Part Four: Experimentation

     Walter Peck stood a couple feet in front of Janine's desk with a very disturbed expression on his face, not feeling very happy to be at headquarters but he just somehow desperately wanted something from the Ghostbusters; perhaps something from yesterday?

     "All right wise guys, where is it?" He asked with an impatient tone.

     A quick moment of silence later, Jenny finally replied with calm but half of a nervous tone in her voice. "Where's what Peck--?"

     "Don't you give me that tone young lady," Peck interrupted. "Just tell me where you and your friends are hiding that thing you little brat."

     "Hey, hey, hey don't talk to my kid like that," Winston remarked, setting his daughter, Jenny, aside him. "What the Hell's wrong with you man?"

     "Seriously, why are you even here?" Elwood asked.

     "Funny thing to ask;" Peck explained. "You see about late afternoon, yesterday, one of you bozos have taken a certain creature from the museum just after it escaped. Isn't that right, Dr. Stantz?"

     "Me? What did I do?" Ray asked, confused.

     "Admit it, I saw you loading that animal into your car back at Central Park and drove off like a bat out of Hell!"

     "Okay; what're we talking about here?" Oscar said as he acted a little confused.

     "That black creature; t-that thing, the-- what the Hell is it? -- Dragon; that black dragon!! I know you clowns are hiding it somewhere around here!"

     "Oh, that dragon; never heard of it."

     Peck then slapped his hand onto his face and slowly slid it off him with an annoyed but angry expression. Elwood finally replied, trying to prevent Peck from killing Oscar.

     "Mr. Peck, please excuse Oscar's mishap, but why are you so concerned of that dragon? Besides, none of us were present at Central Park not even Ray was there; it could've been some random Ghostbuster-wannabe in a replicated vehicle loading something dark."

     "That's right; you know how fans are these days." Winston added.

     "Well if you must know," Peck explained, calming himself down a little. "I am now part of an organization that hunts down and reveal the identifications of the so-called 'supernatural'; and your little dragon is an example of disruption and chaotic distortions to the public."

     "Hm… The last time you were involved with some organization, you were the one that almost destroyed the military base." Egon added.

     "Say whatever you want, but rest assured I know what I saw yesterday. You all won't keep that dragon in hiding forever, no; because when I get my hands of that monster, you'll be wishing you never exist."

     By the harsh comment of "monster", Ray suddenly prepared to spring up after Peck to fight, but Oscar quickly grabbed him and held him back, preventing any trouble.

     "No don't; we're doing well so far, she's fine." He whispered, careful not to let Peck hear.

     Ray then calmed down.

     "We mean it Peck; we don't have this dragon in custody." Egon said. "Even if we did, we'd have gotten rid of it already."

     "Besides, it's probably long gone by now." Oscar replied.

     THUD!!!

     A very loud thud vibrated the floor of the main floor, and it was definitely coming from downstairs. Peck asked with a quick tone in his voice. "What was that--?"

     "Nothing." Oscar replied as well.

     Peck then gave a suspicious look by Oscar's reply. Ray quickly elbowed Oscar in the ribs to make him say something else.

     "--That is (ahem), I mean…" He continued. "It's probably some boxes falling; I'll go take care of it."

     But the strange thud emerged again, along with a couple different sounds.

     THUD! CREAK! CREAK! THUD, THUD!!

     "There it is again!" Peck said. "What's going on? Is there something downstairs?"

     All the Ghostbusters shrugged, pretending none of the noises occurred.

     "I don't know, heh; mice?" Jenny said.

     Peck just stared at Jenny. Then, he quickly jogged over to the basement entrance; Oscar quickly jumped in his way but Peck pushed him aside and just continued on downstairs, entering the basement. He stood in the middle of the room, looking over to see nothing but the large containment unit and some equipment lying around the corners of the room. Oscar then ran up to the front of the unit as Peck neared to search for whatever's down there, but surprisingly he wasn't aiming for the unit this time.

     "See, there's nothing down here;" Oscar said. "T-there's really no need to--"

     But then, Peck sees a new door just across the other side of the basement. He then walks furiously toward it with a sinister grin.

     "Aaaannd there he goes again." Oscar said, pointing at Peck.

     With a quick pace, Jenny charged up to the new door just as Peck came within a couple feet toward it.

     "Hold it man; don't you think you're taking this a little too far?" She asked. "I mean think about this for a moment, we're just talking about something that isn't real right? Seriously, do you really believe there's a dragon down here?"

     The mysterious thud emerged once more, and this time it sounded louder and echoed through the door Jenny stood in front of. Peck quickly grabs Jenny by her shoulders and gently but with slight force pushed her aside. He began to forcibly jiggle the doorknob to open the door itself, but it wouldn't budge open, as it was locked tight.

     "(Grunt) Why is this door locked?!" He cried.

     "Because it just is?" Oscar replied with a slight giggle.

     "Don't you start; now open this door immediately!"

     None of the Ghostbusters didn't bother to move a muscle.

     "Come on, open this door or I'll have you all suspended for disruption of an authorized court-ordered investigation!" Peck cried once more in frustration.

     The Ghostbusters did not move for the next couple minutes, until Ray slowly closed his eyes, took in one long deep breath, and finally pulled out the keys from his pants pocket. He slowly held them up toward Peck, which finally caught his attention in an instant; Peck snatched the keys from Ray's hand and began to fiddle with finding the right key to the door. At that moment, Ray's own heart suddenly shattered.

     Peck fiddled a little longer with the keys until he finally opened the door. With the Ghostbusters following behind, Peck rushed down another set of stairs and finally entered through the final door, arriving into the subbasement. Nothing but pitch black darkness and the aroma of fish was only found in the subbasement; no dragon or any other creature were present in the area.

     "Damn, isn't there a light switch or anything down here?" Peck asked.

     "I don't think that's gonna help," Egon replied. "The circuitry of this sublevel died out over three decades."

     "Just gimme a damn flashlight, will ya?!"

     So Oscar pulled out a large silver flashlight from an emergency case hanging beside the basement's in and out door way and handed it to Peck. He snatched the torch from Oscar's hands and switched it on, pointing the light toward the wall on the other side. Peck searched around every area of the subbasement; from all the cornerstones of the rear, to every capacity of the empty crates that were scattered mostly around the right wall and pillars. He even searched through the bale of hay nest that was set up at the far corner, even though it reeked of fish carcass. Alas, nothing was found.

     "Ugh! What's that smell?!" Peck whined. "What're you people doing down here?!"

     "… It's a… science experiment;" Elwood replied. "Our predecessors were just teaching us the… uh fundamentals of… uh…"

     "How ghosts and fish have similar smells and why they also have similar slime-like appearances." Oscar said.

     "(Nice save, Oscar.)"

     "(Thanks.)"

     "And why do you have the bale of hay and this nest?" Peck asked.

     "… Um… I just like to sleep in anything made of hay?" Jenny said with a cheesy smile.

     Peck just stares at the recruits with a very confused look on his face. But then he tossed the flashlight back to Oscar, madder than a stressed teenager, but then only stomps up toward Ray.

     "I don't know where you're keeping this thing, but I know you are not gonna keep it in hiding forever." He said.

     "Believe me Peck, whatever it is you're looking for you won't find it here." Ray replied with a considerate tone. "And I can assure you I won't be the one responsible for the actions you pull if you ever do catch it, whatever it is."

     Peck just stared at Ray until he finally pushes the parapsychologist aside and ascended upstairs, not even to bother saying another word, surprisingly.

     Moments after Peck was finally gone, Jenny quickly shut the door and locked it for now. She spoke with a now worried tone. "Seriously guys, where is she?!"

     "The dragon was here just minutes ago, what could've happened?" Oscar asked.

     "Okay, everybody don't panic; I'm sure she's still around here somewhere." Egon replied. "Winston, you turn on that backup light switch."

     So Winston walked over into a small room and found a small circuit box; he opened it and found a light switch, fairly new, and started to turn it on. The subbasement lights flickered on from built in deck lights hanging around most corners of the area. Then all the Ghostbusters split up, looking for the little black dragon.

     Several minutes later, as the men and Jenny searched all through the subbasement, Ray suddenly felt small particles of dust and wood chippings fall onto his head. He looked up after brushing off the pieces from his hair and suddenly notices an unusual dark misshapen silhouetted shadow underneath him. He looked up to see a large wooden support lined straight across five feet toward the ceiling, connected to a pillar; but he noticed the wood creaked slightly but held up strong, as though something was on it. Ray looked closely as he tries to figure out what it is.

     "Crap! We can't find her Ray!" Joseph said.

     "This is impossible; she couldn't have just waltz out the door, Peck would've spotted her by then--" Elwood replied.

     "Shh!!" Ray hushed.

     All the other colleagues stood silent after Ray's shush, but noticed he was looking up at the ceiling. They stood there, confused, until they heard Ray speak.

     "It's okay, you can come down now; he's gone!"

     Then all seven of the Ghostbusters started to hear a sudden but faintly soft growl from atop the ceiling, until a pair of green eyes appeared from the darkness, looking down at Ray. It was the little black dragon, she was hiding atop one of the interiors of the ceiling; so then she hopped down to the floor and started to nuzzle across Ray's face and licked him, like she were an excited dog.

     Ray chuckled. "Okay, okay, easy girl; I'm glad he's gone too."

     "So… she was up there the whole time?" Joseph asked.

     "That's one smart dragon." Egon remarked.

- - - - - -

     Later that day, Oscar and Joseph were checking over the contained green ghost, Slimer, assisted by Winston as he was teaching the boys about the basics and qualities of ectoplasmic containment. The little black dragon, meanwhile, was just sniffing around the area but noticed the men standing in front of the small containment unit. She noticed Slimer inside the contraption, but just tilts her head to one side in confusion; of course Slimer noticed the dragon, as well as he tilts his head in confusion.

     "Okay, so remind me; why do we have to keep this oozing blob of slime in this separate containment unit?" Oscar asked.

     "Well, mainly it was Egon's idea;" Winston explained. "See, he wanted to use some in-depth researches and test some of his experiments on this ghost for, you know, future generations. And that's where you guys come in."

     "I heard you guys keep samples of so-called 'different types of ectoplasm'; how can ectoplasm be different?" Joseph asked. "It's just a sticky substance produced by ghosts, right?"

     "Well you are right about that son; but we discovered back in '89 some ectoplasm can be effective in numerous ways." Winston continued as he picked up a small plastic container filled with some pink material inside. "Here's an example; this is what we call the 'mood slime', Ray and Egon said this particular type is active by the good or bad emotions."

     "Emotions?"

     "Wait, so… if I call that pink glop some bad names, it would attack me or something?" Oscar replied, confused.

     "Sort of; would you like to test it out?"

     "Yeah."

     "Sure, what the Hell."

     As Winston soon opened the lid of the container, the pupils of the black dragon's eyes suddenly formed into silts. Then as Oscar, Joseph, and Winston prepare to test the slime they hear the dragon growl angrily from across the room; the men looked over and sees the dragon snarl viciously, arches her back up slightly, and even spread out her wings wide as if she were preparing to take off in the air.

     "Whoa; what's wrong with her?" Oscar asked.

     Suddenly, the dragon leaped out and roared viciously toward Winston and the recruits!

     "Boys, get down!!!" Winston cried.

     Oscar, Joseph, and Winston all dodged in separate directions as the dragon charged; Slimer just hovered there in the unit, freaking out as the dragon charged closer to his location; so he turned cowardly to a corner and hid, but then the dragon stopped within inches and began to quickly look around. She noticed Oscar and Joseph standing in fear by the front end of Ecto-1, but snorted as though knowing the boys are not what she was after. The she heard Winston from behind.

     "Guys, go upstairs and get Egon now!"

     The dragon turned and noticed Winston's presence, but she also noticed the container filled with pink slime. Then, she charged once more, heading toward Winston!

     "DAD!" Joseph cried.

     Within inched, the dragon neared closer, until…

     "GRAB HER!!!" Oscar cried.

     Both Oscar and Joseph grabbed the dragon by the tail, while Joseph then grab hold of her head and wrestled her down to the ground. Oscar took hold of the dragon's wings and back legs and held her down as best as he could. Soon the dragon was in the boys' grasps very tightly.

     "Keep her down like that; I'm gonna go get Egon and Ray!" Winston cried.

     Soon as Winston placed the plastic lid back onto the container with the mood slime, the dragon's eyes suddenly formed normal, but then completely collapsed right onto the floor.

KA-PLUNK!

     "Hey, what gives?!" Oscar asked as he still held onto the dragon.

     "Did I just pull a secret hamstring?" Joseph asked.

     Winston felt a bit confused as well. "What the…?"

     Momentarily, the dragon softly purred in a somewhat dizziness statement.

     Winston then placed the plastic container on Janine's desk and began to creep up to the dragon's head. He then knelt down on the floor and reached out his hand.

     "Dad, what're you doing?" Joseph asked with a worried tone.

     "Joseph, son, I want you to let go of the dragon." Winston replied with a calming tone.

     "But what if she bites you--?"

     "Just let her go."

     So Joseph slowly and carefully lets go of the dragon's head and took a quick step back. The dragon slowly lifts up her head and notices Winston's hand reaching out toward her face; so, she finally pressed her nose against his hand, and Winston softly began to pet her, hearing her purr in comfort as well as she knew to trust him. The questions began to puzzle Winston however; what just happened? How did it happen? And why did it happen?

     "Joseph, go upstairs right now." He said.

     "Dad?" Joseph asked. "What if…?"

     "She's fine; just get everyone down here now."

     So Joseph finally rushed upstairs.

     Winston continued to pet the little black dragon awhile longer and then spoke once more. "What was that all about?"

     "I have no idea;" Oscar replied as he let go of the dragon's tail. "But it would be really great… if she didn't… do it… again."


     "You mean to say she actually… attacked you?!" Ray cried with a worried tone in his voice.

     "Well… not necessarily…" Winston explained. "All I know is I was just about to show Oscar and Joseph how some different types of ectoplasm have different reactions and so I wanted to have them test out its bad vibes for a moment, and then all of a sudden as if by instinct or whatever the dragon started to charge at us."

     Elwood, meanwhile, was checking over the dragon's physical conditions and dentures; but so far he found nothing in which caused her to snap at Winston and the boys.

     "Hmm… No spots, no infections, no abnormal disorders of the cavity, no skin irritations; as far as I can tell, this little dragon's healthy as a lark." Elwood explained as he finished examining the dragon's conditions.

     "But what exactly set her off is the question." Joseph asked. "All I know is dad was about to have myself and Oscar test out that mood slime and--"

     "Mood Slime?" Egon asked with a shocked expression. "Wait a minute; Winston you said the dragon charged you as if by instinct right?"

     "Yeah? I guess so."  Winston asked, confused.

     "Where'd you put that container?"

     "What, the slime? Egon, what does that got to do with--"

     "Just hand it over, I think I know what made this dragon snap,"

     So Winston walked over to Janine's desk and picked up the small container filled with the pink mood slime he set down once before. He gave it to Egon, and Egon began to study the container but mostly concentrated on the little black dragon, who just sat there with her head tilted to the side, feeling a bit confused.

     "Kids, go hold down the dragon as tight as you can." Egon said.

     "Hold her down? Why?" Jenny asked, confused as well.

     "Just hold onto her; I think I know what made the dragon set off her attack."

     So Oscar, Elwood, Joseph, and Jenny all began to gently and carefully grab hold of the little black dragon and held her tight as they could. The little dragon made a confused purr, wondering what the Ghostbusters recruits were doing; then again, the rookies themselves have no idea what Egon was planning.

     Then, Egon removed the lid of the container as he stood five feet in front of the dragon, face to face. In a quick instance, the eye pupils of the dragon's suddenly formed into a pair of slits; she began to snarl viciously as well as she even started to charge, but was held back by the recruits who all began to notice the unusual change of expressions on the creature.

     "Whoa! What the--?!" Oscar cried.

     "Hold her! Hold her!!" Elwood exclaimed.

     Despite the strength, the black dragon inched as hard as she could closer to Egon, somehow aiming toward the pink slime in the container.

     "Egon, what's the point?! (Grunt) I can't hold her much longer!" Jenny cried as she held onto the dragon as tight as she could along with her colleagues.

     "Just watch carefully," Egon explained as he finally placed the lid back onto the container.

     Soon the dragon suddenly returned to normal, and started to purr softly as she calmly sat on her hind quarters. The recruits didn't know at first why she was acting so cranky, until momentarily noticed it had something to do with the pink slime itself.

     Then, Egon opened the container once more and held it up toward the dragon, causing her to growl and sneer viciously as if she were in attack formation. Egon closed the container, making the dragon calm once again; then once more, Egon opened the jar and the dragon began to snarl and growl very angrily, until Egon quickly closed the object again and the dragon quickly returned to normal.

     Egon studied the dragon momentarily, thinking of her reactions each time he opens the container. He then looked over at Ray, who had been awestricken a little by the whole process, but knew for certain something needs to be done.

     "I believe we'll need to confirm a rigorous test." Egon said.

     About an hour and a half passed; all the recruits gathered around the little black dragon as they strapped on a large saddle around her upper chest and back area, securing it on tight as if she were a horse. Then Ray and Egon came downstairs as they were in the laboratory earlier; Ray is seen fully dressed in his khaki uniform, strapped on with the ghost trap, the arm pack, and a walkie-talkie that's hooked up to his belt. He was actually the only one in preparation for a possible involvement with the little black dragon, perhaps a flight test?

"Egon, are you sure our little friend here won't have a neurological breakdown from this test?" Ray asked as he adjusted his arm pack, along with some of the other smaller equipments strapped onto his uniform.

"It's hard to say;" Egon explained. "Considering the fact this dragon had just triggered a somewhat sensory system tactic that may have something to do with the psychomagnotheriac plasm. So to confirm this test, we'll have to release our science experiment out into the city, testing whether or not the dragon may be an exact connection with the ghosts and apparitions. Though I fear this test may cause a slight 50/50 chance of possible attraction to the public, but as long as you are in control of her Ray, then hopefully no reports will be confirmed at a later time."

     "But isn't there any other way to tell of her enragement that was simultaneously caused by the appearance of the mood slime?"

     "I'm afraid not at this point; all you have to do is study the abhorrent behavior of the dragon and what the pinpoint cause of her sensory mechanisms are. Maybe, if I'm correct, it'll help us find a clue on the whereabouts of Rita."

     "… God, I hope so." Ray whispered, trying hard not to expose his emotions.

     Then Ray finally walked up to the little black dragon, seeing how she was strapped on with the saddle and was prepared for the experiment. At first Ray didn't want to go through with this, feeling something might go wrong if anyone actually sees the dragon. Luckily though, it was just past the sunset hours and hopefully no one will notice. So Ray begins to grab hold of the saddle, preparing himself to climb on but at first he softly pets the dragon in comfort and he whispered with as soft tone in his voice.

     "Are you ready?"

     The dragon purred softly in a positive agreement.

     "Okay. Here goes nothing."

     Then Ray finally climbed onto the dragon's back and settled on tight, keeping himself straight as he sat. The dragon kept herself strong, despite the little extra weight she now carries on her back, but was rather confident in the activity that's going to happen soon.

     "Ray you'll need to put this over the dragon's head for a moment;" Winston said as he handed Ray a large empty sack and then looked over at the recruits as they stood beside the dragon. "Egon and I are about to go release that green spud in just a few minutes. Kids, all of you need to hold down the dragon to the ground once more."

     "Oh boy, I don't like where this is going." Jenny said.

     So the recruits began to hold down the dragon by the legs while Ray placed the empty sack over her head, making her not see the ghost once it's released. The dragon whined at first, confused to what was going on until she heard Ray whisper. "It's okay, you're not gonna wear this for long." So the dragon finally calmed down as Ray placed the sack over her head.

     Then Egon and Winston walked over to the small containment unit where the green ghost, Slimer, is contained inside; both men reached over to each side of the contraption, grabbing hold of emergency levers, preparing themselves to release their living science experiment.

     "Alright. Is everybody ready?" Winston asked.

     All the recruits and Ray agreed in their preparation; as well, the recruits all held the dragon down very tightly as she began to spread out her wings slightly.

     "Okay. Three… two… one… Release!" Egon cried.

     Winston and Egon instantaneously pulled down the levers, causing the containment unit's main glass door to open and Slimer immediately began to fly out, but noticed the dragon starting to react to her senses by its presence. Then it finally flew over to the dragon, looking at her at first, but then the dragon suddenly began to snap its jaws rapidly even though the sack was still on her.

     "Janine, open the main doors!" Egon cried.

     Janine reached over to her desk and slammed her hand onto the main button, causing the firehouse doors to finally open slowly. Slimer didn't even move at first, but then Oscar noticed the ghost still hanging around and so he finally spoke with a jokingly tone.

     "You'd better run squirrel!"

     And so Slimer finally flew out of the firehouse.

     "Wait for it… wait for it…" Egon said as he checked over his watch, as well as letting the recruits hold down the dragon a little longer. "Okay now; let her go!"

     All the recruits finally let go of the dragon, jumping out of the way, and Ray finally lift the empty sack off of the dragon's head. The dragon's pupils formed into attack mode, spread out her wings, and then she instantaneously took off out of the firehouse with Ray holding on tightly onto her back! Ray couldn't help but scream in dreadful fear as the dragon flew higher and higher above the city. All the recruits, Egon, Winston, and Janine all rushed outside, seeing the dragon and Ray fly higher above the city, almost unable to even see them anymore.

     "Wow! Look at her go!" Oscar cried.

     Over one thousand feet up in the air, the dragon flew in midair and started to look around at the moment, examining the entire area of Tribeca; then Ray still held onto the dragon very tightly, at first scared out of his wits by the sudden takeoff, until momentarily his walkie-talkie began to go off, hearing Egon's voice.

     "(Zzztt) Ray? Ray, what's going on? What's happening?!"

     Ray turned on the device and replied with a slight panicking tone. "Egon?! The dragon's just starting to examine over the designated area; she's just starting to get used to the outside! Right now I believe she's about to engage a primary targeting sense on finding our living science experiment!"

     "Just stay on her and examine every single movement she does."

     "Okay. Over and o--AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!"

     The dragon suddenly dove right down into the city, somehow sensing Slimer's presence.

- - - - - -

     Around the corner of West Broadway, a young boy with short dark brown hair with bangs hanging to the side, dark green eyes, dressed in a forest green long sleeve shirt with a linen dark brown vest, black denim jeans, and a pair of Vans product sneakers was seen walking a black, green eyed, Labrador with a collar tag entitled "Toothless". They were just walking around the streets, minding their own business.

     "Come on Toothless, hurry up with your personal business so I can meet up with Astrid down at the coffee shop." The boy said.

     Then Toothless's ears perked up in fear, hearing something from behind. He started to whine in dread; somehow it was as if he knew something was coming.

     "What is it boy? What's wrong?" The boy asked, noticing the fear in his dog's eyes.

     Then a sudden moaning came from behind the boy and Toothless; both of them turned to see Slimer actually flying right toward them, but luckily the boy and Toothless dodged as Slimer whizzed right over their heads, but looked up to see Slimer disappear into the streets.

     "Whoa! What was that?!" The boy asked with shock.

     Toothless began to bark, but the boy stopped and calmed him down at the moment. Then, behind the boy and Toothless, Ray and the dragon are seen flying right toward them as they continued to chase Slimer around the neighborhood!

     "LOOK OOOUT!!!" Ray cried as he steered the dragon to pull her up.

     Once more, the boy and Toothless dodged to the ground while Ray and the little black dragon soon whizzed right over their heads and finally disappeared into the streets, staying on Slimer's tracks. In shock, the boy looked up to see the dragon and Ray disappear; he just sat there on the ground at first with Toothless standing beside him, then he finally spoke with a concerned look of dread on his face.

     "I told Astrid before and I'll say it again; I did not want to leave Berk."

     Minutes later, Ray and the little black dragon soon caught up with Slimer, who was heading right into a very dark alleyway just at the far corner of fifth avenue. Soon the ghost stopped right in the middle of the area until it was suddenly hit by a large surge of fire, able to affectively weaken its stamina. The black dragon finally landed a few feet away from Slimer and started to let out another fire ball at the ghost, taking it down to the ground. Slimer weakened increasingly by a couple more fire blasts, almost as if he were about to finally deteriorate all together.

"Wow! This is amazing;" Ray cried as he checked over Slimer's condition with the PKE meter. "It seems the dragon's firepower is able to take down an entity in just a few blasts; the surgical power force looks to have a similar effect to the particle throwers, only this is twice as powerful!"

But the dragon however didn't want to stop her assignment; the closer she got to Slimer, the more she fired her weapon at the entity, weakening it much more dramatically. Ray soon realizes that if Slimer takes in one or more blast from the dragon, it could be possible Slimer will be gone for good.

"Hold it! Stop!" Ray cried as he finally hopped off the dragon and calmed her down. "It's okay; you finally got him, calm down. I'll handle the rest."

The dragon finally calmed down, but snorted a little only by the sheer appearance of Slimer, himself. So Ray finally pulled out the ghost trap and wrangled in Slimer; he stomped onto the mechanism, operating the trap as it starts to open, and it finally took in Slimer. Afterwards, Ray picked up the full ghost trap and placed it back onto his belt.

     Momentarily, the dragon nudged against Ray's shoulder and purred, almost as if she were saying she was sorry how she overreacted. Ray pets the dragon in comfort and replied with a soft tone. "It's okay girl, I understand. You're acting as if you really are a Ghostbuster; I mean the fire you kept breathing out had the same basic particle span as that of the particle streams of the proton packs. Boy, will Egon flip when he finds out about this."

     Speaking of which, Ray's walkie-talkie went off just in time.

     "(Zztt!) Ray? How'd it go? Did the dragon produce any negative or positive effects on our science experiment?" Egon asked with a slight frantic tone.

     Ray picked up the mechanism and replied. "Egon? It actually went very well. You're not gonna believe what just happened, I wish you and the others could've seen it, it was awesome! Apparently the dragon's fire power had a strong effect on Slimer; it was able to weaken more of its PKE levels faster than the effects of the proton packs, and get this the dragon's fireballs had a very similar proton based equivalence as that of the particle streams of the neutrona wands. I think we have a very unique animal version of a Ghostbuster here--!"

     Egon replied, but somehow with an unusual tone of a deadpan emotion with a hint of worry though. "That's great Ray but save the analysis for later; get the creature back here at headquarters as soon as possible, we've just got a call from the curator back at the museum and he wants us all to attend there immediately."

     As Egon signed out, there was suddenly a dark chill running through Ray's skin, feeling as though something worse is going to happen sometime soon once he and the dragon returned. So Ray placed the walkie-talkie back onto his belt, until he heard the little black dragon purr with a slight confusion in its tone, as though it was wondering what was going on.

     "What? It's probably just a routine checkup around the museum exhibit from yesterday, nothing serious really." Ray remarked, petting the little dragon. "Tell you what; let's go take a quick flight around Manhattan before we catch up with the others, how 'bout it?"

     The little black dragon yipped with glee and suddenly started to quickly lift Ray up through his legs, letting him stumble right onto her back. Ray sat up on the saddle, setting himself comfortably for takeoff; he spoke with a calming tone, trying to calm the little dragon down a little bit from her excitement.

     "Okay, okay, take it easy girl. (Chuckle) Let's get going."

     So the black dragon finally took a small running start, spread out her wings, and finally lifted off high into the sky with Ray holding on, but this time he didn't feel as frightened as before, but finally enjoyed the adrenaline rush of flying high into the sky. Still, as the dragon flew onward around the city, only one deep thought occurred through Ray's mind; even throughout the entire experimentation of the dragon's attack formation, all Ray could think about the entire time… is the safety of his young niece Rita, hoping and praying she's still alive on the other side.

     "… Oh Rita… I wish you were here to see this." He sighed as a small, single teardrop slowly shed down his cheek.