Author's note (1/21/22): I've recently decided to go back and rewrite some of my stories a bit because I wasn't liking how I had written some of it. Hope everyone enjoys the improved Junior Ghostbusters!!
It was a bright, sunny morning in New York City. Violet Spengler, daughter of Egon and Janine Spengler, had just woken up and walked out of her bedroom with bleary eyes. She walked into the kitchen expecting to see her mother cooking breakfast for her and her brothers or her father sitting at the table reading or fiddling with a PKE meter. But Janine wasn't in kitchen nor was Egon sitting at the table. In fact, it looked like no one had been in there.
"Huh. That's weird." Violet thought to herself, "Where are Mom and Dad?"
"Hey, is breakfast done yet?" a voice called from behind. The 13 year old turned around and saw her younger brothers, Julian and Daniel, walk in still bleary-eyed.
"Hey Vi, where's Mom and Dad?" Julian asked.
"I'm not sure J." Violet replied.
"Maybe they went to the firehall early." Daniel suggested as he ran his hand through his reddish-blonde hair.
"But, there's no note anywhere." Violet replied as she looked on the counters for one.
"Well, let's get dressed so we're not late for school." Julian said as he looked at the clock.
The three then got dressed and grabbed a few cereal bars for breakfast. They grabbed their backpacks and headed out. On they way down, they met their friends/cousins Ryan and Raina Stantz, Maleah and Pedro Venkman, and Tiana and William Zeddemore. Coincidentally, the other three Ghostbusters and their wives were not home either.
"That's just strange." Maleah remarked, "If they had had an early morning call, wouldn't they have left a note first?"
"Yeah, but I don't see how our dads could go on another bust after yesterday." Ryan said as he and the others exited their apartment building.
Yesterday, the Ghostbusters had gotten so many calls that they needed everyone to help. Even Tiyah Zeddemore, Tiana and William's mom, had to leave her job, which was teaching at the same middle school the kids went to, early to help out. That night, the Ghostbusters had gotten home so late that the kids were already in bed by that point. Egon and Ray had been puzzled at why they had so many calls out of nowhere. As a result of the chaos, the kids didn't see their parents much yesterday.
"Did you try to call Kylie?" William asked.
"We tried, but she didn't answer." Ryan replied, "Tried her house phone and the shop phone, but no answer."
"Mel, Pedro, did you guys try calling Oscar?" Raina asked.
"Yeah, but he didn't answer either." Maleah replied.
"Well, this just keeps getting weirder." Tiana said.
"We can investigate more after school." Julian said, "Maybe they'll call us."
The kids walked a few blocks from their building to Tribeca Public Middle School. Once they got there, they got their stuff from their lockers and headed to class. William and Ryan were in 8th grade and had math for their first period. Julian and Daniel were in 6th grade and had English for their first period. Lastly, Violet, Raina, Maleah, Pedro, and Tiana were all in 7th grade and had science for their first period.
"Hey Tiana, William!" Mrs. Germain, the principal, called as she ran up to the Zeddemores. "Where's your mother? She hasn't shown up."
"We don't know." Tiana replied.
"She and Dad weren't home." William added.
"Ok, I'll have to find a sub then." Mrs. Germain said as she ran back down the hall clearly stressed.
The kids then went to class. They tried focusing on their school work, but the strange disappearances of their parents kept lingering in their minds. Then, near the end of first period, the intercom came on.
"Attention students. Please go to the gym for a sports safety assembly."
Everyone in the school left their classrooms and headed down to the gym. Once everyone had taken a seat in the bleachers, Tiana asked "Mom shown up yet Will?"
"No." William replied.
"I haven't gotten any calls from Dad or Kylie." Ryan added as he checked his phone.
"I'm beginning to suspect something's wrong." Violet said.
"Yeah, me too." Pedro said, he and Maleah looking at each other in agreement.
"Well, what do we do?" Julian asked.
"Nothing for right now." William replied, "I mean, we can't just leave school without a proper reason."
"Everyone, may I have your attention?" Mrs. Germain said as she stood behind a lectern, "Let's get this assembly out of the way, so turn your attention to the screen."
A slide show was pulled up and Mrs. Germain began talking about dangers associated with certain sports. No one really paid attention because it was a presentation that was repeated every year. As Mrs. Germain switched to a slide about protective equipment, the doors to the gym blew open and three winged creatures flew in. Everyone began to freak out and ducked to avoid being clawed by the creatures. The kids looked at the creatures in shock.
"Are...are those what I think they are?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah, daimons." Violet replied as she glanced at the PKE meter she had in her backpack.
"Do you always carry that around with you?" Pedro asked as he ducked to avoid one of the daimons.
"Yes, for situations like this." Violet replied.
The daimons flew around the gym, knocking over and breaking things. The school's security guards ran in and tried shooting the spirits. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain as the daimons grabbed them and threw them against the wall.
Suddenly, the telescreen in front of the students went all staticky. Then a person appeared on the screen. He seemed human, but he had horns on the top of his head. He had large bat wings, his skin pale, his hair black, and his eyes were pure red. The Junior Ghostbusters knew what it was. It was a demon. The daimons stopped flying around and hovered just above the screen.
"A demon!" Raina exclaimed quietly.
"Who are you?" Mrs. Germain asked, her face pale and her voice full of terror.
"Hello, I am Keizer." the demon said with a deep menacing voice, "Greetings to the city of New York. I'm sure my army of daimons have caught your attention by now."
"There's more?" Tiana asked quietly.
"Yeah, they're all over the city." Ryan whispered as he looked at his phone.
"What is it that you want?" Mrs. Germain asked.
"My ambitions are not your concern." Keizer replied sternly.
"Well, whatever they are, the Ghostbusters will stop them and you!!" another student yelled.
Keizer smiled evilly and let out a deep and demonic laugh. Everyone in the gym was frozen with terror. The three daimons smiled as well as their auras seem to get darker and darker. And they seem to grow larger.
"What are they doing?" Maleah asked.
Raina stared at the spirits for a little bit, her eyebrows furrowing. She looked around the gym and back at the daimons. A realization struck her and her separate colored eyes widened.
"They're feeding off of fear." the 12 year old explained, "By doing so, they grow more powerful."
"Oh, that's lovely." Pedro dryly remarked.
Keizer's laughing died down to a slight chuckle. "Mortals...they're so full of hope and arrogance." he said with a humorous tone. His smile grew again, revealing some very sharp teeth.
"What have you done." another teacher asked as the kids were overcome with a bad feeling.
"I'm afraid that your precious heroes, the Ghostbusters, won't be here to save you." Keizer replied smiling with a mocking voice, "Because I have them myself."
"What?!!" Violet exclaimed as quietly as she could. The color drained out of the others faces.
Keizer moved out of the way and the kids gasped. There, tied up against the wall was Janine Melnitz-Spengler, Jenny Moran-Stantz, Dana Barrett-Venkman, and Tiyah Zeddemore. Oscar Barrett, Maleah and Pedro's older half-brother, and Kylie Griffin were there as well. So were the Chicago Ghostbusters and even Special Agent Melanie Ortiz.
Now the kids understood everything. The reason the Ghostbusters had so many calls was Keizer sending ghosts to tire them out. And then that night, Keizer's minions had abducted their parents from home. But as the kids looked on the wall, there were four people missing: their fathers.
"Where are our dads?" Julian asked.
"I don't know, but I feel something bad happened to them." Ryan replied.
"Wait, where are the Ghostbusters?" Mrs. Germain asked as she fumbled with her cell phone. But one of the daimons swooped down and grabbed it from her, crushing it with its talons.
Keizer began to smile evilly and his eyes glowed Funny you should ask..."
The demon moved out of the way again. The kids had to bite their tongues to keep themselves from screaming. Because lying on the ground, not moving and lifeless, were the bodies of the four main Ghostbusters.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!" a student shrieked.
Keizer smiled even more "I might've taken their souls." he replied as he turned his head, "Bring them!!"
Four daimons came into view, bringing four wispy figures wrapped in ethereal chains with them. They had the souls of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore. They were looked like themselves, but bathed in a blue aura.
"You soulless monster!!!" Daniel blurted out. He quickly covered his mouth with his hands.
Keizer laughed demonically again. "I'm a demon, so I technically have no soul. Face it New York, you have no one to save you." The demon turned the four souls that stood before them. "And no one to save them."
The group of nine looked at each other with wide eyes and horrified expressions. Their worst nightmare was unfolding before them.
"Goodbye New York." Keizer smiled evilly as he took hold of the Ghostbusters' souls, "Have fun with my minions..." In a flash of red light, the telescreen went black. Before anyone could react, more daimons burst into the gym. People began screaming and running out of the gym or hid under furniture.
"Uh, what now?" William asked as he ducked to avoid a daimon.
"I have a good idea." Maleah replied, "Let's get out of here!!"
The others agreed and quickly grabbed their stuff and rushed out of the gym. It wasn't easy as everyone was panicking and running in different directions. After about five minutes, the group had managed to make it out of the school in one piece. But they were horrified at what they saw. Hundreds of daimons were flying everywhere. People ran past them screaming and cars were crashing into each other. It looked like the end of the world.
"Oh God, this is worse than I thought!!" Violet exclaimed.
"What now?" asked Pedro as he dodged an especially violent spirit, "We can't stay here, we're sitting ducks."
"Firehall now." Ryan replied, "We need to come up with a plan and make sure these things don't get to the containment unit."
And with that, the teens and pre-teens headed down an alleyway to get to the GB headquarters hopefully without being seen.
In a dark fortress in the Nether Realm, the demon Keizer was standing in front of a mirror with a slightly amused expression. Except he wasn't staring into a normal mirror, but rather a window into the mortal world.
His blood red eyes gleamed with joy as he saw the chaos unfolding in the city of New York. It was quite amusing to see mortals running and screaming in terror as they tried to avoid his minions.
"Uh, my lord?" said a voice from behind the demon. He turned around to see one of his minions dressed in black armor standing there.
"What is it Orgíon?" Keizer asked as he faced the smaller daimon, his large wings casting a shadow over him, "Have the Ghostbusters started talking yet?"
"Unfortunately not sir." Orgíon replied, "They are very stubborn and resistant."
Keizer muttered something in an ancient dialect as small flames flew from his horns. Orgíon took a step back obviously afraid of the more powerful demon.
"Should we try any of the other Ghostbusters?" he asked, hoping to avoid his master's wrath, "Or maybe their spouses or anyone else we captured?"
"No, the rest of them are useless to me." Keizer replied as he looked towards the mirror. The image had changed from one of New York in chaos to the throne room in the fortress where the prisoners were being kept.
Orgíon looked at his master with confusion. "Then why did we need to capture them if you weren't going to interrogate them?"
"To make sure that no one could come save them Orgíon." Keizer replied as he turned back toward the daimon with flaming eyes. "And don't question me."
"Y-Y-Yes my lord." the daimon replied fearfully.
"Good. You are dismissed."
Orgíon walked quickly out of the room to keep an eye on the prisoners. Keizer turned towards a window that looked out into the hellish landscape he called home. He stood there and looked outside, patiently planning his next move.
Back in New York, Ryan, Raina, Violet, Tiana, Maleah, Julian, William, Pedro and Daniel had managed to make to the firehall without any confrontation. To their surprise, they found that there were no daimons anywhere in the firehall nor in the basement. After making sure the guards on the containment unit were on, they made their way to the second to plan their next move.
"So...what now?" Pedro asked.
"I...don't know." William replied, "But what I do know is we're screwed."
"Will's right." Ryan added, "The city's been taken over by hundreds of spirits and the only people who can deal with them, i.e. our parents, are imprisoned in the Nether Realm by a very powerful demon."
"Don't forget that demon took our dads' souls." said Tiana.
"And he has every person who knows how to use a proton pack, so there's no one to save them." Julian said as he flopped into a chair.
"Well, we've got to do something!!" Daniel exclaimed.
"Yeah, we can't just sit here while New York descends into the 10th level of Hell." Maleah added.
"There's only one option." Violet said as she looked at the others. Raina immediately knew what Violet was thinking.
"We'll have to save our parents ourselves." Raina said.
To be continued...
