Day 2-3

[captainryan]

The second day passes much like the first with Stantz volunteering to open doors when he’s not away on a bust. When a call does come in, it leaves Ryan to prowl the empty rooms, frustrated and increasingly worried. If Suzi and Deitmar’s trip is anything to judge by, he’s going to be here for quite some time. It’s not reassuring in the least, especially since, according to Spengelar, he’s going to start fading on the third day. He knows the man has a machine to fix it, but…

It scares him.

So he does what he usually does when something bothers him that much and he can’t do anything; he ignores it.

The third day proceeds as eventfully as the first two. On a late afternoon call, Ryan’s again stalking through the rooms (he knows the layout by heart now) and keeping himself busy by imagining the many different and inspired ways he can destroy the stone angel responsible for all of this. C4 is getting some serious thought when he reaches for the door handle to the next room and misses it. Scowling at himself for not paying attention, he reaches for the metal again only to find that his hand passes through the knob, leaving a thin coating of ectoplasm behind.

He’s frozen a moment, hand just underneath the handle, watching it fade further until it’s quite clearly translucent. A whimper escapes from him and he slams his emotions down, refusing to allow himself to panic no matter how hard and fast his heart is pounding. He’s never been quite so clearly dead as he is right now, but he can’t focus on that. He can’t. One step at a time; he needs to get downstairs, only he can’t open the door. He knows he can step through the wood, but the thought is unsettling in the worst possible way.

Eventually he forces his eyes shut and steps forward, hearing the schloop sound and feeling the wood pass through him. He feels a bit lighter, now, as though he’s left something behind and realizes that’s probably from passing through a solid obj—no. He’s not going to think about it. He’s going to focus on walking downstairs, but his boots don’t make a sound on the wooden floors, drawing his attention away from his task. He could probably float if he wanted to, and no sooner is the thought finished before he is. He flails, immensely distressed, and wills himself to return to the ground.

Slowly, slowly, he makes it down the stairs to the front desk with about as many mishaps.

“Ms. Melnitz?” he asks as calmly as he can. “How soon are they returning?”

Comments

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Venkman gets something of a dry look before Ryan turns his attention to Egon.

"Please do," he says, eyes focused on the bridge of the man's nose.

[gone_byebye]

Some time later, Ray comes downstairs and reports that the machine is ready. Egon is waiting upstairs at the controls. "We've utilized this machine's theories and parts twice before," says Spengler. "Once in its original form, and once to restore my colleagues here and myself to solidity. They'd been forced to transfer over to the Netherworld after I'd been struck by the original blast and forcibly converted into a quasi-ghostly state myself. We haven't tested it on a genuine ghost yet, but since we're only attempting to restore you to your Milliways state of coherence, that shouldn't be a problem."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan can't really be much more unnerved than he is already. He could say something smart about it being a very big problem, though he's not sure how it could get worse. After all, he's already a ghost.

Though...

"Why did they have to transfer to the Netherworld?" he asks as he moves into position.

[gone_byebye]

"Largely because my own molecules had already been completely shifted into the netherworld through an earlier technological accident, and they had to locate me personally in order to reverse the process," says Egon. "Are you ready, Captain?"

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

"Yes." A soldier's answer, but Ryan's been ready since he walked through his first door.

Hopefully the guys won't mind any remaining ectoplasm.

[gone_byebye]

"Good."

Egon flips several switches before finally bringing his finger down on the big red switch, and the machine springs to life with a brilliant beam of blue-white light directed at Ryan's form.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan tenses against the light expecting...well, he's not sure what. For a brief moment, the world glows, almost shimmering.

The next it's spinning. Or he's spinning. Maybe they're both spinning. He doesn't know. He can't see straight, he doesn't know which way is up, and WHY WON'T THE WORLD STOP MOVING? Off-balance and about to fall, Ryan takes a step back, boot thunking against the floor.

Then the light's off and the world is as solid as ever, only Ryan has to decide whether or not he's going to be ill.

[gone_byebye]

There's a chair being shoved into place just behind him, and Ray's voice says, "I think we're gonna have to make a few modifications, Egon."

"I agree, Ray. Let me check my notes..."

"Captain Ryan? How're you doing?" Ray asks.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan sits, bent over and head between his legs. He feels, well, sick as a dog. However, that's a very vulnerable position to be in, and Ryan is soon lifting his head back up despite the queasiness.

"I'll be fine," he coughs weakly, making no move to stand.

[gone_byebye]

"All right. Let me know if you need a bucket or anything," Ray says. "Does everything at least feel solid for now?"

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

The werewolf holds up a hand, flexing his fingers as he checks to make sure he can't see through them. They seem solid enough, but to make sure he raps against the chair with his knuckles.

"It seems that way," he answers Ray, a genuine smile working its way across his face.

[gone_byebye]

"Great!" says Ray. "We'll have it tweaked as soon as we can so it won't give you so much trouble next time. Are you hungry? Winston's making-"

"Ray!" Egon snaps. "Not with you-know-who in the room!"

"Oh. Right." There's a little green blob poking his head through a nearby wall. "Slimer? Peter's got jellybeans hidden in his socks."

"GRBLAH!" shouts Slimer gleefully, promptly vanishing in search of Dr. Venkman.

"Peter's going to kill me for that," says Ray, "but it'll be worth it. Winston's making burgers tonight."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan is starving and while the thought of food makes his still queasy stomach shudder a bit, he's too hungry to care.

He perks at the mention of burgers, particularly since the Ghostbusters are aware of how much he can eat by now. Between Ryan and Slimer, they may never have leftovers again.

"Sounds good," he says, easing himself to his feet. "Thank you both." And he doesn't mean just for the food.