Our destination, Madame Megumi, was at the library, specifically, the basement. Xiomara, Hongo, and I had landed on each other. As we got off of each other, we heard voices. “This is hot, Ray,” called a voice, Egon’s voice, to be exact.
“They’re here?” asked Xiomara.
“Time to catch up with friends,” I declared.
“I don’t understand you, sometimes,” muttered Peter’s voice. “Why do you keep ghost snot?” We turned to bump into the Ghostbusters, sans Winston.
“Bonjour,” I greeted.
“Emmanuel! Hongo! Xiomara!” cheered Ray. “Good to see you! We got a call here that one of the ghosts that escaped is back here.”
“It WOULD happen after Winston took some time off to see family,” griped Peter.
“Listen!” whispered Ray. We stayed silent. “Do you smell that?” Hongo tried to puzzle that out, then gave up. We went through the maze of bookshelves to see the library ghost again! She was talking to Heather. “Two ghosts!” called Ray as he snapped pictures.
“Stop that!” snapped Peter as he smacked the camera down. The library ghost heard us and put a finger to her lips.
“All right, let’s see you boys in action!” whispered Xiomara. She then noticed something. “Er, where are your packs?”
“The Head Librarian was against having our packs here,” replied Egon.
“So, you went to a job unprepared?!” I hissed.
“So, what do we do?” asked Peter.
“Okay, I have a plan,” declared Ray. “I know exactly what to do.” We huddled and heard his plan. They DID have a trap but needed our help. When the plan was outlined, we got into position, ready to transform.
“Rider…” whispered Hongo. We WERE in a library.
“Henshin!” we all whispered. As we changed, we were shushed again.
“Okay! 1! 2! 3! GET THEM!” shouted Ray. The Librarian went scary again as we charged at Heather and her. Seeker and I swapped i.d tags for the Ghost one
“Ghost Steel!” announced our belts.
“KAIGAN! ORE! Let’s go! Kakugo! Go, go, go, GHOST! Go! Go! Go! Go!” called the Ghost Driver’s voice as the wardrobes changed us. The Librarian tried to phase through me, not a chance. I managed to grapple her and spin her around, flinging her into the bookshelves. She then regained control for a moment until Heather was thrown into her by Seeker. They squabbled for a sec until Heather noticed something and fled. The Librarian, on the other hand, was caught in the trap under her and sucked in. The trap shut and we all gathered around.
“The first seen in the box!” cheered Ray.
“Ready to go!” continued Egon.
“We be fast,” Seeker went on.
“AND SHE BE SLOW!” we all said. We then heard a scream. It was the Head Librarian. He looked at the mess we made. Peter then opened his mouth.
“Now, there WAS a second ghost,” he said. “So, until we get her, the bill will…”
“WHAT BILL?!” roared the Head Librarian as he grabbed an axe. “YOU IDIOTS TRASHED STORAGE!! I’M NOT PAYING A SINGLE CENT! YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?!”
“Yes, it means goodbye!” yelped Egon. We all ran out of the library, screaming!
“It’s on us, then!” called Peter as we went out the door and into Ecto-1. Ray turned the ignition on and we sped back to the firehouse.
“I am positive you broke several speed limits,” I panted as we got out.
“Would YOU like to return to a crazed Librarian?” asked Seeker as she cancelled her transformation. Ichigō and I followed suit.
“Hey, guys, what’s all the racket?!” burbled a voice as Sludgiona came up from the basement. She clapped eyes on us. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Emmanuel, Hongo, and Xiomara.”
“Hola!” called Xiomara. “How are things?”
“Doing all right, given the circumstances,” replied Sludgiona. She then turned to her current landlords. “Egon, I think I may have something.”
“On my way,” answered Egon as he took the trap. As they descended, Peter pulled Xiomara, Hongo, and I aside.
“Okay, what are you doing here?” he asked.
“We’re trying to stop a girl from coming back to life via destructive means,” replied Xiomara. “The necessary part for her is in this universe. Have you seen a quarter-circle around here?”
“Not in a while,” answered Ray.
“Sorry,” supplied Peter.
“Oh well,” I sighed. “Maybe Egon and Sludgiona saw it.”
“We’ll see ourselves down,” assured Xiomara. We headed down to see Sludgiona and Egon working on something.
“How about Coordinates 29 by 13 by 7?” asked Egon.
“Checking,” reported Sludgiona. She ran the data through and they waited for results. The screen flashed red. It read that the universal bio-print didn’t confirm with the one she was looking for. “DAMN IT!” swore Sludgiona. “The dimensional timeline…!”
“Looked similar,” interjected Egon, “but that’s most likely because it’s a parallel universe. It’s not one your people would inhabit. I think you would prefer to be with your people and not in a similar world.”
“It’s getting so that I may have to settle for that!” burbled Sludgiona. “Vortech traveled the multiverse to find Foundation Prime, most likely passing the one my people currently live in, yet, even with the blueprints I stole from him before I was enslaved, we can’t seem to find it!”
“We HAVE sent probes into other universes to collect even more possibilities,” called Hongo as he announced our presence. “We’re creating quite the map of the multiverse.”
“I’m only interested in ONE point on that map, and that’s where the Tarlaxians moved to,” hissed Sludgiona as she recovered from her startled state. “What brings you down here?”
“We need to ask you to help us find an Apocalypse Driver part,” answered Xiomara.
“Doesn’t Death’s student possess the complete Apocalypse Driver?” asked Sludgiona.
“The Four Horsemen made back-up parts in case one was damaged,” I explained. “Now, we have someone gathering the parts to resurrect herself.”
“And bringing doom onto the multiverse!” gulped Sludgiona.
“So, you know the implications,” I observed.
“Of course,” burbled Sludgiona. “I helped build the original parts. I’m willing to help in any way I can.”
“Très Bon,” I replied. “In the meantime, we need to navigate your universe. Dr. Spengler, do you think your team is willing to accept a few temps in terms of using the packs?”
“You mean practical Ghostbusting?” asked Egon. “We could use the help, since Winston is visiting family.”
“What’s this about temps?” asked Peter’s voice. He came down with Ray.
“Emmanuel and his team are requesting temporary jobs,” answered Egon. “I vote yes.”
“Well, we need the help,” replied Ray.
“Good, you three are hired,” called Peter. “There’re spare uniforms up top. They may be a little snug. Hope you can carry the packs.”
“We’ll manage,” assured Xiomara. We headed upstairs and got ourselves changed. You know me, I HATE pants. They are, how you say, restrictive as all get out! Still, I get to wear the Ghostbusters’ uniform! Any fan would LOVE to get into one of them! When we stepped out, we headed over to the spare packs. We tested them out, they were rather heavy. Still, we could manage, as Xiomara guessed. While we examined each other, Janine got a call.
“Hello, Ghostbusters,” she began. “…Yes, of course, they’re serious. …You again?! …Him again?! …Okay, just refresh my memory on the address. …Uh huh. …Yes, they’ll be discreet this time. …Okay, no problem. Goodbye.” She hung up. “SLIMER’S HAUNTING THE SEDGEWICK HOTEL AGAIN!” she shouted as she rang the alarm.
“Again?” protested Peter as we got into Ecto-1.
“Maybe he died there,” I suggested.
“He could have been a chef that died of a heart attack,” theorized Egon.
“Or a patron that clogged his arteries,” remarked Ray.
“Can we save the speculation until we get the spud again?” asked Peter. We arrived at the hotel and were met by the manager.
“Well, doing business with you again, this is great!” cheered Ray.
“I wish I could say the same,” hissed the manager. “I just hope we can take care of this quietly!”
“Yes, sir. Don’t worry, we handle this kind of thing all the time!” assured Ray. Slimer then knocked the manager over as our bosses fired their packs. We got them to stop soon enough.
“What the hell are you doing?!” asked a cleaning lady.
“Nous sommes désolés!” (We’re sorry) I called. “We thought you were a ghost.”
“You know,” remarked Ray, “it’s just occurred to me. We REALLY haven’t had a completely successful test of the temps’ equipment.”
“Oh, I see!” I snapped. “Give the new guys the potentially volatile equipment!” Slimer then shook his butt at us and went through the door. At that point, more ghosts blocked our path. We threw our streams at the ghosts and ensnared them quickly. Ray then threw the trap and I was given the honor of opening it. The ghosts were sucked in and we tried the door. It was locked.
“Only one option,” remarked Peter. He then used his stream to cut a hole in the door!
“Peter!” protested Egon.
“We need to get the spud quickly!” argued Peter. We went inside to find a clean ballroom. “Split up!” whispered Peter. We all headed in a separate direction. Egon and I were in the kitchen. Xiomara investigated the ballroom with Peter. Hongo and Ray started their search at the bar. After a few minutes, Egon and I heard the streams being thrown. Slimer then flew through a wall and hovered over the stove.
“Slimer, you KNOW the Sedgewick Hotel is off limits!” called Egon. “Come on, back to the Firehouse.” Slimer made various spluttering noises and shook his head a lot. “Slimer! Home! Now!” demanded Egon. I pulled out the walkie-talkie.
“Who shot at Slimer first?” I asked on an open channel.
“That would be Peter,” replied Xiomara. “We lost sight of him.”
“Egon’s arguing with him right now,” I reported.
“You know,” mused Xiomara, “I never realized how much of an ugly booger he was until I met him.” Slimer glared in my direction.
“I think he just heard that ‘booger’ comment,” I gulped.
“Don’t move,” instructed Xiomara. “He won’t hurt you!”
“No, but he’s gonna slime me!” I yelped as Slimer charged at me. He phased through me and…oh, mon DIEU! I have never felt so filthy! It’s a good thing I wasn’t in my dress. I was dripping in Slimer’s…you know what. Ugh! Egon collected a sample before helping me up.
“I’ve never known Slimer to be this agitated,” he muttered. “I’ll need to study his behavior once we get him back.”
“Does anyone have eyes on Slimer?” I called over the radio.
“He’s back in the ballroom, judging by the PKE meter,” replied Hongo. “We can’t see him.”
“We’ll converge there,” directed Egon. We did so and searched the place. Ray then looked up.
“There he is! On the ceiling!” he called. We saw Slimer flying around a chandelier, making a gooey mess of it.
“And he’s making a table float,” observed Hongo.
“Pardon?” I asked, looking around. Hongo was right, Slimer was making a table float.
“He’s never done THAT before!” yelped Peter.
“Something’s wrong,” muttered Egon. “We need to get him down!” We threw our proton streams at the chandelier, making it fall and making Slimer run while summoning another horde of ghosts. We got them trapped and went around the floating table. Slimer was inhabiting another table and hurling food at us.
“NOW WHAT?!” I shouted, getting frustrated. I then saw Xiomara bringing a cake to him! “What are you, a waitress?!”
“Well, back home, yes,” replied Xiomara. “Besides, Slimer can’t resist the sweet stuff.”
“Good point!” I said, realizing her plan.
“We distract him, then we trap him?” guessed Hongo.
“That’s right!” confirmed Xiomara. “Keep me covered!” We did so as Xiomara successfully delivered the cake. Slimer stopped his assault and started eating.
“All right!” called Peter. “THROW IT!” We did so, but Slimer escaped and started hiding in the covered serving trays. They rotated, but I kept my eye on the one Slimer hid in. I shot it and he fled to the bar, in a blender.
“Okay, I know this is mean to the little guy, but…” I snickered. I then switched the blender on. Slimer came out of the top, throwing it away, and fled into a portrait while the slime he left behind scattered everywhere! As soon as I managed to turn it off, we got covered in slime.
“…Very clever,” hissed Hongo, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
“Sorry!” I sighed. Another ghost horde surrounded the painting. We got rid of them and fried the painting. We then fired on Slimer, who was getting worn out as he fled to a table and possessed it.
“That last shot took something out of him!” called Ray. “But, he’s gonna move! I need some room to put the trap down!” We turned the table into splinters as Slimer slowly moved up. “THROW IT!” shouted Ray. We did so and successfully ensnared Slimer! “All right, start bringing him down! Start bringing him down! You got him! Don’t cross the streams!”
“Hongo, shorten your stream!” directed Xiomara. “I don’t want my face burned off!”
“All right, I’m opening the trap now!” called Ray. “Don’t look directly into the trap!”
“Sorry, I looked at the trap, Ray!” I replied. Slimer was then sucked in and the trap shut itself.
“Well,” panted Ray, “that wasn’t such a bad first job for you guys, was it?” We were catching our breath at the time. We then picked up the trap and headed out.
“We came!” boasted Peter to the manager as he met us. “We saw! We kicked its ass!”
“Was it the same one?!” asked the manager.
“Unfortunately, yes, sir,” replied Ray. “And he brought friends.”
“I thought there was only one!” wailed the manager.
“Well, there wasn’t,” answered Peter. “Now, we took care of them and will still charge you the usual fee of $4,000, since the equipment is no longer new, but…” here comes the price gouging, “we had new guys working with us, so, an extra $1,000 dollars will get them started in future paychecks.”
“$5,000?” asked the manager. “I had no idea you would still use that absurd price. I won’t pay this time!”
“Oh, that’s quite all right,” I replied. “We can just put him back. He seems to love it here.” I made a move to open the trap.
“WAIT!” yelped the manager. He made out a check for $5,000.
“Pleasure doing business with you,” I called as we boarded Ecto-1.
“Well, that was an exciting experience,” chuckled Hongo. “Maybe I should convince Takeru to go into the business.”
“Oh boy,” I shuddered. “Let’s not go there.” We arrived at the firehouse and unloaded the ghosts into the containment unit. Sludgiona was down in the basement, talking with someone on her radio.
“Are you sure about that?” she asked. Emily’s voice came up.
“Of course!” replied Emily. “The bit of stuff you left on Megumi’s dress should be altered enough that it will cure you! You’ll be able to go home!”
“I WOULD like that,” sighed Sludgiona. She then saw us. “Ah, back already, I see. Emily told me you have a cure with you?”
“Oh, almost forgot. Pardon,” I apologized as I headed up to my locker. I took out a vial of Sludgiona’s ooze and headed back down. “Here,” I called as I handed it to her. She opened it and emptied the contents onto herself. She looked herself over.
“I don’t…feel any different,” she muttered. “Do I LOOK any different?”
“…Not particularly,” I replied. “I guess the test is if you can survive the rift energies.”
“That can wait,” declared Sludgiona. “At the moment, I’m expecting a call.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go,” replied Emily. “Hope to see you in person!” The call ended.
“Honestly, she’s a genius in the medical field,” muttered Sludgiona, “but I can’t believe she nearly broke rule 1 in Jurassic World!”
“You can explain why she couldn’t use her belt back there?” asked Xiomara.
“It was the fact she had a Foundation Element on her person!” answered Sludgiona.
“You mean, the Omnitrix?” I asked.
“Exactly!” confirmed Sludgiona. “While Azmuth may not know it, his greatest invention puts out energy that can overload machinery if it is used at all! Thank goodness, I installed various safety features in that regard! If the Vortex Drivers are within the user’s arm length of a Foundation Element and the user uses the Element’s power, the belt will shut down so the Element, a greater source of power, can be used safely.”
“Did you tell her that?” I asked.
“Of course,” replied Sludgiona. “I’m a genius. Now, if you don’t mind, I must wait for a call from Ms. Barrett.”
“Ms. Barrett?” asked Xiomara. “Dana Barrett?”
“The same,” confirmed Sludgiona. “She said she saw a Terror Dog in her fridge again.”
“Er…again?!” I gulped.
“You don’t think it’s Zuul again, do you?” asked Xiomara.
“Impossible,” I muttered. “She was beaten along with Gozer!”
“What ARE you talking about?” asked Sludgiona.
“Zuul the Gatekeeper is a worshipper of Gozer the Destructor,” explained Xiomara. “Since the host was Dana Barrett, it is believed that Zuul is a female. Vinz Clortho, the Keymaster usually accompanies her. Gozer, itself, is a force of destruction, with only one goal, to destroy the world. Last time Gozer was around, it took the form of the Stay Puft Marshmallow man. The Ghostbusters stopped its plans and saved humanity.”
“Wait, you said that this Zuul possessed Dana, right?” asked Sludgiona.
“I did,” replied Xiomara.
“…………DR. VENKMAN!” shouted Sludgiona. The Ghostbusters came rushing down.
“You didn’t tell them?!” I protested.
“Tell us what?!” asked Peter.
“Zuul’s back in Dana’s fridge!” answered Xiomara. “And SOMEONE didn’t research that creature enough!”
“Dana’s in trouble?!” yelped Peter.
“I’m sure we can take care of it tomorrow,” remarked Ray. “It’s probably stress. In the meantime, I gotta get some sleep. I’m dying.”
“True, you don’t look good,” observed Peter.
“I don’t?” asked Ray.
“Well, you looked better,” replied Peter. “I guess you’re right. Dana can fight Zuul off now.”
“She’s developed a resistance to supernatural possession,” revealed Egon.
“Then, in that case, Zuul may be wasting her time,” I sighed in relief. At that point, we heard a voice upstairs.
“…Cease and desist all commerce order! Seizure of premises and chattels! Ban on the use of public utilities for non-licensed waste handlers! And, my favorite, a federal entry and inspection order!” declared the voice.
“Oh no, not again!” wailed Peter.
“Peck?” I guessed.
“…Do you want some, er, coffee?” said Janine. Peck growled and shoved his way downstairs. We then got into a brawl with him and his men as they tried, yet again, to shut down the containment unit.
“Pecker,” I snapped, “I must question your sanity!”
“My name is Peck!” snarled the agent.
“You shut that thing down,” warned Peter, “and we are NOT going to be held responsible for whatever happens!”
“This time, you WILL be held responsible!” argued Peck.
“I sincerely doubt that!” growled Xiomara.
“Shut it off!” ordered Peck.
“Don’t touch!” I shouted as I grabbed a pipe, intending to swing it at the man. “I’m warning you!” Janine and another workman were just having coffee.
“I’ve quit better jobs than this,” sighed Janine.
“I must say,” remarked the workman, “I’ve always wanted to see your operations and I will admit, I’ve never seen anything like this before.” He leaned on a lever, the shutdown lever! The ghosts came out again!
“Not again!” wailed Peter. At that point, we heard another voice.
“WHERE’S THAT IDIOT, PECK?!” it bellowed. A woman came downstairs with Winston behind her. “WALTER PECK!” bellowed the woman.
“Mrs. Samson,” replied Peck, “I’m ready to make a full report on these clowns!”
“No, you’re not!” roared Mrs. Samson. “Didn’t you see the men clearing out your office?!”
“They told me they were moving me to a better office,” answered Peck.
“No, they were packing your belongings to get you out of our offices!” corrected Mrs. Samson. “The Environmental Protection Agency will no longer have you in our organization. You are to collect your belongings and empty your desk before 7:00 tonight.”
“…That can’t be right!” hissed Peck. “I want an explanation!”
“The EPA has noticed that you seem to harbor a vendetta with the Ghostbusters,” replied Mrs. Samson. “Yet, they comply with current environmental standards and…”
“Ma’am, they caused an explosion when I came to shut these snowball artists down!” snarled Peck.
“Walter Peck, I heard the reports from the men in attendance that day,” hissed Mrs. Samson. “YOU were the idiot that started that explosion, releasing spirits that these men have caught. Your vendetta is childish, your emotions are all over the damn place, and your repeating actions have caused us to question your mental stability. You are a poor excuse of a man and agent, Mr. Peck. You have no place in my offices or the Environmental Protection Agency.” She snapped her fingers. “Get this lunatic out of here. I need to turn this matter over to the experts.” Walter Peck was led away.
“Suit up?” guessed Winston.
“Yes, and head over to 55 Central Park West,” replied Egon.
“Spook Central again?!” yelped Peter.
“Well, it WAS where Zuul first started this mess,” I mused. “Shall we?” Winston got suited up and we all piled into Ecto-1. “Okay, whose hand’s in my eye?!” I snapped. It was really crowded.
“PKE arm, sorry!” replied Ray as we headed out.
