The New York Soul Exchange

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Ray has tried to make a habit of using the same door to go to Milliways every time, except when there's an emergency. The door in the alley was inaccessible for obvious reasons- the Miliways side might change size freely, but the Firehouse side? Ha. It's the door from the garage into the street, or it's nothing.

Which means, essentially, that the hearse backs out of the Bar and onto a street scene that looks like this, or possibly this. It pauses a moment.

"You okay back there, Dominic?"

Comments

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

"Yeah." It's like riding in a carriage, really, only a bit faster and a lot louder. He looks out the window at the same tall towers and black streets he saw in his vision three days ago. "So this is really another universe..."

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"You have it easier than my buddy Garion. He's a sorceror in his own world, but he's been learning some of our civil engineering techniques and implementing them in his kingdom. Only trouble is he's too tall to fit into any of the cars or other vehicles here without having to bend a lot."

Once the door of the Firehouse closes, it opens again. This time Milliways isn't on the other side- just the garage proper. The car rolls forward and stops once it's properly inside.

"Keep an eye out for a flying green blob guy with arms and no legs," the car advises. "That's Slimer. He lives with us. He likes to eat, but he's got no impulse control."

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

"Sounds like my cat," Dominic murmurs as he carefully steps out of the car. He's doing his best not to gape in awe at his surroundings. Parts of it look like they could have come from any building in Callan, but there are strange machines and other things he can't identify at all.

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"Your cat's probably smarter," the car advises. "Slimer means well, but he's basically a personification of the concept of 'appetite' without a whole lot of brain behind it."

Slimer doesn't put in an appearance just yet, though. The sound of "WHURF WHURF WHURF WHURF" heralds someone else's arrival. "Oh, gosh," says the car. "I almost forgot. Dominic? Meet Francis. He's my daughter's dog."

Metal, and with a glowing yellow panel where eyes and forehead should be, and cunningly concealed ears and no tail, but.

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

Dominic smiles down at the little dog-golem (he can't help thinking of it as a golem, despite Ray's explanation of how these creatures are made). "Hello, Francis. It doesn't bite, does it?"

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"Nah, he doesn't have jaws," says the car. "He used to have an injector in the nose for a powerful sedative and razor claws, but I took those out when I got him. He's from a different world entirely, where he used to be used to hunt down dissidents against the state. I had him reprogrammed so that he could be more like a normal dog instead of a hunter-seeker all the time."

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

Dominic's eyebrows go up at the description. He's heard of soldier golems like that--elven warlords used them once upon a time--but he has a hard time connecting that image with the little dog-thing in front of him. "Well, if you're sure..."

He looks around again. "Where is everybody?"

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"Positive. I still have the injector upstairs, just in case it's ever needed. If you ever encounter a man in the Bar named John Preston, he brought Francis to me after Francis had attacked him."

"Oh, they're upstairs. Francis? Fetch."

"WHURF," the dog answers, and turns to trot up the stairs. "WHURF WHURF WHURF WHURF...."

A few moments later there are screek! noises as Ghostbusters begin sliding down the brass poles. Francis, however, returns via the stairs- leading a redheaded woman and an unsteady-looking man who Dominic probably remembers from his vision. "Daddy?" says the unsteady guy, with a voice that sounds remarkably like it really ought to be a girl's. "What'd you find?"

"Somebody who might be able to help us, Ecto," says the car warmly. "Guys, Janine, Ecto, this is my friend Dominic Deegan. Dominic, these are--"

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

"Peter Venkman," says Dominic, pointing to the nearest man, "Egon Spengler," the tall man wearing spectacles, "Winston Zeddmore," the dark-skinned man, "and Janine Melnitz," he finishes, pointing to the small woman. "It's a pleasure to meet you all in person."

Dominic? Showing off? Surely you jest!

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There is blinking, and there is raising of eyebrows.

And then Peter has to go and spoil the effect by saying, "So, you saw the movie,huh?"

"Not to my knowledge, Peter," says the car.

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

"I'm a seer, Dr. Venkman. I had a vision of your battle with von Stabbington a few days ago, and I believe I can help."

He turns toward the man with the girl's voice. "Ecto?"

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That gets an interested look from Egon. "Really?" he asks, and starts to step forward; the car stops him with one metal arm.

"Let the man do his thing first, Spengs."

"That's me," says Ecto, raising one of Ray's hands. "Do you really think you can help us, Mr. Deegan?"

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

"I do. But it won't be easy." He takes a deep breath and continues. "I have the ability to project myself into other people's minds. If I push far enough, I can enter the deep structures of their subconscious and communicate directly with their souls. I believe that if I do that with the two of you, I can use my own mind as a passageway for your souls to return to their proper bodies. It's going to be dangerous for all three of us, but it's the only way."

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"Whoa," says Winston, raising a hand. "You can actually get hold of somebody's soul? That's serious mojo."

Peter starts to mutter something, but then glances at Ray's body and stops himself. Egon merely lifts a brow at him and says, "What kind of monitoring protocols are you going to need from us for the procedure?"

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

"We'll need spell wards around us. The strongest ones you can manage."

If this doesn't work, it could potentially damage Ray and Ecto's souls. And Dominic knows exactly what happens when a soul is damaged.

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Egon glances at the car; one of the instruments on the roof slews around to face him, the closest Ray can currently manage to glancing back. "The Babylonian geomatic containment circle?" Egon says.

"And the Sumerian spirit confinement wards that we used in 2342 for Danny," the car answers. "In fact, I think we need to go full-on Black Oil confinement level."

"I'll go get those magnets of yours," says Peter suddenly. "This whole thing gives me the heebie-jeebies. Winston, you wanna come with?"

"Sure thing, Pete."

Egon and Ray are now involved in a full-on discussion of some of the more esoteric aspects of how to confine horrible malign alien things and which elements of their wards are applicable to human soul energies. Janine's just sighing and going back over to her desk; this kind of thing gives her headaches. Ecto takes the opportunity to sidle over to Dominic. "Don't mind Uncle Peter," she says. "He doesn't think I have a soul."

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

"I don't see how that's possible, given your situation," replies Dominic. "The spell that von Stabbington used was necromantic magic designed to move a soul from one vessel to another. If you didn't have a soul it wouldn't have worked at all."

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"Really?" says Ecto, blinking. "Cool! I mean, the soul part. I didn't know for sure. I thought I did, but I didn't know."

"-and the Lesser Voorish Sigil," says Egon. "All right. Dominic? Is this going to be done indoors, or do you need open air to work? We can accommodate either."

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

"If there's an open space nearby where we won't be disturbed, that would be best."

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"The alley's probably best, then," says Egon. "Since we can't get Ray here up to the roof. It'll be easier to lay down the warding lines on concrete anyway. I'll go get started."

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

* * *

An hour or so later, two humans and one '59 Cadillac hearse are standing in the back alley, ringed with wards both magical and technological. The Ghostbusters have done all they can; now it's up to Dominic.

"I think we're ready."

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Ecto nods and looks around for a safe place to stand. "What do I have to do?" she asks, and while Ray doesn't say anything himself, he's got the same question.

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

"Just make yourself comfortable and try to relax. From your point of view, this should only take a few seconds. I'll be the one doing all the work."

He turns toward Egon, who's the only one still watching from ground level. "If you see a really bright white light coming off of any of us, you run, okay? Don't even think about trying to get into the circle."

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Egon nods. "Understood," he says. "It won't be the first explosion I've had to outrun."

"Try to have a little confidence, Egon," says the car. In an undertone it adds, "Ecto's already nervous enough."

The physicist starts to speak, then glances at Ecto's awkwardly seated form and just nods instead.

"All right, then," says the car. "Ready, kiddo?"

"Ready, Daddy."

"So'm I. We're in your hands, Dominic."

[grumpyseer.livejournal.com]

Dominic nods. "I'm going to move your soul first, Dr. Stantz. A machine body will function without a soul for a few seconds. A human body won't."

He reaches out to touch the hood of the car with one hand and the side of the man's head with the other. Dominic takes a deep breath... and steps in.