A new day dawns on a bustling construction site. A huddle of hard-hat wearing men and women stand by the entrance to an excavation that is destined to be an underground parking lot. This is just another day, with a heavy workload to push through and the site boss breathing down their necks.
But in the process of drilling and scooping, one of the diggers hits something unexpectedly solid and dense enough to make the Titan of a machine grind to a halt, its engine screaming...
"Whoa, Whoa, shut it down!" the foreman shouted to the driver, who didn't need to be told twice as he wrestled the digger into powering off.
"What in blazes was THAT?" the driver grunted as he hopped down from the cab, joining his co-worker as they walked towards where the teeth of the machine were caught on what looked to be something metallic.
Closer investigation revealed it to be made of a silver metal dappled with an almost waterline effect. It was carved with all sorts of odd symbols and was about the size of a fancy dinner plate.
"How did this puny little thing stop the digger?" the driver scoffed, shaking his head as he scratched his stubbly chin. Just as he spoke, the "digger-killer" began to glow softly and the whole tunnel started to shake as if offended by his doubt.
"An earthquake?" the driver gaped now, his vision starting to blur from the force of the tremors.
"I dunno, evac!" the foreman yelped "something aint right here! That thing heard ya, Paulie."
"The heck it did, it's just a lump of sodding metal!" Paulie snapped back. The thing shone again and this time a deep ominous rumbling shook the walls in addition, almost deafening the two of them. Paulie began to wonder if the foreman wasn't on the mark after all...
They exchanged glances, nodded, then took off.
They didn't look back after that, just hauled ass out of the tunnel, racing past teams working further back. Soon the whole tunnel was evacuating, scores of panicked workers streaming out into the sunlight.
In a portable office cabin, the head of the site heard the sound of footsteps approaching via the steep climb up the slope to where he was located. Looking out of his window, he seen a large gaggle of workers honing in on his cabin.
-What now?- With a loud sigh, he slammed his coffee cup down and stormed out the door. The workers came to a stumbling halt, wide eyes gawking at him now.
"What is the meaning of this? Get back to work, we're behind as it is thanks to that storm last week-" he flapped a hand at them, ignoring their clamouring protests.
"No way, boss." One guy said firmly once the hubbub died down, making the boss scowl. "There's something weird down in that tunnel. Something alive."
"That's what's causing all this?!" The boss said incredulously "well, check it's not endangered, then bump it off! It's probably just some bit of wildlife that crawled in there during the night. If it's that big, we'll call animal control."
"I think you may need to call someone else." One of the crew muttered and the boss twitched angrily.
"What is THAT supposed to mean? It's probably just an animal, get a hold of yourselves."
"I seen that thing we hit." the driver of the digger stepped forward now "I heard it screaming. A piece of metal, wailing like a banshee. That aint an animal, boss."
"So what do you expect me to do? Take leave of my senses as you clearly have and act like I believe in this nonsense?"
"Naw, we think ya oughta call the Ghostbusters-"
"Those lunatics?!" The boss twitched, an extremely funny look on his face, like he was caught between frustration and embarrassment. "I am not calling those madmen, end of story. Ghosts? Pah, it's all bullcrap. They're just capitalising on peoples superstition and those flashy backpacks."
He ordered them all to go back on shift and even insisted upon following the driver and foreman back into the tunnel to put the matter to rest.
The site boss seen the plate they were so spooked by and marched right up to it, using a pickaxe to dislodge it once the digger had been moved back. It came loose after several minutes of swearing and grunting and he turned it over in his hands.
"This is all you heard." he snorted, wiping sweat off his face "that digger musta been hollering at having to chew through whatever this is made of. Probably been here for centuries, I'll dump it on a local museum after work. Now get on with it!"
With these angry words, he stomped off, shaking his head as he emerged above ground.
-Ghosts? Hah, as if. Those fools have been watching too much television, I am not calling the Ghostbusters, I don't need a run in with HIM again.-
He shoved the artefact in his safe and sat down to finish the paperwork that he'd been so stupidly interrupted from.
But barely had half an hour gone by, then there was a loud rumble that made his coffee cup roll right off his desk and shatter on the floor. Jumping to his feet, he barged out of his cabin once more, ready to tear whoever was responsible for this newest disturbance a new one-
Only to stop dead in total disbelief at what was unfolding before him. The workers had fled the tunnel again, but this time even HE could hear the strange and unearthly sounds clawing their way out of the freshly shifted ground.
Sparks of white light emanated from the mouth of the tunnel, darting out and slamming into the equipment on site. In seconds it had sliced two diggers in half, the edges melting like ice-cream.
"Impossible..." he gaped, those machines were made of the toughest material available, they had to be to work around such heavy materials. But whatever that thing was, it had cleaved right through them as if they were no more reinforced than paper-mache sculptures.
He clenched his teeth, knowing he had no other choice, but hating circumstance for forcing his hand nonetheless. He stormed back inside his cabin, grabbing the phone and dialling the number without needing to even open the phone book.
"Yes, Ghostbusters?"
Egon happened, by some measure of luck, to be the one on desk duty in the empty HQ when the call came in. He answered the phone whilst flipping open a notepad, expecting the usual sort of thing such as screaming and panicking. But the attitude of the one calling him soon made him sit up. He hadn't heard THAT voice in many many years.
"Is this-?"
"You know full well who this is. Just get you and your little ghost chasers down here, valuable time is being wasted and whatever's in there is destroying my equipment!"
Egon flinched as the phone was slammed down with such force that it hurt his ears.
Sighing, he set the handset down as his mind looked for a reason to disregard the matter, but failed on all fronts.
He was still sat there, staring at an empty worksheet and twirling the pen in one hand when the others came back with Ecto-1.
"Hay Egon, we're back!" Janine sauntered up to the desk, then seen his face. "Uh oh, I know that look. What's the matter?"
"Nothing, Janine." Egon said, quickly holding the sheet in a way that wouldn't let the others see he hadn't actually written anything on it "We just got a call."
"Ooh, where?" Ray asked excitedly and Egon kept his voice as calm as he could, even as his stomach churned unpleasantly. He pushed himself to his feet, wincing as his head ached a little from all the constant thinking.
"A building site, it will take us about 3 hours to drive there. We need to leave now."
Peter whistled "okay then. I'll go stockpile snacks. Ray, come with."
"Okay!" Ray beamed, bounding after Peter as the two went to prepare. Egon rolled his eyes and Winston chuckled as he headed upstairs after them.
"Honestly, those two are like kids. So excitable.." Janine seemed to share Egon's thoughts as she sat down in the chair Egon had just vacated.
Slimer burbled and played with the toy steering wheel Ray had fitted in the car for him, pretending he was driving Ecto-1 with Egon.
Speaking of the man..
The green ghost looked up at the blonde human now. He was normally very quiet and didn't tend to speak much, but something seemed off about him today. The rigid way he sat, the tension Slimer could sense in spades...Sciency-doctor was upset, but a different upset to how Petey was when Slimer ate his food.
"Slimer?" Ray's voice interrupted him now and Slimer turned to face the back seats. Ray was offering a handful of chocolate bars, a big smile on his kind face. Slimer clapped his hands and grinned, Ray was best human, he always spared a moment for him and often brought him treats. Best of all, Ray protected him from Petey, who sometimes chased him with a proton blaster.
"Egon?" Winston said absently, leaning by Slimer and jabbing the doctor's cheek with the edge of a wrapped candy bar "you hungry?"
Right then, as the distance between them and their destination grew smaller, Egon looked at the chocolate bar and felt his usual willpower weaken. With a nod and a murmur of thanks, he took the proffered snack, hearing Winston settling back in his seat.
Resuming his mock-driving, Slimer did a double take as he observed Egon actually eating candy. The guy usually never did that, even when the others were stuffing their faces in close proximity. Slimer scratched his chin, frowning intently at Egon. Letting go of the toy wheel, he sidled up to Egon's seat, sniffing at his uniform then practically climbing his shoulders to bat at his hair. He smelled the same, felt the same.
"Slimer!" Egon yelped "will you stop...whatever it is that you're doing?!"
"Slimer, c'mere fella!" Ray patted the back seat, brandishing a bag of potato chips this time. Slimer released Egon, who shook his head and shoved the empty chocolate wrapper into his jumpsuit pocket.
"Wow, he's moved onto annoying Egon." Peter remarked "he must be bored."
Egon didn't even seem to hear this though, but then he often ignored Venkman's sarcasm, so this was nothing new.
Towards the end of the drive, Ray asked if they could stop for lunch as they were all starving, but Egon didn't reply, just kept driving.
"Egon?" Ray asked.
"I'll get his attention." Venkman smirked, flexing his fingers. His hands were cold from holding a can of soda, so when Egon stopped at a red light, he slipped his hands stealthily over Egon's collar and pressed them to his neck. Egon yelped and swore in a language nobody else in the car spoke, swatting at Peter as he scuttled back, snickering.
"Oh Peter." Ray sighed, shaking his head.
"What was that for, Peter?" Egon said, sounding unusually rattled, for him anyway.
"We're hungry." Peter whined, sounding like a young child "can we PLEASE stop for lunch?"
"It's true, we're all pretty starving." Ray added, looking at the blonde with that puppy-dog expression very few people could say no to.
Egon blinked as this sunk in, realised he'd spaced out and nearly lost his temper and nodded silently. He pulled into the next diner and watched the others as they raced inside, talking eagerly.
Egon stayed outside however, leaning against the car with his arms wrapped around his midsection and staring at the asphalt of the parking lot.
Why hadn't he said no to the bust? Anything made more sense than re-opening THAT old wound.
-Because it's your job, Egon. This isn't the first naysayer you've encountered, he's just worse than most.- but he still felt his appetite dwindle to a shadow of its former self.
"Here you go, Slimer!" Ray beamed as he set the humongous meal he'd ordered for the green ghost in front of him. Slimer clapped his hands, burbled a thank you, upended the tray into his mouth and began chewing the food all at once. Once he'd swallowed it, he uttered a satisfied belch and beamed at Ray.
"You're welcome, pal." Ray patted him on the head then resumed eating his own food.
"Ah, this is nice." Winston sat back in his seat "warm day, cold soda and a burger. What's better than that?"
"Word." Peter grinned, knocking back his drink with gusto.
Slimer looked out the window at Ecto-1 and frowned, Egon was still angry. He tugged at Ray's sleeve, trying to get his attention.
"What is it Slimer? You still hungry?" Ray asked, reaching for the menu to show the ghost.
But to his surprise, Slimer shook his head, pointing out the window.
"What's out there, boy?" Ray asked, leaning forward to try and narrow down the source of Slimer's agitation. Everything seemed perfectly normal and he frowned, perplexed.
"There's nothing strange out there, Slimer, just Egon and the car."
He was close, Slimer knew it. So he tugged Ray's sleeve again and jabbed a finger against the glass.
"Oh." Ray blinked as it sunk in "you mean Egon?"
Slimer nodded.
"What about him, Spud?" Peter grumbled "he's probably just annoyed at me for startling him. He'll calm down."
Slimer shook his head and looked at Ray again.
"I don't think that's it, Peter." Ray said, facing Slimer again "what's the matter, boy?"
Slimer tapped his chin, then did a series of mimes that Ray did his best to pair with the scattered words of english Slimer knew.
"You think Egon is...upset?" he guessed at last and Slimer clapped his hands and nodded rapidly.
"Upset about what? The guy rarely even smiles." Peter said with a shrug "he's just not the emotional sort, so?"
But Winston was watching their co-worker now "I think Slimer's right, you guys, he HAS been acting a little odd today."
"Egon eat candy!" Slimer put in.
"He barely heard us when we asked him to stop and Peter's little joke scared him more then even he expected." Ray glanced at Peter, who nodded in confirmation as he squinted at Egon.
"Then there's the way he's standing." Peter had been a psychologist before becoming a Ghostbuster, and he turned his eye on to his friend "not gonna lie, he's giving off all sorts of alarm bells now that I look at him."
"He's also just standing there, he hasn't even noticed we're staring at him." Ray was puzzled "I wonder what's wrong?"
"I dunno, but I don't think he's in the mood to talk, he isn't even interested in food right now!" Peter added "I'll grab some to go, he'll have to eat something!"
Egon was still lost in thought as he stood there watching traffic rumble past the diner, when his friends finally emerged. He was pleasantly surprised when Peter handed him a warm, delicious smelling bag of take-out and steered him towards the passenger seat.
"You need ta eat, bud. Remember the last time you skipped too many meals and then ya fainted?"
"Right." was all Egon managed, forcing himself to act normal "that would waste valuable time that we could be working."
"Yeah, that'll do it. Let's go!" Peter revved the car and Egon settled himself in the passenger seat, the warmth from the food penetrating his daze.
In-between telling Peter which turn-off to take and other instructions, Egon found the appetite to finish off the fast food. First chocolate, now this..
They arrived at the site and Egon jumped out of the car, ignoring the curious stares and murmurs sent his way. His colleagues had no such willpower however...
"Why're they all gawking at Egon? Can even THEY tell he's acting weird?" Peter asked, as the trio plus ghost trailed after the physicist.
"How on earth would they know that, they've never even met him!" Winston replied, confused.
Egon didn't hear any of them, for he'd already spotted the person he needed to speak to just up ahead. His stomach sank into his boots and he sighed as he picked up the pace, soon leaving his colleagues behind. The crowd parted to let him through as the man in question turned, sunlight catching brownish-blonde hair.
"Egon." he said stiffly as the scientist stopped a few feet away from him "I'd like to say 'long time no see', but your outlandish exploits are plastered all over the magazines. Despite my best efforts, I cannot escape them."
The others stumbled to a halt just behind Egon a second later, looking slightly peeved.
"Geez, will ya slow down speedy- Sweet. Merciful. CRAP." Peter stared at the guy Egon was facing off with. "NO. WAY."
"He never mentioned this." Winston rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Ray said nothing for a moment then stepped closer, staring at the site manager, then at Egon. "Uh, Spengs?"
Egon sighed, barely keeping his frustration in check as he addressed his team mates without taking his eyes off the figure in front of him.
"Ray, Peter, Winston...This is Elon Spengler, my twin brother."
"Oh." Peter said in the stunned silence that followed "I just assumed you'd finally figured out how to clone yourself, but then it escaped. This is way cooler!"
"Interesting friends you have." Elon smirked at his brother "which ones are the guys who made it through school?"
Egon's hands clenched and he struggled not to lose his temper. "Such a fact doesn't bother all of New York and beyond." he said snippily and seen his brother scowl, then he raised his voice to introduce his teammates to Elon.
Peter looked between the brothers as Egon explained his background in psychology.
"This is so weird," he whispered to Ray "They look so alike!"
Ray nodded. The two had very similar facial structures, both wore glasses and had flyaway hair. But Elon Spengler wore grey wireframe specs, his hair was styled slightly shorter and it had a more golden-brown tint in contrast to Egon's platinum shade. Bar that, they could've been clones indeed.
"I insisted this nonsense was just the result of a gas leak, but gas doesn't cut gaping holes in machinery." Elon said bluntly as he stalked off towards the diggers. He was aware of his brother walking in pace with him and shot a glance at him from under his fringe.
Egon was absorbed in messing with the dials on a handheld machine he'd pulled out of his pocket. He seemed the same as ever, smart as all get out yet he persisted in this farcical "ghost-busting" business.
How had he ever become a celebrity, the guy was a total recluse! But Elon had read all the articles full of glowing praise for "one of the finest minds in America!" And wished he could make them see-
He was interrupted from his bitter reflecting when the machine Egon was holding began shrieking and beeping. One elegant eyebrow arched on Egon's face and he made a noise like "Hmm."
"What's that supposed ta mean?" Elon couldn't help snapping. His whole life he'd been outshone by his brother, but the guy didn't even seem to notice. He just did whatever he wanted and inevitably got praised for it…
"Im picking up high PKE readings. Whatever destroyed these machines has a lot of spectral power behind it." Egon studied the readouts, then turned to show the device to Ray.
"Whoa, this is off the charts!" Ray seen the same thing Egon did and his eyes sparkled in delight. He walked up to the machine and brushed his hand over it, trying to see if it had any residual heat left. He yelped and pulled his hand back in an instant, however, staring in surprise as blood welled up on his fingers.
Peter seen this and quickly moved to stand beside him, pulling some band-aids from his pocket.
"Whatever did this, it has a sharper edge then anything I've seen. It's either got incredible speed or we're looking at something with a cutting force beyond earth standards-ow!"
Ray winced and cut off mid-sentence as Peter grabbed his hand and examined the cuts closely. Venkman silently pulled out a handkerchief and mopped up the blood before starting on the band-aids.
"Aliens, really?" Elon arched an eyebrow at Ray as Peter finished patching Stantz up, earning a thankful smile from the red-head. His task accomplished, Venkman turned his attention to Egon's brother, striding up to him with his usual cocky confidence.
"We've battled elder gods, shape-shifters, demon paintings and more. So yeah, it's possible your spook's an alien! Trust me, that's not weird in this line of work." he leaned in towards Elon "and I've seen bigger skeptics than you fall to the evidence, so don't worry."
Elon scowled at Peter, but it didn't seem to phase him one bit. This guy really was full of himself, wasn't he? The red-headed one seemed a soft touch, a little clueless but earnest. The other guy, Winston, he seemed like the most sensible one, so Elon turned to him now. He ignored his brother as he came to stand beside him, tapping at the screen of his meter.
"Any idea what it actually IS?" he addressed Zeddemore, still ignoring the way his brother was trying to get his attention.
"Well Ray's the expert in metallurgy, if we can get a look at the 'crime scene', I'd be grateful." Winston offered a smile, but couldn't help noting Egon's increasing annoyance at being ignored "what's up, Egon?"
"I'm picked up multiple trails, they lead to the dig, but also up this way-!" Egon took off suddenly, leaving Elon to twitch.
He glared at Ray, who happened to have stepped closer to him now "does he always do that?"
"Let's just hope he stops." was Ray's response and Elon face-palmed.
"He always was a weirdo." he snapped under his breath before storming after his brother "but nobody can see his genius for what it is, sheer luck and a complete lack of common sense!"
Ray frowned, looking somewhat wounded by Elon's words about Egon.
He took off after the second Spengler, keeping up with his longer stride even as he defended his friend. Peter and Winston trailed along behind, curious as to what had lit a fire under Raymond.
"Hey, it may seen weird to you or me, but I've known Egon for years and-" Ray attempted to be tactful with this guy, but it didn't quite work the way he hoped.
"Yes, I'm sure you have, but you never had to LIVE with him! Not like I did!" Elon came to a halt, causing Ray to bump into him. He put his face close to the wide-eyed red-head's now and glared at him.
"Actually, w-we do, at HQ-" Ray stammered, but this only seemed to irritate Elon further.
"Do you have any idea what it's like trying to compete with THAT? Being outdone at every turn by a space-case smartypants who never had to make an effort beyond burning a few brain cells to get all the attention. Some of us like to WORK for a living." With that said, he turned and marched off, catching up to his brother just as Egon was about to open the door to his work cabin.
The others seen him step up to Egon, reaching a hand past him to slam the door shut. He said something to his sibling that made Egon frown and he was soon responding. But where Elon got more annoyed, Egon never seemed to even raise his voice.
"What was that about, Ray?" Peter asked as he sidled up to his friend and Ray was about to reply when the voices of the Spengler brothers finally interrupted them.
"Fine, if that loopy toaster you're holding can clear this mess up, fine." Elon reluctantly stepped back to let his brother walk in.
Egon looked around the office and his eyes briefly landed on a family photo, showing himself and his brother when they were much younger.
Elon stepped in after him, scowling and planting himself between Egon and the frame.
"Just do your job." he snapped.
"That will be difficult if you persist in blocking the way." Egon said, lifting a hand to steer his brother aside. He was startled when his brother slapped his hand aside with enough force to actually hurt.
"You're not the one in charge here, Egon. I only called you and your crazy friends because the men wont stop going on about this 'disturbance', and seem insistent that you're the answer to their prayers. The sooner this superstitious mess is cleared up, the better."
"You can choose to ignore what is in front of you, Elon." Egon said with a very faint edge to his voice "but if this stubborn refusal ends in someone getting hurt, what then?"
"I know you can't stand the idea, but sometimes you're not the answer or the genius everyone loves." Elon snarked, faltering briefly when he seen Egon flinch, the man's immutable expression displaying a look of hurt for just a moment, but it was hard to stop such bitterness once it'd been unleashed.
"Sometimes, common sense is what's needed. Believe me, I don't enjoy having you and your eccentricity wandering around my site, cutting itself and telling me that aliens did it."
"Dr Stantz is an expert in-"
"I don't CARE, Egon. Just get rid of this thing with your little light show. Make those guys out there believe the threat's gone, then I can get back to actual WORK, as opposed to parading around in a ridiculous outfit."
Egon sighed, retreating into himself and closing his expression off. Seeing this, Elon shook his head, scoffing softly as he stepped back;
"You don't have any feelings, do you? All your life, you just clammed up and hid in your room. Yet, I still couldn't compete with you-"
"Nobody asked you to, your issues were your own doing." Egon said, his emotions spiking briefly "the times you did drag me outside to play, I did enjoy it. Just because-"
He cut off as the PKE meter began beeping again. He swivelled on the spot, trying to gauge the direction.
It was in the safe attached to the wall.
He stopped and raised an eyebrow at his brother as if saying "you wanna get that?"
Elon sighed, ignoring his sibling as he opened the safe and stepped back.
"I don't see any ghosts." he scoffed "unless its the ghost of tax forms past?"
Egon didn't say a word, simply stepping up to the safe and examining the contents with the PKE device. Finally, he reached in and extracted the strange dinner-plate sized artefact Elon had shoved in there earlier that morning. Holding the meter up to it, the device went crazy until he shut it off.
"This thing, where did you get it?" he asked his brother.
Elon snorted, rolling his eyes.
"It was in one of the tunnels we were digging for the new parking lot. It stopped one of the diggers dead in its tracks."
"Hmm.." Egon frowned "cant say that I've seen many instances of that. This must be either an unknown or lost type of metal, nothing in my studies comes immediately to mind. I'll get Ray to take a look, metals are his area of expertise."
"Oh, lookit that, something you don't know." Elon smirked.
Egon turned to look at him, something unreadable in his expression and he sighed heavily before replying.
"We set up this business because all of us know more about one area or two in addition to Parapsychology. Thus, a joint venture."
"Wasn't that the department the university kicked you out of? Im guessing MIT didn't have any jobs going either?" Elon shook his head, baffled by how this guy kept getting his own way when HE had had to put his back into every day of his life. He could never see Egon's work as being worthwhile, never.
"I seen no advances to my studies there, regardless of the university incident. They did contact me, asking about possible uses for the containment grid, but I told them those plans are not for sale."
Elon rolled his eyes, trust Egon not to see a chance to get rich and retire!
Just then, they heard a bone-shuddering screech outside. Egon, still clutching the steel plate in his hand, darted outside and seen his co-workers at the base of the slope. All three had their proton packs ready and were aiming at a glowing green shape.
"Egon!" Winston called over his shoulder "join us any time pal, no rush!"
Egon handed the strange plate to his brother and took off at a run, unlatching the proton gun as he did. He vaulted up onto the top of a cabin set further down the hill in a series of leaps and bounds using storage crates. Stood atop the cabin, he aimed the neutrona wand and moved his hand to the trigger.
"Fire!" he yelled.
Elon had to shield his eyes as the four Ghostbusters fired high-energy proton beams at the spirit, catching it in mid air. It screamed and thrashed, eventually succeeding in shaking them off.
"Full-stream, now!" Egon called, "Ray, you and Peter flank it, but be careful not to cross the streams. Winston, herd it away from the equipment. Go!"
Elon watched in dumb silence, seeing his brother go from recluse to commander. The others nodded, following Egon's instructions, repositioning themselves and opening fire again.
One of the blasts from Egon's weaponry just glanced off the ghost, clipping one of the cranes as it did. This snapped Elon out of the semi-admiring daze he'd been in. He ran up, hauling himself onto the crate beside his brother just as Egon made to fire again. Elon grabbed his wrist, forcing Egon's aim towards the sky. Egon shut the weapon off, looking at his brother with a startled and slightly angry expression.
"Don't do that!" he barked, surprising Elon with yet another glimpse into his once-unemotional brother "this is a portable nuclear accelerator, not some toy!"
"It's ruining my equipment is what it is!" Elon snapped, looking for an off button on the thing.
There was a loud snap and a crackle, then a further blaze of light. The brothers stopped glaring at each other and looked below them, where Ray turned to face them holding up a steaming ghost trap.
"Got it, Egon!" he chirped, beaming.
"Thank goodness, now this farce can end." Elon got down from the crate, his silent brother following behind him.
"This doesn't seem complete." Egon frowned, checking his meter again "I'm still picking up readings and that plate-"
"Then take it with you. Go mess with it in your lab or something!" Elon snapped, rounding on Egon "you got your ghost, now kindly pack up and leave!"
He stalked back up to the cabin, fetching both the plate and his chequebook. The former he dumped on Egon, the second was more Peter's domain.
Ray watched the animosity and for a split-second he thought he seen a sadness in Egon's eyes. Then it was gone, buried beneath his professional facade.
"Thank you!" Peter grinned, tucking the cheque into his pocket "c'mon Egon, let's go!"
"Yes, please do." Elon said under his breath.
As the others walked away, Egon felt a second stir of unease as he glanced back at the site. Shaking his head, he started after his brother in a final effort to make him listen.
"What if that thing is just a guardian? Things like this, they rarely travel alone-" he said urgently.
"I think you've taken up enough of my time and money, you and your 'ghostbusting'." Elon spun and glared at his brother, where he stood below him on the slope. The metal plate was still clutched in the whistish-blonde Spengler's grip and he gestured to it now.
"You got something to study, what more do you want?" he hissed. Egon opened his mouth, then seemed to realise his words fell on deaf ears. His voice was soft as he spoke next, regardless.
"It doesn't matter. It was good to see you after all this time, regardless of how things ended. Be careful."
Elon stopped, fury wavering at the odd resignation in Egon's tone. He'd barely heard any inflections in his voice so far, other then professional distance, but something about that sentence made him pause. Why was Egon such a mystery?
With an impatient sigh, feeling he had wasted enough time, he turned his back on his brother and continued walking.
By the time he reached his office, he could see them getting into their car.
For a moment, Egon hesitated as he opened the drivers side door and Elon fancied the other was looking at HIM. Then, he got into the car and the quartet plus that odd green thing that'd been following them were gone.
-Good riddance.- he thought!in the silence, yet a part of him felt a jab of remorse over how he'd shouted at Egon. There had been times as kids when he'd seen his brother smile, but Egon had always been so aloof.
Nobody said anything to Egon as he drove, they got the feeling he had quite enough on his mind.
Well, most of them did.
"OK, I'll say it." Peter broke the silence at last "Your brother's a jerk, Egon."
Egon sighed "Peter..."
"I know, I know." Venkman waved a hand dismissively "he's family. But trust me, I know jerks and he was being a total one to you. No wonder you never mentioned him."
"He left as soon as he was 18." Egon sighed "went straight to work. Before the crash he had always resented me, I fear, because our parents spent a lot of their time with me."
"That happens," Winston nodded "parents are so surprised to have a little Einstein in their family that they can't take their eyes off him."
"Exactly." Egon sighed "so one way or another, it was my fault he became so angry. I never seen it, too oblivious to notice."
"That's just how the world is to you, Egon." Ray said kindly "not everyone sees or interprets the world the same way."
Egon didn't answer, just stared at the scenery as he drove.
"Wait, what did you mean 'Crash'?" Peter caught up at last "crash of what?"
Egon bit his lip, but he could see their concerned glances in the rearview mirror. His brother's jabs about him being reclusive came to mind so he decided to tell them now.
"The crash that killed our parents." he said softly and a hush fell on the vehicle.
"Shheeeiit. Sorry.." Peter winced.
"It's fine, Peter." Egon forced a reassuring smile "it was a long time ago. After the crash, we went to live with my uncle Cyrus. Elon moved out as soon as he could and I stayed a few more years with my uncle until I was accepted into MIT. Then I ended up at the university and the rest is history."
"Yeah, you became one of us!" Peter caught his eye and grinned widely. This made Egon feel a little better and he nodded, musing over this as they drove.
But he was still in a glum mood when they arrived back. He retreated to his office and set about studying the bizarre metal plate that Elon had given him.
While his machines ran its tests, he opened a book and began referencing what he knew with Tobin's Spirit guide. Soon, he was able to push the incident with Elon to the back of his mind..
The computer beeped and he broke out of his daze to see what its results said about its origin. His stomach sank to his boots as he beheld it, then glanced back at Tobin's guide.
If this was correct, his brother was in big trouble!
He panicked, grabbing the plate, printout and book and running full-pelt to the TV room. The others looked up as Egon skidded into the room, his eyes wide and brow furrowed.
"What's wrong?" Winston asked, muting the television.
"The site….we have to go back-!" Egon choked out.
"And let your brother treat you like dirt?" Peter looked at Egon "forget it. If he wants help, he can jolly well call!"
"No Peter, you don't understand. When he insisted I take this with me, he put himself in danger, look!"
Egon shoved the book at his friend and the others all crowded round to read.
"You see?" Egon said when they'd all finished "this thing needs to be taken back to the place it was found, then destroyed!"
"But Egon-" Ray frowned as he looked at the printout Egon now handed him "this says it's made of Damascus steel, how're we gonna break that?"
"Damascus what?" Peter asked.
"Damascus steel." Ray explained "it's a super tough metal that's nigh on impossible to break, it also explains why the edges of the wrecked machines could cut from just a touch." he waggled his bandaged fingers for emphasis.
"The art of making it has been lost for a long, long time." Egon added "some swords were recovered from the capital city of Syria, named Damascus. That's where the name is believed to originate from."
Ray pondered it for a moment "wait, what about fighting fire with fire?" he asked.
Egon felt a spark of hope, he needed to do some checking-! He raced off again, this time with Ray in hot pursuit.
"Ah, our little eggheads," Peter said with a wry smile "aren't they adorable when they're all excited?"
Once they had somewhere to start, they set off for the site with the sirens screaming into the night.
Back at the site, Elon's involvement with his brother and his "spooks" was not over by a long shot.
As darkness fell, he seen a pale glow coming from the dig site and he frowned, looking at his watch. He'd ordered the foremen to begin packing up, they were all across the other side of the site, securing everything. Nobody should be in that cave! With a furious sigh, he grabbed a hardhat and flashlight and stalked down there by himself.
What he seen when he got there made him stare in shock. How was this possible?
Strange writing was starting to appear on the walls as he got closer to the site of the disturbance, seemingly written in glowing paint.
"Which one of these clowns-" he stepped up to one of the markings and attempted to rub it off with his sleeve, but a painful shock jolted through him and he screamed, trying to pull away. But nothing he did could free him and soon his mind was clouded by a voice.
"Yes...you'll serve my purpose well. This vessel is important to the one who holds my amulet."
Elon blacked out then, only faintly aware of himself, as if he was a backseat passenger in his own head. The walls of the cave flashed by as he strode up towards the entrance, the ghostly writing etching itself deeper onto the rocks around him as passed.
This world was going to pay.
Just as Elon disappeared, a car came screaming onto the site. The few workers that'd come back to their boss' office only to find it empty, turned now and watched the Ectomobile come to a halt, lights dimming as the busters got out.
"If you're looking for the boss, he ain't here. We cant find him..." the foreman said to Egon as he approached, still amazed at how alike this guy and their boss mr Spengler looked. Yet the two were different as chalk and cheese.
"Then we need to find him, he's in serious danger!" Egon waved the paper sat them, gesturing to the pack attached to his belt "we have to destroy this thing."
As he turned to look out over the site, the workers noticed now that he also had a sword strapped to his back, tucked away beneath the proton pack.
"Yo, doc Spengler.." one of the workers said, raising an eyebrow "what's with the ninja thing?"
"The what?" Egon seen he was gesturing to the sword and realised what he meant "it's the only way to destroy this thing. It's made of a type of metal thats almost impossible to break and right now it's the only chance we have."
"If you say so, maybe the boss-"
Just then, there was an explosion of unearthly green light from the mouth of the tunnel. Egon stared in horror, then took off running down the hill.
-We're too late.- he panicked, whatever was down there had awakened and he feared it was HIS fault!
There was a green mist uncurling from the mouth of the cave as Egon and his friends approached, the workers all hanging back to let these guys handle it.
"Ready proton beam-" Egon began, but was cut off by a slithery, serpentine voice laden with elements of familiarity.
"I wouldn't be so hasty, Egon." It placed an odd emphasis on his name and Egon frowned.
Then the figure stepped out of the smoke and Egon's stomach sank, cold fear numbing his limbs.
It was Elon. His eyes shone with a green glow, lips twisted into a sneer.
"Is that any way to greet your own brother? But then, I always did consider you more like an overly-intelligent plant that mother and father were afraid to leave alone for five minutes! Haha.."
His laughter continued on for a few seconds and Egon hesitated, then took a step forward.
"Not another step." the possessed Elon tutted, wagging a finger at him. He held up a sharp jagged chunk of rock, putting it up to his neck.
"Elon- please!" Egon said "this isn't you-"
"How would YOU know? You've spent your whole life in your own head-"
"Bull!" Peter stepped forward now, glaring at Elon "you don't know what you're talking about. Sure, he doesn't show much, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist! just because you have your head too far up your own ass to see!"
Egon blinked, feeling a little better as his friends traded barbs with his possessed brother. Elon's eyes narrowed and he smirked again, stepping back.
"Well, you're too late- once I unleash what lies beneath this cave you'll all perish, family or not!"
He dove back into the ethereal glow, but Egon wasn't letting him go that easily. He dove after him with surprising speed, tacking his brother just as the cave began to shake in earnest. Rocks tumbled down from the entrance, quickly burying it and throwing up a cloud of dust
"Boss!"
"Egon!"
Dismayed cries rang out as the dust settled. Ray made a worried noise, darting forward but Peter quickly grabbed the back of his jumpsuit.
"We'll need more then just our hands, Ray. Relax, we're not giving up on either of them.."
"What do we do?" one of the women asked, taking her hardhat off her head as she stared in horror.
Winston looked around him, then had an idea "hay, do you guys keep explosives here?"
"Yeah, but only boss has the key-"
"No worries." Peter grinned "I taught myself a little lock picking, just let me at it!"
Sharing dubious glances but realising the fate of their boss and his brother was in their hands, the head foreman nodded, motioning the ragtag crowd to follow him. A few hung back to keep an eye on the entrance, but not too close to it.
Meanwhile, Egon woke to find he was being carried, proton pack and all, across someone's shoulder.
Just as he stirred, they reached the site where the lump of Damascus steel had been unearthed.
"Wakey wakey." Elon threw his brother's body to the hard packed earth with as much force as he could. Egon gasped in pain as his right ankle twisted painfully on impact and he quickly crawled back, trying to keep his distance from his possessed brother. He grasped at his belt for the bag-
"Looking for this, brother?" Elon asked, holding up the amulet plate. Egon's stomach sunk and his brother laughed, glowing green eyes fixed on Egon as he strode around the space of the tunnel. He ran his hands over the glowing writing, talking in a foreign dialect. Egon looked at the writing on the walls as he watched his brother, realised he could read it-
What he seen made his eyes widen and he clapped a hand to his mouth. Elon heard him and smirked.
"What's this? Oh yes, you're so smart, yet you cant stop me. Your little proton gun will only eviscerate your brother and you care too much to see that happen."
"Of course I care!" Egon snapped, fists clenching "why wouldn't I? He's my brother. I didn't have many friends as a kid, but he still spent many an afternoon with me. I wish I'd realised that he felt ignored, but I didn't see the world the same way he did, I was blinded by all the things in the world that caught my fascination."
Elon paused, a conflict happening in his head. He fought against the influence controlling him as Egon looked at him, blue eyes so like his own fixing on him now.
"I'm sorry, Elon. Before their deaths, I asked mother and father if they could send me to a private school so they'd have time for YOU, without me there. That was why I kept pushing the issue, I don't know if you can hear me-"
For a moment, he thought he seen Elon's eyes clear whereupon he scrambled to his feet and staggered towards his sibling, reaching a hand out to him. For a split second his brother was reaching for him in reciprocation, then it was gone and the possessed Elon raised his hand higher, moving forward and striking his own brother hard enough to knock him to the floor.
Egon coughed as he was hauled to his feet and a knee was driven into his stomach, then he was dropped to the dirt again with Elon's distorted voice echoing in his ears.
"Pathetic, why wont you fight? Your whole world stands to be subjugated, yet you wont fight for it..."
Egon took a shuddering breath, feeling about to vomit.
"Because.." he wheezed "there are better ways.."
"Oh, like trapping and zapping with those little toys of yours?" Elon laughed, glowing eyes glinting as he regarded the human before him.
Blood dripped down Egon's chin from where he'd cut his lip on impact with the ground. He wiped it away with his sleeve, the coppery taste making him grimace.
"There are better ways then just blind violence. Logic, thought." he felt a plan forming and reached up to his proton pack.
Elon cocked his head to the side and laughed "what ARE you doing?"
"You want power? This thing has a big battery, it'll fuel whatever you're doing, just give me my brother back." Egon said, keeping an eye on the other man.
"Isn't that cute? You want your brother at the expense of the whole world?"
"I was responsible for his feeling neglected, I owe him this much." Egon said simply, gripping the proton packs straps in his hands. He unbuckled it, holding it out in front of him as he could feel the sword nestling in the spot between his shoulder blades. He had to try…
"Hmm, I will admit my curiosity. Throw it here, then."
Egon did as he was told, lobbing the heavy pack so it landed at Elon's feet. He stood there, shaking from shock, holding his stomach as if the blow from before had severely hurt him. His legs gave way a moment later, pitching him to the floor where he sat, seemingly in shock as he stared at Elon.
"Oh dear, are you in pain? How sad, perhaps I was too rough!" Elon laughed mockingly as he uncovered the button to control the power of the pack.
He smirked, looking at the plate in his hands and moving it towards the pack.
That was when Egon struck. Drawing the sword, he leapt across the gap, swinging the hilt blindly at the man claiming to be the end of the world. But Elon moved fast, grabbing Egon's wrist and squeezing it hard enough to hurt to the bone. Egon cried out in pain and crumpled to his knees, looking at his brother with a look of desperate hope.
"Nice try, you think I cant see through you pathetic humans? You're all about lies and trickery. Your little blade won't help you, why do you think I let you keep it?"
He threw Egon back, grinning as he hit the packed earth, the sword clattering to the floor beside him.
"Now." he moved to put the plate atop the wiring again, but seen his hand was empty.
He heard a faint, cracked laugh. Looking up, he seen Egon holding it now.
"Looking for this?" Egon mocked.
"Give that back you worthless wretch!" Elon dove for him, but Egon scrambled away, still clutching the plate and sword.
"Maybe I am to him, but it makes no difference!" Egon gasped as he evaded his enraged and demoniacal sibling "I haven't stopped caring, even if I never tried to contact him-"
He was cut off as the haunted Spengler dove for him with a desperate and unnatural speed, driving an elbow into his gut again and winding him. The plate bounced free and Egon fought to keep from blacking out as he slumped to the floor. He seen his brother stride over towards the plate, which lay discarded in the dirt.
Pushing past the pain in his stomach, Egon screamed at his tired muscles to move, NOW.
He threw himself forward, tackling his brother with all the strength he had. Elon hit the far wall, groaning softly as he slid to a heap at it's base.
Egon dove for the plate, landing on his knees beside it.
"No-!" the possessed Elon cried, trying pointlessly to get to his feet. Egon raised the sword, giving his brother a regretful but yet somehow still happy smile.
"I'm sorry." he murmured, then slammed the sword down on the plate. The sword's first impact cracked it and the second widened the fracture. Egon drove the blade in one last time and wrenched it, splitting the thing down the middle. There was an explosion of light and he was thrown back by the force, pinned against the wall by the howling of a fierce wind. Something cut into his side as the force at the heart of the plate threw both halves in opposite direction.
The wind died down and Egon was aware of a faint wetness soaking into his clothing as he slid to a heap at the base of the wall.
He seen the remaining pieces of the plate glow green then disintegrate into ash. The lettering on the cave dulled, plunging the room into darkness. It was over...
Elon stirred and upon seeing he was lost in darkness, he panicked. Feeling in his vest, he pulled out a flare with trembling hands. Lighting it, he looked around for his brother-
"Oh no.." he whispered as he spotted Egon slumped against the opposite wall, one side of his jumpsuit soaked with a dark fluid.
Crawling over, he touched a hand to the wound, heart sinking as he realised it was blood. He set a hand on Egon's chest, feeling he was still breathing….
He pulled his jacket off, tearing the lining out so he could fold and press it to the deep cut in Egon's side.
His memory flashed back to the red-headed Ghostbuster mentioning how insanely sharp the thing that'd cut the machines had to be.
"C'mon, Egon!" he pleaded, "stay with me here..."
Just then, he heard a massive explosion from far ahead. Picking Egon up, he staggered towards it, hoping his brother would survive...
He stumbled into the light of many a floodlight, wincing as the brightness seared his eyes.
"Egon!" A bubbling voice said and Elon stared as the green ghost shot over, sniffing at the bleeding Egon and uttering a scared wail.
"Oh no- PETER!" Ray came over, taking the injured Egon from a dazed Elon. "call an ambulance!"
They brought Egon to Elon's office, lying him on the couch and doing their best to staunch the bleeding. Winston steered Elon over to his office chair and handed him a cup of sweet tea.
"Is he…?" Elon stammered, barely able to think straight.
"I don't know, he's lost a lot of blood..." Winston said quietly "he's just gotta hold on until the ambulance gets here."
Elon didn't say another word, all he could see behind closed eyes were memories of what Egon had said in the cave. He wanted to tell Egon that he'd heard every word, screamed in helpless fury as he'd witnessed his own body attack his twin.
He and his brother both were taken to hospital in the end, as the paramedics were concerned Elon was in severe shock.
As soon as he was able, Elon escaped his room and went to find his brother in AE. As he rounded the corner to where he'd been told Egon was in surgery, he seen the other three Ghostbusters waiting too.
The tall lanky brunette glared balefully at him, making Elon wince.
"Hay.." the red-head offered in greeting "You OK?"
"Is Egon..?" Elon began, only for the brunette to give him another withering glance.
"Peter, cut that out." Winston said, seeing what he was doing.
"Hmph," Peter grumbled "now he cares about his brother-"
"Peter, we don't know the whole story, we really shouldn't-" Ray started but Elon spoke up then, cutting them both off.
"It's true, we didn't get along. I was so jealous of the attention Egon got, that I started to resent him. How could I hope to beat someone that smart? So I pretty much abandoned him, ignored him unless I had to and then I moved out as soon as I got a job. I thought he hated me too, he asked to go to a summer school the same year our parents died. But in the cave, he told the thing controlling me that he did it so I'd get the attention from our mom and dad."
"That's our Egon. He doesn't say a lot, but he doesn't have to." Ray nodded "I get the impression that even if he doesn't show it, he feels a lot more than he lets on."
"It's the only way he felt comfortable." Elon nodded, sitting in a chair and putting his head in his hands. He felt someone sit in the chair next to him a moment later, a kindly hand settling on his shoulder.
"It'll be alright." Ray said comfortingly.
"You know him best, what's he like?" Elon asked shakily, looking at the trio (and ghost) as Slimer drifted back in.
'Egon...science!" Slimer declared.
"Yup, he's a whiz at making machines..."
Ray told of the things he and Egon had worked on together, Winston spoke of the help he'd offered to all of them and Peter joked about the rare silly moments the serious scientist had had.
"He sounds happy," Elon sighed "and quite unlike what I had expected of him. I'm glad he's found people that can understand."
At that moment, the surgeon came out of the theatre and everyone's eyes were on him.
"Well, it was close but we've stabilised him and patched up that wound. We'll begin blood transfusions soon as we can."
All those assembled looked about to collapse in shock. The doctor urged them to go get some rest, it'd be awhile before Egon stirred.
"I'll go sort out the insurance." Ray offered, but was surprised when Elon shook his head, stating he'd take care of it. He owed his brother this much…
Then he was gone, off to call the insurance company.
"Maybe now he'll give a damn about Egon." Peter muttered softly and Winston nodded.
"It ain't always easy to keep family together, but I think they'd have a real chance if they sat down together."
"Yeah," Ray said, thinking back to Egon's funny behaviour "I think Egon was partly afraid of seeing him again, but some part of him wanted to make things right. But his brother wouldn't listen at first...so he felt a bit depressed."
Elon was back at work the next day, but his mind was still with his brother. He sat at his desk, staring dully at the photo of him and Egon when they were kids. Looking closer now, he seen something he hadn't noticed before. Egon stood next to him, something like a smile on his serious face as he clutched his brother's arm.
-What was it he said? 'Those few times you dragged me outside to play, I was happy'?- Elon let the photo fall to the desk, feeling sick with guilt. He'd been so jealous of his brother that he hadn't seen the loneliness or happiness hidden within him. Egon had seen his fury, that was why he'd tried to distance himself from the house, so their parents would give Elon what he needed.
Egon's fellow Ghostbusters had talked of his twin with a lot of affection, smiling warmly. By the sounds of it, Egon had found his way out of his shell, enough to befriend those guys, anyway.
Egon's brilliance had been as painful in its own way to himself, as it had been to his brother. The red-headed guy had mentioned how Egon often retreated into himself rather than talk, but when he did find someone who understood, he would brighten up considerably.
Elon wondered if it was too late to apologise? He'd been so fixated with proving his career did more good than this spook-hunting lark that he'd ignored just how hard Egon was working. He rummaged in a box under his desk, pulling out issues of magazines he'd kept despite his bitterness.
Opening one, he came across a full-page spread about Egon's technology. The photo showed his brother standing next to the massive containment unit, one hand resting lightly on its surface. While his expression was serious, Elon seen the light in his eyes now and realised how proud Egon was of what he'd made. The article mentioned how Egon and Dr Stantz maintained it, with the other fellow being easily as big a genius as Spengler.
-I didn't think, I assumed he was a goofball.- Elon sighed, no doubt that smart-mouthing Venkman guy was a possessor of a considerable intellect too, he just buried it beneath his screwball antics. Winston was the only one who seemed to be more open and straightforward with his attitude.
Another magazine, another interview with Egon. This was was about the proton packs and traps, how they'd changed over the years. Elon studied the photo of Egon brandishing a prototype trap and seen minute letters etched onto its side. Grabbing a magnifying glass, he peered closely at it and felt his throat lock up.
Written in tiny letters was "e10n5". When you turned the numbers to letters it spelled "Elon S'.
All this time and he'd never known. One of his brother's earliest works was named after him, he hadn't forgotten him. He got up from his chair now, grabbing his jacket and running out the door. He told everyone to just go home, he had to go back to the hospital.
He drove as fast as he could, hoping he wasn't too late to speak with Egon, providing he'd regained consciousness.
Egon's friends were probably still at work, so Elon was allowed to sit by his brothers bedside, alone. He was still clutching the magazine in his hands, unable to quit running the letters engraved on the trap through his mind.
It was close to evening time when Egon stirred, eyes slowly fluttering open. Elon sat forward in his chair, hoping he was alright..
The creak of the seat caught Egon's attention and he turned his head, his sleepy gaze focusing on his brother.
"Elon?" he asked sleepily, wondering if he was hallucinating. He looked a mess, with bags under his eyes and the shadow of a beard starting to grow in.
"You're awake, thank goodness," Elon said shakily. "Egon, I'm so sorry."
"What for?" Egon asked, frowning slightly as he thought back to what had happened.
"For shouting at you, for making you think I hated you….for trying to kill you?" Elon looked desperately close to breaking down.
Egon sat himself up as best he could, reaching for his brother's hand. He managed to weakly tap his wrist, making him look at him.
"I know the risks of my job," Egon said with a faint smile as he settled back against the pillows "this isn't the first time any of us has ended up hospitalised. It's what we face, all the time."
Elon looked ready to contradict him, but Egon shook his head, indicating he wasn't finished.
"Your actions weren't your fault, I have seen cases of possession before. It's gone now, you're fine. What's the matter?"
Egon frowned in concern as he seen his brother shake his head adamantly.
"It's not alright, I need to tell you something. I heard every word, Egon." he whispered "all the things you said in the cave. I know you didn't mean for things to turn out the way they did, it wasn't your fault. Had I been less obsessed with getting our parents attention, I would've seen you needed a friend."
He sighed heavily, getting to his feet "I'm sorry I ruined any chance we had-"
The magazine fell unnoticed from under his arm, to land atop the bed. Egon picked it up with shaking hands, sleep-muddled brain just about focusing on the photo of himself. But he recognised that trap, it was the first he'd made...
As Elon set his hand on the door, Egon spoke up.
"Who says you have?"
Elon turned, confusion written all over his face. Egon held up the glossy magazine, something like a smile on his face.
"The traps were built to contain all the bad entities, not unlike what you did for me as a child. Do you remember the boogieman?"
"Kind of..yeah." Elon sat back on the chair, he hadn't thought about THAT in years "you were so scared, so convinced it was real that you stopped sleeping. You were crying a lot, mom and dad didn't understand why. But you told ME..."
"And you convinced me if that I didn't let it get under my skin, I'd be giving it a kick in the butt." Egon actually chuckled, even as it made his side ache "you were so certain, that I believed you. You're the older one after all, even if it is just by a few minutes."
Elon smiled faintly, they'd had many a silly fight using this fact.
"The boogieman, he WAS real." Egon smiled faintly "Little over a year ago, we ran into him on one of our cases. He was terrorising these two children the very same way he'd once done to me. HE remembered me."
"Wha….seriously….how?" Elon blinked "You're all grown up now."
"It seems he recognised my 'scent' as it were, even after all these years. All of us went after him and we eventually succeeded in blowing up the main entrance to his realm, using our proton packs and an ectoplasmic bomb."
"A bomb?" Elon's eyebrows vanished beneath his fringe "good grief."
Egon nodded "Sometimes you just need a grenade. I don't think we destroyed him for good, but we more than slowed his progress. It was strange, facing him again after so long. It brought back memories of you, what you'd said."
Elon smiled a little, surprised at how much Egon had thought of him.
"I just assumed you were happy with the fame and work you had, why would you even remember me? I admit, I was jealous of how easy you made everything seem, nothing ever seemed to bother you."
"I never completely forgot." Egon said softly "I did not think you would want contact with me, yet I kept records of your work nonetheless. The magazines make it seem easy, but often this job can be hard, exhausting and infuriating, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Besides, I've learned to keep things hidden from the press, they have a habit of being over dramatic and I grew tired of them 'wigging out' as Peter puts it, over the simplest things."
"How did you know I was in trouble?" Elon asked, after a minute spent processing these facts.
"I ran tests on that plate, it came up as being made of Damascus steel, a metal that's tougher than anything around today. I cross-referenced what I'd seen at the site with geographical data and Tobin's Spirit guide. The results I came to made me realise that we had to go back, before things got-"
"Out of hand?" Elon finished and Egon nodded.
"That's amazing," Elon shook his head "you really are the brains of the family."
"Not necessarily so," Egon said softly "I've made many mistakes, caused damage and put us all in danger. I'm not infallible, nobody is. Just like I'm not what I would define as a genius. Intelligence can be demonstrated in a variety of ways. I studied your work in the papers, noticed how efficiently you sort out the business at hand. It is an enviable skill, one that I believe got you the prestigious contracts listed in your interviews."
Elon was surprised, so his brother had been keeping tabs on HIS work too. He chuckled, explaining the collection of magazines to Egon when he looked puzzled.
"I guess I convinced myself I hated you, but reality is, I was just afraid that if I tried to track you down, things would get nasty. Which they kind of did…."
"It doesn't matter," Egon said with a faint smile "siblings are supposed to fight, according to my research. As for continued contact, we're both alive, we're both within driving distance, I fail to see why this incident should discontinue any chances. Theoretically, it's never too late."
Elon stared in surprise, his brother didn't want to cut him out of his life, even after what'd happened? Egon seen his surprise and continued;
"Some ghosts are malicious and they'll do whatever they can to get their own way. That thing intended to capitalize on the fact I couldn't hurt you, so I distracted it long enough to knock the wind out of you and use the sword I borrowed from the museum to break it. I admit the shards flying apart and nearly bisecting me was not a consequence I foresaw."
"I'm just glad you're gonna be alright. You nearly died..." Elon shook his head, shuddering softly as he recalled the sight of so much blood.
"There's no sense in dwelling on it. The matter is over." Egon said firmly "but, if it'll help, you are welcome to come visit the firehouse and see where we do our 'crazy' work. Just to warn you, you may have to put up with alarms going off at all hours of the day, somebody swearing at the car and Peter chasing the resident spook about whilst threatening to fry it!"
His brother laughed softly, looking a little happier. "Not a bad idea, even with the aforementioned things. I must admit, I want to know if what the magazines say is true!"
"Yes, Peter really did streak through HQ for a dare."
"That guy's kind of weird, isn't he?" Elon shook his head.
"Peter may come across as being carefree, but that's mostly a facade. When it comes down to it, he's really very smart." Egon smiled "I've worked with him long enough to see that."
He yawned a second later, feeling drowsy again.
"Go to sleep," Elon said "I'll talk to you later."
Egon smiled, feeling a sense of relief as he started to drift away, the last thing he seen was his brother getting comfortable on the seat, planning on staying a while longer…
When he awoke again, his friends and his brother were all there.
"Hay, he's up!" Peter waved a hand in Egon's face, holding up a middle finger "how many fingers am I holding up?"
"Thursday?" Egon said, not hearing him properly.
"Yeah, he's fine." Peter said glibly, grinning as he stood back up.
"How ya feelin' man?" Winston asked. Egon managed a smile and said he was tired, but otherwise fine.
"What happened, Egon?" Ray asked, perching on the edge of a chair.
"Yeah, where'd the ghost go and who was the one we captured?" Winston asked curiously.
Egon smiled faintly, looking over at his brother "Well, I don't have ALL of the story.." he offered, seeing Elon blink in surprise and then fidget as all eyes moved to him.
"Well, what I can remember clearly starts a while after you left." the other Spengler began...
They told the story in bits and pieces, each recalling different details that helped build a bigger picture. By the end of it, Ray actually fell off the edge of the chair, much to Peter's amusement.
"It exploded? Whoa." Stantz remarked from the floor, eyes wide.
"As for the ghost we captured, I suspect it was merely a scout that thing created, but decided to step up its plan after it got wind of us." Egon wound up the story.
"That is some freaky stuff." Peter ran a hand through his messy hair "I'm glad you were able to stop that thing!"
"We recovered your proton pack, by the way." Ray added "it's back at HQ."
"Thank you, Ray." Egon sighed in relief, then another matter occurred to him and he cast an urgent glance at his brother.
"Elon, the site?"
"It's made some progress, but we've left that dig site alone for now. Why, what's wrong?" the site boss asked his brother, seeing how suddenly eager Egon was to try sitting up.
Egon thanked his brother as he helped him sit, able to address them all better.
"What's up, Egon?" Winston asked, recognising that look.
"We need to take a further look at that site, that thing mentioned it was 'buried deep below'. Even though the artefact has been destroyed, it still bears further investigation."
"I'll keep the workers away from it for the time being," Elon promised "let me know when you want to come out there and I'll make sure I'm on site that day."
"That'd be perfect, if the place is clear of any spirits, there's no reason why you can't finish the job as planned." Egon nodded.
"We'll wait until you're all better." Ray said "this is your job, Egon."
Egon sighed in relief, he was looking forward to getting out of here…
Time passed and Egon was finally released from the hospital. His brother had made regular visits after that first day, even bringing photo's from their old house.
"I thought you should have them, I have plenty." Elon had added as Egon flicked through the photo books with an air of curiosity. He stopped at a photo of the two of them in front of a book fort. He smiled, faintly recalling the occasion.
Now, a week after his discharge from hospital and he was back to his usual self. He was left with a noticeable scar on his side, but he didn't really care, he was just glad to be back to work.
They were on their way to the site that'd started all this, to check on the place where the Damascus plate had been. Egon was looking forward to seeing Elon again, things had become far less strained between them with all the time they'd had to talk during his stay in hospital.
The site workers cheered as they recognised the Ghostbusters and as promised, Elon came forward to shake his brother's hand and welcome them all.
They spent hours checking over every last inch of the site, but as far as Egon could ascertain, when he'd broken that amulet, he'd destroyed the spirit. Satisfied, they packed up the equipment and carried it out of the cave.
"It's clear." Egon told his brother and the assembled workmen cheered loudly.
"Thank you, Egon." Elon smiled, seeing Egon smile in response. The two of them stood, side by side, staring at the entrance to the tunnel.
"Nice work, bro." Elon chuckled and Egon nodded.
"Hay, smile!"
Both Spenglers turned around, seeing Ray holding up a camera.
"You mind?" Elon asked, raising an eyebrow. Egon raised one to meet his, nodding silently.
A week later, Elon received a package on his desk, from his brother. Opening it, he seen it was the photo Ray had taken, of the two of them side by side, smiling. Him in his construction uniform, his brother wearing his trademark jumpsuit.
Elon smiled, then set in pride of place on his desk.
Maybe ghosts weren't so outlandish, after all.
Just a little story I wrote at an insane hour of the morning...