo, Melissa, and Zack to return to Earth. However, Anne Boonchuy – another Earth resident – opted to stay with the Enterprise crew to return to Amphibia with the Plantars.

            But that didn’t stop her from enjoying the orbital view of her planet (which she hadn’t seen for months) from the bridge of the starship, sharing it with her frog family. “There it is, guys – my home,” she presented.

            Sprig and Hop Pop were astonished.

            “Beautiful,” the latter said.

            “Amazing,” the former said.

            Polly, on the other hand, wasn’t all too impressed. “Meh, it’s not that cool.”

            “Polly!” Sprig and Hop Pop scolded.

            “What? I bet you get the same view of our world from up here!” Polly defended.

            Anne wasn’t all that offended by Polly’s criticism. “It may not look like much from up here, Polly, but down there is a world unlike anything Amphibia has. And as soon as we find Marcy – and, yes, even Sasha, I’ll introduce you guys to it all.”

            Not far from where Anne and the Plantars were taking in the view of Earth, the Green family had approached Ash, who mostly kept to herself after the battle at Gracie Manor.

            “Uh, Ash?” Bill inelegantly forwarded. “The family and I talked it over and we…”

            “We want you to stay with us!” Cricket intervened.

            “Only ‘til you get back on your feet in modern society, of course,” Bill made sure to add. “And you don’t have to say ‘Yes’ right away. You have time to think it over.”

            “But you are welcome to say ‘Yes’,” Tilly elaborated.

            Ash was truly touched by their offer. There she was, moping about the loss of Binx (the only friend she truly ever had) and being unable to return to 1981, and the Greens up and make such a generous gesture just for her. With a whimpering smile, she cordially accepted, “I’d really love that. Thanks, you guys.”

            “Just remember: we don’t take in no freeloaders,” Alice established. “If you’re stayin’, you’re also workin’.”

            “Yes, ma’am,” Ash happily agreed. “I’m sure there are still plenty of S-Marts around in the 21st century.”

------------------------

            After spending some time refueling on refreshments in Ten Forward, Enterprise’s lounge and recreation facility, Natalie and J.G. were ready to return to the bridge where the other Ghostbusters were gathered. Along the way, J.G. could not stop admiring the Calamity Box, much to the chagrin of Natalie.

            “This thing is absolutely incredible!” he exclaimed. “T’Eve says that it’s at least over a thousand years old! Can you believe it, Venkman?”

            “Uh-huh,” Natalie frivolously agreed.

            “I mean, the way in which it can transport you across dimensions is nothing short of amazing! Especially in congruence with the Necro and the Sandersons’ book!”

            “Truly baffles the imagination, doesn’t it?”

            Finally detecting her sarcasm, J.G. questioned, “I’m totally boring you, aren’t I?”

            In response, Natalie stopped him at one juncture of the intersecting corridors and said, “Jay, have I ever told you how you’re the most observant kid I’ve ever known?” She followed this with a kiss on his cheek.

            That’s the beautiful thing about you, Venkman: you always follow insult with flattery, J.G. mentally observed.

            “Hey, guys!” They suddenly heard Clary call out to them. She showed up – out of her Ghostbusters uniform – along with Jace, who appeared stiffer than usual. “There’s something that Jace wanted to tell you.”

            After a nudge from Clary, Jace opened up to J.G. and Natalie, “I was wrong…about you guys…you Ghostbusters. Watching us work together to bring down Oogie and the Shadow Man himself, I’ve come to realize that an alliance can be achieved between us…should the mundane world ever need us again.”

            Natalie smirked, pointing to Jace and asking Clary, “Was that his way of saying ‘I’m sorry’? ‘Cause it was kinda cute…in a weird way.”

            Clary giggled. “Yeah…it is.”

            “O.K., please don’t make me regret it,” Jace moaned.

            Noticing Clary out of uniform, J.G. asked, “Are you going back to being a Shadowhunter?”

            “Only for a little while,” Clary ascertained. “If that’s alright with you guys.”

            “Of course,” J.G. approved. “The door’s always open for ya.” He then looked to Jace and extended the invitation, “Both of you.”

            “Ohhh, no,” Jace denied. “You’re not strapping me with one of those death machines you carry on your backs!”

            The two Shadowhunters and the two Ghostbusters laughed together, all the way back to the Enterprise bridge. Most everyone else was already there – except for Star, Marco, and Captain Sutaka, who were still interrogating Dr. Facilier. The powerless and near-catatonic Shadow Man was taken to the Enterprise’s brig, as soon as he was beamed aboard the starship.

            As the crew and their guests conversed in the bridge, there came an unusual noise over the area that silenced them all. It was a heavy grinding, humming noise that accompanied the materialization of Kara’s Type-Z TARDIS. Kara herself stepped out shortly thereafter, appearing somewhat different than when they last saw her. While she was wearing the same black hoodie and blue jeans, she swapped her purple shirt for a yellow crop-top.

            “Well, look who finally showed back up!” Dipper ridiculed. “Where did you go? We really could’ve used your help!”

            “I am so sorry, everyone,” Kara said. “My TARDIS disappeared just as soon as we dropped out of warp…and so did a very important friend of mine who needed my help more than I realized.”

            “Your friend?” T’Eve queried. “The Doctor?”

            “An even more important friend,” Kara clarified. Just past her, through the opened entrance of her TARDIS, part of the head of an African-American child peeked out to see the audience of characters who Kara was addressing. Among them, he noticed two men who looked very familiar to him: Nyoto Uhura and Sean Spengler.

            Raimundo glanced more closely at Kara, recognizing her. “Hey, wait a second. Aren’t you that woman we met during one of our busts?”

            “Hey, you’re right,” Wilson also recognized. “When we busted Killerwatt.”

            “Yep,” Kara proudly acknowledged with her hands on her hips. “That’s me.”

            “So…you’re some kind of dimension-hopping entity as well?” Yvonne asked.

            Kara shrugged. “Something like that, yeah.”

            “Any chance you can give us a lift back to our dimension?” Patricia asked.

            “I was hoping you’d ask,” Kara waved them on.

            After bidding farewell to the friends (once enemies) they made on their unexpected interdimensional journey, the other Busters stepped into Kara’s TARDIS while carrying the Ghost Trap that still contained the Sanderson sisters – soon to be disposed within the Busters’ own Containment Unit. Right before Kara dematerialized it back to the Infinite DC, she was approached by her companion and adopted brother, Craig Williams.

            “I saw two guys out there,” he told her. “They looked a lot like…”

            “I know, Craig,” Kara smirked and winked. “I know.”

--------------------------

            A few minutes after Kara and the other Busters departed, Captain Sutaka returned to the bridge with Marco and a very shaken Star Butterfly. Zack was the first to address them just as they arrived: “What did you guys find out from Dr. Facilier? Did he even talk?”

            “Oh, he talked,” Marco replied, sounding spooked.

            “Then what’s the damage?” Melissa asked.

            “Yeah, who or what are we dealing with here?” Milo followed up.

            Sutaka looked on Star disconcertedly, seeing how disturbed the Mewni princess was. “You can tell them whenever you’re ready, kiddo,” she comforted her. “The floor’s all yours.” She then took her place at the captain’s chair.

            “Tell us what exactly?” Scrooge asked.

            “Yeah, what’s going on here?” Donald asked.

            “Are we still in danger?” Mickey asked.

            Eventually, everyone in the bridge pressed with questions that only overwhelmed Star. Thankfully, Marco was there to shout over the congregation, “Hey! Everybody calm down and just let Star explain, once she’s had a moment!”

            He then placed a comforting hand on Star’s shoulder and whispered, “You got this.”

            Star smiled at him in esteemed appreciation.

            Taking a deep breath, she moved towards the bridge’s viewscreen and addressed everyone: “I haven’t exactly been totally honest with some of you. There’s a reason why we’ve been gathering you all together – Ash, the Ghostbusters, the Men In Black, and even the crew of the Enterprise. Facilier has pretty much confirmed what I suspected all along: some of the worst entities of the multiverse are being gathered for an interdimensional invasion that will begin here.”

            She pointed to the view of Earth behind her.

            “The worst entities?” Agent Ess remarked.

            “Like who?” J.G. asked.

            “Some of them you’ve never heard about before, some of them you may have,” Star continued. “All we know is that they go by one name: the Hierarchy.”

            “And you’ll never guess who their leader once was,” Marco said while drawing an image out on a notepad, showing it to everyone afterwards.

            A few eyes – specifically those of the Pines family – enlarged upon seeing it.

            “No way!” Dipper exclaimed.

            “Oh, you gotta be kiddin’ me!” Stan yelled.

            “It makes so much sense!” Ford shouted.

            “Is that…?” Mabel began to ask.

            Sure enough, Marco’s illustration was that of the triangular interdimensional demon, Bill Cipher.

            “So, he’s their goal?” Agent Em queried. “Bring him back from the dead?”

            “We’re not sure yet,” Star said. “We still need more time – whatever time we can get before the invasion begins.”

            “Well, whatever they’re plannin’, we’ll be ready for it!” Ash proclaimed, holding her shotgun up high. “I swear on my boomstick that this ‘Higher Archy’ or whatever they call themselves ain’t touchin’ foot on our planet!”

            “Right on!” Natalie cried with her fist raised.

            “Couldn’t have said it better!” Agent Ess joined in.

            “Aye, aye!” the Enterprise crew concurred.

            Marco smiled in watching the forces of Star come together for the cause. “You’ve done it, Star,” he said in great confidence. “With these guys, the Hierarchy doesn’t stand a chance!”

            Although Marco’s conviction was welcomed, Star remained deeply troubled.

-----------------------

            Represented as a crescent moon in the sky of Montressor, the artificial space station known to its locals as “Crescentia” was not only where starships ported but also where the shadiest meetings were held, either in the alleys or cantinas. King Andrias Leviathan, monarch of Amphibia, arrived there via Calamity Box – one of many within the multiverse – to meet with the other members of the Hierarchy at a Crescentia cantina: Toffee, Long John Silver, and a Romulan by the name of Nero.

            “You’re late,” Toffee reprimanded Andrias.

            “My apologies,” Andrias said. “There’s a situation on my planet that required my attention. Apparently, there’s a rebellion that—”

            “What happens on your world is no concern of ours, Andrias,” Toffee interjected.

            “We got more pressing matters,” Silver stated. “Facilier ratted us out!”

            “To whom?” Andrias asked.

            “Who do you think?” Toffee snapped. “Star Butterfly’s gathered her forces – and as pathetic as they are, they will undoubtedly stand in our way…and we cannot have that.”

            King Andrias looked to Nero, who merely sat in silence along one corner of the cantina. “I’m sorry, but…does he ever say anything?” the Amphibian monarch asked of the Romulan.

            “Focus, Andrias,” Toffee coolly instructed. “We need countermeasures.”

            “This was all so much easier when we had Cipher leading us,” Andrias groaned.

            “You don’t need Cipher – not as long as you have us,” a voice spoke from the shadows. Stepping out from them was a bearded, thinly-mustachioed anthropomorphic gray wolf of a gigantic, slender, strong and heavy build in a hooded blue and purple robe with fancy orange patterns, a green talisman hanging down from his neck, and a red sash tied around his waist. A blue cape with a maroon interior flowed behind him, while his primrose slippers stepped upon the floorboards that creaked under his bulbous weight.

            “And by ‘us,’ dear Merlock, you speak on behalf of the Twilight Phantom?” Toffee gathered. “Why do they never show themselves at these wonderful meetings of ours?”

            “Because they are waiting to pounce on a much greater quarry: the Gladiator of Gallifrey,” Merlock replied. “One of their incarnations was there with Princess Butterfly, and as long as the Gladiator is involved, we do not stand a chance!”

            “Like I was saying: we need countermeasures,” Toffee reiterated.

            “Then let us deliberate on them, shall we?” Merlock insisted.

            Unbeknownst to the Hierarchy delegates, their secret meeting was being snooped on by three individuals: Royal Magician Donald Duck and Captain Goofy, who accompanied the Keyblade wielder, Sora. Through the cantina’s skylight, they watched the delegates deliberate.

            “Gwarsh!” Goofy uttered. “Merlock’s there with them!”

            “We gotta tell Captain Jace!” Donald suggested.

            Sora nodded in agreement. “The invasion’s starting soon. We don’t have much time left!” On this, he and his two friends scuttled to their Gummi Ship, which they had landed there on the cantina rooftop. They rocketed away from Crescentia and into the cosmos, warping to the other side of the galaxy…

            …unaware of the pair of red eyes that watched them from unknown regions.