Leaning on Dana's arm Egon was able to slowly and weakly climb out of his bunk and stand on shaking legs beside it. He was tired, in pain and just wanted to go back to sleep, but his curiosity and his brotherly instinct to protect his friends wouldn't allow the injured scientist to lay down and rest. Holding one hand to his freshly wrapped bandages around his chest he took in deep, slow breaths as he struggled to steady himself.

Dana put one hand on his back as she waited for him to gain his balance. "Are you okay? Do you need to sit down again?"

"No, I'm okay." Egon had to force himself to open his eyes to look around the room that felt as though it was spinning all around him. "I just need a minute to catch my breath."

The sound of heavy footsteps stomping up the staircase drew both of their attention from Egon's predicament and toward the incoming visitor. Peter marched up the steps with a massive blueprint outstretched in his hands, nearly obstructing his view as he strolled through the rec room and laid the paper out across the billiard table.

"Peter, did you find something?" Dana asked through the doorway as she helped Egon take a step forward. "Let me know if you need to stop."

Egon just nodded as he let Dana guide him across the bunk room. Using his hand as a guide and Dana as his eyes Egon made his way slowly but steadily into the rec room.

"What have you uncovered?" Egon asked in his usual baritone voice, all indications of pain or weakness completely gone. Dana stepped back knowing that the tall scientist was going to be just fine.

"Well good morning sleepy head!" Peter greeted as he looked up from the blueprints and looked toward Egon who was standing on the opposite side of the table and supporting himself upright by leaning on his arms. "Nice of you to finally join us."

"Sorry Venkman, I was a little distracted."

"Typical." Peter playfully scoffed. "Well, while you were taking your little catnap Ray and I have been busy doing scientific research and... stuff."

Egon pulled the blueprints closer to himself with his two forefingers on his left hand. "Are these the blueprints to the Mercado?"

"Better. These are the blueprints to the original Mercado, The Ingress."

"Any sign of Shador hand in these designs?"

"Nuh-uh." Peter shook his head. "Our favorite malevolent architect has clean hands with this build. But I do have a name to go with this cheery, dreary, ominous structure of doom." Turning the blueprints around with a quick flick of the wrist Peter pushed the bottom right corner toward Egon's view. "Meet Victor Weldon."

"Victor Weldon." Egon's brow furrowed as the name rang a bell. "I know I've come across that name in the past."

"Yup. We all have."

"How? What's the connection?"

From the middle of the staircase Ray's voice called out with the answer. "Because Victor Weldon was the man who paid Shandor for his work." Walking up the stairs with the photographs in his hands he stood beside Peter and began spreading out the two dozen images for all to see. "Glad to see you up and walking again Spengler." Ray smiled and nodded to his colleague. "You see this?" He asked as he singled out a photo and pointed to a singular location on the image.

"What am I looking at?" Egon was struggling to see what Ray could.

"This is the banshee that attacked Peter in the basement."

Egon, Peter and Dana all bent down closer over the table to the photo. It was dark and blurry but there was no mistaking the eyeless, shrieking face lurching out from the furnace in the basement.

"And this," Ray continued as he presented the photo of the furnace to his colleagues. "is not a furnace but a gateway!"

Dana's eyes widened with fear. "A gateway? To the other side?"

Ray nodded with a disturbing level of enthusiasm. "I believe so."

Egon picked up the photo and with his keenly educated eyes looked over every detail that was being visually provided. Taking in the structure of the 'furnace', the design, the size, the metallic alloys being used he made an educated guess. "I'm certain that this contraption was indeed designed to act as a gateway. But one question remains, who is the new architect?"

Peter and Ray exchanged glances of uncertainty. Neither man had managed to identify the creator of the gateway.

"Gentleman," Egon stood up straight and winced in pain as he did so. "we need a name to go with this design. Until then we can't possibly determine this new architects motivation or next step."

Ray took refuge in the office on the first floor as he surrounded himself with the blueprint, photographs and recently collected data as he began painstakingly seeking the identity of the architect. In the meantime Peter urged Dana to go join her sister and Oscar at the hotel far away from the city as a precautionary measure. Egon was hiding out in the basement as a means of seeking isolation without being too far from his colleagues.

Peter took it upon himself to keep an eye on Egon without being too obvious about it. Walking into the basement Peter found the injured scientist, wearing a black unbuttoned dress shirt, hunched over the long workbench with extensive copies of the collected data strewn out from one end of the table to the other.

"How's it going Spengs?" Peter asked casually as he took a seat beside his friend. "Find Waldo yet?"

"Peter." Egon coldly greeted his colleague as he refused to break his concentration.

"Aw, come on Spengler! Is that anyway to talk to the guy who saved your life?"

Egon looked up from the data and gave Peter an expressionless look. "Thank you for saving my life."

"Now, now. Calm down." Peter put his hand on Egon's shoulder as the scientist remained statuesque over the workbench. "Don't get too excited."

Egon didn't say anything in response, he just continued to stare blankly at Peter.

"Well, while I have your attention;" Peter pulled a pen flashlight from his pocket and shined it into Egon's eyes. "let's check your vitals."

"Let's not." Egon turned his gaze away and back down toward the lengthy papers.

"Egon, let me help you." Peter click off his light and became momentarily serious. "You were clinically dead for almost two minutes."

"Two minutes." Egon repeated in a low almost confused tone.

"Please?" Peter asked nicely as he clicked the light back on. "Just a quickie exam."

"Very well." Egon sat down on the nearby stool and removed his glasses. "Proceed."

"Great." Flicking the light up and down in both of Egon's eyes Peter checked his pupils. "Normal." He clicked the light off again before pocketing it and held up his right index finger. "Track my finger." Moving his finger up and down, left and right he watched Egon's eyes seamlessly follow along without any sluggishness. "Good."

"Do I pass?" Egon asked in a somewhat more jovial tone as he replaced his glasses.

"You get a gold star." Peter replied with a smugness that always gave the unorthodox scientist an abrasive vibe.

"Great, I'll put it up on the wall right beside my Ph.D." Egon joked and flinched regretfully as even the slight chuckle made his ribs hurt.

"Need something for the pain?" Peter asked, again being serious and concerned for the health of his friend.

"No, it'll be fine."

"Egon, just so you know, when I thought you were..." He trailed off awkwardly. "You know, gone, I... and Ray..."

"It's okay, Peter." Egon's voice was lighter and sympathetic.

"But Ray still feels like he's somehow... at fault."

"For what?" Egon wasn't looking for confrontation, only answers.

"Ray... He didn't think you were going to... come back."

Egon nodded as he arched an eyebrow. "He believed that any prolonged CPR would have been superfluous."

"Something to that effect, yes."

"From my own point of view, I believe that had our positions been reversed and it was Ray who was in full cardiac arrest, I would have reached the same conclusion." Egon gave Peter a nod of respect. "Thank you for not giving up."

"Hey, that's what I do. I never know when to quit!"

"Hey guys?" Ray's voice called out from the first floor. "You better take a look at this!"

Peter offered a hand and helped Egon to his feet. Walking out of the basement and to the first floor the two men saw Ray was holding a very large old book in his hands and was transfixed on a single page. "I think I found something!"

...to be continued...