Don't Play With Fire

by SparklyTree3876

Ghostbusters/Free Willy crossover. AU set nine years after Ghostbusters II and one year after Free Willy 3: The Rescue. Orcas have turned unusually aggressive. Jesse believes it is the paranormal. He asks his uncle Peter to bring the Ghostbusters with his aunt Dana and cousin Oscar on their vacation to investigate. Can the team solve things before other animals began to attack?

Don't Play with Fire
By SparklyTree3876

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Pairings: Jesse/Nadine and Peter/Dana

Summary: Hi, readers. I would like to present what is probably the first Ghostbusters/Free Willy crossover. It is AU set nine years after Ghostbusters II and one year after Free Willy 3: The Rescue and shows orcas having turned unusually aggressive in which it has Jesse believing the paranormal is at play and requesting his uncle Peter to bring the Ghostbusters with his aunt Dana and cousin Oscar on his vacation to investigate. I got this idea when I went to see Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. I was surprised to see no Ghostbusters fics where animals were behaving unusually. I thought it was time to write a fic or crossover featuring this. The population of orcas that regularly swims through Puget Sound and has been seen as far north as Vancouver Island and as far south as California is called the Southern Resident Community. It is made up of three pods with the letters of J, K, and L. J-Pod was used as Willy's birth pod throughout the Free Willy series. You may see special appearances by a number of J-Pod orcas at some point. It is recommended you know about the Ghostbusters and the Free Willy series before you attempt to read this crossover. I hope you enjoy this crossover. Constructive criticism is welcome.

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Chapter 1: Fun Morning Turns Into Terror

The midmorning sun beamed its rays on the San Juan Islands in late July. The ocean seemed to be sparkling. A golden eagle screeched while gliding effortlessly through the sky. It flapped its wings in which it gained altitude. It let out another screech, this one being louder. It opened its beak and flicked its tongue three times.

Nine years had passed since the Ghostbusters defeated Vigo and destroyed the slime shell that covered the Manhattan Museum of Art. They were honored as heroes and given the Key to the City by Mayor Lenny. Their business grew significantly. They occasionally took cases outside of New York, especially in rural areas. Some ghosts and spirits were difficult to capture, but others were rather easy.

Eight years after the Vigo incident, Jesse, Randolph, Drew, and Max stopped a team of poachers from harming J-Pod. This had included Willy's mate, Nikki. She had been a member of L-Pod. She was pregnant with their son, Max, at the time. An investigation found the Southern Resident orcas weren't the only ones killed. Transient orcas that frequented the area had also been targets. The transient population was recovering well, but the Southern Resident orcas were having a hard time increasing their numbers.

The eagle looked down at the water. Just then, three J-Pod orcas broke the surface. They darted underwater and clicked in a loud manner. Three more came up. So did two others. They disappeared just as fast their podmates had. Three spyhopped, playful squeaks coming from them. They slipped beneath the surface. Another leapt into the air and landed on its stomach. This created two huge splashes.

Much had changed in all three Southern Resident orca pods since Max's birth. Willy's sister, Luna, found her mate in Jack, who had been a member of K-Pod and traveled with theirs now. They were expecting their first calf. Willy and Luna spent much time with their mates. The same went for his son regarding him. Their brother, Littlespot, still traveled with their mother, Catspaw. This year welcomed two calves into the population. The first calf's name was DoubleStuf (J34). He was the son of Oreo (J22). The second calf's name was Tahlequah (J35) She was the daughter of Princess Angeline (J17). Unfortunately, six orcas had perished. They were Ralph (J6), Ewok (J20), Leo (L44), Dylan (L38), Sigurd (K29), Sounder (K3), and Nerka (L93). Ralph was born in 1958 and was the brother of Spaiden (J8), Nerka to Ophelia (L27) in 1995, Ewok to Tahoma (J10) in 1980, Dylan to Misky (L28) in 1965, Leo to Olympia (L32) in 1974, and Sigurd to Sounder in 1996.

Just then, Willy surfaced with a loud burst of air. Nikki came up alongside him. Their skin had rakes from behind their eyepatches to under their saddle patches on both sides. Max appeared beside his mother. His white areas had nearly lost all of their orange. The base of his dorsal contained rakes around it. His dorsal had a tiny knick in it. They dove underwater, their tails slapping on the surface. They returned to it quickly.

Luna surfaced behind her brother's group. She had rakes around the base of her tail and under her saddle patch on both sides. Her left fluke contained a small notch in it. Her stomach had a bit of a bulge in it. Jack came up beside her. His dorsal leaned slightly to the right. The trailing edge had a small knick close to the base. His right side was covered with rakes. His eyepatches were large and thick. They seemed to dip downward in the middle. His eyes were light blue. His flukes curled completely under. His saddle patch was closed on the right side and had a swirl in the left tip.

Catspaw came up behind her daughter's group. Her dorsal resembled Luna's with the exception of the white crescent. It had a tiny knick at the tip. Her eyepatches resembled Willy's. However, they came to sharp points just above her brown eyes. She had rakes on her left side under her saddle patch that happened to be open in the middle on both sides.

Littlespot surfaced beside his mother. His dorsal leaned very slightly to the left. Both of his sides had rakes from under his saddle patch to the base of his tail. He charged underwater, as did Catspaw. They rolled upside down. They leapt backward, hitting the water on their backs. This created two huge splashes. They returned to the surface as Jack and Luna went underwater.

Tahoma came up, followed by Everett (J18). Her open left saddle patch was visible. So was the slight dip in her left eyepatch. His dorsal waved somewhat. His closed left saddle patch could be seen. He dove underwater, as did his mother. They went deep, bubbles leaving their blowholes. They turned toward the surface. They did bows in which they reentered the water quickly. They surfaced once more.

Oreo and DoubleStuf surfaced together. Her closed left saddle patch was visible, as were the spots in her left eyepatch. His white areas were very orange. She headed underwater, followed by him. They dove deep before turning upward. They spyhopped, playful squeals coming from them. They slipped beneath the surface. They returned to it, bursts of air leaving their blowholes.

Rhapsody (J32) spyhopped with a delighted squeal. The unique swirl in the bottom of her left saddle patch could be seen. She slipped underwater while spitting water from her mouth. She returned to it and lowered her head. She slapped her tail on the surface twice. She laid it back on the water, lifting her head. She rolled on her side to slap her flipper against it twice. She darted underwater quickly.

Slick (J16) and Mike (J26) surfaced together. Her mostly closed left saddle patch could be seen. His dorsal waved a little bit. His open left saddle patch was clearly visible. They rolled on their sides and slapped their flippers against the surface three times. They headed underwater, going rather deep. They shot toward the surface. They leapt into the air. They landed on their backs, creating two huge splashes each. They returned to the surface with loud bursts of air.

Unbeknownst to J-Pod, twenty-five-year-old Jackie Ryman was driving a speedboat at a slow speed at a long distance. As an African American, she was tall for a woman. Her skin was quite dark. Her curly black hair was rather short and pulled back into a ponytail at the ends. Her brown eyes had slight bags underneath them. Scars could be seen above her nearly invisible thin eyebrows.

Twenty-eight-year-old Jenny Pips stood next to Jackie. She was Caucasian and slightly shorter than her friend was. Her brown hair was long and tied up in a bun. It was straight with the exception of curls at the ends. Her skin was rather pale. Freckles covered her faces with the exception of the areas underneath her blue eyes. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.

"It is such a beautiful morning," Jenny said with a big smile on her face.

"Yes, it is," Jackie agreed and brought the boat to a stop. She turned off the engine. "It is perfect for whale-watching."

"You are wise to stop the boat and turn off the engine at a distance. The whales do not need to be disturbed," Jenny pointed out.

"Too many boaters violate the rule against going at high speed when whales are present. They hit them and leave nasty wounds on them," Jackie grumbled in disgust.

"It sucks to no end," Jenny said with a shake of her head. "Even when they are given fines for violating the rules, they still won't follow them."

Jackie snorted. "Rules for thee but not for me."

Jenny huffed. "Exactly."

Jackie and Jenny grabbed their cameras and pointed them at the orcas. They proceeded to take two pictures each of Slick and Mike spyhopping. They couldn't help but giggle.

"Spyhopping is such a cool behavior," Jackie said.

"It allows whales and dolphins to get a look around above the surface for a few minutes," Jenny responded and clicked her tongue.

"They may do this several times in a row," Jackie commented and snorted softly.

"It sucks the Southern Resident orca population is struggling. It has lost many members over the last few years," Jenny mumbled and shook her head in disbelief.

"Seven orcas have died this year. Only two calves have been born so far," Jackie whispered with sadness.

"Let's hope more calves are born with the majority being female. This population needs mothers," Jenny said.

Tahoma and Slick surfaced not far from the boat. They turned toward the women as they took pictures of her. Suddenly, their irises turned black. Tahoma emitted an aggressive squeak. She began swimming toward the boat quickly. Slick followed her close behind. She squeaked just as aggressively. Jackie and Jenny felt their eyes go wide as if they were saucers.

"What in the hell is going on with Tahoma and Slick?" Jackie wondered.

"I don't know, but you better start the boat now! We got to get out of here!" Jenny cried.

Jackie grabbed a lifejacket and handed it to her while getting one. "Take this just in case!"

The women put their lifejackets on as the orcas came closer to them. Slick and Tahoma dove underwater with a slap of their tails. They snapped them closed. Jackie raced to the bow. She was about to start the speedboat when Tahoma and Slick surfaced and hit it full force. She screamed as they began pushing it. She and Jackie held on the starboard for dear life.

Slick and Tahoma ducked their heads and flipped the speedboat over, sending Jackie and Jenny tumbling into the water. Their lifejackets kept them from going underwater. It ended up completely upside down. Jackie and Jenny began swimming away. They felt themselves go underwater. They looked down to see Mike and Rhapsody with the bottoms of their lifejackets in their mouths. They had the same blackness in their rises.

Jackie and Jenny felt bubbles escape their mouths. They undid their lifejackets quickly and took them off. They swam for the surface, breaking it. Mike and Rhapsody let go of the lifejackets. They surfaced and rolled on their sides. They swiped their tails, splashing water in their faces. They went to them with aggressive squeals. They pressed their noses against their chests and pushed them underwater.

Jackie and Jenny hit the orcas on their noses, but that did not stop them. Mike and Rhapsody went deeper. Without warning, the blackness faded from their irises. They stopped their descent. They clicked in alarm and swam away from the women. They returned to them, gesturing toward their dorsals. Jackie and Jenny grabbed them. Mike and Rhapsody headed for the surface. The group broke it.

Jackie and Jenny shook badly as the orcas stared at them with much guilt in their eyes. They observed them swimming away. Slick and Tahoma headed for their podmates. The blackness was gone from their irises. Jackie and Jenny looked at each other, whimpers coming from them. They heard an engine and saw a small boat coming toward them. The fisherman turned port toward them. He stopped a short distance from them.

"Are you ladies okay? I saw what happened," the fisherman said, his heart beating very fast.

"We are really shaken," Jackie said, swimming to the boat along with her friend. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in. He repeated his actions with Jenny. "The orcas were normal. We weren't even bothering them. Then they turned on us with no warning."

"I can't believe this happened again!" Jenny cried in great fear.

"We thought they were going to kill us," Jackie added, swallowing hard.

"Calm down, ladies," the fisherman whispered soothingly. "I am going to get you two to the hospital."

The fisherman raced to the bow. He drove the boat away rather fast. He looked over his shoulder to see J-Pod swimming toward the horizon. He returned his attention to the area in front of him.