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It’s been five years since the Ghostbusters defeated Gozer/Zuul. Since then, they’ve been busy with both their business and personal lives.Dr. Peter Venkman, after much soul searching and encouragement from the others, took the chance of his life and proposed to Dana Barrett. They had started dating soon after the battle with Gozer. It didn’t take long for their relationship to get serious. Peter knew Dana was his one true love and knew he’d be a fool to let her slip away. So, he proposed, she accepted, and not long afterwards, they became parents of a beautiful boy - David. Since becoming a parent, Peter thought it best to step back a bit from field work, much to Dana’s relief. He was still active in the business, just not going out on as many calls as before.Egon and Janine began dating soon after the battle with Gozer as well. They dated for three years, then Egon proposed. Janine is now nearly 7 months pregnant with their first child! Egon also thought it best to step away from as much field work. Then, three months ago, Columbia University welcomed a new dean, Ms. Cynthia Sheperd. She was younger than the previous dean and, unlike Dean Yager, much more open minded to the idea of paranormal studies. The first thing on her agenda was to offer a part time teaching position to Egon. She was bringing back the paranormal studies program and wanted him to head it up! Janine was thrilled - she knew Egon enjoyed teaching almost as much as ghostbusting; besides, the extra money would certainly help.Ray is in a serious relationship with a young lady from his hometown. They had recently reconnected since she had moved to the city for a new job. He had also been offered a part time position as Columbia teaching an engineering class as well as assisting Egon with the paranormal studies program.Winston isn’t in a steady relationship; his last girlfriend had broken things off with him a month ago. She couldn’t handle the fast paced nature of his work schedule. He had to cancel their dates several times due to busting calls. So, he’s currently unattached and happy that way! He’s taking his time with the dating scene. It also gives him more time to dedicate himself to focusing on his classes - he’s attending night classes part time for his business management degree. The plan is to assist Janine while she’s out on maternity leave and to possibly open his own side business down the road.The calls coming in lately have been slowly increasing - both in the number of calls as well as the intensity.It’s a mild morning in mid-April; Janine walks into the lab.Egon looks up from his repair job on a ghost trap. He smiles, but it quickly fades once he sees the worried expression on his wife’s face. “What’s wrong, Janine?”She sits down in the chair next to him at the work table. “I guess you’ve noticed these last few calls this week have been Class 5 or higher?”“I have,” he replies as he lays down the screwdriver and looks at her directly. “Try not to worry.”Her eyes narrowed. “How can I NOT?! You’ve gotta juggle these calls with your classes - it’s only 3 days a week but still - what happens if a call comes in while you’re teaching?! The guys need you! I NEED YOU!” Tears threatened to fall.Egon quickly grasped her hands in his and squeezed. “Janine….my dear…..please……the only thing I want you to focus on is our baby you’re carrying. I can handle the calls and if I need to cancel my class, the Dean understands. And so do my students! I promise you I have this under control.” He smiled, hoping his words were enough to reassure her.She took a deep breath, then smiled, willing her tears away. “Ok….I’m sorry - I just….i love you so much. And I’m scared…..that I’m not going to handle labor very well.”“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be fine! I remember one time not too long ago where you dislocated your shoulder while helping us on a call. You barely made a sound when I reset it!”Janine giggled. “Cause I had passed out!”Egon smiled. “Still….I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He placed a kiss on top of Janine’s head. “You’re stronger than you realize.”“Thanks Honey.” She leaned over and kissed Egon on the lips lightly. “Let me get back to work.”Egon assisted Janine as she stood and watched lovingly as she left the lab. Once Janine had gone, his smile faded. “I hope she doesn’t talk to Ray anytime soon about these calls,” he thought to himself. “At least, not until we know what we’re dealing with.” He then left the lab and found Ray in the rec room playing fetch with Slimer.“Hey Iggy! Whatcha up to?”“I need to discuss some findings with you please….in the lab.”Ray noticed the serious expression on Egon’s face. “That’s it for now, Spud!” He gave the ball back to the green ghost and went to the lab with Egon. “You look serious?” He closed the door behind them.“I am. The samples I took last week from the containment unit caused me to monitor future readings. I had an uneasy feeling. This week’s samples have confirmed my theory - I believe it’s why the calls we’ve been getting have been so intense.” He paused for a moment, searching for the right words. “I believe we’re on the verge of another cross rip.”Ray’s eyes widened. “Really?! Are ya SURE?!”“I’m positive, Raymond.”“Does Janine know?”“She suspects something but I have reassured her for now. I’d like to keep it that way. She’s been more on edge lately; I don’t want to upset her.”“Of course, of course! What about Pete and Zed?”“I haven’t told them yet. I wanted you to take a look at the readings first and get your opinion.” He handed the print outs to Ray.His eyes widened even further. “Egon! We haven’t seen readings like these since……..,”“Gozer.”“Yeah! You don’t think…..?!”Egon shook his head. “It’s possible? Since we were unsuccessful in destroying the Shandor Building, it stands to reason that the portal could be reopened.”“We need to tell Pete and Winston…..now!” Ray left the lab and went downstairs. He was careful to keep his upbeat personality in check so Janine wouldn’t notice. He found Peter sitting at his desk flipping through a magazine.“What’s up, Tex?”“Iggy needs to see you in the lab; I’ll grab Winston.” His voice was low. He then mouthed “don’t freak Janine out” quietly.Peter looked confused but nodded in agreement. He assumed his questions would be answered once they got to the lab. He headed on upstairs while Ray walked over to Ecto-1, where Winston was checking the oil.Ray repeated the same message to him and they quietly went upstairs, giving Janine a warm smile.She smiled back, unaware of what was really going on.They closed the lab door and Egon brought them up to speed on the situation.“Ah shit!” Peter said. “That’s the LAST thing we need!” He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.Winston shook his head. “We tried to warn the owner of that building that the whole damn place needed to be torn down!”“Maybe now, they’ll listen?” Ray asked hopefully.“I doubt it,” Peter replied. “It would displace too many people. Besides, they’d probably come back with ‘nothing has happened yet’ and shut that down.”“I suggest that we gather more information - go to the Shandor Building and take readings, look for signs of definite re-entry,” Egon said. “Then go to City Hall with this.”They all agreed.“What do we tell Janine?” Ray asked.“Nothing…..for now,” Egon replied sternly. “I’ll tell her once we have more definitive information.”
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The guys all agreed to drive over to the Shandor Building, without Janine’s knowledge. They would wait until another call comes in. Then, they’ll go check out the area afterwards.They didn’t have to wait very long. Thirty minutes later, a call came in. The alarm sounded. Once they were all gathered downstairs in front of Janine’s desk, she handed Peter the information.“It sounds like another Class 5 guys,” she said worriedly.Peter glanced quickly over the details of the call. “Eh, sounds easy enough to me,” he replied casually.Egon took the information and read over it. He smiled as he looked at Janine. “Peter is correct - this sounds like a classic case of a full roaming vapor, nothing too disastrous.”Janine visibly relaxed and smiled. “Ok…..just…..be careful.”“Of course!” Peter replied, waving Janine’s concern off as he headed to his locker.They all slipped into their jumpsuits, grabbed their gear and headed towards Ecto-1.Egon stopped by her desk, bending over to kiss her lightly on the lips. “Don’t worry; we’ll be back as soon as we can. I love you.”“I love you, too. Please be careful.”“We will.”She waved them off as the vehicle backed out into the street.As they headed towards their destination, Winston asked, “Janine’s anxiety is getting worse.”“Yes, these calls lately have her on edge, I’m afraid,” Egon sadly replied.“How’s she doing otherwise? You know, with the pregnancy?”“Quite well, actually! She has started having a few sporadic Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing out of the ordinary. The doctor has assured us that everything is on schedule.” Egon couldn’t help but light up as he talked about their baby.“Thank God the morning sickness is over!” Peter said lightly. “I don’t think Dana was as sick as Janine was!”“Is she still planning on working until her due date?” Ray asked.Egon smirked. “Raymond, I believe she will give birth right behind that desk!”“EEEWWWWWWW!!!! Let’s not!” Peter shouted, feigning disgust.They all shared a laugh as they continued to their destination.**************************
The call was actually as uneventful as the guys had told Janine. They were able to capture the ghost fairly easily, giving them more time to head over to the Shandor Building.The doorman stepped up to the driver’s door as Ecto-1 parked in front of the building.Winston smiled as he exited the vehicle. “Hi there, Harry! How’s it goin’?”“Very well, sir! Have we got more problems that need you boys’ help?”“Nah, we were in the area and thought we’d stop by for a quick check - you know, just to make sure!” Peter casually responded with a smile.The doorman allowed them in.Once out of Harry’s earshot, Peter looked at Egon, who was already checking his PKE meter. “Ok Spengs, what’ve we got?”“Slight residuals…..possibly due to an entity in the area. Too soon to know for sure.” Egon continued slowly walking through the lobby area.Some of the employees were worriedly watching the Ghostbusters. Peter noticed and walked over quickly to reassure them.“Hey there folks! Don’t worry - we just caught a ghost down the street a bit; we just wanted to make sure the entire area is clear.”He then returned to the others.“Thanks Pete,” Ray said. “We don’t need everybody being freaked out.”Peter winked as he gave a thumbs up.Suddenly, the PKE meter sounded its alarm, the arms raising all the way up!“Class 5 - straight ahead!” Egon shouted.They powered up and followed Egon as he led the way with the meter. The signal led them down the stairs to the basement floor. The area was lit fairly well, but Winston and Ray still had to pull out their flashlights.“Man….why do these things always stay in the damn basement?” Peter whined, shining his flashlight ahead of them as they continued their search.Egon stopped as the PKE meter’s signal became steady. “It’s here, eyes open.”They fanned out slightly in the large room that housed the generators for the building.“We can’t catch this thing in here,” Winston pointed out.“Yeah, we’ll knock out these generators for sure!” Ray added.“Once it shows, fire behind it to push it outta here!” Winston said.After a few minutes, the ghost showed up! It was a medium sized reddish-blue creature with claws on its hands. It had emerald green eyes and was sporting a wickedly evil grin.“Ok Sparky! Let’s dance!” Peter shouted, firing first behind the ghost.The others followed his lead, each taking turns firing behind it. Sure enough, the ghost made its way towards the stairwell! The guys followed, ready to catch it!Once the ghost got to the top of the stairwell, it turned back towards the guys, shrieking loudly!“What’s wrong, Sport? Not your day?” Peter taunted as he fired once more.The others joined in, effectively catching the entity! Ray threw out the trap. Winston, Peter and Egon carefully lowered it down. Once the trap closed, Ray held up the smoking trap!“Whew! That thing was pretty feisty!” Winston said, wiping the sweat from his brow.Egon quickly headed back downstairs to the basement.Peter rolled his eyes. “Now what?!”The others followed, trying to understand what Egon had discovered.He was taking additional readings.“Got anything?” Ray asked.Egon was silent for a few minutes. “No….i just wanted to be sure.” He then started looking around the area carefully. “Let me know if you find any slime.”They spread out and began searching. Finally, Egon was convinced that everything was safe and secure. He was, however, a bit disappointed that no slime was found.As they drove back towards the firehouse, Peter noticed how quiet Egon was. “Hey Spengs, why so glum? So we didn’t find any mucus - you’ve still got your mushroom collection!”Egon looked at the guys. “It doesn’t make sense - usually when we confront an entity of this strength, it at least leaves behind something - slime, some sort of proof of how it entered this dimension - something! However, this one seemed to just materialize out of nowhere!”“It did lead us to the basement?” Ray pointed out.“No Ray - it lured us!” Winston corrected him.Ray looked confused. “You think we were led to the basement on purpose?!”Winston shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe?”“But why? Wouldn’t it know that the space was more limited?” Peter asked.“Exactly - harder for us to use our proton throwers,” Winston said.“But we forced it back out?” Ray said.“Yes, obviously this creature did not plan on that,” Egon replied.Peter chuckled. “Yeah, brains aren’t these things’ strong points.”“Either way, it proves they’re getting smarter - more strategic,” Winston said. “We’ll need to be more careful.”“Agreed - and please, don’t tell Janine that we went to the Shandor Building,” Egon pleaded.The others agreed.However, that plan would soon be shot to Hell.As soon as Ecto-1 entered the firehouse, they were greeted by the enraged glare of Janine Spengler. Egon was the first one who dared to get out of the vehicle. The others slowly followed.Janine had the small tv sitting on the top of the filing cabinets. She sometimes turns it on to give her some background noise while she works. Peter used to tease her about keeping up with soap operas but Janine quickly put a stop to that.Egon noticed a local news show playing. He then realized it was a reporter talking about the bust at the Shandor Building. He vaguely remembered seeing a news crew there as they were leaving.Janine stood, her arms folded tightly across her chest, her eyes narrowed.Egon smiled nervously. “Umm….hi Janine.”Peter ran up to stand beside him. “See Red? I told ya we’d be back soon!”She continued to silently glare at them, her anger building.“We were never in any real danger,” Egon said, hoping to quickly diffuse the situation.“Oh no?! Do ya mean at the Shandor Building or the REAL call you guys went to?!”“I can explain….,” Egon began.“STOP!! Just……” she stopped to regain her composure. “Why didn’t you radio and tell me about going there?!”“We were trying to keep you from getting upset,” Peter replied.“Well, YA SEE HOW THAT TURNED OUT?!” Janine suddenly gasped, her hand holding underneath her baby bump. “NNNGGGHHHH!”Egon rushed over to her, assisting her to sit down. “Slow, deep breaths,” he softly instructed. He gently stroked her hair as he whispered that over and over.Finally, Janine calmed down. “Thanks…..I’m ok.”“More Braxton Hicks?” Winston asked.“No……the baby started moving around……hard!”“You’ve gotta stay as calm as possible; the baby can tell when Mommy is upset,” Peter said. “And Mommy should not be upset.”She glared at Peter. “How can Mommy not be?!”“That ghost capture was completely coincidental!” Egon replied.“Yeah, we didn’t expect to actually FIND anything!” Ray added.Janine’s eyes widened. “So…..you knew you were going to go there?!”Peter, Ray and Winston looked at Egon. He sighed heavily before sitting down on the corner of her desk.“You’ve been on edge so much lately,” he began. “We didn’t want to upset you…it was my decision to not inform you.” He took her hand in his. “I took a sample from the containment unit; the numbers are pointing to something big….again.”“Whaddya mean? Again?!”“We may be on the verge of another cross rip like before.”Janine removed her glasses, pinched the bridge of her nose and returned her glasses back on.“That’s why we stopped by the Shandor Building,” Ray added. “We wanted to just run a check and see if there were any signs of re-entry.”“Did you?”“We’re not really sure what we found…if anything,” Winston said.“We did find a really pissed off Class 5 ghost, but we got it!” Peter said.“What concerns us is that it seems to have lured us to a vulnerable area where we were restricted on using our throwers,” Egon added.“But, we managed to chase it back out, then we busted it!” Ray said excitedly.“So, what’s that mean?”“It means that this ghost was thinking more strategically than usual,” Egon replied. “The lack of proof as to where it originated concerns me as well.”“But don’t worry Red - we’ll keep you in the loop from now on. Just concentrate on keeping that bun stuck in that oven for a few more months!” Peter said.Janine sighed heavily, gently rubbing the baby bump. She looked at Egon with a worried expression. “Do you think it’s gonna be as big as Gozer?”Egon smiled even though his own nervousness about it was hidden. “I’m not even sure there will be another cross rip. I’m just trying to be proactive while there’s still time to be.” He leaned over and gently kissed her lips. “Don’t worry my dear; it’ll be alright.” He gave Janine one last reassuring smile as he stood and headed to the lab.Janine looked down at the baby bump. “I sure hope he’s right,” she whispered. “I can’t handle this alone.”******************************
Later that evening at the Shandor Building, a young woman was returning to her apartment on the fifth floor. As she unlocked the door, she thought she heard a low, growling noise.As she hesitantly entered, she turned on the lights. She gasped as she saw slime dripping down the living room walls!“Oh my God!” she screamed, racing towards the phone.But, as she picked up the receiver, an invisible force grabbed her and pulled her towards the bedroom!“AAAGGHHHHHHH!”The bedroom door slammed shut, the woman’s screams suddenly silenced.