A series of strange calls had divided the Ghostbusters into two teams that raced through the streets of New York City. Dr. Raymond Stantz and Dr. Egon Spengler had taken on a case revolving around a bank in Manhattan and two ghosts who were attempting to steal money from the vault. Dr. Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore had volunteered to check out a nasty hotel guest at the Sedgwick and were now attempting to chase down a spectral horseback rider who was chasing people through Central Park.
Inside the bank Ray and Egon were struggled to wrangle the two ghosts as they tore through the vacated main lobby scattering paper, toppling over chairs and sending dollar bills flying into the air in their destructive wake. Several loose coins littered the ground and overturned chairs created unnecessary obstacles for the two seasoned Ghostbusters to overcome as they deftly maneuvered through the messy bank and take aim at the troublesome ghosts.
"I'll take the one on the left," Ray decided as he threw a trap down on the ground. "keep an eye on his buddy for me."
Egon nodded in silent agreement with the plan. Tightening his grip on the thrower of his proton pack he stepped around the mess with the intent of distracting the second ghost to give Ray an adequate opportunity to catch the first.
The two ghosts, who appeared to be dressed in garb from the 1920s or 1930s, were very interested in the vault and the many valuables contained within. Hovering inside the sturdy metallic chamber the ghosts pulled open locked cabinets with surprising ease with the intent of taking every little thing they could find. With each cabinet door forced open the drawers within were heavily damaged and left in heaps of jagged metal on the floor of the vault.
Ray stepped into the large opening of the vault and looked over to Egon who was standing several feet back with a clear shot of either ghost. "On three," Ray told him as he aimed his own thrower. "one, two... THREE!"
A proton stream fired off from Ray's thrower and easily wrapped itself around the body of the first ghost and held it firm. As soon as the second ghost tried to make a move toward Ray's position Egon unleashed a stream from his own thrower and snagged it before it got away or freed its companion.
"Got him!" Ray called out as he stepped backward toward his trap, skillfully dragging the ghost with him.
"Same!" Egon turned around to walk back toward the trap with the ghost ahead of him, simply so he could see where Ray was standing. The PKE meter clipped to his belt screeched loudly as it suddenly picked up a new reading. "Lower them down!"
Controlling their every movement Ray and Egon worked together to lower the two ghosts down from the air and into the trap.
"Opening the trap!" Ray stomped down on the button allowing the metal doors on the top of the trap to burst open with a beam of white ionized light. "Easy does it, we have them!"
As the bright light enveloped the ghosts Ray stomped down on the release trigger for the trap once more and the trap snapped shut, sealing the destructive ghosts within.
"Two for one!" Ray commented as he holstered his thrower and scooped up the occupied trap from the floor. "Not bad. Let's check in on Peter and Winston." Ray took his radio from the clip on his left shoulder strap and turned it on.
Egon had also holstered his thrower as he unclipped his PKE meter and began scanning the air. "Ray, I don't think we're done here."
"What's going on?" Ray turned off the radio, never having said a word to either Peter or Winston, and returned it to its place on his shoulder strap.
"There has been a spike in the energy levels in a very small period of time." Egon reported as he followed the source of the energy back toward the vault. "Evidence supports the presence of a third ghost, one much stronger than the two Class-3's we've just encountered."
Ray retrieved his thrower as he glanced about the room suspiciously. "How strong is this new ghost?"
"At least a Class-5." Egon replied as he lowered the meter from his gaze, a chilly breeze blew through the bank from inside the vault and stirred up the disheveled papers strewn about through the building. "And it's here."
"Where exactly?"
The chilly breeze suddenly erupted into a powerful gust of icy wind. Egon and Ray ducked down their heads and used their arms to shield their faces as the wind blew papers, coins and even chairs across the floor. A massive shapeless black shadow seeped through the floor of the vault, hovering in midair with a cold aura.
Turning to look at the shadow Ray and Egon watched as the shapeless mass evolved into a humanoid figure completely draped in shadow. The figure had similar clothing to that of the previous two ghosts, although this third ghost's clothes were much darker and appeared to be of a higher quality. A hat on top of the figure's head drooped downward and managed to cast an even deeper shadow over the darkened face, which allowed its burning red eyes to glow with a fiery hatred.
"I imagine that this ghost has ties with the other two." Egon commented as he clipped the meter back onto his belt.
The ghost stared at Ray and Egon fearlessly, almost as if he was studying the two men.
"Well, we need to catch him." Ray powered up his proton pack. "Toss your trap and we'll-"
The ghost slowly shook his head back and forth as if to say 'no'. Casually reaching into his own pocket the ghost revealed a solid black coin. Using his thumb and forefinger the ghost began flipping the coin up into the air and catching it in the same hand, over and over again as he stood his ground inside the vault.
"I don't think he's too worried about us, Ray." Egon observed calmly.
"Then let's give him a reason." Ray took aim and pressed this thumb to the trigger.
The ghost stopped flipping his coin and held it tightly in his fist. Raising his free hand he waved dismissively at the two men and launched another gust of wind that sent them flying backward onto the floor and sliding away from the vault.
Ray sat upright and looked at the ghost annoyed. "That didn't work."
Egon sat up beside Ray. "I think the ghost is more coherent, if not more intelligent than our normal array of ghosts."
"What do you think we should do?"
"Let's trying talking with him." Egon suggested as he got back to his feet. "I'm certain he's here for a reason."
"What reason could a ghost have for destroying a bank?" Ray asked as he too got to his feet and stood at Egon's side. "I don't think the ferryman of the River Styx accepts anything but coins!"
"Charon accepts only gold." Egon confirmed as he recognized the reference to Greek mythology. "This ghost seems to be searching for something and I don't think it's monetary."
The ghost nodded, having understood everything that Ray and Egon had just said, confirming Egon's hunch that the ghost was more intelligent than the ghosts usually reported.
Egon took a step forward and held his voice steady. "May I ask who you are and why you are here?"
The ghost resumed flipping his coin as he looked directly at Egon. A deep, ghastly voice emanated from the ethereal form. 'I am here for my partners, and I will not leave without them.'
"Your partners?" Egon asked as he tried to understand the ghost's reason. "The two ghosts we've captured?"
The ghost nodded slowly.
Ray refused to relinquish the trap. Checking the metal clip that held the trap to the base of the proton pack he shifted his position to keep the trap behind him and out of sight. "If we refuse?"
The ghost lifted his free hand again, a surge of psychokinetic energy filled the vault as dropped items on the floor began hovering in the air in front of the ghost. Coins, jewelry, legal documents, broken bits of furniture and jagged metal debris from the destroyed metal cabinets all floated in midair between the angry ghost and the two Ghostbusters. 'I will not leave without my partners.'
Egon knew releasing the two ghosts was not an option. "We can't do that, it's too dangerous for everyone involved." He tried to explain the situation succinctly. "We're moving your partners from this building and placing them in our containment unit. You should join them."
'You're imprisoning my partners?' The ghost questioned hostilely. The various items hovering under the influence of his energy all turned toward the two Ghostbusters as if taking aim.
"They won't being imprisoned." Egon glanced over to Ray as his side and motioned for him to take a step back away from the angered ghost. "They will be placed in a form of suspended animation until we can find a way to- "
'Sounds like prison to me.' The ghost persisted, turning the offended objects in Egon's direction.
The front doors of the bank suddenly slammed shut and locked as the ghost's incredible power stretched all through the building. Ray and Egon turned their heads quickly and looked toward the large doors that had been sealed by psychokinetic energy.
'Free my partners', the ghost pressed adamantly. 'this is your last chance.'
"Or..." Ray switched on the power to his proton pack. "you can join them and we go about our business peacefully."
"Ray, don't push him." Egon cautioned wisely. "This is still a Class-5 entity."
'Perhaps you need a little persuasion.' The ghost tightened his hand into a fist and sent the floating objects screaming forward with a terrifying speed at the two Ghostbusters.
"Ray!" Egon stepped in front of Ray, worried that he may have provoked the ghost into violence.
Instinctively Ray ducked down as a rush of debris passed over head, just barely missing him where he knelt. Turning to look to where the debris had flown he stared in awe at the many different objects now embedded in the far wall like arrows in the center of a target. Realizing the severity of the ghost's threat he turned his attention back to both the ghost and to Egon, who was standing tall between himself and said ghost.
"Spengler? You alright!?" Ray asked frantically as he watched Egon standing motionless in the epicenter of the debris launch.
Egon stared blankly at the ghost as he took a single step back. Looking down at his chest his focus became transfixed on the large chunk of metal now sticking out of his left upper chest, adjacent to his shoulder. Knees buckling Egon crumbled down to the ground and fell dazed onto his back.
"Spengler!" Ray managed to catch Egon's head and neck before he hit the ground. The splash of red blood staining through the jumpsuit around the metal that pierced into the flesh beneath made Ray's eyes go wide with panic. "Oh, God! Egon!"
The ghost watched the duo as Ray unfastened the straps on Egon's proton pack, slipped it from his back and shoulders, before pulling Egon's body up onto his legs. Egon's head and neck rested against Ray's lap while Ray tore open the bloodied jumpsuit and tore open the fabric of the black t-shirt beneath. The metal had stabbed Egon's left pectoral muscle and was resting dangerously close to his heart. Blood seeped from the wound, pooling into an ever expanding crimson puddle on the floor under Egon's body.
"Oh, shit..." Ray hastily ungloved his hands; not wanting any contamination he may have come into contact with to be transferred to Egon's exposed injury, and pressed his hand down beside the foreign object in hopes that the applied pressure could stem the bleeding. Using his opposite hand he cradled Egon's head and pressed his fingers under Egon's jaw against his carotid artery to measure his pulse. "Hang on man, I'll get you some help."
'If you want to help your partner,' the ghost taunted wickedly. 'then you need to help mine.'
Ray stared up at the menacing ghost with abject horror. For the first time since the creation of the proton pack Ray felt completely helpless in the face of a ghost. The weight of the pack on his back seemed twice as much in that moment of helplessness, the radio on his shoulder strap seemed to mock him as the prospect of calling for help was so near, yet seemed so far away.
"I... I can't do that." Ray tore his gaze from the ghost and down to Egon's face. "I won't risk anyone else getting hurt because of them!"
Egon was very pale and cold from blood loss. Dark circles formed under his glazed over, half opened eyes. A small trickle of blood streamed from the corner of his mouth down his face, dripping rhythmically onto Ray's hand with every beat of his racing heart.
'Then you've condemned your partner to death.' The ghost hissed maliciously. 'I look forward to his company on the other side.'
"No, he's not going to die!" Ray defended with unbreakable determination. He pressed his hand down onto Egon's chest harder, the escaping blood flowing out from beneath his palm and between his rigid fingers. "He'll pull through."
'I have waited a lifetime to reunite with my old crew,' the ghost expressed solemnly. 'I am a very patient man, I can wait until your resolve breaks. You're friend, however, cannot.'
Ray's strong hands, sticky with blood, could feel Egon's rapid pulse under his fingertips and his heart beating under his palm. The injured physicist was breathing slowly and deeply, each breath seemingly his last.
"I need to contact Peter and Winston."
...to be continued...