Back at the firehouse, everyone came back together as planned to compare notes. Slimer floated around between them, hoping to get some attention from somebody.

'...so then we took Pagan back home and came straight here,' Kylie said.

'Fascinating,' said Egon. 'Clearly this mummy has been awakened from the dead somehow, and Carter Howard is involved. Either they are working together or the mummy has enslaved him in some way.'

'But why would they want to visit a veterinarian?' said Roland.

'Maybe to get some flea powder,' said Garrett. 'Those gnarly old bandages could be infested!'

'It must have something to do with this eternal life deal that the mummy's looking for,' said Kylie. 'His plaque at the museum says that he vowed to return from the dead and live forever, and I bet that's just what he's trying to do.'

'I thought maybe he wanted to get the veterinarian to sew his organs back in or something,' said Eduardo.

'Yes, that's certainly a possibility,' said Egon. 'Clearly there's more to be discovered at this vet surgery – you two only skimmed the surface.'

'Hey, we had to get Pagan out of there!' said Kylie.

'I didn't intend to criticise,' Egon told her. 'You've done well.'

'So, just hold up a minute,' said Garrett. 'This mummy from prehistoric Egypt knows how to work a computer, does he?'

'Carter Howard knows how to work a computer,' said Egon.

'Oh yeah, and they're working together,' said Garrett.

'Maybe the dude's possessed by the mummy, man,' said Eduardo.

'That's certainly possible,' said Egon. 'In that case, the mummy would have access to certain knowledge and experiences in Howard's brain.'

'Just like when I was possessed by Achira,' said Kylie, earning herself a strange look from Eduardo.

'So... if the mummy's in the guy's body, what happened to the mummy body that went missing from the museum?' asked Garrett.

'It could have followed the essence inside the host body,' said Roland. 'Sometimes the mind and body are so inextricably linked that one follows the other wherever it goes, even in cases of demonic possession. I read a case in Tobin's Spirit Guide where –'

'All right, let's leave this subject for now,' Egon broke in. 'This is all speculation and it's not really helping us with the case. Roland, why don't you tell us what you found out about the mummy's history?'

'And the daddy's history?' Slimer suggested hopefully, annoyed that no one was taking any notice of him.

'Yes, thank you, Slimer,' Egon said patiently. 'We only want to know about the mummy for now.'

'We managed to run up a full history,' Roland reported. 'The mummified remains of King Amanhotep the Third were dug up in the Valley of the Kings in nineteen twenty-six. They spent the next seventy years lying in a storage vault under a museum in Cairo.'

'Cairo...' said Eduardo. 'That's in Egypt.'

'Exactly right, Eduardo,' said Roland. 'A couple of years ago there was a lot of renewed interest in Amanhotep amongst the world's leading Egyptologists, and several museums around the globe put in bids to buy the mummy.'

'I guess New York won,' said Kylie.

'Or maybe we lost,' said Eduardo.

'But if Amanhotep was in Cairo for seventy years, why didn't he escape from his coffin and go after eternal life in Egypt?' asked Kylie.

'We wondered the same thing,' said Garrett, 'so we asked the museum curator what state the sarcophagus was in when it arrived.'

'What did he say,' said Eduardo, 'New York?'

'No, I don't think he really has a sense of humour,' said Garrett. 'But he told us there was a seal on the side of the coffin that got broken off while the mummy was being transported from the docks to the museum, so we thought maybe it had been keeping him inside.'

'What was it made of?' asked Eduardo.

'Just beeswax, but it wasn't the material that was keeping him in,' said Roland. 'Apparently there was a symbol on the seal – we thought it might've been that.'

'Yes,' said Kylie, 'another example of imprisonment symbols or incantations acting in conjunction with a confining structure.'

'It's very possible,' Egon nodded, crossing over to his computer desk. 'Did the curator describe the symbol on the seal to you, or show you a picture of it?'

'Yeah, he showed us a photograph of the coffin when it was about to be shipped from Cairo,' said Garrett. 'The symbol was like a kind of tower, with different levels...'

'Did it look anything like this, by any chance?' Egon asked, showing a computer printout to Roland and Garrett.

'I dunno, kinda,' said Garrett.

'Yes, it did,' said Roland decisively. 'That's the exact symbol, Egon. What is it?'

'It's called Djed,' said Egon. 'I came across it during my research. It symbolises the order and harmony that's achieved when life runs into death, like it's supposed to. It's sometimes known as the Spine of Osiris.'

'Osiris,' said Kylie. 'He's the Egyptian God of the Dead, right?'

'Right,' said Egon. 'You could say that Djed is the opposite of Ankh, which – as I'm sure you remember – represents eternal life and therefore goes against what most would think of as the natural order of life and death... at least when someone's trying to use it to achieve eternal life in this world, at any rate. Amanhotep's priests knew what they were doing when they sealed him in that coffin – Djed kept him dead, but without it...'

'He found a way to Ankh-er himself back to the living world, huh?' said Garrett.

'Ankh-er,' Eduardo tutted. 'That's terrible, man.'

'Oh, and I suppose you've got a better one?' Garrett scowled.

'Sure I have,' said Eduardo. 'I, er... I'll let you know when I think of it.'

'Egon, did you find out anything else about Amanhotep?' asked Kylie.

'Nothing we didn't already know,' said Egon. 'The plaque says it all, really. Clearly he's trying to achieve his goal of eternal life, and clearly we need to stop him.'

'So what's our next step?' asked Garrett. 'I hate to bring the real world into the conversation, but I'm supposed to be in a lecture in twenty minutes. I'd much rather be kicking mummy butt, but I'll get flunked if I don't show.'

'I'm supposed to be in class right now,' said Eduardo, 'and I've probably been flunked already.'

'I'd like to go home and check on Pagan,' said Kylie. 'He's probably waking up about now and I want to make sure he's okay and give him something light to eat.'

'You three should go and do those things,' said Egon. 'In the meantime, I'll go back to the museum and then pay a visit to this veterinary surgery of yours, Kylie. Roland, are you free to come with me?'

'Sure ,' said Roland.

'We'll report back later this afternoon and try to come up with a plan of action,' said Egon. 'Everyone okay to be back here at five?'

'Sure thing,' said Garrett.

'Fine,' said Kylie.

'I'll have to duck out of a seminar early, but I'll be here,' said Eduardo. 'Oh, hey, I know! Amanhotep woke up in New York and he was all like, "Hey, I ain't gonna hang around being dead anymore, Ankh you very much"!'

'Garrett's was better,' said Roland.

'Much better,' said Kylie.

'I have to concur,' said Egon.

'Bad joke, Eduardo,' Slimer added.

'Okay, okay,' Eduardo mumbled. 'But I swear I'll think of a better one before this is all over!'

Kylie watched anxiously as Pagan inspected the dish of leftover chicken that she had just placed in front of him. He sniffed all around it before taking a tentative bite. He then looked up at Kylie with large, reproachful eyes.

'I know it's not very exciting, but you're only supposed to have something light while you're still shaking off the sedative,' Kylie said apologetically. 'Come on, eat it up, then I'll give you your dry food back.'

Pagan had for some seconds been eyeing the red dish of dry food that Kylie had placed on top of the refrigerator. He was clearly considering trying to scale the fridge, but as there was no easy way for him to reach the top, he decided to return his attention to the chicken.

'That's right,' Kylie said encouragingly. 'You're not getting anything else until you've had at least three quarters of that!'

At that moment there came an urgent rapping on the front door of the apartment. Pagan looked towards it and hissed, his ears well back, which came as something of a surprise to Kylie as she had never seen him react this way to a visitor before. Cautiously, she went to the front door and slid the security chain into place, before easing it open ever so slightly.

'Yes?' she said guardedly.

'Hello,' said the average-looking man who was standing on the other side. 'My name is Carter Howard. You and I share a veterinarian, I believe.'

'Yes, I think we do,' said Kylie. 'What do you want?'

'Come now, Kylie,' the visitor chuckled, 'let's not be coy with each other. I think you ought to let me in, don't you?'

'No,' Kylie replied firmly, 'I don't!'

She tried to slam the door in his face, but she suddenly found herself hurtling backwards as the security chain snapped in half and the door flew open. Amanhotep stepped casually into Kylie's apartment, closing the door behind him as he came.

'Well then, perhaps you don't,' the mummy said calmly. 'Perhaps you have no idea who or what I am!'

'Sure I do,' said Kylie, righting herself as quickly as she could. 'You're King Amanhotep the Third and you've borrowed the body of museum worker Carter Howard.'

'I haven't borrowed it!' Amanhotep declared. 'I'm going to live in it forever!'

'We'll see about that,' said Kylie. 'Anyway, I do know who and what you are but I don't know what you're doing here!'

'I've come for my cat, of course,' Amanhotep told her.

'You mean Pagan?' Kylie said shrilly, unable to conceal her alarm.

'I mean Isis,' Amanhotep corrected.

'The only cat in this apartment is Pagan,' Kylie said firmly. 'My Pagan!'

'There is no Pagan,' Amanhotep grinned nastily, 'only Isis!'

'Is that what you were doing at the vet's?' said Kylie, as the penny dropped. 'You were putting your cat inside mine, so that he can have a living body like the one you've stolen for yourself?'

'Not just a living body,' said Amanhotep. 'An eternal body, thanks to my own particular skills.'

He caressed the Ankh sceptre in his hand. Kylie's glance moved quickly from this to the kitchen, where there was no longer any sign of Pagan.

'I must congratulate you on looking after your cat so well, Kylie,' Amanhotep continued. 'He is in perfect physical condition – the ideal host for mine! Now, if you're sensible and give him to me straightaway then I'll show a little class and leave quietly. But if you're foolish, and you don't...'

Kylie dived for the telephone, but Amanhotep was too quick for her. He shot out his hand and Kylie found her wrist constrained by a trail of mouldy bandage.

'I don't think so,' said Amanhotep. 'We don't want you getting any help from your Ghostbuster friends, do we? Where is the cat, Kylie?'

'He... he... he's not in the bathroom!' Kylie blurted out desperately. 'I know for sure he's not in there!'

Somewhat to her surprise, Kylie's frantic ploy worked. She felt the grip on her wrist slacken as Amanhotep turned towards the open door of the bathroom. Quick as lightning, she snatched up the telephone receiver by her bed and dialled the first number that came into her mind.

'NO!' Amanhotep roared, shaking all the glass in the windows of the apartment. 'Clearly you are not nearly so sensible as I had supposed!'

Kylie cried out in alarm as she was pulled off her feet and went crashing to the floor. She looked down to see that her ankles were encased in sinuous bandages, which were rapidly snaking their way up her legs. She became aware that Amanhotep was now looming over her. She instinctively shielded her face as his hands – claw-like now – reached out, but instead of attacking Kylie herself the mummy wrenched the telephone from the wall socket and sent it flying across the room.

'You've only got yourself to blame!' the mummy declared. 'We could have settled this relatively amicably, but now... now you've awoken a terrible hunger inside me... and it must be sated!'

Kylie cried out in frustration and alarm as she clawed at the bandages that were rapidly enveloping her, but to no avail. She felt them encircling her legs and pulling themselves taut, before they snaked all around her lower body and started to reach up her back.

'You... you... you won't...' Kylie panted, struggling to find the energy to keep fighting the bandages. 'You'll never... argh!'

She suddenly found herself struggling for breath as the bandages tautened themselves around the lower portion of her ribcage. Just as she was starting to feel that she really was about to be suffocated, the bandages came to an abrupt halt just below her chest. With a pass of Amanhotep's hand, the bandages that bound her ankles suddenly raised themselves up into the air. Kylie screamed as she was dragged with them, finally finding herself hanging upside-down just in front of Amanhotep's grinning face.

'Well now,' he whispered, 'isn't this a delightful situation? I can't help but wonder exactly where it's going to lead...'

Eduardo listened in alarm to the sounds of disarray that were coming out of the earpiece of his cell phone. When the line abruptly went dead, he removed the device from his ear and read the caller display on the screen: KYLIE – Home.

'I have to be excused!' Eduardo declared, rising quickly to his feet. 'Right now!'

'But I'm in the middle of my lecture!' the irate university professor at the front of the auditorium objected.

'Sorry, man, but I have to go!' Eduardo insisted. 'It's an emergency... at least, it could be an emergency... and I need to find out, right now!'

'Mr Rivera, you can't afford to miss any more time on this course!' the lecturer insisted.

'No,' Eduardo called back as he fled from the room, 'I can't afford not to!'

'Egon!' Eduardo cried shrilly, as he burst into the firehouse. 'Egon, are you here?'

'Yes, I'm here,' Egon replied, peering around the open hood of the Ecto-1. 'Is something wrong?'

'Something's definitely wrong, man!' Eduardo panted, leaning against the car for support. 'I mean, it could be... maybe. We need to get to Kylie's place right now! Is Roland here? Can he take me in his car?'

'I left Roland at the museum,' said Egon, 'but we can go in the Ecto-1 – I've just finished replacing a faulty gasket. What's going on?'

'I don't know, man,' said Eduardo, 'but Kylie called me and I heard panting and running and crashing and I think maybe screaming, and we need to get to her place right now!'

'Hmm, it appears we do,' Egon agreed. 'Could this have something to do with the vet? I wonder...'

'Come on, man, let's go!' Eduardo shrilled.

'Eduardo, you're panicking,' said Egon. 'That's not going to help Kylie, whatever's going on. Pull yourself together and grab two proton packs from the locker. I have a trap here, and I think I'll also bring the Djed sceptre I acquired from the museum – it may prove useful.'

Eduardo did as he was told. He opened one of the back doors of the Ecto-1 to put the proton packs inside, but jumped back in alarm at the sight that met his eyes.

'Why is there a mummy on the backseat of the Ecto, man?' he squeaked.

'What? Oh, that,' said Egon. 'It's the veterinarian. At least, I feel fairly safe in assuming it to be him.'

'Dr Poole? But... but...'

'I found him like that at his surgery,' said Egon, tossing the trap onto the vet's mummified chest and then jumping into the driving seat. 'Come on, throw in those packs and we'll be on our way.'

Again, Eduardo automatically followed Egon's instructions. Taking one last look at the mummified form under the ghostbusting equipment, Eduardo slammed the back door and hopped into the passenger seat.

'That... that's the vet?' Eduardo boggled. 'But I... I don't...'

'Neither do I,' said Egon, 'but I've a feeling we soon will.'

With that, Egon switched on the Ecto-1's lights and sirens and sent the vehicle accelerating out of the firehouse at breakneck speed.

Meanwhile, Kylie was still hanging upside-down in the middle of the room, all but completely mummified. Only her mouth and eyes were visible between the bandages.

'Where is he?' Amanhotep yelled. 'Where is my cat?'

'I... I'll never help you!' Kylie shouted back at him. 'You'll never get me to... argh, no!'

Amanhotep had raised his right hand and was now drawing his fingers towards the palm. The bandages around Kylie's chest mirrored this movement, squeezing her ribcage and lungs to an almost unbearable degree.

'You will help me, or you will die,' Amanhotep stated. 'Or, you will help me and then you will die. It depends how I feel after you've helped me... so help me NOW!'

As far as she was able, Kylie shook her head. Amanhotep sneered and clenched his fingers together, eliciting an agonised scream from Kylie. Then the front door rattled on its hinges as Eduardo and Egon entered the room, wielding proton packs and a Djed sceptre.

'Let her go!' Eduardo yelled.

'I don't think so,' Amanhotep chuckled. 'No!'

'I'm not gonna tell you twice, man!'

Eduardo shot a full power proton stream at Amanhotep, who immediately started snarling and writhing. Kylie fell to the floor, still mummified and motionless. Eduardo immediately cut off his proton stream and ran into the kitchenette, from where he quickly picked up the largest, sharpest knife he could find.

He returned to the living room area to find Egon holding Amanhotep in another proton stream, and Kylie still collapsed on the floor. Dashing over to her, Eduardo carefully but quickly forced the knife in between a gap in the bandages around Kylie's chest. He dragged it downwards in a sweeping motion, cutting a long slit from her chest to her waist. Immediately she began to draw in massive lungfuls of air, panting and gasping for dear life.

'Eduardo,' she gasped. 'I...'

'Don't try to talk,' said Eduardo. 'Get your breath back first.'

'Eduardo, I could do with a second stream on him,' Egon called across the room. 'I think he's about to –'

But there was no need for Egon to finish the sentence as Amanhotep managed to manoeuvre his Ankh sceptre into the proton stream, diverting it away from himself. Egon staggered backwards and cut off the stream, whereupon Eduardo fired at the mummy once again. This time, however, he found his stream deflecting off the Ankh sceptre at once.

'Pitiful fools!' Amanhotep sneered. 'You can't destroy me – no one can! They tried, didn't they? You know they did. Yet here I am, and here I always shall be!'

'Eduardo, we both fire together!' Egon ordered.

'No, wait!' said Eduardo, thrusting his proton pack at Kylie. 'Fire the beams through the Djed sceptre!'

He leapt to retrieve the sceptre from where Egon had dropped it. He held it up above his head, and nodded to Egon.

'I'm sure this'll work!' he insisted, as Amanhotep's deadly bandages began to snake their way around his legs. 'If Ankh is protecting him and Djed is the opposite, and it kept him dead all those centuries, it'll work just like the Sceptre of Donar!'

'If you're sure you want to risk –' said Egon.

'Do it, man!' Eduardo interrupted.

Egon fired a proton stream at the Djed sceptre; Eduardo immediately directed it onto Amanhotep. A second proton stream joined it, as Kylie fired the gun that Eduardo had given her.

'No!' Amanhotep screamed. 'You cannot do this! I won't let you!'

He attempted to raise his Ankh sceptre once again, but a small furry blur suddenly appeared as if from nowhere and knocked it out of his hand.

'Pagan!' Kylie exclaimed.

'He'll get caught in the proton streams!' said Eduardo. 'Quick, shut them off!'

'No, it's okay!' said Kylie. 'He's got Amanhotep's cat inside him – we want him in the proton streams!'

Egon nodded, and increased his stream to full power. Without the symbol of Ankh to protect them, Amanhotep and his cat were quickly forced from the bodies of Carter Howard and Pagan, which both dropped to the floor. Naturally, Pagan landed on his feet and immediately began to wash himself in a very casual manner. Carter Howard, meanwhile, landed flat on his face in a very uncomfortable, sprawling position and decided to stay like that until the warzone around him showed signs of dying down.

'Did you bring a trap?' said Kylie.

'I've got it,' said Egon. 'Can you hold them?'

Kylie nodded, and Egon shut off his stream. He reached behind him and unclipped the trap from his belt, before opening it and throwing it into the centre of the room. Kylie and Eduardo both adjusted their positions slightly, and the flailing spirits of the pharaoh and his cat were sucked into the ghost trap, which immediately clanged shut. The two mummified bodies that had previously held them dropped from the air.

'I suppose the museum will want those back,' Egon remarked, 'along with the two sceptres.'

'I guess Amanhotep and Isis will get to live together forever after all,' said Kylie, picking up the trap. 'In the containment dimension!'

'Best place for them,' said Eduardo.

'Eduardo, I...' said Kylie, coming over to him but avoiding his gaze. 'I don't know how I can ever... thanks.'

'Are your hands okay?' asked Egon.

'They've been worse,' said Eduardo, placing a reassuring hand on Kylie's shoulder.

'We'd better get you checked out at the hospital, just to be safe,' said Egon. 'The same goes for you, Kylie. And you, Mr Howard.'

The museum worker had now dragged himself to his feet, and was staring around the room in complete bewilderment.

'What the heck is going on here?' he said helplessly. 'Argh, it's the mummy! Look out – it's alive!'

'No, it's not,' said Kylie. 'Not anymore.'

'You've been possessed, Mr Howard,' said Egon. 'I'll explain it all to you in the car.'

'Gee, thanks,' said the museum worker.

'Pagan, that was brave of you to leap in and save the day like that,' said Kylie, reaching down to stroke her pet. 'I guess Isis didn't have total control of your mind, like Amanhotep thought. You weren't even acting possessed when you woke up from your sedative, were you? I guess maybe it would've taken a bit more time for your mind to be taken over.'

'Either that, or he was just acting like a cat,' said Egon. 'I can imagine that a cat possessed by another cat might well do that.'

'No,' said Kylie, 'Pagan knew exactly what he was doing the whole time.'

'That's more than I did,' said Eduardo.

Kylie gave him a small smile. 'You did even better than Pagan,' she told him.

Eduardo helped Kylie to climb into the backseat of the Ecto-1, where she sat beside Carter Howard and the recently liberated veterinarian, both of whom were in a state of shock.

'A mummy in my surgery...' the vet was muttering. 'Of all the terrible things that can happen to a veterinarian... oh Kylie, you won't sue me for giving the mummy your address, will you?'

'Don't worry, Dr Poole,' said Kylie, 'I'm not going to sue you. Ooh, my ribs!'

'The Ecto-1's so full of invalids that people might mistake it for an ambulance,' said Eduardo, as he climbed into the front seat.

'That would be most unfortunate,' said Egon, putting down the radio into which he had just been speaking. 'The hospital is expecting us. We'll also be able to fill in and reassure the second museum worker, who came out of his coma about an hour ago.'

'Oh, that's excellent news,' said Kylie. 'Everyone's okay in the end... well, alive anyway.'

'Yeah,' said Eduardo. 'That Amanhotep dude thought he was gonna come back to life and take over people's bodies and kill people and goodness knows what else, but with the Ghostbusters around, he should never've Ankh-ed on it. Is that it? Is that the one, huh?'

'I think we'll have to let Garrett be the judge of that when we meet up with him and Roland at the hospital,' said Egon.

'I disagree,' said Kylie. 'Eduardo's come out on top in my book.'