That morning was a bit less windy than usual. It was perfect for some scientific experimenting on the roof. The chalk board that had been wheeled up there was marked with chalk numbers and other such symbols. The white residue under those numbers and symbols were a testament to how many times Egon had erased the board. It was always frustrating when he thought he was going to solve something, only to encounter a roadblock and then have to start again. 'Twas the life of a scientist.
Egon couldn't remember the last time he got this much work done. He was not only discovering new things but also rediscovering things that he had forgotten. Or maybe he didn't forget them. Maybe they were just gathering dust in the back of his brain, just waiting for him to rummage through all those boxes. Don't be ridiculous, he thought. Information doesn't come in boxes unless those boxes were disk drives.
It was nice seeing Janine again the other day. The role of mother came naturally to her. This was no surprise since she tended to handle the affairs of the firehouse quite well, including making sure that Slimer stayed out of trouble (a feat that would prove impossible at times) and doing a load of ectoplasm-stained laundry if need be. Her baby seemed healthy and happy. If it wasn't for him coming over yesterday, he would have forgotten his name. What was it? Corey? Colby?
Oh yes, it was Casey. How could he forget a name that reminded him of Lactobacillus casei?
The previous time he had seen the baby was when all three of them went to a clinic. Janine had been so shaken up by Egon's questioning of whether or not the baby was his that she insisted on having him provide his DNA for testing. Since then, she hadn't called up the firehouse asking for visits to her apartment to see the child. Hopefully, this meant that she was understanding of how incredibly busy he was. She was pretty upset when she brought him in for the testing but if she was still upset after that, she would tell him, right?
"Okay, Egon," said Gabby, "All of the targets have been set up."
The cardboard targets were decorated to look like goofy ghosts and goblins. One might argue that making them look like scary ghosts and goblins was a bit more realistic for proton beam testing but half the time, the ghosts they fought really were goofy and not scary. She ran out of the way so that the proton beam could work its magic.
"Okay…" said Egon, "One… two… THREE!" He fired the proton gun and let out a stream that exploded one of the cardboard ghosts. Egon made sure to turn off the gun before the quick stream could go through the target and hit anything else. Pieces of cardboard flew through the air before finally resting on the roof.
Egon checked the proton speedometer that he had perched on top of a tripod.
"Darn…" he said, "It's only slightly faster than the last time."
"On the one hand, the last time was slightly faster than before," said Gabby.
"I guess I need to have patience when it comes to these things. Problem is, we need to get this technology perfected before any more damage could be done by these alps."
"They haven't grievously harmed anyone yet. They seem to only be eating dreams."
"The question is, how long will it be before they grievously harm people? None of them seem to be speaking to us."
Gabby shrunk a little in her stance, her worried eyes dashed to the right of her. Clearly, she was worried about the same thing that Egon was worried about, or at least that was what he thought.
"I suppose I shouldn't get you all worked up in this situation. If you need something to do with that energy, I suggest-"
Suddenly, the alarm sounded. During times like this, one of the other guys would answer the phone at the desk.
As usual, Egon's fight-or-flight response went into gear, or rather his fight-and-flight response, since he had every intention of both flying (to the scene) and fighting (the ghost).
"Hold that thought," said Egon. He ran to the stairs so that he could get to his suit and prepare himself for the mission as quickly as possible.
It was only when he buckled himself into the Ecto-1 that he was briefed on the details of the mission.
"Reports of a dragon on a rampage in China Town," said Winston.
"But Chinese New Year isn't until February," said Ray.
"This isn't a bunch of people in a costume on parade, Ray. This is the real thing."
When the boys arrived at the scene, they were met with people screaming and running. Whatever this was, it wasn't something that very many people had the guts to face on their own.
They turned the corner in the Ecto-1 and were met with a truly bizarre scene: A Chinese dragon, similar to one seen in traditional Chinese art, except it was thirty feet tall and its colors could not be described with a single solid shade. It was turning various colors and patterns with each passing second; blues with bits of purple, red fractals with yellow lines, this creature was acting like a confused chameleon. But it wasn't confused, it was angry. It let out roars and bore its conical teeth as it was destroying street carts and smashing windows.
"Holy moley!" said Ray as he got out of the car.
"I don't know whether to fight this thing or place it on the desk of a stoner college student," said Peter.
"You know the drill," said Egon.
Everyone took out their proton guns and aimed at the creature.
"Fire!"
All of the proton beams fired but none hit the creature. Its slender body was just too nimble to be hit with any kind of gun. It made Egon feel even worse about not perfecting a faster proton gun as quickly as he wanted to.
Before long, the dragon started grabbing people on the street and swallowing them, a truly gruesome sight to behold.
"Jeez!" exclaimed Winston.
Egon couldn't help but think back to his nightmare. Seeing something eat a person in real life was bringing on a traumatic response that he couldn't afford to show at that moment. He needed to be the hero here.
He aimed his proton beam once more but before he could fire…
"Wait!" said Winston.
"What?" asked Egon.
"The people in the dragon's stomach are still alive!"
Upon closer hearing, the crew could hear desperate cries of help in the stomach of the dragon, as well as cries for help in various Chinese dialects.
"Well, that settles it," said Egon, "We can't fire our proton beams while there are living people within this ghost."
"What do we do now?" asked Winston.
"You should go get the Spectral Sphere Pistol from the Ecto-1. The most we can do right now is contain the creature."
"You mean the Ghost Bubble Gun," said Peter, "Admit it, that's what it is."
"I think Spectral Sphere Pistol is a much more dignified name but we don't have time to argue about nomenclature."
As Winston ran back to the Ecto-1 to get the Spectral Sphere Pistol, the dragon kept treading its path of destruction, roaring in anger but also looking to be overjoyed to be causing such a stir. All the while, it kept picking people off the street and swallowing them without chewing. The guys stood there powerless to stop what was happening.
Winston ran back with the necessary tool. It looked like a gun but its plastic body and yellow color made it toylike. Egon built it this way so that it could be easily found if the need to use it arose.
"Okay…" said Winston, "The Spectral Sphere Pistol is fully charged and adjusted to accommodate the size of – HOLY SHIT IT JUST ATE RAY!"
Ray's screams could be heard for a brief second before he slithered down the dragon's throat.
"Fire that pistol!" shouted Egon.
Winston aimed the pistol at the dragon (not a difficult feat since that dragon was pretty big) and pulled the trigger. Out of the barrel came a yellow bubble that grew bigger and bigger until it rapidly reached the size of a several-story-tall building. Winston ran closer to the dragon so that the bubble could capture the creature.
Once the bubble started engulfing the back end of the dragon, it began to struggle and wave around its claws. Winston kept his hand on the trigger until the bubble fully engulfed the dragon. Success. Now, the creature would stay right where it was and not escape.
"Ray, what were you doing?" asked Winston.
"I couldn't help myself!" said the muffled voice of Ray from the dragon's stomach, "The colors that the dragon turned were beautiful and awe-inspiring! They came from the imagination of a gifted artist with nothing to lose! I wanted to taste those colors!"
"Apparently, Ray is the cat that curiosity killed," said Peter, "More at eleven."
"Ray, is that dragon's gastric acids digesting you and the other people as I speak?"
"I don't think they are," said Ray.
"It's dark and damp in here!" said another swallowed person.
"So, it's sounds like the regular conditions of a stomach. We need to do something before the digestive processes kick in."
At the moment, Ray wasn't that bothered by his bleak situation. In fact, it sounded a bit like he was happy that he got to experience a ghost up close and personal – far closer and more personal than ever possible. He tried to spread this excitement to the other trapped people.
"All right, everyone!" said his muffled voice, "Since we're all here and we have no place to go, we mind as well get to know each other. Let's start with an ice breaker! Why don't each of you say your first name and then you can say the name of an animal that starts with the same first letter as your first name. I'll go first. Raymond… Rattlesnake! Okay, you next!"
"We need to make that thing throw up," said Peter.
"Just what I was thinking," said Egon.
"All we have to do is make it look at itself in a giant mirror. Lemme tell ya, all those colors it's turning is making me feel queasy."
"There's gotta be something in your lab that could make it throw up," said Winston.
"Exactly…" Egon thought a bit about the collections of ectoplasm and bacteria in the lab. He mentally sifted through each and every one until he found the one that he could use.
He then thought about Gabby the temporary secretary and the untapped potential she still had. This was the perfect opportunity for her to help out – this time, where the action was. At this point, it wasn't like they had a choice. They were already one man down.
"You two stay here and make sure the creature doesn't escape. I'm off to the Ecto-1 to get some backup."
"Which backup are you talking about?" asked Winston.
"You know exactly who I'm talking about."