"Pete the Magik Dragon"
Chapter the Third
By GirlX2
-
"I still don't understand how this happened!" Winston said, frustration clear in his voice. The four Ghostbusters stood outside of the cave. Peter watched intensely as Egon waved a Meter over his leg.
"This bracelet is giving off very strong waves. It's got magical properties." Egon informed them. "As such, I believe Peter putting it on led to his...transformation."
The Dragon they now knew to be Peter sat behind them, long neck telescoping over Egon's head to view the PKE meter. Egon looked strait up into the quizzical face.
"Peter, did you make the tracks we found on the other side of the cave?"
Peter shook his head.
"Then there are more of these things running around?" Winston demanded.
"So it would seem." Egon sighed.
"More to the point, how do we change Peter back?" Ray asked.
"I think if we can get the bracelet off he should become human again." Egon said. "But I'm not sure how to do that. Peter's new dimensions present a problem."
Peter sighed, wisps of smoke curling upwards.
"Its okay. We'll think of something." Ray patted him on the shoulder.
Peter nodded. He took an exploratory nibble at the gold. His nose wrinkled in pain.
"It's just as well, cutting it off wouldn't work." Egon added. "Spells of this nature present problems if they're circumvented in such a manner."
"So we can't cut it off, and Pete's to big to try and slid it off." Winston sighed. "And we've still got another one of these runnin' around, messing stuff up in our time."
Peter cocked his head inquisitively.
Egon sighed. "I can at least say with some confidence that we've gone into the past."
The emerald eyes widened.
"I'd say we've been taken back to...mid seventeenth century." Egon did a few calculations on his pocket calculator.
"You must have ripped right through the portal in the cave." Ray told their altered comrade, "At your size, its no wonder it was weakened."
"Can we get back through the portal?" Winston asked. "It might be easier to cure Peter if we don't have to worry about getting hunted down by the natives."
"Its tricky. The portal is two-way, but it will only work if major PKE waves on both sides are balanced." Egon frowned slightly. "Our own waves are inconsequential, but we'd need another dragon in the cave to generate enough valance to get Peter through."
"So we've gotta find this other dragon and capture it before we can go home." Ray said.
"I'm afraid so. We could go back without Peter, but I'm not sure how long the portal can last in its weakened state. Any superfluous use could seal it permanently, trapping him here."
Peter made a snorting noise, very clearing saying 'It figures.'
"Well then, lets find this other dragon!" Ray said, his usual upbeat demeanor coming back.
"Its the sixteen hundreds, we've got two proton packs, its sunny, and Pete's a Dragon." Winston assessed their situation. "Lets roll."
-
"You see what your foolishness has brought upon us."
'I am sorry master. I beg forgiveness.'
"No matter. We will deal with these men and the beast in due time."
-
"If we could get the bracelet off, couldn't we leave without needing to find another Dragon?" Ray asked as they tromped though the forest. The woods were much sparser on this side, so they could walk a little easer. Egon was at the front, while Winston remained besides Ray. Peter brought up the rear.
"Yes, but I have no idea how we could do that." Egon sighed. "Its much too tight to slip off. I'm really quiet surprised that the blood flow hasn't been cut off. I wish we had a few medical scanners. I'll bet his veins are structured differently."
"I knew Pete's fashion sense would get him in big trouble one day." Winston said.
"Hey, I've got an idea. Peter, do your wings work?" Ray asked.
Peter shrugged.
"If they do, why don't you get a bird's eye view?"
There was a slight growl.
"Dragon's eye view." Ray amended.
The Ghostbusters had come to a clearing. Peter, freed of overhanging branches and other debris, stretched to his full height of nearly ten feet. The massive bat-like wings unfurled.
"Interesting." Egon murmured. "They're true wings, not just skin stretched out for gliding purposes. If only I had access to my computer…"
Peter flexed the wings. A blast of air hit the others.
"Careful there Pete, don't knock us over." Winston cautioned.
"Yeah, I've already got one busted wrist, I don't need another." Ray chimed.
Peter nodded and moved further into the clearing. He began attempting flight anew.
-
'It's away from the others. Go now. I may not give you anther chance to redeem yourself.'
'Yes master.'
-
Peter flapped the wings harder, only causing them to ache.
'Maybe I can't fly.' He thought sourly. The others stood clumped at a safe distance, watching his futile attempts. He sighed.
'It's my fault we're in this mess; I can't quit now.'
His gaze traveled idly across the wide strip of meadow. Flowers and weeds dotted it's surface. The forest receded in a long ovoid. Ironically, it would have been the perfect airstrip-if he could get airborne.
'Maybe I need a running start…'
He started forward, the initial burst of speed surprising him. Suddenly, he didn't care about flying-running was a joy by itself. Unbeknownst to him, his wings leveled off, air flowing smoothly over them.
With mild surprise, Peter realized his feet had left the ground.
Peter watched the earth spiral away beneath him. He'd always had a mild fear of heights-the foray into the top of spook central a few years back had been far tougher for him than he'd let on-but now it was gone. Three dark dots were all he could make out of his friends. He looked out over the area, and his heart sank. Unmarred woodland surrounded them.
'I can fend for myself, but the guys are going to need food and information if we hope to get out of here. Stupid Europeans must not have come this far yet.' He grumbled, a very strange sound in his altered voice box. He turned back towards the cave, hoping to spot a village or settlement of some kind. Peter stopped in mid-air, massive wings flapping to keep him in place.
A sinister gray castle rose up behind the cave. Spiky turrets pierced the sky at odd angles. A moat with murky water surrounded the structure.
'That looks like a good place to start.' He resumed his glide back to earth. He didn't see the black speck emerge from the castle.
-
"It looks like he's coming back." Egon shielded his eyes against the harsh sunlight as Peter descended. The green scaled scientist spiraled in lazy circles toward the ground.
"Showoff." Ray chuckled.
Winston took a sharp breath. "Guy's what is that?"
Ray followed the taller man's gaze to a distant black speck. "It could be a hawk."
Egon frowned. "I don't think so. It's coming up too fast."
They watched as the speck grew into a large, and increasingly menacing figure.
"Get your thrower out Winston." Egon said quickly, doing likewise.
-
Peter was a few hundred feet from the ground when he saw the dark blots move back.
'What are they doing that for? I'm not landing near them.'
He sniffed the air. There was…an irregularity.
He turned sharply in midair. A huge shape was winging its way toward him. Peter growled. . He rose back up, trying to gain the high ground over this new thing.
The shape didn't follow him, but instead dove toward the ground. Peter's eyes widened as he realized his mistake.
'Crap.' Peter went after the intruder.
-
"Its another dragon." Ray said breathlessly.
They watched as the new dragon plunged almost to the ground, skimming it as he turned toward them.
"Egon, will these things even faze a dragon?" Winston unsheathed his thrower.
Egon did likewise. "We're about to find out."
Ray stood behind them, frustration building. He didn't have his pack, and with his wrist in a splint he was worse than useless in a fight.
The shape pulled up short of them by a few hundred yards. This dragon looked completely different than Peter. Its scales shimmered dark purple. It was slightly taller than Peter, but much stockier. It loped forwards, teeth exposed in a snarl.
"Fire!" Egon's shot hit the dragon square in the chest. The beast grunted, took a few steps back, then began it's charge again.
"Oh man." Winston paled.
The ground shook as Peter landed in front of them. He stood sideways, so he blocked other dragon.
Peter snarled at the new dragon, clouds of smoke rising from his jaws. The other dragon responded by shooting a stream of fire straight at him.
"Peter lookout!" Egon's warning went unheeded as the fire hit Peter broadside. Even blocked, the three men felt the intense heat. Peter roared; whether in pain or anger, they couldn't tell.
"We've gotta help Pete. If he just stands there he's gonna get burned to a crisp!" Winston yelled above the din.
"Set your thrower to full power!" Egon yelled back. "If we hit it broadside, Peter may be able to catch it unawares."
The two armed men raced into firing range, being careful to avoid Peter's lashing tail. Ray scanned the area for something-anything that could be used as a weapon. His eyes lighted on a group of large rocks. He grabbed one and hurried to join the others.
Egon and Winston hit the purple dragon broadside with their beams. The beast, startled by the attack, stumbled and fell. Peter sprang forwards.
'Trying to fry my buddies, huh? I'm gonna kick your scaly ass!'
'Don't count on it.' Another voice hissed into his head. The psychologist pulled up short.
'You're telepathic!'
The dragon didn't reply, but an unmistakable smirk came over its face. Peter felt a cold shock go through his head. The other dragon was probing his thoughts. He shut the stranger out, but the damage had been done.
'Human? You're just a human?' It took an arrogant tone.
'Not the last I checked.' Peter retorted.
The three men watched in amazement as the two seemed to simply stare at each other.
"What's going on?" Winston hissed.
"I think they're having a conversation." Egon said softly.
Ray gripped his rock tighter. "Maybe Peter is explaining what's going on."
Winston shook his head. "Look at that thing's face. It looks…cocky."
'Why don't you just take you're sorry purple self outta here?' Peter tried to intimidate the dragon.
'Because, human, you and your pack have disrupted my master's plans.' The purple dragon rose to its feet.
'What? Listen buddy, we never even met your master!'
'You're presence here disturbed our spell. The only way we can continue is to be rid of you!' On the last word, the dragon's tail lashed forward and knocked Peter down. The stunned scientist could only gape as it stood and sent a wall of flame towards his exposed chest.
"No!" Winston and Egon unleashed their beams.
They struck the dragon, but it was too late. The flames hit Peter. He howled with pain and promptly curled into a ball, trying to protect his vulnerable underside. The other dragon grunted and steadied itself against the beams.
'Ow…' Peter's vision spun, his chest now a writhing mass of pain. The purple dragon bared its teeth.
'Like that, you human scum?' It sneered and inhaled for another attack.
Ray hurled the stone. It struck the dragon square on the nose. The beast growled at them, its attention diverted from Peter.
'Ray, stop it!' Peter's voice roared through the auburn head.
"What the?" Ray's eyes widened.
'You wretched little insects! I will sear the meat from your bones!' Another voice pounded the three. Egon dropped to his knees, hands over his ears. Winston dropped the thrower, his teeth clenched. Ray gasped in pain.
'I am going to make your pack mates suffer.' It turned back to Peter. 'And I will make you watch.'
'No…' Peter tried to rise, but was too weak.
The dragon roared again, physically and mentally. Ray and Winston dropped to the ground, intense pain in their heads. Egon shuddered, his eyes rolling back. He began to convulse.
'Stop! I'll do anything you want, just leave them alone!' Peter begged.
It slowly turned to Peter. 'Anything?'
'Yes, anything, just stop hurting them!'
"Pete, no." Winston whispered.
"Please Peter, we'll be okay!" Ray said.
The dragon let loose a brief psychic blast to silence them. Egon fell backwards, unconscious.
'Egon!' Peter cried out.
'He'll be fine.' The dragon said.
Peter struggled to his feet. 'I don't believe you.'
'Use your telepathic powers, you can see for yourself.'
'How do I do that?'
"Just concentrate on the fair-haired one.'
Peter closed his eyes. Distressed psychic waves came to him. They radiated from all three men, but most strongly from Egon. He was hurt badly, but not fatally. The blond would survive. The waves dispersed as Peter opened his eyes.
'You take to this well.' The dragon observed. 'For a human.'
'I'm a fast learner.' Peter glared at it.
'Come. It's a short flight.' The thing rose into the air.
Peter groaned in pain, but managed to follow.
"Peter, no!" Ray yelled at the receding figure. The two flying beasts ignored him and disappeared over the treetops.
"What just happened?" Winston demanded.
"Psychic attack." Ray rose to his feet.
"It looks like Egon got the worst of it." Winston jerked his head at the man. "I wonder how come?
"I've got a confession to make." Ray pulled Egon into a sitting position. "Egon and I figured out a while back that our proton beams were affecting us. Having a nuclear accelerator on our backs was bound to lead to some side effects."
"Like what?" Winston asked slowly.
"The rest of us haven't changed all that much, but working with the PKE meter along with the pack, and all the times he's been zapped with the proton beams have increased the normal amount of inborn psychic ability Egon already had. Under regular circumstances it wouldn't matter, but now it's highly dangerous to him."
"So basically, he's completely venerable to the exact kind of attack this other dragon uses."
"Uh-huh."
"Will be okay?"
"I think so." Ray bit his lip. "But it's gonna be rough for him. Its not like he can read minds or anything, he just has a larger potential to receive psychic visions. All the 'bad feeling about this' kinda stuff. "
Winston sighed. "What do we do now?"
"We let Egon sleep if off. In the morning, we go after Peter and that other dragon."
-
End of Chapter the Third.