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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-04
Completed:
2004-07-10
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8,114
Chapters:
9/9
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23
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Bust the Dead

Summary:

The Real Ghostbusters find themselves in big trouble, as well as in the past, when they discover a mysterious artifact. (A 'Kill the Dead' crossover.)

Chapter 1: Crazed Institution

Chapter Text

Bust the Dead
Part One: Crazed Institution

 

Dr. Peter Venkman proudly held up the smoking trap, displaying it to the crowd that had
gathered around himself and his co-workers. "It's all right, folks, we bagged your ghost.
You can tell the museum manager it's safe to come out."

"Oh thank you," said the flustered little man, dabbing at his forehead with a
handkerchief. "Whatever can we do to repay you for ridding our beloved museum of this
horrible menace?"

"Well, you can start by paying our fee," said Peter. "let me see...I'd say that five
thousand dollars should about cover it." He smiled in an ingratiating manner.

"Oh my," said the manager, clearly not expecting an amount quite so high. "That's a bit
steep...but if you follow me to my office, I'll make arrangements for the payment. Come
along."

Peter fell into step behind the balding little man, followed by Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray
Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore. The three looked at him dubiously - Peter always
seemed to enjoy pressing his luck. The figure he had come up with was rather high for
catching a simple Type 4 Vaporous Apparition, especially since they had destroyed a
delicate Ming vase, three velociraptor skeletons, and a model of the -Friendship 7' in the
process. They had chased it through the entire museum before it was finally caught, and
Egon was relieved that they had not broken anything else...like the rest of the exhibits.
"Peter," he whispered. "Maybe we should lower the fee, considering what we did to the
-Culture and Cuisine' display..."

"Aw, come on, Egon," he broke in. "This is what being a Ghostbuster is all about. Fun
excitement...you know, the whole ball o' wax."

The parapsychologist's retort was interrupted. "Hey guys, check this out," said Winston,
catching sight of one of the displays on the way to the manager's office. The others
stopped, curious, and gathered around the glass case.

"What the heck is that?" asked Ray.

"The weirdest thing I've ever seen, that's for sure," said Winston.

"It is rather odd, isn't it," agreed the manager. "But quite fascinating, wouldn't you
say?"

"Fascinating isn't the word I'd pick," said Peter. He leaned forward to get a better look
at the strange object in the case. It appeared to be some form of musical instrument, but
like nothing he'd ever seen before. He wasn't even sure he could have imagined
something so bizarre. It was definitely something to do with music, but it most
resembled an image from a painting by Hieronymous Bosch. It had not one neck but
two, each with its own set of strings; and it also had the mouthpiece of some sort of reed
instrument. The wood was inlaid with bits of stone, ivory, and glass; and it was held by
an elaborately decorated leather strap. In short, Peter thought it looked like something
straight out of a nightmare...and said so. "What is it, the earliest known example of a
one-man band?"

"How much do you know about it? Could anyone actually play it?" asked Ray, ever-
inquisitive as usual.

"I don't really know. This is a new acquisition, and the information hasn't yet arrived
from London. I myself know that it dates from some time in the Middle Ages; and --
according to legend -- there was only one man who could play it with any degree of skill,
and that was the man who'd created it. I'm eager to learn more, but for the moment
that's all I know."

"Maybe if he'd cut a few records, we'd still be talking about him," joked the dark-haired
man. "Classical's pretty popular these days, and I'm a bit of a musician myself-"

"There's something else we know about it," said Egon slowly.

"Oh really? What's that, Egon?" asked Ray

"That it's a highly concentrated source of psychokinetic energy," he answered, holding
up his flashing PKE meter.