Day 1b

[captainryan]

Ryan hasn't been in a city since before he died. The scents are overwhelming. Not bad, mind you, just...wow. He doesn't even recognize half of these smells (though he could do without the car exhaust). Besides, it helps to distract from the whole cartoon world thing.

To his credit, he hasn't got his head out the window. In fact, he's sitting in his seat like any other human, though his head is thrust towards the influx of air, nostrils flared. What is that scent, and that scent, and that scent...

He feels like he's lived in the country all his life, and he shakes his head slightly as ECTO-1 pulls into the firehouse. He's ready to go home now.

Comments

[gone_byebye]

"Ever been to New York City before?" Ray asks, even if it's the wrong Ray. "Welcome to the Big Apple. There's a tour of the Firehouse if you want. Lots of doors to try along the way, too."

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"I have not," Ryan responds, checking where the large room's exits are. It never hurts to know such things.

He debates a moment on the tour, but as Ray said, lots of doors. Not to mention if none of them work, then he'll still know his way around this place.

"Lead on, Dr. Stantz."

[gone_byebye]

Ray nods. "Great. This place used to be New York City's Hook and Ladder Number Eight firehouse before we bought it- we had to renovate it and rewire it completely for our purposes."

Egon, who was headed upstairs, calls "Don't remind me" over one shoulder.

Ray ignores him and reaches for the first doorknob. "This is-" Not Milliways. Rats. "-the major reason why. After our containment unit exploded- did anyone tell you about that at Miliways?- anyway, after the containment unit exploded, we redid the basement and built a bigger containment unit instead..."

Left to his own devices Ray could babble about the Firehouse for hours, but he's at least trying to remember to concentrate on finding and opening doors.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan scowls at the distinct lack of Milliways before peering past Ray at the large red machine below them. One eyebrow arches as Ray speaks.

"Why, exactly, did it explode?"

Ryan, once he realizes that he won't be going anywhere fast, will be more than willing to listen to the useful bits of the tour, such as exits and what else has a tendency to explode.

[gone_byebye]

"Oh, an EPA representative who didn't believe in the supernatural and didn't like Peter's attitude forced a shutoff of the containment grid," Ray says. "Which is about as sensible as insisting that all the control rods be pulled out of the Shoreham nuclear reactor at the same time. Every spook we'd captured up to then lunged for the outside world at once, and bang."

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Ryan winces slightly. "Were you able to recover the spirits that escaped?" he asks, stepping back out of the containment room.

[gone_byebye]

"Most of them," Ray says. "A few of them escaped permanently, or at least we haven't seen them since. And then there's Slimer, who was the first one we ever captured. He came back after the explosion and started hanging around us out of curiosity."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

"Like a stray cat?" Ryan asks, waiting for the next door to be opened. He's getting a little anxious, but he's nothing if not patient.

And irritated, though he's managing to keep that out of his body language and tone of voice, partly because this isn't his territory and partly because he doesn't want to annoy Ray into not opening doors.

If that's even possible with this version.

[gone_byebye]

"Pretty much," Ray says cheerfully. "Egon says we were probably the first people to pay any real attention to him. I mean, other than screaming hotel guests." He turns around and heads back up to the main floor of the firehouse. "Let's see what else we've got in the way of doors- anyway, he comes with us on most of our jobs, sort of like a mascot-"

Rats. The next few doors, which involve storage closets and spare rooms and the bathroom, don't seem to be working either.

"Well, there's always upstairs. Come on."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan follows, his teeth starting to clench.

"Just how often do you find the Door to Milliways?" he asks, looking into each room with an intent expression on his face. That frown is going to become a permanent fixture on his face at this rate.

[gone_byebye]

"About once every two months," Ray says. "I almost never actually try to go through. I tend to bounce off the entryway if the other me's in there."

"For some reason," Egon interjects, "Dr. Stantz here doesn't appear to be able to duplicate his presence in any given continuum."

"Fortunately, it's been six weeks since the last time it appeared, so I'm about due to have a good chance at it."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

'A good chance' isn't exactly inspiring confidence, but it could be worse.

Ryan decides to find out how much worse is 'worse'.

"And the odds of that being within the next three days?"

[gone_byebye]

"Roughly one in a hundred and seventeen," Egon interjects from down the hall. "I would try the doors multiple times if I were you."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan fixes Ray with a flat look. He's the one who opens the Door, after all, and there isn't much else he can do to help.

He hates feeling useless.