"Look out below!" yells Peter Venkman, from the top of the firepole.
"You do know that we're only meant to use the pole when there's an emergency?" asks Ray Stantz.
Peter arrives at the bottom of the pole and makes his way towards his office.
"This is an emergency, Ray!" Peter explains.
"Oh, is it?" Ray asks, sarcastically.
"Yes, it is!" Peter replies.
"What kind of emergency?"
"I need to cut my toenails!" Peter begins, picking up his nail scissors. "The last time I cut them was about three months ago, why don't you cut them for me?"
Ray doesn't even answer. Peter takes that as a 'no' and begins cutting them himself. Suddenly, the front doors open, and ECTO-1 enters. After screeching to a halt, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddmore step out.
"Where have you two been?" Ray asks, trying to get the thought of Peter's extremely long toenails out of his head.
Winston holds up the steaming ghost trap.
"Some old lady called us in the middle of the night asking us to rid her basement of a ghost, but it turned out that she was the ghost!" he replies.
"Took us all night to catch her!" Egon says, yawning.
Suddenly, a scream comes from Peter's office. Ray, Winston, and Egon go to investigate and find Peter lying on the ground with blood dripping from his foot.
"What on earth have you done?" asks Winston, trying not to laugh.
"I cut myself with my nail scissors!" Peter replies, rolling about in agony.
"Well, I'm gonna put this ghost in to the containment unit, anybody want to come?" Egon asks, holding up the ghost trap.
"Yes!" Ray and Winston say together, and the three of them go down into the basement.
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"Were you followed?" the man in black asks.
"I don't think so!" the man in white replies, looking around.
"You got the ectoplasm?" the man in black asks, holding out his hand.
"I certainly did!" the man in white replies, taking a small box out of his jacket pocket, then handing it to the man in black.
The man in black opens it up and examines the green goo inside. After a few seconds he closes it and stuffs it into his trouser pocket.
"Well done, Upa!" the man in black says, holding out his hand again.
"Any time." the man in white says, reaching out his hand to shake the man in black's.
When the two hands meet, Upa suddenly feels a stinging feeling in his palm. He pulls his hand away and realizes that there is a dart in it.
"You don't really think I trusted you . did you?" asks the man in black, before pulling out a gun and firing into the darkness.
A few seconds later, a small fat man appears, with his hands over the bullet hole in his chest. Blood is dripping down his front, and it's only a few seconds before he collapses on to the ground.
"You.you'll kill.kill us all!" Upa says, lying on the ground in agony.
"But how can I kill you when you're already dead?" the man in black asks, laughing.
Upa's vision begins to go fuzzy. He is fading into darkness. Disappearing from existence. He can feel his spirit leaving his body. He knows it's all over. He is dead.
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"So, how did you do this, Dr. Venkman?" Janine asks, while putting a plaster over the cut on Peter's foot.
"Believe me, you don't want to know?" Peter replies.
"Oh, come on, I could do with a good laugh!" Janine jokes.
Peter suddenly stands up and presses his face against Janine's.
"If you ever need a good laugh, Janine, just watch Ray when he's asleep!" he whispers.
At that moment, Ray appears from down in the basement.
"Hey, Pete, Egon's got some exciting new equipment to show us." he begins, "Want to witness the first test?"
"Sure, Ray, I'll come . want to tag along, Janine?" Peter asks.
Janine doesn't respond. She simply turns around and sits down behind her desk. A few seconds later, Egon and Winston appear from down in the basement.
"Okay, the equipment is ready to test." Egon says, holding up some strange, mechanical gizmo.
The four Ghostbusters then hop into Ecto-1 and speed off. They're so excited, apart from Peter, to be testing the new equipment that they don't even realize they've forgotten their proton packs.
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The librarian sat behind his desk staring at the old man wearing the long, red cloak. He has been looking along the same isle ever since he arrived 20 minutes ago, and has taken a look at every single book. Eventually, the librarian builds up the courage to walk over to him.
"Do you need any help, sir?" the librarian asks.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." the old man begins, "I'm looking for a big, blue book."
"Does this big, blue book have a name?" the librarian asks.
"Yes, it does." The old man replies
The librarian puts his hand on the old man's shoulder.
"This way, sir." the librarian says.
He then leads the old man to his desk and turns on the computer. A menu comes up with 'New York Public Library' written at the top, right-hand corner.
"Now, what's the name of that book?" the librarian asks.
The old man doesn't respond.
"What's the name of the book, sir?" the librarian asks again.
The old man suddenly slams his arms down on the desk. The librarian looks down at where the man's right hand should be, but instead sees a steel hook.
"Uh . the book's . name, sir?" the librarian asks, shaking.
No response. Instead, his face is slashed open by the hook. The old man then covers the hook with a glove and hides the librarian's body under the desk.
"Now, let's find this book!" the old man says to himself, sitting down in front of the computer.
He clicks on 'Name', then types 'Mairee' into the space provided. A few seconds later, this comes up -
MAIREE#1073896623NON-FICTION
"Found it!" the old man says, standing up.
He walks away from the desk and searches around for the Non-Fiction section. With-in a few seconds he has found it. He moves his finger along the isle until he comes to a very old looking, blue book. He pulls it out, blows the dust off the cover, and opens it up. A strange orange light is emitted from the first page, and then it disappears.
"This is it . THIS IS IT!" the old man yells.
He then looks around at the people who are now staring at him. He slams the book shut and runs towards the exit.
"Uh, sir, excuse me!" the manager shouts out, trying to catch up.
But, before long, the old man is gone.
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Ecto-1 comes to a halt beside a huge field out in the country. The four Ghostbusters step out on to the muddy track they have just come along.
"Uh, Egon, what are we doing here?" Peter asks.
"This is the testing ground!" Egon replies, spreading his arms out.
"Couldn't you have picked somewhere with a nicer smell?" Peter asks, holding his nose.
Ray and Winston open the back of the car and take out the equipment.
"Now, be careful with this stuff, it's rather unstable!" Egon explains.
Ray passes him a new, improved PKE meter.
"We came all the way out here to test a new PKE!?" Peter asks, rather disgusted.
Suddenly, Ray slips on the mud and drops a piece of equipment. A green beam fires out of the end of it and hits Peter's hand, causing it to start growing.
"Well done, Ray, now my left hand is the size of a bowling ball!" Peter complains.
All of a sudden, the PKE starts flashing.
"Woah, should it be doing that?" Winston asks, walking over to Egon.
"Only if there's a ghost in the area!" Egon replies, looking around.
Ray realizes what to do, and goes to get the proton packs out of the car. After opening the back door, he searches around for them.
"Ray?" Peter asks.
"Uh . guys . I think we left the proton packs back at the Firehouse!" Ray replies.
"Oh great! Isn't any of this stuff a new, improved proton?" Peter asks, not expecting a 'yes'.
The four Ghostbusters back up against the car. They all exchange scared looks, then grab whatever piece of equipment is closest. A faint laughter can now be heard, and something starts to appear from the ground.
"Well, guys, get ready!" Ray advises.
Suddenly, a huge flash comes from the field and a small, green ghost appears.
"FIRE!" Egon yells.
Peter presses the trigger on his piece of equipment and evaporates a fence post. An extremely smelly aroma comes out of Ray's. Egon's starts shrinking. And Winston's simply heats up and burns his hands.
"Well, I'd say it's about time we . uh . chickened out!" Peter says, shivering.
A few seconds later, the Ghostbusters are inside Ecto-1 and speeding through the countryside.
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The old man looks up at the sky. A single raindrop splashes on and trickles down his cheek. The book of 'Mairee' is hidden under his cloak, and his steel hook is covered by a glove. Suddenly, he hears a noise. Reacting quickly, he pulls the glove off his hook and sticks it out in front of him. He hears the noise again. It's getting closer. He spins round to see if someone's coming up behind him. After a few seconds, the noise goes away, and the old man covers up his hook again. He then turns round, and is forced back up against the wall by a tall man in black.
"You have the book, give it to me!" the man in black says, sticking a gun into the old man's stomach.
"I have no . have no . what . what book?" the old man asks, shaking.
The man in black takes the gun away from the old man's stomach, then shoots him in the leg. He then slams him up against the wall even harder.
"Give me the book?" the man in black asks again, now aiming the gun at the old man's head.
The old man doesn't respond. Instead, he pulls the glove off his hook and slashes the man in black's hand. Dropping his gun, the man in black pulls a knife out from his jacket pocket and slices the old man's throat. Blood begins pouring down his neck. He falls up against the wall, then slides to the ground and dies.
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The doors to the Firehouse open, then Ecto-1 enters and skids to a halt inside. A few seconds later, the Ghostbusters are out of the car and trying their best to stand up on the slippery floor.
"Janine, what's going on here?" Peter asks, holding on to Ray.
Janine appears from behind her desk with a wet, soapy sponge. She has an angry look on her face.
"Spring cleaning?" Winston asks.
"Yeah . in autumn!" Egon responds, sarcastically.
Janine suddenly throws down her sponge as if she's had enough.
"The new recruits are here!" she says, sitting down behind her desk, "I'm sure you'll be glad to meet them . I certainly wasn't!"
All of a sudden, the Ghostbusters hear noises coming from upstairs. Peter makes his way towards the pole and looks up through the hole. He sees nothing.
"Maybe we should go up and get them!" Peter says, making his way towards the stairs.
"LOOK OUT BELOW!" one of them yells suddenly, before sliding down the pole.
"MAKE WAY!" the other shouts out, following shortly after.
After landing at the bottom the two of them stand side-by-side in front of the Ghostbusters. They stay perfectly silent, until Peter asks them their first question.
"What are your names?" Peter asks, marching up and down in front of them.
"Tim Freeman." the blue-eyed one responds.
"Doug Robbins." the green-eyed one replies.
"Where are you from?" Peter asks, still marching up and down.
"England." Tim responds.
"Byron, IL." Doug replies.
"Okay, Peter, I think you can stop questioning them now!" Winston says, stepping out in between them. "Welcome to the Ghostbusters!"
A look of pure excitement comes across Tim and Doug's faces.
"So, when do we go and bust some ass?" Tim asks.
"Well, we have to wait for a call first!" Ray replies.
Tim and Doug's looks of excitement suddenly disappear.
"Oh well . at least we're part of the team now!" Doug says, trying to hide his disappointment.
"What do we do while we wait?" Tim asks.
Peter puts his hand on Tim and Doug's shoulders.
"Follow me!" he says, then leads them both upstairs.
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Dr. Frau is looking out his window at the night sky. The hailstones are starting to cause little cracks in the glass, but that's not what he's worried about. He is waiting for someone . someone who should have arrived ten minutes ago. Just as he starts to think that this someone won't be coming, he hears a knock at the door. He sets down the glass tube he is holding on the window-ledge and answers the door. A man wearing black is standing on his doorstep.
"Ah, Trab, you are finally here!" Dr. Frau says, ushering him in.
Trab walks in and Dr. Frau closes the door behind him.
"May I take your jacket?" Dr. Frau asks, holding out his arms.
"NO!" Trab yells, sitting down on a wooden bench.
Dr. Frau feels slightly alarmed, but then remembers that Trab never takes off his black jacket unless he is alone.
"I have it!" Trab says, as Dr. Frau sits down in front of him.
"May I see it?" Dr. Frau asks.
"Of course!" Trab replies, taking a small box out of his trouser pocket and placing it on the table in front of him.
Dr. Frau opens it up and takes a look at what's inside.
"This . is ectoplasm?" he asks, poking at it with his finger.
"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Trab shouts, pushing Dr. Frau away.
Falling to the ground, Dr. Frau realizes that there is some ectoplasm on his finger. He tries to shake it off but it's stuck.
"You fool!" Trap says, standing up.
He then grabs Dr. Frau by the scruff of the neck and slams him down on the table.
"What are you doing?" Dr. Frau asks, shaking.
"The ectoplasm will soon cover your entire body!" Trab replies, pulling a knife out from under his coat, "Now, just stay perfectly still!"
Dr. Frau realizes what Trab is about to do and tries to get away, but Trab knocks him out and slams him down on the table again. He then starts to cut away at Dr. Frau's wrist, until his hand has been completely separated from his arm.
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Back at the Firehouse, Winston is working on Ecto-1 with Doug.
"Try it now!" Winston says, pulling his head out of the bonnet.
Doug turns on the ignition and the engine starts coughing up smoke.
"Oh crap!" Winston complains, covering up his mouth.
"Now, now, Winston, don't swear in front of the new recruits!" Peter says, walking by holding weights.
Tim is waiting for Peter by the pole. Peter hands him the weights and demands that he does nothing but work out for the next 20 minutes.
"You keep at that while I get some coffee!" Peter says, before turning around and walking into the kitchen.
On his way there he passes Ray, who is about to check on Ecto-1. When he sees nothing but a cloud of smoke where the car should be he starts to panic.
"Ecto-1?" Ray asks, sobbing slightly.
Winston and Doug start to appear from the smoke.
"What have you done to Ecto-1?" Ray asks, grabbing hold of Winston.
"Uh . nothing . everything's fine!" Winston replies, pushing Ray away and heading on into the kitchen, followed by Doug.
Ray gives Winston a dirty look, then runs into Egon on his way upstairs.
"Sorry!" Ray apologizes, then runs past him and disappears into the bathroom.
After reaching the bottom of the stairs, Egon decides to have a little talk with Tim.
"So, Tim, how's life been like with us so far?" he asks.
"Well, it's been alright, apart from we haven't bust any ghosts yet!" Tim replies, still using the weights Peter gave him.
"To be honest, we haven't had any calls for a while, but I doubt this town has run out of ghosts already!"
"Hey, Egon, it's not good to bother a worker-outer when he's working out!" Peter says, pushing Egon out of the way, "Yo, Tim, try this!"
Peter holds out his cup of coffee and Tim takes a sip.
"Ya like that . good . now, Egon, let's go watch television!" Peter insists, trying to get him away from Iain.
In the kitchen, Winston and Doug are washing their hands in the sink. Doug looks around a bit, then splashes Winston. Winston splashes Doug back. Doug wraps up a tablecloth and whips Winston's arm.
"Okay, I think we've gone far enough now!" Winston says, realizing he has lost the battle.
All of a sudden, Slimer appears in the front of them. Doug jumps back.
"Look . a ghost . can we bust it?" he asks, hoping Winston will say 'yes'.
"Sorry, not this ghost!" Winston replies, "This is Slimer, he lives with us!"
"But . that doesn't make any sense . does it?" Doug asks, confused.
"I would tell you the story but it's a very long one!" Winston replies, drying his hands.
Slimer floats towards Doug and holds his hand out. Doug doesn't have a clue what he's doing.
"I think he wants to shake your hand!" Winston says, patting Doug on the shoulder and walking out of the kitchen.
Doug looks at Slimer's hand. He screws up his face, then holds out his own hand. Slimer grabs hold of it and starts shaking it up and down.
"Yuck!" Doug says, pulling his hand away, "Ghost slime!"
Slimer starts laughing, then floats away into the fridge. After he disappears, Doug exits the kitchen. He then sits down on the couch beside Winston, who is watching television along with Peter and Egon.
"What are we watching?" Doug asks.
"Some silly, no-brainer about a man who falls in love with a girl, who turns out to be a brain-sucking alien!" Egon replies, sighing.
"Okay, a name would have been fine!" Doug says, putting his legs up on the little table in front of him.
"Oh yes, this is the bit where Sarah sticks George's head in a vice!" Peter celebrates, moving closer to the television.
Doug hears a door open then close. He takes a look up the stairs and sees Ray on his way down.
"Yo, Pete, it's 9:15!" Ray says, pointing at his watch.
Peter takes a look at his own watch, then jumps up and grabs his coat off the coat-hanger.
"Where's he going?" Tim asks, after finishing 20 minutes of working out.
"He's . uh . going to get a paper!" Ray says.
Tim gives Ray a funny look, then goes upstairs to change into some different clothes.
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Dr. Frau wakes up and finds himself tied to his own experiment table. The rope used to tie his arms and legs down is extremely itchy and his head seams to be lying on something extremely hot.
"What is the meaning of this, Trab?" Dr. Frau asks angrily.
Trab spins round on his chair and holds up Dr. Frau's severed hand. It's all green and appears to be rotting away already.
"It was the ectoplasm that did this!" Trab says, dropping the hand onto the floor, "If it had reached your heart . you would be dead!"
"Well, I guess I should be thankful then!" Dr. Frau says, while watching a rat take off with his hand, "Now, untie me!"
Trab stands up, pulls out his knife, and starts to cut the rope around Dr. Frau's ankles. After finishing with them he cuts the rope around his wrists.
"Thanks!" Dr. Frau says, getting up off the table.
All of a sudden, Trab grabs him by the neck and slams him against the wall.
"You do realize that anyone who betrays me gets killed, don't you?" Trab asks, poking Dr. Frau's stomach with his knife.
"Yes!" Dr. Frau replies, finding it hard to breathe.
Trab lets go of Dr. Frau, then pulls out the book of 'Mairee' and slams it down on the table. With a look of amazement upon his face, Dr. Frau sits down and opens the book.
"Where did you find this?" Dr. Frau asks, flipping through the pages.
"I found it on an old man . who paid the price for trying to keep it from me!" Trab replies, chipping away at the edge of the table with his knife.
Dr. Frau gulps, then continues looking through the book. After realizing that it is not in English, he tries to think of someone who can help then decipher it.
"You know, there is one person I know of who can help us!" Trab says.
"Who?" Dr. Frau asks, closing the book.
"A Ghostbuster . named Egon Spengler!"
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The rain pours down on Peter, who is rushing to get back to the Firehouse.
"I could really do with a car right about now!" he groans, trying not to drop the cardboard boxes under his jacket.
After turning a corner, the Firehouse comes into view. Peter starts running faster and accidentally drops one of the boxes just before he gets inside.
"Well, it's not like there's anything valuable inside!" he says, picking it up.
"Yo, Peter!" Winston calls from the top of the stairs.
Peter makes his way up and hands Winston one of the boxes. Winston takes a look inside and smiles.
"Try not to startle him too much!" Peter says, making his way into Tim's room.
"I'll try!" Winston says back, then turns round and opens the door to Doug's room.
Peter looks around at all the posters of RAF jets in Tim's room, then comes to a framed-photograph of a man, a woman, and a little boy with some brown hair beginning to grow in the centre of his head. Suddenly, he hears Tim groaning.
"Tim . wake up." Peter says, sitting down next to him on his bed.
"Uh, what time is it?" Tim asks, sitting up.
"Time for a surprise!" Peter replies, handing Tim the cardboard box.
Tim opens it up and his face suddenly fills with joy. He jumps out of bed and holds the black uniform up against himself.
"The logo still needs to be stitched on, but I got it in the right color didn't I?" Peter asks.
"You sure did . I only wear black!" Tim replies, starting to put the uniform on.
All of a sudden, Doug bursts into the room holding his uniform. Winston is standing closely behind. The two of them watch Tim as he finishes putting on his uniform.
"This is so cool!" he says, posing.
"Wear it to bed if you want!" Peter jokes.
After remembering the framed-photograph he picks it up and ushers Winston and Doug to leave him and Tim alone. They do just that and close the door behind them.
"Is this your parents?" Peter asks, pointing at the man and woman in the photo.
"Yeah . but they, well, aren't alive anymore!" Tim says, taking the photo off Peter and sitting down on his bed, "Haven't you ever wondered how I got this scar on my cheek?"
"I have actually!" Peter says, sitting down on the bed next to him.
Tim stares at the photo for a few seconds, then begins his story.
"My parents were murdered by a demon. Our house was destroyed, but I escaped with only this scar. I wanted revenge. But, how was I ever going to get it?"
"So, the reason you joined us was for some revenge?" Peter asks.
"And because you look really cool on television!" Tim replies, then continues his story, "After the demon disappeared I found some of my parents' money and bought a plane ticket to America. After arriving in New York I hitched a ride to Chicago and searched around for you guys, until I eventually found your HQ and realized that you were recruiting new members."
"Well, if it's revenge you're looking for then you probably won't find it here. But, what the heck, I like you!" Peter says, patting Tim on the shoulder, "Now, you get a good sleep so that you're ready if we actually get a call tomorrow!"
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TO BE CONTINUED . . .
"You do know that we're only meant to use the pole when there's an emergency?" asks Ray Stantz.
Peter arrives at the bottom of the pole and makes his way towards his office.
"This is an emergency, Ray!" Peter explains.
"Oh, is it?" Ray asks, sarcastically.
"Yes, it is!" Peter replies.
"What kind of emergency?"
"I need to cut my toenails!" Peter begins, picking up his nail scissors. "The last time I cut them was about three months ago, why don't you cut them for me?"
Ray doesn't even answer. Peter takes that as a 'no' and begins cutting them himself. Suddenly, the front doors open, and ECTO-1 enters. After screeching to a halt, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddmore step out.
"Where have you two been?" Ray asks, trying to get the thought of Peter's extremely long toenails out of his head.
Winston holds up the steaming ghost trap.
"Some old lady called us in the middle of the night asking us to rid her basement of a ghost, but it turned out that she was the ghost!" he replies.
"Took us all night to catch her!" Egon says, yawning.
Suddenly, a scream comes from Peter's office. Ray, Winston, and Egon go to investigate and find Peter lying on the ground with blood dripping from his foot.
"What on earth have you done?" asks Winston, trying not to laugh.
"I cut myself with my nail scissors!" Peter replies, rolling about in agony.
"Well, I'm gonna put this ghost in to the containment unit, anybody want to come?" Egon asks, holding up the ghost trap.
"Yes!" Ray and Winston say together, and the three of them go down into the basement.
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"Were you followed?" the man in black asks.
"I don't think so!" the man in white replies, looking around.
"You got the ectoplasm?" the man in black asks, holding out his hand.
"I certainly did!" the man in white replies, taking a small box out of his jacket pocket, then handing it to the man in black.
The man in black opens it up and examines the green goo inside. After a few seconds he closes it and stuffs it into his trouser pocket.
"Well done, Upa!" the man in black says, holding out his hand again.
"Any time." the man in white says, reaching out his hand to shake the man in black's.
When the two hands meet, Upa suddenly feels a stinging feeling in his palm. He pulls his hand away and realizes that there is a dart in it.
"You don't really think I trusted you . did you?" asks the man in black, before pulling out a gun and firing into the darkness.
A few seconds later, a small fat man appears, with his hands over the bullet hole in his chest. Blood is dripping down his front, and it's only a few seconds before he collapses on to the ground.
"You.you'll kill.kill us all!" Upa says, lying on the ground in agony.
"But how can I kill you when you're already dead?" the man in black asks, laughing.
Upa's vision begins to go fuzzy. He is fading into darkness. Disappearing from existence. He can feel his spirit leaving his body. He knows it's all over. He is dead.
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"So, how did you do this, Dr. Venkman?" Janine asks, while putting a plaster over the cut on Peter's foot.
"Believe me, you don't want to know?" Peter replies.
"Oh, come on, I could do with a good laugh!" Janine jokes.
Peter suddenly stands up and presses his face against Janine's.
"If you ever need a good laugh, Janine, just watch Ray when he's asleep!" he whispers.
At that moment, Ray appears from down in the basement.
"Hey, Pete, Egon's got some exciting new equipment to show us." he begins, "Want to witness the first test?"
"Sure, Ray, I'll come . want to tag along, Janine?" Peter asks.
Janine doesn't respond. She simply turns around and sits down behind her desk. A few seconds later, Egon and Winston appear from down in the basement.
"Okay, the equipment is ready to test." Egon says, holding up some strange, mechanical gizmo.
The four Ghostbusters then hop into Ecto-1 and speed off. They're so excited, apart from Peter, to be testing the new equipment that they don't even realize they've forgotten their proton packs.
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The librarian sat behind his desk staring at the old man wearing the long, red cloak. He has been looking along the same isle ever since he arrived 20 minutes ago, and has taken a look at every single book. Eventually, the librarian builds up the courage to walk over to him.
"Do you need any help, sir?" the librarian asks.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." the old man begins, "I'm looking for a big, blue book."
"Does this big, blue book have a name?" the librarian asks.
"Yes, it does." The old man replies
The librarian puts his hand on the old man's shoulder.
"This way, sir." the librarian says.
He then leads the old man to his desk and turns on the computer. A menu comes up with 'New York Public Library' written at the top, right-hand corner.
"Now, what's the name of that book?" the librarian asks.
The old man doesn't respond.
"What's the name of the book, sir?" the librarian asks again.
The old man suddenly slams his arms down on the desk. The librarian looks down at where the man's right hand should be, but instead sees a steel hook.
"Uh . the book's . name, sir?" the librarian asks, shaking.
No response. Instead, his face is slashed open by the hook. The old man then covers the hook with a glove and hides the librarian's body under the desk.
"Now, let's find this book!" the old man says to himself, sitting down in front of the computer.
He clicks on 'Name', then types 'Mairee' into the space provided. A few seconds later, this comes up -
MAIREE#1073896623NON-FICTION
"Found it!" the old man says, standing up.
He walks away from the desk and searches around for the Non-Fiction section. With-in a few seconds he has found it. He moves his finger along the isle until he comes to a very old looking, blue book. He pulls it out, blows the dust off the cover, and opens it up. A strange orange light is emitted from the first page, and then it disappears.
"This is it . THIS IS IT!" the old man yells.
He then looks around at the people who are now staring at him. He slams the book shut and runs towards the exit.
"Uh, sir, excuse me!" the manager shouts out, trying to catch up.
But, before long, the old man is gone.
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Ecto-1 comes to a halt beside a huge field out in the country. The four Ghostbusters step out on to the muddy track they have just come along.
"Uh, Egon, what are we doing here?" Peter asks.
"This is the testing ground!" Egon replies, spreading his arms out.
"Couldn't you have picked somewhere with a nicer smell?" Peter asks, holding his nose.
Ray and Winston open the back of the car and take out the equipment.
"Now, be careful with this stuff, it's rather unstable!" Egon explains.
Ray passes him a new, improved PKE meter.
"We came all the way out here to test a new PKE!?" Peter asks, rather disgusted.
Suddenly, Ray slips on the mud and drops a piece of equipment. A green beam fires out of the end of it and hits Peter's hand, causing it to start growing.
"Well done, Ray, now my left hand is the size of a bowling ball!" Peter complains.
All of a sudden, the PKE starts flashing.
"Woah, should it be doing that?" Winston asks, walking over to Egon.
"Only if there's a ghost in the area!" Egon replies, looking around.
Ray realizes what to do, and goes to get the proton packs out of the car. After opening the back door, he searches around for them.
"Ray?" Peter asks.
"Uh . guys . I think we left the proton packs back at the Firehouse!" Ray replies.
"Oh great! Isn't any of this stuff a new, improved proton?" Peter asks, not expecting a 'yes'.
The four Ghostbusters back up against the car. They all exchange scared looks, then grab whatever piece of equipment is closest. A faint laughter can now be heard, and something starts to appear from the ground.
"Well, guys, get ready!" Ray advises.
Suddenly, a huge flash comes from the field and a small, green ghost appears.
"FIRE!" Egon yells.
Peter presses the trigger on his piece of equipment and evaporates a fence post. An extremely smelly aroma comes out of Ray's. Egon's starts shrinking. And Winston's simply heats up and burns his hands.
"Well, I'd say it's about time we . uh . chickened out!" Peter says, shivering.
A few seconds later, the Ghostbusters are inside Ecto-1 and speeding through the countryside.
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The old man looks up at the sky. A single raindrop splashes on and trickles down his cheek. The book of 'Mairee' is hidden under his cloak, and his steel hook is covered by a glove. Suddenly, he hears a noise. Reacting quickly, he pulls the glove off his hook and sticks it out in front of him. He hears the noise again. It's getting closer. He spins round to see if someone's coming up behind him. After a few seconds, the noise goes away, and the old man covers up his hook again. He then turns round, and is forced back up against the wall by a tall man in black.
"You have the book, give it to me!" the man in black says, sticking a gun into the old man's stomach.
"I have no . have no . what . what book?" the old man asks, shaking.
The man in black takes the gun away from the old man's stomach, then shoots him in the leg. He then slams him up against the wall even harder.
"Give me the book?" the man in black asks again, now aiming the gun at the old man's head.
The old man doesn't respond. Instead, he pulls the glove off his hook and slashes the man in black's hand. Dropping his gun, the man in black pulls a knife out from his jacket pocket and slices the old man's throat. Blood begins pouring down his neck. He falls up against the wall, then slides to the ground and dies.
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The doors to the Firehouse open, then Ecto-1 enters and skids to a halt inside. A few seconds later, the Ghostbusters are out of the car and trying their best to stand up on the slippery floor.
"Janine, what's going on here?" Peter asks, holding on to Ray.
Janine appears from behind her desk with a wet, soapy sponge. She has an angry look on her face.
"Spring cleaning?" Winston asks.
"Yeah . in autumn!" Egon responds, sarcastically.
Janine suddenly throws down her sponge as if she's had enough.
"The new recruits are here!" she says, sitting down behind her desk, "I'm sure you'll be glad to meet them . I certainly wasn't!"
All of a sudden, the Ghostbusters hear noises coming from upstairs. Peter makes his way towards the pole and looks up through the hole. He sees nothing.
"Maybe we should go up and get them!" Peter says, making his way towards the stairs.
"LOOK OUT BELOW!" one of them yells suddenly, before sliding down the pole.
"MAKE WAY!" the other shouts out, following shortly after.
After landing at the bottom the two of them stand side-by-side in front of the Ghostbusters. They stay perfectly silent, until Peter asks them their first question.
"What are your names?" Peter asks, marching up and down in front of them.
"Tim Freeman." the blue-eyed one responds.
"Doug Robbins." the green-eyed one replies.
"Where are you from?" Peter asks, still marching up and down.
"England." Tim responds.
"Byron, IL." Doug replies.
"Okay, Peter, I think you can stop questioning them now!" Winston says, stepping out in between them. "Welcome to the Ghostbusters!"
A look of pure excitement comes across Tim and Doug's faces.
"So, when do we go and bust some ass?" Tim asks.
"Well, we have to wait for a call first!" Ray replies.
Tim and Doug's looks of excitement suddenly disappear.
"Oh well . at least we're part of the team now!" Doug says, trying to hide his disappointment.
"What do we do while we wait?" Tim asks.
Peter puts his hand on Tim and Doug's shoulders.
"Follow me!" he says, then leads them both upstairs.
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Dr. Frau is looking out his window at the night sky. The hailstones are starting to cause little cracks in the glass, but that's not what he's worried about. He is waiting for someone . someone who should have arrived ten minutes ago. Just as he starts to think that this someone won't be coming, he hears a knock at the door. He sets down the glass tube he is holding on the window-ledge and answers the door. A man wearing black is standing on his doorstep.
"Ah, Trab, you are finally here!" Dr. Frau says, ushering him in.
Trab walks in and Dr. Frau closes the door behind him.
"May I take your jacket?" Dr. Frau asks, holding out his arms.
"NO!" Trab yells, sitting down on a wooden bench.
Dr. Frau feels slightly alarmed, but then remembers that Trab never takes off his black jacket unless he is alone.
"I have it!" Trab says, as Dr. Frau sits down in front of him.
"May I see it?" Dr. Frau asks.
"Of course!" Trab replies, taking a small box out of his trouser pocket and placing it on the table in front of him.
Dr. Frau opens it up and takes a look at what's inside.
"This . is ectoplasm?" he asks, poking at it with his finger.
"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Trab shouts, pushing Dr. Frau away.
Falling to the ground, Dr. Frau realizes that there is some ectoplasm on his finger. He tries to shake it off but it's stuck.
"You fool!" Trap says, standing up.
He then grabs Dr. Frau by the scruff of the neck and slams him down on the table.
"What are you doing?" Dr. Frau asks, shaking.
"The ectoplasm will soon cover your entire body!" Trab replies, pulling a knife out from under his coat, "Now, just stay perfectly still!"
Dr. Frau realizes what Trab is about to do and tries to get away, but Trab knocks him out and slams him down on the table again. He then starts to cut away at Dr. Frau's wrist, until his hand has been completely separated from his arm.
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Back at the Firehouse, Winston is working on Ecto-1 with Doug.
"Try it now!" Winston says, pulling his head out of the bonnet.
Doug turns on the ignition and the engine starts coughing up smoke.
"Oh crap!" Winston complains, covering up his mouth.
"Now, now, Winston, don't swear in front of the new recruits!" Peter says, walking by holding weights.
Tim is waiting for Peter by the pole. Peter hands him the weights and demands that he does nothing but work out for the next 20 minutes.
"You keep at that while I get some coffee!" Peter says, before turning around and walking into the kitchen.
On his way there he passes Ray, who is about to check on Ecto-1. When he sees nothing but a cloud of smoke where the car should be he starts to panic.
"Ecto-1?" Ray asks, sobbing slightly.
Winston and Doug start to appear from the smoke.
"What have you done to Ecto-1?" Ray asks, grabbing hold of Winston.
"Uh . nothing . everything's fine!" Winston replies, pushing Ray away and heading on into the kitchen, followed by Doug.
Ray gives Winston a dirty look, then runs into Egon on his way upstairs.
"Sorry!" Ray apologizes, then runs past him and disappears into the bathroom.
After reaching the bottom of the stairs, Egon decides to have a little talk with Tim.
"So, Tim, how's life been like with us so far?" he asks.
"Well, it's been alright, apart from we haven't bust any ghosts yet!" Tim replies, still using the weights Peter gave him.
"To be honest, we haven't had any calls for a while, but I doubt this town has run out of ghosts already!"
"Hey, Egon, it's not good to bother a worker-outer when he's working out!" Peter says, pushing Egon out of the way, "Yo, Tim, try this!"
Peter holds out his cup of coffee and Tim takes a sip.
"Ya like that . good . now, Egon, let's go watch television!" Peter insists, trying to get him away from Iain.
In the kitchen, Winston and Doug are washing their hands in the sink. Doug looks around a bit, then splashes Winston. Winston splashes Doug back. Doug wraps up a tablecloth and whips Winston's arm.
"Okay, I think we've gone far enough now!" Winston says, realizing he has lost the battle.
All of a sudden, Slimer appears in the front of them. Doug jumps back.
"Look . a ghost . can we bust it?" he asks, hoping Winston will say 'yes'.
"Sorry, not this ghost!" Winston replies, "This is Slimer, he lives with us!"
"But . that doesn't make any sense . does it?" Doug asks, confused.
"I would tell you the story but it's a very long one!" Winston replies, drying his hands.
Slimer floats towards Doug and holds his hand out. Doug doesn't have a clue what he's doing.
"I think he wants to shake your hand!" Winston says, patting Doug on the shoulder and walking out of the kitchen.
Doug looks at Slimer's hand. He screws up his face, then holds out his own hand. Slimer grabs hold of it and starts shaking it up and down.
"Yuck!" Doug says, pulling his hand away, "Ghost slime!"
Slimer starts laughing, then floats away into the fridge. After he disappears, Doug exits the kitchen. He then sits down on the couch beside Winston, who is watching television along with Peter and Egon.
"What are we watching?" Doug asks.
"Some silly, no-brainer about a man who falls in love with a girl, who turns out to be a brain-sucking alien!" Egon replies, sighing.
"Okay, a name would have been fine!" Doug says, putting his legs up on the little table in front of him.
"Oh yes, this is the bit where Sarah sticks George's head in a vice!" Peter celebrates, moving closer to the television.
Doug hears a door open then close. He takes a look up the stairs and sees Ray on his way down.
"Yo, Pete, it's 9:15!" Ray says, pointing at his watch.
Peter takes a look at his own watch, then jumps up and grabs his coat off the coat-hanger.
"Where's he going?" Tim asks, after finishing 20 minutes of working out.
"He's . uh . going to get a paper!" Ray says.
Tim gives Ray a funny look, then goes upstairs to change into some different clothes.
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Dr. Frau wakes up and finds himself tied to his own experiment table. The rope used to tie his arms and legs down is extremely itchy and his head seams to be lying on something extremely hot.
"What is the meaning of this, Trab?" Dr. Frau asks angrily.
Trab spins round on his chair and holds up Dr. Frau's severed hand. It's all green and appears to be rotting away already.
"It was the ectoplasm that did this!" Trab says, dropping the hand onto the floor, "If it had reached your heart . you would be dead!"
"Well, I guess I should be thankful then!" Dr. Frau says, while watching a rat take off with his hand, "Now, untie me!"
Trab stands up, pulls out his knife, and starts to cut the rope around Dr. Frau's ankles. After finishing with them he cuts the rope around his wrists.
"Thanks!" Dr. Frau says, getting up off the table.
All of a sudden, Trab grabs him by the neck and slams him against the wall.
"You do realize that anyone who betrays me gets killed, don't you?" Trab asks, poking Dr. Frau's stomach with his knife.
"Yes!" Dr. Frau replies, finding it hard to breathe.
Trab lets go of Dr. Frau, then pulls out the book of 'Mairee' and slams it down on the table. With a look of amazement upon his face, Dr. Frau sits down and opens the book.
"Where did you find this?" Dr. Frau asks, flipping through the pages.
"I found it on an old man . who paid the price for trying to keep it from me!" Trab replies, chipping away at the edge of the table with his knife.
Dr. Frau gulps, then continues looking through the book. After realizing that it is not in English, he tries to think of someone who can help then decipher it.
"You know, there is one person I know of who can help us!" Trab says.
"Who?" Dr. Frau asks, closing the book.
"A Ghostbuster . named Egon Spengler!"
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The rain pours down on Peter, who is rushing to get back to the Firehouse.
"I could really do with a car right about now!" he groans, trying not to drop the cardboard boxes under his jacket.
After turning a corner, the Firehouse comes into view. Peter starts running faster and accidentally drops one of the boxes just before he gets inside.
"Well, it's not like there's anything valuable inside!" he says, picking it up.
"Yo, Peter!" Winston calls from the top of the stairs.
Peter makes his way up and hands Winston one of the boxes. Winston takes a look inside and smiles.
"Try not to startle him too much!" Peter says, making his way into Tim's room.
"I'll try!" Winston says back, then turns round and opens the door to Doug's room.
Peter looks around at all the posters of RAF jets in Tim's room, then comes to a framed-photograph of a man, a woman, and a little boy with some brown hair beginning to grow in the centre of his head. Suddenly, he hears Tim groaning.
"Tim . wake up." Peter says, sitting down next to him on his bed.
"Uh, what time is it?" Tim asks, sitting up.
"Time for a surprise!" Peter replies, handing Tim the cardboard box.
Tim opens it up and his face suddenly fills with joy. He jumps out of bed and holds the black uniform up against himself.
"The logo still needs to be stitched on, but I got it in the right color didn't I?" Peter asks.
"You sure did . I only wear black!" Tim replies, starting to put the uniform on.
All of a sudden, Doug bursts into the room holding his uniform. Winston is standing closely behind. The two of them watch Tim as he finishes putting on his uniform.
"This is so cool!" he says, posing.
"Wear it to bed if you want!" Peter jokes.
After remembering the framed-photograph he picks it up and ushers Winston and Doug to leave him and Tim alone. They do just that and close the door behind them.
"Is this your parents?" Peter asks, pointing at the man and woman in the photo.
"Yeah . but they, well, aren't alive anymore!" Tim says, taking the photo off Peter and sitting down on his bed, "Haven't you ever wondered how I got this scar on my cheek?"
"I have actually!" Peter says, sitting down on the bed next to him.
Tim stares at the photo for a few seconds, then begins his story.
"My parents were murdered by a demon. Our house was destroyed, but I escaped with only this scar. I wanted revenge. But, how was I ever going to get it?"
"So, the reason you joined us was for some revenge?" Peter asks.
"And because you look really cool on television!" Tim replies, then continues his story, "After the demon disappeared I found some of my parents' money and bought a plane ticket to America. After arriving in New York I hitched a ride to Chicago and searched around for you guys, until I eventually found your HQ and realized that you were recruiting new members."
"Well, if it's revenge you're looking for then you probably won't find it here. But, what the heck, I like you!" Peter says, patting Tim on the shoulder, "Now, you get a good sleep so that you're ready if we actually get a call tomorrow!"
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TO BE CONTINUED . . .