24 traps ... empty ...

[ectobabble]

[Ray is normally somewhat of a mid-morning person. but this morning he's woken by the sound of the alarm he installed next to his bed - a very loud, fire-station type of bell that he put in because he'd grown used to the sound of it back home.

and he'd conditioned himself to know what that sound meant, too: ghosts.

he's already up and out to the lobby in his pajamas before he realizes that this isn't a dream - that there really IS a containment breach in the basement, and --

-- and the columns of the lobby are twisted like soft-serve ice cream and the door to the basement looks like something out of a Tim Burton movie. okay, so maybe it IS a dream.

he runs with it anyway, darting down the hall into the Patrol headquarters, fumbling with the security codes to the locks. a ghost glides past him on his way through the antechamber, and when he reaches the main area, it's plain what's happened - the door to the containment unit has been knocked loose and ghosts are streaming out of it. some of them fly out willfully, others just kind of drift as though they're not quite sure what to do with themselves. and even more oddly, some of them are just sort of pressed into the opening -- as though they're trying to keep some others out.]

OH, SHIT--!

[Ray rushes up to the door and throws his back against it, pushing with all his might to get it closed. when it finally seals, he lets out a sigh of relief and checks the counter on the side, as the escapees drift around. he can already hear crashes from inside Brennan's lab as a few of them get into -- something.]

... well, nothing I can do about it right now, I guess. Might as well go put some real clothes on and suit up.

[he takes a second to catch his breath, then begins the trudge back up to his room. yeah, if this was a dream he would already be there by now. so something's definitely up with the castle. at one point he's pretty sure the stones of the tower wall are sagging, somehow, like something out of a Salvador Dali painting. once he reaches his room, he goes straight for his closet and starts speed-dressing - jeans, t-shirt, socks, Ghostbusting jumpsuit, work boots. then he opens his journal:]

Good morning, Paradisa. This is Dr. Ray Stantz. Listen, if you see some extra ghosts running around today, it's -- we had a containment breach down in the basement. It's probably due to all this ectoamospheric weirdness we've got going on, which I'm also gonna look into - but I'm gonna need some help carrying ghost traps and PKE meters to help track these things down and put 'em back. They're all Class Threes and Fours, humanoid, but we need to get 'em contained before they cause too much more structural damage. I'll be down in the basement in about ten if anyone wants to meet me there.

[only, it'll be more like twenty, because when he wishes up a trunk for the extra equipment, he gets a very small elephant, which he has to chase around the apartment ... and keep Blue from hurting ...

he'll be there eventually. promise.]


((OOC: Happy Leap Day! ALL ghosts are townspeople, there are no WOW-related or PC spirits loose in the castle. On that condition, this has been Mod Approved! Come help Ray catch some ghosts, or feel free to have one get into your stuff and wreck it. ... As if you didn't have enough troubles, today....))

Comments

[sameteam]

I can help!

[ectobabble]

Great! Uh -- do you know the way down to the basement? It's the door between the - NO DUMBO THAT'S MY -- BLUUUUUEEEE GET OFF THE -- [there are some various crashing noises, a lot of barking, and a very tiny trumpeting sound as Ray attempts to restore chaos] ergh. [ahem] Two western towers... I'll have to let you in.

[sameteam]

[Listening closely, because that sounds kinda fun vaguely dangerous. He probably shouldn'--- nope gonna go help Ray.]

I'll knock when I'm there! [Taking his journal with him! Time for adventures!!!]

[ectobabble]

[EVENTUALLY he shows up. it took a little longer because halfway down the stairs the railing turned into a gigantic rope of taffy and he didn't realize it - and his hand got stuck - and -- yes.

he's still licking his fingers when he walks up ... behind ... Sam ... dragging one of his sheets behind him. he couldn't wish up any containers, so bundling the traps was the best he could manage]

Hey, kiddo.

[sameteam]

[Sam hears someone behind him and glances behind him as Ray greets him, grinning widely.] Ray! Sorry I got lost.

[Doesn't help that the Castle is fifteen different types of weird SUPER COOL today.]

[ectobabble]

Yeah, that's okay - I kinda did too. I got stuck to the railing. [he laughs] This is just fantastic, I can't wait to get around and see what else is goin' on!

Here, here's a ghost trap ... I'll show you how to work it in a sec, we should go in an' make sure there aren't still any floating around the basement.

[he'll key in the entry codes]

[sameteam]

Me too! [Someone is excited everything is going haywire.] It's a ghost trap?

Does that make me a ghost trapper?

[ectobabble]

It sure does! [he grins, clapping him on the shoulder] Welcome to the ghostbusting business, rookie. ... Here, I'll show you how we find 'em when they get loose.

[he unclips the PKE meter from his belt and holds it out] Remember this? Pretty sure I've shown it to you before. [or at least explained it on his first day...?]

[sameteam]

Ghostbuster! [Sam nods and glances at the PKE meter.] You said it measures the ghosts.

[ectobabble]

Yeah, it's a PKE meter. This knob here helps me adjust the baseline level of energy the castle puts out, but it's ....

Huh, that's funny. The levels are actually lower than normal, today. [he taps the screen experimentally. yep. still lower]

[sameteam]

Lower? [Staring at the screen curiously.] Maybe if it's extra weird in the castle, it's not the ghosts?

[ectobabble]

No, it's ... this baseline level IS the castle. So something's making it weaker. ... And the ghosts that got loose are part of Paradisa, so if anything, they'd be making it a little bit stronger by being free. ... This is so weird.

[sameteam]

Huh. [Sam stares at the meter, tapping it again like Ray had.] Maybe there's something outside the Castle doing it.

[ectobabble]

I don't know. ... I've never seen anything like this before. ... But! Whatever's causing it, standin' around thinking's not gonna get those ghosts back in my containment unit! Trap lesson time! You ready?

[sameteam]

[Oh boy oh boy, Sam's face lights right up and he nods eagerly.] I'm ready, Ray!

[ectobabble]

Okay, it's super simple. See the pedal on the end of the cord? That's the door switch. Step on it, the trap opens, and automatically closes when the trap senses something inside. You just wait till I give you the signal, then pitch the trap out under the ghost - it's got wheels on it - and stomp on the pedal.

[sameteam]

[Sam nods a couple times, listening carefully and then nodding once again.] Got it!

[Oh man, so excited he gets to be a Ghostbuster.]

dictated; SO PLACEHELD...........

[psych0p0mps]

[DID SOMEONE SAY GHOSTS

ARADIA LIKES GHOSTS

so yeah the voice is very very excite.]

dr ray!!
look at all these ghosts!
real live ghosts!
haha this is such a nice surprise

[ectobabble]

I know, this is great! I can finally get a proper benchtest of my equipment! It was a little different actually capturing them the first time because they were contained in a static source, but this way I can see how the pack works with free-roaming vapors!

[psych0p0mps]

you know ive never seen your ghost catching stuff in action come to think of it
we should change that

[ASSUMING YOUR GHOST CATCHING STUFF WORKS CORRECTLY TODAY...]

[ectobabble]

[IT SHOULD, because it came here with him, it's not castle-given. at least that's how mun is playing it]

Yeah! You said you can see some of 'em, right? Where are you? I'll bring the stuff to you and you can help me work the trap.

[psych0p0mps]

i can see all of them :p
and talk to them too!
i was just chatting with a couple of them actually
and im in the lobby on the ceiling

[ectobabble]

On the ceiling?! Oh, neat! I was in there earlier and it's like something out of an MC Escher painting, it's great! I'll be there as soon as I can - I'm not really expecting there to be a straight path to anything, today.

What're they saying to you?!

[psych0p0mps]

the usual stuff mostly
theyre very happy to be free and not cooped up anymore
i think this guy wants revenge though im trying to talk him out of it

[ectobabble]

Uh oh. Yeah, that's probably a good tactic, keep at that. ... It's not a resident he wants to get back at, is it? I hope not ...

[psych0p0mps]

[whispered]

from the context i think its you
but im not going to tell him that

[kinky_stopwatch]

I'd like to help but I have no idea what a ghost trap looks like.

[ectobabble]

It's okay, I've got a few spares and they're REAL easy to use, got a nice fast learning curve. If you want to come down to the basement I can show you?

[pacificate]

In ten.

[ectobabble]

Adrian! --- Yeah, okay! I'll see you down here.

[congratulations, he's so distracted by the breach that he's completely forgotten that Eleven had you added to the watch list]

[pacificate]

[ Yay for distraction. It takes him definitely more than ten minutes to figure out how to navigate the looping hallways and find the basement, but he arrives in perfect form, and hair. ]

[ectobabble]

[and eventually he's there, too, uniformed up, proton pack strapped to his back, PKE and Gigameters and journal hanging off his belt - along with a length of looped plastic tubing for some reason, a pair of heavy duty black welding gloves, and a ghost trap.

he's also got some seriously modified welding goggles on top of his head.

what. these are the tools of the trade, man]

Hey, Adrian. I just wanna make sure that none of them are still down here in the basement, then we can start making the rounds of the castle an' rounding the little buggers up. ... Thanks for offering to help, by th' way.

[pacificate]

[ Adrian's first thought was, of course, how unseemly. The gadgets need some serious makeover, but desperate times and all so he keeps his comments to himself. ]

Waiting is more difficult.

[ He gestures for Ray to lead the way. ]

[ectobabble]

Guess that's a good point. ... Some people are pretty patient, though. I'm -- not really one've em.

[and he'll just ... punch in the sequence and let them in] Just, uh, wait here in the antechamber? I know the cells are kind of an Escher nightmare right now, and -- I don't know if the main area's any worse by now, so. I'll be right back. I just wanna take a quick reading.

[pacificate]

Patience isn't a virtue of mine either.

I won't move an inch. [ As long as the floors don't see fit to suddenly turn into jello. His hands linked behind his back, he simply takes in the surroundings, and waits. ] Shout if you need help.

[ectobabble]

Okay, I will, thanks. [he shoots him a genuine grin, then wanders into the main room and checks. a swipe of the PKE meter makes it plain that there aren't any more ghosts in the basement - he just picks up the baselines he's made note of for Legato, and what's left of the containment unit's payload. he's on his way back out when he realizes -- there's something he should be remembering about Adrian.

what was it, again?

eh. it'll come back to him eventually. for now he heads back out, meter in hand, grinning] Okay, all clear here, we can start huntin' em down. Here, I'll show you how to work the trap ...

[he unstraps it from his belt and holds it out to him]