Somewhere in a small British town, where the stars hid behind clouds and the air smelled of grass and chlorine, three people snuck through a house.

"Well, this isn't freaky at all." One of them whispered as a cold breeze floated through the hallway, his candy-coloured curls sticking up in all directions. "What, did you think an angry ghost terrorizing children would be polite and sweet?" The second one snorted, glancing through a door in the hallway. Her long white hair fell down their back, a singular red streak hanging between her eyes. "Don't be stupid." "Well the client said it was a weird breeze, not throwing things at my head!" They gestured to the growing purple bruise on his forehead, scowling. "Which you could have warned me about!" "How was I supposed to know you wouldn't duck?!" "You said 'Hey Apo, look behind you' and then I got hit with a fucking vase-"

"Will you two shut up?!" The third hissed, copper-coloured eyes narrowing. "If I die from a poltergeist right now, I will haunt you for the rest of your sad little lives." "Damn. That was rude." "I don't care! I'm just trying to get this job done, but we'll probably die before then if you don't shush!" He held out his red gun as a threat, similar to a laser-tag gun. "Okay, fine- put your gun down, jeez!" The girl snapped. He did so and rolled his eyes. "Mrs. Windchester needs this done by tomorrow, so we better hurry up."

Someone screamed and the first boy did as well, clinging onto the brunette's arm. "What the- Apo, I swear to god. Let go of my arm." "This is a very stressful situation, leave me alone." "Apo, if I cared I would have asked." "Oh, that's rich for someone who thinks ketchup is spicy." The retorted. "Hey, I told you that in confidence-" "Everyone shut up!" "Rasbi-" "I'm serious!" Rasbi frowned. "I hear something."

Apo sobered up, grabbing the gun in their backpack. The other one, Owen, did the same. Rasbi led the way, rounding a corner and pointing their gun at a shadow. It shifted, and Rasbi took a step closer.

An orange and white spotted cat ran out of the dark corner, sprinting past them. Owen jumped, nearly dropping his weapon on his foot. Apo sighed. "What are the chances it's name is Ghost?"

-

Apo finished loading the final piece of equipment in the back of the big white van, climbing through to the backseat. Owen had his head out the window talking to a middle-aged woman, the cat held in her arm- who was indeed named Ghost.

"Well, I hope you three have a lovely evening." She said cheerfully, turning back to the house. The cat hissed at Owen, who flinched. "Are you seriously scared of a cat?" Rasbi raised an eyebrow. "You try nearly losing an eye to one when you were 8."

Apo peeked over their shoulders. "That's the third hoax this month. What was it this time?" Owen sighed. "Apparently, Ghost the Cat really likes knocking things off high shelves. I also told Mrs. Windchester to find a better window company. The winters must be atrocious." The headlights switched on, cutting through the fog as he exited the driveway. "Fucking cats, man." "Hey, language." Rasbi, who was scrolling on their phone, glanced up. "Owen, we're adults. That's what you focus on?" "Yeah, well just because you grew up in a barn doesn't mean you need to use vulgar language." Apo grabbed the ice pack that was offered to them, slumping in the backseat with a groan. "We grew up in an orphanage, not a barn." "I don't see the difference."

The tiefling rolled her eyes, returning to their phone. Apo watched the houses fly past until the lights of the town faded into fields of cows and vegetables. Owen kept his eyes on the road, tapping on the steering wheel. An awkward silence filled the space.

Rasbi's face brightened, and she started shaking Apo by the shoulder. "Apo Apo Apo Apo-" "Jesus christ Ras, what?!" They groaned. Rasbi showed him their phone, his face immediately lighting up. "Holy shit- Owen, you gotta see this." "Guys, don't distract the driver, I don't feel like crashing today." He fretted. "It's fine, I'll read it to you." They cleared their throat.

"Dear Ghostbusters, hello. This is rather sudden, but recently my shop has been infested with a few spiritual incidents. I could really use your help. Of course, you don't have to if you're busy, but I'm willing to pay double-" Owen raised his eyebrows, "If you can be here by Saturday."

It was silent for a moment. "Well, what name did they give?" Her face fell, and she and Apo exchanged glances. "Well... they didn't give one, but they gave an address." "What is it, let's see how fair it is." Owen reached for the GPS but Rasbi batted his hand away. "It's, um," They chewed on the inside of their cheek before giving him a nervous smile. "It's in Shadowbrook."

Owen frowned. "Yeah, absolutely not." "Owen!" "Oh come on!" Apo pleaded. "Owen, this is our first legit job in months. That's a lot of money!" "Maybe, but in Shadowbrook?!" The human shook his head. "No way." "You're being ridiculous." Rasbi threw up her hands. "It's been 13 years. At this rate, we'll be out of business if we don't take this job." "Rasbi, there'll be other jobs." "When, Owen? In ten years, when Ghostbusters doesn't even exist? This is our last chance."

"Pleasee?" Apo clasped their hands together, batting his eyes. "It'll be fun! Maybe we'll get to see our friends again before we leave!" Rasbi joined him in the begging, the two staring at Owen with pleading eyes.

Owen hesitated before he sighed, a weary smile tugging his lips. "Alright. Buckle up everyone, we got some ghosts to bust." "That's a terrible catchphrase." Apo said as he sat back in their seat, pulling out the seatbelt. "It wasn't supposed to be a catchphrase, it's- you know what, forget it."

~~~

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