Contact

"This is going to be a mess." Ed grumbled. The teams had separated for an emergency meeting, the originals staying with the comatose Peter Venkman. "It's bad enough we had four of the originals, now we have a potentially resurrected fifth."

"It could be worse, Stantz." Janice held still as Alan stitched her up.

"How?"

"Dr. Venkman's body could still be with those cultists. There's no telling what they were going to use him for."

"Not going to work, Spengler." He collapsed on a couch. "Now what do we do?"

"We make sure that none of them stumble into something they shouldn't." Chad spoke up. "You know, at least one of us sticking with them at all times."

"I'm going to have to go through my books for any references to that cult or spell, so I'll sit with Dr. Venkman." Janice offered. "I'm not going to be much good on busts until my arm heals, anyway."

"I'll take Janine." Ruth offered.

"We'll meet back with information at the end of the day, okay?"

Janice settled down next to the cot that passed as the teams infirmary bed. The infirmary room was on the top floor (mostly so any possessed person could be close to the lab and away from containment.) Peter Venkman hadn't so much as twitched on the ride in. Alan wasn't sure what was wrong (only theory Egon would offer was that perhaps the ceremony only succeeded in re-animating his body, and not bringing back his soul.) and so that meant they had to watch him to make sure. She sighed as she glanced at her left arm, which was bandaged up to her elbow.

"Slimer wasn't too happy about it, either." She sighed and put her reading glasses on. This one was one of five death magic books she had on hand, and the last one she was looking through. The others had either gone out on busts, (Winston, Ed, and Alan) Gone shopping (ruth and Janine) or locked themselves in the downstairs lab, (Egon, Ray and Chad).

At some point, she glanced up to look at Peter again. A few strands of stray hair had fallen into his face, and so she absently brushed them away, quickly jerking her hand back as she accidentally shocked him.

"I hate static." She muttered. She glanced back at the book, and then froze. Her peripheral vision had caught movement. Turning back to the bed, she watched as his arm moved again. "Dr. Venkman?" She put the book down as he groaned, leaning over him. "Dr. Venkman, can you hear me?" Green eyes opened. Then he started to thrash, terrified of something. He knocked off the heart monitor sensor and almost yanked the I.V. out. "Dr. V, stop!" Her trace New York accent thickened slightly in annoyance as she forgot to say his entire name. He stilled. Janice absently straightened her crooked reading glasses. "You're all right, you're safe."

"Ja . . . Janine?" He blinked.

"Um, no . . ." Janice flushed. Her reply was cut off as the thunder of footsteps brought everyone else, they must've returned from the errands early. Something about the noise made him panic again. The door slammed open.

"Peter, stop right now!" Egon shouted. Peter froze, and Janice quickly jerked away to let him by. She bent to pick up her book which had fallen.

"Egon? What's going on?" As the newly resurrected Peter was brought up to date, Janice continued staring at a page in her book. But the calm that had descended was very quickly broken by a flying green slime blob.

Slimer had been sort of dozing after eating 10 hamburgers. Suddenly, he had felt Peter, and then very quickly he felt the others. They were here and he wasn't imagining it! He forgot Janice's instructions as he dove through several walls to tackle Peter in a slimy hug.

"What the heck is that thing!"

"PETEERRRRR!"

"Slimer!"

"Someone get a trap!"

"No, it's alright, it's Slimer, he's harmless!"

"How did it get here?" As the chaos calmed down, Slimer realized his mistake and quickly dove to hide behind Janice.

"What?" Janice glanced up, having been absorbed in her book. Then she noticed the green slime and the others looking at her. "Slimer . . . I told you to stay in the room."

"You better have a good reason to have kept a ghost, Spengler." Ignored for the moment, Peter raised an eyebrow at Egon, who shrugged. The originals watched the interaction.

"Couple good ones, Stantz." Janice glanced back at her book. "Among them, he's been helping me figure out when Armageddon is suppose to start."

"What?"

"Found a hidden room in the library a few weeks ago. It's apparently a failsafe room, only going to open if the ambient PK reaches a certain point. Slimer was in there."

"And you were going to tell us, when?"

"I already did. You said, and I quote 'Get real Spengler, New York's PKE readings are fine, you've been reading too many horror stories.'" She looked up. "Then you closed the lab door in my face. I've been working on it with Slimer since. He at least listens."

"Yeah!" Slimer then stuck out his tongue and slimed Ed. "THBBBBBBT!"

"Slimer." She absently tossed him a wrapped granola bar. "Play nice." He devored it.

" . . . You said Slimer was left in the room?"

"Yeah . . . Oscar –" She trailed off and glanced at the originals. "Slimer, how about you show them the room? I'll do cliff notes and twenty questions with the originals."

"Sure, Janice!" He flew out.

"Okay, Dr. Venkman, can you tell me what you last remember?"

This chapter was a pain to write. Everytime I thought I got it, I realized there was a plot gap, or a character was missing . . . or I misspelled Venkman as Vankmen. Grrr . . . that name will be the death of me . . .