Post by smittenkitten on Mar 28, 2020 10:59:03 GMT -5
Story also located at
fanfiction.net: www.fanfiction.net/s/13534654/1/Unspoken
One-shot fic where the idea popped into my head and I just ran with it to see where it'd go.
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“UNSPOKEN”
by smittenkitten (ff.net “RebelWolf”)Filmation’s Ghostbusters
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of it except the strange plot I put them into.
Author’s Note: Yes, Tracy the gorilla is absent from this fic. He’s either tinkering inside Ghost Command somewhere or sleeping. It wouldn’t be fair to make him choose sides in this one.
It’d been a couple of weeks since their last mission. Wanting to stay sharp and prepared, the young Ghostbusters opted for some war games against their predecessors. It wasn’t going well for the younger pair.
“Eddie! Get over here! I can’t do this by myself!” Jake hollered as he ducked one projectile and weaved sideways avoiding a second.
On the other side of the yard. “Don’t let up! Keep launching!” Kong Sr. yelled to his partner.
Jake was heavily on the defensive. Unable to mount a rally without his partner, all he could do was try to avoid the onslaught. “Seriously Eddie! It’s not like these are ghosts!”
“Whoooaahh!” came a high pitched shriek from Jake as one projectile came just a little too close to the family jewels. Luckily, his reflexes were as fast as a cheetah’s.
The young Kong hit the ground flat on his belly, yelling back to his adversaries. “HEY! I may need that later, y’know!”
“It’s useless if you’re dead!” one of his adversaries shot back with a devilish laugh.
Jake swore under his breath and tried desperately to come up with a plan of action. He was running out of options. Crawling on his belly to use snow drifts as cover, Jake snaked his way over to Eddie who was gathering some of the yard’s nearby junk as a defensive shield. “C’mon partner, we can do this!”
“Jake, they’re playing for keeps! That last one stung my a** so bad and another one beaned me in the back of the head!”
“They just nearly nailed me in the balls. That’s even worse buddy! Look, they’re old. We’ve got youth, energy, and are just as skilled as they are! We’re the CURRENT Ghostbusters! We can’t lose to the retired ones!”
Eddie thought about it. “You’re right, buddy. Let’s get ‘em!” he exclaimed as he lept up just as two snowballs whizzed by each side of his face. “Eeeeeeeyaaaaahh!” he exclaimed as he bolted back to his curled up spot on the ground, propped up behind the half broken door that’d been in the yard for months.
Jake balled up several quick snowballs. “Think of ‘em as Ghost Grenades. Our dads- Prime Evil and his henchmen. Just another mission, partner.” He then surveyed his surroundings. He had to find something to distract his adversaries with!
Meanwhile, on the other side of the yard.
“They’re regrouping. My son will try to rally a counter-offensive. He’ll get Eddie back in the game.” Kong Sr. mentioned.
“We know ‘em too well.” Eddie Sr. replied.
“We should. We raised and taught ‘em.” Jake Sr. chuckled.
“They need to think outside of the box. Routine becomes predictable.”
“That’s what I’m trying to send home to them. A new lesson. One that will help them when ghostbusting, even if it’s just through this friendly snowball fight in the yard.”
Back against the fence line…
“Eddie, they have Ghost Command behind them. We need to reach it. It’s the cover we need to turn this around. If we could get up on the side porch roof....” Jake trailed.
“And how are we supposed to do that? We don’t exactly have our ghostpack jets right now.”
Jake rubbed his chin in thought. Suddenly it was as if a lightbulb went off above his head. “Hey, Eddie! Remember how we used to sneak into our old house when we went past our curfew on school nights and we KNEW our dads were up waiting for us?”
Eddie smiled at the fond memories. “Sure do, buddy. But this yard and Ghost Command aren’t laid out the same way.”
“They don’t have to be. We just need to use the same principle. I’ll be the bait. If they bite, you hook ‘em. Then I’ll reel them in!”
“If they don’t bite?”
Jake was about to answer, but was interrupted by the loud whir of helicopter blades. Jake looked up and immediately recognized the helicopter, remembering his plans for the day. “Eddie! New plan! Hang on! We have reinforcements!” Jake exclaimed over the loud thwump, thwumps of the rotors and engine. He grabbed a nearby stick and began to draw something in the snow, something big enough that the helicopter’s pilot could see and it was something only this particular pilot would understand.
On the other side of the yard, the two elder Ghostbusters were growing impatient.
“Stop stalling! It’s not like we’re getting any younger, boys!” Jake Sr. taunted while the helicopter was drawing ever closer.
“Uh-oh. Looks like our boys may have reinforcements.” Eddie Sr. noted as he pointed to the helicopter arriving above, noting its all too familiar appearance.
“How do they get so lucky?!” Jake Sr. exclaimed with a smug grin.
“Kong charm. Apparently works every time. Your son must have a date planned today.” Eddie Sr. joked. “We’d better anticipate some sort of attack from above.”
“We’ll fall back and use Ghost Command as cover. Against the side porch will do nicely. Unless…unless you want to attack now while they’re distracted?” Kong Sr. replied.
“Let’s fall back, partner. I want to see how this plays out. The way your son reacts will mean either he’s been dealt a good hand or he’s calling our bluff. Let’s see what he has in store for us.”
“Or it could simply be his lady-friend to the rescue.” Jake Sr. commented dryly. His boy didn’t always think things through and his reporter girlfriend or that ghostbustress from the future had bailed them out of trouble numerous times. Eddie Sr. sometimes gave his son too much credit.
In the air…
Jessica noticed the activity below in Ghost Command’s yard. It appeared to be some kind of snowball fight, but the younger men were obviously pinned down in the far corner of the yard by their fathers. Pulling into a hover, she recognized Jake’s blonde hair and he was drawing something in the snow—something only she’d be able to see completely from the air. He also raised his arms above his head and crossed them into half of an “x.”
The ‘x’ was part of a secret code the two lovebirds had developed as another way to communicate to each other without others knowing what they were saying. It essentially meant, ‘Join me, but don’t be seen.’
Drawn in the snow was the all too familiar Ghostbusters logo. Jake wanted to ‘rally his troops’ so to speak. Normally they’d shout out their famous line as a rally cry, but they sometimes used their logo in much the same way.
Inside the helicopter cockpit that famous line was spoken!
“Lets go, Ghostbusters!” she exclaimed to herself with a smile. She flashed the helicopter’s nose landing light twice as she broke the helicopter out of its hover and into a sharp turn away from Ghost Command. Its whirring sounds faded into the distance.
Kong and Spenser Sr. stared incredulously at the departing helicopter.
“Okay. That was weird.” Eddie Sr. noted. “Why would he send her away? Are you sure you didn’t actually bean your boy in the nuts? He’s lost some brains from somewhere.”
“Maybe he wants a challenge?” Jake Sr. replied now with a hand rubbing his chin in thought. Something didn’t add up.
“He already has a challenge. He’s backed up against the fence corner. Losing badly. With a reluctant partner.” Eddie Sr. stated.
“Like me, he thrives in competition. He hates to lose. He won’t give up. He’s definitely up to something.”
“I’ll never understand the rationality of the Kong mentality.” Eddie Sr. replied to himself while shaking his head.
On the other side of the yard…
“Y-you sent her away?!” Eddie asked in disbelief.
“Not exactly.” Jake replied with a smug grin upon his face.
“Huh?” was all Eddie could muster in confusion.
Jessica’s tv substation wasn’t far from Ghost Command and the tall buildings around all of them would muffle the helicopter’s sound, giving the deception of her leaving completely. She landed atop the roof of the building, grabbed her jacket, and short-cutted her way on foot back towards Ghost Command. Across the street from it, she could hear the smacks of snowballs. A few whacked the front fence. The battle had commenced yet again. She calmly entered Ghost Command’s front yard, balled up several snowballs, and took them inside Ghost Command. She cut across the office and made her way to the side porch overlooking the yard. Quietly and slowly, she opened the doorway, exited, and then just as stealthily shut it. She crouched down on the porch and waited for the right moment that she knew Jake would reveal to her.
From Jake and Eddie’s view on the opposite side of the yard, they had perfect view of the porch door opening and closing again.
“Ssssh, Eddie! Don’t say or express anything. Don’t give her away.” Jake whispered as he ducked and then launched another snowball with renewed vigor. “When I give a wolf whistle, we charge forward and attack.”
“Oh, okay, got it!” Eddie said as he launched another snowball then slipped and hit the ground with a thud. “oooomph.”
Jake just shook his head. His partner’s clumsiness was legendary.
Jake saw red hair and blue eyes peer slowly from the porch ledge. His eyes met hers as he let out a loud wolf whistle. She launched her counterattack from behind the Senior Ghostbusters.
Surprised, the elder Ghostbusters spun around after both being smacked in the backs at point blank range by snowballs, but saw nobody there. Jessica had ducked back down onto the porch floor. At the same time, Jake and Eddie launched across the yard at a full run, each with several snowballs in-hand.
Jake and Eddie Senior faced different directions. One faced the oncoming onslaught by their boys. The other carefully watched the porch, awaiting another attack from their unseen and new adversary. It was a good strategy, but youthful vigor overwhelmed the two seniors. Jake and Eddie Jr. overtook their fathers’ position and ‘won the day.’
With a victorious whoop, Jake and Eddie Jr. high fived each other. Jessica revealed herself as she stood on the porch with a smug grin.
Kong and Spenser Sr. smiled with pride. Their boys were indeed learning to ‘think outside of the box.’ They completely flipped their situation around by utilizing the ever changing environment and what it gave them. Even more impressive was the amount of various types of communication these boys were developing. Prime Evil could listen in, watch, and utilize standard forms of communication. But, symbols, gestures, and sounds could totally baffle the ghost leader and give the Ghostbusters an advantage on any given mission.
“Good job, boys!” Jake Sr. complimented as he patted both on the shoulder. “Let’s all go inside for a nice cup of hot chocolate.” He suggested as he wrapped an arm around his son’s shoulders and led him inside. Jessica followed suit behind them all.
Seated on the sofa and chairs in the office, they enjoyed their hot chocolate as they recollected their latest battle strategies.
When Jake Jr. described what he did with the symbol (purposely neglecting to fully say what his other signal was), his father was impressed.
“So, you’ve developed this whole entire speechless communication method. Impressive.”
“Not really, dad. I got the idea from baseball and the sidelines of American football. It just made sense to utilize something similar as Ghostbusters. Sometimes we can’t hear each other due to noise or distance. Our uniform communicators can be hacked or overheard by Prime Evil. We needed something else.”
The other ‘communication’ Jake Jr. had used wasn’t lost on Spenser Sr. however. “And that little signal above your head, hmm?”
Both the younger Kong and Jessica blushed. Jake Jr. cleared his throat. “It’s our personal language. With both of us frequently being in the spotlight, Jessica especially, we had to find a way to talk without talking. Keeps nosey people from learning too much about our personal life.” He said with a wink. It was a subtle hint to drop it as it was getting too personal and the young couple was getting uncomfortable.
Jake’s father pounced, however. He had every right to pry into his son’s life. His son rarely kept secrets from him, but obviously there was a big one here. “So, you two developed an entire new way to speak and you coordinated your whole attack with just a gesture and a drawing. How much of this communication goes on without anyone knowing eh son?”
The younger Kong averted his father’s eyes, but answered honestly. “More than you know, dad. But there’ll be a time and a place when all will be revealed to you and everyone here.” He answered while gazing deep into Jessica’s eyes as if seeking an answer as to when that would be.
And leave it to Eddie to come to his partner’s rescue. “So, we won. You two owe us a pizza! And I’m hungry!” Eddie exclaimed, changing the subject and off the now very uncomfortable couple. And of course, the distraction of food put everyone back at ease. Jake Jr. mouthed ‘thank you’ to his partner when the others weren’t looking. Eddie winked a ‘you’re welcome’ back at him. It was yet another type of unspoken communication between these two young men that had developed over years of friendship and growing up together.
FINI.