The Ectoplasmic Arts
Ranma, Danny Phantom, and any other series used in this fanfic belong to their rightful owners/publishers/whatever. I don't own anything.
Timeline of Danny Phantom is after Infinite Realms, which will diverge and not lead to the events of Phantom Planet.
Timeline of Ranma ½ is… sometime after the end of the manga.
"Speech"
'''English'''
'Thoughts'
Chapter 2
"So how did it go Danny?" Jazz asked her brother when she saw him fly up to her and de-transform. The boy looked at her a little sheepishly.
"Well… I lost him." He waved off the incoming questions from the orange-ish haired girl. "It's also a bit more complicated than him being a half-ghost." He received an inquisitive look from his brainy sister.
"What all made it complicated?"
"Well… apparently he had a curse that turned him into a girl with water, and the Fenton Portable Human Sized Ghost Portal (Jeez that's a long name by the way) fried his curse. Now when he goes ghost, he turns into a girl." He finished explaining to his wide eyed sister. "Then as I was explaining things about being a ghost, SHE got excited about the aspect of flying and took off. Only a ghost for a few minutes, and it was like she was at home in the sky." His shoulders were then grabbed by his sister.
"Danny, you have to find him… her… whatever before something bad happens." She figured she could wallow in the fact that the world isn't how she thought it was AGAIN later on. 'If magical curses are real, does that mean magical girls, bikini clad aliens, and all those other things are real too?!'
"What could go wrong?" He realized what he said and gave himself a slap upside the head. "I should REALLY stop thinking that. Alright, I'll go find… her, but first I need to contact Sam and Tucker and inform them of this little incident." The black haired boy said as he transformed and left the area.
Both were unaware that the whole incident was being watched by two separate individuals. One was rather tall and muscular with blue-ish white cybernetic skin, flaming green Mohawk and goatee, a skull-like face, green eyes, and a utility belt and bandolier. An interested look was plastered a cross his face.
"So there's a new half ghost running about this world, and this one goes from a human boy to a ghost girl. This IS an interesting find. I knew following the ghost boy and his family would prove fun. I should observe for a little while and see what the… girl is capable of. I made the mistake of charging right for Danny Phantom when I first found him, and I underestimated him. I won't make the same mistake twice." The ghost hunter finished as he left to observe the newest ghost.
Similar thoughts were running along the mind of someone positioned not to far away. This someone wore a form fitting white top and pants, kept together by a black belt. Black gloves and boots adorned his hands and feet, and his white cape had a high collar to it. His black hair was shaped like two big horns, and his black goatee, red eyes, and pale blue skin helped in defining a look of a demon. A chuckle escaped him as he looked on.
"So Jack Fenton's idiocy has led to yet ANOTHER victim with ghost powers, but unlike Daniel and me, the poor boy becomes a girl. I wonder if I can somehow use this to my advantage."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ranma was having the time of her life. Actually being able to fly and zoom through the air without having to touch the ground. It was like… a dream come true. Something she had wished she was capable of doing since she first started roof hopping. "And to think, all it took was getting shocked ta near death by some crazy ghost portal thingy." There was a slight nagging feeling for some reason though, as if she was missing something. Coming to a stop, she floated down to the sidewalk and came to a cross-legged sitting position above the ground to think.
She was receiving some strange looks as she did this. "Hey" One person walking around announced. "Isn't that a ghost?" Since he noticed how pale-ish she seemed to be with a slight glow around her.
"You know… I think you're right." A woman said in agreement.
"She's really pretty though" Said a child who was staring at her. The silver purple haired girl's eye twitched slightly at that.
"Now dear, you shouldn't be staring at her like that. She might take offense and possess you." The child's mother gently scolded as she led her child away… who gave a disappointed groan.
'You know a place is used to the unusual when nobody is afraid of a ghost just sitting in one position above the ground.' The ghost girl stated as she continued her search. After a little while longer, she snapped her fingers. 'That's what seems so odd. I don't have any ki!' Raising her hand, Ranma attempted to gather some of the life energy into it. There wasn't even a fizzle as she tried to gather the energy. 'Well this sucks. Maybe I should have waited for that kid to finish explaining everything. Now I'm stuck in this form with no idea how to get out of it.'
"GHOST!" Ranma's head snapped towards the direction of the shout to see the large man in the orange jumpsuit running towards her with his wife in the blue jumpsuit and goggles next to him. "Freeze ghost, or you'll be destroyed atom by ectoplasmic atom." The woman in the blue jumpsuit and goggles said as she pointed a strange gun at the silver-purple haired girl. The guy in orange was holding some weird fishing pole or something.
"Um… I don't suppose we could do this later?" She had to quickly dodge a blast from the weird gun. "Jeez, what did I ever do to yo—ACK!" Moving over another blast, the new ghost decided it was best to leave.
"The ghost is getting away!" Maddie Fenton shouted as she watched the apparition in purple take off. Her husband got the odd fishing pole ready.
"Don't worry, the Fenton Ghost Fisher will catch her!" Jack announced as he took aim with the fishing pole, only to curse to himself. "This thing ALWAYS tangles on me, and the darn ghost got away."
"Harassing a ghost who wasn't doing anything." A passerby whispered
"That poor girl must have been scared. I know I would be." An elderly woman said as she passed by the Fenton parents. Jack, being the guy he is, immediately came to one possible conclusion.
"THEY'RE BEING OVERSHADOWED!! Quick Maddie, the Fenton Foamer!"
"Uh… Jack."
"Not now Maddie! The fate of the city rests in our capable hands!" The graying haired man shouted as he grabbed the very device he was looking for. "EAT ECTOPLASMIC GOO YOU SPECTRAL ABOMINATIONS!!!" His wife watched with a hand to her head as the man began shooting every moving thing with green goo.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"The guy has a few serious issues." Ranma stated from a rooftop as she watched the guy shoot that gooey stuff everywhere he could. "All those people are going to need a long bath after this." The silver purple haired girl felt a small pull in her mind. Turning her head, she saw the boy from earlier. On a heavily gloved hand was a watch-like device.
"Yeah, tell me about it." The white haired boy said as he set down next to her. "My parents are always doing weird stuff like this, and my dad tends to get really gung-ho about it." The newly created ghost-girl glanced at her companion. "They mean well though. All the gadgets they create are to help prevent from ghost attacks."
"Ghost ATTACKS? As in frequently?" Ranma asked with a blink. Danny looked at her and gave a nod
"It's better than all the weird and random stuff that seems to go on in that one town that's always on the news. I think it was Dimmsdale or something. All I know is that we had a substitute teacher one day from there that had a humped back, bad skin, and hair. He also had an odd twitch and was always talking about Fairy Godparents. He also appeared to love to give 'F's to people." He watched as the girl slapped her forehead.
"Now I know I'm not the crazy one. The WORLD is insane, an' I'm just livin' through the insanity." A thought suddenly crossed her mind. 'I wonder if Nabiki has been taken' bets to see if and when I'll ever snap…'
"Tell me about it." Danny said with a frown. He then looked towards the ghost in purple. "The name's Danny Phantom." The white haired boy said holding out a hand.
Ranma returned the handshake, "I'm Ranma Saotome." Her mind came back to the topic she was wondering about a little while ago. "Now, how about you tell me how I can get out of this damn form, as well as any other things I should know?"
"Sure, all you have to do is AH!" Ranma watched as a pink beam of some kind of energy flew past and knocked the boy onto his back a few feet back. Her eyes then turned back to the direction the blast came from to see some… guy dressed like a vampire wannabe.
'''I could probably do a better job explaining to the… boy, Daniel.''' The guy then looked in the purple eyed girl's direction. '''I HAVE had my powers for over 20 years. I could show you the ropes of how to properly use your powers better than some child who's only had his powers for not even a year."' The personality of this guy bothered the now ghost girl. He seemed like some stuck up rich guy or something.
'"Damn it Plasmius."' Danny said jumping to a flying position. '"Do you always have to try and wrap your claws around someone?"' His hands started to glow with a strange green energy that Ranma knew wasn't ki. Curious about what the energy these two were using, Ranma sat silent to watch the confrontation.
'"Oh Daniel, always rushing into things as usual."' The new comer said in a condescending tone as he erected some kind of barrier in front of him to block the green blast. '"You think you would have realized by now. Just going around blasting the enemy doesn't work."'
'"Except for the Box Ghost."' Danny mumbled to himself as he took off for the older ghost. As the two enemies battled, Ranma was deep in thought about the energy stuff she saw.
'What is that they are using?' Searching throughout her ghostly body, the silver-purple haired half-ghost found something sitting there. 'Is that it?' Holding out an upturned hand, she concentrated to try and push whatever it was to her hand. She managed to get a slight glow of purple within the palm of her hand. 'Ha!' the ghost girl thought to herself as she managed to gather a little of it. Her purple eyes then watched as that Danny kid was blasted away by that Plasmius.
"'I'm surprised in you Daniel. You think you would have learned by now that charging head-on only leads to trouble. You have to learn to be sneaky in some of your moves."' The ghost with horned hair commented as he began laughing. He was then hit in the back by a small blast of purple ectoplasm. Turning around, his red eyes locked onto Ranma examining her own hand with a slight look of awe. "That was a rather sneaky thing you did… girl."' The pale-blue skinned billionaire stated in annoyance.
'That didn't require any emotion at a… wait!' Her eyes turned to Plasmius. '"What the hell did you call me?!"' She may have been used to turning female, but it still irked her with people outright referred to her as one, even when they KNEWshe was really a boy.
A smile played across the white clad ghost. 'So this one has buttons to push well. The young ones these days are so predictable.' His attention was fully on Ranma now. "'Well calling you boy would be just awkward at the moment. No way could a figure like that belong to a boy."' His blood red eyes watched as the girl tensed, and he felt like he was ready for anything the still-young-to-her-powers ghost child could throw. He wasn't, however, expecting that said ghost girl was actually a superb martial artist. An elbow was embedded into his stomach before he could even blink, knocking the wind out of him.
'"You don't seem so great."' Ranma commented as she let loose a roundhouse kick… only to have her opponent go see-through. 'Huh?' was the only thought Ranma had as her foot passed harmlessly through. The vampire wannabe then phased back into view and sent a punch covered in pink ectoplasm towards her. She was able to luckily dodge to the side and miss the punch before sending a vertical kick to the guy's chin. It connected and sent him for a loop. '"That disappearin' trick is good, but ya can't do anything without the skill to back it up.'" Her eyebrow rose when the man started chuckling.
"I underestimated you child." His form suddenly split into four identical clones. "I won't commit that mistake again." All four charged for the silver-purple haired girl. Said girl began to duck and weave punches. Some odd tingling in the back of her mind caused her to turn and catch a fast haymaker. She hopped over a pink beam and gave the clone she was holding a quick flip onto the roof of a building. Jumping to the side, she was grazed by another beam. One of the Plasmiuses appeared behind her, and Ranma found an ectoplasmic sword pressed to her neck. '"You ARE quite the opponent girl, but you are 20 years too undeveloped in your powers to defeat me."'
A green beam impacted against the dark haired ghost and sent him flying. "'You forgot that there are two people you're fighting."' Danny said as he appeared next to Ranma. "'I guess you're getting a little old and forgetful."' The duo watched as the four Plasmiuses flew back into one.
"'You didn't have to interfere in an interesting fight Daniel. The child seemed very capable. I fear that I have overstayed my welcome though, so I bid you two a farewell… until next time." The villainous ghost turned and flew off, leaving a frowning Ranma to look off after him.
"The guy's personality really irks me." He reminded her of Kuno… just without the delusion. Her eyes then looked towards the 14-year-old. "You seem very familiar with him."
"Vlad, that's his real name, was friends with my mom and dad in their university days. A small accident occurred due to my dad's blundering, resulting in the portable ghost portal to zap Vlad in the face. It gave him a case of 'ecto acne' and ruined his social life. He was, and still is, in love with my mom, and he blames my dad for taking away both his social life and the love of his life away from him. He apparently spent the next 20 years of his life using his ghost powers to steal money and possess billionaires, which resulted in them willing all their stuff to him. He now apparently wants to get rid of my father, get my mother, and make me an heir or successor to him or something." Ranma gave him a half-lidded stare.
"So he's a delusional idiot with a grudge who uses his abilities for his own gain, an' he thinks that killin' his former friend will give him the happiness he desires?"
"Uh… that's about it."
"Sounds like a few people I know; some of them without the whole 'friend' thing." The ghost-girl stated offhandedly. She received a wide-eyed look from the younger ghost. "It's better if you DIDN'T know." The ghost in purple said with a wave of her gloved hand. "Now, can you please tell me more about this ghost crap? Before somebody else attacks." At his questioning gaze, Ranma continued with another half-lidded stare. "It's bound to happen. I was out for three days. Three days without any attempts on my person for either marriage, death, marriage AND death, schemes, attacks, death threats, perverts, old ghouls, marriage attempts, being hit upside the head, death threats, accused of things that aren't my fault, and other things that I won't go on about. Because of that… SOMETHING is bound to break."
Danny could only stare. "A… are you serious?!" Here he was thinking that HIS OWN life sucked.
"And that's only the tip of the iceberg. I need to figure this stuff out before the peace ends." The girl said with a determined look in her eye.
Just a ways away, the two half-ghosts were still being watched by the ghost hunter, Skulker. The hunter's interest was currently on the newer ghost. "Plasmius did indeed underestimate the girl's ability. Even though she doesn't understand any of her ghost powers, she has a considerable amount of human fighting ability to take into account. I'll have to refrain from trying anything until I know the possible extent of what she's capable of." A joyous smirk played across his face as he thought of the possible thrill of the hunt.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"So the ghost zone is a big green void with countless worlds and areas to it?" A now human, and male, Ranma asked as he walked along the sidewalk next to his new friend, who was also in human form. He was able to figure out how to properly use those ectoplasmic thingies. He needed a lot of practice, but at least he figured out. The pigtailed boy also found about the invisibility and intangi… whatever it was called.
"Yeah, and there are also portals within the ghost zone that lead to various areas on Earth, other places, and even portals that lead to other time periods." The shorter boy finished, remembering his time traveling adventure. "Time travel sucks." Something else came to him. "If you're going to use your ghost form, then you'd need to create a name to protect your current identity."
"That makes sense."
"Kind of like how mine is Danny Phantom, but my real name is Danny Fenton. Vlad Master's is Vlad Plasmius. Then there's also a female clone of mine who was created by Vlad named Daniele Fenton who goes by Dani Phantom." The 14-year-old was stopped by a look from the older boy. "What?"
"I know I'm far from bein' the most intelligent person around, but I doubt it would take a really smart person to figure out that Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom. I mean… you look the same, you act the same, your name is virtually the same, and your ages are the same. Jeez, the same could probably be said for those other two people you mentioned with the whole name thing." The smaller boy gave a shrug.
"I guess it's because nobody ever bothers to make the connection." The older boy thought for a second before seeing the possibility in that. "Thought up a name yet?"
"Nope" Ranma said casually, "I'll have to think up what it'll be later. It'll be somethin' that WILL NOT be close enough to my normal name. There are many people around here who ARE smart enough to make the connections."
"Halt foul sorcerer! I heard thou hath done off with thy pigtailed girl!" The voice of Kuno appeared from around the corner. "Heaven weeps for the loss of such a radiant angel!"
"Then again… there are some who wouldn't get it no matter how many times it would be shoved in their face." Ranma said with a sigh as the crazy kendoist walked up to him. Danny could only stare at the loon carrying a wooden sword coming near them and ranting about… whatever. "I just got out of the hospital Kuno, so I don't really feel like kickin' you to the next ward." The pigtailed boy said with a bored expression as he scratched his head.
"FIEND! You shall tell me what exactly you hath done to the beauty who's probably pining for me as we speak." His attention was suddenly towards the younger boy. "And who is this foreigner? Have you gotten yourself a young apprentice to bend to your dastardly ways and harm the flowered youth of this lovely ward?"
"Uh…" was all Danny could say as he tried to process what was being said to him. The Fenton Translator seemed to want to almost blow up from the speech of this guy. "Have you been watching too many samurai films perhaps?" The bokken was pointed in his direction.
"I see that you don't sense the greatness of my power. You want to know who I am? I am the rising star of the kendo world. My name strikes fear into my enemies. Nobody is my equal. I am the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" Thunder and lightning flashed in the background. "Well, I graduated from Furinkan already… but I AM still the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" Even more thunder sounded as the kendoist struck a pose. Danny, staring wide eyed, asked the first thing that came to his mind.
"What in the hell are you ON?" Ranma leaned down to whisper in his ear.
"His sister practices creating all sorts of chemicals and drugs. He's usually the test subject. She also has a pet alligator named Mr. Turtle who lives in the small pond in back of their mansion." The young boy looked at him with eyes that asked if he was serious. "I'm quite serious. He was in love with my girl form while trying to do away with my boy form. His sister's the exact opposite of that." A stare was his only answer from the 14-year-old. It was then that Kuno interrupted.
"Thou must be plotting my very downfall as I speak. I will not allow it!" He charged forward to deliver a well placed slash with his bokken, only to receive a kick in the chin that sent him flying into the sky.
"Is he going to be ok?" Danny asked in concern. Since a fall like that could kill someone who didn't have ghost powers. His answer from the older boy was a simple shrug.
"As long as he falls on his head, he'll be fine. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last time." The pigtailed boy scratched the back of his head, "Although I do wonder where he'll end up this time."
Danny could only look on while his mind attempted to work. 'Ok that's it. This place is completely nuts, and that poetry fool had even greater delusions of grandeur than Tucker when he had ghost powers, was pharaoh because of that mummy ghost, created his own flower sack baby day care service for money…'
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Over in the Azabu Juban district, Setsuna Meiou was enjoying something she didn't get to do too often. She was sitting on a park bench and reading a relaxing book, a chance to get away from the gates and relax for a simple spell. She didn't really see any issues that would arise, so she decided to get some fresh air.
"I don't know why I don't do this more often." The Senshi of Time asked herself as she flipped a page. It was then that a crash sounded a few feet away. Her red eyes looked up, only to freeze. "Not him again." She said to herself.
"My emerald haired love! I found you again!" The deranged kendoist shouted as he tried to hug the older woman… who seemed to almost vanish and caused Kuno to crash into the bench. "My love?"
"Now I remember why I don't do it more often. Every single time I try and relax, something like this happens. Damn Nerima." Setsuna said to herself as she decided to head back home.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Danny had told Ranma that he and his family would be in Japan for at least another two weeks. This meant that the younger boy could help him in getting the hang of his ghost powers a little bit more. He found out that he was capable of becoming both invisible and intangible while in human form. The 14-year-old also mentioned it was possible to learn to use a little bit of his ectoplasmic energy in his human form as well.
'Now I just need to think up a blasted name for my ghost form.' Ranma thought to himself as he walked on. His musings were cut short when a small blur crashed into and knocked him onto his butt.
"RANMA!!" Happosai yelled with an almost pleading look in his eye. "Tell me it's not true. You haven't really somehow cured your curse, have you?" The diminutive pervert overheard from Nodoka that the boy was finally cured. He even asked her if the water was cold. No more Ranma-chan… the horror of it all.
Pushing the 100+-year-old pipsqueak off of him, the pigtailed boy stood up. "You heard right ya pervert. My curse is no more." The look in the aged master's eyes was sorrow at the confirmation. Then it changed to rage, and then confusion, and then a blank look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"You don't feel right my boy." Happosai stated as he reached out as far as he could with his senses. "I still sense something female within you, but I can't place my finger on it. You're aura is off, and your ki trying to rearrange itself for some reason. It's like you have something different within you."
Ranma almost felt like sweating. 'Damn, never underestimate the near ancient martial artists.' He put on an almost confused look. "Yer guess is good as mine. Maybe more than just my body was toasted, and it's now fixin' itself back up." The look he was receiving almost sent shivers down his spine.
"You aren't a good liar Ranma." The aged founder of Anything Goes commented as he pulled out his pipe. The hairs on the back of Ranma's neck stood up on end as he was being studied intently by the small pervert. After several moments, the pipe was put away, and Happosai let loose a sigh. "As much as it pains me, I'll have to go to Cologne on this one so we can combine minds. She might have some experience with something like this. Don't think you can hide whatever it is for long, boy." With that, the diminutive man took off hopping in the direction of the Neko Hanten; leaving an annoyed pigtailed boy in his wake.
'Great, now I have to be more careful than I thought I'd have to be about this. A secret of this size is bound to blow up in my face at some point.' His thoughts traveled to the reactions of everyone she knew, particularly Nabiki, Kuno, and Happosai. 'Nabiki would try and blackmail or sell the information, Happosai would be perverted, and Kuno would be… obsessive. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts going on about 'The fallen pigtailed girl turned silver-purple haired ghost damsel'. A shiver flowed across his spine at the thought just as he neared the Tendo Dojo.
Cracking open the gates, Ranma stuck his head through the opening to see if anyone was lurking around. Not seeing anybody, the heir to the Saotome Anything Goes entered and began walking towards the house. Figuring he was in the clear, he proceeded to head to the guest room of the house, only to meet up with Nabiki. Not a person he wanted to meet at the moment, especially with the calculating look in her eyes.
"So Saotome" the mercenary began to draw out, "Care to offer an explanation as to why you no longer have your other form, and to where you were when you weren't in your hospital bed?" With the loss of the boy's curse form, it caused a dent in the brown haired girl's wallet.
"My curse is no longer here due to getting zapped by the oversized bug zapper thing." Ranma supplied without hesitation. It was partially true at least. It WAS no longer a curse form. The calculating look he received increased.
"It's never that easy for you Saotome. The thing was a ghost portal or something, meaning the most it could have done was turning you into a ghost, or maybe even toss you into that ghost zone place."
"Do I LOOK like a ghost to you, Nabiki?" On the inside he was sweating. The older sister of Akane was possibly more perceptive than any of the other people here. He had to keep this secret though no matter what. Maybe make it into a challenge or something. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea, and he would start at this moment.
"No, no you don't Saotome." The girl commented as she scratched her chin in thought. "Well then, care to explain where you were at when you were supposed to be in the hospital? I asked the usual people, and they haven't even saw you today."
"I was lying in bed for three days Nabiki." The pigtailed boy began, slipping into the soul of ice so his emotions wouldn't get the better of him. "As such, I missed the outside weather and bein' up an' about. I was on the roof for a while before I took off to see if anything had changed in three days."
"You are hiding something Saotome."
"Did I stutter or anything Nabiki? You should know me more than anyone else around here. Do you think I'm even capable of lyin'?" Of course he wasn't lying, since he WAS exploring Nerima… just as a ghost girl.
"You're right." Nabiki said after a moment. The boy in front of her didn't appear to be lying at all. "You stink at lying worse than a skunk rolling around in garbage." The glare did nothing to her. "I do know, however, that something IS up with all this. The money maker in me just feels it, and you know I hate not knowing what's going on Saotome." Moving past Ranma, the mercenary made her way out of sight.
The raven-haired boy gave a sigh of relief as he looked towards the floor to see that part of his left foot had phased into the floor. 'Danny said that nervousness and all could cause that stuff to act up. I'm just glad Nabiki never noticed… I hope.'
"Ranma!" Said boy looked up to see the two fathers approach him with the whole 'scheming' look in their eyes. The one to talk was Genma. "Boy, now that you are cured, we can have the marriage for you and Akane!"
"You're kidding, right?" Ranma asked with a half-lidded stare. Jeez, these idiots work fast. "There is no way I'm marrying the tomboy, especially after I just got out of the hospital. Can't a person recuperate without you idiots trying to throw us together?"
It was then that Nodoka walked into the room. "They are right in a way my son. As much as I don't like the thought of them trying to force the subject so soon after you got out, I feel that the next time you enter the hospital would be permanent with the way your life is. Getting married, and providing a child, before something like that happens is the most logical thing to do."
"There is no way I'm marrying the short tempered, un-cute, tomboy." He growled out. He wasn't, however, expecting said tomboy to pass by just as the sentence left his mouth. 'Oh crap…' the pigtailed boy thought out as the usual aura of anger appeared around his fiancée as she walked his way. "Now Akane, there's no reason too…"
"RANMAAAAAAAA!!!!" The short haired girl yelled out in anger as she cocked her fist back and let it fly, catching the boy under the jaw and sent him flying high in the sky.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"A guy in samurai robes carrying around a wooden sword and spouting off bad poetry and claiming you to be an 'apprentice' to a 'foul sorcerer'? Danny, do you realize how stupid that sounds?" Jazz asked her brother as they helped their parents unpack a few things, mostly ghost hunting stuff, in the hotel room they were staying in.
The 14-year-old gave his sister a shrug. "I wouldn't have believed it myself, even with everything I've experienced. The weirder thing is that Ranma acted as if it was just a common every day event of no importance. Then he kicked the guy into the sky and said the guy would be fine 'as long as he lands on his head'. That was either a joke, or he was serious."
"Kicked the guy into the sky?" the orange haired girl asked with a blink. This was just getting too weird for her. She was about to ask something else when something fell through the ceiling of the hotel and crashed into the floor. "WHA?!"
"What was the noise in here?! A ghost?!" Jack Fenton asked as he and his wife charged into the room with ecto blasters ready… only to see the teenaged boy who was zapped earlier in the week lying on their floor. "Huh?" Was all Jack could say.
"Oooowww… damn tomboy, at least she didn't use a mallet this time." Ranma said as he sat up. Blinking, he looked around and saw Danny, his parents, and possibly his older sister. "Err… sorry about the roof."
"H… how did you fall from the sky and through the roof and still be okay?" Jazz asked in astonishment. How could he crash through a building while not in a ghost form and not suffer any damage.
"Well… my parents and my fiancée's dad tried ta force me into getting' married, but I said a few things that she overheard. This made her angry enough to punch me into the sky. You can guess what happened after that. I'm just glad she didn't use a mallet this time."
"Wait" Maddie Fenton started. This just sounded so weird. "You're fiancée is the nice girl with the short hair that you were with when you accidentally suffered from the Fenton Ghost Portal?"
"Well… Akane's a nice girl, but she just has a violent temper at times."
"And she often punches you, or uses blunt instruments; hard enough to send you into the sky, which would then mean you'd have to crash back down onto the ground." At the pigtailed boy's nod, she went on. "Yet you act as if it's just a casual thing. I'm surprised you aren't dead."
"The boy's made of strong stuff!" Jack announced joyously as he lifted Ranma off the ground and into a sitting position. "It's that kind of stuff that makes a great ghost hunter. I can just see it now, a boy with such a strong resistance to pain downing ghosts left and right." The large man finished with his left arm draped around Ranma's shoulder, and his other arm pointing into air in some kind of dramatic pose. An idea came to his eyes. "In fact, I think I'll take it upon myself to train you in the ways of hunting ghosts. What is it you currently do?"
"Well… I'm a martial artist. One of the best actually."
"HA! You've got spirit too." It was then that Maddie interrupted.
"Really? Well that's interesting to note. I could probably teach you a few things you might not know in martial arts. I don't like to brag, but I'm quite experienced in that field." The red haired woman said as she walked up to the boy and shook his hand. "The name's Maddie Fenton."
"And I'm Jack Fenton!" The man in the orange jumpsuit announced as he gave Ranma a pat on the back. "From this day forth, the Fentons shall teach you everything we know about ghost hunting. For now though, Maddie and I need to go out in search for the apparitions who have brainwashed this little area into not fearing them. TO THE HUNT!!" The man with graying hair shouted as he ran off, his wife soon after.
Ranma just stood there in the spot and looked on in a kind of shock. "What… just happened just now?"
"I believe" Jazz began, "That our parents just decided to take it upon their selves to teach you everything they know about ghost hunting." She felt sorry for the guy. Her parents could get so gung-ho and crazy about the whole thing.
"Oh…" Ranma could only manage.
"I feel sorry for you Ranma." Danny said with a shake of his head. "Hey, maybe you could help us with a little unpacking of these boxes."
"Uh… sure." Ranma said as he followed the two Fenton children to a group of boxes. As he began opening one of the boxes, something popped out. It looked like a short man with blue skin, gray dingy overalls, gray shirt, large gray gloves, big chin, and a gray cap on his head. "Wha…"
"BEWARE!!! For I am THE BOX GHOST! Mighty controller of all things square and boxy… AND BUBBLE WRAP!!!" He finished with his arms spread apart.
Danny gave a groan. "Oh come on…"
"Let these very boxes BE YOUR DOOM!!!" He then gave another 'beware' as he commanded the boxes to fly at the three.
"Who the hell is this guy?" Ranma asked as he was being pelted by cardboard. The attack was… stupid.
"He's just the Crate Creep." Jazz said with a half-lidded stare. Said ghost then became indignant.
"I am NOT the Crate Creep. I am THE BOX GHOST… BEWARE!!"
Danny just shook his head. "He always appears at unneeded moments; shouting off who he is, trying to control what he does, never gets a clue no matter how many times you beat him, and is just an all around nuisance."
"So…" Ranma began, absorbing the information as he is continually being pelt with boxes. "… He's like your version of Kuno." The shorter boy gave a look to him before finally giving a nod. "You and I are quite a bit alike then."
"BEWARE!!!"
"Mind if I take the loser on, and can a ghost be at least hit with non ghostly stuff while visible?" Ranma asked
"Hey, be my guest, and yes they can be hit."
"Good" Ranma casually said as he let a Mouko Takabisha fly at the ghost. The box ghost was caught by the blast and sent through the open window and off into the horizon. "Yep, just like Kuno. One good hit will get rid of him."
Danny looked at Ranma with wide eyes. "What was that energy you just did?" It sure as hell wasn't ectoplasm of any kind.
"Oh, it was just a ki blast. Ki is the life force of a person. Martial artist can learn how to do things like that with enough time and practice."
"Ranma"
"Yeah?"
"Could you teach me some martial arts?" Maybe he should have asked his mom to do it, but she would end up getting weird about it. That and he never really knew there were such interesting things that could be accomplished with it. It could really help in his ghost fighting, since he saw Ranma using it in ghost form against Vlad.
"I guess. It won't be easy at all though."
"Probably not as hard as fighting ghosts."
"You're going to have to eat those words, kiddo."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Two beings whose outfits consisted of high collared white robes with black and gold were watching the events transpire. Their heads consisted of just a giant eyeball. They were the Observants, omnipotent beings who oversaw the workings of both the Human World and Ghost Zone. They were part of a group that just watched the events, but could not interfere.
Nodding to themselves, the Observants looked towards a light blue skinned ghost. His eyes were blood red, and the left one appeared to have a black scar running down. His purple cloak cascaded down to his ghostly tail, and his gray gloves had on them numerous watches. In his gloved hand was his time staff. It was a long rod with a clock on the end.
"The events are moving nicely Clockwork." One of the Observants said.
"Yes they are." Clockwork, the Ghost Master of Time, stated as he watched through the viewing portal at the current event. His form suddenly changed to a small child version of himself with buckteeth. "They will need to do all they can to prepare for things to come." His form changed into an elderly version of himself who looked frail with a long gray beard. "The issue won't be arriving for a long time, but there's always time to start." His form wavered into the adult form he was first shown in.
On the counter of a desk stood a thermos-like device that was dented and twitchy; time would tell if the dark being contained inside would stay confined or not.
xxA.Nxx
Yay, finished this chapter. It was so fun including the Box Ghost.
Now on to the question of what Ranma should be named in ghost form. Anyone have any ideas?
