neverstudied | Victory Road IC Inbox

[Venkman stirs after a few seconds of Egon shaking him, groaning pathetically. He throws an arm up over his face as if to shield himself from Egon.]

Whaaaaaaaat?

[Then, after he has a few seconds to think about the circumstances-]

Somethin' wrong with Ray?

No, no, Ray's fine. [A pause.] Most likely. I haven't actually checked.

[He extends an arm to pull Venkman upright, glasses glinting against the dim light.]

There's something I have to show you.

[And, without any sort of explanation, he just...starts walking towards the living room door.]

[As soon as he hears confirmation that this isn't about Ray, Venkman rolls over, facing away from Egon.]

Then fuck'ya.

[He just. Settles further back into the bed, crushing his face against the pillow.]

[Egon stops halfway towards the door, hearing Venkman bury himself back in bed.]

That's alright. We can demonstrate from this room, as well.

[He walks towards the door and gestures for Kölliker to come. She floats on through, "skipping" through the air and into the bedroom. She's big. Like, around three feet tall, not counting how far her arms reach. Definitely not the same cute little cell she used to be.

She makes a curious burbling noise, and Venkman can probably sense a feeling of mild excitement. Not long after, he'll find himself being unceremoniously hefted into the air by two large, goopy hands, followed by a psychic shout:]

< AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA DAD WAKE UP >

[Venkman's voice is still thick with sleep as he replies, his voice muffled by the pillow.]

Cool. Great... "we"?

[Vague, hazy confusion. His brow furrows, and he's considering the merits of lifting his head up to look at Egon and ask what's going on when Kölliker scoops him up and hoists him[and the pillow he's clinging to] in the air-]

Jesus Christ-

[Venkman's got the pillow in a death grip as his brain gets blasted with baby screams. It takes him a few seconds to register what's going on, and he gapes at Kölliker for a long moment.]

I... You... you're big.

[At least he's awake now.]

< YES! I'm a BIG GIRL NOW >

[Pride and excitement are conveyed through her thoughts. Her "ears" wiggle in excitement--Venkman may notice that she has a hair tie around each of them to make them mimic pigtails. Kö tries to adjust her grip slightly to make Venkman more comfortable, but alas, she hasn't completely mastered psychically manipulating her hands. She ends up squeezing Venkman's legs and and a singular arm in an almost painful manner, nearly tipping him over.

Egon clears his throat, approaching Venkman.]

Kölliker has evolved. [As if that wasn't obvious.] I brought her out to continue adjusting the containment units to try and accommodate for all physical matter, Pokémon or otherwise, when we discovered that her new form exhibited incredible strength.

[Moving images flash through Venkman's mind--a screw being dropped on the ground and rolling under a cabinet, Kölliker moving to pick it up and picking up the whole cabinet, Egon flipping out despite the fact everything on the cabinet fell off and broke.]

[He winces as she readjusts him, letting go of the pillow and reaching out to put his arms around her- purely to keep himself stable and not at all because he's genuinely proud and wants to hug her. Of course.]

Hey, easy, kid. I'm not a ragdoll. Gotta be delicate.

... Please tell me that you guys didn't break anything important. Or anything that belongs to the hotel...

< Oops. >

[She eases her grip slightly and tries adjusting her position, though she doesn't apologize. Her ears bob back and forth like antennae as she does a surface probe of Venkman's brain to find out what a "ragdoll" is.]

It should be fine. The mess will be cleaned up.

[That's not answering the question.]

We'll still need to run tests on how many pounds per square inch she can exert with her hands, but based on the PokéDex entries, I believe most of her species are able to crush boulders.

[Kö bubbles excitedly, inadvertently tightening her grip yet again. When she realizes what she's doing, however, she lets go and unceremoniously dumps Venkman back on the bed.]

[Venkman tenses up briefly when she tightens her grip-]

Please don't crush me like a boulder, I don't wanna get stuck in the hospital again.

[And yelps in surprise as he gets dropped back into bed. He sits up after a few seconds, frowning up at her.]

... Hey, wait a minute. She's not doing the- the double brains talking over each other thing anymore.

She is not. I believe in the evolution process, she may have somehow reabsorbed the secondary brain and thus amplified her psychic abilities.

[The Reuniclus hovers in place, opening and closing her hand digit by digit, watching as she does so. She goes to pick up a discarded shirt off the ground, stretching it between her hands and folding the fabric over itself. Egon goes to sit down next to Venkman on the bed, watching as Kölliker explores having hands. She seems to be humming an unidentified tune--something she made up herself, perhaps. The abstract feeling of warmth and curiosity overlays Venkman and Egon's thoughts.

Egon leans against Venkman--a habit.]

It seems like only yesterday she was a singular psychic cell learning quantum theory.

At least she won't be screaming and crying and putting herself in time out anymore.

[He watches Ko, idly thankful that the shirt is one of Ray's and not his. An odd smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, which only intensifies when Egon sits beside him.]

Remember when Ray called me, crying, to tell me she'd said her first words?

[Venkman tilts his head, leaning against Egon's shoulder.]

They really do grow up so fast, huh?

I do, yes. Approximately four months is a highly impressive rate of growth for such an advanced psychic being.

[Kölliker tries pulling the shirt on over her arm, sticking a finger out of one of the sleeves. She giggles.]

I recall the first time she met you--well, you in Ray's body--she gained quite an impression of you. [A pause.] Though, the swearing didn't help much.

[Kölliker casts an impish look at both of them, then goes right back to picking up clothes and trying to fit them on her.]

Truly, the time spent in this dimension so far has been...a very interesting experience.

Hey, you know how I am with kids. I don't really think to monitor how I talk around 'em. [He shrugs a little.] Not like anyone at the carny ever did, either. Not the best influence there.

[Venkman looks over at him for a moment, his expression carefully neutral.]

Interesting in a good way, I hope.

[Egon doesn't turn to face Venkman immediately, still absorbed in watching Kölliker. He then looks at Venkman, a mildly surprised expression on his face.]

Of course. Why would it not be? Barring the occasional mishap or grevious injury, this dimension has provided us with far more resources and unique modes of research.

[He rubs the back of his neck, glancing down at his shoes.]

The company is appreciated, as well.

Not like mishaps and "grievous injury" don't already follow us wherever we go, regardless of the dimension.

[A beat.]

You still miss your version of home, though.

[It's not quite a question, and not quite a statement, either.]

[Egon doesn't respond to the statement. At least, not right away. He just watches as Kölliker hangs some socks off of her ears and waggles her fingers, showing off for her dads.]

Very impressive. Do you mind helping clean up the living room? I can give you cake afterwards.

[Excited, Kölliker bobs her head up and down in the approximation of a nod and zooms off. The sound of glass tinkling can be hear from the other room.

Egon folds his hands together on his lap, a pensive expression on his face. He speaks slowly, as if struggling to come up with the words to match his thoughts.]

If I'm being frank, I am...not sure what to feel towards the possibility of one day slipping back to my home dimension with no recollection of this one.

[Venkman smiles for Ko, but once she leaves the room, his expression becomes guarded. His own words are deliberate and careful, and he doesn't look up at Egon when he speaks.]

Yeah. I'm not a fan of it, either. Even though I miss everyone back home- Winston, Janine... and the other you.

[Egon pauses, tapping his fingers against each other. He doesn't actually seem that bothered about Venkman bringing up the other dimensional Egon. However, he's still too dense to pick up that something is up with Venkman.]

They'll likely come in time, though there's no guarantee that they'll come from either of our dimensions. [He pauses again.] If another dimensional version of you, Ray, or myself arrive in this world, I would look forward to examining the differences that exist between each dimension.

[Meanwhile, Kölliker can probably hear all their thoughts, if she's not too distracted in the other room. But whether this occurs to either of them....]

Mhm.

[He's... faintly disappointed that Egon's not getting it, but not surprised. It's not like he's sure what he'd do if Egon figured out what he was concerned about, anyway. Venkman knows he's being selfish, and probably expecting way too much out of Egon.

Still.]

I'd hope there's a lot of differences between me and your universe's version of me.

[As for Kölliker, Venkman's in his own head too much to even think about the fact that she could be peering in as well.]

[Observing people and their thoughts and emotions is always much more interesting than cleaning up. Not that she'd do anything with the information besides filing it away under the "Interesting" label of her brain, but she's definitely Listening In.

Egon tilts his head, frowning lightly.]

From what I can observe alone, there are a multitude of differences that exist between the two of you. For example, your enthusiasm and interest in trains, as well as your interactions with others, such as your college peers. However, I would still like to do experiments regarding brainwave frequencies and perhaps DNA samples to obtain a comprehensive understanding of these differences.

[He's still quite oblivious and speaking from a purely clinical perspective.]

It's quite interesting how two separate people born under similar, if not identical circumstances, can have such different experiences throughout their lives.

Edited 2019-03-27 16:20 (UTC)

[A bit of the tension leaves Venkman's shoulders as Egon speaks, and Venkman shuffles a little closer to him. After a moment, he tentatively reaches out and clasps Egon's hand in his.]

How do you think the other Venkman would feel? If he showed up here. About this world, about me... about us.

[Still tiptoeing around the actual point, still tentatively trying to get answers for some of his concerns without outright voicing them.]

[Egon mulls these questions over, squeezing Venkman's hand gently. He then weaving his fingers between Venkman's.]

Well, I don't claim to be an expert in human emotional states, but I'd imagine he'd be...bewildered, first and foremost, then complain about the amount of bug-like creatures crawling about. Then, most likely eventually settle if he realized other Ghostbusters in this dimension, or, if he did not realize as such, would attempt to return to his dimension repeatedly. [He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.] As for our relationship, he'd probably be surprised and then make a crude remark on dating habits or any sexual topics with juvenile humor.

[And then, after another few seconds of considering this--]

Why?

Yeah, that... that sounds like me.

[Said with a hint of bitterness. Venkman squeezes Egon's hand back, and he visibly tenses again when Egon asks him the question. He answers as nonchalantly as possible.]

Just curious, I guess.

You think he'd be jealous?

[Hmmm. Egon frowns deeper. You're really making him use several hundred brain cells that have probably been neglected for most of his life, designated for "thinking about how other people feel about certain consequences". He doesn't feel great about it, for some reason, but then again, thinking about this stuff was never his forte.

Luckily for Egon, he doesn't have to think about it for too long.]

...I--

[The door creaks open, and Kölliker pushes open the door, still clad in Ray's t-shirt and various other articles of clothing slowly being absorbed into her cytoplasm. Her ears twitch as she stares at them.]

< Dad sad? Weird things? Cake? What's happening? >

[She knows what's going on, and she doesn't want to see her dads sad!]

[this is fake because you're implying egon even has several hundred braincells

Venkman flinches when Ko bursts into the room, and his jaw sets as he realizes that she's been able to sense everything this whole time. Fuck.]

Really wish that tin foil hats worked, right now...

[He doesn't deny what she says, at least. Not that it'd even work if he did.]

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